Duke Grandfather- The Whole Story

by James Maxstadt

He considered me. “Interesting,” he finally said. “An entire race, boiled down to a few fragments of ideas. But still, for all that, not entirely wrong. Excuse me for one moment.”

  He stood and went to the door of his office, opened it, and spoke quietly to someone outside. Then he returned to his seat.

  “We do value honor, and discipline, it’s true. And those things form a large cornerstone of our culture. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that we fight for anyone who can pay us. We also have to believe in the cause. It’s why we’re here. Your ruler has allowed us to set up camp, create a new home, and in return, we’ll help keep the wolves at bay and the enemies from the gates.”

  “Oh, yeah? Then where were you a few days ago when the Death Knight brought those gates down?” I asked.

  “Here, unfortunately. We were as surprised as anyone else when that happened, and had no advance notice that he was arriving. Still, we should have been there. Shameful, really.”

  I could respect that. Not only did I fully believe that the Death Knight was able to slip past them, but I admired the way the General didn’t make excuses about it.

  I was about to reply when there was a hesitant knock on the door. “Enter!” the General called out again, and yet another minotaur came in.

  If this was Dabney, or Cadet Dabney, as the General referred to him, then I could see why he got that strange expression when he looked at the notice. Did I say that I couldn’t tell minotaurs apart? Well, in this case, I could. Easily.

  This one wasn’t all that much bigger than I am. Closer to Sarge’s size really, so only that of a slightly larger than average human. His arms were thin, and his legs bent in an unusual angle, so that walking looked painful. His horns were undersized, and instead of coming to sharp points, were rounded off at the ends.

  “Reporting as ordered, sir,” he said, and his voice was too high-pitched to belong to a minotaur. He saluted as he said this, although it wasn’t nearly as sharp as Captain Darvish’s.

  “At ease, Cadet,” the General said. “The is Duke Grandfather. He’s a Nuisance Man. Do you have any idea why he’s here?”

  Dabney sort of gawked at me when I was introduced. “Gosh, no. I don’t know. A real Nuisance Man? Wow.”

  “Yes Cadet. A real Nuisance Man. He says that there was a complaint against you. Do you know anything about it?”

  “Against me? No, I don’t know nothing…” But he hung his head as he spoke, his eyes searching the floor.

  “Dabney?” the General pressed, but his voice was gentle, yet firm.

  “It wasn’t my fault, sir. I wasn’t doing nothing wrong. I wanted to see what was in there. Through the door, I mean. That’s all.”

  “What have we said about that?”

  “Not to go by myself,” Dabney muttered. “I’m sorry.”

  I glanced at the General, silently asking if I could cut in. He nodded at me.

  “Dabney,” I said, “did you attack those three boys?”

  “No! I didn’t! I was looking at things, and then one of them threw a rock at me. I thought they were playing at first, so I threw it back, but then they all started doing it. They threw rocks, and…and…other things. That wasn’t fun anymore, so I told them to stop. Then they came over and started pushing me, and wouldn’t let me get away. I was scared…”

  He stopped and looked at the General. Then he straightened up.

  “I mean, I got angry,” he said. “I put my head down and charged. To get away, I mean.”

  He looked so miserable and ashamed that I felt bad for him. I was sure the General would give him a dressing down for his actions, but he didn’t.

  “That will be all,” he said. “You can go, Cadet.”

  Dabney saluted again, and left the room.

  When the door closed, the General sighed and looked at me again. “Satisfied, Grandfather?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “I am. He seems like a good kid. He’s your son, isn’t he?”

  “What gave it away?”

  “He didn’t keep calling you sir, and you let it go, for one. Also, the way you look at him.”

  “He is my son,” the General said, looking back at the closed door with a sigh. “His mother died giving birth to him. Since then, it’s been the two of us. He’s one of the reasons I brought this outfit here.”

  “Why? So that he could get an education in the city or something?”

  “No, so he could live.”

  The General noticed the expression on my face.

