by Cheek, Jason
With an unconcerned stride, a figure began striding towards them while slowly grinding his solid bronze gauntlets together making the tortured metal scream as they all winced at the sound. “Now that I have all of your attention, I'm glad to see that you all worked that out,” a deep voice boomed out. Standing before them was the immense bronze-armored Warrior that had saved so many of their lives recently.
“Because, if you hadn’t,” the armored warrior casually swung a massive two-handed warhammer off his back and held it up for everyone to see. “I would’ve been forced to permanently introduce Sub Leader Tericius to Last Rites here.”
At the overt threat, the Beast Kin Marines drew their weapons as one and formed a protective barrier before Captain Windcoat while the guards with Sub Leader Tericius did the same. Seeing the hesitation with which Sub Leader Butcher and her people reluctantly drew their weapons against the strange warrior gave everyone a pause. Though, the bigger surprise was when Zinn strode past them all to fearlessly step in front of the armored figure with the rest of the Brat Pack at her back.
Up close without anything to distract her from her inspection, Zinn could see that the giant-like man’s thick bronze armor was severely damaged. What she’d taken as spikes before, she could now see were broken off arrow shafts sticking out of his shoulders, back, thighs, and even gauntlets. His breast plate was crafted in the shape of a twisted howling demon’s fanged head that matched the ornate heads that decorated each gauntleted hand. Somehow, it all fit together with the immense steer-like horns that decorated the top of his closed helm.
Being this close to the man, Zinn could see that many of his wounds were still oozing blood from the holes in the armor of his forearms. Why the Warrior chose to not remove the shafts made her wonder what had happened to scar him so deeply. From her time as a sex slave with Hyalag the Barbarian, she was well aware of how trauma could adversely weigh on the soul. Looking through the slits of his closed visor, if she were to hazard a guess from the hollow pained filled look that was deep in his red cat-like eyes, it seemed likely due to some personal failure or perhaps loss that he chose to endure such agony. Shaking away her speculation, she addressed the man directly.
“I’m glad you’ve finally come out of hiding to let us thank you for saving our lives,” Zinn said in a singsong voice, as she gave a bow of respect. Behind her, Alanah joined her in giving a deep bow while Tavon and Mügor clenched fists over their chests in a salute of respect. Still humming her jaunty tune, the Gnomeling watched the Warrior closely as she continued speaking. “After everything that you’ve done to help us against the Dread Pack’s assault, why approach us now to speak?”
“Because doom comes for you all this night,” the man said in a gruff tone full of dire portent. “The Dread Pack is just an insignificant guild within a larger vile group called the Chaos Storm Alliance. They are your true enemy and will arrive at Darom sometime this evening with that evil abomination Cristiane Sekhmet leading them. They’re coming here to stop Startum Ironwolf. They will not allow him to escape if they can help it and seek his blood.”
“That heart of darkness bitch is coming here?” Sub Leader Tericius demanded, as the rest of his group began to curse under their breaths, while everyone looked over at them in surprise, the man continued knowingly.
“The one and the same from your time in Telrain,” the mysterious warrior said with a nod to the Telrain group, as Zinn cut in.
“That means Lord Ironwolf is on his way back to Darom?” Seeing the anxious look on the Gnomeling’s comely face, the Warrior’s voice grated out.
“The last I heard, that was the plan,” the large man confirmed, “but only if he manages to dodge the forces now dogging his every step.” He gave her an apologetic head shake. “Unfortunately, I won’t have word about how well that worked out until later tomorrow.” Turning to look out across the entire group, the Warrior raised his voice to be heard by all.
“I only came to deliver the warning of what is headed your way so that you might prepare the best you can,” he said, offering a respectful nod. His raggedy red cloak flapped in the breeze coming off the water. As he turned around to leave, he called out over his shoulder. “Watch over yourselves little ones, if fortune favors us all we might meet again.”
