Resurgence: The Rise of Resurgence Book 1

by Joshua W. Nelson

  “The more appropriate question would be, how much Mithral do you have? And would you like to have more?”

  That stopped the laughter from the King’s men. No Dwarf joked about Mithral.

  “How da ya mean Alex?”

  “As King Under the Mountain you know where every vein of Mithral being mined is at,” I said. Steelhammer nodded this was true. “And I imagine you have the most experienced of your miners working on those veins?”

  “Naturally.”

  “Then I ask you Lord Steelhammer, how much more successful do you think they would be, if they had this?” I asked and brought out the pick that gave a 50 percent chance bonus to find high quality ore. Even low and medium quality ore of Mithral was worth a fortune. High quality ore could buy a small Barony.

  Every Dwarf went silent when I showed my trump card. This was a well-known item in Dwarven lore.

  “And how is it that you came by this?” The King asked, with more than a little fire in his voice.

  “It was among the bones of Hornus.”

  “Then why is it not in the hands of Tibble?” the King asked, this time gripping the mug of mead almost to the point of shattering.

  “We slaughtered the Orckin, we liberated the mine, and we gave the rights of that mine to the East Range Clan. You saw our reaction tonight when Tibble named us kin. None of us knew this was coming. I believe that we have been more than generous with our brothers.”

  The King continued to stare at me while I refused to back down. All of the Dwarves were on the edge of their seats. As were my companions, although possibly for different reasons, since this could go bad quickly.

  After what seemed like ages, the King let out a breath and slumped back into his seat. The apprehension from the Dwarves dissolved after that. The King took one last look into his mead and said, “Yer right Alex. You’ve dealt with me clansmen in a far more noble manner than many Dwarves would have. As the conqueror of this mine ya have first right to the plunder and the ownership of the mine.” The King continued to stare into his mead for a few more heartbeats before saying, “So how much do you want for it?”

  “You misunderstand Lord Steelhammer, my companions and I don’t want any money.”

  “But I thought you just said…”

  “All we want is the friendship of the Dwarves Under the Mountain. All of them.”

  “That’s it?” The King asked, not believing for a second that the negotiations were over. He was right.

  “For my companions and I? Yes. But for my kinsman of the East Range Clan, I would ask that 3 percent of all Mithral collected as the byproduct of this item be given to the East Range Clan. To include High quality Mithral ore. Delivered at the end of each month.”

  The King balked at my request. He was looking at giving away a small fortune in ore. He was having a hard time agreeing to the terms. So naturally he counter offered.

  “Three percent is too much for a clan as small as the East Range, no offense Tibble.”

  “None taken.”

  “And yet that is my offer,” I said.

  “Five percent of Low quality, three percent of Medium quality, and one percent of high quality,” the King counter offered. I could see the look on Tibble’s face was telling me to take the deal, since his clan never imagined having access to even a single piece of Mithral. But I make my living off selling and negotiating deals. So I had one final counter offer, and that would be it. The King would take the deal or I would keep the pick.

  “I realize you think that makes for a fair distribution Lord Steelhammer, but we know it really doesn’t work out to the three percent across the board when you factor in the High quality ore. Seven percent of Low quality, five percent of Medium quality, and one percent of High quality. End of each month. Final offer.”

  The King sat and thought about this for a while. He finally looked over at Tibble and said, “Ya had no idea he would do this, did ya?”

  “None me Lord.”

  “Well I see why ya named these boys as kin. This one bargains like a bloody Dwarf! Deal!”

  Louder than even before, the Dwarves of the East Range Clan all yelled, “HUZZAH! HUZZAH! HUZZAH!!!”

  CHAPTER 23

  September 18th, 2043

  We logged off that night at the entrance to the cave and logged back on the next morning. I was the first to log back in, and was soon joined by Wayne who approached me with a smile on his face.

