image [https://i.imgur.com/uRH1ACL.jpg]
I felt comfortable enough with Beaker to keep him summoned throughout the trip. His flying efforts had noticeably improved, but his first attempt to land on a tree limb made me laugh. His four talons wrapped around the branch’s fork, but his momentum pitched him forward, swinging him upside down like a bat. Wings flapping, he filled the air with loud screeching and pulled himself upright with his beak. After several more landings, he learned to keep his balance and sought pronged branches to support his front and back legs.
Beaker sent mental messages whenever he screeched. “I’m in the air!” or “I’m high!”
I telepathically replied. “Good boy, Beaker! Look at you go!”
Beaker leapfrogged over us from branch to branch while we blazed a trail beneath him. His beating wings made so much noise that Iris and the mercenaries found it distracting. Occasionally, he’d screech, and everyone would look around in alarm. I wasn’t worried because I thought the six of us could deal with any monster crossing our path.
Opening my interface, I watched geographic details fill in the map’s fog-of-war effect as we journeyed. Before leaving, I scrutinized our journey on the orrery map to get an appreciation of the distance between the Orga River and our nearest neighbor to the East. The orrery showed ravines and rivers wouldn’t impede our path, and Iris assured us the terrain wasn’t hazardous.
When we rested and ate, I struck up a conversation with Iris. “What’s it like fighting orcs?”
“They’re stronger than the average soldier.”
Val, overhearing the conversation, chimed in. “They’re coordinated too. They use coded orders in combat, so it’s impossible to understand their commands.”
Jahid laughed. “When have you ever fought them?”
“I didn’t say I fought them. I just answered the governor’s question.” Val tossed a small stick at Jahid—who retaliated with a handful of grass.
Iris ignored them. “I only saw a little action myself. My first fight was the Stonefield battle.”
The mercenaries quieted down and listened.
I turned to Iris. “Was it a big fight?”
“Big enough for me—roughly a thousand on each side. We had a slight advantage in numbers. If we had been lopsided, there wouldn’t be a battle.”
“Why not?”
“When one side is disadvantaged, it withdraws if possible. Stonefield taught me that battlefields become mudbaths. It’s engineering earthworks and trenches, and by the time for battle, you’re just looking forward to an end to digging—one way or another.”
I tried to imagine these soldiers not wanting to battle. “Did you have the energy for a good charge?”
Iris snorted, making it the first time in a long time that I’d seen her smile. “No, there’s no charging—unless you’re chasing after fleeing troops. Soldiers value their lives—and that goes for orcs, too. We don’t clash unless both sides have aggressive commanders. That’s when combat gets bad—but I’ve never seen that kind of action. Stonefield’s battle lines stagnated—each side tried to draw the other into its earthworks where it held advantages. The line ebbed and flowed until the momentum tipped in our favor. We’d fought back and forth all afternoon, and suddenly, everyone shared a sense of winning. And it wasn’t like we could see anything with all the dust in the air. I don’t know—it seemed like our ranged weapons finally made headway. And with that kind of support, it seemed natural to press on.”
By the grin on Fabulosa’s face, I could tell that the memory of the experience entranced her. “So arrows made the difference?”
All the mercenaries smiled at the question, but Iris answered. “No. Orcs use arrows. We use slings. Perfecting a slingshot is how recruits learn to avoid extra duties.”
“I’m surprised slings are as effective in the field. It seems you’d clobber soldiers standing next to you.”
“Soldiers learn to swing vertically, like casting a fishing line. Slings are effective. Unlike arrows, stones and bullets are invisible, and they can break bones and rupture organs as well as any other projectiles. They’re quick to deploy, so troops can launch them before entering melee. Bows and arrows are bulky and fragile—and slings work in foul weather. But that’s not the main reason we use slings.”
The soldiers gave Fabulosa and me a chance to guess, but we shrugged after sharing a look.
Iris smirked. “They’re cheap.”
Val snapped his fingers. “That’s the army for you.”
The lands on the eastern side of the lake flattened and bore only light woods. Even though we followed a trail that Iris and Fletcher blazed long ago, we moved at a modest pace. We hacked at bushes with machetes, contributing to the passage as we progressed. Dig proved instrumental in removing tree stumps—the toughest obstacles to clear.
We chased off several dommolisks blocking our path with Scorches. Even though they looked bigger than the reptiles I fought in the rivers around Belden, their levels weren’t high enough to be worth chasing. Besides, clearing the brush kept everyone busy.
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We stopped for the day and started a fire.
Jahid stared into the woods. “Up ahead, we’ll follow the ridgeline along the hills. They say the brush gets hairier down south. There are marshes and dense veg. Ambush predators.”
I tossed my Dark Room rope into the air. “Is that why no one wants to follow Thaxter’s orders?”
All four veterans looked uncomfortable.
Iris looked at the fire while she spoke. “They’d follow them if he made sense. It’s just that there’s no enemy activity in the south. Even orcs can’t make headway through that undergrowth. Cut a trail, and it overgrows a month later.”
Dommolisks accounted for the lowlands’ only monsters. Trailblazing moved faster in the hills where the brush thinned. Visibility improved, but not enough to mitigate the wind to our backs. Sending our scent forward gave monsters the initiative to attack or flee.
