Forsaken 337 BC
Page 47
When the Amazon squads moved forward and forced the bandits to move from their hiding holes into standing, they had a choice to make. Fight the Amazons on foot, or let the mounted Amazons run them down or fill them with arrows. It took the Amazons almost half-an-hour to break the ambush; then two hours to remove all the traps that the bandits constructed, as they made the area safe.
Violetta knew Cain did not like having to kill these men, many of them were forced to join the JW Bandits when the code was changed. Violetta spent the night at Cain's side, and let him be himself in silence, while Lesley, Myrina and Areto took charge of the Amazons. During the night, Cain asked his women as they shared the bed,
"Will it be like this each day killing NPCs who have no choice and maybe a few players from Jason's JW Killers? I would like to think we will have three clear days before we come face-to-face with Sir Hardy and the five thousand Giannitrians." His wives and Violetta thought Cain's idea of three days without killing sounded the better option. Unfortunately even Cain agreed with his wives, "It is most likely the next three days will be be like today. Bandits to overcome, areas to be made safe and cleared away as we travel to Thessele. We can only deal with what is not our wishes."
Cain sat at the kitchen table and talked to Toni for thirty minutes as the sun slipped below the horizon. Cain felt better in his mind as he went to bed, they gave each other comfort by their closeness. Cain didn't notice Violetta join them as they settled to sleep.
:I'm pleased we didn't make love. My mind is such a mess after the senseless slaughter of the NPCs. My women are wonderful giving me all I need, cuddles, kisses and nearness,: he thought as he slipped asleep.
The next two days were unexpected and a breeze, they encountered no ambushes on the route, though Cain was aware people were keeping a track of their progress; watching the game in the RW.
{We have received an invitation on our fake Forsaken account, inviting us to see the massacre of Joseph and the DreamBabes. Nearly nine million people have booked a slot, and SPQR will make over thirteen billion from the viewing sales alone, you and your women get forty percent of that amount. Gambet365 have set the odds, your team to lose and someone to kill all main players at odds of one in twenty-six. Something to kill you and or Toni, odds of four in five, your team to win with no losses, one in two hundred and twenty-seven.
{John placed a bet on those odds, they accepted a ten bid from him. You received another payment from SPQR; they deposited one point six billion for your sex tapes and the births of your children. You and Toni are consistently polled as the hottest couple playing Forsaken, while you and the others are the hottest sexiest harem, ever.
{The original vid-feed posted on your fake TwitFace and GoogleFace, Forsaken pages, of your fight when you took out the helicopters in London. I have added an edited CCTV vid-feed of the Paris incident too. Combined they have been watched and streamed on major news channels a staggering three point nine five billion times.
{Excerpts run as a background on most of the major news channels. There are several conspiracy theories saying it is aliens been hunted by the EC government, the Mafia underground, the former Russian or Chinese governments. One conspiracy website the Huffinghem Postulates, currently lead with the story, EC government ministers are behind the infighting to become the next PM,} said Enoch.
Myrina was up first, she showered, dressed, went outside and sent Josephine out to scout ahead, looking through her eyes Myrina could see the large force of men on the fertile plain three miles from the walls of Thessele. Going back inside she told Cain what she had seen then drew a quick sketch on the back of Bounty's supplies list.
Cain had Violetta bless a stone which he carved by the side of the main trail during their night stop. Violetta blessed the stone to Cybele. Once she finished, Cybele appeared, Cain could tell she did not look happy.
"Those stupid EIs, who do they think they are messing with. Don't they know I'm the one in charge of the game system? They should do as I tell them. Instead, they are acting like a load of little bullies," Cybele said before Cain even opened his mouth let alone had a chance to speak.
Once Cybele calmed down, she told Cain, "Those EIs who were behind the male gods have all agreed to join and fight the war against what they see as my, Cybele's champion. The game coding system has begun a champions quest, Sir Hardy versus Joseph and the DreamBabes.
"They have given the men you face the same gift your Amazons have received from Athena, though not your blessings from me. Magic will not sway them and they have a version of the Amazons one shot ring, a keep me from death pendant. They will need killing twice or decapitating the first time the pendant will not save them from loosing their heads. Take care of your wives Cain, don't worry if any die, remember they come back.
"Protect your heart Cain. Oh, I nearly forgot to tell you since Myrina is the avatar for an EI, the same as Violetta, they will come back to you too. You lucky man, Violetta has taken a shine to you and I think she wants your babies."
Cain stood from where he had been kneeling. So too did Lesley, Myrina, Areto and Violetta as they knelt with him, hearing all Cybele had to say. Violetta blushed as they all turned to look at her, Lesley and Areto laughed and said,
"Toni will understand," Myrina said, "I can't wait to meet you, Violetta in our marital bed," causing Violetta to blush even more.
