“Right . . . lunch . . . perfect meal,” Micaela laughed nervously.
Chapter 20 - Gras
“Welcome to ‘Operation: Gremlin’,” Heath said to the assembled group, smirking a little.
Something about the way he said it made Gras feel quite nervous, maybe unsettled. Gremlins were nothing to be messing with, he would have thought Heath knew better after the events of the previous day. The adventurers were odd creatures as far as he was concerned, always up to something, always scheming and forever demanding for a quest and some kind of reward, usually money or a piece of suitable equipment, as if normal people carried stuff like that around with them all the time.
“Operation: Gremlin,”
“I know, right?” Heath asked excitedly.
“Okay, inside joke no one else understands aside, what’s the plan?”
“Yeah,” echoed two of the other members of Heath’s sabotage group in one voice.
The last member was a hulking brute of an Orc named
“To start, training,” Heath answered. “We have a day, maybe two to train up before we go on the hunt. I hope you are all ready to work.”
Gras was surprised by how serious the Thief was. In the short time he had known Heath, he hadn’t thought the man had a serious bone in this body, not to say he wasn’t good at his job and very skilled. Heath just struck Gras as being aloof and somewhat lazy.
“Training for what?” Green asked, for a big brutish looking thug, he had not seemed unintelligent to Gras.
“If you do not have ‘Stealth’ at level 100, we can start there. Second, you need to get the subskill ‘Camouflage’ if you don’t already. And last, you need to learn the subskill ‘Shadowed’. If you have all three of those, then we need to rank up your ‘Scavenge’ skill. My buddy Gras here is already signed on to train us, and best of all, he knows all three of those subskills in addition to being a master of ‘Scavenge’.” Heath explained.
Gras wasn’t sure what Heath had in mind for that particular skill set, but it wasn’t like he had much choice in the matter. Gras had spoken with Mardi that morning already, gave her and her General Hammersmith quite a bit of information on Anvilton. Unfortunately, things had clearly changed in Anvilton after the events of the day before. It made the information he had a little out of date. The fact that members of his rebellion had been captured, and he didn’t know about it, did not bode well. Camber Elias, one of his most trusted and capable rebels, in addition to being one of his commanders, was among those rescued by Bye-bye and his group of adventurers. Gras was still impressed by how Bye-bye pulled that off. Camber would have more information than Gras at that moment, reluctant as he was to relegate the passing of information, he did what was best for Anvilton and that meant letting Camber provide the most up to date information.
That left Gras with nothing to do. When he heard about Heath’s plan to raid Anvilton’s resources, he volunteered. His class and skill meant he would be more useful in helping with whatever ‘Stealth’ raid Heath was concocting than trying to help the Duchess and General Hammersmith plan whatever attacks would come next. There were two very strong reasons to join Heath, first, he had two of the skills Heath was looking for and second, he knew the terrain on the other side of the valley better than anyone in Hammerton.
“What is ‘Shadowed’?” Evile asked, her voice slightly muffled by the cloth covering her face.
“It’s a very useful subskill to ‘Stealth’ that reduces your chance to be seen while using ‘Stealth’ by 40% while you are in the shadows,” Heath answered.
Gras knew pretty much every subskill there was to know for ‘Stealth’ and then some.
Stealth
Level: 100
Experience: N/A
Non-Combat Movement: Speed reduced by 55.00%
Chance of Being Revealed: 50.00%
Skill Stamina Cost: 2 per second
Subskill: Ambush
Critical Strike Chance: 100.00%
Skill Stamina Cost: 120
Subskill: Vanish (Requires Distraction)
Skill Effect: Vanish from view, instantly becoming 'Stealth'. Cooldown: 60 seconds
Subskill: Stealth Entry
Chance to Enter a Room Undetected: 10.00%
Skill Stamina Cost: 150
Subskill: Hide
Chance to Hide After Successfully Attacking: 10.00%
Skill Stamina Cost: 50 Skill Requirement: Hiding place
Subskill: Camouflage
Chance of Being Revealed: -20.00%
Skill Cost: Environment Materials
Subskill: Shadowed
Chance of Being Revealed: -40.00%
Skill Stamina Cost: 2 per second Skill Requirement: Shadows
Subskill: Guerilla Assault
Critical Strike Damage: +200.00% Chance to Remain Hidden: 10.00%
Skill Stamina Cost: 240
Subskill: Assassinate
Damage: +100.00 per Character Level Cooldown: 24-hours
Skill Stamina Cost: 100 x Level
It made Gras into a very bad man to his enemies. But even with that kind of skill and being able to unleash that kind of damage, it still wasn’t enough to kill his father. His father was powerful, unnaturally so. Gras wasn’t the first to want him dead. The Duke Shrove survived many attempted assassinations by killers far more skilled than Gras was. His father was more akin to a dungeon master than a Duke of a Dwarven city-state.
