The Ranger Inn was a beehive of activity when we came back. There had been twenty rangers there last night but now many more were coming and going. They were unloading crates and chests and hurrying away with heavy loads on their backs.

We found Karinne in the center, directing the others. She’d changed from the simple linen robes she’d worn yesterday into battle dress, with armor over her ranger’s greens and a strange helmet with a huge, red plume. A sword hung by her side.

“Karinne!” Serah called to her as we hurried into the room. “What’s happening?”

“There you are! Thank the gods!” She took Serah’s hands briefly and looked very relieved. “We are removing everything we’ve stored here,” she said, “and taking it to a safe place outside the city. We don’t think this will blow over quickly.”

“What this? What is happening out there?”

“We’re not sure. Someone is claiming to have the Dragonblade, and has detained the king and proclaimed himself emperor.” She made a disgusted grimace. “We doubt it’s true, but we do know there’s fighting all around the palace and in the inner city. More troops are on the way, and there are reports the Kamarian army is only a few days’ away, right at the border.

Serah looked grim. “Have you heard from the others in our party?”

Karinne shook her head. “No. You are the first to return. I know Arndrir went to our guild hall, on the Main Square.”

“He should be fine,” Serah said, but I heard the doubt in her voice. We all glanced up as another loud boom echoed outside.

“Serah! Peter!” Tiriel burst into the room, followed by Thord. “There you are! Are you okay?”

“Yes,” Serah said.

“Have you heard what’s going on? The Duke of Mezzecal claims to have the sword and is calling himself emperor.”

“Mezzecal?” Karinne said. “That’s not good. What do you think, does he have the sword?”

“I don’t know,” Tiriel said, looking more agitated than I’d ever seen her. “I was at the embassy and got out through a back door. There was a lot of magic flying, but nothing that felt like dragon magic. I thought that’s what the Blade’s magic would feel like.”

A ranger came up to Karinne, and she took a few steps away to talk to him.

“What do we do?” I said. I was feeling very queasy about being caught in the middle of the war.

“We go to the palace to find out if he really has the sword,” Tiriel said, without hesitation. “It’s my task,” she added when she saw my appalled look. “My brother sent me to find the sword, and stop the war. They're both here. The sword is in the palace, if the rumors are true, and the war is about to start.”

I opened my mouth, but managed to close it before pointing out how dangerous this would be. She knew that, obviously.

“Yes,” Serah said. “Have you heard anything about Arndrir or Caveria?”

Tiriel and Thord both shook their heads. “There was chaos in the square,” Thord said. “The good thing was that I could run just through it, since the humans were fighting each other and didn’t even notice a dwarf.”

“Tiriel,” Serah said. “You’re our leader.”

Tiriel nodded, with narrowed eyes. “There is nothing to be gained from waiting here. We go to the palace now. The rangers will look out for Arndrir and Caveria if we ask.”

“Let’s go,” Thord said.

“Just a moment,” Serah said. “I will tell Karinne.” She hurried away to find the ranger.

“Peter,” Tiriel said, her hard expression softening. “I know this is difficult for you. I will say this, since you do not have the full background. We knew this might be our fate, but you were sent here by the Moon Goddess. You voted to stay. I want you to stay. I will give you the choice, now. Do you want to stay?”

For a moment, I had a very tempting vision of running - not walking - out of the city, and finding the nearest guild house of the bridge builder’s guild, or whatever it was called. But... I couldn’t. I just - couldn’t.

“I want to stay,” I said. “I’m coming with you.”

Tiriel beamed like the sun and I grinned back stupidly. “Thank you!” she said happily.

Just then Serah came back.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Karinne will send out word to look for Arndrir and Caveria, and tell them our plans. She will also take care of our packs. Peter, there’s no time to teach you now, but Arndrir has taught the rest of us a few hidden ranger signs so we can make contact with them. Just don’t lose us, okay?”

“Let’s go,” Thord said again. “I’m getting restless. It’s become too quiet out there.”

“Let’s go,” Tiriel agreed, and led the way down the stairs and out on the streets.

The maze of alleys outside the Ranger Inn was oddly quiet, but when we got to the main street it was packed. There were fewer soldiers about, but people were streaming out of the city en masse. Many were carrying large burdens. We made our way against the flow, and quickly got separated. Tiriel and Thord were especially difficult to follow, since they were so much shorter than most humans. I managed to keep Serah in sight, and hoped that she could sense the others, or something.

When we reached the gate into the inner city it was guarded.

“You may not pass,” the guard said. “The city is closed, for security reasons.”

Tiriel drew herself up to her full length and held up something from her pocket.

“I am the High Princess Tiriel,” she said, sounding haughty and arrogant. “I am the official envoy from the King His Highness Diwelas of the Splendorous Mountains to His Majesty King Orcander of Dimra. I require to visit our embassy.”

