Arc 8 Interlude 9: Of the Road
Of the Road
6th of Neth 4707 A.R. (Absalom Reckoning)
"All of us came her with hope for salvage from the stars, plain simple metal, beyond the craft of all but Torag's folk to forge mayhap, but needing little more than a scale to judge it's worth. Now..." The flying snake laughed and t'was a bitter thing, but to Urgor at least understandable. Gods of my Fathers this hasn't gone as I expected, he thought, half in prayer, half begging pardon of them who had passed into the Halls.
"We now know that the adamantine is hollow, and a significant portion of our promised pay is now tied up in getting a cut of the value of those artifacts, something that is trivially easy to lie about. You'd be stuck hoping Gavhaul values your future service enough to not scam you too badly."
"I..." the excuses died in his throat. Sure he didn't have the tools, but he could've gotten them before seeking patrons with grand promises. The thought that he was the sort of craftsdwarf to blame his tools or lack of made Urgor's throat burn with shame and bile. No wonder these fiends found it so easily to roost in his flesh.
"My mistress finds no fault with you, master Surefoot, nor any in her company," the soundless voice continued flatly, offering no sympathy and thus leaving no doubt that it was at least the truth as the serpent knew it. If someone had told Urgor that he would be hanging on what a shade-kin, a witch, a lizardman, and a goblin thought of his honor he wouldn't even have wasted the breath to call them mad.
"Fault is to be found with the one who will be doing the parting. We've seen how much of a damn he gives about those working for him. To him, we're all replaceable. So let us replace him."
"You offer a risky bargain... hypothetically speaking," the sellsword captain said, aloud presumably the better to be heard by Urgor himself.
"Little of worth in this world is free, Captain Leontas. One in your position likely knows this truth more fully than most. Aid us and we can split the proceeds far more favorably than whatever Gavhaul offered your company. Not only will you be able to pay your people what they are truly worth, you will have surplus coin so that you can be more discerning with future contracts. You may no longer be a member of the Crusades, but it must rankle a man such as yourself to work for the likes of Loric Gavhaul and the Apsis Consortium." A pause heavy with unspoken things, then spoken: "Do you think they would hesitate for a moment dealing with demons if they thought they would make out well for it? The take of the Vampire Breolia, if changed that to one of a demon that made a habit out of stealing the lives of young noble girls, would it have read any differently?"
"Devils aren't demons, I've talked with enough Hellknghts to have that beaten into my head," the sellsword said, though from the way he was was pickin' at the ends of his hair, grown shaggy round the shoulders on the journey, he didn't find that to be even as much comfort as a stone pillow.
"A wise distinction, here's another: Dragons are not merely lizards with wings. The reason the others did not return is that we made contact with the dragon. She has no interest in returning the items to mortal hands. Loric Gavhaul has no intention to leaving them with her. How many of us do you think he would be willing to feed to the dragon when each death makes it that much easier for him to redefine terms?"
In his heart Urgor knew that he should have been arguing against this, treachery of the most brutal sort done upon a man he'd contracted with, no matter his sort. But he said nothing because he remembered Jernashall, because he trusted the folks now planning treachery to see the restoration of his clan's honor. Was he mad or dreaming? Was he still in the thrall of some fiend? No, he was a dwarf of the road as his clan had been for nigh-on five hundred years. Wheels turned on roads, not rocks from the mountains. Come the day when his son's son's son would pray to Torag before his shrine and ask for forgiveness of what Urgor the Wanderer did to get him and his kin back under roof of stone.
Sirim Gains 1,600 XP
"Does Gorok's Band have a buyer in mind for the metal, such as it is?" If the sellsword suffered under anything like the same sort of soul searching, Urgor couldn't see it.
"Yes," came the answer, somehow sharp like a dagger in the silence of their minds.
What forces do you wish to be in play for the battle with Gavhaul?
[] The Sellswords, skilled in dealing with demons and their puppets, used to working together
[] The Surefoot Swarfs, not warriors by trade they are hardy and armed and armored for the journey as well as driven by their dream of recovering their home
[] The Ohancanu, mighty oak-breakers, but ill-disciplined and easy to sway with word or enchantment
[X] The Dragon... she will not be denied her prey
[] Write in
OOC: The XP is for driving off the demons and various diplomatic coups he pulled.
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