The Eastern Dwarfs: Part One - The Red Fields

by deSouza, Leo

  “Light.” Whispered Thuor. “Someone must be there.”

  He moved Olaf to the front of the group and made him lead the company while holding his shield ahead, so they all were protected by it. Olaf was now in front of the company, holding the shield and the torch in one of his hands. By the end of the corridor they approached slowly and entered a room, there were many torches on the walls, lighting the room with fire, and its light reflected on the white walls, covering the entire place with a pale light, which gave it a ghostly appearance.

  “This place is freakish.” Whispered Rurur.

  “It’s colder down here then outside.” Said the captain.

  “I dreamed about this place… Now that I’m here… It is as if I always knew our foe would come here…” Olaf spoke.

  “Can ye tell us what is ahead?” Thuor asked.

  Olaf shook his head. “I could not tell… It was a dark nightmare, as dark as this place… But in it I knew the rider would be here… He must be.”

  In this room there were two passages at each side and another corridor ahead.

  “Check the side rooms, but don’t go far! We don’t want anyone to get lost.” Said Thuor.

  Rurur and the captain went to the right while Torag and Olaf went left, each group with his own torch now. The first two entered a small room and saw inside there a tomb, everything was covered by dust. Rurur approached the tomb and cleaned its cover with his hand, then blew it. “Here says...” Whispered him.

  Thuor was listening.

  “Here says...” Continued Rurur.

  “Says What?” Asked Thuor.

  “Here says... Something.” Said Rurur.

  The captain approached the tomb and put the torch close to its cover, lightening it, after a moment examining it he spoke: “It is written in an ancient language, not a language of dwarfs but of men, men of the east.”

  “What it says?” Asked Rurur.

  “I don’t know, I can’t read it.” Replied Thuor.

  Meanwhile Torag and Olaf were inside the other room, which was larger and had many tombs along the walls.

  “Who do ye think that is buried here?” Asked Torag as he slowly walked looking at the tombs.

  “The old soothsayer told about kings and champions.” Said Olaf.

  Torag kicked one of the tombs. “Do ye think they were buried with their riches? Maybe there is something inside these tombs that could be of our interest.” He said.

  “I don’t think it is a good idea to mess with this.” Said Olaf.

  “Oh… Are ye afraid of what? The dead ones cannot complain.” Said Torag as he tried to move the cover of the tomb, but with no success.

  “I’m not afraid. Actually, I’m quite daring right now.” Said Olaf.

  Torag chuckled. “Yes… I know what ye mean, I think the beverage that the old man gave us is some type of tonic.” He said.

  “A tonic for both mind and body!” Said Olaf.

  “Yes, that’s right!” Replied Torag.

  “And it is not that bad… Actually it tastes very good.” Said Olaf.

  Torag nodded as he smiled. “I’m a little bit drunk.”

  “Me too, but not dizzy or slow. Actually, I feel ready for anything.” Said Olaf.

  “Exactly! What type of beverage has such effect?” Asked Torag.

  “What is the name of the drink at all?” Asked Olaf.

  “Attitude!” Said Torag.

  Olaf spoke: “Well… I think that for now and then every time a difficult situation shows up I’m going to take an attitude.”

  They laughed again. Then they heard something at the end of the room, a noise of something falling. Torag pointed the torch towards it and stared, they walked slowly to the end of the room and saw there another tomb. As they approached further, they noticed it was open, and a rat was moving around nearby.

  “Why is it open?” Asked Olaf.

  “Maybe someone came here and stole the dead body.” Said Torag.

  “Who would do such a thing?” Asked Olaf.

  “Well, a thief, maybe there was a king buried here.” Said Torag.

  Olaf snorted. “Hunf… I wonder how would a thief have any interest in a bunch of old bones.”

  Torag was carefully examining the tomb. “Ye are right, one could take the jewels, rings… But there are not even bones here.” He said.

  “Maybe we are the ones guessing too much. This tomb may never have been used at all.” Said Olaf.

