《Mortis Operandi 2 - Hostile Takeover》 Chapter 1 - Terms and Conditions "Get me Garly!" Eft said trying to avoid yelling at the goblins in front of him. They all cringed in fear and silently Eft berated himself. Their previous boss Ventus hadn''t ruled by fear, but the dragon hadn''t prevented fear from taking root. Since Ventus was known as a shape-shifter, Eft guessed people thought he was the dragon. "Please, find Garly, see if he will come back. Tell him to at least hear my offer." Eft said in a tone slightly above a whisper. He couldn''t blame the other goblins, he had lived in fear of Ventus for years. In the back of his mind, he wondered if the dragon would just show back up. A moment of silence passed as the goblins stood there looking at each other. Eft sighed and made a shooing motion with his hand. The three goblins quickly left the office. Eft sat at his desk and sighed once the door was closed. He hadn''t taken a breath before a six-foot-tall demon stepped in. The dark red skin was marred by a few scars but of the two horns jutting from his head, the right one was chipped. "Elric said he will hold odd magical items for 1 week but will charge us a 10% reservation fee." the demon said as soon as he closed the door behind him. "Dammit, Tobe, you could have given me a minute," Eft said wishing for a moment to scream out in frustration. The past week has been difficult and he just wanted to rest. "I can come back," Tobe said taking half a step backward towards the door and bowing his head a little. "Too late now, just in the future, give me a few minutes after someone leaves unless it is urgent." "Noted sir." "As for Elric, what all did he say?" "Elric fondly remembers his time and service at Mortis Operandi, but in the current market, odd magical items are in demand. He cannot afford the capital nor opportunity cost by holding items. His shop operates on a first come, first serve." "Fucking ogre piece of," "He did say he would be more than happy to allow a messaging item to be left there. When he encounters an odd item he''ll write down the info and we can determine if we want to immediately visit." "Find one of our Distance Journals, and leave a copy with him. Advise him we''ll try this as a test run. Also, let him know he can work with us, or we can set up our own shop." "It will be done," Tobe said and bowed deeply. As he opened the door Eft had a question. ¡°Wait,¡± Eft said and waited for the demon to close the door and turn around. ¡°What about the alternate server or universe? Doesn¡¯t a version of Ventus exist there?¡± ¡°Probably, but I have no way of checking or contacting them,¡± Tobe said.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Did Ventus leave any spell-books or anything about how to open the portal?¡± Eft said as pressure building up behind his eyes. ¡°He did not, as far as I know, the knowledge died with Ventus,¡± Tobe said. Clenching his jaw Eft waved the demon towards the door. Thankfully Tobe took the clue and exited the office, leaving Eft alone. Eft closed his eyes and squeezed the bridge of his large nose. The old goblin stood up and instead of reaching for his cane, just kept a hand on the desk. Slowly he walked around the desk a few times, occasionally slamming a hand into the wood. He paced for five minutes before finally sitting back down. From a drawer, he pulled out some parchment. A few of them were service requests, others were inquiring about the installation of Mortis Operandi products. Eft set those aside and reached for the small book at the bottom of the drawer. Scrawled across it was the word Applicants. Setting the book on the desk and opening it up, Eft started to read. Between the pages was parchment from the applicant, on the notes from Ventus, Sandra, or Francis. With his promotion and with Elric''s departure from the company, it left two positions open. With a shiver, Eft tore out a page where the applicant had listed Necromancer on it. Wadding it up, he threw it into the fire. For good measure, he included anyone with a background in a church or listed Cleric as a profession. He''d had enough dealing with gods as well. A knock on his door interrupted Eft''s culling of applications. Carefully he closed the slightly thinner book and set it in the drawer. "Come in," Eft said sitting up straight. A tall elven woman walked in wearing a beautiful purple dress and a violet circlet on her head. Her long hair hung past her shoulders, with the points of her ears poking out at the top. "Liliaria, how may I help you," Eft said in Elven, it wasn''t a language he used often, but Ventus had demanded he learn it years ago. "Tendering resignation," Liliaria said. "My assignments