Sub Leader Silverfang glanced back at Captain Windcoat to raise a questioning eyebrow, silently asking if they should attempt to stop him or not as the Gnomeling shook her head no. While the Humans from Telrain looked back at Sub Leader Butcher and the Captain trying to figure out if they should let the massive Warrior leave unchallenged or not as well. Even they had heard of the strange Warrior’s immense help during the various attacks that the garrison had fought off recently. Before any of them could decide what to do, Zinn called out.
“Wait, honorable Defender. What do we call you?” Zinn asked, as she stepped up to the eight foot tall armored Warrior that had come to a stop. “Why do you help us against these newfar? Is there something specific you seek here?”
They were good questions. After her ordeal, Zinn understood that no one helped for truly selfless reasons. What was it that this man was looking for? If she could find that reason, maybe she could get him to work with them. Though, the amused twinkle in the man’s eyes brought her up short. It was the knowing look of someone expecting to be hated for who and what they were. It was a look that she’d seen often enough in Mug’s yellow cat-eyes.
“The name is, Töten Sie,” the man’s gruff voice announced with pride. Though his next words angrily thundered as his hands clenched grindingly on the weapon that he held. “The enemies that you fight are the same ones that destroyed my home and my people and I shall stack their dead corpses like cordwood and light a pyre that shall make the flames of all the layers of the Abyss pale in comparison. And I will use that bitch's skull as my chamber pot for what she has done to me and mine," the giant visibly shook, as if to calm himself down. "In helping you to survive the coming storm, I hope that your Lord Ironwolf might take time to speak with me. I seek his aid in retaking that which was unjustly taken from me.”
“I am, Zinnaemita Lightouch,” Zinn said in a strong voice. Undaunted by the giant man’s fierce introduction, she held out her tiny hand to him. While the sardonic twist of the man’s lips confused her somewhat, the underlining pain in his voice made her think he spoke the truth. That, and his actions spoke louder than any honeyed words he could’ve used to sway her to his cause. “I cannot promise you that Lord Ironwolf will help you with your problem, but I would be more than happy to make the introduction after all that you’ve done for us.”
“Are you sure you’ll feel the same after seeing my face?” Töten asked in a grave voice. “For I am the stuff of nightmares, little one.”
Instead of taking her hand, the massive Warrior shouldered his great two-handed warhammer and raised his gauntleted hands to his helm. Working to get the heavy bronze off his head, Töten carefully guided the thick metal over the large black bone-horns that grew out of his skull. Zinn heard the anxious gasps from behind her as the Warrior’s harsh angular features came into view. While she immediately recognized the basic characteristics of his face and horns, Oni were not known to have glowing red cat-like eyes, bronze-colored skin, or beards for that matter in any of the legends that she’d ever heard.
“Of course I do, why would your halfling blood matter to me one way or another?” Zinn asked without hesitation. The curious expression on her face seemed to catch the larger halfling off guard as she studied his features intently. “Are you an, Oni?”
While Oni were rare, they were hardly stranger than any other race she’d met. If anything, except for their half demonic blood, they were just as much on the borderline of humanoid and demi-human as any Half-Orc, Beast Kin, or Centaur. By the dark, she thought with a silent laugh, many pure humanoids would say the same in regards to her own Gnomeling heritage. Seeing that she hadn’t retracted her hand, he held out a large finger which she gripped warmly with bot
h of her hands in greeting.
“I’m a Halfling much like yourself or Lord Ironwolf,” Töten said, while she let go of his finger a self-depreciating smile flittered across his face. “A result of a tragic love affair between a Fire Giant and an Oni.”
As they spoke, not once did the large Warrior give any indication that he realized that Zinn was still humming her little tune. Within moments, he’d made introductions with the entire Brat Pack and was speaking from the heart about the travesty that had befallen his people at the hands of the Chaos Storm Alliance. That thankfully gave Captain Windcoat and Sub Leader Butcher time to calm everyone down about the man’s odd parentage. As they approached the group, Zinn quickly introduced them to her new friend.
Stepping back, Zinn let the conversation go on without her as Sub Leaders Butcher and Tericius began discussing how best to defend the walls against the coming threat. The use of her bardic music was a common trader tactic to get two people talking and willing to make a sale. As Zinn was feeling deeply satisfied about how she’d managed to make those present more agreeable in working together, she felt a presence behind her.
