I walk on over, and give them a summary: “So you think I'm risky, but not immediately so, and you're willing to try your luck with me for a little while and let a team (hopefully better equipped than yourselves to deal with any potential fallout) poach me from your team? I can work with that.”

  They all pause, and Roger speaks up first, “You were a hundred feet away, we were whispering, and you still caught it all?”

  I nod, “Yes. I didn't think you'd respond well if I let it slip ter, so I'm telling you I heard it all now. Besides, if I know it's not going to hurt your feelings if I accept another offer ter, that makes your pn work better, doesn't it?”

  Wesley shakes his head, “Right. Let's keep moving…”

  I cast Mount a few times to give everyone a lift (I don't expect they are quite ready for the mounts Mom provided via Conjuration Companions, and my warcat cub can't keep up with Phantom Steeds) as the others collect the left ear of each goblin and confirm they're dead (it's for the bounty; they document how many goblins we killed that way). Wesley collects their gear (as bad as the leather armors, shortswords, shortbows, and wooden shields are... they'll still sell for a few crowns to those starting out).

  As we go, Roger pns strategies, “So… how much magic do you have?”

  I shrug, “As much as I want, basically. As long as I take my hour to prepare once a day, I'm simply not going to run out.”

  Wesley thinks, “Do you have any wall spells?”

  I nod, “Yeah. Are you thinking of locking down the vilge to reduce escapees?”

  The elf smiles, “I am indeed. Think you're up for it?”

  “Yeah, sure, no problem.”

  We pn out the details as we travel, and I hand out some long duration buff spells: Magic Vestments on Bearcw's breastpte, Greater Magic Weapon and Arcane Forge on all of their weapons (for Bane vs. Goblins and Fming), plus a Greater Mage Armor spell for Wesley and Roger. When we get close, I hand out a few medium duration buff spells all arpund: Barkskin, Stoneskin, Resist Energy (the fire form) and Heroism. My animal companion, of course, gets a simir treatment. They should all hit reasonably reliably, single-shot any goblins they hit, rgely avoid getting hit themselves, and barely get injured if they do. I don't bother buffing myself at all: Mom took care of that VERY effectively. At most I'll want to add situational effects like Ghost Touch to my weapon.

  When we actually arrive, I do a walk around the vilge, surrounding the entire thing with Wall of Thorns spells. They'll st long enough, but won't leave any long-term effects… and anyone trying to get through them is going to be cut to ribbons. Then I cast Greater Invisibility on my party mates (and my warcat cub), tag them all with Haste, and let them go have their fun.

  Now, I've studied the physics books Mom wrote: I know what's happening here. A basic shortbow deals 1d6 damage; Greater Magic Weapon makes that 1d6+2, and my choices with Fming and Bane mean that - against goblins - they deal 1d6+2+1d6+2+2d6. That's a bare minimum of eight points of damage on a hit, and an average of eighteen damage. Meanwhile, a basic goblin warrior has just six health… so any hit leaves a basic goblin unconscious and bleeding out, while most of the time they're killed outright. The Invisibility and Haste spells are just icing on the cake of the goblins' doom.

  So I watch, renewing the Haste spells regurly, as my party mates go wild with their ranged weapons, sughtering goblin after goblin with arrows and crossbow bolts: It’s a feast of blood. It runs quite smoothly… right up until the chief's hut, because then a half-dozen hobgoblins pour out, one of which is much better equipped than the others, with a very fine looking longbow… which he draws and fires rather expertly.

  When that arrow draws blood from Bearcw, I break from the pn and lob a pair of Fireballs at the group… the smell of cooked flesh makes me hurl, but it reduces the crowd to just the chieftain himself…. who quickly dies in a hail of arrows as my party mates focus fire on him: I should have gone with my sling… eh, next time, but that did work out all right.

  In the ensuing silence, Bearcw shouts out, “Good work, greenhorn. How about you check the wall line for anyone who tried running while we clean up here?”

  I wipe my mouth off, and give a weak, “Sure….” then proceed to walk the line of Wall spells… looks like a few goblins tried to push through, and the thorns got them. A bloody mess, but okay. I have an Unseen Servant collect the left ear of each.

