image [https://cdn.midjourney.com/8929cf96-844d-4ba3-8386-b42790a9b1ea/0_2.png]
The city of Sofia was cozy, with a typical Balkanic vibe. Mountains could be seen in the distance, both to the north, from where the danger came, and in the south.
Karmic Charges left: 152
The number was too low. There were a few stragglers. Amazons who had ignored the instructions.
"Is the list ready?" Vincent yelled. A few hands raised a piece of paper each. The women had thought of dividing the task into smaller groups. "Those who disobeyed my orders, you will bring your families on your own. Tell your addresses to the ones with the lists so we don't have people going to the same place. I need ten Amazons with me, the toughest ones. Go bring your family," he whispered to Raya. "Take Lila with you. Lila, message me when she's done."
The group dispersed in several divergent directions, like the sun's rays. The women were fast to organize. A message from Jorge appeared on Vincent's phone: 'Mongolians on the move. Cca. 200. Time of arrival: 10-15 minutes.'
"What about us?" an Amazon asked. Taller than Raya and everyone around and broad-shouldered, she had a tag saying: Barbarian, Elite, level 80.
"Lend me your ears!" Vincent yelled. "We have three short-term objectives. First, close the northern gate so the enemy cannot enter. I and…" she pointed to the strong woman.
"Barbara," she said.
Really? Barbara the Barbarian? "Barbara and I will be on that. Second objective: Raise the alarm in town and notify the authorities. Lukas, go with them. If said authorities don't cooperate, text me. Brandi and the remaining two go to the south gate and—"
"There's no south gate," a woman said. "There's North, East, West, South East, and South West."
"Which is easier for people to escape to the mountains in the South?"
"Both South East and South West."
"Pick one, keep it open so the people escape. If you meet resistance from the local forces, don't engage, Brandi will call me… The fuck?"
A giant figure had appeared in the sky over the city. A girl, a child, with long deep blond hair and blue eyes. She began to scream in their heads.
[Brindabella (the Archetype of Youth and Games): Beloved protegees. A hostile army approaches your city, led by the treacherous Ban of Krui Ova. He has Corvinus's Dark Nights and the Byzantines on his side.
But do not panic! Everything is under control. I have sent Summoned Heroes to help you. Follow their orders to the letter. The North, East, and West Gates are to close immediately, and all available troops are to reinforce the northern wall. The remaining gates are to remain open so the vulnerable civilians can escape to the nearby mountains, where they'll be met by loyal shepherds who'll guide them to safe havens.
Specific citizens have received personal quests. They are to rendezvous with the Summoned Heroes in the Main Square.
I bid you a merry day, and don't forget: Brindabella is the BEST!"
With a shrieking sound, like a microphone gone awry, the girl disappeared. The brightness of the red text was replaced with a blue notification.
Quest: The Raven has conspired to break the fragile Realmopolitical equilibrium in the area. An alliance of three Archetypes has formed to block his vile maneuvers. Your task is to stop the besieging army from conquering Sofia until the Bogomil Federation’s main garrisons come to relieve the siege. Estimated time of arrival: 2-3 days.
Reward: A favor from Brindabella.
"Fuck fuck fuck fuck!" Vincent blurted, facepalming. "She just let everyone know my plan!"
"It's for the better," Lukas said. "At least we save time convincing the people and authorities."
"And what if the enemies heard her too?" Brandi said. "They'll turn around the city and attack the fleeing population."
"They heard her all right," Vincent spat on the ground, checking his phone. "Message from Jorge: the Mongols are turning back. The chief's group is meeting again."
"If I can get half a mile away, I can snipe them," Brandi proposed.
"Just wait here," Vincent sighed. His VR set was still on his head. He lowered it on his eyes and checked the image from the drome. The chieftains were tagged appropriately, and he could see their location. He memorized it, then took the barrel with explosives and his lighter, the latter from the backpack.
He knelt on the pavement, the barrel before him, lighted the fuse, and counted to seven. At eight, Vincent appeared in the middle of the chieftains, left the barrel on the blanket they used as a sitting feature, and then returned to the square at nine.
At ten, a notification came:
You have slain Prince Lucius Comnene of Byzance, twentieth in line for the throne, Despot class, Legendary, Level 80.
You have slain Agaric Bey, Ban of Krui Ova, Warlord class, Elite, level 80.
You have leveled x 10. You have 14 Tokens to invest. +1 to Mind. + 2 Karmic Charges.
Secondary Quest issued: Kill the enemy army's leaders: 2/3
Rewards: TBD
The VR visor showed a massive and familiar silhouette on the clearing he targeted: the Necromancer Vincent had met in Prague. Unhurt. The man lowered himself over the two mangled bodies of his peers, then shook his head. Maybe he wanted to raise them, but working with such a ruined material was impossible.
