Master of the Hoard - Chapter 26 (Patreon)

“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near one.” – J.R.R. Tolkien

Once my pent up annoyance had dissipated, I started thinking about exactly what I needed to do over the next couple of days. There was a lot of literature out there on being a leader, and I actively loathed most of what I'd read. It usually applied only to very theoretical situations or sounded like somebody with no practical experience whatsoever. I'd love to take one of those "The leader's most vital task is to inspire and foster an inclusive workplace" morons and have him survive a week on a work site. The only thing I'd really taken to me from the handful of books I'd subjected myself to over the years was that a leader ought to work to make those under him able to think for themselves. Optimally, a couple of weeks without the leader should work as flawlessly as if he were there. Except for the big things, obviously.

With my domain currently filled with three different hostile races, one of whom wanted to slay and eat the other two, that was not happening anytime soon. However, when I got to the planning, I realised that I'd already come quite far when it came to delegating. The Talpi were used to working on their own, and as long as we agreed on the path, I could trust them to stay the course and do their job. The Crawls? Yeah, we'd see.

I started constructing the Shadow Tower I had promised near the entrance tunnels. The morning after, before we left, I constructed another one on the opposite side of the first one. That should give us enough defenses to ensure that random roving monsters would not be able to take down the workers who stayed behind.

In the meantime, except for supervising and learning from the workers, I really didn't have much to fill my own plate. That's why I decided to get started with the single task I'd been postponing for a while now. Training the Clenchers.

I stood outside their enclosure taking deep breaths. Okay, sure, they were ravening beasts who wanted nothing more than to tear me apart. It wasn't any worse than that time where I had to oversee a crew of hardened criminals for a month for that workplace program. Right? I mean how hard could this be?

By now, the Clenchers knew what was going to happen when I opened the Stone Door. Nobody even tried to charge me anymore, like they had attempted the first times. They knew that they were going to be weakened once again and had resigned themselves to the experience and were accustomed to my presence.

My Weakening Fog filled the enclosure, enveloping the surviving five beasts in the draining mist. All but one. I ignored the rest of them, staring straight at the remaining Clencher while I walked closer. The male looked sideways at his pack mates who, one and all, decided not to move - and then he sprang at me. This time, I deliberately did not weaken him. I did not use magic or my stun skills to beat him down, even though everything inside me screamed for me to do something.  Instead, I set my feet, took his charge and, with a few seconds of scrabbling, stopped him cold. Calmly watching his growling face right before mine, I guided him toward the ground, while I sent mental messages at him to "Relax. Shh."

It shouldn't have been so easy - but it really was. My increased size made a huge difference, both strength-wise and balance-wise. With my Agility going through the roof, I even managed a fancy half-slide to the side, so his head-on charge was more off-center. And the impact on the other Clenchers was undeniable. Once down, I placed my paws on top of the male, keeping him down with my bulk alone, while I gave the rest of the animals a challenging stare. There were no takers. Fortunate, since the bones in the Clencher's side had shifted, trapping my front paws. While I kept up the constant calming messages to the Clencher, I lowered my neck toward his growling, slobbering head, pushed his head out of the way and bit down on his neck. Not hard enough to really cause damage, but hard enough to break the skin. Seems even my teeth have been upgraded from what they were before given they parted his flesh so easily. The taste of blood mingled with his ugly stench, almost overpowered my senses. He still resisted, growling, tossing and turning, but there was no escape for him. Within a few seconds, he relaxed and his head slumped to the ground, defenseless. The bones in his body unclenched and released my paws, but I stayed there, making my point - and then I took a couple of steps back and waited.

The bulky beast slowly clambered to his feet, growling at me all the while. He gathered himself, body tense like a spring, shivering with fury. I simply looked straight at him, ready for his charge, while I kept up my calming messages. I didn't care much about the words I sent at this moment, focusing more on making him get used to my presence and my "speech". Did I know what I was doing? No. I was simply extrapolating from my spotty knowledge of dog training and whatever movies and books on the topic I'd devoured over the years. I also put a lot of faith in my size and race making a difference. Shit was I ever nervous on the inside. Good thing he couldn't pick up on my churning emotions since I didn’t know for sure if this would work or not.

The initial confrontation proved the most difficult part of the session. I chased the male out of the enclosure with prods and pokes. I ended up spending almost two hours, trying to teach him to obey. I didn't have much hope that the training would be easy or perfect. Domesticating a wild animal could only be... interesting. The first session proved me right. He tried to run off twice and once, when I turned my back on him, he did take the chance to jump me. His attack was the only part I punished with violence. For the remaining part, I tried to get him accustomed to my voice and obeying my commands. So ended my first training session with the Clencher. Should get easier from here on out. Right?

It was a diverse group that left the premises to take out the Salamanders. Sixteen in total - four Crawls for carrying, a few scouts and the rest were builders, except for Creziel. Arthor still doubted my claims that I would be able to handle it as bloodlessly as I promised, but he had admitted that it sounded feasible. There weren't that many of the regulars in our group - they had taken my comment to heart that we should ensure that everybody leveled. Hence, a lot of the Talpi walking near me were the ones who, when given a choice, preferred to stay safe at home. I would have liked to spend some time getting to know the no-names, but there was really just one important part of our plan and that one had to be flawless.

