by Dean Henegar
You have successfully defended the caravan 250 experience gained.
Congratulations! You have reached level 3! Open your character screen to review updates to your character.
Excellent, another level! Dealing with my skills would have to wait for a few minutes, though.
Sergeant Brooks ran up with the remainder of 5th Squad as my Honor Guard faded away. The ability had saved my life and proved to be a powerful tool for me.
“Sir! Are you alright? I saw that mage pull you over and thought the worst,” Brooks asked with concern.
“I’m fine, Sergeant. Thank you for your concern. Let’s get the medics looking after the injured and find out who we lost in the fight…Also see if these Bloody Blades dropped any loot. They should have all lost some coin, and maybe losing an item or two might make them think twice about messing with our unit.” I said.
“Yes, sir. I’ll get the men working,” Sergeant Brooks said, and then began barking out orders to get everyone on task. All told, we had paid a bloody price in this battle. Players were a much more dangerous foe than the hordes of goblins, or the other creatures we faced. We took a total of fifteen killed in the fight. While these were the worst losses we had faced to date, this fight would have been much worse if it hadn’t been for the rest of the caravan coming to our aid. Daegan had lost three drivers, and one of the settlers was killed as well. I had some of our soldiers with animal handling experience help with the driving, and we held a quick burial ceremony for our dead before continuing. While the men finished looting the attackers, I was notified the unit funds had increased by three gold, thirty-five silver, and fifty-five copper. Killing players was much more lucrative than wretched goblins. I took one gold to keep for the unit fund and gave the rest to be divided among the family of those that lost people in the fight. We also looted two daggers, a bronze great axe, and one minor healing potion from the bodies of the players. Not a huge haul, but anything our opponents lost and had to replace was a victory in my books. The potion was the first one I had seen, and I looked at its stats.
Minor healing potion. Drink to regain 50 health over 10 seconds.
The potion was better than nothing and not having any other way to heal myself, I placed the potion in my bag and dragged the icon onto my quick action bar at the bottom right of my screen for easy access. Sergeant Brooks and I shuffled the men to even out the squad numbers. 2nd Squad had lost eight of their ten members, while 5th Squad hadn’t taken any casualties. When all was said and done, each squad was now understrength at seven soldiers per squad.
I walked down the line of wagons while organizing the squads, talking with the settlers here and there to try and build morale. When I passed Phineas’ wagon I saw him placing the hand crossbows back into a wooden crate. The strange and somewhat shady trader, as well as his goblins, had fought to defend the caravan. I wanted to thank him, and I also felt a bit guilty since the goblins had received what I now knew was an unfair reception at the transition point. I had to remember that this crazy game was much more intricate than just “goblins are bad”.
“Phineas, I’d like to thank you and the goblins for helping out so much back there. You likely saved some lives today,” I stated.
“A life saved is a customer saved I always say…and a customer whose life you have saved is always willing to spend more.” Phineas smiled and shook his coin purse as he said that. Speaking of gratitude, I had one more thing I felt was right to do.
“Chief Bugtug, Kipkip, thank you both, also, for helping to defend the caravan. I’d like you each to have these. I think you have earned them, as well as our trust.” I handed the goblins each one of daggers we had looted from the Bloody Blades. Both of the goblins held the daggers in shock, not believing that a human soldier would give them a weapon. They quickly belted on the daggers and pulled them from the sheath, admiring the sharp blades.
“Don’t stab anything that doesn’t need stabbing, you two,” I said as I continued toward my wagon. I could see both goblins beaming with pride at being armed once again, and what could be a small look of concern crossed Phineas’ face.
