The Lost Library of Cormanthy - Mel Odom [44]
"I will raise an army," Chomack said. "With the treasure from these dead-elf pits, I will find an outlaw trader and buy more weapons. New weapons that are made of polished steel to fire the heart of any hobgoblin who call himself a warrior. When others hear of what I have, they will flock to my tribe."
"You are ambitious," Krystarn said. "What will you do with this army when you gather it?"
"There is an accounting of vengeance that must be made against the Ulnathr Tribe. They attacked our tribe from behind while we battled a band of troglodytes that had moved into our homeland and started eating us. Caught between the troglodytes and the Ulnathr Tribe, most of us were left for dead. We traveled deeper into these ruins. The coward-chieftain of the Ulnathr will not come here because of the wild magic."
"I can help you," Krystarn said.
The hobgoblin chieftain glanced at her suspiciously. "How?"
The drow opened her bag of holding and reached inside. When she drew out her hand, she opened it to show the jewels inside. "Here."
Hesitantly, Chomack held out his hand. Krystarn dumped the handful of diamonds, sapphires, rubies, and emeralds into the hobgoblin chieftain's palm. "Let this be a token of my interest in your success."
"This is much," Chomack said.
"Only a small fortune," the drow replied, "against the measure of my interests. I have been lucky in my life, Lloth be praised."
The hobgoblin chieftain passed the gems back to a subchieftain, who made them quickly disappear. "Why would you care about my cause?"
"I am not interested in furthering your cause," Krystarn answered honestly. "However, I am investing on a return against my good will."
"Huh?" Chomack asked suspiciously.
"As a down payment for the use of your sword arms at a time when I would need it." Krystarn felt a glow of satisfaction when the hobgoblin chieftain didn't immediately turn her offer down. The tribe was indeed in dire straits if they were delving into the ruins of Myth Drannor. She also knew that agreeing to a bargain with a drow was not something Chomack would want to do under normal circumstances. Shallowsoul did not control everything that happened in the ruins.
"When?"
"When I should so declare it." Having a small, well-equipped army within the caverns might prove beneficial, the drow knew. For the first time in the four years of her sacrifice to Lloth, she felt as if she might soon be freed.
"I will not throw away my life or my tribe," the hobgoblin chieftain warned.
"Nor would I have you do so. I do not fight battles to let the gods decide. If I ask you to fight for me, it will be to win, not to lose."
"And if we do?"
"There will be more gems and treasures for you to add to your coffers. I find vengeance a powerful motivation. I can see in your eyes that nothing less than blood-letting will sate yours. In that, we understand each other."
Chomack took a step back and swung his hard gaze on his tribespeople. None of them had moved any closer to the drow, nor had any of their weapons been lowered. "When I speak my answer to this sorceress, I speak for all of us. I want this to be understood. Any who would oppose me later will oppose me now."
Quiet murmurs and nods of assent spread around the half-circle of hobgoblins.
Chomack turned back to face the drow. "I agree to your terms, Krystarn Fellhammer. We shall give you our sword arms when you need them, and you will give us four gems for every gem you have already given us."
Irritation stung the drow. It wasn't that the amount was so much, she had managed to gather several times that much in gems and coins and other items in the years she had been with Shallowsoul, but the humanoid's greed offended her. Having the hobgoblin push the bargain so hard only meant he believed he had her at a disadvantage. She did not want him thinking that. "You are greedy," she said quietly.
"I thought your Lloth invented greed," Chomack said.
"Careful that your tongue does not commit a sacrilege that I cannot abide," Krystarn warned.
"I meant no offense, sorceress, but I've heard of the