The winter was slow and dull so when the spring came, they packed up and left the cabin as soon as the snow had melted enough for them to do so.
Two months later just past her third birthday the forest ended abruptly, and she found herself pulling up to a border guard station. The dwarves had built a stout fortress next to the road. Several dwarves stood at attention. They were covered head to toe in full plate.
One of the dwarves waved for her to stop when she reached the crossing. He walked over and looked up at her. The front of his helm was carved into the screaming face of the stone one.
“What’s your business in our lands?” he asked.
“I’m heading home, lad,” Thokri replied.
The border guard looked over at Thokri and then nodded. He took a step back and waved them though without saying another word. She flicked the reins getting the wagon moving. The rest of the guards watched them as they went, standing as still as statues, not saying a word.
I’ve never met dwarves that wouldn’t talk to you before. That was weird! I wonder if it’s some kind of rule or something. I mean, the elves and the human guards talked to us, but these lads just kind of stared at us.
The road grew wider, and much to her surprise, it was even smoother than it had been in the elven forest. Fields of grain were growing on either side of the road with the occasional herd of livestock grazing on the fallow ones here and there. It really reminded her of the human kingdoms so far, though the grain wasn’t the same, and there were no humans to be seen.
“I thought dwarves grew all of their food in the mountain,” Elaine said. She had climbed out to look after the border crossing.
“No, lass. We can grow all the food we need to live, but my kind likes surface food, so we have farms all around the mountain,” Thokri replied.
“Wait! All of this is just for luxury foods?” Elaine asked, looking out at the fields.
“Aye,” Thokri replied.
“How many dwarves live in the mountain?” Elaine asked.
“Lots,” Thokri replied. Elaine looked out over the seemingly endless field clearings and wondered just how many dwarves counted as lots.
Anna stopped the wagon at an inn just before dark. A dwarf waved for her to pull the wagon to a specific spot before walking over.
“Will the lads need anything special?” he asked.
“No, just brush ‘em, feed ‘em, and stuff ‘em in a warm stall,” Anna replied in dwarven. The dwarf laughed and grinned at her.
“Aye, lass,” he replied.
Several other dwarves walked over and started to take care of the wagon. Anna, Thokri, and Elaine slid off the driver’s bench. The others climbed out of the wagon and joined them.
“Alright, I’ll tell you how it is with my kin before we go in,” Thokri said. The others nodded and were listening intently.
“First, we pay for everything up front, food, drink, rooms, all of it. It’s like that so if a lad don’t have the coin, he can work out a deal. What he’s going to do for his meal. Second, sliding some coin to the server is fine, but just not too much,” Thokri said.
“Why not?” Anna asked.
“’Cause they’ll think you want to take them to bed,” Thokri replied.
“Ohhh, yeah, I don’t want that,” Anna said. Thokri put his hand on her shoulder and grinned at her.
“I know, lass. That’s why I’m telling you. As for the rest of you,” he said looking around. “If you want to give one of my kind a try, just ask ‘em. Most of us are up for a good roll in the sack, and a lot will go both ways if ya know what I mean,” he added, wiggling his eyebrows at the others.
The others didn’t look all that interested in that. Thokri laughed at the looks on their faces and then gestured for them to go into the inn.
“Come on. Let’s get some grub,” he said.
No one argued with this, and they followed their excited dwarven friend to the entrance. He pushed the thick wooden door open, and they entered the inn.
It wasn’t built like any inn she’d been to so far. Instead of having a bar in the back, there were just row after row of huge ale barrels. The tables that filled the room weren’t the typical round ones where one group would sit on their own. Instead, there were long rectangular tables with dozens of chairs pulled up the either side.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Dwarves weren’t like other races. They preferred to eat and drink with others, even if that other person was a stranger. Lanterns were hung round the room spilling their yellow-orange light everywhere. It was enough for her to see the colors in the room, so she knew that her friends could see.
They walked over to one of the tables and sat at the end. The dwarves sitting there eyed them for a moment before getting back to their drinking.
Oh, it looks like it’s roast pork with chopped greens for dinner!
They’d been eating soup and stew for the last few months, and while it was good, she’d learned why Thokri had told her having something good too much could end up being a bad thing.
Their server walked over. He was a young dwarf dressed in simple workman’s clothing that wasn’t that different from what Thokri wore day to day.
Most of the dwarves here are wearing the same thing, even the women.
“Need six rooms for the night with meals. Also, got two horses in the stable,” Thokri said.
“Two small silver, and if you want anything strong to drink, let me know. That’s extra,” the server replied in a deep voice.
“Aye,” Thokri replied, handing him the coins.
