by Clark Graham
Lost Cities of Elvenshore
The Old Watch Post
Sarchise sat in the old watch post, high on the side of the Mountains of Iron. His sandy brown hair ruffled slightly in the breeze. He was lean and tall for a human, which made his marriage to a Dwarf seem all the more unusual. He had a thin lean face, with lines of worry on it, making him look older than he was. His battle-scarred left arm pained him in the cold weather of the heights, but the view was worth it. He sat wrapped in a blanket as he gazed out on the misty morning. The sun was coming up in the east, causing the mountains to cast a long shadow across the Kingdom of Zor that spread out before Sarchise’s view. Soon he heard footsteps up the passageway behind him. He was not alarmed because there were only friendly Dwarves in the mountains behind him. He turned his head to see his wife coming through the archway.
“I thought that I would find you up here,” Ammlee said with a smile. She had a kind and tender face that was round and good looking, even by human standards. Her long, dark brown hair was braided into a ponytail down her back. It was coarse like Dwarf hair and had a slight waviness to it. She sat down next to him on the stone bench, and looked out over the scenery. She was getting big with child. Sitting and standing back up was starting to take some effort. After losing the previous child when the High Mountain was attacked, she was extra cautious with this one. They both made sure all of her wounds had healed before they had tried to have another one.
The watch post was at the end of a long corridor. It had been cut out of solid rock and had a panoramic view of the Plains of Zor below. Anyone sitting on the stone benches, along the front and back sides of the watch post, could see for miles.
Sarchise stood up and undid the blanket from his shoulders and wrapped it around Ammlee. He had never laid eyes on her before the wedding day. He wasn’t happy with the circumstances when he found out that he had been tricked into marrying by the King’s son, but that was, what seemed like, ages ago. He had learned to love her and now he could not imagine life without her. When he sat back down, she snuggled up to him.
“What troubles you, my husband? You only come up here when you want to sort out your thoughts.”
“I hear bad tidings from the world of men. Low royals that survived the last two wars now want to make themselves Kings in the Middle Kingdom and the Kingdom of Mir. King Mortimur won’t allow it, of course. He sits on the throne of Ril and rules all four of the kingdoms. He is not interested in having the Four Kingdoms divided again, with all the strife and wars between men that we had before.”
“I see that faraway look in your eyes again. You bore of life under the mountain; you need to be in the forests that you love,” she said.
“I live here now with you; I will let the younger men wander the forests. Now that the Dwarves of High Mountain have tamed the Westwood, there is no need for the likes of me to be there.”
“You are a Prince among my people, but we can move to South Fort, if you want; I will not force you to live a life with my race, if you do not wish it."
He smiled and said, “Our child will be raised amongst its mother's kin. That is where it will find safety and love. The people of South Fort are a good people, but I fear they will not be as accepting of us as your Dwarves will.”
She smiled, snuggled a little closer and said, “Thank you; I will raise your child to be proud to be both Human and Dwarf.”
Sarchise put his arm around her and enjoyed the warmth of the rising sun that had finally made it down the mountains side and was now warming their faces.
The last war had taken a toll on them all. Hundreds of Dwarves and men had died when Tabor unleashed his army of Gremlins against them. Sarchise had fought bravely at the head of a Dwarf army, but had seen a lot of death. The happy, almost carefree young man that had patrolled the forest of Westwood as a Royal Scout was gone. He had been replaced by a battle weary old warrior.
Sarchise noticed movement on the plains below. At first, he thought that he was imagining it, then the specks got closer, they were casting long shadows in the morning sun. They seemed to be headed straight for the mountain entrance.
“Riders,” he said aloud, as he stood up. “I must warn the guards at the gate.”
Ammlee stood up also and looked down. She was starting to make them out also. It was odd to see riders as most of the horses had been killed during the wars. She looked hard and said, “They ride white horses, it has to be the Valkyrie.”
Sarchise wasn't listening as he was already running down the tunnel to the city below. He took a second tunnel down to the gate. It was the original builders of the fortress's way to make the distance between the watch post and the gate as short as possible. Sarchise ran up to the leader of the watch. “There are riders approaching the gate and moving fast,” Sarchise yelled.
The Captain of the Guard shouted, “Bar the gate, man the ramparts.”
Dwarf warriors came running from the barracks below as a war horn sounded. The gate was barred and Dwarf archers took position on the ramparts of the walls. There they waited for whoever was approaching.
After a few minutes a messenger came running up. “The King wishes to know the cause for the blowing of the war horn.”
Sarchise turned to the messenger. “Tell the King there are riders approaching, but the Captain of the Guard has the situation under control.”
The messenger nodded and ran off. Soon the guards could see a cloud of dust in the distance. The riders were going fast and hard. Then shapes started to emerge. Soon eight Valkyrie rode up to the gate.
“Unbar and open the gate, unman the ramparts, the Valkyrie are welcome here.” yelled the Captain of the Guard.
Very quickly the gate was unbarred and opened. The Valkyrie, on their white horses rode in. Sarchise walked down off the wall to greet them. “Excuse us for our precaution, as we did not know it was you from a distance.”
