Expedition Team 1: Onyx [STR][ Ebb and Flow I] Sapphire [DEX][ Swiftness I] Equipment:
[ Axe of Long Reach ]
[ Basic Armour ]
[ Crystalline Dagger x 2 ]
[ Basic Armour ]
ON EXPEDITION: CUSTOM EXPEDITION [ FIND FOOD ] [ WEST ]
Expedition Team 2: Quartz [INT][ Arcanist I - C-Energy Attunement ] Granite [VIT][ Resilience I ] Equipment:
[ Cracked Staff ]
[ Basic Armour ]
[ Basic Armour ]
ON EXPEDITION: CUSTOM EXPEDITION [ FIND FOOD ] [ EAST ]
Alright, that didn’t take long.
As the Guardians set off for the east and west, humans and gorakhin alike watch them go. He glances at his ‘follower’ count. [15/100]. Three of the goblins have ‘converted’ to him. It’s not hard to spot: the people that follow him appear golden-ish in colour. Strauss has not, despite the blessing. He’s the only human that walks around without that slight golden outline.
A new issue has arisen. The attacks are getting stronger — and more frequent. After the clockwork raids of before, they had stopped for a brief while. Two days. After that, one of those Goblin Bosses came knocking.
Arden defeated it without too much hassle… but two gorakhin desperately trying to cultivate some mushrooms they had discovered were killed before he could get there. The Goblins also got away with that particular source of calories, too.
As it stands, Arden can’t be in both places at once. Caau’s [ Zone of Control I ] allows him to see just slightly beyond the wall, but he also has no way of warning them other than to [ Spark II ]… but that doesn’t exactly do much. I can tell them of an attack near-instantaneously… but not the direction.
If the ability has gained any bonus from being upgraded a roman numeral, he can’t see it.
And trust me, I tried.
With it being classed under the cooldown of ‘daily’, he’d had ample time to flash it over and over in the last three weeks. No matter which way he uses it, it seems like a pathetic, useless ability.
A gorakhin spars with a human in front of him — in the little courtyard the humans have staked out specifically to worship him. The benefit of which is obvious — Prayers. Once a week, three weeks, and twelve followers in the first two weeks (and fifteen in last tone) means a grand total of 39 Prayers
Not the most he’s had. Considering just fifty gave him [ Create Simple Guardian I ], he’s not inclined to spend the prayers for a while.
Considering that, then—
A spark of light flashes from the west. He brings his gaze over to one of the human followers, looking at the situation through their eyes. Two of them are side-by-side, standing on the fortification of the wall.
Thirteen goblins smack at it, two actually smart enough to rush at the doorway — only to be met with pikes. Stone is by no means scarce, and as it turns out the vampire dude (being an artificer) can create simple weaponry. One goblin is impaled — the other gets through.
He drives an iron spike towards the human. Caau watches it, even as the human loses focus and runs. A beam of brilliant golden light slams into the goblin, pinning it back against the wall wherein it immediately begins to bubble as the light pierces flesh.
Then, like a sealed container of water in a microwave, it explodes. A shower of viscera coats the stone wall. Ugh. Quartz stabs the cracked staff into the ground. He’s an Arcanist, by the Administrators advice.
It would be really nice if I knew what that meant.
Even so, a couple of days ago he had received this message:
[ Quartz has request to attune to your Celestial Energy ]
In which the Administrator, after a few choice words, had explained that I have a limited supply of power that replenishes as I gain Prayers. So, in other words, I have a steady supply and such go right the fuck ahead.
In return, Quartz has become quite strong. Celestial Energy is anathema to Immortal Energy, which is the goblins are constituted of, once you break the skin.
Not only that, but Celestial Energy interacting with Mortal Energy actually produces a healing effect.
Yes. It’s what the older lady you murdered used on herself to heal. Pure, condensed celestial energy.
Oh, you’re back? How did your ‘other business’ go?
Oh. That… well, there was a slight hiccup that I didn’t see coming. But it’s nothing to worry about. I’m sure.
Okay… what?
You aren’t on the need-to-know list.
Caau turns his attention to Quartz, Granite, and the goblins. Granite throws himself into the swarm with reckless abandon, using his fists, legs, and rock-jaw to great effect as Quartz occasionally nukes a goblin with a blast of golden light.
Arcanists do seem rather powerful. A little too powerful, maybe? I mean walking around blasting, functionally, bags of nitroglycerine can't help that impression.
Astute...
The western expedition doesn’t face the same onslaught of goblins, passing through the wall calmly. From the cave walls, they pluck [ Crystallised Lunar-Celestial Reaction ]s from the walls, an apparent outcome of the battle between Arden and the two lunar-champions.
Come to think of it, I’ve not seen them for a while.
He scouts around in the space he can see, within the zone of control. He skirts through housing, now occupied and even — in some cases — furnished. They aren’t in their respective rooms.
He looks inside the sanctuary. Excavation efforts have been going well. As it turns out, now that he has unlocked the ability to excavate himself, its softened up the walls enough that others can do the same.
