“I am sorry, but I am Telon, Tegan’s brother. You must have seen them?” Telon answered, happy to hear any news of his brother.
“Yes,” Tangela answered. The disappointment on her daughter’s face was obvious. The queen continued, “He and his three companions passed through our land several days ago. We showed them to our border, and there left them to their errand that I am sure you know. I am Tangela, Queen of the Harpies. Tegan saved my daughter from the nets of the gargoyles, for which I am grateful to your kind.”
“Did they make it to the mountain, have they found Milan? She is my daughter,” Dorir asked.
Tangela immediately felt for Dorir, knowing her own daughter would be captive were it not for Tegan. “We know nothing of what happened to them after they crossed the border. We cannot, and dare not, travel there. The inhabitants of that land are ferocious beasts and our most bitter enemy. What we do know is they have left their realm, perhaps to join the gargoyles. They are called Tolltier, and they were bred to watch the backside of the mountain, to protect the gargoyles and their young. Now they have left, crossing into our land briefly. They traveled to the front of the mountain. We chased them for a time until late this morning, when we lost their trail. That’s when we saw your fires and came to investigate. What are you doing here?”
“We came to aid Tegan in his mission, if possible,” Dorir said.
“By what, attacking the Demon’s Chamber?” asked Tangela in disbelief.
“By doing whatever we can, and yes, attacking if needed,” Dorir answered strongly, sensing her lack of confidence in them.
“Your army is strong and your hearts are good, but against the gargoyles and Sain you are no match. I hope for Tegan’s success and the downfall of the gargoyles, but it will not be by your army,” Tangela said, trying not to belittle the would-be challengers.
“Now, hold on!” Dorir said, getting upset at the harpy queen.
“Tangela,” Telon interrupted, “You seem to have quite a knowledge of these gargoyles, and a healthy dislike too. Perhaps you could aid and strengthen our forces?” inquired Telon, hoping to sway her to join them.
“No, we cannot. We have survived for many years by staying out of the way of others, living where everyone else chooses not to. We have sought no help and given none. You cannot win this battle, not with an army twice this size. They have Tolltier, goblins by the thousands, countless numbers of gargoyles, and of course Sain. I must protect my kind, which is my only duty and concern. I am sorry, but I cannot help you in this. I will give refuge if needed, in repayment for what Tegan did for Angelica. This only I can offer you.”
“We will keep that in mind, it is a kind offer. Please pass on any word from Tegan should he pass back through your land. You will know where to find us,” Telon said, hoping for a better offer from Tangela.
“We will. Good luck to you on your journey, please think wisely for the safety of your soldiers. Your next move could undoubtedly cost many of them their lives,” Tangela hated war, and the deaths that followed. She was more apt to live and let live, and give and take when necessary, than risk war and death.
Tangela, Angelica, and the other harpy departed, flying back to their land with the trail of the Tolltier lost.
“They don’t paint a very cheery picture of where we are going, or our chances of success,” Telon said to Dorir, as they re-entered their camp.
“No, she doesn’t,” Dorir added, and then he looked at Telon and began to smile, “It’s time I left the halls of my land. I have been stuck in that mountain for years, slowly wasting away. Dwarves are not meant for such a life. I thought when I was young that getting to be king would be the greatest thing. Now I know that life is about living it, not having lived. I wish it hadn’t taken these bad times to make me realize it. We are going to get Milan and Jedrek back, and take care of this Sain. Then I am going to do a lot more living.”
Telon was glad that he didn’t need to waste many years of his life to learn what Dorir had just told him. He didn’t want to be king, he knew that as soon as he was appointed it. He loved challenges, the battles that needed fought, and the works that needed completed. He wanted to arrive home every day completely exhausted from an honest day’s labor, and that was all he needed and hoped for. It is what would make him happy.
