What Lurks Below

by Michael Soldat

  “If you're here, she paid too much for it.”

  Lara stared at her feet, avoiding Farge's glare.

  “She did, but not a single person I know that’s served with her would describe her as any less than wonderful. Tali fought next to myself, she fought next to my assistant Nami, and I’m sure she’s fought next to half the people I know. She will be revered, not forgotten. Nami actually wanted me to tell you-”

  “My daughter doesn’t have a mother anymore,” Farge said, head in his hands.

  Lara mouth gaped, but she did not speak. She walked over and put her hand on Farge’s shoulder.

  “She had an excellent one, though. And, she has an excellent father. On top of that, your daughter will get her education, and she is always welcome to talk to any of us. You’ll find it difficult to get anyone to stop talking about Tali. Like I said, Nami wanted me to tell you how much she appreciated your wife. Tali livened up more than a few jobs by pulling out fresh tea to share. She was ferocious, too. I've seen her subdue a stray grog with nothing more than a shield.”

  “She’s not coming home, Lara. Thank you for the kind words, but she’s never coming home. How did it happen?”

  “There was a trap in the tunnels, under the mountain. A grog moaned underneath weak rock. It echoed just right and fell on us all. Everyone else got out, but only because she made sure we ran quick.”

  Farge nodded, then began to cry.

  “I’m sorry. She died serving her city, and it will not forget about her. Neither will those who's lives she saved.”

  “Please, leave me alone for now. I need to think.”

  Lara nodded and walked to the door. She opened it, turned back to see Farge sobbing, and left. As soon as the door shut behind her, Lara began bawling. No one spoke to her on her trip back, her tears serving as a solemn personal guard. A few people met her gaze, but dared not hold it for more than a moment. Back at the castle, Lara walked straight back to the office, passed Nami at the desk without a word, and flopped into bed.

  “Uh… are you OK?” Nami asked from the doorway.

  “I hope that gets easier. Right now, with that and Robert, I just...”

  Lara sobbed again.

  “If it does, what does that say about you?”

  Lara looked at Nami with a very confused face.

  “I, uh, I mean, you clearly care, OK? I figure if it gets easier, that means you’re getting numb to people’s suffering. I’m sorry that it hurts, but that makes for a better leader. Robert would have been proud. That is, I'm sure he'll be proud, when he's well again.”

  “That woman put all her pay into her daughter’s education. I told them we’ll help with that.”

  “So we will? That seems fine. I mean, having a mother would be better, but we all know what we’re getting into.”

  “I know. It’s a lot. I just want things to go right. They always went right with Robert. I know it’s better her than a few dozen merchants or some workers, because that’s our job. That’s why we’re here, so we can deal with this and not them. Still, I’m already tired of bad things happening.”

  “It’s your first week on the job. I don’t think anyone will fault you for this. The only reason you’re doing this before anyone prepared you for it is because of a tragedy.”

  “Before I was prepared for it? You knew too?”

  “Nope, but anyone who's been with us could see your succession, clear as day. Who else would he leave this to? You’ve been getting ready for this job for at least three years now.”

  Lara sat up, wiped her tears, and sighed.

  “I guess you’re right. We’ll do what we can for Tali’s family, and then we’ll get back to the grog problem. Felas needs that plan by tonight, and I’m the one to present it to him. Well, we’re the ones. I hope you don’t mind coming, since it’s partly your plan too.”

  “I’ll clear my schedule.”

  Lara smirked, then got up and walked over to the desk.

  “Let’s start with brightening up the place. We’ll have to cut into wood supplies, and I’m sure whoever we try to take it from will put up a fight. There’s the army, and there’s merchants.”

  “Arguing with the army might actually go better. They have a bit of an idea of what we do.”

  “Yes, but there are also officials that don’t think what we do is necessary. Robert had better relations with them, but he didn’t exactly have time to put in a good word for me.”

