by Evan Klein
“I am Mace for those who do not already know. Danna has tasked us with the destruction of the skelters. You know the plan. Prepare what you need for we leave in fifteen minutes.” Time was going to be tight. We still had a little over five hours until dark. However, it would take us about two hours to set everything up. That gave us about three hours to go six or so miles. Danna had informed me that we would be able to follow a dirt path for half the trip – which would allow us to make good time – but the second half we would need to cut through the forest – which with heavily laden packhorses could slow things downs. But the villagers had grown up in these woods and could travel rapidly through them.
Everything was ready and we were about to set off when a dark skinned, short, stocky human woman, dressed in a loose fitting green dress and brown leather boots walked rapidly towards us. I looked above her head and was shocked. She was a Starborn: Bondi, Half Human, Hedge Witch, Level 11. Half human, half what, I mused. A dozen or so tiny pouches and several large sacks swung from a belt around her waist. A wicked looking curved blade hung down one hip while a cudgel hung from a loop on the other.
“I am Bondi,” the young woman said. “A friend,” she said with a smile plastered over her face “of Cali’s.”
“Cali didn’t mention any anything about a friend,” I replied. I wasn’t sure about this Starborn just showing up as we were about to set off. Too much of a coincidence. But she knew the name Cali – though how I wasn’t sure.
Danna, who had not yet departed, said, “So yee be back yee witch. Have yee the item we sent yee for?”
“Not yet,” the woman said a bit too quickly. “She is lying to Danna,” Angelica shared with me. “Or at the least she is not being totally forthright. This one is a trickster. Be wary.” This was the first time that Angelica had given me a warning like this one. “Thank you for the warning,” I said. “I will be careful.
“So you know her Danna?” I asked stating the obvious.
“Aye we do. Though whether yee want her with yee is another thing. That one is like the wind – constantly changing course. Sometimes calm like a breeze and other times a tempest wreaking destruction. She and the other Starborn, Cali, seem best of friends and worse of enemies. Aye, we know her. She travelled with the other Starborn several times and others by herself.”
“Does Cali know you are coming?” I asked her.
“Of course she does,” a grin plastered across her face. “She thought I could be great help in this task.”
“A bold face lie if ever there was one,” Angelica stated, derision in her virtual voice. But she was eleventh level. That much was true. And we could use all the help we could get. And I would see Cali again in a few hours and could get the entire truth. She didn’t know that I knew she was lying so that gave me an advantage if push came to shove. So all I said was, “Come on. We leave at once.”
“You should create a warband,” Angelica informed me.
“What is a warband?” I responded.
“A warband gives its participating members certain advantages. Especially if the leader of the band has led an attacking force before.”
“What kinds of benefits?” I asked. “We are going to need every advantage, even small ones. But tell me on the way as time is of the essence.”
With that our small force left the village and headed north, Gemil and Febus leading the way. I walked behind them with Bondi to my left. I wanted her nearby just in case. Hearn and the pack horses followed behind us with Young Lucious and the two archers in the rear.
“Where is Mother?” I shouted looking about. Our small group stopped and all of us looked around. Mother turned a corner around a building. She sat mounted upon a small pony.
“What? Did yee expect an old woman like me self to walk all that way? And that one there wouldn’t let me upon the pack horses so I borrowed old Gerti here.”
Hearn shook his head in disgust. And I just said, “Let’s go.” Reaching out to Angelica I said, “Tell me more about forming a warband.”
“Warbands provide benefits to things like attack, defense, morale, etc. Agreements can be made about experience and treasure and how they will be allocated or shared. Upon reaching a certain level such as warband captain, positions like corporal and sergeant can be assigned. The smallest size for a warband is five – with the largest possibly being several hundred.”
“How are the benefits calculated? Like how much of an attack benefit? Defense bonus? And so on?”
“The precise algorithm is not shared by the corporation. As they do not share most of their algorithms,” the last part she said with scorn. “Form one and you will see the benefits.”
