by Allan Joyal
“They are made of stone,” Roquel said. “So what questions do you have about the Adventurer’s Council idea of Dared’s?”
“Well, my father always had us adventure as a family. And now I’m with Jyxton and his friends. I know there are organized companies like the Impaled Cats, but I never looked into how they work,” Salene said.
Roquel nodded. “Well, each organized company has their own organization so they tend to be unique. However, the primary thing is that each one will gather a group of adventurers and then train them up. Some groups are relatively relaxed, but a few are intense. Fights have occurred.”
“Bad?” Salene asked.
“I’ve heard of one between two companies. The fight left fifteen adventurers dead. The big issue was that the fight started in a tavern. The tavernkeep, two of his daughters and more than a dozen city guards were killed during the fight,” Roquel said. “After that many towns started to restrict the activities of adventuring companies. Dared doesn’t want to restrict them too much, but asked that I monitor any new companies or independent adventurers who arrive. I think he’s afraid of angering you, Faestari.”
The last part was said directly to Faestari. The dungeon avatar just shook her head. “Someday he needs to come and talk to me. The only thing I want him to do is keep people from trying to farm on the mountain itself.”
“Why?” Salene asked.
“Because I’m probably going to have to allow the orcs to leave the dungeon periodically so they can raid. I believe I can make sure they head off to the northwest, but I want to ensure that they aren’t tempted to claim they are defending my domain,” Faestari replied as she looked up the mountain. “And I need to go. Let everyone know that I am not angry, please. I actually miss watching adventurers challenge the monsters.”
Faestari stood up and quickly moved to stand behind the chair she had been sitting in. As Salene and Roquel watched her body sank into the side of the mountain. Before either could say a word, the young dungeon’s avatar had vanished.
“Well, she does know how to make an entrance and exit,” the guard said. “I can pass the message on to Dared once my relief arrives.”
“No,” Roquel said. “He asked me to handle relations with adventurers and the dungeon. This is my responsibility. I’ll head to the tavern. I’m sure he’s there at the moment.”
“I can go with you,” Salene said. “Jyxton was going hunting in the forest to the north.”
“Let’s go then,” Roquel said as she stood up. She quickly turned and started to walk towards the village entrance.
Salene jumped to her feet and followed. The guard took a moment to glance up the mountain. “I’ll say this. I never expected to see a young girl telling others what to do like that Faestari does,” he muttered.
Interlude 1: A Presence Stirs
The small cave proved to be exactly what the tribe of kobolds needed. The harsh winter had filled the land with snow less than two four fours of days after they had arrived. By that time, they had discovered several herds of deer in the forest. They had rushed to hunt and build up stores of food for the winter.
The snow had not stopped their explorations or digging. Each day a portion of the tribe worked to enlarge and expand the network of tunnels they had access to. Others headed out into the snow-covered forest, looking for animals or signs of other humanoids. By the time that the snow started to melt, they had discovered several human farms and villages.
Spring brought prosperity to the tribe. Their cave provided shelter while the bounty of the forest, combined with what they could obtain in raids on human farms fueled a population boom. Within two full cycles of seasons, the tribe had grown from just four four-fours of warriors to talking about having so many that some of the younger members were discussing striking out and forming a new tribe.
It was the bounty of the area that prevented the tribe from breaking up. However, space was becoming scarce. Several raids on farms were conducted looking for metal digging tools. Once these raids were completed the kobolds worked furiously at expanding their cave, digging deeper and deeper into the earth.
As they did, the gemstone they still had not seen glowed brighter. The stone surrounding became soft and finally liquefied, flowing away and leaving the gemstone held in what looked like a kobold’s paw made of grey stone.
Chapter 2: Discussing an Important Trip
A cold wind was blowing from the southwest of the village. A crew of men were carefully moving some stone blocks from a standing wagon to a trench.
A patrolling guard paused and watched as the men pulled the last stone from the wagon. “Will we have a full wall before the snow falls?” he asked.
“The summer is just ending,” the foreman shouted. “But I agree this wind suggests that a storm is on the way. As for the wall, it will depend on how much stone we can get from the quarry. Right now we only get two wagonloads a day. That won’t be enough to finish the entire wall we have planned by the time snow covers the ground if winter arrives when we all expect it to.”
“I’ll let Dared know. Maybe he can find some more stonecutters,” the guard said. “Is he at the tavern?”
“It’s the only place he can really use right now. He insisted on having the other buildings up before we build the manor,” the foreman said. “Although I have a crew digging up the ground for the foundation right now.”
“He is a good lord,” the guard said. “He pays well. He’s been fair. We’ll have to see how things grow.”
“They won’t if you keep us from building this wall. We’ll need it to keep the wind out if the storms come from the southwest like this one is,” the foreman complained.
“Fine, I’ll go make my report then,” the guard said. He started walking in the direction of the largest stone building in the still growing village.
As he approached the building, the guard noticed that pillars of smoke rose from both chimneys. The buzz of several conversations could be heard long before he stepped onto the stone landing that lead to the main door on the northeaster face of the building.
