The wind howled as the tunnel air rushed by the quartet. It was convenient that the way was lit with countless lanterns, as it was the only source of light and the only way to tell any progress was being made. As the minecart went on, the four inside of it remained silent. After all, any conversation would just be drowned out anyway, so why bother?
Sora had to admit, as exciting as the minecart transportation was, he was nervous that it'd just crash at any moment. Yet, even as the vehicle made turns along the tunnel, all its wheels remained firmly on the tracks. Somehow, the dwarves really made this ride safe!
Donald and Goofy both worried about the ride as well. Yet as more turns went on without anything close to an incident, they both calmed down. It was a lot less graceful than their ship, but whatever worked!
It was unclear just how long the trip took. With how little scenery there was to see go by and a lack of the sun, it was anyone's guess, and they had no frame of reference! They did start to grow weary of standing, so it was a while at the very least. Yet before anyone got too sore to stand, the minecart started to slow down, and the quartet reached the end of the tunnel!
Slowing to a smooth stop, the four arrived at the end of the tracks, another Dwarf manning this end of the trip. They were in a small room that was simply carved out of rock. There was no fancy flooring, walls, or ceiling, just a vaguely square-shaped room carved right into the stone. It was lit by numerous lanterns, and the only other thing of real note was a wooden door leading elsewhere.
"Don't think I've seen four at once!" The Dwarf said with an impressed tone as the quartet got out of the minecart. "We never tested for that many, so good thing it worked!"
"Wait, you're kidding right?" Zamansis asked, looking down at the Dwarf. "That thing goes so fast for you not to test that stuff!" Alas, the only answer the warrior got was some laughter from the Dwarf, it being unclear if he was joking or not.
"I mean we made it in one piece, that's all that matters, right?" Sora asked, gesturing to the door. "We just go through there and we're in Keldagrim?" At Zamansis' nod, the teen rushed to the door and was the first to get to it. He was just so excited he had to rush! As the other three reached the door too, Sora swung it open, and the newcomers looked at the sight before them.
All of Keldagrim was underground, seemingly built into a mountain of some sort! Because of this, there was of course no sunlight, so the entire area was lit by many, many lanterns. The entire kingdom seemed to be one wide open space as far as Sora, Donald, and Goofy could see, as things got too dark when looking too far ahead. The buildings were made of metal and didn't look very cozy, like it would be freezing being in there. And, of course, there were Dwarves all over the place! Many of them wore clothing fit for blacksmithing or some sort of construction work. A lot of them were carrying toolboxes or expertly crafted pickaxes. A number of Dwarves also carried large glasses of frothy beer, openly drinking out in the streets, and laughing with each other. The city was abuzz with all sorts of noises such as the laughter, lots of loud conversation, and the sound of metal hitting metal. Finally, the outsider trio noticed a huge building that had the most floors of any around it and was decorated with stone statues of Dwarves.
"It's pretty amazing, isn't it?" Zamansis asked, looking about the underground civilization. "Outside of here, Dwarves are usually only in small groups or mining companies. It was a real wonder to see so many in one place!"
"It sure is somethin'! Must be kinda sad without any sunlight, though." Goofy observed, knowing he'd start to feel pretty gloomy in a place without some good old sunshine.
The armored man shook his head. "Dwarves are more at home underground than outside. Like I said, outside of here groups of Dwarves don't get very big and most of their population is here." He explained, gesturing to the happy, chatting citizens. "So don't feel bad, Goofy!"
The Royal Knight nodded, but all four of them felt like something was off. There was no immediate danger, and the citizens seemed happy, but something just didn't seem right. It was as though the whole thing was some sort of act, like something was lurking beneath the surface. Was it the Heartless or the Red Axe, though?
"You wanted to check in with your friend or something, right?" Donald asked, not mentioning the feeling in the air. None of the four seemed to want to actually speak of it. It could've just been in their heads, after all.
"Yeah, Veldaban." Zamansis confirmed. "I kind of left him to his own devices, and I want to make sure he's okay. Should only take a few minutes." The armored man promised.
Before any such action could be taken, some panicked shouting started to spread throughout the crowd a number of Dwarves rushing from the eastern part of the city. Concerned that it may be Heartless, the quarter rushed over to the area as more Dwarves came from a large opening in the rock wall. "Hey! What's going on?!" Sora asked a passing Dwarf man.
"It's the Lava Flow Mine!" He answered, panting heavily as he looked to the entrance of the mine and back to Sora. "Weird creatures are attacking people and destroying our equipment! Steer clear!" With that bit of advice, the ran onward, not looking back a second time.
"Come on, we have to go check it out!" Zamansis declared, rushing towards the Lava Flow Mine as Sora, Donald, and Goofy followed. They reached it within minutes, a massive room spread before them. The mines in question seemed to only be a single, cavernous area with, as the name suggests, lava flowing beneath stone walkways and metal railings which produced an intense heat that caused the four to start sweating almost instantly. There were pipes and complex looking machinery all around hissing out steam as some Dwarves looked on in horror as, like the fleeing Dwarf mentioned, were creatures running amok.
As expected, these creatures were Heartless! Shadows, Soldiers, and a new type on wheels with a drill for a nose called Driller Moles that burrowed in from the stone walls! The Heartless were swiping at any Dwarf that tried to stop them, and the Driller Moles used their sharp noses to tear at the machinery all about!
Looking about, Sora wasn't sure what to do since there were so many Heartless all spread out. "What do we do?! Should we split up?!" The teen asked the others, who paused just as he had.
Before any of the others could respond, though, they noticed something very odd. Amongst the chaos was a single Dwarf in a hood that the Heartless seemed to ignore entirely. He approached an especially large piece of machinery, looking about. After a moment, he reached into his cloak and there was a red, blinking light for a moment before an explosion! The blast consumed the Dwarf and destroyed the machine that triggered an even larger explosion! This made Sora, his friends, and all the Dwarves in the area see nothing but white momentarily! As this happened, there was loud rumblings sounds of falling rocks along with the pained screams of Dwarves.
When everyone was able to see again, it became evident that the nearby area suffered from falling debris, numerous Dwarves trapped beneath rubble! As a bit of a silver lining, many of the Heartless were taken out in the blast…but the ones that remained were going for the vulnerable Dwarves!
A few of the short, bearded men were safe, the ones that were near Sora and his group. One of them shouted to another Dwarf. "You there! Go tell the Consortium what happened!" He ordered, then looked to Zamansis. "That's you, isn't it Zamansis? I've seen you around here before. Please, take care of those monsters! My men and I will work on rescuing the Dwarves under the rubble!"
Before anyone could reply, numerous Dwarves entered the mines, toolboxes in hand. Zamansis looked at them and let out a sigh. "Oh, thank Saradomin! You're here to help us, right? There are a couple of-"
"No, we're just here to repair the machinery. Excuse us." One of the Dwarves replied flatly. To the astonishment of everyone else, these new Dwarves simply walked past their trapped brethren, steering clear of the Heartless as they went to the damaged machines to get to work. The Heartless mostly ignored these Dwarves, apparently preoccupied with the easier targets.
Sickened, Sora shook his head. "What's wrong with them?! Why won't they help?!"
The Dwarf that had asked for help seemed just as shocked. "I…I don't know. But…please, they still need your help! I'd go myself, but I can't fight!"
"I don't know what's wrong with those other Dwarves, but you can count on us! Alright, we should split up!" Zamansis declared, rushing towards one of the numerous victims that had a trio of Shadows heading at him. With a cry, the armored warrior swung his large sword in a horizonal arc, destroying the three Heartless in an instant.
"Come on, fellers! We gotta help too!" Goofy declared, rushing to fend off some Driller Moles nearing another downed Dwarf. With that, Sora and Donald split away too to provide aid.
Sora found himself faced off against five Soldiers trying to reach yet another trapped Dwarf. Standing between the Heartless and their target, Sora raised his Keyblade and unleashed several Fire blasts, two of which hit and incinerated a duo of Soldiers. The remaining creatures lunged at Sora, who blocked one of their swipes with the Keyblade and slashed at the attacker, destroying it. The remaining Soldiers charged at him from either side, prompting him to Dodge Roll out of the way so they collided. While they were stunned, the teen unleashed a Blizzard spell to eradicate them.
