Chapter 166:

Thin lines of steam and smoke, succulent scents of roasting meat, wafted into the air, coiling around Anton and dispersing over the small enclosed garden. Anton stood guard over the primitive stove, glancing towards a silver-haired woman constantly eying off the browning meat.

“Is it done yet?” Verona asked, resting her head on the table. “I want breakfast already. My stomach’s growling I’m so hungry.”

“I was thinking we do something a little different today.” Anton flipped a slice of Razor Pig meat with their few metal pieces of cutlery. “Something to celebrate us finishing two wars before winter started.”

“Not exactly before.” Verona looked up at the open sky. The sun was very weak despite it being early in the morning.

Winter was descending upon Atros. Leaves were browning and beginning to fall, something that was driving Bertram crazy to no end. The air itself felt crisper and far cooler than normal too, not enough to show one’s breath but, just before dawn, Anton could see the first signs.

“I’ll be glad to see not a winter from a cave, huddling around a dim fire to keep warm while praying that no one is going to find and catch me.” Kal chuckled, her body jumped up as Luna leapt onto her lap, desperate for attention from anyone present, and scratched behind her ears. “I think this blob is going to have to come inside.”

“We’ll build a flap for her,” Anton said. He looked to the door leading back to their house. “I’m sure she’ll love to come out here for some fresh air. And so that she doesn’t dirty her bed looking for a bush.”

“I hate to say it but the more people in a house the warmer it will be.” Cetina smiled. “Though I’m sure that’s not the reason why you’re doing your thing, Verona.”

“It had better not be,” Anton said quietly. He picked up the cooked meat and served it to the girls, waiting patiently around a table in their garden. Though they had still yet to plant flowers it still felt good to eat outside for breakfast. Cool, crisp air and hot meals went together very well.

“Thank you, Anton.” Kal nodded. “This smells delicious.”

“Anton can cook great meals.” Verona laughed, tearing into the meat. “One of the reasons why I married him.”

“Just one?” Anton smiled.

Verona nodded. “It’s part of a list. Doesn’t meant it’s not important.”

After returning from Ozredkig, Cetina had her things, less that Kal had upon her arrival, moved into their house. Cetina took one of the rooms on the main corridor, saying it was important for bodyguards to be able to quickly respond to threats. He wondered how many nights she would actually spend in that room.

“So what’s the plan?” Verona asked, resting her arms on the table and wiping away the juices running down her face. “Just remember that we can’t do as much now.”

Verona rubbed her stomach. Though both she and Kal had very flat and taught stomachs it wouldn’t be long before that wouldn’t be the case. He was looking forward to that.

“I’m honestly not sure.” Anton cut his piece of Razor Pig meat. Verona eyed his off hungrily, though she still had most of hers, while Kal rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Getting the Dark Elves settled and being ready for winter’s the most important thing. Then there’s the whole thing with the Dwarves.”

“And your special artefact.” Kal sniggered. “I never thought I’d see you, of all people, giggle like that.”

The bolt action rifle lay inside a magically sealed box underneath his bed. So far no one knew about it but he would certainly need Dwarvish help to build more. Jonathan was a master human smith but this needed extremely delicate and skilled hands. Without machine cutting only the best craftsmen could be relied upon to build the first replica’s, especially since Anton knew it had to be built to very precise standards.

“The Dwarves come first. That-”

A loud knock echoed throughout the house. Cetina rose from her chair and raced to the door.

Anton chuckled. Verona laughed and Kal smiled faintly. “That means that rescuing the Beast-kin won’t happen for a while. Or, at least quickly. I…I think I need to rescue at least one batch to keep the Beast-kin trusting me.”

“They might get upset if you don’t.” Verona twirled her fork. “But you could always sell them back if they got too shitty.”

Kal frowned. Verona smiled and patted her hand, clearly not serious.

“Probably be best if we rescue them straight from a plantation too.” Anton heard footsteps across the wooden floor.

“It’s really happening.” Kal’s tail swished through the cool air. “It’s actually happening. Marion’s going to be so happy. Everyone’s going to be so happy…Once they get here.”

“Yes…” Anton frowned deeply. “I fear that a lot aren’t going to make it. Not when the Seocurian’s work out what we’re doing.”

Before Kal could ask further Cetina tapped hard on the wooden doorframe.

“Anton. Umikgruid and Gosthilda are outside. They say they want to speak with you, and that it’s urgent.”

“You haven’t told them about the rifle thingy?” Verona asked.

“Not yet. Bring them in, Cetina. I’ll be glad to have a chat with them.”

“We don’t have any more chairs,” Kal said. “They might just have to stand.”

“I want to see their little feet swaying.” Verona giggled. “I didn’t see it when they arrived but I’m sure they were doing it.”

“Don’t tell them that.” Anton winked. “They’d probably get cross. I think I would.”

Cetina returned with Umikgruid and Gosthilda in tow. The two Dwarves looked very happy, expectant almost, as they stepped into their garden.

“Hello.” Anton waved. “I’m sorry but we don’t have any extra chairs. We weren’t expecting guests. Just a quick breakfast outside and then straight to work.”

“That’s alright.” Umikgruid slapped his stomach. “Just finished ours. The food here’s pretty good.”

Cetina took her seat and hurriedly rammed down her food to catch up to the other girls.

“And how can I help you this morning?”

“Well…” Umikgruid looked to his wife.

