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  After Keith stopped speaking, a group of young illusionists put on a show, filling the sky above with dragons, knights, and even princesses who ended up killing the dragons and saving the knights. The crowd ate it up. I left before the festivities came to end, intent on getting a good night of sleep before the big battle.

  The time to attack had finally arrived.

  Chapter 14

  Battle to End All Battles

  Sarah

  I stood on the barren field between our two cities, watching as warriors walked beside the animated war machines we’d created. We had just enough people and firepower to deal a crippling blow to Cocoa City if we were smart using our resources. Both strategy and tactics would play a big part in how the battle went down.

  “How are things on the north end of the line?” I asked, speaking into a rectangular piece of wood.

  After going on the technology kick, I’d had the Shaman Society come up with spells to enchant wood to work as communication devices.

  “Everything clear here,” Keith answered.

  “What about you, Julian?”

  “All clear here too,” he replied.

  His voice sounded hollow coming out of the wood, but it worked well enough. The ability to communicate over vast distances might turn out to be an even better technological advantage than the walking death machines.

  “Keep me informed,” I said. “Over and out.”

  I placed the piece of wood in the small sack at my side. The devices broke the fantasy theme of the Tower of Gates, but after ten years, I didn’t care anymore. If I was stuck in the game, I planned to mold the world to my liking. As the massive line of troops continued moving forward, I joined them, walking alongside.

  The sky turned dark purple as we neared Cocoa City. I saw a few torches burning atop the walls surrounding them, but we didn’t stop. The front of the line stopped about a half-mile away from the city gates. I grabbed the piece of wood from my sack as I reached the area.

  “Where you two at?” I asked, holding the wood to my ear.

  The simple gesture reminded me of the real world, my home.

  “Over here!” Julian shouted, waving his hand.

  He and Keith walked over to me as our troops prepared to breach the gate.

  “Are the pounders ready?” I asked.

  Keith grinned and nodded his head.

  “That wall doesn’t stand a chance,” Julian said.

  He rubbed his hands together as our plan unfolded.

  “Let’s do this,” I said. “Before the sun comes up the rest of the way.”

  A warning horn sounded, but that didn’t stop me from giving the order.

  “Now!” I shouted. “Attack!”

  Three short and stubby war machines crept forward, walking on four wobbly legs. We hadn’t had time to completely test the golems because of my impatience. They would hold up well enough. A volley of arrows shot over the walls, raining down on us.

  “Shaman Shield!” I yelled.

  Jericho and his men threw up a purple energy barrier above us. The arrows bounced off harmlessly, getting stuck on top of the impressive shield. I ran forward with the wave of troops following the three pounders we’d created specifically to knock down their gate. The bulky machines reached their destination as I caught up to them. I glanced up, unable to see from all the arrows sitting atop the energy shield.

  Thump! Thump! Thump!

  Massive animated hammers pounded at the wooden door.

  “How’s the back looking?” I asked, speaking into the block of wood.

  “The shield’s holding up,” Keith said. “We’re looking good if you can get that gate open.”

  “I’m working on it,” I said. “Over and out for now.”

  The wooden gate splintered as the pounders continued hitting it.

  “Rush it!” I screamed.

  The metal and human troops around me charged the door, tearing it off its hinges. We streamed through into a courtyard. I’d ordered everyone to concentrate on taking out Charlotte’s infrastructure—anything to do with food, water, or power. Everyone had also been given orders to keep civilian casualties to a minimum.

  “For Kron!” I shouted as I stopped in the courtyard near the broken gate.

  As troops continued streaming in, I saw Charlotte’s armed warriors arrive on the far side of the wide, open space. They yelled and charged toward my warriors. As they got closer, the remaining twenty-one war machines made their appearance. The opposing army kept advancing despite losing almost all their number to the deadly machines.

  We’ve got this in the bag, I thought as I moved forward. My warriors kept streaming into Charlotte’s city, spreading out to do as much damage as possible. Charlotte appeared on the far side of the courtyard as I walked. She had no one protecting her. While a powerful spellcaster, I wondered if I could take her out and stop the war without any more killing.

  I kept walking toward her, unable to tell which direction she was looking in. As I got closer, something scurried out from behind her. Uh oh. At least three dozen mechanical spiders crawled onto the courtyard, forming a line in front of Charlotte, protecting her. I stopped, hoping to talk some sense into her before we killed each other.

  “You took my idea?” I asked.

  “I take what I want,” Charlotte responded.

  Good. At least she’s talking to me.

  “If you give up now, we can save a lot of lives,” I said.

  She laughed, her shrill spider-laugh as creepy as ever.

  “You think I’ll fall for your tricks, liar?”

  “I just want what’s best for both of us,” I said.

  “Then give up and cede control of the island to me.”

  I shook my head and drew my sword. “That’s not happening.”

  How many of her spies had infiltrated my city? I needed to clamp down.

  “Then you’ll die,” Charlotte said. “You’ll die a thousand deaths. Attack!”

