by Dean Henegar
“Sir, he should be fine. He’ll just need time to heal up completely. I believe the whole spear came out in one piece, the injury would surely become infected if a piece of that nasty goblin spear had broken off in there. The real danger now is still the possibility of an infection and treating an infection is not something I have the medication or the skill to do. Getting him to town and to a real healer in the next few days will make all the difference. If you can give me an extra pair of hands to help, I believe I can rig a stretcher to carry him by using the goblin spears and some tent material,” Dreks advised.
“Make it happen Dreks. Grab a volunteer,” I told Dreks as I began issuing orders to the rest of the squad.
“Private Tremble! Take another soldier and head down the trail a bit to make sure the goblins don’t try to head back here. The rest of you scavenge up any javelins that are still useable and see if the goblins had anything on them. Everyone keep an eye peeled while you work. Watch those flanks and the rear for any signs of an ambush.”
The soldiers found nothing of interest on the goblins, the goblins having only 14 coppers between them. All the goblin gear was junk and useless save for the 2 short spears (pointy sticks really) being used as a makeshift stretcher. Another prompt flashed when private Dreks advised me of the coins found.
As a commander class player, money gained from looting your enemies can be divided in 3 ways. Please choose your preference.
Greed: All coins are deposited directly into the commander’s personal account. (Selecting this option will lower morale.)
Balance: Coins are divided amongst the troops with a larger share going to the unit account. (Selecting this option will raise morale after each fight.)
The Greater Good: All coins go into the unit account. (Neutral, possible minor morale loss if the men don’t see any benefits coming from the unit coffers.)
It seemed to me that balance was the fairest way to go. I wanted my men motivated. I wasn’t too greedy for myself and taking everything for the unit account seemed as bad as taking it all for me.
Balance Preference selected. You can change this at any time in the commander options tab. Exact distribution is displayed in the game log.
Thankfully, the system handled the sorting, automatically moving coins to the players purses. The unit funds seemed to be tied to me. I had a small money pouch and when I thought of an amount, the bag would fill automatically with the exact coins needed if the funds were available. Checking the game log, the system appeared to have allocated the coins as follows.
1 copper to each active soldier, 4 coppers to unit coffers.
You have defeated a small band of goblins. Experience gained: 35
Another quirk of the game seemed to be that despite coins being automatically stored and sorted, equipment was not. Other than the coin purse, all the containers in game, so far, were the same as real life. No more stuffing 100 javelins into a single slot of a small bag. If you wanted to carry loot in Limitless Lands you were going to have to hump it around yourself.
Housekeeping completed, we formed our column again and began heading out of the forest. Grabbing the front of the stretcher, I helped Private Dreks carry the wounded Private Long. He was still unconscious but didn’t look to be too bad off now that the bleeding had stopped. We had traveled nearly to the location where our scout said the forest ended when the sounds of battle could be heard. I remembered Napoleon’s standing order to all his generals. “In the absence of any other orders, always march to the sound of the guns.” I ordered my squad toward the sounds of battle.
The forest path ended at a small clearing as the sparse trees gave way to rolling hills and grassland. Entering the edge of the clearing I could see the fight unfold before us. It looked like our goblins were not the only ones on the move. Twenty or more of the creatures had some loggers backed against a row of half-loaded wagons to the south of us. I could also make out the first player character I had seen a short distance away from the loggers and closer to my position. The player was also battling goblins. Quickly scanning the PC, he read as…
Jacoby Stone, Fighter
Jacoby was wielding a short sword and a medium, wooden kite shield. He was armored in a chainmail vest with a reinforced leather helm. Reinforced leather pants and boots completed his gear. The gear had that cheap starter gear look to it, but was much better than what I or my men had on. Jacoby had already done some work. There were three goblin corpses near him, but the other five goblins attacking him had cut him off from the lumberjacks and were threatening to surround him. He was about fifty yards from the hard-pressed loggers and unlike the loggers, he didn’t have a wagon to cover his rear.
With their backs against the wagons seven loggers were still fighting, using the longer reach of their axes to keep the goblins at bay. I could see the bodies of two other loggers that lay dead at the edge of the forest, cut down before they could join their fellows. A few goblin bodies were sprinkled about in front of the line of loggers, and the goblins now seemed content to just jab away from a safe distance, unable or unwilling to get within reach of the logging axes.
Most of the goblins were the same type of wretched goblins we faced earlier except for a group of three goblins that stood near the forest edge. One appeared to be a caster class, holding a wooden staff and chanting while dancing in a circle. The other two guarding the caster were slightly larger than the other goblins and better equipped, holding small bucklers and wielding rusty short swords. They scanned as:
Wretched Goblin Warrior. These poorly equipped goblins are only marginally stronger than their basic wretched kin. Typically, they are only threatening to low level players or when found in large groups. Known for their cowardice and cunning, the goblins are unfortunately a plague found throughout the Lands.
Wretched Goblin Adept. Goblin adepts often lead small warbands of goblins. They are smarter than average goblins (which is not saying much) and have access to some nature magics. They are cunning and ruthless if not very powerful.
