Rydel leaned carefully around the large tree trunk in front of him and surveyed the fort in the distance. Out of all of the mistakes he had made thus far, failing to kill the man responsible for Quinton’s death made Rydel the angriest. The NPCs didn’t try to talk him down. In fact, Rydel thought they almost looked relieved when he asked Casey to track the man down so he could finish the job.

He could see it in their eyes. His pain. It was reflected back at him like a mirror that only served to fan the flames in his chest. Rydel got the feeling that the NPCs would have gone after the lone survivor even if he didn’t. From the intensity of their reactions, one might assume that the NPCs really liked Quinton, but Rydel knew better. It was strange how little they actually cared about the victim. They seemed solely focused on how it affected Rydel and no further. Quinton deserved better. He was a good person. A good friend. If anyone was to bring justice to Quinton’s killer it should be the one person who actually cared about him. At least, that’s what Rydel told himself.

“We can not afford to underestimate our opponents ever again.” He spoke softly with the firm knowledge that the six NPCs hiding nearby could hear him clearly. “Even if they appear weak they could be carrying a rare magical item that can turn the tides against us. Understood?”

“Yes, master.” Six voices replied quietly.

The smart thing to do would be to infiltrate the fort, locate Quinton’s murderer, and teleport him and the team away before anyone knew they were there. Several of the NPCs, even Rydel himself, had very high level abilities that lended well to sneaking in and out of areas undetected. Plus if they extracted the mystery man they could probe him for information. He was the one with the rare magical item after all. They could learn about his group, his magical knowledge, and the reason behind the attack. Objectively, that was the right plan.

Rydel wasn’t in the mood for the ‘right plan’ at the moment.

“Casey.” A slight breeze was the only indication Rydel had that the invisible rogue was at his side. “I want you to get onto the wall and see if there is any long range weaponry we should be worried about. Magical weapons, cannons, ballistas, whatever. Report back to me when you’ve finished.”

“Understood.” The quiet girl said firmly.

The breeze brushed past Rydel once more signaling the departure of the party’s stealth expert.

“Everyone else, on me. We’re going to get closer.” Rydel waited until his party was within range before casting his spell. “Pass Without Trace.”

While not as effective as an invisibility spell, Rydel’s choice was far cheaper while still being effective at longer ranges. A shimmering effect very similar to a mirage you’d see in a desert appeared in a large circle around Rydel. As long as his team stayed within the circle, they would be extremely hard to spot from afar as the mirage would show a slightly hazy image of whatever was behind them. This would serve as a good test of the perception abilities of the human sentries that manned the distant fortification.

A max level character would have been able to spot Rydel and his NPCs from the moment they stepped out of the treeline. So the fact that the party was able to make it halfway through the field without so much as drawing any of the eyes that were constantly scanning around told Rydel everything he needed to know about the defenders.

A figure appeared on the turret to the left of the main gate. Even from this distance Rydel could recognize it as Casey. Though her unique armor set allowed her to cast invisibility at will, Casey had to break invisibility any time she wanted to cast another spell.

“What is she doing?” Xaundra hissed. “She’s going to get spotted!”

Rydel lifted his hand to silence her. “The only reason she would reveal herself is if she were confident that no one was a threat around her. She probably needed to cast a detection spell.”.

Actually, I don’t know that for sure. Rydel frowned. I said that because that’s what Alex, her player, and myself would have her do. Does she know that? Or is this her own decision? Maybe she’s not even casting a spell at all and revealing herself was simply a mistake.

Casey was only visible for a few seconds before she vanished. Rydel glanced at the NPCs standing around him and realized once again that these were real people making real decisions. At least, that’s what he’d come to believe.

If that is indeed the case, Rydel shifted in place nervously as he thought, Then what if a day comes when they stop wanting to take orders from me? I’ve just been marching them around and sending them off on tasks like I used to when I played Neo Cosmos alone. What if…

“I’ve returned, Master.” Casey’s voice brought Rydel out of his thoughts and back to the present.

“Oh, right.” Rydel still couldn’t see her, but he felt her presence a few feet to his left. “What did you see?”

“I did a full sweep of the walls and a bit of the interior. I firmly believe there is no one on or around the walls that would be a threat to us. I also used a spell to confirm the presence of the one who attacked you, master. He appears to be in a medical chamber located inside the main structure.”

