>>>SYSTEM ALERT!<<<
World Event Announcement!
Attention, all citizens of Io! The drow wizards, an ancient enemy not seen on the surface of Io for millennia, have once again declared war on all the light races. Their aim is to kill or enslave every being who serves the gods of light. Intent on nothing less than world domination, they are launching assaults against every capitol city in the light lands.
World Event Quest: Hold What You Have!
Defend your home kingdom! Report to your capitol city (or the nearest capitol city,) and help defend against the dark forces attacking there. This quest can be completed individually or in groups. Attacks will begin on all cities simultaneously in four hours.
Reward: Experience, gold, and reputation gains based on participation. Potential for Epic quality item. Top-tier participants will receive Legendary quality item.
Do you wish to accept this quest? Yes/No
Smiles appeared on everyone’s faces as they mentally clicked the ‘Yes’ button. All except Alexander’s. He was seeing only the countdown clock that was ticking down from 3:59 in the upper corner of his UI. When he began to curse and pace, the others turned their eyes toward him. Noticing the attention, he said, “This may change our plans. If this place is about to be attacked again, we can’t very well leave it to the citizens to defend.”
Sasha spoke up. “But we were about to do just that. I mean, you brought the orcs and minotaurs down, and the dragons are here as well.”
Alexander shook his head. “That was when I thought an attack was unlikely. We’ve been assuming that the Dark One and his masters had given up on us after we beat their armies, at least for a little while, and moved on to cities like Damerion. But this world event says all capitol cities will be attacked. And now this keep is the capitol of Elysia.”
Sasha still looked skeptical. She was about to speak when Melanie’s avatar appeared behind Alexander. She poked him in the back with both hands and shouted, “Boo!” causing him to jump and spin with his hand on his sword.
“Ha! I got you good!” She beamed at him, clapping her hands together. When she saw he wasn’t amused, she calmed down and dropped her hands. “I’ve got a message. Two, actually. The first is that security caught a mole in Olympus, and we think they’re about to catch Matt, too.” She waited for him to digest this.
Alexander asked, “Was anybody hurt?”
“Nope! Your pop and Michael are interrogating her now. But they caught her before she could do any damage. The cops are on their way to pick her up.” She smiled again and this time Alexander smiled back. Jules stepped over and gave Melanie a hug.
“Oh! The second message. It seems Odin has decided to go ahead and start the planned world event wayyyy ahead of schedule. The drow wizards thingy wasn’t supposed to happen yet. Your dad thinks you triggered Odin to start it early. Anyhow, none of us knows for sure what Odin’s going to do, but we think you can expect bad beasties at your door just like everyone else.”
Alexander sighed at the cheerful tone she used to deliver that news. He was reminded of when, as a child, he would listen to doctors try to be upbeat as they delivered bad news about his test results.
“Thank you, Melanie. We appreciate the heads-up. Please thank my father as well. And I’m glad everyone at Olympus is okay.” He gave her the best smile he could manage as she waved and disappeared.
Sasha jumped up on a table and shouted, “Well, you all heard it! The raid’s off! Time to defend this place against whatever they throw at us!”
The citizens, who had been frozen while Melanie was in-game, burst into action. Bodies rushed around the courtyard as they reacted to the alert message that they’d all seen. They knew from experience that defense quests could provide huge XP boosts and rewards.
Sasha quickly began to organize the players. “Max, Lainey, grab Lorian and bring all the hunters back in. Leave a couple up on the plateau as scouts. And one in the Dire Woods to warn us of approaching enemies.”
She looked at Brick. “You’ve got four hours to repair any weapons or gear that needs it. You and Grumpy organize the smiths.” The two dwarves were already moving toward the smithy.
“Lugs, please head over to the mine. Tell the miners and the rock trolls they’re welcome to join us here in the keep. If they insist on staying out there, we’ll need to figure out who to put with them to hold the line in case they need to retreat and seal the mine.”
