"Rise, all of you," she said. She still wasn't sure she sounded remotely regal. To her own ears her voice was reedy and a little too wobbly. She hoped her aura would take up the slack.
But the ten new Goblins seemed awed by her presence. The swirling mist of XP that rose up from the dead men and whirled around them helped too. It wasn't anywhere near as intense as player killing, but the feeling was still pleasantly refreshing.
Leader, Minor WarBand - Band Size Increased (32)
HP Increase +10x10; Now 710
XP+500; Now 7550
Level 11 Upgrade
Dark Lore+2 now: 4
MP increased now: 400
HP increased now: 750
Tier 1 Class Specialization Now Permitted
She gave the text a cursory glance and decided to worry about it later. She could probably get some useful advice from Sam about it. At least the HP boost was clear. She was worried she was going to need it.
All these Darks Lore points and I don't even know what they're for.
She really, really needed some basic schooling. That was something else to talk to Sam about.
But all the same this was a pretty sad state to be in when she had a level fifty-something Sorcerer bearing down on her and demanding her crown.
The Goblins stood back up, staring at her with awe.
"I am gathering all of my lost and scattered children and I am leading you home!" she said to them. "But first, we must bring everyone together."
She looked around at the torn bodies on the ground.
"And kill anyone who stands in our way!" she added.
The Goblins burst out roaring and barking, and Sam gave her a small nod. The rest of them - the Kobolds, the two Gnolls, and the Spectre, watched on with more calm. This was definitely the Goblin's moment to bask in the praise of the Night Queen.
She left them to strip the bodies for anything useful, and then told the Spectre to do a wide patrol looking for any more humans who might be nearby. Once it had floated away, she gestured brusquely at Sam.
"Necromancer, we must talk for a moment."
She gave the senior Goblins a glare.
"We won't be long, so keep your panties on okay?"
Rogmor looked confused but nodded and gave her a brief bow.
As they walked away from the main group she touched her pendant and Sam did the same. The sound around them faded.
She didn't give him a chance to speak first.
"This is bullshit. I have no experience, no tutorials, and now some high-level assholes are coming to steal my crown. On top of which I can't even talk to other players about how to play the fucking game! I need help!"
He nodded.
"You're not alone, for what it's worth. That's pretty much how we all start out. Though being way out here on your own makes it tougher. Most people arrive in the cities. It's a little easier to get organized there."
"What do I do with Dark Lore points?"
It was just the first thing that came out of her mouth. She wasn't sure it was the right thing to spend time on, but with all the questions bouncing around in her head, that was what popped up.
"You invest them in skills. Once you get a class specialization those become available. They're not much use before that. But you can buff your spells and status effects with them. Quite a lot actually."
"Okay, fine. Thank you. I want more spells. Badass ones. I need them. Do you have anything you can give me or sell me or whatever? The Night Queen will be in your debt."
"Let me do that tonight. We can make a little production of it. I give you some good spells, and you make me your Magister Militum."
"Which is what?"
"Master of Armies. I'm still under your command but it gives me authority with the NPCs. Haven't you noticed how little I've been saying? Right now I'm just another schmuck as far as they're concerned. Worse in a way, since I used to have some power in the old army."
Clearly he'd just named an outrageous price for a few spells, but what else was she supposed to do? He was wearing a little smirk that made it clear he knew she knew it too. He really wasn't the most likeable guy, but he was at least straightforward in his self-interest.
"And if I do that, you're on my side if there's a fight?"
He gave her a mocking little bow.
"Mistress, I will give my life for..."
"Fuck off Sam, just answer me straight."
He nodded.
"Yes. I'll be obligated too. The crowd will be very unhappy with me if I don't, in fact."
"Done," she said, though she made a mental note to find out more about that position and its powers relative to the Night Queen's as soon as she could.
"Perfect," Sam said. "Now can I please say what I've been wanting to say? We're getting angry looks already."
"Assholes," she muttered. "Go ahead."
"Okay, number one is that Spectres are really good at hiding. They can cloak themselves even from high-level players like these two. That one is our ace in the hole. It's a shame we don't have both. We should have him hidden well ahead of them getting here."
"Thank you, that's helpful. When do they arrive?"
"Probably morning," Sam said. At her obvious surprise he added, "They could be here in a couple of hours, but they want to give the terrified new player a chance to worry about how much danger she's in."
She snorted.
