Anna looked up at the huge bronze doors of the cathedral. The face of the stone one was cast into the surface of the metal, and gems were embedded, all causing it to glitter in the lamp light. She was standing with her friends in a crowd of dwarven women, waiting for the bell that marked the beginning of the second shift to toll.
The dwarves grew quiet. Having spent their lives in the mountain, they seemed to know when shifts start. They turned their eyes to the door and waited. A moment or two later, a bong reverberated through the air, and she felt it in her bones. The doors started to open, but the dwarves didn’t move. They were waiting until they opened completely before heading inside.
The doors opened quickly, and once they touched the outside walls, the crowd of women started to walk into the cathedral.
A subtle golden fog flowed out of the inside of the cathedral and slowly wrapped around the women. She would have stopped and gawked when she stepped through the door had it not been for the press of the crowd.
The inside of the cathedral was massive, as if the whole ten block space was empty. The floor seemed like it was made from a single sheet of green marble that was streaked with gold and silver. The walls depicted the stone one slaying great beasts and forging wonderous things. Her eyes were drawn to the ceiling which had been carved into a dome and was covered in swirling patterns of gold, silver, and mithril. Gemstones of every kind were embedded in the precious metals as well, causing the whole surface to sparkle with light and magic.
As they approached the center of the building, she saw a statue depicting the stone one. He stood before an anvil and held a hammer above his head preparing to strike whatever he was crafting on the anvil. She’d never seen a more detailed statue in her life.
Everything from the way the tiny muscles in his arm flexed because of the way he was holding his hammer to the way his hips were twisting as if he were on the downward part of his blow. She would have sworn that it was a real live person had it not been made from solid mithril.
The crowd spread out and met with other crowds of women that had entered from one of the other three doors. Everyone grew quiet for a moment, and then the women began to sing, giving thanks to the stone one. Anna and her friends joined in, adding their own unique voices to the already wonderful song.
After a few minutes, the song ended, and then the music started, and the dwarves started dancing. The woman next to her grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into a dance. Her friends were all pulled in different directions, and she lost sight of them almost immediately.
Okay, well, I guess I’ll just go with the plan to meet the others near the feast tables when they bring out the food.
It was fairly common for groups to get separated at the gem festival, so meeting up at the feast tables was what most people did. She got farther and farther away from where she’d started and danced with all kinds of dwarves. She felt a gentle, if not a bit shaky, grip on her arm and turned to see an old woman smiling at her.
“Would you dance with me, lass?” she asked.
“Of course!” Anna replied.
They clasped hands, and Anna noticed that the woman’s wrists were covered in iron bracelets. She also had an iron ring on each hand. The old woman kept smiling as they slowly danced. Anna kept her from losing her balance a few times. The old woman grew tired quickly, and they stopped, but she kept hold of Anna’s arm when the dance ended.
“Do you mind if I hold onto you for a little longer, lass?” she asked.
“I don’t mind at all,” Anna replied.
“I’m much too old to be dancing, but my great-granddaughters begged me to come with them, and I just can’t tell them no,” the old woman said.
She looked around for a moment and sighed.
“Though it looks like I’ve lost them,” she said.
“I lost my friends, too. Want to go to the feast tables and wait for them there?” Anna asked.
“That’s sweet of you, lass, but I wouldn’t want to hold you up,” the old woman replied.
“Oh, it’s no trouble. I, uh, don’t actually know where the feast tables are though,” Anna said.
The old woman cackled and hooked her arm around Anna’s.
“Come on, lass. I’ll show you,” the old woman said.
They walked slowly though the crowd of dancing women. Everyone moved to let them pass as they walked, seeming to respect the old dwarf. She started to smell food after a while, and soon enough, the crowd thinned, and she spotted the feast tables. There were dozens of long tables lined up piled high with food and drink.
“Mind walking a little farther with me, lass? There are benches where I can sit and wait nearby,” the old woman asked.
“I don’t mind,” Anna replied.
She looked at all the food on the tables as they passed by. There were so many new things that she couldn’t wait to get back and try them all.
I love eating so much I think it might be my favorite thing ever!
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The benches the old woman had told her about were filled with tired looking old dwarves and a few pregnant ones who looked just as exhausted as the elderly seated with them. Anna helped the old woman sit down on one of the benches.
“Well, lass, better go and find your friends,” the old woman said. Anna held out her hand.
“My name’s Anna. What’s yours?” she asked. The old woman smiled and took Anna’s hand.
“Bolhild,” she replied.
“It was nice to meet you,” Anna said smiling brightly.
“Nice it was to meet you,” Bolhild replied.
She walked away from her new friend and headed back to the tables, intending to eat some of everything there. She looked around for plates but didn’t find any and then watched the dwarves to see what they did. She watched a woman tear off a chunk of meat, stuff it in her mouth, and then wipe her fingers off on the cloth that covered the table.
So that’s what that’s for!
She’d seen clothes covering tables before and always wondered why they were there. Now it all made sense.
She tore a piece of the same meat the woman had and took a bite. It was so tender that it seemed to melt as she chewed. Even after she swallowed, it left a rich oily taste in her mouth. She licked her lips and then took another piece, nibbling it as she walked along the table, looking for something else that caught her eye.
