Chapter 12 – Entrance
Sarah peered down into the depths of the darkness. They had to go down there?? This wasn’t her idea of a good time. She hoped someone had the presence of mind to bring a flashlight of some type.
“I don’t suppose someone brought a torch, huh?”
“Torches would be good,” Steve agreed.
“We do not have any torches, sir Steve,” Kern observed.
Torches. Rhenyon cursed himself yet again. Torches would have been a wise addition.
“We could ask the king for some torches,” Steve suggested. “Use the food bag.”
Rhenyon scratched out his request and handed it to Sarah, who sent it to the king. Five minutes later each soldier was holding a fresh torch.
Just then the dragon’s head snapped up, gazing off towards the lake. “Yer time here has just expired. Go. Several of my brethren approach. Ye must hurry!”
“Thanks for everything, Kahvel,” Steve said, genuinely disappointed to see the dragon go. “I wish you could come with us. I hope to see you again.”
Sarah stepped forward and laid a hand on the dragon’s foreleg. “Thank you for keeping your end of the accord. I consider myself lucky to have a dragon as a friend.”
Kahvel nodded, amazed to discover himself at a loss for words.
Rhenyon held out his torch to Steve. “Can ye light this for me?”
Steve flicked his gaze on the proffered torch, then to the other torches the soldiers were holding. Within moments all had been ignited.
Silently and cautiously, they descended down the stone staircase in single file. They had descended perhaps twenty steps when the gold dragon moved the “rock door” back into place, blocking off the sunlight from above.
“Now we find out if anyone is claustrophobic,” Rhenyon observed. “Before I forget. Lady Sarah, if ye please.”
Startled to be addressed, Sarah stepped forward. “Yes?”
“I need ye to vividly picture our last campsite in yer head. Can ye do that?”
Sarah brought up a mental image of their former campsite, even picturing the stones they had sat on, the hearth they had made. Yes, she could see it quite clearly. “I can do that. Do you need to send something there?”
“Hopefully not, but if the need arises, it is good to know that ye can.”
Sarah blinked. That was a good idea. As they progressed down farther into the depths of the earth, she recalled each and every campsite that they had ever visited, figuring if she ever needed to attempt an emergency teleport jump, then she at least had several reference points.
Steve silently fingered the leather pouches fastened to the nohrstaf harness. He had managed to charge three of the crystals and sincerely hoped he wouldn’t have to use them. Even with six torches providing light, the darkness still felt as though it was pressing in on him. It was so very tempting to simply ignite both hands and fire off a blast.
After half an hour of traveling down the steep, narrow steps, they emerged into an immense cavern. A steady drip could be heard from somewhere in the distance as drops of groundwater cascaded down several stalactites and fell to the ground. Having become accustomed to their voices being muffled by the small confines of the tunnel they were just in, several soldiers whistled in amazement. Echoes of their whistles bounced around the cavern until finally returning back to them multiplied tenfold.
Steve added his own whistle. “Look at the size of this place! It’s gotta be the size of Fedex Field!”
“Fedicks field, sir Steve?”
“Uh, it’s a really large, er, field where people in my land play, um, games with thousands and thousands of people watching from the sidelines.”
“Where’s the light coming from?” Sarah asked, noting that there was just enough light to illuminate the closest cavern wall. “I figured it’d be pitch black down here.”
“Something must be glowing,” Steve observed, inspecting the closest wall. “What that is, I can’t tell.”
Sarah turned to Rhenyon.
“Okay, so what’s the plan? What do we do now?”
“We make contact with the dwarves, Lady Sarah,” Rhenyon answered.
“How? How do we find them down here?”
“Truth be told, I am not certain,” Rhenyon admitted. “I figured that they would have made contact by now. We are, after all, now in their realm.”
In the flickering light provided by the torches, Rhenyon could see Pheron gazing around the cavern. At least one of them was able to see something.
“What do ye see, lieutenant?”
“On the far wall, directly opposite us,” Pheron reported,” are two openings that appear to be tunnels. There are numerous stalagmites scattered about, and quite a few stalactites that hang dangerously low.”
“How low?”
“Dwarves would be fine. But even Lady Sarah would be unable to pass beneath one without stooping.”
“We make for the tunnels,” Rhenyon instructed. “Use caution. No wandering about here. Single file. Lieutenant Pheron, take lead.”
Picking carefully amongst the large rock formations, they skirted about the circumference of the large cavern, moving towards the closest tunnel. When they finally peered into the small, dark opening, it was Kern who took lead. Holding his torch up high above his head, he entered the tunnel, continually casting looks behind him as if to verify that he wouldn’t be alone.
“Problem, sir,” Kern called out moments later from the front of the line.
“What is it?” Rhenyon called back.
“Dead end.”
“Alright, we backtrack. Try the other tunnel.”
However, tunnel two also provided the same results. It angled downward for about fifty paces and then it, too, abruptly terminated. Rhenyon peered closely at the wall. Countless marks from hammers and chisels scarred the surface.
“These tunnels are incomplete. Why would they leave unfinished work? Very undwarflike.” The captain snorted with disgust. Once again they were forced to reverse course, returning back to the great cavern.
