by deSouza, Leo
“I saw the cut opening when we pushed the log to free Torag.” Said Thuor.
“Well herm…” Stammered Olaf. “A tough dwarf often bleeds!”
“Forget about his arm. Now it’s my head that aches too much.” Said Torag as he knocked his forehead.
“My back hurts, and my legs are begging for rest.” Said Rurur.
“Your legs are begging for rest since we left the stronghold, Rurur.” Torag spoke.
“Stop complaining ye all, we will soon reach a friendly dwelling.” Said Thuor.
“I would like to take a vacation. I would pass some time with my brothers in their house on the eastern mountainside, on the opposite side from our stronghold.” Said Rurur.
“Do ye have brothers living on the eastern mountainside? Where do they live exactly?” Asked Torag.
Rurur rubbed his belly and spoke: “They have a small house at the foot of the mountain, not deep into the earth, but carved close to the surface, a good home for sure. I’ve been there some times, close to the Fat Beaver Lake.”
“How do they live, what do they do to subsist?” Insisted Torag.
“Oh what… They plant potatoes, and they have some sheep too. It is a good place, there are not many people there, but some wanderers travel in those parts, and they do good trading. So my brothers can sell and buy stuff.” Replied Rurur.
“Potatoes, I don’t remember the last time we ate potatoes.” Said Olaf looking into the void as if imagining the meal.
“We could find some at the next stop, in case we find an inn. Maybe they have them cooked in sauce.” Said Torag.
“I would approve of that…” Whispered Rurur looking at him.
Torag smiled. “Oh yes… Ye bet.”
Thuor broke into the talk: “Stop talking about food ye just ate our morning meal. There are no inns at the next stop, one can be welcome, but only as guest, not as client.”
“He is right.” Continued Torag with a smart smile. “Let’s talk about what is next. Tell us captain, where are we going?”
“To the High Grove, home of the Carpenter Elves.” Said the captain.
“More elves? I thought the last one we crossed was enough.” Said Rurur.
Olaf grumbled. “I still don’t get that story ye told us about what happened at the waterfall, Torag. For me is clear that he sabotaged us, the damn elf!”
“Oh no, not again. I have already told ye many times! I would like to have some motivation for revenge on that whitey, thin deer but I must say that he had nothing to do with what happened. The damn lever just broke everything and I fell!” Exclaimed Torag.
“If ye say so…” Whispered Olaf.
“What about ye, Rurur? How did ye convince the boulder creatures to help?” Asked Torag.
“I did not! I just told him to look down over the cliff edge and when he bent I pushed him with my foot.” Rurur said.
“Ye could have killed us all.” Spoke Olaf.
“What are ye saying, Olaf? Ye did well, Rurur!” Exclaimed Torag.
It was a grey and cold day, the temperature was falling fast, the dwarfs wrapped up in their robes and advanced against the wind, it began to blow so hard that they felt it somewhat difficult to walk ahead.
“We are not going that far if winter catches us, Captain!” Shouted Olaf, his voice against the wind howl.
“Soon we will not walk on the fields anymore! As soon as we enter the house of our cousins ye will not know cold or soft ground under your feet!” Said Thuor.
“Se we are really going to take the Underground Path.” Asked Torag.
“Yes! That is the plan.” Replied Thuor.
Torag turned to look at Rurur and Olaf. “Ye are about to know the biggest building work of this entire world! Ye have no idea of what waits for ye!”
“Have ye ever been there?” Asked Rurur.
Torag nodded as he squinted to avoid the wind. “Yes! Quite an impressive place!”
The road made a curve and they went to the west, now taking the wind from their left side, the sky ahead was clear and sunny and there were no clouds where they were heading.
“We are close! Look ahead, there are trees, probably the biggest ones ye will see in your entire life!” Shouted Thuor.
Everyone looked out, the sound of their robes fluttering against the wind could be heard. Far ahead they saw what seemed to be a depression in the ground and on it many green pine tops.
