The Half Dwarf Prince: 02 - The Dwarf War

by J. M. Fosberg

  “Let’s go look at it,” he said, turning back toward the road.

  When they got up close, the others could see what he had done. There was a twenty-foot-wide, forty-foot-deep trench on each side of the wall, which was itself twenty feet wide and eighty feet tall.

  “Now that’s a wall. Ain’t nobody gettin’ over that,” Grizzle said.

  Anwar turned to Frau. “How do you want me to do this? I can have this wall go towards Shinestone along the road to keep anyone who comes funneled here, or I can just keep it going around the mountain, leaving an opening here at the road. I can make other openings in the wall, if you like.”

  Frau thought about it. “Is there a way you could make the wall follow the road back toward Shinestone without the huge trenches? I mean, have the backside of the wall be a hill, so that we could move up to the top of it easily? I don’t want the trenches on the side of the road. They might be beneficial during the fight, but I don’t want huge fort- foot holes on both sides of the road leading to my kingdom.”

  Anwar looked up at the wall he had made. “I can do that. I will just use less soil from a much larger area. They walked out into the field a few hundred paces, and then Anwar turned back to face the road. He started by pushing the soil a few feet in front of them. The ground there began moving forward in what could only be described as a wave, leaving the ground behind it a few inches lower than it had been. He continued to push forward. The last thirty paces, the ground rose up to meet the other wall. He had lowered the ground all the way to the trench so that, even though it was lower, heavy rains would flow down into the trench instead of pooling in the lower ground. He had done the first two hundred feet of the hill all at once. Now that he was comfortable that that wouldn’t leave too drastic a low point, he turned toward the mountain, and did the whole rest of that mile at once.

  “That was amazing,” Frau said.

  “Let’s go see how it looks.” Jabaal said, walking toward the hill. He still had a small limp. His metal leg didn’t move like a normal leg would, so he would always walk differently; it didn’t seem to slow him down, though.

  They all walked up the hill. On top they looked down at the road. It was an eighty-foot, flat wall of earth. Frau was the first to speak .

  “This will be a huge advantage when they march on us. We will be able to fire down on them for a mile while they try to get to the mountain. There is no way they will be able to get over those other walls. The trench is forty-feet wide and the wall is eighty feet tall. They will have no choice but to march through here.”

  “Yeah, but you still have to deal with the Black Dragons wizards. These walls won’t stop them, and there are only a few of us who can fight them,” Jabaal said.

  Everyone looked at him.

  “What?” he said. “You think I came here just to watch you fight? Don’t worry about me. I am still a paladin of Kalime.”

  It was enough for Anwar and Grizzle, so the others didn’t say anything about it.

  “I won’t leave you helpless against the wizards, I promise,” Anwar said. “As I said before, I can’t arm everyone with magical weapons and armor, but I have a plan to make sure you are prepared. It will be up to you to employ the weapons and armor where and how you see fit. For now I am going to finish these walls. Did you want any other openings in the wall, Queen Frau?”

  “No, I think it will be better to keep it to one entrance. I don’t want to have to plan for two separate defenses, and this will help later, keeping animals out. We can plant these fields and keep pens for the animals.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Anwar said, walking down the hill and back toward the mountain. It took him the rest of the morning to finish raising the wall. The others went back to the mountain, which allowed him to travel. He would raise the wall up as far as he could see and then travel directly to the end of the wall. Not having to walk all the way around the mountain made the job go much faster. It would have taken him all day to walk all the way around the mountain doing this. The sun was directly overhead when he finally finished the task.

  When he got back, the others were all looking at a map that showed the mountain surrounded by its new defensive wall.

  “We can put crossbowmen on both sides of the road to fire down on the army as they try to approach. If we set barrels of oil at the same points on the walls, then we could pour both down onto the road and shoot them with fire. That would create even more choke points to stop their movement and allow us to fire down on them,” Grizzle was saying when Anwar stopped in the doorway.

