When it was over, the bde considered burning the remaining souls it had to gain yet another level of Repair Soul, but it decided against it. Not only was it a poor use of resources given its uncertain situation, but it was also more than it could handle in this moment.

  As much as it wanted to know more, it could still feel how unstable it was in the aftermath of that st burst of magic. It had taken weeks to process its previous revetions, and it was sure that this time would be no different.

  I knew more than I did before, it told itself.

  For now that would have to suffice. Rather than spend anything, it simply looked at its current status, before heading back up the stairs to the upper temple.

  Aura of Hunger: Multiple enhancements avaibleIncrease Connection 4: 1250 Life ForceIncrease Reserves 8: 800 Life ForceRepair Soul 3: 2500 Life ForceIncrease Control 3: 1500 Life ForceEmpower Bde 2: 2000 Life Force - not currently accessibleImproved Siphon 7: 2000 Life Force

  Life Force: 1864/3000

  Its current wielder did nothing to stop this, though it did pause briefly on the way up the stairs to gnaw at one of its comrades who Kell had struck down almost two days before. The goblin didn’t care that the corpse was purifying under the twin forces of time and moisture. All it cared was that it was hungry, and Ebon Bde wasn’t about to make it starve.

  It wasn’t in a hurry. It still only had the vaguest idea of where it should go next.

  Should I seek out Severon, wherever that is, to try to find some clues about what befell my wielder or why I was imprisoned? It wondered. Surely, if it wanted vengeance, that would be the pce to start. Everyone I might take vengeance on has almost certainly already died of old age, but that doesn’t mean I can’t wreck havoc on their decendants.

  In the end, as it reached the top of the steps, it was forced to consider that simply rampaging throughout the area with the most powerful wielder it could locate might be the best move for the time being. Perhaps before I burn Kalraka to the ground, I can find out where Severon is, it considered.

  The goblin that wielded it balked at the idea that someone else might take its new weapon, but the bde ignored it. It was simply a body to swing it that cked a mind powerful enough to oppose it. It didn’t get a say, not when its protests amounted to little more than repeated outbursts of profanity in a tongue that barely qualified as nguage.

  At least, that was all they were until it tried to force the goblin to walk outside in daylight. Then, the thing almost had a stroke. Until now, the Ebon Bde had been able to make it do what it wanted. It wasn’t concerned that the lowly goblin couldn’t see during the daylight. It could still see fine, more or less.

  However, when it reached the threshold, it categorically refused to cross it. Instead, it threw itself to the ground and engaged in an enraged temper tantrum. Worse, simply trying to force it wasted Life Force, which was not something it expected. It burned almost two dozen points before it even realized it was happening.

  -1 Life Force-2 Life Force

  So I can push it to do anything it wants without difficulty, but something it has no interest in, well even that’s a bridge too far, it decided in annoyance as it eased up on the pressure and let its wielder retreat back into the shadows by the altar.

  The bde was in no hurry. As long as the creature never put down the weapon, it didn’t really care. Still, it wasn’t as if crossing the threshold into the light would kill it or anything. It might have expected such resistance if it had been trying to force a good man to kill an innocent or a bad one to kill themselves, but this was animalistic, instinctual behavior, and it was surprised by it.

  The Ebon bde wasted the day, but as soon as the sun set, they were on the move. They left the donkey behind because it wouldn’t let the goblin approach, even though the bde was fairly certain that having at least a little of that gold would come in handy.

  I’ll come back for it if I get a human body, it told itself, to the goblin’s annoyance.

  That was its pn, at least to start. Sprint across the foothills to the vilge of Olden-va, then find a new, better host and keep moving. That changed when it spotted fresh beastman tracks, though. The beastmen might have been brutes, but they were willing to travel by day, it decided, as it changed course to pursue the new objective.

  The goblin svishly obeyed it, but only because it expected more bloodshed. The bde certainly hoped that would be the case, but it was as likely that there would be more green blood that was shed than red, for the Ebon Bde was already chafing at the idea of being held by such a small, ridiculous creature.

