The layout of the surroundings of the fort was a thirty metre radius of broken walls, trees and bushes, and large boulders, looking like a town that had been destroyed by an avalanche that had been mostly cleared up and left for nature to reclaim. The fort itself was made of wood, concerningly similar to the kind of buildings that kids play areas might have been made of. Sturdy enough for a child to jump on or hold onto, probably not for an angry Eva swinging a weighted training axe. He suspected that the flimsiness of the base was part of the test. There were small spear walls and backwards facing ramps dotted around each door, intended to slow any attackers enough so that the defenders could pick them off. These looked less destructible.
He had no idea whether he was visible or not as he dashed behind a large boulder and ducked down. Peeking up, he saw Eva and the team had started the assault in earnest, moving forward slowly, a few metres at a time before hiding behind cover. There were a few missiles coming from the fort, but not many; Ted suspected that Eva was correct in that the team were focusing on the doors. The team would really need to apply pressure to the front.
Ted was about half way round to the left side of the fort, the distance elongated by how far out he was from the building. Eva had left it up to him to decide if an entrance was clear, and he was torn between going for the first entrance, or going round to the back, uncertain of which would be least expected.
He sprinted again, diagonally towards and around the fort, getting closer whilst also circumnavigating it. A notification popped up in the corner of his vision, but he dismissed it; another trick he’d learnt over the training period. He didn’t need the distraction, and he doubted his ability to read messages whilst sprinting without walking into one of the low walls and big bushes scattered across the place. As he dashed forward again though, this time slipping behind a large boulder, he felt as if there was something else pushing him forward.
It took about a minute and a half for Ted to get to a point where he could get a good look at the side door; a long time to travel the 80 metres of distance, but with the ducking and diving and trying to be unseen, he had to be more cautious than hasty. If they spotted him, they’d know the plan, and they’d focus on him with an intensity he probably wouldn’t survive.
Sneaking closer to the fort, he could see two of the defenders - Jerah and a Sassar mage - stood on the top floor, looking out over the poor excuse for crenellations and firing down arrows and spells at the four attackers in Eva’s team. Ted knew that she was not just trying to attempt a full frontal assault, but also disguise the number of people in her team, by having Red, Toya, and Elssar move back and forth repeatedly between covers as they moved forward, so it was never clear how many were nearby. Red, had started using his Smoke spell, which helped this, though the power of the spell was pitifully low, closer to the smoke from a campfire than a smoke bomb. Nevertheless, it helped add confusion to the mix, which was exactly what they wanted.
Ted surveyed the ground in front of him, breathing heavily from his many covert sprints from boulder to bush to wall. He was fifteen metres away from the open doorway, and he couldn’t see anyone standing near it. In front of him there was another crumbling wall, about waist height, and three sets of spears built into the floor that would force him to zigzag with no cover. There were windows cut into the wall, but they also failed to give him any further idea as to where the defenders were, other than the two on the top floor. He looked over at the attack squad, trying to register the attacks coming through. It looked like there were more magical attacks raining down than one mage could provide, which meant that the second Sassar mage was likely engaged.
It meant that Kara was unaccounted for, however.
As a melee fighter, Kara would be waiting for an attempted entry before engaging. As a 3 metre tall bear like creature, Ted had a primal fear of facing her one on one, only compounded by the many stories that circulated about how a bear could kill you with one swipe and eat you with its salmon for breakfast. He knew that you were supposed to play dead if you saw a grizzly in his world, but he doubted that would work with Kara. He doubted it very much.
He sprinted forwards towards the crumbling wall, angling himself and dropping to slide quickly and discreetly behind it. Another notification popped up, and he dismissed it again. Breathlessly, he peered around the wall for the last time. If he saw anything, he’d stop and reconsider, but if he didn’t then it was time to run.
The doorway was clear.
He vaulted the wall and sprinted at top speed towards the door, hopping left and right around the spear walls that threatened to impale him as he approached them. Reaching the fort with no cries of alarm, he put his back to the outside wall, his body lined up against the door. Slowly, quietly, he snuck his head around the door.
Inside was just as they’d been briefed; an entirely empty room, with a single ladder leading up to a hatch in the ceiling. The fort had four doors and eight windows; the Sassar stood between the front door and the right window, sniping out a spell before rolling back out of view. Kara was waiting on the other side, both paws raised as if ready to strike.
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This was a problem, Ted realised; Kara was permanently facing inwards, seemingly waiting until her melee skills became useful. The Sassar was also facing inwards whenever he wasn’t firing a spell out. It meant that there was always one person watching the room.
