“Eh … yeah?”
Her grin broadened, revealing sharpened teeth. “I love it. It’s a chance to play from a completely new perspective. Even games that let you take an evil role don’t let you play as the mob fodder. This is refreshing. Besides, evil is fun.”
I scratched my cheek. “I wouldn’t say we’re evil … we help and support each other. We just have … different priorities.”
“You won’t hear any complaints out of us, especially this one,” she said, gesturing at Raystia. “Don’t let those big, innocent eyes fool you. She let your ant-hob eat the brain out of a living victim and stood watching without twitching a muscle. Even the big guy had to look away.” She patted the bugbear’s shoulder.
“It’s not like that,” Raystia protested, then blushed as everyone focused on her. “I mean, ahem, the poor man was starving, I couldn’t leave him like that. It’s not his fault he has to eat living brains. We eat meat, right? Is it so different?”
“Hey kiddo, I’m cool with that, but our resident dwarf nearly fainted when he had to sacrifice the vegepygmy on the shrine.” Misa nudged Riley.
Riley made a sour face. “I didn’t like it, but becoming a dark priest sounded cool. At least I can heal now, right?”
“So, you’re a full priest of Nihilator now?” I gave him a searching look.
The dwarf nodded.
“It’s good to have another dark brother in our clan. I see you have a sacrificial dagger?”
“This thing?” He held up his black dagger. I could easily tell it was not as powerful as mine. His dagger wouldn’t kill a helpless victim with a single strike or create a void crystal like mine did, but it was still a holy relic of our cult.
“Yes. In your future battles, try to deliver the finishing blow with this dagger. The creature will become an offering to Nihilator, increasing your reputation with him.”
“Hmm …” The dwarf mulled over my words. “Thanks for the tip.”
“We’re going to build a Dark Temple soon,” I continued, “which should further increase the power and influence of Nihilator’s followers.” That gave me an idea on how to make my point. “As a matter of fact, why don’t I show you around the clan?”
They exchanged uncertain looks.
“Ahem, are you sure?” Raystia sounded hesitant. “I mean, I’d love to … this place is amazing but …”
“Follow me.” I led them through the path between the buildings. “That’s the rabbit warren; it produces raw meat every day.”
“What’s that pink building?” Riley pointed at the Breeder’s Den. “Looks kinda out of place.”
I wasn’t about to let them in on the single most important structure in the clan. I feigned misinterpreting his questions and led them to the structure near it. “That’s my own house. I hope I don’t have to say that, unless I invite you in, it’s off limits.”
“Cool totem piece,” Misa said, pointing at the Ogre totem on top of my house.
“Yes, that …” A sudden idea came to me. This group had demonstrated their resourcefulness and proved they deserved a bit of trust. I could use someone like them around. “I have a proposal for you.” I gave them a crooked smile. “There should be another piece like it at a camp about half a day’s travel from here. Would you be willing to go and fetch it for me?”
“What’s in it for us?” the burly bugbear grumbled.
My smile widened. “I’m glad you asked.” I concentrated and brought up the Quest Giver menu.
Grant the quest [Retrieve Totem Piece] to The Mob Squad? Yes/No
I set up the quest rewards for an even hundred gold and reputation points and added a minor magical item for each of them. Then I approved the quest and watched the four expressions change into shock.
“You can grant quests?” Misa and Riley exclaimed together.
“Yup.”
“Oh, yes we will do it!” Misa said, accepting the quest for all of them.
“I’m not sure what the totem piece looks like exactly, but it should be similar to this one. It shouldn’t be too hard to find. It’s likely to be heavy, but between you four, you shouldn’t have much problem carrying it back here.” I could probably order my hobs to search for the totem, but carrying it back to the valley meant we’d miss a coal shipment. This way was better.
They nodded in understanding.
“Oh, and there’s a small force of my people there; a few goblins and hobgoblin guards. Don’t interfere with their work and don’t cause them any trouble,” I said with a tone of warning. They had just seen an inkling of my power, so I was sure the message got through loud and clear.
“You got it, Chief,” Misa said lightly. “By the way, what’s your name? Everyone just refers to you as the Dread Totem; a bit silly if you ask me.”
“That’s how I roll around here.” I shrugged. “Some call me Chief instead, take your pick.”
“Ahem … excuse me, Mr. Dread Totem Chief,” Raystia said haltingly. “Do you have any advice on how to play better? I mean, it's hard finding equipment, and we’re not allowed to use the crafting areas …”
She was right, newbies had it rough around here. Her remark sparked an idea, a plan to win over the newcomers’ support. “For now, just keep doing what you’ve done so far – complete quests, help the clan. Aim to reach ‘friendly’ reputation with the clan. Once you do, we’ll have a lot more to offer; access to our crafters and resources, maybe even trainers.”
Misa raised her brows. “So it’s basically like a guild?”
I felt a surge of anger. “No,” I said sharply. “Not like a guild. We’re like a family. Everyone is working together to reach a common goal … to be better, stronger, able to defend our people from trav– … players, and advance our civilization.”
Riley shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”
“I just want to kill stuff,” Fox grunted.
