But here’s the thing. The feedback I get the most, the number one thing, is: where and how did Duke get the gun? It was that question that I decided to answer, and since Duke had it and was established by the time he met Lilly…I had no choice but tell the story in the past. Sorry about that.
When I first started writing these books, I had no idea where Duke got the gun, or even what it really was. Then, as I thought more about it, some ideas started to come to me. Enough that I started an entirely different book, more focused on the gun itself and its travel through the ages, from when it was made to when Duke got it. The problem with it was that it wasn’t a Duke Grandfather book! Duke wasn’t in it! Or at least, not until the end.
I still think it could be a good book, and I may write it at some point. But it won’t be as the third DG book.
And fear not, I’m also thinking that Lilly might deserve her own book. Lilly the Necromancer has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?
I’ve been influenced by a lot of past work when writing these books. That’s probably pretty clear to anyone who loves the genre. But there is one in particular that I wanted to mention. The chapter “Nuisance” is meant to be a homage to the wonderful book, “Silverlock”, by John Myers Myers. It’s one of my favorite books of all time and doesn’t have nearly the fame it richly deserves. If you haven’t read it, stop whatever you’re doing right now, and go do so. You’ll thank me.
As always, I want to first thank my beautiful wife, Barb, who encourages me and helps me out when I’m stuck, listens and corrects, and points out when I’ve used the same word too often. She is always right about this stuff, even when I argue with her at the time. Without her, none of this would be possible.
Also, thanks again to Joyce, Marty, Judi, Ben, and Rich for reading it and giving me honest feed-back. It helps more than they realize.
If you’ve enjoyed the story, please take a moment to leave a review, check out the website at www.jamesmaxstadt.com, and keep your eyes open. The next story may not be Duke, but there will most definitely be one.
Thanks for reading!
DUKE
GRANDFATHER
UNLEASHES
HELL
James Maxstadt
To all the fantasy readers, whoever you are.
Contents
THE SHIELD
DAY OF BLOOD AND FIRE
THE WOUND IN THE WORLD
AFTERWORD
WELCOME TO CAPITAL CITY!
Hello and welcome to Capital City, the home of Duke Grandfather and the world’s most diverse population. Glad you decided to join us.
The story you’re about to read takes place after the events described in the Duke Grandfather Saga. You’ll find a lot of references to things that have gone before as you read this, and if they fire up your curiosity, you can find all the stories in the previous books.
But you don’t have to. You can read it fine on its own. If you do enjoy it and want to read more, start with Tales of a Nuisance Man.
Oh, and don’t forget your free story, “The Crafting”, available by clicking the link at the beginning or end of this book.
Thanks for reading! Now, strap yourself in and get ready, as Duke Grandfather Unleashes Hell.
THE SHIELD
There's nothing like the feeling of waking up, the sun shining, the birds singing, and turning your head to see the most beautiful woman in the world lying next to you. Her hair in disarray, some of it sticking to the slight bit of drool that has come out of her mouth and onto her pillow. The little crust at the corners of her eyes, and the slight buzzing of her gentle snoring. It's a magical time, which was befitting such a powerful necromancer.
I don't know if it was her innate magic ability or some other sense that made her eyes flutter open right then. I watched her wake, coming around slowly, before I leaned over to kiss her good morning.
"Ugh," she said, covering her mouth with one delicate hand. "My mouth tastes like the bottom of a rat-man's cart. And your breath smells like it."
She rolled out of bed and walked to the bathroom, leaving me there staring at the place where a moment before my love had rested her head. Ah yes, mornings could indeed be magical. Just not this one, apparently.
#
"What's on the agenda today?" I asked around a bite of the toast I was using to mop up egg-yolk.
Lilly shrugged. "Not sure. I don't have anything big going on. You?"
It was the weekend, so Lilly didn't have to go into the watchhouse today, and I, being a free-lance Nuisance Man, had every day to make my own. It was one of the reasons that I stuck with the job.
"Nothing on my end," I said. "How about if we head to the Academy?"
Lilly's eye-brows rose. "The Academy? You? Why? Do they have an all-you-can-drink history of ale exhibit?"
My eyes lost focus for a moment at the thought of an all-you-can-drink ale exhibit, but, "No. Although that does sound great. It's something to do, that's all."
The Academy wasn't a school, in spite of its name. It was a museum, housing the finest art ever produced in Capital City and abroad. I was no huge art lover, but a lot of the stuff they housed was amazing. Plus, I heard that Brindar was going to be there as security for a new exhibit.
"They’re showing some of the things the dwarves found in the Deep. Brindar is on guard duty for the big opening, so I thought we could go say hello and offer a little moral support."
Lilly nodded. "Forgot about that, actually. Good idea. I can't believe the dwarves have been able to get further into there."
"From what I understand, it's still plenty dangerous. The Dokkalfar are still around and they've run into a few things even worse. But when they learned how to harness the power of that big chandelier it opened the place up. The Dokkalfar can't stand against it."
"Still, I can't imagine anyone living there."
