Hinterland Fortress

by Ron Smorynski

  Ender looked up then back.

  "Can you help me pack it up?" asked Ligo.

  Ender nodded okay. They packed the wagon and had the goats tied safely within the ruins. They kept torches going to keep the hungry swamp beasts away. The critters hated the torches. Ender ate the bread. Ligo found some meat on a drying rack, some sort of jerky. He sniffed it, shrugged, warmed it over the torch and ate it. Not bad.

  "Best we go as soon as you rest," Ligo told him.

  Ender looked up at Rhyal. "I'm fine. We’ll go as soon as she's ready."

  She suddenly opened her eyes and looked down at them. "I'm ready. Let's get back with our victorious treasure."

  "That's the spirit!" Ligo expressed, getting the goats.

  10. Merchants of the Trade

  Back at Hinterland Fortress, it seemed almost a victory parade, with an elven woman in red and orange attire, a young tracker, and the ole feisty gnome coming in with a wagon of lost bounty.

  A boatswain came up to Ligo. "What you gots there then? We heard orcs are about."

  "That's right boatman, we fought off orcs and got back these supplies!" Ligo responded, ushering the goats on. They moved at the same reliable pace.

  "Good news then since everyone's worried about the recent rise of attacks. Things are gonna get expensive around here if we need soldiering on the road."

  "Well... maybe leave that to us, ehy?" Ligo huffed a laugh.

  The lanky gaunt boatswain looked at the elf and young tracker, unsure they really had handled some orcs.

  "We're off to the Merchants with this load. Who knows, maybe we can hire a boat soon," Ligo said.

  "Ohy, that'd be great. Get us some real business!" the boatswain replied. "I'll let the others know."

  "Don't get too excited!" Ligo warned as the boatswain hobbled off, waving alright. "Ehhh..." Ligo shook his head.

  They got to the gate. The guardsman gave them a slight affirming grin and let them in. They came to the Merchants of the Trade. There were a few small huts that were the sleeping quarters. The largest was their trading post.

  Jurgeon came out in a foul mood. He saw Ligo and the two. "Ahh, my two friends, my guardian spirits!" He ignored Ligo and went to pat Rhyal and Ender.

  "Well hullo Jurgeon," Ligo shouted up.

  Jurgeon still tried to ignore Ligo as Rhyal and Ender returned the pats and smiles.

  "How are you Jurgeon?" Rhyal asked.

  "Oh, waiting to deliver. But not much is happening, and the roads are worse I hear!"

  "Hello Jurgeon!" Ligo leaped in.

  "What Ligo?" Jurgeon finally replied.

  Ligo looked up to Jurgeon, then to Ender and Rhyal, then back. "They're with me, you know?"

  Jurgeon looked slowly back up to Ender and Rhyal. "With Ligo?"

  "He's our manager," Rhyal replied.

  Jurgeon looked dour, then down at Ligo who returned his look with a pouty smile.

  Jurgeon changed his demeanor. "Well, may Ligo's trading skills be better than mine! The Merchants within are as tightfisted as a stone guardian! I can't get a trade deal or delivery to get me out of here!"

  Ligo motioned to his goats and the wagon. "Could it be because few wagons are getting through?"

  Jurgeon then looked upon the wagon. "Is that the lost wagon we espied on our way in then? The supplies?"

  "Tis!" Ligo responded quickly.

  "Well, then Ligo, I hope your skills of barter and returns are marked with success!" Jurgeon said. "And get me returning with something and able to afford your escort services!" He bowed.

  "Well, that's more like it," Ligo sneered.

  "Don't be rude," Rhyal said to Ligo. "Jurgeon is our friend."

  "Is he then?" Ligo huffed.

  "I am Ligo, I am," Jurgeon said calmly.

  There was a stare off.

  "Ligo?" Rhyal finally prompted. "Can you begin the trade then? Or shall I?"

  "Yes, yes, very well!" Ligo skipped into the trading hovel.

  "Dag rabbit! What a rip off! How cruel and greedy a stock of grimy worms! The Merchants of Trade ought to be burnt down and thrown into the swamp!" Ligo spat as he came back out of the offices.

  Ender was caring for the goats and watching the wagon. Men came out, taking the boxes and supplies away. They all looked like ruffians and brigands who, too lazy to venture out, were hired by the Merchants as their lowly guards and henchman.