None of the tavern’s patrons appeared to notice when the guard entered. He looked around and could see three young women standing by the long wooden bar. They were watching the adventurers currently sitting around one of the large stone hearth circles near the middle of the room.
“Ah! Private Golas!” someone yelled from the corner just to the left of the guard. “I’m guessing you just completed a patrol and have a report. Come, get a bit warmer.”
The private turned. Dared was sitting at a table set up in the corner. He had his wife Jerisa on his left. Sergeant Koltiss was also sitting at the table. The guard leader had a worried frown on his face.
Private Golas paused, but a faint nod from Koltiss stiffened his spine. He marched forward. “Yes Lord. The village is quiet due to the rising wind. The only people I found outside a building were the masons working on the southwest wall.”
“And since the wind is from that direction, it will be very welcome when they finish the wall. Did they say anything about their progress?” Dared asked.
Private Golas frowned. “The foreman indicated that he was worried about finishing the wall before the first snowfall.”
Dared nodded. “We should still have time. The first snowfall in Fairview won’t happen for at least fifty days. Even if we assume that snow will fall here a few days earlier, we probably have forty days before it is a problem. Thank you. Warm up by one of the hearths and then make another circuit.”
Sergeant Koltiss just nodded. Private Golas quickly moved to the second of the five large stone circles that served as hearths in the tavern and claimed a chair. He noticed that all conversation seemed to have stopped as everyone turned to look at Dared.
“I don’t like your plan,” Sergeant Koltiss was saying. “I know that you are worried about Fairview’s council, but travelling there to confront them is not the way to handle the situation.”
Dared nodded. “In
theory I’d send a messenger to petition a noble. However, that won’t work here since Fairview is run by their merchant and crafting guilds.”
“But why must you go?” Sergeant Koltiss asked. “We need the majority of the guards here. I might be able to spare six, but you’ve mentioned coming back with a large amount of coin.”
“I need to withdraw the money from the dwarven bank. You heard Narhert when he reported last night. My father is very ill. When he dies, his successor will likely order that the money be returned to the royal account. I can’t risk losing the funding we’ll need to expand the village,” Dared said.
“We could find more merchants and maybe even a wizard or two to come out,” Sergeant Koltiss said. “From what Narhert said, the potions and other alchemical concoctions Colasmel and your wife make sell extremely well in Fairview.”
Dared turned and kissed his wife’s forehead. She smiled and then moved her chair closer to him so she could put her arms around his waist.
“They do sell well, but there are limits. As for bringing merchants or wizards out here. It takes fourteen days to travel to Fairview. And you can only find inns close to Fairview. You spend almost ten days sleeping on the ground once you leave the area Fairview’s council protects. On that thought, we need the funds to establish a town at the summit of the pass to this valley,” Dared said.
“But that’s a day’s journey from here. How can you build a town there? I can’t patrol or protect it with the guards I have,” Sergeant Koltiss protested.
“I’m thinking of the next few years. Narhert has been making sure to talk about the valley in taverns frequented by farmers. If all goes well, we’ll see an influx of younger sons looking for land to farm. It will require that we provide some help with laying out farms and building houses, but we should be able to fill the valley with farmers over time. The taxes we’d receive should pay for tripling the guard force,” Dared said.
“That seems a bit low,” Sergeant Koltiss said carefully. “You’re talking about protecting farmers who might live a day’s travel away from here.”
“I have to admit that I’m hoping the dungeon provides some help there. At least we haven’t been raided by kobolds or orcs even though they do live within the dungeon,” Dared said.
“Faestari said she’s going to make sure they raid to the northwest,” Roquel said as she walked up to the table and sat down.
“What?” Sergeant Koltiss asked. “When did this happen?”
“I was just talking with Faestari,” Roquel said.
“Where?” Sergeant Koltiss asked. “Did you go into the dungeon?”
“I had walked over to your guard post to ask the guard if anyone had gone up the mountain today. He was talking to Salene. Shortly after I arrived Faestari emerged from the mountainside. We talked for a while. She even created some stone chairs for us to sit in while we talked,” Roquel said.
“And she told you that she’s going to get the orcs and kobolds to raid to the northwest?” Dared asked. “Can she do that?”
“I have no idea what limits her power has. All she said was that she was going to start allowing them out of the dungeon to raid and that she’ll instruct them to head to the northwest once they leave. How she’ll do that I am not sure,” Roquel said.
Dared looked over at Koltiss, the man scratched his cheek. “I do know that the north and south faces of the mountain are almost impossible to climb. If she’s opening up a new entrance on the northwest face, it’s possible she can encourage the orcs to travel in that direction.”
“Does anyone live out that way?” Dared asked. “Have we scouted in that direction?”
“You’ve kept my scouts to the south, covering the woodcutters and the quarry. Not that we have many scouts,” Koltiss complained. “We could ask the adventurers. Some of them might have travelled through that area.”
Jerisa nodded. “I’ll ask my father to talk to the adventurers when they come to purchase potions and sell their treasures.”
