Dan found the tunnels the dwarves led them down a bit nostalgic. They definitely reminded him more of the Hive’s work than the old, underground ruins originally built by the ‘Ancient’ civilization which they had found under the forest. They were still lit mostly by bioluminescent moss, and their steps echoed just faintly down the stone corridors.

  He tried to keep a mental map of their surroundings and their route, but it was difficult. Still, he thought he managed to keep a general impression of where they were relative to the entrance. A few hours to get to the dwarves’ settlement seemed to be right. It meant the tunnels were more extensive than he’d have guessed.

  Despite the warning, they didn’t see any signs of earth wyrms for the first two hours or so. However, that luck didn’t last. Dan didn’t know if it followed some kind of order; while he’d seen earth wyrms before, they were scarcer in the northern part of the mountains and he hadn’t paid as much attention.

  Now, he pressed himself against the tunnel, slowing his breathing on instinct, as something rumbled through the cavern ahead of them. Judging by their size and the layout, there was either a connecting tunnel or some kind of cave the monster was moving through. After a moment, he glanced at his troops, who were fortunately all silent. He held up a hand and gestured for them to back away a little bit. The group was big enough, walking single file or in twos down this tunnel, that it took some shuffling, but they pressed more closely together without making much noise. He was thankful he’d at least been saddled with command of veterans.

  The dwarves had obviously tensed up a bit, but were more relaxed. Their leader, Itemil, as he’d offered at some point, looked at Dan, clearly considering, before he gestured ahead and turned to take a few steps. Dan hesitated for a moment, before he carefully pulled his blade-arms in, securing his armor and weapons, and lightly walked after him.

  The earth wyrm was bigger than he’d thought, looking at it from a little closer up. It almost looked like it had used this path many times before and worn a groove in the floor of the cavern, although it might also be a dry water bed. The beast looked more like a large snake than a worm, lacking any limbs but with reflective dark scales and green eyes gleaming in the darkness like a cat’s. It didn’t look like a beast entirely living underground. He also didn’t see why the dwarves would intersect their corridors with its path.

  The earth wyrm continued on its way, and they watched, silently. Dan tried to take in as much as he could given the dim light. Once he only saw the tip of its tail, he turned his attention to the corridor itself, and realized what should have been obvious. There was definitely a natural cavern here, but further on, and probably mirrored at some point on its other end, it narrowed to a smaller, rougher tunnel — a round one, just the right size to fit the earth wyrm with a little bit of wiggle room. Clearly, they were using it to dig tunnels.

  “Risky but convenient,” he muttered.

  Itemil smiled, a flash of teeth in the darkness. “It’s important to keep bolt holes. And to time trips for larger groups. Come on, let’s continue.”

  Dan simply nodded and turned back to see to the rest of the company. They muttered faintly as they traversed the cavern, and he paid particular attention to the rock of the cave walls, trying to pinpoint the spot at which natural formations merged into the monster’s digging. It was a pretty effective demonstration of what the dwarves could do under the mountains, if that was the point.

  He wondered about their ability to tame the earth wyrms, and whether other people could do it. Clearly the dwarves relied more on steering them, if anything, but it should be possibly for high enough leveled people with the right Classes to basically control them outright, shouldn’t it? It could be very interesting for their ability to secure the route through the mountains, but he had a feeling the dwarves weren’t going to offer help for nothing.

  The rest of their trip was slightly tenser, with the reminder that monsters lurked here in the dark, but it passed without incident. They passed through a few more tunnels, going down one that wound a little like an enlarged staircase, and then into parts that were obviously better secured. They passed several points where the tunnel narrowed in obvious chokepoints and he saw arrow slits in the, presumably fake, walls. The tunnel led upwards again after dipping down, which was probably a precaution against flooding, in these caverns. Then it finally opened up a little more and they got to a bigger cave.

  Here, it was easy to see the differences in the structure that led to the settlement. The dwarves hadn’t built conventional houses; with the cavern ceiling above, they didn’t need roofs, and they seemed to embrace a communal style where many functions took place in dedicated areas that weren’t separated by walls. It was similar to the Hive in a lot of ways. Also, building walls here would be rough, he supposed. There were still smaller compartments separated out with wood and bricks, probably bedrooms. But Dan only spared the architecture a short glance before focusing on the people. It was immediately apparent that the cave complex they’d entered could house a lot more people than there were. There was a lot of open space and his company could easily rest here without disturbing the dwarves.

