Chapter 028:

Anton's sleep that night was short and troubled, after a pleasant dinner. The new villagers had started to relax, much to Anton's delight. They were going to help with construction and farming, only a few wanted to join the soldiers, they would be joining with their attack on the Kobolds. While Verona slept soundly and deeply in his arm, occasionally searching across his body for warmth, he was kept being awake by the troubling things revealed from the Kobold camp.

The idea that the gods were beginning to take a more active role around him filled him with a sense of joy and dread in equal measure. Tethra sending Kal, and potentially who knows what that Esperit and Stratos could also send, was a pleasant surprise.

But the Kobolds, the feral dog-like creatures with their totem to Nithroel, the elven goddess, filled him a sense of impending doom for their growing village.

It started to make him question quite a number of things that had happened.

Did the Yellow Goblins manage to become influenced by her? Did they start to attack in earnest as they knew that he would be arriving? Was that strange goblin, the one covered in pustules and basically sewn into his armor, directly affected by their equivalent of a glyph given by the goddess?

While Anton did not have any real way to answer the questions that swirled in his head, it gnawed at his mind.

By the time the sun was starting to shine through the wooden window he had only had a few hours sleep at best. The light began to pierce his eyes as it did the same for Verona. She mewled cutely as she stretched and turned onto her front. The moment their eyes made contact she frowned.

“You didn't get much sleep.” she said as she pulled herself up so their heads were at the same level.

“No, thinking about the Kobold camp kept me awake.”

She laughed, wrapping her right hand around his cheek.

“After today there shouldn't be a problem. They'll be gone and we can continue on with your plan. I'm taking that it's getting more people and weapons for now?”

“Basically. This village is hardly a fighting force, with barely a little over a thousand people.”

“That makes us very important, doesn't it?”

Anton smiled, Verona taking that as a yes, jumping and straddling his waist.

“Then what?” she asked as she entwined her hands with his, “Once we get, say, twenty or thirty thousand people. All working together, armed with those funny drawings of yours...then what?”

There was not the question of whether or not she was going to be replaced but a genuine curiosity of what Anton had planned. If he was completely honest, he did not have much of an idea.

“Well, I think that for now, it's just growth and defense. After a few more deals with Maxill, getting some sort of longer running deal with them for people and resources, we'll head north east to the Grataeris Empire, see what sort of deals we can make with them. That's my plan for now.”

“Any ideas about those demons of yours?”

“None.” Anton raised himself up so she could lean into him. “But I know they're out there somewhere. And if they're not, then so be it. I've enjoyed my time here and want it to continue.”

Verona smiled. She moved their hands so the rested on her shoulders.

“We've got a bit of time, don't we?” she asked with a wicked smile.

---[]---

Anton and Verona finally emerged, both ready for the fight against the Kobolds. Verona took a giant yawn and stretched out her arms, her spear coming quite quite close to his face.

“Will I actually get to fight this time?” she asked, twirling around so she faced him, “The last battle I basically stood around, I want the chance to really show off.”

“Definitely,” Anton replied, Verona's face beaming in response, “I want to see how you've improved. Do you have any new ideas for your magic?”

“A couple. I'm thinking of making a few shapes other than a spear or shards. I was thinking something like a sharp plate that I can throw around and cut them up. What do you think?”

“Sounds like it could be extremely dangerous.” Anton said, as he rubbed her head.

He looked up and around, seeing that there were very few villagers awake at the moment. One caught his attention. Standing still near a house on the other side of the street was a cloaked figure.

It was Kal. She waved when Anton looked at her and walked over. She carried her bow and a quiver of arrows over her back, the hilts of her daggers showing above her waist.

“Morning Kal!” Verona said, waving her over closer, “You ready for today?”

“I think so.” Kal replied, “I had the best sleep in my whole life.”

“Nobody tried to bother you?” Anton asked.

Kal shook her head, her ears pricking up underneath her hood.

“No. I did move the table as you suggested, but nobody tried. Thank you for letting me stay.”

“You planning to stay for longer?”

“I think I will be. People were quite nice to me during dinner, even if some of it was forced.”

“Great,” Verona exclaimed, “I like having you as a training partner and someone roughly my age that I can talk to. Sam and her friends are quite a bit older and there aren't many people my age that are alive or that I want to talk to. I think that everyone else just needs a little more time to get used to you.”

Kal smiled, one that was not forced.

“How old are you anyway?” Kal asked, “I do not mean to be...rude or invasive-”

“It's fine. I'm twenty....twenty one winters, I think. How old are you?”

“I think that I'm twenty eight, though I really didn’t pay much attention to it.”

“Huh, that makes you older than Anton.” Verona said, Kal looked like she did not know how to react.

Kal looked at Anton but said nothing. The bow moved slightly on her back.

Verona leant around so she could see Kal's back.

“How are you able to keep that bow attached to your back?” Verona asked as she started prodding around the middle of her bow.

Kal turned around so Anton could see. The quiver was attached on an old leather strap that went around her shoulder to her waist, the bow was attached to the side of it with a small leather clasp. It looked very easy to get undone in a hurry. She seemed to be comfortable with wearing it, though she probably would not like to lean against something and crush it.

