Land of the Undying

by Dave Willmarth

  “Please! I’ve… I built something for your people, and I’d like to see if I did it right. It will only take a moment.” He called.

  His tone must have made her curious. She stopped and turned back, following him wordlessly into the barn. He stopped in front of his newly modified stall, and motioned for her to enter. “I’ve installed those shelves. For eating, and such. It’s nothing fancy, but I was hoping you would tell me if they are at a comfortable height, or where I should adjust them.”

  The centaur looked at the shelves for a moment, then turned to him. Her face held a puzzled look. When she turned back, she stepped into the stall and up to the shelves. Reaching out one hand to set it upon the ‘eating’ shelf, she ran it back and forth. Mace quickly added “Be careful. I’ve not sanded them or anything yet. There may be splinters.”

  She touched each of the other shelves in order as they climbed up the wall. The highest was within easy reach for her. Mace had had to stand on a box to install it.

  “These are very… thoughtful.” She said without turning around. “We make similar shelves for our own homes.” She touched the bottom one again. “This one could be a bit higher. The males are taller than I, and would have to bend slightly to reach it.” She touched on the spot on the wall. Mace handed her a knife, and she obligingly scratched a mark. “This is the normal height we use.” She handed him the knife and backed out of the stall.

  She was turning to leave when Mace asked. “Is there anything else I could change to make this place more comfortable for you? You know, in case you have need to spend a night here.”

  After a look around, she answered. “Pegs. We use pegs to hang our armor, weapons and such on. She held out her hand for the knife again. When he handed it over, she made several scratches on a side wall indicating peg locations. “These would do. In a space built by us, the side walls would be higher, for better privacy. But this would do for a short stay.”

  Mace thanked her as she left, and went to work. First he whittled several pegs from spare pieces of wood. Then he used the drill in his bag to make holes for the pegs. Tapping each one in with his hammer, he made sure they were secure. Each was strong enough to support his weight. He’d gone overboard, not knowing how heavy centaur gear would be. He’d smoothed a slight notch in the top of each peg to help maintain the grip.

  When he had modified all of the remaining six stalls, he moved on. For the rest of the day he worked on odd jobs here and there around the town. His builder skill increased to eight, and his woodcrafter to 10. When that happened, he’d gotten a notification.

  Your rank as a Woodcrafter has increased to Apprentice.

  Apprentice rank generally meant he’d be able to learn some new skills. He made a mental note to check with Verga. Mace found himself surprised at how much he was enjoying crafting. He’d rarely spent much time with it while playing games before. Only the minimum needed to be able to complete some quest or repair his gear.

  As he made his way back to the inn for some dinner and rest, Minx tightened her grip on him again. “Danger! Hiding!” Mace instantly had his daggers in hand, startling several nearby citizens. He spun around, suspecting an ambush from behind. It was the default reaction for a drow. In Immernacht, few enemies risked confronting you before killing you.

  A knife spun through the air at him from the direction of a burned-out building. He knocked it from the air with his left-hand dagger and turned to face the building. Several of the citizens and a couple centaurs had seen the blade too, and followed his gaze. A moment later a second blade flew toward Mace. This time he dropped his own blade to catch it midair. He examined it quickly, seeing nothing of note. A simple blade with a leather wrapped handle. He flung the blade back in the direction it came. There was the sound of cursing, and crash of falling boards.

  Mace recognized the cursing. He bent to retrieve his dropped blade, then strode toward the building. “Stuart! I know it’s you. Come out of there and I won’t hurt you.”

  “Bend down and kiss my hairy arse!” The obnoxious voice rang out from behind the walls. “Come in here and I will hurt you!”

  Mace stood still, considering. On the one hand, Stuart was an annoying little monster who had just tried to assassinate him in public. He could walk in there and kill him, and no one would say a world. Probably. But there was the chance he would lose his newly-acquired reputation. He was still thinking it over when the guards arrived. Someone must have run to fetch them. They looked at Mace with a question on their faces.