Looking around, Sora noted how the others were doing well on their own. Zamansis was already helping an injured Dwarf get back to the mine's entrance. The Dwarf engineers didn't seem to care about what was going on, much to the teen's disgust. Ignore that, he had to work fast himself, and struggled as he got some of the debris off the Dwarf he had just rescued. "Hey, are you okay?"
Letting out a light groan, the Dwarf managed to just barely help Sora get some of the rubble off of him. "I think so…" He murmured, letting out a wince as he tried to stand up, falling to one knee instead. "I'll need help moving back to the foreman, though!" He said, jerking his head to the Dwarf that had instructed the group to help out.
Nodding, Sora dismissed his Keyblade and helped the miner onto his feet, slowly escorting him to the entrance of the area. He glanced over and saw Donald and Goofy were doing the same thing as Zamansis went back to make a second trip.
Before too long, all the Heartless were cleared out, and all of the Dwarves were rescued. Some weren't able to walk at all on their own, but they were all going to be fine eventually. "Oh, thank you for your help! I have no idea what happened!" The foreman declared. "If only those others helped too…" He said with misery and a touch of anger while the engineer Dwarves were still working away.
"Of course. We couldn't just stand around and do nothing. As for what happened, I thought I saw a cloaked Dwarf just before the explosion, but I'm not sure…" Zamansis said with a sigh. "Either way, we were happy to help."
"Ya sure you fellers are gonna be alright?" Goofy asked, looking at Donald in an expecting manner. "Some of ya look pretty roughed up."
The foreman shook his head. "We'll be fine. Us Dwarves are hardier than you think! Still, you should head out of here, it might still be dangerous."
"If you're sure." Zamansis said, then seemed to realize something. "Actually, a good idea. I think Veldaban will want to hear about this. Maybe he'll know more about that cloaked Dwarf!"
Sora felt bad for not being able to do more, but he still followed Zamansis out of the Lava Flow Mine, Donald and Goofy walking alongside him. But as soon as they stepped back into the greater Keldagrim area, they heard what seemed like protesting! Angry voices cried into the ceiling of the cave, and the four saw a group of Dwarves outside the Consortium building. Before they could even approach, a Dwarf with a strong build and blonde hair approached.
"Zamansis? Is that you? You came just in time!" The Dwarf declared, sounding both relieved and a bit stressed.
"Oh, Veldaban! We were about to come looking for you!" Zamansis said, also sounding relieved. "Did you hear about what happened in Lava Flow Mine?"
Rather than answering, the Dwarf looked at Sora, Donald, and Goofy with a suspicious expression. "Who are you new friends? Can I trust them?"
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" Donald asked, glaring openly at Veldaban. Though he wasn't exactly intimidating since he and the Dwarf were roughly the same height.
"Don't worry, they're good people." The armored man quickly promised. "I told them all about the Red Axe and the Chaos Dwarves. Their names are Sora, Donald, and Goofy." He gestured to the person in question as he said their name.
Sora nodded. "Don't worry, we're here to help! If you're friends with Zamansis, you're friends with us!" He declared with a grin. The story that he had learned about was pretty wild, thinking of it. Zamansis had given a quick rundown, but even then it seemed crazy.
What was supposed to be a quick boat ride down Keldagrim's river turned into trouble when Zamansis and the Dwarf ferryman crashed into a large statue of an old Dwarven king. That being said, Keldagrim hadn't been ruled under an actual monarch in a long time. Instead, it was currently ruled by the Consortium, a group of eight trading companies. In any case, after the statue was broken, the hero was taken to the head of the Dwarven Black Guard, a sort of police or military force. This was Veldaban, and he tasked Zamansis to get a new statue made. This involved the hero with finding clothing to give to a sculptor to make a new body. The Consortium leaders wanted one of them to be the head of the statue, though, and Zamansis helped pick the head of the Green Gemstone group as the new model. The head of the Red Axe, Hreidmar, was so enraged over not being picked, that he took his part of the trading group and left in a huff.
After that, Zamansis returned to Keldagrim, but there was a large gap in his memory. All he could really recall was that he had a sudden urge to drink and eat kebabs for hours on end. This faded away eventually, but his memories never returned. Sora remembered shuddering when hearing about this. The idea that parts of his memory vanishing entirely really freaked him out.
Sometime later, Zamansis came back to Keldagrim, being told by Veldaban that a number of Dwarves were vanishing from the kingdom and no one could figure out what was going on. Before much else could be done or said, entities known as Chaos Dwarves attacked the kingdom. These beings were Dwarves whose hearts were tainted by darkness somehow, who were incredibly violent towards anyone or anything that wasn't them. Upon defeating them, Zamansis and Veldaban investigated further, eventually finding out that Hreidmar was kidnapping Dwarves to convert to Chaos Dwarves. He was aided by a Dwarven ex-soldier named Colonel Grimsson and an Ogre Shaman named Grunsh that wiped the memories of anyone that got too close to the truth. After discovering this, Zamansis and Veldaban managed to escape.
However, upon reporting the kidnapping of Dwarves and their conversion to Chaos Dwarves, the Consortium and Black Guard thought little of it. It was mostly the poor that were being kidnapped, and they thought that this didn't make the situation important enough to go to war over. Enraged at this decision, Veldaban gave up his position in the Black Guard and began to investigate more about the Red Axe on his own.
Veldaban looked the three outsiders over once more before letting out a noise of acceptance. More of a grunt, really. "Alright, fine. If Zamansis stands by your word, I'll trust you too."
"So, what's going on? Why are there so many Dwarves outside of the Consortium building? It's like a mob! Is it because of what happened in the mines?" Zamansis inquired, looking to the group of angry Dwarves. "They didn't even send in guards to help…"
"It's blatant corruption is what it is. Do you know why none of the Black Guard was there helping out in the mine?" Veldaban asked, but went on before waiting for an answer. "They were given orders not to! Instead, they just sent in engineers to repair the machinery, ignoring any injured! As you can expect, word of this spread, and people aren't happy…"
"That's horrible! Why would they do something like that?!" Sora demanded, furious on behalf of those harmed by the disaster. He heard that businessmen could be greedy and stuff back home, but this seemed really extreme!
Before Veldaban could even reply, several more Dwarves came from seemingly nowhere. They wore black armor and seemed studier than the others of their species. Without a doubt, these were the Black Guard! "You! Veldaban!" One of them shouted, leering at the Dwarf in question. "You're under arrest on suspicion of involvement of the Lava Flow Mine's attack!"
"What?! That's absurd! Where did you get an idea like that?!" The accused Dwarf shouted back, giving the Black Guard an equally nasty glare.
"That wasn't it at all! We were there!" Zamansis argued, gesturing to Sora, Donald, and Goofy. "It was those nasty creatures that've been popping up all over the place and what was probably a Chaos Dwarf!"
"Yeah, we saw the whole thing and Veldaban wasn't there at all!" Sora added on, knowing in his heart that someone Zamansis saw as a friend wouldn't do something so horrid.
The Black Guard huffed a bit, not seeming to like those responses. "Well, you can all go to the Consortium building and sort it out there, then. That's the best I can do. For now, he has to come with me."
With a sigh, Veldaban looked to the massive building where the Consortium awaited. "Guess I have no choice. I know you'll settle this, Zamansis…and you three too." He looked at the outsider trio, as if just remembering them. With that, the Black Guards escorted him quietly towards the main building of Keldagrim.
"I can't believe it. He used to be part f the Black Guard! How could they suspect him?" Zamansis said with a sigh. "Well, come on guys. Sorry about these delays. I think we'll have to wait for things to settle down before we can ask about the Keyhole."
"Gawrsh, it's alright!" Goofy declared, speaking for everyone. "A friend of yours is a friend of ours, so we're glad to help out!"
