The ogres reached the wall, and the first ten hopped over the fourteen-foot wall with no problem. A few swings of their axes cleared the section they were on. Instead of pushing on to relieve the gate, they formed a perimeter around that section of wall, holding back the counterattacking Ikbose. Only half the ogres had crossed over. Where were the others and why were they not pressing the attack?
The reason for their delay became apparent as the ten ogres that hadn’t climbed over began to hand soldiers over the wall two at a time. It looked almost silly to see pairs of ogre hands boosting up soldiers. The first soldiers over included Wrend, and I realized the unit utilizing the unique method of breaching the wall was Ignominia. Twenty at a time, the soldiers came over. All the while, the ten ogres already on this side of the wall held back the tide of Ikbose.
Wrend soon had a full platoon over and formed it up to begin pushing toward the gate. Crossbow bolts began to land among our enemies as the scouts manned the towers and fired into the target-rich environment. The crossbows focused on the Shield Brothers; their tight formation was great for holding back my men but ineffective against missile fire from the side.
We were making headway when a horn sounded in the distance and half the remaining Ikbose fled the field. The Ikbose fell back in good order and I feared we would be seeing them again at some chokepoint. Wrend had all his men over and they were coming in on the flank of the Shield Brothers. The other Ikbose were confused; they looked surprised that so many of their kin had fled and were clearly not sure what to do about it. The companies from the northeast and southeast towers had completed their descent, clearing defenders as they formed up and marched on the gate.
My timer expired and I found myself inside the garish headquarters tent. I checked to make sure all my gear was in place before running to meet the army. Tavers saluted as I passed; he no longer had targets on the walls and was redeploying his engines to cover us in all directions in case of counterattack.
The rear platoon of charlie company was marching through the gate as I caught up with them. The gateway was secure, and Sergeant Brooks had the Shield Brothers backed against a building, having been pushed back by our flanking attacks on them. For now, they held in formation, a bristling sea of spearpoints. Our men were content to wait for me to sort things out, not wasting further casualties on attacking what was a clearly defeated foe.
The remaining pockets of Ikbose were being cleaned up. I watched as a group of my soldiers fell over in pain, and the painweaver that cast the spell fled into a nearby house. One of the ogres stomped over, tore the roof off, and began rooting around with his hand. When he pulled out his hand, he had grasped the screaming painweaver. The noise from the painweaver abruptly ended when the ogre bit off his head and spit it toward the Shield Brothers. With a meaty thump , the head bounced off one of their shields.
Things de-escalated quickly after that.
A Shield Brother in more ornate officer’s armor stepped from the formation, laying his spear down and holding up the flag of parley.
“Sergeant Brooks, wipe up the remaining Ikbose and begin to push toward the keep. I don’t know how many of these elves escaped from the wall, so expect an ambush or fortified chokepoint somewhere. I’m going to have a talk with this character,” I ordered while pointing toward the Shield Brothers’ leader. The system populated his information as I approached.
Aristides, Mercenary Commander, Level 14 Elite.
“I wish to discuss terms for my men. We are beaten and our contract with the Ikbose is at an end,” Aristides offered. I was not happy about dying to these warriors who were the most effective unit the Ikbose had fielded. There was no point in wasting men to hack them down, so maybe I could get something for sparing them.
“Your men fought bravely and much better than the fools that hired you. What do you offer to keep your lives?” I asked.
“We are mercenaries, sir. We have fulfilled our contract with the Ikbose, but I must say your men are the first army that has ever given us trouble. I can offer half the coin the Ikbose advanced us for our work. Take the coin and spare our lives, and who knows, you may want to hire us yourselves in the future. Kill us now, and all the mercenary companies will know of it and refuse you if you try to hire them,” Aristides offered.
“Very well, Aristides. Answer me one question before I decide. Did your men have anything to do with the torture of innocents, be they ogre or Imperium soldier?” I asked, not wanting to let this guy or his men off the hook if they were that type of mercenary band. If they were, they were going to die, no matter how many casualties it took to bring them down.
