by deSouza, Leo
“Look captain. I’m not liking this. If it is so simple, why don’t they do it by themselves?” Asked Olaf quietly.
But the creature heard what he said. “Because we don’t deal with water, master dwarf. Water is our doom, we can not resist it, sooner or later it defeats us, that is why we keep on high. Rain is enough pain for us.” Said the Boulder.
The dwarfs gathered in a circle.
“I think it is a fair deal. We release the river and they let us pass.” Said Rurur.
“What about the lumbermen?” Asked Olaf.
“Well damn them, I don’t give a damn!” Said Torag.
“The problem with this is that we cannot go around getting in trouble. We have a name to honor, RockFoot we are.” Thuor spoke.
“I don’t think it is a good time for us to get stuck into moral dilemmas, we are not going to hurt anyone, and looking carefully, one could say we would be actually making justice here, half the dale for the lumberman, half of it for the boulder creatures.” Olaf spoke.
Everyone stood silent for a moment, then Torag said: “Why don’t we let the elf do the dirty work? He does not seem like someone who cares about names.”
Thuor shouted calling the elf who was taken by surprise while trying to climb a boulder, he came close while slapping his palms free of dust. “What?” He asked.
Thuor spoke to him: “We have a proposal for ye, we found it wise for us to not get involved in this directly, for reputation reasons, so we…”
“Beautiful…” The elf interrupted. “And so you want me to do the hard part, risk my skin and get in trouble with the lumbermen… To protect your honor… Look, master dwarf, there is nothing more important for me than leaving this place now, and I’m not bothered about causing these lumbermen some trouble, but you are quite mistaken if you think I’m going to get into this alone without any bail.” Said the elf.
The captain nodded. “Fair enough.” He went to the ram’s saddle and took from there two small gems from the ones they got in the maggot lair, coming then back and handing them to the elf. “Here is your bail.”
“Wait! What is this, captain?” Asked Torag.
“Be quiet, Torag. Your greed and silliness is getting annoying.” Said the captain.
Torag lowered his head and stood silent, the elf took the gems and examined them against the sun, then put them in one pocket.
“All we need now is ye to pull the lever on the barrage.” Thuor continued.
“Fine, gentlemen.” The elf spoke. “We have a deal, but there is something more, someone will go with me. I’m not sure if I would be strong enough to move the lever.”
“Not with these thin lady arms, for sure.” Whispered Torag.
“Right. Let’s not delay this anymore, we cannot go all together for the lumbermen would for sure see us. But one can follow the elf and help him if necessary. Taking care to not be spotted.”
“I’ll go.” Said Torag. “I’m willing to see to all this destruction, this is my type of business.”
“Right, then go, don’t make it take as much time as it would for us to circle the valley by the road.” Said Thuor.
The elf ran fast and took the path at the cliff side to the waterfall, Torag came after him.
“Do ye think we can trust this elf, captain? Asked Rurur.
“He is for some reason alone now, his party is gone. Besides, he is eager to leave this place as much as we are.” Asked the captain.
It was difficult for Torag to follow the speed of the elf even in a terrain that should be more friendly to dwarfs than to elves, but after a while of walking among rocks and narrow passages between the cliff and the precipice, they reached the waterfall, passing by its side and finally stepping into a clearing by the side of a water pool. This water pool was inside a barrage of wood so that the water was gathered there and leaked gradually through the spaces between the logs, Torag and the elf approached quietly and hid behind some rubble.
“There is the watcher.” Said the elf pointing to a man who was sitting on a chair with his legs stretched while he smoked a pipe.
“Right.” Whispered Torag.
“That is it, I will go there and distract him while you pull the lever.” Said the elf pointing to the lever on the barrage.
“What? Why me? Ye got the gems to do the job, not to give orders!” Said Torag.
The elf hissed. “Shhh! Be quiet. You cannot go there otherwise the lumbermen will know that it was you dwarfs who did it, and you know how much your captain cares about honor and reputation, let the elf here dirty his reputation.”
