BECMI Chapter 83 – Setting the Spoils

“I don’t think that will be quite necessary,” King Antius smiled at the mental image of Skarvald turned into his own monument to himself. “I also note that he hasn’t taken direct action against you.”

“He gets one chance to attack me seriously, or betray me. Then he won’t be anyone’s problem, and his legend will fade into dust, a minor footnote of a fool in Darkmoor passing on for some equally stupid reason.” I was pretty confident of what would happen if he tried. He seemed to be pretty smart for an unrepentant barbarian, and hadn’t pushed the issue… although I knew that if he thought he could get away with it he would bully me as happily as he did everyone else.

He’d been very, very rough with the axe-wielders under my command, alternately dominating them hard and brutally, then charming them with his stories of carousing, womanizing, victories in battle, and so forth and so on. He’d also been rather sullenly disappointed at his complete inability to sway any of my lads into following him.

“He has caused many problems, almost as many as he’s solved on the field of battle. He is quite the force there, as he proved again last night. In everything else, he’s an utter liability,’ the king admitted candidly.

“I have not been to the lands of the Ei of Hazz, but I have heard they are eerie and unnatural, and full of many things which need killing. If you like I can visit there, and then anytime he causes problems, drop him in the middle of there to fight his way out of.”

The king looked quite thoughtful at that. “Well,” he admitted, “it would be nice of him to learn that being polite has less consequences than being a callow fool. Please do so in the future. He’s already getting drunk and threatening to start a brawl.”

“If you can delay that brawl an hour, I can be wandering in the area when he starts, and will petrify him for the duration… or turn him into a frog again.”

“I will make note, although the local tavern is definitely not to the standards of the Thisbean Inn, and could use some remodeling,” the king pointed out mock seriously.

I eyed the many smoldering homes and buildings, most of which hadn’t been anything much to look at to begin with. “Given how many were set aflame, that seems to be a common opinion of them, Your Majesty.”

“Well, it IS a swamp, although the Duchy of Elb and the Khirifi claim the land to the west of us, and, it seems, were the main slave purchasers here. Anything to weaken the North, as it were.” He paused significantly. “The slavers have a very large supply of building materials in their storehouses. We will definitely be able to start rebuilding a settlement and adding more security.”

“But you want me to add more walls,” I guessed dryly.

“Given what you did at Darkmoor, I expect it will take you neither very long, nor a great deal of effort. I expect you know that it won’t stop committed infiltrators, especially after your display of scouting ability.”

“The best way to gain real security would be to set up a proper Obelisk, or even a Pyramid,” I acknowledged. “One just big enough to cover the island would do wonders for your magical security, and given how little exploration was done of the interior, its existence could easily be kept a secret.”

“Obelisk? Pyramids?” he repeated, stroking his jaw. “What do those entail?”

“They are essentially Monuments made by Runecraft, which extend fields of power out into the surrounding area in the form of strong yet subtle Wards. Obelisks are singular in function. Their primary function is often to deny a specific type of foe access to a territory, or to instill a massive-scale or to keep unwanted creatures or spellcasters at bay. Another use is to precipitate volcanic ash so that it doesn’t spread downwind, although that is very specialized.”

“And Pyramids?” he asked, clearly interested.

“Depending on size, complexity, and power, they can cover a radius of leagues, instill similar Wards, but also change the field every day to gain the power of a low-level spell. The most common power is to but it can be changed to be something like, oh, … meaning any injury an orc suffers from anything from being scratched by a thorn to the bite of a mosquito is potentially lethal.” He blinked in astonishment. “Blessings for the fields, giving sapient creatures the ability to fly, strength enhancement to everyone, purifying food, enforcing mild weather… Pyramids are temples to the gods as much as Monuments, at least the way I make them.”

“And… could you make such things?” he asked slowly.

“Of course. I would suggest a over the island. This will ward away any overlarge creatures that fly and prevent all forms of magical flying, including shapechanged creatures or those in Gaseous Form, among other things. I can bury the Obelisk in the back forests, nobody will know it is there, only that a strange magical field is impeding some forms of magic in this area… which I believe isn’t all that unusual.”

“The North is known for having a great deal of strange and wild magicks around,” the king nodded knowingly. “Your man, Hanvol, indicated that there were at least two other large settlements in the Vile Fens, at least as large as this one, but non-human…”

I flicked up a map of supreme accuracy of the Fen and the Lochs about it. The islands of the Fens, the waterways, and the rivers and streams pervading it all were all clearly displayed. An experienced campaigner and traveler like the king was naturally fascinated by the sight of it.

