Chapter 13: Standard Approach
The traveler wielded a thin and long sword, currently inside a scabbard on his hip. He was approximately 1.83 meters tall. He was wearing no armor, but his clothes had integrated cores at various points. The overall shape of the cores was different, in the shape of flat disks instead of spheres. The clothes were well maintained compared to earlier humans, and covered in runes. The clothes had most likely been converted into cores. dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0 had not yet produced a core based on armor or clothing and was unaware what changes that might create.
The core-clad traveler was obviously rich compared to the villagers and even the team with the stealth tech. dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0 expected high-end augmentations. At a certain level the person itself became irrelevant. Combat behavior would be dictated by combat and implant AI, their organic brain unable to meaningfully contribute. Worst case scenario meant he was facing something with superior processing power and reflexes, nullifying his natural advantages. It also meant the traveler represented a significant investment of resources into a single soldier and a targeted strike would cripple their fighting capabilities. A potential weakness in the human forces. However, augmentations had been extremely inconsistent so far, it was possible he had no combat abilities. dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0 needed to observe what he was dealing with.
dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0 decided to hide the goblins and gather more information before engaging. Standard approach for heavily augmented targets was either non-smart artillery or demolition charges to collapse the building they were in. High-grade equipment could counter targeting systems or return fire before you could get a shot off, but sufficient kinetic force would destroy or incapacitate anything. He presently lacked explosives, his only weapons being goblins with daggers, meaning he would have to proceed with ambushes and primitive traps instead.
The traveler walked to the edge of the dead vegetation and waited. Before long, two vehicles approached from the forest path behind him, each dragged by two four-legged animals. Transports of some sort, with a driver guiding the animals. They stopped a few meters behind the core-clad human. A taller human, more heavily armored, with the armor covered in runes but lacking visible additional cores, exited the transport and joined the traveler. She had her helmet off and carried it under her shoulder.
"Lord Calder." she said, with a small bow, despite being behind him. She looked at the desolate path and sensor spikes. There was a moment of silence as she waited for a response. "Lord?"
"Yes, yes." he shook his head and glanced at the armored human. "We leave the wagons and horses. Whatever those are..." he pointed at one of the spikes. "...would tear up their legs. We continue on foot."
"Is that wise, sir? Perhaps we should find a different path?" she answered in response. "The mercenaries were hired with a regular escort contract, not for whatever this is."
Calder briefly looked at the wagons, where several armored soldiers were climbing out and stretching. "Uncle said you could be trusted Evelynn, so I will speak plainly." He lowered his voice. "We're not here on a hunch. It cost the family a great deal to predict there would be something valuable here, and others finding out is just a matter of time. That..." He waved his hand in the direction of the dead vegetation "I believe what we seek is causing that. So, we continue on foot and follow the path. Let the mercenaries know their pay is doubled because of the change in contract and if they argue, feel free to point out that no noble house will ever hire them again if they walk away."
"Yes, Lord Calder." she answered, visibly unhappy. She returned to the rest of the soldiers, out of hearing range as she spoke to them. They began dragging packs and equipment out of the wagons, while the drivers unhooked the horses to change their position. Calder stepped forward and grabbed one of the sharp spikes, breaking off its tip and rolling it in his hand. dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0 noted the augmentations to his skin, the spikes evidently not sharp enough to cut into it, meaning dagger slashes would likely be ineffective.
"Fuckin' vague [Prophet] bullshit." he muttered to himself, out of hearing range of the rest of the humans, before gathering his forces and proceeding down the path. The two drivers stayed behind to handle the horses and to guard the vehicles. Nine additional mercenaries joined Calder and Evelynn. They had metal armor, possibly made of a lighter alloy, or each of the soldiers was augmented, as their movements were too light compared to the thickness of their armor. In addition to the armor, all of them carried small packs on their backs. Seven carried a longsword and shield, none with any visible runes. The remaining two carried bows and shortswords as backup weapons. The mercenaries moved with precision, and kept their guard up, making an ambush difficult.
The group walked down the path, becoming increasingly unnerved as they continued. dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0 had constructed the path and placed the sensor spikes with unnaturally precise intervals, and each new bend of the road looked identical. A few soldiers took to shattering the sensor spikes on the edges of the path with their shields, leaving small scratches in the metal. One of the mercenaries seemed to be about to order them to stop, as he grimaced at their actions, but appeared to reconsider. "John, you sense anyone in the forest?" he said instead.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
"Just animals, they seem spooked." came the answer from one of the soldiers with a bow. Another soldier was about to speak, but the ground collapsed under his next step. He did not scream as the soldiers pulled into a defensive formation around him and he pulled his leg out. Evelynn stood as part of the formation while Calder was ushered into the middle of it. When the mercenary freed himself, there was a long stone sliver sticking out of his lower leg, broken off from a larger spike inside the hole.
