“Oh yes,” said the woman with a nod of head, “There’s the Highhelm clan south of here near the Five Sisters. They’re the most prominent; iron merchants generally, but there are other clans as well. There’s a small enclave of them to the west.”
“The Five Sisters?” said Uldex knowing that Carus was giving him a look but keeping his attention focused on the woman.
“A group of five volcanoes right up against the Southern Sea,” she answered with a smile. “I’ve never been there myself but they say it’s the best iron in the world unless you believe those crazy legends.”
“What legends are those,” said Carus before Uldex could stop him.
“The Dwarven City of Gold, Craggen Steep,” said the woman.
Carus laughed out loud and Uldex put an elbow to his ribs, “We’ve heard of it,” said the scarred dwarf with a nod at his companion, “My friend here always laughs when people talk about that fairy tale land. Still, it’s a good story, right, Carus?”
Carus busied himself rubbing the sore spot in his ribs and gave Uldex a tight lipped little smile, “Right you are, my friend.”
“In any case,” said Uldex, “Whereabouts can we find our rooms? I can see the kitchen is over there but I’d like to get settled in, take that bath, have a beer or two, you do have dwarven stouts?”
“Oh yes,” said the woman. “We get dwarf traders in fairly frequently from the Five Sisters. I’m sure you’ll find there’s something on the menu to your taste.”
“How far a trip is it to the Five Sisters,” said Carus, apparently recovered from the damage to his ribs. “My friend and I might like to go visit our brothers from the south sometime.”
“The caravans come through a couple of times a year,” said the woman. “I think it takes them about a month or so, but traveling alone without wagons I’d imagine you could cut that time in half.”
“Good to know,” said Uldex, apparently still focused on the more mundane topic of the conversation. “Which way to the rooms?”
“I’ll take you up,” said the woman. “I can see about finding you one of the translator amulets. I’m surprised you’ve made it this far from your home without purchasing one. They’re quite useful for caravan traders, travelers, adventurers, or whatever.”
“That’s a good idea,” said Uldex and scratched at his beard. He suddenly felt dirty for the first time and a sensation of bugs crawling in his beard and hair suddenly made him squirm. “And the baths?”
“Downstairs, past the hallway there,” said the woman. “I’ll have them draw a couple up for you and your friend. We can mend your clothes as well but that’ll be another silver or two depending on how much work is required. We can tally up your expenses as you go and charge it up when you leave.”
“That sounds fine,” said Uldex as they followed the woman down a long corridor and passed a number of doors each neatly marked with strange lettering. “Oh, and what is the name of this town? Do the amulets let you read as well as understand?”
“You’re in the city of Relm in the kingdom of Shandoria,” said the woman with a smile. “Just in case you didn’t know that. As far as I know the amulets only work with sound but I’ve heard that there are more powerful ones for reading and writing. If you’re heading south the five volcanoes are up against the Southern Sea. If you’re a fisherman you might think about chartering a ship and heading out to sea. Most dwarves don’t much take to the water as I remember.”
“No fishing for me,” said Carus with a shake of his square head, “I’m not a swimmer, more a sinker as I recall when I fell into that stream chasing darklings.”
Uldex laughed, “No, not much of that where we’re from. Still, it’s something to consider.”
“Where are you from?” said the woman as she arrived at an oak door banded with a lighter pine and pushed it open to reveal a large room with two comfortable beds covered by thick blankets and soft sheets.
Carus’s eyes opened wide as he saw the room, “All this?”
“It’s not our best suite but it’s not bad,” said the woman as she laughed and gave the wood door a little smack with the palm of her hand. “We have good clean rooms here at the Feathered Serpent. You said you were from the north? I don’t know any dwarf realms up that way but I’m sure where there are mountains there must be dwarves.”
“It’s pretty far away,” said Uldex as Carus walked into the room and began to run his hand over the wooden dresser on the far wall. It was at least six feet high with half a dozen heavy drawers made entirely of wood. Even the handles were of the same material and Carus caressed them gently.
“I’ve never seen this much wood before,” he said while shaking his head. “I bet this is what the First Edos chamber is like.”
“Shut up, Carus,” said Uldex and smiled at the woman. “Call us when the baths are ready please.”
The woman nodded her head and left the room, closing the door behind her without a further word. Her hand went to the pure silver coins in her pocket and she smiled broadly. Hopefully they dwarves would be in town for a while before they headed south.
Uldex walked across the room in two quick strides and smacked Carus on the head, “Don’t be an idiot.”
“You’ve never seen this much wood before either, Uldex. So don’t go trying to pretend you aren’t impressed.”
“We just walked through a forest. What do you mean you’ve never seen so much wood?”
“I mean, all carved into doors and such,” said Carus with a shrug of his shoulders. “It doesn’t count when it’s just a tree.”
“Why wouldn’t that count?” asked Uldex and then immediately shook his head, “Never mind, just get ready for your bath and stop talking. I need to think. We need to keep out a watch for Cleathelm and Blaggard and there’s always the possibility that we’ll meet up with Milli and Dol. We are much closer to the Five Volcanoes than I could have hoped. That means all the others are likely nearby and they could be in this town, Relm, as well. We need to keep a low profile and that means not talking too much about where we’re from.”
The other dwarf stopped talking and began to unpack his gear into the wooden drawers, “Cleathelm’s too stupid to ask if there are any other dwarves around. Anyway, they have no reason to suspect that we’re following them, the same for Dol, Brogus, and Milli.
At that very moment downstairs, at the front desk, Milli, Dol, Petra, and Brogus stood in front of the woman asking about accommodations as she looked strangely at the silver coins they gave her.
“Is anything wrong,” said Milli with a little frown.
“No, nothing,” said the woman and looked first at Milli and then at Dol who wore a hood over his head as the apple growth seemed to be accelerating and the color of the little fruits brightening. “They’re just unusual looking coins is all. Where are you from?”
“The far north,” said Milli a pleasant smile returning to her face. “We’re just travelers in the region. You don’t know a place with five volcanoes nearby by any chance?”
The woman looked up with a startled expression on her face but then smiled broadly, “As a matter of fact, I do.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful,” said Milli putting on her best smile and looking over to Dol, Brogus, and Petra. Even Dol looked up from under the hood he wore tightly over his head. “Can you give us directions or maybe even tell us how to hire a guide?”
“They’re not hard to find,” said the woman with a laugh. “Just head due south and you’ll get to the Southern Sea in a few weeks if you’re on foot and faster if you have horses. From there anyone can guide you to the Five Sisters.”
“Do you know anything about the people who live in that region,” said Dol as he pulled back his hood to reveal a wild forest of hair interspersed with noticeable little reddish tinted apples.
“Dol,” said Milli as her eyes opened wide. “It’s grown since yesterday and the apples are getting bigger!”
“What are you?” said the woman at the counter with her mouth agape, and she took a step back from the counter.
Dol looked up at her slowly and he glared through eyes narrowed to slits, “A dwarf,” he finally said and continued to stare at her.
“She didn’t mean anything, Dol,” said Milli noting the simmering rage and taking him by the arm.
“Then why did she say it,” said Dol putting his hand on the haft of his hammer and glaring at her. “People
