“Nearly ten thousand years later Shuran Shin’Ar returned as only he found and opened the Library!” one of the dwarfs said.
“Seven races? That would mean giants were part of this Zidushi group?” Moona asked.
“ZIDU’SI. And yes they were.” Grafdrik answered.
“Ah you can speak by yourself! That talking at the same time thing gives me the wibblies!” Moona looked at them sideways. “Are you two twins?” she asked.
“Yes we are,” they said together. “Very rare for a dwarfess to birth more than one sprat and rarer still for identical twins.” they said speaking every few words in turn.
Moona shivered at the ‘talking as one’ thing and turned to Mallick. “That is gonna cause you to jump from the peaks of Orenthal, mark my words Mally!” Moona pulled her pipe and began to light it when one of the other dwarfs jumped to light it for her. Moona gave him a sideways look and just the slightest nod of thanks.
“Giants! Never seen one but that explains the size of the vault.” Codger said.
“Nobody has reported seeing the giants in thousands of years. Not since the Great Council created the ANZILLU and the seats of the council became held by all humans,” one of the dwarfs spat.
“It is said that they went back to their ancient homeland in some hidden place beyond the Frozen North.” Mallick said.
Everyone turned to him as though he had stepped in something left behind by a beast.
“What? I read it in the vault library.”
“The Zidu’Si speaks true.” Dvargan said.
“Why do you refer to Mallick as Zidu’Si?” Shuran asked.
“He and your other Zidu’Si can enter the chamber. They have traveled here with you and we have watched how they are devoted to you. This is the way of the Zidu’Si. It is honor above just family.” Dvargan and Grafdrik said.
“Do any of you other shorties talk?” Moona snapped.
“Of course they do just no one ever gets much chance to speak when we are around.” the twin dwarves said together.
“Imagine that!” Moona said looking at Mally and mockingly acted out a person jumping from a height walking her fingers off her other hand.
Mallick grimaced and Moona just cackled at herself.
“I think we should get you boys and dwarfs fed and on your way!” Moona said jumping up to head back into the vault.
“What is her hurry?” Mallick asked.
Codger thumbed toward the newcomers. “I think she is not used to ‘not’ being the shortest.”
From the vault came a screech that was undeniably Moona. Codger was blown backward by the force of a rather large ball of snow that fell from out of nowhere. Moona loved having her magic back.
“I do not envy you being left here alone with her,” Shuran said with a grin.
Codger just smiled back. “It will help that she found some frost moss growin’ on the East walls of the tower ruins!”
Moona made omelets out of eggs gathered previously from wild snowbirds. She added onions, reconstituted peppers, mushrooms, and meat.
Mallick fried up some sliced potatoes and apples.
Codger gathered plates, cups, utensils, and wine from within the racks inside the vault.
Shuran used his new ability to instantly bring it all out onto a setup table and chairs from the vault as well.
The dwarves were all amazed at seeing the power of the Shin’Ar. They ate well and talked until Utu was well into mid-morning. When they were finished Shuran and Mallick spelled the table clean and Shuran returned everything to its proper place.
The day was wasting and Shuran could not put off leaving any further. With glossy eyed farewells, the boys set off on their quest, lead by five fur covered dwarves.
Shuran thought back to his vision that started with furry things coming out of the woods.
The seven travelers made their way through the forested lands along the path the dwarves had used to come to the ruins. They would be taking this route to the Eastern base of the Orenthal Mountains where they would make the trek up an age-old route toward the first of the dwarf clan settlements.
They were making decent time to the base since the heavy snows have not yet started in the Southern ranges. The depth of the snow was well over the heads of the dwarfs and it was lucky that the path they had used followed a frozen riverbed where the depth was manageable. They decided that due to their late start from Shuran’s Vault, they would travel as far as the mountain base, then camp for the night before starting the climb in the morning.
“Dvargan, you say that your people have been keeping vigil over the Vault for all this time; what was the castle that now lay in ruins on the site?” Shuran asked.
“There have been two castles built upon that spot according to our histories,” Grafdrik started.
“The ruins that currently remain are from an old monastery built by the followers of light before the Lalli Mah,” Dvargan finished.
Mallick’s smile at the dwarfs back and forth way of talking together was already faltering. He was thinking the Moona was correct in her prediction.
“Shuran, no matter how I plead, do not let me jump to my death once we begin our climb.”
Shuran just looked at him with a confused stare.
The dwarfs told the stories, as they knew them, on the history of the site they refer to as Durangug, Magic Stone Fortress. The first Shin’Ar lived in his underground fortress along with his Zidu’Si. There was only basic stables and a few housing and storage buildings on the site for visitors that were not allowed into the below ground dwelling.
Once the Shin’Ar left and the Durangug was sealed, the site was abandoned and long forgotten to all but the dwarfs. Over time hunters and travelers would use the unnatural clearing for breaking camp. The site soon became a hunter’s refuge of sorts, until a King of the North from Dravenport, built a hunting lodge and summer retreat upon the spot.
Dravenport was the old capital of the lands long before the Lalli Mah, and sat on the large bay on the Great Sea, South of the Orenthal. The King was killed under mysterious circumstances in that castle and after his eldest son took the throne, he also died in a strange accident while summering in the royal vacation home.
There was no male heir so the first King’s eldest daughter took the crown as Queen and fearing a curse, insisted the castle be destroyed and the site abandoned.
Many centuries later a ruling council replaced the monarchy. Once the lands began to shake and falter, religious cults began to form and worship various ancient deities, looking for hope in a world that was collapsing.