  Mind you, I hear exactly what my party mates are doing. Fundamentally, this is a genocide mission: Now that all the goblins who can take up arms are dead… they're cutting off their seed, too. The women, the children, the adolescents, the infants… they're killing them all. No long-term peace is possible, it's been tried before. “Raising them right” can work for the infants… but that requires a very patient soul to adopt the babies, and basically never happens: There's plenty of orphans from the civilized races. I mean, the deliberate act of genocide somewhat calls into question just how “civilized” they are… we are …I am… but currently there isn't really a better way to handle it. It sucks. I'm gd Bearcw gave me an honorable ‘out’ from the dirtiest part of the work, so I don't have to do it and see it.

  I still hear the screams of the dying, though, and know I pyed a significant role in that.

  After the st scream fades and I hear all of the remaining footsteps congregating at the center of the dead vilge, I head there as well, having long since collected the left ears from the runners, along with what little loot they carried. The three others are talking over the loot from the chieftain.

  “So… who wants what?” Roger starts.

  I gnce at the pile, “Have you identified everything yet?” It's mostly items of individually low value; scrolls and potions of random low circle spells, small gemstones, coins, and the like.

  “Nah,” Wesley answers, “That takes a long time, so it's best done in town….”

  I start picking up items and naming them, including their market value in gold pieces, both with and without enchantments. Fast Divinations, from Spheres of Power, is what Mom said enables that one. When I'm done, I add, “Feel free to verify if you like: The Walls will stay up for another hour or so.”

  All three pause, and the elf shrugs, picking a few items at random and doing exactly that… we all then sit down and divide it all up. The Wizard cims all of the scrolls, the useful potions get divided among us, the various armors and weapons (along with the useless potions) go into a “to sell” pile, and we divy up the gems and cash.

  As it's getting dark as we finish, the halfling leader makes a suggestion, “Camp here?”

  I consider, “Let's at least bury the dead….” I cast Expeditious Excavation a few times for a pit, and head over to one of the bodies.

  I of course hear the conversation; Bearcw starts, “He respects his enemies… I can respect that. I don't respect goblins, but I can at least respect Marty.”

  The party wizard shakes his head, “It might help ward off scavengers… and reduce the smell.”

  “These things are as big as I am…” the halfling rogue shakes his head, “...but fine. It's harmless.”

  They all join in, the halfling and elf slowly dragging corpses to the pit, the half-orc carrying them, and myself throwing them. Once all the bodies are in there, I punch down on the sides to colpse the pit over the bodies.

  I smile, “As for camp… let's use my pce,” I pull my Keyhome out of Warp Storage, open the outer door (a bunch of linked metal bars in a rolling rack, along with some kind of spring mechanism so it rolls up easily), then use the key again to open up the inner door (which is made of solid force, and slides to the side). Inside is a thirty by thirty foot room, nine feet tall, with faintly shimmering ten foot wide portals all along the walls. I point at each portal in turn, “Pantry, kitchen, dining room, ballroom, hygiene room, guest bedrooms, library, workshop, my bedroom, storage, and storage.” There's also a link back home, which is hidden in the tenth cube (which doubles as a mechanical room) buried in the ceiling… with pipes and wires going elsewhere. Which is also why the room is only nine feet tall: There's pipes and wires in the ceiling, “Please don't go exploring too much, as this is my home.”

  I walk in, and the others follow a bit tentatively. Wesley speaks up first, “What is this pce?”

  “My home,” I shrug as I close the outer door, “Mom commissioned it for me when I went to university. It's roomier than the dorms.”

  “Not what I meant,” the elf is taking his time, carefully examining the walls, “This magic, it's…” he shakes his head.

  I roll my eyes as I close the inner door and bar it, “look, I'd rather not go into it. It's safe. Mom commissioned it, and gave it to me. Nobody else has any cim on it. We can rest here.”

  “But…” the Wizard starts to object.

  “Let it lie,” Roger interrupts, “he's given a reasonable answer. He may or may not know the details of how it works… but we all have pasts. Let it go.”

  Wesley considers, “You said there's a library?”

  I nod.

  The elf continues, “Mind if I…”

  “The books need to stay here… but knock yourself out,” I smile.

  As Wesley rushes off to the library I indicated earlier, Bearcw ughs, “You called that one the pantry… I'm hungry, mind if I…”

  I smile, “eat your fill… there's more fruits, nuts, and vegetables than you could eat in a year, and they'll all grow back by tomorrow… so don't worry about it.”

  The half orc nods, and heads into that portal.

  Roger looks at me for a bit, “Why?”

  I frown, “Why what?”

  “Why risk your neck to be a dungeon delves when you could simply live like a king here?”

  I take a breath to answer him….