“Will news about Prince Geltim’s fate do anything to ease the conflict between the Dielderal and yourself?” asked Prince Rigal.
“I do not know,” replied the King. “There is more and then we will return to this question. There was a segment of our population that wanted an end to the war even if it meant breaking the line of succession. The discussion was interrupted by the appearance of more dwarves coming up from the South. Prince Sorel, a grandson of King Alderon, led the group of dissenters to intercept the dwarves. The elves this time, however, did not go to battle the dwarves. They went to turn the dwarves back peacefully so that the Dielderal would not have a new reason to continue the war.”
“Sounds like there is a Junction in the Southern Mountains that is on a well-used path,” commented Alex.
“Yes,” continued the King, “It would appear so. Prince Sorel met the dwarves on friendly terms and convinced them that none of their brothers remained alive up north. The dwarves and the elves spent many weeks together and the dwarves told Prince Sorel of a rich land south of the Piotarimer and invited the elves to settle in it. Prince Sorel returned here and announced that the dissenters were going to populate the new land. Most of the warriors shunned the opportunity, but most of the intellectuals accepted. The smartest of the elves relocated and created a new nation, the nation of Sorelderal.”
“There is a third nation of elves?” puzzled Prince Rigal.
“Yes,” declared King Galever, “And you must travel there for I believe that they will possess the knowledge of what to do about these Universes. They are also the best suited for determining what effect the news about Prince Geltim will have on the Dielderal. I can supply you with a guide to take you most of the way, but my people have not traveled as far south as Sorelderal in many years.”
“I have been over those mountains recently,” stated Alex. “I don’t think that we will need a guide, but anything that you could do in terms of safe passage so that we do not get shot at by your people would be very helpful.”
“I will supply you with a banner of my house,” stated King Galever. “No citizen of Elderal or Sorelderal will harm you under my banner. You will, of course, stop in Dorgun, Land of the Dwarves, on the way. They also will heed my banner. Kaz, will you stay and discuss your problems with me?”
If it will not offend you, King Galever, I will leave one of my father’s subjects with you for the talks. I wish to travel with these strange beings a while longer. A visit to see the dwarves and Sorelderal sounds intriguing and I wish to witness the conclusion of this strange journey.
I understand, Kaz. You have been bitten by an adventurous bug. Go in peace and visit us again.
It would give me great pleasure to visit again, King Galever.
“Well then,” offered the King, “you will stay and refresh yourselves for several days at least. I like to think that there is no place as fine as Elderal and Elderal is yours for the duration of your stay. Whatever you require for the rest of your journey will be supplied. You have honored me with your visit and I wish to be honored again when you have the chance. I will send runners ahead to tell of your coming.”
The visitors spent most of the week in the City of Elderal. A strong, friendly bond was built between the unicorns and the fair elves. Alex and Jenneva spent many hours wandering the paths and studying old scrolls. Prince Rigal and Prince Tergota were inseparable and the elves were fascinated with stories and tales from a dwarf’s point of view. Being among the elves as a friend also brought a new appreciation to Prince Tergota and he vowed to help bring closer ties between Talman and Glendor when they returned home.
In one of the old scrolls, Jenneva found a reference to the demon, Alutar, but her questions on this matter were met with a lack of knowledge on the subject. Jenneva grew restless and worried about Egam and soon Alex ordered the continuance of their journey.
The fifth unicorn remained behind to talk with King Galever and the party set off southward. All along the route, elves came out to greet the strange visitors and wonder at the sight of unicorns, humans, a dwarf and a lost Prince. The villagers brought supplies along with their curiosity and the party was always offered a village to spend the night in.
The journey took several weeks and, finally, they watched the Piotarimer rise from the horizon. Every day they got closer until the mountains towered over them. Alex followed the directions he had been given and they arrived at a large cave entrance. Two dwarves were sitting to one side of the entrance talking, undaunted by the approach of visitors until they looked up and noticed the humans. They leapt to their feet and Prince Tergota strode forward to greet them.
