by Jaxon Reed
The guard nodded and breathed in deep, then tried to speak in more measured tones.
“We was guardin’ th’ drainage tunnel, me an’ Milsop an’ Juttin an’ Parsey. An’ I needed t’ answer th’ call o’ nature. They mades me walk outta th’ quarry. Nay un wan’s t’ pee doon there y’ ken.
“So I walks all th’ way up th’ switchback road, walkin’ fas’ I was, ’cause I needed t’ pee y’ ken. An’ I wen’ a pretty piece offin th’ woods t’ atten’ to it.
“An’ while I was back there, I though’ I ’eard some uns passin’ on th’ road. An’ I though’ tha’ wa’ mighty strange fer there t’ be travelers t’ th’ quarry a’ this late hour. So I finished up an’ ’eaded back doon th’ switchback.
“An when I go’ there . . .”
The dwarf’s voice broke and a single tear rolled down his cheek, disappearing in his beard.
“When I go’ there they was dead, Por’reeve! All of ’em. Milsop, Juttin, an’ Parsey. Blood e’rywhere. Tha’s when I hightailed i’ back t’ toon.”
Dudge took a deep breath, thinking. He said, “Ha’ ye reported t’ anyone else?”
The lad shook his head and said, “Nay, I came straigh’ ’ere.”
Dudge nodded and said, “Go fin’ Tun. Tell ’im e’erythin’ y’ tol’ me. Tell ‘’im I said t’ roun’ up a couple dozen dwarves fro’ good clans an’ tha’ ’e knows well, an’ t’ gather a’ th’ back gate t’ th’ city. I’ll meet ’em there an’ we’ll ’ead t’ th’ quarry.”
The young dwarf nodded, processing everything Dudge had said.
Dudge said, “’Urry, lad! Time’s wastin’ fer ye.”
-+-
Outside the rear gate, the party of armed dwarves slid to a halt in surprise. Before them stood a horse and cart full of humans. Dudge recognized the merchant twins. They were the ones he had helped with brokering a deal for dwarven ale. He also remembered the lad, who had once traveled with the thief.
Another one of them was dressed in the armor of a battlemaiden, and Dudge thought he recognized her from the Battle of Greystone Village, too. She seemed to know him, and when she spoke it cast aside all doubt.
She said, “I’m afraid we’re headed to the same place, Prince Dudge. The wizards have been following the Forlorn Dagger, and it is being taken to Lok’s Tomb as we speak. A group calling themselves the Shadow Council is intent on opening the door. We think the dagger is the key to that door.”
Dudge’s face dropped as the full importance of her statement hit home.
He grabbed the nearest guard by the shoulder and said, “Two dozen be nay enough. Go back an’ roun’ up as many guards as y’ kin, an’ meet us a’ th’ quarry. ’Urry, lad!”
The dwarf nodded and raced back into the city.
Dudge looked up at the wizard and said, “We’ll lea’ th’ way! Onward lads! T’ th’ quarry!”
The dwarves lined up into two columns and rushed down the road leading into the Tantamooks. They moved surprisingly fast considering their size. Kirt gently slapped the reins on Horse’s back and the animal followed after them at a brisk trot.
Darkstone said, “I think I can find the quarry faster on my own. I’m going to go on ahead.”
She stood up from the bench and launched into the air, her black leather armor quickly merging into the night sky.
Plinny and Veeroy watched her ascent with open mouths.
“Didja see that, Veeroy? She just up and flew off!”
Veeroy nodded dumbly, still staring up into the air.
Bartimo chuckled at the expressions on their faces. He said, “You boys missed the battle we were in. She can do a lot more than fly.”
-+-
Darkstone looked down in the gloom below as she raced above the highway. She cast a spell on her eyes so she could see in the dark, and everything appeared to brighten below her. The road snaked through the landscape, cutting through copses and winding its way toward the mountains. Ahead she spied a large square pit, and reckoned it for the quarry. She could see the road twisting and turning down into the pit.
