by Eric Ugland
I was trying to strategize this whole city-building thing. Vuldranni was most definitely a game world, which meant there had to be some measure of gaming attached to the building. The city-building games I’d played back in the day had never really captured my imagination; I’d been much more into RPG than RTS. I figured I’d have to tackle that aspect as soon as I knew what the rules of the new game were.
In the meantime, I tried to pull together what basic elements a town might need. Food, shelter, security. Everything else could wait. Hell, I hadn’t even seen the valley yet, which meant I had no idea what kind of resources I’d have available. Trees, likely. There was a river running out of the valley, so water probably wouldn’t be too much of an issue. Potentially, it could cover a certain amount of our food issues as well — there might be plenty of fish available. Certainly in the time I’d spent there, I’d caught a couple of fish with no problem, but with all the new mouths I was bringing, there might be issues relying on the river to supply all our food.
We were about to stop for lunch when the battenti said they’d be happy to do some cooking while we kept moving. So we had the battenti version of burritos. They were tasty.
Much like that, the ragtag crew took on some sort of order, one that somehow left me alone, outside the chain of command. Or socialization. Lee had taken over most of the logistical duties, figuring out food and making sure no one in the party, including our animals, were over-exerted. Nikolai had most of the leadership stuff covered, assigning people to wagons, making sure there were guards posted at night and any time we stopped. Skeld and Ragnar stepped up to cover things like ranging and foraging, which was clearly inspired by the little KitsuneGirl, Amber, saying she wanted to be a ranger. Ragnar wasn’t about to let Skeld spend more time with her. Emeline wandered about the whole group talking and making friends. More importantly, perhaps, she did the thing I should have done, which was find connections between the disparate groups and help push everyone together.
It was during the first night away from Osterstadt that I finally completed the quest for Emeline, technically speaking. I gave the bag of books over to her, and she took them without comment.
“You care about the other stuff in the tomb?” I asked.
“No,” she said,” you can keep it.”
And I felt like she’d dismissed me. I walked away, and took up a spot a bit distant from the camp, and I sat there. Watching.
By the fourth night, the whole group was around the fire together, sharing food and drink, singing songs and having a lovely time. An old dwarf had taken up a spot on the battenti wagon porch next to Lanfrank, and the two geezers were yelling at the kids as if they’d been growing old together for all time. It made my heart swell.
Even the WarMancer was brought into the fold — at least to a degree. The members of my hirð would chat with him, and the other mages walked with him.
It was really me who was the outcast. I saw the way people looked at me, and it wasn’t always the same. Some fear, some mistrust, a modicum respect. And once Ragnar and Emeline spun the story of the dungeon around the campfire, everything spiraled downhill quickly. Fear seemed to be in each and every look all of my people. I suppose I’d be scared of someone who’s kill count was in the four digits as well. You know, if it wasn’t me. When I took guard duty, I overheard more conversations than I wanted, and several of them were between families, asking if they’d made a mistake following me. And, worse, I heard, more than once, parents telling children to stay away from me.
And that hurt. More than I thought it would.
Chapter Thirty-Five
The initial trip from the dukedom of Coggeshall to Osterstadt took about four days of running without stopping. Going back, it took quite a bit longer. Not just because the wagons went so much slower, but also because we had to stop at night. And we had to get our butts going in the morning.
All told, it took about two weeks for us to get to the point where the river met the road.
When we got there, to where the bridge sat, we found a man on a horse waiting for me. Specifically me.
A call came back for Duke Coggeshall to come to the fore.
I was mostly covered in mud following a rather disastrous attempt at levity. Lee let one of the dwarven children drive, and I ended up having to push the wagon out of a rather impressive mud hole. I walked forward, watching everyone watching me.
On the bridge stood a horse. And, on the horse was a man in brilliant blue armor. A familiar man.
“Lord Northwoods,” I said as I walked towards him. “A pleasure to finally meet you.”
“Lord Coggeshall,” he said, more than a hint of a sneer on his face.
“Can I help you?” I asked.
“I was hoping we might have a moment to chat, to hopefully resolve a misunderstanding. Perhaps we might speak in private.”
Northwoods seemed amiable, polite, happy even. I got zero sense of threat from him, and I doubted he’d be able to offer much of a threat to me in any case.
So I smiled in return, and then said, “If you’ll give me a minute?”
He nodded at me, then turned his mount around and rode off to the other side of the bridge.
I walked back into the group until I found Lee and Nikolai.
“So,” I said, “what do you think all of this nonsense is?”
Lee looked to Nikolai.
Nikolai looked to Northwoods.
“Guys?” I asked.
“I feel he is about to pressure you to sign over your lands,” Nikolai said. “Perhaps threaten you. Or us.”
“I’m guessing that’s a bad idea?“
“Of course.”
“So what’s my move here? Punch him?”
