I returned to the main cave area and examined the bodies. I didn’t find Tika or Guba among the dead, I hoped they escaped the carnage. I did find the guard Chob and his friend. Their throats had been cut. It looked like they were taken by surprise. All the bodies I found had been looted. They probably hadn’t dematerialized yet because they were part of the quest I had just failed. Those kinds of quests reset after a day.
I continued to the chieftain’s chambers.
The place was a mess. Pieces of furniture were strewn everywhere, the chest and shelves looted and destroyed.
Bogan’s corpse was in the center of the room. His body had many wounds, and four hobgoblin bodies lay around him.
At least he didn’t go down easily.
The bodies had been looted as well, there was nothing for me to do so I turned to leave.
Just when I was about to enter the tunnel, I heard a muffled sound coming from the dead bodies. One of the hobgoblins was still alive!
I whirled around, activating my Mana Shield and raising my staff, ready for an attack. But none came. I inspected at the hobgoblin bodies, but they all looked dead. That’s creepy.
I used Analyze on each of the hobgoblins.
Dead, dead, dead….
Hobgoblin Warrior, level 4, 1 hp, Paralyzed
Paralyzed... as in, not dead?
The hob was laying on his side, I looked closer.
Ah… that explains it. There was a clean slash across the hobgoblin’s back. Bogan must have used a special boss ability to sever his spine.
Oh well, I took out the sacrificial dagger, never say no to free XP.
It was a good opportunity to test the dagger’s Sacrifice ability. A win win situation.
I reached with the dagger, intending to slit the hobgoblin’s throat.
His eyes flew open, and he snarled at me.
I jumped back startled, but got a hold of myself. I chuckled nervously, reaching with the dagger again to finish the job. Then the brute started spewing racist hatred at me.
“Dirty goblins. We kill you all!”
I raised a brow. What was that?
“Goblin trash. You deserve only death!”
That sounded very uninspired.
Interesting, let’s see how basic. A new idea came to me.
I looked him full in the face. “Why did you attack us?”
“Die goblin!”
“Where is your other group?”
“Die!”
“Will they return?”
“Kill all goblins!”
Shake him into a different response… hmm.
“Answer my questions and I will let you go.”
He stared at me with hatred as he replied, “Kill you!”
“I love you,” I tried. After all, Vic said shock him.
“I KILL YOU!” he bellowed.
Well, that didn’t seem to do the trick either.
I decided to leave him for now and continue exploring the cave, he wasn’t going anywhere.
I walked over to my chambers.
It was in ruins also. The beautiful table was smashed to pieces, all the shelves had been pulled down and destroyed. Even my bed-furs were taken.
“That’s a bummer,” I mumbled gloomily.
I sat on the stone sleeping platform, and leaned against the wall. My goal to establish a large, prosperous clan, had hit a snag. I wasn’t sure what do next. Somehow, I had to find a new re-spawn location, preferably without dying first. Then…take it from there.
My plans had been ruined. Damnit!
I smacked my hand down on the bare stone bed, there was an audible 'click' as part of the stone was pushed down and a drawer on the side of the bed popped open. A pressure plate!
I looked down at the opened drawer, it was small and cleverly disguised.
Eagerly, I rummaged through the compartment. I found a mana potion, a healing potion, 30 gold coins, and… Jackpot, a skill book!
Skill book: spell, Heal Followers.
Description: contains knowledge of the spell ‘Heal Followers.’
Rank: magical.
Durability: 10/10.
Effect: read the book to gain the spell.
I’d never heard of that type of healing spell before, but I didn’t care. It was a healing spell, an absolute must for every mage’s repertoire.
I opened the book.
Would you like to learn [40% success] the Heal Followers spell? Yes/No
I frowned. That was a pretty low chance of success. It meant the mage that crafted this book was very low ranked, probably around skill level 50, the minimum required for creating such a book.
Oh well… Murphy’s Bitch don’t let me down now.
“Oh?” I asked in curiously, “to what?”
I shrugged and selected “Yes.”
Streams of letters, flashes of colors and arcane symbols appeared in front of me.
Success!
You’ve learned a new Skill: Heal Followers, spell(M) [active, monster race]
As a chosen guardian and leader of your people, you are granted the ability to heal any of your followers. Heals you and nearby followers. Followers are either members of your clan, or those who have sworn their allegiance to you.
Divine discipline. Cost: 30
Current level 1: Novice.