  “Yeah, but we still don’t know how we are going to deal with the wizards. The dwarves on those hills will be completely vulnerable to the wizards’ attacks,” Kraft said.

  “No, they won’t,” Anwar said, walking into the room. “It’s time to start working on the weapons. We have already established that most of your weapons won’t get through a wizard’s shield, at least not without quite a few strikes, and by that time a number of dwarves would be dead. Let’s start with the crossbowmen. Bring me fifty of them, and I will enchant their armor. I would recommend using actual armor. The armor I made for the others is easier to move in, but it won’t take the enemy long to figure out that the dwarves without armor are the ones killing wizards, and they will start targeting them.”

  “I hate to be the one to kill the mood, but I think there is something we should talk about,” Kraft said.

  “What is that?” Frau asked.

  “Well, what happens with all these magical weapons when the war is over? I mean, if Shinestone has them all, that makes Shinestone pretty powerful. I wouldn’t normally pay it much attention, but after the situation we are in now, I think it is something we should talk about.”

  “He is right. Anwar, is there a way we will be able to identify all of the weapons and armor you enchant when the fighting is done?” Grizzle asked.

  “I can make a mark on everything before I enchant it. How will this do?” he asked, marking the ground with a .

  “That works, but if we are going to do that, then we will have to provide the armor. We can’t take these dwarves’ personal armor when the fighting is done,” Grizzle said.

  “Okay, so where should I mark everything?” Anwar asked.

  Frau answered him. “Mark the crossbows on the butt, and mark the armor on the left shoulder.”

  “Okay. If you three are going to be leading the fighting I would like to make weapons and armor for you. If you have any ideas about what you want, let me know. Think about it while I work on the crossbows and armor,” Anwar said.

  When the crossbows came, Anwar laid them out in rows of ten. He used his magic to burn the small symbol into the butt of each weapon, then he sprinkled diamond dust over them, giving them the ability to penetrate a magical shield and making them indestructible.

  “There you go. Those crossbows will be able to punch through almost any magical shield. It would take a really powerful wizard’s shield to stop them, and the most powerful wizard alive—besides The Father or myself—wouldn’t be able to stop more than two. You will be able to surprise them at first, but they will figure it out quickly, so make sure you take advantage of your secret, and take out as many at one time as possible.”

  “What about the bolts? Won’t they need special bolts?” Kraft asked.

  Anwar shook his head. “No, the magic of the crossbow will transfer into the bolts when fired. You won’t need any special bolts.”

  Chain mail started arriving shortly after he was finished with the crossbows. He did each piece individually. Before enchanting the armor he took the time to heat a spot on the left shoulder just enough to blacken the metal into a G symbol. It would come off if a metal brush was taken to it, but he was going to enchant the armor so it would be permanently marked like that. It nearly two hours to do all one hundred pieces of chain mail, as much because he did each piece individually as because he had to stop every once in a while to wait for more armor to be brought in.

&nb
sp; “All right, now on to your personal items. I think we should start with Queen Frau. Do you have any ideas about what you want?”

  “I figured if you could just do my sword and armor, that would be enough,” she said.

  “I can do that, but why don’t I do something with that mini-crossbow, also?”

  She handed him the crossbow, her sword, and her leather armor. She had good plate armor also, but she figured if he was going to enchant it anyway the leather would be better.

  “First, the sword,” Anwar said. “All you want is for it to be indestructible and to be able to cut through magical barriers?” he asked one last time.

  Frau shrugged her shoulders. “I guess so.”

  “You mind if I do a little more?” Anwar asked. Anwar pulled out a small sapphire and laid it on her sword. He reached out with his magic, and the sapphire was absorbed as he imposed his will on the weapon. The blade turned a light blue color; he sprinkled the diamond dust on it and finished the enchantment.

  “Here, hold this up in front of you,” he said, handing her the sword.

  She did as he bade, and before she could react, Anwar threw a ball of fire at her. She barely had time to flinch, but the ball of fire didn’t hit her. The blade sucked the ball of fire into itself, glowing a brighter blue for a few seconds before returning to its light blue hue.