“Greetings!” Prince Tergota exclaimed. “We have come to speak with King Tring of the Land of Dorgun.”
Prince Tergota drew the Dagger of King Arak from its sheath and the Dorgun dwarves jumped back, their own hands going for their weapons. Prince Tergota looked up in surprise and held the dagger out with his two palms facing upward. “This is the Dagger of King Arak,” he explained. “It will inform the King of the purpose of our visit.”
The Dorgun dwarves seeing the relaxed attitude of the rest of the visitors slowly moved forward and inspected the dagger. One of them turned and ran into the cave while the other nodded to Prince Tergota.
“King Tring will be informed shortly,” the Dorgun dwarf said, “We will not have long to wait.”
The rest of the party dismounted and stretched. Alex and Prince Rigal were careful not to rest their hands near their weapons and risk exciting the stranded dwarf. Alex could hear a great deal of commotion emanating from within the cave and thirty minutes later the dwarf messenger reappeared.
“King Tring will see you,” the dwarf messenger stated. “Follow me.”
Prince Tergota took the lead, following the dwarf messenger into the cave. Alex saw with amazement that the cave was loaded with curious dwarves that had been watching them while they waited outside. The stranded dwarf had not been stranded at all. A veritable army awaited in the cave out of sight of the visitors.
Many of the dwarves fell into line at the end of the procession and the tunnels echoed with the sounds of dwarves singing. The songs were quite lyrical, but were heavy on cadence and Alex found himself marching to the dwarves’ rhythm. Amused, he noticed that the entire party was in step to the beat, except the unicorns. The ceilings on the tunnel were quite low and Alex saw that the unicorns had to walk with their heads held low to avoid contact with the stone.
The parade wound itself through the stone corridors, sinking lower and lower until Alex wondered if the tunnels had any bottom at all. The lead dwarf never turned around to see if everyone was keeping up with him. He could tell by the sounds of their feet and the volume of the singing at the rear of the column that his pace was adequate. The tunnels seemed to go on forever with corridors running off to either side or both sides every so often. Sometimes they turned off of what had felt like the main corridor into one of these side tunnels and soon it felt like it was the main tunnel, then they would turn again.
They passed through some circular chambers and Jenneva giggled, recalling her first visit to Egam’s hideaway. She realized the others probably had the feeling of hopelessness that she had felt back then.
Eventually, they came to a very large chamber and Jenneva likened it to King Tugar’s chamber. She was correct in that feeling, as they had just entered the chamber of King Tring, King of Dorgun.
The chamber was much larger than King Tugar’s chamber and certainly more elegant. The walls were covered with colorful paintings depicting dwarves at work in varying professions. There were paintings of excavators, miners, armorers, magicians, merchants, warriors, silversmiths, artists, and even farmers. There was also one section of the wall that was devoted to elves, with paintings of elves in a favorable light and some paintings with both dwarves and elves.
There were also many items hanging on the walls including suits of armor, shields, swords, axes, serving trays, helmets, d
aggers, and picks. Some of the items appeared to be solid gold and others looked like silver. There were also torches at regular intervals and several other tunnels leading out of the chamber.
In the center of the chamber was a large circular arrangement of tiered benches that went three quarters around and three tiers high. The fourth quarter was open and had a small platform with two gold thrones upon it. The whole arrangement gave the appearance of presenting the two thrones as if they were on a stage and the tiers of stone benches were the seats for the audience.
The thrones were empty and the dwarf messenger addressed the group.
“Please, make yourself comfortable. The King and Queen will be here shortly.” He indicated that the visitors should take a seat on the circular benches and dwarves came into the chamber carrying refreshments and pillows for those who felt that the stone benches provided too little comfort.
There were, of course, no seats to accommodate the unicorns, but Kaz and his followers did not seem to take any offense. In fact, Kaz was gazing at the wall paintings and seemed to be quite intrigued with the art form.
