by Aleron Kong
The goblins started to turn back, and Richter attacked. What the goblins had just taken to be a patch of rock revealed itself as a deadly enemy. The chaos seed extended his hand, and his fingers formed the tactile portion of the spellform while a guttural word of Power spilled from his lips. Only two seconds after Sion launched his arrow, Richter cast Troubled Sleep.
Two scouts dropped to the ground immediately. The spell’s five-foot area of effect also let him hit the third scout and the fighter trailing them. The two goblins resisted the spell and started turning towards Richter. The chaos seed didn’t give them time to respond. Richter raised his other hand and released the spell stored in his Ring of Spell Holding. This time, both the fighter and scout dropped.
The remaining three goblins started to shout, and one still had a horn on his belt. They knew they probably wouldn’t make it out of the ravine alive, but seeing their racial enemy whipped them into a fury. Even if their lives would end, they would sound the alarm out of loyalty and spite, sure that their fellows would chase down the sprite that had killed them. That was the plan anyway.
Sion’s second arrow took another goblin fighter in the chest, missing an instant kill due to the goblin dodging to the side. The goblin with the horn was raising it to his mouth, and the last had raised his sword to attack, when the chokespore arachnid entered the fray. The spider jumped off of the wall it had been hanging on and landed in the middle of the three goblins. Both Richter and Sion pulled back. They intentionally breathed out, resisting the reflex of inhaling while they held their breath. The spider landed, and thousands of tiny spores shot out from its abdomen with a soft pfft. To Richter and Sion, it looked like a sphere of brown dust just suddenly appeared around the summoned creature
The goblin Sion had wounded went down first. He was in the process of starting to scream, and he took a large breath of the spores. His throat immediately became inflamed and swollen. A spasm caused the fighter’s already narrowed airway to momentarily snap shut. The goblin dropped to his knees, clawing at his own throat.
The other two got a smaller dose, but it still spelled their end. They coughed involuntarily to try and expel the offending spores, but that just triggered a compensatory reflex of inhaling deeper once the cough had passed. That caused a second, stronger cough and another resultant inhale. The cascade continued until they fell to the ground, killed by their bodies own attempts to survive. It took a few more seconds, but they still dropped to the ground, struggling to take in even the smallest of breaths.
In less than ten seconds, the patrol was down. After a mental command from Richter, the arachnid started biting each of the goblins to ensure they would stay that way. Alma had already latched onto the head of the goblin that the adder was squeezing to death. With a loud crack, the goblin’s neck broke, and the snake began to loosen its hold.
The cloud of spores stayed in the air for about fifteen seconds before it began to settle. A minute later, it was safe to walk through the area again. Sion took his sword out and was preparing to deliver the coup de grace, when Richter stopped him.
The sprite looked up and was somewhat taken aback by the hungry look on his friend’s face. Richter smiled and said, “I need them.”
Alma flew over to a paralyzed goblin. The creature’s breaths were still coming short and fast, and his eyes were pained. Sion’s arrow might not have been fatal, but from the position, it had most likely punctured a lung. He wasn’t long for the world, but the goblin still tried to eek out every last gasp out of life. As the dragonling latched onto his head, though, his eyes reflected more than pain. They showed fear as well.
Richter leaned over the green-skinned fighter and realized it was the one he and Sion had named Scar. The chaos seed wasn’t sure if the paralyzed goblin was pleading with his eyes as his raised his dagger, but then, it didn’t really matter. Richter plunged the white blade into the fighter’s chest. Black blood shot from the wound, covering the weapon and Richter’s hand. A sharp yank later, the goblin was fully gutted, and Alma got her meal. The dragonling detached from the goblin and moved onto the next.
Sion watched his friend feed goblins to his familiar with mechanical efficiency. Alma would clamp onto a goblin’s head with a hiss of hungry pleasure, and Richter would stab it to death. There was no cruelty in it, but no pity either. It wasn’t until they got to the last scout, that Richter looked up with a playful smile on his face.