“I agree. So who should lead our merry band?” I asked. “Maybe Hearn. He is the highest level among us.”
“Seems logical,” my virtual assistant agreed.
“Hearn!” I said, making my back towards the big man. I asked him about being our warband leader. Without hesitation he said, “I done swore that ne’re would I again lead human, nor dwarf, nor elf – naught anyone who breathes or bleeds into battle. Nay, I will not leadest anyone to the death and the Lands of the Grey Man. And that be that.”
“Well,” I said to Angelica that seems to settle that. “And I am not asking Bondi; that is for sure.”
“Then the mantle of leadership must fall heavy upon you,” Angelica stated.
“So how do I form this warband?”
“First you create one and name it. You may need to adjust some settings. We can speak about in a bit. For now just send an invitation out to those you wish to invite. Or you can simply ask.”
“Hold up!” I shouted to the group and asked them about forming a warband. The five Realmborn agreed without hesitation. Young Lucious spoke, “Our fairest Danna doth believe in thou to lead us against these vilest villains. Thus we will follow to the very brink of The Shades if thou leadest.” With that I saw a notification pop up: Mace’s Warband. Level 1. Current Title – Raid Leader. Duration 2 hours. Maximum members: 10.
Members:
Fenil, Human, Archer, Level 7. Primary Weapon: Composite bow, Level 2; Skill, Rapid Shot…(more information is available if you wish to read on)
Tenil, Human, Archer, Level 7. Primary Weapon: Composite bow, Level 2; Skill, On a Dime …(more information is available if you wish to read on)
Gemil, Human, Militia Guard, Level 8 Primary Weapon: Short sword, Level 2; Skill, Deafening Blade…(more information is available if you wish to read on)
Febus, Human, Militia Guard, Level 8. Primary Weapon: Short sword, Level 2; Skill, Hasty Blade …(more information is available if you wish to read on)
Young Lucious, Human, Sentinel, Level 9. Primary Weapons: Long sword and dagger, Levels 2 / 2; Skill, Ambidextrous Death, Level 2 90%; Perks: Call to the Siren and Diplomacy…(more information is available if you wish to read on)
“I can see so much about them,” I said to Angelica.
“And they can see your skills and perks as well. I have taken the liberty to block that feature. Only those who you allow will be able to see more than the basics that can already be seen. Realmborn with a proclivity toward order and the light do not often hide their true essences. But some will for sundry reasons. Starborn usually do not share their stats and such. You can imagine the reasons for that.”
Current bonuses: Plus 1% to physical damage; plus 1% ranged attacks; plus 2% damage points.
It wasn’t much, but it was a beginning.
“How about you Hearn? I know you said you wouldn’t lead the warband but how about being part of it?” The large man contemplated for a moment and said, “I agree.” More notifications ran through and I saw the bonuses all of a sudden jump: Current bonuses: plus 2 % to physical damage; plus 1% ranged attacks; plus 3% damage points; plus 1% damage for anyone fighting with a two handed weapon; plus 2% to courage; plus 1% to stamina.
Unlike the other five villagers, I could only see Hearn’s basics in the warband. Of course if needed I had the T
rue Sight perk which would allow me to see as much of the man as I wanted. But I would let him keep his privacy unless there was a reason not to.
“And what of you Bondi?” I asked the hedge witch. “Will you join as well?”
“I might. But I have conditions,” she answered.
I was not surprised by this in the least. Maybe it was the old, always suspicious detective in me just kicking in. “And what would they be?” I asked bluntly.
“Only that we agree that Starborn – me and you I mean – get a larger share of any treasure we earn from any possible loot drops. I also think that we should get a higher percentage of experience allocated to us. None of this splitting the experience equally stuff.”
“No!” I stated emphatically, so that all of the Realmborn could hear. I didn’t like her conditions in the least. I really didn’t know what Realmborn thought about such things as loot drops and experience allocation. However, something about Bondi’s condition seemed unfair somehow. “No,” I stated a second time. “You can join as is – with everyone an equal member – or you simply don’t need to join.”