There, within a hundred paces of the first switchback, she spotted a covered wagon led by a team of two pigs. Two dwarves sat on the driver’s bench. Two walked in front while two more walked behind the wagon.
She shot ahead, pivoted mid-air, and landed lightly on the road in front of the lead dwarves and pigs. Trees and heavy vegetation surrounded the highway here, on either side.
The procession came to a halt, the pigs grunting. The two dwarves at the rear came around to see what was happening.
All the dwarves, Darkstone noted, wore the livery of Ore Stad guards. This surprised her.
Out loud she said, “Unless I miss my guess, you have a certain dagger in that wagon. It’s not going any further.”
Bushy eyebrows shot up on the faces of the dwarves.
To her right, someone materialized. She noted, absently, they did not apparate from a transport globe. They materialized. Whoever it was must have been watching while invisible.
Without even thinking she brought up her blue Globe of Protection and crouched into a fighting stance.
Before her stood Quartzstone, his young face smiling at her with contempt.
He said, “I wondered when you would show up and try to stop us.”
He ducked as a bolt of lightning from Darkstone’s outstretched hand sailed over his head. Then he jumped into the air to escape three more bolts. He quickly faded from sight.
Darkstone looked up into the sky, twisting her head. Even with her night sight, she could not see him.
WHAM!
A Globe of Expulsion hit her face at full blast. She sailed back from the force of it, landing on her butt in the middle of the road.
She stood quickly and flew up into the air. She scanned up, down, and all around, but could not find him.
She heard Quartzstone’s voice speaking softly to her right. He said, “You’ve got to be able to see the wizard in order to kill him. Isn’t that how they trained you?”
She sent bolts of lightning streaking out to her right.
WHAM!
The Globe of Expulsion slammed into her from the left, stunning her. She dropped several paces in the air before recovering.
She held her arms out, ready to cast, and slowly rotated in the air.
“You know,” a voice in her left ear said quietly, “I’ve been thinking of the best ways to defeat a battlemaiden.”
The Globe of Expulsion slammed into her again. She was prepared for it this time, and the power of it swept over and around her Globe of Protection, which turned solid blue in the onslaught of energy. The force of it moved her backwards through the air several paces, but she was not stunned as before.
She stretched out her hand and shot Modified Globe of Expulsion in the direction she thought the other one came. Blue light flared dimly as she caught the edge of Quartzstone’s protective globe. She cast several more spells in quick succession to the right, then to the left of where she had seen the flash of blue light.
Quartzstone’s voice came to her again, this time in her other ear.
“What I’ve decided is, it’s best to mess with their minds.”
WHUMPH!
She felt energy surrounding her head. The Globe of Protection provided scant defense. This was not a spell of power.
One startling thought entered her mind: Occlusion.
She spiraled down to the ground as her mind blanked out.
Quartzstone reappeared in front of the dwarves on the road, startling them.
He said, “Quickly. Get the cargo into the cavern before any other wizard shows up.”
They gulped, and nodded. The driver poked the pigs gently with his stick and the procession moved forward again, heading down the switchbacks.
Quartzstone said, “You four on foot. There is a large contingent of dwarves headed this way. I saw them up in the air. Hide and jump them when they get here. Protect your prince!”
They nodded and drew their shortswords, then faded into the trees on either side of the road.
Satisfied, Quartzstone disappeared again.
-+-
One dwarf at the front of the two columns carried a glowstone on a stick. One at the rear likewise carried a similar source of light. The humans in the cart had no such illumination.
Kirt had Horse keep pace with the dwarfs, trotting briskly, but the nighttime driving worried him. Horse managed the route well enough. The road, though rural, was dwarven. And dwarves were well known for quality craftsmanship. After a mile or two, Kirt no longer worried about a hidden pothole breaking Horse’s leg. He still felt nervous traveling by night, though.
In the distance, rising mountains blocked their view of the starry sky. Another mile passed, and trees grew more numerous, creeping ever closer to the road.
After yet another mile, they appeared to be in a lightly wooded area. Trees were clearly visible in the night gloom, and a few branches waved above the road here or there.
