A Gathering of Armies

by Christopher Williams

  “What is this place?” Kara asked as she moved over and sat down next to the two dwarves who were seated on low benches that had been cut along the base of the walls.

  “It once was a guard room,” Blore answered. “But these tunnels have been deserted for centuries.”

  “Why is that?” Derek asked. He sat down next to Kara and peered inside the bag. He was pleased beyond measure to see several loaves of bread and roasted beef rolled up in paper. He would have starved to death if they had only brought more of the horrible gruel.

  “Once, long ago, we found a very large gold deposit nearby. In our haste to mine the gold, mistakes were made. The mine was improperly shored up and,” he paused, looking pained, “ the mine collapsed. Many dwarves died that day. King Vognar’s grandfather ordered these tunnels and caverns abandoned.”

  In the silence that followed both dwarves looked solemn. Derek was impressed with the respect the dwarves showed for those long dead. He wondered if humans would show the same respect. He rather doubted they would – most likely his fellow humans would be more distraught over the inaccessible gold.

  “Are we in danger?” Kara asked. “I mean, will the roof collapse on us?”

  Blore shook his head. “No. We are only on the outskirts of the collapsed area. We will not venture into the area of the mine. We would not survive that.”

  Derek noticed Kara looking relieved and he too felt easier. It was a strangely suffocating thought to think about tons of rock falling on top of his head. There was silence for a moment and then Derek asked the question he was dying to know the answer to, “Is the king allying the dwarves with Zalustus?”

  Blore hesitated. “Regardless of what the king decides, I would not say he’s allying with Zalustus. The negotiations are for the dwarves to agree to not assist Telur.”

  “And?” Kara burst out. “Has the king agreed?”

  “Not yet,” Blore answered. “He is a tough negotiator. This Anton has offered the return of Ocklamoor after Telur is defeated.”

  “And Vognar did not agree?” Belgil asked, interrupting his father in his surprise.

  “No,” Blore answered, “and with good reason. Once Telur is conquered, the dwarves no longer have a bargaining position. All that Anton has to offer is a promise of Ocklamoor’s return. He can not even prove that it has been found, plus the king is unlikely to trust the word of a human.” He paused, looking uncomfortable. “I did not mean to offend either of you,” he said, looking at Derek and Kara. “But humans have not been welcome in our kingdom for generations.”

  Kara smiled. “Your words do not offend us.”

  Blore nodded in her direction and then continued. “I’ve heard that Vognar’s resistance to an agreement has begun to anger the emissary.”

  “Do you think the king might aid Telur, then?” Kara asked. There was a touch of hope in her voice, but the dwarf shook his head.

  “Unlikely,” he said. “In addition to the promise of Ocklamoor’s return, this Anton brought the Rose scepter to us. If he leaves without a deal, then he plans on taking it with him.”

  “I’m sorry,” Derek said, “but what is the Rose scepter?”

  Blore took a deep breath and leaned back against the wall. “Many generations ago, before the Third War of the Races, the dwarves were attacked and nearly killed off by the goblins. Many of our cities and outposts were destroyed, including the largest city of Hez’ha’Redda’ha’dell. The dwarven high king was in the city at the time when it fell. He died with it and the Rose scepter was lost.”

  Kara nodded. “But what is this scepter?” she asked.

  “The scepter is a rod of gold, forged millennia ago. It’s about this long,” Blore held his hands apart, indicating a distance of about two feet. At the tip was set a large, perfect diamond. It was the most recognizable symbol of the high king.”

  “And it was lost before the Third War of the Races?” Derek asked. “How do you know that this scepter that Anton showed you is even the right one? I mean couldn’t he have a fake?”

  Blore shook his head. “No, it’s not possible. No dwarf would be fooled by a fake scepter. It’s real enough.”

  “Surely the dwarves must realize how Anton got it,” Kara said quickly. “He must have been given it by the goblins, and that means he can’t be trusted.”

