by Galen Wolf
“Indeed, a much better tower.”
“Give me some numbers.”
“It’s fully two and a half times more durable than the limestone tower.”
Sounds good. I need to know the cost. I ask Stone, who, without breaking his false smile says, “Only 62,500 marks.”
I’m taken aback. “You’re kidding me. This one was only 10,000. So I’m paying over six times as much for only two and a half times more durability?”
Stone’s smile flickers but it’s soon back. “Of course with your discount…”
“Discount,” Lull echoes idiotically.
“Of 10% for being a previous customer, that goes down to 56,250”
“Still too much.”
“These are dangerous times, Squire Gorrow,” Lull says. “It might be worth the investment.”
I smile. “I just don’t have the moolah.”
Stone wags his finger. “Not now. But look at your lucrative mine.” He gestures to his side where the mine entrance is.
“Lucrative,” Lull says.
“Shut up.” Stone snaps. “Leave this to me.”
“Oh, sorry for breathing,” Lull says and goes into a sulk.
“Tell you what,” Stone says, “I’ll discount you the full 10k cost of this tower off your next purchase. How bout that?”
I suck my teeth. I will need an upgrade. These are the badlands. I nod. “I’m interested. We’ll talk when my cashflow’s better.”
Stone bows low and doffs his cap. “Of course, Squire Gorrow. Soon to be Sir Gorrow, of that I have no doubt. You are a very promising young man with a glittering career ahead of him.”
“Glittering,” Lull says, bowing low also.
Job done, the mason and the architect depart with their builders, leaving me with the miners and the soldiers. I go over to the tallest of the soldiers. A thick set guy with dark hair and a scar under his left eye. “What’s your name?”
“Cider Bob,” he says.
I shake my head. That won’t do. I turn to the next, a blond six footer. “You?”
“Goofy.”
I sigh. No.
The third looks smarter than the others. “What’s your name, I ask him?”
“Armand the Tall,” he says. He’s maybe five feet ten. Not so tall. Not so short either for it to be sarcastic. “Why the tall?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. It’s a name.”
“Do you want to be corporal?”
His eyes brighten and the others look sulky but I can’t have a Corporal Cider Bob or a Corporal Goofy. It would make me a laughing stock.
“Sure,” he says.
“Okay. You’re it.” Immediately two stripes appear on his jerkin. “So, Corporal Armand, I want you to get your men to focus on archery.” We’re going to be inside the tower, shooting out.
He salutes. “You got it,” and turns to issue the command to the other four soldiers, who swap their swords for bows and begin target practice.
I then get Armand to come with me to the tower. There’s a ten foot ladder that leads up to the entrance door. That can be drawn up in times of trouble. The door itself is heavy oak with metal studs and looks like it’ll withstand a lot of aggro. Behind the main wooden door is another door of iron bars for added defence. The tower feels cold. The rooms are small and there is a central narrow spiral staircase. In the rooms are small arrow slits but no other windows so it’s pretty dark.
We climb up the whole way to the tower roof. There is a crenelated wall all around the top that you can stand behind and shoot. I get a great view from here. Blodeuwedd the owl hops from battlement to battlement. I see Alston and St Ninian’s Chapel away to the south west. Directly east, the curtain of negative energy marks the border of the Dark One’s territories. It’s from there that trouble will come. I point it out to Armand.
“Corporal, I want there always to be a watcher up here scanning for raiding parties coming from the east.”
“Of course, sir.”
“And if you see any sign of trouble, you get the miners into the tower. Close the mine doors and barricade them, then get your guys in here. Pull up the ladder and just wait them out.”
“Don’t we shoot back.”
I’m not sure my soldiers will be high enough level to do any damage for a while, but the lad is keen. “Sure, shoot back. It’ll help level you, but don’t be upset if you don’t do too much damage. The main thing will be to survive. Later, we will do more than survive.”
He salutes again. “I’ll take the first watch up here.”
“Good man. Don’t do it all yourself. You need to practise too.”
I leave Armand at the tower top looking out. As I go down the tower, I’m really pleased with it but it’s pretty echoey and I need furniture. That will come in time. I climb down the entrance ladder and go over to the mine. While I don’t technically need to go to Camelot right now, I want to go. I ask Thorvald to get the mules ready and the ore that we have so far.
“Do you want me to get some soldiers as guards?”
I shake my head. “I’ll guard the mule train. Leave them here to practice.” I tell him what I told Armand. If the bad guys come, retreat inside the tower and close everything up.
It’s just me Blodeuwedd and the three mules as we head off back to Camelot. I hope everything will be okay behind me. At least they’ve got the tower to shelter in now.
Henry is chatty on the way down. “How’ve you been, Gorrow? Ain’t seen you for a bit.”
Blodeuwedd hops on the mule’s head, causing him to buck and shake his head to get the owl off. The bird flies above Henry. “Don’t be so familiar, with your lord and master, mule. Call him Squire Gorrow when you address him.”
“Whatever, crow.”