The next morning, the army pulled up its camp and they were on the march again. It would take several days before they reached the front gate to the mountain of the gargoyles. Falcons were sent out to all the tribes telling them of the deeds that had taken place, and requesting help for the fight. They hoped for more dwarves but did not know what the response would be. It could be the other tribes had been under attack also, and awaited help from Tunder Bin and the Ring Mountains.
By the end of the day a message came back from the Dragon Glades speaking of the passing of King Marku. It was sad news, especially for Dorir, for they were very close.
“He was a great king of his people, and a fierce warrior in his time. In his prime, none could stand before him,” Dorir said, wishing he could have paid his respects in person.
“The message also says his son, Darrow, has been named king. He pledges fifteen hundred warriors for our help and that by the time we get this message they will have marched. That is good news indeed, hopefully Darrow is as strong with axe as his father,” Telon said.
“He is, all of the sons of Marku are to be feared on the battle field,” Dorir replied. “Darrow will aide us greatly, he is fearless.”
“So, Kilgore is the only one yet to reply. We could use his help also,” Telon said.
“Kilgore will do what Kilgore will do. I have known him little, and have never been able to guess his mood or motives. I do believe he fancies your mother though, maybe he will send everything he has,” Dorir said, hoping for the best.
Telon chuckled a little and replied, “Perhaps. We should be careful what we wish for, we just might get it. My mother is not perfect, and not the easiest person to deal with. My father could keep her in line, but I have noticed she doesn’t see lines much now.”
Dorir laughed back, “I am glad you said it.”
Nothing more of note occurred that day, and the night also was uneventful. The next morning the march was renewed. Telon sent some of the men ahead to scout the way, it was not long before they came briskly riding back.
“What have you seen?” asked Bryon, who joined the dwarf lords up front.
“We know not what it is for sure, but it is very large. I believe it to be a gargoyle, and it stands right where we intend to march. It has seen us, and it does not hide. I think it means to engage us,” the rider said.
Telon, Dorir, and Bryon rode out to find it. Telon and Dorir on the tigers, while Bryon rode his horse. “I doubt it is still there,” Dorir said, unable to fathom something willingly standing before such an army. As they rode over a slight rise in the land they saw it. While still far off, it stood still in the middle of the land, right in their path. It must have been fifteen feet tall and was waiting for them. The three stopped, wondering what to do.
“Let’s go see who it is,” Telon advised. “We have not been secretive of our intent, and now is no time to start.”
“I agree,” answered Dorir, ready to challenge anything standing between him and his daughter.
“What say you?” Telon asked Bryon.
He had not thought to answer, as he was told to follow their orders. “I will do as told, Lord Telon,” Bryon answered
“Your men will die for the orders I give, you need to answer,” Telon explained.
“Well,” Bryon started, “We can’t go around him, and we don’t want to either. It’s best we go talk to it, or kill it, whichever proves easiest.”
Telon, Dorir, and Bryon rode to meet the gargoyle. Its size was daunting, even to the stout men. It stared them down as they approached, and showed no fear of them nor the army stationed behind them.
“Stop there,” it commanded. The imposing gargoyle’s fists
were clenched, its muscles rippled from hand to chest. The three stopped, weapons in hand.
It spoke again, “Your errand has led you here, but if you are smart, here it ends. You search for Milan, but I assure you she is dead, as is her husband and his companions.” Telon was taken aback at the news.
“You lie. Why are you here, do you seek a truce?” Telon asked, trying to maintain his composure.
“They may as well be dead,” it said with a vile laugh, “I am here to save your race from destruction. At least one of us, perhaps is thinking of them. I fear you not! Trust me when I say you can do me no harm, for I am Sain, Lord of the Gargoyles!”
Sain began to pace back and forth, sizing up his foes. “If you are wise, you will retreat! My army will soon sweep over the land and take all that are on it. None will be able to withstand our might! It would be best for all of you to go back to your holes like termites, living as best you can throughout what remains of your worthless lives!”
Dorir stood forth, with the breeze in his hair as he pronounced, “You are the one that we will wash from the land. We will defy you until the last of our race still breathes! We will not back down, and it is you that should prepare for battle.”
