The king slid down his pile of gold, sending coins rolling off the sides of the clifftop. “Ahk!” he shouted. “Bring those back!”
Several bird-like kobolds soared down after the displaced shinies.
Kipsic settled his eyes on his grace. “King?”
The large kobold grunted. “Ah, yes. What trade-trade? Gold trade?”
“Ah, no. He asks for big glass rocks and firebird tails. He killed all the green-people! Yes? Deal?”
The king reclined in his hoard. “Hmm, he did?”
“Yes!” Kipsic nodded fervently.
“And bright-warriors will leave us alone?”
“Yes, yes. He kill-kill some, they leave!” Kispic was very excited to see the king’s pleasure, but his excitement soon faded as the king’s smile twisted wickedly.
“Good-good. We shall trade-trade then. . .”
***
I had instructed my thralls to carry the remaining bodies to the town hall’s basement and wrap them in large tarps, which I supposed were reserved for big gathering events. Hopefully these would provide some protection from animals and dust. I could not raise them until I had the materials I needed, at least, not as anything short of thralls. I prayed that Kipsic would succeed in speaking with the kobold king, I desperately needed those soul gems. There was also the merchant guild, but after my short sighted blunder of giving Ronald permission to harass them, I doubted that the merchants would be happy working with me.
Then there was the tragedy from last night. The culprit who’d burnt down the chapel was still out there, and I could not risk another incident. So, I stationed my thralls at different vantage points in the town hall to serve as lookout, and tied tiny bells to their arms which I’d also found in the cellar; I assumed they were meant for weddings.
“I will prove to them that I can be a competent leader,” I said to one of my thralls in my office.
He gave an, “Uhh. . .”
I pat his shoulder. “Thank you, Timmins. I appreciate that I can confide in you.”
“Ruhhh. . .”
Ting-ting-ting!
I cocked my head toward the source of the noise. It seemed like something was going on at the front door. I went to the office window and stared out.
Guild Master Vrak and a couple of his muscle waited outside.
“Evening,” I called down to them.
Vrak crooked back his head. “Mayor-elect, can we speak?”
“Certainly.” I commanded my thralls to let the three of them up into my office, where I offered them each chairs.
They gave some wary glances at Timmins as they sat.
“Don’t mind him,” I said, taking my seat from across my desk, “he's part of a new reformation program, you see.”
The three guildmates looked uneasily to each other.
I cleared my throat. “Well, anyway, what can I do for you?”
Vrak leaned back in his chair. “Mighty big mess out there yesterday.”
I nodded. “I still have enemies, it would seem.”
Vrak chuckled. “Aye, and so do I. Now, I reckon you saw the fire.”
“It disgusts me, I don’t know who would burn down the chapel—.”
“Not the chapel, the one that the crusty old watcher started in front of our warehouse. I assumed that’s why you attacked him in the street, is it not?”
My chest quickened. I might have stumbled into a beneficial circumstance. I had not attacked Ronald on the merchant guild’s behalf, but I wondered what boons would come if I had. My focus had been on dispelling Ronald’s attempts at sabotaging my path to election, but perhaps earning the merchant guild’s favor offered a greater opportunity for my progression.
“Yes, I sought to punish Ronald for the fire he set at your warehouse,” I lied. An odd feeling twinged in my chest, though I ignored it.
The guild master nodded, lit a pipe that he’d pulled out of his coat, and puffed on it. “Well, the local guards have always been a prick in our palms, so to speak.” He blew a tiny cloud to the side. “See, they mistakenly believe we steal from the town and resell their goods, which simply has never been true. But simple folk look for simple solutions to their problems. It bothered me none before, as the paladins saw that the guards stayed out of our business. They understood the vitality of our operation in Maplebrook, it being the link between the region’s expanding trade network. Without the merchant guild in this town, there wouldn’t be much town for long. Do you understand?”
I danced my fingers upon my desk. It didn’t seem like such a difficult thing to comprehend at all—-the value of trade in a growing society. There was something this man was hoping to gain from me, but as to what, I was uncertain. “I believe I do. Please carry on.”
Vrak nodded to one of his associates, Xanya. She set a rolled parchment onto my desk.
I unfurled it. The parchment was a charter asking to conduct trade with Stone Summit on Maplebrook’s behalf for the iron chains and phoenix tail feathers I needed in exchange for a quantity of diamond. For conducting this trade, the South Terragard Mercantile and Commerce guild requested to be Maplebrook’s exclusive trade industry partner for all future outgoing and incoming goods and materials. Additionally, the charter called for local sponsorship and protection, which would net me an additional exchange of any materials I needed at cost. In other words, if I gave the merchant guild full trade control of import and export in Maplebrook and the promised diamond shipment, as well as ongoing protection, then they would supply me with anything I needed at a very affordable price.
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I leaned back in my chair and stroked my chin. Such an offer could go multiple ways. For one, it could lead to a stronger economic growth in Maplebrook and would ensure I was well prepared for any dangers the town faced. On the other hand, what would be the true cost to the people of Maplebrook if the merchant guild possessed total control of local trade? I was not so versed in the ways of commerce, and I would hate to make a bad deal.
“Thank you for your offer,” I said. “I will look into it, please give me some time to reflect upon this charter. Oh, and a slight amendment. I should not require as much as I originally needed in the way of materials. In fact, you can cut the original request down to a quarter of its size.”
Vrak raised his eyebrows and shrugged. “Very well. Look over the charter. However, be wary of the time you take. This town is bleeding, and we need to act before it's dry.”
Hmm. I knew this man to be a salesman, but he’d done enough to pitch his wares to me for one morning. “Thank you, I will keep that in mind.” I would return with an answer in the evening. It was not as if I could rush the trade without the diamonds anyway, so I was forced some time to think.
