Chapter 20

The ringing sound of footsteps echoed through the stone corridor of the palace. Three Dwarves armed in full gold armor were on their way to meet the King of the world's most mysterious race. Each of them had been instructed with the utmost care regarding this meeting personally by the Three Blacksmith Kings. Almost nothing was known about Oul, all scouts sent by Groubor the Silver Hammer and Toin the Golden Anvil had returned with their memories completely erased. And so it has been for years. Of course, at the first opportunity the clever little guys would wipe their neighbor from the face of the mountains, but they were afraid. There was also the story of the current king of the Tails. Single-handedly defeating the Ten Dragons! And most shocking of all, defeating Red Bane! SuN's fame alone had kept the Dwarves from expanding the valley, and after all, besides him, there were many mages and golem knows how many warriors! "Maybe now they're walking past rows of invisible thugs on the same command that will take the lordship princes' heads off." - Such were the thoughts that were in the mind of the youngest son of the Golden Anvil. The stubby, russet-haired Toik shrugged. 

The Dwarves walked along this marvel of construction art and marveled at the exquisite stone bas-reliefs describing the history of Oul's origins and development. The corridor itself was enchanted in a certain way and tried to convey the history of its creators to the dumb heads of the savages in the most accessible ways. In this case, it was the finest stone carvings, the kind of carvings that were most respected by the shapely short men. 

The first bas-relief showed the history of the origin of the race, on it two twin goddesses, in a solemn gesture shed their blood in the halls of heaven and that, mixing in the flight to the sinful world, gave birth to the first representatives of the magical people. Half a kilometer of origin story mixed with unbreakable laws that the goddesses restricted their creatures. Orsu Dust Scroll's eldest son, Orsu, turned his head from side to side with delight. He had never imagined that he would learn so many of the hidden secrets of history. The images of Mystra and Char alone were worth all their long journey and lack of oul hospitality. The dwarves walked on, and the theme of the story changed. Now paintings carved in stone and enhanced with paint tell the story of the heyday of the Catfolk. Men and women perform many rituals and receive newborn children from the hands of Mystra with joy in their eyes. Throughout the painting, the expression on the Goddess' face gradually changes from one of squeamish haughtiness to one of kindness and a soft smile. Her countenance mesmerizes and enthralls the callous short people. But here's the next twist and the theme changes again. The dwarves grit their teeth at the full-ceiling painting. It shows two goddesses fighting and a multitude of oul along the walls falling dead in agony. Here Mystra's face changes again, now she does not look like her mother, but rather a Queen defying the usurper. Orsu once again noted that the artist was very successful in depicting in two quite identical faces of twins - goddesses of their completely different characters. The emotional black-haired Mistra, her smile brightening her dark hair and eyes, and the cold Char, the Goddess of her own mind, looking at her sister with indifference even during battle. "Amazing" thought Orsu and vowed to ask King Oul to take one of his sons to learn such a fine art of depicting faces in stone. 

Another turn and Orsu was faced with an even larger corridor! And on the walls were twenty meter high moving paintings! The Dwarves had entered the path of the Ten. Ten paintings, five on each wall, and if you hold your gaze on any one of them, the painting comes to life! There was the sound of wind, the roar of a dragon, and the noise of battle. Orsu realized that this was a corridor of recent history and it told the story of the Ten Feats of King SuNa. For the sake of interest, the learned dwarf held his gaze on the picture of a lava dragon. The giants in the sacrifice of the volcano were raging and covering the entire space around them with their heat breath. For a second it seemed to the prince that he found himself there together with a young cat fighting against the Living Element of Nature and winning against all odds! "This hall shows not only the race's knowledge of subtle magic, but also their king's strength and wisdom. After all, it is not for nothing that he depicted his exploits, is it? I'm more inclined to think he's trying to rally his subjects. With Mystra possibly losing, it's a more than justified move, and my father, along with the Brother Kings, is doing the same."

When they passed through the marvelous corridor, they saw a hall of gigantic proportions. On a dais stood a throne of black stone, and on that throne sat a creature that was frightening in appearance. Tall for a dwarf oul, in a black camisole, on which the living images of ten dragons danced in eternal battle and his half disfigured face caused the three princes a sense of favor and majesty. They wanted to fall down before the living god and start praying to him, asking him to descend. 

