Chương 14: Chapter 13

Outskirts of Erem Mallorn the elf"Ah, it's for inheritance then, huh?" Dura asked with a nod of her head, some time later. The belongings of the lizard-lady had been packed up and they were well on their way, conversation flowing naturally from Lucia's rude interruption of his impromptu wife acquisition. The lizard-lady, whom he now knew as 'Goblinwrangle Drana', nodded in response, walking next to her kinfolk.

Lucia's consistent watchful glare kept her from getting too close to him, which was honestly a shame because Mallorn was in the mood for physical playfulness.

"Aye. There's a few conditions for inheriting anything from great-granddad's hoard and Ah don't qualify for any on my own. But if Ah find a husband who is willing to wield his old sword, then Ah'll meet the terms of the will for when he finally passes on."

"Hm, you'd be talking about Elder Goblinwrangle right?" Dura reached up to rub her little chin with an equally little hand, brows furrowed.

"I suppose he's getting up there in years, he'd be about two-hundred and eighty soon."

"So why go through all this effort, huh?" Rayne asked with a raise of his brows.

"If it's just about inheritance, you could probably find just about anyone willing to marry you- you're a pretty lass."

"It's my great-grandad's sword, is the issue." Drana shook her head, tail swishing irritably.

"Swords aren't popular in Erem, most prefer axes, hammers, and spears. Ah'd seen a number of suitors come up proposing, but they'd sooner drop it on their feet than use it right, and it deserves to have the best hands I can give it."

"But if you're wielding it, then it's not your husband wielding it." Dura nodded with a scowl, planting her hands on her hips.

"You won't be meeting the terms of the will anymore."

"That's right," Drana confirmed with a swish of her tail.

"But if Ah can find a husband who's better than me, Ah'll have no qualms about him with it."

"Drat." Mallorn shook his head with a little chuckle.

"And here I thought it was my fair looks and sharp wit that had provoked the offer. I was so pleased with myself for seducing such a lovely woman." Drana looked a little bit sheepish at that.

"Ah… Ah'm sure you're a very wonderful fellow, and that we could grow to love each other in time. But…"

"... But?"

"... Well, you don't have a beard." She reached up to scratch herself behind the ear-frill, massive claws delicately working at the presumably rather tender flesh.

"It seems a bit childish and queer, by my eyes, but Ah'm sure you'll grow one in time." Mallorn let his head hang despondently. Rayne started laughing. Lucia coughed into her fist. Drana and Dura blinked, looking at each other and giving gestures of mutual lack of understanding.

"Elves can't grow beards," Mallorn answered with a long sigh, reaching up to fold up the ironwood mask and rubbing against his smooth lower face.

"Not a single sprout of hair will ever grow from here, not on jaw or chin or upper lip."

"It looks better this way," Lucia declared with a huff and a nod, planting a hand on her hip and ears twitching. Dura angled her walking over to him, and took his hip in a comforting hug.

"I'm sorry, Mallorn." She looked genuinely sad at his plight, planting a forehead into his side as she offered words of comfort. Mallorn reached down to gently ruffle her head, nodding sadly as he did.

"I've long made peace with it, Lady Dwarf." He turned from her to the awkward looking half-lizard, giving a little smile and nod.

"I'm afraid I won't ever be an ideal husband, if the beard is necessary. I'll give no blame if you'd like to retract your proposal, I understand."

"Ah." She was looking away, down at the ground and to the side.

"Ah appreciate that- but Ah've got a pride of my own. The offer remains as it is, Ah've made it and now Ah've got to maintain it."

"But you'll appreciate it if I refuse it, right?" Mallorn nodded, to which she shamefully nodded in turn, tail drooped and frills low.

"I understand. Terribly sorry, Lady Drana, but I'm afraid I'll have to refuse your hand in marriage. I'd hate to make a lady as lovely as you miserable." Somehow she looked even more miserable at that, even as she nodded thankfully. Probably because he was being polite about this whole affair. Honestly a shame, because he'd been looking forward to seeing what sex with a tailed woman was like. He gave a rueful sniff as the wind turned, and paused on the road.

