Battleborne Book 2: Wrack and Ruin

by Dave Willmarth

  They’d placed it in the middle of his drawing, right on his nose.

  He pressed his thumb against the nose, and to his surprise, a blue glow infused the likeness of his face, the eyes glowing especially brightly. “Nice touch.” Smitty observed. “Likely to scare away any goblins that stumble across this place and have the guts to touch your face.”

  A moment later there was an audible click, and the door swung inward without a sound. Max let the others pass through, not needing his direction to follow a long, straight tunnel. When they’d all passed inside, he set a hand to the door, expecting to have to put some muscle into closing the heavy stone slab. Instead, it moved easily, no harder to move than a standard wood door on Earth. When it closed, there was only a soft snick as the lock reengaged.

  There was a similar lock on the door at the other end of the tunnel. Asking Dalia to move her light globe close to the door, he pointed it out to all of them. It was a subtle symbol, almost like a cattle brand, a half circle with a wavy line across it. “We’re going to use this symbol for such things across our kingdom. Now you’ll know what to look for.”

  A few minutes later they all stood in the teleport arrival zone within the inner keep of Stormhaven. Teeglin looked around in wonder, eyes wide and mouth open, hugging her arms tight across her chest. Picklet was less obvious, but still impressed. Neither of them had ever been in a city, both having been born in their village. Just as they were staring at the dozens of orcs and dwarves in view, they were receiving stares in return. Some of them hostile.

  In moments, Redmane appeared to welcome them back. “Redmane, I’d like you to meet Picklet and Teeglin, of the Blooded clan. New friends of ours.” Max called out loudly enough for everyone in the courtyard and on the walls to hear. Several of those who’d been staring quickly returned to their business.

  The white-haired old chamberlain hesitated for a moment upon noticing their obviously mixed heritage. But being a dwarf of culture and poise, he quickly recovered. “Welcome to Stormhaven, new friends from the Blooded clan. I was told tales of the Blooded as a child, but thought them to be just made up stories. It is a pleasure to meet you.” He gave the dworcs a polite smile.

  “Dylan, Smitty, can I trust you to show them around without getting into any trouble?” He raised an eyebrow at his corporals. Before they could answer, Dalia stepped forward.

  “No, ye can’t. These two are trouble incarnate. I’ll go along to make sure everyone behaves.” She took Teeglin’s hand and led her toward the gate that would take them into the city proper. “Let’s do a bit o’ shoppin’ before dinner.”

  Max saw Redmane look toward one of the guard captains and give a brief nod. The captain returned the gesture, gave a whistle and a hand gesture, and four dwarven guards peeled off from their posts and following behind Dalia and party. “Just in case their heritage should cause a reaction.” Redmane whispered to Max.

  “Thank you, Redmane.” Max felt he should have thought of that himself. “So, before I share what we found on our little adventure, is there anything urgent I need to attend to immediately?”

  “A patrol of orc guards tried to execute a goblin they caught stealing from the butcher’s shop on the main square. Another patrol stopped them, and the goblin is in a cell awaiting your return. As king, you must preside over such matters. At least until you appoint someone to oversee these things.”

  “Dammit.” Max cursed softly as he followed Redmane into the keep and then into his study. There he sat behind his desk, once again covered with the three familiar stacks of reports, only taller this time. “Alright, arrange a trial for in the morning. Get the patrol who found him, and the butcher, to attend. I assume the little fella is being treated humanely?”

  “Of course, Max. He has a comfortable cot, and three meals each day. He’s living better in that cell than he did before coming to Stormhaven.”

  “Good. Thank you. Unless I say otherwise, let’s assume that all prisoners are treated humanely. I don’t exactly want them to feel comfortable down there, but I also don’t want them starved or abused.”

  “I assumed as much.” Redmane took a small pad from his inventory, along with a short pencil. “I noticed you arrived via portal, rather than on foot. Would you like to fill me in on the pertinent details of your trip?”