  “Stuart is in there. Been quite impolitely throwing knives at me.” He shrugged, and one of the guards snorted. The other asked “Are you gonna kill him?”

  Mace shook his head. “I’d rather not. Takes forever to clean these daggers. I was just going to have my supper. You guys want to handle it?” The look on the guard’s face said they’d rather not. But one of them called out “Stuart. Get out here. Explain yourself.”

  A small green hand poked out from behind the wall, a single finger raised in the universal gesture of “I’m not coming out there and getting arrested.” Both guards laughed this time, along with Mace and several in the crowd. The guard shouted this time. “Stuart! If we have to come in there and get you, I’m going to slice bits of you off and let the drow eat them!”

  Mace made a disgusted face at this. Several people watching nodded as if this threat made sense. Mace said “What the hell do you people think drow eat?” shaking his head.

  “Eat shit!” Stuart shouted, and another knife flew toward Mace. Followed quickly by a second, then a third. Mace simply stepped out of the way. “Where are you getting all these knives?” he mumbled grumpily.

  The guards have had enough by this point. They stalked forward, and Stuart shouted “You’ll never take me alive!”. There was a crash, and a goblin-sized streak of green and black shot out the side of the building. He dashed behind the next building and disappeared. The guards didn’t bother to follow. Most of the citizens just went on about their business. The lead guard approached Mace.

  “He didn’t mean nothing by it. He gets drunk and picks fights. Hardly ever hurts anybody. His aim is terrible.” The guard grinned.

  Mace laughed. “Glad to know it wasn’t personal. He had some interesting things to say about drow earlier.”

  The second guard snorted again. “Let me guess. Kobold-molester? He likes that one. I think maybe it’s a secret fantasy of his. He was drunk in the tavern one night rambling on about some sexy kobold waitress somewhere.” He shook his head. “He’s also big on sticking stuff up yer, uhh…”

  Mace saved him the trouble. “Yeah, that too. I hope that’s not another fantasy of his. Guy his size, that could do some damage.” He winked at the guards as he walked away. He reached up and scratched Minx’s ears as he walked.

  “Thank you, my little thief. That’s twice in the last day you’ve attempted to save my life. You’re like my own little radar.” She purred and leaned into his neck.

  *****

  As soon as Shari logged in, she went to see Arlon. She told him about the battle at Lakeside, and how it started with the elves’ message about Mace. Then she asked if there was anything the elves could do to help the settlement. He promised to call a meeting of the elders that evening to discuss it.

  Shari returned to the healer’s temple to continue her training. She was learning more than just healing spells. There were books on the anatomy of each of the races to study. She learned about soaking bandages in concoctions of certain herbs so that they would help prevent infection. She learned about poisons, their symptoms, and what would cure them. The entire day was devoted to learning.

  At one point, as she was reading a book that described certain mosses one could pack into a wound to speed healing, she heard Falin chuckling. Looking up, she saw him sitting in a chair with his own book. His gaze was directed toward a window. She saw on the floor below the window her piglet laying on his back, his tummy being warmed by a sunbeam. Mion had just climbed
aboard and was settling herself down on his belly, stealing his sun. The softly snoring pig didn’t seem to notice.

  Seeing her arisen from her book, he rose and handed her a slip of paper. “A messenger came for you. He left this.”

  “A messenger? I didn’t hear anyone?” Shari looked surprised.

  “You were absorbed in that book about…” He tilted his head so he could read the spine “Moss. Really?” He grinned.

  She blushed at being caught geeking out. “I’m a total nerd when it comes to stuff like this.” She admitted. He looked blank for a second, then said “I don’t know what a nerd is, but I suspect it’s a good thing.”

  “Nerds rule!” She said with enthusiasm, giving a little fist pump that surprised Falin. She opened the paper and found it was an invitation to an elder council meeting that evening. In less than an hour, in fact. She showed it to Falin.

