Vol. 2, Ch. 102: Like a Snake in the Grass
If there were two things Neska took to heart, it was that there was something new to learn every day, and to be prepared for anything.
Right now, she had no idea what to expect: it wasn't normal for the Varadur to take an interest in old, abandoned mines. Gorovich detailed what they knew from covert flyovers by griffin mounts, without drawing too much attention to the forward scouts. The goblins and hobgoblins were camping out the now-abandoned mana crystal mine.
She asked about the mine's history and what they knew of it. She learned that the creatures had previously held the position five years prior, during the last attempted assault on Rivilat. It lined up with what Brent had mentioned before: that attack had failed spectacularly, and they had lost thousands of members and a few Instance cores in the process.
She'd hoped the Instance cores were rare, and that was true so far, to an extent. Brent likened them to reality-altering monsters that provided ideal growth and training areas for monsters to evolve at an accelerated rate.
She wondered if they left something behind in the mine, as a contingency Something worth risking crossing the holding lines and exposing themselves to a massive pincer movement from the Valos military.
The numbers were just guesses, but dozens, possibly low hundreds of goblins and hobgoblins. They also theorized the goblins might have their mounts, the wargs. The quadruped beasts with sharp fangs and an almost were extremely aggressive and would charge at speed, and were very tough to take down when running at full tilt.
As for the goblins themselves, they were a low-tier capped species, something Neska hadn’t realized before. Not every species could reach Tier 5. Most only reached Tier 3 or 4, depending on the species.
Yet, hers could go up to the sixth tier? Maybe more tiers were waiting to be discovered, something between Tier Five and something equivalent to the Divine Beasts. Or maybe Tier Six was at the level of the Beasts.
She still had four more tiers to go, and over a hundred and forty levels, if Kalloway’s guess proved correct, before she needed to start worrying about that existential crisis.
Gorovich also briefed the group about the terrain, expectations, and possible hazards. Goblins were typically a low threat, but that didn't mean they couldn't be dangerous with primitive weapons or crude alchemical mixtures. The major also called out the teams, and she was not surprised, even slightly relieved, when she learned she'd be paired with Trevor, Brent, Hadley, and a new person named Roche.
She turned her head to examine the young, barrel-chested male who'd nodded at the team roster. He was clad in a brigandine and large metal pauldrons covering his shoulders. He wore a perpetual expression of calm. He looked like a walking fortress, maybe filling in as a tank or initiator role? That was a hard job for just about anyone, where your one goal was to draw as much attention as possible from the most dangerous foe.
Syra pouted at the arrangements, but Juni gave her a polite smile and a pat on the shoulder that seemed to break her mood. They were paired with Sarisse and another girl she didn’t recognize, who wore leather armor and carried multiple light blades on her vest and hip. Maybe a rogue or hunter of some kind? She seemed cheery enough.
She just hoped ‘cheery’ translated to ‘monster murdering machine’ when the threat level of their foes increased.
There was little fanfare, and most of the banter and discussion dried up. Neska felt a tightening around her chest now: there was real danger, and real threats encroaching on the valley.
Everyone at this point was either killed by the Varadur, in the case of the Awakened, or had friends or family members slain by these monsters. Everyone was itching to settle the score. "With nothing further, we are adjourned. Stay sharp, everyone," Gorovich declared. "Watch out for your squad members, and don't freeze; fall back on your training in the face of the unexpected. You do that, and the odds of everyone coming home alive are way higher. Divines be with you."
They proceeded out of the massive steel gate without any fanfare, but a few people gathering for their trip to the markets and the early risers peered with awe. Children running to their primary school waved and squealed with joy as they saw the assembly of Awakened and humanoid academy members headed out.
Neska saw a little girl no more than six, waving to her. “Go cast some spells on the bad monsters, snake lady! Make them run home!” she cheered.
She felt a tingle on her cheeks, but continued slithering forward, easily keeping up to the horses moving at a brisk pace. “I’ll make sure I do! We all will!” The girl’s smile was infectious, and a few other children also waved as they departed along the main road, then turned north, skirting around the base of the plateau and the cliffs.
Neska could hear the sound of large birds screeching in the cliffs above, and the memory of that harrowing scrabble against the Roc was still bleeding fresh. Syrona chose to coil around her neck until they were well clear of the area, and the sun began rising over the hills in the east.
Apparently, she, too, needed snugs on occasion.
For most of the trip, they rode in wagons. Those with wings glided a short distance above, but they were warned not to rise beyond a certain height or risk being spotted by Varadur lookouts. Neska herself continued slithering alongside one of the carts, with Juni riding her shoulder. Brent spoke idly to their other teammate, Roche, who despite being massive, had a rather quiet tone, and reserved.
They had a way to travel, and at least she could take in the sights as they traversed north through the valley. Eventually, the denser settlements gave way to sparse cottages and larger farms, with a slowly increasing density of woodlands, growing thicker and taller as they followed the road north.
There was a mix of trees in the woodlands, including elm, oak, hardy pines, and other conifers. Ever present were the mountains of the west, exposed granite surfaces giving each of them a distinguished look.
