image [https://i.imgur.com/aWYSEGp.jpg]
On our way out of town, I weighed everyone’s reaction to the news of approaching orcs. Surprisingly, most responded to news of the landing with orderly efficiency. We’d prepared everyone for emergency procedures. After cramming into the barbican, a castle felt spacious.
Dino had drilled everyone in the basics of mass combat, particularly in defending high ground.
Yula had assigned equipment and organized everyone into battle groups.
Ida had stocked the storerooms beneath the great hall with supplies according to Captain Jourdain’s specifications.
Iris sent two fresh riders to Basilborough and Fort Krek to halt traffic until further notice. Both towns happily agreed to host wayward visitors in advance, knowing wagon trains meant an influx of money—merchants spent at local inns and pubs during layovers.
Ally gave workers leave to collect their belongings and report to assigned areas in the great hall, whose rearranged tables and cushioned benches doubled as beds for evacuees. The weapons and armor racks stacked on the barbican’s second floor made the place feel more like an armory than a refugee camp. Its current vibe contrasted with the goblin siege, which felt like hiding from the enemy. The castle’s critical features made us feel ready to fight.
Captain Jourdain stood in as a capable commander, and we hoped not to be gone long—but my impasse with Rezan and four-month hibernation taught us to expect anything regarding relics.
Four companies mustered to defend the outer perimeter. We planned to make them pay for every inch of dirt.
Despite his renouncement of command, Thaxter fielded the easternmost flank of the earthworks—the most dangerous position as it stood furthest from our fallback point in town. They placed ladders along the palisade by the river in case they needed a hasty withdrawal.
Thaxter’s group comprised farmers from the Fort Tilbury region, a community historically familiar with goblin raids. Thaxter knew their strengths and weaknesses since he worked among them. He couldn’t help himself and drilled them personally. They learned to support one another and eventually clocked their exfiltration to a fallback position faster than other battle groups. They practiced every evening for an hour, ending the exercise with rounds of drinks at the public house.
I counterpointed Yula’s usual grim determination with positive vibes. I asked if anyone needed help, and no one accepted. My companion’s unwavering purpose likely deterred takers, perhaps for the best. Still, I didn’t count as many worried expressions as I expected.
The quarry crew’s first duty involved knocking down seawalls separating the moat from the water. The river and lake flooded the quarry from both ends.
Witnessing so many contingency plans fall into action settled my nerves. I’d hoped the emperor would bring only one or two centuries. When orc scouts first visited Iremont, they would have seen a hapless settlement with half of our current population. Perhaps Veegor only believed that anything worth doing was worth overdoing.
The number of one thousand and five hundred orcs boggled my mind. As much as we’d prepared, I preferred to assassinate the emperor before the horde reached Hawkhurst. We’d repelled hundreds of goblins with half our numbers, but an orc warrior equaled at least half a dozen goblins. If they came from Arweald, they’d be seasoned veterans.
But watching Hawkhurst click wasn’t the only reason for excitement. The town had learned to operate without me during my absence.
My visits to the town hall felt out of place. Diners no longer hung on my every word. In peacetime, the town had outgrown me.
I’d played a significant role during the goblin attack, and with the orcs on their way, I renewed my mantle as the town’s protector. The crisis I created gave me a place and a sense of purpose. Not since Rezan’s death had I felt integral with the NPCs.
When we left the settlement’s boundary, my thoughts turned to tactics. I showed Yula my bag of Boulder Bullets and showed her the plum-sized bullet. “How big can you launch something like this? By my calculations, it’ll be a foot wide after my farthest sling, but I’m not accurate at far distances.”
The orc seemed unimpressed by the magic bullets. “One hundred yards.” Though she didn’t specialize in slingshots, she could cast the bullet farther than I could launch the little ones. By my calculations, Yula’s bullets would grow larger than cannonballs and could easily one-shot the emperor.
Even if her accuracy proved true, the problem rested in the follow-up—retrieving the relic before another orc could put it on. Perhaps the lead sphere would crush it, making it impossible to wear.
“You’re saying you could hit the emperor from a hundred yards?”
Yula’s answer came slower than I hoped. “Maybe not first heet. After ten tries, possible success.”
I grunted at her waning optimism. If the first didn’t hit, his honor guard would engage in full-on reaction mode. Would they carry him away like the Secret Service or bullrush us? Neither scenario appealed to me.
“Humans use leetle bullets. Orcs use arrows. I weesh to strangle Veegor like common creeminal.” Yula curled her fingers into fists.
