The Phantom Dwarf

by J. M. Fosberg

  Now Grizzle stood on one side of a ten-foot stone table in the Hall of Kings. Every kingdom had a room that was identical to this room in every way. The room was twenty feet by twenty feet. The table was ten feet long, ten feet across, and just over waist-high for an average dwarf. The room was plain. There were no designs, banners, or distractions of any kind. This room was meant to serve one purpose, and that was for kings to meet and discuss business.

  Around the table, the leaders of the other kingdoms stood. There were no chairs. The kings who designed this room and established its procedures believed comfort and luxury would distract them from their purpose. Protocol also dictated that only water would be served during a Council of Kings. The leadership of each of the four kingdoms stood on one side of the table. Evermount was the biggest kingdom and the home of the king over all the dwarves; its assigned side of the table was furthest from the door. By tradition, the king of Evermount came in last and left first. Grizzle had walked to the end of the table on the left side. When he left, he would walk around the table on the right side. This tradition was meant to remind the kings that even though this was a room set up for arguments to be had, for the kings to council each other, and for plans to be made by the kings of dwarves united, one king had to have final authority.

  To his right stood Frau Gemcutter, the Queen of Shinestone. Next to Frau stood Grundel Stoneheart. Grundel was Grizzle’s son, but Frau had chosen him as her advisor. They were also intimately and emotionally involved.

  On his left stood King Kraft with a dwarf named Burden. He was Kraft’s advisor. He was very intelligent, but he was also easily angered. Haufen had the closest ties with humans and did a lot more trading with them.

  Across the table, with their backs to the door, were the dwarves of Tiefes Loch, Tiefes Loch was the smallest mountain, not very tall, but steep. Most of the kingdom of Tiefes Loch was underground, a deep mine, and the dwarves here had been imprisoned by their kings for centuries. They had always been isolated even to the point of predjudice. They believe that the dwarf race is superior and refuse to associate with non dwarves if at all possible. , so none of the other kingdoms had noticed when the Bergmann line converted to the God of Chaos and stopped allowing dwarves to leave the kingdom.

  Grizzle knew that if he had not killed Flucht, this would be a short council. Flucht would have been the obvious choice; the dwarves here had respected him. He could have brought them out of the dark place the Bergmanns had buried Tiefes Loch in. Grizzle couldn’t stop the image of his hammer caving in Flucht’s skull. The phantom of Bergmann had dealt a devastating blow to Tiefes Loch when he abducted Flucht’s body and used it to attack Grizzle.

  “Flucht was the obvious choice for King,” Grizzle began. “With him gone, we have to decide who will lead this kingdom. Tiefes Loch is facing a difficult time, and they will need a strong leader to carry them out of the place they are in. The dwarves of Tiefes Loch have lost their identity, and it is up to us to place a king here who can guide them to that.” He focused on Fhurgen, the dwarf currently in charge of the dwarves of Tiefes Loch. “Is there a dwarf in Tiefes Loch who you think should be king?”

  Fhurgen looked around the room nervously. He was a capable dwarf, but he was uncomfortable in this situation. He steadied himself and looked across the table at Grizzle. “I would like to say that I am ready to take the responsibility, but I do not believe that I am ready. However, I do not believe there is a dwarf in Tiefes Loch who is more ready than I am. The leaders of Tiefes Loch are all dead, and there is no one here who would know how to rule a kingdom.”

  Grizzle respected the dwarf’s honesty. Humility was not an easy thing for a dwarf to face, but Fhurgen had shown he knew how to put his kingdom above his own pride. He might have made a good king under different circumstances. Grizzle knew that he was right though. The Bergmanns had kept the dwarves of Tiefes Loch so subservient that there really weren’t any true leaders here. He nodded to the dwarves of Tiefes Loch and then turned to Kraft. “Do you have a recommendation?”

  Kraft stared at Grizzle for a few moments before looking across the table at Frau. “Frau probably won’t like it, but she took the next dwarf in line from Haufen and Evermount. Fuhrung or Grundel should take this throne. Frau will lose a valuable asset in either of them, but they are the only two dwarves I know with any hope of delivering Tiefes Loch.”

