“The 6th Legion is to advance over the Angel’s Tear river and assault the opposing forces from behind. Assault maniples of the 22nd Legion will support and spearhead the initial assault once fording is successful. Elements of the 16th and 10th will assist by pinning enemy forces at the Westriver Bridge and the Leofwine Gap respectively. Upon successful dislodging hostile forces from a position, any remaining cohort sized elements remaining unengaged will be diverted to assist the 6th Legion.”
- Magister Potennio Ardal van Reimas, North Wing Field Commander, “Order of Battle”
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“The man you’re looking for did indeed come to us. But it was his associate, one of our kind, who told us to be expecting you.” Tilda explained, her brows knotted together in a frown, “Once we knew it was you, my husband’s mercenaries are to bring you somewhere. That’s all I know.” Tilda bowed apologetically.
“Oh please don’t do that! You’ve been so kind and more than helpful. This information is more than enough for us.” Ary smiled warmly.
Sophie nodded, letting Aryana take charge.
“Awww, what a kind young girl ye are, your parent’s must’ve raised you well.” Tilda praised.
Aryana floundered, a strange expression overtaking her for but only for a microsecond before her smile reappeared. Scary.
“Thank you.” Ary smiled warmly.
“Tah, it's been a while since we had such polite guests, Holsgrim.” Tilda barked loudly across the inn.
A few more dwarves snickered, and Sophie suspected that this only increased the dwarf’s dislike of her. Great, just great.
“And how was the food dearies? Is it alright?” Tilda continued.
“It was great!”
“Yeah.” Sophie chimed in.
“Wonderful! Now, far be it for me to impose, but why don’t you two freshen up for a bit? Ye both look a bit weary from your travels. Washrooms and the lot are down the hall on the second floor, though watch for the stairs you need to take to get down to the baths.” Tilda smiled.
“W-wait, we haven’t paid for anything yet. It’s alright we can manage without it.”
“Oh no! I insist, besides it’s the least I can do for having to handle my husband.” The innkeeper chuckled.
The duo traded glances, both of them looking excited about the prospect of a bath and sanitation after two days spent on the road. Doubt lingered in Sophie’s eyes but seeing the joy in Aryana’s she relented, offering a small smile and a brief nod. Joyful, Aryana blew a small kiss in thanks and nodded enthusiastically at the innkeeper.
“Thank you very much!”
“My pleasure! Now please, you can head upstairs when ready, I’ll clean everything up and get this sorry lot ready.” Tilda glared at the mercenaries.
A few joking jeers were thrown at her but for the most part, things seemed to remain calm.
Offering one last round of thanks, the duo followed her instruction and headed upstairs. Once they felt like they were out of sight, Aryana let her shoulders sag as Sophie felt the tension dissipate from the girl. She reached out and squeezed her hand, receiving a squeeze in return.
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There was an unmistakable air of excitement hanging around the inn by the time they returned from their bathing. The dwarven warriors stood now with weapons in tow, standing in escort formation. Uldren seemed to have been thoroughly rebuked by Tilda, the dwarven woman offering a quick greeting as the duo approached.
“Everything to your liking?” Tilda asked sweetly.
“Yes! It was great!” Ary beamed.
“Wonderful! But I’ll hand you over to my dear husband for now. Behave yourself, Holsgrim.”
“Hey! I always do!” The dwarf retorted, puffing up his chest.
“So you say, so you say.” Tilda tutted as she turned away.
The surly dwarf waited until Tilda had returned to the bar counter before he wordlessly gestured for the duo to follow. As one, the dwarven squadron turned with their leader and began shuffling off into a side room with Uldren at the helm. Concerned, the duo traded a glance with Tilda who just nodded encouragingly. Sensing no better plan, Sophie took the first step forward and Aryana followed.
The mystery of the more ancient walls were soon revealed after they followed the dwarves into the room. Within it, a few kegs had been moved aside and the walls parted to reveal the entrance into a dank and somewhat suspicious looking tunnel. Ahhh, shit.
A few of the mercenaries pulled out little lanterns and hung them on the side of their belts. Uldren meanwhile had a shit eating grin on his face as he glanced between the tunnel and the duo. Sophie arched an eyebrow at his examination and the dwarf seemed to take it as a challenge.
“Well then twiggy. Gettin cold feet? Nervous? I know you highborn think things like this are beneath you, literally.” He snorted, a few of the other dwarves joining in, “We won’t blame ya if ye back down now.”
“Aye! Won't blame ya.”
“Hah!”
A few dwarves echoed. Aryana looked a little more nervous than before but Sophie just felt tired. Giving Aryana a quick peck on the cheek that seemed to silence most of the dwarves, she sighed and turned to address the crowd.
