Shadows

by Michael Duncan

  As they walked along the main thoroughfare of the city, his captors turned left and led Lorik down a side street. The passage narrowed so just three were able to walk abreast. At the end of the lane stood what looked like a standard barracks, square and unremarkable. The dwarf guard pushed Lorik through the door with little concern for gentleness. They entered a main hall, large, with barred windows. At the back of the room, a staircase descended into the unknown. Along the center of the room, large stone pillars held the roof in place. A younger guard, with a thin beard, hurried from the back of the room and stood at attention before the patrol leader.

  “What orders, sir?” The young soldier seemed eager to please.

  “Take this man to the cells and lock him up. Take care to keep a close eye on him; he took out a horros single handed!” The commander smiled as an expression of surprise and concern crossed the young guard’s face.

  “Yes sir!” With that, the younger one took Lorik by the forearm and led him away toward the stairs.

  They followed the well-lit passage down one flight to the floor below. It was a damp basement, walled off in sections to provide various cells for incarceration. The guard took a key from a belt pouch that hung at his side and opened a wooden door into a cell. The door boasted one small square window with vertical bars at eye level and a metal flap at waist level to allow for food trays. It was into this dark chamber, damp and dismal, that the young dwarf escorted Lorik.

  The door slammed shut, and Lorik’s hopes fell. The guard opened the small metal flap and spoke to the sergeant. “Stick out your wrists!” Lorik did as he was ordered and the dwarf cut off the bindings. Grateful for the release of his hands, he rubbed his wrists to try and relieve the soreness. He leaned his head against the door in despair, while behind him he heard the sound of rustling in a pile of straw. He didn’t give it much attention. Just rats, he thought as he leaned against the prison door.

  “Well, well…” spoke a voice from behind him, “it seems that we have company!”

  Startled, Lorik turned and looked at a familiar face. The grizzled appearance and untidy whiskers did not disguise who had spoken to him… it was his captain.

  Shadows: Book of Aleth Part One

  9

  The City of Dwarves

  For several minutes the captain just stared at him. He seemed bewildered and amazed Lorik stood before him. Rayn leaned against a wall in the corner, sullen and agitated as he sulked in the darker shadows of the small chamber. Lorik stood at the doorway, astonished at the sight of his captain.

  The cramped quarters boasted no furniture and lacked any warmth. A large pile of straw filled the back right corner and it appeared that is what Aaron and Rayn had used for sleeping arrangements. Their cell was dark; the small window above Aaron’s head and the light from the hall provided the only illumination. The smell of old, musty straw filled the room and made the chamber feel more like a stable than a prison cell.

  Lorik felt beaten and tired. His eye was swollen shut and traces of blood still clung to his beard. “I…” Lorik stammered, “I thought I would never find you. And here you are—both of you.”

  “What are you doing here?” Aaron stared with marked astonishment as he spoke.

  “Well, sir,” he said hesitantly, “I’ve come to rescue you.”

  “And a fine rescue it is!” Rayn quipped as he began to pace. “Well done!”

  “Hold your place, Private,” Aaron commanded. He returned his attention to Lorik. “But, how did you get here? You and the others were supposed to be on your way back to the capital.”

  Lorik took a deep breath. “There is much I must tell you,” he said as he stepped away from the door and sank beside the captain on the pile of straw. He began to relax, scratched at his beard, and started to tell Aaron his story. “Sir,” Lorik hesitated. “Captain…we were betrayed by…by Morryn.

  “For some reason the lieutenant led us into the Shattered Hills.” Lorik continued to recount his tale. “I should have seen it. Morryn was on edge and distracted, even distant from the company…more so than usual. He was anxious and in a hurry to arrive at the hills.

  “Once we arrived, Morryn took half of us about a day’s ride into that dreadful place, to some ancient cavern. He ordered us to make camp and wait. It seemed like we waited in those accursed hills for hours when Morryn appeared from out of nowhere, mounted his horse and fled down the path, screaming like a madman. I’ve never seen a man so…well, so desperate…especially a man with Morryn’s skills.

