Master of the Hoard - Chapter 40 (Patreon)

My hopes were shattered the moment I returned. I was starting to regain the feeling in my leg and damage-wise, the outing hadn't been too horrible. All told, things were looking up, and I was ready to get on with the planning. Except Arthor was there to meet me when I returned. He was in the entry tunnel where a side tunnel led to the Farm, kneeling. I barely had the wherewithal to take in the sight, when he glared up at me, eyes burning. "Where were you?"

I was shocked by the vehemence in his voice and what was rolling off of him, but then I noticed the bundle before him. A small pelt rolled up to contain a form within. The pelt was stained with dirt and darker blotches. With a sinking heart, I asked what I already knew. "Is that... her?"

"So much for your alliance." He made the word sound like a curse. "Jazinth was allowed to enter the lair. Our scouts hid nearby, watching. Hours later, they dropped this outside the entrance to the lair. Just... dumped her, like spoiled meat. And then they waved to our scouts and laughed."

I steeled myself. "Let me see her. Please."

Arthor glared up at me and then flung back the pelt.

I took it in. She looked so tiny in death. Also, whoever claimed that people found peace in death had not observed a scene like this. Jazinth had not gone easy. Her face, usually pretty and natural, was twisted in a horrible grimace of pain and fear. One arm had been pulled from the socket and was hanging at an unnatural angle. One leg was simply missing. Jagged tooth marks made no secret of how it had been removed.

I looked straight into Arthor's eyes. I needed no telepathy to see the rage and pain concealed within. I looked into myself to find a proper reaction and came up short. In the end, I settled on a single word. "Vengeance."

His fury did not abate for a moment. "Yes."

We left within the hour. A few people, Creziel among these, tried to debate the wisdom of going against the dragon now that we had thrown away our chance at an ambush, but I left no room for discussion. We left exactly two people behind. Laive would care for the gardens and a one-legged Talpus would take care that the remaining four Clenchers were fed. Ursam came with me, and I spared a single thought of disappointment that I hadn't been able to train any of the others enough that they would be helpful in the fight to come.

I spared a moment to address the army before me, right before we left the lair. Because at this moment, it was an army. Not a cohesive one, or even a well-trained one - and the Crawls showed no emotions but a sense of excitement that something was going to happen. But they were bristling with weapons from the hoard and the Talpi looked grim and focused. I looked down on them, packed shoulder to shoulder inside the throne room and growled. "Jazinth's death was my mistake. I will atone for that - later. For now, we will go out there and erase that blasted dragon and every one of his minions from the map. Then, and only then, when we are holding a victory feast off of the carcass of his mutilated body, will we rest and talk about the future. For now. War!"

Of course, that's not how things work in practice. Not when we had more than half a day's march facing us before we'd finally reach the enemy lair. There was plenty of time for what-ifs, half-baked plans and stratagems. Also, when all those boiled away with the need for actual knowledge, there was plenty of time for self-reproach. Of course, I should have known. I should not have tried in the first place. This was not Earth. This was a darker place and might did indeed make right. Wrong. I was going to show that bastard what might was! For once, I could look at my claws in grim satisfaction while I walked. They were still caked with blood and filth from my rampage in the mountain - and it seemed fitting. I might hate them, but this time, they would help me get revenge.

Once the initial rush of emotions petered out, a secondary number of considerations came into being, usually along with the Talpi who rushed up to bring them to bear. How should we approach? What was the plan? Who brought food? Where are all the scouts? What was the plan?

The plan... would be a work in progress. At least, we all agreed upon that much, even if there was no doubt that Jazinth's death would have repercussions. If we survived it. For now, we moved along in several groups with fixed responsibilities. Our scouts came first. They had their own agreed-upon reactions I dared not mess with, but some of them would loop back to us with information if they stumbled upon anything before we reached the lair itself. Then I came, with Ursam in tow. He was keeping it together very well, especially considering it was the first time he'd been on a walk of this duration, let alone with this many people. Following us came the heavy hitters, the Crawls. All of them were outfitted with weapons from the hoard and a select few ones, including Erk, wore crude leather jackets filled with pockets. Some sort of armor. Finally came the remainder of the Talpi. Silent, focused and mean. They might be small and individually weak, but at this moment, they were moving like predators.

"This is it, Sire." Aelis' mental voice was more subdued than I was used to, but her point was made.

"This is where we're stopping?" I looked around at the small cavern. There was a large stream running through the center just like she'd mentioned and the opening on the other end looked cramped.

