Seeing as how no name received over thirty percent of the vote, which I guess is pretty unrealistic considering that I gave you nine choices; I’ve decided to do a final poll using the top three names from the previous one, my apologies to the winner of the first poll.

If you see any mistakes please leave a comment, thank you.

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Chapter 28: The Rescue Expedition

At one time Nancy Connor had been a CPA and the owner of her own accounting firm, now she was the foremost shit-shoveler in her ex-husband’s Kingdom. She had been a good girl growing up, if a little bit too spoiled, prideful and arrogant. When she had married Vince she had thought of him as being a little bit beneath her but he had been so accommodating of her whims and desires that when he asked her to marry him, she had readily said yes. Nancy had inherited her business from her mother but with her passing, many of the regular clients had departed, causing revenues to plummet while at the same time her husband’s career had skyrocketed.

Jealousy, stupidity, flattery and physical lust had led her to make the biggest mistake of her life which she had only compounded by bringing in her own daughters as her accomplices, so that she would always have a ready source of alibis. Nancy often thought of what life would have been like if she hadn’t fallen for Steve Griffith’s good looks and hard body. She was sure that even if Vince hadn’t have won that lottery he still would have figured out some way to come out on top in this new world. She let out a groan as she smelled a particular smelly pile of shit. “I could have been a queen right now,” she thought. Now with her blue screen, personal reputation, and almost permanent body odor, a gift from her job, there wasn’t a man in the entire Kingdom that would associate with her and her only social contacts were her two daughters who barely tolerated her. Angry at herself, she rammed the shovel a little too forcefully into that particular large pile of smelly crap, it must have had an almost liquid core because it splashed back at her, splattering her face and clothes; some of it even went into her open mouth.

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George was sorry to leave Captain Long in the lurch but he saw the political and strategic necessity of attempting to rescue the survivors of the Soaring Dawn Clan; and it wasn’t like they were leaving her and her people defenseless what with the Holman projectors and enchanted ammunition that the convoy had just delivered, Captain Long and her company probably had a lot more firepower than Vince had when he first started out.

The rescue force stopped at the Great Miami River before leaving town. Those soldiers in the convoy who possessed Water Magic, summoned clean water from the river and filled the boilers and water reservoirs of the vehicles in the convoy. Those without Water Magic, watched in amazement as the water snaked through air, without the benefits of a hoses or pumps.

After passing over the river they drove by a shopping mall that looked to be a burned out shell. Two miles further down the road and on the other side of Interstate Highway 75, they were passing by a Walmart and a Home Depot Store that shared the same large parking lot. Suddenly, Sergeant Vargas saw small group of people burst out of one the doors of the giant home store; they began frantically waving and screaming at the Hermit’s Guard Expeditionary Force. Hitting his air horn, Jeff Vargas signaled the convoy to stop.

George seeing the frantic people so desperately running his way; looked for threats and then ordered the Hellcat’s driver to drive towards them, so that they didn’t need to run as far. After a brief discussion with the crying and now happy bunch of refugees, Captain Mesquida found out that there were a total of thirty-three survivors hiding in the two stores. The new group of survivors readily boarded the 1070’s trailer and were taken back to the Armory compound while the rest of the convoy waited in that parking lot for the return of that huge truck which happened less than twenty minutes later.

Sir Mesquida was a little sick to his stomach because he had suddenly realized that he might have really fucked up. The Hermit’s Guard had first come to the National Guard Armory located in the City of Bradley, Ohio almost a week ago, while they had been busy, still they had never once taken the time to make even a quick cursory sweep of the city, looking for other local survivors. He and Vince had just assumed that everyone who was still alive in the immediate area; must already be gathered at the Armory and Captain Long had certainly done nothing to indicate otherwise. George began to worry about what other secrets the City of Bradley had as well the Town of Verdant, Ohio which was the closet city to the Stronghold and had been bypassed by the Hermit’s Guard. Feeling even more depressed, Sir Mesquida vowed that as soon as other matters were dealt with that he would pressure Vince and the Council into allowing him to send forces into Verdant so that those still alive there might be helped.

Three miles down the road they encountered another bunch of humans but the new lot was different, they were an organized yet disreputable looking crew whose demeanor conveyed outright hostility. George immediately noticed that none of them possessed an orange screen and that three of them were actually blues.

Sir Mesquida through Appraisal; already knew some of their names but he figured a polite introduction was the proper way to handle things. “Hello, I’m Captain George Mesquida of the Stronghold of Hermit’s Forge; who might you folks be?” George had dismounted from the Hellcat but he wasn’t too nervous not with the Priest and its new Murphy gun right behind him.

One of the men, who possessed a green screen, stepped forward. “I’m Dwight Cobb. I never fucking heard of Hermit’s Forge. Who the blazes are you, and how come you got working vehicles?” He asked snarling.

George mentally sighed. “As I said I am Captain Mesquida. The Stronghold of Hermit’s Forge was built using magic after it came into this world, so that’s why you never heard of it before. The reason why we have working vehicles is because our leader is a man of vision who stocked all kinds of old machine tools and even steam engines to power them with, for when our old technology stopped working.”

“You got any more of those fancy armored trucks that you can give us?” Dwight asked, while a blue screen man who was just behind him began juggling baseball sized balls of fire.

“Nope, we don’t have any extra vehicles right now but maybe this fall or next year we might. However, I can’t see us just giving them away because each one takes a lot of skilled labor to produce. If you don’t need urgent help, then we have to get going but I’ve got a couple of magic lights that I can give you. They’ll even reveal most invisible things that might try sneaking up on you.”

Dwight seemed pleased with the lights but generally unhappy with the entire conversation. The last George saw of him, he had a sour expression on his face, like he was watching a golden goose slip away.

Driving down the road they came to a farm that was besieged by a large angry herd of what Appraisal labeled as Long Haired Cape buffalo. People waved frantically from the windows of a half-ruined farmhouse to attract the expedition’s attention. So it begins thought George. They rescued the people after first slaying some of the buffalos and chasing off the rest. After a short talk the new group all happily climbed aboard the C500’s trailer. The soldiers meanwhile; had quickly and crudely butchered four of the dead animals, throwing the meat onto the flatbed trailer towed by the 590. The cold weather would easily preserve the bovine flesh.

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Eighteen year old, Bill Adams was trudging wearily westward on US Highway 36. He was angry which was nothing new for him, he had been angry most of his life, but today he was enraged, those idiots back there didn’t realize what he was offering them. He was well on his way to being a god and they wouldn’t even give him a few of their children despite all that he offered them. All they had to do; was worship him and provide him with food and a few diversions and they would have been blessed with his glory and protection. He swore that he would return to that little fly speck of a town and have his revenge upon them, once he achieved divinity. He was furious that he had only been able to burn a quarter of their downtown area before they figured out how to fight him, well one day he would be back to finish the job! What’s that noise coming towards him? He scurried north about fifty yards off the road and hid.

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Sergeant Vargas was in the lead vehicle, with his torso sticking out of the commander’s hatch of the Sherman tank. He was carefully scanning his surroundings, using his Telescopic Vision combined with his True Sight Skill, after being surprised by the Stone Giants he never wanted to be in a situation like that again. He turned his head to the left and instead of small boulder like last time; he saw a huge fireball coming towards him. “Why me,” he thought as he attempted to fall down into the turret. He didn’t even bother trying to close the hatch behind him, as he knew that he didn’t have the time for such an action.

