“Whe… where did you hear that name from?” she uttered weakly, her mind reeling at the possibilities.
He just kept on coughing.
She wasn’t feeling too good either. As part goblin herself, the poison was making her weak and her movement sluggish. She guessed that for a pure goblin the effects would be even more severe.
But she didn’t have to wait for him to answer. Her well-trained analytical mind was already deducing the most likely scenario.
That man somehow knew her. When she revealed the bit about her old character’s skill he instantly knew she was responsible for the clan’s trouble. That meant he knew her old character and he knew her real name. Other than Vatras, her uncle, there were only a handful of people in NEO who knew who she was back then, and of those people, only one of them, that she knew of, was missing.
Her voice quivered as she hesitantly spoke. “O … Oren?”
***
I finally coughed enough of the pollen out of my system to able to speak properly. I straightened and looked at the wild-eyed woman.
“Hello, Pen.” I smiled weakly. “It’s been a while.”
“Bu– but …” She opened and closed her mouth a few times. She eventually decided on keeping it closed and her eyes had a distant look as if she were deep in thought.
She had changed. Back then, the girl I knew as Penelope Katie Britt used to play as an elf and took pleasure in the simplest of things; picking flowers, swimming, sitting in a tavern with friends. She was always smart for her age and I knew she was studying to become a scientist.
At last, she opened her eyes and nodded. “I understand now. I’m so sorry, Uncle Oren. He deceived me. I didn’t know it was you.”
“Wait.” I raised my hand, “I want to hear everything, but right now your presence prevents me from recalling my dead soldiers. Without them, the clan is defenseless.”
“It shouldn’t be a problem anymore,” she said. “When you realized I was the spy, I received a Hatred status with your clan and when you recognized who I really was, it shot back up to Neutral. I believe you can summon your troops now.”
I nodded. Kaedric –
A sense of lightness fell down on me.
“Oh no …” Raystia paled. “I’m so sorry, Oren.”
The second wave had arrived.
***
I clenched my fists, my sharp goblin nails digging into my palms. Why hadn’t I resurrected my troops the instant she stopped fighting me? I berated myself. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
That would still be a handful more than I have now, I thought bitterly back to him, but forced myself to exhale and calm down.
Kaedric, withdraw all the noncombatants back into the cave. Have Rhyno and Kilpi guard the temple. We will make our final stand there.
Yes, my lord.
“Give me your hand, and don’t resist,” I told Raystia.
She gingerly complied and I teleported us both to my house.
I sat in my comfortable armchair and gestured for her to take the other seat. I knew the second wave of players would take at least half an hour to reach us, and I wanted to know what to expect. Raystia could help fill in the blanks. “We have a little time,” I said. “Tell me your story.”
Raystia slumped in her chair, her head bent. “I was so busy at work,” she said miserably, “so … needed. I barely had enough time to live, let alone have fun. That’s why I was so happy to receive the invitation to play at an accelerated time. After my first game sessions, I was so excited I had to share it with my uncle. After all, he was the one who introduced me to the game and taught me how to play. I was careful not to mention the items protected by the NDA they made me sign; the accelerated time and playing as part-monster. I just told him about my adventures, which included me helping to develop a new village in the Deadlands. In hindsight, I now realize he already knew your location, so it was simple for him to connect the dots and figure out I had access to your clan.”
She sighed. “He told me a story about how you, a goblin player, stole something important from his guild and as a result, his best friend, the guildmaster, lost his position and decided to drop out of the game permanently. He said he was working on a plan to return the Manapulators to greatness, but he needed my help. He needed me to provide him with information about the clan and to hamper your progress.”
I gave her a long, searching look then shook my head. “It’s hard for me to picture you killing two defenseless workers, or setting buildings on fire; that’s not who you are. The girl I knew was gentle and shy, she would never have done what you did.”
