A Tyrant, Sort Of

Earlier, Sable had denied Aylin from entering a dungeon. As a woman fresh to her class, and clearly somewhat reckless, she hadn’t wanted the risk. But with Granite there to back her up, and Aylin having had some practice, Sable knew she needed to let go of that sentimentality. Their future simply wouldn’t allow for it, as she’d been coming to terms with in the past day.

Setting them down in front of The Dark Cellar, that same dungeon she and Aylin had first ventured, Sable said, [I’ll pick you up mid day tomorrow. That’s when I’m heading for Skatikk to determine future campaigns. That should be plenty of time for you to get a level or two.]

“Two?” Aylin asked incredulously. “I mean, a girl can hope, but I doubt that.”

“We are not dragons,” Granite rumbled in agreement.

[Regardless,] Sable said, [that’s the plan. Do you need anything?]

They didn’t, so Sable departed. She still had more hunting of her own to do. Every level she earned further secured her position, so she didn’t intend to waste a minute. Less then twenty-four hours from now, she’d be formalizing plans to take over the entirety of the Red Plains. Those were the sorts of goals best backed up with overwhelming firepower.

***

If Sable had known how easy the first levels would be, and how much stronger they made her, she wouldn’t have conquered Skatikk so quickly. Because early the next morning, her hunting trip split up by a night’s rest, she progressed once again from level eight to nine. She was scorching her way through the ranks, both figuratively and literally. The ability to dispatch entire hordes of enemies many levels her superior was, it turned out, an outrageously effective way to level.

Though, to be fair, that prodigious speed was undoubtedly thanks to her advancements in hoard and notoriety, along with the spellcasting skills she’d learned from Roman. So, conquering Skatikk had been a good idea in some regards, even if possibly too ambitious looking back. And in the end, they’d never rebelled, so what worked out, worked out.

Her newest ability would be useful for the upcoming campaigns.

***

[Predator’s Insight] - Gaze upon your enemies and discern those most worthy of your wrath. Detect status, strength, and wealth.

***

It was, in fact, such an impressively targeted skill that she found herself suspicious. Or maybe suspicious was the wrong word. Revealing. That perhaps her intent—her goals and plans for the future—actively guided what her skills would be.

Because one of her moral justifications had been that if she needed to break a resisting force, then she would do so by focusing on important targets—that the leadership of some governing body would be who suffered for waging war against her, not the common folk, of which she could evaporate in the hundreds with contemptuous ease.

So [Predator’s Insight]? Which gave her the strength, status, and wealth of whoever she pointed it toward? It meant even in the fray of two armies clashing, she would be able to identify those worthy of her wrath.

In short, it was a wonderful pickup. Combined with the natural stat, resource, and size gains, the long hours she’d spent in the Fang Hollows had been well worth the effort.

With the sun crawling up to the middle of the sky, though, it was time she visited Skatikk. She had a war to discuss.

***

Sable thudded into the ground in front of The Dark Cellar. The guards once posted in front of the entrance hadn’t returned. They had, reasonably, yielded the complex to the dragon who had taken interest in it.

Aylin and Granite weren’t sitting outside, waiting for her, which was alarming. She’d told them to be ready to be picked up at midday, and while it was an hour or two until then, she’d still have expected them to be ready in advance.

And considering her newfound size, Sable couldn’t venture down into the dungeon to try to find them. Even the large entrance doorway couldn’t accommodate her by this point, much less the constrictive hallways.

[Aylin? Granite?]

It took a second, but to her relief, a response did come. [We’re here,] Aylin said. [Stayed inside in case the guards came back.]

That made sense.

A moment later, the thick wooden doors creaked open, and a goblin accompanied by a stone golem shoved out. Sable was pleased to see they didn’t look too worse for wear. Their evening, night, and morning spent in the dungeon hadn’t left them with any serious injuries. Though certainly tired, sweaty, and grimy.

[How’d it go?] Sable asked.

“Pretty good, actually,” Aylin said. “Got some loot, a level, and I’d bet I’m close to another. Those titles, and your enhancements, are no joke.”

To a puny mortal, of course they were. [What skill did you get?]

“[Two-Handed Specialty],” Aylin said. “More used to a shield and sword, but it seems like my class wants a flashier combat style.” She turned around and gestured to a greatsword strapped to her back. It was scaled-down for a goblin, though, meaning only three or four feet long, not the impressive size of human greatswords. “Thankfully, dungeon hooked me up.” She turned forward. “Still a bit clumsy with it, but [Fast Learner]’s helping me pick the new style up. Seriously useful, that thing.”

Sable bet. She wished she could give herself a title. They were both flexible and—while not overwhelming so—fairly strong. Especially since from the sounds of it, the potency of them would increase over time.

She appreciated how it would make her minions more capable. As it stood, her thralls weren’t the most useful thing in the world. Maybe that was the fault of her not utilizing them to their fullest. If only she were more comfortable crushing minds and free will, a squad of powerful, intelligent servants would be convenient to no end.

She spared a look for Granite. Like Aylin, he’d received a smattering of dungeon equipment. An iron helmet sat over his head, looking a bit silly. He also wielded a hammer, now. She supposed even for a man made of rock, a chunk of metal would be the more effective weapon.

[I also leveled,] Sable said.

“Again?”

[And I need to test a skill on you,] Sable continued. [Tell me if you feel anything.]

Focusing on the goblin girl, she activated [Predator’s Insight].

The resulting effect was strange. Information filtered into her mind, but not neat and tidy, as a stat page might be. Looser, free-form. She got the impression that this goblin girl was relatively unimportant, all things considered. Little to no wealth to her name, of no significant social status, though with a powerful patron, and that she was a woman fresh to a class. There was also a hint that those things were on the rise.

Sable shook her head, disoriented. It all made sense with what she knew of Aylin, but it had been filtered through the skill in such a strange way.

“Oh yeah,” Aylin said, shivering. “Definitely felt that.”

[I expected so,] Sable said. Though she wasn’t happy about it. It would have been more useful if she could use it indiscriminately, without alerting her target.

Which still meant it was suitable for combat, such as identifying key targets on a battlefield. Hardly needed to hide herself, there. But in the future, when or if Sable someday infiltrated higher societies, perhaps to gain a more suitable magic tutor, she wouldn’t be able to throw the ability out without her targets knowing she’d done so.

“What’s it do?” Aylin asked.

[Identifies status and strength of a target, in a general sense,] Sable said.

Aylin whistled. “An [Inspect] that can’t be denied.” She recognized the usefulness of such an ability.

[Regardless,] Sable said, [let’s be on with our day. We have a war to discuss.]

***

Normally, Sable figured, the eminent leadership of the Bonecracker Tribe wouldn’t set a war council up in the middle of a courtyard, but their typical buildings were off the table, seeing how they needed to host a dragon.

They’d planned for it in advance, at least. The sprawling table, seating twenty or so goblins, was adorned with maps, documents, and notebooks even before Sable arrived and demanded them to gather. It took a short time for the meeting to be arranged, since Sable had given no clear frame on when she’d arrive, but they’d been expecting it, and so within the hour, the war council had been called.

Chieftain Skatikk sat at one end of the long table, and Aylin—with Sable sitting on her haunches behind her—at the other.

The council for the domination of the Red Plains began in earnest.