Telsa took her position in the column next to Rembis. Before long, they were passing the last of Silver’s white-stoned buildings as the dwarves and pack animals made their way out of the village. Led by Shandria and Carndador, the column made its way northward.
Days passed as the grasslands turned to forests and the forests turned into a vast desert. Despite the heat and sand, it was a pleasant time for Telsa. She spent long hours talking to Rembis, trading stories of their lives. After a week of marching through the arid, sandblasted land, they came to a river with crystal-clear water that Shandria called the Donyar. Having had nothing to look at but dry sand the last few days, Telsa thought the sight of the river was like a breath of fresh air to a drowning woman.
Once the river was crossed, Shandria and Carndador picked up the pace. They led the column of dwarves toward a mountain range in the distance.
“Those mountains are the last obstacle before we reach the ocean,” said Rembis as he rode beside Telsa. “I had to pass through them when Queen Emerald sent me on my last mission to Old Drepdenor.”
Telsa eyed the increasingly tall mountains. Their snowy peaks didn’t bode well. “I’m guessing there’s a path through them.”
Nodding his head, Rembis said, “That there is. I talked to Fenmar and his nephew about it yesterday. The humans have been flowing into the port at New Hope in increasingly greater numbers over the last couple of centuries. They’ve built a road through the mountains. According to Fenmar, the humans have been setting up shop in the lands of the dwarves that claim the mountains as their own. The general says his dwarf cousins have decided it’s time to stop the humans from crossing into their lands unimpeded. From what he told me, the dwarves are building a series of forts to protect the boundary between dwarf and human lands. I think the humans are doing the same on the other side of the mountains.”
The external speaker on Telsa’s battle helmet crackled. “Well, we know how that turned out, don’t we?” said Raj. “Humans are a prolific race. They’ve pretty much taken over most of the continent in what you consider your current time.”
Telsa knew her battle computer was right. Until Rick came along and convinced the various races to work together against the coming demon invasion, humans, dwarves, and elves had been at each other’s throats for nearly a hundred thousand years.
Taking her gaze off the mountains, Telsa looked at Rembis and waved her hand at the soldiers ahead and behind her. “How do you think the humans during the present time are going to take a company of heavily armed dwarves passing through their lands?”
Rembis shrugged. “A company of soldiers from the dwarves’ cousins, probably not so well. Queen Emerald’s dwarves are an exception. Her people passed through the port city of New Hope when we came here from Old Drepdenor. She’s kept a good relationship with the leaders of New Hope ever since. It’s amazing what a few chests of diamonds, emeralds, and rubies donated as gifts to the city fathers every twenty or thirty years will do for political relationships. I think Emerald will have no problem getting us to the port. The ships that brought us to the humans’ city have been kept sea worthy by preservation spells over the centuries. They are there waiting for Queen Emerald whenever she needs them.”
Glancing at the front of the column, Telsa had no trouble picking out Shandria’s silver hair among the shorter dwarves. “What about Shandria and Carndador? How will they be accepted?”
This time Rembis scratched his beard before replying. “Ah, yes, elves. I don’t think the humans and elves are on as friendly a term as they are with Queen Emerald. Still, I doubt we’ll have any trouble. I suspect that’s why Shandria only allowed her bondmate to accompany her. The humans might not appreciate a platoon of elf soldiers knocking on their city gates.”
Telsa had a feeling the gnome was right about the lack of appreciation. She hoped he was also right about the two elves not causing a problem.
It was late afternoon the next day when Telsa saw the first of the dwarves that lived in the mountains. The front of the column had just entered a long canyon leading to a mountain pass. At least a thousand dwarves were busy on both sides of the canyon walls, chiseling away at the dark stone. The outlines of hundred-meter-tall monoliths were clearly visible on the rocky sides of the cliffs. Farther ahead, Telsa made out several completed statues resembling hundred-meter-high armored dwarf warriors carrying battle axes, war hammers, and shields. All of the completed warriors appeared to be facing the head of the canyon.