Jeff’s helmet was just below the lip of the hatchway when he felt a blast of heat. The fireball should have lasted for several seconds but the enchantments that the Hermit King had worked into the tank quickly diverted and even fed some of that energy into the vehicle’s firestones. Jeff’s eyebrows did crisp up and he felt like he had just received an instant case of sunburn but other than that, he was okay. He yelled out a command to the Sherman’s driver, “Drive forward and steer for ten 10 o’clock, we’re under attack!”

She did as ordered while muttering under her breath, “I’m not an idiot; you idiot! Of course I know that we’re under attack!”

Jeff turned the turret to the left.

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Private Strings Bowyer was the left side Holman operator for the Priest, which was following right behind the Sherman. He saw a human figure suddenly stand up and launch a fireball at the tank. Strings yelled out “Enemy Attack!” as he fired an IROD shell at the magic user.

He aimed as best as he could but while he was a natural shot, his weapon was a new model 50mm Holman Projector that he was not quite as well practiced with as he would have liked, especially when firing an IROD shell which requires an almost a direct hit in order to be effective. As Strings had expected his shot missed, but using his magical enhanced strength he had already and easily used the charging lever to load another round into the projector, however this time the projectile was a new “Coup de Grace” steam shell, which didn’t require a direct hit.

The steam round blew up within a few feet of the wizard that was attacking them, giving him injuries that would have certainly led to his death but all of those large and enchanted bullets coming from C500’s trailer blew apart the man even before he could finish falling down.

A very brief but careful search was made of the few remaining body parts, by Lady Knight Night. She grumbled a curse, now they had something else to worry about, insane human wizards.

The convoy continued down the road. When suddenly, Jeffrey Vargas saw a terrible sight with his telescopic vision, an immense winged creature feasting on what looked like a very large American buffalo, never having seen such a monster before he quickly cast Appraisal on it.

Azhdarchidae Quetzalcoatlus

Dissimulatio, Unseen Feathered Serpent of Death, despite its name this creature is actually more of a winged lizard rather than a serpent. Quetzalcoatlus is a supreme aerial combatant. It will dive on its prey with blinding speed, capturing its meal with its enormous mouth before its victim can even realize that it is there. But it is also able to pursue and attack quarry on the ground, since a Quetzalcoatlus can gallop as quickly as most horses. These enormous flying predators also have the shocking ability to alter their skin coloration as well as shuffle and twist what feathers they do have, so that light reflected from their bodies causes them to blend into their surroundings. Quetzalcoatlus typically soars at well over 3500 meters while searching for prey. Although normally a solitary hunter, it can hunt cooperatively with its family group. There is much debate whether or not these creatures are sentient or not because of the sheer cunning that they display when selecting and attacking their prey. Most scientists think that they are on the cusp of sentience. The largest observed specimen was fifteen meters long and had a wing span of sixteen meters; it weighed 531 kilograms.

Jeff nearly shot the monster with the 20mm rifle located by the commander’s hatch. The weapon had been charred by the earlier fireball attack but with the replacement off its magazine and the ammo which had cooked off, it seemed to be good to go. What caused the Sergeant to hesitate was the fact that Appraisal said that the creature might be sentient?

He certainly wanted to shoot the terrifying monster that he beheld but he instead sent his tank’s co-driver to confer with Lady Night and Captain Mesquida, their decision was to leave the creature alone for now and continue on their way but the flyers with the convoy had all been horrified when they realized that they had been sharing the sky with such a monstrous predator without even knowing.

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The convoy had driven through two small towns when Captain Mesquida had the Hellcat swap positions with the Sherman. He wanted to be at the front of the convoy instead of the rear when they entered the City of Ervin.

Taking US 36 they passed over the Mad River and began driving into town. Many of the buildings were wrecked and some of them were smoking, implying that they had only been recently set ablaze.

George felt very exposed, as they crossed a set of train tracks and approached the downtown area. Certain side streets off of 36 had been barricaded with buses and semi-truck trailers. As they approached Main Street a woman walked out of one of the few buildings still standing at the intersection, George Appraised her.

Name: Sylvia Warren

Title: Mayor of Ervin

She waved them down and began speaking. “We’ve got snipers with Kentucky rifles; they’ve all got a bead on you right now; so if you try anything you’ll be dead before you can even blink. Now, who are you and what the hell are you doing here with those pretty white and blue flags flying so proudly from your vehicles, because they sure as hell aren’t an American Flag or any other flag that I’ve ever seen!”

“Hello, I am Captain Mesquida of the Kingdom of Hermit’s Forge. The Kingdom that I am a citizen of was founded because of the recent and still on-going apocalyptic events. The Kingdom of Hermit’s Forge was created out of necessity because with its establishment our King was granted certain bonuses in terms of magical abilities and skills. We have needed those bonuses in order to stay alive.

Even though we possess these armored vehicles, even for us it is daily battle to survive. As you may not know, not all of the things that are coming from other worlds are monsters. A few species are in fact sentient beings that are in just as much trouble as we are, if not more so, since they’ve been ripped from their own worlds and stranded on ours. If you look at our flag, you can see representations of the three peoples currently making up our Kingdom; those being human, craftmaker and flyer. The flyers as you might assume are winged beings, fully capable of flight. We had a sick and injured one arrive at the home of our only ally. That flyer, Chief Dawn Rain, told us of a small group of flyers, mainly comprised of children who are in desperate need of aid. Though we didn’t and still don’t feel ready for such a long expedition, this is indeed a rescue convoy in response to Chief Rain’s plea for help.

We don’t mean you any harm and we have things to trade and even give you. We just want to continue peacefully on our way. By the way, I see that some of your town looks and smells like it was recently burned. Several miles outside of Ervin we were ambushed by a lone Fire Wizard, we were forced to kill him.”

The Mayor said a string of expletives then, “If you did kill that miserable Fire Sorcerer that burned part of this town and killed some of my people, I’m obliged but a just a little. It looks to me like you got all kinds of stuff that you could have been using to help other people instead of hiding inside your Kingdom. I’ll take what you have to offer and we won’t hinder you none. But we don’t want you staying in the area and there’s nothing for you to loot here. Every stick, stone, piece of metal and bit of food is ours by right; we’ve paid for it in blood.”

“I hear Ma’am and we’ll obey your words, we don’t want any trouble.”

George gave her a box full of magic lights and one of the buffalos that had been butchered earlier. That seemed to only slightly mollify the woman; who though while her words were much more refined and her manner more controlled; she actually seemed to be more hostile than the man that they had met earlier, Dwight Cobb. George had been surprised by their journey so far; he had expected to pick up many more refugees and have more frequent hostile monster encounters. It seemed as if the cards were falling his way for once in terms of combat but he was gravely worried about the apparent lack of survivors.

They passed through the center of town and per Star’s directions, she and Chief Rain were riding in the T800, the convoy turned southeast onto Route 29.

During the next six miles they fought a tiny battle with a small pack of gorgonospids and encountered twelve more refugees. George didn’t pick that group up. They were all blues who were all guilty of a whole host of crimes but according to their screens, all their offenses had stopped just shy of physical violence. Feeling generous, he gave them four lights and some meat before the convoy continued on its way.

