Elvenshore: 01 - The Dwarves of Elvenshore (2 page)

“What has brought you out of your precious mountain deep?” Sarchise asked curiously.

“We are on the King’s errand.  His fifth born son, knowing that he will never get the throne, but still being of royal blood, left the High Mountain with twenty of his followers to reclaim the Mountains of Iron as his kingdom.  He was going to establish an outpost and then send back for more
axe
men to drive the gremlins out of our old Kingdom.  The King just learned about this.  He had been gone for two days.  He has sent us out to find him and bring him back.”

“Hmm, even more dwarves in the Westwood.  I hope the answer to my quest does not answer yours also,” Sarchise said,

Somewhere between the midnight and the dawn, Hemlot fell asleep.  He had dreams of elves putting spells on him and turning him into a tree.  He shuddered himself awake just after sunrise.  As he looked around all of his companions were still asleep along with Sarchise.  Further up the hill were four more humans, all in the same style of green tunic that Sarchise was wearing.  One of them was stringing his bow and the other three were eating bread and dried meat.  Hemlot looked across the valley and saw that the morning mist was clinging to the tops of the trees.  Green and gray colors spread across the forest like a carpet.  To the east he could see High Mountain towering above the forest like a sentinel protecting the home of the dwarves. There were red and blue birds singing sweet songs as they flew from treetop to treetop.

“Look, the short one is awake,” said a voice behind Hemlot.

“How can you tell if one is shorter than another? They all look the same height to me,” said another voice.  With that the four humans laughed.

Sarchise got up on one elbow and with a yawn he said
, “
What’s the matter Ermort, forget your manners?”

“Humph,” was the only response.

Hemlot got up and bowed low.  “I am
Hemlot
son of
Zarin
, commander on the errand of the King.
”

Ermort smiled. “Polite little fellow,
ain’t
you? I am Ermort of the Royal Scouts. I guess that is the way that I was supposed to say it.  Oh yes, my
father’s
name was
Jole
, but he’s dead now.”

The other three humans were not as talkative, just introducing themselves as
Harn
, Will and Tom.

Hemlot looked at Sarchise and asked. “Can we build a fire now? I need to cook our breakfast.”

“No fires till you are out of Westwood.  The spiders don’t sleep,”
came
Sarchise’s answer.

“How can I cook our food?” Hemlot asked, puzzled.

Ermort replied to that, “You have to cook it before you come into the woods.”

“It appears that we have come ill prepared for the journey at hand.  I must catch up with the Prince.”

Sarchise got up and stretched his bones.  Looking up at his companions he said, “Thanks for taking the watch so I could get some sleep.”

“No problem,” said Ermort, “I have faith that you will return the favor tonight.”

That brought a smile to Sarchise’s face. “Well, well, what have we to eat today? Dried meat and bread or bread and dried meat?” They all smiled.  The other dwarves were stirring at the sound of the talking.  Soon they were all up, and with the introductions out of the way the dwarves settled down to a meager breakfast of bread and cheese.  The meat they brought with them was salted but raw. No dwarf that had ever sat around a bonfire would even think about eating raw meat.

Ferdin could not help but notice the scowl on
Harn’s
face every time he looked at a dwarf.  When he finally was able to get Sarchise alone he questioned him about it.

“Why does he look at us so?”

Sarchise got a tender look into his eyes then sat down in front of the young dwarf.  “
Harn
is old,” he began. “The old have long memories of war, friends and foes.  Dwarf, man and elf were once
allies w
hen the Four Kingdoms stopped fighting each other and all that was good in the world was at peace.  Then
arose
Tabor. He was a boy that was captured by the
minotaur
.  He was taught evil from his young age and was sent out to raise an army to destroy man.”

In the midst of the tale, Hemlot came up to ask a question.  Then he thought better of it and sat down to listen in.

  Sarchise continued.  “It was an army of gremlins, minotaur and other evil creatures.  All that was evil flocked to the army of Tabor.  He unleashed his hordes against the Kingdom of
Zor
.  They swept across the plains killing and looting along the way.  Many fled to the Mountains of Iron or to Westwood.  It was sti
ll the days of the elves so those
that fled to Westwood were protected by the elves, those that were still there anyway.  Many of the elves had already left over the stormy sea to the far shore and the rest were preparing to go. Those that fled into the Mountains of Iron were doomed, for that was where Tabor was breeding his army.

“In those days dwarves lived under all the mountains.  Dwarf and gremlin have always fought for the dark halls.  But the dwarves of the Mountains of Iron could not kill the gremlins as fast as Tabor was breeding them so they retreated to the Lonely
Mountains. The humans that fled the Kingdom of
Zor
didn’t know that the dwarves had left and were slaughtered when they tried to cross the mountains into the Kingdom of
Ril
.

“Tabor was not done. He attacked the Kingdom of
Ril
with his mighty army and would have won, had not the Elves of Northwood come to the rescue. But the anger of man was stirred up against the dwarf when none of her dwarf allies came down from the Lonely Mountains to fight. Many a gremlin died that day and in the end Tabor fled back into the Mountains of Iron to regain his strength.  He then called all of the evil hosts from the Lonely Mountain and the High Mountain.  Dwarves in those mountains no longer had to fight the gremlins for the gremlin
s
had left to fight man.

