by Hans Bezdek
I shared a quick look with Cassandra and smiled politely back.
“Barmaid!” shouted another patron. “Need a refill!”
The barmaid shook her head and sighed. “If only I had that Mace on me now, huh? Enjoy your drinks you three.”
We watched as the barmaid walked off to help the other patrons, waiting until she was out of earshot before turning back to each other.
“Grimkell’s Mace,” whispered Cassandra excitedly. “We should go for it!”
I nodded and smiled back at her, before pausing and turning to Dhot. The goblin sat quietly, staring down at his beer without showing any expression.
“Well, Dhot?” I asked. “What do you say? Will you join us?”
The goblin picked up his beer and took a big swig. He set it gently down on the table, gulping down any remaining contents in his mouth, and cleared his throat.
“Of course I’m in,” he smiled. “How else would the two of you manage without your crazed inventor? Maha!”
The End.
Grimkell's Mace
Book 3
Chapter 1
“You can’t seriously believe that,” sighed Cassandra as we walked into the fur trader’s store.
“Goblins do that sort of thing all the time!” I said, casually glancing around at the various clothing options. There were furs of all sorts and sizes, and all of them were colored gray, black, or white.
It had been a week since we found the Time Shield. We had finally made it to Brensrun, the last border town in the Republic of Hur, and could already start to feel the chilling air of Brumark. These furs would hopefully keep us warm on our journey further north.
“It’s true,” insisted Dhot, heading over to the left side of the store and looking for something in his size. Goblins were rare in most of the Republic, but especially this far north. He’d probably have to make do with something meant for a much bulkier dwarf. “The weapon let me knock a falcon out of the sky from nearly a mile away!”
“There’s no way,” laughed Cassandra, picking up a small white coat and trying it on. “Those contraptions never let them hit anything more than a few feet away, and that’s if they’re lucky. What do you guys think about this one?”
I looked the elf up and down. From a fashion point of view, it looked like she was pulling the coat off well. In fact, I wasn’t sure if there was anything that would make her look unattractive. But from a utility perspective, it was severely lacking.
“You do realize we’re going to be walking in subzero temperatures for the foreseeable future, right?” I asked, picking up a much thicker black coat. “You’re going to want something that’ll keep you warmer than that.”
The elf sighed and removed the coat, going back to scanning for one she’d find acceptable.
“Maybe you’ve only seen poorly crafted guns,” said Dhot, walking over to us with a ridiculously large gray coat on. The back end of the coat followed behind the goblin as he walked, only his head and Goggles visible. “You’re lucky you’ve never been on the other side of one of my barrels. Maha!”
“Is that some sort of euphemism?” I asked. I shook my head at the goblin to let him know the coat was too big on him.
“I hope not,” said Cassandra, shivering as she looked at a few other options.
“Can I help you three with anything?” asked a human man, walking over to us. I took him to be the store owner.
“We’re heading up to Brumark, so just picking out some warmer clothes,” I said, looking at myself in the black coat in the mirror. This one would do nicely.
“Ah, you must be part of The Guild as well!” beamed the man.
I froze as I looked in the mirror. I figured The Guild would be making their way up here eventually, along with Nicole and her Gray Adders. We only knew that Grimkell’s Mace was up in the western part of Brumark thanks to a chatty barmaid, but had no idea how much The Guild knew, or how far they had gone. If this man had sold some furs to them already, then he might be able to help us.
“The Guild?” asked Dhot. “Maha! Of course we’re n-”
I bumped into the goblin and smiled back at the man. “Of course we are. Were our friends in here earlier today, or are we further behind than I thought?”
The man stared with wide eyes at Dhot for a few seconds. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had never seen a goblin in the flesh before. He collected himself again, turning to me. “You’re in luck! They were in here just a few hours ago.”
“Perfect,” added Cassandra, walking over with a much more weather appropriate brown coat this time. “Did they by any chance mention where they were heading? We’d love to catch up with them as soon as possible.”