“Brindar says that isn't the plan. They want to explore it, get anything they think is valuable or important out, and then close it back up. Expand Underworld in different directions."
"Dwarves are kind of weird, aren't they?"
I shrugged. "Eh, maybe. Who am I to say?"
Lilly gave a short laugh. "You’ve come a long way," she said. "Sure, let’s go to the Academy."
When we arrived a couple of hours later, there were long lines waiting to get in. An event like this is one of the great equalizers in Capital City. It brings out the old and the young, the rich and the poor, all mingled together. Well, maybe the young and old; the rich don’t do much mingling.
While the Academy was open to all, free of charge, there was a separate VIP entrance for "members and supporters". In other words, if you give large sums of money, you get to go in and see all the old stuff without having to dirty your shoes on floors that the underclasses have walked on first.
They say money can't buy happiness, but it can certainly buy preferential treatment.
Lilly and I were far from being members or supporters. If we were anyone else, or if this was any other exhibit, we would have been out with the nameless rabble, standing in line, waiting for our turn to shuffle through and look past the ropes at what the dwarves had brought out of the darkness.
But, we were who we were, and our good friend, Brindar, the dwarven, and so-far only non-human Nuisance Man, was acting as the head of security. All we needed to do was get to him and he'd let us in.
The problem was reaching him. The crowd filled the square in front of the huge, stone building that housed the Academy. People milled about, buying meats on sticks and cold drinks from the vendors wandering the crowd. Some examined the sculptures lining the outside of the square, depicting everything from a famous scholar lost in thought while a rat chewed at his toes, to a knight, holding an unclothed maiden tightly to him while fighting off a huge snake with the other hand.
I didn't know the stories behind those statues, or any of the others, but there were people who made a living studying them, and could tell you all about what the carved fi
gures represented.
I tried to politely push my way through the masses. My "excuse mes" and "pardon mes" did nothing. People either ignored me or purposely turned away, sure that I was someone trying to buck the line. Well, what could I say? Technically, I was. But Lilly and I had saved the entire city not very long ago, and I felt that deserved something. Getting in for a sneak peek at an exhibit seemed a small enough reward, but apparently, the bulk of the crowd felt differently.
We were pushed and shoved, unable to make any progress to the steps of the Academy. It was annoying, frustrating and on the edge of being infuriating. Then, after one large, obnoxious individual not only refused to step aside, but actually moved with us to block our way, Lilly had enough.
Normally, she was the one to get me to calm down, stop for a moment and think, or at least try to, as she was fond of saying. This time, her temper got to her.
She began muttering and her blonde hair started to lift from her shoulders and stick out in a corona around her head. It moved as if in a gentle breeze, though the air in the square was still. Her eyes turned black and sparks popped between her fingers, which she held up before her, twisted into weird patterns that didn't even look possible.
The guy blocking us paled and moved away quickly, pushing through the crowd. A few others glared at him in anger, then turned to see what he was staring at, and repeated his act. It spread from there, and moments later we had a clear space several feet wide around us. Lilly took a step forward, the crowd in front opened, peeled to the side and then slid back together behind us. As we moved, so did our clear space.
It didn't take long then for us to cross the square and climb the steps to the Academy, where we were confronted by several large, heavily armed and armored dwarves, who glowered at me from beneath their helms, and avoided looking at Lilly.
"I should take you the next time I need to get an audience at the Guild Hall," a rough voice said.
Brindar stepped between two of the guards. Coming up to about my chest, he was much thicker and more heavily muscled than me. At his hip rode Biter, his axe; his Ultimate Weapon that almost matched my own gun for power and potency. He was smiling at Lilly, and only lost a little of it when he glanced at me.
Everyone liked Lilly better than me, as it should be. But Brindar and I actually were close friends, ever since we were part of a team to clean out a nest of gargoyles in the Temple of the Good God. He was brave, fair, and deadly, and we had worked well together several times since then.
Lilly was equally as glad to see him and bent to kiss his cheek, which he took with good grace and a hint of a blush. He glanced at one of the guards, who was trying to keep his eyes straight ahead and the smirk from his lips.
"Something funny, Gundleson?" Brindar asked.
"No, sir," the dwarf replied. "Just wishing I was you for a minute there." He said it straight-faced and without the tiniest shift of his eyes.
I, and Brindar, were completely taken by surprise. Not Lilly. There wasn't much that fazed her.
She stepped to the guard and planted a quick kiss to his cheek as well. "There," she said. "Boldness should be rewarded."
As if on cue the other dwarves all stood straighter, cleared their throats and shuffled a little closer.
"Not a chance," Lilly laughed. "Now, Brindar, are you taking us in?"
"Of course," he said, offering her his arm. "The rest of you, get back to work!"
I shook my head as I followed them into the Academy. The good friend, trailing along behind.
The items that the dwarves brought out of the Deep were astounding. There were sculptures and reliefs that showed what daily life was like for the dwarves of ancient times. Not much different from now really, only with tools and equipment that weren't used anymore. Cups, bowls and plates carved from stone, some so delicate they looked like ceramic. Others were carved from large gems and sparkled in the light. There were weapons: mostly axes, maces, and hammers, but the occasional sword as well. All remarkably well-made and appearing as ready for use now as they would have centuries ago.
