Shattered Lands 3 Demon Wars

by Darren Pillsbury

  “If you take the castle ramparts first, and remove the archers and gigantic crossbows from the picture? None at all.”

  “Excellent,” Korvos said. “Then we march at dusk and come in under the cover of night.”

  “Do me a favor and don’t burn the brothels,” Merridack said with a mischievous grin. “I didn’t get to fully partake during my reconnaissance, if you know what I mean.”

  “You can have all the women you want – AFTER you break into the castle and kill the Beraldian royal family.”

  “What, you don’t want to do the honors yourself?”

  “No,” said the dragon-helmed general. “As far as killing our enemies by our own hand, we only care about YOU.”

  Merridack pointed at the general but spoke to Korvos. “You should tell him his jokes aren’t funny.”

  “Who said he was joking?” Korvos said as walked off into the trees to rally his troops.

  For the thousandth time since he’d left Blackstone’s ruins, Merridack cursed Eric for sticking him with these humorless boneheads.

  Time to find some new employers…

  Right after I sample the Beraldian brothels.

  28

  Daniel

  The griffins circled high over the mountains. Gigantic stone pillars were carved into the base of the largest ridge. Between them, 50-foot-tall iron gates sealed off the entrance to Morrill. Hundreds of feet above the iron doors, dozens of carved balconies dotted the sheer cliffs.

  Daniel set his griffin down on the grassy plain leading up to the gates, and Mira landed right next to him.

  A hundred yards away, a metallic groan and rumble rose up from the gates, and they slowly began to part.

  Daniel and Mira exchanged nervous looks as they climbed down from their mounts. Siffis jumped down from the saddle and sat on Daniel’s shoulder as he and Mira walked out into the field.

  A hundred dwarves marched out of the gates in tight formation, ten by ten. They wore iron helmets and heavy chain mail, and carried a variety of weapons, though axes and hammers seemed to be the favorite.

  Daniel wasn’t worried about an attack. Siffis could take care of them easily. He was far more concerned about being turned away without them hearing what he had to say.

  The dwarven soldiers stopped fifty feet from Daniel and Mira, and a single voice shouted from the front rank:

  “Hold, outlanders! Why are you here?”

  Daniel took off his helmet and began his speech, which he had practiced silently a hundred times during the journey.

  “I met a dwarf a couple of weeks ago. Before he died in battle, he told me to tell you that Simik of Val sent me, and that he was the son of Hroth, grandson of Utlik, great-grandson of Svragnar.”

  A murmur went up amongst the dwarves, and they looked at each other in surprise.

  The leader said, “May honor follow our blood-kin Simik to the afterlife.”

  The other 99 dwarves spoke in one voice: “Honor be upon him.”

  “At rest, brothers.”

  Instantly all the axes and hammers lowered to the ground.

  The leader of the dwarves stepped forward and removed his iron helmet. He had long, black hair, and an even longer black beard. “You have my attention, outlander. What is your name?”

  Daniel had thought about this part a great deal, too – and while it might have been cheesy, he decided to go with it. “I am Daniel of California, son of Jonathan, grandson of Robert. This is Mira, and this is Siffis.”

  “A dark elf and an ignis,” the dwarf said – and not entirely pleasantly.

  Mira caught the note of disdain. “Is that a problem?”

  “Not for the moment, it isn’t,” the dwarf leader said, then turned back to Daniel. “I am Horvak, leader of the dwarves of Morrill

  It wasn’t lost upon Daniel that Horvak only mentioned himself and none of his relatives. Apparently that was information that had to be re-earned from each new dwarf.

  “In honor of our blood-kin Simik, what it is that I may grant to you?” Horvak asked. “Weapons? Money? Food? Respite on your travels?”

  “Before we get to that, I have something for you,” Daniel said. “First, Simik died outside the Mines of Alark, fighting an evil sorcerer. You know the Mines of Alark?”

  “Every dwarf in all the Shattered Lands knows of the Mines of Alark, and of the tragedy that befell our blood-kin there.”

