Second Skin Omnibus

by M Damon Baker

  “Thank you, Tana,” I said as I took in her words. I could tell that the pain of her loss still weighed heavily on her heart, and her willingness to look past that deep hurt inspired me. When no one else chose to speak up, we waited in silence until Thola returned.

  “My people have suffered greatly, Dreya Sintári, and are willing to remain in your cells for as long as necessary if that’s what it will take to get them away from the dangers that plague these lands.”

  “Your people will be treated well, Thola, I promise that,” I said as I turned to address Venna.

  “As my Chief Minister, I want you to see that my promise to Thola is not broken,” I charged her. “They are to be guarded, for our safety as well as their own. And let it be known that anyone who mistreats them will be banished from my lands.”

  “I will make the appropriate arrangements with the First Marshal right now,” Venna replied before departing to see to my command.

  “Thola,” I said as I turned back to the orc. “Bring your people to this point, but no closer. Have them leave their weapons here, and then come inside one by one. Make sure that they know they will be searched when they reach the other side. I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings.”

  “It will be as you say, Dreya Sintári,” she promised.

  I returned inside to await Thola’s people and saw that a large crowd had gathered. There was a low murmur running through the throng as speculation ran rampant. Then, as the first of Thola’s people emerged from the tunnel, a hushed silence fell over the Garrison.

  The first orc Thola sent through was a small child. I didn’t have any idea how fast orcs matured, but if he was human, I’d estimate his age at about eight years old. He was clearly petrified and feared for his life as he slowly stared at the crowd of heavily armed people that surrounded him. I started to move towards him, to comfort him and usher him on, but I was too slow to act, and Hilgreth beat me to it.

  “Here now, little one,” she spoke gently to the frightened boy. “No one’s going to hurt you. Just come with me and I’ll take care of you.”

  My heart pounded in my chest with a mixture of shock and unbounded pride. Hilgreth’s open display of compassion made my spirits soar and gave me hope that the ideals I worked so hard to foster had truly taken root among my people. Her gesture was not the only profound display, as one after one, my people came forward to shepherd each of the orcs inside.

  I was overcome with emotion as I saw that my fears had been so misplaced. I had given my people far too little credit, and their incredible demonstration of empathy brought tears of joy to my eyes.

  “We all underestimated them,” Venna whispered by my side.

  “Your vision for Arrika is real,” Tási added in awe. “It can happen. This proves it beyond a doubt.”

  “Come with me, both of you,” I said as I wiped my tears away. “I’m going to start my questioning now—I want them out of those cells as soon as possible.”

  Once we were inside the headquarters building, I took a seat behind the desk of one of the offices. I overrode Karina’s strident protests, and had my guards wait outside the room while the first of our ‘guests’ was ushered in. I recognized him as Thola’s second in command and had him sit in the chair opposite me while I cast See Truth on him and got straight to the point.

  “Do you intend any harm to me or my people?”

  “No, Dreya Sintári.”

  “Do you know if any of your people intend any such harm?”

  “I do not, Dreya Sintári.”

  “What do you intend to do if we permit you to stay?”

  The answers to my first two questions were the only ones I really cared about, and when his words flowed out in shades of clear blue, I relaxed and let go of the hilt of the Essence Blade I’d been holding behind my back. However, I figured that I might as well learn something about my potential new citizens while I had the chance.

  “I don’t know,” he confessed. “I am a warrior—that is all I know. I don’t know what I will do when that is no longer possible.”

  “Who says it’s not?”

  “You would let me bear weapons? Fight in your army?” He asked incredulously.

  “Once you are one of my citizens, there will be no restrictions on you,” I replied to his amazement.

  “You truly are what Thola said you were,” he uttered slowly. “The World Changer, she called you, even when she feared that you would turn us away. She recognized what you were trying to do from the messages your people sent out. We read one of them that was posted to a tree along the road and didn’t believe it at first, but Thola realized where it came from. She remembered the mercy you showed her and brought us here.”

  “I have grown tired of fighting and killing for no purpose other than lust, power, and greed. If you will have me, I would be honored to offer my life in your service.”

  He reached inside his vest and withdrew a small token on a leather thong and wrapped the cord around his hand in an intricate pattern before he held it out in front of himself.

  “My blood is yours to spill. My life is yours to spend, Dreya Sintári. You may not know the ways of my people, but this is our most solemn oath. I beg you to accept my pledge.”

  He was right, I knew nothing about orc customs, but the blue tint of his words told me all that I needed to know.

  “I accept your oath, and promise in return to treat you with respect, and not spill your blood or spend your life recklessly,” I replied as I placed my hand over his. “No oath is worth anything if the bargain is one-sided.”

  He stared dumbfounded at my hand as it lay on top of his, and I wasn’t sure whether it was my gesture or my words that affected him the most. After a moment, I withdrew my hand and he stood up from his chair.

  “I look forward to beginning my service to you when it comes time for you to release us.”

  “As do I,” I told him. “But not until you tell me your name.”

  “I am Rhal,” he replied with a familiar, yet disconcerting smile.

