If you spot any mistakes PLEASE point them out, so I can fix them.

This is another long chapter, perhaps my longest to date.  I hope you enjoy it.

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Chapter 31: Visitors

Bradley, Ohio

Blood Slayer; looked at the walls of the strange looking fortress.  His scouts had stumbled upon the place shortly after dawn and as soon as they had alerted him, he had followed them back, so as to see for himself, what they had discovered.  It was getting close to dusk now and after his long secretive vigil he now knew that there were craftmakers and many “huumans” living within that peculiar castle. 

Since his tribe’s arrival in this preposterous land, the craftmakers that they had owned, had either all been killed or had ran off.  Now there was no one to prepare the meals, fix their weapons and clean their clothes.  He and his brethren had thus been forced to take care of all those matters for themselves and though he hated to admit it, they had been a doing a terrible job of it.  Last night’s meal had been so poorly prepared that his stomach was still in almost agony from it.  It was a situation not to be borne; his people were rulers and warriors, not menials!  For his tribe to survive, they needed new slaves and a safer place in which to live.  The things that came out at night were even too much for his Mighty Warriors of Sabok to face!  The fortress that he was looking at, offered a solution to both of those problems.

There were indeed many huumans inside, but he already knew how weak the majority of them were, even with their “smoke” weapons.  While he lusted after those noisy fire sticks, he had never been able to make work any of the ones that he had taken, from fallen foes.  However things had recently changed for the better for his tribe, because now most of his warriors possessed magic and with their new mighty powers, he was certain that they could easily defeat many times their number of pathetic “huumans.”  The only downside with doing that was that the species didn’t taste very good and they were a little stringy too.  He shrugged his shoulders, well if boiled long enough; he would eat just about anything.  At that moment his stomach clenched yet again and he released such a cloud of noxious gas that the warriors by side withdrew by several full body lengths, one of them even puked because of the foul odor.

Chief Blood Slayer unsuccessfully pretended that he was not the one who had released that revolting stench and glanced towards the sun; it was less than two hand spans before dusk.  If he was going to attack that fortress, the time to do it was now before it got too late.

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The Armory in Bradley, Ohio

It was an hour before dusk when Captain Long heard rapid loud thumping noises approaching, and accompanied by thunderous angry bellows.  Quickly turning her head to the east, she saw coming down one of the city’s side streets, a herd of mammoths and riding on top of them, were scads of gray skinned lizard men.  Instinctively she used her Appraisal Skill on the flamboyantly dressed warrior, riding atop the leading mammoth.

Name: Blood Slayer

Class: Warrior of Sabok

Title: Chief of the Mighty Warriors of Sabok

Gray Scaled Warriors of Sabok, a humanoid reptilian hybrid, a product of some long ago mad wizard or scientist, named Sabok it is believed, who dreamed of creating a hardier version of homo-sapiens which could survive under the harshest of conditions.  Her/his/its mistake was in using two inferior species to make yet a third.  Now if that scientist/wizard would have used DNA from the Mollusca or the Chordata families then he/she/it might have been on to something and produced a truly amazing sentient life form.  The “Warriors of Sabok” are extremely arrogant and look down upon any, not of their own species.  Slavery is a commonplace for them.  Do not fear human, if you are defeated by them for they find your flesh extremely disagreeable to their stomachs and you will have your revenge upon them by giving them many days of acute indigestion.   

She shook her head, ever since she had first met with the Hermit King, Appraisal had become much more informative and it had also become kind of a sardonic wise-ass as well. 

The Guardsmen had begun firing as soon as they had sighted the attacking group.  Barbara could see that wounded or dead lizard men were already beginning to fall from the backs of those charging prodigious prehistoric pachyderms.  Suddenly the warrior, she had identified as Blood Slayer, threw a ball of fire towards the old factory that sat in the center of the walled compound.  The blazing softball sized fireball, flew through the air but before it even reached the half way point, it abruptly lost steam and fell to earth with a “plop,” where it blew up like a sparkly soap bubble. 

The mammoths looked like they were going to ram the stone walls, but at the last moment, they stopped just shy of the narrow ditch that surrounded the walled compound.  However, once the animals reached that point, the warriors riding their backs, used long crude looking ladders to cross over to the top of the compound’s protective walls.  More of the rather pathetic fireballs were then thrown.  Two or three minutes after the attack had begun, the Holman projectors got into action.  After a brief but furious battle, which lasted only another few minutes, the gray scaled warriors started to break off their attack, it’s possible that as many as thirty of them successfully made their escape, leaving well over twice that number dead or dying.

Captain Long breathed out a large sigh of relief.  If the same attack had occurred before the arrival of the Hermit’s Guard, she was certain that her forces would not have fared nearly as well.  As it was, no one within the compound had even been scratched.

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The Following Morning

The Stronghold of Hermit’s Forge

Glen Stewart, Sean Murphy and Scott Blaine were up early, setting things up for the tests of the new 90mm howitzers which were already looking to be obsolete thanks to the latest news from Captain Mesquida.  Scott had been dragged out of his bed because of his Sound Magic Ability; Sean and Glen needed him to reduce the noise generated during the tests so as to disturb the least number of people.  Of course being the great guys that they were, they put him to other work as well.

Glen was grumpy because of his own lack of sleep, so he began to release some of his built up petulance by giving voice to his misgivings about the new gun.  “Sean just what the fuck are we going to do now, because I’ll bet you dollars to donuts that our new Armadillo land cruisers will have to fight those @#$% Annihilators!  I think it will take at least ten of our enchanted 90mm penetrators, all striking exactly the same spot, to make it through thirty-two inches of armor, which is FREAKING IMPOSSIBLE, in a real combat situation!”

“Glen, while I admit that these nineties won’t do us much good against those Reeze Annihilators, they will on the other hand be more than adequate against plenty of other foes and they use a lot less powder than a 105 too, besides that I doubt that even a 105mm howitzer would do any better at penetrating over 800 millimeters of armor.  Additionally, we’ve already got all of those beautiful titanium 74mm coil-gun barrels and they are just about perfect for making our 90mm cannons.  Besides that, I don’t think it will take ten enchanted 90mm sabot rounds to make it through the Reeze armor, I think that five or six will do the job, though they will have to hit almost the exact same spot which I am forced to admit, might be a tough thing to do.  But after hearing about those new mechanical monsters, I’ve come up with a plan.  Hand me that wrench, please.”

Glen gave Sean the eye while passing him the tool that he had requested.  He had gotten sort of familiar with some of Sean Murphy’s plans.  In Sir Stewart’s opinion, Sean was a frustrated mad scientist that never had an opportunity to show off his insane talents before.  While the Murphy gun had worked out, there were several other things that the gunsmith had tried that had only been a waste of time and resources, but sometimes Sean did come up with a winner.  “Alright you mad Irishman, tell me what you’ve dreamed up this time.”

The gunsmith gave Glen a big grin.  “Not too long ago, the Russians tried to make a TWIN-barrel self-propelled artillery piece.  Now what is interesting, with their concept, was that instead of putting the guns side by side, they stacked them vertically like an over and under shotgun. 

Although, they couldn’t get their idea to work, probably because either the robotics for the autoloaders on the two big cannons was too complex or it might have been that there was simply just too much recoil generated, from firing two 152mm howitzers at the same time.  But for whatever the reason, their twin-gun artillery piece didn’t go into production; however I still found the idea fascinating.  I think that what they dreamed up; might be the perfect solution for us.  You see we won’t have any finicky autoloaders to worry about and we won’t be trying to fire two cannons simultaneously, as they were trying to do. 

What if?  Using their idea, we put two different sized howitzers on each of our land cruisers and then let the guns crews decide which cannon to use depending on the threat that they are currently facing; just like how our soldiers are now being equipped with both a shotgun and a rifle.  When there is a big threat, like with an Annihilator, they use the big gun and when there is a smaller threat they use the 90mm.  I’ve looked at the ergonomics aspect of all this and I think that there is enough room to put two cannons in the turret that you and the others have designed.  As for structural strength, we both know that you’ve over-engineered the hull and the turret, by more than a little.”    

Upon hearing the idea, Glen actually liked it which he knew was a really bad sign; since the last such idea of Sean’s that he had thought of as a good one, had forced Sir Glen Stewart to take a trip to the Stronghold’s small hospital.  “Okay, I can see where that just might possibly be useful and may even work.  However right now, we don’t have the time to develop a large howitzer but if we did, what would you make and put on the new land cruisers?”

Sean’s grin grew even wider, which as a rule was a portent of dire things to come and impending mechanical disaster, normally preceded by the words “Hey, watch this.”  The Stronghold’s master gunsmith then answered Glen’s question, “a six inch naval gun.”

“ARE YOU NUTS?!!”

It should have been impossible for Mister Murphy’s smile to grow even wider, but it did.  Scott Blaine, who had been silently listening to the conversation, slowly shook his head.  He was beginning to wonder if his new boss, Sir Glen Stewart, would ever learn.

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Convoy to Bradley, Ohio

Lieutenant Storm Wind was in command again.  Last night, it had been decided that the convoy was to take the risk and move out an hour before dawn, which in their horribly transmogrified world, was a very SCARY thing to do.  The reason for their early departure was in the hope that they would be able to make two round trips in a single day.  Storm only had two of the big armored personnel trailers in the convoy that morning.  The second 1070 was not towing a trailer, since the intention was for it to return with one of Captain Long’s heavy duty M1000 trailers, loaded with another of the immense Oshkosh 1070 trucks.  That was so the Forge could begin work on converting said vehicle to steam power. 

Since it was still dark out, all of the vehicles were buttoned up tight because of the risk of Night Stalker attack, and it was well that they did.  Only a few scant miles from the Stronghold a huge swarm of giant rats boiled out of the blackness and over the vehicles.  It took prodigious use of Fire Magic, shotgun blasts and 50mm “Last Grace” shells to chase the monsters off.  It was a disgusting and frightening battle and it only further served to drive home to the soldiers how lucky they were to have working armored vehicles.

The convoy made it to the Armory, after only two more additional encounters, one being with a family of Devolved Stone Giants and the other with a large pack of leaping lizards; all in all a rather uneventful trip which boded well for things to come.

The pick up at the Armory had gone as smoothly as Lieutenant Storm Wind could have wished for, however he was very glad to see the Stronghold upon his return.  For he and his soldiers had seen something on their trip home, that had them more than a little worried.  By the time he disembarked, Captain Mesquida was already waiting for him in the Stronghold’s underground vehicle park.  After exchanging simple greetings with his commander, Sir Storm Wind gave his report.

“Sir George, it all went smoothly but half way on our trip home, we sighted four Dominators approximately two miles to our north.”

The first word of the Captain’s mouth was “Mierda!”  Then he let out a big breath of air, exhaling noisily.  “Lieutenant, I would like to hold you here, but I simply can’t; we’ve got prior agreements which we must live up to and I absolutely detest leaving Lieutenant Khan and his people out there like low hanging fruit, just waiting for some monster to come along and pick them.  Thanks to your actions we’ve got one more truck that we can convert to steam.  The next time you go out, all three of the semi-trucks will be in APT mode.  I’ll talk with the Boss this evening and see if he can give your vehicles a quick armor upgrade, perhaps he can add some compressed stone to them.  Glen might have some ideas too.  But for now what you have, is what you got.”

“Understood sir, my soldiers are getting lunch right now, after which we’ll get the vehicles tanked up with water and then be on our way.  I do have some good news though, per your orders and Sir Steve’s request, I’ve prioritized transferring people that might be of the most use to us.  I found several semi-skilled and skilled shop workers, and a few former military people but Sir Boris pointed me towards a real find.  One of the people that you rescued, after your battle with the Reeze, is a retired University Professor of Chemistry.  Professor Avis is also a self-awakened Alchemist, though he is only at level one.”

“That is outstanding news Lieutenant.  Hopefully Professor Avis can speed up our gun powder production because the amount that the Alchemists are making now, is barely keeping up with our demands and almost half of the time they are actually falling behind despite how hard they are working.”

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The Hermit King

The Stronghold of Hermit’s Forge

I woke up in the early afternoon.  There was something odd about my bed but I just couldn’t figure out what it was but I had no time to dwell on that now.  After getting cleaned up and grabbing a bite, I met with George and he gave me the happy news about Lieutenant Wind seeing four Dominators.  He also brought up the topic of improving the armor on our trucks.       

After talking with him for several minutes, I set off searching for Glen.  I knew that he was supposed to test the 90mm howitzer prototypes today, so I just walked towards the sound of cannon fire, “BOOM!”  Sometimes I’m amazed at my sheer brilliance; maybe I had been an Indian Scout in another life.  On the other hand, even though my ancestors probably mated with most of the known (and perhaps unknown) races on this planet, to the best of my knowledge, I have no Native American blood mixed with mine.  But on the other, other hand my ancestors did not keep the best of records, and from what I could gather from talking to my grandparents and looking at the various official papers that did survive and that they did not successfully keep hidden from me, they seemed rather ashamed of the fact at how often the family progenitors were forced to move from country to country.  It’s very likely that I come from a long line of either scoundrels or grumpy assholes and that once a country gets tired of us, we get kicked out.  Now that I’m a king, that sort of thing can no longer happen, unless I get deposed of course.

