In Warhammer Fantasy as my ERP Character

97

I took a deep breath. Immediately freshen up by the pleasant smell of Drakwald. A soft breeze caresses my skin as if welcoming me back. It's good to be home. The negotiation with Zhao Ming finished somewhere late afternoon but here it is still early afternoon. The encampment around the Herdstone has turned into a huge camp. The only thing making it not a big town is that there’s no permanent structure as all are just tents. The forest has also turned into gold, as is the land. A few fruit bearing trees continue to bear fruit, vegetables and other plants that grow quickly visible to the naked eye in abundance that doesn’t necessitate raiding anymore. Their growth hugely accelerated from my domain and all the magic poured from my Herdstone. While meat is mostly from the tuskgors, the huge boars beastmen usually use as mounts, which now have stable growth due to the overabundance of plants.

To be honest it is quite stale seeing everything in gold. But it seems like I have to get used to it unlike a certain Emperor that has everything in gold. I have sent Kal and Lak to Marissith to learn about money and how to use it so that both can then teach to the other beastmen. She also wants me to attend just to be sure I also properly understand it. But I manage to convince her that I don’t need it. The currency in the Empire is that they use three types of coins. Brass pennies, silver shillings, and gold crowns. Each Electoral Province mint their own coins with their own unique crests and all must have the exact same weight to make sure each coin has the exact same value. Then due to trade, Bretonnia and Ulthuan have almost the exact type of currency with some local variation. Grand Cathay meanwhile have fully converted to paper based money. I just learned this yesterday when discussing currency exchange with Zhao Ming. Cathay did have their own precious metal reserve. Gold is exclusively for reserve which is only allowed to be used by the Cathayan Royal Dragon Family with the exception of Zhao Ming’s trade with Greasus which almost exclusively uses gold. Silver is for domestic reserve, Cathayan paper money fully refers to the value of silver in weight. I didn’t manage to get my hands on those paper money so I don’t know how their denomination is compared to the silver value. But at least the trade agreements between my herd and Cathay are conducted in gold. Apparently he has exclusive permission from his parents to use gold in trade because he usually conducts trade with other races. He did try to push paper money but I refused. Paper money only has value if the government accepts it and in the Empire's economy, no merchant will want to exchange real gold to a piece stamped paper from another country.

But now, I have more important matters to attend to. In my hand are two books on how to make guns and gunpowder. Directly from Cathay. With this in hand, I gathered the beastmen smiths. Those that do not have affinity with magic and not being taught cold forging. I took another breath and I peek inside my Sanctuary. It’s been a long time since I used this space. Fortunately, like when I tamed the Tzeentch Screamers, it seems like the Sanctuary is partitioned. The place where the Valariel elven soul is safe and each of the two Greater Daemons I have managed to convert to my side are in their own partitioned space. With that, I summoned Stru’Kas, the Eater of Knowledge. In a burst of blue and pink flame it appears. Immediately the activity within the camp stopped as it stood upright. It looked around my domain before cringing in disgust. Though his eyes lit up seeing my Herdstone. I wave my hand to my beastmen, telling them to continue what they are doing.

“Finally out of that weird void space. Tis the gate?” it said as it walked closer to my Herdstone with hunger in its eyes. His beak and the grotesque mouth on its right hand salivating. Its tongue lapping on his beak.

“Don’t do that.” I said as I guessed what it wanted to do.

“Lel-ak-ge-oh” The sound the Greater Daemon makes when it tries to lick the Herdstone and get electrocuted by the tongue by the Herdstone’s magic. Then a notification appears.

I leaned forward reading that. Checking anything that changed on the Lord of Change. No visible change. Yet.

“Do that again.” I said. Now genuinely curious if I really can corrupt a Greater Daemon with the Herdstone.

“No.” It refused

“Why?” I asked as Stru’Kas initial enthusiasm is curbed

“It felt weird.”

“Does it feel weird or taste weird?” He looked back at me. Squinting at my question as it began to think. Then curiosity won and it tried to lick it and got electrocuted again. Another notification appeared and the point on my corruption rose from 4% to 6%.

“Both.” It answers my earlier question.

“Interesting.” I nod, seeing something more interesting than ever.

“Why do you want to lick it in the first place? You do that with every magical artifact you see?”

“Yes.” it answered as matter of factly. “Magic on Herdstone, sloppy. Seen mortal with better work. But the magic, self-stitching, self-reinforcing. Shouldn’t be standing. The knowledge. I want it.” It said while barely holding back trying to lick and even bite the Herdstone.

“I see. But leave it at that. I have something for you to do.” I said to refocus on the task at hand.

“What is it?” 

“You said you can bestow knowledge after eating it, yes? That’s what I want you to do.” I said as I showed him the two books.

“Mundane Knowledge.” It spit with disdain. “Yuck.”

“We have a deal.”

“I see no offering of spell books or a wizard’s head.”

“Soon. There will be plenty of them. But now I don’t have time to slowly teach my beastmen the mundane way.” 

“You speak as if you know the future like Kairos.” Stru’Kas growled at my words. Clearly a sore point. It shuffled its wings around as it began thinking again.

“I am free to inspect the gate. That will suffice for now.” it decided on a compromise.

