Chapter 47 - Hemotoxin

  “Is this the final version?” Zajowle asked observing the cauldron Elaine was adding more leaves to.

  “That is the hope,” Elaine muttered. “I don’t have a lot more Serprae leaves left.”

  “Did you add the Darkness Aspects?” Zajowle asked.

  “Not yet,” Elaine answered. “Are you sure it will work? That stuff can be very volatile and I’m not sure what adding Darkness Aspects to the concoction will do. It might weaken the poison.”

  “It will work,” Zajowle said. “Especially in a hemotoxin, a blood poison.”

  “How do you know so much about poisons?” Elaine asked. “Merchants can’t need to know about them to this level.”

  “You’d be surprised,” Zajowle said. “Kobold society can be… ruthless. You should be careful should you ever meet a friendly kobold. Especially if they offer you anything for free. Kobolds always want something.”

  “Aren’t you a friendly kobold?” Elaine asked.

  “And I am not among my people,” Zajowle said flatly. “Let us leave it at that.”

  “Fine,” Elaine said. “Add the powder Balgast venom as I stir.”

  They continued to work in silence as they focused on finishing the concoction. They didn’t even notice when Sia returned. She sat down nearby, watching them work without interrupting or making a sound. It wasn’t until they were finally finished and looking over their work that they noticed her.

  “You’re back,” Elaine said. “How was it?”

  “It was good,” Sia said. “Reuf is not around?”

  “He’s been working with Daniel on new spells,” Zajowle said. “Which of you three will be next? Have you already decided?”

  “I’m going next,” Elaine said. “Daniel and Reuf are busy and I’m not certain if Daniel will attempt the Trial before we are ready to attack.”

  “Reuf should at least go,” Zajowle said. “The defensive spells alone will be worth an extra couple of days.”

  “Perhaps,” Elaine said. “I hope we won’t need to get too many people involved in the fighting this time. It’s supposed to be just a rescue.”

  “A rescue, yes,” Zajowle said. “But if the chance presents itself, should we not take it? I thought that was what the poison was for.”

  “Oh, it’s for Clayton,” Elaine said. “I just don’t know if it will be enough to kill him. I’m sure he will have his own defensive skills. I just hope it gives us an edge.“

  “That is what the Darkness Aspects is for,” Zajowle said. “Normally you’d have to use ingredients seeped in Darkness Affinity to get the effect we’re after, but refined Darkness Aspects should have the same, if not better, effect. If we can inject it directly into his heart, then his own body will work to spread it. The poison will weaken his strength, but the darkness aspect will cripple his Mana. At least for a time.”

  “That’s assuming he doesn’t have a strong poison resistance,” Elaine said. She scooped the finished hemotoxin into a spare vial as they talked. They had only made enough for a single dose. Not as much as she had hoped for, but it was her first successful Uncommon poison. She handed the poison to Zajowle who took it and began inspecting it closely.

  “He doesn’t strike me as the type to have dedicated much time to developing those types of skills,” Zajowle commented. “But even if he did, so long as the poison is Uncommon in strength, as this one is, the Darkness Aspects should be able to get through it.”

  “There are ways around a poison resistance?” Elaine asked.

  “It is only a resistance,” Zajowle explained. “Not an immunity. There are some people who have immunity, but those are usually race traits like primordial. Resistances can be overcome, and even a little advantage can make a difference. But if you are concerned, we will still have some time. We could try for a stronger poison.”

  “I’d love to try,” Elaine sighed. “I feel like I am starting to get some real understanding in poison crafting right now, but we are running out of ingredients, and I want to get through that Trial before we go after the elves.”

  Zajowle was still inspecting the vial of poison as Elaine watched him. “I probably don’t need to say this,” Elaine added. “But Clayton is not the goal of this fight. It’s only if the opportunity presents itself. No being a hero.”

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  “You do not need to worry about that from me,” Zajowle assured her as the vial disappeared into his Storage. “I’d be more concern about your compatriot, Jack. He has the tendency to act first. I prefer a slower approach to things.”

  “I’ll talk to him too,” Elaine acknowledged.

  “It has been a few days,” Zajowle said. “I wonder if he found himself in a new interesting situation already.”

  “I better get to the Trial,” Elaine said.

  “Of course,” Zajowle smiled. “We best see how far the others have gotten to as well.”

  *~*

  “It’s just another mile,” Savgar called behind him interrupting his Worker’s Chant. “Put your backs into it.”

  “Another mile!” Bryant called back. “How far have we gone so far?”

  “Three,” Savgar answered. “Now quit your complaining. This is child work.”

  “Wait,” Teresa said, stopping in her work. She and Elizabeth had searched the city for a forge, but after a day of looking, they weren’t able to locate it. They had given up for now and were helping to take turns digging the tunnel. “Do the Dwarves employ child labor?”

