We were awoken and given the message Gorval and council wanted a meeting with us after breakfast. Lanara arrived to take us to them. Echo rode easily on Callie's shoulder, using her hair to secure herself.
We entered and the room went silent. All eyes were on Callie and Echo. We sat down around a large table. Echo settled in front of Callie.
"Lanara told us about your bonding. Are we correct in our understanding that this can be done with any of us?" one of the council asked.
Echo quickly told Callie, who confirmed that such was true.
"Would you show us, please?" another requested.
Callie rose and removed her ring. The majority of the tiny scale was gone but a thin line of it lay in the scratch Echo had made. The council seemed pleased that no "deformity" was required for the bonding. Echo joined Callie and mimicked the procedure. This, too, pleased them with its simplicity and ease.
"We will summon the guards and allow them to volunteer for this duty. With this be a life-long bond?" Gorval asked.
"No, Sire," I began, "the bat-dragon needs to be an elder, one who is at the end of their mating life so as not to loose their bloodline from the group. The eggs of this breed are tiny and easily damaged. The babies require a great deal of care. The middle ones, between babe and elder, are too consumed with mating and raising their young to be good partners. The ones your people bond with may live another ten to fifteen years before they pass to a dragon's death."
Heads bobbed in understanding. Lanara dutifully recorded the information.
"Is there a good supply of these elders? Could this become a permanent type of guard?" a councilor asked.
Echo chirped, giving us a count available. Callie's eyes widened at the number.
"Yes, there are currently several hundred elders on hand," she told them.
They were also shocked. One councilor left to assemble the guards. Gorval and the rest asked to see Echo closer. She walked around the table, pausing in front of each to allow inspection. Some, after viewing her, came over to Set for comparison. Echo's "fire" was part flame and part spark, what some called a "flaming zap". Through Callie, Echo explained they used it to stun their prey, large insects, rodents, and the random frog.
We were informed the guards were assembled and left to meet them. The councilor who had left had already informed the guard why they were called. Callie walked among them to show them Echo as further explanations were given.
"Now, who among you volunteers to try this bonding?" Gorval asked the guards.
For a few seconds, none moved.
Then, someone shouted, "I shall."
A female dwarf stepped around the rest, holding up her hand. This started a slow trickled of guards. Each volunteer was sized up by Echo, who gave an approving cheep. When no one else come forward, a squad of twenty stood before us. The rest of the guards were dismissed to their regular duties.
We seven, the guards, King Gorval, Lanara, and a few councilors proceeded to level thirty-one. As the group had yesterday, this bunch grew tense as we approached these "haunted" levels. Echo informed her fellows of our purpose. As we set up a lit area to receive them, the bat-dragons examined the guards and decided which of their number would bond with them. The guards reconfirmed their decision as we waited on the bat-dragons. Twenty tiny dragons fluttered down from the darkness to land in our lit area. The guards fanned out to allow the small beings a better view of each of them. Soon, every guard had a partner. Nearly as one, the bat-dragons shook loose a scale, lifted their partners' gloves, scratched them, placed the scale over the wound, and covered it with the glove. We saw, felt, and heard the connections being made. Not long after the last were bonded, a new corp assembled before King Gorval.
"We are the Darrknots (DAR - nots) !" they intoned as one, "Ready at your command, sir!"
Gorval was beaming as were the councilors. Lanara was blinking away tears as she wrote their words.
"Darrknots, I am honored," Gorval said softly, "New barracks and insignias will be made to show all this glorious news. The Duergar shall not surprise us again."
"Sire," one stepped forward, "the gray ones use level thirty-six as a staging area. With the bat-dragons covering so much of the ceilings, they cannot use the Foot to pass through the stone. These kin are killed to make a hole for the gray ones to pass. Otherwise, they must travel normally where bat-dragons are too thick to allow one to two deaths to make room. They are not willing to waste arrows or magic if walking will suffice."
"Thank you for your report," Gorval praised as he turned to make sure Lanara had taken the report.
He sent the new corp and the councilors back up to make new garb for them.We stayed with him and Lanara on level thirty-one. He started to chuckle.
