A Frozen Destiny

by Alan Mundle

  Where is she? Torbin thought. He knew the Professor was supposed to be on this train and wanted to greet this guest from the Empress herself properly with a small contingent of his best Dwarves. But he wished she'd get off the damn thing, the snow had begun to play havoc with his visor. Finally, a compartment door hissed open, air from the inside came steaming out before a Dwarf carrying a lot of boxes fell over the gap between the train and the platform. Torbin and his fellows headed over to help.

  'It’s fine! It's all fine, no need to fuss over me!' It was a female voice that issued from the helmet. Torbin and the other Dwarves laughed. Trying to stand up in armour, so obviously made for a male, was none other than the renowned Professor Dalara. Torbin made it to her in time to save the young female from falling over again. Through her visor, he could see bright blue eyes flashing at him. 'Commander Torbin?'

  'Professor, welcome to Void Prison. Or what will be, anyway.'

  'Thank you. Might I say it’s a pleasure to be in your presence? When the Regents found me and gave me this job, I thought someone in my University was pulling off a practical joke. I can't wait to see the creature! Has it started to commune with you yet?'

  Torbin blinked. 'What is that?'

  'It is fascinating. They can't speak as we do, instead-'

  'Why don't we speak somewhere a little warmer and private,' Torbin interjected, as the open air was the last place he wanted to discuss such matters.

  Torbin and his Warriors escorted their guest inside the facility. The Professor walked wide-eyed through every corridor, drinking in every detail she could find. It reminded Torbin of the time he found the chamber. He couldn't wait to see her reaction when it was her turn. But through her excitable exterior, he could see that she was quietly suffering. Thermal armour, not made to a Dwarf's measurements, would be damned uncomfortable. They entered the Command Cabin and went to Torbin's office. Tenabin and Forin were already there. 'Professor Dalara, daughter of Grantin, meet Tenabin, son of Hansin. He helps me make sense of this job and keeps evil Lords off my hide. This is Forin, son of Zentin, my Second and trusted friend.'

  Tenabin nodded and chuckled at his description while Forin gave a wide-eyed smile. 'Hello,' the young boy said.

  Dalara took off her helmet as if she'd been itching to do so for hours. Long flowing blond hair cascaded from the helmet and was whipped back so she could see everything, followed by a bow to the males.

  'It is an honour to be in the company of such brave folk.'

  Forin giggled. Dalara was surprised by the boy's reaction, but Torbin could see that she was sharp of mind as she seemed to understand. Everyone was looking at the state of her armour, and her cheeks flushed the brightest red.

  'You must forgive my attire. I found the first suit of armour I could find, no one had time to make one for me.'

  'It's easily fixed,' said Torbin. 'Tenabin, make a note to the Smiths to see us before the afternoon meal to take the professor's measurements.'

  'I obey, Commander.'

  'Thank you, and now I simply must know everything. How big is the Griftin, what colour are the wings, what powers...'

  Torbin held up and gauntlet to stop her. 'Be calm, Professor, you will be told all that we know, now please sit down.' Torbin knew she didn't want to sit down. She was like him, thirsty for more, unable to sit still knowing there was a feast of knowledge and glory waiting to be devoured. This was fine with him as long as she remembered who was in charge of the research. He told her everything and shared all his notes. She hung on every word, her eyes wide, making notes in her head. The conversation reached the last battle that occurred. When Torbin spoke of it knocking everyone down with wind, she bolted up from her chair.

  'What other Magic did it use?'

  All three males looked at each other before Torbin answered. 'None, other than sucking the energy from our Runes to incapacitate us and using its wings to knock us off our feet.' Dalara started pacing back and forth in the room, muttering to herself. Tenabin caught Torbin with a look that said, is she all there? Forin giggled more. 'Can we join in too, Professor?'

  She snapped her head around. 'What? Oh, right. You're sure it didn't do anything else, didn't try to drown you with water, hit you with rocks, not burn you with fire?'

  'No, as I said, it beat its wings and blew everyone off their feet.'

