B01DCAV4W2 (S) (30 page)

Richter also asked if she knew any other potion recipes, but she stated she only knew the first because she had previously been tasked with making it for non-kobold captives that her people had used as slaves.  With nothing else to do, Richter took out the small mortar and pestle from his Bag as well as several empty vials.  En’fota continued drawing maps and Richter set to his gristly work. 

With his shadow dagger, he walked from body to body.  He removed each eye and placed them all in his Bag.  He still had two bodies left to harvest when Dur’ghen came back.  The kobold was dragging a furry, squealing creature behind him.  Richter got his first view of a skitter.  This thing was fugly!

It was a rat the size of a Pomeranian, but instead of fur, it was covered in scales.  Its pelt was a dingy black in the light and had six legs ending in clawed feet.  Dur’ghen was pulling it by its tail, and as its body fully exited the side tunnel, it gnashed its teeth as it tried to escape.  At one point, it contorted and bit the kobold fighter, but its teeth were unable to penetrate his heavy scales.  For the first time since becoming charmed, En’fota smiled.  She waved Dur’ghen over to a slight depression in the tunnel floor.  Her claws extended and with no further pause she ripped into the creature.  The thing squealed loudly as it was eviscerated.  Dur’ghen did not stand idly by, but instead flipped it over and took a large bite of its underbelly, the one part of the animal not covered in scales.

Richter watched appalled as they consumed chunks of the creature while it screamed.  After a few moments, he hacked and coughed, bile rising in his throat and burning the back of his mouth.  He clapped a hand over his mouth to control the urge.  En’fota looked up at the noise.  She held up a severed leg she was chewing, “Would you like this master?  They are best when they are fresh.”  The skitter screamed again.  Richter lost control and vomit sprayed over the bodies of two of the dead kobold fighters.  Even Alma seemed bothered by the savagery.  She flapped her way to the far end of the tunnel.  En’fota shrugged and got back to her meal. 

Once Richter stopped heaving, he rinsed his mouth out and spat.  He quickly went back to his own disgusting act and finished collecting the eyes.  Then he walked over to where the kobolds were feasting and ordered them back.  He collected some of the red blood from where it had pooled on the floor.  With the ingredients in hand, he walked over to his mortar and pestle.  He placed one eye in the bowl, poured some of the blood atop it and poured some water as well.  Then he started grinding.  The eye popped with a faint sound and the white vitreous fluid mixed with the red blood.  He kept grinding to the soundtrack of the two kobolds noisily resuming their meal. 

After a few minutes of grinding, blowing, grinding and blowing, he finally got the result he was seeking.  Lifting the pestle, he could see that the color of the potion had changed to a deep black. 

You have created: Darkvision Potion.  Potion Level: Tincture.  Strength: Weak.  Weight 0.1 kg.  This will provide Darkvision for 15 yards for 15 minutes.  

Richter smiled.  His first real attempt at alchemy was a success!  He carefully emptied the potion into a vial and then made eleven more with the remaining kobold eyes.  After the seventh he leveled up in Alchemy, making the subsequent potions more powerful.  The 1.5% bump only increased his range by a few more inches, but he would take it. 

Trying not to think about what was actually in the potion, he closed his eyes and drank one down.  The thick liquid seemed to coat his throat and he almost vomited again.  The sensation was quickly replaced by a tingling in his eyes.  When he opened them, the ball of light hanging in the tunnel caused immediate discomfort. 

He summoned Alma.   As his familiar settled across his shoulders, he dismissed the Light spell with a wave of his hand.  Richter saw with Darkvision for the first time.  It was a bit surreal.  His natural vision operated by differentiating positive and negative space.  Because of that, seeing edges and focusing on specific objects was easy.  Darkvision was like seeing everything at once without focusing on anything.  What you saw was a still picture.  Because of that, any changes to the picture were easy to detect.  Richter suddenly knew why the kobolds could pierce his stealth when he moved.  Also, being cloaked in shadows couldn’t be expected to be super effective against beings that could see through pure darkness.

His Darkvision was also somewhat surreal in that it cut off abruptly at fifteen yards.   After that, it was like there was a wall of pure black.  He asked En’fota what the range of her vision was, and it turned out that both kobolds could see at least fifty yards.   

