The group took Snedlie to the tavern, where they got him a couple of beers and a hot meal—a hamburger with fries. Snedlie looked at the plate like it was a gift from the gods. He took a big bite and groaned in pleasure. “God damn, this is good,” he said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and chugging the beer. He had been eating those goddamn vegan lasagna-flavored ultra manly buff bars for the last who knows how long. A juicy burger beat the shit out of it.
Shaniqua leaned back in her chair, watching him with a satisfied smile. “All right, consider that advance payment for what we want.”
Snedlie nodded eagerly. “Sounds good to me. So, what’s the job?” His mood had improved significantly.
Shaniqua reached into her pocket and handed him a small bag of tokens.
Snedlie frowned as he examined them. “Are these coins? They look different.”
“These,” Shaniqua explained, “are governance tokens. Every refugee has one. If enough people vote for a change of council or leadership, then the old leadership has to go.”
Snedlie stared at her, his mind struggling to wrap around the concept. “Huh? What? Tell me again, huh?”
Shaniqua smiled patiently. “Don’t worry too much about understanding all the details. Just wait for me by the settlement kiosk when the demon dogs attack.”
‘‘‘‘
Later that night, as the demon dogs descended on Fort Bone, the Portal Crushers were out in full force, their weapons flashing in the dim light as they fought to protect their town. The night was alive with tension as eight demon dogs prowled the outskirts of Fort Bone, their glowing red eyes locking onto the town like predators eyeing prey. The crowd of tourists gathered along the wall and chomped on popcorn as if they were waiting for their nightly entertainment. To them, the demon dogs weren’t terrifying. They were thrilling.
"Here we go again!" one of them shouted, leaning forward eagerly, his greasy fingers stained with butter.
“Yeah! It’s much better watching than actually having to fight the demon dogs ourselves!”
Most of the tourists still at Fort Bone were from settlements that always had the Manadome of MegaAwesomeness turned on. Their settlements had stopped battling demon dogs long ago. The results of course were that they could no longer go outside of their own settlement. They now were forced to hunt via teleportation due to the buildup of the demon dogs.
Another took a bite of popcorn and laughed, "Bet this won’t last ten minutes."
The demon dogs rushed towards the walls with a fury. Crossbows fired from the watchtower.
THWIP!
THWIP!
THWIP!
And then it was the pit traps. Demon dogs howled as they fell in, unlike the skeletons though, these pit traps weren’t lethal towards them. The thick hides and dense muscles were a great defence. Falling into a pit trap though, did slow them down.
Which allowed the defenders on the walls who joined in even more time to fire crossbows at them.
THWIP!
THWIP!
Howling in anger, wounded by crossbow bolts they started scrambling up the walls of Fort Bone. Their claws digging into the walls, combining with short vertical leaps moved them slowly up the defensive wall.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Atlas stood at the front of the Portal Crushers, his twin swords gleaming in the moonlight. His muscles tensed as he waited for the first dog to make its move. “TAKE THEM DOWN!” he shouted, his voice cutting through the air like the blade he wielded.
The first demon dog snarled, then bolted forward with lightning speed. It leaped up towards the top of the wall in an insane jump. Atlas moved just as quickly, his twin swords flashing in a deadly arc. He sliced clean through the beast before it even landed, its body crumpling and falling far to the ground. Blood poured out like rain.
From the walls, the tourists gasped in awe. “Did you see that?” one muttered, while another mumbled around a mouthful of popcorn, “This is better than a show.”
Alexander grinned as he hefted his great sword onto his shoulder, clearly relishing the attention. "Hope y’all are paying close attention, ‘cause this is gonna be one for the books!" he shouted up at the crowd before smashing into an arriving second dog, his great sword whistling through the air. With a mighty swing, he cleaved through the creature’s head, sending its lifeless body skidding across the dirt. Headless and covered in crossbow bolts, the demon dog carcass looked like an oversized meatball.
"That one’s got style," a tourist chuckled, tossing a kernel into his mouth.
Two more demon dogs lunged at Wang Bo, their ferocious growls filling the air. He dodged gracefully, his staff twirling in his hands as he spun to meet them. “‘White Crane Spreads Its Wings!‘” he yelled out as his staff slammed into the first demon dog’s ribs, sending it flying. He followed up with a sharp strike to the second dog, shouting, “‘Dragon Thrusts Through the Heavens!‘”
The tourists cheered and clapped, entertained by Wang Bo’s flair. One even mimicked his moves with a broom handle, laughing with his friends.
Three more demon dogs tried to dash up the wall with their claws digging into the stone. They looked at the Portal Crushers, their eyes blazing with hunger. Lark tossed a KrazyBondoglue javelin at one, covering it in sticky goo, while Noi sliced clean through another’s leg, sending it yelping to the ground.
The last dog, bigger and more vicious than the others, charged straight at Atlas. He planted his feet, his twin swords ready. As the beast leaped, he crossed his blades, cutting through its belly in one fluid motion. The demon dog’s body hit the ground with a wet thud. It’s entrails smeared the walls.
The battle was over as quickly as it had begun. The crowd on the walls let out a satisfied murmur, some clapping, others already turning to leave.
"Well, that was fun," one tourist said, brushing off his hands and heading toward the vending machines.
Atlas, his breathing heavy, sheathed his swords and turned to his team. “Clean up the mess,” he muttered, his eyes drifting up to the retreating tourists. ‘I wonder if we could charge tickets for the nightly battle? Got to talk to John about this.‘
Alexander wiped the blood from his great sword and gave a quick bow to the tourists. "Catch the show next time, folks. We do this all night!" he shouted, before flashing a cocky grin at Atlas.
Isabella shook her head. ‘Damn showman.‘
Atlas was still catching his breath when a notification blinked into his vision, the text appearing in sharp, bright letters across his field of view:
‘‘Council vote initiated by citizen Snedlie. Leadership vote initiated. Current leader: Atlas. Votes: 67. New vote for change in leadership: Snedlie. Votes: 82.‘‘
Atlas’s blood ran cold. “Motherfucker,” he muttered under his breath. “Someone is trying to backdoor take over the town. That’s not gonna happen on my watch.”
He quickly gathered the Portal Crushers around him. “Everybody, follow me!” he yelled, and they all charged towards the settlement kiosk, where the multi-governmental unit was set up.
When they arrived, Atlas’s worst fears were confirmed. Snedlie stood there, flanked by some new people that Atlas didn’t quite recognize. He didn’t need to spend time guessing who they were. But there was one person he recognized immediately. He could tell just by looking at her face, even under the mask, that the woman at the centre was Shaniqua.
Atlas glared at the protective barrier shielding the governmental settlement kiosk, a wave of frustration washing over him. He knew from previous encounters that when a council vote was initiated, a safety zone was automatically put in place. Violence was off the table. The only way to win now was through numbers—entering more tokens and swaying the vote.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Atlas yelled, his voice echoing through the still night air.
Snedlie smirked, a mixture of defiance and satisfaction on his face. “I think we’re taking over this town.”
Shaniqua, standing confidently beside him, added, “Good job setting this place up, Atlas. Our settlement thinks it’d be great if we had a new town, and Fort Bone looks pretty good to us.”
Atlas narrowed his eyes at her, a bitter taste filling his mouth. “You bitch,” he spat. “I don’t know how you came up with this plan, but it’s good. What you don’t know is that there’s a way around it. And when I put it through, you’re all dead.”
He glared at Snedlie, feeling the sharp sting of betrayal. ‘This is exactly why I wanted to kill him,‘ Atlas thought angrily. ‘We let him go once, showed him mercy and this is how he repays us.’