Chapter 44

Darras was in the city of Callande in the Kingdom of Ismor. Erren had discovered the location of a shadow and wanted it dealt with. Callande was a new city built upon the ruins of one of the most infamous sackings in recent history. This was due to a dispute with its northern neighbour, Lirrant, when the former King of Ismor kidnapped the daughter of the former King of Lirrant and proceeded to mock Lirrant for doing so by making her his concubine.

Ismor had, at the time, been one of the wealthiest Human kingdoms and thought its might unassailable by the poorer and less advanced Lirrant. This proved to be a terrible misjudgement on its part when the Lirranti unleashed the Krovus Orc tribe with whom it traded upon Ismor and took out loans to hire several mercenary companies to bolster its army and proceeded to lay waste its southern neighbour in a devastating and barbaric manner.

The Orc hit-and-run and ambush tactics tore apart the once proud Ismorian legions. The main thrust of the Lirranti was aimed at the Ismorian capital of Callande, whilst the Orcs kept the Ismorians hemmed in by their depredations on any attempts to move in force outside of a town or village.

Ismor may have been wealthy, but it had not spent its wealth on the city walls of Callande, thinking them unnecessary due to the city’s position in the far south of Ismor next to the Dwarven state of Burral. Hence its walls were breached within days, and Lirrant’s troops, along with the mercenaries, went on an extended rampage of rape and pillage. Callande’s once burgeoning population was reduced by almost half, its King and royal family hung in the city square, and the princess was rescued and taken back to Lirrant and her family. The Lirranti then retreated, weighed down with loot and the wealth of a nation, the Orcs returning to their lands when they got bored.

Ismor, as a nation, was still traumatised by the event, and its economy had not recovered even after two decades. Much of the country’s internal infrastructure, including the vast irrigation schemes that had once made it the continent’s breadbasket, lay in ruins, courtesy of the Orcs. To some extent, they were still at daggers drawn with Lirrant, though the Lirranti mostly ignored them. Its population was, for the most part, peasants who worked the land to create crops to sell to Burral, Halgard and Pellach, not to repair the infrastructure, though some attempts were now being made with Dwarven help from Sorrak.

“More than one,” Darras murmured.

‘Yes, my love,’ Erren agreed. ‘Not sure what they are up to here as the Ismorians are in no fit state to cause issues to anyone.’

“Take it the Lirranti won’t attempt to take over?”

‘More trouble than its worth, they are utterly loathed by the people here, plus Ismor is now in a defensive pact ... in a sense with Burral. Though the Dwarves don’t tell them what to do or issue orders.’

“Wouldn’t it be due to the work Sorrak is doing to repair the irrigation works in the central areas?” Darras asked.

‘That’s years away; the Orcs were very thorough,’

“Gemoldus’ influence?”

‘Yes, along with funding from Pellach and Halgard.’

“Pellach?”

‘In a sense, Pellach and Halgard are looking for a cheap, plentiful food supply. Something the Lirranti no longer do.’

“Ah, the loot they took inflated their prices?” Darras nodded, understanding basic economics.

‘It did, my love; they only feed themselves now as they are the ones with too much gold, with no other bordering nation strong enough to take it off them.’

“Hope they don’t make the same mistake as Ismor,” Darras mused as he found the inn Erren had suggested.

‘They keep a strong army and studied the tactics used in Thenarron and now utilise horse archers, ’ Erren replied.

“The first Orc tribe to run across them is in for a surprise,” Darras chuckled.

‘Very true, and it is coming soon.’

“Orcs won’t like it.”

‘They need a reality check, according to Saltak.’

“Happened to the Trannish nation in my world,” Darras agreed. “They never adapted and lost badly, though it took nearly a century.”

‘Different people, but the same flow ... in a sense, of history.’

“Will the Orcs survive?”

‘Yes, they’ll have the time and are adaptable, but their old ways will go.’

“Good, I think the world is better with many races.”

‘True, but I’m detecting a shadow, so be on your guard.’

Within a minute, Darras also detected the shadow and followed the growing sense of nausea until he reached a sturdy building in the merchants’ quarter, one of the few places in Callande that did not appear hastily built. However, Getting in looked like an issue, with tall walls and no buildings or objects nearby to assist in climbing. Darras studied the building for the moment and then set off to find information on the occupier.

