Riftside 3 - Chapter 28

The last of the stew was scraped from our bowls and Ma’s lemon pie had been utterly vanquished by a king who had, for a brief period, been more than just a warhammer. He’d been a part of the family, eating, rather messily perhaps, but eating with us nonetheless. 

Roq was back in his normal form now, leaning against my chair, likely digesting in whatever way an ancient king, turned into a soul-forged weapon, digested pie and stew.

With a sigh, I let the warmth of the meal and the easy comfort of being home settle. It was most welcome after the day’s brutal hunt.

A series of sharp, insistent knocks echoed up from the workshop below.

“Wonder who that is,” Ma said, standing to gather the bowls. “A bit late for customers.”

“I’ll get it,” I said, standing and stretching, touching my fingers to the ceiling. Then I grabbed Roq and headed down the now very tight staircase. 

I slid the heavy bar back and opened the door. Outside stood the manager of the Royal Bank.

“Isadora? Everything alright?” I asked, swiping Roq into my spatial.

“Evening, Ash,” the banker said, glancing around. “My apologies for the late hour, but this couldn’t wait for morning.”

“What’s wrong?” Ma asked, the plates rattling as she put them away before appearing at my shoulder with Pa.

“Nothing is wrong,” Isadora said, and a flicker of a smile, the first I’d seen from her since Serona’s death, touched her lips. “Quite the opposite, in fact. Would you let me in?”

I stepped aside and waited for her to join us, then secured the door behind her.

“I’ve come with a payment from the kingdom,” she said. “It being rather…sizeable, I didn’t want to do it in broad daylight, so here I am, skulking around like a…silver snake.”

Without another word, she produced not a pouch, but a rift blessed leather bag from her spatial storage. She placed it on Ma’s counter with a thud. 

“Here is the crown’s payment for the purchase of the Steel Scrambler shell for the new keep’s gate, six monster-slaying pikes, whatever that means, a four-man saw for the lumber yard, and,” she paused, her lip twitching, “Three buckets of… premium-grade lubricant?”

Ma’s hands flew to her mouth, her eyes wide with delight. 

“The entire payment?”

Isadora nodded. 

“With Commander Edwin pushing and Captain Cooper eager to incorporate the materials… it seems your work has found favor in high places.” She tapped the pouch. “Count it,” she said with a smile.

Unable to stop myself, I stepped forward and undid the bindings, tipping the contents out. A river of flawless, lightly glowing Mind Gems spilled across the wood. 

“By the monsters hairless balls!” I said, staring. 

Pa let out a low whistle, his eyes as wide as mine.

Ma immediately set to counting, her hands flying.

“How much is it?” I asked.

“Sixty Mind Gems,” Isadora said when Ma was nearly done counting, chuckling.

Sixty. 

The number seemed to hang in the air. 

“Sixty?” I asked.

“Fifty-nine, and, yep,” Ma said. “Sixty blessed Mind Gems.”

“Now, would someone please tell me what in the name of the Rift is going on here at Steel & Scale?” Isadora asked, her professional curiosity finally breaking through her composure. She gestured around the shop at the exotic materials and shook her hands at the bag she’d brought gems in. “This is the largest purchase in Dawnwatch’s history. Is there anything you don’t make?”

Pa chuckled, a low rumble in his chest.

Ma, however, just smiled. 

“When the Rift sends us monsters, we recycle everything except the gems.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “Those we feed to our young.”

Isadora’s face went a shade paler, and Ma let out a genuine laugh.

“Speaking of business,” I said. “How are things with you, after… everything?”

The banker’s brief humor faded. 

“The central bank has me on a very tight leash. I retained my position, for now. I have heard some… rumors you might find of interest though.” She licked her lips. “House Domitius is in a, let’s just say, precarious position. The King is using their failed power play in Dawnwatch as leverage to exploit them. Nearly their entire autonomy has been ripped away. They are, for all intents and purposes, broken.”

A savage, satisfying warmth spread through my chest and I closed my eyes and smiled. The shadow looming over my family for so long was finally, truly gone. And no one could come to collect a debt that no longer existed.

“Screw them and their house,” I said. “I hope the King finishes the job.” 

“We will see,” Isadora continued. “A friend at the central bank told me the King inquired as to whom the brilliant banker was that brought House Domitius to its knees.” She sighed. “Only reason I’m still in charge here is that my name was brought up, and he commended the bank and me.”

“That’s wonderful!” Ma said, beaming.

Isadora flinched. 

“It is the worst thing that could have happened to my career. A reputation for taking from the rich and giving to the poor? No offence.”

