Black wizards - Douglas Niles [121]
"They're all over the place," murmured Daryth, recognizing that these, too, were dwarves.
"Yes, but not duergar," said the prince, straightening and sheathing his weapon. "Is that who I think it is?" he asked, staring at the central figure among the dwarves.
"I mighta known it would be you!" grumbled the dwarf, stepping into the tight. The speaker was a female, though her bristling beard gave no clue as to her sex. She wore a shirt of nicked chain mail and carried a heavy battleaxe. Squinting up at the prince, she spit a long stream of tobacco juice from the side of her mouth.
"Finellen!" cried the prince, dropping to his knees and embracing the dwarf warmly.
"That's enough!" she grumbled, though she managed to slap the prince on the hack a couple of times.
Daryth, too, put his weapon away and allowed himself to smile. The other dwarves – they could see more than a dozen now – advanced from the darkness with expressions varying from amusement to distrust to boredom. They were all armed and armored, holding their weapons ready for combat.
"I turn my back for one year, and you get yourself into trouble again!" muttered Finellen.
"I'm afraid so. But Caer Corwell is still safe, only because of your stand against the firbolgs at the gatehouse!
"Finellen and her company fought with us against the Beast, Kazgoroth," explained Tristan, turning to Alexei. "They routed a band of firbolg giants and carried the day. A more courageous lot of soldiers we could not have found."
"Yeah, well it doesn't take a lot of brains to fight firbolgs," grumbled the dwarf. "Not like the duergar. So you had a tussle with 'em?"
The prince explained the tale of their escape from the dungeon, while the dwarves listened intently. They chuckled grimly as he described their airborne escape.
"But what brings you here?" the prince finally asked. "This is a long way from Gwynneth, and I can't imagine you taking a ship across to Alaron."
"No need. These caverns you've been flying through are only a small part of the underworld of the Moonshaes. I marched here with two companies of my best troops when we heard of the duergar activity. We thought you were scouts for 'em, at first" she admitted. "You almost got yer livers spitted, 'cept for the wisdom and patience of our leader – that is to say, me."
"Thank you for waiting," said Alexei. "It would appear that we are allies in the same cause."
"After a fashion," admitted Finellen. "Though I try not to worry too much about what happens on top of the world. We got enough problems down here."
"Your mission is to attack the duergar?" asked the prince.
"That's for me to decide. We don't know what they're up to yet – but it seems likely that it's no good. Now, tell me, what got you tossed into the High King's dungeon?"
* * * * *
"What are we going to do? Tell me!" King Carrathal's voice rose a full octave as he paced in his chambers.
"The time to assert your control is now!" said Cyndre. "The prince is loose in the countryside. I tell you, he will return to Doncastle – where else can he go? If you move to crush that nest of outlaws you will catch him in your net as well.
"And if you do not," concluded the wizard quietly, "I fear that you will soon have a force in that forest capable of causing you great difficulty."
"Why – how do you know he will go to Doncastle?" whined the king.
"He was aided by O'Roarke's agent. This I have learned from my mirror. His mission to confront you has failed, and he runs away now. The only place he can hope to find safety is Doncastle!"
"But why must we strike now, so quickly?"
"The bandits under O'Roarke have been content to cower in their woods, preying on passing merchants. I have seen this prince, now. And I suspect he will not let that situation persist. Think what those bandits could do if they were led by a man of ambition