The Greystone Chronicles Book Two: The Dire Lands

by Dave Willmarth

  They were just establishing the connection between the two structures. Brick had two masters helping him to shape the last bits of stone. As the new floor sections connected to the old, the entire structure began to glow. The light quickly spread from the original smithy through the new floors, walls, and even ceilings. Brick had continued the silver and glass mixtures through the new structure, and those accents flashed brightly. Before the shapers could finish the connections, the forge finished it for them. The dragon’s head that had been above the eastern door appeared above the new doorway, ten feet away. There was an almost snapping sound, and then it was done. The dragon forge had more than doubled in size and capacity. Every dwarf in the compound was now gathered around the smithy. They all dropped to one knee and began a chant to Durin. The light swirled through the structure as sixty dwarves called out to their god in celebration. When the light faded, they all rose and began to clap each other on the back as they made their way to inspect the renovated forge.

  Seeing Alexander approaching, Master Ironhammer called out, “What d’ye think? Do the perch look more comfy fer the dragon prince?” The master was beaming with joy. New anvils were being moved into the smithy near the back side of the forge.

  “Ha! I think Kai will be quite pleased. Now he can set his dragon tummy right over top of the forge!” Alexander called back. That got a laugh from most of the dwarves in earshot.

  Searching for Master Silverbeard, Alexander located him in the study, where he seemed to have established a command post. Dwarves were running in and out to report tasks accomplished and receive the next. He also found Fitz and Rufus, sitting in a chair. Apparently, Fitz now trusted Fibble alone in the tower enough to grant Rufus some freedom.

  “Fitz! Let me guess. You tried to sneak a bit of a snack, and Mrs. O’Malley chased you out with a wooden spoon?” Alexander asked.

  “Bah! It was a frying pan. Woman can swing that thing like a battle-axe!” The wizard grinned as he complained. Rufus, standing on the brim of the wizard’s hat, mimed a tennis swing. “If she wasn’t such a good cook, I’d turn her into a platypus!”

  Reaching into his bag, he retrieved one of Millicent’s pastries and tossed it to Fitz. “I visited Whitehall this afternoon. Millicent sends her love.”

  Catching the pastry, the wizard said, “Good lad!” as he defended his treat from Rufus’ reaching paws. The squirrel had dropped down to cling to Fitz’s beard, and was playing a zone defense. Alexander almost wanted to stay and see how Fitz was going to manage to get the treat past the squirrel into his mouth. Even Master Silverbeard was watching with a smile on his face.

  Heading into the kitchen, he held up both hands in a defensive gesture. Mrs. O’Malley turned to see who it was, and snorted. “I hear there’s a madwoman with a frying pan loose in here?” He grinned at her.

  She lifted said pan in one hand. “Out with you! I’ve work to do!”

  “Wait, wait! I come bearing gifts!” he cried. He stepped to the closest countertop and began producing trays of Millicent’s pastries. He’d bought twelve dozen, but he was beginning to worry that wasn’t enough. Mrs. O’Malley set down the pan. “Are those… Millicent’s?” she asked.

  “Yup! I was in Whitehall, and thought I’d help out a little with the menu. Hope you don’t mind?”

  “Not at all, my boy! I was planning to bake through dinner. You’ve just saved me some time! I’ll make a few pies and cakes, to make sure there’s plenty. But this is very thoughtful of you!” She hugged Alexander, covering him in cooking stains. He didn’t mind a bit.

  “Have you made a decision about Mattie?” he asked, deciding to take advantage of his current popularity.

  “Aye. She can go. Only because she’s right when she says that dung-snuffler of a husband of hers will come looking for her. But you promise me you’ll keep her safe!” She picked up the pan again.

  “I can’t do that. Not where we’re going,” he said sadly. “But I will promise to do my best to keep her safe. And I’ll charge the others with the same.” He bowed his head to her.

  “That’ll have to do, then,” she said, quietly. “Now get! You’re in the way!”

  As he reached the door, and relative safety, he turned and looked back. “Dung-snuffler?”

  “Out!” She threw some type of vegetable at him, but he was already gone. She smiled at the closing door for a moment before going back to work.

  As the afternoon approached sunset, Alexander wandered around, introducing himself to the dwarves he didn’t know, speaking to each of them for a moment or two. This was no interview process. Dwarven honor was above reproach. If these had been chosen by King Thalgrin, they were certainly good enough for Alexander. He simply wanted to get to know his soon-to-be citizens.

  As the last rays of the sun departed from the sky, he headed back into the house. Human volunteers from his list began to arrive, and were told to mix and mingle for a while. Groups began to form, some standing around the courtyard or the garden, some sitting at the long tables. A bar was set up, and a couple of dwarves began pouring mugs of ale. The spirits would be held back until after the feast.

  Sasha’s five volunteers were escorted into the study, where the five founding members of Greystone had gathered. Fitz was in attendance as well. He was going to be discreetly monitoring the players with magic, and would alert them if one of them lied.

  Once they were all seated, Sasha introduced the first. A gnome female.

