... And A Shiny New Sword - The Tale of Garbus the Malcontent

Chapter 5: A little bit of background information

The crackling campfire was a good background noise for the song that I was about to compose. So I hummed the melody while I played on my lute, totally sank into my music. Until a strong hand touched me on my shoulder.

"May I?" Garbus asked, reached out his hand for my instrument.

I wasn't aware that the warrior had also some interest in music, so out of sheer curiosity I handed over the lute, just to see what would happen.

He just stood there, looking at the lute with a keen eye. Then he took it in one of his massive hands... and slammed it with full force right into the next tree.

And again.

And again. And again.

After roughly five minutes of him bashing the lute into it, the tree was down. The family of birds that had nested in it were up and away, chirping in anger and indignation. A few bushes had been busted by the fallen tree as well, and the sound of the wildlife on the ground wasn't one of pleasure either.

Garbus looked at the lute again, now in complete puzzlement. It didn't even have a scratch.

"Forgot to tell you," I admitted. "It's the Lute of Stability. You aren't the first one who tried this."

With a grunt he gave it back to me.

"You could have just asked me to stop," I reminded him gently. Garbus just scoffed and continued roasting some meat on a stick.

I leaned back against another tree under which I was sitting, closed my eyes and listened to the sounds of the wild. The fire crackled, the wind whispered in the leaves. An owl hooted. A wolf holwed in the distance, followed by a few others. Then a loud growl sounded through the forest, and the howl of the wolves stopped immediatley, followed by shrieking and the gnashing of bones. How peaceful, I thought.

I opened my eyes again and looked at my travel companion. "Say," I started, "we have been on this journey for two days now, and you haven't even told me of you plan."

Over the campfire he gave me a look - a very special look that I had often received from my father when he found me to be particularly stupid. "We have been on this journey for two days, and you haven't even asked me once."

"I guess now is as good a time as ever." I shrugged. "So what is your plan?"

He gestured me to come closer to the fire and offered me a peace of well-done meat. I didn't remember which animal it was from, and perhaps it was wise not to ask. I just took it. While I chewed and tried to swallow, he finally laid it out for me: "If we want to take over Nivella, we have to seize the capital and force King Rondor to give up his throne. And you told me what it would take us to do that: Strength, courage, an army... and something against the crossbows."

"I still say that I was only kidding." But at this point it was futile. If anything on this man was more persistent than his epic muscle strength, it was his stubbornness. "The crossbows are not the only issue here. If King Rondor knew what you are planning, he would throw everything at you that he's got. We would be facing his entire army."

"Yeah..." Another scoff told me what Garbus thought of that before he put it into words: "I've defended his kingdom against the undead because his army was too weak and frightened to do it. I don't think he can throw anything at me that would scare me."

I wasn't ready to bet on that, although it was clear that Garbus had his well-earned reputation. "So what are you planning to do?"

His look was dead serious when he fixated me with it. "That's where you come in, Reinhardt. Tell me - where would I find the manpower to overcome the troops of the king?"

I knew that this question would come up sooner or later, so over the last two days I had made up my own mind about it. The most obvious answer to overthrowing a kingdom was to ask another kingdom for help. And Nivella had no shortage of enemies, despite being a peaceful kingdom - or maybe just because of that. I tried to remember which one of their many neighbors had the biggest beef with them.

Finally I had an answer. "What about Queen Braggia?"

I expected the name to be familiar to my companion, and I was right. He gave me another one of those looks. "I've had dealings with her before, and it would be easier to convince a dragon to help us then even getting an audience with her." Right as he said that, it looked like an idea had flashed up somewhere in his brain, and he held the drumstick of whatever animal he was eating there to his chin, brushing it with greasy meat. "You know... a dragon could actually help us with it."

"If you know one that is not hostile to you," I voiced my concern. Actually I was more concerned about my own wellbeing at this point. This man seemed to know no fear at all, and the further we travelled, the more outrageous his ideas became. Even with all what he had achieved in his life, even he couldn't step in front of a dragon, expecting not to be roasted or eaten - or both - at that very moment.

Did dragons prefer hot meals to cold ones? Was their fire breathing just a way to prepare their meal up front? I never thought about such things, and I never wanted to. The barbequed animal in my own hands didn't seem so appetizing anymore.

"Actually," Garbus started to speak out of nowhere. "Your idea isn't that bad. I think I know someone in Braggia's kingdom who could help us."

"Oh, good!" My enthusiasm had gone the same way as my appetite. But I did my best not to sound too sarcastic. "Hopefully we get to talk to them before they try to kill us."

Even though I meant that as another joke, I found out that I was perfectly right about my assumption. "Yes, you have a point there," Garbus admitted. "So we will have to take a short detour. We need to get something that would be convincing.

I sighed. "Another detour?" We had taken a few detours already on this journey. At the first day we had come across a cave that Garbus for some undisclosed reason had not yet explored. It was quite the experience. I nearly died from a rock slide, a bunch of bats flew right in my face and made me drop my torch, and the undead creatures that had guarded this old chest at the far end of the caves had not been pleased about our presence there. Garbus made short work of the animated skeletons and turned them into bone meal while I tried not to throw up from the stench. At least the contents of the chest paid off for the trouble: Gold, a ruby and a pair of boots that I was able to identify as "The Hooves of Moo-mooria".

The problem was that this occasion repeated itself on a regular basis. On the second day we passed the ruins of a castle - nothing big, it was just like a very elaborate watchtower, and it was swarming with goblins. This time I even managed to kill one of them with my rapier, and I was pretty proud of myself, until I saw the mess that Garbus had made of the other eighteen of them. On top of the highest tower... was another chest. A handful of gold, an emerald this time, and a belt. I recognized it as the "Belt of the Landstrider" and started to wonder why so many magic artifacts were just scattered in random chests all over the kingdom.

Three hours later another ruin, another bunch of monsters, another chest... I started to see a pattern. "Don't you think we have enough artifacts for anyone to be satisfied?" I asked.

"You misunderstand," Garbus answered. "I'm not looking for an artifact. At least she would not call herself that."

"She?" I was surprised. And confused. "What are you up to?"

He didn't miss the change in my voice. "I see that I got your attention now. Trust me - this should be right up your alley."

He gestured me to keep eating. Reluctantly I did. I also wondered if he would let me in on his idea for a change. But of course... he wouldn't.