Traps, Traps, Traps
Sunshine beat down on Tom as he stood and absorbed the feeling of warmth on his face just outside of the guild building. He had closed his eyes to enjoy the moment as he took several large breaths of the now cleaner air. It was amazing what months without so many vehicles and plants running around the area could do for the air quality. People inside of the walls were busy patrolling the area or moving items around that were to be used in projects around the base.
Several of the farmers were carrying some tools around to the back of the building where the orchards and livestock were being held along with some construction workers working on the side of the building where damage had occurred during some incident Tom couldn't remember happening, their bright yellow reflective vests and hard hats making them highly visible.
Tom waved to the workers who smiled back at him as he began to walk toward the gate which currently stood open. A security guard wished him a good morning as he went by and he turned to look both ways outside the gate. A group of people were busy working on a project to the right, so Tom headed in their direction.
He met up with Bobby who was helping to tack something onto the wall that was being covered with pieces of wood.
"How's it going out here?" Tom asked Bobby as he approached.
"So far, so good. I picked up some of this detonation cord at the JRB and we are attaching it to the wall at set intervals. When someone sets off the trigger, it will fire the cord out in a straight line and detonate after it lands. In theory, it should land in amongst some of our enemies and give them a nice little surprise." Bobby replied smiling at his handiwork.
"Detonation cord? What was that used for?" Tom asked.
"Normally it's deployed from a vehicle straight out in front of troops headed toward minefields so that they can set off any land mines in the way before they march across. But I thought this might be an acceptable alternative." Bobby winked at Tom and then turned back to attaching the cord to the wall inside a box that had been created to house it.
"Cool! Got any other surprises for them?" Tom asked.
"Normally I have tons of things we could do, but being in a city where everything is paved and there aren't any trees makes the typical tactics difficult. So, I'm working on getting creative." Bobby replied.
As they stood just outside the wall, the sound of a roar from overhead sounded and a shadow began passing over the area. Everyone around looked up and Tom even drew his greatsword as he looked around for the source of the sound. He finally spotted something flying high above and his eyes widened in wonder.
"It can't be," Tom almost breathlessly whispered.
"Is that a dragon?!" Bobby asked as he watched it soar in a circle above them and then continue toward the north.
"I...I think it was." Tom stammered as he tried to comprehend what he saw.
"Well, I'll be damned," Bobby said, equally in awe of the sight.
"It didn't stop here, but it paused. Hopefully, it just stays away for now. We don't need another problem for now." Tom replied as he looked back at Bobby.
A window appeared in his vision as he stood there.
New Quest: The Ancient Ones
You have spotted a dragon flying overhead. These creatures are powerful remnants of a bygone age that are rarely found on planets within the Federation. Find out what is causing one to appear now on Earth. Accept?
Reward
20,000 XP
Yes
No
"A quest?" Tom asked, now more confused than ever.
"Dragons are exceedingly rare. They usually foretell the coming of something. You'd be wise to take the quest and investigate it once this invasion is over." Maria advised him.
A knot formed in Tom's stomach as he stood there contemplating what to do.
"You got a quest? I didn't know the System gave out quests. Or at least if it did it was rare. You should take it." Bobby said as he continued working on the trap.
Tom accepted the quest and the window minimized.
"You think we should chase after a dragon?" Tom said a little incredulous at Bobby being so willing to consider it.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
"This new way of life is all about adventure now. Of course, I think we should check it out." Bobby replied.
"We need to protect the people here first," Tom replied.
"Of course, but once the invasion is over, we can go check it out," Bobby said as he grunted trying to tie off the cord in the wooden box.
"If we survive," Tom said bleakly.
"Well, Mr. Party Pooper, have a little faith. We can do it. We've been through some situations that felt pretty helpless before. We got this." Bobby said seemingly full of confidence.
"I'm glad someone is so positive. I don't know that I can be that optimistic."
"You don't have to be. You're the leader. If you worry and we feel confident, then we are more likely to succeed. Leading men like this is all about exuding confidence and then worrying your ass off behind closed doors. That way, you account for as many possibilities as you can, and your troops have faith in you, so they fight harder." Bobby replied, still not looking away from what he was doing.
