by Tom Liberman
“Wait a second,” said Brogus as he sat up in his bed and looked at the old witch. “I was supposed to find out when they’ll let us leave? When did we start relying on me for anything?”
Milli snorted out a laugh, “Good point.”
Petra rolled her eyes, “You’re the dwarf. You can talk to these people.”
“I don’t speak their language any more than you,” said Brogus. “They don’t even have those stupid spell stones or whatever. It’s all hand signs and pointing at things. It’s impossible. Why don’t we just find the horses and leave?”
“How do you propose to get out of the mountains?” said Petra and looked up at the ceiling, an expression of exasperation on her face. “This place is a maze, it’s worse than the tent city of the Black Horsemen.”
“It’s not so bad,” said Brogus and looked back at his mug of beer. “We head down the main corridor and find the down shafts. Take them for a bit and then meander around. We’ll find an exit eventually.”
“Yes, but on what side of the mountain? We need to head south. That’s what Manetho told us,” said Petra. “If we come out on the desert side of the mountain then we’re back where we started.”
“Why can’t Milli find out,” said Brogus with a shrug. “She’s good at getting boys to give her things.”
“I’ve tried,” said Milli. “I don’t understand what they tell me. I can’t get answers to questions if I don’t understand the language. Why didn’t we get one of those translator stones from Manetho? Why don’t I ever think of anything? What’s wrong with me?”
Petra put her arm around the young girl, “I should have thought of that stone as well. We all figured if they were dwarves that you could speak to each other. I suppose everyone in the world speaks a different language. When we get to Shandoria, that is what Manetho called it, when we get to Shandoria we’ll run into the same problem again.”
“At least they feed us good,” said Brogus and looked around for the plate of food he left somewhere in the room.
“Brogus,” said Milli with a sharp voice. She walked over to him on the bed and slapped him on the top of the head. “You start walking around and figure out this place. Find a map or something. I’ll find the horses and then we’ll make a break for it.”
“Ok,” said Brogus with a little wobble of his head. “I can do that.”
“Can do what?” said Milli.
“What you said,” said Brogus.
“What was that?” said Milli.
“What was what?” said Brogus.
Milli closed her eyes, “What I just told you to do.”
“When?” said Brogus.
“Just now, what did I tell you to do that you agreed to do?”
“Oh,” said Brogus, “that. About finding a map so we can get out of here.”
“Good,” said Milli. “I thought maybe you didn’t hear me.”
“Why did you think that?” said Brogus.
“By Davim, shut up!” said Dol glaring at the three of them. “I can’t think with all this noise. I’ll see you later,” he finished and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
“Do you notice he’s a little … angry lately?” said Milli to Brogus and Petra.
“I don’t know how he was before,” said Petra and shrugged but also looked at the floor.
“Cool, calm, he always thought things through, right, Brogus?” said Milli as she looked at the closed door that Dol slammed behind him. The dwarves of this mountain built in much the same manner as those of Craggen Steep although not as grandly. In the hidden citadel the ancient hallways, built by elementals, were far more glorious than any she had thus far seen here but perhaps there was even more to the place than had already been revealed.
“Slow moving,” said Brogus. “He always thought things through; too much I used to tell him, he’s like a tree that way.”
“But he’s not anymore,” said Milli. “That’s my point. Right, Petra? You’ve seen him. He’s rash now, angry, in a hurry to get to the five volcanoes. He wasn’t like this before.”
Petra shrugged her shoulders, “He has a quest now, what did Manetho call it, a See. In the past, once he made up his mind, did he move quickly then?”
Milli thought about it for a little while and then shrugged her shoulders and nodded her head, “I suppose so. Once he gets moving he’s active enough. But he still doesn’t seem the same. I’ve never seen him get angry before. Not really angry like this.”
“He’s out of Craggen Steep,” said Petra and patted the girl on the back. “He’s in a new place. It’s bound to make anyone a little a different. I wouldn’t worry about it. He’s still steady enough.”