  “Trusted or not,” Blore replied a bit grumpily, “he can deliver the scepter to us, and that’s something that no dwarven king wants to be responsible for losing.”

  “Why not just take it from him?” Derek asked.

  Both dwarves looked affronted.

  “He has been allowed in to our halls as an ambassador,” Belgil said. “There are few crimes worse than to rob a guest. Surely the gods would punish us accordingly.”

  Derek considered suggesting that it wasn’t stealing, so much as reclaiming property that had been stolen from them, but he decided against it. The dwarves seemed to think that it would be horribly wrong to take the scepter and Derek didn’t want to argue the point. The problem was that it made it more difficult to get the dwarves on Telur’s side.

  They sat in silence for several moments and then Kara spoke. “It seems to me that the dwarves are a lost cause,” she said. Then seeing the startled looks on the dwarves’ faces, she hurriedly clarified, “I mean, best case scenario is they refuse to help Telur.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I guess it’s even possible for Ocklamoor to be used to force them into the battle on Zalustus’ side.”

  Blore looked somewhat sour, but he didn’t reply. His refusal to argue the point spoke volumes.

  “It seems to me,” Kara began, “the only thing for us to do is to try and escape from the city. Perhaps we can still make it to Telur before the battle is joined.”

  Now it was Belgil’s turn to be grumpy. “I already told you there isn’t any way out. The gates will be guarded and the guards will be watching for you.”

  “The gates are even more fortified than usual,” Blore said. Belgil and the two Guardians turned to look at the old dwarf.

  “And why is that?” Derek asked.

  “It seems the king does not trust this ambassador,” Blore said. “When he arrived, the king ordered the king’s guard to the gates. More dwarven fighters have since been pressed into service, and their numbers at the gates are staggering.”

  “Why are there so many soldiers at the gates?” Kara asked. “Is he expecting an attack?”

  “Not necessarily. The king is acting cautiously. He is suspicious of this ambassador, and is just preparing for the worst,” Blore said.

  Derek sighed deeply. “And all these extra soldiers at the gates will make it that much harder for us to escape.”

  Once again, they sat in silence. This time the stillness stretched out even longer, until once again it was Kara who spoke first. “Well, we have to try. Can we get close to the gates? Can we see what we’re up against?”

  “It’s dangerous,” Blore replied. “You get close enough to see anything, and they might see you.”

  Derek shrugged. “Like she said, we have to try.”

  Chapter 12

  Derek awoke with his back and shoulders aching. They had slept on the hard floor of the long-deserted guards’ room, and it hadn’t been any good for his muscles.

  In addition to the hard floor, the coldness of the earth made them uncomfortable as well. Blore had brought several blankets with him, but they were made for the dwarves and barely kept the chill away. Derek had to sleep on his side with his legs pulled up just to get his body covered from his neck to his feet.

  It was at that moment that he realized that he was warm for another reason. Some time in the night, Kara had snuggled up to him and he now found her lying directly in front of him. Even worse, his arm was draped over her. He immediately began to lift his arm slowly up and away from her. It would be just like her to wake up and accuse him of snuggling up next to her.

  No sooner had the thought crossed his mind, then she began to stir. With a sinking
feeling in the bottom of his stomach, Derek whipped his arm over and rolled backwards onto his back. He closed his eyes, opened his mouth slightly, and pretended to be asleep.

  There was the sound of a dwarf chuckling from the other side of Kara, but Derek ignored it, wishing the dwarf to silence.

  Kara continued to stir beside him and Derek could feel it as she sat up.

  “Good morning,” Kara said.

  Derek partially opened an eyelid and was immensely relieved to see Kara’s back as she talked to someone that he couldn’t see.

  “Thought you were going to sleep all day,” Belgil’s rough voice said.

  “How late is it?” Kara asked. She sounded surprised.

  “Almost time for the mid-day meal,” Belgil answered. “Was trying to decide whether or not to wake you.”