The server took the coins and then went to get their drinks, taking mugs from a large pile, filling them up at one of the huge barrels, and setting them on a tray.
“If you’re going to give him some coin, lass, do it at the end of the meal,” Thokri said.
Anna nodded, not understanding why, but like most social things, she didn’t question the person who told her how to act.
The server returned with their drinks, dropping them off without saying a word. A few dwarves held up empty mugs. The server took the mugs. He didn’t go to refill them. Instead, he went into what she assumed was the kitchen based on the smell of roasting meat flowing from the open door.
“It’s not what I expected,” Lyreen said.
“What were you expecting?” Thokri asked.
“I don’t know. A bunch of drunken dwarves punching each other and throwing up all over the place,” Lyreen replied.
“That happens later, lass,” a dwarf sitting next to her said, causing several other dwarves to laugh.
Lyreen just looked away. This seemed to encourage the dwarves. After a few minutes of ribbing, they went back to drinking, leaving the flustered elf mage alone.
Their food was brought out and large plates of roast pork were placed in front of them. Anna didn’t bother waiting and stuffed a large chunk in her mouth, chewing away with unadulterated glee.
“She’s gone feral!” Elaine said.
“Yep,” Anna replied, tearing another chunk of meat from the roast, grease and sauce dripping from her chin as she stuffed it into her mouth.
Her friends laughed, as did the dwarves. She wiped her mouth off on the shoulder of her dress and then took a drink of the thick rich ale.
She set the mug down and let out a belch that echoed through the room. The dwarves alternated between laughing and cheering. Her friends on the other hand just shook their heads.
“We’re never getting her back after this, are we?” Elaine asked.
“No, child. We’ve lost her to the dwarves forever,” Barika replied. They were both smirking in a way that let her know they were just teasing her.
Though, I think they are worried I’ll start acting more like a dwarf if they don’t keep an eye on me at the mountain.
She still didn’t see a problem with it, but her friends did, so she tried not to get too bad around them.
“Will there be inns like this to stop at every night?” Voekeer asked.
“Aye, small towns too,” Thokri replied. Their map had ended at the beginning of dwarven lands.
I wonder why there weren’t any maps of Boulderfist Mountain and the surrounding lands in Oldforge?
She picked up a fork and took a mouth full of the greens. They were well spiced and had butter melted into them.
Thokri always says real dwarven food will stick to your ribs. I wonder if that means getting fat?
Regardless of what he meant by that, it had nothing to do with her, so she kept right on stuffing her face with juicy pork and buttery greens.
More dwarves arrived at the inn. These men and women were clearly farm workers. Still covered in dirt from the fields, they filed in and took up most of the available seating, including the seats next to her and Thokri.
The dwarf sitting next to her smelled like dirt and sweat. He grinned at her for a moment.
“Been a while since we had humans through these parts, lass. What bring you folks out this way?” he asked.
“Heading to Boulderfist Mountain so my friend can visit his family,” Anna replied cheerfully.
The dwarf nodded, but before he could say anything else, a server walked over and started to talk with the newcomers. The server was a dwarf woman, and the men started to flirt with her. She seemed to be happy about this and flirted right back. Anna ignored them, having no desire to be included in that conversation.
They ate the rest of their meals and drank a few more rounds with the dwarves before heading to their rooms for the night, with the exception of Thokri who wanted spend some time with his people.
They don’t act the same as the dwarves that live in the human cities, that’s for sure.
She unlocked the door to her room with the oversized key and went inside. The room was large, though it was dwarf sized, so everything was wider and closer to the ground.
She walked over to a table sitting next to her bed and took off her belt. She set the belt on the table, then pulled her dress over her head and tossed it on the belt. She took a deep breath. It felt good to be free of her clothing. She slowly walked to the window and pushed it opened, letting a cool breeze fill the room.
She put her hands on the windowsill and leaned out, taking a deep breath as she did. Her room was on the back of the building, and the view was of a field of grain that seemed to stretch on to the horizon.
She looked around, realizing that she’d hear about it in the morning if someone saw her naked, but as luck would have it, there was no one out back at the moment. She looked up at the stars after watching for people a little bit longer. They were twinkling down on her like they always did.
You’re the first things I ever saw.
She smiled and watched them for a few minutes before walking back to her bed and sprawling out. She decided to leave the window open because it was a nice night, and she liked the way the breeze smelled like a grain field.
Sparks showered her bed for a moment before Lord Emerald appeared. He hopped over to one of the spare pillows and curled up in the ball before falling fast asleep. She smiled at him and then closed her own eyes, opening them in her dream world surrounded by wiggling tentacles.
“We’re almost there!” Anna said excitedly.