AN: "Cookies" → Speech / spoken air quotes
"Cookies" → Thoughts
"Cookies" → Spells / Martial Arts
"Cookies" → Message spell speech
I don't own Overlord
Have fun, enjoy and please review
Chapter 48
→ Karak-Ar-Araz Council chambers / Gongrimm ←
It was the early morning within Ar-Araz and news had spread like wildfire. The older dwarfs were eager for retribution, revenge and in general a reckoning with their hated enemy. The younger dwarfs meanwhile had fear in their hearts as they thought the foe of their kin was exterminated.
Tumult thus swept through the streets and tried to take hold of the city as a whole. But the presence of the proud elderly kept the youngsters at bay, for now.
Ironspine, after the skirmish, had guarded the gates the whole night and would switch with Fargrimm. The miners meanwhile were ordered to get the explosive under their karak mined as fast and careful as possible. He hasn't defended his home for the last 290 years only to lose it in the end.
"You can go, Gongrimm. Though the council is summoning you. Sounds like they want a report and are looking to retire you." his apprentice told him.
"Then I will go now. Send any volunteers that may come to mine the bluestone." Ironspine ordered and the apprentice nodded.
After that he got to his home, washed the sweat and blood from himself. His wife had greeted him back. She had even worn her old ranger uniform and crossbow. The mood was great for him and he remembered the good old days when he was younger and without back pain.
Sadly reality caught up to him and he went all the way to the palace. Once there he was again to climb the stairs towards the council's chamber. The back was hurting more and more with each step on the stairs. It got worse and worse with every visit he had to do. Ironspine also knew that this council hoped for him to stop his visits. That would mean they could decide over the clans Ironspine and Firebeard. The last one was hard to look over, since Firebeards did not swear loyalty towards the high-king, but towards their craft. To get both clans out of the equation would be great for the council, since then the clans would be without protection.
"But not with me." Gongrimm hissed in his mind as he opened the chamber door.
"... Thus I propose to enforce the oath of loyalty for those…" he heard.
All heads turned to the opened door and the fury ridden face of Gongrimm.
"Continue, I dare you. But remember that I take my oaths seriously. You should also remember that my brother has a higher ranking than the current high-king." he challenged.
"What is he still doing here? Shouldn't he be fighting at the gates?" a youngster shouted.
"I have a better question. Why did I only see longbeards of the clans Firebeard, Powdernose and Ironspine. What of the other clans? Clan Undergrund, clan Zhufbeard? The others? Where were they?" his voice boomed, anger filling the air.
"Why should we trust a senile old…" another one tried.
"While I was defending our kins home, you were filling this very room with hot air. Now let me to my seat and we can start with the important shit, like the skaven attack last night." his voice bellowed through the chamber.
A small way formed itself and he calmly, or as calm as he could be, walked through it. Once at his chair he sat down, placing his hammer beside him. An angry glare searched the room and nearly everyone squinted under it.
Just when Gongrimm looked to bring the discussion towards last night's attack the chattering, if quietly, started to stir again. How he hated this council and politics in general…
→ Skavenblight / Bubonica ←
It was a fun time to be alive, at least for Bubonica. The whole council was in uproar, screaming and squeaking at each other. She meanwhile polished her left claw. After all, nothing in her domain was in immediate danger. The only one in danger was Squeal Skullsnatcher, but he would manage if only because of his strength.
Luckily he hadn't tattled on them, probably knowing the result that would have happened. Even funnier was the fact that he couldn't demand anything of her.
The payment to get his potential lucrative job? All under the table and thus untraceable, though all would believe him for the fact that such maneuvers were established forms of skaven politics.
His warriors? All fell against the beard-things. Sadly necromancy wasn't in their repertoire. It would certainly be interesting to have such a tool at disposal.
His reputation? Gone.
Honor? They were skaven, there never was and never will be anything the other species consider 'honor'.
Bubonica was already thinking of going for the kill here, but also knew that Zip-Zap Crippletail was watching her move. If she would go for the kill he would most certainly learn from this. She wouldn't allow the grander price to slip away because she got inpatient.
"...What about those pesky-annoying beard-things? We need-want bluestone!" Another councilmember inquired.
"Plan a mass assault-attack?" Squeal proposed.
"Plan didn't work-funktion last time." Bubonica threw in halfheartedly.
