Maxwell

Rowena and I took a seat at the table along with Razz and the other players. There were four not including Razz. All of them of the goblin race. If I went by their gear, they made up a standard party that you heard about in games. A heavily armored man that likely served as the tank. A woman dressed in a robe that held a staff. Another woman that wore dark leathers, likely a rogue or assassin class. Then a man that had dozens of pouches all over him. I had no idea what his class might be.

Other than their armor, it was actually hard to tell them apart. The characters looked like they had come from a cookie cutter, as they were all roughly the same height with mud brown hair. It was even hard to tell the women from the men just going by their body structure.

“Now then. I’m going to lay my cards on the table. That vampire chick, Aurora just decimated an outpost I was working on in the Abyss. So much damage was done that I had to pull what remained back to Free-Mud. As you know, that place has already received considerable damage from the attack the other night.”

If he was volunteering such information, then he must want some sort of deal. Perhaps a non-aggression pact? Maybe even an alliance. I’d rather not tie myself down, but if he was pushed into a corner, he might come for me. I decided that I would let him reveal a bit more. “Go on.”

Razz grinned before leaning forward. “I want to join your nation.” My brain stopped for a second.

“I’m sorry?”

“Your nation, or lordship. Whatever you want to call it. I’m screwed. The goblin nation, Eblos, doesn’t take kindly to failure. I’ve failed badly over the last few days. An hour ago, I got a message that told me that I was cut off from the nation. A subjugation will be dispatched to… deal with me in two weeks. That gives me just over a month to prepare.”

I tapped my fingers on the table. A bad habit I had when I was thinking. “I really must say that I’m surprised you revealed all this to me.”

“I… we don’t have a choice. I really don’t want to lose my village. If the Founding stone is destroyed, I’m given some random class thrown off to some random place and reduced to level one! Months of hard work down the drain.”

“I can understand that. Are you really willing to come under my command though?”

Razz shared a look with his party members. “Listen. We’re not that bright. I’m good at marshalling an army and commanding my troops, but all the internal stuff was being done by a party member that unfortunately wasn’t on during the migration or whatever they’re calling it.”

“Okay. Fair enough.” This was not what I was expecting but could be a very nice boon. Razz had a fair amount of experience in the game. It was likely that he had connections as well. Then there was the fact that I could get an entire, if slightly damaged, village with almost no work. I really didn’t have to worry about how Aurora would react, she was already my mortal enemy after all. “A few questions. How do you get new members to your village?” I couldn’t have a village that was going to die out after all.

“My villagers spawn from something called a Primordial Mud Den. I get roughly fifty every two days. You?”

“I’m going to keep that to myself for now, no offense,” I replied shaking my head. “Next. How much territory do you have?”

The next couple minutes was enlightening. For one, I found that he had a good deal of property in his possession. There were a number of rare resources that he was working to gain access to. The down side was his Theme. Free-Mud was a master Iron-Works. The amount of metal needed was off the charts. Since his territory didn’t extend to the mountains, he couldn’t open a mine. His outpost was an attempt to circumvent the issue, but that had ended badly.

“Do you mind if I take a day to think about all this?” I asked as I stood up from the table.

Razz did so as well. “No. That is…”

A scream ripped through the air sending chills down my spine. It was no less than a banshee’s scream. My elven ears easily tracked the sound from the direction of the dungeon. Even the mid-morning light dimmed from the unexpected malevolent energy that filled the air. The side of the mountain above Aurora’s dungeon exploded violently as a pitch-black tower rose into the air.

“What now!?” I shouted angrily. My first thought was that the imp must have passed. If that was the case, then I was going to be her target.

“We might not have a day,” Razz exclaimed. I could hear the dread in his voice. If Aurora was coming after me then I needed all the help I could get.

I threw my hand out to Razz. “I accept you offer to come under my leadership. I promise to work to make our fledgling nation great. If you accept, then I would like to make you leader of a joint military force.”

“Deal!” Razz cried without hesitation. He grasped my hand and we shook.

Congratulations! Alliance Unlocked! The Level two village of Free-Mud has come under your ownership. All administrative powers have been transferred to you. Achievement unlocked: Diplomacy over War – Choose one National power to unlock.

Note: While your village’s original territory is still under the one-month protection, acquired territory is not. Proceed with caution.

Neat. That was a nice bonus. While I was reading the notification over, I heard something from the forest that sounded like a stampede was charging at us. A few heartbeats later soon revealed the cause. A swarm of Worgs were charging directly at us. I counted over forty in just the front. There were plenty behind them.

