The Caverns Under the Mountain

Chapter 13

After his run in with the queen in the council, room Yokig returned to the guest room that was prepared for him. It was pretty late from what the boy could see outside the single window of the room. But as Yokig slid under the covers, his mind pondered the queens story of the two cities. How could I have not known about the lost elven city? How come it wasnt in the history books or taught to the children in the schools? He wandered. Why did the New Religion want to erase everything?

He understood her pain at the loss of her friend and her people. He lost people he cared about too. He felt her suffering because he also experienced loss. Loss of people he cared about and the loss of a home he loved. He understood the loss of hope she had. He had gone through many trials on his journey, and had even lost hope in himself.

He thought about the mountains and the dwarfs. He wondered about what they looked like and how they lived. What would the underground caverns look like? Are the dwarves tall or short. Are they friendly, like the elves; or grumpy and uncouth?

As he finally fell asleep, Yokig thought about his friends and how they would take the news of altering their course and heading for the mines of the dwarven people. Not only did he think of that, he also wondered who the queen would send to them in the morning.

Yokig woke up late the next morning. He remained in bed, soaking in the last moments of the warmth under the sheets. They hadn't set a time to meet before they retreated to their sleeping rooms the night before, so Yokig wasn't in any hurry to get up. When he finally managed to get out of bed he threw on a clean tunic and made his way to the lounge room.

His friends were already gathered in the room when he arrived. Dresmael and Redbeard were in the middle of devouring a loaf of bread with cheese. The way they shoved the food in their mouths reminded Yokig of a pack of rabid dogs tearing apart a corpse they found lying dead on the street.

Yokig really wasn't that hungry, so he just joined them on the bench and watched the ravenous spectacle unfold before him. Blackpaw sat near food and water bowls in the corner of the room, cleaning her face after the meal she just so obviously freshly consumed.

"Hungry?" Redbeard said between bites, his mouth full of half chewed food.

Yokig shook his head and the giant returned to eating his breakfast.

"So what did you think of the seers vision last night?" Dresmael briefly looked up from her meal and attempted to start a conversation with the new arrival.

"I don't know what to think of it honestly," Yokig answered. He paused to think. "If she said that all she saw was darkness, than my question is this; How can my future be uncertain? Either I am the boy king, or I'm not. Also what if the old one - like the seer- doesn't know either?"

"Don't say that Yokig!" Redbeard growled, shaking a piece of bread at the boy. "The old one has to know; they were the first ones made and granted unlimited knowledge about all things. Of all the beings in Abahlon, the old one has to know!"

"Sure, I mean, I understand what you're saying but - hypothetically speaking- what if he, or she, doesn't? Then this whole trip, this whole journey, would be in vain."

The giant stood up, clutching a loaf of bread in his fist and stomped over to Yokigs seat, bringing his face uncomfortably close to the boys.

"Don't you ever say that again! This journey will not be in vain and it's not a waste of time; so don't you even suggest that it is. You are the boy king!" Blackbeard shoved the bread into Yokigs chest pointing at the boy's heart, and pointed to his own with his free hand. "Because I believe you are, in here!"

Dresmael had stopped eating as the air inside the room became tense. Yokig instinctively put his hands up and surrendered to the giant's will.

"Ok, ok. Gezz" Yokig defensively replied.

The giant backed away and slumped back down, his crumbling weapon slipped from his grip, landing on the floor. His head lowered. Yokig could see that the giant truly felt ashamed of his own outburst. "You have to be. Otherwise I don't know how I'll ever live with myself." The giant's voice was near a whisper.

Blackpaw pranced up and rubbed her body on his ankles.

"There, there," she consoled the giant.

"I guess now would be a good time to tell you that I talked with the queen last night, after supper." The room focused on the boy as everyone gave him their full attention.

"So what happened?" Dresmael asked.

"Well, she told me about the two cities, Lingathor and Negathor. And even though she didn't believe in me, there was a small part of her buried deep inside that did."

