© 2025 Duleigh Lawrence-Townshend. All rights reserved. The author asserts the right to be identified as the author of this story for all portions. All characters are original. Any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental. This story or any part thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the expressed written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a review or commentary.

Appointed Duke of Wægn, the titular head of Hay-on-Wægn County, Nick was starting to feel the weight of the crown of duke. Friends gather to help them rule a peaceful little county in peace, but there is something inside their mountain that other people want, and they'll do anything to get it. Nick's dreams of spending the summer fishing and making love to Octavia fade as plots unfold about them...

Gods Save the Queen

Book 2 - Part 2, The Warrior Duchess

Chapter 11 - Contract Negotiations 1

Rifty Peregrine, a sales agent for the Peregrine and Aegir Mining Consortium, was angry. He was given a simple mining lease to get signed, and he's run into nothing but setbacks. He was told to get the local witch to sign because in this backward community the only authority in the area was witches. After days of searching, he found that the witch he was looking for, Mother Marisol, had been dead for decades. She was replaced by a wizard, Grigeor de la Montesquieu, but he was dead too. His replacement, Nana Partridge, was also dead. She was replaced by some guy who claims to be a witch.

Believing that the hicks and rubes of the rural area were taunting him, Rifty went to Uric, the King of Uduithia, who said, "You need the Duke of Wægn's signature on that lease. That authority lies with him, and I'm not going to usurp him on his first day in office."

Rifty attended the coronation ceremony and found that the new duke was a tall, good-looking fellow who owned a farm. The dwarf chuckled with the false belief that farmers were easy to cheat. Folks from large cities all have the idea that farmers are ignorant fools, not realizing that proof they were wrong came in every bite of food they ate. He tried to get the Duke's signature right after he was crowned duke, but Rifty asked for an autograph and that's what Rifty got -- a non-binding autograph that every court on Kodu would throw out.

Now he's waiting in the bright sunshine outside of a small temple in some hick village while the yokels glare at him as they walk past. Its anti-dwarf hatred is what this is. He could hear the duke and duchess muttering softly inside the temple, occasionally chuckling.

Actually, there was no one inside; the sounds that Rifty was hearing were echoes of a previous conversation that Octavia had set to replay continuously. There were many powerful books stored in the temple, and books containing powerful magic like that tended to get nervous when not cared for properly. The conversations in the background soothed the books' nerves. They relaxed when they heard sympathetic voices while they waited for their call to be read.

The books weren't left alone too long this Wednesday afternoon, eventually the Duke of Wægn appeared from the four columns in the center of the temple leading a unique-looking dwarf. The dwarf was wearing a sprig of holly in his long silver hair that flowed from under his iron helmet. Some of his hair was braided into long silver braids, and he braided his beard into twin tails, each tied off with a brightly colored ribbon. He was royalty, an elevated dwarf. Dwarfs are hardworking people. They wear bland-colored clothing made of leather and canvas and are generally the same color as the rock they were mining. But when they're elevated to a position of power such as the foreman of a pit, they wear bright colors and grow their hair out so he can be seen in a crowd; dwarves know he's the dwarf in charge.

But the sprig of green holly with red berries... one might think he's an assistant for Maz Dracus, the god of charity handing out gifts to the children of Kodu on Yuletide Eve, but holly was the symbol of the house of Elbreshowth, and there in Elbreshowth was the Boxlis Pit, the biggest, deepest, richest mine on Kodu. That made this dwarf the king of all dwarfdom, his royal majesty King Samrel Oakenarmour.

As Dwarven society on Kodu evolved, the male and female dwarves were completely equal. Male and female dwarves filled the same positions in society, and all pronouns were decidedly dwarven, that is to say, male. As a kinder dwarf, males and females are identical (when clothed). Once the kinder dwarf is able to swing a pickaxe, the kinder dwarf enters dwarven society as an Anfänger dwarf. But as they mature (around the age of 40) changes happen. As the male's shoulders grow broader, his beard begins to grow, and his entire body becomes more powerful; the female dwarves no longer look like their male counterparts. They grow taller and shapely. Round breasts, narrow waists, and curvaceous hips. Their arms and legs bulge with muscles like their male partners, and they love to swing a pickaxe and sledgehammer like their male partners... but there are differences that the males never seem to understand. Once her childbearing days are over (usually around the age of 120) her beard comes in, and she joins 'the boys' in the deep pits. A celebration is held deep down under for her reunion to the depths.

Following King Oakenarmour came the Duchess of Wægn, as beautiful and as shapely as a female dwarf but taller with black hair. She was leading a tall, armor-clad woman, who was amazed that she was able to travel from Torwin-Armistad to Uduithia in a matter of a single moment, when it was a full five-day journey on horseback. An observer couldn't determine the woman's figure because of the glistening chrome armor that hid her curves, but she had bright red hair, emerald-green eyes and a no-nonsense look about her. As the four settled in and reviewed the document that Rifty had given to Nick, outside Rifty strained to hear what was happening. The shades were drawn over the windows on his side of the temple, protecting the books from damaging sunlight and preventing Rifty from seeing who was in there.

Rifty sat on a bench outside of the temple, watching the people of the village come and go, occasionally a heavy wagon full of goods headed into Elm Springs from the railhead at Slate Bottom Creek. As Rifty watched a wagon roll past, a fierce wolf stepped up to Rifty and said, "They're ready for you."

Stunned, Rifty stood and followed the wolf into the temple, where he found a table set up and four people lined up facing him. He recognized the Duke and Duchess, but the other two he wasn't sure about... and one was dressed brightly, like a dwarven cabaret dancer! Anger boiled in his soul. It was three humans and a gay dwarf versus one true dwarf. "Good morning," started the Duke, "or should I say good afternoon. Sorry it took so long but I reached out to two people to help us with this negotiation. To my left is Chief Inspector Felicity Warforge, head of Zwergin Gesetz enforcement in Torwin Armistad, she will help with human/dwarven interactions and make sure I don't embarrass or insult the honor of the dwarven race."

Rifty's hopes sank; he's heard of Inspector Warforge. Felicity is a human who was raised by adoptive dwarven parents at the Ebony Hill Mining Group, one of the toughest mines on Kodu. She was raised to be a lawyer, and it's said there's nobody more knowledgeable in Zwergin Gesetz, Dwarf Law, than Inspector Warforge. It's said she's married to Elbreshowth royalty, but no one seems to know who she's married to. When it comes to Vertragsrecht (contract law) she's not the type to let anything slip past her.

Nick continued. "To my right is his Majesty Samrel Oakenarmour who so graciously consented to assist me in these negotiations."

"Anything to help the newest members of the royal court," the dwarf monarch chuckled.

Rifty's hopes hit rock bottom. Somehow Duke Stein convinced one of the few dwarves on Kodu who knew more about dwarven law than Felicity Warforge to join his panel. Samrel Oakenarmour not only knows dwarven law, but Samrel Oakenarmour is dwarven law. He is the king of all dwarfs in all mines, on all continents, and what he says goes.

"Before we get started do you have any questions?" asked the Duke.

"I was led in here by a dog?"

"Pepin is my oldest companion and commander of The Duke's Guard."

"Who would follow a wolf commander?" asked Rifty.

"Many other wolves," said Nick in a no-nonsense tone of voice. "Now let's start with page four, paragraph three, which discusses the disposal of overburden."

"Yes sir, we try to..." Rifty suddenly noticed that everyone in the room was glaring at him, including the dog and the wizard's staff. He could feel the duke's empty eye socket behind that terrifying patch glaring at him as well. Rifty suddenly felt very nervous and very alone. "I'm sorry, did I...?"

"While Duke Stein was knighted and sir would be an appropriate form of address," boomed the king, "keep in mind he is the Duke, he is royalty which casts him far above you in all situations. The proper form of address is "Your Grace."

Chastised by the highest-ranking dwarf on all of Kodu, Rifty was visibly shaken, and he tried desperately to get back on track. "Thank you for the correction your majesty, and I apologize your grace. Was there a problem with the third paragraph?"

"Yes," said Nick. "Overburden is a term used in surface mining. Since surface mining is illegal in the Duchy of Wægn, we won't need paragraph three, nine, and sixteen through twenty one."

Octavia watched her man lead the panel with confidence befitting the title that King Uric dropped on him in surprise. She realized that Nick had passionately fallen in love with Black Mountain as much as she has along with the entire surrounding countryside and the people under his protection and he was fighting to keep this bit of heaven unsullied by the avarice and cupidity of a tribe of dwarves. The only word that could describe what Octavia was feeling was "wow." She was so proud of Nick that she wanted to throw him down and fuck him senseless and she didn't care who watched. Her crush has turned into a crusher and is handling his responsibilities with incredible grace and honesty.

Black Mountain was bare from the 9,000-foot mark up. For some reason, no trees grew higher than that point; most other mountains featured trees well past 11,000 feet. Black Mountain was 14,201 feet tall, and the top 5,201 feet were completely barren of trees. It also has a wide prominence, meaning that it has broad shoulders; it's not a sharp, pointy mountain except for the last 1,000 feet, which looks like a finger pointing to the sky.

Black Mountain is the heart and soul of Hay-on-Wægn County and the lifeblood of each farm and family. Black Mountain supplies the people with the water, wood, and wildlife that they need to live. In return, the witches ensure the proper conduct of those who use the generous resources provided by Black Mountain. The king gave the witch who oversees Black Mountain some horsepower by restoring the duchy and making the witch a royal, responsible directly to the king. The Peregrine and Aegir Mining consortium is going to respect the demands of the Duke and Duchess or they're going to look elsewhere for whatever it is that they want. "What would you like to add dear?" Nick asked.

"I'm sorry," said Octavia, looking through her notes. "Did we cover water purity?"

"No, we will cover water purity later," said Felicity, who was enjoying the proceedings. She loved to see the rules followed and the people's lands protected. It's time her dwarven brothers learned some responsibility.

"Ok then," said Octavia as she collected her thoughts, "You have coal listed as a mine tailing. What grade of coal are you expecting to encounter?"

"Bituminous, but there's a chance it may be anthracite," answered an annoyed Rifty. For dwarves, coal was used for cooking, but other than that it's just a useless rock. Here in Elm Springs, coal is a lifesaver during the long cold winters. It burns hot and long; a coal fire at night will keep a family warm and alive on a long winter night. The blacksmith Trei pays a small fortune to get sacks of coal delivered for his forge. Having a local source of hot, clean-burning anthracite would be a godsend to him.

"Coal will be kept separate from other tailings and made available to the residents of Hay-on-Wægn County. Gemstones will be separated from other tailings and be kept for the Duchy of Wægn."

Octavia looked at Nick confused and asked, "Why should the duchy collect the gemstones?"

Nick shrugged. "I was thinking of handing a gemstone to first time mothers." He indicated Rifty and said, "They don't want them, they were just going to throw them in a waste pile with rock and coal. Why not give a shiny bauble to a new mom?"

"Ohhh!" cooed Felicity and Octavia.

"I like that idea Duke! Don't forget salt," said Samrel Oakenarmour. His voice was booming, and it rattled the windows. "Chances are good that a layer of salt lies beneath that mountain."

"Now we have to separate our mine tailings?" whined Rifty.

"Yes," said Nick and Octavia simultaneously. "Any toxic contaminants will either be stored inside the mine structure or carted off site to a disposal facility outside of the Kingdom of Uduithia," Nick added.

"Why outside of Uduithia Kingdom?" demanded Rifty.

"Because nowhere in Uduithia is the storage of toxic contaminants allowed." Rifty now realized that push had come to shove, and they were done pushing him; now they were shoving.

They took a break for dinner and had smoked brisket and boiled baby potatoes before going back to the last item of contention, mountain access and the removal of trees. The terms were strict. All mountain access was to be from the north and east sides of the mountain, and only trees with a diameter less than two feet may be cut for any reason, such as road building or for shoring up mine tunnels. The north side is considered to be the back side of the mountain. All of Uduithia was the southward face of Black Mountain.

"I suppose that finished this discussion, I'm ready to sign," said Nick.

"Wait!" cried Rifty. "what about this section regarding fines and fees?"

"There's no discussion, these fines and fees stand," replied Nick. "It's the price of doing business in Wægn Duchy and Uduithia."

Fines for cutting down the wrong tree, fines for shooting the wrong game animal, fines for dumping mine waste in a convenient (for the dwarves) location, it was ridiculous! Red face, eyes bulging, Rifty signed the last contract and was given his copy to take back to Peregrine and Aegir Mining's office in Elbreshowth, then he stormed out of the temple without a word.

"You did your damnedest to dissuade them from the project without saying no," said Samrel Oakenarmour as Nick guided the dwarven king back to Elbreshowth through the four columns of the Temple of the Woods to Lady Elbreshowth's private temple. "You got free coal, free salt, free aggregate, and a free road to get to those riches," the king laughed, "And all it cost your king was naming one duke!"

"Mister Peregrine did not seem happy to see you there, your highness," added Nick.

"You keep your eye on them," said King Oakenarmour. "Peregrine and Aegir are as nasty as they come, there's something under that mountain that they want, they made far too many concessions just for iron and gold. If you had told them no, there's no guessing what they would do to reach their goal. They would have dug anyhow, after digging your grave."

"Thank you for your concern your highness. I have a couple of fellows who I'm going to train tomorrow and they're going to be my contract enforcers."

"Anyone can be bribed my dear Duke."

"As long as the rules are enforced we'll call that part of their income. My enforcers aren't very bright, so if they take a bribe, I'll figure it out right away. I have a way of convincing people to see things my way."

"I'm sure you can talk any dwarf into handing you their pickaxe, your grace. I believe if you weren't already taken I'd have to keep a close eye on my queen."

"I appreciate the innuendo, your highness, but I would have an enchantress to contend with."

"By the Gods! A real and true enchantress walks among us, and I sat there all day near her." High King Samrel Oakenarmour shook his head in wonder. "I would love to spend some time talking with your wife."

Nick was a bit shocked at the king's reaction. "An enchantress is just a female wizard, but you react like there's more. She went to school and earned her degrees, learned to cast her spells..."

King Samrel gave a booming, rolling laugh. "No, my dear duke! An enchantress is so much more than that. Once she finds her mate the game has just begun." The dwarf king looked up at Nick and raised an eyebrow. "It's said that when she finds her mate her clothing is... her gown becomes..."

"It's invisible," said Nick. "Not just transparent, but completely invisible. All I can see is the lace trim on the hem."

"For truth?" asked the shocked dwarf.

"Not always, and not every robe. She has one set of robes that started turning invisible to me as we fell in love and in a few more days we were married. We had to if you catch my drift. She doesn't wear it in public, she says I get too "grabby." With a wry smile he added, "The more I fall in love with her, the less her other robes conceal."

"Oh, you devil." The king chuckled as he thought of all the possibilities, but he also worried, there's been tales in ancient literature of what an enchantress is. There's usually one per generation, but the sad women never find their mates. It's been over four centuries since an enchantress found her mate, according to the records. "Thank you for escorting me back to Elbreshowth," said King Oakenarmour. "I may have to look in to building a temple of my own."

"It takes much more than a temple; it takes the right collection of spells cast and a patron god to keep an eye on the temple. Lady Elbreshowth's manservant Noire here can help you," Nick pointed out Noire, the head librarian of Lady Elbreshowth's private library. Noire was four feet tall, a full head taller than King Oakenarmour, with a hunchback, and he walked as if one leg was shorter than the other.

"Yeth mathter," said Noire with a deep bow. "If the king ith therious about a temple, we can dithcuth the thpellth involved in Temple Hopping."

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Chapter 12 - Mountain Getaway

It was a glorious, quiet period -- no babies to deliver, no emergency at the palace, no dwarves aching to gut a mountain, just a few glorious summer days to explore their new life with each other. One evening Nick and Octavia decided to climb to the top of Black Mountain just to be able to say that they made the climb, so they packed a couple of packs with clothing and food, then the next morning just after sunrise they headed up to the top of Black Mountain.

Nick became a Snowcross Mountain pony, and Octavia rode on his back. She enjoyed the rocking sensation of his walking, still being new at riding a horse. Soon she was rubbing her pussy against his back while Pepin and Virga trotted alongside, and Gula, a large colorful bird that flew into the cottage one day, clung to Octavia's pack. "I have an idea," Octavia whispered into Nick's ear. "Let's get all the way to the top and spread out a blanket and make love up there where anyone could see us! It sounds like fun, doesn't it? So, what if they need eyes like an eagle, they could still see us a bit."

Nick snorted his approval.

Octavia had never been up on a mountain before, except for their trek to take Rys Oladi to the mysterious Artafána, where they met Saatus, the goddess of Fate, who welcomed Rys Oladi into the Castle of White and gave Nick and Octavia prophesies that came to pass at the battle with Zeddicus where Nick became the first human to kill a god. Nick wandered all over the southern face of Black Mountain, and now with the ancient magic of the elder races he's able to become any animal he wishes, and now he can carry his beautiful wife on his back. Both found the trek exhilarating.

When Nick takes the form of a Snowcross Mountain pony and carries his wife, a feeling of togetherness overwhelms them; their silent conversations become deep, heartfelt communication, even if they're just talking about the scenery. As they climbed in elevation, they found an area where the mountain side was covered with Sweetwood trees, the bark on every tree was snow white with dark red spots here and there and the leaves were heart-shaped and bright gold but will turn red in the autumn. Trei, the village blacksmith, told Nick to keep some Sweetwood on the woodpile for those "special nights" with Octavia because the wood smelled so aromatic when it burned; it smelled like perfume.

Under the glowing golden canopy of the Sweetwood trees, their banter and silent teasing took their toll and Octavia realized that she couldn't wait to get to the top of the mountain and she slid off Nick's back and she spread her blanket on a cushion of leaves. "Is there anything wrong?" Nick asked, and in answer, Octavia's skirt pooled around her ankles, and her blouse slid off her shoulders and dropped to the ground.

Nick didn't need any more answer than that, and behind Octavia she felt her man approach, his hands so strong and warm, grasped her hips and pulled her back to him. His hands worked up from her hips over her waist to her ribs where he grasped her tightly, his lips, teeth, and tongue, which was nibbling at her earlobe, began moving down to her neck. The thrill of his teeth gnawing at her neck and her shoulder soon had her excited. "Don't tease me," she gasped as his hands cupped her breasts and began to gently squeeze.