  “In the old country, anyone born as Dabney was would have been left out on the plains, food for the wolves. If they were undersized, or born with twisted limbs, or whatever. Some even used it as an excuse if they had a female, but really wanted a male child. But when I lost Dabney’s mother…well, he was all I had left.”

  “While here…” I mused.

  “Here, we rule ourselves. The rest of the companies don’t matter. We’ve made a better life for ones like Dabney, and try hard to make them part of our society.”

  “You’re a remarkable person, General,” I said, and meant it. It’s not an easy thing to buck a lifetime of tradition and make a new start of things. I rose to my feet and stuck out my hand. “I’ve got everything I need. I’ll take care of the notice and let the Watch know that Dabney is innocent. Maybe have a talk with those boys, too.”

  The General rose and shook my hand. “Thank you, Grandfather. Visit again sometime.”

  It was one of those polite things that someone says without meaning, like “how are you?” No one really cares, and he didn’t want me to come and hang around, but it beat saying, “great, now get out.”

  On the way home, I went through the East Gate neighborhood again, but didn’t see any sign of Ronnie Winchell. For today, I’d head back to the watchhouse and tell Sarge what I discovered. Tomorrow was another day, and maybe I’d come back and have a talk with Ronnie, and then a whole different discussion with his father.

  That night at dinner, I told Lilly about my day. She hadn’t heard about the minotaur camp, but wasn’t overly surprised.

  “The King’s doing a lot of things like that,” she said. “Not only the whole social openness that he’s got going on, but I’ve heard that he’s trying to make sure the city stays secure at the same time. It’s not a bad thing for him to have an elite fighting force that’s loyal to him for more than money.”

  Lilly always seemed to have the answer to all the “why” questions.

  The next day was gloomy, the clouds rolling in and threatening rain and wind. Not a day to be out and about, looking for nuisances, but I was still feeling cooped up, so I went in anyway. The Board was full, telling me that most of the other Nuisance Men felt the same way about the weather as I did, only they listened to themselves and stayed inside.

  An Unhoused orc was on the Board who was accused of shaking down kids, and stealing their lunch money of all things. But that wasn’t the end of it. Once he did that, he was forcing them to show him where they lived and breaking in. He’d stolen money and goods, and in at least a couple of cases, hurt the kid pretty badly.

  My thoughts went back to Ronnie from the day before, and I resolved that when I was done with the orc, I’d pay a visit to the Winchell house.

  The orc was operating outside of Orc Town, which was pretty gutsy on his part. The family units had no use for those that were Unhoused, and even an organization like Tollerson’s would have gladly ended him on sight. That alone told me that this one thought he was really tough and untouchable.

  I set my gun to “orc” on the way there, and tried to time my arrival to when the kids would be heading to school. Sure enough, I saw groups of them walking along, most with a father or two hovering over them. Word got around.

  But no matter the danger, some people had no choice but to work, and couldn’t be there. Those kids all banded together, walking along, looking over their shoulders. I followed a group of them, staying on the other side of the street, so that I wouldn’t startle
them. It wasn’t long before an absolutely huge orc jumped out of an alley, and grabbed the kid in the lead.

  I fired as I ran across the street, pointing the gun up, so that the little, metal ball would hit the building behind the orc, and I wouldn’t accidently shoot any of the kids. Everyone jumped at the loud noise and the orc saw me coming, dropped the kid, and took off back into the alley.

  I ran after him, lowering my gun to take him in the back. I didn’t even feel the need to talk to him, not after what I saw. I’d take him out, go claim the money, and then let Sarge know that one more true nuisance was off the street.

  The orc was quick, and I hustled to stay with him. He dodged and weaved as he ran, getting through the alley, and bursting out into the street at the other end. To be honest, he was much faster than I was, and I was thinking that I might lose him, and have to start hunting him down, when someone stepped directly in front of him, blocking his way.

  The orc ran right into the new figure, and they both went down in a tangle of limbs and a muttered oath. I ran up, grabbed the back of the orc’s shirt, and dragged him up and off of the unfortunate who got in his way. He snarled and snapped at me, spinning around and wrenching his shirt from my grasp.

