Chương 400: Like a Flock of Vultures

A jubilant crowd of dignitaries gathered in Wolfsburg, the Northern Ducal Seat of the Empire. Like a pack of rabid zombie wolves, they smelled blood and brains. Word had slowly spread that time had run out for Baron William of Gadobhra and attracted many people eager to make a profit at his expense. It didn't matter that he had completed 99% of the new fortress, nor did it matter that he'd had to deal with constant attacks from brigands and bureaucrats who tried to delay the project.

Not even the small detail that he was never going to be given cooperation from the Mages who managed the teleportation system in his quest to meet the outrageous demand for a larger teleportation stone. All that mattered was his deal to finish the fortress by today or forfeit his rulership of the ruined city of Gadobhra. Despite its status as a dangerous threat to the Empire and a demon-infested ruin, the new Baron and Baroness were turning a profit. How they were doing so was open to debate.

The tales of Fae Lords paying bags of gold to fight in his dungeons had been laughed at. Such stories were the fodder for children's fairy tales. Of course, so were herds of unicorns frolicking under a tree that soared into the skies and housed a Fae Embassy, and travelers to the Baron's lands who insisted they'd seen them with their own eyes were becoming numerous.

More believable were the tales of the Baron delving into his dungeons for treasure, especially when the Kallvek merchant house began to offer strange new magic items for sale at reasonable prices. It had been the general assumption that the Kallveks must be close to bankruptcy when most of the clan relocated to the rustic hamlet of Sedgewick.

Now that their remaining shops in the Capital and Wolfsburg were packed to the rafters with Serrated Hell-Boar daggers, Woven Unicorn Hair Cloaks, kegs of Healing Beer and Apple Kick-Ass, and dozens of rarely seen Enchanted items from the Dungeons of Gadobhra, many people were rethinking their 'general assumptions.' Merchandise was pouring out of Gadobhra, gold was pouring in, and the Kallvek Merchant House was making money off of every transaction and thumbing their noses at any detractors.

It wasn't a secret among the corporations that ACME, through the hard work of Baron Billy, had opened trade routes to The Smoke and The Fae Realms, and by now, it was common knowledge with the nobility of the Empire as well. Controlling the trade to such exotic locations was like a river of gold that never ceased its flow. Just how much money was flowing into Baron William's coffers was open to speculation: The gnomes weren't talking. Not surprising, as the gnomes never talked about their customers.

Confidentiality at the Gnomish Banks was legendary, and even a discreet inquiry was taken as a grave insult that could follow a family for generations. The news that the village of Sedgewick was blessed with a Gold Level Gnomish bank had been met with disbelief at first and consternation when it was confirmed. Rumors ran like wildfire as people tried to estimate how much gold had flowed into the Gnomish coffers to gain the Baron such a high honor.

The shrewder people pointed out that if Baron William didn't keep Gadobhra, then the new ruler would control Sedgewick and its bank. So, with the hours ticking down and teleportation to Rowan Keep unavailable, the pack waited impatiently. There was going to be competition between them and vicious political backstabbing. This wasn't an army sweeping down on an enemy village and free to pillage, but more like a pack of starving ghouls.

Their weapons were the collection of back taxes, obscure laws, letters of marque, and liens against economic damage carelessly caused by Baron William. Once he lost his power as Baron of the city, it was open season upon him. A few of the younger tax collectors were already drunk on the thought of gold, while the more experienced ones stayed wary. There was a rumor floating around that the Baron had a Tax Advisor of his own, a demon bound in his service who smelled of the Pit.

So, while some joked and cheered, others were silent. Amid this jubilation, wiser and greedier heads cautioned the young bureaucrats who joked about picking the town clean. They were told to shut up and reminded that only as long as things remained 'civilized' could they avoid certain unpleasant events.

"Don't steal a farmer's chickens or tax his turnips. He'll be within his rights to take your head off with his hoe, and won't be cowed by fancy talk. There are veterans of the Gopher Wars there, and you won't know who they are until your head is tossed to the pigs."

"Don't annoy the herds of ugly cattle."

"Be polite to the Butcher and stay away from the smoking building at the edge of town."

"The Inquisition is already there; be careful what you say!"

"Don't pet the horn ponies, pick the apples, piss off a squirrel, or get too near a goat."

"If someone says it happened in Sedgewick, it probably did." A judge was brought, bought, and provided with a copy of the agreement between the Baron of Gadobhra and the Imperial Tax Collectors. It was read aloud a half hour before sunset, and the Baron declared in default in absentia. It was always better to walk in with documents of one sort or another than to go empty-handed. Many had expected a message from the System, but nothing appeared.

A joke made the rounds that even the System was through with ex-Baron Billy. The next steps depended on what faction people were aligned with. A group of minor nobles with little to no land themselves decided to pay a huge fee to travel to the nearest town to Rowan Keep in the hopes of laying claim to some of the lands. Hurlsford only had a Tier one stone that would need mana transferred to it for each teleport. Mana was in short supply at the moment, with a third of the system down and the rest unreliable.

The functionaries from the Office of Accountability favored staying at a nearby inn until Rowan Keep managed to get their stone working. Others were heading to Northguard, a far cheaper teleport but a much longer trip by horseback. The sound of many armored feet marching in unison grew louder and louder, interrupting the plans of the vultures clustered in the courtyard. A phalanx of sixty-four Legion veterans in full armor with shields, pike, javelins, and gladius marched into the courtyard.

Preceding the Phalanx was a group of men and women in older Legion uniforms. Two were blind, seven used a crutch or peg leg, and five were missing an arm or hand. All bore the minor scars of a life of battle. A wagon with ten soldiers who could not walk at all came next. The Phalanx were followed by ten wagons of supplies. Leading the soldiers was a person familiar to anyone spending time in the capital. General Themis was armed as her soldiers, with the exception of her enchanted Thornwood Spear.

