III-31 Minions (I)

No two armies in integration can be led the same way. Despite fighting as a collective whole, every army is made up of individual Pathbearer

No two armies in integration can be led the same way. Despite fighting as a collective whole, every army is made up of individual Pathbearers. Individual Pathbearers with a variety of skills, skill evolutions, experiences, and more. Beyond that, there are also the races, and I have fought in a very, very mixed company.

Elves, humans, goblins, we're not so different. Goblins are usually a little smaller. Quite a bit faster though, if we're talking averages of course. They also strangely can get quite a few skill evolutions that dramatically increase their regeneration. Skills that humans usually can't get. Best part about goblins, don't need to feed them that much. They can survive a month off of some grubs, and once they get up into the Master-Tier, hells, goblins don't need to eat for years.

Elves aren't nearly as robust, but they do think a hell of a lot faster. There's a reason why they make good mages or scholars. There's something about their minds that lets them focus perfectly, control their own thoughts better, and also have multiple streams of thought at the same time. Furthermore, their biology is already extremely stable at a baseline. Not much decay or mutation. Problem with that, though, elves don't really do very good with Toughness evolutions. Not without a proper Path anyway.

Automata could be anything. Their variability is incredible. Their progress, however, is slow. That's why you have a massive cohort of automata adepts. They stay there for longer than humans do.

Hell, we even had some fae join in. Weird thing about the fae, they could be mastered here in the morning, little more than initiated at night because they're afraid of the turning of the world. And they briefly touch Hero during an eclipse or right at the moment of sunrise. The fae are still part of the integration, but they run on different rules. Or maybe they just understand the world to be different altogether.

And ultimately, we even had an orc with us. His name was Whisper, and he lived up to that name. He wasn't loud, he was always polite, always watching. For a while, I thought all the stories about the orcs were bullshit. Or maybe this one showed that they weren't all evil, that they could be taught, or they could live with us. He was the perfect soldier, just perfect. Never a mistake, never a complaint.

While he was with us, every morning we found all the weapons sharpened before we got up. We found our equipment maintained, our rations prepared, our supplies packed, and in the field, we couldn't see Whisper. But Whisper was always there, watching over us. For a time, we even thought he was our friend. We got along with him pretty well. Whisper could be pretty funny.

And then, one day, as we were setting up camp near a village, Whisper ran into a farmer and, seemingly for no reason at all, butchered all of her children. We discovered, a few seconds later, that he knew the farmer, that she sent him back to the Tutorial once in a previous life. And he was eager to continue the same fight all over again. But she wasn't. She just wanted to farm. She was done with being a Pathbearer.

Thing about the orcs. They don't give a shit if you're done. They don't give a shit about anything unless you can make them give a shit. And that was the day we learned that orcs make fine soldiers, but they will never make fine people. Know who the hell you are leading. Know who you're marching with. 

Never, ever trust an orc. They’re not people. Even if they act like it.

-Memoirs of a Master-Tier War Mage

III-31

Minions (I)

A second later, Shiv reappeared inthe gate, blinking back into existence, right where he was, beside Uva. She stumbled back in surprise, her eyes wide and glowing bright. "Shiv, what happened? You vanished for a second."

"A second?" Shiv stared at her. "I was just gone for a second?"

"Yes," she breathed. "It was like you flickered in and out of existence."

"It was a lot longer than a second for me," Shiv replied, "had a long-ass conversation with the Challenger," and before he could say more, five figures blinked into existence behind Uva, five large figures at least his size, one even bigger.

"Shit," Shiv growled under his breath. "I can't believe this."

"What?" Uva said. But as she turned, her jaw dropped. "Orcs," she hissed.

Before her strands could pierce and render them little more than mind-hollowed vegetables, Shiv intervened by gripping her shoulder. "Yeah, no, I didn't agree to the Challenger's offer, but he still decided to give me a sampling. By sampling, I guess he meant a team of five orcs."