Fawn smiled at him, her long blonde hair shimmered in the dawn as she took off her helmet, “Sarchise, it has been a long time.”
Sarchise bowed. He was trying not to stare into Fawn’s penetrating blue eyes, because he had made a fool of himself by staring at her on a previous occasion and didn’t want to repeat it. “I am sure King Cazz will be happy to meet with you.”
Fawn smiled, “We would love to meet with you, also, Sarchise, as we have a matter that we think you can help us with.”
Sarchise would not be able to say no to her request, as she had already saved his life once. He acted as a gracious host and led them into the great hall.
All eight of the women warriors dismounted their horses. The Valkyrie were now venturing out of the Hidden City in the North where they had been shielded by the Dwarves of the Lonely Mountains, to protect them from those who were trying to destroy them. The Dwarves and the Valkyrie had always been fast friends. Their beauty is legendary among men, but Dwarves seem to be immune to their charms.
After coming down to the great hall, King Cazz walked up to greet them, "Welcome to the Mountains of Iron."
"We are on an errand for our Queen. We wish to speak to you and Sarchise, perhaps in the morning after we get some rest," Fawn said.
"I would be more than happy to meet with you tomorrow, but tonight I will show you the hospitality of these halls," King Cazz said.
"Thank you, oh gracious King," Fawn responded.
A Warm Welcome
King Cazz called for a great celebration in the Great Hall. Goats and pigs were brought in from the farms for the feast. Tables were set forth surrounding the fire pit and all chairs were placed facing it. Large baskets of bread were set on each table. The cooks were preparing the meat
s for the feast. There were kegs of ale set up in the corners of the hall and pitchers of ale were brought out to serve the guests. The bright firelight lit up the great hall. One could see the engravings on the walls of the history of the dwarves in the mountains of Iron. King Cazz had had the gaps filled in, from the period where the dwarves were forced out of the mountains during the first Gremlin war, up to the time the he returned as the King of the Mountains of Iron.
The King made a grand entrance, complete with war horns sounding when he entered the hall. He loved being King, and all the pomp and ceremony that went with it. King Cazz’s brown hair stuck out from under his crown, for he did not wear the traditional braided ponytail of the dwarves, but kept his hair a little shorter than the other’s. His beard was very well kept. He was stout across the chest and strong. Although his injuries in the last war were starting to take a toll, the King suffered from a stiff arm, and other aches and pains. He would not let that slow him down tonight. He had guests to entertain.
Everyone at the feast sat down. The Valkyrie had their own table near the fire. Sarchise took his place to the right of the King. Even though King Cazz now had two sons, they were too young to take over the throne, so Sarchise was still considered heir to the throne. To the left of the King was his wife, the Queen, and Ammlee sat next to her.
Songs started playing as the merry makers started eating their bread.
Sarchise is as strong as he is tall
He came to help at our people's call
He fought in forest and was brave
He fought the foe in the mountain cave
He was willing to fight and sacrifice self
But the killer of Tabor was the elf
Sarchise leaned over to Cazz and said, "Why must they always remind me of that?"
"I love that song," replied Cazz. Then Cazz stood up, held up his ale and bellowed, "Hail, Sarchise!"
The crowd roared back, while holding up their ale mugs, "Hail, Sarchise!" Then every chugged down their drinks.
The server maidens, on cue, started pouring everyone another round. Then another song started;
Cazz is King in our mountain deep
He holds the halls and holds the keep
He came to claim the throne one day
And in the mountain he will stay
Hemlot, one of the Dwarf commanders, stood up with drink in hand and shouted, "Hail King Cazz!"
The room roared with a "Hail, King Cazz!" and then everyone drained their mugs again.
Sarchise leaned over to Cazz again and said, "We keep hailing people, at this rate they are going to have to carry all of us out of here."
Cazz laughed, "I thought that was the idea." Then he stood and shouted, "Hail, Fawn of the Valkyrie!"
The crowd roared again, "Hail, Fawn!" and the server maidens started pouring more ale in the now empty mugs.
Sarchise said to Cazz one day,
We go to Mountains of Iron to play,
Oswin came and we did too
To fight the Gremlins in our home so true
They wanted to see us dead
But when we came, they all had fled.
The Valkyrie were smiling when Sarchise looked over at their table, he blushed from the thought of the beautiful women watching him. He didn't know why, but he was getting drunk, he could feel his head starting to buzz.
Then someone stood up and yelled, "Hail, Hemlot!" and the crowd responded, draining their cups again. Sarchise did also.
Several hours later, the fire was starting to die out, all of those that could still walk had stumbled out of the hall, the server maidens had cleared the plates and wiped the tables and then had gone to bed. King Cazz was leaning back in his seat and Sarchise was draped across the table with his head down. The King motioned for two of the King's Guard to take the Sarchise to his quarters and another to assist the King out of the hall.
When Sarchise arrived in his room, Ammlee helped the guards put him in his bed. Sarchise slept on pillows, unlike the traditional Dwarf that laid down right on top of the cold stone. At first Ammlee would push the pillows over to Sarchise's side of the bed, then as time went on, she too started using the pillows. She had felt guilty doing this, somehow cheating the memory of all the Dwarves that went before her. Later on she found out that King Cazz also starting sleeping on the pillows, along with a lot of the other Dwarves. She felt less guilty after finding that out.
