Resurgence: The Rise of Resurgence Book 1 (44 page)

Finally, Tibble lifted up his mug of mead, with all of the other East Range Clan following suit, and exclaimed, “to our kin!”

“HUZZAH!” bellowed all of the other Dwarves, loud enough that one would think an earthquake had shaken the mountain side.

“Well said Tibble!” the King finally said. It seemed like he had more to add but then fell silent.

Tibble then moved on to the next item that needed to be addressed. Celebrating the life of Hornus Rockcrawler.

“Ya found his body in the caves?” the King asked.

“We did me Lord. They was just bones, and I believe Hornus passed long ago. But I think you knew him well and we would be honored if you started in our duty to herald his journey to our Gods.”

The King nodded and began a fanciful tale of Hornus and how he could climb the side of a tunnel with one hand and a pick in another, pulling out the highest quality ore as he traveled. When asked about the technique, Hornus had looked confused and asked “what technique? I just wanted to see what was at the top!”

Many more stories were shared and many “Huzzahs” were offered up in the name of Hornus. After a time, the revelry died down and Tibble motioned for my group to take center stage.

“Would you like to say some words Naugha?” I asked.

“I’m even less of a speech giver than Tibble. You feel free Alex.”

“A greater honor does not exist in this land than to be named kin to the Clan of the East Range. You have honored us in ways we cannot ever express. Huzzah!”

“HUZZAH!” the Dwarves all yelled out again. Mental note, invent ear plugs for any dealings with drunken Dwarves.

“We will stand by our kinsmen in their times of need just as we did today against the Orckin!”

“HUZZAH!”

I finished with, “and we would be honored to call all Dwarves our friends.”

The King looked up at that statement and stood to his full height. “You’ve done a great service to the East Range Clan Alex, and they are right in calling ya kin. You’ve earned that right. Know that ya will never find animosity from the Dwarves Under the Mountain. You and yours can pass freely amongst my people and they will deal with ya fairly.”

“Thank you Lord Steelhammer. But I wonder, what would it take for the Dwarves Under the Mountain to call us friends?”

Another Dwarf from the King’s entourage snorted and said, “how much Mithral ya got?”

That got a chuckle from a few of the others from the King’s entourage, but the King didn’t laugh, nor did any of my new kinsman. I interpreted the question to be the answer one would give when it is impossible to meet the demand. Meaning, the Dwarf didn’t think we could possibly have anything that could lead the entirety of the Dwarven nation Under the Mountain to call us friend.

“The more appropriate question would be, how much Mithral do you have? And would you like to have more?”

That stopped the laughter from the King’s men. No Dwarf joked about Mithral.

“How da ya mean Alex?”

“As King Under the Mountain you know where every vein of Mithral being mined is at,” I said. Steelhammer nodded this was true. “And I imagine you have the most experienced of your miners working on those veins?”

“Naturally.”

“Then I ask you Lord Steelhammer, how much more successful do you think they would be, if they had this?” I asked and brought out the pick that gave a 50 percent chance bonus to find high quality ore. Even low and medium quality ore of Mithral was worth a fortune. High quality ore could buy a small Barony.

Every Dwarf went silent when I showed my trump card. This was a well-known item in Dwarven lore.

“And how is it that you came by this?” The King asked, with more than a little fire in his voice.

“It was among the bones of Hornus.”

“Then why is it not in the hands of Tibble?” the King asked, this time gripping the mug of mead almost to the point of shattering.

“We slaughtered the Orckin, we liberated the mine, and we gave the rights of that mine to the East Range Clan. You saw our reaction tonight when Tibble named us kin. None of us knew this was coming. I believe that we have been more than generous with our brothers.”

The King continued to stare at me while I refused to back down. All of the Dwarves were on the edge of their seats. As were my companions, although possibly for different reasons, since this could go bad quickly.

After what seemed like ages, the King let out a breath and slumped back into his seat. The apprehension from the Dwarves dissolved after that. The King took one last look into his mead and said, “Yer right Alex. You’ve dealt with me clansmen in a far more noble manner than many Dwarves would have. As the conqueror of this mine ya have first right to the plunder and the ownership of the mine.” The King continued to stare into his mead for a few more heartbeats before saying, “So how much do you want for it?”