  Derek could hear Kara stretching and he decided his charade had gone on for long enough. He opened both eyes and sat up, stretching as he did so. He looked around and froze. “Where’s Blore?” he asked, immediately concerned about the old dwarf’s absence.

  “He headed to the Iron gates,” Belgil answered. “Trying to see if there is any chance of getting you up close enough to see them.”

  “The Iron gates?” Kara asked.

  “Apologies,” Belgil said. “I forgot that you’re unfamiliar with our home. The Iron gates are the gates on the eastern side of the mountains. We call the gates on the western side the Fire gates.”

  “And there are only two sets of gates?” Kara asked. “Surely there are smaller gates for more secret excursions.”

  “There are,” Belgil agreed, “but they are closely guarded. Most of them have magic spells that require the right password or talisman to pass. Unfortunately, I do not have access to any of them.”

  There was a firmness to Belgil’s words that made Derek think the dwarf wouldn’t take the humans through the secret gates even if he could. It was understandable – any such secret gates were an obvious threat to the dwarves safety. He felt it best to change the topic of conversation.

  “How long will it take Blore to reach the Iron gates and return?”

  Belgil considered for a moment. “A day, maybe two.”

  “Two days?” Derek asked incredulously. “Why so long?”

  “It’s a long trip,” Belgil replied, sounding just a bit angry. “Besides, by now they know that I’ve escaped and will be watching those of my clan. My father must take great care so as to not be seen.”

  Derek looked around the barren room. “We’re stuck here for two days?”

  “Not necessarily,” Belgil replied and now the anger was gone. “There are plenty of things we can see right here.”

  “Such as?” Kara asked.

  Belgil grinned. “We’re not far from the collapsed mine. Why don’t we wander down that way and see what it looks like?”

  “The mine?” Kara repeated. “Your father said we wouldn’t survive if we went that way.”

  “We’re not going through the mine – just close enough to see it.”

  Kara looked doubtful, but the last thing Derek wanted to do was to sit in this miserable little room for two days. “That sounds good to me,” he said and climbed to his feet. He looked down at Kara. “You coming?”

  Kara sighed. “I’ll probably regret this, but give me a little bit.”

  “Why?” Derek asked.

  Kara stood and dusted her hands. “Because I’m hungry and I want something to eat before we leave.”

  After a hastily prepared breakfast, they left the small guards’ room and began following the low tunnels. Once again Belgil led the way, and they traveled for nearly an hour in silence. The last half of the journey they noticed a significant downward slope to the tunnels. Several times they nearly slipped and fell. These tunnels had varying amounts of the light-producing mold – some of the tunnels were nearly pitch black, and others were quite well-lit.

  They were walking through a particularly dark tunnel, in which it was nearly impossible to see, when they suddenly realized something had changed. Derek stopped walking and tried to determine what was different. He stood still for several moments, but he could feel the others’ presence nearby and knew that they had stopped too. “What is it?” he asked.

  “Quiet!” Belgil whispered. “We need to talk quietly or not at all. Much of these surrounding tunnels are weak. Loud noises could cause things to collapse.”

  Derek swallowed hard at Belgil’s words. He liked the idea of exploring, but he didn’t much fancy the idea of dying in a cave-in. He was about to re-ask his question, although this time in a much quieter way, when Belgil spoke again.

  “We left the tunnels and are now in a large cavern. The abandoned gold mine was all along the far side of the cavern. We are going to descend to the cavern floor and approach the other side. We need to wait here for a moment, though. Our eyes should adjust to the light in here.”

  Derek resisted the urge to laugh. He couldn’t imagine any way that his eyes could ever adjust to the poor light. Maybe the dwarf’s eyes could see in here, but he never would. It was at about that moment that he realized he could make out Belgil’s and Kara’s outline. He just shook his head, glad that he had kept his mouth shut.

  They continued to stand there for another ten minutes or so and, gradually, their immediate surroundings became visible. They stood on a large ledge made of worked stone. A low railing ran along the edge – it too was made of stone.

