“Finley, it’s okay. Please send Mr. Ty back here,” the voice of Clio rang out from the curtained-off room behind the counter. Ty walked past Finley, the pair giving each other the stink eye as he walked into the back room.
Clio sat at the table, a chair waiting for him. Ty sat down, only now realizing that he was walking without his cane. His avatar looked just like his age-ridden, real-world body, but without the aches and pains.
“A bit surprised with your avatar’s look? For new accounts, players typically looks like their real-world selves until they create their character. I have interrupted the normal character creation process and I must admit I am genuinely curious as to why you’re back in the game. I would have thought living in here nonstop for as long as you did would have been enough for you,” Clio told him.
“I’m doing just fine outside the game, really enjoying the time I have with my wife and family. I don’t know why I’m here, to be honest. Maybe I enjoyed playing the game more than I thought, but I really wanted to see Raytak. That old Army grunt needs the Marine Corps to keep him in line,” Ty said.
“Well I suppose that’s as good a reason as any. Before I send you in-game, I wanted to let you know that normally when you start a new account you must create a new character to go along with a new account. Since your circumstance is special, I am granting you permission to restore your previous character if you so wish. Should you just want to create a new character, that is acceptable as well. Which do you choose?” Clio asked him.
“That’s a no-brainer. Bring on the one-armed half orc version of me please,” Ty asked.
“Certainly. Your old account information has been merged with your new one. Enjoy your time in-game, Ty. I’m sure Raytak will be glad to see you again,” Clio said.
The game finished loading, and Ty found himself standing in the middle of the street just outside the town hall where he had logged out of the game on the day his medpod treatment was completed.
“The town sure has changed. Good job, Delling,” Ty said, admiring the expanded and upgraded city. “Speaking of Delling, might as well go see what he’s up to,” Ty muttered to himself while walking into the town hall. It didn’t take long to find the young man; he was working, like always. Lamar could learn a thing or two from Delling, Ty thought.
“Ty! What are you doing back here? Everything okay?” Delling asked as Ty entered the town hall.
“Everything’s fine. Just had my grandson get me logged in. Regular VR gear this time, not a medpod. I wanted to check in on Raytak and see how the rest of you all were doing,” Ty told his friend.
“Sure, I was just heading to the Petty Dispute to meet with Jacoby for lunch. Want to join us?” Delling offered.
“Yeah, sounds great . . . Wait, you’re the governor now? Grats . . . That is what I’m supposed to say, right?” Ty asked.
“You’re right, Ty, it’s ‘grats.’ As far as Raytak goes, he’s off on the quest to unite the zone. According to his last message, he’s fighting the Ikbose elves and trying to make peace with the ogres. There’s a full-on war going on out in the northeastern corner of the zone,” Delling advised as they walked into the Dispute. The smells of food and spilt ale hit Ty as he walked toward the back table they usually used.
“Mr. Ty! It’s so good to see you in the game! Crunchy missed you sooo much, didn’t you, Crunchy?” Yendys yelled from across the room, running up to and hugging the one-armed half orc.
“Good to see you again, Ty. How is life in the real world treating you?” Jacoby asked.
“Things are good. Seeing the family and learning how to be an old man again. I didn’t think I would, but I do miss this . . . and hanging out with you guys. What is everyone up to?” Ty asked.
“Well, I have a chance to get this really cool prestige class called a swarm lord. We had to kill Tessel, which we did, and now I’m supposed to wait for someone to bring me some shell thing to complete my quest. We’re getting bored waiting, so we were trying to decide what to do,” Yendys said in a whirlwind.
“I was going to try and find Raytak if you all would want to tag . . . Holy! What did . . . How did . . . Who did that to Crunchy?!” Ty stammered, pointing at the brightly colored unicorn beetle that had trotted up to his side in its endless quest for a handout. The black shell of the beetle was now a pastel pink and his legs, horn, and mandibles were bright red.
