With that he took his leave and headed up the stone steps and through the large double doors into the bank’s lobby.
David watched with displeasure as the Dwarf disappeared from sight before turning to the others.
“Something about that guy really set me on edge” he said.
“Aye, you oughtta look out for that one. He inherited the business from his father and has gained a lot o’ reputation in these parts as a crook and a cheat, but he’s the one who controls the trade. If anyone wants to sell their goods on the surface, they have to go through him. When he took over, he upped the charges for using his routes – making it cost twice as much as before for him to sell yer goods, claiming it’s because o’ the increased distance his boys have to travel to make a sale, and the increased dangers on the surface. But everyone knows it’s just to line his pockets with more gold.” explained Darryn.
“Why do people still go through him then?” asked Erin, not understanding what would stop them from selling their goods on the surface on their own.
“Most people are afraid o’ the surface. They like the underground, and the stories o’ Dwarves trying their luck themselves and never returning – those are enough to keep anyone from trying again. That’s why he’s so popular – he’s got the routes secured and his boys are seasoned enough to know where to go, when to go, and how to avoid trouble up there.” said Darryn. “But that’s enough o’ that! Let’s go meet me cousin Gerryn!” said Darryn, his expression cheerful again at the thought of showing off his cousin’s skills.
Darryn was right to be proud. His cousin’s skills with the hammer and chisel were unlike anything any of them had seen before. His shop was lined with exquisitely crafted metal pieces and jewelry ready to be capped with precious gems and stones that were perfectly cut in thousands of unique shapes and sizes.
Once the stones were set in the pieces, he would give them to the jewelry store next door to sell, where he would earn a percentage of the sale, giving a sizeable amount to the owner. He explained his cousin was not interested in the sales aspect and would rather spend all of his time on the crafting and forging of the items, leaving the sales and customer interactions to his partner next door.
After they had been introduced to Gerryn and were given a quick tour of the business and some of the other local stores, David and the others had decided to head back to the palace to prepare for the feast.
They made their way back to the cart and took off down the tracks and up the spiral railway before heading off to their separate rooms to prepare for the coming feast, something they were each eagerly awaiting.
Chapter XIV
Manny quickly made his way through the interior of the bank, gesturing for his two most trusted advisors – Glenn and Glynn – to follow him to his office.
Glenn and Glynn were brothers, and they were built big and sturdy like most Dwarves. When Manny had taken over the business from his father, he hired them as his own personal bodyguards. He also used them to run his little errands. Errands like making sure anyone who tried to sell goods on the surface never found their way back to Emerald Keep. It was a nasty business trying to remain on top, Manny had always told them.
When they entered and shut the door, and he was certain no one else was close enough to listen in on their conversation, Manny quietly but urgently began explaining what must be done.
“Word has reached me of the King’s plan to send a small scouting party to the surface. He wants to verify the human’s claims that the Defiant One has returned.” began Manny, looking at the two large Dwarves.
“It is your job to make sure that this news does not reach the King. You have whatever resources you need to make this happen. Do you understand?” he asked, looking sternly at Glenn and Glynn.
They both shook their heads in unison.
“Good. If word gets out that the Defiant One and his armies have indeed returned, no one will risk sending their goods to the surface to trade, and therefore, no one will come to me for my services. The bank will lose its most lucrative business, and with all of the money I’ve already committed to keeping my insiders quiet and on the prowl, I’d lose more than I can bear.” he said, pacing back and forth. “We must not let this happen…whatever the cost, do you hear me?” he reiterated.
“Sir, you can rest assured we will take care of this quickly and quietly.” said Glynn after sharing a look of understanding with Glenn.
“But we will need a considerable amount of gold to convince the scouts to give a false report – they won’t risk lying to the King without a big incentive.”
“Yes, yes, take whatever you need from the vaults. If we don’t get them on our side, our business is doomed anyway!” said Manny frantically. “We can replenish the funds later. Right now, our only focus is in keeping the truth from the King! Now be off, there’s no time to waste!” he said, pointing to the door.
Glenn and Glynn quickly walked out of the room. When it came to finding the weakest link in an organization, there were none better.
They had been the ones who found out that the King’s personal accountant had been stealing little by little from the King’s treasury over the years. Now, he was giving them insider information in order to keep them from spilling his little secret.
They were also the ones responsible for finding the guard who patrolled the palace who was facing financial uncertainties due to his gambling addition – now he was doing quite well, and only had to pay the price of his loyalty to the King to gain back his losses. That and his promise to keep tabs on the whereabouts of the soldiers patrolling the city so they could plot out the best places and times to carry out their more lucrative deals in privacy, without the risk of interference.
Yes, their boss had given them many assignments indeed, and they had been very busy buying off the weak and feeble-minded ones wherever they could be found.
Because of this, they knew just where to go to carry out their latest assignment.
