“It’s so sad,” Kara said quietly. “I mean, all those dwarves that died here.”
Belgil look surprised at her words. “Yes, and for the lost gold.”
“Gold?” Kara asked, her voice rising as she spoke. “Who cares about the gold? How many dwarves died here?”
Belgil shook his head. “That’s the difference between humans and dwarves – every dwarf desires gold. The dwarves that died here, died doing what they love the most. I daresay that none of them regretted it.”
“They didn’t regret it?” Kara asked. “How can you be so callous? How many families lost loved ones here?”
Belgil shrugged. “Their families wept for them, as they should, but every dwarf understands the danger of mining. None of us would stop digging, even if we knew there was a risk of death. It’s what we do, it’s the way we live.”
Kara shook her head. She looked to be getting mad. She was just opening her mouth to speak when Derek touched her lightly on the arm. “Peace,” he said quietly. “They live differently than we do, it’s their right.”
Kara looked less than pleased, but thankfully she held her tongue.
After a moment, Belgil motioned to the direction they had been traveling. “Come on. I believe there’s some old mining buildings farther along this way. Let’s see if we can find them.”
The dwarf turned and walked away, leaving Kara and Derek standing alone. “I don’t understand,” she said.
Derek shrugged. “Nor do I, but they’re dwarves, and who is to say what’s normal for them.”
Kara only nodded once, and then turned to follow Belgil.
They spent the rest of the afternoon, or at least what they assumed was the afternoon, wandering the cavern floor. There was little enough left. Several small, nearly-collapsed buildings were the only signs that the dwarves had once lived in the cavern. There were plenty of old stone roads and bridges, but they soon became tired of examining old stonework, at least the two Guardians did. It appeared that Belgil could go on looking at the craftsmanship forever.
Belgil finally gave in and agreed to lead them back to the guardroom. He seemed grumpy about it, but his eyes lit up at the mention of food as they hadn’t thought to bring any with them and it was well past lunchtime.
The trip back was uneventful, although it did take nearly two hours to reach the guardroom. When they reached it, they were surprised to see that Blore already waited for them.
The old dwarf sat on the small ledge that ran along the base of the wall. He held a chunk of bread in one hand, but quit eating as soon as they approached. “Where have you been?” he demanded, looking angry.
“Oh,” Karen began, “we were looking at the mine.”
Blore sprang up from the ledge. “You took them to the mine? Are you daft?”
Belgil paled at his father’s anger. “We didn’t actually go into the mine. We just took a look at the cavern.”
Blore shook his head. “I risk my neck, and my clan, to save you, and then you go and foolishly risk your life.”
Unable to meet his father’s eyes, Belgil stared at the floor. Derek had never seen him like this before and felt it was time to try and change the conversation. “Why are you back so early? We thought you might be gone for two days or more.”
For a moment it seemed like Blore wouldn’t answer, but then finally he pulled his eyes from Belgil and glanced at Derek. “I couldn’t get near the gates. They know of your escape, and they’re searching for you. They’re also looking for me, because they assume I had something to do with his escape.” He waved his hand in the direction of Belgil. “Several times they nearly caught me, and I just did get away.”
“What does that mean?” Kara asked. “Can we not get out the gates?”
Blore shook his head. “No! As I said, I couldn’t even get close to the gates, so you won’t have a chance.” He shrugged his shoulders. “That is, unless you can cast a magic spell.”
Kara didn’t answer, instead she just slumped down onto the ledge.
Derek was beginning to get angry. If the dwarves didn’t want to help them that was fine but there was no reason to put them in prison. “No, we’re not magicians. We’re not sorcerers, and we can’t create a wizard’s portal…”
“That’s it!” Kara said, springing up from the ledge. “That’s how we get out of here!”
Derek and the two dwarves stared at her. For just a moment he was afraid that she was going crazy. “No it’s not,” he said. “We can’t cast a magic spell or create a wizard’s portal.” He watched her carefully through narrowed eyes.