Soon the hall was again filled with bickering. The other eleven members each trying to preserve as much of their proverbial cakes as possible. Bubonica sighed and already made plans to take the annoying karak.
"I have plan-plan. My clan takes beard-things hold-home." she heard another councilmember boast.
She smirked to herself. Another victim that is trying to weaken itself.
Suddenly all agreed and soon they would move.
She got out of the meeting and began to walk away when she was interrupted by an unexpected councilmember. Sneak Nightsnout was intercepting her. He wore his old coat made of beard-things beards. Three daggers were at his belt, ready to be in combat. His clan was Clan Critz and specialized in assassination.
"How interesting-funny." she smirked and he gnarled.
"I have an idea for a packt-deal." he said and pointed towards a more distant enclosure.
Bubonica followed him and prepared a vial of blood-skull-pox, just in case she wouldn't survive the city wouldn't as well. They went in complete silence.
It unnerved her that she was barely noticing the lack of smell around him. Especially because part of the skaven language worked over smell.
"I have a plan. I think you like-love it." he smirked.
"What plan-idea?" She inquired.
"I need a force to attack-assault once we are ready. Had used those tunnels-shaft 200 years ago. Beard-things make it unusable-worthless." he sighed.
"What do I get-snatch out of it?"
"Split profit-loot?" he proposed and she smirked.
"Good packt-deal. I can send slaves-meatshields today." she extended her hand and he retreated from it.
"Good. Will start plan-plan today. Send scheme-plan to you later." he smirked and then melted into his own shadow.
"I can't wait for so much-many. When can I have another slice-piece of my price?" she sighed, already daydreaming of her sweet starv at home.
→ Karak-Ar-Araz / Ironspine ←
The last few hours the council bickered and bickered on. This grated his nerves even more and he was ready to turn them all to paste. Luckily he kept calm and just waited for the perfect moment to speak up.
That moment came when the others for once were thinking.
"Now that all are quiet, we can talk about the important part. The skaven are back and we need to deal with them! First we stripmine the bluestone and destroy it as fast as possible. Then we fill the hole up with water until either those vermin come out or until we are sure they can't get under our karak." Ironspine 'proposed'.
The younger dwarfs looked between each other while the older dwarfs, with determination in their eyes, agreed.
"Good. My apprentice and I will take shifts while it is mined. Any problem with that?" he looked around.
Again nothing was brought against him.
"Then the other clans prepare their longbeards. Messengers should also be dispatched. One to our new trading partner and the others to the other karaks. Bring the civilians to safety and gather the throngs." Ironspine continued, daring them to go against him.
None accepted the challenge in his eyes.
After this spontaneous inflammation of his old self, Ironspine relaxed and was plagued by stings in his back, again. But it seemed that his outburst would save a few dwarven lives down the line. At least he hoped it would.
Suddenly a poke got him out of his thoughts. He looked to the perpetrator and found Orgel Powdernose. He nodded and Gongrimm sighed as he nodded himself. The council room was empty and only the two stood there.
"Must have been a terrible night." Orgel said.
"It could have been worse. But we got rid of a few grudges. At least that is something. Though the members of my brother's clan are getting a bit… angry." Gongrimm grumbled and Orgel shuddered.
"So you think they will call for a reckoning, again?" Orgel inquired.
"Most definitely. An old enemy resurfaced? He has far too many grudges? Even without that they would be happy to beat something other than steel for a change." Ironspine grumbled.
Since his brother was missing he was the regent of clan Firebeard in the council. It didn't mean he was the clanhead, that was still his brother. But since he wasn't here nor declared dead none of the others could take that mantle.
And the Firebeards had quite a reputation. Smiths, runesmiths and runelords were already stubborn, resilient and aggressive. It wasn't unheard of that one of them beat you up and searched for a reason later. But they were also extremely loyal to their friends and generally liked to help the dwarven species as a whole. Ironspine could only describe the relations this clan had with the others as 'complicated'. Clan Firebeard was thus special, and truth be told, Gongrimm after 200 years still hadn't a clue how his brother kept them in check.
It didn't help their standing that they only held loyalty to their crafts. The standing was so heavy that only clan Ironspine, the miners of the kingdom, and clan Powdernose, thanks to their designs that gave them a change of pace, had something of a relation with them.
"I am just glad that the Firebeards managed to stay calm as long as they had. Though it is most likely the work of Gotrek." Gongrimm whispered.