“Huh.” Verona said as she started prodding around Kal's back and quiver without her permission. There was an odd look on her face but she said nothing.

“If she's doing something you don't like you just need to tell her.” Anton told Kal. Verona shot him an odd look but continued touching Kal's back, traveling downwards.

“It's okay.” Kal replied. “I'm still getting used to-”

She yelped in surprise as Verona reached just above where her butt would be underneath her cloak. Kal turned around and took a step back, giving Verona an angry glare as she brushed her hand away.

Verona face was a mixture of puzzlement and amusement. Anton threw her a quizzical glare but Verona responded by smiling and throwing her hands up in apology.

“When Kal arrived, Bertram asked if she had a tail. I asked her over dinner if I could see it.”

“And she said no?” Anton asked Verona, looking to Kal who grimaced slightly.

“I was curious. And she does have one, a very fluffy one. That's why she yelped.”

Anton looked to Kal.

“I do have a tail,” Kal answered, “But to a Beast-kin, even a half-breed like me, it's not something you can just grab or touch without permission.”

“Sorry, I was just very curious.” Verona replied, it seemed to be sincere.

“Well, I guess you didn't know. But please ask me first before you do anything like that.”

Verona smiled, Kal slowly returning it.

“Kal,” Anton began, “Please be aware that doing something like that is not exactly normal. So, be sure to tell them.”

Anton moved and rested his arm of Verona's head, her face puffing out in response.

“This one's a bit like Sam in that regard, she can be a bit direct, though not as bad.”

Verona laughed, turning up to him.

“I'm not that bad. Again, I'm sorry that I poked at your tail without asking. I really wanted to know.”

“Are we going to attack the Kobold camp now?” Kal asked, having regained her confidence, “I'm guessing that's why Verona's dressed up in her amour.”

“Correct. I'm thinking that we'll take about a hundred villagers, myself, Verona and you.”

Kal looked quite surprised, though in a happy way. Again he saw her ears prick up.

“You want me to come with you?” she asked. He swear he could see the area where her tail should be move.

“Sure. You could count the number of Kobolds before we could even see them properly. You didn't make the numbers up, did you?”

Kal looked stumped.

“Why would I?” she asked, seemingly not understanding that she could have lied about it.

“Uh,” Anton looked down at Verona who had the same look as him, “I suppose that you could have just guessed to make yourself seem more impressive.”

There was a moment before Kal realized what he meant.

“Oh. I understand what you mean.” Her ears started to droop, knowing that he might be distrusting her.

“I didn't actually mean it.” Anton replied, her ears pricking back up with a hint of a smile. “I guess it was sort of a joke...Basically, I want you there for more than just making seeing if any escape. You can use that bow extremely well, so you'll be coming with us. It'll also help make the people here think better of you.”

Kal looked down for a moment, thinking it over. She nodded, gripping her hands into fist.

“Okay, I'll join. Sounds like a good plan. Are we taking horses or the carts?”

“Not sure,” Anton replied, “We'll have to find out at the plaza, hopefully more people will be awake soon. I think it'll be both; Dana's horse scouts and about a hundred or so soldiers should be more than sufficient with Verona and myself there.”

“Is your magic really going to be enough?” Kal asked, “When the Kobolds attacked you could use some quick fire magic...and when I arrived I saw you use two different types of magic at once, though they were small orbs. Will that be enough?”

Verona looked up at him and smirked, he could not help but return it. She had not seen the battle with the Yellow Goblins so did not know about the full extent of his flame and lightning magic. It would be a good chance to let loose.

“Tethra didn't show you?”

Kal shook her head.

“You may get a demonstration. Anyway, we'll get something to eat, then I think we'll be going.” Anton said, leading them to the central plaza.

“Actually Kal,” Verona asked, “I've been wanting to ask something else about you.”

“What?” Kal sounded a little hesitant to answer.

“When you're happy or sad, your ears go up or down. Do you do that knowingly or does it just sort of happen?”

As they walked Verona looked straight at Kal's face, Anton turned his head to look. There was a slight tinge of red on her tanned face, nothing like Verona was capable of.

“They...they.....both. They can move when I want them to and they can move on their own.” Kal reached up and rubbed the long and un-maimed ear.

“That's cute,” Verona said teasingly, “I wish that my ears could do that.”

“So that I would know whenever your sad or happy?” Anton asked.

Verona nodded.

“Pretty much.” she chuckled, Kal looking a little happier.

“Is your tail the same?” Anton asked.

There was some hesitation to Kal's response.

“Yes. Though, I don't let it out much. It gives away that I'm a Beast-kin.”

“How big is it?” Verona asked.

“That's...” Kal trailed off into nothing and refused to answer.

While they were probably the nicest people she had met in many years, Anton thought that it was still too soon for her to reveal facts about somewhat intimate parts. Especially about one that would have caused her grief throughout the years but still had pride in.

Anton brought Verona underneath his arm and quietly explained his reasoning. Verona seemed to understand and looked a little sombre.

He lent towards Kal.

“We're all just a bit curious, probably more than we should be.”

Kal turned and smiled.

“I don't find it a problem, just a little new and confusing. It's so nice that I can talk to humans. Especially ones that aren't trying to hurt me.”

