“I am an alchemist. Lots of stuff comes in from the swamps and I get to look at it first and sell it back to the Alchemists Guild. So much lost, ahhhhh.” He rubbed the side of his arm against his head.
“You want to go back?” I asked as a joke.
“No, no. Just everything I had was back in that shit hole of a town. I have nothing.” He waved his sword about to emphasize the point.
“It could be worse. At least you have your modesty.” I replied.
“Ha, ha. You don’t have anything to spare do you?” He asked. I gave him a look.
“Do I look like a charity? A trade, a skill for ten silver. My clothes won’t fit you. You are a foot taller than me.” I said.
“A skill, that is worth at least a couple of gold.”
“I will throw in food until we reach the next town. I think it is three days away?” Ulther let out a long sigh.
“Twenty silver.”
“It better be a useful skill then.”
“Can’t teach you any of the Alchemist ones or the guild would have my head. I have a personal skill, Danger Sense.” Now that sounded incredibly useful. “Only reason I woke up in time. The way I unlocked it was to be attacked during the night.”
“I need a bit more. I have been attacked in the night as well.”
“Well you need to be relaxed. Just looking at you I can tell you keep a sword at your side all the time.” I nodded at that. “If you are relaxed and then attacked it should unlock the skill.” That sounded like a terrible idea and said so.
“That sounds like a terrible idea.”
“Why do you think it is not more common? It is hard to let your guard down, be attacked, and survive.” I glanced over at him and realized something. This man was going to kill me. I had forced him to reveal a valuable skill. I would note it down and attempt to unlock it and it would be an interesting challenge. Regardless of the skill, he was going to kill me. There was a look in his eyes. There was an anger there, a deep anger and it was directed at me.
“Slow.” I then cut his stomach open. I moved back as the ability wore off. He let out a scream as his entrails poured out of him onto the road. That was twenty silver saved right there. While I had money saved up, that was a lot of money. I also had an opportunity I didn’t want to waste.
“Heal.” The man healed slightly. “I can heal you. Now tell me about all your skills. Each one you tell me about I will cast heal on you.”
“Go…to….hell….” He coughed up blood.
“Well that is unfortunate.” I left Uther there in the middle of the road. I went off to the side of the road and climbed up a tree.
I watched the man slowly die as I meditated to recover my mana. I hadn’t been planning on killing him but I wasn’t going to waste my hard earned money. He should have been grateful for saving him and getting him out of the town. I got hatred instead of gratitude and repaid it in kind.
It was time to take a chance. A chance for power, a chance to pursue my dreams. I would be returning to Tork. Not the town itself but the surrounding area to kill the kobalds. Hopefully I would be able to track them back to their home if they had left the town. It would also give me a chance to loot the town.
If they stayed to occupy it, all the more for me to kill. If I could raise my Chant of Time to advanced one then a slow would only cost me thirty mana. I would probably have around seven hundred and fifty mana by then. This would translate to being able to use slow twenty five times.
It was unfortunate that the skill would most likely increase slower when I used weaker abilities but I wasn’t too worried. It was the sheer number of times I could use my abilities that mattered. The best synergy between skills would be by slow all and something similar from the Chant of Lightning. There were large area of effect attacks. I could slow a group and then hit them all with a massive blast of lightning. That would be the best for increasing both skills.
I knew it was foolish and risky. But the chance I now had wouldn’t come again any time soon. I had the mana. I knew where the monsters were. I would do this carefully but passing up this chance would be foolish. I needed to seize the opportunity to turn a failure into a success.
A bit before mid-day I had recovered almost all my mana. Uther had long since died and nothing had come to check on his body. I had been hoping that a kobald or two would have chased us. Apparently they were smarter than that. The fact that they had mages raised their threat level considerably. No one else had passed by along the road either.
I climbed down the tree and made my way back towards Tork. I took time my time, carefully scanning the trees and the edge of the Jockel Swamp when the road swung close. I saw smoke rising in the distance and knew that was the town. I left the road and began making my way through the nearby fields towards the ruined village.
There was no movement that I could see. That didn’t mean anything since the kobalds were clearly intelligent and if I were in their place I would lay a trap. There were no kobald archers hiding in the fields and there was no movement on top of the wall after I watched for quite a while. They could have all left after pillaging the place.
I crossed the distance to the palisade. I didn’t run, but kept a slow and steady walk while keeping a look out for any attacks. I reached the wall without incident. I wouldn’t be able to climb over it. I slowly circled around the wall towards the ruined gate while listening for any kobalds. I did hear movement and mentally prepared myself.
I reached the gate. The main problem was if I could see them they could see me. I raced towards the gate. Two kobalds were leaning against spears “Slow.” I slowed one down and killed the other. Yanking my blade free from its neck I spun and killed the one I slowed. Both kobalds collapsed to the ground dead. The Chant of Time really was completely ridiculous and overpowered.
I left the corpses where they lay and entered the ruined town of Tork. I could use slow sixteen more times. Once it hit eight I would make my escape. I checked a house near the gate. It was completely wrecked and from the looks of things the two kobalds sleeping inside had eaten the people living there. Blood and bits of viscera were scattered about.
