The Demon's Dominion

Harvest

Doing well by doing good - a young man gets rich!

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   Gloomy Vale had become boring. The people here were ok, good company, but they were too laid back. Lorm wanted more excitement than there was to be had here. He'd heard all his life that the Town of The Boar and Skewer had great food, great entertainment, and that the loose women there were supposed to be the prettiest anywhere, though they were also said to be the greediest.
   It seemed like it might be fun, to find out if the reputation had any truth to it. All he had to do was get through a gauntlet of fairly dangerous Chaos beasts, and a high likelihood of Chaos slaves. He was a good runner, when he needed to be, so Lorm decided to visit Boar.
   Combat Master Lorm wound his way through the Fountain Square crowds toward the Gate, feeling happy anticipation about visiting the World's party Town. If he got there alive, he would have some fun!
   The Gatewatch asked the usual question. "Hunting or traveling?"
   "Traveling to Boar. How is it, over that way?"
   "Harvest Season is almost here. It'll get very active, west and southwest of here, soon. You might plan on delays."
   "Ok. I'll watch for anyone needing help." Lorm thanked the Gatewatch and went Outside.
   After getting through the Gate, Lorm went southwest a little way, then stopped, thinking. He hadn't visited a Shrine in quite a while, so he moved south, a detour, to visit the nearest abode of the Elders. He was as grateful as anyone else for the Elders' Geas that made Towns safe, and it was long past time he acknowledged it in person.
   The people around Gloomy Vale's vicinity thinned a lot as he walked. Some were traveling in the same direction he was, possibly for the same reason, but most were going west, to the grassy area where much of the food Humans needed grew wild. A very large grassland provided nearly half of the entire food supply for Humans everywhere. Humans needed bread, to go with the meat everyone Hunted. The World had plenty of the varieties of the vegetables and grains Humans ate, but, as with everything else, it was necessary to fight for them.
   When the grains had matured, the weather would usually be drier, speeding the process. The fields could burn. Chaos slaves knew this. As Harvest Season approached, Liches would begin arriving in the area in great numbers, hopeful of burning a major portion of the Human food supply, accompanied by Undeads intending to kill the Hunters who intensified their defensive patrols of the area at that time.
   As Lorm walked, he could see a number of smoke plumes rising above the western horizon. The Liches were already trying to burn the food. That meant a lot of Combat would be in progress across a wide reach of the grasslands, as the Hunters defended Humanity's bread. Lorm realized he might not get to Boar anytime soon. It was every nearby Hunter's duty to join in the defense. Everyone likes to eat, and Lorm enjoyed it as much as anyone, so the prospect of delay in his arrival at Boar was only a minor annoyance.
      ######
   As Lorm moved south toward the Shrine, a Skeleton Warrior attacked him, but he easily put the long-dead revenant from the Crypt out of its Demon-imposed misery. There was no further incident on the walk, probably because of the large numbers of Hunters in the area suppressing the local wildlife and Chaos creatures.
   The Shrine was a small stone structure without any pretense of grandeur. A very basic circular wall, enclosing an empty room. One would enter, then stand in Mana Meditation, waiting. The Elders would acknowledge the presence of the visitor, the visitor would then send whatever it was he had in mind to say, much as in ping. Then the Elders would again acknowledge the visitor. Very simple. No elaborately humiliating ceremony of self-abasement. Just a simple exchange that recognized the relationship between Humans and Elders.
   Humanity had finally learned, after more than a hundred generations of continuous war against the Demon, that there was nothing to gain from begging or demanding favors from any sort of spirits. Whatever spiritual Powers actually existed had never offered any real response to prayers or sacrifices of any kind. Humans had to deal with their troubles without the helpful intervention of possibly non-existent Powers. The Elders and the Chaos Demon were the only evidence of any sort of non-material life, and they never altered their relationships with Humanity in any way.
   Lorm found several Hunters waiting their turn at the Shrine. Nobody needed more than a minute to make their presence known and acknowledged, so it wasn't a long wait. Meantime, people chatted, exchanging news and gossip.
