The Greystone Chronicles Book Two: The Dire Lands

by Dave Willmarth

  The corridor extended maybe fifty feet before it ended in a T intersection. To the right, the glow from Fitz’s globe showed a stairway going up. To the left, a corridor heading off into darkness.

  Alexander used his earth sense to confirm. “We’re near the top. Those stairs lead up to the door, and the lake beyond.” He looked at the stairs, then at the hallway, then back the way they’d come. “You guys notice there’s no dust on the floor?” The others all looked down and around.

  “Magic in the air here,” Fitz said, by way of explanation. “Very subtle. Feels like a preservation enchantment.”

  They paused for a few moments while Lugs went up the stairs to confirm nobody was there to sneak up behind them. When he returned, they headed down the corridor and deeper into the complex.

  After a minute or so, they began to see doors staggered on either side of the hallway. The first door was on their left. It was made of heavy oak, so old it was nearly petrified. It was held together with iron bands. The entire thing was extremely well preserved, seeming to confirm Fitz’s suspicion.

  Max pulled the door open as Brick moved into the opening, shield held high. The globe over his head illuminated a small room, maybe ten by twelve feet. Inside was a table with six chairs. A weapons rack with swords and shields sat against one wall. A guard room, then.

  Brick moved forward to inspect the weapons. “These be dwarven-made. Good quality.”

  Max started to reach for them to loot, and Alexander stopped him. “Too much weight this early. If these are an upgrade for any of you, grab one. Otherwise, we’ll pick them up on the way back.”

  Benny and Dayle compared their shields to those on the rack. Benny took one, as it was a significant improvement. Dayle stuck with the one he had. Max, Jules, and Fitz checked the room for secret doors or compartments. Finding none, they moved on.

  The next room, on the right side of the hallway, was larger. Again with no occupants, this one looked to be a barracks. There were a dozen beds, chests at the end of each. Another weapons rack by the door. This one was mostly empty. There were a couple shields, and some spears with long diamond-shaped heads. Lugs picked up one of them, then grunted in a satisfied manner. “Mind if I take a few of these? Be good for throwing,” he said. The spears, from butt to pointed tip were seven feet long. In Lugs hands, one of them looked like a Zulu short spear.

  “Go right ahead,” Alexander said.

  Once again, the room was checked for compartments and secret doors. The chests were opened, but other than some gold and silver coins, there was not much of interest. Mostly clothes and weapon maintenance gear.

  The group moved on like this, clearing room after room, finding no occupants, and not much of interest. After the sixth room, the corridor ended in a stairway leading down. Brick led the way, and they soon reached the second level. There was another long corridor ahead, and one branching to their left.

  Sasha decided to split them up. Brick led one team down the left-hand corridor, Lugs took the right. They were to clear rooms, and call out in raid chat if they encountered anything. If they reached stairs leading to another level, they were to stop and report.

  Lugs took Helga, Benny, and Dayle’s group. Fitz followed along behind them. Brick led the original six officers, plus Jules, Edward, and Fibble.

  Again they moved slowly, watching for traps. They reached a room, and Max pulled the door open for Brick, muttering, “Ladies first”.

  As soon as Brick stepped into the room, lights came on. The tank raised his shield, looking around frantically for an enemy. Finding none, he relaxed a bit.

  “Motion sensors?” Max asked.

  “Magic sensors of some kind, I’d say,” Alexander agreed.

  This was a large, open room with long tables and benches. It looked to be a cafeteria of sorts. Moving toward the back of the room, they found a door leading to an industrial-sized kitchen. It was at least four times the size of the kitchen at Greystone manor. Someone had planned to feed a lot of people here.

  Sasha admired a set of kitchen knives with intricately carved stone handles, set in a wooden block. They quickly disappeared into her bag.

  The group continued through room after room. Some were living quarters, offices, storage rooms. They found no hidden compartments or doors, and the loot was mediocre. Again, mostly coin pouches here and there, some interesting looking books, some jewels that Fibble found in a chest under a bed.

  From the reports in raid chat, the other group was finding much of the same. Reaching another stairway at the end of the corridor, they sat and waited for Lugs’ group to catch up. Their corridor had ended in a blank wall. While they waited, Sasha pulled out some jerky and handed it out to everyone. Fibble took his and plopped down in Lainey’s lap, gnawing away enthusiastically. After a startled moment, Lainey smiled at the little green goblin and patted his head.

  As the other group approached, Brick rose to his feet and began to head down the stairs. The group resumed their earlier formation behind him.

  Reaching the third level landing, they were faced with a locked door. This one was engraved stone, and round like a hobbit-hole door, much like the one they saw in the lake. Max and Jules both searched the door, but couldn’t find a lock to pick, or a mechanism to open it. Brick put a hand on the door, and using his earth sense, examined it closely. “There’s no lock. No bar, nor bolt, no lever that I be able to find,” he said.

  Fitz approached the door, also laying a hand on it. “Sealed with magic. And there’s something moving behind it. Maybe several somethings.”

