Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash: Volume 2

by Ao Jyumonji

  About Grimgar

  Monsters

  Kobolds

  A humanoid race with dog-like heads. Built somewhat smaller than humans, they stand about 150cm tall. However, some large individuals can reach 170cm. Not as intelligent as humans, similarly to the dogs they resemble, they have a well-defined hierarchy and have built a society with a rigid class structure. They have strong bonds within their race, but are hostile to outsiders. Preferring to live in burrows, they are skilled with their hands, though not to the same degree as dwarfs or gnomes. They have developed a level of metallurgy technology that is not to be underestimated. Due to their occult beliefs, all kobolds carry talismans. The complexity of these talismans rises in proportion to the owner’s class, and these can sell for a lot of money. Volunteer soldiers have names for the different classes, such as lesser kobolds or elder kobolds, and use them to distinguish different individuals.

  On Kobold Varieties

  Lesser Kobolds: Appear on the first level and in the vicinity of the mines. Have weak bodies and equipment.

  Kobolds:

  - Low Workers: Inhabit the second layer.

  - Workers: Inhabit the third layer and lower. Also known as followers.

  Elder Kobolds:

  - Foremen: Inhabit the third level and beneath. Direct the other kobolds. Bring followers around with them.

  *In addition to these, there are kobolds with fixed roles within each class. Orcs

  A green skinned and, from a human perspective, hideous race. They have flat noses, pointy ears, big mouths, and tusks. Built slightly larger than humans. Not so much in terms of height, but in terms of bulk. They have the tendency to dye their hair in a variety of colors. The first thing that those which wish to stand out and appear strong do is to dye their hair in vibrant colors. They like to dress themselves up, as well. Their intelligence is by no means low and, while a little rough, they are not so different from humans. However, they are bellicose, and even within their own race their conflicts are unending. These often result in bloodshed. Their level of civilization is not much different from that of humans, and they wear a wide variety of items. Due to the difference in body size, it is quite difficult for humans to use orcish items as is, but it is not completely impossible. Even if they can’t be used as is, in many cases they can be modified to allow them to be used. Like with humans, their possessions can vary considerably, but loot taken from them often sells for a good amount of money. Also, orc society uses a currency that resembles buttons made out of crystal, and depending on their size these may sell for anywhere from 5 to 500 copper. Since the times of the Alliance of Kings, orcs have been seen as a race equal to the undead, and with No-Life King now gone, they could be said to be the most prosperous race in the frontier. To humans, they are a powerful enemy, perhaps even their natural enemies. The occasional attacks on Alterna are nearly always carried out by orcs. Some orcs can even speak the human language.

  Geography

  Old City of Damuro

  Damuro, roughly 4 km northwest of Alterna, was once the Arabakia Kingdom’s second largest city. It was quite the large city, but it fell to an attack by the Undying Empire and became a town of the undead. However, in the midst of the chaos following the death of No-Life King, the goblins that were being treated like slaves staged a rebellion. The battle between the undead and goblins over Damuro lasted for a long time, and in that time the Arabakia Kingdom moved forward with the construction of Alterna. The goblins built a kingdom based out of Damuro, but they never go to attack Alterna. The goblins are cautious of the human race’s strength of arms and seem afraid of entering an all-out war with them. The southeast section of Damuro, the Old City, has half fallen to ruin and is now primarily inhabited by lower class goblins. They are perfect targets for fresh volunteer soldiers to build experience in real battle with. However, there are some ambitious goblins among them that a amassing power in the Old City in order to make a name for themselves in the New City, so it is important not to get careless. A goblin that has hobgoblins following it around is especially dangerous.

  Deadhead Watching Keep

  Roughly 6 km north of Alterna. Garrisoned by orcs, it is an imposing fortress with towers at its center. There have been many times in the past where orcish forces have massed at this keep for an assault on Alterna, but thus far they have always been driven off. It has fallen to attacks by the Alterna Frontier Army a number of times, but is retaken each time. It would be an ideal target for a group of volunteer soldiers that have trained themselves up a bit.

