Blood and Sawdust: Pt. 2
A mage hunter short story
Hello everyone! After a week, I have finally returned to writing more amazing stories and poetry for you all!
As promised, here is Part 2 of my 3 part series, “Blood and Sawdust!”
Part 1 | Part 3
Hope you all enjoy!
The flames finally died down, and the carpenters were far gone from the scene. The chemical odors did not escape their noses, however. With discretion, they gathered in an alleyway deep within another district, carrying their bloodied and bruised bodies by their stiff legs. The enraging roar of the orc founder could have given themselves away, “Grah! What the hell was that?!”
His voice was pointed at the Draknir, the dwarven co-leader, who did not take kindly to Henrik’s rage. “Aye! Don’t yell at me like I’m the one responsible for that explosion!” The dwarf counterpart squared up towards the boss, retorting with his thick accent.
“Aren’t you, halfpint? You raised quite the tone in there. If you knew your place this could have gone peacefully without the destruction of MY PRECIOUS MILL!” The tall, brawny orc stepped up as if ready for another bout. The rest of the dubious carpenters observed the brewing flames between the two. Grins emerged among them, excited to see another brawl.
“Yer are weak! A pathetic excuse of an orc! You let these lassies trample all over you without an ounce of a fight!” Without warning, his meaty arms thrust forward and shoved the orc backward. Henrik quickly returned with furious fists, but before they crashed down onto the stout man, the human co-founder stepped forward.
“Henrik! Draknir! Enough!” he ordered with a stern, commanding voice, seeming to be the only voice of reason.
His fellow guild mates drew audible groans of disappointment. One uttered “Killjoy.”
“We are not having a war against ourselves. Got it?” The two gnarled at him, and though they hated his reasoning, they were compelled to agree, stepping back as Vince took charge, “Think carefully, everyone! Why the hell would the druids bring something explosive to our meeting? They must have planned this.”
A wave of clairvoyance brushed over the hardened guild mates, awakening them from a meat-headed stupor and a newfound sense of deliberate fury. “Damned harlots… Draknir spat, “We lost some good men.” The others grumbled upon themselves, revealing a similar disdain over Vince’s reasoning.
“We will not let this stand,” broke Henrik, “We will gather all of our crew this evening at George’s tavern and we’re going to sort this mess. They will pay.”
***
The Mage Hunters Hall was as vacant as ever, thanks to the few novices out working diligently. A full day already passed following the collapse of the sawmill. While the Carpenters Guild was busy scheming and planning their counter assault, the mage hunters and the city guards were already on top of everything. Tychon was informed of the meeting Rion is scheduled to have with Guard Captain Buzely as the two discussed the matter at one of their many vacant tables. “Druids are pretty tricky to deal with Rion. Shapeshifters especially,” This was Tychon’s second attempt to convince Rion, “There’s no telling what kind of beasts they can transform into. Druids are like chaos mages, except they can actually control their magic. You sure you don’t need my help?”
“Yeah, we got it covered.” While Rion won’t admit Tychon’s school of arcane disruption would be a great asset, he has other plans for his partner, “I’d prefer you to continue looking into those necromancers. Plus, I trust you above everyone here going lone wolf,” Rion paused with a sip of his rich velvet wine provided by their bar maid. “Besides, Jorghan has a surprising amount of resistance to magic. Think him and I would be enough for the druids, but Captain Buzely insists. They said they’re in talks with one of the co-founders of the Carpenters Guild.”
“Oh yeah, the one upstanding guy out of that gang you told me about? What was his name…”
“Vince.”
“Vince, yeah. Sad he isn’t the leader. Could’ve avoided this mess.”
Rion nodded. “By the way, find anything new about these cultists?”
Tychon shook his head, “It’s strange. Every time they get caught, they go into deep hiding for many months at a time, it seems. Been weeks since the last encounter, and only clue was from Steppenwulf’s nose leading outside the western gates.”
“Maybe he’s getting old and his nose isn’t what it used to be,” Rion smirked.
“Yeah right. We’re at the opposite end of the city and he’s still bitching about the chemical odor.”
***
Evening came and the belly of the Mage Hunter’s Hall was filled for the first time since its founding, thanks to the congregation of both Rion’s team and the city guards itching to quell this matter. They assembled around a conjoined set of tables in the middle of the room, decorated with various documents and imagery, including sketches of their targeted suspects.
“Alright, so here’s what we know about the Carpenters,” Captain Buzely continued following his introduction into their mission, first presenting a professionally accurate sketch of the orc leader. He was tall for a human, almost slender. His city-adorned armor sure made him appear broader. “This is Henrik Vale. You may all have seen him yesterday when he took him into custody. He has a longstanding history of violence, mostly involving bar brawls. He beat one poor bastard so bad it took priests weeks to fully recover him. As you may know, he is the main leader of the Carpenters Guild, and the owner of that smoldering pit that used to be a sawmill.” The captain shifted the papers around, revealing two other faces. “Even though we have their main leader, we aren’t out of the neck of the woods with them just yet. He has two co-founders: Draknir Stonehammer, also a frequent visitor of the prison. This dwarf too has a history of violence, as well as disorderly conduct and public indecency. This man, however, will be helping us put a stop to the guild before they turn our humble city into a warzone. Vince?” he gestured.
