Orei sat shivering from the thought of Myrian as Alun watched.

"Orei? Are you alright?" Alun asked.

Orei blinked, looked up at Alun, shook herself, and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah. I’m fine, fine."

Alun frowned and looked into Orei's eyes. "So, who is Myrian?"

Orei let out a big discontented sigh, then glanced about her. Satisfied no one was listening, she leant over the table and said, "Myrian is old – really old, as in before the Elf Wars old. Some here still remember him, like Huldain and some of the older Dwarves, but apart from that, Myrian outlasts us all. He fought on our side in the Elf Wars, but once we won, he went rogue. He disappeared for a while, but came back. Drunk on power he did whatever he pleased; he butchered towns and destroyed kingdoms, he tried to end your kingdom's Inquisition, and almost won too. It took Huldain and another hero called Olaf to lock him up in The Hanging Block. Huldain himself made the chains in which Myrian was bound, but now he is free!"

Alun now realized why Orei was so scared, and how much of a problem this truly was. Myrian sounded daunting, and Alun thanked the gods for the luck of never fighting such a person, then wondered what would happen now that Myrian was loose. Orei rubbed her hands together and massaged her aching head, thinking about what to do next.

"I must report to the west gate. I imagine that they will need a ranger to go and find Olaf."

Alun ran this through his head and thought about the risks involved. "I’ll come with you."

Orei looked at him. "What?"

By now the idea was formed in Alun's head. "I will come with you, Orei."

Orei frowned at this and thought it over. "You need training for ranging, Alun."

Alun gave Orei a smile. "You can teach me on the job, Orei. You already know I can outrun wargs with a man on my back, what else do I need?"

Orei betrayed herself by letting out a smile. "alright. I’ll have to convince Saurin though, and if the old man says no, then it’s a no."

Alun nodded, and the two of them got to their feet and made their way towards the lifts. Alun had rarely gone up in his stay in Doflhiem, but now as he got into the lift with Orei, he looked down as the Hanging Block prison slipped away beneath him. Above the Military Quarter, the palace of the Dwarven King passed by. Vast golden pillars and shining silver carvings glinted around them, until Alun and Orei reached what the Dwarves called the ground floor. The ground floor was a titanous hall which spanned over the entire ranges of the Mjolik Fjords, littered with small towns and hamlets for the various guards, rangers, and miners that worked in the outside world.

Alun and Orei left the lifts and went over to one of the magnetic carriages that transported Dwarves along the vast levels of Doflhiem. They seemingly worked on magic by Alun's eye, but Orei had explained the use of single magnets in the steel wheel housings and along the iron track, which had the same polarity, forcing the wheels to roll. Brakes clamped down upon the wheels to halt the carriage, and screws and pulleys were fitted into the driver's seat in order to move the magnets on the wheels further from, or closer to the axles for speed change.

Orei hopped into the driving seat of a west gate bound carriage, and helped Alun strap into the passenger seat. Unlike the lifts below and horse drawn carriages of Alturine, this carriage consisted of just four seats and the wheels, with wires and brakes all included. Orei pulled out some goggles from a bag built into her seat and gestured for Alun to follow suit. They adjusted the straps around their heads, and Orei pulled the carriage's settings until they began to roll at an increasing speed out of the station.

The wind whipped through Alun's hair, and he now knew why he needed goggles. He looked over at Orei and burst into laughter, as the Dwarfess was clearly enjoying herself. The wind flew through hair making it stream out behind her, with her left hand was on the speed control lever; she wore a large smile across her face as she gave Alun the thumbs up. They turned on sharp angles causing Alun to veer wildly out of his seat, and if it had not been for the belts strapping him to his seat, Alun knew he would have been thrown out into the surrounding abyss. The pillars of the great ground floor halls flew past, and Alun felt dwarfed by the enormity of them. Occasional fires flared up, showing camp sites and barracks of guards, miners, and builders, all of which seemed to huddle in fear of the dark.