Name
Adult Gargasaurus
Level
21
Difficulty
Easy (green)
Health
905/905
This creature might have challenged Fabulosa or me, but the six of us easily outmatched it. It carried a green core, implying it counted as one of the nastier beasts in the area. It somewhat worried me that caravans might have to face level 21 creatures. By my estimation, they needed at least six level 10 guards for a passage.
By the fourth day, we neared Fort Krek. I stopped hacking away at a bush when the mercenaries froze. The sudden cessation of movement drew my attention to our forwardmost party member, Val, who stood motionless at the crest of a hill. The soldier crouched and held out his arm with a stopping gesture.
The five of us refreshed Heavenly Favor while we looked for Val’s hand signals. I unsummoned Beaker to stop him from broadcasting our whereabouts.
The mercenaries did nothing until Val backtracked to our position and reported. “I got one to the west—a scout. He’s walking our way. He didn’t see me, but we’re upwind.”
Sami turned to Iris. “Captain, how has the action gotten this far south? We’re nearly at Krek!”
Ignoring the question, Iris pointed to Fabulosa and me. “On my attack.”
We all shuffled forward. This encounter provided an excellent chance to use the tracking ability for the Divine Bow. If we wounded the orc, it wouldn’t get away. I poured mana into the arrow for extra damage with Imbue Weapon. I had the good sense to keep the glowing object behind a tree, and Iris voiced no objection to the faint light.
We crouched, watching the orc. It preoccupied itself by picking something out of its eye—perhaps a speck of pollen or an insect.
Name
Golag, Crackedleather Scout
Level
19
Difficulty
Easy (green)
Health
305/305
When the orc froze and sniffed the air, Iris’s bow twanged. I loosed my arcane arrow. Fabulosa had the strength bow she’d taken from Winterbyte’s dead companion and scored the only critical hit. Only my arrow missed.
Slipstream helped Fabulosa and me close the distance to our target.
Golag pulled out a shield and mace and did something I’d not seen before. Instead of turning and running, it withdrew by running backward. The tactic made sense. Exposing one’s flank opened up opportunities to double-damage crits, and this orc wasn’t about to make our job easier. Its shield deflected Fabulosa’s next arrow, but the Arcane Missile from my Light Crossbow landed without error.
The orc’s health fell to a sliver before jumping by 50 points—a sign it had taken a health potion. It meant the creature wasn’t about to increase its speed from an agility potion.
The orc brought down its mace on the edge of its shield and produced a loud crashing sound, almost like cymbals. While backing away, the orc double-tapped its shield loud enough to alert anyone in the surrounding hills.
Seconds later, Fabulosa and I finished it with a couple of Scorches.
When Iris and the other mercenaries reached our position, I almost asked what the noise meant when Iris held up a finger to belay my question. Another banging shield on the hillside ahead of us answered the orc’s warning.
“Time to move.” Iris ran headlong toward the answering call.
I still had questions, but it wasn’t the time. Fabulosa and I shadowed the four mercenaries plowing into the valley.
We reached the hill where we’d heard the answering ring, seeing nothing. A half-hour later, we spotted a thin trail of smoke.
Sami sniffed at the sight. “Look at them. They’re using shields like they own the place!”
Scanning the horizon revealed nothing, so I didn’t understand Sami’s comment.
Jahid turned to his commander. “Ma’am, why do you think they’re so close?”
“I don’t know. This land should be clear.” Iris pulled out a spyglass. “Those tents look big enough for maybe two dozen orcs. That means they’ll have at least one shaman. Let’s break them with divide-and-conquer pulls. This will be a sustained contact, using small unit tactics. Val and Jahid, take the L.T. over that hill in a feint maneuver. Pull them with slings. Don’t engage until there’s a group of four or fewer. If there are more, keep pulling to this position. Fab, What’s your rank in ranged?”
“I’m 19.”
“Good. You provide support and spot heals until it’s time for melee.”
Fabulosa, to her credit, nodded without questions.
Iris turned to me. “Guv, you’ll do the same with Sami and me. You two don’t attack or Imbue Weapon unless I do. We’ll need mana for healing.”
Jahid waited until Iris made eye contact. “Where’s the final rendezvous—the enemy camp?”
Iris pointed to the thin trail of smoke. “We’ll see how it plays. Their chief will keep a third of their force nearby unless the Crackedleathers have changed their line of procedure. We won’t engage the camp unless everyone is full. We good?”
Everyone agreed, and a game alert appeared in my interface.
Campaign Invitation
Break the Orc Campsite
Commander
Iris (tier 3 Instructor)
Description
Captain Iris Sternway is leading a force of 5 to rid the western hills of Fort Krek of an enemy camp of 16 orcs.
Morale
59% (uneasy)
Objectives
Clear Crackedleather orcs from Fort Krek’s vicinity
I wouldn’t earn command points on this mission—not that I deserved them. Iris commanded our group, which probably made sense because she knew the turf. As much as I would have liked to earn more command points, I had to admit she seemed like an NPC who knew the job.
As Fabulosa, Val, and Jahid left us, Fabulosa spoke to herself. “Oh, wow. These buffs are going to be so cool.”