"That's an interesting perspective," Tom said now looking at Bobby in a new light.
"If everyone worried about all the problems, then they would lose confidence and be worthless in a fight. If they can trust the leader has their best interest at heart, then they can let that go and focus on the job they have to do. You've set up a pretty amazing system here that functions with more efficiency than any organization I've ever been a part of. That's why we've been successful so far. Little people don't have to worry about the big picture and can just do their job." Bobby grunted one more time, looked over his work, then lowered the wooden lid on the front of the box concealing the contents.
"It's also why you delegate things to others to handle. They might see a lot more of the big picture, but they don't need all of it. That's why I don't ask a lot of questions. I don't need to worry about things that others are taking care of. I just need to do my job and then kick some ass later." Bobby smiled at him now that he wasn't working on the trap. "Also, I don't want your job. I'm happier being lower on the totem pole."
Tom thought about what he said for a long moment. He always felt so overwhelmed he couldn't even think about how the others were feeling. He moved from one fire to another putting them out as best he could. He knew Biran had it even worse with his being the head administrator, but he didn't think how someone just doing one job would feel.
"Now then, cupcake. Let's see what else we can do here. I have an idea for a pitfall trap that's going to take some real redneck engineering to pull off." Bobby said when Tom didn't reply.
As Tom turned to follow Bobby to see where he was headed and what he had planned, he heard a scuttling noise from the side of a building. Turning to see what it was, he saw a shadow disappear around the corner.
"What the hell?" Tom thought to himself as he turned back to pretend to go to the gate. He dashed off to the right as he got nearer and continued toward the other side of the building in the distance. When he got close, he slowed and crept up to the side and began to follow it along carefully until he reached the rear corner.
Flattening himself against the building he peeked around the corner to see a goblin standing there looking confused. He crept around the corner and toward the small figure as quietly as he could. When he was right behind it, the creature turned, and its eyes went wide at seeing Tom there. Grabbing it by the black fabric it was wearing as clothing, it tried to scamper away, but Tom's grasp was too strong.
"What do we have here, little spy?" Tom asked.
Stepping out from behind the building, he carried the small squirming figure back toward the base. It screeched and tried to claw and bite at Tom to release his grip. Unfortunately, he had it by the back of the collar and it couldn't quite reach him as it waved its arms and legs around wildly.
"Whatcha got there?" Bobby asked.
"Looks like a little spy. My guess is where there is one there are more. Go get Jay and Sean. I wanna know why this wasn't found before now." Tom said.
Bobby turned and rushed inside leaving Tom holding a slowly exhausting goblin as it pulled a knife from somewhere to try to stab Tom. Dropping the creature, Tom kicked the creature in the face, and it screamed as blood fountained from its nose. He then grabbed it quickly again by the back of its shirt and picked it back up off the ground, the knife lying forgotten in the street.
Bobby jogged back a short time later with Jay and Sean in tow.
"I found a friend. I thought we were patrolling for these little bastards? He was watching us set up the traps." Tom asked the spymasters.
"We are, but we can't be everywhere. Sorry, Tom." Jay looked angrily at the goblin who was now sobbing and holding its nose.
"I'm not mad. I know you can't do everything. Just, when we have a project going on like this, they should be focusing here so we don't have secrets sent back." Tom said.
"I'll have someone posted nearby. We won't let it happen again." Sean said quickly as he rushed off to find someone.
"Now, do we think he knows anything?" Tom asked.
"Probably, but we can't communicate with it. No one speaks whatever language they do. Only a few of them spoke English. Best to just end it now." Jay offered.
At this, the little goblin suddenly began fighting even harder than ever.
"Feels like this little guy understands English at least," Tom said holding the creature out at arm's length to keep it from attacking his person.
"We can see if he knows anything. Best to give it to me. You don't want to be a part of this." Jay said as he struck the creature over the back of the head, causing it to go limp.
"What are you gonna do?" Tom asked.
"If you have to ask that, then you definitely don't need to be a part of it," Jay said taking the goblin from him and walking back toward the guild building.
Tom watched him go, slightly concerned at what might be about to happen. He trusted Jay though and didn't say anything. This wasn't something he was willing to try to stomach right now.