Reborn: Book 2 (Chronicles of Ghost Company)

by Shawn Muller

  The wall itself, stood almost as high as Castle Doorengaan’s, reaching close to thirty meters I guessed, with the outer side of the wall being very smooth. This would make scaling the walls very difficult as one could not find a hand hold at all.

  Once again we continued up the steep stairs, our destination close at hand now. Ornate pillars lined the stair case now, carved with scenes of dwarven lives and culture. At the top of the stairs stood two massive dwarf sculptures, depicting the founders of the dwarven race. Their solemn looking faces eternally staring out over the city of Dwarfinaan.

  Before us stood the council building of the dwarves. A wide flagstone path led from the stairs straight to a double door entrance. The front of the building had massive stone pillars reaching out to support an overhang of the building. The entire face of the building, all six stories of it, was covered in a white limestone finish, a stark contrast to the dull browns of the city below it.

  The pillars holding the overhang were also carved in dwarven figures depicting various scenes of battle against everything from other dwarves to humans to goblins to orcs to trolls.

  Windows lined the upper stories, their wooden frames painted black to stand out from the white walls. Here and there were balconies which stood out as well, with a large balcony right on the top floor where the main council sat apparently. The bottom floor though, had no such windows or any other entrance other than the main one we were approaching.

  Once again I asked the warleader and he politely informed me that in a time of war where the city faces an invasion, the entire population can be evacuated into the council building and be defended from there. Hence the steep stairs and the wall half way up the stairs as well as only one entrance into the council buildings. I nodded in understanding as we approached the double doors.

  These doors were made from solid metal, easy five centimeters thick. Plain looking, I noticed a series of small holes in the middle of the doors. This was to allow arrows and spears to be fired or poked through if any enemy made it that far.

  The double doors silently swung open as we stopped in front of them, and a squad of heavy plate mailed dwarves armed with huge double headed war axes marched out to greet us. Bowing low at us and at Patches, they stood aside and formed a double line for us to walk through to enter the building.

  The entrance way was rather plain. It was another tunnel which led deeper into the mountainside. The walls and the rounded roof were baby smooth, and the floor underneath was of a hard, polished dark wood, the echoes of our boots on the wooden floor preceding us as we made our way down the tunnel.

  Once again, Fremod was forced to bend his neck and shoulders in order to walk down the tunnel. About fifty meters later, we entered into a grand hallway. The floors were still the dark wood, but the walls were white granite.

  Exits at each of the walls led to more tunnels and rooms which could just be seen in the distance. The entire room and tunnel system was lit by the glowing crystals, discretely hidden within the walls or behind various paintings and tapestries which hung against the walls.

  A wide staircase spiraled upwards to the next level and it was here that the dwarven leader, King Aplite, stood waiting for us. He was a balding, middle aged dwarf with a large belly, but equally large body muscles. Average of height for a dwarf, he was very white, almost an albino I would have guessed. His white combed beard was plated neatly and reached right to his belt line. He wore a soft, brown leather leggings and a very fine made chain vest over a plain black long sleeved blouse. A thick black leather belt was tied at his ample waist by a solid gold buckle. A chain of office, made from various sized gold and silver discs hung around his thick neck, matching a thin crown of silver and gold which was on his head.

  “Welcome Commander Bob and the Ghost Company to Dwarfinaan. Ah, Ward, my faithful trader. I am so glad that you made it through the tunnels safely, rest assured we all share your mourning for your sons lost to those wretched goblins,” King Aplite said in a sad tone before turning to the troll and ogre. “Welcome to you Sir Ogre and Sir Troll. It has been many, many long years since we have had both races present here in Dwarfinaan,” King Aplite said bowing to us all.

  “King Aplite, the pleasure is all ours, on behalf of the Ghosts, thank you kindly for welcoming us as guests,” I said before shaking his hand.

  I introduced him to the people in the squad, each one shaking his hand before he invited us down a tunnel to our left.

  “Come, please. Let us retire to a more comfortable area and let’s get you all refreshed.”

  We followed the king down the tunnel as Ward and his sons were called by Patches to follow him down the opposite passage. I looked over my shoulders to see a very dejected Ward walk down the tunnel, and a very angry warleader follow him, almost forcibly pushing him along.

  Of the ogre, once again it, he, disappeared from our vision. A call from Max, and I dismiss the dwarves from my mind as I follow everybody down the tunnel and into another room before entering another series of tunnels and rooms and eventually coming out to a decent sized study area, complete with a warming brazier in the corner and a keg of ale in the other.

  We weren’t much company for the king, as we were all still suffering the effects of our harrowing travels through the tunnels. King Aplite noticed us slowing nodding off to sleep after a mug or two of ale, and quietly told the servants who were present to take us up to our rooms.

  We apologized profusely to the king, but were grateful that we could finally have a good, peaceful sleep in a comfortable bed. We followed the servants who led us up a flight of stairs to the guest rooms.