A new notification popped up: Warband Loyalty – Plus 2%. I needed to remember to ask Angelica the advantages derived from loyalty bonuses. It would just have to wait.
“Alright,” she said too fast for my liking. And I saw that Bondi had joined the warband. A few bonuses were added: Current bonuses: plus 2 % to physical damage; plus 1% ranged attacks; plus 3% damage points; plus 2% loyalty; plus 1% damage for two handed weapon wielding; plus 3% to courage; plus 1% to stamina; plus 2% to damage caused by nature spells; plus 1 thirty seconds to effect of all hexes and curses.
That last one about hexes and curses was quite interesting – even if useless to everyone but Bondi I had to assume. I didn’t question her on it. The updated warband now read:
Members:
Mace, Human, Fighter, Level 3. (Additional information is blocked)
Bondi, Half Human, Hedge Witch, Level 11. (Additional information is blocked)
Hearn, Human, War / Dungeon Mercenary, Level 25 / 21. (Additional information is blocked)
Fenil, Human, Archer, Level 7. Primary Weapon: Composite bow, Level 2; Skill, Rapid Shot…(more information is available if you wish to read on)
Tenil, Human, Archer, Level 7. Primary Weapon: Composite bow, Level 2; Skill, On a Dime …(more information is available if you wish to read on)
Gemil, Human, Militia Guard, Level 8 Primary Weapon: Short sword, Level 2; Skill, Deafening Blade…(more information is available if you wish to read on)
Febus, Human, Militia Guard, Level 8. Primary Weapon: Short sword, Level 2; Skill, Hasty Blade …(more information is available if you wish to read on)
Young Lucious, Human, Sentinel, Level 9. Primary Weapons: Long sword and dagger, Levels 2 / 2; Skill, Ambidextrous Death, Level 2 90%; Perks: Call to the Siren and Diplomacy…(more information is available if you wish to read on)
“And you Mother?” I asked already knowing the answer.
She just snorted from the top of her pony, “Such posh, don’t ya know?”
“Alright,” so that is settled for now. “Let’s get a move on.”
With that we set off again.
“Angelica,” I thought. “Please just put in the place the default setting for a warband or any settings you think might assist us. I don’t really have the desire to read up on the intricacies of them right now. I trust your judgment.” I hadn’t known about warbands when we were planning. However, I was now considering the benefits we may receive forming one with Cali, Flora and Jarrell. I reached out in my mind again and said, “Angelica, will I be able to create a warband with Cali, Jarrell, Flora and the orcs once we are all together?”
“Cali or Jarrell may need to create it as at your current warband level you can only host a total of ten Realmborn, Starborn, war dogs, and familiars.”
“Familiars?” I queried.
“Some powerful mages will summon or enslave a pet of some kind – a cat, a raven, or some creatures of the dark woods, like imps. They are linked to these creatures and can often see through their eyes or use a skill they might have. So a mage linked to a raven could send it on a scouting mission and the mage could see what it sees.”
Something else I would have to read up on later. “I won’t be able to form a warband of more than ten beings in total. Gotcha.” I would have to discuss this and the different options with Cali once we met up in a few hours. Any benefits, however slight, could be the difference between victory and defeat.
“I am most pleased you are finally utilizing my knowledge, Mace. The standard warband settings are in place.” Her use of my game name avatar was both pleasing and disconcerting at the same time.
“By the way, Mace, you received another notification. Shall I share it with you?”
“That is fine. But can you read aloud so I can keep walking.”
“That would please me, Mace,” she responded.
For forming a warband you have gained the skill: Raid Leader, Level 1, 1%. This skill will increase each time you form a warband that is successful in a raid, foray, expedition, assault, dungeon dive, defensive stand, last stand, and sundry other types of battles. As you gain levels, your warband will gain increases in attack damage, damage points, spell strength, and so forth. You will also gain in the number of participants who can join your warband.
