Noob Game Plus
Page 36
What followed was a four-league trek across the country, as we moved north in search of this illustrious commander. Jerry spent the whole time explaining all her many virtues and the size and power of her command. I spent the time working on my eye-rolling muscles. We completed the trip far faster than Jerry had expected.
He didn’t have any ranks in War Leader, so he didn’t realize that each rank granted a flat 5% increase in moving speed over distance. My five ranks, therefore, gave a +25% bonus to the entire unit. Then, there was my Hiking skill, which granted my group a +10% bonus on paths that I’d walked before and all roads. Since we were following the road deeper into Lorrain’s territory, my army was positively zippy.
Usually, an army traveled a league an hour for approximately four hours. That meant that the normal distance traveled per day was 4 leagues. You could march longer than that, but your army’s morale and endurance took hits, making it generally inadvisable to do so. My abilities granted a +35% movement speed to the army, bumping us up to a total of just over a league every 45 minutes. Plus, my War Leader let us march an hour longer without penalty, so we could march for five hours a day. In total, we could cover seven leagues in one day's march.
I initially found it interesting that Jerry’s lieutenants followed me, but, if you had the command, I supposed it wasn’t that odd. It made sense in a play war.
The Falconian Civil War method of fighting was that one army would march across the province and conquer all the little towns. The next week, the other side would liberate them all. Then, they would rinse and repeat, until the war ended. Most of the time, a new ruler was selected, and that ended things.
Hamlets and villages ruled by the nobility were mostly just occupied with a token force. When the other side took over, they were thrown in “jail” for a week. Frequently, it was just a room at an inn. When their side took over again, they were “freed.” As Jerry explained this to me in detail, I kept wondering if I wouldn’t be better off smashing all of them.
At this level, the civil war was fake. There were no real consequences, unless you were an independent town. Those towns would get an offer to join with the nobility. If they refused, they got raided. When the raiders grew bored, the elite sacked them. The commoners in those towns would scatter to other villages and rejoin the population. The only reason Aetna had not been attacked yet was that the latest war had only started a few weeks ago. The nobles had been slow off the mark in the local area and had only just gotten around to it.
As we crossed the country, I tried to imagine what Falcon looked like in season. With the massive inland sea to the south and mountains to the north, the place reminded me of parts of California. There were vineyards everywhere, and powerful families seemed to be vying for control every new season. It was everything a homicidal maniac could possibly need. Badgelor should feel right at home here. The ongoing battles seemed to do massive damage at particular points, but, aside from that, the country was beautiful.
“Well, at least you aren’t fighting over religion,” I muttered, causing Jerry to look up.
“Why would we be?” he asked.
“Do you have any real reason to fight?” I countered.
He walked in silence for a long moment. I wasn’t sure he was going to respond, but finally he said, “My duchess told me to. We are avenging the king.”
“Avenging the king?” I asked. Jerry looked around uneasily. Then, he carefully walked closer to me, so that his troops couldn’t hear us. I bent over to hear him better.
“It is not common knowledge, but the princess killed her father,” stated Jerry thoughtfully. “I understand that she had a dalliance with the captain of the King’s Guard, Hardragon. Her father disapproved, so she poisoned him with a knife.”
I rode silently for a long moment. First off, poisoning someone with a knife was an odd way of saying that someone stabbed a person to death. Secondly, it didn’t make sense. Julia seemed rather upset that someone had killed her father. She didn’t strike me as the kind of person that could manage it. The more I thought about it, the less sense it made.
“She didn’t do it,” stated Shart.
“I know,” I replied, “but how can you be certain?”
“If she had, she would have a Kingslayer
“Have you seen anyone with that flag?” I asked, thinking back to the Shadow Assassin I had fought earlier. If anyone had done it, it would have been Maggie.
“No, but I wasn’t looking for it, either,” stated Shart. “However, I’m sure I would have noticed if it had been attached to Julia when you met her. The
I looked down at Jerry. “I know the king’s assassin was not the princess.”
“Hardragon swore that she was the killer,” stated Jerry confidently.
“He was in on it, as well,” I stated.
