Dragonvein (23 page)

This has to be King Halvar
, thought Ethan.

The door boomed shut behind him.

“So this is the one who calls himself Dragonvein,” remarked the king.

Ethan bowed. “I…”

The king’s hand shot up to silence him. “You have not been addressed.” His voice was deep and menacing.

Ethan’s mouth snapped shut.

“Why did you bring him here, Birger?” asked the king. “Are you not aware of our laws?”

“I am aware, my king,” he replied calmly. “I only did what I thought to be right.”

Halvar snorted. “And you thought bringing a human…no…
four
humans to our city was the right thing?”

“This one is the son of Praxis Dragonvein,” he explained. “The others are his companions.”

“And how do you know this?” challenged Halvar.

“I overheard him speaking when they were fleeing the Rakasa.”

“So all this is based on something you overheard? What kind of fool are you, Birger?” The king’s tone was hard and unyielding. “I also hear you collapsed the west entrance. Is that true?”

Birger nodded. “If I hadn’t, the humans would now be in the hands of the Emperor.”

“And why should I care?”

“Because we swore an oath to this man’s father. And we all know the prophecy.”

At the mention of this, the other dwarves began whispering to one another. A movement of the king’s hand silenced them.

“You expect me to honor an oath made to a human mage hundreds of years before I was born?”

Birger stuck out his chest and gazed resolutely at his monarch. “Since when does the oath of a dwarf expire? Since when do we forget the honor of our forefathers? Is not a promise given a promise kept, regardless of time?”

The king gave no reply, but his anger was obvious.

“How do we know that this is really the son of Praxis Dragonvein?” asked a dwarf woman seated just to Halvar’s right. “All we have is a conversation you overheard. Surely that is not enough to put our people in such danger?”

“The Rakasa called him Dragonvein as well,” said Birger.

The woman leaned back and looked to Halvar. “If Shinzan believes him to be the son of Praxis Dragonvein, then I must agree that Birger acted rightly. As impossible as the claim may appear, we should hear what this human has to say.”

The assembly nodded.

“Very well,” growled the king. He pointed to a chair directly opposite him. “Sit, human. We will hear your story. But be warned, should you be found false, you and your friends will never leave Elyfoss alive.”

Ethan bowed, then took a seat.

“You can go, Birger,” said the king, waving a hand dismissively. “You are guiltless here.”

“With your permission, my king,” he said, “I would stay.”

After a short pause, Halvar nodded his consent. Birger sat down on Ethan’s right and glanced very briefly in his direction. Ethan thought he could detect a hint of encouragement in the look.

The stage was now set. He began telling his tale, starting with his childhood in New York and ending when they first met Birger. The dwarves stopped him every so often to ask for more details, particularly when he spoke about Earth or the dragons. By the time he was done, several hours had passed and his back was aching from sitting in the hard chair.

The king regarded him for an uncomfortably long moment before speaking. “I for one am still not convinced. It is indeed possible that you are from Earth, but I do
not
believe you are the son of Praxis Dragonvein.”

“I’m telling you the truth, Your Highness,” Ethan insisted.

“I believe him,” added Birger. “Who would manufacture such a wild tale?”

“Someone desperate to evade capture,” said Halvar. “Someone who would take advantage of our customs and legends to further their own ends.”

Several of the assembly nodded in agreement, but others shook their heads. The king raised his hand.

“Your story was well thought, young human,” he said. “And it is clear you have convinced some of my more gullible brothers and sisters.” A wry grin crept over his face. “Fortunately, there is a way to tell if what you say is true.”

Halvar beckoned over a guard who was standing near the door and whispered into his ear. The dwarf saluted and then hurried away, returning a few minutes later with a small wooden box. From this, Halvar removed a silver circlet.

“No!” barked Birger. “You can’t.”

The king shot him a warning look. “You speak out of turn, Birger. Your advice is not required. Nor is your presence if you cannot remain quiet.”

Birger lowered his eyes. “Forgive me, my king. But that was not made to be used on humans. There is no way to know what it could do to him.”

Several of those gathered echoed Birger’s concerns, but the king would not be moved.

