《Fables: The Forgotten Legends》


 Chapter 1

    Step forward sons and daughters who shall be entering the trials. The shove of myhatchfatherforces me forward with the rest of the fellow dwarves. The excitement I felt just moments ago was replaced with an uneasiness of being in front of such a large crowd. Standing in front on stage was the Chief of our city, draped in a sea blue robe with red gems trimmed along the sleeves and torso that seemed to shimmer against the sunlight. In his hand, a single bronze bowl filled to the brim with red paint. With so many eyes on us, my steps became unsteady as I walked towards the stage making the wooden steps creak with each step.


    Hundreds of dwarves from all over the city came to watch as we took our first steps towards adulthood. Glancing at the other dwarves on stage their eyes burned with a ferocity we dwarves were raised to have, perhaps it was because we would finally get the opportunity to earn our first Warhammer. Stilling my eyes forward the Chief began his slow stride across the stage, passing each of us painting the mark of Curuz across our foreheads. With just under one hundred dwarves entering the trials, it took quite awhile for the Chief to mark all of us. The red sticky paint had already dried on my head by the time he finished.


    "Son''s and daughters of Curuz you have accepted the task and honor of entering the pit of Usx. With this mark of Curuz, you are now a humble servant of Emperor Demeous and he shall guide you through the many dangers you will face. You now have my blessing to enter the pit, may the All-Father protect you always." The crowd roared as he completed his speech, each of us bowing before Chief Drugel, leader of our beautiful city. Turning around I see my father smug as he stands in the crowd his arms folded causing his muscles to ripple through his plain white tunic, unlike the usual blacksmithing apron he wore. His black boots were laced tight and although old still shined from daily maintained and polishing. he nodded towards me with a look of pride and a rare but warm smile peeked out of his gruff thick black beard.


    The moment your capable of taking your first steps as a dwarf you are trained to survive the pit of Usx. It''s the task one must complete before entering adulthood and receiving your first and only Warhammer from the underground Metropolis of Gargargun, the city of the Emperor. Once a year on your sixteenth year of life those brave enough accept the task to enterUsx, also known as The Pit and must find their way back to the village within the next 2 years. Of course, the pit is a day''s travel down towards the center of the Earth. Those that have returned from the Pit and obtained their Gargargun Warhammer have their names forever etched in history. Not from just surviving the Pit but for the countless legends left behind after returning to the surface. Many of us young dwarves look up to the survivors of the Pit as their name spreads across the lands as being gallant, wise, andhavingundeniable strength.


    "Galendal my boy! Congratulations on entering the trial! Don''t forget everything I taught you, ya hear."


    Walking back towards myhatchfatherhe greets me his voice deep and gruff as he slaps my back, his hand heavy upon my shoulder. Responding with a slight grin he smacks me on the back once more before joining the other fathers to brag about their children now becoming an adult. For not all dwarves have the guts to accept the trials on their 16th year of life, but become simple blacksmiths pounding away at mediocre stone and metal. Never having the honor of wielding their very own Warhammer forged by the Royal Dwarves of Gargargun. A weapon forged by the Royal Dwarves from the hardest ore found on the continent, it was rare for any dwarf to make it back alive let alone in 2 years. Yet it didn''t stop us from trying to get our hands on the priceless treasure.


    "Is that all your taking with you in the Pit Gale?"


    Turning around I''m questioned by myhatchmateBolmer as he hobbles towards me away from the stage. Unlike most dwarfs who were short but muscular, his flesh was soft and jiggled with each step he made. Approaching me the glare from his bald head against the sunlight stung my eyes briefly. His clean and custom fitted tunic gave the impression that he was of royal descent, although I knew otherwise.


    "My father speaks of hellhounds roaming the tunnels of Usx, it''s best to carrylightif you want to survive," I mutter shielding my eyes. "Hellhounds?" he retorts his voice full of amusement. " My father says you should bring as much as you can carry! The more you have the less you need."


    He carried conviction and assurance in his words like most dwarves did. "Anything I need I''ll make from the metal I find, like a true dwarf of Curuz." I spat, his grin growing more annoying by the second.


    Allhatchfathersmentored their sons in some kind of way, my own father teaching me the lore of the different creatures that are supposedly living in the darkness as well as survival techniques and strategies. Bolmer''s father, on the other hand, worked beside the chief as his advisor on foreign trade with other races and cities outside our borders. He held the third highest power among the dwarves in the city and everyone knew it, although we dwarves respect the hardness of one''s hands not how sharp one''s tongue could be.


    Unlike us dwarven commoners who''rehatchfatherstook diligence in training their sons in daughters in the ways of survival, Bolmer''s father simply hired foreign survival experts, and disregarded training him in the slightest. Of course, Bolmer himself took pride in the fact that he received special training from unnamed experts. The trials of the Pit being a dwarven tradition, that outsiders knew little to nothing about I wondered what exactly they taught him.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    I carried the only things my father insisted I needed, a hammer and a pot. A hammer to pound all that obstructs my path, be it stone, man, or beast a swift smash and all obstacles will turn to rubble. As well as a pot to cook my meals and to protect my head, for the body won''t work without proper fuel or with a caved in skull. Not including the light chainmail, I wore along with my cheap hood. Looking at me I could see the laughter in his eyes as his face slightly shook, "Don''t worry Gale if I happen to find your body in the pit I''ll be sure to present your father with the trusty pot." Unlike me who carried only a small satchel at the hip as well as a holster for my, hammer Bolmer carried a large sack that swallowed his entire backside, easy prey for whatever beasts lay in wait beneath the Earth. At least that''s what I thought.


    Our city wasn''t large but it carried a durability like no other, the houses built with fine and meticulous detail each one could easily be mistaken for a temple of worship, and being made of the best stone and metal a dwarf could find didn''t make it difficult to brag about to merchants and travelers. The streets paved with a cheap but beautiful metal, making it shine in the sunlight no matter how dim, it was a place I took pride in, as did any dwarf from Curuz. The rest of myhatchmatescontinued in idle chatter as we made our way out of the city towards Usx, bragging about the wealth they would surely achieve after returning to the surface.


    I did no such thing, for the stories my father often told of the pit makes one question how anything could survive a single day let alone years in the pit. The endless darkness that spanned miles in all direction, and the creatures that dwelled there. Endless pages of lore and history my father forced me to read flips through my mind the further away from the village we travel, the Colosseum now only a few feet ahead of us.


    Arriving at the gates of the Colosseum the Blackguards block our path, their giant Warhammers embedded with colorful gems and the finest of craftsmanship. Their armor crafted by the Forge Maidens themselves from the hardest of obsidian, creating a black shine you couldn''t help but grin at. My gullet rumbled seeing such a magnificent piece of handiwork. The Blackguards looked at us with disdain their eyes trailing over our group before spotting the chiefs symbol on all of our foreheads.


    The annoyance in their eyes quickly changed to that of admiration and pride as they signaled for the rising of the gates with smirks on their faces. Giving a quick salute they proceeded to let us enter the arena, sending us a small prayer as we passed through the massive gates. The Usx Arena, forged by the Great Dwarf Svengir himself, it being my first time entering it I admired the detail, as did my fellow hatchmates.


    The pillars stood tall as they encompass the arena''s inner perimeter, each pillar told a story of a great battle within the arena the tale carved within the very stone itself making it feel as though you were entering a fine museum and not an area of bloodshed and carnage. The polished marble floors glistened white as we continued on through the halls many doors lay scattered through the area making me wonder just how many rooms and corridors lay within the labyrinth of an arena.


    Although old in age it was well maintained the sleek white floors and carved and polished walls were void of any dust or cracks there were even several pieces of painted artwork that rested on the ceiling, telling a tale of its own of the days when the elements first formed the lands. Walking down the hall the white color of the floors changed to a solid black, but still kept it''s shimmering gleam as we made our way towards the pit.


    Approaching the opening towards the center of the Arena we could hear the crowd, the dwarves that have come to watch the children enter adulthood shook the stadium with their hammers. My body vibrated from the clatter the crowd made causing my heart to jump briefly before returning to its steady rhythmic beat. Passing through the clearing the crowd erupts with anticipation.


    The inner arena had five entrances and as we moved towards the center other dwarves began to emerge from the other entryways, a different city emerging from each gateway proceeding towards the center of the arena to the pit. The Dwarves from Foredwin, Toradain, Bolstone, Moldan and us from Curuz. The only Dwarven City not present at the trials were those from Gargargun the emperor''s city, the city is filled with only the most dedicated and noble dwarves there was no need to prove your worth to others.


    We approach the crater-like hole which is surrounded by several Forge Maidens, although women they wore the toughest golden plate armor as well as a golden helmet that only revealed their face it seemed to suit their white hair. The Forge Maiden was the only profession that the other dwarves respected for not using a hammer. For their scepters were as powerful as any Gagargun Warhammer that had been forged, and with the power to amplify magic the maiden was an enemy you didn''t want to have.


    In unison, the five Forge Maidens spoke their voices amplified by unknown sorcery for the entire arena to hear, "step forward and accept the last meal the All-father has presented to you." Sitting beside the Forge Maidens were large brown baskets, doing as we were told each one of us approached a maiden taking a bread roll, perhaps the last meal we would easily obtain. Some dwarves ate it right away swallowing it in one bite, while others saved it for later stuffing it in their packs and beards.


    Although I accepted the final gift from the All-Father I was reluctant to eat or save it, I didn''t want to carry the smell of food into the pit, the aroma would attract the beasts of the darkness. With disdain, I swallowed the bread, yet the taste was something I savored for it would be a long time before I would consume it again.


    The Forge Maidens turn towards the crowd shouting again in unison, " the last meal of the All-Father has been accepted, begin the descending." The crowd responded with cheers shaking the stadium once again, mothers praying for the safe return of their sons, and fathers shouting the last encouraging words our ears would hear. With that our large group circled the Pit, the hole the size of an arena itself.


    The darkness seemed to beckon us inside, as if it''s long-awaited meal had finally been prepared. The Forge Maidens lit the five goblets that surrounded the pit with dwarven fire, it shined a bright gold glimmering like the sun in the sky. With that my hatchmates and I leaped into the dark and began our falling into the pit, the golden flames disappearing fast above us and the beginning of the trial awaiting us down below.

 Chapter 2

    I''m glad I took my father''s advice, that''s what I thought as I awoke still falling through the darkness. Unlike other dwarves who awaited the impact of the bottom with anticipation and paranoia. My father insisted that I rest after diving into the pit, it would be the last peaceful sleep I would get. It was also the safest time to rest, right after diving in the pit. For what dwarf could sleep for 24 hours willingly. There were flickers throughout the dark, other dwarves practicing their dwarven fire before reaching the bottom. A skill every dwarf should master, even if they decide not to go through the trials, for bending heat and stone are what we do best.


    How long I slept for I didn''t know but peering down I could see the faint glow of red and knew we were getting close to the bottom. The smell of sulfur hit me like a wave causing me to slightly gag as my eyes burned and watered. The first thing you''re taught about the pit is the arrival and how to survive the impact, you could train all your life but nothing was like the real thing. The gravity of the earth much denser then that on the crust is something that killed many unsuspecting dwarves, at least that''s what my father often told me. If you''re lucky the flow of molten rock would cushion your fall, in fact, most dwarves prayed that a lake of magma awaited them at the bottom, for any dwarf raised correctly could easily survive the heat of pure magma.


    "This is it!" one of the dwarves yelled, and I nodded in agreement as I began to harness what we dwarves referred to as "The Gift". The palm of my hands heating as I used the familiar skill "Melt", free falling I move towards the edge of the pit my hands sliding along the outer surface of the hole. My father''s lesson surfacing in my mind. "It needs to be hotter", I murmur channeling more heat. Unlike the stone above ground, the earth here was much more solid, it wasn''t the same as melting normal rock. It needed more heat, sparks began to fly all over the walls as the other dwarves began preparing for the arrival. streaks of melted stone left in our wake. Finally, my hand began to pierce into the walls, forming a trail of molten rock from my hands. "now comes the hard part."


    My hands penetrated deeper and deeper into the stone as we continued to fall. Now elbow deep into the wall, I begin rotating my body wrapping myself in the molten rock. The durability of a dwarves body depended on the type of training they committed themselves to if your hatchfather taught you anything it was physical durability for this very moment. The more you spin the more layers you have, the more layers the higher chance of survival. The only uncertainty was when to cool the stone, too late and you''re hitting the surface still encased in magma killing you. Too early and you don''t have enough layers to absorb the impact, not killing you but breaking nearly every bone in your body. Which down here was probably worse than being dead. Now on my 9th layer, I begin to hear loud "thuds" below and know the first few dwarves have reached the end. If they were alive or not I would soon find out.


    Confident in the amount of magma that hugged my body, I cool the magma as fast as I can the crashes of the stone growing louder, the molten red dimmed until I was left in darkness. Awaiting the crash that was soon to come, sitting in the dark fear began to creep into my heart before the earth-shattering crash shook everything around me. I felt it in my bones, and stomach it vibrated throughout my entire being. Even after the arrival the world still shook, the hard rock splitting open like an egg and I the chick. I wanted to wait and catch my breath but knew I had not the time.


    Emerging from the stone I scamper away from the entrance as fast as my short legs could carry me as the other dwarves continued to arrive, those slow and foolish enough to stay under the entrance were crushed by the new arrivals. Moving from underneath the hole I finally take in my surrounding. The faint glow of magma from a stream nearby lite the room in a dim red, the walls were splashed gray and the area hazy with smog dominating the area. It was hard to stand the gravity easily doubling or tripling where we stood, making me envy the fairies and their use of void magic.


    Trying to breathe was a constant battle the hazy smog entering my lungs caused me to wheeze making me slightly light headed. As the impacts stopped the other dwarves looked around seeing how many of us had actually survived the arrival. From each city there were at least one hundred dwarves to enter the trials, now less then half of us remained. Grim looks lay plastered on many of our faces as we looked into the rubble of the entrance, the dust settling slowly revealing the unfortunate dwarves. Each of us saying a small prayer for them before they would rise again as a creature of anger and decay.


    Finally adjusting to the fumes of the underground I watched the remaining dwarves, it was time to form a herd. Forming a group before entering the pit was considered "a waste of time." because you never truly knew who would survive the arrival. The dwarves now quickly assessing each other determining who was weak and strong. No matter what city you hailed from dwarves were a proud bunch asking another to join your herd wasn''t something taken lightly, seeming too eager to join others often left the impression of being weak. Yet the noise from the onslaught of stone would inevitably bring the creatures of the dark, so we had little time for stubbornness. A herd usually consisted of 10 dwarves at least. Soon the large group quickly split into herds, not saying anything to each other and simply nodding to one another in silent agreement to survive together.


