Both he and his mate were exhausted after the long flight from the Highlands, and they needed to rest. When Marthaen returned to the chamber after seeing the other dragons on their way, he found that his sister had moved close to Thelvyn's side so that she could rub her cheek along the side of his chest and neck.
"Must the two of you be so boundlessly affectionate?" Marthaen asked, sighing loudly.
Thelvyn knew the older dragon was jesting with him. "Do not deprive me of my only comfort. What about the dragons? Are they still willing to follow me?"
"I honestly believe you can trust them to follow you," Marthaen said, sitting back on his haunches and facing the other two. "They have had a little time to consider what they have learned about the Masters, and they have been forced to admit that they must defend their world in order to defend themselves. The knowledge that the gemstone dragons were responsible for the near destruction of their race at the hands of the first Dragonlord has awakened their desire for vengeance. And they fear that the gemstone dragons look upon them as inferior, easy victims for enslavement. Jherdar and the red dragons are ready and eager for war, and the golds will be responsive to your call."
Thelvyn nodded, looking weary. "We have a hard time ahead of us. I wish I could keep my people safe rather than lead them into a possibly hopeless war."
Marthaen lifted his head. "Your people?"
"I find myself becoming quite comfortable with the thought of being a dragon," Thelvyn admitted. "I wish I had more time to enjoy it, but the dwarves are waiting. Korinn Bear Slayer is sure to have told them we will be coming."
"You seem certain that the Masters will push on into Rockhome," Marthaen observed.
"Have you ever wondered why they struck first in the steppes and their next move appears to be to invade Rockhome? Certainly not for the sake of an easy victory; they have to know that they'll have a hard time routing the dwarves from their underground cities. But by taking the steppes and then Rockhome, and possibly pushing on into Alfheim and Tral-adara, they'll break this part of the world into two parts, with them in the middle. Thyatis would be on one side, while Darokin and the Highlands would be on the other. Neither would be able to work together in a common defense."
Marthaen nodded. "What do you think will happen when we attack? Will the Masters retreat, or will they open their worldgates and pour through their reserves until they overwhelm us?"
"I honestly do not know what will happen," Thelvyn had to admit. "That's why we must gather our strength before we attack. We have to hit them so hard from the outset that they have no choice but to flee. I just hope we have no traitors in our midst telling them our every move."
Marthaen looked overwhelmed for a moment with surprise and indignation. "Surely the Masters cannot control dragons," he said finally.
"You forget that they controlled Murodhir," Kharendaen told him. "We must never underestimate them, especially since they seem so willing to underestimate us."
*****
Korinn Bear Slayer left Stahl at dawn in the same manner in which he had arrived the previous day, by the secret underground passages. But this time he went alone, since all the troops that had been sent on to Dengar had left the day before. He wished now that he had left the previous day, slipping out with a pair of courier horses before the invaders besieged the city. Now he would be required to walk, and he couldn't hope to reach Dengar before the end of the next day no matter how hard he forced his pace.
The hidden passage leading east from Stahl toward Dengar was one of the most remarkable tunnels in all of Rockhome, and one of the most difficult feats of engineering the dwarves had ever attempted. The passage ran for nearly eight miles beneath the northern end of Lake Stahl, buried a hundred yards deep in bedrock in a clay-lined tunnel to prevent flooding. Korinn had never taken this tunnel before, and he found the thought of passing beneath the lake itself to be a bit daunting, but in the two hours he spent in that part of the tunnel, he found it the same as the rest of the passage.
He didn't emerge from the tunnel until it ended in the rugged, forested land more than a dozen miles east of the lake, where a small passage brought him up through a hidden door in a rocky outcrop. The secret path led him quickly to the top of a low, moss-covered cliff where he could look back toward the west through an opening in the trees. It was now the middle of the day, and he could see that a brisk batde was being fought over the city of Stahl many miles across the lake. He was too far away to see much detail, and so he could only judge from the dark haze and the trails of smoke that rose from the city.
Looking closer, he saw that an army was moving along the main road, having already passed the bridge over the Styrdal River. Indeed, their vanguard was now hardly more than a couple of miles northwest of where he stood. When the invaders had prepared their siege outside Stahl the evening before, he had assumed that they meant to capture that city before they pressed on into Rockhome. Instead, they had divided their forces, sending perhaps half of their army on toward Dengar. His decision to leave Stahl had been the correct one, since he would now be bringing news of the attack to Dengar only a day or so ahead of the invaders.
With an army following him, Korinn knew that every extra hour he could gain in reaching Dengar ahead of the invaders was important. Dengar was far more defensible than Stahl, and the upper city might hold out for days against a conventional army, but not against an attack of gemstone dragons. Following the trail south through the woods just below the mountains to the east, he marched as rapidly as he could through the rest of that day and well into the night. Reluctantly he gave up the race a couple of hours before midnight, when the night became so dark that he was having trouble finding the trail at times.
