Wrack and Ruin

by Dave Willmarth

  Nearly exhausted as the sun fell below the canopy, he stumbled across a wide hole in the ground, angled in like a burrow, only larger than any burrow he’d ever seen. “Might be a bear den.” he mumbled to himself, barely able to keep his eyes open. Not seeing any recent tracks or freshly disturbed dirt around the opening, he shrugged and lowered himself to the ground. Crawling headfirst, his still bloody knife in his right hand, he entered the hole.

  When he was maybe six feet inside, it came to an abrupt end. It stank like moldy bear ass, and the dirt was suspiciously muddy, but he didn’t care. There was just enough room to curl up, which he did, hugging his knees to his chest. Still gripping his knife, he was asleep in less than five minutes.

  He awoke to the sound of voices, and a barking dog. Panic filled him for a moment until he realized where he was. Curled up in a bear den, his eyes and nose running from the stench, his entire left side wet from laying in the mud. Though he couldn’t actually see the den’s opening from his position, morning sunlight streamed in through the hole and provided enough light for him to see. He was considering wiggling his way out and making a run for it, when the barking grew dramatically louder. A voice shouted, “He came this way!” and at least two other voices answered.

  A moment later he held his breath as a shadow passed over the hole. He could hear the sound of a dog snuffling. A moment later there was a yelp, and the sound faded, along with the sound of steps crunching sticks and leaves. The awful bear stench that was now thoroughly soaked into his clothes had masked his own scent, and scared away the hunting dog as well.

  Relaxing a bit, he settled down for a long wait. He produced his canteen from storage and swished water around in his mouth, washing away some of the taste before spitting it out and taking a drink. He was hungry, and there was some jerky in the pack the shopkeeper had prepared for him, but he just couldn’t bring himself to eat anything while down in the hole.

  Lagrass remained where he was for the remainder of the day and night, falling asleep again in the wee hours of the morning.

  Chapter 25

  It took three days to arrange for Spellslinger to join the first caravan to the goblin settlement, get him there, and have him set up the portal. Max met him in Stormhaven before they left, and he and Redmane sat in his office with the old wizard while Max explained what had happened, and what he wanted. Old Puckerface lived up to his name when he produced a bottle and took a long swig, his face puckering up and making both Redmane and Max grin.

  “Damn, boy. Ye don’t do anything in half measures, do ye?”

  “Oh, that’s not all.” Max shared the quest with him, then invited them both to join his party. The wizard shot him a quizzical look, but accepted. The moment he did, Max spoke through party chat. “Hey folks, say hi to Spellslinger and Redmane.”

  “Wizard dude!” Smitty’s voice was first, and Max enjoyed the look on Spellslinger’s face. First his eyes darted around the room, looking for Smitty. When he realized the voices were in his head, his eyes widened, and he gaped at Max.

  “Master Spellslinger, welcome.” Dalia’s calm voice was next, followed by Dylan, Nessa, and Blake.

  “It’s a new magic I sort of invented. Or maybe discovered is a better word? I’m not sure. Anyway, I’m going to teach you the spell. While you’re gone, make good use of it. Practice it and level it up. I’m going to Darkholm to teach it to Ironhand, for a fee.” He winked at the mage.

  “Ha! Be sure n charge him proper, lad! This be a right useful skill.” A moment later, Max had taught a spell for the second time in his life. Spellslinger took a moment to review its limits, then shook his head. “Two miles. Ye know most battles don’t be spread out so wide. Ye could bring all yer captains into a party, then control the movements o’ yer companies instantly, all across the field.”

  “Yep.” Max nodded. “There are any number of ways this will give you an advantage. But like I said, level up the skill as fast as you can. I’ve sold it to the Mages’ Guild, and they’ll be looking to sell it around the world. You now have a slight time advantage over everyone else.”

  “Thank ye, lad.” The old dwarf actually bowed his head slightly. “Fer the spell, the quest, and yer trust in me. Ye do me a great honor.”

  “It is my honor to call you friend, you old grump.” Max produced a bottle of his best Firebelly’s vintage and held it up. “Shall we have a quick toast to your safe and successful journey?” Redmane produced glasses, and between them they finished the bottle in short order.