    Feeling a slight nudge I''m greeted by Bolmer, his pack now in tatters and significantly smaller than before the arrival. With him I recognize several other dwarves from Curuz, some struggling to stand not adjusting to the thick air and harsh gravity. My father insisted that you could judge a dwarf''s worth by the hardness of his hands, not having the time or patience to inspect each of them we all nodded in agreement before setting off on the first objective to surviving. Each herd walking in a separate direction in the vast area, no herd was shameful enough to follow another and after walking for a few hours we were the only herd in the area.


    "We should travel east, that will be the fastest way to find a wet spot." Bolmer remarks, trying to lead our herd. Of course, if he had sound direction there would be no problem. "Well, my hatchfather says the quickest way to find a wet spot is due north!" A deep voice proclaims before the other dwarves begin to voice their opinions. All dwarves are raised to lead the herd, being a leader is in our blood. Yet a leader amongst leaders is bound to be a follower, whether they like it or not.


    "Enough!" I bellow, "we haven''t the time to argue like children." My bark caught the dwarves off guard each wearing a sour look. "When lost follow the flow of magma. Let us be on our way before the creatures come." I had no intention of standing idle in the area, the paranoia from the uncertainty of the darkness was already setting in. Wrapping my boots around my neck I take my first step into the river of molten rock. The warm liquid oozed between my toes as I began transversing over the hot river. Beside me Bolmer and the other Dwarves followed reluctantly, lava walking with the current.


    Our first priority was finding a wet spot, easier said than done. The wet spot is a pouch of water untapped in the earth, often made into wells when close enough to the surface. No matter how tough a dwarf you were no one could survive without water, thus when beginning the trials every dwarfs first priority is securing water. The other dwarves seemed to struggle to stay above the lava, their packs heavy with the intense gravity I''m sure. "Must we really travel over the lava? We can just follow the stream on land." A dwarf muttered as he struggled with his pack. Looking at him he was thin for a dwarf, his hands still soft I assumed. For no dwarf complained about hard work. "Don''t complain about carrying your own weight, it makes you look weak." Another dwarf piped, he carried the largest pack amongst the bunch and the biggest hammer. I wondered if he was capable of swinging such a mighty hammer, it easily doubling the size of his head.


    "Where''s your pack." A deep-voiced dwarf grumbles in my direction, his tone dismissive. "Don''t tell me, you lost everything in the arrival." The other dwarves snort and sneer at the remark before I could reply I see the faint glow of moving embers in the distance upon the river of lava. "Hold!" I bark, wielding my hammer. The others sense the bloodlust and rush to take up their weapons as well. The lava rippling as small serpents skated across the surface before floating in the air completely ignoring the immense pressure of the gravity that crippled our movements. "Fire Serpents," Bolmer hissed beside me with a tinge of annoyance in his voice. Be it from the immunity they possessed to our flames or the fact they were forged from mana and fire I felt unease at their presence. Not waiting for them to strike Bolmer charges forward shouting his war cry, following close behind him the rest of the herd.


    Maybe it was my hatchfathers lessons that stilled my body, or perhaps the instinct of not charging an enemy I have yet to face in battle. But I waited and watched as the serpent let out its supernatural growl before lashing out its tail. Our herd closing in on the snake ten more began to rise from the lava as if we were intruders disturbing their nest. Suspended in the air they darted forward, with a bellow the dwarves began to swing their mighty hammers hitting only air with their wide swings. For the serpents were much to fast for them, whipping them with their bodies molded by fire. The assault was unorganized and chaotic making me glad I didn''t join in the attack. The serpents continued to whip their tails at the dwarves to no avail simply bouncing off of them, after a few moments they realized their fire was ineffective because they began latching themselves onto an unsuspecting dwarf before digging their fire-born fangs into his body.


    Us dwarves may be able to repel heat and fire, but no dwarf had it running through their veins. The unlucky dwarf shrieked in surprise before he began sinking into the lava, struggling against the serpents before disappearing underneath the surface as he howled in pain. The demise of the dwarf gave me shivers while causing the others to panic, their attacks ineffective as well as their unorganized positions they attempted to flee. Darting in each direction splitting up the crumbling herd. The first to run being Bolmer, the serpents didn''t give chase for they were preoccupied with the three dwarves that carried valor and continued to fight against the beasts. I wished to join them in fighting off the snakes, but saw no favorable outcome and joined in the escape leaving them behind. Darting across the river of magma towards the closest mass of land. The shame of fleeing from my first fight heavy in my steps as i ran alone into the darkness of a nearby tunnel.

 Chapter 3

    The sweat clung to me as I sprinted through the darkness, the cries of other dwarves echoing all around me caused my pulse to race. The dozens of lessons I learned from my hatchfather cycles through my mind, but nothing we had done prepared me for the chaos that was attacking my rapidly beating heart. Pausing briefly to catch my breath in the dense air I light my dwarven fire, the darkness was starting to make the hairs on my chin restless. And it was then that I saw it staring at me in the distance, in a place the light from my fire couldn''t reach. The whites of its eyes were the only thing that was visible but I knew very well what it was, and fear slowly crept over me. A Feargul, how long had it been watching me I didn''t know, perhaps waiting, planning when to strike. Because they inevitably devoured men whole in a single bite.


    I didn''t wait or hesitate in summoning my fire, I launch a full-scale barrage of dwarven fire down the tunnel, scorching the very rock of the walls black with my intense blast. It shrieked in pain before blurring deep within the darkness leaving a smokey black fog in its place. A feargul, an entity of shadow that preys on your deepest fears. Often a story told by parents to keep young dwarfs obedient, the creature itself was the very thing that scared a dwarf most. If you let them observe you long enough they would creep into your minds, that''s when you were really in trouble. The only thing that kept me from running is the knowledge of their weakness, for even a young dwarf knows light keeps the creatures of the night away. The screams of the other dwarves bring me back to reality, my herd scattered and some dead, I had no choice but to push on alone. Unless I wished to face my certain death in turning back. My muscles felt heavy as well as my eyes the pressure already weighing on my body, but I continue down the snakey and unknown path.


    There were endless passages spanning along the walls, the shadows withholding whatever creatures that waited in ambush. But I didn''t let the fear of uncertainty grasp me. Tracing my hands along the rocky walls I searched for any indication of moisture, any tracks from beasts, and any scorches from a battle fought before my arrival. In my disappointment, there was none, only the endless darkness ahead along with the occasional screams of an unfortunate dwarf causing me to jump slightly. If hours or minutes had passed I didn''t know my only concern, doing whatever need be to survive.


    The pounding of frantic footsteps quickly approached from behind, another dwarf struggling for survival, or perhaps another beast rushing for its next meal. Quickly I hid in a small crevice of the tunnel, extinguishing my fire. The steps grew louder, it closing in I realized it was the sound of boot pounding earth. Watching from the shadows of the tunnel I see two dwarves flash by along with the sounds of growls far in the distance behind them. I didn''t wait to see what monster chased them but simply ran along behind them. Their fire flickered in the darkness as we sprinted through the passageways, before long they noticed they were being followed. Only glancing back briefly seeing that I was another dwarf before continuing on down the path.


    How far we ran I didn''t know, or how long. We didn''t check the many passages we sprinted by simply running as far as our feet would carry us, yet no matter how far or fast we ran we could still hear the snarls and the rampant clatter of beasts behind us. I noticed their dwarven fire dimming, and breaths becoming ragged and I knew they would soon have no energy left to sustain the fire. Like a ray of hope, a faint glow resonated farther off down the corridor. Another lava vein in the distance I hoped. "We''re almost there, at the end of the corridor we''ll wait in ambush for the beasts!" one dwarf panted. "I don''t know who you are but be ready there''s a pack of prowlers coming our way."


    A chill crept over me at the name of the creatures that chased us, Prowlers a creature deadly even above land. Their claws easily able to pierce stone along with their long sharp fangs that protruded from their mouth, if you were unlucky enough to meet a prowler capable of walking on two legs you didn''t live to tell about it. For they were the alpha in the herd. With the introduction of the beasts known my exhausted body found new fuel and I pushed myself through the opening of the tunnel.


    My foot pivoted and my back clung to the wall of the entryway, the other two dwarves standing on the opposite ends hammers at the ready as the snarls steadily increased. The grinding of there claws screeched as they drew near before the area was submerged in silence. Waiting the seconds seemed like hours passing by the urge to peer into the dark hole came but I ignored it and continued to wait in the unnatural silence. The other two dwarves glanced at me briefly before one peeked into the abyss.


    It was fast as lightning, the muscular claw that gouged through the dwarfs head, the hammer fell from his lifeless hands as he was whisked into the darkness. The sounds of tearing flesh and the crushing of bones echoing through the room before 4 beasts emerged from the dark hole. Their muscles rippled through their black fur as they howled in unison preparing for the feast they would soon devour. I didn''t wait for them to attack, swallowing my fear I set my hammer ablaze, and with my pot firmly planted on my head, I swung towards the nearest prowler. His head jerked in my direction and it stared at me mid-swing as if time was of no concern to it. That''s when I knew I wasn''t fast enough to keep up with the beast, It unsheathed its deadly claws but before it could strike a flash of dwarven fire whizzed from behind me striking it in the eyes. The other dwarf unleashing an onslaught of dwarven fire blinding the beasts. If he knew he just saved my life I didn''t know or care because I smashed my hammer into its skull with all my might. The crushing of bone and flesh vibrating through my hands as the spray of blood-soaked me from head to toe.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    The beasts limp body flew through the air, now set ablaze the smell of flesh and burnt fur entered the room. I didn''t pause for a moment, leaping as high as my hammer would allow I swung my hammer down on the next unsuspecting prowler as it whined in pain from the fierce dwarven fire launched from my ally. It saw my hammer coming and shielded with its arm, but my hammer continued on, smashing through the bone and flesh. It leaped back away from the entrance, it''s arm hanging by its side limply. The other two prowlers launched a full assault swiping their claws towards me. If not for the hammer forged by my hatchfather I would have lost my head, but instead, I repelled the claws of one with my hammer as the second dug it''s claws into my shoulder getting past my cheap chainmail.


    It burned and throbbed, as it withdrew its arm. I roared in pain and anger and as if answering my plea for vengeance another volley of dwarven fire dominated the beasts. They shielded their eyes from the blinding onslaught allowing me to regain my footing. Pushing off the ground, I now wielded my hammer single-handedly and bashed in the prowlers front legs sending it sprawling onto the floor before executing it with a swift smash to the skull. The blood sticking to my hammer as I lifted it upon my exhausted shoulders. The injured prowler tore it''s useless arm off, howling in pain as it leaped over me, it was hard to follow with my eye''s as it attacked the other dwarf. Its jaws ajar the dwarf didn''t hesitate or show fear as he plunged his arms into the mouth of the beast, roaring he unleashed his magnificent flames. It shrieked and squirmed, then began biting into his flesh to no avail before it was set ablaze.


    Releasing the burnt corpse the dwarf panted as the blood flowed down his arms, the punctures from the teeth of the beast not slicing deep into his arms. Looking at me he gave a small grin of triumph, an I to him as we faced the last Prowler. It paced slowly, realizing its pack had met an unforeseen end it was cautious. Snarling viciously, it began it''s charge towards me. I smiled slightly as my hatchfathers lesson on beasts surfaced in my mind. The mind of a beast is not complex, nor hard to predict. They move and breathe on instinct, so when cornered they will charge towards their enemy unafraid in a final effort to preserve life. With that, you know where and how they will attack and how to put the beast out of its misery.


    I clutched my hammer tightly before launching it at the beast, it whizzed through the air sharply. The beast continued on charging and diving to the side as the hammer flew by. It pounced at me. With no weapon the beast thought it had won, sliding under the fiend I grabbed its throat. Clutching it tightly my fingers bore through its fur and flesh, it yelped in fear as I unleashed my dwarven fire burning the beast alive. It''s clawing slicing my arms and chest in resistance until it finally stopped squirming in death. Even after it''s demise the corpse continued to burn as I tossed it aside, the fatigue from battle overtaking my body.


    The other dwarf walked forward picking up my hammer in his approach. "What kind of dwarf throws his hammer in battle?" he murmured, a smirk plastered on his face. "A dwarf unafraid of the unknown," I reply casually, grasping my hammer before sliding it in its holster. "You say unafraid, I say suicidal." panting, I pondered the statement resting in the remains of the prowler, too exhausted to care how disgusting it may seem.


    "If your afraid of death perhaps you''ve come to the wrong place, this is the Pit of Nowhere after all," I respond, my arm burned as the wound throbbed with pain upon my shoulder. Using the skill "Melt" I bind my skin, grunting from the mending of flesh before the sizzling stops. "What''s your name?" he asks "Your no dwarf of Toradain," I couldn''t help letting out a scoff at the remark. "I''m Galendale Evorales from the city of Curuz." I made sure to emphasize Curuz, we dwarves are proud of the home we hail from after all, "What''s your name dwarf of Toradain?" I remark, "I''ve never seen a dwarf plunge his hands in the mouth of a prowler, perhaps your the suicidal one."


    With that he let out a hearty chuckle, if one were to see him from afar perhaps they''d think he''d gone mad. Laughing like that with the burning corpses of prowlers scattered about. I scratch my beard awkwardly not knowing how to react to the laughter, "True enough Galendale, my hatchmates call me Ham." The nickname didn''t suit the dwarf he was a muscular lad with an average frame and flat face, he didn''t even have a beard! The bubble of laughter rising I catch it in my throat. "Who''s idea was it to give you the name of a pig?" I ask, withholding my laughter. For what father would name his son after a swine?


    Ham stared at me slightly amused at my poking, "It''s short for Hammel, and I picked the nickname for myself. I happen to like the name, Ham." With the continued mention of the delicious meat, I could feel the bites of a hunger attack my stomach, the aroma of the burnt flesh of prowler tickling my nose. Rubbing my stomach Ham thrusts his hand towards me a grin on his face, "Here''s to a long partnership together Galey." I glance at the hand briefly before grasping it, Ham pulling me to my feet. "It''s just Gale, what made you think I would let another dwarf call me Galey? That''s not even clever."


    "Does it need to be clever to be funny?" He asked with a smile, I didn''t respond to his simple question, only looking at the sizzling corpses of prowler scattered throughout the area. It was comforting when Ham asked my name, although I tried not to show it. For a dwarf didn''t bother to ask another for their name in the Pit. Not unless you intended to survive together through the harsh trials of the darkness until the end.

 Chapter 4

    "Wait, wait, wait so you''re telling me you left them all behind? That''s cold-blooded even for a dwarf." He muttered as he bit into the prowler''s leg, the juices dripping down his chin. "I mean think about it Gale, it was your idea to travel through the lava in the first place and you just left them to die." Scratching my chin I think about Ham''s words before taking a large bite out of the tough meat, for a pit beast it cooked nicely the juices sloshing around my mouth before sliding down my throat.


