The Hammer of Fire

by Tom Liberman

  “We have the amulet Manetho gave us,” said Milli. “Whoever wears it can understand and be understood.”

  “We’ll be strangers,” said Dol. “Strangers are never well received. There could be fighting.”

  “We’ve already decided,” said the sleepy voice of Petra into the night air. “We’re going into town one way or the other. Get some sleep.”

  “I still don’t understand my reading,” said Brogus.

  “Be quiet,” said Dol.

  “It was perfectly simple,” said Milli.

  “It was not,” said Brogus.

  “You could have asked something more complex than when you were going to meet a nice dwarf girl,” said Milli.

  “I didn’t say nice,” said Brogus.

  “Obviously,” said Milli.

  “Then why did you say I said it,” said Brogus.

  “Go to sleep,” said Petra.

  “I didn’t say nice,” said Brogus with a snort. “Who wants to meet a nice girl?”

  “For the love of Davim, shut up!” shouted Dol and rolled over so that he faced away from the rest of them.

  “Can I do another fortune tomorrow?” said Brogus. “I’ve got a better question now. I just didn’t have time to think and I panicked.”

  Petra rolled over and put her arm over her ears.

  “Did you hear me?” said Brogus.

  Silence came over the little camp.

  “I said, did you hear me?” said Brogus in a louder voice.

  “Oh, for Davim’s sake, answer him, Petra,” said Milli. “He’ll go on all night.”

  “No, no more fortunes,” stated Petra with finality.

  “Why not?”

  Petra rolled her eyes but didn’t answer.

  “I just want one more chance,” said Brogus.

  “If you don’t shut up …,” said Dol.

  “It’s not fair,” mumbled Brogus. “Fine, I’m going to sleep, but I want you to know that it’s not fair. Not one bit.”

  Silence once again came over the little camp. Within two minutes, Brogus’s snores roared through the night.

  “I don’t believe it,” said Milli and pulled her blanket up over her head.

  Chapter 20

  “It’s a nice enough place,” said the slight dwarf as he and Uldex wandered down a cobblestone street that seemed to bisect the town along a north-south axis. “There’s got to be a pub around here somewhere … don’t pretend you couldn’t use a stout, you old wanderer you.”

  Uldex looked at his small friend and shrugged his shoulders, “It’s been a while I’ll admit. I wouldn’t mind a drink. They’ll take our gold sure enough but keep your purse hidden. We don’t speak the language so don’t get yourself into any fights. We’re strangers,” with this he looked around as the people of the town went about their business without paying too much attention to the pair, “but it looks like they’re used to such like us around here. Nobody giving us the eye, so dwarves must be common folk. We’ll find a place to stay first and then a drink.”

  “I wouldn’t mind a bath and a whore,” said the little dwarf and clapped Uldex on the back.

  “Not necessarily in that order,” replied Uldex as his face broke into a wide grin.

  “I’ll have the bath first. There,” said the small dwarf pointing to a placard with a bed on it and a feathered snake, “If that’s not an inn then my names not Carus Blackiron.”

  “An inn for certain. The Feathered Snake perhaps,” speculated Uldex and strode over to the door. It swung open with an easy push and he walked inside the building with a couple of steady strides. Just inside the door and to his right was a long wooden counter, and a tall human with greasy black hair tied back behind his head waited behind it. The man turned his head to them and said something in a strange language.

  “I don’t speak your lingo,” said Uldex and walked over to him. He put his hands together by his face and then tilted his head down on them. Then he made scrubbing motions along his body and finished his pantomime with a drinking motion and the universal glug, glug sound.

  The man behind the counter smiled and said something unintelligible but gave a reassuring nod. He tried some other words, apparently in another language, but they still didn’t understand him. He then went through three or four more phrases each in different languages before he held up one finger and shouted out something to a back room.