Glenn and Glynn made their way through the city proper and up the higher walkways of the upper-class district. After several long paths and quite a few turns, they found their way to the Office of the Guard Patrol who’s ranking officer had recently been caught in a compromising situation, one that would have left his wife quite disappointed in him were she to find out.
Fortunately for him, Glenn and Glynn knew how to make secrets disappear, but they always had a price. Today, that price was to be paid by getting him to choose his two newest recruits for the King’s assignment – recruits he knew could be manipulated if offered a vast amount of coin to keep quiet certain details of their report.
They quickly dropped off the large bag filled with gold coins and explained their terms to the ranking officer, terms which he quickly agreed to after a small reminder of why he was doing their bidding.
“For your troubles” said Glynn, handing over a smaller bag of coin to the officer, to which he smiled and eagerly slid into his pocket.
“Thank you, sirs. Always a pleasure doing business,” said the officer.
With their business settled, Glenn and Glynn made their way out of the Office of the Guard Patrol and headed to the lower district for a celebratory drink. They loved their job, and they were very, very good at it.
Chapter XV
The feast turned out to be better than any of them could have imagined. It was held in a great dining hall filled with several long wooden tables that spanned across the room from wall to wall.
King Tybrin had spared no expense when it came to the food. There were all kinds of roasted game ranging from boar, turkey, venison, all the way down to what David was told was duck. In addition to the meats, there were countless varieties of salads, vegetables, and fruit bowls on every table.
The popular drink of choice was a dark, amber ale that the Dwarves took great pride in and was brewed within their caverns by the hundreds of gallons. It had somewhat of a spicy note, with hints of cinnamon and vanilla. Darryn told them that the spice ca
me from a local pepper that grew in the dark caverns near the city and was extremely spicy if eaten raw but toned down quite a bit during the brewing process.
The King had also requested an assortment of live music and entertainers to attend the feast, singing heroic tales in song form of ages past and ballads of long-lost lovers, while others performed juggling acts and reenacted plays of historic battles and other important events.
Eventually, enough drink had been consumed that several Dwarves began jumping up on the tables and dancing to the music, swinging arm in arm and knocking over several mugs and dishes in the act. Some of the patrons that were less intoxicated didn’t take too kindly to their meals being kicked to the floor and began shouting at the hooligans, trying to get them down from the tables. Others simply decided to join them and before you knew it, nearly all of the tables were filled with dancing Dwarves!
Reingard and Holzer, feeling much more at home in this environment than David, Erin, and Tyrius would have liked, jumped up on the table and joined in the merrymaking, laughing and trying their best to sing along and keep up with the footwork of the Dwarves.
Overall, the evening was quite enjoyable and was filled with joy and laughter. It was a nice break from the hard, and sometimes dangerous journey thus far from Ravenfell. It allowed them to forget the woes of the world above them and focus instead on the moment, basking in it for as long as they could. After all, the companions knew in the back of their minds that the festive mood would be short lived at best, soon to be broken by the harsh reality that lay awaiting on the surface world.
As the evening grew later and later the crowds began to disperse and the staff started clearing off the tables, signaling that it was time for the party to end and for the companions to call it a night.
David escorted Erin back to her room and gave her a long kiss goodnight before she playfully pushed him away and told him to go to bed, shutting the door gently behind her.
David stumbled through the hallway, feeling quite high on life, eventually making his way to his room before flopping down on his bed. The mattress was soft and molded to his form, swallowing him in a gentle cushion of warmth in which he quickly drifted off to sleep.
***
The next morning came faster than he would have liked, and far less enjoyable than the previous night had ended.
He awoke to a loud banging on his door before it was violently flung open. In came two Dwarves decked in the armor of the Guard. They promptly placed him under arrest and escorted him out of his room.
Still half asleep and at this point completely confused, David did his best to catch his feet up with the swiftly moving guards that were practically dragging him through the hallway. It took him a few moments before he finally gathered the awareness to speak.
“What’s going on?” he asked the guards, “Why am I under arrest?”
“It’s not for us to ask questions. We were instructed to gather you and your friends up and take you to the King at once. I expect you’ll find out soon enough.” said one of the guards grimly, never missing a beat.
It wasn’t long before they led David to the large, vaulted entryway and he caught sight of Erin and the others for the first time. They too were being escorted by armored guards and looked just as shocked as he was.
He could hear Tyrius demanding the same explanation David had asked for. Clearly none of them knew what was going on!
They were all led to the throne room and forced to kneel before the King, who was waiting patiently on his throne. He looked extremely disappointed.
“When we spoke yesterday, I mentioned to ye that if ye were lying to me, ye would be punished. Yet ye still insisted, and even had the nerve to join me feast, drink me ale, and eat me food as if ye were worthy of such things!” spat Tybrin, furious.
“What are you saying?” asked Tyrius, confused by King Tybrin’s accusation. “Have the scouts returned already? Surely they would have told you the news!” he pleaded.