Kal often seemed to be quite gloomy and tired when she remembered her past. While he could do little to alleviate all of the pain from her memories, he could at least do something rather than just let her stew in those memories.

“Have you drunk any alcohol or booze before?” he asked Kal.

Kal shook her head.

“Never. I need to keep alert at all times. I saw what that stuff does to people, making them slow of mind and body.”

Anton nodded and smiled.

“It does do that, if you have quite a bit. But a bit can help you relax and unwind.”

“We didn't actually have any after we won the battle against the Yellow Goblins, did we?” Verona looked up at him.

“No, we had...other things on our minds.”

Verona flushed a little as she smiled. He was not sure if Kal understood what he meant as she kept her head facing forward, perhaps forcefully so.

“Anyway, when we get back, and if you're comfortable with it, we'll get the people from the council and have a drink. We don't get to the stage where we can't walk, but it should help you relax. Help everyone get to know you better as well.”

Kal pursed her lips, finally giving a light nod.

“I think I should. I'm not sure I'll know how to behave properly.” Kal replied, “During dinner I just sat and ate quietly. Only a few people wanted to talk to me.”

“It's day two of you being here. This should help get you a few more friends.”

“Friends....” Kal looked wistfully to the north east. “Alright, I'll do it.”

Verona smiled.

“Great. Looks like we got a new friend.”

Kal smiled back. Everything that is happening now must seem like it was all happening like a flash of lightning. Anton hopped that it would continue.

They walked in silence for the rest of the trip to the plaza, Kal seemed to have forgiven Verona for violating her privacy.

When they arrived they saw a few of the villagers assembling for the next days work. Jeff had seemingly just arrived, still looking quite sleepy, with Sam at his side. There were quite a few other armed villagers around him. Anton enjoyed not having to explain every little detail to get things moving.

Anton gave him a wave when he saw Jeff looking at them.

“Good morning all,” Jeff said, “We still planning to wipe out the kobolds?”

Last time, with the Yellow Goblins, Anton had stressed that they wait until the enemy comes to them. Now it was different. If he was honest, the Kobolds, on their own, seemed a very minor threat that would soon be almost irrelevant once they get stronger. The soldiers easily repelled the attack without his help. It was the presence of that insignia which forced Anton's thoughts.

“Absolutely.” Anton replied, “Us three, about a hundred or so villagers and Dana's horses should be enough. I think this time we'll have you call the actions again, though I'm going to be doing quite a bit more this time.”

“Kal too?” Jeff asked. Anton saw a quizzical look thrown from Sam.

“Yes. She can use a bow extremely well and can see just as well. That's more than enough to bring her along.”

“'kay.”

Jeff turned to the few soldiers near him.

“Gather a hundred of the best soldiers and make sure they are fully geared up for a battle. Also someone get Dana and the rest of the horses, and a eight carts with Ix to drag them. Get to it.”

“Yes Sir!” the villagers shouted in response as they ran off.

“Shouldn't be too long.” Jeff said to Anton.

“You look worried though.” Sam added.

He had told them all about the potential of the Elven goddess interfering, none had taken it well.

“I am concerned. Though, there is little that we can do other than remove this threat. If we leave it, it could continue to draw other Kobolds or other monsters, maybe even to a war-host that dwarfs the Yellow Goblin attack.”

Jeff and Sam looked uncomfortable at the thought. It was something that they would have talked about.

“But, doing this might draw her gaze, sending more powerful creatures at us.”

Anton took a deep sigh.

“I don't think that there's a good way out of this.”

“We're all with you Anton.” Verona said as she held his hand.

“Absolutely,” Sam added, “Am I going on this little trip of yours?”

Jeff nodded, Sam seemed quite happy.

“Awesome,” Sam said as she shook her hands in excitement, “Fighting those things is going to be be good practice.”

“Just don't get hit.” Anton added, Sam looking quite nervous. She had obviously heard the stories from the few villagers that got cut but the poisoned spines.

“You knew about the Kobold's poison,” Verona said as she turned to Kal, “Have you had to fight them before.”

“A few times between winters.” Kal answered. “I only fought a few at a time, but they never ripped out their spines before. I pricked my hand once when I tried to collect some meat.”

Kal looked at her clothed right hand.

“At one point I was thinking of cutting it off.”

“Ugh, nasty.” Verona said as she looked towards the door. “We still have some food kept in there?”

Jeff nodded, Sam and Verona heading inside. They emerged a minute later with large platter of food, Verona handing it to Anton for them to pick from while Sam shared hers with Jeff. Sam had a small bag which she handed to Anton, it had four fresh Karak fruit in them.

Kal seemed hesitant again to take some food but did not refuse when offered a piece of meat by Verona. She seemed quite happy to tear into the meat, without the ferocity of yesterday. They took their time in enjoying the meal.

Another minute later the villagers started to move into the plaza. Kal made sure that her hood was covering her ears, some of the villagers looking quite perplexed that she was still here. None were brave enough to say anything about her.

Dana, and her twelve horsemen, and eight carts rolled into the main plaza soon after. Dana brought them all to a halt, dismounting their armored horses. She, and the other scouts, had extra pieces of iron and leather armor on their bodies. Jonathan must have helped them upgrade their attire. Anton wondered about how the hand-cannon development was coming along.