Coming up to a group of a hundred dwarves busy chipping away at a half-completed statue, Rembis reined his horse over to the side and waved for Telsa to join him. When she stopped her horse, the gnome pointed at a potbellied dwarf giving orders to the other workers.
“I know that dwarf,” said Rembis. “He was one of the Dragar prisoners freed by Rick during the rebellion.”
As Telsa took a closer look at the potbellied dwarf, he pointed at the half-completed statue and began yelling at a young gnome wearing a black robe, “What did you do, Strabus? I told you the trigger device needed to be weak enough to activate but still strong enough that it couldn’t accidentally be done without the correct trigger-spell.”
The young gnome turned away from the statue and stared at the potbellied dwarf. While young, the gnome didn’t seem the least bit intimidated by the dwarf. “You take care of the engineering part of the construction, Osdale, and leave the spell casting to me. The trigger’s fine. It’ll still work fifty, eighty, a hundred thousand years from now.”
“You aren’t fooling me,” said Osdale with a scowl. “I’ve cast a few spells in my time, and I tell you there’s a flaw in the trigger.” The potbellied dwarf looked around and caught sight of Rembis. The dwarf’s scowl turned into a wide grin. “Rembis, I thought you were dead. You’re just in time to tell this young buck he screwed up the spell. He’s not listening to me.”
Dismounting, Rembis walked over and gave the dwarf a hug. “Osdale, you’re as ornery as ever. You always were a perfectionist.” He glanced at the young gnome and bowed. “Rembis at your service. I gather Osdale and you have a difference of opinion.”
The young gnome laughed. “Don’t we always? Your reputation proceeds you, Master Rembis. Maybe you can talk some sense into this old dwarf.”
“Old,” said Osdale. “Why you tarnished bit of fool’s gold. If I didn’t have work to be done, I’d tear your hide from one side of this valley to the other.”
Ignoring the dwarf, the young gnome gave Rembis a bow. “Strabus is the name, mage of the fourth circle. I specialize in engineering, which unfortunately means I get stuck on projects with this old fool more than I’d like.”
Osdale’s face grew red. Before he could speak, Rembis pointed at Telsa. “This is my friend Telsa. She’s one of the wizard scouts who fought against the Dragars during the rebellion.”
Taking Rembis’s cue, Telsa dismounted and joined him.
The red left the dwarf’s face. He bowed in Telsa’s direction. “I’m honored. I was a slave at the Dragars’ spaceport as was this pup of a gnome.”
Strabus also gave Telsa a bow. “I too am honored. If not for you wizard scouts, I’d probably still be wearing a collar around my neck and casting spells to energize the Dragars’ equipment.” He jerked a thumb at the dwarf. “Of course, it wasn’t all bad. They were usually a lot more reasonable than this lump of hardheaded granite.”
Before the two could begin arguing again, Telsa pointed at the half-completed statue. “So what are these things for? Are they monuments? Seems like an awful lot of work just to honor a few heroes.”
The dwarf Osdale laughed. “I’ll admit we dwarves like to honor our heroes, but making monuments for the sake of monuments is not something we do. Everything we create has more than one purpose.” He pointed at the partially completed statute. “Take this, for instance. Notice the detailed chisel work on the face, and the clarity of the—”
Strabus elbowed the dwarf out of the way. “I should’ve know
n better than to let him try to explain. We’ll be here all day if we have to listen to him. To put it simply, the statues are part of an elaborate trap.” He pointed at a stone wall being constructed at the head of the canyon. “Should the humans ever breach the fort we’re building up there, the defenders can activate spell-triggers that we’ve placed inside the canyon walls. Both sides of the canyon have fault lines in the stone. If any one of the spell-triggers is activated, the resulting avalanche will cover this entire valley. Anyone caught in this canyon will be killed good and proper.”
Osdale shoved the gnome aside. “That’s the theory. The only problem is that the spell-triggers are touchy. I think the one behind this statue is too weak. The trap’s a one shot affair, so we’ve got to make activating it difficult enough that someone won’t accidentally set it off. On the other hand, the spell-triggers are supposed to be complex enough that only a high-level spellcaster with the correct trigger-spell can make it work.”