Korinn hurried on again early the next morning, just as the sky was beginning to grow light before the rising of the sun beyond the mountains to the east. He walked only another hour before he slowed, looking about when he came into a land he recognized from past visits. After a short time, he found a tumble of gray, mossy stones almost hidden in a steep fold of the wooded hills. He realized he never would have found it in the darkness of the night before. He had to take off his pack before he could push back behind the stones, but he found the hidden door and the dark, narrow tunnel that ran as straight as an arrow beneath the mountains to Dengar. The underground passage cut more than a dozen miles from the overland journey around the southern spur of the mountains at Evemur.
Because the underground passage was so straight and level, he was able to move along at a quick pace. All the same, many long hours passed in the deep darkness of the tunnel, lit only dimly by the pale silver light of his lamp. When at last he came up through a hidden door into the back passage of Lower Dengar, night had long since fallen in the world above. He was careful to secure all the hidden traps as he approached the door and opened it cautiously. A trap or two was always set in the secret ways, even in times of peace, in the unlikely event that an old enemy or a band of thieves found the tunnel. Even then, only commanders of the highest rank knew the secrets
for setting the traps and opening the doors.
The city itself was relatively quiet, with few people about, so that he passed unnoticed as he made his way to the palace. Dengar hadn't been besieged within living memory, but he thought that the city seemed unusually tense, as if no one dared to speak loudly or show themselves. As he passed through the silent streets, he began to see people peering out at him out from windows and from behind narrowly opened doorways.
The palace itself was especially dark and quiet, as if it were the middle of the night. The hour was indeed a bit late, but Korinn thought that someone should be around. He wondered if the siege had already begun. While he was certain the invading army was still behind him, other forces could have approached Dengar from a different direction. He was beginning to wonder if he should make the journey to the upper city when he saw Dorinn emerging from their father's chambers.
"Korinn!" his brother exclaimed, surprised to see h
im. "Have you just returned?"
"I just arrived through the hidden tunnel," Korinn explained. "Is the city under siege?"
Dorinn nodded grimly. "Three days ago, an army of about fifty thousand came through the pass of the Hrap River. They moved into the valley below the city earlier today, but so far they've been content to remain there. What about Stahl? The troops you sent here finished coming through the tunnel only hours ahead of you, which was why I hadn't expected to see you back so soon."
"I've had to hurry," Korinn said as they walked slowly toward his room to stow away his gear. "The invaders-their western army, I should say-laid siege to Stahl two nights ago. When I left yesterday morning, I fofind half of their forces following me."
Dorinn frowned. "Were they headed here, or to Evemur?"
"I assumed they were coming here," Korinn replied, pausing a moment while his brother held open the door to his room for him. He slipped the straps off his shoulder and set down his pack just inside the door. "Of course, with fifty thousand invaders already here, they might be headed for Evemur instead. The battle has already begun in Stahl. I could see smoke rising from several parts of the upper city. Of course, Stahl isn't very easily defended against a large force, and there isn't much of a lower city. Whether or not the upper city has fallen by now depends largely upon whether or not the gemstone dragons have attacked."
"My greatest concern about our situation here is that the invaders are waiting for the Masters to crack open our defenses," Dorinn said. "That's what I would do in their place. An army of fifty thousand seems large, but they could suffer enormous casualties trying to reach the gate of the upper city."
"If the Masters attack, they attack," Korinn said philosophically. "There's nothing we can do about it. We can't hold the upper city for very long against them in any event. My hope is that the dragons will come before the Masters attack, or soon after. They should be here any time now."
"Yes, the dragons," Dorinn said, staring at the ground uncomfortably. "I should warn you that our people have no faith in receiving help from the dragons. The senate has forced Father to shape our policies on the assumption that the dragons will never come. I've been told that the upper city must not be taken at any cost."
"That's foolish," Korinn declared hotly. "The dwarves have always been ready to close the inner gates and wait out an attack underground, where our greatest safety lies."
"The assumption is that we cannot hope to wait out the Masters," the older dwarf explained. "Most people fear that, given time, the Masters can simply dig us out like a hound after a rabbit. And no one believes that the dragons are going to help us. You'll find yourself very unpopular if you insist that the Dragonking will keep his word. I think that even Father no longer has any hope of that."
Korinn had to retire for the night, in order to be rested enough to face the next day and the coming battle with all his strength. But he was dismayed by what he had learned. When he considered it, however, he had to admit that he wasn't surprised to find that the dwarves had no faith in the word of the dragons. Nothing had ever happened to make them believe the dragons would come to their defense. The one point that disturbed him most was that the dwarves seemed to have lost faith not only in the dragons, but also in their once unshakable belief that they could always hold their own in the underground.
When he thought about it, he had to face the unsettling truth. He knew the enemy as well as anyone. He had seen the burning of the steppes, and he had seen the Masters at Fort Denwarf. And he had to admit that the dwarves could never hope to win this war on their own. The only difference between him and the other dwarves was that Thelvyn Fox-Eyes was his friend, and he trusted the Dragonking.
