Bronzefur, 7th Haematite, 367
Rakust was shown into the royal chambers by the mayor, Lor Inkyroof, a neat, heavyset dwarf with a distinctive scratchy voice. The chambers themselves were, perculiarly enough, carved out of cinnabar. Rakust tried not to touch the walls.
The Queen herself sat in violet robes atop a basalt throne. She held herself high in her chair (as high as a dwarf can manage, at any rate), studying the wolfskin-clothed goblin with piercing silver eyes. The Mayor approached the Queen and bowed on one knee.
"Your majesty," croaked the Mayor, "may I present the goblin Rakust Wardedhawks. He claims to come in service to you, ma'am."
"If he is truly intent on serving Us," the Queen intoned, "let him come forth and We will question him." Rakust, taking a cue from the Mayor, approached the Queen and bowed on one knee. "What service do you offer, goblin?" the Queen asked.
"I am a hunter and slayer of great beasts, Queen," said Rakust. "I seek to slay a beast for your kingdom's glory in return for a reward."
"What skill do you bring, that you can accomplish such a task?" Rakust unsheathed Wolfbane, causing several of the royal guard to unsheath their weapons in turn. Rakust turned the spear horizontal and rested it on two open palms, so it was clearly meant for display rather than use.
"Why was he allowed into Our chambers with a weapon?" the Queen demanded, her eyes narrowing sharply at the Mayor.
"Forgive me, Majesty," Lor begged. "It was but a spear of wolf bone, utterly harmless. I thought it meant as a quaint gift."
"With this spear I have slain sixty-six beasts," Rakust boasted, " amongst them the hydra Narena and the dragon Ertal." There was a sharp intake of breath from the guards, many of whom tightened their grip on their bared weapons. The Queen turned her bladed gaze upon Rakust.
"Bold words to be making," she said, "when Our own ancestors were slain by Narena, and many here have family who worshipped Ertal. Bold words, and falsehoods also. All know that an elf slew Ertal, and that the human woman who brought down Narena drowned not long after in the swamps beside the hydra's cave."
"Was that her end?" Rakust mused. "Nevertheless, I say that I did this, and I say it upon my name. You will get no greater guarantee from me."
"Then your name is mud," said the Queen. "But before you are cast out, We will hear your plea. What would you ask for the slaying of a beast such as the ones you have not slain, but lie and say you have?"
"I ask the secret of steel," said Rakust. The Mayor seemed aghast at the suggestion and even the guards were taken aback. The Queen said and did nothing, which spoke volumes.
"There is a creature I have aimed to slay," Rakust continued, "but which for all my power its hide I cannot pierce. I must put an end to it, and for that I need a weapon of the sharpest edge. So I offer my service to you, that I might gain the power to slay it."
The Queen remained silent for a time. When she did eventually speak, a cruel smile played upon her lips.
"We will grant your request," said the Queen, to the amazement of nearly everybody in the chamber. "But first, you must slay a beast for Us."
"Name it," said Rakust.
"You must slay the Ignited Warrior, Smospe Warbronze." As she said the words, a burst of laughter cascaded through the room as soldiers and servants alike realised the irony of her words. The only creature not amused was Rakust himself.
"Yet you know that I cannot slay the colossus without steel, for that is the creature I seek," he said, willing down the anger building up within his heart.
"And yet, that is Our price," said the Queen. "Until you have met it, you will not get so much as a steel nail from Us."
"Will you at least lend me soldiers with which to accompany the task?" Rakust demanded, raising his voice over the laughter of the Queen's dwarves.
"We will not. Yet, should your plea touch the hearts of the dwarves gathered here, who are We to stop them from volunteering?"
Rakust looked over the ranks of smug warriors, still laughing ferociously. He gritted his teeth and plunged a hand into the pouch at his waist and pulled out a handful of gleaming golden coins. The laughter stopped.
One stepped forward.
"Will you journey with this wretch, Olon Orbshale?" the Queen asked.
"If he carries that much money on his person then aye, my Queen, I might grace him with my presence," said the dwarf. Rakust drew spittle in his mouth to slight the dwarf for his arrogance, then noticed the gleaming steel shortsword in the dwarf's hand. He swallowed spit and pride alike.
"I'll take him," said Rakust.
"Great," said Olon, smirking. "With your leave, majesty?"
"Of course," said the Queen. "With Our leave."
"Then I shall see you all again soon!" Olon declared to his fellow soldiers. "Most likely, a richer dwarf!" He and Rakust left the chamber to a round of rowdy laughter and applause. It reminded Rakust of the sound of the crowd at the pit, when the victor was about to slay the victim.
But as far as pit fights were concerned, Rakust had always bet on the underdog.
8th Haematite
Rakust had enjoyed the hospitality of the dwarves for a night, if only because he had money for ale and a bed, even at the extortionate prices they charged the 'wretched goblin'. He and Olon had set out at first light for the cave, and the fact that Olon had packed no supplies save his sword, shield and armour raised no suspicions in Rakust; he had known the dwarf's intent from the moment he had volunteered.
When Olon had judged they had moved far enough from the Mountainhome, he drew his sword and called out to Rakust.
"That's far enough, goblin," said the swordsdwarf. "Time to empty out your pockets."
"That such a wise idea?" Rakust asked, sitting himself down on a rock. He adjusted his hands on his shield and spear.
"Looks pretty wise to me," said Olon. "You're wearing a bunch of repurposed corpses and you've got a stick. I'm wearing dwarf-forged bronze armour and I have a steel sword."
