More BOG! Starting chapter 582. Ribs off the grill and cooking in the oven. Much sleep attained, and the weather is cool and perfect. A good day for writing. This is a first draft, may have some awkward bits. But I don't stop to proofread when the ideas are flowing.======================================
It was a very tired Ben who greeted the dawn. In addition to drinking long into the night with the Jarls and Warriors of the tribes, he had expended all of his mana healing the injured when he realized how many of the people sleeping on the pallets in the shadowy building were hurt. Two shamans and many women and men with small healing skills had exhausted themselves already and welcomed the visiting shaman with his powerful spells and endless mana. Broken bones were common. The large monsters had crashed through houses and scattered the inhabitants. They made games of throwing rocks and trees, scooping up and eating those they could catch, especially the sheep, which they could devour entire flocks of and still be hungry. Ben unpacked every healing potion he had on him, and left those with the healers. There were murmurs from those watching as he used the healing phoenix fire again and again, providing relief and bringing back several people from lingering deaths.Near to collapse, he was sat by the fire with all the food he could eat, with Cragstone and Redhoof watching over him. Then, as the sun rose, he walked outside, followed by the few people who hadn't passed out from drinking. Cragstone clapped him on the back. "A good idea. A man should appreciate the start of the day, especially when he has so few left." Ben said nothing, listening. Finally, he heard the sound of distant hooves and then Mudhead came over a hill, racing through the grass faster than any of the Jarl's had ever seen a horse move. He came straight to Ben, lowering his head, and Ben hugged him, then produced an apple from his pocket. Goodboy came running up, eyeing Mudhead with mixed emotions. The horse whinnied, the Snarlfang growled, and somehow they came to an agreement. Ben produced a large bone from the night before and tossed it to Goodboy, inwardly relieved. His arrangement with his two partners wasn't the same, and he'd been worried about calling Mudhead. But he needed speed this morning.Cragstone was the only one who felt confident enough to walk up to the horse. "A Legendary Steed. He's beautiful. Such a steed could command his weight in gold in stud fees, and anyone would pay."A group of mares were crowding close to the edge of a nearby corral, whinnying and trying to get the stallion's attention. Mudhead glanced their way and winked. Ben sighed, "Maybe with other horses. This one is happy to do the job for free any chance he gets. That's one of the things we can talk about when I get back. For now, think about what I said, and talk with your people."Cragstone shook his head, "There is no need. I know their minds, and the Jarl's told me their opinions last night. You will deal only with me." He turned his head to look at the woman in a floppy witch's hat playing with several children. "And maybe Tamiq, if it suits her. She is as powerful as any of the Council, but her mind wanders at times to strange places. She spent too many years cursed and hanging upside down. Ride fast, and return if you can. If not, write your book."Ben mounted, and a golden glow enveloped Mudhead, himself, and Goodboy. Then the roan began to run, faster and faster, the Snarlfang panting but keeping up. Cragstone turned to the drunken Jarls around him. "Get everyone up. We work until we drop. The giants will not find us unprepared this time."In Gadobhra, Ozzie and his companions were arriving by teleporter. They'd moved as quickly as they could to the nearest working teleporter, and been in Gadobhra a minute later. The Butcher walked over to Vladimir and Damien, "We're going to stage some wagons here soon, full of supplies and people. Hurlsford has a working teleporter now, doesn't it?"Vladimir smiled with pride, "It does indeed. It was equal parts hard work and inspired child's play to repair the broken apparatus. Just one of many projects we are undertaking.""And not even with a one in a thousand chance of sending you to your destination naked. So boring."Ozzy grinned at him, "Boring can be good. I imagine being able to get projects finished without the Inquisition showing up at inconvenient times is something you've learned to enjoy.""Well....yes. It's quite amazing to have access to such a nice supply of raw materials, and time to actually use them all. But, dash it all, I want more challenges. We are chomping at the bit to begin a really big project, but this war is making it difficult."The Butcher nodded, "Sure is, but it's almost over, one way or another. Ben and Diego briefed me on your 