Yulk Alta

Adventurer Level: 7

Orc - Nulevan

"I see," High Chief Ulurmak said as we finished our tale.

The High Chief had listened attentively as we explained what had occurred since we left for the Empire of Calkuti. He carefully managed his expressions, only showing concern when we explained the encounter with the master vampire. The concern dissipated once we revealed its fate, though.

"The last we heard about the vampire army, they were retreating," I explained.

"Yes, straight into the Unified Chiefdoms, as it turns out," Ulurmak said.

The three of us looked at each other, then back to the High Chief with expressions of shock and concern. His deep chuckle only intensified our expressions.

"It's no longer a problem, apparently. They've disappeared."

"Disappeared?" I asked.

"Yes. Into thin air. We don't know where they've gone, but I'll take all the time to bolster our defenses I can get."

I nodded my agreement with this sentiment, and Nick looked around the throne room.

"So, is this the capital of the Night Kingdom?" he asked.

"Yes. After you left, the armies of Bolisir and Calkuti joined us for a nice little invasion. The Night Kingdom is no more, and King Lofin's fate will be decided tomorrow morning."

"Wow, that was fast."

"Well, nobody has ever accused Lofin's military of being competent. Plus, we were quite motivated," Ulurmak growled. "The horrors wrought upon Blurpus will take generations to forget."

The throne room fell into silence for a few moments. Then, Ulurmak regained his composure and leaned back in what used to be Lofin's throne.

"So, what's next for you three?"

"We plan to return home, for now," I explained. "I doubt we can do much to prepare for our meeting with the Summer Court, but we'll try to get some rest and recovery in."

"We'll definitely take on some quests," Nash added. "A weapon at rest too long is inviting rust."

"The grand return of the glorious adventurers," Ulurmak laughed. "I do hope you'll get a feast. However, there is a matter that I wanted to discuss with you, Yulk Alta."

"Oh?" I asked.

"Yes. I plan to open a school of sorts, dedicated to the study of magic. I would like you to assist me in this endeavor."

I stared at Ulurmak, frozen in shock. My mouth didn't know whether to drop my jaw or to drool.

"A... School? Of magic?"

"Yes. I have heard of such facilities to the south and across the world, but we have no such facility. As such, prospective mages must either travel to these locations or find an apprenticeship to learn more about the art. Those that travel seldom return, as the length of time one spends learning magic frequently leads to setting down roots. Apprentices usually stay, but they're limited to the knowledge that their masters have. By building an academy within our borders, both of these issues are easily resolved."

"I see," I slowly nodded, allowing this revelation to sink in. "And how may this humble mage assist such a grand plan?"

"By teaching, of course. And helping us find other teachers."

"Teaching? I'm afraid I'm not qualified," I protested.

"I pulled your guild card. You know more spells than most, which implies that you are very familiar with the concept of magic on at least a basic level. I would even call it foundational knowledge, which is why I believe you would make a great general education specialist. Your specific role would be Professor of Magical Theory and Practice."

"How's the pay?" Nash asked with a laugh.

"Professors will get an initial salary of twenty-five copper per day, which will be increased based on performance. There's also the chance to learn from other professors."

Now it was Nash's turn to look shocked. My brother quickly turned to me, grabbing my shoulder.

"You have to take this job, Yulk," he said. "Twenty-five copper per day with free room and board at the Marfix Inn would set you up for life!"

"I... Yes, I suppose it would," I nodded.

I had frequently dreamed of an opportunity such as this, of course, but that had been idle fantasy. Now the opportunity had practically broken down my metaphorical door and I found myself... Conflicted. Nash was correct in that I would be set for life with a position such as this, but how often would I be able to travel and see the world? When would I next see my brothers and mother? If I made this commitment, would I even be able to still help Nick get home? And what of the Court?

"Will he be able to travel with us next summer?" Nick conveniently asked.

"I don't see why not," Ulurmak shrugged. "Yulk won't be our only Professor of Theory and Practice. We'll figure out a time-off system that ensure the student's needs are met while allowing the professors to take time away to further their skills or take care of other business."

