by Brent Roth
Motioning at them to start, dozens of confused faces looked at me as if I were crazy but none bothered to argue. Signaling them to get into a firing line, they each began firing their arrows one at a time, with individual feedback being given after every shot. This continued for the rest of the day, while I watched in silence.
This plan of mine was a secret to all but myself.
During the second raid, my actions might have seemed peculiar seeing how I focused on the psychological aspect of the raid than the more opportune possibility of maximum physical destruction. Many likely thought it odd that I would waste such an opportunity. The truth of course, was that my entire victory parade had ulterior motives from the start.
My slow wave as I turned and faced the crowd, the entire population within FWB’s village’s walls, was only half psychological in nature. The basis for the wave was the recordings of my gameplay, stored inside the five-hundred terabytes of drive space connected to The Cube.
Those gameplay recordings were available to be viewed by me at any point in time and had been continuously recording since the very first day of the Alpha stage of the game. There were thousands of hours of gameplay footage stored within those drives, though most of it was benign and useless.
Of course, the footage from the victory parade was far from useless. That footage was downright special. It was a virtual map of the enemy’s territory recreated from the inside-out. A virtual map that allowed me to create a physical tactical map and more. The war room was inside my head but the plans had been laid down.
There were twenty-three Player or NPC homes and four industry-related buildings all spaced out at approximate distances from the river in every direction. Scouring over the recordings, the hard data that was in front of me afforded and allowed me the chance to use a special tool of war.
The ability to train for scenarios.
Scenario-based training was now in full-effect. Outside of Dragon’s Breach where the troops now practiced, the fruit of my labor and ingenuity was already in use. A perfect rendition of the village we planned to attack, save for the actual recreation of the buildings themselves. A replica village at the outskirts, some three-hundred plus yards away.
The plan was a simple one.
Twenty-seven targets needed to be hit from a distance and were not visible from the outside due to the height of the perimeter walls. Yet with practiced precision and muscle memory taking over, the opportunity to hit those targets existed. The ability to lay siege on a blind target while firing off in the distance as practiced.
Those buildings weren’t fire-proofed and they lacked the defensive structures to repel a ranged attack. Their only defense was to shelter inside and wait or to sortie and meet us on the battlefield. Either one would prove disastrous for them but I preferred the former.
I wanted them to sit inside and wait.
Wait, as their entire village burned to the ground, each and every building. I didn’t want to have a single casualty on our side but I wanted one resounding victory that would completely crush their hopes and dreams. To destroy any lingering thought that they could stand a chance if they only resisted and persisted.
The doubt that was harbored in the back of their minds had been entrenched by the second raid and the camping in the forests after. Now it was time to finish them off for good. Though there was one tower that stood outside of the village. Standing as the lone watch tower to serve as the eyes of the people inside, that tower would be left for me.
I would silence that tower with ease.
And if they sat inside their village and waited, everything they held dear would be lost and consumed by the fire.
But if they decided to challenge us and meet us on the field of battle, the units accompanying me would retreat to the safety of the trees and engage in skirmishes as I would meet the charge alone.
The second troop would remain inside the second ship, hidden out of sight until the enemy revealed itself. At that moment when the enemy overextends, the ship would move forward and cut them off from the rear, while continuing to fire from range.
The second unit was for redundancy and was not needed for the plan to succeed but they would be there in case it didn’t. The reality of war was that the practiced and experienced were often the victors when technology and ability were evenly matched. Even if they had the numerical advantage in terms of bodies, we had experience on our side. We were seasoned combatants now.
We were trained soldiers.
Yeah, I had an army at my side while they were individuals with egos and goals. We fought as one, as a group, a unified front. They fought as amateurs with no coordination or even a semblance of unit cohesion. I would beat them on every front.
Mentally, physically, emotionally, economically… the list could go on.
“Sir Sigurd, first target has been successfully hit by all bowmen,” relayed Astrid as she was the closest NPC off to the side. “Do you wish for us to move on to the second?”
“No, repeat the first one more time, then move to the second,” I explained quickly. “Every time they complete a target, have them start over before continuing to the next. That means first target success, repeat, second target trial. On second target success, repeat first through second, then third target trial. So on and so on.”
“Sir we’ve had to move forward as the distance that the arrows can cover is quite short,” called out one of the warriors at the end of the firing line. “Do you wish for us to remain where we stand, or should we relocate?”
“Find a spot where everyone can accurately hit the target, then mark it and use that from now on,” I said loudly so they could all hear.
This type of training could take a few days but that was fine with me, as the second ship was nearly ready but not quite finished. We would have to wait for Stigr to complete his work before setting out on our voyage.
“Annalie, your proficiency with the bow is… surprising,” I mouthed out with no sound as I watched the shield-bearer struggle. She had stopped complaining since our duel in the forest and when I inspected her the next day, her Loyalty bar had moved slightly as her Trust and Affection both increased.
