The trek back is made in silence. Well, Bodelin had some choice words for us once he made his way to us, but other than that our journey is accompanied only by silence and the rattle of iron wheels on steel tracks.

Isao accompanies us all the way back to the mansion to prevent any further disturbances before taking his leave, claiming he still has unresolved business at the theatre. I make a meager attempt to ask Bodelee about the conversation we had that got him upset at the entrance of the crypt, but as expected he doesn't understand what I'm talking about.

As Bodelee and Orelio drag a still unconscious Albatos back to his room Vanderburst approaches us, looking solemn. "The noble mistress would like a word," He says, looking at me. Casting a glance at Annora, he adds, "You are welcome to join of course, my lady." Her only response is a snort, but she follows Vanderburst and me anyway.

Upon entering her office, my first impression of Andora is that she's far past the limit of her patience. A half empty bottle of brandy sits on the desk accompanied by an ornate glass with a sliver of the same brown liquid resting in its crystal contours. Andora herself is sitting in the chair looking out the window, tossing an amber rock up and down like a baseball.

Hearing us enter, her gaze slinks over to us standing in the doorway. She sets down the stone and gulps down the last of the alcohol in the glass before turning back to look out the window.

An awkward silence hangs in the air before finally, she says, "Why is it you seem intent on causing as much trouble as humanly possible? First, you set a crazed madman on my people then you wreck a train while also interfering with perhaps the most detestable course of action I've had to authorize in quite some time."

"So you did intend for those men to trample upon a site of our most sacred history," Annora says with a hint of venom in her voice.

"Yes, and it wasn't an easy choice to make, believe me. But sister, this fair city of mine is dying. You may not have seen it while you've been sheltered within the safe confines of this pleasant abode, and you may not have felt it while the city put aside its sorrows for a day of merriment, but public order is in tatters.

"While I've been stuck dealing with the adventurers and the strain they've put on the economy the mob on the lower levels has gone nearly unchecked, leaving them to grow and expand to their heart's content. The adventurers too have become nearly impossible to handle. All the timid ones have given up on that persistent rumor and left already, leaving only the bullheaded and unruly behind. As much as I hate to admit it, I simply can't handle it anymore. I needed a way to relieve the pressure, and if that cost us the sanctity of a sacred site so be it."

Andora takes a breather from her tirade as she pours herself another drink. Neither Annora nor I move to stop her, despite the fact we both know she's already had more than enough.

"As if that wasn't bad enough," She continues after another swig, "There's the following that damn fanatic has amassed. What was his name again?"

"Lleig," I say.

"Yeah, him. Damn psycho sent out some kind of gathering call for others like him, and now he's got a nice little posse around him, all set on getting to you. Suffice to say, between them, the shit going on in the city, and your own reckless tendency to go looking for trouble, I've decided you're just too much of a ticking time bomb to keep around."

Yeah, I suppose this has been coming for a while.

"You have two days to get your shit together and get out. I'm sure you won't make it far before you're attacked, but that really isn't my problem. Just try to make sure you're outside city limits before then." A moment of silence hangs before she continues, "Sorry," and I intrinsically know she isn't talking to me anymore, "I wanted to enjoy this time together, I really did. And you're welcome to stay, but I know you won't."

"Yeah," Is all Annora says in response.

Annora turns to leave but I decide it's now or never to ask a question I've been wanting to know the answer to, and since we're already getting kicked out it's not like it could do any more damage.

"Um, before we go I wanted to ask, what exactly is 'Mother' to you?"

Annora looks back at me with a look of slight confusion but Andora takes another drink and slouches back further into her chair, giving me a death look, "There simply isn't any end to the trouble you're willing to cause, is there?"

Annora looks to her sister with a quizzical stare and Andora says, "Ah, forgive me sister, but you wouldn't know. Or you would, but you do and don't." Andora's words are becoming slightly jumbled from intoxication, but she continues, "See, if you're talking about what I know you're talking about, since there really wouldn't be any other reason to ask such an odd question, that means with almost absolute certainty you've read a certain specific book, haven't you? Because you see, 'Mother' is an old and obsolete name for something very near and dear to our hearts, or rather, our heartstones."

Annora stiffens at that, "Sister…"

"Ah, now you get it," Andora continues, paying no heed to the caution in Annora's voice, "Yes, 'Mother' was what they once called the Core."

Annora stiffens even more at hearing the words spoken, and a tense silence reigns while the sisters stare each other down.

"The what?" I ask hesitantly.

"The Core," Andora says, "Is everything to us dwarves. It is the cornerstone of our civilization, our people, our very lives. It is also our greatest secret. It is as much a part of our very being as our flesh."

"Could you… be a little more specific?" I ask as I take a step away from Annora, who's radiating a dangerous aura.

She picks up the amber rock she'd been tossing and holds it up. Upon actually looking at the thing I realize it's not a rock, it's a heartstone.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"Imagine one of these, a heartstone, several thousand times larger than a house. Buried under what all believe to be the foundations of the Mountain Home is the Core. It creates us, and when we die our fragments of it are returned. They must be returned, else the Core will die. And with it, our race as we know it will die too."

"What do you mean it creates you?"

"Have you ever seen a pregnant dwarf? I'll guess not, since they aren't anatomically possible. I'll trust you to also recall that women of our race are outnumbered by men by about ten to one. If we were like every other race in this world our vastly outnumbered women would likely serve as no more than glorified breeding stock, but that isn't the case. Instead, women are natural born leaders. They are created this way, by the Core."

"How could you possibly cover something like that up?"