“Since you’ve helped the Dark Elves.” Gosthilda began. “And they’re being settled very quickly, we were wondering if we could open up Mount Aspire and prepare it for our people.”

Anton interlinked his fingers before resting his elbows on the table. “You understand that we have no real idea what’s going on down below. That, while it might be safe, it could very well be completely hostile. They closed that door for a reason.”

Umikgruid nodded. “We understand. But you’re stronger now. And you have the Dark Elves to back you up now. If we can tell our people that we have a Dwarven hold almost entirely ready for them they’ll flock to Atros. If not, I don’t know if we can convince that many.”

“The desperate.” Gosthilda sighed. “The desperate and the adventurous. Though…Most of those have already left our clan, one way or another.”

“I didn’t have summons before.” Anton smiled. “Nor a lot of magic either. Gather up all the Dwarves and tell Jeff to give me a small force of soldiers, I’ll speak with the Dark elves for some extra archers.”

Both Dwarves looked very happy.

“But if it’s dangerous I’ll seal it back up and we’ll come back again when we’re strong enough. You might have to live with us for a while on the surface, if you can stomach such a thought.”

Umikgruid’s ears reddened at the implication the Dwarves were too snobbish to live with them. Anton smiled and waved down such thoughts.

“I’m just joking. Give us a few minutes to finish this…Oh, before you go, I want to show you something and get your opinion on it.”

Anton downed the last pieces of his meal. “I won’t be long.”

Verona waved him away. “Go. Play with your thing that’s more important than women.”

The Dwarves looked very strangely at him.

“Don’t mind her. She’s just trying to stir things up.” Anton laughed. “All because I caught her drooling in her sleep.”

“I haven’t done that in ages!” Verona yelled after Anton as they entered their home.

He recovered the sealed box and placed it on their bed. Thankfully they had tidied up before leaving, otherwise the Dwarves would have been shocked by the state of things.

“This.” Anton tapped the box. “This is an artefact taken from The Shadow Isles. I traded in all of the money we were supposed to be paid for this. And a few things besides…”

“So what is it?” Umikgruid looked to his wife. “Dwarves are very good craftsmen but we can’t create magical artefacts and devices without good tools and forges. Things which, despite Jonathan’s best efforts, you are generations away from making to be on par with ours.”

“It’s not magical.” Anton unlocked the box. “And that’s what’s so important about it.”

The Dwarves marvelled at the rifle within, not entirely sure what it was but respected Anton’s delicate hold.

“I’ve never seen anything like this.” Umikgruid’s hands twitched. He wanted to hold it but held himself back.

“You can touch it, but please be very careful with it. I think it’s the only one in existence.”

Umikgruid delicately took it from Anton. He held it with the reverence deserving of an unstable atomic bomb.

“Wood and metal…” Umikgruid looked down the barrel. “Something strange going on down this metal cylinder…I don’t understand what this is.”

“It’ll take a while to explain exactly what it is.” Anton took the rifle back. “But it is indeed metal. I’m not sure about the exact compositions and dimensions of each part, but do you think you could recreate this?”

Umikgruid pointed to the trigger. “The wood shouldn’t be too difficult, again once we get our proper tools it’ll be very simple. The metal…Is it one giant piece or is it assembled?”

“I’m almost certain it’s assembled.” Anton placed the rifle back into the container. “How and what pieces are needed I don’t know. If we were to pull it apart, piece by piece, you could recreate each individual component and rebuild it, yes?”

“Again, once we have our tools. If there’s nothing magical about it then it won’t be too hard. That little thing hanging underneath might be a little problem but that’s all.”

Gosthilda twirled a loose strand of hair. “But why do you want this? If it’s not magical how powerful can it be? It doesn’t look very useful as a club.”

Anton showed them the spent bullet. The slightly bent casing interested and confused them.

“There’s a piece missing from this. The most important part, but I can describe it to you when the time comes. I’m sure this will be easy for you to make too.”

Umikgruid nodded. “Once we get our tools…”

“And you shall have them very soon. Tell Jeff what I told you and gather your men. We’ll start taking back this Dwarven Hold.”

---[]---

Anton and a small force stood before Mount Aspire. Very little heat emanated from the sun, even as it rested directly above their collective heads. Cool air raced down the mountain’s slopes, hitting the snow cap before falling down at tremendous speed, buffeting the poor people working in the coal and iron mine at the foot of the mountain.

“Cold,” Rasha grumbled, rubbing her arms. “Far too cold. How’s Eider going to handle this?”

“Probably working near some sort of fire.” Anton smiled. “The downside to being cold blooded. I don’t think we have enough Earth Mana left for a hot stone for her. My magic is so inefficient for that.”

“No word from Ferula?” Verona asked.

“None so far.” Anton sighed. “She’ll just have to cuddle up to Ulyaa at night to stay warm.”

“She might bite her.” Rasha chuckled. “I remember Ulyaa saying something like that back in Seocuria.”

The Dwarves shouted as the last rocks tumbled free from the collapsed entrance. Despite their squat nature they worked extremely hard and surprisingly fast, the blockage was cleared in under an hour and they were ready for more. Strange that it was running that was their weakness. Small leg muscles built for endurance rather than a burst of exertion?

“Doesn’t look like there’s anything Dwarvish about this,” Umikgruid said to Anton. “Just some tunnel someone dug into the mountain. Poorly too.”

“That’s what we first thought too.” Anton pointed to the other collapsed tunnel entrances. “I doubt the Dwarves would make so many seemingly at random. Hard to defend so many entrances.”