SuNa looked around at his visitors. Inferior creatures whose help his people needed. The small and greedy dwarves disgusted the King to no end. The three dwarves were already struggling to stand when SuNa decided to speak.

  - Greetings, glorious Dwarf people. What news do you bring to my house? - SuNa is not a politician and does not intend to start verbiage. Which did not please the bald, stout man with the beard tied in three braids of different lengths.

-O glorious King of the proud people of Oul! In this difficult hour, we must come together and trust each other! Our nations are on the brink of disaster, and as soon as the Luminous Goddess of Magic falls, the world will be overrun by the children of the Orb! The Black Dragons have awakened their Matriarch from a thousand-year sleep! If we do not take action, hordes of black death will descend upon our homes! We, the three sons of the glorious Blacksmith Kings, come to you King of the Valley of the Ice Wind with a request to defeat the mighty creature.  Our armies, supported by the dwarves, will help clear the Underdark of the threat....

SuNa listened to all this verbiage and wondered what he should do. He never trusted the inferiors, those vicious creatures would rather stick an axe in his back as soon as he had done his part and then scavenge his race like scavengers. The oul don't stand a chance against the shortlings, especially now that Mystra and her sister Shar are drinking all the juice from the world's web of magic. None of the higher spells are working anymore, and it's only going to get worse from here. It won't weaken him a bit, because with his reliance on bard magic and necromancy, he isn't as dependent on the world's web and shadows. But he was alone, and there were billions of inferiors, and if they realized how small the Oul tribe really was... I didn't even want to think about that. 

The dwarf kept knitting various verbal laces and with all the fervor he was pushing into the uncomprehending ponytail that he would miss his good fortune if he didn't help the glorious dwarves in their cause. 

"It's worth taking some action and hiding the people in shelters, while I take care of the Black Matriarch myself. If she's awake, it means only one thing. The Blacks are preparing to hunt. It's decided! If those short people try to cheat, I have something to punish them with." - Suna raised his hand, stopping the dwarf and simply nodded. Along with that nod, SuNa spoke.

-I agree. In four months from this day, Virta will be killed. How many troops will the Dwarves provide to mop up the Underdark? 

The dwarf chewed his mustache, calculating something to himself, and proclaimed solemnly:

-Six full Dwarf Khidr, each numbering nine thousand beards. An elite Khidr of Immortals and a squad of Frenzied into a thousand of the finest Dwarf berserkers! Two priests of Mystra and a circle of the best wizards of the underground nation.

"Elite troops means. A Black pack of about eighty individuals, there will be fifteen or even twenty packs in total. Oh, and there's also a Virta. It's a very risky venture. If they fail, the Dwarfs will be exsanguinated, and they realize that I understand that. Why did he tell me and not even demand troops from us? Is there some intrigue brewing in the foothill kingdom? If that's the case, then the inferiors are even worse than I thought and we'll have to get away from them until our numbers are comparable. Too bad we can't close the valley with a barrier..."

-Good, good. If all goes well, I will consider signing those trade treaties, with minor amendments, of course.

***

"Amazing the world we live in," thought SuNa, looking at the small gray-skinned gnomish, clearly uncomfortable under five pairs of eyes

-Swinfi, say that again, I didn't hear you. How did you end up in the temple of Matriarch Wirth? - SuNa asked again just in case. Maybe it was just something I heard.

The gnomish woman squeaked and pulled her head into her shoulders, trying to enunciate as loudly and clearly as possible.

-It's not Swinfy's fault. -Swinfy likes to pick mushrooms next to the big black female. The best ones grow there, so here we are. Swinfy was picking mushrooms and it went off! A scary woman appeared and ordered the black female to wake up. Swinfy almost pissed herself! A very, very scary woman! Scarier than you, oh. That's not what Swinfy meant to say. The king is very handsome, all dark, as Swinfy likes. - The dwarf dreamily raised her eyes to the ceiling, and SuNa had to make an effort not to lose sight of the sitting dwarf. 

"Wonderful world. A petite gnome was picking mushrooms under the Dragon Matriarch's nose, and even Char, who had come to see her daughter, didn't notice her."

  With a deliberately loud cough, SuNa caught the gnome's attention.