"So long have we feared this area, afraid of spirits and other ghostly things. All along, playful dragons were the cause. With this new branch of guards, these levels are no longer off-limits."
Echo flew in front of Gorval and began a tirade. Callie translated that they needed quiet places without rumbling machines to raise their young. Gorval blushed.
"My apologies, Echo, I was not thinking. We shall do this: From the last of spring until mid-autumn we will mine here. When the first of you arrive, all activity stops. It will not start again until the last of you leave."
Echo, as well as all of the other bat-dragons, mulled over his words. Echo disappeared for a moment. When she returned, she held two halves of a very small egg. As Leo had with the queen's egg, Echo fused the two halves into a whole egg.
"Have your smiths fashion this for you to wear, Dwarf King," Callie translated Echo's words, "Wear it to remember our deal. Deal breaks, it breaks, friendship breaks."
Gorval understood and gently gave the egg to Lanara, after she finished writing, to see it was done.
We all headed back to the upper levels. Gorval seemed to walk easier or lighter, like a great weight had lifted from him.
Outside, we separated. Gorval went to meet with the miners. Lanara went to have the egg made into something the king could wear.
As we were wondering what to do, a guard and his tiny companion called for us to follow him. We found the new corp arguing. It seemed they could not agree on the emblem for their new group. Some were nearly to the point of exchanging blows. They all became silent when they saw us.
"Sisters, please, as a neutral party, do you have any ideas?" one female pleaded.
The rest echoed her plea. Alice jumped when Envy vibrated.
"Of course!" Alice stated as she drew her sword, "Envy is a highly skilled seamstress. She has created many symbols, some still used by kings and guilds far and wide."
On a blank wall, Envy, rising from Alice's hand, began scratching shields, symbols, pictures, and words. Soon, she had, from top to bottom, many different styles of shields, symbols for colors, a large array of dragon-like pictures, and the corps's new name in different styles.
"Envy says to select your shield type, background and image color, image, and how you want your title written," Alice told them.
With visual references, they began choosing what they liked. Some who had been arguing found they were talking about the same thing, just called it by different words. In less than an hour, they had their emblem. A shield like a spade with a circle in the center surrounding a dragon in flight. The shield was midnight blue, the area in the circle was silver, and the dragon a copper color. Above and below the circle, six "gems" were added to convey qualities the Darrknots strove to achieve; loyalty, discipline, honor, bravery, friendship, and trust. This was taken to the uniform makers. They were pleased at the clarity of the new corps's design. The guards thanked Envy as "a skilled master" to the uniform makers for helping them. The uniforms themselves were the same as the rest of the guards save for the color. While brown was the norm, the Darrknot's color was slightly lighter than the midnight blue of their emblem. We left guards and seamstresses to their jobs.
We walked around Stahendring, getting to know Callie's future home. We understood why humans only called this a large town as, above ground, there seemed to be less than one thousand people. Those that did not delve into the lower levels would never know that over ten thousand dwarfs inhabited Stahendring. They, also, would not know of the thousands of Duergar that lived deep in and under the mountain.
Shops, once you knew what to look for, abounded throughout the city. We found many would exchange a service from us for the few items we needed to replace among our gear. Family tree check for a couple of skirts.Find and fix a curious leak for a new pair of shoes for Sarah's growing feet. Identify and cure an "old complaint" for caps to contain our hair in the mountain wind.
We walked by a large building and heard someone yell down at us. We found a male dwarf leaning out of a window.
"Excuse me, are you busy?" he called.
"No, sir, we are not," Callie replied.
"Good, good, would you mind joining us? This is a school and you could help us with some lessons."
We agreed. He disappeared from the window and met us at the doors.
"I am so glad you agreed. My students, while bright, would gain more from physical, living, representatives than static pictures."
We followed him back to the classroom, which became silent as we walked to the front. The teacher, Fandar, had us line up so all the students could see us clearly.
"Class, the Seven Sisters have graciously joined us to help you see better the subjects we were discussing. Now," turning to us, "young lady with our king's symbol, your name?"
"Callie."
"And your little friend?"
"She goes by Echo, but her true name is hard for non-dragons to pronounce."
"Callie and Echo, well met. Now, you are dwarf and human, right?"