  “No. I can see someone was here, there are footprints on the floor.” Said Torag lowering the torch near the ground, they could see the marks there, Torag crouched and took a portion of dust in his hand. “It’s recent…” He whispered.

  At this moment came Thuor from the passage. “Did ye find anything?” He asked.

  “No captain there is nothing here but rats.” Said Torag.

  “Get back here. We be careful, we don’t know this place.” Said Thuor motioning to them and leading them back into the main room.

  “Don’t worry captain. If anything happens we are surely going to take an attitude about it.” Said Torag looking at Olaf.

  This one chuckled. Everyone left and went back to the main room.

  “There is only one way now, ahead it is.” Said Thuor.

  “Right on, captain.” Said Olaf stepping towards the corridor as he held his shield in front of him.

  They advanced again, both Torag and Olaf were feeling so confident that they were actually hoping to find the dark rider inside there as soon as possible, as if willing to deal with him. This corridor was also lit by torches on its walls, it was long and it took a while for them to roam all of it. At its end they entered a new room, right ahead there was another corridor, and to the right a passage.

  “More tombs in this passage for sure, I think we should go ahead.” Said Rurur.

  “How do ye know? The witchcraft lock can be there.” Said Torag.

  “It is true, we must check all the rooms.” Said Thuor.

  “This is a waste of time.” Said Rurur.

  “Stop complaining and go there yourself.” Said Torag.

  Rurur took the torch and grumbled, then turned and went to the passage, entering there and disappearing into the darkness.

  “How long do ye think is this mausoleum, captain?” Asked Olaf.

  “Well, I could not say from what we saw on the surface, for we are under the ground now. It could extend a lot.” Replied Thuor.

  “We could just collapse the entrance and trap the rider here inside. Let him starve.” Said Olaf.

  Thuor looked around thoughtful. “I’m starting to think that this rider is not subject to such things.” He said in a somber tone.

  “Such thing? Like starving? What do ye mean, captain?” Asked Olaf.

  But Thuor could not answer as Torag interrupted the conversation. “Forget about trapping him here inside, we would lose the opportunity to hit some slaps on his face.”

  Meanwhile Rurur was walking through what came to be another corridor, so large that from outside he first thought it was a room. He reached its end and there was another passage from it, the dwarf entered it and walked ahead, he was not that confident but was minded to do something by himself. Water pools were on the ground and drops fell from the roof, the dwarf reached a small room, a gap in the corridor, and there another passage. Rurur thought to himself that he could get lost in this maze and decided to return through where he came, but when he was about to turn and go back he heard something. He reached out the torch to inside the passage, trying to light and see what was it about, then stared for a moment and saw far in the darkness two red dots; the dwarf stepped towards it and stopped again, the red dots were still there, but suddenly it blinked and moved in a way as if revealing that they were actually eyes on a head, Rurur saw a dark figure. He was startled, stepped back and tripped over a loose floor tile falling on his back, the torch dropped and the fire extinguished. He got up from the ground and ran disoriented, feeling the walls, going back
through the corridor. “Olaf! Thuor!” He shouted, advancing totally blind, and after a while decided to just run, reaching his two hands ahead and running as fast as he could. “Folks! Where are ye?” He shouted. Some more distance ahead he collided with something, so strong that he was thrown back onto the ground, the dwarf raised his torso, still sitting on the floor and looked ahead. There was Torag also lying on the ground, his torch dropped on the floor but still alight. From behind him came Thuor and Olaf.

  “Ye damn stupid punchy one! Ye almost broke me!” Exclaimed Torag taking the torch from the ground. “What happened?” He asked.

  Rurur rose from the ground and slapped his clothes getting rid of dust. “I saw something, back there in the darkness, like two eyes!” Said Rurur.

  “Are ye sure it were eyes?” Asked Thuor.

  “Yes! I mean… I think so, it blinked.” Said Rurur.