-So you can get me to the Matriarch? And can you demonstrate how it will happen? - And, seeing the incomprehension on the dwarf's face, he clarified. - How will you hide me from four hundred Black Dragons, Swinfy?

The gnome darkened, embarrassed, and walked over to SuNa and took his hand. The world flowed and became blurred and SuNa was surprised to realize that they were now just below the plane of existence of their world! 

As if frightened by SuNa's reaction, the dwarf let go of his hand and hid behind a chair, completely disappearing from the king's field of vision. He even began to wonder if the dwarf had been there.

- My King, she is here, but I constantly feel the pressure of the world trying to shelter her.

- Thank you for the clarification, my Queen. But a marvelous creature, this dwarf! Weak and useless, but capable of things we can only dream of," the King praised the dwarf, who was now warming her ears under a chair.

Swinfy cautiously crawled out of hiding and climbed back into the chair.

The council had been going on for hours now, and the plan to eliminate Virta was slowly taking flesh. At the center of it was the Deep Dwarf with her gift for hiding and concealment. She herself had come to the dwarf patrol and told them about the fearsome woman. The dwarves would have probably chased her away, but the priest of Mystra was nearby and he confirmed the truth of little Swinfy's words. Six months later, realizing that they could not cope on their own, the Dwarves sent petitioners to the world's only slayer of High Dragons. 

The plan was simple and elegant at the same time. Swinfi would lead Suna to Virta and hide for the duration of the battle. The beginning of the battle with the creature would signal the Dwarves to bring their steel fist down on the Underdark. The dwarf leaders will close all the exits from the dungeon with their own forces, in case of failure, to cover the retreat of the forces.

But SuNa didn't have much faith in his allies, so he took additional measures. He ordered the entire population into the palace dungeon, where a disaster shelter had been set up. An enchanted castle, a multitude of mago-technical constructs, traps and a complex labyrinth would be an impregnable obstacle for the aggressor. He has appointed RaBo as his deputy and all two hundred tribesmen must obey him in all things. SuNa himself has prepared a number of artifacts enchanted by his wife. He had practically planned for everything, and even in case of Shar's intervention there were plans. With a look at his love, the King decided to call it a day and spend the rest of his time with his family. 

-.Thus the allied plains dwarves will provide us with three thousand elite slingers.....

-Come on, gentlemen, we're starting to drag the snow in circles. The plan is worked out and all questions are settled, you will be escorted to your apartments and brought food by magical servants. Make yourselves comfortable, - and without saying anything else, under the dumbfounded gazes of the envoys he walked out of the hall with his wife on his arm, but before reaching the gate he stopped, having remembered something.

-Swinfy, would you like to be our guest? - The dwarves were even more taken aback by Suna. Not them, the great dwarves, but a filthy deep dwarf was invited into their home. Due to differences in culture and tradition, the King of SuNa had just violently insulted the son of Silver Hammer Crowb, as the eldest and most respected dwarf in the delegation.

Swinfy, on the other hand, happily ran after such a handsome King. 

***

-Oh, what a cutie! - When she saw the gnome, the King's daughter immediately put her on her lap and began to brush her stiff hair with delight.

Swinfy couldn't understand what was going on. Usually she, like all the deep dwarves, persecuted by everyone, could not count on anything but some garbage or scraps. But here she was not only not scolded or beaten, but even washed in real clean and tasty-smelling water. She was fed with meat and vegetables, so tasty, so nourishing that the dwarf would probably not know hunger for a whole year. And they called her cute! And nicely massaging her head and combing out her hair. "Fearfully handsome king, Swinfy is so grateful to you, so grateful..." Tears of happiness themselves arose in the eyes of the unfortunate Swinfy, and the dwarf promised to definitely repay the kind King, the deliciously cooking Queen and the cheerful Princess with kindness. Swinfy nodded to her thoughts and fell into a deep sleep for the first time in her life. 

***

Underdark is the fiefdom of the Shar. Endless caves, reaching up to several hundred kilometers in height and being the home of the children of the Goddess of Monsters. This place hides many secrets that will remain unsolved until the end of the world. It is by descending through these caves even lower into the depths of the planet that one can get to the palace of Char, beautiful in its hideousness. There were two sentients walking through this place now. The strongest Oul and the deep dwarf. And somewhere out there, along a parallel tunnel, an army of dwarves marched hidden by powerful artifacts of invisibility and inaudibility. 

