We made it back to the tree line and the comfortable darkness under the thick foliage just as the sun started shining.
We camped at the same location as before, where the soldiers fell down to sleep, exhausted from a day of fighting.
When the sun was casting its last rays of light, we broke camp and made our way back to Goblin’s Gorge.
29 – Undermining
We made it back to the clan at the break of dawn. I ordered the troops to the barracks to rest and made my way to my own house.
As I rode Tempest through the settlement, I accessed the ‘Population’ tab and checked on the workers I’d added to the war party. I grinned when I saw the information. It worked! All my workers had gained a few levels. Zuban and Vrick were now level 10, Tika and Guba were level 8, and the two smiths were level 7. Though none of them had participated in the raid, they still got a small share of the XP, enough to skyrocket their relatively low levels and their work skill caps. The experiment was a success. I’d found a new way to increase the power of my clan and speed up the settlement’s development.
There was a surprise waiting for me when I got back to my house. Tika was drowsing on a bed. An actual, goblin king-sized bed!
That’s right, I did tell Kaedric to summon a carpenter, I recalled.
I got out of my brand-new, still spotless, Pyrolith scale gambeson and climbed into bed next to my beautiful huntress.
Still sleeping, Tika moved her body, pressing against me.
I smiled. It was good to be chief.
***
I was awakened by the racket of shouting.
“I don’t be giving a bleeding rat’s ass! He has to know.” Guba’s shrill voice was instantly recognizable.
“I’m afraid he is otherwise indisposed.” Kaedric’s dispassionate voice was firm.
I regretfully got out of bed. I’d almost forgotten what it was like to spend the night in an actual bed instead of furs on the floor. I had slept like a baby.
I opened the door. “Why are you shouting?”
Guba seethed. “There be theft and treachery!”
I rubbed my eyes. “Huh?”
“Someone snuck in ter the warehouse and stole me entire vat of liquid fire!”
That shook me wide awake. “Huh?”
Kaedric gave the disgruntled elderly goblinette a reproachful look. “Why did you not come to me immediately?”
“I don’t trust yer kind,” she said bluntly. “Hobs be hobs be hobs. This is a matter fer the chief!”
I dimly remembered Guba telling me liquid fire was used for crafting grenades and traps. “Someone stole a whole vat of liquid fire?”
“Aye!” Guba answered sharply. “It be nearly 20 liters. Took me a month to gather all them ingredients”
“Damn it!” I bristled. Someone had it in for my clan and me. First the murder of the two lumberjacks, then the sabotage at the lumber yard, and now this. “I want to know who’s responsible!”
My seneschal’s eyes became distant. After a moment, he shook his head. “Our patrols have encountered no suspicious activity throughout the night, my lord.”
I gritted my teeth. “I thought you stationed guards at the warehouse.”
“Only to guard the shop while it was stationed there. Once Gazlan moved his wares to the marketplace, there was no need to maintain their presence.”
“From now on, I want two guards stationed inside the warehouse at all times,” I ordered.
“It is uncustomary, but I shall relay your orders, my lord.”
His remark was understandable. NPC guards were usually stationed to guard an entrance. But that only made it easy for rogue-type players; once they gained entry, usually through a window or basement, they had free rein of the place.
“Which of the travelers were present during the night?”
It was now always night in the valley, but Kaedric took my meaning. “Our patrols have encountered Raystia, Riley Stonefist, Nero SantoDrago, and Sullivan Tucker.”
Again, Riley’s name came up. He wouldn’t be so dumb as to pull another stunt after how he had to atone for his last transgression, right? I frowned. I didn’t know for sure. “Who’s Sullivan Tucker?”
“It is the one who spoke up against you before you completed the Dark Temple and unleashed Eternal Darkness.”
He was the player I’d jokingly thought to award with a gift for helping me make my point to the others. I guessed he was a plausible suspect. He sounded like he had issues.
I had a sudden inspiration. “Who of the four travelers was present in the valley during the previous incidents?”
Kaedric bowed his head respectfully. “I should have thought of this myself, my lord. Three of the four were present on all other occasions. Nero was the only one who was absent.”
I exhaled a sigh of relief. Out of the four, I really didn’t want that one-man army guy to be against me, especially not when he was playing a pivotal role in training up my soldiers.
It was good intel, adding a piece to the puzzle, though I couldn’t act upon it alone. The information was unreliable. Kaedric’s knowledge only extended to the individuals my troops had encountered while patrolling. They could have easily missed the real culprit.
“Okay, I want a scout following each of the three travelers at all times. On second thought, make it two scouts. Make sure they keep their eyes and noses open.” I had 16 of the specialized hobs and could easily afford the manpower. Stealth was an integral part of their position, which made them most suited for the job.
“Yes, my lord.”