“Hardragon is a Dragonsworn,” stated Jerry, wide-eyed.
“Dragonsworn?” I asked.
Jerry tried not to cluck out that I was a provincial, but I could see it on his face. He coughed into his bound hands and continued, “Har is an honorific that the northerners use to denote their sworn duties. It's rare to find one of them not defending their sacred duty, but, apparently, Hardragon’s dragon is dead.”
“So, HarCharles?” I asked.
“The Storm King, HarCharles, is sworn to defend Charles, whoever that is,” stated Jerry.
“Boy, this Jerry sure is a fountain of unfortunate revelations,” stated Shart, meaning he knew all this already. The demon just hadn’t bothered to educate me. I would have been upset, but it's not like I wasn’t going to have to fight HarCharles eventually. Jerry must have decided that he’d shared enough, as he fell back a couple paces. We walked in companionable silence for a while. As we crested a fairly steep hill, we spotted another battle in what used to be productive land.
“Is your commander over there?” I asked, gesturing to the battlefield. The armies seemed to be circled around four adventurers.
“Yes, my cousin, Lorraine Channing Wells, is over there. I don’t recognize the rest at this distance,” stated Jerry.
“What are they doing?” I asked, as the armies began cheering the adventurers on. It looked like they were dueling, not fighting an actual battle.
“They are dueling, like gentlepersons,” said Jerry. He elaborated, as I gave him a pained look. “Sometimes you don’t want your army getting messed up, so you fight a duel with the enemy commander. The winner takes the loser as their prisoner.”
“You don’t sound too broken up over that,” I said, looking at Jerry.
“Well, normally prisoners are afforded more gracious accommodations than the ones you have provided,” stated Jerry. As Badgelor glared at him, he amended, “Not that I’m complaining.”
“Of course not,” I said. As we took in the scene below us, we decided to leave Jerry’s army on the hill to rest. I proceeded to hop off Badgelor. I needed to look weaker for this new, unexpected part of my plan to succeed. My tired critter shrank down, yawned, and crawled onto my shoulder. I’d been riding him for the better part of the day, so he plopped his tired head down to rest. He was snoring gently into my ear before we even began strolling down the hill. Jerry and I made our way across the soft, well-tilled soil into the formation without preamble.
Now that I wasn’t riding Badgelor and didn’t have an army at my back, the local guards seemed to pay me little interest. We were just two adventurers that were walking toward the group. There were duels to watch, after all. Jerry walked proudly at my right, until we saw his cousin. At that point, he attempted to run toward her while screaming for help.
I yanked back on his ropes, causing him to flop backward gracelessly and land on his ass. Lorraine Channing Wells turned her head to look at me. She had just won a duel, a
nd her new prisoner was discussing terms with her. Those terms included how long he would stay at her posh estate before being allowed to continue in the war. He was treating his capture as some sort of vacation, but, if that were the case, Lorraine was the deadliest innkeeper that I’d encountered.
She removed her helmet, revealing blond, shoulder-length hair. It had been fashioned in a style carefully designed to prevent ‘helmet head.’ Lorraine was athletic, and that was the most I could say about her figure with her armor on. Protection for women on Ordinal included the most breast-smooshing armor I’d ever seen. In Falcon, there was a slight concession to the fact that the armor’s wearer was a woman; there was a tiny dimple in the breastplate.
“Jerry, you idiot,” she said, rising to her feet and walking over to us. As she approached, she sized me up. “How much?”
I raised an eyebrow. “How much what?”
She snorted. “I hate you outlander adventurers. You’re always trying to make a name in Falcon by walking around with a string of captives. How much do you want for my snotty cousin? I’ll pay you 200 gold to leave him and walk away.”
“I figure we could just fight a duel for him,” I said, walking toward the edge of the arena. She tilted her head back and laughed.
“I just won a duel with someone who looks a touch more impressive than a traveling Cleric, even a Cleric who happens to be wearing my cousin's bracers. By the way, I will expect to get those back,” Lorraine said, watching me more intently. Upon noticing the bracers, her voice had positively flattened. Jerry must have been correct. Taking an adventurer’s gear just wasn’t done. Good.
