The Butcher of Gadobhra

Milo had the feeling the keep was about to become crowded with people. He could deal with a crowd while he had a job to do, but now he needed to get away from the constant talking. As soon as the teleportation stone warmed up and synched with the rest of the system people would start pouring through to inspect the keep. The Baron was preparing to receive them and dozens of his minions were working to set up tables of food and drink to celebrate his accomplishments. He was already getting twitchy around so many people and being 'Uptop' didn't help. When he and Larry had been adventuring in the Fey Lands, the skies of each pocket realm were artificial, and that helped some. Here in Sedgewick, the sky was always above him, and always watching. He didn't know how people handled being out in the open. He was happy he and Larry were almost done.

Larry was with the Shepherd, helping to deliver baby sedgebeasts to complete one of the last quests on their list. Prince Leporidon had noted it as 'IMPOSSIBLE...so messy!" He had only delivered and blessed one mortal child before he had abandoned the quest to become a midwife. Rolly had assured Larry that they could complete the quest in only a day. Sedgebeasts were always pregnant and giving birth, often to multiple offspring at once. This had given Milo time to help with the project at the keep. He was learning new things listening to Damien and Vladimir argue with each other and with the Professors. So many crazy new ways to look at a universe where magic and physics were mixed together.

Out of all of them, he liked Vladimir the best. He understood what it was like to be in two worlds and not always accepted. They'd traded runes and discussed his ideas about a Unified Runic Theory. More and more, Milo was surprised that his new friend was only a junior Engineer. His Runic Script and knowledge of Dwarven Engineering Runes should have made him a candidate for advancement. Vladimir had a very good grasp of both fluid dynamics and the flow of mana throughout natural and artificial systems. He said that came from his mother's side of the family. The elves created large networks of mana pathways in their forests, ensuring each tree was properly cared for. Milo and Vladimir had discussed the similarities between that system and the teleportation system used by the Empire.

The flow of mana was foremost in his thoughts as he spent time wandering toward the little town of Sedgewick. The Black Abacus proved to be easy to use and helpful in mapping out the connections in the town and surrounding area. He'd known it was something more than the simple device the Witches took it for. They'd used it to calculate the mana needed to balance their spells and manage multiple resurrections at once. It was more than that, and Milo wondered where the little Imp had gotten hold of a piece of pre-system technology. Like the Mace of Armageddon, it had more than one form. Milo was still struggling to find out what that horrible tool was capable of, other than cracking his skull and putting him in the hospital when he experimented with it. Its current form was a multipurpose wrench, can-opener, and screwdriver.

He tested the abacus, using it to calculate the mana consumption of two Runic Formations he used the most, and the abacus matched his calculations, although he didn't like how it rounded up after only one digit past the decimal point. Milo preferred six places of accuracy. In more complex formations, a rounding error could lead to feedback, broken bones, or worse. The other useful thing the abacus could do was show how mana flowed around him. It had an alternate form that he came upon by accident when he somehow changed its mode. The item could be converted into a set of goggles with multiple lenses for each eye. A little experimenting with the lenses allowed him to see concentrations of mana, the amount, and where it was flowing to or from. He filtered out the low-power ambient mana that filled the world and had it show only high concentrations or where mana was streaming from one place to another. The results were very interesting.

At Rowan Keep, it had been what he had expected. Dormant mana pathways heading south, newly restored connections between the Stone, the Shield, and the Shrine. But interestingly enough, there was an active connection heading North toward Sedgewick and Gadobhra. Curious, he began running in that direction, sticking to the forests and skulking past travelers on the road. He noticed the squirrels begin to mass around him, one large one in particular. He dropped the illusion of being human, wrapped himself in his bone armor, and extended his claws.

The squirrels stopped and began to chitter among themselves. With a growl silencing all the other squirrels, the largest one approached, watching him from a branch, ready to pounce.

Razorslash FluffyTail, Chieftain of the Free Squirrels of Sedgewick (Tier 3 Monstrous Boss)

Since the War of the Oaks, The Chieftain has led his bands of marauding squirrels in a guerilla war against the invading players, striving to keep his people fed and carve out a home for them, safe from the constant attacks of humans. But Winter is coming, and nuts are scarce. The squirrels turn to other food sources, you being one of them.

