Chapter Three-Hundred Forty-Four

We might need to make a level 0.

I don’t think my wolves are that sneaky, but maybe they are?  Either way, the army guys are really bad at spotting them.  Leo even watched a couple wolves follow right behind one of their night guards while on patrol, and the elf had no idea.  It’d be hilarious if it wasn’t so sad.

I’d be worried for the kingdom if their actual camp wasn’t so well organized.  The troops get up early, do a kinda group workout, eat, and then do whatever tasks they have to do.  They’re just… really bad at keeping wolves out, let alone if I tried to use my birds or the rockslides.

Their own scouts are better at spotting the wolves at least, so I’ll probably suggest to the captain he do at least a little bit of cross training among his men.  If he doesn’t think it’s needed, I’ll have Leo sneak a wolf into every tent at night and see how they react in the morning.

I don’t think it’ll take drastic measures to get him to agree, though.  All the wolf prints in the camp are telling enough, and he’s smart enough to understand what they mean, even if he doesn’t know the best way to counter them.  Still, I feel kinda bad and wonder if I kinda set them up for failure.

I’m used to adventurers, who are used to denizens.  They expect to have to watch for wolves and wyrms and stuff.  I think the military guys are trained to deal with people, so they don’t have much notion how to deal with my denizens.  I do think I can help them along a bit, at least.  I rub the idea on the bond with Leo, and I think he had the same one, because I can see the wolves getting recalled and my undead mobilizing.

I should probably give them a heads up before we swap them out, though.  People get kinda jumpy about the undead, even though I’m pretty sure they’re not actual corpses of anyone.  In fact, back when I first got them, I thought they might be humans.  But now I’ve had a chance to get a better look at them, as far as I can tell, the zombies and skeletons are their own thing with teeth more like sharks and proper claws instead of fingernails.  They’re not very big claws, but they’re definitely more robust than just fingernails.

Maybe some necromancer class could puppet peoples’ corpses, but mine are 100% dead from the start.  That doesn’t keep the fear away, though, and I’d wager the army guys would be pretty concerned if the wolves vanish, only to be replaced by undead.

I don’t even need to ask Teemo to head out, my Voice already moving to go inform the captain of the change of plans.  And I can get a good look at the prep for the Hold while Teemo’s at it, too.  I have a lot of expeditions keeping an eye on things, so I know the gist, but it’s nice to get a good look myself… or however it counts looking through Teemo’s eyes.

I also smile to myself as I feel Teemo making his shortcuts.  I can tell he’s making them feel like they’re downhill both ways, making them even easier to traverse.  You’re really close to something there, Teemo.

“I was hoping you’d notice, Boss.  It’s pretty new, and I can tell I’m on the track for something important.  I’m actually surprised you haven’t blabbed what it is yet.”

It’s not easy for me to not think about.  But at least I’m getting better about not thinking in your ears all the time.

“Can I get a hint?” he asks, surprising me a little.

A hint?  Hmm… well, I know what you’re close to, but I don’t know if it’ll be its own thing, or if it’ll get you kinetic affinity.  I could just say it, but that’d spoil the fun of you figuring it out.

“Kinetic, hmm…”  I smile and carefully move my thoughts away, letting Teemo try to puzzle out gravity on his own.  I’m pretty sure he knows the concept, but I don’t think he’s connected it to curving the fabric of reality yet.  If he asks, I’ll try to explain, but I only really know the basic theory.  It’d probably be enough for him to figure it out, but I think he wants to get there on his own, first.

The little walk to the encampment isn’t enough time for him to put it together, so he puts it aside to focus, stepping back into normal space and into a little basket the captain made, in case we need to talk to him.  Teemo smacks around a little jingly bell that’s in the basket to get his attention, Captain Ross soon looking up from his maps to see my Voice waiting for him.

“Ah, Voice Teemo.  I hope you’re not here to gloat, though I could hardly blame you if you are.  My security is… lacking,” he admits, and Teemo nods in agreement.

“Yeah, that’s why I’m here.  Not to gloat, but about your security, I mean.  The Boss thought the wolves would be a good place to begin, but looks like he was wrong.”  Captain Ross sighs, but Teemo continues.  “Don’t be too hard on yourselves, though.  Boss thinks you’re trained more for people than denizens, yeah?”

Ross nods, still looking unhappy at his deficiency.  “Indeed.  We are to be His Majesty’s sword against foreign aggression.  There has thankfully been little of it in decades, and after this showing, I find myself glad for it in new ways.”

