Elvenshore: 01 - The Dwarves of Elvenshore (27 page)

All in all it was going to be a meager winter for the dwarves of the Lonely Mountains. 
Amlius
had said his good-byes before Sarchise headed back down to the tunnels.  Sarchise said his good-byes a few days later.  He knew the longer he and his army stayed there, the less food that those dwarves would have.  So after a hurried underground clean up, he took his army south.

Their first stop was the Kingdom of
Ril
.  When Sarchise entered into the hall of the King he saw that the dwarves had finished the carving of the King’s father.  They also did a likeness of King
Mortimur
while they were at it.  He would sit and admire them both from his throne.

“Welcome Sarchise.” The King said
,  “
But where is your army?”

“They are camped outside of the city.  I just wanted to say my good-bye and thank you to your for all of your help.  I would have been a disaster without you.” Sarchise said,

“Nonsense, said the King.  I will not hear of you leaving without a proper victory feast.”  The King clapped his hands and servants came out of the side doors.

One he sent to fetch the dwarf army and another to fetch certain members of his army.  Soon tables appeared, laden with fruit, bread, and cheese, all sorts of meat and wine of all kinds.  And yes he even had some ale to serve his guests.  The army
marched in ranks and let themselves
be
seated. Dolgren came and was set next to Sarchise. 

The King clapped his hands and said, “Let the feast begin.” With that Sarchise and the dwarves ate like they hadn’t eaten in a long, long time.

Somewhere in the middle of the conversation
,
the King told Sarchise that Ermort sent his regrets that he could not be there when Sarchise came off the mountains, as he had other duties to attend to.

After the feast the King provided Sarchise and his dwarves with rooms for the night.  It was the first time that Sarchise had slept in a city in years.  His room overlooked the Kings palace and the courtyards below.  He could hear music in the distance and
for
the first time felt truly at peace.

In the morning the dwarf army marched out of the city to cheering crowds that lined the streets throwing flowers at them.  Sarchise had to tell the dwarves that this was a friendly gesture; otherwise a fight might have broken out.  The dwarves didn’t like the flowers all the same.

Sarchise took his army straight south from the land of
Ril
.  It was getting to be late fall and he didn’t want to risk an early winter storm in the mountain passes.  It took him a few extra days, but the dwarves were well provisioned by the King.  He had even left them with a promise that he would keep the dwarves of the north alive during the winter and help them with seed and herds for the spring planting.

As they rounded the mountains and started their way east they were overtaken by a troop of
valkyries
.  It was Fawn and her army.

“Sarchise, so we meet again.” Fawn said, “I never got a chance to thank you for saving my dwarf allies.”

“I never got a chance to thank you for saving my life, so thank you.” Sarchise said, “Where are you headed?”

“I have been sent to reclaim the lost city that you found for us. Since there is peace in the land, we feel that we can reclaim what was once ours.”

“How did you come to the hidden city?” Sarchise said, and how did you keep it secret so long?”

“Old stories have it that there was a secret tunnel that led out of the city.  When the elves surrounded it we fled to the north.  The war between elf and dwarf was still raging, but the dwarves of the Lonely Mountains promised us sanctuary.  They buil
t
us a city hidden by a mountain where only one of their watchtowers could see it.  When the war ended we decided to keep our world secret and the dwarves agreed that it would be a good idea.  Finally the wars between dwarf and elf ended and they both destroyed the records of it.  But both cheated.  The elves kept their oral history of it
and we kept a written history for the dwarves and us.

“When Tabor the
F
irst came to power and was destroying the world of me
n,
the dwarves of the Lonely Mountains stayed in their halls to shield us from any attack by the gremlins.  There brothers in the Mountains of Iron had been destroyed and they feared that the same would happen to the Lonely Mountains if they sent too much of their strength to the armies of men.  They were hated for it, but they felt they had no other choice.”

“Why is
Amlius
so afraid of you?” asked Sarchise.

Fawn laughed.  “The elves used to say that we rode so fast that it was as if our horses had wings.  We often send ou
r men
into the world.  When we heard a rumor that the lost city had been found we sent out Elsie to check it out.  She had just come around a corner and didn’t see the old elf when she jumped her horse over a tree stump.  Nearly came down on his head.

“We have told him that we will not attack him and will let him live out the remainder of his days in the Westwood, guarding his precious
ornamac
tree.”

“That is very kind of you. I hope to see you again someday.” Sarchise said.

“We will settle some of our people in the lost city.  You will by chance see us again; we may even come into the halls of the dwarves and feast.  We have, and always will be, allies of the dwarves.”

At that they bid farewell.  Sarchise and his army resumed their journey. The Mountains loomed larger and larger as they took an easterly course.