are completed for today. I can see myself out." With grace, she turned around to walk out. "Wait," Eft sputtered, with the sudden realization of losing another mage would stop production completely. Currently, they were the only two mages employed that could manufacture most of the traps and rooms. Liliaria stopped and turned back around. Eft pointed at the seat and gestured for her to sit. "Why are you leaving?" Eft said. "With Ventus gone, you cannot pay me," Liliaria said. She gracefully sat down in the chair. "We have plenty of gold and gems in the treasury." Eft quickly said and he as quickly felt a fool once Liliaria started laughing. "You should know better, monetary compensation does not retain my skills." "Perhaps he left some notes, what did he promise you?" "Constructing demonic servants." Eft leaned back and let out some air. That was definitely not something Ventus would have left instruction on. The old goblin had been there when Ventus had created Tobe and still had no idea. One moment there was nothing in the room and the next the demon had appeared. Even Sandra in her role as Henchman Resources said Francis and his predecessor Shaggy were not demons like her. At the time of Tobe''s creation, Eft was still recovering from the battle and didn''t think to question it. "Expression upon your face says you have no idea either," Liliaria said standing back up to leave. Eft scrambled to think of something to say but nothing to stop her came to mind. "Please see Sandra on the way out in case there is any paperwork needed," Eft said after a few seconds of silence. "Meeting already concluded," Liliaria said pausing for a brief smile at Eft. Like she was floating on air, Liliaria glided out of the office. The room seemed a little darker after she left and Eft just sighed. Standing up the old goblin grabbed his cane and walked to the door. Ignoring the small group of goblins and two ogres waiting outside of it, he headed to Sandra''s office. He needed to know how many people were working towards promises or rewards they could not fulfill. As he passed by a minotaur he wondered how many had payments coming due. Chapter 2 - Definitions and Changes Sandra¡¯s door was closed when Eft arrived. Out of habit he sat against the wall and waited. A few goblins and orc¡¯s walked by as he waited. They gave him a wide berth and a few funny looks. He only had to wait a few minutes before the door opened. A minotaur almost ten feet tall stepped out, bowing his head low to get through the doorway. Once it cleared the frame it turned around to look at Sandra. ¡°Kurt, I¡¯ll see if I can get you moved to the eastern wing. The corridors are less windy there, but still, maze flashbacks is not a valid reason to eat your coworkers.¡± Sandra said wagging a finger at the tall minotaur. ¡°Sooorry,¡± Kurt said in a deep voice. With his head low the large beast walked down the hallway. ¡°Sandra, can we talk?¡± Eft said watching the minotaur sulk away. ¡°Ten minutes until my next appointment, ratfolk need to be up-trained on flea control,¡± Sandra said and beckoned into her office. Eft went in first and sat in a chair. Sandra closed the door and sashayed around her desk and sat down. Eft tried to not look, but part of the succubus¡¯s natural magic was to draw eyes to her. He had to close his eyes for a few seconds before speaking. ¡°How many contracts do we have due in the next three months with promises that are unfillable?¡± Eft said once he opened his eyes. Sandra¡¯s face twisted and she chewed at her bottom lip. She turned and looked towards a cabinet in the wall and slowly licked her lips. ¡°Maybe two or three in the next quarter, beyond that I¡¯d have to check,¡± Sandra said. She turned and looked deep into Eft¡¯s eyes, her tail lifting up and gently brushing her hair to expose her left ear. ¡°Alright,¡± Eft said and cleared his throat. The older goblin closed his eyes so he could continue speaking. ¡°Get me a list of all non-monetary contracts that are coming due in the next 6 months. I need to know what to prepare for.¡± ¡°I know at least the ogres are one of them. They keep talking about retaking their ancestral home this winter.¡± ¡°Shit, where is that at?¡± ¡°The town of Woodale,¡± Sandra tapped a beautifully manicured finger against the side of her neck. A swamp used to be there but it was drained so the town could be built. Some gold was found in the mountains nearby and it makes a good base for the mining operations.¡± ¡°So they expect us to just destroy a town.¡± ¡°Something like that. I¡¯ll locate the contract and get you the exact terms.¡± ¡°Alright, and find others as well. I¡¯ll be in my office.