  “On the heels of his escape we were ambushed by a horde of trolls. They attacked from every side, and the men fought for their lives…no one else survived. I found a horse and rode for the men that we had left behind. They were also attacked, and when I arrived at the camp, there was no one left alive.” Lorik’s grief began to overwhelm him as tears of anger and remorse filled his eyes.

  “We found Morryn in a small clearing in the woods,” Aaron said. “We saw him fight against a hideous beast, but we were too late to save him.” Aaron shook his head, despair and anger on his face.

  Lorik nodded in acknowledgement, and told the captain how he discovered the tracks which led him to the river. “It was at the river,” the sergeant said, “I discovered I was tracking you and Rayn.” He smiled as he recounted the image. “I was hidden under the brush on the hill above the river and watched as the two of you were bound and blindfolded. Then the most startling thing happened… a bridge rose right up out of the water.” Lorik paused as he remembered the details of his ordeal. “It took some time, but I discovered the means of raising the bridge, and then I began climbing the mountain.

  “On the mountain,” Lorik continued, “I was attacked by some monstrous dog-like beast. After that, I heard a patrol behind me so I hid in a crack in the mountain wall. I thought I had fooled them because they passed me by. But these dwarves are clever, and I think they can see better at night than I gave them credit. They must have known I was hidden and waited for me. It wasn’t long, not far up the mountain pass, when they struck me from behind. With one blow, I went down and here I am. I can only guess that my journey afterward was long, but much of it is just a blur to me.” He rubbed the swollen bruise left by the axe that struck his face, painful with every touch.

  “You are right… it is a long journey. It took us four days to walk through the passage under the mountains to this valley.” Aaron stood and began to pace the floor of their cell. “I must tell you of our journey and arrival here. Perhaps that will better explain what’s happened and the situation that we’re in.” He began to unfold the tale of his and Rayn’s journey.

  ****

  Aaron knew that Lorik was aware of the book they hunted. Now he told Lorik why the book was of such importance to the emperor and why they needed to find it. He spoke of his meeting with the governor at North Village and of the emissary that came from the emperor. He told of the encounter with Kaylan and his experience with the fire orb and explained how he had already known that Morryn betrayed them and that their captors were the very dwarves that he had seen.

  “It feels,” Aaron continued, “as if we are in the midst of a dilemma that might shake the very foundations of Celedon.”

  Rayn continued to pace. “Sir, what are we going to do? We’re stuck here and these dwarves don’t seem in too much of a hurry to let us go!” Irritation poured out with every word as the private moved in their small cell.

  “I’m not sure,” Aaron replied, “we have to wait and see what these dwarves will do next.”

  As if on cue, the metal plate on the cell door snapped open. “Come and get your dinner!” a guard ordered gruffly. Through the opening, a hefty, rotund dwarf pushed a tray laden with food. Outside in the hall a cart waited, piled high with trays.

  They went to the door and retrieved their dinner. Aaron was astonished at the amount of food offered to prisoners, a loaf of grain bread, an ample supply of vegetables and fruits as well as a large decanter of cool water. The portion
s were generous, and it seemed their guards meant to feed them well. All three men sat in silence as they ate. The guard barked out his command to the next cell.

  After they ate, Aaron spoke with Lorik. “This might be of some interest… The troop commander who brought us here seemed to hold a better view of us when we helped fight off those mountain beasts. Perhaps we can use it to our advantage. If we have found some favor with him, we may be able to persuade the lord of this realm to release us back to our own land.” Aaron paused as he continued pondering over their situation. “In any event, one of us must get free and make it back to our country. The emperor will need to know about what happened and that these dwarves are after the Book of Aleth as well.”

  “With all due respect, captain, splitting up might be a bad idea. Our best chance of recovering the book is if we stay together.” Lorik said

  Rayn stopped in his tracks and shot a look of anger toward Lorik. “Are you mad?” He started pacing again, behaving like a caged animal. “Find the book! That winged beast must have it across the continent by now. No, we abandon our mission and one of us tries to escape. Two of us can keep these dwarves occupied long enough for the other to find a way out of this valley.”

