Chapter 352 - Ninja Bear (Patreon)

Pudge crept closer to the ice palace, carefully placing one foot in front of the other as he traversed the frozen courtyard. Cloaked in [Concealed Steps] and within the embrace of his path of stealth, he was all but invisible. And it was a good thing, too, because the entire area was absolutely infested with little blue-skinned creatures that Pudge could only label as goblins.

Each one was only about four feet tall, thin, and roped with rangy muscle. Their general shape was a familiar one – two feet, two legs, a torso, and a head – but the proportions seemed just a little askew. Arms that were a bit too long. Legs that were too squat. Feet and hands that were far too large for their relatively small bodies. Put together, it gave them a hairless simian shape that just felt off-putting to Pudge.

And that was without even considering their faces. With their small, watery eyes that were encrusted in ice crystals, scraggly facial hair, ears that looked like they belonged on a bat, and huge, hooked noses, they all had truly disturbing visages that only accentuated the discomfort Pudge felt when he looked upon them.

Despite the frigid cold, most of the little goblins wore minimal clothing. Loin cloths were the norm, but a few wore headdresses and other jewelry made of jagged ice. The weapons they carried – and every single one of them was armed – were of similar construction, with crystalline blades that looked too delicate to be effective. Pudge suspected that would not be the case, though – especially since he saw a troop of the little monsters dragging a huge, hairy behemoth of a dead animal into a side entrance. It was clearly the result of a hunting expedition, and Pudge knew from recent experience that nothing in the tundra would go down easily. If these goblins could slay such a creature, then those weapons – and the goblins themselves – were far more potent than they appeared.

Thus, the stealth, though Pudge probably would have snuck in anyway. After all, he wasn’t there to start a fight. Instead, he was intended to gather information – a task with which he’d grown intimately familiar over the past few weeks. Trekking across the tundra was fraught with peril, so he and the kobold rangers had been tasked with scouting the route across the glacier-strewn landscape. In that time, he had seen quite a few wondrous things – largely because the kobolds, for all their apparent weaknesses were incredibly good at their jobs. Not only could they traverse almost any landscape unseen – they had a similar skill to [Concealed Steps], though it seemed far more advanced – but they rarely left anything unexplored.

His time with the kobold range had been a lesson in humility, making it clear just how far he needed to go if he was to maximize the potential of his path as well as his skills. However, it was also a learning experience. The kobolds seemed to hold Zeke in great regard that bordered on reverence, and as his soul bound companion, Pudge’s stature had immediately risen in their eyes. As such, they took great apparent pleasure in teaching him.

Or showing off, really. Each one of them seemed dedicated to proving their worth. To that end, they rarely let an opportunity to demonstrate their abilities pass them by. And after Pudge had shown an interest in their skills and abilities, they’d fallen all over themselves to both explain and reveal their methods.

So, Pudge had been on the receiving end of a crash course in scouting, stealth, observation, and survival skills. Some of it was pleasant and rewarding – being able to sneak around completely undetected was satisfying in a way Pudge couldn’t really explain – but just as much was difficult and demanding. The little kobold rangers had never been cruel; Pudge didn’t think they had that capacity. But nor were they ever forgiving. When he failed, they looked upon him with such disdain that he’d vowed never to do it again.

Of course, that promise never lasted. Nobody could improve without failure. But those skills that came so naturally to the kobolds was decidedly much more difficult for Pudge, and he struggled to meet their standards. Still, he’d persisted – and he intended to continue on his path of improvement, if for no other reason than because of how rewarding success could be.

Plus, he’d always wanted to be a ninja bear. Originally he’d gleaned the idea from Zeke’s thoughts; back then, they’d shared a much closer mental bond; since his ascension, that connection had faded considerably. They were still as close as brothers, but the idea of sharing his innermost thoughts with Zeke was distressing in a way Pudge couldn’t really articulate. He could only imagine that Zeke felt the same. In any case, the origin of his quest to become a ninja bear continued, and though he knew he had a long way to go, he was satisfied with his progress thus far.

Hopefully, that would continue to be the case.

