The Invasion Of The Sombers

"My Lord, I will not deny my reluctance to this alliance, but if this is your will, you can be sure that I will give my life if necessary, to abide by and defend it," replied the wizard.

"I know that it will be so and that you will fulfill with honor the mission that I am going to entrust to you, making both me and the memory of your father proud of your actions," added the king.

"Your Majesty, before you entrust me with the mission, I wish to inform you that the sombers have sent a detachment commanded by Princess Elenir to recruit dragons from the Badlands to their cause," warned Turgarok.

"I know, my son, that's what it's all about. The new alliance has agreed to send an orc and human detachment commanded jointly by Prince Syriel and your sister for the same purpose. Your mission will be to follow them, protect them and help them in the sombers so that nothing happens to them and they achieve their purpose," requested Gulrath.

"Ungrateful and difficult mission you entrust to me, father, but if that is your will, as long as I have some life left, I will do everything necessary to enforce it," promised the orc wizard.

"Believe me, son, the day will come when you will understand the why of this covenant and of your sister's union with the human prince. I am convinced that he is a man of honor and is not worthy of being accused of ending your father's life behind his back and in a cowardly manner. Besides, everyone has been surprised by your sister and the prince showing an early and sincere affection for each other. And you know that your sister is as powerful a sorceress as you are and that she would have no affection for anyone mean and dishonorable. I am going to ask just one more thing of you: do not judge Syriel by the gossip, but by his actions, and if in the end the rumor is true that he murdered your father with dishonor, I will not be the one to oppose a deserved punishment for it," said the king.

"You know the affection that I profess to my sister and if she considers to Syriel worthy of her, so will I also consider until proven otherwise. If necessary, I will help and defend her with my own life if necessary, as you ask me," said the wizard.

"Son, I know you will. Go with my blessing and my best wishes that you may accomplish your task without setbacks and with complete success. Tomorrow we will return to Teberion. Send me messenger birds to keep me informed," concluded the monarch.

After dedicating a sincere bow to his adoptive father, Turgarok jumped off the balcony and fell on the back of his hawk's saddle. They walked away as quietly as they had come, cutting the wind at great speed.

Towards the Badlands

Frienia, year 1815 of the second era.

Three days after the signing of the alliance between men and orcs, a small army left Belquecia. The troop was formed by one hundred human warriors and as many orcs on foot, fifty human lancers and the same number of orcs on horseback, Baldrich and Bellamir, the orc generals Smolion and Gungaroth, Syriel and his first lieutenant Hans and Princess Lirieth as captain of the expedition.

During the first days of the march, although there were no serious altercations between men and orcs, both groups continued to look at each other with remarkable suspicion. To encourage a little harmony and companionship, on the third night of camping it occurred to Princess Lirieth that her two generals, Smolion and Gungaroth could play against Hans and Syriel in a dice game very popular among soldiers. Despite the fact that the two orc generals were not very good at living with humans, they obeyed their princess and were friendly with the two human leaders, even when they ended up losing.

Several initiatives of this nature, together with the continuous walks and shows of affection that the prince and the princess strived to constantly demonstrate, as well as the kindness that one and the other yielded, both to men and to orcs, caused the suspicions, and warriors or the two races began to interact with each other and establish frail links of friendship, or at least camaraderie.

The night before the arrival in Belvichu, men and orcs already interacted, played, drank, laughed and fought almost without distinction of race. Curiously, it was the orc generals who still showed the greatest hostility towards humans, although they were very careful not to transgress the princess's indications.

The next day they arrived safely in Belvichu, one of the oldest walled cities in Delfia and the most important in the kingdom after Belquecia.

In Belquecia the elves had always predominated, until the great elfic exodus that occurred several hundred years ago, after which it was the humans and some semielphied lineages that remained in the capital.

On the other hand, Belvichu had always been a fief of clear human predominance, but in continuous position of alliance and vassalage with Belquecia.

Lainos, the present Lord of Belvichu, received the princes and their entourage with respect and correctness, forcing himself to be friendly with the new allies and wishing the engaged couple happiness and long life. while entertaining everyone with a succulent feast.

During the two days that the princes stayed in Belvichu, they asked about the White Magician and the only thing they could make clear was that he had been gone to the Badlands for several months and who was never seen again.

The people of Belvichu shuddered and fled from the orcs when they saw them; on the contrary, the young couple of princes caused much expectation. In addition, in order to promote the coexistence with the new allies, they went out for a walk through the city, being followed with curiosity by the inhabitants and, especially by the children. The beauty of the orc princess and the happy relationship she manifested with the prince made the fearful citizens see them with eyes more favorable to the feared orcs.

