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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7321990" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 113Kurok had the talent of transitioning instantly from sleep to full alertness—it was a skill that came in quite handy growing up in a goblinoid tribe—but when he woke he felt groggy and slow.  But he quickly drew himself up out of his bedroll and looked around.The sun had set, but it was not yet full night.  He did not feel rested, but he could feel the power of the Veiled One as it burned once more in his blood.  That was all that mattered; physical discomfort could be tolerated.The camp was fairly quiet.  Some of the more seriously wounded of the Bloodriders were still asleep, their mounts—if they had survived—curled up next to them.  Usk was not immediately visible but that was not unusual; the goblin leader often went out with his scouts.Kurok drank from his waterskin and went over to one of the scouts on duty.  “What is the situation?”“No enemies have shown themselves, Great One,” the goblin said.  “The black elf has passed the outer sentries and approaches the camp.”Kurok shot the creature a hard look—they should have woken him immediately as soon as Vederos was detected—but he didn’t make an issue of it.  He had known that the incident at the shrine would have weakened his hold over the Bloodriders; lashing out now would only further complicate the situation.  It was likely he would have to reassert himself, but it would be in a manner that was calculated, not born of blind rage.  That was what set his kind apart from the lesser examples of his race.He walked along the rocky shelf that formed the perimeter of their camp, using the move as an excuse to stretch his tired muscles.  He had recovered from most of the ill effects of his clash with the perytons that morning, and Vedaros was nominally an ally, but he had long since learned the lesson of being prepared.When he had circled back around to the slope that led down to the forest he could see the dark elf approaching.  This time Vederos had left his cloak open, though the shifting colors as the magical garment tried to blend in with his changing surroundings was disorienting to look at for any length of time.The warlock waited as the drow sorcerer slowly approached.  The dark elf also looked tired; appropriate given that he would have had to have traveled almost constantly to have made it to the north valley and back since their last encounter.  His boots were muddy, a detail that stuck out for some reason in Kurok’s tired mind.  The hobgoblin quickly ordered his thoughts; he could not afford to be off his best for the coming confrontation.Vederos nodded to Kurok but took a long look around the camp before he turned to face his superior.  “You have had some trouble?”“What do you have to report?” Kurok asked.“I made contact with our resource in the town.  Quietly, as directed; none other than he noted my visit.”  That you know of, Kurok added mentally, but he did not comment.  “The company of adventurers from Adelar has slain the chimera,” the sorcerer continued.  “Their numbers include both an arcanist bard and a cleric of Hosrenu, in addition to several apparently talented warriors.”“We already knew they were skilled from the way they drubbed your giants,” Kurok said.  “What else?”Vederos’s lips tightened at being interrupted, but he inclined his head and went on,” “They were on their way back from dealing with the creature when they were diverted by a group of miners.  Apparently the last working mine had become infested with giant beetles.  After burning out the beetles they returned to Wildrush.  There have been no indications that anyone in the valley knows of your presence here, or anything of our objective.  My own careful queries of our resource indicated no knowledge of anything in this part of the valley.  Even during the last silver rush hardly anyone bothered to come this far, as there have never been any metal discoveries of any note beyond the northern half.”Kurok continued staring at Vederos as the dark elf finished his report.  “There is something else that you are not telling me.”For a moment the drow met that stare calmly, then he finally glanced away.  “I took action to hinder the enemy, as you directed.  I drew upon some local recruits provided by our contact in the town.  I had planned to ambush our adversaries on their return from their clash with the chimera, expecting that they would be weakened, but when they turned aside to clear the mine I took advantage of that distraction.”“From your hesitation to share this information, I take it the encounter did not go as planned.”“As I said, it was an attack of opportunity.  Quite creative, actually, I was able to…”“How many of the adventurers were killed in the ambush?” Kurok interrupted.“Ah… none,” Vederos said.  “Unexpected reinforcements forced me to withdraw before the adventurers were dealt with.  But several of them were seriously injured.”Kurok didn’t even bother to acknowledge that; he already knew that the new arrivals had a priest within their ranks.  “And your ‘local recruits’?” he asked.“They proved less effective than expected, though I do not believe any of them were captured.”“You ‘do not believe.’”“None of them saw my face, or know who I am,” Vederos said.“But they know who our contact in the town is,” Kurok said.“I was only implementing your commands,” Vederos said.  “It seems I was not the only one to have had difficulty recently.”“What happened here is not your concern.”“Is it not?  Am I to be criticized for my failure, when you have suffered a significant defeat, even with the strong force you command, and the supposedly great powers of the Veiled One at your beck and call?  Perhaps you should have gone north to deal with the outsiders, and left me to seek out the prize.”  The drow worked himself into a righteous anger as he spoke, but as he finished the last words he seemed to sense that he might have gone too far.  “It seems to me we should focus on our mission, instead of squabbling amongst ourselves.  I have some ideas…”He cut off as Kurok raised a hand.  The warlock allowed the silence to stretch out for a long moment before he said, “Do you challenge my leadership?”His words carried, and while there was no obvious motion amongst the goblins, it was clear that they were following the exchange closely.  Even the ones that had been asleep moments earlier were awake now, watching the meeting along with their worgs, the eyes of the latter seeming to glow in the deepening twilight.“I am not so much of a fool to be torn apart by your minions,” Vederos said softly.Kurok raised his other hand, pointing at his surviving troops.  “I invoke Bok’tarok!” he said.  “None shall interfere!”He doubted any of the goblins would lift a finger to support him right then in any case, but he saw that the dramatic gesture had an effect on Vederos.  For a moment the drow let his feelings flash in his eyes, but then he quickly lowered them.  “I defer to your leadership, Blooded,” he said.  “I await your commands.”A soft rumble from one of the worgs drew Kurok’s attention toward the forest, where a pair of worg riders was just coming into view.  It was too far to see clearly, but it looked like one of them was Usk.“We have an obstacle that must be overcome,” Kurok said, turning toward the approaching riders.As soon as his back was turned, Vederos summoned a small ball of shimmering energy in his right hand and hurled it at the warlock.</blockquote>

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