by Aleron Kong
“Took your time getting here!” the commander said scathingly. A hooded figure stood in a shadowed corner of the tent, and two pleasure slaves cowered upon the leader’s bed. The Witch Doctor gazed hatefully at the commander’s pet caster for a moment, but then turned his attention back to the goblin glaring death at him.
“I came as soon as I received your message, Heqht-jo,” Sin-ak replied, with barely concealed hate. That was how Richter learned the name of his enemy.
“Then you are slow like an old woman!” Heqht-jo responded. He took a step forward, his hand brushing the head of an axe hanging at his belt. The commander glared at Sin-ak. This time, the Witch Doctor held his tongue. After a few seconds, Heqht-jo leered, enjoying the power he had over the Mage and stepped back. “I summoned you because one of the hill rats escaped. You will take a squad and bring him back, dead or alive.”
“Send the mercenaries,” Sin-ak snapped. “I am here to feed the Bloodstone and get through the protective barrier. It is not my job to hunt down sprite vermin!” The idea that he would have to stoop to hunting a single puny escapee, even if it was one of their racial enemies, was insulting. If the commander only knew how dangerous it was to be around a Bloodstone, let alone what is was like to touch and feed one… Suffice it to say that while being entrusted with such a powerful relic was an honor, it was an honor the Witch Doctor could do without. Sin-ak was sure the larger goblin would be licking his feet, if only the commander’s small mind could comprehend even a tenth of how valuable his contribution was! It appeared, however, that the two of them had a difference of opinion.
“Your job is whatever I say!” Heqht-jo roared. Spittle flew from his jaws. This time the hand axe did not stay on his belt but instead found a new home in the commander’s hand. His eyes widened and the weapon shook in his grasp, so great was his anger. Sin-ak saw the camp leader’s eyes redden for a moment.
The Mage stood completely still, unwilling to push further. It was not just Heqht-jo’s personal power that kept him firmly in command of the goblin encampment. It was also his horrible temper. While Sin-ak might enjoy torturing a scout or fighter every once in a while, the commander was an animal. It was not unheard of for Heqht-jo to rip the arms or legs off of those who would oppose him. If he lost himself to rage, the commander was normally only soothed by literally bathing in his enemy’s blood. The problem was, no one ever knew how much would be required. Suffice it to say, the goblins that served under him never wished to find out.
Sin-ak bowed his head, though it brought bile to his throat. As powerful as he was, he couldn’t best the commander in close quarters combat and they both knew it. Richter held his proverbial breath. He knew that Sin-ak had survived this encounter, otherwise Richter would never have been able to fight him later, but reliving the Witch Doctor’s memory meant reliving the fear the Mage had experienced as well. Luckily, the commander was appeased by the show of deference.
Only a foot separated them, and when the commander spoke again, Sin-ak could smell Heqht-jo’s fetid breath, “You will take a squad to find the hill sprite. You will claim his body, living or dead. If he goes into the abyss, you will go after him and bring him back.” Heqht-jo placed the blade of his axe under the Mage’s chin and applied pressure until the Witch Doctor had to tilt his head back and look him in the face. His voice was measured and intense. It was frightening when contrasted with the wild anger in his eyes.
“I will not allow escaped vermin to threaten my mission. The clan has tasked me with recovering the item, and I will do that. We cannot allow the sprite to alert his kinsmen that we are here. Come back with the sprite, or I will bathe in your blood. Do you understand?” The commander’s voice had gone deadly quiet. It was somehow more frightening than when he was screaming. Sin-ak’s mouth went dry.
“I understand, commander.” He licked his lips, “I would like to request some Professionals accompany me. This area is wild and the monsters can be dangerous.”
“Ha!” Heqht-jo sneered at the caster. “You may have two Warriors. I will not commit all of our resources to what should be a simple task. Prove your worth or die trying. If you fail in this, no members of the tribe will object to your death… no matter who your father is.”
