For The Guild (Emerilia Book 2)

by Michael Chatfield

  “Nanites?” Alkao repeated the foreign word.

  “A mix of your Mana and Endurance,” Anna said quickly, pulling out a needle and thread. “Now, we need to put him back together.” With quick and precise movements, she closed the wounds with her needle and thread.

  “Could you not use one of those healing potions?” Alkao asked.

  “I could have, but it is best to use them when in a life-or-death situation. He’ll be fine and with just that little bit of work, he should be okay in a few days. You Demons heal fast.” Anna moved to the others who had woken to their fellow’s bucking and screaming. “Okay, what injuries do we have here? Cuts, broken bones? That shoulder is definitely out of place. What the hell were you lot doing!”

  The Demons looked up at her with defiance, trying to not show their injuries or weaknesses.

  “That’s how you want to play it, fine—scream when something hurts,” Anna said with a truly scary smile as she leaned down. The Demon made to push her back and escape. Anna held the Demon’s arm and pinned him to the floor with it.

  Strong, ruthless, and resourceful, Alkao thought. If she can put these four, who we would have killed before, back to their full duties in just a short while, then our hordes could pull veteran fighters back from the battlefield. No more mercy killings unless necessary. It would be like the angels, who could suffer a great many wounded but unless you killed them they would once again return to the battlefield.

  “Alkao, you want to give them an order or something? This shit is pretty annoying.” Anna sounded as though she would start to add to their injuries if they would not stop resisting her.

  “Stop moving around and stay still. A little pain grows a Demon. With her ministrations, you will once again fight by my side. Do not think of your deaths to rid us of your burden.” Alkao looked at them all.

  They bowed their heads under his gaze.

  “Now, tell me where it hurts,” Anna said. Her patients pointed to different areas where they had wounds.

  Anna showed Alkao different kind of poultices, how to clean and seal wounds, break and set bones and put joints back into place. It did not look like fun, but Alkao could see its immediate usefulness.

  He only had twenty Demons and getting them back into their peak condition without having to mercy kill them was a valuable resource indeed.

  ***

  Krenua watched in awe as Malsour put Alkao’s keep back together. The patchwork of stones was covered in ebony.

  “Is that material not rare?” Krenua asked as the ebony started to move over the walls as if it were a living thing.

  “It is, but I don’t think that one should ever waste expenses on their home. Provides security should someone try to attack them—or steal their books.”

  Krenua was pretty sure that Malsour was trying to keep that last part to himself, as he’d mumbled it.

  “Also with the metal, unlike stone, you can enchant it, though that takes a lot of time. If my friend Dave was here, then he could do it, though he is busy with another project.”

  “Enchant the walls?” Krenua had heard of enchanted weapons; he had never wielded one, too busy with fighting to go on raids and other adventures that might gift him a blade with magical properties.

  “Yes, the mages of Per’ush do it. The Dwarven mountain Aldamire has it as well, but even their runes are not that strong as the mountain is so large.”

  Krenua shook his head, thinking of the kind of defenses that they would have. People I would not like to fight without heavy help.

  “Now, what do you want to focus on: wood, metal, or food?” Malsour asked.

  “Huh?” Krenua asked, caught off guard.

  “Well, right now you have no need for more troops, but you need mines to get materials to forge into weapons—that armor is pretty crap. You’re going to need more than just meat and the meat and furs you do have, you could sell for five times its weight in other less rare animals. You’re going to need wood for shields, bows, as well as building houses yourselves. I can’t simply make all your homes all the time,” Malsour said.

  “Food and then wood,” Krenua said. Having the Hordes around would just make more mouths to feed; having their villagers and the Demons who didn’t want to fight would increase production and the speed at which they could bring more people over to return Devil’s Crater to its former glory.

  “Good choices,” Malsour said. A shadow appeared under his feet as he descended toward the valley. Behind him, a one cart-wide path of stone appeared.

