Emerilia Box Set, page 116
part #1 of Emerilia Series
“They were banished from the world, but I am told that they will return. We must prepare for their arrival and the challenges to come.” Alkao gazed into Krenua’s eyes, their determination and a promise for a future setting a fire in their eyes.
A pop-up interrupted the moment.
Quest: Reclaim Your Home
Good—thought you might know old Krenua. Now, while your soldiers might be fine living out in the elements, your people won’t. Gather food for three hundred people and shelter to fit as many. Your journey has only started, Lord Alkao. Maybe with time, you will be once again worthy of being a Prince? Some of your new friends might know of quicker ways to make homes.
Rewards: Support personnel
“The Gray God gives us a task; we are to gather food for three hundred of our people and housing to fit them. Krenua, I will need your best hunters and those who know how to build shelters,” Alkao said.
He didn’t miss the hint that the Gray God was giving him.
“Have the hunters go to the basements. There are several creatures there. First, we need firewood to keep this cold off us. Then, I want those who know how to build searching the valley for any structures that might still be standing and then to search the other keeps to see if they would be able to hold people. I want a report within a day’s time,” Alkao said, turning for the keep.
“Yes, my Prince,” Krenua said.
“I will join them shortly. First, I must see if I can make up for a mistake I had made and try to see if we can get some allies in our fight,” Alkao said.
“It will be done.” Krenua turned to his Black Hands, issuing orders and finding out who was best suited for what.
Alkao’s wings moved nervously. He was now seeing how useful having allies would be. While they would not only be building their forces once again under pressure, most Demons would be starting as disorientated as Krenua had been. Still, they would have to rebuild their home. Summer was approaching quickly, which would make the work easier, but Alkao didn’t know how many of his people the Gray God was protecting.
He got to his command room. Gripping the table, he wondered what he would say. “First, I will talk to Anna to see how they fare and the others’ moods. Then, Suzy to apologize. Finally, I must do the same with Dave.” Alkao touched the hilt of his sword.
Without Dave’s weapons, he would have died fighting the creatures that littered his keep. He liked to think of himself as a good and honorable Demon. Yet, his actions had made him seem no more than a foolish child, blaming the world and anyone who was close for his issues.
He opened his interface and moved to his friends list, finding Anna and clicking the call button on the drop-down menu.
“Alkao, I did not think I would hear from you so soon.” The question was clear in her voice.
“I am sorry of my words and my actions. They were not warranted—I was angry. I call you to apologize and to ask for your aid.” Alkao hoped that his voice showed his sincerity.
“Father told me that you are bringing back the Demons. You know that I am not the only one you need to apologize to. What do you need?” Anna said.
“I know and I will make my apologies for my actions,” Alkao promised. “I need help in creating shelter for my people who are coming back to Emerilia.”
“I’ll talk to some people I know.”
“Thank you, Anna,” Alkao said. Some of the dread in his chest faded away.
Chapter 26: Conference
Suzy looked over Induca, who was sleeping in their bed.
After Selhi, they’d finally let their feelings guide them. Suzy wouldn’t deny that she found Induca attractive, smart, interesting, and good fun to be around. Still, she was scared for their relationship. She wondered whether people would look down on her like they had in her other life. She was scared what the future might bring—if they came together or if they were ripped apart by the world. She didn’t want to go back into trying to hide her sexuality and she didn’t want to push Induca away.
She was confronted with a situation that she had hoped for so long. Now that it was here, she was scared that it would end.
Her interface made a ringing noise, telling her that someone was trying to get her into a voice chat. She rubbed her eyes, nursing her Xer, and accepted the chat.
“Hello, Suzy.” Alkao’s voice was clear as the day they had left him in the Mithsia Mountains.
“What do you want?” Her spark of confusion turned to annoyed realization. She did not want to deal with his gloating, his threats, or whatever the hell else he cooked up.
Anna had told the others about Alkao and was looking for people who could help her out with getting a place ready for the demons to call home. Malsour had agreed to help. With his magics, he could form shelters in hours instead of weeks.
The rest of the guild was throwing around ideas as Anna tried to plan for the future.
Suzy had fielded a few ideas, but she had extended her hand in friendship before, only to have Alkao and his prejudices become clear, thinking of Suzy and her friends as weak people to be used for his personal gain. Anna said that he seemed to have changed, but Suzy wasn’t going to roll over for him.
“I called to say that I am sorry about the things that I did and said. I was blinded by false pride. I should have not said those things. It is only now that I have come to realize this. Dave gave me a gift that helped me to get back to my homeland, to protect my life and forge a future for my people. If I did not have it, then I would be in dire straits or even dead, crushing my race’s future.” Alkao sounded genuine but Suzy wasn’t about to let him off the hook.
“Pride and honor are good things to have. Make sure that you are not blinded to them in the future. An apology is not the only thing that would motivate you to contact me. What do you want?” she asked, not caring for any pride that he might be trying to keep.
“The Gray God has given me a set of tasks to complete—he pushed me to contact you,” Alkao said.