"We aren't a team. A team is four people. We are a bloat: slightly larger than a team, but not quite large enough to be a squad." The orc at the front of the group walked over to greet Shiv. He was dressed in robes of billowing midnight. Stars glistened on those soft black folds that danced across his massive body, and a hood was draped over the orc's face. Shiv could still see his eyes, however, and they gleamed a bright yellow rather than that muted piss color that characterized 811's irises. The orc held out his hands as well, drawing his robes back to reveal he had nothing under his sleeves, either.

That didn't mean much to a Pathbearer. Once they equipped themselves with equipment, they were bound to them. More importantly, this orc could be anything from a masterful unarmed combatant to a mage. 

And I'm not a whole lot less dangerous unarmed than I am armed, Shiv thought to himself. He felt Uva slip her strands into his mind just as his drunkenness started to return. It was then that Shiv realized he didn't feel the intoxication at all while he was speaking to the Challenger. "Only because the orc god suppressed it," Shiv grumbled to himself.

"Uva," Shiv sent a thought over to the umbral. "Stay ready, but don't do anything. Not yet. And let the other Umbrals and Weaveresses know as well. I don't want any unfortunate incidents happening."

"What about Adam?" she asked.

Shiv hesitated then. Adam was still probably talking to his mother. Shiv didn't want to interrupt that with unpleasant news about arriving orcs. "Just keep an eye on him. If he comes out, or it—" 

But then Shiv felt the body of the young lord blast down the hall of the infirmary, passing through the periphery of Shiv's Biomancy mana field as he suddenly came to a halt midair with multiple Veilpiercers already drawn.

"Shiv," Adam hissed as he prepared to loose an arrow at the orcs, "I thought we were going to discuss this."

"We were," Shiv cried. "And I was a felling fool to think you wouldn't hear or notice this with your Heroic-Tier Awareness, put down the bow, but don't shoot them. Yet," Shiv said. The orcs didn't seem intimidated at all. If anything, they looked amused, like they were attending a theater play rather than standing in the middle of enemy territory. 

Umbrals and Weaveresses were closing in. Can Hu held up a fist, and a wall of stone rose from the earth and quarantined the area, sealing away the surrounding structures from easy access as well.

"I just had a conversation with the Challenger," Shiv explained to Adam. "He told me his terms, and when he sent me back, he sent these guys with me. And no, he did not ask if I wanted them. He just kind of chucked them at me."

"If you want to get rid of us, you can simply kill us," the Midnight-robed orc said. It was such a casual statement that it made Shiv do a double-take.

"Yeah, we might just get there," Shiv said. He studied each of the orcs in detail before he said anything further. Aside from the Midnight-robed orc, there were four others.

The first, and most noticeable, was a huge orc that seemed to have a set of armor comprised of broken automata parts. Shiv knew this because several automata head components were lodged in a ring around his chest and ribs. Their optics were still on. From his shoulder and back were various automata arms. Some were broken. Some still seemed to be functional, grasping at the open air. More interestingly was how the orc's lower jaw seemed to be an automaton transplant as well—a jaw of steel replacing grey flesh and bone. His lower body was a tetrapod. Hissing steam vents sprayed hyperheated air, while the orc's legs moved. They were connected to his hip, which resembled a metallic port rather than a lower body. 

This orc had modified himself severely. Shiv didn't even realize there was a skill that allowed him to do that. On the orc's back was also a large tube that pointed high into the sky, and she realized it looked like an old artillery platform, something he saw on a book or a poster at some point back on Blackedge.

Aside from the artillerist orc, there was another giant among giants. This one was wide-eyed, looking around. His armor was metallic. If Shiv had to guess, it was likely titanium in make, judging from its texture and coloring. He had a massive club of black metal in his right hand, and a wyvern’s skull, shaped to serve as a shield, strapped to his left. Slowly, as he finished scanning the gate, his eyes fell on Uva, and he licked his lips. Not in a disturbing, lustful way, but in a disturbing, I 'm-going-to-eat-this-person way. Shiv could recognize that look anywhere, mainly due to all the years he spent in the kitchen, and he really didn't appreciate that look being directed at Uva. Not one bit.

