Years could pass and still, Ashera would remember that vow. She would never bring it up, never prompt him. But she would never forget.
Hal could see the light of recognition in her eyes.
“I do,” she said softly.
“Come out with us,” he said. “You do not belong here. You want a role that befits your talents and is useful? Then come with me and help me protect our home.”
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Ashera took a deep breath and Hal steeled himself for the rejection. For the ensuing argument he was cobbling together in the back of his mind.
To his great surprise, she released the gathered breath in a great sigh of defeat and said, “You will persist in this regardless of my choice, will you not?”
“I think you know the answer to that,” Hal said with a boyish grin.
Despite herself, Ashera smiled in reply. “Very well, as I have no say in the matter I hardly see how I can say no. I have not the inexhaustible strength you have for turning others to my way.”
Hal extended her an invite to the party.
Your Persuasion has risen to Level 17.
+1% Persuasion success (+17%).
+0.5% Antagonistic persuasion success (+8.5%).
Ashera joins the party.
“How long do I have?” she asked.
“Meet us at the gap as soon as you’re able,” Hal said.
He caught Ashera looking disdainfully at her inventory notepad. The lamora straightened, tugged on her jacket, and swept out from behind the bar. “I will be there.”
Hal watched her leave with a straight back and purposeful stride. Whatever she might want others to believe, she enjoyed fighting. And clearly, she enjoyed having a purpose.
That was Hal’s hope. That out there amid the battle and fighting as they tried to find out a way to safeguard the workers, Ashera would remember she had a purpose that went beyond her ability to heal or her stolen skillset.
She was valued and wanted, even without her magic.
One member down, Hal turned to see Noth waving him over to a table with red felt and several billiard balls of various colors atop. It looked like a pool table but had strange squares and shapes drawn on the felt.
As Hal joined Noth and Angram, he looked curiously at the table. It was some cross between shuffleboard and pool.
Angram looked up at him. “Noth here tells me you want to go out hunting.”
“We need somebody who can track,” Hal agreed. “There are creatures coming out of the Shiverglades and I mean to find where they are coming from. The gap is not a massive location. They would have to seek it out.”
“Could this have something to do with the Guild Mission?” Angram asked as he lifted his pool cue and lined up a shot on the table.
“I don’t think it is, no.”
With a gentle tap on the cue ball, Angram sent the silver-streaked billiard ball into four others. They ricocheted around the padded surface until each of them came to rest on a square with a red diamond at its center.
A dwarf off to the side whistled in appreciation.
Angram set the pool cue across the table and leaned on it, examining his nails. “Maybe I’ll come along,” he said cagily. “Maybe not. Maybe I don’t like my Ranger skills being put to use looking for wood and stone.”
Noth snorted before Hal could say anything. “And out of this petulance you will give up the one chance to hunt monsters?” she asked, hands on her hips.
A look of alarm crossed Angram’s elegant elven features. His red eyes widened. “I didn’t say that!”
“Then what are you saying?” Hal asked him.
“Oh fine,” he grumbled. “I’m just messing with you anyway. But it wouldn’t be a bad idea to task the Rangers with something less mundane. My patience is exceedingly short compared to the others, but even they have their limits, Hal.”
“Duly noted,” Hal replied. “As soon as we return, I’ll give you complete control over the Rangers. You will choose the tasks they are responsible for and you can report to me about it at the end of each day.”
Angram’s eyes narrowed at him. “Wait… why does this feel like I was just given more work?”
“Who would know better what the Rangers are suited for - and would prefer to do - than one of their own?” Hal asked.
The Ranger snorted and picked up the pool cue. He put it away with the others in the corner and turned back to Hal, giving him a suspicious look. “I don’t like how much sense you’re making, my friend. But very well, if I must once more take upon the mantle of leader, I will do so.”
“Thank you,” Hal said with a wry grin. “I know how much of a sacrifice this must be for you, telling others what to do and having a perfectly viable excuse to sit and drink some of Ashera’s tea while you recount the day’s happenings.”
“I’m glad we understand each other,” Angram said. “So, what’re we killing?”
“Morbolgers,” Hal answered, tossing Angram an invite to the party and heading toward the door.
“Never heard of them.”
“You’ll love them.”
Noth shook her head as they exited the Town Hall.
Hal didn’t want to divert anybody else’s attention from their duties. And he knew well enough that everybody was tasked with something even if he didn’t directly hand out the order.
In fact, he made a mental note to split up orders and assign people as overseers. If he kept going around telling everybody directly what to do, then once the threat was over he was going to have to keep that up.
And that was definitely not something he was okay with. He wasn’t going to be one of those leaders that sat on high and doled out commands at his leisure.
With the threat of permanent death largely removed, he was going to push boundaries and go exploring. The Shiverglades were rife with opportunity and he wanted to explore every nook and cranny.
For now, he was content with striking out to clear the immediate area near the gap and perhaps to post some lookouts on the southern end of it. The dwarves were already well on their way to building the walls on the northern side of the gap.
When he first heard the location for the walls, Hal didn’t quite understand it. Being neither an architect nor a civil engineer, he didn’t grasp the utility of having the wall closer instead of farther.
