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  Year 1, Month 1, Day 17, 06:00

  Torgon messaged all the other guilds and discovered they had the same problem. No one could travel through the portals to reach Miller’s Crossing. Risk of Injury was the only guild in the region that had any other portal options from their base. He quickly checked the map to confirm the closest location to the town. He double checked the routes to ensure the fastest response time. After Torgon considered all their options for supporting Miller’s Crossing he spoke, “New plan guys, we’re going through our village control point portal, and we’ll march on the closest ritual site.”

  “Do we have any clue at all what’s defending them?” Hyperia asked.

  “Nope,” Torgon replied, popping the P. “We’re going in blind, so we’ll have to go in hard and fast.”

  Allestor shook his head. “I’m dubbing this Operation Backdoor Surprise then.”

  Snorts and chuckles rang out from the older players, the children just looked confused. Torgon led everyone to the portal and through it. They stopped to get their bearings and sort out their formation before they pushed in the direction of the magical corruption spewing into the air.

  In the observation tower, Ovarrix and Kate watched as the elite orcs reached their positions near the city keep. The orcs moved slowly, observing the keep first, then using their ranged weapons to pick off exposed defenders. When players and guards became embroiled in a larger fight with the zombies, orc archers fired arrows indiscriminately into the masses, slaying the living and undead alike.

  Torgon fired off an update to Ovarrix after his force portaled. “We’re thirty minutes from hitting where we think the monster lines are, how’s it looking on your end?”

  Ovarrix watched the struggle playing out below and answered, “They’ll hold out a while longer, the orcs are taking their time. It looks like they’re trying to whittle down the defenders on the assumption that there will be no more reinforcements.”

  “That’s a good assumption. Their portal blocker has stopped everyone but us. It’s a relief knowing that they have no clue about our external holdings. We’re going dark, if we win, we’ll message you or you’ll see some sort of sign, otherwise, well, we gave it a shot.” Torgon continued leading the two hundred players at his disposal against a foe of uncertain strength.

  Ovarrix looked over to Curious Kate, considering their own options before speaking, “Kate, would you rather stay here in relative safety, or should we try to sneak down into the city and rally any isolated players still alive to help out in the center?”

  Kate’s eyes lit up. “I’ve already seen a few people still out there and alive. I’m not scared to go out fighting. Let’s help as much as we can.”

  The pair left the observation tower and began sneaking through the war-torn streets of Miller’s Crossing. They ran across isolated players and small groups adding them to their motley crew of misfits. Their band grew steadily until they had almost five dozen players moving towards the sound of fighting. Ovarrix led them to a three-story inn and helped them climb up, spreading across the expansive roof. They waited until the orc elites began to move towards the town hall and then opened fire.

  Their arrow barrage distracted the orcs and made them instinctively stop their push into the keep. They turned around and located their position and quickly engaged. More than five hundred orcs rushed them while hundreds began to return the arrow fire. A dozen members of their rag tag group were killed instantly. Ovarrix, Kate and the rest dropped behind the tavern and sprinted into the distance. The orcs gave up chasing them after a short distance. They had delayed the attack on the keep by at least fifteen minutes. Ovarrix just hoped that the time they bought would be enough for Torgon.

  The force from Risk of Injury swiftly journeyed through the forest towards the monster siege camps. They paused to take stock of what lay before them and to develop a semblance of a plan. A series of cages holding people stood between them and the ritual circle. The circle itself had a person strapped to an altar and the magic was slowly draining their life force. Seven orc shamans channeled the energy into a seven-pointed star that rose above the magical symbols carved onto the ground. The ritual circle itself was behind a shimmering force barrier. Large numbers of orc soldiers protected the barrier generator which lay near the ritual circle.

  “I count about forty cages.” Hyperia continued to look at area where the prisoners are kept before continuing, “Only about half the cages still have people inside them. I don’t see any of them moving. I think they’re all players and they’re all logged out but the cages keep their characters in the game. I don’t see many guards and they’re all facing towards the city.”

  “Perfect, we’ll rush the cages, break them open then charge the barrier generator.” Torgon used hand signals to get everyone ready, fanning their forces out quietly before waving the rush forward. Everyone pushed forwards in a silent charge. Spells and arrows sought orc flesh, and they rapidly dropped the guards around the cages. The main body pushed forward towards the orcs guarding the mana shield generator while a small group smashed the cages open.

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  The guards at the barrier sounded horns to alert the orc army of the attack by the players. They formed a line between the group and the generator, selling their lives for time. The ground trembled with the approach of wolf riders summoned by the panicked guards. Allestor and Dusty crashed into the orc line, leading the wild charge. They fought with all their skills and abilities, burning their energy and mana in a desperate attempt to break through. The orcish line held fast. Tank abilities mitigated incoming damage, and their numbers were too great to do anything but whittle them down slowly.

