by Tom Liberman
“That’s right,” said the woman her eyes suddenly lighting up. “What was that flavor we loved so much last time you came back from Hot Rock?”
“They’ll let you have tastings dear,” now run along so I can finish my story before Tylan’s head explodes.”
Almara laughed out loud at that and she put on a knit shawl and adjusted the pins in her hair but she was out the door soon enough finally leaving the father and son to themselves.
“Craggen Steep,” said Tanner, leaned back after he finished rolling his cigarette, went over to the small iron stove, opened the small grate in front reaching in with tongs and pulling out a flaming ember, which he put on top of the stove, and then used to light his tobacco. He took in a deep breath and exhaled a long plume of orange brown smoke. “Craggen Steep.”
Tylan, unable to contain himself for a moment longer, bounced on the bed and said, “Yes, Craggen Steep!”
“They say it was where the dwarves were first born deep under the ground and where they lived for centuries before anyone knew they were even there. They built the Deep Forge at the heart of the volcano. It is said the Forge Master of Craggen Steep is the finest smith in the world. Edorin arrived in the Maw before I was even born,” said Tanner shaking his head with a wry smile. “I’ve been here at Hot Rock on trading mission at least fifteen times but I’ve never met the dwarf. They say he stays mostly underground working the Black Fire Forge.”
“Which volcano is it?” said Tylan as he sat on the edge of his bed and leaned forward to hear his father.
“That is a question many people would like to know the answer to,” said Tanner with a shrug of his shoulders. “They say the dwarves have kept the location a secret for all these years, even during the Imperial Age when the Emperor ruled the world. I’ve heard lots of stories but I think they are all just guesses.”
“Do you think it’s near Doria, dad?” asked Tylan his voice suddenly squeaked in a high pitch. “There are lots of volcanoes all around here.”
“It makes sense that it might be,” said Tanner, “but there are volcanoes in other places as well. A lot of people think it’s in Lonely Mountain but others say further north where Das’von used to be. Like I said, no one knows for sure except the dwarves and they aren’t talking. A lot of folks think it’s all just made up nonsense that no one could keep a whole citadel secret for so long, especially from the Emperor.”
“What’s Lonely Mountain?” said Tylan.
Tanner shook his head with a smile. “I don’t really know much about that either son. I know it’s far, far to the north of us near the center of the continent. They say it’s a massive mountain in the middle of a lake and it stands alone, with no other mountains within hundreds of miles.”
“Where’s Doria on the continent?”
“South, about as far south as you can get. We’re even south of Tarlton and they call that place the City in the Sand.”
“How big is the continent?” asked Tylan.
“This conversation is never going to end, is it?” asked Tanner with a smile and got up to give his son a cuff on the shoulder.
“Dad!”
“I don’t know, I’ve never been much further west than Hot Rock here, further north than Lycidas which borders the Great Salt Fen, further east than Iv’s Folly, or further south than the lands of Lord Thotmes. That’s only about two hundred miles north to south and less than that east to west.”
“How many hundred miles do you think it is to the Lonely Mountain?”
“Not hundreds Tylan. Thousands, ten thousand maybe, maybe more. So far it doesn’t really make any difference I suppose. We’re tradesmen son, and we travel hundreds of miles from one outpost to another and most people consider us wanders, adventurers. Most folks never leave the town they’re born in so for them fifty miles is the same as five thousand miles. Lonely Mountain, ancient Das’von, they’re about as far away as a dream is from reality as far as we’re concerned, if that makes any sense.”
“I’d like to go to the Lonely Mountain someday,” said Tylan with a wide smile. “And see if I can find the dwarves of Craggen Steep!”
“That a big hunk of meat you’ve grabbed from the line son, it’s good to dream big I suppose and you’re of the age when dreaming is a good thing. But, we’re simple traders and I doubt you’ll ever make it that far.”
“I will, someday,” said Tylan and set his jaw firmly and pounded his fist into his hand.
