The Mountain Valley War

by M. A. Carlson

  “Olaf, I’m about to do something either really stupid or absolutely brilliant,” I warned my friend.

  The corner of Olaf’s mouth upturned slightly. “Do what you need to, mate. I’ve got your back.”

  I stood, ignoring the arguing I walked to the end of the table by Mardi and walked out into the center of the circle, ignoring the shouts and noise. I faced the throne and took my spear in hand. I slammed the butt of the spear into the stone floor silencing the Dwarves as a wave of energy flashed out from the impact point. I saw no change in my mana or stamina, so it wasn’t my doing. I took a knee and bowed my head.

  “God Ivaldi, you are needed. Your divine council and guidance are needed now more than ever. I beseech you, help your people,” I stated clearly, hoping the words were right.

  The golden light enveloping the throne suggested that I was indeed successful. When the light faded the throne was larger and now occupied by the Dwarven God with his glowing red crown, his skin a blend of several Dwarven colorings.

  “I have been called. I have heard your plea. Speak,” God Ivaldi ordered.

  “The Duke of Anvilton has declared war on Hammerton. It will not be long before he forces his soldiers to attack. This Council is divided and for every minute they spend arguing, the less time Hammerton has to prepare,” I said.

  “The Duke of Anvilton has joined with the shadows. He has been cast out from my protection. I charge this Council to bring an end to this stain upon Dwarves everywhere,” God Ivaldi ordered loudly.

  “But our kin,” Morlin protested.

  “I said nothing of your kin!” God Ivaldi shouted, glaring at Morlin. “Those who would stand with Shrove are no kin to the Dwarven nation.”

  Morlin suddenly bowed, not daring to look upon the God Ivaldi now for fear of being smote.

  “Bye-bye Jacko, Warrior Priest of the Goddess Issara, I would charge you and your people with a Holy Crusade. Duke Shrove du Anvil must be stopped, Chaos must not be allowed to spread,” God Ivaldi’s voice boomed.

  Class Quest Alert: Holy Crusade (Recommended Level 12-15, 5 or more Adventurers)

  God Ivaldi has appeared before you demanding you put a stop to Duke Shrove du Anvil in a Holy Crusade for the sake of Dwarf-kind.

  Reward: Experience, Hidden, Hidden, Hidden, Hidden

  Do you accept this quest?

  Yes

  No

  The quest was unable to be refused, not that I would anyway. Experience and four hidden rewards were too good to refuse.

  It seemed God Ivaldi wasn’t done. He lifted his gaze from me and instead scanned the assembly. “Council of Hammerton, I would charge you with a Holy Crusade. Duke Shrove du Anvil and all those who stand with him must be stopped, Chaos must not be allowed to spread.”

  “We will do all we can, father,” said Mardi, answering for the entire Council.

  God Ivaldi looked down at his daughter and smiled fondly. “It is well, daughter,” he said, vanishing as he arrived.

  No one spoke for a moment. Many of those assembled were praying or bowed deeply in worship.

  “An illusion,” Morlin snapped. “It was all a trick by this outsider. You would believe this . . . this adventurer scum?” His outburst was followed by lightning striking his desk, wiping the rune from the table.

  “I am fairly certain, that was my father’s way of saying, ‘you are fired’,” said Mardi, smirking triumphantly.

  “No, no, I was promised-” Morlin started to say then suddenly clamped up.

  Mardi grin just grew broader. “Promised what?” she asked, knowing she had him.

  “Seize him!” General Hammersmith shouted, three of the soldiers that came with him rushed from their seats, one of them tackling the former ‘Official’ while the other two followed just behind, working to secure him. The other soldiers that came with him cordoned off the rest of Morlin’s retinue.

  “Take him and his entourage to be interrogated,” General Hammersmith ordered. “Council, please forgive me. I must deal with these traitors. Your Grace, my vote is with you.”

  “Thank you, General,” said Mardi appreciatively.

  I needed to move out of the way as the stairway reopened, allowing the General and his men to depart.