“Aye, they told me the news! They said there was nothing out o’ place at Eldergate from what they could tell. No army of Demons, no giant outcrop of rock! How do ye suppose I should take that?” asked Tybrin, glaring fiercely at his captives.
“No…. that can’t be!” said Tyrius, “We saw it for ourselves, we were there when it happened. The scouts, they must be lying to you!”
“And why would they lie to me?” asked Tybrin, “What would they have to gain but a swift trial and severe punishment?”
“I don’t know, but there has to be an explanation! Send another scout party, I beg of you. You will see -” started Tyrius, but Tybrin swiftly cut him off.
“I will not send another scout party! What I will do, is promptly schedule a trial for ye all to answer to yer crimes! Ye will no longer be welcome in me house. Ye will stay in yer cells until the evenin’ when we can hear the case against ye. I will have Darryn represent ye, since he’s the one who was with ye the most and will be most inclined to speak honestly for yer cause. Now, be off! I want ye out o’ me sight!” said Tybrin, waving his hand for the guards to take them away.
“Your majesty, please, you must believe us!” shouted Tyrius as he was dragged away.
The guards escorted them out of the palace and back to the carts where they were promptly taken back to the cells they had occupied after their initial arrival.
They were not allowed to talk during the cart ride, however, once they were securely locked in their cells, Darryn came promptly to the prison to speak with them and discern what had happened.
He went to Tyrius’ cell, which was in the middle of the hallway, so everyone could hear what was being said.
“Tell me it ain’t so.” said Darryn to Tyrius through the bars in the door.
“It’s a complete fabrication!” whispered Tyrius angrily. “I don’t understand why the scouts would lie.”
“I don’t either,” replied Darryn, “But if we don’t find out why by tonight, you’ll all be spendin’ a whole lott’a time in these cells.” he said seriously.
“I know…I know…we must find out who the scouts were. If we can do that, we can determine why they would have lied, what incentive they would have had in keeping the truth from the King. That has to be our focus.” said Tyrius, to which everyone agreed.
“Right, I’ll see what I can find out and come back as soon as I have some news.” replied Darryn, and he quickly took off down the hallway and sped off in the cart back to the city.
***
The hours passed by slowly as they waited in their cells for the hour of their trial. They were given a meager meal for breakfast, then lunch, and then finally dinner, before the guards came at last to get them for their hearing.
When they each were taken from their cell and escorted to the cart that would take them back to the city, they all shared worried looks, wondering where Darryn was and if he had ultimately decided to abandon their cause.
They sped off down the railways to the city, the dark tunnels suddenly feeling very confining and miserable in light of their increasingly bleak situation.
Chapter XVI
It was early morning, and the mist was still hanging thick in the air over the Great Plains between the southern bend of the Draconian Mountains and the Outer Woods. The men of Ravenfell were waiting atop their great towers at the top of the mountain pass. All they could do was watch helplessly as the Great Plains continued to swell with endless masses of Demons preparing their march toward Ravenfell.
Their ranks looked like a great black flood, slowly taking over the green grasslands and flowing over the rolling hills like a great wave of death. Thousands of banners were reaching into the sky throughout their ranks, bearing the black Raven in front of a blood red circle – the insignia of the Southern Kingdom that General Krauss had adopted when he took over Eldergate and what remained of the Royal Guard.
Although the distance between the soldiers and the incoming army was still great, they could feel the vibration of hundreds of t
housands of marching feet, pounding away on the ground as they made their way down the Great Road, and it left the men restless. They had prepared for this fight for several days now, anticipating its arrival, but the sight of such a vast army was unsettling and left the men chilled from more than just the cool mountain air.
Rex and Orin were standing together with the King and General Ryan on the first of the high walls to catch a glimpse of the enemy they would soon be facing.
“And so, it begins” said King Eldergate somberly, peering out across the vast plains at the enemy force. He had a fierce look of determination mixed with overwhelming sadness for the countless lives he knew would soon be lost in the fighting.
“Aye. We are as ready as we will ever be,” said Rex, confident they had done everything they could in the two short weeks they had had to prepare since David’s departure. “Let’s just hope it is enough.” he said, peering out into the plains below at the marching army.
Their fortifications had been completed in the night, leaving the valley protected by a series of high stone walls with crenelations spaced evenly throughout. They would provide cover for their archers to rain fire from above and hopefully slow down the enemy advancement. Behind the fortified walls were a series of wooden barricades, cut to sharp points facing outward, that were set up in a way that would force the enemy to zigzag through the maze-like barriers before reaching the second, and eventually third, walls.
On top of the walls were ballistae to hold off the flying demons, and catapults to fire large tar-filled pots that would be lit and fired, exploding upon impact.
If the enemy forces were able to breach the final wall, they would be faced with the full combined might of the armies of Ravenfell and Eldergate that would be waiting for them should they get that far – and there was no doubt that they eventually would.
David Bishop and the Mystic of Creation Page 11