by Randi Darren
“You’re in luck, then. Next up is Karya and Daphne.” Vince couldn’t stop from smiling and took a seat in one of the deck chairs.
“Elysia, I’m afraid you’ll need to make a choice now. The same one Thera and Eva are thinking on. Do you remain here and help me build, or leave and go elsewhere?”
Setting the battery down on the table, he eased comfortably into the chair. He’d spent countless evenings simply watching the woods around his home in this chair.
“Keep in mind I’ll be freeing everyone from their collars. So everyone will be given the choice. If you want to discuss it with your family, I understand. If you remain, we’ll need to put the collar back on, but it’ll be depowered. No one will be able to give you commands.
“You three can discuss it elsewhere if you like. I’d understand,” Vince said, looking up at the three Elves.
Thera, Eva, and Elysia looked at one another.
The door opened and out came the three Dryads. All three looked like they’d dressed in a hurry. Normally they spent a decent amount of time to dress when given the chance.
Meliae was in front, walking slowly but determinedly to him. Daphne and Karya were hanging off each other and shuffling their feet forward.
“Aww, you poor ducklings. All torn up after three? We still have hundreds to do. Maybe you should take seats,” Vince said with a feral grin.
“You wouldn’t,” Meliae said, her eyes a full, shimmering green.
“Oh, but I would, and will. You’re going to like it. You’re going to say thank you after every single one. Then you’re going to ask for more, for another one. All sweet like, ‘Please, may I have another?’ And when we’re all done and I’ve stuffed the three of you with as much as I can… well, then I’m going to personally destroy you in our bed, Meliae, while you two watch. In fact, I might even invite the Elves here to watch.
“Consider it payback. Now say thank you for the first three.”
All three Dryads were watching him with three pairs of eyes that were green through and through.
“Thank you,” they said in unison. “Please, may I have another?”
“Of course, of course. Please, have a seat. The Elf family should be coming soon. We’ll be popping their collars next.”
The Dryads dropped into the empty chairs, their wide green eyes fastened to him.
Thera stepped in front of Vince and looked down at him. Her collar was held in front of her between her hands.
“I pledged myself as your concubine. I will abide by that pledge. Please re-collar me. My family will agree with my decision and remain as well,” said the Dark Elf, holding out the collar to him.
Eva and Elysia both stepped up beside their “sister” and held out their collars.
“I understand. Glad to have you officially on board. As to your collar, merely put it back on. It’ll simply be a piece of jewelry from here on out.
“Besides, it’s not like much has changed. You had no orders or commands from me to begin with.
“Ah, and here’s your family now. Let’s get started; this’ll take me a while. As we go, I’ll start dispensing orders. Please make sure they’re carried out. Whoever has the best head for writing and memory should get a ledger.” Vince stood up and laid a hand on Thera’s shoulder.
Her head bobbed up and down as she reattached her unpowered collar. Eva and Elysia following suit.
“Lord.”
“Master.”
“My liege.”
Vince waved them off and started in on their rather large family.
Elysia’s handwriting was meticulous. Flowing evenly and precisely through each line of her ledger, she copied the names of slaves and the jobs Vince assigned. She added her own notes and had divided sections in her ledger for various things.
Vince wasn’t quite interested in this tedium and was more than happy she’d taken it upon herself to do all the work.
The front door to his home opened and Fes walked out, Petra close behind her. Whatever discussion they were having immediately stopped on seeing him.
Fes looked to the Dryads, who were nearly comatose in their chairs, then to the Elves cloistered around him.
“Husband, did you claim the other two Dryads?” Fes asked, a green hand indicating the corpse-like Dryads.
“No. They’re drunk on power. They’ll be fine by tomorrow.”
Fes’s mouth turned into a grimace. “Why not? They—no. You’ll do what you do in your own time. You’re like the boulder atop a hill. I can shove you, but unless you’re ready to move, you won’t budge.”