  I crouched down, ready to fight, as a dozen of the mechanical spiders crept forward on their black, steel legs. They left a trail of dots in the dirt behind them as they came at me. Should I warn Julian and Keith? They would learn soon enough. I needed to make sure I stayed alive.

  Three of the spiders moved off from the others, heading toward me. I noticed pieces of wood attached to the tops of their bodies. Red energy beams shot out of the mini-wands. I jumped over the beams then rushed forward and stabbed one with my spear. The steel tip bounced off the metal spider, ending up buried in the ground.

  “We’ve got trouble!” Keith shouted, his voice coming out of the piece of wood in my sack.

  You’re telling me, I thought, unable to answer as I pulled my spear out of the ground. The red energy beams hit me several times, dealing an impressive amount of damage.

  The Beam Spider Bot MAULS you for 29 damage.

  The Beam Spider Bot WOUNDS you for 18 damage.

  The Beam Spider Bot DECIMATES you for 32 damage.

  You have [198/277] health remaining.

  Charlotte’s remaining adopted spiders also made an appearance, each of them casting defensive and offensive spells. Every time I fought my way toward them, the mechanical spiders changed direction and showed up, protecting the four adolescent spiders. Their mother had left the battlefield as if she’d already won.

  I stood next to the corner of a building near the center of their city, wondering how it had all broken down so quickly. We had breached the gates but lost momentum. I glanced up and down the street. A squad of my soldiers ran toward my position. I stepped out to join them just as another pack of mechanical spiders showed up.

  29 Citizens have died.

  You have 9,570 citizens.

  Battles were happening all over Cocoa City, but things weren’t going in our favor. I pulled up a game screen while fighting the metal spiders and saw that half of my own war machines had been disabled in one way or another. That left twelve of them to do as much damage as possible in a sh
ort amount of time. I didn’t want to stay too long.

  While I’d wanted to deliver a crippling blow and have Charlotte surrender, she hadn’t even stayed for the fight. I flipped over one of the spiders with my spear then stabbed it on the soft underbelly. The legs all stopped moving as several more came forward to replace it. All of them show red energy beams at us, hitting everyone in the group.

  The Beam Spider Bot WOUNDS you for 16 damage.

  The Beam Spider Bot DECIMATES you for 34 damage.

  You have [148/277] health remaining.

  Half of my men panicked and took off running, trying to escape. I kept attacking them, hoping to not get overwhelmed. A strange shrieking whistle around the corner sent the mechanical spiders into a frenzy. They wobbled around a bit before exploding, chunks of metal flying off in every direction. Some of the shrapnel hit me.

  The shrapnel HITS you for 9 damage.

  You have [139/277] health remaining.

  What’s that sound?

  I saw Jericho round the corner. He smiled and waved as if we weren’t battling for our lives in an enemy city.

  “They’re vulnerable to sonic waves,” Jericho said as I walked over. “I came up with a spell. The other shamans are using it around the city to take out the metal spiders.”

  “You’re amazing,” I said then hugged him.

  He smiled. “I think the tide is turning.”

  “We might be able to secure the city,” I said.

  I spoke too soon, of course. The shrill whistling noises around the city stopped as a chorus of bells rang out.

  “Charlotte’s in the center of the city,” Keith said, his voice coming out of the block of wood in my sack. “Are you there?”

  “I’m here,” I replied through the magic device. “We’re on our way.”

  “They’re spreading out from the center of the city, killing everything.”

  “We’re coming,” I repeated. “Over and out.”

  I turned to Jericho. “Come on. I still need your help.”

  He followed me down the street. I stopped a couple times to get my bearings in the strange city. While I’d studied and memorized maps of Cocoa City, some of them had changed since we last got our information.

  I heard Charlotte and her men before I saw them. My own men screamed, their voices drowning out in the general chaos as they ran away.

  “There she is,” I said, pointing out Charlotte down the street.

  “We should go,” Jericho said. “Something’s not right.”

  “I’m killing her now,” I said, gripping my spear. “Call the others and have them converge on this part of the city. I’m going after Charlotte myself.”

  “No,” Jericho said, putting his hand on my arm. “It’s too dangerous.”

  He pulled his hand away as I glanced down at it.

  “Follow orders,” I said then sprinted down the street.

  Charlotte stood, flanked on both sides by the adolescent spiders. I didn’t notice any more of the mechanical spiders which was nice. Maybe we’d caught a break figuring out how to disarm them with sound.

  “That’s far enough,” Charlotte said as I got closer.

  I stopped, holding my spear at my side.

  “You need to surrender,” I said.

  “Never,” Charlotte replied. “I’m winning.”

  One of the slightly smaller spiders beside her yelled, “Attack!”

  I saw a few dozen human soldiers pour into the streets, all coming toward us. Julian and Keith showed up behind me at the same time. How could we defeat so many trained warriors? I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I was making the right decision.

  “Retreat!” I yelled, deciding I was not in love with the idea.

  After all the planning, I’d still lost because Charlotte had infiltrated my city with a spy. Who was it? Could I find them and punish them? I had to plug the leak.

