The Hour Glass Dagger

by Jeremy Marr

  “Tobias Marotte, son of High King Granson Marotte and Prince Heir to Magmere Mountain,” the Political Overseer to the entire Dwarven nation stated, “what say you, guilty or no?”

  The way the question was asked emphasized his true feelings about being called to court on such short notice. The Overseer knew this was a formality only, and whatever the Prince said, no matter if it was true or not, would be counted as truth. The chances of the Heir not denying these allegations, especially with the consequences involved would be very little to none, in his book. A silent but anxious crowd sat in the auditorium waiting for a response.

  “Guilty as charged,” were the Prince Heir’s words. They were spoken loud enough to be heard echoing from one corner of the large rock cavern, nestled high within the Magmere Mountain, to the other.

  Loud gasps of awe and shock picked up where the echo dropped off. Shouts of anger and disappointment followed. Each one cancelled out others as they grew in intensity. They were fighting for the right to be heard as though only what they were saying was important. The Political Overseer banged the Gavel of Silence upon the Pedestal of Observance to quiet the gathered dwarves. From high upon the Seat of Judgment, which was carved from a gigantic stalagmite in the center of the vast cave, the Overseer addressed the defendant again.

  “I do believe, Prince Tobias, that you may have entered your plea rather hastily. You are charged with not only being seen conversing with Mountain Trolls, but also standing by as one of your own was brutally slaughtered in front of your very eyes by the afore mentioned Mountain Trolls.

  “Allow me to go over the charges and the written consequences of those actions?” the Overseer asked while looking up and to his right. In the direction in which he looked was the private balcony where High King Granson Marotte and High Queen Yevon Marotte-Bonje sat watching as their only son stood trial. Receiving their nod, he continued.

  “The first charge, which falls under treason to the crown, carries with its conviction complete banishment from Mount Magmere. All personal belongings would be marshaled up and forfeited to those in most need, including the very clothing you have on your body. Your beard would be shaved and then burnt. The ashes would be used to write your name within the Cave of Dishonor. Any other written document or agreements dealing with you, or with your name on it, would be destroyed. You would then be sent out, off the mountain and away from your kind for all time. You would exist within the Dwarven Community no longer.”

  As soon as the cave was mentioned, Tobias’ mind raced back to the first time he had seen the writings on the cave walls. His father, the High King, had taken him there the afternoon of his younger sister’s birthday almost thirty years ago. The celebration, which continued in their absence, was close to being canceled because of a prank pulled that went completely haywire.

  +++++++++++++++++++++++++++

  It started the day before his little sister’s birthday, thirty years or so ago. While roaming the mountainside, Tobias had come across a prize of prizes. Lying in the middle of one of the main paths their mountain goats used to travel down to the feeding grounds was a snake. To call it just a snake though, would be like calling Mount Magmere just a hill. This snake was a Rock Grazer, and was the most poisonous snake known to the dwarves. It was also the largest breed of all snakes in the land, except for the fabled Leatherback, which is said to live in the Sinasin Swamp on the far Eastern side of the land.

  Two things made this a wonderful find for the then young dwarf: first, it was only a baby, and second, it was already dead and could pose no threat to anyone. Picking it up at the base of its head, it was almost as tall as he was, at three feet, and as thick as his lower arm. Six fangs decorated its mouth, four on the top and two on the bottom. It had hoof markings, belonging to the goats, stamped into the skin from head to tail. Tobias thought about how that would have been a very unpleasant way for the snake to die, being stomped on by a herd of goats. Then again, it would have been no joy for goat or dwarf to be bit by this snake. That was the reason for the large bounty on these snakes. They multiply by the hundreds, and there was no living side by side with the creatures in peace. He wished that it were slightly older, while he carefully used his hunting knife to remove the fangs and attached poison bladders located at the base of its throat. The simple fact was, though the skin was not valuable due to the damage by the hoofs, the fangs were always worth coin. A little older snake meant that it would have had a full set of eight fangs.

  He deposited the fangs and bladders within his empty side pouch so he could dump out his coin-earners in town, without having to worry about getting accidentally poked and then he happily skipped back to Sunrise Keep. He played with the snake for the remainder of the day, hidden away in his bedchamber, but by the evening meal he had grown bored of it. That was when the prank formulated in his head.