Beside the large, wyvern-shielded orc was another greyskin brute, only half his size. This orc had two wands hanging from his hip, and he wore no armor. Rather, he had a canvas longcoat with a mithril vest. More importantly, his eyes were unique. Instead of having normal yellow-hued eyes, he had two Divination gems lodged in his sockets. They glowed a brilliant violet as he scanned Shiv, and slowly, a smile pulled at his features. His fingers twitched, and Shiv had a feeling that this Orc had a pretty impressive Reflexes Skill. 

A pulse also radiated from the orc. A golden pulse. Chronomancer, Shiv understood. Shiv briefly flared his shell, and the orc's Chronomantic pulse broke against it without inflicting any true damage.

“Yeah, think again,” Shiv said, staring straight at the orc.

The orc blinked twice, and his smile only grew wider. Shiv spiked his dread war as much as he could. But the damned thing about Orcs was that they were nearly impossible to intimidate, and the way they responded to fear wasn't like that of a person either. They kept fighting. It got them excited. Their morale didn't break. They weren't so easily cowed. 

Oh, this is going to be an exercise in psychology, Shiv thought to himself.

The final orc was the oddest of all. They were average in height and size among all the Orcs, but their expression was blank. And rather than wearing anything like conventional armor, even dramatically decorated armor, they instead had something with a chainmail suit jacket on the outside, and what looked like wool on the inside. They had a vest with a very formal tie, slacks, black polished shoes, and even white leather gloves, to complete the strange ensemble. Most fascinating of all was the violin they carried. It was made from polished wood, and each of its strings glistened with power. A faint trail of darkness and static glided off the strings, and Shiv could recognize the dimensionality anywhere. 

"What kind of freak show did the Challenger give me?" Shiv muttered to himself.

"So," the midnight-robed orc said, as he looked Shiv up and down, "you are the bruiser, the Deathless." He stared Shiv straight in the eye, and thanks to Plaguefueled, they were around the same size. The orc let out a slight chuckle. "Well, you're certainly larger than most humans I've met."

"For now," Shiv said, his voice dry, "piss me off, and I think I can get a little bit bigger."

"Now that would be entertaining," the orc replied, his voice filled with implication.

Shiv clenched his Skysplitter tighter and glared at the orc. "Go for it then. Show me what you can do. Let’s not waste time.”

"Hmm," the orc hummed. "Maybe not. Maybe not yet. Right now, I'm interested in what you can do, and what we can do for you. But before that, an introduction. I am Nine-Nine-One. But your kind has called me Whisper before. I specialize in—"

And then the wyvern-shielded orc stomped up, knocking Whisper aside. He was a head taller than Shiv even now. And as the orc looked down, he sneered. "Big for an ape, but you don't look like much. Soft eyes. Soft skin." The orc sniffed at him. "Don't even smell right. Where's the blood? Where's the death?"

"We humans do a thing called taking showers," Shiv replied, deadpan. "Maybe it's part of my culture that I can share with you."

"Oh, I know all about baths," the orc said. "I like certain kinds of baths." And once again, the orc looked at Uva, and he ran his tongue over his lips, “I like bathing and eating at the same time, bathing in blood. That one there, whose skin looks even softer than yours? What is that? Is that Umbral? I haven't tasted an Umbral before.”

“This Umbral’s not going to be good for your longevity, orc,” Uva said, her voice low. Her strands closed in on the orc. “I suggest that you turn away from me before something bad happens to you.”

“Too late,” Shiv let out an annoyed grunt. He froze time. Shiv was going to teach a lesson right now. Because the Challenger wanted it to be that way, because Shiv also wanted it to be that way, because this orc made a stupid mistake. He thought he was going to dictate terms. He thought he was the biggest monster here, just because of his size. Well, he didn't have any Chronomancy, and this wasn’t going to be a brawl.

Shiv understood what an orc was, and this idiot was stupid enough to make himself seem a threat. Shiv was going to make sure they weren’t going to be anything at all by the end of this.

