by Ramy Vance
Alex glared at Alborn, waiting for him to get his head in the game. The elf still appeared confused by what was happening. “Are you going to do something?” Alex shouted at him.
The vrosks above swooped down on the dragonriders, showering them with ice as the trolls continued to pepper Gill’s forcefield with spears. “It’s gonna give any moment now!” the drow shouted.
Alex, fed up with waiting for Alborn, pointed to the canyon. “We all move down!” she shouted. “They still haven’t recovered, and we aren’t going up anytime soon. Mechs, you’re coming with us! So are the rest of you!”
Alex’s comm opened again to a hearty agreement from the mech riders. She and her dragon made the first move, plummeting toward the canyon floor. Alex knew her trick wasn’t going to work twice. She still had the element of recklessness on her side, though.
Just before Chine collided with the ground, he pulled up, soaring over the vrosks. Alex figured if they couldn’t take on all the vrosks and trolls, they could at least avoid their attacks. She hoped speed would win out, and they could make it to the drop-off point and get reinforcements.
As Alex and the rest of the riders passed the vrosks and trolls, the canyon walls began to shake.
The wall to Alex’s right exploded in a hailstorm of rocks and gravel as a fiery hand pushed its way out, followed by a flaming skull with curled horns. Sulfur and soot filled the air as a balrog stepped from the stones, a flaming whip in each hand.
Alex collided with the canyon wall as Chine tried to straighten out. “You have got to be kidding me!” she shouted as the dragon reared, then turned around. “All right, Boundless, this is where we make our stand. Jollies and Gill, you take care of the vrosks above. The rest of you with me! Mech riders, you keep going. Make it to the rendezvous.”
Jim and Brath flew up next to Alex, along with the remaining dragonriders of Alborn’s party.
The vrosks from above had met up with the vrosks at the bottom of the canyon. The balrog stood before them all, cracking his whip as he roared in fury.
Alex’s heart was in her throat. At her side, Jim turned and smiled weakly at her. “Guess this is where we die. Nice knowing you.”
Alex shook her head and shouted, “We’ve been through worse than this, Jaws!”
“Yeah, in VR!”
“Just means we got permadeath now!”
With that, Alex and Chine charged forward. Alex slammed her dragon anchor to her chest, and her and Chine’s bodies were covered in an icy armor as the dragon raised his glowing right claw. A concussive force shot out like a cannon, knocking the balrog back.
It roared in rage as it cracked its whip, pushing the vrosks and trolls forward. The vrosks sped past Alex. It was obvious her and Chine’s fight was with the balrog.
Gill was right behind Alex. Jaws and Croy were in the air, firing heat-seeking missiles. Alex breathed a sigh of relief at seeing how fast Jim was. Mech dragons were badass.
When the missiles collided with their targets, they distorted gravity around them, creating a gravitational field that suspended the nearby vrosks and trolls.
Timber and Gill leaped into the air. Timber stretched out his claws, so when he landed, they dug into the earth. A seismic blast went through the ground, knocking the vrosks off their feet.
Brath took a less measured approach to attack. He let Furi do whatever the hell he wanted, and that was to set every living troll on fire. Furi flew over the battle, firing fireball after fireball, nearly turning the canyon into a firetrap.
Jollies flew past Brath and shouted, “Hey, be careful. You’re going to burn us all alive too!” Then she zoomed back into the fight, flying between troll after troll, firing her dual-energy pistols and adding to the confusion of the fight.
A troll zeroed in on Brath and took his vrosk into the air. Furi and Brath didn’t notice as the vrosk flew behind them. The troll leaped from his vrosk and landed on Furi’s back, then pulled out his spear and ran toward Brath.
Brath turned at the last minute, barely evading the head of the spear. He pulled out his family’s knife and slammed it into the troll’s foot, then tapped Furi on the back of the neck.
Furi turned his head, saw the troll, and snapped it in half with his jaws.
