Beyond the Dragon’s Teeth
Copyright© 2026 by Asa Strong
Chapter 7
Bas’il stayed and talked with us, asking many probing questions about how we lived and our customs. He was quite interested in our form of governance. Sovereignty was unknown to him, and I had to explain that the King shared power with the citizens of our country. He also was quite interested in the druids and the druid academy.
We were quite involved in the discussion when we were interrupted by the servant girl, who announced that dinner was about to be served.
Tag’ar announced, “Enough of this talk; it’s time to fill our bellies, not our heads!”
We all laughed and made our way to a large room with a long table. As I took the chair that Tag’ar motioned me towards, a young dwarf hurriedly came into the room. It took me a minute to recognize him as Gait’s arm wrestling companion.
Tag’ar looked up from where he was seated, at the head of the table, and said, “Dan’ar, as usual, you are late. Have you no respect for your father’s table?”
The young dwarf quickly took the seat to his father’s left, and then said, “Sorry, father; there was some trouble stowing the goods from our trip. I had to stay and get it straightened out.”
After we were all seated and the servant started placing food on the table, it became apparent that there were no female dwarfs at the table. I had no idea if this was by chance or design. Not knowing the customs of dwarfs, I decided not to voice my observation.
Our food was excellent, if a bit bland, and the ale was of the first order. I had never been one to drink much ale, as I usually had found it to be bitter to my taste. The ale served here was smooth and had a slightly sweet taste to it.
I took another sip of the ale, and then asked, “Tag’ar, this ale is very good. How do you make it?”
He looked up from his plate, laughed, and then said, “Each dwarf clan makes its own ale. They closely guard the secret of how it is made.” Then with a smile, he continued, “I will say, we add a bit of honey.”
I nodded my head in understanding and returned to the plate in front of me.
After we finished eating, we all returned to the same room we had been in before dinner. After we made ourselves comfortable, several more dwarfs that had been part of the group that had found Gait and me in the forest arrived and found seats.
From packs and satchels, harps and other musical instruments were produced, and many fine ballads were sung and many tales told.
After several mugs of ale, I started getting sleepy and was about to excuse myself when Dan’ar stood up.
He took the center of the room, and then said, “I composed a lyric of our encounter with the orcs in the forest.”
He then started his ode.
On forest path we made our way
Ten of the kin led the bray
Mules were loaded with goods to pay
And two new men we’d found that day
At mid-day we stopped to sup
A swift stream our water cup
Upon the path was heard a cry
Alert and arm - there’s orcs nearby
Like a rock he faced the throng
His great sword singing its song
A mighty swath, he made them pay
Many fell to his sword that day
On they came to meet his sword
Strike and parry was their reward
None could meet his mighty sway
Many fell to his sword that day.
Our path grew full of orcs that fell
Rivers of blood the ground did swill
None could pass his mighty sword
Like wood they fell in row and cord.
When all was done, we judged our loss
Three of our kin that day were lost
Many orcs lay upon the path
But all had breathed their last.
Gait’s the man who swung his sword
Slew and slaughtered many orcs
Our seven kin survived that day
A friend found and respects to pay.
When Dan’ar finished, there was uproar from the other dwarfs. They shouted and stomped their feet—whistled and clapped their hands.
I looked over towards Gait, who was sitting across the room. His face was a bright rosy color. Clearly, he was embarrassed.
It was apparent, after a few more minutes, that this party would go on late into the evening. I was tired and decided that I’d excuse myself and go off to bed.
I interrupted Tag’ar and explained that I was tired and would like to retire for the night. He laughed and then called for the servant girl. He instructed her to show me to where I would sleep and then bade me a good night’s rest.
The morning light coming through the window awoke me the next morning. It had been a long time since I’d slept in a bed, and I’d had a restful night.
I stretched and then managed to pull myself out of bed. Then I noticed that Gait was lying on top of the other bed in the room with his clothes still on. I chuckled to myself; it appeared that it had been a very long night for him!
I dressed quickly and made my way out of the room. All was quiet in the house; probably everyone had been up late the previous evening enjoying the fine ale.
I made my way out into the keep’s courtyard and found a few dwarfs out and about. I asked about our horses and was directed to the far corner of the courtyard. I found the horses in a pen, and it appeared they had been well taken care of. There were also about ten small ponies in the pen in addition to the horses.
After wandering about the courtyard for a while, I returned to the house and found that a servant, one I had not seen before, was up and about.
He looked up as I entered the door to the house, and I asked, “What time will breakfast be ready?”
The man chuckled, and then said, “I doubt that any here besides you will be up before noon. I’ll roust the cook and have her make you something to eat.”
He then pointed towards a door across from where I was standing and said, “That’s the library, why don’t you find something to read and the cook will come and get you when breakfast is ready.”
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