by Rick Brown
“Men, are you ready for a civilized meal?” I asked the staff as a groom brought my horse forward.
“It’s about time! I’m starving,” Felps complained.
“Relax, Felps,” I said as I mounted, “You know these Lords and Ladies, it’ll be hours before we eat.”
“Why do you need me anyway,” he whined. “I’ve got a bunch of wild magic users running around.”
"Most of those folks grew up using magic. I doubt we risk having the camp burned to the ground while we're away," I argued. "Like it or not, you're an important member of my staff. It'll look bad if you don't attend. Just keep your mouth shut and we just might get through this without embarrassing ourselves."
“Sergeant MacGrevin, thank you for attending. I know you being a member of the King’s Guard, you are not answerable to me,” I said with a nod.
The Sergeant nodded back, "Thank you, General. We know our role here is to assist you. I am happy to attend."
“So, do any of us know where the hells this manor is?” I asked.
“Private Gerral does, Sir,” Bettir answered. “I’ve ordered that he act as our guide.”
“Very good, Sergeant,” I said with a nod. “Let’s go meet our host.”
Chapter 33
(Lee)
“I’m going to need a raise,” Barad said as he rolled in the gold.
“There’s so much gold,” Abi stated as she sat on top of a pile of coins. “How are we going to move all this?”
"Ya can't, lass," Orlik answered. "If ya loaded just what you be sitting on into those horse's saddlebags, they'd all be swaybacks by the time we got to Olingard."
“He’s right,” I agreed. “We won’t be able to take but a fraction with us. The rest we’ll have to leave.”
“Leave?” Barad asked in shock. “You might have noticed there isn’t a giant dragon guarding it any longer.”
"Orlik, Alsselya once asked the dwarves to keep one of its most valuable resources, this sword," I said as I tapped the sword for emphasis. "Can we call upon your people once more?"
"Just what do ya have in mind?" Orlik asked as he leaned against his axe, Slayer.
“I’d like to hire dwarves to transport the gold back to the safety of Olingard, as well as a military guard to protect them and the gold,” I said with a smile. I could see Orlik was enjoying this.
“Oh, well that’s all, I thought maybe you were thinking of something significant,” he answered sarcastically. “Ya might have noticed that we just had a wee war in our city. Resources do be tight. I’m not sure we have the dwarves to spare.”
“Alright, how much?” I asked, skipping the game.
“Ten percent,” he answered with a smile.
“Ten percent!” Barad yelled. “You’re a thief.”
Orlik shook his axe at Barad. "I be a king, you arse! Me people are gonna need the gold to rebuild."
“Ryan!” I called out. “Your talents are needed.”
“You called, Sire,” Ryan asked as he walked in from the other room.
“Ha! You think I’m afraid of this lad? I’ll have one hundred percent when I’m done,” Orlik laughed.
“Ryan, we need this gold transported to, and protected in, Olingard. Can you negotiate that with Orlik?” I asked.
“Of course, Sire,” Ryan agreed as he walked over to Orlik.
I decided to leave the negotiations to my ‘Chamberlain in Training' and to go look at the monster that we nearly lost our lives in killing.
“What are you doing?” I asked Brianna as she was prying off one of the dragon’s scales.
“Are you kidding?” she asked. “Do you have any idea how much these dragon’s scales will be worth?”
“You realize there is a mountain of gold just in the other room?” I asked.
"Don't ruin this for me, Lee," she answered with a frown. "I'm telling you this will be worth more than gold."
“You know what? You may be right,” I agreed as I saw her point. “They are certainly rarer. Here,” I said as I magically forced the dragon’s scale off. “Collect a few to take back with us. We can make gifts of them to Vaelin and Spellion. That should impress them.”
“You can bet they don’t have a dragon scale,” Lenux said with a smile.
“Ahem,” Farloc stated with a clearing of the throat. “I can tell you the elves would appreciate such a gift.”
I smiled and squeezed his shoulder. “And our Elven friends too.”