  Grizzle turned to Frau, who looked from Kraft to Grizzle and then up at Grundel standing next to her. She was about to speak when Grundel cut in. “I nominate Fuhrung Ironbringer as the King of Tiefes Loch. I cannot be the king here. I am too young and too inexperienced. On top of that, I am a Half-Dwarf, and this kingdom will have enough identity issues without a half-human king. Fuhrung is nearly two centuries my senior. He has the knowledge, and he will gain the respect of these dwarves.”

  “Haufen accepts the nomination,” Kraft said.

  Grundel saw the anger in Burden’s eyes. He wanted to be nominated, but he couldn’t nominate himself. Grundel looked at Frau.

  Fuhrung was invaluable to Frau. As the Queen of Shinestone, she wanted to refuse but, as a dwarf, she knew Tiefes Loch needed him more than Shinestone. “Shinestone accepts the nomination.”

  Grizzle waited a few seconds before speaking. “Evermount accepts the nomination. All three kings have accepted the nomination of Fuhrung Ironbringer. We will send for him to attend the council of kings immediately. The council will continue when he arrives. Until then, Captain Fhurgen will continue as the steward of Tiefes Loch.” Grizzle looked across the table at the captain, who stood there silently. “Do you have any questions, Captain Fhurgen?”

  “What happens now, King Stoneheart?”

  Grizzle understood Captain Fhugen’s confusion. Dwarves were not accustomed to politics. Kings and counselors were the only dwarves who ever really dealt with anything like this. “A nomination of king or queen that is agreed upon by a Council of Kings can not be revoked, but it also can not be approved until the nominated dwarf has accepted or denied the nomination. If the dwarf accepts, then the dwarves of that kingdom are afforded the opportunity to dispute the nomination. In the case of a dispute, the dwarves who did not agree would make their arguments to the members of the Council of Kings, but in the end it is up to the kings to decide. If there is no dispute after the nominated dwarf accepts, then he will be appointed king.”

  The dwarf captain took a second to make sure he understood before responding. “King Stoneheart, what about Tiefes Loch? Flucht said something about dividing the kingdom up and sending dwarves from other kingdoms here?”

  “That is something that has been discussed, but that will be a decision for the king’s council once a new king is appointed. We have enough to deal with right now. We need to get stable before we try to build.”

  “Of course, King Stoneheart.”

  “Is there anything else?” Grizzle asked as he looked around the table.

  When no one responded, Grizzle started to make his way toward the door.

  Suddenly, the dwarf standing behind Captain Fhurgen leapt up onto the table. “I am the King of Tiefes Loch. I will destroy you all. I will---“

  Before the phantom of King Bergmann could finish speaking through the dwarf’s body he had taken, Captain Fhurgen brought his hammer across and knocked the dwarf’s legs out from under him. The dwarf hit the table flat on his back with a thud and a cough as the wind was forced out of his lungs.

  Kraft leapt onto the table and grabbed the dwarf’s arms. Grundel leapt up and sat on the dwarf’s stomach. Fhurgen and Frau each grabbed the dwarf’s legs.

  Bergmann tried to fight free, but the body was trapped. He couldn’t outmatch the combined strength of the others with this body. He tried to exit the body of the dwarf and realized he didn’t know how. He looked up at the half-dwarf abomination sitting on top of him. Grundel Stoneheart had the strength and width of a dwarf along with the height of a human. Bergmann looked into the shinning metallic blue eyes. Those eyes and t
he long straight hair that was so blonde it was almost white taunted him as he lay there struggling under the weight of the massive half dwarf. He could sense the mind of the dwarf whose body he was inhabiting. Bergmann had control of the body, but he didn’t feel anything that the body felt. The dwarf was in pain. That realization gave Bergmann an idea.

  Grundel sat on the stomach of the dwarf. They couldn’t let him get free. He looked down into the dwarf’s eyes. Now all he saw was pure hatred, but for a second he had seen panic. Bergmann was trapped in this body. “You are trapped. We will figure out a way to destroy you before you can get free. You won’t be able to do any more damage, Bergmann.”