Vincent took the glasses off. In the square, people started to arrive. Officials and some of the Amazons sent to bring their families returning.
"Who's the Hero in Chief?" an old woman asked.
"He is," Lukas pointed to Vincent.
"I'm the local troops chief, Amazon Enild. We have two thousand troops, half Amazon and half regulars. Three hundred muskets, two hundred archers. No cannons. What are your orders?"
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
"They'll come for the fleeing people first, probably to the southwest," Vincent said. "Put all available troops on the southern gates. Prepare to sortie if the enemy approaches. Muskets and bows on the walls. Brandi, go with them. I'll try to buy more time."
Enild stepped closer to Vincent, whispering: "But sir, Brindabella has said—"
"The situation is evolving. We're on the ground, she's…" Vincent pointed his index upward.
"He's right. Let's do it," Barbara insisted, looking Enild in the eyes.
"Lila's a Healer. Someone takes her to the hospital," Vincent continued, looking around. A few local people nodded. "Anything puts you in danger, you call me," he fondled her shoulder, trying not to let his heart melt under her adoring eyes, then turned to Lukas. "See if you can improvise weapons, incendiaries, anything. If you need stuff from Krivoburg, let me know."
He waved his hand in the air to stop the questions. Taking the box of Molotovs, Vincent transported himself to the top of a nearby mountain, took his bearings, and started jumping around, setting the forest on fire around the enemy forces. A call came from Irene after six cocktails.
"Jorge tells me you're setting fire to the trees. Is it true? Please, tell me you're not setting fire to the trees!" she shouted so loud he had to put some distance between the phone and his ear.
"I'm not setting fire to the trees," he said blandly, hanging up the call, then sent a message to Jorge: 'You rat!'
Moving on, he started twelve fires in all. Unfortunately, only two proved a hindrance, blocking the path of the Byzantines. The Necromancer had a weird movement skill, melting and reappearing in shadows, using them to reappear at the fire location. The flames obeyed him, diminishing then disappearing. There was nothing else Vincent could do, so he retreated into town with a level gained for retarding the enemies.
A flow of refugeees flowed through the main square, some on foot, some on carriages pulled by horses. Near where they arrived, a group of kids and adults was waiting, tucked into each other. The ones he had promised to take to safety. He asked the Amazons if everyone was there, and the answer was affirmative.
On a side, further apart, was Raya, with her husband—a jovial man in his early forties and a teddy-bear vibe that made Vincent feel guilty to have unknowingly at first, then knowingly, slept with his wife—two cute girls about three years old and a nanny.
He chose to take care of the rest first. Calling the Amazons and their relatives to him, he transported them to Krivoburg.
"Take us back; we can fight," one of the Amazons who had disobeyed his orders said.
"Stay here for now. I'll rotate you with the tired troops tomorrow," Vincent answered. Returning to Sofia, he approached Raya and his family. "Ready?" he asked.
"Y-yes," she said, hugging the girls, who hung on her neck, sobbing, obliging her to force herself out of their grip while the father and the nanny took them in their arms. "Take them to safety."
"Do you remember you swore to obey my orders, no matter what, yes?" he growled at her.
"I d-do."
A slightly colder light bathed them a moment later. Another city, with a drizzling rain. Vienna. "I order you to take care of your family and be happy. You are fired." Vincent grabbed a purse of one thousand gold coins he had stashed in his backpack beforehand, shoved it into Raya's hands, and Strode back to Sofia. He was down to a hundred Karmic Charges. There were more notifications, so he supposed he had gained some against those lost.
Meanwhile, as he had predicted, the Mongols were moving to attack the open gates, and troops were moving to meet them. He joined one of the running formations and discovered Enild and Barbara had modified Vincent's order. Instead of waiting for the Mongols to arrive near the gates to mount a sortie, they planned to attack the columns a gate in advance.
There was no time to cancel the new plan, and he had to agree it was better. Making his way to the southwest gate, he joined his group of Amazons and Brandi on the ramparts, putting his visor on momentarily to attune to a few locations.
"I'll transport Brandi to a vantage point," he pointed to a small hill. "She'll take out the commanders."
"Get me inside their ranks; I'll break the charge by taking on the horses," Barbara asked.
"Don't listen to my daughter. She has a twenty-second frenzy, and then she'll be vulnerable and die," Enild sneered. "As the garrison's commander, I order you to—"
Vincent took Brandi by the arm, put her inside a copse, and then returned. "I'll get Barbara out in time, trust me. Ready?" Barbara nodded, taking her two-hand sword from her back. "Don't hit me too, please." Saying that, he put the visor on and jumped inside the Mongol formation, left Barbara, and jumped fifty yards backward out of the melee.