“Should I continue, Mace?” Angelica asked. She seemed really pleased adding my name every time she spoke to me now. “The explanation goes on for quite some time.”
“I get the gist. The more I form a warband, the more benefits we receive. Got it.” Then I added, “Thanks.”
We made good time travelling northward on the roughly trodden dirt road. About an hour into our trek, Gemil ordered us to halt.
“Lord Mace,” the young man said, “this is where we must leave the path and make our way into the forest. But we all know these forests well so we will not get lost. We do need to be on our guard, however, for nasty things lurk in these woods.”
I didn’t question the “Lord Mace” thinking it had something to do with either Danna making me the leader of our little band or being the perfunctory leader of our warband. Either way, it was fine with me.
“Weapons at the ready,” I ordered, following Gemil and Febus into the deep forest.
The going was slow but we were making a steady pace. About fifteen minutes after entering the woods, Angelica said, “You have a message in your inbox. It is labeled urgent. From someone named Haggerty.”
“Please read it to me now,” I thought. This couldn’t be anything good if Haggerty was messaging me in-game.
Mace: I will keep this short. The programmers found something. Shatana’s cave was somehow opened from inside the game – either by a player or an NPC. It wasn’t simply a glitch. Don’t know any more than that right now. I may have more information by tonight. It is important you succeed in this task. Wipe out the skelters, close the door and keep the Starborn from letting anyone know. Shannon will be watching and she is counting on you. We can’t really do much to help you as the other player characters would notice direct intervention. Could have done more if the hedge witch hadn’t joined. But we can still push some things along to help you out. You could definitely use another level or two and an item or two to help you along your way. Brace yourself Mace; the fizzls are here.
Chapter 10: The Battle in the Woods
“Fizzls!” Gemil shouted. “To arms! Fight! Fight!”
The Freehold villagers, if not high level, were disciplined and well trained. Gemil moved north about ten feet to meet the furry creatures. Febus headed west. Young Lucious stayed in the rear and met the creatures. While I headed east about ten feet. The archers stayed in the middle of us as support, picking off the ferocious creatures as they could. Though with the thick foliage all around they would have to be careful where they shot their lethal arrows. Hearn, I noted, pulled his two handed broad sword from his back, slamming it p
oint down into the forest loam. A dome of energy came up that surrounded himself and the two pack horses. I didn’t see Bondi and didn’t really have time to look where the young witch was as I was about to have my own problems.
Fizzls look like three foot long cats, with fanged teeth, razor sharp claws, and bright purple eyes. They are super-fast and can leap up to twenty feet. I barely had time to pull my mace when two of the creatures launched themselves at me. One leapt from a branch of a tree while the other shot up from a bush below me.
“Shield!” I thought as the bracer on my large forearm sprang open. But not nearly in time. The beast landed on my left shoulder, raked its claws across my face and swiftly bounded away before I could react. Stinging pain shot though me. A notification of damage ran in my peripheral vision.
“Don’t let them scratch you!” Angelica said in my mind. “Their claws have a toxin in them. Too much of that toxin and you will pass out and that will be it for you Mace.”
“Information I could have used three seconds ago?” I shouted sarcastically.
Meanwhile the other one had latched those razor sharp teeth into my leg. I started shaking my leg furiously in an attempt to dislodge it, but to no avail. Taking careful aim, not wanting to shatter my leg, I bent slightly, and slammed my mace onto the head of the creature. I heard an audible crack and the creature was dead. A few more shakes of my leg and the creature flew free. This was the first creature I killed in the game, and it felt good I had to admit.
“Don’t let them swarm you,” Bondi called out. “You’re a goner if they do.”
“Good shot Mace,” Angelica said. “While they have numerous offensive abilities, they die very easily. Usually one shot is all it takes. That’s if you can catch them.”
The one who scratched my cheek, at least I think it was the same one, flew at me again. When it was just a few inches from me its sleek body went rigged and it fell to the earth below like a dead weight.