"How bad is it?" Powdernose shivered.
"Besides their angry grumblings about reckoning that all think they want?" Gongrimm asked.
"Yep. I know they are not the biggest fans of the high-king…" Orgel stated.
"Just yesterday evening they wrote him in their book of grudges, because their requests to mine a new connection to the northern parts were denied, again. I managed to keep them from doing that back when it was uncertain that anyone survived. But with the news that at least some survived… Beside that they are using copies of his decrees that are aimed to stunt the clan, as toilet paper." Gongrimm sighed as he rubbed the back of his head.
"It was probably Gotreks idea, just to give them a way to express their anger without actually bringing the rage to the whole populace." he thought.
"Oh boy. He should have given at least a toke effort. I told the high-king time and time again that he should consider their position." Orgel shuddered.
"Yep. But he has prepared his own bed and now we hope that this explosive rune doesn't explode in our faces. Luckily I know where I stand, as I hope you do as well. But last night didn't help the karaks' relationship with them. I don't want to know how they are grumbling and fuming right now." Ironspine confessed as he stood up.
"So the other clans truly didn't reinforce you? Not even a small amount?" Powdernose inquired.
"They hadn't. Thus what I said was truly effective. But I must go now. If possible, prepare some of those canons. I want them at the gates and the crews ready." Gongrimm replied. Orgel nodded and gave him transcripts of this council meeting.
After the meeting Ironspine went to tell Halfhand of their new shifts, which his apprentice accepted. Granitetooth meanwhile had prepared shifts for the current longbeards. Sadly the worst thing would be coming soon.
He walked for over an hour, with small breaks for his knee, when he came to the main building of clan Firebeard. Many of its members were fuming outside, walking up and down in unison. Others were going through notes of runes. Old runelords meanwhile grumbled, anger in their eyes, and stroked their anvils.
At that moment Gongrimm thought to turn around and leave the premises before something could happen. Sadly Gotrek had spotted him.
"F***k." he thought as the heads of the Firebeards turned around. He wished he could face the leviathan again, but this time without his brother's help. It would be safer than this dragon before him.
"Finally, what do these basterds want?"
"We should make them pay!"
"They have wronged us, again!"
"When can we have an age of reckonin'?"
Many more unsavory things were thrown at him and Gongrimm waved to get some silence. It didn't help and he heard more and more anger in their voices.
"The good news is that they still didn't manage to pull off their petty games," he began.
"They better don't." an elderly runelord threw in.
"Sadly I will need your help, once again, by guarding the gates against the skaven. I know it is much under the current circumstances…" Gongrimm told them.
"At least we got something for hammerin'."
"I can't wait to test a few runes I learned. I heard they can make heads explode."
"I just finished my 'Anvil of Doom'. Can't wait to test it."
Gongrimm heard and then turned around in shock.
'Anvils of Doom' were conduits for runelords as they multiplied the runemagic to devastating effects. His brother tried to explain to him how it worked exactly, but he only understood that these anvils are like a battery pack. They recharge with magical energy from the area around it. The user, if he is knowledgeable enough, can use runes and charge them with that magic, making them far stronger than normal runes. It made his late brother, at his peak at least, to something Gongrimm could only describe as a power of nature.
It once was thought that they were irreplaceable artifacts, crafted by the white dwarf himself, since none could create a new one. At least until his brother managed to pull that off. The number before then was in the low single digits. Ironspine shuddered at the thought of what these aggression-bundles could do with an army of those.
"You build 'Anvils of Doom's?" he inquired, new fear and respect for his brothers clan seeping into his heart.
"Gondoric managed to pull that off and gave us the notes to his project. It evolved to some rite of passage. Every runelord created his own anvil and it is expected of a runsesmith before he can become a runelord. Though sometimes the runelords decided to build another one. It is quite an enjoyable challenge." Gotrek smiled.
"How many?" Ironspine inquired.
"We currently have 69 runelords and 116 'Anvils of Doom'." one of the elder runelord nodded along.
"The high-king better makes up to this clan. They are now officially terrifying me." Gongrimm thought and held himself.
"Back pain?" Gotrek grinned.
"Yes. Back pain…" he answered.
→ Azerlisia-mountains / Ainz ←
Ainz and Gondo had talked for the whole night, while Shalltear was finishing up her mission. He learned a few more runes and about the dwarfs in general. It was early morning when Zesshi came, still yawning.