“They’re testing us,” Sarah whispered, barely audible. “They’re making certain we’re deemed worthy to enter their territory.”
“What was that?” Steve didn’t quite catch what his wife had said. Something about a test?
“This is a message from the dwarves.”
“What is?” Steve looked around. “Where do you see a message?”
“The tunnels. They are telling us to not take things for granted,” Sarah explained, raising her voice so that everyone could hear her. “The entrance is here. It’s hidden. We have to find it.”
There was a collective groan as the soldiers looked around them. Stone stalactites dipped down low from the ceiling, at times joining with their ground dwelling brethren forming numerous mineral columns all throughout the cavern. Unusual rock formations met their eyes wherever they looked. Where do they start?
“The entrance could be anywhere,” Steve complained. “How do we find it?”
Rhenyon thought a moment. “If the entrance is truly here, then it will be concealed and more than likely disguised even better than the main entrance.”
He started to pace.
“Now, it took the two of ye to both open the entrance, therefore it stands to reason that it will take more than that to open this other passageway.”
Sarah nodded. Makes sense. She looked at her companions. So, the question was, who had to be the ones to do it?
“Let’s see if we can find the entrance, and then we’ll figure out how to open it.”
Rhenyon was nodding, facing his troops. “As before, disperse. Look for anything out of the ordinary. Call out if ye see anything that stands out, understood?”
There were choruses of “ayes” as the soldiers moved out, inspecting rock formations and tapping stone pillars. Sarah started to move off when Steve grabbed her arm.
�
�What is it?”
Steve nodded in the direction of the two incomplete tunnels. “What do you want to bet it’s in one of those things? You said it yourself. Don’t take anything for granted.”
Sarah peered into the first tunnel they checked. “That almost makes sense. Wouldn’t that be the ultimate disguise? Waste hours and hours out here checking all these rock formations when what you were looking for would be right in there.”
Together they moved into the first tunnel.
“Can you give me a little light?”
Two torches ignited instantly, casting their welcoming light around the confines of the rocky tunnel. Sarah eyed her husband’s flaming hands.
“You really do come in useful around here, don’t you?”
Steve grinned, giving his wife a small bow. “I do what I can, milady!”
Together they inspected the entire surface of the tunnel. Nothing but chipped and scarred rock met their eyes.
Not disgruntled in the slightest, Steve turned to his wife. “So we can’t see it. Not surprising. Time to try the jhoruns. Do what you did last time. Try to imagine you’re teleporting something from the other side.”
Quietly, Sarah paced up and down the tunnel, running her hand along the curve of the walls. Nothing but lifeless masses of stone met her senses. Assuming she should expect a picture of some type to form in her mind, Sarah figured physical contact would be best. Therefore she skimmed her hand along the tunnel ceiling, and then the floor. Still nothing.
“No luck?”
“Not a bit. Let’s try the other one.”
Moving to the second tunnel, she repeated the process, only to be met with the same results as before. Sighing with exasperation, she finally dropped her arms to her sides. Together, they walked back into the main cavern. On the far wall they watched Darius systematically tapping various rocks, while Kern opted for the slower, but more methodical visual inspections.
“I guess we were wrong, honey.”
Steve sighed. It was such a good guess. It would have made for a very clever ruse, hiding the actual entrance in one of the obvious tunnels. So why start two tunnels and not finish them, then? Wait. The ends of the tunnels… Did she check those?
“You checked the walls, ceilings, and floors. You checked the ends, right?”
Sarah froze, foot raised in mid-step. Of course she had, hadn’t she? Wouldn’t that have been the first part she would have checked? Problem was, she didn’t remember checking the ends due to her husband pointing out various spots to try first. She looked at Steve, who had a smile on his face. His head gave a small, quick jerk back to the first passageway. Gloat all you want, dear, she thought ruefully, but if you hadn’t distracted me, I would have checked those first. Plastering a smile on her face, she held out her hand, to which Steve snuffed out his to take it. They walked hand-in-hand back to the first tunnel they explored, not saying a word until they reached the end.
“Okay, do your thing.”
Sarah ran her hands over the scuffs and scrapes of the unfinished tunnel wall. She once again tried to imagine there was something she wanted on the other side, waiting for an image to form. Nothing. Shaking her head, she turned to Steve.
“Sorry, nothing here.”
“Let’s check out the other one.”
Retracing their steps to the second tunnel, Sarah again ran her hands over the rough surface of the stone. This time, though, she hesitated. A picture was starting to form.
“I knew it!” Steve was ecstatic. “What do you see?”
Sarah concentrated, willing the swirling images in her mind to focus. Every time she tried, the fuzzy shapes kept erratically jumping about.
“I can’t get an image to focus. Something starts to form, but stays fuzzy. I don’t know what else to do. It’s like I’m not strong enough to - wait a minute. Hon, give me your hand.”
Steve snuffed out his hand once more to take his wife’s. The images in her mind had sharpened somewhat, but only marginally so. It hadn’t been enough, however, for her to figure out what she was supposed to do.
“That helped, it really did. Only the picture is still fuzzy. I don’t think we’re strong enough. We need more people!”
“We need the others!”
