World Witout Wizards: Guard

In half an hour a lot of people crowded around the ruins of Greystle's house. The tired soldiers had gone to rest, new soldiers replaced them. Torches shone everywhere and I was surprised to recognize the Baron among the guys, clearing the rubble. He was dressed in a leather jacket and pants instead of his luxury camisole. The Baron worked on a par with all, helping to carry the logs. No one thought about resting although it was nighttime. I went to Riny, helping him lift a log.

"Why are you working, Sergeant?" Riny asked breathless, "have your wounds already healed?"

"Your Excellency, I cannot idle around when everybody else is working."

"Get out of here! Now!" he commanded. I knew I had to obey; I was exhausted. There were plenty of strong guys around who were working better than me. My wounds hurt, especially the cut on my stomach. I sat down on the anvil and began to ponder.

Suddenly it hit me. The anvil! I remembered, how I had forged the weapon with dad. There should have been a magic sword under the anvil! It's worth a few gold coins. I will pay my debt!

I took a torch and walked around the anvil, trying to remember my father's actions. I got on all fours and looked at it again. There must be a hole somewhere. I found the hole and put my finger in it, felt the iron loop, and pulled it toward me. There was a faint click. Now I need to push the anvil off to the side.

Strength Check

Base 1

Bonus 0

Dice Roll 1

Requirement 4

Failure

I tried to push the iron thing aside. I wished I hadn't done that. My stitches opened up, and my wound bled. Roaring, I fell to the cold stone floor, clutching my stomach. The pain was unbearable.

Attention, injury

Penalty to 'Strength', 'Dexterity' and 'Stamina'-1

Receive medical treatment or wait until regeneration restores the tissue completely

"What are you doing, you bastard? Do you want to kill yourself ?!" Riny yelled, and kicked me angrily. "Lieutenant, find a healer for this jerk! Have the doctor stitch him up again."

"Now," the Baron turned to me, "tell me why you started moving the anvil? Are you crazy with grief?"

"No," I could hardly hiss, "your Excellency. There's a hiding place underneath."

"What are you talking about? Tell me, Michael. Were your parents' free citizens?"

"That's right, sir. They bought this land and then built the forge and the house here."

"Well…" He thought for a few seconds, stroking his beard, his gloves stained with soot. "I've already given you Oulsast's estate. Unless you can prove that this land was purchased by the free citizens of the Empire, everything in it will be handed over to the HAND. I mean, caches and treasure…"

"How can I prove that, your Excellency?"

"That's your business. I know you're right; the magic confirms you're not lying. But I need a proof. Do you have any doc.u.ments? A bill of sale, for example?"

I froze in surprise. Of course, I'd never had anything like it. Perhaps my father or mother had these doc.u.ments and probably kept them somewhere. But they never showed them to me. My plans to pay the debt had failed.

Strong Fist is going to take everything from me. I doubt I'll find much money in Oulsast's house.

"Bring three biggies over here!" Riny ordered loudly. "Come on. Move that piece of iron for me."

"As you command," a giant ran up and replied immediately. He was three heads taller than me, his shoulders were incredibly broad, and he resembled a draft animal. The giant put his arms around the anvil and lifted it. I thought I could hear his muscles cracking from the strain.

Luck Check

Base 1

Bonus 0

Dice Roll 4

Requirement 4

Failure

"I can't, sir, can I get a crowbar?" The giant stepped back from the anvil. I wondered why he couldn't do it, I almost managed to. Apparently, the mechanism locked itself when I released the loop.

"If this giant can't do it," the Baron thought for a moment, "is there anything valuable here, Michael?"

Intelligence Check

Base 0

Bonus 0

Dice Roll 3

Requirement 4

Failure

"I don't know what's there, your Excellency. Dad used to keep weapons and armors here. I wanted to get it and repay my debt."

"Is it valuable?" Riny raised his eyebrows. "Bring the engineers here!"

A serious fuss arose. The anvil was blown up, watered with acid, dismantled by crowbars and hooks. After a while the Baron got tired of waiting, and ordered to bring a warhog.

I saw this animal for the first time in my life. Five years ago, a giant boar used to raid our village, the villagers have hunted it for a long time. But that boar was a tame pig compared to the beast that stood before me. It was taller than me and covered with heavy metal plates, like it was going to fight someone and not uproot an anvil. Its fangs were like daggers, and I could hardly grab its muzzle with my hands. The hog had a thick strong chain around its neck.

"Step back," the Baron commanded.

"Come on!" the rider slapped the hog on the back. The beast's legs tensed; the chain strained and creaked. After a few moments the iron-shod hoofs sank into the fallen tree near the building's foundation. The anvil began to bend and crack slowly. I'd never heard such a sound before.

"Get away from the chain!" I yelled a few seconds before the crash.

Dexterity Check

Base 1

Bonus -1 (trauma)

Dice Roll 3

Requirement 1

Failure

I could see what would happen next and acted intuitively: I jumped at the Baron, knocking him to the ground; a moment later the chain hit the wall, throwing sparks just near where we stood.

"What are you doing, you bastard?! It's attempted murder!" one of the lieutenants yelled, holding a long thin sword blade to my throat.

"Wait," Riny stood up and patted his bodyguard on the shoulder, "the boy thought that the chain would hurt me. Thank you for your concern, Michael. But keep in mind, by knocking me to the ground, you've insulted me and all my officers. If you wanted to save me, you had to shield me. I forgive you this time. You still have ten days to learn the etiquette."

"I beg your pardon, sir. I didn't mean to offend or hurt you."

"Fine. What happened to the chain?" Riny asked one of the soldiers.

"It broke, sir. This is the strongest chain we've ever had."

"What about the anvil?"

"It's unharmed. There's something else holding it. It's not just mounted to the stone, or we would have moved it long ago."

"Well, this blacksmith was very clever. I heard that the mountain clan dwarves were experts in storing treasures. Nobody could get to their hoard. Let's leave this anvil here. Have you checked all the rooms?"

"There is a bas.e.m.e.nt here, your Excellency. A simple lock hangs on the door. We can easily remove it and reach inside."

"Do it and find the appraiser. We've spent too much time here!"

In a few minutes, the soldiers were able to penetrate into the small underground, where our family kept their valuables; the Baron's servants began to carry out arms and armor.

I knew that my father had worked a lot, but only now I realized how industrious and thrifty he was. He had manufactured a lot of things: axes, swords, spears, arrows, shields…

"Well," the Baron muttered thoughtfully, "what will the appraiser say?"

"Good stuff, your Excellency. They aren't made of expensive wavy or rainbow steel, but the product is much better than the usual items. The total cost of the products is two and a half gold coins."

"Wow," Riny exclaimed, "we're lucky. Well, load everything up and take it to our headquarters."

"Excuse me," I tried to argue, "These things were made by my father and kept in our forge."

"If you find the doc.u.ments, proving that you own the land, all this will be yours. So, while this is the Empire's property, or, to be more precise, my property. Because I am the governor of the HAND. The discussion is over."

"Orcs!" somebody yelled from inside our house.