by Jamie Davis
The party and the rescued goblin steaders started down the mountainside heading to the forest below. While he walked, Hal looked up his stats and allocated his new attribute points and skill level.
He gave two more points to his brawn, trying to beef up his strength even more. It had helped him with his shield bash he was sure. He also added a skill level to his one-handed combat to round out the points he had to spend. Hal looked at what he had as he walked down the mountain. He was level three as a fighter and he thought things were going well so far. Now he just needed to work on getting some healing on his shield shoulder and his aching head.
Name: Hal Dix
Class: Warrior
Level: 3
Attributes:
Brawn: 20 — +6
Wisdom: 8
Luck: 24 — +8
Speed: 14 —
Looks: 8
Health: 68/92
Skills: Shield Bash - 1, One-Handed Combat - 2
Weapon proficiencies: Long Sword - 2, Crossbow - 1
Warrior Experience: 900/1200
Rogue Experience: 146,100/250,000
11
Once they reached the base of the mountain, they set up a temporary camp so they could see to their wounds.
One of the goblin rangers was near death and Anson worked on him for quite some time before they started back to the caravan camp by the river. Given how the ranger looked when Anson started on him, it was amazing he could walk at all to trek back to the river afterwards.
Anson spent some time with each of the steaders as well. All of the remaining adults had some injuries. Hal watched as the yellow glow of the monk’s healing magic flared again and again as he moved among the goblin farmers. When he was finished, Shalush declared they were ready to continue on to the river.
The return to the caravan camp took most of the night and it was near dawn when Hal and the others traipsed into the camp, their feet dragging in the dirt from exhaustion. Hal’s shoulder still ached and his head was throbbing. Brother Anson had told him to chew some willow bark and check in with him once they had all rested for a day back in camp.
Hal knew if he were seriously injured, the monk would have used healing magic on him. It was a sign he was not that bad off that he left the wounds to heal on their own.
Ghent welcomed them all back, having a few quiet words with Bilham before shouting for food for the returning party. They would stay in camp for an additional day to recuperate.
The whole camp cheered their return. Hal wanted to cheer with them but he was too exhausted. He could only think of curling up in his bedroll under a wagon and sleeping.
Hal got his wish and he slept without interruption for most of the day, waking on his own late in the afternoon. There was some commotion at the far end of the wagon circle and Hal walked over to see what was going on. He saw a procession of goblins of all sizes walking towards the camp. They all carried bundles and sacks.
As they drew closer, Hal realized they had brought a feast to share with the caravan crew as a thank you for helping to free their homesteaders. Ghent opened the wagon circle wider until it formed more of a half circle and fire pits and spits were erected to roast the fresh venison and other game the goblins brought with them to the campsite.
Soon, everyone was celebrating. Goblins and mercenary guards all engaging in games of strength and skill while they ate their fill from the bounty served from the rotating spits. Hal walked amidst the revelers and enjoyed a share of hearty food and fresh goblin ale, which was actually quite good.
Shalush, Ghent, and Bilham stood talking nearby, each with a tankard in hand and Hal approached them.
“How’s the shoulder, Hal?” Bilham asked. “If you need it, Anson will be refreshed enough in the morning to take a look at it.”
Hal rotated his shoulder and tried not to wince at the twinge of pain he felt. “It will be alright I think. I’ll make sure to check in with him tomorrow if I think it needs healing.”
“You were a good choice to bring along on the troll hunt,” Shalush told Hal. “You and your comrades helped us assure success. We would have lost most of the steaders if we had to wait for more goblin rangers to arrive.”
“I’m glad to be able to help, sir. I would never want anyone to be held captive by those creatures if I could do something to stop it,” Hal said. “I do have a question. What is driving them down into your valley if they know you’re settled here and will fight them to hold it?”
“The Emperor’s soldiers have displaced many of the non-human tribes from their lands closer to the eastern and northern cities,” Shalush said. “That has pushed many to flee and try to settle elsewhere. The trolls have not always been our enemies. They are only seeking their own safe haven to raise their families. In any case, they cannot live here, though. We have shown them that much.”
“Shalush,” Bilham said. “You mentioned something about blood sport and the eastern cities. Has the Emperor opened up the fighting pits again?”
“That is the rumor, my friend.” Shalush shook his head in disgust. “I have heard reports that the wardens of the eastern cities are holding mock battles between goblins, orcs, and trolls all fighting condemned humans in the arenas. It is something we thought we’d never see again in our lifetimes. We thought we had created an understanding with our human neighbors about such horrific sporting events for their entertainment.”
Hal struggled to understand.
“You mean in the east they have human gladiators fighting goblins and other humanoids for the spectacle of it? That’s horrible,” Hal exclaimed. “How could any civilized person sit still for something like that?”
“Because we’re not all as civilized as you might think, Hal,” Bilham said. “We all have a savage hiding inside of us. It’s the savage we let peek out when we have to go and fight against others for what is important to us. You let the savage inside you out when we charged into that troll cave up in the mountains. It’s a good thing you did, too, else you’d be dead. The savage keeps us alive when all else fails.”