“What is that?” Asked Olaf in loud voice. “Still green trees? I thought they would all have lost their leaves at this point.”
Thuor nodded. “Not these ones. They are the sacred trees of the elves, ye will understand when you see it!”
“Elfs living on trees? As always…” Olaf said.
“Yes but not the way ye are probably thinking, Olaf. These ones live in trees, it is true, but not the same way their kin on the west do, ye will see.” Thuor added.
“Are those elfs friendly to dwarfs like us?” Asked Rurur.
“They are not western elves, and we are not western dwarfs. Let us not taint them with the woes of our distant cousins.” Replied Thuor.
Rain could be seen coming from the south as the clouds advanced from there, the fields behind them became wet, but right ahead the sun rays came and lightened the tree tops that they could see, like a sea of golden pinnacles. They advanced for a while and the wind became weaker, their robes settled and the grass stopped stirring. The terrain began to descend and the trees became more visible, a large slope was ahead and the more they advanced the more they saw of the trees until they finally came to see their trunks, the biggest ones everyone there had ever seen. Large enough for one hundred dwarfs to embrace each, now they went down far enough to see the trees in their total size. All of a sudden the dwarfs heard the sound of galloping horses, as they looked back they saw two riders wearing green robes approaching, Thuor recognized them as elfs. They were tall and white, and each one wore a spear, their long black hair was blowing in the wind.
“Who are you, where do you come from and where are you going?” Asked one of the elves as he stopped his horse nearby.
“Three questions and not even a greeting.” Torag muttered.
“Greetings. We are RockFoot dwarfs from the Northern Stronghold. And we are passing though these lands towards the south, to the Red Star City.” Said Thuor.
The rider’s horse stirred, the elf looked to the dwarfs one by one, then to the ram and finally to Torag’s hawk. “You wear weapons, what is your intention?” Continued he.
“Oh this?” Said Thuor raising his warhammer. “This is just for our safety, ye know, these roads are getting dangerous, strangers are wandering among us.”
“I see four strangers right now. Anyway…” Said the elf with an imposing tone. “If you want to cross the grove then go on. Dwarfs are not prohibited, nor allowed… But be careful about what you do, there are not many ways to escape for thieves and vagabonds in these lands…”
“We are not thieves nor vagabonds, and I’m sure master Lainor would like to give me a better reception than this..” Said Thuor.
The elf suddenly got surprised, he raised one eyebrow to reply. “You know master Lainor? Then welcome, present yourself at his house, if you are really a friend of his, he will for sure welcome you.”
The riders went away, galloping over the field, the dwarfs walked again.
“Did he call us thieves?” Torag asked.
“Vagabonds.” Olaf replied.
“Who were they?” Asked Rurur.
“The dwellers of these lands. The Eastern Elves… There is a total of six of their tribes in the east, the ones we are about to meet are the Carpenter Elves.”
“Why such a name? Do these folks have skills at carving wood and making works of furniture?” Asked Olaf.
“Not the way ye think, but ye will see soon.” Replied Thuor.
Far ahead was an immense lowland and right at their front the gigantic trees. They came down the slope and approached the trees’ base
, as they came they could see folks walking around, elf folks.
“These ones ask too many questions, I hope none will come to us to ask anything more.” Said Torag.
Thuor answered as he stretched his arms. “They need to, there are no walls here. Their defense is their perception, and they can tell if someone is lying, that is why they ask questions.”
“Questions to defend oneself, ha… That is something odd for sure.” Torag insisted.
“Don’t fool yourself, the questions are to know ye, if they found out you bring any threat arrows can fly very fast from these trees.” Thuor added.
In the trunks of the gigantic tress there was many hollows, some at their bases with staircases inside, some others at different heights, revealing rooms and balconies. Near the upper end of the trunks where the branches began wooden platforms could be seen, and from there bridges made of rope and wooden boards, but these were so high that they could barely be seen. Elven folks were around, tall and valiant people, dressed in light robes, clean and gracious clothes, and all of them had long black hair, they did not seem to pay any attention to the dwarfs as they passed.