Richter shook his head.  It meant that even though he could see in the dark, he was still in a severe disadvantage against any other kobolds he might run into.  A quick question informed him that higher level castes typically had better Darkvision and that the max distance also increased occasionally with level.  Maybe the workers wouldn’t be able to see as far as his charmed kobolds, but En’fota told him they could still see at least thirty yards.  It couldn’t be helped though.  If he had any chance of getting close enough to kill the guards at the crystal garden, it had to be without light. 

He cast
Night Vision,
hoping it would boost the range of his Darkvision.  There was no change though.  Darkvision didn’t add any light, and without a bare amount of ambient illumination, the spell wouldn’t work.  Richter sent a call for Futen and then thought through the upcoming attack. 

According to the mage, it was about a twenty-minute hike to the crystal garden.  After that the entrance to the surface was ten to fifteen miles away.  If the information the kobolds had provided was correct, the way was littered with traps.  None of them should be any more complicated than what Richter had already found though, according to En’fota.  Apparently the REALLY dangerous and diabolical traps were only found closer to the key areas.  Because he would be moving away from the center of the Sabre Claw’s seat of power, the resistance he found should be minimal she told him.

Richter mulled over his situation.  On the one hand, he could make a run for it and have a high chance of getting out of the tunnels.   On the other though, a potentially valuable resource was almost undefended.  And he still had his Ring of Spell Storage, he thought with a smile.  He reloaded the spell with
Charm
and waited for Futen to return.  

He quickly accessed his prompts to see if there was anything else that required his attention.  Richter was pleased to see that he had gotten a nice experience bump from Alma’s Brain Drain. 

You have been awarded 1,944 (base 31,115 x 0.05 x 1.25) experience from Brain Drain against Level 8 Kobold.

You have been awarded 3,115 (base 49,835 x 0.05 x 1.25) experience from Brain Drain against Level 10 Kobold.

You have been awarded 942 (base 15,064 x 0.05 x 1.25) experience from Brain Drain against Level 6 Kobold.

You have been award 858 (base 13,723 x 0.05 x 1.25) experience from Brain Drain against Level 5 Kobold.

You have been award 1,830 (base 29,285 x 0.05 x 1.25) experience from Brain Drain against Level 8 Kobold.

You have been award 2,326 (base 37,211 x 0.05 x 1.25) experience from Brain Drain against Level 9 Kobold.

The experience wasn’t enough to get either him or Alma to the next level, but he was still happy with the bonus.  Richter gave the mage and fighter their gear again.  He needed them equipped now that a battle loomed.  The one thing he held back on was giving back the summoning staff.  He wouldn’t risk losing such an interesting object. 

Richter leaned against the wall of the tunnel to wait for Futen.  After a few minutes, the remnant spoke in Richter’s ear, “How can I help you, my Lord.” 

Richter took out his physical Traveler’s Map.  “We are going to attack a crystal garden.  This is the route.”  With a thought, the route became highlighted.  “Go invisible.  Report back once you have scouted the scene.”  The remnant disappeared. 

Richter cast
Haste
on himself and the two kobolds, “Stop when we are one hundred yards away from the garden.  Let’s go.”

They all took off at a run.  The distance was crossed quickly with their enhanced speed.  Richter had to drink another Darkvision potion, but other than that, the trip was uneventful.  They stopped near a bend in the tunnel.  En’fota told him that the garden was only a hundred yards ahead.  Richter could hear barking voices. 

“Futen,” Richter whispered. 

“Yes, my Lord,” came the response front right in front of his face.  Not too long ago, the remnant’s voice appearing out of nowhere would have creeped the hell out of him.  Now though, he just accepted it as business as usual. 

“What did you find?”

“There are three guards at the entrance to the cave ahead.  The entrance is twenty yards across.  Twelve other kobolds are carrying crystals to a wagon that is hitched to some type of animal.  The wagon is almost full.”

“Okay,” Richter said.  He turned to his charmed kobolds, “Can you lure the three guards over here.”

“They will do as ordered,” En’fota answered. 

