A more refined order would have been better. As things stood, the fighting erupted into absolute chaos. Once people were in the fort, they could bar the door. It wouldn’t hold against a magic charge or even repeated hits from the battering ram. But it would be something to stall the enemy’s advance. If all went well, it would grant them enough time to retreat through the tunnels, which now seemed a genuinely worthwhile purchase.
To stall them, Red Player’s Society members first needed to make it behind the fort door.
Jay fired into the enemies below, trying to create some space for his allies to retreat. The enemies suffered heavily but were staunched from forward movement by the minimal space available. The fighting was a cluster of bodies, but Kylar was visible below, creating space with a whirling of blades.
There were other places where guild members fought to create space, but no one else that Jay recognized. Strangely, many of the Demon players fell easily. Inspecting their avatars more closely, he recognized that many players were still level 25 or 30. The enemy certainly had the advantage of numbers, but no Red Player’s Society member was below level 40.
The fighting continued for what felt like minutes but represented only twenty seconds. Members could create enough space to break through and enter the fort. They fought there, pushing back against any enemies who sought to reach the inside. Guild members were allowed to sneak through, creating a blockade for the retreat.
Jay noticed a woman who seemed trapped but was ostensibly a human ally of his by her dress. There didn’t seem to be anyone with a clear path to saving her, so Jay leaned on his fast-firing to blow open a hole around her. With his decent Perception statistic and elevated position, he saw the look of puzzlement pass over her face.
According to her character information, her name was Amara, and her class was Sorcereress. Her eyes met his when she looked up. Gesturing with his crossbow, he indicated she should hurry into the fort.
Amara was likely to be the last into the fort. Looking around, the other people manning the magic circles had covering fire handled. Jay rushed for the stairs that led down into the fort. From the rooftop, he sprinted for the entryway. Plenty of people were milling about inside the fort, forcing him to dodge around them. With a little effort, he reached the threshold.
Kylar was helping defend the front door, but he wasn’t the only person Jay recognized. Casey’s dire wolf Zenya fought inside the front door alongside Kylar. Steel and claw combined into a force even the Demons had trouble breaking through. Casey supported from behind the front line, large bear claws swatting the enemy on the other side of the door. Her other contract, the lizard Scales, had attained a high enough level to spit large rocks. They dealt moderate damage but were excellent for knocking over enemies.
Footsteps pounded down the staircase behind him. Jay heard shouts as people pushed each other aside.
“We gotta move,” Lurian yelled. All the ranged support from the magic circles followed behind him. He called again, louder, “We gotta move!”
“What?” Jay questioned, cocking an eyebrow. “What’s going on? Slow down a little bit.”
In front of him, Imara scrambled between Zenya’s legs, reaching relative safety inside the fort. She brushed off her robes and looked about to speak to Jay. Lurian didn’t give her a chance.
“Magic circles destroyed,” Lurian said. “Just fizzled up into dust.”
“We knew that,” Jay said, waving for him to continue. “What else happened?”
Lurian scowled. “They’re trying to scale the fort. We need to get into the tunnels. Gather everyone now.”
The fort was reinforced, which made it durable. The stone shouldn’t have been easy to scale, either. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot of time to argue. It was time to escape, find the elite guards, and try to regroup to protect the city government buildings. The highest level Jay had seen on a player was Andrius at level 65, so the guards would be indispensable.
Taylor Lynn and Claire were with Lurian, though neither looked at the other. Obviously, they weren’t willing to let things go yet. Jay took the necessary steps to get into the tunnel. He spammed messages into the guild chat and called aloud, yelling up the stairs. He didn’t want the enemy to know their plans since, ideally, the Demons still thought them trapped.
Zenya growled, pushing people back from the entrance. Working with her, Kylar slammed the doors shut with a lever. Chains magically wove themselves across the door, securing it into place and supporting the door. Finally, a wooden board locked into place, barring entry.
Jay directed the others into the tunnels and followed behind them.
Taylor Lynn, Jay, and all the others hustled into the tunnel entrance. There was enough space for two or three people wide to maneuver. Much of the guild rushed off into the distance, heading to the rally point at the end of the tunnel. The rally point was situated near the government buildings, although they would need to make their way through two blocks. Members of the Elvish Alliance guild had agreed to secure and defend the rally points. It benefited the entire Elvish faction to work together to repel the attackers and save Ilra.
“Don’t worry, I got it,” Taylor Lynn said. She lingered by the tunnel entrance. Claire and Lurian also waited to make their escape with Jay. “I’ll activate the rune to secure the tunnel when everyone makes it from upstairs.”
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“Don’t be silly,” Jay argued, pointing for her to go down the tunnel. “I’ll secure it. You’re our strongest magical attacker.”
As they spoke, guild members rushed by them, forcing their voices to rise. The other members ignored their conversation since they were singularly focused on the evacuation process.
“Not strong enough to defeat Andrius,” she argued back. “And that means not strong enough to make a difference. Besides, this debuff from teleporting is slowing me down. I’ll drag everyone back. We need you to coordinate the guild in the next phase.”
There was no point in arguing that the city’s defense was doomed, anyway. The only option was to fight on and hope they could make a difference. Still, something about her behavior struck him as odd. The Taylor Lynn he knew wouldn’t want to miss out on the coming battles. Typically, her excitement for such an exciting gaming scenario couldn’t be contained. He assumed she felt defeated, so he needed to boost her spirits.
