Kathir's Redemption (Book 6) (29 page)

Druknor glared at her.

An overwhelming scent of burnt incense hung in the chamber. The scent was laced with the faint odor of decay.
“
Something
’
s happened in here,
”
Tallin said ominously.

He walked into the adjacent chamber, which was also filled with gold coins. There was a dead dwarf lying face-down on the chamber floor. Tallin kneeled down and flipped the man over. Chills went down his spine
—
he recognized this dwarf
—
it was Graff, one of the dwarf spellcasters. Tallin
’
s stomach was empty, but he felt nauseated all the same.

“
All things have an ending, and all things must die,
”
said Mugla, standing at the chamber doorway. She approached the body and nudged it.
“
He
’
s only been dead a few days. The body is just starting to smell.
”

“
He was young
…
why did he trap himself in here?
”
Tallin asked, stunned.
“
Why didn
’
t he try to escape? Why would he seal himself inside this room?
”

Mugla shook her head slowly.
“
Look around you. Before he became a spellcaster, Graff was a member of Klorra-Kanna. He was always a bit greedy, but fear of losing everything must have driven him to madness. He died trying to save the dwarves
’
riches.
”

Tallin looked down at the dead man and didn
’
t know whether or not he should pity him.
“
Then it
’
s true. None of the other dwarf spellcasters survived. You
’
re the last one.
”

Mugla smiled slightly.
“
You
’
re a spellcaster too, my dear. Or have you forgotten that?
”

Tallin frowned.
“
You
’
re a pureblood. I
’
m only a halfling. It
’
s not the same.
”

Mugla didn
’
t bother to argue with him. They went back into the other chamber told the others about the body. Bolrakei shivered and looked away.

“
So what do we do now?
”
asked Skemtun.

“
Well, we can
’
t stay in here,
”
said Tallin.
“
We
’
ve got to go out and face them.
”

They made their way to the chamber exit. Mugla deactivated the exit wards and they stepped out into the orc-occupied mountain. The elves activated their concealment spell again.
“
Everyone, stay on your guard,
”
Tallin whispered,
“
and stay together!
”

A couple of corridors later, they spotted an orc patrol. There were a dozen of them; most were in dark iron armor, and all of them were carrying sharpened spears or maces and had spiked whips on their belts.

Tallin pressed his back against the wall to avoid them, and all the other members of the party followed suit. Druknor
’
s dogs had remained silent up until this point, but now they started to growl menacingly. The elves
’
eyes narrowed dangerously, and they looked ready to attack, but Tallin held up his hand.
“
Let
’
s observe for a while,
”
he said quietly.
“
We need to get a better idea of their numbers and their organization.
”

As the orcs stomped past them, they were close enough to touch. The orcs smelled foul and unwashed and were drenched with sweat.

Tallin held his breath. Even though the concealment spell masked them completely, it wouldn
’
t conceal their presence if one of them vomited on the floor.

“
Thank Baghra,
”
Sela whispered as soon as the orcs walked out of sight. She rubbed her nose.
“
Those greenskins smelled absolutely rancid.
”

Tallin glanced at Amandila and F
ë
anor.
“
How long can the two of you hold this spell?
”

Amandila inhaled deeply. Her skin looked paler than normal.
“
Over this many people? While we move? Not much longer.
”

“
It would be better to conserve our strength for when we really need it,
”
F
ë
anor said.
“
We can always cast the spell again when the orcs get close.
”

“
Orcs will be around us constantly now,
”
Tallin said.
“
But you
’
re right. We can
’
t exhaust ourselves.
”

Mugla raised her finger.
“
I have a suggestion. Why don
’
t we cast a more basic concealment? Then, if orcs get any closer, the two elves can use their version so that we disappear completely.
”

Tallin nodded.
“
It sounds like a good compromise. Remember, everyone
—
this spell is weaker. It won
’
t mask your voice or your smell. Don
’
t speak unless it
’
s absolutely necessary. And for Baghra
’
s sake, Druknor, keep those dogs quiet!
”
He cast a weaker spell, extending it outward to cover Skemtun and Kathir while Elias covered Bolrakei and Druknor. The others all had the skill to conceal themselves.

As the party continued, they moved through more caves and open caverns. Orcs worked within the caves, chipping rocks, skinning animals, and crafting iron weapons. Tallin led the way, trying to pick out a route that kept them as far from the orcs as possible.