  Max grinned at his advisor. “Well, let’s see… We walked through some tunnels, killed some stuff. Met a dragon, didn’t kill him, or get eaten ourselves. Discovered a valley full of dworcs, helped them kill a massive monster cave bear, made some new friends, drank a lot of mead… oh! Here.” Max pulled one of the small kegs of mead from his inventory. “For your personal stock. I think this is going to be very popular around here.”

  Being a dwarf, Redmane naturally had a tap and mugs in his own inventory. The two of them tipped the keg on its side right there on Max’s desk, and Max held it while Redmane tapped it. Max filled in the details of the story, emphasizing how much he wanted to help the Blooded, as they shared a mug of the ale.

  “This be damned good.” Redmane nodded his approval as he refilled his mug. “Ye know ye way overpaid for it, but I do understand why ye did it. Fer now, because of its rarity, the dworcs’ll be able to get a good price per keg. But ye’ll need to let em know that won’t always be the case. The novelty will wear off eventually, and the price will drop.”

  “Hopefully by then they’ll have been able to purchase most of what they need.” Max agreed. “And I’m still keeping my fingers crossed that they’ll join us as citizens.”

  “Speakin’ o’ citizens, yours need ya to make some decisions, Max.” Redmane gestured toward the piles atop his desk. “Shall we start with the most urgent, as usual?”

  Max sighed, sitting forward in his comfortable chair, placing his elbows on the desk. “Might as well.” The first report on the top of the pile related to the kobolds. A group of nearly two hundred of them who had been hunting down stray grey dwarves in the region around the city had submitted a request. Max read through it, chuckling a bit, then smiling. “They want to become citizens?”

  “Aye, as ye can see, they think you bring good luck. They’ve been fattening themselves on grey dwarf stew, eatin’ better than they have fer years.”

  “They do know that they’ll run out of greys to catch and eat soon, right?”

  “Aye, they do. I’ve had no reports of any greys in two days now. But they believe you’ll find somethin’ else for them to eat, somethin’ interestin’ to do.”

  “No pressure.” Max shook his head. “Alright, let’s make them citizens. I have an idea on what they can help with when they’re done hunting greys. Are you familiar with the story of King Nogroz…?”

  Chapter 13

  Max spent the rest of the day with Redmane, working through the stacks of issues. He learned that Dalia’s father had finished setting up his own shop in town, and had set up a full alchemy lab for Max within the keep. Master Oakstone, true to his promise, had fully equipped a personal smithy for Max as well. Redmane informed him that Oakstone would return in two days for a private lesson.

  There had been a minor flood of engineers applying to visit Glitterspindle’s temple and ‘interview’ the artificial gnome. Not all of the applicants had been dwarves, either. Several gnomes were offering significant bribes to be the first to gain access to the temple. Max had Redmane invite those gnomes for an audience. He had questions to ask them. In addition, he requested that Redmane hire someone to find out as much as they could on the gnomes’ backgrounds. Based on the size of the bribes offered, they were a little to anxious to get there first for his comfort. Besides, several of the dwarven engineers who’d been at the mine already had visited the temple.

  The goblins, all but the little thief, had been adjusting well. Several were on track to become apprentices and learn trades. A party of kobolds, who considered the goblins their lesser cousins, had volunteered to take twenty of the goblins out hunting with them. The little fellas had been power leveled, a
nd encouraged to put their points into intelligence and strength. As a result, they were beginning to think for themselves, much to the dismay of Ugnok. Max made a note to give the goblin shaman a title of some sort, to ease the blow to his pride. Maybe level him up and send him out as an ambassador to other goblin tribes. He grinned to himself, picturing a level twenty Ugnok, with an honor guard of orcs, walking into a goblin village.

  The mines were all producing at close to peak capacity. Working for a percentage of the haul was a good motivator for the miners. Redmane even presented Max with a small pouch of diamonds harvested over the previous week. Max left it with him to be deposited in the treasury. The fortification around the mine near the temple was now complete, a thirty foot stone wall with a well inside, and a second well within the mine itself. Which also had a solid iron gate at the entrance. The way station near the mine now had a palisade, with the house, barn, corrals, well, smokehouse with escape tunnel, and a new barracks for the scouts and guards, all within the enclosure. It was currently constructed of wood posts, but the foundations for a stone wall had been laid, and construction was proceeding. Several farmers had begun plowing fields, temporarily living at the way station or the mine while they constructed homes for themselves.