Another three miles down the road and they had defeated a pack of leaping lizards and picked up twenty-seven additional refugees in a tiny little village that at old highway speeds you could miss, if you blinked.

They were getting close to where Star said the Soaring Dawn Clan should be.

They picked up six more refugees before driving into the small town of Wrenchburg. Chief Rain was sure that she has seen the area before and she was insisting that she should now take to the skies so that she could find her clan.

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The lookouts had warned the Village of Wrenchburg about the approaching vehicles. The steam engine in the machine shop had been shut down and everyone was out of sight and with all their weapons at the ready.

Florian Forester used to be the owner and chief bartender for what she liked to call the best bar in Wrenchburg, now she was the Town Boss since the death of the mayor and the city council. Out of nearly sixteen hundred survivors there were only 264 left and she was damned if she was going to lose any more people or let anyone steal anything from her town.

When an armed convoy of strange looking vehicles showed up, flying a weird flag, she knew that things weren’t on the up and up, despite the fact that the man sticking his head out of the lead tank had an orange screen. Her husband was the best man that Florian knew and if he wasn’t an orange screen then in her opinion, the whole system was out of whack and she wasn’t about to trust it. She used her Appraisal skill on that strange flag and on the vehicles that sported it.

This is the national flag for the independent Kingdom of Hermit’s Forge which is a very small but growing kingdom to the west. The flag has depictions of the three species making up that kingdom; human, flyer and craftmaker.

Spoiler :

Hermit’s Forge M4 Sherman Grizzly Medium Tank, originally it was a Sherman Grizzly I Cruiser which was the Canadian variant of the American M4A1 Sherman medium tank.

It has 75 millimeters of enchanted steel armor and it is 5.8 meters long, 2.6 meters wide, 3 meters tall and weighs 30,000 kilograms.

Tracked Vehicle

One 330 horsepower steam engine; gives this vehicle a top speed of 38 kilometers per hour.

Primary Weapon is one prototype 75mm breech loading cannon built by Hermit’s Forge. Secondary weapons are two bolt-action 20mm rifles also built by Hermit’s Forge.

The original gyroscopic stabilizer for the main gun is no longer operational.

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Hermit’s Forge M18 Hellcat Light Tank, it began life as an American M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer and has been heavily modified by Hermit’s Forge.

It has 25 millimeters of enchanted steel armor and a roof has been added to its original turret. This tank is 5.3 meters long (without its main gun), 2.9 meters wide, 2.6 meters tall and weighs 18,000 kilograms.

Tracked Vehicle

One 200 horsepower steam engine, give this vehicle a top speed of 56 kilometers per hour.

Primary Weapon is one prototype 50mm breech loading cannon built by Hermit’s Forge. Secondary Weapon is one bolt-action 20mm rifle built by Hermit’s Forge.

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Hermit’s Forge M7 Priest Motor Gun Carriage, started off as an American M7 Motor Gun Carriage but it has since been heavily modified.

It has 50 millimeters of enchanted steel armor; a roof and heightened full side walls have been added to it. This vehicle is 6 meters long, 2.9 meters wide, 3.2 meters tall and weighs 26,450 kilograms.

Tracked Vehicle

One 200 horsepower steam engine, gives this vehicle a top speed of 30 kilometers per hour.

Primary weapon is one M119, 105mm howitzer which is the US designation for the British L119 105mm lightweight gun. Secondary weapons are two Hermit’s Forge 50mm Holman projectors and one twin-barrel 7.62 x 39 Murphy gun.

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Hermit’s Forge T800 Armored Personnel Carrier, originally a 2011 Kenworth T800 Dump Truck, it has since been heavily modified.

It has 152 millimeters of layered armored made of enchanted steel and sand. Windows are made of transparent aluminum and possess steel shutters. This APC is 7.6 meters long, 2.4 meters wide, 3.5 meters tall and weighs 13,600 kilograms.

It has four wheeled axles and the rear two, are powered.

One 200 horsepower steam engine, give this vehicle a maximum speed of 56 kilometers per hour.

Primary Weapons are eleven bolt-action 20mm rifles, manufactured by Hermit’s Forge.

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Hermit’s Forge C500 Armored Personnel Transporter, started off as a Kenworth C500 and a 27 foot long steel dump trailer, it has since been heavily modified.

It has 152 millimeters of layered armored made of enchanted steel and sand. Windows are made of transparent aluminum and possess steel shutters. This APT is 14.3 meters long, 2.4 meters wide, 3.5 meters tall and weighs 21,319 kilograms.

The total unit has six wheeled axles, the rear two on the truck/tractor are powered.

One 200 horsepower steam engine, give this vehicle a maximum speed of 39 kilometers per hour.

Primary Weapons are seventeen bolt-action 20mm rifles, manufactured by Hermit’s Forge.

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Hermit’s Forge M1070 Armored Personnel Transporter; began life as an Oshkosh M1070 and a 40 foot long steel shipping container with attendant chassis; it has since been heavily modified.

It has 160 millimeters of layered armored made of enchanted steel and sand. Windows are made of transparent aluminum and possess steel shutters. This APT is 18.7 meters long, 2.6 meters wide, 4 meters tall and weighs 32,119 kilograms.

The total unit has six wheeled axles, the rear three on the truck/tractor are powered.

Two 200 horsepower steam engines, give this vehicle a maximum speed of 60 kilometers per hour.

Primary Weapons are eight Hermit’s Forge 50mm Holman projectors. Secondary Weapons are five bolt-action 20mm rifles, also manufactured by Hermit’s Forge.

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Hermit’s Forge 590 Armored Backhoe/Loader; originally a Case 590 backhoe/loader and has since been heavily modified.

It has 40 millimeters of enchanted steel armor. It is 7.3 meters long, 2.4 meters wide, 3.5 meters tall and it weighs 10,800 kilograms.

It has four wheels and all are powered.

One 200 horsepower steam engine, gives this tractor a top speed of 42 kilometers per hour.

Primary Weapon is one bolt-action 20mm rifle, manufactured by Hermit’s Forge.

What Florian read filled her with envy and fury, her little town had been doing the best that it could what with the government abandoning them and failing to give them proper notice that the Warning Message was real. With inadequate weapons they had fought back against looters and swarms of monsters, losing too many people in the process. Slowly they had built the means to produce additional weapons and black powder. Additionally, they had gained some magical abilities and skills, without which they would be dead right now. Their most recent achievement had been the construction of a steam engine which was now revolutionizing the town’s small metal shop. But here and now, were a new group of interlopers that possessed what Florian and others in the tiny town could only dream of having. She was positive that the armed force that she saw now was the product of some rich guy from their former world who had simply crowned himself as “King.” Probably someone like she saw once on television; who as a hobby, was into collecting all kinds of old military equipment. And now that bastard had sent part of his army here to loot her tiny town. “WELL THE HELL WITH THIS KIND OF BULLSHIT!” Florian said to herself.

The town had well learned the lesson to strike first and strike hard. The last time they didn’t follow that rule the town’s population dropped from 665 to its present number when a large group of bicycle riding raiders decided to help themselves to what the town offered. There was only a little over a hundred and fifty of the scum but too many of them had possessed powerful magic and they struck hard and fast, while some green screen stooges of theirs distracted the town guard.

This time things would be different, they were almost ready to spring their ambush; using black powder, flaming cooking oil and magic when somehow this new bunch of raiders got spooked and took off.

