Over the next preceeding day as I prepare the ingredients I have available for my more complex brewing projects, I focus the remainder of my attention on enchanting and crafting more items. The first priority was the Spirit Anchor, which I crafted by merging several handcrafted charms with a large cinderblock. Secondly, I made three collars of obedience and a permanent ritual circle in my private clearing. This ritual circle makes my rituals stronger and easier to do as they require fewer material components.
With the circle created I could proudly move to arrange the first step of my tunneling plan, I summoned and bound a lesser earth elemental to the Summoning Anchor. The innate power of the anchor makes it possible for the elemental sustain itself here, and it along with several summoned Eldritch Servants can easily dig a tunnel from the encapment and to Shieldmaiden. With the added bonus of it being most likely undetectable by our adversary.
It's after I have set the athanor to brew the potion that will become the cornerstone of my plan, and knowing it will take two days to complete it. That I return to Vles to discuss the upcoming challenges that her revolution faces. Once again we are speaking alone in her piddly command tent. "So, I have began working on the tunnel that will reach Shieldmaiden, with the workers I have summoned combined with the equipment you have given me, it should not take more than two weeks to get a stable tunnel capable of transporting an armed group of attackers." Is my opening statement as I take my seat opposite the brave goblin.
"If that works, and that is a pretty big if considering they will have to tunnel a long distance extremely quickly to meet that timeline. It is still rendered irrelevant because the revolution is not ready to launch. We are outgunned, outmanned, and outflanked so even if we got a tunnel up it wouldn't matter. Therefore, I hope you have more good news to come with than that." Vles says thoughtfully while examining the maps in front of her.
I must admit that I feel a certain twang of Nostalgia at this situation, as this is not the first time I have given mystical aid to a general with few resources. That it was a Hobgoblin and not a mere Goblin is of course one noteable difference between the two of them. " Oh what do you take me for, I wouldn't have come without more good news, you told me that your biggest obstacle is that the leaders of your nations serve the Merchant Princes. If you give more details about them I might have something that will let you eliminate that problem." Confidence is not a feeling I am good to inspire in my equals or inferiors, but I like to think I am excellent at making my trade partners feel at ease.
Vles looks away from the maps and blinks at me, here tired eyes squint as if she first now have truly noticed me entering her space. "There are four major nations amongst my kind, there used to be far more but the coming of Shieldmaiden caused the amount to be reduced. Each King or Queen backed by the Corporation were given the power to conquer or absorb the other nations on the planet. These four rule now and each is headed by a dictator that revels in the spoils of their conquests."
Vles lifts up her hand with four fingers pointing up and starts closing her hand with each finger going down as she summarizes. "First you have King Groblik of the North-Yrga Federation, he is a king that rules over a confederacy of lesser nations. The second leader we have to subvert is Supreme Leader Tora of new Brynhilda. She is a puppet that has made a nation which practically worships Shieldmaiden as a divine organization. Third is President Urgi of the Heavenly Republic, a notorious poisoner who has subverted all in his nation who sought to question Shieldmaiden. Finally, there is the Hand in the Glove, the real ruler of the Kingdom of Loria that encompasses the Southern continent of the planet. He serves as an advisor to each ruler of that Kingdom and is the one that in reality rules it all."
"So in short, a decadent conqueror, a puppet demagogue, a ruthless politician, and a hidden snake." I list them off while imitating her gesture. Vles nods in affirmation and I do my best to hide my amusement at the thought of Goblin Kings and governments. "What if we could turn them to the cause of your revolution? As it happens I have a drought in the works that will be able to do just that." I grin widely at the thought that fills my mind while looking at my employer.
"In my athanor I am currently brewing the Elixir of Enslavement, and I have made several Collars of Obedience. Combined with my other talents I am confident that it will be easy to make your greatest rivals into your most obedient allies." I finish and lean back in my too small chair to hear her response. Vles on her end slowly leans forward and says only one thing. "Explain to me how these work, simply and to the point might I add. The theory might be fascinating, but I have a lot to do."
I must admit that I feel preturbed at the distinct lack of enthusiastic awe from the goblin, but I Glyphnax am undeterred. "The Elixir has two primary functions, temporarily damaging the willpower of the subject and over time degrading the subjects ability to resist mental domination. Collars of Obedience let the creator or owner of the collar issue orders to the one wearing it, it is a weak collar so no directly suicidal order can be given and the subject can attempt to resist. It is by combining these that we will able to break the wills of your enemies and bring them under our control."
Vles finally starts to display some enthusiasm after she has heard my explanation at least. "Ahhh I see, so if we manage to feed them these potions and make them wear the collars. They will be bound in servitude to us and we can turn their tools against Shieldmaiden. It will have to be something we can only do momentarily, too many in their network are compromised for us to make them openly rebel now." Vles continues to mumble excitedly to herself as she turns her attention from me to the maps.
