by Dakota Krout
“I’m sure we could manage that for the right price, let’s-” Father Richard began earnestly.
Dale cut him off before he could finish, a bit of steel in his voice. “Surely in this very large church you could find a room the council could occasionally use?”
Father Richard looked confused for a moment, then began to sweat as he realized what Dale meant. When he had built the building, he had only been given one lot of land to build on, but the final construction took up three full lots. The price for using the land had yet to be… negotiated. “Oh, yes! Of course, anything you need, Dale! Let me say, it is good to see you taking an interest in the work going on in the area! Come along young Adam, let’s go see what you can do, and where we can start your training!”
Dale chuckled under his breath as a nonplussed Adam was whisked away. He turned away to find the other members that he needed to talk to. Hopefully they would all be as willing to participate as the priest. He thought about the order he’d go talk to them. Dale eventually decided to find Chandra at lunch, Frank right away, and Amber just after Frank. Amber was likely a morning person, right? He would have to find out. Dale walked to the Guild tent, entering directly into Frank’s office — past an indignant secretary that tried to make him wait his turn.
“Some of us have been waiting for a meeting!” A voice called out. Dale looked over his shoulder to see Hans tapping his foot with arms folded in front of his chest. Dale grinned, made a rude gesture, and pulled a rope to close the cloth they used for a door.
“Good morning, Dale.” Frank cordially greeted him, “Can… whatever this is… wait? I have meetings all morning.”
“It’ll be just a moment, sir.” Dale promised him with a hand wave. “I’m just letting you know I am calling a meeting tonight, we will be holding a council meeting at the church.”
Frank looked up from the invoice for defenses he was reading, “Hum? A meeting for what?”
Dale nodded, this was a new thing for him, so he could deal with a bit of confusion. “A council meeting, we have things to discuss. I’ve let things run on their own for too long, and I need to remind everyone that this is still my land. Dinner will be provided, please be there at five o’clock.” He turned on his heel and walked away without waiting for a reply.
Frank frowned and looked back at his invoice.
~Four~
Dale walked directly across the well-worn path in front of the Guild tent, stopping in front of a light purple tent that was roughly half the size of the one he had just vacated. There was a post driven into the ground in front of it that had a wooden plank attached. He rapped on it — assuming it was a knocking post — in an attempt to call out a representative of the portal guild. When no one appeared, he started knocking louder and faster, not stopping until he heard shouting. His new cultivation rank allowed him to hit the post impressively hard.
“What?! Why?! Is the sun even out? Why are you bothering us this early? If there is still someone out there when I get there, I am going to turn you into a newt…” The tent flap was thrown open and the angry face settled into a neutral expression. “Oh. Good morning, Dale. What?”
“Good morning, James. Is Amber available?” Dale replied, making James pull in a breath with a hiss as he looked around.
“Dale, it is very important to follow protocol when talking about people in public.” James noted severely, “You need to call her ‘High Magous Amber’. Also, no. She is not some floozy available to you whenever you feel like having a chat.”
“Fair enough. I will try to remember the titles. Please tell High Magous Amber that I am holding a council meeting tonight at five o’clock in the church. Dinner will be provided, and anyone not in attendance will lose their temporary seat on the council. Have a pleasant day, good sir.” Dale nodded at the demanding man, walking away whistling as James fumed.
Having nowhere else to be till lunch, Dale walked into the area that had been set aside for shopping and began browsing the shop kiosks that were beginning to open for the day. Pleasantly surprised at the variety of goods available, Dale weighed the thought of spending his coin against the thought of needing something and not having it. He had just decided to look at the potions available from the apothecary when the sounds of a scuffle reached his Essence-enhanced ears.
“Please! This cost me thousands of gold! I’ll be ruined! Please, just take my money!” A voice begged from the shadows of a tent that connected to a kiosk. Obviously, the merchant that was here had rented a small plot of land and set up shop. The sign out front showed a pair of the crossed pickaxes that miners used in the dungeon.
