Forge of Ashes

by Josh Vogt

  The caligni crept closer, and the hiss resolved into,"Un-dum?" The caligni showed empty hands—a sign of peace, the monk hoped.

  Ondorum moved from his shelter and bowed, palms pressed together. The caligni mirrored the motion and then wriggled fingers at him and hissed more words he couldn't understand. When he tried to mime his confusion, the caligni put a hand flat about four feet in the air, scowled, and then pretended to swing a heavy object.

  Akina. Ondorum nodded and pointed all about with a questioning look. The caligni waved for him to follow. They passed through several sets of walls and down a long, curving road until Ondorum was ushered inside a random building. Izthuri sat inside with a handful of other caligni. She leaped up at Ondorum's arrival and raised her black blade in salute. He looked around for Akina, then frowned at her absence.

  Izthuri must've recognized his consternation, for she hissed,"Duergar take her. At forge."

  Forge? He spread his hands. Where?

  She looked over at the others."My tribe fight. My tribe die. I show, but they not join."

  Ondorum nodded. Of course, if one purpose of coming here was to keep her tribe safe, why should she expose them to combat?

  Izthuri guided him back out into the city and deeper into its network of blocky constructions and ringed walls. A glow sat near what he gauged to be the center of the ruins, bright enough to cast the cavern roof into shadowy contrast and bring out some of the settlement's natural colorations. Green stone and black cobbles formed much of the structural foundations, though he imagined it had boasted far more decorative embellishments during its heyday.

  As they approached, the glow flickered and then flared, ten times brighter than before. White and blue rays shot through every chink and gap of stone around them, turning the gloom into a false day. Izthuri cried out and flung herself into a nearby corner, shielding her eyes from the glare. Ondorum broke into a run, fearing he'd come too late.

  ∗ ∗ ∗

  Akina stood before the anvil as Vaskegar and Gromir finalized arrangements around the forge. She stared at her mother's bones as if their arrangement might hold a hidden message. Gromir had said that by the time Vaskegar had marched him back here, just a day or two after Jannasten's death, her body had decomposed entirely, slumped against the anvil. They'd tried using her remains as a focus for activating the forge, but without any soul left attached, it didn't make any difference.

  Was this her fate, then? Not to be buried in her family's catacombs, but left as a heap for vermin to nibble on? She looked over to where Brakisten sat propped up against a stone column. While Vaskegar had accepted the exchange of intended sacrifices, he'd also ordered her brother kept nearby as a contingency.

  Gromir assured her he had an escape route already planned for when he triggered the forge's destructions. And he whispered a promise on his own ancestors that he'd see Brakisten returned to Taggoret, and would nurse him back to health whether he wanted it or not.

  She refocused on the altar. A single touch. After so many battlefields and narrow escapes, that's all it took to end her. Just one touch of an immobile object to rip her soul from her flesh and send her into the afterlife. It seemed... a relief. Vaskegar had mocked her with his talk of power and control and destiny, but she now took such control into her hands, accepting her death in this place, this moment.

  She would do it as thanks to Torag for guiding her this far, even when she'd been too blind to see it. She would do it as thanks to her mother for inspiring her to seek out more in life, even if she'd done so without realizing they'd never see each other again. She would do it in thanks to Ondorum, who'd treated her with far more care and compassion than she ever deserved. And she would do it just to know her life ended with meaning, rather than as a random, senseless death.

  "Are we ready?" Vaskegar asked.

  Gromir inspected their preparations. He'd told the duergar he could keep the forge from killing Akina all at once, draining just enough of her soul to power it while keeping her alive to use multiple times... or at least give them the chance to see the forge in operation and divine how to operate it independent of the Fairingots.

  The three of them stood in front of the anvil, with Ularna off beside Brakisten. Vaskegar's sorcerers stood ready according to whatever instructions Gromir had given them. The earth and fire elementals had been withdrawn, leaving the forge empty and dark. The rest of the duergar gathered below, except for a handful of guards who remained at their posts, alert for any caligni interruptions.