  There was a sense that this area had been long abandoned. The ledge was littered with small pieces of stone and covered in dust and dirt. Here and there, pieces of the railing were broken and missing.

  Once their eyes had adjusted, Belgil led them to their right. They followed the ledge for maybe twenty yards and then he stopped, pointing to an old stone stairwell that disappeared downward into the darkness. The stairway was maybe three feet wide with short narrow steps made for dwarven legs.

  Derek inched his way forward and glanced over the edge. The stairs seemed to be intact, and looked sturdy enough to support their weight. “Is this safe?”

  The dwarf smiled. “Only one way to find out.” With that Belgil began descending the stairs. He walked slowly, testing each stair before he put his full weight on it.

  Kara made to move past Derek, but he stopped her. “Let me go next, just in case this thing collapses.” Kara smiled at him, and strangely the smile warned him to his toes.

  They followed Belgil down the stairs for nearly ten minutes, and then they stepped off the stairs onto a rough and uneven cavern floor. Stalagmites had once covered the floor, but it appeared that they had long ago been removed. An attempt had been made to level the cavern floor, with only a moderate amount of success.

  “What now?” Derek asked.

  “We cross the cavern and take a look at that mine,” Belgil said.

  There was something about the way Belgil mentioned the mine that made Derek nervous. Belgil looked eager and intent, almost obsessed. For the first time, Derek began to wonder if they were safe following Belgil here.

  Belgil wasted no time but began leading them across the cavern floor. It was slow going despite the long ago attempts to level the floor. They could not walk in a straight line but had to zigzag around large rock formations and equally large holes and drop-offs.

  After a short walk, the far side of the cavern came into view. It looked like once the cavern wall had been solid rock but that had been before the dwarves had burrowed numerous holes and tunnels into the wall. Derek looked both left and right along the wall, and as far as he could see were numerous tunnel openings placed at all different heights. The only places where he could not see tunnel openings, were the large sections of the wall that had collapsed in rubble. It wasn’t just one collapse, but numerous sections of the wall had fallen into piles of rock. In fact, Belgil stopped them well short of the wall, because of the pile of rock that lay all around the wall base.

  “Good gods above,” Kara said

  “Shh!” Bel
gil said. “Keep your voice down.”

  Kara looked at the piles of rock, swallowed hard, and nodded her head silently.

  Mixed into the mounds of rock were pieces of worked stone that had made up a ledge farther up the cavern wall. It mirrored the one they had walked along on the other side.

  Without a word, Belgil turned to the left and began leading them along the edge. In some places, the damage was minor, making it look like the tunnels were still safe, but in other areas the walls were completely collapsed, leaving nothing but a heap of rubble.

  The wall of the cavern actually resembled an anthill. The dwarves had burrowed into the cavern wall over and over again until the wall had become unsafe. Derek could think of no reason for them to do this except for extreme gold lust. He wondered how many dwarves had died in the collapse, how many families had lost loved ones.

  Belgil stopped suddenly. He didn’t speak, instead he just pointed upwards.

  Both Kara and Derek stopped too, and craned their heads to see what he was pointing at.

  It took several moments, but finally shape materialized out of the gloom. At first, Derek couldn’t decide what it was, but as it became clear he realized that it was a bridge. Some sort of ancient stone bridge connecting one side of the cavern to the other. The dwarves must’ve used it for getting the gold from mines higher up the cavern wall to the other side of the grotto.

  Derek took several steps to his left to get a better view of the bridge. It was then that he noticed the long concrete support that rose from the cavern floor to the bottom of the bridge. The support was off to his left, and had been hidden by the gloom.

  Derek moved further to his left, stopped, and looked back. The bridge had been a marvel of engineering, but now it was broken. He could see where the cavern wall had collapsed and had broken off a huge piece of the bridge that had tumbled away. Derek could just make it out lying further along the direction Belgil had been leading them.