The Exile

By L.M.D. Bellinger

An outcast from his homeland, Maugrim lives a life where the struggle for survival is a daily chore. And yet this dwarf cannot help but wonder what waits for him out in the world that's yet to be explored.

Join him as he reminisces on his first quest, a tale of romance, heroics, and harsh realities, while he fights his way through enemy territory in a conflict he wasn't prepared for.

• Language: English
• Publisher: L.M.D. Bellinger
• Release date: Jul 8, 2018
• ISBN: 9781999380410

Book preview

The Exile

L.M.D. Bellinger.

Copyright

Copyright 2018

ISBN

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons living, or dead is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

The Exile

Laying down in the muck. On my face. Ambushed by elves. Comrades stone-dead by my side. In a blood-soaked warzone.

I asked for it, so I can’t complain.

Not like I was doing much better things beforehand though.

And all that’s to do is stand the fuck back up, spit out the shite between my teeth, grab my shield, and give ‘em what they had coming to ‘em.

MY AXE FOR THE GLORY OF MY ANCESTORS!

WE’RE EXILES, MAUGRIM my boy. All cause your granddaddy stood up for himself and the good of the mountain to those god-damned Honeybrews and got himself dishonoured for it. But the Stonehelm Clan has always spat in the face of hardship if we couldn’t give it a good wallop for what it’s worth! Never forget that!

We were outcasts. Living on the edges of civilization. A dishonoured mountain-dwarf clan with roots going back to time immemorial. Before our ancestors found the blood of the earth and learned to harness it for everything from weapons to tools. Back when a nice piece of flint was all there was between you and the jaws of a sabretooth cat. We’re ancient, and my father made sure I remembered that. Because when all you have is nothing, your history is all that’s left. And that’s what drives people like us. People like me.

When you’ve got nothing to lose, your cards are always on the table, and your bet is always ‘all in’.

We lived like that. For something like 40 years, we were nomads, taking one risk after another to either survive or get ahead of where we were. We had no permanent home. And the mountains are an unforgiving place if you’re not strong or wise. Just me, my da, and my brother Einkel. No money, consistently at least. No easy source of food but what we could gather or catch. And no luxuries but what we could find or steal if need be.

The concepts of security, comfort, and safety were as foreign to us as the galleys that come over from the eastern lands.

We were barbarians. But my da made sure we weren’t idiots.

Maugrim, what do you have to show me on your progress with replicating that map we got? Einkel already finished an hour ago, lad! You’ve got to at least try!

Old Roedric Stonehelm used to have a decent enough life as it was before tragedy drove him to detest society. He managed to obtain some education as a map maker, and he had excellent mathematical skill. But when my mother was murdered due to an incident of brutality by a guardsman, he snapped and took his boys into the mountains, where he fed and defended them on his own. He was a true adventurer back in his day, and even wrestled with dragons and the like.

But he wasn’t too proud of it.

Nevertheless, while his wisdom would inspire my little brother to studious inquiry, his stories would inspire me to take up my own quest.

A quest to redeem my family’s namesake...

DA, YOU TOLD ME THAT you once fought with a green dragon back in your day. How about telling us about it for once?

Maugrim, you damn idiot! Stop distracting me when I’m trying to figure out where the FUCK we are!

Our talks would usually go like this.

Einkel, get me your compass for a second.

Oh, um, okay da. It’s somewhere in my pack, I’m sure.

You shoved it in there all willy-nilly again like you did with that wench back in town, didn’t ya?

MAUGRIM! What did I tell you about that kind of language?!

Here it is!

I couldn’t help but tease my little brother like that when we lived together. He knew it was all in jest, and he knew I did it because he knew I knew he was smarter than I. Drove our da to no end of distraction, however.

OH BOY. I KNEW we turned the wrong way back at that fork in the road there. NOW we’re gonna have to hoof it up three more hills to get back to a good campsite tonight, lads. And who am I blaming THIS time?

To be fair, da, Maugrim was trying to catch a fish in the river while reading the map...

Maugrim was showing off again like he shouldn’t had been and had his head stuck up his arse too damn far to see what was right in front of his face, that’s what! What do I always tell you lads about survival?

Know where you are, know where you’re going, know how you’re going to fill your water flask, and know where you’re getting your next dinner.

IN. THAT. ORDER!

He was harsh. He had to be. The wilderness was much harsher.

Sure, we stopped in the occasional town if we had things to trade, and we bought our clothes, supplies, and weapons there. But most of the time we were on our own, out in the mountains, hoofing it up and down the hills from one place to another to either learn an important lesson or find a better site to camp at. On that day we had come into town to buy ourselves some weapons. We had trained with all sorts of weapons out in the wilds. Our da knew a few other nomadic dwarves like us who would exchange their knowledge and training for goods our da knew how to procure.

Alright boys, while we’re walking up and down these mounds, what else did you spend your money on? I see you got yourself a crossbow there, Einkel. It’ll make hunting easier for you, no doubt.

A tiny, overly-complicated piece of machinery, just like him! I prefer my javelins for hunting.

Let’s see you take down a deer with that maul of yours, brother. It’ll be a mile away before you even take a swing!

A big, dumb, stupidly heavy weapon for a wannabe berserker. An axe and a shield would do you better, son.

I bought that maul