    "I''m not saying I''m proud of what I did, but I don''t regret my choice. Survival is the only thing that matters now." I remark, "besides, who would have been here to save you from the prowlers!" snapping, I snatch the last piece of meat that still laid over the fire. Diving at me Ham reaches for the meat as I clamp my lips around it, savoring the flavor with every chew.


    "You really are a cold dwarf Gale," Ham mutters with a sullen look, the four prowler bones scattered around. Picked clean of any meat and flesh that remained. "Cold-blooded or smart, I''m alive. I''ll have plenty of time for regret in the afterlife." I respond licking the juice from my lips. "Besides I''m pretty sure prowler is pork, isn''t that cannibalism for you?" Ham wasn''t amused giving me a slightly annoyed look.


    The room we were in was void of magma the light coming from the many crystals that hung from the high ceiling, they pulsed like a heartbeat giving the room a blue glow. Looking at it, I wondered if anything could be crafted from the strange crystal for it appeared to be quite fragile. "You never told me how you ended up being chased by a pack of prowlers," I mutter letting out a small yawn. "A story for another time," Ham grunts as he searches through the prowler remains. Laying down in a pile of burnt prowler fur I let Ham take the first watch before I drift off to sleep, the tension still heavy in my body.


    Ham shook me a few hours later, waking me from my dreamless sleep. Nodding at Ham he proceeds to sleep, lightly snoring as I sit in wait. There was no way of telling time, with no sun in the sky letting us know if it was night or day. So when I woke Ham a few hours later he insisted it had been only a few minutes.


    Of course, I had no proof to refute his claim, I wasn''t going to count second by second for hours at a time to prove him wrong. I simply chucked a bone at him before muttering, "Let''s go."


    Although the meat was satisfying and stopped the rumbling of my gut my throat remained dry. The inevitable thirst now beginning to show, I wondered how long it would be before we found any trace of water. "So why are you walking around with a pot on your head? Is that some sort of trial from Curuz?" he asks, the interest apparent in his voice. There was nothing special or unique about my pot, it is made slightly more durable than most. "My hatchfather suggested I bring it, to protect my head an to prepare food."


    Glancing at me briefly his face revealed amusement, "Isn''t that what helmets are for? Or has your father been hanging around too many Orc''s?" Reaching the wall we duck through a small opening revealing a pitch black room, Ham still drained from our fight with the prowlers I lead the way. Casting my dwarven fire the light flickered restlessly showing us a spanning darkness ahead. "You know we can always just go another way." Looking at Ham the uneasiness showed in his bout. "What are you scared of the dark?" I teased with a smirk before continuing on in the room. My footsteps echoing in the desolate space, yet Ham didn''t make a sound. My flames slowly revealing more and more of the area the deeper we ventured into the darkness. The entryway now a small dot in the distance like a single star in the midnight sky.


    "What''s that?" Ham whispered pointing to the east. Looking in the direction there was a strange formation of stone stacked high being illuminated by the same glow in the previous room. The boulder behind them was so massive, that the darkness hid the top. "I don''t know," I replied as we proceded in its direction. Approaching the monstrous stone we could see smaller boulders placed around it in a circle the base of the large rock not visible from where we stood but a familiar faint blue glow pulsed behind the stone wall. The surrounding rocks easily 5 to 6 times our own height.


    "I don''t suppose this was placed here by accident?" Ham piped as we followed the large column of stone. "I doubt it, although I don''t know of any man capable of moving earth of this size." Not being entirely truthful, I didn''t let Ham know that there was a being capable of moving earth of this size with ease.


    The chance of an Earth Giant residing here was low so I didn''t cause any unessacary worry to Ham and continued on around the formation of stone. The rock wasn''t fresh but aged perhaps here for many centries, any properly raised dwarf could tell the age of a rock just from the smell of it. We followed the stone barrier, as the faint glow from the familiar crystal began to shine at our approach, there was only a handful of the blue crystal that laid on the ground only lighting a small portion of the area. Compared to the room we had been in earlier which held an indefinite amount. The crystal lay aligned to the only entrance towards the gigantic rock.


    Looking at the entrance the crystals was riddled throughout the area revealing the base of the giant rock and with it a collapsing fortress. The buildings crafted from nothing but stone were scattered throughout the area, rubble in every direction. There was a single path leading up to the boulder that split around it in each direction towards the back of the barricade. Collapsed statues of an unknown entity lay forged at the entrance and upon closer inspection within the giant boulder, and not just once but over a dozen times.


    "What do you think that''s supposed to be?" Ham asks examining the statue. "A forgotten god, perhaps," I mutter, what was left of the statue wasn''t much, the arms missing and the torso faded only the head was clear revealing a woman''s face. It reminded me of a Human, not having met one in person I couldn''t be completely certain though. "One thing I''m sure of, this wasn''t made by dwarves." Ham mused looking at a collapsed house, touching it a piece of debris gave way covering him in the dust. I nodded slightly looking up at the giant boulder in the center of the ruins. Us dwarves take pride in anything we craft, be it a fork or a fortress we build it to stand the test of time. Something so barbaric looking could never come from a dwarf.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    We explored the empty fortress, walking through the crumbling buildings we could see the black streaks of fire in most of them but nothing was salvageable. Yet in the area, there wasn''t a single corpse nor bone, simply piles of rocks and rubble. Making our way behind the large boulder I could hear the occasional "drip" echo through the area and look at Ham, his eye''s widened hearing it too. We continued to search for the location of the falling water.


    The buildings weren''t just collapsed, or old but melted, the entire southern portion of the fortress was covered in black ash. There were countless places were only the base of the building remained. "What the hell could have done this?" Ham whispers taking in the sight because it was indeed nothing I''d ever seen before. "I''m not sure I want to know what could have done this." I muttered as the familiar "drip" enters my ears once again.


    There being nothing but ash behind the giant rock I turned back towards the boulder, and within the stone a blue glow resonated, collapsing statues hugged each side of the path leading up to the 5 ft hole in the giant boulder. Walking down the path the blue glow only brightened blinding me from seeing what was in the entryway, before I could walk through the clasp of Ham''s hands grasp my shoulders before yanking me back. "Hold on there, let''s think this through for a second." Looking at him the worry was apparent on his face, I nodded in agreement taking a few steps away from the entryway of the blue light. The familiar "drip" echoed again causing me to give him a serious look. "I''m pretty sure that the dripping is coming from in there."


    With a heavy sigh, Ham scratched his head, giving me a serious look in kind which didn''t suit his personality. "I don''t think it''s a good idea, I got a bad feeling in my gut about this one Gale." His eyes drifted back towards the blue glow of the boulder. I admit I had a strange feeling about this place, but it wasn''t the feeling of danger. I wasn''t worried, perhaps Ham was more of a coward then I first thought. "This is the first sign of water I''ve found since being down here, sometimes us dwarves have to take risks." Muttering to him I resume back toward the light before he places his palm upon my shoulder again. "We enter an abandoned, and run down area that''s been literally burned to the ground and find a mysterious blue glow inside of a big ass boulder covered in ritualistic statues....and you''re telling me you wanna go inside."


    Glancing back at him I shake off his hand, speaking in a mocking tone, "when you say it like that it almost sounds scary.....almost." Unlike a creature of the darkness, I didn''t fear the unknown of the blue glow as I approached it. Ham standing back simply watching as I took my first step into the light. My foot sizzled as sparks shot out from the entryway pushing me back, my boot smoking from the attempt to enter the boulder. Again I try to force my way through, placing my hands in front of me I push my way against the invisible wall. My hands burning before more sparks fly from the dome this time much stronger than before propelling me through the air, with a large "thud" I hit the ground hard knocking the air from my lungs. Coughing I here Ham laughing as he began to haul me to my feet, "Can''t say I didn''t warn your stubborn ass."


    Catching my breath I glare at him before looking back at the barrier, unsheathing my hammer I dash towards it swinging with all my might. Striking it sparks blast forth once again, pushing me back sending my hammer flying from my hand into the air. My hammer smashing into the ground nearly 20 feet away. "What the hell is this," I growl. Appearing from behind me Ham examines the barrier staring into the blue light. "obviously it''s a barrier made from magic, it''s unbelievably strong though. I wonder who put it here."


    "Why would someone put a barrier inside a giant rock," I growl once again, picking up my hammer placing it in its sheath. Shrugging his shoulders I knew he didn''t have the answer, "It''s to keep brutes like you away!" A tiny voice squeaked. Both me and Ham drew our hammers as our heads darted in every direction looking for the source of the high pitched squeaky voice. "You heard it to right?" I mutter before Ham grunts in agreement.


    "Stop hitting our barrier beast!" Another voice piped, it sounded squeaky like the other yet it wasn''t nearly as high pitched. The voices coming from the other side of the barrier I point towards it with my head as Ham swerves towards it in a slow stride. The voices didn''t sound intimidating and I couldn''t help but chuckle a little at the voices threat. "Yeah and if we don''t, what are you going to do?" I mutter amused, Ham looked at me bewildered as though I was poking the nose of some beast.


    In unison, the two voices squealed, "we''ll fry you!" Ham''s face went still, as did mine. Looking at the surroundings they were all burnt to ash the black streaks in a cone shape leading up to the impenetrable barrier. Whatever was in the boulder was the cause of all the destruction that surrounded us, and we were standing right in front of it. I could hear a large "gulp" from Ham followed by his angry whispers that I ignored. I was too focused on not making the voices more angry than they already were. I slide my hammer back into place, "ok look I put my hammer away, we''re sorry for disturbing you. I''m Galendale Evorales from the Dwarven City of Curuz and the other dwarf over there is Ham from the City of Toradain, we don''t want any trouble we have only come in search of water." There was a silence before the stifling of laughter could be heard.


    Looking at me confused Ham put his hammer away as he stood beside me, "what so funny?" he whispered to which I replied, "no idea". Looking at the barrier the stifled laughter continued, "is his name really Ham?" the voice asked the glee heard every word. Nudging him Ham began to cough before answering the voice. "y..yes my name is indeed Ham." More laughter could be heard inside the boulder to which the other voice asked, "what''s your last name Ham?" He scratched his chin the reluctance clear on his face before muttering under his breath, now that I think about it, he never did tell me his last name. "Speak up Ham we can''t hear you," the high pitch voice squeaked in amusement. With a deep sigh, Ham muttered slowly, "Oinkers".


    I couldn''t help it the laughter came unexpectantly as I bellowed holding my sides, the two voices laughing hysterically as well. "Ham Oinkers the Dwarf from Toradain, has come to destroy our barrier." The two voices squeaked as they continued their carefree hysterical laughter, and I joined them my voice growing hoarse from the laughter. Looking at Ham he wore a sigh as his shoulders sagged slightly at the harsh treatment, and who could blame him with the last name of Oinkers he must have been ridiculed his entire life. "Ok enough of that." Ham shouts in agitation, "we just came for some water, could you let us in."


    The two squeaky voices began to speak finishing each other''s sentences, "Ham Oinkers and Galendale Evorales you are only mere dwarves you don''t have the right to enter our land." I couldn''t disagree with their statement because I didn''t even know where or what their "land" was, I was simply happy we weren''t "fried" by the two beings in the boulder. Answering the statement Ham continues, "what do we need to gain access to the water?" the two voices countinued murmuringto each other in an unknown language, chuckling slightly as they continued conversing with themselves, again they spoke finishing each others sentences. "Ok dwarves, you may enter our barrier if, and only if you can bring us what we seek." Growing tired of the high pitched voices I reply, "And what is it your looking for?" speaking in unison they replied, "we seek the violet shard!"

 Chapter 5

    "The violet shard?" Ham mutters, "what''s a violet shard?" His question directed at the beings behind the barrier. "There are many crystals that lay in the darkness, emitting a blue light of energy." The high voices squeak, "We simply ask that you bring us the shard that glows violet." I Nudge Ham lightly, "I think they''re talking about the light crystals." Although I didn''t know the blue crystals had the power to hold energy I wondered what the voices wanted with this purple shard. "How are we suppose to find this violet shard, where is it?" I mused looking at the barrier. Through our journey in the pit, I''ve only come across the blue shards, and they hang high from the ceiling but I never came across one that glowed violet. The voices chattered to themselves again in their strange language before the high pitched voice squeaked once more, "that is of no concern to us, simply find and bring it to us, then we will allow you into our barrier."


    Ham glanced at me, my face showing a rather annoyed expression, how the constant squeaking from their voices didn''t annoy him I don''t know. For I grew tired from the chatter. Ham sighed shaking his head before, giving me a now worried look. The task of finding a shard in the unknown tunnels with no leads didn''t sound appealing, in fact, it sounded foolish to me. "What do you need with this violet shard?" I bark the annoyance growing in my voice. The barrier was quiet for a moment before speaking, "watch your tone Galendale Evorales from the City of Curuz, we have no problem simply frying you." The threat didn''t scare me as a disgruntled look remained plastered on my face. "What we do with the shard is no concern of mere dwarves, simply bring it to us.


    Then you will get what you want." Perhaps Ham wasn''t one to lose his head from a mere insult, I didn''t possess the same calm demeanor as him for the squeaky voices were grinding on my patience, my spine began to tingle hot as I began reaching for my hammer.


    Before giving me the chance to speak my mind Ham intervened, "You have to have some clue as to where to find this shard, running around in the dark looking for something we have no clue about is asking for trouble." The voices muttered to themselves once again in laughter before speaking, "We may have some clue as to where to find the violet shard, but before we tell you, dance for us." I was surprised my anger quickly subsiding from the outlandish request, looking at Ham he too showed a face of astonishment and confusion. "You...want us.....to dance?" Ham muttered slowly before the high pitched laughter began again. "Yes Ham Oinkers, show us how a pig of Toradain dances." I scoffed briefly causing Ham to glare at me with a growl. "You can''t be serious." I mused, the laughter continuing. "If you want information on the shards location, you will dance before us." Closing my eyes I sigh lightly, "I say we take our chances running around in the dark."


    I personally didn''t know the ways of dancing and didn''t see the need to embarrass myself amongst unknown creatures. Ham, on the other hand, shot his hands in the air and began hopping on his left foot as he twirled in a circle. It was amusing to watch as he lept in the air with his arms extended forth before landing on the ground into a kneeling position. The voices constant laughter ceased as he put on his performance. Unlike his heavy and brutish appearance that all dwarves possessed, he was light on his feet as he skipped around in front of the entryway, grunting every so often as the sweat flew from his face from the countless twirls until finally finishing his performance with a bow. The voices were silent as Ham remained bowed slightly panting. "Where did you learn to dance like that?" I whispered to which I got no reply, he was still catching his breath.