“What are your aims and what do you need?”
“I want to make shelter for my people and to have food for three hundred people. That is what the quest tells me to do,” Alkao said. “The food I can do with my warriors. The homes—we are looking for different places to house our people and make sure that they are cleared of creatures. We should get some room from all of that. For the rest, I do not know what we could do,” Alkao said.
“What resources do you have?”
“I have my sword, shield, and twenty warriors,” Alkao stated.
“What kind of natural resources?”
“We have multiple creatures in the area that are deadly and drop a good amount of coin as well as materials, though we have nowhere to sell our goods. We do not wish to reveal ourselves before we are strong enough to deal with the threats of Emerilia.”
“Smart. Give me a minute.” Suzy cut the channel to Alkao and opened one with Shard.
“Hey, Shard, I have the Demon Prince Alkao on hold. I was wondering if there are any teleport pads close enough to him that we might be able to reach him?” Suzy asked.
“There are a few, but they are a few days’ hike. I must ask what are your intentions with contacting the Demons? They have had a colorful history.” Shard’s voice became more robotic. Suzy took it as his main guardian code written by the Aleph at work.
“The Demons need supplies to rebuild their home, like the Aleph. They have some items that they can trade, but they don’t want to have to show their faces to the others in the world. I was thinking of selling their goods through the Exdar’s Traders, charging them a fee and then sending back the materials and items that they need from their profits.”
“Understandable. I could create auction systems that would allow them to sell on the auction markets across Emerilia. Their home at Devil’s Crater in Ashal hosts many creature drops and resources that others in Emerilia would be willing to pay for dearly. I can also add in a system that tracks what the Demons are selling on a person-by-person basis, storing their accrued credit with the Aleph Bank, of which I am an administrator,” Shard said.
“If you could, that would be amazing, Shard!” Suzy said. She hadn’t thought of where Devil’s Crater was.
“I would also ask if it would be possible for me to barter with the Exdar’s Traders through you? There are certain resources that I am lacking in that I would be able to purchase with your aid.”
“I don’t see a problem. The guild is probably going to place the five percent tax on it that they do with every transaction through the guild,” Suzy warned.
“That is understandable.” Shard sounded agreeable to the terms.
“We’ll get all the details sorted out later with Lucy.”
“Very well. I will allow the Demons to use a terminal for the purpose of buying and selling goods to the Aleph, Exdar’s Traders, and the auction market.” With that, Shard cut the chat.
Suzy returned to her chat with Alkao.
“Okay, we have a system that we can bring that will allow you to sell items for wealth. You can also store items for a fee to be retrieved at any time, buy items or make buy orders from the same terminal. Is this acceptable?”
“That is more than I hoped for,” Alkao admitted.
A pop-up interrupted Suzy from talking.
Quest: A Gathering of Hordes
You have assisted Alkao in rebuilding his homelands in order to give his people a safe place to come back to. You are counted as a trusted ally by Alkao. Will you continue to aid him?
You must:
Aid in building shelters for three hundred demons.
Provide food for them.
Help to form an alliance between the Demons and another race.
Rewards: ???
“Well, shit, looks like I put my foot a bit too far into this one.” Suzy sighed and rubbed her tired eyes.
No matter what Alkao had done, helping out another race come back from wherever Bob had been keeping them would be worth it. Things were moving in the background and having allies to call on was going to be essential, Suzy felt.
“Send me a message with the information on the places that you currently have that can provide shelter. I will talk to my guild to see if we can assist, as well as some of my other friends,” Suzy said.
“I cannot thank you enough,” Alkao said after a few minutes. It didn’t sound as though he was used to being the one asking for aid and then accepting it graciously.
“I do this for your people, not for you, and you should remember that. I will contact you when I know what kind of support, if any, we can provide.” Suzy pulled up her message tab to draft messages for people to read when they woke up.
“The Demons remember those who stand with and against them,” Alkao promised.
“You should also remember that it has been a few centuries since the people you fought did stand against you. Few are as fanatical as those who fought you back then. The Affinity Pantheon has shown themselves to be less trustworthy with every passing day. Where you would find enemies before, you might find betrayed sympathizers today.”
“I thank you for your guidance.” Alkao’s tone showed that he took her words seriously.
***
“Dave, get up.” Deia sleepily pushed Dave.
“What?” Dave complained. He heard an annoying ringing in the background as he moved sleepily, hugging her to stop her pushing.
“Your alarm is going off! Deal with it,” she complained.
Dave made an annoyed noise, looking at the trumpet-looking invention that was ringing. Dave hit it, turning it off, and snuggled into Deia more to go back to sleep.
“Go deal with the Dwarves,” Deia reminded him.
“But I want to stay here with you,” Dave complained, holding her tighter.
“Faster you do it, the faster you can come back.” She turned away, trying to get some more sleep.
Dave made some pathetic noises.
She turned over and gave him a quick kiss.
Dave made happier noises as he rolled over to his side of the bed and grabbed his bag. His inventory appeared in front of him. Yawning and stretching, he selected the Mirror of Communication.