The others quickly turned to look at him, and he followed with another, much more deliberate sniff. There was a distinct scent in the air.

"W-what is it?" Dura asked quickly.

"Death and sulfur on the road ahead," Mallorn replied with a scowl.

"Blood, death, and sulfur."

"I smell it too, but it's faint," Lucia responded, likewise taking long deliberate inhales to taste the air.

"I wouldn't have noticed for another… half mile perhaps."

"A few days old." Mallorn's right ear twitched.

"Two or three, perhaps." The others watched them sniffing and thinking for a few moments more, before Rayne spoke.

"Two or three days?" he asked to confirm, raising a lazy eyebrow.

"So it's safe to approach, right?"

"... Probably." Mallorn nodded with a little frown, reaching up to lower his ironwood mask again.

"Blood, death, and sulfur… a gonnefight then?"

"Probably a goblin fight," Lucia declared, ears low.

"The dwarf mentioned the clans were already in the early stages of feuding, correct? When dwarves feud, it always starts with dead goblins."

"Aye. This far out though?" Dura responded in a troubled tone.

"We're not even to Duram-Mandom."

"Duram-Mandom?" Mallorn asked, as they resumed their walking along the road. Feet and claw and hoof carried them over smooth stone, between great seas of grass and stone pillar and fruit tree and underneath the watchful gaze of a mountain colossus. The entire landscape was rather picturesque.

"Ah, it's the name of the Mannish settlement near the mountain," Dura explained.

"On the other side of the lake we built a few hundred years ago. It's governed by the clan Goblinwrangle, of Lady Drana's relation." Drana nodded, tail swishing.

"Aye. Started as a little trading post a long time ago, before growing into something of a town of its own. By that time, we had goblins showing up and you need to build houses for them so they stay somewhere."

"You need to?" Lucia asked with an incredulous tone.

"They're goblins, they'll live in a pile of sticks."

"You need to if you want to stop them from cluttering up the land with piles of sticks," Drana countered sharply.

"Best to build something to put them all in, otherwise you'll get their refuse everywhere."

"Which is where your clan gets its name, they were the ones who took to managing the goblins hanging around," Mallorn stated confidently, and received a nod in turn.

"I suppose it was a natural step to also manage everyone else who showed up- and in time they had an entire town of men under their control."

"To a degree," Rayne answered this time with a shake of his head.

"If it's a Mannish settlement, it pays taxes to the Empire, no matter who governs it. The throne isn't quick to tolerate otherwise." Drana grunted.

"Aye, that's true. Goblinwrangle still pays levies to the Empire."

"... And the dwarves of Erem allow this? Isn't this a breach of sovereignty?" Mallorn asked with furrowed brows. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Yep. Otherwise Goblinwrangle would be much richer than the other clans, and that wouldn't be good for anyone," Dura explained like she was repeating something that she had heard many times before.

"If any one clan gets too big- that's bad, that's too much temptation to act frivolously, that's how you get dragons."

"Goblinwrangle already outpaces the wealth of all but clan Goldendoor," Drana spoke with a tone that held a fair bit more personal understanding than the dwarf.

"If we weren't paying Imperial Tithes, we'd be the richest by far and probably need to split the clan off again."

"Ah, and with the splitting of your wealth, the two new clans would be near the bottom again, wouldn't they?" Mallorn's ears twitched.

"Better to maintain your current place and accept the tax rather than split off again and also provoke potential imperial reprisal."

"That's about right." Drana shook her head.

"It makes great-grandad sour to see the tax caravans come by, but he's the most insistent on getting it paid on time." They were coming over the patch of road that reeked of death now. Sure enough, there were stains of blood and bowels at this section of the road- but nothing more. No bodies, no scraps, and no bones. Just stains and the smell. It was slightly unnerving, if he was being frank.

