Darkness Fallen

by Dave Willmarth

  Alexander led Martin to the area between the bank and the auction house. This was the last remaining large space left within the inner walls. It was not as large as the space occupied by the original Ogre.

  “You can’t spread out as much, but we can build it three stories plus a cellar,” Alexander offered. “Or, you can have space between the walls, and spread out more.” Alexander led Martin out through the bailey gate and across the fields between the walls. Then they turned and moved along the interior of the outer wall, where the duergar’s structure was set up, along with a few stables, a carpentry shop, the merchant’s shops, and others. “You can’t see much now, but in a few more weeks there will be crops here. Eventually, we may construct another wall, further out. But for now, you’ve seen the space we have available.” Alexander teleported them out to the moat bridge. “As you can see, we’ve got a moat, and sheer walls. Solid stone, strengthened with magic. We made this wall as high as possible without blocking the sun and wind from the crops inside.”

  Martin whistled in amazement. “You built all this since ya took this place?”

  Alexander laughed. “We built all this in the first week. We’ve been busy since then with… other things.”

  Martin considered his options. “I’ll need to discuss it with Rose, o’ course. But bein’ that we’re expecting Mattie will be runnin’ the Ogre II, I think we’d rather see her safe inside the inner wall. Even if it means fewer tables and fewer rooms.”

  “I understand, and I agree. If the outer walls don’t hold for some reason, those in the margin may not have time to retreat into the inner wall.” Alexander teleported Martin and himself back to the courtyard.

  It was maybe an hour before sunset, and Brick had just opened the portal to Broken Mountain. King Thalgrin and his guards strode through as Brick welcomed them to the keep. It would be embarrassing to have the wards send the dwarven king to the dungeons below.

  “Welcome, Your Majesty!” Alexander called out. “I’m glad you could make it!”

  Thalgrin grabbed Alexander in a bear hug, lifting the elf off his feet. “Bah! Ye knew I’d not miss the creation of a dragon forge! At least, not again!”

  Spying Blix hovering conspicuously nearby, Alexander waved him over. “Your Majesty, please allow me to introduce my friend Martin O’Malley. He runs the Ogre in Stormforge and is about to build an inn and tavern here in the keep. I have a feeling he’ll be wanting to talk to you about purchasing ale and spirits!”

  Martin bowed to the king, who reached out a hand in turn. As they shook hands, the king said, “Please t’meet ye. I’m sure we can arrange somethin’!” He winked at the innkeeper.

  Alexander indicated Blix, now standing on his other side. “And this is Blix Copperbottom of the banker’s guild. He’s starting our bank for us.”

  Blix bowed deeply at the waist, so that his nose nearly touched the ground. “It is a great honor to meet you, mighty king.”

  “Bwahaha! Mighty, is it? I like ye already!” Thalgrin clapped the gnome on the back, nearly knocking him over.

  Alexander looked at the bustling crowd moving about the courtyard. Citizens going about their normal business, or helping newcomers to move supplies and possessions.

  “It’s a bit crowded here, Your Majesty. Would you like to see the new expansion?”

  “Aye lad! Been curious since ye bring’d it up yesterday. Show me!”

  Alexander teleported Thalgrin, his guards, Martin, Blix, and himself to the top of the garrison tower up on the plateau. The lower sun glinted off the treetops for miles around.

  The guests all moved to the parapets and looked about them. Martin was the first to speak.

  “These trees… there’s nothing like these in Stormforge. Or the Dire Woods. Where are we?”

  Alexander answered loud enough for all to hear. “We are up on the plateau above the keep. We have claimed this forest, and plan to declare a new kingdom soon. This forest runs twenty miles wide by thirty deep. There are three more towers like this one, which we will fortify. There are villages being rebuilt; a dock on the river for fishing; mines scattered about; and a dungeon off to the northwest.”

  Thalgrin continued to gaze out over the massive trees. “How’d ye find this place?”

  There was a mirror in the control room of the keep. The Dark One’s minions were using the keep and this tower. We found a portal in the caverns below that we destroyed just as a lich was about to bring an army of undead demons through.”