“They did mention they were waiting on another member to reach them,” remembered the man, looking at the three of us with the beginnings of suspicion. “I thought it was just one, though…”
Dhot and Cassandra both looked at me. Guess they weren’t going to be much help.
“The Guild doesn’t like to send just one member out on their own,” I said, trying to make it up as I went. “I’m the one they were waiting on, and I brought two more with us. The more the merrier, you know.”
“Is that right…” said the man, looking at Cassandra and Dhot curiously. The goblin turned around and disappeared again to the left side of the store.
“They did mention we are after Grimkell’s Mace, did they not?” I asked. The man’s eyes flickered with recognition at the name, and I knew I had him. “Do you think attaining a legendary weapon would be easy? The Guild thought this mission was of top priority, so we added a few more to our ranks. Unless… you think you know what’s better for The Guild than its own members do?”
“O-Of course not!” said the man, nodding and anxiously looking at the ground. “I-I apologize! I-I just couldn’t believe the coincidence!”
“Just tell us where our friends our and all is forgiven,” smiled Cassandra.
“N-Naturally,” said the man, clearing his throat. “They went to the Witch’s Brewhouse, it’s just a few buildings down to the left.”
“Thank you,” I nodded. I glanced over at Cassandra’s coat. “That’s a better fit. Dhot, you about ready?”
The goblin reappeared, this time wearing a coat slightly smaller and more to his frame.
“Indeed!” said the goblin, checking himself in the mirror. He placed his Goggles over his eyes, I guess to get the full effect. Content, he turned and looked up at the man. “We’ll take these three coats, along with a few gloves.”
“Very good, sir,” nodded the man, heading over to the counter. “Shall I put these items on the The Guild’s tab as well?”
The three of us shared a look.
“Yup,” I said quickly. “Thanks so much for your help, we’ll be sure to recommend your fine store to the higher ups.”
The man beamed as he got some gloves, wrapped them up, and handed them to us. Dhot thanked him, putting them all in his bag. We had talked about many things over the past week of traveling, but we never got to the topic of how his bag worked. Now probably wasn’t the right time to ask.
My friends and I left the fur store, hanging a left and looking for the Witch’s Brewhouse. Brensrun was fairly large for a border town, with about a hundred or so buildings in the center and a few dozen more scattered around it. The population was mostly human, although dwarves and elves were seen mixed in.
We passed by a few buildings until we saw the Witch’s Brewhouse, and walked in.
The place was filled with rows of long tables. Waiters and waitresses traveled around, refilling mugs and placing food down as they went. Barrels were stacked in the back of the room, next to a long bar. We came in through the northern door, and there looked to be another entrance to the south. The place was fairly busy and everyone seemed to be in high spirits.
“What’s the plan?” asked Dhot, looking around. A few of the people closest to us stared at the goblin, but he ignored them.
“Look f
or The Guild and try to find out if they know the specifics of where the Mace is,” I mumbled back.
“How are we going to know who they are?” asked Dhot.
“They’re over there,” said Cassandra, nodding towards a table a few rows back.
“Really? Maha! How can you tell?”
The table she gestured at just had six or so people, yet was somehow the loudest group in the place. They laughed obnoxiously while rudely shouted at the waitstaff, and wore some of the most polished armor I had ever seen. So polished, in fact, that the armor looked like it had never seen a second of combat.
I started towards them as Dhot and Cassandra followed.
“Do you think this is wise?” asked Dhot. “They’ll know other people are after the Mace!”
“We’ve dealt with The Guild before,” whispered back Cassandra. “They really aren’t anything to worry about.”
I sat down next to the group, with Cassandra sitting across from me and Dhot to my other side. The group quieted and looked over at us. There were several seat open further down, and it didn’t make much sense for three strangers to pull up so close to them. An elf sat next to me, with a dwarf and gnome next to him. Three humans sat on Cassandra’s side, two men and a woman.
