“The second day of NEMO delivered more chaos than the first. When players entered the cities, they discovered that new threats were appearing, intelligent monster threats that would hunt them down. Groups became increasingly paranoid as ambushes from humanoid monsters were added to the ambushes from player killers and bandits. The slow trickle of bloodshed began to turn into a torrent. The opening phase of the Goblin Wars had begun.”
“The Goblin Wars, A History of New Era of Mankind Online Volume I” by Winston Archibald Montgomery.
Year 1, Month 1, Day 2, 09:00
The full might of Risk of Injury appeared from the portals in Miller’s Crossing. They quickly formed into a column and began jogging to the east gate of the city. People in town took note and some obvious spies began to follow the group from a distance. Smaller parties moved out of the way for the guild and accidentally obstructed the spies’ attempts to follow without being noticed.
As the force exited the city, Ovarrix issued orders, “Full run speed down the road towards the woods. When we’re about 100 yards in we’ll exit the road and head south into the forest with a scouting party up front, a scouting party behind and a skirmish line thirteen groups wide in the front with command in the center followed by the other fourteen groups. The center of the second line will be the slingers. Report contacts in the woods and we’ll eliminate anything we find. Scouts, keep in contact every two minutes so we know if something goes wrong. Don’t worry, something will inevitably go wrong and that’s when the fun really starts.”
Mark X, leader of the rear-guard scouts, reported, “Three scouts from Red Hat Raiders following us, requesting ambush from slingers.”
“Do it,” Ovarrix ordered.
As the three members of the Red Hat Raiders began to examine the tree line to see where the Risk members had gone, they each fell under the attack of at least ten slingshots. They didn’t live long enough to respond. The scouts tidied up their loot and the group pressed on deeper into the forest. Lone wolves and rabbits fell under the relentless advance of the group. Experience for the kills was banked across the entire raid formation and dribbled out in small bits. Soon the forest became darker and wilder. Old growth trees that towered over a hundred feet in the air surrounded the raid. Little light filtered down to the forest floor and everyone took care to move as quietly as possible.
One of the kids, Curious Kate, in the forward scouting group came across the guild channel, “Mr. Ovarrix, Sir. I’ve spotted eight small green people with little spears and a couple of bows. Analysis says they’re goblins. I’m hiding and I think they’re scouting too.”
“Great work. Stay there and stay hidden. We’re moving to your location,” Ovarrix replied.
The ranged groups crept into position while the others waited behind a small ridge. A piercing whistle from Ovarrix signaled the start of the attack. Rocks hit the little green goblins causing them to yell and squeal. Poorly aimed arrows flashed from the two archers. Swordsmen rushed in to dispatch the wounded foes and everyone paused to listen. Faintly, in the distance, deeper into the forest, shouts could be heard. Torgon gave directions for a single party loot the goblins then catch up while the raid group continued towards the sounds of battle.
The scouts reported a large group of goblins, more than 50 strong, surrounding a hillock. They were taunting and shouting at group of trapped creatures atop it. A notification from the system appeared after their report.
“You have received a Quest! Rare Guild Quest: A Faerie Good Day to Die Part 1. Requirements: Rescue the Faerie forces trapped by the goblins. Kill or chase off the goblins before all faeries are eliminated. Rewards: Every guild member will receive 100 Experience Points and 10 Guild Contribution Points. Access to the next quest in the quest line.”
Torgon issued hasty orders before drawing his sword. “Ranged, start attacking immediately, stay back and focus on any stragglers. I’m worried that more goblins are out there and we need to eliminate this group completely. Everyone else, Charge!”
The members of Risk of Injury moved forward en masse, catching the goblin forces by surprise. Torgon and his group led the attack, allowing the people following to spread out and surround the goblins after making contact. A nasty melee erupted as the forces engaged each other at the base of the hill. Torgon swung his sword viciously at the closest goblin, metal ringing as the little beast desperately parried his attack. The goblin’s sword was held high against the overhead blows allowing one of the younger children to nick the goblin’s side with a thrust. Grunts and screams filled the air alongside the ringing of blades. The goblins weren’t any more skilled with their blades than the greenest of the kids, giving the players a decisive advantage.
A powerful roar demanded attention and Torgon looked up from his fallen foe to see a large humanoid form, over ten feet tall, leading a fresh force of goblins into the fray. A gnarled club swung, knocking people aside as the new force linked up with the trapped goblins. Dusty and Allestor blocked the ogre from advancing deeper, giving Hyperia the opportunity to cast force bolt repeatedly. Painfully loud cries of rage and pain sounded from the monster as it swung its club wildly. Silver streaks flashed from the top of the hill as over a dozen small figures with bows peppered the goblin forces.
The numbers advantage proved decisive and soon only the ogre was left standing, stumbling about trying to reach anyone with its club while sling stones, force bolts and tiny silvery arrows peppered its prodigious bulk. With a mournful groan, it slowly toppled over and lay still. A faerie clad in leafy green leather armor that resembled a ghillie suit came forward and approached Torgon. She leaned over in a small bow before speaking in a high pitched and musical voice. “Thank you for your assistance. My name is Ivy and apologies, but I must request further aid from you.”
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“Quest Completed! Your guild has completed the quest A Faerie Good Day to Die Part 1. You have received 100 free experience points and 10 guild contribution points.”
“You have received a Quest! Rare Guild Quest: A Faerie Good Day to Die Part 2. Requirements: Accompany Ivy to the Faerie Village and offer them a solution to their predicament. Rewards: Every guild member will receive 100 Experience Points and 10 Guild Contribution Points. Access to the next quest in the quest line.”