“Quick! Come to me!” I shouted. Rowena and the other players moved close and I teleported us to the top of the wall. Not a moment too soon, as at least a dozen fireballs slammed into the spot we’d been turning the spot to slag. “We’ve really pissed her off. Archers at the ready!” Razz pulled out a bow and joined them at the edge of the wall. “Fire!” The twang of bowstrings filled the air as the close to fifty militia fired at the charging wolves. Damn was I glad they had been at the wall due to Razz’s arrival this morning.

The arrows slammed into the charging wolves with little need for accuracy. The Worgs were in some sort of frenzied state, as they ran over their fallen with almost no regard. When the first line of the wolves was within twenty meters, there was a burst of light as a bolt of lightning crashed through the pack burning at least a dozen to a crisp and leaving almost a dozen more injured.

Looking over my shoulder, the tower with a wide area chain lightning spell dimmed as it began to recharge. It would be three minutes before it could fire again. Damn. I really wish I had built a few more of them last night while I was going through the construction menu.

A torrent of fireballs flew from the forest, slamming into the wall. The ten meter section lost two hundred durability points in a matter of seconds. It only had two thousand to start with. Razz’s mage teammate lobbed a few water spells at the base to extinguish the over time fire damage.

I was sending Spatial tears into the Worgs as rapidly as I could. One out of every four was fatal. “How did she manage to create so many monsters so quickly?!” I demanded more to myself than anyone near me.

“My goblins that she slaughtered. She got mana from each of them. I knew better, but I still attempted to march an army into her halls last night,” Razz explained loosing an arrow every other word. He really was a good fighter. Every arrow had hit its mark so far making his kill count much higher than mine.

I was forced to dive out of the way of a fireball that crested the top of the wall before I could reply. The Worgs were getting closer but seemed to stop at the edge of the forest line. Rather than they didn’t want to come forward, it looked more like they couldn’t. The Worgs were forced to sit back and launch fireballs at us.

“She can’t attack my territory?” I ventured watching the scene.

“I’m not sure, but its entirely possible.”

Yelling and screaming came from the wall next to the gate as the people on top of it scrambled to get safe as the mystical energy that made up the wall failed. The metal section at the top bowed in still connected to the other sides, but that didn’t last long as it soon collapsed to the ground. Ten meters was not a short fall.

Another blast of lightning signaled that three minutes had elapsed. Taking stock of the battlefield, we had definitely thinned the Worgs. Of the close to one hundred plus number that attacked, only a few dozen remained. That didn’t mean we got out injury free. A few of the militia and even one of the royal guard had been killed. Magical defenses were moved up my priority list at that moment.

“Do you think that is all?” Razz asked, standing more bolding on the wall edge as he sniped the remaining wolves.

While I wanted to smack him for such an obviously jinxed remark, I had to agree. It would be foolish to send more monsters if you could even enter the territory you’re attacking. I worried about three weeks from now, but we might make it through today. “I certainly hope so,” I said finally.

When there was only a few Worgs left, the turned tail and ran back into the forest. Relief filled me but was almost instantly replaced by horror. Men and women that looked like they had been dehydrated for days started emerging from the trees one by one. “Shit. Shit. Shit. Ghouls!”

Another figure emerged from the woods. This was anything but a ghoul. Perfect sprang to mind, but that was ridiculous. He held up his clawed hand and a swirl of darkness formed that was soon large enough for us to see even over the nearly fifty meters.

An image of Aurora was soon shown. She was sitting on a half-destroyed chair in the middle of a room that looked like it had been subject to a fierce battle. “Was that you?” I whispered to Razz who vehemently shook his head no.

“Maxwell! I warned you!” Aurora slammed her fist into the remaining armrest which splendidly exploded. “Losa died!” Her eyes went to Razz standing next to me. “The vermin! Good. I can kill you both at once!”

“Wait!” I shouted throwing my hand up. “I understand that you’re hurting, but don’t take it out on my people. Just kill me instead.”

A high pitched laugh came from the image. “No.” The image shattered before I could get another word out. “Enjoy my present. I release you all!” Aurora’s voice echoed as it faded into the air.

“What does that mean?” I asked still staring at the empty spot in the air.

“I think it means were in deep shit,” Razz replied with a shaking finger pointing. I followed it to the Ghouls that lined the forest edge. They had been rather docile this entire time, but like a sickness spreading through them, their faces turned even more twisted. Fangs and claws were soon fully extended as growls quickly became roars of anger.

