Masters of Stone and Steel - Gav Thorpe & Nick Kyme

by Warhammer

  ‘You know…’ she nodded down into the depths. ‘Ending everything.’

  Horthrad laughed, a bitter sound, and looked at her.

  ‘With our current fortune I would land on something soft,’ he said. ‘But don’t worry, I’ve no intention of ending it like that. My father and brother are already in the Halls of the Ancestors, waiting for me. I would never take the coward’s path.’

  ‘You’ll stay and fight to the very end?’ Haldora asked quietly. ‘With your people?’

  ‘The choice was made for me, back when there were other options,’ he replied, gripping the ornate ironwork rail in both hands. ‘I don’t think my father wanted to stay, but he knew he had to.’

  Haldora looked at the prince, trying to judge what he meant by that. Could she really ask him to abandon his people? To sneak away in the dark and leave them to their doom? Was it even right that she tempted him with such an offer?

  But when she looked at him as Horthrad, she wanted him to be safe, to have a future. He was brave, there was no doubt of that, and exceptionally intelligent. He honoured tradition but was not bound by dogma. He would, when he had grown into the role, become a great leader of the dwarfs. It seemed a waste of a life to have that potential snuffed out for no good reason.

  ‘You still have a choice,’ she told him. He cocked his head and looked at her. ‘There’s still a way out.’

  ‘The way your father found a way out?’ There was a sadness in his voice, not malice. ‘Word travels on swift wheels these days. Not for me, I think, the Brotherhood of Grimnir.’

  ‘No, you daft beggar, an actual way out. We know a ranger, he’s found a route out of Ekrund and into the mountains.’ She dropped her voice, realising that the First Delve could amplify sound in strange ways. ‘We can get away from here. Alive.’

  She watched his face, contorted by a succession of emotions: understanding, hope, confusion, doubt and then finally resignation.

  ‘I should argue,’ he whispered. ‘I should say that it is a king’s duty to stay with his people and that I cannot come with you. I should say that my honour is bound to the doom of Ekrund and is greater than the desires of my heart.’

  ‘You should?’

  ‘I should, but I can’t.’ Horthrad turned to her, hands clasped together, held to his chest. His eyes were moist. They glittered in the dim lantern light. ‘I want to go with you. And, truth is, nothing binds me to this place, not yet. I am not king. I have sworn no oaths, and the crown and sceptre are lost. The throne and the halls are buried, and the vaults and troves and thindrongols are all empty or lost. I’m just one amongst a few thousand Ekrundfolk that has been unlucky enough to survive this long.’

  ‘Unlucky? Why unlucky?’

  ‘Wouldn’t it have been better, don’t you think, to have died earlier, spared this deprivation and slow death? I wonder if the doom of Ekrund was when the Angboks survived that patrol. If you’d been slain, the orcs would have come upon us totally unprepared. It would have been brutal, but swift. Almost a clean end.’

  ‘Never,’ said Haldora, amazed that he would suggest such a thing. ‘Life just is, and no matter how bad it gets, it’s better than being dead.’

  ‘Without honour? Without a home? Is that really the existence we want?’

  ‘I ain’t planning on dying any time soon,’ said Haldora, annoyed and suddenly conscious of the growing noise of the orcs and the passing of time. She grabbed Horthrad’s iron-clad arm, feeling the embossed metal beneath her fingertips, a curling dragon chased in gold along his vambrace. ‘And neither do you, otherwise you’d have just about hit the bottom by now.’

  He looked so sad and alone in that moment, helpless against the troubles of the world. It nearly broke Haldora’s heart to see him like this.

  ‘I have people…’ he whispered. ‘Loyal retainers.’

  ‘A couple, maybe, can come with us,’ Haldora said. ‘We need to be quick and sneaky, not a big throng that’s going to draw in every orc and troll in the mountains.’

  ‘It’s hard, leaving them behind,’ he told her, looking over his shoulder into the hall behind the gallery. ‘Maybe it would be better though.’

  She did not have time for him to work up a list of justifications.

  ‘You’re doing the right thing, but we can’t dally about,’ she said, tugging his arm. ‘Either come or don’t, we don’t have the luxury of being forlorn about it.’

