A Bright and Shiny Life

Empowered by Ibil’s sacrifice, I rush through the woods as fast as a horse galloping on an open plain. The boon grants me several benefits. Most of it will fade in less than a day, though a small trace of it will remain– building up with each new sacrifice.

The most obvious benefit is increased strength, which in turn grants greater speed since my mass remains the same. Perception, reflexes, and coordination are also enhanced, allowing me to utilize the strength and speed without issue.

My healing rate is also increased. Normally I only heal a few times faster than usual, but under my current boon I feel like I could regrow lost limbs. The Biblio Anar does promise that it’s possible with a good enough sacrifice.

Finally, and most importantly, my ability to perform magic is greatly enhanced. Under my concealment spell I feel like I could slit someone’s throat and they wouldn’t notice.

While the power that remains after each boon dissipates is miniscule, three years of intense hit and run fighting has accumulated plenty of sacrifices.

Without an active boon I’m three or four times as strong as my physique would suggest. Which is significant, but not superhuman. Mundane training can achieve similar results for even the average person. With Ibil’s boon active though, I feel as strong as an ox. Literally strong enough to do any task normally reserved for oxen.

Oh, how miserable I’ll be when it fades later tonight.

I stop suddenly as I hear voices up ahead. I hide behind a tree despite how unlikely it is for my concealment to be pierced. It takes several minutes of dashing looking for speakers before I give up and climb a tree. It takes a bit, but eventually I find the likely source– a concealed camp maybe a half mile away. I would never have spotted it without enhanced perception, or even heard the voices.

The campsite is on a hill overlooking a road. The hill is steep, with only one path that I can see leading up to it. A short wooden barricade obscures the camp from observers with vegetation growing up it that blends with the surrounding trees. It’s well hidden. Even with my boon I only spotted it because of the barricade’s flatness and a thin, nearly invisible, whiff of smoke.

I don’t see the speakers, but the strange camp is worth checking out even if it’s unrelated. I’m still on the path my divination sent me on, so it could be the safety I seek. Maybe some small cell tasked with counting troop movements and waylaying imperial messengers or other soft targets.

I pull out my crystal pendulum– a grand sounding name for a rock on a string. It’s a minor form of divination: not very powerful on its own, but useful for course correcting more potent methods.

I let the rock hang down and chant a few lines of spell linking it to Ibil’s divination. A few moments later it begins to sway– building up speed until reaching a forty-five-degree angle. The swinging forms a clear line from where I have just come and towards the hidden camp… maybe a little off, but within the margin of error.

It’s settled. I can’t afford to ignore it.

If it is a resistance camp, then the obvious path up the hill is almost certainly trapped. I’d probably be fine with my boon active, but there’s no reason to risk it. Especially since there are several traps commonly used by the resistance designed to exploit augmented physical abilities. Besides, even if I make it through unscathed, forcing my potential new cell mates to reset their traps is hardly a good first impression.

If it’s not a resistance camp, then even more reason not to take the obvious route.

Instead of searching for a hidden path, I run up to a sheer rock cliff going up behind the camp and climb it. It would have been near impossible for an unaugmented armoured adult, but I propel up it in a moment.

I creep up behind the camp, hoping to see the standard raggedy mismatched attire of a resistance cell. However, my hopes are quickly dashed as I spot soldiers in the uniformed breastplates and helmets of the Arkothan Imperial army.

I slink back into the woods, my heart pounding. Well, it’s good to know they’re here at least. I pull out the crystal pendulum and quickly confirm my divination is taking me past the camp, and it being in my path is sheer coincidence.

Well, maybe not that big of a coincidence. Who knows how many similar locations the Arkothans have dotting the landscape?

It seems to be a sort of supply cache for patrolling squads with bedding and food. The idea likely to facilitate long patrols. Probably two or three squads stationed in a nearby town alternate patrolling the path to the camp and waiting here to be relieved while watching the road. This would allow a larger patrol area while still concentrating forces in one location.

It's just like the empire to be so disgustingly organized.

…well, there’s nothing for me to do here. I should get going… but… I could take them. I mean, I only sense five, and it would be a shame to use such a potent boon to just run away.

No! It would be foolish. Killing them would draw a line straight from Ibil to wherever I’m going. If I knew my destination, I could stray from the path and attack someplace else to confuse the scent. However, as it is, straying from my path would weaken the divination and make it unlikely to find safety.

But think about how good it’ll feel to add their sacrifice to Ibil’s. I mean, why look a gift horse…

I feel sharp pain in my arm and glance down to see I am clawing at my itching skin. Blood is drawn with each scratch only for the wound to be closed an instant later. I try to pull myself away, back to the path, but I just keep staring at the vulnerable sacrifices.

Come on, what could be the harm? It’s a long patrol post. The attack might not be discovered for days. Why pass up the opportunity to hurt the empire at only a minor risk to the cause? You’ve been on missions with worse risk/benefit ratios.

Yeah, no harm… except to the enemy.

I find a good-sized fallen branch and quickly whittle it into a decent two-handed club. Then I cut open my palm and use the blood to trace runes along the full length of wood. Annoyingly, my regeneration means my wound closes before I’m done, and I have to cut myself open two more times to get enough blood to complete the temporary enchantment.

As I have little time I only bother for basic benefits. Increased durability and variable mass. The latter makes it lighter except for the moment of impact, allowing me to swing it faster without reducing power, and so increasing power. It’s nearly redundant with my improved strength, and at basic levels is hardly noticeable, but the combination is so common it would take more time for me to figure out how to do the enchantment without it.

