by Leo deSouza
“Then ye will need to practice your patience, my friend. The Queen’s words are law!” Rodro said.
That talking finished with Thuor leaving the place, he was displeased and began to guess about his plans to leave the city, and the long delay they already had. The winter became harder, the routine of the company inside the city continued as always, they decided to give the captain some more time to recover from the blow that made him unconscious, so they did not ask him many questions or make any demands. Rurur still passed his time mostly in daily pleasing tasks, like smoking, eating, and talking to folks. Olaf became surprisingly close to Vixen, his fairy, and acquired the habit of talking to her quietly while far from curious eyes, though the other ones from the company found it strange, and they had the sensation that she could not understand even a word of what her master said. As for Torag, he spent time enjoying his smoking for that made him calm and less anxious about leaving towards their destination, to continue the journey.
Then one night the company was sleeping in the same usual dark room, except for Olaf, he was stepping softly as he approached the staircase of the north tower of the city, he had left to reach this place and find there the answer he was curiously looking for. On the top of this tower was the scout who came from the Underground Path, and who supposedly saw something strange in there, as the folks told before to Olaf. He stepped on the first step and looked up to see the spiral staircase, then realized the tower was higher than he first thought, there was a long rise to face. In his hand he had a lit candlestick, the dwarf went up the staircase as the light from the candle glistened on the walls, climbing it as fast as he could, his feet touching the cold marble at each step as he was barefoot, and he saw no one while going up, but on the top of the tower interior, he could see a fluttering light. Olaf knew that up there was the scout, the one watching the surroundings of the north side of the Thick Beard dwelling, when he finally reached the top, he found up there a sleeping dwarf sat on a chair, dressed in heavy clothes, leaning against a wall, his two legs resting on another chair, Olaf approached and touched one of his feet. “Hey.” He sounded.
The sleeping dwarf woke up abruptly wide eyed and almost fell from the chair. Geez!” He sounded. “Ye almost killed me, what do ye want?”
Olaf sat on the chair where the dwarf legs were just a moment before. “Hey ye… I came to hear, they told me ye know about things.”
“Things? Hunf… Who told ye this? And what… Things is this about?”
“They told me ye are the scout, and that ye came from the Underground Path.”
The guard stood silent.
“What is the problem?” Olaf insisted. “Did the cat ate your tongue?”
“Hunf… Who are ye?”
“I’m Olaf, from the RockFoot house, a cousin of ye, and before ye ask, I’m here just for the sake of curiosity. Me and my fellow ones are about to leave, and we are planning to go through the underground.”
The dwarf now shook his head. “I would not do this… If I was ye…”
“What did ye see?” Olaf asked, his eyes glistening against the flame lights coming from the ambience around.
“I saw… I was the scout… The Guard always send scouts towards the underground … They say nothing could come from there, they say it is safe… And yet they always send scouts to check.”
“Keep on…”
“Why are ye asking me this? No one seemed to believe me.”
“I’m a believer…”
The guard snorted. “Fine. It was some weeks ago, when I reached the last part of the area I should check, I was about to leave back home. Ye know… I use a small mining car, it rolls over the trails, one can propel it using its small lever… I can do all the distance in it, but have to stop from time to time, to check. When I reached the last part, I was happy to be near the end of my task, they send the scouts alone! The Underground Path is so dark that one could not even see a palm ahead of his face, I always get afraid of my torch going out, not that I’m afraid of the dark but hey… It is really a gloomy place… No one lives there, except for lizards, snails, and bats which come and go through the cracks in the rock, besides all the legends they tell about, it is not a place where someone would feel comfortable, even a dwarf.”
“Fine… Now why don’t ye get right to the point? What ye saw there?”
“Oh fine, fine… No need to hurry, I’m telling a story master RockFoot. Anyway as I was saying, I was on the last part, preparing to come back, the trails run over a structure, like a footbridge, I was there, on its top, I took some gulps of water from my canteen and was turning to enter the car again and leave when I saw it…”
“What?”