"Honestly," he added, "if that's what you really were I'd probably be recommending you take their offer. But I've got a good feeling about you."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'm sure my little Rot spell will save the day."
He laughed and it sounded genuine.
"I promise I'll try to give you something a bit better than that. But this is all about managing your assets. You've got enough forces here - myself included once I'm installed as Magister Militum..."
"I get it yes, it will be done."
"You have enough power assembled to register as a real threat to the two of them, even if they tried to just outright kill you. Which they probably won't do. They're the good guys after all."
Ashely hissed.
"They're just some assholes."
"But looking for a way out, like the rest of us. You should promise to help them. It's for everyone's benefit. They'll have to pretend that they're worried about the Night Queen and her army of the damned, but that's not why they want the crown. How it fits I don't quite know, honestly. Maybe we can get them to tell us something useful."
"Then how..."
"We have to stop this," he said. "Look."
More than a few heads were turned their way now, and none of them looked very happy.
"Fucking fuck. They're our jailers, not NPCs."
"It's a theory for sure," Sam said, and touched his pendant. The noise around them grew again, and Ashley whirled to confront the angry mob.
"Everyone calm down," she said. "I had matters to talk about with the Necromancer. You'll hear about them tonight. Some things need to be discussed quietly."
She went up to Rogmor and the other senior Goblins and ordered an impromptu meeting to distract them. It needed to be done in any case - they had to grill the new group for information about where they might find more forces to join them.
Rogmor pointed at a short, burly Goblin holding an axe.
"This Grubmak. Good guy to find. He did a lot of planning. Knows things we can use."
The new Goblin bowed to her, but his eyes were sharp.
"Mistress, we meet another bunch three days ago. Twenty Goblins, plus some fighter humans, big group. They heading west to hunt food. Might be smart to try to catch them."
"A hunting party?"
Grubmak nodded.
"Human fighter leading them. Guy named Ravi. He's planning to take a bunch back north for home."
Sam’s eyebrows shot up.
"Ravi's alive? I thought he was dead for real, totally lost track of him. He'd be a great to have with us."
"That true," Grubmak said. "We said we'd find more guys and try to join up with him."
Then he smiled and pointed at Ashley.
"Wait until they find out they're joining up with the Night Queen! They shit themselves!"
He burst out laughing.
"Ravi's a real fighter. Barbarian Berserker," Sam said. "High level, very experienced. He was one of our generals. He'd be an asset."
Ashely nodded.
"All of this is great," she said. "But we have a bigger problem right now."
Rogmor frowned.
"What problem?"
"I've sensed two... people will arrive tomorrow. They may not be friendly. Sam has sensed them as well."
"Company of Heroes," Sam said.
Several Goblins growled.
"They kill a lot of our guys," Gravmok said. "But they're pretty tough. Won't be easy to kill them."
Ashley frowned.
"They know about me. They know about the Night Queen. That's why they're coming."
She hadn't intended to make it a public announcement, but there were obviously a lot of ears listening. An angry murmur spread out around them.
Grabmog - her first party's cook/healer - hefted his sword and looked up at her.
"Mistress, we not let them hurt you. They have to kill all of us first."
Rogmor and Gravmok both nodded immediately.
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"We protect the Night Queen," Rogmor said. "They want a fight, we give them a surprise!"
There was a chorus of roars through the clearing. Word was obviously getting around, and it looked like the whole warband, sans the Spectre, surrounded them now.
She held up her hand, silencing them.
"I believe you," she said. "My children will be more than they can handle. If I tell you to kill them, I am sure they will die."
Another roar from the group.
"But listen. There's a bigger issue to think about here."
It wasn't what they were expecting, and there were a lot of puzzled frowns. Sam cocked his head slightly.
"What the men here want is you gone from their lands. They think they have to kill you to do that. What I plan to do is offer them another choice. Instead of battle, they will grant me free passage to gather my people and head north to home. We will not run and hide like cowards, trying to steal our lives from them. The whole army will walk free and go home proudly! Every one of my children. If I can do it I will not lose a single one of you!"
There was dead silence.
Ashley's stomach dropped.
I may have just fucked up.
But then there was a squealing cheer from the back of the crowd. It was the two Gnolls. She couldn't see them, but their voices pierced through the quiet. She had no idea of what they were saying, but they were jabbering something and it definitely sounded enthusiastic. It seemed to break the uncertainty in the Goblins, and suddenly they all roared their approval at her, louder than she had ever heard them before.