  ‘You’re right,’ said the prince, setting his face stern. Haldora knew herself how odd it was that simply forcing one’s expression to change could also affect the inner mood so easily. Heart cajoled by head, every time. ‘No regrets.’

  He followed her off the gallery and into the tunnels.

  When they met up again with the others, all was ready for the journey. Nakka and a few of his kin were there, though sadly not Vadlir or his mother. They had died defending the tunnels near the East Gate some time before. Fleinn and Durk were there, with Durk’s wife Hildrazeth, and another couple of Haldora’s cousins – Jorgrim and Skolli. Glorri had left a little earlier to make sure that everything was in order, and they waited for his return.

  Fleinn raised an eyebrow at the prince, who stood to one side, keeping his own counsel, and then patted Haldora’s hand.

  ‘Your father always meant well. He was dependable, and that’s the nicest thing he would have wanted anyone to say. I can’t say as I thought I’d see the day he took the Last Oath, but I’m not surprised he did it for his family.’

  There was nothing Haldora felt like saying, so she simply smiled in appreciation of Fleinn’s words. She caught Nakka looking at her oddly and moved down the tunnel to stand with him.

  ‘What’s up with you?’ she asked.

  ‘What’s he doing here?’ Nakka said, glancing at Horthrad.

  ‘Ma’s idea,’ Haldora said quietly, in case the prince heard her. ‘Thought it would be good to have some royalty along. Open doors, and suchlike.’

  ‘No other reasons?’ he asked.

  Haldora felt no urge to indulge his jealousy. She tutted, gave him a kiss on the cheek and then left him to his sullen mood to wait with her mother and Skraffi.

  A blue haze spread along the corridor and they turned as Glorri appeared, a rune-lamp in one hand and a small pick in the other. His pack was quite full, and Haldora thought she saw gold glinting beneath the buckled flap.

  ‘All ready?’ asked the ranger. He didn’t wait for a reply before turning back down the tunnel. ‘Follow me.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  ‘There was much still to be done, but with the coal from the First Delve bringing in gold and goods by the cartful, Ekrund was firmly on its way to establishing itself as something more than just a mine. To seal the point, the king ordered a tunnel to be dug linking it to Ankor-Drakk, and the settlement to the south was renamed the Lower Gate. The South Gate, where the road that had been the lifeline of his people for so long, was made the main entrance to the hold and the king set his chambers above the First Delve to signify that the Ekrundfolk were there to stay.

  He died two years later, good old Grimbalki, and never saw his hall or gate finished. But he died a contented dwarf, I can say I’m sure of it. Ekrund never lasted long enough nor got big enough for it to be known as a karak, which is a shame I think, as there was many a hold of lesser worth that got called as such.

  Still, Ekrundfolk was pleased with what they had achieved and their descendants have been inspired by their efforts ever since.‘

  They had broken into a few small groups and made their way down to the Fourth Hall of the Second Deep, from which place Glorri had led them to an abandoned minework on the western side of the inner hold. Had it not been for the orc attack it would have been busy with masons and engineers turning it into habitable chambers and meeting halls, instead it was a network of rough walls and raw rock, following the lines of the seams in haphazard fashion.

  The further reaches had been caved-in by the removal of the props, but just bef
ore the solid heap of boulders and broken wood, Glorri stopped beside a particular outcrop of rock. Haldora could see nothing of a gap, but the ranger leaned close and pulled free a bundle of blankets covered with dust, stones and mud – a simple but highly effective concealment in the darkness.

  ‘You said nobody else found the way out,’ Haldora remarked. ‘You mean they couldn’t find it because you had hidden it.’

  ‘Others could have used this before us,’ said Horthrad. ‘You kept it to yourself when dozens more, maybe hundreds could have slipped away after the fall of the North Gate.’

  ‘Why have you waited until now?’ demanded Nakka. ‘There’s other groups you could have taken if you wanted some extra protection.’

