Soon the first creature landed, quickly followed by the multitude. The dwarves were relieved to see it was the harpies, not gargoyles, which were landing. They had come to lend their help for the cause.
Tangela landed first, and approached Tegan at the front of the army, “We are here to help you! This is our best chance to rid the land of the gargoyles once and for all. Where do you want us?”
“Not all of us need to be gotten rid of,” Kyrie reminded Tangela.
“Many pardons, Lord Kyrie, you are the exception,” Tangela apologized.
“I regret that my brethren have earned such a reputation, one that I will address,” Kyrie graciously replied.
Tangela stood down, saying again to Tegan, “Where do you want us?”
Tegan commanded Tangela, “Wait until their strength is drawn out from the mountain. If they know you are here, they will be less likely to come forth. When we call, present yourselves and show no mercy!”
Tegan had a specific plan on how this battle would unfold. He just hoped he was close to right. He did not expect help from Tangela, and for the moment their presence lifted his hopes.
“Another thing Lord Tegan, we have brought a few of your kinsmen with us,” Tangela said.
As the last of harpies landed, many were carrying dwarves with them. They landed up front by Tangela and Tegan. Lizzy, Skyler, and the other five dwarf boys were set down, very happy to be back with their people. They were followed by the soldiers Telon had sent to find them.
Lizzy landed and immediately looked for Telon, so much had gone wrong she needed to see him again. She began to panic as Telon was nowhere to be seen. Tegan dismounted and held Lizzy’s hands as he said, “Much has happened that I have no time to explain, but Telon went back into the mountain to try and save Timo. We go now to save them and Milan, if it is at all possible. Do you know where Jedrek is?” As he finished, tears that had welled up in his eyes began to roll freely again, for what he feared most for his son was about to be confirmed.
“He was taken by Mylar, I think he took Jedrek to the gargoyles. I am so sorry I let you and Milan down!” cried a frantic Lizzy, the weight of the moment taking her to the ground. “Please Tegan, save them, save all of them,” she cried as several of the dwarf women carried her to a tent to rest, for she had been through enough. The dwarf boys could only look on, wanting to be of help to Lizzy, but were left feeling useless.
King Dorir heard Lizzy, and looked at Skyler, “Is what she says true, was he taken by Mylar?” Dorir’s voice quite strong, considering all that was going on.
Skyler answered, “Yes sir, that is what happened. We attempted to save both, but we were only able get Lizzy out. Mylar already had departed with Jedrek. Goblins and the dwarves of the Hills were covering the country Lizzy attempted to escape through. We tried our best. We are ready to fight with you, only tell us where you want us!” the five other boys quickly came to attention behind Skyler, as their leader offered their help in this important battle.
Dorir looked at Tegan, who shook his head no and then boarded Elard. King Dorir smiled at the boys, admiring their young courage and eagerness, remembering what it was like to be that age. “For now, you have done enough. Rest and recover, you may yet be needed.”
The boys were dejected, but knew better than to question at this point. They went to find something to eat, and to discuss where they could try to help next.
The dew was thick on the grass when the massive army of dwarves, men, and harpies marched on the Demon’s Chamber. Quelna road up front with Tegan, Kyrie, the other Dwarf Kings, and Bryon of the Men surrounded by his guard, carrying torches for the coming night. Quelna road next to Tegan so they might discuss the battle.
“We need to draw them out, and hope that Telon and Timo can escape. Sain will be reluctant to show himself early, but Kyrie is the one that will have to call on him. Sain cannot allow a challenger, and he did not know Kyrie lived until today. This may be our one advantage. Kyrie is ready, the main thing we need to worry about is Herrog, what will he do? What is his end goal?” Quelna pondered.
“We will do our best, and kill as many as possible. I have little hope or sight for what will happen during or after this battle,” a grim Tegan muttered, dark words for all in range to hear.
Quelna knew the odds that Milan and Jedrek would survive were slim, but also knew the power of hope. “Tegan, your axe still glows. You know your wife, at the least, still lives. Keep hope, your people need to see that! They will feed off it, and it will do them good. Hope will carry your people when food, drink, and rest are long gone.”
