Ulrin Mercantile Hub.
The day was cold, Ulrin thought as he and his entourage waited near one of their trains. It had been cold for weeks now, but there was something in the air that heralded even more cold in the future. Already he looked up at the ever present clouds and noted how they had darkened these past few days.
"Looks like snow." Smith stated as he and Doe stood near the ensemble of dwarves.
The dwarven patriarch wasn't in the mood to talk though and grunted in reply. The hub was abuzz with activity as always. Laborers rushed back and forth as they excavated stone and rubble while digging up the poor quality iron they found along with the fyr stone. The dwarves would never bother to smelt the inferior iron were it not for the deal he struck with the godling. They grumbled when the rest of them were told they would smelt it and make mining equipment. But they went about their tasks as the patriarch ordered.
He rumbled as he turned to look at his escort. Ten dwarven soldiers outfitted in the best dwarven plate. The highest of quality of dwarven worked iron that gave the plated armor a dark and grim appearance made even more striking was the accents of gold to symbolize their affiliation with Clan Ulrin. Etched within the armor was all manner of runes that once glowed with power, now dull and dormant.
His brother didn't like it. But now that the finishing touches of the runery was complete, they'll be able to maintain the runes. Though his brother was still troubled at the state of the runery. Said it wasn't yet complete. Ulrin would agree if for no other reason than the fact that none of their honored dead could be interred into the stone just yet. Leaving their bodies to languish above ground.
But even now workers worked themselves to the bone to give their dead a proper place within the stone. In the meantime however, none were satisfied seeing them wrapped in rune cloth and bare of finery afforded to them for their bravery and sacrifices. Once a proper interment was able to take place, then and only then, would the dwarves find peace as they laid to rest their dead with all the honors, finery, and festivity that they were honor bound to uphold for the honored dead.
Ulrin turned his grim and dark thoughts away and instead towards the entrance to the hub where a military vehicle rumbled over. The dwarf rumbled disapprovingly. He had waited longer than was promised. Which bode ill for his venture, he thought as the Major General got out of the Humvee and marched his way over.
"Mr. Ulrin." The Major General replied.
"Major General MacHenry. Yer late." The dwarf rumbled back.
"Yeah. Alot of branch climbin' to get the go ahead for this." The Major General replied while giving Smith the side eye.
"Don't look at us, military hoo-ha is all you." Smith replied.
"Either way, we're all set to depart. Are you sure you want to go now though?" MacHenry asked.
"Aye. Tha sooner we get a lay fer tha markets and deal with tha rail company, tha sooner we'll be able to flourish." Ulrin declared and rumbled something in Dwarvish to his men.
The plated dwarves grunted as each took one handle of a heavy chest while keeping a plated fist over the handle of their weapons at the same time. Ulrin then turned to where his sons and brother stood.
"Allwin, Aerin, you will come with me. Brother, you and Alwin will see to matters here while I am away."
Ogrin and Alwin nodded and bowed towards the dwarven patriarch. Ulrin, satisfied that things would be in hand, turned and called out.
"QUINTIN! Oh there you are. Come along, we're leavin'."
With his gnomish busybody in tow, Ulrin made his way over towards one of his trains. The escort of plated and armed dwarves hauled the chests of treasure behind as they all ascended a ramp up to the single attached freight car. When all the dwarves were secured on board, the Major General nodded towards one of his men manning the train engine.
The soldier nodded back and got the train running and ready to move out. The Major General turned towards Smith.
"So what's your part in this?"
"Seeing to it that this doesn't blow up in our faces." Smith replied as they watched the train give a loud whistle before lurching forwards and beginning its travel to Pittsburgh.
"And how are you going to do that? Even my superiors were quite firm in not letting anyone go without a mountain of paperwork."
"Let's just say, we have a plan." Smith replied and turned to leave the hub with Doe in tow.
The Major General turned and watched the secretive agents depart. He snorted derisively.
"Fuckin' spooks."
He then turned and watched as the train picked up speed and eventually rounded the bend and disappeared from sight, the chugging of the train being the only thing that told them it was still there before they got far enough away that even that was soon gone as well. The Major General sighed and rubbed his eyes.
"Why does everythin' have to be complicated?"
"Sir?" His attendant asked.
"Nothin'. Let's go. We have other things to worry about right now."
"Sir." His attendant replied and followed after the Major General back to the Humvee.
-----
This was certainly an... experience, Ulrin thought as he and the other dwarves tensed up as the freight car rumbled along the track. Some of his warriors didn't much care for the experience as several sat or laid down as they tried not to focus on the feeling in their guts that they were going faster and faster. Ulrin made his, unsteady, way towards the large door in the side of the car that they had entered from. He slide it to the side with ease and beheld something that took his breath away.