Being naked outdoors was new to Octavia, and normally when they're naked outdoors they're swimming in the pond or bathing in the trout stream above the pond. Now, here in the golden glow of the sweetwood trees, she felt exposed and vulnerable, and both were extremely sexy. Her strong, brave husband holding her tight. Nick killed an evil god to protect her; just the thought of what he will do for her sends thrills through her entire body. "Please don't tease me," she whispered again

"Tease?" he whispered, his tongue tracing around her ear. "Is this teasing?" he gently pinched both aching nipples between thumb and forefinger and began to roll them gently, ever so gently. His tongue tracing around her ear, probing gently, his teeth nipping and tugging at her ear lobes, his hands exploring and squeezing her breasts. All of his touches were designed to make her crazy with desire. They're both new at making love, and they're both getting very good at what they're doing to each other. Octavia felt sparks and tingles of excitement as he gently urged her to higher and higher levels of pleasure.

"Yes," she gasped, "that's teasing."

"Maybe I should avoid doing that then." But he didn't slow down; in fact, if anything, he redoubled his taunting, his fingers driving her to higher levels of excitement. One hand left her breast and crept down her body, spider-walking lower and lower with a quick stop to tickle her belly button, then another stop to explore her sparse pubic bush.

A tiny whimper escaped Octavia's lips as Nick's fingers began to explore. "Pardon? Is this teasing?" he asked.

"Yes," she squeaked.

"Should I stop?"

"No." She could barely speak; he had her so excited. His middle finger touched and circled her flower, and his other hand, still at her left breast, pinched her nipple, causing her to squeak in shock.

"Did you say stop?"

"No," she gasped, but she was closer to screaming than gasping.

"I can stop if you want me to." Now, two fingers began orbiting her cleft gently. His fingers squeezed and taunted her nipple, then, to make matters worse, he crouched down behind her and ran his wet tongue up the length of her spine, very slowly.

"Oh my GODS!" she cried, startling birds who took to flight. All except Gula, who didn't seem to be bothered by Nick and Octavia's antics.

"Ok, I'll stop!" said Nick.

"Don't you dare stop!" Octavia leaned back against Nick, and she placed her hand over the hand that was massaging her womanhood, and with her other hand she grasped her free breast and began squeezing and twisting her nipple. "I need you now..."

"Would you like me to fuck you?"

That question alone almost made Octavia climax. Nick has been such a sweet and gentle lover; he's never spoken to her like that, ever, and hearing those words come out of his mouth at her height of excitement almost made her cum. "Gods yes," she groaned, and she pushed her ass back at his hips, grinding his manhood into her bottom.

"Tell me what you want," he whispered as his fingers stopped taunting her and slowly entered her flower.

"Fuck me," she said.

"I didn't quite hear that," he whispered.

"Please fuck me!" she gasped. Now she realized he was intentionally keeping her from cumming by slowing down and playing these silly word games.

"Louder! Let the mountain know!" he cried.

"FUCK ME DAMNIT!" she shouted, and it felt good to shout that!

"Then get on your hands and knees duchess," He kissed her shoulder and then pushed her forward, and at his touch she dropped to her hands and knees. She adores his ways of gentle loving, but now isn't the time for that, they've been teasing each other all the way up the mountain, projecting their feelings and memories of their sexual escapades over the past couple of months to each other and now the time for foreplay is over. Flesh on flesh, flesh in flesh, their lovemaking went on for what seemed like forever. It felt so good to make passionate love among the sweetwood trees, with the dappled sunlight on their skin, the fresh mountain breeze heightening their sensations. Soon both were weeping tears of joy; this was too perfect. Her shrieks of pleasure echoed off the mountains, and his roars of satisfaction joined her cries. They collapsed onto the blanket she had spread out and lay naked under the beautiful trees. They kissed each other as waves of satisfaction coursed over their sweating bodies.

"Did your school of wizarding at the temple have a class on how to break a spell? Because you did a great job on that one."

Grinning, Octavia rolled over to face Nick and said, "Yes, it was called bed check after lights out." Her smile and the twinkle in her eyes were genuine, and their post-coital kisses sweet.

"Yes, you told me about living in a co-ed dorm."

"It wasn't like that," said Octavia. "All the boys were nerds and the girls were worse." She eased a finger into Nick's mouth and said, "This was my only lover in that dorm." As they laughed and hugged, Octavia broke the spell again and said, "We need a shower."

Nick had to agree; they were covered in sweat, and other fluids, and it was drying on them. As Nick was about to say that there had to be a brook near them because he could hear the water splashing, Pepin stepped to the edge of their blanket and began to shake, spraying them with water. "Pepin! What the f..."

"You said you needed a shower," said the playful wolf, dodging out of the way as Nick threw a handful of dried sweetwood leaves at him. "There's a pond right over here!" and he dashed off between the trees.

"Let's go see what our chief of security found," groaned Nick, and he and Octavia rose. They folded their blankets but left their clothing and packs behind and followed Pepin into the trees. Not too far, they found a small pool tucked up tight against a limestone cliff. Water flowed down the face of the cliff, splashing off rocks and finally ending up in a pool that had steam rising from the surface of the rippling water.

"Another hot spring," said Octavia as she crouched down to touch the water. On their trip up to Artafána, they found a hot spring not far from the entrance to the Castle of White. They camped there and enjoyed the hot spring and even met some fairies in that area.

"I think it's safe," said Nick as he watched Pepin dog paddle across the pool. He then eased into the steamy water, which was hot but comforting.

Octavia slipped into the water, and her eyes rolled in delight. "My gods this is wonderful!" she gasped as Nick began to calculate the ways it would take to arrange a pool like this down by the cottage. The water came out of a seam in the rock wall, splashed over several rocks, then plunged into the pool. Nick sat where the water splashed into the pool and let the water flow over his shoulders.

"This would be so good after chopping wood. I wonder if there is a hot spring further down..." he said aloud as he moved next to Octavia.

"We had something at the temple school I went to, the gang called it a "sa-oona," and you make it out of wood, a bucket of water, and some hot rocks."

"Did they have a lot of hot rocks there?"

Octavia thought about it for a while. She was there for seven years but never considered where the hot rocks came from. "They must have; they were always there in the sa-oona whenever we used the sa-oona. There was a dipper in the bucket and you pour water on the rocks and steam came up and on a cold day it felt so good."

Pepin rolled his eyes in astonishment. All that magical power should have come with a modicum of common sense but having lived in the shadow of the Temple of Saehrimnir for years, he and Nick know better. "Can we go home now?"

"I think we should finish up our exploration," said Nick as he got out of the pond and helped Octavia out.

"Remember to bring a towel or two next time we go hiking," said Octavia as they walked naked through the woods back to their packs. "I'm sure there's a lot to explore in this area."

"What makes you say that?" asked Nick.

Octavia gave him an astonished look and said, "Seriously?" She pointed out several objects that were carved out of rock and looked like lanterns. "Fairy lamps! There were half a dozen around the pool."

"What's a fairy lamp?"

Octavia shook her head and sighed, which did some awesome things with her breasts, then called out, "Girls!" Soon several fairies appeared, their dragonfly double wings flailing away like a dragonfly. Every single fairy looked like a slim, buxom little woman about four inches tall and each with wings. "Show my husband what fairy lanterns are for."

"Ok momma!" cried a little brunette fairy, and the fairies darted off, each to their favorite lantern and crawled inside of it and started glowing.

"Wow," said Nick softly, "I never noticed the lamps."

"What were you looking at?" demanded Octavia.

"Your tits," and Nick pulled her into his arms for a toe-curling kiss.

"Thank you girls!" called Octavia, and the fairies saluted and fluttered off to whatever they were doing before Octavia called for them. It felt so good to be walking naked under the golden leaves, a hot spring to unwind in, enough fairy lamps to decorate the woods like Yuletide Eve. All they needed was a small cabin next to the hot spring to spend the night in. "We can hide here," she whispered as they kissed again.

"Hide from who?" asked Nick with a smile.

"Everybody. This is our getaway. When being the duke gets to be too much, we come up here for a couple of days and soak in the hot spring.

"The other one seemed to be bigger than this one," said Nick.

"It is, we'll tell guests about the other one, and keep this little spring our secret.

"I second the motion. We need to start cutting lumber to make a crew barn for the guys, I'll cut enough for a little cabin here, and a warming shack at the other pool.

With one more kiss, Octavia put on her dress and backpack, Gula fluttered up onto Octavia's pack, and Octavia climbed onto her kneeling pony, and soon they were back to their climb. The trek through the Sweetwood grove was magical, everything had a golden glow because of the sunlight illuminating the trees and the canopy of leaves glowed a bright gold, it wasn't a steep climb but after they left the Sweetwood and returned to the hardy pine forests; the climb got very steep. Eventually, it got so steep that Octavia couldn't cling to Nick's back anymore. She slid off, and Nick returned to human form, pulled his sandals, kilt and shirt out of Octavia's pack, and they continued the journey on foot with Pepin searching on ahead.

It didn't take long to reach the tree line, and they discovered that there was no evidence of any trees or bushes above 9,000 feet. The tree line was arrow straight spanning the entire mountain, like a line was drawn and the mountain was shaved clean of trees from that line on upward. Normally when reaching the tree line on a mountain, the trees fade out the higher you go, there are trees above that line but they are twisted and stunted and they become fewer and fewer due to the extreme cold, lack of water, and high winds. However, on Black Mountain, it was bare from 9,000 feet and up; heavy canopy forest suddenly gave way to bare stone. Tufts of grass grew here and there among the rocks, but no trees or bushes were on the mountain from this point up.

"I am so glad we didn't wait to climb this high to make love," Nick shouted over the frigid gusts of wind.

"Make love in this wind?" shouted Octavia. "Are you crazy?"

"No! I was saying..." then the grin on her face showed Nick that she was taunting him, not exactly the same as he did to her, but teasing is teasing. They continued their climb with Pepin now hopping from rock to rock, he was complaining all the way but he was having fun, Gula hanging on Nick's pack enjoying the view, and Virga happy to get out and be more than an ornament in an Oliphant foot umbrella stand.

The last hundred feet seemed to be man-made, like someone decided that 14,100 feet wasn't tall enough and added another hundred feet by creating concentric rings of rock one atop another like a huge granite layer cake. Eventually, Octavia reached the very top and found a four foot high circular wall built at the very peak of the mountain. "You coming up Pepin?"

"No way, it doesn't want me up there," growled Pepin. He had stopped five rings below the peak and refused to climb any closer to the stone wall. "There's something about that up there." The wolf shivered at the thought of getting any nearer to that cold gray stone wall. Gula was also leery of the strange wall, and she squawked louder the closer that Nick got to the wall. She finally let go of Nick's pack and hopped down and stayed with Pepin.

Nick didn't feel like he was welcome near the wall also, it was like the wall was saying, "You served your purpose, now go away." He remained with Pepin and Gula and was afraid to admit that he couldn't get any closer to the wall. Only Octavia and Virga found it welcoming. She climbed over the wall and stood inside the ring of stone, pointing out things she could see far away. "There's the tower of the Dominus in Torwin-Armistad, there's the Elbreshowth Family Keep, and way over there are the ruins of the great pyramids of Sotis..."

"Honey, can we go?" Nick was getting worried; the longer they stayed here, the higher it seemed they were. Actually, the higher Octavia was, as he watched, the very apex of Bald Mountain, the top ring of the granite wedding cake was rising, taking Octavia higher and higher.

"I can see our house from here!" called Octavia as she leaned out and looked down toward the base of the mountain. Then she realized that Nick and Pepin were further down the mountain than she had left them. "Wait for me!" she scrambled down the rocks to rejoin them and asked, "Why did you start down without me?"

"We didn't," said Nick, "We didn't move, you were going up," and they looked up to see the peak of the mountain settle back to where it was when they first arrived like a sailor pushing the eyepiece of his telescope back in.

<><><><><>֎<><><><><>

Chapter 13 - Welcome to Uduithia

On the other side of Uduithia, Queen Elinor and Ezzie Fahy were having their every other week cuppa with Agness Dempsey in her cottage. "I'm proud a' you Agness! We've been 'ere an entire ten minutes and you 'aven't said a disparaging word about our newest witch."

There was a slight tremble in the ground. Agness wasn't sure if she felt it, and neither of the other two witches seemed to notice, so she continued with her planned retort. "I can't" groused Agness. "He's royalty now," she added with a sidelong glance to Queen Elinor, whom she hadn't said a disparaging word about in the decade since she married King Uric and became queen. "I did hear that he's consorting with fairies," she growled.

That made Queen Elinor laugh - cavorting with fairies? The thought was too silly to contemplate. Normally, fairies liked to flutter around the gardens eating aphids and other pest bugs. It was thought that fairies would be attacked by hawks and owls, but if anything, those birds of prey seemed to watch over the fairies and protect them from other birds. But the hawks and owls leave garden gnomes alone as well. Clearly, there is a magical spell of some sort protecting the gnomes and fairies.

"Fairies make beautiful garden lights," said Ezzie, who will decorate her window boxes with fairies on summer evenings.

Nick and Octavia had fairies fluttering around their cottage; Octavia had put a feeder out for hummingbirds, not knowing that it attracted fairies as well. At first, there were squabbles between the fairies and the hummingbirds, but Octavia put out several more feeders, and there was enough sugar water to go around.

"Well, I think he's becoming a great witch and at the same time a great duke," said Elinor. "The way he got those dwarves to sign a contract that most dwarves would have walked away from shows true royal acuity."

"There's something under that mountain that the dwarves want," groused Agness, "and he's letting them dig it out!"

"And what is the problem with that?" asked Queen Elinor. "As long as their digging is environmentally..." she looked at her teacup. There were rings... waves radiating from the cup traveling to the center of the tea. It was as if someone had silently tapped her cup... The three witches looked at each other; they had all noticed it.

All three witches stopped. They all felt it. Kodu called out to them. Wordlessly, they rose and stepped outside Agness's door and looked to the north. They didn't see it at first, but eventually they noticed it far off in the distance. Just over the top of Breeders Peak was the tip of Black Mountain, the stone sentinel that they all grew up looking toward, was different. "It's taller," gasped Elinor.

She was right; the very tip of the mountain was all one could normally see over nearby Breeders Peak, but at that moment Black Mountain was much taller, a stone shaft extending into the sky.

"Cor..." gasped Ezzie Fahy.

As they watched, the summit of the mountain slowly returned to its normal height. "She was there," growled Agness. "She woke the mountain."

"How do you know it wasn't him?" asked Queen Elinor.

"It's not for him... it's not for any him. The duke can't get there. It's for the enchantress, it's for her."

"The enchantress walks among us," whispered the queen.

"And your man made her royalty!" snapped Agness.

"And it's a good thing he did!" said Ezzie. "As a member of the uppity class, she's responsible for everything she says and does, and should she anger the king, it's off with her head! If she were just plain folks, she could do most anything, and the king would never find out until it's too late."

"It may be too late already," said Queen Elinor sadly.

<><><><><>

As summer wore on, life on the farm was peaceful and fulfilling. The days of acting as head of security for King Alfrich were long forgotten for Nick. Octavia couldn't forget her hours as Queen for a day, undoubtedly the worst day of her life. She watched sadly as Nick married the woman that the king was fucking, knowing well that she would marry the king in mere minutes. Remembering that day would send Octavia into fits of depression, and her only cure was to remain close to Nick, no matter what he was doing. Once recharged with his love, she would wander into the village to chat with her friends, leaving Nick to manage the farm.

"How are Alfie and Carl doing?" asked Nick.

Hugues Du Gouey smiled and said, "I had to beat some sense into them just once and they're working out great."

"Good!" said Nick. "I have work for them on the north side of the mountain. One of them will probably end up staying there, but I'll have a troll to keep him company."

"A troll?" Hugues looked surprised. Trolls were large and rare. It was said they're made out of rock, but to Hugues they looked like a particularly ugly demi-giant with strangely colored leathery skin. It's said that they're quite stupid but can be trained to do simple manual tasks... but if they were that stupid, how could they survive as a species?

"Yeah, I met him a few weeks back, sharp fellow and he's quite good at acting stupid."

"Acting stupid?"

"Yeah, all trolls do that. Didn't you know? Get Alfie and Carl over here, we have to get ready to welcome our guests." Nick didn't have high hopes for these dwarves, but he hoped if he welcomed them cheerfully, he could start a good relationship with them. But there was a contract to be followed.

While he spoke with the three demi-giants, Octavia was visiting with Ena McCrory and her mom, Erin Metsker. They were teaching Octavia to bake bread. She had gotten quite good at flatbreads, and Nick was inventive in rolling things up in the flatbread to make a "Tube Lunch." Now Octavia was learning "yeast bread" which was a lot of work but smelled wonderful.

"What happens if I don't punch it down?" asked Octavia as she considered a ball of dough that was awaiting her next move.

"You'll end up with a hollow ball of bread crust," said Erin.

"Oh," said Octavia, and she began punching down the loaf of bread. "I have a question," she asked as she kneaded her dough ball.

"What's that honey?" asked Ena. She couldn't wait; poor Octavia was raised in a crystal temple to be a rich old man's plaything. Her questions could be quite entertaining.

"How do I know if I have a baby inside me?"

"That's easy, you wait for nine months, and if you had one in you, it will be out by then," said Ena as she checked the fire in the oven they would bake in. "I could have sworn that you said that King Alfrich didn't want children so he had you fixed when you were in that temple school."

"I was..." said Octavia.

"See? Then you don't have to worry about it."

"...then I fixed it back."

"What?" gasped Ena. Erin didn't quite understand what was going on, but this sounded important.

"Some things can be fixed," said Octavia, "Then fixed back the way they were." She pumped some cold water into a mug and a moment later she handed Ena a steaming hot mug of perfectly brewed tea. "Nick and I were up on Black Mountain, and we were under a grove of sweetwood trees..."

"That will do it," said Erin. "If it weren't for a stand of sweetwood trees and a picnic lunch, Ena wouldn't be here."

"MOTHER!" cried Ena.

Erin put her hands on Octavia's shoulders and said, "sweetheart, when was your last period?"

"Mystara twenty second."

"That's barely three weeks. At this point only a witch would know."

