122 (II)

Minions [II]

“I’m taking the orcs with me and Uva,” Shiv said. “You should talk with Null Mont about how we can cage them in the meantime. That, and if we agree to the Challenger, we might have a solution to the Lord Scorn problem.”

Adam pulled his gaze away from his mother and frowned. “Solution? What do you mean?”

“The Challenger wants to connect the Vulketh Gateway to his Tutorial. Part of the demands.”

The Gate Lord’s eyes widened. “That sounds like another form of suicide, Shiv, giving the orcs a back door into our gate and the Abyss in turn.”

Shiv paused once more and offered Adam a vicious smirk. “Yeah. For them. Talk to Null Mont about building an orc quarantine site or something—I wasn’t actually going to take her with me. Spend some time with your mom. I’m going to break some vampires in half. Be back with new ingredients. Maybe some of it will be orc.”

“Shiv, please don’t make me get addicted to orc meat,” Adam groaned.

“That’ll depend on whether the orcs stay wise or not,” Shiv replied. “Otherwise, we’re going to be sampling new flesh.”

Adam’s eyes lingered on Shiv for a few moments before a sob drew him back into the room. Rose was keeping herself together while Shiv was there, but now she and Adam needed to spend some time together. They needed this.

The Deathless felt a lightness in his chest. Dealing honestly with some of that made me feel pretty good. It was miserable as hell to face, but facing it made me feel stronger. Clearer about myself. A faint epiphany pulsed through him as he approached the open doors leading back outside. It’s not just physical and direct conflict I need to face. I gotta turn and handle the bullshit inside too. My mind might heal, but some of these thoughts are still poison for me. I need to handle them properly. Otherwise, they’ll get in the way of who I can become. And that’ll be a real tragedy.

Psychology 10 > 12

Philosophy 7 > 11

A rush of power flooded his mind and ego. Shiv blinked. Uva nudged him.

“Ah, shit,” Shiv coughed, slightly embarrassed. “Uva. How much of that did you hear?”

“I turned my focus away. But I know the feeling of someone growing psychologically stronger. Congratulations. You will make a magnificent Psychomancer yet.”

“Yeah,” Shiv muttered to himself. “We’ll see. Might be a race between that and Philosophy too. No idea why I’m leveling there as well. I don’t think I’ve read an actual philosophy book in my life.”

“You probably should. Understanding patterns and schemas of thought will make you write better as well.”

And that was all for Shiv. If it was going to build him up, he was going to do it.

He walked back over to the orcs and found Valor listening to Whisper go on about a certain Theorem of Lost Potential, and interrupted them by clearing his throat. The midnight-robed orc regarded Shiv with a glint of amusement in his bright yellow eyes. “Ah. Deathless. You return. As you can see, we have behaved ourselves.”

Shiv regarded the armed Umbrals and Weaveresses all around the orcs. Ikki gave him a nod, but Shiv could feel a shudder of fear vibrating inside her. He also noticed how Band was eyeing the young Umbral, just like Wall did Uva.

Shiv put a stop to that immediately. “Hey. If you don’t wanna find out if your violin can fit horizontally up your ass, point your eyes elsewhere.”

The orc offered a borderline apologetic smile and directed his gaze at the ground.

“You sound rageful, Deathless,” Whisper said. The orc was damned good at faking concern. “Did you have a particularly turbulent conversation?”

Shiv took a few steps until there was just a centimeter between him and the orc. “Stick your fingers in my wounds. Try to dig for details about me. Do it. Play these cruel games, and I’ll start talking to Mortar or Tequila and pretend you don’t exist.” Shiv looked Whisper dead in his eyes, and the cruel amusement there flattened to something of genuine appreciation.

“Ah. My apologies, Insul. I was mistaken about your character. It will not happen again.”

Somehow, that sounded like both a compliment and a threat coming from the orc. “Good. Now, get yourselves together. We’re going out.”

“To hunt vampires, I hope?” Mortar chuckled.

“Something like that,” Shiv muttered. “Null Mont!” The Exalted Weaveress flinched as Shiv called her name. He could feel her naked terror building—terror of the orcs but also him.

“E-Exalted Shiv,” she began. “Though I am deeply honored by your offer to deliver the Composer’s righteous wrath on the Bloodspawn, I think I must regretfully decline. My duties here are pressing and the gate—It needs—There are many needs.”

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Shiv gave her a clear nod without mockery. He knew she didn’t have the mettle for this, but he wasn’t going to harm her ego anymore. That seemed to be the key to her. If you made Null Mont feel good about herself after a burst of extreme discomfort, she’d let you get away with a lot. That, and it kept her idiocy in check.

“I understand, Exalted Mother,” Shiv said. “Next time. And I’ll be sure to remember your sacrifice when I’m pulling a vampire in half. In your honor.”

She stood a little straighter. “Of course. My honor.”

Tequila looked between Shiv and Null Mont before barely holding back a snort. “Oh. I see. Hm. Not bad. But I might have tips.”

“Tips? Tips about what?” Null Mont said, turning some of her bravado and ire on the orc. Shiv’s presence made her brave. It didn’t make her any smarter. She had no idea how much danger she was in now.

