At the moment of conflict I hide, we had already talked about it, Chapatrueno must be the first to confront these thieves, if he is a dwarf there is a chance to start on the right foot in this crazy world he once called home.

The hammer blows up another shield, from here I can see the poor workmanship they have, for dwarves famous for their blacksmithing this is disappointing, seeing one of them thrown into the air by this dwarf warrior's shield I lose interest, I identified the supposed rivals as something more harmless than some of the beasts of the dark forest, nothing to worry about, except for one dressed in iron armor, looking at everything with a grimace of displeasure and greed, Chapatrueno had told me about them, they are the famous "mediators".

That's stupid! I told him the day before we entered these caves, how can they fight over what someone else made! How can anyone survive in such a situation? It was night and he had fought hundreds of these beings animated by dark energies, the hidden moon leaving the illumination in a state that only creatures accustomed to darkness could take advantage of. I could hear him, he was not sleeping, what he always did when tiredness overcame him was not sleep, it was a lethargy, something similar to death, even his breathing was slow, as if he was reprimanding himself for each inhalation, finally he began to speak.

I come from hard times, the mountain was a place where no one should live, when I was young I learned of the misery of the place, I could not believe it, the forest elves had a terrible time, but we were united among us, even after we were abandoned, we sought all means to make our survival something more comfortable, not there, it still resonates in my head what I now see in person.

The city is large but in a dilapidated state, the buildings are made of stone, stacked on top of each other, this is because of the lack of drinking water and the monopolization by the rich who have land on water reservoirs, they have not invested in technology except for a well hole and a few buckets, the rest they have in hiring mercenaries or owning more and better weapons, those who fight are only a minority, most of them I see hidden in the doorways of the houses, they wear dirty t-shirts, I move behind the buildings while listening to the screams of the attackers, they are stubborn I have to admit, but they also have different characteristics than the rest, their skin tone for example is of a light dusky color, proof that they bathe from time to time, but also contrasting with the dark red tones of those who only carry weapons, these are poor dwarves like Chapatrueno explained to me, they are people who have no income or food, but in the caves grows a fungus very easily and is edible, so they venture into abandoned sections of the mines to collect that food, the weapons are not to make war on others, it is to deal with the fauna of those sites, fight for food.

The fight continues for half an hour, the idiots who fought are already on the ground with various parts of his body in strange directions, they are not dead, at least not all of them, the final battle is given by a blow of the shield against the hammer, an out of tune "gong" product of poorly made metals.

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He approaches my dwarf (I must be careful with these thoughts, he is not mine and maybe he would kill me if he knew what I think, what I feel), from here the conversation is not very understandable, this mediator extends his hand in a typical symbol, he asks for money, Chapatrueno points to the fallen, but the dwarf refuses and extends his hand again, at that moment I can hear the conversation of one of the dwarfs who is hiding:

"Damn appraiser! Surely he wants gold for what this warrior has earned, what did a dwarf come from the surface for? Here they will want to declare him a loser because of the level of his weapons, and look, if he now asks for money or to give him some of his tools, they are precious! This warhammer could be better with good mithril, look how angry the dwarf gets, it's strange, I don't remember someone from this town using so much luxury, but this dwarf is from here, his beard braid identifies him as born here, who could he be? Anyway, if he's from here, he knows he only came to lose his belongings, the appraiser uses magic, he doesn't fight fair..."

I stop paying attention, not because they don't say useful things, but the mention of magic worries me, Chapatrueno is good with magic and does more damage than anyone I know (except the Darklord himself), at that moment I see the Deathbringer laughing, it's crystal clear, I hadn't seen any other grimace than anger and hunger, but he laughs, Honestly, every time his armor rings with laughter, the mediator's face darkens more and more, finally he shouts that if he doesn't want to pay, he can't take anything, that it is possible that he won't take anything at all, since he has committed foul play, foul play against more than two dozen men who jumped in without asking permission? Now they are writhing on the ground, but they came very brave and greedy, my companion doesn't say anything, he just keeps laughing, the other one puts his hands inside his cloak and takes out a two-handed steel mace, it's a dangerous weapon, but it doesn't have any runes or anything, I don't understand how they say he will use magic, At that moment I see a shadow moving on the roofs of the house behind Chapatrueno, I approach stealthily, there I see three of the warriors belonging to the group that has already been knocked down, they carry several blowguns, a not very effective weapon at this distance but there is no wind so I guess they expect their poisoned darts to hit him in the neck and face?

Is this their magic? It is clear that Chapatrueno does not want them to discover the magical properties of his armor or his scales, so I come from behind the ambushers, he did not kill his enemies, but I am not him, and the two dwarves fall with their necks cut before they see that I hit them, below the scene is even more comical, Now I understand why Chapatrueno was laughing, he knows I'm here, he has only one enemy to worry about, clearly I see that the mediator, when he runs out of the element of surprise (although he doesn't know why) begins to retreat, he babbles something about the king's tax collectors coming and that he better not keep anything. ... He insults him, calls him berseker, red, in spite of everything he continues to advance in a frank retreat, at that moment Chapatrueno raises his hammer, it lights up, the rune is molten, he shouts at him:

"I am Chapatrueno de rocaceleste, the new ruler, and I declare that there will be no more stupid fights, no more duels! There are more deaths in our ranks than those caused by the enemy... and your appraiser (he spits out the word) you have just violated the law of this city, here we do not care about the king! (at this moment I see his hammer fly, the dwarf tries to defend himself with his shield, but it is a piece of bronze garbage, the impact tears his arm off and the heat burns it) I will keep the weapons and armor, they belong to my people and as compensation for the trouble your person has caused in the last decades I will keep your arm... as well as the life of anyone who raises a hand against my people".

I see the assessor flee, Chapatrueno remains motionless and watches his enemy leave, the other inhabitants look out, there is a color in their eyes, it is the same as we had when the Dark Lord came, it is a glow of hope, much to my regret my heart turns over with this image.