My (Monster?) Hero Life

"A few thousand? It can't be that hard, right? Just slap them hard enough every day until they learn it if you don't have enough! Besides… I've already come up with a temporary fuel method." Gyn chuckled before he led them up on to the deck. "I'm warning you, it bites…."

Kace furrowed his brows in confusion as Gyn led them down through various decks to what appeared to be a storage area. Hanging from a rope that had crystals tied into it was Vaskra! She was currently swinging back and forth on the rope while mumbling through the gag that Gyn had forced into her mouth.

"You see, these ropes here absorb anyone's natural mana. Since my helper here is able to use Air Magic, I asked her to help out. She disagreed, so I had no other choice." Gyn shrugged as he let out a long sigh. "All you need to do is feed her three times a day and replace the crystals when they turn yellow."

Kace was mortified as he stared at Vaskra's bulging, bloodshot eyes. It was clear that she had already snapped. Kace silently hoped that she would not demolish everything in sight once she was set free. After all, this must have been highly humiliating for her!

"Ugh, Gyn. You can't keep her here." Kace gave the small goblin a stern look. "She's one of the Council's Generals. She's needed to lead an army, yet you've got her strung up like she's nobody important."

"Well, why would she need to lead an army if she can serve a better purpose by keeping my baby here afloat?" Gyn rubbed his chin as he stared at Kace in confusion.

As far as Gyn could see, there was no better service that Vaskra could perform than serving as a backup power source for the behemoth airship. Kace had no idea what to say. In a sense, Gyn's thinking was correct, but even he thought Vaskra deserved better.

"What about if we capture some Heroes and use them instead? Would that work?" Kace asked slowly.

"Hm, I guess it's doable. But she'll need to stay here until we have a replacement. You never know when we might need her."

"Fine," Kace sighed as Vaskra glanced at him with a horrified expression. "It's only temporary anyway."

'Plus, I don't have to worry about her creeping into my bed at night if she's stuck here.' Kace felt a broad grin creep across his face giving him a sinister look.

Grugda rolled his eyes behind the two. He felt that he should say something, but he had a feeling it would only fall on deaf ears. 'Sorry. Vaskra. Stay strong.' 

"So when will it be ready to go?" Kace asked with a hint of curiosity. It would be a good thing if they could use it to help out with the Northern Assault.

"Hm, I guess it's technically ready right now… I just have to create some suitable ammunition, but that's nothing difficult and can be done during any journey. If I had more time, I'd like to create some gliders as well." Gyn waved towards the wheelchair that Vaskra used lying in a corner. "But that's not important right now."

Kace grinned when he heard Gyn basically signing off on it. 'I guess it's about time to pay Rysa a visit.' 

"Let's catch up while we wait on the Council arranging an army for us." Kace chuckled.

The three of them turned their backs on a furious Vaskra as they headed outside. Kace pointed to the nearest goblin and told him to let King Shagrat know that it was time to make another attempt on the North.

While they were waiting, they gathered in a nearby building where some Orcs had turned it into a restaurant of sorts. As roasted meat and questionable alcohol reached their table, the conversation shifted to what had happened during the time that Gyn had been dead.

Kace had countless questions since he had experienced death before, but according to Gyn, his own experience was completely different. It was as if it were one big dream. Where he lived in a workshop that produced any materials that he could ever ask for. If he ever ran out of room, well, the workshop would suddenly gain more. 

He had a whole world to himself that was full of marvels! However, Gyn just got caught up trying to come up with new ideas and figure out how some things worked. His biggest regret was that apart from himself, there was nobody else there to test his inventions on! How could he ever get any valuable information if he did not know the amount of damage they caused on living beings!

Kace gathered that the gap in his knowledge that this created was what had driven Gyn slightly insane. 'I can't tell if it was meant to be a paradise or the worst possible torture for him.' Kace sighed heavily while Grugda seemed to be lost in his own thought, as well as the mug of orc ale in his hands.

Next, it was Kace's turn to explain all that he had been through, but Gyn kept interrupting him with questions. He was particularly interested in how Heroes had been changed into vampires. But Kace did not have an answer for that. Then he fixated on the Tu'Thrag as he wondered if goblins could inherit any other kind of abilities.

It was a rather fascinating concept to Gyn. Of course, there was no holding back his curiosity when it came to Rysa's curse and how it led to him being resurrected. 

"Interesting… Did you think they have any more feathers?"

"I'm not sure. You could always ask them…."

"What if she refuses to give them to me? Could you loan a few Tu'Thrag to me? I'm sure they could steal a couple of them!"

Kace shivered when he thought about the fact that Rysa had busted Shadow. There was no way that he would dare to take that kind of risk. They only got lucky before that Rysa did not seem to care that he wanted the book. However, Kace felt it would be a different story when it came to their feathers.

"I wouldn't advise it, Gyn, maybe see if she's willing to trade something? It seems like you probably have quite a few new tricks up your sleeves now." Kace grinned as he stared at the small goblin sipping on his own mug of ale while playing with a chicken thigh.

"Of course! But what's the point in revealing it? Resurrection is great and all, but I doubt the Phoenix's can revive people quicker than my inventions can kill them." Gyn's smile was sincere as if he genuinely believed his own words.

Kace felt grateful once again that he had chosen to use this opportunity on the little oddball. He was undoubtedly a valuable asset that would probably play a massive role in the overall war. They chugged their drinks as if they were college students before Gyn seemed to contemplate something.

"You know… I reckon if Kharja can see us right now, he'd be really pissed! He's probably wondering why you chose brain over brawn." Gyn's grin turned savage as he gave the finger to an imaginary pair of eyes, causing Kace to burst out laughing.

"True, who knows if we'll get another chance down the line. But I wouldn't bank on it. We've already lost so many, and we're bound to lose more before this is over." Kace sighed as he seriously considered what the casualty count might rise to. 

"Well, we just need to kill them faster than they can kill us, right?" Gyn chuckled. "Shouldn't be too hard."

Gyn's joke went entirely over Grugda's head as he began to wonder if Kace had gone insane as well. 'They're crazy. How could. It be. Easy? Is death. Really. Such a. Casual thing?' At that moment, Grugda felt the need to relieve himself. As he stood up, his legs became shakey beneath him before his face planted on the floor.

Everyone in the building burst out in a peal of laughter at the Eljein's misfortune. 'We can just drag him along. He'll be fine once he sleeps it off.' Kace laughed heartily. It was a rare thing to see Grugda relaxing enough to get into that kind of state.

The door to the restaurant, if it really could be called that, swung open as a tidal wave of Tu'Thrag rushed in!

"Lord! Why didn't you invite us! We could use a party before we head back to war!" Lorget complained as he approached Kace in his frilly dress.

"Yo! Who's the beauty?" Gyn began to give Lorget the 'come hither' look that most women would be repulsed by. 

Kace could not help but burst into laughter. Images of Gyn's reaction if he ever saw underneath the dress flooded his mind. Naturally, he would find that hilarious! 'It's true what they say! Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder!'