“Nothing wrong with choosing the good smithing trade, but we aren’t all smiths.” The one Norbert held by the foot said to him, Norbert picking his voice as the second one between the two.
Norbert lifted the man higher off the ground so they could look at each other face to face. “Really? From what I have seen out in Libitina you all where blacksmiths. Though not very good as none of them could repair an enchanted helm” Norbert questioned, shaking his head to the side indicating the black helmet he currently wore.
“Well, you are holding up and down two guards. Out on a mostly quiet patrol route, that was before someone interrupted us. And those moved to Libitina are the worst of us. The true crafters are beneath your feet.”
Norbert nodded as he stared at the other “And what do you do in your free time when you’re not patrolling? Drink at the bar, talk to your spouses? Or do you go hammering away at an anvil? And please stop with the grandiose blacksmiths. I can tell just by looking at you…” Norbert asked, turning from one to the other and back again with each question he said, trailing off with a click of his tongue and a shake of his head.
The two looked at each other, and then both started shaking, trying to escape his grasp. Norbert just shook them about until they finally stopped, seeing the one he held by the beard, a new wave of tears pouring out of their eyes.
“Can you to just tell me what you were talking about, what else is in these tunnels?” Norbert asked the two of them.
“No clue, just people disappearing when they go too far out. Thus the patrol” The words came out in a strangled cry from the one Norbert held their beard.
Closing his eyes as the words bounced around in his head, feeling his body move about on its own as he opened them again, seeing he was looking out from the direction of the two guards.
“Let me guess, it’s that way?” Norbert asked, pointing with a nod to the direction he was currently looking at.
Receiving several nods from both of them, Norbert just shook his head. Turning around, he started walking down the path again. Feeling his feet turn around on their own, nearly tripping him with the weight he was holding, Norbert turned to the two little men he was currently holding in the air.
“Is there anything set up to direct people in this mountain?” Norbert asked, the amount of times he had been spun around on his feet now starting to get annoying to him.
Norbert looked around at the others, nodding his head at the sounds they made in disagreement.
“Well, I guess it's just me then. Now you two run off. And please don’t trigger any alarms,” Norbert told them as he rolled them both away, seeing them scramble on the ground and quickly get to their feet. Now I’ll be watching the two of you, so best be quiet.” Norbert’s voice went higher and higher with every word he spoke.
The two on patrol looked at each other before running off without even a word. Norbert turned back around and looked at the path they had come from, wondering what was waiting for him out there.
Not having any choice in joining the two running half-dwarves, Norbert just breathed out, hoping that whatever was compelling him forward wasn’t taking him to some trap.
***
Norbert looked up at the passageway, gulping as his eyes looked over what they saw. Down the tunnels he had travelled, looking both ways, over here lights being used so Norbert didn’t need to use a torch, happy since he only had a few left, and how the last one was still wasted, Norbert not knowing when would be the next time he could stock up on the wood he required for them as he continued to trek down the tunnels.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
As he looked up, he saw the rune above him start to activate even without needing to change his vision. Stepping backwards, Norbert still watched the rune as it started to rip apart on him.
Forcing energy into his legs, Norbert leapt backwards, his movement activating the rune as a pillar of stone fell from the ceiling, breaking and cracking when it hit the ground.
Cracks from the impact ran through the ground as his body started to fall too fast. The stone fell as he reached for the edge, his hand grasping it as it crumbled beneath his fingers, giving out under the added weight. The fox ran up his hand, leaping for the gap as a flash of purple enveloped its entire body before it landed on the ledge of the tunnel.
Looking up at the ceiling as he free-fell, Obsius was not affected by the gravity as it continued to flap its wings, and Norbert heard the bird shriek down at him.
“You know I’ll be fine. Meet up with you in Alasium!” Norbert shouted, his words echoing around him as he fell into the darkness, the light above him indicating that he had fallen through.
“See you in Grimm” A voice tickled down through the rubble, barely a whisper, as he went further away from the source, seeing several tails appear behind Kit the fox.
His body turned around him as he flayed out his arms as he continued to fall, darkness covering him as he wondered what the place he was leading to would end up for him.
As the thought left his head, the sound of rushing water flowing underneath him was heard, followed quickly by splashes. Holding his breath, Norbert tried to flip his body around so he wouldn’t belly-flop onto the rushing water.
Halfway through, Norbert shot into it, the coldness from the water deep underground hitting him, causing the air to flow out of his body. Taking a small breath, only for water to come in; his entire body submerged as he looked up, stopping the panic that wanted to claw into his mind.
He took a moment to let his body go along with the water and travel wherever it wanted to take him. He kept his breath in, righting his body as he swam in the direction he hoped was up.
His head broke through the water, and Norbert breathed. The burning in his lungs went away even though the small part of his mind told him he would have been fine without the air. The automatic response still comforted Norbert as he laid on his back, looking up at the darkness above, hoping there wouldn’t be an underground waterfall waiting for him.
He takes his pack and pouch, feels Obsius’s coins within his own, and cringes internally at what the bird would do to him the next time they meet. Patting them to make sure that none of them had been lost as Norbert made his way down the underground river, slowly bobbing along.
The water started to speed up as he continued to bob, whistling to himself as the tune came up in the air, thinking about how he would get back to Alasium to meet up with Obsius and Kit, trying to remember places and locations from the globe that he once played within Vivienne’s Mansion.
The rushing water got louder and louder, encroaching into Norbert’s own thoughts. He turned around in the water, kicked up to see above it, and followed it with his eyes in the grey world of his night vision to see what was happening to the water for it to be so noisy.
His body twisted around the thing, finally catching his attention as he saw the foamy water up ahead. Turning on his back, Norbert began to swim to the side, the water spreading up, getting quicker and quicker. The tug of the waterfall on his body increased as it became harder and harder for him to swim.
Norbert was swimming, the roar getting louder and louder in his ears until, finally, he was ripped over the edge. Any brief flicker that he wouldn’t be swept under was gone as he began sailing down the waterfall, looking about as he followed after the water down the path. Lo—looking Norbert, not seeing how he could avoid the plummet.
His arms were in front of him as he dived over the waterfall, trying to get as far from where it impacted the water as he could.
Slicing into the water, feeling it come apart from his touch, Norbert went far more profound than he planned. He was thankful that he didn’t smash his hands into the bank. Feeling his body slowly rise, Norbert just relaxed as he let it happen.
Coming up for air, Norbert let it escape out of his mouth between his teeth, a slight trill filling the cavern he found himself in. Staring up at the ceiling, the stalactites there took his attention until he felt his back scraping against the ground.
His head formed a dent in the soft sand that he found himself sticking to. He breathed again with a sigh; the brief rest he could receive was now over. Rolling over his body, Norbert got to his hands and feet, the water dripping from his body as he wondered where next to take himself.