by Dean Henegar
3. Hayden’s Knoll area: The town itself is not patrolled directly, that is the responsibility of the town guard under the civilian leadership. During attacks, or times of imminent danger, troops can be assigned to patrol the town and assist in its direct defense. The town currently occupies only 10% of the plateau area and protection of the remaining immediate area around the town is the responsibility of the garrison. Soldiers assigned to the Hayden’s Knoll area patrol the plateau to scout out any potential dangers. Current troop strength consists of two squads of standard soldiers 13/20.
That made sense. It looked like I could adjust the number of squads assigned to each area. I could see that some of the squads were still under-strength. The squads patrolling the Hayden’s Knoll area had only thirteen soldiers out of their full strength of twenty. With replacements flowing in at regular intervals, we should up to full strength soon. Zooming out, I selected the other icon containing the rest of the explored map.
Hayden’s Knoll Southern Zone:
1. Southern transition point: This location defends the transition point in the south of the zone. This is a critical area. Destruction of the forces and defenses here will prevent the garrison from receiving reinforcements.
Defenses: Negligible. Currently defenses consist of a sharpened stake trench encircling the area and a simple wooden watchtower. Troop levels are currently two squads of standard soldiers 18/20 strength.
2. Hayden’s Knoll Crossroads: This crossroads is located where the main road from the transition point branches toward the unknown areas further north and toward the southeast, where the current town of Hayden’s Knoll is located. The crossroads area includes the ruins of the first town of Hayden’s Knoll that was destroyed by the raiders.
Defenses: Negligible. There are currently no fixed defenses at the crossroads. The troop strength is at one squad of standard soldiers 10/10.
3. Southern roadways: There is a single road that connects the transition point, crossroads, and the town of Hayden’s Knoll.
Defenses: Negligible. There are currently no fixed defenses in place. The troop strength consists of two squads of standard soldiers 17/20. Troops stationed to the roadways will automatically divide up into sections or squads and patrol the roads. If there are no troops assigned to the roadway, bandits and highwaymen may eventually move in. If bandits are left unchecked, they will damage the economy and morale of the local area, resulting in a loss of income and resources for the garrison.
Reconnaissance: You can assign troops to scout the surrounding area in order to reveal threats or opportunities in the zone. The number and quality of forces assigned will determine the information revealed. Currently there are no troops assigned to reconnaissance.
I kept the troop strengths where they were on the map, save for assigning the squad of advanced soldiers to reconnaissance. The soldiers of my advanced squad were already specialized as scouts and this seemed to be the best use for them. My forces would be spread a little thin, but there was not much I could afford to leave undefended at this point. I needed to talk with Mayor Delling to see how soon it would be before the town guard could take over for my forces at the main entrance to the town. His guards were nearly wiped out when the original town was destroyed, but he had mentioned that they would replenish slowly now that the new town hall was built. I hit the next option on the war room interface, the reconnaissance reports. The map in front of me sprouted a new marker northeast of the town, which I assumed indicated new information.
Reconnaissance reports: The reconnaissance (or recon) reports section shows information gleaned by your troops in the field. Many reports will offer opportunities for a quest. Simply highlight the markers to reveal what the scouts have discovered. One new report is currently available. To unlock more, assign troops to recon, or offer discovery quests to parties of adventurers.
Interesting, this seemed to be the way my class would discover quests. I felt more comfortable with my decision to assign the advanced troops as scouts now that I had seen this. I could use the experience and loot that the discovered quests could give, especially since I couldn’t participate in dungeons or raids. I knew from my trip over to Hayden’s Knoll that I had the ability to create quests for players, but the rewards for those quests would come from my own funds. I would have to wait until we had more coin flowing in before I explored that option in more depth.
Report: Tribal Trouble. Reports from local wood cutting crews toward the northeast revealed the presence of Drebix tribesmen. Despite the current uneasy peace, some bands of Drebix tribesmen are known to be hostile to the Imperium. The tribesmen will fight back using their vicious warbands, trying to stop or delay the encroachment of the Imperium on what they consider to be their lands. Eliminate the threat of a potential hostile warband in your territory.
Reward: 1000 experience and 100 resources.
Failure to complete this mission in the next 5 days will result in raids upon work parties from the town, perhaps even attacks on the town itself by the Drebix.
Accept Quest: Y/N.
I hit yes and told both sergeants what was happening. We would plan for the assault on the Drebix in a bit. For now, I wanted to finish learning the war table interface. I next accessed the paymaster tab.
Paymaster: You will receive a small percentage of the taxes collected by the town you are garrisoned in. If the pay requirements for your forces exceed your income, the difference will be made up by your own personal funds. Help the town grow by keeping it safe to increase your garrison income.
Currently monthly soldier payroll expense: 13 gold.
Current monthly taxes received (estimated): 35 silver.
Current Unit Funds: 100 gold, 31 silver, 34 copper.
*Note, as part of previous quest rewards, the Imperium is currently covering any pay deficit for your troops. You have 102 days of deficit pay reimbursement remaining.
