Chapter 72: When Life Gives You Sulfur, Make Gunpowder
As Karl emerged from the foundry, the heat of the forge still clinging to his bone armor, a skeleton staff member hurried toward him. The familiar clatter of bone on stone signaled his approach.
"My lord," the staff member began, his voice a low, crackling whisper. "I must apologize for the interruption, but something has come up. Something... unseemly."
Karl’s glowing eye sockets narrowed. The phrase ’unseemly’ was rare in his vocabulary, reserved for things truly out of place. "What is it this time?" he asked, his voice an even, dry rasp.
"I think you should see for yourself, my lord," the staff member replied, bowing his skull and gesturing toward the main entrance. "It involves a few of our newer recruits."
"Very well," Karl sighed, his patience as thin as his bone frame. He followed the skeleton’s quick, shuffling pace. "Let’s see what this is about."
At the entrance, chaos was a physical presence. The air vibrated with anger and desperation, a stark contrast to the market’s serene order. Orkell, his entire body trembling with a primal fury, had his younger brother, Orkesh, slammed against the stone wall.
The carved polished stone reflected their contorted, furious expressions like a funhouse mirror. Mina and Manicia were frantically trying to pry them apart, their small hands useless against the raw strength of Orkell’s grief. Yrix and Verris stood frozen.
"Stop, Orkell! Please!" Mina cried, her voice strained and tight with fear. "You’re scaring the children! There are customers here!"
"You bastard!" Orkell roared, his voice thick with a raw, guttural pain that went beyond mere anger. "You had a good life in here, didn’t you?! Enjoying your little haven while we thought you were dead! Now that you’re comfortable, why didn’t you even consider looking for us?!"
Orkesh pushed back with all his might, a mix of hurt and confusion on his face. "We didn’t know where you were! How could we?! We were running for our lives, pursued by those damn orcs! We found this place by pure chance, seeking nothing more than refuge! They gave us work, a home—it was a miracle! There was nothing we could do!"
A security skeleton, a tower of polished bone and iron, stepped forward. He was one of Karl’s elite soldier. His cold, ethereal voice cut through the tension. "Sir, you must release him. This is your final warning. I advise you to calm yourself." His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, a clear and chilling warning.
"Don’t you dare tell me what to do!" Orkell snarled, his eyes a fiery red. "He’s my brother! My brother! I have every right, what to do with him!" He turned his gaze back to Orkesh, his voice dropping to a tormented whisper. "You are a liar... you didn’t even think of us... We walked for weeks, starved, we worried sick about you, thinking you were dead, but we still went and effort to find all of you... and you didn’t even try to send word... not even a single thought?! You selfish bastard!"
His voice broke on the last words, and a single tear, like a crystal bead, slid down his muzzle.
His memories flashed the night of the attack, 36 days ago. The village was burning, the screams echoes with fire crackling on the thatch roofs. The orcs were all around the village, grabbing everyone they could find.
Even the guards who tried to fought them wasn’t spared. However was the captain of the guard, his duty was to ensure the evacuation, but all he cared about that night, was his family. He looked around, looking for them, Thankfully, Verris and Korin arrived to assist him, Verris shouting, "Go! Find them!" and Orkell desperately rush back into the inferno.
He shouted their names, Linia’s and Lila’s, into the smoke and chaos, but there was no answer. He found himself face to face with two hulking orcs, their tusks gleaming in the flickering firelight.
"Look what we have here, Mok," one grunted, raising a brutal, spiked club. "A little kobold trying to be a hero."
"He won’t be a hero for long," the other replied, a cruel grin spreading across his face.
Orkell didn’t hesitate. He dodged the first orc’s clumsy swing, his own spear a blur as he thrust it into the creature’s thick neck. The orc gurgled, a fountain of black blood erupting before he crumpled to the ground. The second orc roared in fury, a guttural sound of rage and revenge. He lunged at Orkell, his jagged axe aimed at Orkell’s head.
Orkell was too slow. The axe caught his shoulder, a searing pain that made him gasp. He stumbled back, clutching his arm, the weapon now useless. But he wasn’t done yet. He roared, a sound of defiance, and with his uninjured arm, he threw his spear, his teeth gritted in agony, and threw it with all his might.
The spear flew true and hit the orc’s leg, and made it limp with pain as it tried to chase him. It was all the time Orkell needed. He turned and ran, the pain in his shoulder a fiery beacon, but his desperation to find his family was a more powerful drive. He ran until his lungs burned and his legs ached, the orc’s shouts of rage and the sounds of the dying village fading behind him. But his luck had run out, the orc called for the others, Orkell couldnt find them. But he was positive they were okay, maybe they escape first, with the others.
