“Now, to make preparations…” Exile whispered to himself as other players returned from relaying their orders to the NPCs.
He pulled a stack of blank parchment towards himself and began writing orders for specific people. The first was for Winter. She was to lay waste to the Royal factions’ Jarls mentality who would remain behind. She was to invade their dreams and sow discontent for their gods and kings in their minds. This would attack their will to fight against the dwarves when they arrived.
The second was for Clay. He would take Burri, Old Un and Leggy with their troops through the Silverfang Pass to the far side of the mountains. From there, they were to discover the path used by Parthus before retreating a distance back towards the Silverfang Pass. Enough so that Parthus could not discern how many troops were there blocking the way. This way, any who survived would be reluctant to go in that direction and face another battle.
This would force them to retreat back towards the territories they had already claimed. Exile nodded as he thought about it. ‘This way, we won’t have to worry about him making another sneak attack into Stormcrown. And it will drive his tired army towards the Ruling Factions in that direction.’
For his plan to work, he felt the need to write instructions for the other leaders. Under no circumstances were they to cut off Parthus’ retreat back into the mountain path he was using. As a whole, they would surround him, but leave him a way out. If he retreated, they would chase and harass him. But not openly engage him. Just enough to keep his army tired and irritated.
He wrote another set of orders for the leader of the special operations. They were to find NPCs close to the ships that the Sommerdans had used to invade Skardia. He reasoned that their supplies for the war must be nearby, if not still on the ships. They were to seize half of these supplies for their own forces to relieve their own supply demands.
‘That should be enough to make them reconsider the invasion. Soldiers can’t fight on empty stomachs and they still have to consider the supplies needed for the voyage home.’ He drummed his fingers on the table as a smile spread across his face. ‘If we destroyed all of their supplies, it would make them desperate. Desperate enough to sack a city for fear of starvation.’
‘That can’t happen. We have to leave them a way out to gain a victory without extending the costs of the war. Whether in lives, property or maintenance of our own equipment.’ Exile sighed slightly as he thought more about what actually went into waging war. In Mayhem, it was everyone for themselves. Seizing whatever equipment they could and they were not to blame if their teammates fell behind.
However, here in Pantheon, he had to consider everything. Anything that could affect their overall power. He thought he understood that before but was realising he had not. Exile carefully considered everything that would be needed and where it had to be to make his strategy work. He carefully combed over every detail he could think of as he wrote out more orders.
When he was finished, he placed the orders in the hands of those who were to receive them personally. Many were confused, as they had specific allocations of where they were to have their NPCs set up their camps on arrival. However, when those who were really confused tried to question him, he only replied with silence.
Since they had no idea why they were placed there, they had no reason to complain about it. They could only trust that it was for a reason. It would take time for everyone to gather near the mountain range anyway. Some were bound to arrive before others, and it was almost certain that Parthus would clear the mountains before everyone could gather.
However, Exile had already planned for that. Which was why he staggered where they were to set up their camps. It was to deceive Parthus into believing that he was surrounded. While at the same time appearing weak. So he would not be surprised when they fell back towards another camp as the noose tightened around Parthus’ neck from all directions.
Once everyone was gathered, that would be when they would engage him fully. Only when victory was certain. Exile chuckled to himself as he thought about how his proposal of a united front against the invasion would draw the Ruling Faction warriors away from their homes and fortresses. Leaving them open for him to seize.
Meanwhile, Clay tracked down Aeri’s Pantheon and stood waiting for her to come to meet him. It was clear on the players’ faces that they did not want him there. However, Aeri had not sent him away. It took some time before she finally showed herself and cocked an eyebrow at him.
“You told my people you have a message for me from Exile? So? What does he want?”
Clay carefully handed over the sealed parchment and stood back. Waiting to see her reaction. At first, she seemed amused by what she read. However, her expression gradually turned solemn and then grim. Exile had chosen to disclose that they had seized a victory against the invasion in the Silverfang Mountains. However, he did not disclose the details.
He used that as the starting point to alert Aeri and the other rulers he had sent letters to about the large army that was about to breach further into Skardia. He went on to outline the benefits of setting aside their differences to take care of the external threat first. ‘I thought the same thing…’ Aeri was confused as to why he would be the first one to suggest it though.
‘This war helps to ensure that the rebels survive longer since we have to deal with something worse. The sooner it comes to an end, the sooner we can deal with them…’ She stayed silent for a few minutes as she considered the situation it would create. ‘If I send messages to the others, we can be prepared to wipe out the Rebel NPC armies as soon as we win.’
‘Exile states that he is going to throw everything he has at the invaders. As it’s the only way to make sure we win. So this will be the best chance to take care of him before he does anything else to mess up my plans.’ She eyed Clay carefully before making her decision. ‘The opportunity is too good to miss. We have to seize it and wipe away all of these Rebel Faction players.’
“You can tell Exile that Kaleidoscope shall cooperate. We agree that the Sommerdan invasion is a greater threat.” Aeri nodded as Clay bowed and removed himself from her presence. ．
She tapped her foot several times as she went over the outline that Exile had sent for the defence. It seemed like he wanted to show he was acting in good faith by giving difficult positions to his own alliance. Not only that, but the Rebel Alliance would end up taking the brunt of the first wave to slow down the Sommerdans enough for everyone else to gather.
“You!” Aeri glanced at one of the female players nearby. “Go to the other leaders and let them know that we’ll be going along will Exile’s plan. However, make sure they know that once the battle is over, we will all unite and wipe out the rebels.”
As the player rushed off, Aeri began to gloat. ‘You’ve made a grave mistake this time. This will be the end of you in Pantheon if I have anything to say about it!’ She let out a dark laugh as she barked orders to her Pantheon’s Officers. Setting the wheels in motion for the showdown with the Sommerdans.
Clay felt relieved as he visited each of the specific commanders that Exile had told him to. None of them seemed to have a problem with teaming up to take care of the threat. Which meant the alliance would not be in it alone. However, he did notice the same woman approaching each of them just as he left. ‘I’m sure she’s a member of Kaleidoscope… Wasn’t she there when I handed the message to Aeri?’
He had a bad feeling about it but decided to leave it to Exile. It was his plan, after all, so maybe he was already expecting something to happen. As he began to head back to The Raider’s Horn, he heard loud yelling coming from behind him. The woman who had been going in after him was thrown out of the building, landing on her back in the street. The Pantheon leader he had just spoken to stormed out after her, glaring in her direction.
“You better tell her that if she dares suggest this to me again, I’ll kill her myself!”