The damn thing was that they drove straight to the village grain elevator and there was still tons of grain remaining, there that could feed the town for years to come. Florian cursed herself for being a fool; that must have been what they were after all along. That would explain those big semi-trucks they had brought with them, they needed them to haul the town’s grain away! Well she wasn’t about to let those filthy maggots get away with it!

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The convoy drove into the center of town where they parked at the intersection of Routes 29 and 4. George was about to dismount when suddenly he heard Lady Star’s voice in his head. “I give warning; I sense a great number of angry humans surrounding us. They seem to be formidable and I’m almost certain that they mean to do us harm.”

George ordered the Hellcat’s driver to get moving, while he used the tank destroyer’s air horn to signal the rest of the convoy to do the same. The wrong place to stop is in the middle of an ambush, especially on a road surrounded by all manner of buildings.

The Captain rotated his tank’s turret to the rear. He witnessed a few fireballs and heard some gunshots but thanks to their armored vehicles everyone seemed to make it out intact, even the 590.

They had driven just over a quarter of a mile down the road when Sir Mesquida again heard Lady Star’s voice in his head. “They’re in the there, they’re in there,” and she sent him a mental picture of the grain elevator that was now on his right.

He ordered his driver to pull into the large parking lot that circled the enormous grain bins. The other vehicles followed suit and using the air horn he ordered them into a defensive formation. Captain Mesquida marveled at how Lady Star had suddenly started being able to send thoughts, words and pictures to people. If other people gifted with Telepathy could also learn the same thing then that might very well solve his battlefield communication problems.

George didn’t know how they did it but somehow the refugee flyers and craftmakers were hiding in the top of one of those giant bins. He sent Chief Rain and Star to gather up those marooned aliens so that he could get the hell away from here before he was forced into a fight that he didn’t want.

He decided to have a word with his soldiers. He had an idea, it was risky but he didn’t want to kill anyone in this town if he could help it, since it might very well come back to haunt him and the Kingdom of Hermit’s Forge one day.

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Liam Edwards, Mathias Forester, Reuben Moerkens, Giorgio Segura, and Alex Csorba led their squads towards the enemy. They didn’t have much hope of defeating them but they would count chasing them away as a win. In the future they now knew that they would have to do a better shop of protecting that precious grain even though the site was very exposed and not as well situated for defense as some other parts of the town were. Perhaps they could fence the place in with some of the empty railway cars?

Their foes might have cannons but so did the Town of Wrenchburg. Four cannons based on Civil war era six pound artillery pieces. The only problem was that it was taking time to get them into position since they were basically direct fire weapons and they didn’t have the ability to arc their shots over intervening buildings.

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Star couldn’t believe how long it was taking to get everyone out of the grain silo. The problem was that she couldn’t let the members of the Soaring Dawn Clan glide down because she was certain that there were enemy riflemen out there and even a muzzle loading rifle could be deadly. The refugee craftmakers had used wooden pallets, ropes and wire that they had found nearby, to construct and hang a floor in the top of one of the grain bins and the only safe way down now, was the narrow metal stairway that wrapped around the enormous silo.

George had the turret on his tanks, sweeping menacingly back and forth in order to dissuade attackers but Star wasn’t sure how much longer that would continue to keep their foes scared off. Whoever they were, they knew how to hide their thoughts from her, but their ragged emotions and general locations were leaking through loud and clear, she felt that an attack could come at any time.

They were just getting the last craftmaker into the 1070’s trailer when it started.

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Mathias Forester had come to the Village of Wrenchburg, just over fifteen years ago, as a newly licensed dentist. He had taken the job in a small town after his long time sweetheart and fiancée had ended their relationship, crushing his spirit. It was Florian the daughter of the owner of the only pub in town who had healed his broken heart and since that time had been his loudest cheerleader and staunchest defender. He wasn’t so sure if they should be attacking these strange folks but his trust in his wife was absolute.

They had two cannons in position, as well as two trebuchets loaded with large gallon jugs filled with cooking oil which had been taken from an abandoned railway car. They were targeting the two tanks, while their six pound cannon balls probably wouldn’t hurt them that should at least distract their enemies and allow some of their other more deadly attacks to get through. A whistle was blown and they opened fire on the grain thieves.

The artillery pieces fired and nearly hit the Hellcat. But they had a stroke of fantastic good fortune when one of the loads of flaming oil, landed smack dab on top of the Sherman tank. The damn tank commander must have had the reflexes of a rattlesnake though and be lucky to boot, because he tucked down inside and even managed to close the hatch, before the oil struck that vehicle. It was then that the enemy returned fire and the Village of Wrenchburg found that the assholes had a machine gun!

Firing the six pound cannons had revealed their concealed positions; aimed shots were now impacting around the artillery pieces. Luckily their foes were missing the crews, instead striking near the wheels of the town’s two six pounders but where those strange projectiles hit, chunks of ground and other things would vaporize, burn and melt in explosions of heat.

Suddenly the bloodless battle got very bloody indeed for Mathias when a young man who was serving on his gun crew foolishly moved from his position to a location forward of the artillery piece, where he attempted to fire his flintlock rifle. The young idiot scarcely more than a boy really, exploded apart in a burst of heat.

Those with magical abilities were attempting to help but the range was too great for them to reach their foes.

The cannons had been disabled because of destroyed wheels and the trebuchets took several minutes to draw back down and reload, they were only now ready to fire.

Abruptly the enemy raiders started to withdraw from the grain elevator and began heading south on Route 29 away from the town. The Wrenchburg Militia had succeeded in driving off the grain thieves!

A few more loads of flaming oil were launched at their foes but they both missed. Mathias was glad to see them depart but sad that it had cost so much. He looked at the pieces of what was once a fine young man and prayed that the strangers never returned.

They rushed to the grain elevator to see how much wheat had been stolen. What they found there surprised them.

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George was not pleased, it was not in his nature to hold back when someone shot at him especially when the enemy was using cannons but Wrenchburg was not part of the Kingdom and the local populace did have a right to object to any intruders. If he had fought back seriously and if significant military forces with the United States government miraculously did appear one day, those forces might have had a bone to pick with the Kingdom of Hermit’s Forge if they found that the Hermit’s Guard, had wiped a US town off the face of the Earth.

The route that they were now taking back to the Armory would add another ten miles to the trip but there was no way that he wanted to travel back through that village! Those people were nuts!

They had a minor and extremely brief encounter with an insane giant chipmunk. Then three more miles down the road, they came upon another giant feathered serpent, which was trying to get at some people that were hiding in a dense thicket of woods. Two 20mm enchanted rounds took care of that huge monster and the convoy rescued ten more survivors.

The expedition traveled another five miles when they came upon a broken school bus that was being repeatedly rammed by some more of those weird Cape buffalos. Inside the bus were six screaming people, some rifle fire gained them some more recruits. Finally after taking a circuitous route the expedition was back on 29, on the other side of Wrenchburg and heading northwest towards Ervin.

They had an odd encounter several miles still outside of Ervin, a lone craftmaker half way out of her head, just stumbling along the side of the road. When Star collected her, all the strange female could do was weep.

