Battlecraft VR

by Linden Storm

  They both turn to the screen, where Lane and J.T. are staring into the middle distance. They’re obviously listening through earbuds to instructions from on high.

  “This is it. This is where heroes are made,” Lane says vaguely.

  “Or where imposters are exposed, Lane,” J.T. says, regaining his focus.

  “J.T., it’s true that in a situation like this, if you try to play it safe by starting in the outskirts you can wind up paying for it later.”

  “And if you try to hit in a single massed attack, say from the back of an overloaded dragon, you can wind up getting wiped that way, too.”

  “I’ve got to admit, J.T., I don’t see a good path for the Untouchables.”

  “I just love me some toast for breakfast,” J.T. says. “It’s untouchable.”

  “LOL, J.T.,” Lane says. “LOL.”

  “So what’s next?” J.T. says.

  “A wipe is next, and here’s my earthshaking prediction…”

  J.T. raises his hand. “M5 is going to wipe the Untouchables out.”

  “You stole my thunder, J.T.,” Lane says.

  They laugh and slap each other on the back.

  Harold turns his back to the screen. He wants to punch it.

  When he turns back to the screens, he shifts his attention to the screen showing the Untouchables’ point of view as they land the dragon. “Wait. What are they doing?”

  The Untouchables have landed just out of range of M5’s sniper, and they are hunkered down, making something.

  Oh, good, Harold thinks, Marina is using her crafting skills. He can’t wait to see what she comes up with.

  In this game, Marina is a magical MacGyver.

  Once in a while, a round from a crossbow bolt explodes nearby, but no one is getting hurt. In the meantime, the map shrinks again, and the walls can be seen shimmering close to the fortress. There won’t be much time for either team to waste; they’ll have to move toward the center of the remaining territory within about ten minutes.

  Belle peels off from the group. She sneaks closer to the moat with stealth cloak and invisibility potions in effect. As far as Harold can tell, M5 hasn’t seen her.

  Rupert shakes his head and points at Belle’s character. “Now, what is she up to? And look. The Untouchables have set up a decoy—an effigy of Belle made from grass and string. M5 must think Belle is still with the group.”

  “They’re too far away to see that’s just a dummy,” Harold says, pointing to the scarecrow-like thing dangling from a post. “This action seems to be all about stealth.”

  As they watch, the Untouchables, all of them, with the exception of Belle, are still working on whatever it is they’re crafting.

  “Remember,” Harold says to Gemma. “We can see what they’re up to, but M5 can’t. They can’t see Belle at all, and they can only see vague outlines of whatever the others are doing, because they’re far away and behind cover.”

  “I hope they’re sufficiently nervous about Marina’s tricks,” Rupert says, rubbing his hands together.

  “Or maybe we want them to be overconfident?” Harold says.

  “Right,” Rupert says. “Good thinking, Harold.”

  Belle remains cloaked as she approaches the moat and slips in. She goes under and stays down for a long time.

  “What is she doing down there?” Harold says. “Is she going to run out of air?”

  And then suddenly she’s not in the moat anymore. She has somehow found an underground passageway in.

  She’s inside the fortress, and none of the enemy players seem to have realized it yet.

  “How is that possible?” Lane says. “How could she find an underground passageway in a fortress ruin?”

  “The only way to do that as far as I know would be to study all the fortress ruins for all the maps and commit them all to memory.” J.T. touches his earbud and pauses. “If I’m not mistaken, there are fifty-seven different fortress maps and they all have hidden entrances, but they are well-hidden entrances, Lane. If you try to swim the moat without knowing where an entrance is, you’ll drown before you get in. But who could remember all of the entrances for all of the fortress layouts?”

  “No one, J. T.,” Lane says. “She must have taken a stupid risk and gotten lucky. And now what’s going to happen is that even if the Untouchables get inside, once they’re there, they’ll be decimated trying to climb up stairs and ladders, because M5 will be waiting with their entire armory ready to go.”

  “It’s going to be a bloodbath,” J.T. says into the camera.

