Chasing the Dragon

by Jason Halstead

  Mordrim turned to look at Patrina and Alto. She shook her head and grimaced while Alto answered. "I fear not, good woman. Another time, perhaps."

  "And who might you be?" Taroak asked, peering up at Alto with his good eye.

  Mordrim chuckled, "This here’s Lord Alto, thane of Rockwood and hero of the north!"

  "It’s true, then?" Taroak asked after a quick glance at his wife.

  "It is. I was there," Mordrim said. "Seen it with my own eyes."

  "I heard Rockwood wasn’t going well," Taroak said.

  Mordrim shrugged. "Some greedy councilmen can’t see what’s best for all over their own love of gold."

  Taroak sighed and glanced at his wife. "It’s a hard thing to give up."

  "Why are you here?" Gemma asked. "Or have you come to show off the fancy people you know?"

  "Gemma!" Taroak scolded his wife.

  "No," Mordrim said. "We are in a hurry. Are the passages still open to Havara?"

  Gemma hissed and rushed forward to jab her finger against Mordrim’s breastplate. "You’ve done enough! You’re not to go there, not ever! Get out of my halls. You’re not welcome here!"

  "Gemma, that’s enough," Taroak said in a calm but firm voice. He laid a hand on her forearm and lowered her hand away from Mordrim’s chest. "Mordrim knows how things stand between us, but what’s past is past. That was over forty years past now. Least we can do is hear what he’s got to say."

  Alto stepped forward so he was at Mordrim’s side. "I don’t know what problems there may be here, but I must ask you to put them aside for now. There are people’s lives at stake here. That, and maybe more."

  "That never stopped this fool man in the past!" Gemma muttered.

  Mordrim took a deep breath and let it out. "Maybe I shouldn’t have come here, but we got nowhere else to go. We believe there’s a woman and a man—friends and family—held prisoner in them mountains. The Order of the Dragon’s got them and if we don’t get them back, bad things will happen."

  "To them, sure," Gemma spat.

  "No," Alto shook his head. "The man I got my answers from told me they have plans, plans that are far reaching. The woman is my sister, a peasant girl by birth. Would so much be risked for a simple farmer’s daughter?"

  Gemma’s eyes creased with confusion. "I don’t understand."

  "A noble from Shazamir courted my sister and married her, then he took her on a retreat so that he could reveal that he was a member of the Order of the Dragon. The same order that butchered our family and hurt her."

  "Hurt her? Why not kill her?" Gemma interrupted.

  Alto clenched his jaw and forced a neutral tone as he said, "They had their sport with her and would have killed her when they were done, save that I returned in time. I killed them."

  Gemma’s eyes widened in understanding. "Well, I’m sorry for your sister. And you, to be fair. But I don’t see how this is any of our responsibility. Last time Mordrim came storming through with one of his schemes, things went poorly."

  "Is that how you remember it?" Mordrim asked.

  "That’s how it was!" Gemma snapped. She opened her mouth to say more but Patrina stopped her.

  "Lady Gemma, Alto brought Caitlyn to my people. I am Lady Patrina, daughter of the Jarl of Holgasford. My father took her in and made her one of us."

  "So?"

  "So Alto has been made a kelgryn noble and that makes her one by relation," Patrina said. "But that doesn’t even matter. If my father will go to war for any kelgryn held without cause, imagine what he’ll do for someone he considers family?"

  "I don’t know," Gemma challenged. "What will he do?"

  "When I was captured, he followed after with every warrior he could spare and some he could not," Patrina said.

  "And no matter how mighty the kelgryn are, the Shazamir have numbers far greater and wizards at their disposal. We have Kar."

  The wizard stiffened. "I’m no kelgryn," he protested. "In fact, I—"

  "Or if we can get in there, we can put a stop to this before it starts. It’s true what is said of me. I killed a dragon to rescue the woman I love. I love Caitlyn and Namitus no less and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to save them."

  Taroak studied Alto while Gemma twisted her beard in her fingers. Mordrim’s brother nodded. "Answer this question, was coming here Mordrim’s idea?"

