by Tyler R Lee
The group threw each other faces that ranged from surprise to suspicion. Finally, NoScope got up and followed. Before she left the firelight, she turned to her friends. "Are you all coming?" Without a word, the group stood and followed.
* * *
"So..." Streak started, looking around at Artemis's companions, then to his own. "Where are we going?"
"Davo's Fortress, silly." Artemis didn't even turn around as she responded.
The collective sounds of confusion and trepidation from the party forced a small chuckle from the skilled archer. "We're just going to trapes through the BattleLands?" Peter asked, impatience rising in his tone. "We said we weren't going to fight."
"And you won't have to, sweetie."
"May I ask why?" Lysander kept his voice calm as he quickened his walk and approached the archer.
"Because everyone is under a temporary truce." Artemis turned to look at Lysander this time. "The fighting has come to a halt until a resolution is discovered...or isn't."
"Who brokered the truce?"
"I did," Artemis responded with another proud smile. The small commotion from the group made her chuckle again. "You see, like you, I was not comfortable needlessly bringing more death to this hell we've been condemned to. I wished to find another way. However, the leaders of the two factions were not as hopeful as I was. However, they did agree to the truce, and have given me a chance to plead my case. If I can convince them to stop, then great. If I can't, they will go back to battle."
"When are you supposed to convince them?" Ariel asked, intrigued and seeing Artemis in a new light, as more than some skilled but prideful player the group had thought she was.
"The morning after this one." Artemis's voice betrayed the usual confidence she had carried herself with thus far.
"And what makes you think they will listen?" NoScope asked.
"Because of the carving above the gate at Davo's Fortress. The very thing that has everyone fighting in the first place."
"What do you mean?"
"I'll explain when we get there. I've asked the leaders to meet me at the fortress to hear me out one last time before tomorrow morning, when I have to present a strong enough case to convince everyone."
The walk to Davo's Fortress was not a short one. It took the better part of two hours on foot. As they walked, they took note of different areas of the BattleLands as the sun began to rise, normally full with players doing battle with one another. However, with the truce in place, they appeared as desolate and long forgotten locations. There were at least two forts that still flew the flags of the most recent victors, and was littered with equipment. They also made their way through what seemed like a ghost town, strewn with rubble, but not a soul remained within.
After an hour and a half, they entered the heavily wooded area they had seen from the beach. During the trek, the group inquired about what had been happening in the area and with the factions. She filled them in on all the details, about how she and her friends had reacted to the announcement from Yoshitsune, about the people she had lost, about her initially participating in the battles, but deciding that there had to be a better way.
Finally, they came to a stone path within the forest. Following it, chest high stone walls replaced the trees on either side of the path. Further, it opened up into a relatively large courtyard area surrounded by much higher stone walls with matching pillars. At the other end of the courtyard was a massive metal gate underneath a partial ceiling held up by more stone pillars. There, directly above the gate, carved in ornate but clear letters was the phrase, 'Only one clan may enter the Fortress of Davo.'
"Alright," Lysander started as he and the rest of the group looked up and examined the writing. "What about that phrase makes you think you can end the fighting?"
"It's simple really. It’s the carving, combined with a bit of history on the fortress, story wise, that really drive it home."
"Care to share?" Gunner asked, tapping his foot impatiently.
"Of course. First of all, a bit about Davo. Anyone know anything about the character?"
"Wasn't he a sorcerer who lived thousands of years ago, and built this fortress after going mad with power?" Ariel asked.
"Not quite," Artemis said as she shook her head. "That is what you get on the surface. However, if you spend a bit of time doing some research, you find his story is a bit deeper. First off, he was once a bard, not a sorcerer. Part of an adventuring party. Think of it as an old school D&D group. What I found said he came to love the people in his party as his own family. Care to take a guess at what kinds of peeps he had in his group?"
She turned to look at the group, who just looked at each other, clueless. She sighed. "With him was an elf, a dwarf, an orc, a dark elf, and a hybreed. He, himself, was a human. Notice anything special about those particular races?"
"They're the races within the warring factions of the BattleLands," Ariel said, putting together what Artemis was pitching.
"Exactly. Nicely done, cutie. Now, that could just be circumstantial. But, there's more. Eventually, Davo's party was all killed on an adventure. He was heartbroken, and isolated himself in a home he built himself." She motioned to the fortress. "It started out much smaller and far less menacing."
"So, what caused him to go all H. H. Holmes and build a murder house?" Gunner asked. The group looked to him, surprise evident on their face. "What? America's first serial killer? That's right, I know things." Streak slugged Gunner in the arm with a grin.