Vince snorted at that and then waved a Dwarf in. “You want me to claim more wives?” he asked, picking up the battery.
“Yes. As your Fes, the more power you have, the more power I have. We need much more power. You will conquer all.
“We will return later. Going to go train and spar.”
“This one—” Petra started.
“We train,” Fes said firmly.
Petra glared at the Orc but relented when she realized Vince was watching the exchange.
“Hold on tightly to your collar, and pull when you feel tired,” Vince said. He felt as if he’d turned into a machine. Activating the battery, the Dwarf wasted no time in pulling off the collar.
Then put it back on immediately and turned to Elysia to give her his name.
Tuning them out for a moment, Vince felt his lips turn up into a foul grin and looked to the Dryads.
They watched him with the barest signs of life. Their eyes glowing green and glittering.
They waited. Knowing what was to happen. As his thumb moved up to the stud, he could feel their trees inside him quiver in dreaded eager anticipation.
Thumbing the stud, the battery discharged into his arm.
Each Dryad locked up, their teeth bared, toes curling, fingers clenching into the arms of the chairs as they stiffened up. Then they relaxed just as suddenly as the power filled their trees.
“Thank you. Please, may I have another?” the Dryads woodenly murmured in chorus. They’d gotten much better about saying it together by the tenth discharge.
Karya started panting audibly, her mouth hanging open. Daphne had the look of a woman so drunk she no longer knew if she lived.
Meliae was the only one who had enough awareness to take a sip of the water he had put out for each of them. Looking to her left and right, she helped her Dryad sisters each get a drink as well.
“Of course I’ll give you another,” Vince said, and turned to Fes. “I’m punishing them. They actually love it. Part of that ‘destroy me’ Dryad thing. Trust me on that one. But you’re sparring in the woods? Don’t get lost, or I’ll have to come find you. All kidding aside, I don’t want to worry over you, Fes Berenga.”
Fes gave him a wide smile, her tusks becoming evident. “You’re enjoying yourself a bit too much, I think, with those poor Dryads. As to the woods, yes, husband. I will listen.”
“Course I am. They tease and mock. Rile me up. They want this, and they know I’ll eventually lash out if they keep it up. Admittedly, I’m being trained and they’re being trained, but that’s the way it goes.
“I don’t think they expected this, though. Heh.”
Vince looked to Petra, who had been staring at him. “Petra.”
“This one awaits orders, Master.”
“Be safe. Come home alive.”
“This one will do as her master instructs.”
Vince nodded and turned back to the Dwarf he’d collar-popped. “Stone or metal?”
“Stone,” came the gravelly response.
“Rock quarry or the wall, Elysia?”
Vince stood bolt upright as the shock of Fes’s firm hand slapping him on the ass caught him unaware. Then she stepped off the decking and set off for the woods.
Petra lingered for a moment, her eyes moving from him to Fes and back. Then the ant soldier darted in and kissed him hungrily. Before he could respond, she scuttled off the deck to catch up with Fes
.
The Dwarf stumped off to whatever work assignment Elysia had given him.
“Where are we at, then?”
“The quarry needs more hands right now, my liege. That’s because the early reports from the wall are that they’re going through the bricks faster than we’re making them.”
Vince leaned over Elysia’s shoulder and looked at the figures she was pointing to. It was a summary with every work type listed and current count in tallies.
“Blacksmiths are short in supply. More so than the quarry, even. Can’t help what their background is.”
“No, my liege.”
Vince laid his left hand on her shoulder and began tracing the entries with his right hand.
Lumberjacks, all the Beavers. Of course.
Wall defense, Trolls and Ogres.
Siege weaponry, Gnomes.
Library, Centaur, couple Elves.
Scouts, whole lot of Ratfolk, Brownies, and Pixies.
He’d bought those by the dozen in Blanchard.
