Patria waited for the door to shut behind them. “Master Brennin, I want word spread through the city. I will be making a public decree tomorrow at midday from the city square.”
“Your Highness,” Brennin started to argue.
“I know what you are going to say!” The king’s face had hardened in anger, and he took a moment to gather himself before he continued. “After attacking the Black Dragons, they are going to be looking for an opportunity to hit us back. Everyone in Patria will also understand that. The decree I am going to make will hold no weight if it is given from the protection of the palace. I will go out to the city square. I will take my nephew the warrior half-dwarf prince, and my cousin the wizard. I will take a small contingent of the king’s guard. The rest of the soldiers will be throughout the square as they normally would be. If the Black Dragons are foolish enough to think I am unprotected, they will pay for their mistakes in blood.”
Grundel nodded his agreement. Rundo remained quiet.
Master Brennin surely wasn’t comfortable, but the king had left no indication that this was open for debate so the man simply accepted that these were orders. “I will make sure that the square is full, Your Highness.”
They all heard the hint of a plan in the old man’s tone but even the king wasn’t going to try and stop him from a bit of scheming. Brennin would do whatever he thought was necessary without outright defying the king’s orders to ensure the king’s safety.
***
Just before midday, King Patria stood on the palace steps. To his left stood Grundel, to his right stood Rundo, and Jacob walked behind him.
Commander Thompson turned and faced him. “Your Highness, we are ready when you are.”
King Patria nodded his agreement.
Commander Thompson looked to his men. “Stay alert. The Black Dragons are going to be looking for a chance. We will not give them one.”
The men in ranks on both sides of the king snapped to attention. Commander Thompson turned and walked out of the main palace gate. They had agreed that being on horseback would make them too easy of a target, so they had decided to walk. Commander Thompson had explained that there were teams of soldiers posted every couple of blocks with horses, in case they needed to escape.
King Patria walked down the streets toward the city square. A patrol moved ahead of them, clearing a path through the crowd. They had to move slowly, but eventually they made it to the square. They moved up onto the platform, which stood just above the height of the heads of the people around it.
At the front of the platform was a large horn-shaped wooden tube. King Patria moved up to the horn. As he scanned the crowd, he began to recognize many of the faces. He had to hold back a smile as he realized what Brennin had done. All of the rows closest to the platform were guards or soldiers. They were in regular clothing, but he recognized too many of their faces for them to not be. The threat had to come from the crowd. The buildings were all too far away for them to be a threat. Even if someone were capable of making the shot, there would be enough time for one of the many guards to see it coming and react.
He put his mouth to the horn. “People of Patria, the Black Dragons are trying to use the citizens of this city to do their work for them. Let me tell you that this will not be ignored. The assassins who tried to use our citizens yesterday found themselves being attacked. This is what I promise you. We will not let the assassins run free in this city. We will not let our citizens be persecuted. If the Black Dragons go after our citizens, then we will continue to stop them.”
There was a commotion out in front of the stage. All of a sudden, two men a few rows behind where the disguised soldiers were fell. A few feet away, two more men fell. The people in the area began to force their way away from the commotion.
A single man leapt into the air, and King Patria realized that it was Jerrie. Even with a wounded leg he had leapt above the heads of the crowd. As he came down, his arm shot out, knocking a sword to the side and driving his dagger down into the skull of the man who was wielding the sword.
The soldiers in disguise held their places, staying close to the platform. By the time the soldiers in uniform were able to make it through the crowd, they found Jerrie standing in the center of six dead men, his arms and face covered in blood. The ground was littered with swords and crossbows.
“We will not allow the Black Dragons to operate in the city of Patria,” the king repeated through the horn.
Jerrie fell in with the soldiers making their way through the crowd as they tried to catch up to the king who was now leaving the city square.
Chapter Thirty-seven
Dobo, Gobo, and the Einode
King Patria had everyone summoned to one of the large audience chambers down the hall from the throne room. Anna and Grizzle showed up at the same time as Grundel.