“Lights! Many lights… Not just many… But… hundreds of them! No, no! Thousands of them!”
“Lights? What do ye mean? I thought the place was uninhabited and dark.”
“Oh yes, it is, this is the point… Look… I told the Guard when I came back, they heard me but they did not believe, and yet they told me to not spread around. They said I must have seen the sun light coming from some crack in the ceiling rock, reflecting on a large pool, another ones said I just saw fireflies, idiots!”
“What was it then?”
“Moving lights, and they fit the entire cave, all its extension, side to side… Like a gigantic sea of fire… Advancing slowly from afar, I saw it…”
Olaf looked at the dwarf inquisitively. “What do ye think it was?”
The dwarf shook his head. “I don’t know… But I could tell ye what it was not. Not sun light coming from cracks, nor fireflies… I can assure ye.”
“Ye say it was moving… Where to?”
“The Underground Path is a cave gallery, my friend, either ye go ahead or backwards, this wave of fire was coming towards our city…”
“That is all?”
“Oh… Yes… It is all I saw. Tell me, ye are planning to pass through the underground, what will ye do now that ye know there is a sea of flame there, how do ye plan to cross it?”
“This is a question for another dwarf, not me.” Olaf said as he rose from the chair.
“Ye leaving now?”
“Yes, thanks ye my friend.”
“Well… Fine then, please don’t tell anyone I was asleep when you arrived, It doesn’t happen always, it is just that I’m too tired these days… And please don’t tell the other guards that I told ye about this.”
“Don’t ye worry.” Olaf said as he left toward the staircase, he went down, decided to go back to his bed.
Then came a night of sleeping for all the company inside the room.
Sea of flames.
It was a new morning in the eastern mountains, Torag woke up joyful, he jumped from his bed, surprising the other dwarfs from his company and stood with his hands on his waist, smiling and looking at them. “Good morning my fellow ones!” He said.
“What happened? Ye dreamed about fortune?” Rurur asked.
“No! But I slept like a rock.” Torag replied.
Rurur stretched himself and yawned. “What for today?” He asked.
“Hoping for the Queen to set us free. And finding some good task to get our minds busy.” Thuor spoke.
“Not before we are taking breakfast, I hope.” Rurur replied.
Olaf was awake too, he was sitting on his bed, looking down, as if concerned about something.
“What is it, Olaf?” Thuor asked.
“I had a dream… A terrible dream.” Olaf replied.
“Tell me what can be even more terrible than all that already happened to us.” Rurur said.
“Death…” Olaf replied.
“Again? Just a dream, nothing to worry about.” Torag said.
“No, it was not just a dream, it was like the ones I had before, I know it, the Warlock was in it.” Olaf replied.
Now all the other dwarfs looked at him with attention, Olaf, continued talking: “A great battle, in the dream… Somehow the Warlock’s will was guiding the struggle... But the
re was something strange, it was not about the living ones killing each other, but all of us facing death itself!”
There was a moment of silence, then Torag spoke: “I thought that those dreams ceased… Might be just a dream anyway.”
“There is something about to happen. I saw the Golden Peak in my dream.” Olaf continued.
Now Thuor came close to him, interested. “What was it?” He asked.
“A big calamity, Kings dying, lands being devastated… And all the east covered by a dark cloud, casting shadow over all the lands…” Olaf continued.
Torag insisted: “It is just a dream and…”
“Not just a dream!” Thuor interrupted. “Olaf is still connected to the Warlock. We have seen this before. What more was in the dream, Olaf?”
“The house of the CoalLocks… The White Tower of the wise one… Whatever is there, death will spread captain… And there is not much time left.” Olaf continued.
Thuor now nodded as he looked deeply into Olaf’s eyes. “All right. If we are really to follow the orders of our King, then it is time for us to continue the path we first took, we can’t stay here anymore.” He said.
