Chronicles of Den'dra - Spencer Johnson Page 0,174

hardest hit areas to one out of five in the lightest hit regions. The dwarves became ill on the surface. The halfling hordes were struck the hardest, but only as their masters were affected and withdrew. The dragons were only safe within their shells. My brother, Night Soul, tended the unhatched while I attempted to save what was left of the light elves. We would have died as fast as the dragons if we hadn’t our soul forgings at our sides, indeed those of us that had lost that part of ourselves, they died within a couple short years. I took my Light Bow and joined the Storm Queen in building a ward around the Elder Forest. It held the curse at bay, but we are consumed in the effort. Our doom is sealed, but the light elves will survive.” Incrin laughed out loud. Tarth must have been loitering near the record vault because he appeared a moment later.

“Did you find something?” Tarth glanced around and found that scrolls and tomes filled every chair except for the one that Incrin sat.

“They won’t like it.”

“I'm the one that has to tell them.” Tarth carefully set the tomes piled in one chair on the floor under Incrin’s disapproving eye. He knew that the eccentric had a problem with any document on the floor even though he could see little difference between the floor and being carelessly heaped on every flat surface in the room.

“You should probably leave out that I found it in the forbidden writings.”

“Is that…?” Tarth pointed towards the scroll held protectively by Incrin.

“The writings of Forest Wing, or Green Wing. The word for forest and green are almost identical and only differentiated in later dialects of the ancient tongue. Even then, they are often interchangeable. Wherever they came from, there must have been a lot of ever summer forests.”

“You are right. Alban would bust a vein on hearing that we actually have some of the Dragon Lord’s writings. I am guessing that it is the reason that you are so stubborn about picking your apprentice record keeper.”

“Most those young ones have no appreciation for history. Since Alban took over, many would be more interested in burning these priceless scrolls. Besides, I am not so old as to need an apprentice's help.”

“I wasn’t calling you old. It is just better to have two archive keepers rather than one.”

“I will keep an eye on the new ones coming in. Mayhap I find one that isn’t indoctrinated yet.”

“You said that you found something?” Tarth deftly turned the conversation away from points that were considered dangerous if overheard.

“I never said that. You always assume.”

“I am an empath, meaning I never assume.” Tarth knew that there was no rushing Incrin. Attempting such would only work the opposite.

“Fine, I did find something. I believe that Stone Walker lost his mace, Iron Earth in the common vernacular, during one of the last battles of the Millennium War.”

“Is that all you found?” Tarth looked askance at Incrin who scowled back.

“It was in the southern Vaulwar near the cracked mountain. There was an army composed of humans and dwarves present, if that helps.” Tarth merely shook his head slightly.

“It doesn’t help much. Have you read anything about a mace of rare quality in human hands?” Tarth pursed his lips thoughtfully after asking.

“Well, there was Tarl’ilk, the mighty, clan master of Brea who had a fine mace until he broke it in a battle with Safrym. Giansar’thrack would never have broken so that wasn’t it. Silmn, the beggar lord, who had a mace, but it is supposedly on display in Loneka Manor. I doubt that could be it because I have read of the account of its forging by human hands. There are other tales that mention maces except none of them are extraordinary. The dwarves though, they are another thing altogether. I have few, if any, tales of them after the decline. It could be in one of their tombs as we speak.”

“How do you know Stone Walker lost it?”

“Because, he had a great battle with one of the Wraith at the end of the Millennium war. Green Wing says that the Dragon Lords that lost their soul forgings died within a couple years of the curse. Stone Walker died within a couple years and spent those years digging tunnels through the Vaulwar. It is where the dwarves found his body. The recounting of his burial says that they left Giansar’thrack so he would have a familiar shape