  Torag shook his head as he raised himself from the ground. “It did not blink. He probably saw the fire reflecting on some metal piece and thought it moved.”

  “I know what I’m talking about. And if ye don’t trust me, why don’t ye go there by yourself and check?” Asked Rurur.

  “As ye wish, mister craven.” Torag replied pushing Rurur and going through the corridor.

  The others followed him and they walked until they found the room where Rurur first saw the red dots. Torag entered it slowly with his axe in one hand, sneaking around, they could see the red dots at the end of the room, and as they approached they came to see what it really was.

  “Ye see? The sight of a craven can see many things that are not there. It is just an old adorned skull.” Said Torag reaching the torch to it.

  And it really was, a skull above a tomb cover, not white but dark as if long left there, and it had two red gems in each eyehole. Torag was about to knock on it when Thuor interrupted him. “Wait… Don’t touch it.” Said the captain.

  He approached it as Torag made room, still lighting it with the torch. The other dwarfs came close too.

  “Ye remember what the soothsayer said about the magic object. This must be the one.” Said Thuor.

  “How do ye know?” Asked Olaf.

  “Well… It looked pretty strange, and Rurur said it moved.” Said the captain.

  “I know what I saw.” Said Rurur.

  Everyone stared at the skull for a moment, then Torag spoke: “I must admit, that it somehow looks alive.”

  “So what should we do?” Asked Olaf.

  “The soothsayer told us to break it so he could enter.” Said Thuor.

  Everyone remained silent for a moment.

  “I still don’t trust this old one totally.” Said Rurur.

  “What harm could it do?” Said Torag raising his axe.

  The other ones distanced themselves, Rurur even went behind another tomb and crouched there, still peeking over it.

  “Well… Here we go!” Exclaimed Torag. He dealt a violent blow with the axe to the skull, breaking it in many pieces, the noise caused by it was extremely loud, so loud that the dwarfs found it unnatural, it reverberated through the place making the entire structure tremble and dust fall from cracks in the walls and roof. A horrible shriek echoed through the corridors, so frightful that it made the dwarfs shiver. Suddenly the entire aura became quieter, and that seemed very strange to the dwarfs as they had already thought it was totally silent.

  “What… By the beard of my ancestors… Was that?” Asked Olaf.

  “Who cares? Our job is done, let’s get out and wait for the old one to finish it.” Said Rurur, he was the one particularly wide eyed.

  “Why don’t we just go ahead? I still want to meet him.” Said Torag.

  “Yes, Why not?” Asked Olaf.

  Everyone looked at Thuor, the captain was thoughtful. “I don’t think this is a good idea.” He spoke.

  “Who is at charge here?” Torag asked. “Altar, the wanderer geezer? No! I say, master chief of arms Thuor is the leader, let him decide!”

  “Don’t appeal to my vanity, Torag, for my wisdom is greater.” Replied Thuor.

  “Come on captain, this is the opportunity we have been waiting for since long ago, to meet the bastard without that mounstruous beast!” Insisted Torag.

  “Well…” Thuor said quietly. “If everyone wants to, we are already here anyway. If we all want it, then lets deal with the consequences.”

  “That is what I’m talking about!” Torag exclaimed.

  All the dwarfs raised their fists in salute, as if in complicity, they took the path back to where they came, there they found a new way, leading ahead to where they did not pass before, they advanced along a corridor, passing by some strange sculptures on the walls, images of kings and warriors in chariots and carrying weapons. At one point they saw at the end of the path shadows moving, as if someone was walking from here to there inside a room lit by torches. Torag was leading the group, he pointed ahead and put his index finger on his mouth indicating to the others that they should be quiet. At the end of the corridor they reached a large room, the largest one till now, they crouched and advanced slowly, there they could see a figure standing near something that looked like an altar, the dwarfs hid behind a tomb and peeked over it. From here they saw, there was the Rider far ahead, the room was long and lit by torches, but this one was darker than the others and there was an evil mood in the air, the altar itself was sinister and had strange images of demons and death scenes.