  “By Durin’s beard… undead demons?” Thalgrin’s face looked grim. “What exactly do we be up against here, Alexander?”

  Alexander glanced meaningfully at Blix and Martin, then very quietly answered. “Best we speak about that in private, Your Majesty. And I think Kai will want to share some information with you as well.”

  Alexander opened guild chat. “Kai, I’m at the top of the garrison tower with King Thalgrin. He has… questions. Can you join us?”

  “I’ll be there in a moment,” Kai answered.

  Alexander looked to Martin and Blix. “Gentlemen, I’m going to send you back to the keep.” Then he looked at King Thalgrin. “Your Majesty? Your guards?”

  Thalgrin motioned to his guard captain. “I’ll be safe enough here with the knight and the dragon. Wait fer me back at the keep.”

  Alexander teleported the guards back to the keep along with Martin and Blix. A second or two later, Kai appeared. Thalgrin bowed to the dragon prince, who lowered his head in return.

  “Kai, Thalgrin has questions about the kind of enemy we’re facing. I told him about the lich and the portal down below. I figured rather than me try to tell him your suspicions; it would be better if you share what you told me.”

  Kai leaned his hands on the parapet, looking out over the forest. “Thalgrin, you know of the war with the demon hordes a thousand years ago?”

  “Aye, Prince. I’ve heard tell of it.”

  “This is where that war was fought. This tower stands near the final battlefront, where the demons were defeated. But before they were put down, the demon horde swept down from the north and slaughtered every living thing up to this point. Entire cities. Hundreds of villages. The war raged for three years.”

  Both Alexander and Thalgrin were silent. Kai stared off into space as if remembering the battle. “And yet, all those deaths are but a small fraction of the lives lost the last time we faced the drow wizards and their armies. And that is who I fear we shall face again soon.”

  Thalgrin gasped. He swallowed audibly, and then he whispered, “The drow?”

  Dwarves and drow were mortal enemies. Both lived in vast underground cities. And through the millennia, occasionally a dwarven mine would intrude upon territory the drow claimed as their own. War would ensue. Bloody, brutal war that sometimes lasted for decades. Entire cities were lost on both sides.

  Thalgrin leaned heavily on the wall as he absorbed what Kai had said. “The damned DROW?” he asked again.

  Kai went on to explain the circumstances that had occurred over the last month or more, and the dragon king’s suspicion that the drow wizards were once again gathering their forces.

  Thalgrin sat in stunned silence as he listened. When Kai was finished, there was a tremble in Thalgrin’s voice. “What’ll we do?”

  Alexander tried to lighten the mood a bit. “Well, for starters, you’re going to get your own dragon forge!”

  Thalgrin’s eyes moved from Kai to Alexander. When what the elf had said finally registered, he looked back to Kai. The dragon nodded his head. “You’ll be getting a visit from one of my cousins. We’ll be creating dragon forges for each of the dwarven clans. We need weapons that can harm the forces of darkness. Weapons blessed with dragon magic and holy magic.”

  “How… how much time do we have?” Thalgrin asked.

  “We aren’t sure. Could be a year. Could be weeks. Alexander here seems to have repeatedly set back their plans in this area of Io. He’s wiped out two demon armies, permanently
destroyed one lich, and possibly a second. He’s thwarted their plans to undermine Antalia, and he’s trapped an army of demons and undead in the dungeon near the keep. He also destroyed the portal below and a demon portal near Whitehall. His encounters with the servants of darkness and the ancient magic they’re using are what alerted us to the return of the drow.”

  Thalgrin steadied himself and put a hand on Alexander’s shoulders. “Thank ye, lad. I know’d ye were runnin’ about killin’ demons ‘n’ such, but it seems we owe ye a great debt.”

  “No debt is owed, Your Majesty. This is my home, too.”

  “We both know that ain’t quite true, lad.” Thalgrin smiled sadly at him. “Ye and yer friends can leave our world ‘n’ go home to yer own anytime. But ye choose to remain ‘n’ help us fight. And fer that, yer names will always be remembered.”

