by Leo deSouza
“Right. My turn.” Rurur said. The dwarf prepared to run, simulating his leaving some times, then finally jumped out of the shadow and passed quickly all the way to the other side. When he reached his destination he stood beside Thuor under the shade again.
“Go now, Montaron.” Torag said quietly slapping his back.
But this one jolted and hit a piece of hardware nearby, making it fall on the ground. The noise spread, and almost immediately they heard The Sinister growl. Montaron and Torag looked at each other wide eyed, they sneaked away to behind a wall nearby and stood there. Now the sound being heard was the steps of the big monster approaching, he came near the dwarfs, and they could detect a strange smell, not a stink but something for sure nasty. Torag motioned to Montaron and walked quietly, passing through the shadows, they had to go back to the place where they first where, near the big burning flame at the center of the pit.
“Let’s go before he...” Torag was saying when was interrupted.
The sound of six hooves galloping quickly was heard, and these hooves hit the rocky floor strongly, disturbingly. Torag and Montaron left hidden to the left wing of the pit, they reached the rocky wall.
“Go!” Torag whispered pushing the other dwarf.
Montaron ran, crossing the empty central area, the other dwarf ran right after him, they were half the way when Torag stopped as he heard someone’s gasps. “Help!” the voice sounded.
He looked out and saw there in a cage an old dwarf, holding the jail bars and looking at him with the most begging eyes. Torag looked out, thinking for a moment, then whistled to Montaron: “Pst! Ye come back here.”
Montaron stopped his running and looked back, then quickly glanced towards the pit center to check if The Sinister was nearby, he came back running to where Torag was.
“Can ye open the lock?” Torag asked.
Montaron approached the jail and looked at the old dwarf caged inside it, then checked again to the area nearby the burning flame, and finally got to the jail lock. He was nervous and sweating, from one of his pockets he took a bunch of what looked to be some slender steel tools, he tried them one by one into the lock.
“Ye are really a thief right? Open that damn lock before that demon finds us.” Torag spoke, looking out.
One more time they heard the sound of heavy hooves hitting the floor, and it was approaching quickly, the dwarfs hid again under the shadows, leaving the old caged dwarf alone. The big monster came from behind the flame, the light from the fire shining against his immense muscular body, he approached the cage and unlocked it, taking then the old dwarf from inside there, holding him in a hand, then left towards the flame area again.
“Help! He will slay me!” The defenseless old one shouted.
“We must do something!” Torag spoke.
Montaron was crouching as if trying to hide himself, he frowned as he scratched his forehead. Torag knew that they could not face the monster directly, but somehow the desperate plea for help from the old dwarf instigated his morality. He ran circling the flame and quietly approached by the other side in which the beast was, the dwarf prepared his crossbow and saw the moment when the monster was about to cut the poor old dwarf with his immense cleaver raised in the air while his other horrid hand held the old one against a metal plate. At this moment all dwarfs inside the pit were watching the scene, tensely, and they all were worried about what would happen next. An accurate shot from Torag’s crossbow hit the monster’s hand, a growl was heard so loud that it echoed through the pit. The old dwarf rolled over the metal plate and fell on the ground, he clumsy tried to raise but was visibly too weak to do it alone.
“Come to me, butcher!” Torag shouted ferociously, fear and doubt had left the dwarf, he was at frenzy one more time.
But his courage meant nothing against what he was about to face, the big beast agitated, now Torag and the Sinister were looking at each other through the fire as they walked around the big flame, Torag’s eyes sparkled against the light, the monster’s one too. One more time the big beast growled, and as bold as Torag was, he knew he could not win this fight. From the shadows came Montaron, he took the old dwarf from the ground and left towards the other side of the pit. The monster galloped around the flame to reach Torag, the dwarf also ran around it keeping the distance.
“Take this!” Torag shouted as he fired again his crossbow.