“But how could we leave? The Queen is keeping us here.” Torag spoke.
“Listen.” Olaf continued. “I talked to the guard in the tower, the scout who came from the Underground Path, he told me about a sea of fire coming towards the city, no one believed.”
Thuor was now focused in his own thoughts, as if he suddenly made a decision. “Whatever it means, Olaf, if think the time for us to leave has come. I’m going to talk to Rodro, if there is anyone here able to help us in this, then it’s him.” He insisted.
What they found when they left the room towards the larder to take breakfast was something different from what they were expecting. When the dwarfs stepped into the main hall of the stronghold, they saw agitation, dwarfs running from here to there, many ones passing, women with their children, men carrying stuff of many types, and everyone had an expression like the one who just came to know about the imminence of a frightening event. There was also garrisons of well armed warriors passing by, the four dwarfs stopped in the center of the hall, watching all the agitation around.
“What is happening?” Rurur asked.
“Seems they are on the verge of a catastrophe!” Torag replied.
Now Rodro approached, he was using a different armor, heavier and stronger, a shield hanging on his back, and a large axe in his hand.
“What is all this about, Rodro?” Torag asked to him.
“Waking up late leads to this, Torag. Did not ye receive the warning, did not ye hear the trumpet sounding?” Rodro asked. “There is something coming to the city.”
“Something? Like what?” Rurur asked.
Rodro raised one eyebrow. “Another scout came, warning about an incoming menace from the underground.”
“More rumors?” Thuor asked.
Someone passed running and bumped into Rodro, then left, he arranged himself and spoke: “Something is coming against our city, from the deep darkness beyond the roots of the mountain. I would say this is all about confused sights from a sleepy scout, but it’s happening for the second time. The queen ordered us to prepare.”
“So are ye preparing for battle?” Thuor asked.
“We are preparing for anything that could come, captain!” Rodro said.
Thuor turned to look at the passing folks around. “Listen to me Rodro. There are things happening, we came all the way from our Fortress and we witnessed many things. The enemy is concretizing his will and we are still here inside. The force of the RockFoot ones is caged, all because the Queen wants answers that we might be not able to provide!” He said.
Now Rodro looked at him, finding it strange. “I was there with ye captain, when she questioned ye. They say the Queen is the most ready one when it comes to extract secrets folks don’t want to tell, but this has nothing to do with magic, her magnetism is strong, and her patience can bend anyone down. I saw how much effort to resist her ye did that day, that is why I never try to hide something from her, it is impossible. Somehow I felt as if ye was not telling all the truth.” He said.
“I did not lie.” Thuor replied.
“I’m not saying ye did, but keeping secrets, captain, is sometimes worse than lying.” Rodro continued.
“Listen to me, Rodro. There are things ye don’t understand. Can’t ye realize we are on the verge of something bigger? We must leave, now!” Thuor insisted.
Rodro looked at him, and the dwarfs got the honesty of his face and words. “I must admit I’m seeing that there is something strange about ye and your party, captain, something I don’t understand. But no, ye can’t leave now, ye can join us in the defense of the Thick Beard House, if ye want.” He spoke.
Thuor sighed.
“Oh this is a fine way to start a day, whatever is coming, I think we will finally have some fun.” Torag spoke. “I’m in. I’m specially willing to have some… Demanding activities right now.”
“Right, come with us, ye can eat among the warriors if ye did not have your meal yet.” Rodro said as he motioned for the dwarfs to follow him.