  “Does anyone here doubt the validity of my father’s declaration?” Mardi asked loudly as soon as the stairway resealed. She gave them a full minute before speaking again. “I accepted my father’s call for a Holy Crusade without consulting you, for that, I apologize. Does anyone object to my decision?” It was pure politics from what I could tell. She wanted her Council to feel like they were part of the decision.

  Another minute passed and not one voice objected.

  “Your Grace, I believe I speak for everyone here when I say, it is about damned time,” said Digren, looking more than a little eager.

  “Then we have work to do,” said Mardi.

  I managed to slip back to my seat while the Council discussed everything from troop recruitment to supply chain management.

  “Just can’t take you anywhere, can we?” Rose whispered into my ear.

  I shrugged.

  “He wouldn’t be Bye-bye if he wasn’t getting us into trouble,” said Micaela.

  “I thought you said, trouble comes looking for us,” I retorted.

  “I’m starting to think you might be the personification of trouble,” said Baby, giggling.

  “You guys know how to show a bunny girl a good time, that much is true,” Bushy added.

  Now how could I argue with that?

  Olaf was finally given the chance to stand and speak during the meeting. He kept to the most pressing subjects, talking about some of the things the adventurers would be able to do and help with, mostly surrounding the acquisition of resources, either theirs or ours. Basically, the Council ended up deciding they wanted the adventurers to focus first on securing the resources on the Hammer Mountain Range. Though Olaf did point out the adventurers were already working on stealth operations to slow down Anvilton but didn’t elaborate. I must admit, I was curious just what Heath was up to with so many ‘Stealth’ and ‘Scavenge’ users, but I was sure I would hear that story eventually.

  “Bye-bye, you are a lifesaver,” said Mardi once the meeting finally ended.

  “I was just following orders,” I said.

  “My father asked you to do that?” Mardi asked, looking surprised. I thought I might have seen a look of disappointment in her eyes too. I imagined she was sad that her father hadn’t spoken to her instead.

  “Yeah,” I answered.

  “To think, he would actually demand a Holy Crusade. He must have used a lot of his divinity to do something like that. It also means that whatever the Duke has gotten up to is dangerous, dangerous enough that the Gods feel threatened by it,” Mardi explained.

  “He also said Chaos was involved. I think we now know who the agent of Chaos is,” I said.

  “Duke Shrove,” Mardi hissed. “All this pain and suffering, I want to know why.”

  “We’ll find out, it is just a matter of time,” said Olaf.

  “For now, we need to train, a lot,” said Micaela.

  “I cannot force you to stay here, but I do ask no more than three days,” said Mardi. “Train as hard as you can in that time and when you come back, I want to start attacking Anvilton in earnest.”

  “We’ll be ready,” I promised.

  “Okay, let’s collect Gras, stock up on a few supplies and head for the mines like Mic suggested,” said Olaf.

  I just hoped Hammerton would be able to hold it together for three days without us.

  “Do you have a temple here?” I asked. “I mean, other than your home?”

  “We have a temple to my father, why?” Mardi asked.

  “Nothing for the Goddess Issara?” I asked.

  “No,” Mardi replied.

  “What about a God of Justice of any kind?” I asked.

  Mardi frowned. “Dwarves have never needed a God of Justice. Our belie
fs are honor and craft, nothing above either of those. We have never had need before.”

  “Well, you need one now,” I said, feeling slightly frustrated. Was this why the Goddess Issara could not see what was happening here. Because there was no Justice to be found.

  “Then build a small shrine to the Goddess Issara,” said Mardi.

  “I can do that?” I asked.

  “Well, sort of. Priest Bickerstaff will never allow his temple to my father to be sullied in such a way. However, my cavern has plenty of space and I would be honored to share some of that space with Goddess Issara, especially as she brought you into my life,” Mardi said thoughtfully.

  “Great, Micaela, I need your construction services,” I said, looking to my friend.

  “1-Gold per hour,” Micaela stated, grinning.

  Olaf just rolled his eyes. “It’s free Bye-bye, let’s just hurry this up.”

  “Babe, stop ruining my fun,” said Micaela petulantly. “Anyway, what do you have in mind?”

  My mind was drawn back to the small shrine in Hurligville, a statue and sconce were all I needed.

