by Seth Ring
“After we have fully locked down the harbor, we will need to establish contact with Thilvena. The Elven capital is still standing, thankfully, but it has been moving every day to keep the Orcs from being able to breach it. We don’t know what the conditions in the city are like, but I am willing to bet it isn’t pretty. Not only do we need to be able to get in contact with the city, but we need to have them stay in place long enough so we are able to coordinate our attacks against the Orcs. This leads us to our first problem. An army of Orcs large enough to siege the city is combing through the forest trying to find it. I suspect that we’ll face a serious fight once the Orcs realize we are in the forest. They really like swarming, so that is what we should anticipate.
“Speaking of swarming, more and more Orcs are trying to come up from their camp outside of Ilha Caelora every day. The latest intelligence we have suggests that the Elves have mobilized the forest to fight against the Orcs and are keeping them largely contained by forcefully attacking their camp, but we need to be careful of the reinforcements heading north to join the siege. Our second problem is simple. Our spies are reporting that the Orcs have been keeping their troops around Thilvena supplied by running a supply line up the coast. That needs to be cut before we’ll be able to do any real damage to the Orcs who are sieging. Whew. Talking so much makes me thirsty.”
Mopping his red face with a handkerchief, Bothy picked up a cup and took a big drink.
“Where do you want me and my men?” Thorn asked, looking at the map carefully.
“Well, that’s the million gold question, isn’t it?” Bothy placed his cup down on the table and wiped his forehead again. “Honestly, I’d like you everywhere. Realistically? I think the best thing to do would be to put you in charge of raiding the Orc supply line. My troops are good, but they’re good at pitched battle. They don’t move nearly as fast as you, and they don’t hit nearly as hard. The Orcs have six supply camps along the coast they use to pass goods. You’ll need to hit each one, wipe it out, and then get to the next before they are alerted that there is a problem. It’ll be a grueling, two days of travel and fighting with next to no rest.”
Pausing, Bothy sighed and took another drink. Placing his cup back down, he looked at Thorn.
“I know it's not fair to ask such a thing from you, but from what I’ve seen, you travelers don’t need to sleep, so you are the only ones who could even have a chance of succeeding. Honestly, this is a risky course of action. But if we are able to succeed we will not only take a huge amount of pressure off of Thilvena, but we’ll actually take a huge amount of pressure off of the other generals as well.”
“What do you mean?”
“With their supply lines cut, the Orcs will either have to break through the forest’s blockade or pull their forces that are spread across Rasyn back to the northern forest to deal with Thilvena. Given that they have not managed to cut through the forest yet, chances of them moving their troops from Shaylathemar and Maandell are really good. It will take them at least a week to make the adjustment, and any adjustment they make will lessen the burden on our other forces. Like I said, it's risky, but the potential payoff is huge. What do you think? Are you up for the challenge?”
Chapter Forty-Five
Gazing down at the map, it took Thorn a few moments to think through the pros and cons of what Bothy was suggesting. The benefits were easy to see. By cutting off the Orcs’ supplies, their siege of Thilvena would be greatly weakened, opening a window for the Northern Angoril forces to act. With their supply chain disrupted, the Orcs would be forced to focus on reestablishing it, giving the Northern Angoril forces time to establish a connection with Thilvena and provide the Elves support. It would also lessen the burden on the other fronts as the Orcs redirected their forces to protect their supply efforts, potentially relieving pressure on the Duke in the southern plains and the army in the western mountains.
Though Thorn was largely caught up in the war against the Orcs, he had not forgotten his primary objective for getting involved in the war in the first place. It had been some time since he had gotten the [Heir to the Ironhold] quest, and his main goal was still to complete it. Opening up his quest window, Thorn took a look at the requirements he still had to complete.
Two of the conditions had been met before they had even stepped foot on Rasyn, and Thorn had even managed to impress Duke Carlton once when he suggested that Bothy take the position of General of the northern attack route. With only a few requirements left to meet, Thorn was inclined to take the risks if only to have the chance to demonstrate his ability to the Duke.