“Well then it’ll be worth taking, won’t it? We’ll take you up on the gold as well, thanks for the idea!” A couple of voices chuckled at that comment, which was followed by a meaty thud, a small grunt of pain, and a sob of frustration. Soon after, the tent flap was thrown open and three hairy men walked out of the tent laughing darkly. They froze momentarily when they noticed Dale looking at them, but then tried to nonchalantly walk away.
“Stop right there, criminal scum!” Dale called harshly. He immediately felt like a moron, but what are you supposed to say in these situations?
They stopped, but not for the reasons Dale wanted. “What did you just call us?” They rounded on Dale, the biggest one gripping the shaft of a familiar pickaxe.
“You heard me.” Dale announced boldly, walking toward them slowly. “Drop the pick and the stolen money. Do so and I will let you leave the mountain gently, after gathering your gear and some supplies. If you don’t… I won’t be so gentle.”
“What are you gonna do? Pass out on us? Bleed all over me? You look more than half starved! Where did you get that armor, your dad give it to ya? It’s three sizes too big!” The big, hairy man swung the pick a few times as though he were warming up. Dale was watching him, and saw him pass Essence into the pick to activate it, unwittingly binding it to himself.
Dale's eyes narrowed. “That was a mistake. You just bound that pick to yourself!”
The man looked at Dale in surprise, “So? It’s my pick.” He let the pick swing into the ground, blasting away a huge shower of dirt and small stones as the force enhancement Rune activated. “Leave off, or that’ll be you, pipsqueak.”
“Well, now you have two options. You are going to have to either pay for the pick, or we will have to unbind that pick from you. There is precedent for people to die to make that happen, please make the smart decision.” Dale looked at the others, reaching for the hilt of his Morningstar which peeked over his shoulder, “And you two?”
“Shoo, brat!”
“Hey… I’m really not looking for trouble. I didn’t know what they were planning to do in there…”
The big one growled at the nervous mugger, “Shut it. You’re in this with us!”
Dale nodded at the reluctant man. “Please lay down and put your hands on your head.” The man did so, while the others jeered at him. Dale grasped his weapon and swung it to the side to bring it in front of him. The men's eyes widened in shock as he held the massive weapon in front of him with one hand, pointing it at them. “Last chance.”
One scoffed, while the other spat, “Fat chance! That’s obviously not real, so how about you fuc-”
Dale moved forward, standing in an aggressive combat form. The thieves sputtered and moved to attack before he could take the initiative. The large brute swung his pick with a grunt, forcing Dale to dodge. The weapon hit the ground, spraying up another shower of dirt and gravel.
The second attacker pulled out a short sword, truly little better than a long dagger. It was rusted from the man leaving blood on it after battles. The blade was serrated by hand, it was likely he had taken a file to it. This would cause nasty wounds and lots of bleeding if Dale was cut, so he gave the weapon as much respect as the Inscribed pickaxe. The blade licked out at Dale, and he dodged backward, turning the maneuver into a tumble as the pick came at him again.
The two took turns attacking,
working together in a way that spoke of long familiarity. They should have been able to easily overpower the smaller man. But… there was a factor in Dale’s favor that the two men didn’t understand. Dale had been fighting to the death daily for months. These slow, broadcasted attacks were fairly easy for him to avoid if he didn’t panic. He was also trying to incapacitate them without killing them, since he had no wish to be a known murderer. The blade of the short sword came at him, and Dale stepped past it, closing with the surprised killer. He lashed out with his fist, and his newly strengthened muscles allowed him to break the arm at the elbow, twisting the bones into an unnatural shape.
Thinking the man was out of the fight, Dale dodged another slow attack from the pick-wielding man. A scream that didn’t sound like pain behind him made him duck, dodging the wild blow; the man with the twisted arm was swinging his sword with his off hand. His broken limb flailed around, obviously causing him pain. He didn’t seem to care, slashing wildly at Dale.
