You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. It’s used a lot, but like most I would simply dismiss it as irrelevant. Funny, as those next few days saw me becoming the villain most lab people hate the most. Auditors.

“This is one of our best hunters, Felix. And this is former caravan master Edwards.” Elder Sorianne said as she led two elves into the captain’s office in the barracks. Felix looked middle aged, with dark green skin that had faint bark-like wrinkles on it. His eyes were bright green, and immediately took in everything in the room as fast as he could, ever watchful for danger. Edwards was roughly the same age, though he tended towards the brown end of the spectrum. He was a bit stockier than Felix as well, though you could tell his once powerful muscles had atrophied a bit with age.

“Elder, Felix, Edwards.” I nodded as I passed papers back and forth, trying to organize everything.

“I still don’t know why you needed these two.” She said with a shrug. “They don’t know anything about the guards.”

“Ah, but that’s not why I need them.” I said with a smile. “One I need for clues he doesn’t know he likely has, and the other I need for his hunting prowess.” When I said that, Felix gave me a predatory smile while Edwards just looked confused. “Here, let’s do this first thing.” I said, pulling out a sheet of paper and handing it to Edwards. “This trading group comes through roughly every two weeks. Do you know them?”

“Yeah.” He said after a bit. “They buy up a lot of the crops around here. Even pay a bit above the going rate.”

“Perfect. Now, let’s go over a few things really quick. Do they come to town loaded or unloaded?” I asked.

“Why?” Edwards asked, only to look at Felix as he put a hand on his arm.

“Just answer the question. I got a feeling I know where the kid’s going, and it’s important.” Felix said. “Range first?”

“Got it in one.” I said, glad the hunter was on board. That would make things easier.

“Fine. Yes, he comes back loaded. Usually armor and weapons for the guards. Sometimes they bring back iron for the smith to work on, or specialty items beyond his abilities.”

“Great! That means he’s probably going the same speed out and back. Now, if you were running a caravan, how far could you get using the roads in seven days? Let’s assume you are going at a pace where the animals aren’t in danger, and you are going to take a rest day at the end just to make sure.”

“Seven days? That’s an awful short run.” He said, walking up to the map and rubbing a chin. “I could probably make it to Kiln. That’s if nothing went wrong.”

“Excellent.” I said, pulling out a bit of string and stringing it between the two cities on the map.

“They buy anything unusual?” Felix asked, stepping up to look at the map. “Bug repellant, heavy clothes, things like that?

“Come to think of it, yeah.” Edwards said. “They always came into town with long sleeved garments on, and always got a few tubs of repellant.”

“Peatfire Bog.” Felix nodded, putting a tack at a crossroads, and altering the path of my string to the south. He put a third tack where the edge of the bog started, leaving about two inches if string. Holding it up to the map along the road, it went roughly a quarter of the way to the next city, Waterford.

“They wouldn’t want to go to the city unless they had to.” I said, getting a nod from Felix. “And they have to be a decent bit off the road. Visitors are bad.”

“Gotcha. Let’s assume that bog travel is half as fast as going by road.” I muttered, folding the string in half and putting a small quarter circle on the map. “That look good?”

“Probably, but Let’s change it up just a bit.” Felix said. “Going straight into a bog from a main road will look awfully suspicious. There’s a small access road here for the peat miners. I would head up there, and move maybe a day’s worth of travel into the bog from the northern edge.”

“How the?” Edwards asked, looking between the three of us. “Are you serious? You’re telling me that you found where he was trading with a schedule and what he bought?”

“Yep.” Felix said. “The schedule gave us the range, and there’s only one spot in there that they would need all that bug repellent for. I’m sure the rest won’t be nearly as easy to find.”

“Of course they won’t.” I said, “This one was the closest, and definitely was going to be the easiest. With the rest, the probability of them changing cargoes midway increases dramatically. I’ll have to figure out the closest cities they picked up trade in and go from there.”

“Figured out how many dens they have?” Felix asked, studying the map some more.

“Not really.” I shrugged. “I know at least three. They have two shipments going to this site, though one seems to be on a circuit route. Drops off a bit of pottery from Kiln here for food, heads to the site, then who knows where. Wait a minute.” I muttered, rifling through the stack of papers. It took a few moments, but I raised a paper in victory. “AHA! Edwards! If you had to plot a caravan route that would take a month and a half, that goes past our site and returns through Kiln, where would you go?”