Pudge knelt just on the outskirts of the courtyard so he could observe the castle grounds. The palace itself was, to put it mildly, incredibly striking. Pudge had never experienced much in the way of architecture. The city of Kabalith, back in the Pale Moon Territory, had been impressive in its own right, but less because of the construction of its buildings and more due to the nature of its people. The icy palace was the opposite, its goblinoid population seeming to be little more than primitive savages while the design of the various structures was absolutely sublime.

Not only was the castle beautiful, but it was also defensible as well, with formidable walls, towers studded with arrow slits, and a massive gate made of some sort of blue-tinged metal. Pudge was no great strategist, but even he could see that any assaulting army would be stymied by the castle’s stalwart defenses.

Fortunately, the goblins were lax with their discipline, and the gate was left entirely open. So, it had been incredibly easy for Pudge to sneak inside. However, now that he’d found himself in the courtyard – which was decorated with immaculately detailed ice sculptures – he was a little unsure of how to proceed. Surely, going into the main structure would eventually be necessary, but Pudge had no intention of rushing things.

According to the kobolds, that was a good way to get in over his head and end up in some powerful monster’s belly.

So, he watched, and he waited. Eventually, he snuck back out the way he’d come and returned to the forward camp – Zeke had kept the tower miles away so it wouldn’t be noticed by the denizens of the castle – and made a report, cautioning Zeke that it would take him a little while longer to completely scout the situation. Then, much to Sasha’s chagrin, Pudge returned to the castle.

The porcine sorceress confounded him something fierce, and if Pudge was honest, he had no idea w hat to make of the confusing knot of emotions he felt when he was in her presence. Or when he thought about her – which was more often than he wanted to admit. Or when he remembered the adventures they had experienced together. But more than anything, he remembered the little moments like when, after first arriving on the tundra, they’d been forced to huddle together for warmth.

Despite the freezing temperatures, that had been a pleasant night.

Pudge shook his head. He couldn’t let himself lose focus. That was just as good of a way to die as if he rushed ahead without thorough preparation. To distract himself from his errant thoughts, Pudge rededicated himself to the task at hand. It was a good thing, too, because his lapse of concentration had left him exposed.

Not completely, but enough that a stray goblin who’d been hauling a woven basket of ice on its shoulder, eyes flickered with recognition. Pudge didn’t let it get another step before he sprang from stealth and ended its life with a brutal swipe of his claws.

Or that was what he expected to happen., at least. The reality was something decidedly different. The moment his claw made contact with the little monster, Pudge felt a biting cold radiating up his arm, and in only an instant, it went numb. At the same time, the goblin encased itself in thick, icy armor covered in jagged, crystalline spikes. However, despite the numbness infecting his arm, Pudge’s blow snapped out with inevitable momentum. When it collided with the goblin’s armored form, an ear-shattering crack filled the air. More, the small creature went flying into a nearby wall, making further noise as its ice-encased form splintered into a thousand pieces.

Apparently, that ice hadn’t been armor. Instead, its entire body had transformed, much like how Zeke’s [Triune Colossus] skill turned him into a walking statue of earth and metal. But clearly, ice was not as durable as whatever comprised Zeke’s armored form.

In any case, Pudge didn’t have the time to investigate things further, because there was no way the goblins wouldn’t respond to so much noise. He’d been in an out-of-the-way corner, so none of the little monsters had actually seen what had happened, but he knew it wouldn’t be long before the descended upon the location in force. By that point, Pudge needed to be gone, preferably out of the castle and nestled in the obscurity afforded by the vast expanse that was the tundra.

To that end, Pudge embraced both his path and his skill, willing himself into invisibility as he padded away. The overwhelming urge of instinct was to take off at a dead sprint, but he’d long since learned that the path of stealth was a slow and steady one; anything else would get him noticed. And in this case, being seen meant he would soon be buried beneath a pile of goblins.

A shiver went up his spine as he remembered just such a scenario back in the Radiant Isles. His memory of the final fight against the army of undead was fuzzy, but he could recall enough of it to know that he never wanted to repeat the experience. Last time, he’d lost one of his horns. If such an event were to reoccur – albeit with goblins instead of zombies – Pudge knew he wouldn’t get off so light. Even if he managed to survive, he wouldn’t do so unscathed.

So, he forcefully slowed his breathing as well as his steps. Still, his heart thundered in his chest as he left the area behind. Only seconds after Pudge had shattered the little goblin, a veritable horde of the little creatures had descended upon the area. Most had embraced the skill that gave them that icy armor, and as a result, Pudge felt that same biting chill send the air temperature plummeting.

