TRC - Last Name Pt. 01

The dwarf enchanted the weapon to be extraordinarily light while hitting just as hard. The head could be charged with electricity once a day. When charged, whatever the hammer struck caused an electrical explosion that burst out from the face of the hammer. As the wielder, he was immune to the attack, but not those around him, so he had to be careful where he aimed the burst. As the rightful owner, he could summon it back to him once a day but doing so drained it of power for the rest of the day. The weapon didn't just appear in his hand when summoned. Instead, it flew back to him and, as one thief found out, dragged along anyone who happens to have it strapped to their back. Devlin didn't let the foolish man make the same mistake again.

The king and queen appeared on the balcony above the training yard, with servants holding a cloth canopy over their heads to deflect the rain.

Pulling his hand from the loop, Devlin gripped the hammer by its handle as he waited for the signal from the king.

The monarch raised his hand, "To first blood!" he called out.

"No, Your Majesty, to the death!" Devlin called back.

The queen stepped forward, frowning, "That is a heavy penalty for calling someone a coward."

Devlin bowed. He had to admit the woman was stunningly beautiful. "I mean no disrespect, Your Majesty, but this is not about insults. Twenty of his subordinates died for this man's greed and foolishness. Along with defending my reputation and account of the events, this is also vengeance for those men. Death is the very least he deserves," said the fighter with a vehemence that surprised him.

Taken aback, the queen retreated to her place next to her husband.

"One last thing Milady. When the fighting starts, you should cover your ears."

King Lermin considered Devlin's words before raising his hand again. "To the death!" The lieutenant's panicked objections fell on deaf ears as the monarch's hand fell.

Devlin strode toward the lieutenant. He wasn't in the mood for cat and mouse or grandstanding. The fighter swung at his opponent while turning his hammer, so the spike faced forward. Predictably, the man raised his shield and set his feet to strike as soon as he deflected Devlin's weapon. The spike drove through the shield, startling the soldier as it appeared next to his face. The fighter pulled the hammer and shield across his opponent's body, spinning the man and taking his weapon out of play for a moment.

The shield's leather straps gave as he jerked his hammer back, ripping it from the man's arm. The jolt also freed it from the spike, and Devlin kicked it away when it dropped to the ground. The lieutenant quickly found his feet and brought his sword up in a defensive posture. The soldier raised his weapon to block as Devlin swung, but the fighter spun the hammer backwards at the last moment, bringing the head of the hammer up from below instead and striking the blade just above the crossguard.

The lieutenant yelped as his sword went spinning into the air, the hilt and blade landing on either side of him. Before he recovered from the surprise of his weapon breaking, Devlin jabbed the war hammer's handle into his gut, where he was only protected by chainmail. As the lieutenant doubled over, a hand came down on the soldier's head, pushing him down onto his hands and knees.

"Remember, this is the least you deserve," said Devlin.

"I'm sorry," the man whimpered.

"Tell that to your men," Devlin replied, taking his hand away. Electricity danced across the head of the hammer as he swung it behind him and brought it up under the man's chest. Lightning exploded out of the war hammer's head, creating a deafening clap of thunder that bounced around inside the castle walls. The lieutenant flew into the air from the blast, landing a short distance away with a hole burnt through his chest and the metal melted away where the war hammer struck.

Devlin checked his hammer's head for any damage before placing it in the holster on his back. Most of the people in the courtyard were still holding their heads from the noise. Looking up, he saw the king bent over with his hands covering his ears. However, Queen Ressa had taken his advice and was lowering hers. As their eyes met, the drizzle became a downpour, and the servants hustled the monarchs inside.

!!!!!!

Coming upon the doors to the throne room, he was met by the king's grand vizier. "The king will not see you again, young man," said the man.

"I still require compensation for killing the beast," stated Devlin.

"You failed to retrieve the horn, which was the primary goal of your expedition. You were also given twenty-one soldiers, all of which are dead. Your reward will go toward the replacement and training of those men."

