Events on the 7th of Malachite."Ostri, I tire of these negotiations." said Captain Ironblood, clearly ready to wrap it up for the day.
"As do I, old friend." said Ostri, barely suppressing a yawn.
"In that case, we shall adjourn for today. I shall see you in the morning. I bid you a good night."
Ostri nodded sleepily as they exited the Mayors office. His female 'guards' followed him.
He turned to them, and said "Early to bed, early to rise, eh, ladies?"
He was grinning as he said this.
Their distaste evident, one of them said "Uh, we're not tired yet, sir. We might go for a bit of a walk."
"You can't play hard to get forever, but go enjoy your evening." he said, and turned to head down to his quarters.
The guards, Kozi and Issha, sighed in unison.
"He never quits." said Issha.
"He's old enough to be my father!" muttered Kozi, irritably.
"Indeed. But unless I'm mistaken, we have other matters to attend to."
"Ah, quite right, Issha. Do you have it on you?"
"Of course. Let us go to the meeting place we told of."
They moved down the halls, and soon found themselves in the Galleria.
They had a few moments to themselves, and gazed in awe at the faces of Dwarven heroes staring down at them.
"So many..." whispered Issha.
"Quite." said a female voice, behind them. They jumped, startled, and turned to see a robe clad figure, clearly dwarven.
Another, clearly more militaristic dwarf, closed the doors behind her.
"You have it?" said the dwarf, walking up to them, her companion at her side.
"We were expecting a man..." began Kozi.
"You can expect away. But I'm here, and you'll do business with me. Do you have it?"
"Yes... here!" said Issha, pulling a worn tome out of a knapsack.
"I shall inspect it." stated the dwarf, snatching it, and opening it.
"Yes... yes... this is it, alright."
The dwarf looked up at the two humans.
"Well then, it appears your part in this story is complete." she said.
"What? Where's our payment?!"
"Here." murmured the other dwarf, for the first time, its gender was indistinguishable from its voice.
It removed a hammer from its robes, and the humans felt their hands go to their swords.
"It's a doublecross!" shouted Issha.
Kozi roared as she slashed her scimitar through the dwarf before it could attack.
It staggered, and she kicked it against the wall, where it slumped, lifelessly.
Both guards turned to the weaponless dwarf.
"Now..." began Kozi.
"Not done." came a voice from behind her. She turned to see the slain dwarf rising to its feet. Its voice was like gravel, and had an unusual cold quality to it.
"How?" she muttered as it moved towards her.
"Look out!" shouted Issha, as it moved towards Kozi with unnatural speed, holding its hammer high.
The hammer smashed through Kozi's stomach, rending flesh and bone.
"KOZI!" shouted Issha, slashing at the mad dwarf with her two-handed sword, slicing through its right calf.
The dwarf hissed, as it fell to its knee, and brought up the hammer to meet with Issha's face, cracking her skull, and instantly knocking her unconscious.
The mad-dwarf halted a moment. "Where?" it asked the unarmed dwarf, who was still clutching the book.
"On the staircase." said the book-clutching dwarf.
"Yes, mistress." it said, forcing itself to its feet. It dragged the unconscious Issha to the staircase.
It brought the hammer down, ending in a horrific crunching sound.
"It is done." it said simply, wiping off its hammer. An image of dwarves speaking with each other shone on it, outlined in blood.
"How long, mistress?" it asked.
"A year. Maybe a bit longer. It's never specific."
"Yes. It has been good to show my true strength for a change, Mistress."
"Indeed. We should depart. Recommence blending in with the other dwarves."
"Very well, Mistress. What of the bodies?"
"Leave them. Ironblood can sort out that mess."
Very well, Mistress."
They left quietly through the main door, and slipped into the shadows of the fortress halls, parting nearly immediately to avoid suspicion.
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Topic: Nist Akath - The Complete Story (Read 609849 times)