Below, Alex and Chine were circling the balrog, who was still cracking his whip. Around them, the battle continued. It was unclear if Boundless was going to get out of this alive. Alex didn’t care, though. They were creating a distraction that would allow the minerals to arrive at their destination.
Chine’s claws glowed again, and he fired another concussive blast. This time the balrog was ready for it, though. The balrog cracked its whip, breaking through the blast as it advanced. It spread its wings and flew toward Chine and slammed into the dragon. They rolled over each other, sending Alex flying through the air.
She landed on her feet as her dragon wrestled with the balrog. She was surrounded by vrosks and trolls. One of the trolls lunged for her, but she stepped to the side and brought her scythe down before drawing her energy shotgun.
As the troll’s vrosk screeched and flew at Alex, she let her scythe dissolve and fired a plasma scattershot. The vrosk hit the ground and skidded across the canyon floor.
Two more of the trolls came for Alex. One of them knocked her to the ground, and she screamed in pain as the troll drove his spear through her left shoulder.
Alex still managed to aim and fire, taking off the troll’s head. She scrambled to her feet, drew her scythe again, and sliced through the vrosk’s legs, turning as quickly as she could and firing again before slamming her fist to her chest and erupting in a brief fury of ether fire.
Alex threw herself sideways, firing at the closest troll before rolling away and running to her dragon. Jollies flew up beside her, “Hey! Alex, if you can take care of the balrog, I have something that should clear up the rest of the trolls. But you’ll need to get clear, okay?”
Alex flashed Jollies a thumbs-up and concentrated on getting back onto Chine, whose back was facing her. This was her best chance. She flung herself into the air, stretching her anchor toward Chine. The anchor connected, and Alex’s feet stuck to Chine’s back, even though he was on his hind legs.
The balrog had its claws around Chine’s neck and was trying to sever the dragon’s jugular. Alex tapped Chine’s head, hoping he was still reading her mind. Then she ran up the length of his neck, down his head, and sailed through the air, her scythe drawn, and brought her blade down in the middle of the balrog’s flaming skull.
It screamed in pain and backed away from the dragon, who took the opening and knocked it to the ground. Chine bit down hard on the monster’s neck and tore it open, then shot an inferno of ether fire into the wound, severing the balrog’s head from its neck.
Alex scampered back up Chine and pointed in the direction the mech riders had gone. “All right, everyone, move now! Leave the rest for Jollies!” Alex shouted.
Brath’s bemused voice came through the comm. “Wait, for Jollies?”
“You heard what I said! Now, move, move, move!”
Team Boundless and Alborn’s riders turned and sped toward the mechs.
Once Jollies was certain her friends were clear, she clenched her fists, and her dragon anchor glowed. Both her and Amber’s bodies began to vibrate. The vibrations were so intense, they were creating multiple images of Jollies and Amber. Then the images became solid.
The canyon was filled with hundreds of Jollies and Ambers, each of them crackling energy. They all attacked, hundreds of bodies firing lightning at anything that moved.
Smoke billowed from the canyon, and there was a massive boom, then thunder and a flash of lightning. Alex looked over her shoulder to see what was happening, but there was too much smoke for her to tell.
Then the pixie and her dragon flew out of the smoke. Jollies was giggling and scratching the back of Amber’s neck. “All done,” she said. “If they’re still alive, they won’t be coming for us anytime soon. I c
an promise you that.”
Alex air-high-fived Jollies. “Didn’t know you two were packing so much power,” she said, laughing.
“Big things come in small packages!”
The dragonriders sped through the canyon, leaving behind the screams and cries of the trolls and vrosks. They had a delivery to protect.
Chapter Nine
Alex and the rest of the dragonriders arrived at the rendezvous near sunset. She wasn’t sure how long they had been riding since they had all been busy recounting the battle to each other. Alborn was frankly impressed by Alex and the rest of Boundless.
After the battle, Alborn had received a message from the mech riders, detailing that they had arrived at the processing facility in one piece. They hadn’t come across any more of the Dark One’s forces on the way.