  “Do you have any stone left?” I asked.

  “Limestone, but yeah,” Micaela answered.

  “Great, Mardi, can you show us the fastest way back to your cavern? I want to get this done fast so I can feel safer leaving Hammerton for a few days,” I said.

  Mardi nodded and guided us back through the tunnels until we emerged from a door just kitty-corner from the gates to her cavern. Inside the cave, she led us left along the cave wall. “This area should be good,” she stated. We were almost opposite her home with the small lake or pond or whatever it was between us.

  “Cut an archway into the cave wall, two feet deep and a smooth as possible,” I said.

  “I’ve got that, babe,” said Olaf, his pick suddenly equipped.

  “Great, I need an altar, maybe waist high,” I said, holding my hand up to my waistline.

  “Imbued stone,” Mardi added. “The Gods need the mana in their altar to be able to accept their essence.”

  I gave her a look of curiosity.

  “What? I used to be a Goddess, remember. I know these things,” Mardi explained.

  It should have been obvious to me.

  It took about ten minutes for Olaf to dig the hole and another forty to smooth the walls, an impressive feat without a chisel or sanding tool. Meanwhile, Micaela worked on imbuing several chunks of stone for me, which took a while as she needed to regularly stop and replenish her mana. Thankfully, her gourd, Barista, was more than up to the task. Then Micaela shaped them into square stackable blocks, which I carefully placed inside the alcove Olaf created for me.

  “Last step, I need a statue of a woman in armor, holding a torch in one hand and sword on the other stabbed into the ground. She also has bandages around her head with a single eye covered up,” I said, trying to describe the image as best I could.

  “Better be more specific,” Mardi warned me.

  I frowned for a second before I dug into my bag looking for my first journal. I flipped through the pages quickly until I found a drawing. It was the one I had made of her altar back in Hurligville. “Like this,” I said, showing Micaela the image.

  “Hey, that’s really good,” Micaela said. She took a long moment, staring intently at the image. Closing her eyes, the large chunk of stone in her hands seemed to turn soft and start shifting around before solidifying in a near perfect replica of the one in Hurligville. “Good?”

  “Perfect,” I said, accepting the idol from her. I carefully placed the idol in the center of the altar. The only thing I needed to do now, was paint the mural. Hopefully, my black ink would be enough for the sparkly gray rock. I went to work, using my fine brush, which definitely was not the right tool for the job. But I persisted. I don’t know how long I delayed our departure from Hammerton but when it was done, it was as perfect as I could manage. Now, I just needed to see if I could call on my Goddess.

  “Any tips?” I asked, looking to Mardi who could only shrug. I kneeled before the altar, the rough stone of the ground dug into my knees, but I ignored it. Instead, I focused on the altar and the image of my Goddess before me and I prayed.

  “Well done!” boomed through the cavern, the source though was much more localized. Gone was the small statue, instead, a small child sat upon the altar. She looked just like the Goddess had when I met with her a few weeks ago, though her size was much smaller, she was a foot tall at most. “The nose is slightly off,” she said, her hands quickly shifting and adjusting the stone that made her nose. “And here I thought you would never figure it out. I am glad my faith in you was not misplaced . . . although, I really should punish you. You still have not learned my history or language.”

  “My deepest apologies. I have ordered the books,” I immediately defended, backing up a step from the pint-sized powerhouse hoping I wasn’t about to be broken again.

  “Still rude I see,” Goddess Issara added, looking around at my friends.

  “Right, sorry. Goddess Issara, these are my friends. Everyone, the Goddess Issara,” I said lamely.

  “Better than nothing I suppose. Nice to meet you all. I trust my little Bye-bye here has been keeping you all on your toes. Do not answer, I already know,” Goddess Issara said, holding up a hand to forestall any replies. “Now, Bye-bye, you have a pressing request. Speak it.”

  “We are planning to go away from the city for a few days to train. Except, I don’t feel comfortable leaving the city without a defense against the other adventurers. I was hoping, you would help me teach someone here ‘Justice Bringer’?” I requested.

  “Alas, you have not the power to teach anyone that spell and I cannot gift it to anyone,” Goddess Issara stated. “However, together we might be able to . . . cheat.”