  Aaron listened to the two men as he sipped at a cool cup of water. “Lorik, why try to find the book?” He was puzzled at his friend’s suggestion, though Aaron longed to find the Book of Aleth as well.

  “Captain,” the sergeant said, “from what you’ve told us, there are hostile forces who want the book. If this book is so important, then recovering it is our highest priority. It is in our best interest and the interest of Celedon that we find it before it can be used against the nation.”

  “You may be right, Lorik,” Aaron answered, “but we don’t know where it is and our captors have given us no indication that we will ever be released.” Aaron stroked his growing beard thoughtfully. “Unless our circumstances change so that we all can escape together, when one of us has a chance to get out of here, we take it.”

  “You mean if we get that chance, don’t you Captain?” Rayn retorted. “It doesn’t seem that we will have an opportunity for any of us to escape. The rest of the men are dead, and we’re trapped in a dungeon somewhere in a realm that none of us ever heard of before. For all we know, these dwarves planned this whole thing!”

  “That’s not helpful, Private,” Lorik responded. “We will escape this place; it’s just a matter of time and opportunity. It is our duty to be ready when the time comes.”

  “The sergeant’s right, we will find a way to escape… it is just a matter of time. I believe that we are to have an audience with the lord of this realm. We will reevaluate our situation after that.” Aaron spoke as Rayn continued to pace the cell; the young private’s frustration filled his eyes with glaring anger. Aaron wanted to try and alleviate Rayn’s distress but had no means to do so. Instead, he focused on their environment. “Sergeant, when you came through the mountain passage, did you notice another way out?”

  “No,” Lorik said, “I was disoriented from the blow I received. All I remember is that it seemed we steadily walked downhill. From what I recall, we encountered no one else. I do remember it was well lit and took several days.”

  Aaron nodded his head, “I noticed the same thing,” he replied. “Several passages led away from the tunnel, but we never strayed from the main road. The other passages might lead to other dwellings. If we can get to the main passage, we might be able to lose any pursuer down another corridor. Anyway, it’s late. Let us ponder our fate in the morning.”

  ****

  Aaron woke to the sound of a guard in the corridor. Loud and obnoxious, the guard beat against the cell doors to wake the occupants. All through the jail, the reverberations of clashing metal and groans of unsuspecting prisoners mingled with the clatter of a wooden cart that moved through the hall.

  The guard arrived at the cell and rapped on the door with a fist like a hammer. “Wake up!” the guard shouted into the room. “Breakfast ain’t gonna wait!”

  Lorik roused, groggy and half asleep, but stumbled to the door and retrieved three wooden plates passed to him. He woke Rayn and together the three men enjoyed a breakfast of crisp bacon, toast with jam, and assorted fruits. The morning passed in quiet contemplation. Aaron sat, propped against the wall, and watched the light of the sun penetrate through the small window and move the shadows in the room, Rayn took to his agitated pacing, and Lorik occasionally peered through the cell door.

  The day crawled along, a slow procession to afternoon. Afternoon dragged into evening with little to disrupt the passage of time, when the sound of steps echoed through the hallway. The noise stopped at their door, a key was thrust into the lock and the door creaked as it swung open. In the corridor stood a group of six stern dwarves, malice filled their hard expressions. All six dwarves wielded double-bladed battleaxes and held them at the ready. Each was dressed in leather armor fitted with iron rings and grey, wool cloaks draped their shoulders with a hammer-axe insignia on their left breast. Their beards were long and braided, and they carried themselves with stern confidence, like warriors accustomed to trouble. “Come with us,” said the leader, his red beard and hair looked like fire on the dwarf’s grizzled features.

  “Where are we going?” Aaron demanded.

  “You are to stand before Lord Dunstan. Now come with us!” Two dwarves stood by each man and took them by the arm.

