1.30 In Which the Dark Lord Takes the Kids to the Park

1.30 In Which the Dark Lord Takes the Kids to the Park

Yeah, I can do it, said Harold, turning the crossbow over in his hands and holding it up to peer critically at its cocking mechanism from up close. Just need the materialsand proper tools. Itd help if I could take it apart

Id rather you didnt, I said. Not to question your skills, but just in case. It had been a surprise to learn that Harold and Kasser had been apprentice craftsmen before theyd left their village for unspecified reasons and ended up here, but definitely a stroke of luckone which got me wondering just how long Virya had been prepping this fortress for my arrival. Everything was just a little too perfect, right down to the thuggish bandit boss whom Id made a good first impression by disposing of. Or having Aster do it, technically, but the power on display had definitely been mine. Harold worked with akornin, the tough and slightly flexible animal shell substance Ephemerans mostly used in place of metal, making him the equivalent of a blacksmith. Kasser was a specialist in akorshilso basically a carpenter. What tools and materials, specifically?

If you ask your merchant friend for a basic sets of akornin and akorshil shaping tools, hell be able to get what you need, Kasser answered. Unless I was imagining it, he seemed less terse with me now that the opportunity to practice his actual trade was on the table. For materials Hum, itll depend. Harold, I think wed better write up a list of types and grades to give Lord Seiji.

Uh, yeah, Harold agreed, giving me a shy smile. No offense, Lord Seiji, its justthose details dont tend to stick in the mind for people who arent trained in it.

None taken, youre dead right. Take your time looking that over and laying plans, and get me a list before my next Gwyllthean visit tomorrow morning.

Yes, my lord! And it shouldnt be a problem, doing it without dismantling the crossbow. Some of these components are pretty finicky-looking, but I think I can figure out the necessary shapes by examining it.

Ah, if I may? All of us looked up at Sakin, who was hovering off to one side of the table where we were bent over the crossbow. What youve got there is a townie special, Lord Seiji. See the hinged bits there on the front? Thats to fold up its arms so you can hang it from your belt under a long coat and hide it. All that absolutely guts the power of the weapon, and also adds hugely to the complexity. If you get rid of that, its basically just a shortbow fixed sideways to a stick, and the lever mechanism for cocking it should be a lot simpler for Harold to reproduce. And if he just makes it with a smooth arc of akornin instead of folding arms itll be a lot more durable and powerful.

Hey, hes right! Harold exclaimed. Yeah, this folding mechanism is really complicated compared to the leverand I can see how its secured when it locks open, but still, that obviously weakens the bow part considerably. If you drew it too hard the whole thingd break.

Id think about making several variations, Sakin suggested. This is smaller than a military crossbow, for one. Perfect if you want someone not very strong to carry it around and shoot people from fairly close upcity fighting, in essence. The ones the army uses are bigger, made to punch through armor at range. Ive also seen little hand-sized stinger versions; no range or stopping power to speak of, but theyre meant to deliver alchemy.

Mm, I mused, I can see the potential in that, especially now that weve hopefully got an alchemy supplier locked down. Dunk your bolts in poison for a guaranteed kill, or sleeping potion to neutralize non-lethally. Thats perfect. Harold, Kasser?

Since were planning to modify em from the original version anyway, it sounds like good sense to test out various models, Kasser agreed. The biggest problem I can see is that the string looks thicker than a normal bowstring. If thats a specialty component, itll be hard to get more without revealing to the supplier what were making. And Ive got no idea how you turn raw animal sinew into bowstrings.

Its thicker than hunting bows like youd normally use, sure, Sakin agreed. Should be able to jury-rig it with strings for longbowsjust cut them down and re-wrap the ends. Im no fletcher, but I bet any of us can figure out how to do that much. Longbows are military hardware, but not controlled nearly as carefully as crossbows. Takes a lot of muscle and training to use one. I bet you can get the strings without too much trouble.

Ill sound Auldmaer out, I said. Discreetly. All right, gentlemen, sounds like weve got a plan.

Just like that, I found myselfsettled in.

It was in that short span of days that the last of my initial burst of big events and changes occurred, marking a transition to a period of slower and steadier progress. My plans continued to advance, evenly and with neither setbacks nor great leaps forward, for the next few weeks. And weeks were the dividing units of that period, marking roughly the intervals at which I visited Gwyllthean. Even varying the exact timing to avoid being predictable, I made one weekly visit as Lord Seiji and one as the Healer.

