Chapter VII: The Children Of The Stone...

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Upon arriving at the surface entrance of Kal Vorum, the largest of the dwarven cities, and the one where Emperor Havel rules from, Donovan and Lady Nyx exited the carriage they have been riding in.

The surface entrance was a large stone wall with two stone statues of dwarven warriors standing at attention on both sides. It had around a hundred dwarfs to garrison it, and the gate part was made entirely out of metal with all kinds of gems in it.

"Could this even be called a gate? It looks more like a fort than anything else." Donovan said with a bit of astonishment as he stared at the high-end walls that not only had been designed beautifully, but had ballista turrets on it too.

"Gates are designed to keep people out of it, so it shouldn't be that surprising to you, right?" Lady Nyx declared with a cheeky smile before walking over towards the metal gate.

Deciding not to say anything, Donovan followed her in silence as Lady Nyx looked to the driver of the carriage, and informed them of the plan.

They had stopped a bit of a distance away from the gate, so they had some ground to cover, but as they moved closer, Donovan was able to see and realize that the walls and gate were massive. He had already considered them to be huge, but after getting closer, he estimated the walls to be around 60, if not that 70 meters tall.

After they got about halfway from reaching the entrance, the gate slowly opened, and Donovan was able to see about a dozen or so figures.

"They're a lot more wider than I expected." He thought to himself as they drew closer to the dwarfs who waited in front of the gate as it closed behind them. When he thought of dwarfs, he had expected them to be robust of course, but the men he was seeing was a little too muscular.

They may have been wearing plated armor, but he could tell from their physiques that they were muscle and nothing more. They may be a foot or two shorter than him, but that didn't mean they were pushovers; in fact, he was certain that if he was a typical human, they could easily whoop his ass.

Upon reaching the group of dwarfs, the two of them came to a stop, and Lady Nyx greeted them with a polite bow. "Greetings Commander Dairis, it has been far too long since we have last seen each other."

The one Donovan presumed to be the leader of the group was the white-haired dwarf that stood in the middle. He didn't wear a helmet unlike the others, and had a warhammer strapped to his back. He had a beard that anyone would expect when thinking of a dwarf, which was a long and burly one with braids.

"It has been quite some time Lady Nyx," Commander Dairis greeted as his lips curved upwards into a smile. "but I must ask, what brings you and this company of yours to our great city?"

"I have official business with the Emperor, and I'm afraid that is all I can tell you." Lady Nyx declared in a firm tone.

"I understand, I was just surprised that you brought some retainers. Usually, when you come here, it is either by yourself, or with your attendants." Commander Dairis stated before scratching his left cheek.

"Times have changed, and there are rumors that the Hero and his party are here, so His Highness insisted that I go with escorts." Lady Nyx stated with a small shrug of her shoulders.

She was hoping that Dairis would confirm this information for her, but unfortunately, he didn't, and said, "Bah, I still don't get why you address your ruler as His Highness or His Majesty, when they have tits and are a woman, but that's just me."

Donovan couldn't help from agreeing with that, for he also didn't understand that, but of course, he wasn't going to voice his agreement. It was one of the tinier reasons why he hasn't said anything like, "His Highness has sent me." for he felt it was weird and wrong. She was a woman, and therefore, he believed that when people are talking about her, they should use the female pronoun.

"You are entitled to your own opinion, Commander Dairis. Now may we enter the city?" She said in response before requesting for confirmation.

"Yep," He said before looking at one of his soldiers. "Duncan blow the horn."

Obeying his superior's orders, the black-bearded dwarf that was on Dairis left lifted the horn that he was carrying from his waist, and blew into it.

As the gates slowly opened once more, Lady Nyx turned around and raised her right hand, which was the signal to have the three carriages, and the Dark Knights to move forward.

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After they had passed through the surface entrance's gate and being told not to cause problems, Donovan, and company boarded the surface shoot, which was in reality just a large steam-powered elevator that could hold up to fifty people, and headed down to the dwarven city Kal Vorum.

The time it would take to reach the bottom was about thirty minutes due to the descent being slow, and during this time, Donovan asked about their wargs as well as many other things, for he had been told that they weren't allowed to bring them down to the city.

Lady Nyx didn't say much to him on the topic, but had told him not to worry about it, for this wasn't the first time Commander Dairis had watched over wargs. Although, after she had said this, she muttered that it might be okay to be a little concern for this was the first time he was looking after so many.

