The scout nodded once, his hood pulled down low to almost cover his eyes. “Found you some gold, Commander.” The screen angled away from him to show a wall of sheer rock. A wide spot along its dark surface glittered with gold, its veined pattern spreading outward like roots.
I felt a rush of relief at the sight. “Oh, thank the Gaming Gods!” I said.
The scout put the screen on him. “Gaming Gods, or Y’godda,” he said with a shrug. “Who’s to know which?”
I actually laughed at his odd humor. “Well, I thank them both. Can you lead some workers to that spot?”
“Not needed,” the scout said. “It’s marked on the map.”
And so it was, a gold nugget icon at the very bottom of my map against the cliff line.
“Okay, please continue scouting the forest and see what else you can find. When you’re finished with the east forest, scout out the western one, too.”
The scout nodded and was about to turn away when I said. “Oh, and Mr. Scout.”
He looked at me expectantly.
“Good job!” I said with smile.
One corner of the scout’s mouth raised a little which I took for his version of a grin, then he closed the chat screen.
I looked to my status screen to see where things stood.
The wood situation was fine, so I opted to pull the worker unit from their chopping duties. I selected their icon from the map then tapped the gold vein icon, and a system message appeared
Build a Gold Mine at this location? Cost: 200 gold, 150 wood – Yes/No?
“Heck, yeah!” I said.
Immediately, the worker unit’s icon moved through the trees in the direction of the gold vein. It really annoyed me that I didn’t even have the 100 gold to hire my third worker unit to help out. But such are things when you are just starting out. Later, I hoped to have dozens of these units toiling away on buildings, mines, and defenses.
A worry tickled the back of my brain. I selected the half unit of footmen which had been guarding the woodyard. Then I assigned them to the gold vein. They moved as well, a short distance behind the worker unit.
This meager defense of the gold mine would have to do for now. I was just grateful the thing actually existed.
Another quick glance at the map overview of the base showed nothing else of note. Workers chipped away in the quarry, and the other half unit of footmen stood guard at the banner’s altar.
So if the gold mine is taken care of, did I still want to follow this path? Scouting north toward Amara’s base seemed the more prudent use of my time.
But as I turned to go, something further down the path caught my eye.
Cautiously, I approached.
The path ended at a small open space between the trees. In the middle of this little clearing was a massive ogre.
He was kneeling, head bowed down. His wrists were shackled and bound by chains to giant iron loops in the ground.
His armor was patchwork, exposing acres of green skin crisscrossed with scars.
Now what do we have here? I thought. The being was easily taller than me while kneeling and as wide as a supply wagon.
I called up its information.
Name: Grax
Unit: Champion
Race: Ogre
Hit Points: 500
Speed: 40
A former champion of Y’Godda’s army.
Cost to free: 1,200 Battle Points.
Whoa. Nice, but I couldn’t afford him at the moment. I’d need to kill more trolls to get there first. Or Amara, again.
I chuckled at the last thought.
Hearing me, the ogre tilted his head up and looked around.
“Who is there?” Grax grumbled. His voice was deep and resonant.
Figuring I was safe while he was chained I slipped out of my Shadow Form. “Hello,” I said.
The humanoid regarded me, then nodded. “You are the red commander,” he said. “Might you be here to free me from these chains?”
I shook my head. “Sorry, that will have to wait a little while. Can’t afford you.”
Grax suddenly pulled violently at his chains, causing me to take a couple of steps back. Man, was he big.
“I will fight for you, Commander. Of that there is no doubt. Enemies with be crushed and victory will be yours with me at your side.”
I held up a hand. “I don’t need any convincing, my friend. My army is in desperate need of a champion such as yourself. But the time is not right. I do promise to return and free you from your bounds.”
The green giant nodded. “I hope that you return soon. It has been ages since I’ve fought in battle and I crave the smell of blood and the sounds of agony!”
Laying it on a little thick, I thought. I’m already sold on him. Getting this guy on my side would be a priority. If for nothing more than to ensure Amara didn’t get him first.
I said, “Worry not, Champion. Your time for killing is close at hand. I will return soon.”
Before he could engage me with more of his sales pitch I waved and turned to leave.
“Blood and agony!” he bellowed. “The symphony of battle!”
Okay then, I thought and hurried back down the path.
A quick glance from the safety of the trees showed that the grassy plains were clear. I summoned Smoke and mounted up.
How many other Champions were hidden away on the map? With so much forest there could be several of them. And expensive to hire, too.
My attention went to my resource status line.
As I watched, the gold amount increased, making me smile. From my command menu I selected the Keep and bought my third unit of workers. Their icon instantly appeared by the Keep.
I then selected build Archery Range.
Build Archery Range. Cost 700 gold, 200 wood – Yes/No?
On a hunch I selected yes, and when I pointed at my map a tiny red square appeared. Perfect! I didn’t have to be actually present at the base to build things. This undoubtedly was meant to free players to take to the field as opposed to staying holed up in their base mico-managing everything.
I placed the range next to the barracks and assigned the new worker unit to it.
Then, from the barracks menu, I selected to train another unit of footmen. Now all my money was gone, and I had to wait.
I called up the Keep info screen again and grimaced at its upgrade requirements. The stone needed was steep, yet, without the upgrade, I couldn’t get more workers. I ordered the new worker unit to head to the quarry once the archery range was complete.
“By Y’Godda, it shall be done!” hollered the unit leader via chat with enthusiasm.
With my base management duties done for the moment, I turned Smoke north. We followed the curve of the plain’s direction to the northeast until the trees on the northern side stopped.
Here, a wide river cut across the plains from west to east until it vanished into the forest on the opposite side.
Directly in its middle was a wide stone platform, which formed a kind of bridge across the water. An altar sat at its center.
This was where I had to bring Amara’s banner.
Wary, I slowly approached. The flat ground I followed continued to the east then curved southward. On my map it looked like the southern section would make one big circle, with forest in the middle.
The scout suddenly reported in. “All done,” he said, expression serious.
From the map I could tell there had been nothing of note in the remainder of the forest which partially encircled the base.
“Okay, go here, please.” I tapped the forest line directly ahead of me, on the east side. “Stay hidden and watch for approaching enemies from the north.”