Elvenshore: 02 - The Lost Cities of Elvenshore

by Clark Graham

  It was Amlius who looked up first. He noticed a slight discoloration in the rock. When he brushed on it, the old dirt fell away, revealing a hand -sized circle with the picture of an ancient Dwarf king on it. Sarchise held up his torch and found another dark spot and was soon brushing the dirt away on that one too. King Cazz and Fawn were soon brushing the dirt away on other circles. Altogether there were seven stone circles with seven different ancient Dwarf kings engraved on them.

  “It’s something we learned from the Dwarves,” Sarchise commented, “That is what Amlius said when we opened the records vault. I thought that was curious at the time, but here it is.”

  “Yes, it’s the same type of lock,” Amlius said, “But do we know the combination to open it?”

  “Which king came first?” Sarchise asked.

  “That’s easy, these are the same kings engraved upon the history wall in High Mountain. King Lorezus,” Cazz said pointing to the middle one.

  Sarchise pushed it in until it clicked. Cazz called them out one at a time in order and Sarchise pushed in each circle in turn. When the final one was pushed in, the wall started to rumble and a large square door then it slid straight down into the floor.

  They all stood there speechless and then slowly put their torches forward until they could see a long passageway behind where the door had been. The passageway turned a corner. Light was coming in from around that corner.

  Cazz was the first to start down the passageway, followed closely by Amlius. Fawn and Sarchise brought up the rear.

  The four of them walked slowly down the passageway. It scared them to think that nobody had thought to bring a weapon. When they turned the corner, each one stopped with wide eyed amazement.

  A small shaft cut up to the surface of the mountain let in a beam of sunlight that shone into a large cut crystal rock that reflected the light to every corner of a very large chamber. The chamber was completely filled with buildings of all sizes. All of the buildings looked as if they were built out of solid gold bricks. In the center of the all the buildings was a large palatial looking structure that was so high the top of the chamber formed its ceiling. Even the roads appeared to be made of silver cobblestones.

  “Vil Loree,” Amlius said. “So my father spoke the truth. The Mountains of Iron was the name the Dwarves gave these mountains, but the Elves always said it should have been called the Mountains of Gold, because that is what the Dwarves found here in over abundance. They kept it all in one place behind a locked passageway.”

  “A passageway that only a Dwarf would know how to access. It is no wonder no one has found it all these years,” Sarchise replied.

  The group slowly made their way down the street towards the palace. As Cazz walked by he would touch the gold bricks of the buildings. They had not tarnished. The silver of the streets had tarnished a little, but that was easily remedied.

  When they arrived at the steps of the palace, they found two Dwarf soldiers, made out of solid gold, holding battleaxes. One was on each side of the door, like a guard would have been. King Cazz moved past the guards and into the palace. It was a large circular room with columns around the outside. On each column was the likeness of the Dwarf Kings of old. The crowns of the kings formed the tops of the column and their feet formed the bottom.

  The floor of the room was mosaic tiles with the seal of the ancient Dwarf kings of the Mountains of Iron, consisting of a sword and a battleaxe. They are the two favorite weapons of the Dwarves. At the end of the room, up to steps from the main floor, was the throne. It was made of solid gold and was a very intricate design. King Cazz went up and sat in it, to try it out for size. Amlius and Sarchise noticed it too, but not for the same reason Cazz did. Amlius was the first one to say something when the two of them walked up to the throne, “That’s amazing.”

  “Yes, it’s an exact duplicate of the throne in the city of Tarlina,” Sarchise added.

  “Except this one is made out of gold and that one was made out of silver,” Amlius said.

  King Cazz now got up and looked at it more closely, “This is not Dwarf workmanship; this was made by an Elf. Dwarves build things for function, Elves make things with artistry.”

  “You’re right, it looks to be Elf made,” admitted Amlius.

  “It is beautiful,” Fawn said as she touched it, slowly sliding her hand across the top of it.

  The four of them continued their explorations. In the back of the palace was a big open area with a huge fire pit in the middle of it. The grating over the pit was very rusted from many years of disuse. Off to one side were outbuildings for the preparing of food. It too had a lot of rusty tools and cooking equipment in it. Tables and chairs were stacked in another outbuilding, as if those who put them there would be using them in a day or two. Most of the wood was rotten and all of them were unusable.

  Sarchise noticed a shrine at the back of the pit area and walked over there. He was soon joined by the rest. There were two crypts, made out of pure gold, that had a lot of Dwarf runes on them.

  When Cazz walked up he started reading it. ‘Here lies Uen the throne builder, brother of Anatornic. Uen was a friend of the Dwarves and worker of fine metal. He slew the mad King Aarlious of the Elves and ended the Dwarf Elf war. He was slain by the forces of Chancellor Relios, his own nephew, while defending the Golden City from attacking Elves. His body was found next to the body of Dragar, King of the Dwarves. They were friends in life and companions in death.’