Gonna need to save her ass before she gives the orc even more psychological insight. The big bastard probably knows how to manipulate her just from watching me.

“He’s talking about killing,” Shiv said, before Tequila could say anything.

“Killing?” Null Mont asked.

“Vampires,” Shiv finished. “Thing is, I don’t know if I need advice. Regardless, it would be great if you could talk to the Gate Lord when he has a moment later, Exalted Mother. I’ll handle this.”

“Of course,” Null Mont said. She cast a final glare at the orcs and walked away with lightning arcing off the metal quills poking out from her limbs.

Tequila glided to take a position beside Shiv. Uva glared at him as she began trailing behind the group. “You care for that one?”

“Not in the way you think,” Shiv said. “You won’t be able to get much out of me if you take her as a hostage or something. No benefits. Just consequences.”

“Oh, I know that,” Tequila said smoothly, blowing out a puff of smoke. “The one you’re most concerned about is her.” He cocked his head at Uva. “That’s why you killed Wall and mutilated his soul, after all. Because he threatened her and provoked your defensive mating response.”

“I killed him as a warning to the rest of you. And that might be more of a mercy than anything. You guys need to die to start back over in the Tutorial, right?”

Tequila eyed the others. “Indeed.”

“Then, if you’re feeling brave, by all means, go for Sister Uva. I just won’t mercy kill you after. How long can a Master-Tier orc Pathbearer live naturally? Without food or water?” The hidden grin on Tequila’s face dimmed until it was replaced by a look of consideration. “Yeah, you keep thinking about that. Whisper.”

Silver Tongue 25 > 26

Psychology 12 > 13

“Yes, Insul?” the robed orc replied.

“You’re taking the lead. Get us into First Blood territory. Uva will feed you all the details. I’ll stay connected to the rest of you through her. You want to have fun? Well, here it is. But you’ll be having the bulk of the fun. If I’m going to use you, I want to know what you can do.”

“Of course. Main objectives?”

“Reconnaissance,” Uva said. “We need to know the state of the First Blood’s forces in the neighboring region to better prepare for what is to come. Furthermore, it would be best if we can capture some of the First Blood for interrogation and…” She looked at Shiv. “Experimentation.”

“Yeah, let’s call it that,” Shiv grunted.

A sudden hum of a violin made Shiv look at Band. As the orc played, the winds around the group twisted and turned. Meanwhile, Mortar wandered behind Shiv and threw a heavy arm around the Deathless’s shoulders as he barked with laughter. “Experimentation. Love it.”

Shiv glared at the orc’s arm, but he betrayed no discomfort otherwise. So, the psychological games are beginning already. Damn orcs just can’t help themselves. They have to prod. And that might be my biggest advantage—I know their addiction. I just need it focused on me instead of Uva.

As Band worked his instrument at blurring speeds, the air twisted faster and faster until the light began to curve around the group.

“He’s shaping a field of invisibility for us,” Uva said with surprise.

“Is he now?” Shiv said, looking at Band. But the orc played on without ever meeting Shiv’s gaze. This entire time, Band didn’t say anything. He just played. And that made him the single most dangerous orc in Shiv’s opinion. “Guess he’s their dedicated caster. But maybe more than that.”

“Definitely more,” Uva said. “I’ll try to pull what I can from their minds once we sync. I’ll be subtle to avoid provoking them from turning their Magical Resistances on me.”

“Don’t do it if the risk’s too high. We got other ways of learning about them.”

He felt a rush of apprehension from Uva. “The risk there is that they gain more knowledge of us as well. Our behaviors, our habits, our weaknesses. They are all watching. Always.”

“Yep. That’s a godsdamned orc for you.”

“How’s Adam and his mother?”

“Not great. But I’ll tell you later. When we’re far and away from these guys. I think Mortar’s trying to play up the big, dumb lug so he can read my facial expressions. It’s either that or he thinks I’m handsome. He’s looking at my jaw too much.”

“Hm. It is one of the better parts of your body. But it is already taken.”

Shiv’s lip curved slightly. Mortar noticed it immediately. And Shiv noticed the orc yawning—and using the opportunity to glance at Uva as well.

“Yeah. They’re going to make us paranoid wrecks before this is over. Listen. When you reach into their minds, be prepared for the itch.”

“The itch?”

“It’s… not something easy to explain, but if being an orc is anything like having an Orcish Skill, you’re probably going to feel a violent urge running under your skin.”

He felt Uva fortify part of her mind. “I see. Thank you for the warning.” She fixated the orcs with a stare, then. “Team! Prepare for synchronization.”

“Ready!” The orcs all shouted at once. Even Band.

Uva and Shiv both blinked.

Whisper grinned. “Before we begin, is this your first proper campaign, Insul? Because it isn’t ours. Do not worry. We do not need to be guided like hounds. We have the objective already. Soon, we will prove our worth. And then you’ll be agonizing about how you will be able to handle an army of us.”

“Yeah?” Shiv said. “We’ll see if that confidence is warranted soon enough.”

All the orcs looked at each other. A beat followed. They shared a booming laugh.

Mortar ruffled Shiv’s hair. “Warranted. You’re adorable, Insul. Bloody adorable.”

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