by Pdmac
While others jabbed swords through the shutter slits, finding their marks, Dieter stalked like a caged animal, his berserker rage building.
“This is bullshit,” he bellowed. Hefting his battle axe, he strode across the floor, pulled off the bars securing the front door and yanked it open.
“No,” Karl yelled, racing after him.
Dieter bent over to clear the doorway then unfolded to full height. Despite the heavy mist, those goblins close enough to distinguish that someone had opened the door suddenly found themselves cut in half as Dieter let out a loud bloodcurdling growl and swung his giant ax in a wide swath.
“Lock the door behind us,” Karl called out as he followed Dieter.
Together, they worked their way around the perimeter of the house, Dieter swinging the savage blade in a wide furious arc while Karl protected his back.
The mist aided their efforts as the goblins, unaware of the approaching doom, continued their attacks on the windows, only to discover too late, when the bodies and heads of their compatriots split apart beside them, that death and destruction had arrived.
Twice, Karl had to call out “Hold your fire,” as they came to an open window.
By the time they arrived back at the front door, an eerie quiet had settled, broken by the occasional anguished cry of a wounded goblin. Karl pounded on the door with the pommel of his sword.
“Open up. We’re back.”
“How do we know it’s you?” a voice mocked.
“Very funny, Ross,” Karl answered, shaking his head.
The door opened and the two warriors entered. Dieter was spattered in goblin blood while Karl’s rear defense earned him very little in the gore department. Elena was about to rush over to Dieter when she saw that the rage had not left him yet, so she bided her time, coming up to stand beside him.
Karl smiled at Ross’ innocent face then went to check on the company, pleased that they had already jammed beds into the spaces of the broken shutters.
“Everyone OK?” he queried. Receiving affirmative nods, he complimented, “Nice work everyone. Well done. That was a nice touch you two,” he said to Lana and Brad. “Very effective.”
“Tiny looks a mess,” Conrad chuckled.
The rage gone, Dieter looked down at his splattered clothing then shrugged. “How’d we do?”
“You were amazing,” Karl grinned. “But maybe you can give me a warning the next time.”
“Sorry, Boss,” he sheepishly replied.
“Dawn’s coming,” Ross said, gazing out through one of the windows. “Mist should burn off in a couple of hours.”
Karl was about to ask him how he knew then remembered the man was a Ranger and knew the lore of the outside world.
Congratulations: You’ve defeated a goblin regiment.
Reward: Reputation. You and your company have increased your reputation: +6 points. You’ve gone from local hero to ‘Your name sounds familiar.’
“Looks like things might finally settle down,” Karl announced. “For those of you not on watch, check your weapons then try to get some sleep if you can. We’ll head out as soon as the mist gives us enough visibility.”
Despite being tired, no one could sleep and instead chose to clean weapons and talk quietly amongst themselves. Then true to Ross’ prognosis, the outside mist began to brighten and slowly dissolve.
An hour later, the mist was thin enough to open the door. What greeted them was the gruesome visage of the aftermath of battle with bodies of goblins, dozens upon dozens of them, scattered around the house. The largest number lay close to the house where Dieter had wreaked his havoc. Many bodies were decapitated, others missing whole limbs, and still others with their overlarge heads smashed in.
Conrad decided to count the toll, but stopped when he reached thirty one and he realized he still had the other side of the house to count.
“Do we check for any potions or other things?” Lana asked.
Karl surveyed the carnage, at once repulsed by memories of other battlefields, but satisfied that he had kept his company whole. “No. I don’t see a need to spend any more time here.”
“I quite agree,” Ross said. “The sooner we get away from here the better. How far is it to the next town?”
“We should get there this afternoon,” Karl answered. “Raquel. Ross. You take point. Sakura’s team next then Dieter’s team. Kendra and Tina. You OK with Carole?”
“Yes,” Tina replied. They had rigged a stretcher using the boards from one of the bed frames and the cotton mattress covering, leaving some of the batting in it for Carole’s comfort. The two dwarves carried her with ease.
“OK, good. The rest fall in where needed. Let’s move out.”
The road through the forest was wide enough for a single merchant’s wagon and the ruts in the road made it appear the road was well traveled, yet during their entire time traveling, they had yet to meet another individual in passing.
The forest edging the road was thick with interlacing branches creating a canopy overhead. Shafts of sunlight pierced the cover, briefly illuminating the travelers as they passed through the light. The warmth of the day and the vivid greens and browns of the leaves and trees, along with the bright whites, reds, and purples of wildflowers created a lazy ambiance of a summer day with nothing urgent to do or place to go.
The careless feel to the day caused Karl to be more on edge. When defenses were down was the time when things went wrong. He circulated back and forth among the company, briefly making small talk, twice calling a halt to check the map.
By midafternoon, he was beginning to doubt the accuracy of the map. There was only one road on the map that led all the way from Marbeck through Abeloft to Westhaven. At least that was what the map said, and there had been no other roads that they had seen.
He was calculating how they were going to set up a camp in the forest when Raquel came back.
