The dwarven brothers had a game they loved to play when they mined together, something to keep their minds focused on the job at hand. Railick pressed his grubby ear to the rough stone wall, and waited for the vibration of his brother’s digging. After moments of listening and timing the blows Railick was ready. As Bailick’s pick rang out against the stone Railick’s followed.
Bailick could feel the force of his brother’s powerful blow through the stone, and smiled his queer smile. “It be about time,” he thought to himself, following his brother’s blow with his own. Like this the two continued to mine, tearing the stone walls into pebbles. Behind each of them followed dwarves with support beams and various other stabilizing techniques that would keep the raw tunnel from falling in on their heads. The brothers Stonemane were oblivious, their job was to mine!
In this way the brothers worked through-out what they could only assume to be the day. This deep in the mountain there was no natural light and no real way to keep track of time. Only sweat and fatigue mattered now, and after hours the two where spent. It was time for rest and as they took a short break in one of the main tunnels their foreman happened by on his rounds.
“What are ye two still doing ‘ere? Ye were supposed to be off work six hours ago!” It was hard to tell whether this dwarf was seriously angry or just being fatherly again. The brothers looked at each other for a moment, then back to their foreman.
“Oi wait a second! Just a minute ago ye were on me about making a crooked door, now yer saying I should have been off six hours ago? What are ye on about?!” Railick shook a stubby finger at the foreman, his rough eyebrows raised a bit to indicate disbelief.
“That was twelve hours ago you magma blasted fool! We ain’t paying ye over time I hope ye be knowing that!” The foreman grabbed Railick by the shoulder and shoved him roughly towards the exit hall. “Now get the ‘ell out of ‘ere and get some rest! Yer gonna have to take tomorrow off to make up for all this extra work you two ‘ave been puttin in!”
A pare of intelligent eyes observed the exchange from the shadows and the calculating mind they belonged to took great interest. Had this figure not been hidden in darkness he would have stood out like a diamond in a pile of coal. Down here, in the deep mountain, there were generally two kinds of dwarfs. There were the miners, who were constantly covered in dust and broken stone from their trade, and the managers. The managers too were filthy at all times, but compared to their workers they were spotless.
This dwarf, however, was different. His beard was stroked with a brush, perfumed, and braided to his waist. His cave spider silk robes were opulent and some how spotless even after spending time down in the mines. With his long red hair braided a thousand times upon a thousand times he could almost be mistaken for female human. On his nose sat a pair of glasses with rare enchanted ruby lenses that allowed him to see in the darkness as if it were day light. His ears and wrists and neck were all adorned with the finest jewelry. Even his boots were excessive, made from the hide of a felled dragon no less. This dwarf stood with an air of superiority, even as he spied on the brothers.
“Yes,” he muttered under his breath, “These two will do nicely.” As the brothers began to make their way towards the exit hall this rare dwarf emerged from the shadows. He stood in their path and announced himself with a cough. The brothers were frozen in their tracks as they looked upon this dwarf. Their attention was not caught by the cough, or the sudden movement. Their beady eyes were riveted on his form, for never had they seen such a dwarf.
They were literally born in the deep mines, their rugged mother only halting her stone hauling duties for a moment to give birth to the twins. It was said in these mines that Railick and Bailick Stonemane were born with long red beards and pick axes in their hands. Thus their entire lives had been spent deep in the mountains, with extremely sparse trips to the surface for odd jobs which required it. Even then they had been forced to use access tunnels, and so they had never seen the glorious halls above them which many a dwarf called home.
The dwarves in the deep mines were considered an under class. Both literally and in a figurative sense they were forced to live under the rest of dwarven society. This didn’t seem to bother them however, for they worshiped and loved the stone. Never had they had an unhappy thought at being forced to work all day, and in fact they enjoyed their work so much that working countless hours past their shift was common for them.
This was the quality that the noble dwarf saw in them, a quality he knew that he could exploit to its fullest potential. As the brothers absorbed this dwarf’s lavishness he took the opportunity to break the ice with them. He came close, but never too close. Only then did they notice a small elephant bone nose pin had been placed to protect him from their putrid stench.
“You know my brothers, where I come from there is but one way to tell the difference betwix a dark dwarf and a mine dwarf. First you insult their mother, then you wait a few seconds. If remain standing then you had better call the guard because you have a dark dwarf on your hands.” The dwarf smiled, in a fake and condescending way that neither brother was accustomed to. In their ignorance they could only assume this dwarf was being genuine.
“Are ye insulting me mudder?” Bailick’s eyebrows raised as his powerful hand tightened on the haft of his pick. There was insanity behind those eyes, one that was only awakened with such insults. Railick gently placed his hand on his brother’s chest and smiled, his gritty teeth hardly showing through his filthy beard.
“You know M’Lord, we ‘ave the same trouble down ‘ere telling a nobledwarf from a little sissy girl. What with all their pretty hair and frilly dresses it can be hard to tell ye understand. What we do, just to be sure, is take their dollies away and wait for them to finish crying and throwing their fit and rolling around on the ground. Now, if they come back with the Hammer to rescue their pretty dollies ye know ye ‘ave a noble dwarf on your ‘ands.”
The brothers broke into a roar of laughter like the noble had never seen before. The joke wasn’t very clever, in fact it was about as crude as the brothers themselves. Still, it stung the dwarf to hear it, and he had to force himself to remain calm as he put another fake smile onto his lips. His hand shot to a large pocket on his robe, where he hid a doll he’d made years ago in a fitful trance. Since this feyish mood had compelled him to craft this strange object it has never left his side. Thus he controlled his anger, when the time was right he would have his revenge.
The two dirty miners began to roll around in the mud, laughing and kicking their feet in the air. It was apparent they were both so exhausted they’d lost control of their minds, or at least that is what the noble dwarf told himself. He took a step back as the mud began to fly, and before long the uproar of laughter turned into a muddy fist fight.
The noble’s eyebrows rose as he observed them and he shook his head in
distaste at what was taking place. Finally, after the fight went off for a few moments the two brothers broke apart and lay in the mud breathing heavily. A look of pure satisfaction lay beneath layers of mud and stone. The brothers were truly at peace with the world and had totally forgotten they had a guest.
“Yes, well isn’t that a clever one . . . well allow me to introduce myself. I am Baron Shatteredstone, and I have come down here to your . . . ‘wonderful’ mines to meet you. I would like you both to come with me, when you are ready, and meet with me in my office. My servants will see to it that you are both given a warm bath, food, and clean clothes before hand of course.” The two looked at each other, a simple turn of their head in the mud to make eye contact. Neither of them could fathom why they’d want to take a bath, or get clean cloths. They had, after all, never needed to wear clean clothes in the past.
Still, they both knew it was unwise to refuse a noble dwarf when given a command. The brothers Stonemane forced themselves up out of the mud and tossed their pick axes into a pile of tools next to the exit. Railick mustered his best manners and bowed to the Baron, using his grubby hand to motion to the ramp leading up higher. “Please, lead the way M’lord. We are both more than happy to be your guests this evening.” Bailick snickered under his breath at his brother’s display, but did his best to keep his composure.
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[ January 11, 2008: Message edited by: Railick Stonemane ]
[ January 14, 2008: Message edited by: Railick Stonemane ]
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Topic: The Chronicles of Clan Stonemane - The Rise and Fall of Fortress Stonemane (Read 9632 times)