The Dwarf Kingdoms (The Hidden Realm)

  The Dwarf Kingdoms

  Book Five

  of

  The Hidden Realm

  by

  A. Giannetti

  The Dwarf Kingdoms

  Copyright © 2014 A. Giannetti

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or retransmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the author.

  Prologue

  In The Dwarf Kingdoms, Ascilius leaves Ennodius in a desperate bid to lead his people to safety. Many unexpected obstacles stand in his way; obstacles which can only be overcome by fighting fierce battles or by using Elerian’s magical skills, leaving the final outcome of the journey in doubt.

  Table of Contents

  Title

  Copyright

  Prologue

  Map

  Chapters

  Ascilius’s Secret

  The Peregrin

  The Scouting Party

  A Brush with Death

  The Stables

  The Battle for the Gate

  The Fourth Level

  Unexpected Help

  Galenus

  Eonis

  A Prank

  The Fall of Galenus

  A Change of Heart

  A Surprise Attack

  The Battle of the Dike

  The Aftermath

  The Ambush

  The Siogai

  Goblin Weather

  A Brief Respite

  The Battle of the Meadow

  A Risky Undertaking

  Timely Assistance

  A Rescue

  The Catalus

  The Fortress

  The Caldaria

  Dardanus

  The Emissary

  The Judgment

  The Departure

  ASCILIUS’S SECRET

  After the door to the tunnel swung slowly and silently open, Elerian saw a grove of widely spaced oak and chestnut trees in front of him. Dim, greenish light softened and colored by the dense canopy overhead illuminated their enormous trunks and deeply fissured bark. Thick, crooked roots twisted through the brown carpet of old leaves which covered the ground between the ancient trees. Scattered clumps of knee-high, feathery green ferns comprised the only undergrowth, giving the ancient wood a light, airy feel. Overhead, hidden in the canopy, Elerian heard songbirds greet the rising sun, the liquid notes of their calls falling pleasantly on his ears. His firm grip on his sword and shield relaxed, and the tension drained out of his body as his sharp eyes and ears failed to find any sight or sound that signaled danger.

  “There is no one around,” Elerian said softly to Ascilius as he lowered the bright sword that he held ready in his right hand. “Either your road has remained undiscovered, or the Goblins are afraid to venture this close to Ennodius because of Eboria.”

  “Your woodcraft has failed you for once,” Ascilius grimly whispered back. “Look high in the branches of the oak tree to the left of the entrance.”

  Elerian immediately looked up into the thick foliage of the oak indicated by Ascilius. A careful search of its branches revealed the black head of a cornix, barely visible through a gap in the notched oak leaves clustered around it. Abruptly the bird cocked its head to its left to obtain a better view of the shadowy tunnel entrance. Elerian saw a sudden, startling gleam of crimson flash in its right eye.

  “A Goblin spy and I overlooked it!” thought Elerian to himself, feeling annoyed that he had let Ascilius best him in woodcraft.

  “Can you hit that bird with one of your knives?” asked Ascilius quietly and worriedly, for the cornix was at least fifty feet away, and the greater part of its body was hidden by leaves.

  “Let me string my bow and there will be no doubt of the outcome,” Elerian whispered back.

  “Too risky,” replied Ascilius urgently. Apprehension squeezed his heart like a powerful hand, for at any moment, the cornix might take to the air to report the presence of the tunnel entrance to its masters. “The least movement may startle the creature into taking flight.”

  Denied the use of his bow, Elerian slowly set down his shield before drawing Rasor from his belt with his left hand, the movements concealed from the cornix by Ascilius’s right shoulder and the darkness which shrouded the tunnel entrance. At the touch of Elerian’s fingers on the ridged hilt, the intricate, convoluted lines of argentum embedded in the keen blade of the knife emitted a soft white light. In the treetop, the cornix leaned forward eagerly, trying to discern the source of the faint glow that it now saw in the dark tunnel entrance.