The field grasses surrounding the roads and filling the khora plantations began to turn golden, as the apparently native Ephemera vines which decorated the upper tiers of Gwyllthean shifted to purple and blue hues, but it didnt get much colder. Dount had a cool climate but saw relatively little variation; according to Aster and the others, autumns tended to be mild, characterized more by the increased rainfall we started to get than by cold. There was usually plentiful snow in the winter, but everyone claimed it didnt get too cold, just enough that the precipitation stayed frozen. Given all the peppers these people ate, I wasnt about to take their word on the subject of what was hot or the opposite. I bought some warmer clothes.

Things went smoothly once I got the alchemy situation squared away, which itself went down surprisingly painlessly, especially given what Id been led to expect by my previous dealings with the goblins. It seemed that after my confrontation with Gizmit, though, Sneppit was abruptly done playing games with me. She sent the revised contract the very next day as I had demanded, this time in the custody of Zui, who was still standoffish but more polite now. It contained the stipulations Id asked for, phrased in terms that seemed to accommodate both Sneppits needs and mine in good faith. After that, an exchange of slimes for potions and powders became one of my weekly milestones, overseen by Youda, whose company I rather enjoyed. He was cheerful and always glad to talk shop, which was exactly the source of ideas and insight into new methods I had wanted.

I did not see Gizmit or Zui again after that, which suited me perfectly. Zui was just kind of unpleasant, and I had a feeling Gizmit was a security risk just for existing in my fortress. Maid, my ass.

After my earlier experiences with Sneppits crew, the whole thing left me constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I tolja, boss, goblins are Viryan, Biribo explained when I mentioned this later. Theyre not gonna enter a relationship without testing your strength first. Honestly, whether it was intentional or not, you handled it pretty much perfectly. You called Sneppit out on her bullshit and pushed back, but also let her get one over on you. So now she knows youre worthy of respect, but she can still profit off you. And shes got reassurance youre not gonna get violent if tested; that had tove been a big concern for her. Goblin/human relations tend to end up that way as soon as the human half of the equation is even slightly disappointed.

Hmph. The whole thing sounds like a giant pain in the ass.

I suggest you get used to it, boss, he said, flicking out his tongue at me. Viryans are all about challenging each other, testing everybodys strength. Just wait till you gotta recruit orcs. You do that by personally beating the shit outta their strongest champions in single combat.This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

Oh, goody. Something to look forward to.

But with the goblins handled, a lot of other things fell into place. Our ability to deal with trade caravans increased; the combination of Youdas advice and Auldmaers connections opened a lot of possibilities. The goblins concoctions could create wind, darkness, or fog, and induce sleep, panic, lethargy, blindness, paralysis We had all kinds of exciting new means of robbing people without killing anybody, or even having to fight. The gentler methods I tested on Auldmaers long-suffering employees, while trying more aggressive tricks on those of his rivals who were hauling stock that was useful to me. These tests didnt always go smoothly, sometimes requiring us to lob multiple powder bombs before taking effect, and once Goose had to choke a guy out manually. We were learning and practicing, though, and getting more adept.

It wouldnt be long before the stealthy bandits using exotic munitions gained enough notoriety to provoke a reaction. The nail that sticks up gets hammered down, no matter what world youre on. I did everything I could to be prepared for that inevitability, but in the end we would just have to see how it went.

Among my other dealings with Auldmaer, I gave him a blue halo to pass on to Larinet as compensation for keeping her mouth firmly shut. Now that the Healer had been seen using Immolate, I wanted any other appearances of that spell kept under wraps. The tools we needed I bought from a contact to whom Auldmaer directed me; shipments of raw akornin and akorshil we lifted from rival trade companies who were cutting into his profit margins. It ended up being Maugro, not Auldmaer, who got us the right caliber of bowstrings. It seemed goblins had access to khora products from their underground root systems which could be used to create all kinds of useful things, including bowstrings that worked just as well as the sinew variety and were also less vulnerable to temperature and moisture.

The first few crossbow attempts didnt work particularly well, but that too was a process. Kasser and Harold learned with every iteration, and by the end of the week had built a reliable reproduction of the one Id taken from the Gwyllthean thug, minus the unnecessary folding mechanism. Based on our tests with straw dummies we cobbled together, the new one packed more of a punch. Really, the only issue was reproducing the lever mechanism that cocked the weapon, the thing which made them usable by people who didnt have the arm strength to fully draw a bow. Ammunition wasnt as much of a problem as Id expected, either; Harold could easily craft arrowheads and Kasser could make shafts from the raw materials we stole, and goose feathers could be bought in bulk (we didnt happen to find a caravan carrying them). Fletching was its own art, so our improvised quarrels probably werent as effective as professional ones, but they didnt need to fly as far as arrows, so Kassers efforts sufficed.

Soon there was a crossbow for every member of the gang, and I made them practice regularly until they could shoot reliably. We even saw some success with smaller models, the ones Sakin called stingers, taking out caravan guards with makeshift sleeping darts that were little but splinters of akorshil dipped in Youdas potions. And still, I kept Harold and Kasser at work making more. I would need enough of them to supply a much bigger force soon.