  Cyrene Mines

  8 km northwest of Alterna. These mines were once managed by the Arabakia Kingdom, but are now occupied by kobolds and have developed a unique ecology. The mines are stratified into levels, and it is said there are more than ten of them in total. The highest levels have the weakest kobolds with the level of danger increasing the deeper you go. The first and second levels are inhabited by lower class kobolds and are not very dangerous, but caution becomes necessary from the third level down. Merry once faced a particularly vicious kobold on the fifth level with her comrades, Hayashi, Michiki, Mutsumi, and Ogu. She lost three of her comrades in that battle.

  1. No Comparison

  The party had sold off their loot for the day, split the profits, and were in the middle of idly chatting about what to do next.

  Dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong.

  The sound of bells rang wildly through Alterna’s marketplace.

  “Oh, it’s six,” Haruhiro furrowed his brow. “...No, that’s not it, right? I mean, there were seven bells the last time they rang. Besides, the bell for 6:00 PM doesn’t ring so frantically—”

  “What, what, what?!” Ranta shook his curly-haired head left and right to look around.

  “Hmm.” Yume pulled on her braids, her eyes going wide. “Wonder what it is.”

  “An emergency... I guess?” Shihoru nestled closer to Yume.

  Moguzo rubbed the back of his helmet, looking about worriedly. “...Muh?”

  “No, it can’t be...” Merry lowered her posture a little, squinting her eyes. “An enemy raid?”

  “Huh?” Haruhiro cocked his head to the side. He knew what the word meant, but he wasn’t used to hearing it. “By an enemy raid, you mean—”

  Wahhhh! A cry rose up.

  Where was that from? It sounded far away.

  Ranta flared his nostrils, shouting, “Hey, hey, hey, hey!” and “Oh, oh, oh!”

  What’re you so excited about? Are you an idiot? Haruhiro thought.

  “Merry, what enemies?” Haruhiro shouted, to which Merry quickly responded, “Probably orcs.”

  Orcs?

  “Run!” someone screamed.

  “Orcs!” “It’s orcs!” “Orcs!” “The orcs are here!” “They’re invading...!”

  “Hoh?” Yume brought her index finger to her chin. “Is Ochre-kun someone’s friend?”

  “That’s clearly not it!” Haruhiro reflexively corrected her.

  That was when it happened.

  The people who had been going about their business in the market turned into a raging stream. It only took an instant. Haruhiro was caught in the wave of people. Now, he could only go wherever he was being pushed.

  “Wai—” Ranta tried to resist it, but his efforts were in vain. “What is this?!”

  “Uwahwahh!” Moguzo’s eyes were spinning. Because his body was so big, he was getting elbowed and kicked a lot. It looked unpleasant.

  “M-My hat...!” Shihoru’s hat fell off.

  Haruhiro said “Oh!” and reached out, managing to catch Shihoru’s hat—

  He was good up until that point, but with the mass of people pushing against him,
he was pulled away from the rest of his comrades.

  “Haru-kun!” He heard Yume’s voice.

  “Haru...?!”

  Was that voice Merry’s? I can still just barely make out Moguzo’s head. But there’s no way I can get over there.

  “G-Guys...!” Haruhiro desperately stretched out his hand. It’s no use. I don’t even know where Moguzo is anymore. “Everyone, be careful...!”

  Really, the one who needs to be careful is me! If I fight against the flow, I’ll be pushed down. I’ll be knocked to the ground, trampled, and I could well die. I don’t want that. For now, I’ll have to go with the flow.

  “It’s an enemy raid,” Merry had said. An enemy? What are orcs...?

  Orcs.

  I feel like I’ve heard of them, or maybe I haven’t. Either way, something unusual is happening. If this is an enemy raid, that means enemies have come to attack, right? Alterna’s under attack by these orc things, right? Still, if we’re running away, where do we run to?

  This is a town. Everyone lives here. Alterna is surrounded by high, thick walls. There’s nowhere safer than this. —Or there shouldn’t be. I think. Probably. But that safe place is being attacked. Does that mean, maybe, we’re in serious trouble...?