"Well that's a nice thing to say." Dresmael took Yokigs hand and smiled. Her touch felt warm, soothing Yokig after the giants upsetting reaction to his previous words.

"Oh, and she said she would send someone to us this morning. Something about taking the dwarves tunnels to Endeloin instead of trekking through the entire mountain range.

"Dwarves ?" Dresmael excitedly jumped up and down in her seat. "I've never met a dwarf before. I've been wanting to meet one ever since my master taught me about them!"

"Yeah, apparently they have tunnels that run all throughout Egrath!"

Redbeard stood and walked to the window, peering out of its glass. "It's looking like it's about mid-day right now, according to the sun's position in the sky. Morning is almost over."

They waited until well after midday in the lounge room before anybody new showed up. Yokig was beginning to lose faith and wondered if the queen had simply forgotten about what she said the night before. Dresmael had long let go of Yokigs hand, turning her attention to a book she was near the end of. Redbeard sat on the bed in the corner lost in thought, while Blackpaw curled up beside him for a little nap. Yokig envied Blackpaw a little. He envied how she could sleep just about anywhere, at just about anytime.

"Why so gloomy?" A voice said, startling the travelers and waking the sleeping cat. Yokig looked at the doorway to find none other than Milahai, standing in its wooden frame. He was relieved to see her.

"Sorry I'm a bit late friends, I was a bit busy getting the horses all saddled up and ready for the journey." Milahais smile reached from one end of her face to the other. "My mother sends her regards and says I am to guide you travelers to the tunnels and then head straight back here. Come, there's no time to waste!"

**************************************************

They rode for fifteen days through the forest. Yokig watched as the cliffs eventually lowered and became level with the river. He watched the forest even out into grasslands giving way to soft rounded hills. They rode without stopping except to eat and drink. Yokig was surprised at the endurance of the elven horses; They ran twice as fast as a regular horse, carried more weight on their backs and could run three times as far without stopping to rest.

Finally the mountains of Vendeloin rose up to greet them in the distance. At its base they took a sharp left and entered the forest at the base of the mountain, climbing and scouring its boulders until they reached a slab of stone jutting out of the mountain's side. In the stone rose a doorway, flanked by carved runes from the forgotten language.

Yokig touched the runes and, like before, they glowed a soft blue at his touch.

"Well, here it is!" Milahai looked up at the granite door. She led the horses to a nearby tree and tied their reins around its base, before rejoining the group.

Redbeard refilled his leather waterbag with fresh liquid from the nearby stream.

"What's with all these stone doors?" Blackpaw mused. For the duration of their journey Blackpaw hid inside Redbeards bag, only emerging when they finally stopped to eat and drink along the way.

"I think it's beautiful!" Dremael replied to the cat.

"If you think this is beautiful, wait until you see what's inside." Milaha laughed at Dresmaels enthusiasm.

Dresmael blushed and turned away, hiding her face in Yokigs thin shoulder. Yokig knew she was excited to meet the dwarves. And he knew that it was hard for her to contain that excitement.

"Would you do the honors Dresmael?" Milahai extended her hand to the girl and invited her to the door.

Dresmael hoped to the door like a little child overdosed on too much sugar. She practically tripped on a root as she hurried to the stone entrance, not paying any mind as to where she stepped.

When she arrived, She knocked on the stone door as hard as she could. Her knock echoed throughout the rock, into the space behind the granite door.

The sound of Dresmaels knock faded into silence as everyone stood there waiting for an answer. But the answer they were looking for didn't come.

"Try again!" Milahai requested.

Dresmael knocked again, a bit harder, but still there was no reply.

Redbeard glared at Milahai, and Melahai responded to his glare with a confused shrug.

"Maybe they didn't hear us?" She suggested in an attempt to get him to stop.

Redbeard rolled up the sleeves of his tunic and stomped to the door. "We'll see about that!" He grumbled, pushing Dresmael out of the way and pounding on the doors stone.

"Bumblebeak, did you hear something?" A voice on the other side of the door said, just loud enough to be heard.