The guard wavered and looked as if he was about to call his superior.

“The Elven King is an old ally of Dimra,” she went on. “He does not wish to see it’s downfall.”

The guard looked unhappy, but relented and waved us through.

“Thank you!” Tiriel said and flashed him one of her smiles. When I hurried past, after her, he still looked stunned.

Inside the walls the city was grander and the buildings taller. We walked briskly, on the edge of running, along a mostly empty street with soldiers on every corner. They were standing still, waiting, and hiding behind the corners.

“It’s too quiet,” Thord muttered. Tiriel shushed him.

We reached a square, a small one, and went around a huge stone statue in the middle. Behind it, we could see the main square a short distance away. Tiriel motioned us onto a side street. Soldiers gave us confused looks as we passed them, but Tiriel looked totally confident and determined and nobody stopped us.

The street led right up to the square, and we held close to the wall as we approached and peered out. Nothing moved on the square, but there were droves of bodies lying all over it. The fighting must have been fierce, and not just with sharp weapons. Many of the bodies were charred and burnt.

Now nothing moved, and it was eerily quiet.

Tiriel laid down on her belly and crawled forwards to stick her head out past the corner of the building. She scuttled back quickly and motioned us close.

“There is a man standing on the large balcony in the palace, holding a burning sword. I think it’s the Duke, but am not sure.” She frowned deeply. “We should avoid the square. He will send a fireball at anything that moves... Thord?”

“Yes?”

“Do you know of any hidden routes under the square, or the palace?”

“None that I can mention to an elven princess,” he said with a twisted grin. “But I might show the leader of the party, as she strives to keep the humans from starting another war.”

“Thank you,” Tiriel said, bowing her head.

“Take this,” he said to her, and handed her something in a small brown pouch. Thord set off at a run, back along the street we’d come. I got lost almost immediately, as he ran along the small streets. There were soldiers here as well, and we almost got stopped several times. They all stopped, though, when Tiriel held up the thing Thord had given her. It looked like a huge glass crystal, and it glittered even in the shade between the buildings.

“Here,” Thord said, and went down some steps to a wooden door leading to a basement. He took out a long, narrow, twisted metal thing, and inserted it into the lock. He turned it around and opened the door. We followed him into darkness.

Inside was a dusty storage room full of boxes and crates along the walls. I couldn’t see any door, but maybe it was hidden behind the boxes stacked all the way to the ceiling. Thord went to a corner and opened one of the crates. The crate wall hung on hinges and swung out easily. In the floor below was a stone door, hidden so well it was almost invisible. Thord used his lock-pick and opened it.

We climbed down into total darkness. Thord lit a number of short sticks, which glowed faintly but did not burn. We followed him into a low tunnel.

It must have been made for dwarves, since it was low and narrow and went up and down in sharp turns that I almost couldn’t navigate. It was lucky I didn’t have claustrophobia, I thought. I hated heights, but being down in the ground like this didn’t bother me.

After some time, Thord opened another door, leading up. We climbed out of the tunnels and into a small empty room.

“We are now in the lower basement of the Dwarven Hall of Ambor,” Thord said. “This is not a public area, so do not wander. I have warned that I may bring you. Even you.” He nodded at Tiriel. “Keep the diamond at hand.” She nodded back.

There was no door into this room either, but part of the wall in one corner was fake and swung out as Thord pulled it with his lock-pick. We followed a corridor and then climbed two flight of stairs into a crowded hall.

It seemed to be a dining hall, with wooden tables running down the length of it. Dwarves sat on the benches, drinking and eating with intense focus. Thord led us down the middle, and I heard surprised grunts and mutterings as they saw Tiriel. They whispered among themselves but nobody said anything to us.

At the far end was a separate table. Thord walked up to it and bowed.

“Be hailed, Cave Master,” he said. “I have returned out of necessity, with my party. We seek passage to the palace.”

An old, wrinkled dwarf rose from the table and came over to us. “Be hailed, searcher party of the Elven King.” He almost, but not quite, suppressed a shudder at the words.

“I would welcome you formally, especially you, Princess of the Mountains, but this is not the time. The Duke’s men are readying a new assault. We must soon conclude our rest and make ready for action. However, there is someone waiting for you here.” He beckoned us to follow beyond a thick curtain and into another room.

“Arndrir!” Serah called. He rose from a chair and came quickly over to meet us.

“Thank the gods!” he said. “I was beginning to wonder.”

“How did you get here?” she said, but he shook his head.

“Not now. Our hosts say we do not have much time. What are your plans?”

“To find out if the Duke has the Blade, and if so, try to retrieve or destroy it, if possible,” Tiriel said. Arndrir nodded slowly.

“There is a complication. They have caught Caveria and are holding her in the dungeons.”