¡± ¡°Um,¡± Sandra cleared her throat, ¡°my contract is also one of those, however, you have a year to for it.¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Alright, include it with the others and I¡¯ll work towards fulfilling it,¡± Eft said and quickly stood up. He turned and got to the door before Sandra could speak. Once he opened the door a large cat with several tentacles blurring around jumped back in surprise. The cat growled at Eft before it recognized him. It lowered its head in a bow. ¡°Sorry, Captain Tiddlywinks, I¡¯m just leaving,¡± Eft said and he held the door open for the beast. The cat hurried in and leaped up into the chair. Eft took a teleport to a little village nearby, New Randoh. The spell dropped him off a little outside of the village, so he cast an illusion spell to make him look human. Carefully he walked into the town. The spell only made him look human, but with all illusions, there was no substance. He carefully navigated through the streets to avoid bumping anyone. Going so far as to go down an alley and around some buildings to avoid a crowd. He was soon at his destination, however. Nauften Wondrous Objects was a tiny shop attached to a blacksmith shop. The smithy stretched back a good hundred feet, compared to the twenty-foot storefront. Eft walked up to the door, noted the open sign and stepped in. Inside the shop, it was twenty feet across but the way Elric had set up the counters, it left a little ten-foot by five-foot area for customers. The counters were four feet tall and probably two feet deep. In front of each counter, there were two little steps to allow someone as short as three feet, to be able to see over the counter. Behind the counters, the walls were covered in tapestries and the occasional hanging object. From a couple of long swords, a spiked chain, and even a bit and bridle. Eft recognized Elric immediately even though the human had started growing a beard. ¡°Are you whitening your hair?¡± Eft said in surprise. The goblin quickly threw his hands over his mouth and the illusion did the same. ¡°Eft?¡± Elric said, then his eyes went out of focus. ¡°Ah, illusion, probably a good idea.¡± ¡°Yeah, some places are not as open-minded as others.¡± Eft said, ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind if I keep it going, just-in-case.¡± ¡°I do not mind,¡± Elric said. With a gesture, he lifted a chair from behind the counter and set it near Eft. He then leaned against the counter. ¡°Tobe already stopped by, I got the book but haven¡¯t gotten anything in today.¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t that, its¡­¡± Eft said as he settled into the chair. He noted it was padded and rather comfortable. ¡°Ventus made a lot of promises, I¡¯m sure he could have filled them, but¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re not Ventus,¡± Elric said nodding his head. ¡°Yeah,¡± Eft said. ¡°Even if I could, I¡¯m not sure I would. Sorry Eft, I¡¯m just glad Ventus completed mine before he died.¡± Elric said and tried to offer a comforting smile. ¡°I know, I didn¡¯t come here though to beg for help. I need some magic items to facilitate completing some contracts.¡± Eft said. ¡°Couldn¡¯t Mortis Operandi just make them yourselves?¡± Elric said. ¡°We are having workforce issues currently. Several of our high powered developers have left.¡± Eft sighed as he spoke, just speaking it aloud was depressing. ¡°Well, I¡¯m happy to sell you what I have,¡± Elric said spreading his hands wide. ¡°I¡¯m kind of hoping for a discount, knowing that we will be buying lots of items from you,¡± Eft said. Elric rubbed his scraggly chin. The beard wasn¡¯t very long and there were parts you could easily see skin under it. ¡°Here is what I can do, I¡¯ll sell you the first item at normal price, then knock off 5% off each additional item,¡± Elric said putting on his biggest smile. ¡°While not as generous as I hoped, I understand,¡± Eft said. ¡°Now what do you have in the way of shape changing items? Actual shape changing, not illusionary.¡± ¡°Do you have a form in mind? I have a few items.¡± Elric said reaching behind the counter towards a drawer. Out of sight of Eft, Elric pulled out a little jewelry box and carefully set it on top of the counter. ¡°Human, or Half-Elf, I need something to make goblins to fit into human society,¡± Eft said. He hopped off the chair and went up to the counter. While he was tall enough to see over, he stepped up to get a better view. Once the goblin shifted his vision into the magical spectrum, his eyes widened. ¡°I may need to get more gold,¡± Eft said. Chapter 3 - Limits of Liability Gretta Chiff sat in Eft¡¯s office. Eft had stepped out to talk to the demon Tobe and had left Gretta there to wonder. The goblin looked around the little office and couldn¡¯t stop herself from comparing it to the dragon''s chamber. Once she had an interview in the chamber of the dragon, but it had remained perfectly preserved in memory. ¡°Sorry about that,¡± Eft said as he reentered the office. Closing the door behind him he hobbled over to his side of the desk. Once he sat down he glanced at the paperwork in front of him. ¡°Gretta, you¡¯ve been with us for two years and your manager has nothing but good things to say about you.