The Underground Palace

Chapter One - You're Going To Die

'You're going to die!  You're going to die!'

'No, I'm not.'

'Yes you are!  Look at you.  You're losing by miles!'

'It doesn't mean anything.'

'Glen, just face it.  In a matter of seconds you're going to be dead.'

The sound of men yelling and screaming in battle filled Glen Baker's bedroom, mixed with swords clashing against metal and wooden arrows flying through the air.  Then suddenly a voice stopped the action: 'Lord Baker has been defeated.'

'Told you so,' smirked his cousin, Alexandra Ramsay, who was leaning against the bedroom doorframe.  Glen looked up from his television and threw Alex a filthy look.

'If you could have kept your mouth shut for one minute, I know I could have won.'  Alex snorted.

'So what are you going to do in a real battle, Glen?' she laughed.  '"Hear!  Hear!  Everybody be quiet for the Lord, he needs to concentrate now", all you had to do was block my voice out.  You have to concentrate more.'

'Ha!  Ha!' Glen sarcastically laughed.  'The lucky thing is we don't live in those times anymore.'

'You lost a hundred troops within the first minute!  Come on, I could do better than that!'

'Fine,' Glen said.  He leaned back on his bed and threw the Playstation controller over to Alex who caught it with one hand.  'Five pounds says you won't last longer than I did, in fact, ten pounds says you can't even win!'  Alex looked down at the controllers, and pressed down some of the buttons, testing them.

'What makes you say that?' she asked.

'Because Goldilocks, you suck.'

'I do not!' Alex yelled back.  'And stop calling me goldilock!  My hair is light brown, not golden.'  Glen raised his eyebrows and smirked.  He was daring her to step up to the challenge.  Alex rolled her eyes and walked forward, knowing that if she didn't give it a try, Glen would pester her for hours.  She sat down at the end of her cousin's bed and she shoved his legs to the side to give herself some space.  Thrilled, Glen sat up and poked Alex's ribs.

'Alex is going to die!' he teased.  Alex spun round and whacked Glen across the head.  

'Ouch!' he cried out.  

Turning her attention back to the controller, Alex firmly pressed the start button and immediately the words WarZone  flashed on the television screen.  Alex flicked the analog stick downwards and paused over the words 'new game'.

'It's the 'X' button you press next,' Glen grinned and pointed.  Alex suppressed a smile and started the game. 

Within the next five minutes Alex showed Glen the steps to complete the - in Glen's eyes - complicated level.  By placing Churches in her newly built town, planting flowers and making her castle secure she managed to gain trust within the community.  Next, she placed hop farms that could be brewed into beer and sold to the Inn, which increased the population.  By sending twenty armed soldiers to the riverbank, she prevented the fire starters and rock slingers from causing havoc to the farms.  She also sent regular supplies to her allies and managed to gain their support through the war that followed, allowing the words 'Lord Ramsay has reached success' to flash up on the screen.

Satisfied, Alex turned round to face Glen who had his mouth wide open.  Finally he managed to stutter one word.

'H ... how?'  Alex placed the Playstation controller gently on Glen's lap and stood up from the bed.