Wrack and Ruin

by Dave Willmarth

  “I went to the palace, and the dwarf with the white hair told me to try this bakery.” Blake deadpanned.

  “Har har.” Max shook his head. “How did you find Stormhaven?”

  “Wasn’t that hard. I saw the notification when you became king. The gnome city has a portal, but they charge friggin fifty gold to use it, unless you’re on city or guild business. I did a bunch of quests that paid me a few silvers here and there, and raised my rep with the guild, but it was taking forever to earn gold. Finally I saw a quest on the board at the mages’ guild for apprentices willing to work to recharge the mage lights in Stormhaven. It’s considered a shit job, and apparently nobody wanted it. But I snatched it up, and the guild paid for me to take the portals here.”

  Max couldn’t help but smile. One of those unintended consequences of his Sovereign class that Red had mentioned. He’d made the decision to hire the guild to light up his city in order to make things better for his people, and that choice had brought him one of his closest friends. Wolf three had been with Max when they had both served their country, and made the transition to being private soldiers with him.

  “I tried to carry you out after you got hit.” Max said, preparing to apologize for getting Blake killed. “Dylan and I were running you to the rear, and you took a round in the back. Then a mortar took out Dylan and I a few seconds later. I’m sorry, man.”

  The gnome’s eyes became fierce. “You saved me, boss. I did take a round to the back, but my back plate mostly stopped it. And you protected me from the mortar round, though my legs got torn up a bit. When I woke up, the medics were workin’ on me, and there wasn’t much left of you, or anybody else.” He paused and took a deep breath.

  “They medivac’d me out. I lost a lot of blood, and was in pretty bad shape. My arm was toast, and the round to my helmet rung my bell pretty good. But the moment we landed at base camp, I ditched the medics long enough to put a few rounds into that asshat Lagrass.” His face was grim. “He totally set us up for that ambush. I saw it on his face. Before I shot it off.”

  “Hell yeah!” Max pumped a fist in the air. “One of my biggest regrets has been not being able to make him pay for that. Our whole unit, wiped out…” Max shook his head. “So, what? Did they put you in front of a firing squad? How are you here?”

  “Nah, it took all I had to get to that shitstain’s office and put him down. After that I just blacked out. The next thing I know I’m doing the whole reincarnation or Valhalla thing.”

  “Well I’m damn glad you chose to come here, corporal! And I’ve got some good news. Dylan and Smitty are here, too! Wait till you see them.” Max got to his feet. “In fact, let’s go find them right now! We were about to leave to do some exploring and grinding in the morning. You want to join us?”

  “Hell yes!” Blake grinned, following Max out of the shop and through the inner gate. The moment they reached the courtyard, Max tilted his head up and roared, “Corporal Dylan! Corporal Smithfield! Report!”

  Blake chuckled as they waited, watching the doors of the palace. His eyes widened when Smitty came sprinting out, half dressed, struggling to pull on pants as he moved. Max smacked his forehead and looked down at Blake. “Shit, I forgot. Smitty’s a newlywed, still on his honeymoon.”

  Blake’s mouth dropped open when Dylan came charging out in his massive ogre form. He came to a thundering stop in front of Max, shield and axe in hand, looking around. “What’s wrong, boss? We under attack?”

  Blake shook his head. “Sheesh. You slip into a gnome body and nobody recognizes their long lost brother war dog!”

  Both corporals froze, looking down at the gnome. Max chuckled as he watched them struggle to identify him. “Gentlemen, Wolf three has rejoined the pack!”

  “Holy shit! Blake!” Dylan reached down and scooped up the gnome, tossing him into the air like a toddler. “Damn man, look at you!”

  Smitty, smiling widely, was more circumspect. “Dude. A gnome? Your whole body is now smaller than your pecker was on Earth!”

  “Heh.” Blake laughed, despite being tossed upward again by the ogre. “Biggunz? That’s classic, my man!” When Dylan caught him and was about to throw him again, he added, “Dylan if you throw me again I’m gonna piss all over you.”

  The ogre halted mid-throw, then gently set Blake on his feet. Sounding slightly hurt, he said “Sorry, man. I was just really glad you’re here.”