  ∆∆∆

  Marina doesn’t expect much problem vanquishing M5, not with her knowledge of the fortress ruin and her team’s ability to execute a solid plan. She doesn’t even feel nervous.

  Maybe, she thinks, I’m saving my nerves for the Lords.

  She watches with satisfaction as Belle sneaks undetected to the fortress and checks in. She will hide and wait for the signal to lower the drawbridge, which M5 has left unguarded, the whole squad being mustered along the battlements, ready to shoot arrows or crossbow bolts and drop hot oil or explosives.

  “At least they have no canons,” Nick says.

  “If they had canons, we’d be using an entirely different strategy,” Marina says. “Of course.”

  “And how do we know they don’t have canons?” Paul says.

  “There are no canons in this type of fortress,” Marina says, “and I’m betting they don’t have the materials to craft one.”

  “You can craft canons?” Paul says.

  “I’ve only seen it done once in the approximately twelve thousand matches I’ve studied,” Marina says.

  “All right, then,” William says. “Now, one more time. What are we doing?”

  “It’s a fairly simple operation,” Marina says calmly. She’s grateful for another chance to review the plan. “We are putting the dragon under the enchanted armored canopy you all helped me weave. My crafted blanket will act essentially as a forcefield, enabling us to run into the castle without risking our lives or the dragon, then peel off to our secret routes and kill the enemies one by one.”

  “So, the enchanted ivy, here, it basically makes the dragon into a tank,” Paul says.

  “A tank. I like that,” William says. “A dragon-tank.”

  “A drank,” Nick says.

  “Don’t forget, once you’re in, they won’t be able to get you coming up the stairs because you’ll be using the secret passageways,” Belle whispers. “The fortress is exactly as Marina described it—and you now know where all the bolt holes, trapdoors, hidden passages, and secret rooms are located. If everyone goes exactly where she said, we’ll be able to kill all the enemies without taking any damage.”

  “Unless they know about the secret passages too,” Nick says.

  “True,” Marina says. “But M5 is a brute-force team. A very good brute-force team, but they rely exclusively on weaponry, armor, and sometimes melee skills, if necessary. Their weaknesses are a lack of imagination and cognitive inflexibility; thus, the appropriate tactic is surprise. I’ve never seen them use stealth to beneficial effect in a championship match, and I’ve watched every match they’ve ever won. Or lost.”

  “All right, then,” Paul says impatiently. “Let’s go.”

  “I’m ready,” Belle says from her position inside the fortress.

  Marina, Paul, William, and Nick board the dragon, pulling the woven shield over the top as they climb on. It’s as if the dragon is wearing a giant cape with a floppy hood; there’s just enough of an opening in the front so that Marina can steer the creature.

  “Now!” she says to Belle.

  “Cutting the rope,” Belle says.

  As the drawbridge falls, Marina is already directing the dragon forward, so that they hit the edge of the moat just as the drawbridge thunders down.

  M5 is shooting arrows and bolts by the time the dragon thunders halfway across, but Marina isn’t worried.

  Nick keeps up, healing everyon
e who takes any damage at all and keeping the dragon at full health.

  Once they’re inside, almost everything goes as planned.

  Maybe better than planned, Marina muses, as she sneaks up a hidden staircase and one-shots M5’s sniper from behind with a poison dart to the head.

  He should have been wearing a helm, she thinks. He got cocky.

  The player she’s most worried about, William, crawls up the outside of the southwestern-most parapet without being detected, then climbs over and throws a knife at one sharpshooter and lobs a crafted explosive at the other. Unfortunately for them, they’re positioned too close to one another at the top of two adjacent ladders, peering down, looking for Untouchables to climb up.

  With only their captain and flex/healer left, M5 is all but done. Nonetheless, the remaining two players attempt to escape, parachuting from the parapets.

  It does them no good.

  By that time Paul is in position on the pinnacle, and he shoots both players out of the sky with a powerful crossbow looted from their own sniper’s corpse. They’re both dead before they hit the ground.

  “Can we thank you now, Marina?” Nick says. “Those tricks worked exactly as advertised."