“Rhenyon! Pheron! Anyone out there?” Steve called. “We have something!”
There was a clamoring out in the great cavern as a soldier poked his head into the tunnel. “What is it, sir Steve?”
“Darius, get the others. We found something!”
Within moments all the soldiers were crowding around husband and wife as Sarah explained what they had found.
“They hid the entrance to their domain in an unfinished tunnel. Genius.” Rhenyon shook his head. “I would not have thought to look in here.” He slapped Steve heartily on the back. “What do ye need of us?”
Steve held his and Sarah’s clasped hands out before them. “Sarah can start to visualize something, but before she can see a clear picture, apparently the level of jhorun needs to be increased. I took her hand and it started to focus, but not enough. Everyone grab on.”
Leaning in from every direction, the soldiers laid their right hand over the two joined hands, looking for all the world like a group of athletes ready to take on the opposing team.
Sarah closed her eyes and concentrated again. Yes! The images were coming into focus, giving her a clear picture of the entryway on the other side. Once again she saw stone steps angling down. She directed her jhorun to investigate, seeking out the mechanism to open the tunnel. However, try as she might, no additional images formed. Sarah sighed.
“What is it?”
“I’ve got a perfect view of the tunnel,” Sarah explained, “but it’s not giving me anything else to go off of. I have no idea what to do to open the door.”
“If there are no locks,” Rhenyon asked, “then that would suggest that there is nothing but a wall of stone between us and the entrance down, correct?”
Sarah nodded. “I have just one image. A very clear one, actually. The extra jhorun really helped.”
“There’s just a wall of stone preventing us from getting through to the other side?” Steve asked, eyeing the uneven stone wall.
“Yes, why?”
Steve held up one of his gauntlets. “Betcha I can get through that.”
“I do not believe that is a good idea, sir Steve,” Rhenyon advised, running his hands along the uneven surface. He knew of the Nohrin’s enchanted gauntlets. “The dwarves would have found a way to prevent forced entry to their realm.”
“Couldn’t hurt to try, right?”
Sharing a quick glance with Sarah, Rhenyon smiled, holding out an arm in invitation.
Confident he would be able to punch his way through, Steve cocked his arm.
“Ready?”
Sarah shook her head. “Are you?”
Steve snorted, then punched forward. Figuring he wouldn’t have to hit it that hard after witnessing Quisen’s demonstration, Steve gave the wall a solid smack. Nothing happened. Annoyed, he struck harder. A dull, muted whump sounded.
“That didn’t even sound right,” Steve complained, ready to strike the wall again.
“As I told ye, sir Steve,” Rhenyon explained, moving to prevent the fire thrower from throwing any more needless punches, “there are measures in place to prevent this very thing from happening.”
“Then how do we get in?”
“I think I have it.”
Steve looked at his wife. “What? What do we have to do?”
“The image I got before you tried to bash the wall down? It was much clearer than the picture I received on the surface when we were trying to open the entrance.”
“So?”
“I think I know how to get us in.”
“You do? How? Tell us!”
“The key to get through,” she said slowly, “is me. I can do it. I think.”
“Only problem is I’ve only teleported one person before, and that was by accident. I don’t know exactly what I have to do. So you’d better give me a minute.”
Steve hesitated. It did make sense. She had kept mentioning that the image she was seeing was very clear. And in order for her to teleport anything, then she had to clearly see the locations involved. He was silent, motioning the others to be quiet as well.
Sarah closed her eyes, focusing all her inner strength on the task she was about to undergo. With the image of the first step of the stairs leading down clearly pictured in her head, Sarah ordered her jhorun to move her physical body from here to there.
She gave a yelp of surprise as she was wrenched away from the tunnel. Her world tilted sideways as all her senses short-circuited, causing her to stumble. She fell solidly on her butt.
“Ouch!”
Scrambling to her feet, rubbing her delicate hind end, Sarah blinked and looked around. Complete darkness met her eyes. She couldn’t see a thing! Didn’t it work? Where was she? Taking several deep breaths, Sarah finally slowed her breathing down to take stock of her situation. If she was truly on the other side of the wall, then the first step down should be right about… She cast about with her right foot, searching for the step. There it was! She did it! She actually made it! No wonder it was dark. There weren’t any torches on this side. She definitely needed Steve.
Back on the other side of the wall, Steve had watched with amazement as Sarah literally vanished right before his eyes. He didn’t have any doubts that she’d be able to teleport herself to the other side. Apparently her jhorun worked very well the better you could imagine the locations involved. And, he knew Sarah had an excellent memory. What about coming back? She’d just have to picture the area she just left so… So in order to return back here, that meant nobody should move, lest they move into the space that she had just frequently vacated.
“That is amazing,” Pheron remarked, starting to move forward. “I would love to have –”
“No! Wait!” Steve flung out his arm, thumping the soldier on his chest.
Pheron froze. “What is it?”
“Sarah has to make it back. Chances are she’ll move back to the exact spot she vacated, so everyone must be in the exact same place when she comes back. No one moves until she appears.”
Rhenyon was nodding. “Aye, makes sense. We wait for Lady Sarah’s return. No one moves,” the captain ordered.