“None taken,” Pa said.

“But it’s a death sentence for advancement,” the banker said. “I doubt I’ll ever be promoted again. This town… Dawnwatch is my place for life now.”

“Don’t be sad about that,” I said, and she looked up at me, surprised. “I think you’re about to become the most influential banker outside the capital. As long as you don’t let anyone push you out of the position, you’ll be the one funding the expansion of the most important foothold humanity has. It sounds more like a promotion to me, even if it is the same position.”

A slow, genuine smile spread across her face. 

“Thank you, Ash. I will try to see the positive in it.” She turned to leave, then paused. “I do hope House Domitius doesn’t hold enough of a grudge to send killers for me.”

I just shrugged. 

“If they do, let me know. I’ve got something of a track record when it comes to dealing with them.”

“Thanks. Though from what I hear,” she said, her smile turning grim, “They won’t have the time or the attention to spare for revenge anytime soon. Hopefully never. I’m just, you know, cautious.”

After Isadora left, we stood in silence for a long moment, the pile of gems glowing between us. 

Then we all whooped in delight and I pulled them both into a tight hug.

“We’re rich!” I said, bouncing up and down.

“Hush!” Ma hissed, slapping my back and laughing. “The neighbours!”

“We’re rich!” Pa shouted, louder. “Let them know!”

I laughed and gently lifted them both for a brief moment.

Ma whooped and Pa went rigid, as if he’d sat on a cactus. He’d never really felt my strength before, but I lifted him as if he was a skinny teenager. 

Afterwards, we retired upstairs for a celebratory cup of tea. One Pa drained in a flash before replacing it with something stronger. Something that put a wide smile on his face, and he sighed contentedly. 

“Fifty of these are for your party,” Ma said, counting out and pushing the Platemaw’s share of the gems across the table towards me. “As payment for the carcasses. It also includes the revenue share for Knut, Eryn, and Nabeeh, the minority stake owners, for standing with us against those silver snakes.”

“Thanks, Ma,” I said, gathering the gems, barely able to hold it in two hands. The sheer wealth was staggering, despite not being the greatest heap of riches I’d ever held, but it was one earned through hard work.

Pa stared at the ten Mind Gems left on the table. 

“This,” he said, his voice thick with emotion, “Would have been a year’s work at our old smithy. At least. And that’s without any interference from House Domitius.” He reached out, pulling Ma into a kiss. “We’re becoming wealthy, Helena.”

“We are,” she whispered back, putting her forehead against his.

“What do you plan to spend it on?” I asked, genuinely happy for them. “We’ll keep bringing all the carcasses you need, so you don’t need gold or gems for that.”

“There’s a new liquor I’ve been wanting to order from the capital,” Pa said immediately. Ma rolled her eyes. “And,” he continued, pulling Ma close, “It’s time to commission the extension to the smithy.”

“Which parts first?” I asked.

“We’ll buy the land behind the forge and build a new, larger one, with room for more smiths,” Ma said. “Then we’ll expand the shop into the current forge. Once that’s done, we build an extension for more living space.”

“Why not just build a new house out back?” I asked. “Let’s be honest. It won’t be long before you can afford it, even after building the new smithy.”

“Your Ma doesn’t want to give up the view of the First Ring Road,” Pa said. “As we’ve talked about, we plan to grow old here. We want a balcony where we can sit and watch the people pass by. Dawnwatch will grow, and by my beard, we have one of the best damn plots of land in town.”

“Then start by building the new forge out back, but, buy the building next door for the shop and warehouse,” I suggested, an idea sparking. “Turn this entire building into your home.”

Ma and Pa exchanged a look, a silent conversation passing between them.

“Ambitious,” Ma said finally.

Pa’s face split into a grin. 

“I like it.” He looked at me, a challenge in his eyes. “You sure you’ll keep bringing in the carcasses?”

“Until we are victorious,” I promised, “And you turn your hammer to forging plows.”

“Then it’s decided,” Ma declared. “I’ll start talking to the neighbors tomorrow.”

*

The next morning, I woke to the soft weight of Eryn’s head on my chest. The quiet intimacy of the moment made my heart ache, and I hugged her close.

“Morning,” she mumbled, her voice still thick with sleep.

“Morning,” I whispered back, kissing the top of her head, enjoying the wonderful feeling of everything, for once, being in order.

Later, at the breakfast table with the others, I brought out the bag of Mind Gems, thumping it onto the table.

“I’ve got a surprise,” I said. 

“Pregnant?” Knut asked.