“Good morning,” Dana said as she stopped and looked at them still nibbling on some food, “They told me that we are about to wipe out the Kobolds.”

“We are,” Anton replied, “We'll get you to run down any survivors like last time.”

Dana smiled.

“Sounds like a good plan.”

Anton looked around, nearly everyone had assembled.

“I think this looks like enough have assembled. Jeff, you want to get everyone ready?”

Jeff jumped up onto one of the carts. He cleared his throat.

“Everyone get onto the carts, we're leaving for the Kobold camp! Make sure that you don't get cut by their spines, I don't want to have to die frothing from the mouth.”

There was a light cheer from the soldier villagers as they hopped onto the carts. Anton got onto the nearest cart along with Verona, Sam and Jeff. Kal looked like she was getting ready to walk alongside.

“Come on Kal, hop on.” Anton said, offering his hand.

Kal looked either side before accepting it. She pulled herself up with Verona grabbing the other hand. They all sat down, Verona and Kal either side of Anton with Jeff and Sam on the other side.

The cart started to rumble out of the village, Dana took her horses to the front. Anton just hoped that it would not be like the last time where he was vomiting everywhere.

---[]---

About two hours later they arrived near the lake. Thankfully Anton could still stand when they stopped, though Verona looked a little disoriented.

The area was quite flat but they found the highest point where they could observe the camp. The stopped at a point where they would not be seen assembling.

While Jeff got the soldiers ready, Anton observed the camp. It was quite a distance away, so much so that he could make out the structures and some movement but little else. Verona stood beside him and he could see her straining to see properly. Kal did not seem to have any issues as her eyes and face remained normal. If anything her horizontal cat's eye's irises closed slightly.

Kal picked up on their difficulty to see.

“Do you want me to tell you what I can see?” Kal offered.

“Actually, no. I want to try something else.” Anton replied.

He placed his hand over Verona's head, she turned up at him as she raised her brows.

Tethra, can you improve our eyesight so we can see as well as Kal until we have fully observed the Kobold camp?

A small chunk of his mana left him, evenly flowing back into him and Verona.

Everything burst into clarity. It was if everything always had been covered by a thin veneer of something opaque. He could everything around him so clear now, able to see the grass in incredible detail.

“Fucking hell,” Verona said as she looked at her hands, “This is how well you can see all the time?”

Verona turned to Kal, Kal looked quite confused.

“What are you talking about?” she said, her eyes darting between the two.

“Anton just used some magic to change how well I can see. I think I can see as well as you can.” Verona answered. “I can feel his magic flooding into my body, it feels like warm water flowing underneath my skin. It was a little odd at first but I've find it to be quite nice.”

Kal looked between them.

“How? How could you use magic of that strength without even having to chant?”

“I did, kind of, in my head. It's the same thing I did when I healed everyone during training. Have you seen mages before?”

“A few.” Kal's ears drooped low. “I'll tell you one day.”

There was an awkward silence before Kal coughed and looked back to the Kobold camp.

“So, you can both see like me?”

Anton nodded.

“So, what have we got?” he asked.

There were several small leather and fur tents surrounding a larger one. The smaller ones looked to be about three meters across while the larger one appeared to be well over ten meters. They looked to be supported by a series of large bones forming an outer structure with the leather and fur woven onto them.

Out of the tip of each tent was a tiny wisp of smoke.

Hundreds of Kobolds were walking around, covered in extra pieces of fur and leather. Right now they seemed almost calm and pleasant. A few were coming back and forth from the lakes' edge, carrying fish back to the others.

If they had not tried to attack them without provocation they would probably be left alone.

Some of the Kobolds looked to be very small. These were definitely the children of the Kobolds. Most were near the larger tent playing. It made Anton feel quite sad about what was about to happen.

What lay at the center removed all sense of doubt. The scouting villagers had done a decent job of trying to recreate the insignia on top of the totem but it was considerably more detailed now that he could see it himself.

It was indeed a large leaf with deer antlers almost cradling the leaf. The giant stone circle was lashed to the wooden totem pole with extra pieces of rope attached to the ground to help keep it upright.

He had not been in contact with his gods yet, but the symbol was not theirs and he had no real reason to doubt Kal. Whether her liked it or not, they were likely under the sway of Nithroel, the one god that his despised from the moment he met them.

“How many, Kal?” Anton asked.

He saw her mouth move as she counted.

“One thousand, three hundred and twenty seven.” Kal answered flatly.

She looked to the other soldiers, they were almost ready and seemingly mentally and physically gearing themselves for the assault. The enhanced vision disappeared with a sound of disappointment escaping Verona's mouth.

“How is this going to be enough?” Kal looked quite concerned.

“You think we cannot win?” Verona asked.

“I...I'm just worried that we will loose.”

Kal looked and pointed at his hand.

“This size and color of the glyphs relates to how strong they are. Yours are small so...and I don't know what that is.”

Kal pointed at the gem embedded in his hand, Anton had no idea what it really was either. It was involved with his magic and how Verona got hers.

“Don't worry. When we start you'll see what we're capable of.” Anton said as he pulled Verona close. “Oh, by the way...”

Anton held out his hand for Verona to take some blood, to which Verona took and filled up all her clay vials. Kal glanced at this but quickly looked back to the Kobold camp.