Dale rebutted by finally bringing his weapon to bear. He swung and impacted the man in the leg, the force behind the spiked head causing the unprotected flesh to burst like an overfilled water skin. He swung again, catching the man in the head as he dived at him. The dying man was able to tackle Dale to the ground before fully expiring, leaving him exposed to the man with the pickaxe.
A strange look on his face — a cross between the sick elation of an impending kill and the loss of a longtime friend — the brawny miner stepped forward and reared back with the pick for a powerful attack. Dale braced his weapon on the ground and activated the Rune, sending the head of the weapon flying forward. The oversized spiked ball tore through the side of the man, leaving a gushing, gaping hole. The miner caught his breath, gagging and vomiting before collapsing. The blood poured from him unabated for a few moments, before slowing to a crimson trickle.
Dale shakily deactivated the Rune and the head of his weapon *whooshed* back to settle on its hilt. He felt stunned, he had never killed a human in combat before. It… it was too easy. The overgrown rabbits in the dungeon were harder to kill than this! Sure, they didn’t have the sheer strength of these two, but they were harder to hit and avoid. Dale had to fight to hold down his gorge.
“Oh god. Oh, man. Pl-please sir… D-don’t kill me!” The man lying prone begged, half gasping, half gagging as a puddle of blood sloshed over him.
Dale looked away from the sight, almost in shock. It was disturbing how this man thought that Dale would kill him as he had the aggressive thieves. “I’m not going to. Do you have any money that you haven’t stolen?”
“Not much… sir!” The man belatedly added, fearful that Dale would take offense.
Dale sighed, swinging his weapon sharply to get the gore off of it. It had just been cleaned, dang it! “Keep ten silver for the portal fee, and go somewhere else. You have an hour to gather your non-stolen items, and go to the portal. If you try to take anything else that you stole, you are to leave my mountain immediately. If you take more than an hour, walk off my mountain and travel without the use of a portal.”
“Y-you. You’re him. I’m s-sorry, I’ll go!” The man scrambled to his feet and ran, leaving Dale wondering what the ex-thief meant by that last comment.
~Five~
Dale grunted and gathered the stolen pick and money the men had on them, then went over to the shop and knocked on the wooden kiosk. Soft sounds of weeping reached his ears, quickly cut off as the man heard the knock.
“I’m closed.” A miserable little voice floated out to him. “Permanently.”
Dale had a grim little smile appear on his face, “You may want to come out anyway.”
“Dale?” The man shocked him by recognizing his voice. He scrambled out of his tent as Dale waited. Noticing the pick, the man fell to his knees and tried not to cry in front of the man who had given him a plot of land for so cheap. “You got it back! Thank you, Dale, thank you!”
The man was familiar to Dale, but he couldn’t place him. “Here you are, I think this is your money as well. I’m sorry to say I cannot remember your name, it has been a while and we only met briefly…?”
Accepting the proffered goods, the now smiling man waved away Dale's concerns. “My name is Tyler; I am a merchant that currently specializes in general goods and pickaxes for miners. I used to be an antiques dealer, but rare coins and decanters are a very niche market. I also dabbled in identifying unknown items such as Runes, but the Spotters’ guild is far more knowledgeable than I.”
Dale smiled as well, “I’m just glad I was able to help. You bought this pick then? When?”
“Just this morning!” A small glint showed in Tyler’s eyes, “Are you interested in getting into the mining business?”
“Not so much, my team was the one that sold it! I was just thinking that I may have some spare income for once.” Dale laughed at the crestfallen look on the merchant. “Don’t worry, I am sure someone else will want it as soon as the dungeon is open again.”
“I certainly hope so!” Tyler fervently agreed. He looked just a bit past Dale and went a bit pale, “Oh. I see how you were able to… reacquire… my lost goods.”
Dale looked back at the bodies behind him, “Yeah, I’ll go get someone to take care of those. Who oversees security around here? I’ll have to report this to someone, I’m sure. Hopefully you will testify that this wasn’t murder?”
