“Are the papers in order?” Bargrux asked his advisor as they walked down the stone steps.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Good, you can go now,” Bargrux replied as he nodded his head. “This is a momentous occasion for our people.”
Bargrux felt the temperature rising as his advisor left him. ‘Seven emissaries. I haven’t had much of a chance to test my new status. It’s the perfect opportunity to understand my limits.’ A red glow appeared ahead of him as he fixed a solemn expression on his face.
As he turned the corner, the stairway opened into a cavernous hall. The great dwarven forges were alight and producing tremendous heat as the craftspeople prepared weapons of war. Bargrux grinned as he saw the emissaries wearing concerned expressions as they studied the scene while waiting for him.
“Hm, it’s a magnificent sight. Isn’t it?” Bargrux said as he approached them.
“What’s the meaning of this, King Bargrux?” The old emissary asked as he stared at the blacksmiths hammering away.
“It’s exactly what it looks like. My kingdom is preparing for war.” Bargrux laughed as he fixed his eyes on his opponents. His fingers stroked the head of God’s Bane at his hip. “Now, enough talk. The challenge has been accepted, and all these dwarves will be the witnesses.”
The emissaries revealed unsightly expressions as they caught sight of many dwarves glancing at them from time to time. They grunted before unsheathing their weapons and preparing their shields as they studied the dwarf king. ‘This is how it should be.’ Bargrux nodded to himself as he drew his hammer and titled his own shield toward them.
“Then let the challenge begin!” Bargrux roared as he dashed forward.
The emissaries spread out to surround him once he clashed with the old dwarf. However, a loud grunt escaped from Bargrux’s first opponent as God’s Bane fell on his shield.
The dwarven-steel shield shattered as the old dwarf was thrown backwards. The bones in his arm that had held the shield snapped as he flew while the other dwarves stared in shock. Their gazes turned to Bargrux as horrified expressions appeared on their faces.
However, Bargrux paid them no attention as he analysed what had happened. ‘I used too much strength.’ He sighed as he tried to adjust the power behind his blows as he swung his hammer a few times. ‘I can’t keep throwing them away, or this will take too long.’ Bargrux glanced to his left, and the dwarf that met his gaze shivered.
Before he knew it, Bargrux was in front of him swinging his hammer! The dwarf panicked and lowered his shield as he tried to step back, but that was a fatal mistake. God’s Bane collided with the dwarf’s skull and turned his head into a meat paste!
The other dwarves realised how dangerous the situation had become when they saw that. They quickly glanced at each other before steeling their determination. The five remaining dwarves rushed King Bargrux at once while screaming their war cries!
Bargrux smiled as he watched them charge at him. They seemed slow in his eyes as he blocked an axe with his shield. ‘So this is the power my grandfather wielded.’ He swung his hammer in an uppercut that knocked the dwarf’s head clean off before stamping his foot.
A tremor ran through the stone floor, causing the other dwarves to stumble. Before they could fix their balance, the floor turned into stone spears that pierced their thighs! The dwarves roared in pain as Bargrux slammed his hammer on the ground.
Two stone walls appeared on either side of each of the dwarves as their eyes went wide in fear. Bargrux chuckled before glaring at them.
“Enjoy your tombs!” Bargrux shouted as he slammed his hammer again.
The walls slammed together, crushing the dwarves as Bargrux straightened himself. ‘Too easy. They didn’t put up enough of a fight to test my limits.’ Bargrux thought as he studied the aftermath.
“What have you done?” The old dwarf shouted as he limped back to the battlefield. “This shouldn’t be possible! What heresy is this?”
Bargrux cocked an eyebrow at the dwarf as he stroked his beard. “I don’t mind telling you since you’ll be joining them soon. I didn’t visit my grandfather to talk to him.”
The old dwarf stared at Bargrux with narrowed eyes. “You! What did you do? What evil is this!”
“It’s no evil.” Bargrux chuckled as he walked toward the old emissary. “It’s the final inheritance left by Vors. My grandfather was unworthy of his status. That’s why he’s nothing but dust now.”
