“Seek out some dwarves if you can,” Dalendin advised. “We don’t like dabbling in the affairs of others, but wars need weapons, and few make better weapons than the dwarves. As long as the money is good, most dwarves will be happy to make weapons even if they won’t participate in the fighting. All it would take to find out is some coin or a relic from Mordrath. From what I understand, my… successors have become a little obsessed about it although they’ve been smart enough to stay away.”
“But be careful,” the Blood Emperor warned. “You and the others have aided two very powerful men already – and powerful men tend to have powerful enemies.”
Jonathan shuddered. He’d rather not think about that too much. The duke’s enemies couldn’t go after the duke. He was too well protected. But they could go after him.
“The great game – the struggle for power – is not one that any man can win alone. Even I had allies I relied upon, poor though my choices proved to be. Be mindful not to come across as overly partisan, or those who oppose the ones you’ve helped may seek to eliminate you.”
“Eliminate me?” Jonathan squawked. The dwarf king laughed and slapped him over the back.
“Yes. The sword is the perfect example. If the duke’s enemies thought you could somehow acquire another, they would either force you to get it for them or kill you to prevent you giving it to the duke.”
“Speaking of swords, where is yours?” Jonathan asked. The Blood Blade had been truly impressive, but the Blood Emperor’s sword was said to have been the finest in vampire history, a fitting weapon for the greatest vampire to ever live.
The Blood Emperor scowled. “When they struck me down, I flung it away and ordered it to flee and conceal itself. It appears to have done its job rather well. Until we can get close enough for the spirit lantern to track it, I would suggest looking into local myths and legends. My sword was powerful enough that it must have affected its surroundings. Moreover, it can only be wielded by one of my bloodline, which makes it impossible to move.”
“Do you believe Susannah?” Jonathan asked. The dwarf king had seemed pleased to see a huntress amongst their group. He must have met some of them before his death. “She seemed sincere when she spoke about her plans.”
“I believe her. If her clan is the way it was during my mother’s day, then their devotion to duty is nigh unbreakable. However, different huntresses see their duty in different ways. Some believe that vampires are evil by simple virtue of existing. For them, the only logical path is to exterminate all vampires. Others, however, my mother amongst them, did not believe that merely being a vampire made someone evil.” The Blood Emperor chuckled. “I think Susannah feels the same. If you were evil, Jonathan, she’d strike you down without a second thought, but you are not, which means you don’t have to worry about her coming after you. It was said in my mother’s day that there was no foe worse than a huntress – and no friend better either.”
“That’s good to know. A part of me was worried it might be a trick. I’m not exactly the best person at detecting lies.”
“If she wanted you dead, Jonathan, you would be.”
“Good point. I do hope our next mission isn’t as dangerous.”
“Danger has a way of finding people, and it seldom lets them escape its clutches so easily.”
“Indeed,” the dwarf king said. “There is a clear pattern of escalation in your missions. As you grow more competent, you get given more difficult missions. Once you complete those, the pattern repeats itself.”
Jonathan’s mouth opened and closed. Now that he thought about it, Dalendin was right. Finally, he managed to speak. “I was afraid it would be something like that.”
The Blood Emperor laughed. “You have the confidence of an emperor and a High King. You’ll be fine.”
“In fairness, neither of you are technically alive at the moment,” Jonathan pointed out. “Although it does help knowing I’m not in this alone.”
“Alone?” The Blood Emperor shook his head. “You have Miles and Martin on your side, and the rest of your team as well. The bonds forged in battle and struggle are often closer than those of blood. You do not have to ask yourself if they would risk their lives for you. They already have. And you, for all your talk of not being brave, have done the same for them as well.”
Jonathan found himself smiling. “You know what? I think you might be right.”
“I am the Blood Emperor. I am always right.”
About the Author
I am a writer with an avid interest in psychology, physics, history, and economics. Writing has long been a passion of mine, and I hope to someday make a career of it. Apart from writing, I have worked in education as a lecturer in one of the aforementioned subjects.
I believe that writing is a wonderful thing and that good writing and the techniques required to develop it should be shared with as many people as possible. In that regard, I’m always open to hearing from anyone who was read my work. If you want to contact me (perhaps to praise or perhaps to put your proverbial stake and pitchfork to work), then by all means send me an email, or drop by my blog where I discuss issues related to books, writing, and my own work.
My email: [email protected]
My blog: http://lgestrella.wordpress.com
If you send an email or leave a comment, I’ll do my best to get back to you.
More From L. G. Estrella
If you’re interested in reading more of my stories, you can find them on Amazon.
There are also previews for each of my stories at my blog: lgestrella.wordpress.com
You can also read on to find out more about my stories.
