by Eric Ugland
I went up to the treasury, and took a peek inside. It was dark and quiet, just gold hanging out with itself. I walked into the rows of stuff, and ran my hands across all the crap inside. Mostly the sacks of gold. It didn’t seem quite as much as it had when I’d dumped it all out of my bag. Immediately, I had to quash the thought that Emeline had taken a bunch of coinage before doing a runner. Then, at the back, I saw a new opening. Just a doorway really. And, inside, there were chests on chests on chests, and piles of bags.
“That’s the stuff I’ve yet to count,” came a familiar voice from behind me.
I turned to see Lee smiling at me.
“It’s not exactly counting,” Lee said. “More like weighing. So, you know, when you look at the amounts in your— it’s really like a spreadsheet of sorts, isn’t it?”
“The treasury inventory.”
“Gaming term?”
“Something like that. Thing is, I thought you did this inventory.”
He smiled and nodded. “I did some of the inventory.”
“Not all of it?”
“No. I did a bunch of it. But take a peek at the Coggeshall inventory.”
I shrugged, and pulled up the list.
“Reading it?” Lee asked.
I nodded.
He took a coin from a sack in the closet, and set it on one of the shelves, then made a note in a little book.
There was now an additional coin in my inventory.
“Okay, that’s pretty cool,” I said. “Is there a lot to go?”
He pointed into the closet at the sacks and chests and whatnot. “Short version? Yeah. I tried to get most of the magic items identified and catalogued, and I started in on the coinage, but trying to get a full count of all the treasure you’ve got here is a mountain of work. I’ve been trying to get the money identified so I can record starting weight for each coin here. Still takes time because each country has their own variant of gold and silver and—”
I held up a hand to stop him. “Dude, this is not a pressing thing. From what I see, gold is not going to be our problem.”
“Not yet,” Lee said, “but you’d be surprised at how quickly this will run out when we’re floating a thousand people.”
“What option do we have?”
“This winter? None. It’s just the boat we’re all in.”
“Why are you up here? Did you talk to Zoey?”
“I did. We discussed the portcullises. She’s on board with making them, might take a bit of time though.”
“Because?”
“Because they don’t have the ability to weld things here like we did back on Earth. Large-scale fabrication requires lots of work or magic. And I’m not sure what magic we have available.”
“Did you talk to Essie or—”
“Zoey is taking care of that conversation. She’s on it, Montana.”
“What about the rest of the council?”
“Wian went off to get the Quick Reaction Force stationed in the barn while Nikolai is getting guard placements reset on the walls. Harmut is anxious to get going as well. He wants to move on what you were planning, building up the wall and pushing deeper into the mountain, but it’s pretty late, and his builders are mostly sleeping. There is a night shift, but they work on projects that are usually pretty far removed from any of the residential spaces at present.”
“You have a room in here, right?”
“I do.”
“Is it weird?”
“Not at all. It’s great. Warm, comfortable. We’re certainly lacking in furniture right now, so I’m sleeping on a pile of blankets, and my desk is a slab of mostly-sanded wood on two barrels, but it’s a lot nicer being inside the mountain than in the longhouse. Or camping.”
“This winter is going to be painful.”
“That it could. Harmut was talking about setting up a greenhouse of sorts. Something inside we can use for growing during the winter months. Or all year round. You might want to touch base with him on that.”
“That could be a lifesaver.”
“If we can get it up and running in time. Which, another thing you probably should look into, some of the farmers making their deliveries to us got stuck here thanks to the siege. You might want—”
“Shit, seriously?”
“Yes. There are three of them. Brought in quite a bit of feed for the animals and delivered a number of animals as well. Something Darius put together on his way out here.”
“And now they’re stuck here.”
“Unless you’ve got some way to get them out.”
“We could use the secret tunnel.”
“That seems to be a bad idea. Ideally that tunnel should only be used in the most desperate of circumstances, and should not be public knowledge.”
“It’s not public knowledge—”
“It will be if you let some random farmers go through. I doubt you can get their wagons through anyway.”
“We could buy their wagons—”
“Still doesn’t solve the problem of the tunnel being public knowledge.”
“Are they super pissed?”
“Not super, though I haven’t exactly had long conversations with them. They seem to be satisfied for this evening, at the least. Happy to be fed, happy to get a bed, that sort of thing.”
“Something I can tackle tomorrow?”
“Ideally. I think it should be something you handle personally. Having the duke come speak to them about their problem will likely go quite the distance to placating them.”
“Placation is our main goal here?”
“Certainly better than pissing off the people who might be feeding your community this winter—”
“I mean, should we try and convince them to stay here, join Coggeshall?”
Lee frowned, looking up at the ceiling and the magical lamp embedded within. He leaned against the wall. This, in terms of Lee, meant deep thoughts raged.