   "It looks like it's beginning to get busy in the grainfields," Lorm remarked to the Hunter ahead of him in the line. "Is there enough of us out there to handle it?"
   "We can always use more Freeze Squads." The middle-aged, graying woman extended a hand. "I'm Tredig. Pleased to meet you. My squad is short a Hunter. Are you available?"
   As Humanity had learned more of how to survive the Chaos Demon's effort to exterminate the race, it had become obvious that food sources must be defended. Harvest Seasons occurred at different times of year, around the World, depending on what was Harvest-ready, and a variety of ways to defend each had been devised by hungry Humans.
   Freeze Squads had become the main method for defending the grain, centuries before. A Mage Spell, Freeze, seemed to solidify a volume of air for about twenty heartbeats, stopping all movement. Properly done, it would lock down a Chaos slave, motionless, long enough for someone with an appropriate weapon to behead it. Some of these squads became very, very good at the work.
   Harvest Seasons often brought about a steep decline in the numbers of Chaos slaves everywhere. Everyone liked that, a lot. Perhaps the Chaos Demon didn't. Everyone liked that, too.
   "Sure. I'll help. I'm Lorm. I've got Freeze." Lorm gripped hands with her. "Why's your squad short? I hope nobody died."
   "Nobody died. The opposite, actually. We had to walk one of us home, keep him safe on the way, because his woman was having his baby." Tredig grinned. "Good thing nothing was happening when she dragged him into ping!"
   "I've heard that childbirth is impossible for the father to miss. I don't have any kids, yet, or any on the way. I sure hope I'm in Town, when my time for that comes along!"
   "Yes, most men stay in Town, if they have a child getting close to birth. It can be a real problem, if he's Outside. The Mother is truly unable to stop herself from reaching for her man, when she goes into birthing, and sharing the experience with him. I've got two kids, Hunters now, and I remember how it was."
   The line of waiting Hunters shortened, as another man stepped out. Lorm scanned the area, watchful for threats. All was quiet, nearby.
   "Your man still among us? Your kids doing ok?" Lorm asked. "My Mother is active Outside, but my father died a while back. My three sisters are Hunters, coming up on Adult Day."
   "Yea, my family all still Hunting. My man got to Bal'Tor last year, and decided to stay a while. Lots of gold to be made there, if you're willing to take some chances."
   "Damn. Bal'Tor a tough place. I wouldn't like it, even if I needed the gold. Nothing much to eat, there. That would really annoy me!"
   Bal'Tor was located in the deepest level of the Crypt, a complex of caverns used in pre-Demon times for burial of the dead. Only Hunters lived, there. Everything else was dead, useless as food, though all of it still tried to kill any Hunter who was Outside Town. The Hunting there was so difficult that only the most capable Hunters could survive. No children, and no School, were in Bal'Tor because it was impossible for children to become Hunters in the Crypt.
   "My man tells me the food is really boring. All they have is cave fungus, flavored with the spices brought in by visitors from topside. If it wasn't for selfHeal, malnutrition would kill anyone who stayed long enough." Tredig made a sour face. "I wouldn't want to fight my way all through the Crypt for that, either."
   The line had shortened yet more. Tredig's turn. Lorm looked around, noting that the vicinity still held no threats. About twenty Hunters had arrived after him, to visit the Shrine. Another group stood nearby, three men, waiting.
   Tredig exited the Shrine. "Lorm, when you're done, join us." She smiled, moving to the waiting trio. "This is the Freeze Squad I'm working with."
   "Ok, be with you in a moment." Lorm entered the Shrine. The room was floored with hard-packed dirt, the walls entirely bare of any ornament or other marking. He reset his Mana Meditation and waited. After a timeless moment he knew he had been noticed. He pinged a sense of gratitude, in association with the Elders' Geas, then waited. After another unknowable moment, he again felt something notice him.
   When Lorm resumed normal awareness, he turned and left the Shrine. Others were waiting their turn, so he didn't dawdle after he'd done what he'd come for.