Donald rolled his eyes a bit. "Yeah, we're ecstatic!" He said with clear sarcasm but wasn't about to suggest any other course of action. It wasn't that he disliked helping people, but they had a mission!
With things agreed on, the four made their way to the massive building in the middle of Keldagrim. However, as they went towards it, a figure approached them. This one wasn't a Dwarf, however, but a human man! Wearing a single metal gauntlet and a tattered, red cape, he really stood out even without the height difference. He walked against the tide of the crowd, blue eyes looking straight at Zamansis as the massive, bandaged sword on his back became more evident as he drew near.
When he got close enough, the group stopped. "You're Zamansis, right?" The man asked, his voice cold and flat. His gaze was intense, though, but he didn't seem explicitly hostile.
Confused, like with the rest of the group, Zamansis nodded. "Uh, yeah. You need something? Not used to being approached by strangers, you know."
The man didn't answer right away, looking to Sora, Donald, and Goofy. "Are these three with you?" He asked, ignoring Zamansis' question entirely.
"We're with him and we're busy!" Donald shouted out, tapping his foot impatiently. "If you don't need something, move out of the way!"
This didn't get much of a reaction out of the stranger, his gaze simply going back to the man in the Runite armor. "I see. I'll find you later, then." Without even waiting for a response, he turned and walked off in a seemingly random direction, leaving a confused quintet behind.
Sora especially was curious about the man. Something about him just seemed really off, and he couldn't explain what it was. He wasn't sure if the guy was bad or something, but he still felt a bit unnerved for some reason. One thing he could tell, just a feeling in his gut, was that the man was very strong. That large sword he carried certainly helped cement that…
"Uh, I reckon he wasn't a friend of yours." Goofy remarked as he scratched the side of his head. "That seem concernin' to ya?."
"I'm used to seeing odd stuff." Zamansis replied with a shrug. "Remind me to tell you guys about the penguins I had to help deal with a while back."
Trying to just shrug off what happened, the four went past the crowd of protesting Dwarves and entered the central building of Keldagrim. Granted, that penguin comment made Sora, Donald, and Goofy really interested in hearing another story, but it'd have to wait…
The Consortium building was as busy as expected when the quartet stepped inside. It was abuzz with conversation as numerous Dwarves moved all around the ground floor, many going up and down the staircases on either side of the entrance. Most of them were carrying something such as stacks of papers, ambiguous parcels, and bars of metal such as steel or gold. If they were overtly concerned about the angry citizens outside, they didn't show it much. Granted, there were Black Guard soldiers on either side of the entrance, both inside and outside the building. Apparently that was enough to set the workers at ease.
"Is it always this busy?" Sora asked, speaking loudly to be heard over the noise. He had never been in anything akin to an office building before, Destiny Islands simply having no such things. And he was sure glad he never had to, he already felt like he was getting a headache from the constant barrage of sound!
"Pretty much, yeah." Zamansis replied, also talking loudly. "We can just go up to the top floor, especially if you're with me. I'm still part of the Green Gemstone!"
Sora, Donald, and Goofy followed the adventurer up some stairs, arriving at the second floor which seemed even busier than the ground floor. It was branched into different colored sections such as green, yellow, blue, and white. They moved right along though, heading to the top floor.
To the relief of everyone, it was far quieter at their new destination. There was little in the room itself was large, but rather barren. It had red carpeting, stone pillars holding up the ceiling, a round table, and an empty throne. Aside from that, there were five Dwarves, one of them being Veldaban. Zamansis whispered to the other three that the others were directors of some of the trading organizations, all color coded conveniently.
The Dwarves didn't seem to really notice they had guests, the directors talking amongst themselves. "We put a lot of people's lives at risk by not sending in the Black Guard. How do we spin that?" The Green Stone Director asked with heavy frown.
"Not like we had much choice. I mean, that machinery is very delicate and if we didn't get it repaired right away, it would've been a disaster!" The Brown Engine Director replied, sounding more like he was convincing himself more than anyone.
"We shouldn't have to spin it!" The Blue Opal Director insisted. "The citizens don't realize how important that machinery is or how it works!"
The Yellow Fortune Director, the sole female Dwarf in the room, huffed. "You wanted this, didn't you Veldaban? You wanted us to look terrible!"
"What are you talking about?! I wasn't even there!" The accused Dwarf shot back, clearly shocked before getting angry. "It's not like any of you even have proof I was involved!"
"That's right! He wasn't there! We saw the whole thing!" Sora shouted out, unable to help himself. "It was the Heartless and some other Dwarf that did it!"
All the Dwarves in the room looked to the four guests, the directors seeming rather unhappy. "And just who are you?" The Blue Opal Director asked. "How did you get up here? And what is a Heartless?"
"Ah, it's Zamansis! He let them up here!" The Green Gemstone Director said with a light sigh. "I appreciate you getting my head on that statue, but this hardly the time. But I am also curious, what is a Heartless?"
"They're the strange creatures that have been popping up everywhere recently." Zamansis explained. "Sora and his friends told me about them. They come from the darkness in people's hearts!"
The Brown Engine Director scoffed at that. "That sounds completely ridiculous. I've never heard of such nonsense before!"
"It's true!" Donald said with a glare. "We know more about them than you! Now let Veldaban go! He's innocent!"
"He was part of the Black Guard before, right?" Goofy added on, far calmer than his magic friend. "Why would he do somethin' like mess with the minin' equipment?"
Zamansis nodded along with this, speaking up himself. "He's still pretty popular, you know. If the citizens knew you were keeping Veldaban here without any proof, you'll all look even worse in their eyes."
That seemed to strike some fear in the eyes of the directors, who looked to each other nervously. "That's a good point…" The Yellow Fortune Director murmured. "They're already after our blood…"
"Yeah, and like I said, I didn't do anything! I spent years helping this kingdom, so why would I turn against it?!" Veldaban demanded, but got no answer from the various directors.
"I think it might be for the best. Honestly, I wasn't so sure about arresting him." The Blue Opal Director admitted sheepishly. "It seems pretty unlikely when we stop and think about it…"
"If it was anyone we know, it was the Red Axe!" Veldaban insisted, practically spitting the name of the horrid group. "I can't imagine any other Dwarves that would do something like this!"
"That again? You still have no proof from last time!" The Brown Engine Director argued, but then shook his head. "Still, there's no proof of anyone in particular being involved with this. I propose we let Veldaban go and investigate further." He said the last part to his fellow directors.
There were murmurs of agreement from the other three, Veldaban finally seeming calmer as he gave a deep sigh. "I still say it's the Red Axe, but letting me go is a start, I suppose."
Before anyone could reply, a Black Guard entered the room, panting as if he ran all the way there. "Directors! There's a problem! Chaos Dwarves! An army of them in the Barendir caverns!"
"Oh, Guthix, you can't be serious!" The Blue Opal Director exclaimed, shaking his head in disbelief. "They have entire armies now? In any case, have Colonel Grenda send the First Division take care of things for the moment!"
"That's not all…" The Black Guard went on. "The crowd outside has grown larger, and someone is making a disturbing speech to them. It's Hreidmar, and he keeps talking about a king, and the citizens seem to be hanging onto his every word…"
"That scoundrel! Right here in our kingdom!" Veldaban shouted out, pushing past the Black Guard. "Zamansis! Come on, we have to go confront him!"
As Zamansis did as his friend requested, Sora and his two companions followed as well. "Hey, we're helping too!" The teen exclaimed but was ignored by the Dwarf. When the quintet got outside, they saw that the Black Guard was right. There, in front of the crowd, was an elderly Dwarf with fancy red clothing and supported by a cane. While the other Dwarves were calmer, at the very least no longer screaming, they seemed far angrier than before as Hreidmar shouted out to them.
"The Consortium government is incompetent and full of darkness!" The elderly Dwarf declared with rage in his voice. "The incident in the Lava Flow Mine proves that! Even now, an army of those horrid Chaos Dwarves stands poised to attack the city! Only a strong leader can keep us safe from this menace! Our ancestors knew this would happen. Remember the Azdaran Fragment! The oldest document in our city's history!"
