High Chief Ulurmak

Adventurer Level: N/A

Orc - Kirkenian

"They're in Blurpus?" I asked incredulously. "Not Yirna?"

Great Chief Tormon nodded gravely. The graying orc in front of me had ridden night and day to bring me this news himself and beg my aid. Quite a feat for one of his advanced years, but he had done so to make certain that I would not decline his request. He had given of himself to ask me to do the same, and it would be the highest form of disrespect to ignore this.

Of course, I had no intention of ignoring or declining his request. But the fact that he rode here himself suggests that he thinks otherwise, which means I need to make it clearer to my Great Chiefs that I stand with them. Their struggles are my struggles. This line of thought must have shown on my face, because Tormon gave me a knowing look.

"Ulurmak, I rode here myself because my hnarses are faster than the scouts, and I don't trust anyone but myself and my son with my hnarses. Since I'm too old for the field, I sent him to lead and came here myself."

"Get out of my head," I grinned. "I'll send the regulars and redirect our allies. How's your boy doing?"

"He's had better days, I'm sure," Tormon sighed. "Wants to be an artist, not a general. His paintings and sculptures are fine to look at, too. He really cares about his craft. The look on his face when I told him what was required of him was grim."

"He didn't argue it?"

"No. Grum's a smart boy. He knows that if he doesn't take charge there's a good chance that many of our people will lose their homes and their lives. He won't allow his aversion to responsibility cause our people to suffer."

"I'm glad to hear that. How's things on the front?"

"They've captured a settlement and a village. Lofin must have finally sent a competent commander, because they're using shield walls and pikes, and we haven't won a single skirmish. They won't pursue us, either, so our traps and tricks have been ineffective. The best we've been able to do is convince them to pull back."

The mention of shield walls made the hairs on the back of my neck raise. I had been hoping I was wrong about the vampires, but phalanxes are one of their favored formations. It could be a coincidence, but this along with the fact that the drow aren't sticking to any of their patterns is alarming. Tormon noted my silence and thoughtful expression.

"You don't think..." his eyes went wide as he trailed off. "It can't be the vampires, can it? How could they have infiltrated Lofin's inner circle?"

Tormon is old enough that he was raised on stories of his father fighting against the vampires of the Night Kingdom. He had even personally led the charge against the remnants that threatened our borders. Of all the Great Chiefs, he was uniquely qualified to know how dire a threat the vampires can be.

"I don't know, but it's not outside the realm of possibility," I said. "Lofin's paranoid, but he's also an idiot. His criteria for choosing his generals is well known, and it wouldn't be hard to take advantage of that."

"But how can this be? Drow can't be turned, and there isn't a single non-drow noble in the entirety of the Night Kingdom. Lofin's not stupid enough to make a vampire his general, right?"

"I don't have answers. It could be that the drow in question is simply working with the vampires, or it could be that Lofin couldn't find a general among his nobility and hired a mercenary. Regardless, something is definitely off about this invasion. Have there been any reports of vampires in the field?"

"No, none at all."

"There's that, at least," I said as I rubbed my chin. "So either I'm wrong about my hunch that the vampires are at work here, or Lofin is unaware of the vampiric influence on this invasion."

"What if he's dead?" Tormon asked.

"Can't be. One, I'd have heard about it. Lofin doesn't pay his staff well enough to keep their silence. Two, there's a functional drow army. The nobility of the Night Kingdom wouldn't be able to pull that off without Lofin. Those strings are too fragile for the vampires to be able to yank them."

"Hmm. It's a mystery," Tormon sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Still, doesn't change what must be done. Blurpus must be defended. What are we going to do about the shields?"

"Shields won't help them if they attack your keep, but for the field we may want to look into mounted mages," I suggested. "Or axes. Axes would probably be cheaper."

"They're using pikes and spears. The axes have trouble closing in. I like the idea of a mage cavalry, though."

"Yeah, but we don't really have the infrastructure for that sort of thing."

"The guilds might. They've gotta know of some adventurers that can use magic and ride a hnarse."

"Sure, but it's gonna be costly. Won't be a long term solution to this kind of combat. Can't expect this to be a quick war."