From the other side of the wall, Sarah steadied herself, taking several deep breaths. Okay, here we go. Trying to calm her queasy stomach, she addressed her jhorun, giving them yet another command: move me back to where I was.
Another gut wrenching jolt and she stumbled into Rhenyon, who whirled to catch her before she received a nasty blow from the stone wall.
Steve caught her other arm and pulled her in for a hug. “You did it! Nice job!” He then saw his wife’s ashen complexion and took her by the shoulders. “Hon, you okay? You’re all pale.”
Sarah put a hand on her stomach. “I know what I need to work on. There has to be an easier way to do that.”
“What happened? Did you make it to the other side?”
Sarah nodded, still rubbing her queasy stomach. “Yes, I made it. I couldn’t see much. No light. But that’s not the part that concerns me.”
Steve waited, not wanting to grill his wife, but desperately wanting more details.
After a moment of battling nausea, Sarah continued. “Imagine putting yourself in the pouch of a big slingshot, and then you’re launched into the air. Now, once you’re sailing through the air, imagine stopping rather abruptly, like you’re flung into a large catcher’s mitt. It feels rather like that.”
“What is a ‘sling-shot’, Lady Sarah?” Kern asked.
“A device that loosely resembles a catapult in design,” Steve offered.
The soldiers nervously eyed each other. They had to be shot out of a catapult?
Steve clapped his hands together. “All right! Who’s first?”
“I will be the first,” Rhenyon declared, stepping up to Sarah. “What do I have to do, milady?”
Sarah took his right arm in hers. “Just don’t move and I’ll try to do this as quickly as possible. Be warned. The sensation is quite a jolt to the system.”
Rhenyon took a deep breath and nodded his head. Closing her eyes, Sarah concentrated, bringing back the image of the other tunnel.
In the blink of an eye, both woman and soldier vanished. Steve turned to Pheron.
“Do we have any water handy? If she’s as pale as she was last time, some water would do her good.”
Four soldiers instantly started patting themselves down, silently competing amongst themselves to be the first to present him with some water for Lady Sarah.
“Aye, have some of mine.” Pheron ripped his own personal canteen off his belt and proffered it to Steve.
“Thanks.” Steve looked at the soldier. “You moved. Where were you standing before?”
Pheron looked about, and then down at his feet. Without a word he moved about ten feet away. “I should be out of the way here. Ye moved as well, sir Steve.”
Realizing that no one could remember if they were standing in the exact same spot, all decided to join Pheron. Steve decided to move as close as he dared, in case Sarah stumbled again. He didn’t want to risk any unnecessary injuries.
Within moments Sarah popped back into existence, stumbling yet again. Steve jumped forward to catch her before she fell to her knees.
“Damn,” Sarah muttered, “I can’t seem to get those landings right.”
“You’re not looking as pale this time. Are you okay?”
Sarah nodded, taking deep gulps of air. “I’m not as nauseous this time. I’ll take that as a good sign. But it’s still a hell of a jolt.”
It took about ten minutes, with short breaks in between jumps, for Sarah to transport everyone to the other side. Standing together in the flickering torch light, Sarah smiled weakly at her husband. Apparently she hadn’t used this much of her jhorun at one time before. She looked and felt exhausted.
Correctly guessing what she was going through, Steve sidled up to his wife to walk with her as they descended further into the mountain.
“Feeling drained?”
Sarah could only nod. Steve felt along the harness holding his nohrstaf, and found a clasp to one of his mimet pouches. Silently slipping the crystal disc out of its holder, he pressed it into his wife’s hand.
“What’s this? One of those crystal charger thingies?”
“Yes, keep this with you. We’ll start having you charge one up as well.”
Getting irritated, she pushed it back at her husband. “It doesn’t do me any good now. Let’s worry about it tom-” she stopped in mid-sentence to stare at the crystal disc.
Hearing Sarah abruptly stop, Steve turned back to face his wife again. What’s with the strange look on her face?
“What’s the matter? What’s wrong?”
Detecting the note of alarm in Steve’s voice, Rhenyon froze midstep, causing a comical pileup of soldiers running into one another. Before any of his men could protest, he held up a hand, silencing them instantly.
Sarah was still staring at the crystalline object in her hand. Why was it warm? She’d felt them before, and she always recalled them being cool to the touch. She looked at her husband, concern clearly showing in his face.
“This is warm,” she explained. “The last one I felt was cool. Are they supposed to be like that?”
“It’s warm to the touch when charged. But it only works for the person who charged it, so you shouldn’t be able to tell. That one should be empty.” He retrieved another mimet, handing it to Sarah. She took this second disc with her other hand. She shook her head. This one was c
ool, the way it’s supposed to be.
“Okay, this one is cool and the other is still warm. Why is that?”
Baffled, Steve withdrew a third mimet, one that he knew was charged. “What about this one? Hot or cold?”
Shifting both mimets to her left hand, she took the third with her right. “Warm,” she reported.
“Let me see those three.”
Taking back the three mimets, he sent his jhorun down to investigate. Look, but don’t touch, he ordered.
He felt the power emanating from two of the discs, and nothing from the third. Holding the inert disc, he handed the two active discs to his wife.
“Hot or cold?”
