Day 305 (283)((273))

Day 305 (283)((273)):

We spent the morning inside Callie's home. We did not realize its size as it, like most dwarfish dwellings, was partially inside the mountain. Nana showed us around, explaining the purposes for various rooms. Dwarfs, unlike other races, did not rely upon magic, arcane or divine, unless no other power or process did the job. With the sun crystals and glowing grubs, fire was reserved for cooking and forges. A natural hot spring provided both hot water and vapor to keep the dwelling comfortable. It was also the reason Echo and her clan wintered here, to take advantage of the warmth.Cold rooms were separated from this warmth and the cold stones kept the food from spoiling too quickly. Wine and other spirits were set into holes in the walls themselves. As we toured, we began appreciating all the tasks the staff did and thanked them, as we found them, for all of their hard work.

After the tour and lunch, we went outside, with Nana, to further investigate the city of Stahendring. She was pleased by the pleasantries we exchanged with those we dealt with yesterday. With Nana's help, more shops were uncovered and tradesmen abounded.

As we entered a leather shop, we encountered the Darrknots. Their partners were being fitted with tiny harnesses, bearing the shield upon their chests. The tanners and craftsmen, while outwardly stone-faced, radiated joy at the challenge of such intricate work. While the harnesses looked identical, tiny adjustments were needed to fit individual bodies. Also, the Darrknots were being fitted for harnesses of a sort. Pads were being attached to the shoulders of their uniforms. These provided a place for the bat-dragons to ride and not dig into the flesh of their partners. Hanging from the pad were two straps that clipped onto the little harnesses. This was mainly for the small ones' safety, as a few had already been knocked about by inattentive dwarfs. Plus, we were informed that some other dwarfs demanded these "creatures" be contained in some fashion. The skillful bat-dragons demonstrated that they could clip and unclip themselves quickly and easily. They were only "contained" as they desired.

Even without mental communication, Nana was able to perceive the different personalities of the small flyers and commented on good matches made by all.

We left the corp to continue their fittings. We went around to more shops, exchanging our skills for items Nana said needed replacing. Callie's ability to reform stone caused some to ask if she was descended from Jordsonn, the Master Miner. When we explained he had no children, why he didn't, and how we knew, we heard whispers of "spirit talkers", "Hengi Jomfru", and other strange phrases. Nana asked if the King knew of this. We had not told him so, we guessed, he did not. Nana sent people to take our items back to the house while we went to King Gorval.

Lanara met us outside the palace as she was entering as well. We asked her if the King knew Jordsonn had no children. The look on her face told us she did not. Her grabbing Callie and dragging her into the palace told us she didn't think Gorval did either. We, Nana included, followed them as Lanara pulled Callie through the halls, calling for the King. Gorval, along with many others, burst out of doors to see what all the shouting was about. Lanara had to turn around, nearly lifting Callie off her feet.

"Sire! The Duergar Keeper is not the Master Miner's son! His claim is false!" Lanara shouted for all to hear.

"What? False? How do you know this?" Gorval asked as everyone looked at us.

Lanara turned to us, "Please tell them, Sisters, they must know."

We told them about the spirit of Jordsonn Gudfarspokelse, the one known as the Master Miner, telling us his story through Callie and the Rod. I showed Lanara my recording of his words in this journal. Those that heard, especially the older ones, understood the old ideas about what was or was not "normal". Lanara shown the rest Jordsonn's age at the time the Rod was made. They were mentally calculating his age, the amount of time they had the Rod, the three generations it has been with the gnomes, and came up with a number that did not fit the Keeper's age. Even, by some means, Jordsonn had fathered a son, the Keeper was simply too young to be him.

"Sisters," Gorval started, "can you get to the truth of this matter? What can we do to help?"

Ideas passed between us and the swords.

"Are there wizards here?" Anna meekly asked.

"I have none in my household, but there are a few in the city," Gorval replied, hope beginning to brighten his glow.

"Please contact them," I requested, "We need to talk wizard-to-wizard with the Keeper."

Gasps and murmurs ran through those listening. We heard some comment on the danger of such and was it really a good idea. Gorval silenced everyone by calling for messengers to find any wizard willing to undertake this task. The rest of the assembly returned to their duties as we joined the King and Lanara in a parlor to wait for the replies. Nana returned to the house.

As we waited, we told them of past communications with dangerous and hostile adversaries. The messengers returned with two wizards, one pass middle age and one many years younger, panting as they tried to catch their breath. They were introduced to us as Wizard Grikmor (griik-MORE) and his assistant Kaybany (kay-BAN) (the y is silent but denotes a junior status). Gorval motioned for them to sit with us and dismissed the messengers.

"Gentlemen, we are in need of your service," Gorval began, "We need to communicate to a Duergar wizard known to us only and the Keeper. He holds the Master Miner's Foot and is behind their incursion into our areas."