Verona squeezed his hand and looked up at him. She pulled Anton down and kissed him on the lips. It was tender, almost like she was seeking reassurance, to which he did his best to respond to. When they parted she seemed a little happier.

Kal had kept her attention forward and had only glanced back at them. It was probably very awkward for her to see others engage intimately, but to be fair most people kind of are.

Jeff, who had seemingly been waiting until they had finished, approached.

“Do we have enough soldiers?” he asked.

“Normally no, but with both of us it shouldn't be a problem.” Anton replied.

Jeff surveyed the field.

“If we head through the grass, like the wolves did when they attacked you, we could get pretty close.”

Jeff turned to Kal, who was still looking towards the camp.

“Kal, I take it that the Kobolds have pretty good eyesight and sense of smell.”

Kal turned and nodded.

“Yes. They have to in order to roam and hunt properly.”

She turned back to the camp.

“I'm just wondering if all the raiding groups are back yet.”

“We can wait all day and still might not know.” Anton added. “We still have the advantage of surprise, though that could change the moment the wind changes direction.”

They were currently to the west of the camp and the wind was coming from the south. Most of the time the wind came from the north or south, but there had been many times where it came from nearly any direction and without warning.

“Okay everyone,” Jeff said as he turned to the soldiers, “You with the carts are to stay here and make sure you don't get attacked. The rest of us will crouch low through the grass until we give the signal. Then Anton will attack with his magic and then we'll wipe out any survivors. Dana, you and your horses will wait until we've launched the attack and then charge. Any questions?”

There was nothing from the villagers.

Anton turned to Kal.

“After I've used my magic, can you use your bow to hunt down any that survive?”

Kal nodded, taking out her bow and gripping it tightly. She had about thirty arrows in her quiver. It should be enough, she could get her arrows back and if she ran out she could still use her knives.

They hunched down and started traveling through the long grass.

---[]---

It took them almost a half hour to travel a distance that would have taken a few minutes. Kal was near the front, he could hear her sniffing at the air when stopped them with her hand raised. She looked back at him with a slightly scared face, like she was afraid of telling them to stop.

Jeff passed the message down the line with a hand signal, everyone coming to a halt. Anton and Verona moved to the front with Jeff and Kal.

Kal turned to Anton.

“Some on the east side of the camp are starting to sniff the air and look towards us.”

“How far away are we?” Anton asked.

“About...” Kal stood up just enough to see through the tops of the grass. “A hundred and fifty yards or so.”

“If we can get a bit closer I can use my magic properly. It's about a hundred meters, um...three hundred or so feet, then I can start to use those pillars again. I want to use some lightning magic this time.”

Jeff nodded.

“Kal, once we're about three hundred feet away, let Anton know.”

“Okay.” Kal replied.

They continued as silently as they could until Kal stopped them again.

“You'd better hurry.” Kal said somewhat nervously, “They're getting very nervous now. It won't be long before they try something.”

Anton gathered the magic in his body. He already knew what would happen if he linked the rings when they were made with fire, they became far larger and more explosive, but had no idea what would happen with the lightning variant.

He formed the same central ring with four more around it and tethered them together, imagining the same thing as before of lightning raining down from the rings, and pushed it over to the center of the camp.

For a few seconds nothing happened, Verona had the same confused face as she did during the Yellow Goblin siege.

A ring in the air, about fifty meters wide, formed out of lightning. The lightning crackled and roared as it ran around and formed the ring.

The Kobolds stopped and looked up. He could see some starting to head into the tents for shelter, as if it was about to storm. They stopped as they realized it was not natural.

Tiny purple lights built up within the ring, many more than before.

“Here it comes.” Anton whispered to Kal.

Her head glanced back then remained transfixed forward, her whole body tense.

As the lights flared and then contracted, the Kobolds shrieked in panic. Some continued to try and hide in their tents while others made desperate dives for any form of shelter. It was all for naught. The light points contracted and bolts smashed down.

They smashed into the Kobolds, killing anything it touched with a single strike. The bolts did not discriminate between young and old, male or female, as they shot down over the camp. It was utter chaos as the carnage overran the center of the camp.

Hundreds were dead and the camp was on fire, the ground charred and blackened, as the lightning ring began to fade.

Jeff pulled on Anton's sleeve, seemingly wanting to attack. Anton shook his head.

“Not yet. There's still something coming. This is what happened with the fire pillars.”

Four more lightning rings formed around where the first disappeared. The lightning that formed the ring was brighter and far more wild in the way it arced about. Before it remained roughly in the ring shape but now the lightning was arcing several meters away from the center.

The tiny purple lights formed once again, the surviving Kobolds let out a terrified howl at the lights above them. These started to join together with a thin line of lightning, forming a web within the lightning ring.

Anton had no idea as to what exactly was about to happen but knew that it would be devastating.

All the lights disappeared with a tiny audible pop. Verona moved to speak but stopped when the lightning returned.

In a single moment, every one of the hundreds of points exploded into ten bolts. His vision was blinded and his hearing deafened by the power of the hundreds and thousands of lightning blasts.

Everything went white, in sight and sound. It was so loud that Anton could not hear anything until his vision recovered a few seconds later, everyone else seemed to be suffering the same problem.