“There’s a break in the woods up ahead. There’s a good sized city on a hill. Looks like probably another hour or two before we get there.”
“We need to pick up the pace,” Karl said, “if we’re going to make it in time.” He strode back to where Tina and Kendra stood watch over Carole, the litter on the ground. “You two doing OK?”
“We’re fine,” Tina smiled.
“She’s not heavy,” Kendra added.
Tina gave Kendra a knowing smile. “We’re strong. We’re dwarves.”
“There’s a town about an hour or two away. We’re going to have to pick up the pace if we’re going to make it before they lock the gates.”
“We can do it,” Tina announced, bending down to grab hold of the ends of the litter. Kendra grabbed the other end and together they lifted.
Karl stared briefly down at Carole, her body a pale death gray then spun around and flicked a finger at Raquel telling her to resume the march. “We gotta pick up the pace,” he informed the rest of the company.
As they moved out, Karl was both surprised and impressed with their determination and effort for once the group crested the road and saw their goal in the distance, they picked up the pace and arrived at the main gate in a little more than an hour.
The city of Westhaven covered a high broad hill, surrounded by a concentric series of thick crenellated walls of dark stone. In the middle and at the highest point of the hill was a castle that looked like the quintessential medieval castle along the lines of Hohenzollern Castle in Germany. In between the city walls and the surrounding forest was a wide gap of vibrant farm fields billowing with grains, protected at the forest’s edge by a wide and impressively tall solid wall of smooth stone.
The guards at the gate were in the process of closing one of the massive oak doors when they were startled by Raquel calling out, “Hold fast.”
They were further surprised when the rest of the company jogged the road leading up to the gate.
“Is there a healer in the city?” Karl asked.
“Of course there is,” one guard replied. He
was a medium height young man wearing chainmail and a Spangenhelm helmet. He cast a snide eye upon the group, though still taken aback at Dieter’s size
“Who are you?” the other guard snapped. “What are you doing here? Where do you come from?” He was a middle aged man, dressed like his compatriot.
“I am Karl the Viking and these are my friends. We’ve come from Marbeck.”
“Marbeck?” the first guard repeated with surprise.
“Karl the Viking?” the other guard slowly said. “I think I may have heard of you.”
Karl chuckled thinking that the reputation trait might prove useful. “We’ve a deathly ill elf who’s in need of a healer. She was bitten by spiders.”
The eyes on both the guards widened in apprehension and respect.
“Did you kill any of them?” the older guard asked.
“Lots,” Karl impatiently replied, “along with a whole slew of goblins. But we really need a healer.”
“Of course,” the older guard sympathetically said. “I can take you to her once we finish here.”
“How long will that take?” Raquel asked.
“You can’t do that,” the younger guard interrupted. “They have to go to the Administrator.”
“They can do both,” the older guard answered with an indulgent sigh. “The entire group doesn’t have to go to the Administrator. C’mon. Let get these doors closed so they can get her to the healer.”
“But… but…” the younger guard began but found he was ignored by the older guard who pulled the one gate door closed.
With the doors shut and bolted, the group passed through the gate house and stood just outside as the portcullis was lowered.
“Follow me,” the older guard said with a curl of his hand. “My name’s Jethdar. The lad over there is called Meinke.” He looked at Tina and Kendra holding Carole. “You’ve two healers with you.”
“We don’t have enough power to heal her,” Kendra explained.
“I understand,” he nodded. “A single spider’s bite is deadly. I’m surprised the elf still lives.”
As Jethdar led the way past the farm fields, some rippling with grain, others as pasture for livestock, Karl glanced back over his shoulder and noted the guards spaced at intervals, manning the walls. He turned back to look ahead and calculated the distance to the next wall to be at least 1000 meters. Glancing to his left and right, he traced the outer wall, through which they entered, until it disappeared in the distance and realized it probably encircled the entire city and farms.
They walked in silence as the road gently climbed towards another wall and another gate, protected by four guards who gave Jethdar a friendly wave while regarding the newcomers with more than curious attention, bordering on fascination when they saw the dwarves.
“The elf suffers a spider’s bite,” Jethdar explained, causing the guards to tense up. “Tell the captain they’re here. We go to the Lady for healing.”
As dusk began to settle, Jethdar led them through the gate, which was partially blocked, forcing them to make a sharp left. Karl immediately understood the design as forcing an invader to narrow his forces in an awkward position.
Following the cobbled street another short distance, they came to another wall forcing them to make two quick right turns before finally opening up to the city’s main street, active with merchants, soldiers, mothers with gamboling children, and revelers heading to numerous taverns, who were strangely subdued as those out and about talked in hushed tones.
“Why is everyone so quiet?” Conrad asked.
“It’s out of respect for the queen.”
“Something happen?” Conrad boldly asked.
“She was murdered by Lord Cyril’s henchmen last week. Her dismembered body was tossed over the city walls of Durness.”
“My God,” Annabeth uttered. “That’s terrible.”
“That’s not the half of it,” he said, rolling his eyes in frustration. “It’s said that Cyril has joined forces with the Trolls of Stonefell. We expect an attack any day now.”