Two Necromancers, a Bureaucrat, and an Elf
The Unconventional Heroes Series Part One
Two necromancers, a bureaucrat, and an elf – it sounds like the start of a bad joke, only the joke is on Timmy.
Timothy Walter Bolton – better known as Timmy – has spent most of his life as a necromancer. When he isn’t terrorising his enemies, he’s plotting inside his castle, which is built on top of lightless chasms filled with nameless horrors and beings of a generally malevolent and megalomaniacal nature. But after one of his latest creations, a zombie hydra-dragon-bear, tries to eat him, he decides that maybe it’s time to find a new, less dangerous, career.
But that’s easier said than done. He’s a wanted criminal with no shortage of powerful (and crazy) enemies, and he has a bone or two to pick with the Everton Council of Mages.
Hope arrives in the form of a new law. War is coming to Everton, and the Council is desperate. In exchange for providing some help, Timmy might just earn that pardon he’s been looking for. Of course, just because it’s possible to earn a pardon doesn’t mean that it’s going to be easy.
To earn his pardon, Timmy is going to have to take down some of Everton’s most dangerous enemies and put together a quirky group of unconventional heroes, most of whom want nothing more than to mangle him and/or the Council in as vicious a way as possible. It’s a good thing that he’s got some help: an obnoxious ten-year-old apprentice who thinks that pink glasses are appropriate for a budding necromancer and a bumbling bureaucrat who may or may not make it through their first real fight without puking his guts up.
Wonderful.
Still, Timmy’s never been one to back down from a challenge even if their first recruit is basically the elf version of the bogeyman.
Two Necromancers, an Army of Golems, and a Demon Lord
The Unconventional Heroes Series Part Two
Two necromancers, an army of golems, and a demon lord – it sounds like a recipe for trouble, and for Timmy, it definitely is.
To earn his pardon and avoid horrible torture and/or gruesome execution, Timmy has to complete every mission the Council throws his way, most of which seem to involve extremely scary things trying to kill him. At least he’s got help – sort of. His help consists of an apprentice with designs on his castle (and her plans may or may not involve overthrowing h
im), a bureaucrat whose two greatest skills are fainting in the face of trouble and using people (usually Timmy) as human shields, and an elf with the world’s worst case of pyromania and enough magic to level a mountain.
Somehow, Timmy’s got to get this bunch of unconventional heroes to work together. Trouble is coming, and it’s trouble of the kind that only a necromancer like Timmy could possibly find himself in the middle of. An army of killer golems is on the loose, which may give Timmy the excuse he needs to legally unleash wave after wave of killer zombies. Zombie versus golem – it’s every necromancer’s dream. And then there’s the demon lord that’s out to usher in the apocalypse. Sure, demons aren’t exactly his specialty, but there’s nothing that a good magical shovel to the back of the head can’t fix.
One way or another, Timmy is going to get his pardon and a tax rebate too – even if it means going up against murderous golems, insane demon lords, or mischievous ninja rodents with a predilection for magical swords and the skills to back up the trash talk.
Two Necromancers, a Dragon, and a Vampire
The Unconventional Heroes Series Part Three
Two necromancers, a dragon, and a vampire – it sounds like a shortcut to disaster, and for Timmy, it’s certainly looking that way.
To earn his pardon and avoid becoming yet another necromancer statistic, Timmy has to work for the Council. From bandit uprisings to giant sea serpents and ogre invasions, Timmy and the others are there to save the day – sort of.
And despite relying on overly intelligent ninja rats, an elf who believes that fire is the answer to everything, a bureaucrat who struggles to stay conscious through an entire fight, and a precocious apprentice who has designs on his castle, property damage per mission is down, they haven’t blown up another mountain, and they’ve gone several missions without ripping a hole in reality.
Naturally, it won’t last.
When the dragon egg their resident pyromaniac stole hatches to reveal the world’s cuddliest harbinger of death, Timmy and the others are dragged into a pair of diabolically dangerous missions. Breaking out of one of the world’s most secure prisons was hard enough. Now, they have to break back in to rescue a vampire.
And then there’s the Eye of the Abyss. Does your country have a problem with a divine artefact capable of singlehandedly winning a war? Don’t worry. Just send Timmy and the gang. They’ll handle it, and Timmy might even get to live every necromancer’s dream with… zombie pirates.
Timmy and the others want their pardons, and they’re not going to let anyone stop them, not armies, not fleets, not even the most powerful empire the world has ever seen that just so happens to hold a centuries-old grudge against Everton.
The world is going to learn a very important lesson: never, ever underestimate a necromancer with a shovel and time to plan.
Two Necromancers, a Dwarf Kingdom, and a Sky City
The Unconventional Heroes Series Part Four
Two necromancers, a dwarf kingdom, and a sky city – it sounds like a prelude to mayhem, and given Timmy’s luck, that’s exactly what’s going to happen.