“I suppose,” said Milli with a little sigh. “Now, Brogus, we’re relying on you to figure this place out, to get us out of here. I’ll find the horses. They have to be somewhere outside right? They need grass to eat and that doesn’t grow underground.”
“They could feed them mushrooms,” said Brogus and blinked lazily twice.
“These aren’t stupid mules,” said Milli with a starry look in her eyes. “These are desert stallions. They don’t eat mushrooms.”
Brogus shrugged, “Did you get any more beer?”
Milli put her hands on her hips and stared at him, “Weren’t you supposed to be doing something?”
Brogus looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face, “Like what?”
“Like finding us a way out of this place. You can’t be this stupid.”
“How long have you known me?” said Brogus and squinted at her.
“Okay, you can be this stupid but here’s something for you. If you don’t figure a way to get out of this place and back on the road then Dol will start to get very upset and he’s not going to take it out on me or Petra!”
“That’s true,” said Brogus pursing his lips and looking keenly at the halfling girl. He rolled on his side, back and forth, gaining momentum and then finally fell out of the bed and landed on the stone floor with a thump. “Aha!” he shouted, sprang to his feet, and looked eagerly around the room. “Now,” he lifted the bottom edge of a dark painting on the wall that depicted a massive rat-like creature with a bunch of baby rats scattered around at its feet and looked behind it, “any map here?”
Milli shook her head, rolled her eyes, and turned to Petra. “We’ll be here forever.”
Chapter 16
“You let them escape!” Tahnoon glared at Manetho and at the snap of a finger two fearsome warriors with sand scarred face drew long knives and approached. A hundred nomadic horsemen were in their saddles all around the Broken Pyramid although there was no sign of the Black Rider; the sun stood high in the sky its tremendous heat bearing down on them.
Manetho shrugged, “What real value did they offer, Tahnoon?”
“That is not for you to say,” spat out the rotund nomad as he shook his finger in the face of wizard as sweat and spittle rained down. “You are a servant of Sheikh Ming; you are a servant to me. You will follow my orders and they were, specifically, to hold the prisoners here so that we might interrogate them away from the city.”
“You meant to torture them,” said Manetho with a steady expression on his face.
“So what if I did?” said Tahnoon and stomped his foot onto the hard packed sand around the pyramid. “It is my decision as how to dispose of prisoners, not yours. You allowed a terrible danger to the Black Horsemen to escape. I might well call you a traitor to our people.”
“Your decision?” said Manetho with raised eyebrows. “I think not.”
“You dare!” screamed Tahnoon and raised his hand to the two warriors who moved quickly to the side of Manetho with knives in hand. Their eyes watched the wizard closely although they did not make any move to restrain him. “I can have you killed right now. These are my nephews and they will obey my every command.”
“The bonds of family are strong among our people,” said Manetho, “this is true. However, if you order them to kill me
then you will live with the consequences. I will be dead and beyond the punishment of Black Rider. You, on the other hand, will not.”
Tahnoon’s face seemed to contract on itself with a terrible grimace and spittle danced on his lips as he gazed at the wizard. “I should do it just to see the surprise on your face when the knife slides into your flesh.”
Manetho stood quietly.
“Have it your way then,” said Tahnoon, spitting on the sand and dragging his left boot through it. “You will have to face Ming and explain yourself. He will be here within the day.”
“I am prepared to do so. Now, if you do not mind, I have work to attend,” said Manetho who gave a short little bow and walked towards a yellow tent with a red banner depicting a black horse flapping in the strong desert breeze.
Chapter 17
“It’s good to be on the trail again,” said Milli as her long blonde hair flew out behind her.
“You have me to thank for that,” shouted Brogus over the wind that danced past them as their horses galloped over the grassy plains.
“I don’t think we’ll ever hear the end of that,” yelled Petra with a wide smile on her face as her own horse cantered up near the two.
