“Kill me ya filty green bastard!” shouted an older dwarf as he spat at Turk. His long beard was white and tied off at his belt so as not to get caught in the fire I guessed. “We won’t be traitors to our king!”

Dirk strode forward as Turk sighed. They both knew there was always at least one who would resist and be brave. They were always the one you needed to take care of first, according to every show we had ever watched.

I noticed butter that was scalding hot in the pan as Dirk held it over the dwarf's head. He grabbed the backside of his clothing and put a boot on the dwarf's legs as he poured the hot butter on the top of the man's bald head.

Screams and curses erupted as the butter immediately started causing burns on his scalp as Dirk slowly made sure every bare inch of his head was covered with butter. As if that wasn’t enough, Dirk then set the hot skillet on the man’s head, and even though the dwarf tried to fight back, Dirk easily overpowered him as the smell of burning dwarf flesh filled the air.

“I won’t lie,” Vreek suddenly said, “That smells pretty good.”

Dirk laughed, tossed the pan aside, grabbed the dwarf by the beard, and yanked his chin toward the ceiling.

I barely saw the knife he moved so fast, and the entire beard was cut off at the base of the dwarf’s chin.

The other dwarves gasped at the sight of Dirk yanking a good three-foot-long beard from the dwarf's belt and tossing it to the floor.

Turk shook his head slightly at Dirk, but he knew the stakes. He knew we were balls deep in the game right now, and there was no going back.

Turk leaned forward as Dirk held the struggling dwarf by his clothing and smiled.

“If you speak again without me telling you to, we will take an eye. You only get two of those before I take off your hands next.”

“You green muther…”

I remembered watching Kill Bill with the boys. That scene where that woman, I could not remember her name at this moment, suddenly reached out and snatches an eyeball from another woman seemed impossible. I mean, plucking someone's eye out like that was just not possible.

Yet here, in a fraction of a section, Turk did that. His finger’s darted out and pulled the entire eyeball of the dwarf before him, yanking the nerve cord and everything else out at the same time.

The dwarf screamed in pain for a moment before he passed out. The shock was too much for him, I guessed.

Turk smiled as he turned and glanced at the other three dwarves. Two female and one male dwarf sat there in horror, their eyes wide as they almost gagged from what Turk had done.

Turk turned slightly and tossed the eyeball to Vreek, who held it above his mouth before letting it fall into and swallowed.

“That tastes pretty good.”

Turk turned back to the remaining three staff and gave an evil grin as he towered over them.

“Whoever leads me to the king’s room, I will not kill. The other two I will maim far worse than that one, and I will make sure you do not pass out like he did.”

Turk caused a blue flame to appear in his hand as he spoke. The dwarves all saw that he had power and glanced at each other.

Suddenly the male dwarf shouted out, “I’ll show ya! You can butcher them, but I’ll show ya!”

“You tiny limp prick!” the female dwarf to his left shouted as she leaned forward and smacked her head into his. “You do no such thing!”

The other female bent over and started biting on the male dwarf’s shoulder, and he howled in pain.

Dirk and I quickly grabbed the two women and pulled them away from the man as Turk stood before him.

“Time is short, and I don't have time to deal with liars,” Turk growled. “Swear to me you will lead us, or I will make you wish you had died the way these three will.”

“I promise! I have no love for the king! He is the reason I am here!” the dwarf scowled.

Turk nodded and stood up.

“Which way do we need to go?”

The dwarf motioned to a door off past a fire pit on the other side of the room with his head.

“It be that way! But we need to hurry if the alarm drums be beating like that. They will be protecting the king!”

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Vreek laughed and came over and grabbed the dwarf by his backside, and easily lifted him off the ground.

“I’ll take him outside that door. You deal with these three.”

I nodded. The man needed to believe we would do horrible things to him if he lied.

When we joined Vreek in the hallway with the dwarf, I found him standing calmly beside Vreek. For one whose life was in the hand of four goblins, I was unsure how he could be so calm.

“You ready to lead us? I asked.

“I am. We need to hurry, and I be guessing you won't untie my hands.”

I shook my head no, and the dwarf sighed as he shrugged.

“This way,” he declared as he started moving down the hallway.

“You believe him?” Vreek asked as I walked past him to be behind the dwarf.

“I do. I think he doesn’t like the king and might want him dead for reasons we don’t know.”