  “Not yet,” Marina says. “Wait until we kill the Lords.”

  “I’ll bet Grandpa is freaking out right now,” Nick says. “In a good way.”

  ∆∆∆

  Harold is jumping up and down, pumping his fists, and yelling.

  “Harold, be calm,” Gemma says, laughing. “Your heart!”

  “My heart is fine,” Harold says.

  Every time Gemma looks at him or touches him, he feels like a teenager again. He gazes at her. She smiles at him. He smiles back. She squeezes his arm.

  How could it be? A sophisticated woman like Gemma, a famous actress, and him?

  “Is something really going on between us?” Harold says. “I can’t believe it.”

  “I hope so,” Gemma says, laughing softly. “I really like you. You remind me of my first beau, a young man named Arthur Lyon, a schoolmate of mine in England. He was…noble. And loyal. And dear.”

  Harold wants to whoop with joy, but he doesn’t. His mind is blank. He feels his face get hot.

  “But I’m a farmer,” he says.

  “Lovely,” she says.

  A warmth blooms in his chest and spreads. He knows he’s grinning like a fool.

  “But, tell me, what is happening now?” Gemma says, cutting her eyes toward the screens.

  “Our team eliminated M5,” Harold says, relieved to see Gemma’s focus shift to the game. “And the commentators are struck speechless. For once.”

  He sweeps a hand out toward the screen, where J.T. and Lane are looking sheepish.

  “The players don’t have the whole picture like we do,” Lane says. “Remember, team members can communicate with one another, but they can’t hear us, and they can’t hear what other teams are saying. In many ways they’re flying blind.”

  J.T. nods. “And I think the M5 team was having a rough time emotionally, because there’s so much pressure.”

  “Does this change things, J.T.?” Lane says.

  “I’m still looking for the Lords to win,” J.T. says, his large neck bulging. “That certainly has not changed, Lane.”

  “I have to agree,” Lane says. “If nothing else, look at the circle, the way it’s shrinking. It is skewed north and west, giving the Lords of the Imperium Continuum prime position.”

  Harold snorts. He can’t wait to see what fresh hell Marina has cooked up for the Lords.

  ∆∆∆

  At Marina’s insistence, the Untouchables land on a mountain vantage point just inside the rapidly shrinking map. They have approximately three minutes to get the lay of the land and move in again, or they’ll be caught outside the map and disqualified.

  Through her scope, Marina views the village that makes up the last remaining area on the map. She thinks it’s Faramore.

  Yes, Faramore.

  In her head, Marina reviews the details of the Faramore village layout. She’s grateful once again for her eidetic visual memory, which allows her to remember the particulars of every town, village, and building she’s ever seen on a Battlecraft game map.

  The most dangerous part will be getting in, Marina thinks.

  The town is mid-sized, with thirteen buildings, a small square adjacent to the town green, and a large manor house. There are two roads in, one at the southwest corner, which bisects the mines, and one from the north. They’ll be approaching from the southwest, but Marina hopes they’ll be able to circle around once they get close, while staying mostly under cover of vegetation or outlying buildings. She’s thinking they might avoid the roads altogether and sneak through a small wood in the southeast.

  The Lords’ sniper—and their captain and best player, Ryu—will be holding the highest ground he can find. Marina guesses that means he’ll be at the manor house’s tower at the northeast corner of town.

  She’d like to take out Ryu first, but he’ll be expecting that.

  He’ll have set up protection around the manor house—probably some mines—as well as designated sharpshooters roving near his position.

  These kills are going to be difficult, and everyone is tired, but it’s doable.

  Marina smiles when she imagines how many times they’ve already proven J.T. and Lane wrong.

  Harold, Rupert, and Gemma must be feeling reasonably pleased.

  ∆∆∆

  Harold watches Gemma nap on the sofa in the corner. The poor woman is exhausted. Or laid low by pain pills and champagne.

  She’s assured him that she’s fine, or will be, after a catnap. She sure looks fine, sleeping peacefully on that couch, her smooth face peaceful and serene.

