by Dan Willis
“Reorx has blessed us,” Kellik said happily. He dropped to one knee and bowed his head, offering a prayer of thanks. On either side of the big smith, his boys did the same.
“Aye,” everyone intoned when the prayer was finished.
Bradok felt like the odd man out. He’d never been the kind of dwarf who prayed and he wasn’t much for attending temple, yet there he was, leading a ragtag group of believers in Reorx’s name.
He felt like more of hypocrite than anything else as he knelt and pretended to pray along with the rest.
Standing up, he reminded himself that he had actually met Reorx and knew he was as real as Much or Chisul or Rose. He’d seen Reorx with his own eyes, or at the very least, a messenger of the god’s. He must be blessed, somehow, even if he wasn’t a believer.
“Moonwells are reputed to possess the power of the gods,” Much whispered into Bradok’s ear. “Maybe it can restore our glowstones.”
“Thanks,” he whispered back then proclaimed Much’s idea as if it were his own.
The dead glowstones were brought out and passed to Bradok, who took them over to the glowing pool. He had no idea what he was doing really, but he determined to make a show of it. Slowly, he dipped the stones into the water, setting them gently on the bottom.
The water itself felt like any other water to the touch, but it seemed to cling thickly to his fingers as he withdrew them, soaking into his skin rather than running off.
“What about the compass?” Chisul said. “Why not try that?”
Why not, indeed? Bradok took out the compass and stared at it. What if it got a little wet? It had no inner works to spoil. He flipped it open, expecting to be greeted by the Seer in a swimming dress, but instead she did not appear. That was odd but sometimes happened. Perhaps she dreaded the coming immersion, or maybe her power had faded too much. His course of action was decided. With only the barest of hesitation, he snapped the compass’s lid closed and lowered it reverently into the pool.
“How long till we know if it works?” Tal asked.
Bradok shrugged dumbly.
“Let’s leave it in for the night,” he said, looking around at the glowing crystals filling the cave. “This looks like a nice, warm, bright place for everyone to get some rest.”
CHAPTER 17
Starlight Hall
For the first time in many weeks, Bradok woke up peaceably. No one had roused him. No sound had penetrated his weary mind to raise any alarms. No sense of impending danger compelled him to consciousness. He just felt a weightless, euphoric feeling as he floated up from the depths of dreaming to full consciousness.
It felt wondrous.
Bradok opened his eyes and looked at the cave ceiling above. The glowing crystals had dimmed considerably since the night before, but there was still plenty of light shining. A few people were up and about, but most still slept. He gave a thought to just rolling over and going back to sleep, but he knew if he rested too much, it would just make him more tired later.
With a sigh, he rose, brushing the dust from his pants and shaking the dirt from his cloak. He changed his shirt and went to the moonwell to splash some water on his face. As he approached the shallow pool, it seemed to have grown brighter rather than dimmer, as the crystals had. The water shimmered only faintly, retaining very little of the luminescent silver light that it displayed the previous night. However, two bright points of light burned coldly from the bottom of the little pool.
Bradok’s face broke into a wide smile as he rolled up his sleeve. He thrust his hand in the freezing water and withdrew the two glowstones, revived and returned to a brightly glowing state.
“It worked,” Corin said, materializing beside him.
Bradok tossed the Daergar one of the stones with a grin then retrieved the compass. Flipping open its lid, the Seer appeared immediately, hovering in the air. She extended her spear, but instead of pointing at the only exit from the crystal chamber, she gestured toward a spot to one side, against one of the walls.
“Maybe she’s confused,” Corin said, scratching his beard.
The image of the Seer screwed up her face in a look of disdain.
“All right, all right,” Corin said. “Don’t get testy. I’ll go check it out.” He winked at Bradok then rose and bowed to the Seer before moving off toward the wall she had indicated.
“What was that all about?” Rose’s voice greeted Bradok as he put the compass away.
“Corin and the compass were having a difference of opinion,” he said wryly.
