A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor-Chapter 2111: My Kingdom - Part 7

"Did you think I wouldn’t be able to tell that you were telling fibs?"

"We did telling a fib!"

"That’s right! We just kept it from you... That’s better, isn’t it?"

The Gnome that they called Chief came over with an even larger hammer than the one that Bobby and Henry were carrying, and with a mighty thwack, he hammered them both so hard on the head that their tall pointed hats flattened right down to their noses.

They both dropped, and Oliver’s mouth sat agape. He feared that they were dead. But then one groaned, and then the other, and holding they heads, they rolled to their feet. "Sorry..."

"Sorry..." They said one after the other.

"I should think so," the Chief said, crossing his arms. His beard was a deep dark black. For some reason he carried an aura of strength, despite being so small. Oliver found it all rather confusing.

"I suppose we had better introduce you..."

"This is Tempest," the other finished for him. "He’s King of the old Emerson lands."

"Is he now?" The Chief said. "I remember you, Tempest. Well, at least, I remember the feeling of your existence," he said, in quite the same strange way that the Gnomes had the day before.

"Sorry to bother you," Oliver said.

"You helped these two out with a Troll yesterday, did you not? I should be thanking you. So thank ya, I think," the Chief said. "But from the sounds of it, they’ve already paid you back, haven’t they? They tended to your sword?"

"It’s not done yet," one of the Gnomes said.

"We were too tired to finish it."

"Hm," the Chief said. With a mighty leap, he was right next to Oliver, prying the blade from Oliver’s scabbard. This time, Oliver allowed it of him. The Chief laid it down on the rock in front of them, and with a mighty thwack, he brought his hammer down, before inspecting the sword once more, and giving a satisfied nod.

"There you go," the Chief said. "Should be as good as it was when Dominus was looking after it. Now you be careful with it, eh? You make sure your heart is pure when you’re wielding it, else it will get the same way again."

Holding that sword, Oliver felt the inexplicable urge to go rushing off and to play with it. Barely did he contain that as he managed to sheath it. A gulp rewarded the extent of his effort.

"Wielding something with a pure heart is easier said than done," Oliver said.

"Of course it is," the Chief said. "You’re a human, after all. But doesn’t mean it’s worth any less to aim for that, does it?"

"...It took us a full hour to work on that, and the Chief finished it off in a single hit."

"Makes you feel worthless, doesn’t it?" The other Gnome responded sullenly.

"You two have work to tend to, don’t you? While you dally here, those goblins are making the forest all the worse. Scram, would ya?"

"Yes, Chief."

"We’re off."

Their conversation went back and forth as they danced in grand leaps across the river rocks, making their escape.

"Think he’s still gonna be angry at us later?"

"Uhh, uhh. Yeah! Yeah, we’re in trouble."

"I want pie again..."

"Pie would be nice... As long as we don’t die fighting goblins."

When they were away from sight, Oliver thought the Chief looked just a little bit less serious. Or perhaps that was simply because of the massive sneeze that he heaved, powerful enough to knock him off his feet.

"ACHOOOOO!"

"Are you alright?"

"Uh... Aye..." The Chief said dazed, wiping his nose. "Hope I haven’t gone and caught a cold. The village will be slacking off without me... and there’s so much work to do..."

"It seems like that’s my fault," Oliver said. "I didn’t realize."

"It’s the natural cycle of things, see?" The Chief said, waving his hands in dismissal. "Tending to this sort of thing is what keeps us alive, and full of energy. Just eating normal food can’t sustain us – we’re not physical beings like you. Just... Sometimes there’s more than you can eat."

"The feeling of this place, it’s because of your hard work?" Oliver said. "It’s the most magical place I’ve ever been in."

The Chief puffed out his chest in pride. "’Course it is. We’ve looked after it for a few hundred years – well under my watch we have. There was a different Chief before me, and before the First King."

"You met the First King?"

"Aye, of course I did."

"What was he like?"

"Strange. I never spoke to him, mind you. He couldn’t see me. Didn’t need to. He had a pure enough heart to deal with most of anything himself. Hardly needed a Gnome."

"He sounds an admirable man," Oliver said.

"Eh? Why’s you oozing glumness when you say that? You’re not so different than him, Tempest."

"I think I’m rather corrupt, especially lately," Oliver said.

The Chief shrugged. "The life of a human is difficult, and you’ve endured much. Besides, wearing that crown isn’t doing much good for you – that thing sits on your head like a curse. You’ll need a Gnome to fix that for you, if you want any degree of peace at night."

Oliver pulled the crown from his head. He didn’t doubt what the Gnome had said. The world had certainly seemed darker for a time after he had put it on. "Would you fix it for me?"

The Chief sniffed. "I’d do it anyway, ’cos it’s my nature, no matter who a man is... But I’ve more pressing things I’ve got to deal with first. Pandora’s work goes on in this forest, while your men are resting. I can’t waste my strength."

"Can I assist you?"

"Now why’d you want to go and do that?" The Chief said. "This is a Gnome’s job. We do it anyway, whether humans are here or not. I’ve looked after this forest for Claudia for hundreds of years, never had a human help me. Do you think I need help now?"