87. Second in command: Ruku

What the bleeding Kraken is up with these people that hired me? I have two days off at the village sorting things for a long absence, and I get back to discover they were raided again by the Watch. Modrica is supposed to be under house arrest for knocking eight of them unconscious, but she is nowhere to be found. The warehouse and compound are surrounded by the Watch, who are recording all entries and exits, yet when I enter, the place is almost deserted. Nobody lives there anymore. It is just used for business. The Watch doesn’t seem to know that for some reason. I am not sure how they could have missed it. Where is Skavt? She is supposed to be my boss. I need to be brought up to speed.

I found Skavt at the Inn they were staying at. I thought they had relocated from there as well, but apparently not. So, a night raid by the Watch, a brawl with the Watch, a new place outside of the city, relocating everyone without the watch knowing and tomorrow Mayakku had an interview with the Watch. How the hell did they get wagons out past the Watch? That is almost more impressive than the performance. What the hell have I got myself into?

Skavt wanted me to take charge of security at the warehouse compound, which now had no one living there. A business and warehouse only. The horses had also been moved, so there were no animals to take care of. Skavt gave me the tour and showed me where Sten had placed traps in the most likely entry points. Thinking about how I would enter if I were to assault the place, I suggested a couple of more likely positions for traps. With two locations to protect now, we were short on guards. I guess at the warehouse compound. The Watch was doing our job for us at the moment. Skavt and I decided a pair of guards at a time was enough for the warehouse.

I went out to talk with the two Watchmen at the gate. They were pretty reticent about talking at first, but I loosened them up by telling them I was a recent hire and ex-military. They honestly believed they were guarding a family of Catkin and a dangerous criminal under house arrest. I didn’t tell them there was only two other guards and myself on the property. How on earth could they be so incompetent?

At the end of my shift, Sten came and set some more traps and then took me out to the new site, a small quarry not far outside the walls. We went back into the city before the gates closed for the night. Skavt was in charge of the security out there, and between her and Sten, they had everything well in hand. The Catkin were much happier there, and the kittens roamed throughout the quarry.

Sten wants me stationed at the Warehouse tomorrow. Tāttā will be there conducting Elemental Trader business, and Skygge, Mayakku and Appā should be arriving after their interview with the Watch. Appā is an experienced Sentry, but he is not sure that is enough protection for Mayakku as somebody has it in for her. She is obviously not capable of pulling off the robbery they keep questioning her about, so I tend to agree with that assessment. In my assessment, Skygge would be entirely capable, but I keep that to myself. Both Sten and Skygge will be busy talking to Major Sione from lunchtime, and they are not sure how long that will take.

The morning is fairly boring. Tāttā is a shrewd old trader. Catkin are rare in the north, and people tend to underestimate him. He takes full advantage of that. He has several appointments and a couple of walk-ins.

I keep an eye on the street. There is a buildup of rough-looking personnel on the street, so I think Sten’s suspicions are correct. I warn the two guards on duty with me, especially the one at the gate. If he is approached, he is to direct everyone to me. Then he is to shut the gate and not let anyone leave, by force if necessary. It does not matter whether they are Watch or not. The other guard was to reinforce him at the prearranged signal or if she heard fighting. Neither baulked at potentially taking on the city Watch. They were a couple of solid dwarven guards.

Skygge, Mayakku and Appā arrived near lunchtime. They secured the horses and came into the office part of the building. I discussed what I had seen with them and the plans I had implemented.

“That’s a good start,” she said. “Sten has been keeping an eye on them, and because they expect Modrica to be here, he doesn’t think the four of you will be enough.”

“Hey!” protested Mayakku.

“Sorry, the five of you, or would you also like to be included, Tāttā?”

“No thanks, I will leave the fighting to the youngsters,” he replied.

“Anyway, Najprej and Drugič will be here in about half an hour. Sten and I can skip the meeting and circle back if you think we will be needed. Modrica will be with us as well.” Skygge said.