Richter nodded, *
Alma, I need you to drink a potion.  It will let you see in the dark.  I will need you in a moment.*

*Yes, master,*
she thought back.
 

Richter gave her a potion and then confirmed that it gave her Darkvision.  She answered happily that the tincture had worked.  Though she hadn’t expressed it, being blind and dependent on Richter to get around had been very difficult for the winged creature. 

Richter sent the two kobolds ahead, instructing them to bring the guards back and to be ready to attack if either resisted his spell.  Alma hovered above.  She was ready to unleash a
Psi Blast
as soon as the kobolds turned the corner.  Richter cast
Barkskin
on himself.  His fingers twitched unconsciously as he thought about unleashing his spells. 

Scant minutes later, the three guards came around the corner.  Alma unleashed her power and they all fell to their knees, two with screams and one with just a stunned look on his face. Richter unleased the
Charm
spell stored in his ring with one hand and with the other invoked
Charm
a second time.  Both of the kobolds he targeted adopted the vacant expression of the newly enchanted.  The third kobold was struggling to his feet, leaning on his spear to stand faster.  Richter opened his mouth to command his charmed kobolds to attack when Alma let out a cry.  Gold light surround her body as she cast
Charm.
  Suddenly, there was another vacant expression. 

Richter looked at his familiar in shock and wonder.  “That’s my girl!  You are so wonderful!”  He had known she could use Life magic now, of course, but actually seeing how much more powerful his familiar now took his breath away!  She trilled happily in response to his praise and alighted on top of her charmed kobold’s head.  Then she promptly defecated before shooting back up into the air.  Richter’s face wrinkled in disgust, then he just shrugged and laughed.  She had just made the kobold her bitch and then shit on him.   Maybe she wasn’t exactly wonderful, but she was definitely still his girl!

Richter’s Analyze skill confirmed that all of the enchantments had been successful.  The three kobolds were all of the Kol caste.  He immediately sent the five charmed creatures around the corner with instructions to force all the workers back into the cave. 

The workers had heard the brief screams and were ready to bolt.  When the five members of the higher castes came back with no apparent concern, however, the deeply ingrained obedience to follow the orders of their betters overwhelmed their instinct to flee.  Richter followed thirty seconds later while stealthed.  He was reasonably sure that he should be beyond the boundary of the workers’ Darkvision. 

He smiled when he saw the five charmed kobolds blocking the mouth of the cave.  Richter equipped his bow and nocked an arrow.  More than thirty Tri caste kobolds were in the cavern.  When he stepped into view of the workers, they all began to bark and whine in fear.  He shouted, “Attack!”

The next few minutes were not so much a battle, as a slaughter.  The charmed kobolds set into their kinsmen with vicious abandon.  Richter continually nocked and fired arrows, each finding a home in the scaled bodies of the workers.  He didn’t imbue any, wanting to avoid the large concussive booms.  It didn’t matter though.  In five minutes, all of the kobold workers were dead.   Alma had had a field day, having drained four more workers.  Each time she latched on, he immediately shot the kobold in the chest.  After only one or two shots, it would expire.  Alma garnered another 9,165 experience points for the both of them. 

One of the guards had been injured and blood ran freely down his chest.  Richter cast
Slow Heal
and the wound slowly closed.  He looked at En’fota, “Where is the Focus crystal?”

“I will find it master.”  The kobold mage ran deeper into the garden.  Richter followed her with his eyes and then looked around the cave.  It appeared normal to be made of stone, except for the clusters of crystal that blossomed randomly from the walls, floor and ceiling.  Each looked like an oversized section of a fractured geode.

Richter ordered the others to gather the items from the dead workers.  As they did his bidding, he moved over to the wagon holding the harvested crystal.  The animal hitched to the wagon shuffled a bit uneasily at his approach.   He tried to speak soothingly to it, but that only increased its agitation.  Realizing his mistake, he tried again but in the language of the kobolds.  The animal calmed.  He analyzed it and discovered it was called a “prox.”  It looked like any oxen he might find above ground except that the ears were overly large.  Ignoring it, he started loading his Bag of Holding with the crystals as fast as he could. 

Before long, En’fota ran back up to his side, “I have found it, master.”