Liar King (Tower of Babel Book 2) Read online

  "Get some sleep afterward." He replied.

  "I'm sorry?" She asked, as though confused.

  "That applies to both of you." Cayden continued. "You do a damn good job at hiding it, but I don't think either of you have taken much more than a few hours of sleep for well over a day now. I appreciate the loyalty and the work ethic, but I need you fresh during out turns when it matters."

  The two Elan exchanged glances, something unspoken passing between them. Relief followed, and the pair smiled as they replied. "With pleasure, Marshall."

  As Roberta retreated, Cayden turned his attention to his fellow players. He closed out of the majority of the windows on the War Frame and beckoned for them to take up positions around the table before he began. Once they were settled, with all faces turned expectantly in his direction, Cayden pulled the map out until it displayed an overview of the floor itself, with Islo and Sunè to the West and North-West, and the Tomb of the Liar King still further beyond those.

  "I'm no good at inspirational pep talks, and you'd all probably laugh at me anyways. So let's cut to the meat of things." Cayden stabbed a finger at the Tomb displayed on the map. "This is our enemy. Assuming their ground troops move at the same speed as ours, they can be here in as little as seven days. If they move faster, which isn't unreasonable, that number gets cut down further."

  The announcement had a predictable effect. Even Silver, who had worked out the calculations with him, seemed somewhat unnerved. That was good; he wanted them, needed them, to take this seriously. "If Duke Elazio is to be believed, and I don't have a single reason not to, the capture of this keep is a flat game-over for everyone on the floor. The Wardens know this, and they're probably going to come at us with everything."

  "Could we maybe have the pep talk after all?" Shifty asked, after an awkward moment of silence.

  Everyone laughed, but the tension was still there as Cayden continued. "Well, that was the end of the bad news, if that makes you feel any better?"

  It didn't seem to.

  "Well, what is the good news?" Michael asked when no one else seemed willing to speak.

  Silver pointed at the map by way of response. "Geography for starters. We've got Islo between them and us. Unless their army is so massive that they can siege the city and attack us at the same time, they're going to want to deal with Islo first. Any alternative leaves an army at their back, both as a threat to them and the tomb, which is untenable."

  "We can send our forces to assist Islo rather than fight the Wardens piecemeal."Cayden continued from where she left off. "And this river..."

  "The Ryks." Valserys clarified.

  "The Ryks," Cayden repeated for his own benefit. "Has only two crossings, making it ideal as a fallback point to defend."

  Celia studied the map with narrowed eyes, as if trying to spot some hole in their plan. "Then what?"

  "Hopefully it doesn't come to that." Silver admitted. "This is a game event, which means it is expected that we can beat it. While the Elan are doing the dying holding off the Wardens, our job is going to be to find and return whatever it was that was stolen, to put a stop to this before it comes to a head."

  "And if we can't?" Celia pressed.

  "Do you want to tell them? Or should I?" Cayden asked.

  Silver graciously waved a hand in his direction. "Your plan."

  All eyes were on him now, and Cayden found he didn't like it. "I don't play a lot of wargames, but my dad did. One of the things he taught me is to look for a secondary way to win. Securing the objectives is nice, but if you can't do that, consider standing knee deep in your opponent's blood, he used to say."

  "Charming fella." Michael snorted.

  "Like father like Son." teased Celia.

  "My point is, there is no guarantee we will be able to find and return the artifact easily. The owner might be dead in a ditch somewhere so far away from anything meaningful that we will never find him." Cayden continued, doing his best to ignore the peanut gallery. "Which is why I started counting distance and time. We need to stretch this out for twenty-nine days."

  The others looked at one another, each wondering if they were perhaps the only one that didn't see what Cayden was getting at.

  "Twenty-nine days left on her death penalties." He explained. "Then Silver is our walking, talking win condition."

