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“Oh yeah!” cried Kat as she caught the shovel and pumped her fist in the air.
“You’re right, Ben! We’re gonna win ’cause we’re awesome, unstoppable, and, most important, we’ve got me! So let’s go!” cried DZ, just as the mechanical door swung open. DZ rushed out, followed quickly by Ben and Kat. All three of them were hyped up, and the crowd greeted them with raucous applause. Kat’s eyes adjusted to the bright light of the open-skied Spleef arena, and her jaw dropped.
Inside the fifty-by-fifty-block arena, surrounded on all sides by screaming fans, was a bona fide forest. Trees sprouted from the flat dirt ground, which Kat knew to be only a block thick. The trees covered a good portion of the arena. It would lead to various trapping and ambush techniques by the two teams.
Kat was shocked. It was her third official Spleef match, but this was by far the most complex arena she had seen. In their preliminary match, the arena had been the standard level surface constructed of snow blocks. Kat had liked that arena. Breaking the snow blocks had yielded snowballs, which Kat had thrown to great effect, knocking two of her opponents into the pit below.
The object of Spleef was pretty simple. In a fifty-by-fifty-block arena, with the floor only one block thick, two teams fought to knock each other into the pit below by destroying the floor and knocking their opponents into the holes using shovels and snowballs. The last team with a player standing won.
Kat, Ben and DZ, the three members of the Zombie team, had easily managed to take out the Wolves in the qualifying round. However, they had barely notched a victory against the Ghasts on a tundra field in the preliminary round. Now, in their quarterfinal round against the Blazes, they would be fighting in a forest.
Kat heard the tell-tale creak and click of the iron door swinging shut behind her, indicating that the match had officially begun. As was her pre-game strategy, she focused on the environment around her, completely ignoring the open blue skies above and the cheering of the fanatic crowds. She only allowed herself to be aware of the woodland that had been constructed around her and the two players at her side. They were now the only players she could trust until she left the arena.
Suddenly, the sky turned black, and all was silent. She had tapped into some primordial survival instinct, and now imagined herself standing in a silent forest at night. Somewhere in these woods were evil monsters, all working for a team called the Blazes. The only way for her to escape was to take them down with the help of her friends beside her.
Kat realized that DZ was motioning her and Ben forwards. As he was their team leader, Kat followed his order. She trailed DZ into the maze of trees, aware that Ben was watching her back. Kat was confident following DZ into the arena. He was a fantastic leader and had a ton of knowledge about Spleef strategy, built up from playing professionally back before the game was banned. While the other teams used the strategy of spreading out, DZ had explicitly told them that the best strategy was to stick together and watch one another’s backs.
Suddenly, Ben cried out in alarm, and Kat spun her head towards the source. A player, clad in bright orange leather armour, had burst around the side of the nearest tree, bringing his shovel down onto the dirt block beneath Kat’s feet. She leaped backwards as the block broke, revealing a pit of water below. Ben lunged forwards and swung his shovel across the assailant’s chest.
As Kat regained her footing, she became aware of DZ locking shovels with a second member of the Blazes and quickly overpowering him. Kat turned and saw both Ben and the other Blaze fall to the ground at the same time. Kat stepped forwards and drove her shovel into the block beneath the fallen Blaze, sending him tumbling into the pit below. She quickly turned back to DZ and saw that he had caught the other Blaze off guard, opening a hole in the ground behind him and kicking him into it.
Kat was jubilant. They were up three to one, with only one more Blaze standing between them and the semifinals. As the applause died down, Kat followed DZ’s motion for a team huddle.
“All right you guys, good work so far, but I think it’s time to switch our strategy. Execute Operation Zombie Swarm.”
“Right,” replied Kat and Ben in unison, and they spread out around the edge of the arena and eventually lost sight of one another. In Operation Zombie Swarm, they would all hunt the remaining Blaze separately. If they found him, they would play defence and call in their teammates for backup.
Kat quietly snuck forwards through the trees, her ears perked up, tuning out the roar of the crowd to listen for any unnatural noises that indicated an impending attack. Her eyes scanned the gaps between the trees. Suddenly, she caught a flash of orange behind one of the pillars of wood before it hastily disappeared. Wasting no time, Kat called out to her teammates and sprinted after the orange form. Kat burst into the clearing where she was sure the player had gone, but it was deserted.
Kat only had a moment to consider what to do next before someone crashed into her side, and she hit the ground tumbling. Dazed, she pulled herself up in time to see the dirt beneath Ben’s feet bursting into nothing as he fell into the pit below. An orange figure was standing there, shovel in hand. It was Ben who had knocked Kat out of the way, even though it meant falling into the pit below himself.
