Light
"Isn't he cute" said Svein, looking cheerfully upon a very small Balduin who was happily exploring his chiselled stone cot with his small fingers.
Ingvil looked up from her desk, "Nobody would be able to guess you were in Orik's army from the way you swan over him" she remarked.
"After the battles I have seen, all new life is welcome. Even one that constantly wakes me up at night" he admitted, "and then falls back to sleep a moment later, leaving me to wonder what was wrong."
"You know he just does it because you are around" she remarked cheekily, "whenever I am with him, he just can't seem to get enough sleep. It's your fault," she said decisively, "you are too much of a bad influence."
"I wouldn't say that" he said looking down.
"Look, he has already fallen asleep" he said softly, triumphantly holding up the sound asleep baby like some kind of trophy, "he must feel sleepy whenever both of us around."
"Nonsense, he only fell asleep because he could hear my voice."
A knock on the thin stone door that marked the entrance to their little abode prevented any further banter being exchanged. They exchanged looks; they had specifically asked people they knew not to come in the next few days. After all, they had only recently just introduced everyone to Balduin, and it would take someone extremely forgetful to forget that detail, having had it drilled into them multiple times.
"I'll get it" he murmured softly, carefully placing the baby back in its little stone cot before tip-toeing to the door. He looked through the eye-hole, and his mood darkened considerably. He motioned for his wife to stay put, before unbolting the door, and stepping outside into the brightly lit hallway. He quickly closed the door behind him, as to not wake the baby from ambient light or sound, and confronted the three dwarves dressed head-to-toe in full battle armour.
"What is the meaning of this" he whispered furiously.
"I have a recently born baby just in there" he said, gesturing behind him to the intricately door, and his house beyond, "and I thought I had given direct orders not to be contacted for at least seven days."
"These orders came direct from the King himself, they cannot be vetoed or ignored" said the Dwarf on the far right hand side, gravely.
"You will be handsomely rewarded" the middle dwarf added, who was holding a scroll in his arm with the official seal imprinted upon it.
"Never mind rewards, how long will I be gone for?" he asked, weary of long commitments.
The dwarves exchanged ominous glances, "At least one lunar cycle" said the middle dwarf, after a slight hesitation.
"And why do I have to go?"
"Because Orik consulted his generals, and you were one of the more capable warriors they could recommend. You will be guarding and guiding them through the mountains."
He leant back against the polished wall and let himself slide down to the ground.
"I assume I get the customary week to prepare?"
"No, we are sad to bring bearers of bad news, but you must leave within 3 days, the King wants the expedition off as soon as possible, and he wants it done well, which is why he chose you instead of that other dwarf to bungled up the Raz'ac Hunt. You will also have to meet with him today, in roughly a few hours."
Maybe, just maybe, he thought darkly, if I act like a huge klutz I won't have to go.
"Dimisssed" he said, taking a moment to gather his thoughts as they strode away, temporarily blotting out the light of the traditional dwarven lamps.
"Great" he said to no-one in particular, "just great."
Before picking him up and dusting himself off. He grasped the wooden door handle, steadying himself as he felt the rush of blood to his head and the accompanying dizziness. Steadying himself, he opened the door and without a second thought, walked in.
"Duty" she asked, he could see that she was secretly hoping that it wasn't.
"Yes" replied, still not looking at her, instead preferring to stare at his feet.
"How long?"
"Three weeks, will you be able to cope" he responded, sitting down on the chair and staring hard at her.
"Yes, but I wish it was someone else, or at least at a different time" she said miserably.
"I'll make sure that there is someone to look after you" he reassured her, crossing over to her and holding her arm, "and I am sure I can wrangle a scrying mirror from one of those pesky magicians."
"I'll take that offer up" she said, smiling sheepishly, wrapping her arms around him and burying her head in his embrace, "but you don't worry about me, I'll be able to cope."
"I'm sure you will be able to. You always have."
Time Change
Orik paced back and forth impatiently, getting increasingly frustrated as time marched ever slowly on. His thoughts were soon, however, interrupted by the sound of stone doors being opened and closed. Turning around, he caught a glimpse of an unfamiliar person striding towards him.
"Aah, the guards let you in, did they? Make yourself at home" he said, indicating the dirty-blonde haired dwarf to sit down on one of the plushy chairs.
"My King" replied Svein, before crashing down onto one of the lustrous red velvety chairs that lined a side room to the Kings quarters.
"As you will have already been aware; my generals recommended you to lead the battalion of men for this mission" Orik said, addressing Svein, whom he had just noticed that he had striking blue eyes.
"The intent for this mission is for you and your guards to accompany an exploration team. Simple enough, the details in this parchment will cover it, I think" he said, waving the parchment before placing it on a nearby table.
"What I wanted to talk about is the transfer of your original unit into a section under my control. As you will probably be aware, we lost a lot of knurlan in the recent war, and the units under my control are very depleted" he said, pacing back and forth in front of a deep in thought Svein. "So, I propose, after you have finished this little jaunt, you and I arrange for your unit to be transferred."
"I wasn't aware that you had units under your control" said Svein, leaning backward as he rubbed his forehead out of weariness.