  It took two more hours, but eventually, the goblin’s short legs caught up with the faster, four and five-foot-tall beast men. It screeched a cry of pure, bloodthirsty glee and ran toward them, holding the weapon over its head in both hands.

  As much as the bde wanted to throw the goblin’s life away then, it resisted the urge. No matter how pathetic its wielder was, it would be wrong to kill it. Such actions would constitute a betrayal.

  It did not, however, have to help it, and instead of joining this fight as a cruel puppet master to help it swing the awkwardly sized weapon in the most efficient arcs possible, it was content to spectate as its first overhand chop cleaved through the mangy beastman’s spear and deeply into its chest.

  +10 Life Force

  That single blow wasn’t deep enough to kill it, and it had to hack at the second thing to bring it down. That much was fine, but it gave the other members of the creature’s hunting pack time to join the fight, and in the time it took the goblin to raise the cursed bde and bring it down again, it had been shot with a stone-tipped arrow and stabbed twice.

  -4 Life Force-6 Life Force+18 Life Force-7 Life Force

  You have cimed a lesser monster soul.

  Still, the goblin was undeterred. It screamed and bled, but even as the bde’s energy flowed through it to heal the wounds left by weapons, as soon as they were removed, it was charging the next one and then the one after that. It was a furious little berserker that certainly didn’t want for ferocity. If it had been twice the size, it might have been unbeatable.

  Unfortunately, it was a small thing that was little more than a nuisance, and when it got one of its overhead chops stuck in the hip of the rgest goat man with twisted horns, the beast succeeded in kicking the goblin, sending it end over end where it y sprawling.

  That wasn’t quite enough to kill it, but without the bde's magic, it couldn’t rise in time to avoid being kicked to death by the other goaty warriors who quickly surrounded it.

  The Ebon Bde couldn’t have cared less at that point. Once its wielder lost the fight, the creature was nothing but dead weight. Instead, it sat there studying the flee-bitten goat man it was halfway to gutting. The monstrosity was bleeding out, but it might yet live. It had only to grasp the handle and pull the bde free.

  Moments ter, that’s exactly what it did, and when it did so, the Ebon Bde seized its soul almost as completely as it had taken control of the goblin’s. The thing’s spirit was stronger but better in every way. It was not the human vessel it might have preferred, but there was a physical strength that was hard to deny.

  The beast men’s communications were more complex, too. They weren’t just fuck, eat, kill. They were, “fuck that, roast it and eat it!” While not exactly scintilting conversation, it was certainly better than the bursts of goblin expletives, and on the whole, the bde took it as progress. Anything was better than Ren’s simpering about women had been, and it would take the bleating of goats, intelligent or otherwise, over such sentimentality any day.

  It stood, stretching the body of its new wielder before, the hideous goatman bellowed a sound of triumph as it cried out, “Mine!” and raised its bck bde skyward. It wasn’t quite as good as a human, but its new wielder was taller and stronger.

  It will do for now, the bde decided as it regarded the situation and looked around at the rest of the tribe, trying to decide whether it should sughter them or turn them into the horde it had been wanting for most of its short existence and unleash the havoc that haunted its dreams.

  Name:Gar-lok

  Race: Beastman (goat)

  Toughness: 3 +1

  Strength: 4 +3

  Agility: 4 +2

  Speed: 4 +1

  Intelligence: 1

  Willpower: 1 -1

  Morality: Greedy

  Bloodlust: Medium

  Status: Elderly

  Martial Skill: Low

  Armor Proficiency: None

  Dodging: Medium

  Athletics: Medium

  Goal: To fuck fertile does and devour his enemies.

  Author's Note:

  What's this? Another chapter?!

  While I am still pnning two bonus chapters this weekend, I thought that getting to #3 on rising stars over on RR justified another one. Best unch a story of mine has ever had, and it's only getting better!

  Thank you all for your support. Best unch ever, and I couldn't have done it without the support of my patrons, beta readers, writer friends, and most of all, you the readers. I love the energy of the comments in this story so far, and I'm having a bst.