Tanner nodded his head, “Well son, don’t let an old merchant man like me talk you out of it. If you think you’re going to the Lonely Mountain and you’re going to find old Craggen Steep then you just go ahead and do it!”
Tylan smiled broadly and looked over at this father, “Thanks dad, maybe we could go explore Hot Rock until Ariana and the others get back!”
“She’s a pretty girl, isn’t she,” said Tanner as he stood up and threw on his old wood jacket.
Tylan wrinkled his nose up, “Not really, she’s still missing half her teeth but she’s brave for someone her age and I like her anyway.”
“Good for you son, beauty isn’t everything.”
“Is that why you married mom instead of Lousa?” asked Tylan and his father gave him a sharp look.
“Don’t you ever say anything like that around your mother or you won’t be sitting for a month. Lousa’s a good woman too and, there’s no denying she’s easy on the eyes, but she’s had a troubled life from what I can tell. I don’t much think she wants to settle down and have children. I married your mom because we both wanted kids, although looking at you and your sister sometimes I can’t figure out exactly what we were thinking!”
“Shut up dad, you know you love us.”
“Well, maybe you’re right about that after all,” said Tanner and put his arm around the boy. “C’mon I want to show you Amalg’s Sculptures; it’s a place you’ll never forget, even if you go all the way to the Lonely Mountain.”
“What is it?”
“You’ll see soon enough. Put on your jacket, it gets cold up in the mountains at night even this far south,” said Tanner to his son as we walked to the door.
A moment later the two, father and son, helmets firmly in place on their heads, walked down a narrow avenue flanked by the strange spring stilt houses and buildings constructed on every open area of the small clearing.
“There it is,” said Tanner and pointed to a low slung home where dozens of strange looking statues were scattered around the yard.
“He makes statues?” asked Tylan and walked over to the closest stone object. It was perhaps eight feet tall and appeared to be nothing more than a strange series of twists and turns although the rock itself was interlaced with a strange green mineral that mimicked the pattern of the thing itself in a way that made the young boy look away for a moment and then gaze again. “It’s … it doesn’t … it’s not anything but … it’s like it is something,” said Tylan after a moment and then turned away. “It gives me a headache.”
Tanner laughed. “You don’t want to look too closely at Amalg’s works,” said the merchant and clapped his son on the back. “Wait until you meet the sculptor himself. Now, I think I see him back there but I have to warn you. He’s a bit scary looking, he’s a creature you’ve probably heard stories about, but don’t worry, he won’t hurt you.”
Tylan watched where his father pointed and caught a quick slip of movement as a long robed humanoid looking figure with a small hammer in one hand passed between two statues.
“Come along,” said Tanner, grabbed his son by the upper arm and pulling him forward. “Amalg,” the merchant called out loud to the figure ahead.
The creature that appeared suddenly in front of the two made Tylan gasp in surprise as the boy took a step backwards before he regained his courage and held his ground. Amalg was actually shorter than Tanner was and not much taller than the boy but his head was bald and overly long from front to back with a round, bulbous back. The narrow eyes were of the deepest purple
and deeply embedded into his head. The most startling feature of the creature was the half a dozen long tentacles that emerged from his head and seemed to wave about in hypnotic pattern.
“Tentacled One!” said Tylan in an almost gasp.
The creature gave a small bow to Tanner and the boy and then sort of a strange little lurch to the side, “Welcome Tanner Wilmer to my gallery, this tadpole is your offspring, yes?”
“Yes, this is my son Tylan,” said Tanner and put his hand to the back of Tylan and shoving him forward.
Amalg bowed again and Tylan found himself bending over in reply although he kept his head lifted to watch the tentacles as they waved back and forth.
“How does my art strike you?” asked Amalg with a languorous wave of his right hand which had slipped out from under the long sleeve of the robe.
Tylan opened his mouth and then closed it again not saying anything but the creature seemed to have infinite patience as it stood in front of him waiting for a reply.
