“That’s fine,” Gerald says. “Let’s just get away…”
I can hear something from the open doorway of a building across the street. Is that movement I see? It’s one of those snake things.
There! That shadow has to be one of them! I send a shard of ice that explodes into smaller shards, shredding whatever it was.
I haven’t cast that spell in a long time…I just cast it as a reflex. But did it work?
“Did you get it?” Gerald asks.
“Let’s pretend I did and continue on our way. Walking at a brisk pace.”
“I like that plan,” Gerald says.
That library was a solid building, an excellent choice…but how many books would be destroyed if I went there? No. I’m not going to destroy good books. It has to be someplace else.
“You think any of these buildings would work?” Gerald asks.
These are, well, some are big buildings certainly, but they have too many windows. And the doors would open easily. And the bigger the buildings the more spaces the snakes have to hide in. They clearly like hiding and waiting until they strike.
“No.”
“Would you like to scry a place?” Gerald asks.
“Aren’t you the helpful one?” I ask. He really is scared. Was he this scared facing the vampire?
“I’d like to not get eaten by whatever…”
There is a noise behind us. I turn and see some movement in the shadows. I could try to hit it…no. I’ll conserve my strength. I don’t know what lies ahead of me.
“Goblins, keep moving!”
“Yes highness,” they say.
“As I was saying,” Gerald says walking at a quick pace. “I don’t want to die.”
“No one wants to die,” I say. “The deep trawler didn’t elicit this kind of response from you.”
“The deep trawler didn’t wipe out a whole city.”
“Are you feeling like your luck is running out?” I ask.
“If mine runs out now, how is your own luck? Waning I would imagine.”
“How can you say such a thing?” I ask. “My luck has been waning since I awoke this morning. Your friends stole from me, broke all my doors, and chased me down here where I had an unexpected swim. And then, just as I was about to grab that little bitch she…kicked me in my leg. But, I refuse to give up.”
There is more noise coming from behind us. The shadows are moving. It isn’t just my eyes playing tricks on me.
“They seem to like that gem,” Gerald says.
“Yes. Only I don’t think it is a gem,” I say.
“What do you mean? Didn’t you see it?”
“And didn’t you see those snakes fall out the bottom? Snakes don’t fall out of your average gem, even if they are uncut.”
“I thought one was sliding off of it.”
“There were runes on the side. Small runes but I managed to see them.”
“Do you know what they do?”
“Spawn those snakes,” I say.
“And it has been like that for centuries?” Gerald asks.
“Yes. At least we now know what killed all of the dwarves.”
“Yes, we do. Those snakes.”
“No. Greed,” I say. “Hubris. Which, if you’ve read anything about a dwarf, greed and hubris is what a dwarf is. A bearded amalgamation of greed and hubris.”
“So what is it then if it isn’t a gem?”
“It is some sort of egg sack. The dwarves brought it in and it began hatching those snakes,” I say.
How else could this city have fallen?
“An egg sack that looks like a gem?”
“It is just some magical housing. The way it shines on the wall, the runes running up and down it…I’ll show you when I scry next. Now that I know what to look for it will be easy to spot. I should have picked up on it when I scryed earlier! And I would have too if I wasn’t so uncomfortable, dressed in this damp rag of a dress.”
“You are blaming your dress?”
“No. I am blaming the reason why my dress is ripped and damp.”
“Your curvy backside?”
“No! My…backside…isn’t that curvy.”
“You don’t own any mirrors, do you?”
My ass is perfectly fine! It is sexy and oohhhh he is making me sound just like Lorelei. I am not vain and conceited! And I am not playing his little game; trying to trick me into saying I am some vain queen! I’ll just play it off coolly. I can’t let him know that I am upset.
“I am not blaming my dress directly. And I am not blaming myself. Any part of myself.”
“So…are you blaming me?”
“You. Your friends. The goblins!”
“What did the goblins do?”
“They weren’t around to kick you out of my home!”
Yes, I know they heard me. You better bow your green little heads!
“Fine. I apologize once again,” Gerald says.
“Do you really mean it this time?”
“Does it matter? We need to tackle problems in the here and now. If you need me to apologize for the past so we can focus on the present, then I apologize.”
He is right. I can accept his apology, even if it isn’t as heartfelt as I wished it was. I have snakes and heroes to deal with.
“That gem is their source,” I say.
“But, if it is a magical, housing you called it, who could have…deep elves!” Gerald says.
They do like magic. And they hate dwarves. Would deep elves drop a weapon like that just to wipe out a dwarven city? Yes. Yes they would.
“Yes. That gem is a deep elf weapon. One that is too good.”
“Too good?”
Oh come on! A weapon still working like that centuries later?
“You must be scared. You’re usually smarter than this,” I say.
“Thanks?”
“If you create a weapon…oh look who I am talking to. Okay, listen. If I were to create a weapon like that, it would be used to fulfil a purpose. Why kill dwarves just to kill them? They have gold, tools, they could be slave labor. Deep elves are well known for taking slaves.”
