Grundel thought about it for a second. “If I am stabbing them, then I am trying to kill them anyway. Let’s do it.”
Anwar nodded. “Everyone, step back a little bit. This is a new one for me.”
He reached into another pouch on his belt and pulled out a small ruby, then set the stone on top of the blade. He poured his magic into the knife, pushing his will into it. After Anwar spent a few seconds filling the blade with magic, the ruby was absorbed into the blade, and a three-foot column of fire rose up out of the dagger. When the fire fell back into the blade, Anwar sprinkled diamond dust on the knife and made it indestructible. He stared down at the knife. The blade was as red as the ruby. He picked it up and handed the blade to Grundel.
“If you just cut someone with it, the knife will burn the area around the cut, but it won’t cause them to burst into flame. If you bury the blade inside them, they will burst into flame within seconds. If the wound doesn’t kill them, the fire will.” He held the dagger out to Grundel.
Grundel took the dagger and stared down at its bright red blade.
“What are you going to call it?” his father said from behind him. “A weapon like that needs a name,” Grizzle said.
Grundel looked down at the knife. “This is Firebringer,” he said, looking to Anwar for approval.
Anwar looked at the dagger then back to Grundel.
“It fits.”
Chapter Six
An Alliance of Greed and Chaos
King Merwein watched from the front balcony of his palace as a thousand dwarves marched down through his city towards him. Two columns of dwarves marched down either side of the street, pulling carts between them. Those carts were filled with dwarven-made armor and swords, along with the one hundred gold plugs that King Bergmann had promised him. It had been sixteen days since Merwein had met with the dwarven king. Sixteen days since he had watched those insane tattooed dwarves cut themselves. He would never admit it to anyone, but in that moment he had been more afraid than he had ever been in his life. That was one of the reasons why he was sure that these dwarves would win this war.
He had ridden hard back to Portwein directly after that meeting. The same day he sent horses to Tiefes Loch. King Bergmann had promised him armor, weapons, and gold, but Merwein had to provide the horses and carts to transport it all. He had waited anxiously for their return. Now he watched as his fortune made its way toward his palace. He couldn’t help but think about how powerful he would become. When this war was over, he would be the most powerful man in all of the five cities. With an exclusive trade agreement for dwarven steel and gems, his kingdom would become even wealthier than it already was.
Bergmann ascended the steps of the palace. The streets leading to the palace were made of crumbled stone or just dirt, but the gate to the palace grounds was made of solid gold. It was purely ornamental—if anyone tried to get through that gate the soft metal would give easily. Bergmann was sure that Merwein had the gate polished at least once a day. Once inside the gate, the path leading to the palace itself was a well-maintained granite, and the steps leading into the building itself were marble. The palace doors were plated in gold as well. The city wasn’t poor, but there were a lot of things that needed maintenance. The palace, however, flaunted its richness. Humans were slaves to their greed, Bergmann thought. He looked up. The palace was four stories tall and built of white marble. There were balconies on each of those stories, and the railings and bars were all plated in gold, reflecting the fading sunlight. He walked through the tall double doors. Inside, the guards wore ornamental armor inlaid with gold designs. It was weak, useless armor, and it had to be extremely heavy. These guards wouldn’t be effective if anything happened. Bergmann decided that, when this war was over, he might attack Portwein just because they flaunted their money and made no effort to protect it. They were foolishly confortable with their situation.
Merwein entered. This room was two stories high. Whoever had built this room, at least, had its defense in mind. All along the second story were places where men could fire down onto the invaders. Of course, the bars at each of these points were now plated with gold. Bergmann realized that this palace had originally been built to be impressive, but also defensible. The kings had simply neglected the defenses over time as they become more complacent. They thought they were untouchable.
“Ah, King Bergmann, I have been waiting for you. I am happy you made it here safely,” Merwein said.
Bergmann looked up at the human king, who wore a long white robe with a gold-colored rope wrapped around the waist. He looked absolutely ridiculous.
“You mean you are happy your gold, armor, and weapons made it to you safely.”
Merwein raised his hands, conceding the point. “Well, those things are buying you an army.”
Bergmann nodded. “Yes, they are. I will see that army tomorrow,” he demanded. He would not make a request to this man. The man had already showed that he was a greedy coward.
“Tomorrow may be too soon. I will have to ask my commanders when they can have them ready,” Merwein said.
“No! You are the king. Those men will do as you command. Summon your commander here,” Bergmann ordered the other king.
Merwein attempted to posture. “I am the king here. I do not answer to you,” he said, less confidently that he surely intended.
Bergmann turned toward the human king. He glared at the man. “You will do as I say, or I will take my gold, armor, and weapons to another city. After that I will come take your city and your army by force.”
He waited there, staring into the man’s eyes. He heard the guards shift uncomfortably behind him.
“If they move toward me they will die before they can draw their weapons,” he said quietly.
“Go summon Commander Boris,” Merwein said to one of the guards. The guard took off down the steps, making loud scraping noises as his metal armor rubbed against itself, showing that it wasn’t made to fit him.