A pulse of gold came out from the wand-using orc. It crashed against Shiv's temporal shell and inflicted chipping damage. It wasn't enough. The wand-using orc himself remained frozen. Shiv reached out and picked the wyvern-shielded orc off his feet and lifted the orc over his head. Despite the gray-skinned brute's size, he weighed like nothing to Shiv, especially after Shiv's battles with the Court Leviathan, Recollector, and the Jealousy. With a casual act of brutality, Shiv brought the orc's back down upon his knee and a satisfying crack sounded through the world. Then Shiv repeated the act again three more times, until he was sure that the orc was utterly crippled. And because he felt like being a prick to the orc, he finally placed the orc back down the same way he'd been standing and let time resume.

The orc suddenly let out a cry as he bit the tip of his tongue off, and blood sprayed across Shiv's chest. He just sneered at the orc as the beast crashed down against the ground. Rather than reacting in violence, the other orcs all looked at each other and shared a collective snort.

The wand-using orc simply shook his head as well. "Boy's gotta learn at some point, right?"

"Indeed," Whisper said. Whisper gestured to the orc Shiv just broke. "This one here is Wall. That's what the humans called him during his last campaign in Forbidden Africa."

"What?" Can Hu said, marching over to join the conversation. "He was there? Why?”

“New Albion,” Wall wheezed. He looked at Shiv and laughed. "You got me good, human. You really got me pretty good. Right vicious, you were. The only proper thing to do.”

Shiv just shook his head as the paralyzed orc looked upon him with pride and appreciation. What a weird fucking species, Shiv thought to himself.

"We are everywhere," Whisper said, talking to Can Hu, "and we are recruited by everyone who wants a path-bearer of unique expertise and does not balk at suicidal missions. Should it be that surprising that New Albion inquires after our services?"

"Not really," Shiv replied, "but it does make me more than a little paranoid about you. If you know anything about me, you know that New Albion is near the bottom of my shit list, next to the First Blood, Sullain, the Outsiders, Compact…”

"You enjoy defecating on a great many people, don't you, Deathless?" Whisper said.

"Wouldn't call it enjoy," Shiv replied. "It's just gotta be done."

"No," Whisper replied, shaking his head. "Don't lie to me. It is not good to lie. Not to me or yourself. You enjoy it. You enjoy killing us. It's in your blood. It's of your nature."

Shiv leaned in. "You want to know what else is my nature?"

"Do tell," Whisper grinned.

"Telling you to shut the fuck up," Shiv growled. "If we're going to work together, if you don't want to end up like him," Shiv pointed down at the broken Wall, "then you're going to do what I say. You're going to follow orders."

"If that is what makes sense to me," Whisper replied.

"Really? You're going to just go with insubordination immediately?"

"We are not a military outfit," Whisper said. "Me, Wall," and then he started pointing to the other orcs, starting with the one wearing the automata, "Mortar," and then the next orc was the twin wand orc, "Tequila," and finally there was "Band, have all joined your cause willingly as an advance from the Challenger."

"An advance," Shiv said, unable to keep the frustration out of his voice.

"Yes, indeed. We encountered 812 after his return. Some of your people call him Stone."

"And you don't call each other anything? Just numbers? What about if you die the same number of times? Do you two play scissors, paper, assholes to see who gets to keep the number?”

"Then we have a general measure of the other," the orc said. "We do not need to know each other's name. We just need to understand what the other does, and what we can do to kill the other. You need names, you cling to this notion of society, and so we will accommodate you, for now."

"And this is me accommodating you," Shiv said, glaring down at Wall. The orc then looked at Uva again, and Shiv cast his Vitae into Wall on impulse. A stream of red and white plunged into the orc's face, and the large orc let out a cry as the strands of Vitae tore his right cheek open. But then a loud blast of magical hues filled the air as Shiv felt his Vitae drill against the orc’s Magical Resistance. That didn’t stop the Deathless. He channeled more. He struck the orc with a laceration spell as well, and Wall’s magical protections burst apart.

