Book 4 - Chapter 57 (Patreon)

Brin didn't think he'd be able to get to Cid in time to help anything on his own; he needed a horse. An Invisible Eye found the nearest one, tied up only a block away, so he dashed towards it. That made him think of the Lances horses, or those that were left of them. He could use the lance that was tied to Meredydd's Generosity. Could he get the horse to run over here? Maybe. Well, no, it would be tied up. He created a conscious thread to see if it could solve the problem, and then focused on more pressing issues.

He cut the rope tying the horse to a hitching pole, and hopped on and drove it away before anyone could stop him. The horse itself was clearly distressed having someone strange on its back, but Brin kept a firm hand on the reins and gave it a swat with his spear any time it tried to slow.

He galloped towards the city center and then had his threads find his stored memories of Cid's fight so far. He replayed them, watching it all on a screen as if it were happening now.

Cid's flight towards the city center was ludicrously fast; Brin's Invisible Eyes couldn't keep up the pace and only managed to catch up with him because they knew where he was going.

When he got to the city center, Cid didn't hesitate. He didn't stop to take in the scene, he didn't deliver a monologue, he just launched himself forward at the goblin [Chieftain] in another of his chained [Knight's Charges].

Cid blurred forward, stabbing towards the [Chieftain's] eye. O’oglu twisted at the last second, losing the eye, but pushing Cid away before he could stab straight into the brain.

Cid landed and charged again. He cut a large gouge on O’oglu's side, but the momentum carried him far past the goblin.

The [Chieftain] grabbed the nearest [Blood Gatherer] by the neck, who'd stood frozen in the quick, frantic exchange. He pulled with both hands, twisted, and broke the [Blood Gatherer's] neck. But he didn't stop there; he kept twisting until the poor goblin's skin split over and washed him with blood.

By that time, Cid had recovered and used [Knight's Charge] to stab in again. He went for the heart this time, and the [Chieftain] dropped the [Blood Gatherer's] body to deflect what would have been a lethal wound, turning it into a merely grievous one.

Only, now he wasn't a [Chieftain] anymore. With that brutal kill, O’oglu jumped up from a level 40 [Chieftain] to level 44 [Paragon]. He twisted and grew, his fur becoming patchy as his body stretched and the new area was covered only with raw, red skin.

Cid changed tactics and used [Knight's Charge] to run another [Blood Gatherer] straight through. The [Blood Gatherers] noticed all this as well. Apparently they were as surprised at O'oglu's actions as Brin was, because they howled with fear and betrayal and split in every direction.

O’oglu dashed towards another, but Cid got there first, decapitating it as he ran past.

They both picked their targets, with Cid turning to dispatch another, while the [Paragon] pounced across the city center with alarming speed to smash a [Blood Gatherer] into a wall. Level 47.

They both charged towards the last one together, but O’oglu judged the timing better and shoulder checked Cid out of the way to reach it. The [Blood Gatherer] fell on his back and tried to scramble away, whining in fear. The [Paragon] reached down dispassionately, almost gently, and tore his claws through the goblins throat.

Level 50.

There was a thump. Cid had charged into the goblin's back, stabbing straight through until the tip of his sword poked out O'oglu's chest.

For a moment, Brin thought it was over, even though he was also seeing in present time that O’oglu was far from dead. Cid must've thought it was over too, because he was completely unprepared for O’oglu to swing around and slap him so hard it made his enchanted armor screech like speaker feedback.

Cid bounced twice as he flew down the street, but the third time he hit the ground it was on his feet, and he rebounded into another [Knight's Charge]. He held no weapon but his dagger and charged with it outstretched like a lance. Brin wondered if you needed a weapon for [Knight's Charge] to work. Also, so far Cid had used it to move directly towards an enemy every time, which meant that it might be another requirement.

The next time Cid charged in, the goblin was ready and blocked his dagger with a stone club. The resulting crack was loud enough to shake the blood on the ground, but by the time it echoed off the walls, Cid was already charging in again. The crack of blade against club rang out again, but this time Cid pulled his sword free on the rebound. The wound bled freely, but didn't seem to slow the [Paragon].

Cid charged again and again, and the goblin blocked each blow. He began to circle, trying to find or make an opening. The battle raged on with neither gaining an advantage, and that brought Brin up to the present moment.

