176. Details: Wiremu

I was going to borrow a horse from the Caravan, but Skavt warned me off. “The Watch is all over us as there was an attempt on Težka’s life last night. They came in with explosives trying to take him out in one hit and make off with the core. All they blew up was Nyx’s shadow version. We got them all, but the explosion drew the Watch in before we could get rid of the bodies.”

“No injuries?” I asked.

“No, but the Watch wasn’t happy that Težka munched on a few of them. The Watch is now accrediting half the kills to him. He wasn’t even there for the fight.”

“I need a horse to visit some ranches for a few days.”

“I will slip away and help you buy one, The Stockyard near the North gate has the best stock.”

“I need one that won’t spook at a snake or a bit of fire. I also need one that can carry my weight.”

That is how I ended up with Mosey. He was the slowest horse there, but he was big and strong. He didn’t spook at Tāoke, so that was a good start. I think he was more used to pulling carts. With a bit of effort, I got him moving faster than a walk. We will get used to each other.

I arrived at one of Gilbert’s neighbour's late afternoon. They were a friendly bunch and let me camp nearby. They let me join them for the evening meal as long as I contributed something to the pot. I joined them, and we yakked into the night. These were not the neighbours that were at war with Gilbert. They warned me to avoid both Lord Gilbert’s land and the adjoining ranch known as the Maribel Ranch.

“Tensions are high over there, son. They are arguing over the boundary position. There have been a few altercations. The Duchess sent an investigator over some stolen cattle, but nothing was found.”

I didn’t get much more than that, as their policy was to stay out of it and to stay away. However, that told me plenty. A land dispute meant there was something there worth disputing, and I doubt it was just a few acres of pasture.

I skipped the Gilbert Ranch and went straight to the Maribel Ranch, playing a ranch hand, looking for a job.

“You’re a liar!” the foreman shouted at me. “Get your lying ass off this property before I give you a beating to go with it. No ranchhand callouses, not the proper gear. You are here to spy and steal. You work for that lying Gilbert. Git!” he turned to the other ranchhands in the area, “We have got a spy!” he yelled.

I git. I clearly need to pay much more attention to detail. Veneer can simulate callouses, but I also need the right gear for a disguise. I am a bloody idiot. I know these things. I also should have known Maribel would be on alert against strangers. I was told that last night. What is wrong with me?

I found a secluded campsite and sat down for some serious self-reflection. I am acting as if I can swan in, and everything will go my way. I have already had a lesson in being the amateur Spy from Gilbert, no less. Why am I not taking that lesson to heart and being extra careful? God, I am an idiot. Was I drugged? It has been two days since the safe, and I think any drugs would have worn off. Why didn’t I think about drugs at the time? A subtle drug can slip past my resistances like alcohol does for a while. No, it is not drugs. It is my arrogance. Just because I have two affinities does not make me good at everything.

A spy can specialise as an assassin. Gilbert may have the assassin class, and If I don’t up my game, I will end up dead despite my two affinities. Reflecting on the last few days, the key thing for a Spy was being careful of the details. The first time, blundering through Gilbert's house alerted him to my actions and made things harder. Not paying attention to the details of a ranchhand meant my veneer and roleplay were weak and easily seen through. Attention to detail is the key.

Keensight or similar is a key skill for a spy. One I don’t have. I could possibly get it, but I am hesitant to have another sight skill, particularly one with such a low attribute requirement. My Physical and Spiritual Perception are in the 30 and 40 range. My Mental perception is lacking. I know there are other options. Sonar, Echolocation, Infrared Vision, Spatial Awareness, etc., and that is just from the people we have come across. Sonar is a slower pulse and for longer range underwater. Echolocation is a shorter range but a faster pulse in the air. Infrared Vision means you can see the change in the temperature of things. I know I now have a much higher temperature than most things. Spatial Awareness is short-range, but one can see through objects. There is probably a long-range version somewhere. I would have no idea how to trigger it.

My Granite Sense allows me to sense through stone and possibly other elements like metals now i have Lava as an affinity. It works on my knife. I can sense the variation in the metals and potential weak points. I really need some blacksmithing skills. My Weapon Repair Skill is giving me some ideas, but this is much deeper than sharpening or removing knicks from the blade.

I am getting off track. I need to pay attention to detail in everything, even when I think it is a walk in the park. I will never know when I will come across another Gilbert. I will not be able to get in with Maribel, and Gilberts will be harder. However, I am a Scout with the Map Skill. I can find my own way.

Combining the knowledge that one of the complaints was about diverting a stream and part of their joint boundary was a stream, I figure that is a good place to start.

We Mosey along the shared pasture to find the stream that becomes their boundary ad then follow it. The stream valley is a ribbon of trees and larger vegetation amongst the rolling grasslands. I set up a camp well outside the boundary and left Mosey there. Tāoke and I head in on foot with only the essentials.

We soon find the wider swampy area that is not deep enough to be a lake but marks the start of the joint boundary. Not far past that, it is obvious where the stream was diverted. The lush green vegetation goes one way, and the stream goes another. A kilometre or so further down the stream joins the old path. Nobody seeing it now would think it was a natural stream movement, but it would only take a couple of seasons for nature to make it look like it had been there a while.

The question is, why are these few hills so valuable? There is nothing obvious on the surface, so it must be underground. What we need is a Prospector. It is time to use one of my most neglected classes.

Mineral lore is giving me suggestions based on the contour and geography of the area, but this prospector also has Granite Sense and Treasure Sense. Treasure sense is telling me there is something large down there. Larger than these few hills, but this is where it comes closest to the surface. It is large and valuable.