Acres of trees and hills were rushing by them in a blur of green, brown, and gray as mountains started to replace the former two. The wind whipped at him harshly but he held firm as he watched the very land zoom by with such speed he didn't think was possible for anything on land! Even the fastest of carriages or pack beasts wouldn't be able to compete with such a thing!
He turned his face as he saw some of his warriors, and Quintin, make their way over and peer out the side as well. Cold air calming some of them while the zipping landscape just served to push a few others into letting out their stomachs out the door. Poor Quintin held onto Ulrin's gilded cloths like his life depended on the sturdiness of the dwarves to save him from being sucked out the side.
Ulrin didn't care though. He watched the hills, forests, and mountains pass by him with a keen eye. He could only imagine what such a thing would do for the dwarves back home as rails and trains raced through expansive tunnels carrying goods and soldiers from far corners of dwarfdom that would normally take months if not years. Not only that, if he were to place dwarven artillery upon these? There wouldn't be anything that would be out of their reach as the dwarves claimed land as they saw fit!
The landscape shifted in his eyes as he pictured acres of dwarven housing and industry. Dwarven homes built into the stone mountains that over looked the tracks as dwarven forged and built trains sped away, sure that their cargo would arrive when it demanded it to while carrying goods of dwarven quality to wherever, whenever, they demanded.
When he acquires the rails, he'll be on the road to a trade empire that no dwarf could ever comprehend before. The name of Ulrin would be heard and demanded all across this new world, he thought with pride and ambition as he got lost in his ambitions for the remainder of the trip.
Eventually the front of the car opened up and revealed the human soldier that was operating the train.
"We'll be there in the next couple minutes."
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Ulrin nodded and turned to his escorts and sons.
"When we arrive, we'll make our way towards tha owner o' tha rails. This 'Norfolk Southern Railways'. While I conduct business, Aerin and Allwin will seek out these human's manufactorin'. This place is supposed ta be tha heart o' their industry and I want ta know what they know."
Aerin and Allwin nodded while the others grunted affirmatively as they all waited to enter the heart of American industry. Ulrin peered out the side door as the ruggedness of their new home continued on for many miles more before they entered a dark tunnel for a few minutes. Then they left it and emerged into the light and beheld their destination.
The dwarves gasped and looked in awe as towers of steel, glass, and light illuminated the sky as snow fell around the metropolis. Columns of smoke and industry were present in much of the city that could almost rival the dwarven Capital in size and grandeur! There even looked like a giant tower made of glittering gold!
"How can manlin's build such a marvel?" One of the others asked as they got closer and the size of the city was made more and more grand.
"I don't know. But if they can build this, we can build somethin' even grander!" Ulrin declared, invigorating his warriors' pride and spirits after the long ride.
Despite the boost in spirits, the sheer size and scale of the city of Pittsburgh only got more and more apparent to the dwarves as the train rumbled along the tracks towards the train depot. The train slowed and grinded as it entered the congested depot full of hundreds of other trains, most bigger than the old Shay that they had ridden in.
The dwarves looked up at the iron behemoths that sat beside their own. Ulrin snorted and turned to look down at Quintin and noted approvingly as the gnomish busybody made a highly detailed sketch of the large train. He then turned towards where a ramp was placed to assist them down, where he met the soldier that operated the train and a small group of humans.
The main human was dressed in a similar suit to Smith and walked over with a smile and an outstretched hand.
"Mr. Ulrin I presume?"
"Aye. Who are you?" Ulrin asked without shaking the offered hand.
"Someone who's job is to make sure this visit goes as smooth as possible." The agent replied without insult and withdrew his hand and gestured to the group of humans.
"These are our... assistants. They'll make sure no-one bothers you as we make our way over to NSR."
The group was dressed in an assortment of cold weather gear like jackets, thick coats and warm hats. The only thing similar between them all was the fact they all carried some sort of metal things that didn't look like any weapon the dwarves had ever seen.
"What are they holdin'?"
"Oh don't worry about that. They don't actually do anything. They're just there to make sure no-one bothers us." The agent avoided the question.
Ulrin rumbled disapprovingly and glared at the agent, who turned his back to the dwarves and spoke something into a cellphone before turning back towards the dwarves.
"Ready when you are."
The dwarven patriarch grumbled some more. He was growing tired of dealing with manlings in suits.
"Lets get this over with."
With that declaration they departed. With the soldier from the train heading off to get their train refueled and tweaked for the journey back. Leaving Ulrin and the dwarves to march behind the suited man while the others seemed to buzz around them like annoying flies. One carried some sort of pole with some clump of mesh attached to the end, another carried a heavy thing that sat on his shoulder and had a glass lens within. A few others ran up ahead and were talking with people further on.
