The woman winced at the word ‘traitor’, physically flinching. A knife in the gut. Something powerful, a reality she wasn’t willing to confront.
“I am not a traitor, I just…she was the one who took advantage of me!”
“And does that justify not only destroying your cousin, but also taking her name down with it? With the starmetal surrendered, your family legacy fades. And you’re willing to trade that away for what? A patch of land and a manor to call your own?” Harsh words, but this was working. I could see the tears in the woman’s eyes, yet she was powerless to come up with a coherent argument against me.
“It’s not…I mean, you can’t…Juliet was finished to begin with. I did nothing but step aside.”
“And give her greatest enemy the means to chase her to the ends of the earth. As long as he has you on his side, he can press your claims, granting him the rights to pursue war endlessly. With you gone? He only keeps the claim to one patch of land. The rest of the land? It’s his, sure, but we’ll have the claim to take it back someday. And I promise you this, Imius. We will take it all back.”
The woman’s tears slowed for a moment and she tilted her head, squinting at me hard. Her sudden intense scrutiny caused me to shift a little, uncomfortable under her gaze. “There’s something more here,” she finally said after a moment of collecting her thoughts. “Juliet has something you want, doesn’t she? There would be no other reason a man like you would be willing to try and step up against a Baron.”
Now it was my turn to stammer. “Er…well, yes. I must admit, while I’d defend any family member, I wouldn’t particularly be inclined to go to war on their behalf. At least, not without some other purpose.”
“And what would that purpose be?” Imius asked, leaning forward out of curiosity. This was a key moment. I had already assaulted her with accusations of being a traitor to her family. And I had pushed so hard. If I lied here, she would sense it and perhaps realize that I was not someone to be trusted. That my accusations were just a form of manipulation to get what I want, just as all the others had tried to manipulate her. I took a deep breath.
“Someone killed my uncle and my cousins and my brother,” I said, trying to get the words out as quickly as possible. “Leaving me as the head of the household. I joined the Great Game because it was the only way to stave off the assassin who was undoubtedly coming for me and my little sister next.”
Imius’ eyes went wide at such a confession. I don’t think this was what she was expecting at all. And I felt such a fool to spew this out loud, for it sounded wildly paranoid to those who were not in the know.
“I see…and Juliet is wrapped up in this how?”
“Her husband has information about the murderer, a lead that might prove to be something valuable. Or it could be nothing. A mere tidbit. Either way, he won’t give me what I want until I assist his wife in getting her land back.”
“That makes sense as to why you’re willing to push me so hard,” she mumbled. “All of your family was killed?”
“Most, yes,” I said. “Just my little sister is left. And my niece, of course.”
“Who would want to commit such a vile act?”
“I don’t know, Imius. But returning the land to its rightful owner is how I will gain a lead. Though, I’m sure you understand that I’m not going around telling this to everyone.”
She nodded. “Of course, I can imagine that sharing this story might tip off the murderer that you’re investigating them.” She paused and sighed, sinking back into her seat. “I told myself that I’d make things right someday. That I’d find some way to apologize to Juliet…I never meant for it all to go so wrong. But things just spiraled out of control. I panicked. And I think part of me would rather be seen as a traitor than as a coward.”
“Aren’t they one and the same?” I asked.
She paused to reflect on that. “I suppose so. But I could just tell myself that I was getting even. Getting back what I deserved…yet in truth, I just ran. Ran to somewhere safe and damned Juliet to her own fate.” More silence. I dared not to speak, unsure of what else to say. “My cousin is many things, but she is not the kind of person to let a murderer go walking around if she knows something vital. I fear her husband might be leading you on.”
“I had that observation too,” I agreed. “But the man is an old bastard. He made his demands known and even if Juliet is unaware of the information she holds, he seems to have a keen insight into it. So I’m his lapdog for the time being. A wholly unpleasant situation, but one I must accept.”
“Thank you,” Imius said, looking up at me. “For being honest, I mean. Few people in my life ever tell me the whole truth. They usually just tell me to shut up and do what I’m told.”
“That’s unfortunate,” I said.
She nodded. “So, what’s in it for me? I want to hear exactly what I’m getting.”
“Same offer as before, reconciliation with Juliet, land of your own, vassalage to me, when I rank up into Lord,” I replied.
“And a title?”
“I’ll have to figure out how to make one, but sure. I can give you a title. Everything the Baron has promised you, but with one key difference.”
Imius leaned in. “What’s that?”
“Autonomy. Total and complete autonomy. Pay your taxes and provide your forces when required, but other than that, I promise you freedom to live as you will. Any time I need something from you, it will be a request and not a demand.”
“That is all I’ve ever really wanted,” she sighed. “Add 10,000 silver and it’s a deal. I never received much pay for my work—from either side.”
That was a request too steep. But I had her in my grasp, I couldn’t botch this just because of money. “I need the funds to defend our territory,” I said, emphasizing the word ‘our’ so she understood this concerned her. “So if you’re willing to take a promissory note, I’d be happy to agree to that deal.”