  Krenua flapped his wings, following Malsour. “Why are you doing this?” Krenua asked.

  “A war is coming, with many creatures that were banished from Emerilia for good reason. Few of the races on Emerilia are ready or capable of fighting that threat. You are one of them. Like your people, my own race was sealed away. While it was easy for us to adapt back to Emerilia, it will be much harder for you. We had to sit by and watch the Demon and Angel armies as they fought. We watched as the Angels spread their fanaticism across Emerilia.” Malsour’s eyes found Krenua’s, his eyes black with purple flickers in their depths, reminding Krenua of a Demon who had given itself to its bloodlust, or their mages when casting.

  “I wish to give the Demons a chance, a real chance, at living and see how you act. This time, we will not watch from the sidelines if you choose to try to conquer Emerilia. This is our planet, too, and we will keep the balance, with force or diplomacy.”

  “Hope for the best, plan for the worst,” Krenua said approvingly.

  “Quite.” Malsour was quiet for a long time before he looked over Krenua, studying him as they carved a path into the crater. “Have you ever been interested in the Lady of Fire’s teachings?”

  “I bow my head to no lord or lady,” Krenua spat.

  “Oh, she is no lady—regal, powerful, and as weak as any of us mortals, though she does not care for your platitude, your words and devotions. She is the creator of the mage’s guild and colleges. Her Fire might be portrayed as the one of destruction, but she used it to light a fire inside the minds of thousands. Her Fire is the one of knowledge, the ever-burning need to learn, to sate one’s curiosity,” Malsour said, with true respect in his voice.

  “Why do you follow her? Are you not one of the Dark one’s mages?” Krenua asked, confused.

  Malsour let out a laugh as he paused in mid-air and looked over the land. “We are not our magic. We might have an affinity to one element over another, but we are not beholden to it. I may wield the Dark magics, but I learned from the Lady of Fire and her knowledge is much more powerful than any blessing that that useless shadow lord could come up with,” Malsour drawled.

  Krenua laughed. “I like you, Malsour.”

  “You are quite the interesting Demon, too, Krenua.” Malsour pulled a tome from his bag and threw it at Krenua. “Read that. I have someone I must talk to before I start making houses all over the place.” Malsour looked out over the crater.

  “Hello, nephew! How are the kiddos?” Malsour said.

  Krenua snorted as he looked at his book. Basic spells of Fire.

  Krenua opened the book and read the first pages. It was slow going; he had only learned to read and write because of his position as the Black Hand’s leader.

  The pages started to move faster. Krenua understood more; his mind seemed to open to the world ever so slightly, making connections that he would have never made before. The pages moved faster and faster until the book’s back cover slammed shut and turned to dust, drifting away in the warm night’s breeze.

  “Teach me, teach me to read.” Krenua looked to Malsour.

  “I’ll send you a party invite so that you can teleport to me. I’ll talk to you when you get here. I’ve got something to attend to. I’ll pay your fee here and back.” Malsour tapped out something on his interface. “Talk soon!”

  Malsour looked to Krenua with his full attention. “That is most definitely something I can help with, but before I do, I must ask you to make a
vow.” Malsour smiled and lowered himself to the ground.

  “A vow?” Krenua asked.

  “You must vow to teach others who are willing,” Malsour said.

  “So, if someone asks me about something, then I should help them learn?” Krenua asked. That doesn’t sound that hard.

  “Precisely. Which means not hoarding books from others. And books that are dangerous—I would advise you to give them to the mages guild, but that I will not make you swear to. Your knowledge is your own. I hope that you will help others in their path as I will help you,” Malsour said.

  “If someone seeks me out to attain knowledge or I see someone I can teach, I will help them,” Krenua promised, cutting his finger with his claws. “I vow by my word.”

  “Very well. Now, try this out.” Malsour pulled out another tome.

  Once again, Krenua opened the book. Krenua read through it a lot slower than the book of Fire spells, but he started understanding more of the Fire spells as words that explained foreign ideas started to make sense.