Ulrin didn't know what to think of it all. But he did know he didn't like it. He felt like a pig to slaughter rather than a dwarven patriarch going about his business, he thought as two of his warriors stepped in front of him and stood between him and one of the returning humans that held some sort of floppy cap.
"What is that?" Ulrin asked as he eyed the floppy cap that had a fur trim and a ball of fluff at the end.
"This is a Santa Hat! It'll help." The person explained and held out the red and white hat for him to accept.
Which he did not. Not only was the cap idiotic, it was obviously made of inferior materials. The fur wasn't even real fur! He scoffed and made his way past the now dejected human. The other humans paused in shock and turned to the agent, who smiled wider and gestured for them to continue to follow after the dwarves as the agent marched ahead and led them through the streets and towards their destination.
As they moved through the streets of Pittsburgh, Ulrin's awe of the city dimmed. The buildings were impressive, as were the metal 'cars' and 'trucks' that travelled the roads. But beneath the shining towers was filth and poverty in full display! For every street they went down, there would be several alleys leading off to where piles of trash, homeless, and other undesirables lurked.
Even the streets and roads weren't in much better condition as he noted holes and widening cracks in the concrete streets and pavement. It also smelled foul and he found himself coughing from the toxic fumes and horrid stench of the city! He scoffed after getting an unwitting lungful of exhaust from some obnoxiously brightly colored and loud vehicle that sped by while they waited at a cross walk.
He knew the humans of this world weren't master builders as they first seemed. From the outside it seemed grand and pretty. But even going a few streets into the city showed that it was falling apart in more ways than one. If this was a dwarven city, the roads would never be allowed to get to such a state. The stench would be washed away from the city by aqueducts. The homeless would be indentured so that they may provide some sort of contribution to society and the thugs he's seen would never be allowed to exist!
It was the same as in Daele, he thought. As grand as Man thought himself capable of being, He always came short. Even the populace, as varied as they dressed and looked, seemed more content in their own little lives as they pushed past one another without any sort of respect! Some talked on strange devices or even seemingly to themselves as they jostled and pushed for space on the cramped and congested streets.
The only reason none had learned first hand that trying to shove past a dwarf was a bad idea was the humans that hovered around them constantly. It seemed to be the only thing keeping the others at bay as they all seemed more content to use their strange devices that sent flashes now and then as others pointed at them with curiosity.
Aerin shuffled closer and whispered to his father.
"We can't get away. Every time we try one o' these manlin's blocks our path!"
Ulrin grumbled and turned a glare towards the human with the pole as it got a little too close to the dwarf. He was about a second away from grabbing it and ramming it where the sun didn't shine when he felt a tugging on his robes. He turned and found a small human child looking up at him with wide eyes full of wonder.
"Are you Santa?"
"Santa?" Ulrin asked.
"Another name for Saint Nick. Around this time of year we celebrate him and his generosity." The agent explained and brought the child's mother over.
"We're so sorry! I looked away for a second and she was gone!" The mother apologized.
The dwarf rumbled and looked down at the child, who continued to look at him like he was some sort of divine being.
"No. I am not Santa."
"Oh." The child deflated as tears started to appear in her eyes.
"But, I am more generous." Ulrin declared and pulled a single gold coin from his pocket and gave it to the child.
"What is it?!" The child asked with wide eyes as she peered at the gold coin.
"An investment. Don't rely on tha generosity o' others. Make somethin' with yer own two hands and have pride in it!" Ulrin declared and turned to depart.
"Thanks Santa!" The child called out as her mother led her away while looking between the gold coin and the dwarves.
"That was... something." The agent replied.
"I know a good investment when I see it."
"Oh? What about her was a good investment?"
"Her age means she'll have longer ta hone her skills if she starts early enough, and tha way she looked at me? She'll do what I said without question. If she wants a prosperous future she'll invest that coin in some good sturdy tools and take up a respectable trade!" Ulrin declared with absolute surety.
"Well, from what Smith said I didn't expect-"
"Where did the other two go?" One of the other humans asked and looked around.
"What other two?" The agent asked.
"The other two dwarves! They were just right here!"
The agent looked around with worry and confusion as Ulrin and the dwarves just continued to march along with a sly smile of his own. A grand display was all it took for his boys to sneak away to get the secrets of the humans' industry. With any luck, they'll come back with a bounty of information and he'll be able to show the humans how to be a proper industrial powerhouse!
-----
"I think we got away." Allwin stated.
"'Bout time! Those manlin's were pests!" Aerin replied heatedly.
