Shadowrun - Earthdawn - Lliferock (12 page)

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the woman, as he dressed. When he was finished, he stepped outside.

The night air blew cool, and the sky glimmered bright with silver starlight. The camp was bustling with activity and would stay that way day and night until the operation was finished. Until every last ounce of orichalcum had been mined from the vein of rock and purified.

He looked up toward the trail which led to the mining site, following the trail of lights. About halfway to the site, the lights bunched and clustered around a group of people coming down the path. Sarbeneck breathed a great sigh.

Pontin warned me about the rock folk. But I hadn’t really expected something so soon.

He took another cool breath of air and prepared himself for what he had to do. He had been in less than desirable situations before, where the locals didn’t fully appreciate the benefits of his presence. He didn’t really enjoy telling them that they didn’t have any choice but to cooperate. Well, he had to admit, occasionally he did look forward to the confrontations, but only when the locals were particularly annoying.

The rock folk are not the same as other Name-givers, he reminded himself. They don’t even have genders. He’d spent a bit of time in the Great Library of Throal reading about them before the expedition. They may react unexpectedly. Dangerously.

Gingreth and the cavalrymen had reached the encampment and were approaching the tent. The orks numbered about twenty, walking just behind Gingreth, surrounding three large obsidimen, easily visible to Sarbeneck above the heads of the mercenaries. One was obviously older than the other two; his rocky skin seemed harder, crustier. There were thin cracks and crevices in the lines of his face. He wore a flowing tunic of indigo and magenta patterns, and loose trousers, striped red and black.

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One of the other two was dressed similarly, with a loose shirt and trousers of green and brown, except that he wore silver bracers over his massive forearms, and the third had mean looking black eyes, no whites. He wore only pants made of rough brown fabric like those of his older comrade. His chest was bare of clothing, but had been painted in swirling patterns of purple and blue.

“Stay here,” said Gingreth to the others. He approached Sarbeneck.

“Sir, I’m sorry to interrupt your sleep, but mining has been halted temporarily. Several obsidimen attacked our miners.

Several of the cavalry were seriously burned, and one of the Nuinouri is injured.”

The old obsidiman stepped forward, and two large orks in chain mail came with him, sword tips in his gut. “My name is Gvint Od, Elder of Tepuis Garen.” He motioned toward the mesa with his massive right arm. “This ork speaks half-truths at best.”

Gingreth bristled, the muscles in his neck tensing visibly, but he held his temper in check.

“We did not attack your people.” His dwarven was slightly stilted as though he rarely spoke in that tongue, and his voice carried a strange chanting quality to it. “We merely came to protect our liferock. Your mages challenged us, and one of those Horror spawn — Nuinouri — killed Wennith Nar.”

“Whoa. Slow down.” Sarbeneck took a step back, casting a hard glance at Gingreth. “Someone has been killed?”

“When they attacked the tunnelers, one of them erupted.

One of the obsidimen got caught in the crossfire. We stopped the bloodshed as soon as we could, but they had mounted a wall of flame across the path.”

“Three obsidimen were able to penetrate our security and stop the mining? You must be slipping, Gingreth.”

“There were more than three — ten or fifteen I think all This Book Belongs to: Andrew Tobin (black _ [email protected]) Liferock 

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told. They came down inside the rock or something. Surprised us this time, but it won’t happen again, I assure you.” He gave Gvint a defensive stare.

“The others melted into the stone and disappeared, leaving only these three behind. They took the wounded one with them. I didn’t know he was dead.”

“He is, thanks to your nethermancer.”

Gingreth nodded. “It’s Nancri’s fault. She should never have staged a confrontation.”

Sarbeneck was silent for a minute. He would have to talk to Nancri later. He stepped forward and gave Gvint a grave look. “I am sorry about your comrade,” he said. “Nancri acted on her own in this regard and she will be punished.”

Gvint spoke. “We care not about punishment. We wish only that you stop cutting into Tepuis Garen. You are causing us a great deal of harm. Far more than you know.”

“How is this?” Sarbeneck asked the question more to bide time than from any real curiosity.

“Tepuis Garen is our liferock — our spiritual force. It is as much a part of us as your soul is a part of you. Your hole is causing it great pain right now.”