Milli laughed and it sounded like musical accompaniment to the thundering of the hooves along the turf as both the witch and Brogus immediately joined in. Dol rode his own steed a dozen yards away his eyes fixed ahead and apparently unaware of the merriment of the others.
Ever since their escape from the dwarf stronghold they rode south towards the lands of Shandoria as indicated on the map that Brogus somehow managed to connive away from a gullible young dwarf maiden. The map, while certainly colorful and filled with hints of danger, did not have an accurate legend which they discovered when it took them five days to travel between two landmarks that appeared right next to each other. At the time they thought that meant their journey was far from over, but they encountered the next landmark within hours and this was yet further away on the map. This left the foursome in a complete quandary as to the actual distance remaining in their journey. The map indicated a large town called Ndra lay somewhere ahead but two other mapped towns already failed to materialize and Milli, more than once, expressed an interest in throwing the thing away.
Nevertheless, the group charged over the plains on their desert horses at a tremendous clip and all with smiles on their faces except Dol. Late in the afternoon they stopped near a fast-flowing creek and Petra got out some fishing gear she had thought to pack so long ago. She walked a ways upstream while Drogus and Milli unpacked the horses and set up camp. Dol, as was his want of late, simply sat by the fire and watched the flames flickering and dancing.
Brogus looked over at Dol and motioned in that direction with a nod of his head, “He’s at it again.”
Milli glanced over her shoulder at Dol as she continued to unpack the horses, “What do you want to do about it?”
Brogus shrugged his shoulders and raised his eyebrows, “I don’t know. I’m the one who got us out of Temin, you figure it out, Milli.”
“He’s so intense now, I mean, he was always quiet, a thinker, but now there is a look in his eyes. I make up excuses not to talk to him,” said Milli, her finger coming to her lip as she began to chew on the nail. “He’s scary now and he never lets go of the hammer. Do you think it could be … influencing him?”
Brogus shrugged, “I don’t know. Could be, maybe not though. I know some powerful weapons are said to be able to corrupt the soul.”
“I know, I know,” said Milli shaking her head and tossing her long hair. “Fine, you keep unpacking and bring out the fish pans, Petra will catch something for sure. She’s good at that kind of thing.”
“The fish are different here,” said Brogus as Milli walked towards the fire.
“What was that?” she said and turned to look at the stout dwarf.
“Nothing,” he replied and continued to rummage around in the saddle bags. “You’d think after doing this ten times I’d know where everything was.”
“Hey Dol,” said Milli taking a seat on her haunches next to the dour dwarf. “See anything interesting?”
Dol tore his gaze away from the flames for a moment and looked at the pretty halfling girl, “It’s beautiful, the fire. I never really noticed before. The way the flames dance and weave.”
“I’ve never known you to be poetic, Dol,” said Milli and put her hand on his back. “Is this a new side of you?”
Dol nodded his head, “Perhaps it is. Out here in the open, the desert, the mountains, and now these grasslands, maybe it’s opening my eyes to the world for the first time. I feel different, I feel energized,” he said and reached his blackened right hand all but into the fire. “I want to touch things, to feel them, to see them burn.”
“What?” said Milli.
“I … meant,” stuttered Dol for a moment, “I want to experience more of life. I didn’t say it like I meant it.”
“What’s wrong with your hand,” she said and reached towards it, although the heat of the fire quickly drove her to pull it back.
Dol quickly put his hand in his pocket, “It’s just dirty from all the riding,” he said.
“Dol,” said Milli and gently tried to pry his hand from his pocket. “That wasn’t dirt. What’s going on?”
Dol shook his head and pursed his lips. “It’s from holding the hammer I suppose,” he said and scratched his hair. “Damn. Those apples are popping out all over the place. It’s the heat or the fresh air or something.”
Milli, thus distracted, turned her attention to Dol’s head and did note a fairly large number of little green apples, some of them had a reddish tint as though they were ripening.