  They were led from the cell and into the streets of Brekken-Dahl. Their guards escorted them up the same narrow road they had walked when they first arrived. The day waxed late as the sun sat low upon the western horizon. Streaks of orange and purple ignited the sky.

  The city around them buzzed with activity. They entered into the main thoroughfare and hundreds of dwarves filled the street. Heavy-laden, wooden carts pulled by mules maneuvered along the cobbled passages, led by their dwarf masters to some unknown destination. Small dwarf children scurried along the streets as they played any number of assorted games. To their right, a broad road led back to the main gate of the city and to the left, towering in grandeur, stood a castle with four turrets and a high stone wall.

  The streets were lined with large, opulent buildings, a display of magnificent designs. The entire city appeared to be made of stone, from the cobbled streets to the majestic stonework of the structures along the main road. The people of the city moved about with the concern of their own business, giving little heed to the three men escorted by the dwarf guards.

  As the sun continued to descend beyond the western mountains, and the shadows of the buildings grew long in the waning light, Aaron noticed the street began to glow. Large, white stones, each a foot in diameter, lined the thoroughfare like lamps upon pillars. Evenly spaced, they gave the entire city a mystical, almost magical appearance. As night fell, the stones grew brighter and illuminated the city with their iridescent light.

  The dwarf guards led them toward a towering castle in the distance. They passed many shops, booths, homes and other places unknown. Each structure was a testimony of craftsmanship, designs Aaron had never seen. Many were adorned with gold or silver decoration that shimmered with the reflected light from the stones.

  Lorik, too, marveled at the exquisite design of such common buildings. “Captain,” he whispered, “have you ever seen such a place as this? We don’t have anything like this in all of Celedon.”

  Many structures were decorated with mountain motifs. Some seemed to have engineered their dwellings to resemble the rough, natural stone of the mountains that lay to the east. In all, the entire city was a festival to the eyes, beautiful and wonderful.

  Behind them high mountains stood like majestic sentinels, their peaks enflamed in the sunset. The setting sun showered the mountains in colors of purple and orange, making the snow-covered summits look like a fountain of light. The effect lasted a few, brief minutes, but imprinted a lasting memory on Aaron as he marveled at the incredible grandeur that surrounded the hidden city of dwa
rves.

  His guards prodded him forward, toward the large citadel. As they continued through the streets, it looked to Aaron as if the city itself was an extension of the mountains, beautifully crafted to display the magnificence of the peaks beyond.

  Aaron noticed the city was entirely surrounded by mountains! In every direction he looked, spires and cliffs rose up as fortifications, thousands of feet high and provided a formidable barrier to protect the inhabitants from the world beyond.

  They arrived at the castle, a veritable fortification of stone. The walls towered like a bastion of masonry that appeared seamless. High atop the wall, dwarf sentinels kept watch over the entrance to Lord Dunstan’s stronghold. The main entrance to the palace was across a wide walkway which spanned over a moat of sorts, more like a lake that surrounded two thirds of the citadel. The escorts led them across in swift procession and the lead dwarf gave some form of hand signal which drew an immediate response. The tall, twin doors of the castle swung outward, and Aaron and his men were ushered in.

  The tall doors, when closed, possessed the same seamless design as that of the stonework. Stairs led up either side of the inner wall of the castle, and each ended at a small wooden door. Before them, a long, magnificent hall waited.

  Aaron gasped in recognition; it was the same hall that he witnessed in his vision. The floor was made of shimmering marble, specked with gold and silver flakes. Two great rows of granite columns supported a vaulted ceiling. Statues of dwarf warriors kept silent vigil at the base of each pillar. All around the room hung spectacular tapestries that depicted scenes of great battles—dwarf warriors in epic endeavors. Wall sconces held glowing stones and far down the center isle of the great hall, atop a dais, sat a marble throne. Two great cauldrons of burning liquid heated the room, belching dark smoke that escaped through a small vent in the ceiling.