Alex heard a great commotion coming from one of the tunnels and the dwarf messenger indicated that the party should stand until the King and Queen were seated.
Chapter 8
Tower of Peace
King Tring and Queen Trana of Dorgun swept into the circular chamber, flowing crimson robes with gold borders trailing behind. King Tring was taller than most dwarves and his intricately carved gold crown with large rubies adorning each upswept pinnacle made him appear even taller. Even though Queen Trana’s crown was a simple golden circlet with a single red ruby in the front, she still towered over the King. The royal couple marched into the chamber and the assembled visitors appeared to go unnoticed until the King and Queen were seated.
“King Tring, Ruler of Dorgun, and Queen Trana bid welcome to their visitors,” heralded the dwarf messenger.
King Tring raised a jewel-studded hand and indicated that the visitors may be seated. Prince Tergota, instead of sitting, walked forward to the center of the amphitheater and bowed to the King.
“King Tring, Queen Trana, I, Prince Tergota, descended from the line of King Arak and King Frakis, bring greetings from King Tugar of Talman,” he declared while holding forth the Dagger of King Arak upon two upraised palms.
King Tring nodded and the dwarf messenger gently lifted the dagger from Prince Tergota’s hands and presented it to the King. The King studied the dagger and returned it to the messenger.
“Rise, Prince Tergota of Talman,” spoke the King. “Rise and introduce your fellow travelers.”
Prince Tergota rose and introduced the members of the party as each came forward and bowed to King Tring. Throughout the day and into the next, the visitors related the tales of their travels and the theory of Universes. King Tring did not seem as surprised about the existence of other Universes as the elves had been. Prince Tergota also noticed that Price Rigal was treated as a visiting dignitary with none of the usual hostilities frequently present between the two races. The dwarf Prince felt a need to question these aberrations.
“King Tring,” Prince Tergota began, “I am pleased that you have treated Prince Rigal with proper respect, but I must admit that it puzzles me. Have you not had troubles with the elves?”
The dwarf King scowled at Prince Tergota’s question, but after a few moments he smiled. “No, Prince Tergota, we do not have any problems with our relationship with the elves. King Solva of Sorelderal is a close friend and our peoples trade freely with one another. We understand that the Dielderal have an unusual hatred for dwarves, but they have never come as far south as Dorgun and we have no need to travel that far north. Prince Rigal is as welcome in Dorgun as any of your party.”
“You do not appear to be surprised at our description of Universes and Junctions,” continued Prince Tergota. “Is this a theory that is known to your people?”
“We know the theory of Universes,” declared King Tring, “but travel between Universes is forbidden.”
“Forbidden?” exclaimed Prince Tergota. “Do you not desire to visit Lanto and walk in the lands of your ancestors? I know that I certainly do.”
“It is forbidden!” shouted King Tring leaping to his feet, his face distorted by rage. Queen Trana reached out her hand, gently consoling the dwarf King. Alex watched the dwarf King start to regain his calm stability. The shaking of the King’s limbs moderated and his face ceased twitching. Alex realized that there was more than anger in the King’s words, MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in there was fear. Alex moved next to Prince Tergota and laid a hand on his shoulder.
“Your Highness,” Alex began, “please accept our apologies for speaking of things that we do not know enough of. We have no desire to violate your laws or to cause strife in your home. If we have overstepped the bounds of your hospitality, we apologize. Your welcome to us has been most gracious.”
King Tring composed himself and sat back down. “No, my friends, it is I who must apologize. I fear that you know little of traveling between Universes and the dangers inherent in that travel. It is time for you to journey on to Sorelderal to speak with King Solva. Queen Trana and I will accompany you on the trip.”
The King issued orders and dwarves started scurrying around preparing for the journey. The King and Queen sat in a two-wheeled cart beautifully decorated in crimson with a gold fringe around the three open sides. Two sturdy-looking dwarves drew the cart and the procession was led through the tunnels by a band of torch-bearing dwarves.