This time the arrow flew through the fire and penetrated the beast’s belly, but his skin was so thick that only the arrowhead perforated it. Yet the beast growled and raised his arms, he now ran circling the flame, galloping in the most horrid way, Torag ran back to the ruins. The sound of someone knocking hard on a metal plate somewhere spread on the ambience. When Montaron reached Thuor and Rurur, bringing the old dwarf with him, the captain came quickly to inquire: “We are looking for another one! A dwarf like us. Did ye see?”
“Yes! I saw when the monster took and caged him in one of these drawers.” The old one replied as he pointed out some rustic metallic doors on the wall of the pit.
They saw Torag running among the collapsed buildings while the monster chased him, breaking walls, kicking stuff and destroying everything in his way.
“We help him!” Rurur spoke.
“Look for Olaf in the drawers! Find him and leave upstairs, I’m going to help Torag!” The captain spoke, he took from the ground a long pointed metal bar and left.
Rurur came to the metal doors, it was then he noticed that the knocking sound was coming from one of them, and he saw a door shaking as someone from inside it hit against it.
“Get me out of this place!” Someone shouted from inside the drawer.
“Olaf!” Rurur spoke recognizing his friend’s voice. He drew his mattock and hit the padlock, breaking it.
From inside the metal door came Olaf, so dirty that one could not even recognize him, all covered by dust and ashes. “What the crap is happening? Where is the monster?” He asked.
“No time for explanations!” Rurur said
Now he, Olaf and Montaron ran towards the staircase, bringing the old rescued dwarf with them.
Torag’s crossbow was ready again, but he could not stand to aim and fire, running among the ruins and hiding was everything he could do now, and even the smallest delay would be enough for the beast to catch him. A span was the distance between Torag’s foot and a brutal punch from the beast when the dwarf almost got hit, he narrowly dodged, but he went into a blind alley, there was no escape for him now. The dwarf looked around trying to see how to get out, but the horrid creature came running and stood in front of him, blocking all the path; Torag leaned against the wall, the big creature prepared a punch, the dwarf was about to be smashed. It was then help came from the unexpected, fairy Vixen jumped out of Torag’s cloth and stood in between the dwarf and the monster, hovering in the air, then she shone a strong white light, so strong that it made Torag blind, and the Sinister too. Now came Thuor who approached from behind, he took momentum and threw the pointed metal bar violently against the Sinister’s back, it was strong enough for it to penetrate the thick skin and cause great damage to the creature.
“Whooooulgh!” Cried the monster in his horrid voice.
Torag was still blind, groping around when Thuor came and pulled him by his arm. The pair of dwarfs crossed the pit running while the Sinister had one hand on his single eye and another one holding metal bar stuck in his back. The dwarfs finally reached the staircase and came up, being followed by the fairy, gathering with the others.
“Devilish creature! What is this thing at all?” Rurur asked, looking down to the monster afar.
“I don’t want to know! Let’s leave this place for pity sake!” Olaf replied.
On the other side of the pit, the Sinister composed himself and looked around, then he sighted the dwarfs going up the stairs. Quicker than ever, he galloped towards them, crossing his dwelling, but when he reached the staircase, the dwarfs were already far up out of his reach, still he punched the roc
ky walls many times, breaking it. But it was not possible to catch the dwarfs anymore, they climbed all the way up the staircase and left, getting to safety on the main cave’s ground level again.
T he mountaineers.
“I have no words to thank ye, my noble dwarfs!” The old rescued dwarf said as he bowed towards Thuor’s company.
“Ye better find a good word ye sir, I almost got my skin ripped in that damn pit.” Torag replied as he propped on his axe handle.
“Yes, yes… Let me thank ye, let me invite ye to my house.” The old one replied.
“Your house? Don’t tell me ye live down here.” Rurur broke in.
“No, I don’t.” Replied the old dwarf. “I have a house up in the mountainside, there is an exit nearby.”
“Ye talk about a way out of the mountain?” Thuor asked.
“Yes, it is not far. Don’t argue about it anymore, ye are invited to be my guests, come with me now!” The old one replied.