  “Not exactly,” Victor said. “They view anyone under the age of fifty as a child. That or if you participated in a war. You have to be fully grown and finished basic training to go to war though. I think that’s thirty something with them.”

  Savgar only grunted in confirmation.

  “What about those that aren’t fully grown?” Teresa asked.

  “The babies?” Savgar asked. “They would only have a few decades of life. Not enough to have even earned their name. Who would make them work or fight?”

  Victor just shook his head.

  “Does that mean he thinks all of us are children?” Bryant asked.

  “He does call us boy,” Victor answered.

  “You have to earn the right for your name to be remembered,” Savgar said simply.

  “You get used to it. Dwarven Society is tough, but like a fun kind of tough, ya know?” Victor said. “It’s good for skill gain at least.”

  “Dude, I hear ya there,” Bryant said. “I got like two ranks in digging. Not mining, just digging. I can’t imagine that will be useful.”

  “Course it’s useful,” Savgar said. “You’re using it right now. Now dig! We can be done by sundown tomorrow if we work through the night.”

  “Are we interrupting?” Zajowle called, coming up behind them. “Sia has finished the Trial. I thought you would like to know.”

  “Think that means my time here is almost up,” Teresa said. “I’ll continue to help out until nightfall, but then we will need to leave. Will you all be okay?”

  “We’ll manage,” Savgar said.

  “Can I come with?” Elizabeth asked. “I’m not really helping much right now.”

  “I don’t have an issue with it,” Teresa said. “But we will have to move quickly and quietly.”

  “I can do that,” Elizabeth said.

  “Where is Sia?” Teresa asked.

  “She went to go see Reuf and make sure he will be okay before she leaves,” Zajowle said. “I can take over here, if that will help.”

  “All finished with the poison work?” Victor asked.

  “For now,” Zajowle nodded. “Elaine is in the Trial, and there is little more I can do without her expertise.”

  “I hope they managed to make enough bows and arrows,” Teresa said. “It would be great to get everyone the weapon proficiency before we begin.”

  “When is that?” Victor asked. “Do we have a set time yet?”

  “It will be a day or two for Elaine to finish,” Teresa said. “Reuf will be next, I think. Are we waiting on him to take the trial?”

  “I think that would be for the best,” Zajowle said. “But we should keep an eye on the camp.”

  “Agreed,” Savgar grunted. “It’s always nice to have time to prepare, but Clayton is not waiting on us. We might need to move before that.”

  *~*

  Alzona sat in the middle of her cage, unsure what to do. Every few days, the Wenduags would come by and take another of her people. She didn’t know what he was doing with them, but they never returned after they took them.

  All the while, she was only able to watch. She was supposed to be their leader, but in the rescue of two of her people, she had condemned the rest of the clan. What was worse was, Sylvian and Rayne weren’t even here. According to that boy who showed up out of nowhere, they had already escaped by the time Alzona had come for them, making her efforts even more pointless.

  She didn’t regret her decision. If even one of the members of the Azure sect needed help, she would have come, but now she was looking at what was probably the end of their people, and all she was able to do was wait.

  Right now, their only hope was that Rayne would be able to get to the Kingdom of Altur and convince them to come help. It was a hollow hope. The Kingdom of Altur didn’t owe them any favors and there was little the Azure sect could do for them. Sending a company of soldiers all the way to the Jungle of the Four Lords would be too much to expect, but it gave some hope to her people. That was all she could do for them now. Give them hope, so that their wait wouldn’t be as bad.

  One of the large spiders passed overhead. They did that from time to time. They were terrifying, but at least it was safe to speak around them. She was able to learn a few things in their time here. The first being that the spiders weren’t capable of sharing anything they heard with Clayton.

  “Alzona?” came the voice of Threine, speaking up now that the patrol had passed them by. “Is something odd happening in the camp?”

  “Odd?” Alzona whispered back. “What do you mean?”

  “The spiders,” Threine said. “Their patrols have become less consistent, and now the Wenduags don’t even come by. They used to be very regular, almost military, but now it’s like the structure is falling apart.”

  “I know what you mean,” Alzona said. “But I don’t know why. There has to be a reason though. Beastmasters like Clayton rarely allow their pets to do as they like.”

  “Is that what he is?” Threine asked.

  “What else could he be? We’d know it if he was a Slavemaster and we would have been branded. The number of beasts working together here means he has to have skills, and a class focused on controlling them.”

  “Something just doesn’t feel right about it,” Threine said. “Why keep us then? And where is he taking the others?”

  “I don’t know,” Alzona said. “Rayne might know more. We need to figure out a plan to escape and get our people away from him.”

  “How?” Threine asked. “The last chance we had was when that person appeared. He hasn’t been back in days now.”

  “Rayne and Sylvian managed to escape before,” Alzona said. “We can as well. We just need to wait for the right time.”