by Eric Vall
Dorinick chucked the ice into the snow. “And why would this Master bring death to Orebane then?” he demanded. “What have the dwarves done to warrant it?”
“Nothing,” I assured him. “From what I can tell, the Master wants to destroy the nations, but I don’t know why. He’s been working at it for months … across the entire region apparently. But there’s something about these giants that makes me think he’s behind it, even if we didn’t find the rune on this one.”
“It could have been in one of the parts we melted,” Aurora offered.
Through the plating of his helm, I could see Dorinick’s fury over the senseless violence his race had suffered, and I wished I had some sort of better answer for him.
Thrungrig lay an armored hand on the spaulder that shielded the shoulder of the dwarf, but Dorinick threw it off as he turned from the giant.
“On,” he growled as he headed for the path. “On to the capital, before the rest of ‘em get here.”
We followed and remounted Bobbie with more urgency. I felt the motorcycle kick up a gear, and she sped through the last pass that led to the capital at a speed that showed she’d sensed the impending danger. Just as the night began to settle in the mountains, the lights of the capital appeared between the ridges, and within minutes, I could make out the gates of the dwarven city.
We slowed as we got closer, and in the torchlight that lined the giant stone wall that marked the boundaries of the capital, I could see massive dwarven statues mounted along the battlements. The heads were sheathed in the same helms Dorinick and Thrungrig wore, but instead of chain mail, the stone faces were exposed beneath the cheek plates and carved with fierce snarls and heavy beards. The statues must have been ten feet tall and made an impressive display in the flickering shadows of the flames. The gates at the center of the wall reached nearly to the top and were formed from giant steel rods fastened together with what looked to be pure gold bracing. It was brightly polished and bore letters that resembled the symbol on Thrungrig’s gauntlet.
The dwarves at the gate wore the same golden armor as the rider who had come to the mines, but they held giant spears with gold tips across their fronts and stood in a line of ten between us and the gate.
Thrungrig and Dorinick climbed out of the sidecar and approached the guards. While the grumbling of the dwarven language began between the guards and Thrungrig, I studied the massive gate and tried to figure out how the dwarves had managed the construction. After a few minutes, the dwarves returned, and Thrungrig motioned us onward.
“The elders are waiting,” he grunted as the two settled into the sidecar. “Better go slow through the streets. We don’t want to cause trouble with this contraption. Already causing enough, I’d imagine.”
I nodded and wondered what he meant, but Bobbie steadily approached the gates, and I watched eagerly as they parted before us. Within the walls of the capital, the roads were paved with stone, and the streets were lit with decorative lanterns forged from pure gold.
The buildings were uniformly spaced, but each built upward in a way that reminded me of Chicago, except there weren’t giant walls of windows on them. They were all made of stone and bore columns that sat on gold pedestals, which supported another structure, and then another on top of each. What I was used to seeing in the construction of state buildings and presidential housing is what made up every structure within the capital. The roofs were domed and adorned with metal filigree, and several were crested with golden rods. It looked like the entire city was built to the standards of a castle, and I wondered how anyone could distinguish one fine building from the next.
The streets were filled and bustling despite the late hour, and dwarves ran and rode in every direction. Most of them were suited in armor or pulled carts piled with swords and shields.
“They’re preparing for the battle,” Dorinick said as we carefully wound our way through the center of the capital. “Every able-bodied dwarf is a member of the Arms of Aurum. Those who cannot fight forge the weaponry. Those who won’t fight are cast out of the city.”
I looked more closely and could see now that the dwarves who led the carts were the only ones not suited in armor, and most of them looked to be injured or very old. Still, they all moved with urgency.
“So … ” I began as I processed the number of armored dwarves around me, “the dwarves who have died in battle with the ice giants are all civilians of the capital?”
The idea didn’t sit well with me, but the dwarves nodded casually.
“Of course,” Thrungrig grunted. “The mountains are not a tame land, and the number of beasts exceeds that of the dwarves. Many vicious breeds are spread throughout the whole range. To live under the protection of the capital is to serve the protection of the capital.”
I nodded and could see the sense in the idea, but I couldn’t help but imagine the outrage if such a rule was enforced in Serin. It certainly didn’t go over well when the USA instituted the draft back in the seventies. However, having only come up against the Naga and an ice giant so far, I figured the rule was almost inarguable if you took all the other beasts into account. Absolute safety would require constant and renewable forces of protection.
Even though no one stopped, most of the dwarves turned at the sight of Bobbie, and no doubt the sight of the mages and me.
I was surprised by the number of defensive looks I got, but I focused instead on the meeting with the elders. The rail road depended on me making a good impression with them, and I hoped the presence of Thrungrig and Dorinick would lend some sort of authority to the matter, even if the dwarves wouldn’t vouch for me personally. We’d begun construction on the catapults, but the deal I’d made with Thrungrig wasn’t fulfilled until I joined their army in battle and won. I couldn’t expect him to deliver on his side of the bargain yet.
