by Han Yang
Huge rents opened into the side of the beast as it spun. The hydra never completed its turn. Either my first stabs had hit something vital or the spilling guts became too much to overcome.
I ripped my blades free, pumping my arms into the air in victory.
I turned to see the naga and the watalocks being cut down, the cavalry showing no mercy. When I glanced back at the hydra, I saw the colorful orb.
“We won,” I shouted, but nothing came out.
I clanged my swords.
Yea… not a great idea.
The surface of the water boiled. A second later, five large wakes sped for the shore, and I gulped.
Shit.
Splash!
A five headed hydra that was bigger than a cyclops reared with a maternal anger. I spun, trying to flee. Once second my skeletal legs fought water, the next, a blackness confused me.
At first I thought I had died. Then, I felt my skull being crushed as I went down a slimy throat in complete darkness.
You know those movies, the ones where the dashing hero gets swallowed and he cuts himself free?
Utter bullshit.
I couldn’t move my arms because the compression of the throat was too tight.
An eternity later, I splashed into a pit of literal acid, the bone structure of Arcini melting slowly. The stomach tightened, confining me. I knew it was only the skeleton dying, but the memory of his death was as terrifying as it was fascinating.
My kicks, bites, screams, and efforts to survive did zero damage inside the momma hydras stomach.
When Arcini died, my third eye snapped back across the village, through the pines, and into the carriage.
Arcini Trollkin has died beyond chance of recovery. Find the location of his death to recover 19.411 Zorta. Penalty one hundred mana. You have hit 0 mana. Mana exhaustion initiated for one hour and seventeen minutes. You have one hour to rebuild your minions. You may use Zorta to restore your mana.
I groaned, hating life, then quickly navigated my options.
Consume .14 Zorta to recover 128 mana. -93 owed + 35 to full recovery. (YES) - (NO)
I sat upright in shock, shuddering as I recalled the ordeal.
Collecting myself with the knowledge that wasn’t really me, I exited the carriage. Tied to the carriage, my ram waited with his saddle already attached. I hopped onto his back, spurring him forward to head for the naga village.
The trip through the pines was peaceful, and I let the short journey clear my angst of the minion’s death. Arcini was my biggest fighter to this point. I simply would have a hard time replacing him, and that saddened me.
The history books might call this a victory, but to me, it felt pyrrhic.
I arrived in the clearing, seeing the bodies of the dead naga and watalocks being piled in neat rows. The two headed hydra lay at the lake’s edge, its orb gone.
I tried to see my minion’s orb, but it didn’t float at the lake’s surface. I sure as hell wasn’t diving into the water to try to find the twenty Zorta I had lost. Clearly, I was happy the momma hydra had retreated instead of coming onto the shore.
Jark walked over solemnly. “Sorry, I should have noticed they were feeding the lake. I just thought they were ditching old fish.”
“No, you did well. Don’t doubt yourself,” I said, and he nodded.
Asha, Bell, Tarla, Nee, and Yermica joined us.
“I lost the chieftain,” I said sadly. “Twenty Zorta gone.”
“The baby hydra was fifteen, and these will make up for most of it,” Tarla said, trying to be positive. “I had to consume the hydra, though, not going anywhere near that water line.”
“Fair. Bell, grab all these orbs. I’m going to raise two naga to fill my roster,” I said.
I spurred my ram to find a large, intact naga. I saw the male I cut in half one over, deciding to go for his corpse instead.
Closing my eyes, I found my center, meditating to ready my spirit for cultivating.
“You know you can level your cultivation by harvesting Zorta from the soil?” Fero asked, breaking my concentration.
“Huh?” I blurted, opening my eyes to gaze down at him with a raised brow.
“It’s miniscule gains, but you can cultivate Zorta from the land. That is how the non-magical using animals live so long and some grow so big. Their internal souls harvest the magic from around them. The hydra, a non-magical being, will hide under the depth, continuing to amass Zorta and becoming a greater and greater prize,” Fero told me.