  “Okay, everybody ready. Sounds like we’ve got targets. Finally,” Sasha said. She nodded to Fitz, who waved his right hand. The door began to glow with a blue light. After a moment, it rolled to one side, revealing the corridor beyond.

  Brick cursed loudly as soon as he saw what was ahead. The door opened onto a wide-open cavern that had started as a natural feature, and been widened and shaped by its inhabitants. “Dwarves. Undead dwarves,” he said. There were more than a hundred of them in the cavern.

  They weren’t the rotted corpses in tattered rags that the group had found in the keep’s dungeon. These dwarves didn’t have a mark on them, as far as anyone could see. Their skin was a pale grey, eyes vacant except for a pinpoint of red light in each pupil. Some wore armor, others everyday pants and shirts. A few carried weapons or tools limply at their sides. None of them moved, or made a sound. It was as if they’d lost all motivation.

  “Not dwarves precisely, Brick. Duergar. The grey dwarves. Deep dwellers that rise to the surface levels only to steal and kill. They worship one of the dark gods, and have not been seen on the surface of Io for two millennia at least. THAT is why the runes on the door resembled dwarven script. It was written in Duergan.”

  Alexander inspected the closest specimen. It was slightly shorter than most dwarves, and thinner. Its grey skin seemed to be almost made of stone, like the trolls in the mine.

  Duergar Miner

  Level 60

  Health 1/4,000

  “Only one health point?” Alexander mumbled. He quickly inspected several more. All were level 60 to 70, and each one had only one point of health.

  “What is this?” Sasha asked. She held her breath as Brick approached the miner and poked its forehead. The grey dwarf didn’t even blink.

  “They’re not dead. They’re under some kind of spell. It has taken them to the brink of death and held them there. This is dark magic. Demon magic,” Fitz said.

  “Great. More demons,” Brick said. He reached into his bag and withdrew the light cannon without its cradle mount. He handed it to Edward, who grinned from ear to ear. “Ye might be needin’ this. Be damn sure ye don’t shoot none of us!” the dwarf growled at him.

  Not having any experience with a rifle, Edward tried to brace the cannon against his hip, like a large crossbow. Then he tried laying the back end on top of his shoulder like a bazooka. Max took pity on him, taking the four-foot cannon from him and s
howing him the proper way to hold a rifle. Then how to raise it and brace it along his shoulder as he aimed. Lainey produced a long leather strap, and tied it near each end, creating a shoulder sling.

  While they worked on getting Edward squared away, Fitz was closely examining another duergar. This one had a long beard, and was wearing expensive looking armor. “Sasha, dear. Would you be so kind as to heal this creature? Nature magic only, please. No light magic.”

  “Uhhh… okay?” Sasha cast a mid-level heal spell that Lydia had taught her. Alexander inspected the duergar as she cast.

  Duergar Smith

  Level 70

  Health 550/5,500

  As soon as the healing took effect, the smith let out a long, gravelly moan. Its eyes focused on Sasha, and it appeared to be trying to say something. Within moments, though, its health dropped back to 1 point, and it stared off into the darkness again.

  “Interesting,” Fitz said. “Something is draining them. Duergar are known for their tough skin, high strength and stamina, and rapid regenerative abilities. Whomever or whatever cast this spell is draining them all, preventing them from regenerating while also preserving them to keep them alive.

  “Like a whole city of batteries?” Max asked. Seeing the confused look on Fitz’s face, he corrected himself. “A whole city of soul crystals, being drained of power?”

  “Essentially, yes,” Fitz said.

  Misty spoke up. “Well, it’s not necromancy, if they’re not dead. And it’s not sorcery, I don’t think, because they’re not being controlled or instructed to do anything. So, what is it?”

  “Demon magic. Though I’m not sure what kind, exactly. Succubi have the ability to drain life from their victims. But I’ve never seen one that could cast a spell like this. And the preservation spell covers more than just these bodies. It is imbued into this entire complex. In its walls and doors, even the blankets on the beds. My guess is that at least some of the power being drained from these bodies is being used to preserve them, and everything else here,” Fitz mused.

  “So, do we kill them?” Lugs asked. Like everyone else, he was thinking that more than a hundred high level mobs that couldn’t fight back were an adventurer’s dream.

  “That is a good question, Sir Ogre,” Fitz said. “On the one hand, duergar are a dark race. Normally inclined to kill any non-duergar they meet. They tunnel up from below and attack dwarven settlements inside mountains, or villages and towns on the surface. They kill most, make slaves of the rest, and strip everything of value.”

  “So, we kill them!” Lugs smiled. The others chuckled.

  “On the other hand,” Fitz continued “There is no known record of these duergar attacking anyone, or even making themselves known here. There have been factions of their race in the past who rejected their dark god and fled their cities deep in the underground. Very few were even known to trade in peace with dwarven, orc, and human settlements. This was thousands of years ago, when Kai was just a wee lad. This complex looks like a home to me, not a raid tunnel or a mine.”

  Alexander posed a question as the others nodded their heads. “Fitz, can you speak their language?”