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She starts waving her hands about over them as I can practically see her thoughts wirr through various schemes while she ignores me completely. I stand there patiently and I realize with a start that me from a few weeks ago would never have accepted this kind of behavior. If a mere Goblin had dared to ignore me in favor of scheming, it would not have been a Goblin with a long life span. That kind of impatience is an ineffective and detrimental trait, more prone to causing further problems than inspiring proper devotion from others.
"The problem still remains." The sudden statement from the General startles me, as I had been lost in reverie while she worked. "Without a way to counter the orbital weapons of their station, it won't matter how many soldiers we have. That is the final key and without a direct solution it won't matter how much we struggle." She stops her remark and seems to be lost in thought again, but not before the flap into the tent is pushed aside and a Goblin sticks his head in. "It is time Vles." Vles looks back at the Goblin and nods with an a detached smile crossing her face. "Already? Well, let's move out to do it then. Come Glyphnax, you will get to see the greatest event in the lives of several of our freedom fighters."
She gestures for me to follow her out into the dark gloom of the camp, and I follow along until we reach a large crowd of Goblins. I can easily see over the small Goblins and I see that in the center of the mass, a large stone table with several carvings stands stoicly with all the Goblins focusing their attention on it. Yet when Vles and her attendant steps towards the crowd, the Goblins part before her and she steps slowly through the opened crowd. With a closer examination I see that a large metallic box stands on top of the table.
When Vles reaches the center of the circle she spins around with both her arms outstretched. "Once again brethren we are gathered here to celebrate the Exaltation of several of you. We have been lucky and several modules have become available. Come now and you will go through the exaltation, as I say your name stepforward and join your brothers and sisters as Exalted Goblins." Vles gestures out into the crowd and a dozen goblins starts to tentatively step forward to the stone table.
Half of them are dressed in tattered remnants of Shieldmaiden uniforms, while the other half are dressed in their various traditional garb. As they step up to the table, the box on it extends several long mechanical appendages. The thin limbs move towards the first of the Goblins while Vles says. "It is time for you to become exalted, accept my gift with the gravitas that it deserves." With those words the machine plunges it's appendages into the body of the Goblin and lifts it up into the air. I can sense that something pulsates through the limbs and then the Goblin falls from the appendages and into the arms of his comrades. They lower the body gently to the ground and I see that his eyes have rolled back into the back of his head.
The process continues with each of the dozen Goblins who stepped forward to the table, but with each Goblin that is penetrated I feel something more is taking place. Maybe something more than even the Goblins know are taking place, first I attempt to analyze the machine but it only tells me it is "The Exaltor". So, while the Goblin audience are rapt by observing the machine and the chosen ones amongst them, I mumble with a hand covering my mouth. "Occult Eye," and I feel the mana flow into my eyes and what I see startles me.
For the first time since I have come to this world I see and feel mana that isn't as a result of my intrusion. I sense a form of magic that is oh so tantalizingly hard to harvest and rare to see, it is the golden light of faith that is surrounding me and the others near the table. My eyes also spot that the machine contains packages of nanites that are injected into the Goblins, but that matters little to me.
It is the unrefined faith mana that permeates the air that has my attention, it almost looks like reality itself is trying to reject the faith mana as the golden light is flickering like a candle hit by a gale. Yet, the Faith remains flowing and no amount of reality rejection can keep the faith from lighting up the world. If only for those like me who have magical senses at their disposal. In my pitiful state there is not much I can do with the information, but there is one simple thing that I can accomplish now that all are distracted. I stretch out my hands towards the table and the box as they are the center of the confluence of Faith. I mumble a quick incantation and twist my fingers in an intricate hand gesture, my pitiful command over magic makes any complex uses of Principles practically speaking impossible for me.
Yet I am quite capable of turning two objects into a veeeery temporary magical container, and I feel the magic barely take hold in the table and the "Exaltor". The flickering fire of faith is absorbed into the object, with no apparent signs to those with normal eyes. To my enhanced one I can see with pleasure how the disappating Faith mana that reality seems adamant about rejecting is absorbed into the objects. I will have to return to these later to do something more elegant to ensure that they can continue to leech of the energy, while I am incapable of wielding such magics. It will be interesting to see what this experiment will create if given enough time to bloom.
WARLOCK! You have discovered a new system assignment: Unnatural Sites. You have to find and influence 5 sites of magical occurances that are completely unrelated to you to finish this assignment. Sites found(1/5), Sites Influenced(0.5/5)*results inconclusive/too temporary*