Book Seven Chapter 14 (Patreon)

The Four Phases of Combat, plus triggering conditions.

The Ceasefire. 66 Hours. Current Phase. 50 hours left.

The Ramp-Up. Triggers when the Ceasefire ends. 180 Hours.

Open Hostilities. Triggers when the Ramp-Up Expires.

The Peeling of Larracos. Triggers Once Conditions are met.

Chapter 14

We stepped into the large, round chamber. My interface beeped, and multiple windows suddenly popped up without bidding. Next to me, Donut squawked with annoyance as we both had to start repositioning windows.

Entering the Flag Room for the Princess Posse.

“You may speak freely in here,” Victory said. “Before the hostilities began, anything that is said in this room isn’t available to the viewers for eight days. So in case anyone is feeding the other factions information, it will hopefully be useless by that time.”

I was too distracted by my screens to pay attention. I flicked an info box to the side, rearranging it. It was like the status window of a city building game, like Civilization, but not nearly as well organized. These screens were different than the regular ones, and when I tried to mentally minimize them using the regular interface, all I did was move them around.

“This is not very consistent,” Donut muttered.

I grunted with agreement. I had multiple views in my interface. I mentally flicked on one a little hard, and it disappeared from my view and appeared floating on the wall of the room.

“Huh,” I muttered as I continued to move things around so I could actually see. I had a window that listed all the troops. One that listed all of our secured locations. One that listed the nine other teams, along with a message window where I could send direct messages to the other warlords. I saw the little three dots indicating someone was in the middle of typing a message in the Prism chat, and I realized it was coming from our side.

“Donut,” I said out loud. “Don’t.”

“Empress D’nadia needs to know how I feel about her betrayal, Carl.”

“She knows. Don’t poke at anyone yet.”

Donut harrumphed, but she didn’t send the message.

“Your display system is similar to what Game Guides see,” Victory said. “It’s only in this room. You’ll get used to it.”

I continued to move windows aside, and in doing so, I found each one of those info boxes could be drilled down further. I made the mistake of double clicking on the officer interface, and literally a hundred new windows popped up. I finally found a Clear Screen button, and I clicked it.

“Goddamnit,” I muttered.

Everything had disappeared, like my entire interface had turned off, including my health, the level timer, the mini map, and my mana bar. It was like I was in a production trailer. I was so used to the little info windows now, I felt naked without them. I grumbled and tried to figure out how to get them back without also pulling up the room notifications. I found the solution after a moment, but when I turned it all back on, my missed game notifications popped up.

I usually went over these when I could, but I had set it up that only important warnings and messages appeared. Everything else could wait until I made it to a saferoom, and even then, only when I thought to look at it. Most of this stuff was useless, and everyone had started calling this list the Spam Folder. These were world chat messages not directed at us, hidden skill notifications, and dozens of other pointless game announcements.

I blinked at the long, long line of strange notifications. I read the most recent ones, from just a few moments earlier. A sense of horror overwhelmed me.

Gloom Wraith Phase failed to activate. Mind Balance prevented activation.

Your attempt to disable Mind Balance was prevented by Mind Balance.

Your Mind Balance has risen to level nine.

Level nine? It’d been level five just a few hours ago. I moved my eyes down the suppressed notifications page. My heart thrashed.

There were hundreds of these entries, over and over again. There were pages of me attempting to cast something, and each time, it got stopped. The Mind Balance skill came from my new toe ring, though now it was trained up so much, I’d still have the skill, minus five levels, even if I took the ring off. I didn’t dare.

Shi Maria. The tattoo on my chest. She was trying to cast spells and activate skills without my permission. The Gloom Wraith Phase would’ve killed the ogre, but it also likely would’ve set off the bombs. Would I have been protected if they’d exploded while I was phased?

Only if the bombs were non-magical. I quickly glanced at the ogre corpse in my inventory. The bombs indeed were non-magical. Donut would’ve been dead had I cast that skill. A new wave of horror washed over me, and I found my shaking hand stroking the back of the oblivious cat. Holy shit.

Watch out, Carl. Watch out.

The spider had managed to speak in my mind, despite the Mind Balance skill. She was getting stronger with each attempt to control me. But so was I. It was a race, I realized. She was constantly fighting against the Mind Balance skill. And even though the skill was rapidly increasing in power, she’d still managed to break in for just a moment.