  "Only at the last," Alto said without looking at the dwarf. "He’s pledged his service to Lady Patrina, and she and I are pledged to each other. I needed a way to get through these hills and only when we had no other choices did Mordrim bring us here."

  Taroak turned to his wife. She pulled at the twists in her beard and frowned.

  "By Preth's spear, we're wasting time!" Garrick blurted out. "Are you the man of this, uh, home or not?"

  Taroak drew himself up and squinted at the barbarian. "We're civilized folk down here," he growled. "My wife and I are a team. Partners. Equals. We agree on a thing or it doesn't happen."

  Garrick opened his mouth but Patrina glared at him and said, "Garrick, that's enough."

  "No, it's not," the barbarian spouted. "I spent time with a clan of my kin in the mountains and one day a boy came running out of the mountains. He was their son. He watched his brother fall to a raiding party of ogres and he ran back to warn the others. We made ready and fought them when they came and that boy saw his brother, mother, and sister all die one by one. In the end, the ogres were driven back, but their home was burned and he alone survived from his clan."

  Everyone stared at Garrick, waiting for him to continue. It seemed he'd said his piece, for no more came from his mouth. Alto nodded and turned. "I know how that boy feels. It's a terrible thing to not have a family to lean on."

  "What happened to the boy?" Carson asked.

  "Borwin," Garrick said. "His name is Borwin. I took him to my people where he was accepted as one of their own. He will grow strong and proud, but he will be scarred by what he saw that day."

  "And the memories that fade," Alto added in a somber tone.

  "What's your point?" Taroak asked.

  "Dwarves really are thickheaded," Kar muttered. "Even this bumbling oaf knows the value of family and how foolish it is to let something come between it."

  Gemma's eyes narrowed as she stared at the wizard. She snorted and waved her hand. "Fine, take them down the tunnels, but don't you dare go there, Taroak! I'll not risk your other eye, nor the thought of raising our young alone."

  "Your young? You've got a child?" Mordrim asked.

  Taroak glanced at his wife's midsection. "Soon," he said. Gemma's cheeks flushed red enough to show over the hair on her cheeks.

  Mordrim grinned. "That's good to hear! Our line lives on."

  "You could have settled down," Taroak said. "You still can."

  Mordrim snorted. "Keeping this lot from getting themselves killed doesn't leave me time nor the chance to meet many fine dwarven women."

  Garrick opened his mouth but Mordrim stomped on his foot to silence him. It worked.

  "So we're to be off then?" Carson asked after an awkward silence fell on them.

  "Aye, come this way," Taroak offered. He turned and waved with his hand, and then stopped and leaned over to give Gemma a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back safe and sound, I promise."

  "You'd better," she muttered before she stormed off deeper into their home.

  Taroak sighed and shrugged, and then motioned again for them to follow him.

  As they filed after him through the tunnels that made up the dwarven home, Patrina glanced at Garrick and asked, "What were you doing with those people? The ones you said were killed."

  Garrick seemed to ignore her question for a moment before he said, "I was courting their daughter, Kendall."

  Patrina stopped, drawing a cry from Kar as he nearly ran into her. She stared at the back of the barbarian as he kept walking until Kar cleared his throat behind her, startling her into movement again.

  At the other end of the hall, Taro
ak grabbed a few torches and passed them to the others, and then he said, "Prepare yourselves to put your eyes on beauty the likes of which few mortals can claim to see and live to speak of."

  "Is it guarded?" Alto asked.

  The dwarf reached up to touch the scar on his cheek. He glanced at Mordrim and said, "Only by whatever curse you bring with you."

  Alto frowned and glanced at his dwarven friend. Mordrim shook his head. "These men aren't the greedy sort; they'll do fine," he said.

  Taroak nodded. "For their sake, I hope so."

  Taroak drew back the bar on a door and opened it up to reveal an unlit tunnel that stretched into darkness before them. Without another word, he stepped into the tunnel and led them into the unknown.

  Chapter 28

  "Were you serious?" Patrina asked the barbarian as they walked down the passage.

  Garrick turned and let her see his furrowed brow.

  "The girl. You said her name was Kendall?"