That was the core of Heqht-jo’s dislike of the Witch Doctor. Sin-ak’s father was part of the ruling council for the powerful Black Death tribe, one of the most powerful tribes in the clan. The commander never wasted an opportunity to make the point that Sin-ak had only progressed in the tribe due to nepotism. Warranted or not, the accusations had created a deep rift, filled with hate, between the two goblins.
“Now go!” Heqht-jo said dismissively. He turned away and walked back to his pleasure slaves as if Sin-ak was already forgotten.
Something inside of the Witch Doctor just couldn’t resist responding. “Have you had any luck penetrating the shield around the artifact? You are correct about one thing. The tribal leaders will be most displeased if you fail to obtain an object of such power.”
Heqht-jo stopped walking, but did not turn around. The Witch Doctor could see the powerful muscles in the commander’s back tighten. When the goblin leader spoke, the hatred in his voice was palpable, “Focus on sacrificing the prisoners to the Bloodstone. If your magic was good for anything more than shade on a sunny day, you could have filled the stone and we would be gone from this place!” Heqht-jo turned his head and made eye contact with his subordinate, “I will make you a promise. Any ill fate that befalls me due to this mission’s failure will find you as well. I swear it. I swear it. I swear it.”
The petty satisfaction Sin-ak had felt for a moment dried up like a slug in the sun when he heard Heqht-jo make his oath three times. A subtle vibration emanated out from where they stood, the Universe taking witness of the pledge. He met the commander’s gaze for another second, but ultimately it was he who turned away. Heqht-jo kept walking and the pleasure slaves began to cry and plead as they saw the deadly expression on the powerfully-built goblin’s face. Sin-ak didn’t blame them. He had an idea of the torments they would experience for the rest of their short and tragic lives.
The first cries of pain began as the Witch Doctor left the tent. The memory began to fade and Richter knew that the Mage’s last thought was that the escaped hill sprite would die slowly. As the goblin’s mind filled with horrid perversions of how he would violate and torture his quarry, Richter was glad that he had ended the life of such an evil creature.
CHAPTER 13 – Day 140 – Kuborn 30, 15,386 EBG
Richter came back to himself. He blinked quickly as he got used to having only one set of thoughts in his head again. The chaos seed was somewhat shaken by the casual anger and violence that had existed in the Witch Doctor’s thoughts. Richter knew that since coming to The Land, he had done things that might be called morally ambiguous, but the pure joy the Mage had felt in wanton cruelty was something that he had never before experienced. After living through the memory, he felt much more comfortable with the fact that he had slaughtered dozens of goblins in the past. Richter just wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing.
The chaos seed got himself together and left the Dragon’s Cauldron. Though he had lived through nearly an hour of the Witch Doctor’s memory, only a moment had passed in the village. The rain still fell at the same steady tattoo. Richter walked through the light shower towards the catacombs and the war council. There was a bit of a chill in the air, and Richter could smell fires burning in the chimneys of the longhouses. As he walked, he summoned a mist light. Once he reached the hill that led down to the village, he looked out over his settlement and smiled. Mist lights floated in the air all across the land, providing a soft, fey light. His reverie was interrupted by the flap of small wings. A moment later, a weight settled onto his shoulder.
*Welcome back, my love,* he thought affectionately.
Alma nuzzled her small face against his cheek and wrapped her tail around his arm for support. She flapped her wings quickly to shed the wa
ter sending cold water down his back. The chaos seed grunted in protest, but couldn’t stay mad at her when she settled down onto his shoulders. Then she started sending him images. Richter continued walking towards the catacombs that led down to the village proper. The rain began to fall a bit harder, and his cloak grew heavier. His steps grew heavier with both water and responsibility while Alma showed him things that he did not want to see.
When Richter entered the conference room where everyone waited, his face was grim. He communicated what he had learned with a simple message, “We’ve got problems.”