The human stepped forward, adorned in a velvet vest with a grey undershirt, his poor vision mitigated by his rectangular specs. “Thank you for having me, everyone. While it is true the Carpenters Guild was founded by a rowdy bunch, they’ve done a lot of good for the citizenry and for the kingdom. Thanks to us, you all have received an ample amount of siege weaponry currently holding your front lines. Many of our men are building houses and expanding neighboring towns like Westfall. There certainly are some good men in the guild still, sadly caught up in this mess caused by our leaders. I’ll admit, I did stand by and I watched the bar brawls and the gang violence Henrik and Draknir, and many others partook in. This, however was the final straw. I wish to help turn this guild away from these…barbaric practices, and turn the Carpenters into a respectable guild.
That being said, here’s what we’re dealing with…” Vince exposed the carpenters’ plan to counter assault the hideout of the Druids of Jubilee, scheduled in the witching hours. He described a hidden underground grove that was discovered after they coaxed a druid through gruesome torture. The carpenters intend to fire bomb the grove and hunt down their leaders. Their assault would consequently cause great damage to the worship center of the elven goddess of thorns, which lied above this hidden grove.
The mage hunters and the crown guard concealed themselves between stone pillars and foliage as they waited for the Carpenters Guild. The entry way lied hidden underneath a patch of thick vines and bark. The Circle of Thorns was a glorious sight of abundance – life spewing everywhere with all its lush foliage and skittery critters. Even the dark morning hours couldn’t conceal its beauty, as magical flowers offered soft hues of light. There’s no telling which patch would contain the hidden entryway, as the options were as equally abundant. It’s was a shame that the worship center for the elven goddess of thorns is sullied by a criminal organization. Arch Druid Vulkan was furious when the news was broken to him. Even though he insisted on offering aid to take down these criminal gangs, Buzely refused. It is, after all, the duty of the king’s guard to enforce the law, and accepting aid of civilians in these confrontations aren’t a weight they can afford. What good is a guardsman if he cannot protect his citizenry?
From what Vince described, the only way the plants would open the entryway is by an enchanted talisman that grants access. The carpenters planned to brute force their way in with shovels and hatchets. When the thugs finally arrived, to what they presumed was an abandoned grove, they were well armed with the tools of intrusive landscaping. There were at least a dozen men in total, all of stalwart builds: humans, orcs, dwarves, and a few beast men of predatory lineages composed their war band. The only one who stood apart from them was Vince, acting undercover during this whole operation. “Everyone fan out!” The dwarven co-founder roared, “That damned hole has to be here somewhere!”
Before they were even offered the chance to separate from their pack, Buzely stepped out from hiding, along with his team of guardsmen, blades drawn. Rion and the Mage Hunters followed suit. “Draknir, you and your men are under arrest for possession of contraband and conspiracy to commit violence and arson. Drop your weapons now and come quietly!”
They were all shocked how their planned rumble was exposed. “Guards?!” one of the carpenters exclaimed.
“How the hell did they know?!”
Draknir’s dwarven brow furrowed and his hand tightened around the length of his thirsty hatchet. “You lot will not stand in the way of carpenter business! To arms!” he roared as his ego lead the charge for the captain. His rallying cry ignited the fight in his men, convinced that this roadblock shall not impede the justice they seek.
Blades clash and roars ring in the theatre of battle. The carpenters fought like brutes, relying purely on brawn with a dash of speed. A few sported leathers while most of them remained with either shirts or were entirely topless, say for their tattoos of intimidation. The guards and the mage hunters on the other hand had ample experience to quell these rebellious thugs, and proper tools of war. Technique was key in their arsenal, combat arts adopted by experts of war. Centuries of knowledge of the blade and body were poured into these disciplined men and women. Not even the handful of spell weavers involved required a drop of their precious mana. Not to mention their maces and swords were the appropriate tools to quell violent thugs. The hatches and shovels the carpenters brought were merely trades tools after all, their wooden lengths shattered as they were not intended to block or parry attacks, certainly not from Jorghan’s enchanted war maul.
The battle was nearly over as soon as it began, and thanks to Captain Buzely and Rion’s partnership, they were able to safely subdue all the wannabe warriors without an injury the priests couldn’t fix. Draknir and his men were forced onto their knees, wrists bound by rope following an earnest battle. The dwarven co-founder was seething with rage as his efforts were proven futile. Though as the storm of fury raged in his heart, he held a calm posture as he conceded to his fate. The ropes would not hold back his swearing though, “Naye of ye would have known we’d be here. Who’s the bloody bastard that tipped ya?! HUH?!” He was treated with silence by the guards, but his eyes found the answer as his former partner, remained standing among them, without any restraints. “VANCE!?”
“I’m sorry, friend,” he sighed, “I wanted to see things through on whether you guys would change your ways, but the dealing with the druids was a line I could not cross.” Hands in his pockets, he kicked a pebble to the side, his eyes averted from the results of his betrayal. “It had to be stopped.”
“You bloody, weaseling, conniving son of a whore!” Draknir spat, fuming from his mouth like a rabid dog, his saliva soaking his beard. He started kicking about as two of the guardsmen lifted the stout dwarf, “Should ‘ave never trusted ye, ya rat bastard! I will make your family watch as I chop yer head an’ I’ll rest it on a pike in the middle of town square! You hear?!”
The remaining guards escorted the carpenters out of the grove before it could be desecrated. The upset gang members returned unsavory comments to their betrayer.
“Coward.”
“Scrawny pissant, should’ve known!”
“Your ass is mine when I get out!”
One tried to spit at Vance on the way out, but was roughly shoved away.
Jorghan approached Rion with a sigh, “Aye… what a bloody mess these lot are.”
“At least this matter his handled. All that’s left are the bloody druids now. Certainly, after all that commotion, they know where here.”