Thuor lit his torch, again they were travelling across the underground passage, now guided by the old dwarf.
“Hey Olaf… I thought ye were dead!” Rurur said as he walked.
“Me too! When I reached that damn pit, I thought I was dead and afterlife was like that horrid place!” Olaf replied.
“What happened after ye fell?” The captain asked.
“Everything became dark!” Olaf replied. “I fell on a rocky slope, so flat that I slipped a long way down, I could not see anything! Then I ended up in a mound of bones… Disgusting!”
“At least it was just bones. We went into fresh meat and blood in that pit.” Torag replied.
“Oh yes, I know, I saw it when that horrid monster took me, all around was like a butchery.” Olaf continued.
“He took ye?” Thuor asked.
“Yes. He is kind of a butcher, and a smith too. Ye saw all that strange hardware around? I guess it was him who made it all, odd as it is. He came and took me with those giant gross hands, in no time I was locked inside that metal drawer.”
“Ye know what? I saw that flesh and bones and blood there, I saw his big cleaver, and I saw what he made with the orc, and what he was about to do to that old chunky one here.” Torag said slapping the old dwarf’s back. “Ye were about to be gutted.”
Olaf gulped.
“Anyway ye should be thankful, your little sprite came and guided us to ye.” Torag continued.
“Oh! Did she?” Olaf asked turning his head to look at the fairy on his shoulder, both caressed each other.
“That is turning strange…” Torag said. “What about ye, old one? What is your name?”
“Troco is the name.” The old dwarf replied. “At your service. I would like to thank ye one more time and…”
“All right it’s enough.” Torag interrupted him. “How did ye get here?”
“Hah… It was a quite strange happening.” Troco replied. “I live in a valley, towards the south, I have a good house there. But from there to here, there is a good road I like to use, here on the mountainside grew some stalks that I’m always looking for.”
“And what are these stalks about?” Olaf asked.
“They are good for tea! A special type of tea to reduce pain in bones. Ye are too young to understand pain in bones, but for an old dwarf like me, this is something like a blessed balm.” Said Troco.
“And do they grow up on the snow?” Olaf insisted.
“Not on the snow, my young one, but in the cracks on the rock, where clay always fits, there they grow up, but… They are not good for use when it is sunny. They must get covered by snow, and die under it, this is when the magic happens! Ye take a cup of tea from that one, and all your pain is gone, so ye can sleep well again.” The old dwarf replied.
“Fine we already know about the tea. Now tell us what was ye doing down here, more precisely, inside one of the cages of that devilish thing we just met!” Torag argued.
“Oh yes, yes herm… Where I was? Hum... Oh! Yes!” The old one babbled. “As I told ye, I was on the mountain side, finding these stalks under the snow, I know where they are because the snow above it is always...”
“The monster! Tell about the monster!” Torag said interrupting him.
“Sorry.” The old dwarf continued. “I was there, it was then I heard a strange noise coming from inside an entrance I know, an entrance to this underground place, a small crack in the mountainside. It was a crescendoing noise, as if something big was coming through the darkness, so I came in to take a look.”
“What was it?” Olaf asked.
“What I saw was really strange at first. From the crack I looked down and saw much light! A sheet of light covering all the ground inside the cave, and it extended far away. At first I could not say what was it, but as it passed, I came after it, then I finally distinguished, this sheet of fire was actually a huge crowd! Many strange folks I never saw before! Dressed in armor and wearing weapons!” Troco spoke.
Now Thuor’s company dwarfs looked at each other.
“The orc army.” Rurur said.
“Orc army?” Troco continued. “Hunf… Never heard of such a thing on these lands. Anyway, I saw when they, in a big movement, began to climb the staircase up to the footbridge. It was then I had to hide myself, ye can imagine, thousands of them, going up on that staircase, not that it is a narrow path, but they were too many, so it took a while.”
“And ye just stood there watching.” Torag spoke.
