by Noah Layton
Morok paused again, looking fearfully at Santana, who was casually loading another bolt.
‘Look,’ he finally said. ‘If I tell you will you unbind me?’
‘Probably wouldn’t do you any harm.’
I smiled at him and looked over at Santana, the bad-cop.
‘Fine…’
I removed Morok’s binds. The moment I pulled the ropes away, all four of my wives pointed their weapons at him – crossbow, bow and arrow, twin-scimitars and an open hand, the last of which belonged to Elera, who was more than willing to launch a plume of icy frost at my command.
Morok already seemed more terrified of Santana than myself, so I took her with me back into the treehouse.
The goblin led us into the basement. We stopped at the bottom of the stairs.
‘You may wish to light a torch,’ Morok said. ‘The only natural source of light down here is that which flows through this entrance.’
‘Makes sense,’ I remarked. ‘If Werger was as careful about hiding his wealth as you said then it stands to reason that he would keep it hidden from any prying eyes, right?’
‘Not only that. He did not wish for it to be seen by the light of day. He wanted it to belong all to himself.’
‘Jesus, what a complex.’
‘Indeed.’
I produced a torch and ignited it.
Now illuminated, I saw that the interior of the basement was slightly larger than the treehouse floor space above us. The walls and ground were composed of wooden panels, while several beams stemmed from floor to ceiling, supporting the weight of Werger’s home above. A series of three chests lined the walls, some of which were surrounded by blue gemstones that shimmered enticingly as the flame of my torch cast over them.
The chests were all squat and heavy; their redwood panels were lined with metallic edges, their frames bolted into the inner structure.
On the latch of each sat a confident, bulky lock.
I crossed to one of the blue gemstones and picked it up. My knowledge of geology and jewel-crafting wasn’t exactly top-tier, but the unprocessed ores still excited me.
I picked up one of the gemstones and dropped it into my inventory, examining the name.
Bluestone x1
‘What is this stuff?’ I said, turning to Morok.
‘Bluestone? Not nearly as valuable as sapphire, despite the colour. It is, however, highly sought after for its sculpting properties. Many tribe sculptors seek to construct statues from it. After being processed it works rather well.’
‘And this is what your old master was stockpiling?’
‘See for yourself.’
Morok reached to his neck and rifled beneath the collar of his shirt, his slightly clawed fingers feeling for something. Santana and I instinctively reached for our weapons, but a moment later he produced a large, sturdy key and crossed to the nearest chest.
We exchanged a look and relaxed our grips.
Morok unlocked the chest and sank his tough, sharpened nails into the base of the lid. He strained and heaved to open it up, grunting so much that I was about to step in to give him a hand.
Finally he gained the advantage and tipped it back, exposing the contents within.
‘Apologies,’ he panted, ‘my strength is not what it used to be.’
Morok stepped back and held out a hand, beckoning me forwards. I glanced at Santana, who nodded at me reassuringly as she kept a tight grip on her crossbow.
Holding my torch before me, I stepped forward and examined the contents. It was filled with the very same bluestone that was lying on the ground around the chests, but as with every inventory item, I knew that wasn’t the full story. This was just a small representation of the true contents.
I tapped the wooden exterior, and the inventory screen appeared.
There were 50 slots in the chest, enough to match my own inventory space, and all of them were filled with stacks of the same thing.
Bluestone x5
‘Holy shit…’ I muttered, turning to look at Morok. ‘And you say this stuff is valuable? How much is it worth?’
‘That is where things become much more interesting,’ the goblin replied. ‘It is not the question of what it is worth, but who desires it. There are amateur crafters in Agraria who create small sculptures out of single bars, but this, as you can probably gather, is not intended for such individuals. Pockets are very difficult to find, and when they are found by enterprising individuals they are exploited for all they are worth.’
‘You seem to know a lot about this. You weren’t just down there to guard this stuff, were you?’ I asked suspiciously
‘That is why Werger hired me in the first place.’
‘So you really were Werger’s accountant?’ I smiled.
‘As I said, I prefer bookkeeper, but if that is what you would like to call it, then yes.
‘Where’s your tribe?’ Santana asked.
‘I was a part of one several years ago, but such a life does not appeal to me anymore. I can put my talents to much… Better use.’
‘So here’s the million-dollar question,’ I said. ‘Werger said that he was going to make a deal to take his tribe to the next level, which I assume means making himself very rich. I’m guessing that selling this bluestone to a willing buyer was the source of the coin he wanted to acquire. So, tell me; who was he going to sell it to?’
Morok’s sharpened teeth were exposed at the edge of his mouth as he grinned knowingly.
‘Now you are asking the correct questions,’ he smiled.
A few minutes later we were back outside in the dried dirt that surrounded the tree at the centre of the Gaalus Tribe’s old land. Alorion, my wives and I were all stood around Morok as he flicked through a ledger that he had retrieved from his inventory.
It was strange how agreeable he had become. He had gone from false bravery to cowardice to totally obliging.
But when I thought about it, the explanation was simple. He was terrified of us. His only lifeline had been lost.
