A Great Day in Moran

2 months before the Lord's Assembly.

Evelyn had been sitting in the meeting room hearing a report regarding the mines since morning. Amber had spent half of the loan from Risingr to get the mines running again, and she expected to get some revenue from them before spending the rest. The elf advisor knew her mistress was easily bored with all the 'money stuff', so she drew some charts. With colors. It seemed to work as Evelyn was paying attention. Well, barely.

Amber pointed to an upward curve on her chart. "If we manage to reach the prewar production level in a couple of months, then we will have a little surplus this year. And the overseer of the mines should be here right now to report on the early result."

"Who's this overseer?" asked Evelyn, trying to contain a yawn. As if to answer her question, there was a knock on the door.

"That's him. Come in," Amber said. Evelyn raised her eyebrows as she recognized the man.

"Mayor Quill?"

"Good morning, my lady. It's so good to see you again." He bowed at Evelyn so deeply that his head was on the same level as his hip, then he turned to Amber and said gratefully, "And I must express my gratitude to Lady Amber for entrusting me with my old job."

"Your old job?" Evelyn asked. "I thought you're the mayor of Naiva."

"Yes, my duchess. I'm also the overseer of the mines back before the war. I was the head of the Miner Guild, you see."

"You have a lot of jobs, mayor. Are you sure you can fulfill them all?"

"Worry not, my duchess," he smiled, waving his hand. "I'm the head of many guilds and associations, but I never fail at my job. I was the chief collector of the Tirene tax too, did you know that? But you have generously relieved me of that job."

"Yes, yes, very interesting," Evelyn quickly said. "I was told you have some news for us about the mines?"

"Ah yes. I've spent the last couple of weeks at the mines to personally inspect them. Good news, my duchess! There's been no accidents or injuries of any kind. The workers are fed well, and I've managed to negotiate with the locals so we can use their wells—"

"Excellent mayor. What about the silver? How much did you find so far?" Evelyn said impatiently.

"Oh, about that. We haven't found any silver. At all."

"None? Nothing?" Evelyn gasped. She turned to Amber.

"I swore the numbers were positive before the mines were closed," the elf exclaimed. "There must have been a mistake."

"I'm afraid not. The master miner told me the mines are probably depleted. They will keep digging to see if any more silver can be found, but right now, the odds are not in our favor," mayor Quill said steadily.

"Oh Goddess," Evelyn groaned and buried her face between her hands. "Are you telling me I've spent the money for nothing?"

"Duchess Evelyn, I know you're upset. But there's a

silver

lining." He paused and grinned at Evelyn expectantly. Evelyn made no reaction other than lifting her head up, and Quill continued after the awkward pause. "We found iron."

"Iron? It's nowhere near as valuable as silver," Evelyn exclaimed.

"Good observation my lady. A pound of iron is worth only one ounce of silver."

"Please tell me you've found 16 times as much iron then."

"Afraid not, my lady. The yield is nothing remarkable. Oh, in addition, the master miner told me refining the iron takes just as long as silver."

Amber watched Evelyn's facial features with apprehension. They were twisting in a way that did not behoove a noble lady at all.

"Thank you, Mayor Quill. You are dismissed," she said and hastily led the man out of the room and closed the door. As soon as the door was closed, Evelyn screamed into her hands.

"OH MOTHER MERCY. Why can't I get a break," Evelyn wailed.

"Oh mistress," Amber said and hurried to her side.

"What do I do, Amber? Why can't I succeed in even one thing?"

Amber was surprised at how bad Evelyn took the news. Things had been bad before, but not to this level. The elf saw her mistress's eyes were tearing up.

"Well, I had hoped that it wouldn't come to this, but there is one more way to get more money," Amber said calmly while rubbing Evelyn's back.

"What? How?" Evelyn lifted her face from her hands.

"The orcs, mistress. They're mercenaries. We can end the contract with them, and that will free up a huge amount of cash for us. They've been the largest drain in our budget for years."

"But where do I get my troops from?"

"We can raise levies from the local barons. Since it is their duty, they can't refuse. And maintaining a human army is cheaper than the mercenary."

"But...that means I am dependent on the stinking humans," Evelyn exclaimed.

"I'm sorry mistress, but it's the only choice you have left," Amber said with conviction.

Evelyn slumped back into her chair. She wiped her eyes and rubbed her temple. She pondered, and after a minute, she sighed defeatedly.

"I guess you're right. We have to disband the orcs," she muttered weakly.

"We can keep some of them around as guards around the palace if that makes you feel safer." Amber offered.