I killed the two sleeping monsters and grinned. They were clearly exhausted after the attack. This was probably the same as pre-dawn for most humans. After such a victory they probably weren’t expecting anyone. I had hoped for this but now I was really excited. I left the house not bothering to search it and made my way to the next one.
A number of the buildings were empty but I did manage to find and kill ten more sleeping kobalds. Dusk was slowly taking over the town and none of the ones I had found were mages. I made my way to the Adventurers Guild which was one of the biggest buildings left standing. I heard some noise inside. I went around to the back where there was a second door.
It wasn’t locked and I entered. I stared straight at a kobald and it stared straight back. “Slow.” The surprise was still etched on its face as it collapsed in a death gurgle with its throat cut. I made my way through the backrooms of the guild hall, catching another kobald unawares.
I then took a quick peek in the main dining hall. Five kobalds, three of them appeared to be passed out. I rushed into the room. “Slow, slow.” I killed the two of the kobalds sitting at a table eating what could only be described as human remains. I then turned my attention to the ones passed out and stabbed them in the head.
With that completed I went upstairs. I didn’t waste any time as I yanked open the doors and checked the rooms. I found two more kobalds sleeping on beds covered with various human clothes. It was disturbing and I quickly put the monsters to a more permanent kind of rest.
With the guild hall clear I exited the main door and saw a group of three kobald approaching. “Slow, slow, slow.” I got all three as quickly as I could but the last one managed a half shout. I killed two and had to hit the third one with a slow again before finishing it off.
It was time to leave. I had managed to kill twenty six kobalds. I left the town the
way I came in and hid up a tree out of sight of the walls. I meditated for a while to recover my mana. When darkness finally started to cover everything I took out some dried meat and water from my pack and ate it in silence.
Sleeping up in a tree was incredibly difficult but I managed somehow without falling off. When morning came I stayed up there eating breakfast and meditating to recover the rest of my mana. With my mana recovered I went towards the town again.
This time it was completely deserted. Apparently all the kobalds had left during the night. I searched around for a horse but all the ones in the town had been killed or were taken by the kobalds. That limited how much I could take. I went to the Merchants Guild first. The place was completely trashed with a number of the barrels and crates having been broken open.
I ignored those and searched the various desks. The stack of blank parchment hadn’t been touched along with the ink stones. I quickly put those with my supplies. Parchment was expensive at around ten coppers a sheet or so. A stack of a hundred folios was the same as ten silvers. I found five hundred blank folios.
There were no money pouches so I expanded my search. I finally found a metal strongbox secured to the floor in a back room. There were a number of dents and scratches which showed that the kobalds failed to open it up. It clearly required a key of some kind and I had no skill at lock picking. I tried moving it but it was either bolted to the floor or too heavy.
I set to making some ink and pulled out a brush along with a couple pieces of parchment. I drew out the rune for dampen and stuffed the parchment into the locking mechanism. I then made two more parchments for chill and placed them on either side. When water turned to ice it expanded slightly. I had seen it on my trip into the mountains and it had confirmed what I had read.
My hope was that by filling the locking mechanism with water and then freezing it, the strongbox would burst open. It was the only idea I had for opening the strongbox. I activated the dampen rune. I had damaged it like the flash rune so the mana burned through all at once. I then quickly activated the chill runes with the same issue. I yanked my hands back as they became suddenly cold.
In moments the water stopped coming out of the lock and frost was covering the front of the strongbox. I head metal bending and the occasional twang from something breaking but I saw nothing move on the outside. The frost stopped spreading and I tried to pull open the lid. It came up a bit but something was still catching near the lock.
I didn’t want to risk breaking my sword and found a pry bar used to open the various crates and barrels. I wedged it in the crack and kept working to open the strongbox. I could feel the metal giving and it finally opened. I let out a relieved sigh and dropped the pry bar.
Inside the strongbox was a large and small money pouch, stack of documents, and a ledger. I ignored the papers and checked the money pouches. The large one held silver and copper. Probably around fifty of each if I had to guess. The small money pouch held three gold pieces and a single red gem. I put the large pouch in my pack and kept the small pouch on my person.
While there certainly was a lot more to look through in the town I didn’t want to be caught looting and asked difficult questions. With everything secured I made my way out of the Merchants Guild. I looked around me and my heart skipped a beat.
CHAPTER 10
There was at least thirty kobalds. I counted ten archers and three mages. There was a large gray one standing a bit back with a halberd instead of a sword or spear. “Sooozzz humanzzz youzzzz arezzzz herezzz.” The large kobald said. Each word came out more as a hiss but I understood the monster.
“Do you really think you can beat me?” I said with false bravado. I was still trying to wrap my mind around that these monsters could speak to me.
“Yesss. Killzzz humanzzz.” I ducked back into the guild hall. Arrows flew through the open doorway hitting the stone floor. I swung the door closed and dropped the wood beam to bar it. They had three mages and I knew this door wouldn’t hold them. In my earlier search I had found there was no back door. The place was like a fortress, only one way in and out.