She frowned. “You’re right, that’s who I am, in real life. Do you know how tiring it is to always be the good girl? How frustrating it is? I’m bad at talking to people. But NEO allowed me to transform, becoming someone completely different. Here, I am Raystia, the fearless catgirl-archer-rogue. Here, I can pretend to be someone powerful and confident and do things I would never have done in real life. Vatras’s request was right along those lines. My uncle was never the gentle sort. It was a thrill, all of it; the killing, the subterfuge, the sneaking around.” She smiled sadly. “I became quite good at sneaking around. I spotted your hob scouts trying to tail me within five minutes.”
“That’s another thing I wanted to ask you about. How did you manage to do anything while they were watching you?”
She chuckled. “It’s simple, I asked Kaedric to recall them.”
I frowned. “He wouldn’t disobey my orders. I made it clear I wanted you and a few other players followed.”
She shrugged. “He is just an NPC, Oren. A smart one, sure, but in the end, he is a slave to the rules of the game. There are layers of interaction available to players to influence NPCs, you know that.”
With my inside knowledge of the VIs’ plight, I was probably more aware of that fact than any other player in the world. “So how did you do it?”
“I have achieved a Respected reputation with him, so when I suggested that the scouts were wasting their time by following me, he agreed.”
“How the hell did you get that reputation rank?” Even mine wasn’t as high.
“It was simple. I realized early on that our lovable mandibled hob was always hungry for brains, so I started bringing him some. It took me less than a week. I got 500 reputation points for every victim I delivered.”
“I see … so that’s how you made him think Misa was behind everything?”
She nodded. “I needed to lure you into a trap, and I needed a reasonable explanation for breaking your ban on players. So I told Kaedric I discovered it was the others who were acting against you and that I intended to stop them. Sure enough, you came as I expected. You were really lucky to escape the pollen cloud when you did. I bought the goblin bane poison from Hoshisu and experimented combining it with flowers. If you had breathed it for a few more seconds, you wouldn’t be walking right now.”
“So that’s why you have the Florist skill. I thought it was weird when I first noticed it.”
“How did you –” she started, but then stopped and grinned. “Yes. It’s nothing like a florist in real life. I can use mana to shape flowers and give them a number of interesting properties. It’s a little like alchemy, only with flowers. Oh, by the way, sniff this. It will counteract the poison.” She presented me with a small white flower.
I smelled the flower, then something else clicked. “A goblin detonated a vial of liquid fire in the mess hall. There were flowers in the vial that burst into flames.”
She nodded. “FlowerFuse; it’s one of the simplest to create. I learned how important the Breeder’s Den was to the clan, so I set out to sabotage it. I was just about to pour the liquid fire on it when a hob patrol got a whiff and came to investigate. I had to create a diversion, so I gave one of the foblins a vial as a present for ‘The Chief.’ With my reputation, it was easy. The little guy �
� ahem … well … you saw the rest. Er … sorry about that.”
I grunted. The loss of the Breeder’s Den was a real hit; it would take a little more than ‘sorry’ to make amends.
“So how did you hide the liquid fire from my troops this long? I had them scan every part of the valley.”
She shrugged. “Easy. I just logged out for a few days. Vatras messaged me when the first attack wave was within striking distance, so I logged back in to blow up the walls. Your hobs were crawling all over it, so I put enough lavender in the vat to throw them off the scent. They really have a terrible sense of smell, you know.”
Her casual recollection of destroying a third of my army caused my anger to flare, but I couldn’t help admiring her resourcefulness. Almost single-handedly, she, a low-level player, nearly toppled an entire clan. I chuckled and shook my head. “You have grown into a mischievous little brat, Pen. You nearly assured the destruction of the GreenPiece Clan.”
“Er … ahem … Sorry … about that …?”
“What else can you tell me about Vatras’s plan?”
She lowered her eyes. “I … don’t really know. You know my uncle, he keeps a lot to himself. He didn’t let me in on the details, only … um … that they were coming. And … ahem …”
She was falling back into her ‘normal’ speech patterns.