“I don’t like it,” Veeroy announced in back of the cart. “More trees means more chances fer ambush.”
Plinny said, “Bwa-ha-ha! Bushes means ambushes!”
But Plinny’s jocular tone died quickly. He silently agreed with Veeroy and pulled out the sword strapped to his side, holding the bare blade across his knees. Ahead, the dwarves pressed onward.
“Har!”
Two Ore Stad guards dropped from low hanging branches near the road. Two more jumped out from behind trees. All four landed in the middle of the larger group from Osmo, swords slicing into flesh.
The group from Port Osmo scattered in shock and surprise. Six, then seven of them quickly went down in a flurry of blades.
Dudge stopped and turned, drew his sword and yelled, “Get ’em lads!”
His guards coalesced and fought back. Kirt reined Horse to a halt and the humans watched in a mix of horror and fascination. The dwarves fought incredibly fast, arms and steel blurring. Sparks flew in the night air as blades clanged, punctuated by screams when metal met flesh.
In less than a minute, the skirmish was over. The dwarves still standing looked around at one another, as if making sure everyone present was on their side. Kirt tallied 14 bodies lying on the road. The element of surprise had clearly worked in the attackers’ favor.
“Be careful, lads!” Dudge said. Then he turned, sword still drawn, and headed for the first of the switchbacks. The remaining dwarves lined up and followed him down the road.
Veeroy hopped out of the cart and began picking up shortswords from the fallen.
“We should save these,” he said. “They’re worth a small fortune.”
“Is that all you can think about?” Phanissa said, a tone of disgust creeping into her voice. “Even at a time like this, your mind is on money?”
Veeroy said, “Well, yah. But also, these blades are better than any one we’ve got, too. We could use ’em.”
She rolled her eyes and shared a glance with Bartimo to gauge his opinion.
Bartimo shrugged and said, “Dwarven steel is very good. He’s got a point.”
“A dwarven steel point!” Plinney said. “Bwa-ha-ha!”
“Dear Creator!” Phanissa said. “Are all ventures like this?”
Bellasondra looked over her shoulder, smiled at her and said, “With my brother? Pretty much.”
Kirt’s attention from the conversation wandered as Veeroy returned to the cart with an armload of weapons.
Kirt said, “Something’s not right.”
He stared off into the woods. Bellasondra looked at him, then stared in the same direction.
She said, “What is it?”
“I’m not sure. But something is wrong out there with Darkstone. Something bad.”
He gave her the reins, jumped down to the road and said, “You go on. I’m going to check this out. I’ll catch up later.”
“What? Absolutely not! You get back up here, young master. Right now.”
He shook his head at her and said, “No. I’ve got to do this. You go on.”
Without waiting for her response, he slipped into the trees and out of sight.
Bellasondra stared after him with her mouth open.
Bartimo said, “I’m sure he can take care of himself. Come on, sis. Let’s go find Stin.”
Reluctantly, she turned her attention back to the road. She shook the reins and let Horse pick his way around the bodies. A wheel rolled across one of the last guards, bringing up their right side in a sharp bump. Then they were clear and started down into the quarry.
19
Stin felt the wagon halt then heard some discussion out on the road, though it came in muffled inside his small cubic prison. After a while the wagon moved forward again. The angle of the floor sloped as they began a downhill descent. He felt a change in directions several times on the way down.
At long last they rolled to a stop again and the back door opened. He heard two people scramble into the back and take up opposite sides of his box.
“We kin do i’ wi’out ’em. Jes’ takes a bi’ longer.”
“Aye.”
“Without who?”
Stin’s question went unanswered. He felt his box being picked up then moved toward the rear of the wagon. For a moment he could see stars again through the grate as his carriers stepped down and brought him outside. Then the sky disappeared as they moved inside something else. Based on the echoing of footsteps and other sounds, Stin guessed they were in a tunnel or cave of some sort. Again he felt the floor angling down.