— There were occasional spots like that, gorestains and the lingering smell but nary a trace of anything else, as they went along the road. Each time the scent grew fainter and fainter, buried under layers and layers of other scents and soon disappearing under the miasma of civilization entirely. What was more enthralling were the distant sights of browsing Hadruns- legitimate, titanic dinosaurs, watched over by giant shepherds and allowed to consume the thickest portions of the great grasslands.

Fifty or so feet at the longest, with relatively small heads and great bulky bodies covered in small greenish-gray scales. Their sedate bellows were enormous and rolled across the fields for miles, and their every moment slow, deliberate, and careful. They were just about everything he had been imagining the terrible lizards to be and more, even as boring as their current behavior was.

The others had a great many chuckles at his naked wonderment and focused attention on the beasts, but he couldn't find it in himself to actually care. There were dinosaurs over there, nothing else was currently important. Soon the grand artificial lake of Erem came into view as well, and like everything else it was clearly the product of many millions of tons of earth and rock being moved around and re-rooted.

The section of earth it was set in, when compared to the surrounding landscape, indicated that it should really either be another valley or another hill. He was going to presume a valley, with the walls built up and smoothed out with great hauls of earth from other sections of the rolling grasslands, but he couldn't discount the other possibility- that this was once a hill dug out to make a lake and soil used to flatten everything else.

The lake was fed by three rivers that trailed down from equidistant trails up the nearest mountains, indicating that they too were artificial. At the end of the lake, opposite to the mountain of Erem itself, was the apparent town of Duram-Mandom, which was composed half of stone, half of wood, and all carefully organized along the water's edge. It was decorated in windmills, hanging strips of brightly-dyed cloth, chimney-smoke, and the light of many hundreds of hanging lanterns.

In the faint dusk light of the setting sun, the township glowed like a cozy fire reflecting off the lake water and casting light for many miles around. Mallorn was still mostly focused on the Hadruns. Giant lizards!

"Ah suppose you'd like to look for rooms in town. The suns already setting and Erem is still three hours of walking away," Drana said with a tilt of her head and a swish of her tail.

"That'd probably be for the best." Lucia nodded quickly, eyes closed.

"Fuck that." Rayne shook his head.

"Three hours? We've evening light to walk by still, and the mountain's right over there. Might as well head over and get the warm hospitality of the Lady Dwarf's clan."

"Ah, yes!" Dura nodded quickly.

"I'm sure the Gravelbrooks will reward you richly, for my safe return. I'll certainly speak warmly on your behalf."

"Traveling at night is dangerous!" Lucia scowled, opening her eyes and planting a hand on her hip.

"We're right between dwarves and yet more dwarves, while doing a favor for a lady dwarf." Rayne rolled his eyes.

"An hour of darkness isn't going to kill anyone. Moreover, hospitality means I don't have to pay for yet another night in some inn- I'm not flush with wealth."

"Being near others just makes the night more dangerous, not less!" She reached over to jab at his side, making him growl and slap her hand away.

"The decision lies with Lady Dura," Mallorn declared, cutting through their building argument with a sharp tone, before focusing on the dwarf in question. He smiled down at her and nodded.

"Whatever you'd prefer, we'll go with." She looked briefly conflicted, glancing at the setting sun, then at the town of Duram-Mandom. The decision was clearly made with the wistful look towards Erem, and the gigantic gates faintly visible even from this distance.

"I think… I think I want to go home," she eventually declared, lip wobbling and eyes narrowing. She ducked her head, raising a sleeve to rub at her eyes, before declaring again.

"I want to go home right away." Mallorn grinned, reaching down to ruffle her hair. She leaned into it with a tiny, strained but relieved giggle.

"Then let's take you home, huh? No need to wait on Mr. Sun when there's a warm hearth waiting, right?" Instead of responding verbally, she tackled his side in a massive hug and happy, tearful laughter. He gave a mirthful chuckle in response. Even Lucia couldn't maintain her glare in the face of it, merely huffing and sharing a smile with Rayne.

