The Fire Within
Page 8
“You went in search for the Bone Thieves?” The dwarf asked in awe. Hayden guessed that even the dwarves revered the Bone Thieves with some degree of mysticism.
“We found them,” Hayden answered. This time all the dwarves began talking at once and the one sitting on the throne had to silence them.
“It was during our journey to the Shadow Desert that we ran into a copper rider and she told us that they had Shane’s family captive.” The dwarf nodded his understanding.
“He left you to save his family?” He asked, knowing the answer.
“He did, I told him to go.” The dwarf scrunched his face at hearing Hayden’s words. He was a little surprised by Hayden telling him to leave.
“After we got to the Bone Thieves they were quick to join us once they heard our terms.” Hayden knew what the dwarf was about to say.
“What are your terms?” He asked.
“Join us and fight to the end, win or lose. If we win, your race gets to rule themselves. No more branding, no more answering to the Metallic Nation because you have to, but your leaders will stand as equal to all the race’s leaders.” Hayden watched as every pair of eyes turned to look at the dwarf.
“I take it that the Bone Thieves are marching to Celestial City now as well?” The dwarf asked.
“They are. I came here seeking your people to ask if you will join us in this fight.” Hayden said. “One of the riders we have held prisoner at the Dark Hold said that Elizabeth has reached out to every race to ask them to join her cause in fighting us. We have convinced them all to turn against her and fight with us.” Hayden said.
“You must have beaten the riders she sent to us then because we have heard no word of this war nor has anyone come seeking our help. Except for you.” The dwarf said.
“Elizabeth will not send for your help.” Hayden corrected.
“And why is that?” The dwarf asked as he leaned forward on his throne slightly. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably, having a pretty good idea what Hayden was about to say.
“She believes your people broken and weak. That you are too few to help her in the fight to come.” Hayden watched as the anger sparked in his eyes and was reflected in the eyes of each and every dwarf in the room.
The young, the old, the fit, and the cripple alike took offense to his words and didn’t try to hide it.
“Broken?” He asked loudly. “Weak?” The dwarf no longer looked at Hayden but instead looked to his people. “She thinks us broken! She thinks us weak!” He shouted even louder.
“She thinks we are of no use, but we will show her that a cracked ax can still be sharp and can still cut flesh!” He roared. Slamming his balled-up fists against his chest as he spoke.
The dwarves lifted their dirty, disheveled heads back and roared in turn. Some hefted up weapons, read to fight at that moment.
Hayden again locked eyes with the dwarf upon the forgotten throne, but this time it was out of respect. He reached his hand out to Hayden’s, and they clasped hands to the cheers of the few around them.
“I am Durgen The Survivor. King of What Remains.” He said. “And I will kill the wretched Elizabeth with my bare hands.” Even Hayden shouted with them.
Chapter Eight
The roar died down from the dwarves.
“How long until the battle begins?” Durgen asked, his voice coming out as a growl more than words. He was ready to fight.
“I am not sure, the Bone Thieves are marching to Celestial City and the hope was that Kirin would have taken her time moving to the City,” Hayden admitted. He hated to kill the energy by his unsureness.
“We must call the clans back,” Durgen said to one of the dwarves.
“They won’t rally to us, not after what happened last time.” The dwarf answered.
“They will answer our call, I am their King,” Durgen demanded. The room silenced as Durgen shouted. Durgen looked around the room to see if anyone else had an objection. They, for their part, remained silent.
Hayden looked back to Draek. He was beginning to get worried, and he knew Draek was feeling the same.
“How many of your people are here, now?” Hayden asked. They didn’t like hearing that Durgen had to call the clans back.
“Those you see before you,” Durgen said with a smile. Hayden felt his heart skip a beat. There were maybe twenty or so dwarves and possibly five red dragons. Hayden hadn’t been expecting much since his talk with Benet, but he had hoped for more than this.
“This is it?” Hayden asked. A flash of anger crossed Durgen’s eyes.
“Yes, this is it. You and your people did a good job of killing my people.” Durgen didn’t yell, but his words fell like stones.
“I am sorry, I had just hoped for more,” Hayden said with a nod.
“There are more of our kind, not as many as there used to be but still a few hundred dwarves and at last count, I think there are a total of fifteen red dragons,” Durgen said. His people seemed to not be too worried about the numbers they had.
“A rider told us that your numbers were few and that was why Elizabeth didn’t think to seek you out,” Hayden admitted.
“A mistake she will pay for,” Durgen growled. “One of many.”
“She will, but I had hoped that his guess was wrong and that more of your people would have survived. I am afraid that even when we win this war, your race may not survive.” Hayden admitted. He knew that he should have just accepted their help, but he couldn’t do that in good conscious.
“I would rather die fighting the Metallic Nation then subject my people to their rule any longer,” Durgen thundered for all his people to hear. They grumbled and voiced their approval.
“How soon can we be ready to go?” Hayden asked. He could feel himself getting anxious knowing that they were finally heading to Celestial City to join the fight.
