As he watched Vengel hop down from the table, Garrett realized that his assessment hadn't been quite right. Rather than call Vengel a human-toad hybrid, the strange monster in front of him must have originally been a goblin. He moved with the same bent-legged squat waddle of the redcaps, and Garrett could see spiky red hair sticking up from the back of his neck. His mouth was filled with sharp goblin-like teeth, and a tongue long enough to wrap around his fat body multiple times extended from his mouth. His two bulging eyes peered at Garrett for a moment, and then he let out a hiss.
"You are the one who killed Agma-Yoth," Vengel said. "You have not even absorbed his power, and you think yourself powerful enough to step into my lair and beat me? Preposterous."
Spreading out his webbed fingers, Vengel gestured, and the slime in the six vats suddenly trembled before draining away. With every inch of slime that drained out of the tubes, Vengel's body began to swell, taking on a pus-colored sheen. Originally, he had been half of Garrett's height, but now, as he absorbed whatever was in the tubes, he grew rapidly until he towered over them.
"That fool Agma-Yoth only knew how to hide in the first tomb. He had no idea what it means to be a great ruler. But you've come just in time. I can teach you the lesson firsthand, giving you the honor of adding to my power."
With another croaking laugh, Vengel launched himself forward, his massive pus-covered tongue sweeping out to slam into Cynen. With a shout, she focused her flame into her arms, blocking the tongue as best she could. Even as she did so Gero launched herself forward, her swords hacking at Vengel's leg, and Isabelle darted forward as well, her hair stabbing into Vengel's body, only to corrode as it touched the pus that covered him.
Cynen's flames managed to block the majority of Vengel's attack, but the whipping tongue sent splatters of foul-smelling liquid every direction. Ducking to avoid a few drops, Garrett saw a big glob land on the ground next to him, immediately beginning to corrode the stone.
The others were keeping the monstrous half-toad busy, so Garrett took a moment to study the corrosive energy, trying to understand what he was seeing. Rather than a liquid, it seemed to be similar to Lesrak's flame, made of pure mental energy so thick it manifested itself as a physical substance. Hearing a grunt of pain, Garrett dove to the side as Cynen landed where he had been crouched. Though she bounced back up immediately, Garrett could see that she was favoring her side. She let out a growl as flame exploded around her and charged forward.
Vengel attacked fiercely with his long tongue and his two arms, completely disregarding defense. Though that didn't seem to be a problem for him, as his body was entirely covered in the thick, yellowish pus that corroded everything it touched, making it almost impossible for Gero, Cynen, or Isabelle to land effective attacks. Even when they coated their attacks with mental energy, it would be eaten away before they could deal any actual damage.
The entire time, Vengel laughed madly, splattering his energy this way and that, and forcing his opponents to dodge out of the way. After observing for another moment, Garrett stood up and began walking forward. Vengel saw him coming and opened his mouth wide, spitting a thick wad of pus-infused phlegm towards Garrett. His every movement casual, Garrett extended his umbrella and flicked his wrist, causing it to pop open and block the attack, which slid off as if it was nothing but harmless water.
Garrett continued forward, even as his companions attacked, doing their best to keep the Great Ruler's attention. Madness flickered in his eyes as Vengel fought them off, trying to free himself up to deal with Garrett. That proved impossible, however, as he had to ward off Cynen's fiery fists, Isabelle's swarming hair, and Gero's fierce blade attacks.
"What are you gonna do?" he spat as Garrett got closer and closer.
"I'm going to kill you," Garrett replied, his voice completely calm.
Letting out a savage laugh, Vengel drove the three women back with a powerful blast of mental energy and pounced forward, intending to crush Garrett under his bulk. As his slime-covered body approached, Garrett found the mental energy shield he had pulled up around him was beginning to burn away, corroding faster than he could replenish it. But rather than panic, he simply remained in place, waiting as Vengel fell towards him.
With a triumphant laugh, Vengel's huge, corrosive body slammed down on top of Garrett. But a moment later, that laugh turned into a terrible shriek, and Vengel's entire body collapsed, leaving his shivering, half-goblin, half-frog form hanging in the air. The corrosive energy that had surrounded him splashed to the ground, forming a giant puddle that quickly began to evaporate.