Making it back to the front wagon, I found Daegan was ready for us to be on the move again. As we passed the hastily dug graves, each soldier stood in his wagon and saluted our dead. I settled back onto the seat bench of the wagon next to Daegan. He had opted to drive the lead wagon himself after the driver Torgen died in the attack. With a sigh, Daegan ran his finger along the “Humph” marks he had carved into the seat, then flicked the reigns to get the Mukok moving. I, and I’m sure all the rest of us, were keeping a much sharper eye on the surrounding terrain, looking for more attackers. I took a moment to open my character sheet. Nothing much changed except for my health and +1 attack.
Chapter 27
The road began to widen up a bit and we entered what must have been the outskirts of the village. At first it was just a farm alongside the road, an abandoned farm unfortunately. The main house was burned to the ground and animal pens left empty, save for the bloating carcass of a cow. The fields contained a type of grain I couldn’t identify and looked to have been recently tended…as well as nearly ready to harvest. Whatever befell the farm happened recently, perhaps the work of the group we defeated earlier. We continued without stopping. Daegan told me we were near the town.
Rounding a bend in the road, the town came into view. Rolling fields surrounded it and the road continued north through the middle of the town and off as far as I could see in the distance. A second road branched just before the town and went toward the foothills I could see to the northeast. There was no activity in the town. It looked abandoned and as we drew nearer we could see that about half the buildings had been burned down. A rough palisade fence surrounded the town with gates to the north and south where the road passed. The northern gate was destroyed, which was likely what enabled the attacker’s access to the town. The southern gate, which we were approaching, was opened and swung slightly in the wind. I had Daegan stop the caravan one hundred yards from the southern gate and gathered the troops to investigate. I led three squads toward the open gate and as we warily approached to within twenty-five yards of the town, we heard a challenge off to our right.
“Halt! Who goes there…are you soldiers of the Imperium?” A group of five soldiers rose from some nearby shrubs and had javelins poised to throw. The soldiers looked haggard and their meager equipment was worn. They were equipped like the soldiers at the transition point we saw earlier, carrying only daggers, javelins, and shields.
“I am Lieutenant Raytak of the Imperium. I’m here to take command of the garrison. What happened here, soldier? Report!” I ordered. The soldiers remembered their training and snapped to, marching crisply toward me and saluting. I returned the salute and the soldier began his tale.
“Sir, it started a few months ago when one of them Bloody Blades characters showed up in town to shop. He looked around a bit and then picked a fight with one of the locals, killed him, and stole his goods. The town guard sent four guards after him, but they never returned. Soon after, the outlying farms began to get hit. Small groups of four or five of these Bloody Blades would strike, killing the farmers and making off with anything of value. They became more and more brazen, causing Mayor Delling to ask us for help. Sergeant Grahame led two squads to track down the Blades, only four men made it back. They said they were ambushed by twenty or so Bloody Blades, who took some of the men prisoner and began to torture them, forcing them to fight each other to see who would live to carry back the news to us. The four who came back were so ashamed, they left that night, going AWOL, Sir. We didn’t have any other NCO’s and all the men were fresh recruits, as you can see, so we followed whatever the mayor and chief of the guard, Lhork, told us to do. Lhork was an ok leader. He had served in the military for a bit…but he lasted all of three days before a group of four or five of the Bloody Blades snuck into town under the cover of darkness and assassinated him in his sleep. We woke to the chief and four
of his guards nailed to the door of the guardhouse.
The mayor wasn’t sure what to do and looked to hire adventurers for help. four showed up and seemed like good folks…helping around the town, and looking after the outlying farmers while we tried to keep a guard on things in town. Three days ago, the Blades hit us full force with close to forty attackers. You can see where they used a battering ram to knock down the gate. Fortunately for us, it took them a while to get into the town and the mayor saw they were only attacking from the north. He knew we would never be able to stop that many, so he organized an evacuation from the southern gate. The town guard, and the adventurers, held off the Blades…barely…while the soldiers guarded the townsfolk as we fled. The mayor led us into the hills to a large plateau that was more defensible. He plans to start rebuilding there, and was waiting for you and your forces to show up and take charge of our defense. The adventurers all died and didn’t bother to come back after they respawned. Most of the guard is dead as well. We were sent here to watch for you and to keep an eye out in case the Bloody Blades try to track down the rest of the town.
