by Adam Elliott
If they had been attacking the Islo forces, the magic had been a catastrophe. Even at this distance, there didn’t appear to be any significant damage to the allied forces. A bit disorganized perhaps, which was to be expected considering how close they’d been to the epicenter of the quake, but the majority were already back in formation.
Stranger still, the Wardens hadn’t attacked. While his experience with them was admittedly limited, the Warden troops they had engaged thus far had always launched their attacks the moment the turn rolled over, if they were going to attack at all. It was possible that they were too damaged to attack, but even then, their movement was… unusual.
One formation at a time the Warden troops were disengaging. Cayden watched as a unit of around eighty terracotta warriors turned their backs, marched for a considerable distance, then reorganized. One formation became four, the those four then turned, and marched directly back into the line from whence they’d come.
âWhat are they doing?â Celia asked. Cayden started, so lost in his study of the troop movements that he hadn’t heard her arrive. Or rather, hadn’t realized she was still on party chat, his embarrassing search for the source of the voice in his ear drawing a titter of laughter from nearby Silver.
“Looks like they are changing up their unit structure,” Michael said, mastering the obvious. “But why?”
âMaybe put in some blockers to try and reduce casualties before the main force gets here?â Shifty suggested. Even he didn’t sound particularly convinced by his own suggestion.
For several minutes the assembled players watched in a captive confusion as formation after formation engaged in the same bizarre behavior. It was only when some of the newly formed units began to break off, moving around the flanks of the Elan units, that it finally clicked in Cayden’s mind “Oh hell.”
âWhat?â Silver asked.
âThe Wardens are boxing them!â Cayden shouted over his shoulder, already moving at a full run back towards the War Frame. âCommand: Call Vilerat.â
âCayden, are you seeing this?â The voice came through as Cayden was halfway back to his tent.
âYeah. It is bad. I’m going to be forwarding you some orders for your Cavalry, can you t-â
Vilerat cut him off. “I’m transferring temporary control to you. The edge troops as well.” Before Cayden could question him, he added. “Your Warmaster bonus is higher, and if you’re in this much of a tizzy, we’re going to need it. Just give them back, okay?”
âI’m not in a tizzy…â Cayden complained before he cut the call. âCommand: Call Asch.â
An angry buzz was his headset’s reply.
âWhat the… Command: Call Asch.â Again came that same irritating noise, somewhere between the Family Feud buzzer and an especially broken hand razor.
His call wasn’t being ignored, nor blocked. In either of those situations, it would have still tried to connect, even if the ringing was just for show. No, the only other times he’d heard that noise were when he’d tried to call off floor at the start of the event, and when they had been inside the Warden sub-tomb.
It wasn’t the tomb then. Maybe the Wardens themselves? No, that didn’t make any more sense. They’d passed messages back and forth during the march, even when personally engaged with Warden infantry. But if not the Wardens then what? An aura projected by some of the Warden officers perhaps, like the one they’d found in the tomb?
If that was the case, then they were in worse trouble than they thought. Asch must be on the field herself.
âYou really need to stop with this Sherlock Holmes, walk away in the middle of an epiphany without explaining yourself crap.â Silver complained as she came up fast on his heels.
“They’re trying to box them.” Cayden explained again to Silver’s continued bafflement as they entered the half fallen command tent. A runic word sent a wave of force rippling across the table, blowing away dust and refuse that had piled onto it as Cayden took up a space at its side. “They split up their units so that Asch chokes on them trying to escape.”
“Cayden…”
He frowned in reply, mind whirling through a thousand thoughts at once, even as he struggled to find a way to easily explain the threat he saw. At last, he blurted, “It’s like one big speed bump vs. a bunch of moguls.”
“Those little white things from Final Fantasy?”
“What? No. Mogul, not moogle.” He rolled his eyes. “It’s like a speed bump, but for skiing.”
“Uh-huh.” Silver replied dubiously.
“Look.” Cayden gestured to the War Frame as he spoke.
The battlefield it showed looked almost indistinguishable from the one they had seen only minutes earlier. The allied forces still occupied a three mile line of hexes, with Dinah and her regular forces occupying the center of the battle line, with a thousand militia men to either side. Behind them, however, was that stone wall, a four-mile monstrosity that cut off any hope of direct retreat.
Surrounding all of it were three ranks of Warden infantry.
The rank nearest the Elan forces contained two formations, each comprised of somewhere between ten to twenty Warden soldiers; apparently his forward observer wasn’t able to give him an accurate headcount. Each rank behind the first added another formation, three for the second, and four for the third. Their formation bonuses would be minute, small enough that even the militia units should be able to tear through them without significant losses.
But that wasn’t the point of them. They were speed bumps, not combat units.
“Imagine that all of these, were combined into just enough formations to still be able and surround our allies. What happens?”
Sarah barely had to think at all as she replied. “Asch’s forces attack them directly and wipe them out in an engagement or two.”
“And now?” he asked.
A frown took to the girl’s face as she grimly inclined her head. “Now it takes a minimum of nine attacks.”
“And because they are surrounded, anyone who does attacks doesn’t get to leave, because a formation has to complete its whole turn before the next one can take its turn.”
