Paul’s POV

Rikkard stood in front of Paul with three humans. All three humans wore brown burlap shirts and pants. The first was the oldest. He had all grey hair and a beard down to his sternum. The next was around 40 and had brown greying hair with no beard. The last was the youngest, around 20, maybe younger. He also had brown hair with a peach fuzz beard.

Rikkard gestured to the oldest man, “This is Howard. He is a master builder and knows all you’ll need to know to construct a new castle here at Gravewell.”

He motioned to the middle-aged man. “This is Joshua, he is a carpenter and can direct your workers into building anything out of wood.”

Finally, he motioned to the youngest. “This is William, he is Howard’s apprentice.”

Paul got up from his seat and walked up to the men arrayed before him. “So, you will lead my team then?” He looked each man up and down. “As I am sure you are aware, but I am Paul Alaricsson, Lord of this territory. If you do your jobs well you will be handsomely rewarded. If you disappoint me, well let’s hope you don’t disappoint.” When Paul finished looking William up and down, he looked back at Howard.

“What do you need from me to build the keep? We have wood aplenty, but little stone, so the keep will need to be wooden. I also want a large library.”

“First and foremost, I will need parchment, ink and charcoal. I will neem to design the keep and library. Plus, any other building that will go within the fort walls.”

“I have some parchment and ink with my books. Charcoal grabbed from the firepits should work, right?”

“Yes, that would be fine. I can also show pictures and designs to your blacksmith so he knows how to make our tools.”

“A blacksmith?” In his entire time being in Gravewell, Paul hadn’t seen or heard of a blacksmith.

“Yes, a blacksmith. He will also need to make nails and hinges.” Howard confirmed.

Paul looked over at Liora, “I need to speak to Krelgr or Grag.” He rubbed his forehead, “I need to find out if we have a blacksmith.”

“I’ll go find them.” Liora responded, “Krelgr should be close, he wanted to meet with you when Rikkard was done.”

She left Paul hut with no particular haste.

“Rikkard, do you have a blacksmith at your village?”

“No. Our smith and several others were taken by some ogres in a raid.”

Paul rubbed his forehead again. It was becoming quite the task to get this fortress off the ground. “Other than a blacksmith what do you need? Wait, do you need a blacksmith before work can begin?”

Howard nodded. “Yes. We will need the blacksmith. Some tools can be fashioned out of wood or without metal, but hammers and saws will be needed to flatten boards and split logs. We will also need axes to fell trees in the first place. We can’t proceed without a blacksmith my lord.”

“What else do you need?”

“Nothing from me.” Howard said.

Paul looked at Joshua. “What about from you?”

“Tools and laborers. I just need people to move all the heavy wood around.” Joshua said.

“Labor I can get for you. I have plenty of that.”

Liora came back in with Krelgr in tow. “We don’t have a blacksmith in the village.” She said as they walked in. “If the village needs anything made of metal they steal it, or trade slaves to the traders that come through every now and then.”

“I have heard a lot of these traders. How often do they some here?” Paul asked.

“Once or twice a season.” Rikkard said.

“Do you know when they may come back?”

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“No, my lord.” Krelgr said. “They just came through, right before you got here. It could be another season before they come back.”

“Where are these ogres camped that stole the blacksmith? With luck we can get him back.” Paul looked at Rikkard.

“They live about a day’s ride north from here.” Rikkard said. “I can show you the way, but I don’t think the ogres are going to negotiate with you. They don’t value things like gold, they think largely with their stomachs.”

“That’s fine. How many are there, in case it comes down to a fight?”

“I know of five, but there could be a couple more females and children in the camp that might join a fight against us.” Rikkard said.

“You don’t need to worry. I will fight them alone. If I defeat the strongest members of the clan myself, the others might just surrender.” Paul smiled. “Just imagine how intimidating my army would be if it had a couple ogres in it. We leave immediately. I want to get there as soon as possible. The sooner we get the blacksmith, the sooner we can start work on the keep.”

As Paul and Rikkard made their way through the moonlit woods, the distant grunts and guttural laughter of the ogres grew louder. The tension between them was palpable, though neither seemed inclined to address it directly. Their conversation, instead, focused on the blacksmith whose life hung in the balance.

“Ogres have probably got him strung up like a pig. If they haven’t smashed his hands yet, I’ll be surprised.” Rikkard said gruffly.

