by Jeff Inlo
As he started to walk after Ulet, he remembered Holli's last words to him.
Do not worry about me.
He couldn't meet the request completely. He would worry whether she wanted him to or not, but he would hold to the confidence he had in the elf guard. Holli could take care of herself.
Ulet guided Ryson through the streets of Sterling and to the grand palace at the city center. She did not, however, lead him through the front gates and into the main hall. Instead, she brought him to a side entrance, down a long hallway, and to a large door in the rear wing of the palace.
"The king and queen do not take visitors in the throne room," she explained. "They haven't done so for some time. They were both struck by an illness several seasons ago, and their health remains a concern. They will not make public appearances until they are deemed ready to do so. For now, accept that an audience before them is very rare and you should not be surprised by our protective behavior around them."
"If that's the case, maybe I shouldn't…"
Ryson was not allowed to finish. The door was opened and he was quickly ushered inside a large room filled with roughly a dozen heavily armed dwarves. He looked about quickly and realized there were no windows and just the one door. It was closed immediately after he entered and bolted shut. Two dwarves moved to block the exit as he was led further into the room. They were very careful about who could enter… and who could leave.
He examined the dwarves in the room, hoping to find a sign of royalty, but he found nothing that would indicate he was in the presence of either the king or the queen. Each dwarf appeared healthy and there was no temporary throne at the center of the room.
"Who should I address?" Ryson whispered to Ulet, but she never got the chance to answer.
"Where is the elf?" a stout and powerful dwarf bellowed as he stepped up to Ulet and Ryson.
Ryson stared in disbelief at the face he recognized. He had met the dwarf before… in front of the castle of Dunop. It was the War Com, Strog Grandhammer, the dwarf separatist who helped remove Jon Folarok from power and assisted Queen Yave in attacking the algors. Grandhammer was the face of the dwarf rebellion that nearly brought down the monarchy. He was also responsible for bringing death and destruction across the western lands of Uton.
The War Com had planned successful attacks against the elves in Dark Spruce and nearly destroyed Connel. He almost destroyed Burbon as well, but he had disappeared after Ryson had surrendered himself to Yave. Strog's arrest had been ordered after Yave was defeated and those loyal to the Folarok name regained power, but he was never found.
Ulet ignored the delver's obvious surprise and quickly answered the War Com's question.
"The elf took off in a fit of fear after entering the city. She appeared overwhelmed by being enclosed underground."
"You let her escape?!"
Ulet appeared stunned by the charge and explained that nothing of the sort had occurred.
"No, I have ordered sentries to guard the exits and to patrol the city until they find her. She was completely bewildered in the streets. She couldn't even follow the same path back to the hillside tunnel. She will not get away."
The War Com fumed, but then turned to the delver. He sneered a half smile as he saw the recognition in Ryson's eyes.
"So you remember me. Good. Do you have any idea what's going on here?"
Ryson just shook his head.
Grandhammer had no intention of explaining. He had questions of his own.
"Why did you return with a goblin?"
Ryson said nothing. He was no longer sure of what to say or do, but he knew he didn't wish to assist the War Com separatist in any fashion.
Strog never took his eyes off the delver, but issued an order to those dwarves around him.
"Take hold of him."
They did so before Ryson could escape, though escape was never a possibility. The room had but one exit, which was bolted and guarded. He could try to outmaneuver them for a while, but he would never get out.
"Chain him so he cannot move," Strog demanded. "I want him completely bound."
The dwarves pulled the war blades from Ryson's hips and then wrapped heavy chains around his arms and legs. They locked them tight about his body. When finished, they pushed him to the ground.
"Just so there is no confusion, I want you to understand something," Strog growled as he looked down upon the delver. He put his boot on Ryson's shoulder and pressed down to accentuate his point. "I have already killed the queen and I have placed the king in captivity where no one will ever find him. I will eventually kill him as well, but only when the time is right. I'm telling you this so you understand that I would not hesitate for one moment in killing you. Whether or not you survive the next few moments will all depend on how you answer me. I will ask you again, why did you return with the goblin?"
Ryson didn't believe for one moment that an honest answer, or an answer of any kind, would change his fate, so he said nothing.
Ulet, however, decided to fill the silence. She wanted to let Strog know that she had already obtained that information. She spoke in an almost boastful tone.
"They know the goblins are in the mines. They brought one here as a prisoner. They said they wanted to warn us. I left the goblin at the entrance."
Strog sneered at Ulet.
"When I want an answer from you, I'll ask you." Strog then turned his attention back to the delver. "So you wanted to warn us. We're already aware of the goblins in the mines. We sent them there. We weren't going to waste our time digging up diamonds and silver just to give to humans. Goblins are inefficient miners-they make better thieves-but it's not like they're stealing from us. They're stealing directly from under the humans' noses and then using it to buy them off."
Not wishing to be ignored by the delver again, Strog decided to put his next question directly to Ulet, especially since she seemed so eager to answer.
"Did he say anything else?"