Back at the battle with the rest of the Lance, things were both better and worse. All of the High Lord Prima’s disgraced soldiers had joined the fighting, perhaps seeking redemption, and hundreds more citizens of Canibri had joined the defense, both men and women. Lan and Nesta had come, and Brin kind of wished they hadn’t. Yes, he was still full of righteous fury at the people of Canibri for being so slow to respond, but now that he saw his own family there, he wished they’d decided to hide and wait.

The Prinnashians were strong. Most of them had some kind of combat Class and that was finally showing its quality. Unlike in Hammon’s Bog, there were no casters and very few ranged weapons at all, but that only made them easier to direct. Everyone was melee, and they didn’t need to worry about sight lines or friendly fire.

In response to the growing numbers and the firming resolution, the [Chieftains] were getting desperate. They cast their mightiest spells, with two of them going so far as to use the suicide Skill that Brin had seen in Dustrim. The goblins became stronger, faster, and filled with an artificial berserker rage that wouldn’t dim no matter how many times the defenders threw them back. His knights-at-arms were scattered among the throng, always in the thickest fighting.

He saw a group of defenders buckle under the pressure, only for Govannon to arrive in time to hold the gap. He fought like a man possessed and every wave of his sword seemed to open up three arteries in the enemy goblins. The citizens pulled back their wounded and called fresh fighters to the front while Govannon defended them. But Govannon was no Hedrek.

A canny goblin stabbed a stone spear straight through Govannon’s armor and into his stomach.

Hedrek noticed and used [Knight’s Charge] to blast his way through a row of goblins to protect him. He grabbed the wounded [Squire] and carried him about four feet, just behind the line of defenders, before falling on his face. That was his second use of [Knight’s Charge] and he was fully exhausted.

Brin turned his attention back to Cid’s fight, which was just as desperate. His Mana was extremely low and draining by the second, but maybe there was something he could still do? He shut down the sound projections he had going across the city, only keeping it up near where Seren played and in the city center with Cid. He dispelled all his Invisible Eyes that weren’t watching either the Lance or Cid, and had their Directed Threads returned.

His Mana drained much more slowly now, barely higher than his regeneration, and he still had enough for what he needed. He cast Invisibility on Cid, and silenced him as well.

Cid took advantage right away, but played it smart, shuffling to the side a bit before he charged in again.

He scored a deep wound into the goblin [Paragon’s] stomach, but O’oglu twisted in time to avoid being disemboweled. When Cid recovered and charged again, O’oglu was ready and parried with his club.

Brin didn’t know how, but for every [Knight’s Charge] that Cid tried after that, the goblin was ready and blocked or dodged. At the speeds Cid was moving at, it should’ve been impossible to do anything, but the goblin’s strength and speed seemed to defy reality. Cid and the goblin traded blows that would’ve blown holes in Canibri’s walls, neither relenting.

Brin’s real body was getting closer, though he wasn’t sure what he could do. For once, he’d avoided getting cut to pieces up to this point, but even at full strength plus [Battle Fury], he doubted he could move at the speeds these two were fighting at.

Seeing the fighting with his own natural eyes just drove home how outmatched he was. Well, that only mattered if he got hit. He noticed that Generosity was also nearby; somehow his conscious thread had managed it.

No, Marksi had managed it. His Conscious Thread had found Marksi and gotten him to bring the horse. The dragonling was on his back, swatting his rump to drive him forward and pulling his ears to make him turn. He should tell Marksi never to do that where Derec back at the order would see, but for now it was just what they needed.

“Great job! Thank you! Now hide, we’ll take it from here,” Brin said in the Silent Voice.

Marksi nodded and then hopped down and skittered behind a doorstep, clearly still too tired from overuse of his breath attack to be ready to fight, but he’d already done just what they needed.

“The horse, with the lance. See it? I’ll distract him, get to the horse!” Brin said to Cid, and then summoned a couple Mirror Images, made himself invisible, and charged the goblin.

Two of the Mirror Images collapsed as the [Paragon] kicked cobblestones at them, but he wasted a swing of his club to dispel the third one, leaving him open to a stab from the real Brin.

O’oglu was fast. Brin stabbed him in the kidney from behind, but the instant the speartip touched his skin he whirled around and bashed the Bog Standard spear out of Brin’s hands.

Thankfully, the chandelier glass was already in the form of a spear.

He backed up, summoned three more Mirror Images which O’oglu wasted a precious half-second dispatching, and then stabbed him again. It went the same as before, and the goblin shattered his spear.

Brin shuffled back, but the goblin didn’t find him. That was information, wasn’t it? The goblin always knew where Cid attacked from, but not Brin. That meant that he wasn’t doing something like detecting body heat or some other [Rogue] sense. Could he sense Skill activation? 