On the other hand, the risks of engaging the Orcs directly were enormous. Though the forces under Bothy were certainly strong, the Orc presence in the forest completely dwarfed them. Attracting the Orcs’ attention was bound to be a double edged sword. On the one hand, it would ensure their contribution, on the other, it was questionable whether they could survive the full weight of the Orc army. The fight for the harbor had clearly shown Thorn just how dangerous the Orcs were.
Despite their victory, the Iron Wolves had not had an easy time fighting through even the basic Orc soldiers, to say nothing of the elite guards that had surrounded the Orc Shaman. It had taken Athena, one of their strongest fighters, to cut down the Shaman, and she had only been able to because she had a way to deal with the smoke elemental. Even now, Thorn was still trying to think of a good way to deal with the corrosive smoke when he encountered it in the future. Imagining a full battlefield with dozens of Shaman made Thorn shiver. Sighing, Thorn lifted his eyes from the map and looked around at his team.
“What do you all think? Is it worth taking the risk?”
“Risk? What risk? We should crush the enemy wherever we find them.” Duratan said loudly, smacking his chest with his fist for emphasis.
“Eh, I dunno, it’ll be a really tough fight. And honestly, right now, we’re probably just a pain in the Orcs’ necks. Not enough of a threat for them to make a concentrated effort to wipe us out, but enough that they’ll divert some resources to deal with us.” Corvo bit his finger lightly as he thought through the problem. “The supply camps are laid out in a row along the coast. If we start at the top, we’ll face stiffer and stiffer resistance as we get closer to the Orc’s main camp. But the chances of us being able to sneak past the camps to start from the south is pretty low.”
“What are you so worried about? Let’s just go crush them!”
“Listen, meathead, not every problem should be solved through brute force. If we get this one wrong the whole might of the Orc army is going to wipe us out.”
“Enough,” waving his hand between Corvo and Duratan, Thorn turned his attention to Mina and Athena. “What do you two think? Is the risk worth it?”
“I don’t have any idea what you are all talking about.” Mina shrugged. “Just point me at something you want frozen. I don’t do all this planning stuff.”
“Fair. Athena?”
It was a moment before Athena answered. Before she did she studied the map carefully and then gave Bothy a careful look. Once she had finished thinking through the problem, she rested her finger on the closest Orc supply camp.
“This camp is at least a two days trip from here. Each of the other camps is about a day apart. Without a way to cut travel time down there is no way this plan will work. We’ll need at least a thousand players to deal with the camp but moving that many people without being seen will be impossible unless we can outrun the Orcs by a large degree. There must be a piece of information I’m missing.”
“Ah, yes. Thorn?” A smile bloomed on Bothy’s face as he looked at Thorn.
“We have about fifteen hundred players who meet that criteria.” Thorn nodded seriously. “If we go, we’ll be splitting our force into pieces.”
“If we can solve the speed problem, I don’t see an issue with it. Passivity never sits well with me though, so I find myself agreeing with Duratan and Earl Blaige. We have the initiative, so it is better to tr
y and keep it. If we can dictate the tempo of this fight, we should be able to inflict serious damage on the Orc forces before they can react. And at worst, we’ll just respawn here.”
“Alright. Let’s do it.”
Standing up quickly at Thorn’s words, Bothy nearly knocked over his glass in his excitement. Grinning sheepishly, he rubbed his hands together, sending ripples through his body.
“Great, great! This is the plan. We’ll divide the army into three groups. Thorn, you’ll be leading the first group of one thousand five hundred soldiers who will deploy to attack the Orc supply camps. We’ll send another group of one thousand scouts out into the forest to locate Thilvena’s position and to give us an idea of how the Orc forces are laid out. The rest of the troops will stay here to guard the harbor against the Orc counter attack.
