I fly as fast as I dare with the Huldr on my back, don't want her to freeze. It takes a while longer, but when my Lair comes into view, I'm happy. Then my mind floods with alerts and notifications. Were they all waiting for me to get back into range of my Lair before going off?!
*Alert! Due to users growth in power, the Lair increases in size. The effect of any Boons currently active are doubled during this time!*
Then a bunch of notifications from monsters seeing humanoids... Wait, they're all coming from... pets? Uh, companion monsters? Are they my minions now too???
*Alert! Damage to the Lair detected! Actions recommended: Make humanoids felling the forest of your Lair cease by any means necessary.*
*Notification: New monster species now call users Lair home: Jotun, Gyger, Nokk, Draugr, Gast, Northern Troll, Huldr.*
*Servant's Bond established with the new monster species*
Servant's Bond? What is that? Is that some sort of Minion thing? I suddenly feel aware of the Huldrs state of mind. A mix of tiredness, cold and hunger.
*A Servants Bond is an advanced form of the Minion status. It is used to gain control over strong monsters who are weaker than you. It is more or less a form of employers agreement that in return for some power, the weaker monster follows your command. Due to your Hivemind Skill, it also grants the ability to understand and be understood by your Servants, regardless of their ability to actually speak.*
So this power I'm giving them...
*Currently, you are able to bequeath one Skill of your choosing onto your Servants. It is able to be fully used, meaning that if you, for example, grant the Skill Tail Action, the Servants without tails to use this Skill with, will grow a tail.*
Hmm... I'm gonna have to think this over. I'm guessing I can grant a Skill whenever?
*Sooner the better, as the impression that you are not upholding your end of the agreement might be given if you do not.*
Ugh, I never make good decisions under pressure. Okay.
As we fly in towards the center of the forest, it seems... way bigger than when I left? But don't trees take like, tens of years to grow?
*One of your Boons, Boon of Fertility, is increasing the growth of the forest hundredfold in this time of Lair expansion. Innate World Knowledge has taken the humble liberty of shielding the area around the humanoid village from the forest growth, as it is predicted its envelopment by the forest would upset the user.*
... Good job, World Knowledge.
Now, the Skill to grant... A language Skill wouldn't be needed, as they can communicate with me... Steel Shell seems like a nice one. I'm guessing giving them Power Osmosis would be a very bad idea...
*Skills with the (Unique) tag, can not be bequeathed to Servants.*
Oh, that slims down the list quite a bit, huh. I'm guessing Unique(Species) is also out of the question?
*Correct.*
Okay! OH! I know! Teamwork!
*Will you bequeath the Skill: Teamwork (Lesser) to your Servants?*
*Yes - No*
Yes.
A tingling feeling spreads in my chest, before several tiny balls of light fly out and down into the forest. One of them flies up above me, and the Huldr's demeanor changes to one of surprise and delight.
*Skills activated: Teamwork (Lesser) and Leadership (Lesser)*
"Oh Master! What a thoughtful gift!" I hear in my head. Even though I've never heard her voice speaking, I know instinctively it's the Huldr. Going in for landing by the giant tree in the middle of the forest, I spot two boulders. Those weren't there before?
*Northern Trolls. Because of an incompatibility with life, should they retain their original abilities from your world; the deathly weakness to sunlight has instead been converted into the Stone-Forme Skill. When in direct contact with sunlight, the Northern Troll enters a state of suspension, their skin hardening like stone. This effect ends at sundown.*
Ah, the sun is just rising, so they've all gone to sleep, disguised as large boulders. They even got the moss on top and everything. I don't sense other Servants nearby, wonder where they are? Oh well.
I spot my little campfire setup. Seems it hasn't been used since I left... I decide to quickly make some food for the Huldr, seeing as she slept all day yesterday and didn't attend the big celebration. I switch into human form.
Bringing the Alberger Tortoise shell to a boil, I add some Grand Cave Whip Spider legs into it. I'm still full from the feast, so I start fiddling with setting up some sort of weaving station whilst it cooks. I have the basic layout in my head, the issue is just making it work.
The reason why I want to weave, is that although I can make woven clothes from my silk, it will count as Warped Armor, and thus be ineligible for Magic Tool making. And I want to make more Octopus Cloth!
After trying and failing for a while, I realize the issue. I simply don't have enough limbs for this. Without the ability to make the mechanical part that makes the threads change position, I'd need more arms to hold and move the parts about, whilst using my original pair to make the silk thread.