Evelyn nodded her assent. The elf girl couldn't help but gave her mistress a hug. Evelyn let her younger advisor pulled her in like a child.

"Everything will be fine, mistress," Amber said soothingly, caressing her mistress's shoulder. "We'll get through this."

Evelyn said nothing, but she did stop sobbing.

*-*

The next day, the order was given. Beginning next month, the orcs would no longer serve as the security forces in Moran. Instead, conscripts would be drawn from towns and villages throughout the duchy. This wasn't new to the human population, since human lords had always done this. But the war had disrupted this practice and Evelyn's administration had refused to rely on human soldiers until now.

Later that day, Miklas was called into a meeting with Evelyn.

"Miklas, you've probably heard that the orcs will be leaving next month right?" Evelyn asked.

"Yes, mistress."

"With the orcs gone, I will need some time for the human levies to be properly trained. That means security will be lax in the meantime. And with the Hiss gone, I need you to step up to protect me."

"Of course, mistress. I'll do anything to keep you safe," he said eagerly.

Evelyn smiled at his enthusiasm. "Very good, Miklas. To that end, I need you to learn how to fight, using real weapons. And keep that beefy body of yours in top shape, understand? I rather you intimidate any potential attackers than have them actually try."

"Yes, mistress. Since I came to Moran, I have committed myself to a rigorous training regimen each day. Every morning I run 5 miles, doing 300 pushups, then I—"

"Oh, I don't know much about fitness, but that all sounds very impressive. Keep doing that. In addition, you will begin training with real weapons every day, starting today. Go to the barrack this afternoon. I've told Glog to get his best fighters to instruct you."

"Aye, mistress."

*-*

When Miklas arrived at the barrack, he saw three orcs milling about by the stable. He approached them.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," he greeted them.

The orcs stood still and looked at him suspiciously.

"Oh, I'm sorry, how silly of me," Miklas said and took off his mask. He smiled at the frowning orcs, undeterred by their unfriendliness. "I'm Miklas. Mistress Evelyn told me to be here to learn to fight."

They looked at him again. Their faces softened when they saw Miklas's gentle countenance.

"You a Terravi?" one of them asked.

"Yeah, of course. Why?" Miklas asked.

"Haven't seen one as big as an orc before," the orc said. All three of them examined Miklas from head to toe. The Terravi's height was comparable to that of an orc, and his sizeable muscular body balanced out the fats typical on an orc.

"Now I see why he wears the mask," said another one. This orc looked more intelligent than the others.

"Huh, why?"

"Nevermind. I'm Unuk, that's Berg and Muck," Unuk said, then he grabbed a wooden sword from the ground and tossed it to Miklas. "Let's see what you got. Muck, test him." Muck grumbled and grabbed another wooden sword.

"Should I learn some basic moves first?" Miklas asked.

"We're testing you. Block his swings and hit back," Unuk said.

And with that, Muck and Miklas began sparring. Miklas's lack of skills was immediately apparent. He was quickly beaten back and was on the defensive the whole bout. Yet, Muck wasn't able to disarm Miklas since the Terravi athlete clutched his sword like his life depended on it, and he reacted quick enough to block any blow from Muck. And being as big as an orc meant Miklas and Muck were on equal footing strength-wise. After a couple of minutes, and the fight was still inconclusive. Then, Muck raised his sword high which caused Miklas to brace for a downward blow. But instead of striking down, Muck grabbed Miklas's arm and throw the Terravi onto the ground.

Muck and his pals laughed at the dirty trick. Miklas quickly got up on his feet. "I didn't know you can do that," Miklas said curiously.

"We're fighting, innit? Everything's fair game here," Muck said.

"Oh, I got it. Thanks," Miklas replied with a smile. Muck seemed perturbed by his genial smile.

They sparred again, and Miklas was once more on the defensive. When Muck repeated his trick, this time with a faux upswing and a dirty grab, Miklas quickly countered by grasping Muck's arm and pulled him into the ground. Before Muck realized what had happened, he was pinned down by Miklas's bulk, and his arms locked behind his back by Miklas. The Terravi athlete expertly restrained Muck, not letting him recover. They struggled for a whole minute before Muck whimpered, "AHHHH. You...win. Let me go."

Miklas released him. He stood up without any problem, but Muck could only lay face down on the ground and wheezed.

Unuk and Berg walked up to check up on their fallen comrade.

"You good?" Berg nudged Muck with the sole of his shoe.

"Uh, argh, bahh."

"Sounds fine to me," Unuk said, then he looked at Miklas. "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" Miklas asked.