The apparent leader of the mercenaries pulled out a core from his pack and examined the wound. "Surface wound, just needs bandaging. Fine to walk on it." he said. "Your Skills didn't pick up on the trap?"
The injured soldier answered "Surface was undisturbed, I'm sure of it. I-"
"Perimeter." warned John, which caused all the soldiers to pull up their shields, including the leader who tossed the core onto the ground to quickly re-grab his shield. "Clear." John said after a second. "Ran away the moment I said I saw it."
The leader continued with first aid, while glancing towards Calder. "Double's not enough. Triple and double that if you survive, confirmed by writ. Not going to walk into an ambush without getting paid for it."
Calder started to answer "You are overestimating your wo-"
"I'm not overestimating shit. You may have had your pick back in the city, but I'm not seeing anyone else around here." The mercenary leader gestured towards the surrounding woods. "Pay us or we're going home, and no bullshit about not being able to sign a contract here, I know your kind have the Skills for it."
Calder glanced towards Evelynn, only to receive a blank stare in return. "And what's going to stop you from just leaving me to die while still getting paid far more than any other job? I doubt the extra pay would be enough for you to risk it."
The leader snorted in response, before poking at Calder's clothes. "As if we could, while you're wearing that."
dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0 thought he could spook them off by keeping a few goblins at the edge of their sensor range, but decided to prioritize information gathering and the possibility of retrieving Calder's equipment. He prepared additional traps in the village, using goblins as a workforce to save on mana costs.
The leader ordered everyone off the road onto the eastern side of the forest, too far away for his sensors to reach. However their heavy armor created enough noise that dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0 could track them using the goblins while staying out of John's range.
dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0 used the road, which was now clear of hostiles, to move his goblins into position to hit their supplies instead. The two drivers were more lightly armored, and were chatting with each other while leaning against their vehicles. The mana cost of slowly sneaking with the goblins was prohibitive, but the operation itself was successful, as they did not seem to have the same sensors as John. Two goblins simultaneously crawled under the vehicle and plunged their daggers into the drivers' lower legs. dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0 despawned the goblins to save on mana and left the mercenaries to bleed out. Before long, they were too weak to resist and another pair of goblins slit their throats.
With the hostiles cleared, he continued spreading south, claiming the vehicles and supplies in the process. The horses were killed on controlled ground for an influx of mana.
The main group of mercenaries arrived at the village soon enough. They seemed to hesitate at the edge of the village, out of sensor range, but entered the area anyway.
John spoke. "Clear, not seeing anyone living."
"Make sure." came a reply from the mercenary leader. There had been a change in the overall command structure, as Calder was now trailing behind instead of leading the way.
John pulled out a necklace with a flat disk in it, similar to the cores in Calder's armor. He put it between two hands, and closed his eyes. "Nothing, not even rats." The process did not seem to boost his range, as dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0 had several goblins nearby, outside the village itself, and was hiding them out of the range of detection. Another piece of equipment he would target for retrieval.
"Get whatever you came here for, and then we're getting out of here." the leader said while looking at Calder. The words seemed to calm the mercenaries, who were distracted by the sight of corpses and blood. dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0 had simply left them where they had died, trails of blood visible behind those who had their legs slashed but still attempted to escape. One of the soldiers peered at the wreckage of a collapsed building.
Calder closed his eyes for a moment, then pointed to the large central building of the village. "In there."
The team walked towards the building, with the leader near-constantly asking for updates from John. They moved single-file, with the injured mercenary in front. He kept stopping and stomping his healthy foot against the ground at even intervals, seemingly checking for traps through the stomps.
They reached the central building and walked in, slowly and cautiously, checking each step. The building was untouched, aside from books tossed onto the ground. It was composed of a single chamber meant for holding the entire community. As they continued inward, they saw a table with a small round core on it.
"That your big treasure? A basic core?" asked the mercenary leader. Calder was quiet and stepped towards the core with hesitant steps, until he heard a groaning noise and looked up, only to see one of the roof supports falling, soon followed by everything else.