by Eric Ugland
“I apologize,” Eliza said, “I just, I would feel better if I— I must go.”
She turned and walked away.
Too confused to say anything, I watched her go. Her butt made her dress flounce in a rather impressive manner.
“That could have gone better,” Nikolai said.
Chapter 58
I felt out of touch with the place, with Coggeshall.
“Is that actually a barn?” I asked, pointing behind Nikolai.
“It is,” he replied, and gestured to the bucket of milk he still held.
“And you milked something in there?”
“Of course not. Someone asked me to carry this bucket to the kitchen.”
“We have a kitchen?”
“We have a fire that—”
“You’re sweating,” I said. “Let me take that.”
I snatched the bucket from him, and he sighed as I took it.
“I was completely in control of the bucket, my lord,” he said.
“Yeah yeah,” I replied, catching his use of our stupid little code phrasing. ‘My lord’ meant he was happy with what I was doing. Whee. “Show me to the kitchen.”
“But of course,” he said with a bow.
“Knock that shit off.”
“I would, normally,” he said, already walking, “but with our latest guest, I fear I might need to increase my efforts at court behavior.”
“Northwoods? Why?”
“Because you are going to play the dunce, and I am going to play the fop.”
“Sounds like a terrible play.”
“It is not the best of plans, but because she already assumes you are an idiot. So, by all means, continue as a dumbass, it is better to reinforce that particular thought line.”
“Why?”
“Gods, Montana, that girl is not your ally. She is not your friend. She is here to guide you just well enough to build something her father can snatch from you.”
“Yeah, I got that, but—”
“But you grow tired of being the fool?”
“Exactly.”
“Too bad, it is the best part you play.”
The ‘kitchen’ was nothing more than a large fire pit with a spot where coals could be raked out. There were some tripods holding cauldrons and pots above the coals, and a rotisserie with a carcass of something spinning on a spit, its skin crackling. It smelled delicious, especially since I’d been living off old rations I had in my bag and somewhat ripe berries I’d foraged.
Nikolai took the bucket from me and set it in front of the prep station, which was just a section of a tree trunk that had been planed on two sides. It was the thickest butcher block you could possibly imagine, and probably pretty nice to work at, though there was no where for your feet to slide under which seemed to make it ever so awkward to stand at.
“Milk,” Nikolai said.
A dwarf looked up from chopping a potato, and a big smile spread beneath his bushy beard.
“Now now,” the dwarf said, “you need not trouble yourself with such lowly tasks, Master Nikolai. You could—”
“Nonsense,” Nikolai said. “It was the least I could do.”
Then the dwarf caught sight of me, and his eyes went wide. He looked down at the potatoes, as if I was a basilisk who would turn him to stone if our gazes met.
I shook my head, and walked away.
“That is another issue we need to address,” Nikolai said quietly as soon as we’d given some space to the dwarf.
I felt the dwarf staring at me as I left.
“They really hate me.”
“It’s not hate,” Nikolai said. “It is fear. But a good fear in a way. They have heard stories about you. They saw you bring the little girl back, and they heard what those who went after you found. They will sleep better knowing you are here tonight, but there is a certain worry you are little more than a chained beast.”
“Peachy.”
“It is just another issue.”
“We seem to have a lot of those.”
“Yes. We do. But we also possess the means to overcome. So before I watch you spiral into something unpleasant, let us continue the tour.”
Nikolai led me back to the barn, where I peeked inside. It was a big structure with a massive hay loft on the second floor. I counted 18 stalls, only some of which were currently occupied. Mostly by the animals that had hauled our wagons from Osterstadt. Notably missing: the predatory gravlux who’d been with the battenti. There was a small work area at the front where two battenti spoke quietly with two humans.
I gave a little wave, which just garnered strange looks from the group.
Nikolai pulled me outside and we continued on. “Those four are in charge of animal husbandry. The younger battenti is impressive indeed. Perhaps a whisperer of some kind. She truly seems to have a connection with animals.”
“Where are the gravlux?” I asked.
“They do not get along with, well, prey animals that well. They are currently being trained to act as mounts. Apparently, they work well to hunt with.”
“Oh.”
“Hunting will be quite important for us this winter, though I imagine, perhaps not as fundamental given the wealth you managed to acquire.”
Nikolai looked down at the bag at my side.
“I suppose that’s a question we need to address,” I said.
“Where you got the coin?”
“No. I mean, you can ask if you think it matters, but the question I have is where are we going to put it all?”
“Did you steal the money?”
“I didn’t steal the money,” I said. “Although, I mean, I suppose you could characterize it that way if you wanted to frame it as such.”
“How about you just tell me where it came from?”
“Remember that wyrm?” I asked. “The one where we—”
“I recall that beast followed us and you slew it.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. I mean, I think it did follow us, but there was another inside there. A much bigger one that—”
“A matriarch,” he whispered.
