“There’s little here; it looks like there was only four stationed in this cavern. I’m wondering why.”
“To watch the tunnel, I guess,” I said, shrugging.
“Yes, but if you believed the spiders would protect the tunnel, then why leave guards? And if you didn’t trust the spiders, why only leave four?”
He rifled through their bags, chucking some of it aside as rubbish, while useful things were placed in a small pile. I joined him, and we gathered the gear from the camp together, finding two bedrolls that were of ‘Uncommon’ quality, silk sheets, no less, and well-crafted eating utensils. I shrugged, figuring I’d been getting lots of good gear lately, and let the others divide them us how they would. I just wanted to get a move on.
I only took the contents of their money pouches: three sapphires, two rubies, twelve gold, fifteen silver, and three copper. I slipped them into my own money pouch, conscious that I was literally carrying a fortune in gemstones now, especially considering the pearls I’d been given by the Mer.
As soon as the others were ready, I set off again, Horkesh warning me that the scout drone hadn’t returned, and we went cautiously, traveling for nearly an hour. Most of the time, we were in pitch black for the members of my team who didn’t have vision augmenting abilities. We didn’t dare use the magelights now that we were so close to the Drow. We walked slowly, occasionally warning each other of stones or dips in the path, each person bracing a hand on the shoulder of the person ahead of them, with Barrett bringing up the rear, and Lydia holding onto me. Bane was scouting ahead as Miren began to sing softly.
I knew why she was doing it, her fear of the dark being clear, but as Lydia shushed her, I knew I couldn’t expect them to follow me somewhere like this again. I resolved to get a spell as soon as I could to help them, gritted my teeth, and moved on.
The hours dragged as we marched, Bane and the spiders occasionally reappearing to warn of groups ahead, or of the lack thereof.
We took out two more small groups, including one set of guards like the first, a trio seated around the fire drinking wine. Miren and Stephanos killed two outright before they knew we were there, and Arrin and Bane took the last one down. A Firebolt to the face ended the Drow’s interest in pretty much anything but stopping the pain, followed by a stab to the heart from one of Bane’s daggers.
The second group was harvesting mushrooms in a small grotto; well, their servants were. A dozen small, wizened kobolds labored, while the overseers stood laughing. Two of them restrained a struggling kobold, while the third tried to draw a picture on its back. Using a stiletto.
The two holding the kobold died fast, while Bane and Lydia made sure the one that had been cutting into the poor creature died much slower. I healed the tiny beast, and it ran back to its fellows, terrified.
I examined one out of curiosity.
Critical Success!
Your target has no defenses against your magic, and as such, more details are available:
Midnight’s Cave Kobold Minion
The Kobolds of the Midnight Cave were a proud mountain clan once, but as the centuries have passed in subjugation to the Drow, their history, knowledge, and secrets have been long lost.
Weaknesses: Physical damage is doubled, due to a lifetime of abuse. Magical damage is doubled, due to a lifetime of abuse.
Resistances: None
Level: 4
Hp: 11/11
Mana: 4/4
I could only shake my head as I looked the creature over, its pitiful condition clear, even as it reveled in its sudden good fortune. My healing had done more to redress the systematic abuse it had endured all its life than anything else it had ever encountered. The kobold now stood taller than its hunched companions, its long snout and tail making me wonder if they were truly descended from dragons, as the games I’d played back home had suggested. I couldn’t imagine any dragon pointing at this creature and claiming kinship, that was for sure. I pulled up a pair of notifications that had popped up while I looked the Kobold over.
Congratulations, you have raised your spell ‘Identify’ to level ten. You may now choose your first evolution of this spell.
Congratulations! You have raised your spell ‘Identify’ to its first evolution. You must now pick a path to follow. Will you augment your own abilities to EXAMINE, or will you pick the path of the INVESTIGATOR? Choose carefully, as this choice cannot be undone.
EXAMINATION:
As your spell had developed, and your understanding of the world with it, you have discovered startling similarities between the creatures of the realm. You suspect that powering the spell with more mana may give additional information. Gain further details on your target for each second you ‘Examine’ it; spell cost increases by ten mana per second while in use.
INVESTIGATOR:
The world around you fascinates you, but the creatures of the realms less so. Perhaps focusing your abilities on the artifacts, creations, and details around you would suit you better? Gain further details on all inanimate objects you examine, including a one-off boost of 5% to your crafting ability. You will suffer penalties to ‘Investigating’ living creatures.
I grinned as I read over the details, I was tempted for a few seconds to take the ‘Investigator’ path, mainly because I knew there had to be so much out there that I could find, treasures that dated back to the time of the Empire, but I knew what would actually be more useful.
I chose ‘Examination’, then dismissed it. I watched the kobolds as the bodies of their former masters were stripped of any valuables.
The one who’d been doing the carving had had a pair of black Spidersilk trousers that had looked beautiful, but considering the state in which it’d died, thanks to Lydia’s hatred of its actions, there