“Listen to what he says, be polite but firm. He is your closest neighbor, but remember that you outrank him. Your title was bestowed upon your family by the Emperor, while his was bestowed upon him by a Duke. He is a count. Make sure that he remembers that.”
“Establish dominance.”
“Yes,” Nikolai said, “but in the courtly way where you do not actually exert your dominance. You need to make sure that he knows that you know the game you are playing. And the rules.”
“Great. Lee, advice?”
“Don’t lose our land.”
“Aces. On it.”
I wished for an extra minute or ten to dunk myself in the water just to get rid of some of the mud, or an extra twenty minutes to get shiny armor on. Instead, I shook my long hair out, pulled two twigs and a leaf out of my beard, and marched my muddy ass over the bridge and then down a ways to where Northwoods had a small tent set up. Naturally, a plethora of armed and armored men and women were right there, though whether they were a guard against me or merely to intimidate me remained to be seen.
Northwoods sat at a small table, and there was a tiny camp-chair for me. His chair was a camp chair as well, something small and foldable, but it looked to be a higher quality than the one saved for me.
I scrunched myself up to be his size, and sat on the tiny chair.
“Wine?” he asked, and a young man I imagined was his valet stepped forward with a small jug and two glasses.
“Uh, sure,” I said.
Northwoods nodded and the valet set the glasses on the table, then filled mine first. Red and vibrant.
“I must begin by apologizing for that whole unpleasant matter with the jail in Osterstadt—”
“Unpleasant is a bit of an understatement, don’t you think?”
“I am just so sorry that happened. You must believe me when I say that was never my intention. Rather, my son was both overeager and woefully inappropriate. As soon as I found out what had happened, I rushed right to the jail and explained the situation, but they told me you had already been released on your own recognizance. So I hope everything wound up turning out well.”
“You’re saying it was all a misunderstanding?”
“Yes.”
“A rather big misunderstanding.”
I didn’t want to believe him, and yet, I’d met his son and the dude was a verifiable idiot who certainly seemed like the type to hold a huge grudge. It seemed like something an asshole who wanted to get back at me might pull off.
“I suppose not,” I said. “If your son would apologize, and perhaps—”
“My son has been sent south to the capital. I was so ashamed of his behavior, I might have overreacted a little, forcing him to accept a position as a squire to the Duke of Ginsburg.”
“Ah,” I said, as if I knew who that was.
“I did come with a gift of sorts, an apology for what transpired.”
“Oh?”
Northwoods gestured to the guards, and one of them stepped forward to place a small chest on the table. It was about eight inches long and four wide, something that seemed to be mostly for decoration. Northwoods pulled a key out from a pouch. Inside, there were stuffed velvet pillows holding a small ring upright.
“A small piece of magic,” Northwoods said, “to hopefully bridge the peace between us.”
I looked at the ring, and I cast my little identify spell on it.
Ring of Billowing
Item Type: Rare
Item Class: Jewelry
Material: Aluminum
Armor: n/a
Durability: 5000/5000
Weight: .03 pounds
Requirements: n/a
Description: Incredibly light, this ring generates a magical wind around the wearer which causes hair and loose clothing to billow out behind.
“It may seem a bit foolish,” Northwoods said, “but there is something to be said for maintaining an impressive appearance as a noble. Your followers need to be able to look up to you.”
I looked down at my mud covered self, then over at his gleaming blue armor. Maybe he had a point.
“Very generous of you,” I said. “Thank you.”
He bowed his head ever so slightly and raised his goblet.
Then he drank some wine.
I reached out and took the cup. I didn’t take a drink, not because I didn’t trust him, but because I didn’t trust myself. I needed to be on my game, and I had little experience with booze in Vuldranni.
“Now, I fear I must bring up a rather unpleasant problem,” Northwoods said. “It seems, to me at least, that we lack clarity on our boundaries. Some of my, shall we call them advisors, they seem to think that this river is on my lands, but you are preparing to cross it as if it is yours.”
I whipped out the little map, and spread it out on the table. It took me a quick minute to get to where we were looking, and, sure enough, my holding included the entirety of the river, right until it reached the large river that ran into Osterstadt. And, it showed that the bridge was most definitely on my land.
“Looks like it’s my river,” I said.
He tilted his head at me, a little surprised, and then he smiled at me.
“I stand corrected. This river is yours. Please take the bridge I have built as a small token of our friendship.”
“Thank you again. A few more gifts like these and I’ll really find myself indebted to you.”
He took a breath, seeming to need a moment to screw up some courage and speak on an unpleasant topic.
“We, as an empire, are, unfortunately, moving into a time period of great volatility. I fear you may lack the means to navigate things effectively for those people who are depending on you. Right now, you maintain a certain leverage. An ability to make a deal which is beneficial for—”
“I get how leverage works.”
