Lanek walked to the edge of the plaza before leaping to a rooftop. Looking to the north, he spied a slow-moving caravan of sorts heading straight for the monastery. Smiling, he hopped back down to the street and went off to meet them.
As he approached the group, Liv waved at him, happy to see him up and about. “So, finally awake? It seems the sleep did you some good!” she called out to him.
“It definitely did. So, how did it go? Did the ghasts give you any problems?”
“A few stuck their heads out, but they didn’t last long. As for the materials and weapons, it’s going to take another two or three trips to get everything, unless you can give us more people.”
“I might have some people that can join you here in a bit.” When he saw the questioning look, he explained about his meeting with the fleeing orcs and his offer to them. He also filled her in on the events with Idril and Eldros.
“Is that what happened? One of our lookouts claimed he saw something huge flying to the west, but no one believed him.”
“Yeah, that was Idril taking her child to Eldros’ grove, wherever that is.”
“Ah, can’t say that I blame her for wanting to get out of here. It sounds like it has been just heartbreak piled on top of misery for her.” Liv looked to the west, a look of sadness and pity on her face. “As for the orcs, if they choose to join us it will be a big help. Not only would they be able to get things moved over to the monastery sooner but even low level orcs are formidable opponents. Kinda like dwarves, if the stories are to be believed. They’re two races that almost seem born for hard work and fighting.”
“Really? Have you met a dwarf?” Lanek asked excitedly.
“Sadly, no. There were dwarf strongholds in the mountains in the north, but we haven’t seen any in several generations. I couldn’t tell you if they were wiped out, isolated like the rest of us, or just retreated into the mountain depths.”
“Damn, I was hoping to meet one.”
“Any particular reason?” Liv asked curiously.
“Back in my world, none of the sentient races I have met or heard about since coming here existed. Hell, the only civilization was human, everything else was mundane plants and animals. We didn’t have monsters outside of fiction. I don’t know how accurate they are, but our stories portrayed dwarves as miners and craftsmen without equal, capable of making amazing weapons, armor, and jewelry. I was just hoping to meet someone belonging to a race I only read about and get their help if they really were great crafters.”
“Only humans? There were places like that here, but only because the rulers of those places were bastards that drove off or killed everyone else. Regardless, your description is pretty accurate. I’m not sure about the jewelry, but every dwarf kingdom I have heard of lived in their mountains and mined to greater depths than anyone else. In addition, any dwarf-made weapons and armor were bound to become an heirloom for any family that had an ancestor that managed to get their hands on them. The leader of my village has an axe that is said to have been made by dwarves.”
“Hmm, we may have to seek them out if they had a kingdom near here. Ah, it looks like our potential new recruits have come to a decision.” Lanek said while gesturing toward Khurzag, Shel, and their companions making their way toward them.
“We have made our decision, Lanek. Or should I say, my Khan?” Khurzag said as he came within range.
Lanek rolled his eyes before leaning in and saying in a low voice. “You don’t need to call me that unless you feel the need or we are in front of outsiders. Feel free to just use my name, everyone else does. I take it you are here to join up?”
“Thanks, Lanek. I’ve never been too comfortable with formalities. No orc really is. And yes, we are here to join up. What can we do to help?”
“Well, first we need to get your people settled in. Shel, am I right in assuming that you will want to be near the library and the other shamans?”
“Oh, yes. That would be perfect.” she said with some excitement. “I’ve never had access to a proper library.”
“Great, then I would ask that you go find Nerek when we get to the monastery. He’s in charge over there and he’ll be able to point you toward an unassigned room. As for the rest of your people, Khurzag, there are only two options left. Those are the handful of open chambers on the top floor where we had the meeting earlier and the living quarters on the third floor. Quick question, just to confirm, are you in charge of this group?”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“I am, although Shel certainly seemed to think otherwise at times.” Shel had the good grace to look embarrassed at Khurzag’s words. “Why?”
“Well, I would like you to take one of the rooms on the top floor. I’ve been hoping to get the leaders among us to reside there, but Nerek insisted on being near the library and Talwarg found himself some quarters near the training hall.”
“I can do that. Do you have a room in mind?”
“Take any room that is unlocked. If they are unlocked, then no one has claimed them yet. As for the rest of your people, I can have Caelis lead them to their rooms. It’s getting late, so once you and your people are settled in, I would like you to rest up. We can put you to work tomorrow helping Liv out.” Lanek said, nodding to the human woman.