  A small clan of minotaurs had requested permission to become citizens and take up residence in Max’s new lands near the way station. Redman informed Max that their representatives were being hosted in the keep, awaiting a meeting with him. Max scheduled it for first thing in the morning. In addition, a gnome merchant had arrived at the gates two days earlier, his caravan escorted by grey dwarves. Max’s guards immediately captured and executed the guards, turning their corpses over to the kobolds. They put the gnome under house arrest at the tavern, and confiscated all three wagons worth of goods. The gnome had claimed he owned a warehouse in the city, and had significant funds on deposit in the local bank. Redmane handed Max the paperwork the gnome had presented as proof.

  “I’m afraid the warehouse was cleared out long ago, the contents either consumed or sold. His bank records appear to be in order. He had just over one thousand gold on deposit.”

  “And what was in his wagons?”

  Redmane cleared his throat. “This is where the problem begins. Two of the wagons carried supplies, mostly meat and grains, some common enchanted items, a small quantity of mithril ore.” He paused for a moment, looking at Max. “The third wagon contained a dozen kobold slaves.”

  “Ah, shit.” Max thumped his desk.

  “Exactly. The kobolds are naturally quite incensed, and are demanding the gnome’s head. The gnome is demanding protection from the kobolds, and the return of his goods and funds.”

  “And he just rode right up to the gates with this load of slaves?” Max asked in disbelief. “He didn’t notice the dwarves and orcs on the walls?”

  “He had been traveling the underground for some time, using his guards to find and capture wandering kobolds. Apparently, though he received the notification that you had taken control of the city, he assumed you were a grey dwarf like Agnor. He further assumed that the guards on the wall were mercenaries, hired to compensate for losses when you took the city.”

  “So this gnome is not very smart.” Max sighed. “I can’t very well just kill him and keep his stuff, as much as I might want to. As far as he knew, he was coming to a city where slavery was legal.” Max paused for a moment. “On my world, slavery is not just unethical, it is considered a crime in most places. Is it the same here?”

  Redmane shook his head, a sad look on his face. “Unfortunately, no. Slavery is common among all the dark races, and even some o’ the light. We dwarves do not keep slaves, though we do allow for indentured servants. They are treated as employees, with limits to how hard they be worked, and requirements that they be well fed, housed, and not abused.”

  Max thought it over. “Alright, I’m not ready to tackle that whole issue all at once right now. So here’s what we’ll do. Give the gnome back his wagons and cargo, minus the kobolds if they haven’t already been set free. Give him his gold from the bank, and have him sign receipts for all of it, then banish him from my kingdom and escort him out the of the city. If he doesn’t have drivers, have someone drive his wagons through the gates for him, then close the gates on their way back in. If he can get himself home without the kobolds getting their payback, good for him. Either way, whatever happens, I can’t be called a thief or an unjust executioner.” After a moment’s thought, he added, “And make sure the news of what happens is spread far and wide. Our neighbors need to know that slavery will not be tolerated here. Post some signs outside the gates. Any slaves brought into the city, or found on my lands, will be freed. By whatever means necessary.”

  Redmane nodded. “An elegant solution, Max. I’ll be sure that the kobolds know they owe you such a juicy gift. We’ll likely have that thousand gold back by morning if you are willing to sell them some mead.”

  Max just nodded, already wanting to move on. The choice was a distasteful one, but necessary. His tirade got him thinking about his plan to revive the souls of Agnor’s elite guards. Would forcing them to serve him be just another form of slavery? He decided to get Redmane’s opinion on it. Once he’d framed the question, the old dwarf was silent for a while, considering.