But then Shiv pushed deeper than the orc's flesh. He reached into the orc, just as he reached into Can Hu earlier. Shiv began to conduct an act of brutal surgery. He pulled at the orc's insides, ripping at his soul, draining his vitality at the same time.

Vitaemancy 56 > 57

Then Shiv launched another stream, connecting Can Hu to the network as well. Vitality flowed from the orc into Shiv, and some of it passed on back to Can Hu. Shiv reached into one of those sections of absence, with the Penitent, and he filled them. The orc began to shake and spasm. For the first time, Shiv felt a pulse run through his Dread Aura. 

The other orcs looked on in rapt fascination, trying to observe what he was doing. Even so, they didn't intervene. In fact, Mortar seemed delighted that Wall was suffering. The pocket inside Can Hu filled, and Shiv took in a final drink of vitality from Wall. But before he extracted his Vitae stream, he pulled at the fabric of the orc's inner existence, ripping as hard as he could. The effort he spent was immense. He felt like a child trying to break a rope in half, but as he flexed his gravitic field a final time, something finally split.

A cut burst open on the orc's chest as the orc’s armor shattered as well. A river of blood sprayed out. The orc let out a roar of pain and spasmed on the ground. As he did, Shiv hit him with a Woundeater. It didn't do anything. It returned to Shiv's arm, seeming confused. Shiv hit Wall again and again, but the orc never healed.

"Alright, now that I got your attention, what I just did to your friend here," Shiv said, as he kicked Wall with the ball of his foot, "is tear his vitality open. That and some other stuff. I really don't know how this power works yet, I'll be honest. You might think that's a good thing. Probably not. Just because I don't know what it does exactly doesn't mean I can't use it to hurt you someplace deep. Now, I managed to cycle a few soul-wounds out of myself earlier, and I thought to myself just now, what if I could make my own soul wounds? Well. Wall here showed me I can with him. And I sure as shit

"Wall," Shiv called out. The orc blinked and stared up at him, seeming intimidated for the first time. "I'm going to stomp your head in, in a few seconds. It's not even because you challenged me, it's mostly because I needed to make an example of one of you anyway. And when you do come back, when you wake up, and whatever shithole you reincarnate in, I want you to look down, and I want you to understand the reason why you're still bleeding everywhere is because you couldn't keep yourself under control. Previously, death was just losing all your skills, starting over. Well, you're going to start over as a bit of a cripple. With me, there are consequences, there are consequences you don't fucking walk away from."

Dread Aura 91 > 93

Shiv ripped Wall off the ground using his Biomancy. And as he grabbed the orc by the neck, he pressed down with his other hand, and he pushed with his gravitic field, spiking the roof of the orc's head downward. A loud, sickening squelch followed. The orc's face submerged through his neck, and his entire skull vanished into his torso. 

Wall didn't even have a chance to say anything, to declare an apology, or beg for his life. He couldn't even move his limbs due to how crippled he was. One second he was alive, the next, well the next he was busy staring at his own lungs. Shiv chucked the massive orc aside as he made eye contact with each of the others. 

And he had a feeling that that might not have been the wisest thing to do when he saw just how wide their grins were. No longer were they eyeing him up as easy prey or a potential adversary they could take down now. There was a hint of adoration and love. 

Shiv remembered seeing that in 811's eyes. Godsdamn it, he thought to himself, I am not going to put up with this shit either.

"Well," Tequila said, folding his arms, "I suppose Wall will have a very interesting story to tell when he rises again. But the Tutorial may not be so kind to him now that he bleeds always. It will provoke a feeding frenzy from more than a few of our more cannibalistic brethren."

"Feeding frenzy," Mortar chuckled, "maybe if he gets eaten a couple of times he'll finally figure out how to slow down and think first before just rushing in. Dumbass" He gave Shiv a brief nod, "Well done, Deathless, that was nice and properly brutal of you." Now the automata wearing orc clapped his hands together and the air shook. "Now, where are your siege cannons?"

"What?" Shiv said.

"Your siege cannons?" Mortar asked again. "Where are they? I see buildings around us. Where are the cannons? Where is the artillery? This isn't a fortress without artillery."