The Bloody Blades spent a day looting, burning, and drinking the town dry. They then split up into smaller groups and left. Personally, I don’t think they are looking for us…they’ve already taken anything of value and most of those that escaped made it with only the clothes on their backs... What are your orders sir?” The soldier looked at me expectantly, I could see he was glad to have someone in charge again. I thought for a moment before issuing orders.
“Soldier, you did well posting a guard here as well as keeping the transition point manned. One of you ride up here with me and direct us to the plateau where the town is located. Before we leave, all of you get with Sergeant Brooks and see to getting some real gear, as well as something to eat while we travel. How far is it to the new town site?” I asked
“Sir, it’s just about eight miles from here. The road actually leads right to it…and stops there as well. The mayor initially wanted to build there in the beginning, but the merchant’s thought being here at the crossroads would bring more money into the town…guess they were wrong.” The soldier saluted and then hustled down the row of wagons…more eager for a meal than the gear, I would imagine, from the way his eyes lit up when I mentioned food. We started as soon as the new soldiers were ready. A new prompt appeared on my screen.
You have taken command of another squad of soldiers; this unit is understrength. Establish a garrison to begin receiving replacements.
Current Unit Size: 47/70 maximum standard soldiers.
0/10 Advanced soldiers.
1/1 Elite soldiers.
We moved out once more, the Mukok keeping their slow and steady pace as we followed the road toward where Hayden’s Knoll was now located. The road led us up into the foothills and then, as the sun began setting, we could see the plateau the town would be rebuilt on. The road curved gently as it rose to the summit of what looked like a huge shelf about three miles in length and two across. A steep drop on two sides, and the mountain face forming a third, meant that the only accessible point for an attacker would be the roadway path, leaving potential attackers visible for over a mile and allowing defenders time to prepare. The “town” now consisted of a few makeshift tents and a couple of worn out looking wagons that people had strung tarps over to keep out the weather. An exhausted looking human in his thirties, dressed in dirty, but high-quality clothing, approached us. He was flanked by two town guardsmen who were armed with short spears and small wooden shields. They also looked tired and worn but were still wary of the column of wagons approaching. In the distance, groups of townsfolk could be seen seeking refuge behind a thin line of soldiers who formed up to repel any attack.
“Thank the gods! You must be the new garrison commander that Amerville was supposed to send. You are very needed here, sir. I’m mayor Delling and these are what’s left of Hayden’s Knoll, I’m sorry to say...but a town is its people, not it’s buildings, and we intend to bounce back better than before!” the mayor said, while offering his hand. I couldn’t decide if he was trying to bolster the morale of the citizens (none of which were in earshot) or was practicing for a campaign speech. Well intentioned politicians are widely known to be the most dangerous thing soldiers ever will encounter, sending us into battle with too much rhetoric and not enough ammo. I sucked it up and shook the mayor’s hand, giving him the benefit of the doubt for all he had gone through.
“Glad to finally meet you, Mayor Delling. The soldiers posted at the ruins told me what happened. I don’t see much going on here, I have to admit…no defenses, no buildings being built, not even simple shelters. You’ve been up here for several days. When do you plan to start rebuilding,” I said harshly, not liking what I was seeing so far.
“I’ve been planning the new town layout. You see, planning now will guarantee that future growth is less painful. I guess we still need to organize work parties and to gather food and things…” The mayor began to offer excuses in a daze and I didn’t even think he knew what he was babbling about. The mayor saw the look on my face and began to break down, with tears running down his face. The mayor just sat there on the grass and wept, finally gaining some composure and sobbing out his next lines. “I just wanted to make a great town, earn some money to pay for school, and just accomplish something with my life! I sold everything I had to buy the VR gear and pay for a 90-day subscription. Those griefers, the Bloody Blades, ruined everything…and the AI now sends some other NPC garrison commander that’s just going to get wrecked by the Blades once again…what will I do now!” the mayor stammered. I was taken aback, I hadn’t even considered this was a real player and not an NPC. It looked like he made the same assumption with me. I quickly scanned him again.