“Human,” he began. “I have in my hand a device that when placed upon your head will cause you pain should you speak falsely. Birger is correct in saying that it was not designed to be used on your kind, and I am not entirely certain of the risks. But should you pass this test, I will need no other proof that you are telling the truth.” He leaned in. “So, I offer you this choice: Leave here at once. You will be escorted from the mountain and set free to do as you will. No harm will come to you. Or you can place this on your head and answer our questions.”

“You should go,” said Birger.

“Do you believe I’m telling the truth?” Ethan asked him.

He gave a lengthy sigh and then nodded. “I believe you.”

Ethan smiled. “Then I will take the test.”

The king rose from his seat and carried the circlet over to Ethan. “The moment you put this on you must tell the truth. For a dwarf, lying results in excruciating pain. But for you…” He shrugged. “Who knows? It
was
used on an elf once.”

“What happened?” Ethan asked.

“He died,” replied Halvar. “But not before he was driven completely mad.”

He returned to his seat. All eyes were now on Ethan.

Taking a deep breath, he placed the circlet on his head. At first he felt nothing. Then, gradually, the metal became warm and a light tingle shot through his body.

Halvar nodded to the others. “Ask your questions.”

One by one they interrogated Ethan. Mostly they asked him to enlarge on details of his story, though some presented questions of a more personal nature. When it came back around to the king, his face was twisted in frustration.

By contrast, Birger looked smug and satisfied. “There can be no doubt,” he said. “He
is
the son of Praxis Dragonvein.”

“What is clear, is that he believes himself to be,” Halvar corrected. “I am still not completely satisfied. We will question his friends as well. Particularly the one named Jonas. However, as this young human came to us in good faith, his life will be spared, regardless of the outcome.”

“And what about my friends?” asked Ethan.

“Their fate is in their own hands,” replied Halvar. “In the meantime, consider yourself my guest. You will be given a room here in my palace. And Birger will attend you.”

Birger scowled. “But, my king. I’ve work to do. I have no time to…”

“You had the time to rescue this human,” he retorted. “And you had the time to bring him all the way here. I will send word to your foreman. Considering the circumstances, I’m certain that he will understand.”

Birger bowed. “As you wish, my king.”

Ethan tried to suppress a smile. He was happy that Birger would be nearby. He had grown to like the dwarf and was grateful to him for his support.

“If you would now excuse us,” Halvar continued. “The council and I have private matters to discuss.”

Ethan rose and bowed, then followed Birger from the room. The dwarf quickly found a servant and instructed him to prepare a room for Ethan. After a brief hesitation and a sour look, the servant obeyed.

Birger then led him up the spiral staircase and down a long hall to a sitting room. The décor was elegant – much like that of the house he had previously been staying in, with more paintings and etchings of otherworldly places, along with marble busts of stern, powerful looking dwarves.

They sat down in a pair of chairs at the far end. Birger appeared most unhappy and was muttering curses under his breath.

“I’m sorry you’ve been forced to do this,” said Ethan.

He shrugged and leaned back. “I should have expected it. King Halvar does not like being proved wrong. This is just his way of letting me know it.”

“What will happen to you if you’re not at work?”

“Nothing,” he replied. “But I will be leaving my friends shorthanded.”

“What is it you mine for?”

“Rajni stones mostly. But sometimes we find gems and precious metals.”

“And you trade them to the Empire?”

Birger shook his head. “We trade what we make with them.”

“Weapons,” muttered Ethan.

“Don’t think we do it because we want to,” snapped Birger, now on the defensive. “It’s the only thing that keeps Shinzan from wiping us out completely. As it stands, we have to trade gold and gems with human smugglers simply to get enough food to eat. In case you didn’t notice, there is no sunlight here. And without that, plants won’t grow. Our only other choice is to live off tunnel rats and mora fruit. Personally, I’d rather die.”

“I didn’t mean anything by it,” said Ethan. “It’s just that all this is new to me.”

Birger held up his hand. “No need to apologize. It’s not your fault. My people have allowed this to go on for far too long. The truth is, when I heard the Rakasa shout out your name, I dared to let myself hope. That’s the main reason why I saved you.”