  But now I was ready, and it was child’s play to point, aim, and pull the trigger. The little, metal ball took him in the forehead, and he went down, dead before he even hit the pavement. No more kids were going to get hurt because of this guy.

  It was only then that I noticed who it was that stepped in front of the orc. Dabney was picking himself up from the ground, brushing the dirt from his uniform and smiling at me.

  “Did I do good, Mr. Grandfather? Did I help?”

  I could only stare at him, my mouth hanging open.

  “Dabney?” I finally managed to say. “What are you doing here? Why…”

  “I came to help. I’m going to be a Nuisance Man, too!”

  “You can’t…I mean…does your father know you’re here?”

  He looked down at the ground, his smile fading. “No,” he muttered. “He thinks I can’t do it. But I can! I can be a Nuisance Man! I helped you!”

  I rubbed my eyes. “Dabney. You can’t burst in like that. You could have gotten really hurt. That orc was dangerous!”

  “I know. That’s why I helped, so that you wouldn’t get hurt. That’s what Nuisance Men do, right? We watch out for each other.”

  “You’re not a Nuisance Man, Dabney,” I said, trying to be patient. “Maybe someday, but not yet. Now, go on home.”

  “Awww…man,” he said. “Can’t I stay with you and do some more Nuisance Man stuff?”

  “No! Dabney, you need to go home!”

  “Aww,” he said, and kicked at the ground. Then, with a last sullen glance in my direction, he turned and went.

  I collected my reward, and several thank-yous, for taking care of the orc and returned to the watchhouse. I let Sarge know that the job was done, and asked him to tell Lilly that I’d see her at dinner. Running into Dabney like that threw me off, and I forgot all about going to see Ronnie Winchell.

  The next morning, I woke to a pounding on the front door. It was ridiculously early, and Lilly and I were still asleep when it started.

  “You get it, Duke,” she said, rolling over. “It’s probably one of your messes.”

  I couldn’t argue that. Anyone Lilly dealt with knew better than to come knocking this early.

  I opened the door to find a massive figure filling it. Even in my still sleep-addled state, it only took me a second to recognize Captain Darvish.

  “Grandfather,” he rumbled. “General Daken would like to see you. Would you come with me?”

  “What? Why does he want to see me?” Then I remembered yesterday’s events. “Oh, crap. This is about Dabney, isn’t it? What’s he done now?”

  “I have no idea why the General wants you, or if it concerns Cadet Dabney. Will you come or not?”

  I rubbed my hands over my face, and looked down at myself, still in my pajamas.

  “I’ll be there shortly,” I told him. “I was still sleeping, so let me wake up and get dressed. Have a mug of coffee, then I’ll be there. That work?”

  He gave me a baleful look, then glanced at the sky, which was starting to lighten. The implication was clear. I was a lazy slug who wasted a good part of the day lying about, and should consider adopting a stricter code of behavior. On most days, he would have a point, but today, it was really early!

  Finally, he gave me a quick nod, then turned on his heel and stalked away. I watched him go, feigning nonchalance, but actually feeling somewhat worried. I was sure the General wanted to see me about Dabney, but why? Although my curiosity was peaked, I didn’t want to show Darvish that. His holier-than-thou ways were starting to get on my nerves. Or maybe it was that I was bound and determined to show him that I wasn’t intimidated by him. No matter how big and fierce he was. No, sir. Not me.

  I didn’t dilly-dally as I was getting ready. I went back to the bedroom and put my normal street-clothes on, telling Lilly that everything was fine and to sleep for a while longer. I didn’t even bother with the coffee, although I was sure I’d be regretting that decision pretty quickly.

  It wasn’t too much longer before I presented myself at the door in the East Gate wall, and was taken without hesitation to see General Daken. He was seated behind his desk again, and his aide admitted me, and left immediately, shutting the door behind him.

  “Grandfather,” the General began, “thank you for coming.”

  “No problem,” I replied. “What’s this about?”

