The town was a flurry of activity as the people prepared for the arrival of the soldiers. Risco and his friends from the Inn were all wearing armor and armed with weapons as I stood with them in front of the gate. We could see the dust cloud against the sky on the horizon but the horses were still too far away to make out any details.
Marci sent an image that the horses had stopped by one of the abandoned farmsteads. I took advantage of the break to get my thoughts in order. I couldn’t risk anyone Identifying me during the battle, if one of them had a communication skill the King may be alerted. I also didn’t have any time to waste, only four days remained before I needed to be in Etes. I thought of my mother and let the image of her linger in my mind.
If this was truly the Kingsword, they would be formidable enemies according to Nadia. I took stock of my inventory, I had my spear, dagger and bow. I had several hallowed lights and a full bandoleer of health potions. I also had a full bandoleer and stock of bombs. I sprinted out down the road towards the soldiers around a hundred feet from the gate. I used my hands to dig makeshift holes and placed five standard bombs in them. The holes looked very suspicious so I dug out twenty more just to make it seem more random.
I sprinted back to the town and found Riso staring at me with an odd expression. I debated on how much to tell him but decided to just be honest.
“I placed explosives on the road and buried them. I made a few false holes as well to hopefully hide the real ones. If they continue towards us in a hostile manner I will detonate them. I'm not sure how much health these guys will have, Nadia said they were strong. The explosives may kill them outright but we will need to be ready for any survivors.”
“You have explosives just sitting around in your pack?” Risco asked in an incredulous voice.
“In a manner of speaking, yes. Listen, I don't need you to believe me right now. Look what happened last time they were here, can Gleice afford a repeat of that? Do you really think a few retired and underleveled army members can hold off a group of Kingsworn?” I shot back. I was tired of being doubted by everyone I met.
“Identify me if you have the skill. Listen to what I say and we can survive this without losing anyone.” I said and turned my back on the town.
No one from the village possessed an identification skill apparently as I didn’t feel the odd sensation that usually came with it. We had tested it out with the loremaster and it turned out you would only get that sensation when someone lower leveled than you used a skill of that type on you. If someone was a higher level there wouldn’t be any notification or indication at all.
Marci let me know that the soldiers began moving again. They would reach the village in just a few minutes. They were taking a leisurely pace, likely assuming there wasn’t anyone in such a small village that could threaten them. I took a deep breath to settle my thoughts. Despite all the battle and bloodshed that had happened in my life since the framework, the idea of killing other humans still bothered me.
“Risco. We need to deal with them quickly so that we can get to my companion and Nadia. Stand with me behind the wall, we will try to convince them to leave peacefully, they will only get one chance.” I said, trying to sound cold and confident the way Arthur did.
He grunted and came to stand beside me. I knew he wouldn’t want a peaceful ending, too many of his had died during their first visit. I wondered why they were coming back so soon, what was the goal of attacks like this from the King? A dirt cloud appeared on the horizon and we could soon make out individual riders.
“Ho soldiers!” The guard from the gate yelled out. “What brings you back here? We have done nothing since your last visit. You killed everyone who would support any action against the King. We are loyal citizens of Eter and just want to be left alone.” The guard spat off to the side after his statement.
We had decided to have him begin to ease any suspicions of the soldiers. The rest of us were hidden just on the other side of the wall where we could hear the conversation. I saw Riso tense up as the guard spoke his rehearsed words. I laid my hand on his shoulder, we needed them to stay on the road for now.
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“You treasonous son of a whore, you are speaking to a member of the Kingsworn. You will show respect or you will be killed at the pleasure of the King.” One of the soldiers called out and returned the guards gesture, spitting off to the side of the road. His fellow soldiers all laughed and began sauntering forwards.
“Stop! Please! This doesn’t have to end in violence!” I yelled out and walked in front of the open gate. “Please just leave us alone!”