   He approached the group Tredig had joined. Tredig introduced him. "This is Lorm. He's willing to join us and help out. Lorm, these are Starg, Moren, and Lekt."
   The three men greeted Lorm. Starg asked, "Have you done any Freeze Squad work, before?"
   Lorm replied, "No, I haven't. I've got Freeze, but I haven't used it, much, except to escape Chaos slaves. I've got a bit to learn, I'm sure."
   "Well, you're in the right place for that. We've been doing this for several Harvest Seasons." Starg grinned. "You'll do Freezecasting, to start with, until you get used to it. We rotate three of us on that, Moren takes his axe around behind to finish them. It's actually really easy, once you get some experience at it. You ok with that?"
   "Sure, it sounds simple enough. I'll need some practice to get the timing right, I suppose, but that shouldn't take long."
   "Yea, the timing is important. We don't need any of us frozen alongside the target! You'll need to just stay calm, when a slave attacks you. Freeze the farger, maybe do it again, if there's any delay in the finish. It really is easy, if you stay cool." Tredig grinned. "This work makes a big difference for us all, everywhere, and usually looks scarier than it actually is."
   "What about the cleanup? How do we divide up the gear?"
   "Whoever needs it most gets it, if there's time to equip it. You'll be first in line, with that low-rent crap you're wearing," Lekt said. "You may have noticed we're all in topshelf gear. We get a lot of good stuff, so you get whatever upgrades come along, today. It's one reason I like Harvest Season - good gear and weapons! Almost free!"
   Everyone laughed at that. Lorm was a little annoyed about his Glazed Platemail and Chaos armor set being called low-rent crap, but he wondered to himself why the farg hadn't he done this sooner. The others were in top quality gear, certainly, a balanced mix of the horrendously expensive Elder Dragon armor and the best possible weapons. Today's action could put him in equipment that he might never get, not without saving all the gold he could for many years.
   "Damn. I could kick myself for not getting in on this task, before now." That got another laugh. "If this works out, it could put me in Elder gear ten years sooner!"
   "Don't get too eager, Lorm," Tredig warned. "The Chaos slaves wearing the really good items were very, very dangerous Hunters when they died. It's a rare Chaos slave that strips gear upgrades from a Hunter it has killed. That almost never happens. You really need to stay focused on doing this right. It often takes all of us to handle them. The slaves are not stupid, or clumsy. Some could kill us all, without breaking a sweat, if our teamwork fails. Be careful, do your part, and it'll work out. This thing only succeeds as teamwork. Remember that, ok?" Tredig was quite serious.
   Lorm sobered a little. It was true, what Tredig had said. A Chaos slave in the best equipment had earned it while still Human. That almost certainly would have required a very high-level skillset. A very effective Hunter would only be more dangerous, as a Chaos slave.
   "Ok. I think I get it, now. We're after targets we can't handle alone, so we must add ourselves together, become more than we are as individual Hunters, or we fail. Die. Become the enemy. I certainly don't want to die, or be a slave. High risk, sure, but high gain, if it's done right." Lorm suddenly felt a lot more serious about this. The others saw his shift in attitude, exchanging looks. "Let's do this."
   "Ok! Great! Let's Hunt!" Lekt started south. "Next grid line is a couple hundred paces this way. We go west, until we find targets."
   Tredig slapped Lorm's shoulder. "Get up front with Lekt. Watch how he times his Freezecasts. Back him up, and stay vigilant!"
   They moved south a short distance, where a beaten path went straight west. Harvest patrols kept themselves out of most of the breadgrain by establishing and following a grid of trails, straight lines oriented east-west and north-south, that were close enough together to get a good view of every portion of the grasslands. Only small creatures would be able to hide in the thigh-high grass. This limited the damage done by the Hunters' patrols, themselves, in their defense of the food. Some damage was inevitable, of course. One couldn't expect Chaos slaves and beasts to stay on the lines.
