The Hammer of Fire (36 page)

Dol nodded his head, “I’ll kill you if I ever
see you again,” and then turned to the writhing Uldex. Now this is
finished.”

Across the street Carus moved back into the
shadows and disappeared around the side of a building.

“No, Dol,” said Milli running forward and
grabbing the fiery dwarf by the arm. “He’s hurt, he’s not a threat
to you anymore.”

“Brogus is dead,” said Dol with a look at his
friend on the ground, “and someone will pay.”

“It was the dwarf who did it,” said Milli
pointing to where Carus stood a moment ago, but the creature was
gone like a puff of wind on a hot summer day. “It wasn’t Uldex
anyway.”

Dol threw off her arm and rolled Uldex onto
his back but the crafty warrior slashed out with a dagger in his
left hand and cut Dol across the shoulder. Dol winced, punched him
hard in the face, and brought the hammer down on his opponent’s
hand with a quick blow that was accompanied by the sizzling sound
of burning flesh and the terrible smell that went with it.

Uldex grimaced and gritted his teeth but did
not cry out. Dol raised the hammer again.

“No, Dol, don’t do it!” shouted Milli.

Down came the hammer on Uldex’s face.

The seven members of the High Council sat in
their thick, high-backed seats in the magnificent chamber looking
down upon the petitioner, the First Edos, who looked small and out
of place on the floor of the chamber rather than in his traditional
seat on the right side of the chamber. At the center seat a heavily
bearded dwarf banged his golden gavel down onto the stone podium.
“The petition is denied, for the last time.”

“This is a violation of our laws,” said First
Edos Fierfelm and stomped his foot against the stone floor.
“According to our ancient laws it is perfectly acceptable for the
First Edos to make a request of this nature.”

“The law to which you refer is nearly three
thousand years old and hasn’t been invoked in over a thousand
years,” said the High Councilor and raised his gavel again.

Borrombus chimed in from his seat at the left
edge of the podium, “This violation of our laws sets an unseemly
precedent, High Councilor. If we can simply choose to ignore
whichever law doesn’t suit our tastes then what is the point of
having laws at all?”

“When revolutionaries sit in the dungeons and
councilors are nigh on accused of treason, then the laws must be
adjusted,” said the High Councilor. “The Council has spoken about
this, Councilor Five. More than once. If you continue to push this
matter then arrests will be made at the highest levels of
government!” With this he banged his golden gavel down again. “At …
the … highest … levels,” he said glaring directly at Borrombus.

“The arrest of a Council Member requires the
unanimous consent …,” started Borrombus but again the High
Councilor banged his gavel.

“Do not dare to quote rules to me,” he said
and glared again.

“Can we not be civil in our discourse,” said
the First Edos from the floor. “Has it come down to threats of
imprisonment?”

“Treason!” shouted another of the councilors
from his seat. “We’ve already uncovered a plot to allow invaders
into Craggen Steep. Corancil has assembled a massive army not more
than a month’s march from our citadel. Hundreds of young dwarves
are sympathetic to his cause, particularly among the lower classes
who do not have the advantage of a proper education. Those of the
lesser families have always been jealous of our power, but they do
not understand that we provide their security and their
wealth.”

“How is it treason to simply invite a man to
visit Craggen Steep?” said the First Edos wringing his hands
together. “This has happened many times in the history of Craggen
Steep.”

“The council has spoken,” said the High
Councilor and again banged his gavel on the stone counter. “One
more word and I’ll arrest not only Councilor Five, but you as well
First Edos. Do I make myself clear?”

“You have already sent the arrest orders,”
said one of the pikemen with golden armor at the side of the great
table.

“What is this!?” shrieked the High Councilor.
“Treason among the pikemen? How deeply does this disease run? To
the roots of the mountain? Into the Darkling land? Arrest that
man!” he shouted and pointed to the pikeman.

Two of his fellows immediately pointed their
weapons at him but another quickly jumped to his defense, and
Borrombus stood up and pulled out a long knife, “When the council
abandons the laws of Craggen Steep we must strike for the freedom
of all!”