Torag twisted his mouth in disapproval. “Fine. But don’t let him see me!”
“Don’t worry, I know how to distract a wretch.” Said the elf as he left the hideout and walked towards the man. “Greetings my noble sir. What news can you tell me about this warm day?” The elf asked to the man, surprising him.
Torag stood behind the rubble, trying to hear something.
“Who are you? Elf one.” Asked the man folding his legs and exhaling smoke.
“Oh I’m just a servant of your relatives down there. They told me to deliver you a message.” Said the elf.
“What it is about?” Asked the man.
Torag saw that the man’s sight was blocked by the elf’s body so he decided to move stealthily towards the lever, still trying to hear what the elf was saying but with no success.
“Your fellow partners told me to ask you about the barrage, to check if it is safe enough.” Said the elf to the man.
The man motioned as he stretched his legs again. “Hah… These fearful dumbs, they don’t trust me to watch it. Safe they ask? Well I would say it is safe, for sure. One could easily move the lever, but not under the watchful sight of this old owl here. Besides, who would be stupid enough to try such a thing? The lever is stuck in between the logs, if it moves it will cause the entire barrage to collapse, including the floor. The burglar who tried that would be dragged along with the water and the logs to the river bottom below. And it is a long fall, oh it is. One would need a long stick, with a hook on its tip, to pull the lever from far, like this one I have just here.” He said as he pointed at a long stick laying nearby on the ground.
“Oh really?” Asked the elf as he looked through the corner of his eye and saw Torag already suspended on the lever trying to move it. “You know, I think you are right. What kind of idiot would try such a thing?”
The man reached out his pipe to the elf. “Where did you came from, master elf? And what is your occupation.”
The elf took the pipe and sucked on it, he exhaled smoke on the air.
“I offered the smoke expecting for you to reject. Never saw an elf smoking before.” The man said.
“I’m a different kind.” The elf replied. “Well, as for my occupation, I’m a simple gem dealer.”
“A gem dealer?” Asked the man. “I guess then you came to this vale looking for gold-digging!”
“You bet.” Replied the elf giving the pipe back to the man.
A loud bang was heard, the man rose from his chair and looked at the barrage, the elf also looked out as if he knew nothing about what was happening. There they saw Torag dancing and slipping over the rolling logs while the entire barrage collapsed, they could see the moment when the dwarf fell into the water among the logs and down the waterfall. The man was wide eyed.
“Well, my noble sir. I think it is time for me to leave.” Said the elf, and in no time he jumped over some rocks and disappeared from the man’s sight. Everyone in the vale heard the noise of much water suddenly falling from the waterfall, the torrent was huge and the sound echoed through the cliffs, the lumbermen stopped their work and came to the borders of the cliff side to see it. Thuor and the others also saw the river suddenly turn from a calm water surface into a fierce torrent. The logs laying on the river were pushed ahead with violence, after a few moments the water surface was clean and nothing but a strong torrent could be seen there. The elf came running from the cli
ff side path and passed by the dwarfs right to the place previously blocked, the boulders were not laying there anymore. They were all revealed to be creatures like the one who talked with the dwarfs first, and they had given space, clearing the way.
“Hey ye!” Shouted Olaf to the elf. “Where is Torag? What happened?”
The elf did not stop to answer. “A terrible accident! Your friend fell into the waterfall, he is probably dead now, I guess.”
“The bastard threw Torag in the water!” Shouted Olaf stepping ahead to chase the running elf.
But this one was too fast and passed along the road quickly, gaining distance.
“Forget about him! Let’s find Torag!” Said Thuor.
“What about the ram?” Asked Rurur.
“Stay here with it, wait for us.” Said Thuor hurried.