The two largest cults were the Cult of Creation and the Cult of Chaos. The Cult of Chaos later became what it is today, the Order of Chaos. The Cult of Creation built their monastery upon the site of Durangug. During the destruction before the Lalli Mah, the monastery was destroyed by earth shakes and the cult dispersed. They regrouped during the great balance to build the Altar of Creation in Britengate.
Throughout the time the dwarfs spent watching the site, its occupants and occasional plunderers never stumbled upon, or appeared to know of, the vault’s existence.
“We always suspected that the Creationists knew of the location’s significance but they never threatened the Vault. They harbored mixed bloods and practiced old magics. Some say that it was they, who were responsible for the balance falling apart after a failed experiment, but there is no real proof.”
“That might explain why Old Codger found a ABNU EMUQ and ancient plans for his…” Mallick started and stopped not wanting to reveal the Mellamu Nanna.
“You refer to the Magurmu that the old man built?” The twin dwarfs asked.
Mallick looked at Shuran who nodded.
“We watched him build it. It is of ancient dwarven design actually but the part that allows flight was not part of the original plans. The Creationists must have found some ancient knowledge and modified the design,” one of the other dwarfs, Avrank said.
Shuran knew of the ancient books Codger found as well, so the theory was sound.
“After the Lalli Mah was performed, the Creationists moved to Britengate, we have little knowledge of their practices since. They are Followers of the Light now and only send out their priests occasionally to trade in Tarangale and they do not speak much to others.”
The group trekked on through the deep snow toward the area where they would make camp for the night before heading up into the mountains. They arrived at the mountain base shortly after nightfall.
The dwarfs pointed out a crevice in the rock face that provided some shelter from the freezing winds that began blowing from the North. The dwarves all made fast work of collecting firewood and building a stone ring to create a fire.
Shuran noticed however that they did not light the wood.
“Shuran Shin’Ar, would you call forth the fire from the wood?” the twins asked. “We have not seen elemental fire used.” Shuran though it a small request but he could see the excitement in the eyes of his new friends. Calling forth the element of fire was easy enough for him but he feared the simple act would disappoint the dwarfs.
With an over exaggerated expression, Shuran pushed his hands out toward the pile of wood in the ring of stones. He extended his fingers and began to wiggle them slowly. Suddenly, Shuran lifted his hands above him while following the movement with his head. Shuran spared a quick moment to wink at Mallick before a large ball of flame burst into existence above his hands and began licking at his fingers. With an equally ostentatious movement he sent the flame to the fire and left it to feed on the wood a few moments before settling it into a steady warming burn.
The dwarfs stood in quiet awe for several moments as Mallick moved closer to Shuran.
“Seriously Sheesh! You are worse than a charlatan at the harvest fair,” Mallick joked.
“What? They wanted a show!” Shuran protested half-heartedly.
“Whatever! We need some food and unless you are going to pop it in here wastefully-”
“I’ll get my bow,” Shuran said as he smiled. “I agree, unless we are in absolute need, we not call things from the vault.”
Shuran and Mallick headed off into the nearby woods to look for game that the dwarfs said was in plentiful supply. They left the dwarves marveling around the fire and arguing about who had the best view of Shuran while he created it. Shuran just shrugged at the scene as Mallick elbowed him along.
Shuran and Mallick wandered the surrounding woods for nearly and hour without any signs of wildlife. They were about to give up and head back to camp before Mallick noticed something.
“What do you make of these tracks Shuran?”
Shuran approached and knelt before the large grouping of tracks left in the snow. “They look like no creature I have ever heard of.”
The prints were larger than a grown man with three toes.
“I do not like the feel of things out here Shuran. We should head back and ask your fan club what they think.”
The joke was not lost on Shuran, but in light of his current concern he chose to ignore it. He reached out with the Essence to locate the fastest route back to the dwarfs rather than back tracking their path. As he felt for their life forces he stumbled upon something else, something large and dark, several somethings actually.
“Mally, we need to move now and fast. We are not alone!” And then they ran.
The two ran for the camp at full speed without stopping. Behind them they could hear the cracking of branches and crunching of snow that sounded like a heard of cattle stampeding behind them.
“Shuran! Do something, whatever they are we cannot lead them back to camp!” Mallick yelled.
Shuran stopped dead and turned to face the oncoming threat.
Mallick came to a skidding stop next to him and could already see the glow of Shuran’s shi as he worked the Essence. The ground beneath them began to shudder, growing into a deep rumble.
As the two young men could see the shadows of several enormous creatures striding out of the shadows toward them, large boulders began breaking through the ground to form a wall of jagged stone between them and the oncoming heard.
“That will only slow them down, we need to get back to camp and ready a defense. There are creatures riding those beasts.” Shuran shouted over the rumble of Earth magic being worked.
They turned as one and ran for camp.
When they arrived at camp the dwarfs were already prepared for attack.
“We felt your working, Shin’ Ar!” The dwarfs cried out. “What has caused your alarm?”
“Riders on great tusked beasts chase us. I have slowed them but they will arrive soon,” Shuran told them.
The twin dwarfs turned and held council before turning back to the others. “Forest Trolls! They ride great boars and hunt the Northern woods. They do not usually travel this far south until deep winter.”
“As I see it we have but two choices, stand and fight or climb in earnest. They will not follow into the mountains,” the smallest of the dwarfs said, speaking for only the third time since meeting at Durangug. His name is Avrank and is small even by dwarven standards. He was sent along with the group as part of an initiation into the watchers and this was the first time he had ever been away from his mountain home.