Day Five. Pre-Dawn.

“Kill him!” the broadsword-wielding goblin screamed.

Before the archers could release their second volley, I was upon the goblins. The melee fighters moved to intercept me. I dodged the first warrior’s attack, and his broadsword swept harmlessly past.

The second lunged at me. I parried away his attack with my left blade and sent spider’s bite snaking forward to land a crippling blow on his right forearm. The goblin dropped his spear from suddenly numb hands.

Spinning about, I lashed out at the last warrior approaching from my rear, causing him to beat a hasty retreat. I didn’t pursue. The way to the archers was clear, and I rushed forward.

Their lines of fire suddenly clear, the two archers released their prepared shots from nearly point-blank range. I’ve been waiting for their attack, though, and was not caught by surprise. Diving forward, I rolled under the arrows.

Two meaty thuds marked the projectiles’ impact as they collided with one of the warriors behind me. It was followed by a shriek of pain and then silence.

An elite goblin warrior has died.

Four to go, I thought grimly.

I bounced back to my feet in front of the archers. Dropping his bow, one slashed at me with a knife. I parried away the attack easily before skewering him with my own blade.

You have killed an elite goblin warrior.

Turning to the other archer, I lunged forward and clubbed him across the face with the hilt of my short sword, then drove spider’s bite through his abdomen.

You have killed an elite goblin warrior.

I spun about, expecting to find more blades rushing at me. But that was not the case. The last two goblins were fleeing, one unarmed and the other still lugging his broadsword.

They were already halfway to the barred door. Racing forward, I easily overtook the second, the one bearing the broadsword, and slashed at the back of his legs in passing. The goblin yelped in pain and fell to the ground, moaning.

You have crippled an elite goblin warrior.

Not pausing to finish off the fallen warrior, I hurried after the last goblin. I caught up to him at the door. The warrior had his back turned to me while he fumbled with the bar. Without hesitation, I lunged forward and buried both my blades in his back.

You have killed an elite goblin warrior.

Withdrawing my blades, I let the corpse sink to the floor and turned around to face the only goblin still alive. Writhing on the floor, he moaned pitifully. I advanced on him, blades dripping blood.

It was time to end this.

~~~

I kneeled over the injured goblin, preparing to deliver the final blow.

“W-w-who are... you?” the warrior asked, his pain-filled gaze locking on my own. “You are not Xrex.”

I paused, surprised that this goblin also knew the name of the leader of Ishita’s sworn in the sector. “Perhaps I am,” I said mildly, lowering my blade.

“Impossible!” the goblin gasped. “Y-you cannot be him. You are not him! We’ve done all the spider goddess has asked. There is no reason for her to punish us.”

I stared at him. “What do you mean?” I asked slowly. I knew I was wasting time, but I found the goblin’s words troubling, especially in light of what he had said earlier when he had still believed me to be Xrex. ‘A double-crossing son of a whore,’ those were the exact words the goblin had shouted before.

The implications were startling...

“Do not pretend ignorance,” the goblin said, unaware of my speculation. “You must know we are pledged to the goddess. Why else attack us?”

I stared at him, flabbergasted.

“It is revenge you want, isn’t it?” The goblin’s face contorted in fury. “But it is us who will be avenged. The Awakened Dead will see you slain.”

I closed my eyes, hiding my confusion. What the goblin’s words implied… was impossible. Could he really mean the Howlers were pledged in service to the Awakened Dead?

But then… Why were the two tribes at war with each other?

It made little sense, but now was not the time to ponder the mystery. I turned back to the goblin. “Are you saying the Howlers and the Awakened Dead are allied?” I asked carefully, needing to be certain.

“Of course!” he hissed. “Give up this pretense. I know you—”

I stopped listening.

Someone was pounding furiously on the door. The ruckus in the barracks had not gone unnoticed, and more goblins had come to investigate. “Damn it,” I growled. I was out of time.

My gaze darted back to the wounded goblin. “Thank you for the information,” I said somberly and plunged my blade through his throat.

You have killed an elite goblin warrior.

Rising to my feet, I recast lesser imitate about myself, then hurried down to one of the shuttered windows farthest from the barracks’ door. Unlocking the window, I slipped out and into a pool of darkness.

You are hidden.

I scanned the area. This side of the barracks was free of commotion, and no goblins were in sight. Momentarily secure, I paused to consider my options.

My original plan had been to keep killing until the toll of victims claimed by ‘Xrex’ was high enough that the Howler shaman could not afford to ignore the deaths. When I was done, I’d hoped to leave the relationship between the Howlers and Awakened Dead irreparably shattered. Now though…

Now I wasn’t sure what the best course was.

What the goblin had told me weighed on my mind. Had he been telling the truth? And if so, what should I make of it? Did it make what I planned easier or harder?

I didn’t have the answers—yet.

Sighing, I turned towards the inner wall. I had a lot to think about, and before I acted again, I needed to ponder what I knew. Or thought I knew.