  “What does the other one say?” asked Sarchise.

  Cazz read, ‘Here lies Larious, commander of the Elf armies. Upon refusing to attack the Mountains of Iron, he defected to the Dwarves. He was slain by the forces of Chancellor Relios, while defending the Golden City from the attacking Elves.’

  “So this solves all the mystery of all those years,” Sarchise said.

  “Yes, the Elves didn’t destroy their records from the Dwarf wars, they altered them,” Amlius said, “And that is how my father saw the Vil Loree; he was here. They had the combination of the door from Turis. They made it into the Golden City, but when they realized that they had killed two of their own, they left without taking anything.”

  “Yes, and that also explained the downfall of Chancellor Relios,” Sarchise said, “He was forced out because his greed had cost the lives of two Elves.”

  “Worse than that, the Elves had killed their own, which is the worst thing and Elf can do,” Amlius added.

  “They requested that all the histories be destroyed, so that this tragedy would never come to light. They killed Turis, not because he lied about the location of Vil Loree, but because he failed to tell them that there were Elves living there,” Sarchise said.

  Fawn looked back towards the throne room, “Uen made a throne for his friend King Dragar and then he also made another one for his brother, Anatornic. He was a great craftsman.”

  “Yes, the beauty of his handiwork still survives,” Arlius said.

  “These Elves will stay here forever as honored guests, and you too Amlius, when you pass away, I will have you buried next to them,” King Cazz decreed.

  “Not I, King Cazz. I want my body to fertilize the roots of the Ornamac tree when I go,” Amlius declined.

  The King shook his head. “Even when we offer high honors, the Elf is disagreeable.”

  The rest laughed at that.

  A Feast for All of Elvenshore

  The three of them spent the rest of the day exploring the city. It looked like the main purpose of the city was the palace in the center. The rest of the buildings were servant quarters, cooks’ quarters, areas for preparing food and drink. There were enough barracks for a large army. The buildings nearest to the cavern entrance were to house guards.

  King Cazz could not be moved out of the palace once he went back in there. So the other went down to make the announcement of the finding of the Golden City.

  Soon the city was full of Dwarves, exploring or just sitting and enjoying the splendor. Messengers were sent
to the Lonely Mountains and High Mountain to announce the cities discovery.

  Amlius’s joy was full, but with Dwarves coming from near and far, The Mountains were getting too crowded with Dwarves for him. He decided to go back to the Ornamac tree. He and Sarchise rode out as far as the Fort on the plains of Zor. There Oswin arranged for him to be escorted back into the Westwood by a few hundred Dwarves.

  The men of the cities along the King’s road were amazed when hundreds upon hundreds of Dwarves came out of their mountains to travel. They knew that there was something large afoot. It did not take long before everyone in the land of Elvenshore was aware that the Golden City had been found.

  King Cazz sent out invitations to all the leaders of the land of Elvenshore for a great feast in the Golden City. King Mortimur and the newly elected governors of the lower kingdoms all were on their way. The Queen of the Valkyries was too old, but she was happy to let Fawn represent her there, along with Alidia and Sharis. Amlius was invited, but he said he had seen it and now could die a happy Elf, having kept his promise to his father. The Governor of South Fort was most delighted to make it. King Therin of High Mountain and King and the King of the Lonely Mountains were going to able to attend it also.

  In preparing for the feast, Cazz sent out hunters near and far and wood gatherers as well. He also purchased the best ales from the other Dwarf Kingdoms, cask upon cask full. He had it all transported in to the Mountains of Iron. Bread was baked around the clock and all the cheese in the land was brought up. All of the old rotten furniture was broken up for the fire.

  The King wanted all new tables and chairs for putting around the fire pit. A new iron grate was built for the fire pit. All new kitchen utensils were brought in.

  It was a great day for the land of Elvenshore. All of the nations were at peace. Never in the history of the land had all of its rulers come together in one place to celebrate. The King’s road was now patrolled by the armies of King Mortimur and were safe for traveling again.

  As people flowed to Golden City, they brought with them the abundance of the land. To the delight of King Cazz, more people and food gathered to the gates in front of the Mountains of Iron. Tents and pavilions were erected to house them, because the mountains had used up all of its extra space.

  Sarchise did not like the massive crowds and thought about visiting his friend Amlius. King Cazz would not hear of it.” You are an honored guest. It is as important that you show up as it is that I do.”

  The King did not go into detail as to why, but one does not defy a King, so Sarchise resigned himself.

  The old guard post was not even exempt from the crush of the crowd. One day when Sarchise was seeking solace, he went up there to find it was standing room only. King Cazz had brought a Feldinor and King Mortimur and their entourages up there to show them the view. Dejected, Sarchise made his way back to his living quarters and hid out there, playing with his sons.

