Thursday
Sep292011
Thursday, September 29, 2011 at 11:11AM War of Confusion by Ine
This time we would like to present a magnificent story that talks about a single warrior, attached to an only idea, stronger than the bones of the earth... written by one of our most loyal veteran players: Ine.
He frowned. What the hell was he doing here? The walk here must have taken many hours, but he couldn't remember a thing about it. Lost in thought again. He must have had some idea, a sudden flash of inspiration that had set his foot on this path, but he'd be damned if he could recall it.
Lord Barmed turned around to look at the surrounding hills and nearly tripped over the flag pole lying next to his pack. Ah yes. The flag. He stood up straight, braced himself, and planted the flag into the fertile ground, claiming Hollow Hills as his home.
***
"What the hell is he doing?" Everyone was asking that same question all over the Realm. Some were downright suspicious of Lord Barmed's actions, and not for the first time either. Over the years, he'd gained the reputation of being a maverick, capricious and untrustworthy. How that had happened, Barmed didn't quite know, because he'd always been deeply loyal to his friends. Surely it wasn't his fault that his friends were scattered across the Realm, fighting for different causes? And the ladies! Promethean, Unliving or Mythic, they all had a unique beauty, and just seeing one from a distance was enough to make him smile. Fighting alongside a beautiful woman, or getting beaten into a bloody pulp by one, made him the happiest man alive. He could see their loveliness even when no-one else did, and it angered him to see a lady treated ungallantly just because she had a pair of elven ears or uncannily glowing red eyes. Of course, the jealousy that was the natural byproduct of his cordial relationships with the many women of the Realm did nothing to enhance his reputation.
"What the hell does he think he's doing!" Angry voices surrounded Queen Nikilou's throne in East Ruins. This was the court of Celtic Warriors where Barmed had spent the last few months teaching the young engineers, helping them build their capital. And then he had suddenly left. Wasn't he supposed to be on their side? Nikilou sighed and looked out the window, her eyes lingering on the newly erected hero temple. She wished Lord Barmed had stayed longer, but she knew there was no stopping him once he got an idea into his head. All she could do was trust that his latest experiment wouldn't end up harming their effort to defeat the Wizards factions. At least he'd left them in good shape, with plenty of strong buildings. But Nikilou could see that most of her Warriors felt he'd abandoned them all.
"OK, what the hell is Barmed doing? Has he gone daft?"... "What do you mean, gone daft? He was daft to begin with." The topic of conversation at the Wizards headquarters in North Swamp wasn't any different from that at East Ruins. Maybe not as angry, but certainly as puzzled. Surely Lord Barmed didn't mean to try and actually compete with all the strong factions in the Realm? He'd even named his faction Army of One... now what kind of idiocy was that? Still, not really anything to worry about, there were bigger fish to fry. Barmed's actions had left the Celtic Warriors without their main engineer, and would distract the Knights of Shadows by placing an unallied faction right in their back yard. Abaddon, leader of the Wizards, could only see opportunities here.
The reaction from the Knights was the most straightforward, though. "What is he doing? Claiming OUR land? Building there? Kill him."
***
Lord Barmed hadn't expected such an uproar. Or well, maybe he did, but he just wanted to try out a thought he had. It wasn't meant to hurt anyone. Really, all he wanted to do was discover the exact materials needed for establishing a viable community outside settled lands. See if the environment could sustain a capital even without many workers to maintain it. And the hero temples... The requirements to summon one of the legendary heroes were so vaguely worded, there had to be an equation, some sort of rule to it. The Mythics would claim magic, the Unlivings would say sacrifice, and the Prometheans would as always blame everything on psywaves. But Barmed didn't believe in stories. He wanted evidence.
Despite the opposition from the other factions, the Hollow Hills reverberated day and night with the sounds of hammering, welding, and other assorted feats of engineering. The wizards, warriors, and knights all sent out parties to kill him or siege down his buildings, but as soon as they turned their backs on his dead body he resurrected himself from his stored neuroprint and continued building. It was all starting to get rather frustrating, and besides, what was the point? His shenanigans were distracting everyone from the real war. Over time, the hunting parties dwindled down to a few mavericks who dropped by for a bit of killing out of boredom or to check if their weapons were still working. With the fight in other parts of the Realm heating up, and legendary heroes from all races joining the fray, even those attacks soon stopped.
Which suited Barmed fine. He didn't want to spend time arguing with former allies over the Neuronet, or getting drawn into swordplay just for the sake of it, when there was work to be done. Being dead didn't lend itself to multitasking very well. Fortunately most of the women didn't mind that he never put his hammer down while giving them a warm smile and complimenting their dress or the shininess of their armour. Even if the banter was interrupted at times by a loud bang or two, at least he wasn't like the other men and their constant war talk.
***
"Hey, Ste... erm... remember Barmed?"
"That crazy old coot? Sure I do. Now please don't interrupt me, I'm trying to concentrate on this ritual here."
"Well, I don't know how to say this..."
"Bloody hell Choky! Got the words in the ritual messed up, looks like I've increased the hero's mind attack stats instead of his mind defense. Thanks a lot for distracting me. Now, what is so bloody important about Barmed?"
"I'm sorry Ste! Please don't be mad... I just thought you wanted to know that he's got a hero too."
"What?"
"He's got a hero. A Promethean one. And he's got people in his faction now but I don't think they're doing anything. But I thought I should tell you."
***
In hindsight, not even the gods could have predicted the events that unfolded. Somehow Barmed's ragtag army of stragglers and wanderers did what nobody had expected them to do: they held their ground. The hero they had called forth was none other than Master Resourcer Abot, who didn't seem that much of an offensive threat but nonetheless managed to survive week after week of attacks by other heroes and provided all the necessities for Barmed's scientific experiments.
Some accused Barmed of cheating, saying he could never have managed without some outside help, perhaps from the women he'd wooed in the past. Some even speculated that his followers weren't actual people, just mindless automatons. His faction would never survive the pitched battles ahead. Science was no match for strategic planning and overwhelming force.
Or was it?
***
He looked around at the abandoned city. Only a few short hours ago, Golden Abot had declared himself the victor of the War of Gods and his people had all gone to Shokan Lake to celebrate. Lord Barmed slowly sat down on a chunk of masonry lying close to a demolished refinery. He stared down at his hands. His hands had called forth a hero, just to see if he could. Just to see how it worked. Just to discover the truth. And now the course of the world would be changed forever...
Reader Comments (6)
I love it Ine It is great and describes that season perfectly!! It rocks! You rock!
I joined Barmed there and never expected us to win ,it was Amazing
Great story Ine love it !!
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