Alex’s gamble had paid off.
While they had been traveling to the rendezvous, Alborn had asked Alex to fly beside him so they could talk. “I’m sorry for back there,” the elf apologized. “I wasn’t expecting you to be nearly as capable as you were.”
Alex shrugged it off and smiled sincerely. “I can see where you were coming from,” she admitted. “I don’t know if I would have been too keen on trusting a rookie.”
“You don’t handle yourself like a rookie. That was some expert commanding I saw going on back there. Not a lot of people can get that much teamwork from a team on their first mission, let alone someone who hasn’t gone through the Nest’s training program. Like I said, impressive.”
Alborn and Alex talked more as they made their way to the facility. Alborn explained that leadership wasn’t something he had ever wanted, nor was it something he felt suited for. But his family had always been military, thus he was military. He said he wished he could have been a farmer instead.
Alex listened intently as Alborn spoke. She hadn’t thought about how the war had affected people who hadn’t wanted to pick up a sword to begin with. It was impressive that there were people like Alborn who had answered the call of duty, regardless of their own desires.
Once Alborn was finished, Alex returned to Team Boundless, listening to Brath and Jollies talking to each other. Brath was amazed by the last attack Jollies had performed and was trying to get the pixie to tell him how she had done it.
Jollies playfully refused, trying for as many compliments as she could get. That was when Brath admitted he had been having problems with Furi. Turned out, the gnome’s and the dragon’s personalities were too similar, both brash and angry. It made it hard to manage together.
Gill cut into Jollies’ and Brath’s conversation. “That’s why I keep saying you need to start meditating with me,” the drow said. “It would help you calm down. Give you some inner stability.”
Brath sighed and tried to ignore Gill, but he just reiterated his point, not taking no for an answer. “I’m sorry!” Brath finally exploded. “It’s just so boring. Who wants to sit in a forest for an hour with their eyes closed, concentrating on their breathing? I’m surprised you don’t go crazy.”
“Calm is something a warrior must embrace. It allows one to look at the battlefield coolly rather than being overwhelmed. Take Alex, for instance.”
Alex threw up her hands, trying to keep the conversation from turning to her. “Whoa, hold on there,” she interjected. “Don’t bring me into this.”
Gill gave Alex a quizzical look. “Why not? You were the definition of calmness today,” the drow said. “We were clearly outnumbered and didn’t have the support of our comrades, yet you took charge and led us to victory.”
Alex blushed as she tried to find words. “Okay, for one, I didn’t lead us to victory. We were all there, and we all did our part. Secondly, I was not calm. I was freaking out the entire time. Honestly, I’m surprised we’re still alive.”
“Exactly my point. Inwardly, you might have been tumultuous, but outwardly, you were in control.”
Jim shifted on his mech’s back and laughed. “Yeah, that’s how Alex always was in VR,” he added. “She never seemed stressed about any of the crazy stunts she was pulling. Made them look easy. Like today, when she went for the balrog’s head? I would never have had the guts to do that.”
Alex remained quiet, embarrassed by their praise. Chine’s voice cut into her head. Your friends respect you a lot, and so do the other dragons. It’s admirable, and you’ve earned it.
Alex scratched the back of Chine’s head behind his ears. You have too. You were amazing out there.
We were amazing.
When the dragonriders landed at the mineral processing plant, they were greeted by the mech riders who’d transported the materials and Commander Pinelt, the overseer of the facility. Pinelt brought them inside and led them to the dining hall, where they could have a meal.
The mech riders were extremely grateful for the support Boundless and Alborn had provided. They said they would mention it in their reports.
The dining hall wasn’t much different from the one at the Nest, although not nearly as magical. The dragonriders helped themselves to food from the buffet area and took their seats, ravenously eating in silence.
During the meal, Alex checked her messages to see what their next step was going to be. Their mission outline hadn’t included information on what to do once they had finished transporting the minerals. “Are we just supposed to wait here until someone gets in touch with us?” she asked Gill.
