“Damn,” said Uldex and tried to pull his axe from Brogus’s arm as the dwarf fell but he wasn’t fast enough as Dol bolted over with a single stride, raised the hammer high, and brought it down towards the scarred dwarf’s head. Uldex let go of his axe and tried to roll away but the hammer hit him with a solid blow behind the right shoulder and he spun into the ground with a loud thump.
Dol turned to Blaggard who was already on his knees cutting Cleathelm’s throat and taking his heavy purse of gold. The little goblin immediately dropped his dagger. “I only worked for Cleathelm. I have no feud with you, Delius. I threw my daggers wide on purpose. Take the hammer. Kill them all, I don’t care. Let me have Cleathelm’s purse and you’ll never see me again.”
Dol nodded his head, “I’ll kill you if I ever see you again,” and then turned to the writhing Uldex. Now this is finished.”
Across the street Carus moved back into the shadows and disappeared around the side of a building.
“No, Dol,” said Milli running forward and grabbing the fiery dwarf by the arm. “He’s hurt, he’s not a threat to you anymore.”
“Brogus is dead,” said Dol with a look at his friend on the ground, “and someone will pay.”
“It was the dwarf who did it,” said Milli pointing to where Carus stood a moment ago, but the creature was gone like a puff of wind on a hot summer day. “It wasn’t Uldex anyway.”
Dol threw off her arm and rolled Uldex onto his back but the crafty warrior slashed out with a dagger in his left hand and cut Dol across the shoulder. Dol winced, punched him hard in the face, and brought the hammer down on his opponent’s hand with a quick blow that was accompanied by the sizzling sound of burning flesh and the terrible smell that went with it.
Uldex grimaced and gritted his teeth but did not cry out. Dol raised the hammer again.
“No, Dol, don’t do it!” shouted Milli.
Down came the hammer on Uldex’s face.
Chapter 24
The seven members of the High Council sat in their thick, high-backed seats in the magnificent chamber looking down upon the petitioner, the First Edos, who looked small and out of place on the floor of the chamber rather than in his traditional seat on the right side of the chamber. At the center seat a heavily bearded dwarf banged his golden gavel down onto the stone podium. “The petition is denied, for the last time.”
“This is a violation of our laws,” said First Edos Fierfelm and stomped his foot against the stone floor. “According to our ancient laws it is perfectly acceptable for the First Edos to make a request of this nature.”
“The law to which you refer is nearly three thousand years old and hasn’t been invoked in over a thousand years,” said the High Councilor and raised his gavel again.
Borrombus chimed in from his seat at the left edge of the podium, “This violation of our laws sets an unseemly precedent, High Councilor. If we can simply choose to ignore whichever law doesn’t suit our tastes then what is the point of having laws at all?”
“When revolutionaries sit in the dungeons and councilors are nigh on accused of treason, then the laws must be adjusted,” said the High Councilor. “The Council has spoken about this, Councilor Five. More than once. If you continue to push this matter then arrests will be made at the highest levels of government!” With this he banged his golden gavel down again. “At… the… highest… levels,” he said glaring directly at Borrombus.
“The arrest of a Council Member requires the unanimous consent…,” started Borrombus but again the High Councilor banged his gavel.
“Do not dare to quote rules to me,” he said and glared again.
“Can we not be civil in our discourse,” said the First Edos from the floor. “Has it come down to threats of imprisonment?”
“Treason!” shouted another of the councilors from his seat. “We’ve already uncovered a plot to allow invaders into Craggen Steep. Corancil has assembled a massive army not more than a month’s march from our citadel. Hundreds of young dwarves are sympathetic to his cause, particularly among the lower classes who do not have the advantage of a proper education. Those of the lesser families have always been jealous of our power, but they do not understand that we provide their security and their wealth.”
“How is it treason to simply invite a man to visit Craggen Steep?” said the First Edos wringing his hands together. “This has happened many times in the history of Craggen Steep.”
“The council has spoken,” said the High Councilor and again banged his gavel on the stone counter. “One more word and I’ll arrest not only Councilor Five, but you as well First Edos. Do I make myself clear?”
“You have already sent the arrest orders,” said one of the pikemen with golden armor at the side of the great table.
“What is this!?” shrieked the High Councilor. “Treason among the pikemen? How deeply does this disease run? To the roots of the mountain? Into the Darkling land? Arrest that man!” he shouted and pointed to the pikeman.
Two of his fellows immediately pointed their weapons at him but another quickly jumped to his defense, and Borrombus stood up and pulled out a long knife, “When the council abandons the laws of Craggen Steep we must strike for the freedom of all!”
An absolute cacophony of sound erupted as two councilors kicked back from the table and attacked Borrombus, but the first went down in a spray of blood as the dagger went into his throat.
“Stop this violence,” shouted First Edos Fierfelm from the floor, but he was quickly overwhelmed in the general shouting and screaming. “This is madness! Madness!”
Golden-armed pikemen intermingled with one another and a door burst open to reveal a mass of seething dwarves who ran into the room tripping and trampling one another as they came. “Freedom! Freedom!”
From another corner came a group of well-armed dwarf soldiers and while they did not shout for freedom, they moved with precision and their shields came up as a group. A shouted order and they pulled short axes out and marched into the melee in single-step unison.
Tom Liberman
The Hammer of Fire
Chapter 25
Petra sat at a small round table with her arm over the shoulder of Milli who was sobbing into her own hands. “It’s a hard world, Milli. That’s the truth of it. I’m not going to tell you everything is going to be all right.”
“When I left Craggen Steep I left a prison behind,” said Milli raising her tear-stained face up towards Petra. “But it was a safe prison.”
“That’s true. A lot of people live in prisons their entire lives. They live in fear of the world and what can happen to those who go out into it.”
Milli sniffled, “It’s a real fear though, isn’t it? People get killed. Your friends die, people change, and you get hurt.”
“That’s all true,” said Petra again, gently patting Milli on the hand. “All very true.”
“Brogus is dead,” said Milli and sniffled again and blew into a rag with a heavy snort. “He’s not coming back and neither is Dol.”
Petra continued to pat the girl on the hand and rub her back gently, “Maybe it’s better that Dol went off on his own. He’s on a suicide mission.”
Milli looked up at Petra and frowned, “He needs me and I’ve abandoned him,” she said with her mouth turned down in a frown and she sniffled again. “If he just waited a day while we buried Brogus and Uldex then I would have gone with him.”
“You can still catch him if you want,” said Petra. “Your horse is in the stables and he only has a day head