Lady Knight Evonne Sting closely followed behind me, as I used my keen senses, “BOOM!” and animal like instincts, to finally track down the miscreants who were making that infernal racket. 

It had been planned that we would originally test the cannons outside the Stronghold, so we could assess their accuracy over longer ranges but what with the Teeteelan threat, we decided to do the tests within our fortress’s walls.

Because of various existing structures and of the course the Stronghold’s own walls, the cannon test range was only about thirteen hundred feet long.  But it still allowed for Glen and Sean to test for penetration, accuracy and drop over those distances; as well as the robustness and reliability of the prototype 90mm howitzers. 

They had all four cannons rigged up to the same test stand which they could drag back or forward with a utility tractor that they had standing by.  “Hey Glen, hello Sean, howdy Scott, how are things going?”

“Howdy Boss,” said Sean.

Scott shyly nodded his head and he might have whispered hello back to me.  He simply wasn’t much for talking; I don’t know if it was prison that changed him or if he had always been like that.

“Hello Vince,” replied Glen.  He then continued to speak.  “Two of the cannons aren’t worth testing any further, the rifling we put them is just simply inferior in design to the other two.  But I’m glad you showed up because we need your help.  Of the two cannons that we are continuing to test, besides a difference in their rifling, they also have slightly different breechblocks.  Using our Earth Magic we can sense that one of them seems slightly stronger than the other but it would be nice if you could verify things for us.”

I walked over to the guns that he had pointed at and put my hands on the pair of howitzers.  After a few minutes, I grew confused because I wasn’t sure what they were talking about.  Maybe the number four gun was slightly stronger than the number three but the difference was so slight that I could very well be imagining it.

“Guys, I really can’t detect any notable difference and I thought that I was better at this stuff than you were.”

After I spoke, Glen looked kind of embarrassed.  “Well you see, we tried sensing them right at the moment that we fired them.”

“Are you nuts?!”  For some inexplicable reason both Sean and Scott laughed when I said that.  “Isn’t putting your hand, on a prototype cannon while you’re testing it, an extremely dumb thing to do?”

Glen looked even more red-faced.  “Vince, we’ve got to get these cannons right.  If they blow up inside one of our land cruisers, I don’t know if I’ll be able to live with myself.  Besides that, we didn’t put our whole hands on the things, only two fingers which barely touched and they just slid along the barrels, as the guns recoiled.  We have a special blast shield too.”  He pointed at funny looking wall thingy, made up out of sand bags, wood, and steel plate.

I turned to look at Evonne who was looking back at me in horror.  She knew that I already thought that this was a stupid thing to do, but she had already learned that I was pretty stupid too, so this was something right up my alley.  I clapped my hands together and rubbed them.  “Sounds like fun, I don’t think I’ve been to the infirmary this week and they might be missing me.”  Evonne then said a strange word in her native language; it was a very harsh and sharp word that for some reason, the DDS translator didn’t translate for me.  I wonder, if I should practice saying it? 

I was present for the firing of the next six projectiles.  After the sixth round, I was certain that the number four prototype was indeed handling the explosive shock better, which agreed with their own observations but it looked like number three’s rifling pattern was superior to number four’s.  The number three cannon was a hair more accurate, which might mean nothing at the ranges at which we were testing at, but it also did noticeably better when we checked for penetration.

Glen and I then discussed adding armor to the trucks.  We mainly agreed that adding compressed stone to them would be a quick and effective thing to do, but he wanted to discuss things with some of the guys in the shop before coming up with final plan which we would then implement tonight once the convoy returned.  He was more than a little concerned about weight issues and he needed to check some numbers.

I left the trio to continue on with their tests of both cannons and projectiles.  I had things that I needed to enchant.

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The Hermit’s Guard Convoy, En Route to the Armory

They were only eight miles from the Armory when the Sherman’s air horn started sounding a unique pattern, ordering all of the crews to button up, tight.  A large colony of King Mandrills had been sighted and they were charging the convoy from the northeast.  Because of their ability to climb the Stronghold’s walls they had been labeled as a monster to be destroyed on sight. 

While firing their guns, all of the armored vehicles drew to a stop in single file, with little or no distance between them, that simple formation enabled them to use almost all of their weapons freely, without the danger of shooting one another.  As per established doctrine, the Hellcat pointed its cannon to the rear, while the Sherman had its weapon aimed to the fore. 

After ten minutes of furious fighting, the pitifully few surviving King Mandrills ran off, leaving the road and the fields littered with their bodies.

After resuming their trip and just two miles down the road; those in the convoy, spotted a small herd of sheep or perhaps it could be said that the sheep spotted the convoy because by the time anyone saw them, the sheep were already speedily trotting towards the armored vehicles, while simultaneously making loud bleating noises. 

Once the craftmakers, in the Lieutenant’s APT, saw the animals they all turned en-masse on Sir Storm and began begging him to stop the convoy, so that they could attempt to capture and load the animals into the utility trailer towed by the 590.  Seeing how desperate they appeared to be, Storm Wind acquiesced to their pleas.  Once the convoy stopped, those with the Animal Trainer Ability went out to lure the animals in, which proved to be almost completely unnecessary since the Jacob Sheep eagerly came up to them and then climbed into the trailer, with scarcely any urging at all. 

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The Armory in Bradley, Ohio

Captain Long was relieved to see the convoy return for the second time that day.  During the time it had been gone, a family of Devolved Stone Giants had attacked the compound but once again the Hermit’s Guard had easily dealt with the threat.  She warmly greeted Lieutenant Storm Wind.

“Hello Lieutenant, I’m glad to see you back so promptly.  A short while ago we heard a lot of gunfire and explosions coming from the west, did your trip go smoothly?”

He gave her a long look before replying.  “Greetings Captain Long, I hate to think of what we just went through as being normal but I guess it is the new normal.  While on our journey to the Stronghold, we were attacked by Gorgonospids and leaping lizards, also about half way through our trek back home, we sighted four Dominators but we were not forced to fight them.”

Upon hearing that last bit, Captain Long drew in a sharp breath.  Sir Storm Wind continued.  “On our return trip to your compound, we were attacked by almost a thousand King Mandrills.  They are insane creatures that can climb even the walls of the Stronghold with ease.  Why they attacked us without provocation or any hope of victory, I can’t even begin to guess.  Our battle with them is probably what you heard.  On a much more mundane subject, we filled up the utility trailer with some sheep that we stumbled upon.  So the passengers that we are transporting today will regretfully not be able to bring all of their personal possessions with them as planned.  We will attempt to pick up those things at a later time, perhaps even as soon as tomorrow.    

I confirmed with my Commander, that we will also attempt to make two trips on Saturday.  Since with this latest transfer, there will only be approximately one hundred and sixty people remaining here.   We will, as we did this morning, only be using two of the large trucks in APT mode for our first run.  At the time, we will pick up one hundred and thirty of your people.  The remaining Oshkosh truck will be used to tow back one of your Stryker armored vehicles loaded on one of the numerous heavy duty trailers that you have.  That armored vehicle will be converted to steam power as my King has promised to do.  On our second trip, we will only have one APT; our two Oshkosh trucks will be used to tow home, your second Stryker and another 1070 which will of course be loaded on separate trailers.    

After tomorrow, while we do expect to return here, no promises can be made for when.  So you should carefully select the things that you want to take with you and have them ready for your departure.  We will have numerous cargo trailers available for that last run and you should easily be able to stack other things on the two M1000 trailers that will be carrying your Strykers and the truck.”

“Understood Lieutenant, you do know that I am the Captain of a Transportation Company, don’t you?  If there is one thing that I do know, it’s how to pack and ship things.  Did anyone ever teach you the old English saying about not teaching your grandmother how to suck eggs?”  Captain Long half growled out, while looking sternly at the young Lieutenant.

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Hermit’s Guard Convoy

A little while later; a Hermit’s Guard Lieutenant, who thought that sucking eggs was a disgusting activity to engage in and something that he would never encourage, let alone teach others to do; left the compound with one hundred and eighty passengers in his vehicles.  Before he got even a mile down the road, he had a marvelous idea.  Because he had gotten the impression that Captain Long was mildly vexed with him, he decided that upon her arrival at the Stronghold on Saturday, that in order to maintain good relations with her and the US Army, that he would gift her with twenty eggs, so that she would be able to do as much egg sucking as she pleased but hopefully while out of his sight.  He shuddered at the thought of her offering him an egg to suck.

The convoy made it back home completely without incident but they did see two blue-screen Swift Runners and much more worryingly, more than a dozen Sky Krakens floating high overhead from west to east, when they were still about fifteen miles from the Stronghold.

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(Author’s Note)

Spoiler :

  Something is going to happen in this section that some of you might not like, others might not care about at all and still others will think that it’s long past due.  One of Vince’s primary driving passions is to keep children safe, so to those of you who get disgusted by his decision and subsequent actions remember that’s why he does, what he does. 

The Stronghold of Hermit’s Forge

About three hours after the convoy left on its second run.  Blender, Nina and Grace came running into my workshop.  With barely any explanation at all, they dragged me off to the Alchemist Laboratory which looked really cool and honestly made me more than a little jealous.  I hadn’t seen the facility since I had originally excavated the place; it sort of made my place look a little shabby.  Maybe I need to hire an interior decorator, I wonder if Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, is available?

Well anyways, when I got there I found that they had Ron and two new recruits already waiting, one was a mad Professor and the other was an old fashioned boilermaker.  I immediately knew that Professor Martin Avis was a true scientist because his hair looked like Christopher Lloyd’s from Back to the Future and he was wearing a scorched lab coat with a pocket protector, although his pocket protector was stuffed with licorice whips and some kind of jerky, not pens or pencils. 

They needed my help and some platinum to make some kind of machine that would draw off atmospheric nitrogen and make ammonia, from that, they would somehow make potassium nitrate or something just as good as, for making the gunpowder that we needed.  

Well I had a little platinum, not a hundredth of what I had in gold but I had a couple of pounds of it and of course my Rolex but there was no way they were getting that watch from me.  I had never really worn it for longer than a few minutes at a time, since I bought it after my lottery win.  It was just something that I admired like my sob, sniff, dearly departed Weatherby rifle.

Blender, Grace and Martin worked me like a slave and every time I thought to complain or escape, Nina would look at me with big eyes and give me a hug.  I was kept busy making pressure vessels and firestones; when they were done with me, I got kidnapped by Glen.  The convoy had returned. 

Once Glen had me in our vehicle park, I turned on him.  “Alright you slave driver, I imagine that you want to make vast quantities of compressed stone right?

“Nope, Clyde and I’ve been talking; you see the armor we’ve already put on our vehicles has already added a lot of weight to them.  Currently our armored personnel trailers only have about 10,000 pounds of useful payload capacity left, though we can overload if we have to, especially since there are no weigh stations anymore.”  Glen laughed sardonically.  “Although I would gladly put up with them if this nightmare was all over with, heck I might even be willing to go back to prison,” he sighed.  “Anyways, we’re not exactly sure if compacting the almost six inches of sand that the trailers have into two inches of compressed stone will actually be an improvement or not.

So we’ve come up with an alternate solution which will keep the weight roughly the same as it is now but should give our people at least fifty percent better armor protection.  We’re going to take out some of that sand we put in and move the inner and outer steels walls so that they’re only about four inches apart instead of six.  Using the sand that is left, you’ll compress it into a one inch sheet of stone against the inner walls, which will leave approximately a three inch void, which I’ll then have my people stuff with the snails’ ballistic gelatin.  It’s a lot more work than I would like to do tonight but it’s the only way that Clyde and I can see that will actually make our current APCs and APTs better.  Later on, when we get more of those heavy duty M1000 trailers, we ought to convert a few of them to armored personnel trailers, those things can safely haul up to seventy tons, which is almost twice as much as our tri-axle container chassis can do and which means we can put a shit load of armor on them, while still maintaining a relatively reasonable payload capacity.”

Ugh!  I was kept busy for hours with helping to modify our armored vehicles.  I assisted with moving steel walls, removing sand, and making compressed stone.

All three semi-trucks were getting an armor upgrade to.  Because we no longer had to worry about galvanic corrosion, the plan was for one inch of smashed aluminum to be applied over the vehicles’ existing steel armor and then another have inch of steel was to be put on top of the aluminum.  They would have more armor than the Sherman tank!

As for the Hellcat it got an inch of smashed aluminum and a half inch of compressed stone on those places where we could safely apply it.  We knew that the added weight would slow the old tank destroyer down, which we weren’t too worried about, however I had some concerns regarding the tracked vehicle’s suspension.  However, both Clyde and Glen seemed to be either untroubled by that potential problem or to already have a solution in mind.  Frankly I didn’t want to ask, because I was afraid of being stuck with even more work.