Cain message the group, including the ones who had left on their own missions. Toni, Sophie and their company were three days out at sea, they still had four or five days before they reached Athens. Daphne, Bethany and their two companies were a day, maybe two from Serrena.
"We go to kill, to make our mark on history. To show those who play the game of kings we forge a warrior through one's actions in life, not on paper. We will show those players, mobility has a strength all of its own. Know I believe in each of you individually, together we will be victorious.
"If you did not know before but guessed, we now know the male gods are supporting Jason, well Sir Hardy and those five thousand mercenaries. Their gods are Ares, Hephaestus, Odissemus and Erebus are siding against us; turning against who they say is Athena's and Cybele's champion, me. Together we will show them the mistake they make. Let us ride on to victory, claim the land and wipe our foes from the field, no surrender, death to all," Cain said. The Amazons all shouted.
"We are the DreamBabes. Death to all." Cain packed Bounty, placing it in the inventory before he mounted his horse. Looking around, he gave the order, "Move out, let us go make some women widows." The forward patrol had left thirty minutes earlier.
Thessele Plain
The journey toward the impending battle was quiet, nobody spoke as each person, player or NPC were lost in their own thoughts, even the horses seemed silent. :We are not going up against bandits or the odd PvP player or two, but five thousand experienced mercenaries from Giannitres. I pray our plans work and we can deal with this annoyance of the champion quest,: thought Cain as he rode.
Cain messaged Daphne and Bethany, he asked how they were doing. Daphne replied first saying she missed him, they were around seven hours from Serrena. They had encountered no trouble on the journey, seen no bandits, nor any sign of other players in the area. Bethany added they would find Cybele's or Athena's temple and see about installing their travel-post and would wait for him to join them. He also sent Toni a message to which she replied saying,
^T^ We are making good time, better than we could wish for. We have been favoured with a strong tail wind pushing pushing each ship faster than the sailors predicated. Maybe Cybele or Athena is helping with the wind as we covered triple the normal distance during the night watches.
^Sophie is rather green around the face as sea travel does not suit her, she sends her love and wants a long cuddle when you see her next. I need more than a cuddle and will take my payment personally after we dock in Athens. I hope it doesn't take me long to find the temple, and place our travel-post so we can welcome you to the city.^
Myr
ina was looking through Josephine's eyes, sharing her vision as she glided over the troops Jason had bribed or paid for with a money hack. Shaking her head, she asked Cain for a sheet of paper so she could draw the formation the forces arrayed against them had assembled.
Cain inspected the rough layout of the opposing forces of Sir Hardy, how he had laid out his mercenary army. Sir Hardy looked like he had gone for a typical phalanx build, having seven large groups of men and five long narrow groups. From Josephine's eyesight, she picked out the colour difference of the grasses, more than likely hiding spike traps for the women or horses.
Myrina added, Josephine noticed a disturbance under the trees at the edge of the forest to the right of the battle site. Though she did not fly over and check what was causing the trees to move. Cain sent a message to the Amazons with him.
Cain picked a company and sent Lesley with them to check the movement of the trees half a mile from the side of the battle site. Lesley was not happy leaving Cain's side but knew they needed players where possible in charge of the companies.
One hour later and they were within sight of the Thessele Plain, the mercenaries would soon fill the horizon. Lesley and her company trotted over to the right taking a trail through the fringe of the forest, her forward patrol galloped ahead.
Cain kept the main body of the Amazons at a steady trot, the shade from the forest keeping horses and riders cool; while Sir Hardy's mercenaries stood in the blazing sun. The forward patrol returned to the main body, one Amazon passing the message to Cain,
"They have lined up their phalanxes, and are ready for battle. We let ourselves be seen as planned, and could hear battle horns from some of the mercenaries. They are still deep on the plain and we are less than an hours' journey from their intended battle site."
The reached the end of the forest and Myrina took her two companies out on the left side of the trail. Areto led her two companies to the right side while Cain's company stayed on the trail. One company each of Myrina's and Areto's dismounted, making two one-hundred-strong phalanxes. Silently they marched to within five hundred yards of the mercenaries.
The mercenaries let out a roar, thinking their size difference and their numbers would frighten the Amazons; making them turn tail and leave the field. While their roar sounded loud it finally ended, the Amazons shouted for Cybele and Athena, then broke their phalanx and returned to their horses. The mercenaries laughed at their shout, individual taunts lost in the roar of noise.
As planned, the horses made two columns at either side of the trail riding two abreast, trotting side by side until they were one hundred yards from the front of the phalanxes' formation. They split going in opposite directions while Cain's company made a double line facing the middle phalanx.