  There was a flash of silver light for a few seconds as a third person joined them.

  “Hello, Uncle!” The man embraced Malsour.

  “Who are you?” Krenua’s hand moved to his blade.

  “I’m Fornau. Pleasure to meet you.” The man extended his hand.

  “Good to meet you,” Krenua said, not willing to shake his hand, suspecting foul play.

  “Krenua is a warrior by training and birth, not one to shake hands for fear of a fight,” Malsour explained.

  “Oh, very well,” Fornau said with a disarming smile, lowering his hand. “I won’t eat you. Most people always think that.”

  “Now is not the time to think on stereotypes. What do you think of this land? I have been tasked with making homes for farmers and loggers, as well as their facilities. Where would be the best place to put it all?” Malsour asked.

  Krenua went back to his book. His hand rested on his blade, one eye remaining on the uncle-nephew duo.

  “Hmm, the ground is good. You’ve got some decent forests to the northeast that would probably be nice to keep. Also, have some dungeons and caves there for rarer beasties. The south gets the most amount of sun. I’d say the northwest would be good for logging and mining into the cliff created by whatever hit this. A town in the center for trade and management. Also, make a fortress there in case the seven exterior fortresses fail. The forests have claimed the south. There are some rare trees there that are old. Might put an orchard and greenhouses to the southwest; that way, they’d have the most sun year round. Going to need to set up a large retaining lake, maybe run it from the higher peaks of the crater, guide it into a moat around the fortress and then down toward the fields and greenhouses. Make the grade steeper for the fields so that with the spring rains, the water overflows—the detritus from the city mountains and river covering the farms so that they have good soil every year without too much need for manure or fertilizer,” Fornau said.

  Krenua looked up at the growing image that Fornau drew on his interface, sharing so that Krenua and Malsour could see.

  Krenua remembered how Devil’s Crater had been before. Camps everywhere, with the hordes moving around and fighting one another for the best hunting areas. The villagers lived in their fields, scared that they would have their own crops stolen by their fellow Demons.

  What Fornau was creating was not just a place to live. It was an entire ecosystem onto itself. Military standing and positions were secondary. Food production, sustainable resources: these were in the forefront of their minds.

  “What about the Hordes?” Krenua asked.

  “The fortresses can be extended. You have a lot of area to cover to make sure that you know what is coming in and out of the area. I would also think that they would train in the forests to be ready to deal with animals. They can do hard labor in the mines and fields during different seasons. And these cliffs seem to be rather solid to me. I don’t see why you couldn’t tunnel them and put military barracks in them. There would also need to be a guard that makes sure that the people are following the laws you put down. Do you mean practice areas? Well, you could practice in the cliffs if you flatten out an area, or in the fields that don’t have good ground for the season.

  “Then, there is the fact that if you are transporting anything from here to anywhere else, it would need a guarding caravan and there is a massive area just beyond your fortresses that are hostile. Cut the forest back a bit, make training camps there. Forces ready to deploy as soon as a threat is seen on the horizon,” Fornau said.

  “How can you plan this all out?” Krenua asked.

  “I’ve seen a few cities in my time and I took it upon myself to learn a bit about architecture when I was building my home for me and my kids. I might have got sidetracked and learned a bit more about how cities were formed. Right here, you could make a pretty powerful entity. It wouldn’t be completely self-sustainable, but it would be pretty damned close.”

  “Could you share your plans with me? I know that my Prince would be very interested and he might have a few things that he wants to alter,” Krenua said, feeling out of his depth with it all.

  “Certainly—this is just rough. I would suggest that we move to where there are the sunniest spots. I will start to clear out the trees that can be used for firewood and relocate the rare ones into a small park in what I hope will become your fortress city. I’ll get started on a large bastion around where the fortress city would be best situated and lead it down to the farming plot. I think it would be best to put the logging facilities here.” A waypoint appeared in everyone’s vision and on their mini-map, if they had bought a map.

