Chapter Twenty-Eight


    “So these dwarves just stay in their mountain?” Ambrose questioned.


    Kellan nodded,


    “They do. So long as no one tries to enter, they’re peaceful. If you get close enough, you can hear the clangs of their hammers.”


    Dwarves have always been craftsmen and treasure hoarders. It is why dragons often take over their dwellings, Akaroth provided.


    He leaned back on the couch,


    “Have you attempted to talk to them? To establish an alliance?”


    Kellan’s face twisted, a mixture of confusion and anger suffusing his features.


    “Why would I do such a thing? The Incursions need to be closed. They are invaders upon our world. Our only option is to wipe them out.”


    This one is much like a wild flame, he seeks to consume all. Like a hatchling, he has no concept of control.


    He had to agree with the dragon’s assessment of Kellan.


    “You know you can close the Incursion just through an alliance? Or even just a mutual agreement.”


    Akenyemi scowled,


    “I will not do this with these bearded aliens. That would be giving up.”


    Ambrose sighed, pinching his nose. He was all for violence when a situation called for it. In fact, he tended to feel that it was usually the quickest way to get what he needed. But he wasn’t a butcher; he was willing to at least try talking.


    Kellan was acting like Ambrose was suggesting they try bargaining with a cockroach instead of a living, thinking being. Not to mention the fact that if he tried talking, he wouldn’t have to sacrifice men.


    He put that aside for now with a sigh.


    “How far have you gotten?”


    Kellan’s jaw ticked,


    “Not far. There is a dwarf at the entrance, and whenever we get close, he unleashes something similar to what you can.”


    Kellan smacked his hands together,


    “We are all pressed flat and can do nothing. I am hoping you have some way to counter this, yes?”


    He did.


    Kellan beamed,


    “Perfect. I shall prepare my men for a frontal assault. If you can counter the dwarf-what?”


    Ambrose was shaking his head.


    “I want to try talking first. If that goes poorly, then we can assault them.”


    The other man stared at Ambrose, rubbing a hand across his bald pate. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    “You want to negotiate with these invaders? To possibly give up land to them? To allow them to keep the treasures that they have stolen from below those mountains? I am not okay with this, Mr. Severen.”


    Ambrose shrugged, allowing a bit of fire to touch his voice,


    “Frankly, I don’t care what you’re okay with. I’m going to give you some free knowledge. I’m going to tell you why you can’t face that dwarf and why your opinion doesn’t matter to me.”


    Ambrose held up a single finger and unleashed a tiny bit of his spirit from his spiritual skill. Akenyemi felt it like a giant hand pressing down slightly on his head.


    “What you are feeling is spiritual pressure. You see, at some point, the System offers you what is known as a ‘spiritual skill.’ Some people don’t take it; I know I almost didn’t. I can’t say whether it offers it to you again, I don’t know. But if you don’t take it, you’re at a serious disadvantage. It’s a serious disparity because you have no way to counter anyone who can use that skill properly. Your advancement may as well be crippled. That is what the dwarf is doing to you.”


    Ambrose sealed his spiritual skill once more, and the pressure vanished. Kellan’s eyes were hot coals. Ambrose met them calmly with his own one-eyed gaze.


    “That''s why I’m going to do whatever I want. You can’t stop me, and I’m not about to let people needlessly die if we can solve the situation through mutual understanding. Honestly, it astounds me that you haven’t tried to have a discussion before this point.”


    He stood, leashing his anger. Kellan could have already dealt with this, and likely just by talking. Instead, his greed and prejudice blinded him. Ambrose had to remind himself that his house was made of glass.


    He didn’t always do the smartest or morally correct thing. Often enough, he actively chose not to. Yet, usually, in those situations, he had reasons that were at least understandable. Kellan Akenyemi wasn’t stupid; he was just selfish, and it showed. He could have forgiven that, but not when it put everyone at risk.


    “I’m going to go see this dwarf. If he’ll talk, I will attempt to close the Incursion with an alliance. If he won’t talk, only then will I use violence.”


    “Should it come to that, I want the first pick of any loot you come across,” Kellan said, his voice strained.


    Ambrose arched a brow.


    “Why in the world would I agree to that?”


    Kellan’s body tensed, his jaw worked, and his nostrils flared.


    “This is not a good way to have a working relationship with me, Mr. Severen. You cannot just bully me.”


    The fire you start could consume your own hoard, hatchling.


    Personally, Ambrose didn’t care about making an enemy of Kellan. Something about the man rubbed him the wrong way. Maybe it was because he was an adulterer. It wasn’t so much the specific act of cheating on a spouse that bothered him; it was more to being disloyal that chafed at him.


    No matter what you could say about Ambrose Severen, you could always say he was loyal to those he made promises to, and at least he was open with them, even if he sometimes prioritized his own wants.


    Kellan was a snake. Although he projected a warrior''s honor, it felt slimy and fabricated. This was a man after power, not for any sort of goal but just for the sake of having it.


    However, did he want him as an enemy? Akaroth was right in that Akenyemi could prove troublesome. Avalon had just dealt with a major attack, and Ambrose didn’t want to have to deal with another. Except for two things.


    Kellan and his forces were here, thousands of miles away. That hadn’t been the case for Eric, and Ambrose highly doubted that Kellan would have a way to teleport close to Avalon any time soon.


    I don’t owe him anything, and I won’t bow to threats, Ambrose growled in his mind.


    “I don’t want you as an enemy, Kellan. I would prefer we maintain mutual respect, and a part of that means keeping what you earn. I’m not about to give you anything I earn through battle just because you have some twisted perception that you’re owed it.”


    Kellan’s face became ugly,


    “Fine. Get out.”


    Ambrose obliged.


    ***


    It was, in fact, a dwarf at the entrance of the mountain''s depths. He looked like what you might expect a dwarf to look like, with a few differences. He was short, but not the kind of short that made you look small. In fact, he looked almost like a bear cub might, covered in black fur, with gleaming silver-blue chainmail. A pickaxe made of the same metal as his chainmail was at his side.


    His beard was impressive, black that had gone to silver early, and his pale blue eyes twinkled in the light. How is he not burning up under all that fur? Ambrose thought. His right ear had three golden rings lining it. His hair was a mane of midnight, and he had been sitting on an elevated rock near the entrance of the mountain as Ambrose came into view.


    As soon as he spotted Ambrose, he hopped off his rock, and a spiritual pressure descended like a falling building upon him.