Chapter 15 – Key
Tumultuous applause erupted as the three weary fighters emerged from within the depths of the earth. All three soldiers embraced their captain, giving him a royal welcome. Only after they had verified he was uninjured did they all let their accusations fly. Sarah pushed by the cheering dwarves and the angry soldiers to pull her husband into a tight embrace.
“Are you alright? What happened in there? And what happened to your shirt?”
“I’m alright. A little tired. About my shirt, though,” Steve looked down at his bare chest. Was it his imagination or did it look like he was losing some air in his spare tire? Will have to ask Sarah for an honest opinion later. “It’s a long story. Tell you all about it tonight.”
Thinking back to their quarters in the dwarven city, Sarah teleported a fresh tunic for her husband, who hastily pulled it on. He never really was comfortable without his shirt, Sarah mused. She wasn’t sure why. Watching Steve stretch his arms up to slide the tunic over his head, she couldn’t help but notice that he really should go without a shirt more often.
Properly attired once more, Steve turned to Maelnar, who was approaching with several other members of the Council. Pheron, temporarily finished with chewing out his superior, followed the captain to the impromptu meeting with the dwarven council.
“We are relieved to see ye safe and well. I take it ye were victorious, were ye not?”
“The female guur has been destroyed,” Steve confirmed. “Along with I don’t know how many of the drones.”
The elderly dwarf turned to Breslin. “I am relieved that ye are safe, my son. Have ye any idea how many of the drones were destroyed in the process?”
“We did not keep an accurate count, father,” Breslin began, “but if I were to venture a guess, I would say we destroyed maybe three or four hundred. They kept trying to overwhelm us with sheer numbers, and fortunately sir Steve was able to incinerate anything that attacked us.”
Maelnar clapped his hands together. “Excellent! Ye have exceeded my highest expectations, all of ye.” The dwarf gestured to the large council chambers. “Do ye mind? We would all like to hear about yer splendid victory over the guur.”
Breslin looked at his companions. Rhenyon was yawning profusely while Steve appeared to be asleep on his feet.
“Perhaps we could all convene tomorrow, father,” Breslin answered. “Speaking for myself and my companions here, I think we would all appreciate a night of rest and relaxation. What say ye, lads?”
“He has my vote,” Rhenyon muttered.
“That sounds like an awesome idea,” Steve yawned through his response. “Sorry.”
Maelnar was nodding. “No apology necessary, lad. Rest and recovery is more important. We shall convene on the morrow, then.”
Steering her husband gently away from the throngs of well-wishers, Sarah guided him towards their assigned quarters.
“You look dead tired, honey. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“All things considered, I’m not doing too bad. Just really tired. Wouldn’t mind grabbing a bite to eat, though. Must have something to do with expelling all that jhorun.”
“How many of those mimets did you end up using?”
Steve patted the pouches along his chest, pulling out various crystals to see if they were hot or cold.
“I have seven left, plus I’m missing a couple.”
“I still have the three that Rhenyon gave me. Two hot, one cold. I used one to replenish mine after the trip to the castle. One round trip and I was wiped out.” She gave the crystals back to her husband, who had to pat himself down again to find the empty pouches they belonged in.
“Okay, make that nine, then.”
“So you used close to half. That must have been one huge battle.”
“More like three or four huge battles, one right after the other. I’m surprised I didn’t deep fry Rhenyon or Breslin.” Steve laughed. “You should have seen me, babe. I was firing off blast after blast at anything that moved. It was like that whack-a-mole game. There were so many holes everywhere and these things kept popping out of them all at the same time.”
As Steve continued to relay the events that had transpired after she and the soldiers had left, several dwarven guards appeared out of nowhere and discreetly started clearing the road back to the guest quarters. With Rhenyon and Breslin both following silently behind, they navigated their way through numerous streets and alleyways, all the while being congratulated by every dwarf they encountered. Numerous well-wishers had lined the streets, all cheering loudly and clapping everyone on the back, including Sarah.
Bidding their friends good night, the two Nohrin retired to their chambers. Pushing the door gently shut, she turned to her exhausted husband and suppressed a smile. Steve was attempting to pull off his boots, which were refusing to cooperate due to the laces still being tied. Coming to his aid, Sarah untied his laces and then helped unbuckle the dragon sword. Sighing heavily, Steve stretched out on the bed.
“Haven’t been this tired since I did that cabling job in Los Angeles,” Steve remarked. “Only had about two hours of sleep a night for about a week straight.”
“You were tired, that’s for sure,” Sarah agreed, helping him undress. “Just try to get some –”
Steve’s snoring had already begun. Fortunately, the snoring was soft, and non-disturbing. Moments later, Sarah joined her husband. Her soft breathing mingled with her husband’s and together they slept like the dead.
The Prophecy Page 47