Oh, shit Kal. She has much better sight and hearing than anyone else, if I had known I would have told her.

Anton saw Kal hunched over and covering her ears. He moved forward and touched her on the back of the head. Her head darted back to look at him, there was fear and terror in her eyes. Her cat slit eyes were almost shut from being so terrified. She held her quivering hand to cover her face as she whimpered something. Whatever it was she repeated it over and over, but it was not her mantra of 'you can do this'. It was not clear but he thought that she was begging for her life.

“Please-” he managed to hear her whimper.

“Kal, you okay?” Anton asked as he tentatively reached out to her.

The fear in her face receded as she returned to reality. Verona tried to touch her shoulder but was slapped away, the surprise evident on her face.

“I....I'm fine. I'm fine.” Kal said with a tremor in her voice. “The lightning can...”

She trailed off and calmed while Verona looked on concerned, the others too focused on the smouldering camp to see.

Anton looked back to the camp.

It was in complete ruin; nearly every section of the camp was scorched from the lightning, giant holes were burning through the leather tent skins, charred and exploded bodies lay amongst the burning wooden remains of the camp.

The totem and stone symbol had been hit multiple times. The overall structure was still intact but it was heavily damaged. While it was still standing it had scorch marks running along it where some bolts had blown chunks of the stone apart.

There was still movement amongst the camp. Some of the Kobolds were only wounded, their struck body limbs charred and destroyed. As the tent flaps opened more emerged, looking utterly terrified. They ran to their wounded companions and started to try and help them.

“Are we doing this now?” Jeff asked.

“Yes.” Anton replied, “Everyone get ready to charge.”

He turned to Verona and Kal, Kal was still recovering from whatever the lightning triggered in her.

“You both ready?”

Verona nodded, her face full of grim determination. Kal still looked a little disturbed but she too was ready.

Jeff waved his hand to the villagers. Verona drew up her blood and formed two spears and a disc. The disc was about a meter wide and very thin, it would probably cut through just about anything with enough force provided. Kal took out an arrow from her quiver and knocked her bow.

They rose up from the grass, yelled an almighty cheer, and charged.

The Kobolds, weakened immensely and terrified by the lightning storm, were barely able to realize the villagers were attacking.

Kal was the first to strike, running faster than any villager while keeping low. She pulled the string back as far as she could before releasing. The arrow sailed forth and struck a Kobold in the face, sending it down onto the charred ground.

The remaining Kobolds had rallied and found whatever weapons they could, some had decided to rip out one of their spines so they could fight.

As the villagers crashed in into the camp perimeter, Verona threw the blood disc.

They held them up to block the incoming disk but it carved right through. It severed flesh and bond of one Kobold and straight into the next one behind it.

Verona, with her hand outstretched, ripped it to the side, as if it was connected by string. The disc slowed and then stopped before darting through the Kobold's to the side. It carved those apart to the side before smashing into a tent. He could see the look of surprise on Verona's face as it exited the tent and carried on. The blood disk shattered and reformed into four spears.

“Too tricky to control.” Verona blurted at him.

Anton did very little, only occasionally firing the odd lightning bolt when it looked like a villager was about to get into trouble. The thunderous sound of approaching horses came from behind. Dana and her horses ran around the outside of the camp and stopped any Kobolds from escaping.

It was a little heart wrenching to see the small ones being trampled under the horses hooves and struck down by the villagers, but the decision had been made.

As they approached the totem more Kobolds emerged from the tents, still wounded and smouldering from the lightning barrage. They fell under the villagers attacks as their group poured into the camp.

A small Kobold screamed its way out of a tent, just a few back from the villager group. He turned and readied to attack it with a lightning bolt but hesitated at seeing how small it was. It would have barely reached his knees but it was wielding a poison spine over its head to attack. Despite its size it traveled the ground very quickly, reaching the tent infront of the the villagers as Anton formed the lightning bolt in his hand.

Just as he was about to release the bolt, an arrow flew past and struck it in the head. The tip rode along the inside of the eye socket and into its brain, killing it instantly. Its head twisted with the force, the small body fell and skidded along the charred ground to just infront of him.

He glanced over and saw Kal, their only archer present, who looked indifferent to the act. She had more reaction from being near the lightning barrage. She caught his eye, nodded, and readied another arrow towards the Kobolds.

Not knowing how many still lingered in the tents, he formed dozens of fireballs and began throwing them amongst the camp. He was not the most accurate thrower of the magic bombs as some landed on the ground but most found their mark, the tents igniting. Unlike with the Rock-Rat's at the quarry there was no sound of them being roasted alive. Anton knew though it was probably because they were already dead or gravely wounded.

Verona fought at the front, dragging most of the attention of the remaining Kobolds to her. She had brought up the blood spears and was merrily swinging them around. Kobolds were dying in droves. The remaining Kobolds were terrified of this and ran back into the large tent, only for Anton to throw another fireball and ignite it.

The villagers pushed the few Kobolds left towards the lake. They reached the beginning of the sand as Dana's horsemen ran them down.

A minute later, there was no longer any resistance. Occasionally there was a whimper from one of the corpses but they were quickly silenced. Some tents were still burning with acrid smoke filling the air.