"Then you’d better hope they haven’t. His hands are the only part of him I care about." Paul replied dryly.

Rikard snorted. He looked over at Paul for a brief moment. "Don’t get any ideas, bloodsucker. That smith works for me. Has for years. He knows how to forge weapons the way I like—thick, heavy, made to cleave flesh and bone. Not some dainty human tools."

"He may be yours, but his skills are what matter to me. A fortress doesn’t build itself, Rikkard. I need nails, hinges, tools—things your goblins can’t produce with their shoddy craftsmanship."

"So that’s why you’re here. Not for me, not for him—just for your precious fortress."

"Of course. I have no interest in your village or your smith’s well-being. But if I’m to rule these lands, I need infrastructure. Your smith is a means to that end. Surely even you can see the value in keeping him alive." Paul replied coldly.

Rikkard growled angrily. "I see the value just fine, bloodsucker. Doesn’t mean I like you thinking you’ve got a claim on him. He’s mine—don’t forget it."

Paul let out a small laugh. “I don’t care who he belongs to, so long as he works. But let me make something clear: if you fail to keep him functional, I will find someone else. And if that means taking another of your people, so be it."

Rikkard stopped walking and glared at Paul. "Watch your words, vampire. You might be useful now, but don’t think I won’t gut you if you push too far."

Paul, stopped as well, his crimson eyes glowed faintly in the dim light. "Spare me the bravado, Rikkard. You need that smith as much as I do. Your weapons, your raids—none of it works without him. We both know this. So, let’s get him back alive, before we waste any more time."

Rikkard grunted as he started to walk again. "Fine. But when this is done, remember: he works for me. Not you. You want your nails and tools? You’ll pay for them like everyone else."

"We’ll see, Rikkard. Let’s deal with the ogres first."

The two continued their march, their mutual disdain tempered by the practicality of their alliance. Neither cared for the blacksmith as a person; to them, he was a tool to be preserved and used. Whether for weapons or construction, his survival wasn’t a matter of mercy—it was necessity.

Close to dawn they reached the outskirts of the ogre camp. Paul looked at the rising sun.

“Wait here.” Paul said to Rikkard.

“What for?”

“I’m going to go find a place to sleep through the day, and I don’t trust you to not kill me in my sleep.” Paul responded.

Rikkard let out a barking laugh. “Fair enough, blood sucker. I’ll scout out the encampment and meet you back here at dusk.”

Paul waited for Rikkard to go before heading in another direction. He pulled on his earth tether to draw the mana he needed to cast a small spell that would hide his tracks. He was relatively sure Rikkard didn’t know magic and couldn’t track his mana. At some point he had to just give up safety measures and continue about his business.

“Keep an eye out while I sleep.” He told Liora, who had been following them the entire time.

“Of course.” Was all he heard. He could tell where she was from the bond, and knew she was trying to stay invisible.

He found a suitable spot near a giant oak. He called more earth mana to himself and pushed it into the ground to open up a deep hole. Sure Rikkard, or even the ogres, wouldn’t be able to find him, he jumped in and used his earth mana to close the hole over him.

As the sun rose, he could feel its position in the sky and felt the strong urge to sleep. The night passed without issue, as far as Paul could tell, nobody tried to dig him up.

Free of his earthly bed he pulled on his air tether to cast an air spell that would clean his cloths.

“Anything eventful happen?” Paul asked Liora.

“No. Just some forest animals.” Liora moved closer to look at his cloths. “Rikkard didn’t even bother to look for you.”

“Quite admirable on his part.” Paul said. “I assumed he would try to kill me the first chance he got.”

“Maybe he thinks the ogres will do it.” Liora turned invisible again. “Let’s continue.”

Paul made his way back to where he was supposed to meet Rikkard. He didn’t bother hiding his tracks back, but he did try to remain as quiet as possible, seeing as he was close to the ogre encampment. Rikkard was leaning against a thin tree. The hobgoblin looked at him as he came close.

“About time blood sucker.” He stood. “As far as I could see there were about five male ogres, three females, and two younglings. To keep such a host together the leader must be pretty strong. Usually ogres are solitary creatures.”

“Well let’s go find this great leader and kill him.” Paul said as he walked in the direction of the encampment.