  Jurgeon was long gone at this point, but around somewhere.

  Rhyal was off strolling about Craftsman Row. She could see Ligo stomping in the mud as the henchman carried off the supplies they fought so hard to save.

  She returned. "Ligo? What happened?"

  Ligo looked quite red and distraught, ready to kill something. "They claim salvage rights! Since it was their order! And there is no legal claim! The Duke nor the marque holders have offered bounty on lost deliveries! How cruel and unusual! How very despicable!"

  Ender leapt off the wagon seat, ready to attack the henchmen as they carted off the last of the boxes. Rhyal gave him a look so he shrugged with frustration.

  "They gave us 10 gold coin for our troubles!" Ligo said, showing her the coin and handing five over.

  "You keep it Ligo," she said. She went in to the Merchants of the Trade office. Ligo and Ender stared after her.

  There was a guard at the door. Seeing the oddity of a flamboyantly dressed elven caster seemed like the kind of clientele the Merchants would be interested in, so he let her in without a word.

  The office was a mere wooden room. On her side was a sparse open area surrounded by a wall with windows, all with iron bars. Did she walk into a prison cell? She looked at the windows and saw a mix of dwarves and men, all fat and weak looking. Behind them were shelves of trinkets and items, yet most of the shelves looked empty.

  "Who let the elf in with her staff!?" someone growled.

  Rhyal saw standing behind the dwarves and ruffians an old gruff looking half-orc. He was in a leather smock of some kind. What he could be working on, Rhyal had no idea. But he looked like he was in charge.

  "Are you in charge?" she asked, slightly tilting her staff his way.

  He flinched slightly but knew he had plenty of cover behind the barred up windows.

  She came up to the window. "This is my quarterstaff. I do not cast spells from it. To cast enchantments, I only need my hand," Rhyal said as she flicked her fingers through the window.

  A dwarf ducked. Men flinched. The half-orc was not amused.

  He came up to the window. "Have you got something to trade in then?"

  "No," she said.

  "Then..."

  "You took everything," she interrupted.

  The half-orc made a scowl and bowed quickly. "That's what we do'ere."

  "Of course you do," Rhyal responded. "We just saved your delivery."

  "So you're with Ligo, the grimy little rot grub?"

  Rhyal winced her eyes at the half-orc, with his fat cheeks and stubby tusks. "What is your name then?"

  "I'm Orgro, owner of this establishment, given warden by the Duke himself!" Orgro pounded his chest. "I run this business and pick and choose who I do business with!"

  "And I am Rhyal, fire wizard. I burn any orc, shaman, or foul creature that gets in my way," she said, then flicked a flame in her hand. She then glanced about the wooden room.

  Orgro's eyes narrowed. Several half-orcs and very ugly men stepped closer to him, looking as mean and tough as him. They wore thick banded leathers and had swords and clubs. It looked like a few trades went sour and these brigands knew what to do. Rhyal saw the wooden doors they came out of on either side of the room.

  "There's more orcs on the road Orgro. More deliveries will be lost. I am quite sure even though orc blood runs through your veins, you despise them as much as we do."

  Orgro snarled, "My duty is to the Duke! And not to any elf witch! I hold the foul darkness at bay! I bring in the supplies and control the barter! Not you elf!"

  "Then why didn't y
ou get the salvage?"

  "Because pointy ear, we didn't know it was missing yet. Why don't you go to the church or better yet to your wizard friends and search out their legends and myths? Leave the supply road to the West to me!"

  Rhyal's eye twitched, her lips thinned. She turned and left, knowing she too had failed.

  She walked past Ligo and Ender.

  "Where you going?"

  "To get a drink!"

  Ender and Ligo shared a look and a shrug and followed her to the inn.

  11. Bargains

  Rhyal was awake when the boots clomped up the stairs to their room. Ender was still asleep. She was flicking her flame, watching it dance around her hand. She knew she wasn't resistant to flame but she could look at it, discern it, before full manifestation. She wanted to understand it, sense its properties, or just play with her enchanted flame. It seemed like a little faerie fire on her hand.

  It kept her thoughts away from their dwindling coin and the distance. They were so far away from home. Could they even afford to go home? Surely, the next elven vessel that came to Telehistine would know her father's house and let her and Ender on as passengers. To be paid in full by her father of course. They still had choices, even if their coin should run out.