I was going over what I might be able to say for myself when the road in front of me opened into a pristine courtyard, and on the other side of it an immaculate fortress rose against the side of a looming mountain. It looked to be built into the rockface, with dozens of steeply gabled towers that stretched into the black sky. The towers overlapped and comprised the entire fortress, and each roof finished in twisted silver spears. I could see something glinted from the tip of each spear, but the light of the torches that illuminated the base of the fortress didn’t reach the heights of the towers.
The doors of the formidable building were made of finely wrought silver as well, and as we neared them, I could make out the red glint of the handles. Once we’d dismounted Bobbie and approached the entrance, I realized the handles of the doors were literally made of enormous and expertly carved rubies.
I let out a low whistle as I stopped to take in the full effect, and then I heard a snort at my side. When I turned, Dorinick stood a few paces behind Thrungrig, and his arms were crossed over his armor.
“What?” I asked with a grin. “Don’t tell me it’s not impressive.”
He only shook his head, and I was about to make a retort when the doors in front of us opened, and I was silenced by a massive marble hall.
The columns that stretched to the ceiling within the doors gleamed in gold, and I craned my neck to see the clusters of rubies circling the tops of the pillars.
Aurora let out a surprised little chuckle at the sight of the entrance hall, and I sent her an equally amazed look in response. Not even the castle of Temin was as grandly decorated, but I began to understand the snort Dorinick had let out. Impressive as the whole thing was, it did seem a little over the top considering the elders weren’t technically royalty. I would have just assumed they were by the gold and jewels that glittered from every corner of the hall.
Thrungrig cleared his throat and headed across the hall toward a large set of marble stairs, and we all followed. At the top, we entered into a long hallway lined with stone sculptures of armored dwarves, and each was identical and sported the same fierce helms and beards as I’d seen on the battlements. The hallway ended with
an arched and golden door, guarded on each side by ten dwarves, who each glared at us as we approached. Thrungrig brought us to a stop and spoke to the nearest guard.
“I bring Sir Dorinick, summoned this day,” he said, but the guard only kept a wary eye on me.
Thrungrig followed his eyes, then cleared his throat. “They’re with us.”
The guard said something in their native language, but Dorinick responded so fiercely that the dwarf jumped and immediately stood at attention. He nodded once to the guard opposite him, and the two moved to open the massive golden doors.
Dorinick let out an irritated huff and brushed past to lead the way.
I fell in step behind the two dwarves, with the three Ignis Mages at my back, and as we neared the group of dwarves who sat in high back, throne-like chairs, I decided these elders really did consider themselves as good as royalty.
They sat in a half circle at the center of what could only be called a throne room, and their thick beards were pristinely groomed and fell into their laps. They wore ruby red robes that draped all the way to the marble floors, and every face was grave and lined with years of stern superiority.
Thrungrig and Dorinick stopped before the elders and made deep bows. I did the same and remained folded forward since the others hadn’t risen yet. The silence of the hall felt heavy, and I’d just begun to wonder how long I’d be stuck staring at the heels of the dwarves when a deep voice commanded that we rise.
When I straightened up, every elder had their eyes on me.
“So,” the same voice continued, and I saw it came from the dwarf who sat at the center of the group of five. “You are the one who claims he has invitation in these lands?”
His brows were white and wild above his green eyes, and his hair, unlike every dwarf I’d seen in the streets of the capital, was unbraided and left to hang well past his waist. He held my sights with a piercing glare, but I met it steadily.
“Yes sir, my name is Mason Flynt, and I--” I began to say, but the elder cut me off cooly.
“No dwarf has the right to offer such invitation,” he said and looked severely at Thrungrig, but it was Dorinick who answered the elder.
“He’s a messenger from the kings in the south.”
The elders considered the words, then the same white-haired dwarf spoke. “And what could the kings in the south have to say that would authorize the illegal crossing of our borders? You are aware no man has entered the walls of Aurum in several hundred years, yes?”
I wasn’t, but I let that sink in for a second while I tried to come up with a response. Thrungrig hadn’t mentioned how bold my errand was when he told me to stop the railroad, although the possibility of starting a war probably should have given me a heads up.
“Uh … ” I tried, “I didn’t know that, actually. But I assure you--”
“Silence.” An elder with an equally impressive beard, albeit a deep black one, held up a stout hand. He studied me solemnly, then addressed the dwarf general beside me instead. “Dorinick. We summoned you to the capital, and you bring with you an intruder. You must know what this implies, following the way in which you left us.”
“Nothing need be implied if you’d let the man speak,” Dorinick returned, and I was impressed by the guts of the dwarf. The tone of the whole room was stifling, but Dorinick seemed unphased by all of the pomp and circumstance surrounding the elders, so I stood a little taller and met the eyes of the elders as confidently as I could.
The black-haired elder raised his brows, but he didn’t respond, only turned his stern eye to me and commanded me to speak. “State your message, and we will determine how justified your intrusion is.”
I was already irritated by the hostility of the elders, but I reminded myself how badly I needed their approval and swallowed my pride.