“You’re correct,” she said smiling. “But we don’t need to create a wizard’s portal, there’s already one here.”
For just a moment, Derek wasn’t sure what she was talking about, but then he remembered Flare’s story about how they left the city. He looked toward Belgil. “Well, Belgil. Can we get out through the wizard’s portal?”
“What are you talking about?” Blore demanded. “What wizard’s portal? The dwarves don’t have any wizards.”
Belgil raised his eyes from the floor. “We don’t have any wizards, but we have a wizard’s portal.”
Blore stared at him for several moments, and then moved over to the ledge and sat down heavily. “I’m probably not going to like this, am I?”
The others followed Blore’s lead, moving over and sitting down on the ledge near the old dwarf. Kara and Derek began eating, while Belgil told his father of the ancient wizard’s portal that had nearly been the undoing of the dwarves.
“Before the Third War of the Races, every dwarven stronghold had a wizard’s portal. It’s how the goblins nearly destroyed us,” Belgil said. “The dwarves and the Faerum once had portals in all their outposts. One of these portals was captured by the goblins and they used it to sneak attack directly into the heart of our homes.”
Blore looked amazed. “I’ve never heard any of this. How did you discover this?”
“The king told me,” Belgil said. “He sent Flare, Holgar, and myself to El’alador.”
Blore shook his head and sighed deeply. “I always wondered how the goblins nearly destroyed us.”
“Well?” Derek asked. “Can we use the portal to get out?”
“Where would you go?” Belgil asked, turning to look at Derek. “The portal links dwarven settlements. It can’t take you to Telur.”
Derek sighed, his excitement turning to frustration. “There’s no way out of this damn place,” he said, closing his eyes.
“I told you that,” Belgil said.
Silence settled down around them, leaving each alone in their thoughts. Finally, Blore spoke again. “Where is the portal?”
Belgil looked up, apparently sensing something in his father’s tone. “It’s not far from the palace. Why?”
“Get some sleep,” Blore said. “We’ll go to the portal in the wee hours, so there will be less eyes to see us.”
Belgil was obviously surprised. “But why? Even if we can get to the portal, there is nowhere they can go that will get them to Telur before the battle.” As he spoke, Belgil pointed to the two Guardians.
Blore followed Belgil’s outstretched arm with his eyes. “I wasn’t thinking of them,” he said after a moment. “I want to see this portal, the portal that nearly destroyed us all.”
“But father…” Belgil began.
“Enough!” Blore said, raising his voice to cut off his son. “They don’t have to come, but you do. I need you to show me the way.”
For a moment, Derek thought that Belgil might argue, but then Belgil dropped his eyes again to the floor and his father nodded.
“Good,” Blore said. “Get some rest.”
“We’ll go too,” Kara said.
“Why?” Derek and Blore asked together.
“Because I want to see this portal,” Kara replied. “Besides, what happens to us if they get caught?”
Derek thought about it for a moment and then shivered. He hadn’t considered the two d
warves being captured. If that happened, he and Kara would have been left alone, in the dark, to rot.
Chapter 13
The Guardians, Belgil, and Blore lay down and tried to sleep. It was pretty much pointless, although they were all tired, none of them much felt like sleeping. As Derek lay in the dark, he felt Kara slide closer to him – not quite close enough to touch. He hesitated for a moment, and then slid over closer to her, his chest touching her back and he put his right arm over her waist. She tensed, and for just a moment he thought she would pull away, but then she relaxed again. Neither of them spoke but the closeness seemed to take some the chill out of the air.
Derek lay with his face nestled up against the back of her head. Amazingly, her hair smelled nice. It was surprising because it had been several days since either of them had bathed.
Curled up next to her, he was quite sure that he would not fall asleep. Derek was quite surprised when Belgil shook them awake. “Wake up you two,” the dwarf said. “We leave in half an hour.”