"Yeah, I thought I heard someone pounding on the door." Another voice answered the first.

"It's weird right? Was you expecting anybody?"

"No. You?"

"Not at all," The first voice replied.

"Hello?" the voices said in unison.

Redbeard pulled Dresmael behind him.

"Finally!" Redbeard growled under his breath. "My name is Redbeard, I am the guardian of the boy with dreams and we have two other traveling companions with us. Let us in!" The giant yelled.

"Redbeard, you say! What business do you and your companions have with us!?" The voice replied back. Yokig could almost make out a muffled snicker in the voices tone.

"We seek safe passage to Endeloin! The queen of Haisherom should have warned you of our coming!"

"The queen of Haisherom? She has sent nothing of the sort! For all we know, you could be human spies!" The second voice responded.

"Or liars!" The first voice said to the second.

"Or murderers!"

"Or traders!"

"I assure you, we are just travelers!" Redbeard curled his hands into a tight fist.

"Whatsoever you may be- you lying, traitorous..."

"...Don't forget murderous!" The other voice interrupted.

"Yes, how could I." The first voice responded to the second one and then returned to addressing Redbeard. "... and Murderous human spies- you are not welcome! Good day!" The voice answered back.

Milahai stopped Redbeard from punching the door, "Let me!"

Redbeard lowered his fist and stepped back, allowing Milahai to put her face close to the doors stone.

"I am Milahai, Daughter of Maitahai, queen of Haisherom. To whom am I speaking!?"

"I am Bumblebeak and this is Bracklesden." A voice answered. "How do we know you are who you say you are?"

"You'll have to open the door to see, Bumblebeak."

"Nice try 'princess Milahai'. If that's your real name!" The snarky voice replied. "I cannot, and will not, open this door!"

The voices on the other side of the door went quiet.

Redbeard slammed his fist repeatedly into the stone door, sending small bits of granite shards flying to the ground with each blow. "Let us in damnit!" He yelled. But his cries were met with only silence. Soon he was forced to give up, the anger he had channeled into his blows becoming more faint, and his punches becoming softer and lighter until eventually they were only a light tap. His hands fell motionless to his side.

Laughter burst out on the other side of the door. With a loud creak the door flew open revealing two small fully grown dwarves rolling on their bellies, howling with childish glee.

"We got you good!" One of the dwarves said as he gripped his stomach. "We got the queen's message. Come in, Come in!" He said between uncontrollable bellows.

"That wasn't funny!" Redbeard folded his arms to his chest and stepped over the dwarf and into the cavern. Yokig, Dresmael and Blackpaw followed close behind.

Milahai came in and gave them all a giant hug. "Good luck boy with dreams" She whispered as she got to Yokig. She thanked the dwarves for letting the travelers through and bid them farewell.

"You are all welcome in Haisherom whenever you want" She said, waving goodbye as the great stone door was closed behind them.

As soon as it was shut, the caverns lit up with a bright blue light.

"Dwarf magick!" Bumblebeak addressed Yokig as he stared in awe at the caverns above him.

"Sorry about our little stunt back there. Our philosophy in the mountain is that lifes too short to take it seriously." Bracklesden apologized.

As they led the travelers down a dirt path, both of the dwarves burst into laughter again.

"You get it, because us dwarves are short people!" Bracklesden exclaimed. "It's a joke on our size!"

But the travelers didn't share his humor.

"Awe forget it, dwarf humor."

"No, we got it. It just wasn't funny." Blackpaws voice held no cheer.

Yokig agreed with Blackpaw, he thought their joke at the door was a bit mean and in bad taste; as a result, he really wasn't in the mood for more of the tiny peoples shenanigans.

Dresmael spent her time asking the dwarfs many questions about their culture and customs during the long walk down the path. The dwarves made sure to answer her questions in as vague a way as possible. And when asked about their hesitancy to be direct with their answers, they simply replied, "The greatness of the dwarves caverns is better when experienced than told."