"What bloody artillery?" Adam muttered off by the side. "We're barely starting to rebuild this place. And it's a gate. What are we firing at?"

"Anything we want," Mortar declared.

Whisper shook his head, and he looked upon Wall's corpse with indifference. "Once again, before we were so rudely interrupted, I am Whisper. The big one here is Mortar. Our wand user is Tequila. And our bard is Band. You may use these, or you may call us by our corresponding 991 for me, 3000 for Mortar, 304 for Tequila, and 111 for Band."

"I'm going to stick with the actual names," Shiv replied. “So,” he looked at the four of them and scoffed. "I guess this makes you a team now. No more bloat.”

Whisper closed his eyes and snorted. Mortar laughed. Both Tequila and Band chuckled. Shiv was glad he was such a hit with the orcs. But to be honest, he wasn't sure how he felt about them sharing his fucked up sense of humor.

"We are here to assist you in any way you can make us," Whisper said, "and in any way we are willing. Right now, we are yours to...advise."

"Wonderful. So having you guys is like getting a colony of cats as support rather than a pack of dogs."

"That's not exactly an apt description," Whisper said. "Cats are still too social."

"You assholes do a great job selling yourselves, don't you?"

"With other humans, I might work to make my words more appropriate and appeal to their tribal psychology. With you, there is no point. You know what we are, and I can see what you are."

"All right, the first thing you can do for me, Whisper, is you can stop insinuating that you understand exactly what I am. One of your brothers thought he got me a few hours ago. He didn't. I had him. And I'm going to repeat this one more time. You touch any one of mine, and I will cripple you. I will cripple you at the soul. I won't kill you. I won't break you for good. No, death is a mercy for some. It might just be nothing. It might be an eternal paradise or hell or whatever, but I can make life an eternal purgatory. I will find a way to break you so bad that you come back without sight, without senses, without limbs. You're just screaming inside of yourself. How is that for an eternity? Sound boring enough to you.”

And with every passing word, his Dread Aura felt more and more feedback from the orcs. It did unnerve them to some extent, but it also amused them. 

Dealing with these guys is going to give me a Psychopathic Psychology Skill Evolution or something, Shiv whined mentally.

"And that's if Uva doesn't get to you first," Shiv continued. He briefly looked at her, and he caught sight of something in her eyes, a hint of ravenousness. Well. He had something else to look forward to later. Shiv looked away quickly, however. He didn't want the orcs to spot the affection anymore between them, laying any more details. They knew enough already.

"All right," Shiv said, "since you're at my disposal…" His words trailed off as he considered what he could do with four orcs. “What the hell even are your Tiers, anyway?”

“They are all Masters,” Whisper said.

“And you?” Shiv asked.

Whisper just smirked.

Great. Heroic Stealth orc. I’m going to need to get Still Water to watch this one.

Before he could make up his mind, a loud cry came from behind.

"What is this?" Null Mont's voice was shrill. She skittered over the battlements, and he could feel her fear vibrating within his spirit. "Exalted guest, Shiv," Null Mont said as she climbed down Can Hu’s walls. "Explain yourself. Are those orcs?"

"Yeah," Shiv called back without a hint of embarrassment. "They're not orcs I decided to recruit. They kind of just got given to me. I'm dealing with it right now."

"You are supposed to warn me if..."

Shiv immediately pulled himself over to Null Mont. He got by her side, and he leaned down to speak with her. She flinched away from him as she realized how big he was.

"Exalted guest," Null Mont stammered. "How are you… why are you so large?"

"Basilisk venom," Shiv explained.

“What?”

He ignored her confusion.

“Very, very quickly, the Challenger decided to give me this group, because they're supposed to help me for our missions. Anyway. I'm going to make use of them, but you cannot trust them. Do you understand?"

Null Mont's eight eyes glistened with confusion and fear.

"Your reaction right now? It's appropriate. I would have the same reaction, but you need to stop being nervous in front of these orcs. I want you to take a look at them."