“Well, I guess it be good you taking this seriously,” Guba grunted. “Ye should find the culprit and slit ‘em throat. They can be doing a lot of damage with all that liquid fire.”
That made my blood freeze. I saw my entire settlement ablaze in my mind’s eye. I turned back to Kaedric. “Tell Bob to have all of our troops comb the valley for that vat.”
“Shouldn’t be too hard,” Guba said. “The thing’s odor can blind a bat, even them nose-plugged hobs can smell it; just be looking fer a whiff of sulfur.”
I nodded. “That helps. You got that?” I asked Kaedric.
“Yes, my lord. I shall inform Borbarabsus immediately.”
“Good.”
The two walked away, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
This was the third act of sabotage against my clan. Someone clearly had it out for me, but I had no idea why. The new players should have all been thrilled to aid us. The abundance of quests my clan offered was a quick and easy path to wealth and power. I couldn’t understand what someone could gain by deliberately hampering our efforts.
I briefly contemplated the possibility of Vatras planting a spy in our midst, but I shook my head. It was extremely unlikely. Players that had the required mental capacity to play as monsters were scarce, and those that came to my clan were randomly selected by the company. Vatras would have no way of inserting his own man into my clan.
For now, I’d done what I could to find the culprit and ensure it wouldn’t happen again. I had other priorities and couldn’t lose any more time on speculation. If Tal’s information was correct, I had about two weeks before the first wave of attackers reached us. I had to be ready for them.
I needed more soldiers.
I opened the Warehouse Interface and reviewed our available food stock.
366 raw meat
93 raw fish
160 gathered edibles
12 gathered ingredients
252 mushrooms
9 purple salt
2 magmashrooms
I grimaced. The oxsaurian alpha attack had forced us to retreat before we could gather all the meat from the cows we’d killed. There were probably over a thousand units of raw meat, but we had only managed to bring 200 back. The amount of food available would barely be enough to summon a handful of new troops, especially when I factored in the mortality rate of the naming ceremony.
I decided not to strain our food stocks for no
w. I needed to be able to summon new workers should the need arise, and I wanted as many soldiers as possible for the next hunting trip. It would be the last one before the attackers arrived.
Looks like I have some time on my hands for enchanting and investing in my own training. I’d been postponing it long enough.
With a flick of my mind, I pulled up my combat skills information.
Dark Mana 44 (0%) Ⓑ
Drilling Arrow 26 (95%) Ⓑ
Mana Shield 27 (0%)
Blood Wrath 31 (0%)
Heal Followers 11 (0%)
Mana Drain 10 (92%) Ⓑ
Shadow Web 20 (90%)
Shadow Hound 22(0%)
Shadow Teleport 13 (50%)
Dark Protection 6 (0%)
My all-important Dark Mana skill was two points short of its maximum cap. It had risen nicely thanks to the rapid leveling I’d done lately.
That was not really a problem.
I closed my eyes, envisioning the dark area below the Ogre fort. I had claimed that place in the name of Nihilator, so I could use my Faith Rank 4 bonus to teleport there. With a flash of shadows, I appeared, standing next to Grymel, the adept who maintained the shrine.
The adept’s eyes were closed as he stood, holding the unholy shrine with both hands. Two large, Shadow-Touched mastiffs stood on either side of him, silent guardians, a present from Nihilator.
I moved to stand in front of the goblin adept and put my hands on the shrine’s bone-covered surface. I closed my eyes, giving myself away to the thrumming sensation of dark power.
Dark Mana skill level increased to 46.
It felt like no more than a few moments, but when I checked my built-in clock, I found that half the day had passed. Raising the skill this way took more time as its level rose. Still, it was quicker than the ‘normal’ method. I was now five skill points short of reaching the Expert rank. Then things will get real interesting, I thought with a smile.
My other combat skills, namely Drilling Arrow, weren’t as highly trained. I could spend the next two weeks hunting nonstop, continually looking for tougher opponents to build it up, but decided against it. Drilling arrows had become my secondary attack option anyway. It was much more efficient to freeze and sacrifice my enemies. Nowadays, I only used the arrows to damage those that were immune to my influence. As my control of Dark Mana grew, developing the arrows became less pressing.
There was another ability I was much keener to develop. Shadow Clone had proven its usefulness and versatility, but the impact it had on my mind was severe. I couldn’t use it without Vic’s aid. Yet.
I stepped away from the shrine and sat on the ground. The closeness of the shrine might help me control my clone better.
Isn’t it obvious? I need to learn how to control my clone.
I have to try, Vic. I need to use every edge to make my way out of here, you know that. Don’t worry; I’ll start slowly.
You will? I shot a smidge of sarcasm back to him. Well, I guess it’s in your best interests to help me since I’m the conduit that allows you to take physical form and can help you with your quest.
I shook my head. That lazy bastard.