Rydel nodded. “That’s good. Casey I want you to remain invisible and take up position on the opposite side of the fortress in case anyone tries to escape. Don’t let them.”

“Yes, master.”

“Wait!” Rydel called out before she could leave.

“I-is something wrong, master?” Casey’s voice trembled slightly.

Rydel frowned as he tried to formulate his thoughts. No one liked a leader who didn’t acknowledge his or her team’s hard work. Rydel could tell the NPCs had a strong attachment to him. He had to be careful not to get too complacent and allow that bond to weaken or fail.

“Nothing is wrong I just…” Rydel felt his face flush slightly from embarrassment. “Thank you for… You know doing what I asked. I appreciate it.”

Casey was so shocked at his words that she became visible. The ninja’s dark cheeks were brightened considerably and she had unmatched joy in her green eyes.

“Of course!” Casey’s head nearly hit the ground as she bowed as low as she could. “I’ll be leaving now.”

With a puff of smoke, Casey disappeared once more.

“Ahem.”

Rydel turned to find Elizabeth poking the ends of her pointer fingers together cutely.

“That goes for all of you.” Rydel gave all of the NPCs a genuine smile. “Thank you.”

The glowing adoration from all of his companions returned in full force. Deciding they had wasted enough time, he dropped Pass Without Trace. Cries of alarm sounded almost immediately as the mirage around Rydel’s party fell away. Again, Rydel knew there were probably other, subtler ways of going about this, but he had already decided upon a plan.

An early event in Neo Cosmos revolved around siege battles. While the normal PvP encounters in the game revolved around much smaller 2v2 encounters, the siege battles were massive team on team events. This event had a unique selection of spells that players could earn through participating. One of the highest spells that players could learn revolved around fortification destruction. The high level spell was extremely flashy, had a bit of casting time to it, and was easily interrupted, but it quickly became the go to strategy offensive teams would use to breach the outer defenses.

Rydel retrieved Divine Right from his inventory. The red gold bow had the unique ability to amplify any destruction based magic fired from its string. Though the amplification only amounted to a single spell level, the effects were still powerful enough to keep it in Rydel’s favored arsenal. Rydel didn’t bother equipping arrows, the spell would provide the projectile for him.

Rydel reached within and started to cast his magic. A part of him knew that he didn’t need to cast it at its maximum level, but the rest of him didn’t care.

I told everyone not to underestimate our opponents. That’s what I’m doing. Rydel told himself. This is for Quinton. Right?

“Oh light that guides my hand, give unto me this one demand.”

Small orbs of light appeared around Rydel as he chanted the spell’s incantation.

“My foes hide in walls of stone, the seeds of destruction already sown.”

Rydel pulled Divine Right’s string back and the orbs began to congregate at the end.

“Bring thy wrath upon their head, leave nothing there but waking dead.”

The light elongated into an arrow and Rydel readied the shot.

“Defender’s Bane.”

The spell’s own name served as the final piece of the incantation. Rydel released the string and the bolt flew free. There was no arch, no indication that the magical arrow lost any momentum as it traveled. Quite the opposite actually. Rydel watched the arrow gain speed before slamming directly into the thick steel doors that served as the fort’s main entryway. What Rydel couldn’t have expected was how effective his attack would be.

The siege battles in Neo Cosmos had small energy shields and magical protections that were fueled by the defending magic users. As long as the defending team’s magical reserves held out, those protections served to lessen the impact of the attacking team’s ranged assaults. Fort Zorhta had no such protections. A max level Defender’s Bane, amplified by his Divine Right weapon, meant that Fort Zorhta felt the impact of a destruction spell over level ten.

The outer wall on Rydel’s side was gone in an instant. Ruble flew high in the air in all directions. The inner structures were flattened. Mostly by the offensive spell, but also by the massive stone walls that fell back to earth and crushed anything beneath them. Only the back section of the wall shielded by the keep maintained any height, but to say the walls over there were intact would be an overstatement.

Jade held up a slender arm and conjured a large magical shield over the party’s head. A few smaller pieces of debris struck the shield and bounced off. Jade’s face remained impassive at the impacts and maintained the protective shell until the last stone from the fort had fallen.

“Well.” Rydel coughed as the dust settled around them. “That takes care of that.”