"Of course," he said, smiling pleasantly, then leaned forward again as if he were going to perform another trick, but his lips soured and his eyes widened almost immediately. "Oh, no."

  Alex went for her whip the moment the beads of light formed on Nayiri's arms. The changeling held them out as if they were growing weightless, or she was contagious with plague.

  "What's going on?" she asked, looking to Alex for help.

  Patron Dimple, who had remained seated for their exchange, sprung to his feet in his rainbow coat, pulling a wand from an inner pocket, but before he could train it on Nayiri, the beads of light sprung from her skin, forming a ring of light.

  A shadow appeared in the ring, blurry at first, but growing clearer as it moved through the glowing aperture.

  Alex recognized Professor Marzio's bald pate and dark goatee the moment he landed in the control room. The so-called King Made of Midnight wore robes the color of a night sky, resplendent with swirling nebulas and shifting supernovas.

  In the first split second of battle, spells and weapons flew. Alex shot her whip towards Marzio in an attempt to mez him, while Nayiri launched herself forward like a rocket, dagger thrust outward.

  Even Reggie had summoned a beam of terrible dark green energy that shot at the interloper, but like their attacks, his meant nothing compared to the sheer power of the two godlike professors.

  From Dimple's wand shot a multicolored spray of light into Marzio's chest, but he deflected it away with a glowing shield on his ring. Before Dimple could respond, Marzio threw a shadowy ball of chains at the patron. Black links expanded from a smoky cloud, capturing Patron Dimple while he fought, blasting away at the chains with his wand.

  Professor Marzio loomed above the patron, readying the killing blow, but Patron Dimple evaded the chains long enough to pull a cube of light from the inside of his coat. He flicked it forward, and it expanded rapidly, turning into creatures similar to the Twilight Guardians, but larger and more terrifying.

  Twilight Annihilator, Elite, Level ??

  Before Marzio could finish the patron, the Twilight Annihilator slammed its fist into him, throwing him through the wall and marching right after.

  As the battle moved to another location, Alex rushed to Patron Dimple, reaching out to help with the chains and the expanding black smoke.

  "Don't touch them!" he cried, eyes wide with alarm. "It's too late for me. I can't keep these chains at bay for much longer, nor will my annihilator last."

  At that, the room quivered and a shaking roar reached them from through the hole in the wall.

  "What do we do?" asked Alex, hands shaking.

  Patron Dimple lifted his chin. "I will destroy the control room. It won't keep him from taking power, but it should delay him a couple of weeks."

  "What about you?" asked Alex as the wall Marzio and the annihilator had gone through glowed with purpose, as if it were holding something back.

  Patron Dimple chuckled under his breath. "Always undone by the rules of my own game. I should have found a way to destroy these things." He squinted, a grin rising to his lips as he shot her a wink. "Still, he didn't find all of them."

  The pyramid shook again. "Time for you to go. Wait." He reached into a pocket and threw her a small ornate box with the badge of the hall—two tumbling dice—on it. "A few gifts that might help you."

  As the roaring from the other room intensified, Alex prepared to fight.

  "No, not now," said Patron Dimple as he struggled against the chains. In a last-ditch effort, he stabbed his wand forward, and a portal sprung into existence.

  "Fly, flee, before he comes back!"

  Patron Dimple pulled another item from his robes. It looked like a ball covered in golden glitter.

  "One...two..."

  Alex grabbed her friends' hands and threw herself through the portal as the control room exploded. They landed in the dirt. Alex took an elbow to the ribs but otherwise escaped unharmed. When they looked up, the portal had disappeared.

  No one spoke for a long time. The weight of what they'd just witnessed pressed on Alex's chest. She had to remind herself to breathe, and when she did the exhale came with a headshake.

  "What now?" asked Nayiri.

  Alex thought about it for a long second before answering, "Gather the officers. We're going to war."

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  The gathering in the command tent was filled with grim resolve. Alex surveyed them, walking in a slow circle around the space before choosing her moment to speak.