“Hope for what?”

“Hope that your coming heralds the end to Shinzan’s reign. Hope that my people can once again feel the sun on our faces and the wind in our hair.”

“Are you saying that you used to live on the surface?”

“No. Well, a few did, though most of us have always dwelled in the mountains. But we also possessed vast stretches of rich farmland and bountiful orchards. Some dwarves would choose a life of farming to provide our people with the food we needed. And it was our pleasure to leave our mountain homes from time to time and spend our days in the sun and our nights gazing at the stars. We love the deep places of Lumnia. But we also love the freedom of being able to visit what lies beyond occasionally.”

Ethan lowered his head. “How am I supposed to do this…to beat Shinzan, I mean?”

“We were given a prophecy just after our defeat,” Birger replied. “Well,
given
isn’t really the right word, I suppose.
Taken
is more like it. My people captured an elf trying to escape Imperial soldiers and…interrogated him.”

“You mean you tortured him?” There was obvious disapproval in Ethan’s voice.

“Do not judge us,” Birger warned. “Elves have committed terrible crimes against my people. And at the time, we were still reeling from what Shinzan had done to us.”

He sighed. “In any case, the elf told us that his people were given a prophecy from the very heart of Lumnia. It said that one day, the children of magic shall rise again to do battle with the stain that blackens the soul of the world. We will know that time is at hand when the dragons return to herald their arrival.”

“Anything else?” asked Ethan.

“Sure, but I don’t remember it anymore. Even though I knew it by heart as a child.” Birger shrugged. “Anyway, that’s basically what it says.”

“And you believe it.”

“Elves have an uncanny way of knowing things before they happen. They claim it comes from their connection to the planet. And who knows, it might be true. But if
they
take it seriously, it would be foolish to ignore it.”

Ethan wasn’t so sure. He found it difficult to imagine relying on mystical prophecies and things like that for hope. He well remembered the men in his unit just before D-Day. Chuck Marshall had nearly gone insane when he couldn’t find his lucky rabbit’s foot. He was convinced that he wouldn’t survive the jump without it. As it turned out, Markus, who did not like Chuck one bit, had hidden it behind the barracks. He returned it an hour before they took off. Chuck was so happy that he forgot to be angry with Markus for taking it in the first place. Not that getting it back helped him very much. Chuck was killed even before arriving at the drop zone when an anti-aircraft shell tore through the plane he was in. So much for lucky charms.

Birger could see that Ethan was doubtful. “So, there is no magic on Earth at all?”

Ethan shook his head. “Not that I’ve ever seen. No need for it really. We have machines that do work for us. Cars and planes to take us where we want to go. And radios to listen to for news and music.”

Birger rubbed his chin. “My father used to tell me stories about how our people once built incredible machines that could reach the very stars themselves. He said that long ago we could fly through the air like birds whenever it took our fancy. If your people can build such things, perhaps we could have done so as well.”

Ethan smiled. “I don’t know about going to the stars, but we can sure fly through the air easy enough.” He began telling Birger about his time in the Airborne. A short while later, the door opened and a young dwarf woman in a red and green dress entered.

“Lord Dragonvein’s room is ready,” she said. “The king sends word that your friends will be brought here tomorrow.”

Lord
?
Since when am I
Lord
?

They both stood and followed the woman along a series of hallways and up to the next floor. After walking for what seemed like miles, they arrived at Ethan’s room.

“
Your
quarters are just across the hall,” the woman told Birger. “Meals will be brought to you. Please stay in your room until the king tells you otherwise.” Without waiting for a reply she sped away.

“Do you think my friends will be all right?” Ethan asked.

Birger opened the door to his own room. “As the king said – their fate is in their own hands. Just hope that they choose to speak the truth.”

After the dwarf disappeared, Ethan stood in the hall for a moment longer, his mind turning to Jonas. Even after everything that had happened, he was still certain that Jonas was holding back some secrets. Markus felt it too. What would happen to the old man when they placed the circlet on
his
head? He shook off the thought and entered his room.