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THE LAST FEW DAYS all blended together. A mad race against the clock I was constantly losing. In fact, it wasn’t yet over, but it was already too late to make significant changes. What I could find time for, I did. Everything beyond that would come down to the will of the capricious god Random. It would be nice of him to make the pirate ships carrying enemy troops sink in a storm. Then again, his godly mind could choose to mess with us, as well. Oh well... That’s how the gods are. No one knows what they have in mind.
All my associates and I were now in my office on the top floor of Foreston’s main treehouse discussing recent events. I meanwhile was standing in front of a wide window and listening to them in silence.
“All three Hearts of the Forest have found their Keepers!” Onyx exclaimed with elation.
“Now our backs are covered,” Murk confirmed calmly. “In case Foreston or Newtown come under siege, the keepers will make sure we’re never completely on our own.”
I nodded. That was true.
“Too bad there isn’t a forest like that next to our castle,” said Amber and glanced at Brown.
The magister of Mountainguard shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, we have golems!”
I rubbed the bridge of my nose, recalling the events of three days prior.
Gallia and the gnomes we set free left Newtown right after our council. As an aside, it was the first council our alliance had held.
Before leaving, her and I had a talk. Not the nicest one either.
“Rick, you should watch what you say,” Gallia started off with reproach after her and I were left alone in the office.
Unexpected. I was even rendered speechless for an instant.
“What do you mean?” I muttered.
“Can’t you guess?”
I began to feverishly go back over everything I’d said.
“Ahem...”
“Don’t get tense,” the gnome waved a hand. “I see. You don’t get it.”
Plunking down in an armchair, she crossed her legs. And seeing the perplexed look on my face, she said:
“Next time you feel like telling my secrets to strangers, think thrice.”
“But...” I tried to object, then it dawned on me.
“Oh!” the gnome commented on my expression. “Finally get it?”
“The golems...” I rasped out.
“Indeed,” the gnome nodded.
“But the keepers are not strangers,” I tried to defend myself. I realized though that there was no longer any point.
“To you they are not strangers,” Gallia responded. “But to me they are nothing more than temporary allies. The gnomes are very far from friendly with the elves.”
“Sorry... I wasn’t looking at the situation from that angle.”
“You should have been,” Gallia menaced with a finger. “I am of course glad a whole three Hearts of the Forest have come to our world, but I have to put my subjects first. It does not temper my determination to fight Darkness in any way, but to not say we stand to gain from the coming civil war in the Great Forest would be hypocritical on my part. Let me be frank ― my subjects are unlikely to feel bad if elves die. In fact, they’ll probably think that the more of them die the better for us gnomes.”
“What about you, will you feel bad?” I suddenly asked. Gallia didn’t get mad.
“Rick, my friend, accusing me of callousness would be foolish. The king of the elves and his subjects are aiding the alliance that stands against us, which makes him an enemy of mine.”
“Well, for some reason I don’t like the idea of a brother-against-brother war among the elves,” I said directly.
“That’s just because you spend too much time around forest magic. And the Friend of the Forest Amulet is probably swaying your opinion. Plus, the elves have never done anything bad to you. But if you give them the chance... Oh! You can’t even imagine how ruthless those bastards can be! You should keep your guard up around them.”
“In any case, I feel bad for how it happened...”
“Well, yeah... The cat’s out of the bag... That’s why I had to tell a couple white lies about the true state of affairs in my workshops.”
“What do you mean?” I got on guard.
“The repairs are going much faster than I claimed,” the gnome said with a ravenous smile. “In reality, approximately half of the Bronze Legion is ready to do battle.”
Overall, I learned a valuable lesson that day which I will never forget. That I am a friend to both the gnomes and the forest. And as far as Gallia is concerned, the keepers are merely temporary allies.
In the end, the gnome didn’t get too heated. She called me a naive kid who still has a lot to learn. And then, in order to boost my mood a bit, she told me she would be sending the first hundred golem archers as promised in the next few days. And she wasn’t lying. They were the very wonder-machines Brown was talking about.
I hadn’t seen them yet, but I would certainly go look over our reinforcements soon. Brown seems happy with his new troops. His only complaint is that the golems are bottomless mana pits while active.
Pinebogey, by the way, also made good on his promise. Beneath the walls of Foreston, a small army had in fact taken shape made up of around eight hundred elven archers. I should note that the keeper of the Dark Forest managed to catch me off guard. All those elves were over level thirty. And they were wearing the same kind of wooden armor I had a few pieces of lying around in my backpack.
When Tananth first saw the warband, he couldn’t believe his eyes. After he came to his senses, the prince gave a rousing speech to the neat rows of archers. He promised the army would serve as a weighty argument in the search for allies among the elven houses.
We moved that army to the castle in the gnomish mountains after giving every soldier a set of blots, mites and satiety potions. From there, they went on their own to the border of the Great Forest. I imagine things are heating up out there right now. Maybe in a few days we’ll receive word from Tananth.
After the gnomes and elves left Newtown, I held a meeting with the keeper of the Heart of the Dark Forest and the trolls. The giants that did hear the Call swore oaths of loyalty to Mee and followed after him to the place where the tree would be planted.