“I think they’re getting ripe,” said to Milli and reached out to pluck one.
Dol moved his head away and stood up quickly, “You know I don’t like them,” he said and glared at Milli for a moment. “If you persist in pawing at my head,” his face suddenly turning angry red and his eyes glaring with a ferocity Milli did not know, “I’ll have to do something about it!”
“Dol,” said Milli pulling her hand back and standing up quickly, “I didn’t mean anything; it’s always been good fun.”
“No it wasn’t, not then, not now, not ever. I’m sick of these damn apples and I’m sick of all of you. I should just take my horse and go on alone. You don’t need to come with me.”
“Dol,” repeated Milli her hands on her hips, “what are you talking about? We’re in this together. Right, Brogus?”
Brogus wandered over, a dull look on his face, “What’s wrong?” he said looking back and forth between Milli and Dol. “Are you two fighting?”
“It’s nothing,” said Milli. “Dol just wants to go off by himself and face the great fire elemental alone.”
“What?” said Brogus his voice suddenly rising rising and his hands coming to the axe at his hip. “You know that’s not going to happen. If there’s glory and fortune to be had then I’m coming along. That’s final.”
“I meant more out of personal loyalty than any sense of greed,” said Milli in a soft voice, although she couldn’t prevent herself from smiling and shaking her head.
“Greed makes the world go around,” said Brogus and his eyes became like golden saucers. “It’s what drives Craggen Steep. Gold, platinum, gems, and the rest. All the other races would try taking it from us if we didn’t keep the citadel hidden. We’d be at war all the time. That’s what the elders say.”
“Greed doesn’t make me go round,” said Milli absently twisting the beautiful gold ring inset with three diamonds that she sported on her right hand. It had been a gift for her tenth birthday from some dwarf or another, she couldn’t remember. She’d left most of her jewelry behind when they fled the hidden citadel but kept a few of her most precious pieces. Lately she’d taken to wearing them now that they were out of contact with the other races. The experiences in Das’von had taught her the value of her little baubles and what men mi
ght do to get them. “I’m beginning to think that fellow from Das’von, what was his name?”
“He didn’t give one,” said Petra emerging from down the slope, a trio of fish on a line. “I caught these and there are plenty more in there. The stream is simply hopping. The only problem is catching ones big enough to eat with the little fellows doing all the biting.”
“Anyway,” continued Milli. “I’m thinking that fellow knew we were from Craggen Steep all along. That’s why he was so nice to us and helped us. He wants to tap into the wealth of Craggen Steep. You don’t equip and maintain an army that big for long without money.”
“I said it before and I’ll say it again,” interrupted Petra, “I don’t think Craggen Steep is as well hidden as you seem to think it is. My people knew pretty much where it is and we can’t be the only ones. If Corancil is going to launch an invasion I don’t see why he wouldn’t use the wealth of Craggen Steep to finance it.”
“But we don’t have any standing in Craggen Steep,” said Brogus. “We’re just a couple of runaway apprentices and a halfling girl. How could we help Corancil or that messenger fellow?”
Milli shook her head, “I don’t know, but that fellow, the one who said he was a messenger, he was crafty, and he knew what he was doing. We promised to give them information about the troops of the Black Rider and we did learn about them, didn’t we?”
“It’ll take us years to get back to Das’von,” said Brogus with a wave of his hand. “By then the invasion will be in full swing and anything we know about troops or tactics will have changed. He was just helping us because … well, I don’t know, just because.”
“Could he have guessed your true mission,” said Petra in a low voice. “The Hammer of Fire, Gazadum, the volcanoes?”
“I don’t see how,” said Milli and bit her lower lip. “But, Dol didn’t really hide the hammer. I don’t see how the messenger could have known about it, about us, unless he was already working with the three families in Craggen Steep. The Firefists, the Blackirons, and the Drawhammers.”