“Are you saying a squirrel can become the size of a cow?” I asked.
“Over centuries and centuries, yes. But think about it. The slow growth makes the larger ones a bigger target. For you or me, the gains are less than the cost of aging is, forcing us to venture out and find giant squirrels. Are you following?” he asked.
“Hmm… Example, I’m .003 Z short of an upgrade, I can meditate and consume Z from the land?” I asked, trying to surmise the lesson.
“Zorta, not Z. Also, not in a city where the area has been meditated to zero, but yes. Again, another mechanic to get you to exit the cities and enter dangerous areas. Consuming from the land is partially how I stayed alive so long. Forgive my transgression and please continue growing your strength,” Fero said politely.
I frowned. He was a very knowledgeable goblin. Almost too smart. I added him to my suspicious list. He walked away, heading into the pines.
I closed my eyes again, focusing on my meditation. My cultivation seeped out, finding the aura Fero mentioned. I tried to pull it into me and felt the tiniest of trickles aiming my direction. The sliver of gains still dribbled from miles away and their snail-like pace meant I’d have to focus for hours to see anything come in.
A part of me became fascinated while another part was surprised I had figured out a way to pull from the land as if naturally. If I could add even .001 Zorta a day that would benefit my return home, and when we added the army doing so, the number would be significant.
Smiling, I shifted my focus and reached out to the dead naga, the orb instantly succumbing to my high cultivation. I selected claim.
Claiming Hessi Nagakin as a minion will result in you earning Ostriva points. Do you wish to proceed? (YES) - (NO)
I selected yes.
You selected to claim Hessi Nagakin. Consume 1.147 Zorta to summon this creature as a minion of the undead. Confirm (YES) - (NO)
After I confirmed, the hands of the ghouls raced up as if extra hungry because of the full moon. I didn’t even mind watching this time, merely deciding to focus on the flesh. The minion completed its transformation into a skeleton, the lower half connecting to the top half with a loud pop.
“Can the hydras enter the river?” I asked the skeleton naga.
The naga shook its head no.
“Can anything in the river kill you?” I asked.
A shrug.
“If I sent you to the river to collect fish, will you likely die?” I asked.
A head shake no.
“Do you want a watalock for a fishing companion or a naga?” I asked.
The torso spun, pointing to the largest of the nagas. I nodded, going through the process of converting the dead naga into a minion.
When both stood before me, I ordered, “Fish the river, using the donkey skeleton as your pack mule. When the sun starts to rise, race to catch up to where we camp for the day. Hopefully, you can balance out our losses.”
The naga slithered over to tridents in the loot pile before entering the water.
I had to trust they’d do a good job. We certainly needed the Zorta.
Bell, Asha, Jark, and Tarla hurried up to collect the rest of our gains. The goblins shifted through the rubble, looting the village until it was picked clean. I found my ram and retreated to the main camp with most of my army following.
I prepared our group while waiting for the rest of our forces to return. We had another long march ahead of us.
CHAPTER 32
Seqa Footh
ills
Mana exhaustion washed over me until I collapsed on the bench of the wagon, vomiting on Tarla’s boots.
“Mother of mercy,” I muttered, swooning as I tried to correct my fall.
Lumpy has died. Penalty one hundred mana. You have hit 0 mana. Mana exhaustion initiated for two hour and forty-seven minutes. You have one hour to rebuild your minion. You may use Zorta to restore your mana.
Consume .10 Zorta to recover 100 mana. -65 owed + 35 to full recovery. (YES) - (NO)
I rapidly selected yes.
“Find me Lumpy,” I shouted in rage to my tribe.
Tarla lifted my chin, wiping away my slobber. She stared down at me with concern. “I swear, my dear Damien. You’ll be nothing but bones if you don’t focus on getting your mana over a hundred.”
“Right, I need to start having a goblin cut themselves and heal them. Healing upgrades are still affordable,” I grumbled.
