Note: I got sick last week and I'm still trying to get back into work, so I'll probably take next week off as well. Hopefully I'll be back for an uninterrupted summer.
Popcorn would’ve been amazing throughout all of that – odd thought, yeah, but it was the first one that passed through Henry’s mind upon witnessing Lucan’s… well, spectacle.
That said, the realities of the situation didn’t leave much room for snack breaks.
The King hadn’t moved since Lucan dismounted, and Henry was pretty sure it was dead for good. Still, it couldn’t hurt to play it safe.
With the Chosen looking like shit and Alpha conspicuously short on enhancement magic – or any magic at all, really – Sera was the obvious pick. So he sent her along.
She crossed over with care, her blade already drawn.
Henry watched over her with the RWS, turret aimed at the King’s skull. A handful of forty-mils to bare skin probably wouldn’t deal crazy damage, even without the helmet to worry about, but it’d sure as hell buy Sera the room to back off if she needed to.
Meanwhile, the Chosen had begun peeling off the field on their own, which saved the trouble of ordering them to.
Once Sera reached the crater, she drove the sword through the monster’s right eye. She really put her back into it, too, ramming the blade all the way down before giving it a hard twist for good measure.
Unsurprisingly, the body didn’t oblige. Shit, how could it? Given the insanely thorough beating Lucan had subjected the helm to, finding any signs of life would’ve been a miracle.
With the kill confirmed, Sera withdrew the blade and radioed in. “Captain. The beast is most certainly slain.”
Henry snorted into the channel. “Yeah, just making sure. Head over to the Chosen and help them get sorted. We’re gonna park near them so you can get into the Holding Cart for whatever they need.”
“Aye, Captain.”
While Ron drove ahead, Henry switched to the command net. “Baseplate, Alpha. We got ’im. King’s confirmed dead. But Lucan’s down hard – might need to rest a bit. The rest of the Chosen are spent as well. What’s the rest of the field looking like, over?”
“Alpha, Baseplate copies all. King confirmed KIA. As for the battle, it’s looking real nice. Ovinnish Army broke the goblin lines about ten minutes ago; enemy’s been folding ever since. Dwarves and adventurers are conducting cleanup across the board, your immediate vicinity should be clear. We’ve got a relief element en route to you, will arrive in five mikes. Also moving units to lock down the perimeter on the Rune Structure. Over.”
Henry sighed. “Yeah, appreciate it. We’ll hold ’til they get here.”
“Copy that. Baseplate out.”
Once Ron pulled up next to the Chosen, Henry got on the team net. “Hayes, Owens, run checks and restock. I’m gonna go see about the Chosen.”
“Copy,” Hayes said.
“On it,” Ron added, already pulling his gloves back on.
Henry hopped down from the MRAP and made his way over to the roadside where Lucan’s team had gathered.
Lord Fuckwad himself had somehow trudged back over before collapsing in front of Maren, who wore a brazenly bored look as she treated him to the magical spa special. Given the utter lack of panic and despair around the scene, Henry figured the meathead was doing just fine – a little tired, maybe, but otherwise none the worse for it.
Corrin was the next worst off, though not so battered as to require the spa treatment. He’d instead resorted to slamming red potions like a frat boy working through a six-pack. Tancred and Vaela, meanwhile, fared the best of the bunch, working through mana potions at a leisurely pace on a bench that Vaela had raised from the earth.
Henry walked over, joined a moment later by Sera carrying a fresh armful of potions. She broke off to hand them out among Lucan’s people while Henry continued on toward the man himself.
“I gotta say,” Henry said, crouching down beside him. “That was a hell of a show.”
Lucan’s eyes flicked up, half-lidded but sharp enough. “Could you have done better?”
“Hah.” Henry shook his head. “Wish I could answer yes to that.”
“Hm.” Lucan mulled it over for a second before finally deciding he liked the answer. “A rare admission.”
Henry let that sit for a second before getting to the point. “Anyway. Just got off comms with Baseplate. The dwarves are pretty much cleaning up the remnants – we got a relief element on its way here, so we’re good to sit tight.”
Lucan gave a slow nod, taking it in.
“How you holding up?” Henry asked.
“A quarter hour of rest shall see us right. Maren?” Lucan turned to her.
“Yes, a quarter hour,” she confirmed.
Lucan let his head fall back against the wall he was propped on. “Thereafter we shall accompany you to the Rune Structure. Or proceed ahead, if you’d rather. I shan’t hold you.”
Henry was about to answer when hoofbeats sounded from down the lane, pulling his attention back toward the road. “Alright. Hang tight.”
He stood, turned, and walked back to meet the new arrivals.
Six carriages rolled into view, escorted by mounted riders in heavy plate. Looked like roughly a platoon’s worth of dwarves all told – a solid number for cleanup work. The lead carriage hadn’t even fully stopped before a dwarf in mail swung down from the running board and made a beeline for Henry.