“That sounds amazing!” Raystia blurted, then blushed again “Ahem, I mean you’re basically running a frontier town. The challenges must be staggering.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” I said grouchily. “But we make do. Anyway, it’ll be a while until you get there. The quest should go a long way toward helping you.”
“What are we waiting for?” Misa grinned. “Come on guys, the place is already marked on our maps.”
They all turned and left. I heard Riley mumbling, “Why would they name it Raider’s Camp?”
I chuckled, happy at my spur-of-the-moment idea. This group shouldn’t have any problem finding and bringing me the second totem piece. It spared me the need to use my forces or go in person, and it cost me nothing. A win-win situation.
I turned and walked back toward Totem’s Watch. When I was there ten minutes ago, I could tell something about the shrine had changed, but I was too busy spying on the newcomers to investigate. Now that I had dealt with them, I wanted to have a closer look.
A loud scream came from within the cave as I drew near. Two snakefolk slithered out, shouting and screaming. More travelers.
Snakefolk had the upper body of a human and the lower body of a snake, kind of like land-mermaids. The two were slither-running as fast as they could. A single large shadow mastiff appeared behind them, giving chase.
I directed my will at the mastiff, ordering it to disengage. The hound complied, returning to the cave. The two travelers continued running past me, screaming as they went.
“Stupid, no good travelers poking their noses where they don’t belong,” I muttered to myself.
Still shaking my head, I climbed the ladder to the stone ledge above. I approached the altar, feeling tendrils of information swirling excitedly around it. I reached out and touched the shrine. It was filled to the brim with thrumming, dark power; it had more than enough to activate Eternal Night.
Soon, I promised myself. Very soon.
It had been a couple of hours since I’d given Trillian, the new exporter, her first assignment. It was time to go check on her progress. I teleported
down and made the short walk to the marketplace.
I arrived just in time to see Trillian and her gofer bringing in the last pieces of lumber to the Export Office. Somehow, they’d managed to fit the entire load inside the small enclosure.
I watched, curiously, as Trillian went to stand next to the central market’s pole. She laid both her hands on the glowing orb and closed her eyes. The pile of logs started fading, slowly becoming transparent. In a few seconds, the entire stack of lumber vanished, and in its place stood a much smaller pile of square, clear glass.
We finally had glass.
I looked around, excited, wanting to share our success with someone. But for once, Kaedric wasn’t nearby. I frowned. “Vic, can you please go get Zuban.”
Vic glided away from my shoulders. “So spiky-face is unavailable for a moment and I become an errand boy again?”
“I did say ‘please,’” I pointed out.
“Fine. One stupid hob puppet to go.” He left the marketplace, muttering.
I didn’t let his antics spoil the moment. The Export Office worked! This single building was the ultimate answer for our resource issues. To top it off, the gremlin marketplace put a high value on wood, which we had plenty of. We were rich. We could buy most any valuable resource we needed.
I concentrated briefly, connecting to the information threads that permeated the air, looking for our daily production quotas. There – we were producing 52 units of lumber per day and had over 300 in store. A good amount. It more than satisfied our construction needs, but I wanted more. I could now use the Export Office to bring in resources instead of having to produce them on my own. I needed a lot of lumber for that.
I spotted Kaedric walking between the stalls toward me. “Greetings, my lord. Please accept my apologies for my absence; there was a small incident with a couple of travelers that required my attention.”
I frowned. “Did they cause any trouble?”
“No, my lord, they were complaining that the cave was not safe. It seems that a third member of their group was killed by the mastiffs that roam within.”
“How did you handle that?”
“I explained to them that the cave is only safe to members of the GreenPiece Clan. At which point they asked to join. I’m afraid I took liberty with your time, my lord. I have scheduled them a meeting with you for tomorrow morning.”
“That’s alright, Kaedric. As a matter of fact, I was already thinking along those lines. If we let the travelers into the clan, I think they’ll be more invested in helping us.”
“Very wise, my lord.”
“Anyway, I need your help with something else. We have to increase our wood production substantially. Please recruit two new lumberjacks and put them to work.”
“Shall I also increase them to level 3, my lord?”
I sighed. “I guess we ought to make it our standard for new recruits.”
“Yes, my lord, I shall see to this at once.”
Kaedric left just as Zuban appeared.
“You summoned me, Dread Totem?”
I didn’t answer, just grinned at my foreman and pointed at the neat stack of glass.
Zuban eyed the stack with delight. “Wonderful! We can begin constructing the Dark Temple immediately. However, I have a suggestion.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“It will be daylight soon, so we won’t make much progress on the temple today. Let’s continue working on the barracks instead a little longer. We can complete it by early tomorrow. The delay for the Dark Temple will be meaningless, and while we work on it, your warriors will have a proper barracks to use.”
I studied Zuban. The hobgoblin had come a long way from the mindless warrior drone I’d first met. He was an intelligent and invaluable member of my clan now. Any chief would be lucky to have such a person working for him. I was very fortunate. “Of course, that is an excellent idea, Zuban; good thinking,” I complimented him warmly.
He looked down in embarrassment, though I could still see him smiling. “It’s a simple matter of efficiency, Dread Totem.”
