Chapter 7: Nation of the Dwarves

  The mountains grew taller as the caravan neared dwarven territory. Solana noticed signs of an entrance in the mountainside well east of where they were currently aimed, so they turned right and proceeded towards that location.

  As they came closer, they could make out the likeness of 100-meter tall dwarves carved into the rock. Centered within the display was a huge opening to the caves known as the home of the dwarves. As the details came into view, the princess’ party saw soldiers guarding the entrance. A lot of soldiers.

  --

  “I’m Yttria Polonio of the Fenwick Kingdom! We come in peace,” Yttria announced to the guards, gesturing to the wagons several dozen meters behind her.

  “Well met! The name’s Erivumlir Smeltbeard! Call me Eri! Step forward to discuss, Sangria Yolo!”

  “San—“ Yttria decided to just let it go. She casually approached the guards to chat. “Is there any reason why this particular gate is so well defended?”

  “Aye. Those blasted dark elves attacked Kegshield. Seized most of our breweries, too. So, what are you doing here at Goldenhelm, lassie?”

  “I travel with first princess Charlotte, as well as several other aids and guards. We’re trying to get to the Shadow State. We were hoping we could enter your nation and transit to the northeast.”

  “The Shadow State? I know little of Fenwick and its alliances, but why you going there? My beard can hardly hide my cringe every time we get visitors from that place!”

  “Perhaps the princess can explain more. At least, I can promise we are neither allies nor enemies of the Shadow State. Once our business there is concluded, we’ll return to Fenwick.”

  “Hm. That’ll work, if you don’t mind the war and all. Where you coming from, anyway? Don’t get very many visitors coming in the Goldenhelm Gate…”

  “We came straight here from the Elvish Forest.”

  “The elves!? Bunch a wiry wine-drinkers, them. What’re they up to lately?”

  “Actually, they just fought off the orcs. We have reason to believe the dark elves instigated the assault and even equipped the orcs with magic items.”

  “What!? Hey, you louts! Make room for Princess Fenwick! Come on in, Yolo!”

  It’s a good thing Garfield wasn’t there.

  --

  Eri transferred custody of the carriages to some dwarven soldiers and then led the party into the dwarven city of Goldenhelm. Apparently, each of the five dwarven cities were named after an old hero, and each had their own royal family, of sorts.

  The group passed structure after structure of dwarves producing weapons and armor, packaging up provision to ship to the front, or conducting other such wartime business.

  “This is it. Wait here for a minute.” Eri entered a building that looked like the dwarven equivalent of a council house. Several passing dwarves stopped to politely introduce themselves. They didn't seem to be particularly surprised by the presence of humans, fox-people, or elves for that matter. Eri stepped back out and waved the party in.

  --

  “I’m Sirbabella Ashriver, Queen of Goldenhelm. Please, call me Bella.” The elderly dwarven woman nodded.

  “Princess Charlotte Fenwick. Thank you for taking us in during such a trying time.” Charlotte introduced her entourage. To keep things simple, she identified Yttria as her knight and the rest as adventurers. Bella didn’t question the presence of an elf. The warrior from White Glow stayed outside with the four Zodiac animals in order to avoid creating a scene.

  “Under different circumstances I’d like to hold diplomatic talks but, yes… the dark elves… I hear you have information about them? Please, let’s share what we know.”

  Charlotte explained the events she witnessed in the Elvish Forest including the dark elves’ likely involvement. Bella described a recent attack on Kegshield, north of Goldenhelm. The dark elves had already taken the city and were poised to mount additional offensives from there.

  “If what you lot say is true, then the dark elves are unlikely to attack Goldenhelm from outside the gate. Their assault was so powerful because they weren’t worried about their flank! Little did they know that the elves would hold off the orcs so gallantly! Gyahahaha!”

  “My Queen, this is no laughing matter! They hold the breweries!” Eri insisted.

  “Hm. True. That is unforgivable. With the forest elves unbeaten and the orcs in retreat, we can redirect much of our forces from Goldenhelm and Kokkumi northward. We must send advance messengers at once!”

  “Right away! Eri ran off to make the arrangements.”

  “So, you lot want to traverse our territory and enter the Shadow Nation from the north?”

  “Yes, Queen Bella. Which is your northernmost exit to the east?”

  “That’d be Nightrock. To get there though, you’d need to either proceed north to Kegshield where all the fighting is, or go east to Kokkumi then north to Lightforge and then further to Nightrock. I need not tell you which route is safer.”

  “Is there no route that is more direct?” the princess asked.

  “In a manner of speaking. You’d need to pass through pools of lava. If any of you are hardy enough for that, I’ll be impressed.”

  “You think you could make it through the lava pools?” Solana whispered to Hannah.

  “No… At least, I don’t want to try. I bet Garfield could get through if he needed to.”

  “Really? He seemed calm and collected, but not strong…”

  “He’s stronger than me.”

  “Wha!?” Everyone turned to look at Solana due to her outburst. “S-Sorry.” Her cheeks turned bright red, which was impressive for a vampire.