  Chapter Eleven

  Day One - Morning Turn

  Aleph couldn't begin to fathom why he, of all the men detached for service with this Cayden, had been promoted. Exceptional qualities under stress, the Lord General had said, when he had arrived to pin the rank to his chest. A proven track record of worthy behavior, and a sterling example to fellow soldiers who would now serve under his command. It was a load.

  Then again, nothing about the bloodline descendants, the players, ever made much sense at all.

  He knew half a dozen of his fellow soldiers who might have made a more qualified commander for the newly formed Fighting First. Men more adept at combat, more talented speakers, or those who had already formed strong bonds of trust with the soldiers who were eventually organized into the new formation. Any of them would have made a more qualified leader. Instead, the player had picked him.

  "And people act like they're so damn smart," Aleph grumbled. There was nothing for it, however. An order was an order, and he wouldn't be moved to pity himself. Better to lead the unit as best he could than to show dishonor or irresoluteness in the face of friend or foe.

  The pommel of his longsword crashed against the steel of his shield with a resounding cacophony that drew the attention of every eye in his formation. They were a hundred strong, himself included, a force to be reckoned with, even if their leader was a rank amateur. In the hour they had been waiting under the beating sun, he had let discipline slip just enough to top off morale. Let the men talk. Let them gossip, and babble away their fear while they waited. There was no risk of ambush, and these men knew well enough to fall into ranks the moment the order came down, even without his bellowing voice throwing orders.

  Not that it stopped him from bellowing them all the same.

  "Get into line before I make you," Aleph shouted, striking his shield once more, this time with the cross guard of his weapon.

  Just down the field, he could see two other units gathering themselves. Bastion's Second had become a bit of a rival formation as a result of the previous day's practice, and his men were eager to show that they, not the Second, would be the premier unit of the newly restored city.

  The other unit was so green they'd only been formed that very morning. Aleph hadn't even been given time to introduce himself to whatever poor sod Valserys, rather, The Lord General, had placed in charge. Despite that, they'd been given the honor of going first into combat. The tactic had been explained to them during the march out to the vicinity of the mine, but it still rankled.

  This new unit, Officially Bastion's Third Infantry, and unofficially, The Pointy Third, were spear wielders. Their job was to engage defensively, to bait out any surprises that the enemy might have in store for them, and do a bit of damage in the process. Once that was done, the first would step in and hit the enemy with full force. Ideally, they'd wipe them out in a single engagement. If not, the second would be there to clean up what was left.

  It should be as simple as that. The scouts who had investigated the mine the previous evening hadn't been able to give a direct accounting of the beast men who called it home, but their best guess was less than one hundred. Aleph might not trust his new commander quite yet, but he liked anyone who sent them into combat with the odds at least 3:1 in their favor.

  The whooping battle cry of the Pointy Third drew Aleph's attention. Things were underway now. Ahead of him, he could see a one of the twisted beast man gesticulating wildly. There was shouting among the enemy, the sound of horns. Slowly, the creatures began to emerge from the mines, slavering muzzles drooling saliva, knuckles dragging along soil at the end of oversized, twisted arms. Each creature was differen
t in its disfigurement, a hunchback here, a milky white eye there. It was unsettling to even look at the monsters, their rusted gear and haphazard armor a parody of the Elan equipment.

  All the same, it was good to see them at all. There had been significant concern that the Beastmen would not come to the surface for a stand-up fight. The Lord General had been convinced that they would, of course, yet Aleph suspected it had less to do with the creatures wishing to meet their doom head on, as had been suggested, and more to do with the fact that the mine did not have a rear exit. If the animals wanted to retreat from this combat, they had to advance out of the quarry where the mine was located.

  Anything was better than fighting the fiends at close corners in the winding tunnels of the mines. The Beastmen had superior vision in the dark, and the Bastion soldier's numbers would count for little or nothing in such close quarters. Fortunate for them that the monsters weren't tactically inclined.

  A rough line began to form in the quarry. Like the creatures themselves, their formation was ragged, and Aleph suspected it would be easily broken when the battle was well and truly joined.