It was a clever trap, like a strong fork in a game of chess. Normally a unit could move and attack in any order it wanted to. A cavalry unit could, for example, attack an infantry unit, then move nine or ten hexes to escape from retaliation on the infantry’s turn, or even move towards it, attack, and then retreat back out of range. But when a unit was surrounded, as all of the Islo forces were, they had nowhere to go. Her militia could attack the unit next to them, maybe even kill it, but then they’d be stuck inside the encirclement until the following turn, even if a later unit managed to finally breach it.
“Nine attacks.” Silver murmured quietly. “They’re going to lose a third of their forces. If they are lucky.”
“I don’t think they’re that lucky.” Cayden said tentatively, pointing again to the War Frame. “If most of these units are on the higher count, a militia unit probably won’t have the power to kill them in a single combat. She’ll lose all of the milita, or most of her regular forces trying to escape, because anyone still in the encirclement when the next Warden turn starts is going to get obliterated once the rest of their army catches up.”
“Can’t Asch just split her formation? Bring them down closer to parity with the Wardens?” Sarah asked, scrutinizing the War Frame. “It wouldn’t save everyone, but it’d lower the damage.”
“I’m not sure.” Cayden admitted. “I doubt it though. The Wardens moved away before they split their units, remember? I’m guessing you can’t alter formations if they are adjacent to the enemy.”
Silver tilted her head, then scowled. “Damn, you’re probably right. It makes sense.” She looked to him then. “Is there anything we can do to help them?”
Cayden shrugged. “That depends. How well can you ride?”
***
As it turned out, bett
er than Cayden
“This sucks, this sucks, this sucks!” The young man cried, one hand clutching the pommel of his saddle for dear life as his steed galloped towards the Warden lines.
“Oh come on Cayden. This was your idea.” Michael’s voice came through crisp and clear over Cayden’s headset, one of the few things he could hear at all besides the wind whipping past his ears.
“Aren’t you from Iowa?” Celia asked slyly.
“Yeah. The modern part.”
Silver’s reply came even before Cayden could regret his choice of words. “There is such a thing?”
“You know what-”
“Could we focus just a little?” Shifty’s voice overrode whatever poor insult Cayden had in mind, and drew all their attention back to the matter at hand.
It had already been a hard ride, and it was about to get harder.
The plan was a simple one. Bastion came before Islo in the turn order, and since they were outside the encirclement, Cayden’s forces should be able to break the Warden trap without being subject to it. At least, that was the theory.
In practice it would be a little more dicey. His Infantry had to move three hexes just to reach the outside of the Warden line, and another four after that to reach the nearest city gate, which meant that they’d only be able to engage the first ring of Warden troops. This meant that the Cavalry graciously entrusted to him by Vilerat was going to do the brunt of the fighting. Even accounting for the natural 25% bonus that Cavalry had on the offensive, the Blitz tactic bonus, and the fact that cavalry could attack multiple times a turn, provided they defeated a formation with each attack, it would still be a close thing.
Which was where Cayden and his companions came in. Between the five of them alone they added over a thousand combat value to the unit. Nearly two, once the offensive bonuses were accounted for. More than enough to allow them to trample through each and every one of the five remaining units. And if they failed, there was still a second, fresh cavalry unit waiting to clean up their mess.
There was, of course, one other problem. But that would have to wait until after.
“Not far now.” Silver said as their horses navigated the bodies of nearly a hundred slain Warden soldiers, roughly half of which were already partially or mostly ash.
“So what do we do once we get into the hex? Just hang around with the cavalry? Or do we have to fight to provide the bonus?” Shifty asked.
“I’m honestly not sure. ” Cayden winced. “I really wish we’d tested this when we-”
A sudden wave of heat flooded Cayden’s chest, as though a fire had started next to his heart, cutting him off mid-sentence. And just like a fire, it spread, the heat expanding to his shoulders and abdomen, then to his arm and legs. It felt similar to the sensation that occured whenever he activated one of his combat skills, but worse, as if somehow stronger.
I can’t move my arm. He realized a moment before he understood that he couldn’t move anything. Even his eyes were no longer under his control, his perspective fixed to whatever the tower wanted to show him, like a cutscene from a first-person shooter.
His body moved under its own impetus, the once barely stable boy now upright and steady as his horse picked up the pace, rushing headlong towards Warden soldiers that had already turned to greet him. Armed primarily with single-handed edged weapons, the Warden formation could not brace in any meaningful way, their line fracturing into pieces as the cavalry struck them with a sound unlike anything Cayden had ever heard, like thunder colliding with an artillery shell.
The whole of the combat was over in moments. So quickly that Cayden’s body had scarcely begun to whirl it’s horse for another pass when the last Warden soldier was pierced by a speartip.
Goon Kavallerie (Blitz) attacks Warden Formation [18th] (Total Defense) - Attack Value: 4725 vs. Defense Value 825.
The Pointy Third deals 100 damage to Beastman Formation.
Warden Formation (Total Defense) attacks Goon Kavallerie (Blitz) - Attack Value: 412 vs. Defense Value 2677.