About fifteen minutes later, the procession burst into the brilliant sunlight on the south side of the mountains. Six dwarves continued to lead the parade carrying a banner with gold picks crossed on a field of bright crimson with a golden border. Prince Rigal hoisted the banner of Elderal and the colorful entourage wound down the mountain path toward the lush forest below.
From their vantage point on the mountainside, Alex could clearly see large towers and tops of buildings protruding out of the forest canopy below. The parade traveled down the mountainside and into the dense forest. The trail leading to Sorelderal was wide enough for wagons to proceed side-by-side if they wished and was better maintained than most Targan roads. Alex reflected on the close relations between Dorgun and Sorelderal as they passed dwarves and elves together on the forest road. Trading wagons were using the trail in each direction and most appeared to know each other.
The road was fairly straight and the distance to Sorelderal was not very far. Soon the forest opened into a massive clearing dotted with large stone buildings. As in Elderal, Sorelderal was planned to include nature as an essential part of the city, with parks, flower gardens, winding paths and pools carefully placed throughout the clearing and the surrounding woods. Unlike Elderal, stone buildings were abundant. The parks were dotted with fountains containing exquisite metal sculptures.
Alex gazed left and right as they rode into Sorelderal and inhaled deeply. The fragrance of honey mixed delightfully with a thousand floral scents mingled with the appetizing smell of roasting meats and rich spices. The quiet roar of a nearby stream competed with the serenity of a thousand bird voices and musical elf talk. Groups of elves could be heard singing in the parks as they passed. The dress of the elves was unlike anything Alex had ever seen. Where in Glendor or Elderal the elves normally confined themselves to the colors of the forest, Sorelderal was ablaze with every color of the rainbow. The men and women of Sorelderal were dressed more gaily than any people he had ever seen. The well laid out paths were spotless and the populace appeared to move along at a leisurely pace.
Sorelderal was larger than any Targan city and the trip through the city actually took longer than the trip through the forest from Dorgun. King Tring halted the procession at an enormous round tower whose base was larger around than Targa’s Royal Palace. Alex gazed skyward and could not see the top of the smooth white tower.
King Tring helped Queen Trana out of the cart and the party gathered arou
nd them.
“This is the Tower of Peace,” declared King Tring. “The tower stands at the center of the city and was built by elves and dwarves together. King Solva awaits us at the top, eager to show you the view of Sorelderal.”
The dwarf King led the procession into the Tower of Peace and down a straight pathway that led to the center. The tower had corridors running off of the main pathway that appeared to be ever-smaller rings encircling the inner chamber of the tower. After a few minutes of walking they came to the large, round inner chamber. The room reminded Alex of a large wheel lying on its side with a hub that you could walk entirely around in the center. Surrounding the hub was a spiral pathway that led up towards the top of the tower. The pathway was wide enough to accommodate two sets of mining tracks climbing up into the tower with plenty of walking room between them. The tracks started in the large round chamber and there was an elegant wagon sitting at the end of one of the sets of tracks. The wagon was richly upholstered and had a seating capacity of twenty.
A pair of elves welcomed them to the Tower of Peace and showed each member of the party to a seat in the wagon. The elves scrutinized each member as they escorted them to the seats. When everyone was seated one of the elves walked over to a pipe, which seemed to disappear up into the tower and struck it several times with a silver hammer. He belatedly added one additional stroke to his hammering and smiled. He indicated that the unicorns would be able to safely walk up the pathway and wished them a safe journey.
In just a moment the wagon started sliding up the set of rails, climbing into the tower. The momentum of the wagon increased until they were moving slightly faster than a person would walk. The unicorns had no trouble keeping up with the smoothly climbing wagon. The center hub had little windows occasionally visible from the wagon and Alex could see a cable moving inside the hub. Alex leaned out of the wagon and peered at the track in front of them. In the center of the track he could see a similar cable threaded through a series of smooth metal loops. Looking behind the wagon, Alex could not see any cable and wondered.
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