    Light smacks started to sound from the other side of the barrier before I realized they were clapping, raising his head I could see the embarrassment on his face as his eye''s continuously darted from me to the barrier. Grunting I joined in the light applause, only clapping slightly. "A very good performance indeed, Ham Oinkers from Toradain." The squeaky voice chirped, "Galendale Evorales from the City of Curuz, please show us your dance." The eagerness in their voices present. Looking at Ham he had a slight grin as he watched me perhaps looking forward to the disaster of a performance I would put on. Lifting my right leg in the air I attempted to imitate Ham''s performance, but my body didn''t move right. Spinning in a circle my eyes quickly got dizzy before I began to stumble around the area bumping into a nearby statue. The stone unstable it collapsed toppling on top of me sending dust and dirt through the area.


    Poking my head out from the pile I hear the hysterical laughter from the high pitched voices along with Ham as he rolled along the floor his laugh-heavy in the air. Pushing the rocks aside in agitation I stumble out of the wreckage before appearing before the entry once again. "Ok you got you dance, now tell us where to find this violet shard." I growl patting the dust from my trousers, Ham picking himself off the floor still continued to giggle lightly to himself as the beings from beyond the barrier spoke, "There are many shards that hide within the darkness, all of different color. These shards grow together creating a multicolored flower known by my people as the Flower of Life, each color of the flower being a shard and each shard representing a petal. For the shard on the flower represents one element brought into creation by the All-father, holding the power of that very element at its core. Of course, there are only a few of these flowers throughout the tunnels of the underground, residing in the place where all flowers are found." Raising an eyebrow Ham mutters, "And where is that?"


    A light sigh could be heard from the barrier followed by annoyed muttering before the voices spoke again, "A meadow, of course, there are many meadows under the earth created by the All-Father." Taking in the information I think about everything that the beings beyond the barrier have said feeling doubtful, for I have never heard of a crystal having the ability to harness an element in its core let alone an underground meadow. Ham gave me a skeptical look before muttering a thank you to the barrier as we headed off, "How much of what they said do you think is bullshit?" I mutter lighting my dwarven fire. We exited the desolate fortress pausing as I stared in the seemingly endless darkness. "They didn''t have a reason to lie to us, they are the ones who need the violet shard." Pondering Ham''s words I nod in agreement before heading off in the darkness, walking towards the small light from the room we had rested only a few hours ago.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    "Where do youreckon we''re supposed to find a meadow? Is that even possible? Since....you know we''re thousands of feet underground." There is no way sunlight could reach the depths of the Pit I too wondered just where we were supposed to find a meadow underground. "Maybe we should go back and ask the barrier?" Ham suggested before I grunted at him in disapproval, "No way am I asking that thing for anything, their just gonna have us dance again, maybe even sing.... the bastards." Ham released a small giggle, most likely remembering my feeble attempt to dance, the small blue glow slowly growing we proceeded closer to the familiar room. "Why are we going back this way?" The confusion clear in his voice as he spoke in my ear.


    "It''s the only place that I''ve seen any shards, there could be a clue where to find a meadow there," I mutter, Ham nodding his head in realization and agreement we walk through the small hole. The blue crystals still lay suspended from the high ceiling, the room the same as we left it. The prowler bones scattered through the area of the far tunnel, and several pillars reached the ceiling possibly ensuring that the many tons of earth didn''t come crashing down on our heads. I stared at the ceiling looking for a clue as to where this meadow the barrier spoke of, with the indefinite amount of shards my eyes couldn''t focus clearly. Them being so high and cluttered together so closely I couldn''t make out anything. Ready to give up Ham barks from the far corner of the room, "Gale I see something! There''s a green glow over here!."


    Scampering to him, he points at the ceiling. Looking up I only see blue shards, "I don''t see no green glow." I mutter disappointed before he pulls me closer, "You gotta look real hard it''s right there! Follow my finger." Shrugging his hands off I look up once again, squinting my eyes in the direction he''s pointing at I see the faint green glow within the blue. "I...I see it"! "Not bad for a pig huh!" He mutters, a large grin plastered on his face as he smacks my back. "Yeah, yeah not bad now find a violet one. I''m dying of thirst." I mutter with a smirk.


    We walked through the entire room, tripping occasionally over our own feet as we stared at the shards high above our heads. Every hour or so we would see another colored shard and after several hours we spotted six different colors. 1 White, 2 red, 1 green, 2 yellow, 1 brown, and 4 black, but no matter how hard we looked we couldn''t find a purple. "My neck is killing me," Ham moaned stretching his neck. "How is there not one purple in there," I muttered sitting beside a pillar. "Those things in that rock must be taking me for a fool". Ham let''s out a heavy sigh hanging his head. "Let''s take a break and start again after we get some rest" he suggests, agreeing I lay down on the hard warm stone staring at the ceiling. "You take first watch," I muttered before drifting off to sleep.


    "Gale! Gale wake up!" Ham whispers frantically. Darting up I reach for my hammer, "what is it?" I mutter lowly staring at Ham. His eyes glued towards the tunnel we fought the prowlers, "I hear footsteps." Looking towards the dark tunnel the light clicks from boots echo. Glancing at Ham briefly we nod to each other as we approach the tunnel hiding along the sides in wait for whatever creature approached. The steps were slow and heavy, and it wasn''t just one pair but a few each one echoing over the other. Sweat dripped from my palm as I lay in ambush, The seriousness dripped off Ham his eye''s glued to the entrance. A red light glowed from the entrance as a figure exited the tunnel, and I didn''t wait as I swung my hammer at the figure.


    "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Stooooop!!" The familiar voice shouted. Looking at the source I''m greeted by a frantic Bolmer. Shielding his face with both hands, he held his breath. My hammer only moments away from splitting his skull. Pulling back my arm he lets out a sigh of relief, "Wha....what the hell Gale! Are you trying to kill me?" he proceeded to bark, clearly upset. Looking at his he was covered in a greenish-brown substance, his custom fitted red tunic and sleek blue trousers now gave off a horrible stench. Holding my breath the regret of not "accidentally" hitting him grew the more he continued to whine. "You should be thanking him for not spilling your brains on the floor." A deep voice grumbles as two other dwarves exit the tunnel, "I told you there were tracks of someone coming down this path before us and you still went off ahead." The dwarf muttered, the voice also similar I looked at him and recognized him from my herd. Unlike Bolmer he wasn''t covered in filth, he wore high brown leather boots with similarly brown trousers thatpossessed many pockets. His grey jacket had burn marks riddled all over the left sleeve, and his large pack was still strapped tightly to his broad back but unlike before his gigantic hammer was now covered in what I assumed to be blood.


    The other dwarf I didn''t recognize he stood a few feet taller than your average dwarf, his chin broad and square I was certain he had hard hands. He wore a mustache without a beard which was a bit odd for a dwarf but it strangely suited his brown tunic and simple trousers. Looking at Ham he didn''t know the dwarf and simply shrugged as I raised my eyebrow in his direction. "Hey, are you listening to me!" Bolmer barked loudly, "We almost died because of your idea to walk across the lava!" Standing only a foot away I couldn''t help to turn my head away in disgust, holding my nose I take a few steps back before glaring at him. "Why the hell do you smell like goblin shit?" I growl, before Ham wrinkles his nose. " That''s what that smell is?" he mutters backing away.


    "Try walking in a tight tunnel next to that..." The deep voice grumbled staring daggers at Bolmer, the smell not seeming to affect him. "It''s all your fault!" Bolmer continued stomping closer causing me to step back, "If you didn''t have us go that way we wouldn''t have gotten ambushed by those snakes! And I wouldn''t have ran into those goblins!" Sighing slightly as to not inhale too much of the stench, "You''re a man now Bolmer, you agreed to walk across the river, so stand by your choice." I mutter, looking at him my eye''s began to water, burning from the putrid smell. Bolmer simply clicked his tongue before glancing over at Ham, "Who''s that?" Ham showed a face of horror as Bolmer began to hobble towards him, the smell increasing in strength as he drew near.


    Ham looked at me his eye''s pleading for help to which I replied with a grin, "that dwarf right there is Ham Oinkers."

 Chapter 6

    " A goblin village huh? And you managed to escape alive that''s surprising."


    "Mere goblins aren''t enough to kill me." Bolmer scoffed eating the stale bread he had stored in his pack. The five of us decided to sit by one of the pillars and discuss our next move, although we only got to the end of Bolmer''s tale of how he single-handedly defeated a village full of goblins. "Hardly... If me and Ordwin hadn''t stumbled upon you they''d still be throwing their excrements at you while beating you with their stone clubs." The deep-voiced dwarf known as Stone muttered. Bolmer shot him a glare as he slowly chewed his meal, Ham struggling to stifle his laugh simply looking away while holding his mouth. "If the fire serpents hadn''t attacked the goblins instead of us we''d have been in a bad spot." Stone grumbles as he searches through his pack.


    Finding what he needed he pulls out a stone ball the size of his fist and uncorks it before taking a drink. I lick my dry lips as I watch him slurp on the liquid before he notices me staring, with a slight roll of his eyes he shoves the ball forward while grunting "here". Taking the ball I mutter a small thank you before gulping down the liquid which turned out to be water. "Hey don''t drink it all! that''s my last one!" glancing at Stone briefly my lips still sucked on the water before finishing it and tossing it back to him. Now rubbing my stomach the light ache in my throat began to slowly subside, Stone gave me a piercing gaze as he shook the empty container, which I ignored feeling too satisfied with my throat no longer being dry.


    "H..How did you t..t.ttwo end up here anyw..w..way?" Ordwin asks, unlike his hard and solid like appearance his voice was high and he talked with a stutter but it didn''t seem to affect his intelligence or his strength in the least. Laying on my backside and rubbing my water ingorged stomach I told them of how I escaped the fiery serpents and ran into Ham, but before I could finish Ham interrupts, "whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on now. Did you save me? I can''t help thinking it was the other way around there Gale." Ham barks, to which I simply shrugged my shoulders. "Here''s what actually happened!" Ham mutters before going on with the story about how we found the collapsed fortress and the unknown creatures in the boulder, to which they all shared a laugh when he came to the part about my failed attempt to dance, as well as the task we were given if we wanted to gain access to the wet spot beyond the barrier.


    "Ha! if that were me, my hammer would have smashed that barrier to dust! I guess you''re lacking in strength Gale!" Bolmer laughs while showing off his hammer, it had a jet black stone and the handle was a dark blue with neatly crafted designs. I hated to admit but it was indeed a nice piece of craftsmanship. Grunting I ignored his poking and began looking forward to his attempt in smashing the barrier, hoping he would share in the same fate I suffered from when trying to destroy the invisible wall.


    "You haven''t found this violet shard yet? Stone mused before both me and Ham shook our heads in an annoyed expression. Looking up at the countless blue shards Ham points out all the different colored shards we''ve found so far. "B...but you hav..v.v.vvent found a flowe..e.er yet?" Ordwin asks stroking his mustache as he observes the ceiling. "Or the meadow they were referring to," Ham adds folding his arms clearly disgruntled by the situation. "The..e..these creatures w..w.weren''t literal w.w.w.when they mentioned the meadow."


    Ordwin mutters while nodding his head,seeming to have some kind of understanding. "What do you mean?" I ask slightly interested in his explanation, although the stuttering was slightly confusing. " M..M.M.My g.guess is that this giant collection of sh..sh..shards is the meadow, as for the f..f.flower they said each c..color represents a p.p..petal so wouldn''t you need to c..c..collect all of the p..p.petals to make a flower?"


    Listening to his explanation Ham nodded his head slowly seeming to understand what he was referring to, as did I. "So each shard is a petal for the flower, so we need to still find the violet." Ham mutters. Rethinking the beings riddle as metaphorically and not literal as well as Ordwin''s explanation some of the pieces began to fit together. Each petal represents a shard, and each shard an element. There were eight elements in total fire, water, earth, air, light, dark, arcane and then void. That wasn''t including the sub-elements, but the original ones brought into creation by the All-Father. Although void magic was simply a combination of every original element. If each color shard was to be a different element then purple would be void the combination of all elements. "I see," I mutter before explaining my guess to them to which they readily agreed.


    "We''ll worry about how to combine them once we have all the colored shards." Stone grumbles before standing. "Bolmer you keep watch at the tunnel, the smell of goblin shit will most likely keep the creatures of the dark away." Bolmer gave a disapproving glare before hobbling towards the tunnel sitting along the side before murmuring to himself.


    "I don''t suppose you know a way to get the shards down do you?" Ham asks, directing his question towards Ordwin too which he shook his head. "A..a..a..afraid not."


    "How are we going to get up there?" Stone grumbles before I blast my dwarven fire towards the ceiling sending a shard tumbling down. All of their heads dart towards me with a sharp look, which I returned with a shrug, "How else were you planning to get them down? Unless one of you can fly." I responded before launching more dwarven fire towards the ceiling knocking more of the shards lose. Unlike there light appearance the shards were thick and solid as they hit the surface with a loud "thump." Glancing at each other the others nod before shooting their own fire knocking down as many shards as we could, being careful not to stand under the area they were falling from.


    After about a few hours hundreds of shards lay scattered on the ground, yet it didn''t seem like we even put a dent in the ceiling, as the countless blue shards still hung above us. The four of us scampered over to the fallen shards searching for the colored shards until we had 7 different colors in a pile blue, white, red, green, yellow, brown and black. Each shard had a different feel to it, they were all warm but the pulse that resonated from each one was at a different pace with each pulse a small light flickered from within. They looked smaller when hanging from the ceiling but in reality, it was about the size of a bottle but clearly not as fragile. "I..i.i''ve never seen any.y.ything like t.t.this before," Ordwin mutters holding a red shard. Nodding in agreement the rest of us looked into the shards the energy of the very element swirled within the crystals. "What do we do with them now?" Stone mutters, scratching his black beard. "I say we melt them together," I murmur.


    Ham simply shrugged his shoulders to the suggestion as did Stone, but Ordwin seemed to be thinking about something before disagreeing. "I..I...I don''t know about y..you but I''ve never d..d..dealt with the energy of a pu.uu.pure element, w..who knows what forcing t..t.them together might d.d.d.do. If your correct about the vv..violet shard representing t.t.the void element we could set off an elemental ex.x.xplosion or even cause a t..tear between time and sp..sp..space." Ham paled at the word explosion, "yeah I don''t want to be blown up!" He barks as Stone hurridly agrees. "Then how are we suppose to put them together," I muse to which no one replied. As we all pondered how to put the shards together the familiar putrid smell attacks my nose as Bolmer enters the group.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    "You''re all so slow!" He barks in impatience, "just put them together!" snatching up two shards he places them side by side like puzzle pieces. The two shards pulses were beating at different times until a single beat of the shards pulsed at the same time. As they began beating in sync the light within the two began to grow brighter until enveloping the two shards. All of us looking away from the blinding light before it began to slowly dim revealing the two shards being merged into one. A single beat pulsing from the crystal.