Milo found that interesting. He was now surrounded by the smaller beasts, but they weren't attacking. "Greetings, brother rodents. I am Tallsqueak of Limburger Hollow, currently working for her Majesty, Wistyburble, who rules the nearby dungeon." He crossed his fingers, hoping that the rogue squirrels had heard of her.

"Nope. I don't eat enough. Skin and bones, no fat at all. More trouble than I'm worth."

"What's the favor?"

Gold, silver, and copper coins rained from the branches above him.

Milo only thought about the deal for a moment. Go shopping and bring back a side of beef and a sack of corn. That was a more efficient outcome than suffering death by a thousand nibbles. "I agree. I'll do it by nightfall." The squirrels watched him as he walked away, their bellies growling. Fluffytail turned to the others, The rest nodded in agreement, but their eyes followed Tallsqueak until he entered the town.

The 'Smoking Demon' wasn't hard to find. The tall wooden structure belching smoke from its roof was hard to miss. It was at the far edge of town, with no other buildings nearby.

It smelled of smoked meats and burning wood. Dark mana pooled at its base, and he heard the sound of rattling chains. There was a note on the door, "Gone to drink with the dwarf, and the Butcher is up at the keep. If you need something, either come back another day or deal with Chainey. At your own risk, of course. I'm not responsible for people making bad decisions."

Milo had too many things to do to sit waiting for someone to sell him a side of smoked cow. Shrugging, he opened the door and walked inside. Everywhere were full carcasses of animals slowly cooking in the heavy smoke. A long silver chain lowered from the ceiling and Milo got the distinct feeling he was being watched. "Chainey? The note said to talk to you about orders; I need one of those smoked carcasses." The chain pointed to one, and Milo nodded. Another chain wrapped the meat in burlap and tied it up before depositing it at Milo's feet. Looking up, he saw chains everywhere: moving meat, carving it into slices to be placed in barrels, or stacking the wrapped meat on pallets. It was a fully automated factory!

The chain in front of him jingled and he saw two silver and one gold coin dangling from the links like charms on a bracelet. "Two silver and one gold for the meat?" He reached into his pouch for the money, and the crystals inside clinked together. The chain was immediately interested, and several more dropped from the ceiling. Milo handed over the coins, which quickly disappeared, but the chains didn't leave. They slithered around him like a mass of snakes and two more slabs of wrapped meat were dropped in front of him. The chain with the coins poked his pouch, striking like a cobra and making the crystals clink.

"Nope. Those are special. Engineering stuff. I'm not sure the effect one would have on a construct." The chain seemed shocked and shook its end back and forth.

"Not a construct? A natural creature?" He sensed more shock but also anger at his words. The chains stood up around him with more joining the circle.

"Oh, my apologies. You're an Unnatural Creature, and very proud of that." All of the chains nodded in assent. One of them presented its end, from which a collection of gems and crystals hung, showing Milo its collection of baubles.

Two more carcasses were added to the pile. Milo noticed how many chains now surrounded him and cut off his retreat. Force blasts could get him out of here, but the holes in the walls would be hard to explain. "Look, these are special crystals. They link mana storage devices and generators." The chains considered this, then poked at the abacus on his belt. Milo took the device and analyzed the chains, astounded to discover the entire structure stored mana for the town.

"Ok, let me look at this from the roof." He started to climb the walls, but the chains grabbed him and hoisted him to the top of the structure, where a door led to the roof. From there, he could see all of the town of Sedgewick, with Gadobhra looming to the North. There was a very faint connection between the town hall and many of the town's buildings. The light, branching threads also connected to the town's streetlights. Underneath one building, he saw what could only be the old teleport stone. It was still partially connected to the stone at Rowan Keep. This pleased him. The announcement that it had to be broken up had bothered him on a deep level. You never wasted resources, whether they were half-used air filters in the Habitat or barrels of waste fuel from a subrogator. But it wasn't hooked up to the mana source for the town yet. Probably, they were still doing a thorough and careful installation. He'd check that later.

For now, he needed to figure out Chainey and this Mana Storage Building. It was drawing dark mana into itself from the surrounding area, which was a good thing; this town had way too much of the stuff pooling in odd places as it oozed out of the city. The work of turning raw meat into smoked meat should be using up mana, but the building was bursting with power. As he sat and pondered the puzzle, two of the town's workers approached the building, pressed a palm against it, and wandered off. The mana count for the building went up by 8000 points, exceeding its normal maximum of a million mana. Dark mana oozed from the building to make room, spilling into a growing pool. The town wasn't balancing its mana resources, so he'd have to do it for them! He turned to Chainey, "One crystal bauble in return for those five smoked beasts? It should help you regulate your mana supply better."