“I know that you are right. The trip has been long and difficult, but the end is near. I do have hope for my people, I just need to find it for myself.”
“Tegan, get my daughter out of there. Even if she passes, that evil mountain cannot be her final resting place,” Dorir pleaded with Tegan, hoping to find a way to get her out so that he might yet see her one more time.
Δ
Telon worked his way through the vent, crawling to the bottom. He finally reached the end, landing in a massive fireplace. There were hundreds used for heating the mountain. Soon there would be a roaring fire, one of the many cauldrons of the gargoyles. He needed to get out, and fast before others approached.
Telon, hanging down from the vent, saw several gargoyles walking about. It was very dark in the halls, not at all like the well-lit and clean halls of a dwarf city. He slipped down and swung himself out from the coal piled for the fire. He was just in time, for as he hid in a dark corner, one of the gargoyles returned with a torch. The goblin flung it onto the coal, igniting it into a quick roaring blaze. The light of the fire caused his hiding spot to be far less secure, so he quickly scurried down the hall a bit. He found darker parts of the hallways that kept him more hidden. One of the gargoyles commanded, “Bring sum slaves ‘ere ta ’andle dis!”
It was only a few seconds before he heard the crack of a whip followed by a curdling scream. Soon three broken down dwarves arrived, all chained together at the wrist and ankle. They were covered in black soot, breathing heavily, and drenched in sweat. They were shown the shovels and directed to keep the fire roaring. “All da vents need a fire ta keep da rats out!”
The chain linking all the dwarves together was locked to the wall. The gargoyles moved on. But, before they left, the lead gargoyle turned and threatened, “If’n dis fire ain’t roarin’ when I return, ya’ll’ll be used fer fuel!” The gargoyles then moved up the tunnel.
The dwarves went to work shoveling the coal into the fire, quickly doubling the size of it. Telon crept out of the shadows, and up behind one of the dwarves.
“How many of you are here?” Telon asked quietly.
The dwarf slowly turned, not sure what to expect. When he saw it was another dwarf, he whispered, “How did you get in here? You need to go for help!”
“I am help,” Telon replied, trying to stay somewhat quiet. Then he heard some gargoyles coming back and grabbed a shovel to help the others. The gargoyles passed, not noticing Telon wasn’t chained with the rest.
He repeated himself, “I am help, do you want it or not!”
“Yes, there are many of us posted different places between here and the dungeon,” the dwarf said in a whisper. “We are of the race of Kilgore, but he has gone mad! The wizard Herrog has taken him. We would not go along, and so were enslaved and many were killed.”
“I will get you out, but first I must go for the young dwarf wizard. I can’t free you yet, there will be too many of you to hide. I will be back though, I promise!”
Telon started to leave, but the dwarf stopped him again, “Be careful, the wizard is down there with the dwarf wizard you speak of. He is constantly in and out of there, if you get caught we will all be killed.”
“I won’t, and we will out get out of here,” Telon ensured, and he disappeared down the hall. The path gave way quickly, sometimes with steps and sometimes with ramps. He often had to slip into a hallwa
y or doorway to hide from a passing group of gargoyles. He soon saw a dim glow of light ahead.
As he got closer, he could feel the heat rising from below. He had traveled deep into the mountain, and worried whether he would be able to find his way back out. The hallway opened to a long flight of stairs that went ever down, and far below was a bubbling pool of lava. It was not unlike the pool in the City of Tunder Bin. But the pool of his city was at the very base of the mountain, deep at its roots. He couldn’t understand why this pool was so high in the mountain. It was not a good sign, it must have taken great magic to raise the lava levels so high. The mountain itself was probably not stable, or so Telon thought.
The dwarves below were making weapons for the enemy. With the ready supply of molten metal, they made many in a short time. The sound of the dwarf hammers rang through the large hall, which almost made Telon feel like he was at home. The only other sound was the occasional gargoyle whip snapping at the back of a dwarf deemed to be working too slowly.