The two dwarves made their way through the filthy alley and towards one of the streets further down. Aerin cursed as he stepped into a puddle of off color.
"How can humans live like this!"
"They have short lives, brother." Allwin replied as they carried on without care or worry for the envious looks of the homeless around them.
"Surely they would live it in some sort o' comfort instead o' this squalor! At least they should be workin' instead o' rottin' away in their own filth!" Aerin retorted with disdain.
"You say that like we can still work!" A hoarse voice called from the side of a dumpster.
The two dwarves looked at the disheveled, and ripe, human dressed in soiled rags. Allwin felt bad at the state of the human while Aerin snorted when he saw the man's hands.
"You have hands don't you? Yer fingers all work?"
"Yeah? And?" The bum asked.
"Then you can work!" Aerin spat.
"Physically yeah! But that ain't the issue!" The bum retorted.
"If yer hands work then so can you! If you choose ta 'live' like this than you're owed nothin'!" Aerin replied heatedly and marched away from the bum.
Allwin remained behind and turned to look at the bum.
"Why are you here manlin'?"
The bum snorted.
"Why else? Because nowhere else wants me. Or others like me."
"Why?"
The bum lifted the soiled shirt and revealed a tattoo on his arm that read 101st Airborne with an eagle with Screaming Eagles just below it.
"Cuz we did our jobs. When we were done, or broken, we were thrown away."
"What happened to you?"
The bum snorted.
"A suicide bomber is what happened. Killed three of my friends in front of me. Killed three of their friends in exchange. Told I was broke. That I was the one in the wrong! That for killin' those jihadi motherfuckers was a bad thing!"
The man started to get tears in his eyes.
"So I was sent home. PTSD they said I had. Those damn letters made gettin' a job damn near impossible. Lost the house. Went from shelter to shelter till even they decided I was too broke. So here I am. Livin' next to a dumpster airin' out my troubles to a random stranger!"
"Allwin! Leave him be!" Aerin called out.
"Why stay here then? Why not go elsewhere?" Allwin asked.
"Go where? I'm just a toy soldier. I'm played with until I break then get thrown away. That's just how things work." The bum stated in defeat.
"Allwin! If he wants ta stay here let him! We have ta go and do what Da asked!"
"Fine!" Allwin said and turned to his brother before turning back towards the bum who remained where he was before. Almost acting as if they weren't even there.
Allwin pulled a coin from his pocket and flicked it into the lap of the bum, who startled at the impact and picked it up and looked at the dwarf. Allwin just shrugged.
"Do with that what you will. Either use it ta indulge in whatever vice you have, or use it ta better yourself."
With that, Allwin followed after his brother as they went down the alley with the bum looking between them and the gold coin. Then he turned when Allwin shouted down the alley back at him.
"OH?! DO YOU KNOW WHERE US STEEL IS?!"
"YEAH! GET ON A BUS TO MURIEL STREET! CAN'T MISS IT!" The bum called out with a smile and a chuckle as the dwarves departed.
"See what happens when your nice ta folk?" Allwin said.
"Bah! He'll just use it ta get piss poor beer or whatever else ta numb tha pain! Waste o' a gold coin!" Aerin replied.
"Maybe. Or maybe he turns his life around." Allwin replied.
Aerin snorted and continued on in silence as he and Allwin followed the directions of the bum. Despite his good deed for the day, Allwin didn't much care for the congestion of humans on the street any better than Aerin did. But at least all he did was grumble. He had to stop Aerin from throwing punches at anyone after being jostled a few times along the way.
It wasn't much better when they found a bus stop and had to deal with the looks and stares of the people also waiting for the bus to arrive. When it did, they all got aboard. Except the dwarves who stood there and stared at the large vehicle. The driver looked over at them.
"Well? You gettin' on?"
"Uhm, does this go to Muriel Street?" Allwin asked.
"Depends on how much you got." The driver stated.
Aerin stepped uneasily onto the bus and pulled out a handful of gold coins and handed them over to the driver.
"Will this be enough?"
"Look, I don't- Is this real?" The driver started before realizing that they weren't chocolate coins he was just handed.
"Aye? O' course they're real! Can you take us ta Muriel Street or not?!" Aerin asked impatiently.
"Sir yes sir! I'll take you across the country if you want!" The driver replied cheerfully.
"Just ta Muriel Street." Allwin stated.
"Goin' somewhere specific?"
"US Steel. You know it?" Allwin asked.
"Of course! I'll park you right out front!" The driver declared as the bus made its way through the city with two dwarves who weren't entirely comfortable with the cramped space and awkward looks they got from the passengers nor the way the bus accelerated and decelerated.