As the princes passed through one of the poorest neighborhoods, they heard cries in a house accompanied by some heartbroken cries. Princess Lirieth became interested in what was going on and they told her that there was a very sick child, barely a year old, with high fevers and great coughs, who seemed about to die.

The princes entered the house of the wretched family and, faced with the fear and apprehension of the child's parents and relatives, saw how the princess approached to examine the baby. Then she placed her hand on the child's pale and almost meager face and uttered some strange words.

A few seconds later, it began to turn the child's face a healthy color while recovering an almost normal breathing rhythm. After the mother approached him and noticed that the fever had disappeared, that the child's slow and noisy breathing had become healthy and that, in addition, a shy smile was appearing on the child's countenance, she threw himself to the princess's knees crying with joy and thanking her for her miraculous intervention.

The princess lifted the mother and consoled her with a loving embrace, saying goodbye to the child with an affectionate kiss on the forehead.

Relatives and neighbors cheered the princess goodbye and the news of the miraculous healing spread through the city at enormous speed, getting humans to begin to feel sympathy and a sincere affection for the princess orc.

At the same time, several weeks' drive from Belvichu was Argoth Castle, the royal residence of the sombers, nestled in the walled city of Angorian, the main capital of the kingdom of Barvian. The city was located almost in the center of the kingdom, protected to the west by the Black Mountain Range, to the east by the wild Kabal Sea, to the south by the Arien Lake and to the north by the vast, almost desert Ardennes Valley.

Argoth Castle was built by the ancient Elves with white moleth rocks, considered the heaviest and most resistant material ever known. However, with the passage of time, it was not known whether by the mere age of the mineral or by the darkness of those who had already been working within its walls for many centuries, the rocks had blackened to such an extent that they had turned Argoth Castle into the most intense black construction known in all of Frienia.

Through one of the many long corridors of the castle, a haughty princess, drawing a malicious smile, moved forward with haste and determination.

Elenir came impetuously and triumphantly into the throne room presided over by her father and, after directing a theatrical bow to him informed with an air of sufficiency and satisfaction:

"Father, the fish has taken the bait. Just today, two hundred warriors, one hundred lancers, two orc generals, the prince, his lieutenant and our beloved princess, accompanied by the magician Baldrich, half of them are men and the other one half are orcs. They go to the Slanted Mountains to cross the Peaks Pass. Our reception committee is already on its way to give them the best of welcomes."

"Great, wonderful, now you can go and recruit dragons. And make sure the princes and Baldrich are captured alive. You are allowed to kill the rest of them," ordered Nigriel.

"As you command, father, so shall it be," accepted the dark princess, grinning pleased.

In the morning, a small army of about six hundred sombers, including warriors, settlers and necromancers, departed from Angorian for the massive Dragons' Mountain.

Leaving Belvichu, faced with the impossibility of finding the White Magician, Lirieth asked Baldrich to teach him everything he knew about dragons and how to dominate them. That's why every day they moved away from the expedition, prudently, to carry out the lessons.

Lirieth had reached an unusual level of sorcery in almost every facet, except in the domination of creatures, a path she had rarely explored, some of them out of mere curiosity with her brother Turgarok, who was a master of such an art.

When Baldrich noticed the princess's level of beast domination, he reproached her with propriety and respect:

"Excuse me, Your Highness, but I remember hearing you say that you thought you knew how to perform dragon domination and, from what I see, that's a long way from reality."

"You are right, Master Baldrich, it was a white lie to reassure my parents and not to oppose my accompanying my fiancé. I was hoping you could teach me all about it," the princess defended herself, smiling faintly.

"Unfortunately, my knowledge of creature domination reaches only médium species, at most, and of little intelligence. To subdue dragons, one must have an extraordinary knowledge and experience in this ability. I would not be a good teacher for such a task, yet I will begin your instruction with the little that I know, so that I will advance and make my way to the White Magician, if we ever come across him," replied the elf.

"I thank you. If it's all right with you, we'll start the classes right now," asked Lirieth.

In these classes Baldrich had the opportunity to get to know the impressive power of the princess as a sorceress and tried, unsuccessfully and repeatedly, to explore her mental area which he could not access, so insistently that one day the princess faced him.

"Master Baldrich, I thank you very much for the teachings that you offer me, although not to the point of allowing you to enter the area of my deepest secrets, which I do not allow to invade anyone," warned the princess correctly, but also firmly.

"Forgive my audacity, but I must carry out all the explorations I consider necessary to ensure the protection of my prince and an inaccessible area of his future wife does not guarantee me too much security," explained the elf, with a certain boldness.

"Would it be enough if, under a magic oath, I was to declare to you that my fiancé has nothing to fear from me?" the princess asked him.

"That would not allay all my concerns, for I have seen skillful sorcerers mock the truth with magical oaths, and as far as I have been able to observe Your Highness has attained a degree of mastery with magic capable of dealing with such arts," Baldrich declared.