Korinn donned his armor and gathered his weapons before dawn the next morning. After speaking with his father, he began the long climb to the upper city. His brother Dorinn had gone up before dawn, in order to be on hand if the enemy began to move against Dengar. King Daroban would remain below, trusting the defense of the upper city to his sons, and ready to assume command of the defense of the lower city if they did not return.
Korinn found his brother standing on the wall over the gate. The sun was still behind the mountains to the east, and the valley far below remained in deep shadows, as if night lingered in the woods. He could see thousands of flickering yellow campflres amid the trees, as distant and small as the stars in the predawn sky. He could also see that the invaders were preparing themselves for the steep climb to the gates of Dengar, gathering their companies in a long column along the road below the ramp. He surveyed the sky quickly, but there was no sign yet of the Masters.
"This would seem to be the day," Dorinn commented. "I should pass the command of the upper city to you, considering your experience."
Korinn shook his head firmly. "You've prepared the defenses of this city, and you know best what to do. I don't know what strength of arms or weapons you might have at hand. And you've had your own share of experience."
"I appreciate your confidence," his brother said sincerely. "But to speak candidly, I have other reasons for giving you command. If the Masters come, I see no reason to waste the lives of our soldiers trying to hold the upper city when the passages below are far more defensible. My intention is to defy the senate's orders and abandon the upper city, but my concern is that I will be branded a coward and the defense of the city will be given to someone more willing to make foolish and hopeless gestures. They will be less willing to call you a coward. They would accept your actions as inevitable."
"I appreciate your concern," Korinn said pensively, "but I will not accept your command. I will support your decisions completely. They will not dare to call both of us cowards."
He turned away, but Dorinn stopped him. "We both know which of us is to be the next king. You should have the command of our defenses so that you will have the honor of the victory."
"It remains to be seen which of us will sit on the throne," Korinn told his brother firmly. "I believe that the throne would be well served by your patience and wisdom. But since dwarves often see valor above wisdom, you would do well to earn such an honor for yourself."
The invaders began the slow climb up the steep approach to the gates of Dengar in the middle of the morning, but they seemed to be in no hurry. Perhaps having learned a lesson at Fort Dengar, they placed a heavily armored fighting force in the lead. They pushed before them sturdy barricades to turn aside any boulders and carried large shields over their heads to protect themselves from projectiles hurled from the cliffs above. Korinn watched them from the wall above the gate, trying to guess what they would do when they came within striking distance. He wondered if they would spend their own strength on an assault when the Masters could tear away the city defenses so much more quickly and easily.
He also kept in mind that a second army could arrive as soon as that very evening. That left him with some difficult questions in guessing the intentions of his enemies. The enemy force below Dengar gave every appearance of preparing for an immediate attack, while a second army was only hours away. Either the invaders wanted to initiate a siege of the city by getting a force to the top of the plateau, or they expected the appearance of the Masters to turn this first assault into an inevitable conquest of Upper Dengar. Korinn thought it wise to be prepared for the worst.
He waited a moment while his brother spoke briefly with a messenger, relaying orders to move troops to the front wall. Once the soldier had left with his assignment, Korinn moved closer so that they could speak quietly.
"I may be guessing, but I believe that the Masters will be here soon," he explained. "When their troops got in trouble at Fort Denwarf, they were ready to move in quickly. Of course, when Stahl was besieged, I never saw any of the Masters above the city. Then again, I was miles away by that time."
"I won't argue with you," Dorinn said, glancing briefly over the wall at the approaching invaders. "What do you think?"
"I suspect that these forces are advancing up the ramp
to be ready to move in when the Masters drive us from the wall. That places us in a very difficult situation. We can't allow those forces to come up the ramp, but the Masters are going to intervene if things go badly for their boys."
Dorinn nodded. "Then we must do all the damage we can as quickly as we can, but we also must be ready to withdraw to the tunnels. I think we can handle that."
Dorinn left at once to put the new plans into action. With the enemy already on the march, the defenders of Dengar had only a short time to make any changes in tactics. Since his brother was more familiar with the forces at hand, Korinn was satisfied to leave such matters entirely to Dorinn. Instead, he remained at the wall watching the advance of the enemy, trying to anticipate what would happen in the next few hours. He expected the Masters to appear at any time, probably as their army neared the gate. Once the dwarves began their attempt to repel the enemy's advance, he knew that the gemstone dragons were likely to come in a hurry.
When the first of the invaders had come halfway up the long ramp, Korinn began to feel the rising tension not only in himself but in all the grim dwarvish warriors stationed along the wall. The ramp twisted back and forth on itself, with first one side and then the other looking out over the steep slope of the escarpment. The first of the defensive traps was located just beyond the army's present location, at a point where there was no room to turn and no place to run. The invaders came on until their vanguard moved slowly, steadily up the longest straight length of the road in the very center of the climb and was nearing the next sharp turn.
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