“I can say without a doubt that we did not. We are honorable warriors and our contracts prevent our employers from forcing us to do anything we view as unsavory. The Shield Brothers will stand against any foe but will never harm an innocent,” the man said proudly.
“I have no reason to doubt your word, but you should be more careful in who you work with in the future. The actions of your employers sully your reputation even if you do not participate in their atrocities.
“My deal is this: you will give us half the coin, as you offered, and you and your forces agree to work for us when we call and at half the price you normally charge,” I offered. The mercenary band was one of the few I had seen that would work well with our style of warfare.
“You ask too much. If I agreed to that, then we would be beggared. I will give you a ten-percent discount on future contracts and a guarantee that we will join you immediately if not currently engaged with another employer. Do we have a deal?” Aristides asked. It was fair, and with the war approaching, I would likely need their service sooner rather than later.
“Agreed. You may retire from the battlefield with your weapons and armor. My medics will treat your wounded and the transition points will be available to you when you wish to leave the zone. Feel free to stop and resupply at any of our towns,” I agreed. Maybe they would shop in the zone and we could earn back more of their coin before they left.
“You are an honorable warrior and I look forward to fighting alongside your men in the future. The Shield Brothers do not work cheap, but we are the best,” Aristides told me as he handed over the promised pouch of coin.
“Don’t know about them being the best, sir. I think the results today would prove our claim to that title. Mess with the best, die like the rest,” Wrend offered as the Shield Brothers withdrew.
“You’re right, Wrend, but don’t let Aristides hear that. I don’t want him raising his prices later because he was insulted. Form up your men. We push to the keep,” I ordered. I left behind the battered charlie company to hold the gate and help cover the siege engines, which were even now pulling into the city.
“Sir, the scouts report the Ikbose are fleeing the city. They have ladders over the eastern wall and are withdrawing. I have the scouts shadowing them, but the group is mostly civilians. The path to the keep is wide open and the gates are raised,” Brooks reported after talking with our scouts.
We pressed into the city only to discover a horrifying sight. The civilians and warriors had fought among themselves. Bodies scattered about between the closely packed homes told the story of neighbor killing neighbor for some unknown cause. The number of victims was huge; it was as if a civil war had broken out among the Ikbose in the last hour. The streets were completely empty except for the dead. The keep finally drew near and the gate was indeed sealed up tight.
Like what I could see from our camp outside, the city itself was mostly residential houses with a few shops thrown in. The houses were uniform and looked identical to one another. Other than the keep, there was little variation in what Stonetree had once offered for its now-deceased residents.
“Sir, Stench and his clan can hoist my boys over the walls, I think,” Wrend offered. The walls to the stone keep were taller than the exterior wall, about eighteen feet high. I nodded for him to continue. I hoped they could find a way over that would save us the time ne
eded to drag the catapults up. The runesmiths had exhausted their supply of explosive runes, so hammering our way in would take too long.
The ogres used the same tactic they used earlier. Half their force jumped up and over the wall while the other half boosted up two soldiers at a time. Wrend’s men had to jump up and grasp the edge of the wall, but the outstretched ogre hands got them up just high enough for it to work. It was slower progress than at the main wall, but so far there had been no resistance to our attempt.
After the first few squads were over, one of the men located the gate mechanism and lowered it. The way into the keep was open.
“Fan out and search for holdouts. First platoon of alpha company is with me. I’m heading to the throne room,” I ordered, moving a quick pace toward the center of the keep, where I assumed the throne room would lie. We encountered more signs of infighting as we passed the bodies of Ikbose and even a few of the human executioners.
“The Army is late as usual. Glad you could join us,” Ty said from his seat on the throne of the Ikbose.
“What happened to the Ikbose?” I asked, seeing piles of bodies in the room.