Creziel said, "Yes." Arthor just stalked off toward the cavern opening. Shrugging, the tiny Talpus continued, "We'll see to it that the place is as defensive as possible. You can handle everything else."

Aelis nodded. "We will range forward and outward, see what is going on." She held up a warning paw. "No need for advice, Milord. We are aware that this is likely some sort of ambush. We do not intend to fall for any tricks. Now, we do need your help."

"Want me to cast Camouflage?"

"Please do so. The others will check the surroundings. I intend to focus on the lair itself."

I nodded. "Please be careful. Also, can I join you? I recently learned how to spot magical traps and illusions - I'd like to make sure that you don't fall to some sort of magical ambush."

Despite the situation, she laughed. A high-pitched, involuntary laugh that spilled from her like tinkling bells. "Milord. I appreciate the thought. But I am 19 years old and have been scouting since I was old enough to walk. You - are not an ideal companion for scouting. Please, let us leave it at that."

I nodded and accepted my defeat, chagrined. Everything was well underway and I decided to spend the time making sure some of the looser ends were taken care of. My wounds were slowly knitting themselves together and it looked like my misadventures would not result in any permanent damage. I would be at full health when we arrived. Roth was talking to his two assistants, berating one of them over something or other. As he saw me coming, he disentangled himself from the discussion and walked over toward me.

He spat to the side. "Nasty business with Jazinth."

"I... Yes. Is that all you've got to say?"

The heavyset, furry bodybuilder looked surprised. "What else is there? You did what you thought was best for all of us, took a chance and it failed. Jazinth did the same. This time, she paid the price. I've been in the same situation more times than I care to think of. We all have."

His resignation hit me harder than I had anticipated. "But... I was the one who talked her into it."

He spat again. "You tell me this one thing: Are we only doing this to get vengeance on Jazinth?”

I grimaced. “No. The existing reasons are still there, even if the dragon knows we’re here. Pulling back just leaves us compromised and open to ambushes. We need to finish this.”

“Exactly. Besides, it’s not as if you could have convinced her if she didn't want to be convinced. Even Arthor could only talk sense into her half the time. Jazinth damn well knew how to make up her own mind."

I recalled the first time she'd told me exactly what she thought of my plans and chuckled. "She did at that." We stood in companionable silence for a while, until I addressed him again. "So. We’re going to see battle soon."

"Yes."

"Are we ready? We haven't spoken much about groups, formations and all that."

The sense of unease from him was hard to miss. "Eager? Yes. Nobody liked the way this went down. First time we try to reach out a hand and - people are ready to fight. Prepared is something else." He shook his head. "I'm glad we got a handful of training sessions and mock battles in or this would be a lot worse. As it is, I think we can get everybody to stay in their groups, more or less. 4 of us with a Crawl in front. The Crawl goes directly to whichever enemy we point out, the rest of us... help."

"Swarm around, attack from the side, that sort of thing?"

"Exactly. Odds are, we aren't going to have any opportunity to lead with traps or prepare a decent ambush, so this isn't exactly optimal. But at least we've got a couple of tougher bastards to take the punches for us. Although I really don't like the odds of pitting them against the Urten."

"How do they fight?"

He weighed his words. "We never stand up against them. We'll run away and then there's no issue. Their fire gifts are limited and usually only work in short range. If we need to stand our ground, however? I’m not sure. I've seen one of them carve right through a stalagmite with his sword. I'm not giving good odds for the Crawls."

I swallowed. "I appreciate the honesty. Let's hope the scouts have some promising news when they return." If they return hung in the air, unmentioned, but nobody wanted to throw it out there.

I went to see Creziel. The tiny apprentice was sliding his paws along the side of the cavern entrance and, even as I watched, the surface rippled, movement apparent inside the rock itself. "Shrinking the entrance?"

He jumped and turned around with a guilty look on his face. "Oh. You. Yes. We believed that it would be for the best, if the opening was small enough for us to control. We can open it up again at short notice."

I was surprised. "Have you really grown that much in power?"

"We have. I was still the weakest of us, but the combination of levels, our training and the dragon flesh... What used to be a challenge, is now as easy as digging."

"I am impressed. Alright. I actually wanted to ask whether you know what your part in this is going to be? Has anybody talked to you?"

He shook his head. "No. If you hadn't brought it up yourself, though, I would have."

The funny thing was, I actually believed him. The Talpus before me was very different from the stuttering scaredy cat I'd first met, who did not dare tell me his personal opinion. "Good. Honestly, I don't know yet either. But when the scouts return, we’ll have a real talk about it.”

Half an hour later, they started returning in ones and twos. However, nobody liked what they had to say at all.