Bergmann waited patiently until the commander arrived. He wore his gear like he knew how to use it. He had a thin sabre on one hip and a long, curved knife on the other. He wore hard leather armor—ideal gear for a man on a ship, light and easy to maneuver in. It also would be easy to get out of if he went into the water. It wouldn’t be much use against heavy dwarven weapons, however.
“Commander Boris, this is King Bergmann. He is the king of Tiefes Loch and he would like to inspect the army tomorrow,” Merwein said. Bergmann continued to be irritated by the man. The supposed king couldn’t even stand on his own authority. He couldn’t simply give the man an order; he had to use another king’s authority to justify an order given to his own men.
“Your Highness, organizing the entire army is a big task. It will be a couple of days before they will be ready,” the man said to his king.
“Commander—” Merwein began, but Bergmann cut him off.
“You will have your men ready tomorrow by midday. If you are unable to control your men, then you are not fit to lead them, and we will find someone who is. Is that clear, Commander?”
“I do not take orders from you,” the man said, turning to Merwein.
Merwein looked to Bergmann, who gave him a look that said if he didn’t command this man he would kill him before taking his treasure away with him.
“Commander, King Bergmann speaks with my authority. You and your men will obey him as if I gave the commands myself. We are going to war. King Bergmann is supplying us with armor and weapons. He will also be commanding our armies on the battlefield,” Merwein said more comfortably. Apparently delegating authority was something he was capable of.
The man looked at Bergmann with anger, but there was a hint of respect in there also. “The army will be ready tomorrow, Your Highness.”
“Don’t call me that. ‘King Bergmann’ works just fine. I am a dwarf, anyway; there isn’t anything high about me,” Bergmann said.
“I will pass that to my men, King Bergmann. It may take them some tim
e to get used to, but I am sure they will get it,” the commander said.
“I will see your army at midday tomorrow, Commander, and I will bring you weapons and armor to equip them,” he said, dismissing the man.
When the commander walked out, King Merwein turned toward Bergmann. “I didn’t say you could issue those weapons yet.”
“You just said I had command of your armies. Equipping them will be part of that. I don’t need your permission, anyway. I told you, when you came to Tiefes Loch, that these weapons and armor are to equip the armies coming with me to fight the other dwarven kingdoms. Until I have those kingdoms, all of this still belongs to me. When the fighting is done it will all be returned to you. Until then, just do what I say and stay out of my way,” Bergmann said to the other king.
Merwein’s face flushed red with anger, but he knew there wasn’t anything he could do.
“Someone will be along shortly to show you to your rooms,” Merwein spat. “There is only room in the palace for ten of you. The rest will have to find room elsewhere.” Merwein didn’t wait for a response before he turned and left the room.
Bergmann looked around the hall at all of the ridiculous ornamentation. Tomorrow he would take control of the fodder for his army.
Chapter Seven
Defenses Prepared
“I am going to take off. I will meet you guys on the road,” Rundo told Grundel early on the morning they were supposed to leave.
“You’re not going to say goodbye to anyone?” Grundel asked.
Rundo shook his head. “I’m sure that Anwar, your dad, and Jabaal are already up. I’m guessing I will run into them on my way out, but if I don’t see them . . . ”
Grundel nodded. “I will tell them. When do you think you will meet back up with us?”
“I will make it to Evelyn today. I will tell her what is happening. I will leave tomorrow morning or the morning after. So I will meet you on the road tomorrow or the next day,” he answered.
“Okay. Take care of yourself. We will see you soon. You will be able to find us through your link with Bumbo, right?” Grundel asked.
“Yes, make sure to take him. He knows you, so he will go with you. I will be able to fly right to you as long as he is with you. Take care of him, and I’ll see you in a day or two,” Rundo said, holding out his hand.
Grundel took his hand. “See you soon. Be safe.”
Rundo made his way up through the tunnels of Shinestone. When he walked out onto the landing that marked the main exit of the complex, he found what he expected.
“I thought you’d be sneaking out,” Grizzle said.
“You weren’t even going to say goodbye, huh?” Anwar joked.
“Halflings,” Jabaal said.
Rundo smiled and shook his head. “I knew you would all be up early planning something dramatic.”
Anwar bent down and hugged his friend. “Take care of yourself out there.”
“I’ll see you again. If not, I’ll just start some balance-altering event that forces The Father to let you out,” Rundo joked. Anwar smiled and slapped him on the shoulder.
“Keep an eye on my boy out there,” Grizzle said. “He doesn’t know how things work in the city. He has grown up around dwarves. He is used to everyone saying what they mean. He isn’t familiar with all the lying and scheming that goes on in the city. Help him navigate the politics. It will be even worse around all that royalty.”
Jabaal stepped forward and put a hand on Rundo’s shoulder. “Be careful out there, buddy. Bring back some help if you can.”
Rundo nodded. He looked over at his friends one last time. Anwar had a weird smile on his face.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Rundo asked.
Anwar shrugged. “I’ve never actually seen you do this,” he said.