"Oh, awesome," Nick smiled. "And, uh... Well... Can I study at this academy?"

Nash's eyebrows shot up and he looked at Nick as if the human had suddenly morphed into an arch-fae.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"What?" he asked. "You're not going to train with me?"

"Well, it's like you said, I've just about hit the limits of the training we can do together," Nick explained rapidly. "I figure that until we can find an expert to further my swordsmanship, I can hone my magic."

"I... Well, yeah, okay, that's reasonable I guess," Nash crossed his arms. "The hells am I supposed to do, though?"

"You can stay with mom while we're at the academy," I interjected. "Take some jobs, hone your talents... Get to adventurer level ten..."

Nash's head whipped in my direction and his face turned a slightly darker shade of green. I met his angry glare with a sly grin. Nick and Ulurmak looked confused at Nash's reaction.

"Or I could just hang out in Kirkena and make sure you two don't have too much fun," Nash growled.

"You can take your time to decide," Ulurmak said. "It will be a while before we have even the most basic of facilities ready. Before I let you go, though-"

The door to the throne room burst open and two large orcs angrily marched in. It took them a moment to see us because of their bickering.

"Oh, sorry High Chief, we can come back later," the elder orc said.

"Having a meeting?" the younger one asked. "With... Wait, are those the Alta boys? I'll be damned!"

It was then that I recognized Great Chief Olmag. We had last seen each other at my father's funeral. We were quite young, and he was very kind, though a bit crass. It was rather surprising that he recognized us.

"And who's this with y- by the soiled loincloths of my army what the hells is that thing!?"

"I'm a human," Nick replied. "My name's Nick."

"A hu... Oh right, yeah. The thing that was found in the dungeon," Olmag nodded, and walked over to Nick. "Pleasure to meet you, Nick. I'm Great Chief Olmag, slayer of blah-blah-blah. How're you doin'?"

Olmag grabbed Nick's forearm and gave it a stiff shake. Nick, for his part, returned the greeting without being lifted off the ground.

"I'm well, and you?" he asked.

"I'd like to know, as well," Ulurmak said angrily. "I assume there's a reason behind this interruption."

"Yes, High Chief," Tormon lowered his head apologetically. "There is a disagreement regarding a certain stretch of land. The uh... 'noble' that ruled over the territory directly to the north of Blurpus has decided to step down, and I would like to lay claim to that land."

"And? Argue it out."

"We have, but we reached a stalemate. The other Great Chiefs, drow included, don't believe that the territory of Blurpus should grow when no one else's is. I argue that we were greatly impacted by the invasion, and our heroic acts against the vampire-led drow army is the entire reason for this invasion. As such we deserve the land. Either as a reward or as compensation."

"And what are you here for, Olmag?"

"You think I'm gonna take that old windbag at his word?" Olmag asked with a laugh. "I came with to verify that he speaks the truth. Both to you, and to the other Great Chiefs."

"If he lied about my words, I would find out and force Blurpus to find another Great Chief."

"Yeah, but what if he never came to you in the first place? Then he wouldn't be lying about what you said, just putting words in your mouth. Which is a lot less illegal."

"Fine," Ulurmak sighed. "Tormon, you claim Blurpus was impacted? Elaborate, please."

"We lost an entire village," Tormon said with an offended tone.

"Oh? I was told it was an unregistered village. Were they paying taxes?"

"Well... No... But-"

"But nothing. Blurpus has not lost taxable revenue as a result of either of the invasions. In addition, with the threat of the Night Kingdom neutralized, new villages can be built closer to your border. If anything, our conquest of the Night Kingdom has already benefited you."

"And what of the lives of our soldiers?"

"Everyone lost soldiers," Ulurmak's eyes narrowed. "Even the drow lost soldiers. No, the fair thing is to have the lands without chiefs hold an election and choose one."

"Wait, really?" Olmag asked.

"Yes, really. Both drow and orc are going to be living shoulder to shoulder on a large scale for the first time in centuries. As such, we're about to enter a time of turbulence. Lofin was a fool and a tyrant, but he was still a drow, and for some of our new subjects that is a far sight better than being ruled by orcs. We need to be as fair as possible during this transition or we will be lending credence to those with negative opinions of us."