  Thalgrin shook himself, and moments later he seemed to stand a bit taller. “Right! I be needin’ a drink or twenty!” He clapped Alexander on the shoulder. “This be a wondrous land ye got here, lad. I be proud of ye. And I’ll help ye as I can to make it stronger. But it seems ta have a distinct lack of refreshment!”

  With a snort, Kai teleported the three of them back to the keep. They found the Redmonds and Prince Edward in the courtyard, having just arrived themselves. Greetings were exchanged, and the group began to head toward the smithy. It was nearing sunset, so Alexander decided to call everyone together. He called out. “Jeeves, loudspeaker, please.

  “Go ahead, Master.”

  “Can I have your attention, please? I’d like everyone who’s not currently occupied to gather at the smithy in ten minutes. We’ve got a little something you might want to see.”

  Looking at Kai, he said, “Thank you for this. You have been a great friend and a tremendous help to us all from the day you first stepped into Greystone Manor.”

  Kai bowed his head in acknowledgement and said, “It is you who are owed gratitude. Were it not for you and yours, we may not have found out about this Dark One until his armies were marching.”

  As he led them toward the smithy, he stopped to show them the new bank building, as well as the auction house. By the time they reached the dining area, Alexander was taken aback by the sheer number of people he found gathered around the smithy. It seemed nearly all of the humans, dwarves, even the duergar were in attendance. His population had nearly tripled in the last week or so.

  As they made their way through the crowd, Alexander spotted Father Alric. He waved the priest over and quickly explained what they were planning. Alric quickly volunteered to ask for his god’s blessing as well. So Alexander, Thalgrin, Kai, and Alric made their way to the smithy doors, which were now wide open. Brick and Grumpy were standing in the doorway, both with hopeful looks on their faces. When they saw Kai approaching, both broke into little celebratory jigs. Kai laughed at the sight.

  With a seemingly effortless leap, Kai launched himself atop the smithy’s roof. The crowd hushed as he assumed his smaller dragon form.

  Alexander took advantage of the quiet and called out, “Citizens of the Dire Lands, and honored guests. I have brought you here to witness something truly special. Thanks to a gracious offer from Prince Kai of the Dragon Kingdom, we will be turning this beautiful obsidian smithy into a dragon forge!”

  He paused as the crowd of almost four hundred citizens applauded, whistled, and made other congratulatory noises. After a few moments, he raised his hands again. “In addition, we will be asking that our patron deities, Durin and Asclepius, bless this forge as they have blessed our chapel so that the weapons crafted here will be more effective against the minions of the Dark One!”

  This brought a much louder round of cheers. The people were all for anything that would make them stronger or deadlier in the coming fights.

  Without further ceremony, Kai raised his head. “I, Kaibonostrum, grant the power of my ancestors to this dragon forge. May it be used only to create weapons of light!”

  The black dragon lowered his head through the open doorway, and a moment later a blast of blue fire reflected off of every surface of the smithy. A wave of heat washed over the crowd, causing many of them to take a step back or cover their faces for a moment.

  Kai withdrew his massive head and smiled his toothy dragon smile at the crowd. “It is done!”

  Amidst the roar of approval that followed, he returned to his human form, jumping down from the roof. He raised his hands, and the crowd quieted once again.

  “Those who are willing, please kneel and pray to your chosen god that they bless this forge with the light that may help to overcome the darkness!”

  At this prompting, Thalgrin, Brick, Ironhammer, Grumpy, and all of the dwarves took a knee and placed a hand on their chest. Many of those hands held weapons. A few held mugs of ale.

  At the same time, Father Alric knelt on both knees and bowed his head toward to the forge. Several of the humans did the same. Surprisingly, every one of the duergar knelt and began to chant in their own tongue. Even Lorian took a knee.

  Alexander, not wanting to exclude himself, took a knee as well. He offered a silent prayer to Odin, his friend, and father of all the gods.

  Please All-Father, guide me in whatever ways you can, as I try to build up this land and defend it from the forces of darkness.

  It wasn’t fancy, but it was heartfelt. Alexander knew Odin was limited by his own programming. But a part of him felt that Io was taking on a life of its own. So what could it hurt to ask his buddy Odin for a little help now and then?