Now someone approached, a figure that Torag remembered from before. “Hey ye…” The dwarf whispered looking at the approaching one. “I know ye from the Boulder village! Are ye following us?”
It was really the same man who had approached the company when they were about to enter the tavern in the boulder village, he smiled revealing his dirty teeth. “Good to see you again, my friends. What a coincidence to meet you this way.”
“Coincidence is a word that starts with coin… No coin this time, old one.” Torag replied.
“I did not ask for anything.” The man replied.
“What are ye doing here?” Thuor broke in.
“I’m a traveler, like you seem to be. And these lands are friendly, so a good place for one like me to rest. I came to visit a friend.” The man replied still with a smile.
“Then find a good place to rest, far from us, and don’t bother me anymore.” Torag said with a harsh tone.
“Fine!” The man replied. “Don’t be so rude with travelers you meet on the road! You never know when one of them will be helpful for you. By the way, how is the road? Many setbacks on it, dangers? I would say these roads are not the same as before, like in the old days, things changed, one can not travel alone and feel safe. There are snakes around, always lurking…”
“We know how to take care of ourselves, old one.” Thuor said throwing a coin to the man.
“Thank you, noble dwarf.” The old one spoke as he turned to leave.
“Being helpful for me… A beggar… Hunf!” Torag snorted.
Thuor watched the old one leave, calmly passing through the trees and looking around as if admiring the place.
“What?” Olaf asked.
“This old one, always showing up… And this time he said something about danger, and snakes lurking…” Thuor said still looking out.
“So what? Any idiot could say something like that.” Torag spoke.
“Snakes attacked us, don’t ye remember?” Thuor asked.
Torag got serious, he looked out to the old man leaving already far away. “The Black Viper assassins…” He whispered.
“Do ye think this old one has something to do with that, captain? Maybe he has been watching us… Maybe he is the one giving information for the assassins!” Olaf said.
“No.” Thuor replied. “Not this, for sure. These assassins would not need an old man to do such a thing, they can do it well by themselves. But maybe it is just a guess, maybe I’m trying to find problems where there are none, and the poor old one is just really a simple vagabond… Let’s go!”
They went walking through the trees again.
“I don’t remember exactly which one…” Whispered Thuor looking around as he walked.
“What are we looking for?” Olaf asked.
“Mainar…” Thuor replied. “The tallest tree, the elfs consider it as a sacred spirit, the highest among all the trees, and only the most traditional families live there.”
“So these elfs live on the trees.” Said Rurur.
“Inside them, carpenter elves. Oh, look!” Exclaimed the captain. “How could one mistake? There is… Mainar!”
The others looked out, all the trees there were already giants, but the one they were staring at now was even bigger, a huge aged dark trunk. Its bark was thick and cracked in many places and its roots spread above the ground around it in huge branches forming tall living walls.
“Oh my… That’s for sure a big tree.” Whispered Rurur looking up.
They approached a hollow near the ground level, a staircase could be seen inside it. Olaf was the one who noticed a very detailed decoration, carved in wood with designs of leaves and animals from the woods, shaped in an arch over the entrance. An elf was there working on the carving and repairing it.
“Is this Mainar?” Asked Thuor, approaching
The elf stopped his work and looked up to the tree. “Yes, dwarf. Are you guests?”
“We came here to talk to Lainor.” Said Thuor.
“He is up there, you can take the stairs… Or the elevator. It takes much time to go step by step till there.” The elf spoke.
“Thank ye. I think we are going to take the staircase.” Said the captain.
“Not me… I would like to try the elevator. What about ye, Rurur? Ye come with me?” Asked Torag.
Rurur looked at the immense tree and for a moment imagined about an elevator going up while shaking through the wind. “I believe I still can use these old legs a bit more. I’m going up the stairs.” He said.