  “I’m sorry I doubted you Alex. You did really well by Tibble and his Clan. I can’t imagine they would have gotten anywhere near the concessions that you did from their King.”

  “No chance of it. Tibble would have freely given up that pick and never asked for anything in return. He knew it too. That’s why he wanted me to deal with the King when he arrived.”

  “Well that sneaky little Dwarf. I didn’t know he had it in him. Well good on him then. But I’m curious, why didn’t you ask for more for our group? You probably could have gotten something out of the King.”

  “I got exactly what I wanted out of him brother. By having the Dwarves Under the Mountain friendly to us, we will likely get more quests and better deals when it comes to upgrading our armor and weapons. Having Tibble name us kin, that was totally unexpected. But setting his Clan up for life, that let me put phase two of my plan into action.”

  “Phase two?”

  “Here comes Tibble now. Just watch. And don’t worry, I’m not going to take advantage of our brothers.”

  Tibble approached Wayne and I as we stood on the outskirts of the camp. He first grasped Wayne’s wrist, and then mine, and took a moment to appreciate the quiet of the morning. When he finally spoke he addressed me.

  “That was a fine thing you did for the Clan last night Alex. There will never be a way for us to repay you, but know we are forever in your debt.”

  “Well the first thing you can do Tibble is stop thinking like miners, and start thinking like battle hardened Dwarves who just conquered a lair of Orckin!”

  Tibble laughed at that, and said, “Aye lad, we did, but couldn’t have gotten much past the entrance here if it weren’t for you and your lads.”

  “And that’s the first thing you can do for me. Turn some of your miners into fighters. They’re Dwarves after all. It’s just one small step from swinging a pick to swinging a battle axe.”

  “How do ya mean Alex?”

  “If you were to go out into these woods and slay the beasts surrounding these caves, could your Dwarves increase their abilities as Warriors?” I was basically asking Tibble if his Dwarves had the ability to level up on their own, or if they were set at their levels. Of course, asking Tibble if he was able to “level up” would have gone right past him. I had been thinking all night about how to have this conversation and get the desired result.

  “Aye Alex, if we was to fight the wildlife, it would give me boys some great experience in battle. But we have not a healer and our picks ain’t going to do much against these beasts.”

  It was at that moment we heard a horse arriving. Tibble looked off into the woods and saw Jason arriving on his steed. The night before, Jason and I had discussed the next phase of my plan and he was in agreement with me about protecting our Clan by strengthening their own abilities. Just prior to logging off, Jason had Gated back to Port Town, and this morning made a sizable purchase from the town, then rode back here on his horse.

  “Get what we need Allister?” I asked as Jason dismounted from his summoned animal.

  “I did Alex, and here ya go. I hate being encumbered.”

  With that, Jason dropped numerous battle axes of decent quality and breast plates of the same quality that could fit a Dwarf. Tibble just stared in wonder.

  “These aren’t full sets of armor, obviously, but the breast plates will help to protect your lads. Go out in groups of four and never stray too far from the mine. Use these battle axes to learn the ways of the Warrior, and gain that needed experience for your Clan. I would suggest hiring a heal
er on a part time basis from Lord Steelhammer to help with your cause. With the Fermium you will collect, and the Mithral that will be coming in, you will be able to not only pay for the healer but also more gear as your coffers increase in size. You need to be able to hold this mine for our Clan yourselves Tibble, not be beholden to anyone else for its security. But to do that, you need to work at it just like you would work the ore of a mine. Set up daily rotations so everyone has a chance to learn.”

  Tibble continued to stare at the items on the ground, knowing that they likely cost several Gold in purchasing. He shook his head at the axes and breast plates and then looked at Jason, Wayne, and myself. “You give so much, but ask nothing in return. We can’t accept this. I’m sorry.”

  “Put your mind at ease Tibble, for I certainly have a request. You know our Ranger friend?”

  “Aye, of course I do. The one who talks all the time, but says little of understanding.”

