Wrack and Ruin

by Dave Willmarth

  Another pleasant development Max found at the way station was the minotaur clan. They had set up their large communal tents just outside the first wall on the north side. Already about half their number had pitched in to help build the outer wall, while others were busily constructing a pair of longhouses as more permanent shelter for the clan. Max greeted them warmly, and Gr’Tok administered their oaths. After a short meeting with the orc and dwarven leadership, and a consultation of the maps, a one mile square section of the forest north of the growing town was assigned to the clan. They were given rights to cut the lumber and/or farm as they saw fit. In addition, Max granted them a section of the land between the inner and outer walls, approximately one tenth of the land area there, to create housing, businesses, warehouses, whatever they needed.

  He was introduced to their master enchanter, and spent some time sitting with the elder minotaur who, even sitting down, was a foot and a half taller than Max, not counting his horns. After introductions were made, Max asked for something he’d greatly desired since his first trip to the orc city began. “I was hoping you could create a more… stabile and flexible communication device? We have the scrolls, which are great, but they are quite limited. In my…” Max paused, catching himself. He was about to say that in his world they had radios. Instead he went with, “In my dreams, we are all united, this town with the mine, with the outpost and the palace, in a network of instant communication. Something like a ring, or a necklace, that would allow me, for example, to contact you from wherever I happen to be, then contact Gr’Tok a moment later, then Glitterspindle at the temple.”

  The old enchanter, who name was Erdun, nodded his head. “I could create such an enchantment. It would require multiple… rings if that is your desired device, to be crafted at once, all included within the same enchantment in order to create the connections you desire.”

  Max’s heart skipped a beat. “What do you need?”

  “I’m not sure yet. I shall have to experiment a bit, test some materials. I do not know if metal would hold this enchantment better, or a gem of some kind.”

  Max immediately withdrew some of the gems he’d looted in his time on the new world. He handed the enchanter several emeralds and rubies, then produced a couple of small diamonds from the necromancer’s ring. As an afterthought, he searched that ring as well as his own inventory, and found a few ounces of mithril, the most enchantment-friendly metal he was aware of. The minotaur’s eyes widened at such a casual display of wealth and trust as Max handed them all over to him.

  “I will get to work immediately, Majesty.” the minotaur bowed his head.

  *****

  The following morning Max departed through the temple portal with the orcs who were going to take up residence in Stormhaven city. Redmane was there as usual, along with the guard captains and several other councilors, all of whom helped direct the newcomers. Erdun was among them, as was his daughter, both of whom carried humongous and heavy looking packs on their backs. Max asked Redmane to arrange a shop for the enchanter somewhere close to the palace, his first year’s rent to be free in return for his work on Max’s magical radio network. Max couldn’t emphasize enough the importance of real time long distance communication.

  He sent a message to both Dylan and Smitty, directing them to Erdun’s shop to receive whatever training they could. Dylan had an interest in the profession, while Smitty was always looking for new enchantments for the arrows gifted to him by Regin.

  The rest of the morning was spent with Redmane, working through the ever-renewing pile of reports on his desk. The first was an agreement with the mages’ guild for him to sign. They agreed to magically light the city streets, and maintain the lights for ten years, in return for the deed to a building of sufficient size to house a guild branch. Max signed it without hesitation, as well as invoice for Spellbinder and his mages, who were already in the process of lighting the palace, as well as installing some magical security measures. Max gulped when he saw the invoice amount, but Redmane assured him that the old dwarven mage had given them a good price. “I believe he is fond o’ you, Max.”

  “More like he is fond of how often he receives bottles of Firebelly’s from me.” Max grumped halfheartedly before handing the signed invoice to his chamberlain.

  Later in the morning, Max came across a page that made him pause. It was a crude stick drawing, featuring several figures, one of which wore a crown. Holding it up for Redmane to see, he asked, “Did Teeglin draw this? Why is it on my desk?”

  The dwarf shook his head, a wide smile appearing on his face. “That, Max, is a thank you note from the child of the goblin you set free.”

  “Drig?” Max took another look at the drawing, noticing that one of the figures standing near the one with the crown was clutching a crude square that had to represent the goblin’s box of meat.

  “Indeed. I must admit, Max… when you first brought those goblins to the city, I had serious misgivings. But I find as time goes on, I’m growing a bit… fond of the little rascals.”

  “They’ll do that to you.” Max grinned back at Redmane. “I think Regin feels the same. He told me himself to treat them well.” He looked around. “We need to get this framed and find a place to hang it. Maybe in the throne room, where people will see it and ask about it. This drawing, and the trial, will become a part of the history of this kingdom.”

  “I’ll see to it personally.” Redmane agreed.

  They broke for lunch, having handled nearly everything on the desk, and Redmane left Max to his own devices. He found none of his party in the dining hall, and wondered where they were, until he remembered he’d sent Dalia and Smitty to recruit the Blooded. With Dylan’s whereabouts unknown, Max decided to check out something that had been in the back of his mind.

  Checking his inventory to ensure he had some food and water, he left a note for Redmane on his way out of the palace. A quick trip through the portal, and he was standing in the outpost portal room.