  "We leave in two days."

  The pronouncement brought pandemonium, as everyone tried to speak at once. Alex let the chaos ride for a moment before raising her hand to silence them.

  "We've no time for bickering. We leave in two days. The only discussion from here on out is how we best accomplish this, maximize our forces," said Alex.

  Blaze cleared his throat. "But if we waited four days, the new warriors from Warsong will be here."

  "They can catch up with us in the Nightfell Lands," said Alex.

  "But don't we need to get to rank 4 for the army? It's a huge boost in fighting capacity," said Blaze.

  The majority of the officers nodded along with the mage. It was hard to disagree with so many, but she knew she was right.

  "If we wait for two hundred troops, then we'll find a reason to wait for another fifty, or one hundred. We're going with what we have now"–she held her hand up to silence the complaints—"but we're going to reach rank 4 before we go."

  "How in the abyss are we going to do that?" asked Sanjay.

  Even Sophia looked unsure, though she had not added her voice to the complaints.

  "We have around twelve hundred troops currently?" asked Alex.

  "Twelve hundred forty-one," said Reggie.

  "Thank you, Reggie," said Alex. "Rank 4 requires twenty-five hundred total, which means we need almost as many as we've gained so far in months of recruitment, but in two days."

  Sophia cleared her throat. "Based on the communications from Martina, there should be another forty or so on the way from a friendly camp in the Gorge of the Monstrosities. And while we haven't heard from Mancalf in a bit, small groups have been trickling in, ten or twenty at a time every day."

  "Okay," said Alex. "That gets us to thirteen hundred. Other ideas?"

  "We have about two hundred support members, non-fighting cooks and craftspeople we could classify as a soldier for the purpose of ranking up," said Sanjay.

  "Good, good, other ideas?" asked Alex.

  As everyone contemplated her question, Alex looked to each officer. She paused when she got to Bucket.

  "What about your automatons, Bucket? Can you get us the rest of the way?" she asked.

  He screwed up his face. "I could at best squeeze out two hundred fighting automatons if I reduced their capacity, but then they wouldn't be worth shit on the battlefield."

  "We're not fighting yet," said Alex. "Do you have enough materials to make troops that qualify and can reach the cap?"

  He looked horrified by the prospect. "I guess, but I'll have to work straight through the next forty-eight hours, and then what will we have?"

  "You can always remake them on the journey north," said Alex. "But congratulations, Bucket, you're going to get us over the hump to rank 4. We, the officers, thank you for your efforts. You've just become the priority work, so feel free to ask anyone for help if you require it."

  Looking a little stunned by his new job, Bucket muttered as he left the tent, "I guess I should get started right away."

  "Okay, that gets us the population for rank 4. We have the rank, thank you, Lily, and the morale and discipline, but we need two more buildings. Suggestions on which ones we build?"

  Sorrow raised his hand. "The palisades. It's the cheapest on the list."

  "What about the military academy?" asked Lily in her full plate armor.

  Alex had the requirements list memorized, so she knew that creating that building would cost them 1,000 food and 600 metal.

  "We need the food and metal for Bucket's automatons and upgrading troops. If we had another month to utilize it, the academy might be the correct choice," said Alex.

  "The siege workshop is the next cheapest option, and we have all the materials for the upgrade," said Sophia.

  "Okay, siege workshop and palisades it is," said Alex.

  They would get exactly zero benefit from those buildings, but the army desperately needed to max out their fighting capability to stand a chance.

  "Without Bucket's automatons, I'll put the troops on food gathering for the journey," said Lily.

  "No," said Alex. "Keep working. We need those training points."

  "But we won't have enough food," said Lily.

  "Let me take care of that," said Alex. She turned to the others when Lily left. "Does anyone have anything else they need to bring up?"

  "We're looking a little short on metals, especially if we want to train the newcomers," Sanjay.