  “I admit, the thought never occurred to me.” He finally answered, speaking slowly. “On the one hand, it weren’t you that killed them and captured their souls. They were doomed to serve long ago. On the other hand, I don’t have enough knowledge o’ soul magic to know if they still think fer themselves, or if their… personalities? If their personalities still exist within them, or they’re just mindless constructs powered by the captured souls that be capable o’ followin’ simple orders like guard or kill.”

  Max nodded along as the dwarf spoke. “We need to find someone who knows about this magic. Maybe… if their souls can still think for themselves, maybe we revive them and give them a choice. They can remain alive and serve as guards, or we can destroy their gems and set them free.” He paused again. “Shit. We don’t even know if destroying the gems does set them free. What if that just banishes them to a void, or some other existence that’s even worse?”

  Their conversation was interrupted by the crash of his study’s door as an excited Teeglin burst in, followed by a blushing and apologetic Dalia.

  “King Max! This city is amazing! I want to live here forever! There’s a market, and shops with glass windows, and right outside the inner gate there’s a bakery that makes such yummy treats! She rushed across the room, around his desk, and launched herself into his lap, nearly tipping him over in his chair. “When I’m queen, we’re going to have make that baker our royal chef, and eat pastries every day!”

  Chuckling, Redmane said, “Eating pastries every day is a good way to get big and fat, like Dylan.”

  The little girl threw him a scornful look. “Don’t call Dylan fat! He can’t help it if he was born an ogre. Not all of us are perfect when we’re born!”

  Realizing he was speaking to a dworc, and feeling chastened, the old dwarf bowed his head. “My apologies… lady Teeglin. I meant no insult.”

  “He’s right.” Max defended his chamberlain. “Eating pastries all day will make you round as a battle boar! And you mind your manners when you speak to an elder. First, you interrupted an important meeting, barging in here without permission. Then you scolded my chamberlain, who works very hard to run this place for me.”

  Not ready to give up on her anger, the girl grumped. “This place wouldn’t be so hard to run. There’s hardly anybody here. It’s not like he has to do anything himself, he can just boss people around all day.” She crossed her arms and threw both of them a defiant look.

  “Oh, really?” Max got an idea. “Well, since you think it’s so easy… you’ll just have to try it for yourself! Starting first thing in the morning, you will be Master Redmane’s assistant. You will observe what he does, run errands for him, and learn what i
t takes to run this place.”

  Redmane opened his mouth ot object, but Max shook his head slightly. Teeglin was a little slower. “What? Why?”

  “Didn’t you say you wanted to be queen of this place someday? Seems to me that a queen should know exactly how to run her own city, shouldn’t she? Learn the proper way to boss people around all day?”

  That did it. The angry look turned thoughtful, then excited. “Yep! Okay Master Redmane, you can teach me.”

  “So kind of you to consent, little one.” The dwarf replied dryly.

  “Good! Now, apologize to Redmane for interrupting our meeting. And from now on, you knock before entering someone else’s room, yes?”

  “I’m sorry, sir.” Teeglin lowered her eyes, her hands fidgeting. “And I promise to knock from now on.”

  “Apology accepted. Now, you will report to my office at seventh bell tomorrow morning, ready to work. That means with breakfast already in your belly. If you have trouble finding it, anyone in the keep can show you where it is. Don’t be late. No excuses!”

  The girl nodded her head emphatically, launching herself from Max’s lap over the desk. She hit the ground running, grabbing ahold of Dalia’s hand on her way out. “I’ll find her a room close to me own.” Dalia managed before being dragged through the door.

  Redmane chuckled. “She’s quite spirited.”

  “She wasn’t exactly raised by wolves, but she never knew her mother, and her father was a warrior. I have no idea how much education she’s had, or training in etiquette. I’m sorry for springing her on you like that. If you prefer, I’ll find something else for her to do.”

  “No, it might be interestin’ to see what she’s capable of. And what better ambassador for the dworcs than a cute lil fireball of a lass. Seein’ her at my side might help our people, both dwarves and orcs, accept the dworcs more easily. It’ll be good to have a runner, save some o’ the wear and tear on these old legs.”