~~~

I made it undetected to the inner wall. Remaining in the shadows, I took a moment to study the guards at the gate. They appeared no more alert than ordinary.

No fort-wide alarm had been raised then.

Deciding to risk an open approach rather than sneaking over the walls, I left the concealment of the shadows and strolled with affected indifference towards the gate.

The guards’ attention fixed on me immediately, but none readied their weapons. Reassured somewhat, I stopped before them.

“Let me through,” I said in a less belligerent tone than I’d used with the outer wall guards.

Silently, the pair did as I bade, swinging open the gate and gesturing me through. Without haste, I slipped past the guards and out of the fort.

The gate slammed shut behind me, and I let my shoulders sag, the tension in them easing. I took a step forward, and the expected Game message dropped in my mind.

You have entered a safe zone.

Accompanying it, however, was another more unexpected one.

Lesser imitate dispelled. This spell cannot be maintained while within the bounds of a safe zone.

The illusion about me fell away, and I looked around quickly to see if anyone had noticed. Luckily, the day was still young, and the village was quiet.

Striding unhurried into the village, I took cover within the shadows of a small cabin while I attended to the Game messages that awaited me in the aftermath of my recent encounter.

You have reached level 63!

Congratulations, Michael! You are now a rank 6 player. Your experience gains have decreased further. For achieving rank 6, you have been awarded 1 additional attribute point and 1 Class point.

Your dodging has increased to level 42. Your sneaking has increased to level 58. Your shortswords has increased to level 54. Your two weapon fighting has increased to level 45. Your light armor has increased to level 37.

Your chi has increased to level 37. Your meditation has increased to level 42. Your telekinesis has increased to level 33.

Your insight has increased to level 60. Your deception has increased to level 55.

All my skills, with the exception of telepathy and thieving, had advanced again, and I’d gained another five player levels. My newly earned attribute points, I invested in Mind.

Your Mind has increased to rank 21.

Soon, I expected to upgrade all my mental abilities to the next tier, and for that, I needed to raise the attribute much higher.

Next, I mulled over what I’d learned from the dead goblin and the alert it had prompted.

Your task: Forging Dark Alliances! has been updated. You have received word from a questionable source that the Howlers are already allied with a Dark Power. Objective one revised: Inform Captain Talon or seek confirmation of your source’s information.

I glanced askance at the Game message. For all that it described the goblin as a ‘questionable source,’ what he had said felt right.

I had no proof the goblin’s words were true, of course, but at that moment, on the cusp of death, he’d had no reason to lie to me.

The goblin’s outrage had been palpable and… authentic, and I found myself believing him.

What game is Erebus playing at?

It was becoming more and more evident that the self-proclaimed Master was involved in some nefarious scheme. What I couldn’t figure out though, was: to what end?

Alright, let’s review what I know—or suspect.

One: the Red Rats were pledged to Erebus.

Two: the Howlers were pledged to Ishita.

Three: both of these alliances were so secret that not even the other Dark factions were aware of them. In fact, given the war raging between the two tribes, I could safely assume the goblins themselves didn’t know the other was allied with the Awakened Dead!

Four: Not only was Erebus allowing the tribes to fight each other, he seemed to be encouraging them to do so. Stayne had ordered the Red Rats to raid the Howlers, and it was a safe bet that Ishita’s sworn had done the reverse, too, commanding the Howlers to attack the Red Rats.

For a long while, I pondered over my collection of facts and suspicions, trying to fit them in a manner that made sense, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t figure out what the Awakened Dead was about.

The only definitive conclusion I could draw was that Erebus wanted the valley in turmoil. Why this was the case, I didn’t know, but it caused me to doubt my own plans to foment chaos.

I could still follow through with my scheme. However, now I was uncertain if, by doing so, I wouldn’t only further Erebus’ own ends.

I’m missing some crucial facts, something that completes the picture.

I pursed my lips in thought. I needed to speak to someone who perhaps knew more of what was going on.

Head bowed, I headed towards the Tartan barracks.