I didn’t care if Yula wanted to fight him honorably on the battlefield or ceremoniously garrote him like a condemned prisoner, but we couldn’t afford to be picky. Her vendetta against the emperor ran deeper than a petty dispute over a relic. What sway could I possibly have to convince her to use whatever means necessary?
“What route do you think is best? Inland or along the river? Remember, we have Amphibious in case we come across scouts. We can duck into the water whenever we want.”
The Orga ran between the Bluepeaks and Doublespines. At our end of the river, it flowed wide and slowly. Its banks crossed many rocky streams that fed into it. Some of these white-water tributaries stretched as wide as 10 yards.
“Inland ees best.”
I waited for more, but Yula didn’t elaborate. It bothered me a little that she didn’t consult or explain herself—even though I trusted her survival skills. It would be nice to have a topic to converse over.
The ground grew hilly. I dismounted and dismissed Jasper but didn’t summon Beaker. While I enjoyed my griffon’s antics, I couldn’t risk him hollering at the first sign of enemies and giving away our position. Yula wasn’t cheerful company, but there seemed little point in antagonizing her over my noisy pet. Griffons weren’t conducive to stealth missions.
Retrieving Mendacium from the Dark Room raised my willpower by 20. Until I backed away from here, Yula showed a Life Leeched debuff in her nameplate. The orc’s disposition didn’t change, but I suspected it irritated her. I made a mental note to keep her outside its range of effect.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
I changed tactics and asked her a more personal question. “What will you do if we kill the emperor?”
Yula didn’t answer for the longest while, making me regret the question. Eventually, she responded. “Eef Veegor dies, I go to my mountain. Maybe start new clan. Eef I find Redbones, I will crush them like bugs.”
“I see. So homecoming might be bittersweet. That sounds sensible.” I cringed over the banality of my comment, but what else could I say? Yula’s binary outlook didn’t leave room for subtlety.
Yula broke the awkwardness by casting a spell that produced a new buff in my interface—Camouflaged. When I focused on it, its details appeared.
Buff
Improved Camouflage
If partially hidden by vegetation, you gain invisibly to creatures over 30 yards away. You can see medium and large creatures behind vegetation within the same distance. Entering combat cancels this effect.
Duration
9 minutes, 54 seconds
Improved Camouflage bridged the gap between environmental magic, self-enhancement, revelation, and illusions, relating it to four schools of magic. It concealed us from faraway scouts that surely camped over the Orga River, watching over the army’s intended course. It also revealed nearby scouts, but only those close enough that might see us.
The spell produced a strange optical effect. Wild deer in my field of vision appeared in front of nearby foliage. I stupidly reached out to them, even though they stood too far away to touch. The buff rendered a trippy effect coupled with my Helm of Peripheral Vision, giving me command of the forest. If I ever lost it, I could still fall back on my Hardwood Girdle’s ability should I ever need to appear as a tree. Arcane casters could still spot me with Detect Magic, but who would suspect magic in the middle of the forest?
I reformed us into a two-person militia, giving Yula Defender’s extra health bonus and Merciful Touch. Of course, being commander of this campaign didn’t make me the boss. The green vines woven through her hair reminded me of her affinity for the wilderness. I deferred to her expertise and followed her lead. She bore a buff called Sneak that stopped her from making noise. Not having one made me a little self-conscious, so I took extra care to avoid dry leaves or fallen twigs.
Yula tirelessly sliced through the forest. She had the tact to take regular water breaks, allowing me to catch my breath and avoid Exhausted debuffs.
By devoting my full attention to keeping up with Yula, we traveled swiftly for six hours until she pointed to two level 18 orcs in black and red armor—colors that defied the surrounding greenery. Even though they scouted as a trade, their heavy dress suggested acclimation to high, cold, and dry altitudes, not lush forests. Even by my eyes, I could tell they specialized in mountains, not arboreal environs. It made sense that the emperor’s efforts had made little headway against the elves.
Yula pointed to me, then one of the orcs.
Name
Mallogog, Redbone Scout
Level
18
Difficulty
Easy (green)
Health
325/325
I nodded, cast Heavenly Favor, and crept toward him, glancing back at Yula to see if I performed what she wanted. She didn’t indicate otherwise, so I continued my approach. I drew Gladius Cognitus while behind a tree, holding its tip close to the ground to avoid attention. Using Imbue Weapon, I filled the blade with 50 points of glowing, blue damage before my target reached my Slipstream range.