"He questioned me about bringing the goblin scent sack."
Strog grinned and then actually answered the question as he looked down on the delver.
"Isn't it obvious to you by now? I didn't want you smelling any traces of goblins in our tunnels. I know how strong the senses of a delver are. I don't let the goblins wander around the city in sight, but I've had to communicate with them a great deal the last few days. The scent bag was cover." He looked back to Ulet. "What else?"
"After the elf panicked, he wanted to chase after her. I wouldn't let him."
"At least you did that right. Is that all?"
Ulet sneered at the clear jab at her competence, but said nothing further.
Strog then pressed down harder with his boot on Ryson's shoulder.
"You're a delver. You have questions. What are they? This will be your only chance to ask."
Ryson managed just one word.
"How?"
"That's it?" Strog responded with a twisted grin. " How? Are you hoping I'll tell you the whole story? Well I won't. I would have thought why would have been the better question." Then, the dwarf snickered to himself as he thought of an additional burden to place on his prisoner. "Maybe I'll answer a little of both and let your delver yearnings struggle with the details."
He leaned slightly closer to Ryson even as he spoke with a louder and harsher voice.
"You want to know how? You think the separatist movement was restricted to Dunop? That's rather naive. We have believers in every dwarf city, and our ideas have only taken greater hold since the return of the magic. I came to Sterling because I knew that several separatists had already taken key positions as advisors and counselors. They just needed a leader."
"A failed leader," Ryson added, disgusted with the dwarf and the crimes he proudly professed.
"You'll get no argument from me," Strog admitted freely. "That's why they're following me now. In failure, I learned a great deal… and I didn't make the same mistakes here. In Dunop, I allowed Yave to lead because I thought
it was necessary. It wasn't. I should have just killed her and not told anyone. You can run things from the palace as long as no one knows what's going on, and no one really needs to know what's happening here. The king and queen got sick, and now we've been guarding their health. At least that's what nearly every dwarf in Sterling believes. Only those I trust know the truth. Advisors and ministers that I couldn't trust have been removed and replaced. As for the rest, you don't have to tell them a thing. They go about their lives as if everything is fine. No king, no queen, just ordinary dwarves taking charge."
"But the dwarves still think they're under the rule of the king," Ryson reminded the War Com. "You're not really in charge of anything."
"Who cares what they think?! Reality is all that matters. And this is reality. I've given orders that will change the face of the Great Valleys and bring the dwarves to dominance. The goblins are going to force the humans out of every town and every farm across each valley. Think about that. Not just the thousands of humans that have already fled, but when the time is right, they'll all be removed. They will be forced west, just as those pathetic refugees before them. As the plains and the mountains are overwhelmed, they will all drown in a sea of pathetic humanity."
"That's your grand plan? So instead of humans in the valleys, you'll have goblins. You think that's better?"
"You have no vision. Do you think that's what will happen? Goblins are even more pathetic than humans. They'll end up battling amongst themselves after one dormant season. They won't stay in the valleys. They won't know what to do with themselves. Eventually, they'll move west after the humans to raid the farms in the central plains and then to the mountains. There will be one battle for resources after another, and eventually goblins and humans will kill each other off completely… and the dwarves will not have had to lift a finger. That should give you an indication of how and why this is all happening, and it's as much as I intend on telling you."
Strog removed his boot from the delver's shoulder by scraping it down Ryson's arm as if he was trying to rub some foul mess from his heel. He then disregarded his prisoner as he focused on another matter of great importance.
"Where is the delver's sword?" he asked Ulet, as the weapon was no where in sight.
"I… I don't know. I think the elf had it."
"You don't know?" Strog questioned with disbelief.
Ulet took only a moment to regain her composure.
"No, I'm sure of it. It was strapped to her back. I remember now."
"And you let her get away?"
"No! She hasn't escaped. I informed you of what happened. We will find her."
"You are incompetent!" Strog raged. His eyes went wide with fury as he clenched his hands into tight fists. "This is the second time you let it get away!"
Ulet could not understand Strog's anger, and the dwarf battle commander certainly didn't appreciate the insult.
"I told you," she responded with a fierceness that matched Strog's, "the first time the elf wouldn't come down the tunnel. If we tried to take her, she would have escaped and she would have known immediately that something was wrong. They came back because I made the right decision."
It was a weak excuse in Strog's eyes. He was only interested in results.
"And yet you still don't have the sword!"
"But we have the delver."
"Idiot! The sword has a power… a power to reveal things. What if the elf takes hold of the handle before you find her? What will happen?! She'll know that we brought the goblins into the mines, that we want them to take over the valleys. She'll know everything!"
"But she can't do anything about it."
"The elf is linked to the wizard! Pay attention to what I say. What she knows, he will discover."
Strog saw Ulet's own anger rising and he could not imagine how she could be so shortsighted. He looked to all of the other dwarves in the room with absolute amazement at what he perceived was complete stupidity.