    "Ha! ha! See! Maybe one of you more useless dwarves should go stand watch and let me do all the thinking!" Bolmer barks a large smirk on his face. Before any of us could mutter a word the two combined shards began to shake violently before floating in the air, rising steadily before it stopped a foot over us the shard hovered there for a moment twitching abnormally as a crack appeared on the surface. Then a swirl of shadows began pouring out of the newly formed crack. Each of us backing away expecting the crystals to explode. "What...did you do," I whispered through gritted teeth as the shadows began wrapping around the floating shard in a black ball the shadows seeming to solidify into an unknown substance. The black ball expanding rapidly increasing in size, "Is this a good or bad thing?" Stone mutters, to which Ordwin replied "I..i..i don''t think this is a g..g.g.good thing." The pitch black ball stopped expanding after being nearly 10 feet in height. Sweat drenched me from head to toe from the unknown black sphere, the others seemed just as tense clutching their hammers on reflex.


    "At least it stopped growing..." Bolmer mutters, and as if his voice was a signal the sound of breaking glass starts coming from the black sphere as cracks begin to form around the black ball rapidly spreading. "You just had to say something.." Ham growls wielding his hammer in anticipation. As the sphere implodes, I cover my eyes expecting to be hit with a wave of fragments, after realizing there was none I look where the strange orb once was.


    In its place a creature I can only refer to as "the scariest thing I''ve ever seen" stood tall on two muscular legs. It was at least 8 feet in height, three red horns stuck out of its skull and curved wickedly at the tips, as well as two holes where its nose should be. The entire creature was covered in a reptilian-like dark green skin, while small tentacles surrounded its waist moving unnaturally causing my spine to tingle rapidly. Its arms were as muscular and large as it''s bulging legs its hands seemed easily capable of crushing stone let alone a small dwarf. As if it wasn''t intimidating enough two large wings emerged from it''s back rippling with unnatural veins. It''s eye''s shot open and it bellowed loudly before smashing the ground with its gigantic fists. "WHAT IS THAT THING?" Bolmer shrieks before we all scurried away from the unnatural creature. "T..t..that looks l.l.l.like a Slithra!" Ordwin spits. The Slithra a reptilian race said to live underground away from all other creatures, no one even knew if the race still existed or not. The creatures were known for their quick regeneration as well as the venom that flowed like blood through their veins endlessly. "I thought the Slithra were extinct!" I bellow. "Apparently not," Stone growls.


    The creature began sniffing the air before it''s head swerved in our direction, revealing it''s snake-like tongue in a low hiss. "I don''t suppose it''s friendly?" Ham mutters before another angry shriek echoes through the room. "Does that answer your question?" Stone murmers as the creature begins sprinting in our direction. It''s slow but heavy steps shaking the ground causing my bones to jitter yet the anticipation of battle began to flow over me. Ham didn''t wait for it to get close and began launching a volley of dwarven fire as it tried to close the distance. Knowing how powerful his flames were I was expecting it to be burnt to a crisp yet the powerful fire simply bounced off its skin not slowing the creature down in the slightest. The Slitha creature arched it''s fist back before swinging at Ordwin. The fist was large but slow leaving plenty of room to avoid the attack, weaving to the left Ordwin bellows a nasily "


    T..t.ttake this!" as he smashes his hammer into its leg. A small snap sounds before the beast snarls angrily backhanding Ordwin its hand half the size of the tall dwarf. Smashing the beast left him off balance leaving Ordwin open to the creatures strike, the smack sending him hurtling into a nearby pillar causing it to collapse leaving him in a pile of rubble. "Don''t let up!" Stone bellows before smashing the ground with his hammer shouting an unknown skill he referred to as "quake." the ground shook slightly causing me to stumble briefly as cracks emerged from where his hammer struck. The newly formed small cracks rippled towards the beast before covering its feet and collapsing sending it falling into a small hole.


    It shrieked before falling in the hole disappearing only briefly before it again rose from the darkness its wings flapping rapidly as it gave off a hiss. The wings narrowed before it whipped towards Stone it being much quicker in the air then on land he wasn''t expecting the great increase in speed nor was Ham or Bolmer. The Slithra extended its gigantic hand at Stone to which I struck its fingers with a blow from my hammer breaking a few of its bones in the process. It stumbled briefly giving Bolmer an opening as he swung with his hammer at its right leg, the muscles and bone bending unusually from his impact forcing the beast on one knee as Ham proceeded to smash the other leg forcing it on both knees. The Slithra howled in pain as Stone leaped up to cave in the beast''s skull and for a moment I thought we had won until Stone stayed suspended in the air. One of the creatures strange tentacles had wrapped around his neck before flinging him away as if he weighed nothing sending him crashing into a wall far off in the distance. More of the tentacles started to move unnaturally as they grew in size before whipping at the three of us.


    It was fast and I struggled to avoid the lashes of the tentacles every dozen or so strikes a hot burn struck somewhere on my body. With the beast using the tentacles as well as swinging at us it felt like fighting two separate creatures, my legs and arms burned from the unending movement. The Slitra had successfully pinned the three of us down making it nearly impossible to counterattack and I knew we couldn''t keep it up for much longer.


    The broken limbs seemed to have fully recovered allowing the creature to move around much quicker making it that much harder to stay unscathed. "How are we suppose to kill this thing!" Ham pants before a tentacle snag''s his leg hoisting him in the air, leaping up I grab the tentacle as I use "Melt". The tentacle whipped around as the creature bellowed in anger before swinging its fist at me, being stuck in the air I could do little to avoid the strike and awaited the impact. An explosion sounded overhead as over a dozen crystals began descending from the ceiling distracting the Slithra long enough for me Ham and Bolmer to get from under the falling shards.


    The Slithra''s head whipped towards us snarling before the beast could give chase a bellow resounds in the area, "Quake!" The unexpected shaking caused the beast to stumble before a volley of dwarven fire struck it from its right side hitting it in the eyes. The beast screeched at the sudden blindness before the shards began toppling over it some impaling it while others simply smashed into it.


    The three of us didn''t let this opportunity pass us by and sprung into action, the beast was heavily wounded as bright green blood poured out from its neck and right thigh. Ordwin and Stone approached quickly from the rubble they had launched their surprise attack from all of us launching into a full-scale assault bashing it with our hammers until only a pile of ground flesh remained the tenderized meat dissolving into it''s on venom leaving a pool of the green blood. The only thing remaining being the merged shard that continued to pulse lightly.


    All of us stared at the lightly pulsing shard drained from the unexpected battle, as Bolmer reached for the shard Stone slaps him over the head. "Ow! what was that for?" He barks


    "You don''t touch the shards anymore! Stone growls staring daggers at him. All of us nodding in agreement as Bolmer scoffs folding his arms. "Dwarves are so ungrateful."

 Chapter 7

    The battle left all of us injured in some way, Stone and Ordwin both had multiple broken ribs. As for Ham, Bolmer and myself, we had numerous burns from the Slithra''s venom as well as slices riddled along our bodies. Something a simple "Melt" and bind of the flesh wouldn''t fix. "A few broken ribs ain''t nothing." Stone grunts pulling up his shirt revealing a large purple bruise before letting it fall. "I''ve had worse working with my Hatchfather in the mines." He said what any dwarf would mutter, his slight winces of pain didn''t hold him to his words though.


    We separated the colored stones placing each one at around 5 feet away from another, after the sudden appearance of the Slithra we didn''t want another supposedly extinct creature to emerge from the shards. "I say we go back to that barrier and just hand the shards over to those voices!" Bolmer pipes, "why should we have to risk our lives making this purple shard just for some water!" Glaring at Bolmer I gave a slight growl as did Ham, "H...he has a point." Ordwin mutters. "W..who knows what cr...creature will come when we m..m..merge another shard together." Stone wore a hard expression glancing at the shards, "what would a creature living in the pit need such a powerful item for is what I''m most concerned about," he mutters. "They wouldn''t tell us... more like refused to tell us," Ham responds.


    "Those things aren''t going to explain anything to us," I add. "But we don''t have the luxury of being picky... they have water and we need it." They all reluctantly agreed, wandering through the pit with no water wasn''t an ideal situation. Having found a source leaving it without tapping it was something none of us wanted to do. "W..we need more information I..i..if were going to combine the sh.sh.shards." Ordwin mutters, "Let''s t..t..talk to these creatures and s..s.s.s.see exactly what we''re dealing with." Stone and Bolmer seemed to agree not having met the squeaky voices, I was reluctant to the idea as was Ham. The scowls on our faces apparent. "There''s no harm in trying." Stone grunts sliding the shards in his bag, "You said the fortress was abandoned right? Then it''s much safer than staying out here." For a grouch he had a point, the only argument I had being "I don''t want to dance again." I didn''t say a word and simply led the way out of the shard room.


    It only took about an hour before we reached the outer walls of the fortress, navigating through the dark proved to be much easier with more dwarves lighting their dwarven fire. Although I proposed to use the blue shards instead of wasting our energy the rest of the group disagreed, not wanting to use the unknown shards any more than needed. We were still alert to the unknown creatures that could easily whisk us away into the darkness. Entering through the only entrance to the collapsed fortress Ordwin and Stone seemed intrigued with the destroyed statues inspecting them.


    "What kind of being do you thinkworships this?" Stone grumbles, "If I''m c..c.correct it resembles the All D..D...Daughter, before the massacre." they followed close behind me and Ham as we walked to the back of the fortress going behind the gigantic boulder. "You weren''t kidding when you said it was burnt to the ground," Stone mutters looking at the melted stone and black ash that covered the entire southern portion of the area. "T..t.this would take a high-level kind o.o.o.of magic to do," Ordwin pipes. Even Bolmer was unusually quiet when looking at the melted structure before the familiar blue light resonated from inside the boulder.


    "A.are they there?" to which I simply shrugged. "I don''t suppose we''re supposed to knock?" Ham mutters as Bolmer unsheaths his hammer. "Yeah, I''ll knock!" He barks licking his lips before darting towards the barrier before Ham could stop him I simply shook my head in his direction causing him to pause as Bolmer struck the invisible wall with all his might. The rest of us watched as the barrier rippled slightly before sparks ejected outward launching him through the air leaving a smokey trail as he hit the ground with a large "thud". The air could be heard leaving his lungs as he gasped frantically. "h.h.hahaha..a.a" Ordwin let out what I assume to be a hearty laugh, making my skin crawl. The stuttered laughter sounded like some kind of creature of the darkness only adding to the amusement before the familiar high pitched voice rang out in the area. "So you''ve brought more dwarves to destroy our barrier Galendal Evorales from the City of Curuz and Ham Oinkers from the City of Toradain!" The voice squeaked angrily.


    Stone raised an eyebrow in my direction, "this is the voice you two are talkin about?" he murmurs to which Ham nods. "We aren''t here for a fight, we''ve come with questions about the shards." Ham starts facing the barrier. "Questions? Simply bring us the violet shard! Even a pig of Toradain should be able to accomplish the task." I chuckle to myself as does Stone while Ham frowns, "t.t.t.the shards create beasts w.w.w.when merged to...to..together, w..what do you n..n..neeed with such a powerful item?" Ordwin mutters. The barrier is silent for a moment before conversing with themselves in their language to which Ordwin seemed to listen intently to. I wondered if he understood the strange creatures, as if reading my mind he whispers in our direction, "t.tt.their speaking in the l.l...l.language of the fairies."


    Thinking about it, it explains a lot especially the dancing although I didn''t know there were fairies capable of destroying a fortress. The two squeaky voices chuckle to themselves briefly causing Ordwin to frown slightly before speaking, "D..d.ddwarf why do you t..t.t.t.talk like that?" The fairies ask mockingly laughing hysterically. Ordwin gave a scowl before stomping away angrily kicking stones. "That was a bit harsh..." Stone mutters to which I slightly nodded, "what do you expect their fairies."


    "What we need with the violet shard is of no concern to you dwarves, as for the creatures what did you expect would happen when combining elemental shards? The shards are simply trying to protect themselves by creating such monsters, perhaps you shouldn''t combine them so clumsily." The three of us turned looking towards Bolmer as he continued to lay on the ground still recovering from being repelled by the barrier. "It''s.....not like....they gave us instructions or anything." He pants through gasps. Rolling my eyes I turn back towards the barrier, "We have the shards here, why don''t YOU combine them." I spit with a grumble. Stone seemed to agree with my proposal crossing his arms as his head bobbed up in down. Although Ham seemed on edge, with our surroundings being melted rock it was no mystery as to why.


    "That was not the proposal Galendale Evorales! If you wish to be permitted through the barrier then you will forge the violet shard and give it to us." The fairies squeaked quickly. "This proposal was offered to yourself and the pig of Toradain the other dwarves you have brought here will not be permitted into our land."This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    "What!" Bolmer shouts with vigor, picking himself off the ground before stumbling towards the boulder. "I''ll have you know we ALL defeated that Slithra that came out of those troublesome shards! We have just as much right into that barrier then Gale or Ham." His voice came out in a snarl as he stood in front of the barrier pointing towards the creatures that lay on the other side. "I''m not afraid of you pixies! Or whatever ability you used to melt this stone around us like these other dwarves! So either you take the shards and let us in, or I''ll find my own way to get water!"


    "P.p.pixies! Why you rude...." The voices mutter before high pitched squeaks I assumed was shouting could be heard but not understood as it was in their native tongue towards Bolmer. "Do you have some kind of death wish!" Ham growls shoving Bolmer violently. "If you want to die that''s fine but don''t drag me into it fatty!"


    "Ha! Coming from a dwarf with the name of a swine!" Bolmer snarls back, shoving Ham forcing him to take a step. "Why don''t you go roll around in some mud and let a real dwarf do the talking!"


    Watching the argument I was looking forward to a fight the only thing missing was a mug of ale and it would be like watching a brawl with my hatchfather. Ordwin hobbled back and started sputtering at the barrier waving his fist angrily, "I''ll h.h...h.have you know I''m the s...s..smartest dwarf that came to Usx from my C..C...City!"


    Looking at Stone he scratched his beard not knowing what to do about the situation, "It''s been awhile since the last time I saw a brawl." I mutter a grin growing on my face. Glancing at me slightly Stone scoffs before intervening. "Alright enough!" He mutters pulling apart both Bolmer and Ham as they struggled to butt heads clawing at each other.