My goodbye with Mee came out somewhat restrained. As if we weren’t splitting up for long. A day or two max, though we both understood it would be quite a while before we saw one another again. Maybe that was for the best. I’m not a fan of hard goodbyes.
Pinebogey was also present for the meeting with the trolls, but he didn’t go with Mee. I did hope that, as an old friend, he might help Mee find his footing in a new location. When I said that to Pinebogey, he shook his head and explained that the keeper of the Heart of the Stone Forest would figure it all out on his own. And that the place was off limits to Pinebogey.
I remember seeing off the gremlins and trolls that followed Mee. Both of the foxmaidens cried. Gorgie whimpered quietly and kept lunging off to follow him. I had to hold him back. The whipsnakes were sad, too. Only then did I truly realize Mee had gone his own way. And when the last troll disappeared among the trees, I noticed I hadn’t taken a breath the entire time. I also had tears streaming down my cheeks. I had to quickly get myself together because I had a difficult conversation with Ur ahead of me.
As if reading my thoughts, Murk asked:
“How’d the talk with Ur go?”
“Alas, we were not able to have a decent conversation,” I breathed a heavy sigh. “Well, the talk was alright, but none of our schemes ended up working.”
“How did he react to the fact Nure-onna has joined forces with the Steel King?” Amber asked. “After all, Chaos and Darkness are age-old enemies. And now they’re working together!”
“He didn’t,” I responded. “He listened in silence and left.”
That was exactly what happened. While Ur listened to me, not a single muscle on his stony face so much as twitched. When I finished my speech, the troll nodded and walked off into the woods without a word.
To be frank, it was not the reaction I was expecting. Pinebogey on the contrary was understanding of Ur’s behavior. That was because they had known each other a long time. Then, back in Newtown and before saying goodbye, Pinebogey hinted to me that the former gatekeeper just needed time to make sense of everything.
And I told the others.
“Heh...” Brown stroked the back of his head. “Time just so happens to be the one thing we don’t have. I’m afraid it’ll already be too late before he works his mind into shape.”
“Ah, too bad...” came Onyx. “Having another primordial ally would come in very handy. The Steel King has so many of them, the primordials.”
Well sure... When Gallia brought up their names at the council, shivers started running up and down my spine. They were not mere names. Those were legendary monsters.
“Do you know anything about those primordials?” Onyx asked me.
“A bit,” I answered. “Things I’ve heard from elders and read in books.”
“Tell me!” Onyx demanded straight away and started sliding back in her seat.
“This would be good for us, too,” Brown nodded.
I sighed. Well, why not?
“Not counting Magister Sato and Nure-onna,” I started. “Egbert will have five more primordials on his side. As it turns out, we didn’t kill all the necromancers.”
They all sighed together.
“Are there many of them left?” Murk asked with a deep frown.
“Just one,” I nodded. “The most powerful among them. Alrak the Heartless. If the legends can be believed, this primordial was at one time a powerful blood mage but, in his quest for greater power, swore allegiance to Darkness and became a lich.”
“A lich?” Amber asked, almost whispering.
“Yes,” I answered. “That is when a necromancer mage makes themselves undead to increase their might. According to Gallia, Alrak was the first necromancer in this world. Essentially, Udun the traitor was just a little minnow compared to this lich.”
A graveyard silence fell over the office.
“While the Steel King loomed in the shadows,” I continued. “All the sins of the Age of the Dead Wars were ascribed to Alrak. Until recently, it was thought that Alrak was killed, but Gramner the Fourarmed told Gallia the ancient lich is still hm... ‘alive.’“
“What kind of head-sick bastard would voluntarily make himself undead?” Onyx was outraged.
I meanwhile continued.
“The next primordial to swear allegiance to the original Steel King was Crook.”
“The Crook?” Brown asked in surprise. “I thought those were old-wives’ tales.”
Murk nodded.
“My granny often told me not to stay out late or Crook would take me away. So, does it really exist?”
Today is a day of discovery for the foxfolk.
“Yes,” I answered. “She is yet another demon of the night from old fairy tales. A winged monster who attacks travelers who stay out after sundown. Pinebogey said he once saw her on the attack. Compared to her, flying necromorphs are just nice little sparrows.”
I remembered seeing Pinebogey wince when Gallia told us the next primordial we’d have to fight. As it turned out, he had also faced off against her before.
“Who next?” Amber hurried me along.
“Black Annis,” I responded. “A one-eyed cannibal witch with a blue face and claws of iron. A nimble and bloodthirsty beast. Pinebogey has seen the famed bone oak next to her cave with his own eyes. Black Annis used to adore hanging skin flayed from her victims on its ghastly boughs. Gallia said the blue-faced witch took part in the assault on Solenholm, capital of ancient Darta. During the battle, the primordial transformed into a gigantic black kitty and sowed death in the ranks of the city’s defenders.”
Ahem... I could only thank the gods I had avoided an encounter with all these monsters in the Labyrinth of Fright.
