She needed new ideas, new stratagems, to overcome the challenge. In her gut she knew she wasn't pushing hard enough. The Bravebear clan needed new ideas, creative and deadly, to win.
She wouldn't be able to devise any new ones for the clan battle against the Rivertwins, but afterwards, she'd work harder. To be the best it was going to take every ounce of her blood, sweat, and soul.
She hoped it would be enough.
Chapter Nineteen
The first battle of the morning began as a storm of gray clouds moved south, leaving the sky a canvas of shattered light. The nervous smiles from her clanmates warmed her heart. The training and regular battles had given them confidence, where before these events had been resigned slaughter.
Alex set Blaze and his team against the Rivertwins' first group. The wet ozone smell from the nearby storms refreshed Alex, but Blaze looked like he was going to be sick.
"Stick to the plan and you'll be fine," said Alex.
His forehead was matted with sweaty hair. "And if it doesn't go to plan?"
"Then the rest of the clan will have your back. We don't have to win every match, just three of them," said Alex.
Blaze's mouth twitched to the side. When he finally worked up the courage to speak, his words made Alex's face tingle.
"I just don't want to, you know, let you down," said Blaze, tugging at the waist of his azure robes.
Alex met his gaze and gave him a knowing nod. "The match is about to start."
As if he'd forgotten where he was, Blaze startled and ran back into the circle.
"Blaze would walk through fire for you," said Sophia.
"Well that wouldn't..." Alex caught Sophia's smirk. "Nicely done."
When the match started, the Rivertwins' team spread apart and advanced on Blaze's side with sword and shields. Like last time, Blaze's teammates had been instructed to corral the enemy into a knot so Blaze could turn them into ash, but clearly they knew what was to come.
Without a clear strategy, Blaze fired flaming bolts at the enemy team, but they deflected them with their shields. Combat devolved into mini-skirmishes with Blaze running around the outside trying to affect the Rivertwins' warriors, but they were higher level and adept at blocking his salvos with their shields.
He glanced back, face wracked with confusion about what to do next. He motioned towards a pair, making hugging motions as if to ask if he should unleash his ability on them. Alex shook her head. Doing that would waste his faez pool and do nothing for the odds. Clearly she had to do more than give her team tactics, she had to teach them to improvise on their own when plans fell apart.
"To the Abyss with Tormane," said Alex to Sophia when Blaze's team lost their match. "He told them about Blaze. I knew this would happen, but not so quickly."
"His hatred knows no bounds," said Sophia with a sigh. She held out the battle bag. "Which team are we sending in next?"
Alex examined the Rivertwins' side, looking for the twitchiest warriors. If she could get an idea of who might fight, she could counter them with the right team. It was another thing she had to work on. She needed a way to know how the other clans were fighting.
She was about to throw the Nayiri and Mancalf team stones into the bag when she noticed a group of well-armored warriors loosening up, as if they were readying for their match.
"Give me those stones," said Alex, motioning towards a group of stones on the edge of the tray.
"But that's our weakest team," said Sophia. "They'll get slaughtered, and we'll be down two games with no room for another loss."
"Just put them in there," said Alex. "If you can tell me during the fight why I did that, I'll level up Umber with the CPs from these battles."
The offer focused Sophia on the battle circle as the teams were revealed. As her low-ranked team entered against the well-equipped Rivertwins' team, the shoulders of her clan deflated in anticipation of the loss.
As the match started, it was apparent how outclassed her warriors were against the other side. She didn't need to analyze them to know they were at a much higher skill level.
Next to her, Sophia was mumbling her theories, until the moment only two of their fighters were left in the circle.
"I got it," she said, eyes alight. "You didn't want to waste a good team versus their best. So you gave them our poorest team, ensuring that we'd have a better shot in the following matches."
"If you've won the first match, winning the second is pivotal, so they put their best in the circle," said Alex.
"That was brilliant," said Sophia, cheeks rosy with the glow of adoration.
You have gained a unique skill p*oint: +1 Leadership
"Not really since we're still down two matches to none. You can call me brilliant if we pull out the win. But either way, I'll level up Umber so we can start on new weapons as soon as we get more ore," she said.
"Who's next?" asked Sophia.
Alex glanced over her shoulder to gauge the mood of her clan. The two losses had demoralized them. She needed to get them pumped up so they'd fight at their best.
She reached over and dropped her stone, along with the four shield warriors she'd been working with, into the bag. She made a show of getting ready so Bythelia would send her next best team into the circle.
Gathering her team around her, Alex handed them the strips of leather. They wore expressions of nervous pride. She could see they wanted to live up to her example, but were afraid of letting her down. The taut line of anguish pulling on their features was so realistic that Alex found it hard to imagine that an AI, no matter how complex, could create them.
"This fight is going to go as we practiced, except I want you to wrap these around the handles of your shields," she said.
She received a number of confused stares, but they complied with her request.
As they took to the battle circle, a wave of energy passed through her. She twirled the whip by her leg, letting it writhe in the dust like a spinning snake.