So they left the hall, walking quickly towards the inner parts, deep into the mountain they passed by the corridors that led towards the back of the Red Star City, always seeing dwarfs running and carrying stuff, everyone was in a hurry, not only the warriors. When they reached a big metal gate they were about to enter the inner walls towards the underground. As they approached, Rodro ordered the gate to be opened, and so it was, with a loud creak the two metal doors of it began to move, pulled by huge chains tied to pulleys at both sides in an engine crafted by the dwarfs of this house, so strong and efficient to prevent anyone from entering the city without being invited, and yet sophisticated enough to be opened by a single arm with no effort. They stepped through the open gate and then finally saw, a large yard and beyond it a huge wall, above the wall many pillars so high that they touched the rocky ceiling of the immense cave that was the place. There were many war engines, catapults, ballistas, war stuff in general, and many, many dwarfs passing by, carrying weapons of many types, Rodro led them to an improvised table where some warriors were eating, there they sat and began a meal.
“For sure an unusual way to have a breakfast huh?” Rodro spoke as he took a piece of meat and bit it.
“I still don’t understand. What do ye think could come across the underground passage?” Thuor asked.
“The only houses beyond this passage are the dwarf houses of our kin, Steel Fist at the end of the passage, where the Vulcan lays, and the CoalLocks on the mountain top. This menace is not coming from any of these two dwellings, that is for sure.” Rodro replied.
“Then what is the possibility in your mind?” Thuor insisted.
“I could not tell exactly as for now all we have are rumors and bad descriptions from two scouts. I have my guesses, but whatever comes from the darkness, we will be ready to face.” Rodro replied.
Thuor nodded complacent, this was a tense breakfast for everyone, even for Rurur who liked food more, he could not enjoy it properly. There were warriors nearby preparing catapults, putting barrels instead of rocks to be thrown by them.
“What is this?” Torag asked.
“Exploding barrels. They are full of oil and they are thrown with a burning wick, so when one hits the ground, it explodes in a ball of flames.” Rodro replied.
“Oh that is nasty!” Torag said with a smile. “It seems like there will be some fun after all.”
A trumpet sounded, all the warriors moved, taking formation, going up the staircases or pulling the catapults towards platforms, some took positions at the ballistas too; Thuor and the others finished their meal, Rodro rose from the chair and spoke to them. “Now I need to deal with all this.” He said. “Ye are welcome to join us, in case any real threat really reaches the walls. Take the weapons ye want and stay far from the catapults and ballistas, I know ye are eager to leav
e, but I also know ye understand that I’m keeping ye here for now for safety purposes.” Rodro raised his fist in greeting, and was matched by the others, then left.
Thuor turned to the others of his company and spoke: “Olaf, and Rurur, ye go to our room and take all our backpacks and stuff, then to the larder, fill packs with as much dry food ye can, don’t take anything that rots, not much bread or things that fill too much space, take nuts and meat, then come back to here, we are leaving as soon as possible.”
Rurur replied: “But Rodro said…”
“He is doing what he think is right, as well as we.” Thuor interrupted. “The Queen is not going to free us so soon, I saw her eyes, she wants to know about everything. I think she is planning to interrogate us many more times, till we tell her all we know, she wants to defeat us by tiring, and she has all the tools for it, we are stuck here. Go now!”
Rurur and Olaf left back to inside the city, the captain and Torag walked through the yard towards a staircase that led to up the wall.
“I would like to take some of these weapons with me, most of my stuff fell into the canyon, I lost my two axes, luckily the burang that I took from the carpenter elves was in my backpack, I’m still keen to have a chance to use it.” Torag said.
“Ye can take all the weapons you want, Torag, ye heard Rodro.” Thuor replied.
“Excellent…” Torag whispered.
They went up the staircase and reached the wall walk, it was then that Torag and Thuor could see the immense cave ahead, a huge gap between gigantic walls of rock on both sides, and a rocky ceiling above. The cave halls of Gurundir, the Underground Path, a long way through the roots of the mountain, but for now all they could see was just a small portion of it, as the darkness ahead was impenetrable by their eyes, and the light coming from all the many torches and fires that the Thick Beard dwarfs had in their walls were nothing in face of the immensity of the dark expanse.
“This is our path.” Torag spoke not hiding his amazement, he sighed and rested his hands on his waist as he looked at the immense cave ahead. “Still impressive as I remember.”