Another bout of goblin-speak caught Richter’s attention. His gaze shifted to a group of three goblin scouts and two of the larger goblin fighters that were bound hand and foot. At the end of the battle, it seemed his guards had been able to capture some of the enemy warband. The goblins were cursing and threatening his people even as some of the guards were starting to gag them. Richter didn’t know what the green-skinned captives thought they were accomplishing considering the fact that his people did not speak goblin, but then, maybe they weren’t that bright. The point was he had time to figure it out. The battle was done.
Richter reached an arm out, and Sion reached down to help him up. When the chaos seed was back on his feet, he was once again struck by how strange it was to have Sion be a foot taller than before. Even though the sprite was still only four and a half feet tall, it was a marked difference from before his Companion had undergone the meidon bonding. Before he could make an appropriately asshole comment about growth spurts, though, he was distracted by a sound of extreme disgust. Turning his head, Richter saw a sprite that was starting to gag and followed the woman’s gaze. His own eyes widened, and he shouted, “Stop!”
His shale adder, not at all bothered by the carnage of the battle, had uncoiled its body from the death lock it had had on the Witch Doctor. Apparently, the snake thought it deserved a little treat for its contribution during the battle and had laid claim to a particular piece of post-battle booty: the body of the goblin Mage. It had dislocated its jaw and was proceeding to ingest the caster feet first! The Witch Doctor’s face was still frozen in a leer of hatred that was only made worse by the bulging eyes and burst blood vessels that had resulted from being squeezed to death. It had to be Richter’s imagination, but the dead Mage seemed to be staring at him as the chaos seed’s tamed creature started to ingest it.
“I said stop!” Richter shouted for a second time. Everyone looked over at him, including the adder. Again, it had to have been in his imagination, but the snake’s eyes seemed to widen in innocence as if to imply that what it was doing couldn’t possibly be the cause of its master’s ire! The guiltless image it was trying to portray was obviously undercut by the fact that it had already swallowed the Witch Doctor’s body up to the knees.
“Yes, I’m talking to you!” Richter said, walking up to the creature. “Now drop it! How are you even supposed to get back to the village if you eat a whole goblin right here? I’d have to roll you back through the forest! Spit it out!”
He knew he wasn’t imagining it this time. The snake fixed him with an accusing and petulant gaze as it began to regurgitate the goblin. It wasn’t a fast procedure. The adder had to disgorge the goblin’s body inch by inch, and the process was accompanied by a wet shulck, shulck sound. The sprite that had been gagging, before, progressed to full vomiting. Soon one or two others joined her. Richter didn’t really blame them. His own face wrinkled in disgust. He realized that, once again, TV fell short of real life. This was not the way nature was portrayed on Animal Planet.
Once it was clear that it would obey, Richter turned his attention to helping with the healing efforts. Before he had taken more than a few steps, though, the sprite that he had rescued ran up to him. “Are you the leader of these people?”
Something about the sprite seemed off to Richter, or at the very least… different. The chaos seed used Analyze.
Name: Liddle Race: Hill Sprite Disposition: Neutral
Hill Sprites have several marked differences from their woodland cousins. Just as comfortable below ground as above, they have greater strength, but less agility than wood or forest sprites. Underground, they have had to engage in melee combat to a greater extent and are more comfortable with close quarters combat. They are also gifted with a limited darkvision. Hills sprites get three points to distribute per level, and each level gives +1 to Strength and +1 to Dexterity.
Age: 35
Level: 11, 28%
Health: 172/210 Mana: 81/150 Stamina: 62/170
Strength: 23
Agility: 15
Dexterity: 23
Constitution: 21
Endurance: 17
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 12
Charisma: 12
Luck: 11
“I am the war leader and the Master of these lands, Liddle,” Richter asserted. “You may call me Richter. Before you say anything else, hold still a moment.” Raising one hand, the chaos seed focused his will and spoke a word of Power. Golden light enveloped his hand as he cast Weak Slow Heal. The hill sprite’s bruises and wounds began to disappear, and within seconds, most of them were gone. The relief on the small man’s face was immediate and obvious. Liddle’s shoulders relaxed, his breathing eased, and he looked at Richter gratefully.
With that done, the chaos seed continued, “Now. What do you need to tell me? And why were you being pursued by such a large warband?”
“Thank you for healing me, Lord Richter,” Liddle began. “There are many things I need to tell you, but first, I must warn you of the Bloodstone.”
Sion’s head whipped around, “A Bloodstone? Are you sure?”
The hill sprite gave Sion an inscrutable look for a moment but then answered, “I am sure. They have already begun the sacrifices, and they have held me captive for weeks. I felt the call of my meitu’meidon though. It gave me the strength to endure and escape.”
Sion’s face grew even more concerned and agitated. Seeing Richter’s questioning expression, he explained, “A Bloodstone is an object of Deep Magic. As far as I know, they can only be fully utilized by Blood mages, but sprite history is full of stories of other mages using them to breed havoc and ruin. They are relics from long ago. I do not know much about them, but one thing that holds true in all of the stories is how the stone gathers power. It must be bathed in heart’s blood.”
Liddle began nodding emphatically, “The wood sprite is correct, Lord Richter. They are killing people right now! That is why I need your help, and quickly! Thankfully, it seems the Bloodstone can only absorb the energy from one sacrifice per day, but other prisoners told me that dozens of sprites, humans and elves have already been sacrificed!”
“Where is their encampment?” Sion asked urgently.
“Do you have a map?” Liddle asked. “I can show you the rough location.”
Richter removed his Traveler’s Map from his bag and unrolled it. Currently, it showed a large swath of the forest. He zoomed out until Liddle was able to recognize landmarks. The hill sprite exclaimed in surprise, so the chaos seed quickly explained the properties of his magical map. Liddle nodded in understanding and stabbed his finger down on a location to the east.