The Land: Founding (Chaos Seeds Book 1) (29 page)

 That only left the problem of
getting them out of the Kingdom. Thankfully this was not the insurmountable
problem that Richter had feared it to be.
Terrod
had
the solution. The original plan had been to smuggle the nonhumans into the
Kingdom of
Rione
, which did not distinguish between
the races in how they treated their citizens.
Terrod
had hired the thieves to shelter the nonhumans so they could slowly move small
groups them through
Rald’s
Pass, the only
well-traveled and safe passage through the Serrated Mountains. It was the only
direct way into
Rione
, as no rivers large enough to
carry ships connected the two Kingdoms. Incidentally this was also why
Rione
had not been annexed by the Kingdom of Yves long ago.

 Now that the ultimate
destination was the Forest of Nadria, different possibilities were open to
them. The Undine River, the apparent name of the major waterway that ran behind
Law, connected to the Forest of Nadria as Richter well knew though. They could
hide the nonhumans on river barges taking them past Leaf’s and into the forest.
From there, Richter could guide them among the forest’s many tributaries until
they were only a few miles from the village. He and several others would guide
them through the mists and then guide them back out. The basic location of the
village might be known by a few ship captains, but nothing specific would get
back to anyone in the Kingdom.

 Richter was acutely aware that
the greatest defense of his village was its obscure location. Taking the ships
to the village was the only option though. Despite his need for caution, he had
not forgotten the dangers of the forest or his encounter with the troll on the
way out. Taking a host of defenseless children and nonfighters over hundreds of
miles of wooded terrain would be inviting slaughter. It was these very dangers
that had led
Terrod
and the others to reject the
Forest of Nadria, or any of the other neighboring lands initially. The Silent
Hills, the Whisper Woods, the Plains of Gold, all of them could be reached by
river. They were all populated with monsters or hostile tribes though. It was
only because Richter had found and created a safe haven that the forest was now
a viable option.

 It would take several days to
arrange the transport, collect the families, and bribe the ship captains, but
Terrod
was confident he could do it. In the meantime, each
of the five leaders worked with Richter to make a list of the materials they
would be needed for their various professions. Some of it was minor such as
seeds for planting. Other items could be made once there, nails, boards,
shovels, and plows. Some would be brought with them like jewelers tools. Some
had to be bought however, like the smelter components for the blacksmiths. Many
of the requests were already covered during his talk with Mama. Also if he
wanted livestock he would have to arrange for that to be bought. Ideally
everything would be waiting to be picked up in Leaf’s Crossing. He had several
hundred gold in cold currency, and the jewels he had obtained from the thieves
plus the lion’s share of the jewels from the treasury. It was time to see Hafiz
again. He had only gotten a few hours of sleep in the last two days though, and
just the thought of all the money he was about to spend was exhausting. He said
goodnight and walked up to his room, falling into a dreamless sleep.

Richter woke early with the dawn. He
decided to leave Sion sleeping, and made his way downstairs after gathering his
bag and weapons. A half asleep barmaid gave him a biscuit to break his fast.
Thanking her, he grabbed one more, and walked outside, eating on the move.
Bleh!
 
This tasted like it was barely
made with any lard at all! His grandmother wouldn’t have fed this to the dogs!
Sigh, he had so much to add to this world! On the plus side, the sky was clear.
There was still moisture one the pavestones from the cool night before. Though
the sun was rising two moons could still be seen low in the sky. He walked at
an unhurried pace. It occurred to him that this was one of his only moments of
solitude since waking in The Land. It was, he reflected, a beautiful morning.

 Hafiz’s shop was still locked
by when Richter arrived. A round of vigorous knocking brought a sleepy and
annoyed face to the window. Holding up the biscuit bribe, Richter gave his most
winning smile. Hafiz didn’t seem impressed, but unlocked the door anyway. The
disheveled man bowed his head, “What can your most humble servant do for you,”
he said, clearly irritated.

 “Just how many potions of
clarity could you sell per month? Each lasts a full day and gives a 25% bonus
to experience.”

 Hafiz lifted his head, a large
wolf-like smile slowly growing on his face.

 Huh, thought Richter, if that’s
the way I look it
is
kinda
creepy.