Front line warriors, Bearmen, Wolfmen, Orcs, Kobolds, Gnolls, and… Vince didn’t bother to read the rest, as there were too many.
River defenses and upkeep, Nereid, Nixies, Water Elementals.
Farming, handful of Halflings. Not nearly enough.
Carpentry…
Vince couldn’t make heads or tails of it. They were spread across all the races. They had quite a number of them, though, thankfully.
Miscellaneous, Goblins.
He still didn’t understand that one. Elysia had asked him to trust her, so he did. Didn’t mean he understood it.
“What do we really need right now?” Vince asked to himself.
“My liege,” Elysia said, turning her head. She seemed unperturbed by the fact that they were inches from each other.
Vince realized at that point he was practically hanging on the poor woman. “We need weapons, traps, and fortifications. Once the Beavermen finish clearing the immediate area and approaches, we should have them begin working on a wooden stake wall facing out, opposite to the side we have our wall going up.”
Vince nodded and leaned away from Elysia.
“Oi, there you are, Vinny,” called a Dwarven voice. Looking up, Vince saw Deskil stomping up the deck. He marched right up to Vince.
“Ha, Deskil. Good to see you. Didn’t expect to see you here, though,” Vince said, holding out a hand to the Dwarven blacksmith. Looking over Deskil’s shoulder, he saw Minnie approaching, too.
“Minnie, a pleasure as always.” Deskil took Vince’s hand and shook it firmly. “What do I owe the pleasure to?”
“I’m afraid I’ve come calling, cap in hand, Vinny. I’ve lost my forge, my tools, and my home. I can work. I’ll work hard. Just give me—”
“Done. We have precious few metalworkers. They’re over there right now.” Vince indicated to the large roped-off area in the distance. Visible even from here were the crates stacked one on top of the other. “We’ve got all the tools, equipment, and ore for a team of blacksmiths. I don’t know the exact counts of everything, but there should be an Elf over there who has all the details.
“As for pay, well, that’s the rub. We’re more of a commune at this point than a city. Everyone here is working for our mutual benefit with one goal. I can guarantee you a home for free. Eventually. And more than you could eat or drink right now.”
“Vinny, were you the bastard who bought out several months’ worth of ore in Sacramento and then again in Blanchard? Damn near ran the entire guild under for a month till they found another supplier?” Deskil asked, his bearded face splitting in a wide grin.
“That’d be me. So, up for the job? Also, is your collar depowered? No powered collars allowed here.”
“Aye, and aye. We’ll catch up later, Vinny. Work to do,” Deskil said, rolling up his sleeves. The Dwarf trundled off at a walk, and soon was off at a run.
Minnie walked up to Vince and then hugged him. “Thank you, Vince. We… weren’t really sure what to do.”
“Of course. My pleasure. Though I’m surprised you found us. Was it that easy to follow the trail?” Vince asked her. He knew they’d left a pretty easy trail with all those wagons and supplies.
“Very. Deskil tracked you, if you can believe it.” The woman pulled back and glanced over at her husband, who looked to be sprinting towards the blacksmith’s area.
Minnie sobbed once and then started to laugh as she rubbed at her eyes. “They took everything. Claimed I was a Waster-lover. We got out while they were trying to find the safe.
“We could see the fire even as we left. They burnt it all down. He looked shattered. Lost.”
Minnie laughed harder now and rubbed at her nose. “Now the stupid fool is running faster than I’ve ever seen. How much ore did you buy?”
“Something like eighty thousand standards’ worth? Round there.”
Minnie shook her head, sniffling. “Thank you and curse you at the same time, then. I won’t be able to pull him out of there for weeks. He’ll look at this as a blessing for the simple fact that he can make whatever he feels like without a care for me nagging him about the cost of ore for his pet projects.”
She ran the books?
“Well, what will you have me do, then? I’ll be needing a job as well.”
“You any good at accounting?”