It was getting late and I was running out of time, I needed to leave but I told Glen that I would be back well before dawn to finish up what I needed to do. 

I was starving by the time I made it home, but tonight was the wake for Private Cooper.  Star, Steve and Jen had organized things; they had turned an underground warehouse that I had previously constructed, into something that looked like a lecture hall.  I ran home, gobbled down four tortillas stuffed with meat, onions and tomatoes; took a shower and then rushed to Hoops’ remembrance service.

The wake was supposed to go on for three or four hours thus giving everyone a chance to stop by.  I made it there about an hour after it formally started.  Hoops’ body was of course in a sealed casket.  Steve had dug up an old ship’s brass bell and hung it on the wall by the coffin.  There was also a little wooden stage next to it.  Whenever someone wanted to say anything about the deceased craftmaker, they would first ring the bell, so as to call for silence and to get everyone’s attention.  Then they would ascend the tiny stage and speak.

I was informed that George, Star, Chief Dawn Rain, and Lady Knight Night had already made short speeches.  I walked to the casket, rang the bell and climbed atop the small stage. 

“My most sincere apologies for being late, but as you all know, there are never enough hours in the day to get all of the work done, that we need done. 

Private Hoops Cooper volunteered to be a Guardsman.  He wanted to protect his friends and for them to live their lives as a free people.  He died on a rescue mission and thanks to his efforts as well as all the hard work of the other Guardsmen that went along with him, twenty-three flyers, eighteen craftmakers, and 181 humans were saved.  That is not too shabby an epitaph; of course I would rather that he was still here with us, but still none too shabby.  I believe in an afterlife which might surprise some of you.  If he is ever judged or asked how he died, he can say that he died rescuing 222 people on his last mission and that he did his duty towards his friends and people long before that as well.  I am extremely saddened by the fact that he is no longer with us and I feel terribly guilty that I personally ordered the mission that cost him his life.  But Private Hoops Cooper is someone that this tiny nation should be proud of and the fact that he chose to be a part of it, humbles me.  We should always remember him and his actions, along with those of Private Quentin Lee.  Thank you for listening.”  

I stepped down as quickly as I could.  I hated being up there with everyone looking at me.  I’m an asshole, not a preacher.

While the craftmakers that knew him were all obviously sad and upset, from what I overheard they did appear to take great pride in his actions and to my eye they actually seemed shocked by this wake because when they had been the slaves of the Sabok, their dead had just been thrown out with the rubbish and they were beaten if they even dared to let their sorrow show, over a loved one’s passing.

Later on, I was talking to George in the back of the hall, and there were a few others gathered around us, most notably my son-in-law James Lopez and the delegation from Ervin.

“George, I can feel it in my gut, those Teeteelan ass-wipes are going to be back and soon.  We not only have to be ready for them, but we, meaning you, have to come up with a plan where we can go to their city and wipe them out with minimal casualties on our side, while also rescuing as many of their prisoners as we can, at the same time.”

He took a minute to look at me like I was idiot.  Well I already knew that, I should get an ID card made saying “Vincent Standish, Hermit King, Asshole and Idiot.”  I decided to further display my talents.  “Captain, I know that I’m asking a lot from you and I don’t expect you to come up with a plan overnight or for us to be able to implement it next week.  But we have to take those fuckers out, so put on your thinking cap and talk to your people.”

“Boss, I can understand why you want to do it.  Hell, I want to, too!  But those assholes have magic and they can probably out ninja all or at least ninety-nine percent of us, so there is no way that we can attack them by surprise which is especially important when there are hostages to rescue and you also want to inflict disproportionate casualties on your foes.  I can see it taking us months, to build up the forces that we need to assault their home base.”

“Sir Mesquida, if I thought it was easy, I would ask for your plan tomorrow and for you to attack them next week!  I know that they are tough nut to crack, so think outside the box and build a better nutcracker.  Just consider my words as part of one of those bullshit motivational speeches; that you have to pay a ton of money to hear and that don’t do squat for you.  But you are to come up with a solution anyways.”

He glowered at me.  “Yes your Majesty.”

Ah, it’s good to be an asshole, I mean King.

Just then the ship’s bell was rung and we all shut up.  It seemed to me that the bell was never silent for more than ten minutes at a time since I had arrived.  When it was rung, we would stop whatever conversations we were having and politely listen to whatever the new speaker had to say.  Normally a person would only talk for a couple of minutes and no one since I had arrived had spoken for much more than five.  A little flyer boy, climbed up onto the small stage and with tears in his eyes, he thanked Private Cooper for saving his life and the life of his mother.  He wasn’t the first such child to make such a brief speech but sadly for far too many of them, they had no surviving close relatives to also be thankful for.

Tomorrow Hoops’ body would be buried in the cemetery next to Quentin Lee’s.  Earth Mages with far more artistic talent than I possess are working on a small monument, depicting a smiling Hoops Cooper in front of a quarter scale model of the Hellcat.   Death really sucks and I wish I could outlaw it.

“Your Majesty?”

I turned to look at my son-in-law, who had sort of snuck up on me.  Damn it, I had been successfully ducking him for awhile now. 

“Yes. Sir Lopez?”

“Might I have a few minutes of your time, to speak with you in private?”

Fuck no!  “Of course you can.”

We found a quiet corner and he began to speak.  “Your Majesty, I am fully aware that my wife and her sister screwed up and that the conspiracy that they entered into with your ex-wife was morally and even perhaps legally wrong.  I am also aware that they financially owe you for the many things that either you gave them or their mother gave them, using your money.  Furthermore, I am fully cognizant of the fact, that we owe you our very lives.

But your daughters are older and wiser now.  Their mother, your ex-wife, literally corrupted them at a young age, while they were still very impressionable and very easily led astray with a few gifts and beguiling words.  We live in perilous and terrifying times now, where Linda and Sandra are literally the final obstacles standing between your grandchildren and death, or perhaps even a fate more horrifying; what with taking in consideration the fact that we now live in a world filled with magic. 

What would have happened if those Teeteelans had succeeded in making their way into this fortress?  You, yourself said just a few minutes ago that you are sure that they will be back!  As one of your Knights, a Peacekeeper, husband of your daughter Linda and father of your granddaughter Angela; I am begging you to awaken your daughters’ abilities and grant them the right to bear arms.  They are already several months behind everyone else in learning magic.  Please give them the power to protect your grandchildren.”

Crud!  “Okay,” well what else could I say?  He stood looking at me in disbelief after my simple one word response; his mouth was hanging open, like he had been expecting the need to present further arguments for his case.  He was right and I already knew that.  We’re hanging on a knife’s edge, here.  The Dominators and the Teeteelans have me spooked, and I’m no longer quite as optimistic as I once was about our chances.

Once James regained his composure the first thing that he said was, “Can you awaken them tonight?”  I think he was worried that I would change my mind. 

“Sure, I’ll be here for another half an hour or so.  Just come on by my workshop, I’ll be making visors all night long.”  Thanks to mass quantities of some really good foam earplugs which come two hundred to a small box and, despite what the directions say, can be reused.  And also with the addition of some earmuff style hearing protectors that the factory is now making, we currently have or will have at least barely adequate protection from another magical sound attack. 

However, except for our new two visor system, which works superbly, if I do say so myself; we have nothing even close to being as halfway as good for shielding our soldiers’ eyes from another light attack.  So it was up to me to make the visors, lots of visors and as of yet, I still hadn’t made nearly enough of the complicated things, where I could fall into magical printing press mode and just churn the things out. 

Even with the shop doing the work of physically making the visors, I’m lucky to enchant one every half hour.  At least I don’t have to enchant the gold ones, though they are using my gold to make them!

I stayed for a while longer and listened to a few more people speak.  When I finally made it to my cave, followed by one of my alternate faithful caterpillar companions, Elva; I found James, Linda and Sandra already waiting for me.

-----------------------------------

The Wake of Private Hoops Cooper

In a back corner, far from Private Cooper’s casket, a group of people were gathered, surprisingly the one that was addressing the others was Sir Macallister Smith, the Minister of Construction and Maintenance.  The women who were attentively listening were; Lady Knights Star Astrologer, Candace Murphy, Denise Murphy, Faith Harper and Squire Melissa Kilmer.  The men present were Sir Stephen Monet, Sir James Lopez and Sergeant Richard Jacobs. 

“Lady Candace is the first one to have these concerns, she voiced them to the Stronghold’s Castellan,” he nodded his head at Sir Stephen Monet, who nodded back, “and then Sir Steve talked to me.  Then the rest of you were contacted.  We are all concerned about the possibility of our home falling not through an overt attack but from enemy infiltrators.”

Sir Macallister had to pause in his speaking, because the bell by the casket had just been rung by their King, Vincent Standish.  They all listened politely as the Hermit King delivered an honest and heartfelt speech, they knew this for a fact, because they all possessed superior levels of True Sight.  Once their Monarch was finished, Sir James Lopez quickly spoke up.

“I must see the King about another important matter.  Sir Mack and Lady Faith already know my opinion and have my agreement concerning the matter that is now being discussed.  If you’ll forgive me,” he then quickly strode off for the distant back corner that his father-in-law had apparently claimed.

After exchanging confused looks with the others standing there, generated by James’s abrupt departure, Mack resumed speaking.  “Primarily we are worried about the following three areas.  First, Telepathy being used to control some innocent and thus use them as a weapon against us, or Telepathy being used to cloud our minds, such as in Star Wars, ‘these are not the droids that you are looking for.’”  He waved his hands dramatically and there were a few small laughs because of the old movie reference, although Lady Star looked slightly bewildered.  

“The second concern; is Light and Darkness Magic being used to deceive our eyes, either by making someone invisible or by making an enemy appear to be someone that we know and trust.  The third possibility and this one might be a little out there, but magic, perhaps of the Healing variety, being used to actually change someone’s physical appearance so that they look like one of our own people. 

Everyone gathered here has one or more of the following gifts: relatively high level True Sight, Telepathy, Light and Darkness Magic, or Healing.  We all agree that the Boss is overworked and that he has more than enough to worry about.  The same holds true for Captain Mesquida.  Personally I think that our Castellan,” Mack nodded his head again at Steve, “is also overworked but he insisted on being here.  I possess all of the gifts that we are interested in except for Healing, although I’ve got Sound Magic which the Teeteelans already have used against us.  I am fortunate enough to have excellent subordinates like Jean White and Fred Stone; so I’m the one seemingly with most free time.  So with Lady Star’s, Sir Steve’s, Lady Candace’s, Lady Denise’s, Lady Faith’s and finally Sir James’s concurrence, even though he is not here right now, I will be coordinating our informal group until we go official.”

The bell was rung once more, after which Lady Knight Faith Harper took over.  “Vince has frequently used the metaphor that we are in a lifeboat situation; that we have no time to endlessly debate things; and that we have to plug the damn holes in our boat and immediately start bailing out the water, that viewpoint has proven accurate time and time again.  We don’t have the time to get ourselves really organized; we already know that the Teeteelans are out there.  Sir James and I will be recruiting for the Peacekeepers and looking for people with the talents that we want but we must act now, perhaps even this very night.  We have to informally reach out to those we know who have the abilities that we’re looking for.  We must tell them our concerns and establish our own watchers besides those on the Stronghold’s walls.  Most importantly, we have to have at least one of our people by the Stronghold’s gates to raise the alarm if infiltrators try and slip their way in.  Who knows, they might even try to invisibly climb onto our own vehicles when a convoy is returning one day.  If that gate ever falls into enemy hands, we’ll be lucky to survive and I hate think about how many casualties we’ll have, even if we do succeed in fighting them off.”

Lady Star was the next to speak.  “We all need to bolster our mental defenses as well; as the most skilled Telepath within this Kingdom, I offer my services for any training that you or any of our new recruits might need.”

The group continued to talk for another hour, proposing possible recruits, strategies and tactics, only pausing for the ringing of that lonely ship’s bell.

-----------------------------

Outside the Hermit’s Workshop

I barely suppressed a groan, it’s not like my daughters will be the first blues that I’ve awakened.  Nurse Practitioner Gloria Bennett was the first and Scott Blaine was the second.  Gloria is an exceptional Healer and she’s saved many lives.  As for Scott, being awakened has dramatically increased his productivity.  Though the man is still despondent over the life that he accidentally took; I’ve come to think that his only solace is his work.  It’s also my belief that his feelings of guilt are the primary driving factor behind his obsession with making the new body armor for us; he’s trying to save lives in order to make amends for the one that he prematurely ended.

James, Linda, Sandra and I went into my workshop; Elva remained outside guarding the door.  My daughters didn’t give me much time to get ready, heck they didn’t give me any time at all.  Linda immediately knelt at my feet.

“Your Majesty, I Linda Lopez do faithfully swear to serve you, during these perilous times, to defend your lands and to protect those sentient beings who peacefully reside upon them, so long as they obey your laws and orders.”