To keep his castle and earn his pardon, Timmy has his work cut out for him. Whether it’s rescuing princesses, crushing hordes of goblins, or dealing with eldritch abominations, Timmy and the gang are there to save the day – and rob the occasional crime lord.
But saving the day isn’t always easy. Timmy might be an eminently sensible necromancer, but he has to deal with a young dragon who is convinced that every problem can be eaten, an elf obsessed with property damage, an ancient vampire who can’t get through a mission without being impaled repeatedly, a semi-retired legendary swordsman, a bureaucrat who has finally mastered the art of screaming and swinging a frying pan, and an overly ambitious apprentice doing her best to be more menacing despite loving the colour pink.
It’s hardly a surprise when things don’t exactly go to plan.
With war on the horizon, Timmy and the others have their hands full. Rescuing a princess can be difficult at the best of times, but rescuing a princess from one of the most powerful crime lords in the world? That’s going to be tricky.
And that’s not their only problem. Ever wonder whose job it is to deal with rampaging hordes of goblins that are about to overwhelm a kingdom of dwarves? Well, that’s Timmy’s job. Isn’t he lucky? On the upside, he finally has an excuse to deploy another army of zombies. He’s going to teach those goblins a very important lesson: never, ever get into a war of attrition with a necromancer.
One necromancer is dangerous. Two necromancers with a dragon, a vampire, a swordsman, an elf, and a bureaucrat – that’s downright deadly.
The Hungry Dragon Cookie Company
The Unconventional Heroes Series Side Stories Part One
The Hungry Dragon Cookie Company – it sounds crazy, but it might just be Timmy’s ticket to financial security and a fully renovated castle.
To earn a pardon and avoid prison or execution, Timmy, Grand Necromancer and Lord of Black Tower Castle, has been completing missions for the Council with the help of an elite team of truly heroic individuals.
There’s Katie, his apprentice. She’s brilliant, cunning, and maniacally devious. She’s also ten years old, extremely adorable, and loves billowy robes and the colour pink.
There’s Avraniel, the pyromaniac elf who is responsible for more property damage than anyone in Everton’s history (including dragons, natural disasters, and demon gods).
There’s Gerald, the hyperventilating bureaucrat who is at the top of every monster’s menu.
There’s Old Man, a retired legendary swordsman whose hobbies include bonsai trees, fishing, and the occasional duel to the death.
There’s Amanda, ancient vampire and sophisticate who knows all about the Council’s founding because she was there when it happened.
And then there’s Spot. He’s cute, cuddly, and friendly. He loves tug-of-war and fetch. He’s also a fire-breathing dragon who can devour an entire cow in about thirty seconds.
The Hungry Dragon Cookie Company is a collection of fourteen short stories that take place before, during, and after the first three parts of The Unconventional Heroes Series. Each story hopes to answer important questions like:
How does a company involving cookies and dragons even work?
How did a trans-dimensional, protoplasmic horror and a Grand Necromancer become friends, and how did that horror develop an addiction to cake?
How does an ancient vampire acquire the comely, young virgins she needs to maintain proper vampiric health without looking like a total weirdo?
Answers to all of these questions and more will be revealed. With unconventional heroes like Timmy and the gang around, life is never boring.
Divine Assistance
The Divine Assistance Series Part One
When the Supreme Mother and Supreme Father separated Creation from the Void, they also created the gods, beings of incalculable power who wielded cosmic energies far beyond the petty comprehension of mere mortals. The gods were supposed to preside over Creation with unmatched wisdom and knowledge.
Well, that was the idea.
But what is Death – a god of terrible majesty and splendour – supposed to do when his daughter asks for a pony? Is he really supposed to just go out and get a mortal one? Like that’s going to work. It’ll keel over and die in a couple of decades. No, his daughter deserves something better, a pony truly worthy of her divine heritage, which means he’s going to have to get a little bit creative.
And then there’s Bureaucracy. The Supreme Mother and Supreme Father might have given rise to Creation, but Bureaucracy is the one who has to keep everything running smoothly. But that’s easier said than done when there are hundreds of gods and countless mortals to consider – none of whom understand the importance of filing paperwork in triplicate. Luckily, not even gods can escape the awesome power of divine paperwork.
And let’s not forget gods like Mayhem, Mischief, and Rabble. Their names
speak for themselves. When the three of them take a holiday in the mortal world at the same time, trouble is right around the corner.
Divine Assistance is a collection of fourteen short stories about the gods and their attempts to manage Creation. There are souls to claim, mortals to woo, and even the occasional city to smite. After all, what’s life without a little divine assistance?
Attempted Adventuring (The Attempted Vampirism Series Book 2) Page 27