Finally, after a couple of days of walking, they reached two giant wooden doors that stretched the entire length of the cavern wall in front of them. The doors were opened with the effort of the little people on standby at its bottom. They had ropes attached to the handles of the wooden door and pulled the door open with four lines of ten dwarves.

The doors opened into a grand hall filled with tiny people running to and from doors, chattering amongst themselves in small groups. The high flat ceiling was supported by dozens upon dozens of natural pillars of rock, carved with intricate designs and reinforced with steel. The floor was solid granite and the room was lit with the same bluish glow of the caverns.

The size and grandeur of the room made Yokig feel incredibly small. He couldn't even begin to imagine how such small beings, like the dwarves, made something so beautiful and large. He came to the conclusion that the size of the hall was the dwarfs way of overcompensating for their short stature.

A new dwarf met them in the middle of the room. This newcomer was dressed in a modest grey tunic and trousers, fastened at the hip with a shiny leather belt. His red beard stretched down from his face and dragged on the floor behind him as he walked. His red hair grown to the length of his shoulders.

"Bumblebeak! Bracklesden! You may return to your regular post!" The new dwarf commanded.

"Yes sir!" Bumblebeak replied.

"With pleasure!" Bracklesden responded.

They both turned around and walked off in the direction the group came from.

"I hope those two wern't too much of a bother." The dwarf apologized. "We sent them to guard the mountain entrance because they were bugging the hell out of us here."

The dwarf caught a glimpse of the compass around Yokigs neck. "You know, we helped the old one make that." The dwarf was proud of this fact. "Anyway, My name is quaggletoe. I serve under the king Steaklook. You all must be so tired, let me show you to your quarters."

He led them to a door at the end of the hall that opened to a smaller hall with a door on every wall.

"Down that passageway is the mines and the beginning of the path to Endeloin we'll be taking in the morning.."

Yokig was half listening, he stared at the walls and the ceiling, still admiring its height and architecture.

And behind that door are the housing chambers; where all of my people, excluding the royal family, live. But we'll be going into the royal chamberhall, which is through that door." Quaggletoe pointed to the door in front of them. "Step lively, the king has been waiting for you all for over an hour; and in our custom it is rude to start a feast without your guest when the feast was planned in the guest honor."

The royal grand hall was filled with rows of benches surrounding two warm herths. Attached to its walls were seven doors, excluding the door they entered the royal hall from.

"The two doors in front of us are the king's chambers and the king's council room. These three doors, to our left, are the guest rooms and the royal dining room." Quaggletoe explained. Dresmael was eating up every word that came out of the dwarves mouth, listening carefully to every detail of what he said.

"Over there is the kitchen and the small council chamber."

They were led to the guest rooms to drop off their bags and then hurried to the royal dining room to meet the waiting king.

The king sat on the end of a long table filled with bowls of meat and fruit, lit by the blue glow of the markings surrounding the ceiling. The walls were painted with murals of the dwarves discovering the first mines and the first blue ore, done in a beautiful simplistic style. The king wore a royal violet robe over his short but tremendously big belly. His hair had gone grey with age and his beard was even longer than Quaggletoes but surprisingly better groomed. His eyes were the color of the earth his people mined.

The king stood up to greet the travelers. "Welcome! Welcome! Boy with dreams and friends!" The king gave Yokig a tight hug and ushered him and his companions to the table. He gave the boy the seat closest to him.

Yokig, by this time had had some experience with royalty; but, even the queen of Haisherom wasn't this lively. Yokig took his seat and the rest of his friends sat down beside him.

The king noticed Blackpaw walking behind the group.

"Well I'll be a dragon's aunt, I've never seen one of those up close. I'm afraid we weren't prepared for such a guest."

"I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, your grace." Blackpaw bowed her head in the king's direction.

"And it talks!" The king gleefully exclaimed. "And what type of creature might you be? One of those birds I've read about in stories? Or maybe a miniature horse!"

"Your majesty, I'm nothing but a humble talking cat. One of the last of my kind."

"As are most non-human beings nowadays, my furry friend. And what does your species eat?"

"Meat and water would suffice."