“Simple for you, yes,” I countered. “Not many would have your foresight. We are fortunate to have you.” I suddenly remembered he was ‘dating’ one of my scouts. “How are things between Ashlazaria and you?”
He coughed, embarrassed. “She … is a fierce woman. It can be challenging.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
He actually blushed. “As a warrior, she can be demanding … physically. It is difficult to meet her … expectations.”
“Ah,” I said. “Females, eh?”
He looked down and didn’t reply.
I rubbed my chin. Zuban deserved some sort of a bonus. I could purchase him another level, but as he was level 7, it would cost over 300 energy. Besides, as a constructor, his main attribute was Social. A level-up wouldn’t make him physically stronger. I needed to give him something that would help him bring his ‘A Game.’
Then it hit me. “Zuban, give me your arm.”
“Dread Totem?”
“Don’t worry, it’s a gift.”
He extended his arm. I held it with both my hands and concentrated.
Would you like to grant the Mana Infusion skill to Zuban? Yes/No
Yes.
A glittering of small light surrounded us, and Zuban’s eyes opened wide.
I grinned, applauding my own cleverness. As a Social-centered build, Zuban actually had a fair amount of Mana. It would be more than enough to ‘fuel’ him physically for a rigorous bout of ‘pillow fighting.’
“There you go.” I winked at him. “Use it when you need a little extra edge. I’m sure Ash would approve.”
“I … I … I…” my foreman stuttered, then bowed deeply. “Thank you, Dread Totem.”
“You deserve it.” I patted his shoulder. “Now get to work!”
“Yes, Dread Totem!” He left with an extra bounce in his step.
The horizon was getting brighter. I’d had a late start, spending more time than I thought fighting Hoshisu and showing the new travelers around. There was still much to be done, but it could wait until tomorrow.
I could have probably done a little more, but I suddenly felt exhausted. Tika and Hoshisu both wore me down pretty hard, albeit for different reasons. I could do with some extra sleep.
I went home. Tika was still out. I crawled into my furs and fell asleep instantly.
***
I awoke the next evening feeling much more alert and refreshed. Tika was snuggled against me, as usual. I had a slight urge to wake her and recap yesterday’s playtime but decided against it. There was a lot to do today. We could always make up for lost time later.
I left the house. Vic flowed from the hanger to my shoulder as I passed through the door, and together we went to the mess hall.
Workers were flowing in and out of the structure, getting their daily food rations, parting to allow me entrance.
Zuban was sitting with his builders. I noted that each of the workers had a large pile of food in front of them and were all eating voraciously. Good old Ogre’s Gluttony was hard at work.
At a separate table sat the hob warriors, those that were not currently on guard duty; Yulli the scout, Kilpi the tank, Ryker the axe wielder, and Ashlazaria.
The female scout busied herself with her food, though she kept glancing toward Zuban every few seconds. I had a feeling my little gift had been appreciated.
Vrick was seated at a table and surrounded by female workers.
At least ten foblins were running around, causing a racket and snatching up discarded pieces of food.
Rhynorn, our ‘champion’, was sitting by himself, eating a whole pot of stew on his own. He growled at a foblin that got too close, and the little critter fell on his back in terror, then skittered away on his hands and feet.
I went to sit with Vrick and the females.
“Dread Totem,” Vrick said, munching on a piece of bone.
“Good to se
e you again, Vrick.” My former lieutenant was giving off all sorts of interesting information streams. I could sense his Armorer skill had reached its cap at level 19. It was the highest worker skill in the entire clan. Having served as a soldier, Vrick had reached level 8, a relatively high level that he was now putting to good use. That was some food for thought. Maybe I should only recruit soldiers, have them fight and level up a bit, then set them to work? I mused.
“I see you have become quite skilled at your job.” I motioned at the armor he was wearing. It was spotless leather, made from a fine mesh and polished to a shine. Compared to that, the leather vest he’d made me when he was just learning his craft looked like garbage.
Vrick dragged a long nail over his chestpiece. “This? This is acceptable. I could create something so much better if I had the proper material and workplace. For now, Kaedric makes me craft simple armor for the stupid hobs.” His lips tightened. It looked like he was still carrying a grudge against our former enemies.
“That’s part of the reason I’m here.” I took out the oxsaurian hide from my inventory and put it on the table. The wood groaned from the weight. “Think you can make something better with this?”
Vrick inspected the hide, pressing his lips together. “This is large and thick. It would make a good heavy armor. There is enough material for two hobs or one Ogre.”
I considered it briefly. Rhynorn was one of my bigger guns and he was tamed now. Well, mostly. “Make armor for Rhynorn,” I decided.
“Yes, Dread Totem,” he said, somewhat mechanically.
“Come on Vrick, cheer up. Thanks to you, no other clan can field stronger warriors.”
His expression didn’t change.
“I have something else for you as well.” I took out a Pyrolith scale.
His eyes widened as he took the scale, examining it from all angles. “What is this? It’s as tough as steel, but light. It’s almost flexible, and the red sheen … This … this is amazing.”
“Think you can craft something suitable for me? I’m afraid I’ve outgrown the vest you made for me.”
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