Kallenfost

Valkut, you know how the commonfolk have named our age the Third Kingdom of Prosperity, yes?

That I do. Most of them are whispering that we'll soon find ourselves referenced by history books as the Third Kingdom of Ruin.

Right, well I find that to be rather improbable.

And your reasoning for that is?

This is the First Kingdom of Secrets, Valkut, not Prosperity. Our good fortune is merely a by-product of the monarchy that drives our people. It and all the terrible secrets that are whispered within the Gilded Summit.

Seems rather conspiratorial to me.

Yes, well, you're not exactly in a position to be in the know, are you?

Given I'm a thief, a cheat and a mercenary, I figured I'd know more than anyone what the inner machinations of our fine kindgom are.

It is exactly because you are those things that you are woefully ignorant. Exactly as they want you to be. Most of us to be, really.

Well then wise sage, enlighten me.

Do you know much of the Kallenfost?

The wolfkin you mean?

Kallenfost, Valkut, it translates literally into “wolf-ones.”

Yes, like I said, wolfkin.

Your epithets aside, the Kallenfost have several of their rogue Danfost terrorizing our countryside. It is a matter of great concern to the monarchy. Naturally they've kept it quiet from the populace.

What, a few murders and a mugging or two? I've traveled the roads of Yulia's Grace, and I can assure you that between the Vale of Sorrow and the First Ruins I've run into perhaps three Danfost that tried to lighten my coinpurse. Everyone knows the roads can be dangerous, but a Danfost jumping at you with a knife is the least of your concerns, really.

Danfost murders, muggings and rapes are the highest they've ever been in recent history. You're less likely to run into a bear as your traipse through the woods.

What a load of toss – I haven't seen a single Danfost that wasn't some fool of a thief that didn't understand who just tried to stick up.

Yes, because the murderers and rapists usually are quite good at picking victims that aren't going to put up a fight.

You mean like some poor farmer? Bollocks, every village across the entirety of her Graces would be up in arms.

Because our monarchy is exceptionally powerful, wealthy, and if need be, cruel. Demand their silence and wave an official Decree before them and many will shut up. If they want to keep flapping their gums then simply drop the farmer mourning the loss of his daughter enough gold to drown himself in whores and ale long enough for him to forget he ever had one in the first place.

And what, kill him if he wants to keep mouthing off?

Of course. After all, there's a terribly long queue of experienced individuals just waiting for a chance at some easy gold. Poison this farmer, then hang him from his rafters and off you go with a bag of coin. Sound familiar?

Lousy bastards. I'm not saying I believe you, I'm just saying...

That you want to, yes, I understand. The Kallenfost are not savages, your poor opinion of them notwithstanding. They are a proud, honorable, upright, and most importantly incredibly uptight race. They're the descendants of wolves and their biologies have yet to properly form the kind of brain that drives humans, Grozadians and Coefin. They're almost their but they cling so rigidly to their packs and colonies because order is maintained by being thrust upon you.

And the Danfost are what then? The wolfkin should have been incinerated while our Archmages still had the chance.

The Danfost are all Kallenfost that reject the ways of the pack and colony. If you refuse to follow the commands of your alpha and the laws of the colony as a whole, you are kicked out into the wild to fend for yourself

Why don't they just kill them then? It'd save an awful lot of trouble for all parties wouldn't it?

The issue here is the Danfost aren't all murderers, rapists or thieves. They're also spies, mercenaries and some of the most powerful merchants to walk the land. What's a spy after all? Just a thief that steals for someone else. And a murderer? There's plenty of murderers. There's two in this room right now having a civil conversation. Etiquette just demands that our brand of murder be given a softer title. We are mercenaries. Soldiers. Wanderers. Jalku. Tai'e'toka. Danfost.

You mean to say that one wolfkin I've seen at the Gilded Summit is actually unbelievably wealthy? I knew I should've robbed the bloke.

I doubt you could have. He's well trained and well protected. And his name if Juuyalko Tavenki.

Tavenki...that name is on every bloody bag of produce I've seen in all of her Grace.

And so you see why he's so terribly wealthy. And powerful. He owns enough farmland to feed the Gilded Army three times over. Hells, he probably does. But the point is not all Danfost are terrible. The issue is most of the ones that are have taken a strange preference to attacking our roads. And I think my colleagues and I have come up with a reason. It is, admittedly, very very simple.

Yes?

Humans and the Coefin that use her Grace's roads are weak, small and unprotected. And because part of the procession we send to each capitol includes a very healthy number of consorts, humans especially are, ahem, prized.

Bloody hells. They're fucking us because we're pretty? And the Coefin? I've met maybe one I'd plow after enough ale.

They're small and easily overpowered. And the root cause of rape is usually dominance. But in the case of humans, it helps if they're a sweet little girl that's wandered a hair of the path.

And then what, they do her in after they do her?

By her providence, no, they let her go. They let her limp away stinking, scratched and filthy. They're doing what they do because it shows dominance. They're the alpha in that domain. And as more move in, while some might kill each other, others might simply start racing towards quantity.

Fuck's sake. Yeah, what's one rape to a wolfkin who's got twenty-six under his belt. That's mad.

It's the life they chose. Some of them anyway. Some are honestly just barely above beast.

So what about these murders then?

We think it is partially predation, given the frightening number of bones and largely eaten carcasses we've found, and partially alpha behavior. A defense of one's territory so to speak. Some wind up dead because they crossed a thief too.

So the thieves are what, the least of it?

Yes and no. For the moment they simply cut your purse and send you on your way if you've got anything between your ears. The issue is that the thieves are basically all perfectly functional Kallenfost. They simply chose the life of banditry. Maybe the wolf within seeks independence but the Kallenfost wishes to still reside at least a bit a ways from the fringes of society. Or maybe they hated their pack – it's irrelevant. What matters is there are thieves in the countryside. Growing in number.

And there's a Thieves Guild on the horizon too, isn't there?

Exactly. Splitting profit doesn't sound so bad when you've got entire villages in your palm, does it?

Been there. Enough coin, ale, good food and whores to keep any thief's mouth shut about the extra bit of gold you shorted him. And you've got protection. Like-minded thieves working together to keep their own coffers full. There'll be feuds, many will die, innocents in the process and eventually one or two dominant guilds will rise. And with it corruption and fear. Exactly what your little Kingdom of Secrets could really do without.

Exactly.