“Having secret passageways wouldn’t be beyond the Dwarves.” Umikgruid smiled. “But there still should be some sign of our activity.”

“How are we supposed to see in there?” Calo, one of the Green Moon Dark Elf twins, asked. She frowned as she stared into the darkness. “Did you bring torches?”

“We did.” Cetina pointed to a small bundle of sticks, one end wrapped in thick cloth, resting near a mine building.

“Okay…” Sheso laughed. “I was getting a little worried.”

The Dark Elf twins were been sent by Leran and other Dark Elf representatives to ensure their soldiers were not being mismanaged or sent into the figurative mangler. At least that’s what they said, Anton suspected there was an ulterior motive.

Dark elves and humans can’t have children. Do they expect me to fall for some sort of honey trap instead? It’s a little too open here just to ask them with Tethra’s power.

“Make sure that you two stay safe,” Anton said calmly. “You don’t have bows, do you?”

“Not yet.” Sheso tapped her forearm. “Soon we should be able to start practising. Just swords for now.”

“I’m sure you’ll learn a thing or two from Kal.” Anton smiled. Kal nodded, she was just as good, perhaps even better than most Dark Elves.

“We’re ready when you are.” Umikgruid and the Dwarves returned with the torches.

Anton summoned a small flame, lit the torches and ushered the Dwarves in first. Not as fodder, but they and the Dark Elves could fire over their heads without incident. Rasha stayed to the side of the group, she didn’t have to duck but her bulk did result in some issues, issues that she really couldn’t deal with. The interior of the mountain was cold, musty and very stale. Slowly they crept along the rocky tunnel moving as silently as possible. They found nothing until they reached the central massive chamber. Shrivelled and mummified husks of the slaughtered Rock Rats littered the floor. The Dwarves spared Anton a quick glance, Anton ushered them towards the only downwards tunnel.

“Definitely doesn’t look like any Dwarf made this,” Umikgruid mumbled to Anton. “Those Rock Rats couldn’t have destroyed Dwarven architecture so easily, not even the Goblins could do that much damage. There’s absolutely nothing here.”

“Do you think they ripped everything up? To cover their tracks and pretend this never happened?”

Umikgruid rubbed his beard. “Seems strange to do after sealing up the hold, a lot of effort for nothing.”

“Maybe it was enough to stop treasure hunters.” Anton nodded as they approached the blockage at the bottom of the tunnel. “Since I know they’d definitely want to open these doors.”

“Just behind here?” A Dwarf from the front asked.

“Yep. It’s not that many stones.”

The Dwarves clapped their hands and began to move the stones. There wasn’t enough room to simply move the stones away so a column shifted them into the central large chamber. It took some time, and a lot of sweat, but the area was cleared.

“Now I understand why you were so anxious to see this opened.”

The stone doorway stood exactly as Anton remembered it; a giant square door with metal spikes rammed through the door and into the surrounding stone, a beam of steal across the middle, nearly cut through by some monstrous beast. The deep cuts gouged into the floor immediately stopped the Dwarves in their tracks.

“Are you sure that you still want this opened?” Anton asked.

Umikgruid approached the door before running his hand over the stone. “This is definitely Dwarvish…But it’s nothing like I’ve ever seen before. So…Rushed.”

“Probably to seal up whatever made those scratches.”

Verona clicked her fingers. “I forgot to tell you, I saw scratches like this in The Shadow Isles, on the wall on that giant Mist Walker tower. I didn’t think much about it at the time, and we kind of had other things to worry about then…”

Anton stroked his bearded chin. “There’s a lot of water between even Bebbezzar and there…Was the water level once much lower?”

“Are you ready, Anton?” Umikgruid motioned the Dwarves forward and readied to lift the metal bar. “If there’s something on the other side we’ll be the first to be attacked.”

“Go for it.”

Verona’s eyes glowed and rested her hand over her clay pots. The Dwarves heaved, lifted the bar free and gently placed it on the ground before removing the metal spikes, standing on each other’s shoulders to reach those on top and, after taking one final glance back to Anton and pushed the door open. Rusted hinges groaned, the Dwarves slowed to the tiniest crawl to limit the sound, but the stone doors opened. Anton summoned four Large Fire Imps and directed them forward.

Giant claw marks riddled the stone floor beyond the door, far deeper and more numerous than those outside. Hundreds of deep scratches, deep at the top while shallow at the bottom, covered the back of the door. Whatever made these were quite tall and had the intelligence to continue attacking even after the door had been forced close.

“No sign of whatever did this,” Anton said softly. “So they slunk back further into the darkness when they couldn’t break through.”

Anton inspected the back of the door more closely. “Not that they had much further to go.”

The Fire Imps glowing bodies illuminated the smooth corridor as they slowly entered the Dwarven hold. The Dwarves stared at the craftsmanship of the stone, muttering to one another but retaining deep frowns. Anton tapped Umikgruid’s shoulder; they had no idea what was irking the Dwarves so much.

“Everything built beyond the stone door is exceedingly well made,” Umikgruid whispered, his eyes darting forward, hopeful there was no movement beyond the flickering shadows cast by the Fire Imps. “I don’t like how badly…How quickly the Dwarves that lived here made that door.”

“How long are we talking? Days?”

“Under a day.” Umikgruid received nods from the Dwarves. “Well under a day. And that’s a terrible sign for a Dwarf.”