She turned to Alexander. “You should probably go get more of the orcs and minotaurs. If we’re going to defend the outer wall, we’ll need a lot more than the few hundred citizens we have here now.”
Alexander agreed. He said, “Jeeves, loudspeaker please.”
“Ready when you are, Majesty.”
“Attention, all Elysians. You’ve all seen the alert. A dark army of unknown size and composition will attack our keep in less than four hours. I want all of you armed and armored immediately. Citizens already here in the keep, you know your stations. Begin preparations for battle. For all you citizens up on the plateau who are interested in participating in our kingdom’s defense, please make your way to the garrison tower and teleport here to the keep.”
Alexander looked around and spotted Beatrix. Motioning her closer, he said, “Please go and speak with the Duergar Council. Ask if their people are willing to help. Either on the wall, or carrying wounded to the healers, or delivering ammunition and supplies to the fighters. We’ll take any help they’re willing to give.”
The diminutive mage adopted an earnest and determined look on her face and charged away toward the outer-wall dwelling where the portal mirror to the duergar city was kept.
With a few hours left before the start of the event, Alexander moved to the smithy. Every weapon or piece of armor that was crafted within the dragon forge was blessed by gods of light to do extra damage against the minions of the dark. But Alexander wanted his people to have every advantage, so he had one of the apprentices start bringing him items from the armory. He took a seat at one of the long tables in the dining area nearby and began to enchant.
For shields, he added a +3 Strength enchantment. For chain or plate armor pieces, he added +3 Stamina. To leather armor pieces, he added either Stamina or Agility. Every thirty or so items he had to stop to rest, eat a piece of fruit, and drink a mana potion. When he had worked through several piles of armor, he switched to weapons. Swords, hammers, and axes got +3 to Strength, while the crossbows got +3 to Agility.
After a couple of hours, orcs began to arrive through the mirror. The burly warriors were armed and armored, looking fierce with their faces and bodies painted. The average orc warrior stood seven feet tall, with shoulders too wide to fit through most doorways.
Alexander immediately had one of the guards stationed at the mirror to send all the arriving warriors to the smithy. Their weapons had not been forged at the keep and held no blessing, so Brick lined up three apprentices and had them begin a sort of assembly line to fix that. They took the swords and axes from the orcs three or four at a time and set the blades in the dragon forge. After a minute of being heated by the magical flame, they took each blade and hammered a stamp of the Elysian Dragon symbol into the metal of the blade. Then they quenched each one in a barrel filled with the blessed water from the underground stream.
In this manner, the magic of the dragon forge and the blessings of the light gods were imbued into each weapon. The orcs were each given a flask filled with the same water to drink, giving them the same buffs that the keep residents enjoyed on an everyday basis.
The orc warriors puffed out their chests and pounded on each other’s shoulders as they felt the buffs take effect. They examined their newly-improved weapons with approval and practically vibrated with eagerness to test them on new enemies. Those few who wanted them were outfitted with shields from the pile Alexander had enchanted.
As each group was outfitted, they were sent to the outer wall, where one of the guard captains assigned them t
o a unit and a spot on the wall.
Behind the orcs came the minotaurs. Molgo and Dawn arrived first through the mirror, followed by four hundred of their people, appearing one at a time. They too were sent to the smithy, and two additional apprentices were assigned to update their weapons. With five of them working, there was a constant stream of blades going into and out of the forge.
Beatrix arrived with several of the Duergar Council. Gelag bowed his head to Alexander and said, “Our people are Elysians. We will do all we can to help. Most of our fighters were killed by our queen and the demons. But we can help in other ways.”
Alexander replied, “Thank you. All of you. Please find Lola or Silverbeard and they will assign your people where they can be most helpful. And remind them to wear their dragon pins. I do not want to lose any citizens today.”
As they left, he grabbed Beatrix. “What kind of enchantments can you do? Anything that’ll help with weapons or armor?”
She thought for a moment. “I can add sharpness to blades with my water magic.” She looked apologetic. “Most of what I know is intended for jewelry. Buffs to Intel, Wisdom, Mana Regen. Or spells for light, night vision, poison resistance.”