    "I SAID ENOUGH!" he says shouting now, shoving them singlehandedly knocking them on the ground. A sigh escapes his lips as a deep frown lay ingrained on his face. "We don''t have the time to be arguing! Or have you forgotten where we are!" The two of them still heated stood up but didn''t pursue the argument any further simply grumbling to themselves angrily. "Nice work there Stone," I say patting him on the back to which he shrugged off my hand. "If we won''t be allowed in the barrier there''s no point in me being here." He mutters looking at the barrier. The voices still bickering with Ordwin realizing he could understand them.


    "Their fairies do a performance or something, they like that kind of thing." I muse. Perhaps I would get my entertainment after all. Grumbling Stone nods his head thinking about the proposal briefly before confronting the barrier. "Ordwin! Shut it!"


    "B..b..b.but they..." Stone shifts a glare towards him causing him to stop his babbling. "The angry squeaks seemed to listen to his command as well for they remained silent in his presence. I was impressed with how he handled the situation even if I didn''t offer any help, I would have preferred the two dwarves fight and get the anger out of their system. Now it would stew, hopefully, they wouldn''t hold any grudges. "I apologize for the rudeness my fellow dwarves have shown you, please accept my humble apology," Stone says placing a fist over his chest. The fairies mutter to themselves lowly, not wanting Ordwin to hear them perhaps before speaking, "It seems one of you dwarves were raised with some manners!" The high pitch voice squeaked. "Are you the leader of this group?" Turning back towards me Stone raises an eyebrow to which I simply shrugged.


    I didn''t mind Stone leading the group, he seemed like a dwarf who possessed a pair of very hard hands. Maybe even harder then mine, but I would never admit that out loud. Although I didn''t mind, Bolmer seemed appalled at the idea and attempted to interject his opinion before Ham clocked him in the jaw with a strong fist sending him reeling back before knocking him out cold. I''ve been wanting to do that ever since I met him and was slightly envious of Ham as a satisfied smile lay on his face. Turning towards Stone Ham gives him a thumbs up while nodding his head.


    "Yeah I''m in charge of this group of dwarves, my name is Stovall Nove but you can call me Stone." he continued firmly. "If there is anything we can do for all of us to be allowed into your lands I would be grateful."


    The voices seemed to scoff to themselves still upset about the argument I assumed, "Your group is very disrespectful, all of our negotiations will only be made through you Stone." They spat. Turning around quickly he muttered the word "leave" before turning back towards the fairies. Grabbing Bolmer by the ankles me and Ham proceeded towards a melted building Ordwin following close behind. The collapsing structure was missing a roof, while a gaping hole penetrated through the front and back walls.


    "F.f.f.fairies are such j...j.j.jerks!" Ordwin pipes with a huff as he plopped on the ground sending ash flying.


    "Jerks who have something we need.... nice going pissing them off," I mutter. The babbling idiot could have gotten us killed, and possibly ruined any chances of getting past the barrier. No, that we were away from the barrier and the danger it imposed on us the urge to knock him over the head came.


    We waited as Stone conversed with what Ordwin had told us were fairies for close to 20 minutes, Bolmer sitting up while asking what had happened before he blacked out to which none of replied. Stone strutted in the collapsed building moments later, "looks like negotiating has gone well" Ham mutters to which Stone slightly nods. He scratched his head while rubbing his beard before telling us the details of what the fairies had said.


    "First off they ain''t pixies, they wanted me to make that fact pretty clear. Their names are Twinkle and Tait not sure about the family name didn''t care too much to ask. As for letting us enter the barrier, they agreed to let all of us enter.....although." Looking at both Ordwin and Bolmer he gave a pitiful look before continuing, "as for you two if you agree to the terms of participating in the Fairy Festival they agreed to forgive the comments you made earlier."


    "Fairy Festival?" Bolmer grunts folding his arms? "Is that it? Sure why not." Ordwin contemplated for a moment before agreeing to the terms the fairies had set. Nodding slightly Stone continued, "As for the shards they aren''t budging on the requirements of us forging the violet shard.... they refused to tell me any details as to why they need it or what they intend to do with it.... however they did agree to help in providing us direction with a map of what they know of Usx, as well as food and other resources they can provide us with."


    I couldn''t help feeling impressed Stone had managed to get so much out of the stubborn little bastards, Ham seemed to share in my surprise as his mouth continued to hang slightly ajar.


    "You managed to get all that information from just talking to them for 20 minutes?" I mutter slapping his back briefly,


    "Your as good with your tongue as you are with a hammer." Ham pipes to which Stone responded with a sharp grin,


    "That is what the maidens tell me.." He mutters as we all shared in a hearty laugh, well all of us but Ordwin and Bolmer, maybe the fairies hadn''t made that great an impact on them for they still wore bitter faces.


    "Let''s just get the shards merged and get out of this place, the quicker we''re done with the fairies the better! Bolmer growls to which Ordwin muttered a nasally, "A..a..agreed."

 Chapter 8

    We decided to camp in the collapsing building for a few hours, with the wounds from battle still fresh upon our bodies we all needed a slight break. Nothing a little rest couldn''t fix. The first watch was taken by Stone, he insisted considering he was now the "leader" to which Bolmer scoffed loudly in dissatisfaction. Stone didn''t seem to pay it much thought, he''s more tolerant of disrespect then most dwarves our age, most likely how he was able to negotiate with the stubborn fairies so well.


    Ordwin and Bolmer seemed to be getting along well, sharing the dislike of the fairies they often chatted to one another. With Ordwin''s constant stuttering it was a headache to follow, so I just gave up settling in a clear corner of the area before getting some rest. We cycled through our shifts before we were all somewhat rested, not yet quite at 100% but close enough.


    Stone opened his pack laying out the colored shards one by one on the ground gently, being careful not to let them touch. The final shard is the only merged shard. "Let''s get this over with," Bolmer mutters reaching for a shard to which Stone smacks his hand away.


    "No touching the shards! We don''t need a repeat of what happened last time!" Stone growls with a glare.


    "We''re gonna have to kill the beasts that come to defend the shards anyway," Bolmer argues to which Ordwin agrees.


    "We can still prepare, we chose when and where the stones will be merged. Let''s take advantage of the small gift the All-Father has given us." Stone grumbles, deep in thought.


    I hadn''t thought of any way of merging the shards without consequence. Talking to the beasts definitely wouldn''t work, the Slitra didn''t even look like it could speak the common tongue of the All Language. Also, we would inevitably have to slay the monster, the shard being somewhere in its body I didn''t doubt it substituted for a heart or some other important organ needed to bring the creature into this world. "What do you propose we do?" I mutter to which Ordwin answers,


    "T...t.the shards Bolmer merged were the s..shards of water and earth. An S..s.slithra''s habitat perhaps that has something to do with w..w.what protects the shards?" To that, I raised an eyebrow stroking my beard. The Slithra was once an angry and deadly race that lived beneath the earth, very territorial didn''t know they could repel fire. Not to smart though probably why they are extinct. "I have an idea on how to deal with these troublesome creatures," Stone mutters a grin growing on his face.


    It took awhile but after trial and error we managed to finish, "You really think this is gonna work?" Ham mutters looking at the creation.


    "I don''t see you coming up with any bright ideas." Stone retorts, seeming satisfied with our creation. His idea was making a cage for the beast of the surrounding stone it was 10 feet wide on all sides, after reinforcing it through melted rock over a dozen times it was pretty solid. Calling it a cage might be a little off. There were no bars but reinforced stone walls with a hole half the size of a dwarf, so about 2 feet wide on all sides of the cage.


    As for the door, it was a slab of stone, one would have to slide it shut for it to actually work. "When the beasts come out of the shard we attack it with dwarven fire, let''s just hope it isn''t immune to fire this time." Stone remarks with a grin.


    "This is just a waste of time we should just smash it with a hammer, it''s much more effective." folding his arms Bolmer wore a dissatisfied frown looking at the cage, he hadn''t helped in crafting it simply scoffing at Stone''s instruction as he watched. Forcing him to help would just reduce the quality of the cage, having the beast escape from entrapment would put my life in danger so I dropped the matter, although Ham seemed irritated with the continued resistance.


    I.I...I think it''s a brilliant idea, couldn''t have t...t..thought of a better one m..my..myself." Ordwin adds. Nodding his head in satisfaction Stone grabs the merged shard as well as the white shard and places them in the cage before exiting. "Ok, Bolmer go and merge the shards."


    Bolmer gave him a stupified expression before folding his arms and pointing his nose towards the sky, "Why me, you''re the leader. You do it!" Ham looked like he was ready to pop before Stone raises a hand in front of him, "Your the only one here who knows how to merge the shards together, we need you to do it." His voice was unusually soft, it almost sounded like he was begging for him to do it. The disgust was plain as day on Ham''s face at every word that came out of Stones mouth.


    I had to catch myself from laughing, Stone truly was a smooth talker, a manipulator, the sly fox although I thought he laid the compliments on a little strong. He knew how to get his way. It was no wonder as to how he convinced the fairies to let him beyond the border and without a dance no less. Bolmer looked smug at Stones pleading uncrossing his arms slowly, "Have some pride Stone, I''ll merge the shards just stay out of my way from now on." He snickers before waltzing in the cage.


    Picking up the two shards he places them together as he did the first time, the two shards became engulfed with a bright white light before the two pieces became one, but unlike before there was no crack. The shard began to rise causing Bolmer to retreat towards the door before a loud "luck" followed by a "click resonated through the area.


    Ham had closed the cage with Bolmer inside! "Hey, what are you doing! Open the door." Bolmer barks frantically pounding on the door as he peeked his head in through the hole.


    "You wanted to beat it with a hammer, well here''s your chance." Ham pipes through a grin as Bolmer revealed a face of horror as he turned around to the floating shard. The shard began to glow rapidly before disappearing into a bright light covering half the cage, shielding my eyes I look away while saying a smaller prayer for Bolmer''s soul. Even I thought Ham''s treatment was more than harsh, he may have very well killed Bolmer. Stone didn''t seem worried in the slightest, in fact, the corners of his lips continued to twist upward slightly. I wondered if they planned this. Ham definitely didn''t seem the type to go around locking dwarves in stone cages.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    The light began to fade revealing the creature, to my surprise, it didn''t have claws or fangs or cause me to nearly shit a brick. Bolmer seemed relieved as did the rest of the tense dwarves for the guardian of the white shard was a Pegasus a creature of both myth and beauty. It''s wings a pure white looked as if they were glowing as the creature fluttered them, It seemed wrong having the majestic being inside such a cage. Unlike the Slithra it didn''t attack Bolmer, only watching him warily. Considering he was clutching his hammer tightly I didn''t disapprove of its caution.


    Releasing a breath I didn''t know I was holding I looked at Stone who seemed mesmerized by the creature his eye''s sparkled looking at the horse. Ordwin even had the gull to reach in the through the hole to pet the thing, like some kind of barn animal. It didn''t seem to mind though licking his hand in return as he nuzzled it''s head, being wary of the sharp horn that extruded from the center.


    "T...that''s a good boy," Ordwin mutters stroking the horse a smile glued to his face. "Are y...y..you hungry? I...I.I have something good for you." Dipping one hand in his bag he pulls out a half-eaten roll of bread before handing it to the horse. It whiffed the bread for a moment flexing its large nostrils before nibbling on the bread, contended with the meal Ordwin offered.


    "Well I''ll be damned, a living breathing Pegasus. How much you think you could sell this for in Curuz?" Stone mutters excitedly.


    "I don''t know about Curuz, but in Toradain I''m sure it would be considered priceless there are no others in existence. I wonder if you could breed it with another horse." Ham seemed pretty adamant about reproducing the mythological beast. "I say we keep it, we can always just start over with the shards. Returning to our lands with a creature of myth is bound to get us recognized or even a bigger prize from the Emperor."


    The creature seemed harmless enough, although I was reluctant to start over in merging the shards. Especially if it meant having to battle the Slithra once more, the way its tongue and tentacles moved still made my stomach uneasy when I thought about it. Also finding another white, and brown shard sounded like a hassle, I wasn''t looking forward to spending another day staring at the ceiling. The three seemed too engrossed in future glory to really think about the hassle the horse would cause, nevermind just getting the shards, dragging the horse through the unknown was bound to be quite the hassle.


    "So it''s agreed we''ll breed the horse for the offspring each of us getting a horse each, what you do with yours is your own business but I''m sure they''ll make excellent mounts as well as benefit merchants tremendously," Stone mutters patting the cage.


    "A...a.a.agreed!" Ordwin mutters nodding enthusiastically


    "Agreed!" Ham responds a smirk wide on his face lost in his own thoughts, perhaps thinking about the endless wealth to come from the horse. Sighing heavily I nod in agreement, arguing with them about the horse seemed fruitless, they had already planned out the horses future.


    To be a breeding machine for decades to come. "Thwap!" The sound coming from the cage we all looked the three of them showing faces of horror as the Pegasus lay in shambles its body limp on the cage floor its neck snapped brutally. Standing over the body was Bolmer, his hammer drenched in the creatures clear blood as he began to shake the hammer sending the blood flying.


    Looking back his eyebrow rises at the three horrified faces with slight confusion, "What? Oh, the Sorry horse had to go, ain''t no way I''m fighting a Slither again. Shame though, the horse looked pretty badass." The sorry didn''t sound sorry at all, although I was thankful Bolmer didn''t seem so infatuated with the horse. He had saved possibly days of searching for another shard.


    The corpse began to glow before disappearing into the cage leaving behind the three colored shard.


    A slight sniffle escaped Ordwins lips as he turned away from the cage muttering to himself, to low for me to hear I shrugged my shoulders while opening the cage. Bolmer hobbling out giving Ham a death glare. Ham looking smug as he watched Bolmer exit the makeshift cage.


    "A smash with a hammer, always more effective," Bolmer mutters waving his hammer at Ham. To which he simply scoffed.


    "Then you won''t mind me locking you in there for the next shard?" Ham teases. Bolmer staring daggers at him grinding his teeth.


    "Don''t you dare little piggy." slides out of his mouth slowly as Ham continued to poke at him.


    "On to the next shard then?" I direct towards Stone, him watching the little argument between the two dwarves before nodding towards me.


    "A shame, we could have made a fortune. Yeah, I have the next shard right here." Unfolding his arms he held the red shard. "Bolmer! Hand me the shard will ya." Interrupting the ongoing argument Bolmer hobbles over handing over the multicolored shard. Taking it from Bolmer he makes his way inside the cage looking at us for a moment.


    "You ready?"


    The four of us nodded as Stone placed the shards together the morphing together he sprints out the cage as Ham slams it shut locking it immediately with the makeshift stake. The stone glowed a dull bloody red, as the shard began to catch fire.