Rose knelt down beside the pool and splashed a handful of water on her face, doing her best to wipe away the dirt of the road with a little towel.
“Oh, I see the pool recharged the glowstones,” she said with a note of her old cheerfulness.
Bradok nodded, polishing the compass with the hem of his cloak before putting it away.
“Do you think this water’s safe to drink?” Rose asked, eyeing the still-glowing liquid.
“I usually don’t make a point of drinking things that glow,” he said.
Rose smiled and nodded. “Good point,” she said.
As Bradok dried the glowstones, a long silence began to stretch between them. Rose seemed to be absently combing her hair, and Bradok wanted to broach a delicate subject.
“How are you feeling? How’s your arm?” he asked finally.
She involuntarily put her left hand over the bandage. “It’s healing,” she said. “It’s fine,” she added but in a brisk, uncertain manner that seemed to cut off further inquiry.
“Let’s see,” Bradok said, pulling a strip of cloth from his bag. “I’m sure it could do with a fresh bandage.”
“I tell you, it’s better,” Rose said, putting her hand over the bandage again.
Her face was defiant with anger. Bradok had expected trepidation, maybe even fear, but anger seemed out of place.
“Come on,” he said, reaching for her arm. “We need to see how you’re doing.”
“Don’t touch me,” she growled, pulling her arm back out of reach.
“I was just—” Bradok started to say, but Rose cut him off.
“You’re not my husband, you’re not my mother, and you’re not my doctor.”
“No, your brother is your doctor,” Tal cut in. “Isn’t that confusing enough?” he added good-humoredly, trying to allay the tension.
Bradok turned to find Rose’s brother standing with his arms folded across his barrel chest. “Bradok is right,” he said with more sternness than Bradok had ever heard from him. “Let’s see that arm.”
Rose glared back at him. Bradok felt out of place. It was nothing short of a contest of wills between sister and brother, more than patient and doctor. Eventually, Rose looked away apologetically and held her arm out for Tal to examine.
“Let’s see what we have here,” Tal said, his genial manner returning instantly.
Tal unwrapped the bandage and peeled away the bloody cheesecloth. They all stared. Bradok had seen wounds where part of the underlying muscle had been damaged. Usually such wounds closed up but left a hole where the missing tissue had been removed. When Tal pulled the bandage off Rose’s arm, they saw that the depression made by the surgery had partially filled in.
“Hmmm. This is unusual. I can’t see that it’s good,” Tal said in a low voice, nodding for Bradok to take a closer look.
The entire area that Tal had cut away pulsated with a strange, yellow light, and Bradok could see tracks running out from the area that shot out into Rose’s arm, like weird veins.
“Yes,” Bradok said. “Definitely not good.”
“Cutting it seems to make it angry,” Rose said, sounding composed.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?” Tal demanded.
“What would you have done?” Rose asked angrily. “Amputate?” She looked from Bradok to Tal. “What if it’s already gone deeper? You just going to keep cutting till there’s nothing left of me?”
Tal sighed. “We can
try again,” he said, clearly discouraged.
Rose shook her head. “No,” she said. “If I’m going to die, I prefer to do it whole.”
“I can respect that,” Tal said. “From now on, I want you to keep me apprised of any changes. Agreed?”
Rose nodded somberly and allowed Tal to wrap up her arm again.
“Now I want you two to promise me something,” she said when Tal finished. “I don’t want to become one of those … things. I want you to swear,” she said, “swear by Reorx’s Forge that you’ll let Thurl … do what he does best. Swear you’ll kill me first.”
Tal and Bradok exchanged dark looks, neither wanting to look the other dwarf in the eyes. Sensing their hesitation, Rose grabbed them each by their shirtfronts and yanked them closer.
“Swear it,” she whispered.
“I swear,” Bradok said solemnly. He meant it, too. He’d let Thurl kill her before he saw her become a shambling horror, but before it came to that, he would do anything possible, move mountains, to change her fate.
“Me too,” Tal said sadly.