That would make anybody agreeable.
‘Upcoming transactions… Here we are.’ He looked around at the six of us as we waited expectantly. ‘Could I perhaps borrow someone’s canteen?’
Lara pulled her own out and threw it to the goblin. He panicked to catch it, fumbling messily before it fell to the ground.
He shot Lara an embarrassed smile then kneeled to the ground, picked up the canteen and spread a few splashes of water upon the dirt.
He then searched around himself, finding a stick that he picked up by the end and then shook out, before directing its tip to the wet dirt.
‘This is us, the Gaalus Tribe-’
‘The Orakin Tribe now,’ I cut in. ‘I’ve just claimed this land, remember?’
‘Ahh, yes, indeed…’ he continued, making a small cross in the wet dirt. ‘And here is the land of the tribe in question.’ Another cross, around a foot away. ‘They are many miles west of Grayholde. From what I can gather my old master met them in some fashion, then struck a deal with them for the bluestone beneath his land.’
‘How much is he trading it all for?’
Morok checked his ledger, running a sharpened talon of a nail down the pulpy, rough-edged parchment before striking his finger against the bottom of the page.
’18,000GP. Well, 18,493 if you wish to be precise, but all the same…’
Morok fished about in his pocket and retrieved a small piece of torn parchment, then handed it to me.
18,493GP – 762 units of bluestone
I tried to hold my face, aiming to just move my eyes around in my head like a chameleon as I glanced over at Alorion and my wives. They all looked like they were trying to do the same, apart from Elera, who just seemed happy to be there.
‘That’s… Interesting,’ I said flatly. ‘When were they scheduled to make the trade?’
‘Four days from now at the peak of the sun, presuming my count of time while hidden in that basement was correct. They intended
to meet here.’ Morok returned to his mud-drawing and drew a third cross, slightly off-centre between the two symbolic locations. ‘There is a clearing in the forest west of here, just beyond Grayholde. That is what my old master told me, anyway.’
‘Werger didn’t take you there with him?’
‘I never went with Master Werger, I mean Werger, during his dealings, so I have no idea as to their nature.’
‘Right…’
That immediately set off alarm bells. So far I had only run into citizens of the land who were friendly – apart from Werger and his tribe – but I couldn’t help but recall what he had told me right before he had tried to kill me and I had driven my hidden blade into his neck
‘You might have this vision of yourself being the bountiful, democratic leader, but you need to get your head out of your ass and understand how this works. Otherwise you’ll end up in a cage just like all those idiots back at your tribe.’
‘So…’ I finished. ‘I think that’s everything I need to know.’
‘I’m glad I could be of service,’ Morok smiled.
‘I appreciate it. Which begs the question… What do we do with you, now that I have everything I need from you?’
Morok’s smile dropped like a rock as he looked up at the five of us. Hell, call it six – even Alorion looked like he was towering over him.
It was an asshole-move to gang up on him like this, especially considering how weak the goblin was, but the guy had greeted me by firing a crossbow bolt at my head, so I felt that a little intimidation was in order.
But I wasn’t just doing it for the sake of it – I had a plan.
‘You, uhh…’ Morok stammered. ‘What you should do with me?’
‘Well, yes,’ Santana said, shooting me a wink, and returning to Morok as he looked to her from the ground. ‘We have all the information we need. What else do we need you for, really?’
‘Well, you see…’ Morok stuttered. ‘You… You do need me.’
‘What for?’
Morok glanced around at us all before settling on me.
‘You! You need me. You are a tribe master, yes? I can handle your accounts and your inventory. Everything that you hold dear!’
‘You’re saying that you want access to all of the gold and valuable possessions I have when we only just met? And after you tried to kill me and my wives?’
Morok gulped.
‘I can understand why you would not trust me, but I am a loyal assistant. I will do my utmost to help you.’
I looked around at my wives.
‘I’ll think about it. But until then-’ I dropped to kneel before Morok, grabbing him by the collar of his dirty undershirt. ‘-If you put one toe out of line, I’ll see to it that my taurems have an extra meal to feast on… It’s you, by the way, if you hadn’t gathered that. Do you understand?’
The goblin nodded nervously.
‘Good. Now get out of my sight while I talk to my companions.’
He pulled from my grasp and scurried away to the other side of the tree
‘So, 18,000GP is on the table,’ I began. ‘This is a deal that we can’t afford to miss out on.’
‘Indeed,’ Alorion agreed. ‘It does present a number of problems, though, the main one being trust.’
‘You mean trusting Morok? He might be devious, but he’s damn terrified. His first priority is staying alive, and we can offer that.’
‘All the more reason to assume that he has no loyalty,’ Ariadne interjected. ‘The only reason he offered his services was to stay alive. If a better deal came along I have no doubt he would switch sides.’
‘I could not agree more,’ Alorion added. ‘But that is not the trust that I speak of. If this Werger-monstrosity was in the process of selling his bluestone to this tribe in the west, then as the goblin said they would have met at some point, perhaps on several occasions. My concern is what happens when we show up with the goods for trading and the leader of this tribe finds that you are not, in fact, the man who he made the original dealing with.’