The dwarf stopped a couple steps short and smacked his fist over his chest in a salute.
Henry returned the salute. “Well met, Lieutenant. We took down the Goblin King and his Honor Guard, but the boys caught a beating on the way. You got any medics – er, healers, in your outfit?”
“Aye, that we do,” Wurdan confirmed.
“Good. Coordinate with Lucan’s Chosen over there – they’re pretty banged up, could use the help. Have the rest of your men set up a perimeter.”
Wurdan gave a sharp nod. “As ye will it.”
He turned and started barking orders down the column. Within moments, a handful of his people had peeled off and made their way over to Lucan’s Chosen, while the rest fanned out along the lane to establish positions.
Henry keyed his radio. “Doc, send a drone up to the Rune Structure.”
“Copy, Captain. Drone’s in the air.”
By the time Henry turned back from the radio, Sera had walked up – empty-handed now, the dwarves having relieved her of the medical stuff. She came to a stop beside him and fell in at his shoulder.
“Lucan has not changed,” Sera sighed. “He meets adversity much as ever.”
“Bashing the monster until it’s dead?” Henry offered.
Sera’s mouth twitched. “Near enough – though he seldom troubles himself with what follows after.”
Henry laughed. “Or what comes before.”
“If he did, he’d not be without his best sword. Let us hope he had the wit to bring another.”
“Yeah… I think you’re giving him a bit too much credit. Only time Lucan’s got any wit is when he’s talking shit.”
Sera giggled at that.
“Captain, I’ve got eyes on the structure,” Doc said over the radio. “Dwarves seem to have things well in hand – perimeter’s up, no sign of any unwelcome company. The building itself appears largely undisturbed.”
Henry pulled the feed up on his wrist display. Everything looked clean. “Thanks, Doc.”
He glanced over at Sera. “Y’know, I’m lowkey inclined to just go on ahead. Better to let the prince get his beauty rest than let him get close to all the volatile magic stuff.”
Sera’s mouth pulled into a small grin. “Let us make haste, then, lest he grows wise to us.”
Henry cupped his hands toward the MRAP. “Owens, you done?”
“Yeah,” Ron yelled back. “Everything looks good. Just gotta replenish the grenades and shit.”
While Ron got on with that, Henry hit up the radio. “Hayes, y’all ready to roll out?”
“Yup yup.”
“Alright, give us a minute. We’re heading to the Rune Structure in a bit.”
Henry made his way back over to Wurdan. “Lieutenant. We’re pushing ahead to the Rune Structure. Stay with Lucan’s people, escort ’em up once they’re ready to move.”
“Aye, Captain. We’ll see ’em through.”
After that, Henry got on the radio and passed the same update along to Maren, who acknowledged in kind.
Henry climbed back into the MRAP just as Ron wrapped up their ammo restock. Ron got back behind the wheel and pulled them out, following the lane up toward the Rune Structure.
The drive there took maybe five minutes – not enough to bother getting comfortable, but enough that Henry caught himself dwelling on the sheer amount of firepower it had taken to put down a Tier Nine Goblin King.
Having heard their approach, the dwarven perimeter parted to let them through. Ron drove past them, bringing the MRAP right up to the base of the steps before parking.
As Henry hopped down, a dwarf in officer’s plate broke off from a knot of his men and made his way over. He stopped a couple steps short and saluted.
“Captain Donnager. Captain Orgost – pleasure t’meet ye.”
“Likewise,” Henry said, returning the salute. “How’s the situation?”
“The perimeter stands secured, Captain, and the interior likewise; we have swept it through and found nary a foe within.”
Henry nodded, then caught himself. “You also checked for cloaking magic, right?”
“Aye, we did. Searched the place twice over, and again for good measure. Found no foe within – and truth be told, there’s scant here to hide a man, magic or no.”
“Okay, yeah. Good to hear. Appreciate the thorough work. Hold position out here; we’re gonna investigate the structure.”
The dwarf nodded before stepping back to rejoin his men.
Henry waved the rest of the team over, then contacted Sinclair. “Baseplate, Alpha. We’re proceeding inside the Rune Structure.”
“Copy, Alpha. Standing by for your report.”
Henry brought his team inside, and sure enough, their initial guesses panned out. The whole damn place was a rune system! And on reflection, it actually explained a lot of the weird shit they’d encountered thus far, from the hobgoblins riding fenwyrms back at Krevath, to the crystallons fielded as mounted cavalry against the dwarven villages.
Finally having all the disparate pieces snap together was pretty satisfying – from an investigatory standpoint, of course. Definitely not from the perspective of having actually lived through the mayhem all those pieces had involved.
Henry walked past the doorway, taking it all in. The building itself consisted of one massive open hall, the entire footprint of the structure dedicated to the rune array at its center.