The thought that she trusted me more because of the events was surprising but nothing could explain why she would gain points in affection for me. That was entirely beyond my mental ability to reason. It baffled me and I didn’t even want to think about it. Beating her in a duel made her attracted to me?
That did not compute.
Our relationship was one of strangers that butted heads, that bar should be empty and I wanted it to remain empty. Ah these Gods have created the weirdest NPCs and the strangest of AIs to control them. These Gods of course… were the designers.
“Lousy game designers,” I mumbled somewhat randomly.
“Game designers?” inquired Katherine almost immediately as I nearly jumped in shock by her sudden appearance and question.
“The game we’re playing here with the arrows and the structures,” I said nonchalantly in an attempt to cover up the real meaning. “I was thinking the buildings could look more real, but my time was lacking… criticizing myself in third-person is all.”
“I see,” she replied as she watched the temporary archers practice.
She’s not supposed to ask these kinds of questions, I thought to myself in a panic. The AIs were allegedly shackled so that any mention of the game or players or NPCs would go over their heads. There wasn’t supposed to be a reaction.
Yet she was reacting.
Should I report this? I wondered.
If an AI was breaking the rules then it should probably be reported but in doing so… she would likely be altered, memory-wiped, or lost altogether. She was… my friend in this game, my companion and to be the one that destroys her, no, I couldn’t do that.
It was too risky to report for now.
Or maybe it wasn’t risky enough for me to report it. So what if she was bending the rules surrounding her shackles, she was still stuck w
ithin the game and posed little to no threat. She might grow curious of the other world but there wasn’t anything she could do about it. Yeah, this was harmless.
“Come ‘ere you,” I said with a grin as I gave Kate a hug from behind. Getting my mind back on track while warming up with Kate’s added body heat, the bright sun that started us off had disappeared behind some light clouds as a cold breeze came in from the ocean.
Winter was here all right.
At least the waters weren’t frozen over, though a large accumulation of ice had been seen a little ways off the shore. Either way, the weather wouldn’t impede our progress by much. My plans to produce more dire wolf pelts would have to be put on hold for now despite my assurance to Ellieby that I would send some her way.
If I waited too long with FWB, they would strengthen their position to the point where casualties on my side would be likely. A few silvers weren’t worth the time invested in my troops. The training would take priority for now. And as far as Kate was concerned… there was no issue. She was fine where she was, right here.
“We’ve managed to clear the second target Sir Sigurd!” shouted Astrid with a giant smile following. “At this pace, I believe we’ll soon be ready to move!”
“Good work! Take a break after the third is completed,” I loudly replied.
We had two real days left to get this right.
That was one day more than necessary.
“We’re coming, FWB… don’t you worry,” I mumbled to myself as Kate quietly listened to my every word. “This will be the end of your run here in the North.”
“For Selene,” she interjected.
“Yeah, for Selene,” I mumbled back.
Chapter 95: Setting Out
(Monday, January 10th Game Day / Friday, May 7th Real Day)
“Is she sea ready?” I asked the shipbuilder as I inspected the second longship that had been roughly completed an hour before. “Missing some finer touches, it looks like.”
“She’ll float ‘n all, that’s what’ll matter,” Stigr replied as he rubbed his elbow that appeared to have a nasty bruise. “If you want it finished, give me ‘nother day, plus ‘n hours’ time to clean ’er up and get her right.”
“Have Kate look at that arm, she’ll take care of that in a quick minute,” I said as I nodded in the direction of his purple and black bruise. “Good work as usual Stigr, another fine quality ship and in record time too.”
“Still short a seasoned hand,” he muttered with a shake of his head.
“You’re in for quite a lot of time off Stigr, no plans for you for a while now,” I replied as I began to walk away. “I’ll look into finding help though… in the meantime, why not pick out a child to help, train one while you’ve got the time?”
“Bah youngins’ll be a waste of my free days,” he said with a dismissing wave.
Heading down the riverbank towards the collection of men and women waiting by the first longship, everyone was packed and ready to go. Thirty-one warriors, four priests, six lightning mages, and four dark mages completed my troop. The ships themselves were built to hold around twenty people but could be overcrowded slightly if less gear was taken. Forty-five combat personnel split between two boats with a sailor at the helm plus Katherine and I was a bit too many though.
The weakest three warriors and two of the dark mages would stay behind to watch Dragon’s Breach in case of an attack… that left a rather thin line of defense but my idea was that we would be gone for less than two real days. Activity around these parts had lessened and with the worsening weather, I wasn’t expecting any trouble.
Four units of ten combatants each, organized as one priest, two casters, and seven warriors. Two per boat with Katherine leading the second ship and with myself on the first longship. One sailor per vessel at the helm and that completed our composition for the voyage. As long as the seas remained calm and the winds continued to blow, this would all be over soon.
