"Humans? Ummm, maybe? I can't tell what race they are, but they could be Humans mister Murray, Sir!" squeaked the diminutive fairy.
Callum was very eager to make contact with others. He wielded subpar goblin weapons, his clothes were a mess of badly patched holes and half cured leather, and he dearly missed things like salt or a good beer. He had come to realize how much flavor spices added to food.
He didn't know who these parties were, or why they were fighting. He hoped to get in touch with one or both of those groups, but first he needed to scout them out and see what the situation looked like.
All of this flashed through his brain as soon as he heard that other thinking beings were nearby. He quickly slipped the ring onto his finger, he didn't want to advertise that he was a Castle Lord to any new group he might run into.
"Primrose, is there an upgrade that lets me summon constructs or something similar?"
"Yes Sir!" Primrose began excitedly before she finished lamely, "but you don't have the mana or upgrades for them yet."
"Hmm, okay, that's something to look into later. How about you, can you fight or do you have any support spells? Maybe healing?" Callum inquired hopefully.
"Oh, yes. Mister Callum, Sir! I can be very powerful, but only in the future when I can create an avatar. That costs 18,000 mana though and you need to upgrade some other stuff first," she responded.
That cost boggled his mind and he was tempted to ask what kind of power that would bring to his side. However, he needed to head out towards the area these neutral parties were in before there was one less group to make deals with.
He had been hoping for some more backup, but he felt confident that he and Amarok could at least escape if the worst came to pass. Callum took one last look at the map and then headed towards the location of those groups.
His movement buffs were in full effect as he quickly covered the distance towards those groups. Only the snow prevented the duo from reaching the area in less than 15 minutes.
No one was visible by the time Amarok and Callum reached the location, but trampled snow and blood showed that there had been a fight here. Two trails converged upon each other in the snow, but only one left the area.
"Hmm, did one group flee with the other in pursuit? Or was one side wiped out?" Callum asked Amarok.
Amarok was busy sniffing over the area and didn't respond to Callum's question. He sighed as he tried to read the tracks; unfortunately, even with his class bonus, his Tracking skill wasn't high enough to decipher the mess of tracks.
They followed the trail for a short distance until they crested a hill and were able to spot one of the parties. The two quickly ducked into cover as Callum observed a party of twenty or so individuals surrounding a small hill in a loose semi circle formation.
He soon spotted movement amongst the scattered rocks and trees on the hilltop. Callum made out several figures moving around on the hill, and he was sure that there must be others on the other side that he couldn't see.
A tall man in a fur lined cloak boldly sauntered towards the hill. His every movement spoke of an arrogant man assured of his advantage.
"Baroness, it's time you gave up this charade of yours. Count Yonge grows weary of your little teasing games, you have sorely tried his patience. Surrender and be shown mercy!" the arrogant man yelled out.
There was a small stir on the hilltop at the arrogant man's words. After a short pause, a small figure walked out from behind a tree. A feminine voice vehemently responded.
"Games? You call chasing us hundreds of miles through the dead of winter a game? I would think running this long would show him how little I care for him!"
"Ah, Baroness, the Count is gracious and will hold neither your ill will nor your little wintry jaunt against you. If not for yourself, at least think of your people behind you. You are trying to fight the inevitable, give up your little tantrum and your people will be shown mercy."
Another figure stood up and a strong feminine voice rang out, "Save your lies, we know what Count Limp Dick's mercy looks like. Being sold as slaves or given away as bedwarmers is not the mercy we desire!"
"Come now, Baroness, surrender and I promise that you'll get a chance to say goodbye to your precious husband before Count Yonge personally corrects his behavior. That's the best I can do."
The arrogant man seemed to shake his head as he next spoke. It was as if he were a patient parent trying to correct a wayward child.
"After all," he continued in a simpering tone, "the Duke himself has filed writs for the Baron's arrest and his forfeiture of all his holding."
Callum had enough of that conversation and knew he could never do business with this Count or any of that noble's subordinates. He ignored the rest of the conversation and tried to come up with a plan.
He thought that the arrogant man was either stalling for more time or he was twisted enough to play with his opponents. Callum decided that he would treat the situation as if the man was stalling for more reinforcements to show up.
He glanced around, all of the Count's men were facing the hill. He stood up and motioned Amarok to also stand up, letting those on the hill see them. He noticed a slight hesitation in one of the women's responses when they spotted him.
Mission accomplished, he quickly darted back down the hill. It was a risk, but Callum wanted to let them know that someone else was now involved. He gleefully rubbed his hands together at the thought of his next step.
He activated <
Giant Spider (Lvl 24)
HP:(450/450)
He quickly glanced at the Giant Spider's stats and tried to figure out how best to use the beast. Callum sent the Giant Spider and Amarok off to one side to the semi-circle and he headed towards the opposite end. He only had ten minutes before the summoning time was up.
His target was a lanky man who appeared to be very bored with the entire proceedings; his main focus seemed to be trying to warm up his hands. Just as important to Callum, he also had a nice looking large two handed axe.
Callum desperately wanted a weapon that was better than the Goblin Axe he currently carried, and his highest weapon skills were with Axes and Spears. His grinding to improve his Sneak skill over the last month let him settle unnoticed behind the man.
He didn't have to wait for very long. A loud, painful, scream reverberated across the battlefield before it suddenly stopped mid-scream, Amarok had drawn first blood. Everyone's attention was drawn towards where the scream had originated from
With everyone else distracted, he was able to grab the lanky man around the mouth as his knife sliced through the man's vulnerable neck. As the man died, Callum tapped into his connection with Amarok, before realizing his buddy was doing just fine.
"Aaaaaoooooooh!"
Amarok had killed one of the soldier's on the opposite side and he howled in victory. Several enemy soldiers ran after the large and noisy Dire Wolf as he ran away. They chased after the retreating wolf and ran right into webs placed by the Giant Spider.
Callum's summoned beast wasn't very strong in direct combat, but it excelled in ambushing unwary prey. Most of the soldiers who had chased after Amarok had at least one limb stuck to various webs and were at a disadvantage when both beasts counter-charged them.
With all the noise and distraction on the other side of the line, Callum was able to stealthily kill two more enemy soldiers before anyone noticed that there was another threat on their opposite flank.
Callum's mana had just recovered to 300 mana, and he promptly activated <
It was at this point that ten soldiers charged down the hill and into the disorganized ranks of their pursuers.