Thuor and Olaf went down the path along the cliff side. Going down was faster than going up specially because they were in a hurry to find Torag. Balfour, the hawk, was flying low near the river margin and they went there hoping that the bird would gave them the right location of their friend. And so it was, as they approached the bird they saw Torag in the river, stuck between the shore and a huge log. They came to it and tried to remove the log.
“What happened?” Asked Olaf.
“The damn lever made everything collapse!” Said Torag as he pushed the log.
“It is not moving.” Said Thuor.
Olaf looked around. “The water is still rising, the log will rise along with the river.”
“No. The log is stuck between these rocks.” Said Torag pointing to the rocks that kept the log stuck.
Thuor looked at it for a moment, then pushed the log again. “He is right.” The captain said through gritted teeth while making effort. “We must free him Olaf!”
A tension took the dwarfs, they knew that if they did not manage to free Torag the water would rise and drown him. From above the cliff Rurur was watching all and realized what was happening, he agitated as he tried to think about something to do, then he turned and came to the boulder creatures. “Listen to me. Our friend is down there stuck under a log! The water is rising and he will die if we do nothing!”
The creatures looked at each other. The one who previously talked to them came leisurely walking to the cliff edge and looked down.
“Help him! They have no strength to move the log!” Said Rurur.
The creature growled quietly. “Hum… He is stuck in the water.”
Rurur approached and spoke nervously: “Yes he is! That is what I’m saying! He will die!”
Again the creature just looked down. “The log is stuck between the rocks, and it is holding him. And he is in the water, we don’t deal with water, except for the rain, which is already pain enough.”
“Oh damn! We did as ye asked, the river is flowing again! Ye owe us!” Said Rurur hitting one foot on the ground.
Down there Olaf and Thuor were still trying to remove the log. Balfour landed on his master’s shoulder.
“It is over.” Said Torag after a last push on the log.
Thuor was making a giant effort as he tried to move it, Olaf was trying to leverage the log from the rock with a branch. The water was almost at Torag’s chin height, Balfour flew and landed on Thuor’s shoulder. On the opposite river margin they could see many lumbermen watching the scene.
“Help us!” Shouted Olaf.
Thuor looked back to the men. “They can’t. They can’t cross the river anymore, it is all my fault, I should never have allowed this.”
“There goes our reputation… Don’t blame yourself, captain. I volunteered, and all.” Said Torag in dismay.
The water went even higher, now he had his head leaning back in order to keep his mouth up while breathing. “Good bye my friends! It was worth every moment! I know the feeling of being unable to help a friend in trouble, don’t blame yourselves!” He spoke. These were the last words of Torag before the water covered his mouth.
“No!” Shouted Olaf holding him.
They could see Torag’s eyes from under the water still looking at them. It was when they heard a burst, something fell on the river behind them, water splashed everywhere. Thuor and Olaf looked back and saw there a boulder on the river margin, it moved and revealed itself to be the rocky creature, it came to the log and moved it with not much effort, Torag was released, he stood as he coughed and was lifted by his partners. Balfour flew again and landed on his master’ shoulder. Thuor sighed and sat on a rock, everyone was wet and tired. They were all now sitting on the river shore and stayed there for a while, the creature left without saying anything even under the blessings and thanks from the dwarfs. Rurur came pulling the ram, Torag was scarred and Olaf and Thuor had at least a scratch or two.
“Well… I think this history will run around and sooner or later everyone in the four houses will know about a bunch of evildoer dwarfs messing around.” Said Torag.
Olaf chuckled. “Who cares at all? I don’t!”
“Nor me!” Said Rurur.
“What about ye, captain?” Asked Torag.
Thuor just smiled.
“Then damn it all!” Exclaimed Torag.
All the dwarfs laughed, they stood there some more time until they decided to finally leave. The way up was tiring and heavy for them as everyone was already exhausted, but the way one of them escaped from death was enough to make them joyful and not care about anything more. The sun had already passed above the dale and hid again on the west side so that the dwarfs were still wet when they finally reached the cliff top. They saw no more boulder creatures there and the passage was clear. The company left the dale.