They had stopped to pick up ten more refugees with the town of Ervin just in sight, when Sergeant Vargas saw something moving just above the trees at the horizon’s edge. He put his binoculars on the objects and blanched, quickly he triggered a special sequence with the tank’s air horn. Some monsters were so frightful that they had been assigned their own unique codes, such as the Sky Krakens, Bullet Ants, King Mandrills and Giant Mechanical Spiders.

Lieutenant Storm took flight along with a wing mate to get a better view of the approaching monsters. Those on the ground kept watch so as to warn the two flyers if any Quetzalcoatlus approached. Once Lady Night reached sufficient altitude to have a clear an unobstructed view she used her Appraisal skill on the eight dark gray beasts that were approaching.

Arachnid Annihilator Class Mobile Unit, Mark XVIII

While it is dark gray in color it has the same basic size and shape as the Arachnid Dominator Class, that being a central cylindrical body that is forty-five meters in length with a diameter of fifteen meters. The body’s armored shell is made up of eleven layers, those being in order from outside to inside: 74mm of ceramic, 74mm of titanium, 74mm of ballistic gelatin, 74mm of ceramic, 74mm of titanium, 74mm of gelatin, 74mm of ceramic, 74mm of titanium, 74mm of gelatin, 74mm of ceramic, and 74mm of titanium; with the total armor thickness being 814mm. The ballistic gelatin is made out of a material with long chain molecules.

The Mark XVIII’s six legs are hydraulically activated and powered. The computer control and stabilization system for the Mark XVIII and its legs; is no longer operational. Movement is now under manual control. The legs have a designed range of extension from 6.1 to 35.1 meters.

Power was supplied by two 26,080 hp steam turbines and associated MHD generators. The MHD generators are no longer functional. Steam was previously supplied by two Series 95 thorium reactors, which are also no longer functional. Steam is now being supplied to the two smaller maintenance/emergency turbines through alternate and less efficient magical means; as a result total power has been greatly reduced.

Primary weapons were three Pulsar Series 198 mm coilguns; those weapons and the lasers are no longer operational. The six secondary 74mm coilguns have been converted into flash steam cannons.

Defensive electromagnetic shields are no longer operational. Flight capabilities are no longer operational. Observed maximum walking speed has been less than five kilometers per hour.

------------------------

Large hungry eyes watched as the strange birds took flight. The creature watching was immense and this was hers and her family’s new territory. The beast was quite happy with this new place there was plenty of easy game and gentle winds. Of course there were those pesky giant flying fish but those could be avoided. The birds were sticking quite close to the ground but the Quetzalcoatlus was feeling quite peckish, on the other hand she and her kind were always hungry. She went into a steep dive. Trying to decide if she should only go for one with her beak or if she should try and snatch the second one with her talons.

---------------------

Sergeant Vergas was anxiously scanning the skies as Lieutenant Knight took flight, she wasn’t going that high but those feathered serpents had really spooked him and he was sick of being surprised. He saw a funny patch of the late afternoon sky, focusing on it with his vision, he saw the outline of a shape that almost made him load his pants and it wasn’t even flying at him. He tried to scream Quetzalcoatlus but it was a new word for Jeffrey and he was very flustered, so what came out of his mouth was “QUETSAL-COME-AT-US!” Simultaneously he triggered the air horn on the Sherman tank. Jeff then brought up his personal rifle and began shooting at the creature that was streaking like a rocket towards the two formerly oblivious flyers.

Through a minor miracle and superior marksmanship, Jeff’s second shot actually hit the monster; the 30-06 bullet caused great pain to the Quetzalcoatlus but it did not deliver a fatal wound. However it was enough to cause the creature to veer off in its dive and head towards the east and upward. Meanwhile Lady Night and her wing mate had been in their own dives for the ground and the safety of the armored vehicles.

-------------------

Night Storm landed and she was immediately surrounded by her fellow flyers; who were all frantic because of the monster that they had saw diving down upon her. The thing had been immense and fast too. Knight Night on the other hadn’t even dare to turn around to look at what was coming her way, when she realized what was going on, her only thought was to dive towards the ground and safety before whatever came, ate her! She was not pleased, because now she knew of a monster that she feared even more than giant tarantulas.

Forcing her heart to calm down, she approached Captain Mesquida, who was glad to see her safe, and made her report to him about what she saw. After which, “what are we going to do now Captain? How are we going to fight such mechanical monsters? Those that are coming this way, sound much tougher than the bright shiny ones that we fought before.”

“Listen closely Lieutenant, this is an important military tactic that I’m about to teach you. We are going to run away! Point one; we’ve rescued the Soaring Dawn Clan and the refugee craftmakers. Point two; we have no further reason to stay in this area. Point three; I don’t think any of our weapons can penetrate over 800 millimeters of armor, even with multiple hits after our own recent tests for the new LC100. And finally point four; we are faster than they are. We’ve got about an hour before dusk; let’s get as far away from those things as we can by then. Hopefully those Annihilators will stop moving when it gets dark, just like the Dominators did.

“But Captain, what about the humans in Ervin?”

Captain Mesquida looked startled and then began to curse. He ordered everyone to mount up, and the convoy resumed their journey into the nearby city.

After their arrival in town the convoy was again waved to a stop by Mayor Warren. “Hello Captain, did you find what you were looking for?”

“Yes we did Mayor but we had problems in Wrenchburg. The people there attacked us twice without provocation, so you should keep that in mind if you ever have to deal with those folks. But we both got a bigger problem possibly coming this way.”

Mayor Warren’s slightly friendly face now turned into a mask of rage. “What the fuck did you lead back to my town Captain?!! I knew you were bad news the minute you and your damn tanks showed up!”

“Oh shut up! We didn’t lead a damn thing back to your town. And if you’ve survived this long you must have the True Sight skill, so you know that I’m speaking the truth. Do you want to hear what I have to say or should I just drive off?”

The Mayor grumbled under her breath and then snarled, “Keep talking!”

“A while back my kingdom was attacked by giant mechanical spiders, Appraisal called them Dominators. They looked big and intimidating but they were soft targets against our weapons since a major component of their armor was aluminum. As for how big they are, think like the giant walking machines from War of the Worlds if you’re ever read that novel or seen one of the movies based on it. Coming into your town we saw something with same basic size and shape of a Dominator except these were gray and Appraisal labeled them as Annihilators. The problem is that Appraisal also told us that their armor is over thirty-two inches thick and it’s made out of eleven layers of ceramic, titanium and ballistic gelatin. I know for a fact that even the biggest gun we have in this convoy can’t puncture that kind of armor with a single shot and I’m not sure if even ten rounds into the exact same spot on one of those mechanical monstrosities could do the job either. If you want a kind of comparison to modern military equipment, the Dominators my people defeated before are kind of like armored cars, thin skinned but some of them pack serious firepower; now the Annihilators seem to be like most modern main battle tanks and are built to be unstoppable.”

Mayor Warren’s was now looking at Captain Mesquida with a horrified expression on her face, because she had no idea how her people were going to survive the kind of threat that he was talking about even after everything that she and her friends had already been through. The Captain kept talking.