Her teammates arrayed themselves on their side of the circle in a line, holding their short swords passively while gripping their metal shields as if they were about to charge.
Alex hoped their unconscious reactions weren't going to give away the plan, but she realized that was unlikely. The other team, a mix of four fighters—various weapons—and a healer, wore their confidence like a crown.
When the battle started, Alex ran forward, stopping right behind her shield warriors to draw the enemy team forward. The two sides clashed in the center, the Rivertwins' team clearly the better with their heavy shield smashes.
The four shield warriors had formed a loose line, but when she called out, "Retreat hard now!" two things happened.
The first was that the other team momentarily froze. The call for a retreat had been antithetical to what they'd been expecting. The second was that her warriors, rather than move away, surged forward, ignoring the weapon strikes and sliding their shields together in an interlocking wall. Then they curled around in a pinching formation to ram the enemy fighters together.
This maneuver in itself didn't accomplish much in the way of damage, especially since her warriors hadn't even lifted a weapon yet.
But it did provide a wonderful conduit for her Cloud Taunts.
As fast as she could, Alex fired her spells into the shields, which transferred their electrical shocks into the other team, while her side was protected by the leather wrappings. The sudden shift in tactics threw them into confusion, and before they could recover and break free of the electrified shield wall, they'd lost seventy percent of their health and were inflicted with a painful DoT.
While her warriors finished off a demoralized enemy team, Alex shifted to the healer, keeping her busy dodging whip attacks.
When the fight finished, they'd defeated the Rivertwins' second best team without taking more than a few percent of damage.
Clan Bravebear has won the match!
Quest Progress: Win the clan battle with Rivertwins – 1 win
>
You have gained conquest points: 23 CP
You have gained experience points: 1,000 XP
You have won a flawless victory!
You have gained conquest points: 100 CP
You have gained a unique skill point: +1 Cunning Strategist
You have gained a skill point: +1 Cloud Taunt
While the rest of her team returned to the clan to backslaps and hearty congratulations, Alex went straight to Sophia.
"One down, two to go," said Alex.
"Who's next?" asked Sophia.
"I'll let you decide," said Alex.
This news seemed to unnerve Sophia, who shifted in place. "Are you sure? I don't think I could do as well as you."
"Who knows, you might do better," said Alex. "I need everyone to be thinking strategically, and there's no better time than in the middle of a clan battle."
Sophia nodded as she rubbed her chin. "Well, we've only won one so far. We have the Nayiri and Mancalf team and then the double healer team. The first is better against ranged teams, while the second is better against melee."
"And who do you think they'll send?" asked Alex, who'd been watching the other side already.
Sophia squinted, lips flat with intensity. "I see two sets of teams getting ready, one looks like a mix of casters and a tank, while the other is a mixed melee. Either way, they'll both fight soon."
"Then you'll have to deduce what Bythelia will do," said Alex.
"We've already shown that we can be deceptive, so they will anticipate the trickier team first and send their mixed melee, so we should send our double healer team instead," said Sophia.
"Sounds like solid reasoning," said Alex.
"But what if I'm wrong?" asked Sophia.
"Then I'll have to have you burned at the stake for poor witchery," said Alex.
Sophia's surprised reaction quickly turned to laughter. "You're messing with me."
"Of course," said Alex. "Send your team in, let's battle."
The Bravebear team consisted of two healers plus Andreque the Bold, Atticus Laine, and Sophia Lionheart. Those three were Bravebear's best individual fighters with high DPS, though they lacked strategic guile, which was why Alex had placed two healers with them to leverage their one-on-one combat.
As Sophia had anticipated, the Rivertwins sent their mixed melee group. The combat was furious, with the other side trying to get at the healers, but the three warriors had positioned themselves in a triangle, preventing disruptive attacks.
While Sophia's team took enough damage to kill each warrior three times, Alex's won without a single loss.
Clan Bravebear has won the match!
Quest Progress: Win the clan battle with Rivertwins – 2 wins
You have gained conquest points: 24 CP
When Sophia returned to the edge of the circle, Alex spoke in a loud voice so her whole clan could hear.
"That was an excellent strategic decision on which team to send," said Alex.
You have gained a unique skill point: +1 Leadership
Sophia expanded with pride, chin raised.
Next it was Alex's turn to be nervous as Nayiri entered the battle circle. The diminutive girl, Mancalf, two ranged, and a tank formed a formidable team. The other side had a similar makeup with a single tank protecting a group of ranged, two casters, and two archers.
When the battle began, the two sides traded salvos, but the Bravebears got the better of it because Mancalf knocked two arrows from the air with lightning quick slaps. But his fast hands couldn't do anything for the streaking ice balls that hit Nayiri in rapid succession as her first two daggers left her hands.
Alex cringed as the other team focused fire on Nayiri, who could barely get into battle since she kept getting pummeled by spheres of ice and arrows.
Within the first twenty seconds, Nayiri went down, but their over focus on her had let Mancalf and the two ranged pick apart the mages. Once they were down, the two archers went next, and before long the fight was over.