“Are you guys with The Guild?” I asked, leaning in and doing my best to feign excitement. “The Guild?!”
The elf glanced over at the rest of his group, a smirk appearing. “Yeah, man. We’re in The Guild.”
“You all must be so brave!” gushed Cassandra.
The two men next to her shared a look before one of them turned back to her. “What can I say? Just doing what little good we can for this world.”
It never ceased to amaze me how full of themselves a group of people could be. The Guild really did attract a special kind of person.
“What heroic adventures are you on now?” I asked. “Off to slay some dragons? Fight an undead wizard? Look for legendary weapons?”
“We’re going for Grimkell’s Mace!” chimed in the gnome.
“Grimkell’s Mace?” asked Dhot, realizing the game Cassandra and I were playing. “It’s real?”
“That’s what we hear,” answered one of the humans, staring intently at Cassandra as if she was the one that asked the question.
“That’s so interesting,” purred Cassandra. “Are you having to go all the way up to the Mountains of Odike?”
“Thankfully not,” laughed the elf next to me. “No, word is that the Mace is somewhere in the area of Feldarkr or Ostad.”
I racked my brain, but wasn’t familiar with either of those towns. I glanced over at Dhot, who shrugged. The goblin had a map, though. I’m sure we’d figure it out.
“Which one do you think you’ll try first?” asked Dhot.
“That’ll be up our last party member,” said the human woman. “He’s had more experience on missions than any of us, so he’s calling the shots.”
“Where is he?” asked Cassandra.
“Should be here any second,” answered the man next to her. “In the mean time, tell us a little about yourself. Where are you fr-”
“The party has arrived!” shouted someone at the door.
I glanced over my shoulder slowly. I felt like I had heard that voice before…
“Anders!” shouted the elf across from me. “Over here!”
The dwarf hobbled over to join the table, a big smile on his dumb face. His nose looked a bit more crooked than the last time I saw him. I was probably the cause for that, but he had it coming. Galdric and the Tumblers were able to track us into the Ruins of Le’Mar thanks to him, and had nearly killed us.
I tried to turn away, but the dwarf caught my eye as I did.
“N-No…” mumbled Anders, reaching for his mace with a trembling hand as he stared at me.
“Know the dwarf?” asked Dhot. I nodded slightly, and a big grin spread on the goblin’s face. “Fun! It’s been too long since I blew something up. Maha!”
Chapter 2
“Anders?” asked the human woman. “What’s wrong?”
“Y-Ye need to get up,” mumbled Anders, finally removing his mace. He kept it up in front of him in what I guessed was supposed to be a threatening stance, but it sure didn’t come across that way.
I calmly placed a hand on my dagger while reaching around for the Time Shield on my back. I was still a little weary of using the Shield, since I had no idea how it worked. Having to travel through time when I didn’t mean to was better than taking a mace to the face, though.
“Sir, you can’t draw weapons in here,” said a waitress, walking over and putting a hand on Ander’s shoulder.
“Ya don’t know what ye’ve got here!” shouted Anders, shrugging her hand off and backing away. “T-This man has a bounty on his head!”
Not good. I was hoping he wouldn’t have brought that little detail up.
“You have a bounty on you?” asked Dhot. “You never mentioned that before. How much?”
“Fifty thousand,” I mumbled, as The Guild rose to their feet and looked down at us.
“Maha! Maybe I’ll turn you in!”
“A bounty?” asked the elf, eyeing me suspiciously. “On him?”
“Hey, I can be pretty painful to deal with, okay?” I said, getting to my feet while Cassandra and Dhot rose as well. “Just ask Anders.”
“What’s he talking about?” asked the gnome.
Anders glared at me, but stood his ground. The rest of the patrons quieted and were all looking at us now, listening intently. The mention of a bounty was enough to get most people’s attention, especially in a border town like this one.
“Notice how his nose is all messed up?” I asked. “I’m the one that did that to him.”
“It was a lucky shot!” he spat back. “Him and that elf banshee of his killed the rest of me group!”