<><><><><>

A barge full of dwarves bearing picks and axes drifted up the Gjorgiev River, a watercourse that wandered through the Snowcross Mountains, oozing down gentle mountain valleys. It was the only well-behaved river in the Snowcross Mountains, so there was plenty of barge traffic on the Gjorgiev. Barges from the ocean at Warwickshire travel up the Gjorgiev to Mundy's Landing, then overland to Slate Bottom Creek where freight can be loaded on the Torwin, Pirangi & Elbreshowth Tramway (TP&E).

The barge was pulled along the slate-bottom stream by a mule on the shore, assisted by dwarves on the barge poling it along the lazy stream. It would have been a beautiful, relaxing ride if the dwarves had enjoyed sunlight. Unfortunately, these dwarves hated sunlight. They found they had to take breaks below deck in the gloom of the windowless cargo hold to regain their dwarven sensibilities because these were deep rock miners, most have never been above ground before.

The barge grounded ashore on the hubward side of the mountain near where the promised cabin was located, and two former highwaymen were there to meet them. "Oi! Are you from Peregrine and Aegir Mining?"

"'Ooo wants to know?" growled a dwarf that was holding an axe.

"Th' Duke of Wægn," grinned Alfie. "We're what you call his overseers. If we don't like what we see, it's over for you."

"What's with the paint?" snarled the dwarf. Alfie and Carl were covered with splatters of red and green paint.

"We marked the trees you can cut for your road to the base of the mountain," said Carl.

"If we see you cut one tree that's not marked, it's a one hundred dollar fine," grinned Alfie.

"A hundred dollars? For a tree?" shouted a dwarf, "that's crazy!"

"You can cut any tree you want on the other side of the river," said Carl.

Suddenly, the *thwack!* of a crossbow was heard, and Alfie noticed several of the dwarves who stepped ashore were looking up. "Got 'im!" said a dwarf who was holding a crossbow. Alfie and Carl looked up and saw what looked like an eagle spiraling helplessly out of the sky.

"Aww, ye shouldn't a done that," gasped Carl in terror as the bird disappeared behind the trees.

"My friend here is right, th' duke likes his eagles. You are so screwed," said Alphie. Just then, Nick stepped out of the woods and strode right up to the dwarf that had fired the crossbow bolt. Nick grabbed the dwarf by the tunic with one hand and lifted him off his feet.

"Name," demanded Nick in a tone of voice that left no doubt in that dwarf's mind that if he got this demand wrong, it would be the last thing he would ever get wrong.

"G-G-Groin, son of Gloin."

"Groin Gloinson? I am Nick Stein, the Duke of Wægn." Then, Nick threw the dwarf halfway across the river. "LET IT BE KNOWN THAT ALL LIVING BEINGS IN MY DUCHY ARE UNDER MY PROTECTION," Nick roared at the top of his lungs. "YOU ON THE OTHERHAND ARE GUESTS." He bent over, getting right in the largest dwarf's face, and said, "You are quickly wearing out your welcome."

Rifty Peregrine worked his way to the front of the group and started, "Your Grace, I'm sorry..."

"Yes you are," Nick said with a snarl. "I hold you responsible for enforcement of the laws of the Duchy of Wægn and one of your group shoots down the fair symbol of this kingdom the moment you step off the boat." He stood and looked around at the angry mob of dwarves, and he fought the urge to turn into a dragon and end this entire charade. He pointed toward the dwarf splashing in the river and said, "Thanks to that one bolt fired by Groin, son of Gloin, all hunting on, around, and under Black Mountain is forbidden. And for you this now includes hunting of any sort in all of Uduithia."

"No hunting?" Rifty sputtered and then fumed, "How are we supposed to feed these dwarves?"

"You should have thought of that before allowing that idiot to shoot down a Uduithia Black Eagle. The far side of the river is not Uduithia, you may have luck over there," snapped Nick.

"A what?" asked the female dwarf next to Rifty. Nick guessed it was an emancipated female dwarf who asked the question. She had dyed her hair purple and was wearing eye makeup.

"The king's favorite bird and the symbol of the country," groaned Rifty. He briefed the dwarves about that bird several times as they traveled through the high country. Do not shoot any eagles, especially a black eagle with a black beak and black talons.

"You're lucky the court wizard was in the area, she will be able to heal the eagle," Nick produced a black feather and considered it. "Anyone found hunting from this work party will cause termination of the contract and expulsion."

"How do you expect me to feed these dwarves?" squawked Rifty.

"I don't care," said Nick. "I stuck my neck out for you dwarves and you do this to me, and you haven't even started to dig. Now I have to report this to the king and plead for that idiots life. I have bigger things to worry about because I may have to come back and execute him. Maybe I can convince a farmer to sell you a few cows but to be honest, I really regret letting this happen." He waved his hand toward the barge that was tied up to shore and walked off. A moment later, a wave came downriver and lifted the barge, snapping the few lines that were holding it in place and washing the barge downriver along with Groin, son of Gloin.

Chaos ensued, and the collected dwarves raced after their runaway barge, which still had several dwarves and all of their tools on board. Rifty Peregrine threw up his hands and shrugged and turned back to Nick, but he had disappeared into the woods.

It was a long hike back to the cottage, but Pepin led the wounded deer, and Gula provided a rear guard, flittering from tree to tree. Being a magical bird, she could fly like any other bird with the added magical ability to see in all directions, including straight up. Now, Gula's brightly colored plumage was splotched with gray and drab green, and she blended in with the foliage perfectly. She didn't communicate directly with Nick, but he could see what she was looking at, no matter where she was.

It was a good thing for Nick that she was there. The site manager, Rifty Peregrine, sent a small squad of dwarves to stop Nick from reporting the shoot-down to the king. Gula would roost on an outcropping of rock, waiting for the squad to pass far below her, and she would dive with a rock in her talons and take the rear dwarf out one by one with her rock. She could tag them square in the forehead, and if they were wearing a helmet, she'd aim for the ear. Then she would swoop back up to her roost and take another run at the diminished squad.

The dwarves didn't realize that they weren't chasing a man, but still the dwarves continued to give chase. Four became three, then two, then one, then the pursuit was over, but the long hike was far from over.

Finally, long after sunset, a bedraggled, bloody Nick staggered up to the cottage and collapsed in a rocking chair on the porch. His left side was covered in blood, his left arm held up by a sling fashioned from vines. "Get momma," he gasped, and with a yelp of fear, Pepin dashed into the cottage and came back with Octavia.

"Oh no! What happened?" she cried as he handed her a bolt from a crossbow. It wasn't the same color as the bolt that killed Henna Roem, the previous Duke of Wægn, but it was the same design. Where was Buggy Orebeard? Nick could use him right now.

"I met the new neighbors," groaned Nick as he peeled off his blood-soaked shirt, and Octavia took off the bloody bandage that he had fashioned after crashing to earth. "I was watching from above getting ready to welcome them to Uduithia and someone decided to take a shot at a Uduithia black eagle. It went downhill from there."

"Oh my gods, how did you survive the fall?"

"I aimed for a bend in the river and splashed down there. Luckily eagles don't weigh a lot so I didn't hit the river bottom."

Octavia used a spell to enhance healing as she stitched his wound closed. "There's going to be no flying for you for a while," she said as she wrapped a bandage around his arm to protect the stitches. "You know, I'm getting quite adept at sewing you back together."

"Are you saying that I should call you Igor?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," she laughed as she sat down on his lap.

"Luckily there's only two babies waiting for me, and they're not due until late autumn," said Nick with a sigh. He held up two fingers and smiled. When he had first started as the witch in the local area, he did nothing but deliver babies. Delivering babies is probably the most demanding task that the healer of the area has to perform because it is the most visible, and back in the mountain woods, pre-natal care is nearly unheard of.

"I think your count is off," said Octavia.

"No, there's Sheila and Lars Johengen, and Heather and Liam Breen." but Octavia took Nick's hand and straightened out his fingers and placed his hand on her tummy.

"There's Octavia and Nick Stein," she said with a gentle smile. She could tell that Nick felt the little spark of life growing in her womb by the look of amazement in his eyes. "If it's a boy I would like to name him Marlon, in Vespil it means Young Eagle."

How did I miss that? Nick asked himself, but he knew the answer. After Death took their first, just weeks after she became noticeable in her mother's womb, he stopped looking. And now here it is! A child growing in her womb, a child to love and raise and teach and... and... Nick gave his lover a deep, joyful kiss then said what was foremost in his heart, "I have no idea how to raise a child."

"Then we have some research to do," said Octavia, "because I was hoping you knew."

<><><><><>

Olaf Peregrine looked over the dispatches from Uduithia again. This was getting out of hand, nearly fifteen thousand dollars in fines and fees and they're barely a quarter mile into the bedrock. Most of the fines were for cutting trees! He slammed the dispatches down on the desk and groaned. That's in addition to what they're spending on food. The local farmers are driving up prices, and hunting fines are making it an expensive proposition to feed a group of dwarves that were budgeted to live off the land. "We are never going to recoup the cost of this project!" complained Olaf.

"Don't complain to me," his business partner of over sixty years, Ringgold Aegir, snapped. "We decided that this was worth it regardless of the cost and now we're starting to see what the cost is." Ringgold saw the value of their eventual goal but was always leery of the costs entailed, but the chance to usurp Samrel Oakenarmour and put a dwarf that will follow orders on the Iron Throne was priceless.

"I have half of our crew dividing up mine tailings and carrying trash across the river where it can be burned without the duke getting irate."

"Let one grass fire get out of hand and you never hear the end of it," grumbled Ringgold.

"There's no gold, no iron, not even any tin under this mountain, we are going to be bankrupt long before we reach it."

"Are you having doubts, because I have an idea that will cut costs and erase our liabilities," grinned Ringgold.

Olaf recognized that grin. Most often that grin meant some underhanded deed that would profit Peregrine and Aegir Mining, but now Olaf doesn't see any profit in it. He knew what Ringgold was thinking, and it may cost more than they expected...

<><><><><>֎<><><><><>

Chapter 14 - Contract Negotiations 2

It was late, but that was meaningless in Torwin-Armistad; it was as if time itself had little meaning in the immense city. It seemed as if the biggest city on Kodu had outgrown its need for time. As a matter of fact, more money changes hands after sunset in Torwin-Armistad than during all legitimate business hours. It's rumored that some of that money has been known to change hands voluntarily.

In the palace of the Dominus of Torwin-Armistad, a dwarf waited nervously outside the office of Orazio Laurita. His ordeal started early in the morning where he had gone to the offices of the Assassin's Federation, filled out the appropriate paperwork for a proper entombment, but when they saw his request, he was sent to the Dominus's office. "Is it because I'm a dwarf?" snarled the tattoo-covered dwarf.

"By all means no," said the sweet-looking secretary of the Assassin's Federation. "Many of our best representatives are dwarves, and they're quite skilled."

"Is it because of my tattoos?" demanded the dwarf.

The secretary frowned. "Well... you get what you pay for, but no. As hideous as they are, we do not care about your tattoos. The nature of your request requires the Dominus to review the application for accuracy."

"What's wrong with my tattoos?" asked the broken-hearted dwarf.

"Move along please, next!"

The dwarf named Bughac Orebeard was shuffled out of the Assassin's federation and had to hike across town to the Palace of the Dominus. It was a long hike to cross the Armistad side of Torwin-Armistad, and finally Buggy entered the palace of the Dominus where he went to the reception desk and said, "I have a nine-o'clock appointment with the Dominus."

"Mister... Orebeard is it? We have you down for nine-thirty. Please wait over there and we will call you when the dominus is ready to see you."

Buggy sat in the waiting area, and he was not used to office turmoil. The sound of scribes scribbling filled the air, and the muffled sound of shouted threats filtered through closed office doors. He missed the sound of a pickaxe striking rock. Nine thirty came and went, and still he wasn't called into the office, so he went to the reception desk. "Please wait," asked the secretary. She pressed a button, and Stuart la Fountaine, Dominus Laurita's secretary, came out of an office and stepped up to Buggy.

"I do apologize, but your appointment has been moved to ten o'clock. I hope that does not cause too much of a problem."

"No, that's fine," and Buggy sat back down and waited.

Even though the turmoil of the office was quite robust, it failed to entertain Buggy. He was moving up the chain at his new job. No more killing and wars for ol' Buggy! He was the newly promoted Executive Vice President for Project Advancement of Peregrine and Aegir Mining. He was the troubleshooter; if someone was giving them trouble, he would shoot them. But with this promotion, Buggy didn't get his hands dirty anymore. He contracted out. The Assassin's Federation was the quick, easy way of getting someone out of your way.

Buggy looked at the contract for entombment once more. Some old farm couple just south of Spatz Mountain was being difficult. Buggy didn't think twice about them. They probably had a dozen sons already squabbling over what to do with the land, and he knows the Spatz Mountain area; there's not a lot of level land out there. "Fuck 'em," muttered Buggy as he waited to be called in to the office of the Dominus. The old crows had a daffy name anyhow... Montesquieu. Who has a name like that? Probably from Pirangi or Steil Thein... too many of that type in the world anyhow.

Again, the appointment time came and went, so Buggy went to Mr. la Fountaine and asked about his appointment, and Stuart replied, "Did I fail to mention it was scheduled for ten PM? That's in eleven and a half hours. Please stay nearby if there's an opening we will call you."

Disappointed, Buggy went back to his seat, and the only time he got up was to use the midden, and sure enough, while using the facilities he heard the distant call, "Mister Orebeard? Mister Orebeard?" (In any cue situation, it never fails)

Finally, at 10:35 PM, Bughac Orebeard was escorted into the Dominus' vast office, where he stood at the desk of the most powerful politician on the planet of Kodu. "If it pleases you, yer honor, the assassins federation sent me here, they claim that my request must be approved by you."

"Does it now... let's review your application, shall we? Hmmm Magic User? That is incorrect, you marked No, but the answer is certainly Yes... for both parties."

"I apologize yer holiness; I was not advised..."

"And here where it asks if he has any pets... he most certainly does... an amazing bird, and a wolf that's quite protective of his master."

"Forgive me yer magnificence..."

"And here where you listed his occupation as a farmer... tsk tsk tsk"

"But yer formidable-ness, I didn't see where any of this..."

"A common tragedy..." The way the Dominus dragged out the word "tragedy" gave Bughac Orebeard the feeling that he was going to appear in a tragedy himself. He was of course correct.

Orazio wrote for a long time on a separate piece of parchment and then folded up the original entombment request. The Assassin's Federation works closely with the Mortician's Union. The Assassins Federation never says kill or murder; they say entomb. Murder, kill, slaughter -- they all sound so negative. Entombment sounds better, reminding people that a new memorial will go up to honor the life of the recently entombed. The Dominus sealed the entombment request with wax and his signet ring and handed it to Buggy Orebeard. "It is now all in order, please take it to the Assassins' Federation for assignment to a specialist."

"Thank you sir, are they open?"

"They never close," said the Dominus as he went back to reviewing another document. After a pause, the Dominus noticed that Buggy was still there. "Do not let me detain you." That statement was a lot less pleasantry and a lot more threat. Buggy bowed several times and left quietly.

A few moments later, Stuart La Fountaine stepped into the office, and, without looking up from his document, Orazio signaled for him to close the door. "I have several messages that need to go out on the flash. Urgently." And he handed his notes to his secretary.

La Fountaine glanced at the notes and said, "you're conferring with concerned parties about an entombment contract? The Assassin's Federation guarantees one hundred percent confidentiality."

"WE are not the Assassin's Federation," said Orazio Laurita. "Sometimes the completion of a contract would cause more issues than it resolves, so Lord Nugent and I both review the more complex contracts before they are accepted to see if action needs to be taken before said acceptance. We often give the customer a chance to reconsider their plans."

"So, are we the good guys? Bad guys? I don't understand."

Laurita sighed. Every time he gets a new secretary, he has to train him. "I believe you find that life can be complicated, and that is because you think that there are good people and there are bad people. You are wrong, of course. There are, always and only bad people. The confusion starts because some of them are on opposite sides of an issue."

At the Assassins' Federation, Bughac Orebeard handed the papers given to him by the Dominus over to Lord Nugent, the master of the Assassins' Federation. "Ah, Mister Orebeard, are you sure that you wish to have this contract acted upon?"

"Yes, as soon as possible," said Buggy.

Lord Nugent scribbled on a sheet of paper and finally said, "That will be three hundred seventy four thousand nine hundred fifty Torwin-Armistad dollars per target."

"WHAT?" shrieked Buggy. He had a budget of one thousand dollars.

Lord Nugent looked at Buggy in confusion. "You said you wanted them both entombed, since they are both royalty and both magic users... the total for the two, not counting coffins, is Seven hundred forty nine thousand, nine hundred dollars."

"Seven hundred ---- THOUSAND ---- I was told five hundred dollars each would cover it! They're just a couple of farmers!"

"Oh, for the average person here in Torwin-Armistad, yes five hundred dollars per target would be the going rate..." Lord Downy looked at the collected data and continued, "it says here that your male target started in the gutter. Now if he had remained in the gutter we could have completed this for you for two hundred dollars." Lord Nugent showed Buggy a chart with a series of numbers and social positions. "As you can see as he advanced in stature, became a magic user, then he married a magic user our costs escalate, plus they are in a different country, so mileage is included, foreign exchange, lodging for the contract specialist... but here is the big expense, your targets are now members of the court of an allied nation, that's regicide, and that costs extra... a lot extra."

"What - royal farmers?"

"Personally, I don't understand myself," said Lord Nugent. "Records show that on Mystara twelfth, Thirty four-thirty one, Nick and Octavia Stein were knighted, then crowned Duke and Duchess of Wægn. That's the second largest duchy in Uduithia. Missus Stein was appointed court wizard..."

"Stein?" gasped Buggy. He was shattered. His friends were royalty?

"Look, you can get a fifty dollar discount on each because they were born here in Torwin-Armistad, that's our Home-Town Home-Boy discount..."

"No, forget the whole idea, it was a mistake. We thought the target was someone else." Buggy was shocked. Nick and Octavia became royalty?

"If you insist, but we are professionals... satisfaction guaranteed, always discreet."

"No, forget it."

"The customer is always right," said Lord Nugent. "Sign here to acknowledge that you refuse the contract, but I have to let you know that I cannot cancel this other contract."

"What other contract?" demanded the dwarf as he scribbled his signature.