It was two days after the naga fight, and our travel had been reduced to a horribly slow pace. We couldn’t find paths wide enough for our wagons. We had to start sawing trees to create a path, and I grew so frustrated I turned us north, directly up the mountain and out of the valley. The progress was so slow, we created night and day shifts to never stop the caravan.
Currently, we were paused at a section of pines. Goblins used rams to pull down what wasn’t being cut. A few trees burned up ahead, the fire mages weakening the base of trunks. Dozens of goblins yanked ropes, dragging logs out of the way.
Every book I had ever read always lied to me. There weren't any lovely roads in the forest, and in this case, we had to build one ourselves.
I stood, scanning for where Lumpy died. I didn’t get a big green arrow for where he was and my interface didn’t provide any directions. I could feel him, though, in an odd sense. I felt his tug guiding me to his corpse to the south.
“Is he revivable?” Bell asked, bringing Charlie over.
“Yeah, for now,” I said, recovering to sit upright. Tarla handed me a water skin. I swished out the nasty taste in my mouth, spitting it out a moment later. “None of the hounds died or anyone else, so I’m -”
“Surrendered trolls are coming,” Yermica cried out.
“Be ready,” I shouted, racing to grab a crossbow from the carriage.
I never made it inside, Asha waving me down. “Hey Boss, they’re here to talk terms with you,” Asha said.
“I’m not in the talking mood until I see Lumpy,” I said, getting defensive.
“He killed a troll before being disabled, and they don’t have a healer,” Asha said.
I frowned and asked, “How do you know this?”
He waved a spyglass at me.
“Nice purchase. Alright, how many trolls? And should I just send you?” I asked.
“Half a dozen, and they were sent to investigate the fires,” Asha said, gesturing to the smoke stacks to the north.
“What’s the play here?” I asked.
“They surrendered when the cerberus surrounded them with the nagas. We can kill them, release them, maybe absorb them, and likely trade with their village, or raid it,” Asha said.
The sinister smirk I expected appeared in a spreading fashion.
I shook my head with a chuckle, knowing the elva was turning to a darker side. I think he enjoyed having an army in the field. His people never left their den to fight and exploit the wonders of Nordan.
“Well, best go scouting,” I said.
“Don’t bother,” Yermica said, seeing the trolls approaching. “These are Arcini’s uncle’s trolls. Kill the males and bond the females until they’re bred. Or kill them all. The village they come from has thousands of troops. Unless you can convert a few hundred dead, they’ll swarm us.”
“And we don’t want to be worried about those thousands of troops?” I asked with worry.
Yermica rode her ram closer and said, “You’re a strivian, Boss. Raid a bigger foe if you think you can win. However, letting these trolls go will not help. A second group will be sent, same size as the first. The third will be an army. Capture the first two, grow your power.”
Tarla came over to my side, wrapping an arm into my left elbow. The fiery redhead gazed up at me lovingly, and I kissed her forehead. Her mere presence lifted my spirit.
“The troll mistress speaks wisdom. We could use the power,” Tarla said.
Yermica nodded in a respectful manner.
“And the army that may arrive?” I asked.
“Normally, this is how most trolls are returned to the fold. The expelled underling clashes with the old leader and the defeated faction rejoins the main village. Arcini was different. He conquered me by killing me with a fireball during a scouting raid.
“My group was trying to find a fishing crew that went missing. I was revived and bound until I became with child,” Yermica said as if this were natural and normal. “Arcini may have been fat, but he was no fool. Most trolls are too proud to flee, but not him. He only fought you because he never expected to lose.”
I saw my Jark disarming the captured six. Nee carried Lumpy in her arms, and a naga carried a dead troll.
“May I have a private word, Boss Damien?” Yermica asked.
I stepped over to a different section of pines far enough away for her to speak in private. Tarla followed me, and Yermica didn’t object.
“I’m with child,” she said.
Tarla gasped, quickly reining in her emotions. “By the gods.”
“Uh… that is common, right?” I asked.