  “There he is...” Whispered Olaf.

  “Cold is about to crack my bones.” Said Rurur quietly.

  “What do we do?” Asked Olaf.

  No one had a plan about what to do, but now everyone felt as if their mood to do something had vanished. Rurur was feeling a sudden fear but was too scared to say something. Even Thuor was unsure, while Olaf and Torag were starting to ask themselves if it was a good idea to be here. It was as if the presence of the Dark Rider caused all of them to dismay.

  “What is that on the altar table?” Asked Olaf.

  The others looked out to see someone lying on it, he seemed dead, but Torag recognized who it was. “It is the bald dwarf from the Cracked Stone inn!” He whispered.

  “Is he dead?” Asked Olaf.

  The rider positioned his hands open in the air over the dead body, he began making movements and speaking in his evil language, the dwarfs felt a terrible discomfort as they heard his voice, it was when Torag saw blood leaking from the dead dwarf’s mouth. Then the dwarf changed his mood, he felt a sudden rage, his heart accelerated and his temples got hot, like if all of sudden an inner fire was lit in him, a revolt he could not repress. “Ye damn bastard!” Shouted Torag rising from behind the tomb. “I will teach ye to not go around killing and razing!” He ran ahead, crossing the room.

  The rider turned looking back and shrieked so horrid that made everyone but Torag cover their ears.

  The dwarf came close to him, running as he shouted: “Die ye cursed demon!”

  But before he could strike the first blow with his axe, the rider raised his hand, a flash was seen and a burst was heard. Torag was thrown in the air and fell among some skeletons on the ground in a corner of the room. All the other dwarfs were taken by courage as they saw their friend being harmed, they rose and attacked, running towards the rider as they shouted war cries. He raised his hand again and sounded his evil voice, the dwarfs felt petrified and got totally paralyzed under his charm, except for Olaf, who kept advancing with some difficulty, stepping ahead slowly with great effort. “There is still a dwarf standing here to face ye!” He said while grinding his teeth.

  The rider once again raised his hand and was about to cast another spell when something else happened. The room was lit with a vivid blue light, everyone was blinded, a huge burst was heard. The dwarfs fainted.

  The Blue Wizzard.

  When Rurur woke up he opened his eyes and saw blue sky above him, it was day and he was lying on the ground outside of the tomb, he raised his torso and propped his hands on the gr
ound, there were the others. Olaf was sitting on a boulder nearby, Torag was also sitting on the ground while rubbing his head and frowning as if feeling pain, Thuor was standing beside Altar as they talked.

  “What happened?” Asked Rurur, feeling headache.

  Thuor came towards him. “Ye are the last one to wake up, the rider had us all trapped, Altar helped us.” Said the captain reaching out to Rurur and then helping him get up.

  “I actually cast out the evil spirit, before he could uproot your souls.” Said Altar.

  Rurur noticed he was now using a blue robe. “Evil spirit? What is this about?” He asked.

  “The rider, he was not just a man.” Said Torag looking up to the sky as he squinted.

  “That is it. You faced a threat bigger then you guessed, a great danger which you should not get involved in, at least not this way.” Said Altar.

  “Oh ye say that now, but it was ye who sent us there inside!” Exclaimed Rurur.

  “I never said you should fight him!” Replied Altar.

  “It is true, there are no more charges to be made here. Altar saved us, that is for sure.” Said Thuor.

  The old man nodded as he leant on his staff.

  “Now, Altar, there is much ye must tell us. To clarify what this is all about.” Said Thuor.

  “Yes!” Rurur said. “Starting with this new blue robe.”

  “This is fair.” Replied the old man. “But not here, this place is wicked and brings bad omens. It carries a shadow, it will take some time before the forest gets back to being as verdant as before. Every word said around here becomes sinister, like a curse.” He came to Rurur and passed a bottle of beverage to him. “Drink it, you will feel better soon.”