"Well, depending on who you consult they are either under my control or my clans" Orik answered.
"That would explain it. Do tell me, why do you need my unit?"
"Will you tell anyone?"
"No" Svein replied cautiously.
"To be honest, I would like to have a unit that I am absolutely sure is true in its intentions. I think there may be dwarves who are, let us say, vulnerable to the wills of other clans" said Orik wistfully, having stopped pacing and now staring at a point infinitely in the distance. "Knurlans are generally an honourable race, and maybe I am becoming paranoid, but your unit is comprised of knurlan who are all members of clans that initially supported me in the vote, and thus, knurlans I can trust.
"What about your own personal guard" inquired Svein.
"My honour guard is, of course, comprised of members of my own clan, but they are neither large enough nor versatile enough to fit my interests."
"Would the tasks I be required to do be in a similar manner to this one?"
"Yes and no, normally they will not require such a large taskforce."
"What about proximity to my family?"
"In most circumstances you will only be away from Tronjheim for a week at a time, although there could be several problems in quick successions. Any other questions" asked Orik curiously.
"No, may I be excused" he replied, standing up and unsuccessfully trying to smooth out the folds in his severely wrinkled clothes.
"Permission granted, good luck with your mission in three days' time. Oh, and would you mind sending in the head guardsmen out there, I would like to speak to him."
Svein bowed deeply, before smoothing back his hair and walking towards the intricately carved stone door, engraved with drawings of rivers and mountains in a far off land.
Time change and PoV change
"All ready" asked Svein.
"Yes" replied Haiwin, "the rest of the knurlan are eager to head off, although I cannot speak for your guards."
"They are ready" he confirmed. "Has anybody ventured south in recent times?"
"Except for some of the more hardy deep-dwellers, no, we hardly have any knowledge of the region to the south. Although there are tunnel systems that do exist, many have been walled off, caved in or are completely abandoned."
"Why is that?"
"Well, we used to have a lot more dwarves back before the Fall, and I think the general population lost interest as we slowly became more connected with the other races. We no longer felt the need to venture that far south. Now, Dalgon and Galfni are the furthest south cities, and even they aren't very far south."
"So what exactly are we looking for and why?"
"Lost cities, historical relics, items of valuable, secret knowledge etc, as well as valuable land and resources. With the humans encroaching on our mountains, and their ever growing need for resources, we are in a prime position to explore our own uncharted territory and raster up an advantageous position."
"So the primary factor is money" Svein asked dubiously.
"Not entirely, the unexplored regions of our realm also present a security risk. As you might not be already aware of, things found in dark places are often found to be dark, and if a tunnel is not correctly sealed off, then the unseen shadows that lurk in the darkest of domains, might fancy a visit through our populated area."
"Do you have many magicians among you?"
"Enough to get the job done. Are all your knurlan assembled here" he asked, gesturing at the dwarves who were all sitting in the stone chamber adjacent to the main gate.
He quickly counted them up, before affirming that they were.
"Shall we depart" asked Svein.
"Depart we shall" answered Haiwin amusedly.
Time change
They had descended down after they had made their way of Farthen Dur. The tunnels below were more stable, smaller and widely used. The further they ventured from Tronjheim, the sparser the number of main tunnels, and service tunnels became. For the past hour, there had only been one other tunnel in their vicinity, a service tunnel designed only to be in use when the main tunnel became unstable or collapsed.
It had taken them half a day to travel a quarter of the distance between Farthen Dur and Galfni, where they were scheduled to stock up on supplies before venturing out into the darkness. Although not entirely unexpected, the prospect of staying out in the tunnels bothered him a little. He wasn't scared, it was just that he preferred to be close to a place that would allow him, if need be, to travel to the surface. An option which was not currently available in the foreseeable future.
He had taken the time to get to know Haiwin and the other dwarves better. The knurlan in his regiment had mostly stayed quiet as they marched through the pressing darkness. They all had their own thoughts to attend to, and he wasn't particularly worried about their silence. Now and then, the thought of something he had do when he got back would vaguely stir, but most of the time he just listened to Haiwin.
"So yeah, I recently finished finding all the service tunnels that needed to have a gate installed in them, in and around Farthen Dur. "
"Who ordered that" he asked interestedly.
"King Orik."
"Before or after the Raz'ac scare?"
"Before, fortunately."
"Do all the cities have gates installed in their tunnels?"
"Yes, although I am unsure as to whether they all got installed before that little fiasco" he remembered amusedly.
"I actually happened to know the dwarf who was killed, not personally but know of him."
"My condolences and apologies, I did not mean to offend. I just meant that it was a poorly managed event in retrospect. I doubt I could have done any better myself."
"Apology accepted" Svein replied, inclining his head to show that he meant the gesture sincerely. "As a matter of fact, originally, I was supposed to go, but back then with my wife's upcoming pregnancy, I was able to be excused. I think they placed some unintelligible lackey in my place, probably heir to that idiot of a clan chief from Az Sweldn rak Anhuin, Vermund. I mean what sort of an idiot commissions an attack one of the most powerful forces in Alagaesia on a mere whim. He almost caused the deaths of thousands of dwarves, and the last female dragon. I could find a rock that would be able to reason more clearly than him."