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"My, my. So many people here to see me off. I guess it's a slow day in this nest of vipers if you have so much time to sit around." Many of the bureaucrats stiffened and the nobles scowled and thought about speaking. None did, proving they had at least some intelligence to their name.

"Is there a hold-up? I'm on a tight schedule and need to be in Rowan Keep before sunset." She addressed the gaggle of mages managing the teleport stone, one of several stones in Wolfsburg.

"Apologies, General Themis, but Rowan Keep is not responding. The signal has come and gone these last few days." Rastfian Earth-Mage was monitoring the signal himself, taking no chances of another misunderstanding. Themis looked at the sun.

"Check again." He did and then shouted so everyone could hear.

"I have a strong signal from Rowan Keep, and they're pushing mana through to us. Clear the area around the stone if you know what's good for you." Indeed, the stone was glowing, a sure indication it was taking on mana from somewhere. A vast amount of mana, it seemed, enough for many teleports.

"Incoming transference from Rowan Keep. If anyone so much as loads a cantrip, I'll embed you into the ground for a year and a day." His caution proved a good thing. As he had before, the Butcher appeared, even larger this time, and pulling a wagon. He was holding a bladed staff in one hand, the envy of any Fire Mage, the Infused Heat inside ready if needed. He looked at the soldiers, then over to Rastfian.

"I guess a half dozen mages wasn't enough? You called in the Legion this time." There was a moment of silence before he grinned and looked at Themis.

"Good to see you, General." She stepped up and shook his hand.

"Good to see you, Butcher. Still carrying around that horrible pig-sticker, are you? When are you going to get some sensible weapons." Ozzy smiled, "Got these in the smoke. A bit heavy for most people, but I like them." He handed her one of his flensing hatches, and she raised an eyebrow as she felt its weight.

"Too heavy for me, but I heard a strange story about an arm wrestling match, so I bet you can swing both and make it look easy."

"Tools of the trade. What's a Butcher without a fine pair of cleavers? But I'm holding you folks up and will get out of your way. I've got a load of timber to take to my shop. I have some repairs to do before I open up." He walked away, pulling the heavy wagon behind him full of ironwood timbers. Themis watched him go and then walked to the stone, escorted by sixteen retired soldiers and more in a wagon.

"Follow by sixteens, then the wagons. No sense overloading the system." A second later she and her group were gone, and more soldiers mounted the stone. Within a minute, all the troops were gone and the wagons were being moved up. Behind the soldiers, the group ready to carve up Gadobhra lined up, worried by the speed with which the Legion phalanx had disappeared, but thrilled that the Emperor was moving so quickly to consolidate his hold on the ancient city.

Themis looked around the courtyard, then down at the large, circular teleport stone. It was glowing brightly with shining silver runes moving mana around as it charged for the next transfer. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She could see that there had been a battle here recently. The floor was shattered in several spots, part of a wall missing, and there were piles of shattered wood and barrels piled up in a corner. Looking up to the top of the main tower, she saw a tall man looking down at her.

He sketched a salute that she returned, before disappearing. Not unexpected, after a priest of Ares had delivered the message that she should visit this out of the way keep by sundown today. The Baron and Baroness walked up and bowed to her. She hadn't seen them since the strange war that had leveled the town. Baron William was smiling broadly, "Would you like a tour? We're quite proud of the improvements we've made."

"Lead on. I was told this was something I needed to see." Rastfian stopped the first group of nobles before they mounted the stone. They had been required to wait some time after the Legion was gone, at the request of Rowan Keep. They were anxious and upset about the further delay, but now the signal had come that Rowan was once again receiving visitors. There was just one more detail"I'm so sorry, gentlemen and ladies, but I must insist on payment first.

As I'm sure you know, we have a shortage of mana and the cost of operation has increased dramatically. I'm sure you understand."

"Balderdash! I can see from here that stone has plenty of mana with more pouring in!" Baronette Eliza Featherwind was anxious to see the new lands where she hoped to carve off a small estate, but she was loathe to spend what little gold she had on her person. Being the 5th daughter of nine children meant a small allowance. Rastfian bowed.

"You are perceptive, Baronette, but in this case, that mana was graciously provided by the Baron of Gadobhra, and you aren't on my list of people he likes. Payment please, or I'll sadly ask that you head to the back of the line. Unless of course, you don't mind leaving that lovely Tiger-Eye ring as collateral?" Eliza removed the ring from her finger and handed it over. Rastfian gave her a receipt, witnessed by two other mages.

Her hopes of recouping the money quickly ended when she arrived at Rowan Keep and saw General Themis congratulating Baron William and Baroness Layla on a job well done. Corporate Announcement The Baron and Baroness of Gadobhra have completed a major engineering project and negated their tax bill for the prior year. Negotiations will now begin for the next year. For similar deals, please set up an appointment with the Imperial Office of Taxation.

The City of Gadobhra has earned 30, 000 building points for the construction of a fully equipped Legion Fortress and a Tier 5 Teleportation Stone. The Town of Sedgewick has earned 10, 000 building points. God-Emperor Varn has earned 250 building points for expanding his footpath leading to the Empire. Lady Vandemere of the Shire of Tesladyne has earned 1000 building points for the construction of a seaside resort and small shipyard.

Brother Bobo has earned 1000 building points for the discovery of the Unseen Library of Mor-Ankhpok, and the construction of a new Scriptorium. Someone has checked out all the books, but you won't find better empty shelves anywhere in the world.