“The King of
Ril
called for help so Middle Kingdom and the Kingdom of
Myr
sent armies and so did the elves of Westwood and Northwood.  But not a sound or a dwarf came from the Lonely Mountains or High Mountain.”  To the surprise of man Tabor struck east and destroyed the Kingdom of
Myr
and Middle Kingdom while their armies were in the Kingdom of
Ril
. The only place that he didn’t attack in the east was the city-state of South Fort. Fearing to get so far away from the Mountains of Iron and too close to Westwood, Tabor stayed his hand.

“Tabor was not done yet, with his minotaur, gremlins and other evil creatures he again attacked the Kingdom of
Ril
.  It had the only Human King that remained alive. For two days they battle
d
on the plains between the Mountains of Iron and Northwood.  Man and elf wer
e starting to fall back and the
day would have been lost had it not been for a group of five hundred.  Mostly men, but some elves, made a mad dash toward the camp of Tabor.  As gremlin and
minotaur
closed around them, they fought forward. They did not get close, but they got close enough.  An arrow from
Elon
of Northwood, shot from a great distance away, found its mark and pierced Tabor’s evil heart.

Th
is did not end the battle, because
the gremlins that have no love for man or
elf,
have also no love for minotaur.  They answered only to Tabor, for he bred them in pits, deep in the Mountains of Iron.  So when Tabor died, the gremlins simply walked away from the battle.  This left the
minotaur
to fight alone.  They fought on, but soon realized their hope was gone. They hate man, and they dreamed of ridding the world of men with a man. But their hate turned to fear and their dreams to ashes on the plains of
Ril
.  Seeing they would soon be extinct, they fled in all directions.  Many were hunted down and killed but some got away.  They hid in the forests waiting for the end of the days of the elves.” 

“Man pleaded with elf and dwarf to rid the world of evil once and for all, but
it fell on deaf ears.  The dwarves stayed in their
mountains and the elves left for the far shore.  This left man to stand alone. Many men, like
Harn
, are still bitter against elf and dwarf. 
But especially the dwarf who sat around his bonfires while the Four Kingdoms were destroyed.”

Ferdin looked at
Hemlot
.  “Commander, is this true? We did nothing?”

Hemlot looked at the gr
ound.  “I begged the King to hee
d the summons and send out his armies but he would not.  He just would say, ‘We have lost
enough,
let man fight this evil man, for he is one of theirs.’ So without commands from the King I gathered my five hundred fighters and with provisions I started to leave the High Mountain. The King found out about it and forbade me to go.  When I argued with him, he banished me to the mines for ten years.  I have just recently been put back into comm
and.  But what
command have
I, a
n old battle weary dwarf and two lads.”

Hemlot regained his composure, “But enough of the past that we cannot change. I need a map.”

The Scouts were kind enough to let Hemlot study their map.  Looking at the vastness of Westwood he started to get a little discouraged.  “I shall never find them; there are too many ways that they could have gone.”

Ermort looked at him with a puzzled expression.  “Who are you looking for?”

“Our prince is on his way to the Mountains of Iron and he has a three day head start,” replied Hemlot.

“Nobody has crossed the river,” Ermort responded.

“Are you sure?” Sarchise said with urgency in his voice.

“Yes. The ferry is still on our side,”
came
Ermort’s
response.

“What does all of this mean?” Hemlot asked.

“It means that you are looking for your friends in the wrong direction.  The river is a half a day’s journey from here.  If they didn’t manage to cross it then they didn’t get very far.  I am afraid that our worst fears have been realized and we are on the same quest.” Sarchise said,

“You mean that you think the spiders got them?” Hemlot asked.

“Either the spiders or the bears.
  If the bears got them then they are all dead.  They kill for food and for the joy of killing.  If the spiders got them then there is still some hope for a few of them.  But time is running out,” Sarchise said,

“What does that mean?” Hemlot asked still confused.

“It’s too disgusting to tell you but we may be able to save some of them,”
came
Sarchise’s response.

The scouts were getting ready quickly, as they suddenly seemed to have a sense of urgency.  Hemlot was still puzzled but he grabbed his helmet and
axe
and he was soon following the humans and the other dwarves. They walked past last night’s campfire to pick up the trail of the spiders and followed it.

They soon came across another old camp where a bonfire had been lit.  This one was larger than the first.  In the middle of the campsite lay a couple of dead Giant Spiders. Axes and helmets were strewn across the area.  It was very obvious what had happened here. 

“Ambush; they never stood a chance.”  Sarchise commented.

“The spiders came from this direction,” said Ermort, pointing to the ground, “and this direction.  They came from two directions at once.  The dwarves had been sitting down at the
time of the attack because
it looks like they were scrambling to get to their feet.  The prince must have set out guards just beyond the light of the campfire. These two spiders were killed with arrows. Either the guards got away, which is unlikely, or the spiders got them too. It looks like about thirty spiders were here by the number of tracks.”

Hemlot went over and picked up an
axe
, “This one is the Prince’s.” he said, “It has the ancient runes on it signifying royalty. The King will be very sad when he finds that his son is no more.”

“There is some good news in that it was the spiders that got to them and not the bears,” replied Ermort.  Hemlot just looked at him.

A sad groan came from
Hemlot
and
Glowin
.

“The spiders don’t kill all of their victims, they save some for, well, they save some for later.  There is good hope that a few are still alive.”

“We’ll find what’s left of them.  The spiders left a trail a mile wide.” Ermort commented as he headed down it. The rest of the group followed after him at a run.