Hope Engine

by Andrew Lynch

  A small smile cracked his lips further. ‘Good. Now, the siege has not been kind to us, but I have readied one hundred of my bravest men for you to command.

  ‘That shall be more than enough. You have clearly been a kind ruler, and your people shall miss you. But your people will live to be able to miss you.’

  His smile faded, not from lack of joy, but from lack of energy. ‘The enemy is ten thousand strong.’ And his final point of Life dropped away.

  I placed his hand gently by his side, and got to my feet. I kept my head bowed for a moment in reverie. I returned to my group, who had stayed by the closet, allowing the scene to play out.

  ‘We’re fucked,’ I whispered. ‘Let’s just go back.’

  A quest appeared in my log

  “Situation Quest: defend castle from attackers.”

  “Situation Bonus 1: raise villager spirits.”

  “Situation Bonus 2: uncover the true cause of this conflict.”

  Ixly smiled. ‘You’re thinking too linear. Strategy is exactly that. A puzzle. Rarely will brute force win you the day.’

  ‘They outnumber us one hundred to one. Can we just walk out and reset this?’

  ‘Twenty four hour wait on situations that are left before completion,’ Bri said.

  ‘Better than dying though, right? I don’t want to lose my Dirty Robes, and you guys… oooh, that’s why you took all your gear off. Right.’

  While I had been in Overseer mode, they had gone to “prepare for battle”. I hadn’t connected the dots until now. Bri was in a loose green robe, and Ixly a brown harness – both far less ornate and cool looking than what they’d been wearing around the village.

  Ixly put a hand on my shoulder. ‘As the leader of the group, the situation would be set to your level, so our base stats would be enough to let us fight without needing gear. Also, situations rarely have a single option to complete them. I’ve been dropped in to the gladiator pits of Saarkot, and managed to talk my way out. Well, in a manner.’

  ‘It’s true,’ said Bri. ‘I once spawned into a wolf den and was given only a knife to escape with. By the end of the dungeon, I had become the alpha of the pack, and not once had to hurt anything. Although I would have won in a fight, obviously.’

  ‘Let’s go see the units you’ll be commanding. Maybe that will change things,’ Ixly suggested. ‘Also, the bonus objectives are very important. They don’t have to be completed, of course, but sometimes they will give hints as to some of the alternate paths you can take.’

  ‘And, they almost always provide more experience than the main objective,’ Bri added before heading to the exit. ‘Which is exactly what we’re here for.’

  The spiral staircase down was predictably draughty, and almost too narrow for Ixly. I had feared a long, somewhat silly, amount of steps to reach the bottom, but luckily the budget cuts that had caused the general lack of credibility in the royal chamber, had spread to the size of the spire he could build. A single turn of the spiral, and we came out into the main hall. There was a small tapestry at the bottom of the stairs that, upon closer inspection, turned out to be a map of the facilities. We were in the main hall – stone, bare, and without light – there was a dining hall to the left, a receiving room to the right, and that was it. The size of all the rooms also showed the effect of the budget. The outside of the castle seemed to be a small village with a surrounding wall.

  Bri was the first one to comment. ‘It’s not a very good castle. I certainly wouldn’t live here.’

  I kicked one of the walls and a piece of stone chipped off. ‘It’s not the best, but it’s my first real quest.’

  Bri shrugged, and Ixly finally finished shuffling sideways down the staircase. ‘I agree with your assessment, but from what little we know of the late ruler, he loved his people. Perhaps he put all of his money towards his people’s benefit, and the castle was just for appearances.’

  I pointed at Ixly. ‘That sounds awfully possible. In fact, yes, Bri, I’m going with his idea. The streets are probably lined with gold, or something crazy like that. Maybe everyone lives like a king.’

  ‘We will see when we inspect the troops,’ she said.

  On the way past, I peered into the dining hall and the receiving room, and they were both empty. The giant doors at the end of the hall resisted my first push. Then my much firmer, shoulder barge.

  ‘Umm, what do we do?’

  Bri was inspecting the hinges to one side of the door. ‘Rusted shut.’