"That move. I never saw someone counter a grab like that," Unuk said.

"The boy was fast too. He threw Muck on the ground before I even see it," Berg added.

"It's a simple move in wrestling. I can show you guys if you want," Miklas offered.

Unuk and Berg looked at each other, then they nodded. "Sure," Unuk said. "And teach us how to hold someone down like you did. Muck was like fifty pounds fatter than you, but you pin him down good."

"When you got the technique, it's easy really. Let me show you," Miklas said enthusiastically.

A couple hours later.

Amber felt a bit unease as she walked to the barrack. She didn't like walking amidst the orcs, but she had decided to check up on Miklas when she was done with her work. She was prepared to see some ugly scenes of Miklas being bullied by the orcs, yet that was not the case. The blond elf instead saw her friend sitting with three orcs whom she recognized. Both orcs and Terravi were chatting and laughing animatedly. Each was holding a mug of beer.

"Uh, is everything alright here?" Amber asked.

"Yeah, we're having a great time, don't you see?" Unuk said.

"Did you guys train at all?"

"Yeah, we do. This guy is amazing. He can beat anyone he comes close to," Unuk said, smacking Miklas on the back. "Taught us a few tricks too."

Miklas smiled at the compliment. Amber noticed that his face glowed a bit redder than usual, and his eyes a bit glassy.

"How much did you drink, Miklas? You look...tipsy."

"A pint of beer. This kid can't hold his liquor," Berg said.

"I didn't get to drink while training at the capital," Miklas explained. "Unuk is letting me catch up."

"I think you have enough to drink. If you tried to catch up with the orcs, you'll be dead."

Unuk downed his mug and burped. "Well, we have to stop anyway, not because that cat girl is being a downer, but because we're out of beer ration."

"Nah, it's good. I still got mine," Muck said.

"Nope, me and Berg drank it all yesterday."

"Wait, what?" Muck exclaimed.

"Hey, cat girl, can ya tell Glog to up our beer ration? Us orcs are doing extra work here," Berg said.

"I'm not a

feline

!" Amber raised her voice.

"Whut? Never said you were."

"You go and tell Glog yourself."

"Please, Amber. These guys are great," Miklas said. He held his mug with two hands as he spoke. The way his glassy brown eyes staring at her reminded Amber of puppy eyes. She relented.

"All right, I'll bring this up to Glog. But drinking is only after training."

"Fine by me," Unuk said. The other two grumbled their agreements.

"Thanks, Amber," Miklas said.

"Miklas, it's getting dark. You should get back while the light's still out."

Miklas stood up. "She's right. I better go before I keel over. It's been great training with you guys."

"See you tomorrow." The three orcs cheered and waved goodbye to Miklas. He and Amber walked away.

"Do you think Glog will give us more beer?" Muck asked his pals.

"Who knows? Glog's cheap as peas, except when buying new mares. Hey, I got an idea. Maybe Unuk can bring this up to missus," Berg said, slapping Unuk's shoulder. "She kept calling you back to her room, right?"

"Are you nuts? She's still mad about Unuk spreading that rumor. He's always come out of her room with marks on his face. I even saw handprints. She's scratching or slapping him or something. He'd be crazy to ask her," Muck replied.

"Hey you two, shut it," Unuk snapped at them, but they ignored him.

"Oh yeah. We lot worry about you, buddy. Why you keep coming back there? She's slapping you about like a...um, human," Berg said.

"I told you two it's not a problem. You don't hear me complain," Unuk said.

"Why don't you?"

"Cus I lik—," Unuk stopped himself and coughed loudly. "I'm fine, that's it. I don't need you two to worry about me," Unuk said, then he stood up and walked away. Berg and Muck just stared at him blankly.

*-*

"Are you alright? You're walking a bit funny," Amber said after observing Miklas's gait for the past minute. She wasn't just watching the way he walked though. It looked like the training was tough, since his bare, treetrunk-thick legs were dirty and his torso was coated in a sheen of sweat, which gave his muscular body a shiny look in the scarlet dusky light.

"I'm fine. Just a bit..." he yawned, "...lightheaded. I think I'm gonna retire early," Miklas said.

"You definitely should, big guy."

He raised his right arm up to stretch, then swung it back and forth.

"Ah, my arm hurts. Muck didn't spare the new guy at all." He rubbed his bicep with his other arm. Amber stared at the round boulder that was his shoulder as it rolled with each movement of his arm. She bit her lip as she watched his bulging bicep and his clear-cut forearm flexed. When he curled his arm, his bicep grew to the size of a cantaloupe. The tough training had also made his muscles swelled, and thanks to Miklas's 'uniform', Amber could see every inch of his chiseled physique.

