NOVEL NEXT B2 – Lesson 22: “Redirection is a Virtue.”
//Alpha Log -
6952 SFY-Third Era, 134 standard days since Planetfall.
45 days since the arrival at the colony. 2 weeks since the battle to retake the Goblin village.
Work on Project: Ant King is well underway. Now that the troubles with the goblins have been resolved, I’ve found myself with far more free time. Playing Dungeon Core was a pleasant distraction while the V-2s baked. The obsolete IV-2s had been mostly regulated to patrolling the forest and assist the goblins in reconstructing their village. This caused some worry from the goblins and confusion among the ants. Thankfully, simple, AI-controlled pheromone signalers built into the goblin’s suits and scattered around the village have helped keep incidents to a minimum.
The IV-2s are still more ant than borg, so they can get… snippy around the unsuited goblins. So, the captured Adventurers have been the ones to do most of the work. They’re surprisingly tough for biologicals, and a bite here or there isn’t enough to cause many problems.
When there is an issue, Dr. Maria has shown to be a quite competent doctor, both magical and mundane. She is quickly becoming indispensable, and while the goblins are still weary around the outsider, they’ve shown the woman far more respect than the rest of the prisoners.
/ Personal note: See about providing Dr. Maria with the standard humanoid care dossier. It will be interesting to see how the medical knowledge of this world differs and if there’s anything we can use to improve our current setup. /
Research on the adventures has proven fruitful, though, as of now, not very useful for any ongoing projects. Federation-approved interrogation methods have provided a basic understanding of the Adventurer’s ‘cultivation’ system. Actual understanding is fragmented and incomplete, individually. Beyond a basic understanding of the process, most information is strictly controlled by the ‘clans’ and ‘sects,’ according to the few willing to speak on the matter. Likely to ensure their continued dominance.
From what I’ve been able to gather, cultivation begins with the gathering of the strange environmental energy I’ve been studying. How this is done seems to vary from person to person. Some can gather this energy through simple meditation. Others need to actively move through set kata. A few can even gather energy through the act of combat itself.
Like the psionic energies observed in the Federation, I strongly suspect this ‘Spirit Energy’ is highly reactive to the conscious mind. It has less to do with how the person gathers the energy and more with the active desire to do so. Anything else is simply a mental device to ease the process.
Once gathered, the energy is stored inside a centralized location in the cultivator’s body. Scans have shown the exact location of this ‘dantian’ varies on the individual, though the two most common locations are at center mass, just under the navel, and directly behind the heart. While two individuals have had dantians located in their head, neither of them, one of which is Dr. Marita, could explain why.
The only explanation offered was that individuals with dantians in their heads were generally seen as more intelligent and adaptable. In the same train of thought, those with dantians near their heart were often more energetic and charismatic, with a higher energy reserve, both physically and magically. Finally, those with a dantian in their gut often had more physically powerful or tougher bodies.
However, how this was explained leads me to believe this is more of a cultural explanation, rather than an absolute. Further examination is needed to ascertain if there is any truth to these claims.
As for the so-called ‘magic,’ unfortunately, none of the surviving Adventurers knew much about the art. Apparently, magic is far less common than cultivation on this continent, as compared to the ‘mage continent’ of Gaia. The most I could gather is that becoming a mage involves transforming one’s dantian into something called a ‘mana furnace.’ It seems I will have to wait until I can capture my own mage to learn more about this matter. A shame.
Regardless of the location of their dantian, however, cultivators can circulate their collected energy through a set of metaphysical channels they call meridians. Doing so has shown to have strong mutagenic effects on their biology, effectively increasing various aspects of their bodies. While these meridians don’t appear to be physically present in their body, I have observed the flow of energy through them by tracking the energy itself. It’s currently unknown whether these meridians are a psionic construct or some form of quantum channel.
Unfortunately, experimentation confirm Jīshí’s previous comment. I seem to lack the necessary mechanisms to gather or interact with this energy personally. Whether this is because I am not from this world or because I’m not a biological being, is currently unknown. Further testing is needed. For now, I will have to settle with the arrays, as they seem to act in a similar manner to a form of artificial meridians.
In fact, I have observed several patterns among the Adventurer’s meridians that bear a striking resemblance to several array patterns I’ve been able to deduce. Whether this means these arrays were created by observing the natural patterns formed by meridians or the other way around, I don’t know. The book that Jīshí provided me offers no answers, as it was specifically written for me. It barely touches on much of what I’ve learned over the last two weeks.
Nonetheless, my work on arrays has expanded greatly now that I have the time and understanding to make better use of them. At the current pace, it won’t be long until I can start incorporating parts into the [Wasp] drones as a test. From there, setting arrays into the antborgs, or even some of the equipment in the base, will be feasible. With any luck, this will lower the drain on my core and free up energy for more important things, like the translight incubators and simulations.
I still have a long way to go before I feel comfortable enough to start expanding seriously. More so with the looming threat of this ‘Icefinger’ figure. The goblin Antchaser believes the man won’t let this kind of insult go unanswered, so I and the goblins are focusing much of our efforts on preparing for retaliation. In particular, the hunters involved in the village’s liberation have been delving into my ‘dungeon’ regularly for training. This has given me ample opportunity to study the goblins and how they compare to the Adventurers.
Everyone is on high alert; I suspect this feeling will only grow with time.
—————————————
“Is that really all they know of Icefinger?” Alpha asked as Antchaser paced back and forth inside the small meeting hut.
Antchaser paused and shook his head, his shoulders slumping. “I believe so… You were right that those bastards were more willing to… brag about their boss to me, than to speak to you openly. But it seems Icefinger likes to keep his cards close to his chest. The goons don’t know much more about him than the general public.”