"Good question. Well, that's actually when the war started, as far as the story goes. It wasn't always to gain access to Mount Apex like it was for the game. The history talks about lots of bad blood and territory disputes. You know, the boring stuff war is always about. The stuff we could easily talk about, but we decide to kill each other over instead.
"Anyway, Davo tried to stop the fighting, but was eventually driven mad by all the bloodshed. So, he created this death trap in his madness, sealing away access to Mount Apex, what was once one of the holiest places in the world. He believed that people didn't deserve to commune with the creators when they couldn't even fix their own problems.
"Eventually, Davo passed without unsealing the gate, and the temple at the top of Mount Apex fell into ruins. Since then, no one has passed through the fortress or been atop the mountain."
"And all this has to do with what you have discovered?" Lysander, along with the rest of the group, were listening intently by this point.
"Indeed, it has. I believe the phrase above the gate to be a riddle. You see, everyone believes it to mean that when one faction is left, then they can enter the fortress. But, Davo was never in favor of the conflict. In fact, he sealed the gates because of them. Combine that with his companions matching the warring races, and I think you have a very different meaning to the phrase."
"'One clan,'" Peter read aloud. "One."
"When the divided clans unite to form 'one clan,'" NoScope continued.
"Then, they will be allowed entry into the 'Fortress of Davo.'" Lysander finished.
"Exactly!" Artemis spun around with a big smile on her face, showing a very different side of herself. "And that is what I have to convince everyone of."
"It sounds rather convincing to me," came a soft spoken but deep voice from the trail leading into the courtyard. The group turned to see a tall man garbed in blaze orange and white samurai garb, flanked by four others.
"Isn't that..." Gunner started, but let his thought trail off.
"Amaterasu, you came." Artemis stepped forward to meet the newcomer. Her air of pride was back instantly.
"Of course I did. I said I would."
"And how much did you hear?"
"Enough to believe that you may be onto something." The samurai turned to his companions. "What say all of you?" They all nodded and added their own positive comments. Artemis allowed herself another smile. "Granted, you will still need to present all of this to everyone tomorrow. People will need to be convinced. We
all have things we are fighting for, families, homes to return to. We must be convinced that ending the fighting will not be a waste of time. But, I think you will certainly have much support."
"She will need unanimous support," came another voice from the path. This one was metallic and somewhat electronic. His heavy, metallic steps echoed off the stone as he strolled into the courtyard, fully armored in metal of black, gold, and blue.
"You disagree, Sonic Man?" Amaterasu asked. His tone did nothing to hide his disdain for the individual.
"I think it's an interesting premise, but it seems rather flimsy."
"How so?" Artemis asked through gritted teeth.
"You are basing this off of history from the game's story, which is iffy at best. It isn't as concrete as it should be."
"What more do you need?" NoScope asked.
The three highest ranked players looked to her. "Who are these?" Sonic Man asked, his tone indicated he was more bothered by their presence than anything.
"These are friends I met earlier. They made it off the island that was created for the free weekend. Meaning they've been through hell and back from level one and made it this far."
"Impressive," Amaterasu nodded.
"I guess," Sonic Man added. "Still, you are asking us to end the fighting, the only sure way we know to get into this fortress and stop Yoshitsune."
"I don't think fighting is a sure way to anything." Ariel stated. "You're simply doing what has always been done."
"The phrase carved above the gate is quite clear," Sonic Man stated as if it should be obvious.
"It seems more likely that Artemis is on to something," Gunner put forward. "She did do a lot of research."
"Oh, well if you say so, I must take your word for it," the metallic warrior said with biting sarcasm at Gunner, who blushed slightly and gritted his teeth. "Why not leave the discussion to the adults, children."
"Ya know what?" Gunner said as he stepped forward and made to transform his arm into its cannon form, but Peter and Lysander stepped in front of him and placed their hands on his chest.
"What do you all think?" Amaterasu asked of Sonic Man's four companions.
"Yes, what do you all think?" the masked man asked as he turned to his followers. To his chagrin, they hesitated, then expressed that they thought it made since.
Under the mask, a look of hatred had grown onto his face. In a fit of anger, he turned to Artemis and said, "You still need a majority vote tomorrow. Just hope that you can convince everyone of this crazy plan. If not, we get back to business." He directed the final part to Amaterasu, who growled through his wolf-like snout under his helmet.
With that, Sonic Man stormed off with his companions reluctantly following.
"Well, he's lovely," Peter said as he patted Gunner on the chest, who was still eyeing the cyborg as he walked away.
"He has been the biggest issue with this plan," Artemis replied. "He has been against it from the beginning."
"Well, bright side, it looks like even his men agree with you," Ariel offered.
"Let's hope so." Then, Artemis turned to the party. "Thank you for your support. It is much appreciated."
"Anything that can stop the senseless killing," Peter said.