As Vengel tried in vain to free himself from the knife protruding from his chest, Garrett watched Vengel dispassionately, keeping a tight grip on the handle of the primordial's dagger. As the monster struggled, the dagger had cut straight through Vengel's thick mental energy, piercing directly into the monster's chest to land in the center of his heart. Any defense that Vengel could have mustered had vanished under the sharp edge of the toothed dagger.
Lowering Vengel to the ground, Garrett abruptly withdrew the dagger from Vengel's heart, spun it around, and stabbed down again, sinking it through one of the monster's eyes and into his brain, cutting off whatever words Vengel was trying to gasp out.
[Vengel, Rotting Tongue of Wen has fallen.]
[You have won a Ruler’s War.]
[The territory of Vengel, Rotting Tongue of Wen, has been added to your territory, granting you control of the following areas: Sanitarium, Lower Nobles District, Lower Noble’s Estates.]
[A portion of Vengel’s strength and memories have been granted to you, increasing your personal power. New options for growth have been unlocked.]
[136 experience gained during the Ruler’s War. Current experience: 175/1280.]
Remaining crouched as he read the notifications. Garrett glanced down at Vengel's body, watching as it transformed into dust. A rush of information filled his head, containing scattered memories of Vengel's life, as well as information on Wen, the fallen god whose power Vengel had been trying to absorb. According to these memories, Wen was a god who controlled the domains of growth and decay, which explained both Vengel's rotting power and the incredible number of goblins scattered through this territory.
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[You have successfully internalized much of Vengel's strength, granting you access to the power of Wen that the great ruler had plundered. You may select one of Vengel's skills.]
Rotting Tongue
Your body naturally produces a thick, corrosive energy that can be used to harm others while healing yourself. Any mental power corroded by this energy will cause it to grow in volume and strength.
Skill level: 1
Without even thinking about it, Garrett rejected the Rotting Tongue ability. He had no desire to mimic Vengel and focus on the corrosive side of Wen's powers, or adopt the disgusting tongue that had been Vengel’s signature look. Rather, what intrigued him was the next skill.
Breath of Life
Channeling the power of Wen, your energy can increase the speed at which plants and creatures mature until they have arrived at the peak of their power.
Skill level: 1
No doubt this was the ability Vengel had used to rapidly replenish his forces, providing him with a never-ending stream of goblins. Goblins reproduced quickly as it was, but it still took them time to reach maturity so Vengel had likely used his power to shorten this time frame. As Garrett focused on the Breath of Life ability, another window popped up in front of him.
[You have reached the maximum number of abilities you can possess. Please select which ability Breath of Life will replace.]
It only took Garrett a moment to choose to figure out which of his abilities he would be giving up in order to gain [Breath of Life]. A moment later, [Dreamer's Cloak] had been replaced with his new ability.
Taking a deep breath, Garrett could feel the shift in the air, as the Sanitarium and the surrounding territories came under his control. The faint stench began to fade, replaced with the familiar energy exuded by the Dreamer's Throne. Garrett wasn't the only one who felt it, and he saw Gero taking a deep breath as well, her eyes gleaming as she glanced at the dagger Garrett still clutched in his hand. Though she clearly wanted to ask about it, she didn't say anything, and they left the Sanitarium to head back towards the surface.
Having lost their ruler, the goblins began to scatter, fleeing as fast as they could into the darkness. There was plenty of time to hunt them down later, so Garrett commanded his forces not to chase, and sent Isabelle to pick up Delrisa and her new legion of troops.
The fight against the goblins had proven profitable for the necromancers, who had gathered hundreds of monster corpses that they would take back to use in their research. The awakened dreamers, who had been fighting for most of the night, were more than happy to let the goblins run, bringing the war to a close.
The territory that Vengel had controlled, which now belonged to Garrett, butted up against Garrett's territory, with the low bridge connecting them. Since there were still a few hours till dawn, Garrett sent the awakened dreamers back toward Dreamer's Rest, following the path that the flower ghouls had taken.