"Oh, so that's his plan…" Veldaban murmured, he and the other four in the group watching as the Red Axe's leader gave off his speech.
"What do you mean? What is it?" Sora asked, looking between Veldaban and Hreidmar. He was tempted to just attack the older Dwarf, knowing that he was the cause of so much misery! Even at that moment, he could practically see darkness emanating from his frame. But the teen also knew charging in would be a bad idea. If those other Dwarves saw him attacking someone they trusted, it'd cause a lot more issues…
Unaware of the quintet's presence, Hreidmar went on. "The document states, and I quote, 'No band of petty councilors can preserve this city through its darkest days – only a king.' and I agree with those words! What say you?!"
The crowd of Dwarves cheered, spurred by the man's words. "Only a king!" They chanted. "Only a king! Only a king!"
Hreidmar signaled for the crowd to quiet down, which they complied with. "The Age of the Consortium has failed us! It is time to go back to the Golden Age! The Age of Kings! We must force them to open the sealed records chamber! The family trees in there will show us who is the most direct descendant of King Alvis! Only that way will Keldagrim truly prosper! Only a king!"
Once more, the crowd chanted Hreidmar's words right back at him, the Black Guards at the large building's door looking a bit nervous. Veldaban looked even more worried, looking to the other four in the group. "I think I know his plan! I'd bet anything that somehow that rat has already gotten into the chambers, tampering with the records to make it so he'd be the one to take the throne!"
"Say, he did want his head on that there statue, right?" Goofy pointed out, recalling Zamansis' story. "I guess that's all he wanted all along."
"Looks like a lust for the throne really clouded his heart with darkness." Zamansis agreed. "But what do we do about it? Do we go to the records first?"
"It may cause trouble, but why don't we just take him out right here." Sora suggested. He thought that could cause trouble moments before, but the cause of all this trouble was standing right there undefended! Normally he'd have hang-ups about beating up an old man, but not one like this…
Veldaban shook his head. "That won't solve anything. If Hreidmar is taken out, Colonel Grimsson will just take his place. If anything, it'd spur him to act sooner. That army of Chaos Dwarves can't be for show…"
"Well, what do we do then?" Donald asked, having had a similar idea to Sora's. Just one Thunder spell ought to take that dastardly old Dwarf out for a while…
"I know one person that can help us. Her name is Meike, and she's the leader of the Monarchist Society." This got confused looks from the others, or at least a noise of surprise from Zamansis. "Yes, as the name implies, her group thinks that Keldagrim should be a monarchy, but she'd never let a false king sit on the throne. I'm sure we can convince her of Hreidmar's scheme! She could easily spot fault records, so we'll need her expertise."
That made much more sense! Not as direct, but it was worth a shot! "Okay, but where is she?" Sora asked. "This kingdom is huge!"
"Well, the Monarchist Society usually meets at the King's Axe inn. Better place than any to try." Veldaban suggested. Without waiting for a response, he started past Hreidmar and the Dwarven mob. The other four followed him, and it seemed the Red Axe's leader either didn't notice the presence of Zamansis and Veldaban or simply didn't care.
As the quintet walked, they kept hearing murmurs from Dwarves they passed by. Some of them mentioned being in favor of a new king while others argued against it. A lot more of them simply discredited the Consortium and thinks they need some sort of overhaul. The small group stayed quiet, just focusing on getting to the inn and not wanting to speak of their plan and accidentally rustle any feathers of nearby Dwarves. After all, the tension in Keldagrim was almost palpable, a severe change from before the incident at Lava Flow Mine…
With all the tension and the presence of Hreidmar, along with the Lava Flow Mine's attack, the three outsiders were especially surprised at the lack of Heartless within Keldagrim. It was obvious the Red Axe leader was using the creatures of darkness for his own needs, and he was stirring the darkness in the hearts of his fellow Dwarves. Yet the quintet didn't encounter even a hint that a Heartless was around as they made their way to the inn. Maybe the elderly Dwarf had such control over the Heartless that they wouldn't even appear unless he desired it.
Before long, Veldaban lead the group to a tall building that, to the others, looked just about the same as the others. It was apparently the right one because the Dwarf took them right in. The interior was pretty typical for an inn, of course. There were some Dwarves in the lobby either talking amongst themselves or to some staff behind a desk. There was a staircase leading up to some rooms and other doors leading elsewhere in the inn.
"So, Meike is somewhere here? Do you see her?" Zamansis asked, looking around as if he'd somehow spot a Dwarf he's never met before.
"I've only seen her on occasion, but I'd know her on sight." Veldaban explained, scanning the room as well. "I don't see her, though…but the desk clerk might know…" He gestured for the rest of the group to wait as he went up to the clerk, the two Dwarves speaking too far away to be heard. Still, Veldaban nodded at the end and looked satisfied which was a good sign. As he returned, the ex-guard pointed to one of the closed doors. "He said the Monarchist Society meets in there."
"Do you think this Meike woman will help? What if she doesn't?" Sora asked, not too savvy about politics, especially where monarchs are concerned. Still, he knew Hreidmar couldn't take the throne, the old Dwarf practically reeking of darkness.
"I think she will. There's no way she'd approve of Hreidmar taking the throne. Way I see it, the only reason that crowd back there did was because that cunning old rat managed to manipulate their feelings. But no time to talk about 'what-ifs', right?" Veldaban said, sounding sure of his words as the quintet entered the directed room.
As the clerk said, there was a meeting of sorts going on. The room itself was rather barren, mostly just a small round table with some chairs. There was only a small handful of Dwarves, with a single woman amongst them who had to be Meike. It wasn't her that spoke up, though, but a gruff looking Dwarf sitting by her. "Hey, we're holding a meeting here! Go on!"
"Wait, is that you Veldaban?" Meike said, standing up. "Didn't think I'd see you coming into one of our meetings!"
"We need to talk. It's about Hreidmar and his plotting. Please, we need your help!" Veldaban said, looking at Meike alone as he spoke.
Meike paused, clearly pondering, before nodding her head. "It's okay. You can leave us alone. I trust Veldaban and his friends." She said, the other Dwarves surprised at her words. Still, they did as she said and left the room, the last one closing the door after giving a lingering look.
"So, you're not fond of Hreidmar either, huh?" Zamansis commented. "You gave into talking things out with us pretty fast."
"Oh, I certainly am not fond of him. I want a monarch as much as anyone, but I also know he'd be one to fake his records." Meike said with a disgusted tone.
"It's worse than that, he has Chaos Dwarves ready to attack! He's been kidnapping people!" Donald exclaimed, not caring about any sort of subtlety. "We've got to see those records!"
Meike only seemed a little shocked, nodding gravely at Donald's words. "If Veldaban believes he's behind the Chaos Dwarves, then I believe it too. And that's a good of a plan as any. I take it you'd know I could spot a forgery with ease, eh?"
"Exactly. So, you'll help us?" Veldaban prodded. "I don't know anyone else that could do this as well as you. And I certainly trust no one else either."
Quickly, Meike nodded as she moved from the table to the group. "I will. I'd rather no king at all than a false one. Or, honestly, I'd rather no king than someone like Hreidmar on the throne. Guthix help us if someone like that has control of Keldagrim!"
"Great! So, where are the records, then? There won't be guards, will there?" Goofy asked, not wanting to have to fight innocent guys that are just doing their jobs.
"No, the records are in the library. The librarian knows me, so he might let me handle the keys. Duplicates will need to be made of course. Six of them, so some clay and six bars of Mithril will be needed." Meike explained.
"Really? I have all of that in my bag!" Zamansis spouted, glancing over at his magically enhanced object.
Veldaban scoffed. "Well, that's very convenient, isn't it?"
"Yes…very convenient…" Zamansis said back, almost speaking in a sly sort of tone.