“What? Nervous?” Sophie grunted.
There was an awkward silence as the dwarves just seemed to stare at them, as if judging them or examining them. The pause made Aryana shuffle and Sophie felt a pang of guilt for inflaming the situation. Seeing no way out however, she pushed forward and rolled her eyes before she pointed at the tunnel. “So? Are we going to get moving anytime soon?”
“Heh…” One of the dwarves laughed, an axe wielding warrior clad in almost full dwarven plate, “I like them boss.”
“Heh. Like I said, twiggy’s got spunk. The quiet one though, seems more like a pretty face.” Uldren affirmed.
“A pretty face with a woman of her own already. Heh.”
“A face is a face. You, girlie.” Uldren rounded on Aryana, “What do you do? You fightin? Runnin? Or what do ya do in a fight?”
“I…” Ary murmured.
“She’s a healer.” Sophie spoke up, “That’s all you need to know.”
“A healer eh? Ya tinker with magic?” Axe dwarf asked.
“N-no, just herbs and balms.” Ary answered, offering Sophie a small nod of thanks.
“Ahh, an apothecary. Fair enough.” Axe dwarf nodded.
“Hmm, we’ll see about that.” Uldren growled, “Still, times a wasting. Did ya black hat tell you what we’re about to do?”
“No, but I assume we’re heading through the tunnel?” Sophie quipped.
“Cheeky, in essence yes. But I need ye to know, we’ll be trekking in low tunnels and corridors for the better part of five hours, ye alright with that?”
Hearing this the duo stiffened up. Their hands automatically reached for the other’s, only stopping when their fingers brushed their companion’s. Sophie bit her lip, the idea of traveling in a cramped looking tunnel appearing more than distasteful. Aryana seemed mostly just nervous, feeling fearful of the dangers that might lurk ahead.
“I guess. But... why all of… well you.” Sophie waved her hands at the dwarves, “I want to say that I can travel through a tunnel, at the very least.”
“Heh. Listen here, twiggy. It’s not about whether or not you can handle it, it’s all about what my employer wants. We’re to get you there safe and sound, and we’ll bloody well do so.” Uldren tapped his shield, "Besides, trust me when I say ye won't make it on your own. At least not far more supplies than what you're holding."
Sophie let out a heavy breath, giving the dwarf a begrudging nod. “Fair enough.”
“Good you know your place, twiglet. Now then lads!” He bellowed, “Let’s get going eh? For the God in Amber!”
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“For the God in Amber!”
The other dwarves echoed.
“Alright, Crunak. Take point.” Uldren gestured at the axe wielding dwarf, “ Balsin, Tal, follow him. Mesurn, take the rear guard with the rest.”
“Aye aye!” The dwarves affirmed.
“Well then, lovely ladies. Shall we?” He mockingly bowed, “Oh! And absolute silence, if you would be so kind.” He held his meaty finger to his lips.
Sophie scowled at him but moved along regardless. Aryana tiptoeing behind her, keeping close to Sophie the whole time. Sophie’s nostrils tingled at the scent of mold and death that welcomed her when she crossed the threshold into the tunnel. Barely the width of two dwarves side by side, the small tunnel seemed to stretch into an infinite dark void. Little dwarven lantern lights were the only light besides the inn that illuminated a series of mechanisms on the mossy stone walls that connected the tunnel’s door to the inn. Thankfully for the duo, as their boots stepped into the uneven flooring, they found the tunnel mercifully dry despite the moss and mold. Sophie grimaced at the idea of the grime that would coat their body by the end of this. Her nose scrunched up in disgust, dreading the idea of a five hour march in the cramped conditions. Goddess above, this is… she clicked her tongue, focusing her thoughts on simply putting one foot in front of the other.
Uldren led the way for the duo and remained surprisingly quiet, his hand kept permanently on the hilt of his dagger. A few other dwarven warriors sullenly trudged forward, a lantern bearer flanked by two swordsmen. Whatever mood was in the inn had definitively dissipated, replaced by an air of seriousness that spoke of the skill of the dwarven warriors. For all their jeers and jabs at her, she found a modicum of respect for how quickly they adopted their more professional demeanor, just like when I was a maid, huh.
Aryana’s nervous demeanor prompted Sophie to reach behind her, offering her free hand for the girl to grab.
“Thank you.” A soft whisper came from behind her.
Stay strong, Ary. We’ve only just started and I’ve got a bad feeling about this.