“Hmmm, interesting.” Edwards said, turning back to the map. He started tracing a few paths with his fingers, then frowned a bit. “I wouldn’t.” He said, shaking his head.

“Wouldn’t?” Felix asked.

“Hell no! There isn’t any profit! There’s a bunch of smaller towns, but none of them produce anything of major merit. It just doesn’t make any sense!”

“You’re looking at it wrong.” Felix said. “You are looking for maximum profit, because that’s what drives a business. What are these people looking for?” They both turned to me at the question.

“Spreading their influence.” I replied. “They want to spread as many of those corrupted guard armors to as many people as possible.”

“There you have it.” Felix said. “Hit as many towns as you can, with a half day’s rest between. They’ll want a quick pass through the smaller towns. Leave a bit more leeway in the bigger cities. They can use those as major hubs to trade through. Drop off a load of armor there, and split it off to smaller cities.”

“Hmm, that puts a different swing on things.” Edwards said, growling at the map again. “Can we assume that they will have to hit every major town then?” Felix nodded, so Edwards put four pins in the map. “Eldertree, Oakgrove, Eagle Cry, and Kiln then. Let’s go ahead and skip the towns closest to those. Felix is right, it would be better to do smaller runs to the nearby towns from the large cities. If we loop out east, we can hit five smaller towns that aren’t quite accessible from anywhere else. That brings us close enough to a complete circuit that I wouldn’t want to cram anything else in.”

“What do you think Sean?” Felix asked. I looked over the map, and could see it. The route effectively took in the entire eastern half of the Elven Empire, and once all the guards were converted they could branch out into the smaller cities. Actually, they were probably started on the expansion already.

“I think I’ve got my work cut out for me.” I said. “I’m going to assume the worst here. You guys were on the main route, and had what? A third of your guards in the second phase of the armor? That’s probably going to be the same for each of the smaller cities here. The major ones likely have everyone at the second stage of the armor, with a handful of elites in the third stage. And in all honesty, there has to be a few at a fourth stage, though it would depend on how long they needed to be under the influence. Maybe Tory and Cameron will be able to answer that when they wake up.”

“Do you have a plan then?” Edwards asked.

“Starting to make one. First I’m going to take out the longer caravan, they are due back in a few days. If my luck holds, they’ll have a detailed logbook that I can use to guess what numbers I’ll be facing. After that, we head to the hidden site, taking out the merchant along the way. They should be heading back here by then.”

“I’ll go with you.” Edwards suddenly said, surprising us all.

“Why?” Felix asked.

“Every time you take out one of those things, it knocks the elf out. You’ll need someone to tend to them and bring the wagons back here. I can do it, and my nephew could use a bit of experience driving a wagon, so he can handle the second one. That frees you up to move through the circuit as fast as you can. I’ll assume you can move faster in a day than a loaded wagon, giving you the element of surprise.”

“Well said.” Felix smiled. “I’ll be going with as well, to protect Edwards on the way back. There aren’t many beasts that’ll risk a caravan on the road, but I can handle all of them. It isn’t much, but if it can help you two free our people, we’re willing.”

“That, well. That’ll be a big help.” I said, smiling at the two of them. Before I could say anything else, Elendria stuck her head in the door.

“Sean? Sorry to interrupt, but all the guards are awake except for the two strongest. Want to go interview any of them?”

“Sure, be right there.” I said, turning back to the other two. “I’m off to do some interrogation, but I do have a major favor if you don’t mind? Edwards, would you go through these trading logs and see if anything else jumps out as strange to you? I’m fairly certain I got the repeated deliveries, but any short term trips out would be great to know about. Especially if there were any training exercises or excuses to send the guards from here to other small towns, and vice versa.”

“I think I can do that! Can I bring in my nephew? It would do him a world of good to see this, especially if we can show that things have been altered in any way.” He replied, eyes lighting up.

“Go right ahead.” I said. “The more eyes looking at this, the better the chance we find something that doesn’t look right.” I started out the door, Felix following, when I had another idea pop into my head. “Oh, by the way. They don’t seem to mind losing money, so don’t be too worried at small overpayments. But keep an eye out for large overpayments.”

