Chapter 28
That turned out to be the prelude for a decidedly awkward game of War of the Arcane. As board games go, WotA tends to be a bit slow and technical. Every unit has multiple tactical options, the wizards have multiple spells, the spells have side effects that have to be tracked, and every individual attack is resolved with a dice roll.
If my track record against Hiro wasn’t great, it was worse with my army being partially controlled by somebody who had never touched a game piece before.
Gabriella gave voice to my own frustrations. “Mariko, you just put those orcs in the path of Kiyo’s autocannon! You have to use cover!”
“Ara! Let me take it back, then.” Mariko reached out for her game piece, but it was surrounded by a red aura.
“No, Mariko,” said Yukiko, her hand glowing the same shade. “If you keep taking back your moves, you’ll never learn.”
“That isn’t very Christmas-y,” said Kiyo.
“But it means you get to use your big gun during the combat phase,” countered Yukiko.
Kiyo hesitated. “Good point.”
Mariko frowned at that. “S-sorry, Soren.”
“It’s just a game, my dear,” I said. Still, it was an awful move; she’d simply charged in out of cover, out of range for my demons to cast defensive magic, but still short of melee range with the Wizard Corps force.
Kiyo looked positively ecstatic when the combat phase came around and her dice came up as sixes, wiping the unfortunate group of orcs off the map. “That was satisfying. Y’know they still haven’t given me a replacement for Lucile? I swear, who’s running this army?”
“The eternal lament of the soldier, my…”
Mariko held her breath.
“My oh my,” I said, “just how long are we going to be stuck here? We’re the sixth round and there’s been no news at all.”
Mariko let out a relieved sigh, giving my arm a grateful squeeze. The others seemed confused, though Kiyo looked a bit more sullen.
“That is strange,” said Hiro. He had been quiet as we’d played, but he looked up from the board for the first time in half an hour. Maybe that was why he was more successful with War of the Arcane? It seemed like he could tune everything else out. I was always concerned with some sort of drama.
“Hiro, maybe you should call your mother and let her know we’ll be late,” said Yukiko.
He let out a short sigh. “I hate to let her down… but yes, I should.”
“It’s hardly your fault,” I said.
He shook his head. “I know but… she is alone out there. She misses me so much.” He whipped out his phone and walked away to place the call.
Of course he’d be a mama’s boy.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Lucky bastard, having the chance.
“I guess that means we win,” said Kiyo.
“Sounds more like a forfeit to me,” said Gabriella.
“This game is basically over, and you know it,” snapped Yukiko, casting a nervous glance Hiro’s way. “I wonder what’s holding them up. If they haven’t cleared the tracks by now, they should cancel the service already.”
Kiyo had been the first to pull out her phone, and her eyes widened. “Uh, guys? I think mother nature’s about to do that for us.”
We all leaned over to peer at her phone. I wasn’t used to live weather maps, but even I could tell that was one Hell of a blizzard heading our way.
“Do you think Mr. Lahlou made it back?” asked Mariko.
“That depends on how much he tarried in town before taking the mountain,” I said. Pulling out my own phone, I saw that the local events section of SatoChat was full of pictures of snowdrifts that had doubled in height since our arrival. “I think we might have to find other lodging.”
Gabriella shook her head. “They haven’t cancelled service yet, so they must have some plan to—”
Gabriella trailed off as the lights flickered twice before shutting off completely. It wasn’t that late in the day, but the thick cloud cover overhead had rendered the afternoon into twilight. Startled chatter erupted all down the track; while we’d played, more passengers had arrived, and we had a decently sized crowd cast in darkness.
“Merlin’s Lantern.” The spell was cast in a dozen voices in near unison. It was almost fortunate we’d stuck to our cliques, since that meant there were clusters of wizards spread out evenly through the whole space.
“You’d think there would be some backup generators,” grumbled Gabriella.
“They probably have ‘em, but they might not have fuel,” said Kiyo. “Military comes first, these days.”
“Maybe, but there should still be battery backups,” said Mariko. A few smartphone flashlights joined the Merlin’s Lanterns as the mundane passengers caught on to what was happening.
Hiro nearly flew back into our midst, the overwhelming scent of violet telling me he was running Immortal Form at full tilt. “Magpie! Need to talk with you.”
“Yes, what is it?” I asked.
He shook his head, the magical lighting casting his face in ominous shadows. “No, alone. You and me.”
“Is something the matter?” asked Mariko.
“Maybe,” he replied.
I raised an eyebrow at that, but I didn’t see a reason to object. Once we were out of earshot, he placed a hand on my shoulder to stop me and didn’t let go.
“What’s the matter? You’re acting crazy,” I said.
“Is this another attack?” he asked. “What are you planning?”
I nearly asked if he was joking, but his expression cut me off. Hiro normally walked through life wearing a friendly mask, but I’d seen hints of a bloodthirsty streak in his fights with the Holy Brotherhood. Seeing it directed my way had my heart beating.
“No, of course not.”
“This has happened two times,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “When the power shuts off, Holy Brothers show up to kill us.”
I took my phone out of my pocket and showed him the lit screen. “If this was demonic technology jammers, this would be completely inert.”
“In what?”
“It would not turn on at all,” I said.
“Inert. I see.” He released his grip, and I let out a relieved sigh. Staring down the barrel of Immortal Form with no space to cast defensive magic was a terrifying prospect. “Good word. I will have to remember that one.”
His syntax had improved, which I took as a sign he was relaxing. “You’re on a hair trigger, Takehara.”
“I have to be,” he said. “Immortal Form burns magic fast. I have to end fights quickly. Get them before they get me.”
“You don’t have to worry about the Holy Brotherhood anymore,” I said. “I’m told they’ve been dismantled. Attacking on Japanese soil made the more reasonable in their ranks turn in their fellows.”
“They said they were no threat after Taiwan,” he replied. “I do not believe it.”
“You’re going to drive yourself crazy with paranoia,” I said.
He shrugged. “Then I will be crazy. It will keep everyone alive when trouble does come. That is what matters.”
With that, the guileless mask slipped back into place. “Cell towers must be down, too. We need a plan.”
I nodded. “Now that you’re done throwing around baseless accusations, let’s go see how the others are doing.”
“Baseless?”
“Unfounded? Nonsense?”
“I know the word baseless.” A hint of a frown played at the corner of his mouth. “I forgave you, Magpie. I do not forget.”
I wanted to object, but I was without a defense. The encounter did make me wonder how well I really knew Hiro Takehara, even after nearly a year.