  But the boots clomping awoke her from her trance. She sensed them coming to their room. She tugged at Ender.

  "Wake up," she whispered. It was enough.

  Ender immediately rolled up and got his boots on. He stared at the door as he buckled his belts, swords ready.

  The boots stopped at their door. Someone was snorting, like an orc. Keys came out. She heard them clank.

  She reawakened the flame in her hand and was ready. She'd burn down the whole inn if she had to. She glanced to their window. They could make their escape that way.

  Both sensed the growl ease to a sigh.

  Knock, knock.

  Ender and Rhyal nearly fell over with their ready stances.

  "Hullo?" a gruff voiced called out.

  "Who is it?" Rhyal asked.

  "Uh, you're there. It's Orgro. Merchants of Barter & Trade. We need to talk."

  They entered the holding area between the Merchant of Barter & Trade and their quarters. Wagons and shacks were there, all with many intricate locks. They had a small stable with goats and oxen, the rugged kind. A few dwarves and ruffians worked there, in their aprons and bearing clubs or rustic swords.

  Orgro most certainly had a kinder gentler demeanor. "What we have here is a dire situation."

  Ligo came floating in, sort of. He stared angry eyed. A ruffian carried him in, tied up and his mouth gagged.

  "Oh no," Orgro moaned.

  The ruffian put Ligo down, who screamed in his gag.

  "Untie him now!" Rhyal called out.

  "Yes, yes." Orgro immediately did it himself.

  "What is the meaning of this!" Ligo screamed whence he was ungagged.

  Orgro skillfully undid the binds. "My apologies!" He looked at the ruffian. "Silas! I asked you to retrieve him!"

  Silas replied stoically. "I did." He was an old looking ruffian, with scars and an odd gait that surely meant an old battle wound. Ender noticed he was a tad better armoured and armed than the younger ruffians.

  "He tied and gagged me!" Ligo shot.

  "You were uncooperative," Silas replied.

  "Uncooperative?!" Ligo shot back.

  "Okay, okay, I did not mean for you to gnome-nap him! Just to bring him along. My apologies!" Orgro growled.

  "Apologies?! I oughtta!!!" Ligo's face was as red as a little drunken gnome's.

  "I have an offer!" Orgro had to burst over Ligo's fury. "I have an offer! We've lost a delivery!"

  Ligo still stared angrily at Silas and Orgro.

  "You've lost a delivery?" Rhyal repeated.

  Orgro bowed. "We are in need of you services, seeing how you retrieved one of our wagons."

  "Fighting orcs, we did," Ender added.

  "Of course," Orgro nodded.

  "Get your own darn ruffians and thugrats to do it!" Ligo shook his fist at Orgro.

  "You have plenty of men here," Rhyal waved to the henchmen about.

  Orgro looked at his hirees, not too impressively. "My workers are needed here. I had escorts. They were with the wagons. Only one survived to tell the tale." He motioned to a half-orc, wounded, sitting at a bench.

  "Rugrah," Orgro motioned.

  Rugrah got up, holding his arm. It was bandaged but looked dirty and bled through. He had several other roughed up wounds and scratches.

  "Tell them what you know," Orgro said.

  "Orcs, big dog, bugbear, attack us. We kill some, but too many. Take wagons," Rugrah snarled.

  "Bugbear, orcs?" Ligo repeated. "It appears they finally joined together."

  Orgro looked at Ligo. "After the Duke defeated the orcs, where else they gonna go? Bugbears have a stockade six days journey into the mire."

  "You want us to besiege the stockade?! Of bugbears?! Are you as mad I figured?!" Ligo yelped.

  Orgro waved his meaty hands. "Now, now, calm down. Speed! Speed. We want you to go, now! Catch them. Wagons are slow so they are only a day or two away. Must hurry!? No time to argue."

  "How many orcs? Dogs? Bugbears?" Rhyal asked Rugrah.

  He realized an elf was talking to him. "Uh, uh, this many orcs." He raised his two hands, showing all his fingers. "One bugbear, one big dog."

  "Wait a minute, you want us to retrieve the wagons from a raiding party of orcs, for what? Ten gold coins?" Ligo snorted.

  "We don't have much gold," Orgro gulped.

  "Bah hah hah! Of course not!" Ligo slapped his little hand, turning to usher Rhyal and Ender out.