“You have three days. Then you must return to Sanctuary for one day before you can inspect it again for three days and repeat.” Again he squints at my very specific rule. It’s just that the earliest merchant from Cathay along with the messenger to their ambassador in Altdorf should be arriving then. Seeing a Lord of Change might not elicit a positive response.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

“Fine.” It opens its right hand mouth and I throw the two books inside as it swallows.

After swallowing, Stru’Kas moved towards the awaiting smiths. Towering over them as it gurgled. 

“UWEEEEGH!” Then the Lord of Change puked a literally rainbow colored stuff from its beak on my beastmen smiths. I took a step back. Then it puked again on them. Fuck, guess this is how it will bestow knowledge.

“Done.”

“Alright.” The rainbow colored stuff dissipates as if it is never there. “You can do your thing.” I said but Stru’kas already has its eyes on the Herdstone.

“Now then,” I look back to the smiths. “Divide work between all the smiths that are not cold forging. I want at least a quarter of the beastmen to have guns and enough gunpowder for twice as much. Expand the workshop and teach more smiths if necessary.” I command and they leave to do their work. I look back on the Lord of Change inspecting my Herdstone. There’s a certain degree of risk letting it loose. While it has clearly fallen out of favor from Tzeentch, there is still a possibility of it trying to win back the favor of its Chaos God. For now, its attention seems to be focused on my Herdstone and nothing else.

“Wolfe.” I called and Wolfe appeared beside me with a flash. “Keep an eye on him for me. It tries to do something weird, notify me and stop it.” Preferably it is Lak that keeps an eye on it as she is the only one of my children that is mostly gifted in magic. But she is busy at the moment.

“Woof.” He barked and move to the other side of the gate where Stru’Kas inspect the Herdstone. Sitting and staring at the Lord of Change unmoving.

With nothing left to do, I am now surprisingly idle. I have done everything on my end to prepare and there’s nothing left to do. Come to think of it, I have yet to hear from Valeria. So it seems it will take longer pregnancy time to carry a dragon. With that in mind, I remember that I have my own dragon to seduce. That is until something landed on my horns. An albatross, then it said in an annoyed tone. “Forgetting something?”

—

late afternoon, off the northern coast of Laurelorn. The clear sky was suddenly replaced by a vortex of storm. The dark elven corsairs on the black ark scramble to defensive positions. The first lightning strikes the deck and in its place is Druig. Golden flames wreaths his battleaxe as he charges towards the door to the ship’s structure. Cleaving through the corsairs still streaming from inside the ship to the deck. Stopping reinforcement from inside the black ark and slaughtering anyone dare to move. More and more lightning strikes, beastmen and minotaurs appearing in its wake. Leaving the corsairs with no time to organize. Reaper bolt throwers from the towers firing down on the deck with multi shots. Uncaring if they hit their own. Two dark elven sorceresses from atop other towers channeled their dark magic forming an orb of black fire and cast their doombolt spell to the beastmen on the deck.

Another lightning strikes and the cygor clad in gleaming silver armor with a massive stone hammer appears. As Dorn is not here, the only thing he sees is the sorceresses atop the tower. He throws the hammer to one of the towers. Destroying the tower and pulverizing everyone with the hammer. The reaper bolt throwers and the last sorceress now have a priority target as they fire single larger projectiles. Two bolt thrower towers destroyed by lightning before they can fire. But still two large bolts and a doombolt fired. One bolt bounced, unable to pierce the thick gorget part that protects the cygor’s neck, the other bolt pierced the cygor’s leg, while the doombolt exploded on impact though the majority of its power is absorbed with its armor. The hammer returns to the cygor’s hand and he throws it towards the last sorceress’ tower. Destroying it though a streak of darkness moved from the tower down to the sea.

Two more lightning strikes. This time, Solas and his sister Sharravi appear. In their hands are the newly finished guns. They knelt and aimed their sight on the bolt throwers crew and fired. Killing two of the crews with a headshot. They load the next bullet with the bolt handle and continue firing. With the last gunshot, the battle ends. The beastmen waited for more dark elves to fight but found none.

I landed on the deck. That’s it? There’s less than a thousand dark elves that fight us. Not to mention that there are other towers on this black ark with reaper bolt throwers that are unmanned. There’s no sign of damage on the black ark so it must be a long while before this ark is attacked. A black ark can carry an entire army. Where’s everybody? Not to mention the sloppy leadership. I did try to recreate my spell to teleport my beastmen with lightning like back in Cathay but I did not expect to catch the dark elves this off guard. As for the sorceress that escaped, I have sent the shadow divers to capture her.

“Druig, secure the deck and those towers first. I don’t want us walking into any traps.” He nods and commands the beastmen.

“How’s the gun?” I turn to Solas

“The sight is off center.” He said and gave it back to me. After being reminded by the albatross, I drop my initial plan with the dragon and focus on helping make the guns. Cathay already has rifling, the spiral grooves within the barrel which expedites the process, so I only need to make the bullet cartridges and add the bolt handle. But still it takes hours even with the help of cold forging magic. The only thing left is the making of the scope as we have no glassworking knowledge.

The beastmen drags one unarmed dark elven corsair and I return the rifle to Solas. As my beastmen threw the corsair at my feet, another albatross landed on my horns.

“Your gift is below deck.” The albatross said to me and stared at the corsair who immediately shuddered in fear. What can make the dark elves this afraid?

“I-I… I will lead you to your gift.” The female corsair stuttered. 

I guess I will find out.