The Fire Imps stopped, sending a signal through the thought tether.

“They’ve found something,” Anton whispered. “Don’t know what, but it’s not a rock.”

Everyone readied their weapons as they approached the Fire Imps standing before something. It was a Dwarf, old and mummified. He, the Dwarf still had a decaying beard, wore a full suite of metal armour, far better than anything the Dragon Guard Clan wore. Underneath lay the decaying remains of multiple layers of cloth, for extra padding and protection. However the Dwarf’s skull was cut into ribbons; the skull held three large gouges, his shoulder armour accounted for the other three.

“I think we can be grateful he died almost instantly.” Anton quietly mused.

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“I…I know this symbol.” A female Dwarf point to an emblem just above his heart. "It's a marking from a missing hold, the Blood Hammers!"

"Are you sure?" Umikgruid asked.

The Dwarf nodded. "I know it. I've seen that emblem on some of their items back home. Only in the rich's homes, but I haven't forgotten it."

"Any idea who he was?" Anton asked. "Warrior?"

"I'm not sure..." Umikgruid lifted a damaged shield, the same emblem painted on the top of the shield. The dried, desiccated arm tore free with a slight puff of dust. Umikgruid coughed and searched around the Dwarf's waist.

"Well, if they follow the same rules as we do this was probably a Thane." Umikgruid glanced back, rolling his hand. "Think a captain of a few hundred men. Strong and well armoured. But…Killed so easily."

"We need to keep moving," Anton ordered the Fire Imps forward. "This may sound insensitive but is there anything useful that he's carrying? We will give him a proper funeral later. As proper as we can give."

"The armour and weapons need repairing, and we don't know if they're any good." Umikgruid waved the Dwarves to stand up. "But if he's here alone...A Thane would never just abandon their warriors."

"Maybe a last stand before the gate shut." Anton nodded. "That makes more sense to me."

Umikgruid smiled. No one had any idea if it was true but it was the story they would agree upon.

They passed another group of desiccated Dwarves. Though less armoured than the dead Thane these were still better than the Dragon Guard Dwarves. Their armour had been ripped and torn asunder, all were missing limbs and two had no heads. Whatever caused such terrible injuries were nowhere to be found.

“The Fire Imps have found something,” Anton said quietly. “And it’s not a Dwarf this time. Seems like they’re capable of learning, somewhat.”

Far ahead the four Imps stood around something extremely large resting against the side. It looked even larger than Rasha. Cetina and Rasha moved in front of Anton and lowered their weapons, the Dark Elves readied their arrows.

What lay before the Fire Imp’s was nothing like Anton had seen so far; a giant eight-legged insect corpse lay sprawled against the stone wall. His first thought drifted to Ulyaa, if her spider half was completely made out of a dull orange and brown chitin armour. Its abdomen was far slimmer but longer than Ulyaa’s, covered in dozens of small but sharp spikes, so too were the legs, a similar claw arrangement at the bottom. The upper half resembled a human’s in only the barest sense. Hard chitin covered its chest and four arms, all tipped with six massive claws. Some had broken off, two embedded into the stone within easy reach. Anton had no idea if it was male or female, it lacked the obvious characteristics, but the face gave him chills. A perfectly smooth head held six dried and sunken insectoid eyes stared back blankly above a row of teeth only befitting something from a nightmare.

“If anyone has a clue please speak up,” Anton said softly.

Kal and Cetina shook their heads, Calo and Sheso knew nothing either. The Dwarves stood silently, staring at the creature. Umikgruid approached, an axe at the ready and tapped its leg. A puff of dust erupted from the limb as it fell free, further shattering upon landing on the stone floor.

“It’s been here a while,” Umikgruid muttered. He pointed to a series of cuts on the creature’s upper chest. “Those were made by Dwarvish weapons.”

“No real surprise there,” Verona muttered.

“No…But the cuts are very shallow for what I think made them.” Umikgruid tapped a wound above where its heart should lie. “This was made from a Great Axe. And yet it barely dug…”

“I can assure you that the project that I’ll have you work on will easily be able to puncture this hide,” Anton ordered a Fire Imp to touch the creature’s rear legs. With barely a push the creature disintegrated into dust and an innumerable tiny fragments. “Well, that’s interesting.”

“What is?”

“No bones.” Anton pointed to the remains. “Well, outside of its skull.”

“And that means?” Kal raised a brow.

“I don’t know. But I didn’t think insects could grow this large. Though the introduction of mana changes a lot of things.” Anton pointed further down the corridor, directing the Fire Imps to take the lead. “Let’s keep moving.”

Over the next few minutes, they encountered five insect creatures and thirty Dwarves, all long dead and thoroughly decomposing. Umikgruid didn’t leave an Insect standing, only happy when each was nothing more than a pile of dust and broken chitin fragments.

The light from the Fire Imps began to fade away. At first Anton, and those around him, thought something had destroyed them. He could still feel the tether connecting to him, they had simply walked down a flight of stairs. At the bottom they found a wooden door, easily a foot thick, completely ripped to pieces. The cuts, all easily grouped into groups of six was a dead giveaway as to why such an impressive structure had fallen.

“This is a trading post,” Umikgruid muttered as they entered. “A place where we store resources and goods before sending them above.”

The trading post’s roof nearly tripled in height from the corridor. Hundreds of wooden racks scraped the perfectly smooth stone roof. Many of the interconnecting planks had broken, sending once precious cargo all over the floor.

