distance and fire down at Ree, fish-in-a-very-hot-barrel-style. Keep moving. That armor’s around here somewhere, right? Ree pulled up the details from the last time she and Charlie had talked about the game during a Café Xombi shift a couple weeks back.
Ree searched the volcano cavern, looking for the golden chest that would contain the level’s best artifact, a suit of lava armor able to turn aside both fire damage and the attacks of an Incarnate.
“But it only shows up after a hundred minion deaths, so you can’t just go sprinting for the loot,” Charlie had said. The memory shook loose as she jumped over a chasm, bubbling lava just feet from her boots.
With Lucretia’s rampage, it might not take long for the kill counter to grow that high. The sound of charging magic echoed down the cavern, and Ree looked up to see the chasm filling with fire. Ree raised her staff for another Shield spell.
The protective dome turned aside Lucretia’s magic.
For a second.
The spell’s upkeep zeroed out Ree’s mana pool, and then fizzled with the pathetic sound of spent carbonation.
She felt a moment of intense heat, and then nothing.
The world reset after a flash of white.
First point went to Lucretia.
1–0.
Ree respawned at another part of the battlefield, away from her original muster point. She stood on the bloodied field, beside a freshly-spawned group of cavalry.
“Friendly caster!” their leader said, acknowledging her as the skirmishers had done before.
Ree made for the head of the column. “We have an enemy Incarnate, which means we need to fight smart!” Her Incarnation pool was two-thirds full, close enough to shape how she could play this life.
Ree paid into the pool again with Haste spells, increasing the cavalry’s speed even more. Then she levitated her way up to a horse, riding behind one of the cavalrywomen.
“Up and to the right—we’re going to come at her from behind and above, charge down that hill!” Cavalry had limited usefulness on this level, since the ground was so uneven. But there were a couple of pathways where they could build up to charging speed, and that hill was one of them.
Ree looked at her mini-map and saw two other squads on that path, along with an enemy unit. In the distance, Lucretia and her armies dominated the center of the battleground.
The cavalry charged their way through the narrow path, each step carrying them farther and faster than it should, thanks to her buff. Her mana pool refilled, slowly. She needed to rack up some kills if she was going to keep up these buffs.
Around the corner was a unit of pikemen.
“Fucking great,” Ree said. Pikemen were the rock to the cavalry’s scissors in the balancing act of the game.
Again, it’d be up to Ree to lead. She had the chance to strike first, since the pikemen needed to be dug in to properly break the cavalry’s charge.
Ree tapped out her mana pool for another burst of fireballs, crisping nearly half the pikemen and clearing the way for her unit. Their numbers reduced and the remaining ones flailing around in DoT-land, the cavalry broke the pikemen with only a few casualties.
Beyond, they met up with a trio of Treefolk, freshly respawned. The Treefolk gave a Harrooo! in greeting and fell into step. Ree cast Haste again, bringing the molasses-slow elementals up to human infantry speed.
With two strong units now at her back, Ree forged ahead, making her way to the center of the field. Her Incarnate spell was almost ready.
Payback time , Ree thought, urging the cavalry forward.
Ree charged down the hill with her troops, Treefolk forming a wedge at the front, which her cavalry split around to strike at the corners. Her cavalry trampled over a unit of skirmishers, and was plowing their way through heavy infantry when Lucretia turned her attention to this side of the battle. She dissolved the ground beneath the cavalry. Horses and riders alike fell, breaking legs and shattering spears. Ree jumped off her
Ree searched the volcano cavern, looking for the golden chest that would contain the level’s best artifact, a suit of lava armor able to turn aside both fire damage and the attacks of an Incarnate.
“But it only shows up after a hundred minion deaths, so you can’t just go sprinting for the loot,” Charlie had said. The memory shook loose as she jumped over a chasm, bubbling lava just feet from her boots.
With Lucretia’s rampage, it might not take long for the kill counter to grow that high. The sound of charging magic echoed down the cavern, and Ree looked up to see the chasm filling with fire. Ree raised her staff for another Shield spell.
The protective dome turned aside Lucretia’s magic.
For a second.
The spell’s upkeep zeroed out Ree’s mana pool, and then fizzled with the pathetic sound of spent carbonation.
She felt a moment of intense heat, and then nothing.
The world reset after a flash of white.
First point went to Lucretia.
1–0.
Ree respawned at another part of the battlefield, away from her original muster point. She stood on the bloodied field, beside a freshly-spawned group of cavalry.
“Friendly caster!” their leader said, acknowledging her as the skirmishers had done before.
Ree made for the head of the column. “We have an enemy Incarnate, which means we need to fight smart!” Her Incarnation pool was two-thirds full, close enough to shape how she could play this life.
Ree paid into the pool again with Haste spells, increasing the cavalry’s speed even more. Then she levitated her way up to a horse, riding behind one of the cavalrywomen.
“Up and to the right—we’re going to come at her from behind and above, charge down that hill!” Cavalry had limited usefulness on this level, since the ground was so uneven. But there were a couple of pathways where they could build up to charging speed, and that hill was one of them.
Ree looked at her mini-map and saw two other squads on that path, along with an enemy unit. In the distance, Lucretia and her armies dominated the center of the battleground.
The cavalry charged their way through the narrow path, each step carrying them farther and faster than it should, thanks to her buff. Her mana pool refilled, slowly. She needed to rack up some kills if she was going to keep up these buffs.
Around the corner was a unit of pikemen.
“Fucking great,” Ree said. Pikemen were the rock to the cavalry’s scissors in the balancing act of the game.
Again, it’d be up to Ree to lead. She had the chance to strike first, since the pikemen needed to be dug in to properly break the cavalry’s charge.
Ree tapped out her mana pool for another burst of fireballs, crisping nearly half the pikemen and clearing the way for her unit. Their numbers reduced and the remaining ones flailing around in DoT-land, the cavalry broke the pikemen with only a few casualties.
Beyond, they met up with a trio of Treefolk, freshly respawned. The Treefolk gave a Harrooo! in greeting and fell into step. Ree cast Haste again, bringing the molasses-slow elementals up to human infantry speed.
With two strong units now at her back, Ree forged ahead, making her way to the center of the field. Her Incarnate spell was almost ready.
Payback time , Ree thought, urging the cavalry forward.
Ree charged down the hill with her troops, Treefolk forming a wedge at the front, which her cavalry split around to strike at the corners. Her cavalry trampled over a unit of skirmishers, and was plowing their way through heavy infantry when Lucretia turned her attention to this side of the battle. She dissolved the ground beneath the cavalry. Horses and riders alike fell, breaking legs and shattering spears. Ree jumped off her
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