Faction: Declan
Visible weapons: Longbow.
...........................
The enemy. The Declan Faction.
Mercenaries from another world.
Perhaps someone like himself who sort of wished they were in tech school chasing coeds and worrying about grades and not a horrible death.
Perhaps not. Perhaps a mercenary from another world who simply lived to kill and die.
Maybe they honored war?
Dale watched as the stone statues came to life and presumably offered the Declan soldiers the same quest that Dale and his platoon had just completed. The group accepted the quest and headed down the stairway. The door closed and the two guards returned to their stone shapes.
“Should we leave?” Dale asked.
“Maybe,” Amy said.
“Maybe we should see if they come out weaker, if they lose a few members of their group, we can attack them,” Dyfrig said.
“Are we back to being in the platoon?” Sanjay asked. “If so, you’re the ranking MFIC… Sargent.”
“I say we stay and take them out,” Smith said. “I’m ready to find out how this war is going to play out. Are they as strong as us? What motivates them?”
“It’s the same in every war,” Dyfrig said. “You fight for your friend who may die in front of your eyes at any moment. If it’s not that way for them, the war is already over, we’ll destroy them. Such things have been since the first tribe was formed, when men, or lizards, only knew the earth, the plants, and the animals; not gods and governments. We stay and fight.”
...........................
The waiting was always worse than the battle.
War has been this way ever since generals were invented.
Dale and Amy whispered to each other while they waited for the Declan Faction soldiers to return from the quest. They’d stayed in the same position, the other three members of their diminished platoon had moved to new positions so that they could capture the returning troops in a crossfire. Dale hoped the Vulturaptor was successful in thinning their ranks.
“I wish we knew where Yingtai ran off to,” Dale said.
“Never trust the Chinese,” Amy said.
“Amy… That’s… It’s kind of racist, don’t you think?”
“You only say that because you are not from South Korea.”
“I guess. But she’s Klaharn now. I mean here. She’s on our team. She fights with us. You’ll have to trust her. I mean, won’t you?”
“I will fight with her, but I’ll never trust her.”
“Okay. I guess I understand. I think it’s harder for me, you know, growing up in Ohio. It’s not like I had any reason to not to trust the Chinese. I mean, heck, they own half the city. I’ve never had a problem. I’m not judging you.”
“Thanks. It’s different when you’re raised in Seoul. When I moved to San Francisco, it was a shock to me. I went into China Town once. Everyone was polite and kind, I had to adjust my mindset. But my grandfather told me stories, and some things in the past are hard to forget and impossible to forgive. Ask Emi or Rikuto sometime about how they feel about the Chinese. Or even how they feel about the Koreans.”
“Okay, I understand. I still wish Yingtai was with us. And the Russians, too. I wonder where Tom went off to.”
“Tom is a Flidais; Kim joined him because she is Flidais as well. I imagine they went on a hunters quest, as this new world has lots of new species for collection, quests, and guild prestige. But I wish they were here, too. Maybe it was a bad idea to allow the group to split up.”
“Hindsight is twenty-twenty.”
“What’s that mean?”
“An old idiom. You know how our parents used to have to wear glasses due to eye problems?”
“Yeah, of course, I’ve seen the pictures.”
“Well, twenty-twenty was the American standard for normal, good vision. So twenty-twenty hindsight means—”
“I get it,” Amy interrupted. “Quiet, the door is opening.”
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Time becomes meaningless without memory.
~ Jon Edgell
Nobody ever suspects the quiet, shy Chinese girl.
~ Yingtai Tong
...........................
Yingtai Tong had watched her platoon leave the chamber after defeating the Vulturaptor. Nobody noticed her, standing in the shadows, when they left her alone. She had been about to bring up the rear…
...........................
Yingtai noticed traces of a symbol, created in blood, behind the moss that grew in one of the rear corners of the great hall. She briefly considered calling out to the platoon, but then she decided that she’d follow her own way in this investigation, they’d been given permission to do their own questing and hunting.
She removed moss from the symbol.
Found: Emerald Moss
Magical uses: Potions, both spells, and enchantments.
The symbol was nearly as tall as she was, it was circular, and contained writing she couldn’t read, but that she recognized as being something that an elfin race might have written. It was old. The blood was from a victim, she could tell that from the essence of the magic, but she couldn’t recognize the race of the creature it had come from.
She chanted in a strange language. She didn’t understand the words, but she’d memorized an enchantment that was supposed to open secret passageways, and she decided to see if that was what this symbol represented. It couldn’t hurt to try.
As she spoke, the blood glowed. She finished the incantation and the symbol burned bright red. A door opened and revealed a set of stone stairs that headed down into a dark passageway.
As a Mugron, Yingtai had started the war with basic magic. She had enough mana to activate a camouflage enhancement to her sneak skill, so she activated it, and cautiously snuck down the stairs. A horrible smell hit her senses; death, blood, waste, and hopelessness.
She continued to move down the stairs; the smells became stronger, but among the scents, she did not sense a present danger, only past pain, desperation, and death. She ignored the sickening feeling in her stomach and continued to move silently, hidden in the shadows, until she reached the bottom of the stairs. The hallway where the stairs ended lead into a series of wings, each section going to double rows of cells. She moved carefully down the first row.
