Chapter 4.21 - Ripple Effects

When Serin arrived, all he heard was screams and all he smelled was burning flesh.

Liza and Rufala were already there trying to use recovery, but it wasn't working. The pain was not from injury.

As Serin arrived, he ran over to Shurik. He was curled on his side, spasming and screaming. Serin saw as large lines were being burned into his skin. Serin noted a line tracing itself down Shurik's spine to the base of his skull, connecting at his hips in a belt, and then continuing down the sides of his legs. Lines also ran down his shoulders. They continued all the way to his wrists, where another circle formed at the joint. Down his legs the lines ran, forming a small circle at the knees and then again at the ankles.

Serin reacted quickly, casting an overpowered Calm spell, expending a large amount of mana. It quelled the screams as the Gole that writhed on the floor were Sedated.

"Did you not power it enough?" Lady Eris was still shocked as the effect was continued. Serin looked her in the eyes, "I expended enough mana to keep you calm if you were on fire. The spell has its limits regardless of how much power I expend."

Then Serin thought about it, and cast an overpowered Sleep spell. This worked, as the Gole were knocked unconscious. The screaming stopped. Lady Eris checked, and they were still breathing.

"No worries, they are simply sleeping."

Serin used greater identify to force view their status. Serin was astounded by what he saw.

Their stats had not changed, but instead as Serin viewed Shurik, he saw that the class was "Mechanist" and there was a description. He looked over the other two and saw "Guardian" and "Lancer". As Serin read the descriptions he realized the Gole's inability to endure the elements kind of made sense.

Mechanist: The User can interconnect with any object made of metal, and move it as if it was part of the user's body. Complexity of interconnection dependent on the User's level and mastery of relevant skills

Guardian: The User can meld into stone, forming a casing around him, and move it as if was part of the User's body. Weight and size of the melded stone is dependent on the User's level and mastery of relevant skills

Lancer: The User can meld with crystal, using it as attunement for mana and psionic energy. Type, Quantity, and Quality of crystal determined by User's Level and relevant skills.

Serin knew, as he read, that the Gole truly were a special people, and Serin was glad to add their voice to the chorus of his refuge.

***

While Serin was tending to his newest discover, far away in the neighboring country of The Norther Kingdoms, another discovery was made. Lazar the Thief, had abandoned the stock of honey had procured, and used the emergency Return Stone to transport himself back to the Grand General's entrance hall. His sudden appearance caused the guards to be startled, but the Lazar quickly went to his knees and held a lot his letter of good conduct. The guard, breaking the seal, read the letter, turned pale, and motioned for Lazar to follow him.

The guard walked Lazar to a reading room and bid he wait there. Lazar looked at the rows and rows of books. The vast knowledge inside worth a Magistrate's fortune.

Lazar did not wait long as he was greeted by a rusty voice, "I thought it appropriate to have you wait here. The knowledge I asked for would do well to strengthen our country."

The voice belonged to Marcus, the Grand General of the Northern Kingdoms. Lazar knew him to be of a steady temper, so he hoped he would survive the night.

"Your Grace, I have not brought back the knowledge you seek. The secrets of how this country has acquired so many rare fruits, as well as honey, was outside my reach."

The general smirked, "And yet you used the return stone I had imprinted with my entry hall. A pity. Do you have some reason why I should not execute you for this failed mission? Those stones cost almost as much as your life is worth."

Lazar licked his lips. "Your Grace, I acted out of turn, and although I was unable to procure their methods, I brought back a most magical substance that you will surely reward me."

And with that Lazar held out a block of perma-ice.

The grand general was not amused, "You realize that its winter, yes? Ice is not that valuable. Guards!"

As the guards entered Lazar screamed "Wait! It never melts!"

The grand General's arm went up to pause the guards. Several spears were mere centimeters from Lazar when they stopped.

The grand general smiled, "We shall test your story, and if you are wasting my time, death will be slow."

The grand general took the block and set it on a metal stand. Lazar watched and the grand general's hand became shrouded in flames. As he picked up the cube, his hand sizzled of the flames trying to go out, but the block never changed.

The grand general's demeanor changed. "You have indeed earned your keep, Lazar. Now I will be paying you much more than the agreed amount. I will be making an informal request of you. See, I am sure that this city state is under divine protection, which means if i were to even think about sending my armies, I would instantly forget this conversation. So instead, I would like you to take some 'friends' and see if you can scout some of the area. I know the road is dangerous, so take the Desert Sons company with you."

Lazar paled. The Desert Sons was a mercenary company made up of veteran soldiers turned adventurers. Their guild was known to take any mission if the price was right. And they were often known for killing entire Towns, Wards, and Burbs.

"How many should I hire, your grace?"

Marcus smiled, "I think the entire company should go with you. I wouldn't want you and your friends to be in any danger."

Lazar smiled. The mercenary company was roughly 200 people, and Lazar knew that the town had less than a dozen guards walking the street. Once the wall fell, it would be a massacre.

What Lazar didn't know was that the town he was planning to raid was made up of battlehardened fighters, mages, and rogues. Survivors of the worst of chaos. Like most of the caravan of merchants, Lazar believed the population to be human, as the town had purposely hidden their mixed ancestries from outsiders. Lazar believed that the few guards he had seen in the merchant areas were the only people protecting the town, when in reality most of the adult population was part of the protectorate. Today the grand general would make the most novice of errors, which was assuming that his opponent's strength was only what he could see.

So that day, an army of high level humans was mustered, not knowing the peril that awaited them.

***