We all emerged from the blood gate into the great courtyard of the royal castle in Wortheim. The place was larger than a football field and packed with giants. Huge heads leaned over each other to peer down on us, and hundreds of children watched curiously from behind the safety of stalagmite legs. A line of grim faced and heavily armored giants kept a clear path from the gate to the steps and the double doors of the castle beyond. Thurg’s enormous skull was still where I had left it, impaled on the great pike in the center of the courtyard.
As usual, the air here was several degrees warmer than Ariel’s Gate but still not quite above freezing. Waiting to greet us on the raised landing was the entire royal family, including a couple of giant children I had yet to meet. There was a boy that must have been just nearing puberty and a small (relatively of course) girl that might have passed for a human woman at first glance. She was obviously just past the toddler stage with large eyes and round cheeks that demanded pinching.
The king and queen presented a regal image that made me feel like a real impostor as a leader. They were the real deal, and I was barely keeping my head above water with everyone’s help.
We reached the top of the stairs which was only possible thanks to a narrow section that had been built to accommodate smaller visitors. The normal steps were as tall as me. The guards allowed the giants to fill in the path, and took positions at the base of the stairs. The murmuring ceased as king Thrym raised a hand for silence.
“Presenting the warrior and lord of the great forest of Gnollwood, conqueror of the forbidden jungle, slayer of the cyclops legion, savior of the princess Ignea, subjugator of the Warlord, and giant friend...” Thrym paused to take a breath and to build some tension. “The mighty Gray, Titan’s Bane!” Thrym said those last words as a roar, triggering a cheer from the crowd that shook the castle and echoed throughout the great cove. Thrym allowed the cheer to carry on for a few moments, and when it died down he continued. “Lord Gray has already vanquished so many of our foes, and now aims to end the plague of Gault's reign. Will we stand idle as he meets our enemies yet again!?”
A resounding roar of “No!” answered him from every giant in attendance.
“Will we march!?" Thrym really knew how to work a crowd.
“AYE!”
"Will we sing!?" He grew a bit louder.
"AYE!"
"Will we make our foolish enemies remember what it is to stand against us!?
"AYE! AYE AYE!" The response shook the air.
“The alliance is struck! Let this day be marked as a holiday until the end times!” Another short cheer followed.
“Sons and daughters of Wortheim, gather your arms! We make for Grandring this very night. Our drums are thunder, and our song heralds the coming of a new dawn. Let the One Who Weeps bear witness. Let the ravens grow fat. Let the earth drink deeply and blush at our might. TO WAR!” Thrym’s voice reached a crescendo and I could physically feel the swelling auras of the giants as their hearts were ignited.
I thought I was at least a decent speaker, but it turns out I didn’t know shit about giving speeches.
“Now while my people prepare, there is another visitor here that wishes to meet you.” Thrym turned his head and addressed me directly.
“There are refreshments inside.” Queen Hilda added before I could inquire who this mysterious visitor might be. “Please come in.”
We entered the castle then. I had already seen the inside once on my first trip here but was no less impressed the second time around. The ceiling of the great hall was lost in shadow that the roaring braziers couldn’t reach. Enormous tapestries hung from the smooth stone walls depicting various battles and historical events. Two thrones upon a raised platform towered over us, and there was a human sized table with chairs set up next to all the giant furniture. It reminded me of the kids’ table at family dinners.
Leaning against the small table was a dwarf I had never seen before. He was a rough looking one, with scars covering most of his visible skin. His mustache and bushy brows were blood red but the thick beard beneath was mostly grey. He was smiling widely, displaying a few yellow teeth but mostly just black spaces where teeth had once been. He smelled like taco meat, blood, and leather. He might be unsavory to look at and on the ripe side, but he was strong, extremely strong.
“At long last.” He bowed so fast and deep, I thought his forehead was going to hit the floor as he spoke. “The Gray is real.”
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“I keep hearing that from dwarves.” I answered with a somewhat confused smile. “I’m afraid I don’t know who you are though.”
“Those words are a prayer for many.” The stranger said. “They chant it as they march north on empty bellies. Children say it as they dig in the dirt for worms to eat. My name is Van. I am a meddler. I put this pretty nose everywhere it shouldn’t be for a living, and I’ve been waiting to meet you for quite some time.”
“What can I do for you, Mr. Van?” I asked as I phased forward, appearing in a sitting position in one the chairs.
“I’ll get straight to the point.” Van said, unshaken by my movement. “We want in on this here alliance.”
“In other words, you learned that we’re about to intervene and don’t want to be in a position of debt to either of us when the dust clears.” I was not accusing, merely observing and I kept my eyes locked onto his as I spoke.
“You’re a sharp one.” Van confirmed. “We plan to bust out of Grandring and join the fight when they turn their attention to you.”
“Since you’ve spoken plainly I’ll do the same. I seek no leverage or position of superiority over your people. I cannot speak for Thrym, but I welcome any ally that operates in good faith. Our attack will begin with the setting of the sun.”
“Whoa wait a second there.” Van finally showed a bit of shock. “It’s a three day march if you know all the short cuts.”
“It’s a thirty minute flight and a single step through a gate.” I corrected him.
“A gate spell?” Van stroked his mustache. “That’s certainly something.”
“It’s convenient.” I conceded. “I will travel to within striking distance of the enemy, and open a gate for our forces to come through. If you wish, I can carry you to Grandring and allow you to warn your king.”