I was happy Creziel decided to join us. He might not enjoy the idea, but I really liked him for his mind, and he would be ever so much more helpful if he managed to gain a few additional levels. On top of that, watching him slowly come out of his shell was pretty amazing. Currently, he was lecturing Aelis on water pressure. Aelis took it stoically, like everything else. I did catch the occasional whiff of confusion from her - she was clearly not used to Creziel having an opinion or know exactly what he was talking about.

I decided to cut the lecture short. "Do you know a good place for the ambush?"

Aelis shook her head. "My pardon, Sire, I do not. We know our surroundings rather well, but not that well. There are a handful of places that may suit our purposes, but we will need to look closer."

Creziel added in, "If I may? If there are no good spots, we’ll make one. The details are there for us to feel, always. We just need to take the time to focus and feel what's in there." He brushed the stone at his side, smiling. "After receiving that profession of yours, the earth has never been clearer to hear. Once it was a murky soup, like fishing pebbles from mud. Now, however, the details are right there, like fishing the pebbles from a clear stream."

The walk flew by. I asked Creziel his opinions on the Farm and future constructions, and suddenly a handful of hours had passed and we were there. Oblivious, I kept on speaking. "So, since you’re new to farming, we will have to learn along the way which plants that grow are weeds and which are edible, I guess? I believe we should-"

"Sire."

The word made me look in front of me, and I recognized the place. We had reached the dead-end cave where we had spied on the Salamanders, weeks before. It felt like the distant past already. I nudged the rock to the side, revealing the tableau beyond. Yup. Still a fringe of hell, with scaly creatures bathing in lava. I grinned. "Good. Aelis - do you think we can widen this opening a bit? And where do you think the Salamanders would appear if they were to attack us?

She nodded. "The wall is structurally sound, so it should be a matter of minutes, even without Creziel." Turning around, she pointed to the right, further down the corridor we hadn't explored yet. "The path leads down to their area a bit further on. If you look down at the Salamanders, that rubble-filled incline in the back leads up to the tunnel system and, eventually, to us."

Better and better. "So if I manage to annoy them, we should have a good head start?"

"At least five minutes. They are slow. We do not, however, know if they have any further elemental powers, apart from the incineration."

"Good.” I ignored the jitters that were appearing in the pit of my stomach. “Now, Creziel. Please tell me that you've found a good spot."

The tiny Talpus stood straight, puffing up his chest. The circle surrounding his eye made him look like a particularly proud butler, but I wasn't going to tell him... ever. "I have. We will have to backtrack for five minutes or so. The earth around here is burnt to a crisp."

Shortly thereafter, I squinted at the long, straight tunnel wall leading to a long, slow incline. "Are you sure about this, Aelis?"

She nodded. "It will be no issue at all. We have created collapsing traps several times over and they rarely ever malfunction. We will excavate a spot in the side of the tunnel for Creziel and myself. That is where we will remain, hidden, until the Salamanders have passed us by. Then Creziel will spring the trap and collapse the walls to block their way back." She smiled. "If you feel nervous, Sire, you are welcome to use your Camouflage skill on us. Then there will be less chance for them to detect us."

I nodded. "Alright. Then we just have to prepare the welcome committee at the other end. I do apologize that this will not gain either of you any experience."

Aelis bowed low. "Talpi know of expedience. This looks like the wisest choice."

Creziel added, with a tiny smile. "It is. Besides, since we've met you, we have both gained enough levels for half a regular lifetime. We do not feel we are being cheated."

We walked the length of the tunnel. It was a narrow thing, but with a tall ceiling - all natural, with no sign that anybody had ever passed by. The terrain rose slowly, not enough to really call it an incline, but enough to feel the difference. A few hundred feet down the passage, I loitered, observing the rest of the Talpi at work. Again, I marvelled at the ease with which they worked earth. Their paws seemed to carve straight through the hard-packed earth, pulling deep furrows into the floor of the tunnel. I spoke up for the benefit of everybody. "Alright, pay attention. We have whatever time we need to finish. Our scouts are in place, so we do not need to worry about being surprised - should somebody arrive, we'll simply pull back and return later. Now, what we want is for the tunnel floor to have a slight decline when we're done instead of having it going softly uphill like it does now. On top of that, we will want a decent platform here at the end, so we can watch the Salamanders approach in relative safety. For that, we need to dig about... Creziel?"

"Two heights down. Maybe an arm-span more. I will be able to sense it, when we are finished."

"Yeah. Also, we want to make the final climb here where we dig as steep as possible. From what I could tell, I am maybe twice the height of the Salamanders. If we can make the slope steep enough that they are unable to reach us, everything will be perfect."

One of the builders spoke up. "We can use some of the earth we remove to add to the height of the climb."

"Great idea. Creziel, will you have enough energy left to harden the edges of the slope, so they can't just claw it down to size?"

He kicked at the dirt at his feet, then nodded. "That should be possible."