The soldiers were directly over the bombs now. I readied myself to trigger the detonations two at a time, my skill had not leveled back to where I could do three. One of the soldiers gave a short shout and rode up beside the one in the lead. He said something too quiet to hear, the soldier in the lead gave a shout. The soldiers all stopped moving at once and began to look around on the ground. One of them must have a way to sense danger or traps.
“Everyone back behind the wall!” I yelled out at the townspeople and shoved Risco towards the gate.
I took one last look at the soldiers and sighed before triggered the first two bombs Explosions roared out through the silence in defeaning fashion. I quickly triggered the rest of the explosions as fast as possible before the soldiers could regroup. Notifications started to roll in but I pushed them away for later.
A massive dust cloud had formed over the site of the explosions, blocking the view of the soldiers. After it became clear there would be no more explosions, Risco walked up behind me with the rest of the group from Gleice. We waited in silence to see what the outcome would be while I checked the notifications, I realized I had never even Identified any of the Kingsworn.
Survival Event! Battle for Gleice - 1/12 soldiers remaining.
“There’s still one left alive.” I said and began to walk down the road towards the still billowing cloud of dust. No one said anything but I could tell they were following by the sound of their footsteps. I asked Marci to keep an eye out from the sky. The bodies were thrown all over the road and surrounding field, mostly just collections of limbs from soldiers and horses.. The destructive force of the bombs was on full display and I had a sinking feeling it would lower my disposition towards the people of Gleice, that was a concern for another day.
The soldier that had been in the lead during the brief verbal exchange was crawling towards us as the dust cleared. His lower body had been mangled, his legs partially blown off. His armor was wrecked, I was morbidly impressed he was still alive at all. He was clutching what looked like a health potion in his hand and trying to drink it. Risco quickly dashed over and kicked it away.
“Wait! Let him drink it. He can’t harm us and I want to talk with him.” I shouted at the Innkeeper of the Short Step Inn.
“Bah. Let him rot. Let’s search the other bodies and make sure everyone else is dead. Take anything you can salvage of value for the town. Pile the bodies up off the road, we’ll burn them and clean up the evidence. No need to leave this out here for another patrol to find.” He told his men. He gave me a long look before glancing at the dying soldier and scowling. “Have your little chat then it's time to go find Nadia.” He said and walked over to the next not so intact body.
Human - Lieutenant Rill - Kingsworn - Level 22 - Health 13/104
I walked over to his health potion and Identified that too. It was only a minor one, it wouldn’t do much for him now. I took a chance and gave him one of my major health potions, this man had information that I needed. If I could convince him to renounce the King and cooperate he might be able to tell me how to get into Etes.
I dumped the health potion down his throat and waited to see if it would stop him from losing health. I triggered Identify on him a few times and at first it didn’t seem like the potion was going to be enough, I didn’t have enough to keep wasting them. His health eventually stopped lowering and the bleeding from his legs stopped. He was either unconscious or doing a good job of faking it.
I found a set of shackles for prisoners in a partially destroyed bag nearby. I bound the soldier around his arms and legs and walked over to find Risco. I wanted a chance to question the Kingsworn to see if he would tell me anything about Etes and how to get in. I was monitoring my bond with Van during the conflict and hadn’t sensed any reason to be concerned. I sent out a thought to see how he was doing, he replied with feelings of emotion and cowardice. At least he was still hiding, the young ape much preferred to fight instead.
Marci was back overhead circling around in a lazy fashion. No sense of danger came across our bond from her either. I asked her to go and check on Van and find the other set of soldiers. The young falcon turned and flapped her powerful wings, shooting off towards the forest like an arrow.
“There are still half a dozen of the soldiers pursuing Nadia, my companion remains safe for now. We need to get to the forest and set another trap to get the rest of them in case they come back this way.” I said to Risco, walking up behind him.
He grunted his agreement. “Thank you. I am sorry for doubting you, these are hard and confusing times, hard to know who you can trust anymore.” He clapped a hand on my shoulder and turned to walk to his men. “We can finish the rest of this later. It’s time to go get Nadia and finish off the rest of the soldiers.”