Lord: Starting from a Goblin Nest

Even as he spoke, Ming Datiss dashed off to the side. He seemed incredibly familiar with this tomb. He must have triggered some mechanism, because a heavy stone wall crashed down, completely cutting him off from Ron’s group.

Quest’s reaction was just as swift. With a quick glance at Ron, he lunged toward Ming Datiss, disappearing behind the stone wall with the Elf.

The Dwarf Caster also sensed that something was amiss, but with his naturally short legs, he ultimately couldn’t retreat in time. He was trapped inside with a group of Lizardmen.

”What do you say?” Ron said, looking at him. ”We’re very shorthanded, so you’re welcome to switch allegiances.”

”Don’t even think about it!” the Dwarf snarled, glaring at Ron. ”I would never become a traitor! Die!”

”Giant Transformation Magic!”

As the Dwarf began Casting with incantations, gestures, and a pinch of iron powder, a particularly robust Lizardman immediately began to expand. In just a few short seconds, its body had swelled to a full two times its size. It let out a roar at Sera and charged on all fours.

Meanwhile, the other Lizardmen and the Goblin Hunters outside reacted swiftly. Lizardman after Lizardman crashed against Aive and Victoria’s Shield Array, while a volley of arrows flew in from the doorway, striking the Lizardmen’s Scale Armor with showers of sparks and blood.

”Scorching Bea—”

Hiding in a corner behind the giant Lizardman, the Dwarf prepared to cast again. This was his usual tactic: enhance a melee-proficient ally while he hid and launched sneak attacks.

Unfortunately for him, he had chosen the wrong target this time.

THWACK!

Just as the Dwarf was forming the gestures for his spell, a feathered arrow shot through the air and pierced one of his palms. Not only did his Scorching Beam fail to manifest, but the Giant Transformation Magic on the Lizardman, which required his concentration to maintain, was also dispelled.

The poor Lizardman had no time to adjust to the sudden change before Sera brought his great-axe down, cleaving off half its head.

”Ha! How’d you like that? I call it the ’Local Shrinking Skill’!” Sera spat on the Lizardman’s corpse and burst into laughter.

These Lizardmen were a cut above their kin outside, but there were far fewer of them. In contrast, Ron’s side had gained a barbarian. As soon as Delaford’s well-aimed arrow pierced the Dwarf’s palm, the battle turned into a rout. The stench of Lizardman blood filled the tomb.

As for the Dwarf, Ron had intended to keep him alive. Whether by appealing to reason and emotion or by using the Great Memory Recovery Technique, he had hoped to pry some information from him—any little bit would do.

But alas, not even Klade could micromanage the goblins. Before Ron could stop them, they swarmed the Dwarf and stabbed him until he was full of holes.

”I was trying to keep him alive,” Delaford said, shaking his head regretfully. ”I figured you had a use for him.”

”Forget it,” Ron said with a wave of his hand. ”He’s dead, and that’s that. We should still have someone here who knows what Ming Datiss is after, right?”

”Don’t look at me,” said Sera, who a moment ago had been so ferocious, now looking a bit guilty. ”I don’t get along with that Elf, as you all saw.”

”He never tells me anything. All I know is that we came here to find a slab carved from a purple Gemstone.”

”Did you find it?” Aive asked.

”No,” Sera said, shaking his head. ”We came from the other side of that stone wall. This is the last chamber in the tomb, but we still came up empty-handed.”

”But Ming Datiss swore to us that he couldn’t have picked the wrong location. He was certain the slab was here.”

”Is this it?”

Klade walked over. The previous fight had been a foregone conclusion, so he hadn’t joined in, merely watching from the sidelines.

The earth goblin was holding a stone slab, roughly half a meter long and half a meter wide.

The slab was carved from a single piece of purple Gemstone, and it reflected a brilliant, dazzling light under the illumination of Ron’s Dancing Light Magic.

”I don’t know,” Sera shrugged. ”But that looks like it’s probably it. Where’d you find it, big guy?”

”Right in a crevice behind the stone door.” Klade led the group over and pointed to where he had found the slab. It was just a nondescript pile of rubble.

”There was a secret compartment here,” Aive, ever sharp-eyed, said as she walked over and traced an inconspicuous groove above the spot. ”The mechanism must have broken down over time, causing the slab stuck inside to fall out. The stones above it then crumbled and concealed it, which is why it wasn’t found before.”

”I can’t believe you managed to find it today.”

”My spear caught the edge of it and pried it out of the rubble,” Klade said. ”But never mind that for now. Why was that Elf so obsessed with finding this? What does he plan to do with it?”

”I told you, don’t ask me! Ugh!” Sera was exasperated. ”I really have no idea what he wants with this thing!”

”Look, there are several grooves on it. Do you think you have to place something in them to use it?” Ron asked, taking the slab from Klade and examining it from all angles.

”Four on the smooth face, and three on the rough one?” Victoria mused, studying the slab. ”If I were the one who made this, I would have put all the item slots on the same side.”

”Stand it on its edge?” The moment the words left Delaford’s mouth, he regretted them. Everyone else was giving him a look of utter disdain.

The slab was half a meter long and wide, but only as thick as Ron’s palm. Trying to stand it on its edge after embedding items asymmetrically on both faces would be nearly impossible.

”Unless... it floats on its own after being activated,” Victoria said, casting a Detection Magic on the slab. ”It does have a strong Spiritual Light. This is definitely a remarkable Magic Item, but the problem is we don’t know how to use it.”

”Then we’ll just have to carry it with us. Ming Datiss won’t give up so easily. Maybe we can get some answers out of him the next time we catch him.” Ron stored the slab away, and no one questioned his decision.

He was the only Mage in the party—even if he was still just a novice.

”Let’s search the area one more time. It’d be a shame to come all this way and leave empty-handed. Aive? What are you doing over there by that coffin?”

After seeing the secret compartment where the slab had been stored, Aive had started wandering around. Now she had stopped in front of a stone sarcophagus, apparently having discovered something.

”Ron, come here,” Aive called to him without turning around. ”Remember that empire I mentioned before, the one I used to bluff my way out of trouble?”

”The Hailan Empire?” Ron froze, then hurried over. On the inside of the sarcophagus, following Aive’s finger, Ron saw a familiar crest.

The Double Lion Crown.