“Hopefully, by focusing their attention here we’ll be able to give you the space you need to sweep the camps. Remember, our goal is simply disruption, so don’t worry about wiping out the Orcs entirely. As long as we burn or destroy their supplies our objective will be achieved. While you are doing that, I’ll focus on building the defenses of the harbor. I’ll turn this place into a fortress that will take a million years for the Orcs to conquer!”
“Good, because I have a feeling we’ll need some thick walls after we burn down the supply camps.” Thorn’s voice was serious as he carefully studied the map, committing the route to memory. “They’re bound to be annoyed and will probably try to crush us completely when they realize what we are doing.”
“Hah, no problem. I’m the best at defensive battles.”
Bothy slapped his chest, trying to imitate Duratan, but only succeeding in sending waves through his round body. Noticing that he had not managed to produce the effect that he was trying to create, he coughed into his fist looked at Thorn seriously.
“Thorn, I don’t think I need to mention how important this whole campaign is. Not only to the Elves, not only to the empire, not only to the Duke, but to me personally. Normally, I would not be so, uh, aggressive, in my strategy, but this is an opportunity that comes only once in a lifetime and if I cannot seize it I have a feeling that I will regret it for the rest of my days. This is my opportunity to follow in my father’s footsteps, an opportunity to prove that his choice to establish me as heir was correct. An opportunity to break out of the pathetic reputation that binds me.
“I know that travelers have a reputation for being flighty and non-committal, but I have seen something different in you and your troops. Still, I need your assurance that you and your forces are in this for the long haul. My plans will only work if we have your full support. If you cannot give me that commitment then that’s fine, we’ll just need to adjust our plans accordingly. If you are willing to commit to seeing this campaign through to the end I’m willing to reward you and your men out of my own pocket.
*ding*
Accepting the quest, Thorn placed his fist over his heart and bowed his head slightly.
“Earl Blaige, we embarked on this expedition to free Rasyn from the grip of its enemies and we will not rest until that object is achieved. We will not shirk our duty.”
“Thank you, Earl Greymane.” Bothy returned the formal bow to Thorn. “Your commitment and dedication shall not be forgotten.”
After finalizing the last few details of their plan, Thorn was about to go out and gather up his troops when a soft alert drew everyone’s attention.
*ding*
“Ah, it looks like the harbor has been finished up.” Thorn said, scanning over the announcement. A detail caught his eye and he smiled. “Earl, I noticed there was an empty temple that the Orcs were working on. Do you have any plans for it?”
“Um, no, not particularly, what are your thoughts?”
“Well, I would love to dedicate it to Hati, the god I serve. I have a few priests among my people who could serve there, providing services to the soldiers and establishing a place for us travelers to resurrect.”
“Sure, that sounds great. I’ll leave it to you.”
Catching Duratan giving him a dirty look, Thorn just grinned at the other avatar and gave a shrug.
“Thorn, you should see this.” Corvo’s voice intruded on Thorn’s thoughts.
“Hmm? What’s up.”
“Some of our scouts are reporting movement among the Orcs to the North. It looks like a group of Orcs is chasing a player toward the spot where we landed. They have not caught him yet, but they’re getting closer.”
“Any clue who the player is?”
“No positive ID, but the reports say he is throwing bottles of strange colored liquids at the Orcs who are chasing him.”
“Alph!” Thorn’s eyes lit up. “Let’s mount a rescue party.”
Striding out of the Harbor Master’s house, Thorn opened up the Iron Wolf team chat and began to send out commands.
“I want all Charging Wolf Army players to gather up at the gate within ten minutes, we have a mission. Players from the First, Second, Fifth, and Tenth battalions, you’ll be getting your new assignments from Corvo.”
“Thorn, we need to go now if we are going to save him. He is about an hour and a half away, even with the Charging Wolf Squad.” Corvo said from beside Thorn.
“Got it. Can you scout for us? Charging Wolf first team, follow my mark. All other teams, gather up at the gate as fast as possible and set out as soon as you’re gathered. Mina, you’ll be with me. Duratan, Athena, you’ll be riding with the Charging Wolf Squad. Find a friend to pair up.”