  “So you want to talk to merchants? I bet they’ll sell the wood to you.”

  “Not even a little. We have to trust Felas on this one.”

  “What about a plan B? Are you going to ask him to build that outpost?”

  “We’re going to need to plan that out more. We have the afternoon, right? Can you draw? I can’t, but with a little ingenuity we can at least scratch something on paper. Drawing a solitary tower can’t be that hard, can it?”

  Nami shrugged as she scrounged up some blank paper. Lara scribbled lines down. Nami pored through books for information on the dimensions of the wall to figure out how many fires they'd need to light. Within the hour, a crude sketch of a tower lay on the paper. Another page kept all the calculations needed for how many fires needed to be lit, how far apart they should be placed, and so on.

  “That looks pretty neat,” Nami said.

  “Thanks. I feel bad asking for it, though. We already pay out a lot of gold to anyone that so much as looks at a grog. What if we can’t get the money for the stone?”

  “It’s all up to Felas. Maybe we can get more guards up on the wall instead.”

  “Would that help? What if a group of the nasty things came in the night, charging towards the wall?”

  “Which nasty things? They're all gross. At the worst, I figure a gray can’t go much faster than one of us, and that’s assuming it’s taller.”

  “I’m not worried about the gray in this case. A pack of grog at its command would be far more alarming.”

  Both women sat up in their chairs and stared off into the distance, thinking. Nami fell asleep. Some time later, a steward knocked on the door to inform them it was time for their meeting. Nami shook awake as Lara gathered their papers. They walked towards the king’s council chamber, where the guards were waiting.

  “Lara, Nami.”

  “Hello,” Lara said.

  “We’re almost ready for you. They sound worried in there.”

  “How can you tell?” Nami asked.

  “I can’t, to be absolutely sure. But, when you hear what goes on in front of the room you guard, you start to figure one tone means one thing, and so on.”

  Both Lara and Nami shrugged. They didn't wait long before the other guard opened the door and bade them enter.

  “Lara!” the king said. “I'm happy to see you so composed after all that's happened. How are you holding up? I confess, I've had to take a few moments to myself over the past day.”

  “As well as I can, sir. There’s work to be done.”

  “If I saw that written down, I wouldn’t know if you or Robert had penned it,” Felas said, sniffling.

  “I learned from the best.”

  “Naturally. So, I assume you know that our contact has sent information about the creature you brought back. I find it very alarming.”

  “Yes, I agree. Grog by themselves are a threat, but they are chaotic and cannot think beyond their own hunger. This creature, it reasons for them, it herds them. We're looking at the equivalent of a cattle farmer here, in my opinion. Well, cattle farmers with crazy powers.”

  “What?”

  “I know, the analogy is strange, but that is what they seem to be. They're a lot more dangerous, but as far as I can tell, they breed grog like we would cows, except as warriors, not as food. When we encountered the gray, it appeared to be coming to the aid of the grog queen. A creature with more advanced powers such as the gray must be above the grog.”

  “What are you talking about? We’re concentrating on the creature you bro
ught back. Nothing about grog.”

  “I understand that, sir, but I say they are connected. If I may ask, what information did you receive from uh… our contact?”

  “I was told that the creature you brought back is dangerous, and will be exterminated as soon as possible. Our contact also mentioned surprise at hearing that there were multiple individuals.”

  “I do not disagree with any of this, but please believe me. I was there. That thing interacts with the grog somehow. I intend to treat that relationship as the threat to our city that it is. Now, if you’ll read our plans, we have several ideas for-”

  “Lara. If these two creatures are related as you say, why did you not tell me after talking to our contact?”

  Lara’s brow furrowed.

  “To be frank, I did not expect what I got myself into that night. Please, forgive me if I missed a few details. It was a long day, and I wanted to be rid of the dangerous creature that killed my mentor. I feared it wanted to do the same to me and my soldiers. Nami had to restrain me from killing the thing myself,” she said, getting louder by the end of the statement.