“So, tell me where you’re at with your ‘Stealth’ and we’ll go from there, so levels and subskills if you please, mates,” Heath ordered.
“Level 100, and I have ‘Camouflage’ but not ‘Shadowed’,” Evile answered proudly.
“Level 74, and same as Evile,” Duncan stated with a frown.
“Level 98, we have both, and we have ‘Nightstalker’ skill which improves ‘Stealth’ another 20.00% at nighttime,” Donphael answered for himself and his brother.
“That would be super useful, what do you need for it?” Heath asked.
Gras could honestly say he was interested in learning as well, it had been a long time since he had learned any new ‘Stealth’ subskills.
“We hunted snakes at night in our starting province,” said Michatello.
“When we suddenly got the skill,” Donphael finished.
“Okay, no snakes here as far as I know, but there are plenty of bears. Hope everyone is up for an all-nighter. This will be a nighttime operation anyway, we need to adjust our sleep schedules accordingly,” Heath stated.
Working at night was always risky due to the rock giants, but with a group of ‘Stealth’ users, Gras knew they would be easier to avoid.
“Level 88, and neither subskill,” Green added his status.
&nbs
p; “Okay, then we have our work cut out for us. Gras, I’m counting on you to hunt them while they are using ‘Stealth’, they will level up that much faster if someone is actively hunting them while using the skill. Evile, you’re with me,” Heath ordered.
It was true, the skill would gain more experience when you were actively trying to avoid detection as opposed to just practicing the skill.
“You have a 30-second head start, when I find you, I will tap you on the shoulder taking you out of ‘Stealth’. When I do, wait 30-seconds and start again,” Gras stated firmly before closing his eyes. He didn’t want to make it too easy on them.
The two Turtlemen vanished followed by Duncan and Green.
Once the 30-second mark passed, Gras activated his own ‘Stealth’ skill and started hunting. Gras had the maximum level of ‘Perception’ which only gave him a 35.00% chance to see his targets. That would not be enough against most ‘Stealth’ users.
Perception
Level: 100
Experience: N/A
Skill Range: 20.00 yards
Chance to See: 35.00%
Chance to Identify/Value: 60.00%
Subskill: See Intrigue
Skill Effect (Passive): Enables you to look at a person or item and spot unusual behavior or out of place details.
That is where skills like ‘Counter Insurgency’ and ‘Detection’ came into play.
Counter Insurgency
Level: 100
Experience: N/A
Skill Effect (Passive): Your expertise in Guerilla Warfare and Tactics have blessed you with a sixth sense. Increases the ‘Perception’ Chance to See by 10.00%
‘Counter Insurgency’ was a skill reserved for his class. Other classes had similar skills, but he did not know much about them. Truthfully, he never really cared to learn.
Detection
Level: 41
Experience: 87.14%
Skill Effect (Passive): Where ‘Perception’ ends, ‘Detection’ begins. Augmenting your senses with magic you are able to detect more than you would otherwise. Increase Chance to See +20.50%
Spell Mana Cost: 5 per second
‘Detection’ was ‘Perception’ on steroids. Everything became heightened, vision, hearing, sense of smell, touch, and taste. All of them combined did not give him a Chance to See of 100.00% but he would happily take the 65.50% chance it gave him, it wouldn’t have been enough to spot the gremlins prior to becoming frenzied but for the adventurers, it would be more than enough. Especially if the ones he was hunting were without the other ‘Stealth’ subskills, the adventurers would be easy pickings.
Smirking slightly as he saw the first of his targets hunkered down in a corner, Green had an interesting idea. While it was generally true, you were less likely to be spotted using ‘Stealth’ if you were stationary. It was not very difficult for Gras to sneak up next to Green and gently tap the large Orc on the shoulder.
“Damn, that was fast,” Green said appreciatively then smirked. “This is going to be great training. I already gained a level to ‘Stealth’.”
“Good, when you hit level 100, go see Heath for the next part of the training,” Gras said as a reminder, before vanishing to hunt his next target.
Hours passed, Gras calling for a short break every 15-minutes or so to replenish his mana and stamina, something the adventurers took advantage of as well.
As expected, Donphael and Michatello hit level 100 first, but as they already had both subskills, they joined him in trying to hunt their companions, which increased the rate at which the adventurers gained levels to ‘Stealth’. Green finished next and went looking for Heath and about an hour after that, Duncan had also reached level 100 of ‘Stealth’.
“Seeing as you are the last, I will help you learn ‘Shadowed’,” Gras said as soon as Duncan had earned the qualifier.
“How does it work?” Duncan asked.
“The skill ‘Stealth’ is naturally strong in dark places, like the shadows. The idea is to learn to move only where the shadows touch. It takes a higher level of concentration which means you will expend more stamina, but the effect is worth the cost,” Gras explained.
“Okay, how do we start?” Duncan asked.