An absolute cacophony of sound erupted as two
councilors kicked back from the table and attacked Borrombus, but
the first went down in a spray of blood as the dagger went into his
throat.

“Stop this violence,” shouted First Edos
Fierfelm from the floor, but he was quickly overwhelmed in the
general shouting and screaming. “This is madness! Madness!”

Golden-armed pikemen intermingled with one
another and a door burst open to reveal a mass of seething dwarves
who ran into the room tripping and trampling one another as they
came. “Freedom! Freedom!”

From another corner came a group of
well-armed dwarf soldiers and while they did not shout for freedom,
they moved with precision and their shields came up as a group. A
shouted order and they pulled short axes out and marched into the
melee in single-step unison.

Petra sat at a small round table with her arm
over the shoulder of Milli who was sobbing into her own hands.
“It’s a hard world, Milli. That’s the truth of it. I’m not going to
tell you everything is going to be all right.”

“When I left Craggen Steep I left a prison
behind,” said Milli raising her tear-stained face up towards Petra.
“But it was a safe prison.”

“That’s true. A lot of people live in prisons
their entire lives. They live in fear of the world and what can
happen to those who go out into it.”

Milli sniffled, “It’s a real fear though,
isn’t it? People get killed. Your friends die, people change, and
you get hurt.”

“That’s all true,” said Petra again, gently
patting Milli on the hand. “All very true.”

“Brogus is dead,” said Milli and sniffled
again and blew into a rag with a heavy snort. “He’s not coming back
and neither is Dol.”

Petra continued to pat the girl on the hand
and rub her back gently, “Maybe it’s better that Dol went off on
his own. He’s on a suicide mission.”

Milli looked up at Petra and frowned, “He
needs me and I’ve abandoned him,” she said with her mouth turned
down in a frown and she sniffled again. “If he just waited a day
while we buried Brogus and Uldex then I would have gone with
him.”

“You can still catch him if you want,” said
Petra. “Your horse is in the stables and he only has a day head
start on you.”

“Do you think I should?” asked Milli.

“That’s not my decision,” said Petra. “Your
life is your own to lead.”

“We started this together,” said Milli and
sniffled again. “I’d like to see it through, one way or the
other.”

Petra patted her on the back and smiled,
“It’s a good idea, I think, to see things through and to finish
what you start. Would you be better off if you were still back in
Craggen Steep, still a prisoner, still safe?”

Milli paused for a long time and thought
about it, “Brogus would be alive but he’d be stuck in one of those
cubbies they have for the apprentices, working twelve hours a day
down in the mines, his teeth rotting out, he’d probably only live
to be thirty-five or so, most of the dwarves in the lower tunnels
die so young. There are always collapses they don’t tell people
about.”

“It doesn’t sound like much of a life,” said
Petra.

“He would have never seen Das’von, traveled
through the portal, the desert, that was so beautiful, and never
ridden a horse,” said Milli.

“He’d be alive,” said Petra.

“Which side are you arguing?” said Milli with
a suddenly playful smile and a light in her eyes.

“I’m an old woman,” said Petra. “I’ve seen a
lot of the world traveling around as a witchy woman. I’ve met a lot
of people. I’ve been in love or lust more than my share as well.
It’s the only life I’ve known; traveling from here to there and
selling potions to town-dwellers. I’ve seen a lot of them over the
years also. People who grow up in one place, marry their neighbor,
have kids, farm the land, and then die. It’s not all bad. Maybe a
little dull but there is happiness as well. I’m not sure what the
answers are.”

“Why aren’t there easy answer?” asked
Milli.

“There are easy answers … to easy question,”
replied Petra with a smile, and suddenly she had a far-off look in
her eyes. “When you’re a young girl in love sometimes the answers
are easy even if usually wrong.”

“I won’t go back to Craggen Steep,” said
Milli. “No matter what. I don’t want a gilded prison. I’ve seen the
world. I’ve met so many people, done so many things; I can’t go
back, not now. I’d be miserable.”

“You don’t have to go back to Craggen Steep,”
said Petra. “You don’t have to follow after Dol. You can stay here
or travel back to the desert. They are a handsome people and that
Black Horseman had some worthwhile ideas I think. You could go
north to Das’von and join up with Corancil and his armies or stay
here and wait to see if he conquers the world. You have many
options in this life although you may think there are only a few
choices. I think too many people settle on the obvious choices that
life gives us. Look around and see all the possibilities.”