I could of course see if I could buy a mechanical loom. Or try to make it with Magic Tool Crafting. Or even just buy or trade for the cloth to make Octopus Cloth. Only issue is that I have nothing to trade, I have two Gold and fifty Silver to my name, and I have no idea how the loom would even be put together.
"Master, what are you doing?" The Huldr comes over, I completely forgot her meal! Seems she managed to fish it out herself though. She inspects my attempt at making a loom. I try to communicate how I wanted it to work via images. She nods, seeming to understand the concept.
"But how about..." She communicates her idea in images. A square frame with the threads on it, then you use a flat piece of wood to draw the thread across. Of course! I facepalm. I'm thinking much too advanced! "Ah, is... is it no good?" The Huldr misunderstands.
"AH! No no! I'm just upset at myself for not thinking simpler. My idea is much too complex for us to make on our own. Yours is perfect!" I explain. I quickly put together the frame, lining it vertically with non-sticky silk, placed evenly apart.
Now, to make the flat piece of wood. I have to try a few times before I get it the way I want it. A flat-ish stick, slightly longer than the frame is wide. Now for the first try! I spin up a good amount of thread. Not too much, or else it'll just tangle. Then, I use the flat stick to make a space, thread the silk through, alternate the vertical threads being held up with the stick, and then bring the thread back through.
The Huldr watches intently as I work. Once I finish the batch of silk thread I made, she insists on trying. I make more, and she starts weaving. Now then. I get up and stretch some. The time is around 'sun's peeking over the treetops'. Suddenly I get a notification:
*Harm to your Lair has resumed! Humanoids felling trees in your Lair! Immediate action needed!*
Wha-? I bring up an overview of my Lair. Seems to the east there's damage. The village is to the west, so they should be innocent of this...
"Huldr, I'm going to take care of something. I'll be back as soon as I can." I tell her before dashing off through the woods. I could have flown, but I much prefer to scope out a situation before going head-first into it.
As I run, I sense several Servants up ahead. Double-checking the map, they're congregating at the spot where damage is being done. I call out. "Do not harm the humanoids! Not yet at least." I get affirmative replies from each of them. They'll hold for now.
I slow down as I get close to the site of attack. It's a bit into the forest, but for all I know, they might have set up here just before the Lair started expanding. I hunker down in some shrubbery. Already, a logging site has been made. Several people man some sort of saw contraption, whilst yet more use tools to fell trees. Once the tree is down, a couple of robed fellows use magic in tandem to move the entire tree into the mouth of the saw contraption.
There's also a handful of heavily armored humanoids. I don't recognize the insignia on their armor though. It's neither from the Guild, the Parshura kingdom, or Harmekian. But the feel of these guys... No, their smell! I recognize it! They smell the same as the thieves at Minas place!
Wait, but I'm downwind from them, how can I smell them?
"Don't move." A cold, emotionless voice commands from behind. I can't see it, but I can sense something pointed at my head. "Put your hands where I can see them." I bring my hands up, slowly and steadily. I join them together at the back of my head, like in those cop shows. Let's play along for now.
I feel a gloved hand grip around my upper arm, and I'm hoisted into standing. "Move until I tell you to stop." The voice commands. I walk forwards, out of the forest and into the light of the forest clearing. "Stop." I stop a few paces from the forest edge. Whoever owns the voice walks in front of me, their hand-crossbow still trained at my head.
From just looking at it, I can tell it has the power needed to easily pierce a human skull. I'm not particularly willing to test it on my own head, though. I tell the Servants, who are getting angry at the humanoid, to stay calm just a while longer.
I quickly inspect the humanoid. An Ayvin, with a Social Title I haven't seen before; Glove of Aurellium. "Why are you here? Speak The Truth!" The Ayvin Commands. Too bad it didn't work on me. "I serve the Owner of this Lair. Leave this place immediately, or face their wrath." I tell him.
He laughs, a gruelingly slow "hoh hoh hoh". He tightens his hold on the crossbows' trigger. "I don't know how you managed to be unaffected by my Command, but I don't take kindly to liars." He seems to gain some emotion in his voice at that last part. "My Master is willing to let you leave alive i-"
I couldn't even react in time to his hand as he backhands me across the face. "Stop this nonsense, girl. We both know you are lying. The Owner of this Lair has let us set up this place unhindered. If the Owner opposed this place, then it would have made it clear even before we set up." The Ayvin hisses at me. I'm utterly stunned. The hit itself didn't hurt. I'm just more in awe that he actually did that!