"Is this battle commander the best of you? Is she really the one you told me I could trust? Are you all that useless? I have planned every step. I have brought you further then any of you could have dreamed! Do any of you have the slightest notion of the patience it has taken to get this far? How many seasons have passed? How close we are?!"
"We are very close," Ulet growled in response. "We are close because I am the best. I have kept order in Sterling. Every dwarf outside this room still believes that the king and queen are alive and in charge. Neither have made an appearance in more seasons than I can remember, and yet no one questions the royal edicts. We send out orders to dig mines under human towns and farms. They don't understand why, but every dwarf does so because they believe the king and queen want them to."
"A wonderful accomplishment," Strog offered with hostile sarcasm. "You managed to get dwarves to dig mines. I'm sure that's something they would never have done on their own." He paused to shake his head and then glared back at the battle commander. "Fool! The plan was not simply to dig tunnels in the valleys! The goblins must be directed to attack the humans with a strategy, a strategy that's obviously beyond you. What other dwarf could have utilized a horde of goblins to destroy, not just a human city, but the entire race? And all of that could be lost because you made a mistake you won't admit."
"Because I don't see the mistake!" Ulet shot back, unwilling to accept any missteps in her own actions.
"The sword!" Strog bellowed. "The sword is the real threat. It always has been! Not this delver or the elf. They plodded across the valleys for days and they still had no idea what was going on, but the sword has the power to reveal it all."
"Even if it does, so what? She can't escape now."
"You don't think so? She is not just an elf guard. She is an apprentice to the wizard of the west. I have managed to keep him occupied by ensuring a steady stream of humans reach the towns he watches over. The moment he understands the true threat, we will have to face him."
"Then let him come," Ulet shot back with confidence. "We are dwarves. We are resistant to the magic."
"And are we resistant to the cavern that holds Sterling collapsing on our heads? Are we resistant to breathing without air? Are we resistant to light that can blind us no matter where we look? Are we resistant to a flood of water that can wash away all of the city?"
"I think you give this wizard far too much credit."
"You really are a fool," Strong insisted.
"If I'm a fool, then how did you hope to deal with this wizard when the goblins make their ultimate attack?"
"I am dealing with the wizard. I'm keeping him out of it. Your incompetence might bring him to our doorstep."
Ryson decided to add to the argument, to keep them at each other's throats.
"Ulet's right. Don't you think Enin will be here eventually? When he hears the goblins are attacking towns and cities in the valleys, he won't just stand by. He'll come to stop it, and he won't be alone. The goblins will be defeated."
Strog pointed down at the delver, as if to accentuate his point.
"Do you see? Even the great Ryson Acumen doesn't understand." Strog bent back down to make his plans very clear to the delver. "Do you have any idea of just how many towns and cities have already been infiltrated by goblins… how many farms are now in their hands? When they attack, they will attack in unison, as a horde, as they are very capable of doing, but it won't be in one small area. It will be all across the valleys and all at once. I am prepared for the great wizard. If he intervenes, he will exhaust himself in such a battle. You think I've underestimated Enin. No! You have underestimated the extent of what I have accomplished here."
"Then why are you worried about the sword?" Ulet demanded.
Strog's eyes appeared near wild with frustration and his anger bubbled over as he looked up at the battle commander with scorn.
"We are not ready! The attack has to begin first. That is what I'm trying to say to you. You cannot possibly be that dense. Don't you see? We are only days away." St
rog threw up his arms. "Why am I surrounded by incompetence?!"
"You sound a great deal like Yave," Ryson pointed out.
Strog did not even attempt to control his anger. He kicked the delver hard in the back and then shouted out his orders.
"Take him to the goblins in the mines! Have them kill him far from Sterling. We can't have any connection to his death that the wizard might be able to trace. And make sure you're not seen."
He stepped up to Ulet and placed his face right up to hers, his stout nose almost touching hers.
"Find the elf, take the sword, and then do the same to her. Be quick about it!"
Chapter 21
Crouching in the shadows, Holli knew she had no alternatives. The goblins were getting closer, she could sense them. It wasn't a full horde, or even a sizable raiding party, but rather a small scouting patrol of two or three. They were deeper in the mines ahead, but they were definitely headed towards her.
To compound her problems, the dwarves weren't slowing. They just continued to drag Ryson through the tunnel toward the oncoming dark creatures. They kept a very quick pace, as if they wished to be rid of the delver as soon as possible. Luckily, there were only three dwarves in the passage, perhaps to follow Strog Grandhammer's order of staying out of sight.
She managed to remain hidden. She had followed the dwarves utilizing her stealth and spells of shadow. They had no idea she was tracking them and the goblins ahead were too far out of sight to spot her even if she stood in the middle of the tunnel under a blazing torch.
The drawbacks to her situation, however, were many. She could only hide for so long. Though she used spells along with her guard training to hide her presence, she had used up much of her magical energy in moving through Sterling. Eventually, a dwarf would hear her, or if they dropped the delver and turned about, they would most likely bump into her even if she used the last of her magic to turn completely invisible.
