Sean Wolfe - The New Order

“VIVA LA NOCTEM!”

“It is in light of these joyous developments that I announce it is time to put our second phase of warfare into action! I now call all members of the second battalion of the Noctem Freedom Fighters to mobilize, for tomorrow, you follow General Leonidas into combat in the motherland of Elementia. The rest of you are dismissed. Good night, my brothers and sisters! Long live Lord Tenebris! Long live the Noctem Alliance!”

“VIVA LA NOCTEM!” the Freedom Fighters belted out for the last time, before running into their dirt shacks to prepare themselves for battle.

Caesar turned and retreated to the warmth of the building, followed by Leonidas and Minotaurus, who had to duck to enter the room.

It was pleasant inside. Books sat on shelves all over the walls, and a fire roaring on a Netherrack base projected warmth into the room around them. The walls were of stone brick, and the three generals’ prized weapons – Leonidas’s bow, Minotaurus’s double-ended battle-axe, and Caesar’s diamond sword – hung in frames on the mantel.

Leonidas and Caesar sat down on chairs facing the fire. Minotaurus spoke, “Excuse me, Caesar, but I will be back. It is time for me to tend to my potato farm,” and walked out the side door to attend to his hobby, accidentally breaking the wooden door off its hinges as it slammed behind him.

As Leonidas and Caesar stared into the fire, neither of them conversed, but both knew that there were unspoken words hanging in the air. It was a full minute before Caesar turned to his colleague and spoke, “Well, Leonidas, you clearly have something on your mind. What is it?”

Leonidas said nothing at first. He was lost in a train of long, confusing and never-ending thoughts. At last, he turned to Caesar, and voiced the most pressing of his concerns.

“Caesar … do ya remember the prisoners’ village?”

Caesar stood up and threw back his head. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Leonidas, don’t tell me you’re still on about that village!”

“No, of course not,” said Leonidas quickly, quite unsure of whether he was lying not only to Caesar but also to himself. “We did what had to be done, I wouldn’t have done it any other way, except for …” Leonidas chose his words carefully; he did not want to see Caesar upset. “Why is it that we didn’t even ask those players if they wanted to join us? I don’t know, but it’s kinda possible that we may have killed some potential allies.”

“Rubbish, Leonidas,” spat Caesar, shaking his head in contempt at Leonidas’s apparent foolishness. “There was nothing for us in that village. Those people in the prisoners’ village had been living on nothing for longer than was worth it. Trust me, we did all of them a mercy.”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s right,” said Leonidas, his voice falsely cheery. “Yeah … there just woulda been more suffering if we’d left any of ’em alive.”

But the more Leonidas thought of his corporal’s reports of the carnage and slaughter the Noctem Alliance had committed in the prisoners’ village, the more Leonidas was reassuring himself that that was not true.

Although Stan did not know exactly what the repercussions of the attack by the Noctem agents would be, he certainly did not expect that life would carry on as usual. And yet, that’s exactly what happened. The only significant difference in the daily flow of things was the cessation of rallies and protests by the Noctem Alliance.

“Don’t you think it’s weird?” Stan asked, a week after he’d banned the Noctem Alliance, as he walked out of the castle courtyard and onto the bustling main road lined with stores alongside Kat and Charlie. “I mean, these guys in black try to kill us, and they say they’re with the Noctem Alliance before committing suicide, and then there’s nothing for a week? What sense does that make?”

“It is odd,” replied Charlie slowly. “You’d think there would be some aftermath. But it’s like the Noctem Alliance completely vanished off the map. You don’t think they’re plotting something, do you?”

That thought sat unpleasantly in Stan’s stomach, and he was about to respond when Kat cut him off, and said in a superior drawl, “I think you two are reading too much into it. The Noctem Alliance was just a bunch of stuck-up, rich brats who didn’t like that they had to share with the lower-levels. They whined and had a tantrum about it, but some of them took it a step too far.”

“Well, if that’s the case, why haven’t they retaliated yet?” asked Charlie.

“Because they’re a bunch of cowards,” replied Kat, a note of disgust on her tongue. “They couldn’t get what they wanted through protesting, so the twenty or so of them who cared more than was good for them tried to attack us. They were OK with dying, because they didn’t think life would be worth it if they couldn’t get what they wanted. That’s why they were willing to kill themselves, and that’s why they had such good supplies, because they’re spoiled upper-levels. And now that those few radicals are dead, none of them left care enough to die for the cause of the Alliance.”

“I guess that makes sense,” said Stan, nodding. “It is true that it’s really only the rich and upper-level people in this city who are against equality now. Well, besides the war prisoners we took from the battle.”

“And they’re not in any position to do anything about it, they’re all locked up in Brimstone,” added Charlie. He was referring to the highest-end prison in Elementia, situated in the remnants of the Nether Fortress that RAT1 had blown up before the Battle for Elementia.

“Exactly,” said Kat. “Trust me, Stan, I think now that you’ve made it illegal, we aren’t gonna be hearing any more from the Noctem Alliance. On the other hand, there are probably going to be more rich people sulking in their houses about equality now that they can’t run around in black tunics whining about it.”

Stan chuckled. “Yeah, you’re right, Kat, I’m just over-thinking it.”

Charlie agreed. “So, what are we gonna do on our day off, guys? Let’s make it count.”

“Ooh, ooh! I know!” said Kat, jumping up and down in excitement. “How about we borrow Ivanhoe and have him defecate on the steps of the Avery Memorial Courthouse?”

“Kat, I built that courthouse as a memorial to my friend who sacrificed his life to save me from King Kev! I am not going to let a pig poop on the front steps!” said Stan in exasperation as Charlie laughed. Stan seriously wondered whether she was joking.

“Fine. Ooh! Better idea!” said Kat, her mouth wide open in an elated grin. “Let’s go over to the Apothecary Memorial Fountain … and have Ivanhoe defecate in the water!”

“NO!” cried Stan as Charlie clutched his sides in his hysterics. “The Apothecary saved my life too!”

“Good point. Ooh! I know!” cried Kat, her face glowing with amusement as she glanced at Charlie.

“Does it involve a pig taking a dump on something I built to honour my dead friends?” Stan asked, taking in just how ridiculous it was that he should have to ask such a question, as Charlie rolled on the ground laughing. Prolonged exposure to Oob the NPC villager had made Charlie susceptible to laughter at these kinds of jokes, a fact that Kat used to her advantage often.

“Wait, you have more dead friends? Well, I suppose we could go down to the Adorian Village or to Steve Memorial Farm …”

“Do you have a real idea, Kat?” Stan asked as Charlie pulled himself up and regained his composure.

“OK, OK. The Mechanist told me he’s unveiling his new machine today!” exclaimed Kat.

“You mean the one he’s been building in the park?” Charlie asked. “That’s being finished today?”