That was telling, considering that, by that point, he was almost forty feet away and getting further from the congregation of goblinoid monsters by the second.

Fortunately, the courtyard was large enough to get him to relative safety, but even in the minute or so he took to traverse the grounds, he felt the onset of frostbite in his extremities – and that was not even considering the pervasive numbness in his right arm. And it was slowly spreading, even after he’d escaped the icy aura wafting off the crowd of goblins.

Desperately, Pudge searched for cover. If he used the borrowed version of [Cambion’s Awakening] out in the open, it would bring attention. And considering that [Concealed Steps], combined with his path, were the only things standing between him and death by goblin horde, he knew just how much of a mistake garnering any degree of notice would be.

Finally, after spending a desperate couple of minutes in a fruitless search for cover, his eyes alighted on the castle itself. If his understanding of such structures was accurate – no guarantees there, but he felt he could rely on the information he’d gotten from Zeke – it would be chock full of various cubby holes, closets, and empty rooms. As such, he felt confident that he could find somewhere to hide within its confines.

Besides – it was his only real choice.

Retreat might have been an option if he’d set out the moment he’d killed the goblin who’d noticed him, but by now, the gates had been slammed shut. And without the use of one of his arms – it was growing number by the second – he couldn’t even climb out. Not that he’d have chanced that. Not in broad daylight, at least.

So, that left him with one real option.

He just didn’t like it. The interior of the castle was an unknown, and he wasn’t even close to ready to plumb its depths. However, without the benefit of choice, he surrendered to the situation and adjusted his mindset accordingly. Going inside wasn’t the best idea in the world, but if he had to do it, he would do so as carefully as he could.

After all, the kobolds had stressed the importance of adjustment to him. The eldest ranger had told him that things would inevitably go wrong, that he would eventually find himself in a suboptimal situation. How he adapted to that would determine whether or not he remained among the living.

Of course, he hadn’t said it in those words. In fact, sometimes Pudge found their attempts at communication completely obscured by their tendency to slip into a language he didn’t understand. But the kobold had gotten the point across nonetheless, and Pudge had taken the lesson to heart.

Once the decision to enter the castle had been made, Pudge put any dithering behind him and began to focus on how to survive it. To that end, he crept around the edge of the castle and followed the path the hunters had taken. The smell of blood hung heavy in the air, giving Pudge hope that it would mask his scent. He had no idea how sharp a goblin’s olfactory senses were, but he decided to err on the side of caution and assume that it was just as sensitive as his own nose.

The blood would help with that sense, but the others – sight and sound, primarily – would have to be obscured by his skill, path, and the techniques he’d learned from the kobold rangers. The corridor Pudge soon found himself within was composed of the same, now-familiar ice, but the walls were lined with tapestries bearing fancifully geometric designs that reminded Pudge of delicate snowflakes.

That, more than anything else, told him that the goblins were not the ones in charge. Perhaps they might’ve stumbled upon the castle and chosen to homestead within – that was possible, if not likely – but there was no way the little creatures had woven those tapestries. No – art was beyond the little monsters’ capabilities.

Pudge pushed forward, thankfully avoiding any notice as he searched for a place to rest and recover. Increasingly, the situation grew ever more dire as the numbness continued to spread, eventually reaching his shoulder and finding its way to his chest. If it reached his heart, he would have real problems.

Thankfully, after descending a couple of flights of narrow stairs, he reached what he expected was a cellar. Casks and crates lined the walls, but more importantly, there were a few out-of-the-way corners where, even if the goblins paid the cellar a visit, would remain in shadow. Once Pudge ensconced himself in one of those corners, pulling a couple of crates into a position where they might obscure him from sight, he finally embraced the borrowed version of [Cambion’s Awakening]. Thick bands of earthen energy snaked up from the ground, enveloping his limbs and soothing the spreading numbness. At first, the skill only stopped the spread, but after a few minutes, the cold began to retreat. Gradually, Pudge began to recover until, hours later, he felt himself return to normal.

His brief bout of convalescence did not go to waste, either. In that time, he started planning for the completion of his mission. Now that he was inside the castle, he wasn’t going to leave until he found its secrets.