Most of the villagers were looting the bodies and tents, occasionally a startle of surprise then a shout, the sound of something tearing and then the sound of more looting. He had no idea what they were after, he would need to check on that later.

Only a few had been wounded, to which Anton promptly healed. None had been unfortunate enough to get cut by the poison spines.

Anton stood in the center of the camp, infront of the large totem pole. The Kobolds had tried to protect this the hardest, allowing Verona to slaughter then easily.

Anton looked up at the totem. There was something eerie about seeing it that close, like something was trying its best to lash out at him but could scratch him. Was this what it was like to be in the presence of a hostile god?

Verona has a god of her own, Jira. From what I gathered she's neutral in most things, I wonder if she's feeling this.

He turned to see Verona, her body covered in blood again. The red glow of her marks burned bright as she drew up a large ball's worth of blood from the dead Kobolds. She looked quite happy playing with the sphere, ripping pieces apart then rejoining them, playing with it like it was just an extension of herself. There was nothing on her face that related to the scene of carnage around her.

As she reached out to touch a small sphere Anton spoke.

“Verona, you got a moment?”

Her face darted to him, a smile gracing her face. She relinquished control of most of the blood and let the rest splash onto the ground. She trotted over to him, placing her blood into the vials, and making sure not to step on the bodies. As she stopped infront of him she realized there was still blood on her face, she used her sleeve remove it, then using her power to remove what was left. The red receded from her eyes and body as she looked happily and expectantly at Anton, holding the spear behind her back.

“You seem quite happy amongst all this destruction.” Anton pointed out to Verona.

She looked back over the scorched battlefield and chuckled.

“I guess so,” she replied. “I haven't had the chance to really use my power for quite a while. On the trip back our group was so large that no creatures attacked, so that's good.”

Her eyes were drawn to the dead young Kobold that Kal had slain.

“Though I guess that those sort of things are a little unsettling.”

Anton looked back at the sight, it was a little disturbing.

“You okay?” Anton asked, rubbing her head.

She turned up to look at him as she took his hand off and held it.

“Yeah. I...I...just need a moment.”

After spending a few seconds shaking her hands and taking a few deep breaths, she turned and smiled back at him.

“Okay, I'm better. So, what did you want?”

Anton nodded towards the totem pole and the stone insignia on top. There was still the strange feeling coming from it.

“Yeah, that thing looks a bit like yours,” Verona held Anton’s hand and rubbed on the glyphs, “And a bit like mine.”

“You don't feel anything strange...coming from that?”

Verona looked at the totem, silently staring at it for a few seconds before shaking her head.

“I can't feel anything different. Is something coming from the stone?”

Anton pursed his lips.

“Maybe. It might be that this goddess, Nithroel, and mine aren't exactly friends. Maybe there's some sort of reaction. Maybe Kal might know something?”

They both turned around to look for Kal. Her hood was down so her aqua colored hair made her quite easy to find. She was crouching infront of a crudely made wooden shelf, looking through its contents. Every few moments she would reach for something, sniff it, then put it into her coat or place it back. If it was something good her ears would prick up then slowly dropped back down. Anton felt it was a little strange to put it back so neatly, especially as they were going to burn what was left and leave it to the elements.

“Kal?” Anton asked.

Kal's head stopped looking through the shelves, her ears pricked up. She stood up without looking over at Anton, brushed the dirt off her and took a deep breath. As she turned around she had a somewhat distant look on her face as she approached Anton. Verona picked up on this, tugging on Anton's sleeve and threw a quizzical brow. Anton very lightly shrugged and looked back to Kal.

Kal smiled lightly, there was something behind it though, probably from whatever happened with the lightning. It was something he wanted to know about, even if it was painful.

“Kal, in your time and travels, did you hear anything about being in the presence of a hostile god giving you an eerie or strange feeling traveling through your skin?”

Kal looked between Anton and the stone symbol, she frowned as she focused her gaze on Anton.

“I have not. But if it's causing you a problem, you should probably get rid of it.”

They looked back to the insignia. Anton searched for anything that may be causing the odd feeling but saw nothing, nothing glowed or was a different color than the grey stone. He was about to summon a blast of lightning when something told him that it probably was not the best idea. It was not the voice of one of the gods but probably his own subconscious.

“Jeff,” Anton yelled, “Get a few villagers and bring this thing down. I don't think I should use any more of my magic on it than I already have.”

Jeff, currently prying through a large poorly made clay pot, called some villagers over. They cut the remaining ropes keeping it upright and used the a few of the loose lines to pull it down.

The villagers heaved as the totem groaned and fell. The stone symbol broke, a satisfying thud and crack resounding through the air. The strange feeling disappeared the moment it broke.

They let out a cheer at the sight of the destruction. It was like the way a barbarian tribe would celebrate the destruction of an enemy city.

Verona walked over and prodded around the stone insignia, Anton thought that she was trying to find something different that would explain the odd feeling. She shook her head having found nothing.

Jeff came up to Anton, the same time he heard Dana's horses approaching. She looked quite pleased, some of the armor pieces on the horses looked quite battered. They had taken a decent beating but the horses looked quite happy, at least he thought they did.

Dana dismounted and led her horse to Anton.

“They're all dead,” Dana began, “They weren't up to much after you used the lightning.”