   Nothing happened for a long time. The squad had been watchfully strolling for over an hour, before they observed a lone Human figure cutting a diagonal path through the grain, coming toward them. It wasn't long before it began running, closing the distance very quickly.
   As the figure got closer, the squad took up a scattered V-shaped formation, point toward the rapidly approaching Undead. The Undead aimed itself at the nearest Human, Lekt, at the point of the V. Lorm was flanking Lekt, on his left. Moren had the other side.
   When the Undead had gotten near enough, Lekt cast Freeze, stopping it right there. Moren approached it, axe ready. Lorm moved up, observing closely, ready to Freezecast, if he saw any movement in the Undead.
   Moren got alongside the Undead. It was tilted far forward, frozen in midstep, the position it had been in when Lekt's Freeze took effect, suspended above the ground in front of it. Lorm cast Freeze, just to be sure, extending the time Moren had to get into position. Moren easily beheaded the thing, then he and Lekt backed away.
   When Lorm's Freezecast timed out, the head and body of the Undead separated and fell forward to the ground, sliding, as it resumed the motion it had before Lekt's Freeze stopped it. There was a large spray of blackish blood that got all over Lorm. It stank. A lot.
   Everyone laughed at Lorm's surprised and disgusted reaction. "Hah! High risk, Lorm!" Starg doubled over with laughter.
   "Ok, Lorm, looks like you've been blooded, now!" Tredig was grinning. "That's happened to all of us. It stays funny, though, the way we always look when that gunk gets on us."
   "Ew. I guess we won't be getting a nice heavy rain any time soon, will we?" Lorm had to remove his helm to clear the filthy sludge from his face. It smeared, mostly, but he got it out of his eyes and nostrils, then put his helm back on. "Does the stench wash away quickly? Or just hang on for a few days? Ugh."
   "It'll wash off easy. Hold there, I'll cast Tidal Wave, wash that off you." Moren said. "Your Freeze was a tiny bit early, but well done. Keep that up, we'll have an easy Hunt."
   Moren cast, the Tidal Wave dumping a large amount of very pure water onto Lorm, who was nearly knocked off his feet by the heavy weight of its impact. "You want another? There's still some crud on you."
   "No, thanks. My helm is clear, and I'm not all sticky, now. This'll be good enough." Lorm still stank, but looked clean enough. The bath had cooled him, as well, which would last a while as his soaked surcoat dried.
   "The weapon, Lorm. Get your first upgrade. Stow your Katana and get that epee. The other items are no improvement, and you don't need to be slowed down by their weight, so we'll leave them. Maybe pick them up, later." Starg went into the Undead's pouch, finding seven Golden Heal potions. "You need these? We all make them, let us know if you need more."
   "Ah. Thanks. A Create Goldens spell is my next goal. I'm about fifty thousand short, yet, before I go to Auction House to get it." Lorm put the gold-glowing potions in his pouch. "Maybe this Hunt will earn enough for me to get that spell."
   "Be patient. You might actually end this Hunt with a surplus of good gear and weapons. How's that epee feel?"
   Lorm swooshed the sword around a bit, doing a basic thrust/parry form. It was light, but had enough heft to sit firmly in his hand, and felt nicely balanced. "Feels good. I like it. I'll need to watch my timing, though, til I adjust to it."
   "With any luck at all, today, you won't need it. Freeze works just fine on everything we meet out here." Moren said. "I'm not half as nervous as I might be, with no shield, when I'm with these guys."
   "Hey!"
   "Ok, Tredig. These ladies!"
   "Hey!" The men chorused.
   They started off, looking for targets. The grain was dry enough to burn well, though it would smoke a lot, so they moved faster than they had been, westward, toward the numerous plumes on the horizon. Liches were there, using fire spells to destroy food Humans needed.
   Lorm had never been in a fight with a Lich. He wondered how he would handle it. He didn't worry, much, feeling reassured by the squad around him. At least three were Magisters, so they had good firepower of their own.