“Very well,” she said, flipping open her binder and sliding it towards me. “Write the paperwork this minute, detailing our entire arrangement. Sign and seal it. And then? I’ll move to your estate immediately.”
“What about the crystal cache?”
Imius closed her eyes and shook her head. “I’m not going to aid you in robbing the Baron. I will write a letter explaining my regret to the man and begging his forgiveness for leaving his side. Helping you achieve your task would be pouring vinegar in his wound and I fear my reputation would never spring back from such a deed.”
Imius made a good point there. Though I’d certainly like to beg her to assist me and throw away her convictions for my gain…I had already won a major victory. Without Imius in the Baron’s courts, he lost the ability to hold her claims. Even if Juliet surrendered, by all rights, Imius could someday come back and press those claims. Or…her liege-lord could.
Chapter 33
After some discussion, it was decided that Imius would return with us to my home at once. Initially, she had wanted to go back to her current residence to collect her belongings and her husband, Atherton, but I worried that the man might try to stop her. If she was locked away from sight, Jerem would be able to press her claims on her behalf, with none knowing she was incarcerated. That was a treacherous thing to attribute to one’s enemy, but I couldn’t take the chance. It was folly to assume the best in people when power was on the line. Nothing about Jerem’s behavior so far had indicated him doing anything so vindictive, but you never know.
Instead, two letters were dispatched, one to the Baron and one to Atherton, and then, we were off, returning home as quickly as possible. My wife was in a wretched state during the trip, having discontinued using all of her potions until we could get some answers. She had grown feverish and nauseous quite frequently, so much so that the trip took half a day longer than it should have, bringing us down to only two days before the deadline. Why she was reacting this way was a mystery, but I suspected there might
be something addictive within the many brews she drank. Something that would cause illness and cravings should she stop.
Fortunately, the elf-woman’s willpower was ironclad. She refused to give into the concoctions, even threatening to throw them out onto the street, stopped only by my begging to preserve them for research’s sake. There was still a greater mystery to solve here. Part of me wondered if maybe these potions were replaced by the assassin, in order to stop me from procreating. But…that seemed a little convoluted. I feared that this may have something more to do with the population crisis amongst the elves as a whole. But who was behind this would remain a mystery for now. I had a more urgent matter to attend to at this time.
The die was cast now. Though I couldn’t gain access to the additional mana crystal cache, I had succeeded in my efforts to convert Imius to my side. This would only serve to further enrage the Baron, perhaps convincing him to throw even more forces at my wall than he had planned on. But his allies would not be there for him. It was easy for them all to agree to split the pie, but no one wanted to split a single slice of land. They would rescind their mustered forces and funds, leaving me to face the Baron’s main force alone. Though I knew that would not be a small number of enemy golems.
I barely remember the events leading up to returning to my office. Upon setting foot in the manor, a powerful focus descended upon me, something far beyond anything I had ever experienced. It was as if my vision and mind became solely focused on one thing: building a defense against the incoming invasion. There was nothing else. A cadre of elven sisters and mothers would take care of poor Yoni, and Lily would watch after Imius, both to ensure her happiness and that she wasn’t going anywhere outside of the property (for I could not risk anything happening to the woman!) My sole purpose now was to be the protector and defender of my land, my family and all the inhabitants inside this Manor.
In a strange way, this all felt right. I thought I’d be more nervous, but it turns out the anxiety only existed when uncertainty was on the line. Now that the attack was guaranteed, I felt only focus. Focus and calm.
This focus and steely demeanor did nothing from stopping Joeth from throwing cheeses at my head as I analyzed the maps he had provided me. As each block bounced off my skull, I turned a page, looking at a new map style. A wall defense allowed for a completely unrestricted battlefield design. 144 squares total, 12 rows down and across, granted all manner of interesting and complex maze designs. The pages that Joeth had provided me were interesting, for sure, but I could not help but feel that someone like the Baron would have access to those exact pages. And if there were official documents outlining the ideal defense set-ups for walls, wouldn’t there be invasion documents designed to counter those defenses?
I caught the eighth cube of cheese and swept the papers to the side of my desk in one smooth motion.
“You find something yet?” Joeth said, preparing to fire another chunk of cheddar at me.
“I think I found the trouble with these maps,” I replied, counter-firing the caught cheese, nailing him right in the eye. He yelped and recoiled, then made a show that he was disarming himself of his dairy armaments.
“Is that so?”
“Anything documented will have a documented counter,” I said. “I don’t have access to a tremendous amount of resources, so I need to utilize the element of surprise to throw him off. You can’t plan for everything in an invasion, so he’ll be planning for the most sensible and cheapest maps.”
Joeth grinned widely at that; he tilted his head and sat up from his traditional spot reclining on the couch. “I knew there was something different about you, Richard. You don’t seem content to just follow along with the established framework. Yeah, your observation is absolutely correct. The maps all have proposed counters. The Great Game usually boils down to rock, paper, scissors, though a little more complex, I suppose. Making your own design can totally throw off your opponent, buuuuuut there are some limitations there.”
“How so?”