She did. They're all staring at her. Mortar lifted a massive paw and wiggled the fingers in a taunting wave. “Hmm. Weaveress. Burns pretty good too when hit by incendiaries.” 

Shiv continued, "If you give them any chance, any opening, they're going to kill you. They're going to torture you to death and kill you very, very slowly. I have threatened and killed one as an example to the others."

And she noticed Wall's dead body, and suddenly her terror spiked at the state of his corpse. “D-did you—”

“Yes. I'm doing what I can, but you need to do what you can right now. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she said, "but I—"

"I know, I would have liked to have warned you. I would have liked to be warned, but it's not up to us anymore. I need you to help me right now," Shiv said. "I need you to be strong, and I need you to be my eyes, too. That's the only way we're making it out of this." But also, he hooked a hand behind Null Mont's back as he slowly guided her toward the orcs. Her feet started to drag, but she followed along anyway. "I'm thinking about using them against the First Blood."

And slowly, Null Mont looked at him. "You are?"

Shiv nodded. "Me and Cherished Sister Uva were about to take an expedition out into the Umbral Wilderness."

"You are?" She looked to Sister Uva. "Sister Uva, you will need to clear your actions and whereabouts—”

Shiv gripped Null Mont. "Null Mont. I know. Again, it's very understandable. But things are happening. We're doing our best to protect you. You gotta help us. Don’t make your own life hard.”

Silver Tongue 23 > 24

Psychology 8 > 9

"I—I—" Her voice trailed off.

"Just think about how pleased the Composer might be if you, helping us spearhead this mission, would corrupt and damage the First Blood's neighboring patrols and bases. Just think about it. Expendable soldiers." Shiv gestured at the orcs.

"Vampires," Mortar sighed with satisfaction, "I do like bombing vampires. They burn pretty good, and they keep burning, unless you get them in the heart."

Null Mont let out a hesitant squeak, and Shiv continued, exploiting her discomfort. "In fact, I was even planning to invite you along as well. Was just about to do that when the orcs arrived.”

Deception 12 > 13

"Me? Me?" Null Mont said. “But—I—”

"Yeah, you, me, Sarah's sister, Uva, and," he gestured at the orcs, "our new minions are gonna go out into the Umbral Wilderness, we're gonna do a little hunting, we're gonna do a little scouting, and I think we're gonna cause a little chaos for the First Blood, and maybe bring back a few prisoners as well to figure out how best to protect ourselves against them."

Null Mont began to make a series of incoherent noises, but Shiv patted her on the back of the head. "Don't worry, have full faith in your bravery, and I need to have faith in your bravery because I can't trust these orcs."

“You have a disturbingly good instinct for social manipulation when you focus,” Uva said, blinking.

"Very wise," Whisper replied, a flat smile pulled at his features. “You should heed the Deathless’s words first, Weaveress. He has not lied at all about us. Be thankful we’re only interested in him.”

"Shiv," Adam said, "can we have a word?"

Shiv regarded Adam and went slightly. "Look, I didn't agree to anything yet."

"But it's not about them," Adam said. Then he stared at the orcs as his features contorted in worry. "Though we should talk about that later as well. No, my mother wants to speak to you."

"What?" Shiv said. This wasn’t what he was expecting at all.

"Yes. I was surprised, too. But—”

“No,” Shiv hissed. “We’re not talking about this in front of them.”

Adam’s eyes widened, and slowly he saw the orcs looking. In the direction he came.

"Mother?" Tequila said. He stared at Adam and sniffed. “Hm. Medical cleaning supplies? Is she sick? Or wounded? How unfortunate. Send her my condolences. Or maybe I can greet her myself at some point.”

“Yeah, do that and I’ll be using you as a Vitaemancy puppet for the rest of time,” Shiv growled. “Adam. Infirmary. Uva. Watch them—break them if they do anything.” Shiv glared at the orcs. “Behave. I’m going to handle some shit.”

“Don’t worry,” Whisper said, his eyes twinkling with delight. “We came here to have a very specific experience. We won’t betray grand delights with lesser pleasures.”