“I know. He is just so cute with his new colors, isn’t he?” Yendys asked, but Ty could tell she wasn’t really looking for any other opinion. Jacoby and the rest of the group were all trying to hold in their laughs as Ty checked out the bizarre creature. Ty grabbed a roll from the table and slipped it to the beetle while patting his brightly colored shell.
“There you go, Crunchy. You’ve gotten bigger, haven’t you?” Ty asked; the beetle was noticeably larger from the last time he had seen it.
“He seems to grow each time Yendys levels. She is having a ball trying out different color combinations for his shell. We all think he looks marvelous, don’t you agree?” Kathala said, eyeing him meaningfully. Ty picked up on the hint to lay off the crazy beetle color comments for now; the kid must be sensitive about them.
“You were saying something about helping out Raytak?” Jacoby asked.
“Yes, he’s got himself in another war and I best go bail him out. I was going to ask if you guys wanted to tag along before I was . . . distracted by the new and improved Crunchy,” Ty told the group.
“I’m game. How about everyone else?” Kathala asked. Yendys, Smashem, Jacoby, and Nitor nodded. Delling was busy working here in town, and his class was not set up for adventuring anyway. Quimby and Drake weren’t around, so the party would be just the five of them.
“My best guess is that Raytak was marching on the Goreaxe Peak or the Ikbose city of Stonetree, both of which are pretty close together,” Delling advised.
“If we get close, I should be able to track him. An army leaves a lot of signs of its passage, and though I may be a bit rusty, my class knows how to track,” Ty advised.
“We can take the southern portal to the eastern transition point; that should be the quickest route. When we’re out and about, I suspect the AI will develop some quest for us to handle, which should make for a fun return to the game for Ty,” Jacoby said as the group went about planning their trip to find Raytak. Ty was enjoying himself and very happy to see the logout button waiting, reminding him he was now able to log out any time he wanted.
Good thing, too, considering how fast he’d need to bolt if his wife figured out where he was and what he was doing.
Chapter 28
“Looks like they’re not sticking around. Are we going to follow them?” Wrend said as I returned to the game once more; he spoke like I had never left. I watched as the ogres packed up the meat from the butchered horses and walked toward their mountain. There had been no tea-and-cookies discussion with Clio this time, so I had to think that whatever my medical emergency was, it wasn’t too serious. I focused back on the game, needing the escape; in the end, there was nothing I could do about what was happening to me in the real world, but here, I could make a difference.
“Yes, we’ll follow as soon as we get everything here sorted. Meet at my command tent in five,” I ordered, sighing when I realized the garish tent had survived the onslaught. Why couldn’t the enemy siege engineers have smashed it down? I would have thought the bright monstrosity would have attracted their fire.
“What are our casualties?” I asked as soon as the command staff assembled.
The npc in charge of alpha spoke first. “Sir, alpha company is down to eighty-two effectives.”
“Bravo company is at 175, sir,” the bravo sergeant added.
“Charlie company reports 192 soldiers ready for duty,” the charlie npc advised.
“Ignominia is good. Only twelve losses in the fight,” Wrend told me.
“Tavers, what’s the situation with our siege engines?” I asked, wondering how the AI would ha
ndle the smashed catapult.
“We were hit hard on personnel and one of the catapults is a total write-off. I lost two from the scorpion crews and an entire catapult crew is gone. The other catapult has minor damage we can have fixed in a few hours and the scorpions only need some maintenance,” Tavers reported.
“Good idea on those gun shields, Tavers. That saved some of your crew this day, I believe. For our next move, we’re going to break camp and follow the Goreaxe ogres back to their mountain. We could use them as allies, and if nothing else, they might be able to give us more intelligence on the enemy. We’ll camp with the Goreaxe tonight and wait for some of our reinforcements to arrive before heading to Stonetree.
“We need to be ready to fight when we get there as I intend to assault them immediately. The clock is ticking with Narbos and the invasion from Bharga’s Crossing and we don’t have time for a protracted siege. Brooks, do we have a count on enemy casualties?” I asked the first sergeant.