"Ah… I suppose I'll…" Drana began, before being cut off by Dura.

"Come along too, of course!" Drana tried to put up something of a defense, but couldn't quite manage. Several minutes later they were turning off the road toward Duram-Mandom and heading along the north-east lake road up towards Erem proper under rapidly dying light.

The road that wound around the lake was suspended on its own earthen layer, which was then rooted with fruit trees with specific ditches on either side to lead away from the road and towards the lake or into the nearby grassfields depending on the angle. Eventually, the sun disappeared entirely behind the edge of the world, and they walked along by the light of the moons, stars, and of distant Erem.

The open expanses and reflection off the lake made the entire area much brighter than a forest might be, and the pale-gray road was still clearly visible even in the night as a result. Mallorn sniffed again, detecting yet another spot of blood and sulfur on the road ahead, scowling as the assault on the senses once more strengthened. A great deal of goblins had been fighting and dying on these roads recently, which made sense with everything he had been told about the happenings going on.

The consistent clip-clop of the horse provided a somewhat comforting rhythm as they walked. The moons rose higher in the sky, another hour or so of walking passing by his measure. Only another hour before- The distinct sound of a gonne being cocked back. He drew his sword immediately, swerving around and senses blazing at their surroundings. The grasses, the lake, the road, the trees- The trees.

"Run," he commanded his companions, who were looking at him warily after his sudden unsheathing.

"What?" Lucia asked, hands near her daggers.

"Everyone run. Don't stop till you reach Erem." Mallorn swallowed, eyes scanning around. A dozen, two dozen?

"Goblins in the trees, all around us. They can't be allowed to capture Lady Dura again." A shuddering and a step back. Branches began to shake and figures dropped from the trees around them, slowly rising up in a manner that perhaps wasn't very effective but was incredibly intimidating.

"Run! RUN!" Mallorn shouted, stomping forwards and hoisting Dura by the back of her collar. He broke out into a run, followed by Drana, Rayne, and Lucia as goblins continued to fall and gonnes were cocked back. A shot rang out, and the distinct feeling of being punched in the back followed. He ignored it and kept running. Rayne jumped onto his horse already.

"Up here! Up here!" He gestured quickly.

"The dwarf's legs are too short!" Mallorn tossed up Dura, who wailed briefly before being caught up Rayne's firm grip and hauled up on to the saddle.

"Go with him, Lucia!" Mallorn declared, glazing behind again and suffering another shot- this time to one of his legs.

"To Erem! I'll hold them off!"

"Absolutely no-""THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO ARGUE WITH ME, WOMAN!" Mallorn cut her off with a furious roar. Another shot rang out. Credit to his character, Rayne was not speeding ahead quite yet, still giving nervous glances back at the bunch of goblins still falling from trees and rapidly approaching.

"GO GET HER TO SAFETY! I NEED YOU TO DO THIS! PLEASE!"

"Y-you!" Lucia was torn between rage and despair, and quickly settled on a furious focus.

"LIZARD! Protect him!" she ordered in turn, jumping acrobatically to cling onto the side of the horse, glancing down at her meager knives and the beady eyes in the dark.

"Aye!" Drana immediately responded, great clawed hands already on the hilt of her sword. Not a moment of hesitation there, huh? Mallorn was glad to have her company. Another shot punched him, this time in the back of the head. He stumbled briefly, before forcing himself up.

"FLY! FLY! TO EREM!" Mallorn commanded, jumping, turning, and skidding back to face the approaching band of greenskins.

"Hiyah!" Rayne shouted, pressing the stallion into a full gallop off the paved stone of the road onto the softer soil and then dead ahead along the lake shore. Drana spun herself, greatsword raised and ready to receive. There was still distance between them, time enough for a change in weapons. He dropped his sword, withdrew his bowstring, and was ready to fire two seconds later. Along a stretch of road from Erem to Duram-Mandom, the moonlight reflected off the lake and in four dozen eyes.