at the time but he was taking a big risk. There were plenty of Blackirons and Firefists who wanted their sons and nephews for the position but Udor wasn’t one for ceremony, he was a metal-smith of the best sort.”
“Udor made the Hammer of Fire,” said Milli in a whisper as she looked around the room at the embroidery on the couch, the paintings on the wall, all pink and yellow but not of flowers; they showed hammers, anvils, weapons of war; that was the life of a dwarf in Craggen Steep and that was her life. She’d first heard of the great Hammer of Fire long before she ever got to see the First Edos’s workshop. It was only later, when she became a young woman that handsome young dwarves on the fast path to success in Craggen Steep began to call and take her to places like that.
“Oh yes, yes indeed, he put it together from the Staff of Faelom and the great hammer head Kanoner. Now all of those traditionalists say he didn’t make the thing because he merely wedded the two parts but don’t you listen to them. He made the hammer and I watched him do it. He wouldn’t let anyone else into the Deep Forge for a year, he used the Silk Anvil of Rowena, indeed he did. It was the last thing he forged before they removed him from power, just like they’re going to remove me.”
“The Silk Anvil, what’s that?”
“Oh dear, yes, well, I travel in such lofty circles I forget that some things are secret. Never you mind dearie, it’s just something from a long time ago.”
“Oh,” said Milli just as the kettle began to boil. “Oh no, that’s the water, here, sit down and I’ll get everything ready. Do you take sugar, cream?”
“You don’t have any peppermint by any chance, do you?”
Milli’s green eyes again grew wide at the mention of the incredibly costly treat, “Oh, I’m sorry, no, I’ve never had… that is to say I’ve heard of it… is it good with coffee?”
“An acquired taste, but don’t let it bother you, just let’s you and I have a little talk, yes, cream is fine, a little sugar as well, not quite peppermint. One does get used to the trappings of power, doesn’t one?”
Milli blinked rapidly for a moment and said under her breath, “I guess?”
“What was that?”
“Nothing,” said the girl as she finished with the kettle and sat down next to the gaudily bedecked dwarf. One of his beard bands alone contained more wealth than the girl could possibly hope to attain in a lifetime. His robes were made of the finest silk imported from some far off lands, even his rings glowed with magical energy and sported gemstones the size of her thumb, “First Edos, why are you here?”
“Please, call me Fierfelm, I’m only First Edos in name now that that the Firefists have taken control. I’ll be eased out with awards and ceremonies but they’ll never let me back into the Deep Forge to pursue my craft,” this last he said as he eyes took on a faraway look and he sighed. “I’ll miss that forge more than anything else. I remember the first day I saw it with old Udor. It was, it still is, the most beautiful thing in all of Craggen Steep. The seat of power for old Gazadum, where Hovslaag himself forged the tools used to craft the world.”
“I’m so sorry,” said Milli and patted the old fellow on the hand. “It must be terrible to have known such beauty and lose it.”
Fierfelm smiled and nodded his head, “That’s very kind of you to say. I’ve trusted Borrombus and his nephew to handle things up until now but the Firefists knew my plans all along, so I’ve come to you personally this time. I was followed, you can be sure of that, but they know everything in any case so all I can do is try to fulfill my promise personally. I’ll not rely on others anymore.”
“I’m not sure I really understand,” said Milli and took a sip from the steaming cup.
“The Hammer of Fire, old Udor wanted it to be used, but the Firefist family won’t allow it and frankly, until your friend Delius came along there wasn’t really anyone who could effectively wield it in any case.”
“Dol won’t do it,” said Milli. “We tried to convince him but he’s stubborn, he won’t listen to reason.”
“Borrombus explained everything to me,” said the old dwarf with a nod of his head as he took a sip of his coffee and forced it down his throat with an expression as if he just swallowed an iron ingot. “This coffee is just atrocious; I suppose once I’ve been removed as First Edos I’ll have nothing to look forward to except death and bad coffee.”
“I’m so sorry,” said Milli and looked down at her cup without a further word.
“Never you mind,” said Fierfelm, “never you mind. I’m here for something far more important than coffee. It’s a good thing that young man of yours is stubborn because last night was a trap. They knew you would try and steal the hammer and had agents there to prevent it.”
“He’s not really my young man,” said Milli with a little blush, “we’re more just friends.”
“That’s nice, in any case, I’ve come to you with a plan, something that Delius will like, it’s something I’d like myself but I’m not young anymore, and frankly, even when I was young I wasn’t much the adventuring sort. I’m a fair blacksmith, no false modesty there, I know my way around the hammer and anvil, but as for killing and rescuing fair maids, it’s not really my forte. Where was I?”
“A plan,” suggested Milli with a hopeful look in her eyes as she gazed up at the old dwarf.
“That’s right; now, I can’t tell you how to get to the hammer anymore and any suggestion I make is based on information fed to me by the Firefists. It’s been nothing but lies and spying for years now. That miserable apprentice they’ve saddled me with is nothing but a lying filthy little spy with no character whatsoever. I’ve tried with him, tried to instill some discipline, some pride of work, but he’s grown up spoiled, entitled, rich, there’s nothing I can do with him. But young Delius, I can give him something to do with the hammer.”
“What?” said Milli her coffee cup poised half-way between the saucer and her flush lips.
“What do you know about Craggen Steep?” said Fierfelm as he carefully set down his coffee cup in the chipped saucer and turned his old eyes to the girl. “What do you really know?”
“Well, it’s a secret citadel, hidden from the rest of the world, that it is endless miles of caverns tunneled through the mountains, that… that… that’s it’s ruled by a council of elders but the blacksmiths, the master blacksmith’s, the Edos’s, they are the other power.”
“Yes, but what do you know of its origins?”
“I don’t really know very much. They brought me here as a little girl but I’m still an outsider, they won’t tell me anything.”
“What do you make of the great passages, the grand halls?”
“Oh, they’re magnificent, the stone work is so beautiful, the gems, the precious metals, the artisan work, it’s the most beautiful place there could ever be,” said Milli her eyes glowing and a wide smile on her face as she gazed towards the corner of the room and saw not the faded paint, the cracked trim, but something else, something far grander.
“What do you think of their size?” Interrupted the old dwarf, breaking her from her reverie.
“Their size?” repeated Milli.
“Yes, their size,” said the old dwarf with a twinkle in his eyes.
“The grand passage that cuts through the heart of the mountain must be a hundred feet tall, the ancient cathedrals to Davim and the other Gods, you could walk an army through them.”
“What do you make of that?” said Fierfelm with a little nod of his head.
“I’m not sure I understand,” said Milli, her head tilted to one side and her nose slightly wrinkled as she gazed at the elderly dwarf.
The First Edos smiled gently at the girl and raised his eyebrows.
“Well, I suppose, as a girl, I always wondered, why build such massive structures when you’re, well, not exactly very tall,” she said. “Is that what you mean?”
The First Edos nodded his head and took another sip of his coffee, “It’s best to make it too hot and then it cools nicely after a bit. These porcelain cups are quite nice for keeping the heat. Gold is ridiculous as a coffee mug, just ridiculous; you’d think someone would think of that.”
Milli closed one eye and shook her head, “What?”
“The coffee, best to make it too hot.”
“Yes, I’m sorry First Edos, would you like me to put the kettle back on?” said Milli.
“What do you make of that?” said Fierfelm.
Milli blinked three times with her long lashes and stared at the elderly dwarf for a long moment, “The halls?”
“Of course, what else were we talking about?”
“I suppose…,” she started and put her hand to her chin, “I suppose it means that they weren’t built for