The next hours went by at a glacial pace. The Talpi worked in silence and looked like they were enjoying themselves. The terrain slowly changed into what we needed. I helped where they asked, typically dragging away heavier rocks that Creziel would otherwise be needed to destroy. I deposited half the rocks back at the overlook and half near the platform, slowly building myself quite an arsenal of different sized rocks. At a certain point, I had to admit to myself that I was over compensating. At best, I'd be able to lob a handful of rocks at the Salamanders before they attacked, and I had just half packed the cave with rocks behind me. I spent half an hour observing the Salamanders to see if there was anything else I could gleen about them. The creatures looked rather lethargic as they moved about down there, sometimes relaxing on the rocks next to the slow-moving magma, sometimes plopping down for a swim in the lethal waters. Their heat resistance must be something else. To my surprise, it didn't look like they actually consumed anything - there were no skeletal remains of any kind, and for as long as I looked, they just seemed to relax, sleep and sometimes engage in play fights against each other. Size... was difficult to measure. They were a long way down and the heat haze and possibly lethal gases covering their cave system dimmed my view. There were twelve of them, all told.

At some point, Aelis moved up behind me. "Milord. We are ready."

The difference in the terrain when I re-entered the tunnel was staggering. As for the tunnel floor itself, it still looked like the original tunnel, hard-packed and unbroken, even though the Talpi had just spent hours working on it. If I squinted I thought I was able to see a slight decline now, instead of the earlier incline, which was just what we planned. The end farthest away from the Salamander cave, however, now stopped at a ten-foot vertical wall with a good-sized platform on top. I tried climbing up the wall. It was not too difficult. With my size, I was able to get most of my upper body up and simply scramble the rest of the way. I checked, and noticed that my hind claws had not removed a lot of material from the side of the platform.

I turned around to see the Talpi gathered below, staring at me in anticipation. I gave them a huge grin. "This is excellent work. Who is ready for gaining a few levels?"

Thankfully, they kept their voices down, but the fire in their eyes was clear to see as well as the enthusiasm that poured off of them. Mixed in was a measure of eagerness, and a decent dose of apprehension. That was to be expected, though. These were the ones who had elected to stay behind on earlier forays and they had not felt the increases to their own bodies except for what they had received from the feast. I grinned again, asking "Is everybody armed?" I didn't really need to ask. Every single Talpus had their pouches, bags and sometimes their shirts stuffed full of rocks. The assent that came in from everyone was confidence-inspiring though. "Great. Now, remember. I don't need you to aim well. You don't need to do any damage either - just make sure you hit as many of them as possible. Every single Salamander you manage to tag with a rock is a Salamander that will give you experience. The most important thing, however? Stay safe. In case everything goes wrong, we run off and try again later. Better to spend a few extra days than suffer unnecessary injuries." I grinned. "Now, everybody get up here. I need a word with the two most important people in our plan."

Aelis and Creziel waited down below. Creziel looked like he was about to have a panic attack. He shifted and twitched, the sense of fear coming off of him barely held in check. Tiny tufts of fur lay at his feet. I asked, "Are you ready?"

Aelis nodded. "Our part should be easy. We have never had problems sneaking by the Salamanders. Our only issue lies in their size and defenses."

"Hah. We'll have that handled shortly." I hoped. If my plan didn't work, I'd have a hell of a lot of scrambling to do to come up with an alternative plan. "Now, Creziel. You know you're the linchpin of our plan, right?"

"Linchpin?"

"Erm. I'll tell you when we finally get around to creating the wheel. What I mean is that you're the most crucial part. Are you certain that you can handle everything from down here?"

A pang of self-assurance fought its way through the haze of fear surrounding him. "Yes. I can practically feel it from here. It just needs a nudge."

"Great. And you, Aelis? Are the traps looking good?"

She nodded and patted part of the cavern wall. It took me a moment to locate the trap. On either side of the tunnel, large rocks were shoved into place in the sides, with a large stone rod embedded deep into the mess. I squinted at it. "How does it work? The rod is for leverage?"

"The rod is what holds everything in place. The moment I remove both rods, the rocks should come tumbling out, and with them, half of the cavern wall that we have excavated on either side. Hopefully, it will fill the tunnel - at the very least, it will make climbing back difficult."

I nodded. "Good. I trust you on this. And... the ceiling's not going to come down?"

"Creziel insists it will not. I have faith."

I shook my head in amazement. "Good. Well, the same advice I gave to the band back there goes for you two. If something goes wrong, run, hide and we try again later. These are dumb animals even though they're dangerous and we won't lose anything other than time if we miss this chance."

Aelis waved a paw at me. "Relax. Our part is easy. I will make sure Creziel is well hidden behind me."

With a last look at them, I nodded and cast Camouflage twice, watching the duo slowly blend in with the background. Then, Aelis nudged Creziel towards a tiny opening near the ground and he crawled in. Moments later, she followed and they disappeared completely from sight.

I waited for a moment. "Are you ready?”

"We are ready, Milord. Not comfortable, but ready."

"Good. Let's go get some Salamander Steak."