“You keep looking around a lot. It's just the valley.”
Neska turned to look at Roche's muted expression, a blade strapped to his back, along with several daggers, plus a hand crossbow. He was huge, as tall as her at her resting height, but spoke so quietly. Cropped blonde hair rode high on his head, and his eyes reminded her of cornflowers.
“Roche, right?” she asked. “You haven't said much."
"I speak when I need to." The boy nodded. “You’re Cassia, right? Sorry, we haven’t worked before. Most of my training has been with the garrison soldiers. Gotten a good thrashing or three by the Sergeant, but I always get up when someone knocks me down.”
“Doesn’t getting knocked down mean you failed?” Juni asked.
“Nah. See, the difference between not getting knocked down and picking yourself up over and over, no matter what your opponent throws at you? It's all in the head.”
He used a whetstone to sharpen a knife, then tested it by gently shaving the light colored hair just above his knuckles. He nodded in satisfaction. “You don’t fear the man who never falls. You fear the man who will always get back up and smile when your best efforts can’t keep him down.”
“What’re you talking about? I knocked you down a few times,” Brent said, frowning. "Of course, I had to use some savvy skills like a sonic blast to ring your bell pretty good.”
“You were exhausted by the time you did, and Corvin called it a draw.” The boy’s voice remained flat, though Neska heard a twinge of amusement in his voice. Brent’s reaction was to fold his arms, growling and staring down at Roche.
Trevor shied away from Brent just a little, as if he didn’t want to get between the two. He was focused on something he’d been crafting–a rune schematic in a notebook. The wagon was a bit unsteady, and he had to wipe away his graphite tool’s markings on occasion.
“So, I presume you've specialized in defensive and area control?” Neska asked casually. “A bastion defense, like the vanguard class?” She’d only gotten a brief description from Hadley, currently talking to Jurik in a low tone at the front of the cart.
“Nah. That’s all natural stubbornness,” he said, never turning his gaze away from Brent. It almost looked as if they were in a staring contest, with Brent continuing to scrunch in concentration. “Though, I guess stubborn can come in more than one form.”
“He’s a walking fortress. I’ve seen it,” Brent answered finally. “Hope you’re good with the sword and board.”
“What board?” Juni asked. “He hasn’t got a shield.”
Roche smiled politely. “See, most people think all the warrior classes haven’t got a lick of ‘real’ magic. That’s not true. It’s just more subtle than other classes. Just like our wolf here can do a blast of sonic damage and has uncanny dodging down to an art. For me, nothing gets past me when I call their attention. I shout real loud, and everyone hostile to us attacks me first.”
“That could be a bad thing,” Neska murmured. She glanced around and saw Kasfew landing on a tree limb ahead of the cart, peering down at her with keen interest. “Wait, any hostility?”
Roche watched the fiery avian perched above them, picking his claws as if he were bored with them now. “Hostility can be fairly easy to read; It’s an Interface thing. If you've gotten abilities that use it, you can focus your will to designate hostiles. Anyway, cover my back, and don’t get in front of me, if you don’t want to be smashed to scaly bits.”
She couldn’t argue with that. Given her skills of late, fighting at the front was not her strongest move set. “Fair warning, if I hit you with any venom or bite you, trust me on this: it’ll be to save your life."
“Huh?”
“Don’t dwell on it. I have weird powers.” She left the boy stumped for an answer, with Trevor looking perturbed and Brent howling with laughter.
“You enjoy weirding people out,” Juni said candidly, now walking alongside her.
“I don’t think I always did. Getting reborn into a snake tends to have unpredictable results.” Based on the feeling she got from Roche, she didn’t sense any hostility toward the Awakened–a significant trait she looked for when evaluating who to trust. She’d have to observe his moveset fully to see where she could synergize with him.
She was still working on how to synergize with Brent with his movespeed and scouting. Maybe he could plant out those genesis seeds early on and spring traps? She didn’t necessarily need to be the one to plant them; either in the ground or in foes through her projectiles. Brent's speed complemented her somewhat slower abilities like the root hex, though even that had grown more responsive as the skill ranks increased.
Right now, she was spreading a few of Brienne's seeds around and using her [Verdant Weave] ability to germinate them. Brienne would be pleased to find that out. Neska had no idea how widespread her power could be, and must have a limit.
The sun continued to rise, and they continued until it was well overhead. The forest grew denser, and she saw more mountains to their north and west; they’d made good progress through the day.
But they didn’t reach their destination in a single day. The valley was vast, and this forest was still interspersed with large meadows and occasional fields, and crossed by small bridges set over a few dry streambeds. Rain hadn’t been very plentiful of late.
Eventually, at sundown, they set up camp in a clearing within the woods.
All the fliers were instructed not to fly too high, even at night. The Varadur could still be on the lookout, and likely were aware that something was amiss with the initial scouting griffin squads. Neska let Syrona stretch her wings, but told her to stay close. The familiar didn’t stray far, and Neska continued working on the link. Hopefully, this little fluffy critter could act as a proper scout when going into unfamiliar or dangerous terrain, and there were far fewer hazards in the air.