The first cell was behind a set of rusty metal bars and contained a broken chair, a metal bowl on the floor, and a skeleton of a humanoid with shackles still attached to its bones. Little bits of ragged clothing hung on the skeleton’s ribs, but there was no longer any flesh, skin, or hair. It was the same in the next cell and the next after that. She moved more quickly after passing the same scene a dozen times. The only difference she noticed were the races of the skeletons, they all seemed to be humanoid, but of different sizes and types: human, dwarf, and elf. Or at least, that was what she surmised, it was impossible to tell what some of the bones might have been in life.
Yingtai was beginning to think this excursion had been a depressing waste of time when she came upon a cell with a witch or perhaps an elf, encased in a frozen translucent block. She looked at its face, then decided that since it was behind bars, it would probably be worth the risk to see if she could melt the ice.
She activated her fire power. She had only weak spells available, but her personal guild was Druantia and her class Sann, so she was more powerful using healing magic. If the creature captured in the ice was dangerous, she’d escape up the stairs, hoping her silent and sneak abilities were good enough to help her leave unscathed.
The fire enchantment started in her hands, and she cast it out, into the cell, and watched as the ice began to melt. It started slowly, but once the ice began to crack, the being inside the frozen prison was able to move, and in short order, the ice fell away.
“Thank you. Please accept this gift.”
...........................
A Gift.
You�
��ve been given a Book of Ice Magic.
You’ve been given 2 Blue Topaz Gems.
...........................
The woman looked at Yingtai.
“What kind of creature are you?”
“I’m a…” Yingtai didn’t know what to say. She decided to tell the truth.
“I’m a Mugron, as you see me, but my real form is…” She changed into her normal avatar; a diminutive, young Chinese woman. She smiled. “I’m Yingtai Tong. I am a warrior in a great war, but this is my true form. Thank you for the gifts.” She bowed her head.
“I am Jara, once a Princess of the Arodian Mountain Elves. I’ve been encased in this ice for…” She looked confused. “What year is it?”
“I do not know the calendar in your world, Princess Jara.”
“Tell me, do you know of The House of Talargo?”
“Yes, the king there, King Talargo, is our ally.”
“Which King Talargo?”
“I do not know.”
“The Talargo family had been on the throne for centuries when I was imprisoned. So, what generation of son now sits…”
“I am sorry I do not know.”
“No matter, I will find my own people and all will be revealed. Stand back, my friend.”
Yingtai moved away from the cell bars and watched the Princess wield a spell that melted the lock on the cell door. She walked out of the cell with her head held high.
...........................
The Princess Jara
Level 12
An elfin being of Royal Blood.
Attack style: Unknown. Peaceful if not provoked.
Weapons: Unknown.
Magic: High.
Tech: Unknown.
Wiki: Lore Quests Strengths Weaknesses Range Drops
...........................
The Princess bowed her head. “I offer you a quest,” she said.
A quest: Accompany the Princess to the city Irkalla.
Rewards: The Princess offers a Book of Ice Magic, a 3 carat rare Cerulean Blue Topaz, and 1 bar of gold.
Accept? Y/N
Yingtai groaned inside. I hate escort missions. But she smiled on the outside.
“If I accept your quest, Princess, I am traveling with a party. A war platoon. We number twelve, will you offer the same terms to my comrades?”
“Yes. And if your company falls under attack, I shall fight along your side, as long as we are heading towards Irkalla, and my journey is not delayed by more than one moon’s time.”
“Agreed.”
You have accepted the quest: Accompany Princess Jara to Irkalla.
Yingtai and her platoon were due back at the Command Base by this hour on the following day. The city of Irkalla was less than a days march from the base, and the Klaharn Faction was an ally of the King and his kingdom.
Having a Level 12 elf to accompany seemed like a no-brainer, in spite of her distaste for escort missions.
...........................
Dale and Amy remained still and silent as the door in the stone opened, and the Declan Faction troops entered the forest again. They’d dropped in number, from the original ten, they’d lost three.
The seven that remained were ranked Levels 4 and 5, with the exception of their leader; the Naphil had leveled up to 6 and carried a longbow; two humants carried different weapons, one a sword, the other a bow. The other members were a Sigtrygg, who carried a war hammer, a Gavreel, who carried a long bow, and two Gahmkah, lion-men, who carried spears similar to what Sanjay had used in the dungeon. The spears were long, sharp, and deadly accurate, but also they had a long cool down time, so they weren’t good for close up attack, only long range DPS.
Dale whispered to Amy. “We need to concentrate on taking out their healers and support, we’re outnumbered, but we have the element of surprise.”
As Dale finished speaking, a long spear, imbued with magic, flew into the chest of one of the Gahmkah. Sanjay had fired the first shot.
Dale and Amy jumped up.
Dale ran, sword in hand, he assumed Amy would be staying back, firing magic and supporting her tanks.
Smith beat Dale to the battle, he swung a club and engaged the Naphil.