  They looked a lot like the group escorting his company, wearing similar clothing and engaged in a variety of tasks. The only one not at least writing something stood by a central obelisk that reached to the ceiling of the cave, wearing burnished armor, hands clasped behind his back, looking steadily at him. It didn’t surprise Dan when Itemil headed straight for him. He followed him after making sure that Geoff was catching up.

  “Greetings,” Dan said, bowing his head a bit. “Thank you for welcoming us here.”

  The paladin nodded and extended a hand for a handshake. “It is good to meet you, Lord Dan. Welcome to Atefia’kela.”

  Dan noted that his skin felt as rocky as it looked as he returned the handshake and tried to remember the name. He really hoped he wasn’t messing up this meeting, he wasn’t a diplomat. “I appreciate it,” he replied, figuring that being as polite as possible was probably best, and gratitude and assurances would probably fit well. “We didn’t intend to trespass on your territory without invitation, as it appears we might have. Also, I’m afraid I’m unsure what to call you — Sir Itirka-ne?”

  “Tirka is fine,” the dwarf replied with a small smile. “It will generally be a safe bet to shorten a dwarf’s name by leaving out the last syllable and the last or both bracketing vowels. Would you like something to drink?”

  Dan accepted, remembering to introduce Geoff as well. They sat down at what was clearly a meeting area with rough chairs and he took a cup of water. At least it wasn’t alcohol.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “I assume you’re the leader of this settlement?” he asked after a moment, to be sure.

  Tirka smiled and shook his head. “No. I’m not even a resident here, most of the time.”

  Dan raised an eyebrow and looked at Itemil (Temil?), who smiled faintly and nodded. “Yes, I’m the leader of our warriors here,” he said. “But this affects more than just our settlement, so I’ll let Tirka talk.”

  Dan glanced at his company of soldiers, who were settling in, and mostly watching them with interest. Many of them would be able to overhear them talking. The same was probably true of the dwarves, too.

  “I don’t know much about your people,” he admitted, “or your culture. So I apologize in advance if I give offense. But can you talk for all dwarves? Or, for that matter, do you want to?”

  “That’s complicated,” Tirka said. “I’m well-respected in almost all of the settlements. Many of our people live outside of them, in the human or occasionally elven lands. I still want to protect them as much as we can, regardless of any affiliations they have with specific villages.”

  “From what?”

  Now Tirka hesitated. He seemed to take a moment to consider, then decide to be blunt. “I’m sure you have some experience with hostility based on nothing more than your race. Humans can be very intolerant. No offense, Captain.”

  Geoff inclined his head slightly. “None taken, Tirka. My order has had to reevaluate quite a lot in the last few years. I know the southern chapters haven’t followed suit.”

  The dwarf leaned back a little, tilting his head slightly; conciliatory, Dan thought.

  “And it will always be worse for those without a stable home or strong rulers to speak up for them,” Geoff continued.

  Now Tirka actually looked surprised, for a moment, before he nodded. “I suppose so,” he muttered. “Well, we’ve found some allies, but it’s not a simple situation. And your brother, Lord Dan, seemed reasonable, and I think he would understand.”

  “Just Dan, no need for the ‘lord’,” Dan said automatically. “So you’ve seen Tim?”

  “Yes. I was traveling with an archmage from Veragles, Thande Lucian. We encountered his party and accompanied them to the city.”

  Dan tried not to look surprised. He knew about that, at least. So, from what Tirka said, he could assume Lucian was one of their allies. It didn’t seem to be enough for the dwarf, though. Or maybe they just wanted to evaluate the Empire as well.

  “You’re familiar with the mountains,” Geoff said. It sounded like a disconnect, but even Dan could see where this was going. They were going to talk about what each could offer the other, presumably.

  “Very much so,” Itemil said. “I know you have the gnomes on your side now, but they’ve been largely restricted to the northern side. If you want to build a proper and well-trafficked route to the south, you will be going through our territory, or close enough as makes no difference. We could help your efforts …”

  “Or, well, you can guess,” Tirka added.

  Both of them looked very tense right now, almost staring straight at him, and it took Dan a moment to realize that they might be afraid of his reaction. He paused, his mind churning as he tried to work through the implications. The Empire could conquer them, he thought, considering. It wouldn’t be easy given the terrain, but we’ve got Hivekind and now the gnomes, it would only be an investment of time and some resources. But Mother won’t want to. He hadn’t paid much attention, but he did know she wanted to avoid being seen as conquering anyone in her way. Plus, she would probably object to the idea of an unprovoked attack on a peaceful neighbor for more reasons than just optics. If this develops as they think, they’ll be in control of the pass, or at least an important part of it. The connection between the southern and northern lands. That’s got to be worth a lot, right?