In another part of the forest, just a few hours after the village was sacked, a different group of kobolds was running for their lives. The ground thundered with the heavy footsteps of their orc pursuers. Linia, her face etched with a love and desperation he would never forget, clutched their daughter,
Lila, tightly. Her lungs burned, but she refused to slow down. The snorts and guttural laughter of the orcs grew closer. She looked at Orkesh, who was running alongside her, and knew what she had to do. With a final burst of energy, she pushed Lila into Orkesh’s arms.
"Go!" she commanded, her voice raw. "Run! Don’t look back!"
"What do you mean, ’go’?! No! We can do this together!" Orkesh screamed back, his own voice filled with panic. "We can still escape them!"
"There’s no time! They’ll catch us all!" Linia’s voice was filled with an unbearable pain, yet her resolve was unwavering. "I will not let my daughter die! Tell him... tell him I love him more than anything. That my heart is his forever." With a final, sorrowful smile, she kissed the tear-streaked face of her daughter and sprinted off, a courageous decoy, drawing the orcs’ attention to her.
Orkesh cried, "No!" but Manicia pulled him away, her voice sharp with a bitter realism. "Don’t let her sacrifice be in vain! We must run, or her death will have been for nothing!"
"How can I face my brother?! I was supposed to protect them both!" Orkesh sobbed, still holding the crying Lila, his body wracked with guilt.
The memory ended abruptly, shattered by Orkell’s fist hitting Orkesh’s cheek. "My family is dead because of you! I trusted you to watch over them!"
"My family is dead because of you! I trusted you to watch over them!" Orkell screamed, his fist connecting with Orkesh’s cheek with a sickening thud. The blow snapped Orkesh’s head back against the wall.
Orkesh, blood now on his lips, looked at him with pleading confusion. "No... wait! Lila is here! She’s with us!"
The words finally pierced through Orkell’s rage. He eased his grip, his eyes widening in disbelief. His hands, still gripping his brother’s collar, fell slack. "What... what did you say?"
From the side, a small, familiar figure ran toward him. "Papa!"
Orkell knelt, his heart lurching, scooping his daughter into his arms. He held her so tightly he could feel her small heart beating against his. "Lila... oh, Lila... I thought I’d lost you forever," he whispered, his voice thick with overwhelming relief. He looked up at Orkesh, the raw question on his face. "And Linia? She’s here too, isn’t she?" The hope in his voice was a fragile thing, a desperate plea for a miracle.
Karl, who had arrived just moments before the punch, gave a silent hand gesture to the security guard to stand down. He had seen enough. The dramatic reunion was a personal matter. He turned his back, giving them privacy, but his glowing eyes scanned the scene.
His skeletal gaze fell upon the two worn baskets Yrix and Verris were holding. He recognized the shape and the lingering, pungent scent of sulfur chunks. A slow, knowing smile crossed his skull. Hoho! he thought. This reunion might be better than I expected. The stench of raw sulfur... a resource I desperately need for my next beautiful project. And these kobolds carried it all this way. HAHAHA, thank you my new friends.
Manicia, standing beside a now-calm Orkell, answered his question. Her voice was low, filled with solemn reverence. "That night... we panicked. The orcs were too many. We all split up—Mina, Orkesh, me, Misha, Monique, Lisa, and the rest of the children. None of us were brave enough to sacrifice ourselves. But Linia... she knew we were about to be caught. The orcs were gaining on us. She did the most heroic thing any of us have ever seen. She gave her life for us. For Lila’s life."
Orkell hid his pain, burying his face in Lila’s hair. He hugged her tighter, his grief for Linia a heavy, aching void in his chest, but the joy of holding his daughter was a brilliant, overpowering light. "Papa’s here now, okay?"
Lila nodded, her tears still fresh.
"Now," he said, gently putting her down. "Go to Uncle Orkesh. I’ll be right back, okay?"
Lila, her small voice full of worry, asked, "Papa, where are you going?"
Orkell smiled, his paw resting on her forehead. "I’m going to get us some money for the village. Do you want something?"
Lila’s face lit up. "I want a burger, papa!"
A small, genuine laugh escaped Orkell. The strange word for what was clearly a type of food. "Yes, papa’s gonna get you a bor-ger, okay?" Lila nodded happily.
Orkell put on his backpack, his shoulders heavy with a new sense of purpose, his grief for Linia tempered by the joy of having Lila. He hoped the chunks of yellow rock would be worth the journey. Yrix and Verris held the baskets, their contents radiating a sulfuric stench.
The security staff, now fully aware of the odor, quickly stepped forward. "Sirs, with all due respect, the stench of those rocks is... considerable. It would be best if we guided you to the receiving area." He pointed behind them, and a section of the wall slid silently away, revealing an expansive, bright, downward-sloping tunnel.
The three kobolds stared, mouths agape, amazed by the secret passage. The sulfurous smell thickened as they entered, walking down the tunnel toward a future they couldn’t possibly imagine.