  The prayers of the crowd ceased suddenly as a dual lightning bolt struck the forge, much as it had the first forge. But this time, the lightning was following by a soft, golden rain that fell through a beam of light. And there was a rumbling in the earth as veins of a bluish-silver metal rose up through the floor and walls of the smithy to mingle with the highlights that were already there.

  The entire smithy began to glow with a silvery-blue light that got brighter and brighter until many closed their eyes. Then it faded so that only the veins of silver, blue, and clear crystal glowed. They seemed to pulse with a heartbeat.

  The keep was completely silent as the echoes of the lighting crash faded away. The silence was broken as Kai began to chuckle. The chuckle grew into a full-throated laugh.

  “It seems the gods are beginning to unite! This forge has indeed been blessed by Durin and Asclepius. But also by Loguear, earthen god of the Duergar, Freyr, god of light and patron of the Elves, and the tears of Frigg, mother of gods, and wife to Odin the All-Father!

  The cheers from the crowd escalated with the naming of each god until it became a frenzied roar of approval and zeal from four hundred throats. An answering roar sounded from above, as Lia landed in dragon form atop the smithy. Looking down, she asked “What is this shiny new thing, husband? I felt the hands of gods upon this place and came to see. It feels… tingly.” She sounded pleased as she curled up and settled upon the roof. The crowd cheered yet again!

  Brick decided to make a true celebration and began yelling for dwarves to help him break out the kegs of ale and spirits. The kitchen staff retreated to the kitchen and began sending out whatever food they had prepared for the occasion. Soon the long tables were filled with food and drink, and citizens mingled as they ate and drank.

  The celebration lasted well into the night.

  Chapter 15

  The Dogs of War

  The next morning found Alexander rising before sunrise yet again. He’d set his alarm so that he could breakfast with Thalgrin before he returned to Broken Mountain.

  Alexander smiled as he rose from the bed. Jules was back in her pink jammies. She hadn’t been when she fell asleep last night. For a moment he wondered if she equipped them in her sleep.

  Deciding not to wake her, he quietly gathered his gear and headed downstairs. He found several citizens already at breakfast when he arrived. He’d just sat down and was talking to a couple of new volunteers when Thalgrin and his guards show
ed up. The king joined him at the table with no fuss or ceremony, just a grunt of acknowledgment as he reached for a pitcher of ale.

  “Quite the celebration last night,” Alexander observed. “I noticed you made quite a large number of toasts to Durin.” He grinned.

  The king chuckled. “Aye, lad. One must make sacrifices in honor of one’s god. We was thankin’ him fer his blessin’ upon the forge.”

  Alexander looked around at the crowd of hungover dwarves. “I’d say you thanked him good and proper!”

  The king’s normally boisterous laugh was reduced to a quiet “Heh. Aye.” He spared another smile upon looking over at the dragon forge. At the moment, the dragon forge featured actual dragons. Both Kai and Lia were curled up atop the building. Lia was humming happily to herself, eyes closed.

  Thalgrin shook his head, speaking quietly. “I’d thought to mebbe make somethin’ in yer forge this morning. But I’d not dare disturb herself.” He motioned at Lia.

  “It’s quite alright, Thalgrin.” Lia’s voice came across the courtyard. “I’m awake. I’m just enjoying the feeling of this magic. I’ve never felt such a combination, and both Kai and I are curious as to what blessings the weapons created here will receive.”

  Thalgrin rose and bowed to the dragoness. “O’ course, M’lady. It’d be my honor to work this forge.” He paused to gulp down another pint of ale, then strode over to the forge. Selecting a bar of dwarven steel, he set it in the blue flame of the forge and set to work preparing his tools and materials.

  The king of the Broken Mountain dwarves was a master smith, from a long line of master smiths. It wasn’t long before the sound of hammering had many in the dining area covering their ears and wincing. A few even fled to quieter corners of the keep.

  Because Io was created for players - who are notoriously impatient with short attention spans -the act of crafting an item in the game was relatively quick. One might spend hours or days gathering materials. But once you had them all, the actual act of creation only took a minute or two. This was true of blacksmithing, cooking, skinning, tailoring, or any of the crafting arts.