  “Nailed that one on the head my friend. Well as you know, our Ranger is quite handy with that bow of his, but the arrows he uses aren’t of the greatest quality. He has been working diligently to improve his weapons, and he has learned many secrets to the creation of perfect arrows. But what he lacks are the arrow heads. I think the hope was that Naugha would embrace Blacksmithing and be able to produce that part of the arrow. But as you learned, Naugha is suited to swinging a war hammer more than a blacksmith’s hammer.”

  “Aye he is!” Tibble said while slapping Wayne on the forearm. “Naugha needs to be out with your group, not bent over in the forge.”

  “And here is where you can help my friend. Amongst you is a smith that I spoke with last night. He explained to me that creating arrow heads out of Fermium would not be a challenge for someone of his skill.”

  “Indeed. That would be a very easy task for him. Although they wouldn’t have much in the way of magic imbued into them Alex. Thaddeus is a Smith, but does not possess much in the way of magic use.”

  “For now, the additional damage TheClaw could make with the Fermium upgrade will go a long way toward improving our party’s abilities. I would consider it a great favor if you could do this for us Tibble.”

  “Bah! With your ‘big favors.’ What’s wrong with ya lad? Ya just gave our Clan the means to grow and be great again. Even if we made thousands of these, we would still be in yer debt you silly elf!”

  I once again clasped wrists with Tibble and said my goodbyes, leaving him to talk with Wayne about how best to take on the mobs surrounding the mine. With that task done, and what I considered a success, I went to say goodbye to the King Under the Mountain.

  “Hide yer Mithral boys!” the King yelled out to his entourage as he saw me approaching. He was laughing when he said it, but I knew he was still a little upset at having been worked over the night before by yours truly.

  “I value my life and my hands too much to try and take a Dwarf’s Mithral Lord Steelhammer.”

  “Bah! Wish you had that attitude last night when you was bargaining away for the Clan!”

  “Well, see now, that wasn’t taking. That was agreeing to mutual terms.”

  “Hah! Well said lad! So what more can I do fer ya? Me and me boys are about to make our ways back Under the Mountain and bring this beauty to our Master Miner.” Lord Steelhammer said while holding the Tranquility Pick in his hands.

  “I have one small request, but it will not require you to part with any of your ore. Mithral or otherwise. My question is more about information.”

  “What would ya know?”

  “Our young Ranger friend is improving his abilities within our group. He has already figured out how to better his arrow heads, but is still looking for that perfect wood for his shaft.” Thank the gods that Dan wasn’t actually next to me when I said that line. I was having an internal fight not to make a dick joke as it was. “Elder Elven wood makes the best arrows in the land, but it is forbidden to touch an Elven tree within their forest. The penalty is death, and they take such things seriously. However, outside of the Elven woods, there are no restrictions. Our Ranger is looking for such a tree. He would of course not cut it down, but simply take a small part in order to fashion his wares. Would you by chance know of where one could find such a tree in these lands?”

  The King thought for a while on my question. Locations of Elven trees outside of their forests was a closely guarded secret for the very reason we were discussing now. No wood flew straighter and farther than Elven wood. But cutting one down, even outside of the Elven woods, could have disastrous results.

  “I appreciate your word Alex; it means a lot to me. But your word ain’t enough in the course of matters like this. I would need your oath that ya wouldn’t cut down the tree, but also that ya would never give away its location as well. Failure to follow yer oath will result in dire consequences for not only you and yer companions, but for the entire Clan.”

  So that’s how he wanted to play it. Well I could appreciate the move, and didn’t have a problem making the oath. I spoke true that we had no plans on cutting down any trees.

  Once the oath was made, the King indicated two locations on my map where one could find the trees. I thanked the King profusely and then said my farewells to him and his entourage. He reminded me that my group would be welcome any time Under the Mountain as friends of the Dwarves.

  Now that Dan had arrived, and had said his goodbyes to our adopted kinsmen, it was time to inform everyone about the next move for our group.