  Max was in the room next to mine at the end of the passage, with Mia the room opposite mine and Fremod next to her, the rest of the men were in rooms down the passage from us. A sleepy goodnight was said to each other before I entered my room.

  It was rather spacious. Solid wood furniture and a small fire place against the wall. But it was the bed I was interested in. I dropped my gear right by the door, stripped off the armour and clothes and headed straight for the bed.

  I was fast asleep even before my head hit the pillow and did not even stir when a small, petite body climbed into the bed and held me close before she too, fell fast asleep.

  Chapter 4 – Consequences

  Shaking with fury, Standlerd-Sinb III stood over the decapitated body of the messenger. He looked down at the splattered blood across his arms and chest, then the corpse before he dropped the sword with a clatter and turned around where he walked to a bucket of water and washed the unfortunate messenger’s blood off.

  “Get me another messenger, Etawar,” the still fuming Emperor growled to his trainer. “And send this body back to his family, with the usual pension and messages. I will be in my study,” Emperor Standlerd-Sinb III said as he stomped off to his study, leaving the prostrate trainer and still twitching body alone in the training yard.

  “How dare they!” He shouted at the walls as servants and slaves scampering to get out his way.

  He stormed into his study, slamming the door open and throwing his leather gauntlets at his desk.

  “Now brother, was it necessary to kill the messenger?” Staed asked his older brother.

  “Don’t try me brother, or you may end up like him,” Emperor Standlerd-Sinb III warned Staed.

  “These humans dare attack our fleets of peace?! And mercilessly slaughter them!”

  “Like you did the messenger.”

  Emperor Standlerd-Sinb III quickly, in a blink of an eye crossed the room from his desk to where his brother stood and grabbed him one handed by the throat, pinning him against the wall.

  “I have warned you Staed,” he said before letting go, “but you are correct. I am sorry for losing my temper like that, and for the messenger. You were always the calm one,” Emperor Standlerd-Sinb III apologized to his brother who stood rubbing his throat.

  “Like always, I do forgive you. I do agree with you on this insult. It must not go unpunished!
These humans must be taught a lesson. One they must not forget for many a generation to come!”

  “They will brother, they will,” Emperor Standlerd-Sinb III promised ominously.

  “Assemble the warleaders. We march to war.”

  ***

  A gentle nudge woke me in the early hours of the morning.

  “Sir Bob. It is I, Veggie,” the ogre whispered hoarsely at my side.

  Instantly awake, I sat up and turned to see the human shaped ogre kneeling at my bedside.

  “What’s wrong Veggie?” I asked with concern.

  I have not seen the ogre since we had arrived in Dwarfinaan four days ago and had begun to wonder if he had left.

  “It is Ward sir. He is being held captive together with his sons in the dungeons below.”

  “For what?” I asked confused.

  “For revealing his magic to us, and your dwarven comrades are to be arrested and thrown in the dungeon with him,” Veggie warned.

  “What! All for saving our lives?” I exclaimed

  Mia was sitting up now as well, dressed in a sleeping shirt she had stolen from me. Looking at Mia and then myself, Veggie continued.

  “They are to be tried and executed for revealing the secret of dwarven magic to non-dwarfs.”

  “Over my dead body, they will,” I promised as I stood up out of the bed and quickly got dressed.

  “Mia, get everybody together here within ten minutes, Veggie, can you lead me to the dungeons?”

  “Certainly, however, there are a few guards on patrol within the dungeons,” the ogre warned.

  “I’m sure we can get around that, right?” I asked him with a smile.

  Veggie shrugged his shoulders in a very human way and turned to head towards the door.

  “We will get around them sir,” he answered.

  I followed him out the room and down the corridor while Mia dressed and made her way to gather the Ghosts.

  We went through the council buildings, heading down the different floors until we stopped in front of a heavy wooden door on the ground floor. So far we had not encountered any guards, but things could change at any moment.

  “This leads down to the dungeons. Ward is being held two levels below us. We must pass a checkpoint at the first level, and a guard room on the second level. Only six guards on duty tonight, but we need to hurry as the full complement arrives at sunrise,” Veggie explained.

  He quietly pushed open the door and I was right behind him as we slipped through the threshold. The stairs leading down were well lit with the glowing crystals as it spiraled down to the next level. We quietly descended the stairs, careful not to make any noise so that we won’t alert the guards at the base of them.

  Veggie indicated for me to wait at the last bend as he slipped around the corner, just a blur of a shadow as he disappeared. A few moments later he reappeared and motioned me forward quietly. Around the corner was the checkpoint, a square room with a large desk right at the base of the stairs. At the desk was a dwarf, fast asleep with a gentle snore rumbling out of his nose.

  Behind him was a rack of weapons, mostly axes with a few long swords mixed in between. There was not much else in the otherwise bare room besides a few chairs.