Athagan had illuminated the reason for him.
Not only were the dwarves looking to the future, where the gap would be filled in with all sorts of extra defenses. But they were also making a kill zone.
Archers, catapults, and all manner of ranged defenders could make their way up on either side of the sheer cliff of the ridge that flanked the gap on the east and west for nearly a quarter of its width.
The gap was 500 feet long and lined with sheer cliffs to the west and east. Which meant that for all but the midday, it was shrouded in shadow from one ridge or another. Several dwarves were already referring to the area as the gloamgate.
From their vantage point atop the ridge, they could strike with impunity at any approaching threats. So high up, they would be practically invulnerable. Granted, the dwarves hadn’t yet carved stairs into the cliff from the interior of the valley but Athagan assured Hal that it would be done in time for the assault.
Hal, Noth, and Angram made their way toward the gap. The sight of more walls put up made Hal’s breast swell with pride. The dwarves were gaining Construction skill at a decent pace and their CP was vastly inflated from all the buffs.
It wouldn’t last, and sooner than he was hoping for they would fade. But it was Hal’s goal to get as close to Morale neutral by the time the Founder’s Day buff faded.
If he could do that, the whole Settlement would be off to a good start.
A curious pair were waiting for Hal and his group as they approached the newest Earthen Bulwark already put up.
Durvin stood in gleaming plate mail, his grown-out bronze beard already midway down to his barrel chest and a two-headed axe strapped to his back.
A
s if that wasn’t surprise enough, next to him stood a dusty blue karak. Boco Bluefeather warbled and chirped when Hal passed his concerned and curious glance over the bird.
Initially, Hal thought the karak was fitted with a saddle and supplies. But upon closer inspection, he realized that wasn’t quite right.
He had on a saddle of some sort all right, but it wasn’t for riding. Somebody had gone through a lot of effort to make extensive alterations to one of the karak saddles.
Several daggers with handles much too large for a person to use were strapped to the sides of the saddle. A green bandana was wrapped around the karak’s head and it had on some light leather armor that kept its body protected while keeping its wings free to move about.
The talons on Boco’s large feet were filed down and sharpened to resemble daggers.
Hal looked from Boco to Durvin, the question plain on his face.
The dwarf crossed his gauntleted arms over his shining breastplate. The midday light caught the edge of gold and fabulous geometric dwarven designs, setting them ablaze with light. “Ye goin’ somewhere lad?” the surly dwarf asked.
“You know where we’re going,” Hal answered. “Out to find the source of the Morbolgers and if we can’t then we’ll at least clear a mile or more in front of the valley and scout out the surrounding area.”
Durvin flashed his pearly white smile and nodded along. “Aye, and yerself is taking us along. I ain’t fer gettin’ stuck behind while adventure’s to be had!”
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That set Hal back on his heels. With himself, Ashera, Noth, and Angram he did technically have room for two more party members.
He knew Mira was busy up in the north of the valley scouting the cave. He hadn’t seen much of her lately but the various dwarves in her company told him she was well and they knew not to cave in the cavern.
But that didn’t stop the dwarves - or Mira - from delving deeper and exploring. There were rich veins of ore and minerals in there, so the dwarves said.
Nothing they could get access to immediately, but once the Settlement had the right schematics they could get a running start.
It made Hal feel good to see so many of the dwarves looking toward the future and not just the next day. They had confidence that their efforts would not be for naught.
The sturdy folk believed that the Settlement would weather the coming storm and stand the taller for it. Not for the first time, Hal wondered what he did to deserve such stalwart allies.
Their support was nothing short of astounding.
Despite all the objections he could think of, Hal didn’t have the heart to turn either Durvin or Boco away. The look of excitement on both the karak’s face and the dwarven leader’s was too much.
Besides, he could see Durvin came ready for an argument. The dwarf was ready to launch into one of his spitting tirades at the first hint of denial.
“Very well,” Hal said. “You know what you’re getting into just as much as I do.”
Right on cue, Durvin started to splutter, “Don’t ye be takin’ this away from me, boy! I been on more ‘venture- wait a tick. Ye agreed?”
Hal answered the confused dwarf by sending a party invite to him and to the karak. Which, he didn’t even know he could do.
Durvin Bouldergut joins the party.
Boco Bluefeather joins the party.
With Hal’s Leadership perk, they were now at the maximum number of members in a party.
Hal glanced at the party menu, looking at each of their Classes and Levels while they waited around for Ashera.
He could only see the current highest Class they had, but it was illuminating all the same. Naturally, Durvin was among the strongest. His HP bar was massive. Rather than stretching far across Hal’s vision, Durvin’s HP was both taller and wider than every other HP bar.
With Level 30 Warrior, Durvin had the highest Leveled Class Hal had ever seen. Angram wasn’t far behind at Level 28 Ranger, with - surprisingly - Noth at Level 20 Dark Knight, Ashera was tied with Hal at 19 Sin Keeper and Beastborne respectively, while Boco Bluefeather was a Level 12 Karak Thief.