  “Then you’ll know where to find the nine statues of the greatest dwarves who ever lived, carved by the greatest sculptor.”

  The dwarves were shocked again, and murmured quietly amongst themselves.

  Horvak’s wild, untamed eyebrows shot up in surprise. “The work of Bronok of Vist?”

  “Yes.”

  “You have seen them?!”

  “Yes – there was a woman amongst them,” Daniel said, trying to recall what Simik had said in the mines. “And a scribe – ”

  “Grema the Empress, Jinri the Scribe,” Horvak said, his voice low with awe. “This is a great gift of knowledge you bring us, Daniel of California.”

  “Simik asked that I tell you, and said I could help you raise an army to bring them back from the Mines.”

  Horvak nodded the tiniest bit. “We would be honored to have your help.”

  “I also have something else to give you,” Daniel said. He unlatched the golden scabbard from his armor and stepped forward. “Until recently, this sword was owned by Byrel, Lord Naughton of Blackstone.”

  Daniel noticed the change in attitude. Every dwarf in the platoon bristled, and Horvak’s expression – which had seconds before been pleasant and accommodating – suddenly frosted over.

  But all that changed with Daniel’s next sentence: “He gave the sword to me… and asked that I return it to its rightful owners.”

  Horvak’s expression changed to astonishment once again. “The House of Naughton is giving back this sword?”

  “Yes,” Daniel said as he handed the scabbard to the dwarf, who drew out the sword and looked at it wonderingly.

  It was hard to part with the weapon. It had been Daniel’s trusty companion through several major battles, and though it carried with it the guilt of how he had first acquired it, it was a sword he probably would never see the likes of again. But if giving it back helped gain them allies, then Daniel was glad to part with it.

  Suddenly Horvak’s eyes hardened, and he sheathed the sword with a clack. “In my experience, gifts such as these – especially from humans – come at a price. What is the price attached to your gifts, outlander?”

  Daniel overlooked the slight and reminded himself that Byrel had said the dwarves would be damn near impossible to convince.

  “The sword is rightfully yours, as is the information about the statues,” Daniel said. “But I hope that in exchange, you’ll listen with an open mind to what I’m about to say.”

  “Speak.”

  “Remember when I said Simik died at the hands of an evil sorcerer? That sorcerer was my friend – but he betrayed us and turned evil. Since Simik’s death, he attacked the city of Blackstone and destroyed it, killing everyone inside and leveling the city walls to the ground.”

  “Including the House of Naughton, and this Byrel you speak of?”

  “Yes.”

  Now it was Daniel’s turn to be surprised. The dwarves in the platoon chuckled, and Horvak smiled nastily. “Remind me, then, to thank your evil sorcerer friend if ever I meet him.”

  The dwarf’s callousness made Daniel’s blood boil. You ASSHOLE!

  “More than fifty thousand people died at – ”

  “Humans,” Horvak interjected.

  “What?”

  “More than fifty thousand humans died.”

  “It wasn’t just humans,” Daniel said angrily. “Hundreds, maybe thousands of dwarves died, too.”

  “Then they were fools to cast in their lot with the humans,” Horvak said contemptuously. He tried to soften it at the last minute by adding, “No disrespect intended to
wards you, outlander.”

  “Really,” Daniel snapped. “Because you seem to be disrespecting me every chance you get.”

  The dwarf drew himself up haughtily. “Look here – ”

  “I didn’t have to come here and tell you about the statues – I did that because Simik asked me to. And I didn’t have to give you back the sword – but I did, because I thought it was the right thing to do.”

  “And you thought you could come here and barter with a couple of long-lost treasures – which are rightfully ours, especially after the House of Naughton’s treachery in seizing our lands eighty years ago,” Horvak sneered. “The question is, what did you come here seeking? Our help in fighting your sorcerer friend?”

  Daniel scowled. “Yes, but I came here to convince you to help yourselves, too.”

  “By doing what? Dying in a human war, fought by humans, for humans’ benefit?”

  “This war isn’t just between humans. Every race in all the Shattered Lands is in danger.”