  A smiled creeped across the face of the dwarf under Grundel. The dwarf leaned forward as far as he could with his arms pinned above him and Grundel on top of him. Grundel realized, too late, what was happening. Before he could try to stop it, the dwarf’s head slammed down into the stone table with a sickening crunch. Blood began to pool under his head within seconds. Bergmann was free, and another dwarf was dead.

  Chapter Three

  Another Angry King

  Malachi Merwein, King of Portwein, stood on the balcony staring out at the new wall being built around his city. The wall had started being built only a couple of months ago, but the masons were making great progress. He had hired both of the master masons in Portwein and over two hundred other masons. On top of that, they had all brought their apprentices, and he had hired another five hundred workers to help as the masons saw fit. The new wall was seventy feet high and twenty feet thick. The wall was already complete on three sides of the city. Each side of the wall tied into the smaller wall that had surrounded the city previously. This ensured that the new wall could still be utilized in the event that the city was attacked before it was finished.

  Merwein looked to the horizon and watched as his own army marched toward the city from the west. He had issued an edict that Commander Boris was relieved of his authority and was to be executed.

  Commander Boris had been sent to aide the dwarves of Tiefes Loch twice. He had betrayed them both times. The first time, he had acted under the guidance of the advisor Merwein had sent with him. The advisor had been killed in the battle at Shinestone, so King Merwein allowed the blame to die with him. King Merwein had made a deal with the dwarves that would have made Portwein the most powerful city in all of Gegend. Commander Boris had ruined all of that by siding with the dwarves of the other kingdoms, and now King Merwein was spending his entire fortune trying to fortify his city.

  Now Commander Boris had his own army and was marching against Merwein’s city. Merwein had received word that his edict had been ignored, and the soldiers were actually siding with the traitor Boris. He knew that he couldn’t punish his whole army, but he also knew that there was no way that army was getting through the new wall. He had his cousin in charge of the city guard. There was no love lost between the city guard and the army, so he didn’t worry about them turning on him. Commander Boris may have the allegiance of the army now, but how long would they support him without food, water, or supplies? His own Captains would deliver Boris’ head to him personally within the week.

  He turned to his cousin, who stood on the balcony next to him. “When they get in range, start firing on them with the catapult. Lock all of the gates. Bo one goes in or out of the city until the traitor Boris is dead.”

  His cousin brought his hand to his head in a salute. “Of course, Your Highness.”

  ***

  Jerrie drank the cup of poppy. The dwarves who had been taking care of him had stopped giving it to him, but he had found a soldier from Portwein who would. The soldiers were gone now though, so the poppy he had now was all he would have to help him deal with the pain. His skull had been cracked open in the fight with the Chaos Dwarves when they took Tiefes Loch. One of the dwarves had formed a steel plate to cover the area where the bones had been destroyed. The plate was bolted into his skull. The pain wasn’t nearly as severe now, but the poppy made him feel better. The dwarves couldn’t understand how it felt. After he drank the poppy mixture, he tucked the rest into a pocket inside his shirt.

  Grundel walked into Jerrie’s room. Jerrie was lying on his bed, staring at the stone ceiling above him. Grundel noticed that he spent a lot of time in bed lately. Jerrie was suffering, but he didn’t know how to help him. He knew that he needed to keep him close though. Jerrie was his best friend, and they had been through too much together. “Jerrie, we’re going to Portwein. Most of the army left yesterday. We are leaving in a couple of hours. Are you coming with us?”

  Jerrie couldn’t let his friend go off to fight without him. He could also get more of the poppy mixture once they were in Portwein. “You think I’m going to let you run off to fight without me? You wouldn’t last a single battle without me.”

  Grundel couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re probably right. There’s no telling where I’d be without your help. Well, get your stuff together. The others are going to be waiting for us at the monument.”

  When they made it out of Tiefes Loch, they foundRundo, Evelyn, and a few other soldiers waiting on the landing at the base of the huge sword monument. There were about a hundred other soldiers formed up at the base of Tiefes Loch.