  "Good point. You and Sorrow make a speed run to the Blasted Hills, buy every hunk of metal you can from them. I'll give you some leftover magic items to trade if they have qualms about giving up their stock," said Alex. "In fact, take Reggie and Nayiri too, just to make sure there are no problems."

  When it was only her, Blaze, and Sophia left in the tent, Alex allowed herself to relax, leaning against the tent.

  Sophia approached with her hands held in front. "May I ask a question?"

  "Always."

  Sophia screwed up her face. "What was he like? The Maker?"

  Alex let out a little laugh. "I thought you had a question about the war, but sure, while we have a moment. He was...uhm, like a cross between Willy Wonka and Gandalf, but you wouldn't know those references. I don't know, he wasn't what I expected, but then again, I don't know what I would have expected."

  The answer clearly didn’t satisfy Sophia, who quietly nodded and leaned against the map table.

  "What about the items he gave you?" asked Blaze, looking hopeful. "Anything particularly powerful?"

  Alex pulled out the ornate box, snapped it open, and pulled out the items one by one. The first was a feather made of a light blue metal.

  "Feather of Forced Marching. With this we'll be able to rush the army up the river. It'll give us three days of 50% increased speed."

  The next two items were a small glass ball filled with swirling mist and a belt that looked like it was glitching.

  Fog of War

  Prevent enemy viewing, magical or mundane, of all activities

  Duration – 2 hours

  Belt of Shifting

  Move 10 feet in any direction with a thought

  Recharge – 30 seconds

  Personal Teleport Flash Rune (1 use)

  Jump to anywhere in the world

  It's a one-way ticket to nowhere

  Blaze scratched the back of his head. "A little underwhelming. I thought the Maker would be able to gift us items that would turn the tide."

  "I need you each for another task," said Alex as she handed the ornate box over to Sophia for safekeeping. "And you don't get to question me on it, or ask if it's possible. You just need to do it. It's that important."

  "Whatever you ask, General," said Sophia with her hands behind her back.

  "We need two thousand bows and enough arrows for an hour of fighting," said Alex.

  Sophia scrunched up her face, but nodded as if it were a completely reasonable request.

  "Oh, and I need them in two days," said Alex. "Sorry, Sophia. I know this is a big ask, but it's important. You can use the craftspeople to help, anything else you might need. Bucket gets first priority, but after that, you're next."

  The open mouth lasted for a full five seconds before Sophia finally closed it, saluting before she rushed out the tent flap, followed by muffled shouts as she began the difficult task.

  When Alex looked back to Blaze in his bright orange robes, he spread his hands wide.

  "Last I checked, I'm all out of miracles."

  Alex shot him a predatory smile. "How are your mages doing?"

  Blaze leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "This is where she tells me to do the impossible, like teach them to summon a level 200 dragon from thin air, or float a mountain into the sky."

  "You can do that?" she asked.

  "My mages are exactly what they've been this whole time. Very enthusiastic farmers without a penchant for learning real, usable war magic," said Blaze.

  "Good, because war magic would be wasted on them," said Alex. "What I need from you is to forget all of my previous requests and focus on what they do best: making it rain."

  He looked at her sideways. "Wait. After what you asked Sophia to do, I thought this was going to be more challenging."

  "Oh, it is," said Alex. "I don't want a light rain, or even a heavy thunderstorm. I want a deluge. I want so much rain to fall that the ocean gets jealous."

  "Fair, fair," he said. "That's more like it. Would hate to think that I'm not worthy of a challenge. Probably still impossible, but I'm going to do my best."

  Alex stepped to him, putting a finger in his shoulder. "Not your best. You're going to do it. Period. But I'll at least give you until we get to the Nightfell Lands."

  He squinted and opened his mouth to ask a question, but she wagged her finger, then pointed towards the open flap. Chuckling, the mage strode from the command tent, leaving Alex alone.

  Without distractions, she leaned on the edge of the table, reviewing the battle map. The pile of chips for Marzio's army compared to hers was laughable. It was like sitting down for a game of poker with one chip against an opponent who owned a mountain of them.