'big project' since you may need some heavy lifting to get started. But if you have some time, I may have a small teleportation puzzle for you to figure out. Non-human stuff. Probably beneath you...."Vladimir didn't give Damien a chance to talk. "We'd love to take a crack at anything you bring us. Happy to help.""Great. We'll talk when I get back from this little expedition. Sort of a rush job, keep that thing warmed up and I'll send word when we're ready to start." He hurried away and Damien turned to Vladimir. "Must you always be so generous with our time? You didn't even haggle."The half-elf began the calibrations for sending heavy wagons to Hurlsford, "Because I am intelligent enough to know who to haggle with, and who to do favors for without asking a price. The Butcher is certainly in the latter category. And we owe him a debt, along with many other people."Damien ground his teeth, "I do not acknowledge any debts I didn't agree to."Vladimir's face was impassive, his elven logic overriding dwarven exasperation, "And yet, you still owe them. These strange people have made such a chaotic environment that you and I are barely noticeable. Dealing with them demanded the best the Inquisition could send. There are few who would look at the two of us and not call for fire and pitchforks. I find the situation ideal, and so should you. We can shake the heavens, and usher in a glorious new day for science. It makes sense to haggle and deal with Diego, Gustavus, and the rulers of this delightful barony. They are all transactional people. But the Shepherd, the Butcher, the Barmaid, and your clever nephew play by different rules. They have a long game in mind, and I want to see what it is.""How about I haggle twice as hard with Diego and Gustavus in exchange for going easy on them?""Ah, a good thought. Please do that."Damien grinned, "I so look forward to recreating the grand teleport and power system for the Empire. Especially when I will hold the ability to shut it down again on a whim."Vladimir slapped him on the back, "Excellent. Those good thoughts will make you happy and keep you working quickly. And just in time. I see wagons being loaded at the Butcher's sausage factory that will arrive soon."They both turned as the the thunder of hooves filled the air. Mudhead came through the front gate of Gadobhra with an albino Snarlfang in tow, scaring the hell out of lurking ghouls and gristle daemons. They shot past the ACME building, slowing down as they made a turn around the Engineering and Experimental Magic buildings, ending up near the sausage factory where the Snarlfang sent the minions screaming into the factory as it leaped to the top of one of the wagons they were loading, and stole an entire barrel of sausage. Ben waved to Damien and Vladimir but didn't stop as he headed to the ACME building.Vladimir turned to Damien, "Impressive speed. But I wonder, didn't you once make squirrel food than enhanced their speed?""I did. The little things moved so fast that they bounced off of the walls until they knocked themselves out. I tried recording their speed outside, but they took off like small rockets, their tails on fire, and never returned.""Had you thought of what you could do with groats?"Damien grinned, "We'll get started as soon as we expedite this little excursion and get it on its way. Send me to Hurlsburg. I'll terrorize the junior mage there and show him how to overcharge a stone by 20%."Damien disappeared just as Ben was walking into the ACME building. Outside, Goodboy was devouring the barrel of sausage. Traveling while under Mudhead's enchantments had burned calories and left him ravenous. Ben scratched his head, "Will this fill you up? If not, steal another. Make sure you fill up too, Mudhead. We won't be here long. The two animals took his advice, with Goodboy stealing another barrel of sausage and Mudhead kicked in the door of a storage shed and appropriated a barrel of highest-quality groats. For desert, Goodboy found a gristle daemon who made the mistake of lurking too close. With full bellies, they settled down for some rest and regaled each other with their best 'Two-legger' jokes.Ben, meanwhile, had rushed into the ACME building and found that the Baron was already in a meeting with Ozzy and Suzette. Billy was pacing back and forth in front of a chalkboard filled with notes about the problem he'd been tossed."So, let me get this straight: We had to worry about a Necrowolf and a horde of zombie wolves, a negative on any balance sheet, but Ben and Rolly managed to flip that over to an asset, using them against the Winter army. Winter was a threat, but they started a war that is making us a lot of money, but aren't a good long-term business partner because they sent assassins, spies, and an army of wolves to eat our peasants. Half the