Her yellow eyes clashed against her green skin, and yet again I was reminded that the trolls weren’t hideous beings. Different, yes. Odd, certainly. But beautiful in their own way. To me, she looked like a green skinned elva, and I didn’t fault -
Then it hit me.
“Asha?” I hissed.
She nodded.
“Is that possible?”
The troll female shrugged and said, “We certainly are trying as much as you and...” she paused, likely trying to find a good title for Tarla. “Our Chieftress.”
“Lady Tarla for now,” Tarla said, rising to her tippy toes to kiss my cheek.
“Well, good for you. I have to wonder if you're with child from before, but it’s an easy enough test. We confine a male and a female cerberus that I’ll have revived,” I said with a sigh. Another thing added to the to-do list. “Why tell me this now?”
“Your face showed pain at the thought of me being bound and dominated. I’m a strong troll. Fierce. I produce healthy trolls, and - and - yes, I would have preferred to have the option. If you become too nice, you’ll lose respect,” Yermica warned, thumbing the prisoners who waited. “I mentioned this because I’d like to see your minion army improve. You still have goblins that are inferior as warriors. Remove the goblins, kill the males, and then turn them into live minions.”
“Death is not something I fully relish in yet. And I’d like to keep it that way. Can I spare the males? Convince them to stay somehow?” I asked.
“Yes and no with an ‘it depends’. However, Jeen isn’t bonded. Let me get her as an offering,” Yermica said.
“What? This conversation is confusing me,” I grumbled. “I thought you wanted your kind to have freedom of choice?”
“Do you want to kill the males or reward them for changing their allegiance? There aren’t many other options,” Yermica told me, and I hung my head. Being a strivian lord sure was a pain sometimes.
A lot of these inner workings with strivian society reminded me of those choose your own adventure books. I had to pick, the options were limited, and the end results weren’t too varied unless I picked wrong enough times and ended up dead.
That was the key thing at the moment. I could still feel my heartbeat.
I set a hand on Yermica’s shoulder. “Do I need to set the example?” I asked.
“No, I’ll extend the offer, but I expect them to refuse. A small troll is still a few Zorta. I do recommend you run when the army n
ears,” she said, and I shooed her away to perform the grizzly deed.
Tarla said, “If only it were simple. It will be interesting to see how they react. I can only hope we find the spider queens with folks we can rescue who will help rule this growing rabble.”
“I’d be lost without you, my dear. I see you and Bell have become friends again,” I said, smiling down at her.
“Yes, she longs for you in a different way. I hate not being at your side. She seeks your favor just not in the way a lover would. I think it frustrates her that her magic is so reliant on others,” Tarla said, pinching my butt.
“Well, invite her to study in the carriage with us,” I said, and Tarla nodded. “It’s not like we haven’t allowed her to be close before. Alright, Lumpy needs us, moving onto the next problem.”
I waved Nee over with Lumpy. I set a hand onto the random collection of his bones.
Warning 51 minutes until Minion Lumpy rebuild is forever inaccessible. Warning 87 mana is required to rebuild Minion Serriavian. You have 35 mana available. Zorta will be required to reassemble Minion Serriavian. Cost 52 Zorta. Revive (YES) - (NO)
I checked my Zorta level.
Zorta: 82.129
One step forward, two steps back. I almost accepted yes when I had a flashback of Asha being revived.
“Get me a beast master and a beast healer,” I ordered Nee.
While I waited, I watched Yermica drag over an uglier troll lady. What I expected didn't happen. Jeen was not paraded for the males. The males were brought before her and forced to kneel.
The first male scoffed, calling her an ugly bitch. I winched, and well, he received a dagger into his eye socket. I shook my head at his audacity, watching the body crash down.
The next male kissed each of Jeen’s feet.
The final male raced to his knees and kissed a female’s feet down the line.
Yermica cheered, and just like that, we added five trolls to the tribe. Asha cultivated the orb, bringing it over.