  “Queen Bella, do you mind if I consult with my advisors before deciding what route to take?”

  “Not at all. Whichever way you decide to go, I’ll assign Eri to guide you. May the earthen spirits guide your path.”

  --

  Outside, the group huddled up.

  “The safe route is definitely to go east and then north,” advised Brooke.”

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “Indeed,” Kay agreed. “There’s no point in sticking our necks into yet another battle between two other nations.”

  “It does bother me, though,” Yttria admitted. “I want to see the dark elves lose after what they did to Solana and her people, albeit indirectly…” Solana looked down at the ground.

  The princess was the first to respond. “That’s understandable, Yttria. For now, though, I think we must prioritize—“

  “I’ll do it,” Hannah said plainly, interrupting the princess.

  “You will!? Wait, what will you do?” Solana asked her. Yttria spoke next.

  “Wait, Hannah, you’re not thinking of—“

  “I’ll defeat the dark elves.”

  --

  Hannah’s plan was to sneak into Kegshield and eliminate their chain of command using her invisibility, flight, teleportation, and extreme speed. In a pinch, she could use her control ability to send enemies away or create a diversion. Garfield had told her not to use that ability without his permission, but this situation seemed like an exception and, well, Garfield wasn’t here. Perhaps Solana really was rubbing off on Hannah.

  “Princess, it’s your call,” said Kay.

  “I think… Hannah has already made up her mind. I doubt anyone here can change it.” Nobody disagreed.

  “Hannah, I’ll go with you!”

  “No,” Hannah denied Solana. “Stay with them. I’ll be able to act more freely if I’m alone.” Solana puffed up her cheeks. Hannah chuckled. “Is that what I look like to Garfield all the time?”

  Hannah tagged along with the dwarven soldiers heading north, while the rest traveled east towards Kokkumi with Eri. They would all meet up at Lightforge, north of Kokkumi and east of Kegshield.

  --

  “Father, the dwarves are amassing their forces south and southeast of Kegshield,” a dark elf woman reported to a similar-featured man sitting on a dwarven throne.

  “So? Those fools hardly fought to keep this city. You think they’ll suddenly fight harder to reclaim it?”

  “They’re said to fight like kobolds only until the alcohol in their blood runs out!”

  “Oh? Should I load up some of their catapults with barrels of ale? Perhaps you’d like to pour their drinks for them personally?”

  “Father!”

  “While we’re at war, call me General, Eleha.”

  “Yes… General.”

  “What did Garfield call it? Nepotism?” a voice wondered from above.

  “Who goes there!?” the General yelled as he stood. His two guards and his daughter brandished their bows.

  ”Me.” Hannah waved, seated atop a rafter near the ceiling of the tall throne room.

  “Well, ‘me’, how did you get in here?” the General asked.

  “I was here the whole time.”

  “What?”

  “I’ve been sitting up here for three days. You just didn’t notice me.”

  What!? Impossible!” The General’s bravado was somewhat forced. He didn’t really know for certain that nobody could have been hiding up there. “Anyway! What do you want?”

  “A drink.”

  “A drink?”

  “Father, don’t listen to her!”

  “Quiet, Eleha! What do you mean you want a drink?”

  “Did your daughter get her brain from her mother? I want her to pour me a drink.” The mysterious girl reached out a hand towards Eleha. Eleha braced, expecting an attack of some type. All the sudden, Eleha shot up into the air and hovered in front of the girl, slowly rotating, quite a few meters above the floor.

  “Eleha! You, what did you do!?”

  “Hm… You don’t seem to have any drinks. What about you two?” Hannah pointed one hand each at the two guards. Blood-red tentacles sprang from her wrists, swung down, and grabbed each of the guards by their necks. They were lifted half a meter off the floor, legs swinging back and forth.

  “You!”

  “What about you, General? I’m kind of thirsty.”

  “Give me back my daughter!”

  “Does she even want to go back? You don’t seem like a very good dad…”

  “What!? Eleha, tell her!”

  “Father… I’m… a bit embarrassed by you right now…”

  “Damn you! What do you WANT!?”

  The tentacles released the unconscious guards and then disappeared into a fine red mist. The mist spread out and formed a fog that partly obscured the perimeter of the room. “Since you suck so much at serving drinks, send your army out of the Dwarven Mountains.”

  By chance, two patrolling guards entered the chamber and drew their bows when they noticed the commotion.

  “Quick, fire at that strange girl! Don’t hit Eleha!” The guards did what they were told and loosed an arrow each. They struck the girl in the shoulder and thigh.

  “Ugh, these clothes are special to me. Fine. Go to sleep.”

  The two guards collapsed to the floor. The General was panicking.

  “What ARE you!? The bloody goddess of all vampires!?”

  “No.”

  “Then!?”

  “Not anymore.”

  “…What?”

  “I stopped using that name thousands of years ago.”

  The General roughly sat back down on the throne, eyes wide.

  “Will you do as I say, or do I need to show you how I got that name?”

