by Hans Bezdek
The blue figure said nothing.
“You’re kind of freaking me out,” I said. “Is something wrong?”
“I’m not sure,” he said slowly. “However, you’ve got enough to worry about right now. You will have to make decisions over the next few days that will change the course of history.”
“Like whether to team up with the blue dragons or dwarves,” I said, turning and looking out the window. “I’ve pretty much made up my mind on that one already. The blue dragons have been kind to us, and while they are outnumbered by the dwarves, they’ll be able to fight the black and reds in the sky.”
“True. Remember, though, you wouldn’t just be getting the dwarves on Feldarkr on your side,” said the man. “King Julfr Snowhammer is not just king of that city, but all of the western dwarves in Brumark.”
“Yes, but Kiera believes the gray dwarves will join us though her recommendation.”
“If only there was a way to get both groups to work with you…”
“Tell me, if you know of one,” I said, turning back to him. “I’m open to suggestions. We’ve got a plan for tomorrow, but I’m not extremely confident in it.”
“We shall see,” said the man. “I look forward to meeting you soon, Reimar. Until then.”
“Wait!”
The man disappeared into a shadow.
“He probably thinks being all mysterious and vague makes him cool,” I whined, looking out the window again.
“Reimar…” whispered a woman’s voice, echoing through the room.
“Hmm? Who’s that?” I asked, looking around.
“Reimar…” repeated the voice.
Everything around me faded to black, and I opened my eyes. I was back in the real world, and the light of the moon poured in through the window to my right. The robed man couldn’t even give me the decency of sleeping through the whole night before waking me up.
“Reimar…” came a woman’s voice.
I looked to my left. Someone wrapped in all white was standing there.
The person that was following us.
“G-!” I tried to shout, but the figure pounced, shoving their hand over my mouth and muffling me.
“Shh! Reimar, it’s me!” said the figure.
With their free hand, they took off their goggles and the white wrapping around their head. Black hair poured out behind her, and the human woman smiled down at me.
I took her hand away from my mouth and sat up in my bed.
“Aliz Parthum in the flesh…” I said, smiling in spite of myself. “I can’t believe it!”
“Believe it,” she smiled back.
Aliz and I met over a decade earlier in the Tumblers. She was a new member at the time, and I was in charge of showing her the ropes. She would work with me on countless jobs over the years, eventually becoming one of the best thieves among us. She was known for not only getting the job done, but doing it without being seen or leaving a trace that she was ever there.
While she was still a Tumbler as far as I knew, I couldn’t help but be happy to see her. She was the little sister I never had, and I was glad to see that she was alive and in one piece.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, looking around the room. “I hope it’s not to kill me. We both know I’d best you in a straight fight.”
“I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve that you don’t know about,” she smirked. “But no. If I wanted to kill you, I’d have done it while you were talking in your sleep.”
“I was talking again, huh?”
“Something about dwarves and blue dragons,” she shrugged. “Sounded wild.”
“You have no idea,” I mumbled. “So, why are you here?”
“To give you this,” said Aliz, digging around in her back pocket and producing a closed letter. “Here.”
I took the envelop from her and glanced at it. It simply said Reimar on the front. Flipping it over, I got much more out of the purple seal.
“Dmetri’s personal seal,” I muttered. “Aren’t I special.”
“I was on a job worth 200,000 quat when he told me I had a higher priority,” she said. “That makes you 200,000 times more special than you’re really worth.”
“Ha. Ha,” I said. “Really though, why did he pick you to deliver this instead of someone else? We’ve got better trackers than you.”
“Hey, I tracked you through snow storms,” she pointed out. “I ain’t too shabby myself.”
“Okay, okay,” I yielded. “But why you?”
“Dmetri figured you wouldn’t kill me, or leave me stuck up in a tree,” she smiled. “How did you manage that last one, by the way? Rupert was so embarrassed that he wouldn’t tell anyone.”
“I’ve got some… interesting friends now,” I laughed.
