Kathir's Redemption (Book 6) (32 page)

“
Stop talking about this ridiculous plan!
”
Bolrakei snapped.
“
We should be gathering an army to retake Mount Velik, not plotting to destroy it. The humans and elves can help us! They
’
re our allies, and they owe it to us!
”

“
It
’
s too late for that, Bolrakei,
”
said Sela quietly.
“
Mount Velik is lost.
”

“
No!
”
Bolrakei screamed.
“
You can
’
t do this! You can
’
t destroy everything we
’
ve worked for!
”

“
There is no other way,
”
Tallin insisted.

“
That
’
s a lie!
”
Bolrakei was the angriest Tallin had ever seen her. Her fists were clenched, and her face was hard with hate.
“
I will not agree to spend the rest of my life living with the Vardmiters!
”

Tallin looked at Skemtun, who looked defeated. He would have expected more of a fight from the old dwarf.

“
This is our home,
”
Bolrakei continued,
“
This is where we live and work
—
it
’
s where our jewels are mined! There
’
s nothing for us in the Highport Caverns. Nothing!
”

Tallin fought to keep his anger in check.
“
We
’
re not putting our lives in danger in hand-to-hand combat just so your clan can continue to dig gemstones out of the mountain. We need to stop the greenskins, and this is the only way to do it.
”

“
There
’
s one thing we haven
’
t discussed,
”
said Elias quietly.
“
If we force the mountain to erupt, we
’
ll kill thousands of orcs. If there are any humans or dwarves nearby, it might kill them too. We
’
re talking about taking thousands of lives.
”

F
ë
anor snorted.
“
They
’
re just greenskins. Why does it matter?
”

“
Every life matters, every death matters,
”
Elias said.
“
Every life counts
—
even an orc
’
s.
”

Councilor Komu stretched and yawned.
“
That is a fine sentiment, young man. Although I doubt the orcs would feel the same way about you.
”

“
With all due respect, sir, that isn
’
t the point,
”
Elias responded.

“
I agree
…
it
’
s horrible,
”
said Sela.
“
And there are a lot of risks. We might not survive this ourselves. But we don
’
t have another choice. If we don
’
t do something, thousands of innocent people will die
—
we can
’
t allow the orcs to begin their war march. If there were a way to end this peacefully, we would, but the orcs don
’
t negotiate with anyone. We need to do something, and this is our only option. Are we all agreed?
”

Everyone except Skemtun and Bolrakei nodded.

“
We
’
re agreed then,
”
Sela said.

Skemtun
’
s shoulders fell. He stood in silence, staring down at the floor.
“
My people are more important than this mountain. As long as they are safe, I will agree to help.
”

“
No!
”
Bolrakei said.
“
How can you agree to this, Skemtun?
”

Skemtun
’
s expression was tightly controlled.
“
Because it needs to be done. I will do my part.
”

“
It
’
s settled then,
”
said Sela.
“
We
’
ll start tonight.
”

“
This isn
’
t going to be easy,
”
Tallin said.

Mugla smiled beside him.
“
We
’
re blowin' up a mountain, dear. Of course it won
’
t be easy.
”

They rested for a few hours and discussed their plans. Tallin and the elves contacted the dragons and let them know what was happening. All the spellcasters discussed the spells they would use. The finer details took some time to work out. There were endless conversations about how to smuggle the dragons inside the mountain and about how to activate the volcano in a controlled manner.

Mugla provided a lot of useful information; she used her extensive knowledge of enchantments to suggest a way to hold the spells while they escaped the danger.