"You don't approve of me, do you? You don't think me worthy of your prince? Because I'm from the orc race," said the princess in a reproachful tone.

"I admire and approve of you, and I consider you to be the worthiest of the suitors who have been shuffled to the present day. However, I also believe that you hide something, I don't know if good or bad, but you hide it and that worries me," replied the magician.

"Believe me or not, I give you my word that, in what is hidden, nothing bad awaits Syriel, my word will have to suffice for you," confessed Lirieth.

"Your words seem sincere, but I don't know whether because they are or because you make them look like," answered the magician.

"Then you will have to accept the shadow of that doubt as your companion," concluded the princess, aching and harshly.

Neither of the two said anything to Syriel about their differences, and despite them Lirieth and Baldrich continued with their lessons for the next few days, in which the princess succeeded in dominating several lizards and even a snake of respectable size, just on the day they began to glimpse the Slanted Mountains far away on the horizon.

A short distance away, but just at that very moment, Syriel scanned the surroundings with concern, as though he had a strange presence watching them from a distance, but he only saw a crow flying from a distant mound and, although he had no certainty, the prince sensed that the bird had something to do with the restlessness that gripped it. He watched the black bird until it was lost in the celestial immensity of the sky.

Looking towards the Slanted Mountains, he also felt a clear unease, as if he sensed that in Karbandur, the real city of dwarves in the Slanted Mountains, some unexpected surprise awaited them, and not exactly pleasant.

Turgarok glimpsed the sky, hoping to find a black spot that was growing little by little. His little friend would have to be back by now, it had left several hours ago and should not be long gone.

At last, he saw a tiny dot on the celestial horizon approaching at great speed.

Turgarok raised his arm, accepting into it a black raven from Karbandur. He received with clear signs of concern the information given to him by his feathery spy, which augured serious problems for princes in the dwarf kingdom.

A few minutes later, the raven moved away carrying a missive in the direction of Urkaroth.

During the following three days, the march of the alliance took place at a good pace and without major incidents. They left the White Mountains behind and began the last stretch of the journey to the dwarfs' main city: Karbandur.

Karbandur was the largest and most majestic of the numerous fortresses, carved under the rocks of the Slanted Mountains, which stretched for about two thousand kilometers. Dwarves carved the rock into the mountains and at various levels both up and down. Karbandur had more than twenty underground levels and as many above the surface, with thousands of ranches in each level that turned it into a real labyrinth for those who did not know it thoroughly. Torches were held by all the walls and from the very high ceilings hung large and numerous oil lamps that more than illuminated the ample stances gained from the rock. The walls were not only smooth, but also, along with the floor, the countless columns and even the ceilings were adorned with figures, statues, motifs of the dwarf culture and phrases and quotations in their complex, but at the same time beautiful writing, all sculpted on the rock of the mountain itself, although in the right measure, without being overloaded.

Karbandur was, undoubtedly, one of the wonders of all Frienia in terms of constructions. Anyone who contemplated it was amazed by the size, the labors and the architectural beauty that the singular city gave off on all sides.

Leaving the White Mountains behind, all that remained was to cross the Forge River Bridge, the end of which, on the other side would leave the small army almost at the very gates of the majestic dwarf city.

The dwarves’ hospitality

Frienia, year 1815 of the second era.

At dusk on the tenth day of the procession, when the squadron of men and orcs was approaching the gates of Karbandur, Ankar, the very king and lord of the dwarves, came out to meet them, with a substantial escort of armed warriors who tripled the number of new arrivals.

When Syriel and Lirieth stood right in front of Ankar, the King of the dwarves told them:

"Welcome to Prince Syriel and all humans, but not to the unclean beasts that accompany them."

Before any dwarf could react, Syriel unsheathed his sword with superhuman speed and held it threateningly to the dwarf monarch's neck. It was a moment of extreme tension, the dwarves targeted orcs and humans with their crossbows and axes and, in response, humans and orcs drew their swords and weapons.

Ankar, with a furtive drop of sweat slipping down his cheek, raised his hand slowly, giving orders to lower the weapons. While the dwarves obeyed, Syriel faced the dwarf king.

"Your prince comes to ask for shelter, food and escort through the Peaks Pass and does not come with filthy beasts but with allies, friends and a future wife. If you do not willingly offer us what we need, it will be taken by force, and if you do not immediately retract your infamous words, do not welcome all my companions, and do not appropriately pay homage to my fiancée, your head will roll at your feet before you take the next breath. I never wield my sword without staining it with blood, but being you, I will accept your apologies if you are diligent," threatened Syriel without hesitation and with a determination that brought the daring sovereign to his knees and left him almost breathless.