  * * *

  Dan reviewed the two spots I had marked on the map. The first was a short ride from our current location and so we decided to check that one out. We approached to within 100 meters of our intended targets and dismounted from our horses. I activated my Blacksuit and fell easily back into my role of scout. I approached the tree and had to stop just to admire how beautiful it was.

  Elven Elder trees are a blindingly white wood that nearly glows. The only thing that kept us from seeing this tree, and likely any other adventurer who had come along, was that it was smack dab in the middle of a copse of large pine trees that nearly hid the Elven tree from sight. It almost looked like it was by design. The Elven tree was large, but not as tall as the pines around it, which also helped to hide its location. Furthermore, I couldn’t see much around the tree due to the other foliage.

  I snuck up closer to the Elven tree and spotted what I figured would be waiting. There were four Dire Wolves that had decided to call this tree home. A raised root on the west side of the tree was currently home to two of the wolves, nestling in the comfort of the overhang. The two other wolves were lounging just next to the tree. I checked their levels and saw that three of them were Yellow and one was Blue. This would not be an easy fight at all if we wanted to take control of the tree.

  I ran back to the group and reported my findings. No one was eager to tackle four Dire Wolves at once, especially with three of them being Yellow, and we decided to check out the second location before making a decision on how to progress.

  As we made our way toward the second location I started to worry. I looked at my map again, and verified my fears. The location the King had given us was literally sitting right over Stan’s house. I had visited there on multiple occasions but had never seen a tree of any kind. It’s possible that I missed it since I was looking for a door that first time, and after that always looking to avoid the four beasts surrounding Stan’s domicile.

  In order to keep my group from seeing the entrance to Stan’s home I rode us around to the far side of the clearing that represented the entrance to Stan’s place. I told my teammates that going into a clearing made no sense, since there were no trees located there, and they bought my explanation.

  I slowed our approach to where the tree was supposed to be located, much as we had done before finding the first tree. I dismounted from my horse and started walking deeper into the forest. Normally I would activate my Blacksuit before approaching an area like this, but I wanted to aggro the four mobs a bi
t, and force them to come out. I hoped that coming in from the opposite side would have the same effect as going toward Stan’s front door.

  It was easy to see why I never saw the tree in previous encounters. One, it was much smaller than the first tree we found. And second, it was hidden amongst a grove of trees much like the other Elven Elder tree we found. As I continued to walk toward the tree, slowly as not to over aggro the mobs, the four animals appeared. It was the same two Giant Bears, one Dire Wolf, and one War Boar. And as they had been since the first time I encountered them, all four mobs were still Red to me. For the first time, I was thankful for this fact!

  I walked back to our group and told them again what I had found. Dan gave a low whistle, and rightly assessed we should stay away from this tree. Since we were close to Port Town at this point, I suggested we head back to town and decide what our next move would be. Dan was the first to agree. Mostly because it had been days since he had visited the Tavern.

  “I can’t wait to get back and tell everyone how I saved Naugha’s backside. I’m going to tell everyone about it. Everyone!”

  “What happens if we just don’t give him any money? Can we do that Alex?” Wayne begged.

  “Sorry man, money or not, Dan isn’t going to miss this opportunity.”

  While we continued to chat, we arrived at town and settled down next to the fountain in the Town Square. Jason and Dan were at 85 percent or so into Level 17. Wayne and I around 60 percent. Not all that far from Level 18 for any of us. Admittedly, I would feel better about taking on the Dire Wolves with another level, and Dan and Jason with all their new spells. But if the guys wanted to try now, I wouldn’t say no. However, the guys were all in agreement that we should get our next levels and spells before we tried to tackle the unknown encounter. We hadn’t been online long today, but our previous day was exhausting to say the least. Dan planned to hit the Tavern, Wayne was going to go find Jenny and her group and hang out there, while Jason planned to log off. We agreed to meet the next day at our usual time.