“How many did you count?” I asked.

“Sten says there will be between 15 - 20 fully armed and but lightly armoured. He says their orders are to take Mayakku alive. Everyone else is optional.” she replied.

“20 people about the same level as the Watch attacking the seven of us, who are expecting them and fighting on our home turf. It should be fine if you don’t mind a bit of water damage.” I replied.

“Make that eight of us,” Tāttā said, strapping on a knife, putting on a cloth, knife-resistant vest, and then handing a second vest to Mayakku.

“Water damage is fine. The sensitive goods are at the other end of the warehouse. If your fight gets that far go easy on the water. I don’t want any of you to die. I think Sione will have some insight into what is going on, which is why I want to meet him sooner rather than later. I will get Sten to send Tāoke in with Najprej and Drugič, as we shouldn’t need him.” Skygge was stacking the odds toward us. That was something I was very much in favour of. “And don’t be afraid to trigger the traps. That is what they are for,” she added.

“What the hell do they think I know that I don’t,” Mayakku complained.

“That is what we hope to find out.” Skygge replied. Skygge walked out the main gate in full view about the same time Najprej, Drugič and Tāoke came in from the back, hopefully unseen. I didn’t see her communicate with anyone, so how she got the message out about Tāoke was a mystery to me.

I communicated our battle plan and contingencies to everyone, and we waited. Firstly, I no longer expected them to come in the gate quietly. I expected them to storm it. I put both dwarven guards on the gate with orders to not stop anyone entering but to stay alive at all costs. Once the main body of fighters was through the gate, they were to bring in any stragglers and shut and lock the gate. Their job was then to make sure nobody left through the gate.

Next, I expected our attackers to be acting on bad intel. They were expecting the whole Catkin family to be here, which was where Modrica would normally be. With that in mind, I expected well over half of them to head to where the wagons used to be. Therefore, I expected only a half dozen or so to head to the office area and not their best fighters either. They should be easy enough to take out quickly.

What happened next was that it would get messy. They might fan out to search the place, which would turn it into a game of cat and mouse. The advantage of that is to the Catkin, myself and Tāoke. They might try to storm the warehouse as a group. That would involve some hard solid fighting. Najprej, Drugič and I would lead that response with shields in the doorways. They might try to torch the place. My water affinity would answer that.

The worst case for us is if they managed to take one of us hostage. They would have the hostage situation in mind, as I am sure that would be one of their objectives when storming the Catkin wagons. All fights end up messy. We did what we could and waited.

They stormed into the yard, and three-quarters of them went for the Wagon area, which was the part that went according to plan. One of the dwarven guards took an arrow to the leg and had to fight off two attackers who were obviously assigned to take control of the gates. They sported some serious injuries, but they prevailed, and I had made sure they had potions available, so they managed to shut and lock the gates. They won’t be up for much defending the gates, but they have the trigger to the gate trap.

I had Mayakku at the back of the reception area visible from the doors and windows, hopefully, so they would focus on the goal and not the defence. She also had her back to a solid wall. The difficulty was the six they sent to the offices were all fast rogue types, and some had strong stealth, even in the daytime. I was inside, so my Sonar was restricted to the room I was in until they busted the doors and windows to enter. I had a short sword and a small shield, which I thought would be the best for this fight.

They were fast, and more came in the windows than the door, which was the opposite of what I expected. Najprej and Drugič were at the door, and Appā and I were at the windows. Tāttā was with Mayakku giving the impression they were non-combatants. They were our weakest combatants. Najprej and Drugič easily stopped the two that came through the door. Appā and I engaged one each from the windows, and I wounded another as they passed.

