Essence of Gluic

by Anthony G. Wedgeworth

Two rivers merged into one at a city of filth and depression. The Fount River from the north and Hessik’s Blood River from the east bordered the city of Corrock before joining. The northern river was fresh and drinkable while the Hessik’s Blood was stained red, which caused illness upon consuming. Sewage from the city added disease and poisons, which would take over a hundred miles of river to clean out.

  It was down this river where Thorik and his team had planned to cross. Nearing the only remaining bridge that still stood intact over the river, they slowed their pace as they watched for anyone emerging to meet them.

  The bridge was many hours south of Corrock, but was still considered property of the city. As the only safe crossing, outside of the city’s bridges, it had become a source of revenue for the city as it collected tolls for those who crossed. In addition, it allowed the Del’Unday to monitor all who traveled from the O’Sid fields to the Volney Lake Valley.

  Constructed of stone blocks, columns rose out of the water every dozen paces and arched up to a keystone. Long thick timbers had been crudely placed along the row of wide columns to replace what had originally been built at the crossing. With the multitude of battles that had taken place in the area, it was surprising that the bridge was in as good a shape as it was.

  Spanning over a half a mile long, the bridge included two-story guard towers on each side of the river, where guards were posted for taking tolls and protecting their land. The top of the towers allowed for an easy view across the bridge to see if anyone was crossing.

  Thorik looked up at Grewen with concern after spotting a Blothrud standing on the tower closest to them. “Will he allow us to pass?”

  The giant looked at the lone guard posted on the upper floor. “We won’t know until we try.”

  “What if he doesn’t?” Thorik asked.

  “Then we will be forced to find another way across.”

  “Assuming they don’t capture us and throw us in prison,” Brimmelle grumbled.

  Grewen grinned. “No such luck. Remember, Dels don’t believe in prisons for criminals. The victim has the opportunity to retaliate with whatever force they feel necessary, or you will be tied up in public to have the locals decide your fate. Hopefully if we pay the toll and quietly move on, this guard won’t accuse us of any crimes.”

  “That’s not their only options for crimes, you know,” Bryus interrupted. “They’ve been known to hold your family responsible for your crimes against them. Blackmail is not against the law to the Del’Unday, in fact it’s an acceptable part of their culture.”

  Avanda kept an eye on the Blothrud who was standing firm on top of the guard tower, watching the outsiders chat about their approach. “I think we’re starting to make him nervous. We should either approach or leave before he calls for assistance from the far tower.”

  She was correct. The Blothrud stood like a statue, overlooking the eastern desert as the Mognin, human, and three Nums stood just minutes from the crossing. Changing his grip on his long spear, the Blothrud squinted his solid red eyes as he wondered why they had stopped.

  Such as most Blothrud’s were, the guard on the roof stood several heads taller than the average human, with thick wolf-like legs, muscular human arms and torso, and a head that resembled a hairless wolf crossed with a dragon. His attire was heavy and bulky to increase his size even further, while leaving open slots for his spikes to extend out of his skin from various locations on his back and arms. The metal helmet he wore had holes for his eyes and ears as well as studded leather strips running down his thick neck. The Blothrud was in battle gear, making the simple guard shack seem more alarming than it should have been.

  Bryus collected a few items from his small pack and began grinding them up in his hand. Once he had it massaged into a thin paste, he began plastering it all over his face, neck and chest. “Shields my skin from the sun, as well as other things.” He gave a wink to Avanda, who had watched him create it.

  Even though Avanda had attached the tree trunk onto Bryus’ arm, he continued to struggle with it. If all had gone right with the spell, he should have been able to control it and bend it by now. But instead, it was just a weight hanging from his shoulder. The spell had only been partially successful.

  “There’s only one way to find out what he will do.” Thorik then began to walk toward the tower.

  But before arriving, a second guard walked out from the first floor of the stone building. This one was a Krupe, a two-legged human-size creature completely covered in thick black spiked armor. They were the foot soldiers for the Del’Unday, obedient and silent.

  In some way, the Krupes made Thorik more nervous than the Blothruds. At least he knew where he stood with the latter. Krupes never showed their face or talked, so they were impossible to read.

  Thorik approached cautiously. “Hello. We wish to cross.”

  The Krupe stood silent as he watched the rest of the Num’s group arrive.

  “What is the toll for the bridge?” Thorik asked firmly, not showing any signs of being intimidated.

  Again, the Krupe was mute.

  It was apparent that the creature was not going to talk, so Thorik decided to walk past him. He figured that he would enter the bridge without issue, or he would be stopped and then a toll would be discussed.

  He was half right. The Krupe’s long spear sliced down inches in front of Thorik, stopping the Num in his tracks. But no instructions had followed.

  “Name your purpose,” the Blothrud guard said as he stepped out from the lower level of the tower. He had made his way down as the travelers had approached.

  A shiver of fear ran up all the Nums’ backs from the loud rough voice. “Thorik Dain of Farbank.” Thorik’s voice was quick and in a higher pitch than he had meant to be.

  The Blothrud used his impressive size to walk up near the Nums and look down over his wolf-like snout at them. “I asked for your purpose, not your name.”

  Even though he had Grewen, Bryus and the Nums with him, Thorik felt extremely vulnerable and at a disadvantage. “We’re traveling back home to Farbank.”

  Pushing his way through the group, the Blothrud eyed each one to ensure each member had fear in their eyes. This was true until he found himself looking up into the eyes of Grewen, who was grinning at the posturing that so many Del’Unday do.