  The forge ring gained an expectant air as the assembly prepared to see the culmination of their months' worth of effort. Her touch, her death, would start it all.

  Gromir nodded."We are, my lord. All glory to the Ashen Forge."

  Vaskegar grunted and swept an arm out to Akina."My lady? If you'd be so kind..."

  Akina breathed deep and marched past without even a snide look his way. He didn't deserve the effort. Soon enough, his precious forge would be just another ruin among the rest. She kept her gaze fixed on the Fairingot sigil at the altar's base. In this moment, she should be fully focused on her family. Yet as she stretched out her hand, she found her final thoughts turning to Ondorum. She was glad he wasn't here to see her go in such an ignoble fashion. Still, she wished she might've at least died by his side.

  She pressed a palm against the anvil.

  The metal lay cold beneath her touch. She flinched, not knowing what to expect. Burning hooks to latch onto her soul and drag it into the construction? Blinding pain to overwhelm all her senses? A glow for her to soar toward, leaving her body behind?

  Nothing. The anvil remained dead, while not so much as a spark flickered within the forge itself. Akina pressed harder, as if she could force the spell to activate. Had Gromir done something wrong? Did he miscalculate how long it took for the magic to kick in?

  "Excellent," Vaskegar said."Thank you for your help."

  Akina spun around. Gromir wore a confounded look, but the duergar commander looked more smug than ever.

  "I don't understand," Gromir said.

  Vaskegar sneered."Like you, my mages pride themselves on their skill and intelligence. Unlike you, they are entirely loyal to me. While you dithered about with that spellkey nonsense, they studied the runes on the forge and determined which ones linked specific bloodlines to its operations. Since then, we've been laboriously eliminating those runes by any means possible."

  "You could have brought the whole cavern down on your heads!" Gromir cried.

  Vaskegar shrugged."An acceptable risk. Not long before you came down, their divinations suggested the forge had finally been cleansed of the Fairingot taint and could be blocked from future imprintings. However, we couldn't be entirely sure, and what good is a weapon that could be snatched away with a touch and turned against you?" He bowed to Akina."You've provided the final test. The forge is no longer anchored to your bloodline, and is now mine and mine alone. Completely under control. Now the real work can begin."

  "No!" Akina said."This is my home. I won't let you!"

  She threw herself at him, ready to gouge his eyes out and rip his head off. Ularna intercepted her, gray robes making her look like a stone pillar suddenly placed between them. Akina battered at her, but the duergar knocked the blows aside and shot palm-heel strikes up her chest. Each hit staggered her back until a final strike snapped into her forehead. Her sense of balance swirled and her legs no longer held her weight.

  Even as she fell, Gromir plucked throwing axes from his bandolier and made to fling them. Faster than Akina could've believed, Vaskegar whipped one of his own axes from his back and slashed across Gromir's chest. The dwarf collapsed, trying to hold in the blood and guts spilling from the gash. A disbelieving moan escaped him.

  Vaskegar strode up to the altar and caressed it as one might a prize hound. With one arm, he swept Jannasten's bones away, sending them clattering all about. He gestured to the guards by Brakisten. They hauled the dwarf to his feet and dragged him over. Braki
sten whimpered and jerked, struggling weakly.

  "I just want to go home. Akina? I can't... please, I just want to go home. I'm so sorry."

  She tried to reach for him. Ularna stepped on her ankle, grinding it against the stones, and Akina's leg went numb.

  "Wait," Akina gasped."You don't need him anymore."

  "Not entirely true," said Vaskegar."While any soul will now do, a soul is still necessary to begin the process. Why would I sacrifice my own followers while I have two perfectly viable options? And while I could certainly still use you, your brother is hardly lucid enough to grasp the significance of this moment. I want you to watch and despair for your people."

  He grabbed Brakisten's tunic and threw him on top of the altar. Brakisten screamed as the gauntlet knuckle-hooks dug into his collarbone. He twisted his head to the side and his terror-filled eyes met Akina's. He flopped an arm over, trying to reach.