"Mazzlerat!" The king yelled.

The smallest dwarf Yokig had seen so far entered the room and bowed. She wore a dirty apron, her grey hair was braided into a single braid and fashioned in a tight bun resting on the top of her head. "Yes, my king?"

"Cut up some of our finest meats for this extraordinary creature and bring her a bowl of water to quench her thirst!"

"Yes my king. Right away."

Mazzlerat left the room.

"I know in the elf tradition business is discussed after a meal." The King addressed the travelers. "It's an archaic practice if you ask me. We dwarves know that the business should be discussed before the meal. That way, the meal becomes comfort or celebration." The king crossed his arms and smiled. "Tell me about your journey travelers?"

Redbeard told the king about their adventure so far. The king grimaced at the part where they were captured and applauded at the telling of their eventual escape.

Dresmael stayed quiet and focused on her small spellbook. Reviewing the magic she learned from books in the elven library. The king didn't seem to mind. She looked up from her book a few times to join the conversation or ask the dwarf king about the dwarves' culture, but after she received answers she returned to her studying.

Mazzlerat eventually returned with Blackpaws food and set the dishes in front of the patient cat.

Redbeard and the king's conversation eventually evolved into chatter about strategy and defence. About past wars with the humans. Yokig listened, his mind still fresh, young and malleable. He soaked in as much information as he could.

"We'll I'm impressed. So you're really on your way to Endeloin? I've arranged to send Quaggletoe to guide you through the tunnels in the morning. Without a guide, you'll surely get lost. There are many tunnels; some have gone untrodden for quite some time. Well, It seems like I have worked up a bigger appetite than I had before, lets eat!"

They devoured the food in front of them like animals. The food wasn't quite as good as the feast with the elves but it was still, none-the-less, delicious and extremely satisfying. When they finished the table stood empty, they had eaten every last scrap of food that was on it.

*******************************************

The guest rooms of the Dwarf kingdom in the mountains didn't have windows; so Yokig had no idea of what time it was when he fell asleep and had even less of an idea of what time it was when he was woken up by Quaggletoe, in the morning.

You looked so peaceful, so I let you sleep in for a few extra minutes. But now you have to get up, boy with dreams. Quaggletoe had poked the boy awake with his finger and now jumped from a wooden box he was standing on back onto the floor. "Meet us in the grand royal hall in five minutes."

The dwarf took his leave and left Yokig alone in the room. While he slept, someone one had gone through his bag and washed his tunics and trousers, which were now neatly folded on the chair that also occupied the space. Yokig had slept with the compass around his neck, he had become used to its weight and he never took it off, not even to sleep.

He quickly got dressed, packed his bag and joined the others in the grand royal hall.

"Quaggletoe, why do dwarves have such silly names?" Yokig blurted out as he joined the group. His pack was on his back and he was ready to continue the adventure.

"I beg your pardon!" Quaggletoe seethed, giving Yokig a contemptuous look. "I'll have you know that we Quaggletoes are a very respected family, so mind whom you call silly young man!" The dwarf huffed.

"Gezz, sorry." Yokig apologized, he didn't realize that Quaggletoes name was such a sore spot for the dwarf and made a mental note not to bring it up again.

"Now listen to me everyone, we have to step quickly; we need to go through the mines to get to the path to Endeloin."

They followed Quaggletoe into the small grand hall and through a door that opened to a dimly lit carved path that led to the mines.

On the journey Quaggletoe explained how the dwarves - before the New Religion that forced them to shut themselves off from the outside world- were known for mining the blue ore, about the magick they used the ore for, and their unique ways of carving out the massive expanse of tunnels under the earth.

The mines extended deep below Egraths crust. Yokig couldn't see the bottom, he saw nothing but black and a faint glowing blue. The mines were lined with wooden platforms connected by wooden ladders. The platforms were spaced out about ten feet between each level and extended into the darkness of the dwarf cut hole.