“No. You didn’t! It’s impossible!” The old dwarf stammered as fear appeared in his eyes. “You dare taint the memory of Vors in this way?”
“I’m not tainting it. I’m washing the stain of my grandfather from my family’s legacy!” Bargrux roared as he slammed his hammer on the ground.
The old dwarf coughed as a giant spike rose from the ground, impaling him. He hung there, feeling his life fading as he stared at King Bargrux.
Bargrux nodded as he watched the old dwarf bleed out before cheers erupted around the hall. A great feast would occur that night since he had prevailed against the challenge. However, until then, Bargrux would not let them rest.
“Keep those forges going!” Bargrux roared triumphantly. “This is only the first step for the resurrection of our kingdom! We’ll arm the whole of Skardia if we have to!”
The dwarven craftspeople cheered again before the sound of hammers on metal rang loudly throughout the hall. The dwarves attacked their craft with a fervour that the mountain had not seen in centuries.
‘The mountain grows impatient.’ Bargrux sighed to himself as he studied the walls of the hall. His connection with the earth and stone of the world had grown beyond reason since he became a pseudo-demigod. ‘It can feel the changes in the world. It knows it will be drenched in blood before the world calms down again.’
Bargrux shook his head as he raised his eyes to the ceiling. ‘The world can’t sustain so many new gods for too long. Everything is already in motion, and only the victors will remain.’ Bargrux frowned as he looked at his people. ‘I hope Exile lives up to our expectations.’
At that moment, Exile hovered in the air of a large chamber as the Skardian players silently marched through it. He was studying what seemed to be a chrysalis made out of a type of green gem. ‘The liquid is still fresh.’ Exile hummed to himself as he glanced at the other huge gems clinging to the walls and ceiling.
‘Is this a breeding ground?’ He wondered as he controlled his rune to move him on to one that was still intact. A black shadow floated at the centre of that gemstone chrysalis. ‘It looks like it could be a Stalker curled up.’ Exile thought as he studied it. ‘The question is whether we should destroy these before they hatch. Or leave them.’
He sighed while shaking his head. He turned his head to locate Mikari among the leaders before floating down toward him. He could see the group studying one of the opened ones close to the ground as the commanders urged everyone to move as quietly as possible.
“What do you think?” Beartooth asked in a low voice as he glanced at the others.
“We should leave them alone,” Mikari whispered as he turned away from them. “If we interfere with them there’s a chance we could alert the ones on the surface to our presence here. It’s only a possibility, but we shouldn’t risk it.” 𝒆𝙣𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝙚𝙩
“What if they hatch?” Noslin asked as she stared at hundreds of those things embedded in the walls of the chamber.
“We’ll fight. But we shouldn’t provoke the matter. The longer we can keep our escape concealed from Nar’Kozz’s horde, the better.” Mikari replied as he shrugged his shoulders.
“I agree with Mikari. Everything will be for nothing if our plan fails here. Do your best to keep the noise to a minimum and make sure the players understand there will be severe consequences if they endanger us.” Exile stated as he joined them.
“What kind of consequences?” Noslin asked, but Exile fixed her with a gaze that said nobody would be forgiven. She gulped as she stared at the severe expression on his face.
“Mikari, find the best scouts and send them to investigate the nearby chambers. We have to understand how many of these things are down here.” Exile whispered as he turned to his brother.
“I was thinking the same thing. We can get a rough estimate of the minimum amount of these creatures we can expect to attack us later. But I doubt we’ll find every breeding ground. These tunnels are too large to thoroughly scout them out now.”
“Just do what you can for now.” Exile sighed as his eyes spotted a crack appearing on one of the nearby gemstones. “And try to hurry the pace up. It seems like this lot is due to hatch any moment now.”
The leaders gulped as they spotted the same crack as they watched Exile start to float up again. They saw his gaze move to a small opening high up in the chamber. His expression looked confused before a broad smile spread on it.
“What is it?” Noslin asked before he could get too high in the air.
“I’ve got something to do. I’ll catch up with you later. Try not to cause a mess in my absence.” Exile replied before shooting off in the direction of the opening.
“Yeah, right.” Mikari scoffed. “We’re more likely to get into a mess with you around.”