“Dorir, Dwarf Lord, you are weak! Your people flounder under your lead. Their only hope is for me to kill you so that someone else may take over. Your own daughter was distraught that her father failed to come to her aid.”
Dorir was ready to destroy Sain, and started to ride toward the gargoyle when Telon grabbed him to keep him calm.
“Do not be hasty,” Telon urged to quell his anger.
“Telon, second class brother to a low-rate king of a soon-to-be-gone kingdom! Your poor decision making has overextended your army, and has left it exposed. Your mother’s hopes have gone for naught.”
“I already killed your servant, Coric. You will hurt us no more,” Telon jolted back, hoping to spurn Sain’s anger.
The gargoyle laughed at the remark. He looked to Dorir again and said, “Do you even know if you can trust this dwarf?” He motioned to Telon. “You blame this Coric, who I know not of. Who killed Coric? Seems more likely that the murder of the innocent dwarf was a coverup. Alas, Telon is indeed the one who has been in my confidence the entire time!”
Telon could not believe what he was hearing. He felt the looks by those he was with. “You lie!” he exclaimed. I would never join you!” Telon’s axe flashed in his hands, ready to attack the forked tongued serpent before him.
At that moment, Sain jerked his head in the direction of his mountain. He then quickly looked back at Telon, Dorir, and Bryon, saying as he leaned toward them, “Your judgement time comes, you have but to choose where your doom descends upon you. Perhaps you will kill each other before I get a chance to!” Sain then flexed his wings, and was gone effortlessly.
The two dwarves stood there for a bit, thinking about the words spoken to them by the demon Sain. The words ate at their souls, the seeds of self-doubt that each of them harbored beginning to grow roots.
Telon looked to Dorir, “I promise you, King Dorir, I have had no dealings with gargoyles. I swear my life on it.”
Dorir looked at Telon, wanting badly to believe in the dwarf that stood before him.
Bryon saw this and said, “Do not let the ill words of one such as Sain make you second guess your actions. He is not the one to judge you, and now is not the time. He means to cause confusion and second-guessing. Do not let him win before the war has even begun.”
“Yes,” Telon said. “We need to get ready to attack the mountain. We will bring the whole thing down rock by rock if needed.”
“I trust you Telon,” Bryon said, “and I know you would not betray us.”
The words were spoken, but Telon could feel the words were hollow. He was now under suspicion by those he trusted most.
They returned to their troops, who were a bit rattled by what they had seen. The army, after being calmed down, readied for the final march to the mountain, knowing full well many would never march out. Telon thought deeply about the words of Sain, and the events of the recent days. He tried to make sense of it all, but he could not.
Chapter 20: Late Night Snack
“At least five. Absolutely no less,” Quigle answered confidently.
“Surely you jest. I could maybe handle five, there is no way you could take that many,” Taylor answered mockingly, challenging his younger brother.
“That’s troll crap, neither of you could handle more than two goblins,” Shalkar squawked with a giggle. In truth, he had no idea how many they could handle but he enjoyed egging both of his friends on. They were easy targets.
The others stopped their talking to look at Shalkar, who quickly grew uncomfortable with the attention. They were not ready to take any advice from him.
“What?” Shalkar asked, wondering what the big deal was.
“You sounded better with that fat goblin sitting on you!” Skyler exclaimed, as they followed the tracks of the dwarves that took Lizzy. The rest laughed anew, except for Shalkar. He usually was the one taking the brunt of the jokes, and was growing quite weary of it.
“We must save Lizzy, and the baby king!” Shalkar announced, hoping to change the subject.
“Agreed, you are off the hook for now,” Skyler said, knowing Shalkar was far more concerned about his lovely maiden than the future king. The forest and mountain ranges they were going through were thick and wild. Dwarves passed often from city to city, but usually by the well-trodden and groomed paths in the valley. This trail was far from that, and the going was very slow. Skyler sent Balthar and Quigle to the front, as they were the best at tracking. They were also the least likely to be seen sneaking up on Mylar’s dwarf company.
