image [https://i.imgur.com/S7wd3N0.jpg]
Fin Hornbuster unwittingly set the stage for our settlement’s leadership change when he purchased tin from Hawkhurst’s third caravan. Greenie and I had engaged in a goblin conversation when he and Ida appeared at the manor doorway. The dwarf waited for us to finish our conversation and acknowledge their presence, but Ida broke into our flow.
“Governor, a problem at the docks needs your immediate attention.”
I had been counting numbers in different goblin dialects—a needlessly complicated recitation because tribes didn’t universally acknowledge the existence of some numbers.
One of my most recent bad habits included exhaling loudly before speaking. If Lloyd and the blacksmiths drew me into another arbitration over specifications of nautical fixtures—many of whom the sailor had rejected, I would lose my temper. “What now?”
Fin read the room better than Ida—or, at least, cared what he read. The dwarf wrung his hands. “I’m sorry, Guv. But I couldn’t let the caravan leave without snatching some of their haul. Tin is so rare that I couldn’t bear to watch it go west without sampling a few nuggets. Bronze is solid for hinges and the like—and it barely corrodes.”
“I’m not following you.”
Ida interrupted before the dwarf could answer. “You led me to believe Hawkhurst facilitates the transfer of goods, not to delaying it. Fin and his boys spilled Mr. Bashiri’s sacks across the docks, picking through his minerals for the best chunks.”
“It weren’t no spillin’ of metal on anyone’s docks! The lads and I shifted through his samples using storage trays. I’m the sap who smelts it! I just wanted to see how much sulfur we needed to burn off!”
When the dwarf saw my incomprehension, he turned away from Ida. “Ye see, bronze is an alloy of copper and a wee bit of tin. It’s harder to bend and stronger. We have gobs of copper, but our tin is scarce. I’m not eejit enough to let miss a chance of snatching some up.”
Ida turned to me. “They held Mr. Bashiri for two hours before one of Lloyd’s little ones brought it to my attention.”
Fin placed his fists on his hips. “I’m not fouling up me crucibles with minging sulfur. If ye wishes to stench up yourself, have at it, but me and lads prefer a muck-free furnace. Bashiri offered nary a gripe—we’re lightening his load. He and his crew skiddled to the inn to give us time. Happier merchants, ye couldn’t find.”
“It suits you and Bashiri. But Lloyd can’t work on the ferry with your rocks and nuggets lying about. And guess who gets to hear his complaints.”
“’Tis the only spot outside not bedraggled with boggin’ mud! And we wouldn’t need no bronze if the old sailor wasn’t building half o’ his ship with the stuff.”
I held up my hands. “Guys, cool it. Fin, how much longer will you need to buy your tin?”
“We’d be done if it weren’t for the interruptions.”
Ida crossed her arms. “Says the blacksmith corking up his shipyard.”
I sighed audibly again. “Two hours, Fin? Next time, let’s move your operation to the market. That’s why we built all the tables and stalls.”
Hauling carts up to the market wasn’t Fin’s idea of well-spent time, but I ignored his expression and turned to Ida. “Tell Lloyd to cool off until they’re done. Fin’s right about one thing—the second ferry is taxing the smithy workload.”
Beaker watched contentedly on the windowsill. Anyone stepping into the manor caught his attention yet rarely drew a reaction. We spoke civilly—nothing for a young griffon to get excited over. When something raised his interest, he widened his mouth to breathe harder.
Fin grinned as Ida wordlessly left the manor. The dwarf followed her. Their squabbling faded as they walked away.
Morale
75 percent (upbeat)
Factor Events
125 percent
Factor Security
92 percent
Factor Culture
78 percent
Factor Health
84 percent
I hadn’t realized we hosted another caravan—our third since the salt wagons we escorted from Fort Krek. Its arrival raised our events rating, buoying our settlement’s morale from its usual “content” status in the low sixties. I turned to Greenie. “More happy citizens, eh? I’d hardly describe them as upbeat.”
“Three wagons arrived yesterday, along with a train of travelers. It’s the largest yet. If tin is part of their cargo, it’s from the east.”
“I hadn’t realized another caravan had arrived. That’ll help our work crew’s efficiency. And if all those people waited for Fin, they’re spending coin at the inn and the public house—”
A distant thunderclap interrupted me, the popping sound of a Compression Sphere.
Greenie turned toward the window, even though it overlooked Otter Lake. “What was that?”
One windfall from Winterbyte’s book of runes created our stealth detection traps. Compression Spheres served as alarms to runes I placed about town using Detect Stealth and proximity as triggers.