“Will do.” He said, waving me off. He already had his nose in the logbooks.

“I’ll get his nephew.” Elder Sorianne said as we left. “I’ll be honest, I never thought Edwards would take to such a problem. He never was a fan of puzzles as a kid.”

“True, but this is a puzzle that is almost specifically made for him.” Felix said. “I’m sure it would suck in anyone who loved business.”

The rest of our trip was silent on our part, though I did feel a twinge of regret walking past the scene of our battle. I had originally assumed that the arrow launched past me just blew a melon sized hole in the walls. That was the case for the first wall, but the subsequent walls were pockmarked from flying debris and looked horrid. The townsfolk had banded together though, and were clearing the damage as swiftly as they could.

“It’s ok dear.” Elder Sorianne said as she noticed my gaze. “Damage happens in a battle, and lives are lost. We know you took them down as fast as you could, saving what was possible. Now let’s get talking to those guards, and see what’s going on.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

A ten-minute walk later, and we entered a large tent that was set up next to the temple of Shalora. I was about to ask about that, but stopped when we started hearing raised voices from inside the tent, tinged with anger.

“Lost three skill levels?”

“Screw that, I’m down three levels!”

“Down a quarter of my stat points!”

We burst into the tent to see several of the guards sitting up and yelling, though they all looked a lot worse for wear. Their skin was tinged with greys and yellows, while Tory and Cameron both looked like living bruises.

“QUIET THIS INSTANT!” Elder Sorianne yelled, getting a tired smile from Elendria and fear widened eyes from the guards. “Better. Now, it seems like there are some issues from your recent possession. Miss Elendria?”

“Thank you Elder. We are trying to help you, but you must all face the facts. That armor you were wearing contained a creature that latched onto your soul. The more advanced the creature became, the more you likely lost.”

“But how could it do that and make us stronger at the same time?” One of the guards asked. “I’ll be honest. I’ve never been as accurate with a bow as I was.”

“Do you think a parasite like that wouldn’t have a way of helping its host?” Elendria scoffed. “They were pumping you full of chemicals, and altering your soul. Now, I’m going to go around to you one by one, and we will talk about how long you had the armor, what you remember, and what happened to your skills and abilities. While I’m doing that, Sean is going to ask you about some other things.”

“Simple things.” I said, reassuring them. “What you did, any places you visited, things like that.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Six hours later, and I was exhausted. Asking and noting the same questions of each guard was exhausting, doubly so when I tried to press them for additional details on certain things.

“So, how bad is it?” Elder Sorianne asked, bringing me back into the moment. We were in the private council room. Three elders, Sorianne included, Felix, myself and Elendria. She looked at me, giving me the nod to go first.

“Fine. I’ll start off. The good news is that we are basically an empty corner of the circle I think the nearest breeding grounds are supplying. Your town was close enough that using it for supplies was the best idea, so you got included in the route. You don’t have enough guards to do a cross training, so everything here is isolated. Kiln is most likely the nearest hub, and I’ll have to track down converted towns from there.”

“I’m sorry, converted towns?” One of the elders asked.

“Yes.” I said, suppressing a tired sigh. “They wouldn’t want to stop with the guards. One of the people at the temple of the seers was infected with a corrupted leg bracelet, so we know they have plans to use some jewelry to infect citizens. My guess is they are waiting to convert the guards first, so that they can quickly silence any resistance.”

“This bracelet, what did it look like? So that we can warn our people.”

“Leather band with a solid black stone on it.” I said, thinking back. “I think what’s her name, the Oracle, said it was sentient leather.” Everyone hissed at that, recoiling in horror. “Yeah, pretty much our reaction too. Just keep an eye out. If you find one, you’ll need someone who can manipulate spirit to remove it.”

“It gets worse from there.” Elendria said before anyone could interrupt. “We know this thing evolves at the end of one year and after another five years. I can’t speak for beyond that, but what I have managed to pull together is disturbing. I think with the initial infection, the parasite alters the portion of the soul that interacts with the system. That’s how it makes you seem stronger while hiding the damage it does. During the first year, it is busy settling in, so it can’t take much. Maybe a skill level per month. More concerning is the experience debt. It can’t absorb enough experience during the first three months, so if you catch it quick enough you only lose a few skill levels. But beyond that, it has rooted itself deeply enough in the soul to start syphoning off experience to fuel its growth.”

