A Bored Lich

Tut pulled his blade away from Frey\'s throat, although his cautious gaze lingered. He cleared his throat: "Men, return to your business. I\'ll handle this."

In a single flourish, the members of Dragon Hoard turned on their heels, sheathed their blades, and marched back to their work, looking as though nothing had happened.

Doevm and Frey exchanged a look. As stupid as Frey could be, even he could recognize when men held their leader with respect. It was an instinct that both Jameson and Wade had beaten into him. It seemed to irk him all the same time, his expression inexplicably darkening.

"I\'m sorry Chieftain. He\'s weirdly strong," Junior said in between gasps for air. He remained on the ground, inching away from Doevm.

Tut looked down at his fallen soldier with a mix of emotions. His tattoos emphasized his upturned lips, yet there was no malice. "Get off your ass. As punishment, you are to remain at your post until we finish up here."

"Yes chief…Yes sir," Junior managed to catch himself this time. He tried to scramble to his feet, but slipped on some loose rubble. His gigantic form slashed into the floodwater.

"Did you forget how to use your own two feet!?" Tut bellowed, storming over to him. "Stand up soldier!"

Junior\'s inexperience betrayed his mind as he allowed the panic to set in; Tut hadn\'t laid a finger on him. When the gigantic Orc stood before the Dwarf, whose head was at his knee, his legs shook and his head lowered in shame. Tut barked another order and Junior hurried back to his position, making sure to give Doevm a wide berth.

Tut\'s expression didn\'t relax. He still wasn\'t finished: "Who are you!?"

"I am a member of Dragon Hoard, sir!" Junior yelled out.

Tut yelled loud enough for the rest of his men to hear. "Do we hang our heads in shame?"

"No sir!" dozens of responses released a singular echo across the entire market that pulled Junior\'s gaze up from the water.

"Why is Junior hanging his head? Do we think it\'s humiliating to be soaked in water?" Tut continued.

"No sir!" the men replied without delay, in unison.

"You don\'t think so?" Tut said with a smirk. "You must be working hard then. You must be covered in sweat. Take a dip to cool off!"

The men put their things down and threw themselves into the water; Tut too. Tut rose alongside them. They were dripping from head to toe but their heads were held high.

"Look at the lot of you!" Tut spat. "Why are your heads held up? Who are we?"

"We are Dragon Hoard!" Junior\'s voice bellowed the loudest.

Tut\'s expression finally softened. "Someone stand with this man and show him how it\'s done."

A scrawny human in his teens handed off a crate to a Dwarven squad member and marched to Junior\'s side without a word. He stood with his hands held behind his back, his head up high, and his back straight. Junior glanced over at the human out of the corner of his eye, who was as soaked as he was, and shifted his posture to match.

Tut finally looked back to Doevm and Frey, who had watched with nostalgia. Tut beckoned for the two to follow him over to a collection of barrels; he sat such that he could still oversee his men. Doevm took a seat opposite to Tut, and only then did Frey sat next to him.

"How many years have you been operating?" Doevm asked.

Tut twisted his beard and wrung the water out: "We\'ve been around for a while, picking up jobs here and there. Occasionally there\'d be people who\'d want to join too. It\'s nothing much but I try to keep \'em stuck together. That\'s all I can say…that is unless you\'re interested. You two look like you can take care of yourselves."

"Not interested," Frey said.

"Figures," Tut sighed. "I had to try."

Doevm took one more glance around, reaffirming that none of the city guards were present. "You mentioned employers. Who are they?"

Tut tapped the barrel underneath him. "You claim you\'re not interested, yet you seem so curious."

"I just wanted to-" Frey tried to say.

Deovm cut him off: "I\'m curious as to your authority which seemingly allows you to impede us."

"Ah, yes," Tut nodded. "My employers are…let\'s say related to the Vilbarian Bureaucracy. They have special privileges that allow us to operate within this colony."

"What\'s a colony?" Frey chimed in.

Tut pointed at the ground: "Right where you\'re standing. The Platinum Hammer struck a deal with the bureaucrats. The ground belongs to Pregov but the products are property of the Vilbarian government. Since this entire market is full of those products, I have rightfully exercised my authority to temporarily shut it down before an international incident happens."

"Oh," Frey said.

"Oh is right, you potential war criminal," Tut huffed. "Luckily, I\'m not as much of an asshole as you are."

"Damned idiot," Doevm hissed.

"I\'m sorry," Frey said.

Tut chuckled. "Are you two…uh…how do I say this? "Comrades" or something?"

"Of course we are," Frey said ignorantly, much to Doevm\'s increasing disappointment in his intellect.

Tut raised an eyebrow, but didn\'t push further. "Here is the deal," he said. "My employers have specified that, until this place gets cleaned up, no one is to enter or leave. I see how this is an issue for you, but I\'d rather not fight if I can help it."

"How long will this take?" Doevm asked.

"A few hours, maybe more," Tut replied. "The entire market is shut down. We\'re scrambling to get everyone\'s supplies in order. It\'s best if you both walk away."

Doevm retracted his mind from the conversation and focused on his sixth sense. The ambient, expended mana was as abundant as grass in a field, but he still couldn\'t pinpoint its source. The products that Dragon Hoard handled had magic signatures; they were all mixed and knotted together, making it hard to track what he was looking for.