  “Then let them all die,” Horvath said. “They deserve their fate if they cannot fight for themselves.”

  “You can’t fight against this guy, either!” Daniel said, incredulous. “No one can! The only chance any of us stand is if we join together!”

  “Why would I fight a human who killed one of my tribe’s most hated foes? As I said earlier, tell him ‘thank you’ for us.”

  Daniel started to lose his temper. “You can tell him yourself, because he’s coming here eventually, and when he does – ”

  “We shall thank him for the service he did us at Blackstone, and then bid him to pass on by, and seek out enemies who will not be his death.”

  “Do you know what happened at the Mines of Alark?” Daniel shouted. “The things inside the mountain, the things that killed all your kinsmen overnight? Eric – the sorcerer – he killed them all, single-handedly. If you think you can kill him by yourselves, you’re insane.”

  Mira put a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him.

  “Daniel – ” she whispered, but he shrugged her off angrily.

  “The cowards in the darkness overtook our blood-kin at Alark by surprise,” Horvak thundered. “Had the dwarves been ready, their foes would have been no match for them.”

  “Okay, number one, that’s bullshit – ”

  There was an angry grumble from the dwarves, but Daniel ignored them.

  “ – and number two, you think Eric’s going to fight with honor? You think he wouldn’t try to take you by surprise, too? You think he wouldn’t cheat and do everything in his power to destroy you, no matter what it took? He killed thousands of women and children in Blackstone just so he could destroy five armies at one time in an ambush. You think he wouldn’t slit all of your throats in your sleep if he thought it was the only way he could win?”

  Horvak looked like steam might erupt from his ears any second. “I advise you to watch your tongue, human. The only reason I have not cut it out is because of Simik.”

  “I came here to get your help because of Simik,” Daniel yelled. “Because he was honorable, and smart, and a great fighter – and I thought his kinsmen would be, too. But you – you’re just an arrogant, hateful little troll who won’t lift a finger to help anyone else unless they look like you.”

  Horvak snarled, “Our business is done. You are a fool, and Simik was a fool to associate himself with you.”

  “That ‘fool’ died trying to protect another one of my friends from the sorcerer,” Daniel raged. “That ‘fool’ was a better man than all of you assholes put together.”

  Horvak spat at Daniel’s feet. “A curse be upon your house.”

  “I’d say a curse be upon yours, but you won’t have to wait too long for him to show up,” Daniel yelled.

  As though to punctuate the sentiment, Siffis hissed from Daniel’s shoulder.

  Horvak flinched when he heard the tiny fire sprite’s voice. Then he stalked back towards his men, whose axes and hammers were raised aggressively once more.

  Daniel fumed for a second, then turned back to look at Mira.

  She was standing there with one cocked eyebrow and a corner of her mouth slightly upturned. “That went well.”

  “I don’t want to hear it,” Daniel grumbled as he headed for his griffin.

  “Don’t take it so hard,” she said as she followed him. “I basically got the same runaround from the forest elves.”

  “Were they a bunch of xenophobic assholes, too?”

  “Yup.”

  “Great.”

  “At least you they didn’t tell you to leave at gunpoint,” Mira laughed. “Or arrow-point, I guess.”

  “Yeah, but I had to give back the sword to even get that much out of them,” Daniel griped.

  “Oh well,” Mira sighed. “What’re ya gonna do.”

  “Watch them all get slaughtered, unfortunately,” Daniel muttered.

  Suddenly, a voice called out from behind them:

  “Daniel of California, son of Jonathan, grandson of Robert.”

  Daniel froze.

  It was a different voice from Horvak’s – an older, wiser, calmer voice.

  Daniel and Mira turned around.

  Another warrior stepped forward from the front ranks of the dwarves and removed his helmet. His hair was snowy white, as was his beard.

  “I am Jorok, son of Boros, grandson of Lort, great-grandson of Storn… and I would have a word with you.”

  29

  Daniel walked over cautiously. Next to Jorok stood Horvak. The black-haired dwarf was obviously still grumpy, but he didn’t seem nearly as angry as before.