"Agreed. If you all don't have any reservations someplace nicer, you are welcome to camp with my companions and myself."
The group gave a collective nod to one another. They bid farewell to Amaterasu and his followers, who reaffirmed that Artemis had their support. Then, Artemis and her four followers led the party to their camp outside the woods, about a mile away from the gates of the fortress.
Chapter 19
Artemis led the group to a small, seemingly abandoned village on the outskirts of the wooded area surrounding the gate to Davo's Fortress. It was one of the territories used in the player versus player matches. However, with the truce, Artemis and those that followed her had claimed it as their temporary base. "Make yourself at home," the archer offered, arms in a gesture of presentation as she motioned to the abandoned buildings around them. Like many of the other locations the group had seen, this one showed all the signs of its residents leaving in a hurry; equipment and rubble was scattered throughout the streets, and many of the buildings were in disrepair. Which were design choices by the game designers and which were from battle, the party could not tell.
"Very homie," Streak said as he examined the area at blinding speed.
"It's not five star," Artemis chuckled as she sat down on a nearby barrel, "but it serves as home. For now."
The rest of the party found places to sit. After a long silence, Peter asked, "when is the hearing tomorrow?"
"Noon, game time."
"Do you think everyone, or, at least a majority will side with you?" Ariel asked, genuine concern in her tone.
"I certainly hope so. I have faith that Amaterasu will. And he is very well respected in his faction, so I believe that most of them will side with him."
"And the Iron Man knock off?" Gunner spat.
Artemis chuckled again, but it carried a weight of nervousness to it. "Sonic Man. He has always vehemently opposed this idea. So much so that it borders on some kind of ulterior motive. What that would be, I can't even begin to guess."
"He's always been seen as a slimy sort," Lysander offered. The surrounding group nodded in agreement.
"Hell, I was only able to watch until recently, and even then he always came off as a pompous creep," Peter added.
"We certainly aren't friends." Artemis had taken her bow and began absentmindedly plucking at the string. It threw out small hints of magical energy with every pluck. "He's strong, to be sure. But, he's a grade-A prick. Luckily, it seems like even his followers are in favor of less bloodshed. Much to his chagrin, which, admittedly, makes it a bit sweeter." A mischievous grin crept across the archer's face as she shrugged.
"You could save a lot of lives with this, Artemis," Peter said. It was so sudden and out of the blue that the group looked to him with a bit of surprise, Artemis most of all. "This game has caused so much pain and death. Anyone who can stem that in some way...is a hero."
Artemis noticeably blushed. She adjusted her hood by pulling it tighter around her face. "Well...I'm certainly not trying to be a hero. I just...enough is enough. None of us asked for this. Someone had to do something."
"True," Ariel added. "Someone had to. But many didn't. You did. That's what counts."
"Well...thank you. Honestly, thank you all. I think your support tomorrow will be a boon to the cause. You've all been through your own type of hell. It's time we showed that sticking together and being there for one another, no matter who we are, is what will eventually get us through this."
Lysander, who had been sitting cross-legged on the ground, stood up and extended his hand to Artemis. "And we will all get through this. Together."
Artemis looked at Lysander's purple skinned hand for a few heartbeats. Then, she reached out and grasped it firmly. "Together."
"Together," Peter echoed as he stepped forward and placed his hand on top of theirs.
"Together," Ariel said as she followed Peter.
NoScope and Gunner where next, and, simultaneously, they echoed, "Together."
The whole group turned to Streak, who was sitting cross-legged atop a barrel. He smirked, rolled his eyes and jumped down. "This is so damn cheesy. Together," he joked as he placed his hand upon the others.
The group stood there, grasping hands for a few seconds before breaking apart. When it was done, Artemis stood and bid them all a good night. "You can sleep wherever you find most comfortable. Remember, the hearing is midday tomorrow. I need you all there."
"You can count on us," Gunner said as he pumped his fist in the air.
"I know I can." With that, the archer strolled off down the street.
* * *
For the first time in a while, sleep came easy for most of the group. However, Streak's night was restless, waking up every hour or so to nightmares
from the airship battle. They all ended the same: Val, NoScope, and Peter all falling to their death because he couldn't save them. Because of this, the speedster was the first to hear the commotion coming from the other side of the village.
"Hey, guys, wake up," Streak whispered to the group.
When no one roused, he kicked Peter, who was sleeping with his hand entwined with Ariel's. "Ow! What the hell!?" the martial artist groaned.
"What's going on?" Ariel asked, wiping the sleep from her eyes.
"Something's going on over on the other side of the camp." Streak pointed in that direction, and Peter and Ariel saw the flickering lights of torches in the still early morning darkness and heard more than a few shouts.