Vreek shrugged and moved to the back.

“Move fast but don’t try to run.”

The dwarf laughed and nodded. He started jogging a little, which was funny to watch as he rocked back and forth because he could not use his arms properly.

He led us up small staircases, and we only saw a few dwarves. He usually had us wait as he watched them through a door I cracked for him, and then he would say ‘go’.

The sounds of the drums almost seemed to make the stone walls shake.

He had tried to make some conversation, but I ignored him. He wanted to know how we knew their language but I felt it was not worth wasting time on it.

The rooms and halls we ran through were getting more ornate and had more torches and rugs on the floors. I could tell we were entering the side of the castle that had those with power.

“The room yaz want will be just two more hallways down and then one hallway on the left. I can lead ya, but most likely, there will be fighting. I prefer not to die, and I am not sure what your goals be, but perhaps I can help.”

I heard Turk laugh.

I motioned to the dwarf to turn around completely.

“How can you help?”

He smiled and gave a slight bow.

“Names, Nomot. My family has a claim to the throne, but the king had many of us removed. If he dies, there will be some changes and fighting. I’ll do what I can to get some power. If I can, I will swear to help how I can in exchange for my life.”

I glanced at Turk and saw him shake his head from side to side as he tried to weigh what we were told. An ally would make things easier when we attacked the humans. If the dwarves did not help, that would be a boon for us.

“I’ll tell you what Nomot. I am Zolb, and I am here to make a home for my people. I will let you live if you lead us and if you promise to help assist us when the time comes, I will make sure the goblins and orcs do not bother you for a long time to come.”

Nomot nodded, turned around, and held his hand out as best he could through the bonds.

“I’ll shake to that! Life be better than death!”

I groaned a little but shook the dwarf's fat fingers, and he turned around and smiled.

“Now then, to prove my commitment, I’ll lead you to the throne room. Then you can knock me out and leave me there.”

Laughing, I nodded. This dwarf was smarter than I had given him credit. He was a shrewd man for sure, and I could only imagine how long he had hoped for an opportunity like this.

“Turk with me, snipe, anyone, we see. Vreek you still have our backside. Let’s go.”

Five minutes later, we stood outside the hallways Nomot said would lead straight to the throne room. It would come through a side door but it would be guarded, he informed us.

Dirk came forward, and I warned Nomot it would hurt.

“Everything worth havin hurts. I look forward to the next time we talk, Zolb.”

I grinned and Dirk smacked Nomot in the back of the head with the back of his dagger. I watched as the dwarf’s eyes rolled backward, caught him, and laid him on the ground. Dirk cut the bonds, and we all started moving through the hallway.

As we came to the door and gently opened it I saw at least twenty warriors with shields and spears lining the narrow hallway facing us. Behind them were dwarves in cloth robes. The hallway was narrow, so they were shoulder to shoulder.

“I’m guessing healers and warriors,” I whispered as I gently closed the door. “Plan?”

“We going in quietly or loud?” Dirk asked.

I glanced at Vreek, and he looked at me. I saw him smile and motion at Turk.

“This is not a time for stealth. Let your son blow open the door.”

I laughed and nodded.

“Ready, Turk?”

Turk grinned, stood before the door and pointed his bow toward it.

“Just say when!”

I almost felt bad for the dwarves in that hallway. Turk charged up an arrow, and when he was ready, I kicked the door open, and he unleashed it down the hallway. I didn’t get to see what happened but I heard the screams and smelt the burnt flesh. I saw the carnage of what was left. Bodies were missing in the middle of the first five rows of the warriors as if they had been melted off. The other half had been blown to bits when the arrow exploded. There were pieces of armor embedded all over the hallway. The healers and warriors in the back who might have survived the initial explosion did not survive the grenade of metal pieces from their armored brothers and sisters that died to the explosion of fire. The door behind them was gone as well.

“Time to go,” I stated as I moved into the hallway and started moving past the strewn bodies.

I could hear shouts from inside the throne room and knew whatever was inside was going to be at least ten times worse.

When I got to the doorway, I glanced inside and quickly deflected an incoming spell with Light Drinker. Only because of the speed and power in my body was I able to do so. It bounced into the room and up at the ceiling, causing a shower of rocks to fall.

“How many!” Vreek shouted.

“Hundreds!”