"This is a conditional contract that provides cover for the Assassins' Federation especially in these regicide cases. Regicide can get so messy... If the target of the primary contract becomes entombed for any reason at all then this second contract mandates that the contractor, which is you, is entombed immediately after the entombing of the primary target, that way the "wet work" as we call it can't be traced back to us."

"I canceled the contract! I didn't pay the money!" sputtered the terrified dwarf.

"You go back to your employers and tell them what a professional job would cost so they decide to take care of it themselves. Since you offered the job to us first, the Assassin's Federation will collect, one way or another, regardless of who completed the contract."

"No, you can't!"

"There's no extra charge. Don't let me detain you Mister Orebeard," and Lord Nugent snapped his fingers. Four men in black surrounded Buggy and "escorted" him out of the building.

It was raining when Buggy was dumped on the sidewalk, which is another thing that dwarves hate about being above ground. It rarely rains in a mine shaft two miles under the surface of Kodu, and if it does, you're in Big Trouble. He struggled to his feet and realized that he had to talk to his boss immediately. Buggy ran through town as fast as he could go until he reached the nearest Flash Semaphore office. "I need to send a message fast."

"That's how we do things here sir! Lightning fast!" said the overeager teenage clerk working the third shift at the Flash office.

Buggy scribbled out the address to the mining camp and then wrote out the note:

PROFESSIONAL HELP UNAVAILABLE

EAGLE DROP IS NOGO

CANCEL EAGLE DROP

BUGGY

"That's going to take twelve hours at the fastest," said the smiling pimple face teen. "It will be there in Uduithia in a few minutes but then it will have to go overland..."

"Yes, I understand. Just as long as it gets there." Buggy threw far too much money on the counter and disappeared into the night. He would next be seen in Elbreshowth, home of the largest dwarven community on Kodu, and he was seen heading into the Boxlis Pit, deepest mine in all of dwarvendom.

<><><><><>

General Sir Ned Sinclair Darby stepped out of his palatial closet with his uniform on. Rather than the spectacular blue, gold, and silver affair with the black trousers with bright red stripes, he wore his khaki field uniform with just the stars of rank. "Your grace," groaned his butler Arden. "You could wait for me to assist dressing you."

"Arden, I've been dressing myself for over forty five years, I don't see a need to employ help now."

"Your grace, until seven years ago you were selecting your wardrobe from a dumpster." He pronounced 'dumpster' like he would catch the plague just by saying it. Seven years ago, Ned's uncle died, leaving him the family mansion, property, titles, and Arden. Ned Darby was already the commander of the Torwin-Armistad Constabulary, the City Guard. He was the top cop making a go of it on the meager city salary, but when Uncle Smedley died, Ned inherited the title of Duke of Leland, making him a peer. He was suddenly injected into the highest of high society. Centuries ago, there were twelve peers of the kingdom of Armistad, and the Duke of Leland was considered the equivalent of the first in line to the throne. His official title was "Bishop to Saehrimnir - Duke of Leland, Guardian of the Temple."

General Sir Ned Sinclair Darby had become an advisor to a god. Daily he would speak with Saehrimnir and advise the god what the people of Torwin-Armistad desired. The elevation of Ned Darby to the crown of Bishop to Saehrimnir - Duke of Leland, Guardian of the Temple, came as quite a shock to Saehrimnir because Ned was the first Duke of Leland who was not insulated from the people of the city-state. Ned could speak of their dreams and desires with absolute authority, because Ned grew up in the gutter and fought to survive in the trash-heaps of a city whose primary product was smoke.

Moira grew up in the same gutter. Ned and Moira were always a couple; neither could remember a time before they met. They found each other homeless as children and learned to support each other through the bad times and the worse times. Moira was with Ned through thick and thin, and now that he's a pet monkey showing up at soirees, amusing the best and brightest with his Torwin accent and his down-home sensibilities, Moira was there to reap the benefits. Moira loved the regal nonsense, but she didn't take it seriously. She was the only wife among the peers that was a first wife; she wasn't groomed in the temple orphanage to be a pet to hang on a rich man's arm. At gatherings of "society" Moira was old enough to be the mother of all the other wives, and she was not afraid to instill some discipline into those children. Behind her back they called her "Mother Superior", which Moira knew about, and approved.

She finished dressing and joined Ned at breakfast of tea, toast and jam, sausage, potatoes, and an egg or two. She and Ned preferred fried eggs, but Arden insisted on giving them soft-boiled eggs. Moira approved, but only if served on toast. "Your train tickets madam," said Arden as he set two pairs of first-class tickets on the table next to Moira's plate.

"Oh, an adventure! Where are we going Arden?"

"Uduithia," said Arden like just the thought of Uduithia carried germs.

"Marvelous! Uh... why?"

"The duke will be discovering that as soon as he is done with the funny-pages, my lady."

Moira looked and Ned was indeed reading the newspaper, but a flash was lying on the table next to Ned's plate. "Dear, would you be so kind as to pass me the flash?"

"Mmmm? Oh, yes, of course." He pushed the flimsy, brittle page to Moira, who read it intently.

"It appears that the King of Uduithia invited us to spend the weekend with them."

"That's nice dear..."

"He wants us to meet his new duke that actually saved the entire world!"

"That's nice dear..."

"The duke has two heads and is married to a fairy princess."

"That's nice dear..."

"Ned, please listen to me when I'm talking!"

Ned snapped out of the thought he was entertaining and said, "I'm sorry dear, there appears to be an issue with a local mining company and an evil duke that won't let them despoil the land in some make believe kingdom."

"Dear, we have been invited by the King of Uduithia to weekend with them and discuss mining in their mountains!"

Ned looked at the flash that started in Dominus Laurita's office in the middle of the night, was flashed to Uduithia, and King Uric replied, and a copy was sent to Ned. "Isn't that odd... Uduithia really does exist."

"What are we going to do, dear?" asked Moira, who probably already knew the answer.

"Arden! Could you..."

"Your bags are packed your grace."

"Thank you Arden. Could you..."

"You called for me, your grace?" called Private Garth Darby, Ned and Moira's adopted son, who served as Ned's secretary. Garth was a scrawny little fellow, probably no older than fifteen years old, and he was a genius. Ned pulled him out of the gutter when he was five, and the little guy followed Ned around like a puppy. Ned and Moira taught the little fellow to read and write and legally adopted him as their son, but the thought of having a father terrified Garth. Garth won't talk about his real father and what happened, and he was terrified of being touched without warning. Garth not only had a bear-trap memory, but he was a budding artist and loved to draw.

"Garth, the duchess and I are traveling to Uduithia, we would appreciate it if you joined us."

"Um... no. I have... things... and stuff," said the teen nervously. It wasn't the thought of travel that terrified the boy; it was the paralyzing fear of being abandoned in some foreign land.

"That's a shame," said Moyra. "We're going to visit a young duke, he's got sheep, and goats, and rabbits and cats..."

"Rabbits?" said Garth almost reverently.

"Yes, I hear they have quite a few."

"I don't think so," said Garth.

"That's fine," said Moyra. "Maybe next time you can come with and meet Duke Stein."

"Duke Stein?" gasped Garth. "The hero of the battle of Tähelepanek Point? The only human who has ever killed a god? And his wife, Duchess Octavia, the only female wizard on Kodu?"

Garth was a fanatic about the fall of Breaze. It was a fascinating historical calamity, and he reads everything printed about it. Combined with his love of small animals, Moira was sure that Garth would want to travel along with them. "That is them."

Garth's shoulders slumped. "I don't think so, maybe next time."

Moira gave Garth a motherly hug. "I don't know if a seat on the train will be available next time."

"Train?" Garth's eyes widened as Moira hugged her boy.

"Yes," said Ned, trying to make a harrumph sound like he was posh. He took out his pocket watch. "We leave in fifty five minutes."

"Train? Why didn't you say? I have to pack! I have to..."

"Your clothing and your pencils and art supplies are packed young master," said Arden.

"Arden, would you be so kind as to accompany us?"

"My bag is packed as well, your grace."

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Chapter 15 - A Day in the Village

Nick and Octavia walked through the village of Elm Springs arm in arm, chatting with the village folk as they took a break from their daily routine at the temple. Octavia teaches basic reading and writing, and Nick has an open clinic where people can come in with any injury or malady or just get a witch's once-over to check on general health. Leaving Pepin and Gula, the Duke's Guard, to watch the temple, the young couple wandered up and down Main Street, a routine that a wizard in Octavia's condition needs to maintain. Several days ago, Nick was in the temple, and he heard two men talking outside. They were talking about the Uduithian Army and how they would rape the women of Uduithia as they went out on maneuvers. "Merely for training and morale purposes," said the fellow who brought up the subject. When Nick was able to step outside, the men were gone, so he didn't know who were talking about that subject, but it sounded like both men knew about it.

As Nick and Octavia walked along First Street, a street that parallels the stream that flows out of the mill pond, they ran into Homlette and Ophilia d'Marhk, the very first residents of Elm Springs that Octavia had met, and someone Nick remembered from his boyhood days. While Octavia took Ophilia off to talk about canning vegetables for the winter, Nick spoke to Homlette about his time in the army.

"Mister d'Marhk," started Nick nervously, "I've heard some rumors about the Uduithia Army having their way with women here in Hay-on-Wægn County. I know it's hard to believe but..."

The old man slowly became angry. He raised a shaking finger to silence Nick, then in a trembling voice he said, "You best believe it." The old man took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his nose before continuing. "I was a lieutenant when King Borachio III brought in a young colonel Carnarvon from Slezak, he was serving in the Bhagat region and the way you showed your people your strength was by assaulting their women." Poor old Homlette looked nauseated over the memories that Nick had stirred up.

"Sir, I'm sorry I brought up these memories, I apologize," sputtered Nick.

"I resigned right after that, Carnarvon said that's how you separate the men from the boys."

"Did you...? I'm sorry, I shouldn't pry," said Nick.

The old man went silent. His jaw shuddered as he held back the tears. "Yes I did," said Homlette quietly, staring into the stream. "She was young... she never had a man..." He brought out the handkerchief and wiped his nose again. "There's no god that will have mercy on my soul after what I did." The old man fought off the tears, and Nick placed an understanding hand on his shoulder.

"I have to ask," said Nick softly. "What happened to the girl?"

Homlette gave Nick a strange look and said, "Well I married her! Wouldn't be right riding into town and raping the women then wandering off now would it?"

"You did the right thing, Mister d'Marhk."

"Then why do I feel so damn..." Homlette searched for the word then finally spat out, "Guilty! I took her maidenhood from her, I took her youth from her, I ruined her life all because I was too damn cowardly to tell Colonel Carnarvon to stuff it up his ass..." The old man covered his face with his handkerchief and wept for the sins he committed on a young girl so long ago. Nick wrapped his arms around the old man and wept with him. Is there anything as horrible as admitting your failures to yourself?

"I'm sorry, I made a spectacle of myself," muttered Homlette as he gave his nose one last wipe and stuffed his handkerchief back in his pocket.

"Would you repeat what you said to the king if asked?"

"Would it get the army away from Carnarvon?"

"That's my plan," said Nick. "We can't turn our young men into rapists and our girls into victims of our own army! Our army is there to prevent such a thing."

"I'll tell this king exactly what I told you," said Homlette. "Then I'll make it up to poor Ophilia somehow..."

Nick threw his arm over Homlette's shoulders and said, "You're a good man Mr. d'Marhk, I'm proud to be here with you." Then he leaned closer and whispered into Homlette's ear, "Trust me, if you want to make it up to the missus, you tell her exactly what you told me."

"I don't want to rekindle the old hate," said Mister d'Marhk. He was trembling with fear and disgust at his past weakness.

"She will listen Mister d'Marhk, she's been waiting years to hear exactly that. I'm a witch, trust me."

"If she kicks me out I'll be on your doorstep looking for a room and a meal," said Homlette, trying to cheer himself up.

"We're having rabbit pie tonight," said Nick.

When Nick caught up with Octavia, he found that Ophilia had the same story as Homlette. "I can't imagine how horrible it is when that old fool marches into a village at the head of his army."

"That's probably why there's barely anything left to the army," groused Octavia.

It seemed to be a busy day in Elm Springs; the watermill was churning; Harry Neumann, the cobbler, had all of his doors and windows open, and he was working on a new horse collar for a local farmer. Harry was better called a leather smith. He could craft anything given the proper piece of cowhide, from lederhosen to footwear, from a horse's saddle to a horse's bridle; he could make it all. He was also a fair hand as a cooper, and when jobs in leather were slow, he'd throw together a few barrels. There's always someone looking for a barrel.

Next to Harry's Cobbler Shopee was the Elm Springs Emporium, a tiny but crucial little general store where the necessities of life could be found for the people of Elm Springs and the farmers around the area. And if the necessities couldn't be found, the proprietor, Victor Nerney, could order them. So far all Octavia needed to buy was sugar, flour, salt, mason jars, and sealing rings for the jars, but Nick needed to get some penny candy for the children that were brought to him for healing.

And of course, there was the temple of the woods, which included Nick and Octavia's Bookstore & Lending Library. So far they've sold four books, but Nick sees more in the future. They were holding classes every day for any child that showed up, teaching them reading and writing, hopefully increasing the literacy rate in the area. They even have a stack of slates and primers for their students "donated" by the College of Wizardry at the Temple of Bet ha-Kise in Steil Thein.

The one thing that their bookstore was known for was that they gave away a lot of water. There was a natural spring behind the bookstore, and Nick found some pipe and ran a line to the front of the store with a spigot and a sign that read "FREE SPRING WATER." Harry Neumann put together a half-height barrel and placed it under the spigot to catch the drips, allowing stray dogs and other animals to have a drink.

Soon Trei would come and sample the water using the tin cup hanging from a chain, then he would fill up a glass canning jar to have water to sip as he worked over his blazing hot forge. Soon his audience, The Boys, would be seen sampling the water and eventually everyone in town stopped by to drink the water at least once a day and maybe take a look at the library.

Twice every day the stage between the railhead at Slate Bottom Creek and the capital town of Waleston passed through Elm Springs, and one day a thirsty traveler saw the sign and asked the coach driver to stop so he could get a drink. Being the halfway point of the ride, it was a spot to get out and stretch their legs, and soon it became a tradition for the coach to stop for water.

For folks from large cities like Steil Thein or Torwin-Armistad, it was their first taste of clean water, and the riders would roll their eyes in delight at water that actually tasted good. Many would return to their seats with a bag of homemade penny candies from the Elm Springs Emporium and a large canning jar full of water to sip on their trip.

"We're becoming a tourist destination thanks to that sign of yours, yer grace," said Merle Rorie a local farmer and longtime member of "The Boys," the gang of local characters that gather daily to watch blacksmith Trei Metsker ply his trade. While the boys chuckled at Nick's expense, Octavia was pointing to herself and mouthing the words "My Sign" claiming credit for the burgeoning Elm Springs free water industry. Her claims of authorship were met with tickles, and soon the duke and duchess were playing 'keep away' and dashing around the village trying to tickle or avoid a tickle.

Nick was by far the youngest businessman/farmer in Elm Springs, being a third of the age of the men around him. When this was pointed out, he would retort, "But I am the oldest duke in the village." Occasionally, Nick and Octavia would join The Boys and watch Trei or Wayne ply their trade at the anvil. On this day, Nick stood with an arm around Octavia, watching Trei make some spanner wrenches using nothing but hammer, tongs, and forty years of experience. The conversation was of no consequence but gave Nick and Octavia more of an insight into their neighbors and life in the beautiful mountain kingdom of Uduithia.

Just then the clip-clop of horses could be heard and far up Main Street could be seen the daily coach from the railhead followed as usual by the freight wagon, but leading the coach was the king of Uduithia's carriage with the royal couple being escorted by Captain Sean Fahy, Ezzy Fahy's youngest son, and Hugh Fahy, Nanny Ogg's oldest grandson, Sean's nephew. Both Ogg men were wearing palace guard armor and carrying lances as they rode.

"Looks like your boss is here, yer grace," said Sieffre Merrick, probably the eldest statesman of The Boys.

"Better dust off them boots and run a comb through that hair," said Kevyn Haven, the miller, who came over to see what the excitement was about. Three horse-drawn wagons plus guards! It was a regular parade! Kevyn's remark caused The Boys to start laughing. Octavia turned in Nick's arms and started straightening his hair by running her fingers through it, causing him to kiss and gently tickle her.

Meanwhile, one of Harry Neumann's sons was running door to door yelling, "The king is coming!" and people eagerly lined the streets to wave to the king as he passed by, because the king riding through town doesn't happen very often.

Nick and Octavia remained with The Boys at Trei's anvil, and as the king's carriage pulled up, Nick bowed and Octavia curtsied, but the carriage didn't continue; it stopped. "Your Grace, Sir Nicholas Stein, please... Lady Octavia, enough, please rise."

Octavia loved the shocked look on Nick's face when he rose and found the King and Queen of Uduithia standing before him. "Uh... um... welcome to the Duchy of Wægn yer majesty."

"Marvelous! I've always wanted to stop in Elm Springs; Elinor has told me of her adventures at Wægn Manor." As he spoke, the King gestured to the coach behind him, and the coachman hopped down and opened the doors to let his passengers out.

"Well, we just call it what the folks here in Elm Springs call our home, Nana Partridge's Cottage, I don't think they'll take to Wægn Manor. It's a witches cottage, sire. It won't be passed on to my son; it will be passed on to the next witch so it will probably remain Nana Partridge's Cottage." Nick was completely unaware of the fact that if the King named something, that was its name as far as anyone who heard him was concerned.

"Well then, you're going to have to build a Wægn Manor!" said the king happily. "I want to see my landed aristocracy living on their lands, not in downtown Waleston like your predecessor."

"They'll probably curse my name for generations."

"Aye, they will at that," said the king with a chuckle. "Sell that ugly monstrosity on Honeybutter Lane and with that money build a home fit for a growing family. A home that can be handed to the next duke with pride."

"As soon as I can, sire."

"The reason we are here is to introduce you to General Sir Ned Darby and her grace, Lady Moira Darby, the Bishop to Saehrimnir, Duke and Duchess of Leland."