At the mention of keys, Sora thought of his Keyblade. There was some feeling he couldn't explain, one that sprouted from his heart. It was like a soft voice at the back of his mind. Not even a voice, really, more like an intrusive thought. The Keyblade clearly had a lot of powers, and could magically lock things like those Keyholes…so why couldn't it unlock things? "Wait." The teen said, causing everyone to look at him. "I think I know a way in without those keys. Can we please try that first?"
Donald quickly determined what Sora was talking about. Thinking of it, he swore that King Mickey talked about how the Keyblade could unlock just about anything! "He's right, I think he can do it!"
"You should've mentioned that sooner! That does seem pretty handy if it's true, though." Zamansis said with a shrug. "Is that Keyblade of yours? Since it's a giant key and all."
"I only just thought of it now." Sora replied, summoning the weapon in question. "And I've never tried it before, but something's telling me to give it a shot."
"I don't know what that Keyblade thing is, but if it helps get us into the records chamber, I don't really care." Veldaban said with gruff approval. "We should hurry, though. Who knows how riled up that crowd is thanks to Hreidmar? If they get to the chamber first…" He trailed off with a disgruntled noise.
Meike seemed totally lost, but still nodded. "I'm willing to give a try. But Veldaban's right, we should hurry! We'll just go straight to the records chamber!"
The group quickly left the inn as Sora put the Keyblade away. The Dwarves lead the outsiders towards the records chamber at a fast pace. Unfortunately, the chamber in question was essentially on the other side of Keldagrim. There was no conversation to be had on the way, the sextet simply focusing on getting to their location as fast as possible.
To the surprise of the non-Dwarves, the entrance to the records chamber was somewhat underwhelming for such an important location. The way inside was literally a doorway carved into the cave wall. There weren't even any guards! The room they found themselves in wasn't very large and mainly consisted of lit torches and a single, large set of wooden double doors. There was, however, also six keyholes etched in stone along the wall on either side of the door.
Catching his breath, Veldaban looked to the brunette teen expectantly. "Alright, Sora, you use that Keyblade thing to open up that door! We're lucky we're the first ones here!"
Resummoning the Keyblade, Sora paused for a moment. Really, he had no idea what to actually do. He gripped the weapon in his hands, trying to remember what it was like when he locked the Keyhole. Surely unlocking something couldn't be too different, right? With a deep breath through his nose, Sora concentrated his will into the Keyblade, pointing it right at the door. To his surprise, the tip of the weapon soon glowed, as did all the keyholes to the records chamber. A few seconds later, there was an audible clicking from all the keyholes, signifying they were unlocked at the same time.
"Gawrsh! That was pretty impressive, Sora!" Goofy praised as the glowing faded away and Sora dismissed the Keyblade once more. "Guess you'll never have to keep track of yer house keys ever again, huh?" He lightly joked.
"Something like that would've been so helpful in some of my previous quests…" Zamansis commented with a bit of a sigh. "So many keys I had to keep track of…"
"Never mind that!" Veldaban exclaimed, going to the wooden doors, and opening them up. "Let's look at those records!" The sextet entered the next room, one that was much fancier than the entryway. The floor was actually carpeted, and the walls were lined with shelves full of dusty old tomes and scrolls. It looked like no one had entered the room in years! Yet, somehow, there were lit candles along the walls. Some sort of magic, probably. In any case, if Hreidmar or one of his Chaos Dwarf agents had entered this room previously, it certainly didn't show!
Meike instantly went to the shelves, her eyes darting about the writing present. "No time to waste, as impressive as that was." She commented. "The records showing the royal lineage should be around here somewhere…" The female Dwarf murmured, mostly to herself. After a few moments, she let out a noise and pulled an old piece of paper from the shelves. "Here! Let's see…this is…hmmm…O-Oh…" Her tone went from excited, to curious, to disappointment all within a few seconds.
"Well, what is it?! What's it say?!" Donald pressed impatiently, the others in the group looking to Meike with bated breath. "It was tampered with, right?!"
Meike turned to face the group, a heavy frown on her face. "According to these records, Hreidmar is the rightful king of Keldagrim. No doubt about it." She let out a shuddering sigh. "But…there's no tampering. This is legitimate, as horrible as it sounds."
Veldaban snatched the paper away, looking it over frantically. "That can't be! You had to have made a mistake or something!" He insisted, staring at the records as if the answer would pop out of thin air if he looked hard enough.
The female Dwarf's brows furrowed as she let out an offended noise. "You came to me because you knew I could spot a forgery! And I can! Yet I can see, unfortunately, that there was no tampering! As awful as it is, Hreidmar is the rightful ruler to our kingdom!"
"He didn't even have to fake his way in…" Zamansis said with unhidden disgust. "In a way, I swear that's worse. His right to rule is entirely legitimate! He probably knew the whole time, it's why he wanted his head on the statue way back…"
"What do we do, then?" Sora asked, frowning as the mood got heavy in the room. "We still have to stop him!" But how? Just attacking him was, presumably, still off the table.
Meike opened her mouth, shut it, and then opened it again. Clearly, she was debating whether to bring up whatever was on her mind. "If…Hreidmar really is the true king…there's only one thing that I can do to help."
Veldaban instantly realized what the fellow Dwarf meant, his eyes widening. "You can't be serious! Forging the records yourself?! Meike, there has to be some other way…"
"Unless you can think of something else, I have no choice!" She argued, looking at the other five expectantly, wanting some alternative idea. Yet, after a few slow, almost agonizing seconds, it was clear there was no other way. "You five should go. There are still Chaos Dwarves in the Barendir Caverns. I'm sure you can help out some way."
"There's really no need. Colonel Grenda should have things under control." Veldaban replied, though not sounding too sure.
Meike sighed. "Honestly, I don't want anyone to see me messing with legitimate records like this. Even if it's for the greater good, it makes me feel sick to my stomach. So, please, I don't care what you do. I just want to be alone."
"I think we should go." Sora remarked, frowning as Meike looked increasingly depressed. "There could be Heartless there, and it's our job to look into anything related to them. Pretty much." As he said this, he gestured to Donald and Goofy.
"Besides, we can't just sit around while the kingdom's in danger!" Goofy added on. "We should lend a helpin' hand!"
Donald tapped his foot impatiently. He hadn't forgotten they were here to find out about the Keyhole, but it seemed like everyone else had! Still, he knew they wouldn't get anywhere fast with such danger looming over Keldagrim. "Let's just make it snappy!"
"I wouldn't want to sit by either, Veldaban." Zamansis pointed out. "Come on, let's at least see what the situation is!"
"Alright, alright! I get the picture!" The male Dwarf gruffly agreed. "Meike, thank you for helping us, even if it's in a way that clearly upsets you. Just remember this is for the greater good…"
Meike didn't say anything, just nodding glumly as the other five went out of the record chambers. Once more, Veldaban showed the rest where to go. It was a bit of a ways, the group having to go all the way to the entrance of Keldagrim, using a boat to move past a large stone statue of Dwarven king with the Green Gemstone Director's head tacked on top. They went by some Dwarves mining some rocky outcrops and came across a standard cavern entrance. Even without going through, the quintet heard the buzz of conversation from the other side.
Passing through the cavern entrance, the quintet saw dozens of Black Guard Dwarves, all armored and armed with sword, axes, and maces. At the moment, they were talking amongst each other, but were clearly ready for war. When they saw the outside group arrived, they were surprised, and a few even moved to perhaps tell the five to leave. Their gazes then honed in and Veldaban and they paused. All save for a female Dwarf who went up to the small group.
"Veldaban? What are you doing here?" She asked, more shocked than anything. "You're no here to fight, are you?"
"It's good to see you, Colonel Grenda. As for fighting, I'm hoping not." Veldaban replied. "I want to talk to Grimsson, see if I can't get him to see this is all pointless."
The female Dwarf shook her head. "You don't think that will work, do you? We're waiting for the siege now, it should come at any minute."
"If there's a chance, we should try, right?" Sora piped up, though he also had his doubts. If this Grimsson guy was working with Hreidmar, he was surely bad news and had a heart steeped with darkness.