I lightly touched her right shoulder and then I rested my right hand on her left shoulder.  Her eyes started to tear up.  “I accept your oath my daughter, may you serve long and honorably.”    

DING

Linda Lopez, for swearing such a powerful oath and having it accepted by the Hermit King Vincent Standish, you are now an oath sworn citizen of his domain and granted the following skills and enhanced attributes to help you in fulfilling your duties.  DO NOT BETRAY HIM AGAIN!  Betray your oath and you will lose all of your new gifts.  

True Sight Level One

Plant Magic Level One

Telepathy Level One

Levitation Level One

Quick Thinking Level Two:  When things go to hell and “quick thinking is required” your thoughts speed up by twenty percent.

+48 Percent Increase in Strength.

+49 Percent Faster Reflexes.

+27 Percent Increase in Stamina.

Hearing is 2.1 times as acute.

2.3 x Scent/Odor Detection

Hmmm, she didn’t get the best combat magical abilities unless it’s possible for her to become something like that comic book super villain “Poison Ivy.”  But I guess she could use her Telepathy Ability offensively, although I don’t think she has much of a gift for it.  On the other hand, she did get some nice physical enhancements. 

I helped her to her feet, which surprised her.  I then kissed her on her forehead and gave her a hug, while doing so I whispered into her ear.  “Now, you be a good girl, from now on, and I do still love you.”  However, since I’m an asshole, I’m not like one of those parents who have unconditional and unlimited love for their children.  My love for both Linda and her sister is not anywhere near what it once was and speaking honestly if only to myself, I don’t like either of them very much now and I really can’t see that changing, but who knows.

She clutched at me and started bawling.  “Oh Daddy…..”

It took her a while to get calmed down and my eyes were not wet and if they were, it was only because my workshop was so damn dusty.  It’s not like I was having a flashback to when she was a sweet innocent little child.

Once Linda stepped back, Sandra hurriedly rushed over and knelt down before me.  “Your Majesty, I Sandra Schwartz do faithfully swear to serve you, during these perilous times, to defend your lands and to protect those sentient beings who peacefully reside upon them, so long as they obey your laws and orders.”

Using my right hand, I gently tapped her right shoulder and then I placed my hand on her left shoulder.  Her eyes were even more tear-filled than her sister’s and her lower lip was quivering. I had to wonder if I was being conned again but True Sight gave me no indication of that.  “I accept your oath my daughter, may you serve long and honorably.”    

DING

Sandra Schwartz, for swearing such a powerful oath and having it accepted by the Hermit King Vincent Standish, you are now an oath sworn citizen of his domain and granted the following skills and enhanced attributes to help you in fulfilling your duties.  DO NOT BETRAY HIM AGAIN!  Betray your oath and you will lose all of your new gifts.  

True Sight Level One

Levitation Level One

Sound Magic Level One

Quick Thinking Level One: When things go to hell and “quick thinking is required” your thoughts speed up by ten percent.

+34 Percent Increase in Strength.

+50 Percent Increase in Dexterity.

+19 Percent Faster Reflexes.

+15 Percent Increase in Stamina.

+6 Percent Faster Healing Rate.

2.5x Telescopic Vision

1.3x Scent/Odor Detection

As I did with Linda, I also helped Sandra to her feet and then hugged her.  Whispering into her ear, I said “You and your sister have to be good girls now.  You have a new baby sister and your own babies too, so you have to set a good example for them.  I love you Pumpkin.”  She clutched me tightly and wailed even louder than her older sister.  I think she must have accidentally activated her new Sound Magic Ability.  My head and ears were HURTING by the time she finally let me go, good thing I’m a Healer.

Because of all that cacophony, we had gathered quite an audience both in my workshop and standing outside, bunch of snoops.  Nina was one of the spectators. 

After quickly fixing my aching head, I held out my arms to my little girl.  “Nina, I would like to introduce you to your older sisters.”

Okay it was nice, it was sweet and it got old really, really quick.  Faith, Grace, Isabella, Jen, and Jean, plus the “J” ladies’ children all rushed into my workshop.  They started talking which was fine but then they started repeating themselves, saying the same thing that they had said just a few minutes ago to one another but in a slightly different fashion.   

I held it together for almost an hour.  During that time I cast Appraisal on both Linda and Sandra.  Being an asshole and the lousy father that I am, I was happy to see that neither of them had acquired the title “Princess” as Nina had done.  I deserve a medal for my patience and virtue; once I have the time, I’m going to invent one and award it to myself, either that or get falling down drunk.  But for now, I needed to get to work.  I had visors to make, so I chased them all out and got to it.  Well maybe, I first gave all of my daughters hugs and kisses goodnight; and somehow I did the same for Jen’s and Jean’s kids too, but I was still pretty grumpy about it.

I never got to sleep that night, four hours before dawn I went to the motor pool and checked to see how things were going with the upgrades for our armored vehicles.  Clyde was there and he informed me that Glen had used people with the Telekinesis Ability to stuff the ballistic gelatin into the various voids that I had created in the trailers’ armor.  Once I got to work, it took me nearly two hours to patch things, smooth out some rough spots and re-enchant various areas.  I also crawled under the vehicles and enchanted various pieces of their running gear so as to strengthen them.  By the time I was done, Lieutenant Storm Wind was just arriving.

So as to haul more people, the C500 would be using a longer trailer and leaving its usual one at home.  One of the two Oshkosh 1070 trucks would be bobtailing this morning, so that it could haul back a Stryker armored car.  As for the C500’s regular trailer, the T800 and the Scorpion tank, their armor would probably be upgraded on Sunday.

I wished Sir Storm Wind a safe trip, commended him for doing an excellent job and went off to seek my bed.

Before falling asleep my thoughts turned once more to my oldest daughters.  I must be a mean old cuss, because I definitely had mixed feelings about what I had done last night.  I remember my little girls, the ones that I took fishing and to the amusement park.  Then I remember their older versions that stabbed me in the back.  I guess I feel that they got off far too lightly for the years of pain that they caused me but with the way the world currently is, I feel that I had no other choice but to do what I did, so I guess I’ll just have to suck it up, learn to live with it and keep any whining to myself. 

---------------------------

Hermit’s Guard Convoy

Lieutenant Storm Wind was riding in an armored trailer that was being towed by one of the 1070 trucks.  He missed the T800 which was still at the Armory and he was eagerly looking forward to the introduction of the new land cruisers.  According to Glen, their turrets would have enough room inside them that one of his people would be able to fit in the back, where the cruiser’s Holman operators would normally be, there was also going to be a split hatch above that location.  Said hatch had also been specifically designed to be wide enough to admit a flyer.  The double wide hatch should additionally make rearming and servicing the land cruiser much more efficient and easier too, however because of the hatch’s sheer size it will take a little longer to open and close. 

Riding in the trailer, despite its powerful weaponry, made Storm Wind feel more like cargo, rather than the Convoy’s Commander.  It galled him almost as badly as his inability to fly freely on this new and hazardous world.

Sir Wind heard the Sherman’s distinctive air horn, Sergeant Vargas was signaling that he had sighted some Devolved Stone Giants which were classed as a serious threat because of the boulders that they threw and because while they hadn’t done it as of yet; they were able to dig traps, according to the DDS assisted Appraisal of them. 

It would be a serious blow to the Kingdom if they lost a vehicle now and except for the crawler crane, which traveled far too slowly unless put on a trailer and towed, they had no other means as of yet, to recover any disabled tanks and trucks, which was the main reason that Clyde and his people all worked so diligently in keeping every one of the Stronghold’s vehicles in excellent running condition.

The battle with the giants was fortunately short and swift, just as all such battles with them had been except for the very first one.  But Lieutenant Wind knew that one day that their luck would run out, so once more he turned his mind to figuring out a way to more efficiently recover any vehicle that was ever rendered immobile.

Four more miles down the road and they were attacked by a huge swarming mass of UGLY unclothed humanoids with big heads, big fang like teeth and claws.  The humans in the trailer with him started blurting out things like “HOLY SHIT, GOBLINS!”

Lieutenant Wind invoked Appraisal.

Devolved Goblin, this life form can barely be considered sentient.  A member of this species is typically no more than 1.5 meters tall and normally weighs less than 59 kilograms.  They are naturally partially immune to many diseases and toxins, which is both good and bad.  If they didn’t have those resistances they would kill themselves from food poisoning because of what they eat.  It is bad because they are NOT killing themselves from food poisoning.  They are in essence a permanently enraged appetite and they will try and eat anything regardless of the danger that it puts them in.  Too bad that setting out poisoned rotten meat doesn’t work on them; you will only feed them, thus allowing them to produce even more of their kind.

Hundreds of the insane creatures were madly charging from the south and upon the convoy.  Steam shells and rifle fire was cutting them down in droves and when one of them fell the others would dive upon their fallen brethren, tearing them apart with tooth and claw, all the while stuffing their terrible fanged mouths with the blood red meat of their kin.  It was one of the most horrific sights that Sir Storm Wind could recall seeing on this horrible world.  Using the trailer’s air horn, he ordered the convoy to stop.  He wanted every single one of those creatures dead, so that they would pose no threat to those less heavily protected than his armored forces.

Despite the withering weapons fire, none of the horrible malformed creatures ever retreated or ran off; they were too attracted to the flesh from their fallen brothers and sisters.

Twenty minutes later, after the Hermit’s Guard was certain that all of the Goblins were at least fatally injured if not dead, the convoy resumed its journey for Bradley, Ohio.

Upon arriving at the Armory, Lieutenant Wind learned that it had been attacked, just a few hours prior to dawn by a large pack of the Night Stalker cat hybrids.  No one was injured but it had been a frightening battle because of the sheer number of the monsters.  

While he talked with Captain Long, a Stryker armored car was loaded onto an M1000 trailer, and the 130 passengers scheduled for the morning trip, happily boarded the armored personnel transporters.  Once the armored fighting vehicle was on the M1000 trailer, the Stryker and its trailer were loaded with other items that Captain Long wanted transferred to the Stronghold.

The return trip to the Stronghold went smoothly with only the sight of some very large carrion birds feasting on the Goblin corpses to disturb them.  While on the drive home, Sir Wind had an interesting conversation with a man who had been one of those rescued from the Bradley shopping center just east of I-75.  The man wore a stout blue coat which for some reason was labeled with the name “Bob” on it.

The reason Storm had even begun a conversation with the man, was because on the back of Bob’s heavy jacket was the picture of a very large truck with a small crane on it.  Above the truck were the words “Bishop’s Towing and Recovery Services.”

The conversation he had with the man was very interesting and Storm also thought of it as being quite fortuitous.  When it was over, he planned on taking “Bob” to see Clyde and if it proved necessary, he would physically drag the man to the Minister of Transportation.

-----------------------------------

The King’s Royal Bedroom

I woke up in my bed after having a slightly erotic dream.  The blankets were scattered all over and did my bedroom door just close?  I was still half asleep and my eyes wouldn’t focus.  I stumbled into my new underground bathroom and took care of my important morning business or is that afternoon business? 

Maybe I should change my regular sleeping schedule once I get back to sleeping at night again.  I’ve long heard that lots of very successful people believe in taking a nap after lunch, perhaps I should start doing the same.

I ate and just as I was finishing my meal, I realized that I had missed Private Cooper’s burial service.  Talk about a major guilt trip, while the big memorial had been last night, I had still wanted to attend his internment.  Nina came charging in.  She saw that I was done eating and grabbed my hand.  “Come on Dad, we need you at the laboratory.”

Oh my darling daughter, a budding mad Alchemist, I am so proud.  I hope Blender and Martin set a good example for her.  I let her pull me to my feet.  “Shouldn’t you be in school young lady?”

“I got out early today, because Sir Blender and Professor Avis needed my help.  They say that my magical senses for chemical reactions are extraordinary.  But come on, we’ve almost got the first machine working.”

She dragged me along the passageways, like she was a Great Dane and I was just a toddler, I had to stop myself from chuckling.  An amused Lady Sting followed behind us; I wonder if I had a saddle made, if she would let me ride on her back?  Seeing as how her fur is mostly white right now, I could call her Silver and get myself a black mask.  On second thought that might be a bad question to ask.

An hour after I arrived and began working with the Alchemist geeks, we had a breakthrough!  The Professor’s machine was making ammonia!  I was then told that I could go now.  I think they’ve forgotten who is King here, but I departed anyways after Nina gave me a kiss and a hug for my help.

I still had bullets, IRODs and visors to make.  As I was walking to my workshop, a frantic looking soldier came running up to me with very big eyes.  “Your Majesty, I’m from the northern wall.  There is a, there is a….”  I couldn’t decide if the woman was stuttering or hiccupping but either way, I was afraid that she was going to pass out from a lack of oxygen.

I tried speaking in a soothing voice.  “Calm down Private and breathe slowly; there is a what, at the northern wall?”