“You misunderstand Lord Steelhammer, my companions and I don’t want any money.”

“But I thought you just said…”

“All we want is the friendship of the Dwarves Under the Mountain. All of them.”

“That’s it?” The King asked, not believing for a second that the negotiations were over. He was right.

“For my companions and I? Yes. But for my kinsman of the East Range Clan, I would ask that 3 percent of all Mithral collected as the byproduct of this item be given to the East Range Clan. To include High quality Mithral ore. Delivered at the end of each month.”

The King balked at my request. He was looking at giving away a small fortune in ore. He was having a hard time agreeing to the terms. So naturally he counter offered.

“Three percent is too much for a clan as small as the East Range, no offense Tibble.”

“None taken.”

“And yet that is my offer,” I said.

“Five percent of Low quality, three percent of Medium quality, and one percent of high quality,” the King counter offered. I could see the look on Tibble’s face was telling me to take the deal, since his clan never imagined having access to even a single piece of Mithral. But I make my living off selling and negotiating deals. So I had one final counter offer, and that would be it. The King would take the deal or I would keep the pick.

“I realize you think that makes for a fair distribution Lord Steelhammer, but we know it really doesn’t work out to the three percent across the board when you factor in the High quality ore. Seven percent of Low quality, five percent of Medium quality, and one percent of High quality. End of each month. Final offer.”

The King sat and thought about this for a while. He finally looked over at Tibble and said, “Ya had no idea he would do this, did ya?”

“None me Lord.”

“Well I see why ya named these boys as kin. This one bargains like a bloody Dwarf! Deal!”

Louder than even before, the Dwarves of the East Range Clan all yelled, “HUZZAH! HUZZAH! HUZZAH!!!”

CHAPTER 23

September 18th, 2043

We logged off that night at the entrance to the cave and logged back on the next morning. I was the first to log back in, and was soon joined by Wayne who approached me with a smile on his face.

“I’m sorry I doubted you Alex. You did really well by Tibble and his Clan. I can’t imagine they would have gotten anywhere near the concessions that you did from their King.”

“No chance of it. Tibble would have freely given up that pick and never asked for anything in return. He knew it too. That’s why he wanted me to deal with the King when he arrived.”

“Well that sneaky little Dwarf. I didn’t know he had it in him. Well good on him then. But I’m curious, why didn’t you ask for more for our group? You probably could have gotten something out of the King.”

“I got exactly what I wanted out of him brother. By having the Dwarves Under the Mountain friendly to us, we will likely get more quests and better deals when it comes to upgrading our armor and weapons. Having Tibble name us kin, that was totally unexpected. But setting his Clan up for life, that let me put phase two of my plan into action.”

“Phase two?”

“Here comes Tibble now. Just watch. And don’t worry, I’m not going to take advantage of our brothers.”

Tibble approached Wayne and I as we stood on the outskirts of the camp. He first grasped Wayne’s wrist, and then mine, and took a moment to appreciate the quiet of the morning. When he finally spoke he addressed me.

“That was a fine thing you did for the Clan last night Alex. There will never be a way for us to repay you, but know we are forever in your debt.”

“Well the first thing you can do Tibble is stop thinking like miners, and start thinking like battle hardened Dwarves who just conquered a lair of Orckin!”

Tibble laughed at that, and said, “Aye lad, we did, but couldn’t have gotten much past the entrance here if it weren’t for you and your lads.”

“And that’s the first thing you can do for me. Turn some of your miners into fighters. They’re Dwarves after all. It’s just one small step from swinging a pick to swinging a battle axe.”

“How do ya mean Alex?”

“If you were to go out into these woods and slay the beasts surrounding these caves, could your Dwarves increase their abilities as Warriors?” I was basically asking Tibble if his Dwarves had the ability to level up on their own, or if they were set at their levels. Of course, asking Tibble if he was able to “level up” would have gone right past him. I had been thinking all night about how to have this conversation and get the desired result.