Kat hopped up and attacked the remaining Blaze with a shovel, just as DZ burst from behind a tree and did the same. This Blaze was exceptionally skilled, as he dodged both attacks and then swung his shovel into DZ. By the time Kat had recovered from her missed attack, the Blaze had tricked DZ. He took one wrong step and plunged into the same hole that Ben had fallen into.
Kat gritted her teeth, determined not to lose, and rushed at the remaining Blaze. She leaped into the air just as the player destroyed the dirt block beneath her. Kat reached out her left hand and tackled the Blaze to the ground, pinning him beneath her. In his daze, the player was powerless to stop Kat as she brought her diamond shovel up in her right hand, and in two jabs destroyed the dirt below them. Kat kicked off the player’s stomach, forcing him downwards to join Ben, DZ, and the two other Blazes as Kat landed safely on the soil above.
The match now over, Kat took in the tumultuous applause from the crowd around her. She waved to them all, a huge grin breaking across her face. From the pit below, she heard the hoots and cheers of Ben and DZ, praising their teammate for her victory.
Oh man, thought Kat as the glow of victory radiated from her face like sunbeams. Three matches down, two to go!
Stan was now well below the stands, but he could still hear the sound erupting from the crowd above. Stan and Charlie had to push their way through gaggles of fanatic Zombie fans to get to Kat, DZ and Ben.
“That was easily one of the most awesome things I’ve ever seen,” said Stan, images from the match still flashing through his head.
“I know, right?” said Charlie. “I mean, I get that we’re busy and all, but was that really the first time you’ve ever come to one of these matches? Stan, you signed the paper that made the place!”
“Well, I’ll tell you this, Charlie, I’m definitely coming to every one of these matches from now on.”
Charlie laughed. “Man, you haven’t seen anything yet! You know, last time they played, in the match against the Ghasts …” And Charlie and Stan spent the rest of the walk down the corridor talking about the previous matches.
“And right as DZ was about to— Hey, guys!” shouted Charlie as he entered the room and rushed over to greet his friends. Stan followed closely behind. G and Kat released each other from their hug and beckoned the two new arrivals over to them, while DZ, Ben and his brother Bill walked over, followed closely by Bob, who sat on the back of a pink pig.
Stan, like all his friends, felt that Bob was very lucky to be alive at all. During the battle in which Stan had defeated King Kev, which was now commonly known as the Battle for Elementia, Bill and Bob had engaged Caesar, who had been King Kev’s right-hand man and was an exceptional sword-fighter, in combat. They had failed to defeat him, and Caesar would have killed Bob had Kat not intervened. Instead, the sword strike intended to kill Bob destroyed his kneecap and severed his leg from his body.
Luckily, Bill and Ben had used their entire supply of Potions of Regeneration to reattach Bob’s leg, and he had regained very limited use of it. However, it had quickly become evident that Bob would never walk again. That didn’t stop Bob from serving alongside his brothers as a police chief of Element City, though. He now followed Ben, Bill and DZ over to Stan, Charlie, Kat and G on the back of Ivanhoe, his trusty war pig, which had been saddled and was controlled with guidance through carrots.
Although one might think Bob wasn’t the same warrior he’d been, nothing could be further from the truth. He could shoot his bow just as well on pigback as he could on foot, and the pig was swift and adaptable to rough terrains. Bob had quickly gained renown as the fastest and most pliable officer on the force, a nightmare to any criminal who gave them chase.
“Nice match, guys!” said Charlie.
“Yeah, guys, that match was one of the most awesome things I’ve ever seen,” added Stan.
“Eh, thanks, guys,” said Kat. “Nice of you to finally come down to see one of the matches, Stan,” she added with a smirk.
“Hey, you know I’ve been up to my neck in work since the campaign began,” said Stan, being playfully defensive. “I tell you, though, from now on I’m making it a priority to come to each and every one of these matches.”
“Good to hear,” said Ben, butting in between them with DZ and the other two police chiefs at his side. “Now is it just me, or did I hear someone say party at the castle courtyard?”
“Nobody said that, Ben,” added Kat with a laugh.
“Oh, well then, I guess it was just me thinking it,” said Ben, grinning. “But now that it’s out there, we might as well go and do it. Come on, guys!” He led his brothers and DZ out of the room and into a corridor that would take them into the courtyard to be received by their adoring fans.