"Three of my people are dead, another is missing a leg, and you are going to give me nothing in return?!" he snarled at the old seer.

"Correct, you will receive nothing from the kingdom of Teremin."

Devlin took a couple of deep breaths, calming himself before he did something he would severely regret. With a final glare at the vizier, he turned on his heel and left.

As he walked away, the queen came out of the throne room flanked by her attendants. Hearing the conversation through the door, she was very unhappy with her husband's decision, but there was little she could do about it. A half-smile came to her face as Ressa thought about the fight in the training yard. The queen couldn't give him the money he was hoping for, but perhaps she could offer up something else. Giving her handmaidens sly, conspiratorial looks that made them giggle like teenagers, she made her way back to her quarters.

The vizier sighed as they walk away. Many times he had used his divination magic to check up on the young queen at the behest of the king's paranoia. As yet, he had never caught her with another man. Instead, she sent out her attendants to have wild flings then reveled in the explicit details of their stories, often with one of the handmaiden's heads tucked neatly between her legs. He had a feeling the queen's attendants were about to go out on another of their forays.

!!!!!!

Devlin paced back and forth across his room at the inn. His hands clenched into fists each time he thought about how the king cheated him, then unclenched as he forced himself to relax before he went off on a blind rampage. He wasn't upset about the loss of money; after collecting his fallen comrades' belongings and the contents of the bear's cave, money wasn't going to be an issue any time soon. But the king denying him payment made it feel like Brek, Naro, and Sifid died for nothing, which was infuriating.

"Dev?"

Jerked out of his musings by Maris's voice, Devlin rushed over to the bed. "You're awake," he said, gathering her up in his arms and hugging her to him. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat, "Thank the gods, you're awake."

She put a weak arm around him since the other was pinned to her side by the man, "I'm good, Dev, I'm good. But... where are we?"

"In Teremin, at an inn."

"In the city?" she asked, trying to push him away. But her arms felt very weak, and Devlin apparently wasn't done holding her. Relaxing, she laid her head against his chest and enjoyed the moment.

Setting her back on the bed, he blushed slightly with embarrassment. "Let me see what the innkeeper has for food, and I'll tell you everything that has happened since the last time you were awake," he said before darting out the door.

When he left, she pulled the covers off her body. Tears began running down Maris's face as she looked down at the sight of her missing leg.

!!!!!!

The following morning Maris slowly opened her eyes. Devlin left some time ago to take care of some business out in the city, and she vaguely remembered him carefully crawling over her to get out of bed.

Like every other time she had awakened since the fight with the bear, Maris hoped to find this was all just a nightmare and discover both of her legs were fine. She wiggled the toes on one foot but on the other... nothing. Rolling over, she shoved her head into the pillow, screaming into it as it finally sunk in that this was no nightmare.

!!!!!!

The grand vizier approached King Lermin as he sat upon his throne, "Your Majesty, with the destruction of the horn, I have been unable to discover any alternative solutions to your... issue. I feel it would be wise if I returned to my tower. You have given me many of the things I need to fulfill my duties here, but I have a larger library and laboratory at my disposal there. I am more likely to discover the next possible course of action in familiar surroundings."

The king glared at the diviner, "So be it. I expect word from you the moment you learn anything."

"Thank you, My Liege," said the vizier with a low bow. "Before I go, Queen Ressa is coming upon the middle of her cycle. I believe she may come to you over the next few days."

Lermin raised an eyebrow, "Days?" It was more customary for him to call her to his chambers before bed. Aside from the odd time, his young queen had been acting extremely annoyed with him the past few days, so his advisor's news was entirely unexpected.

The vizier was confused as well, but the statement felt true, "Yes, Sire, I believe she will come to you during the day, though I know not why." He bowed again, "Farewell, Your Majesty."

Watching the old man walk out of the throne room, the king smiled in anticipation.

!!!!!!