Eryn slapped him on the back of his head, but he didn’t even flinch, just grinning around his bacon and ham and egg sandwich.

Lan fought a smile, barely winning.

“You’re lucky we got no other tank,” Nabeeh said. “Means we can let the monsters do the punishment for your stupid comments.”

I poured fifty Mind Gems onto the table, silencing them all. 

“Let’s just say Ma and Pa sold quite a bit of what we’ve brought back,” I said, ignoring my brother’s jest, and started counting out eight gems for each of us. 

“A mountains bounty!” Knut said, his food momentarily forgotten.

“Finally! I’ll reach my second breakthrough!” Nabeeh said, snapping up one and popping it in her mouth with a wide smile. “Thank you, Steel and Scale!”

“What’s with those?” Lan asked, nodding to the ten gems I hadn’t divided, setting her curtain of hair swinging. 

“Those extra ones for yourself, like you did for your spatial?”

Knut lowered his meat sandwich and wiped his hands on a napkin. Never a good sign. Then he put his meaty hand on Lan’s shoulder, and got real close. 

“If Ash did not deal with Harold, Queen would be left behind,” he said. “Anger against life is understandable, little storm. But you must also be grateful. Or your face dry up like old prune and no man will want you.”

Nabeeh piled on, shaking her head. 

“Yes, Lan. Try to keep up. Generosity is not a right, it’s a privilege. One you’ve still need to earn.”

Lan actually had the grace to look chastened. 

“Sorry,” she mumbled. “I just… don’t understand why I get less.”

I pushed two extra gems each towards Knut, Eryn, and Nabeeh. “This is because they’re part-owners of the smithy,” I explained. “They helped defend it from nobles who tried to steal it from my family.”

Lan’s face scrunched up. 

“Are you serious?”

“True,” Knut said, having returned to his bacon. “Many dead snakes buried around Dawnwatch now. Warning to other snakes.”

A flicker of something crossed what I could see of Lan’s face. Was it respect, or awe? Maybe even bloodlust or hell, indigestion. Who could tell with her? 

“Now, this is the good news. The bad is that I’ve been, let’s just call it convinced, that we should stay in Dawnwatch for a few days.” I held up a hand, forestalling Lan’s outburst. “Calm your waves, little storm,” I said as she opened her mouth, and she settled back, arms crossed. “The time will not be wasted. We have enough to do in the meanwhile.”

“Convinced how?” Knut asked. “And is good. I will take doctor on date. She needs a good date. Me too.”

“Maybe it’s stupid,” I said, “But Harold convinced me to stay until they can get the new defences fixed and the fresh guards are not so wet behind the ear.”

“Played your ego,” Nabeeh said, “Didn’t they?”

“Maybe?” I said, sighing. “But they might not be wrong. We’re turning into one damn powerful team, and with us out there beyond the station…look, we have the numbers now, but not the cohesion. Our party is easily the best aside from Edwin’s. And that comes with--”

“Responsibility!” Knut boomed.

“It’s fine, darling. You don’t need to defend your decision,” Eryn said, running a hand up my arm. “Besides, I kind of like your ego. And yes, we are damned good, aren’t we?”

“Thanks,” I said, shooting her a wink. “Now, eat up, everyone. Pa’s graciously offered to wait on us to dissect the Queen.”

“Only because it’s still in your spatial,” Eryn said, bumping me with her shoulder.

*

The party, including a somewhat less furtive Lan, gathered behind the smithy, a respectful distance from where I’d swiped out the crimson behemoth that was the Emmet Queen. 

“Ugly bitch,” Knut said.

“Too true,” Nabeeh added and punched his shoulder. “She nearly scared the crap out of me. I can’t believe you actually stopped to tank her.”

“Sisters must be protected,” Knut said, putting his arm around Nabeeh and hugging her to his side.

“Thanks,” she murmured.

Pa came walking out of the smithy with Torsten. Knut’s brother’s eyes held a mixture of primal fear and a craftsman’s curiosity.

Pa carried a cloth covered object in his hand. 

“Before we begin,” he said, “I wanted to present you…this!” He pulled the cloth off. In his hand was a new trophy. The second gigantic eye, minus the stalk, of the Steel Scrambler sat mounted on a polished plaque of its own shimmering shell. “Got offered a few gold for it from the staff maker, but I figured it would look better on your wall.”

“Pretty!” Knut declared, walking over to admire it. “So shiny! I keep safe.”

“Outstanding,” Nabeeh said. “Another dead thing to gaze on us while we eat.”

“I kind of like it,” Eryn said, hands on her hips. “This is the one I put an arrow through.”