      ######
   Three more Undeads attacked the squad, one at a time, over the next hour. Lorm got another upgrade, a Dragon's Bane Shield. Dragon's Bane armor and weapons enhanced a Hunter's strength and fighting ability, quite apart from their superior quality. Lorm felt powerful, fast, ready for anything at all, after he equipped the Shield.
   "Be careful, Lorm! The enhancement takes a lot of getting used to! You're not invincible!" Starg was looking a little worried about the way Lorm was prancing along like he owned the World. "Getting too full of yourself can get you killed!"
   Lorm deflated, a little. Starg's armor all enhanced him in some way, so he knew very well what he was talking about. Lorm had heard many stories of Hunters getting themselves killed by being too confident in their equipment.
   "You're right, Starg. I was almost losing it, there. Gotta stay focused." Lorm felt a bit embarrassed. "I'll try to avoid it. I've got to cool down this childlike thrill."
   Tredig spoke up, "It does that to everyone, when they get their first enhancing gear. It's hard not to enjoy it. You should try to take only the same chances you always do, until you understand just what that Shield will do for you. Take it slow."
   "Yea, Lorm. That kind of equipment has killed a lot of Hunters who got lost in its effects. You're a better fighter, now, but you don't know how much better, yet. Caution is a virtue."
      ######
   They were getting closer to the sources of the smoke plumes. Some of the smokes had turned into steam, as other Freeze Squads succeeded in stopping the Liches that had set those fires, then extinguished the fires with water spells. The water from a Tidal Wave spellcast aimed into the sky usually dispersed enough during its fall to the ground that it would cover half an acre of blazing graingrass without blasting it with the impact of its arrival. The grain might still go bad with rot, but it could often be salvaged after it dried out again, if it hadn't burned entirely. Even spoiled grain had value, as ingredients for beer and liquor.
   Numerous Human figures could be seen, almost all in five-person squads. Solitary figures were most likely to be Chaos slaves. Any such loner soon had a Freeze Squad racing toward it, ready to destroy it if it wasn't Human.
   Starg pointed at a figure south of them. There didn't seem to be any squads headed toward it. Lorm and the others began running in that direction, just as a blast of fire came from it, setting a large patch of grain alight. Lich!
   The Lich managed to set several more fires before they reached it. Tredig ran to the largest fire, casting Tidal Wave into the sky over it as soon as she got there. She repeated this with the other fires, putting them all out, before rejoining the squad for the attack on the Lich.
   The Lich stopped setting fires, shifting to self-defense. It kept using Firestorm when it attacked the squad, setting fire to everything around them. Tredig kept casting Tidal Wave, putting out the new fires before any of the squad took much damage.
   The Lich dodged around, avoiding several of the squad's Freezecasts, until Lorm got lucky, stopping the Lich from escaping. Freeze wouldn't stop casting, only movement was affected, so the Lich was able to selfHeal and continue to fight back while immobilized.
   Tredig stayed busy, putting out fires, while Moren got into position to behead the Lich. Lorm cast Freeze again, Lekt standing ready to renew it. Starg Healed everyone of their burn injuries while they kept after the target. Everyone had moved around to the rear of the Lich, where it couldn't see them to cast Magespells at them. It continued to try to burn the graingrass, but all it could reach now was already burned, or too wet.
   Moren took the Lich's head. Everyone looked around, checking for any incoming threats. Tredig then made sure all the fires were extinguished.
   Lorm was almost disappointed. He'd expected a Lich to be a lot more difficult. Liches had very powerful Mana, that regenerated much faster than with Humans. Their spellcasting was twice as effective as a Human's. They could selfHeal indefinitely without depleting their Mana, enabling them to stay well ahead of the damage that could be done with a weapon. Almost all of the Liches that were destroyed fell to teams like the Freeze Squads.
   The Lich was in Mana gear. Sorcerer's Ethereal Cloak, Hood, and Staff. A Lich couldn't use a weapon as a weapon, but it did get any Mana enhancements a weapon might offer.