Effect I: Heal radius 3 meters.
Effect II: Hp healed: 5.
That was a small number of points healed. But as Totem, my role was more of a support class, and five HP is quite a lot for goblins who average around 10-20 hit points. Well, next time we’re in a big fight, I could support my troops. And the spell’s effectiveness should increase as the skill level rose. I’ll just have to grind this skill up.
And that gave me another idea.
I went back into the chieftain’s chamber. Reactivating my mana shield, I edged closer to the paralyzed hobgoblin. Let’s see if this shocks him, I thought.
Raising my hand theatrically, I cast the new spell. A golden-green light burst from my outstretched hand, and shot out in a circle around me. There was no effect on the wounded hob.
The hob stopped snarling at me, and looked puzzled.
“I can heal you.”
He stared at me slack-jawed.
“I can heal you back to a full life. Walk. Work. Fight.” I clarified, making broad swinging gestures to make my point.
“Or,” I pulled out the bone dagger deliberately, “I can kill you. It is simple, live or die.”
Looking him straight in the eyes I added in my best commanding voice “Choose now!”
I could see the struggle within him. The basic survival instinct all creatures shared, even in the game, clashed with his scripted hatred and aggressive nature. Then I saw the change happen, a swirling light appeared within his irises. His opaque bestial eyes changed, replaced with the intelligent and bewildered eyes of a conscious individual.
The most intelligent response I could come up with was, “Ehh?”
I still didn’t quite understand what he meant, but I went along with his instructions.
I looked at the hobgoblin. “Your name
is Zuban. You were raised a soldier, but have always wanted to be a Builder, and had an innate understanding of how to make things. You have great understanding of production or crafting skills.”
I would have to rebuild the clan somehow. This looked like a good place to start.
<’New suggestion was accepted’> Vic said excitedly
The hobgoblin blinked, and his appearance changed. His brutish face took on a more refined look, and his bulky body became leaner.
I analyzed him.
Zuban, Hobgoblin worker, level 4, 0hp, paralyzed
“Vic, what just happened?” I asked.
“Err… and that’s... good?”
Gee, talk about daddy issues…. I thought.
“So now what?”
“Ok.”
I met Zuban’s eyes, seeing the new awareness and intelligence in them.
“So, as I was saying, I can heal you.”
“Why offer to heal me?” he asked skeptically. “We are enemies, we came here to kill you.
Well, that was certainly progress. According to Vic, the hobgoblin’s memories and personality were changed retroactively along. I could twist ‘reality’ to have a better chance of convincing this new hobgoblin VI to join me.
“I see you’re not a warrior by choice, you were likely drafted to the expedition without any say in the matter. Wouldn’t you prefer to build things instead of killing and conquering?”
He looked at me unblinkingly.
“It just so happens I have a need for good builders. I need someone like you to help me build a new clan settlement from the ground up, to eventually develop it into a major city.” Nothing wrong with a little exaggeration.
“You?” He raised a brow. “Goblins building a city? Ha Ha! That’s a ridiculous notion.”
I shrugged. “You may choose not to believe, but it doesn't change the facts. You are wounded and incapacitated. Without my magical help” I stressed, “you will die. I am giving you a chance to live and pursue a future where you can put your skills to use.”
“Hmm… you make a good point little goblin. What should I call you?”
Good question, I thought. “I am…I was this clan’s Totem.”
“Alright, little goblin Totem. Heal me, then we can talk on equal terms.”
“I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way,” I pretended to sound regretful. “My healing only works on members of my clan or those sworn to me.”
He furrowed his brow, distrust warring with his hope and ambitions. “It seems we’re at an impasse. You see truly, I do wish to build great things. But If I do what you ask, I’ll be branded a traitor by my people. I’ll never be able to go back to my home or people. How can I be sure of your sincerity ?”
He was sharp, I had to give him that.
“I give you my word” I stood tall. “Serve me, and I will give you the chance to build things and grow as you have always wanted. And I will never force you to become a warrior again.”
He still looked unconvinced, so I added, “I, uh...swear this by Corgoram?”
The vow did the trick.
Zuban frown eased, replaced by determination. “All Right. I hereby pledge my allegiance to you, to serve and follow you, and to never betray you. So I vow by Corgoram’s name.”
+1000 reputation with Zuban. Current rank: Neutral. Points to next rank: 1000
You have gained a follower
Followers are those who have vowed to serve you personally.