Maybe they've just never had their leader promise to try to keep them alive.
Sam's weird expression finally broke into an actual smile.
"I would not have gone that route, but well done I guess," he said.
New text scrolled up for her.
Achievement: Charismatic Leadership
Title Earned! "Protector of the Damned"
Status Effect: 50% Increased Trust From All Dark-Aligned Creatures
Charisma +2
Huh. I guess maybe it wasn't a fuckup. So I'll pretend I knew what I was doing.
By the time they retrieved the Spectre it was already late afternoon, but on Sam's recommendation they headed deeper into the forest instead of setting up camp where they were.
"Lots of cover, lots of places to hide, that's what we want. If it comes down to a fight we don't want them to have a clear shot at anything."
She had no basis for contradicting him and the senior Goblins all seemed fine with it, so she allowed him to choose the spot. When they were finally settling in and setting up the cooking fires it was full dark.
"This is good enough," he said quietly to her. "But let's conceal the spook now. They have no problem with that kind of thing. In fact I think lurking and waiting to spring on their victims might actually be something like fun for them. No guarantees those two aren't already watching us, but we should at least make the attempt."
She summoned the Spectre over and commanded it to disappear into the deepest, darkest part of the woods it could find, only to reappear when she gave it the signal. It buzzed something back at her and drifted away without any fuss. She wasn't sure, but it may actually have been a little more immediately cooperative than before.
I am friend to all hellbeasts. Cool.
The next interruption came as she was gnawing on her hunk of venison.
Contact Offer: Andrew of Highwater Fold (Paladin)
There wasn't much alternative so she accepted it with a resigned sigh.
Andrew of Highwater Fold[4]: One million gold. It could all be yours, act now!
She smirked and decided to break radio silence. She started out by whispering as low as she possibly could, but soon realized she could actually subvocalize and the system would still pick up what she was doing.
Ashley[4]: I don't want to hurt anyone, but the NQ Crown is mine. Is there room to talk about this? I'm sure we can find some kind of arrangement. Tell me why you want it so bad.
The reply came back a few minutes later.
Probably after he strategised with the Sorcerer for a bit.
Andrew of Highwater Fold[3]: You're still pretty young to be starting fights and this one can't help but get nasty if we did. My friend here has been tracking the NQC for months now. She considers your possession a technicality. I assume Sam has been able to give you the outline of what's going on? We need to sit down and talk with some very high-level dark creatures. They have essential info. You giving up the crown gets us all out of here that much faster.
He seemed a bit more reasonable than the woman at least.
Ashley[3]: I'm totally happy to cooperate! If you want to talk to the big bads I'm your Night Queen! Whatever you need I'll make it happen. But right now this is the only thing I have and honestly I think I'm not bad at it. Sam agrees. My little army is very enthusiastic about me.
There was another lengthy pause. One of the Gnolls came up to her chattering excitedly about something, but she waved it away.
"Thinking hard right now," she said. "I promise I'll come look in a minute."
The creature's face fell but it turned and scampered away.
Andrew of Highwater Fold[2]: You're messing up a lot of plans with this attitude. We've been setting up Annelyn's story for a long time now. She's going to turn to the dark side, become the Night Queen. A lot of hard work has gone into this. NPCs are all primed for it. I can't promise she's going to be willing to cooperate. She's not highly flexible. There's real danger of a fight. Might not be able to prevent it.
She frowned. What was she supposed to do? According to Sam, she had a decent shot. But realistically she might lose a lot of her people.
Who can be replaced. My crown cannot be.
It was a very clear thought, but she wasn't sure that it was entirely her own.
Sentient magical weapons were a thing, after all.
It was frustrating. She knew about them, but still couldn't place the memory.
You there? Can we talk? she thought in the general direction of the crown.
But there was only silence.
She looked around the encampment. Sam was talking to the Gnolls now, and they had something with them. It was probably her robes. She'd have to make a point of looking surprised and happy about them, but more than anything else she just wanted to put them on and see what kind of stats she'd get.
Ashley[2]: I really don't want to fight anyone. The crown is mine. I'm sorry if that's an inconvenience but like I said I'm prepared to cooperate fully with you. I'm not here to be your enemy. What I'm going to propose is that I be allowed to gather the remains of the army and take them north. Back home. That way we clear out all the Goblins and Dragons and so on. We all go away, everyone is happy, and I do whatever you need me to do. I'm your woman in the North.