My position gave me a view of three more orcs of similar level. Yula moved toward one while making a chopping motion to execute an attack.
I’d lose her in the thick underbrush once combat extinguished Improved Camouflage, but she’d be able to find me. The orcs’ health pools stood much lower than other level 18 monsters. It meant they followed the power point track of acquiring spells and abilities. Anticipate would likely prevent me from one-shotting the scout, but I couldn’t do anything about it.
Since I enjoyed the benefits of Improved Camouflage, I didn’t waste my Slipstream on my initial attack. Instead, I cast Move Object to drag a twig across the forest floor, catching the scout’s attention and drawing her toward it.
Unlike Yula, Mallogog had shorn her hair. She watched the stick’s strange behavior. After tonguing one of her fangs, she drew a mace and a wicker shield with a stretch of leather on its inside. The skin doubled as a drum, one that I had to prevent her from beating.
I leaned against the tree, out of the orc’s line of sight. Against my ear, Gladius Cognitus made only the faintest of hums. Gladius possessed enough discretion to keep quiet. He didn’t ask questions or chatter during moments of danger—a trait I wish my fine, feathered Familiar shared.
When the orc walked past me, I performed a Charge, lunging my blade, which I had kept hidden behind the tree.
/Orc Scout casts Anticipate.
/You miss Orc Scout.
/Orc Scout hits You for 34 (18 resisted).
/You cast Slipstream.
/You critically hit Orc Scout for 232 damage (0 resisted).
/You cast Moonburn.
/You critically hit Orc Scout for 128 damage (0 resisted).
Swooshing behind the scout and using Moonburn’s residual stun, I bought a couple of extra attacks that critically hit. Attacking from behind and targeting a Stunned creature increased the likelihood of double damage.
My efforts killed the scout. After a quick Detect Magic, I determined the drum to be the only magical loot, but I left it behind as all the orcs carried them. I left the body and ran toward Yula.
Yula’s combat log activity showed she’d disarmed her opponent’s shield, preventing alarms but engaging in a more protracted battle. I found her Resting and Mending beside her opponent’s corpse. The scout’s shield bore a tear down its length.
After replenishing our mana, we re-buffed, giving me another dose of Improved Camouflage. We took our time, repeating the process against three pairs of scouts.
We spotted a group of four scouts together. “Can’t we just let them pass us? It seems unnecessary to fight every little scouting squad we encounter.”
“Must kill. Eef alarm sounds, we fight century, all at once.”
Yula and I took them on together, starting with two Compression Spheres. Though loud, the foliage dampened the noise, and the shockwave blasted the wicker shields out of the arms of the unsuspecting orcs, who carried them over their shoulders in casual grips. They didn’t expect an ambush to befall such a capable scouting troupe.
We double-teamed the orc closest to a shield, burning it down quickly, using Moonburn to prevent its fellows from coming to its rescue. While Charging, Thrusting, and Whirling, I channeled Dig to remove pockets of earth from their feet, complicating their recovery.
It felt great to put Dino’s training into use. Coupled with my new helm, I fought attackers on either side. The lack of double-damage backstab bonuses must have been a source of frustration for my opponents.
Yula fought with two short swords, hacking away at whatever orc I targeted. Though the orcs struck for nearly 40 damage, we spared little time to heal, aside from Rejuvenates.
Yula played her role in crowd control by casting a spell called Seeds, summoning a plant whose petals grew big enough to envelop an entire scout. At first, I thought she produced a carnivorous plant, but it did no damage. It only acted as a stalling tactic while we brought down its associates. Its petals muffled the orc inside, preventing it from casting spells or calling for help.
Despite our efforts, the last scout used Anticipate’s displacement to reach a shield, pounding out a few bangs before we could take it down.
Yula dropped the pair of short swords, picked up the shield, and tapped a cadence different from the scout. The shield magically projected the sounds, and drums further north echoed an answer.
“Are we in trouble?”
Yula ignored the question, listened to the distant drums, and sounded out another pattern of drumbeats. At last, her posture relaxed, and she cast the drum aside. “I ask for relief—but request ees denied. Zey say we must keep scouting for emperor.”
I grinned. “Did you just tell a joke?”
Yula stiffened and pointed to the last orc we slayed. “I disguise warning signal. Ees no joke.”
“Hmm.” I considered asking Gladdy if he thought Yula had technically made a joke but decided against it. Like my sword, I knew when to keep quiet.