  By the big screen, Rupert is pacing, looking at the floor, and talking to himself. He seems thoroughly wound up.

  “Rupert, my boy!” Harold says. “Calm down, will you?”

  Rupert looks up. His face is a mask of emotions: shock, jubilation, excitement.

  “How?” Rupert says.

  “How did the Untouchables get this far?” Harold says. “How have they eliminated everyone but the Lords of the Imperium Continuum without losing a single player? What do you think?’

  “Marina Karimova,” Rupert says.

  “Yes, and…”

  “And Belle Morris,” Rupert says.

  “Yeah,” Harold says. “I love my grandson. He’s a good healer, and William and Paul are both more than competent, but those two gals, well….” He rubs his jaw and smiles.

  Rupert grins. “I liked the team before, but I’m starting to really…” He pauses. “Just a second.” Rupert pulls his phone out of his pocket. “Oh, shit.”

  “What?” Harold says.

  “I had a news alert set…anything about Wishkowski.”

  “And?”

  “And a woman named Jenny Wishkowski was found dead yesterday in her Phoenix home. The Phoenix police just released her name.”

  “That’s the ex-wife. How?” Harold says, even though he thinks he already knows the answer.

  “Shot in the head,” Rupert says.

  “That’s it,” Harold says. “I’m calling the Knights.”

  ∆∆∆

  The Untouchables are mustering in place,” Lane says. “It looks as though the stealth game is in play, right, J.T.?”

  “That’s right, Lane. But they’ll have to move soon.”

  “You do have the buildings and some foliage for cover, but the problem is getting there,” Lane says.

  “True dat, Lane,” J.T. says. “It looks like Ryu is safely concealed in the manor tower, the perfect location for a sniper.”

  “Yes, and you can bet the Untouchables are going to expect that, even if they’re not familiar with the Faramore layout, which they probably are. But they’ll have no idea where Dong and Suk are going to pop up. Not to mention Ki, the Lords’ flex/healer.”

  “And flex is the key word
for Ki. He’s a terrific mid-range shot with a bow and arrow, not to mention a high-level crossbow, which we know he has.”

  “One thing’s for sure, Lane, the forest in the southeast corner of Faramore is going to be the scene of a bloodbath, with Lords hidden strategically in the trees.”

  “You have to remember, too, J.T., that all Ryu has to do is wait out the carnage in his safe tower.”

  “Indeed.” J.T. stops and looks at the Untouchables’ position, then shakes his head gravely. “Unfortunately for them, the Untouchables have no choice but to go for Ryu, and they are heading straight for the southeast corner, where the Lords have sharpshooters waiting. It looks like their luck is finally running out.”

  ∆∆∆

  Marina loads Belle up with every stealth spell, potion, and piece of armor the Untouchables can spare and tells her to move quickly to the northwest.

  “Hug the buildings alongside the town square, sneak behind the church, smithy, and inn, and make your way northeast toward the manor,” Marina says.

  “Roger that,” Belle says.

  Marina doesn’t detect any hesitation or questioning. They are in synch.

  Even if they don’t win, Marina thinks, she will always treasure the memory of this match.

  At the last minute, Nick adds several more strong healing potions to her stash, and William hands her a wicked-looking high-level explosive charge.

  “It might come in handy,” he says.

  Belle nods and tucks it away in a bag.

  “Once you’re in, we’ll have to storm the manor,” Marina says. “There’s no other way to get Ryu before he picks us all off.”

  “Ugh, I don’t like storming things,” Nick says.

  “Nobody likes storming things, buddy,” Paul says. “But she’s right. It’s the only way to leave one of us standing.”

  “I hope Grandpa’s taking his heart medicine,” Nick says.

  ∆∆∆

  Harold can feel his heart pounding through his chest. Adrenaline.

  He sits down, and Gemma joins him, fresh from her catnap, taking his hand in hers.

  “Harold, dear, breathe,” Gemma says. She takes a giant breath in, expanding her narrow chest, and then breathes out slowly. Then she does it again.