This news softened their expressions.
"That real?" asked Doug.
"As real as it is right now, but with stats and character overlays," said Alex.
Andre leaned on the bat. "Makes me kinda wish I'd taken him up on the offer."
"Tell me, how many people do you see coming and going?" she asked.
"Not many, really. You, that redheaded girl, a few others," said Andre.
"See. Everyone is in the game. There's little time for anything else." Alex paused. "What did he offer as a reward for playing?"
"We don't know since he said we'd have to sign a nondisclosure first," said Andre.
"Look," said Alex, "I promise you nothing weird is going on. It's a game. A really difficult and immersive one, but a game nonetheless. But I'll promise you this. The next time I see Professor Marzio, I'll ask him about your friends. Or maybe I'll run into them in game."
Andre pulled out a piece of paper and a pen from a back pocket and wrote down a number, which he gave to Alex. "If you find out about them, call me. When we're not here watching the Hall, we're usually at Freeport Games."
She put the paper in her front pocket. "Next time I get out, I'll give you a call, even if it's to say I haven't learned anything, but it'll be a while. I've got a lot to do."
"Thanks...thanks for stopping," said Andre.
"Glad I can help clear things up," said Alex, taking a step towards the hall, forcing Miranda to move out of her way.
"Good luck in the game," said Doug cheerily, receiving a punch from Miranda for it.
As she pushed through the threshold of Gamemakers Hall, Alex tried to make sense of the new information. While she believed that it was likely nothing weird was going on, it wasn't like she had proof that the opposite wasn't true.
Deciding she could spare a few extra minutes outside of the game, Alex checked on Professor Marzio's office only to find he wasn't there, or at least wasn't answering.
Alex returned to the obsidian cube that would lead her back into Gamemakers Online. After settling down on a pile of pillows, she placed her hand on the cool stone and let the faez flow...
Chapter Twenty-Two
As soon as Alex returned to Bravebear camp she knew something was wrong.
It had a thinner feeling as if the vibrance of the place had been stolen away. She dug her chipped fingernails into her palms. Two weeks had passed in the game, which meant anything could have happened.
Most of all, she noticed the silence. When she'd left, steel slamming together rang through the air like wedding bells. Now, she heard a few grunts from the other side of the tents, but no large-scale battles.
Checking the sun's location, she determined it was afternoon. The team should have been battling against each other.
Alex jogged to the practice grounds to find Mancalf slapping a stuffed canvas bag. Sweat dripped from his chin. He was in the middle of a forehand slap when he saw her.
"Alex!" he said, eyes wide as he ran up to her. "I knew you'd come back."
"Which suggests others did not," said Alex, her lips flat with worry.
Mancalf used the inside of his arm to wipe the sweat from his face.
"I'm sorry, it's been rough since you left," said Mancalf.
"What happened?" asked Alex.
"When Huntress showed up for a clan battle, we fought and lost. The Fighting Serpents came next. They refused to battle us without a battleleader, and eventually convinced some of the members to leave," said Mancalf.
Alex put a hand to her forehead and massaged the tension building in her temples. She almost hated to ask but she needed to know the damage.
"How many?"
"Ten left, including Atticus Laine and Andreque the Bold. We probably would have lost more had it not been for the clan battle with Rivertwins. Everyone was hopeful that you'd come back soon, but that hope left us a few days ago. No one has been training since," said Mancalf.
"I didn't mean to be gone that long," said Alex, "but there's nothing we can do about that now. Where's Sophia or Nayiri?"
"Probably in the longhouse," said Mancalf.
When they entered the structure, she had to blink hard to get her eyes to adjust. The fires had burned to low coals.
Before she could see who was in the longhouse, she heard a voice from the other side.
"She's back!" said Sophia, running up. "We thought...we were worried that..."
Tears glistened in the fierce warrior's eyes.
"No need to worry, I'm back now. Mancalf has been explaining the damage. Losing Atticus and Andreque is a big loss, but we'll recover," said Alex.