  Most of the council members’ mouths were open. People rarely raised their voices at the king of Thogt. It didn't work too well.

  “Lara, do not misunderstand me. I appreciate your retrieval of a dangerous creature, and I thank you for your restraint. But, these creatures cannot speak or, in fact, communicate at all in civilized ways. You are suggesting they are somehow banding together under the earth for one despicable reason or another. Is that so?”

  “I can’t prove they’re doing such a thing. For all I know, they truly are working together out in the wild to survive. Maybe they hunt rats together. I don’t know, we discovered them a few days ago.”

  “Then what are these plans for? Why do we need anything more than occasional removal to keep them at bay?”

  “They’re dangerous! Felas, one of them killed Robert! This isn’t some bear that killed an idiot traveler for camping in the wrong spot!”

  “Lara! Lower your voice. The loss of Robert bothers me more than you can imagine, but we must keep a clear head. I understand. You’re mad, you want revenge. Trust me, our contact will take care of the one you delivered. That is your revenge. Whether it is satisfactory or not is immaterial, and if it makes you feel better, I don’t like it either. But, without conclusive proof that these are plotting against our city, I can’t spare resources to go on what could be a suicide mission. You as well as anyone should know that extended action in the mountains needs a supply line and more soldiers than I’d care to think about. It would be an occupation, and a dangerous one at that.

  Before the past few days, the only problems we have had are lone grog wandering off. Now that we’ve tried to solve that problem , I fear we’ve created a bigger one. I would rather we kept the threat level as is, in case something more terrible lurks beneath.”

  Lara fumed for a moment and looked around. The council members were looking at her, as was Nami. She turned to look at her partner, who offered a sympathetic look.

  “Hold on, sir, if I may,” Nami started. “For now, we don’t ask much for setting up a defense. I agree that escalation may be a bit much to ask at the moment. But, there is one step Lara and I have agreed upon that could keep our city safer from the grog. It doesn’t require too much on your part, I think.”

  “Oh, and what is that?” Felas said.

  “Light. We’re sure that grog eyes don’t work the same way as ours do. I don’t know if they hate light, or fire, or whatever, but I do know that if you hold a torch around them, they panic. All Lara and I want to do is make safe fires on the city walls, to keep them from coming too close.”

  “Bonfires on the walls? That seems more reasonable. I think I can accommodate, there.”

  “It should be easy,” Lara added. “We need only the wood, something to stabilize them, and a few people to keep watch over them. Also, I don’t expect having to cover more than the north wall. Well, and the west wall to the gate, but that’s it.”

  “Now we’re talking something sensible. Send me a detailed account of how much wood you’ll need, how many people, and so on and so forth. I will get you what I can. I apologize for earlier. Keep in mind that I have tried to be as generous as possible with the people that risk their lives with you. I do what I can for my people, but I must attend to other matters on occasion.”

  “We understand,” Nami said, noticing Lara’s stomp forward and interrupting her. “And we do appreciate that. We’ll get that information to you as soon as possible.”

  Lara turned to Nami, then looked back at Felas. Neither seemed to be happy with the resolution, but Lara chose not to push the matter. What the king said was true: these grays could be sending the grog out to scout the world. But, grog were incredibly inept at doing anything but eating and killing. Linking this behavior to an assault on Thogt was a stretch, given what they knew right now. Still, Lara grumbled as she walked down the hall.

  “You didn’t have to do that,” she said, turning to Nami.

  “If I didn’t, you were going to start ranting at the king of the city. That would not have led to a good working relationship.”

  “He doesn’t know what goes on in those tunnels! He didn’t see Robert die from some kind of magic or whatever that thing did. If they get down to the main road, who knows what-”

  “If, Lara! If. I was there too, but you have to look at this from their perspective. Felas has lots of things to worry about. He’s got to deal with who knows how many places that we trade with. The mountains extend far enough west that he probably has to consult with the orcs.”