"Oh, there are a variety of excuses. 'I'm homesick so I can't conceive, we can't get pregnant unless we receive a blessing from our elders, I think a vacation to the Mountain Home would make a perfect location for us to have our first kids." They all lead back to the Core where they are blessed with new life, just not of their own making. And then when there isn't a good excuse to shove one out into the world they're put in foster care. You couldn't possibly imagine how much of the Mountain Home's infrastructure is built around foster care."

"That's insane."

"Insane and absurd enough that most would never guess close to the truth, yes. That's the point. Surely even an imbecile could see how widespread knowledge of the Core would be problematic. Just one suicidal maniac with genocidal tendencies could doom our entire race if he decided to fuck with the core."

"Shouldn't that be a non-issue? I thought heartstones, and I assume the Core by extension, are nigh impervious to attacks?"

"Yes well, there's always exceptions, aren't there?" She says as she tosses the heartstone in her hand at me. I almost don't catch it, but anger flares inside me as I realize exactly what I'm holding.

"This is…" The stone in my hand is unique in that it has a long gash over it, exposing some of the inner crystalline structure.

"Yes, the heartstone of your dearly departed friend. I had initially thought to just give it to you as a memento, but then I thought it would be a wasted opportunity to not study it."

"Study? Why not get a magnifying glass and a mirror and study your own, damn it."

She snorted, "Please, don't compare the two. The heartstones of a seedbearer and an aberrant couldn't be more different."

She sighs at my glare, "I guess I need to go over those as well, eh? If you read that book then the Seed should be pretty self-explanatory. It's the primary qualification for one to be able to ascend and become Queen. Those blessed with a Seed are also blessed with a larger than average mana pool and almost no Restrictions. Basically, if you're born with a seed you're forced by a group of annoying old bats to compete against your sisters to become Queen, and blah blah blah. Moving on.

"Restrictions are rules imposed on heartstones, on our very souls. They are there at birth and will be there till death. All of them relate to the survival of our race."

"The memory of the last king was wiped from Bodelee's mind, as if he'd never heard of him in the first place. And the law that forbids dwarves from going out to sea," I mutter to myself.

"Indeed. Some are more concrete and some more flexible, depending on the times. For hundreds of years, those Restrictions have been absolute, unbreakable. Yet in the past half-century we've been seeing more and more aberrants, those who don't adhere to the Restrictions. Nobody has been able to solve the mystery of why, so I'd hoped to glean a clue from the inner workings of that stone. Alas, I've not the time to fully devote myself to the task."

Silence once again reigns as I look down at the heartstone in my hands.

"They say in the past the Core used to talk to us, give us guidance. It says as much in that ancient tome as well, but that was centuries ago. After The Summoning the Core went silent, and so the term 'Mother' faded. These days it's little more than a machine, made to pump out more and more of us until… something changes I guess."

"Sister, please stop this," Annora says, her voice strained, "With all that you've said, there's no longer any way either of us can allow him to leave this room alive."

I feel the hairs stand up on my back as I glance towards Annora, a pained look on her face. It's evident she isn't joking around.

"Ah, not to worry sister, I have a solution," Andora says as she stands up from her chair, wobbling a bit, "See Stein, last time you were here you made it a pain in the ass and a half to sign an almost worthless contract, and I can't risk getting the church involved in a matter so sensitive. So we'll be going with a much more traditional method."

As she approaches me her hand suddenly whips out like a viper and grabs a fist full of my white hair. She yanks it painfully toward her face, putting our faces close enough together that I can smell the alcohol on her breath.

"I can't bind you to keep this secret, but here's what I can do. I'll make you a promise, one that will last until the day either you or I die. You're blessed, which means you're a follower of Bymos so you of all people should understand that I make this vow with the full intent to stake my life upon it.

"If you ever, ever, tell anyone what you've heard in this room tonight I'll kill you and anyone I even suspect you might have told. I don't care how far you go, a different country, across the sea, doesn't matter. I will know. And I will abandon everything to fulfill this oath. Do you understand?"

"I-" I'm interrupted by a sharp painful pull on my hair.

"I don't need confirmation, acceptance, or any other words out of your damn mouth. If you understand then nod."

I nod.

She releases my hair and starts stumbling back to her chair, "Good, now get out."

I slip the heartstone into my pocket and make for the door, breathing a sigh of relief when Annora steps aside to let me pass. Before I fully exit the room I can't help but say one last thing, "You know, I think you should let that side of you show more often. It's much more genuine than the political mask you put on."

When Andora doesn't respond I slip out of the door and down the hallway, feeling as though I'd just escaped a brush with death. I can't tell whether it was courage or stupidity that made me want to utter that last remark.

***

The two sisters were alone in the room, one immersed in the complex craftsmanship of the glass in her hand and the other sifting through memories.

"Sister," Annora starts, "I know this might not mean much all these years later, but I want you to know that those tales of the Core… speaking to people, they weren't all false. I heard its voice as well. It said-" A glass explosion against the wall next to her head cuts her off.

"If I have to hear some bullshit excuse for why you abandoned us back then, I'm going to fucking lose it. Don't you pretend, all these years later, that it wasn't just your nature that drove you to up and leave us behind."

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry. I could say the same about you though."

"How's that?"

"You act like aberrants are a plague, some disease that needs to be cured. Have you considered the idea that the Core may no longer desire Restrictions? That it wants us to be more free to think and act like ourselves?"

"Pah, don't tell me you think that thing really still has some sense of self left to it. We don't need that thing's guidance, we haven't for a long time."

"If that's your opinion then very well, but you should know that it sounds a lot like empty pride to me," and with that Annora left the room, not giving her sister time to reply.

Annora could hear the desk in the office being flipped even from halfway down the corridor.