Kat gave a laugh and called out, “Wait up, Ben!” She ran to catch him, followed by G, who had been at Kat’s side the whole time and was now following her at a determinedly close distance. Stan and Charlie glanced at each other, and both rolled their eyes at G’s clinginess before following the other five players.
Stan never failed to be amazed at how fast the Imperial Butlers prepared meals at his whim. Even now, when Stan ordered them to prepare enough cake, cookies, and pumpkin pie for a victory party, it was all prepared and set out on ornate tables within a matter of minutes. Stan had personally been in favour of getting rid of the Imperial Butlers, as the organization had originally been created for catering to the desires of King Kev. However, the council had surveyed the people of the city and voted that they deserved the service of the butlers, provided the butlers were paid well.
Stan was certainly glad that the butlers were here, now that the festival was shifting into full gear. He looked around and saw that his people were in the highest of spirits, with more players streaming into the courtyard and immediately partaking in the dancing and feasting. Stan saw Ben and Bill cheering on Bob, who had somehow managed to teach Ivanhoe the pig how to do the moonwalk as the music blasted from the nearest jukebox. Kat and G were mingling with people, Kat holding a feather quill in her hand and signing autographs for fans of the Zombies. She seemed to be thoroughly enjoying her newfound fame as a Spleef athlete.
“Eh, this is a nice little shindig ya got goin’ here, Stan,” came a voice from behind him. DZ had come up to Stan, pumpkin pie in both hands, with Charlie following.
“Yeah. I wouldn’t be surprised if people supported the Zombies now just so that there are more victory parties like this,” Charlie said.
“Very true,” said Stan. “So, DZ, how does it feel to finally get back in the Spleef arena?”
“Awesome, man!” came DZ’s enthused reply. “I mean, I think it’s been coming for a long time, but I really owe you one, Stan. I think the new rules for Spleef are a million times more fun than the old ones – even if you do make us wear armour,” he added with a smirk.
“It’s a necessary evil, DZ, you know that. I made the shovel techniques legal, just like you asked, but the council—”
“Yeah, I know, the council insisted on armour,” DZ finished for him, waving his hand. “I’m just joshing ya, Stan, you know how grateful I am for you doing all of this. And I gotta say, I am very, very happy with my new teammates.”
“Yeah, they do seem to be enjoying it,” said Stan, jerking a thumb towards Kat, who was now being approached by two boys and a girl, all of whom were wearing green Zombie uniforms and asking her to sign them.
“OK, OK, don’t worry, plenty of me to go around,” said Kat with a laugh as she pulled out her quill and brought it down towards the chestplate.
Stan felt a chill on the back of his neck, and he knew immediately that something was wrong. He could tell by the widening of G’s eyes that G could sense it too. As a sword appeared in the fan’s hand, G whipped out his pickaxe and knocked the blade aside. The fan’s sword, which would have pierced Kat in the stomach, instead stuck into the ground, and G’s pickaxe slammed across the fan’s head, knocking him to the ground.
Kat’s sword was out of her inventory in a flash as the second fan-turned-assailant whipped out a bow and arrow. Kat slashed the bow in half before the player could fire, just as the third assailant pulled a green potion out of her inventory and threw it at G’s head. Kat struck the flying bottle out of the air with her sword and the bottle exploded, spraying G and herself with poison. Two slashes later, all three of the fans lay unconscious on the ground.
Stan’s senses kicked into overdrive as all over the courtyard, figures hastily pulled black tunics and caps on. Fifteen figures throughout the crowd pulled swords from their inventories, which swiftly changed to the same colour as their tunics. In unison, the figures raised the black swords in the air and belted out, “VIVA LA NOCTEM!”
Stan immediately recognized that, whatever this was, it was not random. This was planned, this was organized, and this was dangerous. The figures surged forwards and converged towards the centre of the courtyard. The partygoers sprinted away from the black-robed figures, screaming in terror. Stan reached into his inventory and slung his bow across his back, put his quiver of arrows at his side, and held his diamond axe in his hands. He saw that two of the figures were rushing towards him, and he prepared to engage their black blades in combat.
However, Stan was totally caught off guard when the two figures jammed their black swords into their sheaths and whipped out more potions, both green and dark purple ones. Stan realized in horror that these were Potions of Poison and Harming. In a matter of seconds, four potions flew through the air towards Stan, and he was forced to hop and skip backwards to avoid being caught in the blast radius of the shattering bottles.