There were well over one hundred dwarves below, with around twenty gargoyles watching them. To Telon’s surprise, Timo also was ordering the dwarves around the chamber. There was also another wizard, dressed in black.
Soon another dwarf, a woman, walked out from below the stairs. It was Deyanira. Telon’s anger rose with each step she took. It stung Telon that she was completely comfortable around them. She showed no signs of mourning the loss of the support of her family and people.
Telon heard gargoyles coming from behind, so he hid the best he could around the corner. Moments later, two gargoyles came down the hall leading ten dwarves. Both gargoyles were up front, leading the chained slaves. The three dwarves Telon had met earlier were in the back. He took his chance, and filed in behind the line. The dwarf in the very back was the one Telon spoke with, and he flung the end of the chain at Telon. He held on to it to make it look with he was a member of the chain gang. Telon followed the line down the stairs and by the lava, completely unnoticed.
As they got close, Telon could feel the immense heat from the pool as it burned his skin. Just when he felt like he couldn’t stand it anymore, a horn blew and all the dwarves were able to rest. They were herded to the side of the room, away from the heat, where they were allowed to sit. Telon mixed in well, and was not detected.
“My name is Ligo,” the dwarf next to Telon said. “How are you going to get us out of here?”
Telon looked around, taking note of the number of gargoyles. There were now only six of them guarding the hundred dwarves. Herrog, Timo and Deyanira had departed with their guard.
“I snuck in, but there will be no sneaking out. We are going to have to fight our way out from here,” Telon said. He then began freeing one dwarf at a time with a quick swing of his axe on the chain. The dwarves on the outside of the ring began to stand shoulder-to-shoulder to hide the action inside. Telon had close to twenty freed when the gargoyles noticed something was not right. They marched over to teach the dwarves a lesson. The dwarves formed a tight circle and turned their backs outward, hiding Telon as he finished freeing the rest of the chained dwarves. Just as the gargoyles closed in, the dwarf circle opened. Telon ran forward, planted a foot on a kneeling dwarf, and leapt out with his axe swinging.
Telon’s blade caught the first gargoyle squarely in the chest. The blow to the heart stopped him immediately. The surprised gargoyles attacked Telon, their swords carving the air. More freed dwarves came forth from the group to aid Telon. They had no weapons, but had rocks and pieces of chain in hand. The angry dwarves wrestled the gargoyles to the ground and took their weapons. Telon killed several of the armed enemy as the group cleared the floor. Two of them were pulled to the lava and thrown in. The gargoyles screamed terribly, but only for a short moment. Their screams were swallowed whole into the molten pit.
As soon as all the gargoyles were taken care of, the other groups of still chained dwarves were set free. Telon quickly set the dwarves to finding weapons as they could, and then turned back to Ligo. “I need to find the young dwarf wizard. Where would he be?”
“They stay in a hall above. I can lead you there. Why must you find him?” Ligo asked.
“He is our only hope to defeat Sain and Herrog,” said Telon. “I need to get him out of here.”
“First, we must find him. I only know the general area,” said Ligo, not sure at all they would be able to get Timo out, even if they found him. He had now been under the hold of Herrog for over a week, and it was entirely possible there was no saving him.
Telon and Ligo led the dwarves to the top of the steps. Ligo spoke to a young dwarf, and then addressed the entire group, “My dwarves, you are now free thanks to the bravery of Telon, brother of Tegan, King of Tunder Bin. We owe him all that we have! There are several hallways that can take you to the surface. Free our brothers as you go! If you do not make it out, kill as many goblins and gargoyles as you can on the way!”
Telon added, “If you do make it out, you will have only begun. The evil army waits outside for the battle. They will not expect an attack from the inside. If you make it by them, head south through the woods. You will meet our army on the plains, where you may turn and seek your revenge!”
The dwarves erupted in roaring celebration as their determination to seek their way out grew, along with their hopes of survival. Each chose a tunnel, and made their way up as best they could. Soon in every hallway there was the sound of battle as the dwarves sought their freedom.