“Some elf named Nharia and the Painmaster got into it. She wanted to flee, and he was dead set on staying here . . . Now he’s just dead. The rest fled, but since it was just me and Smashem left, we decided to wait for the cavalry to arrive,” Ty said.
“I have a score to settle with that elf Nharia, but that can wait. If you don’t mind, I’ll give the throne a spin and see if that triggers the game to recognize our control over the city,” I said.
Ty stepped back and motioned for me to take a seat.
“Why have you brought me here Raytak! Do you wish to torture me once again?” the voice of Tessel raged in my head as soon as I sat down. I could feel the tattoo of her promise burn in my arm as my vision faded.
When my vision cleared, I was floating above a small forest. Elves lived in a village nearby, going about their day and keeping the forest cleared of dangerous creatures. A dryad offered them the fruits of the forest in appreciation, showing the elves where to find edible plants and pointing out animals that could be culled from the population. Trees that could be spared for harvesting were marked for the elves to cut down and use to build their homes. The arrangement was a beautiful symbiosis.
Time passed and while the elves grew in number, the forest remained as it was. Soon the elves began to demand more and more, upsetting the delicate balance. One elf rose to prominence and ventured into the forest to speak with the dryad, demanding the dryad increase the food given and allow the elves to harvest more lumber. The dryad refused, closing the forest to the greedy elves and their leader, an elf named Ikbose.
Back in the elf village, I saw a familiar red form whispering into the ear of Ikbose. Zipzisilerpicazant was here in this ancient past, filling the head of Ikbose with delusions of grandeur. I could see the elf’s thoughts as he was tempted with the vision of controlling the entire zone, the others falling to his power one by one.
Ikbose fell for the imp’s lies. The name of the clan was changed from its unknown original name as Ikbose named them for himself. The newly appointed leader followed his master Zipzisilerpicazant, finding power in the pain inflicted on others. After brutally killing off any opposition to his rule, Ikbose turned his sights on the forest; the resources within were needed to fuel his ambitions.
The Ikbose forces stormed the forest, killing and harvesting all they could. The dryad tried to stop them, gathering the forest creatures to oppose the incursion. They were overwhelmed and the dryad was captured. Ikbose tied her to her tree; his magic preventing her from melding with it.
Ikbose pulled out a fist-sized red stone that his master had given him. With a practiced hand, he cut open the dryad’s tree and placed the stone inside. A scream of pain escaped the dryad’s lips as her tree and the entire forest began to change. The trees turned to stone and the elves used them to construct this city. For a throne, Ikbose had one carved from the dryad’s tree—the very throne Raytak was now sitting on.
Late that night, as the elves drunkenly reveled in their victory, a form dug itself from the ground at the base of the throne tree. A horrible abomination of decay and corruption walked into the dark. The Foul Spore Dryad Tessel had been born.
“There, you have seen what was done to me, what I fight against. The Ikbose have been defeated by your hand, yet the pain remains. My tree calls to me in its agony and we are forever separated. Set us free, Raytak. Free us from the corruption we have endured and lived with for so many centuries,” Tessel begged as a system prompt appeared.
Quest Issued: Freedom or Power. The Foul Spore Dryad Tessel requests you free her and her tree from their torment. If you wish to do so, the power of Tessel’s Promise will be gone. Should you refuse, Tessel will be driven into complete insanity and the power of Tessel’s Promise will increase with each level.
Rewards:
Freedom: Experience, resources.
Power: Experience, resources, improved Tessel’s Promise artifact.
Select one of the following. Freedom/Power.
Tessel’s Promise had been a lifesaver more times than I could count. I wouldn’t have completed the quest in the arena without its power. The power would come in handy even more as we faced invasion. Tessel was a video game character, so I was doing nothing more than min-maxing my gear by choosing power.
Still, a thought haunted me. “What we do in the digital world is a reflection of ourselves.”