That left two rogues loose in the room, one uninjured. My Sonar tracked them. I used my Enhance Attribute skill to enhance my Physical Agility to keep up with these speed specialists. I squirted water into the eyes of the rogue I was fighting and then Surged water across the room where one of the rogues was. They lost their balance for a second but didn’t go down. I kept moving fast and only got a cut across the ribs rather than being stabbed. The armour meant it didn’t even penetrate. I responded with an elbow to the head, a knee to the groin and a stomp breaking a leg. Unarmed combat for the win, although I noticed the rogue was female, the knee to the groin would not have been as effective as on a male.

Tāttā had gotten a surprise knife into one of the rogues but was now being overpowered. Drugič was moments from helping. Appā was still engaged in an equal fight. The rogue was faster, but Appā’s shield work was equal to the task. I cast reverse Hydrate on the rogue. Hydrate can also dehydrate quite rapidly, sapping strength and giving Appā the advantage. I moved toward Mayakku, who was grappling with the final rogue. The Rogue was winning, but her claws were being used to good effect. Then Tāoke dropped from the ceiling onto the back of the rogue injecting his venom into his neck. I helped lift the corpse off Mayakku. Drugič and Appā both finished their opponents. I stopped enhancing my attributes as I would need that skill again later, and it took a lot out of me if I used it too much.

“Well done, people. It was harder than expected, but we got there. If you are injured, take a potion. The more difficult part is about to start.” I said.

Najprej came back inside. Her job had been to make sure there were no ambushes outside.

“What is happening out there, Najprej?” I asked.

“There are twelve left, and they look like they have split into three groups of four and two groups are moving toward the different entrances to the warehouse while one is moving toward the gate.”

“Right, we will move as a group to the gate. Najprej, Drugič and Appā are our shield wall, and Tāoke and I are rear guards. Where the hell is Tāoke? Never mind, I am rear guard. Let's move.” Tāoke seems to have disappeared on us.

The front gate is very close to the reception area, so we would be in time to intercept the group heading to the gate. The two guards were barely standing, but they were readying a defence. They were relieved to see us. Being outdoors, I activated Refreshing Mist to refresh the group, and there is also small ongoing healing from it after I got it to the Journeyman Level. As long as I have the Skill active, that is. I also activated my Whirlpool Shield. Whirlpool Shield should be called whirlpool armour as it circles my whole body. I only had it on lightly at the moment as I was not expecting any big hits. With Whirlpool Shield active, I can use my Water Sprint. Otherwise, it would be limited to when I was swimming.

The attacking group were not pleased to see us and let out a horn blast telling the other teams where we were.

“They are in our Shield Charge range,” Najprej said quietly. I sized them up with my Interrogate Status, it is not foolproof, but it was telling me they were mid-level warriors. Newly minted Marine level.

“Just you and me. One pass only, and then form up back here. Everyone else on defence,” I said. “On three.”

I moved away from the group slightly, and then Najprej activated her Shield Charge, and I followed with my Water Sprint. She aimed for the centre of the group, and we caught them unprepared. She bowled the two in the centre, and I sliced and diced the two on the right. One of them had been bowled by Najprej, and the other one was off balance from his mate bumping into him. They weren’t getting up again. It was tempting to finish them off, but my Sonar was picking up another group coming fast and being separated would be a disaster, so we rejoined the others. Two were out of the fight, one was taking a potion, and the other was guarding her.

“Good call,” I complimented Najprej.

There was no sign of the third group. It was now us with four Classed fighters and two non-classed fighters against their six classed fighters. I wasn’t counting our two wounded dwarves, but they were still there. It looked like they stacked all their rogues in the first group, which I was pleased about. There was an archer in the approaching group. My Refreshing Mist kept us fresh, and our physical energy recovered faster. It was also closing small wounds.

We paused for a moment, crouched behind shields. I hated giving them the initiative, but I had two wounded and a VIP to consider. We had the gate to our back, so they had little choice but to try to punch through our shield wall. I wished I had a spear, but I had chosen the short sword because I figured we would be fighting indoors. Fighting always varies from the plan.

