Chapter 12: Kargh, Dwarven Hero

To the others, he seemed to be merely lounging at his ease before the laden dinner table, but Kargh kept a close watch on all around him. All of his experience in life told him that when things seemed too good to be true, something was hidden that could menace his safety. The twelve councilors who sat around the table seemed harmless enough, twelve elderly Dwarves who, to all appearances, exuded wisdom and good will.

He had been here for several time cycles, and was still learning about this isolated enclave of Dwarves. The glowing roof of the mighty cavern lightened and darkened at what seemed to be a normal daily cycle, though he had no idea why this was so. He had asked about it, but no explanation had been forthcoming.

"Must you, then, soon be on your way?" The question came from Kollzan, the head of the Dwarven Council, the leader of all who lived in this surprising little city so far beneath the surface of Orris Kayn. "Can you not be persuaded to linger for a time?"

"Would that I could," he answered, hoping that Kollzan couldn't detect that his statement wasn't entirely true. "My quest cannot be delayed for very long. My Goddess has laid this task upon me, and it would not be wise to anger Her."

Kargh's mention of his Goddess seemed to make the others around the table uncomfortable, and for a few moments nobody spoke. He had noticed this before, but no explanation had been given him. It was as though his words had not even been heard, and his hosts seemed to turn their minds away from any mention of Gods and Goddesses in his presence.

He was truly tempted to stay as long as he could. Kadurin was not the only young woman who had visited his dwelling during the local equivalent of night, but she was the most attractive and Kargh was reluctant to leave her behind. It wasn't just that she was good in bed, lively and enthusiastic, but her mind was quick and eager to learn while the others seemed to have no thoughts in their heads other than having a little fun with this stranger.

Behind the others, Kadurin and other young women moved silently, bringing dishes of food from the communal kitchens and refilling goblets of weak mead that the Dwarves brewed from a kind of mushroom. Indeed, most of their food and drink came from the fields of mushrooms outside the city, harvested by the local youths and their servitors, small Koboldlike creatures that kept themselves mostly hidden from view. They reaped the mushrooms along with small rabbit like animals that browsed on the weeds between the rows of mushrooms and whatever smaller pests they could find. The animals were called 'smeerps', the long snouted creatures looking somewhat like rabbits that had somehow been crossed with large rats. Their ears were long and floppy, their tails were short, ending with a tuft of fuzzy hair, and their many colored coats of fur were long and silky.

As the cavern darkened, Kargh returned once more to the low dome that had been assigned to him as his dwelling, and as soon as the darkness was complete Kadurin slipped in through the low doorway. Her garments fell to the floor, the faint jingle of the metal rings set into the fabric muted by the silken cloth woven of smeerp hair.

"Make love to me," she breathed as she joined him beneath the one blanket that was all that was needed here, and Kargh gladly obeyed her command. They each woke the other more than once during the night, but when Kargh awoke he was alone in his bed. From the brightness outside his doorway the morning was well along toward the time of the midday meal, but Kargh could see no sign of Kadurin anywhere around. Only her dress and the staff she often carried lay discarded just outside his door. Faintly disappointed at her absence, he made his way toward the building that served the community as a dining hall.

Smiling girls brought him his food, but still there was no sign of the one he sought.

"Where is Kadurin?"

The serving girl turned away with a whispered, "Not here. She is gone."

"Gone? Gone where?" he queried, reaching out and grasping her wrist. "What do you mean, gone?"

"Gone to worship." Her words were given reluctantly, as though pulled out of her by his insistence.

"When will she return?"

"Soon," she answered, "but many who go are not seen again. That is why we sing and dance and play at love, because we do not know how soon it will end."

"Come with me." He led her outside, leaving behind his half eaten meal. "Now, where do you go to worship, and what is there?"

"It is there." Tears falling, she pointed to the far end of the cavern, almost exactly opposite where he had entered. "A cave where our God lives. He takes us, one by one, as He wills it, and ever our number grows less. One day our people will no longer be."

"What is the name of this God of yours? What is His appearance?"

"He has no name, nor does He need one. He is the God! None know His form. None who see Him return. He calls to us, and we must go."

"We'll see about that."

Kargh let the weeping girl go, and returned to his dwelling. Putting on his armor and gathering his weapons along with Kadurin's belongings, he set out for the far end of the cavern. This explained some of the things that had been puzzling him about this tiny community; the small population, the few children and young folk, the general air of indolence and pleasure seeking that hung over them. Dwarves were long lived, and tended to space out their child bearing times, but that did not go far enough to explain how few children he had seen.

His keen eyes detected a faint path worn through the mushroom fields, leading more or less in the direction he must go. It was perfectly straight, not deviating one bit from its course. Kargh trotted easily along, ever alert for anything that might threaten. For all he could see he was alone in this part of the cavern, but he had an uneasy feeling that unfriendly eyes were watching.

At last the trail came to an end, leading directly into a dark opening in the cavern wall. He eased forward, ever alert, but all he could scent was a faint odor of corruption that seemed to flow outward from the opening. Drawing his sword, he spoke the words that summoned its flame.

"Khazad Ghazzaktu!"

The flames guttered to life, dripping from the blade of his sword as he held it aloft. In the sudden flare he could make out that he stood at the entrance to a roughly circular room some twenty or thirty paces across by somewhat more than that deep. In the center of the room a low block of roughly squared off stone sat like a crude altar to some unknown God, and across it sprawled the nude body of the one he sought.