"Well, seems there's only one answer to that," said Rakust. "No."
"You gonna say no to this?" Olon asked, spinning the sword in demonstration.
"Yep," said Rakust, faking a yawn. "Which is to say, no."
"Suit yourself," said the dwarf. "Nobody'll miss a gobbo."
Olon charged at Rakust, sword held low for a stabbing thrust. At the last possible moment, Rakust dropped his spear point so it caught Olon in the gut, burying the haft against the ground so the spear redirected Olon's weight. Rakust brought his shield up to deflect the dwarf's sword and forced Olon onto the ground, whereupon he planted his one good leg firmly on Olon's sword hand, crushing the blade out of his grip. After months of using it to drag his useless other leg around, Rakust's working limb was very strong indeed.
"What you don't realise about 'gobbos'," Rakust informed Olon, inclining his spear so that it touched the hollow above his windpipe and beneath his jaw, "is that we get brought up in dark fortresses, surrounded by treachery. Some would say that treachery's in our blood. Of course, those people would be fools. For one thing, you can't reliably commit treachery unless your word is strong enough that your victims don't doubt it. How much is your word worth?" Rakust jabbed the spear lightly for effect. Wolf bone or not, from this angle a good thrust would kill the dwarf no matter how fine his armour.
"Let me go, goblin," Olon begged. "Please, I'll never bother you again."
"And why would I want that?" Rakust asked. "After all, you've said you'll follow me. You've said you'll serve me. You bothering me is exactly what I want. Or perhaps you were thinking of going back on your word?" Another jab with the spear. Olon squirmed under Rakust's foot.
"Please! Whatever you want, just let me go!"
"I want you to keep your word, Olon. I want you to be a good little gear. I want you to serve me as you served your Queen. To the death, if need be. But right now, I want you to help me kill something that can't be killed. Does that seem reasonable?"
Olon thought for a moment before he answered, though his focus was fixed on the spearpoint at his throat.
"Um... no?" he asked.
"Smart answer," said Rakust, lifting his foot and drawing back the spear. "I'll ask the unreasonable, and then it will happen. And if you so much as think of taking that sword and using it now, I'll wear you on my hand. Got it?"
Olon drew his hand back from the spear and shuffled onto his bottom, then his feet. He nodded quickly, then picked up the sword and sheathed it.
"Excellent," beamed Rakust. "On we go, then. But, if you don't mind, you go in front."
11th Haematite
Three days of scouring the area surrounding the cave, waiting for the colossus to come into range for an ambush, and Warbronze ended up ambushing Olon and Rakust instead. It was unclear where the creature had been, but it bore strange, boiling blood on its body and sword, and there were still fragments of alien organs plastered across its shoulder. Rakust would later realise that Warbronze had descended through the caverns to the underworld and done battle with the beasts that resided in that place.
But that would be much, much later.
Olon took the initiative and leapt at Warbronze, slashing twice with the steel short blade. To Rakust's intense satisfaction, the bronze of Warbronze's chest fractured on the strike, its head denting where the sword had struck. Olon spun, bringing up his shield to deflect the colossus' own strike, but in the midst of his turn the colossus charged, knocking the dwarf flat on his back. Warbronze slashed downward, slicing open the back of Olon's calf. The dwarf screamed in intense pain, then blacked out.
By the time Rakust had hobbled close enough to strike at the colossus, Warbronze had already fractured both Olon's legs and his shield arm. Olon's bronze mail shirt had fortunately prevented any killing blows, but it was all Rakust could do to buy him time by attacking the colossus in his stead. Warbronze brought his sword down again, smashing the bones in Olon's sword arm. The dwarf's fingers went limp and the sword fell from his grasp.
Rakust took the opportunity and let Wolfbane slip from his fingers, reaching down and scooping up the short sword in her stead. He slashed again and again at the animated bronze statue, trying to draw its blows from the fallen dwarf, but Warbronze's strokes had already done neough. Olon's broken arteries gushed out the last of his life.
Enraged, Rakust stabbed and hacked at the uncaring being that had taken so many of his allies with its blade. Bronze chipped and cracked, fracturing until Warbronze could no longer support itself upon its feet. The colossus sank to its knees, but struck on with Milu's blade, slashing and tearing at the blessed wolfbone shield until it was tattered from the blows. Hacking with the fury of vengeance and the patience of a lumberjack, Rakust first removed the colossus' right leg at the hip, chipping until it simply fell away and Warbronze tumbled onto its side. Then he cut away the index finger of Warbronze's left hand, freeing Milu's sword from its grasp.
The morning passed in this way until at the height of noon Rakust removed Warbronze's last limb with a heave of the steel blade, leaving the torso alone in the dirt. Rakust dropped the steel blade and, taking Milu's bronze sword in its stead, jammed it into a crack in the Ignited Warrior's face. A gesture more symbolic than practical, he pulled the sword free with an effort.
Warbronze's fractured, unmoving face stared back. Was Smospe Warbronze, the Ignited Warrior dead? Or was it still alive, trapped in a limbless body with a face that never moved? Did it matter? Would Warbronze itself even care?
"Pointless," Rakust muttered, shaking his head. "Utterly pointless."
Warbronze wasn't going anywhere, but Rakust was. He had a dwarf to return, a sword to deliver, and a promise to keep.
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Topic: Goblin Manor (Fortress) - Wardedhawks, The Home of Heroes (Read 17899 times)