Sarah took the mimets. “Hot. Both of them.”
He handed the inert disc over.
“Cold,” she instantly informed him.
“You can tell which mimet is charged? Try to draw power from one of the hot ones. Slowly and gently.”
Handing two of the discs back to her husband, she sent her tiring jhorun down to investigate the disc and discovered a large reservoir of foreign, but friendly, jhorun. I wonder how I can pull it out, Sarah asked herself. Extending a mental invitation to the foreign jhorun to join hers, she instantly felt her body go warm as the mimet released a steady stream of power to mix with her own. In moments her jhorun was restored, invigorating her as only a couple of Red Bulls could. Her paleness vanished, as did her fatigue of mind. She handed the spent disc back to her husband.
“I didn’t know I could do that.”
“That makes two of us. You used my jhorun in this thing. Shardwyn said that wasn’t possible!”
“I’m glad he was wrong. This feels great!”
Smiling and shaking his head, Rhenyon started to descend the stairs once more. As husband and wife brought up the rear, chatting animatedly back and forth about the possibility of charging as many mimets as possible, Pheron suddenly stopped, causing Sarah to walk right into the back of him.
“Ouch!” She smacked his shoulder. “Don’t do that. I’m already sore enough.”
“My apologies, milady,” Pheron looked sheepish. “Do ye see that?”
Rubbing her sore forehead, Sarah looked around. “What?”
Pheron was rubbing his hands over a small section of the tunnel wall. “I believe we have found the source of the light down here. This rock is glowing.”
Steve leaned in, peering closely at the textured surface of the rock.
“What part, specifically? I don’t see anything.”
“What is it, lieutenant?” Rhenyon came walking up. “Do ye see something?”
“Aye, sir, I do.” He tapped the small section of rock. “This section of wall is glowing. Look. The light has been increasing the farther down we go. Coincidence?”
Rhenyon frowned, staring at the irrelevantly small section of the rock wall. With a grunt, he straightened, peering down farther into the tunnel. “I do not see what ye are referring to, lieutenant.”
Pheron rolled his eyes and pulled Steve aside. “Can ye extinguish the torches?”
“Yeah, sure thing.” Steve looked at the captain, who nodded. “Instant darkness coming right up.”
Within moments the tunnel was plunged into a darkness so black that one wouldn’t have been able to see their own hands waved mere inches in front of their face. Clutching Sarah’s hand tightly Steve waited for his eyes to acclimatize. Yes, the tall soldier was correct. He could see a small, dim patch of violet light softly glowing on the wall. Running his hands over it, Steve whistled.
“Damn, Pheron, you saw this with the torches lit? I’m impressed. That sucker is faint.”
“If ye like that, sir Steve,” Pheron pointed in the other direction, forgetting that the fire thrower would be unable to see him, “then check that out down there.”
Turning to look further down the passageway he could just make out the outlines of the tunnel walls. In fact, he could see for quite a ways down the tunnel’s length before the faint light was swallowed by the darkness.
“Ooo, pretty!” Sarah’s favorite color was purple.
“Everyone can see the light, right?” Pheron moved around his stationary comrades. “Why do we not use this natural light and save the torches?”
“I think not, lieutenant,” Rhenyon stated. “Ye might be able to see just fine, but for the rest of us, it is damn dark. Sir Steve, light the torches, if ye please.”
“Aye. Uh, I mean, right.”
Steve ignited both hands and increased the intensity of his flames by a few notches so that the entire tunnel was illuminated. Once he had enough light to ensure he wouldn’t ignite that which didn’t wish to be ignited, he lit the torches, snuffing his hands out as the last torch sprang back to life.
Sighing inwardly, Sarah relaxed. She really didn’t care for the dark, and had no desire to wander about using only the faint purple bioluminescence present on the walls as the only means of light. Maybe that’s all the dwarves needed, she mused, but she was no dwarf. She wanted illumination and lots of it.
As the soldiers conversed amongst themselves ahead of them, Steve and Sarah pondered how to best make contact with the dwarves. Steve suggested making as much noise as possible, figuring that an excessive amount of disturbance would alert the dwarves to the presence of guests. Sarah argued, however, that the dwarves might be farther down, and to announce their location to everything within earshot might not be such a wise move.
“How do we know that there aren’t other things living down here? Do you really want to take that chance.”
Steve shook his head. “You have a point. So what do you think?”
“About how to make contact? We keep moving. Down. As long as we don’t come across any side tunnels, we should be okay.”
“Ye have already passed three, human.”
The voice was gruff, with just the barest hints of a sneer.
Rhenyon froze in place, causing yet another pileup. “Who’s there? Who speaks?”
There were shouts of surprise as soldiers were forcefully shoved aside by a stout, thick bearded dwarf dressed in dark leather armor. A heavy double-bladed axe was strapped across his back. Various tools were strung along his belt. Finally pushing his way past Rhenyon to take the lead, the dwarf turned to face the stunned group of humans.
“Are the lot of ye daft? What are ye doing here?”
“Who are ye, dwarf?” Rhenyon asked. “Where did ye come from? Ye say we missed three. Three what?”