"Alynon, help me," Father Yagen complained as he approached. "I can't get our horses to enter the room. They are terrified of the dragon."
“It can’t harm them now,” Lenux stated as he tugged at one of the scales.
“Would you care to explain that to them?” Father Pild asked, exasperated.
“Don’t worry, Fathers,” I answered. “We’ll get Abigail to help. She has a way with horses.”
“Yes, horses and kings,” Father Yagen said with a smile.
I grinned back and looked again at the dragon. I had feelings for Abigail, strong feelings, but I had not had a chance to talk with her really since we left Illiner and the elves. We held hands when we had a rare private moment, but I was really hoping that we could find time just to enjoy each other's company. Time, I'm always looking for time.
"I'm telling you, Orlik," Ryan stated as he and Orlik walked into the room. "This deal will truly benefit the dwarves. You are better off with it."
“Sure, Lad,” Orlik said shaking his head. “Lee, we don’t need to bother with this war against Dommeran. Just have Ryan here negotiate with them. You’ll end up with all of Alsselya and half of Dommeran,” he stated as he walked off shaking his head.
“Is everything ok?” I asked, concerned.
“Oh yes,” Ryan said with a smile. “I negotiated for two percent of the gold and a favored trade alliance with just a five percent tax on dwarven goods entering Alsselya for the next fifty years.”
“Two percent?” I asked. “We aren’t hurting our friends, are we?”
“My Lord, two percent of that gold will be enough to run Olingard for ten years, even if they all just sat around doing nothing. The favored trade clause will keep their economy going for years to come. It will also aid Alsselya with resources it will dearly need in the coming decades. Everyone wins,” he explained in a smile.
“Of course, keep up the good work.” As Ryan walked off, I made a mental note to have Arthur explain all this to me the next time we met.
We loaded the horses with as much gold as we dared and made our way back to Olingard. We remained vigilant as we spotted the occasional dragon crossing the sky but had no other attacks on our route.
Finally, we once again crossed into the dark caverns that led to Olingard. Lighting our torches, we made our way through the tunnels until we once again entered the dwarven city.
It had been just over four weeks since we left the dwarven city. Unlike before, the streets were now busy as dwarves moved about on business. Olingard was alive.
“This is how it should be,” Orlik said with a smile. “This is how I remembers it.”
“It’s a beautiful place, Orlik,” Abigail admired.
“Aye. It be home,” he agreed.
Dwarves waved to Orlik as we rode past, you could see the pride he had in his people as he waved back. Olingard was going to have a new king, and the people seemed happy. Something else that wasn’t present when we visited before were soldiers marching through the streets. Apparently, the dwarves had learned from their previous mistakes.
After dropping off the horses at the gate stables, Orlik showed us back to the Alsselyian Suite. He had to quickly leave to make arrangements with his uncle for collecting and guarding the gold. The rest of us crashed into our beds after such an arduous journey. Travel over the mountains was not easy.
Hours later, I finally left my room, feeling even more sore and tired than when I arrived. “Do we have anything to eat?” I asked Bri as I flopped myself to a chair opposite hers.
<
br /> She shook her red hair. “No, everything we had stored here spoiled while we were gone. We’ll have to buy more.”
I rubbed my face in my hands. Sometimes life worked against you. "Alright. I guess we'll have to buy some food. I wonder if the dwarves have any inns that sell hot meals."
“There aren’t many inns in Olingard,” she pointed out. “No one has traveled here in centuries.”
"Well, either way, we'll need money. Where’s the man that holds the purse strings?" I asked.
“Ryan isn’t up yet,” Brianna said with a sigh, “but if I don’t get fed soon, someone is going to pay.”
“Speaking of Barad, where is he?”
“Still sleeping. Everyone but Farloc is still asleep. He left to explore the city an hour ago,” she replied.
"Alright, I've slain a dragon, I guess a can risk waking our chamberlain in training," I moaned as I got back up. Grabbing a candle to light the still darkened room, I knocked on Ryan's door.
After knocking again, I opened the door to find Ryan still fast asleep on the bed, his arm hanging over the edge.