Sophia glanced to Mancalf, the corners of her lips creasing downward.
"What?" asked Alex, sensing there was more bad news.
Mancalf held his hands up. "I didn't want to have to tell her everything."
Sophia's shoulders dipped before she forcibly straightened them.
"Umber Redhold left the clan to join the Fighting Serpents. He took his gear and most of the weapons with him. The only things left are the beat-up pieces of junk that we spar with," she explained.
Alex wandered over to the fire and plopped down on a bench, putting her face in her hands. After allowing herself a minute of self-pity, she sat back up and checked the clan morale. It was down to Awful, which meant they were getting hit with a -30% penalty.
"Do you have any good news for me?" she asked.
The shared expression from Mancalf and Sophia gave her the answer. She was about to get up to look for Nayiri when she burst through the hide covering with a darkly clothed figure behind her.
"Hey, look who's back," said Nayiri, gesturing towards Sorrow, before finally noticing Alex. Her face went through contortions. Alex caught excitement, but also concern.
"I thought you'd left me," whispered Nayiri.
"I'm sorry, to all of you. I didn't mean to be gone that long," Alex said as she stood. "An unexpected problem sidelined me from returning, but now I'm back."
Nayiri approached, but stayed a comfortable distance away.
"I'm sorry, Sorrow. You deserve a better homecoming than this," said Alex, appraising him in the dim light. "But you look good, the travel must suit you."
On the surface, he looked the same—wild black hair, smudged eye color, an outfit straight out of the goth handbook—but he seemed less twitchy than before as if the travel had worn off the rough edges.
"Oh yes, fearless Battleleader, I'm wholly suited to dragging these poor, tortured feet across the plains, which I might add are the opposite of flat, but I suppose that the Hills of Warsong aren't as sexy, but whatever," he said, flipping his hand into the air.
"Or I guess you could just be tired, but either way, good to have you back," said Alex. "How are the other clans?"
"Wonderful. I've made friends and enemies across the plains, but there's no need to ask me, you'll find out soon enough. Once I convinced a few of them to come, the rest were moving this way before I even reached them. They're all coming here to battle," said Sorrow.
"What? They're all coming here?" asked Alex.
Sorrow scrunched up his mouth. "I recall that was your request. Have them lined up as far as the eye can see. Or was it opposite day when you gave me that instruction?"
Alex leaned her head back. "No. No. You've done great. It's just we've had some complications since you left."
"She abandoned us for two weeks and half the clan left," said Mancalf.
"I didn't abandon," said Alex. "I was indisposed, but whatever, none of that matters now because we're going to fight them."
"With what?" asked Sophia. "Between the crappy weapons and the basement-level morale, our damage will be halved."
Alex paced away, before coming straight back to Sorrow. Before she could open her mouth, he said, "No. Nope. No way. I'd rather swim in a latrine than enter the circle again. And you promised me."
She nodded. "You're right. I won't ask you. But I've got to figure something out."
&nbs
p; "We need a blacksmith is what we need," said Nayiri, holding up a nicked dagger. "These fly through the air like an epileptic pig."
"Wait a second," said Alex, putting her hands to her mouth. "I know a blacksmith, well, maybe not a blacksmith, but I know how to get better weapons. I don't know why I didn't think of this before."
They shared glances, before resting their gazes on her as if they'd thought she'd gone mad.
"I know the best possible weapon maker in the realms," said Alex.
Nayiri tilted her head. "Who?"
Alex let a broad smile break across her face.
"Me."
Chapter Twenty-Three
It was a miracle the rope she'd used to descend the cliff on the Warped Forest side remained where she'd left it. She thought it might have fallen off or rotted, but there it lay against the rough stone, nestled between patches of wall-climbing ivy.
"We're going up there?" asked Blaze, pointing a finger upward while arching his eyebrows.
"We are," she said, craning her neck while protecting her eyes from the bright sunlight.
"But we could die up there," said Blaze.
