A Rattling Monster

Only after the sun has risen did I catch the trail of the refugees. They were as expected very slow. Families with children, farmers with their animals, not enough cart for everyone and the guards pressing them. At least, they have a protection on their way to their new home. Not a lot, but no bandits or wild animals will be able to inflict any damage to the convoy. And now that my prey is in sight, what should I do to gain the maximum out of it. There is a guard every two meters on the flank of the long queue. That means that everyone can help his closest neighbors and even some farther with their crossbows. If I try to throw a spell at them, they will for sure melt but that will provoke a reaction and maybe a troop of cavalry will hunt me. And with the environment being a plain, I have no chance of hiding.

No, the best I can do is wait for the night. Of course, wait means a waste of my mana so I decide to create some skeletons in the meantime. I invoke once again number one and number two to help me. It is completely free for me and it will even potentially help me during the assault of tonight. I just need to keep them out of vision but with the help of Oslo, I can manage to do this. And yes, I see a troop of forty knights riding toward Ronta.

They should be the quickest reinforcements available, signaling the arrival of the true army. And by a knight, I really mean it, they are the definition of the knight. A horse capable of wearing a heavy armor, travel for day and night. Can carry a man wearing a full plate armor, one, two, three spears and a shield and a sword. I can see it clearly, but it looks like all their equipment is polished and without a defect. They are the white knight, shining in their armors and blinding everyone that directly look at them. They keep going in the direction that I just left, not even sparing a single glance to the commoners nearby.

But that appearance is bad for me. That means in the next few days, more will arrive and I will have to flee once again. That's why tonight is really important. As I keep roaming around the convoy of refugees, I notice once in a while a priest or a magician. But they are really not a lot. I guess the mayor has judged that they will be more useful inside Ronta than protecting the populace. And he was right, they totally made my attacks useless. But with such a low number of threat, not every camp will be safe.

Dusk is coming and everyone is tired, I order Oslo to bring the skeletons closer. I will begin my attack one hour after the sun is gone. Because I will need the cover of the night to flee the farther I can. All around me, I can see the families prepare their dinner and even some children playing with the guards. Even if they are still scared, they are beginning to see hope again, they are planning where they will live, what they will do later. I even see some guards playing dice and drinking. Fortunately, the magicians are staying in a remote location and all regrouped in one place. That means it will take some time for them to help when I will attack. On the other hand, the priests are all sleeping with the commoners. They are spread, not more than a single priest in each camp. I guess it is a good occasion for them to preach about the benefits of Aria and how powerful and helpful they are.

But, while I know a little more about the power of a magician and more specifically, their magic shield, I still have no idea of the potential of the priests. And I don't want to experience it, that's why I will target them first. Since the magicians will probably cast a barrier like the one the adventurer had cast, attacking them is stupidity and madness. Now everyone has finished their meals, they are regaining their tents. I see the last patrol returning to the local officer for their report. The children are already sleeping, tired by their walk of the day. And the adults are not really better. It will be a deep sleep tonight.

More and more are beginning to dream. The number of guards standing can be counted on my two hands. I am sure that if I follow the trail of camp I will find more but in the area that I am standing, this number is far too low. I guess they are really expecting me and the assassin ratman to still be inside Ronta. About him Oslo, any news?

(No, I can't see Ronta anymore, we are far from it. I told, we can see the surroundings of our Hero to prevent any mishaps but we can't see that far. I am blind in the rest of the world.)

Well, no news is still good news. Since you manage to detect him in the first place, if he gets too close you will be able to do it again. And now that the only problem is fixed, let's begin our work. Thanks to my natural discretion, I slowly approach one of the human watching the surrounding. The moment I am close enough, I jump on him, cover his mouth and pierce his neck with my claws. He died instantly, and not a single sound was made. I carefully carry his body toward my two skeletons and order number one to wear his clothes. I repeat the exact operation on another guard, granting to both of my undead servants a disguise. And with the disguise comes the protection and the weapons necessary for their survival.

Two guards went missing and no one has noticed yet. They are truly carefree tonight, not expecting something at all. The two sentries were a little lonely, stationed far from the tents. I guess it was designed that way to allow the refugees to sleep well without the sounds of the armors and the swords. But that defect allowed me to reduce the risk of my operation. And since it works that well, I better keep doing it. I approach the third guard, the fourth, and I keep doing that until everyone still standing is dead. And when I kill for the 16 time a guard, I can see a sea of defenseless tents.

Now I need to find a good point where I can target multiple priests at the same time. I put each skeleton near a group of tents without a priest. That way, they will have no problem dealing with farmers and citizens. When everything is set, I begin to cast my first orb.

I have my back facing the tents of the magicians but Oslo will warn me when they are awake. I launch my first spell, melting three tents and everyone inside. So that gives me the answer I was looking for, the priests don't have a protection like a magician have. I order my skeletons to begin the massacre. Second orb, third orb. Keep casting, keep throwing, some humans are leaving their tents. More orbs, more acid spread.

(The magicians are reacting, but they are still shocked.)

Great, I have already killed all the priests nearby, now I am targeting the higher concentration of humans. Five tents gone, a group of four disappear. I have already launched 22 orbs of acid and I can probably cast 10 more.

(The magicians are singing something; you need to get out.)

But I need to stop now, I quickly escape with the cover of the night. Right before disappearing, I watch one last time the convoy. My skeletons are still attacking; I regroup them and I throw an orb toward them. In the confusion, no one will be sure that it was some skeletons that have attacked them. That trump card of mine needs to be concealed, especially since it is my main hope against the ratmen. I can see far that the magicians are perplexed by the lack of enemies, they can see death surrounding them but not the actual reaper.

Well, that was useful. My acid has improved, my deadly body too. And the skeletons have killed at least twenty people, most were still asleep. That attack has lasted for a little more than thirty seconds. Too short to inflict some real damages, but not too long to have been caught. Unfortunately, that was probably my last chance to do this. Tomorrow or the day after, the reinforcements following the knights will arrive and protect the refugees. Since it is useless to stay here anymore, let's go further West. To the capital or should I say, to the sewers of the capital.