Ashera’s Class made Hal furrow his brow in confusion. He supposed without gaining much in the way of EXP, Ashera’s locked Class was still the highest. That only made him feel more certain that she needed to come out with him.
Noth caught Hal looking her way and tilted her head at him. “What?”
“You have a higher Leveled Class than me,” he said without any judgment or complaint. “I didn’t know you were working so hard on it.”
She stood a little taller and did her best not to grin smugly. “It is a little less impressive when you consider I have no other Classes beside Novice.”
“Hittin’ the twenties is an achievement in itself, lass,” Durvin said. “Ye may get some stat boosts ditherin’ about with some weaker Classes but ain’t nothin’ compare to the rewards ye get from higher Level Classes.
“Take it from an old dwarf, yerself is ahead of any that think raw stats be what makes a fighter!” He winked at Noth and slapped her companionably on the back. When she barely budged, he gave a great belly-laugh.
“What has Durvin in such a fine mood?” Ashera asked, turning everybody’s attention to the battle-ready lamora. She was dressed head-to-toe in shimmering scaled armor. Not the typical pliable plate she had donned before.
“The thrill of the hunt!” he bellowed proudly. “Ain’t nothin’ that gets a dwarf’s blood pumping like a good hunt. We all riding the bird, or’re we to be hoofin’ it?”
Boco gave a sharp, “Kweh!” and glared at Durvin.
The dwarf raised his hands in a soothing motion to the much larger karak. “Was only a joke, ye overgrown pillow! Ye know yerself is always welcome.”
That seemed to set the blue feathered karak back a bit. With a nod, Boco turned and led the way to the south. The rest of the party shared a look then followed after the creature.
“Blue bird, very blue, pretty like the sky in summer. Not now. Sky gray. Boring. Chill and brisk, though!” Steve kept up a running dialogue and Hal did his best to tune out the keinse.
Noth, at his side, was having a bit of a harder time. “He’s very talkative,” she said quietly to Hal.
“They’re excitable,” he agreed without looking up, he knew that the keinse was circling above them a hundred or so feet.
The fact that both Noth and Hal could hear the creature spoke volumes to their efficacy as both scouts and messengers. Provided the listener could understand them, they could facilitate incredible long-range communications.
Hal glanced at Noth. As the only two people who could understand the keinse, it would likely fall to them.
Steve kept up his inane chatter all the way until they reached the southern opening of the gap from their home. The Shiverglades sloped down in all directions away from them.
Mountain spurs cropped up here and there, ridges continued to descend from the lone mountain in the area but everything was of a lower elevation.
On the way there, they decided upon a simple sweeping pattern from west to east until they found promising signs of the Morbolger’s passage or the passage of some other creature.
As it turned out, their plans were unnecessary.
Not far out of the gap Hal spotted a large pit. About twenty yards to the side, Angram found a similar one. They followed it directly out of the gap where the ground became softer and less rocky.
“Looks like our friends can burrow,” Angram said. “It stopped once the soil became too hard and filled with rocks. Good thing too, or else they would likely burrow right beneath those fancy new walls we’re making and pop up amid our defenses.”
Durvin wagged his beard. “Not a one of me dwarfs would set up on so weak a foundation. They’d be picking the strongest, sturdiest stone to rest our future hopes and dreams on, don’t ye doubt!
Angram conceded the point with a nod.
“So we’re looking for something that can pop up anywhere aroun
d us at any time then,” Noth said.
“Yes, but look there,” Angram pointed to a raised line of earth. “Likely they are apex hunters, these Morbolgers. Not used to anything tracking them, let alone looking for their nest. I imagine they will be fairly easy to spot.”
“What, precisely are we looking for?” Ashera asked.
“A nest of the durned beasts,” Durvin answered. “Dwarfs aren’t for getting surprised like that and every man we got armed and watching another’s back is a man we can’t put to work.”
Hal looked at Ashera and motioned to Durvin. “More importantly, has anybody aside from Elora actually ventured outside of the protected valley?”
“That will be my first directive as First Bow,” Angram said.
“First Bow?” Noth asked.
“Made up the title myself,” the Ranger said with a pearly grin. “Like it? Gotta have something to distinguish myself amongst the rabble.”
“You’re going to make me roll my eyes so hard they’ll fall out of my head, Angram,” Hal said shaking his head. “How about we see how much you still want the job after a month, huh?”
“That’s fair. I am a fickle beast,” the Ranger said with a shrug of his shoulders, palms raised to the heavens.
“So, our goal is to locate the nest - or nests - of these creatures, and eradicate them? All of them?” Ashera asked, prompting them back on track. She was looking directly at Hal as she spoke.
“All but one,” he said, agreeing with her unspoken plan.
Each of them shot him a confused look in turn. Ashera had just reminded him of something he was planning on using during the battle in the coming days. But Ashera had put him on another track.
If they were able to find a nest and leave it undisturbed, Hal could come out on his own and Dominate the lot of them, bringing them against whatever the Shiverglades had to throw at the Settlement.
To their confused looks he said, “Provided it’s doable. There’s a high chance that we’ll be forced to defend ourselves long before we reach the nest. And I will not risk those working on the wall for a potential benefit later.”
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