Four of the soldiers have spears and the fifth has a bow. A few also have hand axes tuck in their belts and all have daggers. One of the spear bearers stands watch in a concealed spot that grants visibility both of the obvious path up the hill and of the road below. The other four are resting in a loose circle around the small fire cooking some game meat and a small pot of stew.

I target the archer resting with their back to me first. I creep up, trusting the concealment spell but not so much that I don’t instinctively crouch. Nobody looks up despite me being in plain sight. Feeling no rush, I take my time to align my swing, wind up, and smash their head with the makeshift club.

The archer collapses with a loud crunch. I tense, moving to a defensive posture in expectation of an attack that doesn’t come.

I resist laughing at how much more potent the concealment spell is under Ibil’s boon and move on, smashing one of the spear bearers.

“What the…? Attack!” Shouts one of the soldiers in response to me apparently crossing the threshold for overt action.

The closest leaps up, grabbing their spear, but I move up too quickly and sweep their leg under them with a crunch. They fall, and I swing down on their supporting arm– crushing bone and, unfortunately, shattering my club.

My weapon gone, I leap back as one charges. “Where’d they go!?” They shout, and I realize that any form of retreat is now enough to make my actions non-overt.

Feeling I have time, I grab one of the fallen spears, circle around one and stab them in the back– brute forcing the spear through the breastplate and out again. The shaft breaks from the effort, but I force them down and pin them to the ground with the spear head protruding from their front.

The last one charges– nearly catching my throat with their spear but I twist out of the way. They try to retract the weapon to attack again, but they’re so slow. I grab the shaft and yank sideways, sending them sprawling. Before they can recover, I leap on top– straddling their torso.

They pull out their dagger and thrust it at my throat, but I lazily interpose my hand and let it stab through my palm.

I smile then punch them in the face. One strike is enough to daze them. I quickly take blood from my pierced hand and apply the symbols of sacrifice, giving their soul to Anar. The power I gain from this common soldier is small, but it makes me feel that much better. Besides, it never hurts to accumulate.

It takes no more than a second to compose myself from the pleasure. Once I do I pull the dagger out of my hand and watch as the hole quickly starts to close.

Feeling suddenly in a hurry I quickly move to the others and repeat the ritual of sacrifice. Unfortunately, the two with the bashed heads are already dead so I get nothing from them, but the rest adds to the ecstasy.

I meant to only knock the first two unconscious but underestimated my power. Theoretically souls hang around a bit after death in case of resurrection, but deities are vigilant to collect their due as soon as possible when Anar’s faithful are around.

That done, I start looting the supplies. I consider not as I’m in a rush, but Gebal’s words come to mind.

“Gaining supplies and denying them to the enemy is just as important as killing.”

Starting with the weapons, I take a spear, a hand axe and the bow, applying symbols to enchant them with their owner’s own blood. Using lifeblood makes the enchantment permanent, but again, lacking time I’m unable to do anything powerful.

Still the increased durability and sharpness on the spear should make it useful in penetrating mundane armour, as should the enchantment on the bow which increases its power without increasing draw weight. The axe I enchant to always hit blade first.

I break the wooden shafts of any weapon I don’t take. Any remaining steel I dump in a barrel of water sitting next to the barricade. They probably won’t rust very much by the time they’re found, but it might be enough to be annoying.

The armour I enchant with a rune of accumulation placed on the inside. It’s a minor symbol, but potent with timing. It gathers power slowly until the object it’s placed on is saturated. Then, nothing happens… until the object is disturbed– then it explodes.

In my current state the runes should be saturated withing a few hours. If the site isn’t discovered by then, the blast should kill the first person who tries to examine or move the bodies, and potentially wound anyone standing nearby. The metal slivers will be hard to treat on the spot, and so will have time to fester on the march back to base. This is especially potent if the body is undiscovered long enough to rot, as the shrapnel will carry decomposing matter into the wounds.

Gebal always liked this one, since he thought it was good against enemy morale. That given enough time the enemy will stop burying their own dead, causing regret to eat at them– not to mention the increased potential for disease.

After the weapons I go over the bodies for valuables. I find a fair amount of coin and some jewellery. Wedding bands and lockets with names and dates inscribed. I take the coin and anything that looks bronze or silver but leave the lesser metals.

Looking around I find some useful medical herbs. There’s one bundle I don’t recognize, but I decide to take it anyways. I’ll have to reference my book later to see if it’s in there. I add the plants to those in my pack, but keep the unknown separate from the rest in case it’s some potent poison or something.

Finally, I grab some food and a bag to hold it. There’s too much to carry even with my increased strength, so I think about how to best spoil what I don’t take.

Burning is no good because of the smoke. Water would cause it to rot, but only with enough time and I don’t know when others will come. Eventually I decide on poison– taking out some leaves of palethorn and a smaller amount of less potent herbs, crush them with my hands, and sprinkle them over the remaining food.

Eating a lot of palethorn will kill you, but I don’t have that much. At this dose, all it will do is cause vomiting and diarrhoea. The idea being that anything eaten will come out again– hopefully bringing untainted food with it. This will not only reduce their total food more than just burning, but also reduce morale and fighting effectiveness.

Everything gathered, I wash the blood off me,then piss in the water barrel to spread disease. Then I grab the game meat roasting over the fire, take a bite (it’s bland), and resume the path towards safety.