“That’s how I did it,” insisted Strabus. He looked at Rembis. “Tell him, Master Rembis. The trigger’s fine the way it is.”
Telsa sensed Rembis reach out with a line of magic toward the canyon wall behind the half-done statue. She drew Power from her reserve and followed along with an active scan of her own. It didn’t take long to find the fault line in the stone behind the statue. She sensed magic interwoven around the fault and connected to the statue. Following the fault line, she sensed other lines of magic connecting the fault to other monoliths.
“What do you think, Raj? Could we activate those triggers if we had to?”
“Doubtful, Wizard Scout. The magic is too strong. I do sense a minor weakness in the gnome’s trigger-spell, but it’s beyond your ability to take advantage of it. The spell will undoubtedly deteriorate over time, but I calculate it would take close to a million years before you would be able to bypass the trigger’s safeguards and activate the trap.”
“Yeah. That’s what I thought.”
Pulling his scan spell back, Rembis looked at Osdale. “I’ve got to agree with Strabus. It’s good enough. I suspect even eighty or a hundred thousand years from now, no one will be able to activate the trap without the correct trigger-spell. It’s too much for magic alone. Power either, for that matter.”
“Well, okay,” said Osdale sounding unconvinced. “I suppose I’ll have to take your word for it. After all, we were prisoners together.”
“That we were,” said Rembis. “I for one intend to make sure I’m never a prisoner again.”
By this time, the tail end of the column of dwarves was nearly at the head of the canyon. Rembis glanced at Telsa before looking back at Osdale. “Much as I’d like to stay and reminiscence, old friend, we’ve got things to do.”
Osdale smiled and tugged at his beard. “Don’t we all? I suspect we’ve all got parts to play in the grand scheme of things, whether we realize it or not.”
Telsa had a feeling the potbellied dwarf was right, but she said nothing. Mounting her horse, she glanced at the tail-end of the column before looking back at Rembis and grinning. “Race ya!” With a kick of her heels, she took off up the trail.
Hoofbeats sounded behind her, but they grew ever fainter as the giant stone warriors whizzed past the corner of her eyes. Before long, the half-completed statues were left behind and she was galloping past the fully completed ones. The finished monoliths were huge.
“I’d hate to be here if that trap ever gets set off,” Telsa told her battle computer. “I’ve got a feeling even my self-heal wouldn’t be able to keep me alive.”
Raj gave a canned laugh. “I calculate you are a hundred percent correct. Only someone with a death wish would be illogical enough to be in the valley when the trap goes off.”
Chapter 25 – Monoliths
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It was a bedraggled lot of elves and horses that were strung out behind Amir as the party made their way through the last of the stand of trees. They came out into a narrow, rocky valley about two hundred paces across. With steep walls towering on both sides, it was more of a canyon really than a valley. Wind-worn monoliths a hundred paces high adorned the cliffs on either side of the canyon. The giant statutes resembled armored warriors holding battle axes, war hammers, and shields. Each of the weathered stone soldiers appeared to be looking at the head of the valley as if watchful for any sign of attack.
I wonder what ancient race made these and what for? Amir thought. Their faces are too worn to tell for sure, but they look more like dwarves than giants to me.
Glancing toward the head of the valley, he could just make out a half-broken wall with parapets. The wall had been breached at one point or another, but it still partially blocked off the point where the canyon narrowed to only fifty paces across.
Amir looked around at Tracer and the rest of their team. Along with the human and him, they were located directly behind Lord Derander and the high priestess. Amir didn’t think their location in the party formation was by accident.
The high priestess wants to keep an eye on the human, he thought as he rubbed the vine-burn on his neck where the man had dragged him out of the river. I don’t blame Mia. The human sensed the attack on our camp before it began. How? For that matter, how did he know the riverbed had a hole in the bottom at the point we jumped that would be deep enough to break our fall? Maybe he’s a spy like Lord Derander thinks. On the other hand, for all I know, the Creator sent him for reasons beyond my kin. Either way, the man bears keeping an eye on.