  Akina stretched a hand out, but her legs still refused to obey her."Brak! No, please, stop!" She braced to drag herself over, but Ularna grabbed her elbow and twisted. Agony popped through her bones and locked her in place.

  Vaskegar drew an axe and poised it over her brother's neck."Droskar, accept this offering and use it to further your glory."

  He brought the axe down. Brakisten's head rolled off the anvil while his body twitched on top. Akina's scream drowned out all other noise, until a greater roar blasted it aside.

  The forge woke.

  The whole platform shuddered, and with a sweep of wind, the hearth burst into fiery life. The flames burned white and blue and black as they roiled within the forge housing. Twisting columns of flame erupted from the top while liquid fire splashed out from the gaps in the sides, forcing duergar to rush back to avoid being engulfed in the inferno. The roar and crackle deafened for a moment before subsiding, and the forge raged like a barely contained beast. A hungry one.

  The anvil glowed white-hot under Brakisten, and she sensed his soul being pumped down into it, used as fuel for the forge. Vaskegar didn't seem affected by the molten glare. He raised his hands in exultation as a wave of heat blasted out, drying Akina's eyes and cracking her lips while basting her in sweat.

  Above the enormous hearth, the air rent and widened into an obsidian portal limned with tongues of red flame. Another searing wind blew through the area, stinking of sulfur and char, with a saltier fetor suggestive of unwashed bodies. Anguished screams rang through her mind, accompanied by a horrendous, unceasing pounding, the clashing of metal on metal.

  From her perspective on the ground, the portal ringed Vaskegar's head, crowning him in horrid glory. He turned and pointed to where Gromir lay dying, and his voice rumbled across the ringing walls."You swore yourself to Droskar. Whether you ever meant to fulfill your oath, he still heard your words as a binding compact. The Dark Smith measures the works of all those who toil in his name, and metes out punishment to those who fail to live up to his standards." He snapped a hand back at the portal."Now let your soul be weighed and found wanting by the fires of the Ashen Forge itself."

  Blood smeared the stones as Gromir started to crawl away, as if to dump himself over the near edge and escape Vaskegar's wrath.

  Motion within the portal caught Akina's eye. At first, she thought it some form of snake slithering forth, but then she realized it was a chain. With a life of its own, a many-barbed chain of black iron with a large hook on the end wove through the air. It wavered for a moment before homing in on Gromir. The dwarf screamed as the chain launched at him, dragging feet upon feet of its length after. The hook sank into his chest and yanked him into the air. It spun him about, the chain whipping and wrapping over him until the end whisked from the portal, trailing another hook. By the time Gromir dropped back to the ground in a heap, the chain had completely obscured his body.

  The air quavered with a bestial growl. The chain clanked, sagging heavy from Gromir's limbs as he stamped and shoved to his feet. The metal coils fell away from his head, revealing a hairless lump of scab and charred flesh.

  Akina cried out in horror."Gromir!"

  Gromir's eyes flared open, and Akina recoiled to see them gone as flat and gray as ash. He opened his mouth and black smoke billowed from his throat and nostrils, while the skin crackled and glowed orange, as if he burned from within. His roar sent ash billowing into the air, and the trailing ends of the hooked chain writhed back over his head, still possessed of a foul animation.

  Vaskegar turned to his men and gestured to the transformed dwarf."Behold the Forge Spurned! The fate of all those who fail Droskar in this life and the next. Behold the power with which Droskar gifts us, that we may march upon the mightiest city and bring death to any who defy us."

  The duergar replied with a rousing chorus. Their shouts of worship continued as the portal disgorged another chained, smoking form. A second Forge Spurned stepped onto the hearth, and then down to join Gromir, who stood by the commander. More of the creatures strode from the rift in the forge, until a dozen packed the platform. As each spawn of the Ashen Forge joined their ranks, the duergar raised their voices higher.

  A last Forge Spurned emerged, and a brief lull intervened. Akina held her breath with the duergar, waiting to see what horror might appear next.

  Then the portal began to grow...