Scooping Mina up and putting her on his shoulder, Thorn ran for the gate. As he ran he focused his mind internally, calling Akira through their bond. A few seconds later a red streak appeared, flying from rooftop to rooftop. Reaching the end of a building, Akira launched herself out into space, landing neatly on Thorn’s head as he sprinted by. Approaching the gate, Thorn did not bother to open it and simply jumped over the wall.
“Akira, take Mina.”
As he flew through the air, Thorn tossed Mina up and away from his body. Giving an affirming squeak, Akira blurred and dashed under the falling witch, transforming into her large battle form. Once he was sure that Mina had a solid seat, Thorn stretched his body out and activated [Wolf’s Form], transforming into a bus-sized, midnight black wolf. Landing softly on the ground with an unbroken stride, Thorn dashed forward, disappearing into the forest in an instant. Behind him, the soldiers who were guarding the wall glanced at each other, their eyes wide.
“Was that…”
“I think so? It looked like Earl Greymane. But also a giant wolf.
“Yeah. That was cool.”
Shade fell over the two guards, causing them to look up as many dark shadows blurred through the air past them. Turning around in amazement they saw a steady stream of players rushing toward the wall.
“Quick, quick, open the gate!”
As the players got close to the wall they each activated an ability, causing their shadows to grow and distort as massive wolves climbed out of them. Swinging onto the huge wolves’ backs, the players quickly chased after Thorn, disappearing into the forest in an instant.
“Lady Athena? You’ll be with me.” Heidi ran over, pausing slightly to activate [Moon Wolf Ally]. As her shadow began to grow she turned to Duratan. “Sir Avatar, you’ll be riding with SoulSeeker. He should be- oh, there he is. Team Four, gather up!”
Without waiting for a response, she strode toward the gate where her team was forming, a huge wolf following behind her. Once her team was all accounted for, Heidi swung herself up onto the giant wolf’s back and reached down to help Athena up. Athena had barely settled behind her when the wolf crouched slightly and launched itself forward, the rest of the wolves and their riders following behind.
Chapter Forty-Six
The trees flashed by, vanishing from Athena’s sight almost as soon as they appeared. Seated behind Heidi on a nearly twenty foot long giant wolf as they sprinted through the forest, she could not help but tight
en her grip on the tank’s armor. Despite the lack of saddle, the giant wolf seemed to have no trouble keeping them on its back, its soft brown fur providing a comfortable seat.
“Are these the, uh, Children of the Moon that you met recently?” Athena asked.
Turning her head slightly, Heidi nodded.
“Yes. We unlocked a companion quest after we defeated Mayari. A bunch of us focused on grinding it before we had to leave the valley.”
“Companion? So not battle pets?” Athena asked, her brow furrowing a little bit.
“Yeah, they’re still technically independent. Once we established a close enough relationship with the race, largely thanks to completing the quest that Thorn got, we were able to build a relationship with a particular wolf. This is Beautiful Wind, but she goes by Beauty for short.”
“I noticed that she came out of your shadow? If she isn’t a battle pet, how did you call her?”
“It’s a bit strange, really, she shares some similarities with a battle pet, but there are some differences as well. Here, let me show you the ability.”
Opening up her status screen, Heidi shared the ability with Athena.
“The [Mental Link] ability is similar to battle pets, though we can’t track each other, we can only talk through it. And we have to be able to see each other for it to work. [Shadow Call] is what allows her to use my shadow as a portal to the shadow world. And [Pack Link] puts us into a pseudo-party. It just makes it so that I belong to any party she is part of and she counts as being in any party that I am part of. Otherwise, she is an independent NPC. We have a [Strong Bond] right now, but there is another level higher that I am working toward called [Blood Bond] that will make our relationship permanent. Even with the [Strong Bond] if I neglect the relationship it could fall to [Weak Bond], [Fractured Bond], or even [Broken Bond].”