  Stalls were being flipped over. Goods were being scattered around and trampled.

  What a waste. There were even carts that had been knocked over, with their frames broken.

  The owner must be in shock. No, that’s the least of my worries right now.

  “Gyahhhhhhhhhhhh...!” came the scream from up ahead.

  “They’re here! The enemy...!” “That way’s no good!” “Run, back the other way...!”

  Immediately, the wave of people started to surge back in the opposite direction. However, it was impossible to suddenly change course like that. The people up front were trying to change direction, but the ones behind them were still trying to move forward. Worst of all, Haruhiro was caught in the middle of it and unable to move at all.

  “Hey, that hurts, you know! Q-Quit shoving...!”

  At this rate, I’m going to be crushed to death. That’s how I’m going to die? That’s not even funny.

  Haruhiro somehow managed to push people aside, making his way through the crowd. Up ahead, there was a cart with a dark-colored curtain over it that hadn’t been destroyed, so he went inside.

  “Urkh. It stinks...”

  It smells weird. It’s more than just the smell, though. The stuff displayed on the shelves is weird to begin with. Dead animals? Stuffed and preserved? Then there are bones, teeth, and feathers. As well as... accessories? Assembled from those things.

  “Come this way.”

  There was a sudden voice, and Haruhiro jumped with a start. When he looked, there was an old lady in blackish clothes deep inside the cart. She looked extremely shady. While he stood there indecisively, the old lady shouted “Hurry!” at him, and Haruhiro hesitantly headed to the back of the cart.

  “...Um, is this your store, granny?” he asked.

  “Granny, is it? What a rude young boy. Call me Lady.”

  “L-Lady,” Haruhiro corrected himself, and the old woman grinned.

  “...set, go,” she finished for him.

  “...I said Lady, not ready.”

  “Your comeback wasn’t snappy enough.”

  Your setup was weak to begin with! What’s with this old hag? Haruhiro thought, but he refrained from saying anything.

  The old woman shrugged as if to say, Good grief. “I am Baba.”

  “Which is exactly what you are, since it means ‘an old woman.’”

  “Hmph. That was better than your last attempt, at least.”

  “Well, thanks...”

  “Work at it. Anyway, once again, I am Baba. Baba the Magician. As you can see, this shop sells goods for use in magic. Are you a volunteer soldier?”

  “Well, yes.” While being careful not to breathe through his nose, Haruhiro looked towards the outside. Since the cart was covered with a curtain, he couldn’t see what was happening, but there was still a lot of noise, so the incident was probably still ongoing.

  “...Is this an incident? I guess it is,” he said.

  “The orcs, you mean? Well, this happens once in a loooong while. Hm? Are you a rookie, then?”

  “Well, I haven’t been at it long. Volunteer soldiering, that is.”

  “The way you’re acting, you must be a virgin.”

  “Vir...?!”

  “You idiot. I don’t mean whether you’ve slept with a woman or not. A volunteer soldier isn’t a real man until he’s killed an orc. We treat those who haven’t experienced that yet like virgins. What, are you a double virgin then?”

  “...Single, double, triple, whatever, I don’t care.”

  “You lack ambition!” Baba thrust a finger in Haruhiro’s direction. “You’re a man, aren’t you? You’re young! You want to sleep with women, you want to kill orcs! What are you holding back your desires for?!”

  “It feels kind of like more trouble than it’s worth.”

  “You moron!” Baba spewed spittle and seemed ready to keep going when, swish, the curtain was drawn back.

  “Ah...” Haruhiro blinked.

  Someone came in. Someone— No, something? It’s not... a person.

  I mean, it’s got green skin.

  Its body is big. More broad than tall. It’s incredibly thick.

  It has a smushed nose, pointy ears, and a wide mouth with boar-like tusks.

  Its hair is bright red.

  It’s in armor and carrying a heavy-looking sword with a single-edged blade.

  What’s with this guy?

  “It’s an orc,” Baba croaked, pulling out some sort of rod. “To think it would enter the shop! V-Volunteer soldier, take care of it! It’s time to make a man of yourself!”