“And well known for hating dwarves.”
“Yes. I suppose genocide wouldn’t be out of the question. But to leave all this wealth that the dwarves had alone? Creating that gem must have taken a lot of resources. You don’t just craft a spell, say some words, and gain a large sapphire that shits carnivorous worms. There are easier ways to commit genocide. And the sacrifice of wealth…I can’t get over that!”
“Maybe the deep elves that did this aren’t as concerned about wealth as you are.”
“How could they not be? All the secrets of the dwarves and all their wealth? Why make a weapon and not have a way to turn it off?”
“A couple of problems with your theory,” Gerald says.
“Problems with my theory?”
He says theory as if I am just making this up!
“First, revenge. If there was a deep elf city or empire that hated these dwarves so much, can’t you see them building some superweapon, like that gem, and depositing it in a place for the dwarves to find and take back with them.”
“Yes, I can see that…”
“And two..”
Did he just interrupt me? Me?
“What if these snakes don’t eat deep elves.”
I…hmmm. That could be true.
“But why then is there so much stuff still here?”
“Is there though? Don’t you think that whatever we’re finding is just the leftovers?”
“Well, sure.”
“And all of these doors are open…”
“No. I’m going to stop you right there. They are not all open. Look! Right there. That door is closed. And that one. Even the library was shut!”
“Just because you value books doesn’t mean deep elves would.”
“Well…fine! So maybe the deep elves came through here and looted a bit. But why not take their time? Why leave so many doors closed? If they had immunity from
these snakes, then it didn’t work.”
“No? Where are their bodies?”
“I would imagine that further on down some tunnel we will find old deep elf armor. With puncture wounds.”
“So this weapon they built killed them too?”
“Yes,” I say. “Why else didn’t they loot everything? If that was true that they were immune they should have taken their time because they would have had all the time to search each and every building. But they just gathered up coins from the streets, kicked in a few doors at random, and never returned? The deep elves either just let the dwarves die in some genocidal plot and walked away, or they fell victim to their own weapon.”
“If they fell victim to their own weapon, that would be karma,” Gerald says.
“You and your sense of karma.”
“Because that is how the world works.”
“No. That isn’t how the world works. Everyone has a bad day. I’m having a bad day. Is it because I have done things you don’t like?”
“Yes.”
“No! It isn’t. You’re having a bad day. What orphanage did you burn down?”
“Heroes sometimes suffer for their cause.”
“That! That right there! That is arrogance. Whenever something bad happens to me, it is my comeuppance. If something bad happens to you, it is all part of the hero’s journey. If I have a good day, isn’t a bad day is sure to turn up? Because, as you know, only villains have a bad day!”
“If you ask anyone, they will say that you are suffering for your ill deeds.”
“Ask anyone? Who? The sheep that wander this land that think being covered in shit and mud is normal?”
“Only a villain like you would see things differently,” Gerald says.
“Only a hero like you would refuse to see things as they truly are. Feeding lies about karma and comeuppance to ignorant masses doesn’t prove you’re right. If we were to travel further underground and find dark elf armor with puncture marks, it wouldn’t be because of karma. And it wouldn’t be their cosmic comeuppance. It would be their ignorance for building a weapon like this that they couldn’t disenchant or control; creating a weapon that would eat them just as much as it ate the dwarves would have been their undoing. Their demise would be out of idiocy and moronic planning derived from some base desire for revenge without the common foresight to see problems that might arise. Such as you. You and your friends, whatever happens in here to you, it would all be of your own doing. Your own hands. I would bet that your friends…are going to walk right into this hell that we are walking in!”
“You sound excited about that,” Gerald says.
“I didn’t create the snakes, did I? I’m not forcing the heroes to keep pursuing me, am I?”
“You said you wouldn’t kill them.”
“And I’m not,” I say. “The snakes will.”
I need to lure the heroes into that building with the snakes breeding in it and lock them in!
“I want my friends to live.”
“And I want to continue to reign,” I say. “Someone is going to be disappointed!”
“You gave me your word!”
“That I wouldn’t kill them. And I am not going to kill them. But I also never promised that I would save your friends. You think they will turn around after I rescue them and leave me alone? If we team up against those snakes, do you really think that they will wish me well and we’ll all go our separate ways?”
“No. You’re right,” Gerald says.
He is upset. He sees that I am right but what good is being right if I can’t control him. I don’t want to lose him. He has been a good companion and I do need him on my side. He is far more useful with that focus as an ally. I’ll just offer him a way to save his friends. But just a potential way that holds no guarantees. I will only offer it for his continued service and his promise to abstain from any conflicts between myself and his companions.
“Fine,” I say. “I…I may have a way to keep them away from the snakes.”
“Oh?”
He looks happy again.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I say. “And don’t think that it will be any kind of guarantee for their safety. Because it isn’t!”
“What are you offering?” Gerald asks.
“Once I find a place to defend I will light it up so they can find me.”
“And if they happen to be forced to take this street that has all those snakes?”