  As he was getting up to join the caravan at the portal, Spellslinger hesitated. “Max, may I… visit the outpost?”

  “Of course. You’ve taken a quest to protect it, and the magic it holds. If you can in some way help us rediscover the rune magic, well…” Max paused and created another quest, sharing it through their whole party. Spellslinger chuckled. “When you get to the outpost, share that with Enoch. I’m told you old farts don’t get much of a chance to level up anymore.”

  “Impudent welp!” the old mage grinned at Max, thumping him on the back. “I’ll see that yer property be properly protected. When ye get there, ye’ll find so many protective spells the place will practically glow!”

  *****

  Max stood in the palace courtyard with Redmane and the rest of his party as the portal opened. Enoch and Spellslinger stepped through, wide grins on their faces. Behind them stood an honor guard of twenty dwarven warriors of Redmane’s clan.

  “Welcome, King Maximilian, to yer new stronghold. Them merchants have decided to name the city Dara Seans, which translates from the old tongue to second chance.” Enoch waved them through the portal.

  On the other side, Max found construction already underway. The small buildings along the border street were mostly demolished, and an earth mage was busily raising a section of wall in their place. Max was fascinated. The fifty foot wide stone section rose slowly, about a foot per minute, and the outer surface was smooth as glass. Max stood off to one side of the portal, watching the mage work as a second caravan of workers and supplies passed through the portal behind him. As soon as they were through, the empty wagons from the first caravan returned to Stormhaven to reload.

  When the mage was through, he sat down on a nearby stone to rest. The section he had just raised joined seamlessly with a previous section. It stood twenty feet high, and about three feet thick. Enoch moved to stand next to him. “This be just the first stage, to secure the perimeter. Over the next few weeks, we’ll thicken the wall, make it wide enough to man the top, place weapons, and a few surprises. There be three more earth mages on the way, then the work will move faster.”

  “It’s amazing.” Max was truly impressed by both the speed and quality of the work. He saw the dwarf mage drinking a mana potion, and walked over to him. Handing over three of the mana potions Dalia had made from their highest grade Brightwood ingredients, he said, “These are the most powerful we can provide. Use them sparingly, but use them. We’ll send more as soon as we can.”

  The dwarf Examined the potion, then blinked rapidly several times. “King Max, this be… there be no need fer this. This potion restores two thousand mana. That’s double me own mana pool! Ye can sell this to top tier mages fer thirty gold a piece. The common potions be good nuff fer me.”

  “Just take small sips, then.” Max patted the dwarf on the shoulder. “Only the best for those protecting my kingdom and my people.” Max looked down at the dwarf. “Maybe save one of them for your next battle, just in case.”

  “Aye, thank ye, Majesty.” The mage bowed, then took a small sip of the potion before immediately getting up and beginning to raise the next section. “We’ll make ye a proper wall, sure enough!”

  Max followed Enoch deeper into his territory to the outpost location. A banner had been hung over the runes above the outside door. “Very clever.” Max smirked at the dwarf.

  “Heh. I had to improvise. Made a tracing o’ the runes, and we’ll cover them better in the coming days.”
He led them inside and downstairs. When they entered the outpost arch and began to walk down the ramp, Spellslinger took over. “I found the second exit, we think. There be another archway behind the golems, but we dared not activate it. Fer all we know, it could connect directly to another outpost, or their headquarters.”

  “Good thinking. If there are living Runemasters out there, we don’t want to push our luck.” Max agreed.

  Dylan whistled as they entered the cavern, not having seen it the first time. “Damn. Those golems really are… badass.” He stood next to Bastion, who was on sentry duty at the door, looking up. “Yeah, I wouldn’t want to face off against one of those.”

  Spellslinger grinned. “They be enchanted in more ways than one. They give off a fear aura, even to allies. We think it be so that friendly fighters don’t get too close and get stomped accidentally.”

  “Makes good sense.” Blake agreed. “Nothing worse than friendly fire incidents.” All the Battleborne were silent for a moment.