Nick turned and saw a couple approaching the coach. He's never met anyone who projected an aura of knowing exactly who they were like these two. Ned Darby was slim and of average height, about Nick's height, and carried a "I know who you are" persona that radiated his dedication to law and order. Lady Moira was shorter than Ned and large-breasted like Octavia, with dark red hair and a relaxed personality that hid her combat experience. She moved through Elm Springs with the personage of a delightful, friendly, well-disciplined hurricane. Her large, sparkling eyes locked onto Octavia with a sudden, genuine delight.

"Octavia! I've heard so much! And..." She smothered Octavia in a sudden, bone jarring, hug that went on long past the time that Octavia's breath held out. Then she held Octavia at arm's length and said, "I know that smile! Is it your first? When is it due?"

"You're on your own," whispered Nick.

Octavia was shocked. They had told nobody that she was expecting; the shock of losing their first was still too great. Most other couples in their places may not have known they were expecting until she lost it, but Nick and Octavia can tell; it's a witch thing. Maybe Moira is a witch too... "Are you a witch?" Octavia asked.

"Perchance!" said Moira with a laugh that echoed off the buildings. She was aware that in the mountain communities a witch was an honorable profession, not so much in Torwin-Armistad. "I've been called much worse." Moira has always had a healing touch with the street urchins they rescue at the Temple of Saehrimnir Orphanage, but she never considered herself a witch.

"Not while I was around," said Ned through a cigar butt clenched in his teeth.

"No, not a witch, but I could see the joy in your face!" said Moira as she swept Octavia away.

"Walk with me Pommeraie de la Montesquieu," said Ned. "That sounds like a type of Vespil cheese, can I call you Pommie?" Ned's grin showed the young duke that he was teasing Nick.

"I would rather you didn't, my birth name Nick will do. I buried Pommeraie de la Montesquieu at Tähelepanek Point."

"Nick, I like that," said Ned around his cigar. "Good name for a cop, crappy name for a Duke, however. Ok Nick, show me that temple bookstore I heard so much about..." and they followed Moira and Octavia, leaving the King and Queen of Uduithia all alone with The Boys.

"Well, what are we about to today?" asked King Uric to the stunned Boys.

"I was going to show the boys how to make a horseshoe," said Trei without a hint of fear or awe in his voice.

"That sounds fascinating," said the King, who had never seen such a thing before.

"Would you like to swing a hammer your majesty?" asked Trei.

Inside the temple, Nick began showing Ned the classroom set up around the potbelly stove, which Nick was sure would be the centerpiece of the store come winter. Octavia had never spent a winter in the mountains, but it would come in a few months. "And this?" asked Ned, pointing out a small corner with what appeared to be drawing boards.

"That's my scriptoria where I do calligraphy and illuminate manuscripts, it's also my book rescue corner," and he showed Ned his book binder's tools and only stopped when Octavia led Moira into the bookstore. Luckily, the books of magic were drowsy this warm afternoon and only fluttered a little when Ned and Moira were nearby.

"Now that we have the two of you alone, we need to speak of something you do not want to hear." Ned took a deep, pained breath and said, "Stay away from the dwarves, they mean you harm."

"I know they're not happy with me..." started Nick.

"You're right, but you don't realize how unhappy they are. You did the right thing by putting a lot of restrictions on them, you made them show you how much they want to dig and you showed them how you intend to keep them in line. But they hate it, they hate you, and the minute you're gone they're going to strip this county bare of wood and food. Most dwarves are good, honest, hardworking folks, I like 'em better than people. But these dwarves are locusts."

"That's ok, I'm not going anywhere," started Nick, but Ned interrupted him.

"You should be going somewhere... look... these little bastards tried to put a contract out on you with the Assassin's Federation. You're only above ground because Dominus Laurita was able to drive the price of the contract up so high that they couldn't afford the contract, but that doesn't mean they won't try something else."

"Kill? Us?" Octavia's eyes shot wide open. Instinctively, she put her hands on her stomach, protecting the new life that was just starting to appear. "Why would they do that?"

"There's something in the mountain that is worth a lot to them. You are the Duke and Duchess of Wægn, that mountain is yours, that entire duchy is yours, and there's something in there that they would kill for."

Nick was shocked that someone would kill to be able to dig a hole. "I'm sorry but I grew up in the streets of Torwin-Armistad, I wasn't raised a rich protégé, my mother left us when I was three or four, I only remember her crawling off in a trail of blood. I guess she got tired of being beaten senseless by my dad every night. I must have cut into my dad's drinking time so my father threw me out. I lived in a collapsed shed on Barrel Street next to the Temple of Saehrimnir until someone burned it down with me inside. I moved into a pile of trash behind the temple, just me and Pepin..."

"And a million fleas," added Pepin.

Nick continued. "He was a pup then. We both were... and we stayed that way for four years... we didn't grow and mature. I guess it's because we lived on stolen temple donations and we drank the holy water when there were no puddles to drink from. We stayed there because the big ones that wanted to beat up and rape us little ones wouldn't go near the temple so that's where we stayed..."

He paused when he heard a gasp from Octavia. She knew his history, but only from listening to him talk in his nightmares at night. This is the most he's ever said out loud, but he continued; "This title, Duke, it was presented to me for... doing something." He still couldn't say, saving the world, because it sounded arrogant even though it was true. And the nightmares of falling back to the disk, his respiratory system clogged with the fine dust of the explosion... exhausted... out of breath... watching the ocean grow closer and closer... "This mountain, our family has watched over it for a half dozen generations, maybe more, Pepin and I finally grew up here, this is home. I can't picture killing someone for what - a rock?"

"I come up the hard way, same as you kid," growled Ned. "Stop a war, save thousands of lives, suddenly I'm a duke. You save the world, save millions of lives, suddenly you're a duke. Neither one of us is going to become king so let's take the salutes they give us. However, when you clawed your way out of the gutter you weren't dealing with criminals, I was. You know they'll kill each other for a scrap of bread, I see 'em kill each other for a scrap of metal every day," and he held up and Torwin-Armistad five-dollar coin. "In the Tubes someone will kill you for this."

"Sir Ned, you know what the dwarves want," said Octavia, her eyes narrowed. She wasn't asking; she knew that Ned knew, and she was very curious. "What is it?"

Ned sighed; he knew he shouldn't tell them, but they had a legitimate need to know. "The Orb of Jørn."

"An orb of yarn?" laughed Nick. "Why not the eye of newt? That's mustard seed. Every witch wannabe is making their home brew potions out of eye of newt, tongue of hound, and other weeds.

"No," said Octavia, "he said The Orb of Jørn... I remember seeing it... let me look it up." She remembered hearing about it a long time ago in the library of the Temple of Saehrimnir back when she was a kid. She stepped between the columns of the temple and disappeared.

"That was the damndest thing I've ever seen," said Ned.

"Is that what they call temple hopping?" asked Moira.

When Nick said nothing but continued to look at the columns, Pepin said, "Yes, at a magical level all temples are connected. With the blessing of the gods, you can move from temple to temple."

Ned looked down at Pepin and said, "Dogs can't talk."

"I'm a wolf," said Pepin.

"Oh, I guess that explains it..."

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Chapter 16 - Dealing With Gods

In the Temple of Saehrimnir, Octavia walked past the benches reserved for those that just hopped in from another temple and headed toward the large doors that marked the entrance to the university. Suddenly, she stopped. She couldn't move except toward a nearby bench. "Find solace, child of my essence."

"I've got to find a book," she said in protest as she felt an invisible hand pushing her, forcing her to sit.

"Verily, even the sacred journey betwixt shrines doth test the mortal coil. Halt, mortal! Thou art blessed to carry the seed of my lineage. Thou art commanded to replenish thy essence for a tenth of an hour! "

"Yes, my lord," groaned Octavia as she sat down. The temple acolytes and priests watched in awe as she conversed with a God who never showed himself to them and never spoke to them. "I need to find a book about the Orb of Jørn. Dwarves are digging up Black Mountain to find it."

"Oh, the folly of these fleeting semi-mortals. Blindly they burrow, their efforts misplaced, their path astray."

"What do you mean?"

"Solely my offspring are worthy to wield the Orb, and its sacred location known but to a single soul."

"Who? Please tell me father Saehrimnir, who knows where the Orb of Jørn is."

She heard the god of Divine Fools chuckle, then his voice boomed in her head. "You." Before she could protest, she saw the mountain far below her. She saw where the dwarves were digging; they were on the northeast prominence of the mountain. If it were a clock, they would be digging between the one and two o'clock positions, and their digging was taking them down. "They tread where forgotten veins once pulsed, a fallen kingdom now their guide." They were foolishly following an ancient collapsed mine shaft downward.

Her view shifted; she saw the hot springs she and Nick enjoyed on the southwest shoulder of the mountain, in the seven o'clock area. She saw the entrance to Artafána, the elven underground fortress where Saatus, the goddess of fate, had taken their elven friend Rys Oladi. Artafána was near the hot springs and the sweetwood groves where Marlon was conceived. Due west of there and downhill was the new elven city that Vesstan Aedi and his Elven survivors were building.

Octavia's view shifted following the ancient road that she had uncovered. She stopped clearing the buried road at the entrance to Artafána. The ancient road continued around the west side of the mountain until it reached the ten o'clock position, where a side path journeyed up the side of the mountain and entered the mountain just below the vegetation cutoff line. Inside the mountain, a complex network of streets and alleys was dug. An entire dwarven city was in there -- the fabled underground city, the Rkund Hold! In there was a glowing orb. The Orb of Jørn.

"Behold, enlightenment dawns. This sacred wisdom, I bestow upon thee, to shape as thy spirit guides."

"Thank you," said Octavia as she got to her feet. She turned and went into the University of Mystic Arts and into the library. There was a book here, and she remembered where it was. "May I help you?" asked an acolyte.

"I'm looking for a book titled Rkundul Zâramu."

The acolyte's hood shadowed his eyes, so Octavia couldn't tell his intentions from that, so she had to read his desires another way. "I'm sure I can help you find what you want."

"This book is pretty large, so it shouldn't be hard to find," said Octavia.

The acolyte looked around; they were deep in the stacks of an immense library. He's been able to get away with whatever he wanted with nubile underclassmen. What these girls studying temple sciences really want is a postgraduate wizarding student... a real man. "I have something pretty large right here." He opened his robe and stood proudly.

Octavia chuckled and smiled. "How cute. Now Rkundul Zâramu should be in this section." She went back to looking at the bookshelf lined with enormous books, their names on the spines written in ancient scripts.

The acolyte never had a reaction like this from one of the juicy girls that were found deep in the stacks of the largest library on Kodu. "Cute? Is that what you call this?" he demanded, thrusting his hips forward.

Octavia looked and shrugged. "Not sure. It's really not big enough to be called a penis... a Willie? A weenie? I think that's it. A weenie."

In rage and humiliation, the acolyte roared and dove at Octavia. There was a bright flash, and he was gone. "Oh, there's my book."

Out at the head librarian's desk, the librarian saw a flash and looked up and suddenly a tangle of acolytes' robes sailed out of an aisle of books and slammed into her desk with a meaty 'thwack!' and sank to the ground. The librarian rose and leaned forward to see what that was when Octavia stepped out of the same aisle the robes had come flying out of. She laid an enormous book on the desk and said, "I need to sign this out... I think my account is still active, Doctor Octavia Anghart."

"Ah... yes doctor, you're still in here," said the librarian as she pulled a card from a huge roll-o-dex. "How is life with King Alfrich?"

Octavia wasn't shocked. News doesn't travel quickly on Kodu, so the fall of Breaze and the murder of Alfrich aren't known to the average person. "It didn't work out," she said. "I need to sign this out and I need to change my last name to Stein."

"Stein...?" asked the Librarian with a wily grin. "Was he a student here?"

"No, but he's a child of Saehrimnir like me."

"Oh? How wonderful! What are you two doing?"

Octavia smiled and said, "We're living in Uduithia now. He's the duke of Wægn and I'm court wizard to King Uric."

"It's so good to see a former student doing well. There you go Doctor Stein!" said the Librarian as she stamped the return date on the card and slid it in the envelope on the back page. "We'll need that book back in ten days."

"Will do!" said Octavia in a singsong voice, and she headed out and walked off in the temple's direction.

As Octavia left, a bruised hand reached up and grasped the edge of the librarian's desk, and a battered acolyte tried to peer over the edge of the librarian's desk. "DOCTOR Anghart?" he croaked painfully.

"Actually, it's Doctor Stein now, you should know all about her, she's the only female wizard in University history. Don't they lecture on that accomplishment?" The battered acolyte groaned and sank back to the floor. Of course they do; he just chose to ignore it as poppycock. "If it's any consolation, you're alive. She didn't leave many survivors when she was a Pre-Magic major."

Out in the temple, Saehrimnir was waiting for Octavia. "I, in my boundless wisdom, decree that thou shalt not wander unaccompanied."

"What? I can't travel alone? You're not my dad!"

"Verily, I am."

"My husband is a witch. He trusts me."

"Oh?" Octavia suddenly had a vision of Nick standing in the Temple of the Woods, looking sadly at the four columns, waiting nervously for her return. "I, in my benevolence, bestow a boon upon my grandchildren." When he said that, a very tall young man entered the room. He was glowing like all gods, and there was light about him. He was very tall, easily over eight feet tall, well-muscled, in perfect health, and he was naked. Octavia fought to keep her eyes off his 'equipment' which was abnormally large. He definitely had more than just a weenie. "I, in my boundless grace, bestow upon the Temple of the Woods my cousin Tervis, god of Health."

"No," said Octavia.

"No?"

"No! I'm not traveling anywhere with some guy who's... who's... one-eyed kilt critter is hanging out. I'm not taking him anywhere near Elm Springs showing off that thing!"

"Verily, he doth embody the very essence of hale existence," said a confused Saehrimnir.

"And that stuff can freeze and fall off. Cover up! Toga in the summer, pants and parka in the winter."

Tervis turned to Saehrimnir, and they spoke in the incomprehensible language of the gods, then a toga appeared on Tervis and covered his 'equipment.' "Is this closer to thy design?"

"Much better. Let's go," and she led Tervis into the four columns.

<><><><><>

The brunette wizard appeared in the Temple of the Woods, followed by a god. "Where did you go?" asked Moira. "I looked but I didn't find you."

"I was in Torwin-Armistad arguing with my dad."

"Your dad? We thought you were an orphan," said Moira.

"Tervis!" cried a startled Nick as the god stepped into the small temple. "You're dressed!"

"Her grace insisted on it," said Tervis sadly.

"He could trip on that thing," growled Octavia. "I don't want the girls of the area to get the wrong idea."

Just then the ghost of the temple, Grigeor de la Montesquieu, appeared and harumphed. "A god?" he demanded. "We were doing quite well without a god around here."

Grigeor was upstaged by Garth Darby, who dashed in from the side office. The boy was more excited than either of his parents remembered seeing. He pointed to the ancient wizard Grigeor and said, "MOM! DAD! HE'S A GHOST! A REAL GHOST!"

"What the hell is going on?" demanded Ned, but he was ignored by Nick and Octavia, who were kissing gently and reuniting.

Finally, Nick explained, "Octavia and I were orphans. She was raised in the temple orphanage, while Saehrimnir kept an eye on me and Pepin. We can both call Saehrimnir our adoptive father. When we were old enough, he moved Pepin and me here to live in my grandmother's cottage while Octavia went on to university. Grigeor is an ancestor of mine, and he taught me to read and cypher while Nana Peacock taught me witchcraft. I moved to Breaze, where Tervis taught me medicine. When Breaze fell, the temple was demolished and Tervis was without a temple."

"Saehrimnir assigned me here to care for his daughter and his grandchildren," said Tervis.

Ned sighed and turned to his son and said, "See what you would have missed?"

"I want to see the bunnies," said an excited Garth.

Octavia put Rkundul Zâramu in Nick's hands. "This is the Codex of Rkund. Everything that's supposed to be in there is listed in this book." She opened the page of Orb of Jørn. "This is a list of everything that was left behind in the Rkund Hold. The Rkund Keep was a small military observation post attached to Rkund Hold. It was built during the wars of the third epoch. Beneath the Keep was the Rkund Hold. After the wars ended it was used for storage of captured loot until an earthquake sealed the shaft between the two fortresses closed. Eventually a later earthquake sealed the entrance to Rkund Hold and the location has been lost to dwarves and men ever since."

Nick nodded. The third epoch was a slaughterhouse where races that once cooperated turned on each other and many were wiped out. Only men were able to harness the magic of Kodu and survive intact, while races like dwarves, elves, and trolls drew back into hidden enclaves only to reemerge in the current era.

According to the book, the Orb of Jørn was a powerful magic device created by the only known dwarven sourcerer, Knute Bomburson, son of the storied explorer and dragon slayer Bombur the Rotund. Its magical properties are completely unknown, other than if used properly it can bestow magic on any user, including the decidedly unmagical race of dwarves. It was forgotten an eon later when the Sourcerer Wars nearly vaporized Kodu and the landscape of the Edux continent was changed forever.

"Should we stop them? I'm sorry for letting them..." Nick suddenly felt horrible, he allowed the power-hungry dwarves into this unsullied corner of the Disc.

"Don't worry about it," said Ned. "If you had said no when they first asked, you'd be dead now. But you have attracted attention from around Kodu. Believe me when I say you're not alone, just continue to be the Duke, run your temple clinic, and be the witch for your subjects. Besides, you have something worse than power-hungry dwarves to worry about coming up..."

"The baby," sighed Nick happily.

"I was thinking tax season."

"Oh joy." Nick forgot that as Duke, he was the Duchy tax collector.

Octavia continued looking through the Codex and then smiled. "If it's still under Black Mountain, they're digging in the wrong place! See here?" she said, pointing to a notation in the book. "the shaft is on the sunset side of the mountain, near the surface, but they are digging in the wrong place, they're on the sunrise side of the mountain, following an old mine shaft digging downward."

"That is what the wizards have said," said Ned as he tried to peek over their shoulders and look at the Codex but it was written in ancient Latatian, a language so obscure only wizards, witches, and his wife Moira, would understand it. "The Predilection wizards at the University puts their chances of finding the Orb of Jørn at a million to one."

"Aye," said the ghost of Grigeor. "But is there annotation if it was ever moved?"

"Exactly," sighed Octavia as she snapped the codex closed and handed it to Nick. "If it was moved to an old forgotten mineshaft they probably are on the right path."

"Dear," said Moira, "We simply must go rescue Uric and Elinor."