  ‘Start as you mean to go on,’ I muttered. ‘So, we need oil, probably from the dining hall. Right?’

  Bri nodded. ‘Certainly worth a try. If that fails, I could cast Intrepid Vines on the door.’

  ‘Intrepid Vines? I’m guessing it grows vines, right? How would that help? If anything, they’d be moist, which would just make the hinges worse, no?’

  ‘A large enough cast and the vines could probably break through the wood, and when it then recedes, we’d have a nice big hole to crawl through. Or, at the start of the spell, it will actually absorb any nearby fuel it can find, and it might take the iron oxide as just that.’

  I nodded. Maybe I would gain spells that could interact with objects in unusual ways. Maybe I already had them. Maybe my Shadowbolt would blow the hinge straight off – I knew it hurt people, but I had no idea what it did to anything other than flesh.

  In the middle of my musings about how to open the grand doors, a large white blur flew past me, and crashed into the wooden obstacle, letting light stream into the dim hall. Splinters flew away from Ixly’s impact, and narrowly missed what would have been a costly micro transaction to have all the pock-mark scars removed from my face.

  Bri stuck her head out. ‘Brute force is an option for the lesser thinker, of course.’ She stepped outside.

  I followed them through and stepped into a warm, sunny courtyard at midday. I shielded my eyes from the sun, and the first thing I noticed were the one hundred of the dead lord’s bravest arrayed before me. Ixly’s idea that the lord had spent all of his money on his villagers turned out not to be true, or at least not on their armaments. The face that I could even look at them was disappointing, I should have been blinded by their polished hauberks and gleaming spears. But those polished hauberks were mud covered tunics, and was there a gleaming spear in sight? Nope. Wooden pitchforks.

  Ixly was tapping a talon to his teeth. ‘The puzzle may be harder than originally expected.’

  I stepped forward to the top of the castle’s steps, the army ranged before me in a cobbled courtyard. Outside of the immediate area, I could see the roads became dusty tracks, paving being a rich man’s technology in this region. A few dozen houses made up the entire village.

  ‘The lord is dead!’ I announced.

  The crowd made a unified, dejected “aww”.

  ‘Worry not. We are the regent’s finest generals, and we will save your village.’

  A portly man with a cape raised his hand. ‘Lieutenant Harker, here. Are you considering retreat? Surrender?’

  I tightened my fist in a show of passion for their cause. ‘Never retreat! Never surrender! The enemy shall grind themselves against the diamond that is… where are we?’

  ‘Farland Bridge,’ the Lieutenant said.

  ‘The diamond that is Farland Bridge, and their resolve shall wither beneath your bravery!’

  ‘The thing is, though, we don’t want to die. Can we surrender?’

  That took the wind out of my sails. I’d put on that little “heroic commander” show for nothing. I checked the main objective “Defend castle from attackers”. I glanced back at Bri and Ixly who both shook their head.

  ‘That doesn’t work for us, no. But, as we are the best of the best, losses shall be minimal.’

  ‘No you’re not,’ someone in the crowd muttered.

  ‘Who said that?’ I asked.

  ‘You’re only level four. Do you even know how to control us as a unit?’ another person shouted.

 
NPCs knowing reality was seriously hindering my role playing ability.

  ‘That is true, but… I… have two friends boosting me.’

  Another unseeable person in the crowd chimed in. ‘They would only actually help in a fight. You may as well all be level one.’

  The lieutenant turned back to his men and held up his hand for silence. ‘Let’s keep the dissent behind their backs.’ He returned to face me. ‘They’re right, though. Unless these two can fight ten thousand, their levels don’t matter.’

  I held up a finger asking the army to wait a moment, and ushered Bri and Ixly closer for a team huddle.

  ‘Guys, what the hell do I do?’

  ‘Nothing has changed,’ Bri said. ‘Gather information, figure out the puzzle. This speech here is just laying the groundwork for the bonus objective to raise the villager’s spirits. Just remember, they can see everything about you a player can.’

  A large, scaled hand engulfed my shoulder. ‘She’s right. You tried a bluff, but they used facts against you. A common problem, and without being a sociopath, not something you can fight. You can’t be someone else with them, you have to be yourself. Be genuine. But positive, of course.’