“It’s a sq……,” she stopped herself for a moment, took a deep breath, and then continued.  “There is an emissary from a new species there, she’s an orange screen and she says that she means us no harm.  As to what she is, I don’t think that you would believe me Your Majesty, so I think that you should see for yourself. 

At a light jog, I set off running through the passageways and towards the northern wall.  The Guardswoman informed me that another messenger had already been sent to get Captain Mesquida.

Arriving at the wall, I once again cursed the fact that we didn’t have any elevators yet.  I ran up the steps and by an act of will alone, I did not puke when I reached the top.  I wonder if I can make a steam or air powered treadmill because I definitely need to get some more exercise.  If I built the right setup, I could enchant and slowly work out at the same time.

Hobbling, I made my way over to the wall’s central bunker.  The Private opened the door for me and I stepped inside.  Then my mouth dropped open, peripherally I was aware that Sir Mesquida and Lady Star were also in the room, but they seemed to be as shocked as I was.

The emissary stared back at me from her perch on the window sill.  She was wearing something like a crash helmet with goggles and some kind of vest or maybe tabard with lots of pockets on it.  I didn’t believe my eyes, so I activated Appraisal.

Name: Berry Blaze

Class: Ambassador

Class: Astronaut

Class: Research Scientist

Title: Matriarch of the Blaze Family

Title: Emissary for the People of the Trees

After quickly reading that information, I immediately focused on the words “People of the Trees” and used Appraisal on the phrase.

People of the Trees, a species of sentient dwarf flying squirrels with opposable thumbs.  Their bodies are from 14 to 20 centimeters long and their tails are anywhere from 10 to 14 centimeters in length.  They typically weigh from 150 to 220 grams.  On their home world, they are a people experienced in both modest magic and rather advanced technology.  They have visited the nearer planets in their solar system.

My brain was still trying to process things; this was all far too much for me, like I had just stepped into Toon-town and if I had, where the fuck was Jessica Rabbit?  The Emissary then spoke, while her voice was a little bit high, it was still very pleasant to hear and it was easy to tell that she was speaking an actual language and not just making random noises.  An orange screen appeared before me.

King Standish, I realize that my relatively small size and appearance has come as quite a shock to you.  But I have urgent business with you that we must begin discussing at once.

Being a brilliant quick thinking man and experienced at interacting with four intelligent alien species, if I include the Sky Krakens, I carefully chose my next words.  “HOLY SHIT, IT’S A TALKING SQUIRREL!”

The squirrel in question closed her eyes, perhaps in disgust, and slowly shook her head.  But while I might have made a slight faux pas, Captain Mesquida’s response filled me with both glee and dread.  He squealed like prepubescent schoolgirl.  “OOOH, she is Adorable.”  George singlehandedly set back human-squirrel relations by at least one hundred years and precipitated the Great Acorn War of 2016.  And that was on top of losing his man card for all time.  Is it wrong for me to be so happy? 

Oops, Star just kicked me; I guess I have to get my head back in the game.  I hope I can count on the soldiers within the bunker, telling the tale of what Captain Mesquida said, but only one of them is human and other two might not even care.  I wonder if I can get t-shirts made to commemorate this moment and his words.

The squirrel lady obviously had access to the DDS translator.  “Matriarch Blaze, welcome to the Stronghold of Hermit’s Forge.  Our doors are always open to good people, no matter their species, so long as they mean us no harm.”

I hope you do mean that King Standish, for you are my family’s only hope.  Several solar rotations ago, my people discovered that our universe would be coming to an end.  Our greatest minds had discovered that the physical laws of our very reality were changing or being rewritten.  It was predicted that when this wave front of change, swept over our solar system that at best, our lives would end and at worse even matter and energy would simply cease to exist.  For that reason, all of our off world colonies and research bases were abandoned and we all went home to be with our families for the final end.  Much to our surprise, over 150 planetary cycles ago we received a Warning Message; perhaps you received the same kind of communication, seeing as how the Ding-Ding Advisors also seem to have access to your world but no matter.  We listened to that message and though we had little time, we prepared ourselves as best we could; using both our magic and technology while they still worked.  

But tragically because of our arrogance or perhaps carelessness, all too soon we found out that we had not prepared ourselves as well as we should have.  All too soon, our technology began to fail and our magic began to change.  We thought that the citadels that we had constructed, to protect our people, would be proof against the greatest of threats and would give use time to learn about our new and altered world.  However, within a mere forty day cycles we found out how wrong we were.  We strove to adapt, we worked harder and we frantically attempted to investigate what had changed, in terms of both the mundane and the magical in our universe.  During that time, hundreds of my friends and kin gave their lives protecting us from the monsters that came and it was all to prove for naught; for new and larger horrors crossed onto my world and they crushed our fortress without even realizing that it was there.  That calamity gave the smaller monsters access to our refuge and those smaller creatures were hungry.

Out of four clans or families, numbering well over three thousand people, there were less than five hundred of us left at the end, when we made our final stand.  But at that final moment a Ding-Ding Advisor said that she was going to break the rules and force open up a rift for a few of us to escape through, to a new world.  She warned us that the new world would also be a dangerous place to live but that someone who she described as being insanely lucky had constructed a safe haven and that we would probably be able to seek refuge with him at least on a temporary basis.  Less than three hundred of us successfully made it through that rift and that was only three day cycles ago.  Sadly, the Advisor was unable to open the rift directly into your fortress or even close to it.  Because of the long trek and the dangers that we had to face, there are now only 148 of us left and most of those are children.  I beg you to please let us live here under your protection, at least temporarily, until we can stand on our own.

For a second there, I wondered if my new Teleport Block had prevented a rift from being opened here, but the squirrels had arrived three days ago and I had only established the block two days ago, which reminded me that I think it’s almost time for me to touch up that spell and give it a light polish.  But I was kind of pissed at Matriarch Blaze.  She had little kids waiting outside and instead of simply saying “I’ve got lots of babies in danger, can I please bring them here?”  She chose to give me a long winded speech.  Maybe that kind of attitude; is why they did so poorly when their world changed?

“If you have tiny children outside we have no time to waste.  We can talk further, once they are inside and safe.  Where are your people now and can they safely come here on their own or do we need to go and fetch them?”

The Matriarch seemed slightly stunned by my rapid reply.  She blinked her comparatively large eyes at me, before answering.  She pointed to the north.  They are approximately three kilometers away and in that direction.  I was high up in a tree when I saw your fortress’s wall.  With all the babies in our care, it would be well past dark before we could move them all here on our own.  So using what little new magic that we now have, we created some hollows within some trees and while the others hid, I went ahead to plead our cause.

“Captain Mesquida, we have children to rescue.  I know we don’t have any real armored vehicles left here but gather together the best that you have.  I want to get moving within twenty minutes.”

There were some attempts at dissuading me, from going on the rescue mission.  But I kind of silenced them with a glare.  Did they all forget that I am a GRUMPY Hermit King?

------------------------------

Evonne Sting trembled as she followed her King back down the stairs.  For the first time since she had met him, he had seemed like one of the old nobility from her own world and she wasn’t sure if she liked it. 

------------------------------

The Grumpy Hermit

We were taking five of our seven converted SUVs on our trip.  All were lightly armored with an inch of smashed aluminum and two of them had turrets in back, each armed with a single 20mm rifle.  A person could simply stand up in the SUV’s luggage area and have their torso extend into the transparent aluminum turret.  There were also firing slits on all of the vehicles.

I was wearing my full set of armor and despite numerous objections; I was riding on top of the SUV that was in the center of the convoy.  With our tanks all gone, I was now the only big gun that we had and I needed to be able to respond to any threat, regardless of the direction it comes from.  Using my Earth Magic and some scrap aluminum, courtesy of the Reeze; I had made and attached to the vehicle’s roof, a contrivance that looked a lot like a medical walker, so I would have something to hang on to and not fall off.

However, despite my loud objections, all three of the Guardians, who obviously could not fit inside the SUVs, insisted on accompanying us anyways and they were now running alongside, the stupid idiots.

If the squirrels were indeed less than two miles away they were sort of inside the safe zone that our frequent battles had established about the Stronghold.

During the short drive, I was barely able to discern some large, very shiny shapes just on the edge of the horizon, and they seemed to be coming our way, which was good because we now had early warning of their arrival but it was also bad, because about the time they got to the Stronghold, if they maintained their typical slow pace, was also approximately when we expected the convoy to return.  

We left the vehicles on the road, when Matriarch Blaze thought we were getting close to her kin, and it took us over twenty minutes to get to the trees that her friends and family were hiding in.  We had brought some large wooden boxes that we had packed with a layer of furs, to transport our new guests in.  The adult Tree People insisted on personally moving all of their young to our boxes.  There looked to be at least four small children for each surviving adult squirrel.

Looking down into one of those boxes and seeing all of those intelligent squirrel babies, caused me to almost feel sick with sadness, the tiny things all looked to be traumatized to the hundredth power.  I quickly pulled back, once I realized that having some giant ugly monkey peering down at them; probably wasn’t the best thing for their mental health.

The sight of those Dominators coming our way, had forced me to make a decision that I had been putting off. 

Our mission was a success and we were returning home, we turned onto County Road 272 and with only about a mile to go, I yelled down to the driver to “Stop the Car,” from my perch atop the SUV.  Thankfully the Corporal did as I ordered.  I got down, and mentally shivered while I looked at that long expanse of very cold asphalt road before me.  Shrugging my shoulders, I sat my butt down on that freezing surface and began talking off my greaves and boots.  George, Evonne and her caterpillar cohorts, were not very pleased with my actions and they began loudly demanding to know, what I was doing.  Well they can kiss my frozen royal behind.  I had decided that despite this road being the official property of the County that I was going to attempt to stake my claim to it.  I didn’t give my people any warning because I had feared that they would try and stop me or simply argue with me so long that precious time would be lost. 

It was my hope that since the County was almost certainly defunct by now, and even though in the scheme of things, that was only a relatively recent change in its status, that still somehow my Landowner Magic would work.  Roads and the right to freely travel upon them is a very big thing to me; far more important in my world view than any governmental building or monument, yet here I was about to try and lay claim to one.  I’m a filthy land grabber, I am!  

“Vince, what the hell are you doing?”

“We’ve got spiders coming our way and quite possibly filled with captured innocents.  All of our armored combat vehicles are gone and we can’t be certain about when they will return.  We’ll need every edge that we can scrape up, if we’re going to take down those shell wearing assholes while at the same time, causing their rides minimum damage, because of the possibility of what their cargo might be.  So I need you to take the two SUV’s loaded with our new guests back to the Stronghold, while I take a barefoot stroll.  Don’t worry, we’re within spitting distance of home and I should get there about twenty minutes after you do.”

They all decided to start giving me some more back talk; maybe I might have growled at them.  Alright I did growl at them.  “WE DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS SHIT!  GET MOVING and Captain come up with a plan that gives us at least a chance of taking down those mechanized monsters without destroying their central bodies.”

George glared back at me but he nodded his head and obeyed.

Using my Wind and Fire Magic, I wrapped my feet in a cocoon of warmed air.  It wasn’t perfect but it prevented my feet from being unbearably cold and sticking to the frozen road.  There was one SUV on either side of me and one to my rear, forming an outer layer of protection for me.  The three Guardians formed my inner guard and man did they seem pissed.  I had been ignoring more than one orange screen of text from Evonne.  I am a bad King.

My Earth Magic had grown slightly and at a guess it seemed that I was now able to claim any land within about seventy-five feet of my location.  But there was some resistance as I started claiming the County Road.  I’m not sure if that was because of my own preconceived notions concerning property rights or if there was something more to it, but I kept at it anyways, even though it took more than twice the energy that I had been expecting to use.

We made it safely back home, taking over a half an hour to make the trip instead of the twenty minutes that I had predicted.  The delay being caused by that resistance I had to overcome.  Star was not happy with me, in fact I got frowns from just about everyone, but that’s just TFB (too fucking bad).   

The squirrels had been taken to our infirmary but because of their small size I wanted them someplace much more isolated.  While we don’t have many pets in the Stronghold, there are at least a few dogs and cats.  So I decided to loan the squirrels my old home at least for the time being; just the kitchen was being used nowadays and that was only occasionally.  I turned on all of my house’s inside faucets, to a slow steady trickle and left them that way, so that the squirrels could use them for washing up and even relieving themselves.  Then, using a touch of magic I sealed the toilets seats shut.  I had this horrible vision where somehow one of their babies had succeeded in flushing themselves down a toilet; well it wasn’t going to happen in my home.  I also magically glued down the strainer in the kitchen sink, thus blocking the old electric garbage disposal.

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Isabella got on well with the Tree People and Steve assigned four older and very conscientious children to act as our new guests’ aids and guides.  I would let the squirrels decompress for a few days and then we would talk.  Now I have to plan how to best use Captain Mesquida’s reaction to the Tree People against him.  Besides t-shirts, maybe I should have some banners made?

