The sun was low in the sky when we first saw something jagged sitting on the horizon. As we got closer, we could begin making out individual buildings. There weren’t many, but we knew there were people there.
As we approached, it was obvious things weren’t going well in the town. The plains we were traveling across were mostly flat grasslands, but there were clusters and thickets of trees dotting it here and there. We passed a few of these thickets that had been chopped down to stumps.
“Look over there,” Max pointed to a thicket in the distance. Many of the trees had been cut down, and a wagon heavily laden with logs struggled through the grass back to town.
I nodded toward the town, “Yeah, they are trying to build a palisade.”
“A what?” Max asked.
“Log wall,” I said. “They’re trying to defend themselves. Probably from the raiders, or maybe goblins.”
“Or both,” Max said.
Closer still, we spotted wagons parked in the roadway as barricades. A bell rang, and a couple of guys with spears came running to stand on the road.
“Welcoming committee,” Slade said. “Think we can take them?”
“No,” I said. “These are people, we’re going to talk to them.”
“Those last guys were people too. They didn’t try talking.”
“They did talk. They just weren’t very nice,” I reminded him.
“See? Talking did nothing.” Slade said with a smug grin. “Just be ready to take them.”
“Dude. You were at half-health fighting one guy. Two opponents is all it will take to kill you. Maybe play a little smarter?”
“Yeah, but I got chainmail now.”
“I’m begging you,” I pleaded. “Please don’t get us killed.”
He had a point, though. We did try talking to the last people, and it didn’t end well. I squinted to check out the guys with spears guarding the road ahead.
Militia, Peasant x4 – Level 0
Militia, Leader, Peasant – Level 2
Affiliation: Town of Springfield
We probably could take these guys. Then again, there was a whole town of them. I had to wonder why the thought of being able to defeat them had popped in my head so easily. I’d never thought like that back in the real world. Knowing I was in a game made me think of others in an adversarial light, something I’d never really done before.
“Hail!” The Militia Leader called out to us. He looked us up and down. “What’s your business?”
Slade was in front, and so felt it was his duty to answer, “Greetings peasants, we seek ale and bed for the night.”
I trotted up next to him, “Yeah, sorry about that. We are wanderers looking for refuge for the night.”
One of the peasant militiamen leaned into the leader and whispered. Even though I was a good ten yards away, I could hear precisely what was said. “They look to be brigands.”
“We were attacked by raiders on the plains. And goblins as well.” I said. “A safe place for the night would be most welcome.”
“You came on the southern road?” The lead militiaman asked. “It’s become more dangerous with each passing day. A goblin warband pushes north, and the fleeing raiders move like a wave before it, fleeing lest they be overwhelmed by the beasts.”
I understood what he was getting at. Goblins were marching north, this way, and displacing the raiders. If we were coming from the south, surely we must also be raiders.
“Yeah, but we’re pretty good at kicking ass,” Slade volunteered. Not exactly reassuring to townspeople worried about letting strangers into their otherwise safe village.
“We are adventures. Lost on the plains. The raiders attacked us, and we were able to defend ourselves.” I said. “I can assure you that we are not here to cause any trouble. A bed for the night is all we want.”
The militia leader eyed us suspiciously. He seemed ready to say something when one of the militia dudes up on a cart pointed and yelled, “Raiders!”
I turned in my saddle to look back. Maybe a half mile back, dust kicked up along the trail. They veered off, though, darting to the west across the open fields.
A bell rang frantically. Turning back to the carts blocking the path, I saw all four militiamen gripping their spears and moving for cover behind the carts. Other peasants came running, armed with pitchforks and clubs.
Someone yelled, “They are heading for the logs!”
I scanned the horizon to the west. The lone wagon filled with logs continued its struggle across the grass. Squinting, I saw a handful of men with axes urging the horses on. They would never make it to the safety of town.
Max looked directly at me and said, “We have to help them.”
Shit, I thought, I don’t want to die for a wagon of logs. I also didn’t want to watch a bunch of peasants get slaughtered by bandits. I froze, trying to decide what to do.
“We’ll help your men,” Slade yelled to the militia leader, then spurred his horse into a gallop.
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Max followed immediately. The militia leader looked up at me suspiciously, my hesitation a was a condemnation writ across his face.
“Damn it,” I swore, then urged Princess to follow. A quick look back confirmed that Emma was following.
Squinting I scanned the bandits.
Raider x6 – Level 2
Raider, Leader – Level 3
Horse, Light Riding x7 – Level 1
Then I looked forward to the townsfolk we planned to help.
Villager, Peasant x5 – Level 0
I did quick math in my head. Us and the villagers came to a whopping combined level of 8. The raiders were a combined level of 15, not counting the horses. I wasn’t sure how to count the level 0 villagers. Even if I counted them as a half, we still only had a combination of levels 10.5 to 15. Not a fair fight for us at all. This could be it, I thought as I closed in on Slade.
For whatever reason, Slade chose to gallop toward the log-filled wagon. It was the right choice. Even if the villagers were level 0, having five of them swing axes meant more damage on the raiders, and less work we’d have to do.
When we got to the wagon, the villagers hefted their axes, anxious to see what we would do.
“We’re here to help!” I yelled.
Max rode to the far side of the wagon. Then his mount came trotting back out from behind it without him. Undoubtedly, he went invisible for a sneak attack on at least one of the incoming raiders. I followed suit, galloping around to the wagon's far side and jumping off. I slapped Princess’s behind, and she darted off, away from the battle I hoped.
I felt myself fade as I crouched in the grass. Now invisible, I’d be able to get at least one sneak attack myself as well. If we could take out two raiders at the start of the fight, it would bring the levels down from 15 to 11, against our 8, still not quite in our favor. But with the villagers, that might just be enough to make it even.