“Well, one of the other dwarves actually killed your ranger,” noted Cassandra.
“What?” asked one of the humans, looking at Anders. “Someone in The Guild betrayed another?”
“Uh-of course not!” shouted Anders, shifting his eyes back and forth between The Guild and us. “These people are lying to ye, tryin to make us out to be no good!”
The other members of his group didn’t seem convinced and were looking around anxiously at one another. This seemed like a good time to try and escape.
“Got a couple of smoke bombs?” I whispered back to Dhot, looking over his head and for the doors behind him. The goblin nodded. “Get em ready.”
“Not the kind of blowing up I was hoping for…” mumbled the goblin.
“Aw, do we have to run?” whined Cassandra. She let go of her hold on the Shattered Sword and crossed her arms. When would she learn that I didn’t want to fight every single time we got the chance?
I looked back at Anders as his group seemed to unify around him again. I let go of the Time Shield and kept it on my back. If things went well, I wouldn’t be needing it. “How did you escape the Willows of Wander, by the way? I thought no one got out of there.”
“Me too,” grunted Anders, shaking his head as he thought back. “I thought I was a goner. I walked around fer several days, no idea where I was or where I was headed. I stumbled upon an old temple which was littered with bodies.”
“Ruins of Le’Mar?” I asked, backing away slightly. Thankfully, Cassandra and Dhot also began scooting back. “You made it there without any help?”
“I guess,” shrugged the dwarf. “I went through the halls and eventually found a group of recently massacred people. It looked almost like a monster had come out from somewhere and just tore them all apart!”
Cassandra gave me a knowing look, but I didn’t respond. No reason to frighten Anders even more with what really happened there. Besides, we were nearly to the door now.
“I searched through them for supplies, as I was getting mighty hungry,” continued Anders. “One of em had a tracking tablet on him. I didn’t know what the guy was tracking, but it seemed t
o be on the move. I figured I’d try anything, and just followed it for a time. A few hours later, and I was out of the blasted forest!”
Ah, so he found Galdric’s tracking device. I knew I should’ve broken the thing.
“Where’s the tablet now?” I asked, harnessing magic into my hand.
“I broke the thing when I got out,” laughed the dwarf, shaking his head. “Ye think I wanted to find whatever tore those fools apart? I ain’t no idiot!”
“Well, that remains to be seen,” I said, holding my palm out at The Guild.
“What’s he doing?” asked one of the humans.
“Now, Dhot!” I shouted.
A gust of wind shot out of my hand, knocking Anders and his friends over. The tables all around them flipped over as the other patrons ducked out of the way. The gust was a bit stronger than I meant for it to be…
The goblin chucked several black circles out in front of us. They rolled for a few seconds in different directions before exploding in a ball of dark smoke. The smoke fanned out, quickly filling the entire place before anyone was able to stand up.
“Are we going to stand here and wait for them to find us, or are we getting out of here?” asked Cassandra, a hand on her hip.
“The second one,” I said, grabbing Dhot’s arm and running past her.
The three of us ran down the street away from the building. A group of onlookers began to gather outside, staring in wonder at the smoke.
“Big fire in there,” I shouted at a few people that watched us run by. “Really isn’t pretty!”
We turned down a side street, running a few more blocks before slowing down to a fast walk. The people in this part of Brensrun had no idea what was happening, so there was no reason to draw extra attention to ourselves. We had the information that we needed from The Guild now, and could probably manage on our own.
I told Dhot to pull out his map as we walked, heading for the northern exit from town. The tavern’s staff had probably already called for guards. They’d be looking for us to pay whatever damages we caused at the Witch’s Brewhouse. The Guild and especially Anders would be looking for us, too. The stupid dwarf would probably also notify the Tumblers of my whereabouts, which would make a bad situation even worse. We were just a short journey east from Durnskeep, and for all I knew Dmetri himself would come for me if Anders reached out soon enough.