Derek and Kara quickly separated, neither making eye contact with the other. Thankfully, Belgil chose to be discreet. Neither Guardian would have liked any jokes at their expense at that moment.
The next half hour passed quickly. They ate a hastily prepared cold meal, packed up their few possessions, and answered nature’s call. They were still a bit blurry-eyed when they trudged out of the room.
Blore led the way, followed by Kara, then Derek, leaving Belgil to bring up the rear. Both Guardians wore long cloaks, which had been provided by Blore. The cloaks were next to useless though, because any dwarf that saw them had to recognize them as human. Still, the cloaks had to be better than nothing.
Although still tired, Derek kept scanning the tunnels for any signs of life. He quickly gave up trying to remember the way they had come. The tunnels were too confusing for the Guardians to remember which one led where. There were no obvious signs or directions, making it all the more confusing that the dwarves seemed to know exactly where they were.
They walked for hours and even Derek found his concentration slipping. It was so difficult to keep scanning the hallways for danger and on several occasions he found his mind wandering. It was disconcerting that his mind kept thinking of Kara. He had enjoyed lying next to her and kept thinking about the way her hair smelled, the warmth of her body, and the smoothness of her skin.
I must’ve been on the trail too long, he mused when he found his thoughts returning to Kara for what seemed the hundredth time. He didn’t really mean it as an insult. Kara was his fellow soldier and he had spent several years training with her and several more serving beside her. It’d been a long time since he had been back to Telur and he thought perhaps the long isolation had drawn them together. Not that she wasn’t pretty, but he had not had these type of thoughts of her before their long journey.
His thoughts snapped back to the present as Blore waved them all to the shadows. Kara and Derek ducked down in the gloom at the base of the wall. Within moments, Belgil had joined them. The dwarf held a finger to his lips, although the gesture was unnecessary.
Of the group, Blore was the only one who remained standing in the middle of the tunnel. He had been leading the group and it made sense for him to remain in the open. As the first of the group, it was possible that he might have been spotted. Any attempts by Blore to jump for the shadows would surely raise suspicions.
They waited, feeling their hearts pound for several moments.
Blore continued on his way although his pace slowed significantly. Finally, he stopped altogether and waved to them to come join him.
Derek was unsure if this was a good idea or not, but the choice was taken from them as Kara and Belgil climbed to their feet. Sighing, he hastened to join them.
Blore waited patiently for them and leaned in close as they reached him. “Several guards just passed by. I heard them on ahead in the junction of this tunnel and a much larger one,” he said quietly. His voice was barely more than a whisper. “We’re close to the city, and there’s bound to be travelers about.”
The location of the wizard’s portal was close to the king’s palace, meaning there were a lot of travelers around the general vicinity. They avoided most of these travelers due to the late hour, but there would still be some in the tunnels.
“How are we to avoid being seen?” Kara asked.
The question seemed to stump Blore. He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again.
“Let me lead, now,” Belgil said. “I know the location of the portal. You three follow, but at a good distance. That way, if I see anyone, you can hide before they see you.”
“Are you sure?” Blore asked. “The guards are looking for you.”
Belgil nodded and sighed. “If we’re going to do this than let’s hurry up and get it done.”
The small group followed Belgil for almost another hour. At first they thought that they had been in a large tunnel, but he soon realized they had been wrong. As they moved closer to the city, the tunnels grew in size as did the number of travelers. In the hour they followed Belgil, he signaled them six different times about other travelers on the road. At each signal, Blore and the two Guardians dove for the shadows. Each time they feared a cry of warning or the raising of an alarm, but each time Belgil and the travelers passed each other without so much as a word.
Finally they reached what had to be a main passage. The floor was well-worn from the passage of countless dwarves over the centuries. Strangely, the passage was deserted. It seemed a bit unusual, even at this hour. Here and there, magnificent stone pillars supported the ceilings high over their heads. Gone too, were the rough-hewn walls; this tunnel had sculpted walls. If he had been given more time, Derek would have been amazed at the craftsmanship and the amount of work that had gone into creating this tunnel. As it was, he barely noticed.