“Yeah, I figure we duel. If you win, I’ll give you Jerry. If I win, I’ll take you prisoner,” I said, reaching the edge of the arena.
“It doesn’t work like that. These duels are business arrangements,” Lorraine retorted. “When I win, I get you AND my whelp of a cousin as prisoners. If you don’t understand, ask Nick over there. I got him and his second in command, as well as my younger sister back. The winner takes all in Falcon.”
“Even better,” I said, gesturing toward the arena. Lorraine considered it for a moment. Even if Jerry paid her back, 200 gold was 200 gold. She strolled over to me and gave me a once over. I’d have done the same, but I’d just watched her fight. There was no need. She flicked my armor with her middle finger. I assumed she had a perk that let her assess an armor’s quality by touching it. Next, she glanced at my scabbard and sword. I made no effort to unsheathe the weapon. She didn’t seem concerned by any of my gear.
Then, she saw Badgelor.
“An actual War Badger,” she gasped, her eyes growing more expansive. “Very uncommon. Tell you what, after I kick it, I won’t throw your unaffiliated ass into the dungeon. All you have to do is give me your badger.
“We’re kind of a matched set,” I replied.
“You’ll change your mind after a while in my dungeon.” She grinned wickedly at me and strolled into the arena. “You won’t be in the nicer parts of my estate.”
“I was in a dungeon recently. No one liked how I got out,” I replied coolly. She blinked, increasing her evaluation of me. If she had a high enough Lore skill, she would have seen that I was a level 9 Cleric and nothing more. She was cagey and experienced, though. She would know that Disguise was a thing. I saw her glance over at Jerry, who traitorously smiled back at her.
“Well, then, I agree to your terms,” she smiled, gesturing toward the patch of ground they were using as the center of the arena. There were multiple craters in the soil, where various attacks had blasted up dirt or sent victims to the ground.
I set Badgelor down, and he woke up. Seeing us surrounded, he expanded to Ultimate Badgelor. Instantly, the crowd went silent.
“Dude, I got this,” I said to him in badger, walking into the center.
“I never agreed to let you fight with a trained War Badger,” stated Lorraine. She attempted to step back.
“You thought I was bringing him against you?” I asked, drawing Grebthar’s Sword and preparing the formal duel request. Badgelor was out of the dueling circle. Once the duel started, he would be unable to enter. I sent Lorraine the formal duel prompt, and she quickly accepted. Then, she looked back at me and my sword. Doing so caused her to inhale sharply.
“Clever,” she said. “I don’t know where you got that sword, but, after I win, I’ll be claiming it, too. You know, much like you claimed my cousin’s bracers.”
“If,” I replied.
With no preamble, she launched toward me with a Thrust. I sidestepped. She quickly broke into Hack and Slash, striking at me four separate times. I parried one, dodged two, and blocked the last with Jerry’s bracer. It was a worthwhile expenditure of a small hunk of my Stamina. I took only a few Hit Points of Damage. Lorraine frowned. She expected her first combination to work as well on me as it had her previous opponent.
No originality.
“Are we starting?” I asked, bringing my sword fully in line with her. “I figured you’d want to salute me or something.”
She backed off several paces. Her initial strike had failed miserably. It was enough to damage her confidence, which had been my objective.
“I apologize. I assumed that you had no manners,” Lorraine said, turning around. Then, she turned back to face me, her blade in hand. “I am Lorraine Channing Wells, Commander of the Armies of Calistoga, and I shall defeat you.”
With that last bit, she pulled out a vial and drank the thing in one gulp. In the next few moments, she visibly swelled, as the Alchemical potion took effect. As she grew, so did her armor. I could never get used to that. Her armor was metal, and metal wasn’t supposed to expand.
“And I am Jim, the Curious Puppy,” I replied, saluting her with my blade and waiting. She paused at that.
“Seriously?” she asked flatly. “Are you going to teach me to mind my manners?”
“Have you been naughty?” I deadpanned. We began to circle each other.
“Where are you from?” she asked, changing the subject. The potion had not quite reached full efficacy yet. She was waiting for it to peak before rushing in.