“They won’t find this street. I’ll find a place so that they won’t come near that building with all the snakes. Don’t worry.”
“Really?”
“Really. However, I want you to understand that I am not going to go and save them from themselves. I am not responsible if the snakes in the city kill them nor am I responsible for them if they ignore my attempts to get their attention and they decide to loot all of these buildings on the way. I am just offering a guiding light. Nothing more.”
“No. That is reasonable.”
“And then we will have our little battle. And by ‘we’ I am not referring to you and your friends. You will sit out and watch!”
“I have given you my word,” Gerald says.
“If I see you try to heal, or aid your sister or your friends in any way, I will do what I can to kill them and then mount their heads as trophies.”
“I under…”
Something is coming behind us. Gerald and I both turn our heads but we can’t see whatever it is. I can’t see anything.
“They must breed in the bodies as well,” Gerald says.
“Yes. One must think that the deep elves used an existing creature for their trap. Ones born of the gem are bound to it but the ones that are born from the dead, they aren’t bound to anything.”
Which is usually how magical spawning works; most creatures feel a connection to whatever spawned them, like it is their mothers.
“The elves were fools.”
“This is why I stay away from super weapons. I hate super weapons. They have a nasty habit of backfiring in your face.”
“And your goblins?”
“They are an army. An army is not the same as a super weapon. Ask any king or queen when you help them with one of their quests or tasks if they consider their armies to be a dangerous superweapon.”
We walk down the street, taking a right and continuing on. Knowing what is making those sounds all around us only makes me even more jittery. I try and not spin around whenever I hear something moving. If we don’t linger the snakes don’t appear to attack. If I can look cool and calm to Gerald I will appear to be his superior.
I need to scry. I need to know where the heroes are and where my army is. I have nothing but enemies all around me, surrounding me like a noose. And everyone will say it is my just desserts! Gerald and his friends will be the ones to tell the stories. I heard what he will say; this is all karma, Vivian. This is your comeuppance because we say so. And no one will defend me. Everyone will look at me, laugh, spit on my corpse, delighted in my defeat. Or I’ll be put in stocks or humiliated in some other way. They’ll throw me into a pit with pigs, covered in shit, laughing! At me! Me! A queen!
No. Don’t let yourself think that way Vivian. You’re getting yourself worked up. Just take a deep breath. The snakes aren’t going to kill you and the heroes will be defeated. The goblins will be here to sweep up everything and life will be grand! You have this whole city to rule over. Your new home. And what treasures will you find? And if the deep elves were defeated, there could be a whole city of deep elf treasures for the taking!
Oh. Hello. What is this? I walk over to a building that has no windows, is on a corner, and has solid doors. Wait there are some windows in the back…with bars?
Their prison? We stumbled on their prison?
“Goblins! Get to that door and open it!” I command.
“Yes highness,” they say.
They rush forward and pull open the door. It grinds, making my ears ache. Well, anyone near us knows whe
re we are now. And if goblins can open up the door the heroes won’t have any problems.
I enter and see bones and armor on the floor with some weapons. And some coins? Were there coins in some of the other buildings and I just didn’t notice? Our conversation has me looking for every scrap of wealth that these dwarves may have possessed when they perished.
There is a stone counter built for a dwarf so it comes up to my hip. And I don’t have to duck here because dwarven architecture is always large enough for their egos to fit. I don’t see anything else of immediate value. This place is so old if it isn’t metal or stone, it has probably disintegrated.
I wonder how many of those books in that library are just leather bound tomes of dust? The moment I take a book from the shelf the pages will just crumble at the slightest touch. I will need to research some spells to preserve them. Unless the dwarves have already thought of that. Maybe there are runes and spells in place protecting the books…
“Are we going to check the back room?” Gerald asks.
“Of course!” I say.
Stop daydreaming Vivian. You need to fortify this place. Oh, this narrow doorway could work to my advantage. These cells must just hold prisoners temporarily. There aren’t enough cells to call this a prison. They are sturdy. I could keep some of the heroes here. Maybe Leo would like to sit here for a few weeks. Maybe I should have him closer to me so I can conduct frequent ‘inspections’.
There is a door beyond these cells down this narrow short hall. I wonder what this could lead to. I open the door up myself and walk right into a court room. Dwarves are certainly efficient, keeping their cells right next to the court. I am guessing these stone benches are where people would sit and these stone tables and chairs beyond those benches are where lawyers would sit. And up here, behind this large stone judge’s bench is where the panel of judges would sit. I walk down past the benches, past the pair of large tables, to the judge’s bench and peer around to the side. Seven stone chairs, ornately crafted because a dwarf of their position isn’t going to just sit on anything simple. I can see holes around the seat of the chairs and some metal fastenings, some of which have fallen to the ground. These chairs were once upholstered.
Are there any side doors here? No? The judge’s offices must be in an adjoining building.
The Goblin Queen and the Sigil of Altazan (The League of Sinister Means Book 2) Page 27