“Yes, here’s the report, sir,” Brooks said, handing over a small scroll.
Enemy losses:
Ikbose warriors: 150 casualties.
Painweavers: 16 killed. The scorpions have proven an effective means to deal with casters once they’re spotted.
Reavers: Completely wiped out to a man.
Executioners: Estimate they have sustained 15–20 casualties and are still an effective force.
Siege engine mercenary force: Destroyed completely by the ogres. No survivors.
Shield Brother mercenaries: Estimate they lost 50–60. Still an effective fighting force.
They took a beating, but so did we. The enemy losses were much greater than ours. The only downside was that the enemy losses were mostly to their fodder troops and hirelings. I still had no idea of the respawn rate for the Ikbose and some of their losses were bound to be replaced before we met them at Stonetree.
I did quick math in my head, figuring there were around five to six hundred Ikbose warriors remaining. They had a handful of painweavers, the powerful Shield Brother mercenaries, and a large force of executioners. There was also an unknown number of city defenders. The initial recon report mentioned a few town guards, but did they have militia that could be called up when under attack? The lack of data left me uneasy; that fight had not gone as well as I had hoped and there would be a tougher one yet before we finished.
“The enemy is still a formidable force, so make sure we have the scouts shadowing them. I want to know immediately if they turn about to make a stand somewhere or try to sneak around behind us. Also, get some observers in place around the city walls of Stonetree. Let’s see if we can find any weak points our earlier recon might have missed. Let’s take what time we need to get our losses buried. Then we head out to see what happens with these Goreaxe ogres,” I ordered. The group broke up to go about their duties as a quest prompt appeared.
Quest Update: Unite the Zone.
You have defeated a large army of the Ikbose and their allies.
Rewards: 1500 experience, 112 gold, 500 resources.
I was closing in on level 14, and my resources and gold were increasing quickly. By the time the zone was united, I should be able to hit level 15 and have enough resources to upgrade the garrison to level 4. We would need all the advantages we could get when Narbos finally decided to invade. I still was irked that Narbos seemed to know all about Hayden’s Knoll, but I had virtually no intel on his own zone of Bharga’s Crossing. Did the Imperium have spies? It must. Could I get some with an upgrade, perhaps?
I put my frustrations aside as our column formed and marched toward Goreaxe Peak. I activated the last Scroll of Hasty Replacement, which would help rebuild our numbers. The trail was still hard on the wagons and the ground grew more treacherous the closer we came to the mountain. I had the eerie feeling we were being watched and I assumed—or at least hoped—it was the ogres and not some new threat.
Thankfully, we arrived without further loss at the foot of Goreaxe Peak. Stench was there along with the same retinue of warriors that had battled alongside him earlier. A large bonfire blazed at the foot of the mountains with the large hunks of horsemeat roasting on top. Grabbing Brooks, we approached Stench, leaving the other nco’s to set up camp in the area one of the ogres had gestured at.
“You may camp where you have been told to, and no closer. Only the Goreaxe may set foot inside our sacred home,” Stench warned with a growl as we reached the bonfire. I nodded; there was no way I was going to risk offending these powerful people in the heart of their home.
A haunch of horse was roasting over the flames with one of the ogres occasionally throwing a handful of unknown spices on to the sizzling meat. The smell was amazing and despite the meat being horse, I craved a slice of it. Surely the ogres would be hospitable and offer some to their guests, I hoped.
To my disappointment, the ogre pulled the haunch from the fire and walked off with it, offering none to the warriors or to me. We had plenty of rations with us still, so we wouldn’t go hungry. I also reminded myself to send for a resupply caravan from the command tent tonight. The coming battles would burn through a lot of consumables and ammunition.
“I have considered your offer but cannot join your Imperium. My people value their freedom and will not serve as slaves to another empire, even one who promises to save our people. Better to die in battle than to admit our weakness,” Stench grumbled. He must be referring to the alliance offer I had made when we rescued them from the cave the Ikbose had trapped them in. These were a proud people and they were willing to die for their pride; I would have to handle this delicately.