It won't be long before we reach our destination. Already the stench of hundreds of Black Dragons can be felt, thinned by the breath of hundreds of Black Dragons. And just beyond, the strongest creature of this level of the Underdark rests from mating in a rookery. Virta will soon travel with her people, at her mother's command, to the surface to deny her goddess's main enemy a feeding ground. She is ordered to flood the surface with a poisonous breath carrying the worst of diseases. Mortals will be wiped from the face of the world, giving way to more perfect creatures. 

"It's not long now" - Walking between the bodies of the sleeping dragons, Suna felt a strange sense of helplessness. The dwarf, as confidently as on a walk, led the king to his goal. Swinfy was not afraid of dragons, nor was she afraid of death. Only communication frightened the dwarf and that after a week of living together with Owl, the dwarf began to lose that fear. 

Half an hour later, the two sentients had made their way into the largest cave, where the Dragon, as big as Bane, was sprawled on a pedestal. And if SuNa could afford to fight with Bane, now everything had to be solved with one precise and deadly blow. 

Waiting for the signal of the arrival of the dwarf army to arrive at the enchanted mirror, the Dragon Killer prepared himself. Carefully filling his index finger with mana and shadow, he modified it, transforming it into a magical claw. The king did not dare to transform into a cat and was now preparing his strongest attack in magical form. It was with this strike that he had long ago killed the weakened Red Dragon Bane. Now it was necessary to take the life of a dragon full of strength and magic without knowing anything about it. 

The finger completed the transformation and lengthened into a thick and sharp straight claw. SuNa then began to spiral the necro-energy around the claw and gradually added regular mana and shadow energy. Pain began to originate in his hand and travel through his veins to his heart, but it wasn't enough and so SuNa opened his mouth and began to emit low frequencies. A transparent haze covered the fingernail. 

Preparations are complete. He put on the dwarf's defense and in one leap, he covered the distance to the monster and drove his claw at super speed straight into the dragon's brain. A wave of vibrations traveled through the creature's body, preventing the head from healing. Suna spun around in mid-air and landed several more blows to the heart and neck. But the Dragoness did not die. With half its head missing and one heart missing, the living creature was preparing to flood the cave with acid. 

The movement of his hand and the rumble that followed, SuNa struck, tearing ligaments and losing his arm for the next week, but a powerful attack to the neck ripped the Dragon's head off. The entire confrontation took three seconds.

SuNa sat down on the floor of the cave while catching his breath. It was dangerous.

The roar of a hundred throats rendered the King unconscious for a moment, and without realizing what was happening he stepped outside and stood frozen as a statue. The army was gone, leaving SuNa to the dragons. The King grinned ravenously and prepared to use the artifact of creating a hundred glass doppelgangers. 

He took out his wand and pointed it upward, but his hand loosened and the wand, bouncing off the rocks, rolled into the abyss.

  SuNa fell to his knees. Just then, the spiritual thread linking him to ReAs shuddered and faded away. SuNa, not understanding anything, overpowering the pain of the tearing of the string between the souls, from the last strength rushed with his spirit towards his wife and on the border of gray limits, in the darkness found her waiting for her beloved. Her dress was torn open revealing a slash wound inflicted by something large and not very sharp. Her face was bruised from someone's hard fist, and one eye was missing. 

-What? -How? No! NO! Don't go! I'll get you out. Please, I'm begging you! I beg you, my love! - SuNa, trying to keep his wife alive, clutched his strong arms around her shoulders. He can heal her, he has the magic to do so. The important thing is to hold her until he comes. The important thing is to hold her.

-My Su, the time has come. There is no body I can return to. Listen carefully my husband. Give me three promises and my soul can go to rebirth and one day we'll meet. Listen carefully and don't interrupt! I can't be saved like the older generation, and neither can you. With the death of one of the goddesses, our forms will become unstable and we will die. DON'T INTERRUPT! I don't have much time. Save the children and find our Leia. Promise me you will save them, no matter what it takes! Promise me my husband! - ReAs wife and mother looked at SuNa expectantly. 