“I will send the dragons out to summon all of our people. The clans aren’t far.” Durgen looked over to the pile of dragons as he spoke and the red dragons moved like molten metal and left the room. Climbing over each other as they went.
“It will be a long walk for them to get to Celestial City,” Hayden said, looking out at the people in the room. “We will have to move quickly.”
“Oh, we might not have many dragons left, but I promise you.” Durgen smiled. “We won’t be walking.” Hayden heard a roar emitting from the hallway they had entered in from. It sounded like something out of a nightmare.
Hayden couldn’t help but step closer to Draek and move his hand to grab his sword.
Draek, what was that? Hayden asked.
Draek stared into the darkness of the corridor that hid the creator of the horrible noise, but he stayed silent.
“Don’t worry, they won’t hurt you unless I command them too,” Durgen said with a short laugh.
“What are they?” Hayden asked aloud.
“Oh, come now Hayden. You must remember the Utahnen?” Durgen asked as the sound of heavy, deliberate steps echoed off the walls.
“Utahnen?” Hayden said the word, but he was sure he had never heard it before. As the shadows in the hall began to move and the sound took physical form, Hayden realized what he was looking at.
“DRAEK!” Hayden yelled as he ran and jumped onto Draek, climbing onto his back as fast as he could.” Draek pulled his lips back to expose his teeth and growled and the moving demon.
The shroud of darkness hiding the creature fell as a single giant gray horn pierced into the light. A snarling dark face with foam at the edges of a broad, sagging mouth emerged after the horn that was centered where the creature's nose should have been.
The creature clambered the rest of the way into Hayden’s vision, and he saw the wheeled cart the was pulled behind it. The Utahnen was larger than a bear with small arms that hung in front of the creature while thick, grotesque legs propelled it forward. It looked like a small, misshapen black dragon without wings. Hayden had seen the beast before, but he had never heard what it was called.
“Don’t harm it.” Durgen roared at them. Draek had been wondering if the creature would burn, and he was about to find out, but he stopped at Durgen’s command.
“I remember these creatures,” Hayden said. He didn’t know if it was rude to speak to Durgen with his back to him, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the Utahnen.
Hayden and the creature locked eyes and the monster stopped moving. Hayden saw the Utahnen’s flanks puff up at tremble with a mighty shake before it roared, slinging spit and foam as it tried to lunge at him. It lowered its horn and charged at Draek. The dwarf rider in the cart desperately pulled at the reins but the creature would not be stopped.
Draek was about to strike and kill the lone creature when Durgen jumped in front of Hayden and swung his massive right fist at the creature, hitting it at the base of the horn.
There was a solid thud sound as Durgen made contact with the Utahnen and the creature stopped in its tracks and lowered its head.
“You must forgive us, this one is still training,” Durgen said as he examined his hand. “We had trained them to kill humans and didn’t think it necessary to train them to only kill some humans.”
Durgen turned to walk back to his shattered throne and shrugged as he passed Hayden. “Sorry.” He added.
“How man Utahnens do you have?” Hayden asked. He watched as the creature shook its head and looked back at Hayden, this time not moving.
“We have enough for every dwarf able to fight,” Durgen answered. “They are wild in the northern mountains and are more plentiful than your horses.”
Hayden couldn’t imagine keeping such creatures in stables like they did horses, but the dwarves were comfortable walking around the Utahnen as if it hadn’t just tried to gore him.
“My people will come ready to fight, and they will ride the Utahnen straight to Celestial City. We will help you win this war, but we want terms.” Durgen said with a stone face.
“Terms?” Hayden asked. “I thought freedom was what you wanted?”
“It is. My people want freedom, but there are things I want.” Durgen answered.
“And what would that be?” Hayden was worried that Durgen’s demands would be something that he could not fulfill.
“When this is over, I want anything made by dwarves returned to us,” Durgen said. All eyes fell on Hayden to see how he was going to respond.
Hayden was unsure what all treasures Celestial City held, they had never been taken to see the vaults. He didn’t know what he was promising, but it made sense that if the dwarves had made it and it had been taken from them, it should return to them.
“I see no problem with that,” Hayden answered.
“If we get to Celestial City before the fighting starts, we want to lead the first charge,” Durgen said with a smile. The light from the torches in the throne room danced across his face, and Hayden thought he looked just as mad as he sounded.
“I cannot speak for Kirin or the battle plans, but if it is in my power to grant your wish, I will,” Hayden said. He couldn’t promise that he would succeed, but Hayden could guarantee that they would try, and he hoped that it would be enough. One of the dwarves brought Durgen a horn filled with a frothy, dark liquid.
He drank it but never took his eyes off Hayden. “I accept that.” He finally replied when he finished drinking.
“Is there anything else you want?” Hayden asked. The Utahnen growled beside him, and it took everything Hayden had not to jump.
“If at all possible, I want you to fight alongside us,” Durgen said. “I know you spared my brother when you found him and you alone dared to seek us out,” Durgen explained.