“Whatever. So! Master elf, Where is this elevator?” Asked Torag.
“Come with me.” Said the elf putting his tools on the ground and walking around a root branch, Torag looked at the other dwarfs and winked with a jesting smile, then followed the elf, taking his hawk with him.
“What about Jewelry, captain?” Asked Rurur.
“Tie him somewhere. Take from him the gems and everything of value just in case. We don’t need to worry about the rest, these elves are smart and malicious, but they don’t steal, never. But let’s take our personal stuff, for no one will come down again today to take it later, if the dwellers accept our plea for lodging.” Said Thuor.
Rurur did as he said, everyone took packs from the saddle, in no time the dwarfs entered the hollow and were stepping up through the tree. It was a spiral staircase, large enough for three of them walk side by side. Meanwhile Torag was standing beside the elf who was preparing the elevator. It was a peculiar gadget, a cage of thin branches with a wooden board floor suspended by a rope, a huge rope that went up so high that Torag could not even see its end.
“You see…” Said the elf as he prepared the elevator. “Its operation is quite simple. Up there the rope passes through a sheave and has some logs tied to its end. Well right now there are no logs, but soon there will be.” He climbed the cage and reached the rope, but suddenly stopped and looked at Torag as he squinted, then back to the rope and flicked it one time, the rope trembled like a guitar string, the elf came down. “Move in.” Said he motioning to Torag.
“What is this about?” Asked Torag.
“Move, in! There is not much time!” Exclaimed the Elf.
Torag grumbled and stepped inside the cage, the elf came after him and closed the door, then spoke: “It is quite simple. Up there someone got my signal on the rope, I flicked the rope one time, which means one log, I guess one log is enough. The other one up there is now tying the log to the rope tip.”
Torag held onto the cage’s wooden bars with his two hands. “Fine! How heavy is this log?”
“Oh I guess enough to lift us. We generally use half a log for a single person… Oh look!” Said the elf pointing to the rope. “It’s trembling, it means the log is about to come down and thus we are about to go up!” He reached the rope and flicked on it again. “That is the signal, your friends are
just beginning the long way upstairs, but we will reach the top in just a moment!”
“I hope the rope is…” Torag was saying when the elevator went up violently.
The dwarf gritted his teeth and crouched, the speed was so great that he felt his blood going down to his legs. The wind blew and made him feel as if he was being thrown through the air, Balfour held firmly sticking his claws in his shoulder. Torag could not tell exactly how much time it took for them to reach the top, but to him it felt like an eternity. For his luck, the engine was very well crafted so when the log hit the ground the elevator stopped just a palm under the sheave, but still shaking. The elf opened the door and Torag went out with some difficulty, dizzy and muttering something inaudible, he sat on the tree branch and stopped there.
“You can wait here if you want. Your friends have a long way till here.” Said the elf as he passed walking.
Meanwhile Thuor and the others were still going up through the spiral staircase, carved inside the trunk, close to its bark. It extended from the bottom of the trunk to its top, a very well made stair, adorned by many designs on the wood and well lightened. Sometimes an elf passed by them going down as they stepped up, but these were very lofty folks who were not used to looking at strangers in their faces. Inside the trunk the dwarfs could see many hollows, rooms and corridors, the inner surface was so smooth that it did not even seemed carved by any hand or known tool. There were also some oval holes in the bark along the staircase, they were small windows that gave them a view through to the grove outside with all its giant trees, none of them as big as the one they were in right now. Another feature that the dwarfs found strange was the echoes of their voices inside the trunk, even the smallest murmur caused a reverberation, but strangely their steps on the floor did not cause any noise. After passing many floors and many folks they finally reached the top, and it took a long time. When they emerged from a door at the top they stepped on a wooden platform that circled the trunk, and there was Torag, sitting on the floor, leaning against the trunk, smoking his pipe. “Oh finally! I thought it would take ye the entire day to reach here!” He said.
“How was the elevator?” Asked Thuor.
