The Fool's Freedom

It felt good just roaming the endless forest and seeing its many shades. Alan still had obligations, and a part of him thought tied to the Sanctuary and its people, especially since he had effectively crippled two of its strongest members.

There was the Dungeon to consider, but he neither knew if his current strength was enough nor did he look forward to fulfilling the crazy wishes of a ‘dungeon boss’. There was something fishy about everything said, but Alan had been too distraught to properly catch the nuances between the words or read further into what was happening.

Those were all problems for another day though. He was positively giddy with excitement as he carefully walked in the direction the kobolds had appeared from. He met animals – mostly different types of wolves which seemed to be one of the more dominant species in the forest – but they were weak enough for him to not care.

Soon enough, there was change. It started subtle, in the form of small wooden charms or carvings in the tree trunks that, while still large, couldn’t compare to the giant trees around the mana well. It took him a few hours to find more substantial tracks of what he was searching for.

Before, the kobold camps had been small things that just sat in the middle of the forest or around caves and ruins. What he was seeing now was entirely different. There was something akin to ‘nests in the lower branches of the large trees, and pieces of sharpened wood were stuck on the tree trunks to serve as hands and footholds. And in the watch nests, which were a mockery of the elven construction, sat kobolds.

There were many times more nests than kobolds occupying them, but having sentries placed around the forest was quite interesting. He briefly entertained the thought of the kobolds having their own Sanctuary, but it seemed silly. They were monsters, not one of the races inhabiting New Earth… right?

He tried to remain undetected. With his speed, it was an easy task, and the forest was shadowy enough to assist him in that. Still, he proceeded carefully. There was no need to slaughter the creatures like he had once done. He had only killed the first group because they had attacked him. There was no use in doing that here.

Another thirty minutes or so finally led him to the kobold stronghold. It was a small circular settlement, surrounded by a crude wooden fence that was only a bit taller than Alan. The few watch nests sat on the trees around were fully occupied, but the kobolds sitting there seemed bored and quite easy to sneak around.

The fence made a half circle around yet another protruding hill made of stacked stones. Perhaps there was a cave or something similar there. Alan grinned at the thought of Ig-Thun and his lair. How many other beings made homes under the ground? What secret did it hide?

It was an easy task to jump over the fence and hide behind a large tent of wood and animal skins. He could see a few burning fires in front of some of the larger tents, and quite a few kobolds milling about. They were stirring pots, carrying wood, meats held in skins, and carving arrows. There was even a larger tent manned by the largest kobold he had seen. The creature was wielding a crude hammer and holding a place of mangled metal over the heat.

Alan doubted the fire was hot enough to soften or melt the metal, but it was also not a material he had seen before. He had neglected to gather the weapons of the first group, which was probably a mistake. They were worthless to him now that he had [Shadow Creation] though.

Jumping from shadow to shadow and making full use of his speed and ability to sense even the weak mana signatures of the kobolds Alan trudged on. The place was quite a bit larger than he had anticipated, but soon he was near the rock formation and grinned as he saw the opening of a cave. Kobolds seemed to like caves.

He couldn’t sense anything from the inside of it though. A shimmering barrier covered the entrance, which was curious. It was reminiscent of the ones the kobold had cast during their fight. It took him only a few moments to near the side of it and locate its source – a crystalline totem stuck on the stone above the cave’s mouth.

What’s the worst that could happen? Alan smiled to himself as he touched the barrier with his shadow-coated hand. The kobolds were not strong enough to threaten him, but he still wanted to do things in a less… slaughtery way.

When his arm passed harmlessly up to the wrist, he stepped through. There were no guards around the entrance, or it would have made his quiet entrance almost impossible. However, a strange feeling washed over him and he quickly shuddered as shadows manifested around him for parts of the second. The phenomenon was followed by the yells of kobolds from inside the cave.

It was a large thing and what he had assumed was just a hill turned out to be much more. There were ruins embedded on the walls – ruins made of concrete, with steel wiring poking out. The cave was shaped like a tunnel that went straight down into a lower portion which was obscured from view. The kobolds seemed to have made a passage through, just barely large enough for some of their bigger representatives – which was also enough for Alan.

He had already been sensed, and he could also hear the commotion from the outside. Killing his way through things was not who he wanted to be though. In a flash of shadows, he appeared next to the passaged and gaped at what he saw.

There were ‘beds’ which were nothing more than animal skins lying on the ground, and lying and hurt kobolds laid on them. Others, smaller ones tended to their wounds with pieces of rough cloth soaked in a strange liquid they carried in bowls. A few groups of well-armed kobolds were looking around as if expecting to be ambushed at any second. Whatever the barrier at the entrance was, it had announced Alan’s arrival.