She focused on observing through Syrona's eyes by keeping her own eyes closed; right now, it was the easiest way to peer around with her familiar, Syrona, bank left. Can you snoop on the big orange bird sitting with Corvin’s squad? The one who was rude to you?
She felt a subtle mental nod as the familiar banked around and nestled on a tree branch, overlooking the bird. Neska had no illusion that Kasfew was aware of her familiar, and was proven so when he cast a leering glare over his shoulder, eyes burning orange in the dim light. No campfires were allowed, only the glow of small magical lanterns, which were not nearly as intense a source of light.
“I see you, mobile meal,” Kasfew threatened. Hearing it from Syrona secondhand, his voice was a bit distorted, and there seemed to be a slight delay between his beak moving and hearing the words.
“Divines, Kasfew, you hate snakes with a passion! Just let it go!” the ice-tinged avian girl smacked his shoulder wing, which he squawked at audibly. The girl turned around, looking at Syrona. “I think that little booger is cute.”
“It’s watching me. Lurking. Waiting to sink its fangs into me! And that giant snake that birthed it!”
Mood. There was no procreation on my part. Syrona opened and closed her mouth several times, exposing her fangs, and trilled when Noricatu peered at her.
The girl let out a giggle. “Sure, Kasfew, death by snugs would be a bad way to go. I think you’re jealous.”
“I am not!”
Neska tried not to laugh at the absurdity of this. Was Kasfew just…afraid of her? Or maybe he was jealous. She couldn’t imagine why that would be. He had an elite family, standing, friends in high places…what could she possibly have that he didn’t?
Friends and decency?Vivi, that’s not very nice. Those can be acquired. Possibly by forceful snugs.
There’s a difference between snugs and strangulation, Neska. They’re only separated by pounds of force.“He’s so jealous,” another student chimed in. Neska coaxed Syrona to focus on a girl wearing armor that looked like it could topple her, given its bulk. She was currently loading up bolts in a magazine-fed crossbow. The student checked the device’s components, as if looking for wear, then tugged at the drawstring. "Didn't your mother ever tell you to be nice to animals?"
“I will set your sleeping bag on fire, Maxine.”
“Bite me, blazing chicken.”
Syrona let out a deflating hiss and flapped back over to Neska. She opened her eyes to see the snake practically dive onto her shoulder, then slid over to Juni, wrapping around her unexpectedly and nuzzling on the mouse’s shoulder.
“Go away, Syrona, you’re stealing my body warmth,” Juni grumbled from her sleeping bag. “Neska, your pet is like you; she's a heat hog.”
“Nonsense. There’s no relation between snakes and boars.”
“Keep telling jokes. We have a whole lot of Varadur we’re going to be dealing with tomorrow, so keep that in mind.” Juni raised one finger to make a point, unwilling to rise from her prone position.
She had a point. They needed to be well rested for the task ahead. Hadley and Jurik had come around to indicate to the two squads that they would be rising about an hour before first light.
She tried to get some rest, but instead, her mind wandered; she spent the entire time mapping strategies. Planning.
She was focused on finding the best outcomes. Outcomes that left goblins dead and her team alive. The more outcomes that her team survived, the better. Eventually, she drifted off to rest, coiled tightly, and using part of her body as a cushion.
At least the blankets came lamia-sized.
She woke up the next morning feeling stiff after Hadley nudged her awake. “Hey, we’re about to leave in twenty minutes. Better grab your gear; we’re only about a few hours away from the quarry,” she said, showing her a map illuminated by a small glow lantern in her hand.
“How come you haven’t woken the others?”
“You’re the first. Anyway, I’m showing you our path. We’re going in on the eastern flank, with Juni’s squad.” Neska took the map in hand, which had small approximations for terrain. It would suffice, for now. “What do you think?”
“I think Gorovich is right. I think they wouldn’t spend this much time and effort, not to mention risk, just for a couple of mana crystals. Something else is going on.” Neska tapped her snout gently, peering at the map. “I want to come in from the northeast, flank around. There’s an elevation on that side we can use as cover. Give us a good vantage point. We can’t send flyers out there, not without letting them know we’re there.”
“Good call. Did you get any rest?”
“Not enough, probably.” But it would have to do. Hadley went to wake the others, and the other squad leads were following suit. In ten minutes, everyone was up, eating rations as applicable. Neska didn’t like the idea of dried egg, but here it was.
The field ration wasn't terrible, and her sense of taste was muted, at best. But she was totally raiding the nearest henhouse from the nearby farms when she got the chance. The chicken could pay for their right to live unharassed by offering her a bounty of eggs
A few hours later, they’d arrived and had to make a wide circle around the quarry, keeping to the forest and keeping it well out of sight. A few of the infiltrator teams coordinated on the lapels to let them know where enemy Varadur were, without specifying anything other than ‘goblins’.
When Neska peered over the edge of the cliff overlooking the quarry, well out of range of the goblins milling about, she frowned. “Hey, since when do Goblins care about a steam-based automaton, and why are they drilling a giant hole through the rocks?”
Whatever they were after, she knew something horrifying was likely down there.