  “This is Beatrix. She’s a water mage. Level 35. She’s also a gem crafter. To save some time, she and all the others here have been griefed by PWP at some point, and are looking for payback.” The little gnome smiled and waved at everyone. There were a few generic questions, like was she willing to fight, was she a servant of the Dark One, would she take oaths, etc. Everyone seemed satisfied with her answers. Fitz nodded his head.

  Alexander took out his smallest soul crystal, and tossed it to the gnome. “What can you do with this?” he asked.

  Catching it handily, she took a look. Her eyes bugged out, and Alexander could almost swear her ears wiggled slightly. “O. M. G.! What can’t I do with this? You can charge enchanted items. You can put it in a weapon or armor with almost any enchantment. You can even recharge your own mana with it, if you know how! Do you know what this is worth at auction? Ten thousand, easy!” Alexander grinned. He was carrying more than a hundred of the crystals from the undead they’d killed in the keep.

  “We have a few of them. If we accept you, and you help us succeed in this war, you’ll each receive one as a bonus.” He looked to each of the five. All were nodding their heads.

  The other candidates were a level 40 warrior named Dirk, a level 30 7-foot tall barbarian who called herself ‘Huge Helga’, a level 25 paladin named Benny, and most interestingly, a level 35 half-ogre tank named Lugs. Lugs was nine feet tall, and from what Alexander could tell, just as dumb as one would expect an ogre to be. Though that might just be an act. But put armor on Lug and hand him a shield and a hammer, and he could defend a zip code.

  Fitz and the gang approved of all five. Alexander sent each of them a guild invite, and set their ranks as ‘recruit’. There they would stay until they took their oaths with Kai. They had access to 10 gold per day each from the guild bank. For weapon repairs.

  With that item off the agenda, they all headed outside. Alexander found Lola in the courtyard near the bailey. “Hi, Lola, have you met all the guild members?”

  When she shook her head no, he brought her over and introduced to her the founders. The others had already drifted away to mingle. “How are we doing as far as guests?” he asked the young dwarfess.

  “Me King’s guards all returned an hour ago. The entire dwarf contingent be here in the compound now. So far, thirty-five of the humans from yer list have reported in. A couple named the Redmonds be here as well. Said they were friends?”

  Sasha corrected her. “Family. They are always welcome.” Lola nodded her head.

  “
Captain Redmond said the king would arrive shortly. That were maybe ten minutes ago.”

  She paused for a moment, looking uncomfortable. “There be a… a goblin running about, waving a wand. Told me his name were Fibble? I be a bit worried he’ll shoot somebody…”

  “BWAHAHA!” Brick laughed. “Fibble’s a guild member. The wand won’t hurt ye. It be a healing wand. He helped us clear a dungeon o’ demons. Took down a mini-boss almost by hisself with that wand! Saved all of our lives, too.”

  Lola grinned as she pictured that.

  “Speaking of guild members, Lola,” Alexander began. “Your grandfather mentioned that you have a talent with numbers. Might you be interested in joining the guild and being our treasurer?”

  “It’d be me honor!” Lola didn’t even think about it.

  “I need to know that you’re aware of the dangers involved, Lola. We’re going right into a battle zone in the morning. Servants of darkness will be trying to eat your face,” Alexander warned.

  Lola blinked at the vivid description, but quickly recovered. “I be a dwarf o’ Broken Mountain. I trained from age 5 with shield and axe. We be headed to a keep of stone, built by me people. Ten o’ us could hold that keep against any number o’ beasties. Meanin’ no offense, sir, but me face ain’t so easy to eat!” She grinned.

  “HA! I like her! Can we keep her?” Sasha asked. The others all echoed her sentiment.

  Alexander sent her a guild invite. “Welcome to Greystone,” he said. “We’ll discuss the treasurer bit when we have more time.”

  The others all congratulated Lola, moving off toward the bar. Looking out at the gate, Alexander thought of Jenkins and his men, who’d been on duty out there all day.

  He shouted, “Dvorn!” as loudly as he could. In just moments the young dwarf came running.

  “Dvorn, those men at the gate must be dying of hunger and thirst. Grab a couple of hands, go in the house and bring me a small table and two chairs, would you please?”

  Dvorn dashed off and grabbed the two closest bodies he found, one of which was Thea. They headed into the house.

  Walking to the gate, Alexander waved to Jenkins and the others to step inside the bailey.

  “You men have been standing here since sunrise. Have any of you even had any food?”

  “Aye, sir. Lady Lydia brought us some lunch, and Foster grabbed us some flagons of water when he was in the kitchen,” Jenkins answered.

  “That won’t do.” Alexander pretended to think. “Nearly everyone who is expected is already here. Save the king and a few citizens. I want you to leave two men here, inside the ward…”

  The dwarves arrived with the table and chairs. Alexander pointed to the wall at one side of the tunnel.

  “As I was saying. Two men here, inside the ward, to greet visitors. The rest of you, inside. Bring them back some food when it’s served. Relieve them in an hour. You get the idea. But no ale till you’re off duty. Which will be in three hours. You all need to mingle and get to know the others. Also, I need to know who from the list fails to show up, if any.” He smiled at them. “And Jenkins, once we’re at the keep, nobody pulls more than an eight-hour shift. Unless it’s unavoidable. Enjoy your evening, gentlemen.”