He either needed the assault team to reach the front of the fort and draw the Baraye and Sassar out, or needed some other distraction to allow him to sneak in. He didn’t even consider a fight. His Spear Mastery at Level 2 wouldn’t even come close to outmatching Kara’s base strength and offensive power; combining that with having to dodge magic attacks would be fatal. Though it might give the assault enough time to support him. Even as he thought that, he heard a cry that sounded like Red, and he realised that relying on the others even making it to the fort might be a risky move.
He shook his head, and decided to stick as closely to the plan as possible. That meant discretion and speed. He eyed up the ladder, wondering whether he could reach it and climb it before the other two could react and stop him. There were six rungs, widely spaced apart, that took him up to the top of the hatch. There was no trapdoor to lift at the top; it was open to the sky, so he’d save time there. But the ladder was side on to him; he’d have to get round, losing a second to the change in direction. Which gave him an idea
Now that he was next to the fort, it was easy to cross the door when the Sassar wasn’t looking, risking being seen by Kara, but only slightly; Ted leopard crawled at pace, hoping that the Baraye wouldn’t be looking for threats at twenty centimetres above the ground. The lack of roar was reassuring as he continued to creep round the building, keeping low. Another notification popped up, dismissed again, his focus on making it to the back door, directly opposite where Kara and the Sassar mage stood. This would be the most dangerous entrance, the one directly in their eye-line. But they should be unprepared, and if Ted could be quick enough…
He didn’t risk peeking this time, the likelihood of being caught now so much higher. He heard another yell, but he thought it might have been from the roof, he wasn’t sure. There was no time.
He pulled the spear off his back, continuing to hold the bomb under his arm like a rugby ball. He visualised the room as he’d seen it just moments before, now at a slightly different angle. The ladder would be just there, ready for him to leap on to it. The mage would be by that window, Kara by the wall…
Time to go. He took a step back, and then charged in, spear held up and and back. Seeing Kara respond instantly to his appearance, he threw the spear forward with as much power as he could muster, aiming straight at Kara’s head.
The huge bear-like being was already moving forward, but Ted’s spear flying straight towards her forced her to dive to the left to avoid it, giving Ted just a few moments longer. As he neared the ladder he tossed the bomb up through the hatch and then leapt up, his right leg landing on the third rung, his hand managing to grip the sixth, just a short distance below the ceiling level itself. Fuelled by adrenaline he pushed off with his leg while heaving up with hands, surprising himself with the lift he received from doing so as he near flew through the air. His landing was not graceful, as he panicked and flailed whilst trying to avoid falling through the hatch he’d just come through, landing on his front in a heap.
With no time to feel sorry for himself, he looked up and around. He was looking at Jerah and another Sassar mage’s backs, neither of whom had looked round, maybe not having even heard the commotion. The bomb was in front of him, just within arm’s reach. His hand shot up to grab it as he pulled himself up.
Suddenly there was a loud roar from below.
Jerah turned at the noise, and Ted did so too. Cold fear cut through him like an icicle through the stomach, as he saw the huge shape of Kara climbing the ladder. He suddenly thought that even in a mock game, being hit by a bear claw would really, really hurt.
Jerah’s eyes widened as he saw Ted, and he dropped his bow as his hands went to his side, where a sword was hung on a scabbard on his belt.
With no other options but to try and finish the mission, Ted turned, looking for the drop point. He saw it, two metres away, near the back of the roof, a clearly marked white circle.
He sprinted towards it at the same moment Jerah started moving towards him, but he was faster, his legs powering forward in a way he’d never felt them do before. As his foot hit the circle’s edge, he pressed the button on the bomb, dropping it, and continuing his sprint.
A countdown timer appeared unexpectedly in this vision, small, but noticeable, showing five seconds remaining; he assumed until the bomb went off. This was new information; the mission briefing had simply said drop the bomb in the circle and escape. A time limit had not been provided.
It also implied that the small wooden box was more than met the eye, and he suddenly worried that the bomb might live up to its name.
The countdown was at two seconds when he reached the edge of the fort, between the valley of the crenellations. With no other option, knowing Jerah was millimetres away from him, he decided to take Eva’s advice and jump. They had healing potions, he’d been reassured.
As he leapt forward, he saw a small cube fly past him and out into the distance. He realised that it was the bomb while he was in midair, too late to do anything, even if he’d been fast enough and the countdown had been above a single second.
He landed with a crunch, agony going through his ankles and knees, just about managing to replicate the drop and roll manoeuvre he’d seen hundreds of times online. The countdown hit zero as he did so. A huge explosion went off above his head, and a wave of nausea and fatigue hit him so hard he almost wretched. Instead, he passed out.