Tormon laughed, "You should use that overly large head of yours to find a way to encourage mages to join the regulars. Then we wouldn't have to worry about this kind of thing."

"My head isn't overly large, old one. Yours is just small," I grinned. Then a thought occurred to me. "Magic users like to study and learn, it helps them with their casting. Maybe a school or something. Charge tuition and offer waivers for military service..."

"The guilds would probably have an interest in that. Might even be willing to pay extra taxes to help fund it. See? Big head, big ideas."

"RAYZUN!" I shouted, ignoring the jab from Tormon.

Rayzun quickly popped his head through my door, "Yes, High Chief?"

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"I need a meeting with the leaders of the adventurers guilds and companies. If they want to continue operating in the Unified Chiefdoms, they'd better get here with speed."

Rayzun nodded and closed the door. Tormon raised an eyebrow at me, then grinned.

"You'd ban them?" he asked.

"Damn right," I replied. "Most of 'em are tax-dodgers anyway. All I've gotta do is send the auditors and they're done. They're well aware of that."

Tormon nodded and chuckled. The truth is, most of the guild leaders are respectful and will come when called regardless of whether or not I make threats. While it's true that the majority of them definitely do not pay their legally obligated share of taxes, they still understand their place in the world. A handful of them, though, do not. They keep forgetting that their wealth does not equate to status here in the Unified Chiefdoms, and in Kirkena especially.

If I didn't threaten them, they would ignore me. This would force me to do some rather unsavory things to teach whoever replaces them not to repeat their mistakes. My father once told me that if I could avoid being cruel, then I should do so at all costs. Fear naturally follows respect, but respect does not follow fear. He generally knew what he was talking about in regards to governing, so it's advice that I heed.

"A school for magic," Tormon said thoughtfully. "How long do you suppose it'll take to make?"

"That depends almost entirely upon the mages," I replied. "We've got some empty buildings that would do the trick. The Uli Trade Union building is what I'm thinking."

"The Uli finally gave up the ghost? Thought I'd never see the day."

"Yeah, they've been done for a while now. Thankfully it was a slow decline, so it didn't hurt the economy too much when the boys shut the doors."

The Uli trade union had been a multi-national trade organization that began a long, long time ago. My great-grandfather had given the seal of approval for the construction of their gigantic office. A series of scandals and bad business decisions had started their decline during my father's time, and I had signed the paperwork that forgave their debts and closed their doors.

"What are the Uli boys up to these days?"

"I don't know. Part of their debt forgiveness was the requirement that they forfeit their property and leave the chiefdom. They didn't tell me where they planned to go."

"Hmm." Tormon slapped his knees. "So, one more thing before I go. You met with the thing that they dragged out of that dungeon?"

"Sure did," I grinned. "He's a human."

"A human? What's that?"

"Well, looks kind of like an elf but with round ears and a few sharp teeth. Didn't really get a chance to talk to him very much because I had him deliver a missive to Bolisir to request aid against the drow. The reports say he's from another world, and that world is full of humans like him. Oh, and he can eat meat and veg."

"Weird," Tormon frowned. "You sent him to Bolisir by himself? He that strong?"

"Guild says he's level seven already, but no. I sent him along with Flesh-Carver Yilda's boys. Nash and Yulk. She adopted the human, you know."

"No shit," Tormon laughed. "Haven't heard from Yilda Alta in decades! Any word on how she's doin'?"

"From the sound of things, she's enjoying the quiet life. Can't begrudge her that, not after what she gave for it."

"Too true. So, the human. Think he's dangerous?"

"Probably, but not to us. He seems pretty amicable and level headed."

"That's good to hear," Tormon said as he rose from his chair. "So long as you've got some idea as to what you're doing with the human, I'm fine with whatever you decide. I should get back."

I nodded solemnly as he turned to leave my office. He paused for a moment at the door.

"Should I accompany you?" I asked, trying to guess the reason for his hesitation.

He turned to look at me with a little bit of shock. I suppose I had guessed wrong, and it hadn't even occurred to him to ask. My prowess on the battlefield is well known, and even though Tormon and the rest of the Great Chiefs are big orcs, I tower over them. Tormon met my eyes, and then looked at the mountains of paperwork on my desk.