Warden Formation deals 1 damage to The Pointy Third.
Warden Formation has been destroyed!
For just a moment, the fire dimmed. If that had been the end of the orders that he’d left in the War Frame, Cayden suspected control would have been returned to him there. Instead, came the next order, the second in a queue of five attacks each predicated on the success of the others. The War Frame allowed for a complicated series of If-Then commands, which Cayden had appreciated at the time, but despised now. He wanted off the ride, out of the unnatural sensation of being a prisoner within how own body. But that wouldn’t be happening, not for another four formations.
Still, the combat results were promising. It might be an unsettling violation of the very concept of free will, but at least they were winning while they did it.
His own voice built up to a scream of unbridled fury as the men and women of his formation closed ranks and began another charge towards the second enemy formation. Behind him he could hear Celia chanting away at a healing spell he’d never heard of, while a few bolts of fire and thrown knives further announced their intentions to the unfortunate subject of their stampede.
The second verse was same as the first, while the third made a fine capstone for their trilogy. Their combat losses barely registered, while the defeat of their enemies was total. No Warden soldiers took flight, or dropped to their knees in surrender. Each had to be run down, each fighting to the last, albeit with greatly reduced efficiency as their already small numbers were further reduced.
Their only complications came as Goon Kavallerie began to advance on their fourth victim. Ahead, Cayden could see their intended target, but unlike the previous attacks, he could also see another enemy formation on the move.
Warden soldiers, numbering perhaps twenty in total, were moving at a full run from their position in what must have been the adjacent hex, while Cayden’s target simultaneously marched to meet them. The behaviour was curious, but Cayden was sure he had it figured out, even before an alert appeared on his display to spell out what he was seeing.
Warden Formation [22nd] reinforces Warden Formation [24th].
A defensive reinforcement tactic. Silver had actually theorized something of the sort might exist earlier in the week, she was going to be unbearably smug when all this was over.
The reinforcement was a good strategy, Cayden knew. If Asch had tried to lowball the enemy by hitting them with the militia, the reinforcements would step in and make the fight just difficult enough to punish her for it. It would have the beneficial effect of making her have to attack with a similar force all throughout the rest of the line, even though none of the later units used the same reinforcement tactic. The Warden general was frighteningly good.
Pity for him that he hadn’t been able to account for Cayden’s concealed forces.
Reinforcements or no, the Goon Kavellerie with Cayden at the head tore through the defending Warden forces as if they were not even there. Perhaps if the reinforcements had stacked their strength, they might have been strong enough to blunt the human’s charge, but instead the tactic merely pulled a second enemy into the line of fire. More grist for the mill, as it were.
In total they rampaged through a total of seven enemy formations before victory at last released them from the clutches of combat. Cayden shuddered in uncontrolled revulsion when he finally regained control of himself, his reaction comparatively mild when put up against the awkwardly funny metallic heaves that came from Michael or the far less comedic tears that streamed down Celia’s cheeks.
“Okay, I am not doing that again.” Shifty said at last, his voice thick and hoarse from his involuntary battlecry.
“Yeah, count me out.” Silver agreed, making a snipping motion with her fingers as she caught Cayden’s attention. “Could you?”
“Not yet.” He said apologetically. “I can’t remove us from the unit until the start of next turn.”
“Not a moment too soon.
” Michael said queasily.
“You know if you’re going to throw up, you should probably take off the bucket.” Cayden replied.
Michael shot daggers at Cayden, the effect, ironically, somewhat lessened by said helmet. “Leave my bucket out of this.”
“Only because you asked nicely.” Cayden smirked.
“So what now?” Shifty asked, a fair question considering Cayden had been a bit light on the details beyond ‘Charge the Wardens.’
“Now comes the fun part.” Cayden admitted. “We get to see if Asch opens the gate and lets us in, or if we all stand out here and probably die.”
Chapter Nineteen
Day Nine â Midday Turn
Resources â F â 620 +20, Z â 630 +30, M â 240 +5, I â 540 +20, P +40, R +10
Completed â Upper Township V
“It seems I owe you a debt,” Dinah said, her voice carrying over the raucous noise of marching soldiers as Elan troops continued to file into the city in her wake. When neither of her two guests immediately replied, she pressed on. “You made quite an impression on my soldiers with your best impersonation of the Light Brigade.”
The young man smiled, a certain mischief in his eyes as he replied. âDidn’t that end poorly for the Light Brigade?â
The captain opened her mouth to reply, then scowled. âHoisting me by my own petard, are you?â
âHe is only human.â Silver observed, annoyed that Cayden had gotten to the retort before she could.
“My attaché, for example, thinks I misjudged you,” Asch said after briefly holding his gaze. “Or, at the very least, was too hasty making any assessment so soon.”
âAnd you?â Cayden asked.
The stern-faced woman’s expression twitched for a moment as she fought against a crooked smile, one that eventually blossomed despite her best efforts. “Agnostic. But open to proof.” She waved a hand in the direction of the Royal Quarter as she continued. “If you two will follow me? We have much to discuss.” Asch turned without waiting for a reply, her brisk steps setting a steady pace for a few seconds before she realized neither player was following her.