“Well played, Zinn,” Captain Windcoat said in an amused tone, as the Gnomeling’s eyes got wide at being caught in the act of influencing the situation with her magic. “Though, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t include me in your spell next time.”
“Yes, Captain Windcoat,” Zinn hurriedly agreed, happy that she wasn’t going to catch any flak from the experienced trader. “I wasn’t trying to negatively influence the situation, but was just hoping to help people be more willing to listen to one another-" Just then she glanced over at the large warrior in discussion with the others, his head swiveled towards her giving her a wink. Did he know she was using her magic as well? Feeling suddenly self-conscious of her actions, Zinn turned her attention back to the Captain. “No need to explain, Zinn,” Captain Windcoat said, cutting her off with a knowing wink. “I know the spell you used well. Just heed my request if there is ever a next time.”
“Yes, Captain,” Zinn agreed, as the rest of her friends came up behind her. With a firm nod, the other Gnomeling woman left with her Beast Kin marines, heading back to the Wind Dancer as she breathed a sigh of relief.
“Is she mad?” Alanah asked in an “I told you so” tone. “What song were you using any way to get everyone to talk?”
“Oh, she’s okay, but I think the big guy might have noticed too." They all nervously looked back at the large armored figure slowly walking away. "Besides, it’s not like I did anything wrong,” Zinn mumbled, while Alanah rolled her eyes at her friend in exasperation as Zinn continued explaining. “I used the Hum of the Bargain. It’s supposed to help make people more willing to work together and reach an accommodation with one another.” She looked away as she combed out her hair with her fingers. “It’s something we use on the Wind Dancer for many of our trade agreement discussions.”
“And that doesn’t make anyone angry once it wears off?” Alanah asked, covering her mouth with a hand at the scandal.
“Nope,” Zinn said with a casual shrug, as Tavon and Mügor glanced at each other silently. It was always good to be aware of the Gnomeling’s tricks, they both silently thought in their own way. “Because it helps people to find commonality in goals only if it exists.”
“I can’t decide if that’s good thing or bad,” Alanah muttered to herself, as the various groups started to break up.
Looking in the direction of Captain Windcoat and her marines as they returned to the Wind Dancer, Alanah mulled over what troubled her about using such a spell. While Zinn kept on explaining why the effect wasn’t a bad thing and that it was supposed to stop the prejudice that naturally occurred between individuals of different races. There was a part of her that was unsettled by the whole idea of using magic to affect the outcome, especially since Zinn tended to be a trickster at times. Otherwise, why wouldn’t Captain Windcoat be displeased that it was used against her too? Before she could give her friend a hard time about her games, they were interrupted by a strong male voice calling out behind them.
“Hey Alanah, do you have a moment?”
Turning around, the Half-Elf girl saw an odd pair hurrying over to them. Alanah recognized them immediately: Tony Davis, the ex-Royal Navy Human Sub Captain, and Blolnat Irontouched, the last surviving Gearhead of her clan. The two of them had been nearly inseparable ever since they’d been resurrected by Lord Ironwolf. It wasn’t that they were a pair or anything, but they’d found in each other a friend as they worked to get the damaged biremes of the old Howling Wolves Squadron repaired for the voyage back to Myathlune.
“Sure, what’s up?” Alanah asked, as she gave Blolnat and then Tony a friendly greeting. Noticing a metallic glint coming from the long sleeve of the tall Human’s left arm, she excitedly peered more closely. “Tony, did you get your hand back?”
“Not quite,” Tony said, his voice filled with suppressed emotion as Blolnat silently stood next to him. While that was nothing unusual for the Gnomeling ever since the loss of her clan, Alanah thought she could see a bit of a spark of life in the other woman’s amber eyes as the Human excitedly held up his arm for her to inspect. “I received a somewhat unusual gift.”
“Where did you get the metallic hand from?” Alanah asked with an undertone of awe in her voice. While she’d gotten used to being without an arm, that didn’t mean she didn’t miss it every second of every day.