Amir rubbed the burn mark on his neck again. I don’t care if he saved my life or not. He’s a human. They can’t be trusted.
Touching the bulge beneath his chainmail that was the pouch of shattered gem given to him by Shaman Blackroot, Amir tried to hold onto the reason for his quest in the first place. A human killed Glory and my friends. Humans are all animals. He felt a momentary twinge of conscience. He wasn’t as sure as he used to be. Aren’t they?
As he was contemplating the human, the high priestess turned on her mount to look back at her command. It was full daylight now. Amir didn’t need to follow Mia’s gaze to know what she saw. He’d turned to look back often enough on his own to know that the lifeless bodies of the four elves killed during the plunge into the river would be the center of her attention. The bodies brought home the toll at the river battle more than words ever could. In addition to the four dead, he knew two of the lancers had their arms in slings. Another sat stiff-legged on her mount with two stout tree limbs tied on either side of her right leg. He touched a dark purple spot on his wrist where a sharp river rock had left its mark. Like him, most of the soldiers sported visible bruises on their arms and faces. Their escape had been anything but easy.
Although Amir tried not to stare, he couldn’t help but notice the high priestess’s eyes turn shiny. He looked hastily to the side until he sensed her look back to the front. Trying to be discreet, he looked out the corner of his eye and watched her lean close to Lord Derander. She spoke to him in a voice barely above a whisper. Having been blessed with exceptional hearing among a species known for its sensitive ears, Amir had no trouble making out her words.
“I led us into an ambush,” Mia whispered.
“Do not be so hard on yourself,” Lord Derander replied, trying to be just as quiet. “Most of us are still live. I thought for sure we were all going to die at the top of the cliff, but here we are. You saved us.”
Amir noticed the mage’s right hand start to reach out toward the high priestess before pulling back and gripping his mount’s mane instead.
“You did all you could, Mia,” continued Lord Derander. “No one could have done better. It is like I said. You saved us.”
With a shake of her head, the high priestess looked down at the pommel of her saddle as if unable to bear the sight of the bodies of the four elves draped across their mounts. “No, not I. The human got us out of that part of the trap.” She sighed. “You know as well as I that we are not out of danger yet. Those or
cs and goblins were raised in these mountains. I have no doubt their shamans levitated their point guard down to the river as soon as we were gone. The main body will undoubtedly find a path down soon enough. We must be long gone before they do.”
Lord Derander nodded his head. “That may be easier said than done. Three of our horses were killed in the fall. We had to put four more with broken legs out of their misery. The rest of our mounts are as bruised as their riders. Some of our lancers are riding double.”
“Be that as it may,” said Mia, “we must not spare them. We have to make time while we can.”
A horse and rider came galloping down the narrow trail from the head of the canyon, leaving a trail of dust as they came. Amir recognized the monk Meshanahl, the youngest member of Astradis’s team. When the monk got close, the young elf reined his horse hard and leaped to the ground.
“Commander Astradis sends greetings, High Priestess. He urges you to make haste. Our rear guard has sent word through Master Freestrod that the orcs have found a way down the cliff and are crossing the river in force. Their advance guard is ten minutes behind you at the most.” The monk pointed toward the head of the valley in the direction of the broken wall. “Commander Astradis says enough remains of the fortifications ahead to allow us to make a stand. The canyon is narrow enough at the wall to defend if you can make it there before you are engaged.”
The high priestess didn’t waste any time. “Sergeant Thornbriar, take your lancers and set up a line of defense at the wall ahead. Lord Derander and I will join you shortly. Send a scout team down the other side to find an escape route. The humans are bound to have other guard forts in these mountains. See if you can find one that’s still active.”
Sergeant Thornbriar nodded. “Lancers, follow me.”
Tracer kicked her horse as she started to follow her leader. She reined in when she noticed that her human charge was not moving.
“Rick,” said Tracer, waving a hand at the man to get his attention. “Come on. We need to move.”
Wizard Gigantic (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 9) Page 24