“I am Breslin, of the Kla Guur clan.” The dwarf bowed. “Ye ask what ye missed? Turns, dolt. Ye blundered by not one, nor two, but three. Why did ye not take the second, as ye were instructed?”
“We passed no other tunnels, dwarf,” Rhenyon scowled, losing patience. “Nothing but a straight passageway from that large cavern to here.”
“Obviously I must have been mistaken,” the dwarf drawled. “Clearly I came in after ye and have been following silently behind. It is impossible to believe that I used a side tunnel that intersects this one.”
Steve snorted. This was one sarcastic dwarf!
“Did ye not make a copy of the map as ye were instructed? How did ye expect to find yer way around down here?”
“Map? Instructions? There were none, I assure ye.”
The dwarf paused, studying the human. Were all human men this stupid? He finally looked at the rest of the group. Four soldiers and a peasant couple returned his gaze.
“Did none of ye pay heed to the map?”
Sarah approached, looking down at the (clearly) befuddled dwarf. “Sir, I assure you, we encountered no map, let alone any instructions. Where was it?”
“As soon as the gate opened, the map would have illuminated on the opposite wall. Ye could not have missed it.”
“Nothing lit up on any wall other than glowing moss,” Pheron helpfully supplied.
“Impossible,” Breslin scoffed. “The spell
is triggered by the gate’s movement. Map on one side, instructions on the other. Without both, ye can wander for years down here and not find anything. This,” the dwarf swept his hand around in a circle to indicate their present location, “will eventually encircle the entire mountain range. That’s well over nine hundred leagues, human.”
Rhenyon held up a hand. “Wait. Did ye say the door opens?”
“Aye, that I did, lad. How else could ye have made it this far?”
The captain of the guard exchanged a glance with their resident teleporter. This was unexpected. Had they somehow bypassed the proper method to open the door by using Lady Sarah’s abilities? Evidently this must be so.
“If ye are referring to that stone wall at the end of the second tunnel, then trust me, dwarf, it did not move.”
“Eh? What was that?” The dwarf was certain he just caught the human telling a lie. If the door did not open, then there were enchantments in place to prevent any unwanted intruders. They would have been unable to breech the Barrier, so they must be telling lies. The Barrier had been successfully blocking unauthorized entry for centuries. “Then how did ye make it inside? Ye cannot have made it past the door without unlocking it.”
“We didn’t unlock it,” Steve confirmed. “We teleported across.”
Two beady black eyes stared at him, searching for the lie that he was certain must exist. “Ye could not have teleported,” the dwarf insisted. “Enchantments have long been in place to prevent such actions.”
“We’re here, aren’t we?” Steve grinned. Nothing like stating the obvious to prove a point. “That’s how we got here. We teleported from the end of that tunnel to directly on the other side of the wall. Door. Gate. Whatever. If what you say is true, then no wonder we didn’t see anything. Nothing was tripped by the door, ‘cause the door didn’t move.”
“I cannot fathom how the likes of ye could defeat the Barrier, but that is not my concern. Let the Council ponder that one. Let us be off.”
“Where are you taking us?” Sarah asked.
“The human king requested the location of the Strathos, did he not?”
“He’s in Borahgg, we know.”
Breslin turned to face the peasant. “And just how the ruddy hell did ye know that?”
“Ten years ago,” Rhenyon answered, “the dwarf we are looking for passed through one of our villages. He traded with a few townsfolk for some food and supplies. He told one of them where he was headed.”
The dwarf shook his head. “He always did have a big mouth.”
Sarah gave a quick jolt. “Do you know Maelnar then?”
“Legends of his skill are widely known. Lesser known is his fondness for bragging about it.”
Several soldiers snorted.
The dwarf’s eyes quickly flicked to the soldiers. “Laugh it up, lads. We always do. Maelnar is a mystery, and that’s no lie.” The dwarf turned and pointed back the way they came. “That way. Follow me.”
Pushing his way back to the other end of the group, Breslin took the lead position and started walking back up the passageway. He hadn’t even bothered to check whether the humans were following.
Whistling merrily, the dwarf cheerfully began pointing out various formations, elaborating on the skills necessary to bore tunnels through solid rock. In thirty short minutes Steve and Sarah learned more about sedimentary rocks than the most talented geologist from their world.
Breslin slowed, allowing the others to catch up, before he finally stopped, staring intently at the wall before him. As the humans crowded close, Breslin unslung his axe and leaned on it, watching as the humans stared around with bewildered expressions.
“Why have we stopped? Is something wrong?”
The dwarf shook his head. “And that, human, is why ye have missed three intersections. This is the last one that ye passed.”
Shocked, Rhenyon turned to the stone wall. Nothing but solid, unbroken stone met his eyes.
“Here? There is nothing here but stone!”
Steve approached, running his hands along the surface of the rock wall. As he neared the smug dwarf, his hand suddenly lost purchase, throwing him off balance. He stumbled towards the rock wall, fully expecting to receive a crack on the head at any moment. Fortunately several pairs of strong hands grabbed the back of his tunic and held him fast. Regaining his balance, Steve carefully felt the open space his hand told him was there, yet his eyes insisted wasn’t.