The Declanians were not ready to be attacked; they’d been busy looking at, and counting their loot. The Gahmkah that Sanjay had hit was down, and Smith crushed him with a blow from his mighty club. After that, the dwarf-like Sigtrygg attacked Smith with his war hammer. The two tanks traded blows.
Dale engaged the humant with the sword.
Dyfrig was fighting the other humant.
Arrows flew back and forth from the both sides.
Dale’s HP went down and then back up, Amy was doing a good job of healing, and Sanjay had been able to get off another spear after he’d waited through the cool-down, but then he had to switch to healing to keep Smith, Dale, and Dyfrig from falling.
Dale swung up and knocked the humant he was fighting off balance, he spun and brought his sword down on top of the enemies head.
Killed: Humant, Level 4
Declan Faction.
+400XP
With the humant soldier dead and the Gahmkah killed by Smith, the seven were now five, and the battle was even. However, the other Gahmkah had switched from spear to long sword, and he was tanking as well as Smith. The Naphil was alternating between spells and enchantments, healing, and then firing dangerous arrows into his enemies.
Smith was taking massive amounts of damage.
Dale barely dodged a longsword that was swung at his head as a Gavreel engaged him. The Gavreel were an angelic race and skilled fighters with the sword. Dale was higher leveled, but not as skilled. He hoped that Amy could keep his health up, but he knew she had to favor Dyfrig and Smith, as they were the primary destructive tanks.
The soldier attacking Dale struck a powerful blow and Dale fell to his knees. He prepared to go through the painful experience of death again when Dyfrig jumped in front of the Gavreel and took a massive blow. Dale stood and struck the Gavreel, but the Naphil fired an arrow into Dyfrig at the same time that the Gavreel swung his sword.
Dale watched as his sergeant died.
Then two soldiers attacked him. Two on one. He felt powerful healing envelop him as Amy and Sanjay must have both placed enchanting spells on him, but he knew he had little chance of beating two powerful enemies at once. He momentarily wondered where Smith was; but he knew that he still had his hands full with the Sigtrygg who was wielding a massive war hammer.
A powerful ball of ice struck the Gavreel as it brought its sword down, intent on finishing Dale with a massive blow. It dropped to its knees. Dale turned and engaged; he got a blow in, but then an imbued arrow struck the soldier. Dale finished him off and looked for another opponent, but battle had ended, the only survivor on the other side was being held down as a hostage by Smith.
Yingtai walked out from behind a dense grouping of trees and shrubs, with her was a beautiful elfin woman.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Defeat is worse than death because you have to live with defeat.
~ Bill Musselman
Losing a war, to many of my ancestors, was an impossibility. Our emperor was a God, and Gods didn’t lose wars, or so we thought.
~ Rikuto Setsu
...........................
Smith held a blade to the throat of the hostage, an enemy Sigtrygg.
“Stay still,” Smith said to the soldier, “and you may yet live.”
The soldiers grouped.
Amy spoke first.
“They were all sentient beings, Declanians. Well, we still aren’t sure about the hostage, but I suspect he’s the same.”
“Why do you say that?” Dale asked.
“No drops. NPCs will always drop something, even if it’s worthless. Sentient beings do not. We’ve had our first skirmish with our real enemy.”
“I see.” Dale looked to Yingtai and asked her where she’d been.
“I we
nt on a quest after you left the chamber. I meant to call out, but you were in such a hurry. To count your loot, no doubt. I found a secret door and made my way into an old prison dungeon. A place of horrors. I rescued a princess. Meet Princess Jara.”
The troop greeted her.
Yingtai explained the quest she’d accepted and urged her fellow 3rd platoon members to take the same quest.
“We are going that direction anyway, and as you can see, she’s a powerful ally.”
They all agreed.
Once the quest had been accepted by all, they discussed what to do with the Sigtrygg.
“We should just end him quickly,” Patel said.
“What if we can learn something?” Dale asked.
“It’s as you said in the guard chamber, when we fought together before, Dale,” he said. “We won’t know if what he says is the truth. Believing something that is actually a lie is more damaging than being naive.”
“I see.” Dale paced.
“Perhaps I can help?” The Princess Jara spoke. She brought forth a small bottle containing a purplish potion. “Make him drink this.”
Smith and Sanjay Patel forced the hostage to drink the potion. It wasn’t pretty to watch.
“What is your name creature?” The Princess asked.
“I am…” he spoke.
Smith kicked him in the ribs. “Answer the Princess.”
“I am Toe Pak Kim.”
“From where do you come?”
“A far away world.” Then he spoke the name of his homeland, but nobody recognized the name.
“Why do you fight here?”
“I only follow orders, your highness. I do not know why were are here, only that we seek a jewel.”
“A jewel?” The Princess approached closer to the hostage. She looked into his eyes.
Dale could feel the magic she was projecting. He stepped back.
“I’ve said too much, Princess,” he said. “What you ask of me is treason. Kill me quickly and let me die in honor.”
“One more question, soldier,” she said. “And I shall grant your request. Tell me who has the jewel you seek and where your faction believes that it is hidden.”
Nagant Wars: A LitRPG Novel (Nagant Wars Series Book 1) Page 25