  Jerrie looked around and then over at Grundel. “What about the others?”

  Grundel stared at Jerrie for a minute. Jerrie had been there when they went over the plan, but he didn’t seem to know what it was. “My father, King Kraft, and Frau all left with the main body of the army. We won’t be meeting up with the army. We want the guard in Portwein to keep focusing on the army. It would be to easy for them to see us coming if we came from the army’s encampment. Once we get close, we will stop and wait to execute the plan to get into the city.”

  “I am guessing that will involve a pair of huge hawks,” Jerrie stated, smiling at Rundo and Evelyn.

  Rundo looked at Jerrie curiously before turning to Grundel. Grundel just shook his head. Rundo took the hint and didn’t pursue it any further, but Commander Boris and Evelyn both seemed concerned about Jerrie as well.

  Once they made it to the base of Tiefes Loch, they followed the soldiers east. They were moving in a more southern direction than the army had taken. The plan was to approach the city from the south at night while the city watch was focused on the army camp to the west.

  Chapter Four

  Shinestone Has Fallen

  Fuhrung stood on the landing just outside of Shinestone. The kobolds had come in force shortly after the majority of the dwarves from Shinestone left to take Tiefes Loch. Now he sat outside of the kingdom he was in charge of, waiting for opportunities to pick off kobolds who were foolish enough to wander out.

  He waited patiently behind a pile of rocks. He let the first of the kobolds come out onto the landing. One of the other dwarves had discovered that if they let one of the kobolds come out, another would almost always come out shortly after him. He watched as the gangly gray-skinned kobold looked out over the ledge. Kobolds had features similar to humans, but they were slightly shorter then dwarves with arms that hung past their knees. They were very weak but extremely fast. They relied heavily on the long cave lizards they were somehow able to control.

  He was rewarded a short time later. Not only did another kobold come out, but a kobold riding a cave lizard. Cave lizards are five to six feet long with another two to three feet of tail. They are all dark in color, from gray to black to brown. Other races had attempted to tame them over time, but the kobolds were the only ones with any success. From the ground to the top of their backs, a cave lizard is only about two to three feet tall, which make them easy for the kobolds to ride in the enclosed spaces of mountains, caves, and the lower planes. The lizards are extremely fast, with sharp teeth, and their muscular tails present a threat of their own.

  This cave lizard was a big one. It was at least six feet long, and its back was close to three feet off of the ground. The cave lizards were a very dangerous oppo
nent in a confined space, but they couldn’t do anything without being close enough to hit you with their tails or biting you. The kobolds were extremely accurate with their javelins, but Fuhrung wasn’t planning on giving the kobolds the opportunity to use them. He looked over to the dwarf lying behind the pile of rocks a dozen paces away. He nodded to the dwarf, and they both rose together, aimed, and fired. The other dwarf’s crossbow bolt buried into the first kobold’s chest. Fuhrung’s crossbow bolt hit the cave lizard in the head. The cave lizard fell dead instantly. The other dwarf had already dropped his crossbow and was charging forward. Fuhrung ran after the dwarf, drawing his swords. The other dwarf was able to dispatch the kobold with a downward swing of his hammer. The kobold attempted to block with his javelin, but the strength and weight of the hammer easily overpowered the weaker kobold and his weapon.

  Fuhrung came up next to the other dwarf just in time to for a javelin to come flying out of the entrance. He deflected the javelin with his sword and charged the entrance. The kobold who had thrown javelin had already drawn another. The kobold was bringing the javelin around for an attack, but Fuhrung’s sword cut easily through the shaft before the tip of his sword cut into the kobold’s abdomen.

  They threw the kobolds and the cave lizard over the edge of the landing before moving down to the field around Shinestone. When he arrived, he found a group of soldiers who had returned from Tiefes Loch waiting for him.

  “What happened?” he asked the first of the dwarves.

  “Fuhrung, you have been summoned to Tiefes Loch for a Council of Kings,” the dwarf answered.