“Sirs,” I began and spoke as formally as I could, “I have been commissioned by King Temin and King Balmier to construct a rail of transport as a means of providing safe and efficient trade amongst their people. With this connection, a joining of arms has also been established, as a necessary measure of protection against a dark force that has brought violence to both nations. A dark magic is being used to possess the beasts and the mages there. Thrungrig and Dorinick told me of the ice giants, and although I didn’t find an immediate sign of this force when I studied one of them, I believe they resemble the threats of evil that have been brought to the kingdoms in the south. I come to your city to offer an allegiance in arms, and to fight alongside you in order to rid your lands of this evil.”
The elders were silent when I’d finished. After a long moment, the white haired elder spoke. “How does one study an ice giant without being killed?”
“We destroyed it first,” I answered simply.
This caused the elder’s face to finally change from hostility to shock. “Impossible,” he growled.
“Not with our magic,” I assured him, and then I brought Aurora forward.
The Ignis Mage ignited her finger tips, and the elders looked to one another as the flames danced across her palms and built themselves upward by several feet.
I glanced to Mina and Deli, and the two ignited their palms as well as they held them outstretched for the elders to see. Once I was sure I had the elders’ full attention, I nodded for the mages to stop before I addressed the white-haired dwarf again.
“They destroyed a scout on the way to the capital today,” I reported as I met his eyes directly, “in a matter of minutes.”
The elder looked to Dorinick. “Is it true?”
“Yes,” he grumbled. “Took no effort on our part, either. I’ve been working with the mages in the mountains. Their power is impressive, and their abilities proved adequate today.”
“But this was against one giant?” another elder asked.
“Yes,” I replied. “But I’ve sent for several more to join us, and--”
“You ordered your own soldiers to enter the lands of Orebane?” demanded the white-haired elder, and I bit my tongue.
I probably should have led up to that more carefully.
I heard a snort of disgust come from under Dorinick’s helm, but the dwarf didn’t speak.
The elder rose from his throne and leveled a finger in my direction. “The audacity of a man, whatever his errand, to not only intrude but invade a land with his own armies--”
Another elder cut him off and joined in his anger. “Much less one in possession of powers that could threaten the very lives of the dwarven race … ”
Then all spoke at once, each furious and accusing, while Dorinick growled his own opinions, and the pristine hall filled with the echoes of angry dwarves as each spoke louder than the next.
In the midst of the commotion, I heard a peculiar and age-addled voice, and the noise of the elders ceased at once. Their eyes turned to the elder in the last throne, whose skin was more papery and pale than the others. His beard and hair, although a stately white, was badly thinned, and it hung in a scraggly mess across his robe. His eyes were milky blue, and I realized by the way he looked at nothing in particular when he spoke that he must have been blind in his old age.
“Enough,” he said, and his voice wavered with the effort of the word. He took a deep breath, then addressed the silent room with a tired determination. “What magic is this?”
I realized he was talking to me, so I cleared my throat and spoke up. “Ignis magic sir, it means--”
“I know … what it means,” the elder assured me. “The flames destroyed the giant?”
“Yes, sir,” I responded.
“What numbers can you bring?” he asked, and the other elders looked affronted.
The black-haired dwarf spoke before I could respond. “Agrokea, please. Consider the danger of what you ask.”
“Silence,” Agrokea sighed. The old dwarf looked nearly too tired to argue, but after several moments, he continued. “Consider the deaths of … those who trust and … serve your protection.”
I saw Dorinic
k nod at my side and watched the faces of the elders darken.
“The deaths of a few,” one elder said sternly, “cannot outweigh the preservation of--”
“Hundreds,” growled Dorinick, and every eye turned to the dwarf who now removed his helm and addressed the elders straight on. “The deaths of hundreds is what you’re speaking of, and it would do you well to remember it. Two-hundred and fifty have marched to their deaths in the name of Aurum, not counting the innocents in the villages. And I’ve led them to the slaughter at your command. Say once more it was a necessary loss, and I’ll leave the lot of ye’ to die, on my honor.”
“Dorinick!” the black-haired dwarf growled. “Remember who you speak to!”
“I know who I speak to,” he spat. “I speak to the elders of the dwarven race. I speak to those who pledge their lives to the conservation of that which has lasted millennia. But your power does not demand the death of those who have respected your position for just as long. It demands that you protect us.”
Before the elders could retaliate, Agrokea raised a withered hand and nodded his approval. “Well spoken, young Dorinick.”
The other elders deflated, and I saw their obstinance finally begin to waver as the aged dwarf continued.
“We preserve more than ourselves, Dogra,” Agrokea said. “You are blinded … by your fear.”
The black-haired elder fumed in silence and chose not to respond.
Agrokea nodded once more. “The Ignis magic is a powerful force,” he continued. “If you offer it … in aid of our nation … then we accept.”
“I do offer it,” I answered, “and more. I can offer you Terra magic as well, and weaponry that will ensure the safety of your armies during battle.”