A Bard's Story: Here There Be Dragons

Chapter Nine

Leyha and Jes pass through a series of nearly-identical corridors empty apart from a handful of doors. As they go further, it becomes clear that they're moving to the edge of town, even though town is carved into the mountain. Although the carved halls don't give way to the rolling farmland that would surround a human town, it's clear enough that they're reaching the edges of dwarven civilization. The walls and floors become rougher and damper, and Leyha has to step carefully around rocks that seem to have grown out of the roof or the floor. Jes calls them güther, and Leyha wonders if Kehdem knows the Common name for them. As soon as she's wondered, however, she has an answer: stalactite for the ones on the ceiling, and stalagmite for the ones on ground. Well, sometimes these stupid marks are helpful, she thinks with a wry smile.

Jes and Leyha walk through corridor after corridor, which don't change much as they get deeper into the mountain — apart from the occasional güther. It's clear that these spaces, just as much as the ones closer to the surface, once had dwarves living in them, though it's equally clear they haven't been inhabited for years. There is, however, space for thousands of dwarves to live comfortably.

"Jes, how many dwarves live here?" she asks.

"In the mountain, or in the yent?"

"The yent, I guess. Not the whole mountain, just — just where we are."

"There are two hundred and two dwarves in Gazerü."

"Huh," Leyha says.

"Is something wrong?"

"I expected there would be more," she says. She gestures around her. "You have all this room."

"There are many more dwarves in the mountain," Jes says. "I can't say the number, but there are many."

"What happened to them?" Leyha asks. He doesn't answer for a bit, and she wonders if he heard — or understood — the question. "Jes?"

"Günther," he says, pointing to one she's about to walk into.

"Thanks," she says.

"I am thinking how to answer your question," he says before pausing again. This time, however, Leyha is content to wait for the response since she knows one is coming. "There were many dwarves in Gazerü," he says finally. "We — traded, xî? — We traded with people outside. Then, dragons came and hurt us. We fought. Many died. We closed the mountain and many dwarves went deep into the mountain. There are more yenten, with many dwarves. Some stayed near the outside to protect the others."

It's not the most eloquent speech, but it paints the picture clearly enough. "You're keeping watch for dragons," Leyha says.

"They will not get in," Jes says firmly. "But the dwarves deep in the mountain are still afraid."

"I don't blame them," Leyha says. "I've seen a dragon, and I've had a little taste of war. I imagine the Dragon Wars were terrifying."

Jes slows to a halt in front of a door. "They make good stories," he says.

"I'd love to hear them," she says.

"You have to ask Ash," Jes says. "I don't have the words." Then he turns towards a door beside him, and holds his glowstone high. The light sparkles of a strange marking carved in the door. Jes inspects it closely.

"What's that?" Leyha asks.

"Xîxen," Jes says. "They are runes, for safety."

"Safety from what?"

"Zarok. Also the mountain."

"Safety from the mountain?" Leyha asks, confused.

"Yes. It can..." Jes pauses. "Fall?"