  “Who are you?” Daniel said to the white-haired dwarf. “I mean, you told me your name, but – ”

  “I am the true leader of the dwarves of Morrill.”

  Daniel frowned in surprise. “So… what just happened?”

  “A test to see if you were trustworthy. My apologies in advance, but not all humans are.”

  “Wasn’t that the whole point of Simik telling me his father and grandfather’s names?” Daniel asked. “That he trusted me?”

  “It was the first step,” Jorok said. “I knew he had vouched for your character, but I wanted to see for myself.”

  “So… you intentionally made me angry to see what I would do?”

  “Yes. I wanted to see if you would threaten us, or attempt to kill us.”

  Daniel frowned. “With what? I gave you back the sword, and that was the only one I had.”

  Jorok pointed to Siffis. “I have never seen a human with an ignis as a companion before. In fact, I have never seen any creature with an ignis as a companion, except for other ignae. They are truly powerful. A single one could lay waste to a small army, which is one thing I have seen, and it is a sight I shall remember until my dying day.”

  “Wait – you made me mad just to see if I’d use Siffis against you?!”

  “I wanted to see what you would do when you did not get your way – whether you would resort to violence.”

  Daniel recoiled in horror. “I wouldn’t do that!”

  “Yes. Now I know.”

  Daniel shook his head in disbelief. “You took a huge risk if you really thought I might set him on you.”

  “Not as great as you might think. One fact most do not know is that dwarves learned secrets from the ignae millennia ago. In the tales of old, it was ignae who lit the Old Fathers’ first forges and showed them the secrets of smelting ore. There was a falling out between our people, but we never forgot their lessons. And we still forge our weapons and armor to be impervious to ignae… in fact, to kill them if need be.”

  Siffis hissed on Daniel’s shoulder.

  Jorok smiled wryly. “Not that we would, little one. If you have no quarrel with us, we have no quarrel with you.”

  Siffis stopped hissing, but retreated behind Daniel’s neck like a distrustful cat.

  “So… you’ll actually help us fight the sorcerer?” Daniel asked hopefully.

&nbs
p; “The answer is more complicated than ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Might I suggest you enter our city as honored guests? I am sure you must be tired from your travels.”

  Daniel looked over at Mira, who shrugged. Sure, why not.

  “Okay,” Daniel said.

  “Follow me,” Jorok said, and set off towards the city gates.

  The entire company of dwarves marched behind him.

  As Daniel followed, Mira fell in step beside him.

  “Okay, that went a lot better than the forest elves,” she admitted.

  “It’s not over yet,” Daniel said. “There’s plenty of time for them to kick us out at arrow-point.”

  30

  The city inside the gates was a lot like the Mines of Alark, with shops and homes carved into stone walls – but unlike the mines, this city was alive. Hundreds of dwarves walked through the streets. Almost every single one glanced questioningly at Jorok and stared at his two companions – especially Mira. Many of the looks cast her way were openly hostile.

  The hundred-foot-tall cavern was also filled with light. Some of the holes in the mountain that Daniel had seen were giant windows that let in the sun. Once the sunlight died out several hundred feet inside the mountain, torches, lamps, and the glow of dozens of forges helped to banish the darkness.

  There were dwarves everywhere – manning merchants’ stalls, working in forges in the center of the city, eating in street-side pubs, having conversations. One of the things that made the biggest impression on Daniel was seeing dwarven children for the first time. There wasn’t anything inherently odd or unusual about them; they looked exactly like shorter and stockier versions of human children as they played in the streets or accompanied their mothers on shopping trips. But since he had never seen a dwarf child before, it took him by surprise at first.

  They apparently had never seen a human or dark elf before, and they weren’t shy about crowding around and asking questions: Why is your skin blue? Why are you so tall?

  They particularly loved Siffis. At one point during the tour, the fire sprite jumped into a blacksmith’s forge and ‘bathed’ in the fire, shaking off the embers like a dog shaking off water. All the children shrieked happily, though the blacksmith ranted about the intrusion until Daniel called Siffis back to a safe perch on his shoulder.