"Lord Ainz, Zenbu asks about the convoy." she told him.
"Oh, should have told them to come to a more secured area." he thought before he nodded.
"Bring them down into the city. We will go there ourselves." he ordered and Zesshi nodded before she left.
"Then we should probably begin to move. Do you truly have enough room to store my heritage for the way?" Gondo inquired.
"If not we will make room." Ainz promised and Gondo sighed in relief.
So both of them started to move and got closer to Feo Raidho and Gondos old home. Once there Ainz looked around. Weapons hung from walls, the living quarter was, if dusty, still usable. The workshop itself was a complete mess though.
"What happened?" Ainz asked, more absent mindedly than anything.
"Great-grandfather and I had to leave abruptly. The only reason that they probably haven't eaten the weapons is because they are under the protection of those runes." Gondo told him.
Ainz heard someone open a neighboring door and then close it. Soon the door to the occupied house opened and Zesshi looked inside.
"I already prepared one of the beasts, Lord Ainz." she reported and entered with Zenbu.
"Then, Gondo, would you like to pack your heritage?" Ainz asked.
Gondo beamed up and nodded vigorously.
Eagerly he began to take bag after bag and packed them as full as possible. Zenbu and Zesshi then brought them to one of the beasts and packed them appropriately.
It took them nearly an hour, after which Gondo was finished and prepared the used desk for some tea for all four of them.
Ainz sat down with Zenbu and Gondo while Zesshi unpacked one of her mothers couches.
"Anything else?" Zesshi asked.
"No. We got the books, work material and even the weapons." Gondo said, though his voice cracked suddenly. He stood up and moved towards the center and opened it. He bowed slightly and pulled out two things. One was a set of armor and the other was a small barrel.
"Almost forgot he hid this under his home." Gondo smiled and placed the armor on the table.
It was black and had a leathery texture on the inside. Small scales all over the outside. Every single one had a rune inscribed into it, Algiz if Ainz was correct, and those runes were practically seeping in magic. The scales themselves were made of steel, though looked quite used over the years. The helmet had two featherly wings of metal on the sides. It covered nearly all of the head, except the mouth, eyes and ears. What surprised Ainz though was a foot shaped piece of iron at the left leg of the armor.
"He had lost his left foot in battle and made a new one from the enemy warlord's armor. I already have a plan for it." he heard Gondo answer the silent question.
"I haven't seen such high quality armor in a long time. I think Ironspine has an extremely similar one. Quite some masterpiece…" she smiled and observed it.
"Thanks." Gondo sighed and brought the armor outside.
He returned later and stretched his back.
"Can I ask a question?" Zesshi asked.
"Of course." Gondo smiled, though it was more played than actual happiness.
"Please don't screw me over." Ainz though. He didn't want the dwarf to hate him, since Gondo was a breeze of fresh air at the moment.
"I noticed the tombstone outside. Are you from clan Firebeard or is your family named after them?" Zesshi asked.
"My great-grandfather is Gondoric.."
"Firebeard. Brother of Gongrimm Ironspine?" Zesshi asked.
"Yes. Why?" Gondo inquired.
"I once helped gongrimm. Lord Ainz, could I contact my mother, please?" she asked and Ainz simply gave her a scroll.
Zesshi left and came back a moment later.
"Gondo, I have a proposal." she said, smirking at Ainz.
"O-ho. What kind of proposal?" the dwarf asked, seemingly unsure.
"What would you say if I united you with your family? Of course Nazarick, mothers place, needs some kind of assurance." Zesshi smiled.
Gondo stared at her.
"What kind of assurance?" he asked.
"You see, mother has an interest in rune-magic. She intends to make it a flourishing business. If your clan would be so inclined, my mother could meet them." Zesshi trailed.
"So your mother wants to talk to other dwarfs. Why? I am already leading your lord to Feo Jera." Gondo inquired.
"I am talking about Karak-Ar-Araz." Zesshi smiled and Gondos eyes bulged out before he fell backwards.
Ainz brought him to bed and placed him there.
"Soo, what did Aracha say she intended?" Ainz asked over "Message".
"Mom had placed spiders on the delegation and knows that there are tensions right now. Imagine if we bring one of their clans their future clan head? Not only would we bring the clan into our fold, but also prove that the north is not only existing but also functioning. It will placate us as the good guys." Zesshi smiled.