Fortunately, the Merchant’s Guild was more than willing to help Darras ... for a price. This Darras readily paid as it wasn’t corruption as such (according to Erren) but simply an attempt to aid the economy of Ismor.

“That is the residence of the Merchant Kavool,” the receptionist informed Darras. “His trading company imports Dwarven goods, though recently his prices have risen.”

“He can’t be the only importer?” Darras queried.

“There are three, and all their prices have risen similarly.”

‘Similar to the incident in Sorrak ... possibly, ’ Erren said what Darras was thinking.

“Do you have their names and addresses?” Darras asked.

Darras was given two more names and addresses, and he took his leave, heading towards an inn that Erren recommended.

‘I’m not sure what they are up to; it’s not like many people here can afford or even need Dwarven tools, ’ Erren said once Darras was in his room.

“Need to find out if they are possessed first,” Darras replied. “Though the similarities to Sorrak are compelling.”

‘They are, other than the fact this is no longer a rich nation, and shadows don’t tend to play around in the western continent anymore, ’ Erren agreed.

“I suspect it will have something to do with the repairs to their irrigation system and the tools necessary,” Darras replied.

‘You may be right, my love. Sorrakian tools are better, if more expensive than Burralian ones.’

“And it will slow down the project and keep these people impoverished and liable to be influenced by agitators,” Darras nodded.

‘I haven’t noted any signs of unrest, but it would leave the Ismorians open to such if the project fails.’

“Causing trouble in Burral, Halgard and Pellach,” Darras replied.

‘Burral imports mostly from Jizzard, but Halgard and Pellach could suffer, particularly as the Forest Kingdom doesn’t export food unless at war supporting its forces.’

“They have plenty of food; they supported their troops in Thenarron and even helped around Drannos when they destroyed their crops,” A puzzled Darras commented.

‘Stored food, by magical means, ’ Erren explained. ‘Their actual surplus is not great, but after a series of famines just over a hundred years ago, they started storing what surplus they occasionally make and don’t export. It’s why they also import food from Rachtelin now.’

“Oh, I see,” Darras nodded.

‘It’s also why Leandomus and King Danvas of the Humans in the Forest Kingdom are supporting the Dwarves financially, too.’

“Ah, the famines happened just after the Lirranti invasion?”

‘Yes, the Ismorian King caused issues to the Forest Kingdom, amongst others, with his actions.

“Well, I have three targets in my sights now,” Darras turned to the object of his mission. “Time to look them over.”

‘Yes, my love.’

Darras discovered that the two other residences of interest contained shadows, though they would prove easy to penetrate and deal with. This made him turn to his original target and try to figure out how to catch the shadow on an excursion. That said, what information he could gather suggested the shadow/host remained in his residence, only venturing out for Merchant Guild functions, none of which were due.

“That place seems almost designed to keep out intruders,” Darras informed Erren.

‘I sent a message to Amina in Dobra; Chillik, Nemmos, and Tarmeet will be coming.’

“Good idea.”

‘Of course, this is me we’re talking about, ’ Erren giggled.

Several hours later, Darras met the three thieves from the Dobran Thieves Guild. “Good to see you, Darras; Amina said you have a problem,” Nemmos said after the greetings.

“I do, a residence that appears almost impossible to get into, that contains a shadow.”

“Interesting. Well, we have time before dark, so please take us there.”

“Tough nut, all right,” Chillik commented after the thief’s initial look around.

“That’s why Erren was in touch with the best,” Darras replied.

“Heh! She’s a nice lady, and she does the goddess stuff too.” Nemmos chuckled.

“Just be careful, the shadow is likely to be extremely paranoid,” Darras warned.

“We will,” Nemmos nodded. “We’ll find a way in for you.”

Darras returned to his room for the evening, leaving the three thieves to devise a way into the residence for him to deal with the shadow.

Darras met the trio again the following morning; all looked tired but assured Darras that they’d had some sleep.

“We found a way,” Nemmos informed Darras. “There’s a small gate at the side of the building, which, though it has a guard booth, the occupant spent much of his time asleep at his post.”

“Let’s hope he’s so inclined tonight,” Darras nodded.