  ‘I know you, Nakka, and I trust you,’ Glorri said soothingly, throwing the grubby blankets aside. His eyes flickered to Haldora, perhaps betraying another reason the ranger had for wanting to travel with the Angboks. ‘And I didn’t let nobody else go first because they need me to guide ‘em through the tunnels, and it would have attracted attention. A secret escape ain’t so good when it ain’t a secret, right? Soon every beggar would be traipsing through here, warning the orcs and goblins.’

  They had to concede to this logic, being as it was to their benefit, and stepped aside to allow Glorri access to his bolthole. He dropped onto all fours and crawled into the gap. A few moments later he whispered for them to follow.

  ‘I’ll go next,’ said Fleinn. ‘It’ll spare you lot having to stare at his skinny backside.’

  Durk followed and the others arranged themselves into an order, with Haldora near the back, Horthrad just in front of her and Nakka bringing up the rear, behind Friedra. One by one they squeezed into the gap.

  Haldora found herself in a small alcove-like space. There was a shelf above her and a hole, and she saw the light had gone that way. She pulled herself over the lip and into a small crawl space with smooth sides where once water had worn away at a crack. Fortunately it was dry now, but she knew they would be lucky to get to the surface without getting at least a little bit damp. There were streams and waterfalls aplenty throughout the mountains, kept away from the dwarf chambers by dams, pipework and cleverly constructed wells.

  She soon lost any sense of time as she followed the bluish glow ahead. Sometimes the tunnel was high enough to stand upright, and it passed through bubble-like chambers or caverns that had been widened by goblin labour, and in others she was forced back to her hands and knees, almost climbing vertically.

  They kept together, occasionally touching each other with outstretched hands as they wound their way through another rocky passageway. The gleam of Glorri’s lantern led them on, bobbing and weaving, sometimes almost disappearing, other times brightening as he waited for them to catch up.

  Even here they could hear the noise of the orc excavations. Now and then the walls rang with a particularly large impact, while a constant skittering and clattering followed them. Perhaps it was because they were heading up again, closer to the North Gate, or maybe it was just the odd acoustics of the caves. Whatever the reason, Haldora thought they were getting closer to the source of the noise, or it was getting closer to them.

  Suddenly the light went out. There were raised voices, quickly silenced by a hiss from Glorri. In the dark, as their eyes adjusted, the dwarfs then saw what had caused him to douse the lamp. They were on a ledge, about wide enough for two of them to walk abreast, passing along the wall of a cave a short distance above the floor. There were two other openings in the cave, leading to tunnels off to the right, and in one of those tunnels was a reddish glow, becoming brighter.

  Glorri silently urged them on, stepping to have his back to the wall, waving them towards an opening at the far end of the ledge. Haldora risked a glance down, and saw the flickering of flames now. The muffled sound of shrill goblin voices confirmed the nature of the creatures bringing the light.

  They hurried as best they could, taking care to keep their footing. Haldora was just about to pass into the crack at the end of the ledge when she heard a shout of alarm, swiftly followed by a curse from Nakka.

  She looked back to see him drop down off the ledge, axe in hand. Soon the cries had turned to shrieks of pain.

  ‘Keep going!’ snapped Glorri. He pulled a long, slender knife from his belt, good for skinning game. ‘There’s a limestone hole about another hundred an’ fifty paces on. Wait for us there. I know what to do with nosey goblins.’

  He pushed her towards the opening and then followed Nakka off the ledge. Haldora stood there, caught between two desires – to make sure they were all right and to keep up with her mother and the prince. It would do no good to get separated from either. Practicality won over. Ignoring the grunts and groans, the clash and scrape of metal and the dull thud of chopped flesh and bones, she followed the others.

  She called on them to wait in the cave ahead, and as Glorri had told her, it was a broad space, several dozen paces across, broken by stalagmites and stalactites. A slightly luminous fungus provided enough light for them to see, illuminating three ways out.

  They waited, listening to the distant sounds of fighting, which stopped after a while. It was an agonising time until they heard shuffling along the tunnel into the cave. Horthrad and Skraffi stood by the entrance, rune axes glowing, but it was Glorri that stepped out into the luminescent gleam.

  ‘Where’s Nakka?’ Haldora demanded, thinking that the ranger was of low enough character to abandon another dwarf to save himself.