Any efforts to dig outside have ceased, with all moving into the sanctuary instead. Into him…
It’s a little strange. As of now, there are four inside him, all children. It’s the safest place, no doubt, despite how the sentence ‘all the children are inside him’ makes him feel.
No matter where he looks, he sees no sign of them. He shrugs, or tries to.
It’s not like they’re my followers… why the hell should I care what they do?
He’s been putting it off for a while… but with expeditions going, excavation churning, and nothing else to particularly do…
It’s time to try [ Dark Growth ].
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
It sounds evil. At the same time, he got it from the lunar-blood’s reward… so how evil can it really be?
[ Dark Growth ]
Nothing happens.
No, that’s not right. Something did happen. Inside one of the Sanctuary rooms — currently used as a storeroom for the food — a small yet vibrant moons hands from the roof.
Is that what it does? Creates a moon? That’s not dark… nor growth?
The mushrooms shift. He tries to look closer, but that’s not how it works. They don’t move again. He watches, he waits… but nothing happens. He tunes back to the expedition going west.
They cross two pathways, like a four-way junction on a road. Left… so south goes down a little. The northerly passage goes up a little. Caau’s understanding of the world is that there are ‘planes’ and they have ‘layers’, but what that actually means is a closed book to him.
He waits a few seconds.
The administrator doesn’t respond.
Damn. I usually bait her with those kinds of questions.
Hmm, what? What? I was focused on something else.
Again? What’s going on.
Nothing! Oh, you might want to check your easterly expedition by the by.
Why— oh god damn.
He looks through Quartz’ and Granite’s eyes as a teeming mass of goblins — and never has the word ‘teeming’ been used more effectively — all barely lit by torches. They’ve found some kind of precipice, having followed his explicit instructions to avoid the Corrupted Sanctuary at practically all costs.
Down below, in a cave hollow, is what looks to be a goblin village, if you can call a thousand glowing rock-holes a village. Quartz takes a single step forward and—
[ Expedition has found: Gollokoor ]
[ Habitat found: Raid? ]
Ah, is that what the goblins are trying to do to us? Raid?
No. They are trying to challenge the dungeon. A raid is more like what would happen to your followers if you suddenly stopped existing.
So, what’s the point?
Well… where there is civilization…
What?
Civilization requires…
People?
He can practically hear the Administrator sigh.
People require…
...Food?
Food! My god, why was that so hard?
Caau looks at the few people laid in bed — the ones that are once more suffering from a lack of food. Eliza is one of them, a frail frame breathing in slow grasps for life. He’d tried Blessing her… but it was blocked. She’s technically ‘attuned to Abyssal Energy.’
Alright. Then we have a target, no?
I mean, if you want to.
Why? What are the downsides?
Besides raiding a village of relatively helpless goblins?
I don’t think they have much regard for their lives with how they’ve been throwing themselves at the walls.
He orders Quartz and Granite to continue moving, now going southbound — which is also up, as it were. It’s not a massive slant, but not nothing either.
How far is the surface? Where Arden came from?
A good while. At least of week of constant travel for the guardians. More for humans.
Alright… and how far are these other Sanctuaries.
That’s for you to figure out, lazy bones. I can’t just give you all the answers.
[ Expedition Team 2 is under attack ]
Caau looks through Granites eyes only to come face to face with… an Ogre?
Oh no.
Oh no? What the hell is oh no?
It roars. A heavy club smashes Granite into the cave wall, chipping grey stone from it and him alike. Quartz spits out a blast of energy — the Ogre puts the club across itself, and the beam smashes into it.
Caau looks at it with his information.
[ Cokro, Ogre Guard to Gorrok, Embodiment of Carnage ]
Arden, carving a stone figurine for Eliza with a finger, immediately shoots straight up — his head snapped in the direction of the Ogre. Yet he is at least a day’s walk away. Even accounting for the fact he can all-out sprint, it’d still take a few hours.
Tactical Screen: Cokro [VIT][ Resistance II ] + [STR] [ Ebb and Flow I ][DEF] Abilities:
[ Unknown ]
[ Unknown ]
[ Unknown ]
Path-specific Abilities:
[ Offensive Fortification ]
[ Defensive Retribution ]
As it pulls the club away, the energy from Quartz’ blast converts to a neutral gray — then diffuses over the Ogre’s body in a shower of arcs. There, it contributes to the blurriness around the Ogre’s frame. Now that he looks at it… it’s very similar to Arden’s barrier.
Does that barrier not come from me?
The administrator doesn’t respond — he’s not even sure she’s here right now.
Either way, Granite peels himself from the wall, pushing from it like a trampoline to rush at the Ogre. His fist smashes into its stomach, and layers of near invisible glass-like force break away. The Ogre doesn’t use the club to bat him like a baseball, instead grabbing him with a meaty, thick hand that wraps around the guardian's arm entirely.
[ Cokro uses [ Detain III ] ]
Granite freezes solid, locked in place by the ogre’s barrier of force that spreads to consume him in an instant. Quartz takes a step back, thrusting the staff out. A glowing inscription appears on the walls to the left of the ogre, before exploding outwards in a radiant arc that carves a huge chunk of the barrier out — the entire left shoulder.