“Now a little good news, there are eight of them but they’re in excess of eleven miles from here. Figure about two miles east, then ten miles due north if you can picture it. And they seem to be heading due south and not towards this town but that may change. Those arachnids are also extremely slow, and according to Appraisal their top speed is about three miles per hour but our own experiences indicate that they normally travel at closer to two miles per hour and the ones we ran into before didn’t travel at night, though this new bunch might be different. You see, before coming to our world, those huge contraptions were actually able to fly and might have even been space worthy. When they did walk, it was all computer controlled. Now they have to do everything manually, they can’t fly and they also have a lot less power to make their giant machines move. Additionally; their weapons, which are jury-rigged steam cannons, are probably inferior to the 105mm howitzer that we have with us. However, the aliens that control those machines seem to have a talent for Fire Magic. Our King was horribly burned by one them, luckily he’s a Healer. Believe it or not, the creatures driving those things, look like giant snails with tentacles, their tentacles are poisonous by the way.

So while they are out there, they might not even be coming our way but I thought that you should know what was going on.”

Mayor Warren looked up at the man who commanded a combat force that she could only dream of having. Her eyes bright with unshed tears, fearing the loss of even more people that she had come to love, she said softly. “Captain what should we do?”

“Mayor, I’m not in charge here but if I was and knowing everything that I know about my new home, our current world, the known monsters in it and those we expect might be coming. I would have your folks move to the Stronghold. Currently we are setting up an American Embassy for a US Army Company and some people, who have been residing at the National Guard Armory in Bradley. They’re all moving to the Stronghold. Our King made a deal with them and granted them five acres for an embassy compound. You might be able to join up with them or move in with us, we’ve got a lot more room. If you join up with the Americans, man does that sound funny when I’m saying that, you’ll have to pay the bill to transport your people and belongings. If you become citizens of the Kingdom of Hermit’s Forge, you can still keep your US citizenship by the way, then we will transport you and a reasonable amount of personal belongings for free. If you have stockpiles of things like bedding, shotguns, fabric, ammunition, science books and other useful stuff, then we get thirty-five percent of whatever we are transporting. Those materials are then used for the common good of everyone in the Stronghold. You might think that thirty-five percent sounds like a steep price to pay but a convoy like this has to literally fight its way to wherever it’s going.

As for today, we are almost packed full but I think that we’ve got room for another thirty people or so. We could post a look out, if the spiders start walking this way, then whoever you select could leave with us, while the rest of you hunker down and hide. Back at home we’re building some new, well I guess you could call them tanks but we call them land cruisers. We should have a few done in three weeks or so; with those, we could come back and maybe fight off those snails. But that’s only if those spiders come here and decide to stay.

If they don’t come here, and I was you, I would still move to the Stronghold because it’s the safest place that I know about and I seriously doubt if anybody, anywhere has something better. You could send a small first batch of people with us and in about ten days we would be back to start moving the rest of you. We can’t start any earlier than that because we already made an agreement with the Armory folks to move them.

As I said a few minutes ago, you must have True Sight, so you know that I haven’t told you a single lie since I’ve started talking to you. If you can give me your word that no one will shoot, I’m going to post a lookout on the top of that water tower over there. Now my lookouts are from another world and they’ve got wings so don’t go freaking out on me.”

“Wait; let me talk to my people first. I’ll only be a few minutes.” Mayor Warren ran off with her head spinning.

Fifteen minutes later, she was back. “You can post your lookouts Captain. None of my people will harm them.”

She watched wide eyed as the ramp of the T800 descended and four winged humanoids got out and took flight to the nearby water tower.

“Mayor Warren it’s going to get dark in less than half an hour. I need to either get moving or circle my wagons and this place where were parked right now purely sucks for giving my soldiers clear fields of fire.”

“Captain if you can please stay the night? I need to talk to my people. The county fairgrounds, is only a half a mile from here and it should be ideal for you.”

“Alright if you can climb up here, you can show us the way.” Captain Mesquida said, while reaching down from the Hellcat and offering Mayor Warren his hand.

# # # # # # # # # # #

Quetzalcoatlus, what with the RNG never rolling one of them, I felt sure that the first encounter would lead to some dead flyers, but I guess not. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quetzalcoatlus

Partial Equipment and Vehicle Glossary:

Spoiler :

Hermit’s Forge M4 Sherman Grizzly Medium Tank, originally it was a Sherman Grizzly I Cruiser which was the Canadian variant of the American M4A1 Sherman medium tank. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grizzly_I_cruiser

It has 75 millimeters of enchanted steel armor and it is 5.8 meters long, 2.6 meters wide, 3 meters tall and weighs 30,000 kilograms.

Tracked Vehicle

One 330 horsepower steam engine; gives this vehicle a top speed of 38 kilometers per hour.

Primary Weapon is one prototype 75mm breech loading cannon built by Hermit’s Forge. Secondary weapons are two bolt-action 20mm rifles also built by Hermit’s Forge.

The original gyroscopic stabilizer for the main gun is no longer operational.

-----------------------------

Hermit’s Forge M18 Hellcat Light Tank, it began life as an American M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer and has been heavily modified by Hermit’s Forge.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M18_Hellcat

It has 25 millimeters of enchanted steel armor and a roof has been added to its original turret. This tank is 5.3 meters long (without its main gun), 2.9 meters wide, 2.6 meters tall and weighs 18,000 kilograms.

Tracked Vehicle

One 200 horsepower steam engine, give this vehicle a top speed of 56 kilometers per hour.

Primary Weapon is one prototype 50mm breech loading cannon built by Hermit’s Forge. Secondary Weapon is one bolt-action 20mm rifle built by Hermit’s Forge.

------------------------------

Hermit’s Forge FV101 Scorpion Light Tank, it began life as a British FV101 Scorpion Reconnaissance Vehicle and has been heavily modified by Hermit’s Forge. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FV101_Scorpion

It has 12.7 millimeters of enchanted aluminum armor. This tank is 5.3 meters long, 2.1 meters wide, 2.1 meters tall and weighs 17,800 kilograms.

Tracked Vehicle

One 200 horsepower steam engine, give this vehicle a top speed of 79 kilometers per hour.

Primary Weapon is one prototype 50mm breech loading cannon built by Hermit’s Forge. Secondary Weapons are two bolt-action 20mm rifles built by Hermit’s Forge.

------------------------------

Hermit’s Forge M7 Priest Motor Gun Carriage, started off as an American M7 Motor Gun Carriage but it has since been heavily modified.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M7_Priest

It has 50 millimeters of enchanted steel armor, a roof and heightened full side walls have been added to it. This vehicle is 6 meters long, 2.9 meters wide, 3.2 meters tall and weighs 26,450 kilograms.

Tracked Vehicle

One 200 horsepower steam engine, gives this vehicle a top speed of 30 kilometers per hour.

Primary weapon is one M119, 105mm howitzer which is the US designation for the British L119 105mm lightweight gun. Secondary weapons are two Hermit’s Forge 50mm Holman projectors and one twin-barrel 7.62 x 39 Murphy gun.

----------------------------

Hermit’s Forge T800 Armored Personnel Carrier, originally a 2011 Kenworth T800 Dump Truck, it has since been heavily modified.

http://www.kenworth.com/trucks/t800/

It has 152 millimeters of layered armored made of enchanted steel and sand. Windows are made of transparent aluminum and possess steel shutters. This APC is 7.6 meters long, 2.4 meters wide, 3.5 meters tall and weighs 13,600 kilograms.

It has four wheeled axles and the rear two, are powered.

One 200 horsepower steam engine, give this vehicle a maximum speed of 56 kilometers per hour.