  Speaking of which. He thought with a grim smile. The Pointy Third had begun to advance, three ranks of spear-wielding soldiers marching down the shallow slope towards an enemy that raged and spat in their direction. Aleph didn't speak Beastman, but he still felt the intent of the obscenities being lobbed in their direction, even if the specifics eluded him.

  The ground closed between the two forces, spear tips lowering, the beast men charging.

  "Here we..."

  ***

  "...go" Cayden murmured under his breath, trying to conceal his unease. He didn't want Valserys hearing him, or worse yet, Silver.

  It wasn't that he thought the plan would fail. He'd spent hours the previous evening, and a few more when he'd awoken before dawn, going over every facet of this strategy. The attack would work, the mine would be theirs before the Beastmen ever got a turn to respond. His concern was keeping friendly casualties as close to zero as possible, and if he was honest with himself, how he'd react if he couldn't manage that.

  Which was why he struggled to keep his face impassive as he watched. The last thing he needed was another lecture on how the purpose of expendable lives was to be expended.

  In front of him, the two formations crashed into one another. Just over fifty Beastmen threw themselves over and over into the defensive wall of shields and spears that was the Pointy Third, a name Celia had suggested when neither Cayden nor Silver could come up with anything better.

  It was going well, at least, as far as Cayden could tell. The Third was holding formation, the front line absorbing the brunt of the flailing assault, while the rear two did the majority of the damage with polearms thrust over shoulders or between specially formed gaps in the shield. For a unit that hadn't existed until early this morning, the Third was giving a marvelous accounting of themselves.

  "Looks like there aren't any tricks." Silver observed passively.

  "Certainly seems that way." Cayden nodded.

  Their original plan had called for a combined formation attack, with Aleph, or possibly even Valserys himself, leading a three hundred man unit to simply overwhelm the Beastmen with sheer numbers. Not exactly elegant or clever, but in terms of practicality, the Attack and Defense of such a unit would have been second to none. It was a plan they had to put the kibosh on, only after Celia noted the obvious flaw, that any sprung trap could run the risk of destroying a majority of their forces in a single bad engagement. Needless to say, both Cayden and Silver had felt suitably foolish for not considering that possibility.

  "Number 12: One of my advisors will be an average five-year-old child." He said with a wry grin.

  "Hmm?" Silver asked, giving him a look that was only mildly more befuddled than the expression on Valserys' face.

  Cayden chuckled. "An ancient list of things you should and should not do if you become an evil overlord. Like how you shouldn't turn into a snake."

  "Yeah. " Silver replied. “That never helps.”

  Before Valserys could voice any of the no doubt numerous questions that he had in mind, the combat began to reach its conclusion. As expected, the Beastmen had lost the engagement, which left this as the moment of truth.

  The defeated enemy had only two directions to which they could retreat. They could delve back into the caves, which Valserys assured him would be a nightmare of tunnel warfare that might be best fought by the players themselves if they planned to avoid casualties. Or they could retreat into the empty hex Cayden had left between the combat and the frontline.

  They chose the latter.

  "Yes!" Cayden shouted, pounding his knuckles down on the side of the War Frame. Beside him, Silver was grinning from ear to ear, and even blue-skinned Valserys couldn't entirely conceal his delight at a plan well struck.

  "As expected, Field Marshall. Well done."

  "We should be thanking them, not me," Cayden replied, ignoring the look of distaste from Silver in favor of the results being displayed in the Combat Log.

  The Pointy Third (Defensive Formation) attacks Beastman Formation - Attack Value: 1350 vs. Defense Value 870.

  The Pointy Third deals 39 damage to Beastman Formation.

  Beastman Formation attacks The Pointy Third (Defense Formation) - Attack Value: 870 vs. Defense Value 2500.

  Beastman Formation deals 2 damage to The Pointy Third

  "That... went better than expected." Silver said as she finished reading the results.