  The day Regin had showed him the portal, he’d noted that there were several possible destinations already programmed into the pedestal. Since then he’d been pretty constantly distracted, and hadn’t come back to explore those options. But now that he had his kingdom running reasonably well, Max figured to spend the rest of the day finding out what other cities or destinations he might have access to.

  Using his key stone, he accessed the pedestals’s interface. There was the same list he’d seen that first day. He could connect to the Stormhaven, Darkholm, and now the temple was included in the list. Beyond that there were three other names on the list, none of which meant anything to him. Max cursed quietly at himself for not thinking to bring along Redmane or one of his advisors, someone who might recognize the names of these places, and give him at least some basic information. Instead he impulsive trip left him flying blind.

  He decided to keep it simple, and choose the first location on the list. The portal location was called Skytop, and that was it. Max chose that one and activated the portal. The instant it opened, Max gasped in awe. The view through the portal showed him an endless series of snowcapped mountain ranges stretching as far as his elven eye could see. Stepping carefully through the portal, he found himself on a stone veranda with a low stone wall. He quickly turned to confirm there was a pedestal on this side of the portal, then looked up, his mouth wide open.

  The veranda he stood upon was a small extension of a mammoth stone keep. Its towers rose ten stories above Max, its thick and imposing walls dusted with snow and ice. The small windows he could see were clouded over with ice as well. Stepping toward the boundary knee wall of the veranda, he discovered that he was perched halfway up the face of the castle itself. The view downward was a sheer stone wall that ended in a field of jagged boulders scattered on the steep mountain slope.

  Max ears picked up no sounds other the howling wind and his own footsteps crunching in the snow. Turning back toward the wall, he located a single door that led into the castle. Wa
lking slowly up to the door with his hands open and empty, he watched the windows above, expecting a cry of alarm or an arrow speeding his direction. Reaching the door, he rapped on it with his knuckles, the sound creating an echo around him. When after a full minute there was no response, he used the side of his fist to pound much harder upon the door, calling out as he did so. “Hellooo? Anyone at home?”

  A moment later the door opened, and a shaggy figure gazed out at Max. It stood maybe ten feet tall, and was covered from head to toe in bright white fur, with bright red eyes and two horns that curled outward from its forehead, reaching back over its skull. Max took a step back, his hand on his sword hilt as he Identified the creature.

  Caretaker Brombis

  Yeti

  Level: ??

  Health: ??

  Another being whose level was too high for Max to be able to see. Max cleared his throat when the yeti simply stared at him, making no aggressive moves. When he felt he could speak without his voice squeaking, he said, “Hello, my name is Maximilian Storm.”

  The yeti’s eyes unfocused, clearly peering at Max’s information for a moment. “Ah, yes.” The creature’s voice was surprisingly smooth and sonorous. “Regin mentioned that he had given you access to Skytop’s portal. I am Brombis, caretaker of the castle. It is a pleasure to meet you, King Maximilian Storm of Stormhaven.” The yeti bowed its head slightly, not breaking eye contact with Max. It didn’t need to, as even with its head bowed it was looking down at him.

  “Nice to meet you as well, caretaker.” Max relaxed, removing his hand from his weapon.

  “I would invite you inside to warm up, but I am afraid that is not possible at this time. I apologize for the inconvenience. When Regin informed me that you would be coming, he also gave me a message to deliver, should this particular situation arise.” The yeti took a deep breath, then shouted at Max in a perfect imitation of Regin’s voice. “Max! Go away! Yer not strong enough to ta make use o’ Skytop yet! Come back when ye reach level thirty or so, and bring yer people with ye!”

  Max took a step back at the unexpected volume of the message. As both yeti and chimera collected themselves, Max chuckled. “That was Regin alright. I guess he didn’t expect me to come exploring so soon.”

  “Indeed.” Brombis replied, smoothing the slightly ruffled hair on his chest. “My instruction were to deliver that message if you arrived at any level lower than thirty. And… if I may make a small suggestion?”

  “Of course.” Max smiled up at the imposing figure of the caretaker.

  “When you return, bring food. Lots of food. The pantries in the kitchen are dwindling. And it’s a long way down the mountain to find more around here. Were it not for the portal, one might starve here.” Brombis looked left, then right, as if to ensure no one was eavesdropping. “Just between you and me, I heard Regin mutter something about portal to Deepcrag, and watching you deal with the lich. I think he expected you would have done that before arriving here.”

  Max recognized the name as the last one on the list of approved portals. “I see. Thank you very much, caretaker Brombis.” Max reached into his bag and grabbed a dozen kabobs, and the same number of pastries. “Please accept this gift for your kindness.”

  The yeti’s nose was already twitching, and it quickly reached out its two massive hands, palms up, and accepted the gifts. Either of those hands could easily wrap all the way around Max’s head, and the two piles of gifts looked tiny in comparison.

  “Thank you, King Maximilian. These smell quite tasty. I shall treasure them.” The bowed its head again, slightly lower this time, then stepped back and kicked the door closed in Max’s face.