  “What happened?” Frau asked.

  “That sword will absorb heat. It is something I have been thinking about for a while. Grundel’s idea with the firesword gave me the idea to use it on yours. If you stab someone with that blade, it will begin absorbing the heat. It will actually absorb heat from anything it touches, so if you rested the blade against a person it would actually begin freezing them to death. It will also suck in other heat sources, as you saw. It can be used to catch fireballs thrown by wizards, or it can quickly put out fires. I am sure you will think of other uses for it in time. It cannot be destroyed, and can also cut through a magic shield,” Anwar said with a smile. He was pretty proud of that sword.

  “It needs a name,” Kraft said.

  “Heat Taker,” she said, looking at the blue blade in front of her. “Thank you, Anwar.”

  “Oh, we’re not done yet. Your armor is simple, so we will get to that last. You mind if I use my own idea on the crossbow?” he asked.

  “It worked with the sword. I’ll trust your judgment,” she said with a smile.

  They all watched as he loaded the crossbow. He sprinkled a bit of diamond dust over it, but this time, as the dust was dissolving, he fired it. He cranked it immediately and then magically transported the bolt back onto the crossbow. He sprinkled a little more diamond dust on it. When it dissolved he handed it to Frau.

  “Try it.”

  She pointed the crossbow at the wall and fired. The bolt flew forward, slamming into the wall at incredible speed. A chunk of the wall broke off.

  “It’s amazing,” she said to Anwar. The crossbow was very small—only about twelve inches long and six inches across. It hadn’t originally been very strong, but it was useful in a pinch and was conveniently carried. She realized that Anwar was smiling at her. “What?”

  “Look down,” was all he said. She did and realized that the crossbow was already loaded. “That is the magic of the item. It is similar to Rundo’s daggers. When you fire it, the bolt will return to the crossbow after it stops, and it will return in the loaded position. You can still unload it if you want, but when it is loaded it will always reload itself when fired.”

  He turned to her leather armor, sprinkled diamond dust over it, and reached out with his magic. When the dust dissolved, he lifted it up and handed it to her.

  “I think you’re all set.”

  “Thank you again, Anwar. I can’t even begin to repay you,” she said.

  “Stay alive, and we can call it even,” he answered. “All right, King Kraft, you’re up,” Anwar said, turning to the Haufen king.

  “Well, I was going to say the same thing as Frau, but seeing what you did for her, I think I will just leave it to your judgment. I think I would like a crossbow, though,” Kraft said.

  “Okay, well, let’s start with your sword,” he said.

  Kraft slid his short sword out and handed the hilt to Anwar. Anwar pulled a small yellow citrine from the pouch of gems on his belt. He laid the stone on the blade of the sword. He began pouring his magic into the blade, and as the stone was absorbed into the steel Anwar shot electricity into the blade. He sprinkled the diamond dust on the yellow-tinted steel of the sword and made it indestructible.

  He handed the sword back to the king. “We can’t really test this one. I am sure you can guess what the sword will do, but let me explain it. This sword is imbued with electricity. If you penetrate it into someone’s body it will rack their body with surges of electricity. Like the others, the less contact, the less extreme the effect. If you simply touch someone with the blade, it will shock them; it might render them unconscious, or it might leave them on the ground in extreme pain from being shocked.”

  Kraft took the sword by the hilt and stared down at the yellow-tinted blade. “Heartstopper,” he said more to himself than anyone else.

  “That fits,” Anwar said. “I will do your armor next. The crossbow will be last—what I have planned for that will require us to go outside to test it.”

  Kraft looked up and smiled. Kraft unbuckled his plate and handed it to Anwar. “I don’t want to be running around without armor on,” he said.

  “I can make this nearly weightless if you want,” Anwar offered.

  “No, just make it defend against that magic. Wearing armor all the time makes me stronger; it won’t help if it’s weightless,” Kraft argued.

  Anwar smiled and nodded. He missed being around the sturdy, crass dwarves. He sprinkled diamond dust on the armor, making it resistant to magic and indestructible, then he handed it back.

