Eberon's Sword

by Rick Brown

  Orlik thought for a moment. “Aye, they be gated off, but with Lee’s magic, that won’t be a problem. Ha! The Lad’s got a head on them shoulders, that be for sure. We’ll have to trek around this army, but I can’t imagine them wasting soldiers up there.”

  “Then after you, Prince Orlik,” I said with a smile.

  “Ah, now don’t go bandying that name around if ya want to keep on breathing. I ain’t no prince to those dwarves anymore.”

  It took another day to get around the Dommerian forces. We rode into the mountains as far as we could before we started leading the horses on foot. Orlik and Lenux worked together to find us some goat trails the horses could follow. Finally, Orlik brought us to a mountain lea where we could leave the horses. We convinced Abigail that Dreamer would be okay until we returned, or the dwarves collected them for us. Packing our winter gear, we continued our climb into the mountains. Even in summer, there was a chill to the mountain air. That night, we found an area flat enough where we could sleep. I created a shield and heated the air to keep us warm.

  The next morning, we continued our climb. Traveling this circuitous route meant yet more delay, but it was better than being captured. Everyone complained of burning legs as we constantly pushed upward, finally calling it a day in the late afternoon.

  “How do you dwarves do it?” Brianna asked Orlik.

  “It’s them long legs of yours, they be too far from the ground to be useful. Us dwarves can do this all day,” he answered with a smile.

  “Farloc seems ok,” Ryan noticed.

  “You forget I came from the mountains too. We elves can chase down deer on the slopes of our mountains. You humans live on the plains. It allows you to be heavier set than us elves.”

  Abigail turned to Brianna. “Did he just call us fat?”

  Brianna nodded, one eyebrow arched as she stared are Farloc. “Yes, I believe he did.”

  Farloc looked worriedly at the two women. “Present company excluded, of course,” he said with a worried laugh. “I just meant for humans in general.”

  “Oh dear,” Barad laughed. “Lee, you better build a separate shield for Farloc tonight. He’s riled up a hornet’s nest now.”

  Both women directed their stare to Barad. “Should I make it wide enough for two?” I asked him.

  Barad swallowed nervously. “Yes, please.”

  “I haven’t had to kill anyone since the night we saved the trackers. Shame to break such a good streak for you two,” Brianna said as she still stared down Barad.

  “Yes, dear,” Barad said, sounding very relieved.

  Lenux suddenly woke from his sleep, staring intently down the mountain. “Werewolves!” he called to us all.

  I sat up for a moment, trying to clear my head from sleep. Not now! We’re so close. I thought to myself. “How long?” I asked Lenux.

  “I’m not sure, but they are only a couple of miles down slope, and closing fast,” he answered.

  “A couple of miles?” Brianna asked him. “That far off? You are getting better at this.”

  “Yes, let’s hope I live to enjoy it,” he agreed.

  “Orlik, let’s move now!” I ordered.

  The dwarf nodded. “This way.” Using our crystals for light, we started running up the path. Orlik leading our way.

  “Why are there no howls?” Ryan asked.

  “Their leader must have learned a lesson from the last attack,” I guessed as we raced up the hill. All thoughts of leg pain forgotten. “Orlik, any idea how much further?”

  “I dunno, wasn’t a lot of excitement around the ducts to make me want to spend my time there,” he snapped as he ran.

  “Lenux, how are we doing?” I called back to him.

  “They are closing, but not as fast. They still are trying to follow by scent.”

  “Scent?” I asked. Getting an idea, I reach out with my magic, pushing it through the air whipping up a breeze. I continued to push with my magic, increasingly pushing until a gale was whipping across the mountain.

  “What are you doing?” Abigail yelled as she braced herself against the blow.

  “Let’s see them try to follow our scent in this wind,” I said with a smile. “Orlik, don’t stop now, keep moving!”

  “I think we are close now,” he yelled back to us.

  “Lenux, how are we doing?” I asked.

  “You’ve slowed them down, but they are still coming. It will be a race to the vent,” he responded.

  “Here! It be here!” Orlik yelled down. I pushed my way to the front to see the vent before us. It was twelve feet in diameter, covered with a grid of iron bars.