“Hey Sion, I think this one is Bill. Do you want to take it out?”
Sion smiled back and just shook his head. Richter shrugged and plunged his dagger down. The whole white length of the blade was smeared with black now, and small gobbets of flesh were caught on the pommel. The chaos seed gave a final twist to the blade and the last goblin died.
Sion watched his Companion butcher the goblins with a detached respect and a small amount of pleasure at seeing his racial enemies killed. As Richter had continued the slaughter, though, the pleasure faded, and another feeling twinged inside of him. Without even recognizing what he was doing, Sion squashed that emotion and focused on remaining detached. Even if he had paid heed, though, the sprite could never have admitted to himself, that for just a moment, he had been afraid of his best friend.
CHAPTER 29 – Day 141 – Kuborn 31, 15,386 EBG
You have been awarded 6,926 experience (base 158,310 x 0.07 x 1.25 x 0.5) from Brain Drain against Level 16 Goblin, Station: Fighter.
You have been awarded 4,217 experience (base 96,379 x 0.07 x 1.25 x 0.5) from Brain Drain against Level 13 Goblin, Station: Fighter.
You have been awarded 5,066 experience (base 115,799 x 0.07 x 1.25 x 0.5) from Brain Drain against Level 14 Goblin, Station: Fighter.
You have been awarded 2,020 experience (base 46,163 x 0.07 x 1.25 x 0.5) from Brain Drain against Level 10 Goblin, Station: Scout.
You have been awarded 2,748 experience (base 62,812 x 0.07 x 1.25 x 0.5) from Brain Drain against Level 11 Goblin, Station: Scout.
You have been awarded 1,293 experience (base 29,556 x 0.07 x 1.25 x 0.5) from Brain Drain against Level 8 Goblin, Station: Scout.
You have been awarded 5,180 experience (base 118,394 x 0.07 x 1.25 x 0.5) from Brain Drain against Level 14 Goblin, Station: Fighter.
Know This! As a Battle Sergeant serving beneath a Battle Leader, you are entitled to keep 50% of the total War Points earned.
For slaying three Goblin Scouts, you have been awarded 3 (6 x 0.5) War Points!
For slaying five Goblin Fighters, you have been awarded 8 (15 x 0.5) War Points!
Total War Points: 51.
None of the goblins transmitted memories along with the Brain Drain. Richter wasn’t complaining. He was twenty-seven thousand points closer to paying off his experience debt! He didn’t second-guess his decision to spend his XP to buy Talent points. The enchantments he had made would most likely save the lives of his people today. Still, it would be nice to increase his stats with some good ol’ fashion leveling.
When he had just been playing games, he had always enjoyed being a jack of all trades. The increasing costs of spells, though, showed him that if he was going to take his magic seriously, he was woefully underprepared as far as his mana pool went. Richter had to imagine the same was true for his martial skills. Bottom line, he might need to level again before he bought more Talent points.
The goblins didn’t have much in the way of usable items. A few copper pieces, one or two silver, and a collection of low-quality weapons and armor. He and Sion jogged back down the ravine to join the rest of the warband. They left the bodies in a pile. Alma had flown back towards the end of the pass, almost drunk on the psychic energy she had consumed. She confirmed that no one at the gate looked alarmed, and no other goblins were coming down the ravine. The dragonling also agreed to help Yoshi now that the ambush was over. Alma gave an update on the strike team’s position. They were thirty yards up and had covered more than half the remaining distance to the guard post.
Richter and Sion quickly reached the e
nd of the ravine and looked around. To the sprites’ credit, he couldn’t see them at first, but soon they seemed to phase into being out of the surrounding woods. Hisako walked up.
“Where is Yoshi?” she asked.
Richter clued her in on what had transpired. To her credit, the strong-willed woman just listened without interrupting. There was no a sigh of relief when she heard that the patrol had been taken out and neither was there a gasp of concern when she heard what Yoshi’s team was about to do. No one who met the powerful woman would ever make the mistake of thinking her weak-willed. She was an experienced leader and knew when to put her faith her in her people. After his report, she succinctly said, “Then we wait.”