  He’d been silent for too long, and Geoff spoke up again. “We always thought not much information passed through the mountains, but you seem to know a lot about the Empire.”

  Itemil shrugged slightly. “We’ve tried to keep informed. News is still coming, even if it has to take the long way around.”

  “Your offer is valuable,” Dan finally said. “I can’t give you a final answer, I’m sure you understand, but I’ll pass along any messages you might have and recommend a diplomatic team be sent to hammer out a deal that will benefit us all. I can reassure you that the Empress would much rather talk than fight, and your lives and territory will be respected. But I’d like to know what you want from us, in more detail.”

  The two dwarves exchanged a look, and a bit of the tension seemed to flow out of their posture. They didn’t seem surprised, either, so that probably meant they’d expected a response like this. Maybe he wasn’t messing up this diplomacy thing too badly.

  “If you want to establish safe travel through the mountains, you will need to secure the surrounding area,” Tirka said, clearly still speaking carefully. “It will involve managing the monster populations and allow opportunities for expansion. Obviously, we’re not stupid enough to expect to clear the mountains of monsters entirely, but we would like increased security. We may want to reclaim settlements our people were forced to abandon, and secure resources we cannot access yet.”

  “That sounds reasonable,” Dan said. Maybe the Empire would want some resources in the mountains, too, but he only had a vague idea of what they might be, and it wasn’t like he was promising anything.

  “We would also like the Empress’ political support, in the lands south of the mountains,” the dwarf continued. “I know you are making allies and connections there. If we are to be … allied, we expect the Empire’s influence to be used to support and protect our people. It would be in your own interests as well.”

  Dan felt like he might be missing something, but he’d felt that way for most of this conversation and clearly, he’d just have to deal with it. “Of course,” he said. “The Empire is against any form of racial discrimination. Or other discrimination. We will certainly push for equality and advocate for respecting the rights and concerns of minorities.” That was a boilerplate answer, but hopefully safe enough.

  He had a bit more trouble trying to read their reactions to this answer, but at least they didn’t seem too upset. No one was bringing out weapons, anyway.

  “Are there other demands the Empire has?” Itemil asked.

  “I’m sure there will be some requests,” Dan said. Requests, not demands, sounded more polite, right? “They will come up in negotiations. For now, I have to admit I am more concerned with my own mission.”

  The two dwarves exchanged a glance. “You need to move south quickly, I assume,” Itemil said.

  Dan nodded. There was little point trying to conceal that fact at this point. “We would also appreciate information,” he added. “But yes, moving this company south quickly would be best. Toward the region around Iliucin and Iliyan, preferably.” That was where Tim was, so hopefully it wouldn’t give too much away.

  “I will guide you, tomorrow,” Itemil said. “There is a good path, and I assume your soldiers will be sufficient protection.”

  “Thank you.” Dan hesitated for a moment. “Would you be willing to do the same for other Imperial soldiers coming after us?”

  “We can’t speak for every dwarf, at least not yet,” Tirka warned him. “There may be issues with other settlements. But I think we could, in return for some assurances.”

  Dan smiled. “We will be happy to pay for passage. And we will respect your territory, and maintain its security.”

  Geoff shifted slightly beside him, and the two dwarves exchanged a look again. It took a moment for Dan to realize how they might have interpreted his words. He’d been thinking in terms of dealing with monsters, not threatening them with troop movements or the prospect of the Empire chewing on their borders.

  “Of course,” Tirka said coolly. “You will have our assistance.”

  Dan smiled, trying to look conciliatory, although he knew better than to try and apologize or try to explain he hadn’t meant it. Trying to walk back his words probably wouldn’t help and only create more confusion. Especially because it was probably a reasonable diplomatic threat, as far as that went. “I appreciate it,” he said sincerely. “If there’s anything I can do right now in return for your assistance, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

  They didn’t reply directly and instead turned the conversation to the route and the company’s overnight stay in their settlement. Dan tried not to second-guess himself the entire time, while he was talking with the dwarves and planning for the future.

  When he finally managed to lie down for the night, he was exhausted.

  At least it seemed he’d made some progress.