  “I’ll get started on that and look for the best places to start mines while I’m over there.” Malsour looked back at Krenua. “I’ll be back soon. Let me know when you finish that book.”

  With that, Malsour darted off on his shadow, still creating a stone road behind him as Fornau rubbed his hands together in excitement.

  “I’ve never built a city before,” he said before speeding off faster than an arrow from a bow.

  Who the hell are these people? Making entire cities, transforming Devil’s Crater more than we did in the seventy-five years we spent here?

  Krenua shook his head and looked down at the book Malsour had given him. Knowledge had allowed them to get to this level of ability. Krenua was not going to let the advantage slip through his fingers. Malsour had shown him how blind he was.

  Krenua looked at his hand, knowing enough of the knowledge he’d had dumped into his mind by the previous book. A small flame appeared on his right index finger.

  “The Fire of knowledge.” Krenua looked at it before he smiled and extinguished it.

  Krenua didn’t know it, but he had contracted a well-known disease among the mage’s colleges and guilds. He’d contracted Bookworm, driving him to seek new knowledge and new experiences to broaden his mind.

  Chapter 36: Out of Sight

  The lowest island of Per’ush lowered itself till the lowest jetty was half-submerged in the water below. A number of mages and reporters looked over from the higher levels, searching the seas for a sign of the guests of honor.

  After a few moments, a head popped out from the water. A man standing seven feet tall and holding a trident with runes on its surface glided out of the water and onto the jetty.

  Mages met him, guiding him to testing lines that had been set up.

  He walked, surveying the area before tossing something into the water. Everyone held their breath as a half-dozen more heads appeared, rising from the water and stepping onto the jetty. They looked like humans, with lines of varying colors across sections of their bodies, followed with dots of different colors.

  The mages at the testing area had the first Merman put his hand over a crystal. It glowed different colors, each of them revolving in the crystal and denoting numbers. The man was waved on to where there were more mages waiting, ready to talk to him about admittance
into the mages college.

  “Are you sure about this, Archmage Jelanos?” his aide and life-long friend Alamos asked.

  “No, but it is sure to be interesting! The race that has never once left their home cities coming to our schools in order to learn!” Jelanos rubbed his hands together in glee.

  He didn’t wear robes of the school, but instead leather armor that had been made by the Elven people as a sign of his adventurer days. He had a mop of brown hair, hazel eyes, and a goatee.

  Alamos sighed and rubbed his face. He wore simple mages robes, had salt-and-pepper hair and azure eyes. He hid a smile behind his hand at his friend’s antics.

  “You do remember that Elani is making dinner for us and the Merpeople’s representative?” Alamos said.

  That stopped Jelanos rubbing his hands together in glee and jumping up and down.

  “Well, you must remind me to not forget. She would not be happy if we missed it!”

  “I know, Jelanos—why don’t you? You’re the one married to her!”

  “Bah, remembering all that stuff is annoying!”

  “You memorized half of the library!”

  “Well, the library and women are different altogether!”

  “I have my own wife to care for, you know!” Alamos said.

  “I really do have to see little Ginny again! Did you see that she was a level 4 in Air magic!” Jelanos said.

  “I do remember—she is my grandchild! Did you see how she was looking at your Petunia?” Alamos said.

  “My granddaughter Petunia?”

  “What did you think I was talking about? The flower?”

  “Well, there was one time when I did get the two mixed up in a meeting. That turned into a rather nasty affair. Whatever did happen to the Heurick Kingdom?”

  “They were talking about your granddaughter Petunia. The Heurick Kingdom was on the Ashal continent. After you kicked them out of the mages guild and said that none of their people were welcome to learn from your schools with pigheaded idiots like them running the country, their spell casters left. The country fell apart after that. Most of it got absorbed by the Heldar Kingdom,” Alamos said.