“To ally with the Imperium is not to be their slave. You will still own your lands but are bound to help defend the zone from any threats,” I offered, and Stench thought for a moment before replying.
“Still, there are stories from our kin, from when my kind first started their decline into savagery. The stories tell of the other races slowly enslaving the ogre clans, taxing away their lands and forcing them into the wilderness to become feral. No,” he said, shaking his massive head, “better for my people to die separate than follow the slow path to slavery.”
“I would agree with you, Stench. Never would I bind my people to a path of slavery. The taxes in the zone are set by the governor, a man by the name of Delling. He is fair and only places a small tax on goods bought and sold. You will own your lands. The Imperium has no reason to take them from you,” I told the ogre.
“I wish I could believe you. This Governor Delling may even be a fair man, as you claim. Who is to say the man that follows him will not be a man of lesser moral fiber?” the ogre deftly reasoned.
“You have me there,” I replied. I hadn’t thought about what would happen when I left or Delling stopped playing. After taking a moment to think, I figured to shoot it to them straight.
“I cannot guarantee who will follow me. I can only promise you what I can make happen. Should you join the Imperium as an allied nation and a future leader breaks faith with you . . . go to war. If that happens, you will not be alone. Do you think the Drebix and the Stonefinder Clan would stand for their people being oppressed by some future leader of the zone?
“No, they would take up arms to defend their rights and enforce the alliance. If I still live to see an evil such as that take place, you will have my sword as well. That is all I can promise: my word for as long as I live. That is all Delling can promise as well. Do not throw away your future, your people slowly withering away because of fears of what might happen. Secure a future for your people in the confidence of what will happen for as long as Delling and I are in power,” I argued.
Discern Truth ability has been targeted at you. Do you wish to attempt to resist this ability: y/n?
Stench or one of the other ogres must have the ability to see if I was lying. I didn’t resist the Goreaxe, knowing the truth would do no harm to me or my men. Nothing happened for a moment. Then a blur of movement shot down from the dark mountainside.
“I have been watching from above, my chief. This human speaks true. He will do as he says. The dangers you voice are real, great leader, but fears for the future are but wisps on the wind. Our people are in decline. Our enemies and the beasts of this area kill us faster than we can reproduce. We need a time of peace to restore our numbers, fill our empty bellies, and secure a future for our people once more,” the vulture-turned-ogre said. Its identity was revealed by the system after a moment of my scrutiny.
Goreaxe Shaman, Level 15.
Stench stood silent, contemplating this momentous decision about the future of his clan. While we waited for his reply, one of my soldiers passed me a note from Sergeant Wrend.
Sir, I sent one of my scouts to follow the ogre with the horsemeat while you were chatting up the big fella. He brought the food into the cave where the old ones, kids, and women were hiding. The Ikbose must have had them cut off from their hunting lands for a long time . . . They’re starving.
Wrend
“We will join your alliance. The Goreaxe Clan will agree to your conditions for as long as the Imperium honors its word,” Stench said, his demeanor one of sadness and failure.
“My legion and the Imperium will do all it can to assist you, Stench. As a token of our good faith, I invite you and all your people to join my soldiers in our camp for a feast. It is a tradition to host our newest allies,” I lied, not something I would normally do with a new ally, but I knew it might break the poor ogre if he felt we were giving him charity.
“We thank you for the kind invitation and would not want to offend our new allies. Our people shall join you for the feast,” the shaman replied for his leader, a sly smile on his face as he winked at me. Oh . . . I had forgotten about the Discern Truth ability; it must have been the shaman that used it. I nearly had a heart attack when I thought that it could have been Stench that used the ability. The big guy would have likely flipped out and cut off my head if he knew I had lied to him after the speech I just gave. Thankfully, the shaman knew my words were for the good of his people.
Limitless Lands Book 4: Opposition (A LitRPG Adventure) Page 30