Dwarves excel when they craft things. From stone-work to metal, from pottery to smithing, dwarven work is unmatched by anything else, with only orcish coming close. The sheer number and quality of the artifacts was astounding.
"How much more is there?" I asked Brindar, not taking my eyes off the displays.
"Tons," he replied. "More than will get catalogued in my life time, and they've only explored the upper levels of the Deep. It goes on and on. But we won't go much further. Even if it is a legendary place for us, it's too dangerous. There are far worse things than Dokkalfar deep down. Soon enough, they'll close the gate again for good."
We walked on, Brindar giving us a private tour, well ahead of the first of the hob-knobs who were let in the VIP entrance. Unlike them, we were getting the real story, not the carefully prepared statements being recited at the others.
"There is something you guys should really see," Brindar told us. "After that, I need to get back to the front, but you can wander around as much as you want."
He led us to a display set off to one side by itself. The lighting was low and the sign simply read, "dwarvish shield". There was no further description or dates that it might be from.
The shield itself was different than any of the others we saw. While it was round, made of metal, and heavy-looking, the device on it was strange. The others had embossed emblems indicating what guild the bearer would have belonged to, or family crests, but on this one was a face straight out of a nightmare.
It leered from the center of the shield with bugged out eyes that were painted so vividly you'd swear they followed you around the room. The skin was a burnt reddish color and the black tongue which protruded from the mouth was forked. Sharp fangs hung down from the upper jaw, and the lanky hair lay flat against an almost pointed head.
For all its age it was in remarkably good shape.
"Oh, that's horrible," Lilly said, and shuddered.
"More than that," Brindar said. "I think it's like an Ultimate Weapon. I picked it up and it was like the feeling I get from Biter. Different, but similar, almost like..."
"Like evil?" Lilly finished for him.
"Yeah," he replied. "Different than anything I've felt before. Different from the Dokkalfar, the gargoyles, or even that thing at your wedding."
Lilly nodded, still staring at the shield. I did too, but turned away after a minute. It gave me the heebie-jeebies and I didn’t even touch it.
"Why is it on display, then?" I asked.
Brindar shrugged. "The powers that be wanted it shown, I guess. I don't have anything to do with the exhibits, just security, and that's only for today. After this, the normal guard captain takes over and I go back to Nuisance Manning." We looked at for a moment more, then, "Well, I need to get back up front. Take your time and enjoy the sights. I'll catch up with you for an ale later on."
He walked away, leaving Lilly and I to our own devices. She glanced once more at the shield, shuddered and turned away, looping her arm through mine. "Shall we?" she asked.
"It would be my honor," I said, and I led her back to the main exhibits, snagging two glasses of a high-priced bubbly kind of wine from a passing tray.
#
The pounding started bright and early the next morning. While the day before was a glorious slow awakening to any number of possibilities, today I was roused by what sounded like someone banging our door down. They’d be really sorry if they did. Not only would they answer to Lilly, but the basement full of pixies would be mightily irked, too.
Surprisingly, it was Brindar.
"It's gone," he said, without preamble as he pushed past me.
I opened the door fully to let him in all the way. "What's gone?"
"The shield I showed you. It's gone from the Academy."
"Maybe one of the bosses thought it should come off exhibit and..." But Brindar was already shaking his head.
"Come on, you think I didn't thi
nk of that? First thing I checked. None of them did and they're all very upset that it's gone."
“Didn’t you have security there overnight?”
“Of course, we did. Someone still got in without anyone noticing, took the shield and got back out. They didn’t take anything else.”
“Which means they were after the shield. Which means they knew what it was.”
Brindar nodded glumly. “And who knows where they are, now.”
“Let me go wake Lilly up. We’ll see if she has any ideas.”
She didn’t. After asking Brindar the same questions I had, to make sure I did it right, she walked back to our bedroom. “I’ll go in to the watchhouse and tell them to keep their eyes out,” she said over her shoulder. “In the meantime, you two hit the streets and see what you can find out.” She stopped and turned back. “Oh, Brindar. Who’s responsible for the collection? I might want to talk to them.”
Brindar gave her a name and told her where she could find him. Back at the Academy, getting ready for day two of the showing and still puzzling over how one of their prize exhibits had simply walked away.
Minutes later, she was out the door, Brindar and I following close behind.
We spent the day walking the streets, talking to anyone we could think of who might have information. Sometimes, the nuisances that end up on the Board are adept at hiding, and a good Nuisance Man develops a network of informants and friends. Those with their ears close to the street. They all came up empty. Not one of them had heard of the robbery, or of any sort of shield.
Our day was a total waste, and the only taverns we stopped in were those where we needed to check with possible news-gatherers. Honest.
Finally, Brindar returned to the Academy and I headed for the watchhouse, to see if Lilly was there yet.
“Hey, Sarge,” I said as I walked in.
Duke Grandfather- The Whole Story Page 85