The old soldier pointed out at the night’s darkness surrounding the camp. “The savage fights for your family and for good friends that will stand and fight alongside you. Friends you may not even expect, like Shalush here.”
“I am not sure that is the compliment you intended it to be, my friend,” Shalush grinned.
“Quiet, I’m trying to explain something about life here,” Bilham shushed his friend with a smile splitting his face.
“I think you’ve had a bit too much ale,” Shalush said.
“Nonsense, we are safe here.”
“Safe, we are,” Shalush said. “But you are going to have to lead these men again in the morning when you depart. Let your wisdom stand for now and come with me. My wife wishes to show you our youngest and thank you for keeping me alive again.”
The two unlikely comrades left Hal standing there looking outward at the camp’s perimeter. He thought about what Bilham had said.
Did he have a savage hidden somewhere deep inside himself that he let out when he was in a fight? It was not something he’d considered before, not the least because he was just Hal Dix, a management trainee and cubical warrior at best. He was not some warrior of legendary accomplishments.
Footsteps alerted him to someone approaching. Turning Hal saw Tinna and Garth standing arm in arm walking his way.
“Hello, you two,” Hal said. “I didn’t know the two of you were together.”
Garth smiled at Tinna and she laughed.
“Neither did we,” she said. “Strange how things work out.”
“We were hoping you could take my shift on sentry tonight so we could spend some more time enjoying the festivities,” Garth said with a wink. “You can do that for us, right?”
Hal smiled.
“Of course. Enjoy away. I’m finished celebrating for now anyway.” His thoughts were on Mona and Cari back home.
Seeing all the goblins with their children
and families close by them made him wish for some home time with his loved ones. He knew he’d see them soon enough. First he had to find Kay and bail her out of whatever trouble she was in. Then he could return home to what was important.
Garth and Tinna wandered off together into the tree line and Hal went to gather his gear so he could take his post on sentry duty. The caravan would start off on its journey again in the morning. Tonight, he’d settle in to a shift of guard duty and then to bed around midnight.
The caravan plodded onward after leaving the valley of the goblin clans. The entire caravan crew was in excellent spirits for days afterward. The grind of the journey east soon settled in again, though.
After the valley of the goblin tribes, they entered an arid plain of scrub desert with a few scattered oasis towns along the way. These towns seemed to serve only as way stations for the caravans that traveled through, offering water and fodder for the horses.
“If we didn’t have our safe passage through the goblin lands, we’d have swung south from Tandon and hit a much longer stretch of this desert on the traditional caravan trails,” Burt informed Hal in a rare instance of conversation. “As it is we still have to travel through this gods-forsaken place for over a week.”
After the second day of traveling through the dusty wasteland, Hal could understand why Burt was glad they only had to travel through this place for a week or so. He felt like he was covered from head to toe in reddish-orange dust from the surrounding desert. Hal couldn’t imagine grinding through this type of landscape for an additional two weeks.
Even with the fight against the bandits and the diversion to take on the trolls, the trip Ghent’s caravan had taken was much easier. There was a definite advantage to Ghent’s agreement with the goblin tribes for safe passage.
By the end of the weeklong trek through the desert plain, Hal’s only thoughts were of taking an honest to goodness bath and trying to get the orange dust washed from his pores. He was sure he had turned into looking like some sort of armored Oompa Loompa from the old Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie.
On the edge of the desert plain sat a shining city, though. It was one of the great cities of the east and Hal’s final destination. Hyroth was one of the Emperor’s earliest conquests and was considered one of the most loyal cities of the Empire.
Hal’s first view of it was a dim glow on the horizon at night when they were camped for their last night in the desert. He asked Burt what the source of light was and the wagon’s driver laughed.
“You ain’t seen a real city, lad, if all you’ve seen is Tandon and the like. Hyroth makes Tandon look like a country village by comparison. You wait and see. You’ll get the idea as we get closer.”
“You mean that glow is the lights of the city on the horizon? If it was that close, why didn’t we just push onward and camp there this evening?” Hal asked.
“Distances are deceiving on these desert plains. Something can look close enough to walk to in a few hours and turn out to be a day’s travel away. You have to be careful or you’ll end up walking yourself to death trying to reach something that is days away from where you started. Ghent knows what he’s doing. We’ll be camped outside Hyroth’s walls by the end of the day tomorrow. Then you can see what a real city is like.”
Hal rolled over pulling his blanket up against the surprising chill of the night air here in the desert and stared at the glow lighting up the horizon. Tomorrow he’d reach Hyroth. Then his quest to find Kay could begin.
12
The end of the following day found them in a huge caravan camp with at least a dozen other caravans spread out around them. The whole area was patrolled by guards provided by Hyroth so Ghent gathered them in and paid them their wages. Hal, Tinna, and Garth were all awarded an extra portion of silver as a reward from their goblin hosts back in the river valley.