It was time for us to get into the fight. I had the men form in line once again, giving out the six remaining javelins to the soldiers who did the best with them last time. We stashed Private Long behind some shrubs, where he should stay safely concealed until after the battle.
“Squad! Forward, march!” Our line began to move into the clearing heading toward Jacoby who was the closest to us, being about thirty yards away. So far, the goblins fighting him hadn’t noticed us as they completely focused on what they thought was going to be an easy kill. I could see Jacoby was running out of steam, his blows against the goblins lacked much force and his shield was beginning to drop lower and lower as fatigue overtook him.
“Squad! Double time!” The men moved at a slow jog, eating up the distance between us and the goblins. I placed myself in the middle of our line and activated the command presence ability while quickly ordering Private Dreks and one other soldier to pull back and serve as a reserve. One of the goblins noticed us just a few steps before we hit them. The goblin squeaked a warning to his fellows, who then turned to face the line of soldiers that, to their eyes, had magically appeared in front of them. Not missing the opportunity, Jacoby hacked down one of the distracted goblins right as our charge hit.
Leading with our shields the line rolled over the goblins, greater mass and momentum knocking them on their backsides. Daggers and my short sword flashed downward, landing stabs and slashes on the four screeching goblins as they tried to get back on their feet. It only took a few seconds to end the lives of the four goblins. Panting to catch his breath Jacoby pointed toward the loggers at the wagons. One of the seven loggers went down as a couple of enterprising goblins had crawled under the wagons and were slashing at the legs of the loggers, forcing them away from the protection of the wagons. With their superior numbers, the goblins would soon flank them.
“We need to get to them before they’re overrun!” Jacoby said stating the obvious.
“Fall in line with my
troops on the right flank. We’ll hit them hard and try to break them!” I told Jacoby.
“Get on line!” My men formed another line facing the goblin mass. I didn’t hold anyone in reserve, placing myself in the center and Jacoby on the far right.
“On the double, move!” We trotted toward the mass of goblins surrounding the loggers. At the forest edge, the adept saw our charge coming and ordered one of his warriors to help the wretched goblins. The warrior ran to the main mass of goblins and began pulling, pushing, punching, and in one case, stabbing them in a vain attempt to get the goblins turned around to face our charge. twenty yards from the main mass, I called our line to halt.
“Squad halt! Javelins, prepare to throw…release! Squad, charge!” Our last six javelins hit the packed mass of goblins that the warrior was trying to organize. There were no misses as javelins landed among the tightly packed group. One of the javelins even went through the chest of one goblin and then into the leg of another. Our charge hit right after the javelins landed, smashing into the confused and disorganized creatures.
The fight dissolved into individual action, no time for fancy maneuvers, just man vs. goblin until one side broke. I found myself facing the goblin warrior that had been trying to organize the confused mass of his kin. He looked at me in panic and glanced furtively about for a place to run, or another goblin to throw in front of me. Finding no other option, the warrior steeled himself and made a wild overhead swing with his rusty sword, trying to split me down the middle. I brought up my shield, blocking his sword easily while shoving his sword arm to the left. This maneuver left him wide open and my short sword flashed forward, thrusting right into the goblins chest, I felt a slight resistance as the point of my blade cracked through the goblin’s sternum and into the soft bits behind. Pulling my sword out quickly I made ready for a follow up strike that turned out not to be needed. A spurt of thick, green blood had sprayed from the goblin’s fatal chest wound as I withdrew my sword, coating the front of me in the warm, foul-smelling fluid. The goblin dropped as I looked for my next target.
A body crashed into me from behind. I spun about expecting to feel the bite of the goblin blade between my shoulders. Completing my turn, I found the goblin that bumped into me from behind was dead. Private Dreks had stabbed it through the neck while it was setting up to backstab me. Nodding thanks to the private I turned back toward the battle.
As I turned, a horn nearby sounded three sharp blasts which must have been the goblin signal for retreat. The goblins began to try and disengage, their retreat quickly becoming a panicked rout. More goblins were cut down as they dropped their weapons and ran, easy targets for our daggers and the loggers’ axes. Seeing their prey escaping, my green troops began to give chase.
“Halt! Get back in line!” I frantically ordered, not wanting my men to run into the forest chasing goblins that likely had reinforcements coming.
Overcoming their excitement, the men fell back into formation. The remaining goblins scrambled to the edge of the forest where the adept, and last, warrior waited. The warrior had the horn I had heard earlier placed to his lips, now blowing one long and two short blasts on it. The sound was repeated from several other horns far off deeper in the forest.
Only eight of the twenty goblins that were attacking the loggers had made it away. At the forest edge, the goblin adept had finished his crazed, chanting dance. I could feel the power within the adept build, seeking a release. The adept looked directly at me, pointed his bony finger, and mouthed the command word that released the spell he had been conjuring this whole time. Three red balls of light flew from his fingers. I raised my shield, but it turned out the spell was cast at Private Dreks next to me. The three red balls connected. Two hit his chest, punching through the rough, cloth shirt. The third hit his head, that ball fizzling as it contacted Dreks, its magic resisted. Dreks dropped to the ground, coughed up blood, then fell silent in death.