  Fitz stroked his beard. “If I remember right, they spoke several languages. I never learned duergan, as I’ve had limited dealings with them. But many of their clans spoke draconic, goblin, or even common.”

  “What would happen if we removed him from this place. The spell has to have a range to it, right? What if we took him to the command center, and healed him? Could you speak with him?” Alexander asked.

  “Worth a try,” the wizard answered.

  Alexander looked at the group. “You guys, step back outside the door. Sasha, Brick, you come with us. We’ll be back in ten minutes.”

  With that, Fitz cast a teleport, sending the four of them and the duergar smith up to the command center. Sasha immediately cast a heal on the grey dwarf, and it screamed in pain.

  “Again! Your largest nature heals. Take him to full health,” Fitz called out. He was waving his hands and began mumbling the words of a spell.

  As Sasha cast heal after heal on the screaming duergar smith, Fitz finished his spell. A red aura of magic surrounded the creature, then flashed brightly. When it faded, the duergar fell to its knees. The screaming became a moan of remembered pain. Sasha cast one last heal, bringing him to full health.

  After a moment, the duergar, still on its hands and knees, looked up at Sasha and said something in a harsh and gravelly voice. Not understanding in the least, Sasha just smiled and waved. The grey dwarf looked around, then opened its mouth and pointed down its throat.

  “Oh!” Sasha reached into her bag and pulled out a flagon of water. Opening the cap, she handed it to the duergar. Struggling to stand, it used the control table to steady itself, then tilted its head back and drank. Sasha pulled a bit of jerky from her bag and offered that as well. The jerky disappeared in moments.

  The duergar smith nodded its head in thanks, and said something else. Its voice was a bit smoother after the drink. The language was still harsh and guttural, though.

  Fitz said something in draconic, which caused the duergar’s head to jerk toward him. It immediately answered. There was a short exchange between the two, then the apparently exhausted grey dwarf sat back down on the floor and leaned against the table.

  “His name is Gelag. He wishes to thank you for the food and drink,” Fitz said.

  “Tell him he’s very welcome. There’s more if he’d like,” she answered.

  “Ask him about the spell,” Alexander said.

  “Thank you, boy, I’d have never thought of that,” the wizard snapped at him.

  Fitz spoke again in the dragon tongue, and there was a much longer exchange. Fitz pulled a couple boar sausages out of his own bag and handed them to Gelag.

  This must be serious. Fitz just gave up food. Alexander grinned

  “As I suspected from his armor, Gelag is a leader of his people. One of their council. Duergar respect master smiths just as dwarves do. They were one people, long ago. He says the spell was cast upon them by a demon queen. His clan fled from the deep cities to start a life near the surface. They were mostly crafters, and planned to trade their goods with the locals. They rejected their god, and the duergar queen that ruled their city. She followed them here with a small army of demons. Most of his people died. Those that survived surrendered, and were enslaved. Shortly after the battle a demon queen arrived, killing the duergar queen and casting this spell on his people.”

  “Can ye tell how long ago this happened?” Brick asked.

  Fitz spoke to Gelag a bit more. There was some shaking of heads, and more questions. Finally, the duergar nodded his head, then spoke.

  Fitz translated, “Duergar don’t use a calendar like ours. But they do pay attention to world events. He knew of a war being fought between the orcs and the elves not far from here. That war happened long before Stormforge was a kingdom. Close to three thousand years ago.”

  “Does he know it has been that long?” Alexander asked.

  “One moment, while I explain.” Fitz began speaking to the duergar. After a few sentences, a shocked look came over his face. He put his head in his hands and shook it back and forth. “He knows now.”

  “Okay, we need to get back. The others will begin to worry. Is it safe for him to go back there?” Alexander asked.

  “Aye, I broke the spell. Distance didn’t do it. It nearly killed him, and he said it was quite painful. Unless the demon is still there to cast it again, he will be safe enough.” Fitz waved his hand and the five of them teleported back to the spot they’d left. Seeing them arrive, the others gathered around again.

  Alexander quickly filled them in, while Fitz tried to speak with Gelag, who was staring at his frozen people and not listening.

  Lugs got a disappointed look on his face. “So, we’re not going to kill them,” he said.

  “Probably not. But the good news is that there may be an army of demons to k
ill. And a queen.” Alexander tried to make the bloodthirsty ogre feel better.

  Gelag’s legs weakened under him, and he sat on the floor, still staring at his immobilized people. Fitz placed a hand on his shoulder and spoke to him quietly. After a brief exchange, the duergar nodded his head.

  “He’s going to show us where the demons are. Or, where they were three thousand years ago,” Fitz relayed to the group.

  “Can you break the spell on his people like you did on him?” Sasha asked.

  “He says no. It nearly killed him. Most of his people are not as strong as he is. He thinks that killing the queen might break the spell, or allow us to break it more easily.” Fitz shook his head.

  Gelag rose to his feet and motioned for them to follow. As they moved across the cavern, he stopped occasionally to lay a hand on a particular friend, or maybe family member, and say some quiet words to them.