I spent half the night harassing the orks more. My troubles were rewarded with another level in [Assassin], bringing me up to 70. I already had both mental Attributes at 50 thanks to my most recent race level so I thought for a moment where to go from there. I would get a total of 30 points before reaching 100. There also was a milestone at 75 for one point each in Dexterity and Perception. I felt getting those two up to 30 would be nice as well but that was an investment of three points without any assigned ones from my race levels. That settled the decision. More magic it was!

I got some rest for the remainder of the night. Alex kept an eye on the proceedings and would wake me if the orks got close to the tunnel. My eyes met dawn without any interruptions.

While the [Bloodrush] had not settled, it was slowed a little bit, simply thanks to fewer bodies. I had planned to spend the morning picking off even more of them but after the first one, the orks had made it dangerously close to the tunnel. The first few ran up to it, smashing the few plants covering the entrance. I was of no use in such confined quarters. Instead, my current strategy would be much more effective. Thus, even when the first few greenskins entered the mountain, I did not rush into the crowd.

There were maybe fifty of them close enough to notice the movement of their brethren. I picked one of those as far away as possible and ran a talon through her throat after a dive. A few of the others turned around and rushed my position. Rather than fully rising again, I only took a few flaps with wings of darkness before getting to the next throat. Within a minute, half the crowd running towards the tunnel was turned around on their own. The goblins would have to deal with the rest. I kept up the pressure, making sure to disguise my vis at the very least. In broad daylight that was not the most helpful but it gave me a few extra moments before being recognized by the frenzied horde.

My harassment was not all positive, though. It also drew in some of the orks further down the valley. It was only a matter of time before they would find it as well. Then, Alex spoke into my head.

“I’m coming down.”

The draw on my vis increased a little bit.

“We both run on the same energy, you know?”

“Yes. But you barely use any magic to kill them, do you?”

“I’m keeping some tricks as a backup.”

“Smart and unnecessary. You have a team.”

“One more person does not make a team.”

“A partner, then. I’m a good shot.”

I remembered the two giant orks with a bolt through their visors.

“Alright. Take it slow.”

“Understood.”

I went back to the bloodbath and a few minutes later, the first bolts started to accurately puncture ork skulls. They were creating far less bloodshed and drew fewer orks in as a result but that was a good thing in its own way. Alex simply focused on the ones closer to the tunnel.

We fought until sunset, slowly thinning the horde. Every once in a while a small group of them made it into the tunnel. At least none of them was as large as the first. As darkness threatened the sinking sun, the last three dozen greenskins showed changes in their behaviour. At first, they simply started to get exhausted. Then, they turned to the flesh of their brethren to restore energy. When that did not work, the first ones stopped yowling and yelling and their eyes cleared. The [Bloodrush] was over. We had done it. At what price, we did not know, yet. With the dimming light, I made for higher heights before beings properly seen. Alex also found her way up the mountain. I felt for my vis and found I was running low. I had maybe one more [Eldritch Shift] in me while keeping enough to reform my real body. We reconvened on a little overhang, looking down at the carnage.

“What a bloodbath”, she remarked, “I would have never thought I’d see something like that after going into cyberwarfare.”

“So you were a soldier?”, I asked.

“Yes. Never made it very high on the ladder but I was decent with a gun. Modern war required a new approach, though, and I decided to get out of the field.”

After a moment of silence, I asked, “What does it look like to you?”

“A lot of life turning to death. Greed and hunger are sated. Bodies and… is that alchemy?”

“Blood is an alchemic component.”

She shuddered. Not with her body, it did not have that kind of reflexes imprinted, but with her soul.

“It’s maybe more gruesome than having real eyes.”

“The truth is not easy on the weak-minded”, I mused.

She shoved me softly.

“Come on. Stop with that wise owl bullshit. You’re probably younger than me!”

“Not in this world, though!”, I hooted in amusement.

“You got a big fat zero in that age row, just like me.”

“I was born in spring. It’ll be two or three weeks at most until my birthday.”

With that little rest, my brain had found the time to restart.

“Right. I’m gonna check the village. Just stay here for a moment.”

“Forget about it. I’m coming along. You need my help in close quarters.”

I rolled my head.

“Fine.”

With that, we made our way down. The tunnel was eerily calm, the only noise the occasionally shuffle from an ork in the valley. I was sure I could only hear it because of my superior hearing. After a minute or so, we turned a dark corner only to find ourselves blocked off by stone. It was too early to be the node, though. I pulled out the excavation focus from my body and replaced my eye with it. The green shimmer was more than enough for me to see details.