A jingle of happy chains echoed up from below as he handed over a crystal and it was added to Chainey's collection, establishing a link to the Hermetic Shield at Rowan Keep. The mana level in the smokehouse dropped by over a hundred thousand, rising again slowly as the pool of dark mana was reclaimed. Milo found himself lifted, hugged tightly, and deposited back on the ground with a painful pat on the head. The activity level in the smokehouse increased as the happy, unnatural creature returned to work.

Milo decided that a bit of work merited a snack, so he stopped by the tavern for a bowl of their excellent vegetable soup. He was so tempted by the cheese tray at the bar, but he was already half-mad from coffee and wasn't about to test his willpower with that enticing party platter. Two people he knew came walking up from the basement. He waved to the Barmaid and the Courier.

The Barmaid brought his soup to his table and a large sandwich for the Courier at the next table. After that, she turned and smiled at him. "I don't see your partner. Is your questing going well? Hopefully with no additional complications like the other day. Should I save some soup for the Knight?"

"Oh, yes. He is finishing a quest with the Shepherd and then should be here for dinner. He has another quest in your kitchen. He must polish all the copper pots for Betty. Some quests the Fey don't like to do, and we are scoring many points finishing them off." He lowered his voice and whispered, "But I have things to tell you when no one else is around."

No one else was in the tavern except Ben. "Don't worry, he's a trusted friend. You can talk in front of him."

"Oh, good. It's a busy day. Firstly, there is a band of rogue squirrels in the forests. They have quests to hunt players, but with Winter coming, they are starving and think things will get much worse."

"For the squirrels or the players?"

"Yes, both. I am taking them food. They requested smoked meat and corn. Chainey was nice enough to sell me the meat, but can you point me to where I can buy the corn?"

"Sure, just head over to the blue building that says 'Storage Number One' and talk to Delbert. He'll sell you a bag of corn; we have lots. Are the squirrels that bad off?"

Milo nodded. "The warriors are lean and grim, and their leader spoke of their women and children going hungry."

She sighed. "I'll have to work on that. What else?"

"I linked Mr. Chainey and the Smokehouse to the Hermetic Shield and Stone at Rowan Keep. I didn't want the Smokehouse to explode from exceeding its limit. Chainey was dealing with the overload by spewing Dark Mana rather than absorbing it. That bothered him. He likes Dark Mana for the flavor it gives the meat."

Ben looked at him, "How did you know that?"

Milo tapped his goggles. "Engineer secrets. I ran a diagnostic check on the mana network in the area."

"Two other things. I think you should link the Teleport Stone you recently installed in the basement of the Mercantile store with the Smokehouse to supply your mana needs. It's just more efficient, and that gives a second conduit for excess mana to be vented to the Hermtic Shield. Can I get another bowl of soup?"

Ben turned to Milo with a large smile as Suzette went to get more soup, shaking her head. "Where can I get a set of goggles like that?"

"Sorry, one of a kind."

"Can I borrow them?"

"No. I'm working. No time for loaning valuable equipment for Franklins to play with."

"What if I help?"

"You can help. But you have to do exactly as I say. I'm on a tight schedule."

"Great. And I get to wear the goggles?"

"What part of not loaning valuable gear did you not understand?"

"All of it, especially if I'm assisting you in your valuable work and keeping you on schedule."

A half-hour later, when Milo had finished three bowls of soup while Ben peppered him with questions, they came to an agreement: Ben would assist Milo as he finished his work in Sedgewick and Gadobhra, with promises to keep their individual secrets. In return, Ben got to wear the goggles while they walked to the city. They left an exhausted barmaid who'd just come from the Keep at Ben's urging and now had to return. She watched the two of them leave, having her doubts about the strange squire, but trusted that Ben would keep him under control. It was unnerving to pull off the heist of the old teleport stone and have someone catch them immediately. On the bright side, he liked the soup.

Ben and Milo had just left Sedgewick when Damien and Vladimir appeared.

"My favorite Nephew! Nice Goggles! Very 'mad scientist'."

"Greetings, fellow Engineer!"

Milo looked at the two of them. "We have work to do; you may assist Benjamin and me. You can't wear the goggles."