“Hiding in the valley is a no go either,” Clara leaned back into her seat. “If war does break out, that’s the first place the baron will want to fortify.”

Rugum let out a sigh. “From my point of view, the only option is to strike first. We would be jeopardising ourselves, but by striking first we can seize the initiative."

It is often said that a good defence is a good offence. Yet it was utterly foolish for us to strike at an unknown enemy. Even if we assumed that the Bloody Bones were of similar skill to us, what did we know of their magic? Or humans for that matter?

“We would need to probe them, to see what they are capable of. If we could somehow figure out when the enemy would attack, we would be sitting in a much better position.” I stroked my beard.

“The soldiers from Troystein should be deploying in a weeks’ time,” Clara added.

I stared at the map that was splayed over the granite table. Woodwick was the nearest city to us and had a road going straight to the capital. In all likelihood, the soldiers would travel to Woodwick and rest there. There weren’t any people in the town, but the buildings were there.

The Bloody Bone’s route passed through the Chief’s Cave. The terrain around us was uniform. Forest spanned as far as the eye could see, and the land had healed well. Apart from the cave, there weren’t any other points of interest. If they had made it all the way to the bog, they had to have used the cave for shelter or as a waypoint.

I knew nothing about the troops from Ovolenskia. Not where they were positioned, or when they were planning to launch. I needed to somehow goad them into moving into position.

I wanted to get up and scream, but I couldn’t. I knew if I tried to leap out of my chair I would fall flat on my face. But that did not quell my anger. I grabbed the magical dagger and pierced through the granite table, growling in anger. “There are too many enemies! Why do we have to fight them all?!” I yelled inside my head.

“Wait.” I relaxed the grip of my dagger. “Why do we have to fight all our enemies?” I said out loud. The people around me stared at me, attempting to decipher my words. Rugum and Voglo understood my intentions. Umlau was trying to keep himself from falling asleep. The talks were hours long and the sudden silence allowed him to doze off.

Clara poked him with a stick, making him jolt up. “What’s going on? Have you decided what to do?” He gargled.

“I know what to do. We will begin by trapping the human town of Woodwick and Chief’s Cave. When the enemy forces will come to rest at those locations, we will spring our attacks. Also, we will raid any towns and villages in Ovolenskia’s territory. However, we will disguise ourselves as Bloody Bones goblins. That way their forces will antagonise them, instead of us, and yet we will remain with the loot.” I rubbed my hands together.

Everyone looked at each other and nodded. It was not much of a plan, too optimistic, but it was better than what anyone had proposed thus far.

“Voglo and I will remain here to ready our defences and prepare all supplies necessary.” I looked at Voglo and he bowed. “Rugum and Clara will take charge of raiding and trapping.” Rugum knelt dutifully, and Clara nodded in acknowledgement. “Umlau will be responsible for the production of acid and oil.” His eyestalks dropped in accordance. “Zotnik will take charge of monitoring the area for any approaching hostiles.” He put his hand to his chest and smiled proudly.

“Good! Now get going, we have a 3-way war incoming!”

Everyone dashed off into their own directions, leaving me alone in the war room. I sat still, searing the map with my gaze. “I worked hard to get this far.” I rubbed the amputated leg. “I’ll be damned if anyone will take away what I earned. Whether it’s my co-workers or entire kingdoms, what’s mine will always be mine.”

I stood up, and with a crutch, I made my way back to the alchemy tower. It was time to get some real work done.

I spent hours cutting Torchite gems into odd shapes. It did not matter if they were good, I wished to test a theory. I dipped a Torchite gem, cut to resemble a triangle, into the concentrated mana solution. The liquid hissed and bubbled, releasing toxic vapours. The amount of liquid diminished, meaning that the gem had absorbed the mana.

I picked it up and tried analysing it, it gave no spell. With all my might, I tried releasing as little mana as possible into the Torchite. It felt as if I was trying to dam a raging river with sticks. I did not manage to control the flow completely, too much had entered, but the gem now brought up the interface.

Interface Tinder Trap Torchite Conjure a magical rune that explodes into a cone of fire when stepped on by an enemy. The rune is invisible to all except the user. The trap can only be triggered by those who the user considers an enemy or deactivated by the user. The burst results in an explosive force and a flash of flame. The explosion has a cone-like shape. The explosion can only be set right below the user’s feet, but it activates on its own, independently from the user. The user can not manually trigger the explosive. The rune lasts only for 24 hours on its own. The rune cannot be relocated. A maximum of 3 runes can be used, an attempt to make a 4th one will cause all other runes to dissipate. Cast time: Instant, Cost: 50 Mana, Recharge rate: 2 Hours. Removal cost: 2 runes are conjured at either side of your body.

The gem provided something I wanted, a trap. Perhaps it could sense my desires. Yet still, the gem itself wasn’t all that powerful. I didn’t want to give it to another goblin. Despite their ever-growing devotion to me, I could not ignore the fact of coercion. I did not want a rune to be placed on my throne. It was a difficult balance, to give power to my people and to ensure my safety. Still, a landmine that becomes inactive after 24 hours is not a very good trap. This gem was a dud.