“It’s all about having fun,” Jay argued. “Besides, I know we’ll make it out. You might be slow, but I’m probably the fastest player here. Except, maybe, Lucille.”
“He should stay with you,” Lurian agreed, eyeing both of them. Something glinted in his eyes, some intelligence or recognition hiding beneath the surface. For what, Jay couldn’t say. “He’s fast enough to get you out of here. Both of you get the door secured and then follow us. I’ll coordinate the defense for a minute or two if Lucille hasn’t caught up.”
Taylor Lynn looked like she wanted to argue, but her resistance crumbled. “Fair enough. We’ll catch up with you.”
She acknowledged Lurian but went out of her way to ignore Claire.
Jay brushed Claire on the cheek. “Help out Lurian and knock their socks off, baby.”
“Baby?” Claire questioned curiously but clasped his hand affectionately. After a firm squeeze, she released his hand and joined Lurian in retreating with the rest of the guild. Jay watched his girlfriend disappear into the distance.
“Baby?” Taylor Lynn echoed once the others were out of earshot. She raised her eyebrow in curiosity but didn’t seem upset. “Sounds like things have gotten serious.”
“Don’t make fun of me,” Jay said, narrowing his eyes. “It slipped out; I was under duress.”
“You really like her,” she replied, her words growing softer.
Jay nodded as the last person waiting to escape rushed by them. “Think we should go through the fort? Make sure everyone left?”
“Nah, I got this,” Taylor Lynn said nonchalantly. Then, much louder, she continued, “Anybody here? Hello! Does anybody need an escape route?”
“Holy gods above, Taylee,” Jay called out. “You’ll warn everyone exactly where we are and what we’re doing.”
“Stop calling me that,” Taylor Lynn warned, and Jay could see her blood rising. That nickname probably caused her a whole new layer of grief with his new relationship. “They’re not going to find us. And everyone’s gone.”
“Right,” Jay agreed. “I guess we better get moving, then… sorry about the nickname. It slipped out.”
“Don’t mention it,” Taylor Lynn replied, trying to keep it casual. She failed. He could hear the annoyance simmering underneath her voice.
Jay sighed. “I really am sorry.”
“Really—don’t mention it,” she muttered, no longer trying to conceal her frustration.
Jay moved on, tugging the lever to instill protection on the tunnel entrance. The stone steps slid away, creating a chasm below the door. Anyone moving after the guild too carelessly would fall into a pit trap below. A latticework of metal chains fell into place, blocking off the trapdoor. It held the door in place and would be difficult for anyone to follow through, even if they managed to open it.
Jay gestured that they should make their way after the others. “So, how do you think they knew exactly how to get around our defenses?”
He knew better than to dwell too much, so he moved for a quick topic change. After all, it was bothering him how easily the guild was defeated. His friend had a strong tactical mind, so she would be good for bouncing ideas.
“I don’t think you want to hear it,” Taylor Lynn explained. She seemed nervous, giving Jay the impression that she was the one who didn’t want to talk about it.
“That makes me want to hear it even more,” Jay teased. “But seriously. You must have some theory?”
The set of her face told it all. She had a theory about what was going on. Jay was suspicious, too. Based on the earlier conversation, there was an obvious place for her to go. It was the first place his own mind wandered to.
Realizing he was getting ahead of her, Jay slowed his pace to match Taylor Lynn’s. She was quiet for half a minute.
“It has to be Claire,” she finally stated. “She’s lurking around on the roof. She knew where all the traps were. Her appearance in the guild and suddenly the enemy knows all of our weaknesses? It’s too inconvenient. Too convenient.”
Jay took his turn at being pensive. He had thought the same thing. His first inclination was to push back on her for being too harsh. Accusations would fly about how she never liked Claire. It was for that precise reason that he knew Taylor Lynn was right. His eyes hadn’t been open, so Claire was able to take advantage of that.
Jay hadn’t wanted to believe she would still work for Tumult. He wanted to believe they were on the same side. The idea of working together to stick it to the corporation had been appealing. But it was fake.
“Are you going to say anything?” Taylor Lynn asked. “You’re starting to make me nervous. You’re not looking so good—like you’re nauseous.”
“It feels a bit like that,” Jay admitted. “But I’ll be fine.”
“If you say so,” she said.
“You’re probably right,” Jay stated plainly. He didn’t want to believe it, but it was time to face facts. “I wanted so badly to believe she was on our side.”
Taylor Lynn didn’t say that she wanted Claire on their side. She didn’t say she was serious. She said, “I know.”
A silence fell over them. It was deep. It was invasive, sinking into the mind. Like a disease, it caused Jay’s thoughts to fester and rot.
Their conversation concluded, and they walked together through the remaining length of the tunnel. Taylor Lynn climbed out with Jay right behind her. Something immediately screamed wrongness about the chosen rally point.
There were no NPCs and a small number of players around. Kylar, Casey, and some other guild members stood in a perimeter, but they were alone.
“Where is everyone?” Taylor Lynn asked, giving rise to the thoughts in Jay’s head.
His eyes were on Claire. She looked over at him and smiled. The softness in his heart turned to steel.