“Anything else you can tell me will be extremely helpful,” I encouraged her.
“Ahem … okay. I think my uncle knows about the time difference thing.”
“How? You said you didn’t tell him.”
She steepled her fingers. “I guess he just figured it out. I did tell him about a week-long’s worth of adventures after playing only a couple of days.” She winced. “Now that I think about it, I … ahem … think he hinted that he knew … um … he said something like, ‘Take a few days to work out your plan.’ And the next day he wanted to hear what I came up with, so … ahem … yeah, he probably knows.”
I frowned. There wasn’t much I could do about it, and I couldn’t see a way for Vatras to exploit this against me. It just meant he was aware that he had to work swiftly, to minimize the time I had to fortify our defenses. “Thank you for the information,” I told the young woman. “The second wave will hit us in about ten minutes. You should log out now.”
“But I want to help!” she protested. “As improbable as it sounds, I love the GreenPiece Clan. I liked helping make it into something greater … ahem … I mean … before I tried to tear it down. I don’t want to see you destroyed! I’ll stay and help you fight!”
I shook my head. “Vatras doesn’t know you switched sides on him, and I want to keep it that way. I need you to be my spy, once we’ve defeated the second wave.” If we defeat the second wave, I couldn’t help thinking.
Her downcast expression brightened. “From a spy to a double agent? That sounds like fun! Oooh, can I get like … ahem … a code name?”
“How about agent ‘Meow?’”
Her eyes lit up, “Aww! That’s so adorable … ahem … no! I want a better name, something dangerous. How about –”
I held up my hand. “I’ll let you figure it out. You should log out. I have an invading army to deal with.”
“Yes, Uncle Oren, right away!”
“And, uh … let’s keep my real name just between the both of us, alright?”
Her eyes twinkled. “You got it … Chief. But next time we talk, it’s your turn to tell me your story of how you ended up here. Deal?” Without waiting for my answer, she logged out, her body becoming translucent until it disappeared completely.
I heaved a sigh and leaned against the table, dropping my head onto my arms, my thoughts back to the new impossible challenge. “Three bosses against 20 seasoned, higher-level players,” I mumbled. “How the hell am I going to handle that one?”
I could use a good one right about now, Vic, but please, nothing involving my shining balls.
I raised my head in anger. “That’s your idea of a joke? Now of all times?” I snorted. ”I’m not about to repent of my sins and ‘see the light.’ And if you meant real light, well in case you forgot, it’s pretty dark around here. The only light comes from this goddammed green cha–”
I stopped abruptly as comprehension dawned on me.
“Thanks, Vic.”
36 – Second Wave
The war party advanced steadily through the dense forest for several hours, finally coming to a stop in front of a burned down wall.
“A’ight boys.” The leading dwarf turned to face the rest of them. “We made it into ‘em greenskins’ nest, time for some pesticiding.”
“I don’t like it,” a tall, slender woman garbed in tight-fitting robes said. “The debuff just worsened. It’s like we’re being pulled into a maelstrom.”
“Tell me about it,” a warrior holding a quarterstaff grunted. “Minus ten percent to max HP, damage, and resistances. Feels more like we’re approaching a raid boss than a goblin clan. And what’s with this magical darkness?”
“Yeah.” The tall woman turned and glared at an obviously high-level mage in fine gear. “Maybe the Manapulators’ first lieutenant could be bothered to do something about it.”
“Oh, alright.” BigPill rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry, kids. Let there be light!”
He hit the butt of his staff against the ground, and the gem at the top flared into bright, white light. A dome of pure energy grew around the war party, spreading to cover a 20-meter radius, pushing back the darkness and the things that lurked within.
“Not bad,” the woman said. “The debuffs are still there, but now only at half the strength.”
“Please try to remember that this is a tryout,” Hirooku said pleasantly. The Manapulators’ other lieutenant looked perfectly at ease in the dark, his hands resting comfortably on the hilts of his twin swords. “It defeats the purpose if we do all the hard work for you.”
