In a castle surrounded by a sparsely populated forest, a short figure sat at a stone table in thought, a few obsidian stones sitting in front of her. She toyed with one before crushing it with her bare hands like it was a piece of paper, even without the use of Aura. Dusting her hands off, the pale-skinned, yellow-haired dwarf let out a quiet huff, her purple eyes looking down at her armored purple and blue dress, which were a tad bit dirty from her current activity.
And now the annoying part…the wait, she thought, looking at the remaining three stones on the table.
Picking up the other stones, she juggled them while tapping her feet clad in blue boots against the marble floor.
“Your Highness! Your Highneeeessss!” a distant voice shouted as quick footsteps approached her quarters, each step progressively louder than the last.
Ohh, what now… she thought, catching the stones and placing them aside.
The doors flew open, revealing a dwarven soldier, who then rushed in and took a moment to catch his breath.
“Whatcha want? It's still another half-hour till the meetin', so get outie ‘ere ‘fore I slug ye!”
“Queen Orla, please hear me out! The forces you've sent to take down the Ephemeral forces have nearly been wiped out! Even the captain of the Black Embers faction was defeated in Freelife Town and disbanded the group altogether!”
Orla took the information with a blank expression as she processed everything, then shook her head with a frown. “Bloody ‘ell, who woulda thought the Black Embers would drop like flies just like that; let alone Warren. Oh fuck-buckets, such a huge waste of livestock. But ‘ey, that's what I get for havin' faith in those blasted humans to do what a dwarf does best! I should've known better than that.”
“But wait, my Queen - there's more! The remaining members that DID survive split up into smaller groups and now they're fighting EACH OTHER over disputes of authority! There's no talking sense in any of them now…”
Orla took a deep breath and let out a long, exasperated sigh. “I…see. Right when I thought that slimy race couldn't be any bigger blockheads." she responded, crushing another obsidian stone with one hand as if to express her disapproval.
“Apologies for interrupting again, your Highness...but there was also a member of the Xerosi Clan with the Ephemeral in question. Yuki Xerosi, to be exact.”
“Hol' it! The Xerosi Clan?! No WONDER the lives of the Black Embers went down the shitter so goddamn quickly! Y'know what, fuck it, I'll handle the matters myself!”
"You should not go alone, your Highness, the Ephemeral forces and the Xerosi Clan especially could prove to be dangerous! Allow me to join you..." The soldier offered, his tone of voice changing to show genuine concern for her well-being. But Orla doesn't seem to pay him any mind, instead simply shaking her head and waving off his concern.
“B-but my Queen, what if you lose your life out there? We'll have no one to lead our Kingdom, you must consider our wellbeing too…!”
"Naw, I'll handle it by me self, mate. Seriously, who d'ya take me for?! I bet the lot of 'em couldn't crush obsidian with their bare hands! So y'all just chill right here an’ hold the fort, hear? Ain't gonna be a peep n’ the woods 'til this here job's done." Orla declared resolutely, letting the dwarf soldier know that she's going it alone and that it's not up for debate.
"But..." the soldier starts to say, but he stopped himself when he realized he won't be able to convince Orla otherwise. Instead, he nodded and complied with her bidding. “Very well, my liege. I'll hold the fort down until you return.”
“Now yer talkin’! Have faith in my strength an' watch as I send those fucks flying! The country's gon’ think it's rainin’ human limbs when I'm through with ‘em! Time to fuck ‘em up ‘fore they rape our economy with no lube like the Depraved are doin’! An' while I'm at it, go alert the rest of our forces to defend the Kingdom from the damn Ephemerals and Xerosi Clan should they get any ideas. Get on that shit!”
The dwarf soldier saluted Orla and bowed before her. “Yes ma'am!”
Orla stormed out of her room, passing by her loyal soldier without another word.
The dwarf soldier stood there in shocked silence for a few seconds, unable to believe that she just heard her queen throw a tirade that would make a sailor blush.
With her mind now set on taking down the Ephemerals, she heads out of the castle and makes her way towards Snowclover State to join the meeting of the world's elite that will take place. The thought of defeating the Ephemerals with her bare hands alone gave her an adrenaline rush. She can't wait to get her hands on them and make those blasted humans ever regret crossing the dwarves in the past.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
★
Noelle and the Ephemerals set foot into the dwarven kingdom, and they noticed an immediate change in atmosphere. The once lively and fantastical structures that had housed the dwarves were now somber and worn. The paint on the walls was peeling off, and the grass was overgrown. It was clear that this place had seen better days.
The girls decided to keep their heads up and continue onwards, confident that they would indeed find someone whom they could work with to solve the curse affecting the Elders.
“Oh wow,” Blair said, frowning as she already felt the excitement in her dying out.
“I know,” Noelle replied. “This is it: the Kingdom of the Forgotten, locally known as Schmiedestadt. It is a Kingdom mainly inhabited by dwarves, although it had human origins. After race relations between humans and the dwarves went sour, the humans fled the Kingdom and left the dwarves to fend for themselves. When the humans left after becoming the minority race here, they took the jobs with them, leaving the dwarves with no way to make money to get by.”
“Well geez,” Rachel began. “We're in the wrong place then. The little guys might have a grudge against us.”
“Not so fast!” Noelle replied as she wagged her finger at her. “We're here to find a Void Exorcist, remember?”
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I remember!” Rachel replied, rolling her eyes with a smirk.
"And we need to get them to lift the curse on the Heart Tree," Zalgo added. "So we need to get through whatever grudges the dwarves have first before we get to anyone who can help us. This should be interesting…”
"Definitely," Blair added. "Hey, I know these dwarves won't take kindly to us being here, but let's try not to piss them off too much, okay?"