Eventually he decided they must have come out into a large cavern. The area outside the box appeared dimly lit, and through his grate he thought he could make out stalactites hanging from a ceiling high above.
The two dwarves finally set his box down with grunts that were strangely reminiscent, Stin thought, of the pigs hitched to the cart outside.
“Now wha’?” one of the dwarves said.
“Now we wait. We were tol’ t’ wait.”
“You boys mind if I sing while we wait?”
The dwarves seemed intent on ignoring Stin. He began belting out stanzas of Bonny Lass, as loud as he could and horribly off-key. The mangled melody filled the cavern, bouncing off rocks and echoing up and down the open space.
One of the dwarves kicked the side of the box.
“Shaddup! Shaddup in dere!”
Encouraged, Stin sang even louder.
Footsteps crunched as someone approached. Stin heard the rustling of clothes as the dwarves seemed to snap to attention.
He stopped singing and said, “Who’s that? What’s going on?”
Again, everyone ignored him.
He heard the sound of a human voice saying, “I’ve blocked the entrance. I’ll create a transport globe and bring everyone in here. It will work without tripping the door’s spell if I cast it on the far end of the cavern. Keep him secure until we need him.”
Stin said, “Hello? Need me for what?”
No one said anything else, though. He heard a few more sounds of rustling cloth, then noticed shafts of yellow light rotating above his grate, reflecting off the ceiling above.
Must be a wizard, Stin thought.
He heard faint puffs of air as people stepped through the portal and into the cavern. For the most part they did not talk. Stin heard an occasional murmur of greeting, nothing else.
After nine or perhaps ten had come through, the yellow light faded.
The wizard spoke once more, saying, “This is the moment we have been waiting for, the moment we have dreamt of for centuries! Ever since our colleague Rak discovered the lost location of the mighty Lok’s tomb, we have worked toward opening the door and bringing him back from his long slumber. Tonight, my friends, is the night! This Council’s long-suffering efforts will finally be rewarded!”
-+-
Dally rolled over in bed and stretched an arm out. When the arm came up empty, her conscious stirred its way up from the depth
s of slumber and she moved around a bit more, feeling the sheets with her hand.
Still feeling nothing but bed linens, her consciousness asserted herself and she came fully awake.
“Pookie?”
Her eyes confirmed what her hand and arm suggested: Pudge was no longer in the bed with her. She climbed out and grabbed a robe, pulling it on.
“Pookie?”
But Pudge was not in the room.
She opened the door and stuck her head out in the hall. The guard assigned to her door turned to look, startled.
“Where di’ th’ prince go?”
“Beggin’ yer pardon, ’Ighness. Th’ Crown Prince ha’ nay lef’.”
“He nay be ’ere. ’E mus’ ha’ stepped oot.”
“Iffen ’e did, Highness, I woul’ ha’ seen it. I been ’ere all night.”
Now Dally grew seriously concerned.
She said, “I be gettin’ dressed an’ goin’ up t’ fin’ ’im.”
She closed the door without further comment and hurried to put on more appropriate attire. When she opened the door once more, two more guards stood in the hall with worried expressions on their faces.
One of them appeared to be in charge. He said, “I be Cap’n Nippit, Highness. Y’ say th’ prince ha’ disappeared?”
“Aye. He be nay in th’ room. Yer lad ’ere says he ne’er saw ’im leave.”
“Aye.”
“Bu’ ’e’s gone. See fer yerself.”
All three guards looked very troubled. They glanced nervously inside the room through the wide open door, but seemed willing to take Dally’s word for it. The prince was missing.
Nippit turned to the other two and said, “Dinna wake anybody up, bu’ search th’ inn. Search th’ common room. Search where e’er y’ kin, then look outside.”
“I be goin’ too,” Dally said. “He mus’ be aroun’ ’ere somewheres. Pro’lly sneaked ou’ fer a dram o’ ale.”
Nippit caught the eye of the guard assigned to the royal couple’s door. The guard shook his head slightly, affirming his original assertion that no one had come in or out all night.