"Who are you? You're too young to be here!" Colonel Grenda announced, only seeming to just notice Sora's presence. "I do know you by reputation, Zamansis." She said to the armored man.
"This is Sora, Donald, and Goofy." Zamansis introduced. "Trust me, they can handle their own. And I agree with Veldaban and Sora. If we can avoid conflict and death, it's worth a shot."
Colonel Grenda sighed, once more shaking her head. "I don't agree, but I'm not in charge of any of you. If you really want to go try using diplomacy, don't let me stop you. Just try to avoid the offshoot tunnel. There's a band of Trolls there. They don't seem to know what's going on, as long as we're aware."
"We'll be careful, don't you worry. I know these caverns like the back of my hand." Veldaban said, yet again leading the other four onward. They passed by numerous Black Guards, all of whom looked at the group in astonishment as they went further into the dimly lit caverns.
"You've been here before?" Donald asked Veldaban, getting his wand ready just in case fighting broke out.
"Once. It was years ago, a battle with the Trolls and us Dwarves. More intense than any other." Veldaban replied after a second, his tone dark and almost fearful. "Long story short, there was a lot of casualties on both sides. Almost all of us walked away with scars, on our bodies or in our hearts. Grimsson had both. He was never the same man after that…"
"Is that why ya think he can be reasoned with? Because he used to be good?" Goofy softly prodded. He liked to think that anyone could be shown the light if someone was there to give a helping hand. How true this notion was, however…
"Something like that." Veldaban answered simply but gave no further explanation. The mood was greatly soured after that, the five going through the dark cavern in silence. Before too long, they came across an opening with a startling sight. There was indeed an army of Chaos Dwarves, just as was expected. They had ashen grey skin with armored spiked and dangerous looking. More disturbingly was they all had large cracks in their skin, glowing orange as if lava flowed through their veins instead of blood.
On top of this, there were Heartless amongst the ranks of the Chaos Dwarves, but none of them seemed hostile to the warped beings. Shadows, Soldiers, and Large Bodies dotted the small army, entirely docile as if under the control of someone else. That someone was very apparent, as an almost palpable darkness was visible on the sole Dwarf that wasn't physical corrupted. This Dwarf had a large scar on his face, adorned in red armor with a belt with a Red Axe upon it. Even in his hand, he wielded a red colored axe.
This Dwarf, surely Colonel Grimsson, approached the group with a wicked smile on his face. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Zamansis readied their weapons while the armless Veldaban simply glared the darkness-tainted Dwarf as he got closer.
"Is this the army we'll be facing?" Grimsson snarked with a nasty grin. "Four outsiders and a Dwarf without a weapon. What are you even doing here, Veldaban? You think you can stop all of us?! I control an army of Chaos Dwarves and these beings of shadow!" He declared, gesturing to his mixed army. "Even those beasts do as I say! You have to hope against me!"
Despite the taunting, Veldaban remained calm. "Just turn back. We don't have to fight this out. Just take your army and go!" He pleaded, his tone softer than his glaring expression.
"You used to fight for Keldagrim, right?" Sora asked, not having the entire picture, but just enough. "Why do you want to attack innocent people from your own home?!"
Grimsson scoffed, as if Sora asked a completely meaningless question. "It doesn't matter. My reasons are my own, and I won't be turning back. You can fight me here, or wait for us to take over Keldagrim!"
"Don't you remember? You fought so hard to protect Keldagrim? Why throw it away? There has to be a reason!" Zamansis asserted. "Did the Red Axe corrupt you?"
"How dare you?!" Grimsson snarled, practically spitting as he spoke. "The Red Axe is my life! It's all I have! I'll do anything for it!"
Veldaban let out a shuddering breath. "Grimsson, you were never like this. We looked up to you! The Red Axe…they had to have done this. Wiped your memory and twisted your heart just like the foot soldiers!"
"Don't compare me to those empty shells!" Grimsson screamed, lunging at Veldaban, and swinging his axe at the unarmed Dwarf. As Veldaban backed away from the attack, Sora and Zamansis intercepted with their blades. Even with both of them, they struggled against Grimsson's berserker strength. The corrupted Dwarf had a maddened glare, as if dark rage was all that pushed him to fight.
At this point, the Heartless started to make their move, starting towards the quintet. Oddly, the Chaos Dwarves stayed still as statues. Perhaps they were just so far gone, that they wouldn't even attack an obvious enemy without order.
"Sora, we'll keep the Heartless at bay!" Donald exclaimed, shooting off several fireballs at the incoming creatures.
"You and Zamansis take out their leader!" Goofy added in, charging at a nearby Soldier and slamming him away with his shield.
Going with the quick plan, Sora and Zamansis worked together and properly parried Grimsson's attack, sending him back a few steps. Unable to fight, Veldaban stayed out of the way, standing by a nearby wall.
Darkness practically pouring off of him, Grimsson stabbed at Sora with his weapon, moving with an intense speed for a stocky man. The teen was just barely able to dodge, slamming the Keyblade into the Dwarf's chest as a counterattack. Despite getting in such a blatant, clean hit, it barely seemed to harm Grimsson at all. Whether he was just that strong or his enraged state let him hide his pain, he didn't so much as grunt from the attack as Sora backpedaled away.
At this point, Zamansis readied his hand and a blast of wind shot towards Grimsson, which seemed to do little but make him stagger. Still, the hero wasn't discouraged and leapt surprisingly high in the air, slamming down to the ground so hard it caused cracks to appear on the cavern floor. As he did this, he slashed down across Grimsson's armored chest, but did little but leave a nasty gash in it.
Roaring out in anger, Grimsson waved his axe, and in doing so, wells of darkness appeared beneath Sora and Zamansis. With only a split second to react, the two moved out of the way as a pillar of darkness shot up from the well, only to vanish a moment later. This repeated over and over, spots of darkness appearing while the duo ran about doing their best to not get caught up in the attack.
As he ran, Sora pointed his Keyblade at Grimsson, shooting a Fire spell at him that struck at the same spot Zamansis' attack landed. This made Grimsson flinch hard enough for the darkness attacks to stop.
Thinking fast, Sora used his Blizzard magic on Grimsson, aiming for his feet just as he did to one of the Heartless before. Ice encased the Dwarf's feet, sticking him to the cavern floor. Yes, as the teen rushed to Grimsson to land a strike, the Red Axe soldier ripped his feet out from the ice, shattering it to pieces. Grimsson then lunged at Sora, backhanding him harshly with a gauntlet-covered hand and sending the brunette to the floor.
As Grimsson raised his weapon to finish Sora off, Zamansis came to the rescue, blocking the blow with his shield as the teen recovered. With a grunt of effort, Sora stood up and lunged at Grimsson, aiming a club-like swing of the Keyblade at the Dwarf's head. Grimsson was only able to move his head enough so the attack struck his helmet, knocking it off and onto the floor. This revealed his shaven head, another scar running across his scalp.
With monstrous strength, Grimsson pushed Zamansis away with his weapon, glaring between the armored man and Sora, who had backpedaled away. The Dwarf didn't know too many fancy moves, but his strength and durability were pretty severe! Or, in the latter case, his armor was strong at the very least.
Trying a new trick, Grimsson spun his weapon expertly in his hands, grinning fiendishly as the end of it started to light aflame! Somehow, he was using some sort of Fire magic! Grunting, Grimsson drew closer to Zamansis and Sora, swinging his burning axe wildly and forcing them to keep their distance.
Younger, smaller, and spryer, Sora was able to see a clear gap in Grimsson's wild swings. At least one that he could get through! Performing a Dodge Roll, he got under a wide, horizontal swing of the Dwarf's, stabbing at his armored chest with his Keyblade. Grimsson wasn't able to do anything to stop the blow, taking it at full force which made him stagger once more. While he was momentarily stunned, Sora took the chance to unleash further attacks. Wildly, the teen swung his weapon, hitting Grimsson both on his armored body and even dealing some blows to the head!
