Chapter 14: Chapter 13: You’re a Wizard

As it turned out, Lia could use magic. It wasn’t anywhere close to the magic she was used to, and she could only use mental magic, but it was still magic.

The magic she had been taught in school relied heavily on a chant, and then used a key phrase to actually cast the spell. Technically, the key phrase was all that was required, and even that was optional if you were really, really good and could figure out how to activate magic without the words. That didn’t mean the chant was useless, though; the chant before kept you focused and prevented you from accidentally misfiring and doing something incredibly dangerous, and it also provided those who weren’t the best at calling upon their magic time to get a firm grasp on it.

Lia had been in that last category when she was a foxkin. Her magic had felt elusive, something she had to root around in the back of her mind to find. Yet, now, it was just…there in the forefront of her brain. If she had to use an analogy, it was like before she had to get up, walk across the room, and root around in a drawer to find the magic, and now it was just in her pocket, and she could reach out and grab it with no trouble.

When she did reach out and grab it, using it felt…natural. Before she had had no clue where to even begin to look to activate magic without a key phrase, but now she just knew. Well, for mental magic, anyway. Any time she tried a spell that didn’t directly affect something’s mind, that understanding of how to activate it just…wasn’t there. She even tried to chant for a bit before deciding that her mouth was not meant for speech.

Still, she was good at mental magic. Whenever she tried anything relating to the mind, her focus was sharp, the image of what she wanted the magic to do crisp and clear. It was like…like instead of a chant, something else was keeping her mental image from wandering.

She had realized, after casting a couple of spells, that it was the knots in her tail where other rats would be on a normal rat king. Each time she cast a spell, at least one of those would perk up, with more perking up the more complicated a spell was.

After making that discovery, she had spent most of the rest of the afternoon practicing her magic on the druid and the gardener, getting a feel for how much each spell would cost and how effective they were, as well as leveling up once thanks to Rose. She had felt a little bad about doing experimentation on the druid and gardener, but they had seemed more than happy to be guinea pigs for her when she asked, so she went ahead with it anyway.

Before she had even realized, night was upon her, and Rose had returned with the results of her day’s work. As promised, she returned with fifty foot soldiers, and there was a huge amount of modeling wax outside of the burrow. A large hole had been dug in the ground, and even then, the pile of modeling wax wasn’t fully contained.

Lia was able to see where it had come from, too – the hole was near the stumps of a couple of trees that had definitely been standing the last time Lia had been out. Now that she was thinking back, she vaguely remembered hearing some loud thuds, but she had been so engrossed in her practice that she hadn’t paid them much note.

You’re…impressive as always. Lia told Rose. Good work.

Thank you, my – I mean, thank you, Lia! Rose replied happily. Shall I help in the raid? I’m nearly level nine, so I’m getting really close to evolving again.

No. Lia said. This is going to be very dangerous, and you don’t have much in the way of combat potential yet, right?

Well…yes. Rose replied slowly. But it feels wrong to just…leave you to do all the work. Like…I want to be there in case something goes wrong, and you need assistance.

Lia shook her head. No. If I need someone to take a hit for me or something, that’s what the foot soldiers and ironclads are for. I have a bunch of those, I only have one you. I can’t replace you like I can replace them.

I know, but…

Lia sighed. Will it make you feel better if I keep at least two ironclads next to me at all times?

I suppose. Rose said. In…in that case, what should I do while you’re out?

Use the druid and gardener and gather up a bunch of plants. I want a line of pricklers outside of the fortifications once we take them over, and we’re going to need plants for that. Oh, and while you’re at it, convert more rats into foot soldiers. I want you to evolve ASAP.

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Understood, Lia. I will do my best.

Lia nodded, then gave the rat part of her army orders to form up while she made her way over to the store of modeling wax. It seemed there was enough to fill her storage, so that’s just what she did.

Over half the pile disappeared into her storage, leaving an unnaturally smooth pile of modeling wax in the hole. Satisfied, Lia made her way back to her army, and began to lead them towards the bazaar.

The fortifications seemed to be complete, and were a blazing light amidst the near complete darkness of the rest of the market. There were scattered pockets of light where patrols were, but they were nothing compared to the beacon in front of the market.

No, that wasn’t quite correct. It was hard to tell at this distance, but there were two large pockets of light, one of which was situated much deeper in the market. From the angle Lia was approaching the market from, it made it seem as if the two lights were just one big light, leading to her initial confusion.

Why hadn’t those lights been on earlier? Yes, it was now night outside, but that hardly mattered inside the bazaar; it was constantly dark in there anyway. Though…now that she was looking closer, the ambient light that came from the occasional illuminated stall had vanished. All the stall lights had been turned off for the night, leaving only the fires of the goblins to light the area.

Once they were within a few hundred yards, Lia had her army scatter somewhat, so they weren’t just one big blob of motion in the darkness. She’d have them trickle into the fortifications, sneak past the guards, and aim for the sleeping quarters of the goblins. From there, she’d begin the conversions of as many goblins as possible, and once they were discovered, things would turn into a real fight.

She gave the order to start the infiltration, and began to make her way in. She took two ironclads with her, activated Active Camouflage, and began moving towards the wall. There were goblins behind it, yes, but they weren’t particularly attentive, nor were they looking down. When they did glance beyond their walls, they simply cast their gaze out towards the distance for a brief moment, then went back to whatever they were doing.

It was simplicity itself to sneak through the gaps in the wall, and then Lia and her honor guard were in. The compound was…messy. The stalls of the market had either been stripped of their materials and used to help make the walls, or just left in place and used by the goblins as…whatever they felt like. Some held food, some held armor and weapons, and others still had goblins sleeping on them.

Lia continued making her way towards the center of the compound, expertly using the stalls as cover from the few goblins that were awake. After only a couple of minutes, she was able to make out a series of crude tents that had been put up around a particularly large fire, and made a beeline for the biggest one.

That was likely to hold the commander of the goblins, and she wanted to take that out as soon as possible. Not only would it likely make for a particularly strong member of her swarm, it would also throw the rest of the goblins into disarray when the time came for battle, and make them that much easier to rout.

Lia and her guard slipped into the tent to find a goblin wearing metal armor sitting on the floor munching on a large steak. Lia didn’t waste any time, putting forty Mana into a spell that instantly put it to sleep, watching as it slumped over slightly and stopped eating.

She and her guard ran up to it and coated it with modeling wax as quickly as possible, and Lia took a look at her options. This goblin was apparently a “Goblin Commander”, and it could be converted into most of the same things as the goblin sentries, though the options for foot soldier and infiltrator were greater and normal respectively, compared to the normal and lesser the sentries provided.

But there were still two new options that Lia needed to check before she could make her decision.

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