The sounds of pickaxes clanging on stone filled the cavern as the dwarves on the bottommost platform - well out of sight- were hard at work, singing ancient dwarven songs. On every platform stood a couple of dwarves manning a series of ropes and pullies bringing up crate after crate of their precious blue ore.

Yokig marveled at the brightness and beauty of the raw ore that was unloaded by the dwarves on -what Quaggletoe had referred to as - the door level.

The platforms at door level were old and every few feet a plank would be missing. Yokig felt a little uneasy walking on it, like it would give way and fall at even the slightest bit of weight; but he kept walking, trying not to look down and imagine falling to his death.

They eventually got to the side wall of the mine and left through a doorway that opened up into another glowing tunnel lit by runes of the forgotten language.

From there they walked for around three days to another opening that led to another dwarf grand hall.

The doors of this hall had long since been knocked off their hinges, the ropes used to open the massive doors had rotted away with age and neglect. The hall itself was empty and made Yokig feel like he was stepping into a ghost town. Some of the carved pillars had crumbled to the ground. Lost and abandoned rubble littered the chipped and badly cracked floor.

They camped there for the night and Quaggletoe explained to the group that it was abandoned after its inhabitants decided to fight against the New Religion, despite the earnest council of his kingdom. He told them that they were all slain and that his kingdom was forced to take in all the widowed and the young into their kingdom as their own.

"They learned a great lesson that day," he said solemnly. "They learned that inside the mountain is the only safe place for our kind."

The next day they entered the abandoned settlements. The settlements had long since been abandoned and had fallen into great disrepair. Yokig thought it was a sad sight to see, ladders from the wooden platforms had rotted away and broken; Platforms were hanging by what was left of the rope, and those that were still there were missing large sections of their planks.

They didn't get very far into the mines before they ran out of usable platforms to walk on.

"Well that's unfortunate." Quaggletoe sighed, his brow furrowed in anger. "I kept telling them we need to preserve this site, but nope, and now look at it."

Redbeard looked at the large missing section. "Fucking hell; if its not one thing, its another!"

Dresmael peered out from behind the giant to take a look.

"Where's the door we want?" Redbeard hastily asked the small creature.

Quaggletoe pointed to the left wall of the mine. A single solitary door hung suspended on the rock wall. The platforms from where they were standing to the door had long since fallen into the abyss below.

Yokigs heart sank, the gap between where they were and the door was far too wide for them to jump by about a half a mile. Everyone around him was in a similar mental slump, desperately trying to figure out a way forward.

"We could scale the wall?" Redbeard slapped the rock wall behind him. A layer of the rock slid off in a clean sheet and fell into the darkness.

"The earth is too loose from all the mining that was done." Quaggletoe replied. "And the stone is too slick, we would surely die."

Dresmael sat down on the ground with her back against the stone wall. Yokig joined her as she fished out her little green book from her bag.

"There's a fae air spell I wrote down from a book in the magick library of the elf kingdom." She told the boy in confidence. She thumbed through the pages of the book. "I thought it would be useful to have; you know, in case we were caught and surrounded again with no escape. Where did I write it down?" She wondered out loud.

"Here it is!" She pointed the page out to Yokig. Yokig was impressed at Dresmaels foresight.

Redbeard and Quaggletoe were still on the edge of the platform paying no attention to the boy, the girl or the cat who lay sleeping in a ball on the rotten wood. They were still discussing ways to get to the other side, none of which were any good.

"Hey!" Dresmaels voice came out no louder than a whisper.

"Hey!" Yokig amplified her request causing Redbeard and Quaggletoe to turn around and finally listen.

"I have a spell I could use. It's a fae levitation spell" She held her book out for everyone to see. "I've never done it before and I have no idea of how long I can sustain it, but it's worth a try!"

Dresmeal motioned for the group to form a small circle around her. She sat in the center and closed her eyes.

"Letiam, Osumun Letiam!" She chanted. At first nothing happened; but, as she kept chanting a gentle gust of wind from the earth's depths brushed past Yokigs pale face.

Logically this didn't make any sense to the boy. He wondered how they could feel such a thing because as he understood it- they were underground.