Instead of answering Greenie’s question, I opened my map interface and spotted a red dot between the pub and the motte and bailey. I Slipstreamed out of the manor and began my near-one-mile run to its location.
It took Beaker only seconds to catch up with me, alternately pumping his wings and gliding to see my heading. He sent excited messages. “We are flying! Apache is moving fast!”
“That’s right, boy. Can you find Fabulosa? Can you go get her?” If an enemy entered town, I wanted her to know. My battle standard had a generous range, but it wasn’t a mile.
My familiar responded when I mentioned Fabulosa. “Fabulosa is here! Fabulosa is here!” His flight vector pointed in the same direction as the red dot. The irregular terrain of Hawkhurst Rock slowed me, but I abandoned any folly of Beaker picking me up and carrying me. He became a powerful flier, but he wasn’t that strong.
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“Go get her. Go help Fabulosa. She’s in trouble!” I did not know what danger she faced, but I figured Beaker might help distract whoever she fought. Familiars taking damage disappeared in a cloud of green vapor. Beaker was big enough to possess self-preservation instincts and agile enough to dodge attacks.
I didn’t need to tell him twice. The griffon straightened his neck and pumped his wings, outpacing me as if I stood still.
The red blip on the radar carried a notation of its bipedal nature, and when I zoomed in to see which direction it moved, a green bipedal dot appeared. It could only be Fabulosa using her cloak’s floating ability. The two had engaged in melee and circled one another.
It wasn’t easy reading the map interface while running, so I put it away.
Beaker flew behind a building, and I lost sight of him. When my periphery turned red, I knew my pet had just attacked something—putting me in a state of combat. My event log showed nothing, as the action fell outside my area of interest.
When I came within a quarter-mile, the red border of my vision faded, dropping me out of combat state. The red dot disappeared, and when I checked the contest interface, LabRat31’s name disappeared among the active players. My partner had knocked him out of the game.
Fabulosa ran toward me, seemingly distressed. “Patch! Patch! Can you summon Beaker?”
I stopped to catch my breath and cast Familiar.
Beaker appeared in a puff of green smoke. He scanned the sky for seagulls and spotted Fabulosa. “Fabulosa is here! Fabulosa is here!” But he opened his beak and dilated his eyes after she wrapped her arms around him. He didn’t enjoy the embrace, but she released it quickly.
“Oh, Beaker, you turkey! You gave me a heart attack!” She ran to my pet.
“Why? What happened? What did he do?”
Fabulosa’s eyes widened with fright. “What did he do? He died, that’s what! Check your combat log.”
I gave my griffon one last look before following her instructions. He seemed no worse for wear, aside from agitation over being hugged.
/Beaker misses LabRat31.
/LabRat31 crits Beaker for 56 damage (0 resisted).
/Beaker dies.
No other combat messages appeared in my log, which wasn’t unusual, as I wasn’t around when it happened. I turned to Fabulosa. “So, in all that time in hunting around Belden, you guys never lost a Familiar in combat?”
Fabulosa shook her head. “Sure. Charitybelle even lost Bruno once in the spider maze. But all Familiars are different. I just wasn’t sure our beautiful boy was a rooting-tooting fighter. Yes, he is, isn’t he?” She playfully cooed to the griffon as she ruffled his chest feathers.
Beaker cocked his head toward her, wide-eyed and as clueless as ever. “Fabulosa is petting me!”
“I can’t believe you knocked him out so fast.”
Fabulosa shrugged. “You gotta use live ammo for these things.”
“What happened?”
When Fabulosa stood up, Beaker nudged against her to seek more attention. She scratched his neck and didn’t need to stoop to reach his favorite spot anymore. “He must have been checking out the motte and bailey. LabRat wanted to use the battle college, right?”
“He sent us a letter a while ago.”
Shaking her head, Fabulosa walked to the bundle of belongings, picking through them with interest. “He certainly needed it. You should have seen him swinging his longsword. I could have defeated him without my cape or sword, and I didn’t touch my spectrometer. I bet Bernard could have, too. He was terrible.”
“What level was he?”
“Twenty-five, but he felt lower. Anyway, Beaker dove at him when he saw us fighting. LabRat dodged and clocked poor Chickers from behind—poor baby!” Fabulosa murmured to the griffon.
“I guess it’s nice to know he’s not afraid of fighting.”
“No, he’s not. He’s very brave. Weren’t you? Yes, you were. You saved me! What a good boy!”
The griffon opened his beak and cocked his head at the praise. He didn’t seem to remember combat, but Fabulosa’s attention might encourage him to fight.
By now, a few of the Fort Krek guards approached, and those who had witnessed the battle filled their friends in on the details.
“Was that Compression Sphere from one of my runes?”