“They certainly seem like good people,” he finally said. “And they definitely have a skillset we are in desperate need of. I think it’s fair to say that I wouldn’t turn them away should they come calling. But, that’s different than me saying I’d go out of my way to convince them to join our little family. Although…”
“What is it?” I asked.
“One of them is an old man whom I had a very interesting conversation with. He was curious about the land around here, about the animals and plants that inhabit this valley. He seemed to know more about nature in this world than he was letting on. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a deeper understanding of Vuldranni in that regard. Perhaps he could do some good for us if he were to remain.”
“Explain in fewer words.”
“I think he knows plants and animals well. I’m betting he can tell us what to grow here, and what animals will do well on the plants here.”
“So he’s a farmer.”
“There’s more to him than just that — that’s what I was trying to say. He’s got something else going on with him.”
“Name?”
“Timurlan. I didn’t get his last name, but he’s the one with white hair.”
“Okay. Have you seen Emeline?”
“No. Not for a few days.”
“Days?”
“I last saw her, maybe, four days ago? She’s been very quiet ever since Titus came through. Keeping to herself. I think she took a room in the mountain — you might want to talk to Helmgard about it.”
“Fuck, man, I’m having trouble keeping track of all these people. Sometimes I wish we were still the caravan. Who’s Helmgard?”
“Dwarf, took the job of keeping track of rooms in the mountain. Knows who’s where and who has what.”
“Awesome. Where can I find her?”
“If you go down to the residential area, you’ll see an office of sorts there. She’ll be behind the desk if she’s awake.”
“She’s got an office?”
“She does. And before you say anything about needing more sleeping q
uarters first, trust me, we need it. In the mountain, it’s a bit like living in a dorm, because we’re all in such close quarters, it makes sense to have someone who is there to look at housing matters. Deal with problems that arise before they turn into feuds. I asked about it when I looked into getting my own place. Apparently it’s something that’s very common in dwarven holds.”
“I feel like there’s a lot happening here I don’t know.”
“There’s a lot happening here,” Lee replied. “I think it would be difficult for anyone to keep track of everything going on. Especially with the recent incursions of those trying to kill us.”
“Do you think I’m doing a good job?”
“I think you’re doing better.”
“Not exactly what I asked.”
“That’s the best answer I can give you.”
“Thank you for your honesty?”
“Would you prefer I just compliment you so you don’t feel bad or give you the criticism you need to continue improving?”
I nodded at him. “Yeah, that’s a better way to look at things. Thanks.”
Chapter Ten
It took me a few minutes to find a dwarf who wasn’t too busy to point me towards Helmgard’s office. And naturally, once I got there, it was empty. There was a little sign saying when she’d be back: tomorrow morning. Which wasn’t super helpful.
I tapped my fingers on the desk for a moment, running through a few things in my mind. I wanted to find Emeline, make sure she was fine. I could also go outside and wait for an attack to happen. Or, you know, post up on the wall and shout expletives at the Ursus until they got mad enough to attack. But that wasn’t really a productive use of my time. I wanted to talk to Harmut, make sure we were on the same page in regards to building projects, as well as make sure he had all the prinkies he needed. Which reminded me that I needed to summon more.
A quick check of my mana told me that only a single prinky was out and about, the one with the Imperial Historian. Her new pet. And that reminded me that I probably needed to have a talk with the princess. And I needed to speak with the poor farmers who were trapped in Coggeshall. I had a lot of talking to do. I didn’t want to do all that talking. Not that I’m against socializing, but this wasn’t exactly social. It was politics and decision-making that could potentially impact hundreds of lives. Not my cup of tea.
I also needed to sleep. It’d been a long set of days, and I hadn’t bothered to take much in the way of rest. Even though I didn’t technically follow the rules of stamina any longer, I still needed sleep.
I went through the mountain tunnels until I found an unfinished room that was somewhat clean. I whipped out my bedroll and tucked myself into an almost comfortable corner.
It was weird sleeping inside. I’d been outside for so long, or at least in a hotel where I could open the window and look out at the sky. Now, though, I was deep underground, and it was disconcerting. I wanted to hear animals doing their thing in the night. I wanted the breeze to sweep across my face. I wanted to look out at the stars and try to figure out where my old home might have been. Instead, it was pitch black. And silent. Not quite stuffy, but a far cry from the wide open space of outside. I started to wonder if I should sleep somewhere I could be found, in case of emergencies. What if another ursus attack happened and the Quick Reaction Force was taken out? No one would know I was sleeping in some empty room in the safety of the mountain. Hell, I could sleep through the destruction of my people.
So I got up, grumbling, and walked outside. The night guards were standing on the wall, and the hot hole in the ground still provided a bit of a glow. Which surprised me until I realized that the guards had been tossing wood into the pit to keep the fire going. I found a bit of an overhang and wrapped myself up in my bedroll, leaned against the cold rock, and wished I had a cell phone. Or even a pager. Something to give me the ability to be contacted without being in sight of other people. Then I closed my eyes, felt the frigid wind across my face, and decided that I’d been an idiot. Being in the rock of the mountain was way superior to this shit.