  Soon after finishing his evening meal, Tobias dashed to his chambers and hid the snake under his shirt. He snuck to his sister’s quarters and listened at the door for a moment. To his delight, he heard nothing. He pushed the door open and found the rooms dark and empty. His younger sister had left the table early, but must have gone to the dress fitters to finish her gown for her birthday ball that very next day. He placed the snake close to the footboard of her bed, under the covers. He snickered as he saw her, in his mind, climbing into bed and having her foot touch it. The Prince was still grinning as he carefully closed the door to her apartment and hid behind one of the many tapestries lining the wall outside of her door. His plan was to wait here for her to arrive and make her way to her bed.

  It seemed like hours had gone by and he was thinking he would just go to bed himself, when he heard her and her personal servant walking up the steps leading to her apartment. They went in the room and shut the door behind themselves. He waited some more, still behind the cover of tapestries and shadows, but after another hour had past, the excitement of the prank dwindled due to the lack of loud screams or cursing coming from behind the closed door. It was then that he decided to go to bed himself.

  Tobias Marotte awoke very early that next morning. He got changed into fresh clothes, having spent the night in yesterday’s apparel, and exited his apartments quietly. He turned right from out of his door, leading away from his sister’s apartment and the luxurious staircase. He had one quick stop to make on his way outside, and the staff stairwell led closer to that destination. It was a quick walk to the end of the hallway and without pause he walked through the archway and made his way down the stairs. He passed nobody on his descent; being just before dawn. He knew the kitchen staff would already be bustling around, getting things ready for the morning meal, but the castle staff was forbidden to step foot on these stairs too early, just in case anyone of royal blood wished not to be woken up. The stairs ended at another archway that dumped him into a wide hallway with two doorways facing him. The left door would have brought him into the laundry facility, and the right one, which he headed for, lead into the large kitchen.

  As he suspected, scores of cooks and their assistants were all busy. Any normal morning would have produced half as much noise, but today was not a normal day. It was his sister’s birthday and the Head Chef had not only a birthday breakfast banquet to prepare for, but he also had to get a jump on the special noontime meal, as well as the huge smorgasbord for the celebration ball later that evening. The Kitchen Head loved the challenge of cooking for so many on a regular day, but days like today were what he truly lived for. He had a large wooden spoon in his right hand that he was waving around and pointing at his underlings with as he ordered them about.

  The Prince tried to blend into the crowd of cooks as he skirted the kitchen around the Head Chief’s backside. He did not want to have to try to explain why he was up with the dawn, nor why he was in the kitchen instead of in his bed. Never once had he taken into consideration, though, that he was one dwarf in regular clothes within a sea of white unifo
rmed cooks. Tobias spied what it was that brought him down here, adjusted his plans on how to obtain it, and then made a bee line for the thick wooden doors and the complete freedom beyond. Heavenly smells of great food in wide variety entered his nose as he finished his journey from one end of the kitchen to the other. His taste buds were going wild, begging for a small taste of every new scent brought to his nostrils.

  “Prince Tobias,” he heard booming from behind him. It was the Head Chief’s voice.

  Tobias Marotte stopped dead in his tracks. There were more important things to be doing right now other then receiving another lecture on why he should not be in the kitchen, and he simply did not want to waste his time hearing it again. He could have simply kept walking, as was his right as the Prince, but he knew the kitchen Head was favored by his father. “Get it over with now and Papa may not find out about whatever it is, or hear it ten times longer from Papa later. Hmmmmmm, what to do, what to do,” Tobias thought. He already knew what his course of action would be before he thought too long about it. He turned around and faced the Head Chief. “Morning, Head Chief Haventime,” Tobias said with a large smile to the spoon waving dwarf.

