[BigJMoney]

Month 4 – The Year Of THE HAG

Erkeborn, the commander of the Ulmish armies and Prophet of Yohlla swiftly kicked the side of one of the fallen. This one didn’t look like there were any wounds on him, but when the body rolled over, he noticed from the loll of the head that the neck was snapped clean. Sometimes the angle the maul hits the head causes the neck to break without leaving any bruising. A good kill. He knew that his armies of men armed with mauls, hammers and axes must seem strange to some of these other people. After all, they had rites and rituals that revolved around cutting and spilling blood. It was barbaric. To the Ulmish mind, it was better to crush your opponent beneath hammer and foot. It was cleaner, and there was a sense of power and dominion associated with it. Gynter’s men had performed admirably, but this was an easy enough battle that Ulm probably could have won it on their own. Gynter was given the task of roaming the land and quelling any remaining dissenters. He took to it with a sly grin, probably knowing he would keep any valuables he found for himself. Erkeborn had other priorities. He would dedicate this land to Yohlla, overseeing the construction of a temple here to help educate the local mountain people. In many ways, these people weren’t unlike his own, and they had already begun to recognize Yohlla’s worthiness already. He had seen it in the eyes of their quaking soldiers as they fought.

One day, a scout returned to him bearing a body. The body was Bune’s. Erkeborn was angry. “Well? If you return, you must have important news for me, right?” This scout had never known Erkeborn before his new reputation as Prophet, and was uneasy speaking to him.

“Ss – sir… we found him dead from his injuries… we retrieved the body first. Look, here is the report scroll!” Erkeborn was grateful for the skill of his spies. Their technique was to record what they had found on report scrolls that in case they should perish and be found, then the scrolls could be retrieved. The news on the scroll was grave. To the southeast of Robber Home was a land known as Machaka. In this land, the people worshipped a god, but the name was unknown to him. His report found that there were giant creatures that were kept on enormous metal shackles. To feed them, a horse was brought near the creature. At first, the creature remained motionless, then with surprising quickness it would jump on the horse, biting it once before retreating. The horse would fall down screaming, then die after several moments of agony. The creatures fed on these corpses. The report also mentioned something about them spouting flames when angered. The scout seemed to think the land was teeming with people, but he was not able to write again before the report ended. “We think he was attacked by hostile natives, but managed to hide himself before he lost his blood. I didn’t dare… enter the land without updating you, sir.” The commander looked his scout directly in the eye to tell him his next assignment. There was no use going easy about the fact that he’d be replacing Bune in that region.

Inside the dark walled throne room of the Great Keep, an old man named Ruprecht was standing before the thrones of the lords of Ulm. The soft voices of the old men echoed resoundingly throughout the great stone chamber.

“But magic is not permitted in this land, Ruprecht. It is a distraction. The people must never fail to work hard, and magic makes things too easy on them. You know the law.” The lord who sat in the middle was speaking to Ruprecht, his speech confident with finality.

Ruprecht replied, “You have been assessing taxes too long, great lord of Ulm. It is too bad you have forgotten the rights of your subjects in that time. I do not wish to practice magic, I wish to gain access to the ancient laboratory for the purpose of research.”

“And what would you use the magical research for, other than for casting spells, Ruprecht? Go back to your home in the mountain, you know we cannot allow you in there.” said another one of the lords; he to the right of the last one.

Ruprecht replied again, but with anger this time, “Look in your great book of laws, old, useless men, and see that a master smith is never to be denied entry into the library or the Great Forge for any reason! You will see that if you deny a smith his duty, your honor is forfeit, and your inheritance as well!”

In unison, the men on the thrones rose and began to shout and yell curses at the man standing on the floor below them. They never got the chance to ask the guards to see him out, because he quickly left.