It didn’t matter. Brin had bought Cid all the time he needed. He let the Invisibility drop from his Prime. Then noticing the state of his Mana, let it fall from himself as well.

Cid sat atop Generosity. With the lance in the other hand, he lifted his sword in the air, and then let it fall like he was directing the charge of a full cavalry regiment. He spoke the Skill aloud, “[Knight’s Charge].”

Generosity’s hooves sounded like thunder, Cid’s armor glinted in the sunlight. The tip of his lance didn’t waver as he leaned in, putting his entire body into the motion.

He crossed the square like a flash of lightning and slammed into O’oglu. The [Paragon] could block Cid’s lesser weight, but now that he had the entire weight of one of the Order of the Long Sleep’s finest horses under him, he was unstoppable. He battered past the stone club and drove his lance into the goblin, driving through him and carrying him along until they crashed into the fortress wall, pinning him in place.

Brin strained his eyes through the cloud of dust, hoping to see proof of the goblin’s death. He saw movement. The goblin was moving his arm. He punched the lance, but was still pinned in place. He punched again. The third time, he snapped the enchanted metal.

Cid didn’t wait. He leapt off Generosity, avoiding a swing at his face, and then smacked the horse’s rump to get him to flee. He backed up, and O’oglu let both horse and [Knight] go, clutching his wounded shoulder where Cid had driven him through.

Cid stood tall, but walked back slowly to where Brin was.

“I’m done,” said Cid.

“Right? What is it going to take to kill this guy?” Brin said with a laugh.

“No, I mean, the potion wore out,” said Cid.

“Oh,” said Brin.

“I can do one more [Knight’s Charge], but… but outside of that, I don’t think I can fight any more. That potion has a cost.” Despite his words, Cid stood with perfect confidence. Bravado. He was barely standing.

O’oglu was staying back, holding his wounds, and watching them as if wondering why they weren’t finishing him off already. Brin racked his brain, but he honestly couldn’t think of what to try next. If only he had some Mana, but he could barely do the small music projection he still had running for Seren, and even that would need to stop soon.

For her part, Seren’s music had changed. He hadn’t noticed, but the music had gone from urgent to triumphant. Two more [Bards] had found their courage and added their voices to hers, and it was a good thing, because Seren was a mess.

Canibri’s thousand had become four thousand, and with those numbers it was becoming clear that the goblins weren’t going to push through. Canibri had finally arrived. They’d come. Seren’s people had shown up for her.

Her music carried the emotions of joy and utter relief. Not just because her life was saved, but because her people were still a people that she could be proud of. She called, and they came. Disaster struck, and they fought, and if they needed a little push? Well, who didn’t?

Her voice that had been firm and flawless through the terror and the rage was now cracking up, thick with emotion. He also felt another small emotion; she was wondering if she best stop here, now that it was over.

No. I still need you. Sing me a victory, because I don’t know how to find it otherwise, he sent to her as pure emotion through their connection in the Wyrd.

But then before he could hear her answer, he realized he needed to cut the feed or else he really would be completely drained.

He canceled all his spells. He unsplit his mind and ordered all his threads to return. But even with his full mind returned to him, he still didn’t have an answer.

The [Paragon] was starting to realize that Brin and Cid weren’t coming to finish him off. He was beginning to believe that he could still win.

He struggled to his feet, snarling. Brin and Cid stood, looking confident, but didn’t move. Brin didn’t have a plan, but he knew what they were going to do. Cid would use [Knight’s Charge] and Brin would be right behind him, and then whatever happened, happened.

The goblin roared, and it had the weight of a Skill behind it. Brin felt everything through the Wyrd, all of his emotions. O’oglu wasn’t mindless. He was a brute, but he was clever. A human level of intelligence came with the [Chieftain] Class. Or perhaps all goblins had it, and they were simply primitive in the way that stone age humans were primitive. Even so, his argument in the Wyrd was as varied and complex as any human’s.

He knew he’d been set up. He knew the things he’d been promised would never happen. He knew he’d sent his people here to die, that they’d be hunted down even if they succeeded in clearing the city. He also knew that a lot of humans would get hurt, and that they mostly didn’t deserve it.

He’d done it all anyway, for the future of his people. Because every dead human left an empty space in the world, and that empty space is where a goblin might live, and breed, and grow old, and perhaps eventually develop whatever it was they were missing, that vital something that made humans people and goblins monsters.