  “Good thing you woke up when you did. Wouldn’t do to be late for a council meeting.” He joked. “I think you’ve studied enough for one day. And you haven’t eaten. Let’s get you some food so you don’t pass out in front of them.”

  Leaving the pig and dragon to their sunbathing, she followed Falin to a small kitchen. He pointed to some apples and said “Slice those up while I make some oatmeal.” She had learned that Falin was a vegetarian, as many elves were. Fruit, vegetables, and grains made up most of their meals. Falin said he did eat the occasional fish for health reasons.

  Not long after she began to slice the apples, Snuffles showed up, following his nose. Mion rode upon his back like a miniature queen on her steed, head held high and wings spread slightly for balance. She fluttered up onto Shari’s shoulder when they entered the room, and made a demanding squeak. Shari reached into her pocket and produced a few of the grubs Arlon had given her. The dragon seized one after another, then settled back for a nap.

  Snuffles was just as easy to please. She tossed him an apple, which he crunched on contentedly while Falin and Shari ate their meals. Falin had sprinkled the oatmeal with cinnamon and honey, and it tasted wonderful. When she was full, Shari let Snuffles lick the bowl, which sent him into a snorting, smacking frenzy of happiness.

  When they’d cleaned up the dishes, they all made their way over to the council hall. Arlon and the elders had already arrived and were standing in small groups talking. Falin indicated they should take seats and wait. A few minutes later, the elders took their seats.

  Arlon motioned for Shari to approach. “I have informed the elders of the situation at Lakeside. We feel some responsibility for the events there, as it was our message that prompted the centaurs to hunt your friend Mace. And we would like to assist the townsfolk with supplies and materials.”

  Shari smiled at the elders as group. “Thank you, councilors. I’m sure they would appreciate any help you can send.”

  One of the elders held up a hand. “I’m afraid we can not help as much as we might wish to. Our own situation has declined since the outworlders disappeared. When we wish to aid others, we gather the supplies from our city’s merchants who are willing to donate. Many of them have suffered of late, and will contribute less. Not from any lack of generosity, you understand. But from lack of ability.”

  Shari felt in the pit of her stomach that this speech meant very little help was going to be sent to Lakeside. While she had never met the people there, she knew Mace had grown to care about them. “What if I were to provide the gold for supplies. Pay the vendors something, so it is less of a sacrifice?”

  The elders looked surprised. All but Arlon, who gave her a caring smile. They began to whisper among themselves. Elves, after all, had excellent hearing. The same elder who’d spoke before was the one to answer.

  “We would certainly welcome your generosity, child. But supplies of the quantity we estimate the settlement would need could cost as much as three thousand gold. In our experience, few outworlders ever accumulate such a sum…” He trailed off, inviting her to answer.

  “You are correct. I do not have three thousand gold. I do not have one tenth that amount at the moment. But I have something of great value.” She reached into her bag and produced the wyvern’s heart. Holding it aloft, she said “I’m told this is worth considerably more than three thousand gold.”

  Arlon stood up as the others whispered. “It is indeed. Though a buyer with sufficient gold may be hard to find in a short time. I have a proposal for the council.”

  The elders nodded nearly in unison for him to continue.

  “I propose that we advance Shari the sum of 5,000 gold from the city coffers, and take the wyvern heart on consignment. We will announce an auction to be held in… one week?” He paused as two of the elders nodded in confirmation. “In one week. Minimum bid shall be 5,500 gold. Whatever the sale price, the city will retain ten percent as a fee. The rest of the proceeds, minus our advance, should be deposited in a bank for Shari.” He paused again to let the elders think.

  When one of them raised a hand to ask a question, he said “Before we get to questions, I would like to suggest that the auction be held here, in the city. And that bidders must be present with gold in hand. Any bidder carrying that much gold will bring a retinue of guards, maybe servants as well. Our hotels will be busy again, for a few days at least. Not to mention restaurants, shops, and crafters that will benefit from the added visitors.”