“That was the idea of it, though I did not expect it to do that.” Anton replied, Kal had a tiny twitch in her eye as he spoke.

“Another good work out. Wonder when we'll get a real challenge.”

“Don't wish for it,” Anton replied, “I think that we'll soon have that.”

He nodded to the shattered insignia, Dana and Jeff frowning.

“That goddess, Nithroel's?” she asked, looking between Anton and Kal.

“Yeah. No idea if she could sense this battle but I get a feeling she might.”

I just hope we haven't just declared war...hopefully my gods will be able to perhaps spin this into saying that we were taking out a counter attack on the Kobolds and didn't know about her involvement. Maybe...hopefully.

While Anton was pondering what this attack could mean another villager ran up to them. She looked quite flustered as she stopped.

“Jeff, Anton, there's something in the big tent that you should see.”

Dana stayed outside and remounted her horse to rejoin her squad while Anton and the others entered the large tent. The fire had burnt away most of the tent and set ablaze to most of the things inside, the air still smoky and acrid as they breathed it in.

“What have you found?” Jeff asked.

The female soldier pointed to the center of the tent. There lay the burned remains of a Kobold. It looked unrecognizable from the damage to its fur and skin, the heat melted away its fat so the burnt remains was tight on its bones. The beast lay on its side as it curled itself to protect itself from the heat, it looked like it had been hit by a fireball thrown to incinerate the tent. It looked relatively unremarkable.

“And?” Jeff continued.

“In its claws....hands.”

The soldier used her spear to pry apart its clenched hands. Crumpled in it, and protected from the flame, was a crumpled piece of dirty paper. The villager lent down and pried it free and handed it to Jeff and Anton.

They carefully unfolded it, the heat had turned it incredibly fragile. On it was scratches of writing, completely indecipherable to Anton. He looked to Jeff who looked as confused as he did. When Kal looked at it she frowned a little.

“Can you understand some of this?”

Kal scratched at her torn ear.

“Not really. I didn't think that they had a language, just snarls and groans. Someone in the Grataeris Empire might know but that's a long way away.”

“Pity. Anything else of value in here?”

“Not really. A few good pieces of salvageable metal that we're planning to take back. Other than that there's not much.”

“Okay,” Anton replied, “I think it's time to leave. The Kobolds won't be worrying us any longer. We'll leave and I'll set anything still standing ablaze.”

They exited the large tent, carrying the few things that were of value.

“Actually, Kal, what did you manage to find?”

She looked to him.

“You were rummaging around for some time.”

Kal reached around to her back and pulled out a selection of herbs and leaves, some of which Anton recognized.

“That's....White-leaf and Shimmer Soral by the looks of it. Couple more that I don't recognize.”

There was an honest surprise on Kal's face. She must have thought that he would have taken little to no interest in the struggles of ordinary people. It also struck him that she did not know how he arrived, fictional or otherwise, especially as he had just shown himself to be a powerful mage in the middle of nowhere.

“Ye...yeah.” Kal smiled, having something genuine to talk about, “I found some of those as well as some Flazel weed, Spring-Blossom and some Humuara.”

“What do those do?”

“They're healing herbs mostly, but Humuara helps with sleeping.”

“Huh.” Anton replied. “We'll have to get you to write a list of them all down someday.”

Kal smiled warmly, Anton felt that there might be something still related to the lightning, though now was not the right time to ask.

As they started to leave Anton summoned dozens of fireballs and burnt everything else to the ground. They hopped onto the cart, looking back at the smouldering ruin as they trundled away.

“That whole thing is a giant mess now,” Verona said as she lent over the side of the cart and looked back at the burning camp, “You think that they'll be back?”

“Those ones, no. But there will always be something to replace them, there's the goblins at the capital to worry about. Nonetheless, I think it's a good time to spend a day or so relaxing before we head back to Maxill.”

“Great. I want to sleep in our bed once in a while.”

“Hey, what happened with the blood disk?” Anton asked. “It seemed like it was going pretty well.”

Verona scratched the back of her head, her hand rubbed at the clay vials.

“It...it felt like it was too heavy. As it got further away it got harder to control and bring it back. I don't think that I realized that the other day when I was throwing the blood spears on the target range. Do you have something like that?”

“Yeah. As my magic gets further away it becomes harder to control and drains more mana. It was good of you to break it back into a spear when you realized it was too difficult.”

“I kinda did what I thought you would do. Anyway, I think that I'll use it to throw in a straight line then break it. I'll think of something later.”

“I love it that you keep working to improve yourself.”

“Always, and not just that.” She smiled wickedly at him and nestled underneath his arm.

They headed back to Atros, leaving the scene of destruction behind them.

-------------

Hello,

Last week there was some down-time so I cranked out another chapter. I hope it stands up.

I didn't really want to do the dinner part as it would just be a bunch of oh no's and everyone agreeing to get rid of them.

Anyway, Kal's terrified of lightning, which was mentioned before when she first arrived, so that will make things difficult for a while. Plus, they will be heading to Maxill soon to get more people and gear.

Anyway, that's it for now.

Thanks for reading and be gentle with your comments!

Edit:

Thanks to AnarchyDev and mafiapl for pointing out the errors.