“I hope to meet them one day. I’m sure they’d love to hear all your embarrassing stories from when you were younger.”
“I’m sure they would,” I nodded, examining the letter. “Is this thing going to blow up when I open it?”
“It won’t,” said Aliz. “At least, I’m fairly sure it won’t.”
“I don’t know… seems really unlike Dmetri to just send me a harmless letter, carried by one of his top thieves. It doesn’t seem right.”
“You should read it and really consider what he’s saying,” she said.
“You read it?” I asked.
“No, but he told me what was in it.”
“How do you know he isn’t just lying to both of us, and is using you to get me back in order to kill me?”
“I don’t know,” she smiled. “I’ve just got to hope. The Tumblers haven’t been the same since you’ve left. There are a lot of us that want you to return.”
“Galdric and Rupert didn’t seem to feel that way,” I mumbled.
“Well, one of them is dead now,” she smirked. “I’m sure not everyone would be thrilled, but that’s because they want Dmetri’s position once he’s retired. They know you’re a threat to that possibility.”
“I’ve got no interest in leading the Tumblers,” I said, shaking my head.
“Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t hear out Dmetri,” said Aliz. “For old times’ sake.”
There was a knock on my door.
“Reimar, you okay?” asked Cassandra.
“I hope to see you again soon,” smiled Aliz.
“Stay there,” I whispered, getting up.
“I thought I heard voices,” continued Cassandra.
“Yeah, I’m good,” I said loudly, walking over to the door. I opened it up just a crack and smiled at the elf. “Just talking in my sleep again.”
The elf nodded. “Sorry to wake you, I was just making sure.”
We exchanged goodnights as I closed the door, turning back to Aliz.
Except Aliz wasn’t there anymore. A cold breeze came in through the window, pushing Dmetri’s letter off of the bed and onto the floor. I hurried over and closed the window, looking out for any sign of Aliz. There wasn’t any, of course.
I walked over and picked up the letter. Even though she didn’t think it was rigged with explosives didn’t mean she was right. I wasn’t sure I wanted to read what Dmetri had to say even if it wasn’t a trap. I had spent the last several years of my life outrunning him and the people he sent after me, and the last time I saw him he had condemned my friends to death.
I put the letter in my bag and laid back down. I could worry about that some other time. For now, it was more important that I got some sleep.
I knew I was going to need it for tomorrow.
Chapter 19
It was midday when the first blue dragons took to the skies.
They were the furthest out scouts, positioned two miles away. The sight of them told us that the dwarven army was close, and it was time to be on our guard.
My group and most of the blue dragons were waiting in the streets of Ostad for the oncoming dwarves. Darius and the other guards were able to convince most of them to prepare for war, explaining that th
is fear they felt was due to the dwarves. While a hundred or so blue dragons came out to the streets, none would go near me or the others. I hoped they’d prove to still be able to fight.
“That’s the sign,” said Kiera to our group. “I’ll go talk with Darius and see that everyone is ready.”
I watched as she left. The blue dragon had light armor on now, along with a metal helmet over her head. While most of the blues would fight in their dragon forms, she would fight alongside us on the ground.
“We should stretch some,” said Cassandra, sitting down and pointing a leg out. “We’ll need any advantage we can take, no matter how small.”
“It’s not every day we get to stretch out before a fight! Maha!” laughed Dhot, following the elf’s routine.
“It’s also not every day ye fight the full force of Feldarkr,” mumbled Braun.
“Why did you come back for us, by the way?” I asked, turning to Braun. The dwarf had arrived just in time, and, most surprising of all, while in his dark state. I half expect the more timid Braun to eventually find us, but not the one that left us in the first place.
“Didn’t really want to,” shrugged the dwarf. “Can’t say it was the right decision, either. Wouldn’t be on the front lines fer a bunch of blue dragons if I hadn’t.”
“What caused you to, then?”