“Ryan!” I called out. He twitched slightly, then was back to sleep. Walking over to the bed, I kicked his foot. “Ryan! Wake up!” I yelled over him.
This time he shot out of bed. “Sir! Sorry, I was sleeping,” he stammered.
“Is that what you call it? I assumed you were dead. Next time I’ll send Barad to wake you,” I said with a smile, thinking of how Barad had jumped onto Ryan’s bed back in Vennean.
“No, thank you,” He said, also frowning as he remembered the rude awakening. “I’ll be sure to get up.”
“Glad to hear it. We need some money to buy food. Everything we left behind has spoiled,” I told him.
“Everything?” he whined. “But, I’m so hungry.”
"Good, then get dressed, and you can come help," I ordered as I kicked his clothes off the floor and over to him.
The dwarf shop owners seemed excited by having new gold come into their shops. We were able to buy fresh supplies for our group for cheaper than we could have above ground. Unfortunately, there was still no wine nor any coffee to be purchased. Only the strange concoction the dwarves had created out of mushrooms. Barad may like it, but it wasn't for my palate.
We stored what we could in our bags, carrying everything we couldn’t and made it back to our suites. Shockingly, it was filled with people.
“Arthur!” Ryan yelled as he rushed forward and grabbed his mentor in a hug. “I can’t believe you are here!”
"Thank you, boy," the elderly Chamberlain said to Ryan. "Now one moment while we honor protocol." With that, he turned to me with a bow, "My Liege, I hope you don't mind that I came."
“Mind?” I asked, my mind still reeling from the shock. “It’s fantastic, how did you know we were here?” As I stood there, servants came and started taking the supplies from my hands and getting our bags.
“Ah, well. Maybe we should discuss that over some wine,” Arthur said as he signaled to a servant.
I couldn’t believe my ears. “You brought wine!”
“Yes, well, I knew the dwarves had been under an embargo, so we brought a number of items I thought would be unavailable here. Wine, coffee, linens, candles. Things like that.”
"Arthur, I don't know how we survived without you," I said hugging him.
“I am just as amazed,” he said with a smile. “I ran into Farloc as we entered the city. He was kind enough to show us to these suites.”
The servants had the room completely lit, unlike the half-darkness we have been living in. Everything was cleaned and freshened.
“How did you do all this?” I asked as I took a seat. “We’ve only been gone an hour.”
“Oh, it didn’t even take that long. Our people are very good,” He said with a smile.
“Yes, they are,” I echoed as I took a glass of wine from the servant. “So, how did you know we were here?”
“Why, your army, of course,” he said with a confused expression.
“My army? You mean the Fox Guild?” My, this wine was good.
“No, Sergeant Herrin and the Alsselyian forces,” He correct. “They told us where to find you.”
“I’m sorry, did you say ‘Herrin’? That little tracker we rescued? Why does he have an army?” I asked in confusion.
“He said you directed him to collect as many people as he could and join our forces at the Fox Guild. Is that not accurate?” Arthur asked in concern.
“Well, I guess I did. He seemed earnest in his wish to join, so I told him he could,” I said as I tried to think back.
“You also told him to collect any who would follow,” Ryan reminded.
“Oh? Yes, I guess I did. Was he able to gather many?” I asked with another sip of wine.
“Two thousand,” Arthur answered.
I nearly spit out my wine. Two thousand! “How in hells did he get two thousand men!”
Arthur shrugged. “Max and I wondered the same thing, we came to the conclusion that your friends were involved,” he said, pointing to the coin on my chest. I felt a slight warmth from it that seemed to validate Arthur’s assumption. “After all, you don’t get one hundred new magic users walking in off the street every day.” He threw out nonchalantly.
“One hundred Magic users!” I asked stunned. “I’m going to kiss Herrin when I see him next.”
"Yes Sire, well that's your prerogative, as king," Arthur replied with a grin. "Anyway, once we found out from Herrin that you were traveling through Alsselya, Max determined you must be going to Olingard. Since then, I had everyone on alert for any dwarf that may be acting as a messenger to the King. Three weeks ago, we found one. He didn’t admit anything outright, but I gathered enough to know you were here. We left that same day."