  Beads of sweat suddenly sprang out on Ascilius’s broad brow when, out of the corner of his right eye, he saw Rasor in Elerian’s left hand.

  “Use your right hand, you half wit!” he hissed softly and sharply. “The fate of my people may ride on the success of your throw.”

  Elerian knew that it was anxiety that sharpened his companion’s tongue, but he was already annoyed, and his nature being what it was, a hard gleam suddenly lit his clear gray eyes.

  “Our situation may be grave, but I will have some compensation for that insult,” he thought to himself. Deliberately he raised Rasor higher in his left hand, the motion wringing a soft groan of despair from Ascilius that brightened the gleam in Elerian’s eyes. When his long hand rose above Ascilius’s shoulder left shoulder, he suddenly flung Rasor through the air in a deft movement that was almost too quick to follow.

  Beside him Ascilius held his breath as he followed Rasor’s swift flight. The leaf shaped knife sped through the branches overhead in an eye blink, striking the leaves below the dark head of the cornix. There was a brief flutter of unseen wings and a single, harsh croak before the bird suddenly tumbled from its perch, Rasor buried to the hilt in its black plumed breast. The cornix fell limply to the ground, rustling oak leaves as it tumbled lifelessly from branch to branch. Ascilius breathed a sigh of relief which immediately gave way to a surge of irritation.

  “That was a terrible risk to take,” he said softly and angrily to Elerian. “My heart is still pounding! You were fortunate to hit such a small target with your less trustworthy hand.”

  “Luck had nothing to do with my success,” replied Elerian haughtily. “Unlike some that I could name, my hands are equally skilled. I would be willing to bet a bag of gold against your beard that I could make the same throw a dozen times in a row with equal results.”

  “I will take that bet if you agree to let me pummel you if you miss,” replied Ascilius with a sudden gleam of anticipation in his dark eyes.

  For a moment, Elerian weighed the prospect of bearding Ascilius against the danger of being pounded by the Dwarf’s powerful fists. Reluctantly, he discarded the idea.

  “The demented gleam in his eyes betrays his intentions,” thought Elerian to himself. “He would cough or nudge my elbow and then claim it was an accident after he was done pounding me with those great hands of his.”

  Elerian and Ascilius both started when a soft, puzzled voice spoke up softly behind them.

  “Why are we lingering in the tunnel, Ascilius? We should be on our way to Galenus.”

  “Elerian and I were discussing a matter of great import, Falco,” replied Ascilius smoothly, the intent look in his eyes vanishing in an instant.

  “I could have sworn you were arguing,” said Falco in a worried voice as he looked from Ascilius to Elerian.

  “You were mistaken, Falco. We were only having a friendly discussion,” said Elerian cheerfully.

  “A discussion we will continue later,” said Ascilius, sending an ominous look at Elerian before turning to face Falco once more. “I want everyone to remain in the tunnel a bit longer while Elerian and I scout ahead,” he
said quietly.

  “I will tell the others,” replied Falco quietly.

  “What an odd pair they make,” he thought to himself as he walked away. “They argue constantly, but there is a bond between them that I envy. I would give much to be included in that friendship,” he thought wistfully to himself.

  “Make us invisible,” Ascilius grumpily ordered Elerian as Falco walked away. “There may be other spies about.”

  “Right away my lord,” replied Elerian with exaggerated deference, a dangerous glint which did not bode well for Ascilius’s future peace of mind lighting up his gray eyes again. Silently he cast the spell which called his silver ring from the mysterious place where he kept his spell books. In the blink of an eye, the ring, a band of plain, polished silver, appeared on the third finger of his right hand. With his magical third eye, Elerian watched as a wave of golden light flowed from the ring, covering first himself and then Ascilius. Whatever portion of their bodies was blanketed by that golden cloak disappeared from sight until he and the Dwarf were completely invisible. Behind them, the Dwarves standing near the tunnel entrance shifted uneasily on their feet, muttering among themselves at this remarkable display of magic.