"I see that you have strong political views. It is safe to say that I agree with you, and I am sure that many of the knurlan here do to. It was an ill-advised decision, if it was even advised at all" commented Haiwin thoughtfully, stroking his beard, while still managing to convey his dismay at how the situation had unfolded.
"I am going to go out on a limb here and say that emotion played more of a part than any rational thought, although he did spare no expense in his misguided efforts. I heard the daggers used were exquisitely made and imbued with powerful spells. Oh, I wish they had issued us with those during the war, it would have saved many of lives" he said wistfully, becoming glassy-eyed as he reflected back on the moments where an enchanted dagger would have come in handy.
"As a matter of interest, do you have any enchanted weapons? If you like, I can get one of our magicians to cast a few spells on one of your weapons" Haiwin said, motioning towards one of the men following 20 paces behind them.
"That would be much appreciated" he responded politely, "Have you seen one of those swords where they imbue it with spells before it is finished? My favourite property is where the blade only absorbs what makes it stronger" he asked, faintly remembering the time when he had had the chance to handle that particular weapon. Even now, he was annoyed that he had been denied the chance to buy it, a rich dwarf of no particular fighting ability had bought it by bartering for it, and he had been deprived of an immense opportunity. .
"I haven't seen one of that ilk, but I did see one that changed colour whenever a large enough life force was detected, although they aren't much good when Raz'ac are around, or dare I even mention the Lethrblaka."
"Why not"
"Apparently it is something to do with their unique abilities. They say you cannot detect them by magical means" Haiwin reiterated, a small frown creasing his forehead as he contemplated the problem, "It is said that even the most intricately designed traps fail to detect them and that it has been an age-old problem."
"Dangerous foes, huh?"
"Very, although Elves spare no distaste and contempt for them" Haiwin responded, as he smoothed back his brown hair. "Humans are most severely affected, followed by Dwarves, although I do not know of their effect on Urgals, or for that matter, Kull. I shudder to think that there are even more despicable creatures out there that lurk in the shadows than the Raz'ac."
"Aye, but no need to even look into the shadows, there are plenty of monsters masquerading as sheep nowadays" Svein said morosely, remembering the various psychopaths he had encountered during his life. Including one extremely skilled Urgal warrior he had defeated in battle, but not before the Urgal had engaged in his customary habit of ripping the throat out of anyone he killed, which he had done multiple times in the battle.
"I share that sentiment. Unfortunately, if you did everything yourself, you would have a miserable life. It is a pity that dwarves dwell in places that are in close proximity to the dark. I know of a deep dweller who said that he has seen shadows that creep, and rocks that speak. I myself have seen carvings in a long lost room in Orthiad that depicts a waterfall that flows upwards, and in the same room, depictions of rooms where the ceiling is where the floor should be, and the floor is where the ceiling should be."
"Hah, I have seen rocks that spin of their own accord, and walls that glow. Whirlwinds of fire and columns of water."
"Trivial sights, I have seen rocks that float in mid-air and balls of lightning that explode and leave behind smells of rotten eggs. I have heard of skies that have every colour in them and stars that fall from the sky" said other brown haired dwarf, almost boasting.
"I think somehow you're going to win this contest. You definitely spend too much time exploring."
"Nonsense, not enough time can be spent adventuring."
Further conversation was interrupted by his second-in-commnad speaking to them.
"There is a light up ahead, Boss."
"Boss" mouthed Haiwin amusedly.
In response he nodded his head almost imperceptibly, before indicating that Althari, a dwarf of medium stature with bright green eyes, light brown hair and whitish complexion, should continue with the report.
"I looked at the scheduled departures and arrivals before raising the issue, and based on the current information it has led to me to believe that there should be no one in this section of the tunnel, never mind the whole tunnel. That light, however, indicates otherwise" he said, gesturing towards the light that could be seen faintly in the direction he was pointing.
"Have all departing groups arrived at their destination within the past few days?"
"Yes, and all groups have no recorded signs of difficulties."
"What was the last known group that travelled through this section of the tunnel carrying?"
"It says here that they were carrying material uncovered in abandoned tunnels and cave, and they also doubled up with a group, who were transporting valuable materials, including purple amethyst."
"As a precautionary measure, I want to divide this expedition into two groups. The first group will come with me, and we will be scouts, arranged into a wedge formation. The second group will be controlled by Althari, and will be arranged in a shield formation. Standard military procedures apply, unknown circumstances dictate caution" he added for Haiwin's benefit.
He then lapsed into silence as Althari relayed his commands, barking them out in harsh, guttural tones. He watched as the men formed up, leaving space for him to take the pointy edge of the wedge. His only interest lay in what the reason behind the light was.
A/N;
Sorry.
That is the only word I can say. On the plus side, I am into holidays now so I will be able to publish two chapters in quick succession. I also have a good idea where this is going, and where it will lead to beyond. I also have got something in mind for Eragon next chapter, something which I think Paolini should have devised in the Inheritance Cycle.
See you soon.
Yours Sincerely,
WiseBeyondYears