by Noah Layton
‘And looking at you, I know the kind of man that you are: strong, intelligent, and committed to your people. These are the qualities required of the one who would command the great treasure that is hidden from all eyes, and has been for centuries. It is a power that only one man can possess.
‘Rest assured, Jack, that this man, this wild bastard that has enslaved my people, he seeks to find that precious thing, and while it is well-hidden, he will find it eventually. Ask yourself, would you rather a man like him find it, or would you prefer a man like you to find it?’
I paused, considering her words.
She had a point; I couldn’t deny it.
‘I need to talk to my companions,’ I said, cutting the conversation off and moving to go. ‘Rest and eat. I’ll return soon.’
‘Companions are a rare fortune, Jack,’ Onilsia asserted as I opened the door and left with Alorion, ‘but a true leader must make his decisions alone.’
‘Sometimes,’ I smiled. ‘Not always.’
***
‘The dwarf is deluded.’
‘Okay, I think that we’ve established Alorion’s view on the matter,’ I said, failing to mask my sarcasm. ‘Anybody else want to make a suggestion?’
We sat around in my treehouse domain, discussing the matter at hand. Santana was lying on the bed with a book in her lap while Lara ate from a bowl of soup, Santana’s legs resting across her own. Talia was perched cross-legged upon a chest in the corner, while Ariadne sat on the edge of the bathtub where Elera was relaxing, pouring warm water over her skin and enjoying every moment of it.
‘If there is one thing I have learned from this land,’ Ariadne started, ‘it is that there are many strange things that lurk in the darker places. We cannot discount it as a rumor.’
‘Stories get twisted, though,’ Santana added, stroking the spine of the book in her lap. ‘Those that are written down on paper, like the ones I read, are told in one form, in one way. This is different. It is a story that has been passed down on the lips of its carriers, and through every person that it passes it could have changed. This story could have begun in a completely different way to the one that we have heard… Ow!’
‘Sorry,’ Lara uttered quickly, sweeping some spilled soup away from Santana’s feet. ‘There’s still plenty of reason to believe them, though. It might have been passed down through many people, but it’s not like they’re strangers. They’re one tribe, where this story has remained self-contained. Elders will have secured the integrity of it rather than turning it to hearsay.’
‘I don’t trust these people,’ Talia said. ‘But I will admit that I trust very few people in these lands. I have run from too many in my life to open myself up so easily.’
‘So that’s Alorion, Talia and Santana against, and Ariadne and Lara for. Three to two. That just leaves Elera.’
‘Hm? Was my name spoken?’
Elera lifted her head sharply and looked about.
‘Enjoying yourself there?’ I laughed.
‘After this cold snap? I am never leaving this bathtub.’
‘Very funny,’ Ariadne said.
‘There’s nothing funny about it,’ she said seriously. ‘I’m never leaving this water. Try to force me and you will find your fingers even more frozen than they already are.’
‘So what’s your verdict?’ I asked her. ‘Legendary item that may not even exist, mythical blacksmith takes it and hides it somewhere that nobody has ever found and disappears alongside it with several blacksmiths, and allegedly the dwarves are in possession of a map that leads to it.’
‘Are we weighting everybody’s vote here equally?’ Alorion asked with peculiar politeness, having returned to his former tone.
‘That we are,’ I smiled.
‘Just checking.’
We all turned to Elera. She looked between us all, suddenly realizing that the spotlight was upon her.
‘I have seen peculiarities of this world in their abundance; monsters, sailors and all of their treasures,’ she started. ‘This thing you speak of, agrarium, is one that I have never witnessed… But just because we have not seen a thing, does not mean that it does not exist. Stories begin somewhere. Even if it is not what the dwarves claim it to be, it may still be something of great value. I think it would be foolish of us to assume that this is just a figment of the imagination… So I say yes.’
Santana rolled her eyes and smirked with a headshake, Alorion clamped his palms to his eyes – but Talia only shrugged and nodded with an impressed look in Elera’s direction.
Not that my nymph noticed, of course, but it was nice to see Talia’s admiration for Elera, even if she didn’t agree with her – conviction to your commitments in the face of rough odds went a long way with her.
‘Then it’s back to you, Master Jack,’ Alorion said. ‘Three versus three.’
‘I might as well have not asked at all,’ I chuckled, dwelling on it.
Truth be told I had been turning over Onilsia’s words in my head ever since she had spoken them. Every word I had hung upon, not just because of the power of this substance, but because…
‘We need to investigate this,’ I resolved. ‘If it is real, Garrison getting his hands on an object this powerful would spell doom for all of us. We can’t risk that, not even for a second. And even if this is just some twisted old tale, we need to carry out reconnaissance on the dwarven land to check his numbers anyway. Knowing what he has on his side could give us at least a little advantage in case he decides to make his way in this direction. I’m going to task a crew and head out today.’
‘Nightfall will be coming around sooner with the winter weather,’ Alorion advised. ‘We need to plan carefully.’