The goblin adept let out a cackling laugh, happy to get at least some damage in on our forces before retreating. He then turned and ran back into the forest, trailed by his remaining goblins.
I knelt next to the dead Private Dreks and closed his eyes, covering the hole in his chest with his shield. I knew these were just computer-generated NPC’s, but the pain of losing a soldier felt the same as it had years ago during my army service. Any leader of men in battle knows he will take losses, but knowing something will happen doesn’t make it easier when it does. Dreks was a good soldier from what I had seen, followed orders and tried to help his injured fellows. Duty comes first before mourning though, and there was still a lot to do.
A squealing sound erupted from over by the wagons. A huge man was reaching under the wagon grabbing at something. With a tug, the logger pulled a wailing goblin out from under the wagon and held it in the air at arm’s length while it howled and flailed about uselessly. The logger held his axe in the other hand and with a lazy swing decapitated the screaming goblin. The small goblin head bounced twice on the ground while blood streamed from its severed neck. I turned back to my duty.
“Private Tremble, pick another soldier and keep an eye on the tree line. Sound off if you see the goblins returning.” I then motioned for the two soldiers closest to me. “You two, get Private Long and bring him back here on the double. The rest of you, check the bodies of the goblins. Make sure they’re dead and not playing possum.”
As I finished my orders, I looked up to see the logger that had decapitated the goblin approach me. The man must have been half giant/half bigger giant. He stood well over seven feet tall and had the physique of a bodybuilder. His beard stretched down below his belt buckle and was flecked with blood, like most of the rest of us were after the fight. He had chopped more than logs this day. Green tinted gore covered the head of the large bronze axe he held over his shoulder.
“Sir, I’m Barnaby Horn and I want to thank you for showing up when you did.” Barnaby offered his hand, which was double the size of my own. I felt like a little kid shaking hands with his dad.
“I wasn’t aware there were patrols this far out, but was right pleased when your scout popped out of the woods this morning and told me you were nearby. We were trying to finish cutting enough lumber to fill the wagons and were feeling safe knowing soldiers were about when them goblins came pouring out of the forest. Cut down two of us before we knew what was happening. All I could do was gather the remaining men and try and make a stand at the wagons.” Barnaby shook his head thinking of the close call he had just survived.
“Then this here feller, Jacoby comes running up out of nowhere right after the fight starts and began to lay into them gobs. He tried to chop his way over to us but there were just too many gobs in between us.” Barnaby gave Jacoby a big pat on the head with his dinner plate sized hands. “Even with his help we’d be done for if you soldiers didn’t show up when you did.” Smiling at Barnaby’s friendly, country style of speech, I scanned his information.
Barnaby Horn, Logger
“Barnaby, I don’t know why your group was so far from the city to cut wood, but if you plan on leaving now, my men and I would gladly escort you back to town,” I offered. Traveling in a group would likely discourage further attacks from the goblins. Having heard multiple horns answering the group we fought, there was no telling how many of them in total there could be.
“I thank you for that Raytak. Just give my boys a bit of time to gather our fallen and load up the last of our gear. If it would help, we’d be glad to carry your dead soldier on the wagon as well,” Barnaby offered.
“Thank you, Barnaby. Having Dreks in the wagon would allow more of my men to be ready to fight, in case the goblins come back. I also have a wounded soldier coming in from the woods that I would like to put on the wagon, if there’s room.” I pointed to the two soldiers returning with Private Long on the stretcher. From the look on the soldiers’ faces, I could see something was amiss. When they made it back to the group, I could see Private Long’s throat was slash
ed open and he was covered in blood, clearly dead. With a cold glare I addressed the soldiers carrying him.
“What happened?”
The soldiers quickly answered. “Sir! When we got to where we stashed Private Long we found him like this. When we discovered he was dead there was a cackle off in the distance. Almost out of sight in the forest we spotted a goblin laughing at us as he licked the blood from his blade. Apparently, the goblin had snuck up during the fight and killed Long with his own knife.”
“There’s something else sir. I think it was actually the goblin that ran away from our earlier fight. It had a bandage over the same eye it lost in the fight with us. The damn thing must have been trailing us, knowing we’d get stuck in with the goblins here at the logging camp. We’d have chased him down sir, but I thought it would be better to report and not get ambushed deep in the woods.” The soldiers had done the right thing. To go running off in the woods for revenge would likely have added two more casualties.
“You did the right thing, privates,” I told them. Both exhaled breaths they hadn’t realized they were holding, concerned that I wouldn’t approve of their actions, or somehow blame them for Long’s death. “Cover up Private Long and load him in the wagon next to Dreks.”
Everyone worked quickly to leave the camp. The loggers had four wagons with them and they were only half full, so placing the dead and wounded on them wasn’t too much of a problem. The wagons were hitched to teams of worn-out looking horses and we began our slow journey to the main road and then to Amerville.
While making our way to the main road I pulled up my log to see what happened with the experience and loot, noting I had completed a quest as well.
You have received 2 copper per active soldier and 5 copper for unit funds.