Gill put down his fork and pushed his plate away. “I’m not certain,” he admitted. “Probably something we should have figured out ahead of time.”
Alborn and the rest of his squad had left the dining hall some time ago. Alex rose from her chair and brushed her hair back from her face. “I’m going to go check with Alborn,” she told the team. “He probably has a better idea of what should happen next. I’ll catch up with you guys in a bit.”
Alex left the dining hall and wandered through the facility. She didn’t have the slightest clue where she was going but figured it couldn’t be any harder than finding her way in the Wasp’s Nest, and that was when she had mostly been blind.
As Alex walked around, she saw the different areas of the facility. It seemed to be more of a processing plant than a military base. There were glass walls everywhere, which allowed her to watch the weapon-making process. Giant machines were pounding the minerals.
Elvish mages in white coats walked between the machines, checking the integrity of the minerals.
Another section was an active firing range where dwarves tested energy weapons, firing at moving targets of trolls, giants, and griffons.
Alex walked past a mage who was dressed in white and carried a clipboard. “Excuse me,” Alex called. “I’m lost. You think you could help me?”
The mage looked up from his clipboard, not trying to mask his annoyance. “What are you looking for?” he snapped.
“I’m trying to find Alborn. I’m with the team of dragonriders that came with him. Team Boundless.”
The annoyance left the mage’s face, replaced by an eager smile. “Oh, you must be Alex Bound,” he gushed. “We’ve been hearing a lot about your team since you got in. Great work. Uh, I believe Alborn is debriefing with the commander in the War Room. Go straight and then left at the end of the hall.”
“Thanks,” Alex said as she took off. When she got to the end of the corridor, she turned left and walked into the War Room.
The War Room was a cluttered mess of computer terminals and holographic projections. There hardly seemed to be any room to stand in what amounted to a cramped office. Alborn and Pinelt were standing over a holographic map.
Pinelt pointed to a spot on the map and said, “This is where the skirmish is taking place. We don’t know when it broke out, but we’ve been trying to get ears on it for about three hours.”
Alborn twirled his spindly mustache as he thought. “Have you been in contact with Roy or Toppinir?”
“We lost contact with them at the same time as everyone else. We received a dis
tress call from Roy stating the Dark One was launching a massive attack, but he didn’t give any more details. He did say he and Toppinir were going to try to stop him.”
Alborn looked for a place to sit down, finally settling on a stack of boxes. “Are you saying those two went out there alone without any backup?”
“Something to that effect.”
Alex cleared her throat as she stepped into the room. “Uh, we could give him backup.”
Alborn jumped at the sound of Alex’s voice, while Pinelt let his eyes coolly fall on the girl. “I apologize. Were you informed about this debriefing?”
Alex suddenly felt very small. She remembered she was probably still just a kid in the eyes of these two. “No,” she said quietly. “I was looking for you two to see what you wanted Boundless to do since we finished our mission.”
Pinelt shut down the holographic map. “Just relax. You all had a grueling first mission. Wouldn’t want you to burn yourselves out.”
“But you said Roy and Toppinir don’t have any backup. We could provide it. You saw how well we—”
“Handled a few enemies. True, you performed wonderfully, but you’re all still rookies, and this isn’t a mission for rookies. Besides, Roy and Toppinir are our best riders. They can take care of themselves.”
Alex walked farther into the room, then stood up straight and squared her shoulders. “Excuse me, sir. Uh, sir, that’s right? Sir, if Roy and Toppinir are your best riders, don’t you think it would make sense to protect them? They’re valuable assets.”
Pinelt rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Do not wear your welcome thin, Ms. Bound. I will not be given orders by a child.”
Alborn rested his hand on Pinelt’s shoulder. “If I may—”
Pinelt shot Alborn a glance of pure malice. “What is it, Alborn?” he hissed.
“Alex showed incredible leadership skills earlier, and her team acted with unmatched heroism, teamwork, and skill. If we are looking—”