  Ascilius walked first toward the body of the cornix, which had fallen about twenty feet away. Elerian followed silently and invisibly behind the Dwarf, alert for any new danger that might present itself. He could not see Ascilius with his normal sight, but his magical third eye saw the Dwarf’s golden shade shimmering softly in the dim light beneath the trees.

  When Ascilius reached the fallen bird, he saw that a slender iron collar, almost entirely hidden by dark feathers, circled the cornix’s neck, certain proof that the creature was indeed a Goblin spy. Standing by the Dwarf’s right side, Elerian bent over, supple as a willow wand, and drew Rasor from the bird’s feathered chest with a slender, sinewy right hand, the blade of the knife sliding free with no effort on his part. No blood stained the steel which remained as bright as if newly forged and polished. The knife vanished as it came under the influence of the invisibility spell which cloaked him.

  “Do not touch the creature’s collar,” warned Ascilius.

  “I have no intention of touching it,” replied Elerian in an annoyed voice as he straightened up. From past experience, he knew as well as Ascilius did that the device presented a danger to anyone who made contact with it. Abruptly Elerian’s magical third eye opened as, without any warning, Ascilius suddenly extended his right hand. Elerian saw a small orb of golden light fly from the Dwarf’s fingers, striking the limp body of the cornix and forcing him to step back as red flames leaped into existence, consuming the body of the bird like a hungry animal but leaving the dried leaves beneath the cornix untouched.

  “You might give a little warning before you set the forest on fire,” said Elerian dryly as he watched the body of the Goblin spy vanish in the flames, leaving behind only the iron collar it had worn around its neck.

  “If I must trust your aim then you must trust mine as well,” replied the Dwarf blandly. “You know as well as I do that we cannot leave the body of this creature lying about where it may be seen by unfriendly eyes.”

  By now the dark iron ring had turned orange as the red flames of the mage fire wrapped more closely around it. Then, transformed into a liquid by the intense heat, the hot metal flowed away into the ground, leaving behind a thin, silver core of argentum that had been concealed in its center. The bright metal held its shape for a moment, and then it, too, melted, breaking the spell embedded inside it.

  “This spy will be missed, but soon, it will not matter,” said Ascilius to Elerian as he extinguished his magical fire. Without any explanation, he then walked deeper into the wood, traveling north.

  “What does he mean by that I wonder and where is his hidden road?” Elerian wondered to himself as he followed the Dwarf.

  His second question was answered first when his sharp eyes discerned the start of a barely discernible road beneath his invisible feet, barely wide enough to accommodate a Dwarf wagon. Only the roots of the trees gave it away, for they veered off to one side or the other of the road or dove deep into the ground beneath it. The forest track disappeared into the trees in front of him, running north.

  “If this is your secret road that we are standing on, then I do not understand how it will hide us from the Goblins,” observed Elerian critically to Ascilius who now seemed intent on examining the ground beneath his feet. “If I can see it, then so can the Goblins.”

  “It makes no difference who can see it,” said Ascilius absently as he suddenly knelt down on both knees. With his third eye, Elerian watched as the Dwarf set aside his hammer and shield before drawing a long knife from his belt with his right hand. Hammer, shield, and knife appeared only as dark shapes to Elerian’s magical eye which was attuned to the world of shades where anything lacking life or magical power appeared in varying shades of darkness.

  “The Goblins and even a certain half Elf that I could name are no match for the subtlety and cunning of a Dwarf mind,” continued Ascilius in a smug voice. “Although this track is well hidden, anyone with sharp eyes can see it. There were many jests made about Ascilius’s not so well hidden road after it was completed, but not one of the fools who made those jests ever guessed the true secret of the road.”

  “What secret would that be?” asked Elerian, annoyed now, for he knew that Ascilius was being deliberately obscure in an effort to aggravate him.