‘Seasons in this place are totally bizarre,’ I scoffed, shaking my head. ‘In that case, we had better get ready.’
Before mustering my team, I decided to compose messages to send to my allies. There were three beyond the borders of our land; the Rourke Homestead where our livestock supplies resided, the land of the warriors under my command in the north-west, and the sun-elves of Morelia to the south-west.
The first two were lands under my control, but the third was under Mariana’s control. She had hundreds of citizens at her command, many of which were formidably battle-trained, and she was undoubtedly the closest ally I had that didn’t belong to my tribe.
The flags of her people still hung alongside my own at the entrance to our land, a clear statement to outsiders that might dare approach with nefarious intentions; wrangle with us, and you wrangle with them too.
I wrote the letters informing my tribal members of the threat, then moved onto Mariana’s.
Master Mariana,
Smoke is rising from a tribal land to the north- east. The threat resides in the hands of a tribe master by the name of Garrison. We have already received a small group of refugees from an overrun tribe of dwarves, and fear that he may pose a threat to our way of life in the near future.
I and a small group of companions are heading out to covertly investigate the forces that he possesses. In the meantime, please inform me of your commitment to supporting my people in the event of conflict breaking out between my tribe and an enemy tribe.
I paused, wondering how to finish a letter in this land. What was the custom? Yours sincerely? Kind regards?
‘Alorion, how do I end a letter to a fellow tribe master?’
‘Are we allies or enemies? Because if it is an enemy, I could defecate upon it for you?’
I frowned at him, but he looked up at me with earnest eyes.
Another custom that I wouldn’t mind putting to use one day.
‘It’s an ally,’ I said, trying to hold back a smile.
‘Then gods be with you is an appropriate sign-off. Old-fashioned, maybe, but it is customary and formal.’
I signed the letter off and read it back.
In the event of conflict.
My heart rate picked up at the thought, drumming even harder as I looked
around at the citizens in my land.
I had to admit one thing to myself; Garrison would flatten us if he mustered his full fighting force. I had yet to see it for myself, but judging by the abilities, discipline and dedication of his loyal guards, one of whom I had witnessed cut down a fleeing warrior in cold blood, I knew we were up against something strong.
I didn’t have a choice.
For the voyage I assigned a small team; Talia, Lara, Ariadne and three warriors. We equipped several days’ worth of provisions, our warmest winter gear, and a veritable collection of weapons in the event that things turned nasty.
No doubt they operated the same system as I did; if we alerted even one of Garrison’s men to our presence, all of them would come running.
With our equipment ready and the path to the north-east beckoning, I brought my team together in the shade of the central tree.
‘We’re travelling light,’ I said. ‘I know that weapons, provisions and heavy clothing goes against that – what I mean is we’re going without the horses. We’ll be travelling through uncharted territory and likely through sections of forest that are way off the beaten path. We’re moving on foot, so if you need anything else to keep warm make sure to get it now.’
My six companions informed me that they were ready.
‘There’s one more passenger,’ I said. ‘Wait here.’
A minute later I opened the door to the small house where the dwarves were resting.
Onilsia was dozing, but she awoke immediately and reached for an axe at her side as the door creaked open.
Upon seeing me she relaxed her grip on the axe, but kept her gaze fixed.
‘Get your things,’ I said. ‘You’re coming with us.’
‘Coming where?’
‘To the land of your people. We’re going to find this map.’
Chapter Four
After saying goodbye to Santana and Elera, I led my group through the opened northern gates, pausing a moment while they were closed and barred behind me.
Alorion looked down from the guard tower.
‘I’ll make sure things run smoothly, Master Jack.’
‘Keep an eye out for trouble,’ I replied. ‘And watch out for any messages from our allies. If worst comes to worst, you know what to do.’
Alorion gave me a knowing nod.
Knowing what to do was the last resort – activating the bombs at the edge of our land and blowing the perimeter line, sending the entire border of our land up in flames.
But if it meant vanquishing our enemies, it was a price that I was willing to pay.
‘We’re trekking north until we reach the trading post, then north-east along the trail until it ends. There’s a waterfall out there and a small cave if we need to take shelter; beyond that it’s all uncharted.’
My team knew the risks, but they were ready to follow me all the same.
You couldn’t buy loyalty like this; only earn it by proving yourself to the people you led.
Even along the path ahead conditions were less than desirable. The trees that flanked the pathway offered some relief against the falling snow, but the white world that the land of Agraria had transformed into was more of a curse than a beauty.
Especially considering the voyage ahead that awaited us.
We made it to the trading post in good time. I was surprised to find that there were still several vendors with their wares available, with thick canopies protecting their stalls from the weather.
From the trading post we turned north-east, travelling long it until the path became obscured, eventually vanishing entirely.
I knew the way through the forest from here, though, and it wasn’t long before we arrived at the waterfall where I had brought Elera to save her life.
Onilsia held her own the entire way; she had had only a little rest after her journey, but she was managing just fine.
