Games People Play

Author : Sandeep Nair

Author Introduction:  Hello folks, I am the author of, and the lack of brains behind SandySpeak. If you like my writing please support me at my blog at http://www.sandyspeak.blogspot.com. Happy Reading!

Story:

“Ruhktanshi has joined the fray of battle.” The Village Giant announced.

Ruhktanshi opened her eyes. She looked around her hut. There was a big pile of Magi skulls upon the earthen floor. Through the lone window she saw that it was raining heavily outside. The drops shimmered silver. As the drops hit the purple earth, they vaporized into a golden smoke. The ground remained completely dry, as if by magic. A surge of rage coursed through her at this sight.

Before stepping out, she quickly gathered her armor and weapons. Her armor was made of dark steel. She strapped a mace to her back. In its sheath at her waist was the dagger called ‘The Harbinger of Doom’. It was a gift bestowed upon her by the Immortals of Battle.

 “Greetings Villagers. Why does the Manna rain?”

“Hail Drillmistress! The Invoker Warlord has summoned his Magi court at The Citadel.” A veteran replied.

“Why hasn’t anything been done about it?”

“The Strider and his Rangers were planning an attack…”

 “Why did none of us Barbarians accompany him?”

“We offered to, but The Strider heard that the Nexans were camping in the foothills, preparing to assault The Citadel. They offered the Strider a truce. He accepted, since the Nexans no longer have any Magi in their ranks, thanks to our war with them. He refused to fight alongside them though. He thought if we Barbarians joined the scouting party, the Nexans might cause trouble. That would tip off the Acolytes. So he went alone.”

 “What happened then?”

“We have received no word. We suspect the Commander was betrayed and ambushed by the Nexans.”

“He would never trust the Nexans.”

“Yes, but maybe he was overwhelmed.”

“And am I to understand, that the finest warriors in all Gehenna, have been sitting idle in The Village and letting the Manna rain, while the Strider has disappeared?

“At your command!”

“Sally forth and ride to Battle! Let us away and unleash the black death upon these bastard MAGI! I WANT THE CITADEL DESTROYED BEFORE THE RISING OF THE DAWN!”

** A bright flash of light **

“I want that report filed before lunch.” Meghana shouted.

She slammed down the phone.

“Morons, must I do everything myself?” she thought and swiveled around in her plush leather chair.

Her office was on the thirtieth floor, reserved for the four V.P.’s. It was very luxurious with west facing windows which offered beautiful views of the sunset every evening, which was the time when she plotted her strategy for the next day. She was confident that all her efforts would soon propel her to the 31st floor, reserved for the CEO of Innovate Inc, one of the largest software companies in all of America.

But that would have to wait for the blue screen that confronted her when she turned to her laptop.

“Bloody hell!” She screamed out aloud.

She picked up her ashtray and flung it to the carpet in fury.

“In your usual good mood I see.” Ricky said as he entered her office. As always he was dressed casually. It was a habit that Meghana loathed. But being the CEO and the founder of a company had its perks.

When she became the CEO, this little bit of unpleasantness would also dissolve.

“What happened?

“Hello Ricky. My laptop crashed. How was the golf?”

“It was good. I lost. Is the final presentation ready?”

“Yes, it should be on my desk by lunch. I have a draft ready. I will come up to your office once I get IT to fix this.”

“Ask Arup to fix it.”

“Who is that? That guy who runs the servers?”

“Yeah”

“He is only a tech. not an Engineer. I need this data recovered, not formatted.”

“He is better than most of our engineers. He debugged Darkroom.”

“But he is…”

“Not a B-tech or an MBA from a top School? Yeah, but neither am I. While I built the company, he built himself up from an office boy into the best IT tech. in all of Silicon Valley. He spent his nights here when he was studying to save on expenses. The money he saved kept his family fed. If that isn’t leading from the front, I don’t know what is. Anyway, get me the draft.”

“Loser” Thought Meghna, as she watched Ricky’s receding back through narrowed eyes.

She hated everything about Ricky, just as she hated most of her co-workers. She came from one of America’s finest B-schools, had a double master’s degree, had traveled the world, and then had a job in upper management waiting when she got back. Everything about Ricky right, from his casual clothes to his friendly demeanor was at odds with her haughty ivory tower credentials and nature. Luckily ever since the venture capitalists came in, Ricky was an employee in his own company. She intended to replace him within a couple of years. Then she would show everyone how companies ought to be run.