“A standard one at that…” Umikgruid nodded.

“Reminds me too much of home,” Gosthilda added.

Anton noticed the lack of places to hold torches, instead they found small white crystals. Rasha approached, tall enough to reach, and tapped one. For a moment it flickered with a light then faded away.

“Not surprising they ran out of Earth Mana.” Umikgruid looked between the stones, each of the pillars along the main thoroughfare of the room held four, one on each side, while those further back held two.

“Are they drawing all the time?” Anton asked. “Or did the magic run out? Is it possible to permanently deplete an area?”

Umikgruid shook his head. “We Dwarves use a lot of magical devices, but you can’t take too much from the land without things going…strange. So, some clever little sod found a way to make certain objects store Earth Mana and slowly release it to keep the device working.”

He tapped Rasha’s side and pointed to the crystal. “If you could please get that for me? It shouldn’t be stuck too tightly.”

Rasha looked to Anton for confirmation. He nodded and she gingerly removed the white gem. On the surface, it looked normal but the back was another story. The back contained another smaller cube, a formless grey. Rasha gently shook the gem and the smaller came loose into her hand. It looked unremarkable, just a grey formless stone. A white metal square lay inside the white cube, the grey had no corresponding patch of metal.

Umikgruid waved Rasha to lower her hand and took the smaller gem. “Wow…This is old. Not just old, I mean the way it’s been built is really old.” He smiled at Anton. “Think of this as a wooden stick compared to a full suite of Adamantium armour and a great sword.”

“That bad?” Verona asked.

Umikgruid chuckled. “Not that bad. I do exaggerate. But this Dwarf Hold must have been abandoned for ages…The only place you see things like this is in the lowest, poorest levels of the Dwarven Isles.”

“Where you live?” Kal asked.

Gosthilda nodded. “We keep things running…”

“Where can we get more of those little cubes?” Anton asked. “Or some sort of recharging station?”

“There’s always a few in every hold, no matter how small.” Umikgruid glanced around the trading post. “There should be one nearby…But we need to find a map. There should be one somewhere in here. There's no reason to travel all across the hold just to put some more Earth Mana into one of these.”

The Dwarves began to fan out, leaving them and the Dark Elves a little lost.

“The air here doesn’t smell so bad,” Calo said.

Her sister nodded. “But it was in the corridor…Is this the only way in here?”

“There might be some old chimneys and vents leading upwards…Up into the mountain...” Anton scratched his beard. “But we’re probably far away from Mount Aspire now.”

“We really haven’t explored much of the land to the north of Mount Aspire,” Verona said. “We don’t want to be seen from the Clansmen, after all.”

“Who?” Sheso asked.

“The Deweth Clansmen,” Anton said. “A group of very large and strong humans. Marauders and raiders that attack the lowland countries. Except us…Because they think the Kar Kingdom is dead.”

“It is in a sense.” Verona sniggered. “And not.”

The twins grew quiet, comparing the Green Moon to the Deweth Clansmen was a rather apt comparison. Anton smiled and patted their heads, hidden underneath light armour.

“Just make sure your clan doesn’t try and do something like that.” Anton received two odd looks. “No piracy…Well, unless I ask for it.”

“I don’t think…” Calo trailed off, pursing her lips and looking away. Sheso looked just as awkward. Something to question later.

“Found it!” A Dwarf, near the far end of the trading post yelled. He received a slap over the back of his head from Gosthilda, a quick and harsh flurry of words for being so loud. The Dwarf hung his head low but there was nothing to be done about it now.

The Dwarf, thoroughly humbled, pointed to a stone map next to another large set of thick wooden doors. Only one had been torn asunder, the other had attempted to be bolted shut but whoever had tried lost their hand, a bony skeleton arm jammed tight underneath stuck out at a worrying angle.

Umikgruid stroked his beard. “If this map is correct…Hmm…This is all very strange. Very strange indeed.”

Anton knelt down. He smiled as Verona, Calo and Sheso could remain standing without much issue. Verona noticed, her eye twitched in annoyance.

Umikgruid point to the top right of the stone map. “We’re here. Now, this says Trading Post Tertiary. So we’re dealing with all the poor goods.”

“But that’s the only one leading up into the mountain.” Anton followed the maps markers, another two appeared to rise to the surface, though away from Mount Aspire. “Those are to the north…At least I think they are. There’s nothing in Atros like a cave entrance. I don’t even know if we have cellars…”

“Probably not.” Umikgruid pointed his gloved hand to the other two entrances. “These look like there were small Dwarven cities around the entrances. Guard stations really. You haven’t been to the north of your mountain yet?”

“Kind of. There’s nothing there but open grasslands.” Anton received a nod from Verona. “We didn’t see anything that looked like ruins, though the grasses were long, they could easily hide in there.”

“Something to think about.” Umikgruid coughed. “Though I think they would have been sealed like this post, probably more thoroughly. Anyway, we’re a long way from anywhere important.”

Gosthilda shuffled towards her husband. “This looks good. A habitation block. A big one too.”

This habitation block was merely a long rectangle on the stone map, with a single connection to the tertiary trading post and two more connections to the rest of the sprawling Dwarven Hold.

“If we can take control of that, seal up the doors…” Gosthilda smiled. “We’ll have somewhere to start taking back this hold.”

“It’ll be a lot easier once we’ve got more Dwarves.” Anton nodded. “I’m just worried about the smell.”

“Smell?” Cetina asked.