The Amazon flourished her sword in a ferocious flurry, splitting multiple horses and men at each strike. There was no space or time to shoot a bow, and the raiders' sabers had insufficient reach. Vincent unholstered his gun and shot at the horses wherever he could aim. Twenty seconds later, Barbara fell to her knees, but Vincent managed to get her out in time. From all that fighting, she had only a gash on her forehead, to which a local aide applied pressure with a handkerchief.
"They keep coming!" Enild yelled. "Sortie!"
She was right. Barbara's attack had taken out maybe three dozen out of five hundred. The gate opened, and a file of infantry armed with spears and heavy shields ran out. "What are you waiting for? Shoot before our guys get in the way!" Vincent yelled at the musketeers and archers on the ramparts.
Volleys of gunfire and arrows began to rain on the Mongols. Profiting the noise, Brandi started to fire, too. She was vastly better than the musketeers. Mongol officers began to fall one after another.
The raiders ignored the shots and charged at the garrison, who stood their ground with raised shields and forwarded spears. The groups clashed, with a crunching sound that reminded Vincent of an avalanche.
There was nothing to do but wait. Teleporting near chaos to shoot a few more horses was an inefficient way to spend his Karmic Charges. The confrontation lasted for fifteen minutes, and the Mongols stubbornly attacked the infantry despite being in numeric inferiority. If he'd been a Mongol officer, Vincent would have ordered them to go around and pursue their original goal. Still, he could only be thankful for the lack of thinking.
Finally, the enemy retreated, leaving at least a hundred dead behind. Luckily, there were only thirty casualties among the town's soldiers.
"We won," Enild grimaced after the troops entered the gates, joining Vincent on the walls.
"What the fuck are you doing here? Go to a hospital!" Vincent screamed. The woman's left arm was missing, the bleeding stump wrapped in improvised bandages.
"It's nothing. We Amazons—"
"You fool," Barbara yelled, taking her mother in her arms and jumping down the wall in one move.
Amazons are tough, Vincent thought, looking at the woman running on the streets, carrying her mother. A pang of regret bumped into his heart. He missed Raya… He shook his head and shrugged. It will pass… A two-night stand, that's all it was… This is the only way...
He analyzed the aerial view. The Mongols were retreating in the East, and a messenger arrived from the southeastern gate to confirm it. There, the Mongol casualties were lesser, about fifty, and as many among the locals. Yet, many others had lost a limb, a reminder that the hands were the closest and easiest target in a melee battle.
It was early afternoon when the battle concluded. The besieging army started to dig trenches at basic fortifications four miles away, on the foothills. A third of the army, though, had departed. The Byzantines. That was a relief.
For the rest of the evening, there was not much to do. Lukas made a list of materials, and Vincent made a trip to bring them. Irene waited near the container and started yelling at him because of the fires he started in the woods, praising the 'good Necromancer' who had saved the forests.
She had new glasses, he noticed, the frame made of gold or brass, and braces. Where she had managed to find those eluded him, but she was spitting at every word, a fine drizzle hovering in front of her breath. The whole ensemble made her endearing, funny and cute. He giggled, and she replied with a cat-like hiss, turning on her heels and leaving. Vincent shrugged and returned to Sofia, bringing the gifts.
When night came, Lila joined him in the main square. Her eyes were tired, haunted by the wounds she witnessed and treated in the hospital, Vincent realized.
"Can we go home for tonight?" she asked.
Vincent nodded, taking her hand and jumping to Krivoburg.
"Where is Raya?" Lila asked once in the room, surprised the Amazon wasn't there.
Grabbing the girl's shoulders, Vincent searched her eyes. "She didn't make it," he said deadpanned. Good. Now you know I'm a heartless bastard, sending people to die. A bad guy, a lousy match for you. Go on, dump me! Vincent thought, seeing her jerk.
Taking a step back, the girl toed off her ballerina shoes and undressed slowly, making every gesture last. She started dancing, naked, under the illumination of the planets and asteroid belt, swinging and pirouetting, hands above her head, her soles reflecting the silvery light.
They made love with passion, without words. Living the moment… Once she was asleep, Vincent caressed her hair. "Why have you stayed on the Realm?" Vincent whispered, speaking to himself. The scientists, the nerds, he could understand. His own reasons, too… but hers? What did a dancer hope to accomplish in a violent, merciless world?
"Because I fell for you," she whispered back, tucking herself at his chest.
"I'm bad news, kiddo," he fondled the nape of her neck. "I'm bad news… Go back to Nina."
This time, though, she was sound asleep, little saliva bubbles forming on the corner of her mouth as she breathed.