The wizards huddled together, whispering. Finally, Grikmor spoke.

"My King, it can be done. It will take a while to find him to connect our viewing glasses. If you have something of his, the finding would be quicker."

Gorval sent someone to retrieve the bottle of acid cloud. The two wizards were shocked when they saw it, but began sorting out the energies of those who had touched it from each other and found the Keeper. Grikmor fished a wizard's glass from his clothes and they began tuning it to the Keeper's energy. 

Before long, Grikmor announced, "It is done."

Placing the glass on the table in the center of our assembly, the pair proceeded to call to the Keeper. In short order, the Keeper's grizzled face appeared.

"Eh? Who is this? Who calls me?" he growled.

"King Gorval Stormhammer," the King replied.

The Keeper huffed, "Joban bastard king, what do you want? I am very busy."

"Yes, busy plotting attack points into my city in order to invade us," Gorval countered.

Even in the glass, the Keeper paled. He did not deny it, but began talking boldly about it, "It is not invading to route vermin from your home, especially vermin that thinks it is home to them. Joban bastards to be expelled or killed, as long as our territory is free of you. Plus, retrieving property that is rightfully mine."

"You mean the Rod?" Gorval playfully asked, "Do you not know? Nurz is dead. The Rod is still safe in Gowgornok."

The Keeper's shout rattled the wizard's glass, "LIAR! I just spoke with him not but three days ago. He confirmed the Rod was nearly his. He had the right families to open the barriers."

We looked at each other. Nurz was a week dead and had not gotten even one of Gowgornok's centered families. Who or what was he talking to that gave him such incorrect information? A quick sending on my part to the other riders told me all was well and Nurz was still a rotting corpse wrapped in vines. Gorval accepted my news with a concealed smile.

"Keeper, check again. That plot has failed. Besides, it is not your property by any means."

The glass rattled again, "Filth! That is my father's leg! I will have it returned to my family. No one but I has any right to it. I will have both parts."
"Both? Don't you mean all three? The Master Miner's leg was made into three items: Rod, Wand, and Foot," Gorval told him.

"Wha...? Three? Wand? What garbage is this? You are trying to confuse me. My father told me his leg was made into two powerful items. The Rod that moves mountains and the Foot that walks through them. He would rub the end of his leg where they were cut off as he spoke."

Again, we looked at each other. The Rod still had the hip ball that was pulled from its socket. It was the thigh bone, not the ones from below the knee. This fellow didn't even know what part he was after.

"Have you ever seen the Rod?" Gorval asked patiently.

"No, I have not. Those accursed naghle have had it all of my life. Stolen property in the hands of your accomplices, kept in unnatural light so we cannot touch it, surrounded by foul creatures and unnatural magic. My father would shriek in pain each time it was used."

The gnomes hadn't used the Rod in three generations. As gnome and dwarfs aged nearly the same, his father wasn't even born when it was used last. His tale was far removed from the truth.

"I tire of this discussion," the Keeper told us, "You try to confuse me with your lies. It will please me to watch you die a slow death. Leave me!"

The Keeper picked up his glass and shattered it, cutting our tie. Grikmor and Kaybany tried to apologize for the loss, but Gorval let them know they had not failed.

The pair were dismissed and we were invited to dinner with the King. Dawn was sent back to the house with the message that we would not be home for dinner. She joined us with their reply of "Have fun." Only the King joined us. We went to his private area. We could tell he was a bachelor king as this area shown no signs of female occupation. Past glories plastered the walls as did the portraits of previous kings. The dining room was a large place considering it was only for him and his private guests.

As we ate and talked, the subject of Gorval's queenless state came up. At first, he gave half-hearted reasons: "too busy", "plenty of time", "no one of interest", etc. When he realized we weren't buying his excuses, he finally admitted he had gained the title from his unpopular father who cared more for wealth than happiness for either kingdom or family. He had not pursued any females as his father forced him to focus on mining and trades. I offered to see his future, but he declined, stating that dwarfs dealt in the here-and-now, not in maybe futures. We did discuss the Keeper's "divine clock" that "told" him when to send Duergar into the upper levels. Gorval retrieved the reports. We saw the times of the incursions were wildly inconsistent and dates varied just as much. They also did not match up with slow times or rest days or any such activities. None of us could see any rhyme or reason to their activities. Gorval did seem in better spirits when we parted for the night. It pleased him to know someone was just as perplexed as he.

The staff at the house was preparing for bed and night-time chores when we arrived. Nana thanked us for the courtesy of letting them know of our dinner plans. While they would have inquired if we were not there for dinner, they appreciated our thinking of them. As we headed to our rooms, I could feel the staff's affections for us and knew Callie would be surrounded by love in this place.