Alma had done her job well. As promised, she had stayed high in the sky and had gone unseen by the goblins she had spied upon. The images she sent him automatically updated his Traveler’s Map and, in turn, Bea updated the information in the Knowledge Table. After that, the Scholar left. The only people remaining in the room were Hisako, Yoshi, Liddle, Terrod, Caulder, Randolphus, Sion, and Richter. As they poured over the large aerial view map, one thing became clear. There were a lot more than a hundred goblins.
“I swear, Lord Richter, I had no idea there were so many!” Liddle was almost babbling. No one blamed him.
“It is hard to say from these pictures,” Yoshi said, “but I believe we may be looking at a force of three to five hundred goblins. The fortifications are not complete, but there are still enough of them to cause us serious problems. There also seem to only be two entrances to this valley, and they have placed contingents at the only one we have access to. Attacking it will notify the main force.”
The sword adept’s assessment seemed accurate. The western end of the valley narrowed to a small pass, no more than thirty yards across. To either side of the western entrance were sheer rock walls hundreds of feet high. The other entrance was near the eastern end of the valley and set into the northern cliff face. It was only a cave in the rock face. Alma had only seen the side that emptied into the valley. It was the mouth of a tunnel that went under the mountain. Whether it let out in a hundred feet or in thirty miles, they didn’t know. The dragonling had flown above, but couldn’t find the other entrance.
The entire valley was about nine miles long and two miles wide. Mountains rose high enough along both sides that snowcapped the tops in places, despite it being summer. The goblin encampment was built on a slight rise smack dab in the middle. A waterfall fell from a cliff face along to the eastern side of the valley and fed a river stream that traced down the valley’s length before disappearing underground near the western approach. Copses of trees dotted the valley floor, but for the most part, it was hilly grassland.
The encampment was much larger than Liddle had said, though it was clear why the hill sprite had been wrong. Alma had spied the cages where the captives were being kept. They were screened off from the rest of the encampment and were almost next to the wall surrounding the encampment. There would be no way that someone kept there would have known about all of the tents and campfires that comprised the rest of the settlement. A wooden palisade, ten feet high, surrounded about 60% of the camp. A second wall, twenty feet high, surrounded an inner encampment and was complete.
Richter had had Bea upload several still shots from the hour that Alma had observed the goblins. That was why there was such discrepancy in the count of the goblins. Looking at each still from different angles, it was difficult to tell if a goblin was counted twice or if there were still more inside of the tents. Still, one thing was clear. There were a fuckload of them.
The encampment had been built around a cave that led down into the hill it was perched on. From the elevation Alma had been flying at, nothing more could be seen other than a large boulder with a black hole on one side. A large pit was not far from the cave. Richter had no idea how deep it was, but it was filled with at least a hundred bodies. Several members of the war council cursed as they saw it.
Several yards to the side of the abattoir was a large red stone. Its surface was irregular, like an uncut jewel, and it was about the size of a large bowling ball. The ruby jewel sat upon an iron dais. Large splashes of blood were on the ground surrounding the dais. If a series of cows had exploded, Richter thought, this is what it would have looked like. There was no doubt that this was the Bloodstone.
Yoshi wanted to examine the fortifications more, but Hisako overruled him. Richter gave her a quick tutorial on how to zoom in and out and how to move the map. Despite it being a Knowledge Table and not a fully interactive Cartographer’s Table, the detail was still astounding. It was limited only by the acuity of Alma’s vision, which turned out to be as sharp as an eagle’s. Zooming in far enough, individual insects could be seen hovering in the air. The Hearth Mother zoomed in on the red sphere and sucked her teeth.
“I cannot guarantee this is true, but I believe the stone is half full,” she said.
Richter had been standing by the table summoning mist lights. It had become a habit to use his mana pool to summon mist lights and workers for others to use. The lights were an especially good use of his time, as each light lasted for a full year. They did not emit a strong light, but they could be hung in midair. The village was already much more well-lit at night.