"Correct, sir. My father's family came from King Gorval's uncle's line. I am one-sixty-fourth dwarf," she explained, "Gorval's uncle is my great-great-great-great-grandfather."
The students and teacher all nodded. Fandar called a female dwarf up to stand beside Callie. He proceeded to show the similarities and differences between pure-blood dwarfs and mixed dwarf-humans. He did not call any part superior or inferior as he compared them. Then, he had Set and Echo show their differences and similarities. Obviously, news of the Darrknots had reached him as he told about the new corp formed with the bat-dragons. While he had not pure-blood elves, leprechauns, mermaids, gnomes, or Faeries for comparison, he used us to point out what the books gave as the "typical features" of those races versus our appearances. Then, he turned to me.
"Am I correct in stating that you are a seer? I was told the purple-eyed girl was such."
"Yes, sir, I am also a cleric of Fate."
"Wonderful. Could you explain a bit of what is is like to be a seer? Our lessons are very vague on the subject."
I tried to explain, but I could tell it only confused them more. As dwarfs shy away from anything that cannot be measured, weighted, or physically held, seers were almost unheard of in dwarf culture and not well treated if or when they appeared. I stood there are they stared at me, all of us trying to find some way to get them to understand. A gasp caused all of them to look at my feet. A light fog was seeping out of my shoes. I looked at my sisters, who encouraged me to allow Fate to take over. I relaxed and surrendered.
"Joban windings, you wish to know what a seer experiences? Open your minds and learn."
The room filled with fog. While I did not see, I could tell everyone, even my sisters, were being shown what I go through each time I receive a vision. Although it was only a minute or two, it felt like forever before the fog dissipated and everyone, myself included, returned to ourselves. Silently, everyone readjusted to their normal perceptions. At last, Fandar found his voice.
"Th...thank you, Kayla and ...Fate for that informative lesson. I trust none of us will be so quick to accuse a seer of just making stuff up to satisfy their clients, unless they are obviously charlatans."
Everyone mirrored his opinion. Fandar gave his students a few moments to write down their experiences. They were dismissed and told to finish their accounts to hand in tomorrow. Fandar escorted us back outside and thanked us again.
We were headed back to Callie's house when Echo became agitated.
"Gray ones! In our home! Two kin injured!" she shrieked in our minds.
We ran to find King Gorval. Fortunately, he and his council met us outside the palace.
"What level, Echo?" he asked, knowing why we were there.
"Thirty-three, they are on level thirty-three. They hunt for a way up where we are not so thick upon the ceiling," Echo told Callie, who told Gorval.
"Darrknots are on their way. Come with us. Report their movements," Gorval said as they headed to the lower levels.
We joined him, the council, and any guard they saw. We soon had a large crowd with us as we descended. Echo kept a running report of both the Duergar and the Darrknots. We met up with the Darrknots at level twenty-nine. The bat-dragons reported the gray one was on level thirty-one, looking for an opening to go up.The bat-dragons were subtly shifting to keep a dense group just over his head. On level thirty-two, they were staying underneath him to keep him from dropping to the lower levels. This forced him to walk normally from level to level. We stayed on level thirty as the Darrknots went to intercept him. I could feel the Duergar, all the anger, hate, and dark ideas that radiated from him. His hate for Gorval's people was very deep. The Darrknots found him, which surprised him greatly. He tried to escape their usual way, but the bat-dragons prevented it. He attempted to run, but these guards, very fit and athletic, caught him easily. We warned them, when they secured the Foot, about the gray ones' switch tactic. The one holding the Foot held it gingerly. As expected, after a few moments of separating Foot from Duergar, the Foot vanished and was replaced by the same delicate glass container. A cloak was wrapped around it to keep it from breaking. The Duergar, seeing death was not arriving soon, began to panic and fight the Darrknot guards. He was nearly drug to stand before King Gorval. He tried to adopt a superior attitude when facing the King and his council. We were behind them so he did not notice us.
"Duergar," King Gorval began, "you will tell us your plans and where the Foot is kept. In exchange, we promise fair treatment and, eventually, freedom."
The gray one began laughing, looking around to see if they were joking. When he saw they were serious, he became angry.