The reply came back almost instantly.
Andrew of Highwater Fold[1]: Well you've got ambition. I like how you're trying to sell your own personal army of the damned to me as a net positive. I'll talk to Annelyn. I assume you haven't heard from her. She's busy moping.
So far he seemed like the most reasonable person she'd run into since she got here.
Ashley[1]: Let me know okay? Tomorrow we can make it all formal in whatever way the NPCs need to hear it. I'll follow your lead.
Nice. I'm think I'm starting to get the hang of how to use the player messaging, too.
She spent a while sorting through what they'd collected from the men. There wasn't much of any use to her, and Sam seemed to feel the same way. All the same she got them to collect everything that might be sellable or even useful and assigned a few of the more muscular ones to be packhorses. They complied without complaint at least.
But they were trying to stay concealed, which meant no fires, so there was no chance of a warm dinner this night. Grabmog was still the assigned cook for the group and he actually seemed to enjoy the role. He had distributed slices of cold venison to everyone, giving Ashley all the most appetizing bits. She gave a handful to Rebus, who munched through it without complaint.
"You stay hidden too, okay?" she said. "Keep an eye out for any familiars you think you can handle though."
"Will do, but this won't be like that Cleric. Whatever these two have will be a serious threat."
"Don't do anything too crazy. I need my familiar."
If only for the MP regen.
Pretty soon it clearly was time to start the show. Sam kept giving her significant looks.
She dropped the scraps of her dinner on the log. One of the low-status Goblins would probably grab it. They were welcome to it. Competition for her leavings was another way of sorting out the strong from the weak after all.
It seemed like Sam had been prepping them. Most of the Goblins were already clustering in a circle, and the Gnolls were waiting in the middle with something in a bundle. The Kobolds were lurking off to one side, near Sam. The Necromancer was watching it all, presumably waiting for his moment to shine.
She strode up to the Gnolls, giving them her best regal smile of generosity.
"My apologies for making you wait before, but I have many things to consider now. Why did you want to see me?"
Both of them dropped to their knees in a deep bow.
One of them held the bundle up towards her with both hands.
"Mistress!" it squeaked, "We have made the robe you requested! We hope it is acceptable!"
The creature was clearly speaking more slowly than was natural. Presumably it was trying to sound formal and dignified.
"Mistress!" the other one squeaked, not quite so slowly as the first one. "We have done all we can with the tools we have now! It will generate magic, and it will protect you and strengthen your power! But we beg of you to let us make something truly great for you when we are home!"
She took the bundle and favored them with a dip of her own head.
"I am grateful for your work on this and I will wear it with pride."
She unfurled the garment and let hang down to the ground. It was fairly simple - dark blue but the firelight caught silver and gold glimmers in the fabric which had been sewn in by the Gnolls. It didn't shimmer, but it did sparkle demurely. There was a cowl as well, and a firm leather belt around the middle. It wasn't exactly regal, but it was functional and looked properly magical.
Robe of Dark Magic; Level 21 (Limited: Currently 15); Empty Slots: 3
Dark Lore+2 Now: 6
Dark Tongue +5 Now: 7
Physical Damage Reduction 50%
Light Magic Damage Reduction 30%
Conceal; Level 5
Constitution + 10 Now: 13
Stamina +10 Now: 11
MP Regeneration 10MP/sec
"Wow," she said, looking at the two Gnolls. "Good work you guys. This is great, thank you. Really."
They beamed with pride as she draped it over herself, on top of her leathers. She shook her arms through the sleeves, and cinched the belt tight around her waist, then turned to Sam and gave him a "well?" gesture.
He gave her a thumbs-up, but not much else.
A roll of text through her visual field re-confirmed all the stats she'd just seen.
"The cowl, mistress!" said the first Gnoll.
"We cannot make you invisible, but this much we can give you now!" said the second.
She hesitated for a moment and then threw the hood up over her head. The sound of the camp became muffled - not so much as when the discourse pendant was active, but it was noticeable all the same.
There was an impressed muttering from the crowd.
"What happens? I can't see it."
Her original alpha Goblin Gravmok spoke up from the front row of watching Goblins.
"You not invisible Mistress," he said. "But if you not move, then kind of hard to see you."
She nodded, impressed, and flipped the hood back.
That would be the Conceal stat.
"Very nice indeed."
Oh shit, I forget their names.
"I will remember this. You are my honored Gnolls, and you have given me a valuable gift. When we return home I will reward you greatly for it."