“How fast is the drain?” Elder Sorianne asked.

“Not that fast at first. Of all the guards that have awoken, the worst case is still minor experience debt. Then again, the longest was four years total. At the end of the first year, the parasite absorbs one level of experience and evolves. Skill drain slows, and experience drain speeds up. One skill level every three months on average. I can’t know how fast the experience is, but the worst is six levels.”

“By Shalora!” Sorianne swore. “Felix, we’ll need your hunters.”

“They’re at your service elder.” He immediately said. “We have a few days until the expected caravan, I’ll set up a rotation to have a few hunters with every guard rotation. Once I return, I’ll take small groups out for experience training.”

“I’ll explain it all later.” Elendria whispered, patting my leg. Louder, she said, “That’s fine. I’ll want to know when those last two wake up, to see just how bad their stats are. I’m betting at least lesser debt.”

“It seems the more we look at this problem, the further we fall into your debt.” The silent elder said. “I wish we had a way to repay you.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Elendria said, raising a hand. “This is part of a greater quest for us, so your thanks and aid so far are more than enough.”

“Besides.” I interjected, “Felix and Edwards have both been invaluable in their aid. Without their help, we wouldn’t have nearly as solid of a plan as we have. Now, if there’s nothing else, I think we’ve all had very long days. Let’s retire for tonight, and any issues we can come at tomorrow with fresh brains.”

“Agreed.” Similar sentiments were murmured around the table, and we all headed off to our dwellings for the night. Sighing at the moon just before we entered the inn, I shook my head. It was probably too late to worry about a bath, so I would have to take one in the morning. Apparently Elendria agreed, slowly making her way upstairs to our room.

Once we had settled in, she spoke quietly, “Go ahead.”

“Ahead with what?”

“You know. You have questions. I’ll answer as best as I can.”

“Experience debt? I’ve heard it mentioned, but nothing about levels.”

“Fine, start with the tough stuff. Not many things can drain your experience, as it requires attacking the soul. Lose enough, and you go into stages of experience debt. It starts out at minor, then progresses through lesser, middling, greater, major, and total. Each stage is worse than the last. Minor you receive a 20% penalty to experience earned and recovery is slowed by 10%. Keep in mind, this is on top of whatever level difference you have. You will earn experience based on your highest level before the drain. Lesser is a 25% penalty to experience, recovery is slowed by 20%, and you lose 5% of your attributes. Each step increases the penalties, though we can only assume how bad greater and major are. Even middling debt was only rumored to have occurred. The gods have let us know that if you suffer total experience debt, you die and there is a 75% chance that your soul will lose cohesion.”

“Losing cohesion means?” I asked, horrified that I already knew the answer.

“Exactly what it means. Gone forever.” She said. “But that’s not all. If you actually lose enough experience to enter debt like this, you only have so long to get out of it. Your soul will constantly bleed experience, which is why the hunting parties are going to be so important. The hunters will take the guards out, acting as a safety net while they kill monsters until their debt is cleared. But for those who are already into lesser debt, they will suffer a permanent loss to experience gain.”

“What do you want to do then?” I asked, slowly running my hand down her hair and back. “Do you want to prioritize clearing out as many cities as possible? Or do we make toward the capital and free your brothers?”

“What would you do?” She asked as a tear fell on my chest.

“Family first.” I replied. “But I’m not you, and I don’t know how fast elves can reproduce. Humans are a lot more protected that way.”

“My tree.” She mumbled, kissing my chest. “How I wish that I were human. Yes, humans could easily repopulate the empire from keeping a few major cities safe. Alas, elves would take several hundred years to do that. I have to say that we need to save as many cities as possible, and yet. My brothers have been under the influence of those things for decades. They have to be nearing total experience debt.”

I blinked a few times, letting that sink in. Eventually I said, “If it helps, I don’t think they will go to total experience debt for your brothers. They are far too useful for the position they are in. Until this world either repels the invaders or falls completely, they’ll hold off.”

“I hope to the gods you are right.” She said, snuggling in. “Hold me tight. I don’t think I’m going to like my dreams tonight.” She whispered as I rolled to the side and put both arms around her. Eventually we both drifted off.