  Orgro's tough half-orc shoulders slumped.

  Rhyal noticed. "How important are these wagons to you?"

  Orgro looked up. "If I don't get, I go out of business."

  "Good!" Ligo spat, waving his friends to go.

  "Let's do it," Ender said.

  "What?! No!!! Come on!" Ligo huffed. "You didn't even haggle!"

  "What do you offer?" Rhyal asked.

  "Seriously? He said they have no gold! Let us go get our own!" Ligo answered.

  Orgro replied, "I've got some wizard's scrolls. You can have them! And healing potions, a couple. Very pricey! I've got oil."

  "Oil to burn!" Ender said.

  "No, no, oil for swords, makes them very sharp," Orgro said. "Oil of Sharpness, they are. Two of them. Valuable."

  "Pit-i-ful!" Ligo sang out.

  Orgro most definitely looked like he was on the bad end of a deal, a pitiful offering.

  "Some magic dust, sprinkle it on, protects one for a short while. I can offer that," Orgro added. "Plus some provisions."

  "We'll take it," Rhyal said.

  "Whaht!?" Ligo screeched.

  Orgro went to shake her hand. Rhyal was not familiar with such motions and did not respond. Ligo suddenly leapt up and smacked Orgro's hand away.

  "No, no! I make the deals for us!" Ligo yelled, dropping back down, nearly frothing.

  "Ligo, we should help them," Rhyal said.

  Ligo turned to Orgro, "First, that half-orc must come with us!"

  "He's quite injured," Orgro offered.

  "You heal him with one of those expensive healing potions and not one offered to us!"

  Orgro looked at the wounded half-orc and nodded reluctantly.

  Rhyal and Ender shared a smug look.

  "Second, you must fire that scoundrel!" Ligo pointed to Silas. "For handling me in such an unlawful way!"

  Silas' eyes widened as he stood there confused.

  Orgro took a deep sigh and then nodded. "You're fired."

  "Good!" Ligo said.

  Silas shrugged, ready to turn.

  "Silas! You're hired!" Ligo suddenly said. "We'll be needing veteran combatants like yourself!"

  Rhyal gave out a chuckle.

  Silas wasn't sure if he was fired or hired but felt amused by Ligo nonetheless.
r />   Orgro wanted to argue the point but was interrupted. He looked down to see Ligo shaking his finger.

  "It's a deal!" Ligo said. "Now go off and get us our provisions and magical enhancements! Go on!"

  Orgro slumped and hurried into the trade offices to retrieve the offerings.

  Ligo rubbed his hands. "Rugrah!"

  Rugrah looked up from his wounds.

  "Can you lead us to the wagons, the fastest way, or are you too scared and wounded to go?"

  "Fix me. If you all can fight, I go. Revenge," he said.

  "Good!" Ligo said.

  "And you!" Ligo pointed at Silas. "Show me that move you did to catch me and bind me. That was amazing!"

  12. Raiding Orcs

  After Rugrah took his potion, much to the disdain of Orgro, they packed to go. Ligo made sure they got what was promised.

  "Two healing potions, this dust of, uh, uh, fortitude, a roll of scrolls, and two oils of sharpness. Very good!" Ligo gave Rhyal the scrolls and one healing. He then gave Ender one healing, the dust of fortitude or protections, and the two oils of sharpness. "Ere'ya go. And remember, comes out of your fifty-fifty split!"

  "Things we can use in the fight?" Rhyal commented.

  "Errr... alrigh! I'll give you a discount!" Ligo waved her off.

  "What about them?" Ender asked, motioning to Rugrah and Silas.

  Ligo looked at them with a plum look. "Silas will be guarding me, in the rear. Rugrah is one of those," Ligo motioned to Orgro the half-orc. "So he can provide for him."

  "He's not my kin!" Orgro responded.

  "He's half-orc just like you! You're all cousins!" Ligo responded.

  "And you're just a diminutive dwarf!" Orgro growled.

  "Why I oughta!" Ligo raised his fists, ready to attack. He pranced around waving his fists. "Don't hold me back!"

  Everyone looked at each other. No one was holding him back. He continued about with his fists.

  Orgro wasn't sure what to do. Silas realized something, then quickly grabbed Ligo and carried him out.

  "Don't hold me back!" Ligo continued.