  “We have one here we can ask, I don’t know why that’s so hard.”

  Nami stopped.

  “What?”

  “Come on, back to the office. I’ll tell you there.”

  They walked the rest of the way in silence. Once inside, Lara shut the door behind them and sat down at her desk.

  “OK, spill the beans. We have an orc living nearby?! I’ve only heard of them! Are they really that green?” Nami asked, struggling to stay at a whisper.

  “Yes, at least she was. At least, she sounded like a she. Her name was Diedra, and she was the one I brought the gray to. I’m not sure what her official position is, or if she’s officially here at all. What I do know is that she seemed awfully familiar with the grays. She looked shocked when I told her how we got that one. Apparently, they’re quite threatening, though not enough for her to worry about being alone with it.”

  “Wait, what? Where did you bring the gray?”

  “Felas gave me directions… wait. First, you never heard this. I’m the only one that went in. Officially, no one knows about the orc that lives here, or at least that’s what I gather.”

  “Fine, fine, just tell me!”

  “She lives under one of the hills south of the city. If we need something studied that we don’t know about, Diedra is the one we bring it to. Her office looked a lot like ours, aside from the fact that it was underground. She didn’t say much. Seemed more interested in the gray.”

  “That’s crazy! I thought the orcs barely ever left their city! It’s a month’s ride just to get there, last I heard. Then again, I don’t know anyone who’s been.”

  “It left me with a lot of questions, the least of which is wondering what she wrote to Felas. Their reactions to the gray seem quite different, and I’m not sure who worries me more. But, that’s not important right now. We have to figure out a plan for these torches. At the very least, if the grays decide they want to look around, they won’t have their pets.

  And, I guess I owe you an apology. I guess I figured that because of Robert, I could get whatever I needed to do the job. If you hadn’t jumped in when you did, I might have run at Felas, considering how angry I was.”

  “It’s fine. Just keep in mind that Robert and Felas worked together for years, probably decades. You’ve been at the job for a few days. Give it time.”

 
; After a deep breath, Lara grabbed one of Robert’s old plans of the city while Nami pulled out fresh paper. They found out how long the walls were, then came to a conclusion on how many people it would take to attend every fire. Lara aimed to make it so that no grog could get to the wall without being at least partially blinded. Nami wrote the figures in a letter to the king, added an apology for getting angry, and flagged down a messenger.

  “He’ll definitely be fine with that, I think. One of the council members is a merchant, right? I bet they’ll have a fit when they see we need some of their precious wood. I do love a good fire, though,” Nami said.

  “This isn't the best we can do, but at least Felas is letting us do something. Half of Thogt knew and loved Robert, and the other half loved him but didn’t know who he was. I think they'll be ok with supporting a plan that's rooted in making sure his fate doesn't happen to anyone else. Now, we have to find some people to keep the fires burning.”

  “How do you think we should do that?”

  “I think we go get them ourselves. You’ve got contacts by now, right? So do I. You find half the people, I’ll get the other half. We need to get them back here by nightfall to make sure they can handle the job.”

  “Works for me, though I’ll probably stop for lunch first.”

  “Do what you have to do. I’m not sure ‘stop’ is a word I’ll need for some time though, if life keeps acting like it has the past few days. I’m surprised that the times we’ve had breakfast, no one has come running up to me to report some new horrible thing.”

  “If anything like that happened, they’d be glad to see me with you. Horrible things won’t have much of a chance once I find out they’re around,” Nami said, smirking.

  Lara rolled her eyes as Nami left the office. She put her feet up on the desk for a moment and thought about what kind of people should handle the wall. Most of all, these people needed to be good with their hands, and they needed to be reliable. Outside of that, she only hoped that she could put together a group that didn’t hate each other. That wasn’t usually a problem, but this was the worst time for that issue to arise. After closing her eyes for a moment and wishing Robert was still here, Lara left.