November 2, 2022
Day 13
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“I think we should disengage”, Ivan said to a visibly startled Daniel. He hadn’t expected anyone to answer his rhetorical questions at all, much less propose disengagement.
Rahul was a bit surprised too, but he knew Ivan, and chalked it up to his kind nature.
That didn't make this any less irritating.
Rahul had been itching to bring an end to these damn albatrosses business for many hours now, but they always stayed out of the fight. Now was the chance to attack them at their own bastion where they would have only two options - fight to their death or abandon the island.
Still, he controlled his impatience and spoke politely.
“The albatrosses are in full retreat. Now is the time to strike - while we still hold the advantage. Don’t you think so?“
Ivan’s voice was a mix of pain and anger as he replied.
“No I don't. Just 6 hours ago we marched from our castle to their nest. That decision lead to almost the entire settlement getting wiped out. How can you suggest that we go attack them again knowing what happened the last time. “
Rahul understood where Ivan was coming from, but disagreed. His tone changed to match the urgency of Ivan's tone.
“Why not? When we attacked this morning, we were effectively blind. We didn’t know what we were up against. We know now. “
Ivan immediately replied
“Do we really? Can you say for sure that the albatrosses don’t have any more tricks up their sleeves. Actually, that's a moot point. As of now, we don’t even have protection against their mental attack. Who's to say we won't end up entranced the moment we step out of the safety of our castle's shield in a foolish attempt to attack them. “
Rahul spotted an opening and seized it.
“Of course we’re not planning to step out and blindly rush to their bastion immediately. We aren't mindless barbarians who will attack without any plans.”
Rahul felt a bit embarrassed as he made that argument. He had kind of hoped to attack right away, but Ivan didn't need to know that. Instead, he went on with his reassurances.
“We just need to come to an agreement on the question of whether or not to disengage. Once we decide to attack.. I mean if we decide to attack .. we will come up with a detailed plan to deal with the albatrosses. And let’s not forget these bad boys. They are likely immune to mental attacks, and can start the attack on our behalf. What do you say?“
Rahul gestured towards the hundred sentinels standing guard around them as he said that last part.
Ivan seemed a bit unsure and didn’t reply immediately. Daniel took that chance to join the conversation.
“It’s as Rahul said. We will make a detailed plan and the focus will be on eliminating as much risk to our lives as possible. “
The conversation went on a bit longer, but Ivan eventually agreed. The entire team sat down to plan.
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The team anxiously stood on top of one of the castle towers as Daniel commanded a squad of 10 spearmen and 10 pikemen towards the enemy bastion.
Their whole plan depended on this, and they were worried that there would be a limited range to Daniel’s commands, but as the squad kept advancing, they slowly relaxed.
At around two thirds of the way to the enemy bastion, they abruptly stopped.
Everyone looked at Daniel with concern, and his own face fell.
“I can still control them, but I just got a prompt. Apparently, the influence regions of our bastion and the Laysan Rookery are clashing. The sentinels have reached the end of our influence region. If they enter the enemy bastion, I would still be able to control them but they would get a massive debuff to all their stats. The whole squad would likely be wiped out within a minute, not even making a dent in the enemy numbers“
“What if we send all 100 sentinels, would they be enough? We could spend points and keep reinforcing. “ Ivan immediately said, trying to steer the conversation away from any plan that would involve risking their own lives.
Daniel replied something that Rahul didn't hear. His attention had shifted elsewhere.
Over the past year, Rahul had come to learn much about the quirks and personalities of each of his teammates, and Maya had been among the easiest to read. Mainly because he himself had been the same when he first began his career.
She liked to keep her head down and work, trying to avoid too much attention. She was shy and hated being in the limelight, instead letting her work speak for itself. In many companies, employees like her never get recognised for their work, often getting overshadowed by those who spend more time showcasing their work than actually doing it. Here, in Daniel’s team, her brilliance was recognised and she was the goto person for anyone stuck with a challenging problem.
So, when Rahul noticed her glancing at Daniel, opening her mouth to speak but then quickly closing it, he could tell she had come up with a solution. When it happened again, he became certain that she wanted to say something but was hesitating. She was probably uncertain if what she had to say was useful enough, and didn't want to waste everyone’s time.
Knowing her, Rahul was sure she had come up with a good plan, and decided to help. He started by refocusing on the conversation.
Ivan was giving another suggestion.
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“We can send a small squad to harass them and then run back, and lay an ambush with the remaining sentinels if they follow them.”
Daniel replied “That's unlikely to work. They have shown enough intelligence and cowardice so far that I doubt they will go too far from their nest.”
That led to a small lull in the conversation, as everyone tried to come up with ideas to lure them out. Rahul took that chance to speak.
“I think Maya has come up with something”
Rahul felt a bit bad about putting her on the spot like this, but Maya was kind of used to it by now. This was not the first time Rahul had nudged her to speak during a meeting, though this was among the most abrupt and straightforward ways he had done so. Usually he was more subtle, but today he was running out of patience.
Also, Rahul had personally checked in with her many times to make sure she didn’t mind, and she didn't. On the contrary, she had been generally grateful, barring one embarrassing instance. In an exceptionally lengthy and boring meeting, Rahul had misread her thoughtful expression completely, and graciously asked her to 'offer her insights' on the topic. He had hoped that she could bring it to a conclusion with some brilliant suggestion that everyone would like, but she had been daydreaming and had no inkling of what was being discussed.
Thankfully, this time she did have quite a good suggestion. Quite an obvious one, but Rahul held the opinion that the best solutions often seemed obvious in retrospect.