  Blake walked over and patted the ogre on the knee, which was as high as he could reach. “I know, big fella. I feel the same. Been hoping more than just Max chose to be here.”

  “Okay, enough lollygagging around here wasting time!” Smitty pointed in the general direction of the tavern. “We’ve got some drinkin’ and catching up to do!”

  Dylan looked down at Blake, holding out is hands as if to a child. “Wanna ride on my shoulder?”

  “I will cut you.” Blake backed away. A blade appeared in his hand as if from nowhere.

  “Cool! How’d you do that? Do it again!” Smitty began walking backwards, watching.

  Blake made the knife disappear, then reappear. “It’s a spell I learned, called Conjured Blade. I can make it appear out of thin air, anywhere within ten feet of me.” The knife disappeared, then reappeared an inch from Dylan’s nose, making the ogre go cross-eyed. A moment later it disappeared again, and reappeared behind him, poking him in the butt.

  “Okay, okay! I get it. You can walk. Sheesh.” Dylan grinned at the little gnome. “Small stature, big temper.”

  “And don’t you forget it!” Blake recalled the knife and followed Smitty out the gate.

  Chapter 19

  Morning came way to early for the Battleborne among Max’s party. They had left the tavern late, the proprietor keeping it open past normal closing time for the king and his friends. They had stumbled back into the palace, Blake riding atop Dylan’s shoulder, and fallen asleep on the floor in Max’s study. The thick carpet was more comfortable than a lot of places they’d all slept. Even Max had managed to get drunk, despite his genetic gifts.

  They were awakened by the door slamming open, and a bright, cheerful Teeglin rushing into the room. “King Max! Knock knock!”

  “What?” Max shook his head, his mind and his tongue both fuzzy.

  “Nooo! You’re supposed to say, ‘who’s there?’ after I say knock knock!”

  “Who?” Max stared at the little girl.

  Teeglin looked at Dylan, who was sitting with his eyes closed, taking deep breaths. “Dylan, did you not teach King Max about knock knock jokes?” This caused all four soldiers to chuckle.

  Max took a deep breath. “Okay, sorry Teeglin. Just woke up, and I wasn’t ready. Try again.”

  “Knock knock!”

  “Who’s there?”

  “It’s me! Teeglin!” The little girl clapped her hands and hopped once in excitement.

  Max opened his mouth, then shut it again. He was trying to decide if he’d missed something, when Smitty swooped in. “That was a very good try, little princess. But we need to work on our knock knocks a little bit.” He picked her up and carried her out of the room, quietly trying to explain where she went wrong.

  Max exhaled, collapsing back onto the carpet. “I thought for a minute there she outsmarted me.”

  This got a snort from Blake, and a groan from Dylan. Red appeared on his chest, and asked, “Did she not do it right? These knock knock things seem complicated.”

  Dylan and Max howled with laughter, holding their heads as Blake hopped to his feet, pointing at Red. “Who’s that?”

  “Oh, shit. Blake, meet Red. She’s a leprechaun, and soulbound to me as my guide. Nobody but us and Dalia can see her, so please don’t react to her shenanigans in public. Which reminds me, I suppose we should let Nessa know about you, too. And Redmane.”

  “What about Redmane?” The dwarf asked, walking into the room and frowning over his king lounging on the floor.

  “Redmane. Uhm, there’s somebody we’d like you to meet. Her
name is Red, and she’s a leprechaun. She’s been with me from day one, as my guide here on this world, and has been invisible to everyone but us Battleborne. With my recent level increases, she can now make herself visible to a select few. I’d appreciate it if you’d keep her existence a secret.”

  Red appeared in the air a couple feet in front of Redmane, who leaned back for a moment, then smiled. “That actually explains a lot, Max. My fellow councilors and I, along with the guard captains, were wondering if you were fully sane. You’ve been seen quite a bit talking quietly to yourself, or staring off at odd directions and appearing to be listening to something.”

  “Ha!” Dylan managed to get to his feet, if a bit unsteadily. “I can attest that Max is definitely not quite sane.”

  “I second that.” Blake added. “And always nice to meet a fellow redhead, Red.” He grinned at her.