    The flames engulfing the entire stone. The color of the fire changing from blue to red before disappearing leaving the four-sharded gem. It was still for a moment, but only a moment as it caught fire again, the flames roaring angrily. The color was blue nor red but a violet, it began expanding causing us to step away from the cage. We were fireproof, but the purple flames didn''t look ordinary and for the first time since I was a small dwarf I feared being burnt.


    The purple flames danced endlessly before a loud screech rung out through the area, causing us to look at each other bewildered. We didn''t see a beast but heard it as the flames moved like a living creature, the flames bending by an unknown will into a shape. The shape became defined but the embers of the purple flame continued unending until it had fully formed the creature. It screeched once more the high pitched wail causing me to cover my ears.


    It was a being of magical fire, its beak, wings, and talons entirely engulfed in unnatural flames. There was nothing on the bird that wasn''t covered in fire. I cursed myself for not listening to Ordwins guess of the element of the shard having an influence on the type of guardian that would come to protect the crystal. Staring at the creature I could only stutter like Ordwin at the monster that lay before my eye''s, "A Ph..ph.ph...Pheonix!"

 Chapter 9

    It howled once more spreading its giant wings in anger. Seeing that it was imprisoned it spit blue fire engulfing the stone cage in the magical flames. Although made of stone it was still durable. After melting and and cooling countless pounds of stone the cage wouldn''t give in to heat so easily. Even if it was a magical bird molded of fire. The one flaw in Stones plan had come to passing, it was unlikely our dwarven fire would have any effect on the creature it being made of purple fire and all.


    The 6-foot bird rammed the caged angrily shaking the stone container, causing us to pale. Knowing once it broke free there would be no way we could subdue let alone defeat such a creature. We stood there frozen with uncertainty perhaps even slight fear before Stone''s voice booms into my eardrums, "Kill it before it can escape! Ham, Ordwin cool the stone cage, don''t let it melt it''s way out! Bolmer and Gale get as many rocks as you can!" His voice was commanding pulling me out of the trance. I scurry through the ruined fortress grabbing as many rocks I can carry, which aren''t many. It takes me three trips of running to and from the stone cage before I have a small pile of rocks at my feet. Bolmer''s pile easily doubling mine as well as Stone''s, how they carried so many I had no clue until I saw the contents of Bolmer''s pack scattered on the ground. The clever bastard was using his bag something that hadn''t occurred to me in the moment.


    "Hurry up! I don''t know how much longer we can keep cooling the cage!" Ham shouts over the frantic shrieks from the bird. It continued to ram the cage relentlessly as flames continued to blast forth from its mouth. Cracks coated the cage and the fear of the beast breaking free tingled up my spine. "Keep cooling that cage! don''t let up!" Stone barks returning with another bag full of rock dumping the contents in a pile.


    "What the hell are we gonna do with a pile of rocks against a Pheonix!" Bolmer shrieks. I too wondered what Stone''s bright idea was to kill the beast. Snatching a hand-sized rock Stone grasps his hammer before tossing the rock in the air, "Smash!" He bellows before swinging his hammer striking the rock, sending it flying through the hole of the cage striking the bird. My eyes could barely follow the rock as it flew. Another angry screech resounds in the area as the bird frantically attacks the cage spitting even more fire from its mouth in the attempt to break free.


    I expected his strike to turn the small rock to dust but he controlled the force, only striking it hard enough to do damage to the beast but not too hard to destroy the rock. Something a dwarf with true skill could only accomplish. Nodding I snatch up a fistful of small stones before copying the attack as Bolmer simply chucked the rocks through the hole as hard as he could. I didn''t understand why he chose to throw the rocks as opposed to smash them with the hammer, it was a skill any dwarf that wielded a hammer could use.


    The three of us continued to bombard the bird with rocks, our piles running empty quickly before having to run for more. Ordwin and Ham seemed to struggle to keep the cage cool, small blue flames starting to peek out of the cracks of the rapidly dissolving container. The bird''s rams had grown weaker as we continued to attack with the rocks but the bird was relentless and fought on endlessly, I never thought my arms would be so tired from swinging my hammer so many times so quickly, for they burned at the joints. I must have smashed at least 100 rocks at the bird, but of course, a small rock was nothing compared to a hammer.


    Ordwins hand remained propped on the cage as he shrieked, "I c..c.c.can''t keep it up! It''s going to b..b.b.break free!" His face was pale from the inevitable freedom of the bird, or from the constant use of his gift I didn''t know perhaps both. Ham frantically nodded in agreement to Ordwins claim, his face also pale as sweat seeped down his neck. Once the bird was out of the cage it would be nearly impossible to battle it in the sky, it was stationary now making it an easy target. Hitting a moving target in the sky with rocks was a completely different matter.


    "Get to the gate!" I shout, all of them looking at me frantically before scurrying over to the entrance of the cage. The stone cage glowed red rapidly the moment the two dwarves released their hands from the stone and I knew it would only be a matter of moments before the bird would be dominating the skies. Cracks continued to ripple over the stone as fire shot out of the holes.


    "Smash the entrance! Afterwards, we attack the bird with all we''ve got!" The others looking at me bewildered from the last ditch idea as the bird screeched loudly causing all of us to jump. "Do it now!" I bellow as we all lifted our hammers before shouting "Smash!" Striking the cage door simultaneously the stone broke apart loudly sending smoke and debris flying in the cage. The small shards of rock and dust attacked the bird like hail penetrating the creature. A gaping hole now is the door the heat hit us like a wave nearly causing me to collapse, the air thin as we rushed into the cage to ambush the bird.


    Dust caked the beast making the flames dim slightly, but only slightly before It began propelling its blue flames from its beak smashing it into us. My caution of the unnatural fire was justified, for the very flesh of my face and arms burned unending as did the rest of my body. If I hadn''t shielded my eye''s perhaps they too would have melted from the intense blast. The heat stopped and I proceeded forward without pause as I stared down the beast through watery eyes, anger and fatigue fell over my body before bashing my hammer into the beak before it could launch another blast of the blue fire.


    Unlike the appearance, the bird was heavy the impact sending vibrations up my arm similar to that of hitting an anvil. It was hard but effective as the force of my swing started launching the bird, sending it crashing into the cage wall. The others I expected to jump into a follow-up attack didn''t, and as I glanced around I saw them all heaving heavily as they lay scattered at the entrance. Similar to myself the flesh was stripped from their bodies their clothing supporting numerous burn marks. Bolmer struggled to stand before collapsing on the ground unmoving, the damage from the fire proving to fierce for them.


    Not having the time to worry about my fellow dwarves I dart towards the rising bird as it began to fly towards the entrance we created, pain shot through my legs as I raced for the bird. It was faster than me but I could see that the glow of its fire was greatly dimmer and knew it was near its end. I couldn''t catch it, the bird reaching the hole before me I could only watch as my heart began to sink as the beast approached and shot through the hole.


    "SMASH!" Ham bellows from behind the bird as his hammer flies out of the gaping hole for the emerging beast. It seemed distracted by it''s new found freedom as Ham''s hammer whizzed through the air smashing into its neck. Luckily the bird hadn''t gotten far in it''s escape and was still close to the ground. Or his hammer would have never reached it. The bird howled once before it''s flames glowed bright, despair filling my gut as the light from its purple flames continued to shine radiantly, but I didn''t look away and watched as a puff of dust began sprinkling from the purple light, The 4 colored shard revealed itself plummeting towards the ground before falling in the pile of ash left behind by the Pheonix.


    "Sc...sc..scatter the ashes!" Ordwin mutters in painful gasps clutching his legs causing me to sprint towards the shard, picking it up I kick the ashes frantically. A Pheonix was deadly but what made them such a fierce opponent was their ability called "Rebirth", If given too much time they would rise again from their ashes with new found strength. You could kill the beast a hundred times, none of it mattered unless you scattered the ashes. Satisfied with my kicked up dust cloud I let the fatigue of battle overtake my body, my eyelids burned as they began closing slowly, letting gravity take me as well as the darkness.


    * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


    "How''s the festival coming? Is everything going ok?" Twilly piped, swinging his bare feet from a low branch in a carefree manner. His light blue feathery hair disheveled from his playing only moments ago. The little brat had caused a ruckus earlier poking his head in places it didn''t belong, distracting many of us while we went out harvesting. I couldn''t stay mad at the young fairy though, he had a soft face and innocent mischevious eyes making it hard to hold a grudge.


    "We''re a little behind of schedule because of SOMEBODY." I muse giving him a playful glare. His face jolting in shock as his eye''s darted in every direction.


    "O...Oh sorry about that." He muttered with a chuckle, playing with his fingers. "I just wanted to help! It''s so boring watching everyone get ready for the festival! They don''t let the kids do anything" he mutters his tone lowering slightly looking down at his feet. I hated when he made that face, the urge to spoil him always came after.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    "Why don''t you get down here and help me carry some of these berries. A strong little guy like you should be able to do that much right?" His little-pointed ears twitched before a wide grin spread across his face lifting his head he beamed me an earnest smile. Ah, I could only wish my child would be as adorable as little Twilly one day.


    Leaping off the branch he floats to the ground jumping up and down excitedly. "Yeah I can do that, I help Pa carry things all the time!" His smile turning into a proud grin flexing his little arms.


    "Good grab that basket and let''s get back to the kitchen, we don''t want to keep the cooks waiting." Nodding his head enthusiastically he darts towards the basket before placing it on his head dropping a few berries in his excitement. His little arms spread wide as he balanced it on his soft head of hair. "Let''s go! I''ll race you!" he shouts happily before flying towards the village leaving a trail of fairy dust behind.


    How does such a little guy have so much energy, I ask myself with a sigh before lifting the basket on my head. How his overseer isn''t constantly out of her mind I''ll never know. Flying after the little guy I began following his trail of fairy dust, the village being close by It only took a moment before the familiar trees revealed themselves the lush green leaves as lively as ever. Our village was large and ever beautiful our tall and strong oak trees having been around for centuries still looked younger than ever. A blessing given to us by the All-Daughter, one of many. The dozens of red-topped mushrooms spread throughout the village were large in size towering 7 feet high, sheltering many families within them. Of course, the Elder, my father along with myself, my mother and my older sister Freya are the only ones that live in the Elder Tree. A tradition past down through the years that my father was very adamant about following.


    Twilly hid impatiently waiting in the bushes that surrounded our village, "a surprise attack huh," I couldn''t help feeling amused at the little fairies attempt at an ambush. With a flick of my wrist, I will the Essence bestowed upon all fairies into a free hand before enshrouding myself in the sparkly mist. My height shrinking in size to only 3 inches high, giggling to myself I zip into the bushes making sure to go unseen. When was the last time I played such a childish game? It''s been far too long since I last enjoyed myself. Closing in on my target I float just below his left ear,


    "Boo!" jumping in a fluster Twilly rolls out of the green bush panic covering his face, seeing me chuckling from the bush his round green eye''s looked at me accusingly.


    "Hey, no fair. That''s cheating Eve! No using void magic." The little fairy pouted folding his arms. His pouting was always so cute the way his lips turned up that way, he will no doubt be a lady killer when older.


    "Expect the unexpected little Twilly, if you ever want to venture outside the safety of Finra you best remember that, ok?"


    His eye''s perked up at the mention of exploring the outside world, a dream young fairies often had. "Sure Eve, I''ll grow up big and strong just like my Pa!"


    "Good, now enough games lets get this fruit to the kitchen." Ruffling his hair I return to my normal size my green leaf skirt fitting comfortably around my waist, as well as my vest. I never understood how other species could wear animal skin and bones. Just picturing harming a creature created by the All-Father made me sick to my stomach, they were truly brutes of the savage kind. Picking up the basket we flutter through the village. The entrance hugged by a neatly and carefully trimmed hedge, looking around everyone seemed busy preparing for the Festival whizzing by in a hurry.


    The Fairy Festival something we looked forward to every year, especially the younger fairies. We would all sing and dance in harmony before paying our tribute to the All-Daughter. Afterwards feast of the sweetest of foods and drink and the games! Oh, how I loved to watch the games. Just thinking about it made he wiggle with excitement. Each village had their own traditions making it a unique experience wherever you celebrated. Floating through the village the fairies darted back and forth ignoring any formalities suppose to be given to the residences of the Elder Oak.


    I preferred it this way though it gave us something to do besides meddling in the affairs of other species. Finra being one of the Fairy villages that followed the Seelie Courts laws and traditions we often helped other species when bringing a new life into the world of the All-Father. It was something that always brought me joy, bringing a new life into the world as well as watching over the vessel it inhabited until it was ready to be born. How lucky they were being able to birth another being into the world, a gift they didn''t realize sadly. However, we also enjoyed playing our tricks, often getting us scolded by the Elder about meddling in the affairs of other species. It''s only harmless fun though.


    Dropping off the baskets the cook gives me a grumpy look, "Your late again Eve, how are we going to be ready in time for the festival if you keep bringing the food in late." Ah, another scolding from big sister Freya how delightful.


    Twilly looked downcast as Freya continued on with the lecture, glancing up briefly I gave him a wink to which he smiled.


    "Don''t let it happen again alright Eve, you know how father is about these rituals everything has to be perfect." Nodding my head I mutter "understood" before her scowl turns back into the gentle loving face she wore so beautifully.


    "Good, we need you to take some rations to the guardians after that your done for the day."


    "Aw, really, the guardians... Why I can''t you get someone else to do it." Complaining I plead my case which is denied harshly,


    "You know how the guardians are, and how the people of our village feel about them, do me this last favor for the day?" Ah, she''s giving me that sweet look again, the face that can get me to do anything she asks.


    "Alright fine.." I sigh. Freya already having the baskets ready to go smiled sweetly with her eye''s closed, she could get me to do anything. Before long I was flying to the circle. Twilly begged to come wanting to help carry more baskets to which I had to reject. The poor little guy looked dejected as he moped away, but it was for his own good. Big sister Freya called them guardians but they were just fairies that protected the Circle from intruders, not just any fairies though Unseelie fairies.


    Those that succumb to one of the sins. It usually being greed of some sort. They enjoyed making other species dance, as did all fairies but they always took it to far often killing some poor human. Last time it was an elf, the poor fool had tried trapping a leprechaun to steal his gold. Believing the fairy and his promises of wealth had cost him his life.


    And they were always so sneaky, more sneaky then a fairy should be. They say if you had to choose between trusting a Dragon and an Unseelie fairy, trust the dragon, at least you would die a quick death.


    The Unseelie and Seelie Fairies have come to an understanding though, we provide, and they protect a simple and effective arrangement. They relish in violence as we are opposed to it making things favorable for us. Just because we were peaceful didn''t mean there weren''t those who would do us harm. Making the Unseelie useful. Them living in another village also helped with the constant tension between our two factions, thinking about how they celebrate the Fairy Festival gave me goosebumps. I hear they kidnap people forcing them to dance till dawn, at least it was better than dying.