“Of course you do, apologies. You are a mystery to so many. No one really knows of where you came, nor what level of education you might have, and I do hope to avoid any further misunderstandings. In that regard, I want to apologize ahead of time if I assume too much. But from what I know, you are a man of action. A warrior of quite some skill, and with no shortage of courage. I have heard you are prone to adventures. I fear you will find the management of a holding quite unpleasant. It is because of that, then, that I offer you an opportunity. I will purchase your dukedom from you—”
I know I often am labeled an idiot, I was new to the land after all. But this guy was playing a game as old as time. I didn’t have to be that wise to see through things, but it seemed prudent to play the fool a while longer.
“I can just sell the title?” I asked.
“It will require a little touch from the bureaucrats, but that is something I have under complete control.”
“And you will give me, what?”
“I will give you more gold than you can imagine. I am one of the richest men in the Empire. The gold in my coffers rivals even that of the Imperial family. I will also purchase for you the greatest ship ever to set sail from Glaton, and you will be able to see the world, have adventures that will be written in the annals of history.”
“That is quite tempting.”
“Or, you can suffer here in the wilderness, trying to survive through a winter you are, as I can see a the moment, ill-prepared for. It is a good deal — once Valamir is crowned, he will strip you of your titles and your lands and he will give them to me. And, likely, he will march an army through and raze whatever structures you have built.”
While he spoke, I tried my best to reign my rage in, but listening to him speak, it was really hard. He was threatening me and the people who looked to me for their safety.
“That took a rather dark turn there,” I said, gripping the goblet hard enough it shattered in my hand.
He blinked at me a few times.
“Yes, well, I—” he started.
He needed a little glimpse of what I was actually capable of. Otherwise, he would just start to walk all over me. I stood up and flipped the table over.
“It’s one thing for you to threaten me. But it is quite another to say that you will destroy the home of these people,” I pointed back across the bridge to my group, “who have trusted me to give them a new life. You think you can come into my lands, my home, and threaten to destroy everything we build? You think I’m that much of a pushover?”
I ripped the chair apart and tossed the remnants to the side.
Northwoods’ eyes went wide. He kicked back, trying to put some room between us.
One of his guards was a little overeager and pulled a sword out, swinging it at my head.
I brought up my hand and caught the blade. It cut deeply into my hand, but I sneered in the guard’s face and ripped the sword from him. I threw the sword back away from the other guards and felt pretty good when I heard the splash as it landed in the river.
“WAIT,” Northwood yelled, his face pale and fear clearly showing in his eyes, “just wait. I fear there has been a terrible misunderstanding—”
“One of your men has spilled my blood,” I said. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t kill you right fucking now.”
“I am merely trying to explain to you the danger Valamir poses!” Northwoods yelled. “I am trying to help you out here, Duke Coggeshall. Valamir is a proud and vengeful man. He does not like you, and will never like you, because of your connection to his brother. I am trying to tell you that if you are not fully prepared, Valamir will rip your title from you and tear down whatever you build. Not me. I would not do that.”
I stood there, looking down at the man, watching him breathe quickly, his eyes flitting between me and his guards. Blood dripped onto the carpet below.
“Please,” he said, “another chair for the duke.”
The valet, with no visible weapons, came forward trembling a little, and set a new chair down. He looked absolutely terrified, so I bent down and picked up the table, setting it down between the two chairs.
Slowly, very slowly, Northwoods sat down again.
“Sorry,” I said, wondering, perhaps, if I’d overreacted. Maybe I’d been reading this guy all wrong. Maybe. But whatever the case may have
been, I’d lost my temper. I’d exerted dominance, and maybe showed that I wasn’t playing the game of courts. I hadn’t followed Nikolai’s instructions, and I wondered if that was good or bad. I sat down.
“You are passionate about your people,” Northwoods said, a modicum of color returning to his face. “It is a trait to be admired. I apologize for the lack of clarity on my part.”
“So my option is to, what, fight Valamir?” I asked. “Go up against the presumed emperor?”
“That is one potential future you may face, should you continue down this path. There are other paths you might take.”
“Give everything up and do whatever on my own.”
“Yes, another path. I understand that might not be the direction you wish things to proceed, much as I would not want to give up that which I have worked for my whole life.”
“I don’t know, Lord Northwoods. I don’t think I can just give away—”
“It would not be given away. You would be well compensated. And your people would receive fair jobs within my holdings. I do not mean to pressure you — I just know that you are new to these dealings and I offer you an opportunity to exit gracefully.”
“I’m not sure I can take you up on that,” I said. “But I do appreciate the offer.”
I didn’t. It felt like he was trying to play me. But at the same time, perhaps he was tilting his hand a little in my direction, letting me see some of his plans. Now, whether those plans were actual plans or just another means of sending me off the deep end, who knew?
Northwoods seemed to accept what I said, nodding. Thinking.
“You have little experience in governance, correct?” he asked.
“Sadly true.”
“Then perhaps I still might be of service to you.”
“Sounds intriguing. What’s your plan?”