Ha ha, I thought back dryly. But I did as he said. I sat down, assuming the lotus position, and started practicing my breathing technique for relaxation, slowly clearing my mind of stray thoughts.
That was an odd way of putting it, but I did as he suggested. It wasn’t an unfamiliar technique. I spread my thoughts over my body, starting at my toes, then moving my awareness like a flashlight’s beam along my body until it reached my head. I breathed in the sensation of my entire body alight, feeling every muscle and joint at once.
Though this part sounded weird, Vic’s ability to sense my innermost thoughts and feelings made him an excellent coach. I did as he said and was rewarded with a feeling of lightness as I pictured my entire sense of self engulfed by my eyes.
I instinctively knew what he meant. My body had become nothing more than a hollowed shell. My real self was perched on the windows that were my eye sockets. I drew myself into my body, watching as the windows to the outside became distant. My eyes descended into a hugging darkness that was the inside of my own body. I came to rest at the center of my being, surrounded by a protective shell made of my own physical body. The darkness was unlike my manifested power; it was warm and cozy, like being inside a womb. I was comfortable, secure, safe.
This part was more difficult. I started to channel my mana, but the sudden rush of power nearly broke my sense of serenity. I let go and concentrated on soothing my turmoil. I tried again, slowly, siphoning a single mana point at a time. I managed to maintain the sense of tranquility while gradually channeling mana into my shadow.
I didn’t know how much time had passed, but I eventually felt my shadow rising up, claiming its three-dimensional presence, and my mind rushed in to fill it.
Unlike the previous times I had tried using this power, it felt different now. The awareness I kept tucked deep inside my body was a faint whisper, and I was able to perceive the full sensations of my new cloned body.
I stared in awe at my arms. They were condensed ethereal black, darkness made substantial. I looked down at my real body, sitting peacefully in the lotus position. I could still sense it, but this time the feedback was light and didn’t evoke the feeling of confused duality.
Elated, I flexed my muscles. This felt great! Like I could do anything. I walked my new cloned body to the wall and effortlessly scaled it, gravity no longer an issue.
The experiment was going well. My mana was slowly trickling down, fueling the magical body with the energy it required to move. Next, I summoned my drilling arrows. They appeared out of thin air, as always, though the mana cost had increased by 50 percent. This was not really a problem. The spell was cheap, even with the penalty, and my high mana regeneration was already filling my mana bar, outpacing the rate it was draining.
Looking down at my real body again, I frowned. “This is not ideal, my body is defenseless this way.” My voice sounded like a hoarse, distant echo.
After my nose hemorrhage last time, I was readily willing to take the slow approach. I’ll do that. Thanks, Vic.
It was the end of the day already. I had spent hours meditating in the dark, underground chamber.
Not lingering to bid Grymel goodbye, I teleported back to Goblin’s Gorge.
“My lord,” a voice came from behind me.
I turned around. Somehow, my seneschal was waiting for me. “Kaedric?”
“The soldiers have scanned the entire clan and the surrounding forest, I even employed your sharp-nosed mount. They have not found the stolen liquid fire nor have they detected any sulfuric odors.”
“Shadow-crap. That means there’s someone h
ostile around here with the capacity to set fire to our entire village.”
“Perhaps not the entire village, but it might be prudent to triple the patrols inside the settlement, my lord. If someone should try to set the buildings ablaze, he would not be able to hide his actions. As soon as they try to pour the liquid fire, our patrols will detect and engage them. This should reduce the potential for large-scale damage substantially, even if not negating it altogether.”
I preferred being more proactive, but it didn’t look like I had another choice. With our increased numbers, tripling the patrols still allowed half my troops to get their training time in the barracks.
“Do it.”
***
I didn’t bother leaving my house the next morning and simply teleported back to the Ogre fort. The quiet and deep sense of dark power greatly increased my ability to concentrate. I spent the rest of the day repeating the same technique Vic had taught me over and over. By the end of the day, my Dark Mana progressed significantly toward the next level and I was able to fully assume control of my clone within a minute. This was a huge improvement, but still not enough to be usable in a combat situation. I had a lot more training to do.
***
The next day, I decided to set my personal training aside and check on the clan’s development. A lot had happened in the last several days.
Naturally, Kaedric was waiting for me when I exited my house. I stopped dead in my tracks when I first saw him. He looked better than usual … healthier, less gaunt.
“Are you … alright?” I asked.
“I am well, my lord. Thank you for asking.”
I accessed his character sheet. He had an active buff called ‘Psionically Well-Fed,’ which strengthened his telepathic abilities.
“You … didn’t eat any of our clan members, did you?” I asked haltingly, dreading the answer.
“Of course not, my lord.”
That was good enough for me. I didn’t want the gory details, anyway.
Life Reset: EvP (Environment vs. Player) (New Era Online Book 2) Page 50