  Alexander walked back through the bailey, and was surprised to see the king and a young man who had to be the prince coming around the corner of the main house, as if they’d just come from the stables. Noticing the king was holding two bottles of spirits, Alexander revised that thought. The cellar, not the stables.

  Jogging over to greet him, he said, “Apologies, Majesty. If the guards had mentioned you were coming, I’d have been at the gate to greet you.”

  The king winked at him. Leaning close, he whispered, “Guards never saw me. Remember I told you I executed the ambassador that lived here for espionage? He was caught digging a tunnel into the palace. I decided to keep it. Leads straight to Brick’s booze!” He grinned. “I’ll show you where it is later.” He put one arm around his son. “Alexander, this is my son, Edward. Your new squire. Teach him what you can. Beat him when you need to. Keep him away from the dwarven spirits. And any overly friendly women! Also, try and keep him alive. I’m not sure my lovely wife would want to make a replacement.” And with a wink, he was moving toward the garden.

  Alexander grinned as Edward rolled his eyes. Teenagers were teenagers everywhere. “Nice to finally meet you, Prince Edward.” He held out his hand. The prince shook it.

  “Sir Knight. It is an honor. My father has told me many things about you.”

  “How ‘bout we make deal? Outside the throne room, you call me Alexander, and I’ll call you Edward,” Alexander said.

  “Deal.” Edward nodded his head. “I dislike all the formality anyway. As I’m to be your squire for the foreseeable future, have you any duties for me?”

  “For tonight, enjoy the feast. Mingle with the volunteers, make some friends. Starting in the morning, you stick with me. Are you sleeping in the palace tonight?”

  “Yes. Mother’s a bit emotional. She wants one last family breakfast before I ‘run off to get myself hacked to bits’, as she puts it.” Another eye roll.

  Chuckling, Alexander laid a hand on the prince’s shoulder. The prince stiffened for a moment, not used to being touched. Then he relaxed. “Moms are like that. Let her have her small moments. It costs you little, and you’ll be glad later. I lost my own mother when I was ten. I’d give anything for a breakfast with her today.” Edward looked ashamed.

  Patting the boy’s shoulder, Alexander continued. “My first bit of advice to you. Do with it what you will. Now! Go mingle. I’ll want you to join your father and I in a few minutes. One small formality, and you’re free for the night. Oh! And my second bit of advice. Don’t flirt with Huge Helga. She might eat you.”

  He noticed two more of his new citizens drifting in through the gate. Waving, he motioned them towards the garden. Making a short trip into the house, he stuck his head in the kitchen door far enough that he could ask Mrs. O’Malley when she’d like to serve, while still dodging any projectiles if necessary. She informed him that food would be served in five minutes. He asked if she’d like more hands, and she said she had plenty.

  Taking her word for it, he headed for the garden. In guild chat, he said, “Food in five. Sasha, Brick, Max, Lainey, Jules, Thea, Master Silverbeard, please meet me at the bar. ASAP. Brick, clear some space. If anyone sees Master Ironhammer or Fitz, please bring them, too.”

  Locating the king and the prince not far from the bar, he hurried over. “Majesty, would you join me for a brief ceremony before we eat?” he asked.

  “Of course. Lead the way.” King Charles and the prince followed him to a clear area to one side of the bar. Fitz was nowhere to be found, but the others were moving toward him. He assumed Fitz would appear when the food did. Still, he asked the king, “Do you have a way to summon Fitz for this?”

  The king grinned, then shouted, “FITZ!”

  Shaking his head, Alexander said, “Thank you, Majesty.”

  The wizard appeared. “Is the food ready?”

  “Mrs. O’Malley informs me she’ll be serving in less than five minutes. Please just stand here and look official for a few moments while I make a short speech,” Alexander said.

  The wizard grumped under his breath, but remained.

  When the others had all arrived, he raised the stone under the entire group three feet. Just enough that all those present could see them. He raised his hands, and the group quieted.

  “Thank you all for being here this evening,” he began in a commanding voice. “I first want to thank King Charles, and King Thalgrin, for their generous support in our endeavor!” He motioned to the king, who gave a wave and a nod.

  “I believe I’ve met most all of you, by now. But for any that I’ve missed, my name is Alexander. I am one of the founders of the Greystone guild, whom you see here with me.” The others all waved a hand or bowed.

  “Tomorrow morning, we head to D
ire Keep. We expect to be attacked there soon, maybe even as we move into the keep. Our first priority will be shoring up the defenses. Once they are secure, we will begin to focus on housing, crafting facilities, farming, mining, and the like. We may be at war for some time, but there is no reason we cannot live our lives, or even thrive, at the same time!” There was some applause for this.

  “From your first step into the Dire Lands tomorrow, you will no longer be humans of Stormforge, or dwarves of Broken Mountain. You will be brothers and sisters in arms!” Louder applause, and some cheering from the dwarves.

  “You will support each other without hesitation. You will work and play together. Maybe even die together. And together we will build a home we can all be proud of!” There was a roll of cheering and applause.