Book Three: Part 1 The Dusk of Hope. Sean Wolfe Fay

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СКАЧАТЬ like a plan to me,” said Kat with a grin, and G and Jayden both nodded in agreement.

      “Well, good. That’s settled then,” the Mechanist sighed, clearly relieved that none of them had been opposed to this admittedly radical idea. As a matter of fact, the three of them seemed hyped and incredibly excited to finally take action against the Noctem Alliance instead of endlessly plotting out troop movements over the stone brick–block table of the council room.

      There was a knock at the door, and all turned to face it.

      “Enter,” ordered the Mechanist authoritatively.

      The wooden door swung open, and in marched Bob. He looked somber, and judging by his appearance, he had clearly just come from the front lines. His scarlet jumpsuit was ripped and torn in various places, and his pale face and blond hair were tarnished with soot from being at the back end of a TNT cannon. He was seated on Ivanhoe, who looked equally war hardened; his once-shiny saddle was now worn down, the colour faded, and the pig himself bore the marks of various wounds that had been healed by potions.

      “Ah, good to see you, Bob,” the Mechanist said quietly. “How are the defences holding up?”

      “We’re doing pretty good as of right now,” Bob answered wearily. “The Noctems didn’t launch any major attacks today, and we were able to repel the usual bombardments. That being said, it was pretty obvious that the Noctems weren’t fighting full force either. They didn’t even seem to have that many guys there. I have a feeling that they’re planning something… some sort of stealth mission, maybe.”

      “You’re probably right,” the Mechanist said. “I trust that you and your brothers will have all the alarms online soon, should they try to use the Invisibility Potions.”

      “Of course,” Bob replied.

      “Good. Now, you’ve arrived just in time, Bob. The council has just agreed to our plan. I will stay here and run Element City under your supervision while Kat, Jayden and G head out into the server and carry out your missions. Are you ready to brief them?”

      “Yes, sir,” Bob responded, nodding and looking over to the enthused council members. As soon as they realized that he was speaking to them, Kat, Jayden and G sat straight up in their seats, their ears perked as Bob began to speak.

      “As of right now, all available forces in our army are being used to defend the outer walls of Element City from penetration by the armies of the Noctem Alliance. However, there is a pressing situation that must be dealt with as soon as possible: the hostages. As of right now, Stan, Charlie, DZ and Commander Crunch of the navy are being held prisoner on the Greater Mushroom Island. We don’t know anything about their status, but we must assume for now that they are all still alive, and the Noctem Alliance will be using them to demand a ransom very soon.

      “Also, you’ll remember that when the offensive on Nocturia failed and our armies were pushed back to the city, the Noctem Alliance captured around two dozen residents of the Adorian Village. My brothers and I have sent some scouts out, and we’ve determined that these players are being held hostage in Nocturia. If the Noctem Alliance demands anything in exchange for the safety of those players, then we will have to comply. Even ignoring the fact that it’s the right thing to do, if we have the opportunity to help those lower-level players and we don’t take advantage of it, the citizens of this city will turn on us like a pack of wolves.

      “This is why I need you three,” said Bob, sounding official. “One of you is going to have to go with a volunteer to sneak into the prison in the Mushroom Islands and free Stan and the others. The other two are going to have to infiltrate Nocturia and liberate those lower-level players.”

      The three players around the table were quiet as they thought about what they had just been asked. The idea of sneaking into Nocturia and the Specialty Base, the Noctem Alliance’s two most heavily fortified strongholds… it wasn’t going to be easy.

      Kat in particular found herself quite surprised. She had been expecting Bob to ask them to lead a crazy head-on assault with the Elementia Army to drive the Noctem forces back into the Ender Desert. She wasn’t anticipating the request to partake in a stealth mission. Nonetheless, she was eager to participate.

      “Sounds like a good plan to me,” she said, a wicked grin crossing her face.

      “Yeah,” agreed Jayden, nodding with a subdued smile.

      “I agree with you guys,” said G proudly. “That’s definitely a job for experienced players like us.”

      The Mechanist gave a tired yet genuine smile at the enthusiasm of these young, spirited players. “All right then,” he said. “Let’s start planning. First of all, let’s determine who’s doing what. Who wants to get Stan and the others out of Nocturia?”

      “I do!” came two shouts as both Kat’s and G’s hands shot up into the air. The two turned to look each other in the eye, and instantly they both looked away awkwardly. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence before Bob spoke.

      “So… um… do you two really want to…?”

      “No,” Kat said firmly, looking back up at G, this time with a hint of contempt.

      “Aw, come on, Kat,” said G, sounding mildly irritated. “You don’t think that just this once—”

      “G, I am not working with you,” Kat repeated. The Mechanist gave a sigh, while both Jayden and Bob threw their heads back in exasperation.

      “Kat, come on, we have to think about the well-being of Elementia…”

      “I am thinking of the well-being of Elementia,” Kat replied coolly. “If I’m going to sneak into a secret base to try to break Stan, Charlie and DZ out of jail, I need to be in top form. And I guarantee that if you’re with me, it’ll be that much harder for both of us.”

      “Oh, grow up, Kat,” cried G in irritation. “Can’t we please just be mature about this, bury the hatchet, and…”

      “I said, No, G!” Kat bellowed through gritted teeth. She glared across the table, staring daggers at G, who was recoiling in intimidation.

      “Enough, you two!” bellowed Jayden. He grabbed G by the shoulders and spun him around so the two were facing each other. G looked shocked.

      “G, you know as well as she does, and as well as the rest of us do, that it’s a bad idea for you two to team up. How about you team up with me, and the two of us go and free the hostages in Nocturia?”

      G opened his mouth, then closed it again. His expression was outraged as he looked at Kat, then Jayden, then Kat again, then the Mechanist, and then back at Kat one more time before finally turning to Jayden and sighing.

      “Fine,” he mumbled. “We can do that.”

      “Well, that’s settled then,” said Bob. Crisis averted, he thought to himself in relief.

      “In that case,” the Mechanist said, “Kat, are you willing to team up with a volunteer to go and free the officials trapped in the Mushroom Islands?”

      “Definitely,” Kat said almost robotically, deliberately staring directly at the Mechanist and avoiding any eye contact with G.

      “OK,” СКАЧАТЬ