  The elder with the question lowered her hand. The others began to smile at Arlon. Until he added another statement. “Shari has most graciously offered to provide funds for the supplies to be sent to Lakeside. I suggest that those we would ask to donate will be among those who benefit from the auction traffic. So I would ask that we pay no more than a third of the usual price for whatever goods are donated. She cannot be expected to bear the full burden of our generosity to our neighbors.”

  Shari looked on as the faces of three of the elders began to sour. She guessed that they were among the merchants who’d just lost two thirds of a windfall they’d been drooling over. But the expectant gazes of Arlon and the others kept them from objecting. The vote was unanimous. Shari felt a little tingly all over.

  They’re going to give me five thousand gold! Maybe more! That’s like winning the lottery! I could buy gear for Mace and myself, and Snuffles. Little tiny battle armor! We could drink champagne and eat chocolate…

  Her thoughts were interrupted as she realized Arlon was calling her name, and had been doing so for some time. All of the elders were staring at her. “I’m sorry, I was distracted. What was that?” she asked sheepishly.

  Arlon laughed. “I would be distracted by such a sum myself. I asked when you would like to take the supply caravan to Lakeside.”

  “Me? Take…” Shari was confused for a minute. Then she realized, this would solve a few problems! If she went with the supplies, Mace would not have to come meet her. He could stay safe in the settlement until she arrived. That would give him more time with the people there. She looked to Arlon “Umm… how many days will it take to gather the supplies? I don’t wish to rush anyone.”

  “We believe we can arrange for five wagons filled with food and other supplies in four days.”

  Shari’s heart beat faster. “Then let us plan to leave in five?” The elders all nodded. Arlon said “Five will do nicely. We will have your gold delivered to you in the morning, and you can give me the heart for safe-keeping.”

  Shari hesitated. “Um. I don’t like the idea of carrying so much gold. Can you set aside the thousand gold to distribute to the merchants, and maybe give me a thousand, and put the rest in the bank?”

  The elder merchant who had first warned of limited supplies answered “Of course, child. And we will provide you with drafts that you can use to withdraw funds from any bank in Elysia. And I’m sure if you’d like to purchase any items for yourself before you leave, our merchants will be happy to accommodate you.”

  Shari nearly rolled her eyes. They would try to milk her for every gold they could. She supposed she didn’t blam
e them. She imagined the world was designed to be populated by players, and their absence might really be having a serious negative impact. She made a note to talk to Mace about it.

  The meeting concluded, Arlon and Falin walked with her back to her inn. The three of them, along with a piglet and a dragon, shared a meal in the tavern before she retired for the evening.

  Chapter 17

  The Undying Undead

  Mace exited his pod and showered quickly. His clock had said it was 7:00pm, and he was hoping Shari would want to have a late dinner. The kiss she’d given him that morning was on his mind as he dressed in jeans and a button-down shirt. He took the time to brush his hair before leaving his room and walking to the kitchen. Peabody greeted him in the hall.

  “Good evening, Mace. Admin Shari is awaiting you in the kitchen. She is preparing a special meal. She said to tell you, and I quote: ‘Move your ass, geek boy’.”

  Mace looked at the ceiling as he walked a bit faster. “Thank you, Peabody. I am moving my geeky ass.” He arrived in the kitchen a few minutes later to find the countertop set with a tablecloth and candles. Place settings were arranged, and something on the stove smelled wonderful. But Shari was nowhere in sight. He called out “Geek boy, reporting as ordered!”

  Shari’s head popped out of the pantry, and she smiled at him. “Bout time. Thought maybe you were going to stay in the game all night. I was about to log back in and send you a message.” She disappeared back into the pantry. Mace took a few steps toward the stove and peeked into one of the pots. He found a couple cans worth of beefaroni bubbling away. He was about to check the other one when Shari scolded him. “Step away from my stove or suffer the consequences!”

  He obediently pulled back his hand and went to sit down. “Anything I can do to help?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “Nope just sit there and look pretty.” She turned and looked him up and down. “Well, as pretty as you can.”