Clan Bravebear has won the match!
Quest Progress: Win the clan battle with Rivertwins – 3 wins
You have gained conquest points: 19 CP
Quest Completed: Win the clan battle with Rivertwins
You have gained conquest points: 700 CP
You have gained experience: 3,000 XP
+120 Renown for Bravebear Clan
The clan cheered with victory, weapons raised above their heads. They congratulated Alex, but she deflected as much as she could to Sophia. She had no interest in letting the clan become a cult of personality, and she needed her underlings to shoulder more of the burden as the clan grew.
As everyone crowded around, Alex stepped back, taking a breather. The Rivertwins were heading back to their camp, heads down.
To the east, the storms had dissipated, leaving pale sky over the plains. The sun had begun its slow descent towards the horizon, which would bring out the wealth of stars. It was one of the things she loved about the world of Gamemakers Online. The night skies were better than anything she'd seen in her world because there was no light pollution.
Thoughts about the real world surfaced a memory that had been buried beneath her strategic considerations.
"The specialist," she said, quickly calculating that she was two days late for her appointment. The days on the Warsong Plains passed quickly, and she'd lost track that it was early November in her world.
Alex hurried back through the crowd, finding Sophia and Nayiri. They both reacted to her distress.
"What's wrong?" they asked in unison.
"I have to go," she said. "A few days at most. You two are going to have to run the clan without me."
"What? How? I don't know anything about being a battleleader," said Sophia.
"Neither did I, but you'll figure it out," said Alex.
"What if another clan shows up?" asked Nayiri.
"Then you battle," said Alex with a shrug. "And if anyone asks where I went, tell them I went in search of great magics that will help us in the battle circle."
They didn't seem to understand but nodded their heads.
Alex pulled Nayiri towards her, running her hand through her short black hair.
"Do you really have to leave? I was hoping to celebrate the win with you," said Nayiri, the corners of her lips turning down.
"I do, but I'll be back. Don't worry," she said.
The look on Nayiri's face suggested that would happen regardless.
After a kiss suitable for a short farewell, Alex headed to her hut and logged out.
Chapter Twenty
The specialist lived on the west side of the eighth ward in a mixed neighborhood of commercial and apartment buildings. It was the first time Alex had been in the city by herself, and it'd taken longer than she would have liked to navigate the trains because she had a raging headache.
She assumed it was the alchemical medicine she'd taken, because the stabbing pain in the back of her head hit as she left Gamemakers Hall.
The crisp autumnal air refreshed Alex and took the worst of the bite from her headache, but she didn't get to enjoy the way the low clouds had caught on the top of the Spire forming a halo around the megastructure because looking into the sky brought eye-clenching pain.
By the time she found the address, a light sweat had formed on her brow and she found it hard to swallow.
To her surprise, Dr. Althud's practice was beneath an apartment building. She hobbled down concrete stairs to a blue door with a bronze plaque that read:
Dr. Darien Althud
MD, PhD, PPA
General Healer
Alex hadn't been to very many doctors, as her mom couldn't afford the health insurance, but placing credentials on the street level seemed strange to her.
She checked the sheet of paper that Dr. Fairlight had given to her, rereading the double underlined section at the bottom.
Don't let him touch you.
"What kind of doctor is he?" she asked al
oud.
If it weren't for the reputation of Golden Willow, she wouldn't have come given instructions like that, but she'd been warned things would only get tougher.
After rapping her knuckles against the door, Alex waited for an eternity until a voice crackled over a speaker above her head.
"May I help you?" asked the soft voice of who she assumed was the doctor.
"My name is Alexandria Duke. I'm sorry, I'm late for my appointment by a couple of days. I've been...out of the country," she said.
"Oh. Just a moment."
After a couple of minutes, in which Alex wiped the sweat from her forehead twice, the door opened, revealing a robed figure wearing a mask.
"Good morning, Alexandria," said Dr. Althud, inclining his head as he gestured for her to enter.
Alex felt guilty for the hitch in her step as she had the momentary desire to flee rather than enter. His white robes, edged with black, completely covered his body, and the hood was fronted with what looked like a fencing mask. Even his hands were covered in gloves, suggesting that the warning on the bottom of the script was a warning that went both ways.
Dr. Althud led her through a darkened maze of a hallway that turned three times. On the way she glanced through an open door into a room filled with strange art pieces on pedestals. The geometry of them reminded her of MC Escher.
The examination room was like a normal doctor's room, complete with the crinkly paper on the table and the plastic sharps disposal box on the wall. Plaques showcased his various degrees from places like John Hopkins and Stanford. She flinched when her gaze fell upon one that read "Practitioner of the Psychometric Arts, Miskatonic University."
Dr. Althud rotated his body, following the line of her gaze. A warm chuckle emanated from behind the mask.
"That one is a joke certificate from my colleagues at John Hopkins," he said, clasping his hands in front. "How are we feeling today, Alexandria?"
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