“Three weeks is still a quick trip,” I pressed.
“Yes, we were able to make most of it by river. Only the last leg was by cart,” he explained. “Kendrick has been doggedly questioning about your location. I suspect he is right behind us.”
“That’s good. I know that Orlik is ready to get the coronation over with,” I acknowledged.
Arthur sighed. “So, it’s true? King Fenlek is dead?”
“Yes, it is true. Orlik is to be crowned King,” I verified.
“You speak as if you know Prince Orlik well,” Arthur astutely noticed.
"Ahh... Arthur, we have much to discuss," I said with a smile. "We're going to need more wine."
Chapter 34
(Lee)
Everyone was excited to see Arthur and the staff again. That night we had a grand party in the suite. Even the staff shared in the wine. Abigail finally had the opportunity to meet the ‘Arthur' she had heard so much about. Ryan and Arthur reviewed his contract with Orlik. The old Chamberlain nearly cried with pride over how well his protégé had performed — only giving a slight chastisement for not hiring a staff for us while here in Olingard. Something that had not even occurred to me to do.
That night, I went to my room to find fresh linens and a bath waiting for me. It was good to have Arthur back. Now that we had Alsselya’s wealth, I didn’t even feel guilty.
Arthur seemed most interested in the gold we had recovered. Apparently ‘piles’ was not a specific enough number for the old Chamberlain. He immediately sent to Coneer for some accountants to oversee the operation.
That morning, I stepped out of my room to find Abigail and Arthur laughing together at the dining table. “My Lord,” Arthur greeted as he rose to bow. “This young lady is a treasure. I am so glad someone so civilized has joined your group of mercenaries.”
“As am I, more than you could know,” I said with a wink to Abi.
“Oh, don’t be so sure, Your Majesty. These old eyes see everything,” He said with a wink towards me.
I sighed. “Nothing gets past you, Arthur.”
“Nothing, Your Majesty.”
We received notice later that Spellion would be sending a representat
ive for the coronation. They would arrive tomorrow. I turned my dress clothes over to Arthur to have them cleaned. Meanwhile, seamstresses quickly prepared an Alsselyian dress for Abigail to wear.
I laughed to myself as that evening Father Pild and Father Yagen had the staff light the fireplace as they sat and enjoyed their wine. It harkened back to the days we traveled from inn to inn. The two always seemed to find a fire to rest before.
I sat next to Abigail as she and Farloc were talking.
“King Eberon, you look well,” Farloc greeted.
“As do you, Ambassador. Amazing what a few days rest can do for a body,” I said with a smile.
Abigail rested her hand on my knee and gave me a big smile. “Lee, I can’t wait till you see my dress. It’s so pretty.”
"I suspect it’s the wearer that makes it so," I said as I rested my hand on hers. She quickly blushed and pulled her hand back.
“Your Highness, would it be acceptable to send an update to my father?” Farloc asked. “I’m sure he hungers for information.”
“Of course, Farloc. You don’t need to request permission from me, feel free to correspond with your people.”
“Then, if you will excuse me,” he stated as he set down his water. “I wish to write this out as soon as possible.”
As he left, I turned to Abigail. "And you, My Lady. Is there anyone you wish to address? You've been gone a long time."
Abigail frowned. “My family and I are not on speaking terms, as you know. I suppose I could write to Mary. I hope she is doing alright without me.”
“I know Stiven Waith. He’s a good man. I’m sure she is being well taken care of,” I reassured.
“Then I’ll write to her,” Abigail said with a smile that could brighten any room. With all our travels together, through dirt and mud, I always found her beautiful. “Oh! You’re almost out of wine,” She said as she motioned to a servant walking past. I quickly found my glass full again. She is perfect, I thought.
"So, tell me, Lee. Tell me about Alsselya," She asked.
“I’m not sure I follow,” I confessed. “What about it?”