    Making my way out of the village I fly through many shrubs and trees as quickly as I could. Reaching the small pond I float towards the center of the water. Outside of the Fairy Circle were two fairies sat, Tait was about 3 feet high and wore vines instead of leaves. A trend that was going around that the young ones seemed to like. He had long hair for a boy and it looked like he hadn''t bathed in a few days, the natural purple of his hair looked glossy. Standing beside him was Twinkle she was a little shorter than her brother, her lips were large and pouty which seemed to fit her big violet eyes. Unlike her brother, she didn''t wear vines but a dress made of black leaf. Us Seelie fairies had vibrant peach colored skin, but these two had a bluish skin similar to a dark elf, as well as two small wings. We Seelie fairy had no need for wings as we could simply float, unlike the Unseelie.


    Their wings twitching slightly at my approach. Turning around the two fairies greet me meeting my eye''s, at least they showed a little respect. "What took you so long we''re starving here!" Tait mutters.


    "How hard is it to pick a few berries, you Seelie fairies are so lazy," Twinkle added fluffing her golden hair to which I shot a glare, the ungrateful little devils. All they do is sit in the circle all day and they call me lazy, holding my tongue I hand over the 4 jars of jelly. Their eye''s lighting up before snatching them quickly scarfing it down like some kind of wild beast.


    Watching them I felt a little satisfied, they complained about everything but the food we provided. Their small wings fluttering in delight as they readily consumed the meal. "Stop watching me while I eat, it''s disgusting!" Twinkle barks turning her back to which Tait let out a howl of laughter, his mouth covered in the pink paste. This is why I hate making deliveries to the Circles, guardians are always so infuriating. The thought of bashing those jars over their heads had crossed my mind more than a few times. But I knew they were poking at me for a reaction I could tell by how their ears twitched. Turning to leave I pause slightly listening to the low murmurs they whispered to each other.


    "How much longer do you think it''ll be until their done?" Tait whispers excitedly slurping from the jar. Licking his lips in satisfaction. He was unusually giddy, his normal attitude often disinterested in anything if he couldn''t burn something to ashes...


    "Who knows they are dwarves after all, not the brightest bunch either." Twinkle responds a little irritated. Peeking over their shoulders they glare at me, realizing I was listening to their conversation.


    "Eep," I squeal before dashing over the water, their stares digging into my neck as I flee. flying to the next circle I think about their strange conversation as I enter the small forest once again. The curiosity of what the two fairies were planning buzzing around my head. How anyone was friends with such foul-mouthed fairies had me wondering just what kind of dwarves they were talking about. "Why would dwarves ever trust an Unseelie fairy."

 Chaper 10

    He kicked up a dust cloud of ash before collapsing, saving our lives. How Gale could still move so quickly after the intense fire from the Pheonix was amazing, something only a dwarf with tenacious strength could do. Something I could only wish for. Trying to stand my legs continue to throb in agony making it hard to breathe. Was it Stone or Bolmer who shielded me from the brunt of the attack, trying to remember it''s a haze. Doing anything sent constant pain shooting through my body, but I manage to set myself up against the collapsing cage. Ah, how I miss the smell of a fresh book, instead the smell of ash and cooked dwarf fill my nose, a smell I wouldn''t mind forgetting.


    Stumbling to stand Ham, limps for his hammer. Glancing briefly at Bolmer and Stone as they lay unmoving on the ground. I''d never seen anyone use their hammer in such a manner before, is it something dwarves from Toradain did often? I''ll be sure to ask him if we manage to survive. Death was something that scared me, coming so close to it twice in the last few days had me thinking about it more and more. Did I regret joining the trials? The answer was yes, my need to prove my peers and City wrong about my family might just cost me my life. And what a lousy life it''s been, thinking back on it the dwarves I met down here in the Pit are the closest things to "friends" I have.


    When I first arrived in the Pit of Usx many dwarves from other Cities wanted me to join their herd. My large frame gave off the impression that I was strong which was the usual assumption most had when they looked at me. Their opinions quickly changed however after I spoke, hearing my continuous stuttering no one would let me join their herd leaving me to survive in the darkness alone. Something I experienced my entire life in the City of Moldan, the cause of me entering the Trials. My yearning to return to the safety of the library I spent most of my days kept me from depression, and after running into Stone who was also by himself I looked forward to the days to come. Having someone to face the unknown with rose my spirits to no end. Then stumbling upon Bolmer in the Goblin Village hours later I thought surviving in Usx wouldn''t be as difficult as the rumors told at the orphanage. But all that changed when I met Gale and Ham.


    When they spoke of voices, fortresses, and shards I was excited, thinking the stories about adventure and allies fighting for each other was something I was experiencing first hand. But after having battled the Slithra and now a Phenoix two creatures of both myth and legend. I was struck with fear and uncertainty of my survival after each clash, I could only wish I was as determined and confident as the others.


    "Who would have thought the flames from a Pheonix could harm a dwarf." Ham hisses. He stood over Gale on unsteady legs, looking to see if he''s still alive. I''d be surprised if he was. He was the closest one to the Phoenix when we destroyed the stone gate, taking the mystical flames at full force. Bolmer and Stone lay on the ground a few feet from where I sat, their chests still rose slightly telling me they were still alive. Perhaps knocked out from the shock of being burned alive.


    "B...b.bring me my b..bag." Ham shifted his gaze to me before nodding silently. Stumbling Ham collects my bag as well as his own before sitting beside me letting out a deep breath.


    "With burns like this there''s no way we can keep merging the shards, to do so would invite death." He murmurs searching through his pack before withdrawing several bandages. That slight hope of him having something for the burns that throbbed endlessly at my legs disappeared, dampening my already low spirit.


    Then again being a dwarf who would need to bring anything for burns? We could repel fire with ease. The magical blue fire the bird had used was something no dwarf could anticipate let alone plan for. Perhaps if we had been another species, one that couldn''t survive in fire and heat we would be dead. Something so unlucky happening I can''t help but feel it was in the All-Fathers plan to erase me from the world. Nodding in agreement I mimic Ham as he wraps the burns riddled across his hands and face.


    My legs were already starting to blister but I would live, as would Ham. His eyebrows were gone and numerous patches covered his head where hair should be, but other then a few burns on his face he seemed to be fine. Finishing he stands up and checks on Bolmer and Stone, flipping Bolmer on his side he lets out a small chuckle.


    Curious I struggle to my feet and stand behind him. Bolmer''s beard was gone, and in it''s place a short fat neck and double chin. Not really funny, personally I didn''t find it all that amusing and gave a fake smile. Ham''s an easy person to make laugh, something I noticed about his carefree yet cautious nature. Bolmer''s clothing was for the most part well put together, if you were only looking at his upper body that is. His jacket and shirt only had a few burn marks which weren''t so bad but his trousers had a gaping hole in his backside revealing his undergarments. Making me wonder how he had he managed to get burned there?


    Stone, on the other hand, was in bad shape nevermind the clothes, the burns on his left arm, as well as his chest, were black. I now know where the smell of burnt dwarf was coming from. Being glad it was him and not me flashed through my mind before dismissing it, causing me to feel slightly ashamed of myself. We lacked the supplies and resources to treat such a wound, a simple wrapping of bandages would do little to nothing against such a burn. Looking up at Ham, he seems to have come to the same conclusion. Sorrow engraved deeply on his face, it reminded me of how my hatchfather looked at me before dropping me off at the orphanage.


    The next few minutes consisted of us dragging the bodies of the unconscience dwarves into a building, and treating what we could. Bolmer came to a few moments after we were done, howling in pain and anger. "That stupid bird burned my beard! It took me years to grow that!" As always he didn''t seem to comprehend the situation we were in, which wasn''t bad at times but had also led to some situations I would have rather avoided.


    "Stop moving around so much, and sit down," Ham growls. Locking eye''s for a moment Bolmer quiets down before taking a seat folding his arms and silently mumbling to himself. He didn''t lash back much to my surprise, something I had gotten use to Bolmer doing in the short time I''ve known him. He had a problem with taking orders and had his own way of doing things, something I admired about the fat dwarf.


    "So what now? I suppose you still want to do what those pixies tell you to. Even after it nearly killed us." Bolmer spits. "Instead of wasting our time and energy listening to pixies we should be finding our OWN water, and getting food! This is a complete waste of time and effort."This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Glancing at Ham briefly he waves a hand in dismissal without saying a word, clearly disagreeing with him. Opening his bag he began eating a small meal of bread and water, realizing he was being ignored Bolmer did the same. Leaving me to my thoughts I ate the stale bread I saved before entering the Pit. The silence that floated through the room had me thinking back to the many times I ate alone, the silence suffocating me.


    A light rustling of dirt pulls me from my thoughts as Gale sits up, quickly looking around the area before spotting us. Releasing a breathe a small smirk surfaces on his face.


    "And here I thought you died, instead your stuffing yourself fat like a true pig of Toradain." Looking at Gale the question that has been nagging since meeting the blunt dwarf was about the pot he wore on his head. It looked ridiculous and he never used it so assumed he had mistaken in for a helmet. He sure did use it like one. Taking off his helmet-pot his hair remained unburnt but the natural brown color it had was now black with soot.


    "Coming from the dwarf that fainted after witnessing me crush the Pheonix, was the shock of my might that surprising to you." Ham retorts back revealing a grin of his own as Gale slaps his back taking a seat.


    "I''m assuming the bird died than, before it could Rebirth?" I nod my head slowly as does Ham.


    I didn''t know much about Gale he seemed like an honest enough dwarf, he knew how to swing a hammer. Although he wasn''t the wisest dwarf I''d met, he often did anything that popped into his head without a second thought.


    "Took you long enough to wake up." Bolmer blurts sending crumbs spilling over himself. Glancing in the corner that Bolmer sat, a puzzling look crossed his face for a brief moment, staring at the chubby dwarf. Amusement fluttering in his eye''s.


    "Where''s Stone?" Looking around the room Gale searches for Stone before his eye''s rest on his body. The humor in his eye''s turning hard as he examined him. "How bad is it?"


    Muttering Ham tells him of Stone''s condition and how it was unlikely we could do anything about it without proper supplies. His face forming a frown.


    "Give your bandages and whatever water you have left." Standing up he wanders over to Stone. He was sweating a lot while low moans slipped from his mouth, not having ever been burnt before I couldn''t relate how painful it was. Both Ham and I rummage through our bags giving up what little water we had left. I was reluctant considering we still had 2 shards left to merge before we would be allowed through the barrier.


    "No way, this is my last bit of water." Bolmer retorts clutching his bag. Both Gale and Ham give him a scowl before ignoring the greedy dwarf. I wonder just what Gale was going to do with just water and a few strips of cloth, it wouldn''t be enough to heal him. Grabbing a few small rocks he proceeded to smash them, turning them into s powder before dumping them into his pot. Adding the water to the dirt he mixed it with his hands into a thick mud before submerging some of the cloth soaking it for a few minutes.


    "Mud, you think that''s gonna help him?" Ham mutters unconvinced his brows furrowing slightly. "We need to cool the burns before wrapping them in the mud, then we''ll add another layer to ensure it doesn''t come loose." Gale continued to work over Stone''s body soaking the burns in the muddy solution.


    "Sit him up." He barks to which I pull Stone up, a moan escaping his mouth in the movement. "W...w.won''t this just f.f.f.further infect the wounds?" Wrapping the burns in the muddy cloth he instructs me to sit him down before wrapping another layer of dry cloth around the muddy bandages.


    "He was more prone to infection without a salve to cool the skin, at least this way it''ll be less painful. As for now Ham you keep him warm with your dwarven fire, we don''t need him freezing to death." Gale''s surprising knowledge in the ways of medicine was astounding, even if they were barbaric if they worked who was I to judge.


    "He won''t last long like this though, those are serious burns. Mud isn''t going to fix that level of damage he needs water maybe even some herbs to repair the skin. Otherwise, the wounds will get tainted, and he''ll die."


    I couldn''t help holding a breath as Gale spoke of Stone''s condition, I had witnessed countless deaths when entering the pit. But out of all of the dwarves that had died not one of them I thought of as an ally. Looking at Stone his breaths were fast and he was sweating tremendously, the pain he must be enduring must be excruciating.


    "He''s a liability," Bolmer mutters through his chewing, still sitting on the far side of the room. "I say we leave him to find some water and scout out the tunnels, forging the shards are nothing but a huge risk with little reward." His pompous carefree tone shifted, too a more steely voice. His gaze hard looking at Stone.


    Ham snarled looking over at Bolmer, still warming Stone with his flames. Scoffing loudly Bolmer finishes the final bite of his meal, "growl all you want pig, this is the pit. If he''s too weak to survive from a few burn marks that''s on him." Standing up he picks up his pack before wobbling to the door. "Personally I''ve had enough of all the brilliant ideas you''ve all been coming up with, I don''t trust the fairies or any of you with my life." Now it was Gale''s turn to growl as he swerved his head towards Bolmer with a glare.


    "We''ve saved your LIFE a dozen times, none of us would be here if it wasn''t for another. So either help with a plan or sit in the cornor and stay quiet" His bark was low but the message was clear quieting Bolmer down.


    "Now the fastest way to find enough water and supplies to help Stone would be through the barrier." Ham''s eye''s widened at Gales statement.


    "Y...y.y.you can''t seriously be thinking o..o..of merging the shards again, in our s.st...state it''d be suicide!" barking aloud Gale gives me a hard look before looking over at the others.


    "I won''t ask any of you to risk your lives in merging another shard, who knows what other creature will emerge. I''ll be sure to combine them outside the fortress walls."


    "E..e.even if you manage to merge the shard and k.k.kill the guardian, there a.a.a.are two shards left!! You ca..ca..can''t kill two guardians alone." Wailing I try to catch my breath, I was scared to be around another merging of the shard.


    "He won''t be alone because I''m going with him." Standing up Ham picks up the remaining 2 shards, before handing them to Gale. They locked eye''s for a moment before nodding.


    "Ordwin you stay here and look after Stone, make sure his temperature doesn''t drop to low or rise too high." I nod slowly staring at the two before a gruff scowl comes from Bolmer.


    "You two idiots are really gonna throw your life away over Stone! This is the Pit! Survival of the fittest!" He barks sending his spit flying.


    Gale stopped and looked at him real hard, I could see the gears turning in his head as he gazed upon Bolmer, "He saved our lives, it''s only right we do the same." With that both Ham and Gale exited the building leaving Bolmer thinking to himself silently. Using my Gift I summon my dwarven fire before hovering over Stone, sorrow weighing heavy on my shoulders at the possible death of my first friend.