“
The idea is simple,
”
Mugla said.
“
All the spellcasters will pair up and make their way around the caverns under concealment. You must enchant certain critical spots
—
marking stones at specific points within the mountain. The idea is that we
’
re laying a web of spells. They
’
ll remain inactive until we are ready to activate the molten rock below. When we are ready, we
’
ll trigger the spells with concentrated blasts of dragon fire from the caldera. The dragon fire has magical properties, so it will increase the strength of the enchantments. The molten rock will be triggered and will erupt upward, which will destroy the caverns and drive the orcs out of the mountain. Does everyone understand?
”

Amandila raised her hand.
“
There
’
s one problem. Rock enchantments take time and delicacy, and they are notoriously unstable. If we don
’
t get them in place quickly enough, then we might get a nasty surprise when the time comes to trigger the spells.
”

“
Such risks can
’
t be avoided,
”
Tallin said.
“
When the orcs see the dragons flying into the caldera, they will panic. We won
’
t have much time to act after that. We only have one chance to do this right.
”

“
We need to split up then,
”
Councilor Delthen said.
“
Two mageborns should be enough to lay one enchantment.
”

“
If we split up, each of us will need to lay two or three spells each,
”
Sela said.
“
That should be enough. Then we
’
ll all meet back here before sundown, and the dragon riders will fly in to trigger to the enchantments while the rest of you get clear of the mountain.
”

The mageborns discussed suitable spots to set the spells, so that the enchantments would be spread evenly throughout the mountain. Then they divided into groups. Kathir and Skemtun were paired with Komu and his assistants.  

They crept outside the chamber with Skemtun as their guide. Kathir found himself pitying the group that had Bolrakei as a guide, but not too much, since it also included Delthen, F
ë
anor, and Druknor. If it weren
’
t for the fact that they needed every group to succeed, Kathir would have hoped for them to get lost. Komu and his assistants used concealment spells, but they all still held their breath every time an orc came into view. The orcs seemed more on-edge than before
—
almost as if they were expecting trouble.

They tiptoed their way along the tunnels, pressing themselves into niches as orcs passed by. Once, Kathir saw an orc sniffing the air around them, and he lunged forward to stab it in the heart before the creature could raise an alarm.

“
We need to move quicker!
”
Kathir said.
“
We aren
’
t safe here.
”

“
We aren
’
t safe anywhere,
”
said Skemtun.
“
And I
’
m going as fast as I can.
”

Kathir sighed. He knew it was true. Even with his aides, Komu could only move so quickly.

They stopped inside a darkened alcove. 
“
It
’
s time, Councilor,
”
Blias whispered.

“
Time for what?
”
asked Komu with a bewildered look on his face.

“
The enchantments, Councilor,
”
he reminded him.

“
What? Oh yes
…
of course. The enchantments.
”
In that moment, Komu
’
s features sharpened, and he seemed much more in control of himself than usual. He rubbed his hands together vigorously.
“
Let
’
s get started then.
”
 

He began to cast the spell, mumbling under his breath. His fingers touched the rock, which vibrated lightly under his palm. Skemtun and Kathir kept careful watch on the corridor, making sure that no orcs came near.

The stone under Komu
’
s hand started to glow, and bright lines of burning red appeared on it like a spider web.

“
There,
”
Komu said at last. His breath came in ragged gasps.
“
It
’
s done. One more to go, I believe.
”

The next spot was harder. It was inside a small cave, but a group of orcs were sitting in the middle of the floor, talking in guttural tones and eating their foul food. Kathir paused at the entrance, hoping that they would move out quickly, but after a few minutes of waiting, it became obvious that the orcs weren
’
t going anywhere.

“
It has to be in here?
”
Kathir whispered to the others.
“
Can we go to another spot?
”

“
This cave is right in the center of the fourth quadrant. It
’
s in a strategic place,
”
Skemtun said.
“
It has to be here.
”

“
Then I guess we do this the hard way,
”
Kathir sighed, drew his sword, and charged forward. His body shimmered and became visible as he leapt outside the perimeter of the concealment spell. The startled orcs jumped up from their stools, but it was too late.

Kathir
’
s sword sliced the first in the throat, and he was already turning toward the second when Skemtun hit it squarely in the chest with his axe. Their concealment spell gave way entirely as Komu took the last orc down with a well-aimed fireball. The five of them scrambled inside the cave and covered the entrance with an animal skin.

“
We need to work quickly,
”
Komu said to his assistants.

Kathir nodded.
“
We
’
ll keep watch at the door.
”

It didn
’
t take long for them to set the second enchantment.

“
The others will be finishing soon,
”
said Kathir,
“
We need to get out of here.
”

They hurried out of the cave and went to join the others in the spellcasters
’
chambers where they were waiting.