"I don't think so, Ulurmak," he answered with a grin. "Things are not quite so dire as to give you an excuse to get away from the paperwork."

"But there's just so much of it, though," I said with an exaggerated frown.

Tormon and I laughed for a few moments before things settled down into a somber silence.

"When you enter the field of battle, it will be indicative of failure on our part," Tormon said. "We'll do everything in our power to ensure you get to enjoy your paperwork. Goodbye, High Chief."

"Goodbye, Great Chief."

Tormon left the room, and I sighed. I'd known Tormon since I was a child, and it pained me to see him as an elder now. The massive orc that had sparred with me and shocked me with his speed and power was now too old to even accompany his son into battle. Still, I felt a little beam of pride that he liked my idea for a magic school. Maybe we could do more than one, and have the schools compete with each other to further motivate their students...

No, I doubt there'll be any need for that. The knowledge of magic alone will be more than enough motivation for most of the students. Hell, maybe once things get going I'll take a class or two. Find out if I could have been good at magic or not. My gaze fell back to my paperwork.

"Fuck," I whispered to myself as I picked up my pen.

A knock on my office door saved me from the looming task at hand. Rayzun poked his head into my office.

"High Chief, two of the guild leaders are here to see you," he said.

"Which ones?" I asked.

"Pumos and the adventurer's guild."

"Send them in, no need for introductions."

Rayzun nodded and left the room. The Adventurer's Guild and the Pumos Union were the two largest guilds in the Unified Chiefdoms. The Adventurer's Guild was much larger than the Pumos Union, though, because their operation is multi-national. Even so, the Pumos Union was no pushover and even offered mercenary services that the AG didn't typically bother with. There are a lot of areas in the UC that wouldn't have any sort of police if it weren't for Pumos, and the easiest way to become a guard is to join up with them.

A gnome and an elf entered my office and bowed. The gnome is Malura Grinzaw, and she is the head of the Pumos Union. The elf is Yarawei Horfu, and he is the master of the Adventurer's Guild. I gestured for them to take a seat, and they happily complied.

"There are two things we need to discuss," I said once they were settled.

They subtly glanced at each other. I could imagine what they might think this meeting is about, and how nervous they both were. I had to fight a grin.

"First is the situation with the Night Kingdom invasion. I need mages that know how to ride a hnarse while casting. They will be pressed into service for the remainder of the invasion, but they will be well compensated for their efforts."

Eyes widened and eyebrows shot up. It had been decades since adventurers had been drafted, and my willingness to impose upon their freedoms indicated a dire situation. Malura opened her mouth to say something, but quickly closed it again.

"It will be done, High Chief," Yarawei said. "So the rumors are true, then?"

"I don't know what the rumors are, so I cannot say," I replied. "What I can say is that the drow are using tactics that we are ill-prepared to respond to, and they invaded Blurpus instead of Yirna. We are planning on utilizing a mage cavalry force to tip things in our favor."

"Mounted mages, I'll be damned," Malura said.

"The second thing we need to discuss is the possibility of a school for study of magic. It will be an academic institution dedicated to instructing mages on the magical arts, both to further the common knowledge of magic as well as to bolster the caliber of our mages. Funding will be done through a mixture of government subsidies and tuition, with tuition waivers offered for completion of military service."

The two guild-leaders maintained their shocked expressions. Whatever they had thought this meeting to be about, I was demolishing their expectations. Malura recovered first, this time.

"How can we help, High Chief?" she asked.

"I need teachers and administrators that are well versed in magic. It is unclear how many we will need as of yet, so I want you to make a list of those who are qualified and who may be interested."

"You said government subsidy, High Chief? How will the chiefdom be getting the funds necessary to start this... academy of magic?" Yarawei asked.

"Oh, that's quite simple," I said as a malicious grin spread across my features. "I'll just be needing you to pay a bit more of your fair share of taxes. Some estimates put your payments at around thirty percent of what you should actually be paying. If you bump that up to forty percent, we'll be able to afford the academy and I won't have to send the auditors."

Their stunned silence was music to my ears.