She sighed and dialed Arup’s number.

Within minutes she heard a soft knocking at her door. Arup stepped in, dressed in navy blue over-alls. He was a tall figure, which put the angles into his stout frame. Slightly balding, his high forehead shone under the lights. Bushy eyebrows framed kind eyes, with laugh lines along the corners. A slightly disfigured nose over-shadowed his lips, upon which, hung a small smile at all times. The strength in his frame coupled with the all-pervading sense of friendliness about him, made him instantly likeable.

“Yes Ma’m?”

“Take a look at my laptop. It has crashed twice in two days.”

“Right away.”

“Mind you, I want the data recovered. Not formatted.”

“Let me see what I can do.”

“Right. Make it quick.”

Arup fiddled around with the laptop. Meghana watched him work. She wondered how such a lowly person felt like to be in her office. He was probably fantasizing about screwing her here. Despite being in her early thirties, she maintained a figure that caused everyone to drool. She had learnt early on that a little cleavage went a long way in garnering promotions. Seven years after she had started, here she was, a V.P. but, ironically, still dependent on an IT tech.

“It is done. The OS was corrupt. I have done a repair. I suggest you let me do a re-install and make everything squeaky new.” Arup drawled.

“Do it in the evening.”

The phone rang. It was Ricky.

“Is the draft ready?”

“IT just finished fixing my laptop. I will be up there in a moment.”

** A bright flash of light **

Ruhktanshi raised her hand and the twenty barbarians behind her halted immediately. Even from a distance the marble towers of The Citadel could be seen clearly. This close the Manna positively hummed in the air.

“Two of you come with me. Let us scout.”

They stepped forward stealthily through the red snow. An hour later Ruhktanshi raised her hand and made a fist. All three of them dropped to the ground. They were on the Northwestern gate of The Citadel. Above, a lone Elven archer leaned upon a pillar. He was cleaning his ear with a cross-bow bolt.

“Why are there no guards?” Ruhktanshi muttered to herself.

 A few minutes later, a small boy appeared in view. He was chasing his dog.

Ruhktanshi broke cover and casually walked up to him.

“Hello Sonny. We have lost our way. Could you tell us who is inside so that we can ask for an audience?”

“Lord Socherion is holding court.” The boy replied and ran back inside.

So it was true! The Invoker Warlord was here! A master of the elements, he was a deadly Mage. Ruhktanshi’s blood heated up. The Strider! Had he and his Rangers fallen prey to the invoker’s might?

It was time for action.

“The Citadel is unprepared. We must regroup and attack now. Let us head back and get the others.” Ruhktanshi determined.

“The shortest way is through the foothills here. It will take too much time to go back the way we came from.” One of the Barbarians replied.

“Alright, lead the way.”

The three of them began their way back at a rapid clip. As they ran through the foothills, Ruhktanshi looked around. She was working out potential escape routes that the Acolytes could use to get out. She was going to slaughter every last one of them.

Wait a minute!

Ruhktanshi slipped. However, instead of hitting the ground she found herself suspended a foot above it. She saw that the other two, like her, had blundered into a web of acidic Manna. The wily invoker had booby trapped the foothills with his acid invocation! She quickly sliced through her webbing with her dagger. Barely had she managed to extricate herself when she heard a loud rumbling. She looked up and saw boulders of stone falling from the sky. With a loud cry she hurled herself behind a large rock and took cover. The rain of stones ended as abruptly as it started. She took a quick glance and saw that both the veterans were dead, their bodies crushed by the rain of stone.

Ruhktanshi wielded her maces. Where was the mage?

A massive pillar of lightning materialized twenty feet from her. A concussive blast slapped her body away like a twig. She slammed into a rock and doubled over from the pain. She looked up and there he was, the bastard Mage. With The Berserker’s Rage in her, she swung her mace at the rock. It went flying towards the invoker. He created a shield of water around him to stop the rock, but he hadn’t counted for Ruhktanshi’s cunning. With a flick of her wrist she threw her dagger after the rock. It flew through the air and just before the rock hit the shield of water, struck it. The rock splintered it into a thousand pieces. The sharpened stone pierced through the water, injuring the invoker in many places. The shield of water dropped down to the ground.