   "Ok, Lorm. We won't let you have the Cloak, or the Staff, until you know more about Mana enhancement. Equip this Hood, and you'll understand why." Tredig handed him the Hood. "The Cloak and Staff are yours, but you're too inexperienced with Mana gear to be trusted with them, yet. I'm sorry, but it's true."
   The others were all looking at him, waiting for any dispute Lorm might offer.
   "Really, Lorm. Equip the Hood. You'll see what Tredig means." Moren had rolled the Cloak into a small package, but hadn't stowed it in his backpack.
   Lorm removed his Chaos Helm, then put on the Sorcerer's Ethereal Hood. Immediately, he felt an overwhelming sense of expansion, then a wave of dizzying confusion. His ManaSense took over his awareness completely, blinding and deafening him. It felt really good, so good it frightened him. He had to wait it out, unable to think coherently.
   After a few minutes, Lorm was clearheaded, again. Very clearheaded. It was an amazing effect. He felt like his mind had finally awakened, as though he'd been asleep all his life. Instantly, he understood why the others hadn't let him get hold of the Cloak or Staff.
   The visible difference in his perception was a shock. Details he'd never before been aware of were now obvious, and easy to remember and monitor. The color and depth of all he saw made his former vision seem to have been bland and flat. He had to remind himself to blink, after he realized he kept forgetting, in his wide-eyed wonder at the change.
   His hearing was similarly affected. He could focus on very small sounds, know what they were, and exactly where they were, immediately. The soundscape around him actually seemed to be three-dimensional, with depth and something like flavor. He kept moving his head, in slight, small increments, developing an astoundingly detailed awareness of the area, that seemed to keep expanding its reach.
   His sense of smell was similarly amplified. He could smell each person nearby, and know they were near, while numerous other scents were obviously distant. It seemed to coordinate with his hearing, so he knew whether a particular odor was from upwind by what he learned of air movement from its sounds, or just an ambience of the vicinity. This was a little difficult to manage - he had never paid much attention to the less-obvious odors around him. It would take him some time to learn how to use this "new" sense.
   The Lich smelled foul, and its scent clung to the Sorcerer's Hood. He resolved to thoroughly wash all of the items taken from Chaos slaves.
   Lorm's ManaSense was affected, also. He could "see" each of his Inscribed spells much more clearly, simultaneously. They acquired a kind of three-dimensional feel, similar to the way his hearing had, enabling him to actually understand how they worked. He realized he could finely adjust a cast, increasing its effectiveness.
   It was quite an experience, being able to perceive so much more of everything, so much more accurately.
   The others watched his childlike wonder at the World, remembering what it had been like for them. They were all smiling, reliving the thrill of their own first experiences of the sensory enhancements of Sorcerer's equipment.
   It took a while for Lorm to remember where he was, and why he was there. The others waited, patiently, for him to rejoin them. Fortunately, nothing unpleasant tried to happen, allowing Lorm to pull himself back together without distraction.
   "Oh, damn! I've been half dead all my life!"
   The others grinned and chuckled.
   "You see it, don't you? The Cloak effect makes that Hood seem small, believe me." Moren handed the Cloak to Lorm. "Put that in your backpack. Don't try it on, until you're in Town, ok?"
   "Yea, just the Hood is plenty. That Cloak scares me, now." Lorm stowed the Cloak in his pack. It really did scare him.
   Starg handed him the Staff. He had made a sling for it, so Lorm could carry it easily. "This is nearly as strong as the Cloak. Wait until you're in Town, before you try it."
   Lorm avoided touching the Staff, as he got it well situated on his back. It, too, scared him.
   "Your Magecasts will be much stronger, now, and it'll be a lot easier to maintain your Meditations under stress. Your Healcasts will improve, also, but the main effect is on Magecasting." Starg said. "Your overall intelligence is enhanced, so everything you do will be better. Just remember, it's the same thing that happened when you equipped the Shield - you don't yet know exactly what it'll do for you. Take the time you need, to learn about that."
   Lorm understood exactly what Starg meant. He wasn't going to let himself get trapped in the enhancement effect again. The boost of intelligence had him very aware of everything around him, and inside his mind. He was amazed at how he'd missed so much of his surroundings, before, and wondered just how he'd managed to survive until now.