  ∗ ∗ ∗

  Ondorum watched the events at the forge in dismay, feeling helpless and insignificant in the face of their foes. The guards at the gate had turned their backs to him to watch the spectacle. They cheered with the rest as hideous creatures of chain and smoke issued forth from the gateway the duergar commander had summoned. Akina sprawled before the anvil altar, a spot of shadow within the forge's unending blaze.

  Even if he rushed in now, in these moments of distraction as the duergar reveled in their ceremony, what could he accomplish? Likely, they'd both be cut down and the forge would churn out more living weapons for the duergar to employ without opposition.

  Suddenly, the portal swelled to at least twenty feet in diameter. A giant metal foot thrust through, striking the platform with quaking force, followed by a boiler-shaped body as round as it was tall. An amalgamation of piping, bellows, and plates staggered into the space between the hearth and anvil, its stunted arms ending in levered spikes. The pig-like head on top held orange-glowing eyes and nostrils. When it opened its mouth, the flames boiling in the back of its throat cast rows of razor teeth into contrast.

  A similar construct followed, and the earth trembled beneath their plodding steps as they lumbered to either side of the forge, then leaped to crash to the ground. The impact dropped dozens of duergar to their hands and knees, and forced Ondorum to cling to the threshold he peered through while ancient stone crumbled around him.

  The duergar commander strode to the edge of the forge platform. He waved at the constructs, and as one they turned to face the duergar assembly. The soldiers shouted anew, and the commander's cry reached even Ondorum's ears.

  "This is absolute control! This is just the first harvest of the fruit of our labors. With the blessing of the Dark Smith, we will drive the dwarves from their dens and claim our rightful place in their stead. This is the strength with which we will rule uncontested!"

  Ondorum groaned. He at last recognized the crumpled form on the blazing anvil as Akina's brother. Too late to save one life, but if he waited much longer, they could sacrifice her as well. He had to try and get Akina away, even if it meant both their deaths. He slipped out from hiding, preparing to rush and disable the guards while the rest of the duergar remained distracted.

  That's when the rust-devouring insect raced past him, chittering reaching a keening pitch as it dashed for the forge.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Worthy Opponents

  Hope had died, and Akina waited to follow in its wake. Ularna had left her lying before the altar as she followed her master to stand before the duergar troops, reveling in their god's affirmation. Akina didn't count as even the slightest threat to their plans. N
othing she did would ever matter. If anything, she'd be slaughtered like her brother, turned into raw fuel for the forge.

  Numb, she stared up at the horrors Brakisten's death had conjured. She recognized the constructs now under Vaskegar's control. Scanderigs. She'd often been told of them as a child, when her mother would tease her with spook tales meant to frighten younglings into behaving. Never had she dreamed of actually seeing these forgefiends brought to repulsive life.

  The scanderigs faced the forge, eyes and mouths blazing. Then their vast bellies split across the middle, revealing a second maw of spiked teeth, within which blazed an independent forge fire. Embers and ash spewed forth as the forgefiends bellowed at the portal from which they'd come.

  Then screams echoed around the forge ring, breaking through her despair and inspiring her to sit up enough to see the cause. A bronze-shelled insect the size of a large wolf skittered toward one of the scanderigs. A number of the duergar turned to the disturbance, weapons readied, but then jumped back, faces twisted in horror as they let the beast scuttle straight past.

  Vaskegar's dark face purpled near to black as he screamed,"Destroy it, you fools!"

  Duergar converged on the insect, but it had already reached the scanderig and brushed feathery antennae across its lower bulk. Rust raced up the forgefiend's body, consuming one of its stumpy legs and the gnashing maw in its huge belly. A vast pile of glowing coals scattered across the ground, burying the insect as well as the duergar who'd tried to cut it down. The scanderig wavered on a single remaining leg—and then toppled to smash into the side of the forge housing. The roof and wall cracked and crumpled inward beneath the construct's weight. The portal to the Ashen Forge flickered, then died, though the anvil continued to glow and the purple-blue flames of the forge itself flared brighter, as if straining to be released.