She was winning the race. How soon before she could take me over completely?

I sent a quick message to Mordecai, telling him we needed to talk.

Mordecai: If it’s about that presence you have tattooed on your chest, Rosetta has caught me up. We’re working on a solution. We have a few options on how to deal with it. None of them pleasant.

“Goodness, Carl, are you okay?” Donut asked. “You’re shaking like Miss Beatrice during pumpkin spice season.”

I pat Donut to reassure her. Baroness Victory was talking to us, but I’d missed some of it. She was explaining how to pull up a map in the center of the room, showing an overall view of the battlefield. I took a breath and forced myself to pay attention. One problem at a time.

“Most warlords spend all of Faction Wars in their flag room,” she was saying, “with some notable exceptions. The Orcs, the Reavers, and the Dream all have warlords who prefer to lead from the front. I am supposed to follow you onto the field for major conflicts, and as such, I have the limited ability to teleport, even during Ramp-Up, though I warn you, I cannot participate. What you saw just now was an anomaly.”

“You’re going to be with us whenever we fight?” I asked.

“I know you two prefer a more hands-on approach. I will be present when it’s prudent. If my presence causes a problem, let me know, and I will come back here. But I will warn you. I can and will call out all fouls as I see them. That includes anything perpetrated by your team. If you have any questions about the rules, ask me first. I am on your side. I can help with strategy. In addition, I can make suggestions to fit something into the existing ruleset, if required.”

“Was she nice, or was she a jerk?” Donut asked.

Baroness Victory just looked at Donut. “Of whom do you speak?” she finally asked.

“Your sister. The orc queen lady. The one that got blown up when your nephew tried to assassinate us.”

If the orc woman was surprised by the odd question, she didn’t show it. But she did appear to think about her answer. “My sister Ugloo and I once had a very similar outlook on life. When she married into the royal family, she lost a lot of who she was. I suppose she was quite unhappy with how things had turned out for her. We had not spoken in a long while, but she did send me a message before she died, asking if I was planning on being an adjutant this season. She was going to the Scolopendra Club to meet up with the king and wanted to have an outing before the fighting started. Why do you wish to know, Princess?”

“You can judge someone based on how they talk about the dead.”

Carl: What TV show did you get that from?

Donut: I DIDN’T GET IT FROM A SHOW, CARL. I REALLY WANT TO KNOW. YOU PICKED HER TO BE OUR ADJUTANT PERSON, AND I NEED TO KNOW IF WE CAN TRUST HER.

Carl: We don’t trust anybody, Donut. Not at first. But something tells me she’s okay.

Donut: YOU ALSO TRUSTED SISTER INES, AND LOOK HOW THAT TURNED OUT.

Mongo had eased his way behind the orc, and he was greedily licking at the head of the bloody axe in her waistband. Rend climbed to the top of Mongo’s head and also attempted to lick at the axe, but he couldn’t reach and he was making whimpering, grunting noises. The stoic orc pulled the axe from her waistband and leaned it up against the table so they could both get at it. She gave Rend a gentle pat. Even Florin looked a bit ill at the display.

The orc turned back to the map and kept talking. The wagon wheel shape of the ninth floor spread out in the center of the room in a giant, round hologram. Larracos stood in the middle with the nine, not-quite-but-almost equal pie shapes of the individual spaces spread out from the center. A tiny ring circled Larracos, and it blinked and turned pink as we watched. The name Shanty Town. Controlled by the Princess Posse popped up.

The large orc nodded. “This was a smart trade. The shanty town is usually small and unimportant and doesn’t usually form until after the fighting begins and the NPCs flee. It is now quite large and completely circles Larracos, giving the NPCs an extra layer of security. One you control.”

“We have three town upgrade coupons,” I said. “Donut and I each got one when we completed the Tina quest on the sixth floor. And I just got a tier-three one in a box. Can we use them for this?”

“Absolutely,” Victory said. “And with the new city defense system the AI created, you may be able to get something similar to what they have in Larracos. But you may also use the coupons for your base here, and that may be a better choice.”

Britney was currently learning all she could about the Larracos city defense system from Juice Box. I sent her a message to check in when she was done.