   "You'll find out that it's difficult to unequip that kind of gear, whenever you're in Town, but you must. It's really necessary to frequently remind yourself of your Human nature, or the enhancement can corrupt you." Lekt was quite solemn about what he was saying. Lorm's enhanced intellect recognized the truth of what Lekt was saying. "It's a very bad thing, to forget what you really are."
   "Yes. I see that. I could get permanently bloated with self-importance, start seeing other people as no better than wildlife. That would get me Outlawed, probably."
   "You got it, Lorm. You really can't allow yourself to forget who and what you truly are. If that happens, if it gets bad enough, it'll get you Banished." Tredig was very serious. "Outlaws don't last long, but they can do some serious damage before lack of sleep makes them insane and something kills them. You could be targeted by Hunters."
      ######
   The squad went about its work, eliminating a couple of dozen more Chaos slaves. Sunset came, then dawn, then sunset, again, before everyone decided it was time for a break.
   Lorm found his place in the team. After equipping the Hood, it didn't take long at all for him to develop the adaptability a good combat team member needs, to make a group more effective. One encounter involving a Lich and an Undead working together had been concluded very easily, as Lorm and Lekt had managed to Freeze each slave, despite the Chaos slaves' clever maneuvering to avoid them.
   It had been fun, and very profitable. Lorm had acquired more gear upgrades. He was wearing a Chaos Platemail, and had a backpack full of enhancement gear and weapons. Everything he'd had, at the beginning of the Hunt, had been abandoned in the fields.
   There was an enormous amount of equipment lying around the grainfields, discarded by Hunters who'd acquired upgrades. Many ordinary items were left on the Chaos slaves that had been destroyed. Novices were running around everywhere, watching the action and scavenging the abandoned items for their own use, or to sell. They called it "groundshopping". For them, it was party time.
   In one incident, a group of the teenaged Novices tried to take down a Lich. Lorm's squad laughed until it was hard to breathe, when they first noticed the dozen Novices all running away from a single Lich chasing them along one of the grid trails. The Novices got a good look at how to properly destroy a Lich, when the squad arrived to rescue them.
   By this time, Lorm had put his plan to visit The Boar and Skewer on hold, deciding the Freeze Squad was more important. More fun, too, maybe. Boar could wait. So, when the squad had headed over to Gloomy Vale, where they all lived, he went with them.
   Starg invited Lorm to stay with him. This would let him store his extra gear, without having to rent a room at the Inn for the purpose, while continuing to work with the Freeze Squad. Starg had an amazing array of enhancement gear and weapons cluttering up his spare room. They had to rearrange it, to make room for Lorm's additions.
   "I've really got to haul some of this stuff over to Byrendell's Auction House, soon." Starg seemed annoyed by the enormous treasure, worth millions of golds, he had piled up around the room. "It's starting to get in the way."
   Lorm was having trouble believing anyone could have collected so much of the extremely high-priced equipment. He'd never seen so much of this kind of gear in one place in his life, except at Auction House.
   After everyone had stopped at their various homes and divested themselves of their Outside equipage, they met at the Tavern to unwind. The happy racket of Novices celebrating the equipment and weapons they had scavenged from the grainfields made it necessary for them to raise their voices.
   "Well, Lorm, what do you think of Freeze Squad work?" Moren was grinning. "Does it pay well enough?"
   Lorm's head was full of the picture of Starg's collection. "Hm. I'm still not sure, yet." Then he laughed, seeing the others' confused looks. "Hey, don't look at me like that! It pays very well!"
   The others joined in his laughter, slurping at their beers.
   "It could be a while, before I get to Boar!"

A/n My thanks to Poeta, a Shader, for inventing the term "groundshopping" to describe a player's search of all the drops in an area to find items of value. Sometimes it was quite profitable to check all the little treasure icons - you could come away with major upgrades in gear and weapons, if the monsters and playerkillers didn't get you!