Each of these swift impacts made Grimsson step backwards more and more, grunting out in angered pain at each blow. Still, it didn't seem like each attack did too much damage. If anything, it seemed to just increase his rage! Yet even with his unusual speed, he was taken too off guard to properly counter or dodge Sora's onslaught! Yet, as it turned out, he wouldn't have to do much of anything. With a roar, Grimsson's body gave off a wave of darkness that pushed Sora back and prevented Zamansis from getting near!
"I'll tear you both apart! None of you are leaving these caverns alive! Not even you, Veldaban!" Grimsson roared, glaring at the other Dwarf as he referred to him. But, before the enraged warrior could do anything further, a Thunder spell formed above him, and several bolts rained down on him! The electricity visibly surged across his armor and what little exposed skin there was, the attack doing far more noticeable damage than anything Sora or Zamansis did. Just as Grimsson turned around to see what happened, a round shield went hurtling through the air and slammed into his forehead! The impact nearly knocked Grimsson off of his feet as Donald and Goofy came up to the fight, the knight catching his shield as it came back to him.
"The Heartless are all taken care of, so now it's four against one!" Donald declared, brandishing his wand and preparing for another spell.
Grimsson scowled, looking as he was surrounded on all sides. "You…! You…!" He sputtered, appearing too angry to even speak. After a moment, he composed himself to utter just a few words. "You bested me, but you won't best my army! Men! Fall back!" With his surprising speed once more, he sprinted past Donald and Goofy, running through his army of Chaos Dwarves, who all followed the orders given to them.
"You coward! Come back here!" Veldaban screamed, but his words fell on deaf ears as the small army retreated further into the caverns
"Should we chase 'em?" Goofy asked, unsure. "There are a lot of 'em, and I bet those Chaos Dwarves fight better than the Heartless…" At least, in terms of actually using more strategy than the lesser Heartless come with.
"No, I'm sure there are more Chaos Dwarves further down these tunnels. Chasing after them would be a death sentence for sure!" Veldaban argued with a shake of the head.
Sora didn't like that answer, but he had to admit, fighting all those Chaos Dwarves seemed pretty rough! "What do we do, then? We can't just go back to Keldagrim, right?"
There was a pause within the group, one that was soon broken by Zamansis. "What about the Trolls? I'm on good terms with a few of them, ones that might be in these caverns! We could get them to fight the Chaos Dwarves!"
"You don't really trust them, do you?" Veldaban asked, practically gawking at Zamansis' response. "They're about as dangerous as the Chaos Dwarves!"
"Well, we have to try!" Zamansis argued. "With or without you, I'm going to try and convince the Trolls to help!" He said this to everyone in the group, not just Veldaban.
Sora had never heard of helpful Trolls in any stories he heard…but of course the Trolls he heard in fantasy stories growing up could possibly be very different than the ones in this world. "It's worth a shot, right…?"
Veldaban sighed, stroking his beard anxiously. "You four can go if you want. I just…can't face Trolls. Not after the battles I've fought…" He let out a shudder, his voice full of an old fear. "I'll wait back in Keldagrim, see how the situation there is holding up…"
Without another word, the Dwarf went back towards his kingdom.
"I think we should go." Sora said to Donald and Goofy. "I mean, if things get ugly, Zamansis will need some backup anyway…"
The short magician sighed. "I guess so. Will we get to talk to the Consortium about the Keyhole when this is all done?" They had gotten so sidetracked!
"I promise we will. I'm sorry things got this way." Zamansis said sincerely. "Sometimes when I pop in somewhere for a visit, things end up…like this." He made a vague gesture around them.
"It's settled! Let's hurry and talk to them there Trolls!" Goofy said with his usual enthusiasm, starting to walk back the way they came.
The way to the Trolls was about halfway between the Black Guards and where the Chaos Dwarves were stationed. In an offshoot tunnel, a nasty odor and distant chatter could be heard! Walking in that direction, the four quickly found themselves at another encampment, this one populated by Trolls! It turned out the Trolls of Gielinor were apparently made of rock, or so it seemed. They were taller than any human Sora had seen, and their skin was grey and brown, looking as if they simply tore themselves from the mountains at birth.
A lot of the Trolls noticed the four outsiders, but none made any movements. One of the larger ones went up to the group, point to Zamansis. "What tall Dwarf doing here?" It asked. "Pretty Flower eat for dinner!"
"Dat not Dwarf! Dat human!" Another Troll piped up, approaching the commotion. "My Arm met dis human before! Hi, human!" My Arm greeted, waving at Zamansis eagerly, prompting the man to gently wave back.
"What's with these names? Pretty Flower? My Arm?" Donald whispered up to the armored hero.
"Trolls are named after the first thing the eat or try to eat." Zamansis whispered back. "My Arm tried to eat his dad's arm, so his dad named him 'My Arm' if that makes sense…"
"…Not really…" Donald grumbled. These Trolls sure were weird!
"Look, are you in charge?" Sora interrupted, pointing at Pretty Flower. "We have to talk to you! It's urgent!" He also found the naming thing very odd…but it was pretty funny too. It was hard to keep a straight face calling a monstrous beast 'Pretty Flower' like that.
Pretty Flower guffawed, shaking his head. "You not worthy to talk to me!" The Troll declared, shaking his head a second time. "If you lift Big Rock, you talk to me!" He ordered, pointing to yet another bulky Troll. "Don't care which one of you do it. One of you gotta do it!"
"Well, gawrsh, I know I can't lift a Troll…" Goofy remarked, looking Big Rock over. "I know you can't, Donald. Uh…you probably can't either, Sora. No offense…"
"None taken. I don't think any person could lift up something like that!" Sora said with a heavy frown. Turning to Zamansis, he sighed. "What do we do?"
Zamansis paused, putting his sword and shield away. "I'll lift him. I can do this!" He said, voice heavy with confidence. Without waiting for a response, he went over to Big Rock, the Troll chortling down at him. With an intense strength, the armored man hoisted the monstrous being over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes! Letting out a loud, drawn out grunt of strain, he stood up straight, properly lifting up Big Rock!
"What?! He actually did it!" Donald exclaimed, rubbing his eyes to make sure he was really seeing things right! How was that possible?!
"Hwerp!" Big Rock exclaimed, just as shocked as Donald and the others were. He was quickly put down, staring down at Zamansis in awe before letting out a guffaw. "Human lift me up! Me not think any human is strong enough, but this human lift me up!" He declared, sounding oddly happy about the situation.
The armored man, who was panting a bit, walked over to Pretty Flower. "Now we can talk, right?" He asked, getting his breath back.
Pretty Flower grumbled, but nodded. "Human did as told. Fine. What you want?"
"We want you to help fight off the Chaos Dwarves in the tunnels!" Zamansis declared, getting right to the point.
"Why we do dat?" My Arm piped up, scratching the side of his head. "Other Dwarves real annoying!"
Zamansis paused before coming up with an answer. "Uh…well…you can eat the Chaos Dwarves! No way for them to return to normal, so them dying is surely a better fate…" He said the last part more to Sora, Donald, and Goofy than to the Trolls.
Pretty Flower shook his head and spat on the ground. "No way! Those Dwarves taste like bad eggs!"
"I'm sure that Keldagrim would be awfully thankful. Maybe they'd reward ya!" Goofy suggested, trying for a far less violent reason.
"Naw! Those Dwarves got nothing we want!" Pretty Flower refused with another shake of his head. "We need good reason to help Dwarves!"
Not even thinking, Sora pointed right at Pretty Flower. "Their leader, Colonel Grimsson, said your name was stupid!" The teen lied, feeling that the Troll had to be at least a bit self-conscious about such a soft name.
There was a heavy, long silence after that declaration. My Arm and Big Rock stared at Pretty Flower, jaws hung open and clear fear on their stony faces. After a few moments, Pretty Flower growled and stomped his foot. "He what?!" The Troll bellowed. "No one make fun of Pretty Flower! We kill the freaky Dwarves! Trolls! Get ready to fight!"
"How'd you know what would work?" Zamansis asked, watching as the Trolls roared out and started to follow Pretty Flower into the main caverns.