“Yeah. That’s about the sound of it.”
“You killed a matriarch?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
I sighed again, irritated how this conversation was going off the rails, but I gave him the abridged version of the fight in the cavern, and the hundred-plus wyrmlings.
Nikolai nodded at me. “I am impressed. You were inventive and successful. Good job.”
“Are you done being a patronizing dickhole?”
He clenched his teeth together. “I am trying to compliment you.”
“You suck at it.”
“How about we add that to our list of issues and see where it ranks?”
“Fine.”
“Now, your question.”
“Where do we put all this coin?”
“Besides your bag?”
“I’d prefer not to be a walking bank.”
“It is a problem we have been thinking on.”
“We?”
“Your council? Those of us whom you have entrusted with building your little settlement?”
“You and Lee—”
“And the others. We have been speaking of a number of issues, mostly dealing with security and safety.”
“Speaking of that—”
“I was under the impression we were speaking of that.”
“Right. Well, I mean, we were, but I was thinking of something—”
“Try not to strain yourself.”
“Nice. Where is Northwoods staying?”
“In his palatial wagon, I imagine.”
“No, Eliza.”
“Are you planning on making a midnight—”
“Absolutely not. I just wanted to know she’s safe, and besides our current sleeping conditions are—”
“Unsafe?”
“Embarrassing.”
“That they are. As far as I know, her cadre of ladies-in-waitin
g have erected a tent and have a wagon a short distance from the long house. Closer to the trees.”
“Closer to where the goblins came from?”
“It might be that direction.”
“And who directed them there?”
“I cannot recall.”
“I know you don’t like the girl—”
“Nor do I trust her.”
“Fine, but we still are responsible for her.”
“You think I am unaware of that?”
“No, but—”
“She has plenty of protection.”
“Fine, treasury,” I said, ripping the conversation back to where I’d wanted it to go initially. “What are we doing about that?”
“Come with me.”
The river was to the east of us, and the mountain face to the south. The gate and tunnel were roughly 200 yards from the river, and higher in elevation. The town, if you want to call our two buildings a town, was situated northwest of the tunnel entrance, about 100 yards distant. Far enough that the wall didn’t loom over us, close enough to give us a false sense of security. The barn was the closest building to both the river and the gate, and it had a very large fenced in enclosure attached to it, where the cattle and whatnot could graze outdoors if weather permitted. The longhouse took up a stretch of ground about 20 yards from the barn. The more I looked at it, the more I realized it was an eyesore.
Beyond the longhouse was a large tent next to a nice wagon, with a small paddock out behind where a few horses happily munched on some grass. The Northwoods flag flapped gaily in the breeze.
We needed a flag.
“We need a flag,” I said.
“Strangely,” Nikolai countered, “I feel there are more pressing matters.”
Nikolai continued walking towards the cliff face, but further west of both the town and the tunnel. I saw a distinct lack of activity taking place — all three of our wizards sat at a rough-hewn table next to an opening in the wall, Lee leaned against the wall.
“The prodigal one returns,” Lee said, getting to his feet.
“Yeah yeah,” I said. “I had things I had to do.”
“He was playing with wyrms,” Nikolai said.
Lee frowned, but the wizards were suitably impressed.
“Worms?” Lee asked.
“Let’s talk treasury,” I said.
“I think we should,” Essie replied. “I have a few ideas about that topic.”
“We need to talk housing,” Lee countered. “We need our people to be comfortable in order to work the hours we need them to work.”
“Respectfully,” Nikolai said, holding up his hand, “I disagree. Security is paramount, and whether that’s a wall or something else—”
Lee shook his head. “Security is housing. Housing is security.”
“We have housing, and it isn’t secure,” I said.
“The housing we have is embarrassing,” Lee snapped.
“So is our security,” Nikolai said.
“Hey,” I said loudly, “let’s hold off a minute and stop putting other ideas down. There’s a lot that needs to happen. I wanted to talk about the treasury but perhaps that’s not the most germane idea at the present. I guess there are other needs that are more pressing. I know I’ve been away and I should have been focusing on things here and I guess I mucked that up, but we do have coin again, so that’s step one. Nikolai, get together with Lee and figure out what supplies we need and where we can buy them. As far as construction priorities, let me think on this tonight, and we will convene tomorrow morning.”
“Tarry not, my lord,” Nikolai said. “The well finishes tomorrow, yes?”
Mercy nodded, and Essie replied, “Yes.”
“So we will have workers ready and available.”
“There are many unanswered questions here,” Lee said. “I don’t think—”
I raised a hand up. “I know. Trust me, I’ve got plenty of questions myself. But there are, uh, new things I need to figure out before, you know, we make any decisions.”
“He claimed the land,” Nikolai said.
Again, Lee was non-plussed, but the natives of Vuldranni seemed impressed.
