High Chief Ulurmak

Adventurer Level: N/A

Orc - Kirkenian

"Well, what a coincidence," I grinned.

The three looked at me curiously, and Liath raised an eyebrow.

"The most likely place to find someone who can read Drakon would be the Kingdom of Bolisir, and that's exactly where I need you to go," I explained.

"Bolisir? The elves?" Liath asked.

"Yes. I need to send a request for reinforcements," I said. "I had been worried that it would be seen as premature, but from what you just told me about the drow it's best to act with haste."

"If you wanted reinforcements, why not send a messenger to Calkuti as well?"

"Because if I ask for troops from Regent Oakmor he has to supply them," I replied. "Part of our blood-pact includes a mutual defense treaty. While we have close relations with the Empire of Calkuti, Emperor Jak is not honor-bound to our defense. With everything that's been happening over that damned mine, I'm certain he'll require a game of fifty messengers before sending aid."

"With respect, that's fuckin' hnarse-shit," Liath said. "You and Jak may have your issues, but the people of Calkuti would have his head on a spike if it got out he didn't send troops to your defense."

I looked at the dwarf incredulously. He met my stare and held it stubbornly, quite confident that he was correct. It's true that our people are close friends, even living among one another near the border, but could they possibly be close enough to rebel against their emperor for the sake of my people? I broke my gaze and rubbed my chin thoughtfully.

"Alright," I finally said. "I'll have you talk to Emperor Jak for me."

"W-wait I... Shit. Fine, fair enough. You got me."

I grinned at the dwarf and turned back to the other three. Yulk was the only one who didn't look confused. Nick was doing a better job of hiding his confusion than Nash was, but that's probably because he has absolutely no idea what any of us are talking about. It's not particularly important that they understand the scope of this mission, but I suppose a little history lesson is in order.

"We have a bad history with the Kingdom of Night. Their king is a long-lived inbred bastard known as Yim Lofin. His family has ruled ever since the drow won control of the region from the vampires, and every once in a while they try to conquer their neighbors. It's usually just a matter of fighting off a bunch of conscripted peasants until they run out of blood to spill, but it seems this time around things are going to be a little different."

Nick looked concerned, and he raised his hand unexpectedly. I stared at him, mouth agape, trying to figure out what the hell he was doing. Nash turned to look at the boy and was also surprised and confused. It took the human a second to realize the source of our confusion, and he slowly put his hand down and cleared his throat.

"Sorry, um... There's vampires? Like blood suckers that turn other people into vampires?" he asked. "Burn up in the sun, afraid of garlic and cro... holy symbols?"

"Y-yes... I mean, no," I stammered. "There are vampires, and they do drink blood, but most aren't harmed by the sun and none of them are harmed by holy symbols. I don't know what garlic is, so they might be afraid of it."

"Can you kill them by driving a stake through their heart?" he asked.

"I don't know how you would even begin to shove a steak through someone's heart, but no. They're able to quickly regenerate. You need to inhibit their movement by removing their head and then incinerate them," I answered. "Easier said than done, though. They're incredibly fast and strong."

"Some of them can turn people into vampires, too," Liath added. "You forgot that bit."

I looked at him and he grinned at me. He was enjoying how thrown off I was by this interruption. I cleared my throat.

"Well, that's enough about the vampires. They're hardly relevant. It's not as if they're going to be attacking alongside the drow..." I trailed off.

Someone who wouldn't care about Lofin's opinions and want to conquer new lands that he would have difficulty controlling... Could the vampires be making a power-play in the Night Kingdom? I looked at Liath and his expression told me he had caught on to my line of thinking. Lofin's newest general might be a vampire. But how?

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"Listen," I said, grabbing a letter from my desk. "Your mission is to get to the Kingdom of Bolisir as fast as possible and deliver this letter to Regent Oakmor. You'll have to take the main road, the adventurer's path has been blocked by a rockslide and we're having difficulty getting it cleared. Once you deliver the letter you're free from your obligations to me, and may return for your payment at your convenience."

"What's the pay going to be?" Yulk asked.

"Three gold each, one paid upfront for travel costs," I replied. "See Rayzun for that."

Liath let out a low whistle, "That's a lot of money for delivering a message. I'll need to raise my rates!"

"Don't you dare," I growled playfully. "I'm paying them extra because I'm being selfish in giving them this job. Now, you three, do you understand the task?"

"Yes, High Chief," they said in unison.

"Good, here," I said, handing the letter to Yulk. "This should go without saying, but don't open it. If you break the seal Regent Oakmor might be able to squirm out of his obligations. Not that he would, but it's better not to tempt fate."

"Understood," the sorcerer said, putting the letter in his robe.

"I wanted to have a longer conversation but something has come up," I explained. "Come see me after you finish your task and collect your payment."