“That’s alright. I’ve got my ways of getting around.” He patted the air as he declined. “We will be ready to join the assault when the sun sets.”
“Be careful.” I cautioned him. “Many of my allies use attacks that create widespread destruction. I’ll warn everyone, but you know how chaotic battles can become.”
“Aye sir.” Van chuckled. “That I do know.”
“How did you know that we would be here today?” I asked him curiously. “This was arranged very recently, and not advertised.”
“Leave an old dwarf some mystique.” Van rejected the question with a wink. “I’ll tell you everything once the siege is broken.”
“Niiya, does he seem like a bad person?”. I asked her telepathically.
“He’s okay.” She answered after staring intensely at him for a moment.
With that as my blessing, I abandoned my curiosity about the peculiar dwarf and turned my attention to more pressing matters.
“Raj, the map if you please.” I called the tengu woman over and she spread a detailed map of the Grandring area on the stone table top. The map was created in EDEN thanks to the input of several helpful refugees from Grandring.
What amounted to a preoperative briefing ensued. Snacks and drinks were passed around as we outlined missions for all of the key players. At one point Leifa raised her hand.
“If they’re all clumped together in that valley why not simply use our gravity magic to drop great boulders from the sky and obliterate them all at once.” She asked matter of factly.
I was taken aback. When did she become so callous?
“Well, the main reason would be the dwarven kingdom beneath the surface of that valley. A cataclysm like that would probably cause cave ins and excessive collateral damage.” I tried to hide the edge of disappointment in my voice. “The second reason is that there are certainly non combat operatives among any army of that size. Cooks, porters, engineers - none of whom have committed crimes enough to warrant being crushed by a giant boulder.”
“Of course, forgive me.” She looked down and took a step back.
“With utmost respect lord Gray, I agree with Leifa.” A raspy soft voice interjected before I could continue. “Grandring is engineered to endure all manner of disturbances, and lies much deeper than you may realize. As for the non combat forces, they were not conscripted and fully understand the risks of their involvement.”
Et tu, Raj!? Her points may have seemed cold but on many levels she was right. The kingdom had committed terrible crimes in their pursuit of expansion, and had honestly earned this lack of sympathy. I paused and seriously considered their argument.
“You both make fair points, and that would most likely be the safest way to launch our attack. That said, I have to be selfish this time. We will attempt to decapitate this force with field Appraisal and precision strikes. Once they are scattered and leaderless we can rout anything that still wants a fight. Our priority is ending the war, not maximum carnage. There will be a time after this war. We aren’t just eliminating foes, we’re creating orphans and grieving families that we may one day have to care for.” I spoke with as much conviction as I could muster and saw the effect of my words immediately.
“We shall defeat the kingdom, and spare those that surrender.” This came from Leza, and the others nodded firmly at her words.
“Thank you.” I said sincerely.
The rest of the planning phase went smoothly after that. Two hours before sunset I led my small group and one thousand battle ready mountain giants back through the portal to EDEN where we would stage our complete force.
I left the organization in the capable hands of Tabula and Raj, and shot into the cloudy sky flying fast toward the besieged capital. Twenty minutes later I was hovering a thousand feet above the enormous siege camp.
It looked more like a city than a camp. Permanent stone buildings were arranged in blocks with paved streets between them. There was a blank stretch of battered earth between the invaders’ city and the huge square cut tunnel marking the entrance to the dwarven kingdom. That blank fifty meter field illustrated the invaders’ respect for their enemy. I had learned a great deal about the ingenious layout of Grandring and its many layers of defense.
A giant multilayered barrier with a mythic gemstone as its heart encompassed the main city. The nine most powerful defense mages maintained the barrier. Beyond the mighty barriers, dwarven engineering provided horribly efficient countermeasures.
The artificial tunnels surrounding Grandring functioned as a living maze. They were cut with perfect precision with no variance, and certain sections could be altered at will. Unwanted guests would find tunnels closed behind them, and endless twists and turns would leave even the most experienced navigators hopelessly lost until the dwarves decided otherwise. Those tunnels could also be flooded with poisonous gas or hot tar from thousands of hidden chutes.
Finally, any enemy that somehow managed to escape the maze would be greeted by The Kings of Grandring. When a ruler of Grandring died, their likeness was immortalized as a huge golem of steel, gold, and mithril. The creation of these golems was much like the tomb of a pharaoh, a national undertaking spanning several years and thousands of craftsmen. The end result was an S class defensive guardian widely believed to be invincible. Thirteen Kings guarded Grandring, but only twelve of them were golems. The current king was rumored to be among the strongest fighters in history, a title even king Thrym begrudgingly acknowledged.
Unsurprisingly, no enemy had ever come close to conquering Grandring. The kingdom’s only hope was this endless siege, isolating the dwarves and strangling them over many years.
I meant to end that today. I landed in the huge caldera of an extinct volcano about a mile from the siege city. I opened the blood gate, and my forces began to appear.
In total we were bringing one thousand giants including Yugal, twenty Cambions, all of the Hellcats, both Dark Alfar, The Mighty Four, Niiya, me, and fifty of the best dwarven fighters that volunteered.
We were a little less than eleven hundred against the kingdom’s combined force of close to fifty thousand. Those poor bastards.