“Of us,” Kal said. “This place is old and musty, even with the fresh air it gets from…somewhere. But we’re here now. And each of us smells.”

“So if there are any more of those insects they’ll soon know.” Anton stood up. “We’ll seal the doors, I’ll use my magic to shock anyone that touches them, and put a portal in here, just in case.”

Umikgruid continued to stare at the stone map.

“Something wrong?”

Umikgruid didn’t answer with words, just a strange sigh. “Something’s wrong with this map. I’ve never seen a hold like this.”

“You did say it was old.” Verona offered.

“That’s not it.” Umikgruid pointed to the bottom of the map. “This section was being etched into the map…I’m guessing that’s where these creatures came from, but that’s not the problem. I’ve found the forge, or at least that’s what it says, and it’s absolutely massive.”

Umikgruid pointed to a large square that would lie almost directly underneath Atros.

“That’s great. All the forging and metal work we could ever need.”

“It’s way too big for a hold this size.” Umikgruid shrugged. “But if it was supplying the humans and Beast-kin above then it makes more sense. But, that’s not it. It’s this thing to the side.”

A large vertical rectangle, adjoining to the forge, ran straight down, far below the newer markings and off the bottom of the stone map.

“I don’t understand what this is.”

“Storage?” Anton asked. “If these Dwarves supplied the United Empire they would need a very big arsenal. And it would make sense to put it right next to the forge.”

Umikgruid shook his head. “Doesn’t seem like one. No way from this to the surface, or the rest of the forge. But we can get to the forge pretty easily from that habitation block. Then there’s this.”

Umikgruid’s fingers trailed to another small rectangle, on the very far edge of the stone map, with a single long corridor connecting it to the rest of the hold.

“Perhaps some sort of research laboratory?” Anton said.

“Storage of dangerous items.” Kal offered. “Makes sense to keep it far away from the rest of the hold.”

Umikgruid let his hand drop. “I don’t know. They both say storage but nothing else…I don’t understand.”

“Let’s head to the habitation block first.” Anton directed the Fire Imps forward. “Then we’ll see if we want to go further. But I really want to see that forge, even if it’s been abandoned for ages. Maybe it has a place to recharge those stones. Doesn't look like there's one here.”

More and more corpses littered the corridor as they travelled down. Every so often they found a wooden barricade, broken and damaged alongside Dwarven crossbows resting against the wood with dead Dwarves laying behind. Often there were a few Insect corpses in front, peppered with bolts that disintegrated upon touch. While it was heartening to know they could be killed the sheer number they were finding, of Dwarves and the Insects, was more than a little disheartening. They found a large group, a ring of warriors protecting Dwarves with plain clothes, some were very small. All were ripped and broken and simply left to rot. Whatever the Insects were they didn’t take the dead back to their home, unless they ate like a spider; liquidising the innards, devouring the slurry and leaving a dried husk. He couldn’t see any puncture wounds, at least ones that corresponded to their large, menacing teeth, so it was likely they simply killed the Dwarves and moved on. Which was slightly worse. If hunger was not the driving force what was? Intruding upon a nest was the likely scenario.

Which meant the breach is probably still active.

A wood and iron door, again broken, awaited them at the habitation block. The Dwarves readied themselves for what might lie inside.

It was worse than even Anton dreaded.

Immediately the door became jammed. A child Dwarf’s body rolled and rattled out of the way, unfurling its dried clothes and bones within.

The habitation block reminded Anton more of a prison than something where someone would want to live. A series of corridors ran the length of the room, with five layers of small stone rooms reaching the roof. Even from the entrance Anton could see the staircases leading up at the end of the blocks and, with the right flicker from the Fire Imps, twenty or so houses down.

However he couldn’t marvel at their homes, not when the Dwarves were on the verge of tears; almost all of the doors were broken, deep scratches from the insect's claws ran along every piece of exposed metal, corpses, mostly unarmoured, littered the ground. Thankfully the number of insects wasn’t small, but the way some had positioned themselves, bursting through small windows and becoming wedged in the doors, didn’t fill Anton with any positive notions about the Dwarves last moments.

Umikgruid shook his head. “They killed everyone.”

“Are you sure that you’ll be able to live here?” Verona asked. “Do you even want to?”

“Once we clean it up it’ll be fine.” Umikgruid pointed to an insect corpse on a higher level, axe stuck in its head and a child’s skull gripped tight in its maw. “They won’t want to see that.”

“Do you want us to move the bodies?” Anton asked softly.

Umikgruid shook his head. “We’ll do it. They need to be carefully handled now, not that I don’t think you can’t…”

“We’ll secure the doors and makes sure those insects can’t get back in.” Anton smiled. “Compartmentalisation is key.”

---[]---

Half an hour later and the habitation block was completely secure. The doors had been repaired and a security prayer cast to keep any Insect at bay, a portal established and materials brought through. In the meantime the Dark Elves scoured the room looking for any additional breach. Satisfied they’d found none they decided to find the Dwarven forge, the beating heart of any hold, though Umikgruid still had some concerns as they descended the next stone flight of stairs.

“I’m just worried that there are more of those insect things.” He said. The steps were a little small for humans, doubly so for Rasha, but the Dwarves treated it like they were normal. “We haven’t found one alive yet.”

Anton looked at another defensive work, this one made from wood and iron, still ripped apart but this time the insects outnumbered the dead Dwarves.

“Me too.” Anton rotated his wrist. “Who knows if they’ve got the magic resistant flesh? If they do we’re going to be in a lot of trouble.”