  “This won’t be easy,” I said to the dwarf.

  “Of course it ain’t easy, that’s why it’s there,” he pointed out.

  Reaching out with my magic, I started to picture the metal softening, mentally pushing the bars to separate enough that we could squeeze through.

  “They’re here,” Lenux warned softly.

  “I really need to get an enchanted sword,” Barad stated as he hefted his useless axes.

  “Stay behind me, pup. Maybe you’ll learn how to use an axe,” Orlik stated as he pulled out Slayer.

  “Lee, can you increase the light?” Ryan asked.

  As I continued to push at the metal, I added more energy to the crystals. The stones illuminated the area until the glowing eyes of the werewolves could be seen reflecting from the shadows.

  “I have a confession, Lenux,” Bri stated. “I was hoping you were wrong.”

  “I confess, I was hoping that too,” he said with a weak smile.

  The werewolves formed a semi-circle around us, trapping us between the vent on the mountainside and themselves.

  “Lee, how are you doing there?” Barad asked.

  “I’m working on it!” I called back. Risking a glance at the monsters just outside of our ring of light, their massive bodies shadows in the dark. “Abi! It’s almost wide enough for you to fit.”

  “Not me!” She called back. “I’m one of the few that can defend against these things. Bri, you go.”

  “I’m not going to be the first in!” Brianna declared.

  “She’s right Bri,” I yelled back. “You can’t fight them. Get in the hole.”

  With a frustrated growl, Brianna walked around me. Squeezing through first with her legs, she was finally able to maneuver her way through. With a grunt, she slipped on the slick algae growing in the tunnel, sliding away out of sight.

  One of the werewolves charged at us, Abigail quickly struck with her lightning, knocking the beast away. “Ryan, In!” I yelled.

  Ryan dropped his legs through, shimming his way through the hole. I could feel the heat of flames as Father Yagen defended on his side of the circle.

  “They’re getting more aggressive Lee, hurry!” Barad called out.

  “Farloc, you’re next,” I said as I grabbed the elf.

  He quickly slipped through the widening hole.

  “Father Pild, your turn,” I ordered, yelling over the thunder of Abigail’s lightning as she held off the werewolves. The slender priest quickly dropped into the hole.

  I was sweating through my shirt as I streamed my magic into the metal, pushing it wider still. “Lenux, go!” The sneak rushed forward, diving through the gap in the vent.

  “Oh, he’s good!” Barad said as he watched.

  “And you’re next,” I ordered.

  “Not me, I’m not leaving you,” he denied.

  “You’re a liability up here, get in the damn hole,” I yelled.

  Cussing under his breath, Barad climbed into the hole, getting stuck at his waste. “This isn’t my fault!” he defended, “Your hole isn’t big enough!”

  “We’ll talk about your weight later,” I said as I pushed the metal wider, finally allowing him to drop through.

  It was becoming more and more challenging to widen the hole. The larger it became, the more metal had to be moved. “I think it’s wide enough!” I quickly transferred m
y magic to create a shield around us. Turning, I looked at the beast trying to claw their way in. I could feel the impact of each as it slammed into my shield.

  “I can’t hold this for long, everyone into the hole!” I yelled.

  Abi quickly ran past me and climbed into the hole. Father Yagen followed, struggling to get his massive bulk through the grate. Finally popping through with a grunt.

  “Orlik, get in,” I yelled to him.

  “I can’t! I’m banned from returning,” he answered.

  “What? You can’t stay here, and I can’t hold them much longer!”

  “I’ll go down fightin’ then. It’ll be a good death,” he said with a smile. I could see his axe already had werewolves’ blood on it.

  “Sorry to do this,” I said as I magically reached into the dwarf, causing his blood to slow. As I watched him, he started to sway one his feet.

  “What the hells did ya…” he said as he finally passed out, falling on his face.

  Picking the dwarf up, I hefted him into the air vent, watching his body slide down the shaft. I’m going to pay for that later, I thought to myself. Climbing through the vent myself, I shrunk the size of the shield as the werewolves pounded on it in frustration. Finally, it was just a bubble over the vent. As quickly as I could, I started bending enough metal back into place so that the werewolves couldn’t follow.