As long as you maintain your contract with them, they will serve you faithfully.
“Good,” I leaned forward, holding up my arm.
I cast Heal Followers again. This time the golden-green energy swirled around Zuban and then siphoned into him. Some of his wounds closed and his Health points rose by a small amount, but he was still paralyzed. I probably had to heal him back to full health to remove the debuff.
So, I cast the spell again. And again. After each cast I had to wait for the cooldown period to end, and when I ran out of mana we had to wait for it to regenerate. Meanwhile, Vic kept himself occupied. Using his Possess Body skill, he entered Bogan’s corpse. But he didn’t animate the body. After a while, he oozed back out and resumed his new favorite shape, back on my shoulders as Vicloack.
“Want to tell me what’s that was all about?”
“What word?”
he explained.
“Oh.” Great, another complication.
“Alright Vic, a promise is a promise. But it can wait, right? I’m still low-level, and we just lost our clan and almost all the warriors. We know the location of this Barska’s clan now, I’ve got it marked on my map, he’s not going anywhere”
“Sure thing partner.”
Turning my attention back to Zuban, I cast the healing spell for the sixth, and final time. Zuban’s health was back to full, which was a measly 28 hit points. His attributes had been rearranged in the seeding process.
Fully healed, and the paralysis debuff removed, Zuban stood slowly, testing each limb. He towered over me, nearly twice my height. We locked stares for a moment. Then he lowered his head respectfully.
“What now, Esteemed Totem?”
That was a definite improvement.
“Now we start building a new life for ourselves,” I replied with more confidence than I felt.
"I will follow you, as agreed"
“Let’s get out of the cave for now,” I suggested, “some fresh air would do nicely about now.”
“The bodies do smell, don’t they?” Zuban agreed.
As we turned to leave, I saw something gleaming at the corner of my eye.
Wait a minute... What’s this? A soft light was glowing from Bogan’s chest. I moved closer. It looked like a thin white stick glowing inside his chest. Hesitantly, I reached out. When I touched the glowing object, Bogan’s body shimmered like a mirage and the stick glowed brighter, pulling and absorbing Bogan’s body into it. All that was left of the Dripper clan’s previous leader was a small white item.
Ancestral Bone
That’s all, no description. Weird.
Vic, did you have anything to do with this?
Shrugging, I put the bone in my inventory.
As we left the cave, the light of the new dawn was shining over the horizon. The mountains around us blocked the east, and the forest next to the cave, the south.
I searched the trees for enemies that might have lingered, but didn’t spot any. Apparently after finishing their bloody mission, they left as quickly as they arrived.
I was still looking at the fores
t, trying to figure out what to do next, when movement between the trees caught my eyes.
“Prepare to defend yourself.” I warned Zuban, and grasping my staff, prepared to cast spells.
To my enormous relief, a slender goblin form came running out of the trees toward me.
Tika, she’s alive! I felt an unexpectedly strong sense of relief.
Since when did I care so much about NPCs?
Behind Tika, I saw more goblins walking out of the forest.
I recognized Guba the cook, some goblin workers, and to my annoyance, Bek. The last looked fully healed, despite his bones being broken not long ago.
Tika reached me first. She was out of breath. “Totem…you...alive.”
I grinned at her, “I’m glad to see you are too.”
She nodded. “You warn... hobgoblins come… Guba say everyone....drop stuff and… run. We run, and... we live.”
Guba reached us, hearing Tika’s words, she added gravely “Been around long ‘nuff to know some truths.” She shook her head sadly. “Stupid younglings. When a Totem be yelling at you to run, you better be dropping everything and run. Now our clan is no more.”
Three more goblins workers, and a crestfallen Bek, joined us.
Guba stared at me accusingly. “You just couldn’t be bothered ter find a better time to be disappearing in ter yon black magic bubble, could ya?”
“I’m sorry,” I did feel pretty bad about it. “I was taken against my will, there was nothing I could do.”
“Hmph” she snorted. “Well, it is what it is. Not the first time I been losing a clan, nohow.”
She looked at Zuban and narrowed her eyes. “Caught a prisoner now did ya? I know a lovely hobgoblin stew recipe we could be trying tonight.”
I was almost sure she was joking.
“No,” I held up one hand. “This is Zuban. He was forced to join the attack on our clan and left for dead. I’ve healed his wounds, and he swore his allegiance to us.”
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