Primary Weapons are eleven bolt-action 20mm rifles, manufactured by Hermit’s Forge.

------------------------------

Hermit’s Forge C500 Armored Personnel Transporter, started off as a Kenworth C500 and a 27 foot long steel dump trailer, it has since been heavily modified.

http://www.kenworth.com/trucks/c500/

It has 152 millimeters of layered armored made of enchanted steel and sand. Windows are made of transparent aluminum and have steel shutters. This APT is 14.3 meters long, 2.4 meters wide, 3.5 meters tall and weighs 21,319 kilograms.

The total unit has six wheeled axles, the rear two on the truck/tractor are powered.

One 200 horsepower steam engine, give this vehicle a maximum speed of 39 kilometers per hour.

Primary Weapons are seventeen bolt-action 20mm rifles, manufactured by Hermit’s Forge.

-----------------------------

Hermit’s Forge M1070 Armored Personnel Transporter; started off as an Oshkosh M1070 and a 40 foot long steel shipping container with attendant chassis; it has since been heavily modified.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oshkosh_M1070_heavy_equipment_transporter

It has 160 millimeters of layered armored made of enchanted steel and sand. Windows are made of transparent aluminum and possess steel shutters. This APT is 18.7 meters long, 2.6 meters wide, 4 meters tall and weighs 32,119 kilograms.

The total unit has six wheeled axles, the rear three on the truck/tractor are powered.

Two 200 horsepower steam engines, give this vehicle a maximum speed of 60 kilometers per hour.

Primary Weapons are eight Hermit’s Forge 50mm Holman projectors. Secondary Weapons are five bolt-action 20mm rifles, also manufactured by Hermit’s Forge.

-------------------------------

Hermit’s Forge 590 Armored Backhoe/Loader; originally a Case 590 backhoe/loader and has since been heavily modified.

http://www.casece.com/en_us/Equipment/Loader-Backhoes/Pages/590-SuperN.aspx

It has 40 millimeters of enchanted steel armor. It is 7.3 meters long, 2.4 meters wide, 3.5 meters tall and it weighs 10,800 kilograms.

It has four wheels and all are powered.

One 200 horsepower steam engine, gives this tractor a top speed of 42 kilometers per hour.

Primary Weapon is one bolt-action 20mm rifle, manufactured by Hermit’s Forge.

Partial Character List:

Spoiler :

Version five of the Defective Hermit Character List; is a work in progress.

Some of the following information is quite detailed and at other times it’s not, sorry. There are probably some errors too. This Character List is a work in progress. I am pulling together information from multiple files and having to decide what I want to reveal. I will keep tacking it on to the end of most chapters until I feel like I’ve got it right. (Which will probably be never, especially since it continues to grow.)

Population of Embassy: 100

Total Population of Stronghold (not including embassy compound): 803

People with assigned jobs: 628

Note: Many people help out wherever they can, like Clyde also being a Healer.

Those under fifteen (152), except for the very young, are now being encouraged to attend classes and apprenticeship courses. Those fifteen and over (38); have part time jobs and also take classes. Those eighteen on up have to work full time, twelve hours a day is quite common.

Unassigned: 15

Partial Character List, Version 5:

Name: Vincent Standish

Primary Class and Title: Hermit King

Class: Professional Hermit

Title: Sovereign and Absolute Monarch of the Kingdom of Hermit’s Forge.

Title: The Grumpy Hermit King

Title: The Grumpy Hermit

Warning Label: Caution, This is an Insanely Strong Smelling Hermit; It is Extremely Dangerous When Enraged. Please Keep Hands and Feet Away From Its Mouth at All Times.

Name: Nina Rivera Standish

Title: Princess

Title: The Survivor

Sex: Female

Age: 11

True Sight Level: Three

Body Augmentation Magic Level: 4

Teleportation Level: 4

Telekinesis Level: 4

Alchemy Level: 1

Hearing is 1.2 times as acute.

1.2x Scent/Odor Detection

Oldest Daughter, Linda (blue screen) married to Attorney James Lopez (orange screen), daughter Angela is six months old when she arrives at compound.

Daughter Sandra (blue screen) married to Jacob Schwartz (green screen, former sales manager for a new car dealership), their son Jonathan four months old when he arrives at compound.

Ex-wife Nancy Connor (blue screen), her boyfriend Steve Griffith (blue screen) is gone and probably dead.

------------------------

Hermit’s Guard (276):

Name: George Mesquida

Primary Class and Title: Knight

Class: Soldier

Class: Combat Officer

Title: Knight Captain

Title: Captain

Title: Husband of Sheryl and Ruth Mesquida

Name: Candace Murphy

Primary Class and Title: Knight

Class: Soldier

Class: Combat Officer

Title: Lady Knight

Title: Knight Lieutenant

Title: Lieutenant

Title: Daughter of Sean and Denise Murphy

Name: Boris Khan

Primary Class and Title: Knight

Class: Soldier

Class: Combat Officer

Title: Knight Lieutenant

Title: Lieutenant

Name: Storm Wind

Primary Class and Title: Chief; Chief of the Terran Long Flight Clan

Secondary Class and Title: Knight

Class: Soldier

Class: Combat Officer

Title: Knight Lieutenant

Title: Lieutenant

Title: Husband of Dawn Song

Title: Father of Mountain Breeze

Note: Mountain Breeze is a very young boy.

Name: Night Storm

Primary Class and Title: Chief; Second Chief of the Terran Long Flight Clan

Secondary Class and Title: Knight

Class: Soldier

Class: Combat Officer

Title: Lady Knight

Title: Knight Lieutenant

Title: Lieutenant

Title: Wife of Metal Grinder

Title: Mother of Smoky Night

Note: Smoky Night is a very young girl.

Sergeant Richard Jacobs (green screen, Vietnam veteran, very attractive man) married to Martha (green screen), surviving with two great grandchildren. Normally he serves aboard the T800 or Hellcat. He is a world class sneak and throat slitter. Additionally he is an unconventional yet effective drill instructor.

Sergeant Jeffrey Vargas (green screen, Vietnam veteran, commanded a M113 during war), now he typically commands the Sherman tank. No magical abilities other than the True Sight Skill but he has a very nice selection of physical enhancements.

Sergeant Derrick Miter, former marine M60 tank driver in Vietnam, green screen, normally drives or commands the Priest. Note: He can levitate, teleport, and use telekinesis. He also has several physical enhancements.

Sergeant Tornado Challenger, green screen, flyer, male, he is a daredevil when only his own life is on the line.

Corporal Fish Diver, green screen, flyer female, Tornado Challenger’s fiancée, she is extremely accurate when dive bombing her foes.

Corporal Sticks Spearmaker, green screen, female craft-maker, though she is still making weapons she joined the Hermit’s Guard because she feels that pole-arms aren’t as important nowadays.

Corporal Tammy Harding, green screen, former Army soldier, former INS Agent

Corporal Fall Roar, green screen flyer

Private Dominic Jackson, green screen, sharpshooter, had previously worked as a waiter in a high end restaurant. Few skills but he has been gratified to find that he has the makings of a natural shot.

Private Waxy Candlemaker, green screen, female

Private Feather Fletcher, green screen, female

Private Strings Bowyer, green screen, male

Private Stinky Tanner, green screen, male

Private Quentin Lee, first member of the Hermit’s Guard to fall. Died defending the Southern Wall from King Mandrills.