“Shit.” Was all I got out before the Ghouls charged headlong toward us. They looked like they had lost all reason, but they were smart enough to charge for the opening in the wall. “Fire! Fire at will!” I shouted to the guards.

The Ghouls were a threat, but the man still standing at the forest line worried me more. For now, he was just watching without much expression. I ran over to the edge of the wall where the gap was and began sending spell after spell into charging ghouls. They managed to take three of my spells before they collapsed. I guess it was true when they said ghouls were failed vampires.

“Greavefeather!” Rowena shouted. The giant bird angled toward us and sent a wave of ice into the gap in the wall. Icicles formed temporarily blocking the path. That didn’t mean much to the Ghouls who literally started to jump over the blockage. The Ghouls must truly beyond reason, they were smoking as they rushed into the territory, the divine aspect hurting them the entire time.

“AH!” one of the guards screamed next to me as a Ghoul that managed to climb the wall tore into his throat. Blood sprayed liberally over the top of the wall and the people near him. I sent a Spatial Tear into the Ghoul’s face sending him back off the wall. I wanted to rush to his aid, but more Ghouls were already jumping onto the wall.

More screams went up along the wall. This wasn’t going well! Razz’s party were holding a ten meter section of the wall all by themselves. Looking at Razz, I got an idea that might turn the tide. I just had to make my move soon or I would run out of mana. “Razz! Do you have any soldiers left?”

“About three hundred!” He left an arrow fly nailing a ghoul right in the face as it leapt over the wall. He had barely looked at the monster. “Great! Rowena! We’ll be back in a second!” I grabbed his arm before teleporting to his village. It was a good thing I saw the fight from the other night. The abrupt lack of sound threw my senses for a loop but the sounds of battle were soon replaced by the sounds of village work. “Quick! Gather your forces. I can teleport about fifty in one go,” I ordered not in the mood to explain.

He didn’t argue and began to issue orders. In a remarkable one minute a force of heavily armed goblins were arranged in front of me. I rushed to the center and… was unable to start the spell due to lacking the necessary mana. “Fuck!”

“What is it?”

“Mana! I’m out!” Razz reached into his storage and produced a blue potion. I had played enough games to know that it was mana potion. I snatched it with a thanks and downed it praying that it was an instant version. Some games forced the player to recover mana slowly. When my pool refilled back to half in less than a second, I grinned then used my teleport spell.

I made sure to put us behind the wall. The situation had deliberated in the two minutes we were gone. Another section of the wall had collapsed. My forces were being forced to defend the gaps in the open. The Ghouls had monstrous strength making the fights tooth and hair when it was a melee.

Razz showed his skill as a commander as he ordered the fifty goblins to reinforce the wall. I let him do his thing and teleported back on top of the wall. My mana was in the critical zone. I focused on saving my mana for using Spatial Tears on Ghouls that got over the wall. I searched for Rowena, but couldn’t find her among the guards on the wall.

Greavefeather was still about, so I held out hope that she was okay. I found the Royal commander holding his ground with a few of the other guards. “Telmu! What’s the situation?”

“Not good. We’ve lost over half of the militia. Four of the royal guard are gone as well.”

I dreaded hearing the answer. Just as I figured, it almost physically hurt to hear that so many of my people had died due to this… I didn’t even know what to call it. Feud? Good versus evil? For the first time, real anger flared in my veins. I understood that Aurora was hurt, but she shouldn’t be slaughtering innocent people.

With Razz having some actual troops to command, he was right in his zone. We managed to push the Ghouls back to other side of the wall. Only a few dozen remained. I took in the battle now that the defensive line had reformed and was horrified by the scene. I only barely managed to hold in the contents of my stomach. This was horrible.

I ground my teeth as I tried to suppress my anger. There was literally nothing I could do about this. Even if I marched over to Aurora’s dungeon right now, it wouldn’t bring back the dead. “GET DOWN!”

I don’t know who shouted, but I did as it said. Black tendrils of energy that looked like shadows come to life slammed into the front of the wall. In an instant, all the durability that remained vanished as a hundred-meter section of the wall collapsed. I avoid any major injures as I was able to ride the metal partition down rather then being thrown at that height.

Pushing myself up, I saw the man that had remained out of the fight lower his hand as the remnants of a spell construct faded. He smirked at me before he turned and walked back into the forest fading from sight within a few steps. I slammed my fist down. They were going to pay for this!