  The team from the cages joined them with a surprise new addition. A bedraggled Sir Kelvin stood with them, using borrowed weapons. He nodded to Torgon and took his place in the line, fighting with fury and skill despite the suppression of the ritual circle. The wolf riders arrived, crashing headlong into the players. Despite their best efforts, Torgon and his people found themselves being pushed away from their goal. He burned through his supply of lightning arrows, stunning wolf riders, then swapped to frost, freezing many in place. Sadly, the special ammunition ran out quickly, leaving them to deal with a force that still outnumbered them.

  A towering orc, nearly ten feet tall, flanked by bodyguards over eight feet tall, loped onto the scene, barking commands to the other orcs locked in combat. He wielded a wicked spiked axe and roared a challenge as he dove into the lines. He killed several players engaged with other foes until Dusty managed to get his attention. She skillfully dodged the axe and swung her sword into his armor, inflicting cuts on his flesh.

  Healers supported Dusty and the front line stabilized again. The ranged attackers began to slowly trim the orc numbers down. Time was of the essence. They needed to make it to the barrier and bring it down before more orcs arrived here or the town center fell. The fight was too even and Torgon couldn’t think of a way to win without taking far too long.

  Inside Miller’s Crossing, the orc army with the support of zombies finally broke into the town keep. Sir Malik and his remaining knights stood at the forefront, giving their all to delay the orcish advance into the core chamber. If they failed, Miller’s Crossing would be lost. Ovarrix and Kate led their two dozen survivors into the rear of the orcs in a suicidal attack. Their only hope was to distract them or slow them down long enough to matter.

  Ovarrix and his force carved through over a dozen orcs before they finally noticed them. The fighting intensified into a swirling chaotic mess. He ducked under wild swings, stabbing low and slashing high against the orcs. Kate stayed near him, using her size to her advantage as she dropped orc after orc with attacks they couldn’t see coming. The end came for them soon. One of the orc leaders engaged Ovarrix in a one-sided duel, his superior size and strength batting aside Ovarrix’s superior skills. He caught a lightning bolt from an orc shaman that locked his muscles into place. The orc chieftain’s blade opened his throat and left him bleeding out on the stones of the entrance to the city keep. Kate dove at the shaman, impaling him on her sword before taking orc spears to her back. She died with a smile on her lips.

  The orc commander and Dusty were locked in a deadly dance. His heavy swings sought her out and she dodged them, putting her life at risk with every step. Ponderous overhead strikes from the axe thundered into the ground. Dusty skipped away, lightly flicking her blades into the orc. His attacks were too strong for her to commit to damaging the orc, but she kept him busy.

  Torgon fired arrows and directed the battle as much as he could. He noticed Steve approaching him and paused his attacks. “What is it Steve?”

  “Requesting permission to execute a cunning plan, Captain.” Steve saluted Torgon with a mischievous look in his eyes.

  Torgon narrowed his eyes, “Care to share what you have in mind Steve?”

  Steve nodded, a manic grin on his lips. “I plan on running into the generator and blowing it up. I have a bunch of flasks of alchemical oil and a few of the mana grenades left.”

  Torgon closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Permission granted, it’s not like we have any other options.”

  Steve cackled maniacally and started taking his clothes off.

  “Steve, what the hell? Why are you taking your clothes off,” Torgon asked incredulously.

  Steve shrugged, “It makes me faster.” Steve stripped down to his underpants and boots then took bandoleers of flasks of oil and draped them all over. He brought out mana grenades and attached them to the makeshift harnesses. “Now I just need a hole through the lines so I can make it to the generator.”

  “Perhaps I can be of assistance.” Sir Kelvin stepped forward, looking better now than he did at the start of the fight. “I’ll make a hole for you, then you can blow the bastards to hell.”

  Sir Kelvin led Steve to the orc line nearest the generator and attacked with reckless abandon. Torgon directed the ranged troops to concentrate their fire and break the line open. They just had to make a hole and not collapse before Steve could get through.

  Allestor broke away from killing regular orcs to support Dusty against the orc leader. He closed in and oozed pure aggression. He attacked relentlessly, ignoring defense completely, trusting Dusty to protect him. The orc leader was slowly forced to retreat step by step, making breathing room for the other players. The line stabilized and freed up more ranged attacks to blast into the orcs guarding the generator.

  Sir Kelvin decapitated an orc and kicked another in the chest, making it stumble backwards. He tackled one more orc, making a hole in their line that Steve darted through. Steve roared in maniacal joy as he ran straight towards the structure keeping the shield intact over the ritual circle. He yelled out, “For Kate!” as he dove onto the magical construct and ignited the mana grenade. He self-immolated in a mana fueled explosion that sent out shockwaves of force, knocking everyone flat.

  The shield over the ritual site collapsed and Sir Kelvin led the players from Risk of Injury into it. He gutted a shaman and attacked the site, breaking apart the mystical lines. The magic fueling the prime ritual was cut off at the source. Across the entire city, the casting winked out of existence. Sir Kelvin seemed to grow in that moment; the suppression had been destroyed. His full power returned, and he began rampaging through the orcs, engaging in wanton slaughter.

  Inside the city keep, Sir Malik and his surviving knights recovered their full abilities and pushed the tide back. They executed their much weaker foes with grim determination. Miller’s Crossing has been saved.