As Dresmael kept chanting, small orbs of white light began to appear, lightly drifting around the group and incircling their feet. Before Yokig knew it the orbs had formed a glowing white cloud under them and had lifted the group up a few inches off of what was left of the wooden platform.

"Its working!" Yokig exploded with excitement and threw his hands in the air.

Dresmael remained focused and kept chanting. The cloud moved through the mines, slowly carrying its passengers across its depths.

The exit of the mine becoming larger and larger as they got closer and closer.

Dresmels chants began becoming weaker and more labored as she struggled to hold the spell. Yokig could see the incantation literally draining her, as she struggled to keep her eyes open and remain conscious.

The cloud came to a rest at the door and Dresmael collapsed into a tired heap onto its soft glow.

Quaggletoe opened the door and walked though, Blackpaw followed close behind. The cloud began sinking as Dresmael lay there, unmoving.

Redbeard had already passed through the opening of the exit and was extending his hand out to them.

"Hurry, jump!" The giant screamed, his face turning red.

Yokig held Dresmael in his arms as the cloud slowly drifted lower and lower; its brightness beginning to fade.

Dresmaels consciousness briefly returned.

"Dresmael!" Yokig sobbed, holding her face close to his.

"You have to jump Yokig" She said as she faded out into nothing again.

"Dresmael, wake up! Dresmael, no! I will not leave you! Wake up!" The boy screamed. He grabbed her waist and launched with all the force he could muster off the dying cloud, grabbing for the giant's hand with his free one.

I'm not going to make it, he thought to himself. The distance is too great. Yokig closed his eyes and prepared to fall to his untimely demise.

Suddenly his fall stopped and his small body slammed hard against the wall. Unseen hands tightly gripped his wrist and he opened his eyes to see the giant struggling to pull him and Dresmael up to safety.

The giant pulled the children clear of the doorway and collapsed on the ground beside them struggling to catch his breath. "You'll make a fine king, boy. I can feel it." The giant erupted into laughter and slapped Yokigs back.

They heaved Dresmeal to the wall and propped her up with her back against the rocky surface. Yokig sat down beside her as she leaned limply into his lap. He caressed her face gently with his fingers.

Dresmael slowly regained consciousness and opened her eyes struggling against her heavy lids. "Thank you." She whispered.

They camped there for the night and spent what felt like six days traveling the rest of the tunnel. Eventually they came to another large cavern.

"Well, there it is!" Quaggletoe pointed at the door at the end of the large space. "Beyond that door is the other side of the mountain and the port city of Endeloin."

"Thank you so much for guiding us!" Redbeard bowed in respect to Quaggletoe.

"Dont worry about it, anything to help the boy with dreams. Really, it was my pleasure." The dwarf bowed back.

"Thank you Quaggletoe." Yokig realized that without the dwarf they never would have made it out of the mountain. He was thankful but also nervous about what awaited them on the other side of the door. He almost didn't want to leave the safety of the mountain. But inside he had to know, was he the boy king? How would the Old one respond to his visit? Was the old one in Endeloin or sheltered safely on the Black Isles?

"When you're king, think of us dwarves in the mountain, would you?" The dwarf bowed to Yokig.

"It would be my honor." Yokig bowed back.

"So how will you get back?" Dremael asked the creature.

"Well, my girl, there are other paths from this cavern that lead back to the great halls, they're just longer and less savory. I'll be fine, don't worry about me."

With that the dwarf disappeared back into the darkness.

"Well, no use stalling now!" Redbeard opened the door.

They all filed out of the cavern, closed the door and walked out into a large and quiet clearing. A beautiful city encircled by stone walls and nestled in between the mountains and the sea rose to meet them. Before they reached the path that led to the city from the clearing, Redbeard stopped and slowly looked around.

"Somethings not right!" He said in a low and cautious voice, motioning to everyone to stay behind him. "I feel it!"