Rose released them and tightened the bandage back around her arm. Then she stood up and walked away.
“Wow,” Bradok said, sorely chastened. “She’s really something.”
Tal chuckled.
Bradok shot him a questioning look.
“She’s not the easiest person to get close to,” her brother said. “Your timing is bad too. Are you sure you want to try?”
Bradok laughed. It seemed like such a strange question in light of all that was happening. He looked Tal in the eye and nodded.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Tal said. “Rose is a real beauty who’s been chased by many a dwarf. It’s just that she’s a hard person to love. And I have no idea what this disease is going to do to her.”
Bradok lowered his eyes at the reminder.
“Rose never got the message that she’s a girl,” Tal continued with more spirit. “She wants to be the best at everything, do everything for herself. Most men want to feel like their woman needs them, and Rose doesn’t want to need anyone. In the end, she drives everyone away.”
Bradok nodded.
“Hey, there’s a passage back there if anyone cares,” Corin’s voice rang out, interrupting his thoughts.
He’d forgotten that the compass had pointed to one of the walls and that Corin had gone to investigate.
“The crystals have grown over it, but there’s definitely something back there,” Corin said. “I’m going to get Kellik, and together we’ll smash it open.”
“Good job,” Bradok said.
“What’s he doing?” Corin asked, pointing at Tal.
Tal was filling several canteens with the water from the moonwell.
“I figured I’d maybe soak Rose’s bandages in this,” he said, holding up the canteen. “If this glow-water really is blessed, it might help. I don’t see how it could hurt.”
Bradok rose and trailed after Corin. The Daergar had found Kellik, and the pair were making their way to the side of the chamber. As Bradok approached, the smith swung his hammer and shattered one of the smaller crystals that bulged out of the wall. A few minutes of heavy work, and Bradok could see that there was indeed a small opening behind the transparent wall.
Over the next half hour, the three of them took turns swinging the massive hammer and clearing a wide enough passage to admit the survivors. Bradok broke the last crystal away, sending it clattering across the stone floor in glittering fragments.
Panting and wiping the sweat from his face, he handed the hammer back to Kellik.
“That’s really something,” Kellik said, staring down the dark hole. “Everywhere we go there are secret passages. I wonder how long this one’s been hidden here, how many dwarves have gone right by it?”
“No telling,” Corin said with a weary shrug. Then he turned to Bradok. “It’ll take a few minutes to get everyone ready to move on. Why don’t we send someone ahead to scout the territory?”
Bradok took a long pull from his waterskin before he nodded. “I’ll go,” Thurl said, close behind them, startling Bradok.
Bradok hadn’t been aware of the dwarf’s presence. Coughing and spluttering, he spat water all over Corin and Kellik.
“Don’t ever do that again,” Bradok gasped. “Sneak up on me like that.”
“I shall wear a cowbell from now on,” Thurl said, a devious smile on his face.
Bradok pulled one of the resuscitated glowstones from his pocket and handed it to Thurl.
The thin assassin smiled more normally. “I prefer the dark,” the Daergar explained. With an unexpected swiftness, he stepped into the tunnel and darted into the blackness.
“He gives me the creeps,” Kellik said, passing Bradok back his waterskin.
“He wouldn’t be much of an assassin if he didn’t,” Corin said with a chuckle. Bradok laughed too.
As he took a drink from his waterskin, however, Bradok heard the sound of running feet. He swallowed quickly as Rose appeared.
“You’d better get over here,” she said then turned and hustled back to the center of the chamber.
Everyone seemed to be gathered around Tal, who was kneeling over someone Bradok could not see.
“It’s Lyra,” Urlish Hearthhome said as Bradok and the others arrived. “Xurces thinks it’s time. She’s going to have her baby.”
“Baby?” Bradok asked dumbly.
“Xurces?” Much echoed from Bradok’s left. “What’s that strange man doing anywhere near that sweet girl?” “Xurces is all right,” Corin said.