But before I got back to work, I had to pay the cemetery a visit.  It had been almost a week since I last stopped by to see Private Lee and of course I needed to say a few prayers by Private Hooper’s grave.  Who knows, in a couple of hours I might be joining them.

---------------------------------

Convoy to the Armory in Bradley, Ohio

Both 1070 semi-trucks were bobtailing for the final run of the day.  The plan was that they would each hook up to an M1000 trailer.  One of those heavy duty trailers would be loaded with the remaining Stryker, while the second trailer would carry another Oshkosh truck.  On their return journey to the Armory, they had four encounters.  Giant varieties of bears, chipmunks and squirrels all made a brief appearance but did not bother the convoy.  However just before entering Bradley another horde of goblins attacked the armored vehicles; they too were wiped out just as the earlier swarm had been.  And that battle had been just as frightening and disgusting for the Hermit’s Guard as their first one with the horrible little humanoids.

--------------------------------

Armory in Bradley, Ohio

It was with a great sigh of relief that Captain Long boarded the T800 truck.  There were still things of value to transfer, most especially several more Oshkosh trucks and their trailers but there was no longer any reason for her to remain at the Armory what with the all of her people now at the new embassy compound.  While she had lived in Bradley for almost all of her life, after the horrors she had endured during the last several months she didn’t think that she would mind one bit if she never saw the place again.

Just before leaving the city, the convoy stopped for an hour at a fabric store that had long been on the Kingdom’s list of places to loot, although it wasn’t exactly looting since they had the owner’s permission.  The Hermit’s Guard was transferring what they could, for thirty-five percent of the take. 

Lieutenant Wind was predicting that with no unusual encounters on their way home that they should arrive at the Stronghold a good hour or more before dusk.

---------------------------------

The Stronghold of Hermit’s Forge

I had only been talking with Privates Cooper and Lee for a few minutes when George came walking up.

“Hey Boss, I’ve got a plan to fight the Arachnids but it’s nothing special.  As you know, there are still a lot of Dominator carcasses lying out there, from our very first battle with the snails.  So I’ve got teams of magic users, covering up those fallen machines with earth and snow.  There’s no way that we can completely disguise them but I’m hoping that we can break up their outlines and leave the new bunch guessing, at least until they get really close, that is if the approaching snails don’t already know about the Dominators we’ve already destroyed.

But I’m going to need your help Vince.  There’s an excellent chance that the Reeze will see something that alarms them and since there are only five of them, they might very well change their course.  I want to establish a large bunker on the other side of 272.  So if they do veer away from the Stronghold, teams of sharpshooters in that bunker can snipe at their legs and hopefully bring them down.  I know how quickly you can build things and the snails are still over three hours away, so if you could lend us an hour or two of your time, I would appreciate it.”

I was surprised that the three Guardians who had absolutely refused to leave my side with a known enemy approaching, didn’t raise any objections before I spoke.  “Certainly George, let’s get to it.”

It took us almost a half an hour to get out to the road, with a couple of utility tractors that I had loaded with Earth Stones and four Fire Stones.   

The first thing that I did was claim even more land.  I walked another hundred yards south on County Road 272, then into fields to the east and finally back north again.  I claimed land the entire time and when I was done, I had added a swath of land about 150 feet wide and almost half a mile long to my holdings. 

On the new eastern edge of my Kingdom and after first emplacing some Earth Stones, I started building the bunker or rather bunkers, since I had decided to build more than one.  The line of small forts wouldn’t have any doors since good ones took time to make.  George’s idea was that the bunkers would be staffed by those Guardsmen who possessed Teleportation Magic; we had thirty-six of them currently at the Stronghold.

I built five of the tiny forts; all were approximately thirty feet long and twenty feet wide.  They had a partial story above ground and a basement.  From the outside, their roofs were only about six feet tall.  When I grew the bunkers I left some dirt, bushes and small trees on top of them, so that they would be harder to distinguish.  The small forts were approximately forty feet apart and connected to one another by a tunnel, each of them also had a Fire Stone so as to keep those stationed inside fairly comfortable, though with five bunkers one of the tractors had to retrieve another such stone from Stronghold.  The walls were all made of compressed stone and were about three feet thick.  I did everything by eye and no measurements were made.  George accompanied me as I worked, making frequent grunting noises and saying “that looks good enough.”  It’s barely possible, that what I did impressed my new bodyguards. 

I was magically slapping everything together, it should be strong enough but quality work requires either tools or for me to use up A LOT OF TIME while precisely controlling my magic.  That’s why our factory is so very important for our continued survival.  I or someone else with Earth Magic can make a cutting bit more efficient by strengthening it and/or softening the material that it’s cutting but unless we waste a lot of time, we can’t be as precise as that cutting bit and even then we still probably won’t do the job nearly as well.  Although, when we build our drawbridge, I’ll almost certainly be forced to make the huge trunnion that it requires, which is going to be a major pain in the ass.  I wonder, is there someplace, where can I acquire a GIANT size pair of calipers? 

-------------------------------

The Eastern Bunker Line

George watched as his King, Vincent Standish, built in one hour what all of the Earth Mages within the Stronghold couldn’t do in less than eight and that’s only if they found some way to seamlessly work together.

Two wildly different thoughts arose in Captain Mesquida’s head.  One, he desperately wanted a smaller Earth Stone for his own use.  And two, he was beginning to have an inkling of a plan on how the Hermit’s Guard could attack the Teeteelans.

------------------

Guardians Evonne Sting, Elva Slayer and Danni Blocker had hard time focusing on their job and not watching their new Monarch as he MAGICALLY built a very stout row of little fortresses.  Any second thoughts they had about swearing allegiance to him had been swept totally away.

-------------------------------

Within a Dominator Prison Cell

Cliff clutched his dying baby daughter in his arms.  He had lost his wife and other children; he simply refused to let his little girl go.  The monsters had captured his family, along with hundreds of others and in the process they had carelessly and callously killed over half of those with the poisoned nets that they used; then had come the terrible sorting process, where the snails had eliminated the smaller children and those older ones that were too severely injured. 

Cliff had been stunned and because of that he hadn’t been able to act quickly enough to save his other children but once he could move, he had wrapped his own body about Sonnet’s and despite how the snails had burned him and pulled at his arms with their tentacles, he had refused to surrender his tiny baby.  So giving up in frustration, the snails had simply thrown him in a cell with his little girl still wrapped protectively in his arms.  But despite his actions, the poison that his darling daughter had been exposed to was slowly killing her.  She could not eat or drink and her breathing was steadily growing worse.

He started to sing softly to his little Sonnet; he hoped that during her final moments that she would hear his song and be comforted by it.  Tears fell from his eyes and onto her tiny beautiful face. 

Suddenly he felt some strange vibrations, there were screeching sounds and then the whole room became to tilt.  They were falling; he desperately put his body between the wall and his daughter.  He slammed into the wall and onto his badly burned back; he could feel some or perhaps all of his ribs break, and then the back of his skull struck the wall and he was knocked unconscious.

-------------------------------

The Eastern Bunker Line

Newly commissioned Lieutenant Star Astrologer of the equally newly formed Stronghold Home Guard Militia had been put in command of the bunkers because she was not only the best Telepath in the Kingdom, she was also the best Teleporter too, next to Princess Nina that is.  Her subordinate was newly commissioned Home Guard Lieutenant Glen Stewart, because he was the third best Teleporter in the Kingdom and he had insisted, thrown a fit actually, at being let in on the action.  Because of the creation of the Militia, the Bunkers not only had the thirty-six Guardsmen who could teleport but also another dozen Home Guard Militia men and women.  All had their own personal weapons and twenty millimeter rifles, loaded with enchanted bullets.  The plan was for them to shoot the legs off of any spiders that they saw.

The arachnids were now walking parallel to the road and just to the east of the bunkers.  Evidently, they had spotted the disguised mounds where their fellow Dominators had fallen and while they didn’t seem to have recognized what they were, they had still decided to change their course and go around the large obstacles.

Lady Star could feel waves of despair emanating from the huge alien machines.  She telepathically sent to all of her command.  “Be careful with your shots, there are definitely prisoners aboard those spiders and don’t fire until I give the word.  I want to take them all down nearly simultaneously.”  She next began assigning targets for all of her sharpshooters; exactly which spider to shoot at and which specific leg or legs to aim for.

The five Dominators were walking in single file, and the length of their formation was much greater than the total length of the line of bunkers.  So the Lady Knight, with Glen’s agreement, was forced to let two of the huge machines walk by, with the plan being that they would attempt to shoot the rear legs off of those two arachnids, once firing commenced.  She would give the order to shoot, when the third Dominator was smack dab in front of the middle bunker.

-------------------------------

The Convoy Returning to Hermit’s Forge

When he saw the monstrous aluminum arachnids about seven miles distant, Sergeant Vargas immediately stopped his tank and instead of using his air horn, he personally ran back and informed Lieutenant Wind about the foe.

“Sergeant Vargas, I’ll be transferring to the trailer towed by the C500 since it has better armor.  We are going to split the convoy into two, with about a mile separating each segment.  To the rear we will have those trucks and trailers that are loaded with cargo.  They will have the T800 at their tail and the Scorpion at their fore, for protection. 

The more heavily armored vehicles will be in the leading section.  Your tank will take point as usual; the Priest will be next, followed by the C500 and finally the Hellcat.  We want only legs shots against those Dominators, there could be human captives aboard them and we don’t want to be accidentally killing any innocents if we can possibly avoid it.

Sergeant Jacobs, you already have experience boarding those alien machines, so start making your own plans, in anticipation of when we bring those monsters down to earth.”

Further orders were issued to the other vehicle commanders and then following the Lieutenant’s plan, the vehicles proceeded westward on US 36, towards home and their meeting with the mechanized monsters. 

-----------------------------------

Line of Eastern Bunkers

Knight Lieutenant Star Astrologer, mentally and verbally shouted out “FUEGO!” with relish and a fierce grin on her face.  “To hell with being the quiet, polite, civilized advisor in the background,” she thought, “I want to kill these murdering assholes!”

When the shooting first started the Reeze didn’t even realize, that they were under attack for a moment despite the strange vibrations caused in their alien machines by the powerful 20mm enchanted bullets.  Because of that delay, each sharpshooter was easily able to get off two well aimed shots before the slow moving and ponderous, mechanized spiders even began to react.

The northern most bunker (bunker one) was engaging the two Dominators at the tail end of the alien column.  There were eight firing slots in that bunker facing the enemy.  The soldiers at the three gun ports on the northern side were to target the rearmost spider, while the sharpshooters firing from the slots that faced the east, were by dint of angling their weapons northward able to fire on the next arachnid in line.

The sharpshooters shooting at the last mechanical monster perhaps had some of the most difficult shots to make, as a consequence to that they only succeeded in damaging one leg.  But their fellow soldiers on the eastern side of the bunker were far luckier and they succeeded in disabling two of the legs on the spider that they had been assigned to engage.  Those legs began to slowly collapse as hydraulic fluid spilled from them and the arachnid began to tilt to its right side. 

As for the third or middle Dominator it was targeted by the sharpshooters in three different bunkers and all of its right side legs were much more catastrophically disabled, with chunks of them being simply blown off.  If the situation hadn’t been so dire, the cartoonish way that the spider crashed to earth would have been funny.  However Lieutenant Star, who found that she actually LIKED commanding in a battle, rather than advising behind the scenes, was disgusted that her bunker which had easiest shots of all; scored the fewest number of hits on the enemy.

The southernmost bunker, like the northernmost, had to engage two spiders.  The sharpshooters in that tiny fortress disabled one leg on the leading alien machine and two legs on the one trailing it, that machine began to tilt to its right.

The only two Dominators left standing stably on their feet began to finally react but they were too slow.  But sadly since they were at the extreme opposite ends of the alien line, they could only be fired upon by the sharpshooters that were stationed at only six firing ports.

The northernmost arachnid finally had a leg disabled, while the southernmost spider had a second leg rendered non-functional, thus causing it to start sinking to its right.  The northern machine was now the only Dominator left standing upright and with one of its forelegs no longer working, it was reduced to a truly pitiful slow pace.  The battle had been a complete surprise for the Reeze and so swift that not even a single enemy steam cannon had been fired in reply.  It took two more, three gun salvos before the final spider was brought down.

----------------------------    

Sergeant Jacobs was once again leading a fire team into an alien spider machine and once more he didn’t have any hand grenades, he was not a happy man.  He glanced through a window in a cell door and froze in shock.  Turning quickly he spoke to the Private behind him.  “Fletcher, get the Lieutenant in here right now.  I don’t care if his wings, makes for a tight fit, get him in here NOW!”

The Private took her own peek into that same cell.  Her eyes grew wide and then she ran back towards where they had breached the hull, calling out for Lieutenant Storm Wind.