¡± ¡°Kludg is a good guy, though a little slow,¡± Gretta said then immediately put her hand to her mouth. ¡°It is ok, I understand. Some people have a few more rocks than others inside their skulls. While we need all hands on deck for production, we have some challenges that we must overcome if we wish to maintain production.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already tried to recruit my clan, but they don¡¯t want to leave¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m more talking about the completion of personnel contracts. I¡¯ve seen yours, and noticed you wanted to better understand humans.¡± ¡°Aye, some adventurers killed half my village but left the wee ones like me. One of them said something about not worth any experience.¡± ¡°You have two years left on your contract.¡± ¡°Twenty months, two weeks, three days, but who¡¯s counting?¡± ¡°Yes indeed. With recent events, we are looking at creative solutions to solving employee contracts. With yours, I¡¯d like to offer you this,¡± Eft reached in a drawer and pulled out a magical ring. ¡°This ring will allow you to live as a human or half-elf. Mortis Operandi is willing to loan it to you for one year, during of which we expect 4 months of you working towards completion of another goal.¡± Eft paused and waited to see if Gretta said anything. The goblin stayed silent with wide eyes gazing at the ring. ¡°After completion of the project, you¡¯ll be given free rein and be expected back to work with the ring.¡± ¡°Do you really think an illusion will work that well?¡± Gretta asked finally able to speak. ¡°This isn¡¯t an illusionary ring, it changes you into a human form.¡± Gretta remained silent for a minute, and Eft let her think. The older goblin leaned back in his chair and reviewed Gretta¡¯s paperwork. She had joined the company at a young age. She has had nothing but stellar reports from supervisors and her nine years here have had little incidents. The largest was a few years ago involving a large ball of yarn and some were-tigers. ¡°You¡¯d trust me with an item that powerful?¡± Gretta said finally breaking the silence. ¡°Yes,¡± Eft said but he didn¡¯t tell her why. He knew there were things in place to track it or her down if needed. ¡°What do you need done?¡± Gretta said. She quickly reviewed how far or what she would do to have free use of that object.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°There is a town that resides on ancient Ogre land. We need them to leave so the ogres can settle there.¡± Eft said. Gretta took in a deep breath and almost whistled when she let it out. She carefully phrased her next statement. ¡°Even if I could, I¡¯m not going to slaughter a whole city,¡± Gretta said and she pushed her chair back a little to get up. ¡°No, no, we don¡¯t want you to kill everyone. We were thinking more along the lines of encouraging people to move elsewhere by non-lethal methods.¡± Eft quickly said. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be worth it to just break the contract?¡± ¡°There are thirty ogres employed by Mortis Operandi. At this time we cannot afford to lose them.¡± Gretta whistled this time as she exhaled. She had worked with Utul and his brothers quite a bit. She just hadn¡¯t realized there were that many. Before she could speak, Eft continued. ¡°We aren¡¯t just going to drop you there and expect you to do it alone. Nor are we just going to let thirty ogres have at it. Currently, there are several routes to go, the easiest route is you go in and buy up as much of the commercial property as you can and people will move out. If it comes down to it, we have a non-lethal poison you can dump in the water supply.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you just do that and get it done?¡± Gretta said. ¡°I know those will work a little but won''t work on them all. Also, our budget isn¡¯t enough to simply buy the town out. Once one person gets a sniff that someone wants to buy the land, the prices will jump. This will take patience, subtlety, and guile.¡± Eft said. He slowly slid a piece of paper across the desk, rotating it so she could read the bottom comments. ¡°Gretta possess patience, subtlety, and guile. Once her contract expires MO should endeavor to resign her no matter the cost.