We moved our attention to the nine pie pieces. Our area was highlighted in pink. The whole area outside the city was called the Plains of Larracos, and it was mostly flat, except for the northernmost area of the map. The first pie piece in spot number one was owned by the Skull Empire, and their castle—which was already built when they arrived—sat in a highly defensible position atop a large, rocky hill.

The orcs’ territory also had the most rivers and lakes, including the large, fast-moving river that eventually drained into Larracos itself, though the end of it curved into Operatic territory in spot number two before it passed through Shanty Town and plunged into the funnel city.

The rocky peaks made way to rolling hills, which was the area of the Operatics in pie number two. We were in spot number three. Our area was mostly flat with a few hills here and there. The small lake near our base appeared to be the only major water supply in the entire area.

“The main body of the enemy is massing on your border here,” Victory said, pointing to the spot on our northwest border with the Operatics. Dozens of little campfire icons appeared. “Initial estimates appear they are about 100,000 strong. The system allowed them to keep their armor and weapons. It’s a calculated effort. Their best chance is to sweep over our position and take us out immediately.”

I blinked up at her. A wave of new fear washed over me.

“What? That many?”

She ignored me and moved her pointer behind the camp. “We also have intelligence that the Dream are setting up their long-range artillery batteries here.” She moved her pointer to the other side of the map into spot number four, the Naga side. “And here. There’s another 10,000 on this side of the border, more as a defensive action, I suspect. It could be a trick, but they believe they have the numbers and plan on overrunning your position the moment the ceasefire ends, forcing you to retreat into the city. Or die defending this castle. Have you familiarized yourself with the ramp-up?”

“Uh, the what?” I asked.

“This season’s rules regarding the onset of hostilities. There are four phases, and we are in phase one right now. The Ceasefire. Then there’s the Ramp Up, Open Hostilities, and the Peeling of Larracos. When the Ceasefire ends, the Ramp Up begins. It lasts 180 hours. There are several rules for this next phase, and you must familiarize yourself with them immediately. The important ones are: No celestial summonings will be allowed. Egress into enemy territory by non-scouts is only allowed through narrow, kilometer-wide corridors. Each corridor is at the same spot, and it is where the enemies are massing. And most importantly, offensive magic and teleport magic or skills will not be allowed during this second phase.”

“What? No magic?” Donut asked. “But I just upgraded my Wall of Fire!”

“Wall of Fire will have to wait. But it’s just offensive magic. Magic designed to cause direct harm to another. And magic or skills designed to transport you from one space to another. There’ll be a suppression field over the entire floor that will disallow it. You can do it now, but it goes away the moment phase two starts.”

“So, Donut’s Puddle Jumper and my Gloom Wraith Phase won’t work?” I asked. “And what about the Gate of the Feral Gods? Or magical weapons?”

“Weapons will work, but not separate spells attached to them. The wraith phase is an offensive skill, not a spell, and it will work. It’s a phase, not a teleport. Puddle Jumper will not work. The Gate of the Feral Gods will not activate. You both have multiple spells that will work, such as Torch and Hole and Wisp Armor, but unfortunately, many more that will not.”

“So let me get this straight,” I said. “We can only enter into each other’s territory through a kilometer-wide gap, and we can’t use the best magic or teleport during this time? What about traps?”

“Traps will still work, but they have to be static. You can’t repurpose them as weapons or artillery ammunition. And the rest is correct. It is designed to force bloody, hand-to-hand combat. And non-magical artillery. During this time, you will be at a severe disadvantage. The other eight teams will have the numbers and their vastly superior weapons that they brought with them from outside the dungeon. If you can survive this first week, then you might survive long enough to start moving offensively. Your only saving grace is that during this time, you only have two entry points into your land. The Ramp-Up will end after 180 hours, which is a little more than a week of your time. When the Open Hostilities phase starts, the chaos truly begins. They will wish to defeat you before that phase even starts.”

“Hmm,” Donut said, looking over the map. “What about our new town? Can they attack that place during the ramp-up?”

“Yes. But if they capture it, they still won’t be able to get into your territory. Or into Larracos. They will attack it if it’s left undefended. I suggest treating with the NPCs to help defend the town. The bulk of the enemy forces will be concentrated on you, and they won’t want to commit a lot of resources taking the ring, as they will get it automatically should you fall. It’s a tactically important prize, but not during ramp-up. It’s a dangerous waste of troops to push in at this point. Especially if you have active defenses.”

