“Let me guess,” Kyle said, putting the pieces together. “These relics allowed the goblin Beast Masters to control the shrikes. And now, they help you do the same.”

  “Close,” Serenel replied. “Though control is too strong of a word, at least at our level of power. Have you heard of the shrikes’ hunting instinct?”

  Kyle nodded. “I’m familiar. How does that play into this?”

  “The shrikes submit to an alpha, and the alphas in turn submit to a central ancestor, a C Grade. Our notes refer to them as shrike warlords, though the exact terminology isn’t important.” Serenel cleared her throat before continuing, a stressed expression clear on her face. “The C Grades that were bound to the other 2 relics have long since passed away. The relic you see here is different. The warlord that was bound to it still living.”

  [ARE WE TO ASSUME THAT THE WARLORD IS INSTRUCTING THE SHRIKES TO PROTECT YOUR VILLAGE? THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE, GIVEN THEIR ODD BEHAVIOR.]

  Serenel frowned. “I’m not sure what behavior you’re referring to, but they do help keep the abominations and other monsters away from our borders.”

  [ALLOW ME TO PHRASE DIFFERENTLY; CAN YOU, OR OTHERS IN THE VILLAGE, GIVE DIRECTIONS TO THE SHRIKES THROUGH THE RELIC?]

  The drone’s questions were in the same vein as Kyle’s thoughts. If the villagers could influence the shrikes through the relic, Rai’Lenelat may have chosen to spread the plague in this area in an attempt to create leverage. With 2 of the relics being stolen, it was only natural that they would also want to track down the third, after all.

  “Unfortunately, giving orders is beyond our ability. The relics were designed to be used by high-level C Grades, not people like us. All that it does is connect to the Warlord, and fuel the wards. Anything more would require somebody with much better understandings.”

  “Wait,” Kyle said. “You said that this is fueling the wards?”

  “Oh, yes,” Serenel replied. “The pipes are what keeps them running after so many years.”

  It was never about the village in the first place, Kyle realized. He activated Identify, and focused on the relic. It seemed to breathe with energy as mana was drawn in, then pushed out. Much of it diffused through the chamber, but as he watched he could faintly make out 2 distinct streams of power, each with different intent.

  The first rose and split, likely moving to reinforce the wards as Serenel said. The other flowed in a singular direction, followed shortly by a faint energy flowing back into the pipes. As he watched, that mana entered the relic before dispersing into the room, as more power condensed and the cycle repeated.

  “Serenel, if an army tried to attack your village, do you think the shrikes would defend it?”

  The troll woman thought for a moment, pondering the question. “I’m not sure,” she finally said. “I don’t see why they would, but they are somewhat protective of the place. It’s certainly possible that they would.”

  “I see,” Kyle said. “Thank you for showing this to us.”

  “Was this really helpful?” Serenel asked.

  “It answered some questions,” Kyle said honestly. “I’m not sure that it will help us solve the root problem, but it gets us closer.”

  “Just remember your promise,” the troll woman said. “Please, keep treating the sick.”

  “I will,” Kyle said, turning to leave the chamber. There was a lot of work yet to do.

  A few days later, Kyle stood over one of the goblin awakened who had been most severely impacted by the plague. His mana network was mostly recovered, and it was time for him and C.H.A.D.D. to test their theory to remove the plague entirely.

  “This is going to be uncomfortable, but I’m going to need you to trust me. Your instinct might be to fight back. Don’t, that will only make things worse.”

  The goblin nodded, casting a look to the village Healer who was standing nearby, prepared to activate a timely Heal should the situation call for it. Kyle took a stabilizing breath, then activated Parasitic Resonance. While his fine control wasn’t back to 100%, Kyle felt confident. C.H.A.D.D. guided him through a handful of practice exercises, and he consistently performed within parameters. Coupled with light training from Jarberry’s tomes, Kyle was in a good position.

  Tendrils of mana effortlessly connected to the goblin, and with a minor effort, Kyle pushed his own energy through the link. The energy from the plague that hadn’t condensed was shepherded toward the blockage, in this case near the wrist, and was tightly wrapped inside Kyle’s skill. More and more accumulated, until both Identify and C.H.A.D.D. confirmed that there was no longer any remnant energy inside the goblin’s body.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Then, with a focused push, Kyle clamped down around the condensed node of mana, opening up Parasitic Resonance to draw the mana in. He felt a stirring in the Core of the Parasitic Devourer, as if a long-dormant hunger was beginning to awaken. Kyle shut down the feeling immediately, giving it no quarter. This was his skill, and he would control it.

  The goblin let out a gasp of pain as a bruise began to form on his hand, the mana blockage eradicated in a moment. The Healer immediately treated the small injury before stepping back, allowing Kyle and C.H.A.D.D. to do a complete examination.

  “Did it work?” the goblin asked, a small quaver in his voice.

  Reviewing C.H.A.D.D.’s scans one more time, Kyle smiled. “From what I can tell, yes. Now, go get some rest.”

  The goblin nodded his thanks before walking away, and the Healer, a goblin named Croxeer, walked up to him. “Please tell me I saw this wrong. Did you drain the plague out of him?”