Memories on water.
Long before the company gathered together and started the journey under Thuor’s leadership, Torag was not a warrior, nor had he any familiarity with weapons, like his crossbow. Once he was a miner, one of the many hundred dwarf miners who worked inside the mountain roots, deep under the level of the fields outside, in the darkest place. There the RockFoot dwarfs dug a long tunnel gallery of mining, cars loaded with ore travelled on railways and many dwarfs with their helmets and mattocks worked in this place. There was a time when the King ordered the miners to dig on the south wing of the mountain, the place under where the Crystal River ran, there a great work was in course, tons of rock and ore were being extracted from there, and exhaustive work was abundant for all those willing to get into such a job. By this time Torag was looking for some way to get some payment, and so he joined many others in this great enterprise. The dwarf kind was the most skilled in digging the rock, yet the RockFoot were among all the houses of the dwarfs the one who could claim themselves the best miners of all, at least as they said. In one of these days of hard labor, Torag was among his comrades, sitting around an improvised table, everyone was dirt, their helmets were full of scratches, and their beards were covered by dust. It was lunch time, and the dwarf workers were gathered together in one of the many rooms opened by mattock, chisel and hammer under the deep of the mountain, playing cards.
“Why did ye decide to come here and dig?” A dwarf close to Torag asked as he took one more card from the pack.
“Well… I believe it was for the same reason ye all came. To make some wealth.” Torag replied.
“Yes.” Another one said. “This is why we are all here. What do ye intend to buy when ye leave?”
“Who knows?” Torag asked as he took one card to his hand. “A new mattress for my bed. My old one is starting to hurt my back.”
“A mattress? Why one needs a mattress when ye could buy beer! Lots of it! Drink some before sleeping and every mattress will feel like a feather pillow.” The dwarf replied.
The ones around laughed.
“No mattress nor beer for me. I’m going to buy a new pair of boots, and then try them outside on the fields.” Another one spoke.
“Ye would up being robbed by bandits out there! Why don’t ye buy some of the better food from the larders and prepare something for yo
ur lady?” One asked.
“Because I have no lady!” Replied the dwarf, smiling.
“That is it, a good pair of boots can fill any loneliness. Try sleeping while hugging your pair of boots!” One said.
Laughs were heard again.
“I have one lady.” Another dwarf broke in. “And she deserves the most beautiful of the gifts.”
“Oh, this one is in love… Tell us, oh my romantic dwarf, what do ye intend to buy for your… Lady.” One said.
“A jewel, the most beautiful one.” The dwarf replied.
“This is odd. We find the gems, they pay us for them, then we go and buy jewels made with these same gems, that makes not much sense.” A dwarf spoke.
“It makes all sense. It is all about business and knowing who is the owner of all this wealth down here.” One said.
“Ye are talking about wealth? I think it is better to expect real wealth from this card game we are playing, we don’t even know if there are really gems in the rock, and how much we will get paid for them.” Another dwarf replied.
“Fine.” Torag continued. “By the way, how much is the match bet now?”
“Five pieces.” The dwarf replied.
“Five pieces it is then.” Torag said throwing the pieces on the table.
“Well then, now everyone shows his hands.” Another dwarf playing said.
Everyone on the table began to lower his cards.
“I have two warriors, and three peasants.” One said showing his cards.
“I have three warriors, and two wise ones.” Another dwarf spoke.
“Four warriors, and a champion.” Torag said abruptly throwing the cards on the table and then dragging the pieces from the wager to himself.
“Wait!” The last dwarf said, then he lowered his hands, revealing his game.
“Oh!” Another one exclaimed. “The king’s card! It beats us all.”
“No, no, no!” Torag replied. “I have four warriors, and a champion. He has only four peasants and the king. I won.”
“The King is the strongest card, don’t be a bad looser.” The dwarf with the king card said.