Fine then. If you believe yourself so high and mighty just because you snuck in whilst I was away. I give the command to attack.
Out of the forests edge, a group of about ten monsters emerge. Several heads taller than the humanoids, skin in various shades of blue, brown and some green, with rugged, heavily muscled bodies. The Jotun, and their female counterparts, the Gyger.
Several Ice Lances are made, uprooted, and used as javelins against the armored humanoids who scramble to mount a defense. "Let those who do not resist live. Do as you please with those that resist." I instruct them. The Ayvin man looks to the commotion. "Wha- What are those?!" He turns to me, rage and... fear? glinting in his eyes, the only thing I can see beneath his full plate helm. "You! You did this! You led those monsters here!"
He aims his hand-crossbow at my head once again. "Filthy forest witch. Should have taken you out back there." He squeezes the trigger, but before he can fire, I dismantle the crossbow, and his hand, with an Earth Spike. I quickly follow up with a tap to his head, and he goes down like a sack of bricks. A little healing to stop the bleeding, some silk to restrain him, and I leave the unconscious man to aid my Servants.
I move around the battlefield, dispensing healing to those in need and restraining cowering workers with my silk. Seems the Jotun are forming the melee portion of the team, with the Gygers taking up ranged magic casting.
It's a losing battle for the humanoids. Once one of them falls, their equipment is immediately looted by one of the Jotun. Although there were over twenty armored defenders, their numbers quickly dwindle as they're beaten about by their own weaponry, and in one case, one of their comrades.
"We surrender!" The last three defenders drop their weapons and raise their hands in the air. I give the signal to cease attacking. By now I've restrained the non-combatants. Quickly wrapping the last three in silk, I instruct the Jotun and Gyger to carry the live ones back to my home.
Bodies lie scattered about, some in pieces. I move quickly and gather up the dead into storage before returning to my true form. There are too many prisoners for the Jotun and Gyger to carry back on their own, so I help out by carrying five on my back.
The last prisoner gathered up, we leave the logging area. I plan to go back for the equipment, but at the moment the priority is to take care of my "guests".
In total, I've taken twenty humanoids prisoner. Of the workers, it's roughly half-and-half humans and Beast-folk. The robed fellows are all Photian, apparently, whilst the four surviving armored men are Ayvin.
Seems this Aurellium organization is divided into groups. Nearly all the workers belong to "Palm of Aurellium", the mages are members of "Index of Aurellium", whilst the armored ones are all belonging to the "Glove of Aurellium". So I'm guessing the whole thing is referred to as "the Hand of Aurellium".
The Huldr abandons her weaving as she hears us approaching. I quickly explain the situation as the Jotun unload the five prisoners off my back. She nods. "But if they offended you Maser, why let them live?" She asks.
"Well, for one, I'd like to gather some information from them." I tell her, having switched into human form again. "Secondly, at least a few of these people are bound to not be here of their own free will." I motion towards the workers. Their faces are gritted in various grimaces of fear and horror.
"Besides, I'm pretty sure that if we start killing humanoids willy-nilly, a quest for our subjugation would be posted before long." I look the Hudlr in the eyes. "I don't want to put you in danger, any of you." I say as I look to the Jotun and Gyger. I sense admiration and gratitude from all of them.
"But from what I understand, and pardon me if I'm wrong, these humanoids are criminals?" The biggest of the Jotun speaks. His voice in my mind is a deep, powerful one. "That is true, and once I'm done with them, I'll deliver them to the nearby village where they will be dealt with by their own." I tell him.
I glance at the captives, they're exchanging looks of... glee? As if I'm being a fool for thinking of delivering them to the proper authorities? Hm... Now then.
I approach the still unconscious Ayvin that hit me. I grab him by the silk bindings and haul him into my cave, leaving my Servants to tend the other captives. I'll start with you, since if I fuck up, I'll not be sad if you die.
My plan is to extract information via Hivemind. From the Skill description, it can be risky for the one being bonded to, so this expendable one will be a test. Here's hoping him being unable to consent to this because he's unconscious means I can go right ahead with it. (~Consent is way cool, yo. No means no.~)
I activate Hivemind, and Remote Body Control for good measure. Reaching out, I attempt the bond. Some resistance... as if there was someone else there... I focus on the unconscious Ayvin. A single band of magic, originating from his helmet? Oh right.
I quickly undo the bindings and strip the man to his undies. I then tie him back up, noting the many scars covering his body, particularly around his wrists and ankles... I try to ignore them. Now then, let's try that again. This time there's no resistance... I'll have to look into that armor. I give the order to remove the helmets off the three others and cover them with something for now.