“We’ll be happy to assist you, Ivy. Give us a few minutes to loot the field and heal up and we’ll travel with you to your village and render aid to the best of our abilities.” Torgon directed his force to eat some of the prepared food and rest. “Distribute any looted goblin bows to those who want to try them, except Steve, he can’t shoot a bow to save his life or anyone else’s.” Mark and the rest of the veteran scout party chuckled at the all too accurate comment on their companion.
Hyperia updated the command group after the field was looted. “We have two full parties equipped with short bows now and enough arrows to let them fire freely. We scavenged a few silvers worth of coppers, some spare short swords and even managed to find a skillbook for Armor Crafting. We lost two of the older players in the fight but overall, our losses were very light. We got lucky. They’re both back at the guild base and have started using the tools to gather materials in hopes of working their xp debt off before we get back.”
Torgon nodded then motioned to the resting players. “Alright everyone, time to get moving to the village. We’ll see what they need from us and do our best to help. Be wary of additional goblin forces while we travel.”
The groups formed up in a tighter square formation with the faerie forces in the front, leading the way to their village. Animals and monsters alike avoided the small army, fearful of the numbers. Torgon hoped that the quest wouldn’t be too painful. He knew they needed combat healing, a way for tanks to focus the aggro, the aggression of their foes, on themselves and better armor for everyone. The armor crafting skillbook that dropped might help if they could find or trade for some blueprints. He let his mind mull over the growing number of needs for the guild while they made their way through the forest.
More than a mile and over half an hour of careful travel later, they arrived at a tense faerie village. Dozens of faeries between half a foot and a foot and a half tall looked down from small houses made of wood and topped with mushroom caps, nestled among the trees. The soft barking of dogs filled the glade. An old faerie wearing a leafy cloak and bedecked in small bones, flowers and herbs, talked animatedly to Ivy before turning to the large force of humans and relaxing, a smile appearing on his weathered face.
The faerie addressed the guild, “Welcome to our humble village. I am Chestnut, the village elder. Your arrival is quite timely. A goblin warband has been harassing us and we fear that they are merely outriders for a much larger army. We want to evacuate our village and replant our hearth tree somewhere safer.”
Torgon stepped up and replied, “What type of location do you need Elder Chestnut? We can escort you to another place in the woods or even offer you a place in our Guild Base. It’s only connected to the open world by a portal and likely much safer.”
Chestnut’s eyes lit up. “I’ve heard of these guild bases since your kind have come to our world. That would be perfect for us. Would you accept us into your home and provide us the protection of your guild? We will happily help tending plants, brewing delightful drinks and more for a chance to have a safe place to grow and prosper.”
Torgon smiled warmly and extended an invitation to the elder for him and his people.
“Quest Completed! Your guild has completed the quest A Faerie Good Day to Die Part 2. You have received 100 free experience points and 10 guild contribution points.”
“You have received a Quest! Rare Guild Quest: A Faerie Good Day to Die Part 3. Requirements: Escort Elder Chestnut and his people to your guild base and plant the Faerie Hearth Tree Sapling. Rewards: Every guild member will receive 500 Experience Points and 50 Guild Contribution Points. The Guild will receive a Faerie Hearth Tree building and membership of Elder Chestnut’s village in the guild. Bonus rewards are available based on the number of faeries successfully brought to the base.”
“How many faeries do you have in the village?” Torgon asked the Elder.
“We have close to 200, but many of those are too old or young to fight. Of the ones that can fight we have the rangers you brought back in, about a dozen spear fighters and close to three dozen dog archers.”
“Did you say dog archers?” Dusty broke in.
“Best to show you, they are majestic.” The elder took out a small flute and blew three short high-pitched notes. A few dozen corgis, each with a faerie mounted on their backs trotted up. They wore tiny saddles that held quivers of arrows and came to stand in formation in front of the assembled guild. The corgis and their riders preened as the guild circled around them admiring their beauty and elan.
Dusty pulled on Torgon’s sleeve and leaned close. “Torg, I have just met these adorable little corgis, and I would literally die for them. Promise me we’re getting them all back to our base so they can frolic and play, and I can steal food from Chef Bridges and feed them down by the lake.”
Everyone spread out to help the faeries pack their goods for the journey to the base. There were few supplies and furniture as most of it would be stored away in an extradimensional space tied to the hearth tree sapling. The oldest faeries clambered inside a sleigh pulled by four stags and many of the children were being strapped to the backs of players for fast transport.
The Elder presented an emerald-green tree sapling to Dusty for her to carry in her storage space. “This sapling represents the hope and future of our community. If it is lost, we are all lost. It must be planted at your base and then we will be tied to the land there. I am entrusting you with this. Any faerie that is lost on the journey will be reborn at the tree. If the tree is lost, our connection to the world will be broken and we will no longer respawn until another is created.”
Ovarrix gathered everyone’s attention and spoke, “We’ll be running an escort formation everyone. Scouting parties in front and behind, three slinger parties and a bow party to the right and left. I need seven melee parties left and right, three melee parties in front. Torgon will be joining the rear scouts and will have two melee groups in the back ready to pull off and distract large pursuit forces. The faeries will be in the middle with the rest of the leadership group. The faerie rangers are in front, spear fighters in back and the dog archers along the sides. Protect Dusty at all costs. Make sure she gets to the base.”
As the small army moved out, Mark X leaned over to Torgon and whispered, “We’re the suicide group aren’t we.”
Torgon looked at him, patted him on the back and grinned widely. “I know you wouldn’t have it any other way.”