  'It was glowing.' It was Forin who spoke up. 'Torbin stabbed it, and it was glowing. It doesn't do that anymore though.'

  The rest of the Dwarves looked at the boy. 'What do you mean it doesn't do it anymore, Forin?' asked Torbin.

  Forin took a step back, afraid that he had said something wrong. 'The holes have gone where you stabbed it. The colour is all gone from its wings again too...'

  'Idiot boy, why did you not tell us immediately!' shouted Tenabin.

  Forin yelped with fear and hid behind Torbin. The young Dwarf scrambled through his side pack and passed the Commander some parchment. Torbin opened it to reveal the morning report on the visual kept by the guards watching the creature at night.

  'It is true', sad Torbin. 'Apparently, it tried to take the Rune energy again but was shot in the stomach before it could do any damage. The wound, like the others, glowed for a while then stopped, sealing itself. What colour remaining in its feathers is gone, all are now a light grey.'

  'Simply fascinating,' said Dalara.

  'Fascinating? The creature has attacked again,' said Tenabin. 'My good people, I would submit that this thing is savage and is only out for blood and that the Commander should seriously consider killing it, for the good of everyone.'

  Dalara blinked as if Tenabin had just come into her notice. 'Has it actually attacked anyone?'

  'WHAT?' Torbin and Tenabin shouted together. They thought she was mad. Forin just looked at her as if she was a divine statue.

  'From what you've told me, good Dwarves, the Griftin's actions and your own are perfectly justified.'

  Tenabin looked as if he was about to walk out, but Torbin stepped in. 'Peace, my friend. Let us hear her words. She's come a long way and at least deserves that.'

  Tenabin slowly returned to his position behind his leader and Dalara seemed satisfied enough to continue. 'Thank you, Commander. As I was saying, you took the right steps from the information you had. An unknown creature had appeared, seemingly violent and you had the best interests of your Dwarves as a priority. As it should be. More things have happened since then, and we can afford to take a step back for a moment to consider. The Griftins were… are, beings of pure Magic, said to be the source of it to the other races. The Humans and the Elves became accomplished in the art, but nothing compared to their teachers. They didn't just wield Magic, they were made of it. Now, imagine you woke up after fifty thousand years in a Gods forsaken place with no one around but strangers. How do you think you would feel?'

  'Afraid, cold, confused... and hungry,' said Torbin, comprehension starting to dawn on him.

  'Precisely, Commander. I believe all it was concerned about was finding food for itself.'

  'And in doing so, condemning the Commander and others to a frozen death,' interrupted Tenabin.

  'Would you care about such consequences if you were so crazed with hunger?' Dalara replied.

  'She's right, Tenabin. We might have had this all wrong from the beginning.' All were silent for a moment in the office. Dalara's words had made a troubling amount of sense.

  'So what is the next step?' Tenabin asked.

  'We need to find out more,' said Torbin. 'Despite Dalara's input, we need to decipher the markings on the walls. Though I haven't managed it so far, I refuse to believe they are there for decoration. When I found the chamber, they glowed with energy before the creature was released, they are connected to it. Solving that riddle might help us decide.'

  'Decide what?' asked Tenabin.

  'On whether or not to feed it, of course,' said Dalara.'

  'You can't be right in the head!' shouted Tenabin. 'You want to risk our lives on t
he chance that this thing didn't mean to kill some of the best Warriors in the world?'

  'That is the next step, whether to help it or let it die,' said Torbin. 'Remember that we still need answers for the Empress.' He turned to face the Professor directly. 'On the surface, you asked if it had communed yet. What did you mean?'

  Dalara smiled, clearly pleased at the thought that someone was taking her seriously. ‘The legends in the old Royal Archive describe the Griftins as a race that spoke in silence. I am convinced that they spoke with their minds, by sending their thoughts to one another. But again, this would take Magic.’

  ‘So if we want to communicate, we'd have to feed it anyway,' said Torbin.

