NOVEL NEXT Chapter 62: Planning
As night fell, Lucan, Silent Night, Sturdy Willow and several officers from the Windy Willow Gaming Organization met in the command tent.
"Our scouts have recorded the general layout of the fortresses outer layer." Said Sturdy while unrolling a hand drawn map on the table in the center of the tent.
Lucan waved his hand as the drawing transformed into a 3D model after he added the information that he and Silent procured.
"With our numbers, taking the fort in a day is impossible." Sturdy continued. "The day after tomorrow out main goal is to secure the main gate on this side of the mountain range and clear the outer perimeter."
"What sort of monsters will we be fighting?" Crafty Willow, one of the officers, asked.
"Our scouts reported several types of kobolds in the area, while they aren't the strongest monsters they are more intelligent than the average beast." Sturdy replied.
Crafty frowned. "This will be troublesome."
At this Lucan nodded. "Yes, Silent and I observed that they have a defined chain of command. Our attack may illicit a response from their central commanders located within the fortresses main halls."
"On top of that, we have also observed several drakes flying in and out of the main hall." Shifty Willow said. He was the officer in charge of the scouting teams.
"With both kobolds and drakes, its expected that all our enemies will have at least a bit of draconic heritage."
"Yes, excluding the graveyards." Shifty agreed. "The scouts who were able to lay eyes on the southern graveyard reported seeing over 100 ghouls roaming the area."
"I know you are all worried that we have bitten off more than we can chew but do no fret." Sturdy interrupted. "We are not fighting a war. We are simply capturing a fortress. It is unlikely that they have reinforcements elsewhere. Even if we have to retreat every night it is not a big deal. We are fighting monsters, not players. Every enemy we kill is one less enemy to fight the next day."
At this the officers nodded.
Sturdy Willow continued. "The day after tomorrow our goal is to infiltrate the front gate, disable it if necessary and cleanse the southern graveyard. If we can set up defensive positions we will, if not we will retreat back to our current location. You will be given your individual tasks tomorrow. Any questions?"
Every shook their heads.
"Good, we attack at dawn the day after tomorrow once Lucan and Silent Night log back in. Have your subordinates ready to move out at 5 AM." Sturdy said while leaving the command tent. "Lucan, Silent, follow me."
The warlock and rogue follow Sturdy to the center of the encampment. "You both will be staying here." He said stopping in front of a large tent. "Don't wander off without informing one of the officers."
"Oh wow." Silent muttered. "What a fancy tent." She remarked.
"Of course, whoever pays the bills gets the best treatment." Sturdy replied. "I will be in the command tent if you need me before you log off." He said before heading back to where the meeting was previously held.
Lucan and Silent Night entered one after the other.
The massive tent was divided into several rooms, each lit up by magical lamps. Inside, the tent was completely furnished with 2 bedrooms, a living room, an office and even a crafting room.
Silent immediately pushed past Lucan and went to check out the various rooms.
Lucan sat down on a chair beside a magical lamp and pulled out one of the new formation books he had gotten from Frantic Willow.
Silent came back into the living room with a grin on her face.
"What's got you so happy?" Lucan asked.
"The bathroom even has an enchanted bathtub. I want to try it out."
"Go for it." Lucan said while picking his book back up.
He could see a playful pout spread across her face. "Aren't you going to offer to wash my back?"
Lucan's book tumbled from his hand as he showed a shocked expression.
Silent giggled as she walked closer to him and picked up his book. She placed it back in his hand while leaning in to whisper.
"I am just kidding." She softly said. "We don't have that kind of relationship… yet." She said before giving him a quick peck on the cheek and running out of the room before he could say anything else.
Lucan sat there dazed with a grin on his face as he listened to the water filling up the tub in the next room.
Silent Night blushed with embarrassment. She had never teased anybody like that before. It was normally Lucan who always playfully teased her and flirted with her. She slowly got into the tub and thought about how he was the only person who had ever made her heart flutter.
She wanted to get his real contact information outside of the game but always held back because he had mentioned they shouldn't talk about their lives outside of the game. She had made up her mind that even if Lucan was an ugly 300-pound loner, it wouldn't matter because she truly enjoyed his personality and loved the time they spent together.
She was determined to tease him until he wanted to talk to her in real life. It was likely that they wouldn't be living anywhere near each other, but they could still talk and text each other when they were outside of the game, and she wouldn't have a boyfriend in the game unless he talked to her outside the game as well.
She sank further into the water while getting lost in her thoughts and blowing bubble in the water.
"Silent?" Lucan called from outside the bathroom.
With a splash she sat up. "What is it?" She asked nervously.
"I am logging out. I will see you later."
"Oh, okay. See ya." She sighed in relief. She was happy he didn't try to peek inside; she was also a little upset by it. She settled back down into the water.
"Oh yeah, don't forget to scrub all your curvy parts clean. I can help you check when I get back. If you scrub too hard, I will help you put ointment on them later."
Her face turned red and before she could respond she noticed his name under her friends list turned grey, signifying he was offline.
"Pervert." She mumbled while smiling and picking up the soap rag and starting to scrub up.
***
Brax opened up his pod and got out to start the day. With Silent's tricks he knew there was no way he would be able to keep reading while she was splashing around in the bath, so he decided to log off a little early.
After his shower, when he was about to make breakfast his phone started ringing.
*Ring* *Ring* *Ring*
"Hello."
"Brax, your uncle said you were planning on visiting soon. Why haven't you set up a time yet?"
"Aunt Marie, good to hear from you."
"Are you coming today? Start packing and get over here boy. It's been too long since I have been able to spoil you. Chris and Derek never want to hang out with their lovely mother ever since we moved to the west coast. When is your flight scheduled? It has been to long since we last talked."
"Calm down auntie, I will visit soon. I haven't even booked a flight, how could I come today?"
"What!?! You haven't even booked a flight yet. Is it because you don't want to see me?" She playfully whined.
"How could that be. I will book a flight today and I will head over in the next month or 2."
"No, no, no you can't make me wait that long, you must do better."
"Alright, alright, I will see what's available and fits in my budget."
"Don't make excuses. Ever since your uncle got promoted, we have access to one of the company's planes. Pick a date within the next week and they will fly you over."
"Whoa, Uncle is such a big shot now."
"He, he, he, that's right. We are even in the best neighborhood in the area. Just a couple days ago Chris was telling me about how her idol moved in a few streets over. Some videogame lady, Heaven Hug or something like that."
"Heaven's Kiss?" Brax immediately asked.
"Yeah, that's it. Wait don't tell me you are one of her love-struck fans too?"
"No way, I would never date that woman, not for all the money in the world."
"What, but she is so pretty. Does this mean you finally have a girlfriend? Or is there someone you like?"
"Auntie, I will tell you if I get a girlfriend, you don't need to ask."
Brax could hear a squeal of joy on the other side of the line. "That means that you have someone you like."
"Mmm, her sister. Send the plane, I will come tomorrow."
He could hear another squeal. "That's great you must introduce me. I am arriving at the club now, I will ask around and find out about Heaven's sister. I will arrange your flight, text me anything you want in the guest house and I will make sure your uncle gets it for you." She hung up before Lucan could say anything else.