“Well, the Boss has an idea for that, at least to ease you into how to watch for denizens as well as things walking around on two legs.”

“Oh?  Has he trained the wolves to hop around on only their rear legs?  I’d hope my men would notice them then…” he jokes, though he can’t keep the bitterness of his perceived incompetence out of his voice.

“Nah.  Hopping around like that is bad on their hips.  We’re going to use our undead, starting with the zombies.”

Captain Ross freezes for a moment.  “Undead?  I… was aware you had some, gained from subsuming a cemetery dungeon, but…”

“Don’t worry, Captain.  They’re not going to just shamble into your camp and try to eat people or anything like that.  They’re going to be acting like enemy scouts.  The zombies will be the easiest to spot, but that’s because they’re slow and a bit clumsy.”  My Voice smirks before continuing.  “Don’t think they’ll be too easy, though.  I’ll leave the details of how they operate to your scouts to find, but don’t go letting your guys on guard duty think they’re going to have a simple time spotting them.”

Captain Ross still looks unhappy, but he takes a deep breath to focus himself before nodding.  “I appreciate that.  It stings my pride, but I really do appreciate your help.  It’s still odd to think about getting help from a dungeon, but the Crown Inspector said I should take every chance to improve that you can give me.  It hurts to see how much there is to improve, but it would hurt much more to learn the weaknesses after a real battle.”

Teemo smiles for me.  “Any time, Cap’n.  How’re your scouts doing with getting you reports inside the Boss’ territory?”

He motions at his field desk.  “I’m going over them now.  The manor, as you call it, is exactly what it appears to be: a simple area for newer adventurers.  They’ve also been mapping what I believe you call the caverns, though the reports of these…” he trails off to check the report.  “Ah, the ‘arcsnakes’.  They sound like a challenge for even several squads at once.”

Teemo nods.  “Yeah, they’re pretty strong.  Have you guys had much luck scouting the forest or the tree?”

He shakes his head.  “Not yet, I’m afraid.  I think I and my men will need to get used to fighting your denizens before we tread there.  I also have reports of many strong adventuring groups having troubles there.  Though I doubt they are as disciplined as my people, they are certainly stronger individually, and even as small groups.  I think I’ll need to start sending sorties to your caverns before we are ready to even attempt the forest.”

“You guys looked like you were having fun with the gauntlet, at least.”

Captain Ross snorts in amusement.  “At our fellow’s expense.  Still, it’s not far removed from the sort of training they’re used to.”

“Once you guys feel confident there, you could try the harder one, or even do some small encounters on the manor grounds.  There’s enough room by the maze that we could start testing your squads.  The Boss is used to testing parties, so I don’t think there’s much difference.”

“Perhaps in a few more days.  We’re all still getting used to working with a dungeon.  Even with Sir Wideblade’s endorsement, I think it will take time for us to be ready for that step.”

“That’s fair.  How’s the camp?  What do you think of the plans for the Hold?”

Captain Ross chuckles, shaking his head as he realizes he’s chatting with a talking rat, but to his credit, that doesn’t stop him.  “The camp is excellent.  The Lord Mayor chose a marvelous space for us.  And I approve of the idea of the Hold, though I couldn’t say how good the designs are.  I would wager, from the number of workers, that those who would have an idea are impressed.”

Teemo smiles and nods at that.  “Coda’s a genius at that sort of thing, and with the Boss’ concrete, the masons and other workers are tripping over themselves to get access.  It looks like they’ve been hiring a lot of people from out of town, too.  Lots of masters dragging along apprentices, and journeymen looking to get some experience.  Once the entrance is more than a shallow hole in a mountain, we should try to coordinate with them to do a few war games so you can practice defending and attacking fortified positions.”

Ross smiles wide at that idea.  “I hope so!  I would like to never have the need to use such training, but I would be a fool to turn down the opportunity to gain it.”

“Great!  I’m gonna go poke through the mason camp and check in with Coda.  You might want to have your scouts try to join a Shield group or two into the crypt complex, if you want to get an idea of the undead before they start skulking around your camp tonight.”

“Indeed.  Have a good day, Voice Teemo.  And your… Boss, as well.”

I chuckle to myself as Ross returns to his desk, looking like he’s going to pen a few orders before Teemo slips into a shortcut to head off.  I can’t really blame the captain for being a bit awkward when it comes to me.  He probably feels like he’s talking to a minefield that’s trying to convince him that, no, it’ll be fine to run around and train.  Don’t worry about it.  I just hope he gets used to the idea before he learns I’m technically a god.

That’s a whole different kind of minefield.