Dale's question got him a strange look, and Tyler told him something he hadn’t considered. “No one does security here. Since this is essentially a campsite right now, no one has bothered to put that kind of infrastructure in place. Also, no one can get the materials for constructing permanent buildings since there are no trees here, so instant justice is the norm, we have no prison of any type. Well, there are trees at the bottom of the mountain that we could use… but hauling those would take way too much effort for most people to bother. Since the portal is open, most people that can afford it are going home at night. Hence, this stays a campsite.” Tyler was babbling a bit, but to be fair he had had a very trying morning.
Dale’s brow furrowed, he apparently had more items on the agenda for the meeting tonight. “I take it that since the main population that is staying is only merchants and people too poor to afford leaving, crime rate is beginning to increase?” Tyler nodded sadly, glancing at the bodies again. “Why haven’t I heard anything about this?”
Tyler grimaced, “The people that are too poor to leave are also not strong enough to fight past the first floor in the dungeon. Look how easily you dealt with those men.” He pointed at the dead thieves. “Now, if you spend most of your time with the Guild — strong men and women — you should have realized that this sort of thing is far beneath their notice. The philosophy of the Guild is that the strong prosper. If you lose your property, it is your own fault, for being weak.”
Dale was disgusted by this fact, a side of the Guild he had never seen before. “They just let it happen?” Tyler nodded again. “Okay Tyler, you seem like you have a good head on your shoulders. You also seem business savvy and you are the first person I’ve talked to that doesn’t seem to have a grudge against me. Would you do me a favor?”
“For you? Anything!” Tyler exclaimed proudly, reaching into the secret compartment where he stored the majority of his money, obviously thinking that Dale wanted a reward. He was very glad the thieves hadn’t found this drawer.
Dale grinned, “Great! I am having a council meeting this evening to discuss the problems in the area. I would like you to take a position on the council. You would be there to represent the miners and low cultivation-ranked people in the area. Would you accept such a position on the council, as a favor to me?”
Tyler slowly dropped the fistful of gold coins back into the storage chest. To his credit, he did not answer right away. He carefully weighed his options and thought about the responsibilities and paperwork a job like that would entail. Eventually though, he winced, mumbled under his breath, and agreed to join.
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nbsp; “Great! We meet tonight at the church, five o’clock sharp please.” Dale waved and went on his way, returning to the Guild to find someone to dispose of the bodies. After a few coins changed hands, two men ran off to collect the bodies and place them in a small wagon near the dungeon entrance. Apparently dumping bodies into the dungeon was a convenient way to get rid of them. No one wanted to go out of their way to bury them after all. Dale was disturbed by how easily their murder was accepted, as well as how easily they would vanish without a trace.
When it got closer to noon, Dale hurried over to the Pleasure House and met up with Madame Chandra, quickly explaining about the plans for the evening before meeting his friends for lunch. Chandra agreed to bring the food if Dale paid for it, which was fine with him. At lunch, he talked with his party and ironed out a few strategies for what he should say tonight; they gave him a few good ideas and conversation topics to discuss with the group.
After lunch, Dale went to his daily training with Craig. His mentor had him practice his combat forms with Josh to get used to using his new and oversized weapon in combat. Luckily for Dale, the Rune on it that allowed for him to lift it didn’t reduce the power it had when it struck an opponent. The increased size did make it a bit more unwieldy, but also increased the range he could strike his foes with. At the end of the session, he was very happy with his new Morningstar, as well as very grateful for the tips his instructors gave him. He went to towel off when he noticed that he hadn’t broken a sweat.
He thought for a moment and realized that he was also not sore or tired from the full-speed fighting, he also realized that the benefits of opening all his meridians were beginning to show. Craig nodded in approval when Dale mentioned this, and informed him that over the next few days he would only get stronger. When his body finally got used to the changes, he would only need two hours of sleep a night, be much stronger, tougher, and even his capability for learning would increase.