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Sophie only realised that she could see somewhat fine in the dark as her eyes adjusted to the dim lantern lights carried by the dwarves. Her perception of time however, had faded completely as they passed through hallway after hallway. Her alertness too, suffered from the dreary environment, more focused on attuning her nose to the foul odor of the dank tunnels. She suppressed her displeasure by constantly moving her fingers while interlocked with Aryana’s, taking some small solace in her partner’s touch.
The procession wandered for what felt like hours until the sound of running water was heard. Up ahead, the lead lanterns stopped moving and a series of whistles echoed up and down the tunnel. Uldren clicked his mouth twice, then motioned for the duo to follow.
They arrived at a small area that appeared to be a crossing of sorts. A decent sized trickling of water running down the side of the wall, converging at a small hole in the ground in which then slowly spread to other parts of the tunnel. Explains the moss and mold. A dwarf rapped his gauntlets against the stone wall until he found purchase in one of the bricks, grabbing it and twisting a mechanism that unlocked something. Muffled clicks and creaks could be heard and Uldren dipped his head in thanks, making a series of gestures at the other dwarves. Crunak came over and pushed open the wall where the water was, revealing a darkened room that was soon lit up by his lantern. He hastily beckoned for the party to enter, pulling the stone door shut as they reluctantly entered.
Of the sixteen dwarves, half of them had joined the duo in the room including Crunak and Uldren. Once the door was closed, they all started breathing sighs of relief despite the stale air in the room.
“Good work so far lads.” Uldren finally spoke.
“Aye, boss. Took us a fair bit, eh?” A spear wielding dwarf chuckled.
“Hah! Tis all because the lot of you have grown fat from sitting down so much.”
“Pfft, as if you’ve worked much more than the rest of us.” Crunak slipped a jab at his boss.
The dwarves seemed caught up in their own conversations, berating one another before Uldren seemed to become aware of the duo’s presence once more.
“Take a breather here if ye need to. Talk or say what you must now. We’ll keep going in silence again, aye?”
The duo nodded, but Sophie spied the curiosity bubbling just beneath the surface in Aryana’s eyes. Though truthfully, she herself wondered what this all was about as well.
“Hey, so what exactly is this place? And why can’t we speak?” Sophie asked on their behalf.
“Heh. The twiggy doesn’t know.” Uldren grinned, his expression venturing just shy of mischievous before returning to a more serious demeanour, “Jokes aside, this be the ‘halfway house’ to you know, mark half way. We don’t talk because any critters on either end would hear our voices and come skittering over.”
“Critters? Halfway? We’re only halfway?”
“Aye. Tis relatively fast progress for bringing you two wanderers along. Pretty on schedule if a tad slower than how we would do it. There’s another checkpoint up ahead that will let the others outside take a break.”
“Halfway…” Sophie muttered with a hint of annoyance.
“Hah! Not used to this are ye, highborn prattle? Don’t worry, we’ll take care of ye.”
“Tch. Whatever. And the critters?”
“Oh, we’ve got aplenty crawling around further down. This area should be pretty clear since we’re still pretty far from the deep. Sound travels really well down the tunnels though, so we like to keep quiet just in case.” He spoke like a proud sage sharing his research.
“But aren’t you guys moving in armour anyway? That’s gotta be a lot more noise than just whispering.”
“Aye! You’re not wrong there. But the thing is, most of them associate metal with the sound of our patrols. That is, my people. Any wise git out there probably takes it easy until we pass, lest they get skewered. Natural selection, really.” He chuckled, Crunak and a few others dryly laughed along.
“The deep? Are we…” Sophie mused.
“Aye. Yer headed to Kaz Druzara, a forge city of the clan Kazra. Guess the black hat never told you that?”
Sophie shook her head and shared an incredulous look with Aryana. Sophie had suspected this the moment they stepped into the tunnel, but to have it confirmed was still baffling. Just like that, they now could add ‘visited a dwarven city’ to things that they never thought would happen but did. By the stars. A tiny twinkle in the redhead’s eyes however, did make Sophie smile. It was a look of inspiration and tempered excitement, an infectious look that made her also wonder just how bizarre this journey would also turn out.
“We’re almost like adventurers.” Ary whispered gleefully.
“We are adventurers. Maybe not officially, but we are on an adventure.” Sophie smirked.
“Twiggy’s right, you know. Ye should both consider yourself quite honored. Not many born outside of the deep get a chance to visit a forge city.” Uldren threw his hands up in mock prayer.
“Hold up, I have a question. Why do you insist on calling me twiggy or twig? Isn’t that mostly a human phrase?”
“Look like a twig don’t ya? Skinny, tall, lanky as shite. A fecking twig. Guess the humans think the exact same way about ye highborn.” He chortled in amusement.