  Uldex looked over past a set of swinging doors across from them and saw a group of long tables with small lamps on them. The smell of chicken wafted from what must be a kitchen beyond, and he felt the saliva forming in his mouth. They’d eaten nothing but game for the last few weeks as they followed the moron Cleathelm; odd little rabbits that tasted funny and a variety of fruits and vegetables they found along the trail. A strange berry slightly poisoned them once but they’d avoided any mushrooms that looked dangerous and managed all right without a major crisis.

  A moment later a smallish woman with a thick forehead and wide jaws that spoke of orc heritage came from the back room as she pulled a little medallion over her head, “Now then,” she said in a deep voice for a woman, “you’ll be wanting a room?”

  “That’s right,” said Uldex and reached under his tunic for the small purse he kept there. His larger purse, filled with golden coins and gemstones, lay deep in his vest beyond easy reach. “At least one night and we’ll be wanting baths and whores if you keep those sorts here.”

  “We have both,” said the woman with a smile. “Andreaus here speaks several dwarf tongues but you don’t speak the same?”

  Uldex shrugged, “We’re from a ways off, travelers. You haven’t seen any other dwarves that don’t speak the local lingo by any chance?”

  “I haven’t,” said the woman, “but I can ask around. We’ll weigh your silver if you don’t have coins of the realm.” She bent down under the counter and pulled out a little scale. “You’ll want to see that it’s zeroed out, we’re not cheats here at the Feathered Serpent.”

  “Good enough,” said Uldex and pulled out a small handful of large silver coins. “We’ll want one room with two beds. Also, have you seen a tall dwarf, maybe traveling with a pretty halfling girl?”

  “No,” said the woman without hesitation and shook her head while maintaining eye contact with Uldex. “You’re meeting friends then?”

  “Something like that,” said Uldex as the woman took seven of his proffered coins and put them on the scale. It dipped down almost to the top of the counter. The woman looked surprised and took off three of the coins considerably lightening the load. “That’s enough for two nights, baths, food, and drink; you’ll have to pay separate for the whores, that’s between you and them. Your silver’s pure. Where do you do your mining if you don’t mind me asking?”

  Carus gave Uldex a sidelong glance, the four silver coins wouldn’t even purchase a meal back in Craggen Steep. “North of here,” said Uldex with a smile. “We wanted to travel with as few coins as possible so we brought good silver. You said there are dwarves here in the south?”

  “Oh yes,” said the woman with a nod of head, “There’s the Highhelm clan south of here near the Five Sisters. They’re the most prominent; iron merchants generally, but there are other clans as well. There’s a small enclave of them to the west.”

  “The Five Sisters?” said Uldex knowing that Carus was giving him a look but keeping his attention focused on the woman.

  “A group of five volcanoes right up against the Southern Sea,” she answered with a smile. “I’ve never been there myself but they say it’s the best iron in the world unless you believe those crazy legends.”

  “What legends are those,” said Carus before Uldex could stop him.

  “The Dwarven City of Gold, Craggen Steep,” said the woman.

  Carus laughed out loud and Uldex put an elbow to his ribs, “We’ve heard of it,” said the scarred dwarf with a nod at his companion, “My friend here always laughs when people talk about that fairy tale land. Still, it’s
a good story, right, Carus?”

  Carus busied himself rubbing the sore spot in his ribs and gave Uldex a tight lipped little smile, “Right you are, my friend.”

  “In any case,” said Uldex, “Whereabouts can we find our rooms? I can see the kitchen is over there but I’d like to get settled in, take that bath, have a beer or two, you do have dwarven stouts?”

  “Oh yes,” said the woman. “We get dwarf traders in fairly frequently from the Five Sisters. I’m sure you’ll find there’s something on the menu to your taste.”

  “How far a trip is it to the Five Sisters,” said Carus, apparently recovered from the damage to his ribs. “My friend and I might like to go visit our brothers from the south sometime.”

  “The caravans come through a couple of times a year,” said the woman. “I think it takes them about a month or so, but traveling alone without wagons I’d imagine you could cut that time in half.”

  “Good to know,” said Uldex, apparently still focused on the more mundane topic of the conversation. “Which way to the rooms?”