  “Do you have a crossbow with you?” Anwar asked.

  “They brought up more than we needed earlier. Any of them will do,” Kraft said, picking up one of the extra crossbows that was lying over by the door.

  Anwar took the crossbow and laid it on the table. He looked up and smiled at Kraft before looking back down at the weapon. He took a pinch of a black powder out of a small pouch on his belt. He sprinkled the powder over the crossbow, poured his magic into the weapon, and imposed his will on it. The powder was absorbed and the whole crossbow turned black. It was the most dramatic physical change of any of the weapons. Anwar poured a little diamond dust over it, adding another flow of magic to finish it.

  He handed the crossbow to Kraft. “Let’s go outside, I am as excited about this one as anyone,” he said.

  Kraft couldn’t help but allow an excited smile to stretch across his face.

  When they made it to the landing outside the entrance they turned to the left instead of going down the steps. This was the big area where Shinestone used to keep animals. There was still a fence around it that would have kept any of the animals from accidentally falling over the edge. In the middle of the area, about fifty feet paces away, was a big boulder that stood four feet high.

  “Go ahead and shoot at that,” Anwar said.

  Kraft loaded a bolt onto the crossbow and took aim. He squeezed the trigger and released the bolt. A second later there was an explosion. The pressure knocked everyone back a step. When the dust cleared, the top half of the boulder was gone, and there was gravel all around it.

  “Big Finish!” Kraft shouted.

  “Oh ho, that is definitely the perfect name!” Grizzle said excitedly.

  Anwar turned and faced them all. “Well, Grizzle and Jabaal already have enchanted weapons. I already made Grizzle armor, and Jabaal doesn’t need it, so unless you want anything, Hellen, I think that’s it.”

  “I am fine Anwar, but thank you,” Hellen said. “I will be trying to save lives, not take them. Fighting isn’t my place.”

  “Well then, I believe it is time for me to go,” An
war said.

  “Already? But you just got here,” Anna said sadly.

  “I know, and I don’t want to go, but I have already pushed the limits of my permitted involvement. I need to get back, and you all have your own preparations to make. Just remember, those walls out there and these weapons will give you an advantage. They will slow your enemy and give you a chance to fight the wizards. But they will have a lot of wizards, and a huge army. They are going to get through that eventually. Be ready for them to attack the mountain itself. I am sure they will have some surprises of their own,” Anwar cautioned them.

  “Don’t worry about us, long legs. You just go diddle with your magic. We’ve been fighting battles long before you were born,” Grizzle joked as he walked up to Anwar. He wrapped his arms around his friend. “Goodbye again.”

  Anwar hugged Grizzle. He hugged Jabaal, Hellen, and Anna, saying his personal goodbyes to each of them. He got to Frau. “You take care of that big brute, will ya?” he joked with her. He smiled when her face turned red and gave her a hug. Finally he came to Kraft. “It was an honor to meet you, King Kraft,” he said.

  Kraft shook his hand hard. “Thank you for helping us again. The dwarves will always owe you a debt, and thanks for these weapons. I’ll do my best to honor you with them.”

  “That’s all I can ask,” Anwar said.

  He turned to Grizzle and Jabaal. He winked at them and then disappeared.

  Chapter Eight

  New Recruits

  Bergmann woke up just as the sun was coming up over the horizon. The little bit of light that was starting to filter through the window had been enough to wake him. He had been rolling around on the huge, pillowed bed for half an hour. The mattress was way too soft, and it didn’t support his body. He had even thrown all of the covers onto the floor in frustration, after they had become tangled around him as he shifted in the bed, trying to get comfortable. Eventually he abandoned the bed and had fallen fast asleep on a thick rug on the floor.

  He got up now, sliding on his leather armor that would also serve as padding for his plate if he needed to wear that. As a last-minute debate played out in his mind, he decided to wear the plate. He was going to meet with the commanders of the human army and see what these soldiers had to offer. He decided he should make an impression.