# # # # # # # # # # # # # #

Koalitsija-SV Prototype Twin-Barrel Howitzer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvy-XAaYEHg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E54FxyVVMfk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf2WsmZJGgc

Jacob Sheep

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_sheep

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark

https://www.elvira.com/

Nitrogen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_nitrate

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haber_process

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostwald_process

Whipple Armor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whipple_shield

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaced_armour

Goblin

http://paizo.com/image/product/secondary/Pathfinder/Pathfinder_Goblin2_200.jpg

Flying Squirrels

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-FHzf4xnWw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkxNljd9IA8

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_squirrel

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_dwarf_flying_squirrel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSUXXzN26zg

Character List

Spoiler :

Version eight of the Defective Hermit Character List; is a work in progress.

Some of the following information is quite detailed and at other times it’s not, sorry. There are probably some errors too.  This Character List is a work in progress.  I am pulling together information from multiple files and having to decide what I want to reveal.  I will keep tacking it on to the end of most chapters until I feel like I’ve got it right.  (Which will probably be never, especially since it continues to grow.)

Population of Embassy: 599 (31 in transit)

Unaffiliated: 17

Total Population of Stronghold (not including embassy compound, unaffiliated and guests): 1148 (+43 in transit)

People with assigned jobs: 631 

Note: Many people help out wherever they can, like Clyde also being a Healer.

Those under fifteen (217), except for the very young, are now being encouraged to attend classes and apprenticeship courses. Those fifteen and over (38); have part time jobs and also take classes.  Those eighteen on up have to work full time, twelve hours a day is quite common.

Unassigned: 300 (43 in transit)

Guests: 148 

---------------------------------------------

Name: Vincent Standish

Primary Class and Title: Hermit King

Class: Professional Hermit

Title: Sovereign and Absolute Monarch of the Kingdom of Hermit’s Forge.

Title: The Grumpy Hermit King

Title: The Grumpy Hermit

Warning Label:  Caution, This is an Insanely Strong Smelling Hermit; It is Extremely Dangerous When Enraged.   Please Keep Hands and Feet Away From Its Mouth at All Times.

Name: Nina Rivera Standish

Title: Princess

Title: The Survivor

Sex: Female

Age: 11  

True Sight Level: Three

Body Augmentation Magic Level: 4

Teleportation Level: 4

Telekinesis Level: 4

Alchemy Level: 1

Hearing is 1.2 times as acute.

1.2x Scent/Odor Detection

Oldest Daughter, Linda (blue screen) married to Attorney James Lopez (orange screen), daughter Angela is six months old when she arrives at compound.

Youngest Daughter (by two years) Sandra (blue screen) married to Jacob Schwartz (green screen, former sales manager for a new car dealership), their son Jonathan four months old when he arrives at compound.

Ex-wife Nancy Connor (blue screen), her boyfriend Steve Griffith (blue screen) is gone and probably dead.

------------------------

Hermit’s Guard (279):

Name: George Mesquida

Primary Class and Title: Knight

Class: Soldier

Class: Combat Officer

Title: Knight Captain

Title: Captain

Title: Husband of Sheryl and Ruth Mesquida

Name: Candace Murphy

Primary Class and Title: Knight

Class: Soldier

Class: Combat Officer

Title: Lady Knight

Title: Knight Lieutenant

Title: Lieutenant

Title: Daughter of Sean and Denise Murphy

Name: Boris Khan

Primary Class and Title: Knight

Class: Soldier

Class: Combat Officer

Title: Knight Lieutenant

Title: Lieutenant

Name: Storm Wind

Primary Class and Title: Chief; Chief of the Terran Long Flight Clan

Secondary Class and Title: Knight

Class: Soldier

Class: Combat Officer

Title: Knight Lieutenant

Title: Lieutenant

Title: Husband of Dawn Song

Title: Father of Mountain Breeze

Note: Mountain Breeze is a very young boy.

Name: Night Storm

Primary Class and Title: Chief; Second Chief of the Terran Long Flight Clan

Secondary Class and Title: Knight

Class: Soldier

Class: Combat Officer

Title: Lady Knight

Title: Knight Lieutenant

Title: Lieutenant

Title: Wife of Metal Grinder

Title: Mother of Smoky Night

Note: Smoky Night is a very young girl.

Lieutenant Evonne Sting, orange screen, swift runner Guardian

Sergeant Elva Slayer, orange screen, swift runner Guardian

Sergeant Danni Blocker, orange screen, swift runner Guardian

Sergeant Richard Jacobs (green screen, Vietnam veteran, very attractive man) married to Martha (green screen), surviving with two great grandchildren.  Normally he serves aboard the T800 or Hellcat. He is a world class sneak and throat slitter.  Additionally he is an unconventional yet effective drill instructor.

Sergeant Jeffrey Vargas (green screen, Vietnam veteran, commanded a M113 during war), now he typically commands the Sherman tank. No magical abilities other than the True Sight Skill but he has a very nice selection of physical enhancements.

Sergeant Derrick Miter, former marine M60 tank driver in Vietnam, green screen, normally drives or commands the Priest. Note: He can levitate, teleport, and use telekinesis.  He also has several physical enhancements.

Sergeant Tornado Challenger, green screen, flyer, male, he is a daredevil when only his own life is on the line.

Sergeant Latisha Steele, orange screen, former Intelligence Analyst with the US Army.  Always desired to serve aboard a tank but it wasn’t allowed at the time.

Corporal Fish Diver, green screen, flyer female, Tornado Challenger’s fiancée, she is extremely accurate when dive bombing her foes.

Corporal Sticks Spearmaker, green screen, female craft-maker, though she is still making weapons she joined the Hermit’s Guard because she feels that pole-arms aren’t as important nowadays.

Corporal Tammy Harding, green screen, former Army soldier, former INS Agent

Corporal Brandy Zhang, green screen, former US Marshall, normally serves as driver for Hellcat.

Corporal Fall Roar, green screen flyer

Private Dominic Jackson, green screen, sharpshooter, had previously worked as a waiter in a high end restaurant.  Few skills but he has been gratified to find that he has the makings of a natural shot.

Private Waxy Candlemaker, green screen, female

Private Feather Fletcher, green screen, female

Private Strings Bowyer, green screen, male

Private Stinky Tanner, green screen, male

Private Net (Nettie) Fisher, green screen, female

Private Stacy Nord, green screen, female

Private Quentin Lee, first member of the Hermit’s Guard to fall.  Died defending the Southern Wall from King Mandrills.

Private Hoops Cooper, second member of the Hermit’s Guard to fall, died at the battle of US36, on March third, while fighting 18 Dominators.

----------------------------

Construction and Maintenance (75):

Name: Macallister Smith

Primary Class and Title: Knight

Title: Minister of Construction and Maintenance

Fred Stone: Civil Engineer, picked up at County Building along with his wife, Wendy.

Jean White: Civil Engineer, picked up at the County Building.  She is a Green Screen with two children, Brittany is 8 and Peter is 5.  Her husband is deceased. 

--------------------------

The Shop Crew (93):

Name: Glen Stewart

Primary Class and Title: Knight

Title: Minister of Manufacturing and Production

Note: Released Innocent Prisoner, Mechanic and Machinist

Name: Grace Lee

Former Aircraft Mechanic and Machinist

Note: Oath Sworn, Retired Naval Petty Office, Release Prisoner (technically guilty but extenuating circumstances should have found her innocent, Prosecutor was a jerk, the jury were idiots, and the guy started it.)  She now lives in the Hermit’s home.

Ronald Lewis is an expert welder and burgeoning Fire Mage (Ron’s magic wand).   (Green screen, released innocent prisoner.)

Andrew Thomas is a former appliance repair man.  (Green screen, released innocent prisoner.)

Scott Blaine is an expert machinist as well as a tool and die maker.  (Blue screen, alcoholic, is guilty of vehicular homicide, served most of his sentence and is truly repentant.)

Sean Murphy (green screen) is an expert gunsmith, husband of Lady Denise Murphy Minister of Health and father of Knight Lieutenant Candace Murphy.

Rufus Stokes (green screen) former M48 tanker, mechanic and drag car racer.  Note: He knows how to link multiple engines together.

Mindy Stokes (green screen) is his wife and pregnant.

David Hu, father, mechanic, True Sight

Linda Hu, mother, office manager, True Sight

Nicolas Silva, father, mechanic, True Sight

Reyna Cupples, green screen, Watchmaker/repairer

Robert Barton, orange screen, Boilermaker

--------------------------

Motor Pool (25):

Name: Clyde Jenkins

Primary Class and Title: Knight

Title: Minister of Transport

Note: Farmer, collector of old tractors and former tank crewman.

Chester Fletcher (green screen) Note: He used to own the gravel pit and associated equipment.

Bob Wilkins, green screen, driver of large recovery vehicle

----------------------------

Peacekeepers (5):

Name: Faith Harper

Primary Class and Title: Knight

Title: Lady Knight

Title: Minister of Justice

Note: Former Judge

Melissa Kilmer (age: 13), Orange Screen, Squire to Lady Faith.

Sir James Lopez (orange screen and former attorney)

Note: Son-in-law of the Hermit King.

--------------------------

People Who Keep Things Running (6):

Name: Jennifer Boon

Primary Class and Title: Knight

Title: Lady Knight

Title: Chief of Staff and Spokesperson for the Hermit King Vincent Standish

Note: Released Innocent Prisoner and she has two children, Elizabeth is seven and Stephen is four years old. 

Name: Star Astrologer

Primary Title and Class: Lady Knight

Class: Wise One

Title: Leader of the Free Craft-Maker People

Title: The Wise One

Title: The Dignified One

Note: Possible Enchanter if abused sufficiently enough by Vince.

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Food Production (90):

Name: Isabella Gomez

Primary Class and Title: Knight

Title: Lady Knight

Title: Royal Botanist

Title: Minister of Food Production

Note: Released Innocent Prisoner

---------------------------

Logistics and Supply (18):

Name: Stephen Monet

Primary Class and Title: Knight

Title: Castellan

Title: Minister of Logistics and Supply

Note: Released Innocent Prisoner, former owner of a trucking company.

Name: Barbara Monet

Note: Oath sworn to both the King and her husband (his secretary/clerk too).

-----------------------------

Health Department (13):

Name: Denise Murphy

Primary Class and Title: Knight

Class: Healer

Class: Soldier

Title: Lady Knight

Title: Minister of Health and Chief Healer

Title: Wife of Sean Murphy

Title: Mother of Candace Murphy

Note: Nurse and an excellent shot.  She and her daughter are equally good with a rifle and better than Sean.

Peggy Barnes; green screen, released innocent prisoner, nurse, possesses healing magic.

Gloria Bennett; blue screen, released prisoner, nurse practitioner; Note: gambling and drug problems, possesses healing magic.

Giovanna Silva, mother, dental hygenist, Healer, True Sight

-------------------------

Black Powder Production and Alchemical Research (31):

Blender Apothecary (green screen) is the Second Chief of the Craft-Makers. Note: Possible Enchanter if abused sufficiently enough by Vince.

Professor Martin Avis (green screen) is a retired University Professor of Chemistry and now Alchemist, rescued after the battle with the Dominators on US 36.

Nina Standish

--------------------

Flyer Population within Stronghold:

Long Flight Clan

Storm Wind OS, wife is Dawn Song OS, boy child Mountain Breeze

Night Storm OS (Black and Brown Wings), husband is Metal Grinder OS, daughter is Smokey Night OS

Tornado Challenger GS, fiancée is Fish Diver GS (her sister is Autumn Blaze GS and nephew is Star Bright OS)

Dawn Wind

Spring Breeze

Corporal Fall Roar

Winter Wind

Cloudy Day

Storm Cloud

Total Members: 62

Children: 32

Soaring Dawn Clan

Name: Dawn Rain

Title: Chief of The Soaring Dawn Clan on Earth

Title: The Unhappy Survivor

Morning Mist, Second Chief, orange screen

Total Members: 24

          Children: 12

-------------------------------

Craftmaker Population within Stronghold:

1st Group: 46 Adults, no children

2nd Group: 47 Adults, 17 Children

3rd Group: 7 Adults (Chapter 27)

4th Group: 26 Adults, 8 Children (Chapter 30) 

-------------------------------

Swift Runner Population within Stronghold: (13)

Tribe of Evening Song

Lady Song, deceased

Evonne Sting, Class and Title: Guardian

Husband 1:  Aron

Husband 2: Ralph

Daughter Zuma: 14

Son:  Foggy 8

Elva Slayer, Class and Title: Guardian

Husband 1:  Long

Husband 2: Del, baby in his pouch

Daughter: Yun 9

Danni Blocker, Class and Title: Guardian

Husband 1: Ned,

Husband 2: Vear, baby in his pouch

Daughter: Su 7

------------------------

People of the Trees

Four Families

Matriarch of the Blaze Family

Berry Blaze

Oak Family

Keen Family

Hardhead Family

People of the Trees, is a species of sentient dwarf flying squirrels with opposable thumbs.  Their bodies are from 14 to 20 centimeters long and their tales are anywhere from 10 to 14 centimeters in length.  They typically can weigh from 150 to 220 grams.  On their home world they are a people experienced in modest magic and are rather technologically advanced too, having visited the nearer planets in their solar system.