“These defense maps are tried-and-true. Tested thoroughly by dozens of college kids with nothing better to do. Your design, on the other hand, will be completely original in development. So, it could become the hot new map that shatters the enemy’s expectations, or it could be a complete failure, smashed to bits instantly. Depends on how confident you are with your maze designs.”
I pondered that for a moment. My maze designs were quite good. Without any prior knowledge of what to do, I had been able to fend off multiple enemies with different designs and strategies. Only Joeth, with his determination to completely overwhelm me, consequences be damned, had been able to break me down. And that was with a poorly funded map. With the silver in my pocket from mustering and the mana crystals from my cache extraction, I had the materials to make something truly great.
“I think we need to ditch conventional warfare,” I said after a few minutes of pondering. “The enemy must be thrown off completely for me to have a chance at winning.”
“Then let’s design it now,” Joeth said, his voice quickly shifting into ‘instructor mode’, which was still rather crass but far more focused on education than mocking me for a variety of my flaws (both real and perceived.) “Pull up the Grid and look for the little box that has a little symbol of a translucent square.”
I complied with his order immediately, opening up the Grid to be greeted by a Rank Up notification. I had ignored it a few times before, but now it was insisting I pay attention to it, completely locking me out of any other option. I was hoping to level up my towers after I chose a map design, to improve my damage ratio. Ah well.
Gentry Rank Increase: 3/5
Sentinel Level Up!
2 Tower Upgrades Acquired
Level 1 Tower Upgrades Unlocked!
Perfect timing! Level 1 tower upgrades would considerably boost my damage output, as some of these towers were complete game changers.
Thorn Spire:
- Shattering: Attacks now penetrate and reduce armor on struck targets.
- Brambles: Thorn cluster amount increases to 10, increasing attack amounts before they have to recharge.
Repulsion Tower:
- Anti-Mana Pulse: Mana powered enemies struck by the Repulsion Tower’s wave lose their ability to cast spells for 30 seconds.
- Fast Charge: Repulsion Towers fire 20% faster.
Enervation Wall:
- Drain Switch: You may activate the wall’s Drain ability for 30 seconds, once per wave. All golems passing through the Enervation Wall will be rapidly drained of their current hit points at a rate of 250 per second. Golems who reach zero health are deactivated.
- Retractable: Intelligent golems will no longer attempt to avoid the Enervation Wall.
Automated Boulder Dispensing Apparatus:
- Corner Turn: The boulders will now turn one set of corners before continuing their journey, extending their range.
- Step Trigger: You may designate one square to be the Step Trigger for a Boulder Tower. A golem stepping on this square will activate the boulder trap, regardless of the tower’s location.
My eyes lit up at the last set of upgrades. Remote triggers and corner turns? That set combined together would be unbelievably strong. In fact, it would be strong enough to completely form a map strategy. The corner turn would effectively allow the boulders to cover two whole lanes, doubling their damage, more or less. While it might take a minute for the boulders to recharge, that was offset by their increased reach. By the time a wave hit by a boulder trap reached where the actual boulder was located, it would be ready to fire once more. At least, as long as I built long lanes with effective methods to slow my foes down.
I grimaced at the realization that I wouldn’t be able to put Slugtine traps down anywhere. Since they weren’t officially Grid-designed, I had to dig the pits and place the traps myself. However, that was impossible, since I wouldn’t be placing the traps and barricades down until the enemy s
elected the target part of the wall. Perhaps Nigel was right, maybe I should have sold the design to Malphius. He would have quickly integrated the item into the Grid. Though, that would give up the distinct advantage of—
“Hey, snap out of it. It’s been thirty minutes,” Joeth grunted. I felt something smack my forehead; it felt cheese-like. Half an hour? Damn, I had been so engrossed in my thoughts that I must have lost track of time. “You make a pick yet?”
“Is it advisable to take two upgrades from the same tower?” I asked. “Because I think I can form a whole strategy around one tower.”
“It’s definitely feasible. You just gotta count on the enemy not having the perfect counter. If you build an extremely strong ground game, the enemy might have all air. Then what? Form your strategy around a single tower set, but plan extensively to cover the gaps in your defenses. Biggest mistake a rookie can make is falling in love with a tower, then place them across every possible square. It might work wave one, but wave two? You’re shit outta luck.”
“Wise words. Crude, but wise,” I replied. Without another thought, I quickly selected the two boulder upgrades, grinning widely. Everything might be on the line, but building the maze was going to be a lot of fun.
Chapter 34
The little square outline in the Grid, an icon I usually ignored, was actually a pre-battle map configuration. In here, I was free to build my own maps with the towers and golems, then save them, all without spending any actual resources. Then, when I wanted to create the actual map in the real world, it was just a matter of targeting the proper area and hitting ‘build.’ Quite a useful system!
Below me was the mock set-up of the wall battlefield. 144 squares of completely neutral ground, ripe for the picking. I just had to create the perfect combination of towers, traps and golems, and I’d be golden.
Gentleman's Wars 2: A Tower Defense LitRPG Series Page 21