“It wasn’t from me. I heard it and went to investigate. I thought the guards were horsing around.” Fabulosa grinned at the guards to show that she meant nothing by it.
I grunted at the news. The Detect Stealth runes didn’t ruin stealth—they only triggered a Compression Sphere when they detected it.
“When LabRat attacked from behind, he critted me for a lot of damage—so backstabs work if my cloak can’t see them. It’s a shame it doesn’t see stealthers, but it’s nearly the only hit he put on me. Patch, his swordplay was ridiculous.”
“No good, huh?”
“He broadcasted every swing. It was really an easy fight. Anyway, when he got desperate, he dropped his longsword and used this.”
Item
Invisible Club
Rarity
Rare (yellow)
Description
Level 23 bludgeoning weapon
+15 strength
Item use—If wielder wishes, the club is invisible.
Fabulosa finally had a decent bludgeoning attack. It looked like a thick baseball bat studded with metal knobs. When it disappeared, it looked as if Fabulosa made a fist.
“Very nice. That might come in use for city adventures.”
She tested the weight and shrugged. “Swinging something I can’t see might take some getting used to—but it can’t be worse than a Phantom Blade.”
“Oh, I think you’ll figure it out.”
Fabulosa suppressed a grin.
The interface confirmed Kanis and LabRat31 no longer took part in The Great RPG Contest. A few other participants dropped out in the past month.
25 Players remaining
The Book of Dungeons Closed Beta 0.71b
Contestant names
Agrippa, Aliena, Apache, Audigger, BlackOrchid, Bircht, Chocolateer, Clapperoth, Clootie, Darkstep, Duchess, Fabulosa, Flagboi, HoosierDaddy, Jawbone, Kidvicious, LadyCat, Pixielite, Roadmachine, Skullcaps, Sweetbread, Toadkiller, Treebiter, Uproar, and Wetbottomz
Fabulosa slipped rings onto her fingers. “He doesn’t have very good gear. But I upgraded two of my rings. He has one that gives spell storing, though it’s limited to tier-1 magic. I can cast an instant Scorch or Tangling Roots for free—so that’s not bad. Another has agility, and another has armor. There’s nothing too good here, which surprises me for someone level 25. He’s got a +5 damage spear and a dagger that increases poison durations. Lots of low-level mana and health potions.”
I cast Detect Magic and scanned the ground in case LabRat31 dropped anything during combat. Nothing lay on the ground, but a glow caught my attention at the motte and bailey’s entrance.
I checked to ensure Slipstream’s cooldown had reset and walked toward the glow. The magic orb floated eight feet off the ground in a gap between two roughly hewn lengths of timber.
Name
Darkstep Improved Eye (4,781)
Level
1
Difficulty
Trivial (gray)
Health
1/1
Fabulosa followed me to the bailey. Without the benefit of Detect Magic, she needed me to point out the eyeball. She gasped. “You have got to be pulling my leg. Is this what you saw in Malibar?”
“Darkstep knows we’re here.”
I Scorched the Improved Eye, and it fizzled out of existence. Darkstep wasn’t thoughtlessly spamming spells to rank up his light magic rank. This eye served as part of a spy network. The willpower behind casting and controlling the same spell thousands of times unsettled me. No red dots invaded the settlement’s perimeter. Had the player invasion ended?
Fabulosa crossed her arms uncomfortably and shot me a look. “Is it getting strange?”
I blinked. “Strange? How do you mean?”
“It just feels wrong—like the playing field is getting smaller. Not only does Darkstep know we’re here, but he saw me fight. I didn’t see more red dots. How did he get an Improved Eye in the middle of our settlement?”
“Darkstep could be a female.”
“I don’t think so. It feels like a guy-thing.”
“Maybe. I don’t know. But I can sweep it for bugs.”
“If Darkstep knows our names and faces, he can Scry us to see what we’re doing.”
“That’s how Scry works everywhere.”
“But it works especially well in towns and open spaces. Darkstep wouldn’t know our location if we stayed in the forest.” Fabulosa darted an accusatory look at the docks. “And those caravans, it’s a cinch the merchants are selling us out.”
“I don’t know about there being a conspiracy behind it. The wainwrights have been jawing about us for months in the West. But I’m surprised this came from Malibar so quickly.”
Fabulosa pensively shifted her weight. “Uproar knows we’re here too, remember? This isn’t good.”
“I know, I know. And I thought we had enough on our plate with relics and goblins.”
Fabulosa squinted as if something I’d said bothered her. “Patch, do you not see what this means? We gotta get out of Dodge.”
I turned to read her face. “What do you mean?”
“We have to leave Hawkhurst—like right now.”