"I will tell you nothing! I do not fear death! Any torture you have will not force me to reveal anything."
Gorval looked at the Duergar sternly, "We do not need torture. Ladies, your assistance, please."
We stepped around the assembly to stand next to him. The gray one looked at us with a mixture of shock and disgust, which grew when Alice stepped forward while revealing her elf crest.
"He is Larnix, son of Hinvar, from a low-ranking family. By doing this task and dying for his people, he has increased the rank of the whole family. He knows not where the Foot is housed as no one sees it until they are given it to go on their mission. Only the wizard, known only as the Keeper, knows its location at all times. He is the one that switches the Foot with the bottle."
Larnix listened to Alice's report with wide eyes. She returned to stand with us. Gorval looked at Larnix but spoke to us.
"Is there anything else you can get from him?"
"Not him, Your Majesty," I said, "but the item that they exchanged for the Foot. It may be of use to us."
The Darrknot holding it unwrapped it and held it out to us.
"We are fortunate," Anna told us all, "only the Keeper had handled this besides this guard. It holds much."
Both Alice and Anna got a lot of information. The Keeper was very old, well close to three hundred years of age, and a very powerful wizard. The acid cloud was actually a contained burst of a dragon's breath weapon. The Keeper claimed ownership of the Foot as the Master Miner's son. He also was the one that told the other Duergar of the power of the three items. It was his urging that convinced them to actively try to gain the Rod and he did the magic that let the demon possess the ogre mage Nurz.
Larnix listened to all of this in shocked silence. He had no idea how they knew so much. Then, it was my turn. I took the container.
"The Keeper has a limited number of these bottles. He has to send people to go agitate an acid-breathing dragon. Those that survive return with the bottles of acid cloud. To track the Foot, he has bled on it to connect it to him. He truly believes he is the descendant, the son actually, of the Master Miner. He times these incursions with a 'divine clock' that tells him when the joban are most vulnerable. However, only he can hear this clock so only he can tell the Duergar when to attack."
Gorval and our group nodded while Larnix was shaking with fear.
Gorval looked at the Duergar, "So, what to do with you, now? If we give you back to your people, what would they do to you?"
Larnix was shaking so hard that the guards had trouble holding him. He tried to voice it, but found he could not.
"Your Majesty," I broke in, "the others will assume he helped us. He and his family will be tortured but not allowed to die so they can be tortured more. Even when they have told them everything, the other Duergar will continue to torture them for sport."
Everyone was shocked into silence. Sarah was near tears. Larnix was nodding and shaking at the same time. Gorval and his council separated to discuss Larnix's fate. The Duergar was looking around wildly. His emotions were racing; panic, fear, confusion, and many others. Looking at the leaders, I could see they were also confused and conflicted. They could not kill him. They could not send him back, knowing what lay in store for him. Keeping him was the best they could decide upon. When they returned, that was their solution. Larnix was horrified. He began struggling, promising loudly to do untold damage before either killing himself or forcing them to kill him. He jerked around so much, he broke free of the guards' grasp. Many hands grabbed him as he ran around. We and the swords quickly came up with another solution. Dawn fluttered over Larnix and dusted him in golden sparks. He slumped in the guards' arms. We drew the swords and gently touched him on the head. A burst of light enveloped his head.
We whispered, "Forget, forget, one day, two days, three days, four, forget, forget, forget."
A look of calm and peace bloomed over his face. The rest looked at us very confused.
"Sorry to overstep you, Your Majesty, but it was for the best," I began explaining, "We erased his memory back four days. He will not remember any of this or going on this mission. However, anyone with a sliver of magic can tell something happened to him. He will be proof of our 'horrible treatment of prisoners'. They will not torture him."
The others were silent as King Gorval ordered Larnix taken to one of the lower levels to be found by his people. After they left, the King and his council looked at us.
"Sisters," Gorval begun, "I will not pretend that I am pleased that you acted on your own. But, you did solve a sticky situation that perplexed us all. We would appreciate, from now on, to consult with us before you take any actions."
Gorval and council turned to return to the upper levels. We and the Darrknots fell in behind them. The entire return trip was outwardly silent. The bat-dragons were still relaying the actions of the ones carrying Larnix. Also, the Darrknots, through their partners, told us how pleased they were to prove they had all made the right decision to join with the little dragons.