Sarbeneck frowned. He hated this part. He took a deep breath and spoke slowly and clearly. “I’m very sorry, rock friend, but I cannot stop the mining. I am a miner, that’s what I do. That is who I am; it defines my existence. And right now, my livelihood rests in the fate of this expedition. It has cost me a huge sum to get here and set up, a cost that will bank-rupt me if I don’t return with sufficient orichalcum.

“My employer and I researched this location when we were in Throal, and we found no mention of any communities or ‘liferocks’ that might be adversely affected by our mining. You should consider keeping Throal informed of such matters.

Meantime, I have invested my entire business in this expedition, and while I understand your concerns and am sympa-This Book Belongs to: Andrew Tobin (black _ [email protected]) Liferock 

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thetic, I just can’t let myself be swayed. The cost would be too high.”

Gvint folded his arms across his massive chest, and shook his head slowly. “No, you do not understand —”

“Please let me finish.” Sarbeneck took a breath and exhaled sharply. He hated this part of his job and wanted to get it over as soon as possible. “I can, however, offer you some moderate compensation if it will allow you to find another liferock —”

Gvint broke into laughter. Deep and full, rolling like thunder from his chest. The other obsidimen also started to laugh, and Sarbeneck stared at them. Gingreth looked puzzled.

The mean-looking obsidiman spoke up. “Perhaps we haven’t been clear enough,” he said. “We are the liferock, and the liferock is us. No distinction. Wounding it hurts us.” His eyes seemed to glow with black fire as he spoke. “Killing it destroys us. And you are killing it.”

The others had stopped laughing, but offered nothing further. The mean one continued. “We will defend it with our lives. There are many of us, and we are strong. We will attack you again if you continue, and again, and again until we destroy you or die in the attempt.” He moved forward, darting out of the clot of orks around him, more quickly than anyone expected. He glided on a thin cushion of magical air, reaching Sarbeneck before the dwarf could react. The obsidiman pulled Sarbeneck into a tight embrace, his large hand closing around the dwarf’s neck.

Sarbeneck’s back jerked in pain as he was lifted to face the rock man, eye to eye. “You talk of costs, dwarf. What of the cost of a life? How much value do you put on yours?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Sarbeneck saw Gingreth move.

“Don’t try anything, ork, or I will crush his neck.”

Gingreth hesitated.

Gvint spoke. “Chaiel, please put him down. It won’t ac-This Book Belongs to: Andrew Tobin (black _ [email protected]) Liferock 

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complish anything to kill him. The mining will most likely continue.”

Sarbeneck tried to nod in agreement, but Chaiel set him roughly back to the ground. His feet had gone numb and he found it hard to maintain his balance. He took several deep breaths, fighting to keep the shakes from taking control. He hated showing fear.

“I am sorry for the hasty actions of my brother,” Gvint said.

“Normally, we are not a rash people.”

“These are not normal circumstances, Elder,” Chaiel said.

The third obsidiman interrupted. “May I suggest a compromise?” He spoke perfect dwarven without accent.

From Gvint, “Pabl, this may not be the right time.” Then to Sarbeneck, “Perhaps we should return in the daylight.”

Sarbeneck did not respond, still trying to compose himself. His fear was fading now, replaced by a growing anger.

Threats put him in a foul mood. Dis take these obsidimen and their cursed rock. He looked at Pabl. “What sort of compromise?”

“We will send a messenger to Throal to bring an arbiter. In the meantime, you must halt your operation.”

“Impossible —”

“Please listen,” Pabl said. “If the arbiter determines that you deserve to be compensated for time, effort and lost minerals, we will pay you a reasonable settlement price.”

Sarbeneck thought about it. These obsidimen were so varied. One deadly, the next reasonable. “I doubt you have enough silver to pay me.”

“We can get it.”

“No, I don’t think you can. In fact I’m sure of it. You’re ask-ing for a concession from me, not a compromise at all.”

“How about ten thousand silver?”

Sarbeneck laughed, though the action hurt his throat.