Rundo smiled and then stripped down. He wrapped his belt—which now held a black diamond in the buckle—around his bundle of clothing and his knives. He didn’t need to reach out to Messah anymore to make the transformation, but doing so made it easier and faster, and he had an audience. He reached out to his hawk through the bond. Then he focused inward and began manipulating his own aura. He started with his head, giving himself a hawk’s head and beak, and then he moved on to the body and wings, then the legs, and finished with the eyes. His vision improved tenfold: he could see everything more clearly, and he could see farther. He looked at his friends one last time. They were all smiling. He cawed at them, then snatched his bundle up in his beak and gave a few hard flaps of his wings to lift him into the air.
When Grizzle, Anwar, and Jabaal made it back to the great hall, almost everyone was there.
“Where is Rundo?” Frau asked.
“He already left. He is going to meet us on the road tomorrow or the next day. He had some things to take care of,” Grundel said.
“He didn’t even say goodbye to Anwar?” Anna asked. She looked to Anwar. “Oh,” she sighed.
“‘Oh’ what?” Frau asked.
“They all know what the others are going to do before they do it. Grizzle, Jabaal, and Anwar must have known that Rundo was going to leave early, so they all went off on their own early this morning. They went to meet him and say goodbye,” Anna said, nodding to the three of them.
Frau looked over at the three of them and nodded in understanding. “You knew about this too?” she asked, turning to Grundel.
Grundel shrugged his shoulders and smiled. “I must have forgot to mention it. It has been the plan the whole time. He is going to warn the druids that another army will be marching this way.”
Frau shook her head. She was beginning to realize that Grundel became bolder with his friends around, but he was also more lighthearted. It was good to see him like this.
“Well, Rundo is already gone, then. Is everyone else ready?” Frau asked. She looked around the room. Everyone seemed to be ready. “Well, lets get this done then.”
Frau led the way up and out of Shinestone. When they reached the entrance, she turned and waited for everyone to get there.
“How are you doing?” she asked Grundel quietly. He winked at her. She smiled at him before turning and heading down the stairs that led to the field at the base of the mountain.
At the bottom of the steps, a half dozen dwarves had readied a cart with two horses to pull it and a horse each for Jerrie and Dobo and Gobo, dwarf brothers whom Grundel recognized as having served as his grandfather’s personal guard. They were amazing fighters, and Grundel understood why his father had sent them. They had more experience around the other races, since they had attended most of his grandfather’s meetings with the representatives from the human cities. They would also be very good at protecting his mother. Grundel was glad they were there. He knew that he, Jerrie, and Rundo could take care of themselves, but if the Black Dragons in Patria did come after them, he was glad to have someone there who would focus on keeping her safe.
Anna hugged and kissed Grizzle goodbye. “We will be fine, don’t worry,” she told him.
“Goodbye, love,” was all he said.
Grundel hugged his father. He nodded to Jabaal, Hellen, and Anwar. Frau came to him. She put her hand to his cheek. He stared down into her beautiful brown eyes. She rose up onto her tiptoes, and he bent down to press his lips to hers.
“Come back to me,” she said.
“I will,” Grundel said, and climbed up onto the seat of the cart.
He waited for his mother to climb into the cart, and then watched Dobo and Gobo climb onto their horses.
“Where is Bumbo?” he asked.
One of the dwarves who had prepared the cart pointed across the field to the black and gray little pony. “He wanders on his own. We were told not to keep him confined with the others.”
Grundel climbed down out of the cart and walked toward the pony. Everyone was watching him. He really hoped that Bumbo would come to him. It would be really embarrassing if the pony ran away. When he was about a hundred feet from the pony, he stop
ped and whistled. Bumbo lifted his head and looked toward him. After a few seconds Bumbo trotted over to him.
“You’re gonna come with us, Bumbo. Rundo will meet us in a couple days, okay?” he said, rubbing the pony’s muzzle. Bumbo nuzzled Grundel’s neck and followed him back to the cart.
Grundel slid a loop of rope over Bumbo’s head, leaving it loose. Bumbo would follow on his own; the rope was just to make sure. He climbed onto the cart next to his mother.
“Time to go,” he said, looking back at Frau one last time before snapping the reins.
Anwar watched as they rode south away from Shinestone. When they had disappeared into the tree line, he turned back to the others. “You ready for this?”
Grizzle smiled. “Let’s see these new tricks of yours, magic man.”
Anwar looked around the field that surrounded the mountain. In most places it was between two and three miles from the base of the mountain to the edge of the tree line. He didn’t need to put his hands up to do this, but it would help him focus on the spot he was trying to affect. He turned to the left and held up his hands. A mile out from the mountain, as far as you could see before the field of view was blocked by the mountain, the ground began rising up. Anwar heard the others talking behind him, but he ignored them. When the pillar of earth was around eighty feet high he began moving his hands slowly to the right. He focused on the point between his hands, calling the earth next to the pillar up to meet it. He continued turning slowly, then began moving more quickly. He already had a mile-long, eighty-foot-tall wall a mile out from the base of the mountain. The wall continued to rise up as he turned, maintaining that distance. When the wall reached the edge of the road, he stopped. He turned around and looked at the others. They were all in shock, except for Jabaal and Grizzle, who stood watching him with big, goofy smiles on their faces.
The Half Dwarf Prince: 02 - The Dwarf War Page 5