  Kyle met Croxeer’s eyes. The goblin was clearly worried, and Kyle wanted to put those fears to rest. “I did. Fortunately for me, the plague isn’t designed to work on my species. From what we could tell, it’s targeted specifically at goblinoids and a couple of other creatures. It’s not designed to work on everything.”

  Croxeer’s face took on an thoughtful expression. “So it’s true then, you’re really not from here?”

  Kyle nodded. “That’s right.”

  [I AM ALSO NOT FROM HERE; IN CASE YOU WERE SO INCLINED TO ASK.] C.H.A.D.D. interjected.

  “Wow,” Croxeer said. “When you leave, any chance you’re taking people with you?”

  “Not right now,” Kyle said. “Hopefully things will settle down in the near future, and you’ll be able to travel and see more of what the universe has to offer. For now though, I think I’ve got capacity to treat a few more people. Are you ready?”

  “Yes!” the goblin exclaimed.

  All told, Kyle was able to treat 4 more patients through the course of the day, 6 total the following, and soon the only people left were the unawakened. Unfortunately, that’s where Kyle met his match. The very first patient, the one with the most severe symptoms, took major damage from the simple infusion of Kyle’s energy. With 2 Healers present, they were stabilized quickly. However, it confirmed Kyle’s greatest fear. The unawakened weren’t going to be able to survive the method he devised, no matter how good his control was.

  Croxeer could do his best to treat the symptoms as they arose, but that was about all that could be done. If Kyle had more resources, more time, he might have been able to find another solution. Unfortunately, he had neither. And if his suspicions were correct, he didn’t have much time before the village started getting new infections.

  “Are you sure you need to leave now?” Serenel asked. “You’ve been working almost nonstop. Surely you could take some more time to rest before you go.”

  Kyle nodded. “I’ll be back when I can, but I have quite a bit to get taken care of. The plague should take years to reaccumulate in the people I’ve treated, and I hope to take care of the source. In the meantime, Croxeer will need to do his best to keep everybody healthy.”

  “Then I bid you good fortune,” Serenel said. “Know that you are welcome back here any time.”

  Kyle finished saying his goodbyes to the goblins, then left the village. It was remarkable how well the wards disguised the energy signature from him when he passed through the cavern entrance and into the canyonlands beyond.

  [THEY WILL HAVE TO LEAVE, DR. MAYHEW.] C.H.A.D.D. said.

  “Most likely, C.H.A.D.D.” Kyle replied. “I don’t have any confidence in breaking a C Grade relic, at least.”

  While it was still conjecture, Kyle and C.H.A.D.D. were both confident that they’d cracked the “why” behind the plague. It needed to be dispersed into simple atmospheric mana to be absorbed into the pipes, which sent the pathogen to the shrike warlord. The village was the delivery mechanism to weaken the shrikes under the warlord’s control, and the lives lost were little more than collateral damage.

  Kyle expected that the plague was too weak to cause meaningful damage to a C Grade, but the connection to the pipes would turn the warlord into a beacon, spreading the plague to any shrikes nearby. Depending on how the hunting instinct worked, potentially even to any of the shrikes connected.

  It was something Kyle wanted to explore, but with only 4-6 weeks remaining, he had other items on his list to get taken care of. Foremost among them, to finish the last 2 abominations. Vel’Norn had been gracious enough to provide intel on their locations, and Kyle intended to take them out, today if possible.

  The next one would likely top off the Core of the Parasitic Devourer, and he was equal parts excited and worried about how it would react. He’d been careful to absorb as little energy as possible since Zierlan’s attack. With the stirring he felt while treating the plague, he was confident that something about the skill had changed. Just how much, he’d need to figure out.

  The first abomination was relatively easy to find, barely an hour’s journey with Ignition active at full force. Kyle’s mana pathways recovered well enough to use his skills again, and he relished the feeling of power from being able to bring them to bear. The creature spotted him almost immediately, as Kyle made no effort to hide. Instead, he closed in, Parasitic Resonance already infiltrating the monster’s body.

  A boulder-sized fist swung at Kyle’s head, and he sidestepped with ease. Before it could turn to make its next attack, he pushed his energy in through Parasitic Resonance. The hunger in his stomach stirred to life, and this time Kyle didn’t suppress it. Power lashed out from him, utterly suppressing the abomination’s mana as he pressed in around the artificial core.

  The amalgam roared as it moved to attack, when Kyle felt a surge of hunger, followed by an impulse to bite. Parasitic Resonance responded in kind, points of focus forming and driving into the artificial core like the jaws of an ant. There was a moment of resistance as power poured from Kyle into the creature, and then the core shattered. A wave of energy flooded back into him, the Core of the Parasitic Devourer greedily draining the essence from the abomination while some of Kyle’s expended mana returned to his body.

  Taking quick stock of his mana reserves as a tingling sensation began to creep over his body, his eyes opened wide in shock. Nearly half the mana came back, he realized. Whatever instinct took over, it was much more efficient than his early attempts.

  Is that what happened with the other one? Kyle thought, vaguely remembering the abomination he killed right after the Administrator left. He wasn’t entirely sure what he’d done back then, though this was a good hint.

  That was all the space he had to think before the tingling intensified to pain, and he entered meditation to look at his latest Adaptive Anatomy upgrade.