Elvenshore: 01 - The Dwarves of Elvenshore (20 page)

Sarchise’s men chopped through the doors in a matter of minutes when they arrived at the storage buildings.  That night the people of
Zor
, for that is what they called themselves, made a feast that neither they nor the dwarves had seen in a very long time. There was roast mutton, stew and bread with honey and ale to drink. The feast lasted long into the night.  Sarchise rested his troops till the next night.  Vowing to only travel in the darkness they left the village just after sunset.

Still when they looked back at the town, they saw two bodies hanging from trees.  Justice had finally come at last in the Kingdom of
Zor
.

The army had traveled several nights when two runners caught up with them.  It was Ferdin and
Fordin
, the two twins.  He greeted them warmly and then went into his tent to read the message.

“From Cazz fifth born of the King of the High Mountain.

To Sarchise.
Now sixth born of the King of High Mountain.

Greetings.
  We are only five days behind you.  We have toiled hard to catch your army but now ask that you rest a few days so we can meet.  The people of
Zor
have provisioned us and fed us well, indeed some of our warriors had a little too much hospitality but we will feel better in a day or two.  I have with me two armies of low dwarves. These will be the last of the armies sent out of High Mountain. The King feels he can spare no more and in light of the recent attack on the Mountain, it took a long time to talk him into sending these out.  We come, hopefully, to the last battle and we have need of warriors. 

We traveled by the city that you found in the trees.  There is a great feeling of hatred that arises out of there. The wall that was cast up across the gate has been cut down from the inside.  Whatever was trapped in the city, it no longer trapped.  I had my axe men cut a different trail to bypass the city.  I do not know, but fear that some new evil now resides in the Westwood. We cannot address that now, for we must finish the task at hand.

I will march hard to meet you.  Perhaps you can cast up dirt walls around your present position, so we will have a fort to fall back to if the battle goes sour.  I have the people of
Zor
working on rebuilding the walls so we will not lose the land behind us to sudden attack. 

Wait for me, I will come soon.

(
signed
) Cazz

When Sarchise finished the letter, he showed it to his commanders. They sketched out a design for the new fort and after a good meal of mutton and
bread,
they put dwarves to work constructing the walls.  They used the lay of the land to their benefit, The mounded walls were built between the rolling hills and then the hillside on the outside of the wall was cut, to that it was now steep and blended in with the walls.  The only opening in the walls was to the south and they had boulders brought up to the closest hillside so that if they were attacked they could roll the boulders into the opening. They made footpaths on the inside of the wall just below the top, so the archers could stand and shoot arrows over the wall and still be protected from the chest up.  They also dug a well in the middle so the fort would
have a source of fresh water.

A day after their makeshift fort was complete; they saw the army of Cazz approaching from the south.  Sarchise was not happy seeing his march was in broad daylight and he was creating a cloud of dust around his army as he went.  He hoped that the enemy had no spies this far south.  When Cazz’s army came through the wall the two princes greeted each other warmly. 

They had a feast that night, Cazz allowed small cooking fires.  They had mutton, venison and rabbit. The hunters had been busy while waiting for the army of Cazz.  Fresh bread and cheese from
Zor
, and had even brought along a little ale.  Sarchise asked about Hemlot and heard that he was feeling well enough to be sent back to High Mountain to finish his recuperation. He was itching from the new skin healing on his chest but itching more to be back in the action.

After the feast when Sarchise and Cazz were finally alone, they held a council of war along with their commanders. 

Cazz started the proceedings by saying. “We have some information given to us by the people of
Zor
.  They found some old maps of the Mountains of Iron in the palace where Timor and his henchmen lived.  It was not destroyed for some reason.  It is old dwarf maps of the Mountains with some additions to them.  The most notable additions are the chambers of Tabor and the most important is the breeding pits.  The pits are way down in the Mountains and are protected by several forts.  The maps also show the underground river that feeds the breeding pits.

“This information will save countless lives.  We will not have to crawl around in the underground chambers while fighting gremlins while we look for the pits. If our information is correct, we will easily destroy the remaining forces that are left and then go down to the breeding pits and destroy them.”

Sarchise interrupted, “We cannot assume that their forces are weak and waste our strength against them.  We should go straight to the breeding pits.  This way they will never get reinforced and we can eliminate their army afterwards.”

Cazz pondered for a moment. “I agree
,
that is a good idea.  Does anyone else have any input?”

Oswin
stood up. “I agree also, we have to destroy the pits in an all or nothing effort.  How many forts
are there that
will be blocking our way?”

Cazz looked at the map, “We have three forts to deal with once we enter the tunnels.  This map shows the outside walls of the old fortress, but rumor has it that was cast down in one of the battles with the gremlins.  If that is true we have to believe that it is still down since gremlins do not work with stone or wood. They destroy but never build.  The other three forts may
or
may not be there.  They are old dwarf forts and could have been destroyed in the fighting. There are many ways into the tunnels but when we start heading towards the pits there is only the one path
down.”
Cazz spread out the map and pointing.
“This entrance is the closest to the pits but this one and this could also offer an easy way.  We will find the one that has the least guards and go that direction.”  The rest agreed.