“I had a dream the night before,” he explained. “Some wacko wizard was tellin me this and that in some floatin room. Told me ye lot would need me help, and if I didn’t go back fer ya, he’d haunt me dreams for the rest of me life. I told him to get lost, but then he explained that some staff was drivin the blue dragons mad, and that it’d be used against me people soon.”
Some wacko wizard… that sounded like the blue robed man.
“So you do still care for the people of Feldarkr,” smirked Cassandra.
“Shut it, ya bat head,” grunted the dwarf as he walked a few feet away.
“Seems like a sensitive subject,” said Dhot.
Kiera came over to us a few minutes later, her stoic face revealing nothing.
“It’s time,” she said. “Are you sure you four want to do this?”
“We’re sure,” I nodded. Kiera smiled at me, nodding her thanks.
“Aye,” nodded Braun. “The plan doesn’t work without… me…”
The dwarf fell face first into the street.
“You’re joking,” said Dhot. “He’s… he’s got to be joking…”
Cassandra rushed over to him, turning him over and waking him up.
“Wha… where am I?” asked Braun, looking around. “B-Back in Ostad? W-What are doing here?”
The rest of us exchanged worried looks. Braun’s plan, which was by no means foolproof, relied heavily on the dwarf. The dark Braun was happy to do it, but if we explained it to the light Braun… he’d probably run away.
“We’re about to fight with the dwarves of Feldarkr,” said Cassandra.
“W-What?!”
“Everyone follow me,” said Kiera, turning and walking down the main road.
“Y-Yer messin with me, aye?” asked Braun as the four of us followed the blue dragon.
“We aren’t,” I said.
“Me blasted dark side,” he said, shaking his head. “I feel like this is somehow his fault.”
We followed Kiera to the wall, and then ascended up a set of stairs. When we made it to the top, Braun let out a frightened shriek.
I didn’t blame him. Thousands of dwarves marched towards us, all clad in various pieces of armor and weapons. They chanted as they marched, something about a brave warrior of old.
“They must’ve sent word to the other towns in the west,” said Kiera. “These are all of the dwarves that King Julfr Snowhammer has under his command.”
“That’d make a great army for the coming Dragon War,” I mumbled, taking in the vast numbers.
“Thinking of switching sides?” asked Kiera, raising an eyebrow.
“We couldn’t if we wanted to,” I said, casting a glance at the dwarf next to me. “Not after Braun attacked their king.”
“I did WHAT!?” screamed the dwarf.
“We’ll fill you in later,” said Dhot.
Horns went off in every section of the dwarven army. The horde pulled up to a stop, letting out a final grunt in unison. They were no more than a quarter mile away from the city gates when they stopped.
“I really need to make a gun,” said Dhot. “Or maybe some sort of handheld device to shoot out grenades. I can’t do anything from this distance without something like that.”
“Now this is a much more realistic distance to hit something with,” said Cassandra. “Not a full mile away like you were saying back in Brensrun.”
“If we get out of this, I’ll prove it to you one day,” mumbled Dhot.
Another horn rang out, and a small group of less than a dozen marched out towards the city gates.
“They did it!” cheered Cassandra. “They’re sending out an advance party!”
“Let’s do this,” I nodded, as the five of us moved down the steps and out towards the advancing group. I pulled the Time Shield out and put it on my arm. It was half for protection, and half out of hope that it would reverse time if this didn’t work out.
“Uh… w-why are we going out here?” asked Braun.
“We’re going to talk with them and try to avoid hundreds of deaths,” I explained.
“Which reminds me,” said Kiera, pulling out a large club-like weapon. It was darkly colored gold and silver, with six curved points at its tip. “Here.”
“Grimkells’ Mace?!” he asked. “Why’re ya givin it back?”
“Just play your part and you’ll see,” smiled Cassandra.
“But I don’t know me part!”
“Shh! We’re close enough for them to hear us!” whispered Dhot.
The five of us approached the group. King Julfr, Anders, Nicole, and Erskine were flanked be several dwarven guards. The king’s face was twisted into a horrible scowl, and he looked at us with absolute hatred.