“The sounds are getting farther away, so we must be winning! That means it is our time to go, lead the way,” Telon said to Ligo. They went up the hallway to the right. As they climbed the steps they found several gargoyles lying dead, far outnumbering the number of dwarves that would never see the light of day again.
“At least they died fighting, better than dying a chained slave,” Ligo stated, seeing some of his dear friends lying in the tunnel.
The new companions traveled on and ever up through the tunnel. Soon they came to a landing. There they saw Herrog, Deyanira, and Timo talking with some guards.
“Go to check on the baby, make sure he is kept safe during the attack. I don’t want the guards getting skittish and abandoning their post! The dwarves will never be successful in breaching the mountain,” Herrog directed Timo. Then to Deyanira, “You will finally get to raise your king!” She smiled agreeably.
Telon and Ligo waited as Timo and Deyanira parted in different directions, and for Herrog to enter his quarters. Then they quietly pursued Timo up the hall to higher chambers, following as best they could. They came upon an opening, filled with the sound of battle rattling down the hall. Loud explosions shook the walls of the tunnel and Telon and Ligo hurried forth, hoping to avoid the rocks that were falling from the ceiling. Rushing into the chamber, they saw a battle was occurring between the freed dwarf slaves and goblins.
The dwarves, weakened from lack of food and water, were dropping fast. Their courage and hope to see their families again drove them forward despite their exhaustion. Telon and Ligo fell on the enemy from behind and made a quick slash through them as more goblins poured in to help. The battle then swung quickly against the dwarves.
Timo stood still, and began fashioning a spell. Lightening extended from his hands toward the dwarves, dropping one after another. His hands then went after Telon, and the bolts grabbed him and wrestled him to the ground. One of the goblins approached Telon with his sword, but Timo shot a bolt to the goblin, dropping it short.
“The dwarf prince is mine, he will die at my hands alone!” Timo compelled. The rest of the goblins shied away, not wanting to interfere with the wizard’s game.
Telon writhed on the ground, inching closer to death as the bolt made it impossible to breath. Timo was close to his victory, concentrating all his power in Telon, so he did not notice Ligo coming upon him from behind. Ligo crushed down on Timo with a massive rock, knocking him out as he fell listlessly to the stone floor.
The goblins saw their chance
and ran to the dwarf prince to get their prize. A pack of freed dwarves rushed into chamber and fired the stones, spears, and weapons they picked up in the tunnels at the goblins ahead. None reached Telon as the dwarves won the chamber, and pursued the escaping goblins back down the hall from where they came. Ligo went to Telon, and woke him, “Lord, there is still work to do, we must go.”
Telon woke slowly, quickly remembering Timo’s attack. “Where is Timo, does he still live?”
“I think he is over there.” Ligo could not understand why Timo was so important, especially after he had murdered some of his friends.
“He is not himself,” Telon explained as he drowsily went over to Timo, trying to get his legs to work again. He bent low over Timo, looking him over. The rock gashed a deep cut behind his head, but he still lived. Timo looked to Ligo and the other dwarves, “we must get him out of here, can you help me?”
“Leave him here! He has killed plenty of us, whether he is himself or not doesn’t matter to me,” Ligo replied, not ready to help Timo in any way. The others agreed, the number of dead lying on the ground proof enough of where Timo’s allegiance lied.
Telon spoke sharply to the dwarves, “This dwarf wizard is our only chance to win this war. You may be able to escape, you might even find freedom and happiness for a short while, but if we don’t save this dwarf you and your families will not survive long. I promise you that. I understand if you do not trust him, but have I not done enough for you to trust me?”
Ligo looked at the others, thinking of what Telon risked coming back into the mountain. His only goal was getting Timo out, and Ligo knew he could trust Telon.
“We will do what we can to help, you have nothing to prove to us,” Ligo said, with many of the others agreeing also.
“Father, no!” one of the dwarves said, “He has killed to many of us, leave him and let’s go, we can make it!”
“Leevite, the prince has stated what we will do, and we will do it. Do not question him again.” Leevite stood down, but still did not agree with helping Telon.
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