  "You made an error, Professor Marzio," Alex said as she picked up the sheaf of papers on the edge of the table. "You never should have let me have this list of your troops, and I'm going to make you pay for that mistake."

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Two days later, the entire Alexandrian Army stood on the plateau in formation. The newer troops, like the unit of Dust Dwarves that had come over from the Blasted Hills, looked like bored teenagers in a line for a movie theater. But the soldiers that had been with them from the beginning, training with spear and shield under Lily's tutelage, brought bursting pride to her chest.

  A few hours before, they'd hit level 4. Either their hillbilly dwarf friends or the last batch of automatons that Bucket had crafted had taken them over the critical population number.

  The Puppet Master was one of the few members of the army that wasn't present. He'd been awake for two days straight, and when she'd told him he could finally sleep, he'd stripped to his boxers and disappeared into his tent.

  New Alexandrian Army

  Rank: 4

  Divisions: 8

  Officers: 50/50

  Troops: 2,508/5,000

  Buildings: 7/30

  Morale: Superior

  Discipline: Superior

  There was a whole list of upgrades available at the new rank, but she didn't bother since there was no chance for them to make rank 5 by the time they reached the Nightfell Lands.

  "If I blur my eyes a little, it almost looks like a real army," said Sorrow.

  "I'd bust you down a rank for saying that," said Alex wryly, "but remedial jester is as low as it gets anyway."

  The bard reacted as if he'd gotten shot. "Jester? Ouch, that's cold."

  Wearing her shiny armor, Lily approached. "Are you ready for the hunt?"

  "I think so," said Alex, nodding. "Give the orders."

  In a booming voice, Lily called to the Fallen that led the various companies in the army. The entire regiment shifted as individual groups filed towards the edge of the plateau, each one with a black handkerchief around their neck, collecting bows and quivers from the team of craftspeople that had worked through the night to finish.

  Marching the entire army to the edge while keeping them organized took longer than she would have liked. She worried about what would happen during a pitched battle. It was one thing to keep a small raiding party syncopated to take down a boss, but coordinating an entire army seemed impossible.

  "Remember," Alex told them as they gathered near the edge while beneath them the jungle shifted in the light wind, "we have to kill them all at the same time—that way we can trigger a special achievement." She turned to Sophia. "Are the runners ready?"

  "I sent them ten minutes ago. They're picking up agro as we speak," said Sophia.

  Alex brought up her interface, which gave her a summary view of the entire army. Each company was represented by a colored box, which indicated troop strength, damage taken, and other environmental effects. The one indicating the group of werewolves that had joined early in the recruiting process flashed orange, indicating they had agro. The werewolves had the ability to enrage their enemies and were fast enough on four legs to outrun their pursuers.

  A few minutes later the jungle shook, the canopies spreading as something extremely large rushed forward. Alex could feel the ground shaking in the balls of her feet.

  A furry four-legged werewolf appeared first, sprinting from the trees, bounding over rocks while rotating her head to check for the pursuer. A little cheer went up from the army posted on the cliff edge, but it quickly died when a Volcanic Behemoth broke from the edge of the trees, hitting the cleared area beneath the cliff. For the majority of the army, it was the first time they'd seen a behemoth up close, and while they were semi-safe on the edge of the plateau, the gargantuan creature could conceivably climb if it wanted.

  Lily gave the command.

  "Company Alpha. Lift! Pull! Fire!"

  "Company Bravo. Lift! Pull! Fire!"

  As the Volcanic Behemoth thundered past their position along the plateau, the Alexandrian Army released a hailstorm of arrows into the gargantuan creature. Arrows hit then turned to smoke as they exploded with a puff of flame. Individually they did almost nothing, but collectively the damage moved the health bar a smidge. Thankfully, the level differences meant a lot less in an army, otherwise there was no way they could even dent the behemoths with regular arrows.

 

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