Exile chuckled as he finished logging back into the game, causing everyone in The Raider’s Horn to turn and stare at him. Noslin cocked an eyebrow as she studied him curiously.
“What are you doing here? It’s your turn for a rest.”
Exile raised a hand before glancing around with a smile on his face. “Beans? Have you been able to reach your oracle?”
“Eh? Yes… But her group has been separated from the other villagers.” Beans tilted her head to the side as she observed him carefully.
“Ask her if she knows of a different path through the mountains.” Exile closed his eyes and drummed his fingers on the table as he waited for the reply.
Minutes of silence passed as everyone waited to find out why Exile had returned as Beans spoke with her Oracle. Everyone could see the troubled expression that appeared on her face as her shoulders slouched. It was clear that she had just received bad news.
“She says there is another path, Exile. It’s slim and would be slow going, so it isn’t marked on any maps…” Groans escaped from the members of Ragnarok as they heard that.
‘Mike was right on the money… It wouldn’t be too bad if I could convince him to come to Ragnarok…’ Exile nodded his head as he thought about that possibility. ‘Luckily, we have a plan now. I can’t believe he came up with a counter once I explained what was happening all over Skardia.’
Exile quickly grabbed some blank parchment and began writing. Noslin watched on quietly as the members of the Alliance chatted away heatedly about what this meant. When Exile was finished, he had four letters in his hand, which he sealed with wax.
“Clay. I need you to deliver these. It has to be you to show my sincerity.” Exile chuckled as he handed the letters over.
Clay’s eyes went wide as he saw the names on each letter. “Are you sure about this?”
“Yes. It’s the only way.”
Clay closed his eyes for a moment before nodding. “I’ll make sure they enter their hands personally.”.𝒄𝒐𝒎
As Clay rushed out of the bar, Exile turned his attention to everyone else in the room. “I want the positions of all of our troops marked on this map. There will be no breaks for anyone until everything is in place. This is where the real fight for Skardia begins!”
As everyone rushed to find out their people’s exact locations, Noslin placed markers on the map. About half of their forces were near the borders of the Royal Faction Pantheon territories. Still attempting to break through the barricades. The other half were in areas that could be defended against the Sommerdan invasion that was still encroaching on Skardian lands.
Exile laughed when he saw the overall picture taking shape. It was not far off of what Mike had pictured despite never seeing the situation on a war map for himself. A wide grin appeared on Exile’s face As he told everyone to pay attention. He began to move the markers to different locations. Giving the players in charge of those NPCs their orders.
However, when he was finished, loud complaints filled the air. All of the markers had been moved to points close to the Sommerdan invasion. Ignoring the threat of the Civil War.
“Listen! we all know that our Alliance alone can’t handle this threat. That’s why we tried to rig it to force the ruling faction and Sommerdan into a confrontation to weaken both sides. But that failed! They’ve set up blockades to keep more than half of our alliance between them and Sommerdan.” Exile took a deep breath as he swept his hand over the top of the war map. “So we shall take a risk. We will bet everything on countering the invasion!”
“But won’t the Ruling Faction use this chance to wipe us out!”
“You can’t be serious!”
“No! Trust me. They will recognise that we are betting everything on a fight with Sommerdan. It will also give them the best chance of repelling this invasion. It’s in their interests for us all to work together and throw them out of Skardia. After all, they already know they outnumber us. So we’ll be easier to handle in the long run.” Exile laughed when he saw the confusion on the faces of the others. “I know you think that puts us in a bad spot. But… I have something in mind for that part.”
“What would that be? You have to share this information so we know whether this is a good plan or not…” Noslin flashed a stern expression in his direction as Exile stroked his beard.
“We’re going to lure the Ruling Faction out, and deal with them in one blow.” Exile grinned savagely as he explained what he had in mind.
Gasps and looks of shock appeared on everyone’s faces when they heard it. They could hardly believe how daring it was! A shiver ran down Noslin’s spine when she thought of having Exile as an enemy. Little did they know that it was all part of Mike Anderson’s plan. His roadmap to conquering Skardia!
A fervour took over them as they thought about it. It made sense and was entirely achievable. There were a lot of things that could go wrong, but Exile seemed to have plans in place for anything that they could think of. The leaders who were present suddenly felt that Exile was far more dangerous than they had originally believed. Many began to ask themselves the question of who he really was. He could not be some no-name gamer. Not with everything he had achieved in Pantheon so far. And this plan of his just solidified that thought.
The players began to activate their Avatar spells. Leaving their main bodies limp in The Raider’s Horn. Noslin was the last to go, but she took a moment to look at Exile with an appraising gaze. ‘He’s not too bad… A capable man that knows how to reach for his goals…’ She blushed slightly as she activated her Avatar spell.
As Exile watched Noslin’s body turn limp, he nodded with a satisfied smile on his face. ‘It’s a good thing I didn’t tell them everything. Aeri will definitely respond to the letters I sent out. That should be the catalyst for every Pantheon in the Ruling Faction to join us in the defence of Skardia.’
He drummed his fingers on the table as he appeared to peer into the future. ‘They’ll see it as an opportunity to wipe us out in one go as soon as Sommerdan is defeated. But… I’ll have already invaded their territories behind their backs. I guess it’s time to meet with Thovok’s king and have him march his armies into Stormcrown while they think we have all our warriors on the front lines.’
‘I just need to remember what Mike said. Don’t kill their Oracles.’ Exile laughed as he pictured the scene that Mike had painted for him during their conversation. ‘The first nation to lose too many Pantheons will be the first to fall to a foreign invasion, eh? I have to hand it to Mike. He really sees the bigger picture.’
Exile began to study the map to identify a strong position to keep the Oracles imprisoned that the dwarves would capture. According to Mike, if the number of players dwindle in Skardia, then the nation would be weakened as a whole. Although the victors would become stronger, it would not replace the overall strength that would be available with more Pantheons.
So it was only logical to capture their lifeline and force them to work for Ragnarok’s benefit. However, this plan was only viable, while the others had yet to plant a new oracle in another race. So time was of the essence. He had gotten lucky with the dwarves. But there may be other dwarven kingdoms near Skardia that someone else could get a link to.
There was also the possibility that Skardian players could create an oracle amongst the invading Sommerdans. Mike assumed that even sub-races amongst an overall race were fair game. So it was not like they had to have completely different races. However, his brother had left him with another nugget to think about.
Technically speaking, the Skardians were geared towards naval, coastal, and winter battles as their strengths. The dwarves fit the bill of mountains and underground. So in the future, he had to consider the cultural differences that led to different strengths in warfare. Ideally, he would have to convert a race fit for magical battles, strong at cavalry, jungle warfare, and if possible, aerial warfare.
When considering the final one, only one thought came to mind. ‘Warbeasts… I wonder if they have a race that has wings?’ Exile chuckled as he thought about it. ‘If they do, it will be like having my own Valkyries.’ Even if that turned out to be true, he would have to find them first…