Her stomach tightened. She didn't know how death worked for NPCs outside of the Plains of Warsong.
"There shouldn't be an issue with this many of us," said Alex.
She'd taken over half the clan with her, figuring the chance to increase their skills would be worth it. And the numbers would ensure that no one would die. It'd been a surprise to her that she could invite all fourteen clan members into a group, but maybe that was a benefit of being the battleleader.
As she checked back with them, she was surprised by the flat expressions, the hunched foreheads.
"Come on, live a little," said Alex. "You die every day."
"We're defeated, we don't die," said Sophia, uncharacteristic worry in her gaze.
"Well I'm going up," said Alex, putting her hands around the first knot on the rope. "If you want to help the clan win in the battle circle, you'll follow, but I'm not waiting anymore."
Before she could pull herself up the first knot, Nayiri said, "I'm not going. I can't go."
Her arms were crossed. She looked on the verge of tears.
"You don't have to go if you don't want to," said Alex, though she was disappointed. They'd barely talked since she'd returned to the clan. There'd been a latent tension between them in the weeks before, but being gone had widened that gulf.
Alex's heart sagged when Nayiri crossed the meandering stream to return to the Plains of Warsong.
"Anyone else?" asked Alex.
No one moved, so she began climbing. After an hour, everyone reached the verdant forest...except it wasn't as green and vibrant as she remembered. Alex pulled out her whip, pushing through the undergrowth, with the others following closely behind.
She'd conjured them a pile of nets, so everyone had a net thrown over their shoulder in addition to their weapon, which made traveling through the thick forest a challenge as everyone's nets kept getting hung up on leafy branches.
After a hundred meters, the foliage thinned out and the soil became sandier. Alex dug into the ground with the toe of her sandal, bringing up pale sand mixed with the loamy soil.
As she set off to move again, the forest ahead exploded, trees upending with roots flinging in all directions. A dark, massive figure climbed from the earth, vaguely humanoid, but certainly dangerous.
Basaltanage, Warped Elemental, Level 15
Her fellow gladiators recoiled at the rocky beast's approach, but Alex stepped in the way, snapping her whip across the black orbs that suggested eyes on the elemental's head. She barely had time to consider the change from warped animal to warped elemental, as the elemental raised its fist to smash her.
The Whip Tricks briefly mesmerized the elemental, enough that her band of gladiators could throw their nets over the creature. If it'd only been one or two nets, the Basaltanage would have broken through, but with ten of them draped over the stone-made creature, it couldn't move.
"It's a Shambling Blanket Mound," said Alex, quirking a grin, but receiving nothing but blank stares. "What? Nobody else got that?" She sighed. "Hold this thing still while I do my work."
After analyzing the Basaltanage with faez to determine the nodes, Alex pointed towards the sandals on Mancalf's feet.
"Hand me those," she said.
"What are you doing?" he asked as he pulled them off one at a time, throwing them next to Alex as the mound of nets quivered. The other gladiators rocked back and forth as the elemental tried to break free, but there were too many of them compared to the single creature.
Alex ignored Mancalf and got right to work. It'd been some time since she'd cast the Transference spell, but as she worked, she fell into the familiar rhythms. When she finished the spell, she was rewarded with a bright flash of light.
You have received: Earthheart Sandals
You have gained a skill point: +1 Devious Device
The pile of nets collapsed without an elemental holding them up, which brought the clan towards her to see what she had wrought.
"Sweet," said Blaze, leaning over her shoulder to examine the pair of thick black sandals in her hands. "What do they do?"
Item: Earthheart Sandals
AC: 15 ׀ 75/75 Durability
Activated Effect: Immovable Object.
When triggered, wearer cannot be moved from their spot for one minute.
Special Attribute: Creates double gravity effect in a 15-foot radius that only affects enemies
For your ton-of-fun friends
"Whoa," said Blaze, "that's crazy."
Alex threw them to Mancalf. "Congrats. Here's your first magical item."