Up top, Gorval stopped us and asked if there was anymore to report. The Darrknots told him Larnix was left on level thirty-four, just ahead of a group of Duergar. The guards were on their way back up with no one following them. Gorval dismissed the Darrknots with praises for a job well done. He and the council told us to follow them. They did not speak to us until we were in the council room. Lanara joined us to record the report. Gorval proceeded to tell her our activities in the lower levels. She gave us a startled look when he informed her of what we had done. Finally, he reached the end of the tale and faced us.
"Note that while we are pleased with the outcome, we are not pleased that the Sisters acted without our council."
Somberly, Lanara wrote his words.
"Ladies, we understand you do things differently than us. We request, from now on, if you have any plans of action, tell us before you act," he told us.
We silently accepted his chastising. We knew they would find our explanation difficult as most dwarfs are unaccustomed to mental communication.
"Now that is settled," Gorval said as he relaxed, "is there any way to know if Larnix was received as we hoped?"
We asked for a mirror. A large mirror was brought out and set up for all of us to see. We asked it to show us and let us hear Larnix and those around him from the time he was left by the guards until now. The mirror became cloudy as images settled upon it. He heard the Duergar question Larnix. Of course, he did not remember going on any mission or meeting us. The other gray ones were puzzled. Then, Larnix did something that horrified the others. He smiled. The others drug him down to their leaders, specifically the Keeper. Again, Larnix told them he did not remember going on a mission, the deal made for his family, or meeting us. When he finished speaking, he smiled again. The rest recoiled in horror. The Keeper began examining Larnix away from the others. The image faded as the Keeper began trying to undo our magic. The mirror was taken away.
"They see him as a victim. He may be scrutinized, but he is not tortured. We are pleased," Gorval commented.
We were dismissed for the night. King and council told us they had much to discuss. We made our way back to Callie's house. The clever staff guided us to the dining room were dinner waited. Before we could apologize, they explained that they had not made anything until we came up and headed into the palace. They told us it was their pleasure to keep us comfortable and focused on our job without the worry of dinner, cooking, cleaning, or other chores. They knew we were not pampered and spoiled ladies who expected and demanded such attentions. To make us feel more comfortable, they sat, ate, and talked with us. We talked openly about the bat-dragons, Larnix, and Gorval chastising us. They explained a few things that would help us deal with the dwarf way of life a bit easier. We headed to bed in a much improved mood.
"Wonderful. Could you explain a bit of what is is like to be a seer? Our lessons are very vague on the subject."
I tried to explain, but I could tell it only confused them more. As dwarfs shy away from anything that cannot be measured, weighted, or physically held, seers were almost unheard of in dwarf culture and not well treated if or when they appeared. I stood there are they stared at me, all of us trying to find some way to get them to understand. A gasp caused all of them to look at my feet. A light fog was seeping out of my shoes. I looked at my sisters, who encouraged me to allow Fate to take over. I relaxed and surrendered.
"Joban windings, you wish to know what a seer experiences? Open your minds and learn."
The room filled with fog. While I did not see, I could tell everyone, even my sisters, were being shown what I go through each time I receive a vision. Although it was only a minute or two, it felt like forever before the fog dissipated and everyone, myself included, returned to ourselves. Silently, everyone readjusted to their normal perceptions. At last, Fandar found his voice.
"Th...thank you, Kayla and ...Fate for that informative lesson. I trust none of us will be so quick to accuse a seer of just making stuff up to satisfy their clients, unless they are obviously charlatans."
Everyone mirrored his opinion. Fandar gave his students a few moments to write down their experiences. They were dismissed and told to finish their accounts to hand in tomorrow. Fandar escorted us back outside and thanked us again.
We were headed back to Callie's house when Echo became agitated.
"Gray ones! In our home! Two kin injured!" she shrieked in our minds.
We ran to find King Gorval. Fortunately, he and his council met us outside the palace.
"What level, Echo?" he asked, knowing why we were there.
"Thirty-three, they are on level thirty-three. They hunt for a way up where we are not so thick upon the ceiling," Echo told Callie, who told Gorval.