"If I had a name like that, I'd hate it if I got made fun of too." Sora replied with a shrug. "I'm just glad he bought that lie…"
Goofy couldn't help but laugh, wiping a tear that formed at the corner of his eye. "Great thinkin', Sora! I kinda feel bad that the Trolls are goin' to fight over a lie, but…if it helps Keldagrim…"
"We can talk morality later. Come on, let's go tell Veldaban the good news!" Zamansis suggested as the quartet quickly made their way back to Keldagrim, telling Colonel Grenda the good news on the way. When the four got back to the kingdom, there was a mob still outside the Consortium building with Black Guards keeping them from entering. Along with that, Hreidmar and Veldaban were off to either side of the angry crowd.
"Veldaban! The Trolls are fighting for us!" Sora said when they reached their companion. He quickly noticed he didn't even smile at the news, just staring up at a balcony of the massive building. "What's wrong…?'
The Dwarf sighed. "Sorry. That's great news. It's just…Meike made her changes. I wish there was another way…"
"Who did she change the name to?" Goofy asked quietly, not wanting anyone in the crowd to overhear.
Before Veldaban could answer, several members of the Consortium made their way to the balcony. The Green Gemstone Director spoke up to the mob. "People of Keldagrim! Please! Listen!" He shouted out, the crowd's noise dying down. "The Consortium has guided this city for the past five hundred years. Recent events, however, have made it impossible for the Consortium to stay in power. We know that these are troubled times, and there is truth to the Azdaran Fragment. 'No band of petty councilors can preserve this city through its darkest days – only a king.' as it plainly says."
The Blue Opal Director took over at this point. "With this in mind we authorized the opening of the records chamber in order to determine who is the rightful heir to the throne. The Consortium will step down and become an advisory body under the new king, no questions asked!"
At this, Hreidmar chuckled to himself, staring up at the balcony. "My time has come at last. My birthright is here…"
The Blue Opal Director went on. "Therefore, we of the Consortium declare Veldaban as the new king of Keldagrim!" At this, the crowd gasped in astonishment, murmuring amongst themselves.
"What?! Veldaban?!" Hreidmar roared, looking about and quickly spotting the Dwarf in question, as if somehow sensing his presence. Growling, the Red Axe leader made his way to the new king. "You…! How did you…?!"
Without hesitation, Veldaban pointed at Hreidmar. "Guards! Arrest this man! Arrest him this instance!" He bellowed to the Black Guard.
The guards in question, though, were just as baffled as everyone else. "S-Sir?! I mean…Your Majesty…?!" One of them sputtered out.
Hreidmar flinched at the order but glared hot daggers at the new king. "My army will overrun the city! You will pay for denying me my throne!" He spat, dodging into the crowd.
"I said arrest him! Arrest Hreidmar!" Veldaban ordered to the guards…but by the time he said this, the older Dwarf had vanished into the mob.
"It's too late, Veldaban, he's gone…" Zamansis said with a sigh, placing a hand on the Dwarf's shoulder.
"But…you're the new king?" Sora asked, still wrapping his mind around things. He supposed the Dwarf just hated the idea of having the crown thrust upon him…
Sadly, Veldaban nodded. "Yes. But I suppose it's 'Your Majesty' now…" He said with a solemn tone, entering the Consortium building.
What followed was a series of small speeches and ceremonies as Veldaban was crowned the king, an actual crown placed on his head as he took to the throne. The Dwarf was barely able to muster a smile through the ordeal. When all was done, the Consortium, Veldaban, along with Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Zamansis were in the new throne room.
"We were told by the king that you needed our help with something?" The Yellow Fortune Director asked, looking to the quartet at Veldaban sat sadly on his throne.
"That's right!" Sora declared, knowing Donald would be happy to get to this part. "We're looking for something called a Keyhole, and we think it's underground somewhere. It gives off a weird energy, and is literally shaped like a keyhole…"
The various Directors murmured amongst themselves, shaking their heads a bit. The Green Gemstone Director turned to the quartet. "We've never heard of something like that. If it existed around here, we'd know about it, trust us. Sorry we couldn't help more…"
Donald groaned out, shoulders slumped. "You mean all that waiting and hard work for a dead end?!" The magician cried out. "What do we do now…?!"
"Don't worry Donald, I'm sure we can find it! We'll just keep looking!" Goofy declared, patting his friend on the back, which didn't seem to help much.
"Yeah, and maybe there won't be another quest in the way, right Zamansis?" Sora asked cheekily, trying to make light of a bad situation. In reality, he was pretty disappointed to, but he'd rather play it off with a joke than letting the others know how frustrating the situation was.
The teen felt worse when Donald glared at him…
Somewhere to the north, in any icy expanse, there were two figures. A skeletal being in a robe, and a blonde man with a large, bandaged sword. The former was glaring at the latter, though it was a bit hard to tell without skin or eyes. "Do you want to tell me why you didn't attack Zamansis?!" Sliske demanded of Cloud. "You were right there! I saw you!"
"There were others with him. Even a kid." Cloud responded, not threatened by Sliske's anger. "You wanted me to take out Zamansis, not anyone else."
The Mahjarrat scowled at that. "You couldn't have just bisected him and run off? Fine! New order! You take out Zamansis and anyone that happens to be near him!"
"You can't just change the order like that. It wasn't our deal." The swordsman replied in a cold tone, his icy blue eyes glaring right back at Sliske. "You just said Zamansis."
Sliske shook his head. "Fine, I guess you don't want to get help finding that man you're after or keeping the darkness in your heart locked up." His tone took a less hostile, almost uncaring tone.
Cloud hesitated, looking down at the snowy ground as he pondered things. "…Fine. I won't kill anyone but Zamansis, though. Got it?"
Sighing, Sliske shrugged his shoulders. "So boring! But fine, do what you have to and take out that adventurer!"
With a pause, Cloud looked back up towards the skeletal being. "Why do you want Zamansis taken out so badly anyway?"
At that, Sliske let out a laugh, as if Cloud told a simple joke. "Oh, it'll cause some fun, that's all! What other reason do I need?"
A/N: This chapter ended up being longer than expected. A lot longer. I really wanted to squeeze this quest into a single chapter, even if it went over my usual chapter length. With so many quests in RuneScape, I thought having only one delved into would be a bit of a shame, so I made it so the group didn't find the Keyhole anywhere. However, the next quest will be the last one covered, so things will move on to other worlds soon. Granted, the next chapter may be a bit longer than even this one. I also think it's appropriate to sometimes give explanations like the previous quests in the Red Axe series, to give more context to those not as familiar with RuneScape. It's something I plan to do at various other times in these stories, and I feel as long as they don't go too long, there's no harm.
I admit, I feel I'm having troubles writing groups. One thing is I feel like every interaction should have all of them speaking up, even if they don't have much of importance to say. But if I don't have them all talk, one or two of the characters can go, what I feel, is too long without speaking. I'm trying to find a balance, is all. In my Zelda stories, it's only Link and Navi/Tatl pretty much 90% of the time, so I'm only used to two characters at once. Even in Birth by Sleep, while there were a few group sections like in the MOTHER world, great swaths of the story had the Birth by Sleep trio alone or only with one or two companions. A constant trio, or even a temporary quartet, quintet, even a sextet is just something I need to get used to.
I will also say, I do enjoy makin little references to RuneScape in the story. Zamansis' comment about conveniently having the items needed being a nod to at least one instance I can recall where pretty much the same exchange happened during one of the many quests. Also, I know I took a few liberties with how the quest went like making it so none of the Lava Flow Mine Dwarves died, or making it so Pretty Flower instantly believed the lie about his name being made fun of. Just a few small cut corners to speed things up just a tad. With how long the chapter ended up being anyway, I felt it was a good idea.
A final note is, I don't know if I mentioned this before, but if possible I like to have the "boss" of a world or chapter be a character from that setting rather than a giant Heartless or something. Makes the crossover feel stronger, and I'm not too good at coming up with Heartless designs of my own, though recycle existing ones from the game series isn't off the table...