Equally curious, Rhenyon and Pheron mirrored Steve’s actions, running their hands along the surface and poking fingers at various places. Only when they were positioned just so, with the dwarf giving instructions, were they able to see the outline of the tunnel opening. The dwarves had created a truly masterful illusion, with the entrance of the second tunnel being well disguised with ingenious rockwork. The various strata and discolorations of the rock blended masterfully with the rock in the walls and floors of the second tunnel to achieve a perfect blending of color and texture.
Knowing full well that the tunnel branched there, Steve still had difficulty believing someone could be so skillful as to have been able to craft such an illusion. Gingerly, he walked into the tunnel, did an about-face, and looked back the way he had come. There, clear as day, was the opening with everyone staring in at him. He walked back out and faced the tunnel again. It had disappeared, presenting him with what appeared to be a blank wall.
“Now that is just freakin’ cool!” Steve grinned at the dwarf, who grinned back. “Very impressive, Breslin.”
With his smile hidden behind his thick beard, Breslin bowed. “I thank ye for the compliment.”
Still smiling, Steve looked at his wife, who was leaning into the new tunnel to look around.
“No wonder we all missed it. Even standing in front of the tunnel entrance, I still can’t see it. We would have been wandering for years down here.”
Amazed and annoyed at himself for traipsing right by a “hidden” tunnel, Rhenyon was silent. He had heard stories glorifying the skill of the Bohani Mountain Dwarves, how they were masters of illusion, but this was a truly amazing feat. Looking down at the dwarf, who was clearly waiting for some type of acknowledgment from him, Rhenyon finally nodded.
“Yer brethren are truly masters of their work, dwarf. That is exquisite work.”
Beaming with pride, the dwarf bowed again. His respect for this group of humans just shot several notches higher.
“This way, master soldier.”
Leading them farther up into the tunnel, Breslin launched into the finer aspects of the art of blacksmithing, describing the type of metals best used for armor and the best way to spot precious gems buried in rock. He had just started to describe the types of stone diamonds were typically found in when he paused, stopping before another nondescript section of tunnel wall. All present, including the captain, had been holding their breath, waiting for the dwarf to finish his last train of thought. No such luck. The dwarf had now turned to face his charges again.
Rhenyon turned to look at the wall. He was still unable to spot any irregularities to indicate an opening of another tunnel. Breslin had been studying the human in charge.
“Can ye see it, human? This tunnel is used frequently, so it is bigger than the last.”
“Bigger?” Steve stepped up again, moving to the left, then right, as he tried valiantly to see the outlines of the entrance. Being the most direct route to the subterranean dwarven city, it was naturally disguised better than the others. “I don’t see anything this time.”
“And ye will not,” Breslin explained, “until I open the door.”
Stepping up to the wall, the dwarf started softly knocking at various points along the surface. Pausing every few moments he would then move several feet away and start tapping the wall all over again.
“How the hell were we supposed to get in there?” Steve complained. “I mean, look at what he’s doing. You�
�re telling me that the instructions we should have been given instruct us to do exactly that? There’s no way!”
The dwarf stopped his repetitive knocking and stared at Steve for several seconds before bursting out in loud guffaws. After much knee-slapping, Breslin moved to a completely different section of the wall and pushed. A large chunk of the wall slid smoothly out of place to reveal a well lit passageway behind. Light flooded into the tunnel to illuminate everyone’s faces, including Steve’s, who was scowling at the dwarf. Breslin wiped the last of the big, fat tears that were streaming from his face with his beard before finally apologizing to Steve.
“I am sorry, lad, but I could not help myself. We do not get many visitors down here.”
“I can see why,” Steve muttered under his breath.
After everyone had moved into the larger tunnel, Breslin moved the stone door back into place and with a soft chink, the tunnel was sealed, cutting off all access from the other side.
“You sure do take precautions about not being found,” Sarah commented. “Can I ask why?”
“All dwarven tunnels used to be as open as ye saw with yer own eyes. Recent times have forced us to seal the direct routes into our city.”
“Are you trying to keep someone out?”
“Ye could say that.”
“Could you not ask them to leave in peace?”
“If we could, we would have, rest assured.”
“Could ye not force them out?” Rhenyon asked.
“Again, if we could, we would have.”
“Well, could you –”
“Forgive me lass, but it is not my place to say. There will be a time for yer questions later. Let us be off.”
Three hours later they emerged into a cavern so immense that the far wall could not be seen, nor could they see the ceiling above them. The enormous cavern floor was several hundred feet below them as the tunnel had deposited them on an outcropping high up a subterranean mountain. It was at that moment that the first set of human eyes fell upon the previously unheard of dwarven city, Borahgg. The city itself was laid out in a perfect geometric circle, jutting up against an enormous black field to the west. Steve blinked. Black field? Squinting, he watched the field swaying from side to side. In fact, it appeared to be continually rolling, with the smaller folds coming closer to the city’s edge, getting smaller as it approached. Wait! It’s water! But that means… Steve’s gaze followed the outline of the lake as it increased in size and disappeared in the distance. All that was water? Holy cow! The city bordered one of the largest lakes he’s ever seen, and it was completely underground!