  “Something amusing, Ov?” the Blothrud said sharply.

  Grewen knew, all too well, that a bad tempered Blothrud could take down just about any foe, so he didn’t wish to provoke him. “Just pleased to see that the Del’Unday are still the masters of intimidation and brutality.”

  Thorik closed his eyes at the comment, wishing he hadn’t irritated the Del.

  Lifting his shoulders back and chest higher, the Blothrud eyed the Mognin hard. “We will always be the masters of such admirable traits.” Grewen’s comment had actually been a compliment to the Del’Unday, so the guard allowed the grin to go without ramifications.

  Next, the guard eyed Bryus, who was busy scratching his skin where the flesh of his arm attached to his wooden appendage. “You disrespect me by ignoring me?” the guard barked.

  Bryus glanced up at him. “Listen you sickly dog-faced mutant, right now my arm is more important to me than watching you boost your ego.”

  “Perhaps you will think differently after I rip your head off.”

  “Not likely,” Bryus snapped back. “If you ripped my head off I wouldn’t be thinking anything, would I?”

  “You would long enough to know you were defeated by the hands of a superior species, instead of a mutant.”

  “Nice retort. Did they teach that kind of disillusion of importance in some arrogance lesson as a child?”

  The Blothrud’s patience had run out. “Here’s a lesson you should have learned a long time ago.” His arm swung out at Bryus, clobbering the man square in the chest. The sound of cracking bones rang out.

  Bryus was pushed back from the impact, but not as far as the others would have assumed.

&
nbsp; The Blothrud’s fist had been destroyed upon the attack against the shield of magical lotion Bryus had applied earlier. Bones were snapped in half while some were poking through the Blothrud’s skin. His fist was a mass of loose flesh instead of the weapon it had once been.

  Howling in pain, the Blothrud used his other hand to grab Bryus by his tree trunk arm in order to pull him close enough to bite his head off. Not an uncommon tactic for Blothruds.

  Bryus snapped his fingers and spoke a short phrase just prior to having his head encased in Blothrud teeth. The spell, which Bryus had cast, was based on the beetle poison he had collected earlier in the desert. The snapping had released a spray into the air and into the face of the Del’Unday causing extreme burning in the eyes and on the surrounding tissue as well as in his nasal cavities.

  The Blothrud reared back as the spray had instantly blinded him. Swinging violently, he proceeded forward in an attempt to attack Bryus, who had already calmly stepped off to the side. It wasn’t long before the poisonous spray had made it to the Blothrud’s lungs, causing them to restrict and burn.

  The Blothrud coughed and struggled for air as he fell to his knees.

  Bryus put his magical components away. “Brains will always win over brawn.” His brazen attitude was clear.

  Avanda was in awe of his ability to take on such a powerful creature. In her mind, it validated the need to learn as much from this Alchemist as possible. He could teach her how to protect herself from all enemies.

  Seeing the attack, the Krupe lunged forward, but was quickly stopped by one of Bryus’ spells, locking the creature into a frozen position before it crashed to the floor, stiff as a board.

  “That’s amazing!” She was visibly pleased.

  Bryus, on the other hand, was disappointed. “That’s not right. He should have gone up in flames. This new arm of mine is proving to be detrimental to my spells.”

  “Why did you have to do that?” Thorik shouted at Bryus while looking at the Del’Unday guards.

  “Unfortunately they won’t die,” Bryus responded. “In fact they’ll be healed in a matter of days. If my spells had worked properly, they would have been dust by now.” Inspecting his wooden arm, he looked perplexed. “What went wrong?”

  Thorik was visibly upset about his actions. “We could have made it past these guards without incident.”

  “He was a loud pompous fool. I just taught him a lesson. No harm was done.”

  “No harm?”

  “They’re just a few stupid Dels, what’s your issue?”

  “One minute you’re jumping all over the place with excitement about a rare insect or plant you found, and the next minute you’re treating people like lesser beings.”

  “I treat people appropriately for what they deserve. Don’t blame me if most are idiots.”

  “Why couldn’t you have been respectful long enough to allow us to just pay our toll and move on.”

  “Paying a toll at this bridge is ridiculous. They didn’t even build the bridge. They use this as an opportunity to intimidate others and to collect finances for war. I have no interest in supporting either of them.”

  “I don’t care if you have interest in them. One of these days your arrogance and personal interest are going to get someone killed, if you’re not careful.”

  Bryus laughed. “Then be advised right now to stay out of my way while I’m helping you.”

  Thorik was frustrated and knew he wasn’t getting through to the man. “I don’t want your help!”

  “Oh, yes you do. You simply don’t realize it.”

  “No, you aren’t listening. You’re making things worse for us. You treat us as fools and don’t even try to get to know us and what we really need.”

  “I don’t need to get to know you. Nums, humans, Del’Unday, Ov’Unday, you’re all the same. You’re all annoying. Most are unpredictable, savage, underhanded, and of false words. They talk of petty issues and fill their lives with menial work. However, enchanted items, such as the great Spear of Rummon you carry, are intriguing.” Bryus’ face began to light up as he looked at the spear hanging on Thorik’s back. “They are part of the larger scope which changes the world.”

  The unpleasant words bothered Thorik, even if he knew there were threads of truth in them. “You’re entitled to your thoughts, but as long as you travel with us, you don’t take action unless we menial people ask for it.”

  Bryus laughed again. “And you will eventually come asking.”

  Chapter 25

  The Crossing