 The two men haggled
good
naturedly for about an hour. It was clear that the
negotiations were more about a shared enjoyment of the art of bargaining, than
a need to one up each another. With his high Charisma and the promise of future
profits, Richter ended up paying half of his gold and about a third of his remaining
gem stones, but he was able to get all of the items he and Mama had come up
with. He also bought enough grain and foodstuffs to ensure that his people
could eat for four to five months even without hunting. That should last them
until the first crops came in. They agreed that one of Hafiz’s emissaries would
meet him at Leaf’s Crossing with two plough horses, one bull, seven cows, ten
sheep, several dozen chickens and a twenty pigs. Richter asked for some goats,
but those apparently were only in the northern part of the Kingdom, and could
not be obtained on short notice. Hafiz promised to arrange for delivery of
several at a future point. Richter smiled thinking about goat stew, yum! He
felt that he might have gone overboard with the animals, but he was a
southerner! The idea of actually getting bacon and fried chicken made his mouth
water. If there was one thing this world would thank him for it would be
evolving dinner meat past mutton! It required another five gold to arrange
transport to be waiting in Leaf for these supplies. It seemed steep, but Hafiz
assured him it would cost a large amount just to convince a ship captain to let
animals ride in his hull. Thinking of the smell, Richter revised his earlier
opinion and acquiesced.

 Hafiz, or someone he worked
with, would also meet him at Leaf’s Crossing at the beginning of each month.
They would collect the potions and anything else Richter had to sell. They
would also take any requests the fledgling village might have.

 Business concluded, the two men
clasped hands and parted ways. Richter was happy to see the following prompt:

Congratulations! You have reached
skill level 2 in Trade. 0.5% bonus to buying and selling.

Richter walked to the Hall to see
what Mama had found. He tried to use his internal map, but in just the space of
a day the tent city had changed! Richter wouldn’t have believed it possible,
but it seemed the Grand Market was almost a living thing. Sighing, he found
another urchin and gave him a few coins. Somehow the barefooted boy was able to
navigate in a way that not even the Traveler’s magic could match! Half an hour
or so later, he emerged on the promenade and walked towards the Hall. He found
Mama at the back and was early enough that the line hadn’t formed yet. When she
saw him she gave a few muttered directions to one of her aides, then stood and
led him outside. He told her of the nonhumans that had agreed to come with him
and what their professions were. She nodded and said she had several families
of hunters and farmers, as well as several individuals in a variety of
professions, that would happily join him. He was taken outside by one of her
associates and spent the next several hours meeting the candidates. He spoke to
each about nonhumans, and dismissed from consideration any who showed issues
with them. He ultimately chose another fifty seven humans. When their families
were factored in, he had agreed to take in another one hundred and three people
to the village. He went back inside and paid Mama her fee, five coppers per
person. He was about to leave when she stopped him. “There is one more person I
would like you to meet.” She grabbed one of her older associates, and stepped
to the side with him. The man looked somewhat confused.

 “Do you trust me
Randolphus
,” she asked.

 “Of course,
Jala
,”
he said in a cultured voice.

 “You have been a wonderful
help, and a better friend. I have been happy to help you, but you are being
wasted here. This man is about to start a new village, and quite honestly has
no idea what he is doing.”

 “Hey,” Richter exclaimed.

 “Don’t interrupt Mama,” she
scolded. Turning back to
Randolphus
, “He is making a
new community, but does not know how to handle the countless problems that will
come up. I think you should go with him.”

 Addressing Richter now she
said, “
Randolphus
was the chamberlain for the late
King. He faithfully managed the affairs of the castle for decades. You are
lucky to have him. Now you are both strong willed and pig headed, so rather
than waste anymore of my time simply say, ‘Thank you Mama!’”

 Feeling like he was in third
grade, Richter simply chuckled and said, “Thank you Mama,” and was quickly
followed by
Randolphus
doing the same. With a slight
smile on her face she went to sit behind her desk, saying over her shoulder,
“No charge.”

 
Randolphus
was a tall older man with a well-trimmed grey beard. His hair was long and
black hanging around his head to his shoulders. He wore a grey shirt with a
black vest and black pants. When they shook hands to have a more formal
introduction, his grip was firm, but he did not squeeze overly hard. “I know
you from the other day. Despite her good intentions I would not force myself
into anyone’s service. Do you have any need of my aid?”

 “If you are half as impressive
as she said, I really will be lucky to have your help. Our village will be the
definition of humble compared to a King’s palace, but I intend to make it
something special. Will you help me?”

 “It would be my pleasure, my
Lord,”
Randolphus
replied, bowing his head.