  ‘Just here,’ Nakka called out as Glorri stepped out of the way. He slapped a bloodied hand to the ranger’s shoulder. ‘This one has got a mean streak in him, that’s for sure. Killed more of those gobbos than I did.’

  Glorri looked smug for a moment, before his nervousness took over. He spared a glance back the way they came.

  ‘They’re digging not far away,’ he told them. ‘They weren’t here when I came by yesterday. Must have broken through somewhere.’

  ‘Only a matter of time before they find the bodies,’ said Horthrad. ‘They’ll be onto us.’

  ‘And a little more until they find the way we came, into Ekrund,’ said Fleinn. ‘Maybe we should have blocked it off!’

  ‘Too late now,’ Glorri said hurriedly, setting off across the cave towards the leftmost exit. ‘This way.’

  None of them felt like arguing and they followed after, up a maze of steep and twisting tunnels hewn by the greenskins. There was barely room to fit through in places; as Glorri had warned they were onto their bellies a couple of times, pushing their packs ahead of them.

  They had just left one such stretch when a chorus of excited shouts followed them up from the darkness. Angry hissing and spitting amplified by the echoes betrayed the goblins’ intentions.

  ‘They must’ve found the bodies,’ said Glorri. ‘Get a move on. These are their tunnels, they know them better than me and there could be a way for them to cut us off.’

  Progress was painfully slow, as they had to clamber over rocks and push through tight holes, now and then wading across pools and, on one occasion, even going through a waterfall. The area was a mix of natural formations and goblin lair, so that at one moment they might be in a spectacular cave, admiring the striations and formations as only a dwarf could; the next they would be in a winding tunnel, crawling through old goblin dung and discarded bones.

  ‘How much further?’ Haldora asked. ‘I can definitely hear them coming after us!’

  ‘And getting closer,’ added Nakka.

  ‘Not far now, not far,’ insisted Glorri. ‘Keep up!’

  They came across a rope ladder that dropped down a shaft into a pool of water, fixed into the rock by a pair of iron pegs.

  ‘Your handiwork?’ said Horthrad to Glorri.

  The ranger nodded. ‘I know what I’m doing, your majesty.’

  They climbed down, no more than three of them on the ladder at once, those left at the top keeping watch for the pursuing goblins. Haldora swore she saw a
glint of eyes now and then, or the glow of a torch, but nothing came of it.

  However, just as she started down, axe and shield slung, Skraffi on the ledge above swore and moved away from the drop.

  ‘Just climb!’ someone shouted from the bottom.

  Haldora didn’t argue. She unhooked her feet from the rope rungs and used her arms to lower herself quickly down the ladder, ignoring the burning in her muscles. She splashed into the pool at the bottom and stepped away, others not far above her.

  Nakka was about halfway down when the first goblin appeared at the top. Another appeared next to it, bow in hand. At first it looked at the dwarfs gathered in the ankle-deep water below, face creased with a wicked grin. Then it noticed Nakka on the swinging ladder and nocked an arrow to its bow, leaning out over the edge.

  A stone bounced from the creature’s helmet with an audible ting, knocking it back a step. Haldora glanced over her shoulder to see her mother stooping for another missile, hands fishing through the water.

  The goblin aimed again as they threw more stones at it, but this time it was not put off. It loosed its black dart, which hit Nakka in the right arm. He lost his grip and hung by one hand, almost falling onto Skraffi who was just a few rungs below him.

  More goblins arrived, casting stones and spitting down at the dwarfs to drive them back while others loosed more arrows at Skraffi and Nakka. They were still only two-thirds of the way down and the arrows were clattering from the wall beside them and sticking into the thick cable of the ladder. Some of the shafts splashed around the dwarfs at the bottom, a couple of shots narrowly missing Haldora as she moved to the foot of the ladder and held it taut. There were black-robed night goblins climbing after them, knives between their teeth, scuttling head-first like evil, pointed-nosed, green-skinned squirrels.

  ‘Sod this,’ she heard Glorri mutter.

  She thought he was going to leave, but as she turned to confront him she found the ranger pitching off his pack. He undid one of the buckles and upended the pack on the side of the pool, tipping out golden goblets, silver platters and a small fortune in rings, amulets and torqs.