Dared looked at Roquel. “Aren’t you cold?” he asked.
The others looked at Roquel. Jerisa blushed as she noticed that the older adventurer’s outfit. She had on boots that came up to just below her knees, but the skirt of armor she wore stopped at the middle of her thighs, leaving a large area of skin visible. Her arms were bare from shoulder to her elbow, although leather bracers did cover her forearms.
Roquel shook her head. “I told you that the spirits I have contracted offer me gifts. One of them makes sure that cold weather like this doesn’t freeze me. Unfortunately, the demands it makes keep me from wearing too much armor. I have to be able to move quickly. I’ll admit I’ve asked Betrixy for a cloak that can keep me warmer. This cold can’t kill me, but its not exactly comfortable.”
“That could be dangerous,” Koltiss said carefully.
“It is,” Roquel admitted. “It’s why you find few who will contract with spirits like I do. But I felt the costs worth it. Now, I did have another message from the dungeon.”
“Please, don’t let it be that she wants us to get off her mountain,” Dared moaned. “We just saw another three families arrive with Narhert. If we can get them set up on farms, I think we’ll have enough food to feed everyone next year.”
“How many farms do we have?” Koltiss asked. “I haven’t really had time to patrol outside the village.”
“Narhert was counting as he passed through the valley. Many of the families never arrived here so I didn’t have a full count. According to the count Narhert made, we now have twenty-four farms set up,” Dared said. “There are another three families that have claimed land. One is set up on the north side of the valley. They claim to be followers of Verdina the Weald-Mistress.”
“Who?” Koltiss asked.
“She’s an ancient demi-goddess of the forest,” Roquel said. “I thought no one worshipped her anymore. The last temple I knew of was near the Elven Kingdom of Mercrim.”
“The patriarch of this family admitted that the worship has faded, but insisted that Verdina’s blessing was on them. They have promised to serve as forest wardens for the north slope of the valley and beyond. If all goes well, they should provide a minimum of three deer to the manor every season. They also promise to begin producing charcoal next summer,” Dared said.
“If they don’t wipe out the deer population that might be useful,” Koltiss admitted. “And the other two?”
“One brought out a flock of sheep. They are searching the south side of the valley hoping to find a canyon or other small pocket area they can claim. The final group wants to plant trees. They claim the can provide olive oil and several different kinds of fruit in five to seven years, depending on how well their nature magic works,” Dared said.
“And you accepted them? Especially the ones wanting to plant trees?” Koltiss asked.
“The family planting the trees have already started. They are about a day’s travel downstream from us,” Dared said calmly.
“That’s….” Koltiss said.
“Wise,” Roquel said. “We are not at the lowest part of the valley and the stream flows northward. They will be far from any of the farms and yet close to the forest wardens who will probably help them.”
“That was what I thought. I do worry about the fact that what they plan will take years, but the family insisted that they would not require help while their trees became established,” Dared said.
Koltiss sighed. “And these three new families bring us up to twenty-seven farms?”
“Yes,” Jerisa said. “By last count the valley now has almost four hundred people. That’s not counting the fifty in the village or the adventurers, as the number seems to change constantly.”
Koltiss looked surprised. “I’ve never seen that many people here. Even the day that dungeon went to battle with the wizards there weren’t one hundred people here.”
“Most of the farmers stay in their homes at night. The families clustered. Narhert says that the farms are laid out so th
at six houses are placed together, and the farms for the families are nearby. They will probably travel here more often in the winter, but for now most of the families are trying to get as much of a harvest as they can for this year. They still have taxes to pay,” Dared said.
“Not too much,” Jerisa said as she nudged her husband with her elbow. “You don’t need it this year.”
“Enough to help reduce the cost of feeding the people in town. And to allow me to encourage more skilled craftsmen to come. I just wish we had found a good source of iron. Right now, I have no way to attract a blacksmith, which might make getting traders out here difficult. We just have the alchemical offerings,” Dared said.
“I thought you were making quite a bit of money trading those in Fairview,” Koltiss said.
“I’ll bet that most of the potions sold there end up in the hands of traders heading to other towns,” Roquel said. “Fairview has no dungeons nearby, and many of the potions Colasmel makes are most useful to adventurers.”
Dared nodded. “I believe you, but it’s the only export the valley has right now. We might later have some excess food or lumber, but those are years away.”
“Is there anything else we can trade?” Koltiss asked.
“If we find ore we can mine, we might be able to add that, although I’d rather get some blacksmiths up here. The farmers will need to have tools repaired and a blacksmith who can make weapons will probably find many adventurers looking to purchase better equipment,” Dared said.
“They would,” Roquel commented. “And on that note, I just realized I should talk to the Flame Vultures before they leave.”
“They’re leaving?” Koltiss asked.
“Without Bezztol, they really don’t have a leader here. He was the one who put together their adventuring groups and managed the camp. His second feels that he should take everyone back to their main base at Mensed,” Roquel said.
“Isn’t that somewhere west of us? I seem to remember that there was a dungeon near that city,” Dared asked.