“Yes! I had never seen something like it before, in all my long years among these mountains, but then comes the part where ye will come to know how I got jailed. When the last of these folks were passing across the footbridge, now above the pit, I heard the sound of something hitting hardly. Tum! Crack! Bump! Pow! Really noisy! Really loud, then the footbridge came down! A pillar was destroyed, and many of these passing folks fell into the pit.” The old one continued.
Now Torag glanced to Thuor, the old dwarf spoke again: “So I decided to go down and check what had happened.”
“Ye went down in the pit to check it? What was ye thinking, old one?” Olaf asked.
“I just had to check it! But ye are right, this was my biggest mistake. When I reached the pit bottom I firstly saw nothing but hardware and ruins, besides the big burning flame. It was then that I heard screams, and as I sneaked through the ruins I finally saw, that big monster, he was taking these… Orcs, as ye call them, to inside the jails! Some were already dead, some were still stirring when he took them with his big hands, so I decided to leave.” Troco said.
“I believe that was your wiser decision.” Rurur spoke.
“Hunf… I turned myself to go back to the staircase, but the big monster saw me, he came in my direction, stepping so heavy and fast that I couldn’t have any reaction, I felt when his big hand took me, I was frightened! I thought he would smash me in those thick fingers! But he did not, he took me to inside one of the jails.” Troco continued.
“And when was it?” Thuor asked.
The old one had a confused expression. “Some days ago… Some weeks ago. To be honest, I don’t remember, I lost my time notion.”
“And how did ye survive? What did ye eat?” Olaf asked.
“My own food of course, I had it in my backpack, as well as my water. The water ended yesterday, I’m happy ye arrived.” The dwarf elder said.
“What about the monster? What was he doing during this time?” Thuor asked.
“Hunf…” The old one snorted. “Walking around, taking other folks from inside the jails, and killing them! I think I was lucky after all, he left me for last, for some motivation.”
Thuor was thoughtful as he walked ahead. “So it was The Sinister who destroyed the footbridge, to force anyone else to go down, passing through his pit.”
“Sinister one ye call him?” Troco asked. “Anyway, yes. He did it, and I believe he also did it to catch some of these passing ones, as ye could see there, he is the one responsible for his own feeding...”
No one
said anything more, they walked some more distance till they reached a staircase up to the footbridge, there they climbed and then found a parting on the path, leading to a side door in the rocky wall of the cave, the group entered it and found there a winding path through a natural corridor carved into the mountain. When the dwarfs reached its end, they were now outside the mountain, on the mountainside. The company immediately felt the cold, but the wind was not blowing hard, and the sky was clear.
“Come! It is not far!” Troco said.
He now led the group, and brought them along a well preserved road, though it was covered by snow they could walk on it without much difficulty. The sun could be seen at its most high post, it was about noon.
“Oh my loyal animal… He must have died anyway…” Troco spoke.
“What are ye talking about?” Torag asked.
“My good ram, I left him tied to a rock before entering the mountain. The poor one died by cold, or starvation, probably both.”
“Well old one, I’ve been hearing this a lot for a while now, so I’m now going to say it to you, be grateful ye are still alive.” Torag replied.
“Be quiet, Torag.” Rurur broke in. “Ye don’t understand what is like to lose an animal companion.”
But the old dwarf now went off of the road to a nearby place, there he held a rope which was tied to a rock.
“So it seems someone stole your ram.” Olaf said as he watched the scene.
“Stole? Hunf…” Troco grumbled. “There is no one here to steal anything.”
Torag then approached and took the tip of the rope near his eyes. “Ye know what I see here? It seems your ram gnawed the rope and got away. Smart enough he is, smarter than some of us…”
Troco had now a surprised mien. “Oh that would be most fortunate! If so, he probably left towards the house! Let’s go!” He took the road again with renewed focus, there was a hopeful smile on his face. It took some more time for them to finally reach their destination, from above a rock platform, they saw a small house set in the snowy mountainside, and smoke came from its chimney.
“There!” Troco said as he pointed out.