Read Online Rise of the Blood Masters (Book 5) by Kristian Alva - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kristian Alva
Ads: Link
other clans. During the early days leading up to the rebellion, Utan approached the dwarf council, asking for better working conditions and higher pay for his people. But his grievances were ignored, and the plight of the Vardmiters did not improve.
Utan became increasingly frustrated by the systematic denigration of his people, and he continued to fight for more rights. He complained directly to the king, but Hergung was very sick and could scarcely speak. Hergung deferred Utan back to the council, who dismissed his complaints yet again.
Infuriated, Utan began making secret plans to leave Mount Velik. He scouted for land and found a group of serviceable caves in the northwest region of the Highport Mountains. When Utan returned from his travels, he immediately called his clan together. On the day of the meeting, Utan stood in front of his clan and shouted, “We deserve better than this! The abuse of our people must stop! And it will! It stops today!”
With his passionate words, Utan whipped his clan into a frenzy. By the end of his speech, the Vardmiters were ready to follow him anywhere. And they did. The Vardmiters packed up and left Mount Velik under the cover of darkness that very same night, through a secret exit in the mountain. Their mass exodus was unlike anything the clans had ever seen.
Since no dwarf outside the Vardmiter clan ever entered their caves, news of the exodus didn’t reach the other clans until the following morning, when gossip began spreading through the city like a prairie fire.
The other clans were incredulous. The dwarf council met and swiftly issued a formal pronouncement declaring it to be a temporary situation. The council maintained that the Vardmiters would return to Mount Velik in disgrace within days. A few council members even laughed about it. The council firmly believed that the Vardmiters would fail. They even started taking bets on when they would return. No one should panic, they insisted. They’ll come back soon enough. Everyone calmed down a bit after that.
Too bad it was a lie. And Skemtun and the other dwarves had been foolish enough to believe it.
As the days turned into weeks, it became clear that the council was wrong. Very wrong. In desperation, the council sent spies to discover what the Vardmiters were doing. When the initial reports came back, the council refused to believe them.
The spies reported that the Vardmiters were doing well—thriving, in fact, in their new home. Although they had struggled at first, ultimately, they had persevered. Against all odds, the Vardmiters had succeeded.
On their own.
The Vardmiters weren’t afraid to work hard to make their lives better. They pooled what little money they had and purchased three pigs; a boar and two sows. The pigs were easy to care for, because they could thrive on a diet of almost anything, including food scraps, acorns, and wild plants. From two breeding sows, the Vardmiters built their vast pig farms. All the female piglets were kept for breeding and the hogs fattened for consumption. They raised the pigs sensibly and treated them with care.
Under the Vardmiter’s watchful husbandry, the sows multiplied by leaps and bounds, and within a year, the dwarves had a stable source of meat. In the meantime, women and children looked for food outside the mountain, gathering everything that was even remotely edible while they waited for their mushroom beds to mature. In this way, the Vardmiters survived their difficult first year.
After that, it only became easier for them.
As the conditions at Highport improved, the situation at Mount Velik deteriorated. No one was left to work the menial jobs that the Vardmiters used to do. The Vardmiters had performed all the unskilled jobs; they provided such vital services as garbage collection, sewage removal, general repairs, and burial of the dead.
The Vardmiters had also done most of the agricultural work, too, so their absence reduced the food supply. The
Utan became increasingly frustrated by the systematic denigration of his people, and he continued to fight for more rights. He complained directly to the king, but Hergung was very sick and could scarcely speak. Hergung deferred Utan back to the council, who dismissed his complaints yet again.
Infuriated, Utan began making secret plans to leave Mount Velik. He scouted for land and found a group of serviceable caves in the northwest region of the Highport Mountains. When Utan returned from his travels, he immediately called his clan together. On the day of the meeting, Utan stood in front of his clan and shouted, “We deserve better than this! The abuse of our people must stop! And it will! It stops today!”
With his passionate words, Utan whipped his clan into a frenzy. By the end of his speech, the Vardmiters were ready to follow him anywhere. And they did. The Vardmiters packed up and left Mount Velik under the cover of darkness that very same night, through a secret exit in the mountain. Their mass exodus was unlike anything the clans had ever seen.
Since no dwarf outside the Vardmiter clan ever entered their caves, news of the exodus didn’t reach the other clans until the following morning, when gossip began spreading through the city like a prairie fire.
The other clans were incredulous. The dwarf council met and swiftly issued a formal pronouncement declaring it to be a temporary situation. The council maintained that the Vardmiters would return to Mount Velik in disgrace within days. A few council members even laughed about it. The council firmly believed that the Vardmiters would fail. They even started taking bets on when they would return. No one should panic, they insisted. They’ll come back soon enough. Everyone calmed down a bit after that.
Too bad it was a lie. And Skemtun and the other dwarves had been foolish enough to believe it.
As the days turned into weeks, it became clear that the council was wrong. Very wrong. In desperation, the council sent spies to discover what the Vardmiters were doing. When the initial reports came back, the council refused to believe them.
The spies reported that the Vardmiters were doing well—thriving, in fact, in their new home. Although they had struggled at first, ultimately, they had persevered. Against all odds, the Vardmiters had succeeded.
On their own.
The Vardmiters weren’t afraid to work hard to make their lives better. They pooled what little money they had and purchased three pigs; a boar and two sows. The pigs were easy to care for, because they could thrive on a diet of almost anything, including food scraps, acorns, and wild plants. From two breeding sows, the Vardmiters built their vast pig farms. All the female piglets were kept for breeding and the hogs fattened for consumption. They raised the pigs sensibly and treated them with care.
Under the Vardmiter’s watchful husbandry, the sows multiplied by leaps and bounds, and within a year, the dwarves had a stable source of meat. In the meantime, women and children looked for food outside the mountain, gathering everything that was even remotely edible while they waited for their mushroom beds to mature. In this way, the Vardmiters survived their difficult first year.
After that, it only became easier for them.
As the conditions at Highport improved, the situation at Mount Velik deteriorated. No one was left to work the menial jobs that the Vardmiters used to do. The Vardmiters had performed all the unskilled jobs; they provided such vital services as garbage collection, sewage removal, general repairs, and burial of the dead.
The Vardmiters had also done most of the agricultural work, too, so their absence reduced the food supply. The
Similar Books