“Easy for you to say,” Much growled, clearly dissatisfied.
“One side,” Bradok said, pushing his way through the crowd.
He came up to where Tal was kneeling and immediately wished he were anywhere else. Lyra lay on the ground, breathing in great gasps. Xurces knelt by her, holding her hand and whispering comforting words in her ear. Tal had Lyra stripped below the waist with her legs splayed apart. Worse, he seemed to be doing something that Bradok was sure would get him slapped if he ever had tried it with a girl.
“She’s not ready,” Xurces said after a minute, withdrawing his hand. He pulled his cloak off and threw it over Lyra’s legs for modesty’s sake.
“What’s the timetable?” Bradok asked, trying to sound knowledgeable and sophisticated.
Tal rose, wiping his hands with a towel, and led Bradok a few paces off.
“She’s exhausted herself,” he said. “Her body is trying to expel the baby so it can use all of its resources to keep her alive.”
“She’s had a full night’s rest,” Bradok said, not understanding.
“That’s not going to be enough, I’m afraid,” Tal said worriedly. “She’s seriously overextended herself in the last week. She needs several days of rest at least, to have a chance.”
“We can’t wait here that long,” Bradok said, not even bothering to consult the compass. “Our food supply is running low.”
“We could carry her,” Much suggested.
“She’s not one of the children,” Bradok said. “How can we carry her?”
“That’s easy enough,” Much explained. “We take the lantern poles and a cloak and make a stretcher.”
“How do we attach the poles to the cloak?” Tal asked.
“Come on,” Much said irritably. “Just wrap it around the poles then fold it over on itself twice. Her body weight will keep it from slipping. The least we can do is try.”
Bradok stared openmouthed at Much. His old friend had many hidden gifts and talents.
“I picked up the idea from some humans during my travels,” he continued. “Once you make the stretcher and get Lyra in it, we just need four dwarves to carry it. Have them roll up their cloaks for padding and carry the poles on their shoulders.”
Bradok and Tal exchanged looks that said plainly that they had no better ideas.
“Get to it, then,” Bradok said, patting Much on the arm.
Much flash
ed a wide smile and hurried off to get the lantern poles. Bradok started to turn away when Tal caught his arm.
“Speaking of humans,” he said. “I’m worried about Perin.”
Bradok looked around and spotted the big human sitting with his back against the wall, apparently taking deep breaths as though meditating.
“What about him?” Bradok asked. Perin was one of the few survivors that Bradok never heard any complaints from. He was always around when they needed him, always polite and helpful.
“I don’t think the air down here is good for him,” Tal said.
Bradok gulped a few breaths but didn’t notice anything unusual about the air. Like most dwarves, Bradok could smell mine gas or detect foul air from almost a mile away.
“Maybe the air is a bit stale, but—” he began.
“That’s just it,” Tal interrupted. “Dwarves are denizens of the underground. Our lungs can handle all kinds of thin or tainted air, even gas for a while. Humans aren’t that robust.”
Bradok gave Perin another probing look.
“All right, keep an eye on him,” he said, not really sure what they could do about Perin’s problem if Tal’s theory were correct.
“I have been keeping an eye on him,” Tal said, leaning over to pack up his doctor kit. “Something else I thought I should mention. Did you know he’s keeping a journal about our journey?”
“No,” Bradok said, only half listening.
“Well, it’s some kind of journal,” Tal said. “A very strange one, if you ask me. I tried reading it over his shoulder once, but he’s writing in some language I’ve never seen.”
“I didn’t realize you knew that much about languages,” Bradok replied, distracted.
“Well, I really don’t …”
Bradok’s attention wandered to where Much seemed to be having an animated discussion with Xurces. “Excuse me a minute.”
He stepped away from Tal and quickly headed over to Much and Xurces.
“Lyra is a sweet girl,” Much was saying, not entirely pleasantly. “She doesn’t need the likes of you around.”
“You misunderstand my motives,” Xurces said in his soft voice.