“Aye Alex, if we was to fight the wildlife, it would give me boys some great experience in battle. But we have not a healer and our picks ain’t going to do much against these beasts.”

It was at that moment we heard a horse arriving. Tibble looked off into the woods and saw Jason arriving on his steed. The night before, Jason and I had discussed the next phase of my plan and he was in agreement with me about protecting our Clan by strengthening their own abilities. Just prior to logging off, Jason had Gated back to Port Town, and this morning made a sizable purchase from the town, then rode back here on his horse.

“Get what we need Allister?” I asked as Jason dismounted from his summoned animal.

“I did Alex, and here ya go. I hate being encumbered.”

With that, Jason dropped numerous battle axes of decent quality and breast plates of the same quality that could fit a Dwarf. Tibble just stared in wonder.

“These aren’t full sets of armor, obviously, but the breast plates will help to protect your lads. Go out in groups of four and never stray too far from the mine. Use these battle axes to learn the ways of the Warrior, and gain that needed experience for your Clan. I would suggest hiring a healer on a part time basis from Lord Steelhammer to help with your cause. With the Fermium you will collect, and the Mithral that will be coming in, you will be able to not only pay for the healer but also more gear as your coffers increase in size. You need to be able to hold this mine for our Clan yourselves Tibble, not be beholden to anyone else for its security. But to do that, you need to work at it just like you would work the ore of a mine. Set up daily rotations so everyone has a chance to learn.”

Tibble continued to stare at the items on the ground, knowing that they likely cost several Gold in purchasing. He shook his head at the axes and breast plates and then looked at Jason, Wayne, and myself. “You give so much, but ask nothing in return. We can’t accept this. I’m sorry.”

“Put your mind at ease Tibble, for I certainly have a request. You know our Ranger friend?”

“Aye, of course I do. The one who talks all the time, but says little of understanding.”

“Nailed that one on the head my friend. Well as you know, our Ranger is quite handy with that bow of his, but the arrows he uses aren’t of the greatest quality. He has been working diligently to improve his weapons, and he has learned many secrets to the creation of perfect arrows. But what he lacks are the arrow heads. I think the hope was that Naugha would embrace Blacksmithing and be able to produce that part of the arrow. But as you learned, Naugha is suited to swinging a war hammer more than a blacksmith’s hammer.”

“Aye he is!” Tibble said while slapping Wayne on the forearm. “Naugha needs to be out with your group, not bent over in the forge.”

“And here is where you can help my friend. Amongst you is a smith that I spoke with last night. He explained to me that creating arrow heads out of Fermium would not be a challenge for someone of his skill.”

“Indeed. That would be a very easy task for him. Although they wouldn’t have much in the way of magic imbued into them Alex. Thaddeus is a Smith, but does not possess much in the way of magic use.”

“For now, the additional damage TheClaw could make with the Fermium upgrade will go a long way toward improving our party’s abilities. I would consider it a great favor if you could do this for us Tibble.”

“Bah! With your ‘big favors.’ What’s wrong with ya lad? Ya just gave our Clan the means to grow and be great again. Even if we made thousands of these, we would still be in yer debt you silly elf!”

I once again clasped wrists with Tibble and said my goodbyes, leaving him to talk with Wayne about how best to take on the mobs surrounding the mine. With that task done, and what I considered a success, I went to say goodbye to the King Under the Mountain.

“Hide yer Mithral boys!” the King yelled out to his entourage as he saw me approaching. He was laughing when he said it, but I knew he was still a little upset at having been worked over the night before by yours truly.

“I value my life and my hands too much to try and take a Dwarf’s Mithral Lord Steelhammer.”

“Bah! Wish you had that attitude last night when you was bargaining away for the Clan!”

“Well, see now, that wasn’t taking. That was agreeing to mutual terms.”

“Hah! Well said lad! So what more can I do fer ya? Me and me boys are about to make our ways back Under the Mountain and bring this beauty to our Master Miner.” Lord Steelhammer said while holding the Tranquility Pick in his hands.

“I have one small request, but it will not require you to part with any of your ore. Mithral or otherwise. My question is more about information.”