“What is going on?” Grizzle asked him.
“I have a surprise for you,” Patria explained with a smile.
Jerrie came limping in behind Rundo and Evelyn. He had been amazing in the fight three days ago at the decree, but he had ended up lying in bed for a full day afterward. He had torn the wound in his leg open during the fight and set his healing back a great deal.
Kraft came in last, led by Master Brennin. He had apparently come from the smith. His arms were covered in dark soot, and he smelled of hot metal and sand.
They were all mumbling to each other about what they thought might be the cause of their summons.
“We are all here now,” King Patria declared. He smiled at them all. “This morning I was informed that something had arrived in Patria that I would be interested in.”
“What was it?” Anna asked.
King Patria simply smiled and looked to the door at the side of the chamber. On cue, the door swung open, and Dobo and Gobo came barreling through it.
Grundel ran forward and the two dwarves leapt at him. Dobo slammed into his chest. He was able to turn, throwing the dwarf to the ground, but Gobo had leapt for his legs. His legs were tangled, and he tumbled to the floor. He landed on top of Dobo, who grunted. They all broke apart, laughing hysterically as they came to their feet. When they looked up, they saw that everyone else was also enjoying the show.
Dobo and Gobo went through the group, slamming into everyone with overly aggressive hugs. They did not go any lighter on the women with their displays of affection. Evelyn was especially disheveled after they had both showed their happiness to see her healthy.
“Who hobbled this one?” Dobo said.
Jerrie found himself receiving a small amount of special treatment. Dobo slammed his meaty hand into his back. Jerrie was knocked forward a step and had barely gotten his good leg back under him when Gobo’s hand slammed into his arm, sending him limping to the side. He had to laugh with them, knowing that it was all in fun. He would have done the same had it been them. He waited for Gobo to turn and then he drew his dagger. He sent the mental command to the enchanted blade, and it transformed into a sword. He slid the flat of the blade between the dwarf’s legs. As Dobo started to stumble, he immediately gave the sword a mental command, retracting it back to a dagger so that he did cut into the dwarf’s legs. Dobo turned around, understanding his brother’s predicament, and slammed a heavy fist into his back as he stepped out of the way. Gobo sprawled on the ground.
“Get ahold of yourself, brother,” Dobo cried out. The room erupted into laughter again.
Gobo stood, turning toward all of them. “Treachery!” He turned to Grizzle. “King Stoneheart, we hear you’re going to crack some heads. Where are these heads?”
Grizzle stared at the two dwarves for a moment. The laughter in the room died. “We are going into the Einode.”
Gobo leapt forward to his brother’s side with excitement. “The Forgotten Kingdom?”
Dobo looked at his brother and then at his king.
Grizzle let a slight smile find his lips. The situation was dire, but the idea of finding the lost kingdom was something any dwarf
would happily die for. “Far away, there’s a land that’s lost to the sand. Souls who were lost, a Kingdom it cost. Forever these souls will be trapped and alone, until the debt is repaid to the throne. The ones who abandoned the blood of the king will forever be waiting for the blood to have need.”
Grizzle looked at the two brothers. They were two of the most capable fighters in all of the dwarven kingdoms. They were also the two most loyal dwarves he would ever know. “The blood has a need. We are going to go into the Einode, the land that has been lost to the sand. We will find the Forgotten Kingdom. I will demand that the souls of the traitors pay their debt by helping us destroy the Phantom of Bergmann.”
“You had us at ‘the blood has a need’,” Gobo said.
“When do we leave?” Dobo asked.
“We will leave as soon as the Einode is able. He is healing well. I am going up to talk to him now about helping us,” Grizzle explained.
“I am coming with you,” Jerrie said, limping forward.
“Of course you are. You saved the man’s life. He will trust you more than any of us,” King Patria said. He turned to face everyone else. “The rest of you will have to wait until we are finished to find out what he says. Too many people at once could be overwhelming. Einodes are not known for being social.”