Stan was uneasy, never having fought against players who used potions as weapons before. Taking what he found to be the logical approach, Stan drew his bow. The string of his bow twanged twice, and an arrow flew into each of the dark figures’ tunics. Unfazed, the two players drew bright red potions from their inventory and in one swig downed the entire bottle. The effect was instantaneous. The arrows popped from the chestplates, leaving only a small hole in the tunic in their places.
Stan was shocked. What was this? Who were these players, where did they get all these potions, and how did they learn to fight with them so well? Stan, desperate as more Potions of Poison and Harming flew his way, looked around for help. He realized with a jolt that all the high-ranking officials of Element City, all his friends, were now engaged in combat with these players. He was equally alarmed to see that all the mysterious players fought using potions, keeping even master sword fighters like DZ from getting in close enough to use their skills.
As Stan drew his axe to engage his attackers at close range, he reminded himself that he had to be careful. He had no idea where these players came from or who they were, but they were clearly in the order of assassins. That meant that besides escaping the attack and staying alive, Stan had an obligation to take these players prisoner. If he killed the players or let them escape, they would never be interrogated and Stan would never find out why they had attacked him.
Stan ducked another Potion of Harming, and he slammed the butt end of his axe into the thrower’s head. The player, whose eyes were barely visible under a ninja mask and black leather cap, looked stunned. He fell to the ground at Stan’s feet, just as Stan felt a sting on his unarmoured back. As he cringed, Stan realized that he had been hit with a Potion of Harming from another assassin. Stan spun around just as the attacker was about to throw another potion. Stan ducked the bottle, and he swung his axe blade under the attacker’s legs, knocking him to the ground. Stan surged forwards and stepped on the player’s chest, pinning his throwing hand to the ground with his axe.
“OK,” said Stan, breathing heavily. The potion stain on his unprotected back was burning, intensifying his rage. “Who are you people, and why are you attacking us?”
There was no hesitation. The attacker, with his free hand, drew a purple potion from his inventory at light speed and poured the entire contents down his throat. There was a quick shudder, and the attacker’s hand went limp, the empty bottle rolling to the side. His items burst about him in a ring, a sure indicator that the attacker had died.
Stan looked around and saw that like himself, all of his friends had bested the attackers. The black-robed forms now all lay on the ground. In the hands of each of them were the glints of empty glass bottles.
Stan was stunned. What motivation could these players possibly have had that they would rather die than be captured? Stan looked down and realized that one of the attackers was not dead, just unconscious. Well, I’m sure he’ll be able to explain this to us, thought Stan as he dragged him by the knees over to the others.
Kat and G were each drinking a Potion of Regeneration to counter the poison that had exploded in their faces. Kat was using another potion to heal her dog, Rex (who had appeared from nowhere to defend his mistress). Bob was using a Potion of Healing to mend a burn that a Potion of Harming had left on Ivanhoe’s side. Besides that, everybody seemed fine.
Five players were rushing over the Element Castle drawbridge. As they approached, Stan recognized them as Blackraven, Councilman Jayden, Archie, the Mechanist, and Gobbleguy. They looked around in shock, disgust and horror at the black-clad corpses that littered the ground, and the empty potion bottles beside them.
“What happened out here?” asked Gobbleguy, his face stricken with worry.
Stan explained, “We were having an after-party to celebrate the Zombies winning the Spleef match, when out of nowhere a few of the fans tried to kill Kat. Then a bunch of other players pulled out black caps, tunics and swords, and tried to kill the rest of us.”
“Wait, they yelled something before that, didn’t they?” asked DZ.
“Yeah, they yelled ‘Viva la Noctem,’” said Charlie.
Jayden’s and Archie’s faces morphed into alarm. “Did you say … they yelled ‘Viva la Noctem,’ and then they tried to kill you?” asked Archie.
“Yeah,” said Kat. “Why? Does that mean anything to you guys?”
“Oh, boy … yes it does,” said Jayden, pressing his hands together, sweat accumulating on his forehead. “You know how Archie and I said we had business yesterday?”
“Yeah …” said G slowly. The two of them had had to leave the council meeting early because of it.
“Well, we went to a Noctem Alliance rally in the Residential District,” said Jayden.
“You did what?” shouted Stan, taken aback.
“Yeah,” said Archie. “We went undercover there. We wanted to know more about the group, you know, check out whether or not they were just a protesting group, or something more threatening.”
“And what did you find?” asked Bill. Stan was dreading the answer.
“The guy speaking there said that the upper-level citizens of Element City deserve better than to share the streets with what they called ‘lower-level trash’,” said Archie.