Hopefully.

Though things progressed by steady increments over the following weeks rather than abrupt leaps, there were still some interesting moments amid the relative quiet.

There was only inscrutable darkness behind the slits of Rhydions visor; I had no clue what he was thinking for the several seconds in which he regarded me after my little therapeutic venting session. He turned his head to watch the kids playing before answering me.

One of my favorite things about the adventuring life is how many interesting people I get to know. You are particularly fascinating, Lord Seiji. I have never met someone so constantly angry at everything who yet keeps taking opportunities to be kind to those he encounters.

Im not constantly angry, I said defensively. Rhydions helmet shifted slightly to point toward the bench, where Aster was gently stroking the sleeping Benits hair while dividing her attention between us and the boys. Yeah, well The kids were helpful to me, when I first landed here. I try to give a little back. Theres not really a lot I can do for em, aside from getting them fed and the odd trip into town.

I suppose it is true that not everyone is of the right character to be responsible for children full-time.

Its not that, I said in annoyance. Theres this Ugh. The Gutters doesnt have a proper orphanage, apparently. Just some asshole who takes in the kids and uses them for all kinds of less than savory purposes. And it seems he answers to the gangsters who run all the crime in this town, so. Remove orphans from the Gutters and youre cutting into the business of dangerous people wholl make their opinions of that known. Youre an adventurer, Im sure youre more aware of all this crap than I am.

The helmet shifted slightly as he shook his head. I actively try not to be aware of business in which I would feel an ethical need to intervene.

Do you, now.

It was a lesson hard learned. I believe a man has a responsibility to right what wrongs he can, where he is. Yet, if a man tries to right every wrong in the world, the result will be exhaustion and countless tasks left half-done, in their best-case scenarios. Many will be actively exacerbated by the offhanded meddling of someone who does not understand the full depth of the situation. The effective practice of virtue, I have come to think, requires a kind of tunnel vision. Find an objective against which your abilities can do good, and dedicate yourself to it until it is done. We must have faith that the Goddess will send those of similar inclination to attend to other evils. No one can be everywhere.

I watched Gilder and Radon chase each other around a fountain, laughing shrilly, and said nothing while I digested that.

Perhaps you disagree, Rhydion suggested after at least a full minute of silence.

Perhaps I do, I said. In fact, Ill go ahead and declare thats the most mealy-mouthed justification of moral laziness and intellectual cowardice Ive ever heard.

Aster jerked her head around to stare at me in wide-eyed horror. Ah yes, I remembered, Rhydion was some kind of local celebrity superhero.

I will not argue, he said, inclining his head slightly toward me. I harbor such doubts myself. Nor are the methods I have developed any kind of ideal practice, but merely compromises experience has forced me to make with my own mortal frailty. If there is any value in my soul at all, I shall continue improving myself so long as I live.

Well, I can respect that part, at least.

If you have a similar interest in advancing yourself, both in virtue and material standing, you might consider the offer I made you before.

Offer? Remind me.

To join the Kings Guild. Healing magic is rare and valuable, Lord Seiji; even if your medical spells are as humble as you claimed, they would ensure you a place of great prestige within the Guild.

Oh. Right. That. AhI think the adventuring life is not for me.

I understand. If you are not interested in adventuring as a career, I wonder if you might deign to sell your services for a shorter duration.

I blinked at him. Excuse me?

I am on Dount in response to a growing threat of necromantic events and possible Void activity. This has been a slow process, involving much careful investigation; we are not to the point of taking physical action yet, but before the time comes, I would like to retain the services of a healer.

Ahah! I couldnt quite restrain the incredulous bark of laughter which escaped me, not that I tried very hard. No, I dont think so. But good luck with it, sincerely. Sounds like a worthwhile endeavor. Goddess favor you and all that.

I hope you might reconsider before we reach the critical juncture, Lord Seiji. To face the Void without healing magic at ones side is deeply perilous.

Come on, I cant possibly be the only healer on Dount. Im definitely not the best. Actually, I probably was the best, but he was the last person who needed to know that.

It is vanishingly rare to meet a healer who is not fully committed for the foreseeable future. The truth is, you may well be the best available. The options are you, and a rumored madman who goes around the Gutters healing prostitutes.

Heh. Prostitutes, hm? Well, there you go; you should ask that guy. He sounds a lot more charitable than I am.

I am not so sure. He looked again at the playing children.

Even so, I cant believe Im your best option.

Let me put it this way, Lord Seiji. Im sure you have some idea howpleasant you are to talk to. I am asking you anyway.

For one second, I was fully occupied being offended. But then, in spite of myself, I had to burst out laughing.