12th of Felsite, 160, the fortress of Brandgears
Two children stood beside each other, watching the procession go by as the baron's procession went by, sparkling with the tributes of the surrounding lands. They watched as the gates of the fortress rumbled open before the caravan and as each of the heavy wagons was pulled into the depths, but when the gates closed again, one of the children continued watching with a contented smile while the other sighed and returned to pulling the weeds from around the runner beans the baron had decided to cultivate.
"Someday, I'm going to be the one those merchants will bow to," Inod said with a grin. She frowned as the other child continued exterminating the local plantlife with single-minded determination. "Did you hear me?" she demanded. "I'm going to be baroness, and I'll have the best room and never have to work in the dirt!"
Asmoth sighed as she straightened up again. "Why's that?" she asked.
"Because I'm a noble and nobles don't have to do anything they don't want to do," Inod tutted.
"Oh," Asmoth said. "Then I'll be a noble as well."
She laughed. "Don't be stupid, you have to be born into being a noble."
"No you don't," Asmoth answered slowly. "Your grandmother was a miner until-"
"Yes, but she had influence," Inod cut across her. "You have to found a fortress if you want to become a noble, and you'll never have the influence to do that because you're happy to work in the dirt outside all the time."
Asmoth stared at her. For a moment, Inod thought that the other girl was about to hit her, but then she dropped the plants she was holding and walked towards the fortress gates.
"You can do your own share of the weeds today," she said over her shoulder.
15th of Granite, 203, the fortress of Murderflood
The masons were the first to spot the migrants as they wandered towards the fortress as they laboured on the walls. Tulon whistled at the dwarves inside the fortress.
"Gates down," he shouted. "More leeches to take our jobs!"
They were, for the most part, unremarkable. Labourers stumbling with exhaustion from the week long trip, glancing around nervously from the shambling corpses that their mothers had warned them would kill and eat them if they left the safety of their home tunnels. The last was more unusual. For a start, she was riding a horse, which was almost unheard of in dwarven culture where horses pulled wagons and occasionally got eaten. Her clothes were in an outlandish style that immediately told the high fliers of society that they were dealing with a person of refined taste and also alerted the average dwarf that they were dealing with a person who thought they had fine taste. A pair of children rode behind her. Edzul rushed up to the horseman.
"Hello there," she called up to her, smiling uncertainly. "I'm Edzul Kintongs, the mayor here."
"Yes," the rider said, sliding off her horse. "I was planning to make sure you knew of my arrival. Good to see that you're on top of things."
"So... who are you, then?" Edzul asked, half-running to keep up with the newcomer as she led the horse towards the fortress. He stopped, apparently surprised by the question.
"I was told that you should be well aware of my approach by the time I arrived here," she frowned. "Oh well, accidents happen, I suppose. I am Lady Asmoth. The queen felt that someone with more experience in dealing with dignitaries would be required as Murderflood becomes a more important trading hub. There should have been a letter detailing my experience, but I suppose it got lost somewhere along the line..."
"You came from the capital?" asked Edzul. "We had heard it was under siege."
Asmoth appeared to hesitate for a moment before nodding sadly. "I had feared as much. There were rumours of an army approaching when I left. I've been on the road for a while and the migrants I ended up travelling with didn't seem too well informed on world issues. Who is currently in charge here?" she continued briskly, tugging on the horse's reins.
"No one at the minute," the mayor answered. "It's fortunate that you arrived to take over, it was starting to look like no one was going to take the job."
Shit, thought Asmoth.
"Of course," said Asmoth. "I was planning to offer my advice, but this seems simpler all around."
Edzul watched as Asmoth helped the children off her horse. A strange sense of dread was stealing over her. She dismissed it. Murderflood had surely survived worse than what some strange woman on a horse could throw at it.