Minnie smiled warmly at that. “I am. Though it sounds like you need a professional, and I’m—”
“Better than me. So, congratulations. You’re the accountant. For now, go get some sleep. A meal. We’ll tackle the ledgers tomorrow night.
“For now, all I can offer is a patch of grass. Warehouse has plenty of beds and blankets. Weather should be good this week, according to Meliae, but we should have several dormitories put up by the end of the week. Once everyone is under a roof, we’ll start working on homes.”
Minnie let out a slow breath and nodded her head. “I’m sure you know that they’re talking about you in nearly every town. And what to do about you.”
Vince agreed with a nod of his head.
“I’m betting they’ll be coming to pay us a visit eventually. We’ll be ready.”
Vince looked up to the next person in line, and waved them on.
Chapter 24
Vince closed the door to his manor with a soft click. It’d been two weeks since he’d broken everyone’s collar.
Not one single person had left after being given their choice. They all remained. Which left him with something like six hundred and fifty pairs of hands to work with.
And work those hands did.
The forest clearing had gone impressively. The Dryads had worked quickly to get all the spirits out of the area they needed to clear and moved into other trees or given a promised residence over a home.
With no resistance and trees that seemed eager to fall, the Beavermen had cleared more than enough of an area for a large city, including the surrounding approachable areas. Many trees had been left alone if they had a locational significance, or held a truly obstinate spirit, which gave the whole thing a forested feeling, without being a forest.
Goblins had run rampant over everything, picking it clean of debris, rocks, and anything else that could impede building or farming. All for the simple fact that Vince had asked them specifically. Because it was a task no one else could do as quickly as they could.
Halflings had taken over the farm work from there. Vast tracks of farmland were already being cultivated.
His contingent of carpenters had descended on all that readily available wood and thrown up dormitories. Faster than any human carpenter he’d seen, that’s for sure. Half of them had then started in on the workshops and factories, while the remaining half began on actual housing.
Vince had originally been concerned about that aspect of the project. It sounded like his carpenters wanted to build each house to specifications. Then he realized that with so many different races, they had to.
More surprising was how quickly t
he camp had sprouted up families and pairings. The number of houses they’d need dropped a few every day as more and more of his people got married or joined families.
Nodding at a passing Hobgoblin who gave him a gap-toothed grin, Vince set off for the walls. He didn’t want to panic anyone, but the walls needed to be up. Soon.
Eva, Thera, and Elysia glided into place around him before he’d made it ten steps.
None of them had changed their duties after he’d freed them, despite him telling them to stop.
They’d even gone ahead and coaxed some of the carpenters to work on his manor. Which would now be fit to call a mansion, since it had rapidly been expanded to three times its original size. Taller than he wanted, and bigger than he needed, he felt lost in it at times.
At least someone had the presence of mind to take all my existing rooms and move them item by item. Converting the new rooms into duplicates of the old, just with new walls and elsewhere in the house.
He imagined it was probably painstaking work, moving a room item by item.
Probably Elysia.
Even his messy and horribly cluttered trophy room, which had been raided the next day by Deskil when he’d heard about it.
“Inspecting the wall, my liege?” Elysia asked, taking the position just behind him and to the left.
“Yeah. Why? Is my attention drawing attention?” Vince asked.
Thera nodded her head from directly on his right and a step ahead.
On his left at his side was Eva. “Yes, Master. You are.”
“Damn.” Vince stopped dead in his tracks and slipped one hand into another. His Elven trio circled up in front of him, facing him. “Well, how are they doing?”
“Very good, Master.”
“Yes, Lord. Completion isn’t far off.”
“Perhaps even next week, my liege.”
Vince looked from one Elf to the next. “Alright. What does need to be inspected, then? Anything?”
Thera’s brow furrowed and she looked to Elysia at the same time Eva did.
“My liege, I would suggest that you relax today. Perhaps look to your own inner circle. Maybe train,” said the High Elf neutrally.