“That would change things,” Essie said.
“I’m lost,” Lee said.
“Nikolai will fill you in,” I said. “I need to go for a walk and check some of this stuff out.”
Chapter 59
I headed to the woods. Which, you know, meant walking about 10 feet.
Boom.
Trees.
Everywhere.
I itched to pull out an axe and pull a Bunyan on the motherfuckers. But I didn’t. Instead, I found a nice big tree with a smooth trunk, sat down at its base, and leaned against it.
Then I closed my eyes and thought about menus. Notifications and tables and shit.
My character sheet came up in a heartbeat, and I took a look at it.
Montana - Lvl 25 Burgmann
Traits
Race: Royal Fallen
Height: 6’5”
Weight: 410 lbs
Eye Color: Hazel
Hair Color: Blonde
Renown: 175 - Some appreciate what you have done for them.
Statistics
HP: 485
STAM: N/A
MP: 728
Armor: +0 (none)
Active Effects: Frightful Presence
Attributes
Strength: 101
Agility: 36
Dexterity: 36
Constitution: 65
Wisdom: 24
Intelligence: 32
Charisma: 32
Luck: 37
Unassigned points: 0
Skills
Riding - improvised (Lvl 1)
Falling (Lvl 3)
Animal Handling (Lvl 5)
Harvesting (Lvl 5)
Investigate (Lvl 1)
Swords (Lvl 22)
Spears (Lvl 39)
Unarmed Combat (Lvl 11)
Axes (Lvl 22)
Large Weapon Throwing (Lvl 28)
Warhammers (Lvl 25)
Light Armor (Lvl 5)
Heavy Armor (Lvl 8)
Stealth (Lvl 5)
Improvised Weaponry (Lvl 5)
Jump (Lvl 6)
Swimming (Lvl 16)
Fishing (Lvl 9)
Carving (Lvl 6)
Crafting (Lvl 5)
Wooden Weapon-Making (Lvl 1)
Intimidation (Lvl 10)
Detect Traps (Lvl 45)
Lumberjack (Lvl 15)
Tracking (Lvl 9)
Shields (Lvl 25)
Abilities
Darkvision
The Sword of My Enemy is My Sword
Iron Will
Make An Entrance
Stand Tall
Regal Bearing
Rallying Cry
Art of Movement
Labyrinthine Recall
Detect Mimic
Indomitable
Swift Tracker
Veritasium
Detect Metals and Minerals
Tremorsense
Poison Immunity
Boons
Powerful Build (Mister Paul)
Regeneration (Mister Paul)
Gift of Gab (Mister Paul)
Monstrous Companion (Typhon)
Indicium
Coggeshall Heraldic Achievement (incomplete) - You are granted permission to enter family buildings, granted permission to access family funds, and granted permission to use the family name.
Eona’s Blessing of the Spear - Eona blesses you with +10 spear, +7 swimming, +5 fishing, +10% movement in water, +3 Agility
Indicium of Imperial Prerogative: Magic - You are permitted to perform magic within the Empire of Glaton
Royal - You are identified as being of Royal Blood, and gain the abilities Stand Tall and Regal Bearing
Dungeon of the Ancients Indicium - You gain the following skills and/or abilities: Duelist, Labyrinthine Recall, Detect Mimic 20 ft, Indomi
table, Detect Traps +45 levels, Swift Tracker, Veritasium, and Endure Destruction.
Slayer - As a living embodiment of death, know that you cause Frightful Presence. Your enemies now have a chance to be frightened when they are aware of you.
Typhon’s Mark of the Beast - Typhon blesses you with +10 intimidation, tremorsense, labyrinthine recall, and +5 Strength.
Titles
Duke of Coggeshall
Duchal heir of Old Lattimoore
Count of Duhamel
Count of Helgand
Count of Dunnismeer
Relationships
Rumib Pass (destroyed) - Liked
Osterstadt - Distrusted
Languages
Goblin
Imperial Common
Mahrduhmese
Infernal
Dark Goblin
Hobgoblin Battle Cant
Spells
Lifeform Identification (Lvl 1)
Heal Other (Lvl 3)
Humus (Lvl 1)
Conceal Truth (Lvl 1)
Basic Object Identification (Lvl 3)
Tame - Greater (Lvl 1)
There was a lot of information to parse through. Also, a notification popped up as I looked over my attributes.
CONGRATULATIONS. You are the first being in this era to reach over 100 in strength. Due to this momentous achievement, you gain the ability, Unbreakable Skeleton. Wherein, your bones do not break. Ever.
Huh. Unexpected, but nice. I had felt some painful strain on the ol’ bones when I’d been pulling off some of the more, well, impressive events, like pulling the granite block and the like. I resisted the urge to use my arm as a lever and try and move rocks with it though. At least, for the moment.