"It was some merritt. But what about Feo Jera? Zenbu, do you know the way?" Ainz inquired.
"Yes. Lord Ainz." Zenbu said, slightly uneasy.
"At least we can continue that way." Ainz thought.
"I will give Gondo a favor then. Hopefully I can gain his trust that way." Ainz messaged Zesshi.
"Can you stop that please? That staring? I feel like the next meal." Zenbu asked ,already sweating.
"Oh. Sorry." Zesshi smiled.
Soon they heard a moan and Gondo got upright.
"Gondo. How are you?" Ainz asked and Gondo rubbed his temple.
"Much better. But my question remains unanswered." he replied.
"I would owe you one. Name it and I will do my best to fulfill it." Ainz said, raising his right hand.
"I only want to give my great-grandfather a proper funeral and gather the things my clan owns." Gondo replied.
"That is reasonable. Can you tell me more about both?" Ainz asked.
"My great-grandfather died falling into the great rift. The rest of the heirlooms should be at Feo Berkana." Gondo explained.
"Then I will contact you when I either get progress done or I need your help. Does that sound fair?" Ainz promised.
"Then I, with Gondorics heritage, shall go with her. I shall call you friend." Gondo swore and fire was in his eyes.
→ Arwintar Nazarick-mansion / Arachama ←
Arachama had been busy all day. She watched over her egg, had done her paperwork, taught the children and was now cuddling with said children. That was until one of hers had contacted her with a golden opportunity.
She couldn't believe her luck, but here it was.
She sprung into action and prepared to receive her daughter with the guest. Wearing fine dress, ordering the maids and giving following orders. It was a stressful ten minutes, but the idea of seeing her daughter washed all stress away.
The wait was only a few minutes before the typical portal opened and a beast came inside with a dwarf and Zesshi.
"Good evening mother." Zesshi said and sprinted towards her, practically jumping in her hug.
"So this is the guest?" she asked and Zesshi nodded.
"Then we should better be going. "Gate"." Arachama casted and immediately a portal opened. Zesshi, the guest Gondo Firebeard, as she learned, the beast of burden and herself went through.
Once outside they almost stumbled upon a few cloaked dwarfs and Gotrek Softhand. Zesshi fell backwards, Gondo crashed into Gotrek, the beast waltzed around the rangers and Arachama hugged her daughter 'accidentally' in a bearhug.
A few seconds of chaos ensued, where all tried to get order into the group.
"Good evening, lady Arachama. It is truly lucky for us to meet you here." Gotrek smiled.
"Indeed. We might have great news for one of your clans. Is there someone we could talk to? Sadly I don't know to whom I can go with this news." Arachama asked.
"Of course. He will get Gongrimm." Gotrek said and pointed to a younger ranger, who sprinted off.
The other rangers got a bit of distance between Gotrek and the new arrival, which was welcomed by Arachama.
Gondo meanwhile observed everything, from the gate to the surrounding surface.
"Have you ever seen the surface, beardling?" Gotrek asked, a smile on his face.
"I mostly saw parts of the underway or great-grandfather's forge." Gondo answered, already feeling more relaxed.
"So a smith, aren't you?" Gotrek continued and Gondo simply nodded.
"Where are we?" Gondo inquired.
"You dont know that you are at Karak-Ar-Araz?" Gotrek asked in disbelief.
"I grew up in Feo Raidho." Gondo replied, also in disbelief about his location.
→ Karak-Ar-Araz / Gongrimm ←
It had been a hard day for Gongrimm. He tried, and partially succeeded, in calming the clan down. Sadly Gotrek would go soon and thus he would face the angry runelords, rune smiths and smiths alone for the foreseeable future. That was terrible luck on his part.
He was just about to enter his home and already saw his wife when the shout of his name rang through his ear.
"What now?" he asked, turned around and faced a ranger.
"We have something at the gates. Gotrek wants to meet you as soon as possible." the ranger smiled.
"Grolli, I will be back soon? Later? Hopefully tonight?" Gongrimm tried and his wife just kissed him.
"Don't take too long." she said and went back inside.
Gongrimm followed the ranger and got up one step after agonizing steps towards the surface. He was just excited when he couldn't believe his eyes. That was surely his brother when he was young. Though the beard color was slightly off.