  We left the drooling guard and headed for the staircase opposite from the one we had just emerged. This one twisted downwards as well but was not as well lit. Sounds of laughter and talking drifted up to us, indicating the guards below were not as tired as the one above.

  Once again, Veggie motioned for me to stop while he disappeared into the shadows. He was away for a few moments longer this time before he materialized in front of me.

  “This one will be tricky sir. Five guards are playing a game of dice at the table right at the base of the stairs. But I have a solution that may work. Climb onto my back,” Veggie told me.

  Hesitantly, I did, and he lifted me with ease. I felt myself blur, literally blur, as we turned into dark shadows. Everything looked misty like I was looking through thick, dirty, dark gauze. The sounds were crisp, though. I could hear everything that the dwarves were saying, their breathing and even a faint heartbeat from each one.

  Silently, we floated around the corner, flitting from shadow to shadow. In front of us stood a similar desk as the room above us, this time, the five dwarves stood around it concentrating on a dice game. This room was much larger, having a row of bunk beds against the far wall with a chest in front of each bed. A larger rack of weapons stood against the opposite wall right next to the doorway which led to the dungeons.

  It was here where Veggie carried me. Moving between the guards, underneath the beds, amongst the weapons, everywhere there was a shadow, we were amongst it. The experience was rather exhilarating, but nauseating at the same time.

  It took us seconds to flow through the room and into the corridor which led to the cells. Once we were well within the corridor, Veggie brought us back into reality where he led me to another solid oak door. I quietly opened the door and slipped in, leaving Veggie to keep a look out should the guards be making their way here for any reason.

  I stood inside the dungeon proper now. Dark and dank, solid iron doors with tiny barred windows lined a short corridor. The overwhelming stench of open sewage almost gagged me. I managed to swallow the rising bile and hesitantly walked down the corridor to the cell where Ward was being held.

  “Ward!” I hissed through the small window at a door roughly half way down the corridor.

  I saw a dark shadow move just at the edge of my vision to the right of the door. A naked and severely beaten Ward shuffled into my view.

  “Captain Bob, what are you doing here?” He asked me through swollen lips.

  “I came to find out what the hell is happening here. Veggie told me about your planned execution and that of my men’s.”

  “It’s true. We knew the consequences of revealing our magic in front of non-dwarves,” he said solemnly.

  “So you will just accept being killed for saving our lives?” I asked furiously.

  “It is our way, Bob. We have many secrets that may not be revealed at all. Like the source of the crystal lights for example.”

  “This is rubbish!” I exclaimed. “There must be something that I can do to prevent this.”

  “It is very rare for a stay of execution to be effected. Only a majority vote from the ruling council can overturn the decision.”

  I thought this over as I looked past him into his cell. Rats were crawling over the open sewage line that the prisoners had to use for their ablutions. Old, moldy straw barely covered the floor, and a small pail of dirty water was all that stood in the cell with Ward.

  “Hang tight Ward. And, I am sorry for putting you through this. I had no idea that this would be the consequences of your decisions. I will make it right. I promise you.”

  Ward just nodded as I left him to stand there in the dark cell. The ogre and I made our way back to the rooms, keeping to the shadows to avoid being seen by anybody. Once there I told everybody present what was happening, watching as Shard’s face paled as the blood drained from it.

  “That’s not fair bru,” Deez was the first to react.

  “I agree with Deez, let us storm the dungeon and free Ward,” Li spoke with his accent coming through greater now.

  “Jawol, good plan that!” Titanius agreed with Ivan thumping his back in approval.

  “I do believe that I have an alternative,” Fremod piped up at the back of the room.

  “You do?” I asked.

  “Yes, a small bit of Dwarven Law that may not be remembered by the commoners, but one that the Council will know,” Fremod said with a twinkle in his eye as he quietly explained the law to us.

  Smiling at the plan as it was hashed out. We set about polishing our armour and weapons to a bright gleam. Today would be an interesting day, and hopefully a productive one.

  As expected, a squad of guards had arrived to arrest the dwarves from my company, who meekly submitted to their shackling of
their hands. The rest of us balefully stared at the guards, who in turned warily eyed our polished weapons and armour.

  “Sergeant, I understand that you are just following orders and doing your job,” I said to the leaving dwarf as I menacingly walked up to him.

  “But let it be made very clear, in front of your men and mine, you will treat my men with respect. If I see the slightest mark on them, your ass will be mine.”

  Swallowing, sweat beading under his helm, the guard looked at us and just nodded his head.

  “This way sirs,” he said, leading the subdued captives with his men surrounding them.

  “Right, let’s get this show on the road,” I said as I turned and faced my men.

  We quickly donned our armour and weapons, helping each other as we dressed. We were soon ready and assembled in a double line. I led us to the council chambers where we hoped to free the luckless dwarves.

  Walking in unison, our footsteps rumbled through the council passages and reverberated into the council chambers above us. Guards converged on us and saw our determination and only followed as we made our way up the stairs to the chambers.