  ‘And the more it feeds, the more power it will gain,’ Dalara continued, ‘It has already used its natural birth power over air. Give it enough Magic, it will soon command fire, water, earth and be able to work spells of untold ability.’

  ‘Then we proceed with my plan,’ said Torbin. ‘Find out enough before any decision is made on what to do next.’

  They were in agreement. Tenabin was far from content over the matter, but he wouldn't go against his Commander. This was a relief, Torbin thought, as he might need his friend to pull him out of the mess if all went wrong.

  ‘Professor, I will show you to a cabin we have arranged for you,’ said Torbin.

  ‘Really Commander, you must have more important things to do than walk me around,’ she replied.

  ‘You are our guest from the Empire, I will make sure you are comfortable before we proceed.’

  Dalara stared at him for a moment, and Torbin knew she was searching for some sign of duplicity. It was clear to him that she hadn’t been in the company of someone so forthcoming in a long time. Thankfully, she broke out in a genuine smile. ‘You do me a great honour and have my thanks.’

  Tenabin stayed behind to run things in the Command Cabin while Torbin, Dalara and Forin headed to what had been deemed the 'Guest Cabin' that had until very recently belonged to Lord Zentin. Her boots had grips on them, but Dalara had difficulty walking through the corridors, some of which didn't have lights set up. She started slipping all over the place, until Torbin caught her.

  ‘Thank you. How can you stand to live here?’ she said while trying to get a hold of herself.

  Torbin laughed and gestured for Forin to help her on the other side. ‘It's difficult at the start. None of us had seen ice either. But you get the hang of it.’

  ‘Your modesty is amazing Commander,’ she replied. ‘You managed to fight a Griftin and survived, well… if we think it was fighting... You did hand to hand combat better than the First Battalion. And then there's the whole Scholar Guild-’

  ‘What about them?’ asked Torbin.

  ‘Well a Dwarf from, no offence, a surface university achieves something those in the Mordabinn Imperial University can only dream of, while putting the Warrior Guild to shame, all in one neat package. Sapphire must truly love you greatly to let this happen. No one in the Nations knows any of this, but once it is made public, I assure you, you’ll outshine the most talented of Scholars for decades at least.’

  Torbin was very glad at that moment to be wearing a helmet. His First Father would slap his ears for feeling so smug with himself, but he couldn’t help it. He had worked so hard, only to be sent to the literal representation of the Void. The thought of returning one day and finding himself the talk of his peers made him feel so warm, he thought he could melt the whole prison. But for now, he tried his utmost to sound humble. ‘It could all fall away just as easily in the next few days. If we make the wrong choice we die, or worse, be dishonoured.’

  ‘Well,’ she said, hitting him on the shoulder plate, ‘just as well we have the best scholars in the Four Nations right here.’

  Torbin found her optimism infectious. He'd been in the company of Smiths and Warriors for so long that he had forgotten how much fun he had with his contemporaries, spinning theories, late night study parties with bottles of mead hidden in their possessions. He tried to clear his head from this small bought of homesickness as they approached the Guest Cabin. Though not the size of the Commander's Cabin, it was still spacious.

  'Oh yes, this will do fine, thank you.' She put the boxes of papers on a desk and took off her helmet. Torbin started gesturing around the space.

  'Your main room and adjoining washroom. All expedition members usually eat together in the Mess Cabin when not on duty, but I predict many late nights researching, so I can have food and drink delivered.'

  'Oh no, that's quite alright. As I said, no one should fuss over me.'

  'We are both doing work that may change the fates of us all. I think putting the cooks to some inconvenience is forgivable. Besides, you keep walking through this facility in that armour, something is eventually going to fall off, and you'll freeze before you can blink.'

  Dalara turned to him, surprised. 'Are you always this blunt, Commander?'

  'I rarely have time for tact, Professor. I leave that to the Lords and Regents. I'm a focused, tell things as they are and get the job done kind of Dwarf.'

  She smiled at him. 'I can see we're going to get along famously.'

  'We do our job, and all goes well, there will be plenty of fame and riches to go around.'