-Of course, my love! I will find and save our Leia and I will find them all. I promise! - SuNa suppressed the pain in his soul, this is no time to grieve! We must save the children! Later, the two of them will grieve for Rehas. Later. The two of them.

-Then please promise me you'll take vengeance on the vile dwarves and dwarves.  Burn and kill their wives. Destroy the temples of the cursed gods! And punish the traitor who sold his people to the lowly out of jealousy. Punish RaBo! Promise me my King! - The greatest queen and mightiest sorceress looked proudly into the eyes of her king. 

I promise! I will cast the souls of the guilty and their families to the deepest depths of the lower planes! I will give their souls to the lower worlds for eternal suffering and destroy everything they believe in and love! I promise you my Queen! - Fury filled the king. Oh he would gladly fulfill this promise. Together with Leia, they will fulfill this promise! Together!

-And one last thing. Children should not die. Children of the future. Promise me that in your vengeance you will not harm children, whatever race they belong to. Promise me Tail! - Re's sarcastic and stubborn green eyes glared defiantly at her soulmate.

SuNa couldn't make such a promise! He couldn't! The creatures who dare kill Re must suffer! He will feed their children to the Orcs in front of their mothers! Revenge, the soul demands revenge!

Re's ulcer all looked on with defiance. It had already started to fade away, and SuNa tried to hold his beloved in peace and pressed harder on her shoulders. Two thin arms fell detached from her body.

Ulcer Re looked into her lover's eyes with defiance. Her face was scarred and her skin was beginning to slip, and the look in her green eyes still stared inwardly at Suna with stubbornness.

-Promise...Promise love...my-" His wife's lips parted in a plea and a stream of blood spurted from her mouth. Her legs separated from her body and fell into the darkness. Some creature was skinning his beloved, and he can't do anything.

-I promise, I promise, I promise, just don't go, hold on. Wait for me, I'll cure you! And the three of us will tell each other funny stories and teach our Leia...  - SuNa couldn't take it anymore. His body, soul and mind were torn apart, only his daughter kept the king sane.

Re smiled cheerfully and disappeared into the darkness. That was how Suna remembered his beloved, cheerful and mischievous. The green, sarcastic eyes of Re settled in his soul for a long time, shielding him from the world and himself. The eyes of the one who had made him what he was, the victor of the Eleven High Dragons and the Living God-King of the proud Oul race. 

The little dwarf was crying in a corner. Swinfy was afraid for the King and wanted to hide him when he fell to his knees and when she touched him, she fell into a strange dark place. She heard and felt all that the King and Queen were saying and feeling. The little gnome cried and something was born in her soul that she had never experienced before. Even when she was beaten and raped by dwarves. Even when her last meal was taken away by her mother and beaten to a pulp. The little gnome wanted to spill her guts to all the dwarves in the world and the gnomes of the plains too...

Coming to his senses, SuNa immediately assessed the situation. All thoughts of his wife he sealed deep in his heart, he must find his daughter. Daughter. Finding the thread of communication, he made sure that the light was steady and not shaking, and took a breath. 

Hundreds of dragons circled around the dead Virta's lair. Their screams and cries reverberated off the walls and created an echo that spread many kilometers deep into the Underdark. But he was not touched, the reason was the dwarf hiding the King from the last efforts. Promising himself to reward Swinfy properly, SuNa stood up and taking the gnome in his arms took a step.

  A wave of God's death descended upon the world. The dragons went mad and exhaled poison on the cave. All monsters and creatures howled. From the depths rose predators never seen before. The web of magic trembled and began to tear, shadows deprived of the will of the mistress began to break the barrier and aspire to reality. The orb died. In the depths of Andedark, her decapitated body lay frozen on the floor as a broken doll. The Dark Goddess's head lay not far from the body, and it bore the first emotion the Goddess had experienced since her birth. Surprise mixed with resentment. God Ao had intervened in the battle and killed his daughter. The Age of Three had passed and the Age of Godlessness had come....

The backlash from the god's death hit OwlSun, he couldn't stay on his feet and fell into the abyss.

And in the Dwarf Diamond Forge, a pumped-up man was chained to an ingredient cutting table. RaBo got the reward he deserved, and just below, in the cage, a little girl writhing in the pain of her mother's death called out for her daddy.