"By the way, I can't believe those orcs like you so much. They usually treat non-orcs not too kindly," Amber said. Then she noticed he's looking at her with a smile.

"You're afraid they're gonna bully me? Is that why you came to check up on me?"

"Um, uh, yeah," Amber replied shyly.

Damn that smile of his.

"I just, um, don't want you to have a bad time with them, that's all."

Miklas stopped walking and swung his arm around Amber. She froze as she was suddenly pulled into a bear hug with the taller Terravi man. The shorter elf was inevitably lifted off the ground. Then he leaned down, and completely unexpected, kissed her on the lip. Being intoxicated, Miklas's lips leaned a little too hard against Amber's, but he kept his balance so the pair didn't fall over. Two seconds later, the kiss was over.

"Thanks, Amber. I love..." he hiccupped, "...that you're around, and like, care about me."

Amber stood frozen in his embrace. She was too shocked to respond. Or breathe. Her mouth was still slightly opened, she could feel the heat of his lips lingering on her own.

"Amber?" Miklas asked.

"G-glad to hear it, big guy," Amber managed to utter after she rediscovered breathing. "Let's, um, let's get back to your room."

They both walked on until they arrived at Miklas's room. The conversation was mostly one-sided, with Miklas did most of the talking.

"Good night, Amber."

"Good night, big guy."

He waved at her and closed the door. As soon as the door was closed, Amber leaned against the wall and exhaled loudly. She stood silently with her hands on her chest, her ringing ears could hear nothing but her own erratic heartbeats. Then, after a whole minute of silence, she walked back to her room with an unusual lightness to her feet. The elf girl went to bed that night with a smile.

*-*

A few days later.

It was a typical day in the palace. In the main hall, servants milled about performing their daily duties. Meanwhile, Evelyn was sitting on her throne, bored out of her mind as she watched the servants.

"Pssst, Amber, are you sure I have nothing to do this morning but to wait for this captain?" Evelyn whispered to her advisor, who was standing behind her as usual.

"Nothing at all, mistress. It was Saint Terry's day today, a holiday, so no petitions from anyone."

"Saint Terry? Who's that?"

"Seriously, mistress? You didn't read the Complete Unabridged History of Moran like I told you? It's only 20 pages long."

"Stop nagging, Amber. You're not my dad! Who's Terry?"

"He's the patron saint of Moran. He brought goats to this land after he banished the cows."

"Wait, what? Why?"

Amber shrugged. "That's what the tales said. It's the reason why goat and goat-related products are the main—and only—major exports of Moran."

"Huh. That was almost interesting," Evelyn remarked wryly.

"I aim to please," Amber replied flatly. "Besides, I thought you don't like hearing complaints and petitions?"

"It's at least something. And when I denied a petition, it's always funny to see the faces on those humans." Evelyn sank into her chair and sighed. "When is he arriving again?"

"Should be in a few minutes. I heard he's always on time."

Evelyn resumed staring at the servants and waited. Amber decided to leave her mistress for a moment and approached Miklas, who was standing guard on the other side of Evelyn's throne.

"Hi, big guy," Amber whispered.

"Hi, Amber," Miklas replied. His quiet but cheerful tone clashed violently with the fearsome tiger mask he's wearing. They stepped back a little bit from Evelyn. Amber waited a few seconds to see if Miklas would say something, but then she realized he was waiting for her to speak first.

"I, uh, just want to check up on you. I was a little busy with organizing the levies these past couple of days. So, how's your training?" Amber said while looking ahead, not focusing on Miklas. They had adopted this way of speaking in public to avoid breaking the illusion of Miklas as a silent giant.

"It's going well. Unuk said I'm a natural at close combat fighting. Guess I have my wrestling background to thank. We'll try with real swords this afternoon," said Miklas in a hushed tone.

"That's awesome. You should be an experienced fighter in no time," Amber said. "Still drinking with the guys?"

"No, not anymore. I decided that I shouldn't. I was so drunk last time I overslept and miss my morning exercise. What if mistress found out? She would be terribly disappointed if she knew I didn't uphold my training regimen."

"Wow, you take your training seriously."

"I do, Amber. I have to be in excellent shape for mistress. I promised her. Besides, I can't remember anything that afternoon. All I remembered was I blabbed a lot," he said, then he suddenly raised his voice a little. "Hey, you walk with me back that day. I didn't do or say anything embarrassing, did I?"