“We’re close to the city. The king’s palace is less than an hour that way,” Blore said, pointing down the passage to their right.
“Shouldn’t there be others in this passage?” Kara asked.
Blore shrugged. “I’d thought so, but I’m not complaining. Perhaps the gods are smiling on us.”
Derek winced. In his experience, the Gods didn’t smile on him.
From where they entered the main passage to the cavern containing the wizard’s portal was only a short walk. They saw no others in the main passage and Derek was beginning to think it was almost too easy. He appreciated Blore, but he now found himself wondering if they were walking into a trap. He didn’t suspect Blore of betraying them, but rather he wondered if perhaps the old dwarf had been tricked somehow.
They pulled up suddenly as Belgil came to a halt. The dwarf stood in the middle of the tunnel, looking around.
“What’s the matter?” Derek asked.
“How should I know?” Blore snapped. “He’s my son but I can’t read his mind.”
“Well, had we better get into the shadows?” Derek asked. It tried his patience to talk with the old dwarf, but he continued trying to ignore his grumpiness.
The two Guardians and the dwarf moved over to the right side of the passage and hunkered down in the shadows.
Belgil continued to stand in the middle of the passage, looking around. Finally, he turned and retraced his steps toward them. If he hadn’t known they were there, Belgil might have walked right past them. As it was, he made right for them. He knelt down beside them in the shadows and whispered, “The last time I was here, the doorway was guarded.”
Derek’s fears about a trap seemed all the more relevant. “That doesn’t seem right,” he said. “Why would they quit guarding the portal? If anything, you’d think they’d guard it all the more closely.”
Belgil nodded his head and opened his mouth to speak. He never got the words out. He went all rigid and his hand snapped out to grab his father’s shoulder.
As one, Blore and the two Guardians turned their heads to see what had caught Belgil’s attention.
A
chill ran down Derek’s spine. The doors were cracked open, and a head was peering out into the passage. The problem was, that it wasn’t a dwarven head, rather it was a goblin’s.
Kara sucked in air in surprise. She turned to the others, her eyes wide in surprise. She opened her mouth to speak, but Belgil hurriedly placed his hand up to her face. Kara started to pull away, but then relaxed and remained silent.
They watched the goblin for several moments until its ugly head retreated back inside the doorway. There was a nearly inaudible click as it pushed the door closed.
Derek swallowed hard, his mind spinning. What are goblins doing in the dwarven halls? He so desperately wanted to ask Belgil, but he was unsure if he should remain silent. He glanced to Belgil, unsure of what they should do.
The dwarf looked as surprised as Derek had ever seen him. He remained hunched over, his eyes wide and his hand covering Kara’s mouth. His father sat in much the same posture – he too was staring at the closed door.
Several heartbeats passed and Kara pulled away from the dwarf and pushed his hand away from her. It was like a signal for the dwarves to wake up. Father and son turned to each other, surprise quickly turning to anger.
“What in the name of the five hells are goblins doing here?” Belgil asked.
Blore didn’t answer immediately, he remained silent, looking sick. Finally, he said, “They can only be here for one reason – they mean to conquer Az’ha’rill’hadell.”
“But how did they get here?” Kara asked. Her voice betrayed her surprise, and something else as well – fear.
Belgil and Blore shared a look but neither said anything. They both appeared stumped by the goblin’s sudden appearance.
That’s when a terrifying thought occurred to Derek and he gave voice to his idea immediately. “Could they have used the Wizard’s Portal?”
“No,” Belgil answered immediately. “King Vognar removed the key after he sent us through with Flare.”
“Are you sure?” Derek asked. “It’s the only way that I can see for them being here.”
A Gathering of Armies Page 11