And I fell asleep.
And immediately woke up in an entirely different place.
Instead of leaning against a wall, my back was against bark. Above wasn’t sky, but tree. Dark green needles up as far as I could see. I saw a small slice of land in front of me before everything turned into water. Calm water, a deep azure, with tiny waves lapping at the grass along the edge. It was incredibly peaceful all of a sudden. I felt fundamentally safe in a way I hadn’t for a long long time.
A ripple formed out in the water as something moved closer to the island. I sat up a bit straighter. This all seemed awfully familiar.
An elegant woman in a beautiful green gown strode forth from the water, her long brown hair completely dry. Her dark brown eyes locked on mine, and a gorgeous smile spread across her pretty face. Her golden skin without a single wrinkle or flaw.
“Eona,” I said softly, bowing my head to her ever so much.
“Montana,” she replied with a laugh. “It has been quite a time between visits.”
“Regrettably,” I said.
Another smile, the kind that allowed me to think maybe she was flirting with me.
“You have been very busy,” she said, looking me over.
This time, I was clothed. Rather heavily, what with it being a cold night, and a day I’d been fighting. I still had on my heavy armor.
“Yeah,” I replied, “that’s true. Still trying to find a spot to just fish and relax.”
“I believe you have found a spot to fish at least,” she said.
“You know the fishing in this area?”
“I know many things about this area. Many of my followers have passed through here in times past.”
“This isn’t, like, a holy ground is it?”
“All ground, in some sense is holy. But this is not overly so. That I know of at least.”
“Whew,” I sighed. “Kind of my nightmare to build a house on top of an old graveyard.”
“That would be bad.” Her smile faded, and her face took on a serious look. “But there is a definite evil presence in your valley—”
“The corrupted ursus.”
“Yes. It is because of them that I am here to speak to you.”
“You want me to wipe them out?”
“I wish it were not the case. But before we speak on that,” she said, her smile returning, “I must, once again, reward you for saving some of my children.”
“I guess I did that, didn’t I?” I said, though I had no idea who she was talking about.
She nodded.
“I am here to offer you another blessing,” she said.
“Why thank you,” I said. I was tempted to deny her, to say that I didn’t need anything since I would’ve saved anyone in that situation, but I remembered Cleeve telling me the importance of allowing others to bestow their gifts when you did something for them. And since I was trying to be better at this whole game-world thing, I just accepted that sometimes I’d be rewarded for actions I’d have engaged in without the promise of anything.
RECOGNIZE: The Goddess Eona offers you an Indicium. Choose:
1) The Blessing of the Flight — You receive +20 skill levels in Stealth, +15 skill levels in evasion, +10 skill levels in light armor, +10% movement speed, +3 Agi
2) The Blessing of the Fight— You receive +20 skill levels in Spear, +15 skill levels in Axes, +10 skill levels in Sword, +10% better balance, +3 Con
3) The Blessing of the Hunt — You receive +20 skill levels in Archery, +15 skill levels in tracking, +10 skill levels in fletching, +10% harder to detect while moving, +3 Dex
“This is a hard choice,” I said.
“A girl cannot make it easy,” she replied.
“Are you allowed to give advice?”
She seemed to consider that for a minute, then shook her head.
“I believe it would be against the rules,” she said, “as it might be seen as me us
ing my powers to provide you with information you might not have otherwise. If I were to say, for example, push you towards the third blessing because you would be facing enemies over a distance soon, then that could be portrayed—”
“Negatively. I understand.”
I chose 3) without another thought, hoping that I was accurately picking up what she was putting down.
She smiled. “Now, if I am to put my mark upon you again, I need to see what else has sullied you in the mean time.”
As she walked towards me, all of my clothing and armor was tossed aside with a simple wave of her hand. I stood before her naked.
“The pants I gave you,” she said, stunned. “Is there—”
“They were sadly destroyed when, uh, some asshole ripped off my leg. And, you know, the pants I was wearing at the time.”
“And yet you still have two legs.”
It took all the restraint I had to not make a joke about three legs.
“Yes ma’am. Two working legs.”
“You have quite the set of powers.”
“And legs.”
She smiled, and whirled her hand around. A new set of pants covered my naughty bits.
“Thank you,” I said.
Eona pushed slightly against my chest, causing a pulse of energy. My Indicium popped up all over my body.
She took a step back and looked over my torso. There were quite a few different elements all vying for attention. The other gods who’d marked me had done nothing in terms of aesthetic integration.
“Busy,” she said. “I almost thought it was a joke that Typhon marked you, and yet—”
She ran her finger across Typhon’s black paw-print. I felt my skin shiver exactly where her finger traced.
Then, she examined all the other marks, peering closely at them. Finally, she closed her eyes, and laid her hand over my heart.
With a thump of power, I felt a great warmth.