Well, nobody ever said running an army was cheap. I had to hope that with the town growing and the new dungeon, there would be a windfall of tax income for the garrison. I didn’t believe the AI would create this class only to have it fall into bankruptcy so soon, without some way to pay for the troops. Through questing, or some other unknown method, I would need to meet our payroll. The upgrade tab was last, upgrades were usually my favorite part.
Upgrade Options: Upgrades are unlocked as you and your garrison level. Current available upgrades are as follows.
Level 2 Garrison: 500 resources/100 gold required. This upgrade will expand your garrison, allowing it to house up to one company of troops, as well as providing a few more creature comforts for your soldiers. This upgrade allows for more rapid replacement of losses. Other upgrade options are unlocked as the main garrison is upgraded. *Note, prerequisite building
Supply Depot: 100 resources/10 gold. The supply depot allows you to assign one of your soldiers as a quartermaster. Having a supply depot will enable the purchasing of upgraded weapons, armor, and equipment directly from the Imperium for your troops to use.
Aid Station: 100 resources/15 gold. The aid station enables you to treat wounds and disease among your forces more effectively. This upgrade also improves your squads, allowing one soldier in each squad to be trained as a medic. The medic can use magically enhanced bandages to create a heal-over-time effect for wounded soldiers during the heat of battle.
Recruitment Center: 100 resources/10 gold. The recruitment center allows for the rapid replacement of losses to your force. The upgrade will increase the replenishment of standard soldiers to three per hour, advanced soldiers at two per day, and elite soldiers at two per week. Further upgrades may unlock the recruitment of auxiliary units. Auxiliary units are specialized soldiers drafted from other parts of the Imperium. Common auxiliary formations include specialized ranger, skirmisher, magic wielding, or cavalry forces.
All the options looked attractive, but I would likely hit the supply depot first. My tr
oops could use some upgraded weapons and gear. The supply depot was also a requirement for upgrading the garrison level. All the upgrades looked to be beneficial and I couldn’t yet decide which I wanted first. There was no rush and I could mull it over a bit before deciding. The help file advised that once the resources were spent for an upgrade, it would only take about thirty minutes, to an hour, for the upgrade to complete. Garrison duties finished, it was time to plan for our quest.
“Sergeant Brooks, Sergeant Ty, it looks like we have a new threat to deal with. I heard the Drebix tribes can be tough fighters and we can’t allow a potential enemy force to fester within our zone. The problem is, what troops do we take and where do we pull them from? Have a runner sent to Mayor Delling. Let him know we need to see him right away about a potential threat to the town. I would like to know your thoughts, sergeants,” I said. The sergeants quickly roused one of the soldiers to go get the mayor as we considered our options. Within a few minutes, a huffing and sweaty Mayor Delling arrived into the war room.
“Raytak, what’s the threat? Are we under attack?” the mayor stated in a panicked voice.
“No sir, but it looks like some Drebix tribesmen are encroaching into the town’s area. If we don’t handle it quickly, they will begin raiding your work parties and eventually the town itself. What we need to know is how many town guards do you have right now, and can they handle guard duty at the town and mine while I take troops in the field to deal with this threat?” I asked.
“I only have ten guards right now. The total will increase to fifteen, slowly, over the next day and a half, but that’s it until I can build a guard house and jail. Both buildings are on the agenda, but housing and a market are first. I can have the guards keep a watch on the gate and send a few to the mines, but they really aren’t that effective yet. All of them are just level 1 guardsmen. Until I upgrade to a guard house, they have no armor and just a simple shield and spear as their weapons,” Delling offered.
“I think we need to take the two squads that are patrolling the area near the town and the two squads at the gate. Sergeant Brooks can have one of our squads that’s patrolling the road come in and help keep an eye on things here. I don’t want to open us up to bandits on the road, or risk making the forces out there at the transition point too weak. I don’t think we’ll be gone that long on this quest. If we head out there and find out it will be a longer campaign, we can come back and plan a bit more. I’m going to pull soldiers from the other squads staying behind in order to bring the assault force up to full strength. Our standard troops are replenishing quickly, so the squads left here in town will be back to full strength by tomorrow. Will that work for you, Mayor?” I asked.
“That should be okay for a few days. I have some funds trickling in now and can offer a quest or two if we need some adventurers to help out. Once the market is finished in two days, the income for all of us should increase. I also found out that a small percentage of coin gained by parties in the dungeon will be paid to the town as a tax, since it’s within our area of influence. The dungeons do work a bit strange in this game. Only a limited number of parties can enter every few hours, or we run the risk of the dungeon being cleared too often and not respawning. This is only for newly established dungeons, so, for now, I’m regulating the parties entering the dungeon. Yendys and her merry band are heading there tonight to be the first group to try and tackle it. We’ve started a waiting list for the others that I’m sure will show up over the next few days,” the mayor added.
“Sir,” Sergeant Brooks began. “I would suggest you take the advanced squad of scouts with you as well. You may have to track down these Drebix and they will also provide you with some ranged damage that our regular forces currently lack. I know you wanted them to scout for new threats and quests, but you need to make sure that the threat we know about is handled quickly and decisively.” Sergeant Brooks finished and looked to me for my response.
