Chapter 7

I awoke feeling no pain at all and thought myself to be in the Shadowlands, to await my reweaving and rebirth in a new life. I was not dead however, merely in a dark quiet room underground apparently somewhere inside the Dweorgen underground village or city that was here. Elessa was at my side, also completely healed. Like me, she had fallen to her wounds or the death-curse of breaking the crystal immediately afterwards. Graken had been the only one of us to witness what, if anything, had occurred after the balle-cristalla had shattered and he was most definitely was not talking. His Oath concerning the circumstances apparently far outweighed any thoughts of personal friendship or obligation that he might have, although he definitely apparently felt both to us.

In short, we had 'died' to fulfill the prophecy to release the Gods from their imprisonment, but apparently they felt they owed us a debt and in some manner restored us to full and complete health. Elessa's pregnancy was undamaged — our child remained whole and hale growing within her, and for that alone we uttered countless prayers of thanks. Even my old terrible burns from three years ago were gone, as if they had never happened. It was certainly a miracle.

The Dweorg King, who apparently had his capitol in a great underground city some considerable distance away, also felt some Debt-Oath to us and was on his way here to personally thank us. From the hints that were dropped, it would most certainly be likely involve a very heavy golden handshake. We hadn't done this for any reward but money as they say is always useful. I was sure that Elessa and I could find a use for at least some of it.

We spent a lot of time outside sitting in the autumn air near the Chapel or walking the hillsides of the surrounding area and watched the sun melt the thick snow cover away. Yes, now it really was autumn once again, and the great river valley below was already in flood stage. The pitiful remnants of poor ruined Neuport supposedly sank pretty much into the muds of the swollen river delta and were reclaimed by swamp. Someone will eventually build another port near there, and maybe now all of the Marine's who died there on both sides and the other poor victims of the war like Wulfgar, will now have some peace.

A normal winter would indeed come fairly soon, maybe even in just a few weeks this high up into the central mountains, but these bare hills would be soon be green again in the spring that would follow in just a few moons.

Now that the snow had melting and I wasn't bone weary from war and my long exertions to reach this place, I found much in the area to like. About an hour away from the meeting place of the Gods and but a short stroll to the great gate that entered to the Dweorg underworl, I found a most soothing sight that did remind me very much of home.

The hillsides were gentler here, and the cliffs of the great mountains here provided a sturdy windbreak against most severe weather. The soil here was good loom that promised good grazing for any large number of sheep once the grass returned rich and green next spring. There were good mountain streams nearby that teeming with fish and even a small pond that could be enlarged where heated water flowed from deep underground.

For now, they were gray and forlorn, these not so green hills, but they felt somehow now like "home" and were beautiful to my sight.

"Build our house right here." Elessa said without preamble when I brought her here to quietly seek her valuation. "It will be green and lovely next year and it's peaceful ... so quiet and peaceful. Our children will love it here and so will I, assuming you can find a clever dwarf that can find a way to run some of that wonderful hot water into our home and into the largest bathtub they can possibly forge."

The four of us 'Heroes' eventually had our audience with the Dweorg King. He was an old jolly fellow much given to ale and mirth. We were feasted well for a good many days and nights! As expected we were offered several large chests of gold and silver, the total amount of wealth was quite astonishing and would far exceed Elessa's and my small financial needs for the rest of our days. Eilmer and Rheda only accepted a token coin each and deferred the acceptance of the main part of the loot to me.

"Buy me some more books and we'll start up a great library!" Eilmer said jokingly with a wink. It took awhile to get things organized and the pipeline flowing, but eventually Eilmer did get his Great Library that eventually would rival any in Caester.