The dwarf King didn’t outright say how big of a deal his offer was, but Hayden could figure it out. The dwarves were prideful and to allow a non-dwarf to fight beside them, with a personal invitation from their king, was something that would be made into legends.
“It would be an honor,” Hayden said, again not sure if he could fulfill Durgen’s request.
“Yes, it is,” Durgen answered.
“Anything else?” Hayden asked.
“I would like to know more about this freedom you promise,” Durgen said. This was something that Hayden knew he had to be careful discussing. He couldn’t promise things that were not his to make, or that would raise one race over the other.
“You are King of the dwarves. You will reign as a king. You will have say over what happens in your kingdom however you and your people see fit. The same will be done by the other races, humans included.” Durgen pulled at his unkempt beard as Hayden spoke.
“Cassidy will lead our people.” Hayden continued. “If you wish to trade with the elves for lumber you may and you can bargain in a way that benefits both races equally.” Hayden finished.
“The Metallic Nation will not tell us what to do?” Durgen asked.
“No, we will be equal in all things,” Hayden answered. “We want peace and friendship with the races, not servitude.”
“We could stay here discussing how great things will be after the war forever but, we must win the war first. For now, you have promised enough, and we have terms.” Durgen said as he stood up from his shattered throne.
“I could not agree with you more,” Hayden said.
“I know you cannot promise me what I am about to ask you, but if the chance arrives, I want to be the one that kills Elizabeth,” Durgen added.
“There are many of us that want that privilege but if you can kill her, do so and do it quickly.” The two nodded to each other and Durgen held out his hairy, callused hand for Hayden to shake. Hayden did so without flinching under Durgen’s strength.
“The dragons will go and bring the clans back, and soon we will ride south to Celestial City. This time we will be as swift as a hammer strike when the iron is hot.” Durgen shouted. The dwarves in the throne room yelled and cheered.
“Go, strike up the forges and mend any weapons and armor we can carry down. No dwarf will want for gear this battle, and there may be those that need our craft.” At once almost all the dwarves in the room ran out the way that Hayden had entered.
Durgen picked up Hayden’s helmet and looked over the eagle once more.
“I am sorry for all that has happened,” Hayden said.
“You cannot be sorry for what has happened, only for the part you played,” Durgen said. “But my brother’s dragon told us that you did not attack him and that you did not turn our people in.”
“I tried to do what I thought was right. We told Elizabeth that the dwarves had flown off in a different direction. We tried to hide them, but they were still found.” Hayden explained. As he spoke, he couldn’t help but remember the betrayal in Bureg’s eyes as Elizabeth lied and said that Hayden had been the reason they were captured.
“You will need a new helmet,” Durgen explained, changing the subject before Hayden could say anything else. “This one was forged by blood. It won’t do.”
Hayden had gotten used to having his eagle helmet, and he would miss it, but now that he knew the source of his helmet, he was a little relieved to not have to wear it.
“Do you have any helmets for humans?” Hayden asked.
Durgen laughed before he answered. “Let me show you why my people are the best smiths in Arvain.” He said and led the way back down the corridor.
Hayden looked to Draek, and together they followed the King of What Remained.
~
“How?” Hayden began. The other words just didn’t seem to form in his head.
“I am sorry Hayden, we don’t have time for that,” Durgen said with a short laugh. The dwarf King had led Hayden down several dark tunnels until they had found their way to a room he called a forge.
It was smaller than the giant chamber Hayden had first entered when they had made i
t to the mountain but not by much. This room, however, was full of light because there was no stone floor but a giant lake of glowing red liquid. It reminded Hayden of the liquid that the red dragons breathed instead of fire.
“I can tell you that,” Durgen said as he pointed to the lake of light, “is the heart of our mountain.”
“What is it?” Hayden asked.
“Melted stone and metal, we use it heat our forges,” Durgen explained. “We call it lava.”
The tunnel they had come through opened to a ledge that overlooked the lava. They had built suspended bridges and walkways that crisscrossed over the lake of lava. Chains and support beams held everything up, but as the dwarves moved across the elevated walkways, they swayed from side to side.
Watching the bronze colored platforms shake and move under the dwarves’s weight unnerved Hayden. Draek was unable to fit in the chamber, so Hayden was trying his best to explain it all to him.
It’s a giant pit of liquid fire. He explained. Hayden took a few careful steps forward to lean over the railing. He wanted to see just how far the lava went. He gripped the soot-covered bronze railing tightly and looked over.
“What do you think about our forge?” Durgen laughed. He walked over and leaned against the railing, causing it to shake and Hayden to all but freak out. The entire forge was hot, hotter than Hayden had ever been. There was a strange, harsh smell in the air but Hayden couldn’t figure out what it was.
“I don’t have words for it,” Hayden said. They watched as the dwarves moved about the walkways like spiders on their interlocking webs. They worked their way in sets of twos to stations that looked like regular forges, just suspended in the air.
When the dwarves were in place at each of the forges, they pulled levers that at first did nothing. Hayden didn’t have to wait long until the sounds of something coming to life echoed through the cavern. Bronze finger like pipes began slowly descending from the forges into the lava below.