A mushroom cap the size of a pumpkin sat on a platter. It was covered in a thick green sauce that had specks of yellow and red though out. Unlike the meat, there was a stack of flatbread next to the mushroom along with a long knife. She picked up the knife and a piece of flatbread and sliced a piece off a piece of the mushroom, dropping it into the flatbread and then wiping the knife off on the edge of the bread before putting it back on the tray next to the mushroom. She folded the bread around the mushroom slice to try and keep the sauce and juices from escaping.
The mushroom was sour, and the sauce had a strange bitter flavor to it. She didn’t like it at all but also didn’t want to waste food, so she stuffed what was left in her mouth and swallowed it whole. After wiping her fingers off on the tablecloth, she moved on.
Eating some of everything, she bumped into her friends who were standing next to a huge cut of meat. She walked up to them and ripped a chunk of the meat off and stuffed it in her mouth before wiping her fingers off.
“I’m surprised you aren’t out dancing still, child,” Barika said.
“I walked an old woman over so she could find her great-granddaughters,” Anna replied.
“That was nice of you,” Elaine said.
“It was?” Anna asked.
“It was, child,” Barika replied.
“Have you all seen the drinks? I could use one,” Anna said.
“No, we just got here,” Elaine replied.
They walked away, looking for the drinks and eating anything that looked good as they did.
“Hey, where are Bralla and the others?” Anna asked.
“Probably still dancing,” Lyreen replied with a shrug.
She found barrels of ale on the table with mugs next to them. They got themselves a drink. While they enjoyed their ales, Anna noticed that a large number of dwarves were heading in the same direction carrying empty mugs.
“Wonder what they’re doing?” she asked.
“Only one way to find out, child,” Barika replied.
They followed the dwarves to a massive cauldron surrounded by barrels of ale the size of wagons. Dwarven priestesses were filling mugs and handing them back to smiling and laughing women. Anna watched as one woman walked up to cauldron. The dwarves grew quiet and watched the woman.
“I’ll drink with the stone one!” she said to the priestess standing next to it.
The priestess nodded then took the woman’s mug and dipped it into the cauldron. When she pulled it back it out, it was glowing gold and a golden fog was pouring out. Whatever its contents were, they had more divine power than anything she’d seen. Even Barika’s healing paled in comparison.
Several priestesses surrounded the woman, and then the first one handed her the mug. She took it and then looked at it nervously, all her confidence seemingly washing away as she stared into the mug. The priestess nodded at her, and the dwarf woman swallowed hard and then put the mug to her lips to take a drink.
A pulse of golden power shot through her body, and she went limp the moment she took a drink. The dwarven priestesses caught her, one of them touched her face, and then they lifted her limp form and started to carry her away. The other dwarves touched her reverently as they did.
Anna looked back at the cauldron and noticed that the mug was laying on its side, but none of the liquid in it had spilled. The priestess that had been standing next to the cauldron picked up the mug and dumped the golden liquid back in before setting the mug on a table next to it. There were a few other mugs already there, indicating that she hadn’t been the first dwarf to try and drink the brew.
I wonder what that tastes like!
Anna slipped away from her friends and headed straight for the cauldron. She squeezed through the crowd and found herself standing in front of the cauldron.
It’s huge!
She walked over to the priestess and smiled at the woman who kept a stern look on her face.
“Am I allowed to have some?” she asked.
“All may drink the stone one’s own if they speak the words,” the priestess replied.
“I’ll drink with the stone one!” Anna said.
The priestess nodded and took her mug, dipping it into the cauldron and then handing it to her. Priestesses surrounded her when she took the mug.
“What do you think you’re doing? Get away from there!” Lyreen said.
“THIS IS A HOLY RITE AND WILL NOT BE DISRESPECTED!” the priestess that had handed her the mug shouted suddenly.
Everyone looked at Lyreen who went pale and looked around with wide eyes. Barika stepped forward and crossed one of her arms over her chest just below her breasts and leaned forward.
“Please forgive her. Despite her looks, she hasn’t reached a century in age and is still considered immature amongst her people. She meant no disrespect and is merely concerned for her friend’s wellbeing,” she said.
The priestess’s face softened, and she sighed.
“The stone one’s own is a blessing, lass. It won’t hurt her,” the priestess said.
“I, I’m sorry, ma’am!” Lyreen replied.
“No harm, lass, but remember that not all gods are as forgiving as the stone one,” the priestess said.
“I won’t, ma’am!” Lyreen replied.
The priestess looked at Anna again and nodded.
“Don’t worry, lass. We’ll catch you,” one of the priestesses whispered to her.
Nothing in her life had affected her in any way, but looking into this mug, she wasn’t so sure if that was going to be the case this time.
Fuck it!
She drank from the mug. It was sweet, like someone had taken all the fruits she’d ever had and blended them together to make the perfect drink. A strange warmth filled her. It was like when she moved her dreamer power around inside herself except it felt softer somehow. She ended up drinking the whole mug and took a satisfied breath after swallowing the last mouthful.
The crowd grew quiet, and everyone was looking at her.
Oh, no! I did it again!
She held the mug out to the priestess so she could place it with the others, and the woman shook her head no.
“It’s yours, lass,” the priestess said.
“Really?” Anna replied.
“Aye, and don’t lose it. It’s been blessed by the stone one,” the priestess said.
“Wow,” Anna replied, looking at the still glowing mug.
“Go on back to your friends, lass,” the priestess said.
“Okay,” Anna replied.