Emma followed around the wagon on her horse and damn near ran over me. I skittered away from the wagon and drew my bow out of inventory. As Emma dismounted, I saw Max sneaking around to the back of the wagon. The villagers were still spurring their horses on, but it was slow going.
“Where is everyone?” Slade shouted.
Max replied, “Lure them to us, and we’ll ambush.”
“Ha!” Slade yelled, “Done deal.”
I moved farther away from the back of the wagon. I didn’t want a huge obstruction blocking all my shots. The further away I got, the more I could see. I yelled out, “Emma, stay on that side of the wagon. It's shielding you from the raiders.”
The villagers spread on the side of the wagon the raiders were approaching. One of them remained on top, flicking the reins and screaming to urge the wagon horses on.
Slade screamed out some sort of warcry and then dug his heels into his horse. It shot away from the wagon towards the incoming raiders. What the hell? He was supposed to bring them close to Max and me, not rush out to greet them. I had a sickening feeling he was about to be killed. At least it would look heroic.
And then all hell broke loose.
Slade charged. The raider leader charged, waving a sword over his head. The other raiders fanned out in a wedge shape behind their leader, all of them lifting spears, swords, and axes. I pulled an arrow to the string, too absorbed in watching Slade to really take aim.
The raider leader, the tip of the wedge charging at Slade, swung his sword. Slade blocked it with his massive axe, then swung the weapon around to smash it into the raider. The lead raider fell from his horse and Slade charged right through the rest of them.
Three of the raiders veered off in different directions, turning to go after Slade, who was whooping madly. The other three pressed on, coming right toward the wagon.
A spear flew from one of the raiders. That was my cue to snap out of it and do something. I aimed and fired, the bow tugging this way and that. The arrow and spear passed each other. I watched as my arrow sank deep into the raider's chest.
Sneak Attack: Bonus Damage
The raider didn’t even fall from his horse. He changed to a cube instantly.
The spear he’d thrown finished its flight, landing with a sickening sound right into the wagon driver. I blinked and he was no longer there. A cube remained.
One of the charging raiders charged right over a defending villager. The villager vanished without even an axe swing. The raider swung his horse around to the back of the wagon, and a shadow leaped from the pile of logs on the wagon. Max must have climbed it while stealthing. The raider's head separated from his body for just a moment, and then he was gone, leaving a cube.
The third raider coming toward us looked hesitant now that both of his pals were gone. I used that hesitation to fire an arrow into him. He jerked and paused just long enough for a villager to run up and sink an axe into him.
Three raiders down, we were doing way better than I thought we would. Slade screamed. It wasn’t his yelp of pain that I’d heard before. This was some unholy ‘I’m going to murder you and all of your mates’ type thing. Looking toward the rage-filled howl, I saw three mounted raiders chasing Slade while their leader stood in the grass waving a curved sword.
Slade charged the leader as the other three horsemen chased him. I almost didn’t want to watch the leader get trampled, but forced myself to anyway. As Slade approached, the raider leader dashed to the side and slashed his blade across the horse. There was a sickening whinny of pain before it winked out of existence. Slade, with nothing under him, tumbled to the ground.
Seeing Slade on the ground, the three mounted raiders charged in abreast. They came in with spears, swords, and axes, ready to hamburgerify their victim. I fired arrows as fast as I could draw them. I got solid hits on two, but neither were killing shots. It was enough to send them scattering. Slade swung his axe high, lifting one of the wounded riders high in the air before he vanished into a cube.
The riders circled Slade. Their leader made his own battle roar and charged on foot. With the leader’s back to us, Max sprinted, holding his jet-black katana in one hand. Max was visible, but the raider leader was focused on Slade.
Slade swung and missed the unwounded rider, who trotted off out of range. I fired an arrow at that one, missing, but it hit the horse in the side. It whinnied and reared, sending the raider toppling to the ground. So sorry, horsey, I thought. I really hoped we could heal it after the fight was over.
The raider leader screamed again, lunging at Slade, who turned and blocked the blow with his axe at the last moment. The two exchanged blows, but neither seemed to connect. The clanging of metal on metal echoed loudly.
Max, finally close enough, stabbed at the raider leader. The raider, having some sort of sixth sense, spun. He blocked Max’s blow and delivered a vicious counterstrike that sent a spray of blood through the air. Emma screamed just behind me as Max fell into the grass.
Before the raider could finish Max off, Slade was on him, swinging furiously.
Emma chanted something behind me, then said, “Aim true.”
My bow was suddenly on crack, pulling my arms and aim to the nearest raider. It was the unwounded one that fell from his horse. He was shaking his head and trying to regain his senses when two arrows from my bow hit him one after another. He didn’t even finish falling backward to the ground before changing into a cube.
Emma darted out in front of me, ruining my aim on the last horsed raider. He’d just pulled an arrow out of his leg and was turning his horse back to Slade. His intent was obvious, while Slade was busy fighting, he’d come in from the rear and finish him. I got him first with an arrow through the back of the neck.
I could see Slade and the leader fighting, but drawing aim on them was impossible with Emma in the way. They continued exchanging blows, but Slade’s weapon was large and cumbersome. His swings were slowing. The raider seemed to be aware of this, deflected one of Slade’s blows, and stabbed, sinking the curved blade into Slade.
Slade yowled but grabbed the raider’s sword with his left hand. The raider tried to pull it free, but Slade held on even though it was cutting his hand to ribbons. The raider refused to let go of his own sword, leaving him a sitting duck. Slade raised the battle axe in one meaty fist and brought it down, sinking the blade deep into the leader's chest.
The last raider, their level 3 leader, vanished into a blue cube. The fight was over. Somehow, I’d managed not to get hit by anything at all. I decided right then that I really liked shooting arrows from a distance.