Winter army, its general, and most of its wizards and knights got blown up by a magical nuke. The nuke also took out the pain-in-the-ass Baron to the south of us, and improved the weather. As a bonus, the wolves are gone, and we don't have to worry about them coming back. Am I clear on all this?"Ozzy gave him a thumbs up. Billy moved on to the next point. "Down south, the other half of the Winter army composed of barbarian horsemen who look like everyone thinks Vikings looked like, dead guys, and big monsters were giving the Duchess fits, and it was a toss-up who was going to win the battle, even with the advantages of me graciously, and unknowingly, sending some of my skilled and deadly Contract Workers to get involved."Layla took a sip of her wine, and grinned evilly, "Don't forget the evil witch on the Empire's 'Most Wanted' list that the Duchess now knows you've been harboring in Sedgewick. Luckily, she was an asset in both battles. What's a crime in normal times is an asset during a war. But you just know that's going to come up again."Billy shrugged, "No problem. Gadobhra is a forward thinking barony where we give everyone a second chance and work to reform even the most evil criminal."Layla thought for a moment and nodded, "I like it, and think Suzette should be in charge. If anyone can make that sound good in court, it's her."Ozzy poked her with an elbow. "Congrats. Another job."She rolled her eyes, "Not like Titania hasn't been sort of my project all along, together with a Circle of White Witches that bends all sort of rules. But sure, I'll take it on."Billy pointed at his board again, "The Duchess's situation improved when nuke took out a lot of the frozen monsters and dead guys, and the horsemen turned tail and headed for the border. Northern war looks order...except for the small detail that someone upended to Winter Org chart and put the monsters on top and the puny humans on the bottom. The barbarians lost their land and are sitting at the border of the Empire and the North, with the Duchess coming from one directions and gigantic bullies from the other. Which, I could care less about. Anyone who was part of an army that screwed with my barony deserves what they get. Right?"Ozzy shook his head. "Except for a few things. One of which is that the lands they are on are now green pastures and prime real estate, and are part of the land grant the Emperor gave you."Billy shrugged, "More land is good. Better land is better. But you're going to to me there's a downside to all of this, aren't you?"Ozzy smiled at him, "Part of the excellent service I offer. First off, the giants and barbarians might join forces. The Duchess can't allow an invigorated and aggressive army to start rolling up the Empire. None of those troops care about a little hot weather. She'll have to attack, preferable before they link up. Fighting both groups is bad. But so is fighting the barbarians and then getting hit by a bunch of hungry, twenty-five foot tall monsters, back up by ogres and yeti. They could easily push down past Northguard and leave us isolated up here."Billy said, "We have teleporters and Rowan Keep.""Until the Empire panics, pulls all those soldiers out of Rowan and either sends them South to fight the orcs, or to defend Wolfsburg. Plus, if the Duchess and her army get destroyed, there will be a shitstorm of accusations, at least half of which will be thrown at you and the Baroness. She needs support, and she needs it fast. She's put in orders for supplies and war machines, and hinted that anything else you could do would be greatly appreciated.""Appreciation doesn't pay the bills."Ozzy shook his head, "In this case, it sure as hell will. She's a noble, and the good type. Not some corporate flunky. She rewards loyalty and will fight for those people that fight for her. She was happy with how you took in all the peasants from Northguard and I know she took a beating in court over it."Layla said, "Billy..."The baron took a deep breath, "Yeah, yeah. I see it. I just like stuff that's written down a bit better. Ok, so, we support the Duchess, clear out everyone off the new land, and she helps us keep it, and out of the hands of a horde of petty nobles who will come sniffing around. Land always pays off in the long term, especially if it's as good as you say. But shit, it feels like I'm going to be putting out a lot of people, a huge amount of resources, pray it gets there in time and she can win one or two battles. Not a good bet, but I can see how doing nothing could have a bigger downside."Ben had been lurking for a bit, and chose to step into the room. He walked into the room, bowed to the Baroness, blew a kiss to Suzette, and said, "Well, let me see if I can make those odds a little better in your favor. I found a clue that blows this case wide open."