“Funny that,” Tony said, with an embarrassed shrug. “After all that shit talking the Gnomeling Trader Contingent-“
“You mean where they disrespected Lord Ironwolf to his face,” Alanah said, as her voice unconsciously turned hard at the memory.
“Exactly that,” Tony confirmed, as he slowly opened and closed his hand, before turning back to the Half-Elf. Alanah watched it move in amazement. Although the hand was made from iron, the pieces were delicately worked together with small gears and tension rods that somehow allowed it to grasp and move somewhat like a real hand. There were even small engraved runes worked into the metal that were somehow activated to move upon his command. As she watched the incredible magical engineering marvel, her friend continued in a knowing tone. “None of them want to be left in Darom when the newfar return, not that any of them have any coins to their name to head back home since the Dread Pack cut them down.”
“You know, Lord Ironwolf would’ve offered to help them if they hadn’t been being such ungrateful little shits,” Alanah unhappily said, as she remembered back to how they’d carried on about how they were going to make Lord Ironwolf pay through the nose for their services. It was hard to feel sorry for any of them other than Blolnat after all of that.
“That wouldn’t surprise me,” Tony said in a quiet voice. “At least, that was the impression I’d gotten from him when he resurrected me.”
“Anyway,” Tony said, getting back to the point. “My hand was just a trial run for the arm that they made for you.”
Instead of jumping for joy at the thought of having a working arm again, Alanah’s face turned into an emotionless mask as she considered the points. While she dearly wanted her arm back almost more than anything else, she wasn’t about to accept a gift that would put Lord Ironwolf in the Gnomeling Trade Contingent’s debt. Seeing the mix of jumbled emotions on her face, Tony immediately understood what was going through her mind.
“Look Alanah,” Tony said in a conciliatory tone, “those Gnomelings aren’t offering to help you to try and pressure Lord Ironwolf into doing anything. They’re trying to make amends.”
“For sticking their big-ass feet in their mouths,” Zinn sourly agreed with Tony, as she shook her head in disgust. “Basically, they’re trying to kiss up to Tony after seeing how well he got along with Star and you, because you’re the companion he dotes on the most.” Seeing the distraught look that came to Alanah’s face, Zinn grabbed Alanah by the shoulders to get her friend’s attention.
“Stop that, I know what you’re thin
king,” Zinn said in exasperation. “Let them kiss up to you to make amends. If Star gives them a chance to be a part of the House of Kayden because he appreciates their change of heart and what they’ve done for you, then so be it.” Letting her friend go, she spoke earnestly. “Look, even Stouthacks and Cranktoks deserve a second chance.”
“What about Spikebars and Smithpots?” Tony asked with a smile, as Zinn gave him a mocking glare.
“Now you’re pushing things a little too far,” Zinn joked, trying to get Alanah to ease up. As the Half-Elf's rigid shoulders relaxed somewhat, she gave Tony a quick nod for him to lead the way as she grabbed her friend by the arm and dragged her towards the docks. “Come on Alanah, let’s see what they’ve managed to build for you.”
Chapter Thirty
(First Assault Group: Mike Eyedol leading the first group out of Domenic’s valley)
As the swirl of shadows dispersed, Mike found himself at the top of the mountain peak. This was the highest point of the pass from which he could see both down into Domenic’s valley and the trail leading deeper into the mountainous terrain along the coast. Even from here, there was no clear sign of another passageway leading out of the region. Meaning, they were going to be stuck here for days until they could find a pass that lead to Lodenburg or, even worse, Dolurn. None of them wanted to be stuck traipsing through these mountain trails for that long.
Down in Domenic’s valley, his eyes were drawn to a black mass that oozed out of the far mountain pass. Even from this distance, Mike could make out the thousands of players fighting against the unending horde of Orcs, Trolls, Ogres, and other monstrous demi-humans that were constantly pouring into the valley. With a savage smile, he gleefully watched Evil Sandra and her merry band of fucktards getting owned. At the same time, a part of him wondered how Star had managed to pull off an upset like that, while also being worried about how any of them could’ve possible survived a mess like that.