With a massive incantation, the enraged Invoker let loose a fireball. Ruhktanshi spun around, behind her shield, which melted under the assault. In her berserker’s rage, she had no idea of her wounds, but she knew the Invoker would not die at her hands. For all her strategic ability, she had been outthought and trapped. She launched herself through the air, aiming her dagger for the invoker’s throat. He erected a massive block of ice. She felt as if she had hit a wall.

As she lay on the ground trying to capture her breath, the hooded Invoker materialized. He twirled his fingers and she saw long icicles develop in his fingernails. He raised his hands to his mouth, and prepared to blow the icicles into her body. As he opened his mouth, Ruhktanshi sensed motion…

The Strider sprung out from a nearby shrub with a loud disorienting yell. Even before the Invoker could turn, the Strider had planted his deadly Katana up and through his hood. There was no blood, no scream, just a ripping sound. Ruhktanshi struggled to come to terms with the ambush that the Strider had laid. The Invoker’s body vaporized. His clothes fell down in a heap. Immediately, the drops of manna vanished and the rain stopped. The sun burst out through the clouds as the magic broke.

The Strider quickly applied a healing poultice upon her.

“You led him straight into my ambush. Good work.”

“We came looking for you.”

“I couldn’t send word. I noticed the Invoker preparing an ambush for the Nexan assault. So I camouflaged myself here and prepared an ambush for the Invoker. Unfortunately you sprung his ambush instead of the Nexans, who I suspect have run away. The only way to save you was to wait until I had him defenseless.”

“Thank you for saving my life.”

“It would be a pity to let such a fine Drillmistress pass away to the Valhalla.”

“Come with me to the village.”

“We are Rangers. The forests and the foothills are our homes. Come now.”

** A bright flash of light **

At the meeting with Ricky, Meghana found it difficult to concentrate. It was bruising to her ego to accept that the Invoker had out-played her. She dismissed it as pure bad luck. However she admired the Strider. What an impeccable ambush he had laid! No doubt, he too was the product of a top B-school. Possibly a strategy consultant or a V-P or even a CEO! She wondered what it would be like to meet him in person. He wouldn’t be anything like Ricky for sure. 

Back in her office, she sent an IM to Arup to come to her office. Fifteen minutes later when there was no response, she lost her temper. She decided to head to the server room. She would give him a piece of her mind. On the thirteenth floor, she quickly located Arup’s workstation. He wasn’t at his seat. She stood there indecisively for a few minutes amongst the hum of the servers then decided to leave. Before leaving she tapped on his laptop to check if her IM had been delivered. It had been. She put it to sleep again. As the monitor darkened, she caught a glimpse of a folder named GEHENNA LOGS.

Wait a minute!

She tapped the keyboard. The screen came back to life. She opened the folder. It contained tens of folders. One of them was named STRIDERLOGS.

Meghana stood there aghast. She opened the folder with trepidation and checked the logs. The latest one was of her fight with the invoker, through the eyes of the Strider.

No! It couldn’t be! How could a lowly technician be such a master strategist?

She backed away from the laptop in a blind panic and bumped into Arup. His kind eyes looked down into hers, that ever-present smile on his face…

She shook her head and ran to the lift. There was no way Arup was the strider. He wasn’t fit for her. Ricky wasn’t fit for her. She was better than all of them. Arup couldn’t be the Strider. She wouldn’t let him be the Strider. She would call HR and make sure they fired Arup for causing a security breach by using his office workstation to play online games.

** A bright flash of light **

“Ruhktanshi has joined the fray of battle.” The Village Giant announced.

“Hail Drillmistress!” The village chorused.

“Greetings Villagers. I have an announcement to make. The Rangers, in accepting the truce with the Nexans, have betrayed the cause. From this moment on, we are at war with them. I want the Strider’s head in the Village pit. Is this understood?”

“At your command!”

“Sally forth and ride to Battle! Let us away and unleash the black death upon these bastard Rangers! I WANT THE TREE DESTROYED BEFORE THE RISING OF THE DAWN!