Once he had heard this information, he had raised a skeptical eyebrow, but Lady Nyx didn't know that due to the helmet he wore, and as for his other questions/concerns, she answered them to be the best of her ability.

Eventually though, Donovan's ceased asking questions, and spent the rest of descent in silence. The reason why wasn't because he had nothing to say, but because Lady Nyx was teasing him, and he didn't want to fuel the flames of that.

Upon reaching the near bottom, the lift's doors opened, and Donovan's eyes were greeted by an astonishing sight. There were no words that could describe the dwarven city Kal Vorum, and if there was Donovan couldn't think of them.

"This place is beautiful..." Donovan muttered in awe as he stared at the wonderfully designed buildings, while dwarves of both genders walked the streets wearing clothing that gave off an elegant vibe.

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"Hmph, His Highness' castle is better..." Sir Azath grumbled. He had been standing next to Donovan and had heard his comment, and would have agreed, but he had felt like he would be betraying his kingdom if he had done that.

"Huh, this place has changed a lot since I've been here, it's become a little more advanced." Lady Nyx said as she spotted a few things that weren't here the last time she was here.

"I know our city is glorious and certainly a mouth dropper, but could you all please step off the surface shooter? I have to send it back up." The dwarven soldier who controlled the lift demanding after boasting a little about his city.

"Of course, my apologies." Lady Nyx said before disembarking along with her party. It had taken them about a minute, but once they were all off of it with all of their belongings, the doors to the lift closed, and it began to make its ascent back to the surface.

Donovan watched it slowly make its way back up for a couple of seconds before losing interest in it and turning around to gaze at the city. He had expected them to attract some sort of attention, but no one approached them. The most they got were glances from the dwarfs walking by.

"So, where do we go from here, Lady Nyx?" Donovan questioned with a tinge of curiosity as they continued to stand there while dwarfs continued to pass by them and go on about their day.

"Isn't it obvious?" Lady Nyx said with a smile as she cast him a side glance. "We go see Emperor Havel, and make sure the dwarves stay neutral in this war."

"I know that, but don't you think it's going to be a little difficult?" Donovan asked with a bit of concern in his voice. He didn't know what this Emperor Havel guy was like, and had only heard so much, but he highly doubted that they would just be able to walk into the dwarven ruler's palace, and say hello.

"No, because I have a seal from His Higness, and we're here for diplomatic reasons." Lady Nyx declared proudly. "So, you should stop worrying about all of these things, and just leave it to me, okay Lord Fane? Because it really doesn't match with your look."

"Okay, sorry for being concerned and worrying about this stuff." Donovan said in response with a trace of annoyance in his voice. He didn't want to come off as a worrywart, but so far, she has kind of kept him in the dark, at least when it comes to the plan of action.

"It's okay, I forgive you." She said happily which had caused herself to receive a slightly irritated look from him, but Lady Nyx paid no attention to this, and just simply said with a grin. "Now, let's go see Emperor Havel."

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Havel let loose a sigh as he rubbed his forehead in exhaustion. He had thought he had made it clear to this, Hero Party, and the human envoys that he has no intention of getting his people involved in this war with the Demon King, but he had apparently thought wrong.

They had demanded that they have another audience with him, and were now asking for his reasons why he wouldn't get involved, which was something that vexed him greatly.

"Isn't it obvious?" Havel asked himself as he opened his eyes and stared at the humans below him. "My Empire barely gains anything from this, and even if you all offered more, I would call you all liars, for I know your race is a deceitful kind. Not to mention, I prefer King Lucifer's people over yours."

Havel of course didn't voice these thoughts of his, but if he had to choose which side to fight for in the surface dwellers conflict, then he would have most likely sided with the Demon King.

There were many reasons why, but one of the more simple reasons is because she had been keeping the Goblin Kingdom along with many other races away from his cities, so if they were to side with the humans, then his cities would have to deal with hordes of goblins every month along with many other things.

"Emperor Havel," The Hero shouted from the bottom of his throne in a serious tone. "if you do not help us thousands upon thousands will die! The Demon King is a threat to us all, if we do not stop her, then we will all perish, you understand this, right?"