  The day of the feast arrived. King Cazz had set up a large table for the royalty of the Mountains of Iron. The King and his wife would sit in the middle, and then Sarchise would sit on the right. The King's two sons were too small to come to the feast, but one day they would sit next to the King and Sarchise would be seated three to the right. Across from the King would be the Kings of the Dwarves, King Mortimur of men and the four Governors of the land, with their wives and adult children.

  Making up the rest of the circle would be men and Dwarves of Elvenshore. Each King or Governor was allowed to bring a certain number with them. Everyone was dressed in their best clothes and uniforms. It was a spectacles of different colored clothing. There were the Greens and the Browns that the Dwarves loved, King Mortimur's red uniform and then reds, yellows, and blues that the Humans tended to enjoy, and the ceremonial white robes of the Valkyrie.

  The Crystal hanging from the ceiling reflected the starlight down on the crowd until the bonfire was lit, after that the bonfire was the dominate light. The original builders had set the city around the bonfire pit in a way that allowed the fire to reflect against the golden walls that surrounded it. When the crowd had all gathered and the food was being passed around, King Cazz began the festivities with an announcement.

  "Welcome, friends from near and far. This golden city does not belong to one Dwarf king, or even all the Dwarf kings, nor does it belong to just the Dwarves, but it belongs to all of Elvenshore from the North to the South and from the East to the West. In times of peace in the land, this city will be open to all those that wish to walk herein."

  The crowd roared its approval. King Cazz continued, "Let's mark this day, each and every year, when all of Elvenshore came to the Golden City in peace as the day of the Golden Feast. Each year on this day, a feast for all of the rulers of the land will be given here in the Golden City."

  Another roar of approval erupted from the crowd.

  "Before we eat and celebrate we have one order of business to take care of," Cazz said. Then he said something in old Dwarfish that Sarchise didn't understand, but he recognized what was going on. He looked at the other end of the King's table. Fawn had slipped in without his noticing and sat down next to the Queen. After Cazz had finished what he way saying Fawn nodded her head. The King started talking in old Dwarfish again and turned to Sarchise this time.

  The whole crowd was waiting for a response from him. Sarchise whispered to the King, "not this again."

  "At least you have met this one before today. You even love her," Cazz whispered back.

  Sarchise let out a sigh and then nodded. The crowd went wild, cheering and clapping, especially Fawn who was overjoyed that Sarchise had said yes.

  Cazz continued, "There is no wedding ceremony in Valkyrie tradition, so they have adopted ours for the occasion." Then Cazz clapped his hands and the feast began.

  A Night Under the Stars

  The food on large platters was brought from table to table by the maidens. All one had to do was point at what type of food you wanted and it was given to you. The Dwarf food had been mixed with that food brought by guests and everyone was delighted by what was served. Sarchise ate the rich foods of the Dwarves as he enjoyed that the best.

  When it came time for the hails and the cheers and the drinking of ale, King Cazz gave Sarchise the first hail. Everyone drained their mugs. It was then that Sarchise noticed that his ale had been watered down. He looked up at the server maiden who had just poured it and she smiled and winked at him. Fawn got the next hail, so Sarchise watched the server maiden and she was only pouring his drink and Fawn’s, nobody else’s. Sarchise smiled to himself, 'That is why the Valkyrie seemed to drink us under the table at all these feasts. They cheat.'

  It made sense to Sarchise that Fawn didn't want him in his normal post -feast stupor on their wedding night. That is why she was sharing the secret of the Valkyrie. The Valkyrie had centuries of dealings with the Dwarves; they must have a lot of different ways to cope with the Dwarfish extremes. Sarchise had just hit upon the one.

  He smiled and leaned forward as someone hailed King Cazz. When his eyes met Fawn’s, he held up his mug before he drained it. She smiled and did the same.

  When half of the crowd was falling down drunk and the other half was starting to leave, Fawn and Sarchise made their exit. They slipped up to the old watch post where Sarchise told Fawn to wait there. It was a warm night and she soon took off her outer layer of clothing. When Sarchise returned he had brought furs to lie on. The two entangled their arms and started kissing.

  Suddenly Fawn stopped kissing and asked, "What if King Cazz comes up here?"

  "I have twenty Dwarf guards at the base of the corridor with instructions not to let anyone up here, especially King Cazz."

  Fawn relaxed and started kissing him again. They got lost in the night and in each other’s arms. In the morning while they lay there asleep in all their naked glory. They didn't notice the footsteps running up the corridor. Suddenly King Cazz burst through the archway.

  He was breathing so hard he c
ould hardly talk. Fawn and Sarchise were grabbing at blankets trying to cover up.

  "It's the Elves," King Cazz panted. He sat down heavily. "A messenger has just arrived. Seven ships full of Elves have just arrived at South Fort. The Elves are returning to Elvenshore."