  "To put it mildly." Their plans had assumed the worst-case scenario estimate of one hundred Beastmen given by the scouting reports, which would have put their actual damage received closer 17. With the numbers so much lower, this wasn't so much a battle as it was a slaughter.

  "Shall we send in the First to wipe them out?" Valserys asked.

  "Yeah. But let's take them off of Blitz." Cayden smiled. "I don't think they're going to need it."

  ***

  The order came like a jolt to Aleph's mind. Attack.

  He'd been waiting on pins and needles since the first clash of bodies since the first inhuman scream had reached their ears. These Beastmen were nothing. Poorly equipped, barely trained. They had unusual physical strength, enough to overcome some of their disadvantages if they'd had the numbers. But they didn't have the numbers. Or the leadership.

  Or the morale. The creatures fled from the Third, some with literal tails between their legs. They fled for the safety of the open plains, but in such a disorganized fashion that they didn't even stop to consider the other two Elan forces standing between them and their escape.

  "Looks like they've forgotten we're here!" Aleph shouted, to a round of laughter from his men. They were nervous, he could see it on their faces. Any man going into combat would be, but this nervousness lacked the normal fear that accompanied the din of battle. His men were nervous they wouldn't get their chance at a war story. "What do you say we go remind them."

  A series of bellowing whoops, joined by the clash of steel against shields was the only reply Aleph could hear. And it was the only one he needed. "Bastion First Company! Fighting First! March!"

  Well, disciplined boots stomped foliage underfoot as the Elan advanced down into the quarry area. The Beastmen had made it halfway up the slope in their retreat, before the sight of the other two Elan formations had given them pause, and even now Aleph could see the fear behind beady eyes. Should they retreat, try and fight their way back through the Third at their rear, soldiers who had rounded to act as the anvil to Aleph's hammer.

  The First didn't give them the chance to decide. They broke into a steady jog on their way down the slope, shouting and hollering, weapons upraised to let the fiends know what was coming for them. This was not the organized march of a spear wall, but the violent charge of a hundred men with a thirst for combat and glory.

  Aleph's men struck the Beastmen like a wave, collapsing the integrity of their line in an instant, the cent
er breaking under the weight of the Elan charge. Soon it was less of a formation than a gaggle of independent skirmishes, their leader brought low by Aleph's blade, their pocketed soldiers struggling to break free of the Elan that had them encircled on all sides.

  There would be no surrender taken, no quarter given and no retreat allowed.

  ***

  The Fighting First attacks Beastman Formation - Attack Value: 1900 vs. Defense Value 731.

  The Pointy Third deals 61 damage to Beastman Formation.

  Beastman Formation attacks The Fighting First - Attack Value: 731 vs. Defense Value 1900.

  Beastman Formation deals 5 damage to The Fighting First.

  Beastman Formation has been destroyed!

  "I believe that victory should be to your liking, Field Marshall?" Valserys asked with a certain sense of self-satisfaction.

  Cayden returned the man's smile. "I don't think I could have asked them to do any better. You'll have to give me some tips on the proper etiquette to honor their deeds when they return."

  "With pleasure."

  He turned to speak to Silver, and instead found the dark haired mage studying an open window on the War Frame.

  The Fighting First (Formation)

  Type: Infantry (Elan)

  Level: 1 (15% to Next Level)

  Unit Count: 100/100

  Formation Bonus: +6

  HP: 95/100

  MP: 0/0

  TP: 100/100

  Move: 4/8

  Attack: 1852 (10 base, -2 Equipment, + 6 Formation, +2 Leadership, +1 Warmaster Bonus)

  Defence: 1852 (10 base, +2 Equipment ,+ 6 Formation, +2 Leadership, +1 Warmaster Bonus)

  Special: None

  Resistances: None

  Weaknesses: None.

  The Pointy Third (Formation)

  Type: Spear Infantry (Elan)

  Level: 1 (5% to Next Level)

  Unit Count: 100/100

  Formation Bonus: +6

  HP: 98/100

  MP: 0/0

  TP: 100/100

  Move:3/8