"Darrknots are on their way. Come with us. Report their movements," Gorval said as they headed to the lower levels.
We joined him, the council, and any guard they saw. We soon had a large crowd with us as we descended. Echo kept a running report of both the Duergar and the Darrknots. We met up with the Darrknots at level twenty-nine. The bat-dragons reported the gray one was on level thirty-one, looking for an opening to go up.The bat-dragons were subtly shifting to keep a dense group just over his head. On level thirty-two, they were staying underneath him to keep him from dropping to the lower levels. This forced him to walk normally from level to level. We stayed on level thirty as the Darrknots went to intercept him. I could feel the Duergar, all the anger, hate, and dark ideas that radiated from him. His hate for Gorval's people was very deep. The Darrknots found him, which surprised him greatly. He tried to escape their usual way, but the bat-dragons prevented it. He attempted to run, but these guards, very fit and athletic, caught him easily. We warned them, when they secured the Foot, about the gray ones' switch tactic. The one holding the Foot held it gingerly. As expected, after a few moments of separating Foot from Duergar, the Foot vanished and was replaced by the same delicate glass container. A cloak was wrapped around it to keep it from breaking. The Duergar, seeing death was not arriving soon, began to panic and fight the Darrknot guards. He was nearly drug to stand before King Gorval. He tried to adopt a superior attitude when facing the King and his council. We were behind them so he did not notice us.
"Duergar," King Gorval began, "you will tell us your plans and where the Foot is kept. In exchange, we promise fair treatment and, eventually, freedom."
The gray one began laughing, looking around to see if they were joking. When he saw they were serious, he became angry.
"I will tell you nothing! I do not fear death! Any torture you have will not force me to reveal anything."
Gorval looked at the Duergar sternly, "We do not need torture. Ladies, your assistance, please."
We stepped around the assembly to stand next to him. The gray one looked at us with a mixture of shock and disgust, which grew when Alice stepped forward while revealing her elf crest.
"He is Larnix, son of Hinvar, from a low-ranking family. By doing this task and dying for his people, he has increased the rank of the whole family. He knows not where the Foot is housed as no one sees it until they are given it to go on their mission. Only the wizard, known only as the Keeper, knows its location at all times. He is the one that switches the Foot with the bottle."
Larnix listened to Alice's report with wide eyes. She returned to stand with us. Gorval looked at Larnix but spoke to us.
"Is there anything else you can get from him?"
"Not him, Your Majesty," I said, "but the item that they exchanged for the Foot. It may be of use to us."
The Darrknot holding it unwrapped it and held it out to us.
"We are fortunate," Anna told us all, "only the Keeper had handled this besides this guard. It holds much."
Both Alice and Anna got a lot of information. The Keeper was very old, well close to three hundred years of age, and a very powerful wizard. The acid cloud was actually a contained burst of a dragon's breath weapon. The Keeper claimed ownership of the Foot as the Master Miner's son. He also was the one that told the other Duergar of the power of the three items. It was his urging that convinced them to actively try to gain the Rod and he did the magic that let the demon possess the ogre mage Nurz.
Larnix listened to all of this in shocked silence. He had no idea how they knew so much. Then, it was my turn. I took the container.
"The Keeper has a limited number of these bottles. He has to send people to go agitate an acid-breathing dragon. Those that survive return with the bottles of acid cloud. To track the Foot, he has bled on it to connect it to him. He truly believes he is the descendant, the son actually, of the Master Miner. He times these incursions with a 'divine clock' that tells him when the joban are most vulnerable. However, only he can hear this clock so only he can tell the Duergar when to attack."
Gorval and our group nodded while Larnix was shaking with fear.
Gorval looked at the Duergar, "So, what to do with you, now? If we give you back to your people, what would they do to you?"
Larnix was shaking so hard that the guards had trouble holding him. He tried to voice it, but found he could not.
"Your Majesty," I broke in, "the others will assume he helped us. He and his family will be tortured but not allowed to die so they can be tortured more. Even when they have told them everything, the other Duergar will continue to torture them for sport."