“I agree, Sergeant. It sounds like we have a plan. Sergeant Brooks, give the orders and have the squads for the expedition form up. How long until we can assemble our forces?” I asked, looking forward to getting into a potential fight with some non-spider-based foes.
“Give me an hour, sir. We should be good to leave by then,” Sergeant Brooks advised.
“Raytak, I’m afraid I can’t make it on this fight,” Sergeant Ty said. “I have a notice for a solo mission that will take me over to the west. If I don’t complete it on time, it says we could face yet another threat while we’re spread too thin. I should be back in four to five days according to the quest. Something about suspicious activity at some farms and mines. Before I head out, download this into your notes,” Ty said, and he sent me a list of codes he would use if he sent a message back with someone other than himself. The former force recon sergeant had fought all around the world and knew the tricks of the trade. The codes would let me know if a message I received from him was legit, if he was in trouble, if I should immediately kill the messenger, and other possibilities. I filed the document away in my system notes so I could refer to it later, if I had to. I had almost forgotten that he really wasn’t part of my regular command and was an actual player class called Imperial Scout. I felt a bit out of sorts due to not having my real-life friend on the adventure with me…but soldiers are used to being yanked here and there with our many deployments.
“Not a problem, Ty. Stay safe and let me know what you find out there,” I said. With that, we all dispersed and began to get ready for a fight.
Chapter 5
With the orders given to prepare for our mission, I found myself with nothing to do for a bit. I then remembered that I had the bracelet that Tessel had given to me as a quest reward and wanted to get it identified. There were also the two class-specific quest rewards that I hadn’t looked at yet. The two rewards appeared as scrolls in my inventory. I concentrated on the common one first. Upon reading the scroll, the item was identified.
Weapon upgrade: Standard Bronze Short Sword. The standard bronze short sword is the weapon issued to lower level troops of the Imperium. Well-made and sturdy, these swords can take abuse and be brought to a sharp edge again quickly. Item level 30.
The swords would be a great upgrade over the “crude bronze” ones we currently had. I pulled my sword from the sheath and noticed it was now the improved version. The upgrade had taken effect immediately for me and all my troops. The item level jump from fifteen to thirty should help with our damage output. I could hear several whoops of joy coming from the garrison as the troops discovered their new toys. Smiling, I made my way toward the merchants to get the bracelet identified. While walking, I activated the rare upgrade.
Garrison Upgrade: Supply depot. The supply depot has been added to your garrison. Visit the war room to view the effects this building has.
I resisted the urge to run back to the garrison and see what gear upgrades were available to purchase. I knew that the measly fifty resources we had wouldn’t go far and I wanted to identify the bracelet before we marched out. Still, having this building given as a quest reward was a pleasant surprise.
The merchants had set up shop in a small area near the town hall. The familiar cart of Phineas T. Moore was present, along with another merchant who must have just arrived at the town. I was certain that Phineas wasn’t enjoying the competition. Being the devious merchant that he was, I did have the feeling that Phineas would somehow come out on top of any trade war. As it stood, there appeared to be several customers for both merchants. A combination of villagers as well as a few players waiting for their go at the dungeon, were perusing the various items for sale. As I waited for Phineas to finish with his current customer, I heard a familiar voice call my name.
“Raytak! How are you, dude?” Jacoby said from the crowd. Jacoby was the first player I had met in-game and he seemed like a good kid, wanting to be a paladin and play the good guy in-game. He looked to have moved up in the world as well. He was now level 6 and sported some good qualit
y chain mail armor with a round metal shield. He had a war hammer attached to his belt and all the gear looked to be decent for his level. When we first met, we both had our crummy starter gear.
“Hey, Jacoby, good to see you in person again. Are you getting ready for the dungeon run?” I asked.
“Yep, just looking for some upgrades to my gear. I see you hit level five despite all the escort quests,” Jacoby joked. I did seem to be a magnet for the much-despised escort missions. “I found out from my guild that I just need to keep a positive reputation rating and I should be good to hit the paladin prestige class at level 10. I’m hoping some dungeon runs will get me past level 7. I’ve got to head out now, though. I’m meeting up with the others before we make our run. Let’s grab a drink after I get through with my run later,” Jacoby said.
“I’d love to, but I’ve got a quest to lead my forces out to fight some tribesmen. If you’re still around when I get back, the dinner and drinks are on me,” I told him, glad to see a friend, but wanting to get moving on my own quest. Jacoby made his purchases, arguing with the other merchant for a bit before grumbling about failing his negotiation check. I lost sight of Jacoby as he headed toward the town hall to meet the rest of his party.
“Ahh, my good friend, Lieutenant Raytak! A man of your discerning taste knows which merchant has the best bargains. Come and see the magnificent items I have for purchase today. Do you need some spices from the deserts of Imix, crockery crafted by mountain-dwelling monks, or perhaps just some simple haberdashery to spice up a dull uniform?” Phineas began his shtick, playing it up for the small crowd in front of us. We had had our issues in the past and his story had turned out to be a tragic one. Still, I had to remember to count my fingers after any transaction with this merchant.
“Hello, Phineas. I just need to have a magic item identified,” I offered.
“That will be five silver,” Phineas stated in a flat unenthusiastic voice.