Tremors of Change

Durakdur, Dwarven Freehold – Winter, Year 3081 After Doom

Kira leaned back in her chair. Using her tongue, she picked at a shred of meat stuck between her teeth.

"We need to consider forcing open the Wind Tunnels to Volkur." Elenya sat opposite Kira, her fire-red hair falling loose over her shoulders, her stare unwavering.

The newly elected ruler of Azmar, King Lakar, sat to Kira's right. By all accounts, he seemed an honest dwarf, if in his later years. Both his beard and moustache were thick and grey, though neither held any gold rings, only copper and a splattering of silver. Not much of a warrior.

"I'm not so certain that is the wisest course of action, Elenya." Lakar plucked at a roasted potato with his fingers and tossed it into his mouth, dabbing his lips with a cloth. "The Freehold has seen a lot of uncertainty in these times. My people elected me to re-establish a period of stability and prosperity. Entering into more military action with another member kingdom of the Freehold would not fit into that remit."

"There will be no military action if we enter Volkur with enough strength, Lakar. With all due respect, it was your predecessor who played a fundamental part in the uncertainty and instability of this Freehold. We…" Elenya stopped, narrowing her gaze at the sound of footsteps outside the chamber.

Kira heard voices, then silence. She turned her head, though the high back of the chair stopped her from seeing the door. "Mirlak?"

Elenya shook her head, looking back to Lakar. "We cannot allow uncertainty within the Freehold. The Volkur Wind Tunnels have been closed for too long. We must establish control within our borders."

"Are you suggesting we absorb Volkur into our kingdoms? That is a dangerous path, Elenya."

"It is the right path," Elenya insisted. "As you said, the Freehold needs certainty. Volkur represents the exact opposite. With Volkur's resources and people spread between our kingdoms and Belduar established at our gates, we will once again be secure."

Kira drew in a long breath, moving her gaze from Elenya to Lakar. She was not yet sure on which side she fell. Both spoke sense, but Kira was so tired of blood and death. Behind her, the steel doors creaked open. "Mirlak, is all well?"

No answer came, but footsteps tapped against stone.

Kira shifted in her seat, turning her head so she could see dwarves approaching in her periphery. "Mirlak?"

Elenya gasped and leapt to her feet, only for something to slam her back down with a crack.

"Mirlak is a little indisposed," a voice said.

Something soared past Kira's face and dropped down on the table, rolling across the stone until it hit a bowl of warm meat. Kira's jaw clenched, and she grabbed a knife from the table at the sight of Mirlak's severed head, blood dripping from his neck. She made to leap from her chair, but panic set in when her body didn't respond. It was as though invisible ropes were holding her to the chair. A glance around the table told her the same was true of both Lakar and Elenya as well.

Kira struggled against her invisible bonds as a dwarf walked around the table, a horned helmet obscuring his face, a black and yellow cloak knotted at the shoulders of sharp-cut armour. He held a heavy double-bladed axe over his shoulder. "I'm truly sorry it has to be this way," the dwarf said, his voice familiar. He nodded to a figure that now stood on the opposite side of the table. A human. A mage.

Kira's invisible bonds pulled tighter. The dwarf scratched at his ring-laden beard with his left hand as he walked to stand beside Lakar, then lifted his helmet and rested it on the table.

"Hoffnar?" Kira could do nothing to hide the shock in her voice as she looked at the stern, angular face of King Hoffnar of Volkur. "We thought you were dead."

"Yes," Hofnarr said, tapping his finger on the top of the helmet. More footsteps sounded behind Kira, and armoured dwarves bearing the black and yellow cloaks of Volkur lined the chamber. "That was part of it. It's easier to move around when you're dead." He let out a sigh and walked towards Elenya. "Our people have spent too long hiding beneath this mountain," he said, his dark eyes studying Kira. "Now is our time, Kira. Everything is in chaos. The empire is scrambling, the humans in the South are in open rebellion, the elves and Uraks are killing everything they can find. Now is the time for a strong dwarven hand."

Hoffnar gripped the shaft of the double-bladed axe with both hands, and before Kira could even think, the dwarf swung. Elenya's scream lasted only a fraction of a second before the thick steel hit her just below the nose and split her face. Teeth snapped and bones cracked, blood pouring in freefall. Hoffnar grunted as he heaved the axe free, the top half of Elenya's head sliding onto the floor.

Kira wanted to scream, but her voice held in her throat, trapped by shock as Elenya's body slumped forwards, her mutilated head thumping off the table, blood pouring over the stone.

"I'm not going to waste my time telling you the particulars," Hoffnar said as though nothing had happened. "Pulroan did instigate the civil war. She wanted Elenya and me dead while having Daymon indebted to you both. From what I know, she actually wanted to raise you, Kira, as the sole queen of the Freehold. I've got to admire her ambition. But needless to say, I didn't agree with her plan, and it's unsurprising how quickly assassins are willing to change allegiances when you pay them more gold." Hoffnar looked at Lakar, who stared back at him in terror. "Apologies, new king."

"No, please, you don't—"

Hoffnar's axe cleaved through Lakar's neck, blood spurting as the king's head rolled to the ground. Hoffnar lay the bloody axe on the table, then walked towards Kira. "I didn't want it this way. It was Pulroan who tried to have me killed. I'm just seizing opportunity." He shook his head. "Don't worry, Kira. I'm not going to kill you. Not yet. If I killed you now, too many would question me. No, I exercised great control in not killing you when I came here to inform you of my survival only to find you had slaughtered Elenya, Lakar, and all their guards. You were thirsty for blood and desired the Freehold for yourself. I kept you alive so the people could see the traitor you truly were." Hoffnar leaned close enough for Kira to feel the warmth of his breath on her face. "And while you are left starving and dying slowly in a cell below the keep of Volkur, I will bind our people and lead them from this mountain. I will crush your little Belduaran pets, and I will give the dwarves of Lodhar the future they deserve."