Everyone was shocked into silence. Sarah was near tears. Larnix was nodding and shaking at the same time. Gorval and his council separated to discuss Larnix's fate. The Duergar was looking around wildly. His emotions were racing; panic, fear, confusion, and many others. Looking at the leaders, I could see they were also confused and conflicted. They could not kill him. They could not send him back, knowing what lay in store for him. Keeping him was the best they could decide upon. When they returned, that was their solution. Larnix was horrified. He began struggling, promising loudly to do untold damage before either killing himself or forcing them to kill him. He jerked around so much, he broke free of the guards' grasp. Many hands grabbed him as he ran around. We and the swords quickly came up with another solution. Dawn fluttered over Larnix and dusted him in golden sparks. He slumped in the guards' arms. We drew the swords and gently touched him on the head. A burst of light enveloped his head.
We whispered, "Forget, forget, one day, two days, three days, four, forget, forget, forget."
A look of calm and peace bloomed over his face. The rest looked at us very confused.
"Sorry to overstep you, Your Majesty, but it was for the best," I began explaining, "We erased his memory back four days. He will not remember any of this or going on this mission. However, anyone with a sliver of magic can tell something happened to him. He will be proof of our 'horrible treatment of prisoners'. They will not torture him."
The others were silent as King Gorval ordered Larnix taken to one of the lower levels to be found by his people. After they left, the King and his council looked at us.
"Sisters," Gorval begun, "I will not pretend that I am pleased that you acted on your own. But, you did solve a sticky situation that perplexed us all. We would appreciate, from now on, to consult with us before you take any actions."
Gorval and council turned to return to the upper levels. We and the Darrknots fell in behind them. The entire return trip was outwardly silent. The bat-dragons were still relaying the actions of the ones carrying Larnix. Also, the Darrknots, through their partners, told us how pleased they were to prove they had all made the right decision to join with the little dragons.
Up top, Gorval stopped us and asked if there was anymore to report. The Darrknots told him Larnix was left on level thirty-four, just ahead of a group of Duergar. The guards were on their way back up with no one following them. Gorval dismissed the Darrknots with praises for a job well done. He and the council told us to follow them. They did not speak to us until we were in the council room. Lanara joined us to record the report. Gorval proceeded to tell her our activities in the lower levels. She gave us a startled look when he informed her of what we had done. Finally, he reached the end of the tale and faced us.
"Note that while we are pleased with the outcome, we are not pleased that the Sisters acted without our council."
Somberly, Lanara wrote his words.
"Ladies, we understand you do things differently than us. We request, from now on, if you have any plans of action, tell us before you act," he told us.
We silently accepted his chastising. We knew they would find our explanation difficult as most dwarfs are unaccustomed to mental communication.
"Now that is settled," Gorval said as he relaxed, "is there any way to know if Larnix was received as we hoped?"
We asked for a mirror. A large mirror was brought out and set up for all of us to see. We asked it to show us and let us hear Larnix and those around him from the time he was left by the guards until now. The mirror became cloudy as images settled upon it. He heard the Duergar question Larnix. Of course, he did not remember going on any mission or meeting us. The other gray ones were puzzled. Then, Larnix did something that horrified the others. He smiled. The others drug him down to their leaders, specifically the Keeper. Again, Larnix told them he did not remember going on a mission, the deal made for his family, or meeting us. When he finished speaking, he smiled again. The rest recoiled in horror. The Keeper began examining Larnix away from the others. The image faded as the Keeper began trying to undo our magic. The mirror was taken away.
"They see him as a victim. He may be scrutinized, but he is not tortured. We are pleased," Gorval commented.
We were dismissed for the night. King and council told us they had much to discuss. We made our way back to Callie's house. The clever staff guided us to the dining room were dinner waited. Before we could apologize, they explained that they had not made anything until we came up and headed into the palace. They told us it was their pleasure to keep us comfortable and focused on our job without the worry of dinner, cooking, cleaning, or other chores. They knew we were not pampered and spoiled ladies who expected and demanded such attentions. To make us feel more comfortable, they sat, ate, and talked with us. We talked openly about the bat-dragons, Larnix, and Gorval chastising us. They explained a few things that would help us deal with the dwarf way of life a bit easier. We headed to bed in a much improved mood.
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