-1On the eve of the third day from the fight with the orcs, the five dwarves crested a hill that looked down over a large valley. In the middle of the valley was a large cairn of rocks, with a rather large opening. The rocks around the cave seemed to form the head of a dragon. This was pointed out by Rom, who pointed and jumped up and down excitedly.
"DRAGON!! DRAG...mmphh" He shouted with glee before Toren and Strom could drag him down and quiet him.
"Yeah, now shut yer yap." Strom muttered, looking at Armin, who nodded.
"Aye, That be the place. Th' boy we caught told as how the place looked like a big ole dragon's head." He knelt down and rested an arm across his knee. "Question bein...how we gonna git in there?"
Strom and Toren joined Armin in studying the entrance.
"Canna jus' walk up an knock, eh?" Toren offered.
Armin shook his head, pointing to a few small clumps of rocks. "Nah. Gots watchers, keep look out fer intruders 'n such. We're only three..."
"Five" Interrupted Kendrac, who giggled, then went back to whispering to Rom, who also was giggling.
"Err...yeah...five." Armin shook his head. "We'd be cut down afore we got within a hunnert paces o' th' place."
Strom frowned. "Wait till dark and sneak in..." He blinked, and looked around and the others, then shook his head with a grin. "ehh...never mind that. Dragons sneak better 'an we does."
Three shared a chuckle as the studied the open field before them. Then Kendrac waddled up to them and tapped Armin on the shoulder.
"We hidin in da wagons." He said, nodding emphatically, his blond curls and pie plates shaking furiously.
"What wagons?" The other three asked in unison.
"Dem!" Kendrac pointed off to the east where, at the far range of the dwarves eyesight, a cloud of dust arose. "Wagons." He beamed.
"Huh...how 'bout dat." Toren looked back to Kendrac. "You can tell that's wagons?"
The little dwarf nodded once more, so much in fact, his head seemed ready to pop off, if not for Rom reaching out to steady him.
"Klerk see good!" Rom insisted.
Armin ran a hand through his massive red beard, pondering. After a moment, he gave a nod.
"This is what we'll do..."
As the full moon rose, Mirran's tired face gave way to a slight smile, his destination only moments away. He was tired, they all were. A month they spent raiding villages and towns, taking supplies and coin, treasures and slaves. Fifteen wagons full of valuable items of every kind. He glanced over his shoulder into the wagon he drove. Two pairs of eyes stared back at him. He grinned and reached back to smack the bars. The two figures scrambled back, but continued to glare at him. With a laugh, he turned his attention back to the horses that pulled his wagon. He never felt the slight shift of the wagon, as if something had taken hold. If the horses noted the extra weight, they gave no sign. Mirran gave a flick to the reigns and shrugged, still chuckling softly to himself. Whatever the boss wanted with dwarven females was not his concern.
The first wagon came to a halt right outside the mouth of the cave. Two guards stepped out of the darkness of the cave, halberds at the ready. The driver raised his hand in a salute.
"'allo boys, we made it back, and with the mother load. Everything from coin to women we got this time, an only lost twelve. Not bad for a months work!" The driver boasted.
The two guards laughed and waved the caravan in. Once through the cave entrance, the wagons were driven down a long corridor, spiraling downward and finally opening up into a large cavern. Men and women came out of multiple passageways to assist in the unloading process. The chests of coin were hauled off through a tunnel to the right, the cases of weapons, down a different tunnel. Crates of silks and food were taken off the wagons as well. Finally, from two wagons with bars, armed men guided the living cargo off to the opposite side of the cavern. A score of human males and females, a few elves, one small halfling, and two ragged dwarves. They were locked into cages amidst taunts and jeers. One unfortunate brigand got too close to the cage with the dwarves, and was grabbed. They pulled and tore and twisted him around until his compatriots could release him. The other's jabbed at the dwarves with long pole arms to keep them away. Although bleeding from multiple wounds, neither dwarf seemed to care, or notice. The unfortunate man was dragged away, amidst laughter from his fellows.
The horses were unhitched from the wagons and lead off to a different portion of the cavern where stables were built. There they were expertly brushed down, fed and watered. The wagons were pushed to yet another portion of the cavern, where they were lined up in rows along with similar wagons. Soon, aside from a few guards by the slave pens, no one remained.
Armin watched from his upside down position under the wagon. Thanks to Kendrac, his fingers and feet stuck fast to the wooden undercarriage of the wagon, as did his companion's. Armin found himself smirking as he thought back to the little dwarf casting his nonsensical rhyming spells. Odd they were, but they worked. He turned his head to catch sight of the others. Both Toren and Strom caught his look and nodded. Kendrac seemed to be asleep and Rom...well...he was stuck underneath the wagons like the rest, but instead of using his hands and feet, it appeared that he had lain in the shallow hole face first instead, and lifted his bottom up to connect with the wagon as it passed over him. Armin sighed and shook his head. The strange little dwarf was battered and dirty, his bucket helm missing one of its branch/horns. But, despite it all, Armin could make one of his beady eyes peering out at him through an ear hole of the bucket, which was twisted a quarter of the way to the right. Carefully, Armin willed the spell to end and, amazingly, Kendrac's words rang true. He easily detached himself from the wagon, one limb at a time. At the same time, Toren and Strom released their hold as well. Rom fell flat on his face.
Once Kendrac was woken up, the dwarves huddled together, far from the guards line of sight and began to plan their next course of action.