The second floor was made of wood. The problem was if I tried to break out the kobalds would easily catch me. The entire building suddenly shook and I stumbled. Dust rained down from the rafters but nothing else happened. I made my way to the store room. There was a half a barrel of lamp oil that had the top smashed open.
I carefully maneuvered it back to the main door trying not to spill any. I began to pour it out around the floor taking up most of the room. Once the barrel was empty I retreated back the doorway that led to the storeroom. It appeared to be the most stable place as the building shook again.
I saw the stones around the main door slowly begin to turn. The wood supports for the second floor and the archway for the door began to splinter. The main door was suddenly hit with a tremendous force and the brace cracked. The door was struck twice more. On the third strike the brace completely broke in half.
Arrows were unleashed through the open doorway. Then five kobalds rushed in with swords drawn. None of them were the large gray one that spoke. I had to lure more inside if I wanted my trap to work. One of them noticed me and let out a hissing sound. They hung back and I saw two mages come through the main doors along with eight more kobalds surrounding the two mages.
“Bolt. Slow all.” The bolt struck the oil while the bubble of slowed time was placed at the ruins of the main door. The kobalds all began to let out hissing screams and rushed to escape. The first couple collided with the area that was slowed and came to a sudden halt. This caused the kobalds behind these first few to collide into them.
I shut the store room door. This room was all stone and there was no second floor above it. Once the door was shut I used the remains of a crate to brace it. I then retreated back and wrote out a number of dampen runes. I then placed them on the door and activated them. Hopefully the water should keep the door from burning down.
With that completed I went to a corner and prepared some runes for the coming battle. After that was done I began to meditate. My earlier actions had taken almost half my mana. I needed as much as I could get for when the fire stopped and had to get past the rest of the kobalds. I broke out of my meditation every once and a while to make sure I could still breathe the air and that the door wasn’t broken down or burnt down.
I did note that it became charred in some places and smoke had filled the top of the room but it was survivable. I was broken out of my meditation a final time by a loud roar. Apparently their leader had seen the excellent work I had done killing monsters.
I had wiped out thirteen if all the ones in the guild hall had been caught. Well they were dead or heavily burnt at least. I also got two mages which I considered the biggest threat. Sure the large gray kobald may be physically tough but against the Chant of Time he would be helpless like every other monster. I got up and readied myself. There was movement beyond the door and I had no doubts the kobalds would come rushing in.
Just like my younger self. Rushing head long into danger for more power. In one hand I held a piece of parchment in the other my sword. I guess I was fighting monsters with the powers of a scribe. I almost broke down laughing at that.
My personal amusement was cut short as the door exploded inwards as splinters and kindling. I was off to the side and avoided the wooden barrage. Four kobalds rushed in and I activated the flash rune. While they were blinking the spots out of their reptilian eyes I darted in and managed to decapitate one.
I didn’t stop moving and left the store room to the charred remains of the guild hall and the kobalds I had caught in my fiery trap. “Stop!” I shouted at the halberd that was about to decapitate me. I ducked under the weapon as the gray kobald stumbled. “Bolt.” I hit the monster right in the face and he let out an enraged hiss.
I activated my second flash rune and ran out into the main plaza. There were a number of kobalds milling around but they clearly weren’t fighters since they were packin
g up a number of carts with stuff taken from the town. I ran past all them towards the gate I had originally entered from. There was loud hissing as the kobalds panicked.
“Slow.” I slowed the kobald at the gate and left a deep gash across his leg as I ran past. I kept moving as quickly as I could away from the town. I spared a glance behind me and saw at least ten kobalds in pursuit. They weren’t going to let me go so easily. I guess they were upset about their fellow monsters.
With my pack I wouldn’t be able to get away and cursed to myself. I ran off into a nearby grove of trees. I dropped my pack and waited behind a large tree. I heard them as they ran up to my pack. I spun around the tree. “Bolt, slow, slow.” I hit one of the kobalds at the rear of their formation with the bolt and the two near me with slow.
I managed to kill one and wound the other before the rest realized what was going on. I kept using slow to get in and wound them but they were quick to cover for each other unlike goblins. I managed to kill six by the time my mana ran out and the other four were wounded. I had a number of small cuts but nothing too serious.
The fight had taken thirty seconds at most, but even that was too much. I could hear more kobalds approaching. I grabbed my pack and ran. The wounded kobalds were in no position to chase me. They weren’t dead but the cuts I had managed on them were fairly deep. I made sure to back track once in hopes of throwing off any trackers they might have.
I kept moving over the rough terrain not stopping for anything. I finally came to a stream. I made sure to leave tracks leading into the woods on the far side before heading back and walking in the water downstream. I dug into my pack and pulled out my only two stamina potions. If there was ever a time I needed them this was it. I chugged them down. I felt energy flow into my body and my muscles feel a lot better.
When dusk finally came I collapsed in the woods. I fell into a deep sleep, completely exhausted having used up all my energy twice in one day.
***
I woke with a gasp. I was alive and there were no kobalds. Dawn had already come and my body was sore from sleeping with my pack on. I dragged myself up and began moving through the forest. I had done it. I was still alive and level nineteen.
Adventures of a Scribe Page 27