*Hivemind bond successful. Remote Body Control active, bonded's Self is suppressed*
Excellent.
Focusing inwards on my temporary second body, I access the memories of this man. They come like a movie, chronologically. Even his birth is here! Eugh. I skip forward. Tough childhood, motherless by three, fatherless by five. Taken in by a band of bandits, toughening up and becoming a capable fighter.
Recruited to the Aurellium by twenty, torturous training until twenty five... Ah, here we go! Aurellium is run by the "Undead Noble" Aurellium, a person who supposedly has lived for over 500 years. In addition to the groups I already know of, there's the Thumb-, Middle-, Ring-, Little- and Dagger of Aurellium, with Aurellium themselves being the Wrist. Each of them have different duties and specializations.
Seems the ones I encountered at Minas' were from the Little, they do theft in addition to debt collection on the orders of the Ring, who handle loans. The Thumb are craftsmen, making forgeries and tools to help the other groups. The Middle are corrupt guards and officials... I see... Lastly, the Dagger of Aurellium are the assassins. I bet some of those are gonna come for me for this, huh.
This also confirmed what I was suspecting. The Palm are workers, willing or forced to work in order to pay off their debt, used to operate illegal schemes like this harvesting of magic infused wood to be sold on the black market. The Index are mages, used together with the other groups to assist with anything that needs magic. The Glove are there to defend the other groups when there's a risk of attack by monsters.
I unfocus myself from his memories. It's slightly disorienting at first, being in two bodies. Much different from using Body Double, since there's... someone else in one of the bodies, not just me. Okay, I have the info I want. I undo the bonding. The Ayvin startles awake.
"Wh- Where?" He blurts. Seeming to gather himself again, he notices that he is tied up, in his undies, and face to face with the "witch" he tried to kill. A defiant look comes over him. "Tough luck if you think you'll get anything out of me, witch." Oh, from what I saw, you were trained to withstand torture, weren't you? "I already have all the information I need. Now, I suggest you tell me the simplest way for me to deal with you lot."
He responds with a confused stare. I can almost see the "???" in his mind. He looks down to think things over. "How?" He finally asks. "I bonded my mind to yours and rifled through your memories. It was quite enlightening." I answer. He turns a neat shade of white.
"Impossible! No human can do that!" He yells, his voice almost breaking from fear. "Oh, but I'm not human, though." I rise from my place in front of him and take a few steps backwards. Reverting to my true form, I notice a distinct smell of... urine?
I look down upon the trembling man in front of me. Wow, you were all high and mighty just half an hour ago, and now you're pissing yourself at the sight of me? "Forgive me! I didn't know! If I knew, I-" "Silence" I Command. His words get caught in his throat as his mouth clamps shut.
Oh I'm all giddy from your reaction though! My face contorts into a gleeful grimace. I can just imagine what it would feel like to peel-
No! No! We're not doing that! I vigorously shake my head to clear my mind of those horrid thoughts.
"Now then. I will allow you to Speak." I tell him as I switch back to human form. "So tell me, what will happen to all of you if I deliver you to the nearby village?" He thinks for a moment. Seems he has decided co-operation is the best course of action for now?
"We will be taken to the capital to be tried. On the way there, the transport will be waylaid by members of Little, Index and Glove, and us captives will be freed and put back to work after appropriate punishment for failing has been delivered. Those of the Palm that are indebted will be executed." As he finishes, he exhales a shaky breath of relief.
"Even if the waylaying fails, members of the Middle will see to it that most of us, mainly Index and Glove, are given light sentences or allowed to escape." "So you mean, letting you live will just result in you getting to go free to continue committing crime?" His eyes widen, and he looks at me with horrified eyes.
"Please!" He pleads. "Once you're a member of any part of Aurellium, they only let you go if you die! Even keeping us here will eventually lead the Dagger right to you!" His tone... Is he worried for me? I think this must be a record speed Stockholm Syndrome! (~A syndrome of the mind where someone who has been kidnapped starts empathizing and caring for the kidnapper, first widely known after a hostage situation at a bank in the Swedish capital~)
"So, you're saying, you lot are better off dead?" I ask him. He hesitates for a moment. "I take that as a yes." I go to drag him out of the cave.
Hey World Knowledge, is there any way I can... save these people?