There was a large Orc out front, and he pulled a two-handed war hammer from off his back. I guess they brought him to help counter Modrica. I am also guessing he had some shield-breaking skills.

I swapped Shields with Appā and took the centre. Appā’s size was his weakness, and I definitely had more Physical Strength even though I didn’t have specialist Shield Skills. “Hammer Orc is mine. Appā, you are on quick damage. Disable as many as possible as quickly as possible.” He passed my shield to Mayakku and drew a knife in his off-hand, keeping his sword in his main hand. We started being peppered with arrows as the archer tried to find gaps in the shield wall. “Take the archer out as soon as possible, Appā,” I added.

“Shields up.” We stood straight, raising our shields higher. “Forward two.” We took two paces forward. This was for several reasons. Shield walls often get pushed backwards, and I didn’t want to cramp our movement. It was also to encourage our opponents to attack. I didn’t know where that third group was, but I didn't want these ones to wait for them.

It did the trick, and they moved forward in a loose formation. An arrow glanced off my Whirlpool Shield. There were more gaps in the wall now. I was about to signal a push, so they didn’t get a free shot at us when they got in first and rushed forward.

I quickly said, “Forward One,” and we stepped forward and braced, trying to upset their timing. Najprej and Drugič were well disciplined in holding and moving a wall. At the same time, I pushed a large Water Surge forward to upset their footing further, and I used Enhance Attribute to increase my Physical Strength. The Orc powered through, and I met his power hit with an angled Shield Bash. While my Skill and Enhanced Strength partially mitigated the Orc's Skill, the momentum and power behind it broke the shield and my arm. Enhancing my Physical Strength did not enhance my bones. My body was angled to the side and wasn’t pushed back or down as he expected. My sword was also already moving with a Piercing Strike enhanced by my Physical Strength. It went through his armour and ribs but missed his heart. He will need to take a breath to see if I got his lungs. Because my Shield Bash was angled, he didn’t meet the resistance he was expecting and lost his footing in the wet. Tāttā was quick to move forward and thrust his knife into the Orc's throat. I was busy with the next attacker and only had one arm. I parried with my sword, but she had some sort of triple strike Skill, and I took some wounds in the gaps of my armour despite the Whirlpool and Tough Hide. The injuries were not deep. Two can play that game, and I used Fast Strike to disarm her, literally. I then stopped enhancing my Physical Strength as I can forget my strength with it on, and I want to leave some capability for the next group.

Next to me, both Najprej and Drugič had successfully bashed their attackers back. I looked around, and the archer was down, and the last guy was running, Appā close behind him. I was about to yell to Appā not to go too far as there was another group somewhere when he tripped the runner and knocked him out.

Some of those that were down would live. We made sure they wouldn’t be a danger, and the two dwarves would watch them while we formed up to look for the third group of attackers. I had Najprej strap my arm tight so it wouldn’t move. This wasn’t the first time I would fight with a broken arm. I Hydrated everybody and had Refreshing Mist running. Tāttā complained to me about his weak bladder in his old age, and he slipped around the back of the Gatehouse to take a leak. I have to watch out for that with my Hydrate skill. I was used to working with young fit warriors.

We found the missing group. They were spread out in a section of the warehouse. Two were dead of Venom, one had their neck broken, and the last had a rock spike in his head. Tāoke is bloody scary. There was no sign of him either, so I hope he wasn’t seriously injured.

We gathered the living in the corner of the warehouse and made sure no one would die on us before we got to ask them questions. Of the original twenty attackers, there were five alive. Two were rogues, the one I broke the legs of and Appā’s opponent. The Archer was alive and the one who tried to run as well as one of the others from our fight. We also gathered the dead and looted everybody, dead and living. We didn’t even need to trigger any traps. The difference between success and failure was the difference in the information we had. They had bad info, and we had good info. The questions for the prisoners will wait for the boss to return.