"Well, you can't blame me for trying," Tormon said with a grin. "Alright Olmag, let's let the others know what the High Chief has decided."

"Damn, maybe we should have just let you take it," Olmag said as the pair began to leave. "Then Ulurmak wouldn't have spoiled things with his fairness speech."

The Great Chiefs left the throne room, and the doors closed behind them with a loud thud. Nash, Nick, and I turned back to the High Chief.

"Well, I'm sure that won't have any negative consequences," Ulurmak grumbled. "So, where were we?"

"You were saying that it'll take time before the academy is ready," Nick answered helpfully.

"Oh, right. Yes, it'll take at least a few weeks. We're gonna put it up in an unused building while we construct a more permanent facility. Now that we don't need a full standing army, I can throw a lot more money at this project."

"We don't need a standing army anymore?" Nash asked.

"Sure don't. The Night Kingdom was our only real threat. The Barbin tribes to the north are a friendly sort, but even if they weren't they're not much of a threat to any sort of organized force. Hells, the only reason the Night Kingdom didn't conquer them is because they're damn hard to invade because of the cold. And to our east and west we have Calkuti and Bolisir, which are both allies. If one of them decides to betray us, the other will help us. If both of them decide to betray us, having a standing army won't help a damned bit. Finally, the lands to the south are too busy with each other to bother us. So, it's time for some of our soldiers to become reservists."

"Peace at last?" Nick asked.

Ulurmak laughed, "I suppose so, yes."

"Is all of the Night Kingdom becoming part of the Unified Chiefdoms now?" I asked.

"No. The Empire of Calkuti is carving out a portion to the north for themselves. King Yssinirath has apparently declared that Bolisir is not to grow, so they're not taking any lands. Instead, we'll be compensating them with a portion of the taxes from our new territories for a time."

"King Yssinirath doesn't want Bolisir to grow?" Nick asked. "Why?"

"The High Dragon didn't explain himself, but it probably has something to do with the wylder. One has to be careful with expanding one's borders when you rule over the fair folk."

"Pardon? Yssinirath rules the fair folk?" I asked.

"Just the ones in Bolisir. And not really in a traditional sense. It's... It's a pretty unique relationship. It should come as no surprise that the concept of 'ruling' is different to the wylder than it is to us."

"How so?"

"Well, as far as I'm aware, Yssinirath can't order them into battle but he can determine their laws. Apparently, there's pretty drastic consequences if the wylder break these laws, too, but I don't know too much about that."

"They turn into undead when they die," Nick offered. "Zombies, vampires, ghouls, stuff like that. At least, I think..."

"I see," Ulurmak said.

"So Yssinirath could create unreasonable laws if he wanted to?" I asked. "They must trust him quite a lot. But what's to stop some other tyrant from doing creating unreasonable laws in an effort to extort the fair folk?"

"Well, as I understand it, the fair folk of Bolisir only bow to Yssinirath's bloodline. So if Yssinirath died and an elf became king, the fair folk wouldn't be subjects of that king. If I remember right, the whole deal was formed by one of Yssinirath's ancestors to protect the citizenry from the fair folk. There was a fight first, but the wylder conceded defeat and accepted the rule of the High Dragon of the time."

"Sir," a scout next to the chief whispered in his ear. "You have other matters to attend to."

"Right, right. Well, it's been fun catching up, boys. Oh, right, I need you to give me a list of potential professors, Yulk. Bear in mind that they will be your coworkers and that they will be molding the minds of tomorrow. I'll need it before you begin your journey home."

"Yes, High Chief," I said.

"Alright, guess that's that. You're dismissed. Expect a message within a few weeks."

Nick, Nash, and I bowed and left the throne room. Once the doors closed behind us, we realized that we were completely unfamiliar with the layout of the castle. So we petitioned a guard for aid, and she gave us directions toward the exit. Once we found the exit and left the castle, Nash took a deep breath and let it out with a big sigh.

"Alright, let's prepare for the journey home," he said.