¡± The comments said. Gretta blushed making her green skin turn a slight brown in the cheeks. She had liked working under Garly and had been saddened when he retired. Secretly she strove to take his place as a production manager but recent events had trimmed down the workforce and output. ¡°Alright I¡¯m on board, what do I need?¡± Gretta said. A mixture of emotions settled within her, excitement, worry, and pride. ¡°First we fire you,¡± Eft said, then he got up and walked to the door. He opened the door and Sandra was standing there with some paperwork. ¡°Do note that any actions you take from here on out are not at the direction of Mortis Operandi and of your own desire,¡± Sandra said stepping into the room. She set the paperwork on the desk along with a pen. The next hour passed slowly as Gretta signed form after form documenting her termination from the company. Everything ranging from writing down all company property she currently had on her person, to instructions for projects she was still working on. Once the last form was signed, Sandra left the room. ¡°Here is your severance pay, and a collection of your belongings in your room.¡± Eft set a bag and a small trunk on the desk. The bag didn¡¯t make a sound, but the little two foot by one foot by one-foot trunk made a thump. Eft slid the ring across the desk and then started looking in a drawer. ¡°Where did I place that, I hope I didn¡¯t lose it,¡± Eft said as he rummaged through a drawer. Gretta took the ring and placed it in a pocket. Eft glanced towards her and gave a slight nod. ¡°Well you can go now, please avail yourself of our teleport services. It is the least we can do for ex-employees.¡± Gretta took the small bag and placed it in a pocket. Hefting the trunk under one arm, she went to the door. Opening the door she turned towards Eft and said, ¡°I hope I may continue my employment at Mortis Operandi at some point in the future.¡± Eft nodded and smiled as he waited for Gretta to close the door behind her. The old goblin glanced at a timekeeping device and realized he had another appointment to get to. Reaching into another drawer of his desk, he found a potion and drank it. Once he was sure the thought protection had started working, he raced down the hallway to a different teleporter. Since there wasn¡¯t anyone else to do the next task, one of the worst in Eft¡¯s opinion. He hurried to a meeting with a client to do ¡®Customer Service and Retention¡¯. Chapter 4 - Limits on Service Eft appeared at the gates of an old castle. It was midday but a gloom clung to the land around him. Half dead tree¡¯s edged the border of the forest and grassland in front of the castle. The gloom masked everything in grays and faded blues. Even the gray stone of the castle seemed washed out and faded. Two large metal doors opened for Eft when he took a step towards it. No guards stood behind them. A long stone walkway extended before the goblin, leading up to the keep. Slowly with his cane, Eft hobbled forward. After a few minutes, Eft hadn¡¯t gotten very far, the whole area seemed to drain his energy. Mentally he knew it was an effect, but with the precautions he took, he knew it wasn¡¯t mental. Pausing to allow the pain in his leg to alleviate Eft took another approach. ¡°I don¡¯t have all day. If you can help or give me a sign showing you don¡¯t mind if I use some magic to move this along, it would be appreciated.¡± Eft said. He waited a minute before decided to start hobbling along again. He took three steps before a tall robed person appeared ten feet in front of him. ¡°While I may live forever, even I don¡¯t have the patience for this.¡± The figure said. Its words were slightly high pitched on the border of a scream. ¡°I asked for a manager to talk to, not the¡­¡± ¡°Ma¡¯am, I am the current CEO of Mortis Operandi. Ventus has parted ways with the company.¡± Eft interrupted. ¡°Whatever, I don¡¯t have time for this.¡± The robed figure said. ¡°Let¡¯s get started,¡± Eft said and produced a scroll. ¡°Our records show you purchased two OR-5651 aka Bucket Rooms and are having issues with one.¡± ¡°Yes, let me show you.¡± The robed figure reached out to touch Eft. The goblin tensed up but allowed the skeletal hand to touch him. They both appeared in a classically designed bucket room. The door was thankfully raised and most of the room looked operational, except a group of skeletons in the corner. ¡°I have your teleporting pit trap, dropping people off in here, but instead of filling the bucket, they are just starving and dying.¡± The robed figure said. ¡°Teleporting pit trap?