“Cheer up,” I said to Lan who looked as if she couldn’t give less of a damn. “Its a memory from our first trip together Riftside.”

Lan just shrugged, and said, “All I see is a reminder of a kill I didn’t get.”

“You remind me of Ash when he was fourteen,” Pa said, and I rolled my eyes. “But enough about the previous beast. We’ve got a new one to play with!” He unsheathed Stormcutter and tapped the Queen’s carapace with it, making it chime. 

“Today is a bit different,” he started, “As we only get to keep a quarter of this beauty. Which means we can’t just take the biggest pieces, we need to take the juiciest pieces. The ones that’ll make a real difference. Torsten, you’ll help me with the heavy cuts. The rest of you, stand back. Watch and learn. This is a masterclass in monster butchery.”

With that, he got to work on the Queen’s throat once more. 

“First, we’ll finish extracting the weapon that nearly ended you all,” he said, working surgically until the toxin sac and tube came free, slick and heavy. 

“While you promised Central Command the bulk of it,” Pa said, handing the sac to Torsten, who received it with the caution of a man handling a live Glowcap. “I’ll be damned if we don’t siphon off a good part for Victor to work on.”

“If he can whip up an antidote, or a few drops of it on a few of my arrowheads…” Eryn said. 

“Or in a smoke bomb,” Nabeeh said excitedly. “Imagine dropping a toxic cloud onto a pack of Tunnelhounds. They’d be too busy twitching to fight back.”

Next, Pa moved to look up at the head. 

“While it’d look good on your wall, I’m afraid it’d bring it crashing down. We’ll have to figure something else out for a trophy.” Then he tapped one of the massive, serrated mandibles with the pommel of the knife. It rang with a clear, metallic tone. “Hard as… well, Steelhusk. We could forge two-handed axe heads from these that would never lose their edge.”

“Big axe,” Knut said, looking down at his hands. “Could chop many monsters.”

“Magnificent, but it’d be big, heavy, and you all have fine weapons already,” Pa said, marking the mandible with a chalk line for Torsten. “We’ll let the Guild arm someone else with them.”

He and Torsten then set to the main body, the Stormcutter carving deep lines into the crimson carapace. 

“This chitin… it’s layered like a fine plate mail, but lighter and stronger. We could make a dozen suits of rare, or even epic-quality armor from this.” He patted the vast expanse of shell. “But it’s the bulk of the carcass, so we’ll let the Guild have the majority. It’d take us forever to process it all anyway.”

“Are you not keeping any?” I asked.

“Oh, I didn’t say that,” Pa said. “We’ll keep a few choice cuts for my planned projects.”

As Torsten began the laborious work of separating the massive plates, Pa climbed onto the Queen’s back and carefully detached one of the sharp, feathery blades. “It is light, has a near perfect balance, and,” he swiped out a Steel Scuttler carcass and poked the shell with it, “Wickedly sharp.”

“Make’m into daggers?” Nabeeh asked. 

“Punching dagger,” Knut said. 

“Exactly,” Pa said. “We’re keeping these. Small, priceless, and unique. Exactly the kind of thing we prioritize.”

After a bit of struggle, Pa cracked open a leg joint and extracted a long, thick strand of shimmering, elastic sinew. He stretched it between his hands, and it snapped back with incredible force. 

“Look at that recoil.”

“What do you think?” Eryn asked Arclight after bringing out the bow.

“It feels… potent,” Arclight said. “While my sinew provides superior draw strength, the elasticity of this specimen is… interesting.”

“I’ll prepare one for Arclight’s breakthrough,” Pa said. “You can see if it’s helpful.”

Eryn nodded gratefully.

Next he tested the flexible plating covering the joints. 

“Tougher than a Shardfang’s cured hide, but moves like silk,” Pa said. “We’ll keep enough for the two sets of lamellar armor I’m working on, the one with pieces from the Scrambler. For Lan and Eryn.” He nodded to Torsten. “The rest, and all these gooey innards, are for the Guild.”

“I’d like a few vials,” Eryn said. “For Victor, to retain his good graces.”

Pa nodded at that, and then started working his way deep into the Queen’s chest cavity. After a while, he had to keep coming out for air, before disappearing so only his lower body was visible. Suddenly, his movements stilled, and I nearly rushed to pull Pa out before I heard him talking inside the Queen. 

“Oh, you beautiful, deadly thing…” he said, slowly extracting himself from the carcass. In his hand he held what looked like a fist-sized, perfectly cut ruby, but one that glowed with a red light. The light dimmed and then glowed brighter.