“I’m not a crow. I’m a owl.”
“You look like a crow to me. Anyway, I wasn’t talking to you, I was talking to Gorrow.”
I say, “It’s okay, Blodeuwedd. I know you were just trying to protect my dignity, but I’ve known Henry for a while. It would be bad if I went all high and mighty now.”
“Suit yourself,” the owl croaks and flies off.
“So, as I was saying,” the mule continues now Blodeuwedd has gone off in a sulk. “How’s you?”
“I’m good really.” We talk for a while and I realise I’m making small talk with an NPC mule. The other mules don’t say much. Bessie seems shy and John, well, John never says much.
We enter Camelot and I sell the ore for 350. There’ll be another load this month and I could have waited but I had some business.
I find Luc in his quarters in the Knights Tower. His room is a small one off Sir Duncan’s suite. Bernard is with him.
“How’s it going?” I ask as I stroll in, having left the mules outside.
“Gorrow!” They both seem delighted to see me. We sit and shoot the breeze.
“It was pretty hairy up at Lanercost. Satanus has some heavy duty dudes on his side. We both died,” Bernard says.
Luc points. “He died three times.”
Bernard says, “You died twice.”
Luc says, “The Evil One might win you know. He’s got armies poised to sweep down to Camelot now he’s taken Lanercost.”
“He took it?” I didn’t know that. I’d been too busy with my projects.
Luc nods. “Like I say. Good isn’t necessarily going to win this.”
Bernard says, “Good needs everyone to step up.” He’s looking at me. I realise I’ve been neglecting my knightly studies, but I wanted to put my own defences on a more steady footing.
“Hey guys, I’ve got some news.” They both listen while I tell them about the tower. They seem impressed. “Why don’t you come and hang out?” I say.
Luc says, “Sir Duncan’s taking us north again soon.”
“But when you come back?”
Bernard laughs. “We might need somewhere if Camelot falls.”
“Exactly. You can come to mine—.”
Luc raises and eyebro
w. “You’re not suggesting that if the forces of the Evil One raise Camelot, a Level 5 City, that your Level 1 Tower is going to withstand them?”
“No, of course not. But the benefit of my tower is that it’s obscure. It’s not worth their time.”
Bernard mutters, “If Camelot goes, King Arthur’s finished. He’s in Wales at the moment fighting the dark forces there. But Camelot is his main stronghold in the north.”
I have to go. I wish them both good health and good levelling and repeat my offer to come and visit.
“We sure will,” Bernard says.
“Of course we will,” Luc says as I go out.
I don’t leave the Knights’ Tower because I’m looking for Sir Mercurius. A guard tells me he’s in the combat area training.
Mercurius also seems pleased to see me. “Squire Gorrow,” he says. “I wondered where you were. It’s time for us to do some more quests and get you ready for knighthood.”
I give a sheepish smile. “I know, Sir Mercurius. I’ve been building my tower.”
“Your tower?” He’s politely interested, but more interested in getting me back to training.
“Two days time,” he says. “Here, then we’ll ride north. You heard the enemy took Lanercost?”
I nod.
We need to hold him at the Fords of Eden. There’ll be a big battle. We should be there. Maybe before that we go to Kirkgunzeon to see St Gwynnan and add some holy damage to your sword?”
Sounds good. I’m definitely up for that. I say, “I just need to get back to my tower to make sure everything’s ticking over. Then I’ll be back.”
He smiles and I salute. “Two days then,” I say. “Here.”
“Until then.”
I had intended to buy more oats and beer for my hirelings and I do that, but I have another plan now. From what they said, I can’t rely that Camelot will be here to supply me in future. And if I don’t get supplies to feed my mules and men, then the mine won’t work. I go to see Asterix in the employment agency.
He smiles broadly, a little twinkle in his eyes. After all, I’m a good customer.
I have the profits from the ore sales and still some surplus from my sale of the star silver.
He strokes his beard. “How are the miners working out?”
“Find. Good.”
“And the soldiers?”
“Yes, of course. Very well. Thanks.”
“Excellent. Pleased to hear it. Are you here for more?”
I shake my head. “One day. One day soon, but I just wondered do you hire out farmers?”
“Of course we do! How many do you want?”
“I might need a brewer too.”
“A brewer? I do believe we have one. An elf named Jason. He brews the most delightful Elfin Craft Ale.”
“What about regular beer?”
“That too. Cheap and cheerful. For the men. I understand.” The dwarf winks.
I hire out four farmers and a brewer. I then go to see Oliver Stone. I leave the farmers and Jason the Brewer outside with the mules. Jason seems to get on well with Henry.
Oliver Stone the architect even stands up when I come in. “Squire Gorrow,” he says. “What a delight.”
“Likewise, Mr Stone.”
“To what do I owe this honour?”
I sit down in front of his desk. “I need to build two farms and a brewery.”
He’s still standing. “Not a tower upgrade?”
I shake my head. “No, I want to be self sufficient. How much?”