Gras kind of liked the old Dwarf. He was very serious and professional, very much an old soldier, something Gras respected.
Gras motioned for Duncan to follow him out into the hallway and back toward the mess hall. The mess hall was lit by hanging braziers and a few lanterns hanging from the walls. There were tall pillars interspersed through the room from floor to ceiling to add extra support. “This room is filled with plenty of light, but there are also plenty of shadows. Your goal is to get from here to there,” Gras said, pointing to the door on the other end of the room. “Do not step out of the shadows. Do not get spotted. Do not get caught. Oh, and soldiers have been warned there is ‘Stealth’ training today, that means a 2-silver bonus for anyone that catches you, which also means you need to come back here and start over. I repeat, focus on staying in the shadows.”
Not needing to be told twice the old Dwarf nodded and disappeared from view a moment later.
Gras sat on one of the benches at the other end of the room to wait. He could hunt Duncan himself but with a room this size, if he chose the wrong path, he might never find his trainee. Better to let the soldiers find him.
The shadows only afforded so many blind spots, the trick was finding the deepest shadows and using them as often as possible. The shadow from a pillar is going to do more than the shadow from a candlestick or chair. It was finding those that was the real trick.
“Ha, found him,” one of the soldiers shouted jubilantly, holding Duncan’s arm into the air.
“Start again!” Gras yelled across the hall, watching the Desert Dwarf move back to his starting position before vanishing again. Duncan had barely made it twenty feet from the door when he was uncovered. Gras was wondering how long it would take for the second time.
“2-silver says less than 30-feet,” the voice of a new arrival offered. The sound of someone sitting down across from him drew him away from his trainee. It was Master Sergeant Murdock.
“Alright, I will take that bet,” said Gras, unsure if he should really be betting with the soldiers of Hammerton. He still made the bet, betting on Duncan was the right thing to do. Plus, if he made a little money from him then all the better.
Both Dwarves watched carefully for Duncan to get caught. “Yes, got him,” a Dwarf from the other side of the room crowed triumphantly, holding Duncan’s arm aloft, almost 40-feet away from where he started.
“Damn,” Murdock grumbled, sliding the two silver bits across the table. “Less than 60-feet, 4-silver this time, got to make my money back and a little profit.”
Sixty-feet was about the quarter mark of the room. It was also the most dangerous area as the braziers hanging from the ceiling were placed in rows from north to south every 50-feet from the wall.
“More than 50-feet, but less than 60-feet,” Gras countered. It was a fair bet, if Duncan did better, then Murdock got paid and if he did worse, Murdock still got paid.
“Alright, I will take that,” said Murdock. He was then eagerly watching for Duncan to get caught.
Time seemed to crawl by as they waited. The more time that passed, the more Gras worried Duncan may have exceeded his expectations.
“Found him,” a soldier called out, holding Duncan’s arm high, almost 125-feet from the door, nearly the halfway mark.
Gras clicked his tongue as he slid the 4-silver across the table to Murdock.
“That was impressive,” Murdock stated, happily claiming his new coin.
“A little,” Gras conceded, still unhappy about the loss of coin but pleased that Duncan was figuring it out quickly.
“Okay, so, let us say 150-feet or less this time, 2-silver?” Murdock asked.
“No bet, he is close to learning the subskill if he got that far,” Gras stated.
“Do you think so? Then
how about this, he will gain the subskill in more than 3 tries and let us put 5-Silver on it. What do you say?” Murdock prompted Gras.
It was tempting. Very tempting indeed. “Alright, you have yourself a deal,” said Gras, accepting the larger bet. He didn’t need the money, but it was kind of nice to act like a normal Dwarf for a while. Gambling, brawling, and tempting beautiful Dwarven women was something he never got to take part in growing up. He was always the outsider, the Shalie that just didn’t belong. A little gambling was kind of fun, something Gras didn’t often get to do, even in the guise of Ash.
Duncan was uncovered next at 55-feet and then at 205-feet from the starting door. Gras was honestly worried after his trainee was found at 55-feet, but everyone gets lucky or unlucky sometimes. It was the 205-feet that got him excited, that was about 15-feet shy of making it through the room undetected. It was also likely that getting so close like that made Duncan sloppy. Hopefully, getting caught so close like that also served as a reminder to not count your ore before its purity was verified.
“Ahem,” a voice coughed from the door. “Do I win a prize?”
Gras grinned a bit at seeing Duncan, standing in the doorway, looking very pleased with himself. Quickly schooling his face into something sterner, Gras asked, “Did you learn the subskill?”
“I learned it just before I was found at the 55-foot mark two tries ago, but I’ll be damned before I let some room beat me,” Duncan answered.
“Well done, but next time, do not waste time on pride. We are supposed to be on a mission, remember?” Gras chided the old soldier.
Duncan frowned and huffed. “I’m sorry, you’re absolutely correct. I should know better.”
The Mountain Valley War Page 35