“The caravan will remain here while I conduct my trade for five days,” Ghent told them after he’d paid them for their services. “Those of you who wish to hire on for the return trip, be back here in four days to sign up, otherwise I’ll hire on replacements for any of you who decide to move on to other pursuits. Best of luck to you and don’t spend all that silver in one place.”
Hal tucked the weighty pouch of silver into his belt beside his other pouch and walked over to Garth and Tinna. The two of them were standing together looking up at the city.
“So, what say we head into the city and see the sights together?” Hal asked. “I’ve never been here before. I could use some companions.”
“Makes sense to me,” Tinna said. “I’ve never been here either.”
“Well, then, let me be your guide to the wonders that serve to delight the eye and lighten your purse in the city of Hyroth,” Garth said.
“You’ve only been here once before,” Tinna said, laughing. “That makes you the expert?”
“It makes me more of an expert than the two of you.”
“Fair enough,” Tinna laughed. “What do you think, Hal? Should we trust ourselves to this one’s sensibilities in the big city?”
“What do I know? He’s your boyfriend. I say lead on. The city awaits.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Tinna said. “We’re comrades in arms, that’s all.”
“Comrades with benefits is more like it,” Hal joked.
“What’s wrong with that?” Garth remarked. “We enjoy each other’s company, that’s all.”
Hal held up his hands in surrender. “I never said there was anything wrong with it.” Hal lowered his hands to flourish in a bow. “Please, kind sir, show us the big, bad city that awaits us.”
Tinna laughed and Garth soon joined in. The three of them linked arms and strolled into the city, their purses full and the rest of their possessions in the packs on their backs.
Hal knew this was likely how Kay had entered the city on her trip here. He’d have to keep his eyes open and watch for the few landmarks and places she mentioned in her few communications with Duke Korran.
Burt had been right to describe Hyroth as a city on a whole different level than Tandon. The city sprawled on the banks of a great river, spanning it with three large stone bridges joining the two city halves together.
The caravan and harbor districts lay on one side of the river and encompassed the region where most foreigners lived. On the far side of the three bridges were the merchant and temple districts as well as a large government district centered around a great palace where the Emperor’s Warden for the city of Hyroth lived when the Emperor wasn’t in residence.
Garth led Hal and Tinna up to the city gates where the city guards stopped them and charged them a silver piece each to peace bond their weapons. This entailed twisting wire around all their swords and daggers to hold them securely in their scabbards and making them unstring their crossbows.
The peace bond wouldn’t hold for long if you really wanted to draw steel on someone but when the guard arrived, you’d never be able to twist the wire back into the intricate knot used to tie it originally and then you’d be picked up for violating the peace of the city. Garth impressed upon them that any disputes were usually settled with fists in the city. No one wanted to be caught by the guard with a broken peace bond.
Once their weapons were dealt with, Garth took them down a broad avenue filled with stalls selling everything a person could think of. There were food vendors offering various local delicacies and roasted meat on sticks for passersby. Clothing and armor vendors were prevalent, too, though Hal didn’t see any weapon smiths and remarked about it to Garth.
“There is a marketplace for sword smiths and the like outside in the caravan camps,” Garth replied. “Inside the city, only the very wealthy may purchase weapons and they do so in private auctions and sales out of the public view. People in the city, especially visitors are discouraged from selling or buying weapons. It’s why our own weapons are peace bonded.”
Hal supposed it made sense given the fact the city was once conquered by the E
mperor. It would make it much easier to pacify a city this size if you put limitations and required peace bonding on any weapons carried openly.
Once they passed the immediate market place that sat inside the city walls, the avenue opened up into an area of taverns, inns, and brothels. All these establishments were organized to separate recently arrived caravan guards from their hard-earned silver, Garth told them. He led them deeper into the city to another neighborhood of craftsmen of various types. There were silver and gold smiths, jewelers, metal workers and craftsmen of wooden furniture and tools. It was here that Garth told them they could find a reasonable inn for the night.
The sign outside the inn he brought them to showed a man wearing a crown in a bed. The words below the sign read Noble’s Rest.
“It used to be the King’s Rest but the owner changed the name after the king was deposed by the Emperor,” Garth told them as they went inside.
“A wise move by the proprietor,” Tinna remarked.
The interior of the inn and tavern was bright and well-lit with lamps. A broad woman in an apron bustled over to them.
“Hello, how may I help weary travelers like yourselves? Would you care for a drink and something good to eat? We have a wonderful goat stew the cook just made up for dinner.”
“That will be fine, mistress,” Garth said. “We have been on the road a long time and would like to eat something more than camp rations.”
“Well, you all sit yourselves down and relax. I’ll get you three plates of the stew and some bread to sop up the juices. Will three ales do for you or would you like something a little harder?”
“The ales will be just fine for now, thanks,” Tinna said.
After the innkeeper left to get their food and drinks, Hal sat down with the other two at a small square table.
“I have a friend I’m supposed to try and locate when I get here, Garth,” Hal said. “I don’t suppose you know where a local caravan guard would hang out were they to remain in the city after their caravan moved on?”