  “Huh? M-Me?!” Haruhiro went to draw his dagger, but was too anxious to try anything with it. “I-I can’t do it, not alone! I’m a thief!”

  “Well, I’m just an old hag! Go on, buck up, thief!” Baba gave Haruhiro a good hard shove in the back.

  For calling herself an old hag, she was pretty strong. Haruhiro stumbled towards the orc with a “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” almost tripping.

  The orc shouted something at him in a language with a lot of “shu”s and “sha”s and “bah”s and “oh”s then stabbed its sword at him.

  “No, no, no...?!” Haruhiro dodged.

  Somehow he managed to get out of the way, but he fell onto one of the displays stands, causing Baba to scold him with a “Come on, what do you think you’re doing?!”

  “Shouting at me isn’t helping right now...!” Haruhiro rolled on top of the display to escape.

  The orc clambered up onto the display stand, chasing after him. “Ohshubaguda!”

  It’s no good. I’m dead. I’m seriously gonna get killed. Haruhiro let out a scream, throwing anything that came to hand at it. Even when he hit, the orc didn’t care. Oh, crap. Oh, crap. Oh, crap. This isn’t funny. Haruhiro dived through the curtain, heading outside the cart.

  “...Huh? It’s not coming?”

  As he was thinking that...

  “H-Hey now, volunteer soldier!” he heard Baba’s voice. “Are you going to abandon this poor old woman? You monster...!”

  “It’s easy to say that, but...”

  In the distance, he saw another orc. It was a large enough force to call this an enemy raid, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise, but there was more than one orc.

  There are a bunch of them. Not good.

  This is bad. Real bad.

  I should run. Find somewhere to hide until someone comes along and, bam, takes out all the orcs. I don’t care about Baba. She’s a total stranger to me. I don’t owe her anything, and I doubt I could save her anyway.

  “I don’t have any other choice... right?”

  Haruhiro took a deep breath. Then he pulled back the curtain on Baba’s cart. “Dammit...!”

  Why? What are you doing, me?
Weren’t you going to run away? No, I’d love to run away, but even if she’s a total stranger, I’d have a hard time sleeping if I abandoned her. So, this is the only option. I really don’t feel good about this, but, as a person, it’s the only right thing to do.

  The orc swung its sword down. Baba blocked it with her staff, her face turning red as she groaned with exertion. Even though she was blocking it somehow—

  She’s just barely holding in there. It’s plain to see. Baba’s crouching down. She’s as desperate as she could possibly get. Actually, it’s a damn good thing that staff is so sturdy. I guess I don’t have time to be impressed by that, though. Haruhiro drew his dagger and charged at the orc’s back.

  “Backstab...!”

  The blade slid aside with a clang. It had armor which deflected the blow.

  The orc turned around. “Gashuhah!”

  “Volunteer soldier!” Baba’s eyes were shining. “I think I might just fall in love!”

  “Could you please not?! Seriously!” Haruhiro turned his back on the orcs. “F-Follow me! Well, no, you don’t have to...!”

  Sadly for him, the orc did shift focus from Baba to Haruhiro.

  Yeah, I shouldn’t have done this. I should’ve run for it after all. Too late for regrets now.

  The orc came after him, shouting, “Hahshu, hahshu, hahshu!”

  Haruhiro got out of the cart and ran. As he was running, he quickly ran out of breath. The orc was in heavy equipment, but it was fast. Haruhiro was lightly equipped and running as fast as he could. Even so, he couldn’t pull away.

  “Damn, you’re scary...!”

  Even while he complained, he tried running down narrow streets and forcing his way between carts to somehow shake the orc off his tail.

  The orc, however, with its clanking armor, continued to chase him everywhere he went.

  I’m about ready to give up. Um, excuse me. Can we just call this the finish line? You don’t mind, right?

  The finish line can be when I turn the next corner. I’ll hang in until there. I probably can’t handle any more than that. I’m at the end of my wits and stamina. I retire. I’m sorry.