[ Quartz’ Simple Energy (Blast) pierced Cokro’s ‘Fortification’ ]
[ Damage returned with 50% efficiency by ‘Defensive Retribution’ ]
Before the barrier grows back across the beast’s shoulder, the muscle disintegrates, spewing blood that mixes with the C-energy, creating microscopic pops that descend down its arm, ripping holes underneath the rest of the barrier.
It staggers back, but its grip remains tight on Granite. A large crack appears on Quartz’ front rock-chest, and he look down, pressing the Celestial Energy to the crack until it’s fixed.
The Ogre rolls its shoulder, then holds the club out with a slight angle towards Quartz.
[ Cokro uses [ Quake I ] ] by smashing the club into the ground. For a second, nothing happens except for a line to appear in the stone, a long, silent parting.
Quartz points the staff down towards the hole and conjures a big flat plane of Celestial Energy. A thrum of neutral energy surges upwards, enlarging the crack with every movement until it screams out of the hole.
The plane of Celestial energy shoots upwards like a rock in the middle of an active volcano, small hairline fractures like tree-roots growing throughout it. The Arcanist-golem is pressed into the ceiling, forming smaller little shields around himself until he’s near covered in the stuff.
For a while, that is all the guardian sees. He does not see through Granite’s eyes as the Ogre stalks off, leaving the erupting energy to its own devices. He does not see Granite disappear into the dark… and he does not see a Troll and a Goblin staring at each other. A goblin that seems remarkable familiar. It clicks.
It holds the [ Sword of the Night Sky ] — the one it stole from the pile whilst it was undefended. It looks up at the troll with greedy, large eyes…
It begins to warp and crack; from a small form comes, massive, elongated, muscular arms rip from its back, the muscle curling over the spine. The hands of these arms rip stone from the ground as the Goblin is lifted up, propelled to the eye-level of the troll by the horrific appendages, giggling and crackling as it does.
This symphony of horror is interrupted as Granite, still covered by the barrier and thusly immobilized, is slammed into the ground, dragged along until he is forced to look up at the Troll.
Granite takes it in — as does Caau.
[ An Infernal-blood’s champion is nearby ]
[ An Infernal-blood’s champion is nearby ]
I am so sorry.
WHAT DID YOU DO?
—
Mekka-Mekka, Da greatest gobbo.
Mekka-Mekka rips through more of tha stupid boss-gobbos. It’s time for his posse to be tha best! He’s gathered lots and more! He needs them… for he’s going to do something big. All that loot… and now he can smells it.
A new dungeon, nearby! He wants it! A fortress like the big gobbo boss! Then he can press the gobbos that bullied him into service! He make all tha gobbos his! Then he eats as much as he wants!
Well, I don’t think you should—
“You’s no help!” Mekka-Mekka screams. “You help path, now you go! Why Mekka-Mekka can not attack dungeon? He knows there are lots of items there! Good items, not [ Goblin Sticka ] or [ Goblin Stabba ]. Good items!”
Well, you can’t because—
[ An Infernal-blood’s champion is nearby ]
The words freeze Mekka-Mekka on instinct, but he shakes it off. Now that he is a [ Arcane Blade ] and with [ Sword of the Night Sky ], he is strong!
Stone rumbling on stone. Wind pushing past him as though it runs from something. A troll’s face, a thousand teeth sharper than than a boss’s. The rumbling stops — a massive hammer of blocky, rigid stone is brought up onto a shoulder.
Tensed muscles twitch. The troll looks down at the goblin. “I AM GORROK THE RAMPAGE. I AM THE EMBODIMENT OF CARNAGE.”
The goblin nearly falls from force of the voice alone. Instead, Mekka-Mekka holds up the blade, the stat-stealing edge presses against the trolls skin. The troll smiles, forcibly impaling himself on the blade until it’s clean through him and he looks the goblin in the eyes.
Then he screams just as loud. “I BRING A MESSAGE FROM MY MASTER. HAVE THIS, LITTLE ONE” it holds out a lump of glowing-red flesh. “BECOME UNSTOPPABLE.”
Another rumbling of stone. This time, Mekka-Mekka looks as an Ogre — even larger than this ‘Gorrok’ — drags a massive golem of stone. The troll places it into the goblin’s mouth… and the goblins wrenches back… only to taste the exalted flesh!
His teeth rip it apart in seconds, sucking the juice. It tastes how he imagines fresh mortal blood to taste… only even better than he could have ever thought! The meat pulls apart in mouth, falls in waves down his throat.
He looks up at the troll; an unspoken question burning in his eyes. The troll responds by baring his teeth. Mekka-Mekka is torn asunder, screaming in small waves of ecstatic laughter as the pain and elation floods his body in varying degrees of balance.
He didn’t even notice an Ogre dragging a big stone creature. It doesn’t matter any more! If this is the flesh of humans… he needs more!
And you may have it. So long as you can prove yourself…