“By the bells…” Eryn said. “It’s like a beating heart.”

“What is that?” Lan asked.

“This is no Mind or Class Gem,” Pa said, his voice filled with awe. 

“Soul Gem?” Torsten asked. 

“Nope,” Pa chuckled and scatched his head. “This is more… something like Arclight’s lightning globules?”

“That is ‘The Queen’s Heart’,” Roq said. “And we are keeping it.”

“What use does it have, o’Kingly hammer of doom?” Nabeeh asked.

“Power source for one beast of a weapon,” Roq said. “Or even for empowering a suit of armor.”

“Then we keep it,” I said. 

“Agreed,” Pa said, swiping it away.

Heading deeper still, to the point where I started getting nervous for him, he found a wet, unassuming gland, but one that stank. 

“Ewwww,” Lan said as Pa brought it out. “What is that?”

“Would have paid a silver coin to see her wake up next to a Blightpede,” Eryn whispered to me, making me chuckle.

Knut moved closer, inhaling deeply and then doubled over, fighting to retain his lunch. “Stinks of rotten meat, honey, and badger piss,” he wheezed out. “Not nice.”

“Then why’d you stick your damn nose up in it?” Nabeeh asked. 

“Science,” Knut said, spitting on the ground.

“The pheromones she used to command the Emmets,” Roq stated. “A potentially potent tool if we decipher it.”

“Lure into traps,” Knut grunted, wiping his mouth. “Or make repellent.”

“For women or bugs?” Eryn asked.

“Both,” Knut laughed. 

“It’s got potential,” I said. “Let’s keep it, but please. Someone swipe the damn thing away.” 

Knut took it in his spatial and Pa moved back to the head, carefully extracting the Queen’s eyes. They were the size of honey melons. 

“Better than the Scrambler’s,” Pa said. “We’ll keep one for helmet experiments. Might grant a boon to vision, and if nothing else, it’ll be great protection for eye-slits.”  He held one out to me. 

Next, he spent a long time stripping the inner membrane of the Queen’s abdomen. It was tough, like leather, but surprisingly light. Most importantly, it seemed water proof. 

“I’ve been looking for something like this for a toxin-resistant undercoat,” Pa said. “I’m making one for you, Knut.”

Lan, who had been watching silently, finally spoke. 

“Why only him?”

Pa looked at her, his expression serious but not unkind. 

“Because he’ll wear it no matter how hot, cloying, or uncomfortable it will be, to protect the rest of you. He’s the first line of defense and can tank the Emmets. Now, would you like one, Lan?” Pa asked, raising his eyebrows. “If you do, I will make one for you. But if so, you’ll have to wear it, and when you wear something water proof, that also means your sweat has nowhere to go.”

Lan hesitated. 

“No…”

Eryn gently poked her in the side. 

“No, what?”

The younger mage flinched. 

“Huh?”

“No…” Eryn said waving a hand. 

“Oh,” Lan said. “No… thank you.”

“Trust me, lass,” Pa said softly. “I am forging you the best gear for your role. A smith protects his warriors.”

In a small, protected chamber near the heart, Pa found a glob of viscous, golden jelly.

“Mine! That is MINE!” Roq said. “The spoils of a king! I claim the Royal Jelly as my right for the killing blow!”

We all looked at one another and just shrugged.

“Sure,” I said.

Nabeeh raised an eyebrow. 

“And what, exactly, are you going to do with it?”

“It looks delicious!” Roq declared. “I shall have Eryn use it when she bakes me a victory pie!”

“Ewwww,” Lan muttered, and we all chuckled.

After that, Pa made a series of quick assessments. The long, whip-like antennae, he deemed too specialized to let the Guild have them. The obsidian-hard spikes from the leg-tips, however, he kept half of for “special projects.” A small, green sac of bubbling acid he declared too dangerous. “Let the Guild’s specialists handle that one,” he said. “And no. Nothing to Victor this time. He’ll just burn his face off with this.”

Finally, knee-deep in the central cavity, having held his breath, Pa cursed. Then he rushed out so fast he had to sit down on the ground. 

“Are you okay?” Eryn asked, rushing to him. 

But he just grinned and held up his hand. 

Resting in his gore-stained palm was another gem. It was a class gem, deep green like a ranger’s, but shot through with pulsing, dark streaks I’d never seen before.

“It’s gorgeous!” Eryn said, and I could tell she yearned to reach for it.

Pa wiped it clean, carefully keeping it away from any skin. 

“I’ve never seen one like this,” he said. “It feels strange and powerful.”