38 Chapter 4.22 - The Game is Afoot

Serin sat at the bedside of Shurik and the rest of the Gole who had transformed. He had personally promised Lady Eris he would watch the Gole until they woke. Thankfully he knew it would only be a few minutes. His strands of fate whispered so. They have become more powerful as the skill had grown. Before only barely visible threads of fate seemed to guide his actions, helping him find triumph and avoid calamity. However, now they whispered. Serin could not make out the whispers that he heard, but had a sense of their general meaning. It wouldn't be long before the Gole awoke.

Serin sensed Bilol, Sute, and Ephraim came in. Serin had asked for representatives from the other races.

"How go the preparations?" asked. The first one to respond was Ephraim.

"Lord Serin, Bolter rifles for the protectorate are being produced, but it is slow. Many of the pieces are outside my expertise, and only the base framing pieces are within the skill of the other apprentice artificers and smiths." Ephraim responded, "Except for the pieces we need your expertise in, we will be complete with 40 rifles at the end of the week, as well as 10 of the magneta scatterguns."

Serin nodded, he would have to make the specialized firing pin and the self-destruct feature himself, as the magic was either too powerful or too intricate for the other craters. Serin looked at Bilol, "What of the infiltration teams?"

Bilol looked at Serin, "We have three hunter-seeker teams. Each will pose as a small merchant family. Their cover will be as contracted traders from Seamus' caravan. We have procured trade seals for The Northern Kingdoms, The Grand Wood Alliance, and the Sarween Technocracy."

Serin looked, "Are they prepared? Do they have the necessary supplies and skills?"

Bilol nodded, "Olma took them down to level 20 of the dungeon several times. They may not have the same physical or magical skills as our top fighters, but their abilities in subterfuge are beyond doubt. Also with your purchase of several Spy and Assassin skill books, and the mana drive to increase their skills to a minimum of 100 they should be prepared. They have been given a caravan loaded with supplies and will be Resupplied through the Transfer Chests you built for them.

Serin thought back to the reward found in the dungeon's level 30 chest. It was another Rune stone, this one teaching Serin a way to create a 2 way transfer chest. It allowed for materials to magically transfer from one box to another, no matter the distance.

Serin looked at Bilol, "And they know the plan if they are discovered?"

Bilol nodded, "It's risky, but it should work in theory. They will still try to escape, but if return is not possible, that is the plan."

Serin looked at Bilol, "And they are ready should that come to pass?"

Bilol looked at Serin, "Both have confirmed that they have reproduced separately, and their children are currently in the earliest youth course."

Serin nodded. "Ensure that they have everything they could possibly want for. Ensure they never take off the bracelets I have given them. One marks their location, the other disguises their class, race, and level. And before they leave, I wish to speak to them."

Serin looked at Sute, "I have heard that you might have an expert that can help us create a deterrent for the two aggressive nations near our borders."

Sute bowed, "Not me personally, but I was made aware a few months ago that the renowned Josef Blomst was among those saved from the Lybringer people."

Serin looked, "And his magic will help?"

Sute smiled, "His creations kept my father's armies at bay for decades. He may be old in years, but he memorized his designs. It was how the Skygge never were able to replicate them."

Serin smiled, "Then we have a lot of planning to do. Ensure that the Wildscouts take shifts scouting the paths near our entrance. I have instructed Seamus to use a spellstone to send me a direct message. It's enough power that he should be able to send ten words no matter where he is."

Serin then thought, "I am aware that 10 Gole were plated today. What of the other races?"

Ephraim smiled, "4 Demis, 4 Humans, 6 planetouched, and 7 changeling were plated."

Serin smiled, "Excellent. Then tonight we will add these numbers to our celebration of the Gole. I want it announced that we will have 4 new holidays. Each Solstice when we receive newly plated adults, there will be a celebration to welcome them."

With that, Shurik began to awake. Serin looked at the others "We will meet up after the party. Make the necessary preparations.

Serin smiled when he looked at Shurik. "Welcome to the first days of your new life here in the vale."

***

The celebration was quite the success. With Lord Rezzi working with Lord Koni, they made quick work of food preparations. The town was now too big to throw a festival so it was limited to the newly plated, their families if applicable, the representatives, Jasmin as Captain of the guard, and Edel as leader of the largest contingent of the protectorate.

Serin gave them the explanation of their town, and explained the duties and roles of the protectorate, as well as the benefits. Serin also asked for the Gole to select 3 representatives for their people.

Shurik stood, as well as two others named Ahna and Sasha. Shurik looked at Serin. "As the first to age past twilight for our people, it is our duty to protect the younglings. The Gole will unanimously join the protectorate."

After the celebration, Serin went with Bilol down to the gates. Seamus was there as well as six humans he did not recognize. Serin saw a flash of darkness in their eyes and realized that these were the hunter seeker teams that would be establishing themselves in the nearest countries.

Each hunter seeker team was made up of two changelings. One was classed Spy, and the other was classed Assassin. Each an expert in stealth, subterfuge, and being able to blend in with their surroundings. Changelings had a racial power to be able to shift their form to that of any humanoid, and as an added benefit when their endurance hit 50 they could use this power indefinitely without expending stamina.

The first team was led by the Spy named Mora. The changeling appeared as a handsome man of striking features, most likely of noble heritage. Bilol explained that his cover story would be that of being the fourth child of a merchant family from the Northern Kingdoms. The front was a store that specialized in high end consumer goods, dyes, wool, honey, and the like. Their team would be sent to the Tsar, the Diplomatic hub that served as the de facto center of the Grand wood alliance.

The second team was led by Ale and sent to the Sarween Technocracy. Ale appeared as a beautiful woman with a kind smile. Her team would focus on selling books, both magical and non magical. Since the Sarween Technocracy favored technological advancement, the team would make sure not to spread knowledge of anything that would be considered a trade secret. The store would just focus on trying to sell common books for a lower cost.

The third team was led by Sculp and sent to the Northern Kingdoms. Serin knew they favored war above all, so this store would sell weapons. Serin had discussed it with the other leaders and they knew that the risk was worth the advantage. Serin had worked ith Ephraim to create a special bolter rifle. The firing pin however did not have a permanent spell, but instead was just a strong enchantment. This way the store would sell the firing pins. Additionally, the weapons were designed to shoot slower than the bolters made for Serin's people, and were single shot rifles. A few other additions were made that made Serin smirk. All of the additional enchantments were done so that if someone attempted to reverse engineer the tech, it would fail. This way, the infiltration of the Northern Kingdoms would begin in earnest.

Serin looked at the three teams. "I never thought we would be sending out our people into the wilds, At least not this early. But danger has come to our door. I do not know what will await you, but I have ensured you are as prepared as you can be to head outside our gates."

Serin then knew, "I truly wish you luck on your missions. Your people will bid for your safe return. I understand your assignments may be lonely ones, but rest assured that as our population grows your sacrifice will not be in vain. Also know that this is not a permanent assignment. Upon successful completion you will be put at the top of the list for regional governors when we expand past this valley. Whether that is in two or twenty years. However there is grave risk, and you know that you cannot be captured. Should capture be imminent, initiate the Last Transfer protocol and we will hope that the failsafe plan works."

With that, Serin bid the teams farewell, and per their agreement Seamus assigned them to the caravans to head to their new missions. Serin hoped for the best, but he prepared for the worst outcome.

***