I was ready to wash my hands of FWB and this was going to be my last attack on them. A final attack to convince them to move elsewhere and seek a treaty. An offer of peace… maybe, depending on how the attack unfolded.
“Eindride are we ready?” I asked as I came within talking distance.
“We are,” he answered with a small turn of his head to partially face me.
“Then let’s begin,” I said calmly. “Havardr, Sigsteinn, Astrid, and Soren, you’ve got team leader duties, sort your units out and load up, the second longship is ready just up the bank. You’ve packed, unpacked and checked, and packed again?”
“Eh,” was the most unanimous reply heard.
“Good, let’s go then.”
Every warrior had a bow to hunt with and in this situation, the twenty-eight of them were given thirty-three arrows each, with twenty-seven targets to hit. Six arrows were for emergency usage as we would be firing in-sync in specific order with little pause, moving left to right then up and repeating.
Having taken our time in the drills while roughly eighty yards out from the target, accuracy was nearly ninety-percent at a firing rate of one arrow every ten seconds. The draw weight for the bows being used were well over a hundred pounds and required a different technique to fire them. Utilizing both arms and the muscles of the chest, shoulder, and back, they would pull the bows apart rather than rely on one steady arm and one pulling arm. It made sense, considering the draw weights but it did seem to take a bit longer.
Either way, two days of practice wasn’t enough for true muscle memory but it was enough for them to remember the order and angles. If mistakes were made, the second longship had fourteen warriors armed with bows to finish the job from the river, as after the first day they were split up and practiced firing from the ship.
Everything had been practiced.
Setting sail both Karvi class longships began to cruise through the estuary with relative ease as the clock ticked over to 9:00 AM. One hour had passed and three hours of daylight remained. The voyage would take roughly twelve hours, give or take a few hours, and if lucky we would arrive in FWB’s territory before midnight. I wanted a night raid… one where my new spell could be utilized in full-effect.
They say a lightning strike is more majestic in the night sky, after all.
Chapter 96: The Lightning Strike
(Tuesday, January 11th Game Day / Friday, May 7th Real Day)
Beaching the longship on the riverbank as we pulled within three miles of the enemy village, the other longship continued on as they would sail and row down the river and circle around. Their destination was the riverbank on the eastern side of the village, where we had previously launched the prior raid. A twenty or thirty minute journey for them while our march through the forest would take about the same.
Jumping overboard into the icy waters with twenty armed combatants following in my wake, we moved onto the densely-packed snow that covered the forest floor. Eindride and Annalie were left to defend the ship, as the two wouldn’t be partaking in the festivities tonight. One was a sailor after all, a man of the sea… a fisherman by nature, the other an inexperienced shield-bearer too green to be on the field.
Stopping to check the location of the moons, one large and one small satellite that was directly north of our location, as long as we kept the light to our backs we would be heading in the right direction. Shadows under the canopy of the forest, the dim lighting of the night kept us close. No more than an arm’s reach from the man or woman in front and behind, everyone was responsible for the one next to them.
The clock was ticking and 11:00 P.M. was right around the corner so there was no time to stop and rest or to count numbers. Daylight was only an hour out and it was imperative that we reached our destination on time. It was a necessity to be on time as the coordination with the second longship was based on it, despite the ability to contact Katherine at any given moment.
There may come a point where communication would be unavailable… and we needed to be ready for that. We hunted with tha
t theme in mind and tonight, we were simply hunting a different kind of beast. The thick foliage had remained the same as the last time we passed through this forest, unchanged by the inhabitants of the village. Brush on the ground thick enough to block our path, we cut through as quietly as we could.
Five more minutes and we would be at the edge, the forest line that would break into flat plains of white as far as the eye could see… that was, until the eyes saw brown. That brown village with small circular wooden walls with torches spread every twenty feet along the edge. The village with its lone tower on the outskirts, serving as the eyes and ears. A warning system manned by NPCs yet one that would hardly help them tonight.
Returning to the squeaky crunching of the snow beneath our feet, it was a small annoyance but the light snowfall brought a sense of calm that helped one get by. The winter wonderland of the North was here and the pines did their best to keep most of the snow up above our heads. If only the pines let the moonlight shine through, then everything would have been perfect.
As we traveled through the forest and made our way to the edge of the tree line, stopping short of exiting the cover of the pines, not a single animal had been heard or spotted on the way. A peculiar thing as one would expect to hear something, it was as if our hostility was sensed in the air and sent them into hiding. Perhaps our bloodlust was in the air, wafting about as only animals could sense.
Maybe it was ours… more likely it was mine.
Steadily building my anger as we walked through the shadows of the forest, my preparation for [Enraged State] and [Frenzy] if needed was nearly complete. It only worked when I was mad… so in a way, the game wanted me to rage. It condoned it, welcomed it, and even supported it.