It turned out; waiting was harder than anything else Richter had done that night. His own soldiers were stationed further away from the ravine than the sprites were. Lacking the Forest Concealment ability, his guards couldn’t risk being seen if goblins had come back down the pass. He jogged over to them. Terrod and Caulder walked up to meet him.
“Are you well, my lord?” the captain asked.
“Yes,” Richter replied. “How are the men? Report.”
Caulder spoke up and said they were ready, “All of the guards seem alert. They are ready to fight for you and their morale is high.”
“Good,” Richter said with a nod. He took some extra health and stamina potions from his bag. “Hand these out to any of our people who had to use their potions during the koolari attack.”
“It will be done, my lord.”
The two started walking off, but Richter reached out a hand, and they stopped. He took out the Belt of Agility he had taken from the Warrior the day before and handed it to Terrod. Just like Caulder’s had the day before, the captain’s eyes widened in shock. Before he could speak, Richter cut him off, “Don’t bother protesting. You deserve it. Use it well.”
For your generous gift, you have gained 311 Relationship Points with Terrod. Total Relationship Points: 28,186
The captain nodded gratefully and walked off with Caulder to take care of the troops. Richter decided to take a moment to do the same. He spoke with his villagers and joked lightly with them when possible. Many of the men and women were nervous, but they still met his eye. That was enough.
An hour later, he received word from Alma. The guard post had been pacified. Their army remained undetected. Richter gave an order, and Terrod and Caulder got the guards moving. Sion took charge of the meidon sprites. Together with Hisako, they all marched down the ravine, each secretly hoping to see the sun rise once more.
CHAPTER 30 – Day 141 – Kuborn 31, 15,386 EBG
The army approached the guard post cautiously. Torches still burned to either side of the gate, and after marching in darkness for hours, entering a field of light made Richter feel exposed. Damien, Yoshi’s second in command, came out of the gate though and waved them through. As the army passed through the gate, Damien walked towards them.
“Greetings, Hearth Mother. The guard post has been secured. The other members of the strike team are now searching the woods that line this side of the valley.”
Hisako nodded and walked through the gate. Richter dismissed his night vision and followed her. The bodies of dozens of goblins lay piled in heaps. Many had arrow holes in their eyes, throats, and chests. Black blood stained the faces of the dead and more than a few had ragged tears in their necks. It was obvious that while some had died without even feeling the arrows that claimed their lives, others had died choking, as their own blood filled their lungs.
The campfires were still burning. Damien explained that to keep the fiction going that the guard post was still manned, they had to keep everything looking as similar as possible. It should keep anyone in the main encampment from getting suspicious. That was why the torches on top of the gate were still lit. It was also why three sprites were now on top of the parapet, pretending to be the recently killed goblin sentries.
Richter walked forward and looked upon the valley with his own eyes. Like Alma had shown him, a large grove of trees grew on this side of the vale. Richter walked through them until he crossed over into grassland that dominated most of the valley. The land dipped down from where he was standing, giving a clear view. Though clouds still floated across the sky, the light from three moons illuminated much of the land.
From his position, he could see the goblin encampment. It had been built on a hill along the northern bank of the river that crossed the valley, flowing east to west. The end of the river entered a cliff face that was a quarter mile south of where he was standing. Other copses of trees dotted the vale, but for the most part, it was open country. The valley floor was comprised of lightly rolling hills. Making it to the goblin’s base would have been a nightmare, even for the strike team, but the walls of the river bank were high. It would be tight, but from what Alma had seen, there was just enough dry land along the river for the team to make it to the hill beneath the camp.
Richter looked back at the copse of trees and then forward at the valley before him. An idea occurred to him. He knew time was of the essence, but this could change everything. The chaos seed activated Stealth and moved forward as quickly as he could. Richter stopped periodically, making a broad arc in front of where his people lay hidden. Fifteen minutes later, he walked back into the trees.