Sarchise and his army did not hesitate but marched directly into the main entrance of the halls of the Mountain of Iron. Instead of surprising the inhabitants, they were themselves surprised.  Cazz had found all of the old watchtowers and had posted guards.  They had seen the dwarf army coming for miles away.  So when they entered the halls unannounced there were a thousand dwarves lining the walls waiting for them.  Not just random dwarves, but Cazz had sent for the families of the warriors so they would be there when the army arrived.
Ammlee
was there
. She
had recovered from her wounds and ran up to Sarchise and threw her arms around his neck.  He laughed with delight.  The ranks of the army soon degenerated to groups of hugging families.  It had been a hard fight but it was worth coming back.

The halls and rooms had been transformed from a place of death to a place of life in the army’s absence.  All of the torches were lit.  All the debris had been swept away. The tapestries were re-s
e
wn and the statues had the dirt and grime of the previous occupants cleaned off. Music once again echoed
through
the Great Hall where a bonfire was roaring and a small feast was prepared.  It was not as grand as the feast they had had in
the
Kingdom of
Ril
, but with loved ones around and the journey over, it was a more enjoyed feast.

It was then that Sarchise saw Hemlot.  He had mostly recovered from his wounds and made his way to the Mountains of Iron.  The old friends embraced. 

“You look a lot better than the last time I saw you.” Sarchise said.

“Thank you.” Hemlot said, “I had a hard time of it.  The impact had broken several of my ribs so I had a hard time getting a breath. They took me in a cart back to the
ornamac
tree fort.  There I stayed until my wounds started to heal.  At that point the King of High Mountain was afraid that the gremlins would return so all available forces were brought back there.  When the danger
was
past and we heard that the Mountains of Iron were free, King Cazz sent for the families of the warriors who were in the Mountains of Iron and the ones chasing the enemy toward the Lonely Mountains.  The King picked me to lead the expedition.”

“I am so glad that you are here.” Sarchise said.  He could see Ferdin and
Fordin
across the hall. Th
ey
both raised their cups of ale when he made eye contact with them. “Are they old enough to drink?” He asked.

“All warriors are old enough to drink,” Hemlot answered.

Each of the families had been given rooms and places to live.  They didn’t even fill one twentieth of the vast halls but the King had decreed that each family’s duty was to try and increase the population of the Kingdom. 

The King of High Mountain had given King Cazz ample food for the upcoming winter and enough to plant in the spring. 

A few days later Ermort and his army were welcomed into the hall. Sarchise was told of their arrival and went down to meet them.

“I was told that you had left on the King’s errand,” Sarchise said.

“Yes, indeed, but not that King.  King Cazz wanted us here to greet you when you arrived.  We took the short route over the mountains, but
an
early blizzard trapped us for a week. You must have gone around because the snow was too deep your dwarves would have had to tunnel through it. Luckily I
was
able to save every member of my army, but they will never want to go over a mountain again.” Ermort said.

“Yes
,
we did go around. I am so glad to see you. What are your plans now?” Sarchise asked.

“Well, I do have to take my prisoner back to South Fort.” Ermort said with a bit of a smile.

“Prisoner, what prisoner do you have?” Sarchise asked.

“I still have an arrest warrant for you!” laughed
Ermort
.

Fiction

Jack Warden Detective Novel #1

Winning Numbers Deadly Numbers

Jack Warden's first major case.
A twisted tale of murder in a small town, when a couple wins a lottery jackpot and others are trying to get their hands on the winning numbers.
Who will die next?

Jack Warden Detective Novel #2

In a Sea of Troubles

A serial killer is on the loose in Manila, a bomb maker is found dead, a
girl is on the run from hit men
, and Jack
Warden
is on a cruise, heading into a sea of troubles
.

Strange Kin

Something for everyone, Mystery, Science Fiction, Suspense and Fantasy.

Strange Kin

A boy grows up knowing he's different, but does not know why. One day he gets a visit by someone claiming to be his father, His father is not the loving kind one that a boy hopes to have, but someone who might be out to kill him to hide an ancient secret.

Guardian of the Portal

A man guards a portal into another dimension, not knowing that it is a place where there is a better life. But why is no one ever returning?

The Long Drought

After a long drought, in a small town, animals are acting funny and people are starting to disappear.

Child of the Visitor

A visitor holds secrets that only his nurse is beginning to understand.

Spanish Gold

A pact that a group of soldiers took when they discover a bag of gold while hiding in a barn in Germany during the war.
But is the gold cursed?

Nick Spool Private eye

an
investigator tries to solve a murder, but is shocked when the truth isn't a simple who done it. There could be intergalactic consequences.

Non Fiction

Unexpected Tales and Feel Good Stories

Life does not come with an instruction manual. When I found skunks in my crawl space, I could not refer to page 98 to see what to do about it. I couldn't find a chapter about how to tell your neighbor that you accidentally burned up his yard. There was also no instruction on not climbing on a
firetruck
in the dark, because you might fall and break your finger off. You may not be able to laugh
at  the
time,  but life's unexpected events make the best stories, at least looking back.