Alphantonso V shrugged, and Alpha responded. “You don’t become a crime boss by airing all your dirty laundry. I was never expecting much from the rabble. Still, let’s go over what we do know.”
Antchaser started pacing again and raised a finger. “We know one bandit managed to slip away. This ‘Seeker’ fellow. We also know he holds at least some sway in the gang, as he was assigned by Icefinger to watch over Bosco,”
Alpha continued, “We also know they took roughly two weeks to travel from Halirosa to this area, but that was as a group. A single individual can travel faster.”
Antchaser nodded. “That’s true, though this fellow seems like the cautious type. The Crimson Mountains are dangerous for a lone man, even if he is much stronger. I’d guess four, maybe five days? A week if he took his time and didn’t rush back.”
“Either way, that means Icefinger likely knows or will soon know about what happened here. How long do you think it will take for him to gather a force?” Alpha asked.
Antchaser paused. “I… couldn’t say. Hunters only visit Halirosa once or twice yearly to trade what we’ve collected. I wouldn’t know anything about the inner workings of Adventurers, let alone a criminal gang,” he sighed.
“A few days to analyze the report. Two to three weeks to gather the men. Depends on how long it takes to pull some of their enforcers,” came the response from behind him. Antchaser turned, his eyes wide, to stare at the old grandmotherly woman standing in the doorway. Dr. Maria stared back with a frown, wiping her bloody hands with a small, clean rag.
The front of her cotton robe was stained red with fresh blood. “Sorry for the mess. One of the fools thought they’d have a better chance of slipping through the ants than the goblins. Had his leg bit clean off, and I had to sew it back on before the idiot bled out,” the old woman said, shaking her head.
Boarslayer pushed her way into the hut behind the doctor and scoffed. “It was the fool’s own fault. He forgot the first rule when dealing with dungeon creatures: don’t underestimate them.” The large goblin woman then collapsed into a chair and drained one of the tankards sitting on the table.
Antchaser shook his head at the woman’s words. Boarslayer said that like she’d not stepped foot into a dungeon for the first time only a few weeks before.
Before he could say as much, Alpha spoke. “So, three weeks to gather, two more of travel, assuming Icefinger’s already been informed. If we assume this Seeker fellow got back about a week ago, that means we have less than two months to prepare.”
Maria sank into a free chair and wiggled her hand. “Less. Halirosa already knows about this place, too. Or at least the tunnels leading to it. How do you think we knew to come here? They had an expeditionary force gathering when we left. I bet it’s already on its way, too. I’d give them another two weeks before they arrive.”
Antchaser narrowed his eyes and stared at the old woman. “And why should we trust you? Why would you even help us?”
The doctor opened one eye and stared at the goblin as she answered, “Boy, I signed a contract with Bosco, as foolish as that might have made me. That was to act as a healer for their little group to explore some mountain tunnels. There was nothing about raiding a village or dealing with a dungeon. I’m getting too old for that kind of tomfoolery. It wasn’t with Icefinger, nor do I hold any loyalty to him or his gang of miscreants. As long as I get paid, I don’t right care who I work for.”
Boarslayer crossed her arms and sneered, “And I’m sure if Icefinger wipes us all out, you’ll happily tell him everything you know, too, right?”
Dr. Maria threw back her head and cackled, “Well then, lass, you’d better do you best to win, now shouldn’t you?”
Alpha spoke, pushing the conversation back on track, “So we’ve got a second group of Adventurers heading our way to deal with before this Icefinger fellow even shows up. Great.”
Dr. Maria nodded and folded her arms. “Aye. Though these shouldn’t be so… rough around the edges as the last. They’re an official team for the Halirosa Adventurer’s Guild. It wouldn’t be the first time such a group has stumbled on a Deep Village during their duties. Adventurers can be a… chaotic bunch, but the general rule is that as long as you treat them as guests, they shouldn’t be too much trouble. That said, as official scouts, don’t expect them to be anything like the trash Bosco brought along, either. They may be few in number, but they’ll be elites. If you play your cards right, though, they might be a boon rather than an obstacle.”
Alphantonso V tapped a leg against its mandibles while Alpha thought. “Interesting… what are you proposing?”
Dr. Maria grinned from ear to ear and then addressed the other three in the room. “Well, first off. You want to keep them away from the dungeon. They’ll likely figure it out eventually, but an untouched dungeon is too much of an allure for most Adventurers. No guarantee they won’t weigh their options and decide to join forces with Icefinger’s men when they get here if they think they can take it for themselves later.”
Alpha mentally frowned. Not that he was getting much out of the whole ‘roleplaying as a dungeon’ thing yet anyway, but he wondered if it would end up drawing more attention than he wanted at the moment.
Dr. Maria continued. “That said, you still need to give them a reason to stick their heads in the fight. Something to make them stick around, rather than run off as soon as the fighting starts and come back later with a larger force to pick up the scraps.”
Boarslayer narrowed her eyes and asked, “You want us to bait the trap, then let both predators fight over the prize…”
Dr. Maria grinned and nodded her head. “Yep. That’s one way to look at it. Another way is this. Which do you prefer to have control over the cavern? The same gang who invaded your village and killed your people? Or a semi-lawful organization bound by laws and treaties with the Deep to at least give you a fair shot at controlling your future?”
Alpha sighed. If the looks on the two goblin’s faces told him anything, they were thinking the same thing. Option C: neither. But he also understood where Maria was coming from, even if she didn’t quite understand the power they had available to them. Yet.
So he could understand how what she was suggesting could also be a good idea.
The only question was, what could be a juicy enough target in the cavern? What could keep the Adventurer around? And how could the goblins use that to their advantage?
The more he thought about the matter, the more he returned to a singular idea.
Alpha mentally grinned… and turned to look toward the cavern’s river.