  “You will see in a moment,” said the Dwarf mysteriously.

  Elerian watched curiously as the Ascilius’s golden shade used its dark knife to remove a thick square of turf from the road. Closing his third eye, so that he might observe his surroundings with his normal sight, Elerian saw that the Dwarf had exposed a smooth piece of gray stone that had that odd, glassy look which indicated that it had been magically hardened. A complex symbol the size of one of Ascilius’s hands had been inlaid into the surface of the stone, fashioned from slender, silvery lines of argentum.

  “At least I know now why there are no tree roots growing across the track,” thought Elerian to himself when he saw the hidden roadbed. No tree root could penetrate that incredibly hard stone.

  “I created the glyphs in this road in secret with the help of only a handful of trusted Dwarves,” said Ascilius’s disembodied voice, for the Dwarf was invisible to Elerian’s normal sight. “When the road was completed, their existence was known to only a few. Only Hirrus and I know about them now, for the others who shared that knowledge have either been slain by the Goblins or have passed away.”

  Opening his third eye again, Elerian watched as Ascilius’s golden shade touched the road touched the fingertips of his right hand. Immediately the lines of argentum embedded there became visible, emitting a bright, silvery light. His purpose evidently accomplished, the Dwarf replaced the turf, hiding the glyph and the roadbed from sight once more. After gathering up his weapons, he stood up.

  “My greatest fear, when I opened the tunnel doors, was that some spy would report the event before I could energize the first glyph,” said Ascilius soberly to Elerian.

  “Why did you not place one of the symbols inside the tunnel, then?” asked Elerian curiously.

  “Too risky,” replied Ascilius. “Someone might have discovered the glyphs and their purpose. A secret that was too well known could have fallen into the wrong hands.”

  “You still have not told me what this secret is that you keep talking about?” said Elerian, his curiosity and his exasperation both increasing by the moment, for it was obvious to him that activating the symbol had in some way added to the safety and success of their undertaking.

  Ascilius was in an expansive mood now that he seemed to feel that the danger of discovery by some enemy was over. Never one to shrink from explaining his own cleverness to Elerian, he began to speak in a condescending voice calculated to irritate his companion even more.

  “I would think that someone as clever as yourself would hav
e guessed by now,” he said, shaking his head in pretended disbelief at Elerian’s obtuseness.

  Elerian’s eye took on a familiar hard gleam that warned Ascilius that he had pushed his companion to the limits of his patience, but he was unable to resist one last dig.

  “Very well then,” he said in a longsuffering voice. “I see that I must explain further. Step off the road for a moment. Even you should be able to perceive its secret at that point.”

  “You will become visible if I do,” warned Elerian. “I cannot maintain the spell which renders you invisible from that distance.”

  “Do as I say,” replied Ascilius smugly. Even though he could not see his companion, for he did not possess mage sight, he was enjoying himself immensely, pleased by the growing irritation in Elerian’s voice. “This will even the score somewhat for the strain that knife throw inflicted on my poor heart,” he thought cheerfully to himself.

  “I suppose I must let him have his fun, or he will carry on this nonsense forever,” thought Elerian resignedly to himself as he backed away from Ascilius. When his light steps carried him off the road, he was surprised when the Dwarf failed to appear, even though he was no longer covered by the invisibility spell cast by Elerian’s silver ring. Opening his third eye, Elerian saw a golden haze in front of him, running from the tunnel entrance on his right into the forest on his left, completely masking the forest road. Behind the haze, he saw the faint outline of Ascilius’s golden shade.

  “An illusion spell,” thought Elerian admiringly to himself. “The sly fox has hidden the road and anyone who steps on it behind an illusion spell. We can march up to the gates of Galenus and the Goblins will be none the wiser.”

  “How is it done?” demanded Elerian, both closing his third eye and sending away his ring as he stepped back on to the road. Visible now, Ascilius looked inordinately pleased with himself.