I had spent my life fighting against oppression. Could I turn my back on my beliefs now? The game had become more real to me than the physical world; I could live a life here while in the real world my physical body left me not much more than a vegetable. Interactions in the game were my reality until my body was healed. I would conduct myself here in the same way I tried to conduct myself in the real world—with honor and integrity.
I selected Freedom and my focus returned to the throne room. The whole vision that had been granted by the game had taken just moments. Somehow, I knew what to do. Drawing my sword, I struck the right arm of the stone throne. The sword should have bent or deflected off the stone but instead shattered it, revealing the fist-sized stone that Ikbose had used so long ago. I swung again, and my blade shattered the stone. A rumble sounded and the ground began to quake as the town changed before my eyes.
As I watched, the building disintegrated, dissolving. We rushed out of the keep; wherever my men needed to walk or climb down to get to safety, the decay slowed, as if in consideration. After we exited the front gates, within the span of a few moments, the town was gone. Tessel’s tree stood whole and alive once more, healed for a moment before it too faded away.
“Thank you . . .” I heard the faint whisper as Tessel faded with her tree. Looking down, a vibrant green root caught my eye. I picked up the item, saw that it was magical, and stowed it to identify later. Prompts began to pop up one after another.
You have defeated a force of Ikbose and conquered the city of Stonetree. Reward: 2500 experience, 150 gold, 1000 resources.
You have freed the dryad Tessel from her fate. Reward: 2500 experience, 1500 resources, magic item.
Congratulations, you have reached level 15. Open your character sheet to review changes.
Quest Complete: Unite the Zone. With the defeat of the Ikbose, the entire zone of Hayden’s Knoll is under the control of the Imperium.
Reward: 5000 experience, 500 gold, 2500 resources. 2 magic items, 1 rare magic item.
Congratulations, you have reached level 16. Open your character sheet to review changes.
I had gained two levels! It was a huge jump but one that made sense, as I had completed the long-running quest chain. My legion wandered about, stunned to find itself on an open plain. Tall grass and plants grew everywhere the eye could see, but there was no indication that the Ikbose or Tessel’s forest had ever existed.
“Sergeant Brooks, form up the men. Our work is done here. W
e make for the town of Hayden’s Knoll via the eastern transition point. Send out scouts to make sure there aren’t any more Ikbose lurking about. Once we arrive home, have the men dismissed and give them all a three-day pass,” I ordered. I wanted the men rested up; we had an invasion to face and a war to win. I would make this Narbos character curse the day he ever logged into Limitless Lands.
“Raytak, this has been fun, but I’ve got to log out and take care of some things,” Ty said.
“Thanks for all your help. I look forward to seeing you back in-game soon. Don’t forget about us in here,” I answered, feeling a pang in my chest at the prospect of my friend leaving again. At least now I knew he would be back.
“I gotta go, too, Raytak. Have to help my grandma with some stuff,” Smashem advised. The pair left the game and I started the journey back to Hayden’s Knoll.
***
Nharia watched in the distance as the town dissolved. She felt no loss; it wasn’t in her to be nostalgic. Instead, she looked forward to the opportunity before her. The Ikbose were gone, but she had gathered the remnants of the army and formed a new mercenary band, the Painweavers. With their separation from the Ikbose, they were no longer hostile to the Imperium and would be free to proceed through the transition point to join her new employer.
She was certain that Narbos the Grimm would hire her. The great Zipzisilerpicazant had informed her of the opportunity as well as how to form a mercenary band. She only had one small task to perform for the information. In her pouch was a fist-sized red stone she had to hide somewhere in the eastern transition point. Not a hard task.
She looked forward to having Raytak under her knife. The annoying Imperium commander had thwarted her plans, but she didn’t really care about that, as her new path was much more promising. No, she just wanted to test how long it would take him to beg her for mercy . . . and how long she could keep him alive in order to enjoy his most delicious pain. With a spring in her step, Nharia led the Painweaver band toward the transition point, moving quickly to stay ahead of the Imperium column.
Limitless Lands Book 4: Opposition (A LitRPG Adventure) Page 34