“I don’t want to leave Dol. He’s not a bad
person. It’s the influence of the hammer. He’s changed. I want to
be there when this finishes one way or the other.”

“Then you have to get on your horse and go,”
said Petra, “instead of sitting around here talking with an old
lady.”

“You won’t come with me?” asked Milli and
took hold of Petra’s wrinkled hands with her own smooth, soft ones.
“At least as far as the Five Sisters. You don’t have to come in
with me and Dol to face Gazadum but you could at least travel with
us. They say the Southern Sea is beautiful and you can have all of
Brogus’ gold. That would buy you a house and keep you safe for the
rest of your life.”

“Hmm,” said Petra. “All of Brogus’ gold you
say?”

Milli laughed out loud, “That was your plan
all along wasn’t it. To play on my sympathy to get you to come
along?”

“Of course not,” said Petra and began to
laugh as well, although tears came from her eyes to intermingle
with the joy. “I would never do such a thing!”

Dol stood outside the little farmhouse and
pounded on the heavy wood door with his blackened right hand, “Let
me in!”

Judging by the smoke pouring from the chimney
there were occupants in the house, but long seconds went by before
Dol again beat at the door, “I just want directions. Don’t make me
kick down the door! I’ll do it.”

Again there was silence; Dol scratched his
head and one of the bright red apples in his hair suddenly burst
with a loud pop and threw seeds in all directions. “Damn!” said Dol
and snatched his hand away. “I’ll steal your horses if you don’t
come out and sell me one. I have gold!”

Time again passed in silence and Dol looked
down at his heavy boot and then at the thick wooden door frame. He
then leaned in and gave the door a little shove with his shoulder.
“I’ll break it down,” he started to say just a pot-f of water
came splashing down on him. “Do you think water will stop me?” he
said as he stood back and looked at window frame from whence the
water came. A woman peered from inside the house and over the
windowsill. She held a cooking pot in a gloved right hand.

Dol shook his head and water sprayed, “Come
down, I just want directions to the Five Sisters and to purchase a
horse.” He reached into jerkin with his left hand, pulled out a
little sack, and emptied a few gold coins into his palm, “Come on
now, I have real gold. I don’t mean to harm you or your family. I
need a horse.”

“What are you?” shrieked the woman and
touched the pot with her right forefinger and immediately pulled it
away with a shriek as she shook her hand.

“I’m a dwarf,” said Dol looking up at her
with his eyebrows raised and then suddenly fingered the little
amulet given to him at the last town and smiled. “You can
understand me, right? Why do you ask?”

“That was boiling water,” said the woman with
wide eyes and a death grip on her little pot. “Are you a
demon?”

“No, I’m not a demon,” said Dol with a shake
of his head which caused two more of the little apples to explode
with popping sounds that accompanied the spreading of their
seeds.

“Are you sure?” asked the woman.

Dol laughed, “I’m pretty sure. I’ve always
had these apples in my hair since I was a boy. My grandfather was a
tree shepherd.”

“Have you always been able to ignore boiling
water?” said the woman.

“It probably mostly evaporated by the time it
hit me,” said Dol with a shake of his head. “Please come down. I’ll
pay you good gold for a horse. I don’t mean you any harm, I
promise.”

The woman looked at him from the window again
and shook her head, “I’ve got children here, and my husband is due
to arrive home any minute. We don’t have any horses to anyway. Just
a couple of mules and we need those to get in the crops.”

“With my gold you’ll be able to by ten
mules,” said Dol holding up one of his gold coins to the sky.

“I can’t trust you,” shouted the woman from
the upstairs window.

“I can kick in the door,” said Dol. “Or just
go over to the barn and steal one of your mules. Be
reasonable.”

The woman seemed to consider this for a few
seconds and then ducked her head back down and away from the
window. Another little bit of time passed and then the sound of a
drawing bolt came from inside the door, and it opened enough for
the woman to peer out, “Pass one of those gold coins to me.”