They walked into an opening in the evergreen trees, when they noticed Balthar nervously sneaking back.
“Mylar’s company is climbing the next rise, not far off. Quigle is still marking them,” Balthar reported.
“Good, they will probably make camp soon. They are still far off from their home, we will need to try and get Lizzy and Jedrek out in the night,” Skyler said.
“How do you plan to do that?” Taylor asked.
“I am not sure yet. Hopefully they won’t be expecting anyone following them. This could give us the chance we need to sneak her out.”
As Skyler hoped, the dwarves did stop in the night. They made camp on a small ridge overlooking the valley below. There was room for the thirty or so dwarves and their fires, but little more. There were four tents propped up, each one guarded by two dwarves. Most of the dwarves laid out their bed rolls by the fires.
Skyler, with Taylor, watched from a perch along the rocks that rose above the camp. It was not what they were hoping for.
“How are we supposed to get her out of there?” a dejected Taylor asked Skyler.
Skyler began to think aloud, “Well, we can’t sneak onto that ridge. It is too small with nowhere to hide. We can’t just walk in there and take them?” he asked with a look toward Taylor, who shook his head ‘no’ to agree. Skyler continued, “So, our only hope is to draw them off the ridge. Hopefully some, if not all of them, will leave to the distraction so we can swoop in and take Lizzy and Jedrek.”
“Sounds good,” Taylor began. “So how do we get them off the ridge?”
“Well, what do dwarves like enough to get them up in the middle of the night to go trouncing through the woods?” Skyler asked.
“Women!” Taylor answered brazenly, knowing he had a great idea.
“Women? You do realize we don’t have any women, right?” Quigle asked. He was looking for better ideas, his disappointment in Taylor’s plan evident.
“Right. What do we have?” Taylor said, answering Skyler’s question with a question.
“We have dwarf boys,” Skyler muttered, more to himself than Taylor.
There was a silence, and then an idea began to grow in Skyler’s head, “Dwarf boys who can act like wild boars! Several of us will go in
to the woods below the ridge, and start rooting around like wild boars. We love to eat hogs, we can’t fight the urge to eat them. There is no way this won’t work.” He was sure this was a great idea, and he couldn’t hide his excitement.
“You know, we could act like dwarf women too,” Taylor said, disappointed his idea wasn’t used.
The two made their way back to their friends to finalize the plan. “Dress like women, prancing around the woods at night, that’s a great idea Taylor,” Skyler said sarcastically, barely holding back a giggle. Taylor did not enjoy the ribbing.
They soon met up with the others in the woods and began to discuss their plan.
“Act like wild boars rooting through the woods? That’s the best you can come up with? I am not acting like a pig squealing in the woods! Who knows what kind of animals that could attract,” Shalkar said, feeling quite above the role of acting like a pig.
Skyler looked in each of their eyes, sensing a small revolt, and threw out another option, “You could dress up and act like dwarf women?”
The group fell silent, mulling over the options. Taylor’s pride was swelling, feeling strongly they would swing to his idea.
Quigle stepped forward, “I would rather be skinned alive and eaten by dung beetles before I dressed like a woman running through the forest in the night. Who knows what could happen before they realized we weren’t females, it could take some time in the dark for them to figure it out, disgusting!”
Quigle’s remarks, and the ensuing thoughts, made the entire group sick to their stomachs.
Shalkar reconsidered, “You know, if there was a pig out there right now, I would probably chase it. I am very hungry, and you know those big dwarves are hungry. I can make a pretty mean hog call too!”
Meril, usually quiet, added, “I can do a pretty fierce snort myself when the time calls for it.” He was pretty set on not dressing like a woman.
“So, we have it. You will all get your hog calls ready. Taylor, Quigle, and I will wait until the rest of you draw them off. We will then go in and get Lizzy and Jedrek. Let’s meet back here, and then make for the river where we crossed.” All agreed, although Taylor still liked his plan best.
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