“Yeah, well, we know that’s what the views of that group are, they’ve made that very clear from the get-go,” said Charlie. “But what does that have to do with what happened today?”
“That’s just it! The guy at the rally said that the Noctem Freedom Fighters – that’s what he called them – must be willing to go to any lengths to preserve their ideals. The rally finished with the leader doing that chant. The entire rally started chanting.” A shadow crossed his face as he said the phrase once again.
“Viva la Noctem. The motto of the Noctem Alliance.”
CHAPTER 4 (#ulink_853ae01a-9811-5d3f-9a86-dab15be3da3c)
VIVA LA NOCTEM (#ulink_853ae01a-9811-5d3f-9a86-dab15be3da3c)
There was stunned silence. Stan could not believe what he was hearing. The attempts to kill him and his friends … the black tunics … the chant … it seemed clear to Stan that the players who had tried to kill them tonight were working for the Noctem Alliance.
“Are you serious right now?” wailed DZ in despair.
“Hold up, DZ, don’t jump to conclusions,” said Gobbleguy quickly. “It is very possible that these attacks were a result of the Noctem Alliance, and at this point it may seem like that’s the only explanation. However, let me remind you that we cannot know this for sure until the attackers have stood trial. For all we know, these people could have been trying to frame the Noctem Alliance.”
“How are they going to stand trial?” asked Blackraven, gesturing to the corpses around him. “They all killed themselves rather than allow themselves to be captured.”
“Not all of them,” Stan and Kat said at the same time. Stan looked down at the would-be-assassin who he had knocked unconscious with the butt of his axe.
“Four of them weren’t killed,” said Kat. “Stan knocked one out, and G and I knocked out three more. When they come to, we can have them stand trial in the name of their co-conspirators.”
“We’d better strip them of their stuff, though,” added Ben, “or else they’ll just try to kill themselves when they come to.”
“Good idea,” said Kat, giving him a smile, which he returned. Stan noticed G instinctively edge a little closer to Kat.
“OK then,” said Stan. “Charlie, come with me and clean up the items these guys dropped. Bill, Ben, Bob and DZ, you take these four.” He jerked his thumb at the four remaining black figures, the others having vanished. “Bring them down to the jailhouse, but strip them of their items first. The rest of you, go down to the courthouse and let them know that we have four assassins who attempted to kill us, and we need to have an emergency trial. OK, let’s go.”
And with that, Rex, Ivanhoe and all the players went off in their respective directions.
By that evening, the Elementia courthouse was prepped for what people were calling the biggest trial of all time. Indeed, since Stan had come to power on the server, this was the first attempt by anybody to attack him. The trial of those responsible was extremely important.
All those necessary for the trial, which was to take place in the Avery Memorial Courthouse, were present. The four surviving conspirators sat side by side, inside a machine designed by the Mechanist that restrained their movement.
Stan sat in the middle chair of the Panel of Judgement, with four members of the council on each side of him. Bill, Ben and Bob stood at attention at the base of the podium on which the Panel of Judgement was sitting. As the chiefs of police, it was their job to call in their forces if anything bad should happen.
Ben stepped forwards and, after opening statements and taking a roll call of the council members, he spoke out. “You four players before me, who have given your names as Arnold S, Stewart, Lilac and Roachboy, you are hereby charged with the crimes of attempted murder and terrorist activities. Do any of you plead innocent to any of these charges?”
“No,” came the reply. Completely in unison.
Stan’s eyebrows flew up. The Mechanist had designed the machine holding the suspects so they could hear the members of the Panel of Judgement, but not each other. Somehow, though, they had all answered Ben’s question at exactly the same time.
“In that case, I find you guilty of all charges. You are to be interrogated by Mecha11, and then, depending on how you cooperate, you will either be given a painless death by lethal consumption, or be imprisoned for life in Brimstone Prison.”
“We will not speak,” came the reply, again in complete synchronization. “And we would rather die than bear witness against our noble leader, Lord Tenebris of the Noctem Alliance.”
Stan leaped to his feet. “So you are with the Noctem Alliance! Where are you organized? Who is Lord Tenebris?”
The reply never came. All four of the co-conspirators smiled, again in perfect harmony. Suddenly, in a rush of clicks and whirs, the whole detainment machine sank into the ground, freeing the four players. The Mechanist’s jaw dropped. He had been standing by the levers that controlled the machine the entire time, and he hadn’t touched them. More incredibly, the four players, who had previously been searched thoroughly and were holding nothing, drew Potions of Harming out of their inventory and raised them to their mouths.