He finished summoning a mist worker and ordered it to corral the lights to the feast area where his villagers could distribute them. Once it had moved out of the way, he leaned in to look closer at the Bloodstone. At first, he had no idea what she had seen, but then he saw it too. At first, he had thought the red sphere was a uniform dark red. Now, though, he could see that the bottom half was an even darker red. It looked like a hollow red globe that had been half filled with red wine. In his heart, he knew what it was filled with, though.
“What does that mean?” Richter asked the Hearth Mother. “How can it only be half full? There are more than a hundred people in the pit. There are children in there! There is a baby in there!”
She looked him firmly in the eye, “Now you see the voracious appetite of the Bloodstone. You ask what this means? It means that we attack tomorrow.”
Liddle cheered slightly, but Richter was surprised, “Tomorrow? Is that enough time to plan? I feel strange being the one saying this, but isn’t there an argument for caution here? I just lost three of my people, and I’m not eager to send more against a fortified compound without a firm plan.”
Hisako listened to him without interrupting, but shook her head, “I am glad to see that you are learning caution and that you value the lives of your people. This, however, cannot wait. You may have looked upon the walls and thought that we would still have days or weeks before they finished their defenses. You are looking at the wrong thing. That wall is nothing. The Bloodstone is the real threat. According to Liddle, they have only been sacrificing one person per day. That tells us something vital. There is no Blood mage in the encampment. If there were, the stone could absorb magic from as many as were sacrificed. All at once.”
“From your tone, I get that that would be bad,” Richter said. His tone was lightly mocking to hide his concern, “What is the Bloodstone, though? Why does it matter?”
The Hearth Mother sighed, “I am not an expert. I will also admit that I have never seen one. Most of my information comes from old tomes and stories, but my mother told me of a great battle that occurred before I was born. A trio of sanguimancers wielded Bloodstones and laid waste to entire armies. The Kingdom of Yves was almost brought to its knees. Several duchies were destroyed utterly. I do not know exactly what the capabilities of this Bloodstone are. Some say the powers vary for each stone. Most agree that they come from a time before the banished gods. What is known, and not disputed, is that at full strength they are a tool of horribly destructive power. Only Blood magi may use the stones to their full potential, but any mage can use the power within to augment their casting abilities. We must strike before the Bloodstone is charged any further, or, Nature forbid, a Blood mage arrives and utilizes the artifact to its full potential. Even disregarding that horrible possibility, we cannot allow such a powerful enemy encampm
ent to establish itself on your doorstep. The time to move is now!”
The silence was pregnant around the table. After a few moments, Richter asked, “Well how do we do it then?”
“We have the rest of the night to figure it out,” Hisako responded. “On the morrow, we go to war.”
CHAPTER 14 – Day 140 – Kuborn 30, 15,386 EBG
They debated different strategies. Richter had first proposed poisoning the goblins. He remembered how just he and Sion had been able to kill more than fifty goblins after first weakening them with poison. It wouldn’t work, though. There were multiple cooking pots around the camp, and there was no way they could reach them all. Terrod asked if more reinforcements could be brought from the Hearth Tree, but it would take several days for them to arrive. Hisako wasn’t willing to wait that long.
“Our best course of action will be to insert a small strike force into the valley,” Yoshi finally said. “We will have to approach the guard contingent stationed in the valley pass in stealth.”
Richter looked at the rocky pass again, noticing the lack of trees. The sprites were masters of concealment, but that was based on their racial ability, Forest Concealment. In other terrains, he questioned the wood sprites’ ability to pull off what Yoshi was proposing. He said as much.
Yoshi wasn’t offended. He simply nodded, “That is why we will be using my own personal war party.”
“You have the War Leader skill?” Richter asked in surprise.
Yoshi gave him a look like he was a bug, “I am a journeyman war leader, little initiate.”
“How did you know my rank? And who are you calling little? And if you have the War Leader skill, why didn’t you make one when we were fighting the crypt mistress?”
The sword adept shrugged, “That was your quest. Not mine.”