  “Dabney, as I’m sure you’ve guessed by now. He’s gone missing.”

  I grimaced. “I knew it was going to be something like that. Since when?”

  “We’re not sure. He was gone yesterday, but came back later in the afternoon, very excited and eager to tell me about his adventure. He said that he was out helping you and that now he was a Nuisance Man too. At first, I was quite upset, and my inclination was to come find you myself and ask what the hell you were thinking.”

  He stopped, looking down at his desk for a moment, but then continued.

  “Then I remembered that it was Dabney, and that he always had a…how shall I say it…an active imagination? I wasn’t so sure it happened exactly as he was saying. He got upset when I told him that I was going to talk to you, and that he was grounded to the camp for the night. After he stormed off, I let him go, intending to speak to him later. But when I got to our quarters, he wasn’t there. Neither was his battle axe.”

  “Damn,” I said. “You were definitely right about one thing, though. I did run into him yesterday, but it didn’t happen exactly like he told you.”

  I filled the General in on what happened the day before, and how I sent Dabney home, telling him that no, he was not, in fact, a Nuisance Man.

  “I haven’t seen him,” I said, “so he didn’t come to me, not that I think he knows where I live. He might be somewhere in the city, looking for what he thinks are nuisances. That could be bad. There are some dangerous people out there. But, on the positive side, at least he’s got a weapon. That plus the reputation your people have, should help. At least, I hope so.”

  “Maybe. But reputation isn’t going to stop an angry ogre, or worse, a troll. Even Captain Darvish would think twice before taking one of them on by himself. And his weapon? It’s not…it’s not real. It’s a toy for young minotaurs to play with before being given the real thing.”

  “Oh, boy,” I said. “But Dabney thinks it’s real.”

  “Yes. Plus, he’s convinced that simply being a Nuisance Man means that you’re nearly invincible. It’s all the stories he’s heard since before we even came here, including about you.”

  “I’m assuming you have men out looking for him?”

  “Of course. But there’s been no report yet. I was going to ask you if you would simply keep your eyes open, and if Dabney came to you, to please bring him back to me.”

 
; “I’ll do more than that,” I said. “I’ll actively search for him. I don’t want to see him get hurt either.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Grandfather,” the General said. “That’s kind of you.”

  We shook hands again, and I headed back into the city, wondering how in the world I was going to find one solitary minotaur, who didn’t want to be found.

  Being a Nuisance Man does have its advantages, and one of those is working closely with the Watch. Some of us work better with them than others, but since Sarge and I were actually friends, I was confident I could ask him to have his officers keep on the lookout for Dabney. Being engaged to a high level necromancer employed by the Watch didn’t hurt either.

  I stopped by the watchhouse, told Sarge what I needed, and then stopped down to see Lilly and fill her in. Ever since my adventure in Underworld, we both got better at keeping each other informed when we could.

  Then I hit the streets again. I had no specific destination in mind, other than wandering around, hoping to stumble on him. It wasn’t a very good plan, but I did some of my best thinking when I was concentrating on something else. In this case, that meant not getting trampled by the varied and vast amount of people on the streets.

  I dodged and weaved my way through the foot traffic, stepping aside for the occasional horse-drawn carriage or coach that passed by, and thought. Dabney wanted to be a Nuisance Man, and to him, that meant he needed to go after the bad guys. But, he was brought up outside of the walls, and presumably didn’t have much interaction with those inside until recently. So, what would be his idea of a bad guy?

  He saw me not only chase an orc yesterday, but actually shoot it and kill it. It could be that he would think that all orcs were therefore criminals and head for Orc Town. But that didn’t feel right. It seemed like too much of a jump for him to make, plus there were plenty of orcs that didn’t live in Orc Town, both in large groups and smaller, more intimate family units.

  No, I didn’t think he was purposely heading there. But what else? Then it hit me. What if he was now convinced that those boys who harassed him, Ronnie Winchell and friends, were actual bad guys? It was conceivable that he would try to bring them to justice. And with only a toy for a weapon…