"Ok," said Ned in his "to sum up" tone of voice, "you two kids stay on your side of the mountain, do your everyday things, be the friendly neighborhood duke and duchess, enjoy your baby, and don't worry. I have a couple of specialists coming to insure they keep digging where they're digging and they will insure that your requirements are met and fines are paid. Believe me, you have friends that you're not aware of who are working day and night to insure that Peregrine and Aegir Mining go broke and go home. One of them is waiting for us now."

Back at the blacksmith shop, they found King Uric with tongs and hammer beating his very first horseshoe into shape. His tunic was off, his sleeves rolled up, and sweat was pouring off his royal brow. He no longer needed coaching from Trei. When he saw the cherry red glow diminish, he returned the shoe to the forge, which was glowing and crackling, sparks flying as Queen Elinor manned the bellows. Reheated and glowing cherry red, he returned the shoe to the anvil and began to "clean up" earlier errors.

The Boys stood in shock as they watched their sovereign lord fashion a fairly recognizable horseshoe.

"I think we're done yer highness," said Trei. "Quench your work and yourself before you drop." King Uric II grinned and panted weakly to the applause of The Boys, who had seen hundreds of horseshoes fashioned while watching Trei, but never had a first timer gotten that close to creating a horseshoe from a piece of iron. While the king quenched his royal thirst, Trei inspected the king's work. "Yer highness, if I were to take on an apprentice you'd be my first choice." Trei doesn't hand out compliments like that very often, and The Boys were impressed.

Between ladles of water from a bucket recently drawn from the spring, the King said, "If I didn't already have a job I would accept." He saw Ned and Nick approaching as they discussed the new arrangements that Ned had mentioned. "Ah General Sir Ned and Your grace Sir Nicholas, you missed my lesson as a blacksmith. Mister Metzger was kind enough to allow me to fashion a horseshoe... or at least make an attempt."

"You got the shape right, yer majesty, it's much closer than most apprentices on first try." He gave the shoe a few educated taps from his hammer to straighten it flat and then handed the finished project to Queen Elinor, who was as excited as a mother receiving a drawing from their child. "I'm going to hang this over the main door at the palace!"

As King Uric mounted his carriage, he called to Octavia, "We will be having a meeting of my court tomorrow PM Lady Wizard, your presence is required, as is yours your grace," he added with a nod toward Nick.

"Your highness, here is the fines I've collected from Peregrine and Aegir Mining," said Nick as he offered the King a large sack of coins that he had stored in the bookstore.

"My dear duke," laughed the king, "you are the duke, that money is yours."

Nick looked at Octavia in shock, this was an incredible sum of money. He looked at Octavia, and they came to an unspoken agreement. He held the bag open, and after doing some subtraction, Octavia grabbed a large handful of coins out of the bag and counted the value, then grabbed a few more and nodded to Nick. "Here you are your majesty, the taxes for the Duchy of Wægn for the next year."

"My goodness, I did choose wisely!" chuckled the King. "Oh, and by the way, you can add "By Royal Appointment" to your free water sign. See you tomorrow Lady Octavia!" and with that the king and queen left, followed by the coach carrying Moira, Garth and Ned Darby, followed by the afternoon cargo wagon and led by two armed soldiers.

They left Nick and Octavia staring at a huge handful of coins, more money than either had ever seen... had ever dreamed about. "What are we going to do with this money?"

Octavia smiled and called out, "Mister Metzgar, is that horse cart behind your barn still for sale?"

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Chapter 17 - Meet The New Duke

The next morning, Octavia led her Snowcross Mountain pony to Metzgar's Blacksmith Shopee & Forge and Trei showed her how to ease the pony between the traces and set the different straps and buckles required to connect her little horse to the Ralli Cart a small two-wheel cart which looks like a box on a pair of wheels but it's capable of carrying four passengers on top of the box with room inside the box for groceries.

"Looks like you're ready," said Trei as Octavia stashed their packs in the boot. Pepin had hopped up in the front seat and was sitting, tail whirring, ready to go, while Gula was sitting in the rear facing back watching for an attack from the rear. Grinning, Octavia swung into the driver's seat and picked up the reins. "Just give him a little tap with the whip and away you go."

Octavia gave the horse a little tap on the rump and said, "Let's go Honey!" and off they went. It took Nick a little while to get used to pulling the little cart, but it wasn't too bad on the uphill climb to Uduithia Castle, though it wasn't as much fun as feeling Octavia's pussy rubbing on his back.

<><><><><>

The dwarves of Peregrine and Aegir Mining gathered around the new dwarf, listening to what he had to say. He's a shallow-dig dwarf; you can tell by the way that his helmet doesn't have a lamp and his forearms are covered with mud rather than rock dust.

"I am Halldór Ditchfather, and this is my associate Marcasite," pointing out a massive troll who appeared to be made of shiny black and silver rock. Marcasite was leaning back against the cavern wall, and when he leaned forward to speak, it appeared to the dwarves that the entire cavern wall was going to collapse. It quickly became apparent that Halldór's associate was a huge troll. "We are here to inspect the current dig and insure that Uduithia mine safety regulations are met. Then we'll review the plans and move forward safely. I want no injuries and no fatalities on this job!"

"It's that damn duc," growled a dwarf.

"The duc! The duc!" shouted a dwarf.

"Yeah! Kill the duc!" shouted another. Soon the whole tunnel was filled with dwarves chanting, "Kill the duc! Kill the duc! Kill the duc!"

"HOO!" bellowed Marcasite, causing a wave of compressed air known as a Blast Overpressure Wave to roar through the tunnels and galleries of the Black Mountain complex, punching the dwarves in the lungs and threatening to collapse the eardrums of all. The sound wave threw dwarves against tunnel walls, and immediately the dwarves shut up, allowing Halldór to continue.

"For once this isn't some DUKE's requirement, or some safety committee that's never dug so much as a latrine pit, this is OURs, yours and mine. In a bi-regent agreement between King Uric II and King Samrel Oakenarmour, the rulers have determined that this mine needs to be considered unsafe because this pit has NEVER been surveyed by a dwarves that know how to dig. We're going to bring in a dwarven pre-dig assessment team made up of deep downers who know what it's like to be two miles down!"

The dwarves grew silent as the shallow-pit digger continued. "We're following an ancient collapsed shaft; we have no idea what dangers we may face. What made it collapse in the first place? Worse yet, we have no idea what we're digging for! This is something every dwarf should know before lifting a pick, and King Uric II of Uduithia agrees with the king of all dwarfdom. This dig should be the shining example of safety."

Now grumbling could be heard among the dwarves. "'e's right you know."

"Me mate G'millie got caught in a tunnel collapse, his widow got nothing."

"Lookit what happened to Groin! We ain't heard back from him."

"That's why we're here," said Halldór. "To insure these things don't happen to us, we need to stop, inspect every inch of these mines, then correct every safety deficiency before we go back to work."

"But if there was an injury, who would protect us? Who would cover expenses while we were out... or dead?" called a dwarf.

"Yeah!" cried another. "Who's looking out for us? We don't even know what we're digging for. All we know is that we would get a cut of the action. What is the action?"

"That's up to you guys, you need to figure that out," said Halldór, who grinned at his confederate's questions.

"Yoon-yun?" rumbled Marcasite. "Who said that?" For such a huge troll, he makes a great straight man.

"He's right, who said union?" demanded Halldór. "I never said union, that's not my business. Ok everybody out, we need to start inspections and while we're working, do not be talking about unions, that's not why I'm here."

About an hour later, the site manager, Rifty Peregrine, noticed a lot more dwarves standing under the pines smoking a roll-up than normal... in fact EVERYONE was having a smoko and muttering about a union.

"What the hell is going on here?" demanded Rifty.

"The king of all dwarfdom demanded special inspections," said one dwarf between puffs.

"That's crazy! Everyone get back to work!" shrieked Rifty.

"You're going to have to talk to our shop steward," said a dwarf, indicating an angry-looking dwarf who was busy collecting grievances on his clipboard.

<><><><><>

The Uduithia Castle briefing room was filled with the king, queen, court wizard, the Duke and Duchess of Ankh Ned and Moira Darby, and Lord General of the Army, Archibald Carnarvon who commanded a force that has yet to be called to action this century. While other commanders were known as architects of their military forces, Lord Carnarvon was known as the archeologist of his.

Also, there were a collection of titled landowners in Uduithia whose job it was to harrumph at any suggestions that would cost them money and seated in a corner was the new Duke of Wægn his grace Nicholas (to the king) Stein whose only claim to fame was saving the world, but the rest of the men doubt that ever happened because nobody got hurt, so obviously nothing happened.

Smoke from pipes and cigars filled the room with a bluish haze as the senior-most men of Uduithia discussed what to do with a mountain full of dwarves who were attempting to unearth an item of tremendous magical power. They were at the point in the discussion where common sense had yet to take hold and now veiled threats and slightly less veiled accusations were being batted about. "You invited them here!" snarled Lord Carnysmut, Baron in the county of Wigtownshire, as he pointed at Nick, who was sitting in a corner. However, Nick didn't even look up; he was studying a scroll. Ever since he learned to read, he had become a voracious reader, and Octavia was getting very good at creative forms of interrupting him just to get his attention.

"I am speaking to you!" bellowed Lord Carnysmut as he now stood over Nick.

The wound from being shot by a trigger-happy dwarf while circling over the dig site as a Uduithia Black Eagle still grieved Nick horribly. He wasn't in the mood for this, but he was prepared. Without looking up, Nick signed a document and said, "My dear Lord Carnysmut, when did "you" become a form of address for a member of the peerage?"

"PEERAGE!" roared Lord Carnysmut, "You insolent pup! Of all the daft, reckless, assumptions of..." suddenly the room grew very dark for the raging baron; there was a ringing in his ears, and the only light in the room came from Nick's eyes which were glaring at him in anger. Lord Carnysmut tried to breathe, but his throat tightened up. He couldn't speak; he could only look into the witch's eyes.

Some say that while the gods throw dice, Saatus, goddess of Fate, invites you to a friendly game of chess. Unfortunately, you don't find out until it's far too late in the game that she has been playing the entire time with two queens. Lord Carnysmut was about to be struck by both queens.

"I was given this title by my lord and sovereign. It's true this title is honorary, but for my son it will be hereditary and the house of Stein will be a force to recon with," said Nick. "If you disagree with his majesties ruling I will leave it up to King Uric to deal with you, however until the king decides if he will strip you of land and title, you and I have a problem."

Time stopped as Lord Carnysmut waited for Nicholas to continue, and finally he did... "I have found that four hundred acres of your estate extend into the Duchy of Wægn and taxes have not been paid since Henna Roem took over the title of Duke of Wægn. Wægn has been paying the taxes for this land of yours, and the bill has come due. Here is the bill." And without rising, Nick handed Lord Carnysmut a tax bill that exceeded the value of all of his holdings. As he gasped and began to sweat, the light returned to the room.

"That's preposterous!" roared Lord Carnysmut.

"That's ok," and Nick handed the sputtering baron another document signed by Nick and King Uric. "Don't worry about the taxes. This is a writ of eminent domain on the properties in your control that have defaulted on their taxes ceding them all to the Duchy of Wægn, now please sit down and give the adults that can use proper forms of address a chance to discuss this issue."

In shock that he had just lost four hundred very profitable acres, Lord Carnysmut sagged into his seat.

"As I was saying," said His Grace General Sir Ned Darby, "The Duke of Wægn will concentrate his efforts on the southern and western flanks of Black Mountain to insure his land holdings are secure and will use agents to monitor any intrusion into the southern side. I have put two of my greatest assets to work at the Black Mountain dig, they should have the activities slowed to a halt before long."

"Saboteurs?" asked the Prime Minister, Lord Cadence, with a sage grin.

"Worse," said Ned, "union organizers."

<><><><><>

Two thousand miles west of Torwin-Armistad lies the wilds of Elbreshowth: dark, mountainous, and foreboding. A damp, foggy land where the sun rarely shines and werewolves howl at night... drowning out the howling from the local pubs. Here lies the ancient city of Courlun (pronounced Cur-Loon) which is run by humans, werewolves, and vampires. A damp, dark, terrifying city, yet at the same time it was crime free. Who would go out at night to rob and mug when vampires and werewolves ruled the night? Other than vampires and werewolves, there was no one out to rob and mug.

Werewolves and vampires were indistinguishable from regular humans in the daylight; it's at night when things happen. Both creatures are survivors of the Mage Wars that ripped society on Kodu apart in the early nineteen hundreds. Vampires were a modification of humans to bring the blue and yellow humans victory in the land wars. Strength and strong magical abilities were the goal, and to power those abilities the vampires used the blood of their victims as fuel. Werewolves were created to counter the threat from the vampires. The goal was superhuman strength, superhuman tracking ability, and superhuman viciousness. The red and green humans were most receptive to the genetic modifications needed to create werewolves.

Now, fifteen centuries later, red, yellow, green, and blue humans are a thing of the past, (as are purple, gray, and orange) but the goal of the magical manipulation of the human genome, vampirism and werewolfism, remain. They have their weaknesses. Humans with the vampirism gene have an aversion to bright, direct sunlight. Elbreshowth is perfect for vampires because it's cloudy and foggy 250 days a year. A werewolf's fundamental weakness is that they change into something terrifying when all three moons are full or when struck with an intense emotional trauma. Elbreshowth is perfect for werewolves because the entire country is covered in dark, thick woods where they can burn off the trauma and hunt the thick herds of deer, forest bison, and wooly triceratops.

Somewhere under Elbreshowth lies the fabled city of Lenzstätten, the sprawling underground City of Dwarves. Lenzstätten is the entrance to the Glory Pit, the deepest shaft in all of dwarfdom. Its goal was to reach a depth of ten miles where, theoretically, the fabled layer of Frunium lies, a metal so soaked in magic that it can produce perpetual motion in any device it comes in contact with. The entire industrial revolution was waiting with bated breath for this mystical discovery.

Deep, deep down in Shaft #34, a crew of deep drillers was at work. It's dark; they were working by the light of a solitary candle. Bughac Orebeard was at the hammer; his partner, Galgrum Hornshaper, was holding the drill, a seven foot long shaft of iron. All Buggy could see in the gloom was the end of the drill he had to hit with a hammer. It waved a bit as Galgrum seated the drill in the hole they'd been pounding all shift. The candlelight reflected off the polished head of the drill, and that's all Buggy could see in the gloom. When Galgrum said "good" Buggy swung the hammer and with a loud "Chink!" they cut another half inch into the solid rock.

"Take ten," said the foreman from the depths of the blackness, and Buggy stepped off to the side for a break. He rolled a fresh cigarette in the pitch black of the mine, showing how adept at the habit he was. He stuck the roll-up in his mouth and patted his pockets for a match. As he searched, a match flared in the perfect darkness, almost blinding him, and a voice that was smooth as silk said, "Need a light?"

Buggy nervously looked at the face of his benefactor as he lit his smoke. It was a human offering him a light, but his face was indistinguishable from any other man that he's seen. This person was entirely forgettable, a man who could never be picked out of a lineup, a man whose visage is the dictionary definition of the word nondescript, but on his amazingly clean lapel was a badge featuring the crossed daggers and tombstone symbol of the Assassins Federation. "Just making sure you're doing well. Duke Stein is doing well also. For now," and the assassin blew out the match.

Bughac Orebeard's shriek of terror echoed through the Glory Pit longer than it took his smoke to burn down to his fingers.

<><><><><>

The summer was glorious! Nick and Octavia worked gently and played heartily. They spent much of the summer exploring their land and meeting the families that farmed Hay-on-Wægn County. Nick was generally in the body of a Snowcross Mountain pony, and Octavia was riding the Ralli cart. The cart contained their clothes and sleeping rolls but, most important; it carried the medicines that Nick would need to treat common illnesses they expected to run into.

As summer neared its end, they spent days happily meeting the farmers and tradesmen throughout the duchy. Octavia took the position of duchess and spoke to the citizens about their plans for a fair taxation, while Nick took the role of witch and checked the children and farm animals for maladies. Most farmers were full of stories of the tax burden they were put under by the previous duke and all recalled abuses inflicted on the women by their own army. Few believed that Nick and Octavia were the new duke and duchess, but the more Nick checked the folks children for any childhood maladies the more the people of Hay-on-Wægn County realized that Nick was the Witching Duke they had heard of and eventually word spread ahead of them and they were greeted more warmly.

As they entered the area that Nick liberated from Lord Carnysmut, the stories they heard of the baron's iron-fisted taxation were terrifying. "They would come in and demand outrageous sums of money, and if we didn't have the money, they took whatever they wanted, cattle, horses, crops, wagons..."

"We can't give any of that back," said Octavia sadly, "but we pledge, in spring you will know what you owe for taxes and tax collecting will happen in the autumn after your crops are sold and you can afford it. The bill I send in the spring will explain what you will owe so there are no surprises and there will be a ten percent discount if you pay before the start of autumn in the month of Spire."

"Not disparaging on ya, yer ladyship, but I'll believe it when I sees it."

"Just as long as when you see it, you believe it," said a smiling Octavia.

After a week of hopping from farm to farm, shaking hands, examining babies and watching farm families as they worked, they began heading back to Elm Springs. Nick was even trotting. They were so excited to get back to the cottage; the word home was becoming more and more precious to them.

They camped every night of their journey in the clean mountain air, curled up beside a campfire with Pepin at their side and Gula high above them ready to dive on any intruder. Gula didn't need to worry; with a wave of her hand, Octavia erected an invisible screen around the campsite. Any intruder who tried to pass through the screen would immediately fall asleep and would remain asleep for two hours after Nick and Octavia left.

One morning as they packed up to head home, they found two demi-giants wearing masks sleeping soundly in the dried leaves. Nick said, "Maybe they're hungry and out of work."

"You're so innocent it's cute," said Octavia. "Didn't that lumbermill complain that they needed help? They could easily get a job there. You helped the mill stack lumber for two hours."

"I want to think the best of the people here," said Nick as he slipped a small gold coin into each of their coin purses.

How can he be so smart and so innocent at the same time? Octavia asked herself. "Come on, let's get your bridal on, it's time to go for a ride."

"Ride?" Pepin leapt up on the seat of the Ralli cart and started barking, "Woof! Bloody Woof! Let's go!" Soon Gula was on the rear seat cawing, "Oh! Oh! Oh!" {Go! Go! Go!}

"These two are going to train us for having kids, that's for certain."