  “I have not got the time this morning for your pranks or trickery. Whatever it is that has gotten you out of bed this early, I want the kitchen and I to stay out of it. Take a meat pie,” Haventime said as he pointed to the large double window at the door’s side, “on your way out, and stay out. Neither one of us would want to wake the High King up should trouble befall the kitchen this morning.” He finished his speech with another point to the meat pies that were cooling on the window, and then two points of the spoon towards the door directly behind Tobias. A loud clatter of pots to the Head’s other side distracted whatever else he may have been getting ready to say. For a dwarf of few words, his lectures seemed to last and last. Tobias took this distraction for what it was worth and used it to end the conversation.

  “Most kind of you, Head Chief,” Tobias replied and he quickly turned around and made his way out the door. Tobias reached up from the outside and slid a meat pie off the sill and into his hands. He looked at the pie and found that his mouth was already watering. If the pie tasted only half as good as it would have, had he been able to get out of the door unnoticed and steal it as he intended, it was still one the tastiest of all foods to him. A mixture of pork, snake and beef blended into a very thick and creamy sauce riddled with peas, carrots, potatoes and onions. All these good things were poured into a golden brown, soft, and flakey pie crust. He crossed the street and found a place within the cope of trees growing in the middle of a small land island, surrounded by a horseshoe shaped, turn-around roadway where he could sit down and enjoy breakfast. He wanted to not have to worry about missing any of the fireworks he was hoping to see this morning. He looked up three rows of balconies and smiled when he saw the windows in his sister’s room open to allow the warm summer air access to the inside.

  He was still sitting there when the ale delivery wagon came and was unloaded of barrels and casks of ales, wines and spiced rums collected from all over Magmere and the surrounding area. A rumor started spreading weeks ago that a barrel of Fire Mead from the barbarian city of Polkonheld, far to the West then far to the North, was obtained for the Princess herself. He had thought that rumor was made up, but real or not, everyone who knew the Princess was extra nice and helpful in hopes of being invited by her to try the mead at her celebration.

  Just as the wagon was finished being unloaded, the royal Cake Maker’s high sided wagon slowly made its way up the cobble-stoned street, through the gates, and into the palace grounds. As it made a brief stop at the guard shack on the right side of the gate coming in, the guardsmen checked their list of names and waved her in without so much as looking at the cart, let alone searching it for the royal family’s safety. Some members of society had that kind of special treatment, and she was definitely one of them. It may have been that she got her name on “that” list because she was the only one allowed to bake cakes for the family. Or more than likely, it was because the very first time she rolled up to deliver a cake for the King’s birthday, she refused to give the rights for her and her cart to be searched and almost drove away, taking the cake with her. One of the guards on duty went to speak with the king about it, and when he returned, his head was hanging down. Without a word he waved to the cake maker to pass. Never again was she ever asked to stop for more then name confirmation, and never again was the topic brought up by the guardsmen with each other about what happened in the castle and what the king had said to the dwarf to make him hang his head so.

  The cake maker took a sharp left after continuing from the guard shack, to put her on the “turn-around road”, as the circular road was known. It branched off the main road and did just what its name implied by offering delivery personal the opportunity to load and unload at the kitchen doors and continue without the hassle of having to turn the sometimes-big carriages and wagons around. As she went past young Tobias, he stood up and turned himself around to get a better look at the wagon and what was in the back of it. He may as well been trying to look through a stone wall, as the high-sided wagon offered not so much as a small glimpse of the object it transported. He turned his body with his head and followed the wagon the whole way along the road to the unloading area.

  Young Marotte settled back down on his behind as she eased the wagon to a stop, if one could ease something traveling as slow as she was going in the first place. She draped the lead over the seat and stood up. Turning around she grabbed a wooden lever protruding from the upper side of the wagon wall. After pulling it down, she made her way to the other side of the wagon and did the same to a lever located there. She then grabbed a crank handle located in the middle of the carriage on the wagon wall directly behind the seat and started turning it around and around. As she did so, the wall at the back of the wagon started to angle outwards pivoting at a spot where the wall met the floor. Two cords of some kind were attached to the crank handle via pulleys, the young prince reasoned out. It was amazing the new things people think up all the time. The end wall was lowered all the way down to the road forming a makeshift ramp. She made her way over to the side of the wagon and climbed down to the cobblestone. She then walked to the back of the wagon and stood in front of the ramp looking up the way only a mother could at her newborn baby. She called out to the Head of Kitchen. Haventime stuck his head out through the open window with the meat pies a mere moment after her voice broke free of her mouth. Seeing the cake-maker ready to be unloaded, he drew his head back in and bellowed to the unloading crew to get their heads out of the clouds and outside where they belonged. The wooden door opened and four thick muscled dwarves walked out and started making their way to the rear of the wagon.