“Try increasing that number fifty-fold and I might consider This Book Belongs to: Andrew Tobin (black _ [email protected]) Liferock 

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it.” He turned away, trying to bring calm to his temper before speaking again. These people ask too much, he thought. His back ached from being lifted, and he could feel the ghost sensations of Chaiel’s thick fingers on his throat.

To Gingreth he said, “Escort our friends to the perimeter of the camp and make sure they don’t return.” Then to the obsidimen, “I apologize again for the death of your comrade; Nancri will be appropriately reprimanded. I refuse your compromise; the mining will continue. If you have vast riches, bring them and I will reconsider my decision. Until then, goodbye.”

Pabl moved suddenly, bursting free for a second. His fist connected with the neck of the ork behind him, and the ork fell. He spun to place a hard kick into the groin of another ork, and Sarbeneck watched as the second ork crumpled to the ground. But the third cavalryman clobbered him with a mace to the gut.

“Pabl, stop this!” coming from the Elder.

Pabl fell to his knees. “You are a disgrace to your race,” he said, looking up at Sarbeneck. “All you care about is silver.

You’re destroying as much of the world as the Horrors. I pity you.”

“Pabl!”

The mace came down again, this time hitting him in the back, and knocked Pabl to ground.

“Take them away,” Sarbeneck said. He turned away from them and walked as casually as he could into his tent and breathed a heavy sigh. His left hand moved involuntarily to his throat. Next time, I’ll just have Gingreth kill them on sight.

This Book Belongs to: Andrew Tobin (black _ [email protected])  Chapter Twelve 

Pabl’s back ached, and images of Wennith’s death flickered in his mind: the crisped black bones and muscle; the burned stench rising in a fetid cloud from the gaping hole in Wennith’s chest; the brittle charcoal of his acid-spattered skin. Pabl couldn’t shake the vision.

“I am calling a council,” Gvint said. “We will find a way to stop this mining.”

He and Chaiel stood with Pabl at the foot of the cliff about a half mile from the encampment. The ork and his mercenaries had left them there, mostly unharmed. Chaiel had checked Pabl’s wounds and determined that they would hurt for a while, but nothing was broken or permanently damaged.

Next to the cliff, the jungle gave way to boulders and jumbled hunks of fallen rock. Here, the night air blew cool and fresh, carrying the alien scent of fire and food animals from the camp. The rock before them radiated warmth, felt reassuring to Pabl’s touch.

Chaiel looked at Gvint. “You should have let me kill the dwarf,” he said.

Gvint frowned. “It may yet come to that,” he said. “We will 94

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discuss options at the council. Pabl, do you think your friends in the village would be willing to help us?”

The question surprised Pabl. “Yes, Elder.”

“Please ask them to join us at the council. Their aid might be of value.”

Chaiel interrupted, “Are you certain that’s wise, Elder? I mean, they aren’t —”

“If Pabl trusts them, then I will,” Gvint said. “They are not of the rock, and therefore their perspective differs. It is that al-ternate view which I seek.”

Pabl turned to look along the cliff in the direction of the village. The rock rose like a dark monolith on his right, giving way to an overarching canopy of sky high above. Stars shone in the canopy like pinpoints of white-hot stone. “I will go now,” he said. “Then join you at the temple.”

“Very well. Pabl, the council will await your arrival.” Gvint approached the rock and merged with it, melting into the stone. Then he moved up the cliff face, a bulge under a skin of rock, climbing into the sky. Amazing, Pabl thought. To be able to move inside the rock like that. Perhaps someday. .

Chaiel followed Gvint, climbing the traditional way, his hands and feet anchored in the rock. Soon they were too far up to see, leaving Pabl alone with the sound of the wind and the sight of the moon’s silver sliver, just cresting the mesa wall.

Pabl took a heavy breath of the clean air and moved along the rock toward the village. He avoided the main trail, walking and climbing next to the mesa wall to avoid any unwanted encounters. It took him about an hour to reach the village. He found Jan and Celagri in Samson’s Inn.

The room was nearly empty due to the late hour; only three diehard teeth throwers remained. Jan and Celagri sat alone at a table against the wall well clear of the drunk gam-blers.

This Book Belongs to: Andrew Tobin (black _ [email protected]) Liferock 