Chapter Nine: Ferricrag

Dayn could see two forms begin to take shape as they shuffled closer to his light source, they looked....tied together? A face quickly came into view, long red hair, bushy beard, low to the ground, strong jaw. "Is that you Ambrose?" he called out, "Who's askin" came the rowdy dwarfs gruff response, so looks like a couple of the townsfolk had managed to escape capture for a while Dayn thought relieved. "You're lucky we came down this route you sour old scout" Dayn teased, Ambrose bristled at the comment, "We coulda taken em, jes didn't want ye to feel useless" the dwarf boasted.

"Now who are ye lad" The dwarf and the man he was tied to came into full view of Dayn's spell now, he looked like the village elders son Mertin. "Isn't that Dayn?" the young man said as he came around to get a good look, the dwarf squinted to get a better look "Aye ye be right lad" Dayn rushed over to help them out of their bonds.

Dayn looked them over, the two were fairly dirty and battered, "How did the two of you manage to escape?" "We were in the mines when the bastards hit the village" Mertin responded, "Aye they caught us when we were out fer a peek." Ambrose noticed Dayn's companions while they were talking and gave him a nudge in the ribs "Still ave a way with women do ye" am amused grin making its way onto his face.

Now that they had an in with the dwarves Dayn decided their best route would be heading to Ferricrag, the Dwarven City he had come across the last time he was down here. "Aye lad, that be a good path, Agni's clan's from there they'll be wantin to know what appened."

Dayn, Sieri, and Ziri walked together as Ambrose took the lead, the dwarves would react more favorably if the first they saw was one of their own Dayn had reasoned remembering his previous encounter with them. Mertin was in the middle Dayn noticed how he kept peeking over his shoulder at Sieri while they made their way. "If eyes were tongues you'd be committing a crime Mertin" he called out to the boy, the young man blushed fiercely and kept his eyes forward from that point on.

Sieri giggled, "Jealous?" she asked, Dayn gave her a look "You know despite my situation I'm still a member of the Royal Family, its a crime to spy on a royal while they're bathing." Although he had mostly let it go he was still mad at her for taking liberties. Sieri blushed, "Well since we're both royals it would cancel out I think," She pondered for a moment then smiled "Oo do you think they'd make me marry you?"

Dayn could feel Ziri's annoyance filling the air around the three of them he let out an exasperated sigh, he couldn't help but wonder how Uncle Murlo had allowed his daughter to become like this. He missed that shy girl who had run headlong into a pillar after only seeing his bare chest. "Oh I almost forgot, this is yours," he handed Ziri a massive single headed axe with many intricate runes carved into the head. She calmed slightly at the gesture "Thank you" she looked upon the weapon still not having calm to terms with her fathers death. No matter how many goblins they killed would never be enough in her eyes.

They passed beyond the kobold cavern and into the well worked tunnels of the dwarves, they had expanded considerably in the six years since Dayn had seen them, various well worked and patrolled tunnels expanded out from the central mining hub. "How had the orcs managed to thrive enough to take action against Sartann" Dayn muttered under his breath. "Ye've got me, we led a party not ten days after ye had left against them, never did fine their ome" Ambrose admitted.

They rounded the final corner and came to the open gates of the Dwarven mining hub, the dirtiest dwarf Dayn had ever seen approached them, two more like him at his side. The dwarfs long red beard dragged along the floor as he approached his bald head was painted in black and red lines. Brown eyes sized them up from under his bushy red eyebrows, he was shirtless and covered in soot and dirt, two vicious looking axes slapped against his thighs hanging from hoops on his broad leather belt.

"We lettin any folk wander our tunnels these days" he said fixing Ambrose with a dangerous scowl "You be puttin that look away ye durned oaf" Ambrose rebutted an equally stern expression on his face. When they looked about to come to blows they hugged each other with a hearty laugh, Ambrose pinched his nose "Whew, ye smell like yer uncle after a week at is forge." "Aye no self respectin dwarf washes away the soils of is labors" Dayn thought to himself he had that saying a little wrong but kept quiet.

The dwarf looked over the group "What ave ye got ere, looks like an orc lass in the back there, a couple humans and a gnome, we don't be lettin orcs in ye be knowin that" "Aye Ragnar, I've got a ard story fer you" Ambrose replied a somber expression on his face. Ambrose explained everything he knew that had taken place within the last few days.