----------------------------

Construction and Maintenance (75):

Name: Macallister Smith

Primary Class and Title: Knight

Title: Minister of Construction and Maintenance

Fred Stone: Civil Engineer, picked up at County Building along with his wife, Wendy.

Jean White: Civil Engineer, picked up at the County Building. She is a Green Screen with two children, Brittany is 8 and Peter is 5. Her husband is deceased.

--------------------------

The Shop Crew (93):

Name: Glen Stewart

Primary Class and Title: Knight

Title: Minister of Manufacturing and Production

Note: Released Innocent Prisoner, Mechanic and Machinist

Name: Grace Lee

Former Aircraft Mechanic and Machinist

Note: Oath Sworn, Retired Naval Petty Office, Release Prisoner (technically guilty but extenuating circumstances should have found her innocent, Prosecutor was a jerk, the jury were idiots, and the guy started it.) She now lives in the Hermit’s home.

Ronald Lewis is an expert welder and burgeoning Fire Mage (Ron’s magic wand). (Green screen, released innocent prisoner.)

Andrew Thomas is a former appliance repair man. (Green screen, released innocent prisoner.)

Scott Blaine is an expert machinist as well as a tool and die maker. (Blue screen, alcoholic, is guilty of vehicular homicide, served most of his sentence and is truly repentant.)

Sean Murphy (green screen) is an expert gunsmith, husband of Lady Denise Murphy Minister of Health and father of Knight Lieutenant Candace Murphy.

Rufus Stokes (green screen) former M48 tanker, mechanic and drag car racer. Note: He knows how to link multiple engines together.

Mindy Stokes (green screen) is his wife and pregnant.

David Hu, father, mechanic, True Sight

Linda Hu, mother, office manager, True Sight

Nicolas Silva, father, mechanic, True Sight

--------------------------

Motor Pool (24):

Name: Clyde Jenkins

Primary Class and Title: Knight

Title: Minister of Transport

Note: Farmer, collector of old tractors and former tank crewman.

Chester Fletcher (green screen) Note: He used to own the gravel pit and associated equipment.

----------------------------

Peacekeepers (5):

Name: Faith Harper

Primary Class and Title: Knight

Title: Lady Knight

Title: Minister of Justice

Note: Former Judge

Melissa Kilmer (age: 13), Orange Screen, Squire to Lady Faith.

Sir James Lopez (orange screen and former attorney)

Note: Son-in-law of the Hermit King.

--------------------------

People Who Keep Things Running (6):

Name: Jennifer Boon

Primary Class and Title: Knight

Title: Lady Knight

Title: Chief of Staff and Spokesperson for the Hermit King Vincent Standish

Note: Released Innocent Prisoner and she has two children, Elizabeth is seven and Stephen is four years old.

Name: Star Astrologer

Primary Title and Class: Lady Knight

Class: Wise One

Title: Leader of the Free Craft-Maker People

Title: The Wise One

Title: The Dignified One

Note: Possible Enchanter if abused sufficiently enough by Vince.

--------------------------------------

Food Production (90):

Name: Isabella Gomez

Primary Class and Title: Knight

Title: Lady Knight

Title: Royal Botanist

Title: Minister of Food Production

Note: Released Innocent Prisoner

---------------------------

Logistics and Supply (18):

Name: Stephen Monet

Primary Class and Title: Knight

Title: Castellan

Title: Minister of Logistics and Supply

Note: Released Innocent Prisoner, former owner of a trucking company.

Name: Barbara Monet

Note: Oath sworn to both the King and her husband (his secretary/clerk too).

-----------------------------

Health Department (13):

Name: Denise Murphy

Primary Class and Title: Knight

Class: Healer

Class: Soldier

Title: Lady Knight

Title: Minister of Health and Chief Healer

Title: Wife of Sean Murphy

Title: Mother of Candace Murphy

Note: Nurse and an excellent shot. She and her daughter are equally good with a rifle and better than Sean.

Peggy Barnes; green screen, released innocent prisoner, nurse, possesses healing magic.

Gloria Bennett; blue screen, released prisoner, nurse practitioner; Note: gambling and drug problems, possesses healing magic.

Giovanna Silva, mother, dental hygenist, Healer, True Sight

-------------------------

Black Powder Production and Alchemical Research (29):

Blender Apothecary (green screen) is the Second Chief of the Craft-Makers. Note: Possible Enchanter if abused sufficiently enough by Vince.

--------------------

Flyer Population within Stronghold:

Long Flight Clan

Storm Wind OS, wife is Dawn Song OS, boy child Mountain Breeze

Night Storm OS (Black and Brown Wings), husband is Metal Grinder OS, daughter is Smokey Night OS

Tornado Challenger GS, fiancée is Fish Diver GS (her sister is Autumn Blaze GS and nephew is Star Bright OS)

Dawn Wind

Spring Breeze

Corporal Fall Roar

Winter Wind

Cloudy Day

Storm Cloud

Total Members: 62

Children: 32

Soaring Dawn Clan

Name: Dawn Rain

Title: Chief of The Soaring Dawn Clan on Earth

Title: The Unhappy Survivor

Morning Mist, Second Chief, orange screen

Total Members: 24

Children: 12

Craftmaker Population within Stronghold:

1st Group: 46 Adults, no children

2nd Group: 47 Adults, 17 Children

3rd Group: 7 Adults

4th Group: 12 Adults, 5 Children

Swift Runner Population within Stronghold: (13)

Tribe of Evening Song

Lady Song, deceased

Evonne Sting, Class and Title: Guardian

Husband 1: Aron

Husband 2: Ralph

Daughter Zuma: 14

Son: Foggy 8

Elva Slayer, Class and Title: Guardian

Husband 1: Long

Husband 2: Del

Daughter: Yun 9

Danni Blocker, Class and Title: Guardian

Husband 1: Ned

Husband 2: Vear

Daughter: Su 7

-------------------------

Captain Barbara Long’s Group of Survivors (630)

Lieutenant Jay Nichols

Lieutenant Kellie Cross, at Stronghold

Sergeant First Class SFC Patrick White

Staff Sergeants SSG

Lindsay Collier

Bernard Ballard

Corporal Julia Lewis

Private Shelly Hines

Howard King

---------------------------

Miscellaneous

Dwight Cobb, GS, 21 members in his group.

-------------------------------

Ervin, Ohio

Name: Sylvia Warren

Title: Mayor of Ervin

--------------------------------

Wrenchburg, Ohio

Florian Forester, 38, gs, Bartender, Town Boss

Mathias Forester, 38, gs, Dentist

Susanne Forester 14, gs

Mathias Forester, 12, gs

Nadine Forester, 9, gs

Liam Edwards, 33, gs, concrete and masonry

Kai Edwards, 31, gs, real estate

Jasmine Edwards, 6, os

Lauren Edwards, 8, os

Reuben Moerkens 50, gs

Marian Moerkens, 48, gs

Giorgio Segura, 39, gs, restaurant owner and cook

Nadelina Segura, 37, gs, cook and hostess

Cara Segura, 14, gs

Helene Segura, 12, os

Viola Segura, 9, os

Alex Csorba, 41

Margo Csorba, 40, Dental Hygenist, gs

Judit Csorba, 20, college student, gs

Petra Csorba, 17, gs

Kevin Csorba, 14, os

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