  He left the room and I went to see the First Marshal. Since I had just assured Rhal that he would be welcome in my Army, I needed to make sure that would be the case when the time came.

  “Am I to understand that some of our new ‘guests’ actually assaulted these very walls at one time?” Evans said in lieu of a greeting.

  “Nice to see you too, and yes, that is true,” I replied.

  “That should make things interesting,” he went on, ignoring my jab. “But then again, I never expected to see them greeted so warmly either.”

  “Speaking of interesting,” I commented. “I just finished my first interview with an orc named Rhal. He wants to join our Army once I set his people free.”

  “Tell me you didn’t,” Evans said as his face grew pale.

  “Oh, but I did,” I replied with a smirk. “He swore an oath to serve me, and you will see to it that he does.”

  “Of course, Dreya Sintári,” Evans managed to say as his hand massaged his aching temples.

  With my ability to use See Truth limited to once a day, it took nearly three weeks to finish speaking to all our orcish guests. Not one of them showed any signs of deception, so they were released immediately and given homes in a small community we set up just for them in the valley. We hoped that they would integrate by making it clear that if they ever wanted to live amongst the rest of us, we would welcome them, but at least during the beginning of their time with us, we thought it best that they have a place of their own.

  Rhal began his service in the Army immediately and took to his training with an intense fervor. He was already a skilled warrior, but his techniques were tailored to the crude, uncoordinated style of the orc hordes. Under Evans’ personal tutelage, Rhal quickly learned how to fight beside his fellow soldiers and earned his way into one of the more elite units.

  When I learned of his accomplishments, I had Tási immediately draft Rhal into my personal guard, not only to reward him and ho
nor his oath, but also to set an example for everyone else to follow. I demonstrated my absolute faith in Rhal by entrusting him with my personal security—no one needed to fear anything less.

  During those first few weeks with us, I wasn’t the only one making an extra effort to bring the orcs into the fold. Thola held a weekly feast in their small village where they roasted a whole boar in the orcish style and served a potent brew that even the dwarves drank with great care. When word of the exotically spiced food and powerful drink spread, Thola’s little affairs quickly grew into a very popular event, and the bonds of friendship were soon being forged as debates over cooking and brewing techniques dominated the conversations.

  The most heartwarming development by far was Hilgreth’s near adoption of Bek, the young orc boy she had greeted so warmly the day the orcs first came to us seeking shelter. He had been orphaned during his people’s arduous travels, and Hilgreth took him under her wing as soon as she learned of his loss. Bek spent nearly every waking hour helping out in Hilgreth’s forge, and Georl’s familiar presence only served to make his transition all the more comfortable.

  Upon learning the boy’s plight, the entire Garrison began to look after him, and Bek was soon one of the more popular children in my entire Realm. I was truly moved at how my people looked past his heritage and saw only the child, not just his green skin. Even the most recent arrivals had not merely accepted, but fully embraced the new moral code I had laid out for them, and that knowledge gave me great hope for the future I dreamed of bringing to Arrika.

  In addition to the patrols we sent to our outpost, Bane had taken to flying over it from time to time, reporting on any developments there. Typically, those reports were limited to noting the passing of a caravan, or some other mundane developments, until the day the messages we had sent out finally bore the full fruit of our efforts

  A caravan has turned away from the main road and is headed here, Sintári, Bane called to me as he landed at my side.

  ‘How many wagons?’

  Twelve, and many people alongside them.

  ‘Traders or settlers?’

  That is not clear.

  ‘Thank you, Bane. Let’s go see that we’re ready for their arrival.’

  Traveling at their typical leisurely pace, the wagons wouldn’t reach us for two or three days, and Bane would be able to keep us aware of their progress the entire time, so there was no need to worry that they would sneak up on us. Even so, it would be wise to start making arrangements well in advance. So, with my ever-present escort in tow, I headed back to the Palace to organize a meeting of my Ministers.

  The runners I sent out quickly returned with word that everyone would be in attendance shortly, so I took a seat in the chambers we were using for our meetings and waited for them to arrive. Although the room served our purposes for the time, it was not the actual area designated for such occasions in the Palace’s plans.

  Ridge had already constructed most of the official offices and formal rooms, and even my permanent quarters, but Tási and the others refused to even let me see them, let alone move in, until the stonemasons had finished their work and appropriate furnishings had been crafted. I did manage to catch Ilvain and some of his people carting some of those very items up the stairs, but that was all I was able to glimpse before someone always seemed to pop up and shoo me away.

  Before long, my Ministers, Ambassador Broda, and the First Marshal were seated around the table with me. Tási closed the doors before taking her place, and my personal guard stood watch outside as I made everyone aware of the approaching caravan.

  “We should send a patrol to escort them,” Evans suggested when I finished relating what Bane had told me. “They can provide some added security and give the new arrivals a quick look over to see if they are what they seem to be.”

  Considering the fact that an assassin had secreted himself among our first batch of immigrants, it struck me as a wise precaution, and I nodded my approval. When no one else objected, Evans scratched down a few notes before we proceeded.

  “Do we have enough homes and shelters for them?” I asked.

