Chapter 37
"This is wrong way," the Underking growls loud enough for it to echo down the corridor.
"We're not going to the slave caravan yet," Hamezaar admits. He pauses in step and waves everyone closer. "Once we free the caravan every Drow in the region will be after us. Drow rule is based on fear. Should that fear, the threat of a long and torturous death be shaken, then the Drow will have an epidemic of rebellions. Therefore, once we free the slaves from the caravan, we must leave with them for the surface, immediately. The Drow won't be the only ones down here, every other creature in their path will flee before them. Even the animals know to fear vengeful Drow. They will torment anything they get a hold of, to reassert and reinforce their absolute control."
"So?" Cairn shrugs. "It'll be a great fight!"
"We made this journey for his armor," Hukir points at Hame. "I hope it's worth it."
"Once we strike the caravan," Iune adds. "He will no longer be able to retrieve it."
The Minotaur folds his arms impatiently while Hame makes soothing gestures with his hands, "I know you want to kill them but we need every advantage we can get. Any fool can throw himself at his enemy. We are going to butcher the Drow and their thralls and walk away with the slaves alive. To do that and continue my quest, I need my family's armor."
"Why is this armor so important?" Hukir asks quietly and Cairn nods, intrigued.
"It's one of the great treasures of our people," Gundur tells them.
"No one asked you!" Roan snarls.
"Wyrmforge is not hyperbole," Hamezaar answers. With the exception of Iune, they look at him in confusion. Hame pauses to consider the proper way to explain it. "My house is famous for mixing magic, metal, and dragon scales to create nearly indestructible armor."
"How's that even possible?" Roan asks.
"Magic obviously," Iune scoffs.
"Magic, skill, and a secret technique created by the first of our name. My family heirloom is older than Eartheart and Underhome; it goes all the way back to Bhaerynden, the first kingdom of my people. Much has been lost since those days, forging Dragon scales and bones have not."
"That still doesn't explain why it is so important," Kanti points out. Her voice grows quieter, serious. "What I think everyone is really asking is, was it worth losing Rosie?"
For a heartbeat Hame considers telling them more about Aldym but dismisses it. "I'm sorry but yes, it's worth just about any sacrifice. This armor, it's more than just protection. It's a symbol of what we once had and can have again. My grandfather, with whom I share my name, was the last to wear it before the fall of Underhome to the Drow. He disappeared and to this day no one knows what became of him. Our armor, as always, returned to our clan vault upon his death. With it, I can rally my people, and truly begin this quest. This armor isn't just vital to the quest and my house; it can make the difference between Eartheart's survival and destruction."
"How long will it take?" Cairn demands impatiently.
Hame points north, "I know these caves; a century ago they were roads leading to Underhome from our estates. If there are no cave-ins, we should be able to reach it in a short walk. Iune take the lead."
"This is your house seal?" Iune points at the wall and after a moment brushes it with her hand. Dust crumbles and falls, revealing the anvil encircled by a dragon.
"Yes, where you see those, was once the lands we ruled. Should you see a spectacle, point it out, in my people's vanity we refused to allow outsiders to look upon our home. What you see down here, only Dwarven eyes have seen for thousands of years."
"…and Drow," Iune replies dryly.
Hame sighs, "And Drow, go on Iune."
With an arrow nocked she moves forward cautiously, and before a half hour passes they reach a great carved cavern. The duality of its existence is stunning. Half is a dusting away from pristine while the other half is ruin and shattered stone. The building is a great square where once four immense columns rise up to the ceiling, and now two are snapped, the remains toppled among the rest of the ruin. Mountainous stone and dirt fill in the eastern half of the cavern, giving Hamezaar's estate two distinct faces.
"We're in luck," Hame points. "If all that fallen stone had landed on the western side, we would spend hours digging. Later this evening I will pray for the dead and thank Moradin our path is clear. Move with care, the fall was too quick to set traps but that doesn't mean this place hasn't gained new tenants. I'll take the lead, Iune stay close to me."
For a moment she appears on the verge of retort but the sanctity of the place, the seriousness of his expression halts her. With a deep breathe Hame climbs the multitude of stairs leading to the first wall surrounding the castle. He leads them through the half-shattered gate and to the main building. There he pauses to admire the tapestries along the western wall before he leads them to the back of the first hall, through a pair of doors and down a stairwell. They descend into the depths, until they reach a broad room with a circular forge that Iune recognizes immediately. Encircled by a low wall both water and fire seems to coexist side by side.
"Don't come any closer!" A weak but obviously feminine voice warns them.
"It's ok," Hamezaar calls. "You have nothing to fear from us my old friend."
"It's not you," the pool of water ripples until it rises into a rough shape of a woman, barely keeping its form stable. "He's starved and frenzied."
"Who?" Kanti asks as she takes a step closer but Hame seizes her arm and pulls her back. In the same moment a storm of fire lashes out angrily, swirling in their direction. For several seconds it crackles and roars until it settles back into the well.
"It's true then," she whispers. "Underhome has fallen, not just our house. I recognize you my lord, it is good to see you hale and strong. I congratulate your rise to position of Deep Lord. You return and with such varied retainers."
"I will take my allies where ever I can find them, especially now," he replies. "I have come for my family's armor."
"Are we abandoned my lord?"
"No, not now and not ever, the Deep Lords have sealed the city but I will not abide by that decision any longer."
"Ha-ha-ha, do you seek a third banishment Lord Hamezaar?"
Gundur laughs and tries to cover it with a cough. Hamezaar throws him a scowl before he turns back to the Water Elemental. "That has already come and gone; I am no longer welcome in Eartheart. I have come for the armor so that I can strengthen our position and seek allies to help us take back our home from the Drow."
For a moment she studies him before she muses, "For an age your people held these lands but for longer still your people and the Ssri-tel-quessir have fought over them. Your people built here, the Elves took them, and the caverns collapsed for the first time. Then your ancestors took them once more and held them for nearly ten thousand years. Now they have returned after this recent calamity."
"The Spellplague was a hundred years ago," Roan points out.
"Is that what it is called?" She considers. "It nearly destroyed us but we endured."
"To an elemental," Hamezaar explains. "A hundred years is as irrelevant as a thousand. Their lives stretch across ages."
"I have something for you Hamezaar," she floats to her side and motions for him to follow. The fire roars again but he is trapped on the opposite side of the forge. Hidden from the entrance, lying beneath the wall encircling it is the body of a Dwarf. Hamezaar pauses when he sees it, exhaling before he moves closer and kneels next to it.
"I wondered. Thank you, for everything," he huffs as he closes his eyes and prays.
"Who is it?" Kanti asks quietly after he finishes.
"My father but how did he get here?"
"He said his legs were broken by falling rock. He dug himself out and crawled here. I tried to help him, I even concealed him behind the forge but I could not save him. I know you two had your…difficulties," the water Elemental continues awkwardly. "You should know his last words were of you. He knew you would lead your clan well. He never doubted that you lived. He swore that you would return and that you would never let this tragedy stand."