"Yeah, we're here to work WITH them, not piss them off," Rachel added with a hearty yet mischievous chuckle. “We just gotta tread lightly when we meet up with them.”
“True that,” Noelle replied. “Let's get this settled quickly so we can get to the Void Exorcists. Ready to go?”
"Damn right, I am!" Blair answered with her trademark grin.
"I'm all set when you gals are!" Sharline said.
"That's the spirit! Let us commence, ladies!" Noelle ended.
With that, the girls headed towards the nearest castle, prepared to face whatever the dwarves had in store for them.
The four girls approached the castle, walking up to the gates with confidence and determination.
A couple of dwarf guards were standing at the gates, both of them carrying spears and looking intimidating, which says a lot considering their height compared to the girls.
“And who might you be?” one of the guards asked, his tone of voice harsh and direct.
“Hi there! We’re tourists, and we’re here to meet with the Dwarves to discuss the Heart Tree Curse!” Noelle replied, waving at the guards.
“Tourists, eh?” the first guard said, looking them over.
“Yep,” Sharline replied with a smile.
“Y’all are a rare species ‘round these parts, aren’t ye?” the second guard added, a hint of disdain seeping into his voice.
“Yep, we sure are!” Noelle replied, undeterred by their hostility.
“Indeed. We come in peace, though,” Alice added, trying to keep the mood light and positive.
“What do ye want from us?” the first guard asked point blank.
“We just want to meet with the Void Exorcists of this kingdom to lift the curse affecting the Elders of Gloomhand Forest,” Rachel replied, keeping her tone polite and neutral.
“The Void Exorcists are all busy at the moment, so they can't meet with ye.” the first guard said in a dismissive voice.
“Oh, that's all right,” Noelle replied, her friendly nature not wavering in the slightest. “Do you know when they could be available to discuss the matter?”
“I can't say exactly,” the second guard answered. “But I'll let you know if they’ll be able to meet with you.”
“Understandable.” Rachel replied as the guards looked them over. “Is there somewhere we can stay until then?”
“Aye, I'll send someone to lead you to a spot.” the first guard replied before turning to the second guard. “Take them to the barracks, will ya?”
“Sure thing, chief!” the second guard replied. “Follow me, will ya?”
“Yep, that'll be fine!” Rachel replied cheerfully.
The girls all followed the second guard as he led them into the castle and towards the barracks.
“Welcome to the barracks!” the second dwarf guard said as they arrived at their destination.
“Thank you!” Blair replied brightly.
“This place is…pretty barebones, isn’t it?” Alice said, looking around the barracks.
“Heh, what’d ye expect?” the dwarf guard said with a snide remark. “This is the barracks, what did ye think it’d look like? A five-star hotel room?”
“Hmph, I guess it’s not like I expected to see much.” Alice replied, trying to hide her contempt for the place.
“This is where you’ll be stayin’ until further notice.” the guard said before turning around and leaving, the other guard following suit.
“Nice guy, that one,” Rachel said with a roll of the eyes as the guards left them.
“Don’t let it get to ya,” Blair suggested, “I don’t think they like us much.”
“Hmph, yeah. I guess there’s no point in letting his attitude ruin my mood.” Alice said as she took a deep breath to calm herself.
“Just try not to upset them too much, and this should go smoothly.” Sharline added, trying to lighten the mood.
…
“We got ‘em,” the first guard said, standing outside of the door to the barracks.
“That was easier than we expected,” the second guard responded. “They just walked right up to us and agreed to let us keep ‘em here.”
“Now it's time to ambush the bastards!”
“Ye ready to show ‘em what we're about?”
“Hah, I was born ready,”
…
“Um, guys… Do you feel a strong aura coming from the hall?” Alice asked.
Noelle shook her head. “No… You must have a sharp sense of Aura to detect what you're feeling.”
Alice then looked down in thought, remembering how part of Kairy's soul entered her body and how it strengthened her since then.
“I mean…” Alice began.
Before she could continue, however, the door flew open and a dozen dwarven soldiers flooded the room, all of them emitting hostile auras.
“Ephemeral scum!” shouted one of the soldiers, holding a spear.
“Woah woah woah- What's going on here?!” Blair said, holding her hands up.
The soldiers' aura grew stronger as they circled the girls, their expressions full of contempt and anger.
“Nowhere for you to run, Ephemerals!” shouted another soldier.
“Chill out for a bit! I thought we were cool!” Blair assumed, looking at the two guards who lead them to the barracks.
“Ye THOUGHT we were, that's the problem,” the guard barked back.
“We should just kill y'all here!” shouted a fourth soldier.
“Not if we kill you little bitches first!” snarled Rachel, her eyes starting to glow as her own aura began to envelop her.
“Wait-" Noelle intervened, waving her hand at Rachel to calm her down. She then turned back to the dwarven soldiers. "Stay back! We come in peace!" Noelle yelled, taking a defensive stance with her eyes locked on the spear.
"Ye don't fool us...human scum," one of the soldiers said as the others echoed his sentiment.
"Look, we're just here to discuss the curse affecting the Elders and saving the Heart Tree," Sharline said, trying to stay calm and de-escalate the tension.
“Do we give a fuck?" another soldier quipped.
“Do WE, how ‘bout that?” Blair shot back, getting into an offensive stance.
“How ‘bout ye die by our dwarven hands,” the last soldier threatened.
Noelle let out a sigh and summoned her staff, looking back at the others with determination burning in her eyes. “You ready, girls?”
“Duh, let's kick some dwarf ass already!” Blair answered, using Increase.
“We'd like to see ya try,” a dwarven soldier said in a mocking way.
“FOR OUR QUEEN!!!!” shouted the soldier next to him, readying his spear.