She turned slowly in a circle to see all of the watching creatures.
"All of you will be rewarded. You are the first of the Night Queen's Army. Your names will be legendary."
That line went down well, by the look of things. Most of the watching Goblins grinned and clapped each other on the back, or started talking excitedly. Then Gravmok and Rogmor stood up, and slowly dropped into a bow in front of her. The others caught the hint and the camp went slowly silent as they all dropped down before her.
"Our lives for you, Mistress," Rogmor said.
Ashley noticed that Sam had his head bowed and a slight smile on his face, but he wasn't groveling on the ground either.
I guess I can't fault that. For now at least.
She let them all bask in her glory for a while. She walked slowly around the circle, taking her time and talking to as many of the low-level Goblins as she could. Their eyes were wide when she stood before them, and some of them were actually trembling. She did her best to calm them and praise their bravery.
They need to believe I really do care about them all, after all.
She let it go on for a while, but eventually she couldn't put it off any longer. He was clearly starting to get antsy, so she put him out of his misery.
"Sam," she said after moving back to the center of the circle. "Am I correct in understanding that you have something for me as well?"
"Mistress," he said loudly from the back row. "We are all here to help you regain your power. That is our focus, and our duty. I will not rest until you have restored your full glory and majesty."
Kind of a back-handed oath of fealty there dude.
"I am confident of your loyalty, Sam," she said. "And I know you held a high place in the Demon King's Army. You were trusted with much authority. We will have need of your experience and your power as we return home."
"Mistress," he said, walking forward into the light of the campfire with her. "I have a small token of my faith for you, as well as some new spells which I hope you will find acceptable."
He dropped to one knee in front of her.
Not both knees, though.
He help up his hands, and there was a small black spellbook and a glowing green sphere of some kind cupped in his palms.
She took the green crystal first, not wanting to give away just how badly she wanted those new spells.
"Appraise."
Illwyrm Gem: 3; Conjuration; Warrior (2 min); 10 minute cooldown
Conjures forth a damned Warrior to fight for two minutes; Level 20
Conjured creature is weak to Holy Dispel (Level 15+)
Sam looked up at her.
"It goes with the robe. Takes up a slot, but having an extra pair of hands is always good."
She nodded.
"Thank you Sam. This is great."
She thumbed quickly through her inventory, and it was a matter of two taps to attach it. The gem winked out of her hand and appeared in the center of her chest, pulsing dimly green. She was relieved that she didn't need to ask him how to configure it.
Then she took what she really wanted, the spellbook. So far she'd been lucky in not having to actually wield her magic much in front of anyone. Letting her creatures do the fighting was natural, but she didn't want to give them a bad show if she ever really needed to. Her low-level shields and attacks weren't going to cut it.
Spell Tome
Dark Shield 20 (Limited, Level 15); 100MP; 10 minute cooldown
Magical Attack 30% Damage Reduction; 10 minutes
Bound Staff 20 (Limited, Level 15); 100MP; 10 minute cooldown
Firebolt (150 Physical Damage); 10 Bolts
Blindness 30 (Limited, Level 15); 150 MP; 7 minute cooldown
Target is blinded for 3 minutes; Magical vision not affected
Meteor 35 (Limited, Level 12); 250 MP; 30 minute cooldown
Area-of-Effect Destructive Blast (600 Physical Damage + Burn Damage Over Time 20/second for 10 seconds)
"Very impressive," she said after a few moments. "Your offerings are appreciated. Seriously. Thank you."
She tabbed the Learn button.
Sam bowed his head again.
"I trust the Night Queen with my life. I know she deserves our loyalty."
Yes, yes. I get it.
She cleared her throat. It was time to keep up her end of the agreement.
But at that same moment, the night was lit up by a brilliant blue spear of light, descending from the sky towards the camp.
An explosion threw Ashely backwards and stunned her momentarily.
HP -1x10 (Now 750)
Screams and shouts echoed through the sudden dark, until another streak of light pierced down from the sky and landed squarely in the middle of a cluster of Goblins. There was a deafening clap of thunder, and Ashely was pelted with dirt and chunks of Goblin meat.
HP -7x10 (Now 680)
Ashely scrambled backwards, trying to get away from the rain of bolts that were crashing down into the camp now. Explosions cracked and boomed, and a Goblin torso with most of a head thumped into the dirt beside her.
She knew the scar pattern.
It was Rogmor.