  “I’ll take you up,” said the woman. “I can see about finding you one of the translator amulets. I’m surprised you’ve made it this far from your home without purchasing one. They’re quite useful for caravan traders, travelers, adventurers, or whatever.”

  “That’s a good idea,” said Uldex and scratched at his beard. He suddenly felt dirty for the first time and a sensation of bugs crawling in his beard and hair suddenly made him squirm. “And the baths?”

  “Downstairs, past the hallway there,” said the woman. “I’ll have them draw a couple up for you and your friend. We can mend your clothes as well but that’ll be another silver or two depending on how much work is required. We can tally up your expenses as you go and charge it up when you leave.”

  “That sounds fine,” said Uldex as they followed the woman down a long corridor and passed a number of doors each neatly marked with strange lettering. “Oh, and what is the name of this town? Do the amulets let you read as well as understand?”

  “You’re in the city of Relm in the kingdom of Shandoria,” said the woman with a smile. “Just in case you didn’t know that. As far as I know the amulets only work with sound but I’ve heard that there are more powerful ones for reading and writing. If you’re heading south the five volcanoes are up against the Southern Sea. If you’re a fisherman you might think about chartering a ship and heading out to sea. Most dwarves don’t much take to the water as I remember.”

  “No fishing for me,” said Carus with a shake of his square head, “I’m not a swimmer, more a sinker as I recall when I fell into that stream chasing darklings.”

  Uldex laughed, “No, not much of that where we’re from. Still, it’s something to consider.”

  “Where are you from?” said the woman as she arrived at an oak door banded with a lighter pine and pushed it open to reveal a large room with two comfortable beds covered by thick blankets and soft sheets.

  Carus’s eyes opened wide as he saw the room, “All this?”

  “It’s not our best suite but it’s not bad,” said the woman as she laughed and gave the wood door a little smack with the palm of her hand. “We have good clean rooms here at the Feathered Serpent. You said you were from the north? I don’t know any dwarf realms up that way but I’m sure where there are mountains there must be dwarves.”

  “It’s pretty far away,” said Uldex as Carus walked into the room and began to run his hand over the wooden dresser on the far wall. It was at least six feet high with half a dozen heavy drawers made entirely of wood. Even the handles were of the same material and Carus caressed them gently.

  “I’ve never seen this much wood before,” he said while shaking his head. “I bet this is what the First Edos chamber is like.”

  “Shut up, Carus,” said Uldex and smiled at the woman. “Call us when the baths are ready please.”

  The woman nodded her head and left the room, closing the door behind her without a further word. Her hand went to the pure silver coins in her pocket and she smiled broadly. Hopefully they dwarves would be in town for a while before they headed south.

  Uldex walked across the room in two quick strides and smacked Carus on the head, “Don’t be an idiot.”

  “You’ve never seen this much wood before either, Uldex. So don’t go trying to pretend you aren’t impressed.”

  “We just walked through a forest. What do you mean you’ve never seen so much wood?”

  “I mean, all carved into doors and such,” said Carus with a shrug of his shoulders. “It doesn’t count when it’s just a tree.”

  “Why wouldn’t that count?” asked Uldex and then immediately shook his head, “Never mind, just get ready for your bath and stop talking. I need to think. We need to keep out a watch for Cleathelm and Blaggard and there’s always the possibility that we’ll meet up with Milli and Dol. We are much closer to the Five Volcanoes than I could have hoped. That means all the others are likely nearby and they could be in this town, Relm, as well. We need to keep a low profile and that means not talking too much about where we’re from.”

  The other dwarf stopped talking and began to unpack his gear into the wooden drawers, “Cleathelm’s too stupid to ask if there are any other dwarves around. Anyway, they have no reason to suspect that we’re following them, the same for Dol, Brogus, and Milli.

  At that very moment downstairs, at the front desk, Milli, Dol, Petra, and Brogus stood in front of the woman asking about accommodations as she looked strangely at the silver coins they gave her.

  “Is anything wrong,” said Milli with a little frown.