“Well, Tylan, go ahead, tell Amalg what you just told me,” said Tanner and tried to keep from laughing out loud at the discomfort of the boy.
“It … it makes my head hurt,” said Tylan all in a quick blurt.
The strange gurgling sound that came from Amalg was almost as disturbing as the appearance of the creature and Tylan took a step backwards despite his best effort. Tanner put his arm around the boy to steady him and they waited for the Tentacled One to reply.
It nodded its head up and down several times before the gurgle finally subsided. “Excellent, stupendous. You are a true aesthetic tadpole Tylan Wilmer. You may have one piece,” he went on and waved his arm across the yard.
“I … I don’t have much money,” said the boy and rummaged in his pocket for the few copper coins that he knew were there. He’d seen the art shows in Iv’s Folly and even in the big city of Lycidas and knew that important statues like these could cost thousands of silver coins.
“No, no,” said Tanner patting his son on the back. “Amalg doesn’t sell his art; he gives it to those he deems worthy. You should take your time and pick something you really like. Look around, I want to speak with Amalg about that item your girlfriend is getting back for us.”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” said Tylan and shook off his father’s hand but looked eagerly about the yard. At first it looked like there were just hundreds of the large statues but a closer examination revealed many more smaller pieces some of them inside the bigger pieces, some blended into the natural rocks that also littered the yard, some actually half buried in the ground, and some that might be art and might just be twisted scraps of rock and metal. The boy began to explore slowly going from one strange twisted form to the next.
“Amalg,” said Tanner and spread his arms. “I know art is your venue but your species is well known to have accumulated much information over the ages. I was hoping you might know something about a strange item that was found recently just off coast at Iv’s Folly.”
“I am no longer a member of The Collective,” said Amalg as his purple eyes suddenly gleamed. “But, I will answer your queries as best I can.”
“I appreciate that my friend,” said Tanner. “The Great Eastern Sea dips pretty far south around Iv’s Folly although the coast is all rocks and there are no good ports until you travel northwest to Sea Fen. A ship ran aground there about thirty years ago and there was something on it called the Staff of Naught. A couple of weeks ago the undead of the region started to rise from their graves and dig towards the wreck searching for this staff.”
“What does it look like?” asked the creature with its tentacles dancing lightly in front of its face.
“It looks like an arm, a boney arm but it’s carved from wood. There’s a hand at the end sort of half grasping at something, like this,” said Tanner who held his own hand up in a half globe like motion. “It’s like it’s supposed to be holding something but there’s nothing there.”
“I am ignorant of this thing,” said Amalg, “but I am intrigued. A Staff of Nothing, holding the hearts of the slaves of Vanth. It is cold to the touch?”
Tanner looked at Amalg for a moment and thought back to the people who had worked with the staff. “I don’t think so. When Ariana took it to Khemer it didn’t look like it was hurting her.”
“Khemer is another companion?” asked Amalg with another sudden tick of his head.
“No, well, yes. He was a ghost summoned by our witch to help us find out what was going on back at the shipwreck. He told us that he wanted to destroy the staff and brought us up into the mountains to perform the ceremony. But, he betrayed us; he was trying to use it to bring himself back to life. We killed him, my son did,” suddenly his eyes opened wide. “My god, it was Tylan who killed him, I just realized that.”
“I thought I felt the touch of a killer around his soul,” said Amalg. “Perhaps that is why he was able to discern so much from his first glance at my works.”
“He’s not a killer,” said Tanner. “He just picked up that hammer and hit him from behind because he was attacking Lousa and Ariana. Whatever happened to that hammer,” the merchant finished. “It was far too big for him to wield properly anyway and the boy has no combat training. Shamki has been working with Unerus.”
“He committed homicide,” said Amalg and bowed his head and put his hands in front of his face in a prayer position. “Therefore he has touched his soul in a way beyond your comprehension,” said the artisan. “The more a soul is touched the greater it’s appreciation for my work.”