The Fire Imps stopped before a massive iron door. It was almost comically large for them, perhaps a demonstration of some power or prestige, but it had clearly been the last line of defence for the Dwarves escaping the forge. One side was opened, the iron had taken the Insects’ attacks very well but still had fallen. However the number of dead Insects gave Anton hope; they were far from invincible even to traditional weapons, the Dwarves simply didn’t have anyone experienced left when they retreated to the habitation blocks.

“Here we go again,” Umikgruid mumbled.

The Fire Imps entered first and lit the way. A scene of slaughter awaited them inside, but far more even; two insects for every Dwarf. Umikgruid breathed a little easier. His hands bounced in excitement as he pointed to something lying just behind the door.

“There’s one. An Infuser Station.” He tossed the small grey stone into the air. “Finally we can get some proper light.”

Anton rushed the Fire Imps forward, they were completely expendable while the Dwarves were not, to secure the circular stone table. In a small alcove lay a small square hole, large enough for the grey stone. Umikgruid placed it inside. For a few seconds nothing happened, a few flickers of light and the small stone began to glow.

“How long before it’s fully charged?”

“Shouldn’t be too long.” Umikgruid smiled. “But there’s enough room on this thing for twenty. We should get as many as we can.”

Stone pillars, only a few meters tall and not reaching the roof, well out of sight even with Anton’s bright light, held another four light crystals, one on each face. Within a few moments the entire Infuser station was working, all twenty small stones glowing bright.

“I’d really love to know how this thing works.” Anton looked more closely at the device. “I’ve got no idea where it’s drawing Earth Mana from.”

Gosthilda chuckled. “So long as it does work. And it shouldn't affect the Earth Mana above. At least it shouldn't, that's the whole point of these things.”

The first stone blinked extremely brightly before returning to a steady bright glow. Umikgruid placed it gently into the large white stone. Almost instantly it lit up, the stone was so bright it hurt Anton’s eyes to look directly at it. Umikgruid passed it to Rasha to place onto the pillars. With the available light rapidly growing it revealed a forge of a truly industrial scale. Giant cauldrons, castings for metal ingots, anvils and benches bristling with forgotten tools and a myriad of other items Anton had no idea what purpose they could possibly serve laid scattered around the forge. Not all of the disorder was caused by the Insects, not unless they could move stone structures with ease. The Dwarves were ecstatic so that was enough for him.

“By all the gods,” Gosthilda whispered. “By Esperit…There’s so much here.”

“Is this too old to use?” Anton asked.

“No. Absolutely not…” She inspected one of the cauldrons. “These are all lined with Adamantium. Who has that much Adamantium, and that much money?”

“A world-spanning empire?” Verona offered.

Gosthilda nodded. “Indeed.”

Though the twenty crystals were performing a fantastic job of illuminating the forge much remained in shadow. Cauldrons and other metal devices extended beyond Anton’s s vision in the dim light. This place was probably even larger than Atros.

“If this was their primary weapons and armour production it’s no wonder the United Empire fell.” Anton received odd looks. “Without the Dwarves equipment, and I’m just doubting the Dwarven Isles would be able to make the difference especially if they charged a high price for their labour, they’d have to raise more soldiers, which puts more stress on their economy and empire.”

“So if this place hadn’t fallen Beast-kin and Humans might still live side by side?” Kal asked, her voice somewhat melancholic.

Anton scratched her ears, raising her mood slightly. “I have no idea. But the Dwarves didn’t do it on purpose.”

“There’s still metal inside the cauldrons’.” A Dwarf called out to Umikgruid. “It’s just been left to cool…Someone left in a real hurry. I wonder why..."

“Anyway to get them working again?” Anton asked.

Umikgruid pointed to a large metal box to the side of the cauldron. “If you find a depleted Infusion Gem swap them out and get them charging. We need to get this place working.”

“This’ll probably keep you occupied for the next couple of days.” Anton folded his arms. “I don’t want to leave you down here on your own though. Who knows if those Insects have picked up our scent yet.”

“But can’t you just create another portal?”

“I can. But there is a limit I can keep open at once. We don’t know if those things are drawn to someone taking too much Earth Mana.”

Umikgruid nodded. “Any depleted gems?”

The Dwarf returned with sixteen small grey stones, all lifeless and dead.

“Leave them on the table. We’ll charge them once we’ve got more of our people here. There’s too few of us if to get this place working, even if we wanted to right now.”

Another group of Dwarves approached with handfuls of grey gems. They looked completely identical to those powering the lights, it appeared they could be switched at will. Umikgruid had them place them upon the table.

“Before we head back up there’s the vertical room I want to have a look at,” Anton said. “It’s right underneath Atros too. If it’s dangerous we might need to move the city.”

“What fun.” Verona chuckled.

At the far end of the forge lay yet another door. This, however, hadn’t been touched in any way. Bright blue Chelium remained completely untouched to the Insects attacks, the stone around it had been only lightly touched. Umikgruid tried to move the door but it refused to budge. He tapped on a small lock at Dwarf height. Gosthilda brought out her small lock picking kit and began to work.

“This one’s very tricky,” Gosthilda grumbled as the seconds dragged on. “A lot of stupid things are going on in here. And it’s a right…pig to get right.”

“Mind if I try something?”