Sarchise just moaned when they laid him down, and then he went right to sleep. Ammlee lay down beside him, running her fingers through his hair. She loved doing that when he was asleep and didn't notice. Human hair was so thin and straight, unlike Dwarf hair that was coarse and wavy. She wondered what type of hair their child would have.
When she was told she would be wedded to a Human by King Therin of High Mountain, she was very upset. Still, one does not defy a King, so she obeyed. Now she lived in the Mountains of Iron and is wedded to the biggest hero of all the land. She had to learn to like him, but now she couldn't even imagine life without him.
A Meeting with the King
Sarchise woke up to a pounding head and a sour stomach. He sat up in bed and saw Ammlee at the table brushing her hair. She was still in her night shirt, so he knew it was early. "Did I make a fool of myself?" he asked.
She smiled, let out a slight giggle and answered, "No my love, you just got quieter and quieter and then you stopped talking altogether."
"Good," he commented as he stood up. "I do love the feasts and the camaraderie, but I could have done with about ten less, 'Hail Whoever's.'"
"Friendly group, they even hailed me near the end there, that's never happened before," Ammlee commented with a smile.
"I think that could have been me, but I don't remember."
"It may very well have been," she replied, "I don't remember a lot from that part of the evening."
"Oh, my head," Sarchise said while holding his hand to his forehead. He could feel the viens pulsating in his temples.
"I have some of your wine from South Fort. I hear that is supposed to help." Ammlee said.
"It's worth a try."
Ammlee walked into the pantry and brought out a flask. Sarchise took a big gulp and then handed the flask back and sat down.
"The King's messenger has been here three times this morning, looking for you. I told him to go away until you awoke. He is meeting with the Valkyrie and wants you there also. I don't think that the mountain will come crashing down on us if you don't get to a meeting the moment it starts. You needed your rest and I told him so. I do not like those women anyway, I don't trust them."
"Something about them mystifies me also," he replied. "They have a power over men that scares me. It doesn't seem to faze the Dwarves though, so maybe I am imagining it."
"You are not imaging it; I see how they look at you. They do not look at the Dwarf men that way. Be careful around them," she commented.
"I will," he replied as he headed out the door, after kissing Ammlee goodbye.
When Sarchise arrived at the King’s parlor, Fawn and the King were pouring over a map of the Westwood. The King looked up and said, “I sent my messenger to your chambers three times.”
Sarchise replied, “I was asleep, Sire, I did not get your message.”
Sarchise held his head and the King smiled, “Oh, still feeling the effects of last night? You Humans cannot hold your ale.”
“I was not weaned on the stuff from childhood,” Sarchise replied.
The King leaned his head back and let out a long hard belly laugh.
The loud laughter only made Sarchise’s head hurt more and he let out an involuntary moan, which caused the King to only laugh loader.
“Can we get on with this?” Sarchise finally asked.
The King finally stopped laughing and regained his composure.
“As I was saying,” Fawn started in again, “we are going into the Westwood and we need to talk to the Amlius the Elf.”
“He won’t talk to you,” S
archise commented. “He is afraid of you.”
“We know,” Fawn said. “That is why we are here. We have asked King Cazz’s permission to take you with us. You are his Amlius's friend, he will talk to you.”
“Me?” Sarchise was stunned, “You want me to go with you?”
“Yes, you are the only one the Elf, Amlius, talks to these days. He does not like the Dwarves, he is afraid of the Valkyrie, and he has no contact with men. You have fought alongside him, and he will talk to you,” Fawn explained. "We want to know what evil lives in the lost city, and we hope he knows who put it there and how to destroy it."
“But who will protect me?” Sarchise asked.
“We are fine capable warriors,” Fawn replied defensively.
“No, I don’t mean that, I know you can fight, but who will protect me from you? I have a weak will when I am around you.” Sarchise said. “I am a married man."
It was Fawn’s turn to laugh. Sarchise could not tell if it was a nervous laugh or a mocking laugh.
“Very well,” the King said, “you can take your army with you if you want.” He wasn’t laughing.
Fawn stopped in mid laugh, “A whole dwarf army! That will slow us down! We want to ride hard and fast. We don’t want to be slowed down by an army that on foot.”
“Can you ride double with men and Dwarves on your horses?” the King asked Fawn.
“Easily,” Fawn replied.
“Then you will take Sarchise, Hemlot and six warriors with you on your quest,” The King said.
“Very well,” said Fawn even though she knew it would slow them down.
Sarchise did not like the whole idea, but could tell by the King’s tone that it would not be wise to protest. He just nodded his head in agreement and didn’t say another word.
“We want to leave as soon as possible,” Fawn commented.
“I will make ready then,” Sarchise said.
“I look forward to getting to know you better on our trip, Sarchise,” Fawn said, and then gave him a look that could melt a man’s heart. He was speechless again as she left the room. He knew that she was playing with him, but there was nothing he could do about it.