With that, I walked the guildmates out of the town hall and saw to my own thoughts.
===
Jevrick’s Main Quest: Restore Maplebrook
- Earn Maplebrook’s trust.
- Bring back the town’s dead.
- Rebuild houses.
- Restore population.
Side Quests:
- Find out who burned down the chapel.
- Deal with Nightfire weeds.
- Deal with the wolves.
- Deal with the merchant guild.
- Fulfill obligation to Atan.
- Discover the secret of the strange green powder.
===
Maplebrook’s Population: ~500
Undead Servants: 10 Greenfolk Thralls, 9 Intact Townsfolk Corpses
Allies: Atan, Nora, Von, Master Vrak
Workers: 2 Apothecaries (Fern and Lysa), 4* Hunters *(1 Injured-Molly), 3 Woodsmen, 3 Craftsmen, Mason, 2 Blacksmith Apprentices
Opposition: Watcher Ronald, 5 Guardsmen, Blacksmith Jules
===
Buildings: Townhall, Apothecary Shoppe, South Terragard Mercantile and Commerce, Tavern, Chapel of Light (Crypt), Dockyard, Blacksmith, Palisades
===
There were many things that needed tending to. The population was indeed bleeding, and there were dangers both within and without. Then I needed the merchants and kobolds to trade with me the components needed for raising the last nine townsfolk. I desired to figure out who had burned down the chapel and bring them to justice, but I also needed to deal with the wolves and Nightfire weeds; I severely hoped I would not need a druid to resolve that matter. My eyes drifted to the scythe in my satchel, which never left my side. Green Thumb. . .
Many tasks, and time was of the essence. The bodies would decay far more rapidly now that their vats were gone, while the apothecaries warned that the Nightfire weed could decimate a whole town in the matter of a week. Of course, as long as that arsonist was still running around town, as well as Ronald and his thugs, nothing I planned to do was safe.
I stood from my desk and watched the town from the window.
The sun had barely crested the horizon, and already another caravan of people were on their way out of town.
I sighed. “I need a second opinion on these matters, but there are few people whom I can trust. What do you think, Timmins? Who could help me settle these matters?”
“Ruhhh. . . nuhh?”
I shook my head. “You saw that look Atan gave me. I half expect him to lead the next crusade against us.”
There was a bapping of wooden mallets and pegs as craftsmen and workers made repairs to the tavern’s roof. How had I never noticed the name? Sleeping Dragon. What a homely title.
“How funny mortals are. Burnt houses and chapels, yet it is the tavern that warrants their priority.” Hmm. . . I supposed merriment and refreshment gave them a form of detachment from their woes. I could admire that. “I could use a little respite myself, you? It might clear my head.”
Timmins just groaned.
“Well, alright. Enjoy your day-in, I suppose. I’ll bring you back a stout.”
***
Ronald’s knees popped as he climbed onto the bar, but unlike the meek guard he’d been most his life, he ignored the pain and stood with a strength he never knew he could possess. He was not the same man of a week ago who went through the motions of watching the trees and checking-in travellers. No, he was now a symbol of resistance.
As he stood on the bar, he found himself surrounded by hundreds of determined eyes of Maplebrook’s men and women, hungry to break the chains of the necromancer. They crowded around tables and chairs, from the bar to the wall—nary a foot of open floor between them. Last night’s tragedy had lit fires in their hearts, and now they came to hear Ronald denounce the daemon that plagued them.
“Brothers, sisters! Our home is being corrupted!” he declared.
The crowd roared.
He waited for the voices to die. “That dark wizard has made promise after promise, and look how each one ends with our blood being spilled?” He pointed to the gashes on his cheek, which still burned.
Boos filled the space.
“He killed fair Godrick, he killed Mayor Clyde, and he drove those blasted bandits to savage our homes! He has warped the mind of Von Jakoby, and turned Atan into an oathbreaker. Now he has attempted to turn us against each other, and treated with the merchant guild thieves? When will his deceptions end?”
The bar shook with banging and the vibrations of many voices. Ronald had to catch himself as the sudden reverberation assaulted his platform.
Goodwife Jane spoke above the crowd, “Nay!”
The following shuffle of feet and turning heads was near as loud as the crowd’s voices had been.
“Nay,” she said again, though this time timid with the weight of all the stares. “He defeated those bandits, and he promised to save our lost hearts. Some other villain burned down the hope of seeing our husbands, children, wives again. The master wizard lashed out at you, yes, but heard reason. He heard us. . .”
Ronald didn’t know how to respond. There was a heat that rose in his chest though. To the afterlives with her counter, he thought. Apparently he was not the only one.
“Necro-lover!” someone shouted.
“Bone-hugger!” said another.
“Death-wife!” came a third.
And soon, the whole crowd shouted insults and jeers at Goodwife Jane.
She shielded her face as tears broke out, and she pushed through the crowd out the door and away with her dissent.
There was a part of Ronald that was ashamed to have let such a kind soul be so dishonored, who was like many of the others who had lost their spouses in the fighting. But when the crowd turned back to him with fervor and pride, he knew that he was on the right side of this crusade.
He shot up an arm. “This is our home. Many may flee, but I stay to protect it. The dark wizard seeks to manipulate us into following his rule? Well, then we shall fight him with like-purpose. I, Watcher Ronald, will lead you. I will be your mayor, and together we will send the necromancer fleeing like the dishonorable creature he is!”
The crowd cheered and Ronald welled with pride. This had been his purpose for all his years as a simple guardsman. Now he would realize his destiny as mayor!
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In celebration of hitting Rising Stars Main, I would like to write a bonus chapter for you all! Please select which idea you would like to read most.(Pick 2)