Another player nodded. “At least the aura holds back the beasts of darkness the first wave encountered. They’re around level … 10. Vulnerable to magic and light-based spells specifically; shouldn’t be an issue either way.”
“If you sissies are done smacking y’all’s lips around,” the dwarf said, glaring back at them, “how ‘bout we go get us some gob meat, eh?”
“Damn, Ragnar, don’t you think you take this whole southern-hillbilly act a little too far?” the quarterstaff-wielding player asked. “I mean, that’s not how dwarves sound.”
Ragnar’s eyes shot daggers at him. “When we git done here, boy, you and me are gonna have ourselves some alone time.”
The other player visibly paled at the threat. “I didn’t mean anything by –”
“We have incoming! Battle formations!” said a player in pristine white full-plate armor who went by ‘Daniel_The_Destroyer.’
The war party formed into an arrowhead. Seven shield-wielding tanks, with Ragnar at the front, formed the outer lines. Casters and ranged attackers were in the middle with four healers evenly spread between them.
“Here comes ‘the fun part,’” Ragnar declared, but he frowned as he saw what was coming for them.
A lone creature darted behind the trees toward the circle of light. It looked like a goblin, but it was human-sized and had scaly arms that reached to the ground, ending in vicious talons. His hooved feet left smoking trails on the ground behind him. His face contorted into a terrible, hungry grin, displaying razor-sharp teeth.
“Is that …” one of the players said hesitantly, “a demon goblin?”
One of the archers aimed his bow. “It’s about to be a dead one.”
His arrow streaked over the players’ heads, splitting into three arrows midair, all scoring direct hits on the creature’s chest. The creature’s momentum carried it over the last few meters, running headlong into a hastily raised shield.
&n
bsp; Then it exploded.
The force of the explosion splintered the shield, and bits of bone shrapnel shot into the players’ formation, injuring several, but not severely. Another two demon goblins appeared at the edge of the circle of light.
“Archers, take them down before they reach us,” Daniel_The_Destroyer commanded. “Healer, top off the wounded, tanks – advance!”
***
I watched from my spot between the trees as two more juiced-up foblins stormed the players.
I was surrounded by a throng of foblins, over 60 of them, and was busy infusing them with infernal energies as quickly as possible. I made each foblin bleed a few drops into the Chalice of Infernal Energies then drink it up. They, in turn, started to morph. Some grew wings, and some grew horns. Others grew spikes and flaming tails. All became bigger and were grasped by an insatiable bloodlust.
Once the transformation was complete, they became wild and unmanageable suicide bombers. It was all I could do to point them in the right direction to wildly charge at the players. Every exploding foblin caused an AoE damage equal to its max health. At level 1, with their goblinoid and demonic templates, that amounted to roughly 25.
The players adapted to the situation; their tanks distanced themselves from the main group, forming a protective line that intercepted the possessed foblins. Every dead foblin subsequently exploded in a spray of blood, gore, and bone as the infernal energies within them could no longer be contained. With the new formation, the tanks bore the brunt while the rest of the players remained protected behind them.
The second wave’s experience and teamwork showed as their ranged attackers easily picked off the demon foblins, often before even reaching their tank line. To make matters worse, every foblin who entered the protective circle of white energy started smoking and their HP drained rapidly.
I was sending the foblins in twos and threes, but it was not nearly enough to overwhelm the enemy’s unwavering defense. Their thirst for blood was immediate. I couldn’t organize them or send them in numbers.
After sending ten foblins in a row, I could tell this tactic was not working. The tanks perfectly absorbed the incoming damage and their healers were quick to top them off. They kept themselves spread out so that even a concentrated surprise attack wouldn’t be enough to take out all their healers in one go. But the circle of protective holy aura was the biggest obstacle. Aside from weakening the foblins, it held the dark horrors at bay and seemed to be negating most of the Eternal Night’s debuffs.
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