  Garrick shrugged. "She was nice. Strong in body, mind, and heart."

  Patrina waited until she was sure the northerner would say no more before she said, "I wish I could have met her."

  "I’m glad you didn’t," he said with a ghost of a smile. "She had enough troubling ideas of her own."

  Patrina laughed. "Are you saying I’d be a bad influence?"

  "Be silent," Taroak called back to them. "We’re almost there!"

  Garrick offered Patrina a shrug and then reached for the sword on his back. Patrina smiled as she pulled her own axe into her hands and made ready for what lay ahead.

  "This is new," Mordrim said a few minutes later when they were stopped by a heavy iron and wood door that spanned the tunnel.

  "The king didn’t want nobody going in there," Taroak said. "Just like he didn’t want nothing come out of it."

  "You guys notice we’re back to normal?" Carson asked.

  Taroak glanced at him and then looked at the others. His gaze rested on Mordrim, asking the question without saying the words.

  "Hopefully no worse for wear," Kar said. "Might want to head back and take that lovely dwarven lady up on her offer for supper."

  Mordrim sighed. "Was a touch of magic to get us here quick," he explained to his brother. "We wasn’t sure when it would wear off."

  Taroak frowned and turned back to the door. "I’ll open the door for you, but I won’t go no farther. It’s to be locked behind you, too."

  "How do we get out?" Alto asked.

  "I’ll return every day about the same time for a week. If you’re not out by then, you won’t be leaving," he said. "Truth be told, if you’re not out in a day, you’ll never see the light of day again. Speaking of light, leave your torches here."

  "Is it that bad in there?" Alto asked as he dipped his torch into a bucket filled with dark water. "You said it was beautiful."

  He shrugged and glanced at Mordrim before turning back to the door and pulling out a key from beneath his shirt. "Watch out for the snakes," he said as the lock clicked. Taroak twisted a bar, unclasping two thick steel arms from one another. He spun them away and then pulled out a secondary locking bar before pulling the door open.

  Mordrim met Alto’s gaze and motioned for the man to go in. Alto nodded and led the others in, stopping at the edge of Taroak’s torchlight. Mordrim turned to his brother and stared at him. "It was good to see you," Mordrim offered.

  Taroak sighed and glanced back up the tunnel. "Funny how things change."

  "I’m not laughing."

  Taroak’s expression stayed somber. "I used to catch her staring into space at times. She was thinking, and I feared she was thinking about what might have been. I was afraid what might happen if you ever came back. Just like I was afraid I might get word one day that you might get yourself killed on one of your fool adventures."

  "You deserve a woman who cares that much about you," Mordrim said. "She’s a battleaxe, but there’s no finer weapon to have on your side."

  "You’re right, she is a battleaxe!" Taroak smirked for a moment before he laid his hand on his brother’s shoulder. "Be careful, Mord. We’re not the foolish children we once was. I heard tell of things getting worse in them mountains. And that means they’ll be worse in there."

  "I’ll be careful," Mordrim promised. "Now you get back and prove to Gemma that you’re a better man than I ever was."

  Taroak chuckled. "It’s not like anyone ever doubted that!"

  The two dwarves embraced and then parted ways. No sooner had Mordrim stepped through than the door swung shut behind him and plunged them all into darkness. "What’re you all looking at?" the dwarf griped.

  "Uh, nothing," Carson said. "It’s pitch black."

  "I can see," Patrina reminded them. "A little, at least. Enough."

  "Aye, it’s enough," Mordrim said. "My tunnel vision’s out of practice but there’s only one way to go and it’s a smooth tunnel for a piece."

  "What are we going to come up against?" Alto asked.

  "And what happened between you and your brother?" Patrina added.

  "Let’s get a move on," Mordrim said as he pushed past the others and took the lead. "We’re headed to a holy place. Saint Havar’s about more than just duty and honor."

  "Like what?" Alto asked.

  "Farmers will call upon Saint Leander to bless their crops and animals," Karthor’s voice floated in the darkness. "Though we associate his light with truth and purity. Havar stands for duty to some; to others he stands as an agent of binding and obligation."

  "What’s that mean?" Patrina asked.