They all nodded their acceptance.
“If he doesn’t listen, we’ll just crack his head,” Dobo said, holding up his hammer.
Jerrie turned to face him. “That won’t work on this one. I watched a man drag red-hot steel across his stomach and he did not give up the information. He will die before he gives up anything. The only way to get him to help us is to have him give it to us willingly.”
Dobo raised his eyebrows in a look of admiration. “The stomach? That is impressive. Maybe the Einodes are descended from dwarves after all.”
Jerrie just laughed, knowing that to be a true compliment from Dobo.
“We will let you all know what we find out. Dobo and Gobo, I am glad you are with us,” Grizzle said before making his way toward the door.
King Patria and Jerrie followed him out of the chamber.
When they arrived in the infirmary, the Einode was sitting up in his bed. It was a good sign. It showed that his stomach was healing.
Jerrie moved ahead of the two kings. “Sir, my name is Jerrie. This is King Patria, and this is King Stoneheart, King of all of the Dwarven Kingdoms.”
To all of their surprise, the man stood. “Thank you for your help. I am healed now. Why were we attacked?” he asked Jerrie.
“You were attacked because you might have information on where the Forgotten Kingdom of the dwarves is located. I was attacked because I was coming to ask for your help,” Jerrie explained.
The man looked from Jerrie to Grizzle. “The spirit, it is one of yours,” he was stated more than asked.
Grizzle nodded. “The spirit is a phantom. He is the spirit of the King of Tiefes Loch. His name was Bergmann. He abandoned the god of our kin and followed Delvidge. In his last moment of life, he called out to Delvidge, sacrificing his soul in order to be granted a chance at revenge. Now he is trying to destroy the entire dwarven race. He has been taking the bodies of men and dwarves and killing without resistance. I am going to the Forgotten Kingdom to call on the debt owed by the spirits who are trapped there.”
“You are of the blood of the throne?” the man asked.
“I am a Stoneheart. A Stoneheart was betrayed, and a Stoneheart is the only one to whom the debt can be repaid,” Grizzle explained.
The man looked at him for a moment. “I will take you into the Einode. I will do this to try and help you stop the evil spirit. I do not know where the Lost Kingdom is, but I will take you to the one who does. I have to warn you first. The tribe may not agree with you. They have their own debts to repay. If they believe that your cause goes against their own, they are as like to kill you as help you.”
“That is a risk we must take,” Grizzle answered.
“Then I will take you into the Einode, where you will find your answers or your death.”
“What is your name?” Jerrie asked.
“Hamid.”
“Whenever you are healed and ready, we will leave, Hamid. The longer we wait, the more opportunities we give the spirit to attack people and ruin our plans,” Grizzle explained.
The man lifted up his robe, exposing himself. The wound on his stomach was mostly healed. It was miraculous. It had been less than a week. There should still be an angry, scabbed burn there. Instead there was simply a long pink area of raw new skin. “It is mostly healed. I can leave tomorrow if you are ready. I will just need to go to my home and gather some things. You will need to tell your people that they cannot bring armor. It is always the biggest problem.”
They stared at the man in amazement. They had heard stories about Einodites healing from fatal wounds, even some that they didn’t need food or water to survive, but they had just dismissed them as myths. They say myths always have a base in truth, and it seemed this one held more truth than any of them had expected.
“Dobo and Gobo won’t like that,” Jerri said.
“If anyone has armor, I will not lead. Armor is heavy and metal heats up quickly. We will need to travel light and carry lots of water. Water is hard to find in the Einode. No armor. I will not try to convince a man not to bring his weapons, but to wear armor into the Einode is to kill one’s self. I will not lead,” Hamid stated flatly. There was no hint that this would be negotiable. They would all have to accept that this man was the expert and follow his lead.
“I will tell them,” Grizzle conceded. “We will follow your lead.”