¡± Eft said, puzzled as he didn¡¯t recognize that product. ¡°Pit trap, but instead of spikes at the bottom, it is a teleportation circle dropping them off in here. I paid you guys a pretty penny for it.¡± ¡°Do you have the contract or bill of sale?¡± ¡°Yes, I keep all my paperwork, the only way to keep you people honest.¡± Eft bristled at the comment but was able to contain his anger. As a goblin, he had a lifetime dealing with people more powerful than him. The robed figure disappeared, leaving Eft alone. Briefly, the goblin wondered if he should stand outside of the door, but knew he needed to show he wasn¡¯t afraid. Eft slowly wandered around the room scanning the magic to see if it was working as intended. As he was getting ready to summon a goat the robed figure appeared. ¡°Here,¡± the figure thrust a bunch of rolled up parchments towards Eft. The older goblin walked over and took them. Slowly he unrolled each and reviewed the document. ¡°It''s the Pits,¡± the contract named the teleporting pit trap. The lack of a stock code and the company logo on the bottom told Eft what he needed. ¡°Lethal Inventions Company.¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Does the trap teleport people one at a time?¡± Eft asked after reviewing the other scrolls. ¡°Yes, I have it transporting people across multiple rooms.¡± The robed figure said and Eft felt the room grow colder. ¡°Well, a couple of things then,¡± Eft said and he rolled up the scrolls together and handed them to the robed figure. Once it took them the goblin continued. ¡°This room is built for multiple people to be trapped within it. The whole thing is about making them kill each other or draining their own blood to open the door. If you only transport one person, they won''t have enough blood to unlock the door and get out.¡± ¡°Then fix it,¡± ¡°It is how the room was designed and sold to you. If it does not meet your needs, I can refer you to someone to remove it from your structure.¡± Eft said. The robed figure sighed and the hand clenched the scrolls tightly. ¡°I demand to talk to someone higher to get this fixed.¡± The figure said. Eft could now see his breath as the room dropped to freezing levels. ¡°I am Mortis Operandi, and we do not support third party modifications of our traps.¡± ¡°WHAT!¡± ¡°The teleport trap dropping people into the room isn¡¯t part of the design. People are supposed to enter through the door as a group and then deal with the altar, as a group.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care, it''s your damn teleport trap! FIX IT!¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t though, you purchased the teleport trap from Lethal Inventions. I cannot provide support for their product.¡± ¡°I can never tell the difference between you people, what is the difference, just fix the damn thing.¡± The voice was not becoming a shriek that started to hurt Eft¡¯s ears. Eft closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. ¡°I can understand your frustration and wanting this to just get fixed. The key is the room is built for conflict between the adventures who get trapped in there. If there is no conflict it doesn¡¯t work. By having the trap drop them into it once at a time it prevents it from working.¡± Eft said using a soft and steady tone. The figure¡¯s mouth could be seen even masked in shadows. It opened then closed, then opened again but slowly closed. The figure shrank a few inches before speaking. ¡°How do I get this fixed,¡± the figure said in a normal tone. ¡°Did Lethal Inventions give you a way to change the teleport location?¡± Eft said feeling his confidence rise. ¡°Yes, a token I place where I want the subject to end up.¡± ¡°Does it transfer the speed and angle?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, this stuff is just too complex. I just¡­¡± ¡°No worries, we can test it.¡± Eft snagged the token after the shade pointed it out. Together they walked over to the pit trap that led into it. Eft using a bit of magic to stick the token to the ceiling, then summoned a small rabbit. Directing the rabbit into the hole, it immediately disappeared into the black. A moment later a little ball of fur flew out from the token and into the floor. A broken and wheezing rabbit form lay in front of Eft and the shade. Removing the token, Eft placed it on the floor. He walked over to the quivering rabbit and kicked it back into the pit. It disappeared into the black before reappearing from the token, flying through the air and hitting the ceiling. Briefly, it stuck to the ceiling, bu then fell to the ground. No longer moving at all. ¡°I can work with this,¡± Eft said and the goblin smiled. ¡°Can you shape stone?