Interlude - Belinda and Carn

“What now?” Carn groaned.

Sergeant Chen had entered his office with a sour look on his face. “Those damnable dwarves! I reached out to contacts we have in some of the other major trading hubs. None have spotted where they disappeared to!”

“Can we get access to this portal hub we keep hearing about?” Belinda asked.

“No. My unit is not allowed access to the facility, and it is guarded by men loyal to General Marius. Commander Willis and us guards are responsible for the rest of the city.” Chen explained.

“How important can two dwarves be?” Carn replied.

“Exactly. If it was an important mission, he would have sent more than two people.” Belinda chimed in.

“Our General Marks only sent you two.” Sergeant Chen quipped.

“That is different. First off, you and the others are here so it is more than two. Second, they are dwarves. They tend to stick to themselves and seem to only care about mining and smithing.” Belinda countered.

“Perhaps. What worries me is that they disappeared. Such a thing is risk I would rather not have.” Chen replied.

“Which hub do we have the fewest spies?” Carn asked, already knowing the answer.

“That’s easy, Hargrave, but you already know that brother.” Belinda answered before it clicked for her. “Ah. I see what you are getting at. They most likely ended up in Hargrave.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“If that is true, why? They left before the visiting dignitaries arrived. If it was to deliver a message, why have they not retuned?” Chen chimed in.

“Good question, but not one we can answer at this time. Hargrave is a trading hub for those damn elves and even some dwarves. For all we know they are traveling through the elven nation to get to the dwarves in the mountains.” Carn theorized.

“But to what end? The elf king is here, and the dwarves are not known to care about much.” Chen asked.

“Perhaps it is a personal matter. If so, we do not care.” Belinda suggested.

“Personal matter?” Chen asked.

“Yes. It is my understanding that dwarves take courting very seriously. Maybe they are going back to get their families’ blessings.” Belinda replied.

“How would you know about that sister?” Carn inquired.

“What? I do have interests other than the cause. Courting rituals have always fascinated me, especially ones where their family is involved.” Belinda answered.

“We do not have family beyond ourselves, the general, and our cause.” Carn admonished.

“I believe we will achieve our goals, then what?” Belinda countered.

Carn looked confused and uncertain.

Sergeant Chen just rolled his eyes. ‘Ah youth. They think things will happen so quickly. They have no idea.’ To them he said, “Let us focus on the matters at hand. Without knowing where the dwarves are we will have to put them out if our minds for now. Next is the determination of which council members we are to target.”

“That is easy. General Marks said to target Betterman and Elder Martha.” Belinda stated.

Chen spoke up. “Elder Martha, I get, especially as she is now the noble over this city. Why Betterman and not the others?”

“The general heard about Betterman’s granddaughter. He will use her to break the man. With him and Elder Martha out of the way, the others will roll over.” Belinda explained.

Chen thought about the plan. “Ron only seems to care about his craft. Paul and Clarisse aren’t fighters, and they seem to have a soft spot for the refugees. Samuel may be a problem though. His is respected by many of the lumber workers.”

“Hmmm. If that is the case, we may have to find a way to neutralize him.” Carn commented.

“Leave that to me.” Chen replied.

“What is it you have planned?” Belinda asked.

Chen smiled back. “Bar brawls are not unheard of. It should be a simple enough matter to have a stray blade ‘accidentally’ kill our beloved tavern owner.”