“They’re alive!”, Alex gasped the moment I realized what was in our way.

It was orks. Orks made of stone.

My golem friend stepped up and poked the leg of the closest one. The leather armour on top crumbled into dust and pebbles, revealing another layer of grey underneath. I took a closer look and found clearly defined muscles as if chiselled by a Greek master. A poke with my thaumium talon broke the material. It shattered into thin plates that were quickly pushed back by a stream of blood.

I jumped back.

“What the fuck is that?”, Alex asked.

“I have a hunch. But how?”

There were more bodies in the tunnel. All of them stood still and for every single one, Alex identified them as living. Every ork stood still, their skin and clothes turned to stone. How exactly he had done this, I could not say, but I knew Roguk’s magical poison was behind it.

I could clean up and release the orks from their suffering but I honestly felt they deserved it for being such an annoyance. And they likely would not net much experience, either. I checked my notifications as well and found another two levels. With how many orks I had killed, that really was not much at all.

We slipped in between the crowded bodies, finding just barely enough space to move forward. I stopped counting at 30 and we were at most halfway through. That might have also been a reason for the low level-gain.

“How much did you get from this?”, I asked.

“What? Oh, levels? I got… 11. Race and Class combined.”

“Hmm. So that’s where they went.”

“How much did you get?”

“Four. With the last day on top, it was eight.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad to me, considering how high you are already.”

“Now that you say it like that… I guess I’m just whining, huh?”

At that moment, we reached where the node was clogging up the tunnel. The stone had spread a little more but a few orks had tried to squeeze by through the gaps. It did not look like I would fit through but Alex could do so without issues. I told her to move past and used my last vis to follow her. With the scene behind us, I did not expect much trouble on the other side.

I had not considered how Alex needed vis to move as well. With what she used, I was now below my usual threshold.

“I need to regain some vis. Can you cling to my back so you’re not using any?”

She nodded and I lowered myself for her to climb up. Carrying the golem was not too difficult. She could hold onto my feathers and the weight was manageable as well. Her metal hands locked onto me and she stilled. I felt the drain minimize, my own energy slowly returning. We really had to work out a better solution. How had that thaumaturge done it? He had dozens of golems running around, right? I really had to read deeper into the Thaumonomicon.

We continued up the tunnel. No ork had made it past the first blockade neither was a single goblin visible. The second and third barriers were also empty. By the time we reached the gate to the village, I had regained enough vis to return to my real body. I decided to pull out a turned off iron golem and eat it with my [Owl Stomach]. That might have been the right idea before.

As I was shifting back, Alex spoke up.

“What was that, just now?”

“I ate something to regain my vis. It creates a bunch of flux as well, though.”

“No, what you ate.”

“An iron golem.”

“For real?”

“A simple version. They don’t have souls.”

“Oh…”

Then, I was back to my real form, a little exhausted but happy we were done with this. I knocked on the gate with my beak and waited. A minute later, I knocked again.

“There’s someone on the other side, right?”, I asked.

“Yes”, she said.

That same moment, I heard a familiar voice call out.

“Who?”

It was Luk.

Hoot, I answered.

“Oh.”

The door opened. In front of us, the village lay, sleeping and peaceful. The goblin guards were sprawled out near the gate. Luk looked sleepy and exhausted. I connected us to him.

“How are you doing, Luk?”

“Mhm. I’m tired. It worked, then?”

“Yes. It’s a little disturbing but very effective, though I truly wonder how you managed it.”

He scratched the back of his head.

“Yeah. No idea, either. Roguk’s plan.”

“Right. Let me introduce you. This is Alex. She doesn’t speak goblin but she’s my friend. And she killed a lot of orks out there.”

“Ah. Nice meet?”, he said in awkward Ordugh.

“Alex, this is Luk. A hunter.”

“Nice to meet you”, she said.

He turned to me.

“I’m really bad with that language. Roguk was trying to teach us but…”

“No worries. She can learn. Let’s all get some rest. We can talk about stuff when everyone is back up.”

“Good idea.”

He yawned.

I guided Alex to a secluded place between the stalagmites where we settled down. The village would wake up somewhat soon but with all the excitement settled down we probably had an hour or two. Which I intended to make good use of. When everyone was back up, we could figure out how to proceed.