As the meeting was breaking up Cazz handed Sarchise a letter.  “This is from your elf friend; He asked me to give it to you and sealed it.  He was on his way to South Fort to dwell there.  He seemed to think that the forest was no longer safe for him.”

Sarchise took the letter and since it was now dark, he sat against the fort’s wall and read the letter by candlelight.

“Sarchise,

“I have been a fool for an old elf.  So much so that now I must flee the forest.  There are tales that I should have told you long ago, but I didn’t believe them myself until now that they have come true.  The forest is now an even more evil place for elves.  You will find that it is a safer place for dwarves however.  You have a new ally that you did not previously know about. 

“But alas, I get ahead of my story.

When the elves first came to Elvenshore there was another race in the land.  That was the
valkyries
.  Over hundreds of years we lived in peace with them.  Then when the man settled in the valleys and the grassland we lived in peace with both.  Then the dwarves came.  The dwarves were not welcome in the grassland with the men and not welcome in the forests of the Elf.  They were banished to their mountain homes.  And all would have been well, but the
valkyries
and dwarves formed a bond.  The dwarves built them a large city in the woods for the
valkyries
.  This was a threat to the elves for they felt it was their woodland. This was the first dwarf-elf war.  It lasted many years and claimed many lives on both sides.  This war is no longer talked about but lies deep within mythology and tradition.
             

I have read the old text but did not believe all of it.  The
valkyries
had horses. Not only horses, which have not been seen in this land for a hundred years, but winged horses.  The elves were sore pressed by their enemies so the
y
called upon man for help.  With the extra armies of man the dwarves were driven back to the Mountains and the
valkyries
were driven back to their city.  We surrounded the city of the
valkyries
but were unable to penetrate it so well did the dwarves build the fortress. 

Magic was still part of the lore of the day.  There are secrets that have been lost
through the ages.  Since we could not break through the walls we sealed up the gate with a spell.  The walls were the tomb that enclosed the city and its people frozen in time until a dwarf prince, that
was  born
a man, should walk through the gate.

Seems that elf magic always allows the cursed a way to free themselves of its effects. The vines grew over the walls and the trees grew through the roofs.  Soon the city was lost, eaten up by the forest.  After the fifth dwarf – elf war, they held a peace conference.  All of the old records of the wars must be destroyed so that the hatred between the two races would disappear though the forgetfulness of time.  The dwarf’s obeyed and destroyed all of their records and so did the elves.  But the elves had
rjar
, or a storyteller to memorize the history before it was destroyed. It entered the realm of mythology and was taught to young elves by the old.  It passed from generation to generation.  With each generation the stories were believed less and less but still the traditions continued. 
W
e thought that they were just stories to tell young gullible children but had no other meaning.

When I heard that you had found a lost city I followed your trail.  I have talked and listened a lot to the warriors that are at the fort near my home.  When I tried to get near the city a flying horse swooped down upon me. It had a maiden riding it.  It was more of a warning than a threat but I realized that you had sat foot inside the city and it had been freed of the magical spell that kept the inhabitants frozen in time.  I have since fled to South Fort where I now dwell.  I hope someday that an elf transport will stop there and that I will be allowed to live with my people on the other side of the stormy sea.

I do not blame you.  I thought myself that it was just a myth.  The reason that I tell you this long story is that you will need another ally or two before you finish.  You should make contact with the
valkyries
.  They were once your ally and should be again.

(
signed
)
Amlius
, last of the elves of Elvenshore.

Sarchise read and reread the letter, then gave it to Cazz to read.  After he had reread it
twic
,
he
still stared at it in disbelief. 

“This elf friend of yours has lost his mind, must have been all those years of living alone,” Cazz said.

“It is a strange tale indeed.  Still, there was something in the city and by what you said, that something has broken its way out,” Sarchise commented.

“Yes, my men, when they slept near the city would have dreams of maidens stealing their thoughts.  It was an uneasy feeling.  We felt like we were being watched when we were awake too.  I cut another trail around the city so we need no longer go
near the gate.”

“There may be something to this tale,” Sarchise said.

“That’s it, we’re going to turn around and make allies with these
valkyries
.  I will tell the men that we are going to be fighting alongside women on flying horses.”

At that they both laughed.

During the night Sarchise dreamt of maidens riding flying horses and swooping down near him.  In the morning he quizzed the guards if they had seen anything in the night, they had not. He did notice that the stiffness in his wounded arm was gone. It was the first time he had felt well since the battle.

Cazz left twenty dwarves to garrison the fort, waited for darkness and then gathered the forces and marched out.  Moving only at night and lighting no fires, the large dwarf army approached the Mountains of Iron. Cazz hid the army in a small valley in the mountains and then sent out patrols.  He wanted to find the strength of the army if any of the openings to the breeding pits were well guarded.  The patrols came back and all reported that the gremlins were searching the mountains like a bee’s nest that had been disturbed.  They could not find out the strength of the enemy but knew that there were many more than first supposed.  Forces of gremlins that numbered up to fifty or more guarded all the entrances.  Cazz decided that they would attack the one nearest to the pits and make a quick strike, then get out and deal with the rest of the gremlins after.