“Here and here.” The vast sprawling swamps to either side of the Mucky River that split the Fens each had their own areas. “I am fairly sure this area is populated by many tribes of lizard men, taking cover in the Fens and actively keeping out trespassers. The southern area instead abuts the hill that arises in this area, and the dwellers use cave networks there of great age. I do not know what they are at this point, but they are definitely reclusive and, given I’ve heard no tales of anything specific in that area, quite good at staying mysterious, too.”

“Lizard men, and some mysterious people. There are many fishermen and trappers in these areas, so they must have some skill if no one knows of such numbers. The lizard men have always been seen more as a nuisance than a powerful force.”

“Well, there’s at least three thousand of them scattered through the fens, so they definitely are more than a nuisance.”

“I… see.” He sighed heavily. “One more thing to make contingency plans about…”

“Yes. Because if your neighbors find out, they will definitely be trying to co-opt them with mind-control magic, or by sending in lizard kings.”

“Lizard… kings?” King Antius repeated thoughtfully. “Not Gator Men?”

“Lizard men cursed or blessed by demonic Patrons, with unrelenting appetites for the flesh of sapients, passion for war, and who think of normal lizard men as disposable minions suitable only for obeying orders and seeing to it that they are fed the flesh of civilized beings, or they get to be the meal instead.” I inclined my head slightly. “If lizard men go to war suddenly, it is almost always because a lizard king has found them, seized control of the tribe, and driven them to slaughter heartlessly.”

“If they became aggressive, they would be a terrifying force, Lady Edge,” he analyzed. “They are natural swimmers, strong, and tough. They could strike the length and breadth of the western border almost with impunity.”

“That is true, but their magical traditions are not strong, as they are an old, wise, and ancient people, not a clever, intelligent, and creative one. Your magical edge is tremendous, and likely you could strike back at them in ways they simply cannot counter. You simply need to be ready for what they can do, and educate your soldiers on tactics to fight against them.

“Among other things, they don’t do bows, because strings rot in a swamp. So their missile fire is blowgun darts, or hurled javelins. That is quite lacking compared to proper bows and crossbows… or lasers.”

“So, we’d just have to pull them out of the water and shoot them. What about IN the water?” he asked.

“Lightning bolts and electrical attacks that hit the water fan out like fireballs. A cheap and brutal way to kill some fish easily… or skulking lizard men. Nor can they fly. A group of lizard men in the water spotted by a flying mage are sitting ducks.” I dismissed his worries. “Teach your men what to do, and trust them not to be stupid about their own lives. If you leave them ignorant, they will die ignorant, not knowing the proper actions.”

“I see. You place great trust in your people, then,” he noted in admiration.

“No,” I corrected him mildly. “I put the of trust in them. Notably, I don’t distrust them, because my people have been trained better, paid well, and there’s no need to hang some of them to stop others from running off with magical toys worth a couple years pay.”

“We have built up quite an arsenal of those devices, but they are still known to have their limitations…” King Antius remarked thoughtfully.

“We have their hardware printer, their computer cores, and their generator. We can make new equipment and recharge the existing weaponry as needed.” I caught his expression. “Yes, I am familiar with the vagaries of their technology, Your Majesty. I gather you might want a core of technicians trained up to make use of this advanced technology in the defense of Darkmoor?” I asked with an arched eyebrow.

“That, that would be wonderful, Lady Edge!” he admitted excitedly.

“But not the genetic experiments trying to create a mutant race of frog-men from unfortunate slaves, I trust.” Just a little frown on my face.

He blanched in revulsion. “That is what those horrid things were…” he spat. Everyone had seen the twisted corpses of the genetic experiments.

“Yes. The being in charge was an alien, a man of a species not born on this world, but instead from one of the far stars in the sky, beyond our knowledge… and he fled from the Palace of the Gods, as you call it. He knows it as a starship, a vessel designed to travel the voids between worlds and stars, and not a particularly important one, at that. It even has a name: the Federation Starship .

“He has a not-unique attitude that he comes from a vastly superior culture, and thus all of us here who do not come from a similar world of high technology are savages and barbarians who should serve him and his people as they take control of our world, for our own benefit, of course.

“He has been somewhat hampered by the existence of magic here. For whatever reasons, it seems in the greater universe we live in, our world, or perhaps solar system, is very unique, and magic is not found in other worlds found on this plane. At least, this Federation’s records have no widely available knowledge on magic, and it is considered flights of fancy indulged in with literary fiction and games of several kinds.”

“Whereas magic is one of the great tools that we can wield on this world.” I noted the way his lips turned as he said that.

“You are an intelligent man, Your Majesty. I find it curious that you did not pursue the path of magic for yourself, at least to dabble in.”

An old pain twisted across his face. “I have tried many times to grasp the basics of magic, and while I can understand how they work, I cannot reach out and touch the power,” he admitted unwillingly, regret clear on his face.