Chapter 14 – Capital Expenditure

Commander Ashlan crossed his arms. Growling, he motioned irritably at his second. “Another delay. I knew the pitch would be heavy, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad.”

Before him, soldiers were gently lowering pitch loads from incline to incline. The pass was meant for light travel and trade, but it was not designed for the weight of siege equipment.

The wind bellowed in sharp gusts, whistling along the mountainside. The men’s breath came in white puffs, and more than a few had wrapped rags around their hands to keep the cold from locking their fingers around ropes. Below the cliffside path, a long drop into gray nothing stretched down until it was covered by fog. Above, near the same with clouds.

“You’d think someone back home would start making those vats smaller. Remind me to make one of those boys come with us next time, Elson.”

“I’ll do that, sir. Though I’m not sure they could have helped with this wind.”

“Or the half dozen lost horses,” muttered Ashlan. He pulled his fur cloak tighter around his shoulders, fighting to keep any real discomfort from the chill of The Spine off his face. If the men could bear it, so could he.

“How far out would you say we are, lieutenant?”

“I’d say half a week. Assuming no further delays.”

“Good. I want two of our men sent ahead, double time. If whatever’s in that forest tries to ambush us, I want to know before it does. The scouts are not to approach the tower, however. If they get caught, we may tip our hand.”

“Yes, sir.”

The commander gave Elson Bredford a hard, long look. “You sure like that locket a lot.”

“It’s just a piece, sir.”

“Does this piece have any answers about Captain Breck’s claims?”

“None that I know of.”

Ashlan snorted at that. “You might try asking, lad. Let me know if the Solari says anything.”

Elson just gripped his amulet, not looking back, and set off to find the scouts.

***

Further down the column, Corporal Edward kept his head down and boots moving. One month left.

The plot of land on the eastern ridge wasn’t getting any closer with him standing around.

Bertrum nudged his shoulder. “You smell that? On the wind. Coming from the north.”

Edward did smell it. Faint, but there. Iron and sulfur, carried on the same gusts that were freezing their fingers off. Pictures of that tower surrounded by sand filled his head.

“Yeah. You think it’s them?”

“Gotta be. What else out here smells like that?”

It shouldn’t be this strong all the way from up here.

He said nothing. Just pulled his cloak tighter and kept walking.

One month.

***

“Good morning. Before we start today, a quick announcement. Starting tonight, Shiny…” Kairon pointed with a claw “will be in charge of distributing all feeding pit output. I know I’ve been doing this each night, but my plate’s grown too large and, as much as I cherish meal time, I simply have too much I need to do.”

Wrath imps shot a glance Shiny’s way, brood imps licked their fangs, and Shiny puffed his chest.

“We are expecting our long awaited visitors soon. Let’s ensure they get a proper demonic welcome, shall we?”

A snap of the claws, and Kairon dispersed his workforce for morning duty. Vorathrex remained behind.

Once the imps had left hearing distance, the big demon spoke up. “Why do that? The problem with the stone not enough?”

The city lord glanced at Vorathrex, before deciding that telling him had no harm. “Where I’m from, authority never truly came from titles. It came from controlling what people need. You could be a regional realm director, and still have to answer to the local supply clerk who approved your requisitions. The trick is that this isn’t direct authority. It’s… more subtle.”

Kairon paused, bringing one claw to his lips as he continued on. “I think it’ll surprise you. Shiny doesn’t need the wrath imps to respect his rank. He just needs to be the one between them and dinner.”

“You don’t think they’ll just knock over what’s between them and dinner?”

Kairon hummed thoughtfully. “Maybe, but I don’t expect so. The wrath imps will find that being rude to the imp that feeds you is a problem that solves itself.”

Vorathrex processed this for a moment, before shrugging and ambling off to see to the wrath imps.

***

Five days later, the city lord stood atop those same tower stairs. This time, he actually felt, dare he say, confident?

The last week had been the best the settlement had experienced. Everything he was building, the systems he put in place, it was all paying off.

The city lord descended from the tower and strode along the void black stone.

Boney passed by, his crew of wrath imps single file. Each held a large stone, grabbed after their hard work from smashing the large stone paid off. Without delay, they marched to the stockpile and deposited their hauls.

+0.2 Stone

+0.2 Stone

+0.1 Stone

+0.1 Stone

+0.1 Stone

As Kairon continued on into the red stone of the wrath district, he paused. The remaining fourteen wrath imps were in a single horizontal formation. Some held spears, others staves, and a few more had wooden replicas of much the same.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

He noted with interest that all had bruises on their arms, several small gashes along their bodies, and hellscape-stained skin from ankle to knee. Yet, not a one seemed all the worse for it. His methods may be crude, but Vorathrex knows how to make a warrior.

“Strike!” barked Vorathrex.

“Rahhh!” In unison, all fourteen wrath imps stepped forward, stabbed their weapons with one clean motion, and stepped back.

“Defensive positions!” called the giant.

Each soldier broke into two lines. The front warriors dropped to one knee, spear braced into the ground at an angle, point sloping to the sky. Behind, the other spearmen stood, weapons poised over the shoulder of their brethren.

“Forward!”

Nodding in satisfaction, the city lord moved to witness Shiny. His crew was a distance off, each imp scavenging the exposed riverbed for smooth stones. Opening their claws, Shiny either nodded or shook his head. Stones were dropped, new ones were grabbed. The bundles they were holding grew and grew.

As Kairon watched, he reflected on last week’s conversation with Vorathrex. After the change with Shiny controlling meal time, despite what his general thought, there had been no fights or issues. The whole process worked just like the city lord had predicted.