Delling, Level 2 town mayor.
“Delling, I’ll tell you what you’ll do now…what we’ll do now, together. We’ll get these people something to eat, build shelter, and start building up a town again. I’ll keep everyone safe, and when the time is right I’ll wipe the Bloody Blades off this server. I’m a player as well, and I don’t intend to fail,” I said as Delling looked up in surprise, finally scanning my info as well.
“From the looks of things, the first thing we need to do is to get these people fed.” The townsfolk had begun to approach as they realized we were the good guys. From the look of them all they, like the soldiers earlier, hadn’t eaten much in the last few days. “I have some food with us in the caravan, not much and it will not last long. How many people are we going to have to feed and what do you think we should do to get more food?” I asked.
Delling seemed to find himself again. I knew from combat that people could freeze up and their brain go on overload mode during a crisis. The best way to break them out of it was to give them a simple task they could easily accomplish. Asking for the total number of survivors was doing just that for Delling.
“We have 146 townsfolk right now. Only two of the town guard are left, eleven soldiers, plus all the people you’ve brought with you. I’ve had the folks ration out the food, but even with the little we’ve been eating we only had enough for another two days. As far as where to get more food, I’m open to suggestions. Can your soldiers hunt for meat? There’s game, but none of our folks are hunters. Many of the farms have fields that weren’t destroyed, but we’ve been too scared to try and harvest them with the Bloody Blades running about,” Delling said, focused on how to solve the problem. I considered our options before replying.
“With the rations we brought and what you have on hand, we can feed everyone for two more days. That assumes we all eat a normal portion. The debuff from being underfed will prevent us from working hard, better to have everyone strong for a few days while we work on the food shortage. Tomorrow I’ll have the wagons take several squads of troops and as many farmers as we can to the nearest farm and begin harvesting. I don’t have any hunters in my group, but there are some players that were traveling with us who are rangers/druids and
they could help, especially if I can create a quest for them. They’ve been logged out for a while, but I’d expect them back sooner rather than later. What about rebuilding? What do we need for that? My men will give up their tents for now, so the civilians can have shelter, but that’s a short-term solution. I’ll also have my soldiers begin to build some defenses here in case there’s another attack,” I stated while already planning my next day.
“My class lets me cash in resources and coin to build things in town. I don’t have enough lumber or stone right now to build a town hall. Building that unlocks everything else and would enable the NPC citizens to start rebuilding their homes. Rebuilding the town hall will also start generating replacements for the town guard we lost in all the fighting. The town is also nearly out of coin. We collect a small amount naturally in taxes when people are living in the city and conducting commerce…but with everything destroyed, we’re broke. I blew a lot of our coin on creating quests for the other players, but they’ve all moved on,” the mayor added, and hearing about the other adventurers reminded me of a concern.
“Do you know where the Bloody Blades may have been respawning from? We fought through an ambush of theirs on the way here and killed at least ten of them and I really hope they aren’t just going to respawn and hit us over and over. As far as the building materials go, I don’t know about mining, but there are several loggers who joined with the caravan to settle here and I’m sure they will pitch in. Can the town hall be built with just wood? I also need to get a garrison building up as soon as possible, otherwise I won’t be able to replace my soldier’s losses either,” I said.
“We really weren’t sure where the Burning Blades had their respawn set to, since I don’t think we were able to kill too many of them. The only thing I do know is that the ones we killed weren’t seen again in the later attacks. I had the feeling this was just like a starting zone for their guild and once they destroyed the town they’ll move on to other things. We couldn’t have given them too much coin or xp.”