There was a group of staff wielders gathered around pieces of carved crystal on one side. Many wooden totems of similar make were strewn all around as if to serve as inspiration for the newer and improved work they were doing. Behind them sat piles and piles of the strange crystal. Each of the kobolds was holding a glowing knife, probably used to carve the crystal into different totemic shapes. All of them had stood up and a few were pointing toward Alan and screeching, holding staves. He heard the footsteps and scrambling coming from behind too.

Someone was about to get punished for not guarding the entrance properly.

But he didn’t care. What he saw beyond the group of supposed [Shamans], and the many [Warriors] and [Archers] was something entirely fascinating. A portal, quite different than the one leading into the Lower Buried Blood Fields, but exuding a very similar energy.

Without hesitation, Alan cast [Void Step] and rushed through, ignoring the screeching kobolds. It was like walking through water and Alan blinked as he reappeared amid jagged mountains and large rocks.

You have entered The Jaderin Mines.

Jaderin mines? Was that the crystal they were using, or was it simply the name of the place?

He carefully looked around. There were quite a few mana signatures nearby, but they moved away without paying attention to him. Unlike the Blood Fields, there was no singular path to follow nor did the place look like a Dungeon at all. It was as if he had been thrown amid the mountains at random.

It took him less than a few minutes to see the first group. Kobolds pushing carts full of the greenish crystal the others were carving at the entrance of the Dungeon. They were coming from one of the passages but froze as they saw him. He waved at them and rushed into another, leaving their angry screeching behind.

If the whole dungeon was just a giant mine then that would be weird. Where was the challenge? The fights? There had been no guards around the entrance to the dungeon, other than the [Shamans] and on the inside, there were no guards either. The wonders of the System were infinite, so it was entirely possible for the place to be just an empty mine.

Something was strange though. His mana sense couldn’t stretch very far like it had done in the forest, even when he stood in the same spot and emptied his mind of all else.

The passage he had taken led him to a few entrances that led underground. What struck him as weird were the remains of railroad tracks and the old and rusty pickaxes he passed. All sorts of instruments were too worn to have been used recently laid around with greater frequency the further he proceeded down the tunnel.

The walls were dug out, and a few small pieces of crystal littered the ground. The largest was only thumb-sized but he inspected it nonetheless.

Jaderin Ore

Well, that tells me nothing. It was obvious the material served some purpose to the kobolds, but then again whether it was special or just a thing he hadn’t seen before was unclear. Still, filling his shadow inventory with some of it was a given.

And there was also a Dungeon to explore.

The tunnels were a maze of ascension and descension – at least as far as he could sense or see them. He picked one at random and no less than a few minutes later heard the sounds of combat. The darkness was his friend as he neared a small flat room where a group of kobolds was getting decimated by a bunch of strange humanoids.

Alan made sure to rub his eyes before looking at the thing closer. They resembled humans, but some were tall, while others were short. Their flesh was intertwined with large patches of crystals, and most of their arms were shaped like maces.

The creatures rained relentless blows unto the kobold [Warriors], uncaring of the damage they themselves sustained. Few the of the kobolds were easily crushed, while the rest retreated. Despite it all they were unwilling to drop the sacks of crystal they were carrying, opting to slow themselves down and risk death than abandon loot.

Alan respected that. The strange crystal creatures were quite slow either way. Only the punches seemed to be fast and strong. He felt like trying out the new enemy but decided to postpone it for now. This was growing interesting, and observing things from the shadows was quite fun.

He took yet another tunnel and descended further. The walls of earth and stone grew brighter and brighter with each step as crystals covered them. Unlike the broken-off pieces the kobolds carried, those were large massive formations and soft light could be seen pulsing in their depths.

Alan used his [Shadow Creation] to make a pickaxe and easily broke off a piece of crystal after a few hits. Its glow slowly left from where the crystal had broken off and remained uneven and he recognized it for what it was – mana.

Perhaps the crystal could store mana, or better yet, skills? How had the kobolds managed to create a permanent alarm barrier then? If such material was given to an [Enchanter] the only limits would be set by their skill.

Alan broke off a few pieces and stored them. He decided not to take too much, since there was a lot more to explore.

Taking turn after the turn he managed to avoid a few groups of crystalline monsters and kobolds. There were quite a few fights going on, and even if the kobolds were mostly losing, they still made away with quite a lot of crystal ore.

Until he ran into yet another group, or what remained of one. Blood covered the crystals growing on the walls and the earthen floor. And the monster responsible for it was staring straight at him with its two fully white eyes.

It was a mixture of a panther and something humanoid. Standing on two legs, with its limbs fully coated in yet another material similar to what he had seen at the goblin smith forge.

Alan stepped out and his shadows wiggled dangerously as daggers formed in his hands. He didn’t bother with taking out [True Edge]. This was more of a study session, not a fight.

At least he thought so moments before two of the creatures dropped down on him from the ceiling of the cavern. There had been no indication anything was there; at least none of his senses had picked up the signs.