“The last primordials on Gallia’s list are the two daeva of corruption. Im and Om, a pair of giant brothers. I don’t know much about them. Only that they have a past with Gallia Longbraid. At the well-known Battle of Red Mountain, she killed their third brother. Essentially, the daeva of corruption got involved in this war only so they could take revenge on the woman who murdered their older brother.”
“Woah, woah,” Brown sighed, staring at a fixed point in front of him. “If all those nasty beasts come riding our way, we’re in for a tough time.”
I felt obliged not to mention the fact that those were just the primordials Gallia knew about. Everyone was so stunned. I wanted to shake them up, but they took care of it for me.
“Yeah, so what!” Onyx exclaimed. “We have Eric! Gorgie, Coal, Sparky, the Keepers! We have Gallia Longbraid! And a highly fortified city! Let them send every monster they have. I’m sure we can bring them to heel!”
Condescending smiles appeared on the magisters’ faces. Oh well. It’s actually for the best.
Our conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door.
“Come in,” I permitted.
A messenger appeared in the doorway.
“Sire,” he said, breathing heavily. “A group of refugees has arrived!”
I glanced at Murk.
“I thought you said the orcs went to Narrow Lake?”
“It isn’t the orcs,” the messenger cut in. “They’re humans! Lots of humans!”
I frowned.
“Humans? On the Dark Continent?!”
“Around a hundred,” the messenger nodded. “Beyond warriors, there are women, children and elderly. They brought lots of carts, too.”
Without another second’s delay, I left the office. Humans on the Dark Continent?! Although... I think I know who it might be. Those who come here in search of ancient artifacts ― the explorers.
A few minutes later, I was standing on the edge of the forest and staring into a ring of several dozen carts lumbering slowly in our direction.
We had been spotted. Around two hundred yards from the forest, the rag-tag band of travelers stopped and sent riders galloping our direction.
There was five of them. Levels from twenty to thirty. Dressed like scouts. Caked in road dust. Some had gray bandages dotted with brownish-red splotches on their arms, torsos, shoulders and legs. Exhaustion on their unshaven faces. I wonder where they came from.
After seeing a human figure among the foxfolk, the riders looked encouraged and rode up closer.
“Esteemed lords!” shouted the most senior and gray among them. He spread his arms. The others followed right behind. “We come in peace! We wish you no harm!”
Based on his accent, he was Tarian.
“Who are you and what do you want here?!” I shouted.
The gray-hair shuddered. That perked him up. He must have heard my accent, too.
“We have come from the lands of the east, sir!” he shouted. “We had a large settlement there! But it was destroyed by flying beasts. We had no choice but to run for our lives!”
I nodded to let him know his explanation fit with what we knew. Then I stepped out in front and walked over closer to the newcomers. Along with me, not a step behind came Murk, Brown and the foxmaidens. The other troops stayed back on the forest’s edge, ready to attack at any moment.
The riders exchanged a couple phrases then started jumping down onto the ground. Two of them clearly did not like what was going on. To be safe, I spread my arms and raised my open hands to show I wasn’t concealing any weapons.
“Allow me to introduce myself!” the gray-hair said with a slight bow when we were on equal footing. “Thomas Daron. Until recently, I was the leader of an explorer settlement. You have after all most likely heard of Steppe Village?”
We traded glances. The foxfolk shook their heads.
“First I’m hearing of it,” I replied.
Thomas Daron sighed.
“With whom do I have the honor of speaking?”
“Eric Bergman, Supreme Magister of the Order of Monster Hunters.”
I saw five of the explorers’ eyes creep up into their foreheads.
“Sorry, did I mishear you?” Thomas asked. “Did you say the Order of Monster Hunters? The very dead order of ancient legend?”
“No, you did not,” I responded. “All of us are monster hunters. I see you have many children. You must be tired.”
The explorers got tense. And sure. This is not the outskirts of Orchus. This is the Dark Continent. Folks out here aren’t used to expressions of humanity. And they get doubly anxious when it’s offered by some boy that just declared himself the supreme magister of a long defunct order. Much less one surrounded by foxfolk.
Meanwhile, I continued:
“You may pitch your tents for the night here on the edge of the forest. Beyond that hill, there is a small stream where you can refill your water and give some to your animals. I give you my word: you will not be harmed. But I also must warn you – if you wish to keep your lives, tell all your people not to wander too far into the forest. It’s practically chalk full of magical traps of all kinds. And we can’t keep an eye on every scatterbrain.”
After I said that, I nodded and turned to leave, but the gray-haired explorer stopped me.
“Thank you, sir Magister! We won’t cause you any problems. There is but one thing I would like to ask ... Ghm... Our supplies... Would you happen to have a bit of food for sale? We’ll pay handsomely!”
I nodded and turned to Murk
“Feed them. Do not accept their money.”
After hearing that, the explorers looked happy and started to thank me. Then, we said goodbye and went in opposite directions. I was smiling the whole way. After all, those were explorers. They had been doggedly seeking various artifacts for years. What if they have something I can use? I was afraid to spook off my good fortune. I had to be sure and maintain good relations.