*The way this Skill interprets that question, yes. However, the user would have to commit to breaking several taboos in the process. The user would also need to acquire these Skills and Spells:
- Gravelord (Lesser - Unique(Lindorm))
- Bonds of Gleipnir (Lesser - Unique(Forest King))
- Death (Lesser)
- True Raise (Lesser)*
So I would need to find and defeat a Lindorm and a Forest King, as well as find out which monsters have the Spells Death and True Raise... All before the Dagger of Aurellium finds this place. I mean, I'm pretty sure the Dagger wouldn't be able to kill me, but the others...
*Lindorms are Death aligned Pseudo-Dragonoids, a Forest King is the final evolutionary stage of a Bristle Wolf. The Death Spell is carried by some Undead, but the most reliable source would be a mid-tier Death Dragon. The Lindorm carries True Raise.*
... It's as if you really want me to go through with this, huh. I wonder if it's actually what's-their-name... Nychta, speaking.
*...*
*The proper usage of these Skills and Spells would allow you to bind the Soul to the body, before inducing death and resurrection, creating an Undead with its original mind intact.*
I finish dragging the Ayvin back to the rest of the captives. Oh right, I forgot his armor... Oh well. Actually, let's do something about that. I move slightly out of sight from the humanoids, and retrieve the bodies of the fallen.
Roughly twenty corpses lie before me. It's a bit hard to tell for sure, as some of them are in pieces. I enlist some of the Gyger in the task of undressing the corpses. Even though it is soaked through in blood, cloth is cloth. Inspecting their helmets, seems it's Warped Armor with some sort of knock off Hivemind enchantment on it.
I break the helmets apart. Once reduced to scraps of metal, the enchantment stops working. I do the same to the four other helmets as well. I then put the rest of the armor into storage for now. Taking the clothing I looted off of the corpses, I plan on making more Octopus Cloth. Not just for the one Ayvin male, but for all the Jotun and Gyger.
In true Goblinoid fashion, they're walking about commando. And honestly, it's kind of awkward to talk to them when their equipment is so... prominent...
As I set down to begin making the Cloth, the Gyger get to work with the bodies. I instruct them to crush the head, and to not feed any of the meat to the captives. What can I say, it'd be a waste of meat in the eyes of the monstrous Jotun and Gyger. I don't plan on eating any myself though.
Before long, the smell of roasted meat fills the air. The captives shift uncomfortably, do they know what's cooking? I look up from my second bolt of Octopus Cloth. The Huldr is sitting beside me, humming pleasantly as she weaves. "Don't worry, we won't give you any of that. I'll prepare something for you to eat later." I tell them.
Judging by the sudden paleness of them, I must have confirmed their worst fears. "Why? Why do you do this?!" One of the robed ones cry out. "Are we just fresh meat? Kept alive so it doesn't spoil as fast?!" "Hush! She's-" The Ayvin man begins to say, before all the captives start making a ruckus, clearly frightened out of their minds at the words of the robed one.
"Silence." I Command. They all shut up immediately. "Let me explain a few things. You will not become food, unless you do something dumb and get yourself killed." I get up and walk in front of them, their eyes are all on me. "We will not give you the meat of your dead comrades."
"I might even let you free of your bonds if you behave nicely, we'll see about that part later. But I will care for you as long as you are my captives. You can Speak now, but don't be loud please." I look them over. One of them meekly asks "What will you do with us then, if you'll not eat us?" "I'm still mulling that over. So far, it seems that no matter what I do, I won't be satisfied with the outcome."
A quiet murmur goes through the group.
World Knowledge, where would I find the monsters I need?
*Beneath the flower field you visited on the way here, there might be a Lindorm nest. They prefer areas like that. You might also find a flower with the Death Spell there. The Forest King usually roams ancient forests where humanoids fear to tread. No Forest King lives in your Lair, but the Illomen Forest might have one.*
I'm not liking the distances... I'll be able to get to the flower field and back in less than a day, but the Illomen Forest is too far I fear. I don't want to leave the captives alone for too long... I might just have to let these people go. I suppose if I escort the transport I'll be able to get more of them captured... And the more people, the harder it will be for the Middle of Aurellium to get them all free...
I notice the Huldr looking at me with worry. Did my thoughts leak to her? "Master is too kind... You shouldn't be so concerned for them." She tells me. I feel almost scolded. I suppose she's right though... I guess I'll just go with the "Escort the prisoners to the capital" plan then... But having those Skills could probably come in handy some day.
I've decided. Tomorrow morning we'll take the captives to the village, then I'll escort them to the capital! I finish the current Octopus Cloth, then spend until sundown preparing food for the humanoids.