A pop-up arrived.
Mirror of Communication
You have been invited to attend a conference of Dwarven Master Smiths. Do you agree?
Y/N?
“Yes.” Dave stayed lying down, holding the mirror as he seemed to appear in a familiar conference room.
There was a simple wood table in the middle of the room; fires at either end kept the room lit and warm and a chandelier of candles was above the table. Dwarves of all kinds milled around the table or in the eaves, talking to one another.
Dave felt a breeze on his skin. He saw that he was just wearing his underwear. With a thought, he was wearing pants and a shirt.
“Leave the mountains for just a few short weeks and you show up to a meeting without pants on,” Jesal said, loud enough for others to hear, a grin on her face.
“Thanks.” Dave wiped the sleep from his eyes.
“That’s better than Gorrund. Showed up in the nude a few times after some long nights with female company. They thought that he was dead. Couldn’t believe that he was a Master Smith!” Quino laughed and slapped a bright-red Gorrund on the back.
“Thank you, teacher. I wonder where I got that trait from,” Gorrund said.
“Thankfully I was blind by the time he started forgetting his pants.” Kol came from a conversation with another Dwarf as Edmur smacked his hammer against the table, taking the position of mediator from Sola.
“Grab yer seats and shut yer traps!” Edmur said. It seemed that he didn’t quite like being the leader of ceremonies.
He talked about preparations for the upcoming contest in a year. He got different Dwarves to talk about how they were promoting interaction between the species across Emerilia. There were reports from the different factions in Ashal. They were still at war but no one was messing with the Dwarven mountain there.
Dave opened his blinking messages. There was just one message from Suzy.
Private Message: Suzy
Suzy> I talked to Alkao last night. It seems that he has made it back to his homeland and is starting to work at clearing the area in preparation of his people returning. He said that some of his people had arrived already. He is working to make his home habitable once again and has requested our help. It has turned into a mini quest for us (I’ve shared it to you).
I proposed that we give them a trading terminal that will allow them to barter and trade. I also need you to make a drop pad that will allow us to move resources that we can build or buy, to help them.
It might cost us a lot in time and effort, but having one of the most powerful offensive races on our side could be very useful in our future. Also, I feel that Bob might be working the strings on this one.
Dave scratched his head and moved to his other notifications. He put his combat logs aside. Totally forgot to look at those. Whoops!
He checked the quest over, knowing just the person who would be the best to go and meet with Alkao to drop off the terminal and the drop pad.
Dave cleared his interface away with a swipe.
“The Mithsia Mountains and the Kufo’tel forest have been completely walled off. It has been deemed that in any case of battle that the Mithsia Mountains will be our fallback position,” Edmur said.
Endur, his thick-set brother, sat nearby, smiling obnoxiously at his brother and loving every minute of his brother being in the mediator’s seat.
“Fallback? How would we get there?” Dave asked.
“Did you read the council’s book?” Edmur asked. By his look, he already knew the answer.
“No.” Dave drew the word out.
“Every Dwarven mountain has at least two teleport pads ready to be used at all times. It is why no one has ever been able to breach a Dwarven mountain. We move our people from one mountain to another, reinforce, move the population out and move food through,” Edmur said.
“Wow, that would suck for whoever was attacking—fighting an entrenched enemy with the ability to replace your forces with fresh ones and have food always at hand.” Dave nodded and stroked his stubble in appreciation.
“Exactly. So, in the case that we are ever overrun, we will move back to the Mithsia Mountain, which is heavily fortified and now has a massive wall surrounding it, which brings us on to our next point. The wall is large, but it will need people to guard it and hunt down the creatures within the walls. I believe it would be a good opportunity to field some more Dwarven units, get them out there and training instead of having them hide away.” Edmur looked to the other Dwarves.
“It is good to keep our numbers secret from the outside world,” Fena said, an older lady but with arms bigger than some men’s skull.
“War is coming in, one way or another. We know that ancient beasts and creatures will soon be upon us. That is the reason we’re having a tournament. Now is the time to make alliances and work together. The Dwarves are strong. Keeping behind our walls is a good tactic, but it will just mean that our enemies, whoever they might be, will destroy the other races before banding together and coming after us. We need to strike out at them. To do that, we need forces that are bloodied and used to moving in the field, not just in the mountains,” Dave said.
“I second Dave,” Olda, a Mithsia master smith declared, scanning the table. “We will not get many opportunities like this. While we use the games and tournaments as a cover to gift people Weapons of Power and to make alliances with other races, we need to be prepared for anything. The walls are in place. With the War Clans needed to man the wall and make sure that nothing gets past, there is plenty of room for other warbands and clans to move through, to train and gain fighting experience with something other than the creatures living in the depths of our mountains.”
There was grumbling and muttering around the table as Dwarves talked to their peers.
Dave was only just understanding the power that the council had. The lords of the mountains were given a War Clan each to command; the others were under the command of the Dwarven master smith’s council but could then be agreed to, vetoed, or altered by the war council that was made of eleven Dwarven war mountain leaders.