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Chapter 18 - New Witch Regulations

It was a busy day; they visited three farms, and all three farms had six children each. Nick had plenty of questions regarding the witch-care they were receiving, because every child had a cold and was covered with sores and wounds.

"There ain't no witch in these parts, just you, yer majesty."

"Was there a witch near here?"

"Just Granny Smolt out on the Thread Peak road. No one's seen hide nor hair of her in four years or so," said a young farmwife, who spoke with a sad and tired voice that could have come from a great-grandmother.

Following the farmer's directions, they took the Thread Peak road back into the hills. The mountains loomed above them, and they passed several working mines that Octavia made note of for future taxation. Finally, they came to a very typical witch's cottage: thatched roof, stone walls, tiny windows with thick glass, low ceilings, and a large kitchen.

"Oi! You're here!" came a voice from within the house. "Come in, come in, oi've been waiting for ye."

They entered the cottage and found it to be immaculate and tidy, but it appeared that Granny Smolt was living in the kitchen. A bed was set up near the stove where she could build a fire to keep warm. "I believe today is my day," she said happily. She turned her blind eyes to Nick and said, "Honey, be a doll and dig a grave for me. A witch can't die until her grave is ready for her. I want to talk to the young witch here," and she took Octavia's hand.

"Granny, I'm not the witch," said Octavia.

"The hells you say! I feel a witch near..."

"That's my husband. He's the witch, I'm a wizard... Nick?"

"I'm outside dear, I have some work to do," he said through the tiny kitchen window. "Light that messenger candle in your pack, the one I said never to light unless I tell you."

"Ok," and Octavia took a saucer down from a cupboard, placed a purple conical candle on the saucer and lit it. "Now, let me see what I can do for you," said Octavia as she advanced on Granny Smolt.

Outside, Nick was digging a pit to bury the carcasses as he found them. Mostly rabbits, the foxes got to the chickens, there's no sign of chicken in the area for a long time. The poor rabbits trapped in their hutch with no one to feed them was another, sadder, story.

By the time the witches of the west side of Black Mountain flew in, Nick had buried the remains of the rabbits, and scrubbed out the reek of death from the rabbit hutch. He repaired the chicken-wire fence around the henhouse and cleaned up inside the coop, all the while Gula was squawking advice from high in a tree above him. Nick doesn't even remember where Gula came from; she just joined the family of him, Octavia, and Pepin one day. Since she had a magical nature and occasionally changed her plumage color and her size, he kept her around.

As Nick was sorting out tools and tack in the small barn, he heard Gula raise the alarm. She started squawking something that sounded like "INCOMING!" and Nick stepped out in time to see three witches on brooms touch down. It was Bunny Keeling, Gigi Highmore, and Nonna Umbra.

"What's happening?" gasped Bunny, who at one time was quite a 'man eater.' Rumors of her past sexual escapades still echoed in the pubs of Uduithia, and Bunny did nothing to quell them. In fact, she corrected them for profane accuracy.

"We have a witch here in her last days, she hasn't seen a patient in four years and is living out of canned vegetables. She doesn't have a student and she doesn't have long. She asked me to dig her a grave."

Being the oldest, Bunny took charge. "Girls, go collect some canned food, Pommy, start cutting firewood but first fetch a bucket of water. Gigi, can you contact Agness?"

"Yes I can," said Gigi with a grin. She knew how much Agness hated Nick, and she wanted to start some fireworks.

Nick hauled a wooden bucket full of well water into the kitchen and placed it in the dry sink. "I've already strained the water with a dozen layers of cheese cloth," said Nick, and he motioned to Octavia to follow him outside.

Outside, Octavia saw the layers of cheesecloth that Nick had tied to the spout of the well pump. She and Nick kissed, then he said, "Can you take your stick and fly up to Pennshire and see if my cousin Bella still wants to be a witch? She'd make a great apprentice."

"Are you sure?"

"No, but we have to ask, and Bunny has me chopping firewood."

Octavia walked over to the Ralli cart, dug Vestas, her wizard's staff, out of her pack and in a shot it extended to six feet long. She straddled Vestas and said, "I'll be right back," then she shot off into the air with Gula following. Her flying always terrified Nick. She always flew with a vengeance.

Nick was in and out of Granny Smolt's house as he did chores for "the girls." The big worry was, "What are the folks around here going to do when she dies?"

"Outside! Everyone!" demanded Nick, and the witches trooped outside. By that time, the group had grown to six witches, not counting Nick, and he was getting mad. "Why didn't any of you tell me about Granny Smolt?" he demanded.

"We didn't hear anything so we figured she was ok," said Oma Hallewell.

"If you didn't hear from her, how did you know she wasn't dead? Who else is out there possibly dying?"

"I..." Granny Depraysie looked at the assembled witches nervously, then she sadly said, "Ten... maybe fifteen."

"How do you not know?" said Nick aghast.

"Well, they don't talk to us," said Oma Hallewell.

"How many are in Hay-On-Wægn county not counting me and Granny Smolt?" demanded Nick.

"Maybe four," said Bunny Kneeling. "We don't know if they're active or even alive."

Nick looked off to the west, like someone was talking to him that no one else could hear. "Agness and Ezzie are on their way. When I get back I want you guys to figure out who's dead and who's alive and how you are going to stay in touch with each other."

"Or what?" demanded Nonna Umbra. "You can't give me orders, I live way off in Mallburg."

"You're right, I can't. All I can do is ask the king 'what good is a witch that won't work with her sisters to provide medical care to everyone?' and let the king worry about it." With that, Nick suddenly disappeared, and a Uduithia Black Eagle flew off into the distance.

<><><><><>

Along a barren road through the mountains, a two-wheeled cart slowly traveled. It was loaded with boxes and crates of belongings, and was pulled by a lazy dairy cow who wasn't happy with her new profession of freight ox. Behind the cart was leashed a goat, and topping the cart was a crate of unhappy chickens, and a cage with two rabbits separated by a screen.

Riding on the cart was a sad-looking young woman, and next to her sat a dog whose expression matched the woman. Next to the cow walked a young man who looked as sad as the girl. He was skinny, tall and blond. He wore a hand-woven straw hat, well-worn farm boots, and overalls with no shirt.

As they plodded along, a black eagle dropped from the sky, its wings spread wide, catching the air and slowing him to a near stop six feet off the ground, and suddenly the eagle was gone and it was her cousin. "Nick?" she gasped.

"Bella!" cried Nick, and he caught his pretty cousin as she hopped off the cart.

"Oh Gods Nick! I was told you died in Breaze in the war!" The pretty blond was laughing and crying at the same time as she hugged Nick. "Where were you?"

"It's a very weird life I'm living," said Nick. "And what about you? Eleven months pregnant wandering loose in the mountains? My wife offered you a job and you turned her down?"

"The brunette with the big boobs? She was your wife?"

"Yes, why did you turn her down?"

"She's not a witch," said Bella. "I couldn't believe that her offer was honest."

Nick grasped Bella's hands and said, "no she's not a witch, but I am. Honey, we need a witch here. There's so many farm families that don't have a witch within a three day walk."

"Bella, who is this guy," demanded the skinny blond fellow.

"This is my cousin, I told you about him, the male witch, Nick Stein."

"SIR Nick Stein?" gasped the skinny guy.

"That's me," said Nick, and suddenly the guy dropped to one knee.

"My liege!" he cried.

"Ok, get up, shake my hand and we'll call it even," said Nick.

The young fellow rose and shook Nick's hand. "Sire, I'm Roddy McTavish." He looked at Bella and said breathlessly, "This is Nick Stein! DUKE Stein!"

"Right now, I'm looking for a farmer and a witch in training," said Nick as he pulled his hand back from Roddy.

"So that wasn't just some crazy lady?"

Nick chuckled. "She was the queen of Breaze for an entire four hours, then she ran off with me and we made a life for ourselves on Black Mountain." He pointed off into the distance, where the peak of Black Mountain could be seen among the other mountains in the area. "I may be the duke, but I'm also a farmer, landowner, and a witch. I have a clinic in Elm Springs where folks come in everyday to have me give them a look over."

"That's what I want to do," said Bella. "I want people to come to me, 'cause I can't be running around."

"We can deal with that," said Nick. "I can cover childbirth and emergencies. We have a few other witches in the area and I'm going to set up something that will let us cover for each other."

Bella climbed back up onto the cart, but Nick stopped her. "Uh-uh. My girls walk."

"You expect me to walk like this?" she said, gesturing to her belly. She was huge, and Nick immediately thought she was due any moment.

"I just have to..." said Nick, and he put his hand on her belly. "Do you have a name picked out?" he said as he felt the baby moving against him.

"Darla," said Roddy.

"What about the other one?" asked Nick as he placed two hands on her belly.

"OTHER one?" asked Roddy, and he looked like he was getting wobbly.

"Uh... yeah. Better pick a boy's name."

"Boy?" gasped Bella. "A boy and a girl?" she was close to screaming.

"You have to marry us now!" said Roddy.

"As soon as my wife gets here, but this doesn't excuse you from walking!" he warned Bella as she tried to get back on the cart.

They walked along for another fifteen minutes, and Octavia swooped down from the sky. "Your aunt is looking for you," said Octavia.

"Grandma Agness?" asked Bella.

"Who else?" groaned Nick. "I don't have time for her butt ache."

"They're coming," whispered Octavia into Nick's ear and gave him a teasing lick.

"Ok, tell me you'll take the jobs, you the witch for the Pennshire area, and you for supporting our witch. Food, firewood, fatherhood."

"Mmmmm - ok! I'll do it!" said Bella.

"And I'll be with her every step of the way," said Roddy.

"Ok, we have the bride, the groom, the witch, the witness, all we need is family to start a fight," said Nick, which caused Bella to snort with laughter.

"What?" asked Roddy.

"My grandma Agness... I guess I didn't mention her." As she said that, eight witches swooped out of the sky and landed on the road next to them.

"What is going on here," demanded Agness Dempsy as she stormed up to Nick. He had Roddy and Bella lined up ready for the ceremony.

"There's no stopping her now," muttered Bella. "She's on a roll."

"Watch me," said Nick with a smile. As Agnes stopped next to Nick, he touched his finger to his lips, indicating that he wanted quiet, then he pointed to Bella's distended belly and whispered one word in Agness's ear. "Twins." The old witch's eyes grew wide, and she stepped back and gestured to Nick to continue with the ceremony.

Nick turned to Bella and Roddy and said "I really am honored to be allowed to perform this ceremony, and afterwards when I report this ceremony to the king I'll let him know that your witch will not let you travel to Waelmore Castle, maybe in a few more months, understand?"

"You're saying that I can't go to stand before the king?" demanded Bella... then Darla gave her a good solid kick in the kidney. "I accept your opinion," she wheezed in pain.

Nick started the ceremony with his standard address to the bride and groom. "This ceremony gives you three opportunities to break it off and walk away; after that, you're hitched for life. It's said that people who marry through a witches' wedding are closer to each other and understand each other's feeling better than people who marry at the temple or at court. Is it magic? Or is it the magic of their love? I don't know, but every time I do this ceremony, I feel drawn closer to Octavia."

"We don't have rings," said Roddy.

"You don't need rings," answered Nick. "Rings will come later, concentrate on Darla and Little Nick, ok? For a witch's wedding all you need is a bride, a groom, a witch and a witness. Roddy, are you getting married of your own free will? Did you cast a spell on Bella?"

"N-n-n-no sire! I've always wanted to marry Bella since we were kids."

Nick chuckled. "Bella? Same question. Are you getting married of your own free will? Did you cast a spell on Roddy?"

"I think he's asked me enough times, it's time to say yes and relax with my husband," said Bella. The look of joy on Roddy's face was priceless, and Octavia almost wept with joy.

"Would you hold hands then hold hands with me? Octavia you said you wanted to see this, put your hand on my wrist and relax."

Octavia wasn't sure of what she was seeing. There were swirling dark purple lines on a black background, then there were three points of yellow light. She quickly realized that one point was Nick. A line between Nick and another point lit up light blue, and there were several other points of light between Nick and the other point, which she guessed was Bella. A line between Nick opened, and it was filled with lots of dark-colored points. That had to be Roddy. Then the line between Bella and Roddy opened, and it had a few dots on it, but not very many.

"Ok, you guys are good, fifth cousins on Bella's dad's side of the family. That was the second chance to end the ceremony, here is the last chance. If one of you wants to leave, go now. I'll hold back the other one, commiserate with him or her, and you can talk about it later. Ready? GO!" and Nick stepped aside, but neither moved. "Wonderful... now face each other and hold hands. Look in each other's eyes and tell them you love them, and give them a kiss." As Roddy and Bella kissed, the assembled witches began clapping, and Nick continued. "You are now married! Tomorrow I will report to the king that on this day I performed a wedding with Roddy McTavish and Bella Horn."

<><><><><>

The next morning, they woke up and found that on each side of the campsite lay a demi-giant burglar, the same two fellows as the other night. "What are you doing?" demanded Octavia as she watched Nick go through their coin purses.

"I'm getting my gold coins back, the Duke of Wægn has imposed a burglary tax." When Nick had finished retrieving his coins, he turned to see Octavia leaning against the cart with the bridle in one hand, the buggy whip in the other and a decidedly sexy look on her face.

"It's time to go lover, let's get your leather on." Her voice was breathy and hot. "We have two more farm steads then we can head home."

"Let's go for a ride," he sighed and became her Snowcross Mountain pony.

"Ride? Bloody woof woof!" cried Pepin, and he hopped up on the cart seat, and Gula swooped down through the branches to land on the handrail on the side of the cart.

The next two farms were far off the main road, way back in the mountains. "Are you folks safe farming here?" asked Nick.

"Pert' much," said Mister Zakary, the farmer.

"What do you grow?" asked Nick as he looked out over cliffs, hills, sheer drops... the only level portion of land was taken up by the house and a small barn. Their only livestock were goats, which loved the mountainsides.

Mister Zakary led Nick to a cliff that had a barn door leaning against the rock wall. But it wasn't leaning; it was hanging from a slide rail. The farmer slid the door aside and showed Nick the opening to an abandoned mine. "MUSHROOMS!" said Mister Zakary proudly. Nick was amazed at what seemed like miles of mushroom trays full of horse manure from a neighbor's farm. "The king loves his mushrooms, and everyone else in Waleston loves 'em too. We make a tidy sum, and we can work year-round, the temperature is constant here."

The next farm had twelve kids... The farmer and his wife had five kids, but he died and she inherited the farm. She married another fellow who had four kids, and together they had three kids. Octavia was worried about the wife, so she got the wife aside and asked, "Are you truly happy with all these kids?"

"You're expecting, aren't you," said the woman.

"Yes, how did you know?" asked Octavia.

"I'm willing to bet that your next question is 'don't all these children drive you crazy?'"

"Yea, that was it."

The woman smiled and put her hands on Octavia's shoulders. "Yes, they drive me crazy at times, but on a cold winter night sitting around the fire reading a story or playing an instrument... there's nobody else on earth I'd share that time with."

"I was an orphan, I grew up in an orphanage and my school was a finishing school, they taught how to avoid children and not how to have them and raise them."

They were still several miles from Elm Springs when night fell. They found a nice level spot next to a stream and set up camp

"The last night on the road," sighed Nick, and he and Octavia pulled the blanket over them. As they began kissing, a rough voice came to them out of the darkness.

"Oi! Where's our money?"

"What money?" Octavia asked.

"We're each missing a ten-dollar gold coin."

Octavia made sure that the magical ward was set up over the campsite and then called out, "Do not come into the camp site, wait for morning and we'll talk about it." Octavia's words were followed by the sound of two bodies slumping to the dried leaves on the forest floor. "Happens every time," she said with a sad sigh.

"That was mean," said Nick. "Funny but still mean."

"You can't fix stupid," she chuckled.

"I can fix stupid," said Nick, "but it will hurt." With that, the duke and duchess snuggled under a warm blanket with Pepin lying next to them snoozing soundly and Gula watching from the tree branches above.

The next day the two thieves woke on the side of the road, blindfolded, hands and legs tied, and a sign was hung around their necks stating that they were thieves and probably murderers and should be brought before the Duke of Wægn at Creel Springs.

<><><><><>֎<><><><><>

Chapter 19 - Eagle Drop Revealed

"Unfair to Union Dwarves! Unfair to Union Dwarves! Unfair to Union Dwarves!"

The protest line wove back and forth across the entrance to the Black Mountain dig, striking dwarves marching four abreast. This was the third strike in six weeks and was the loudest by far. Labor unions were first introduced in Torwin-Armistad thirty years ago in 3401 and proved so successful (for the unions) that the city economy was in a shambles and the union organizers were now in the top 10% of the upper crust. Orazio Laurita was elected Dominus of the City Council in 3420 with the promise of fixing the economic doldrums. All city unions went on strike immediately, and Dominus Laurita made a stirring speech on the front steps of the palace calling for patriotism, self-sacrifice, and hard work to bring back the golden age of economic prosperity to the city-state of Torwin-Armistad.

When the sun rose the next day, all strikes had ended, unions quietly disbanded, and everyone went back to work. Of course, the union leadership was never heard from again, nor was the city council or anyone else that took bribe money from the unions. There were reports of politicians and factory owners receiving a finger or an ear in the mail as a "gentle reminder" that any attempt to hold the economy of the city hostage again would not end as "sweetly."

That was in the city of Torwin-Armistad. The Black Mountain dig was in Uduithia, a thousand miles away from Orazio Laurita, and there were no laws or rules banning union activity. Unions pop up here and there around Kodu, and they're normally not used for sabotage or political mayhem, but the possibility still exists. With that in mind, all digging had stopped, and all dwarves were above ground either marching or lounging under the trees. The first strike started when the site manager decided to throw Halldór Ditchfather and Marcasite off the site; the dwarves all refused to work if their "safety representatives" were not in the area.

After getting the dwarves back to work, somebody mentioned that all the previous mines they worked at supplied bunk beds with blankets and pillows, another mentioned a mine that provided tables to eat at and play cards on, and somebody else mentioned that the mines in Elbreshowth provided all of that and bottled water for any dwarf who needed it, so they struck demanding better living conditions.