  “…Even so. I cannot do what you ask… I can’t… I can’t…”

  “You will, right now, or I will kill you, reanimate your corpse, and send you back home to assassinate your leaders.”

  “I…”

  The girl turned towards Eleha, who was still floating there, revolving slowly. “What do you think?”

  “I didn’t want to attack to begin with!”

  “I like you!” the girl shouted in an oddly positive tone. “Would you like to meet my master?” The thought of this overwhelming creature serving yet another as a master was too much for the General.

  “I’ll give the order! Don’t hurt her!” He ran out of the chamber.

  “He does seem to care about you after all…”

  “…In his own way.”

  It was Hannah’s first attempt at playing the Garfield role, and it went pretty well.

  --

  Prior to tormenting the dark elf General, Hannah had taken several steps to prepare. First, she practiced her telekinesis ability while traveling to Kegshield, leveling it up a great deal. Second, she secretly borrowed just a tiny bit of blood from a dwarf, gaining the weather manipulation ability. Third, she drank a bit more greedily from an isolated dark elf, gaining the blood manipulation ability, which allowed forming tentacles and other shapes with blood. Putting the two new abilities together, she figured out how to make a bloody fog. Even she was a bit creeped out by it when she used it in the throne room.

  --

  “Walk with me.” Hannah released Eleha, but she complied obediently, likely figuring there was no point in resisting. The pair proceeded out into the main part of the city where the General and his lieutenants were organizing a retreat. One dark elf started arguing with the General, and the General suddenly punched his lights out.

  “It’s not my place to say, but… that was pretty brutal.”

  “I apologize on behalf of my father.”

  After a few minutes, the dwarves started an assault on the city. The General ran back over to Hannah and Eleha. “The retreat is almost finished. The dwarves will be here soon. Eleha, let’s go!”

  “Father, do you really think she’s going to let you escape?”

  “What?”

  Hannah looked out at the crowd of dark elves completing their retreat through the gate towards their territory. After identifying three distinguished-looking officers, she disappeared. A moment later, she reappeared with an unconscious dark elf in her grasp. She repeated this process two more times.

  “What will you do with them?” he asked.

  “Hostages.”

  “Oh. Please, at least release my daughter. She’s the most innocent out of any of us. Although I’m loathe to admit it as a General, she undercut me at every turn, trying to prevent bloodshed.”

  “Like Garfield would say. Nepotism.”

  “What? Garfield?”

  Hannah suddenly hugged Eleha, although she was much shorter so it was just a child’s hug. The lead dwarves arrived and secured the area. The General’s group was quickly surrounded.

  “Hm? Yer that lass who marched here from Goldenhelm, aint ya? What happened here?”

  “I snuck into the city. With help from this double-agent, we defeated the General!”

  “Double wha?”

  Hannah provided a sanitized version. The General didn’t attempt to correct her. After all, it looked like Hannah was going to at least prevent Eleha from getting imprisoned by the dwarves.

  --

  Two days after departing Goldenhelm, the princess’ party made a stop in Kokkumi. Kokkumi was only lightly populated due to all the war efforts to the northwest. They resupplied and proceeded north to Lightforge, where they were supposed to meet up with Hannah. After the two day journey, they settled in for a long wait. They weren’t sure how many more days it would take Hannah to complete her mission and return to the group.

  As Eri lead the group around a corner to the building where they could spend the evening, they spotted Hannah and another, wearing a hooded cloak, standing outside.

  “Hannah!?” Solana shouted as she sprinted over to her at super-human speed, well, super-elf speed. The two embraced briefly before Solana turned towards the other person. “She is?”

  “Eleha.”

  “Come over here for a moment.” Solana put an arm around Hannah’s shoulders and walked several paces away. “Why are you with a Dark Elf?”

  “She helped me defeat the enemy General.”

  “She did?” Solana turned to look over her shoulder at Eleha, who just stood there stoically. “Why would she do that?”

  “She smells good.”

  “Huh?” Solana walked over to Eleha and sniffed her. “She does!”

  “Um…” the princess cut in. “Hannah, I’m really glad to see you’re okay, but can you explain what happened?”

  --

  Hannah explained everything, except accurately this time. The most excited person of all was Eri.

  “You mean to say we’ve reclaimed the breweries!?”

  “Yup. The dark elves didn’t seem interested in ale so they’re probably still fine.”

  “Yes… My father went around telling everyone that the breweries were filthy and to just stay away from them.”

  “That cave-dwelling, squat-legged—“

  “Eri, I really think you should leave it there,” Yttria interrupted, mostly for his benefit. “Hannah, do you think it’s even safe to bring this Eleha with us?”

  Hannah walked back over to Eleha and floated up until their faces were even. She caressed both sides of Eleha’s face with her open palms and then asked, “Can we trust you?” with eyes glowing red.

  “Y-Yes! At the very least, I won’t oppose you. It’s the least I can do after failing to stop my people…”

  “She’s fine!” Hannah declared triumphantly.