Total Population: 148

Adults by age fourteen: 33

Blaze: 9, Oak: 8, Keen: 9, Hardhead: 7

Children from zero to eight years old: 58

Blaze: 14, Oak: 15, Keen: 14, Hardhead: 15

Teenagers from eight to fourteen years old: 57

Blaze: 14, Oak: 14, Keen: 14, Hardhead: 15

-------------------------

Within Stronghold, Unaffiliated but Contributing

Barajas Group (17):

Edith Barajas 42, clothing designer, OS

Healing Level: 3

Alchemy Level: 2

Sydney 40, musician had owned a store selling musical instruments, GS

Sound Magic Level: 3.5

Water Magic Level: 2

Shana 17, student newspaper, GS

          Air Magic Level: 3

          Sound Magic Level: 3

Adam 20, college student computer programming, OS

          Fire Magic Level: 3.5

Denise Strickland 34, mother, gs, meteorologist

          Water Magic Level: 2

Gretchen Strickland 57, grandmother, os, retired machinist

          Earth Level: 3

Scott Strickland 34, father, gs, sewage plant engineer

          Water Level: 3

Jeffrey Strickland 10, son, os

Landon Strickland 60, grandfather, gs, machinist

          Earth Level: 2

Karen Strickland 7, daughter, os

Anita Bodo 28, gs, accountant

          Earth Magic Level: 2

Markos Bodo 27, os, grocery store manager

          Body Augmentation Magic Level: 3.5

Margo Bodo 4, os

Asger Bruun 32, os, auto body painter

          Healer Level: 2

          Alchemy un-awakened

Wife is deceased, from monster attack

Storm Bruun 8, os

Sameer Said 32, os, High School Athletic and History Teacher (soccer)

          Body Augmentation Magic Level: 3

Flora Kulikova 23, os, veterinary student

          Animal Trainer Level: 3.5

-------------------------

Captain Barbara Long’s Group of Survivors (630), now located at the US Embassy within the Stronghold.

Lieutenant Jay Nichols

Lieutenant Kellie Cross, at Stronghold

Sergeant First Class SFC Patrick White

Staff Sergeants SSG

          Lindsay Collier

          Bernard Ballard

Corporal Julia Lewis

          Private Shelly Hines

          Howard King

---------------------------

Ervin, Ohio

Name: Sylvia Warren

Title: Mayor of Ervin

-------------------------

Wrenchburg, Ohio

Florian Forester, 38, gs, Bartender, Town Boss

Mathias Forester, 38, gs, Dentist

Susanne Forester 14, gs

Mathias Forester, 12, gs

Nadine Forester, 9, gs

Liam Edwards, 33, gs, concrete and masonry

Kai Edwards, 31, gs, real estate

Jasmine Edwards, 6, os

Lauren Edwards, 8, os

Reuben Moerkens 50, gs

Marian Moerkens, 48, gs

Giorgio Segura, 39, gs, restaurant owner and cook

Nadelina Segura, 37, gs, cook and hostess

Cara Segura, 14, gs

Helene Segura, 12, os

Viola Segura, 9, os

Alex Csorba, 41

Margo Csorba, 40, Dental Hygenist, gs

Judit Csorba, 20, college student, gs

Petra Csorba, 17, gs

Kevin Csorba, 14, os

Bradley Heavy Industrial Group (Originally 208 people, now 97 of which 52 are under eighteen)

William Bujdo, 36 Green

Violet Bujdo, 35 Orange

Andrew Bujdo 13 Orange

Adam Bitar, 35, Orange

Nazeera Bitar, 33 Green

Anisah Bitar, 11 Orange

Mikail Usamov, 28, Green

Albert Osborne, 27, Green

Lin Chang, 62, Orange, Dental Hygenist, Healer, injured

George Chang, 34, Green

Denise Chang, 33, Green

John Chang, 10, Orange

Anna Chang, 8, Orange

Ram Diaz, 26, Orange

Edith Diaz, 27, Orange

Justin Diaz, 3, Orange

Howard Leach, 31, Green, killed on trip to the Armory

Stephen Staton, 34, Orange, killed on trip to the Armory

---------------------

Miscellaneous

Dwight Cobb, GS, 21 members in his group.

Partial List of those, Rescued at the Dominator Battle of US 36

Martin  Avis                               Alchemist Chemist

Michelle “Shelly” Cupples         bulldozer operator, daughter

Herbert Cupples               Retired Navy, father

Reyna Cupples                           Watchmaker/repairer, Herb’s sister

Robert Barton                            Boilermaker

Joyce Gause                     Paleontologist

------------------------

Cliff and Sonnet

Equipment Glossary

Spoiler :

Equipment Glossary Version: 5

Hermit’s Forge M4 Sherman Grizzly Medium Tank, originally it was a Sherman Grizzly I Cruiser which was the Canadian variant of the American M4A1 Sherman medium tank.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grizzly_I_cruiser

It has 75 millimeters of enchanted steel armor and it is 5.8 meters long, 2.6 meters wide, 3 meters tall and weighs 30,000 kilograms.

Tracked Vehicle

One 330 horsepower steam engine; gives this vehicle a top speed of 38 kilometers per hour.

Primary Weapon is one prototype 75mm breech loading cannon built by Hermit’s Forge.  Secondary weapons are two bolt-action 20mm rifles also built by Hermit’s Forge.

The original gyroscopic stabilizer for the main gun is no longer operational.

-------------------------

Hermit’s Forge M18 Hellcat Light Tank, it began life as an American M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer and has been heavily modified by Hermit’s Forge.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M18_Hellcat

It has 25 millimeters of enchanted steel armor, 25.4mm of enchanted smashed aluminum armor, and 12.7mm of enchanted compressed stone armor.   A roof has been added to its original turret.  This tank is 5.3 meters long (without its main gun), 2.9 meters wide, 2.6 meters tall and weighs 21,500 kilograms.

Tracked Vehicle

One 200 horsepower steam engine, give this vehicle a top speed of 45 kilometers per hour.

Primary Weapon is one prototype 50mm breech loading cannon built by Hermit’s Forge.  Secondary Weapon is one bolt-action 20mm rifle built by Hermit’s Forge. 

----------------------------

Hermit’s Forge FV101 Scorpion Light Tank, it began life as a British FV101 Scorpion Reconnaissance Vehicle and has been heavily modified by Hermit’s Forge.    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FV101_Scorpion

It has 12.7 millimeters of enchanted aluminum armor.  This tank is 5.3 meters long, 2.1 meters wide, 2.1 meters tall and weighs 17,800 kilograms.

Tracked Vehicle

One 200 horsepower steam engine, give this vehicle a top speed of 79 kilometers per hour.

Primary Weapon is one prototype 50mm breech loading cannon built by Hermit’s Forge.  Secondary Weapons are two bolt-action 20mm rifles built by Hermit’s Forge. 

-------------------------------

Hermit’s Forge M7 Priest Motor Gun Carriage, started off as an American M7 Motor Gun Carriage but it has since been heavily modified.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M7_Priest

It has 50 millimeters of enchanted steel armor, a roof and heightened full side walls have been added to it.  This vehicle is 6 meters long, 2.9 meters wide, 3.2 meters tall and weighs 26,450 kilograms. 

Tracked Vehicle

One 200 horsepower steam engine, gives this vehicle a top speed of 30 kilometers per hour.

Primary weapon is one M119, 105mm howitzer which is the US designation for the British L119 105mm lightweight gun.  Secondary weapons are two Hermit’s Forge 50mm Holman projectors and one twin-barrel 7.62 x 39 Murphy gun.

---------------------------

Hermit’s Forge T800 Armored Personnel Carrier, originally a 2011 Kenworth T800 Dump Truck, it has since been heavily modified.

http://www.kenworth.com/trucks/t800/

It has 152 millimeters of layered armored made of enchanted steel and sand. Windows are made of transparent aluminum and possess steel shutters.  This APC is 7.6 meters long, 2.4 meters wide, 3.5 meters tall and weighs 13,600 kilograms.

It has four wheeled axles and the rear two, are powered.

One 200 horsepower steam engine, give this vehicle a maximum speed of 56 kilometers per hour.

Primary Weapons are eleven bolt-action 20mm rifles, manufactured by Hermit’s Forge.

-------------------------------

Hermit’s Forge C500 Armored Semi Truck, started off as a Kenworth C500, it has since been converted to steam power and it now has over 90 millimeters of enchanted layered armor made of steel and smashed aluminum. Windows are made of transparent aluminum and have steel shutters. This truck is 8 meters long, 2.4 meters wide, 3.5 meters tall and weighs 23,819 kilograms. It is normally used as an Armored Personnel Transporter and equipped with a twenty-seven foot armored trailer.

http://www.kenworth.com/trucks/c500/

Hermit’s Forge 27’ Armored Personnel Transport Trailer; began life as 27 foot steel dump end trailer.  It has 127 millimeters of layered armored made of enchanted steel, compressed stone and ballistic gelatin. Windows are made of transparent aluminum and have steel shutters.  This trailer is 8.5 meters long, 2.4 meters wide, 3.5 meters tall and weighs 25,000 kilograms. When connected to the C500 Truck, the total unit length is 14.3 meters.

The total unit has six wheeled axles, the rear two on the truck/tractor are powered.

One 200 horsepower steam engine, give this vehicle, when in APT mode, a maximum speed of 39 kilometers per hour.

Primary Weapons are seventeen bolt-action 20mm rifles, manufactured by Hermit’s Forge.

-------------------------------------------------

Number of Combined 1070 APT Units: 2

Hermit’s Forge M1070 Armored Semi-Truck; began life as an Oshkosh M1070, it has since been converted to steam power and it now has over 90 millimeters of enchanted layered armor made of steel and smashed aluminum.  Windows are made of transparent aluminum and possess steel shutters. This truck is 9.7 meters long, 2.6 meters wide, 3.9 meters tall and weighs 25,000 kilograms.  It is normally used as an Armored Personnel Transporter and equipped with a forty foot armored trailer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oshkosh_M1070_heavy_equipment_transporter

Hermit’s Forge 40’ Armored Personnel Transport Trailer; began life as forty foot steel shipping container riding on a tri-axle chassis.  It has 127 millimeters of layered armored made of enchanted steel, compressed stone and ballistic gelatin. Windows are made of transparent aluminum and possess steel shutters.  This trailer is 12.3 meters long, 2.6 meters wide, 4 meters tall and weighs 32,119 kilograms. When connected to the 1070 Truck, the total unit length is 18.7 meters. 

The total unit has seven wheeled axles, the rear three on the truck/tractor are powered.

Two 200 horsepower steam engines, give this vehicle, when in APT mode, a maximum speed of 41 kilometers per hour.

Primary Weapons are eight Hermit’s Forge 50mm Holman projectors.  Secondary Weapons are five bolt-action 20mm rifles, also manufactured by Hermit’s Forge.

-------------------------

Hermit’s Forge 590 Armored Backhoe/Loader; originally a Case 590 backhoe/loader and has since been heavily modified.

http://www.casece.com/en_us/Equipment/Loader-Backhoes/Pages/590-SuperN.aspx

It has 40 millimeters of enchanted steel armor.  It is 7.3 meters long, 2.4 meters wide, 3.5 meters tall and it weighs 10,800 kilograms.

It has four wheels and all are powered.

One 200 horsepower steam engine, gives this tractor a top speed of 42 kilometers per hour.

Primary Weapon is one bolt-action 20mm rifle, manufactured by Hermit’s Forge.

------------------------------

Armored Utility Trailer, outer dimensions 8.5’ x 20’, inside height is 6’ 6”

-----------------------------

Common Personal Weapons for the Hermit’s Guard

30-06 bolt action rifle with eight round magazine

12 gauge pump action shotgun

20 gauge pump action shotgun

Single shot titanium fifty caliber rifle

.357 magnum revolver

14” bayonet

-------------------------------

Body Armor, Now just being slowly produced and issued.  Armor is magically strengthened (2x as strong) and temperature controlled as well as being resistant to heat/fire attacks.  For these enchantments to keep on working the various pieces must be periodically recharged by an Earth Mage and a Fire Mage.

Gambeson, Padded Underclothes

Titanium Mail Long Sleeve Shirt

Titanium Mail Leggings

Leather and Titanium Scale Brigandine

http://www.steel-mastery.com/en/brigandine-armour/brigandines/brigandine-with-skirt

Titanium Greaves

Titanium Bracers

Titanium Coal Scuttle Style Helmet with Enchanted Visor

Leather Gloves/Guantlets, Reinforced with Titanium Mail

Leather Combat Boots, Reinforced with Titanium (soles are especially strong so as to protect against spikes and caltrops)