“Windfall,” I answered. “It is just west of here.”
“Of course, you are,” she chuckled. “I hear there are a few quaint, small towns left if you keep going past Kellogg. You’ll have to forgive me, but you just don’t seem like a local boy.” Some of the troops laughed, but it was a sickly laugh. I knew just enough about the great road to know that Kellogg was where the Great Highway ended. Past that, there were various homesteads and small villages paving the way to the Eastern Gate Fortress.
I activated Flash Steps and appeared directly in front of her, just as she was mid-chuckle. My sword was ready. She realized what was happening at the same time, and we both activated Hack and Slash. She had managed four strikes before, but, with her newly enhanced powers, she was up to six. I could still only manage five. In a contest of swings, whoever made the most slashes won.
● Lorraine has struck you one time. You suffer 30 Slashing, 2 Severing, and 6 Fire Damage. Armor 17: 12 Base +5 Block. Damage: 0 Severing, converted by armor to 2 Slashing. 15 Slashing (13 bypassed armor + 2 converted from Severing. 17 Damage, Slashing converted to Damage.
● Your perks reduce all Slashing Damage by half. Resistance reduces Damage by 38. Your Dragon Scales perk reduces Fire Damage by 38.
● You have suffered 8 points of Slashing Damage
Her confidence recovered, as she realized she could hit me. I concentrated on casting a quick Heal Damage, which removed the minor Damage. Lorraine mirrored my movements before moving in closer, ready to really begin hammering me.
My Duelist build was all about Damage reduction. Even solid hits like Lorraine’s just didn’t do all that much Damage. She realized this and switched tactics. Her sword glowed, as she activated a Duelist talent I hadn’t chosen, Felling Strike.
There were a variety of Duelist talents. Hack and Slash launched you into a bunch of
strikes that were good against foes who were not well-armored. Cleave attacked multiple opponents at once for decent Damage. Felling Strike, on the other hand, was designed to strike one opponent very hard.
At Lorraine’s level and experience, Felling Strike caused over 90 points of Damage. Most of it was Slashing, but 24 points were Severing. The attack would have cracked through my armor like an egg, had it been successful. Instead of spreading out the Damage over multiple strikes, Felling Strike was an all-or-nothing blow. It was designed to end a fight quickly.
On Ordinal, classes generally had, at most, two or three defenses. Warriors had Footwork, Parry, and Block. Rogues had Dodge. Woodsman had Footwork and Parry. Specific Paths expanded your options. Adventurer’s gained Parry, and Woodsman who chose Warden gained Block. Precious few classes had every kind of defense. Picking which strikes to use against a class was half the real battle in a duel.
Felling Strike worked great against Warriors or Woodsmen. It did so much Damage that parrying or blocking the strike would have been impossible. Additionally, Felling Strike was heavy enough that the usual avoidance with Footwork wasn’t enough. Even defensive talents like Riposte wouldn’t work, because they required a successful Parry or Block. However, Felling Strike wasn’t a great choice against a Rogue. They knew Dodge.
I knew Fancy Footwork, a combination of Dodge and Footwork. As the Felling Strike blasted toward me, I leapt out of its range. My quick action caused Lorraine Channing Wells to stumble. As soon as I landed, I executed Thrust.
My attack was very nearly a fiasco. I went in hard, but I knew she wasn’t as off-balance as she looked. That knowledge kept me from fully committing. Lorraine narrowly stepped out of the way, but then my Hack and Slash came off cooldown.
● Quick, Powerful Hack and Slash: 5 Strikes, + Quick Strikes (3) Total: 8 Strikes
● Base Damage 17 + 6 (Sword Skill) + 4 (Strength) + 5 (Hack and Slash) + 6 (Powerful Blow) + 2 Severing (Sword Master) total 38 Slashing, 2 Severing.
Sometimes, it's all about the stats. Lorraine’s biggest problem was that my numbers were simply bigger than hers. Spirit governed how long a talent was on cooldown. That meant that, while it didn’t seem to be all that important, Spirit was critical in duels vs. similar classes. Because my Spirit was higher than hers, my Hack and Slash came off cooldown first. She was a sitting duck.