It is time to dig down to the rock layer. I make a large Granite Spike and then shape it into a shovel. I start digging. I chose to dig in the dry stream bed as several meters of topsoil were everywhere else. In the streambed, it is less digging and more moving or manipulating of the loose rock.

Granite Sense spread out from my stone toe as I squatted there. There was a reasonably thick layer of bedrock and then nothing. By nothing, I don’t mean it was air. I mean, there was no rock. There was something there that was putting pressure on the rock, but it wasn’t rock.

It got closer to the surface in a valley in the land that changed ownership. I walked that way to see what was there. Something had alerted Gilbert to this, and what it was didn’t require Granite Sense. Not far up the valley, there was evidence of people and horses. It was obvious to me, but I have a high Tracking Skill.

There were black or dark brown puddles of liquid. I touched it and smelled it. Mineral Lore was telling me it was a type of oil. I knew from some of the readings Ört made me do it was used in alchemy, particularly explosive and alchemy for the fixed cannons. This was definitely worth fighting over. He probably didn’t know it was here when he bought the ranch in his Gilbert identity. When Maribel wouldn’t sell, he took other measures, not realising how much there is or how far it spreads. It still extends under the Maribel Ranch, but I don’t know how far.

I created a granite spike down to the rock and pushed my Granite Sense to go light and wide to see how far it extended, and something unexpected happened. Granite Sense went to the Master level. It beat out Farsight and Hearing Aid. Hearing Aid has been sitting on 14 for months, and I haven’t figured out how to push it over to Master.

I suddenly had a new range and sensitivity with Granite Sense. I could sense the pressure exerted against the rock much better. That was very interesting as I felt the pressure change and move along the rock adjacent to the vast pressurised chamber underground filled with oil. Something was moving in there, and it was big. I don’t know if it was a monster or an elemental, but it was big. I wouldn’t recommend digging too deep. My Prospecting Class Levelled.

“This is unfortunate for you,” the deep, gravelly voice said.

They must have had reasonable stealth to get that close without me hearing them. They weren’t very close but definitely in bow range, and two of the three had bows. Attention to detail. I knew there was evidence of people coming and going, but I lost myself in my other senses instead of keeping aware of my surrounding. I have just been trying to get this into my brain and messed up again. I really should be called Rock Brain, like Tabitha used to call me.

“Why is it unfortunate?” I asked. I might as well give them time to get closer.

“Because you look like you know what you have found,” he replied.

They were not moving closer, and I had left my bow with Mosey. The speaker nodded, and the two other loosed their arrows at me. I dodged, but one had archery skills and had a Triple Shot spread. One of the arrows impaled my leg. It was poisoned as well, not that that would affect me much. The next arrows were already on their way. The archer was faster than the other.

Tāoke was moving through the grass to them, but I needed some cover. The archer clipped my shoulder, and my cheap armour didn’t do much to stop it. It skidded off my Snakeskin. I landed in one of the puddles. Under the puddle, I created a small Granite Shield, which I used to deflect the arrow that would have pierced my gut.

If I wanted to cover, what I am lying in doesn’t get any better. I took a deep breath and ignited the oil. I had to keep moving, but flames danced along the top of the oil, quickly spreading. Thick black smoke started to obscure the valley.

This quickly alarmed the three, and one started running away fast. The archers still tried to kill me, one getting me in the chest and piercing a lung. It slipped between my ribs, or maybe he was using a piercing Skill. I needed that air as it was getting harder to breathe in the smoke.

The arrows stopped, and I assumed it was thanks to Tāoke, but I was covered in oil, and my armour was ablaze. I ripped off what I could, and I decided now was a good time to see If I could create rock or lava armour. I was already on fire. I just limped upwind out of the smoke. This smoke was going to bring people running. A grass fire is a serious thing out here. I guess the new river protected the Maribel Ranch, so the one who would suffer was the Gilbert Ranch.

I had thought about this a lot. Molten rock is flexible, but I don’t want to set everything on fire, like Lavaman. I started with Granite Shields on my calves and thighs and a bendable knee from lava. Once I had that stable on one leg, I held it with Granite Manipulation and did the other leg. That was hard to hold, so I greeted a girdle and triangular groin plate and joined them all together with lava. Once it was all connected, it was easier to hold. My butt was mostly lava. I created a chest and backplate connected over the shoulder and a lava connection to the girdle. I decided to leave my arms free, but I made a helmet with an open face. I connect it to the chest with lava.

I could feel the Skill starting to form, but I needed boots. Then the skill formed. Granite Armour. It was mostly Granite. The Skill would get more flexible as it levelled physically and could summon separate pieces after Apprentice level. I would need to add arms and gloves in due course, but my lung was causing me trouble. At least I would only burn stuff if I sat down. I would have to remember to make a rock plate to sit on. I will need to test it. I am sure Modrica and Težka will be willing to help.

I limped up the hill to the two dead archers. One of them had a nice bow, which I will keep as a backup. I stripped them of anything valuable and rolled them down the hill into the fire, so they couldn’t find out how they were killed. Their horses were grazing on the other side of the hill. I let them loose so they could escape the fire if necessary and then headed away while covering my tracks. Attention to detail.

I was naked. No clothes were going to survive the lava in the Granite Armour. This is another reason I had been holding off creating the armour. I don’t particularly like being naked, even though Snakeskin protected me from most things. I looked down. My one-eyed snake actually looked like a one-mouth snake. I can see jokes coming from that one. I don’t like being naked, which will restrict my use of the skill.

I looked back, and a pillar of black smoke rose high in the air. It would draw people for miles around to investigate. If they were trying to keep the oil a secret, it was a secret no more.