“So who rules here,” Raquel asked, “now that the queen is dead.”
“Oh, it’s still Lady Gwen. She’s Lady Briet’s younger sister. The queen, Lady Briet, lives… or rather lived in Durness, the capital of Montgrec.” He stopped and studied them with an intense stare. “I should think you would know all this.”
“We’ve been gone for a while,” Karl lamely replied, “sort of out of touch with what’s been happening lately.”
Jethdar frowned, shook his head and resumed walking. “You remind me of several of your kind who came through here a couple of months ago.”
“Our kind?” Karl said.
“Yes, an assassin much like the dark one you have with you came through here and was gone before the Administrator had a chance to complete his interview with him. Two elves came later and the Administrator detained them until Lady Gwen intervened and allowed them to move on, once she got the assurance they would not join Cyril’s campaign against us. “Your dwarves are the first to appear here in Westhaven,”
“You don’t seem all that surprised,” Karl commented.
Jethdar shrugged. “Elves, trolls, orcs, gnolls, giant spiders… what’s the big deal about dwarves?”
“Hey,” Conrad said with indignation.
“No offense,” Jethdar offered, “just pointing out in the overall scheme of things, dwarves are the least of our worries.”
“How long have you and Cyril been fighting?” Raquel asked.
“For as long as I can remember,” he replied. “That we are at the far edges of the kingdom means we haven’t had to endure the same trials those to the south have.”
“Are Marbeck and Abeloft part of Montgrec?” Karl asked.
“Until a couple of months ago, we didn’t even know they existed.”
“What?” Karl raised an eyebrow in doubt. “How is that possible?”
Jethdar sighed, again shaking his head. “You forget that our attention is focused to the south. The only thing to the north was a forest filled with goblins, gnolls, and orcs. Those who ventured into the forest never came back. That is why your tale will be of interest to the Administrator.”
“Our tale?”
“Yes,” he answered. “Until the elves came and likewise stated they had come from a town called Marbeck through Abeloft to here, we all believed the assassin was sent by Cyril.”
“How large is Westhaven?” Raquel asked.
Jethdar fixed her with a sharp glance.
“We’re not spies, if that’s what you’re thinking,” she said. “I should think that would be obvious to a professional soldier like yourself.”
“I’m not a professional soldier,” he answered, “though thank you for the compliment. I’m just a simple farmer. My spread’s on the other side of the city. As to your question, there are just under ten thousand who live here.”
Noting the size of the farms, Karl said, “You produce everything you need so that no one need leave the city?”
“Exactly.”
“Why was the gate open then?”
“Custom,” he chuckled. “We open the gate for an hour twice a day, once mid-morning and the other at the end of the day. You arrived just in time.”
Karl did a rough mental calculation of the length of the outer city wall. “Ten thousand citizens seem too few to man all the walls and still maintain a living.”
“We manage,” he evasively answered.
Passing through another second gate, this one unmanned, they were met with the bustle of life and tall three story houses that lined both sides of the street. The first building opposite the gate was of solid dull red brick and contained a tavern doing a brisk business.
“We need to come back here,” Wendell happily observed.
“The Brickhouse is an excellent tavern, but there are better ones closer to the castle,” Meinke said.
“And more expensive,” Jethdar added with a wink.
Jethdar led th
em up the main road then through a series of back roads and alleyways so that after fifteen minutes, they were utterly lost.
“I understand what you’re doing,” Raquel wryly observed, “and point out again that we are not spies.”
“No doubt,” Jethdar nodded. “Still, I do have to answer for my actions.”
They emerged from one side-street onto a wide road bordered on one side by large homes facing a large verdant commons where mothers watched children playing games, lovers strolled hand in hand, and old men and women sat on benches sharing the latest gossip and aches and pains. Just beyond the park, the castle rose in domination.
Jethdar led them across the park causing those who saw them to stop and stare. Seeing the dwarves, children cast aside their inhibitions and raced over to get a closer look, standing in fascinated awe as the four diminutive beings passed by. One little girl squealed with delight when Conrad smiled and winked at her.
Once across the park and away from the inquisitive stares, Jethdar led them through the open gate of the castle then up a wide paved path that curled in a circle to another gate above the first gate, through that gate then again in a wide circle to a third gate above the first two.
Karl nodded in admiration that any enemy attempting to attack the castle was forced into these narrow circular routes and far too many gates. He was further surprised by the presence of a fourth gate that led to the main castle itself, ‘J’ shaped and comprised of three stories of smooth stone, all topped with tall turrets.
Crossing the courtyard, they entered the foyer and were greeted by a wide set of double stairs, supported by thick ornate columns, that curled around and joined together on the second floor. Several guards took one look at Jethdar’s guests and stood aside.
“I thought you said there was someone who could heal our comrade,” Karl urgently reminded Jethdar.
“I did. She lives here, as does the Administrator.”
The castle seemed strangely vacant, considering the size as Karl and company were led through long halls, richly decorated with tapestries, paintings, and sculptures. Wide chandeliers adorned with cream colored candles suspended from the ceiling, which was often painted with clouds and blue sky.