“Two level 1 farms and a level 1 brewery? The brewery will need to be near a water source of course.”
That’s not a problem. There’s a stream near the mine, just on the west side that feeds the marshland.
“That’ll be 7000 marks. The farms are 2000 each.”
That hits me hard. I’ve got nothing much left. But I’m sure it’s the right thing to do. I make my payment and he arranges to meet me up at the mine with Ramon Lull and the builders.
By the end of the next day the farm and the brewery are finished. Jason the Elf Brewer moves in and says he’ll have the first beer ready as soon as he gets barley and hops. “I reckon we’ll have a surplus. We can sell the extra to Alston.”
He’s right. I hadn’t thought about that. Same’s probably true for the farm produce. I set the first farm to grow oats for the mules and the second to grow barley and hops for the beer. The farmers go to it straight away, ploughing the land now enclosed by the rough stone field walls.
I have a rendezvous with Sir Mercurius the next game day, but I send him a message to delay it one day so that I can get my beer in production.
Mercurius isn’t happy with the delay but he accepts it.
By the next game day, we have crops of oats, barley and hops and the second two are delivered to Jason. For an elf he has a strong Texan accent, which is weird.
After a game hour or two we have beer. Everyone stops work, farmers, soldiers and miners to sample Jason’s brew. He’s calling it Silver Drift Craft Beer. It’s pretty tasty. I am sure we can sell this in Alston and maybe further afield, if my guys don’t drink it first. Even Henry has some.
My little village of Silver Drift is growing nicely. I go to see Armand who has remained on duty on the top of the tower. When I get up there, he’s frowning. “What’s up?” I say.
“Look.” He points east. “I just was coming to tell you.”
I follow where he’s pointing and I see an evil war party, a large one, coming our way.
“They don’t have siege engines, that’s one thing,” he says, a half smile on his face.
I point down to the two farms and the brewery. “The plan of withdrawing into the tower and waiting it out won’t work now. They’ll burn down the farms and brewery, and I don’t have enough cash now to rebuild.”
He looks like he might say, “You should have thought of that,” but he doesn’t. I just got carried away with my plans for self sufficiency. I might live to regret that.
Armand looks over to where the black clad soldiers are drawing closer. I’m surprised it took them this long to attack.
“So we fight?” he says.
I nod. “We fight.”
17
The Battle of the Tower
From where I am on the tower top, I can see the enemy. I’ve pulled all five soldiers up here and their bows are ready. All the civilians are in the tower but the miners preferred to lock themselves down in the mine. The mules and Spirit are in the mine too because the chambers there were bigger. They didn’t like being closed in the dark, but it was for their own good.
There’s a trapdoor down into the mine from the tower basement, so they can come up if necessary, and we put the entrance up down an obscure tunnel so it’ll be more difficult for raiders to find, but if the mine door is breached, I’ve told Thorvald that reluctantly, I’m going to barricade the door into the tower.
He accepted that with a grim smile. “We aren’t going to lose,” he said.
Now on the battlements, I put my hand above my eyes to shield them from the sunlight and count the raiding party coming our way.
There are five Dwemmer archers, a hobgoblin sergeant, two trolls and a troll sergeant and with them a hobgoblin warlock. That’s troubling because his magic might be able to make a hole in the tower, even without siege engines.
I tell Armand, “Aim for the warlock. He’s the priority.”
I trust Armand and I watch while he orders his archers to draw. They hold their fire until the enemy are close.
“Loose,” Armand cries and four arrows sail across the sky. Three of them hit the warlock and do some damage.
The warlock fires a gout of bright yellow flame that hits the tower just below us. I smell the scorch and feel the heat.
He’s caused damage to the tower, no matter how slight. We need to kill him before he makes a hole in it.
“Keep going till you get him,” I say.
T
he five Dwemmer archers fire back and their arrows clatter against the stonework. I duck down so as not to get hit, but as I duck, I see the trolls and the hobgoblin sergeant approaching the tower. Then I hear thudding and banging as they start to knock a hole in the wooden door.
They slam the door again.
There’s an iron door behind the wooden one, so even if they get through the first, that won’t mean they’re in.
Another blast of fire from the warlock and the tower itself is down to 96/100. I wish I had some boiling oil. I saw that the upgraded towers come with such defences, but not my bargain basement limestone one.
Our archers are bobbing up and shooting when they can. I risk a look and see the warlock is damaged and bleeding. He then changes his tactics and instead of firing at us up on the tower top, he moves in to attack the door.
That means our archers have to lean right over the battlements to shoot down, exposing them to the enemy archers. It’s too risky. We need a change of tactics.
I tell Armand, “Concentrate on the Dwemmer archers. Leave the warlock for now.”
This might be the time to request help. I’m not grouped with Luc, so I send him a PM. There’s a nice graphic as it appears as a dove in my hands. I throw it up and it flies off in the direction of Camelot.
Armand shouts, “Two of their archers are down.”
Then one of ours gets hit in the throat and expires noisily.