 “We will be traveling to the
Forest of Nadria. What I really need right now is someone to organize all of
the workers Mama has arranged. Can you get them all to Leaf’s Crossing? I will
have a ship to pick them up in a week’s time give or take a few days.”

 “It will be done my Lord.”

 Knots of tension that Richter
had not even been aware of began to unravel from his back and neck. He smiled
and said, “Randy, we are going to get along great!” He turned and left with a
bit of pep in his step, missing his new chamberlain’s long suffering sigh over
his new sobriquet.

 By the time Richter made it
back out of the Grand Market more than half the day was gone and so Richter
decided to check back with Sion. Entering the inn,
Terrod
ran up to him. “Where have you been?
Nevermind
! We
have broken the code, or at least part of it! I know where Isabel is!”

 “Where? I am ready to go with
you.”

 “Do you know who Count
Stonuk
is?”

 “No, I haven’t heard anything
about the nobility in the Kingdom.”

 “Well he is one of the main
proponents of the new laws, and a personal friend of the King. His lands are
less than a day’s journey south, but he has an estate inside of the city. A
friend of mine works on his estate here, helping in the kitchen. He told me
that a Wood Elf fitting Isabel’s description has been seen,”
Terrod’s
voice caught for a second and he stopped. Then his
face firmed, his eyes full with unshed tears but also a
viscious
anger. “She has been seen in his personal chambers. He is having a ball in
three days, and then he’s leaving the city for the season. I won’t be able to
get to her once he’s back in his own lands surrounded by all of his guards.”

 “What about on the road? We
slip into their group while they are moving, grab Isabel, and slip out when
they stop,” Sion asked.

 “They live too close! He would
most likely leave in the morning and travel straight there without stopping.
It’s completely open terrain. We won’t have a chance. In the light of day any
attack will be seen miles off! And even if we succeeded, we cannot openly
attack the nobility to rescue an elf. Word would get back to the King and all
the nobility would be in arms. It would give the King
carte
blanch to enact even harsher laws against the nonhumans. The only thing
stopping him now is that some of the older and more powerful nobles would not
go along with it.”

 “So what is the plan,” Richter
asked.

 “My contact can sneak us onto
the estate the night of the ball. Three of us. Four max. Sion I’m sorry but you
cannot come, any nonhumans would ruin the plan immediately. Once we are inside,
we pose as servants. He told me that Isabel is being kept in a room attached to
the count’s chambers. Each night they are brought their food by one of the
servants. I will pose as the servant and go to her.”
Terrod
looked at Richter, “What I need, is for you to handle the guards in front of
the baron’s chambers. Ideally, in a way without bloodshed, and without them
being able to identify us. No matter what though, they will need to be dealt
with or I won’t be able to get Isabel out.”

 Richter looked back at
Terrod
, “I said I would help you and I will. I don’t much
in the way of stealth skills though. My Imbued arrow will kill them, but you
know how much noise it makes. It would alert every guard in the house!”

 
Terrod
was nodding quickly, “I know, I know! I have thought of that! No one that we
freed can come with us for the same reason that Sion needs to stay behind.
Nonhumans would immediately be detained and questioned. But that doesn’t mean
they don’t want to help. There are two adepts mages present, one of Dark and
one of Earth. The Dark adept has a spell that could accomplish what we need.
I’ve already checked though. None of the humans that are part of our group have
the affinity to learn Dark Magic, but I thought you might. You already seem to
have multiple
magics
. Will you try?”

 No matter what
Terrod
had asked, Richter would have complied. The
desperation and stress in the man’s voice was heartrending, “Of course
Terrod
. Where can I find them?”

 “Come with me,” he said walking
towards the stairs of the inn.

 At the end of the hallway on
the second floor there was a small open area. A rectangular table was there
with six chairs. Sunlight streamed through the window, but a light breeze came
through as well making for a very pleasant climate. A dwarf, an elf and a gnome
sat around the table. Richter used Analyze on each in turn.

Name:
Zarr
.
Mountain Dwarf Level 17. Health 420. Mana 350. Stamina 320. Disposition:
Friendly
.
Dwarves
have several subclasses that determine their specific powers. Mountain dwarves
are a hardy folk that get bonuses to Constitution and Endurance each level.
They have keep eyesight that gives them excellent night vision. Natural miners,
it is said mountain dwarves can “smell” veins of precious metals. Increased
resistance to negative physical effects. Increased affinity and resistance to
Earth Magic. Mountain Dwarves get three points to distribute per level, and
each level give +1 to Constitution and +1 to Endurance.