Alun contemplated upon how strange it was to feel as if the surrounding landscape was wild and vast, when in fact it was all Dwarf-made. Thousands upon thousands of Dwarves and years were lost in the construction of Doflhiem, and looking into the distant landscape of the ground floor, Alun could see why.

They finally pulled in to the west gate station, coursing with adrenaline. Alun felt as if his legs were floating, and Orei walked out with her wide smile still plastered across her face. Shaking out any excess delirium, they managed to calm down, and Orei went over to the west gate's barracks to see Saurin. Guards were rushing past in panic, and Alun remembered Luther, in his room, on his own with all this commotion, and felt guilt hound him; he made a mental note to have someone go and check on his friend.

They walked through a warren of tunnels until they came to Saurin's office. As they entered, Alun was immediately aware of the massive hulking frame of Huldain sat in a two person, leather armchair. Saurin was sat at his desk with a bottle in his hand. Huldain seemed a little restless; he had his own bottle, and drank frequently until it was finished, then reached around the seat to grab another.

Saurin smiled as they entered, and stood up. "Ah, Orei, good lass! I was just about to send someone to get you, but now you are here – and with the lad from Stonehill, no less. What can I do for you Alun?"

Alun looked at Saurin and decided to stay firm on his request to Orei. "I would like to go with Orei when she goes to get Olaf."

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Saurin did not look surprised at the request, and instead looked over at Huldain. "What do you think, big son? Are you going to take them with you?"

Huldain regarded Alun and Orei for a moment, then dipped his head in a quick nod. "Aye, I will take them."

With that, Huldain stood up and instantly the room seemed to shrink around him, as if pulled by his vastness. He picked up his axe, and rested it on his shoulder as he strode over to the door.

Just before he left, he turned to Orei and Alun and said, "I will meet you two by the gate in half an hour. Be there and ready by then."

They nodded, and watched as Huldain closed the door behind him. They could still hear his footfalls down the hall as they turned to look at Saurin. The old Dwarf sat at his desk and watched both of them with an appraising eye.

"Well, this will be an adventure for you both, even you Orei. I fear this will be something new, and I think that it will not be easy. But if you win this, I feel the rewards will be great. Look after yourselves, and don't worry, Alun; I will look after Luther."

Alun dipped his head, and thanked Saurin for everything he had done. Orei went to the door with Alun then turned back, nodded to her superior, and they left.

Alun and Orei walked out from the west gate's barracks, and Orei looked up at a small air vent in the roof.

"Well, Alun, we won't be able to stock up on supplies in time to meet Huldain, so we will need to grab some survival packs from the quarter master, and some gear for you."

Orei led Alun to a shop front carved into the side of the mountain next to the great western gates of Doflhiem. A plump Dwarf sat on a wooden stool behind the counter. He seemed quite content with a pipe and a bottle of mead, but broke into a large smile when he saw Orei and Alun walking over.

"Orei, my one, true love! I thought you had forsaken the ranger's stores completely!"

Orei smiled at the quartermaster, and shrugged. "Desperate times call for desperate measures, Bourin, my sweet. This is Alun by the way. He will be coming on my little expedition."

Alun shook Bourin's hand and gave a quick hello.

"What can I do you for, friends?" Bourin asked.

Orei calculated a few things in her head, then started listing off strange names in both the Dwarvish and common tongue.

Bourin wrote each item down, and went into his stores to retrieve them. Finally, when he had grabbed two of everything, he gave a large toothy smile.

"Let's see we have: two proofed cloaks; two dehydrated supply packs that last a week, and more if rationed properly; six sulphur canisters – that's three each –; and two hand held crossbows with bolts. I might be able to convince you to swap these with something new in a minute. And some ore weapons: one war axe for you Alun. I believe Orei has hers waiting for her at the gate. Also: four red flares in case of emergency; a fire kit; and last but not least, two roll mats for sleeping."

