Chapter 187: Night Shift
"Instead of trying to remember everything, it's much easier to write it down," Bonnie just got back from the bathroom and heard the group discussing if they have forgotten any quests.
Hera pulled up her tablet, "Ok, first we had Galva's thing. That was a 30% buff for the kobolds. The next one was the formation thing. It gave an 80% buff but only for the ones doing the shield wall."
"Then we had Alex fixing the traps. It was a 50% buff to the spikes and stuff," Blue sat up on the bed.
"Right, then Tom did the speech thing, and that is a 20% increase to the kobolds. Mine was another 20. Then… it was Blue or Bonnie?" Runir asked.
"Both, we got it almost at the same time. Mine was a 50% increase in the number of catapults. They wasted so much wood building those things," Bonnie sighed.
"Then it was me with the alchemist. There was no buff but a new wildfire trap. It's essentially a Molotov cocktail. But, if a kobold sees the trap triggering, it will get another 40% buff."
"The one who missed our supper had the last quest of the day. If I may say, I believe it to be quite an impressive result—a 10% buff to all structures and gear is nothing to scoff at, especially if that also applies to traps."
"Ok, so what's the total?" Blue asked.
Hera added everything, "The kobolds have a 70% buff, 40% if they see the traps, and 80% if they are doing the shield wall. The structures and stuff have a 10% buff, and the traps 50% if we count the 10% of everything."
"Right… and is that good?" Blue turned to Bonnie.
"I don't know…"
"It's kind of hard to gauge that since we don't know how the quest will go. There was no hint in the compendium," Alex said.
There was a moment of pause. The group was now in a tent given by the kobolds where they could sleep, and the entire camp was silent. According to what they were told, the canine kobolds would not attack during the night, meaning that there was no need to even have lookouts, and the entire army could sleep. That was only what the Dragon Kin said. The compendium informed about the possibility of attacks during the night.
"Honestly, there is nothing we can do. We should just rest and do our best tomorrow. Worst case scenario, we pull the ripcord," Bonnie said.
They nodded and set up the shifts. First, it would be Alex and Runir, then Bonnie and Tom, while Hera and Blue would take the last one. Hera appreciated not taking the first shift and being able to sleep for a long time. Despite not having to do any intense work, she was exhausted. They had woken up early to come to this room, and by going by the clock on her tablet, the dungeon had a different time zone. The sun went down three hours later than it should, and there were so many weapons to take care of that she couldn't leave the kobold who was working with her alone without feeling bad. Now, all that she wanted was a nice soft pillow where she could rest.
Galva had even stopped by the armory to give her a plate after dinner since she never showed up. Still, she managed to take care of every single weapon in the arsenal. She wasn't sure if the results would be that good if she didn't finish everything. With nothing left to do, Hera just lay down on the bed, falling asleep in just a few moments. Blue, Bonnie, and Tom were tired but felt it was too early to sleep. They talked for a few hours, discussing strategy for the next day.
"Changing the subject, did you find anything you want to try, Blue?" Bonnie asked.
"Not yet. I want something that can work as a gap closer. That's why I got the lightning spell. I thought I could either increase my speed or maybe even do a small blink. You know how there are those types of things in games. But now I'm thinking about a way to use my grappling on large creatures. Maybe something that works as another limb, but I don't know what."
"I see.." Bonnie looked away.
"What?" Blue noticed her motion.
"No, no, nothing. I don't want to give you bad news."
"Now I have to know. Wha's wrong?"
"Buffs for speed like that are costly. You are going to need a lot of mana to use them. Phantom limbs are even worse, at least according to what I know," Bonnie replied.
"Can you share what you know about those types of spells?"
"Would it be a problem if I joined the conversation? Both types of spells seem quite interesting," Tom said.
"Sure. Let's start with the easier ones, and please, take all I say with a grain of salt. I'm not that experienced with those spells…."
Bonnie explained what she knew, and they discussed the possibilities through the beginning of the night, all while Hera was sound asleep. A couple of hours later, they joined in her slumber. Runir and Alex patrolled the camp. There was a single lookout tower by the entrance and all the Dragon Kin were sleeping. They had absolute trust that the Wolves of the Night wouldn't attack during their rest. Even when the group tried to make the kobolds help patrol, no one would do a thing without Zudra's orders. Alex started in the tower, while Runir would walk around the area, making sure no one was sneaking inside. It was hard to cover the entire camp with only two people, but it was the only thing they could do. After finishing one lap around the camp, Runir swapped with Alex, staying in the tower while walking around. The two avoided talking at first, but as time went by and there was no sign of anything happening, the two started chatting via the communicators not to disturb anyone.
After their three-hour shift, they headed back to the tent and swapped with Bonnie and Tom. Hera was so tired that she hadn't even moved since falling asleep. They did the same thing that Alex and Runir had done, taking turns staying in the watchtower. They spent half an hour patrolling when a notification appeared in front of them.