I waved at them to go, and they did. Once the door closed I turned to my dwarven confidant.

"Do you think the reason that the drow have suddenly become organized is due to a vampire?" I asked.

"I mean, it makes sense but at the same time it really fuckin' doesn't," he answered. "Drow can't become vampires, right? That's how they were able to boot the suckers out in the first place isn't it?"

"Well, a vampire can't convert a drow, but what happens if they were to breed?"

"Oof. A half drow half vamp would be a weak little thing. Not exactly the kind of strength that would inspire a military."

"No, but a weakling would be the exact type of drow that King Lofin would hand pick to lead his armies. He doesn't like strong generals because they become a threat to his dominance," I pointed out.

"Shit. If he didn't know it was a vampire and it was born to nobility, it would be a shoe-in. So what? We've got an imminent vampiric coup in the Night Kingdom?"

"No, they'd need a place to gather their strength before making a move against Lofin. Preferably somewhere that the king would have difficulty exerting influence over, and a place with plenty of potential vampire spawn. Like the High Chiefdom of Kirkena, for instance."

"Why would they go about it in such a weird way, though? Wouldn't it make more sense to just start turning farmers on their borders?"

"No. If you're a vampire and you want to create enough vampires to make an army, you need control over the populace. You would need to be a noble, king, governor... Or a conquering general," I said. "I need you to go to Emperor Jak and let him know about this possibility and request his aid. Oh, and don't forget about that damned mine."

"Of course," Liath laughed as he stood up. "I'll get his ass in gear one way or another. See you later."

"Have a good journey."

As Liath left my office, Rayzun entered. I raised my eyebrow at him.

"What is it?" I asked.

"The messenger that arrived with the human," he explained. "Do you want me to send him in?"

"Another Nulevan messenger eh?" I asked. "What does he want?"

"I'm sure he can tell you that himself, High Chief," Rayzun treated me to a withering glare.

I chuckled, "Alright, alright. Send him in."

Rayzun professionally rolled his eyes at my antics and left the room, soon returning with the messenger in question.

"High Chief Ulurmak, Son of Grashgnaw the Gi..." he began.

"Enough!" I interrupted. "What is it, messenger?"

Rayzun looked annoyed as the messenger straightened and stared above my head. He took a moment to gather his nerve.

"High Chief Ulurmak, Chief Gluhern of Nuleva would like to request that Nuleva be formally recognized as a village. It now meets the population and commerce requirements."

"It wasn't already?" I jokingly asked.

"No, High Chief," Rayzun said flatly. "Though Chief Gluhern's been doing his best to have it considered as such. However, at the moment, it is considered a settlement and isn't eligible for the benefits of being a village."

"Well it's not exactly open to attack, so they must be after the business benefits."

"I doubt they'd say no to a garrison of troops, High Chief."

"True enough," I sighed.

Of course they wouldn't say no to a garrison. The soldiers would be getting money from Kirkena and spending it in Nuleva. A drop in the bucket for us, but one hell of a boon for an up and coming village. Nuleva had already grown pretty rapidly, and becoming a village would likely make it grow even faster. Gluhern's done a hell of a job.

"Fine. Return to Chief Gluhern and tell him Nuleva is now a village," I said. "Let him know the garrison will have to wait until the drow are dealt with."

"Yes, High Chief!"

Rayzun guided the messenger out of my office and I was once again left alone with my thoughts, and my mountain of paperwork. The human had looked interesting. Shaped like a short elf, but it was missing the tinge of green in its skin and eyes, and its ears were round. Those eyes were strange. Piercing and blue, a stark contrast to its black hair. A shade of blue I'd never seen in eyes before. It's obvious that it's from a foreign land. Perhaps I'll be able to ask it about that upon its return.

I put the human from my mind and set about the task of filling out the paperwork that surrounded me. All of it was boring. Things like requisition forms that I really should be delegating, approvals and denials for proposals, and tax stuff. There were some seemingly exciting papers like the disposition of soldiers and training permissions and things of that nature. Unfortunately, these only sound exciting until you have to be the one to fill them out. It was rare that I could simply sign something and be done with it.

I yawned as I set a large stack of papers I'd just completed in my done pile. I smiled in satisfaction at the dent I had made, and Rayzun entered the room holding a stack twice the size of the one I'd just completed.

"What the hell is this?" I demanded as he set the stack on my to be done pile.

"These are the forms to officially make Nuleva a village," he replied. "There's the recognition forms, tax forms, requests for updates to the various maps of the High Chiefdom, and of course congratulatory letters to the village leaders."

"So, what you're saying is that I made more work for myself by being benevolent to the people of Nuleva?"

"Yes, High Chief," Rayzun said with a malicious smile. "No good deed goes unpunished."

Damn it.