  “Between Ilvain’s crews and the dwarven miners, we should have more than enough,” Venna replied. “Honestly, I don’t know how they manage to keep building so much.”

  There was little else we could do to prepare aside from ensuring that we had enough guards on duty when the caravan finally arrived, so our meeting broke up shortly thereafter. Evans sent out his patrol to meet the caravan, and with Bane’s reconnaissance, we were kept well aware of their progress towards us. So, when the first wagons emerged from the forest and into the open fields outside the Garrison walls, we were ready to greet the new arrivals.

  Trumpets blared and the rows of soldiers that Evans had lined up along the road stood at attention as the caravan came through the tunnel and drove inside the Garrison. The people driving and walking alongside the wagons stared in awe at the Dwarven Steel weapons and Khelduin armor that was on display before them, just as Evans intended. A runner had returned from the patrol he sent out, reporting that all seemed well with the caravan, but it never hurt to put on a good show in the First Marshal’s eyes. But even as impressive as it was, I fully intended to outdo his exhibition.

  Once the caravan had been escorted inside, and all its members gathered together to be welcomed to their new home, my companions and I took to a raised platform in front of the assembled newcomers to welcome them to our Realm.

  With Tási and Bane by my side, and the rest of my companions arrayed alongside us, we stood before the gathered crowd for a moment, letting them get a good view of us and our God-forged Artifacts. Some of them seemed to recognize our gear, or at least have some inkling of its power, because a few gasps could be heard among them, followed by some low murmuring. With at least that portion of my agenda taken care of, I began my speech.

  I kept it short, but sweet, and simply reiterated the points that had been made in the messages we had already sent out. The old ways would not be tolerated here, prejudice had no place in this Realm, and that anyone who could not abide by those principles would not last long here. To emphasize how serious I was about this my personal guard that day included Rhal, who stood prominently in front of the raised platform in plain view for all to see. Not only that, but I made sure that Thola and a few more of our orcish citizens were included in the welcoming group. If that didn’t make my point clearly enough for them, nothing else would have.

  In all, the caravan had brought us almost a hundred new citizens, none of whom objected to the terms we had outlined for them, both in the notices we had sent out, and in the words that I’d spoken to them. Once I was sure that there would be no problems, I started to head back to the Palace, but my trip there ended abruptly.

  “Dreya Sintári!” One of the people we had assigned to help place the newcomers called out to me.

  “Yes? What is it, Hazil?” I replied. Although I recognized her, the dwarven woman’s name hadn’t immediately come to mind. Fortunately, the little tag over her head was there to help me out.

  “There’s a couple among the newcomers that claim to know you,” Hazil informed me.

  I had no idea who that could be, but I had Hazil lead me back towards the crowd of people. My guards picked up on my doubts, and closed ranks around me as we drew closer to the throng.

  “There she is!” Wenda cried out as Hazil brought me to their wagon.

  It had been so long since I’d seen her and Birt, that I hadn’t even considered them when Hazil mentioned the couple that was looking for me, but as soon as I saw her, I rushed over to welcome them to my Realm.

  “I’m so glad to see both of you again!” I exclaimed. “How have you been?”

  “We’ve been well, but clearly you’ve done even better for yourself,” Birt said with a smile as he joined us.

  We shared a little small talk, and I told them an abbreviated version of just how I’d come to be where I was before Birt explained why t
hey were here.

  “I’ve grown tired of the road,” he confessed. “And no matter where I might decide to settle down, there would be some lord or other noble who would be offended by my choice. I hoped that by coming to this new Realm, I might escape all the bickering and intrigue. Finding you and your friends here makes me certain that I made the right decision.”

  “Birt, if you are looking for work, I would be honored to hire you as the official tailor for not only myself, but my cabinet as well,” I smiled at him. “You may remember a few of them.”

  “I saw them by your side before,” he replied. “I admit, I was uncertain how I might support myself in such a young Realm, but if you are in need of my services, I’m sure that we can work something out.”

  Oh, was he going to try and negotiate with me? Bad move, Birt. Bad move.

  “Birt,” I said as I channeled a tiny bit of Charisma into my words, “I’m going to have Venna put you in some suitable quarters in the Palace. Once you’ve had a chance to move in, I’m sure that we’ll be able iron out the details.”

  “Oh, why yes, that seems more than reasonable,” he replied in earnest.

  I left the two of them, promising to speak again after they settled in, and went off in search of Venna. I had no trouble locating her, as she was in the center of all the action, besieged by the many requests for housing and work that came along with our new citizens. She had been among the first of my companions to assemble a staff of underlings, and they should have taken care of the simple tasks for her, but once she got caught up in the frenzy of activity, she obviously had a great deal of difficulty extricating herself from the fracas.

  “I’m sorry, Khara,” I apologized to the dwarven woman who was Venna’s chief assistant as I dragged Venna away. “But there’s a matter of some importance that needs the Chief Minister’s attention.”

  “Thank you,” Venna said with no small measure of relief as we ventured towards the Palace. “I know they can handle it, but it’s so hard for me to get away once I get pulled into these things.”