No. 6
There is truly no greater scum on this world than a merchant. They arrived today, struggling up the mountainside with their heavily laden wagons. Quickly I assembled our dwarves at the entrance of our fort. It was time to make an impression. We spread out over the volcano, and stared grimly down at them from our vantage points. Finally they finished the last painstaking stretch to the entrance of our fortress and settled down, looking up at the set expressions. Pride filled me as my apostles stayed totally impassive and silent. The silence stretched and the merchants began to shift uncomfortably. Even their pack animals appeared ill at ease. Eventually one of the dwarves piped up, introducing himself as our outpost liaison. He was fat. Incredibly so. And his cultured accent held layers soothing. A man used to getting what he wanted by flattering and talking. I laughed loudly and harshly, but without humor. The liaison turned towards me, surprised by the sudden sound in the stillness.
"Our outpost liaison? So you spit us out...and now you want us back...you look down on us...and when we find success and the favor of Armok, you come crawling over here to leech off of us." The fat merchant licked his lips nervously.
"Outpost. Liaison." I said this slowly, and with as much venom as I could muster. "Is this an outpost now, of your mighty civilization? Are you going to claim these halls as part of Aludmistem? Aludmistem the old and weak. Aludmistem the blasphemous. This is no outpost of yours. This is a bastion of the Blood God." The fat merchant didn't look taken aback by my contempt. He smoothed down the few remaining hairs he had left slowly and deliberately.
"Brother, there is no need for such hostility, Aludmistem cares for all of her children-" I cut across him angrily.
"Brother?! We are not brothers. I would not shame myself by calling, you, a sorry excuse for a dwarf, my brother." I looked around and gestured at my apostles.
"These are my brothers. We are bound in blood to one another. What flows through our veins is the nectar of Armok, as thick as molten iron and as hot as magma. I do not know what flows through your veins you disgusting pig, but if you like I could cut you open and tell you." Silence settled once more up the volcano.
I could see fear and outrage run across his chubby face before, but he quelled those emotions quickly. No room for emotion in a life devoted t money. No passion. He smiled coldly at me.
"You are the one they call the Messiah of Armok, the Blood Prophet?"
"There are some who call me that." He went quiet at that. I could tell he was processing in his mind, trying to work out if there was any way at all he could still scratch a profit out this venture.
"Is trade against your morals then?" I smiled mirthlessly.
"No, trade is not against my morals. It is only you who disgusts me. Everything about you, complacency, laziness, love of money. I sought to make you angry today, to see if there was any passsion left in you. But there is not. You have truly abandoned Armok, our bloody father. You have traded him away for the easy life. We will trade. Then you and your dogs," I gestured to the rest of merchants and guards before me "can scuttle back home and remove your filth from my fortress and the home of Armok."
Later on, while Reksas was negotiating, one of the merchants bodyguards approached me, a dwarf who introduced himself as Neyvn.
"You will be powerful soon enough. You invoke passion in those who hear you speak." I nodded to him, and stared deep into his eyes. There was no passion there.
"Powerful men have enemies." He said.
"My axe will protect me, if it is Armok's desire. It is by His will that I build this temple, and it shall be by His will whether I live or die." Neyvn nodded, then spoke.
"I am a mercenary. My sword is swift - many enemies have died by my blade. All my life I have fought only for coin. Now that I am older - maybe a little wiser - I want it to be for something more. I offer my services as a bodyguard."
"I know why you offer to join me. You may not believe in anything anymore apart from money, but believe this now. Armok has granted me the power to see into the souls of dwarves and root out heresy. You think you will become rich if you show me devotion, but there is nothing left in you, no true rage for Armok. I will hire you anyway - and I will convert you. You will no longer kill coldly, without thinking. In this temple you will come alive again and learn to love the deaths of your enemies as you did in the early days. Complete your contract with this caravan and return as soon as you can. I look forward to seeing you in action." I stood then and walked away. I heard Neyvn shudder and I smiled to myself.
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Topic: The Apostles Of Armok - A Masterwork (mod) Story (Read 10513 times)