‘The waterfall flows from a stream ahead of those rocks.’
With nothing else left to feed on, the smoke that once filled the sky over the land of the dwarves had all but disappeared
I started first, intent on finding the safest path up based on how I had traversed it last time I had been here.
Talia had other plans.
‘You’re being far too slow,’ she said with annoyance, slinking past me and clambering quickly up the snowy rocks.
I couldn’t even begin to understand her path; it seemed to move around her, as if she could instinctually map every single route and assess the best without even giving it a second thought.
Within moments she reached the top, looking down at us from the peak judgmentally with her hands on her hips.
‘I’ll just wait here, shall I?’ She grinned, happy with herself.
I only smiled, not gratifying her with a response.
Lara and Ariadne managed the climb well while the warriors did the same, matching their brutal fighting skills with their physical strength.
I could no longer see Talia by the time I reached the peak, only finding her as I clambered over the top of the overhang.
As my companions arrived at my side, I found Talia looking down at a foreign object that I had almost forgotten was here.
‘What is this thing?’ She asked inquisitively, not daring to go near it.
‘It’s called a plane,’ I said, staring down at the remaining parts of the frozen metal wreckage. ‘It’s like a flying machine. It’s what I used to get here.’
‘To get here?’ She asked, the rest of my companions reaching my side and joining us to look at it. ‘From where?’
‘Somewhere a lot different to Agraria,’ I said.
‘Our dear husband fell out of the sky,’ Lara smiled, raising an eyebrow and folding her arms.
‘Come on,’ I said. ‘The day’s wasting. We need to cross this stream.’
Further along the stream we found a scattering of rocks that allowed us to cross without losing our feet to the freezing water.
From there we moved into the wilds.
Things became darker in the forest almost immediately. The thickness of the intertwining branches above us blocked out the white sky that towered above.
‘This way,’ Onilsia said. ‘Not much further now.’
But before long it didn’t matter that we couldn’t see the sky.
The heavy scent of smoke on the air was enough of a guiding force.
We moved like an ambush of stalking tigers until the trees suddenly began to thin out, the stench of fire clinging to the wind all around us.
Embers were floating in the air.
We pulled to a halt amongst a thick pocket of shrubbery just before the forest stopped. Dropping to our knees, we surveyed the scene ahead.
We were around 50 yards away from the border of the dwarven tribal land.
There were no living dwarves left. Some of their bodies were scattered among the decimated land, about which houses had been ripped apart and pillaged.
The rest had likely already been moved out of the cold. Garrison couldn’t have his precious produce succumbing to the cold, after all.
They wouldn’t fetch enough on the slave market if they were damaged.
I gritted my teeth at the thought of that bastard.
If I ever saw him again, he would wish he had never been born.
I rid my thoughts of him and turned to Onilsia. It was no surprise, but it seemed that the dwarves were hardy as hell.
Even at the sight of what had become of her land, Onilsia remained stone-faced. There was something in her eyes, but it wasn’t sadness.
It was anger and bitterness.
For several minutes we examined the tribal land from our place of safety, observing the numbers and movements of Garrison’s soldiers.
There were at least twenty present by our count, all wearing the same dark outfits. They resembled the suits that I had seen the dark-elves wearing at The Market, but were padded and heavier in order to protect against the cold.
The perimeter defenses h
ad been knocked to pieces; all that remained were the charred, fractured remains of the fences collapsed against the burned ground and the occasional stone column that had held them in place.
I could see no remaining dwarves, and most of the structures – aside from the tree at the center of the land – had taken considerable structural damage.
‘No dwarves, most of the resources moved and pillaged…’ I turned to Onilsia. ‘There’s only one reason that these guys are still hanging around, isn’t there?’
‘The map,’ Onilsia said. ‘My people are strong, but we are still living beings. We have families. Men like Garrison know how to get every last drop of what they want. One of our people will have spoken.’
‘I know. He knows what to threaten and how to make it seem real. No doubt one of your people gave it up.’
‘Many know the story, but very few know the location,’ she said. ‘Those who do know would not relinquish it. I have a feeling that these men know there is something valuable, but not its location.
‘Where is it?’
Onilsia hesitated. I could tell that even though she didn’t want Garrison to get his hands on it, she was still reluctant to tell anybody who could even be considered an outsider.
It had probably been ingrained into her mind since she could talk.
‘In the blacksmith’s building,’ she said. ‘There is a storeroom underground. Beneath an old anvil in the corner there is a small vault. Underneath it lies the map.’
‘So all I have to do is get inside, move an anvil and open a door? That sounds simple enough.’
‘What do you take us for, tribe master? It was crafted by dwarven engineers. Do you really think it would be so simple? The door consists of a devotion trap – the one who unlocks it must use a specific key to get inside. When the key is turned there is the possibility…’
‘The possibility of what?’
‘Well… a devotion trap is designed not just to accept a key into a lock. The key must be turned in a very precise sequence. If this is not done…’