  As we hightailed it across the no-man’s land between the two cities, I hoped Charlotte didn’t have enough forces left to launch a counter-offensive. Our walls were strong, but I’d taken most of our army out in the field to battle. Morale had dropped perilously low and kept going down.

  I marched with all the others, thankful when my city walls came into view. Yet another battle had ended in a stalemate. Even worse, I knew Charlotte had stolen the idea to merge magic and machines for weapons of war. An arms race would break out once again. We’d been through quite a few of them over the years. I was never able to get ahead enough.

  Chapter 15

  Defending the Dream

  Sarah

  Two months after suffering defeat, I neared completion on my next plan. While not perfect, it might allow me to gain a slight advantage over Charlotte. I dug a wide tunnel from behind my city walls to under the battlefield near Cocoa city. They would be easily spotted by the enemy, but that was all part of my devious plan.

  I stood near the entrance of the tunnel with Julian and Keith standing nearby. The former kept staring into the hole, shaking his head. Keith wouldn’t stop staring at me, his lips pursed together. Neither of them approved or liked my idea, but I didn’t need their permission. After going back and forth with Charlotte, I wanted to end it.

  “What don’t you two like?” I asked bluntly.

  Keith sucked in air slowly, shaking his head back and forth.

  “All of it,” Julian said. “It’s too dangerous, and it might not even work.”

  “Once they’re in the tunnel and heading toward Kron, we flood them with water. Hundreds of them will drown.”

  “If they send that many,” Keith said. “They’re stupid, but not that stupid.”

  “You two really don’t think it will work? Do you have a better idea?”

  “No,” Keith admitted, his head dropping.

  “We should strive for peace,” Julian said.

  I shook my head. “We gave her chance after chance, and she won’t surrender.”

  “You won’t surrender either,” Julian said. “We need a lasting peace to grow.”

  “Our population just went over ten thousand again,” I said.

  “Until we lose a few hundred more in this crazy operation,” he replied.

  I sighed, not wanting to deal with either of them.

  “We’re not going to lose that many,” I said. “One man is going to go through the tunnel and pop up, letting them know it exists. He’ll then rush back and be safe. After the enemy goes into the tunnel, we’ll flood it. So simple.”

  “Too simple,” Keith muttered.

  Were they right? After so many years as a leader, I’d become accustomed to going with my guy and not relying too much on the computer controlled NPCs for help. I pulled out my block of wood and spoke near it.

  “Can you hear me Eagle Scout One?” I asked.

  “I’m here,” a young voice replied. “Near the end of the tunnel. This piece of wood is the coolest thing ever. Can I get a few for my friends when I get back?”

  “Maybe,” I said. “Concentrate on your mission.”

  “Yes, ma’am, leader, ma’am,” he said, stumbling over his words.

  I’d kept the communication devices limited because they required so much mana to operate in even in a small network. Adding more nodes would complicate everything and drive up the magic energy costs. The ability to instantly communicate with anyone else would bring many benefits and problems. Was my fledgling society ready?

  “There’s something ahead,” the young man said. “Should I keep going?”

  “Yes, check it out,” I said, curious.

  Had Charlotte already found the tunnel?

  “It’s a metal spider!” he cried out. “Spitting fire! Hundreds of them…Aargh…”

  His voice faded.

  “Flood the tunnel,” I said then turned to leave.

  As Julian and Keith took care of flooding the fire-belching spiders coming through the tunnel, I went to the nearest guard tower. Climbing the ladder to the top, I saw hundreds of the metal spide
rs breaching our walls. Each of them shot a short spout of flames.

  I rang the alarm bell at the top of the tower then put my communicator to my ear.

  “Keith? Can you hear me?”

  “I’m here,” he said. “The water’s not stopping the spiders. We’re killing them as they come up, but they keep coming. I think we might lose the building.”

  “Okay, be safe,” I said then put the slim piece of wood away.

  Foolishly, I’d cut corners over the last few years, not investing adequately in fire-fighting and other public services to better afford a military to defeat Charlotte.

  +2,500 citizens assigned to Fire Brigades.

  It might be too little too late, but I had to try to save my city. Was Charlotte nearby? I glanced over the wall and saw a line of torches in the distance. Were they waiting to burn us out? I checked the status of the new Fire Brigade workers. Over a dozen medium fires burned throughout the city. The inexperienced workers did their best to battle the blaze.

  While they did their job, I led another twenty-five hundred warriors to hunt down and disable each of the fire-breathing mechanical spiders. The job wasn’t easy, and they kept starting new fires as they scurried around the city. One good thing? They burned the park, badly scorching the giant statue of me. Amidst all the chaos, I had to smile to keep my sanity.

  “We’ve secured the tunnel,” Keith said.

  I pulled my communicator out.

  “Good. I’ve just about cleared the eastern districts. Have you heard from Julian?”

  “I’m here,” he said, jumping into the conversation. “South side is looking better. When did so many people join the Fire Brigade? It’s so fortunate they did.”

  “We caught a break,” I said, climbing one of the towers on the eastern wall. “Keep me informed. I’m about to check if Charlotte is retreating back to her city or not.”