  “Tell me what to do,” I said, worried and hopeful in equal measure.

  “You may exchange three days of your spell and 3-sigils for three single-use scrolls, it is the best I can do,” Goddess Issara said.

  Three days at the mine should be safe enough. I shouldn’t need to use my spell during that time. Worst case, if they do attack the mine, we might die horribly along with all the miners. But, better to lose the mine than to lose the whole city. It was cold and calculated, and I felt terrible for thinking it, but it was no less true.

  I looked to my friends to see if they had any input.

  “Do what you think is right, mate. As always, I’ve got your back,” said Olaf.

  “Do it, Jack,” said Rose simply.

  “I don’t like not having your spell to fall back on, but keeping the city safe is more important,” said Baby.

  When I looked to Micaela, she was not where I left her. Instead, she was standing right in front of the altar, studying the moving statue. “Oh, she is so cute!”

  “Goddess forgive us,” I instantly begged, worried about whatever divine punishment was about to be visited on me. I shouldn’t have worried, Goddess Issara giggled much like I would expect a little girl in the body she had would do.

  “I thought I was cute,” Vision pouted.

  “You are cute, Vision,” said Micaela, reassuring her spirit wolf companion. “But so is she. Ooh, idea,” said Micaela, reaching forward to pick up the small statue of my Goddess, but before her hand could touch Goddess Issara, there was a flash of light and Micaela was gone.

  “Are you sure you want to be so glib with powers that you truly do not comprehend?” said the Goddess Issara, sitting back on the alter, her eyes fixed on Vision. Vision who now bore a tiny version of Micaela mounted on his back.

  Olaf’s eyes went wide first before quickly prostrating himself. “Please forgive my wife, she knows not what she does.”

  “Giddy up,” Micaela cheered though, egging Vision to run while she held on for dear life.

  “Your wife is going to be the death of us all,” I said, watching in horror. I knew just how fickle my Goddess could be. We were all a heartbeat away from bein
g eradicated, I just knew it.

  “I’m fully aware,” said Olaf, watching it the same as I was.

  “Hmm, I thought that more of a punishment. Instead, she appears to be enjoying herself. I suppose I shall need to think of something more fitting later,” said Goddess Issara thoughtfully. There was another flash of light and Micaela was back to normal size and standing next to Vision.

  “Awe, I was having fun,” Micaela pouted.

  “Child, you risk much in toying with a Goddess. Perhaps next time I shall punish your friends, maybe your husband instead,” said Goddess Issara.

  Micaela sobered. “No, that’s not necessary. I’m sorry for my behavior, it won’t happen again.” It seemed consequences aimed at the rest of us were all Micaela needed to take this seriously. I wasn’t pleased that was what it would take.

  “See that it does not,” Goddess Issara stated clearly, though there was a hint of amusement playing at the corners of her mouth.

  “Ahem,” said the Goddess Issara, thankfully she appeared to still be amused. “While it is entertaining to watch you fawn over me, we do not have much time remaining before I must depart. Bye-bye, I need your decision.”

  “Sorry, yes, I agree to your terms,” I said, taking three of the sigils from my bag and holding them out to her. My hand was enveloped in a flash of light and when it faded, I held three scrolls in hand. I looked back to the Goddess Issara to find she had left and only her statue remained.

  “Well, that was exciting and maybe a little terrifying,” said Micaela, scratching Vision behind the ears.

  “Your Goddess is fun,” said Mardi with a giggle. “I might try that age thing myself once you help me regain my Godly status.”

  “Micaela riding was fun, I wish Baby was that small, we could play like that more,” said Vision.

  “You know, you’re going to get bigger,” said Baby, landing next to the wolf and scratching him behind the ears. “And when you do, we can have so much fun.”

  Vision’s tails started wagging excitedly. “Promise?”

  “Of course,” said Baby, just as excited at the prospect.

  “Alright, enough fooling around, we’ve lost three hours and our buffs are gone. Why don’t we grab some lunch and get out of town? I’m sure Mic has something perfect to serve us for lunch,” said Olaf.