It would be better if he were just a psychopath, but O’oglu really did feel sorrow for all the bloodshed. He’d chosen to come anyway. He didn’t regret it.

There were plenty of flaws in the Wyrd that Brin could exploit, but it didn’t matter. He didn’t have any magic to make an argument with. The power of O’oglu’s shout rattled him, weakening his resolve even further and making his limbs shake.

Cid [Shouted] back, just a raw, wordless battle cry, but the power of a Skill shook off the effects of O’oglu’s shout as easy as they’d come. So Cid had a [Shout] Skill of some kind. Good to know. O’oglu didn’t look impressed.

“Can you give me a wave of bullets?” asked Cid.

Brin felt his Mana. Nothing, but it was the full kind of nothing, the way that empty tube of toothpaste always had just a tiny bit more to give if you squeezed hard enough.

“Slow bullets, maybe. Nothing that could pierce his hide,” said Brin.

Cid nodded. “Then on your mark.”

“Heh. But when I say slow, I mean–”

“Fire at will,” said Cid.

Brin yanked on his Mana, ignoring the wave dizziness and the way that his vision seemed to darken. He pushed what Mana he could into the broken spear of chandelier glass, forming it into dozens of little balls and raising them into the air.

O’oglu noticed and threw a stone, which struck Brin in the head, smashing his helmet clean off and scraping a new cut over the top of his old axe wound.

He felt himself start to fall, and time stopped. He saw through the eyes of a conscious thread, the one that had retrieved Marksi and who was still holding back because he knew that rejoining the main thread and returning all the memories would be a distraction he didn’t need.

He saw his main thread start to lose consciousness, and he felt his own thread start to unravel; it would happen in less than a second. But here, time seemed to slow down to a near stop.

Cid was already launching through the air, using his last [Knight’s Charge]. His armor buzzed and shot sparks as the enchantments started to bleed magic from so many wounds. His sword was held in a firm hand and his mouth was open in a furious shout.

The bullets in the air were already starting to fall, but for now in this frozen instant, they hung in the sky. The chandelier had been enchanted for beauty and now it shone like it never had before, separated into a hundred little gems, vibrant and alluring, like the tears of a god.

O’oglu stood in all his might, ready, his limbs full of violent intent, his eyes beginning to understand.

Cid hung in the sky for what seemed like forever. Was this how the gods saw time? Outside of the forced march of causality, could they lean back and see it all at once? If so, then this moment must be a prized trophy on the mantel, something to show off to visitors. Cid’s last doomed charge, an instant before the goblin O’oglu struck him down.

Well, no, what was probably happening was that this was already over and Brin’s concussion-addled mind was messing up the memory.

That was definitely what was happening, because other things were moving out of the sequence of time. While Cid hung frozen, he started to hear Seren’s song, Canibri Cowards, but this time it was being sung by a thousand voices. Quiet at first, but then louder, and louder until the words were clear. She’d heard him, and the people had heard her. They’d come for her, and now they were showing up for Brin, the only way they could.

Five thousand people screamed their voices raw, singing the words of the song so loudly that he could hear it all the way over here. He heard it, felt it, and took heart.

Flee, Canibri cowards, run!

For you the wolves of war have come. 

With unity comes victory, 

but all have fled, so all must flee. 

Bold the hunters, you the prey, 

Canibri cowards fly away!

Time resumed its normal pace. He saw Cid reach his first target, not the goblin, but a bullet still floating in the air. He kicked it, a single step in his charge.

Brin started to understand. On the ground, Cid could move in a straight line towards his enemy, so that’s the path he would have to take. But in the air, he could only close the distance by ricocheting between bullets. He zigzagged through the air, darting from one bullet to the other.

This changed his course enough that O’oglu’s attempt at a block missed, and Cid slammed into him, driving his sword into the [Paragon’s] eye and through the back of his skull.

You have defeated: Goblin Paragon (50)

Experience has split between party members based on contribution.

Level up! 40 -> 41

+5 Strength +1 Dexterity, +2 Vitality, +2 Magic, +3 Mental Control, +1 Will, +2 free attributes.

The glass bullets smashed into the stone walls of the buildings around the city center as if they’d been shot from a rifle. 

Time seemed to slow again one last time, just long enough for Brin to understand what had just happened. They’d done it. Cid’s eyes were already rolling back; he wouldn’t last much longer than Brin, but the goblin was already dead and there were no more coming.

Brin hit the ground, his unhelmeted head smacking on stone, and no part of his mind, conscious thread or otherwise, knew what happened next.