Gosthilda backed away as Anton placed his hand over the lock and chanted a prayer to unlock the door. A clang echoed throughout the door as it slowly swung open. Gosthilda grumbled but didn’t argue about Anton’s extremely convenient magic. The first whiff of air made Anton gag. He ushered the Dwarves back and the Fire Imps forward. The flaming creatures found nothing, though the smell was strangely easy to get used to. More worryingly his tail began to tingle and grow a charge, extremely slowly but it was noticeable.

“Something in there is giving me a charge.” Anton waved away the smell. “Keep an eye out for anything.”

“We’ll head in,” Cetina said. “Keep you from gaining any more.”

“It’s really not much. But I’ll stop the moment it starts to get anywhere serious.”

The girls didn’t look too convinced. No light crystals waited on the other side, only a perfectly flat floor extending ten meters from the door. Anton pushed a fireball and changed it to glow as bright as possible.

“There’s nothing here.” Verona frowned lightly. “Just a giant pit.”

The ten meter floor formed a square around the edge of the giant room, easily hundreds of meters wide and long. Otherwise it was empty. Anton directed the flame up, again nothing right to the roof.

Kal tapped his side. “There’s something shiny below. Down the far side of the wall.”

Kal pointed to a piece of white Adamantium metal, bright and shiny despite the passage of time, on the far side of the square pit, just a few meters down. An Adamantium hoop bolted into the stone, bolts that were bigger than Rasha. As he looked closer and his eyes adjusted he saw a thick chain of Adamantium hanging from the hoop and falling below his sight. He looked to the other two sides he could see, they too had a piece of Adamantium chain bolted to the side.

“So what are you holding then?” Anton mused.

His Fire Imps moved to the edge and stopped. There didn’t appear to be any trap, at least so far. His eyes followed the chains until he saw a hook protruding out of the darkness. Something covered the hook. A piece of flesh.

“What…” Rasha murmured. Her height allowed her a better vantage point, though it took the others only a few steps to see.

Suspended in the giant pit was something that shouldn’t exist in this world, nor on Earth. It was the lifelike version of the Dragon creature that Trellos held in the White Realm. The four Adamantium hooks dug deep into its flesh; one through the back of its skull, the far side through its shoulder, the closest side its hip and the right its upper leg. Its dark brown scaly skin reflected the light coming from Anton’s fireball. Despite the age, it remained new and relatively undamaged. Adamantium spikes were driven deep into its eyes and through its throat.

“Is that…” Verona tapped his hand.

“Yeah…That’s what’s he held.”

The Dragon’s chest had been ripped open, the rib bones cut cleanly off. A red crystalline heart lay in the centre. As Anton stared he saw something move within the crystal, strange swirls and writhing of ghostly shadowy worms.

“That’s where they got the red crystal,” Anton said.

“What?” Cetina asked. The Dark Elf twins looked equally confused.

“We have this red crystal, encased in this silver framework that repels Goblins.” Anton pointed at the crystal heart. “Look, there are pieces missing.”

“Harvesting it…” Kal shook her head. “Is it still alive?”

Its tail, identical to Anton’s, hanged loose and limp. The creature remained perfectly still, there wasn’t a breeze to start it swaying after all. A faint light glowed at the very bottom of the pit. Anton gingerly approached the edge and looked down. With an eye enhancement it was still difficult to see the bottom but he could just make it out.

Lava.

“They really wanted this wanted to make sure this thing never got out.”

“What is it?” Kal asked. He guessed that she was using an enhancement too.

“Molten rock.” Anton stepped back, gently pulling Kal back as well. “Molten rock that’s hotter than anything you could imagine, probably far hotter than my tethered flame pillars. More than enough to burn that thing.”

“You used it on King Harold.” Kal murmured softly.

“How’s it going back there?” Verona tapped his rear.

“Fine. Probably only one scale so far, maybe two.” Anton looked at the red crystal heart. “If we’re directly underneath Atros, well, we’ve just discovered why Atros survived for so long. I’ve always wondered why that little village was able to survive in where so many stronger places didn’t.”

“Survive is a strange way to put it.” Verona scratched her head.

“Atros seems pretty strong,” Calo said. “The Goblins have attacked since we’ve been here and it was pretty easy.”

“We understand there were less people here though…” Sheso trailed off.

Verona held their shoulders, annoyingly for her she had to reach up slightly. “Things weren’t great when Anton arrived. Let’s save that story for another day.”

The twins nodded.

“Do we kill it?” Cetina asked. “Drop it into this Lava?”

“No. I don’t think it’s going to just get up.” Anton flexed his hand. “I’m just more worried this thing actually roamed this world.”

“And that someone was able to capture one.” Cetina pointed to its long claws. “Imagine that ripping through armour. I wouldn’t trust Adamantium armour against those. It’d be like being hit by a boulder, even if it didn’t cut through.”

“Would the project of yours be able to kill this thing?”

“Maybe a few hundred shots in its head and throat.” Anton smiled. “But there are larger one weapons, much larger ones that I want you to build. They’d kill this thing in just a few hits.”

“This is getting more interesting by the moment.” Umikgruid chuckled.

Anton signalled to leave the room. “We’ll end the expedition here for the day. We’ve made a lot of ground and we shouldn’t go too far. There’s still a lot of the hold to explore before we can say it’s secure. I’ll leave another portal set in the forge. As soon as we have enough Dwarves we’ll get that up and running. I wonder if Jonathan’s going to be annoyed that his smithy is about to be eclipsed by something that’s always been just beneath our feet.”