  That is when everything went astray for Prince Tobias Marotte. A very loud female scream was heard coming from high up within the castle. Tobias’ attention was drawn back away from the cake lady and up to his sister’s windows. In the excitement of waiting for the cake to be revealed, he had almost forgotten his entire reason for being out there in the first place. He smiled a huge smile, wishing he could be up in the room with his sister. The four guardsmen inside the wooden guard shack ran across the street on their way to see what the commotion was about.

  The Princess had awoken with the dead snake rapped around her ankle. The blood-curdling scream emanated from her mouth as she kicked out wildly in a terrified frenzy. The snake sailed off her foot limply and flew out of the open window. It then dove, like a hawk hunting prey, straight down the three stories to land on the street below, not five paces from the cake maker and her wagon. It was only an instant before the horses caught a whiff of the snake’s scent, dead or not, and decided that anyplace in the world would be better then where they were at that time. They both bolted forward with all the adrenaline filled strength and speed they could muster. The cake slid to the back of the wagon
and was hurled down the ramp by the sudden forward thrust conveyed by the powerful horses. The female dwarf at the bottom did not stand a chance against a giant four-tier cake, however beautiful it was, as it rapidly gained more speed as it launched itself down the ramp.

  To say the cake-maker knew how to wear a cake would be an understatement as large as the cake itself was. She was submerged in it as it hit the street and continued with its gravity induced speed and direction. It took the cake lady and the street around her to finally bring the monster of a cake to a full stop, exploding pink frosting and vanilla sponge cake everywhere. Not one of the dwarves who were paid to unload for the kitchen, nor the four guardsmen, who were thankful enough to be off the street when the horses made their break, were not lucky enough to escape their fair share of the cake that exploded upon contact with the cake maker and the street. To make matters worse, if they possibly could get worse, the run-away horses made the sharp turn merging the turn-around road with the main street. However, the wagon, to Tobias’ dismay, simply did not possess the needed agility to maneuver such a turn at that speed. It was forced over sideways, and luckily, for the horses, the impact snapped the hitch before dragging them down as well. The wagon then slid straight into the guard shack, smashing them both into kindling. The horses were able to make the only clean get away of the morning. He remembered smiling ear-to-ear, while hiding in the trees, never imagining the trouble it would get him into.

  ++++++++++++++++++++++++++

  “Is something funny?” the Political Overseer asked. “This is hardly the time or place to be smiling so.”

  Bringing himself back to the present, Tobias regained control of his facial muscles and replied, “Nothing, Political Overseer, please continue.”

  “The second Court Offense is on a higher level of ethics. The book is not too clear on a specific punishment, but after due consideration, if convicted, you may be sent to the Cave Makers Union to live out your life digging and expanding caves for the betterment of all.”

  “Would that be before or after I’m sent away from Mount Magmere for good? I can’t very well be here working in the caves if I can’t be here at all, can I?” Tobias asked. He never really had the social grace to think before he spoke. He was always one to state the simple truth of the matter, be it good or be it bad, then to think about words that would cover them with sugar and make them easier to swallow. It was part of who he had grown up to be, and everyone who knew him knew that as well. “I said I was guilty, and in doing so, I ask for my right to an Elder Gathering to debate whether or not my actions have merit enough for punishment. I will say no more on the subject until the Town Elders gather to hear the whole truth, instead of a broken misrepresented version. Life is not always so black and white, and neither are the actions taken in it.”

  After having said that, he turned around, bowed to the High King and Queen, and marched his way down the isle to the door that would take him to the holding cells to wait for the Elder Gathering.

  Once requested, the dwarves living on and around Mount Magmere would have one full moon span to send their respected Elder to the top of the mountain, to Skyrise Keep, where he would be waiting for them.

 

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  STOLEN PROPERTY