have to do something. If we let the others take on the Firefists and Drawhammers by themselves they will be destroyed.”
“That’s true,” said Borrombus. “And we’ll lose most of our allies in the battle.”
“Exactly,” said the lad. “So, what do we do?”
Borrombus sighed, which caused his heavy belly to jiggle a bit and then he shook his head, “I don’t see a winnable solution. I don’t see a way to win. Those damn pompous Firefists. They have the Golden Pikemen and the elite guard and all we have is the dregs.”
“There are a lot of dregs,” said the young dwarf although even he looked to the ground when he said it.
“It’s not about numbers,” said Borrombus. “Numbers don’t hurt but it’s about will, desire, and passion. If we can’t inspire that in the lesser families then we can’t win this fight.”
“So, how do we go about inspiring them?”
Borrombus took his finger to his many bands and tapped one gently, “Corancil is an inspired speaker. If we could somehow get him to speak to the masses…”
“The High Council will never allow it,” said the young dwarf with a rueful smile and a shake of his head.
“It’s not a matter of allow or disallow, it’s a matter of twisting the rules to our advantage. Those old windbags live and die by the letter of the law, and if we somehow find a way to get Corancil inside Craggen Steep to give a speech he might even sway some of those old codgers. He is convincing in his own way. You’ve met him.”
The young dwarf nodded his head, “I saw him speak once and I’ve seen the effect he has on people. Even you must admit that his ideas have merit. Everyone advancing on their own merits instead of whose family they belong to or how much they pay.”
“You say that despite having every advantage of a Blackiron here in Craggen Steep?” said Borrombus turning his eye towards the young dwarf.
The lad nodded his head, “It’s worse now than when you were an apprentice,” he said with a firm mouth and steely eyes. “You should see the morons who get the best promotions and it doesn’t matter if they have any skill or not. Nothing burns more than seeing some incompetent promoted over you because of his last name or his father’s gold. Even we Blackirons get the short of it now. Besides, if things keep going the way they’re going it will be nothing except driveling incompetents on the Council and then we’re doomed anyway. If we don’t join Corancil then Craggen Steep will eventually fall to him anyway.”
Borrombus nodded his great head and tapped at the bands that held his beard in check. “All you say is true and if Corancil could speak to the masses that might be enough to convince even the Elite Guard to change sides. They have to want to set out into the world and test their blades. But how to make it happen, how to make it happen? Go, nephew, go to the library and find council procedural books, the dustier the better. I’ll talk with that stubborn First Edos again and see if he can’t try and trump the council in some manner or another.”
“No one listens to him since the Council banned him from chambers, he’s finished. As soon as Cleathelm gets back they’ll make him First Edos.”
“Cleathelm,” snorted Borrombus, “not even the Firefists would be stupid enough to put such incompetence in the First Edos’s chair.”
“They can and they will, Uncle,” said the dwarf lad with a sad little shake of his head. “It’s gotten very bad down in the apprentice chambers. You don’t know what it’s like. Cleathelm isn’t even the worst of the bunch.”
Borrombus shook his head, “You’re probably right, nephew. I’ve been circling with the exalted ones for so long I’ve lost touch. Your brother helped me in that regard but I was probably fooling myself in thinking I knew what was happening in the upper chambers with the common folk. I’m as bad as the other members of the High Council. But in the end it doesn’t matter. Find those books and let’s see if we can bring some ancient rule to light that will let us bring Corancil into Craggen Steep. Then perhaps we can lead an army out of the Gates of Faferdum and onto the field of battle.” With this he looked up at the towering gates above them and their magnificent arches and carvings. “The Elementals built these,” he said in a quiet voice, “long before we came to this world.”
“What was that, Uncle?” said the lad as he turned around.
“Nothing,” said Borrombus with a shake of his head. “Just the musings of a tired, fat old dwarf.”
The boy stood for a moment and looked at Borrombus with wide eyes.
“Go on, go on,” said the fat dwarf with a wave of his hand. After the young dwarf scurried off, Borrombus turned and looked up at the towering gateway one last time. There were four of them in total, the main entrances to Craggen Steep. The Gates of Gazadum, The Gates of Korakdum, The Gates of Glangaldum, and this one, the Gates of Fafardum. Fire, Earth, Water, and Air. The four ancient creators of the world and now young Dol Delius was going to try and kill Gazadum who had ruled here for who knows how many years. “Maybe it would be best if Uldex took the hammer before Delius attacks,” he mused to himself. “The elementals have been long quiescent but their power, their ancient power, does it hide or does it wait?”
Chapter 22
Milli sat on a heavy wooden chair with her face barely above the edge of the oak table and stared across the room to where Dol busily chatted with a pair of young women. One of them wore a loose fitting top that showed a great deal of her breasts and the other giggled at everything Dol said. “It’s disgusting and where is that girl with my booster seat,” said Milli and rolled her eyes at Petra who sat next to her.
Petra shook her head, smiled, and said, “He’s a man like any other.”
“He never acted like this before,” replied Milli glaring at the trio. “And where is stupid Brogus? He said he would have dinner with us but he’s been doing nothing but sleeping and drinking and chasing girls since we got here.”
“I haven’t known him as long as you,” said Petra with a shrug of her shoulders. “But the only men I know whose heads aren’t turned by pretty girls have different tastes.”
“You’ve known him since we left Crag… our home,” said Milli, carefully looking around at the other patrons of the tavern. “You’ve been with us long enough to know he’s changed, don’t pretend.”
Petra shrugged her shoulders again, “I suppose you are right. He’s changed even since you three first came into my camp. It seems like years ago but it’s only been about a month. It has to be the influence of the hammer don’t you think? But then there are the physical changes, the apples in his hair and beard turning red. That’s not something the hammer could change, is it? And there are so many of them now. Even a month ago they weren’t so plentiful and they weren’t red like that.”
Milli nodded her head just as an attractive young girl, likely still in her teens with her brown hair tied into a single braid that reached half way down her back, came over to the table. She carried a little seat and smiled at Milli as she came over, “Here you go, little girl!” and started to put it under Milli.
“What?” shrieked Milli and snatched the seat from the teenager’s hand. “Little girl?”
The teen smiled and patted her on the head, “I can see you’re all grown up with little boobies and everything.”
Milli’s eyes almost popped out of her head, but Petra reached over and put her hand against the halflings’s wrist, “It’s okay, Milli. We don’t want to make too much of a scene now, do we?”
A sort of strangled little snort shot out of Milli’s nose but then her eyes turned cool, “No, of course not, Petra. Thank you for the seat,” she said to the teenaged server and placed it on the chair and sat down. After the girl wandered off Milli turned to Petra and snarled, “I’ll tear her eyes out!”
Petra laughed, “It was an honest mistake, Milli,” said the older woman and continued to pat her on the wrist. “They just haven’t seen many halflings around here I’d guess. Maybe they don’t have halflings this far south. We haven’t seen any, have we?”
“I guess not,” said Milli pursing her lips tightly and pulling her hand back and away from Petra. “Still, it’s not right. I don’t like this place. I don’t like what it’s doing to Dol,” and she glanced at the tall dwarf who had his arm around the waist of one of the girls while she toyed with the apples in his hair. “I don’t like Brogus sleeping all the time just because the beds are comfortable.”