  "Subjugation," Mordrim said. "Slavery. Not all splisskin are bad news but the ones that live in these mountains answer to no one but their masters. They keep to themselves mostly, but only because they’ve got enough to keep themselves busy. If they run short, they’re not shy about taking what they need."

  "You’re not making much sense," Garrick said.

  Mordrim muttered something in his own tongue that seemed to absorb into the rocks around them. He walked in silence for a few minutes until a distant speck of light grew bright enough to convince them all that they weren’t imagining things. It was then the dwarf called a halt and turned to face them.

  "Slaves," he spat out. "The splisskin take slaves. They use them for working and for eating. Just like cattle, except people don’t take kindly to that and they don’t usually have children if they know their son or daughter’s going to be eaten."

  His words were met with gasps and muttered oaths. He nodded, unseen in the dark, and went on.

  "Gemma, Taroak, and I was thick as thieves back when we was young. We grew up together, playing, fighting, and learning. The two of them ended up getting on together but I couldn’t stop fancying her for myself. It got so that I couldn’t think of nothing but her, at least until one day she’d been snatched up by splisskin raiders when she was doing chores."

  Mordrim stopped and cleared his throat. He turned and stared down the tunnel towards the distant light. "It was this same tunnel, but years long past," he continued after a while. "Taroak was determined to save her. I thought her gone. We’d been told that when those snakes took a person, there was no hope for them. Their soul was gone even if you could find a way to get their body back."

  "But you still went," Patrina prompted him.

  "Aye," Mordrim agreed. "We went. It was a fool’s errand, or so I thought, but I couldn’t risk him getting her back and her thinking I hadn’t tried, too. We went and we saw what they guarded and it made me mad."

  "What was it?" Alto asked.

  "Gems, jewels, veins of gold and silver and other metals so beautiful the world’s never seen the like of it." Mordrim’s voice turned breathy as he spoke. He shook his head and found his strength again before he added, "I got so caught up on it, I started trying to take what I could."

  "Taroak stopped you?" Patrina asked.

  He grunted. "Kept telling me we had to get Gemma, but I figured she was dead and gone. The wealth of the mountains
could offer us something real, though, or so I thought. There was nothing more important to me. I was mad with lust for it. Then Taroak and I fought. That’s how he lost his eye."

  Mordrim paused for the gasps in the darkness. He hung his head and then lifted it up. "Seeing him bleeding like that done something to me. It put my mind back right and I realized what I done. I begged him to come with me, to just leave and never go back. He wouldn’t have none of it but I was scared of what I done to him. I fled the halls and haven’t been back since. I turned my back on both of them and gave them up for dead.

  "But they wasn’t dead," he said. "He found her and killed off the splisskin that took her. Everybody else shunned ’em both, fearing they was in league with the snakes or some other dark power. That’s why they made their home out here, so far from the rest of the mines. The king let them, knowing that this way Taroak would keep the tunnel under guard, if nothing else."

  They stood in silence for several minutes. Alto found the dwarf’s outline in the dark and placed his hand on the man’s shoulder. "I will place my life in your hands any day."

  "As will I," Patrina offered. "Accepting your service is not a decision I will ever repent."

  Mordrim sniffed and nodded. "I never seen another treasure like the one under here. Keep your wits about you. I’m saying there’s fell magic about it."

  Kar chuckled. "Gold certainly does have a magic of its own."

  "We’re wasting time," Garrick grumbled. "There’s snakemen that need killing."

  Mordrim turned and stared at the dark shape of the barbarian. Garrick shrugged and added, "I can’t think of a better man to kill snakes with."

  Mordrim turned away and rubbed the dust from the tunnels out of his eyes. He sniffed and started towards the light, each step bringing him closer to a memory and a destiny.

  Chapter 29

  Even Mordrim added his gasp as they stared at an immense cavern filled with crystals and ore that defied nature and shown with a brilliance all its own. The floor of the cavern was split by chasms and cliffs, yet paths led through it from the various caves that allowed entrance to the holy place. Above them all on a mesa in the midst of the cavern, a gleaming silver ramp rose around a column into the ceiling.