“Sounds good to me. Thank you, Lanek.”
“Don’t thank me just yet, we still have to deal with the matriarch.”
“We’re not going to give up our new home without a fight, trust me, Lanek.”
“Excellent. Now, get some rest and we’ll talk in the morning. I want to have a meeting first thing in the morning so we can get organized.”
When the group approached the plaza, they saw another group entering from the west, consisting of a single hobgoblin and a dozen goblins. It appeared that Ograch had returned and had picked up a decent haul of equipment from the fallen dungeon monsters. Once again, Lanek had to explain the presence of the orcs and the events with Idril.
“Yeah, I saw the damned beast flying off. Damn near made me piss myself.” Ograch said with a chuckle as his band of hunters laughed. “Welcome, Khurzag, Shel. Glad to have you with us.”
The group approached the monastery where they met Caelis waiting for them in the main hall. Smiling at the new arrivals, she began to lead them to their new quarters. Before leaving, she promised to let Nerek, Talwarg, and Ivan know about the morning meeting.
Lanek looked at Ograch and his team, seeing how tired they were and excused himself. Better to let everyone get some rest and just get caught up in the morning, he reasoned. With that thought in mind, Lanek turned in for the night.
----------------------------------------
The next morning found Talwarg, Nerek, Ograch, Liv, Khurzag, Ivan, and Lanek gathered in the meeting chamber. “Where’s Shel?” Khurzag asked curiously.
“She is focusing on figuring out the best way to prepare the land in the plaza for farming.” Nerek responded.
“Really? I wouldn’t have thought that she would miss out on this meeting.” Khurzag said, surprised.
“She didn’t have a say in the matter. She learned very quickly that if she wants to avail herself of my training and the library that she will need to learn her place. She may have been unique in your clan, but here she is the weakest and least experienced among the shamans. That girl has a lot of potential, but it will all go to waste if she doesn’t get that ego under control.”
“Makes sense to me.” Ivan said. “By excluding her from this meeting, she will not get any ideas that she is in a privileged position among the leadership of our home.”
“Woah, I’m not a leader!” Objected Liv, followed quickly by Ograch.
Ivan rolled his eyes. “You may not see yourselves like that, but everyone else does. You two have led groups at the behest of Lanek and have fought alongside him. Whether you like it or not, you are in a privileged position here, and it wasn’t unearned. I’m not technically a leader either, but Lanek has put me in charge of strengthening the monastery, which has raised my standing as well.”
Talwarg shrugged. “It’s a good thing. We need a clearly defined leadership structure or there will be chaos and nothing will ever get done.”
“I think we have all slipped into our roles pretty well, but I feel like we should make some of the roles official so that everyone knows where you guys stand.” Lanek said from his seat at the head of the table. “Let me know if you guys object, but I have a few positions in mind. First, there is no one more powerful or experienced as a shaman than Nerek in this place, so I would like him to be the chief shaman and librarian. Objections?”
When no one objected to Nerek’s appointment, Lanek moved on. “Ivan, you’ve already taken over the crafting chambers and have been working on improving the monastery’s defenses. I would like you to take on the role of chief artificer and manage those of our people that have crafting classes. In addition, your abilities are so well-suited for defense that I would like you to take on the role of castellan as well to lead the defense in my absence.”
“I would be honored, Lanek. I feel like this is the best use of my abilities as well.”
Once again, no one objected to the assignment. “Talwarg, I would like you to be my second in command and leader of our military forces. It will be up to you to keep our people trained and ready for battle. When I am not here or if I die, I want you to take command of this place. You already have more command experience than anyone here, including myself. In matters of defense, I want you to coordinate with Ivan, but he should still have the final say. What say you?”
“I accept, my Khan.”
“Great, moving on …” before Lanek could continue his assignments, Caelis interrupted him.
“Before you continue, can I volunteer for a position?” She continued once Lanek nodded. “I would like to volunteer to be the steward. I am best positioned to keep an eye on the power levels of the monastery’s systems, inventory, and organizing the day-to-day operations of our non-combat and crafting personnel.”
“Are you sure? That’s a lot of work.” Lanek asked.
“Of course.”
“Very well, but I have one caveat to that. I want you to be Ivan’s second in command when it comes to defense once we can get all of your nodes here. Sound good?”
Beaming, Caelis nodded happily.