  I nodded. ‘Sounds like a terrible idea, but okay.’

  I turned back to the army. ‘Okay, I’m not an experienced general. I don’t know how to control you as a unit. I’m pretty sure I could figure it out, but I haven’t done it before, no. But, I do want to save your village. What I lack in experience, I make up for with enthusiasm and passion.’

  Ixly whispered in my ear ‘This isn’t a CV, less cliche.’

  ‘You have my word that I will do everything I can to stop the enemy army. I don’t know what that is just yet, but I’m going to dedicate myself to you. I am your servant.’

  The army shuffled around and mumbled a bit, but no one spoke out.

  The Lieutenant stepped forward to the bottom of the steps. ‘An experienced general would have been preferred, but you seem a decent sort. I’d rather die in the company of good men, than live a long life surrounded by a bunch of cu–’

  Just before he finished talking, an arrow arched down from the sky, pierced his heart, and pinned him to the ground – I did an admirable job of merely flinching, and didn’t run for cover at all. His Life immediately dropped to zero. The crowd groaned and I heard a few mutters of “Not again”. There was a note attached to the arrow.

  I checked the sky for any more falling arrows, and seeing the coast was clear, headed down the steps and retrieved the note.

  “Surrender and you won’t be harmed. You fall at dawn”.

  Bri and Ixly had followed me down and read the note over my shoulder.

  In a whisper, I asked, ‘Can we surrender? I mean, the castle would be intact, so that’s kind of defending it, no?’

  ‘No,’ Bri answered. ‘When you surrender, the ownership of the castle will change to the opposing player, and it will count as defeated and lost to the current player.’

  Putting aside the ethics of potentially getting all these NPCs, who continued to act more and more like sentient lifeforms, killed just for an awesome experience boost, I turned back to the crowd and read the letter aloud.

  Chapter 21: All About The Woods

  The three of us stood on top of the battlements, staring out over the enemy army.

  ‘When I said be genuine with them, I didn’t mean forget all tact,’ Ixly said, his tail swishing lightly.

  ‘He’s right. That was a terrible decision,’ Bri agreed.

  ‘In my defence, they had no chance against this.’ I swung my hand out, taking in the enemy army. Ten thousand well armed and armoured soldiers, all in neat blocks of regiments and companies.

  ‘That hardly matters. The bonus objectives can complete even if the main one fails. You’ve got to think of the experience, Severo.’

  When I’d read the note to the army, ninety eight had decided it was too much, and had all gained the debuff “cowering”. We had been left with one man, who had wanted to run, but had too much of a limp. His name was Garrick, and he was rather annoying to talk to.

  ‘Do you notice anything strange about the enemy?’ I asked Bri.

  Bri and Ixly squinted, as if that would change what they could see after twenty minutes of standing here. Ixly grunted a negative in my ear, and Bri answered. ‘I believe so, yes. What is it you see?’

  I rolled my eyes. ‘Nothing. They’re too far away to see any real detail, but ten thousand men is ten thousand men. No deviation at all in their ranks. No chink in their armour. What about the landscape?’

  We all looked around, again. The enemy was at the end of a few kilometres of farm land that had been used to sustain this castle. Completely flat. Behind us the terrain was a bit more interesting. The entire castle was precariously placed on the edge of a cliff, and we looked out over a massive bridge – the kind constructed to allow an army to travel safely – that connected our land mass to another.

  ‘There aren’t even trees to hide a small ambushing force,’ Bri said.

  ‘Or hills,’ Ixly added. ‘No matter how you look at it, we are completely exposed.’

  ‘Okay, let’s recap. The main objective seems–’ I held up a hand to stop the arguing. ‘Seems to be unachieveable. The bonus objective to raise their spirits failed miserably. So the only thing left to do is discover what this war is about, right?’

  They both nodded.

  ‘Let’s try and talk to him again.’

  We looked at the lone figure, sitting at the foot of the castle walls. We took the steps down the battlements, followed the dusty path, and ambled over the cobbled market square.

  ‘Hello Garrick!’