  The confidence in his tone made Dalara blush. 'Do you think things will go well, Commander?'

  'The stakes are high. There are too many unknowns. I am not too arrogant with pride to say that part of me is not afraid. Before, I have always acted on the worst-case scenario, for everyone's safety. But recent events have taught me that Sapphire is watching me and I put faith in her. So I will leave you to unpack your things, and I will send Forin to take you to the chamber in an hour, I will meet you there.' Torbin made to leave, but stopped himself and looked back to Dalara. 'Also Professor, more out of safety than anything else, I would ask that you shave your hair before leaving this cabin. Though I am confident in my own tech, we wouldn't want to risk your hair going up in flames.'

  Dalara's eyes widened to a huge size. She really must have left for the prison in a hurry, he thought, if no one had time to tell her about shaving first. She held a lock of her hair and swallowed with the greatest reluctance before speaking. 'I obey, Commander. And thank you, for your kindness.'

  CHAPTER 13

  COMMUNION

  Torbin walked with Soraba towards the chamber passageway. With construction complete, there was now a working tramline that could take four Dwarves in each cart. But the Commander was not happy.

  'This is wrong. You shouldn't be here.'

  Soraba grunted. 'If I'm fit enough to bed you, I'm fit enough to fight. Besides, I'd sooner swim in lava than let you go back in there without me... Sir.'

  Torbin didn't have time to fight about this. He had gone back into his cabin to check on his love, only to find her suited up, practicing thrusts with her axe. They had their first row, arguing back and forth, but Torbin finally relented. Soraba, like all soldiers, needed to be where the action was. That was her place in life.

  They came to the entrance. Warriors of the First and the expedition team saluted at the sight of Torbin. Dalara and Forin bowed. Another group of the First were standing there with two Dwarves in green plated armour, revealing them as Healers. One of them walked up to Torbin.

  'Commander, these Warriors of the First wish to approach you.'

  Torbin was surprised. The First didn't wish anything, let alone talk to anyone. Torbin nodded. The Warriors stepped forth, weapons to bear. Soraba's hands tighten around her axe, not liking anyone coming near her love with weapons raised. The black Warriors stopped a metre apart from their leader and knelt to the ground, bowing their heads and offered their swords to him. Torbin was at a complete loss, but Soraba spoke up.

  'They're offering their lives.'

  His head spun round to her. 'What? Why?'

  The shock in Torbin's voice made Soraba spin him around and face the other way. 'When a Warrior of the First Battalio
n fails or is bettered by someone like you, they must present you with their swords, and you must decide if they are worthy enough to live.' Torbin was stunned. Soraba saw his hesitation and pulled him closer, bringing their heads close to whisper. 'Don't show weakness. If they think your soft or your reasoning for sparing them isn't good enough they will kill themselves instantly.'

  Torbin nodded. He took a breath, turned around and saw the black Warriors looking up at him. There was no fear, no emotion what so ever. They were colder than the ice they knelt on. 'All Warriors of the First Battalion, hear me. My First Father has a saying that I hold dear every day. 'A Dwarf decides the strength of his sword.' You all faced an unknown and lived. You survived because you were strong, the Gods themselves favour you. We face a danger to all Dwarvingdom, and together we will meet it. Now get up, shake it off and stand with me!'

  The expedition Warriors cheered, and the First stood up and saluted, sheathing their swords. Torbin and Soraba walked over to meet Forin and Dalara. The Professor opened her arms in reverence.

  'Most impressive, Commander.'

  Though he appreciated the sentiment, Torbin shrugged off her praise. 'None of them deserves to die, and I pray that the ones that did manage to find their way back to The Great Rock.' Torbin was troubled by the deaths of the Warriors. One of the main points of building the prison was so the worst of their kind would eventually die away from the earth and The Great Rock. Torbin promised that he would have earth brought to the facility, blessed by the Regents. If anyone else in his command should suffer a similar fate, their souls would at least be able to find their way Home. 'Enough standing around,' Torbin said. 'Let us get to work.'