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Event – Canine Invasion
The Wolves of the Night sent teams to sabotage and kill the Dragon Kin.
Protect the camp and its inhabitants. Creatures capable of giving quests are more likely to be targeted.
If Zudra is killed, the Dungeon quest will fail.
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Tom and Bonnie left their stations right away. They had to find where the canine kobold where. Luckily, Runir was having trouble sleeping and saw the notification as soon as it popped up. He woke everyone up, Hera still feeling lethargic and wanting to keep sleeping. She was feeling sore, and her eyes stung as if she had opened them under the sea.
"Why the fuck are those fucking things showing up now?" Hera mumbled while getting up.
Blue and Alex exchanged a glance. They never heard her cursing twice in the same sentence. It was the first time the two of them saw Hera genuinely angry. The group put on the communicators and called Bonnie and Tom.
"We're up. Did you guys find anything?" Blue asked.
"Not yet, at least on the ground. How about from the tower, Tom?"
"I do not have the same keen eyes that our assassin possesses, but I believe there are a few heading to the front gate," Tom was watching some shadows cross the field in front of the camp. The road that led outside the wooden walls was still free of traps. Only in the morning would the kobolds prepare them.
"I'll meet you there," Alex said, already leaving the tent.
"We should split up. The quest said teams, so there could be more than just that group. We should check the kobolds that gave us the quests," Blue headed to the alchemist cabin.
"Right, I'll take the infirmary," Runir said.
"I'm close to it. I'll meet you there, then we can check the catapults," Bonnie replied using the comms.
"I'll check on the armory," Hera was still trying to wake up properly.
"Alex and I will be close to the barracks. Allow us to protect them from our foes. Someone needs to safeguard the friendly chef, and our general," Tom was still on the tower trying to see if the kobolds would split off.
"Right, I'll do it then," Hera replied.
She was the only one left in the tent and walked outside, mumbling. The bed wasn't as soft as she expected. To make things worse, she slept in an odd position and now felt her muscles cramp up. She ran towards the tent where Galva worked, but it was all the way on the other side of the camp. Hera tried to shake off the muscle pain, but to no avail. As she passed by the command center, another notification appeared in front of her.
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Kobold Captain slain
Medium morale decrease
-10% Dragon Kin kobolds attributes.
Soldiers in his platoon receive -20% attributes.
Shield wall effectiveness -20%
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Hera clenched her fists. Her friends had warned Zudra that there could be an attack, but she ignored them. Now the captain was dead. They didn't talk much during the training, but it was easy to tell that he cared a lot about his troops. While Zudra was more worried about speaking properly than taking care of her own people.
She had stopped moving when she saw the notification, and the turmoil inside her mind was enough to distract her. Sneaking from behind, three figures jumped on Hera and held her down on the ground. She struggled to get up but was unable to do so. Even if each of the creatures was individually weaker than her, they could still pin her to the ground if working together. One of them got off her back and moved closer to Hera's head.
"You have chosen the wrong side, pink skin."
It pulled Hera's hair back, exposing her throat, and moved a dagger closer to her neck. Hera tried to shake off the other two, but her body still hurt, making her unable to muster her strength. Unsure what to do to escape, she created a blinding flash on her hand. However, the two kobolds were on top of her hands, holding them down. Any spell she tried to cast would only hit the ground. The only thing she could try now would be using the grease fire and hoping that they would be startled long enough for her to do something, even so, that would burn her hand, leaving her in a bad situation to fight the three. The kobold pressed his dagger against her throat. Hera could feel some of her blood starting to come out of the superficial cut.
Flashes of the kobold leader she faced during the test appeared in her head. The claws and fangs ripping her apart. She would not let one of those creatures kill her. Pulling all her mana towards her mouth, Hera prepared a large grease fire spell. It would be the first time she tried to use a spell that didn't originate in her hands, and worst-case scenario, her mouth could be covered in third-degree burns. But so would that damn kobold's face, and it was better than dying by his hands.
"What are your final words?" the kobold asked.
"Fuck you!" at the end of the sentence, the grease fire was triggered. The spell came out as if it was a flamethrower. She could feel some weird sour liquid inside her mouth, but the fire only started after her lips, almost like it was being ignited by them. The spell spilled out from her face, covering the kobold in flaming oil. The monster screamed and tumbled back. Hera took advantage of the situation and looked to the side, trying to hit one of the two still holding her down with the remainder of the spell. She managed to hit the one on her right, but the magic fizzled out before reaching the last one. The kobold who tried to cut her neck was now silent, parts of the bone already appearing through the flesh. Hera stared at the last one holding her. Grabbing his wrist, she slammed her handaxe in its face, splitting it open in one fell swoop. She turned to the last one standing, who was rolling on the ground to put out the fire on its fur. Walking towards it, Hera grabbed his head and said.
"No last words for you assholes."
Before the kobold even realized what just happened, Hera cut open its throat the same way they tried to do it with her.
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