Mancalf hugged them to his tanned chest, eyes watering with excitement. "Thank you, Alex."
"May you hug them and squeeze them, but please don't call them George," she said.
"I didn't know we had such a weirdo as our battleleader," said Blaze with an eyebrow raised.
"You have no idea," said Alex, feeling rejuvenated by the successful item creation. "Now let's make some bad-ass weapons and armor for the battle circle."
The clan spent the rest of the day moving through the zone, which had changed from a prismatic forest to a sandy biome. They fought morphlings, stonechimeras, squallpanthers, and all manner of warped elementals. None of the beasts gave them much trouble, and though she gained no experience, her clan did, as nearly everyone leveled once.
For Sophia, Alex created a massive blade called the Steel Morphling that could morph into other weapons with a thought.
Quest Completed: Upgrade the weapons for Sophia Lionheart
You have gained experience: 2,000 XP
You have gained conquest points: 20 CPs
For Blaze, she devised Bracers of the Mirage from a desert elemental called a sandervish, which would help him against ranged attacks.
By the time they were done, she'd made at least one magical item for every fighting member of the clan and a few extra to change up tactics. Not all of them were extremely useful like the Dancing Scimitar that refused to lay still and shimmied through the air doing an invisible two-step until Mancalf tackled the blade so Alex could throw it into her Handysack, but both Minor Creation and Devious Device reached tier two, which would make them more effective in the future.
When they returned to camp, the sun had crossed the amber plains, setting the horizon to blaze. Though her time in Warsong Plains had been challenging, it'd come with brilliant sunsets and spectacular night skies.
Sorrow met them at the longhouse, a mug of ale in his hand and a glazed look in his eyes. Alex threw him a pair of black leather pants, which hit the ground when he fumbled to catch them.
"I didn't know you knew my size," said Sorrow.
"Thin and cynical," said Alex. "Try them on, I think you'll like them."
Much to the surprise of everyone but Alex, Sorrow yanked off his trousers, revealing an born to breathe lifestyle. His long tunic hi
d most everything, but Alex caught the women gladiators, and a few of the men, ogling him.
After struggling to pull them up, an act requiring a lot of hopping from foot to foot as he grunted, the Black Leather Pants of Lasciviousness slipped to around his waist. In pure rock-star fashion, Sorrow strutted around the firepit, though Alex wasn't sure if he were preening for their benefit, or the tightness of the front required the bow-legged waggle.
Item: Black Leather Pants of Lasciviousness
AC: 6 ׀ 140/140 Durability
+5 Charisma
Activated Effect: Uncomfortable Distraction.
When triggered, those nearby cannot help but stare at the gorgeous, tight leather pants.
Bulge not included
Alex certainly could have used the additional Charisma, but the effect and tightness of the leather pants suggested they'd be better suited for Sorrow.
"I would say thank you, but you would have given them to me regardless," said Sorrow drolly.
"You're welcome," she said.
Before she could say anything else, he said, "And this is where you ask me to do stuff."
"You're catching on," she replied. "I need you to welcome the clans as they arrive and invite the battleleaders to the longhouse in three days' time."
He raised an eyebrow. "I assume this means I can't stay here and get drunk tonight?"
"You can get drunk in their camps and puke in their fires if you want, but deliver that message," she said.
Sorrow saluted her before weaving out of the longhouse.
She'd hoped to talk to Nayiri when she returned, and give her the daggers she'd made for her, but she was nowhere to be found. After giving instructions to Sophia about the next day's clan preparation, Alex returned to the battleleader's hut to finish applying the CPs she'd earned before she overdosed on cancer potions.
With 936 CPs to apply to the Bravebear clan, she knew she had to improve their overall effectiveness through clan level and morale, rather than level up any individual gladiators. It was the highest value per CP ratio she could determine. As much as she wanted to level her individual warriors or give them abilities, it cost too much per improvement to justify. She'd just have to make do with outsmarting her opponents.
Gladiators of Warsong Page 17