Alexander patted her shoulder. “Sharpness is great! And if you can add Mana Regen to any of our caster’s gear, that would be amazing.”
The little gnome sat down across the table from him and began waving over minotaurs to add sharpness to their blades. Alexander took out half a dozen mana potions and set them on the table between them.
As the four-hour clock ran down, all of the orcs and most of the minotaurs had received their gear upgrades and moved out to their assigned positions on the outer wall. Alexander and Beatrix finished the last few enchantments with about ten minutes left to go. He sent her out to the gatehouse above the moat, where her water magic would be most effective.
Teleporting himself up to the control room, he sat on the control desk. “Jeeves, can I offer our people a ‘Defend the Realm’ quest like we have in previous battles?”
“I am afraid not, Majesty. Every citizen of Elysia has accepted the quest offered by the gods to defend the kingdom. You may not offer a second quest with the same goal. You could offer individual quests to kill a certain number of defenders. But that would take quite some time.”
Alexander figured that was the case, but he had to ask. It never hurt to give his people bonus XP.
“Are all of our people inside the walls or the mine now?”
“Yes, Majesty. All but the hunter scouts that you requested remain outside. The miners and rock trolls have elected to stay with the mine and defend it. I heard them speaking to Lugs. They have closed and sealed the gate, and the rock trolls are gathering boulders to use as projectiles.”
Alexander opened guild chat. “Lugs, are you still at the mine?”
“Yup. Figured I’d stay here in case they get attacked.”
“I’m fine with that. But you might miss out on some sweet XP if they only attack here. If you want to fight here to start, I can always teleport you back to the mine to help defend there.”
There were several seconds of silence before the big ogre replied, “Good point. I’ll head back.”
Alexander looked at the control table. Though he knew Jeeves wasn’t physically in there, it was just in his nature to speak to an object. “Jeeves, how many stone golems do we have now?”
“Sixteen, Majesty. Four are up on the plateau patrolling and filling in any blank spaces on the map. Two are at the quarry assisting with moving stone blocks. Two others are in the corral near the quarry guarding the livestock. The rest are here in the keep performing various tasks for farmers and crafters.”
“Please send four of them from the keep to the outer gatehouse. The other four should stay near the inner gate. They can help with moving wounded unless there is a breach in the gate.”
“Yes, Majesty. They are moving now. Might I make a suggestion, Majesty?”
Alexander was taken aback. “A suggestion? Well, that is a surprise. Improved Interface?”
“Indeed, Majesty. As you know, I have the ability to repair the structures within the kingdom. And at the moment, I have significant stone resources available to me. Should you wish it, I could increase the height or thickness of the walls. The entire process would take several days, but I could begin now, before the battle starts.”
Alexander considered it. As far as he was concerned, higher and thicker walls were never a bad thing. But those resources might be needed for repairs after the battle. And he didn’t think an extra ten feet on the few sections of wall that Jeeves could improve before the battle would help much.
“Thank you, Jeeves, but I don’t think that will be necessary. I would like you to focus on keeping us informed during the battle. Report the location of enemy forces as they move. Or let us know if you detect a breach anywhere. Especially up on the plateau.”
“Of course, Majesty.”
Alexander ported back down to the keep. The clock on his UI was winding down through the last minute. He looked around to see a few lower-level healers that Martin had brought from Antalia working with several duergar to fashion crude stretchers by tying sheets across pole frames. The Great Hall was designated as the hospital for the moment. If things got bad, they could transport the wounded up to the garrison tower as they abandoned the keep.
Silverbeard stood at the entrance to the donjon. Though he was a paladin and a trained fighter, his great age made it more practical for him to work with the healers. As well as organize things in the keep during the battle. He raised a hand in salute, which Alexander returned before teleporting himself to the drawbridge.
As soon as he arrived he called out to Rocky. “Hey, buddy! Are you down there?”