  Redmane looked at Max’s condition, then those of the others. “I take it ye celebrated the arrival o’ corporal Blake last night?”

  “We did.” Max grinned. “Please extend my apologies to the tavern owner, whose name I can’t seem to recall right now. We kept him up past his bedtime, and I probably forgot to pay him.”

  “Do you still intend to travel to Deepcrag today?” Redmane’s voice was full of judgement. After all, dwarves could drink all night, then hop up and fight all day with no sleep.

  “We do.” Max nodded his head, then regretted it. “Possibly a little later than we originally planned. Could you… escort Blake down to the treasury and help him pick out some useful gear? I’m going to go wash my face, possibly throw up.”

  “As you wish, sire.” Again, more judgement. Max tried to detect whether his chamberlain was just messing with him, but simply didn’t have the brainpower right then.

  An hour later the party was assembled in front of the portal. Dalia and Nessa had been ready and waiting impatiently at their original appointed time. Max completely threw Blake under the buss. “My apologies ladies, another of my corporals showed up last night, and I’m afraid he’s a bit of a drinker. Wasn’t fit for polite company until just now.” He winked at the two ladies, grinning shamelessly.

  Blake bowed to them, a little unsteady as he straightened up. “I’m Blake, nice to meet you both. Max told me all about you last night, though he was pretty drunk, so I’m not sure any of it was true.”

  Dalia snorted. “Ha! If ye managed to get Max drunk, I think we’ll get along just fine.” Nessa merely nodded her head in acknowledgement of the greeting.

  Introductions made, Max moved to the portal and dialed up Deepcrag. They all passed through the portal, Teeglin and Redmane waving at the them as it closed.

  Max led them to the guard room, and was pleased to see that the merchants hadn’t looted the dozen chests there. He pointed them out to Nessa, who quickly unlocked them one after another, leaving Smitty and the others to open them.

  The loot was disappointing. There were a few silver coins, even fewer gold. Lots of personal items like clothes, carved figurines, belt knives, and the like. Nothing worth carrying away. They left the items where they were, closing but not locking the trunks. Anyone desperate enough to take those items was welcome to them. They briefly explored the room behind the hidden door, but it was nothing but a storage room filled with broken crates shattered glass.

  Max then led them down the long corridor to Deepcrag. Here they found some signs of life. Twenty guards were either patrolling or resting at two locations. The dark elf had apparently found his family’s old home and claimed it, a large three story home with a small courtyard behind a wall with a pedestrian gate. And they’d claimed a medium sized warehouse near the outer wall, just as they’d promised. Dylan took a moment to question one of the guards, who informed them that the main group was currently in the gnome settlement.

  They explored the city a bit, walking the empty streets, sticking their noses into doorways here and there. The fact that it had last been a human-run settlement meant that they could read what few signs still remained on the buildings. After an hour of touring, they made their way into the inner keep, and the palace. They all exclaimed over the size of the hole in the entry floor, then spread out to explore the rest of the castle. Like every other building, the palace had been fully looted long ago. The rooms were empty, the walls bare.

  While they explored, Redmane had organized and sent through the portal a force of fifty guards, mostly orc volunteers. There was some tension from the merchant guards when the orcs marched across the bridge, but they quickly figured things out. Max greeted them at the palace doors, and invited them in. “For now, you’ll all stay here at the palace. I’d like at least three guards on this hole at all times.” He pointed at the floor. “If whatever made this comes back, don’t try to fight it. Just shout really loud to warn everyone, and get out of the way.”

  This earned him some laughter from the guards, one of whom was Lo’tang from the arena. “Lo’tang, I’m glad to see you again. Are you leading this bunch?”

  “I am, King Max.” Max was glad to hear he’d dropped the chimera king title. “And I have a few questions.”

  “Shoot.” Max replied, then when he saw the confused looks on the orcs faces, he amended it to “Go ahead.”

  “How long will we be here?”

  “Well, a week or so, at least. I’m planning to build this place up just like Stormhaven, but it will take time to recruit new residents. Especially since I haven’t yet filled my capitol city.” Max paused. “Of course, any of you who’d like to settle here are welcome to do so.”