  As I had it almost closed, one of the werewolves approached the shield, the malice in its golden eyes was unnerving. It sat before me, just outside the shield. Staring at me as I closed off the vent. Once I was convinced the werewolves wouldn’t be able to slip through the gap, I looked up at the beast.

  “If you are Lord Hannen, I pity you. Even for a traitor, I would not wish this upon your soul.”

  With an angry growl, the beast lunged at grate, smashing into it just inches from my face. Slowly, I slid down the tunnel and away from the werewolf. Not breaking eye contact until the beast could no longer be seen.

  Chapter 15

  (Lee)

  I slid down the dark tunnel, desperately hoping it didn’t end in a drop. After what seemed an eternity of sliding, I finally saw a light ahead of me.

  “Coming down!” I called ahead. As the light came into view, I saw everyone trapped before a grate like the one at the other end of the vent. Unable to stop myself on the slick coating of algae, I slid into Barad and Whilhoit, knocking them both over.

  “Serves you right, hitting me!” Brianna exclaimed to Barad.

  “It’s not like I did it on purpose,” Barad growled back as we tried to unknot ourselves from the mess of entangled limbs.

  “How’s Orlik?” I asked.

  “He slid down unconscious, woke long enough to complain of a headache and went back to sleep,”

  Father Pild answered. “What happened to him?”

  “He wouldn’t enter the tunnel because of his exile. Old fool wanted to die battling werewolves. I used my magic to make him pass out and threw him down the tunnel.”

  “Ooh, that’s going to be one angry dwarf,” Barad said, shaking his head.

  “Well, he ain’t the only one!” A dwarf said as he approached from the other side of the gate. “Who the hells are you lot and how did ya get in my duct!”

  “I apologize for our entry,” I answered as I stepped forward. Looking at the dwarf, he appeared to be much older than Orlik. Elderly, even for a dwarf. “We were escaping a pack of werewolves. My name is Lee Eberon, King of Alsselya.”

  “Ain’t no such thing as werewolves, nor is there any King of Alsselya. Just what I needed this morning was a pack of crazy humans damaging my duct.”

  “Are all dwarves cranky or are we just lucky to find these two?” Barad whispered to me.

  “Who’s that dwarf ya got with you?” he asked.

  “Him? Oh, he’s just a guide we found to take us to Olingard,” Barad jumped in to answer.

  “Ha, he did a lousy job of it, bringing ya through the ducts like that,” the dwarf said with a laugh.

  “Will you let us out, please?” Abigail asked in the sweetest voice she could manage.

  “Nah, this is for the guards, I’ll go get ‘em. Don’t go anywhere, like ya could anyway,” the dwarf said, laughing at his own joke as he walked away.

  “Sorry to interrupt you, Lee,” Barad apologized, “but I didn’t think you would want them to know it was Orlik, nor should you be caught lying. I thought it better if I did it.”

  “How very astute,” Brianna said proudly. “There may be hope for you yet.”

  “Should we try to escape while he’s gone?” Barad asked.

  “And go where? No, we have to talk to the King eventually, might as well be now,” I answered.

  After a few minutes, the dwarf returned with two dwarven guards following him. “Here they be,” the dwarf said as he waved towards us. “Call me an ole’ crazy dwarf, do ya? I told ya there be humans in our ducts.”

  “Alright, alright. Sure, you were right this time,” the guard said as he walked over to us. “Just what do ya think you’re doing? Sneaking in through our ducts, are ya?”

  “We’ve come to see your King. I am King Eberon of Alsselya,” I announced.

  “See, I told ya he was claiming to be a king,” the old dwarf laughed.

  “King Eberon?” the guard asked. “You be the man all them Dommerian’s are fussing over?” He turned to his fellow guard. “You wait here, don’t let anybody near them.”

  “Why? And where do you think you’re going?” The other guard asked.

  “Just follow my orders for once, Dram!” the dwarf yelled as he ran down the tunnel.

  Dram sighed and walked over to the wall, sitting with a club over his knees.

  “So, Dram is it? How are things in Olingard?” I asked.