The moat monster stuck its head above the surface and blew a spray of water at him. He gave what Alexander considered to be a smile and bobbed his head. Chuckling at the prank, Alexander said, “Very funny. Now, listen. There’s an army coming to attack us any minute now. I want you to be careful. You can eat your fill, but don’t expose yourself. There might be hundreds or thousands of them and I don’t want to lose you. So if you get hurt, or you hear me shout, you go hide in the cavern by the lake, okay?”
The moat monster growled indignantly and shook his head. Rocky had the heart of a dragon and he knew about the death of the hatchling. He wanted his share of the payback.
Alexander got on a knee at the edge of the bridge and reached out a hand. Rocky lifted his head higher so that Alexander could scratch his ear. “I know, buddy. I want to kill them all, too. And we will! But we have to be smart. And it would hurt all of us to lose you. Understand?”
Rocky whined, but nodded his head before slipping back under the surface. Alexander turned to face outward to look at the forest. The clock had long since run out, but he saw no enemies advancing. In guild chat he asked, “Lorian? Any reported contact?”
“Yes, I just decided to let them surprise you, Alexander.” Lorian’s dry and sarcastic reply came through. Alexander rolled his eyes and turned to walk through the gatehouse. As he moved, he said, “Jeeves, raise the drawbridge.”
Just as he stepped off it, the bridge’s chains began to clank and creak and the bridge section raised up slowly. Alexander passed through the gatehouse tunnel, nodding at the murder holes on either side, where he assumed some of his people were stationed. Once through the inner gate, he instructed Jeeves to close that, too. The massive stone doors moved nearly silently until they slammed together, causing the ground to shudder slightly.
Alexander took several more steps toward the inner keep before turning and looking both directions down the wall. He could see his people lined up, weapons ready. Some gazed down at him. Others looked nervously out toward the forest, anxious for some sign of the enemy. Two of the light cannons were mounted on either side of the gatehouse, one manned by a human guard, the other by a dwarf. There were a few duergar scattered amongst the orcs and minotaurs who had joi
ned the human and dwarven forces.
The larger part of his forces were concentrated here, within a few hundred yards of either side of the gatehouse. This was where he expected enemies would try to breach the wall. Between the moat filled with blessed water and the high walls, that were enchanted to make them nearly impossible to scale, it was unlikely an attack would be attempted elsewhere. Still, he had small groups of fighters stationed every hundred yards or so along the entire length of the wall. They could call for help if an attack came to their section and Sasha would adjust their forces as necessary.
Several dragons circled the skies above and Alexander could see Braxis and two of his gryphons atop the inner wall keeping watch. He immediately thought of the gargoyles and their ability to evade detection by the dragons. A large force of them could drop on his people unseen until they attacked. But he didn’t know what to do about it.
He said, “Jeeves, loudspeaker,” and waited a moment before speaking.
“This is it, folks! Be sure to keep an eye on the sky. The gargoyles are invisible until they attack. So keep your ears sharp as well. Keep talk to a minimum. And watch your neighbor’s back!”
Fitz appeared next to him. The old wizard was outwardly calm as he surveyed the wall, much as Alexander had just done. “I too am concerned about the gargoyles. They have always been rare, as they breed slowly and have a tendency to kill their young. But the damned drow wizards have had centuries to breed them.” The wizard stroked his beard in thought.
Alexander thought back to all the old movies he’d seen that involved invisible enemies. With a grin, he asked, “I don’t suppose you could summon a storm? Make it rain? That might expose any of them that are up there.”
“Ha!” Fitz turned to look at him. “I may be the most powerful wizard on Io, but even I cannot just whip up a thunderstorm at will, boy…” His words trailed off as a thought occurred to him. “But I can do this!”
He slammed his staff down on the stone of the path and bursts of light shot upward, as if the weapon had just become a roman candle. Fitz tilted the staff this way and that, sending bursts in random directions all around them. Each light burst soared high into the sky before exploding in a rain of sparks.
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