"Who is this beardling?" he asked, holding onto his hammer.
"If he says who he is then he is the one my clan craves." Gotrek whispered.
"So he is a descendant of my brother? How do I know that?" he inquired.
Immediately the beardling got to the beast and got out a set of armor. Gongrimm would recognise it everywhere. He wore the same one, if slightly larger, and with one less iron foot.
"This is the armor my great-grandfather had kept hidden." the beardling said, pride in his voice.
"Gotrek, gather clan Firebeard. Meanwhile I will exchange information." Gongrimm said, feeling heavy and depressed.
"Where is my brother, surely he wouldn't abandon a beardling to its fate," he thought.
The group was brought underground where it splitted. Gotrek, with the beast, went towards clan Firebeards home, or 'the forge' as they called it. Meanwhile the rest went to the chambers Gongrimm learned to despise.
"Hi, Gongrimm." he heard and turned.
It was the second shock of the day. He hadn't seen Antilene in a while, but her new looks were definitely new.
"What happened, Antilene?" he asked as they continued to walk.
"I found a new mother a short while back. You can call me Zesshi if you want." she said and he decided to just flow with it.
"It is quite a heavy day for me." he sighed.
"Are you sure we can not help?" Zesshi inquired.
"Oh. Believe it or not, you already did, though we can talk about this later. Now then, all get inside." Gongrimm said as he opened the council chamber.
Once inside he tools some seats for Gondo, as he learned the beardlings name, and himself. Zesshi and the Arachne, which he could have sworn he already saw, reassured him they were comfy on their couches.
"So. You are saying that the beardling is my great-nephew?" Gongrimm sighed as he got his old bones some rest.
"At least all points towards this." Zesshi told him.
"I find it curious. Where is my brother then? He was never one to leave a beardling in peril behind." he threw in.
"He died three years ago." Gondo answered, tears in his eyes.
Gongrimm felt his heart getting heavy. His eyes became watery. This couldn't be.
"He surely is too stubborn to die." he tried.
"Gondoric Firebeard, my great-grandfather died three years ago, as Feo Raidho was evacuated. We were the last to leave the city. We nearly made it to Feo Jera, but at the gates the quagoa got to us. He, d-died t-then by using r-r-runemagic to c-create a g-g-great r-rift." Gondo tried and tears fell down his eyes and onto his beard.
"At least he died a worthy death." Gongrimm tried to cheer himself up before anger overtook him.
"200 years I hoped to see him, only to learn that he died shortly before I could finally talk with him again." Gongrimm thought out loud as he couldn't hold back any more.
They both cried for an hour, no other tone was heard in the chamber. At the hour mark he felt a hug and relaxed.
"Shh. I am sure we can avenge him and settle this grudge soon." he heard a sweet voice whisper in his ears.
He remembered the situation and dried his tears.
"Sorry for the… ehm… behavior." he apologized.
"No problem. I understand the feeling of losing a loved one. I will not hold any grudges for something like that." the older arachne smiled.
"Now then. I will lead Gondo here to 'the forge'. There is a runic artifact, with which we can verify his ancestry. Would you like to accompany us, as I will have business with you after? You could alternatively wait here." he proposed.
"I don't want to put pressure on you. What would be better?" she asked.
"It would probably be better if you stayed here then. I will inform a hammerer and arrange for a meeting with clan Firebeard and you tomorrow." Gongrimm smiled and she nodded.
So Gondo and Gongrimm left the palace and went towards the compound of clan firebeard. The scenery they found was quite impressive. The beast was already unpacked and many of the older dwarfs were a mixture of sad, angry and joyful.
The younger dwarfs though were already copying the books,almost drooling.
"What is going on?" he asked Gotrek.
"Once one of them found the armor of Gondoric they examined the rest. Turns out all of this is either made or written by Gondoric. Now they are all over the place and trying to examine or learn from it." Gotrek snickered.
Light flickered in Gondos' eyes.
"I like this place. Here his legacy can live on." Gondo smiled.
"Then we should proceed." Ironspine sighed.
They got through the ranks easily, barely being noticed by the others. Once inside the group got into a special chamber, where a large gem was on a pedestal. The pedestal was covered in runes and was flooded with runic magic.
"Prick your thumb and three drops of blood should go onto the gem." Gotrek instructed and Gondo followed it.
The gem glowed up in a mixture of gold and fiery red.