“We will leave tomorrow morning. I will be waiting at the east gate at sunup.” He did not wait for a response, butsimply walked out of the room.
They all stood staring after him. “Well, let’s go tell the others,” Grizzle said, breaking the silence.
Chapter Thirty-eight
Leaving Patria
“What do you mean, I am not going?” Jerrie shouted.
“You need to take the time to heal properly, and Patria will need you here,” Grizzle tried to explain.
“I am fine. You know that I am not going to slow you down. What is this about?” Jerry demanded.
“Jerrie,” Grundel broke in. “The Black Dragons are coming at my uncle in force. There is a war here in Patria. It is not likely to be over soon, and we played a part in starting it. We need someone here who can help guide my uncle in this. You know the Black Dragons better than anyone. You helped start the White Dragons here in Patria. My uncle would like you to take over as the commander of the White Dragons.”
“And if I refuse?”
“You still will not be coming with us,” Grizzle said with a voice that said he no longer wished to entertain this argument. “I have decided who will come with me, and it is final. Rundo had to leave Evelyn behind, and you will have to stay as well. You will be needed more here than you will with me and so this is where you will stay. If you do not like what we have asked you to do, you can do what you wish, but you will not be coming with us.”
Jerrie stared at the dwarf king for a moment. Grizzle had never before talked to him like this. Grizzle never really spoke to anyone like this. Grizzle simply asked everyone nicely to do what he wanted, and they did it. Now he truly understood why. The dwarf king had just ordered him, and he felt a fool. He was one of the most capable fighters in the world, but in that moment he felt as small as a child. “I will stay and fight the Black Dragons.”
“Thank you,” Grizzle said the calm kindness back in his tone. “King Patria will talk with you about his plans and look for your advice in how to build the White Dragons. My understanding is that Portwein will be looking for some help in training their own force to fight them as well.”
Jerrie looked from Grizzle to Grundel. “Be safe, brother.”
“You, too,” Grundel replied. Jerrie had quickly become his closest friend. They had fou
ght beside each other so often that they had developed their own style of fighting. They were often compared to Grizzle and Jabaal, his father’s closest friend and a paladin of Kalime. Now he was being separated from his closest friend for the first time since they had met.
Rundo came into the room soon after Jerrie left. “Jerrie is not coming either?”
Grizzle looked at him with a look that said this was not a topic open for discussion. “No, he will be staying in Patria to help fight the Black Dragons.”
Rundo nodded. “That makes sense.”
“Where are Dobo and Gobo?” Rundo asked.
“They are inspecting the locks on the room where they are locking up their armor. They threw an even bigger fit about leaving their armor than Jerrie did about being left behind,” Grizzle explained.
“You threatened to leave them here with their armor, didn’t you?” Rundo asked with a smile.
A smile back was all the answer Rundo needed.
“We better get going. We are all meeting at the palace gate. We only have an hour before sunup,” Grizzle said.
When they made their way to the front of the palace, Dobo and Gobo were already waiting with Anna, Jerrie, King Patria, Evelyn, and Master Brennin. Grizzle went to Anna, Rundo went to Evelyn, and the rest of them all said their goodbyes to King Patria, Master Brennin, and Jerrie.
We haven’t told anyone about your departure, so the Black Dragons should not have been able to set up any kind of ambush. They will likely be watching the palace though, so they might be able to set something up between here and the gate.”
“Been too long since we cracked some skulls,” Dobo said.
They all smiled. King Patria took Grizzle’s hand in his. “Good luck.”
“We’re going home,” Grizzle said with a smile.
“Just make sure you come back,” Anna said.
“Yes, Ma’am,” he said, kissing her hand.
They all turned and started making their way out the gate. They were about two blocks from the gate when Messah screeched overhead. Rundo spun and saw the crossbowman aiming in from the rooftop to the right. He linked with the aura of the wind, pushing a strong gust of wind upward. The crossbow thrummed, and the bolt came toward them. It hit the wall of air and deflected over their heads.
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