Sarah was gazing at the water as well, having come to the realization of what she was looking at much faster than her husband. These people lived their whole lives underground without ever once observing the open sky! What was their source of light, anyway? Sarah looked around. Light just seemed to be everywhere. No source. Remarkable!
“Will wonders never cease,” she breathed.
Tearing her eyes away from the hypnotic effects of the black lake, Sarah turned her gaze towards the city. From this vantage point she was able to see that the vast majority of the houses appeared to have a simple, thatched roof. It looked like it would have blown off in the slightest wind. Then again, what did you expect, she asked herself, when you lived in an area devoid of any type of precipitation. All one would need is a covering for privacy.
The dwellings were basic, rectangular in design. Yet they were larger than expected, with many having at least three chimneys. Were dwarven families large? Making a mental note to ask later, Sarah moved her gaze farther in, towards the center of the circular city. The houses started increasing in size as the stature of the occupant increased. Finally, near the center of the city, she could see large buildings set up in rows, facing each other. Hundreds of dwarves were moving about, all apparently having something to do.
“How many dwarves call this home?” Sarah asked.
“Perhaps a thousand.”
“So where are we headed?”
Breslin gestured to the center of the city, indicating several large stone structures.
“Ye will find the Council there. But first,” he unslung his axe again, “we need to announce our presence.”
Moving over to a small, blue circular stone set into the ground just outside the tunnel entrance, Breslin held his axe upside down, with the blunt point above the axe head resting directly over the stone. Crack! The dwarf had lifted the axe and let if fall, with the point coming into contact with the glowing blue stone. Crack! The second blow sounded like an M-80 had gone off. CRACK! The third blow to the stone had the impact of several sticks of dynamite, with the shock wave resonating well up into the city, no doubt bouncing off the far walls of the great cavern.
Within moments hundreds of dwarves had appeared at the city’s edge, all staring up at the mouth of the tunnel they had just vacated. The sounds of muffled conversation reached their ears as numerous hands were pointed in their direction. Ten dwarves, in full armor much like Breslin’s, appeared before them. All had their axes in their hand and were staring hard at the humans, then, as one, all ten heads swiveled to glare at the dwarf who had led them into their midst.
“Breslin! What have ye done? Why ‘ave ye brought humans here?”
“They seek the Strathos. They have requested an audience with the Council.”
Still skeptical, the guards motioned the silent humans to follow them.
“Are you coming with us?” Steve asked.
“Aye, as far as I am able.” Turning, the dwarf addressed the human soldiers. “Do not resist, and do not draw weapons. Ye are guests here. Do not abuse this honor.”
Rhenyon nodded, turning to each of his men and repeating the order in case the soldiers needed to hear it from human lips instead of dwarven ones.
Walking slowly throughout the city, Steve felt as though he was being paraded by all the curious dwarves as though he was a prized prisoner of war. Many of them, well, the vast majority, Steve corrected, looked as though they had just been working at a forge, which he guessed was probably accurate. Many wore thick, protective aprons which had layers of soot, pieces of chipped stone, and small curls of metal sticking out at various places. Many were still gripping hammers and files in their hands as they stared with unabashed curiosity at the newcomers.
As they continued up the street Sarah leaned close to her husband.
“Where are the women? I don’t see any. Do you think they might be someplace else?”
Overhearing the question, Breslin increased his pace until he was walking alongside the peasant woman.
“Why do ye ask that?” He looked up at the tall woman. “Ye could see just as many as I could. Dwarf women work just as hard as the men.”
“I must have missed the women.”
“That would be difficult, lass. They are hard to miss. They were wearing smocks.”
Sarah’s eyes opened wide as she realized she had, in fact, seen the dwarf women. They were the ones wearing aprons? Oh, good lord! Didn’t they have beards?
Noting the look of abject confusion on her face, Pheron started chuckling softly to himself. Rhenyon had also overhead and was smiling as well.
By the time they finally reached the communal council chambers at the center of the city, word of their human guests had spread like wildfire. It was standing room only as their escorts pushed their way through to the head of the table. Nine elderly dwarves were all seated at the most beautiful table Sarah had laid eyes on. It appeared to be made of polished stone, but after nonchalantly running her hands over the smooth surface she could instantly tell that it wasn’t stone, but petrified wood, adorned with inlaid gold and silver that had been delicately woven into the natural fibers of the wood.
One of the elders finally spoke, after an adequate time had elapsed for the human female to appreciate the expert craftsmanship of their revered table.
“I bid ye welcome, humans. Judging by the message we received from yer king, I presume that the lot of ye seek an audience with the Strathos. May I enquire as to the nature of this meeting? Our most gifted blacksmith prefers his privacy, and as such, we generally do not disturb him.”
From the back of the room they heard a loud, derisive snort.
“Will ye please stop with the theatrics? They have come a long way to meet with the Strathos. Why, I cannot fathom.”
The elder dwarf turned to address the corner of the room where the voice had originated.
“We have a right to inquire why humans would seek contact with the Strathos. We would also appreciate silence for these proceedings.”
“Father, will ye please stop this charade? Humans are our allies. See what they want of ye.”
“Breslin, for once, be quiet, will ye?”
The Prophecy Page 33