I thought for a moment.
‘Shit…’ I muttered. ‘That’s a damn good point.’
‘Are we to assume that this other tribe will really care about our identities?’ Elera said. ‘I mean, I am no expert on tribal customs considering that I have never belonged to one, but what would it matter to this tribe master who is providing him with the goods? Surely he will just be happy to pay for this bluestone that he desires and to say farewell?’
‘That depends,’ Ariadne said. ‘Some tribes do not care about the occurrence of one tribe overrunning another. It is the way of life in many parts of the land. Others have a greater sense of loyalty. They may not be so forgiving about such an act.’
‘So we have no idea whether or not this tribe will do the deal and walk away,’ Lara said, ‘or if they will murder us all and then take all of our possessions.’
‘I hope it is not too bold of me to say,’ Alorion added. ‘But might it not be more beneficial for us to just take what we can and forget about this whole deal? We could even leave the bluestone at the meeting point so that they don’t come looking for it.’
‘But it’s 18,000GP,’ I said. ‘That’s enough to turn us into a powerhouse, to buy everybody in the entire tribe supplies and clothes, to fortify our borders with explosives and weapons, new livestock, horses, even furniture for our homes… I’m starting to see why Werger was so excited about this deal.’
‘Are we considering doing this?’ Ariadne asked.
‘Of course we are. It’s just going to take a lot of preparation. I’m not having us walking into a trap. But before we do that let’s ransack this place.’
Chapter Three
During most of my travels around Agraria I only brought one or two of my wives with me – it afforded us the opportunity to move fast through the wilds to get to wherever we needed.
The only downside to that approach was the lack of inventory space. Agraria’s digital interface afforded me 50 slots in which to store and stack certain objects that I needed to bring with me. It was handy when I stumbled on something rare or useful, or when I was trading, but it wasn’t ideal for when I stumbled across a haul of treasure.
But on this occasion, I had five of my companions at my side, allowing us 300 spaces in total, as well as the carts pulled by the horses.
But considering the likes of which was stored at the old land of the Gaalus Tribe, I wondered whether we would still truly have enough space.
After removing the flag from the centre of the land we got to work on stripping the place down to its bare bones. I had always heard it said that the winners of history were the ones who wrote the history books, and in ransacking the land I felt like we really were overwriting any evidence that another tribe had been here to begin with.
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it wasn’t a bad thing.
He was a slaver, and he would have done worse to us had things been the other way around; he wouldn’t have just wiped any evidence of my tribe from existence.
He would have put our heads on spikes as a warning to any outsiders.
With my ownership over the land set in stone and the area claimed under the name of my tribe, I was granted editing rights to the area.
I started with the perimeter fence. There was no time to start completing the unfinished project yet, but around 70% of it was already completed, which took a load off my mind. In the meantime I headed to the land’s Building Totem and selected the deconstruct option, removing any sections of the fence that had become dilapidated or had started to collapse.
It appeared that the old tribe master had spent more time worrying about harvesting the ores of the earth than worrying about the safety of his so-called citizens, hence the delayed progress in construction of the defenses.
After the fence was tidied up, a small stack of deconstructed wood sitting in my inventory as a result, I moved to the two houses that stood separate from the treehouse
on the land.
The first was the house that had stood above the basement where the fox-people had been held captive. With the deconstruct option open I stood by its side and shot Alorion a look. He shrugged at me, and I tapped the building.
Deconstruct Large Stone House?
Deposits: Wood x150
I hadn’t deconstructed anything this large before, and when I hit accept, a riotous shaking suddenly began.
Dust and dirt exploded out from the base of the house in obscuring clouds. Alorion and I backed away sharply and watched in awe as the wood panels that formed the house enveloped in on themselves like a scrap of parchment being endlessly folded.
The whole process took seconds, but the rumbling that it sent through the ground was a small price to pay for the time and effort it would take to do it by hand.
There was a chance that the vibrations through the earth would bring any nearby forest predators, but after killing a gigantic wolf not too long ago, the thought of anything smaller seemed like nothing in comparison.
The house finally condensed into a single wood panel that flew towards me. I would have jumped out of its way if I had time, but it flew so fast that if I blinked I would have missed it.
It disappeared as the end hit me.
I checked my inventory and saw the stacks of wood panels.
‘Well, that was easy,’ I commented.
‘Indeed,’ Alorion replied, then nodded down at the ground. ‘Now we just have to deal with that.’
I looked to the ground where the house had been standing seconds ago and saw the large, exposed, empty hole that had once acted as the cellar.
‘Looks like they built it by hand rather than using the system interface. I’ve never seen building basements or cellars as an option before. That probably goes for the one beneath the treehouse, too. We’ll be able to fill them in with dirt from the forest soon.’
We headed to the guardhouse and went through the same motions. The girls were busy removing the last things of value from the structure, and were stacking them outside for us to survey.
‘Three beds,’ Ariadne began as we met them, ‘some supplies of food, and the weapons and gold from the chests.’