"King Lucifer, and her people are no threat to me and my kind, and if she is, then that is because of you lot, for you all were the ones who went into her kingdom and began to cut down her people." Havel declared in a stern manner as he glared at the Hero.

"Your Imperial Majesty, those creatures you are referring to, are not like you and I. The beings the Hero Party valiantly defeated were demons who feast on the flesh of humans, dwarves, and elves." One of the envoys stated with his lips curved slightly downwards.

"Uh-huh, well if that's the case, then I thank you, now I believe we are done here, yes?" Havel said in response.

"No, you have yet to tell us why, and we have heard from hundreds of your people that they want the Demon King gone for good, so why are you so scared to fight them!?" Angel yelled in anger after finally having enough of what he considered to be this man's shit. He had been trying not to get angry, but this Emperor before him was stubborn as hell, and it was getting on his nerves.

They, and the envoys had offered many things to Havel, but it was like it wasn't enough and that the dwarf wanted more.

"Oh my, aren't you a bold one to talk to His Imperial Majesty like that?" Came a voice Havel was familiar with, which had caused him to look up a little and see Lady Nyx, seven Dark Knights, and what he could assume to be the one, and only Black Knight being escorted by his guards.

"Lady Nyx!" Havel said in surprise upon seeing the woman as the Hero Party and the ambassadors turned around to face the person who had just spoken.

Seeing the Black Knight was a shock to Angel, but his shock didn't last long, for he had begun to draw his blade, while saying, "You, you're going to-"

"Angel, violence in this city is prohibited!" Noelle interrupted, which had made him stop and look at her before looking back at the Black Knight and seeing that he didn't get in a defensive stance. He had also noticed that the dwarfs escorting the newcomers had their hands resting on their weapons, and were ready to pull them out the moment he completely unsheathed his blade.

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Angel pushed the blade back into its scabbard.

Watching this scene amused Lady Nyx, and she couldn't help from saying, "Aww, what's the matter? Is the little Hero troubled by the fact that he can't cut down the Black Knight while he's not defending himself?"

"Nyx, stop it." Donovan stated in a curt tone. He usually would address her as Lady Nyx because she was a Lady of the Demon King's court, and it was a way to show respect, but right now, he needed to have her understand that she can't be teasing them.

Hearing the seriousness in his voice, Lady Nyx released a sigh of disappointment that could have been deemed as an irritated sigh as well. "Fine, I won't do it again."

"Why are you abominations here?" An envoy demanded with a scowl.

"Abominations? Are you really-"

"Enough, I will not have you all hurling insults to one another while I sit idly by!" Havel declared from his throne after slamming his fist against the stone arm. "Lady Nyx, why are you here?"

"Well, Your Imperial Majesty," Nyx said as she walked past the group of humans, a small grin written on her face. "His Highness had heard whispers that the Hero Party had come here to try getting you involved in this war, so she sent me here to make sure that didn't happen and that you were staying neutral in this conflict."

"I see, then I apologize, for your journey was a pointless one, I have already made it clear to the Hero and all of the envoys he brought with him that the Dwarven Empire will not be getting involved in this war." Havel declared in an apologetic tone. It didn't go unnoticed by any of the humans that Havel was talking to Lady Nyx as if she was a very close friend of his.

"Is that so, Your Imperial Majesty?" Lady Nyx said as she turned to face the human faction with a smug grin.

"You, you demon! You have seduced the Emperor, and have him wrapped around your finger! I can see it clear as day!" An envoy yelled upon seeing her smirk.

"By the Stone, can someone get this lot out of here? I have heard enough from them for today."

"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty!" The Commander of the Palace Guards declared happily before waving his hand at the guards who had escorted the purebloods. The guards didn't need any other signal, and quickly moved to escort the humans out of the throne room, albeit some were a little resistant and didn't leave acceptingly.

As they left, Donovan silently watched as the members of the Hero Part eyeballed him.

Once they were gone, Havel let out another sigh, and said, "That lot has been very persistent on getting us to join their cause, and they weren't wrong about some of my people wanting King Lucifer gone for good."

"Really?" Lady Nyx said in surprise. She knew of course there would be a handful of dwarfs with that type of idea in their head, but if it was getting to the point where Havel was hearing it, then it was considered a problem.

"Yeah, but you shouldn't worry, so long as I rule, the Dwarven Empire shall stay neutral." Havel said with a resolved look.