Baroness Victory crossed her meaty arms. “Also, I should add, the bulk of the enemy’s forces are mercenaries. The AI changed the 15K rule to allow the outsiders into the game. That means most everyone you’re facing is someone who wasn’t born in the dungeon, and they won’t be so keen to wade into a real battle with real consequences. These ‘warlords’ are called that in name only. Very few of the officers are warriors with real battle experience. And even most of these mercenaries have seen limited conflicts against armed opponents. They’re mostly security forces. Not all, but most of them. My guess is they’ll be shy to commit troops to actions with a high probability of casualties. They’ll be looking for a single punch knock-out. That’s what they know. Not complicated. Not tricky. Just overwhelming numbers with pulse rifles and power armor facing down opponents who won’t be able to shoot back very well for over a week. They’ll want it done fast and easy.”

“Shit,” I said, looking at the dozens of little campfires sitting on our border.

“We’re building defenses,” Florin said, indicating a line on the side of the border. “We’ve created a no-man’s land that we will soon litter with Tripper-proof traps. And we’re building trenches. We have engineers who’ve been watching and studying this type of warfare for a very long time, and we’ll do our damnedest to hold them back. But if they break through, we’ll have multiple fall-back positions. Though once they’re through, they’ll be able to flank us until we get to the castle.”

We all stood in silence, looking at the map. 100,000 troops on one side, ready to pour over us like ants. Earlier, Tipid said it’d been a mistake for them to arm themselves with their existing gear and not take classes and spells. I wasn’t so sure about that anymore.

A small group of people entered the flag room. It was Louis, Katia, Bautista, Samantha, and a few others.

Samantha sat on Louis’s shoulder, bawling her eyes out. A trail of snot ran down her face, and she kept using Louis’s neck to wipe. “You can’t do that do a girl,” she was saying. “It’s not right. I wouldn’t have disrupted the wedding.”

A little gnomish girl stepped out from behind Katia. She wore a Dallas Cowboy’s jersey like a shirt. “You said you would push her over and take her place at the last second.”

“Bonnie!” Donut cried. She jumped from my shoulder to head bump the tiny gnome.

This was the little gnomish girl we’d ‘rescued’ from the floating gnome fortress on the fifth floor. The one who’d made the lemonade during the boss battle with the goose. She’d come here with the changelings after the Butcher’s Masquerade.

“You are a child,” Samantha said to Bonnie. “You don’t understand the intricacies of modern love. And even if I was going to do that, or maybe slit the bitch’s throat so she died gurgling in a torrent of her own blood, that’s no reason to get married without letting me know.” She wiped more snot on Louis’s neck. “I didn’t even get to be a bridesmaid. It’s not fair!”

“Hey kiddo,” I said to Bonnie, ignoring Samantha. “Did you fly here on Louis’s new airship?”

“Hi, Carl. Hi, Donut,” Bonnie said. “I like it. It’s faster than the Twister. Skarn and a few others are playing with it right now. I think we should adjust the bomb bay doors. What happened to Herman?”

I patted the tiny gnome on the head. I ignored the question about the dead ogre. “You think we should change the bomb doors?”

“They open way too slow. And you need guns at the bottom of the airship. You should let me tinker with it.”

“That’s up to Louis, but I’d love to talk to you about the airship more in a minute.” I turned to Florin. “How many more of those scout spots do we have left?”

~~~

Hey all! I’ve been out of town since the last post. I’ve tweaked how the games work a little, including more on the ramp-up system so we don’t blow our wad immediately. This requires some tinkering on things I’ve already said, so there will be some minor ret-cons. I want the start of the hostilities to be surprising, bloody, and goddamn brutal. Can you see where I'm heading with this? 

Lots and lots of things happening behind the scenes. I wish I could tell you about them all, but I appreciate your patience. Kickstarter coming in a week. I was hoping to be more hands off with this as it’s being run by a third party, but I’ve been working on graphics and changing things last minute. I will have way more details on my next update. Next chapter is well underway but I didn’t want you to wait longer than necessary. Thanks everyone for your continued support! I did manage to get a gaggle of cool quotes for the upcoming Kickstarter. Here's a preview: