Chapter 219: Spoils of War

Chapter 219: Spoils of War

It had been a tiring night for Gendifur. Cleaning the girls up had been a chore after they played tag with Tallsqueak. It took forever to comb out their burned fur and get all the soot and dirt cleaned off of them. Rosie and Buttercup were still excited about the game. No one had ever thrown explosive spells at them before. At first, it had scared them, the way the loud noises in the big fight had frightened them. Tallsqueak had explained things to them, and they had clapped with childlike glee. Scary noises were just another way to fight! After that, they chased him as hard as possible, trying to dodge his explosions while hunting him. They were getting better, but each time they got close, another bone bomb rolled in front of them and exploded. Dinner had arrived too soon, as far as they were concerned. They were already looking forward to the next time they got to play.

After dinner, during 'quiet down time,' they asked Gendifur when they could learn to make bone bombs and throw them at people. Gendifur didn't want to try to explain to them how hard learning spells would be, so she pushed that talk off to another day. "Everything in time, my little dears. First, you must finish your Claw and Tail lessons with Larry and Master Gilad. After that, your father will show you how people fight with weapons and shields. After that, if you want to try, we will work on learning to cast simple cantrips."

Three Hamster Huey stories had finally gotten them to close their eyes.

When the noise of a horde of armor and weapons crashing to the floor woke them up, Gendifur decided it was Daddy's night to put them to bed. Mama found her hidden jar of chocolate-covered cheese balls and took a break.

Tallsqueak went to find the other Masters but barely got outside the front door when he was attacked. He leaped forward, rolled, dodged to his left, and came up with two spells ready to cast, only to find Tweedle and Ringtail leaning against the wall of the house, trying unsuccessfully to look bored.

"Look, brother! It is our good friend Tallsqueak."

"Indeed, I would recognize him anywhere, even if he wasn't rolling and dodging."

"He's pretending to be a Sorcerer now..."

"Yes, he looks quite fierce!"

"It's as if he felt threatened for some reason."

"Remember who he lives with."

"Oooh, true. I feel threatened just thinking of Brutus."

"I did not mean Brutus, but he is quite threatening."

"True. I see your point. Perhaps he was running from Gendifur?"

"No, he likes Gendifur. See how often he fakes an injury to lay in pain in her clinic."

"They are very close."

"That only leaves one conclusion, brother..."

"I agree; he is threatened by us!"

"We are scary scouts who scout scary things."

"Speaking of scary things..."

Milo remembered something. "Brutus talked about wanting to follow the caravans."

Gilad nodded. "That boy has always had a bit of wanderlust in his soul. I remembered the season he wanted to train as a scout. Seeing him trying to sneak around the Hollow kept us all amused. We had to finally move him to guard training when he got so heavy he caved in a roof he was running across. Being a guard let him roam some of the nearby caverns and greet travelers. But you see an opportunity for something else?"

Milo used a claw to scratch diagrams in the stone of the floor, drawing the cavern layout and the house, with the area set aside for the Engineer compound on the other side of the cavern. Then he added a building next to the house. "The Hollow is going to see more traffic now. Players exploring the deeper caves, dwarves coming to mine, and maybe even caravans from other Hollows. What if we built a Trading Post next to the house? Players coming to the Hollow could do business outside the Hollow, and we could decide who could enter the main area. It gives more control and safety. The people we don't trust fully can still buy food and supplies from the Hollow and sell their goods."

He pointed to the piles of armor and weapons. "We can put some of these items in the trading post to sell and keep the rest to buy with contribution points. That way, everyone in the Hollow benefits. If we gain more players starting here, that gives them more things to earn, and they will contribute more."

Gilad liked the idea. "Caravans and players will be less of a threat when camping in the outer cave, and we can keep a better eye on them. Even add a guard room to the Trading Post. Brutus could oversee all of it."

The feeling of a threat nearby washed over Milo. A scowling Gendifur was standing nearby. "What are you volunteering my new husband for?" The conversation paused as everyone noticed her. She bent to look at the plan and considered it for a moment. Then she smiled at all the other councilors and sat down.

"Brutus would love it. He still has some of his old dreams. I can spare him occasionally if we send a caravan to another Hollow. If you are building a Trading Post on one side of my house, I want a new clinic on the other side. It will free up more room in the Hollow and let me have space to help more people at once. I hope we never have such a string of emergencies again, but I want to be ready."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Milo looked down at the pile of rings and pondered something for a few seconds, then came to a decision. "I have something I need to say. I'm not always going to be here. I need to travel to the Outpost and Shadowport, and there are mysteries below us that I want to explore. I love it here, but I can't stay still for long without something to do."

Gendifur snorted, and several of the council looked at each other. Arlothe flat-out laughed. "I think I speak for the majority of us. You getting bored leads to exciting times. Perhaps too exciting?"

Gilad agreed. "You would be a poor Master Scout if you were complacent."

Milo was happy that no one seemed upset. "I want to pick a successor. Is there a problem with that?"

No one disagreed. Bleusnout spoke, "It shows responsibility to do so. Who did you have in mind?"

Tallsqueak looked over at Tweedle and Ringtail, who were napping at the top of a large pile of coins. He picked up two of the extra Master Scout rings from the pile. He picked them up, skulked over to the two assistant scouts, and slipped the rings on their fingers before clapping his hands loudly.

They jumped up with wild eyes and looked down at their fingers.

"Oh no! What is this?"

"Responsibility, the most dreaded of things."

"It nags and nags and makes you brush your teeth."

"I feel my posture improving...no more slouching!"

They looked at each other, turned to Milo, and said simultaneously. "Time to grow up?"

Milo nodded and shook their hands. "Maybe a little."