  Enoch cleared his throat. “We uhm… found a cache of weapons when we searched the buildings, enough to equip two hundred fighters. There be six chests of holding, each with a thousand item storage capacity. Two were filled with battle rations like I never see’d before. One held a thousand books, but all the ones we checked were written in the ancient runes. Another, normal chest be filled with them square silver coins.” Enoch held one out for Max to see. It looked the same as the others he’d found. “There be a chest full o’ furniture, tables, chairs, cots, and the like. We took some out and set up housing for a hundred down here, and I used a bit upstairs as well.”

  “That’ll save us some money.” Max complimented the dwarf. “Might as well use it. I assume they stored it all in there to preserve it?”

  “Aye, this place was well and truly packed away, Max. It’s as if they built it, then abandoned it, leavin’ it fer emergencies.”

  “Well, let’s hope we never need to use it for one. But I approve of making it ready, just in case. Master Spellslinger, can I assume that you’ll be remaining here for a while?”

  “Aye, lad. A good long while. This be a dream come true for me.” the old dwarf stared hard at Max. “Ye should consider lettin’ me king in on this secret, Maximilian.”

  Max cringed inwardly, a reflex from his childhood, when his parents only used his full name if he was in trouble. Which he was, a lot. “I have been considering it, believe me. But would Ironhand be content to keep the secret to himself? Or would he want to send dozens, or hundreds of people here to help? How long can a secret such as this remain secret when that many people know about it?”

  He could see he wasn’t convincing the dwarves, who had unshakable faith in the honor and oaths of their brethren.

  “Let me put it this way. On my world we don’t have magic. We have science, and technology. When one nation develops a new weapon, or a new device that improves their defense, other nations immediately begin killing, bribing, and stealing to obtain it. The best way to prevent this is to keep the secret tightly held for as long as possible.”

  “I understand, lad.” Spellslinger’s voice was quiet. “But we do have magic here. Me king will swear an oath, the same as we did. An oath he’ll not break without yer permission. As fer helping, that can be done more quietly than ye think. We dwarves be experts at secret projects. Traps, escape tunnels, hidden rooms, all be built without an extra soul knowin’ about ‘em.”

  Enoch piped up. “Most o’ the help ye need is fer the work up top, Max. The walls, the buildings, getting merchants, crafters and workers to fill up the space, turn this place into a workin’ settlement. Thousands o’ residents willin’ to defend this place with their lives, none of ‘em even aware o’ what be hidden below.”

  Spellslinger nodded. “I placed the portal where it can be seen from the outer wall. Meaning the Greystones likely already know about it. That be our excuse for our own wall, and all the protections we’ll be adding. It seems ye be a greedy king who wants to charge every merchant and mouse who passes thru yer portal.” He grinned.

  Enoch looked uncomfortable. “The elf in charge o’ the merchants wants to speak with ye at yer earliest convenience, Max. Me guess is that he’s worried this new portal is yer attempt at cheating them in yer deal. They paid dearly for property in Deepcrag cuz that’s where the portal be. Since ye placed the portal here…”

  “They think I’ve done an end run around them, somehow.” Max nodded. “Send a runner to invite them here. Have you picked a place for me to stay while I’m here?”

  “Aye, there be a manor house not far from the portal square. Nothin’ fancy, but we can enlarge it over time, clear some o’ the surrounding buildings, put a wall around it.” Enoch set off walking, the entire group following. It turned out the chosen manor was only a few blocks from the outpost entry in addition to being a short walk from the portal. Max approved of the location.

  The manor itself was three stories tall, set back from the street about fifty feet. To one side was a pair of small shops with storefront windows, void of glass. On the other side was a row of two story homes. Enoch led them inside, and Max found that the place had already been furnished, if roughly. There was a dining room with a long table and eight chairs, an office set up behind that with a crude, bulky looking desk. Enoch shrugged. “It were the only one sized ta fit ye, Max.”

  There was a formal sitting room, currently furnished with four chairs and a low table arranged in front of a fireplace. “Upstairs be a large master suite, and four other bedrooms. There be a smaller house out back with four servants quarters and its own kitchen.”