After the bunkhouses were carved out of living rock and furnished, they worked one day, then walked off again. This time for better food and longer coffee breaks... who introduced them to coffee? Better food and coffee were hard to get this far away from large dwarf populations. Coffee is from tropical areas like Thamor and Barrtou, both are on the opposite side of Kodu.

Rifty had to agree with his brother dwarves; the food was awful. Anyone who had to survive on canned mystery meat and stale bread would understand. Dwarves don't mind the mystery meat so much; a dwarf will eat almost anything, but fresh bread is essential to the dwarven diet. Rifty built a bakery for his workers, water was made available underground, and coffee breaks were implemented, but nobody went back to work. Site Manager Rifty Peregrine looked over at Halldór Ditchfather sitting in the cabin that the dwarves built him for an office because you can't conduct union business on the work site. Rifty stomped over to the cabin and demanded, "What will it take to get the picks swinging again?"

Halldór looked up from his clipboard and said, "Hmmm, I'm thinking bonus. A nice fat bonus will do it."

"Bonus? For what? We haven't opened a square yard of tunnel in weeks! We were doing that an hour before you showed up."

"That was due to a different stratum of rock, you were cutting through limestone and granite, we're in deep schist now." Schist is a medium-grained foliated metamorphic rock primarily made of platy minerals like biotite, muscovite, talc, and chlorite; it also makes a great pun.

"What kind of bonus are you talking about?"

Halldór wrote a figure on a sheet of paper, folded it over, then handed it to Rifty. With trembling hands, Rifty unfolded the paper and read the number scrawled there and nearly fainted. That number per dwarf would double the already extravagant cost of this dig. It would bankrupt the company! There was only one thing to do: Operation Eagledrop.

<><><><><>

Two bandits were brought to the Duke and Duchess of Wægn on the back of a buckboard wagon by Harry Duchene, a farmer that the royal couple had met on their tour of the Duchy, and Octavia came out to meet him. "Aw Harry, you didn't have to. A kings guard would have picked them up tomorrow... or maybe Wednesday."

"Ah figgered ah'd bring these folk into you while ah got ol Bessie shod," Harry indicated his old plow horse.

"Thank you, Harry, thank you so much!" said Octavia as she handed Harry two gold coins, the same gold coins that Nick gave the bandits and then took back from them the next night.

"No yer grace, I can't, not after..." When Nick and Octavia visited his farm, Nick had cleared up a case of the strangles in several of Harry's horses, saving their lives and saving Harry money he didn't have to replace them.

"No, take it. Go to the Emporium and get your wife something pretty."

"Yes, yer grace."

As she handed Harry the coins, she made sure that the bandits saw the coins. Harry dragged the bandits off his wagon onto the ground and started to leave while Octavia glared at the bandits, she could see the anger in their eyes. With a snap of her fingers, the ropes that bound their legs and their gags untied and fell off. As Harry rode off into the village, she glared at the bandits. "Please stand when you're addressing the duke or the duchess."

The bandits slowly stood up. One of them grinned and said, "Well, yer majesty, you can go fuck..." <CRACK!> There was a sudden crack of hardwood against a hard skull. "OW! SHIT!" <CRACK!> Another solid connection.

"Watch your language around the duchess," snarled Nick. While the bandits were paying attention to Octavia and Harry, Nick came up behind them with his favorite cricket bat and instilled some discipline the old-fashioned way. The noise alerted Nick's other employees, and the three Demi-Giants came out to watch the fun.

"What, her? She ain't dressed like no duchess wot with fine gowns and all jewelry an' tiaras an' bits like that. She's dressed like a pregnant farm wife. HEY!" With another snap of Octavia's fingers, the ropes leapt up and tied up the demi-giants tighter than before.

Octavia smiled. She didn't realize that Marlon showed; she ran her hands over the little man that was growing sleepily in her womb; she didn't feel bigger, but she knew she would soon. It must be the gingham dress and apron that she's wearing. She tried to suppress a giggle and said, "Honey, could you tell these fellows what the duke expects?"

"It's simple," said Nick. "three times you tried to murder the Duke and Duchess of Wægn, each attempt carries a sentence of death." He took a double-bladed axe that was leaning against a roof support beam on the porch. "But the duchess has a much better idea. If you want, you can just walk away."

"Is that right guv'nor? Oye could jus' waltz away an' be free as a bird?"

"Uh huh, if you live, yes. Of course, you will have the letter T for thief branded to your forehead."

"What do you mean if we live?" asked the larger thief, who has yet to speak.

"I have this cat..."

"Mountain lion," interrupted Octavia from the porch. "He's such a sweet kitty."

"He is to her," said Nick with a shrug, "but she's a wizard..."

"Enchantress!" said Octavia in a singsong voice.

"She's an enchantress," continued Nick, "and the cat likes no one but her and Pepin." At the sound of his name, Pepin appeared next to Octavia and went into a fighting stance, growling and snarling. Back at the bunkhouse, Hugues Du Gouey, Alfie, and Charlie fought hard to hold back their laughter.

"Go let Kitty out, please?" asked Octavia.

Nick turned and walked around behind the cottage, and momentarily a snarl could be heard, then a roar, and from around the corner of the cottage bounded a Snowcross Mountain Lion. Snowcross Mountain Lions are surprisingly large for a mountain lion. As big as an enormous dog, the full-grown male Snowcross Mountain Lion weighs eighteen stone (252 lbs.) and seventeen stone is solid muscle and fur; the last fourteen pounds is fangs and claws. The Snowcross Mountain Lion's fur changes to pure white in the winter and that white color is why this cat is a much-prized pelt for hunters, it's also a reason why very few pelt hunters return from a winter hunting trip in the Snowcross Mountains.

"Kitty" barreled into the two still tied up thieves and held them down with a paw the size of a dinner plate on each of their chests and roared so loudly that their ears rang for days. "Kitty, come here kitty," called Octavia, and eventually the lion turned, then slowly climbed the porch and sat next to Octavia. It leaned against her leg, and when she scratched behind the lion's ear, the lion began to purr. The thief's eyes grew big around as the morning sun as the enormous wolf sat down next to the purring mountain lion. Octavia looked at a scrap of paper that Harry had given her and said, "Ok, you're Dexter and you're... Bennie?"

"Bertie ma'am." The moment Bertie said that, the mountain lion glared at him like he was the special of the day. With a roar, it stood and crouched, its tail flailing in anger, its body quivering, ready to leap, its one golden eye and the silver key on its collar gleaming in the sun. "Yer Grace! I meant yer grace!"

"You guys going to behave?"

"Yes yer grace!"

"Ok, kitty, go back to your house, Pepin, go find Nick, get him back here," and both animals trotted off the porch then ducked around the corner out of sight. "This is what I want, you two will work for us, helping Nick with the chores, the animals, the garden. In return you get a place to live and food in your belly. If you steal from us, Nick will kill you. If you touch me, I will kill you. At the end of the year you can leave, your debt paid, or you can stay, continue on, and be paid for your work."

"And if we decide to sneak away?" asked Dexter, the shorter of the pair.

"Remember what happened when you tried to sneak into our campsite? How you fell asleep the moment you got too close to us? It works going away too."

"Kitty is going to eat good if that happens," said Nick, who had just showed up in a torn shirt.

"Oh no," Octavia gasped, "did kitty scratch you? He's so precocious." Then she stepped down to the lawn and walked up to Bertie and Dexter. "Not only are we Duke and Duchess, but we are also wizard and witch..."

"Enchantress," interjected Nick from up on the porch in a singsong voice.

"Regardless," said Octavia, "If we want, we can make you do anything we want, you could spend the rest of your days eating grass believing that you're a sheep. We have a family to protect, and I will have Nick cut your heads off if that's what it comes to, or we can turn you into meat puppets and do our bidding until Kitty gets hungry again, but we don't want that. This little farm is growing, and we need two more guys that we can trust to help us." She snapped her fingers, and the ropes dropped from their wrists.

Dexter rubbed the back of his head. Nick really connected with that cricket bat he carried, but something she said confused him. "Two more guys?"

"We have two guys working for us, contemporaries of yours, Alfie and Carl, they're doing awesome and are getting paid for their work now. Our farm manager is Hugues Du Gouey an old army buddy from the battle of Tähelepanek Point "

Bertie and Dex looked at each other. Hugues was a legend in the blade for hire society, and Alfie and Carl were friends and competitors. Unfortunately, Carl was as dumb as a brick, but Alfie was sharp. If those two were hauling in cash with a steady job, then Bertie and Dexter were sure they could outdo Alfie and Carl. After all, what else do they have to do for the next year?

<><><><><>

In a forest clearing on the north side of the Gjorgiev River, Operation Eagle Drop got underway. There were fewer than a dozen people on Kodu who knew about Eagle Drop, and all but one were dwarves. This was three dwarves and a young human gathered around a box of odd-looking crossbow bolts. The bolts were longer than normal and had bulbous heads, which were painted colors. Some heads were blue, some were brown, and all the bolts had blue flights (feathers). "For training purposes, we will always use bolts with blue feathers," said the overeager young wizard. "If you have a bolt with any other color flights, they could be dangerous."

"They're crossbow bolts," snarled a dwarf. "They're supposed to be dangerous."

"Why is a human trying to teach us something?" snarled another dwarf.

"Because" snarled the third dwarf, "Peregrine and Aegir Mining is going to pay us a bonus to catch an eagle." What he didn't add was that if they couldn't get this duke under control, they were going to go bankrupt.

"So, you're going to teach us how to catch an eagle?" Demanded the dwarf that disliked humans.

"No," said the human. "I'm here to explain how this system works. Whether you catch an eagle or not is up to you."

"So how does this system work?" demanded the angry dwarf.

"These crossbow bolts are made to be shot up in the air. The bolts with the blue head will go off higher than the bolts with the brown head." He held a blue bolt up as high as he could and a brown bolt at waist level. "The idea is that a bird will see the puff of smoke when they go off and veer away from it, If it's above him he'll go down, if it's below him he'll go up. The idea is to cause the bird to fly into one of the puffs of smoke we create. Watch..."

The young wizard, Horatio Tinsmith, had two crossbows cocked and loaded. First, he grabbed the crossbow with the blue-headed bolt and shot it upward. While it was still climbing, he grabbed the second crossbow and fired. There was a barely audible pop, and the first bolt created a small blue cloud of smoke in the sky, followed shortly by another pop, and a small brownish cloud appeared about five feet below the blue cloud. "It's just that simple."

The young wizard was clearly proud of himself. "I designed the only easy way to shoot down a very, very smart bird without injuring it. The live rounds will contain a knockout gas instead of colored smoke, and if the high round doesn't get the eagle, the eagle will dive to avoid the danger right into the cloud emitted by the low round. Once the eagle is knocked out, you just have to catch it in a blanket held between you, and someone gets a beautiful new pet. He pays me handsomely and I share the money with you folks that already got a bonus from the mining company for knocking the eagle out of the sky."

"Just one quick question," said one of the trigger dwarves.

"Sure, what's the question?"

"Why should we care about an eagle? It's just a bird. I can hit it with a regular crossbow bolt."

"No it's not a bird," said Horatio Tinsmith. "It's the duke. We can capture the bird, and I can prevent the bird from turning back into the duke, and he spends his life on some rich person's perch. But we can't kill it, not unless we want our heads cut off when they see the duke's body fall from the sky with your crossbow bolt in it. "

<><><><><>

Nick led Bertie and Dexter up the mountain. The two thieves were pulling the heavy sledge between them. "Ok, you can see the firewood up here, got it?"

"Holy shhhhhhhugar," groaned Bertie. He didn't want to get smacked again for swearing.

"Don't tell the duchess I said this, but while she's not around you can speak like you want to," said Nick.

"Thank you gov'nor. That is one - - -" Dexter led loose with a string of creative obscenity that threatened to peel the bark off the trees, but it was a very inspired description of the amount of firewood that needed to be moved down the mountain.

"That's a good summation of the task at hand. I've moved at least that much down there already."

"No shit?"

"No shit. Ok, don't overload the sledge or it will push you down the hill, or tip over, or maybe run over you, I do not want that to happen because I will have to move the wood if that happens. Pay attention to ribbons on the trees. These ribbons here," Nick pointed out ribbons tacked to tree trunks stretched out in a line across the mountain. "Do not go uphill from them, there is a field there that will knock you out. If you see someone that came down the mountain and they crossed that line, they will be knocked out too. Do Not Touch the Bodies! If they are touching the field, it will knock you out too, just let us know when you see one of us again. Any questions?"

"No sir," answered Bertie and Dexter.

"Ok, I've got to take the duchess to a meeting. If anything comes up, anything at all, ask one of the other guys. And if you see an elf on the property, don't worry..."

"You got elves?" said Bertie.

"We can spray for that," added Dexter, which caused a few moments of yucks between the demi-giants.

"They are close personal friends of the Duke and Duchess, and their leader is another combat veteran of the battle of Tähelepanek Point. Ask Hugues about Vesstan Aedi and the fun they had together." The way he said "fun" let Bertie and Dexter know that their fun wasn't very fun.

Nick headed downhill while Bertie and Dex loaded up the wood sledge, then once loaded up, they started down the mountain. The two former thieves found it was pretty easy taking the wood downhill where they could stack it behind the cottage, and Nick was right; there was an enormous pile of wood there.

"That Nick fella, 'e's all right."

Dex agreed with Bertie's assessment: "I've done worse hard time. Hardly got a beating so far, yet I still respect him."

Then, heading back up for more wood, they looked back and saw Nick and Octavia walking hand in hand as they headed down Nana's Driveway. "Cor!" said Dex. "Wot's the duke gonna say when 'e gets back and sees them like this?" They had never introduced Nick as the Duke of Wægn. From his appearance, scruffy, dirty, torn shirt, Bertie and Dexter considered him the Duke's estate manager.

"The ways of the rich and powerful are not for us to comprehend my friend," said Bertie.

<><><><><>

The wind coming off the steppes was horrific. It was frigid, relentless, and it whistled through the collapsed buildings of Erehwon, once a successful whaling village that made a lot of money off the oil trade until the whales stopped running. Instead of running, the remaining whales turned around and attacked. The angry whales wiped out the entire whaling fleet in the period of a few months, leaving the survivors to look elsewhere for their means of survival. They looked for work anywhere inland... anywhere away from the sea and dry. Very Dry.

Erehwon is made of rapidly abandoned decaying buildings, neglected for decade after decade. Other than the occasional shutter or door slamming in the wind, there is no movement, no signs of life. Entire neighborhoods sit abandoned and rotting; even the children's toys sit abandoned to the relentless wind. But there's one shack down by the waterfront that shows a bit of change. The shutters show evidence of inexpert repairs and then were nailed closed. Ancient rags were stuffed around the edges of the shutters to keep the wind out and the light in. Occasionally, a wisp of smoke curls out of the broken chimney.

It was late on a dark, cloudy night when a short figure emerged from the hut wearing an ancient parka, torn hood pulled up, an ancient fishing pole in one hand, a rusty, dented bucket in the other. The figure made his way down to the shore, where he sat in the total darkness on a bench made of an ancient board and a couple of rocks. The former city of Erehwon is at the end of the Erehwonian peninsula, so there is an ocean on three sides, and the small bearded being was buffeted by damp, frigid wind. Soon his first catch of the day was in his bucket, a good-sized blue snerk. A good eating fish for humans, but he didn't intend to eat it; he was planning to use it to bait a string of rat traps. Rat wasn't appealing, but dwarves don't eat fish. They'll take rat any day over seafood.

As Bughac Orebeard watched the cork tied to his line, a man sat down next to him and offered him a paper cup full of hot coffee. "Thanks," muttered Buggy, then realized that he's here in the loneliest part of Kodu to be alone; there wasn't supposed to be someone here to hand him hot coffee.

"How's the fishing?" asked the stranger.

Too terrified to look, Buggy softly said, "C-c-can't complain."

"Just letting you know that Nick is doing fine."

"Who?"

"Oh, sorry," said the mystery guest. "When you met him he was known as Pommeraie de la Montesquieu, You called him Pommy. Now we call him Nick, or as everybody else calls him, the Duke of Wægn."

Buggy stiffened up. "Don't look... Don't look..." he told himself over and over... but he looked. There in blue and black were the crossed daggers and tombstone emblem of the Assassins Federation. There was that face... a face that would never be picked out of a lineup, a face so plain it could never be described. A face that would cause a portrait painter to hang up his brushes and try carpentry. With a shriek of terror, Buggy dashed down the shore and jumped into the last remaining rowboat in Erehwon. He was last seen rowing madly toward a distant shore that was far, far out of his sight.

<><><><><>

"Lung Mist!" shrieked the boy emperor of the great empire of Xuantang. "Where is my dragon?" He stood on his throne and threw a tantrum. This was Emperor Hau Chung Fu, called Fu Ki by his number one wife. Number one wife is beautiful, smart, and shapely... all of which was wasted on the seven-year-old emperor. So were the thirty-two other wives, but appearances must be upheld.

Fu Ki's father, the emperor Hau Chung Shi, called Shì Hai by many, was killed when a man that was trapped in a fisherman's net was brought before Shì Hai for trial. When found guilty and sentenced to death, the man turned into a dragon and fell on Shì Hai, crushing him to death. Fu Ki saw the entire episode and thought it was thrilling and has wanted a dragon ever since.

The ancient eunuch Lung Mist bowed deeply. "Forgive me your excellence, the delay is most unfortunate, but I believe we may have a wizard with a plan to return your dragon."

"When will I get my dragon?" the child emperor was excited now. He held his toy dragon in front of him and swung it back and forth as if it were flying.

"We need to complete reconstruction of the Empirical temple. According to the wizard, that is key to getting the dragon back to you as quickly as possible. Otherwise, it will take months to get here via the sea routes. It could die enroute, or it could be stolen by pirates."

"Die enroute? A mighty dragon? How would that be possible?" demanded the child emperor.

"If you remember, your trepidation, he wore the skin of a man last time he was here, he had lost an eye, our wizard tells me this time he will come in the form of a bird, maybe an owl, or a vulture, or a hawk."

"Or an eagle?" the emperor was bouncing up and down in excitement.

"Dare we dream such a blessing your vexatiousness? We must keep in mind that birds are fragile when kept, even eagles."

"I want my dragon NOW! Get every god you can, do whatever it takes to complete the temple!"