  “No, nothing,” said the woman and looked first at Milli and then at Dol who wore a hood over his head as the apple growth seemed to be accelerating and the color of the little fruits brightening. “They’re just unusual looking coins is all. Where are you from?”

  “The far north,” said Milli a pleasant smile returning to her face. “We’re just travelers in the region. You don’t know a place with five volcanoes nearby by any chance?”

  The woman looked up with a startled expression on her face but then smiled broadly, “As a matter of fact, I do.”

  “Oh, that’s wonderful,” said Milli putting on her best smile and looking over to Dol, Brogus, and Petra. Even Dol looked up from under the hood he wore tightly over his head. “Can you give us directions or maybe even tell us how to hire a guide?”

  “They’re not hard to find,” said the woman with a laugh. “Just head due south and you’ll get to the Southern Sea in a few weeks if you’re on foot and faster if you have horses. From there anyone can guide you to the Five Sisters.”

  “Do you know anything about the people who live in that region,” said Dol as he pulled back his hood to reveal a wild forest of hair interspersed with noticeable little reddish tinted apples.

  “Dol,” said Milli as her eyes opened wide. “It’s grown since yesterday and the apples are getting bigger!”

  “What are you?” said the woman at the counter with her mouth agape, and she took a step back from the counter.

  Dol looked up at her slowly and he glared through eyes narrowed to slits, “A dwarf,” he finally said and continued to stare at her.

  “She didn’t mean anything, Dol,” said Milli noting the simmering rage and taking him by the arm.

  “Then why did she say it,” said Dol putting his hand on the haft of his hammer and glaring at her. “People shouldn’t say things they don’t mean.”

  The woman’s eyes were wide open now as she began to stammer out apologies, “I’m quite sorry, sir. I was just surprised by your appearance. You must admit that it is somewhat unusual. My apologies of course.”

  “See, Dol,” interrupted Brogus as he put his hand on the shoulder of his friend. “It’s nothing, my friend. Let’s take a room and get some rest. We’re all a little cranky from such traveling about.”

  “I won’t stay here,” said Dol as he spun around and walked out of th
e inn without a further word.

  Petra shook her head and looked at Milli who in turn looked at Brogus. “I’m so sorry,” said Milli to the woman. “We’ve been traveling for a long time; he’s upset a lot lately.”

  The woman nodded her head although her hands trembled and her face was quite white as she tried to wave it off with a little motion of her hands, “I understand. I didn’t mean anything, it’s just you don’t often see someone with apples growing in their hair.”

  “He’s a little sensitive about them,” said Brogus with a deep chuckle.

  “Can you recommend somewhere else for us to stay,” said Petra with a kindly smile as she patted the trembling woman on the hand.

  An hour later the four travelers were in a room filled with wooden furniture and were admiring their accommodations. “I’ve never seen the like,” said Brogus, his hand running over the wooden bed frame. “Wood support, wood frame, wood dresser, wood handles, it’s richer than even a High Council member could afford and for less silver than I’d pay for a good stout in Craggen Steep.”

  “Maybe we shouldn’t mention that place too often,” said Milli as she too admired the wooden fixtures around the room. “Petra’s and mine is even nicer.”

  “Yeah,” said Brogus with a grin as he continued to move his hand over the wood grain. “Girls always get better rooms. It’s not fair.”

  “We ladies of refinement need more space,” said Milli and let loose with a girlish giggle.

  Dol sat in the corner and ran his fingers through his hair pulling out the occasional little red apple and tossing it into a waste bin, but he remained silent.

  “Oh, Dol,” said Milli. “Stop moping around. We know you didn’t want to come to town but we’ve found out where the Five Volcanoes are and it’s only a couple of weeks of travel from here.”

  “It’s probably shorter than that,” said Petra. “That woman at the first inn didn’t know about the quality of our horses.”

  “That’s true,” said Milli smiling brightly. “See, Dol. Now we know exactly where to go and how long it’s going to take us. So coming to town saved us time. We’ll be there before you know it and your quest fulfilled.” She walked over to Dol and patted him on the shoulder.