Once Myrina and Areto's companies had reached the end of their manoeuvre, they let Cain know they had broken several trip lines as they moved at a slow trot. Cain had ten archers from the special squad move slightly in front of his line, their arrows were the last of the special explosive arrows Bethany had made. Cain watched the flight of the arrows as they arced toward the ground, ten individual explosions killed thirty-eight mercenaries in the central phalanx.
The explosions were the signal for the archers in all companies to begin their attacks. Myrina and Areto's companies rained arrows down on the long phalanxes. Their first volleys fired from their static positions killed eighty-two and seventy-five respectively before they trotted to a distance of fifty yards from the front edge of the mercenaries.
Avoiding the traps with ease the Amazons reaped a deadly harvest, even after the initial shock each of the front phalanxes lost men. In some instances their arrows killed a third of their number, in the double-lined phalanxes; while a tenth of their number in the larger phalanx groups.
Cain's company aimed their arrows at the reserve blocks of men. Those men had a harder task seeing the arrows, as they were fell on their positions from a greater height. After Myrina and Areto had made two passes, the mercenaries' formations looked like a square of ragged moth-eaten cloth. Cain estimated they had killed over a thousand mercenaries without the loss of a single one of his Amazons.
Cain had all the Amazons pull back to a distance of two-hundred-yards. While the Amazons had been shooting their arrows their support staff had been busy. They had dug dozens of small spike pits, rigged with broken arrows each pit took under a minute of effort. After they made one pit they threw handfuls of bronze calthrops with six inch spikes. By the end of the first thirty minutes they had placed over four hundred pits and seeded thousands of the calthrops.
They heard the sound of a large battle-horn being blown over the rear of the mercenaries' side; as the sound reverberated the phalanxes lowered their long Sarrisae and moved toward the Amazons in a quick stride. Cain let them move fifty yards before the Amazons formed two long lines, two hundred and fifty Amazons in each.
The Amazons collected their Doru from the support staff who had driven covered wagons between the two lines, passing out the Dorus, while another pair of covered wagons handed out two javelins at the same time.
Cain knew from their training a javelin strike was lethal, with five hundred javelins being thrown most which would hit and wound or kill a mercenary.
< Cain, there is a very large herd of what the Amazons are calling Urus, they are huge beasts and weigh around three thousand pounds. My Amazons say they have a tendency to stampede when there are storms and want us to move away from them. L >
Another blast from the mercenaries' war horn sounded, Cain looked away from his message which floated on his HUD, and noticed the mercenaries had now broken into a low speed jog, trying to close the distance between themselves and his Amazons.
Sending out a message to his company of Amazons, the first line of horses along with him trotted forward before breaking into a canter. Thirty yards from the front line of the phalanxes, they threw their first javelins. Once thrown the horses split from the centre wheeling left and right, ten seconds later the second line threw their javelins.
After the Amazons threw their first javelins their horses broke into a gallop, and raced near the front of the two side phalanxes, where they threw their second javelins en masse. Since the Amazons threw both javelins they regrouped beyond their own traps and caltrop defences, then dismounted and rubbed their horses down with large dry cloths left out for them by the support staff. The Amazons shared their water with their horses, emptying their water sacks as their horses greedily drank.
A double-blown strident note from the mercenaries battle-horn sounded over the battlefield, the phalanxes reformed into four larger blocks and two lines; their command group riding their horses following close behind. Once reformed they continued to pursue the now-dismounted Amazons, their advantage was down at seven to one.
As the front lines of the phalanxes reached the spike pits several mercenaries fell to the ground their feet punctured with barbed arrows. The spike pits had the advantage of slowing a phalanx's forward motion, as the mercenaries had to check the ground, before they could step forward.
Everyone on the battlefield could hear the sound of rolling thunder emanating from the forest's edge, a third of a mile away, the sound of thunder drifted over the sounds of battle. Since the Amazons changed their fourth volley to firing flat shots, the front row of each phalanx dropped to the ground their shields held over their heads offering no frontal protection.
As the second row in the phalanx lowered their shields, a volley of arrows dropped from the sky killing hundreds more. Above the screaming of pain from the mercenaries, they could hear thunder getting closer, some mercenaries looked up at the sky. Those few mercenaries were confused, the sky was a brilliant blue, with a few fluffy white clouds. The ground, though, vibrated like the skin on a snare drum, tiny particles vibrated as the approaching thunder grew louder.
Cain messaged the special squad of Amazons, they mounted and moved to Cain's position. Standing in their stirrups they noted the mercenaries command group's location. As one the special group nocked an arrow and aimed toward it. Twenty shafts arched through the sky before falling amongst the horses. Their arrows killed five players and seven horses, one player became stuck under his dead horse. Those who survived left him behind, he screamed at them as they rode out of what they thought was the archers range.