“Why have you come here?” asked Kiera. “Is it to collect payment for the previous caravan?”
The king said nothing. He glared at Kiera.
“How about you two?” I asked, gesturing to Anders and Nicole. “Just along for the ride?”
The two glowered at me, silent as well. That was unlike them. I was surprised that Erskine felt the need to use his Staff on them as well.
“We’ve come for Grimkell’s Mace,” said Erskine. “Give it to us, and I will advise the king to take a peaceful path with the blue dragons.”
“That’s awfully kind of you,” said Dhot.
The human smiled at the goblin. “Your group did accuse me of being an evil agent, remember?”
“You can drop the act now, Erskine,” I said. “You’ve got power over all the dwarves now, thanks to the Staff of Nul’Gu.”
“Ah, you’ve heard of it?” smiled the human. “Well, there’s no point in keeping up this charade any longer. It’s true. I am one of the Dar’Ka.”
“Why would a human join up with a group that wants to genocide their people?” asked Cassandra.
“Money,” shrugged Erskine. “Power. Ulrich promised me full reign of modern Hur.”
“You’re a traitor of your own kind!” hissed Kiera.
“Correct,” smiled the man.
“They’d never trust a human,” I said. “That’s why they sent a red dragon to keep an eye on you.”
“Ah, you’ve seen my comrade,” he laughed. “Yes, he is with me, but he isn’t just keeping an eye on me. He’s helped me travel across Yaerna much faster, and is here to help secure the Mace.”
“Why’s he not here, then?” I asked.
“I haven’t gotten hold of him for some time, truth be told,” said Erskine.
“Probably because he’s dead.”
“What? Impossible.”
“We’re the ones who did it! Maha!”
Erskine’s eye
s narrowed as he adjusted his grip on the Staff.
“Easy there,” I said, holding my hands up. “We’ve agreed to give you Grimkell’s Mace. There just isn’t any beating that Staff of yours.”
“You’re right,” said the human, trying to regain his composure. “There isn’t.”
“Go ahead, Braun,” I said, turning to the dwarf. This was the riskiest part of the plan. If Erskine didn’t react like we expected, we were all about to die. “Give him the Mace.”
“Huh?” asked the dwarf. “B-But we can’t let him have it!”
“Just get it over with,” said Cassandra.
“N-No!” he shouted, holding Grimkell’s Mace closer to himself. “You’ve all gone mad!”
“Enough,” said Erskine, holding the staff out towards the dwarf. I had to hide my smile. “Give me Grimkell’s Mace.”
Braun shuddered. That must have been the Staff taking effect on him. This was going to be the moment of truth for us. Either the plan worked, or we were giving Ulrich another legendary weapon.
“Aye,” said Braun, walking towards Erskine. “I’ll bring ya me Mace.”
“There, that wasn’t hard, was it?” smirked the human.
Braun walked up to Erskine, holding the Mace out towards him. The human tucked his Staff under his arm and reached out for the Mace.
“Take this, ya failed art project freak!” shouted Braun, jumping up.
Before anyone could react, the dwarf spun in the air, putting his full force behind Grimkell’s Mace. It connected with Erskine’s face, rocking the human’s head to the right.
The tattoo’s exposed on Erskine’s face and neck suddenly pulsed bright red. There was a burst of power, and Braun was sent flying back.
“Y-You fat little idiot!” screamed Erskine, grabbing his bloodied mouth. “You cracked my jaw!”
“Those tattooed runes are powerful,” I whispered to the others. “That strike would’ve killed most normal humans. The runes absorbed most of the impact, then returned it to Braun.”
Braun got to his feet, brushing the snow off.
“Ya said ye wanted Grimkell’s Mace,” laughed Braun. “I was just givin it to ya!”
Erskine glared at the dwarf, raising the Staff up and pointing it at him again. “You are afraid of what will happen to you if you don’t bring me Grimkell’s Mace right now.”