The honors were not quite over yet. Eilmer and Rheda, as the two official representatives of their Kingdoms, received treaties to take back to their King and Queen respectively, that politely but firmly, affirmed the Dweorg ownership of the Kibil-Bizar river valley. Non-agreement could and would be enforced by arms — albeit with reluctance, but firmly enforced nevertheless. While the gauntlet of war was held firm in one hand, the other gentler hand offer trade, an exchange of ambassadors and the protection of the rights of human settlers to homestead. Further, the tantalizing offer of a limited military alliance between Dweorg and humans was proposed if a future war involved any of the monster races or if any demonic races should ever return. Last and greatest, was the dangling carrot of a charter that granting limited mining rights in the entire river valley — the Dwarf King taking a raw third of any silver ore mined.

Both Kingdoms would undoubtedly howl bloody murder at first, but in the end they would agree and sign. Both sides had been bled nearly to death in this long and pointless war, and now there was no final 'victory' to affirm to their people that these last generations of pain and suffering had been worth it after all. The war was going to end as a 'draw' and there were going to be some people who would be very unhappy at this news. Social unrest was likely to be a major problem in both kingdoms for a good many years to come.

My own battered land of Acquila was going to lucky to avoid becoming the next "client state" or province of Caester. Would the weary leftovers of our army, angry that their blood and sacrifice had been for apparently nothing, band together to stop a legion or two coming from Caester to 'help their kingdom neighbor in their time of need'? Not a chance. I figured on about five years for the absorption to begin to slowly occur and I was overly optimistic. Less than a year later and after an unusually sudden illness, the King died (I hadn't like him much anyway) and Caesterian legions were in our capitol tp 'protect' the young Prince-Regent, a boy of about ten.

Soon it was official, and Acquila, once a decent sized kingdom, was now just another client state of ever growing Caester. Our lords and ladies were merged into their nobility and a good deal of land ownership was rearranged, but not always happily or voluntarily.

The new Dweorg ambassador to Caester gave a friendly but strict warning that no further growth eastward would be acceptable or tolerated. Eilmer has a few friends in Caester and hears most of the political and street gossip, and he thinks they'll be content to swallow their new bloodless gains for at least another generation. They don't like anything that is "new". It disturbs their very conservative sense of order that tries to keep everything done in the exact same manner that their ancestors had done. For now at least, the Dweorg are most definitely "very new" and needed a lot of getting used to.

We did start getting a flood of new Acquila peasants wanting to settle in the now safe and secure river valley. Most had been formerly freeholders on their old ancestral lands but were now suddenly bound nearly in slavery to new absentee noble landowners from a foreign land. They were given good fertile lands all along the river valley and the sworn Oath of low but fair taxation and in time became a most valued class of yeomen, always prepared with arms to fend off any invader to protect their own lands and their new, considerably kinder, overlord. Small holdings soon turned into villages, and many villages into prosperous towns.

Forested Helden fared a bit better. Their Queen publicly announced the truce and approval of all treaty settlements and put her best face on the situation. I think the fact that the Ylfen suddenly reemerged from out of semi-retirement from human affairs and placed their own endorsement on the settlement treaty, helped to quiet many of the would-be hotheads. There were still quite a few malcontents though. Helden soon also gained the majority of the our trade and as in times of old, Ylfen treasures began to flow along the trade routes in return for finely crafted Dweorg silver and gold.

Rheda almost immediately gave her Oath of Fealty to the Dweorg King and accepted the position of Marshal, commanding all of the human levies and yeomanry, ensuring the security of our new province. If she had any resentment for the loss of her Duchy, I never saw a hint of it. If anything, it appeared to be a relief to her as if a great uncomfortable weight had been taken from her. She appeared to relish her new duties and everything that she accomplished was done so well that never once did the Dweorg King ever find even minor fault with her. In truth, she was once again a Duchess of these lands as far as we were concerned.

Eilmer returned to his preferred study habits as soon as was feasibly possible, and commissioned for a large manor home with a library tower to be build near our own more modest house. He liked the quiet and Rheda would be spending much of her time on the road between the Dweorg court and the many growing human towns and settlements. Their love grew every year, surprising perhaps for a couple that had suddenly married only a few moments after meeting each other under highly unusual conditions. They were as different as two people could be but they glowed with happiness whenever they were together.