Chronicles of Den'dra - Spencer Johnson Page 0,170
do more than defend their homes.
Several days passed without any incident. The rebels out in the caves were quiet. The dwarves defending the city waited for another attack. They now numbered enough to hold the gates without problem. It was then that Seeroth discovered and caught a dwarf slipping in and out of the city. The dwarf revealed that he had told the rebels everything, most importantly that the Dragon Lord boy was no longer in Underheim.
“Spineless spider brained fools! They have gone to take the other cities.” Seeroth calmed a little and stopped swinging his mace around dangerously.
“Do we hold Underheim or give them chase?” Kirlk questioned when Seeroth stopped speaking.
“By the deep, we give them chase or they will be back with every miserable recruit they can press into service. Those rebels think they have the right of the histories and will drive us to extinction if they have their way about it. Those stone headed fools will march the dwarves out and declare war on all the other races if they get their slime rotten fingers into it. I have seen what the Dragon Lord is capable of. We wouldn’t stand half a chance if he gets stronger, that and the fact that the rest of the races wouldn’t sit back while the Purifiers in their spider leaving smeared white robes tell them what to do.” Seeroth broke into another unintelligible storm of insults aimed at the rebels.
“What about Underheim?” Roild asked when the mutterings from Seeroth had subsided.
“There are a number of dwarfs that don’t want to march against the rebels, but they will still oppose them. Should be more than enough to hold the city.”
“When do we move out?” Taric seemed timid as he asked. It was out of his character enough that Seeroth broke into laughter.
“One last sweep of the city. Make sure that all the gates are locked and manned by trusted men. Kirlk, if you will remain here to oversee the guard. Roild, Taric and I with half the men willing to march will go south to Kalsrod. Fraic, you take the rest and go to Muendtem. They are the largest settlements and most likely to be targeted by the rebels. The rest are small enough that we can retake them when we have the time.” The men jumped into action without further hesitation and soon left Seeroth alone with Roild and Taric. Fraic seemed like she wanted to ask something, but she changed her mind and left with the rest.
“More than you had bargained on by coming here?” Seeroth chuckled as Taric rolled his eyes.
“Is there a reason for separating Fraic and I?” Taric uneasily fingered one of his hammer’s handles.
“The Dragon Lord was able to channel through you and her. I think it is related to proximity. It doesn’t help us find him if you and her are both in the same place.”
“So you still want to find him?” Roild wasn’t sure if he should like or dislike the idea. The Dragon Lord was on the surface, a world in which he had difficulty picturing a dwarf.
“You are the one that lost him. I would have thought that you would be the one most interested in finding him.” Roild flinched under Seeroth’s emotionless stare.
“I had no way of knowing that door led to the surface.”
“I suppose you didn’t. If it had been a closet, he might have been in the rebel’s hands right now.” Seeroth tugged at his beard thoughtfully.
“What is done is done. We need to keep our people safe before we start worrying about the overworld.” Roild recalled the last time he had seen Esteris before shaking his head. Now was not the time to become distracted. He would see her soon enough and hopefully in time to prevent battle flooding the streets of his home.
***
“Insignor, what do you see?” Essdra pulled her cloak tighter around her. The beginnings of the Vaulwar Heights were far different than the climate in the Elder Forest. They were traversing the mountain side and hiding from the dragon patrols. Their set of snow white cloaks allowed them to hide and provided more warmth than the standard brown cloaks, yet despite the summer, there was still a bite to the wind.
“Life and death. Pain and trials.” Insignor was as cryptic as ever. Essdra had long ago given up trying to make sense of him when he was in this mood.
“Or don’t tell me. Have you found where we are going?”