Bargaining with Dwarves

We must have passed under four or five tunnels before we reached our destination. I let Marisa and Luna get out first. My knees needed a few moments to be reanimated. When I could stop worrying about my knees, I looked around the dwarven side of the gnomes’ realm. It was cruder and less concerned with flaunting its wealth than the gnomes. There was a sign posted, but I couldn’t read it.

“What does this sign say? Is it dwarven?”

“Yes, it is dwarven and it says that the path straight ahead leads to the storehouse. The right one leads to Laurin’s rose garden.”

I was surprised Marisa could read dwarven, but it might have been part of her standard educational upbringing.

“The rose garden must be where we need to go. Let’s go that way.”

The tunnel soon led us outside and soon we were hiking through the forests of the mountain. The mist from earlier had found its way up and over to this side, cooling and damping the air and ground.

“Have either of you two heard of the dwarf king Laurin?” I asked.

“No, I have not. The gnome realm is largely a unknown to me, for the gnomes themselves prefer to keep close company and seldom leave their realm,” said Marisa.

“The dwarves are closely related to the gnomes, but are more rugged and their temperament inclines them towards destruction rather than creation,” Luna said.

“Do you think any of the dwarves have been possessed like Behatus?”

“I can’t say for sure, but it’s possible they’ve accepted the possessed.”

I was glad to learn that there was no active conflict between the dwarves and gnomes. The last experience from the sylph trial had worn me out and I had killed more times than I had ever hoped to in my life. Whether Behatus, Boreas, or the alp deserved to die by my hand, I didn’t want to decide. Fate or providence, that’s how things ended up, and perhaps I was merely the vessel by which judgment was delivered. It was frightening to know I was capable of acting as the executioner. I was an office worker before and now I’m slaying mythical beasts. But each death caused by my hand was always in self-defence, I told myself. If I were to start seeking to deal death—to enjoy striking down my enemies or revel in their demise—that would be another matter.

There were times when it was normal to kill and fight, and it was moral to do so. I can’t imagine having such a mindset. It is so foreign that it’s nigh incomprehensible today; though, we aren’t raised from birth to think like this. Perhaps that’s been to our detriment. Was more death necessary? I don’t think so. Knowing when to strike, when to judge, and when to control your impulses, could I find the answers to these questions on this journey?

My philosophical musings were interrupted by the sight of a rose garden. We had hiked to a flat clearing and found this garden. Four stakes were planted into the ground at the perimeter of the garden in the four cardinal directions. The southern stake was red, and so were the roses in that quadrant. Blue to the west, white to the east, and yellow to the north. I single piece of string was tied around each stake, binding them together. I considered cutting the string, but thought it better not to. Someone had gone through a lot of effort to prepare this garden and keep people out. Behind the rose garden was the entrance to a cave lined with quartz.

“This must the dwarf king’s lair and where the trial is located.”

“Beforehand, have we deemed the need for a plan?”

“If the dwarves are like the gnomes, it might be necessary to offer them a deal in order to enter the trial,” Luna said.

“Do we have anything of value? I only have the travelling equipment.”

“Sadly, we do not aside from the emergency groschen I carry on my person.”

“All right. Let’s see what he says and stop worrying about things that may or may not come to pass.”

The dwarves had mined and tunnelled deep into the mountain, hollowing out a cavern to serve as a banquet hall where we found them enjoying themselves with music, song, dance, and food. They were taller than their gnome counterparts, standing around two and a half to three feet in height. A prominent figure sat on a throne at the head of the banquet. He had a full beard, weathered skin, hard eyes, and a pet deer at his side. Our presence brought a halt to the party.

“Who are you beings that enter my hall?” said the dwarf king.

“Dwarf King Laurin, I am Marisa, High Priestess of the undines and these are my travelling companions. We seek your leave to enter the divine trial held in this dwarven barrow.”

“Aye, I'm aware of the divine trial of which you speak. I inherited when I bought the lands from Otto. But since it is my land and important to you: what’s in it for me to let you to enter?”

“My Lord, we have nothing of value to offer save a few meagre groschen, but our journey is of utmost importance to the land. We are tasked with repairing the barrier to the north and require the four divine objects. Surely, you are aware of the late breach to the barrier that holds at bay evil from these lands.”

“Aye, I am not. But what of this calamity? We are dwarves! We have our mountains, our mines. We will be safe in the depths, away from any evil.”

“King Laurin, my name is Ferdinand, and I am the reason the barrier is weakened. We don’t have anything material of value to offer you, but would you consider the High Priestess’ hand in marriage?”

A swift kick to my shin told me that my proposal was not accepted by everyone in my party.

“I already have my lovely wife, Hilda, and do not need a concubine,” Laurin said and blew a kiss to his wife in the crowd.

“What if we helped you with some work that you need done? That way we could come to some other kind of agreement to gain entry.”

“Hmm.” The dwarf king pondered for a moment then said, “Three trial goers, three tasks, three entries. If you complete your task, you may enter. Simple, aye?”

“And what tasks shall be asked of us, O Dwarf King?”

“For you, Mr. Ferdinand... hmm, what can your task be?”

Laurin’s wife sat up from her seat and walked over to him, whispering something into his ear. He had a look of deep, contemplative thought on his face as his wife spoke to him.

“You have been tasked with repairing the barrier, as you said. No doubt a selfless task, but we dwarves care not for it. Therefore, to prove your selflessness, you shall distribute the contents in your backpack as alms to the poor. Aye, it will make your journey all the more burdensome, but you must be prepared to make sacrifices, no? Below this banquet hall, in the depths of the mountain, are where the destitute live. An attendant shall accompany and report what you have given and I shall judge your trial on this basis.”

An odd task and I would be judged on the quality of what I hand out. I’ll have to think carefully of what I give.

“For you, High Priestess Marisa, you will work for a day under the tutelage of our fossor. You shall lay to rest the dead and perform funeral rites for fallen dwarves. Should you quit before the day is done, you forfeit your entry.”

Marisa had an uncomfortable look on her face. I could tell she wanted to say something but held her tongue.

“That leaves you, cat.”

“Luna, your majesty.”

“Luna. I can see you are a warrior of considerable skill. For you, your task will be a knightly tournament. Aye, if you agree to my terms, then you may start your task.”

We all bowed to show we agreed to the terms. Several dwarf attendants then came and prepared us for our individual tasks. I was brought to the side of the banquet hall and led down a series of staircases until we reached the lower levels of the mountain. How should I approach this task, I wondered.