“Umm.. yeah. " Maya said a bit unsure. Then she looked at the energetically nodding Rahul and continued with more confidence.
"Daniel, we could purchase 100 ranged sentinels too right? Why don’t we use them? If we place them at the edge of our influence zone, the nest should be in their range, and no debuff would apply. The infantry sentinels can protect them from within the influence zone too. "
Then her tone changed to an unsure one again.
"Unless there is a restriction on taking the ranged sentinels outside the castle. Or something else that I have missed. “
Daniel thought for only a second before he spoke.
“No, now that I think about it, I don’t believe there is any such restriction. Unless you count the one in my mind which kept me from realising that archers could march out of the castle and attack too. “
Then he smiled and added. “Great work as usual Maya!”
Maya replied happily with a smile of her own “Thank you Daniel”
Then, she looked at Rahul and silently mouthed a thanks.
Rahul could swear her cheeks had turned a little red just then. As he wondered about that, his gaze lingered at her a bit longer. He noticed, not for the first time, how cute Maya looked when she blushed.
Maya caught him looking, and their eyes met for a second before Maya looked away, her cheeks completely flushed red now.
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The plan proceeded perfectly. The hundred archer sentinels were decimating the albatross population while the infantry guarded them against any enemies that managed to come close enough to attack.
Too perfectly, Rahul thought, as he alternated between looking at the battle stats menu and his own experience.
Battle Statistics
Attacker strength
208 (8 humans and 200 sentinels)
Attacker casualties
163 (157 humans and 6 sentinels)
Defender strength
?
Defender casualties
8892
Character Overview Name Rahul Sharma Race Human (F) Class N/A Level 9 HP 220/220 MP 270/270 Stamina 270/270 Strength 23 Endurance 27 Dexterity 22 Vitality 22 Intelligence 27
42860/50000 experience to the next level.
Rahul had earlier managed to kill over a hundred albatrosses when they were retreating away from the castle walls, and was on the precipice of level 10. This was one of the reasons for his impatience when Ivan had proposed to end the battle.
Now, as he watched the albatross casualties increase every minute while he stood idle, he was seething inside. He got neither the closure of avenging his fallen colleagues, nor the dopamine rush of gaining experience and levels.
Every minute he waited, the albatross population on the island dwindled further and further. He needed to kill nearly 70 albatrosses if he wanted to make it to level 10. If he didn't do it before this battle ended, he had no idea when the next opportunity would come.
At the same time, he didn’t know what argument he could make to convince Ivan that leveling was worth putting their lives at risk. Ivan was right, the moment they stepped out of the castle gate, they could fall into a trance again.
On the other hand, the albatrosses were much fewer is number now, and it was possible they could not manage that mental attack now. Yet, they had entranced 165 humans in the morning and now there were only 8 of them left. Maybe the remaining albatrosses were more than enough for the 8 of them.
Rahul's thoughts shifted to how he woke up from the trance the first time around, wondering if he could do it again. The entire team didn't need to go out and risk their lives. He could go alone. But he had no idea what made him snap out of mental attack in the morning. There had to be a way.
Rahul was woken from his internal debate by a gentle tap on his shoulder. It was Ivan.
“You have fought hard all day today, and were a level ahead of us to being with. You must be pretty close to level 10 now. You must feel like I robbed you of the opportunity of leveling up and choosing a class. In a way, I did, and I'm sorry. “
Ivan's apology felt genuine and Rahul replied with the same honesty.
“I'm only 7000 XP short of level 10, so yeah it does feel bad. But I know you only have our best interests at heart. “
Rahul paused a bit and considered if he meant his next words. Once he was sure he did, he spoke.
“So don’t worry, I don’t blame you.”
Some tension left Ivan’s face and he thanked Rahul.
“Thanks, that's some weight off my shoulder. “
Sensing an opportunity to lighten the mood, Rahul jokingly said
“So, I guess we’re even now.“
Noticing Ivan’s confused look, he clarified.
“The cellar thing”
Ivan thought for a moment, before he realised what Rahul meant. Then, he laughed despite himself.
“I guess we are. But kick my balls again and I’ll make your wish you had stayed in your father's. “
Rahul nervously joined Ivan’s laughter. Who spoke in mock offense.
“What? Are you the only one who can joke? “
Rahul visibly relaxed, and immediately quipped back.
“Of course not. Everyone knows about your dark sense of humor. “
That instantly changed Ivan’s mood, who looked at Rahul with a somber expression as he spoke.
“About that. Let’s find somewhere to sit. You lost the chance to level up because of me. The least I could do is tell you the real story of why I hate change. “
“Oh, you mean that Oscar worthy story of yours that changes with every new person who hears it is not true? “ Rahul sarcastically replied, but then regretted it immediately as he looked at Ivan’s unamused face.
He realised that this was important to Ivan, and felt guilty about his tone. Acting salty when someone else was being so sincere, that wasn’t like him. Rahul realised he was a lot more miffed up about not getting to level up than he realised, and decided to keep his frustration under check.
After a pause he spoke again, this time with complete sincerity.
“I’m sorry. Let’s go downstairs and find a couple of chairs. Daniel will have no difficulty dealing with the remaining albatrosses.“
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For the next half an hour, Ivan spoke and Rahul listened intently, not interrupting him even once. After Ivan had finished narrating, Rahul stayed and talked for a bit longer.
The battle had ended at some point, but no one interrupted them.
It was almost an hour before the three went up to the roof and joined the rest. There was a lot to go over.
And it was time to consult Martin.