¡± ¡°Yes, but I don¡¯t see¡­¡± the shade started. ¡°The bucket room won''t work with this trap. It needs a group of people. I want to make sure this trap works as well, even though it isn¡¯t from my company.¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t your¡¯s,¡± for the first time Eft could see the shade¡¯s eyes in the hood. The glowing red orbs widened. ¡°Correct, but I want you to know Mortis Operandi cares about its customers. So if we can fix this to be just as effective, everyone will be happy.¡± ¡°Yes, I can shape stone a little.¡± The shade said. With magic, Eft placed the token against the ceiling. He directed the shade to make a hole to fit the token in, but at an angle. Once it was in place, Eft had the shade summon some skeletons. ¡°So the adventures come in from that side, they don¡¯t see the pit trap. One of the adventures falls in.¡± Eft directed the shade to have a skeleton fall into the hole. A second after it disappeared it reappeared near the token, but falling at an angle, right into the other skeletons. ¡°So they won¡¯t go to the ¡®Bucket Room¡¯?¡± the shade said. ¡°Oh, they¡¯ll go there, eventually. This will stall them though, buying you more time or giving your guards time to respond. We place the other tokens at different angles, like behind them, or even right over the pit so someone just falls forever.¡± ¡°Oh I like the falling forever, that way solo adventurers that fall into the trap will be waiting for lunch time.¡± Eft repressed a shiver and nodded in agreement. Together they fixed the pitfall trap and the relationship between Rachel Shaddow and Mortis Operandi. When Eft left an hour later, he had an appointment in a week to review the customer''s Defense Solutions. Not a new chapter, sorry, book 2 is done, but... Thank you for reading book 2. I''m starting my next project which will be a bit more of a true to genre LitRPG story called "Skills, Archetypes, and Demons - First Encounters" I thought I''d post a note here incase anyone following this tale didn''t know. https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/26422/skills-archetypes-and-demons-first-encountersUnauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Between working on this new story, I''m editing Hostile Takeover, and if you have any thoughts or suggestions about this let me know either in comments or PM''s. I post the stories to Royal Road to get feedback, gauge interest, and it also motivates me to write more. As always thank you for reading. It is nice to know the voices inside my head help entertain someone else besides me. Not a new chapter, a heads up I plan on pushing this book to Amazon by end of month. At that point, due to exclusivity with Amazon, I''ll have to remove most of the book from here. If you are part way through or want to reread it, here is a notice. I''ll post a link when I do put it on Amazon for those who wish to purchase or read through kindle unlimited. Again if you have any suggestions, comments, or anything that could improve the 2nd book let me know. One of the benefits of self-publishing I''m only beholden to my own timetable so if I need to push it out further I can. I think at some point I''ll not renew the Kindle Unlimited thing and bring the books back here. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. As always, thank you for reading and comments. I don''t know if any of you truly understand how motivating it is. Not new Chapter, sorry again. Placed on Amazon Thank you to all who read, and especially those that have provided comments and feedback at various steps. I placed this book on Amazon partially because I love creating a physical object I can store on my bookshelf, other parts being getting a few dollars to help pay for editing software, stock photo''s, and the occasional beer. https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B07X12GZMZ The first book in the series is still on Amazon. https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B07T46B4NM , and I plan on writing some short stories/Novella''s that will continue the adventures until I can get a good plot for the 3rd book. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. In the meantime if you like my writing or am curious as to the current work in progress, its a bit more LitRPG than GameLit/Fantasy. https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/26422/skills-archetypes-and-demons-first-encounters Check it out, any comments or thoughts about the story as it is written is useful. Thank you all who read, to those that are just now learning about this book, I''m sorry, At some point I may stop doing Kindle Unlimited on these books and bring them back, but that''ll be at least 3-6months.