  “Here? Ha! Nothing changes here, we be buried underground while all you humans fight each other above,” Dram answered.

  “He’s right!” the old dwarf laughed. “Just look at ya! Covered in filth in my air duct. Ya better not have damaged anything getting in there.”

  I ignored that, mainly because I did damage his outer grate and didn’t want to admit it. Instead, I turned to Dram again. “So, Dommeran doesn’t run Olingard.”

  Dram snorted. “Aye, they try. Them officials are in and out of here all the time. Trying to tell us what to do. ‘produce more iron!’ and ‘No more food from above without more work!’. It don’t mean nothing, we dwarves lived for millennia without assistance from above, we can continue to do so.

  “So, you claim to be the King of Alsselya do ya? My pa told me about them, the Eberons. Supposed to have been good people. Did ya say you’re an Eberon?”

  I smiled at Dram’s question. It was good to know the Eberon’s were still remembered fondly. “That’s right. My name is Lee Eberon.”

  “And you’re why we have a ring of soldiers surrounding Olingard?” Dram asked.

  “Yes, they’ll do anything to stop us from talking to your King,” I answered honestly.

  “Then I wish you Luck, King Eberon. With the Sergeant gone, now’s a good time for a nap,” with that, Dram tilted his helmet over his eyes and went silent.

  “And I guess I’m just stuck here then?” the old dwarf complained as he squatted on the wall near Dram and crossed his arms.

  “So, I guess we wait,” Father Yagen announced. “The old dwarf was right about one thing, we are filthy. Being on the run for a week and then sliding down a filthy tunnel hasn’t done much for our wardrobe.”

  “Well then, it won’t hurt to sit down, will it?” Barad said as he plopped down in the dirty tunnel.

  “Stop complaining about my tunnels,” the old dwarf yelled back. “Nobody invited ya into them, did they?”

  We waited over an hour until the guard returned, followed by an older dwarf. From the way he carried himself, I assumed him to be a dwarf of some importance. He approached the grate and looked over us, his eyes stopping on me. “You, you’re the one claiming to be of the Eberon l
ine?”

  “I do,” I answered simply.

  He stared at me for a moment, the smiled. “Aye, I see it. You be the spitting image of them.”

  I am Prince Henlark, the King’s brother, and I welcome you to Olingard.”

  With a groan, Orlik sat up from the back of the vent, “Ohh… Lee, when I get my hands on you!” He grumbled.

  “Orlik?” Prince Henlark asked as he peered into the grate.

  “Oh, ‘ello Uncle,” Orlik replied as he rubbed his head.

  “This… this is interesting,” Henlark said as he scratched his chin. “King Eberon and Orlik falling into our laps now.”

  Prince Henlark turned to the old dwarf. “Unlock this door and let them out and don’t say a word to anyone about what you’ve seen.”

  “I know, I know. You think you’re the first dwarf to tell me that?” The old dwarf mumbled as he fiddled with the keys. “The things that happen down here in the depth of Olingard would turn your beard white.”

  Henlark stared at the old dwarf. “Well, now ya got me curious. Like what, for instance?”

  “Ahh, but I can’t tell ya that,” The old dwarf cackled. “Ya see, you can trust me.”

  “Just let ‘em out,” Henlark said, shaking his head in exasperation.

  As we walked down the hall, I sidled up next to Orlik. “Sorry about knocking you out and throwing you down the vent.”

  “It’s the fact you was able to do it so easily that grates on me nerves,” Orlik answered with a frown.

  “So, this is your uncle,” I stated, nodding to the dwarf leading us through the empty hallways of Olingard.

  “Aye, you don’t have to worry on him. He’s good people,” Orlik answered, predicting where the conversation was heading.

  “So, what will they do with you?” I asked. I felt concern for my friend. While I couldn’t have left him on the surface with the werewolves, I hoped I hadn’t just postponed his death.

  “I don’t know,” he answered. “It depends on how deep they be with Dommeran. I left as to not cause further issue with me being here. Should they find out, they’ll be pressuring me da’ to turn me over. Could be bad for the dwarves.” I nodded along. His take on the situation made sense.