  Shaking his head, Max walked back to the portal and returned to the outpost. The moment the portal closed, he opened the menu again and selected Deepcrag. The portal opened again, but this time showed nothing but darkness on the other side. Max could make out a stone floor and walls in the darkness, but nothing else.

  “Just a bit of recon, to see if this really is where the lich is. And whether it’s the same lich that tricked Nogroz.” Max wasn’t foolish enough to try and take on a creature of legend by himself. But if he could get some intel before he brought his party back and risked their lives, well he had to try.

  Stepping through the portal he blinked a few times, adjusting to the nearly complete darkness. The portal behind him provided a faint light for about ten seconds, then disappeared. Max found himself alone in an empty stone room, clearly carved from the surrounding stone. The floor was smooth, and the walls were straight, if a little rough. The ceiling was set about fifteen feet above the floor, allowing Max to stand upright comfortably.

  The only exit from the room was a single open doorway, which Max had to duck his head to pass through. He immediately noticed that there was no dust on the floor of the corridor outside, suggesting that someone was maintaining it. The hallway stretched out in front of him for maybe thirty paces before it terminated in an intersection with a perpendicular corridor.

  With no other options other than to return through the portal, which Max was not yet ready to do, he advanced down the corridor. Just to be safe, he activated his natural stonetalon fade ability, then cast the Fade spell he’d bought from Josephine on top of that. He hoped the combination of the two, along with the darkness of the unlit passageways, would help to hide him from any predators or other foes he might encounter.

  Max reached the end of the first hall with no trouble, pausing to listen for a full minute before sticking his head out far enough to see around the corner. The next hall was clear in both directions, to his left coming to a dead end at another door about twenty feet away, and stretching beyond the range of his darksight as it rose upslope to the right. Hearing both Dylan and Smitty in his mind telling him to always go left, he grinned to himself and moved quietly toward the door. Unlike in the forests on the surface, Max had finally learned to move stealthily on bare stone.

  When he reached the door, he carefully leaned in and put his ear against it, listening for any sound on the other side. Hearing nothing, he stepped to the side of the doorway and reached for the handle. When he tried it the first time, it didn’t budge. Max looked at the rust on the handle, and decided to try a little muscle. Levering it downward, he forced it until something inside broke, and giving the door a good shove, he peeked around the frame as the door hinges squealed. The door swung open maybe halfway, and stopped, the hinges unwilling to give farther without more effort.

  The room beyond remained quiet, and Max stepped through the doorway. He immediately checked behind the door for any lurkers, his door-kicking training second nature by now. Then he systematically scanned the room for any threats as he shouldered the door the rest of the way open. One of the hinges popped, and the door listed slightly, but cooperated.

  He found himself in what he guessed was a guard post. There were a dozen wooden bed frames, sized for beings of human or elven proportions, in two rows near the back. A dark wooden chest sat at the foot of each bed, each of them with a padlock and hasp securing it. Between Max and the beds were three round tables with four chairs each, a couple of benches, a worktable with another much larger chest underneath it, and three weapons racks mounted to the walls on either side of the door he’d just entered.

  “Makes sense.” He whispered to himself, walking to the nearest rack. “There should be at least a delaying force guarding a portal, in case of unwelcome company. And maybe it was their job to collect tolls as folks came through?” Max was suddenly more interested in the contents of the chests. Based on the locks, it didn’t look as if whomever was stationed here took the time to pack before leaving. The weapons racks were mostly empty as well, with just four long spears with common steel tips, and a single wooden longbow with a rotted string.

  Max took a moment to close the door, as he was planning to make some noise. The hinges squealed, but didn’t fail any worse as he closed it, then leaned his halberd against the door so that it would fall if anyone
tried to enter, giving him some warning.

  Next he approached the chest underneath the worktable. There was evident that there had been some candles and parchment atop the table, but they had long since rotted into scraps. Bending to get a grip on the handles at either end of the large chest, Max dragged it out into the open. “Heavy.” He grunted as he got it moving. He took that as a good sign.

  Max took a moment to scan the tabletop, then the walls near the door, looking for a key ring. “No such luck” He shook his head when he found nothing. Taking a smithing hammer from his inventory, he took careful aim at the padlock, and swung. The metallic clang that rang out through the room made him jump, despite knowing it was coming. He looked around guiltily, waiting and listening for a reaction. When nothing happened, he took a second swing, this time breaking the padlock open.

  He quickly removed the lock and flipped open the hasp, then paused as he was about to open the lid.

  “If this were a game, this thing would totally shoot poison or something in my face when I open it.” Looking around, he went back and grabbed his halberd. Standing as far away as he could and still reach the chest, he held the weapon in one hand and used the tip of the end spike to push the chest’s lid open, holding his breath as he did so. Between the length of his own arm and the length of the halberd, he was nearly nine feet away from the box, but he was being as cautious as possible. He was also glad none of his party were here to see this.

  With a little extra effort, he managed to get the lid all the way open. Nothing exploded, no gas was visible, and the chest didn’t spout teeth and charge at him. Placing the halberd back against the door as he exhaled, he walked over and knelt next to the chest.