Sophie bristled at the comment but found Aryana struggling between laughter or anger. Deciding to focus her attention on the one she could affect.
“Hey I know that look. Don’t you dare agree with him. I’m not a twig!” Sophie playfully jabbed Ary’s sides.
“Eep!” Ary squeaked, drawing the attention of the gathered dwarves, “Ah! Sorry. Sophie!”
“Alright, alright.” Sophie batted her eyes apologetically at the redhead.
“Gah. That’s what I’m supposed to do to you.” The girl pouted.
“Oi, that’s enough flirting out of you two. You’ll have time to shag once we get into the city. For now, eat, drink, get any gear ready, and we’ll be back on the trail.” Ulden chided, eliciting a round of laughter.
Sophie felt her ears grow hot at the same time that Aryana’s freckles were illuminated by a bright red blush. Embarrassed, the two giggled before doing as the dwarf suggested, taking a small swig of water before pulling out some jerky and nibbling on it.
The dwarves had clearly done this multiple times before, their demeanours alert but relaxed. Some polished their arms and armour while a few others including the axeman Crunak stuffed their own rations down their faces. After a few more moments, the group seemed to finish and Uldren pounded his chest, the metal on metal signalling that break time was over. Sophie and Aryana put their own things away and moved to follow, the heavy creak of the mechanisms moving the stone doors back open.
Dwarven warriors filed out tactically as they created a cordon around the exit with the guards outside. Once everyone had moved out, they resumed their earlier formation with Crunak and the scouts setting off ahead of the main force. Uldren motioned for the next batch to move forward, paused, then after they were suitably far away, he gestured for the duo to follow.
Once more, the heavy clink of metal boots on stone echoed throughout the tunnel. Only the sound of weapons and armor reigned supreme as the party resumed their journey forward.
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Sophie’s cough was perhaps the first sounds that echoed down the hall that weren’t whistle and metal. Uldren stared back at her and she just scowled, it’s not like I can help it. Consider it lucky I only sneezed now, instead of every waking moment in this moldy ass tunnel. Her legs were sore and her mood had been soured after the constant silent, monotonous walk. Aryana too showed signs of fatigue as the redhead started to stagger every now and then. Sophie continued to support her friend, but she knew that there was only so much she could do in such cramped conditions.
As the trek wore on, the stale smell of mold was soon replaced by the gentle touch of a blissful breeze. Aryana felt it too and the two widened their eyes. They were almost out of the tunnel. Uldren could sense their glee and held a hand up to slow them down, until they had exited, the trek wasn’t over yet.
Water, guttural roars, skittering, chittering, and a strangely gentle twinkling sound greeted them the closer they got to the end. Though the melody of nature flowed as it always did, Sophie tensed up for it was an eerie melody unfamiliar to her, one born not of the land, but of the cavernous darkness beneath it. And away from the blessings of the stars, not all the sounds will be friendly.
A loud piercing screech sent shivers down her spine, Aryana almost jumping from the fright. Even the dwarves seemed rattled, though they maintained their battle stances and continued the advance as if nothing had happened.
“The way is clear!” Crunak’s voice echoed from up ahead.
With his simple declaration, all the tension was sucked out of the party. The dwarves relaxed a little and let out rowdy cheers. Uldren now wore a smug look on his face, the dwarf looking more similar to the version of himself that Sophie had seen in the inn. Raising his lantern, he moved it in a cross pattern, the other dwarves from both front and back responding in kind. A few whistles echoed up and down the tunnel once more and Uldren seemed satisfied.
“Well then, ladies. Let’s not keep the boys waiting, eh?” Uldren snorted, “Don’t worry about yer precious little twig legs. We’ll set up a small camp at the exit.”
Without waiting for a response, he continued leading them forward. He brought them to where the forward elements had gathered, the dwarves all huddled around a massive stone door. Uldren made a few strange gestures, the other dwarves responding in kind. Crunak and another dwarf then pulled two levers carefully hidden within the gloves of the stone walls. The ground below them rumbled to life as the metallic groan of machinery started up. Dust and stone sprinkled down from the ceiling as time worn gears fulfilled their tasks once again.
Slivers of blue green light filtered through the openings around the doorway, their radiant glow almost stunning Sophie in the process as her eyes tried desperately to adjust to the sudden luminance. Aryana winced and hid behind Sophie. With one final click, the door’s mechanisms stopped and the dwarves moved towards two handles that had now appeared from within the stone.
“Ye best be prepared. The 'critters' here might just eat you alive. Try not ta piss yourself.” Uldren cackled.
Prick.