To his right sat what looked, for all the world, like a server room – rows of metal-cased boxes lined up tidy as anything. As far as he could tell, each box was a giant battery, chock full of mana crystals. The whole array was hooked into a network of wiring that snaked across the floor and converged on the rune system at the center of the hall, evidently feeding the thing.
And evidently, the Nobians had managed to afford a hell of an upgrade.
Henry crouched down for a closer look, just to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. As it turned out, the Nobians had forgone the jury-rigged vine setups from previous encounters in favor of genuine orichalcum. The escalation was disturbingly impressive, and a clear sign that whoever ran their R&D shop had learned at a scary pace.
Concerning as that was, the presence of orichalcum alone was a hell of a find. See, orichalcum was the good stuff – a serious investment by any measure. It wasn’t something the Nobians could use on an op unless they had serious backing and the supply lines to keep it flowing. Given how far the Nobians were operating from their own borders, and given Ovinnegard’s perfectly reasonable disinterest in selling restricted metallurgical goods to suspicious foreign actors, the question of where the stuff had come from was actually a fairly narrow one. Two possibilities presented themselves, both improbable, but neither comfortable.
The first was that the Nobians had infiltrated the Ovinnish government deeply enough to be siphoning supply through cutouts and shell purchasers. Though they’d already proved themselves capable of running real tradecraft, an operation of that depth would require an embedded network of agents at procurement-level access. Not the kind of thing Henry was going to turn up by poking around, and certainly not the kind of thing Ovinnegard would take kindly to being accused of without iron-clad proof.
The second was that they’d cracked a Baranthurian ruin and were pulling material out of it. Possible in principle, since orichalcum did turn up in Baranthurian sites – but a nearby ruin in these mountains, in this weather, with an active Elemental Dragon in the neighborhood? Not a chance.
Well, no use chewing on it now. Henry filed it for Sinclair and moved on.
Turning to his left, Henry took in what amounted to the Goblin King’s living quarters. An oversized bed sat against the far wall, scaled to the creature’s proportions, with furniture sized to match. The whole arrangement had been kept impressively tidy for something belonging to a goblin. Then again, considering how smart this thing had proven to be, it wasn’t that much of a surprise.
Lastly, at the far end of the hall, Henry’s sweep landed on a row of human-sized workspaces – desks and cabinets, set well clear of the rune array. If the Nobians had any paperwork worth grabbing, that’s where it’d be.
Henry keyed his radio again. “Baseplate, Alpha. Structure’s clear and ready to receive your analysts.”
“Copy, Alpha. We’re on our way.”
He turned to the team. “Sera, Yen – coordinate with Captain Orgost’s guys on unhooking the power cells from the rune array. There’s a lot of cabling to work through, so the more hands the better. Everyone else, look for anything worth flagging for Sinclair’s people.”
He gave a slight sweep of his hand, gesturing Doc toward the workspaces. “Archaeologists first.”
They all made their way over to the workspaces, only to find the desks completely scoured. Not a single sheet of paper, not a quill, not even the faint discoloration that paper or ink would have left behind. The Nobians had cleared this place out thoroughly enough to make Langley’s spooks proud.
Hayes himself confirmed it as he opened the first cabinet. “Fuck all in here.” He worked his way down the row, pulling open the rest one after another. “Jack shit, jack shit, and would ya look at that? Jack shit.”
Henry shrugged. “Can’t expect any less from professionals. Any thoughts, Doc?”
Doc considered it for a beat. “Well, the prudent course is to do our due diligence regardless. I shouldn’t expect the Nobians to have left anything of substance, mind you, but it’s worth giving the rest of the structure a proper look before calling it a day. At the very least, we might glean a thing or two from how the Goblin King kept itself.”
“Yeah,” Ron said. “I mean, even just knowing the Nobians can pull off shit like this is already a pretty big deal.”
Henry gave it a moment, then nodded. “Alright. Hayes, Doc – take the Goblin King’s quarters. Owens and I’ll cover the power supply side.”
He made his way over to where Sera, Yen, and a few of Orgost’s specialists were working through the cabling. Henry pulled out his camera and got to work documenting everything – the active cells, the disconnected ones, the orichalcum wiring, the array itself, anything Sinclair’s analysts might want a look at later.
He was about halfway through the second row when Sinclair came in with her detail – a handful of her analysts trailing her, plus a security element pulling rear and flank. She caught sight of Henry and made her way over, picking her steps around the cabling on the floor.
“Seems we were right on the money with that rune system call,” Sinclair said.
Henry nodded. “Yup.”
“Any leads?” she asked.
Henry chuckled. “Nope. You were right on the money on that one, too. Well, so far. But knowing the Nobians’ skill, I’m not exactly holding my breath.”
She shrugged. “Ah well. It was worth a shot, if anything. Why don’t you head back to the inn, ask Armstrong if they could send up Kelmithus? We’ll take it from here.”
“Yeah, alright,” Henry said. “Thanks, Sinclair. Catch you around.”