Yoshi had started arraying their forces. The Mist Village guards had been divided into two distinct groups. Melee fighters were in front of each fifty-man block and casters were kept to the middle. Terrod and Caulder were in charge of each group. Both the captain and the sergeant were unhappy with the fact that Richter would be going into the encampment without them. They understood they lacked the stealth capabilities required for this phase of the mission. Richter walked up to Hisako and Yoshi.
“Where have you been?” the adept asked.
Richter took out his map and showed the half-sprite exactly where he had stopped. With a small flexion of will, he made red dots appear on the parchment at all the places he had stopped. They were placed so that a clear path could be wended through them without endangering members of the warband.
“And all of these are traps?” Hisako asked.
“Yup,” Richter said with a little smile.
“What do they do?” Yoshi asked, frowning at the map. “And are you sure you were not spotted?”
Richter shook his head, “I was in Stealth the whole time, and these are all high level web traps created by an assengai queen. Acid, constricting and razor webs will fire out if triggered. I made sure to place them within bow range, but still far enough away that none of our forces will be caught when they go off. If we can draw the goblins to us as we planned, we can start shooting the goblins as they approach. Once they rush forward in a group, they should trigger the traps.”
“They will come for us,” Yoshi said definitively. “All goblins fear our imbued arrows, but also know that their best chance for survival is closing to melee range as quickly as possible.”
“Good,” Richter said. “Now, as Scout, I can make everyone in the war party see enemies that I have spotted. I’m assuming you can do the same with traps?”
A sadistic little smile appeared on Yoshi’s face. He concentrated for a moment, accessing his War Leader interface. Then he turned to Richter and spoke in a stern voice that was somewhat undercut by the residual smile, “It is done. In the future, it would be best if you made us aware of all possible resources prior to the eve of battle.”
Richter didn’t believe the adept’s tough guy act for a second. He shrugged and said, “What can I say? I’m a man of hidden depths.”
“Hmpf,” was Yoshi’s only reply. Hisako smiled at Richter, though and just shook her head. The adept called his second in command over and gave an order that every member of the war party was to be notified that the glowing red dots they could now see were traps to be avoided.
Once the other sprite walked away, Hisako addressed Yoshi and said, “Finish your report.”
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��There are no other hostiles in the immediate area,” Yoshi said. “Our forces are well hidden, and each sprite has at least fifty arrows.”
“Well done,” Hisako responded. “I am glad that we are prepared for battle, but we cannot have more than two hours until sunrise. Is your team ready?”
“We are.”
“Do you still think it prudent to add Lord Richter and Sion to your team?”
Yoshi looked appraisingly at the chaos seed, “The lord has accounted himself well thus far . Also, your son has only grown in power since last we saw him. In addition, there are ten meidon sprites who would have undergone Uddo Rengai soon. Now that the guard post has been subdued, I believe they could be an asset for this next phase of the attack.”
“They have sworn their allegiance to Lord Richter, so the decision is his,” Hisako stated
Richter headed off the inevitable question, “Of course.” Hisako nodded and then turned her attention to her sword adept.
“This is an important mission, Adept Yoshi.” Hisako’s voice was firm, and her gaze was steady. “I do not understand why so many different forces are arraying against us at this time. I do not know why goblin and bugbear tribes, tribes that hate each other almost as much as they do us, are suddenly coordinating incursions into the forest. This night we have an opportunity, however. We can crush one of their encampments, seize one of the goblins’ most powerful objects and take whatever else they have come for. This must happen. Do not fail me, Adept Yoshi.”
The half-sprite went down on one knee and bent his head, a knight kneeling before his liege, “Kva ti relada voe.”
“Ti voe reladii,” Hisako responded. She placed her hand on his head, almost in benediction.
Richter hadn’t heard the phrase for a while, but he remembered Sion saying it months ago after he made a grave mistake. His Companion had spoken the sprite words as a solemn vow. Yoshi had just done the same, pledging “My life for my word.” Hisako had accepted his pledge and responded with the ritual response, “Your word for your life.”