At the same time, he ordered the flower ghouls to move out and hunt the remaining goblins. He wasn't quite sure how the goblins had been brought into the dream, as they didn't have the strong mental energy inherent in the ghouls. He guessed that it had something to do with the Breath of Life ability. But there was time enough to experiment with that, and since he had no desire to add goblins to his forces, he ordered the flower ghouls not to spare a single one.
The trolls, however, were a different story. Rather than attack them, the flower ghouls followed them silently, tracking them as the trolls retreated into the earth. It was nearly morning when Garrett made a surprising discovery. Beneath the noble district lay a dense warren of tunnels, all connected to a well-constructed defensive tunnel that ran up toward the gate. This was where the trolls and goblins resided and if Garrett’s guess was right, where they reproduced using nest stones. After ordering the flower ghouls to explore all of it while remaining hidden, Garrett felt the pull of the day and relaxed his mind, allowing himself to be drawn out of the dream.
Taking a deep breath, he kept his eyes closed as he tried to process the surge of energy that filled his body and soul. Just like Lesrak's flame, the Breath of Life ability carried a touch of Wen's power. Now, as it filled him, Garrett could feel his body shifting and changing. As his flesh struggled to suppress the explosive growth prompted by Wen's power, a hint of Lesrak's flame threatened to burn him alive. Now, as his body squirmed, Garrett found himself fearing that he would suddenly sprout an extra arm.
His encounter with Lesrak's power had taught him that the power of the gods, whether deceased or not, was not something mortals were meant to toy with. On his own, he knew that it would corrupt him. However, Garrett had the ultimate cheat. As he focused his attention on his connection with the dreamer's throne, a powerful aura began to spread, suppressing Wen's power and integrating it into his body.
Though the process only took a few minutes, to Garrett, it felt like an eternity. His body, completely soaked with sweat, felt as if it had been put through a wringer, with every inch of his bones crushed and reformed, every pound of his flesh torn apart and put back together. When he finally caught his gasping breath and sat up, Garrett found his body abnormally light. A moment later, he realized it was actually just that his strength had increased.
With a faint feeling of disappointment, he discovered that he still couldn't move his legs, and despite the power of life that filled him, his wrist and hand were still missing. Garrett had been holding the faintest of hopes that absorbing the breath of life and Wen's power along with it would have restored his body to its original function, but it hadn't done anything of the sort.
Taking a deep breath, Garrett buried the disappointment in his heart and called for Obe through their connection. After Obe had brought him some warm water and a washcloth, Garrett washed his body, removing all of the sweat that covered him. Then, after pulling himself from the tub, he dried off and got dressed.
His power had never manifested itself in his physique, though as a Shaper stage awakened, he was much stronger than a typical mortal. Now, however, his body appeared to have gone through another refinement, becoming like iron. Before, while he could certainly get around, it wasn't nearly as easy as it had suddenly become. Garrett found himself able to move his body almost effortlessly, and he idly wondered how his strength stacked up against other awakened.
He had reached the top of the Shaper level, and the next time he leveled up, he would be entering the Manifesting Stage. Unfortunately, he needed a lot of experience points to get there, and he had a suspicion that experience points would become harder and harder to come by, at least in the city. The one saving grace was that there were still two great rulers for him to send his forces against, which would practically guarantee his ascension into the 8th level, carrying him into the Manifesting Stage.
His soul spark was practically perfect, and Wen's power that he had absorbed had added a spark of vitality to it that made the figure on the throne incredibly lifelike. Francis brought him some breakfast after he made his way to his office, and while he ate it, Garrett thumbed through various correspondence that had been sent to him.
There were a few letters from various groups, including one from Carraway, giving a report of soap sales. Parrow's attempt to steal their business had backfired spectacularly, completely ruining the brand associated with Parrow's fine goods, and affecting not only their attempt to sell soap, but every other product that they produced. Ryn's Royal Soap, on the other hand, had exploded in popularity, especially when those who had been inflicted with Swamp Rot found it helped heal the sores that covered their bodies.
As for Parrow himself, he was too busy defending himself from the corruption charges Commander Fernek was bringing against him and his shareholders to worry about trying to get revenge on Garrett. A small letter in a silver envelope caught Garrett's attention. It contained a simple card inviting him to a party to be held at Earl Boren's house, and written in beautiful penmanship was a personalized note signed by Henrietta, hoping that he would attend.