"So you are not only a firebeard, but also from the main line." Gotrek smiled, relief in his face.
Shortly after the revelation they exited and were shocked that the runelords, runesmiths and blacksmiths were turning towards them.
"Who is that?"
"He looks similar…"
"But the beard color is slightly off."
"Looks good for a beardling."
"What more great news brings Gongrimm?" the groups grumbled excitedly.
Gongrimm meanwhile had to fight back his surprise. He hadn't heard them this excited in over 150 years.
"This is the great-grandchild of Gondoric Firebeard." Gongrimm announced and all hell broke loose.
The elder looked shocked and then began to cry while the younger immediately brought Gondo into their hold and opened barrels of ale.
A feast broke out and despite Gondos initial decline of ale, he was quickly convinced by some runelords.
"It went over better than expected." Gotrek sighed.
"Indeed. But how will his life change now?" he asked.
"I already heard that they want to 'bring him up to standard' and then some more. He will have quite some hell unto his shoulder. But from what I gathered he is happy with it." Gotrek answered.
"Then I am glad. Though I wished my brother would be here." he said.
"We all look. That is the clan's book of grudges." Gotrek pointed out.
Indeed. A leathery, heavy book was brought forward and Gondo was placed behind it.
"Write it down!"
"Write it down!"
"Write it down!"
"Write it down!" echoed throughout 'the forge', shouted by drunken dwarfs.
"The Quagoa wronged our kin. They killed our clan head. Only blood will settle this grudge. We will reckon with them for this wrong!" boomed the voices of some runelords as Gondo wrote the grudge down, fire in his eyes.
"He has the same glimmer in his eyes." Gotrek said.
"Yes. It is fitting that this would be the first thing he would do." Gongrimm laughed to himself.
"Hasnt Gondoric done the same with Gotreks death?" Softhand inquired.
"Yes. Sadly I have to go now. I am sure the high-king learned of our guest by now." he said and shook hands with one of his friends.
→ Arwintar Imperial-palace / Arachne ←
During the last day Arachne had practically moved into the palace. Her room was as comfortable as could be, though it was hard to convince the old-mother of that fact. Luckily she was occupied with the other children and the egg and Arachne's proximity did help ease the mind of the old drider.
She had brought some books, a chunk of her wardrobe and even some products for personal care with her. Tuare, as she was officially her maid, had also come along. She mostly helped Arachne and if time was spare she would help the other servants.
There was no boring time, as she had either spent it with Jircniv or with a copy of the 'Spider Paper'. It was quite invigorating to see the rumor mill working in real time. Most of the rumors were either expected, wished for or irrelevant. But they were interesting nonetheless. The ones that caught her attention though were the ones around Jircniv and to a lesser extent herself. It seemed that the nobility already knew about her relationship with the nobles and were either eager to make it official. A small minority though wanted to split it up and take her for themselves.
It was quite the entertainment for her and her love to read the papers and cuddle together.
She was cuddling with Jircniv in his ruling chamber, as he was doing paperwork. Her wheelchair was beside the couch and she rested her feet on it. Tuare was on her way to gather some snacks and Jircnivs arms were around her shoulder when the door bulged open.
Nimble twitched before recognising the uniform. It was a messenger.
"What is it?" Jircniv asked, as Arachne felt a small twitch.
"He is annoyed." she thought as she held his hand.
"The first reports came in from the south. The royal air guardians, which accompanied the main force, suffered defeat." the messenger reported.
She felt Jircnivs hand tighten around hers.
"Do we know how the enemy managed to defeat them?" she inquired.
"Yes. They bred their wyverns to fly higher than our griffins. Thus they were able to attack us from above." he summarized.
"Do we know how high they can fly?" she asked.
"Sadly no." he answered.
"JIrcniv, should I contact the party to prioritize the capture of the eggs?" she asked and JIrcniv nodded.
"Meanwhile the troops are to be more careful. Is it possible for us to advance further?" he inquired.
"Yes, my emperor."
"Then we should use the forests in the valleys." Jircniv ordered.
After that the messenger left and Arachne informed Leinas. She soon felt tired and snuggled into Jircnivs side. She felt him stroking her hair when she fell into a nap…
AN: Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did feel free to leave a comment/ review.
Gondo was easy to convince in the anime ( if either naivety or simply knowing when he is outmatched is another thing), thus I wanted to use it.