  “This will do nicely, thank you Enoch.” Max had never lived in such luxurious quarters on Earth. The best he’d had was when he’d blown a month’s pay on a suite in a Vegas hotel where he’d spent a wild week with a cute redheaded lieutenant from communications.

  They waited an hour or so for the dark elf merchant and his gnome companions to show up. Max met them in the dining room, as it had the most chairs. Enoch and Spellslinger joined Max, and after the merchants bowed properly, they all took seats.

  “Welcome to our humble abode. I understand you wished to speak to me?” Max smiled politely at the merchants.

  “Yes, Majesty. Specifically regarding the portal you’ve added here in your sector of the city.”

  “You’re curious as to whether I’d planned that all along, and possibly dealt with you in bad faith. But can’t figure out how to suggest such a thing without offending me?”

  The elf’s face grew tight, and Max chuckled.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not offended. The truth is I had no intention of placing a portal here. However, a few things have changed since we arrived at this place. You may have heard that Deepcrag was attacked?” He waited for the merchants to nod. “Well, it seems that your earlier foray into the goblin settlement angered a nearby hobgoblin and troll community. They sent a large force to follow you, and ran into Deepcrag on the way. Had we not had the portal there, your forces and mine would likely have been massacred, the settlement lost to us. Then that same army might have continued on to this place and done the same to you and yours. Do you disagree?”

  Looking glum, all three merchants shook their heads. The dark elf replied, “We sent a pair of scouts to the goblin settlement after we heard of the attack. They just returned via teleport scroll. The settlement is crawling with hobgoblins, and there is no sign of the guards we left behind, other than some torn armor, and blood.”

  Max had suspected as much. “I’m sorry to hear that. But that just reinforces our need for a strong defense.” He took a deep breath. “The other thing that happened was that I obtained the portal pedestal unexpectedly. The need was there, and the solution seemed obvious. As for its placement, do you object to Stormhaven maintaining control over its own portal?”

  Again the merchants shook their heads.

  “The good news for you is that we can reach an agreement for you to make use of our port
al under specific circumstances. Like the need for reinforcements in case of an attack. Let me be clear, this portal will not be for public use. Merchants seeking to do business in Dara Seans, who are not citizens of Stormhaven, will still need to use the portal in Deepcrag, or travel by caravan from somewhere else. I’m installing this portal mainly for defensive purposes, and for growing my sector of the city. And while our merchants and crafters may do business outside the walls, access to Stormhaven territory will be severely limited. I believe Enoch has established a few locations outside the walls where your people and ours will be able to conduct business freely amongst themselves, and any traveling traders.” He watched their faces as he spoke.

  “This leaves the main access to this trade route in Deepcrag, which maintains the value of your investment there. It gives you the security of knowing that you can draw reinforcements from your other settlements, or mine, quickly enough to defend this place. That should make it easier for you to convince new settlers to take up residence here. And to discourage any other bands of monsters from attacking. I don’t care if you publicize the existence of the portal, as long as you make it clear it’s not available to your clients or residents.”

  The dark elf opened his mouth, then closed it again. He looked at the gnomes, who both nodded their heads slightly. “We find your explanation entirely reasonable, Majesty. And while we’d obviously prefer more access to your portal here, your reticence is understandable. Please know that we plan to install a portal of our own, once the city is generating sufficient income.” He paused to think for a moment, his gaze focused on his hands, which lay flat on the table. “What will you charge us should we need to bring in reinforcements?”

  “Nothing. I would not hold you hostage in such a situation. And, if it becomes necessary, should the main gates fall during an attack, we would shelter your people within our walls as needed. That will give those who can’t reach your inner keep a safe harbor. This is my city too, and it’s in my best interests to make sure it is stable and well defended. I could have taken prisoners in the battle at Deepcrag, but I ordered the entire enemy force massacred, minus those who escaped early in the battle. We need to show we have the strength to put down any challengers, and the willingness to do so without mercy.” He smiled widely at them, baring his fangs. “I am, after all, the mighty and terrible Chimera King!”