“I’ve always said I liked your work Amalg,” said Tanner and looked around for his son both left and right and then stood on his tip toes. “Where has that boy gotten to?”
“Fear not,” said Amalg a tentacle coming up with a darting sort of motion and caressing the merchant’s face.
Tanner jumped back, “Don’t … don’t do that.”
The creature’s body gave a sudden jerk and his arm began to twitch with a rhythmic motion. “I must apologize,” said Amalg his voice suddenly strained and his body tense. “My illness overcomes me, please excuse me,” and with that the creature turned with a sudden movement and rushed back into the small house and shut the door quickly behind him.
Tanner stood a moment and shuddered as he still felt that touch upon his cheek. He shook his head and turned towards the main yard just as Tylan popped out from behind a large statue that looked sort of like a tornado of rocks but then again, didn’t really. Tanner jumped again, “By Itzli the Stone Knife, don’t sneak up on your father like that!”
“Look what I found, dad,” said Tylan and held up a purple and gold statuette that stood no more than six inches high. It was made from primarily a dark purple rock with flecks of green but a golden river of ore twisted through its body. It was oval in shape with a smooth exterior like a long egg but riddled with holes that slipped through it leaving irregular patterns like hands loosely touching one another. The inner part of the stone was jagged and as Tanner reached for it Tylan pulled back.
“Don’t touch the middle, just the edges,” said the boy and showed his own bloody finger to his father. “It’s real sharp inside. I think that’s gold ore!”
Tanner took the thing and carefully looked at it from various angles but could make nothing from his observations. “It looks like a rock with holes carved in it,” said the merchant handing it back to his son. “Although you could be right, that might be gold, if so it’s going to very valuable for that even if its artistic value isn’t high.”
“You don’t see it,” said Tylan and looked at his father with his head tilted to the side.
“Don’t see what?”
“In the middle dad, look close.”
Tanner took the object back and twisted it back and forth, held it up to the slowly fading light but he could only see jagged gashes that ran through the rock in seemingly random formations. “I’m afraid not Tylan. Amalg said that you might see more than me because you’ve killed a ma
n.”
Tylan’s body went suddenly rigid. “I … Khemer was just a ghost, he wasn’t real. I guess I killed him, but not really. I mean he tried to kill Lousa and he was going to do something to Ariana. I had to do it, and that hammer was just lying there.”
“It’s okay, son,” said Tanner and took a hold of his boy with a big hug. “You did exactly what you should have done and never feel bad about it. But, Amalg is right, you’ve killed now and that makes you different from me. I’ve never killed a man before. I’ve been in a few fights over the years, bloodied a nose or two, but I’ve never killed anyone. What is it that you see in there?”
“It’s hard to describe dad,” said Tylan and released his father and took the stone back from him. “It’s like the inside of a person. Not like their guts or anything, like if you could see into what they were thinking. It feels like a real person in there. I don’t know, I just like it and Amalg said I could have anything I wanted. There was much more valuable stuff than this I bet. Can I thank him?”
Tanner shook his head. “When Amalg and I were talking about the Staff of Naught I think I disturbed him a little bit. He has a disease that makes him lose control of his body and he had an episode. We can come back tomorrow and thank him. It’s getting late anyway. Your mother and sister will probably be back at the Camel and we can have dinner in the common room. There are usually travelers there telling stories about their adventures.”
“We won’t say anything about the staff, will we?” asked Tylan with a look up at his father.
“No, I think we best keep that to ourselves. Maybe the others will be back by now.”
Tylan’s eyes suddenly brightened and a huge smile came across his face. “I hope so!”
“Say, son,” said Tanner as the two headed back towards the inn. “Whatever happened to that hammer you took from the bugbear?”
“Oh that,” said Tylan with a shrug of his shoulders. “I just put it in the wagon. You can’t believe how light it is for how big it looks and it’s got this big splash of black right through the head. Didn’t you say something about Edorin and the Black Fire Forge?”