Bourin looked up at the two of them, and smiled. "Now, the inventors have created a new projectile weapon that does not consist of a bow."

Orei looked at Bourin with a strange expression. "Please don't tell me, Bourin, that you want us to test a new weapon in the field? You know how dangerous that is."

Bourin's smile grew as he reached under the counter to pull up two hand held, metal machines. Alun stared at them, and remembered the strange golden thing attached to Myrian's thigh.

He immediately pulled Orei to the side. "Myrian has one of those things, Orei. He had it strapped too him when I saw him in the alley."

Orei's eyes widened, and she glanced over to the counter at the two strange inventions. She looked up at Bourin who was frowning slightly at being left out on whatever was going on.

Orei went back to the counter and picked one up. "What do they do, Bourin? How do they work?"

Bourin smiled again, glad to be included back into the mission. "They are what the inventors call firearms or guns, Orei. The gun you are holding includes a semi-automated revolving firing mechanism, which I aptly named a revolver. There are others, for longer range, like this."

Bourin pulled out a longer firearm; this one needed two hands to hold it. "This is a bit different from the revolver. The inventors who made this found that the revolving motion pulled the weapon to one side when reloading, and over long distances this affected accuracy. So, they invented this clip. It holds the ammunition and feeds it into the bottom of the gun on a wire spring. The barrel, or firing stick, has curved grooves carved into the inside called rifling. This gives the projectile a spin, making the shot more accurate. Because of this rifling, I've called them rifles. The inventors have fitted a marked spyglass on top to give the user a view of their range. The rifle can hit anything accurately at just over half a mile."

Orei handed the revolver to Alun and picked up the rifle. She ran her hands over the loading mechanism and felt the trigger on her finger. Orei fitted the stock into her shoulder and peered down the spyglass.

Nodding, Orei looked up at Bourin. "We’ll take them, Bourin. Give us the ammunition and cases and we'll test them in the field for you."

Bourin gave a smile, and handed over two cases full of gun ammunition and two belts fitted with holsters for both weapons. Alun felt the weight of the revolver in his hand. He aimed it at full arm’s length, then took the holster and belt from Orei and strapped it to his waist. Orei strapped her belt over her back, and felt the fluidity of movement by removing and sheathing the rifle a few times, adjusting her chest plate for more comfort.

Now happy, she and Alun packed their supplies, thanked Bourin, and made their way over to the western gate. A young Dwarf stood, holding Orei's silver axes. Alun frowned when he saw them. So many Dwarves walked around Doflhiem with weapons that it was unusual to see a Dwarf without one. Weapons to Dwarves were a thing of station, and depending on how ornate your weapons were depended on how high your station was. Orei fondly took her axes, and thanked the young Dwarf who was holding them.

For the first time, Alun actually looked at the axes of his friend. They were so intricate; the blade itself had carvings dancing across its edge, and everything about them seemed to glitter and shine.

Orei looked up at Alun and smiled guiltily. "I suppose you are wondering why I don't have my weapons near me in the city."

Alun looked from Orei to the axe she was holding in her hand; the smaller of the two had been threaded through the loop at her side. Alun saw how guilty Orei was, and decided not to press his curiosities upon his friend; waving his suspicions away, Alun saw Orei relax. Alun was sure Orei would tell him about the axes and her role in Doflhiem, but right now, they were just two rangers about to go on a mission.

Huldain came striding into view. A large cloak with a strange coat of arms fell about his shoulders and flared out behind him. He wore a large leather tunic tucked into his vast golden belt and kilt with a massive pair of boots with steel toes fixed with spikes. A travel pack was slung across his back next to his huge axe. He nodded to Alun and Orei, then strode up to the gate and called for it to be open. Saurin stood by and saluted Huldain as the doors opened, and together Alun, Orei and Huldain strode out into the Black Forest.