  He looked up at shielded his eyes from the sun. He was puffing on a pipe. ‘Hello young’un. Like the army out theres, didya?’

  ‘Not really, no. Do you mind if I ask a few questions about this place?’

  ‘I’ve seen armies before, you know? Not as big as that ones, mayhaps, but just as fines. Now, back in my days, it was common to use woods fer yer weapon. Metals was needed for other things…’

  He continued rambling for several more minutes.

  ‘Am I allowed to interrupt him, or is this scripted dialogue? What’s up?’

  ‘There’s no such thing as scripted dialogue in Tulgatha,’ Ixly said.

  ‘And if you don’t interrupt him now, I damn well will,’ Bri muttered.

  ‘Garrick! Thank you for that run down of metalsmithing forty years ago. And the onion harvest of your sixth summer. Very informative. But about now.’

  ‘Nows? Not as good as thens. Always the case, that much I can tells you for sure.’

  ‘Indeed. But, do you know why that army is attacking this castle?’

  ‘Oh, sures. It’s a simple matter, really, not much to tells.’

  I nodded, expectantly. After a few seconds I had to prod him. ‘And what is that simple matter?’

  ‘Ain’t it obvious? It’s wars!’

  ‘Yes, but why?’

  He scratched his chin. ‘A big questions, but I suppose I got the time to answers. Ya see–’

  ‘No, Garrick, not why do any wars happen, why is this war happening?’

  ‘Oh, right. Because of the simple reason, as I said.’

  Bri turned away and began pacing.

  ‘And that simple reason is…?’

  ‘Most likely it’s the woods, ya see. They be wanting the woods, and they don’t be wanting us to have the woods insteads of them.’

  ‘It’s a land grab, then? That doesn’t help us at all, because the only way around that is to surrender our land. Which counts as defeat.’

  ‘Not lands. Woods, boy, listens.’

  ‘Yes, Garrick, they want the woods. The woods that are so far away I couldn’t even see them. Did you guys?’

  Bri and Ixly both shook their heads.

  ‘Nothing but farmland and a huge bridge carved out from the cliffs themselves,’ Ixly said.

  Despite
their cowering, I could see several villagers sticking their heads out of the hole Ixly had made in the castle doors, watching our exchange. Perhaps their spirits could still be raised.

  We gave up on Garrick for the time being. Ixly and I began pacing alongside Bri, walking circuits of the market square.

  ‘We know one thing for sure,’ I began. ‘This war isn’t really about woods, otherwise I’d have completed the objective.’

  ‘Exercise stimulates thought,’ Ixly said as we walked around a cart of hay.

  ‘Question for you guys. Why didn’t you just take over my village? I mean, you were strong enough, right?’

  ‘Of course I was,’ Bri said, not really paying attention to the question. ‘But killing such a low level player and taking their village wouldn’t advance my rankings, wouldn’t prove anything. The only thing it could have done, would be to signal to higher level players that I killed someone in their tutorial levels. Not something you want people to know.’

  ‘And your construct made it very clear that it would be a bad thing to try while she was around,’ Ixly said.

  Angie. I wondered what she was doing now. Off to rally people to her cause, they’d said.

  ‘Right. We couldn’t play that angle here, could we? Tell the enemy I’m a newbie, so please don’t invade?’

  ‘No stigma for NPCs,’ Bri said. ‘If anyone knows anything about woods, it’s me, but I don’t feel any wood around here.’

  ‘Follow up question. Are you going to kill me when I hit level ten?’

  They both froze for a beat. ‘No,’ they said together.

  ‘I hate to be pessimistic here, but why not?’

  Ixly spoke this time. ‘You must stop thinking of this as just a game. For some, it’s a life. The same social consequences govern this world as the real one. Yes, you would resurrect here, so it’s not as bad, but killing a player and taking their land is considered very poor form.’

  ‘Unless they’ve flagged themselves for it, of course,’ Bri said. ‘Then they’re open game for all. Anyone with the Lawbreaker tag won’t incur penalties if you kill them. Sometimes they get that tag by actually breaking the law, or by killing untagged players, but typically they will have done it on purpose.’