Just when Redbeard uttered the last word of his sentence, Yokig saw a glint of metal in the surrounding trees pull closer to the group. Kingsmen appeared out of the foliage, surrounding the group; their weapons drawn and at the ready. Redbeard shoved Yokig behind him as their group formed a small ball and backed into the stone door.

Blackpaw ran under the approaching kingsmen's feet as fast as she could and into the safety of the brush.

A figure, the sun behind it, walked into the dirt path from behind a wall of green. More Kingsmen springing up behind him, one of them tightly holding a sack; the contents of witch thrashed about inside its fabric prison yelling, "LET ME GO, LET ME FUCKING GO!". Yokig knew just from the voice that they had caught Backpaw.

The figure drew closer to the cornered group and Yokig could make out the figure's white robe, a golden dot etched into its center in thread. A Bishop?! But how? He thought as he frantically looked around to find an escape; but there was none, he was surrounded.

"Well, well, well. So this is the boy with dreams." The bishop laughed. "I don't see what all the fuss is about. It was so easy to capture you."

"Stay away from me!" Yokig screamed, his back pressed up against the wall of rock behind him.

"Scream all you want boy. There's nobody around but us to hear you!"

Blackpaw struggled in the bag, howling at the top of her lungs. The bishop took his attention away from the boy, his guards pinning Yokig and his friends to the wall with the points of their spears. He excitedly glared at the burlap sack they held the black cat in. With an evil grin on his face he turned back to the boy.

"The Pope King wants any bishop that finds you to keep you alive until he comes to kill you himself. What a selfish cunt, right?" The Bishops laugh echoed through the forest. "Well you know what, boy with dreams?" The bishop paused. "Fuck him. Fuck the Pope King. I'm going to execute you and your friends myself in front of the sheeple of Endeloin. The Pope King can have whatever is left when im done."

The group was powerless to do anything. Yokig could see that the bishop was enjoying every minute of this. Yokig tried to stop his thoughts and focus on his breath so that he could find a way to help his friends out of this situation. Stealthily, he tried to push open the stone door again but it wouldn't budge. They were trapped.

"Give me the abomination." The bishop reached his hand out and the kingsman holding the bag quickly handed it to him, avoiding eye contact with the bishop and the captives.

"What are you going to do you evil fuck! Let her go!" Redbeard roared. Redbeard began to charge at the bishop but was stopped by metal being jammed into his throat, forcing him to back away, back into the cornered group.

The bishop smiled. He lifted the bag over his head and slammed it as hard as he could into the ground. Blackpaws loud howls suddenly became silent. The bishop slammed the sack into the ground a second time and then a third time, over and over and over and over again, like a mad man; a slave to his psychotic whims.

"Blackpaw!" Yokig screamed!

The bishop began stomping on the bag with his leather boots. The burlap turned red as the dead cats blood bled through its rough material. Yokig burst into tears at the horrific site of the bishop's brutality.

His psychopathy satisfied, the bishop sauntered up to Yokig and grabbed the boys hair, pulling Yokigs face up to meet his. Redbeard, tamed by the pointy end of a spear, could only watch in horror. The bishop looked down at the cold silver artifact handing from the boys neck. With his free hand he yanked the compass off of Yokigs neck, the boy he held up crying in pain.

"Well, well. Look at what we have here." The bishop sneared. "I was never one for material things. The One God demands us to store up our treasures in the life beyond."

Yokigs watched in horror as the bishop tossed the relic into the dense forest surrounding them; Incapable of stopping the vial monster in front of him, forced to watch as the object he and his friends worked so hard to aquire, became lost, again, right before his very own eyes.

"Don't cry little boy. You'll be joining that demonic creature in death soon enough" The bishop released Yokig and pointed at the group. "Tie them up! Leave their belongings here and bring them to the center of the city. And make haste!" He ordered his men. "Tonight there will be a celebration; because tonight, before the sun has set, the boy with dreams will die. Don't worry men, the one god will reward you handsomely when your souls return to his fold."

The guards rushed to do as they were told. Yokig and his remaining friends had been captured and the only thing the boy could do was remain quiet and submit to the bishop's will.