  “Could we bring our families if we settle here?”

  “Lo’tang, do you believe I would force you to separate from your family for more than a short tour of duty?”

  “No, King Max. But it is best to ask, rather than assume.” Max couldn’t argue with that.

  “Your families are welcome to join you wherever you choose to settle. If you decide to bring them here, and see a house or apartment that you like, I happen to know the landlord.” He winked at Lo’tang.

  “Thank you, King Max. What are our orders?”

  “Close the gates, defend this place against any hostile visitors. If you need them the merchant guards are required to help you fight. If you can’t hold, send a runner back through the portal. And if absolutely necessary, you can retreat down this hole and find a place to wait for us to find you.”

  “We brought two weeks’ rations, will that be enough?” Lo’tang patted his belt pouch, which was a storage device.

  “We’ll be back in a week, maybe a little more. If you begin to run low on supplies, send someone to Stormhaven for more. In fact…” Max pulled out a sheet of parchment and a quill set. Sitting on a step, he wrote a quick note to Redmane. “We might as well start bringing through volunteers and supplies.” He looked up at Dalia. “Give me your portal key, please?”

  “Not necessary, King Max. Redmane gave me this. It works only between this portal and Stormhaven.” Lo’tang held up a portal key.

  “Ah, good.” Max handed him the note. “Send someone back with this. Keep an eye on things here. If the merchant guards misbehave, straighten them out. Same goes for any new residents who show up.” Max looked at the imposing orc warriors around him. “Any of you who wish to send messages to your families, send them with the runner. They can be forwarded on to wherever they are. I’ve requested some cots and other basic furniture, but until it arrives I’m afraid you’ll have to sleep on the floors.”

  His business in Deepcrag handled, Max led the others out of the city. They headed in the direction of the gnome settlement. The merchant’s guard had pointed them in the right direction, a tunnel exiting the main cavern to the north. The group set off at a jog, not wanting to take a whole day reaching their destination. With his new boots, Dylan was surprisingly able to keep the pace for quite a while before his endurance flagged. Likewise, Blake surprised everyone, his tiny gnomish legs pumping away under his robe. Even with stops every half h
our for their less agile party members to catch their breath and recover, they made very good time.

  Once in the tunnel they were able to follow the tracks of several wagons that the merchants had brought along. Nessa took one sniff of a pile of boar droppings they encountered, and declared the merchant caravan to be three days ahead of them. Max was hoping to catch them before they finished their business in the town and returned.

  Though the caravan ahead of them had clearly faced some battles, as evidenced by the dried blood spatter they occasionally encountered, Max and his party only ran into two fights. The first was a large rock spider the size of an Earth SUV, which they came upon as it fed on a freshly killed kobold.

  Rock Spider

  Level 30

  Health: 3,200/3,500

  Blake had taken the first action, not even slowing down as he cast a flame spell at the spider. Instead of a fireball, there was a sort of lightning bolt made of fire that descended from the tunnel ceiling onto the spider’s back. All the tiny hairs on its body caught fire, and the creature screeched as it turned to retreat. Rock spiders were ambush predators, and not prone to stand and fight when wounded. Arrows from both Max and Smitty slammed into its side, disappearing completely into its body.

  Dylan activated an ability and rushed forward, slamming into the spider and knocking it off balance. Two knives flashed from Nessa’s hands, each one slamming into a leg joint on the two closest legs. The limbs went limp below those joints, and the spider staggered. A chop from Dylan’s axe, and a third leg was severed.

  Blake, giggling madly in his little gnome voice, waved his hands in an intricate pattern that took three seconds to complete. When he was done, a blade of air shot past to Dylan’s right, not quite severing a leg, but knocking two of them aside so that the spider’s body slammed into the floor.

  Without making a sound, Nessa leapt up onto the smoking spider’s back and produced two long daggers from sheaths on her hips. Raising them over her head, she slammed them into the joint between the spider’s head and abdomen segments. The screeching came to an abrupt halt, and the legs stopped flailing. Of the group members, only Blake leveled up. They looted the corpse, Dalia and Smitty harvested the tasty meat, and they moved on.