Foul smells and chaos were everywhere. As they reached the center of the mountain, they heard roars from the drask in their breeding pits.

They paused for a moment near the drask pits. Tallin pointed to the chamber floor.
“
Look
—
the orcs have painted dozens of fighting circles on the ground here. The white chalk outlines are stained with blood from recent battles. But why aren
’
t they fighting now?
”

F
ë
anor spoke.
“
This is unusual. The orcs use fighting circles to settle even their most basic arguments. So they should be fighting one another now. In fact, there should have been fights breaking out in every room we passed through. They are unusually
…
calm. It
’
s very disconcerting.
”

Tallin frowned.
“
King Nar is a stronger leader than we originally anticipated,
”
he said.
“
The orcs are more organized than I
’
ve ever seen.
”

“
Maybe the orcs have always been smarter than you
’
ve given them credit for,
”
Druknor said.

Tallin
’
s eyebrows rose.
“
You sound like you admire them, Druknor.
”

Druknor shrugged.
“
No
—
but I can respect a powerful leader. There is much to admire about any leader ruthless enough to control his people so completely. That does not make him any less my enemy. If anything, it makes Nar more of a threat to me and to my fortress in Sut-Burr. Nar must be eliminated. I will not allow threats to my interests to survive.
”

Tallin decided to let it go. For now, he had to focus on getting them to Mount Velik
’
s main hall. Whatever was happening inside the mountain, he was sure that they would find some clue to it at the heart of the city. So they crept along, wrapped in their concealment spells. They kept to the shadows and pressed themselves against the walls whenever any orcs walked past.

When they passed into the main corridor, they got their first clear view of the interior under the caldera. The destruction was awful. The planted fields hand been trampled into nothingness.

Skemtun
’
s face fell.
“
They
’
ve destroyed our home. The loss
—
.
”
His voice trailed off.

“
What happened to the spring?
”
asked Mugla.

Tallin
’
s blood ran cold. All the water wells were sealed. The area where the spring had been was now a layer of solid rock.
“
The orcs sealed the spring. That
’
s why we saw so much runoff outside the mountain. They
’
ve redirected the water outside.
”
Tallin felt their carefully laid plans slipping away. How could they flood the caverns without a water source? How else could they drive out the orcs?

“
But why?
”
asked Skemtun.
“
It doesn
’
t make any sense. Even orcs need a water supply.
”

“
Maybe
…
they never planned to stay,
”
said F
ë
anor.
“
Perhaps their goal wasn
’
t to occupy this mountain
—
only to destroy it
…
and to destroy the entire dwarf kingdom as well.
”

“
If that
’
s their plan,
”
said Druknor,
“
it looks like they
’
ve partially succeeded. The walls are crumbling, the water
’
s polluted, and the surrounding forest is beyond repair. And the stench in here is awful
—
the  whole place stinks. Who would want to live here now? These caverns are finished.
”

“
Shut up, you wretched fool!
”
hissed Bolrakei.
“
You don
’
t know anything! Mount Velik is my home! My people will return to these caverns someday! I swear it!
”

Druknor didn
’
t respond, but everyone knew he had spoken the truth. The caverns were in terrible shape. They all had worried looks on their faces.

“
Come on,
”
said Tallin,
“
let
’
s keep moving.
”

Soon they reached a familiar-looking set of grand doors, which they found guarded by two huge orcs in full armor. Their armor was constructed of metal and bone and was tied to their bodies with thick leather straps.

“
This is the main hall. We need to get inside,
”
Tallin said.
“
Nar is probably in there, holding court.
”

The elves smiled wickedly at each other and stepped forward.
“
We
’
ll take care of these two.
”

F
ë
anor and Amandila snuck forward under the cover of their spells. They slid two daggers into the orcs simultaneously, so quickly that their movements were a blur. The orcs coughed blood and slid down against the wall without making a sound. Tallin stepped forward to help drag the dead guards into the shadows. By the time they were finished, he turned to see that two perfectly crafted illusions guarded the doors now, giving the impression that everything was the same as before. One even scratched its nose and coughed. Komu
’
s assistants stood nearby, controlling the two fakes.
“
We
’
ll stay outside and maintain the spell
—
hurry!
”

“
The illusions are perfect
—
except the other orcs might notice that they don
’
t smell,
”
Tallin pointed out.
“
We
’
d better hurry.
”