Ankar swallowed saliva loudly and, in the midst of copious sweat, apologized.

"Forgive my haste and be welcome, especially the lady and fiancée of our prince," he hastened to say, repressing the rage.

Syriel accepted the apology, sheathing the sword with slowness.

"Another precipitation like that will cost you your life," he said. "Take care that it does not happen again in the future. Now, the enemy are the sombers and the orcs are our brothers," warned the prince with less hostility, but with the same firmness.

"Welcome, all of you," repeated the dwarf, lowering his head.

"We'll have dinner, we'll make night and early tomorrow we'll leave for Peaks Pass. Fifty dwarves will escort us to the exit to the Badlands," ordered the prince coldly.

"This is how it will be done, my prince. We have prepared a reception bench for you," masked Ankar, with a forced kindness.

Orcs and men entered Karbandur. Meanwhile, Baldrich passed by Syriel.

"Let us watch our backs, a proud dwarf like Ankar neither forgives nor forgives such a humiliation," warned the elf in a whisper, with worried conviction.

Smolion and Gungaroth walked beside Ankar looking at him with manifest hostility and, although they found it difficult to recognize him, they began to feel sympathy and admiration for Syriel.

In the main hall of the fortress was prepared a sumptuous banquet with all sorts of delicacies, as well as wines and beers brought from the most famous origins. Dwarves, men and orcs sat around the tables in an atmosphere of palpable tension. Syriel and Lirieth were placed right next to Ankar and only when the dwarf began to eat and drink, Syriel also began to do so, though taking care that they were from the same sources of food and the same pitchers of drink. But, little by little, the food and especially the wines and beers gave way to laughter, chants and talks to replace the initial tension.

Syriel found Garin, Ankar's son, with whom he had got on very well, and asked his father about him.

"I don't see your son. Isn't he in Karbandur?"

"Well, I'm sorry to say no. He is far from here; I saw his uncle and his cousins in Kandar. He will be very sorry not to have been here to see you," apologized Ankar.

"I'm sorry too," added the prince.

Ankar avoided putting his eyes within Syriel's reach as he replied, but he couldn't avoid Baldrich's, who stared at him for a while with a semblance of deep concern.

After a moment, when the copious food and drink was beginning to run out, Syriel looked at his host.

“I would appreciate it if you could indicate our rooms to rest, we have been travelling for many days and tomorrow we’ll have to continue it,” asked the prince with courtesy, although without ceasing to show an imperative tone.

“We have prepared comfortable beds for everyone, I will send them to accompany you," replied the dwarf without too much enthusiasm.

They accompanied them to a spacious room, very well-conditioned, with enough beds for all the warriors, as well as several individual rooms for the highest rank entourage. The princess' room was arranged in detail.

However, Syriel ordered guard duty, as he had not just trusted Ankar and sensed that something was not right, as did Baldrich, who was convinced that something would happen during the night.

Bellamir left the room where her companions were accommodated in their beds. Baldrich had asked him to take a look around and, if possible, to search the dungeons for a certain Garin, release him and bring him before him without being discovered by the dwarves.

The médium man dredged the path made shortly before, supposing that the dungeons would be at the underground levels. He soon found a ladder and descended. Luckily, no one came across him, as there was no possibility of hiding or going unnoticed on the staircase.

The mediam man continued descending until he reached a level where he began to hear voices.

“I don't like it at all: Garin rebels against his father, Ankar confronts the humans, the prince stopping over here while his host's son is locked up for being loyal to him, before his own father… This won't end up well....

He peered out stealthily and saw several corridors with dungeon doors and two dwarves turning their backs on some of those runners as they played a game in which they rolled something similar to dice.

The rogue snuck down the first corridor and looked for Garin, calling him with just a whisper, until he heard a voice.

“I'm Garin. Who's going?” the voice whispered, hopeful.

“Your Highness, I have come with Prince Syriel, I am going to free you and bring you before him," replied the mediam fellow with relief.

“Hurry, there's no time to lose…" said the captive prince.

In just a few seconds, using his set of picklocks, the skillful rascal opened the door with barely an imperceptible click.

“I beg you to follow me quietly, Your Highness," Bellamir asked to the dwarf prince.

Shortly afterwards, two silent sombers climbed up the narrow and gloomy staircases.

Baldrich woke up the prince.

“Wake up Syriel! We have a visitor. It's only three hours till dawn and we need a plan.”

When the prince opened his eyes, besides seeing Baldrich and Bellamir, he also recognized his friend Garin.

“Garin! Weren't you in Kandar?” Syriel burst with joy.

“No, he was locked in the dungeons with those who are still loyal to you. My father has prepared an enclosure for you with the dark ones in the Peaks Pass. Bellamir has rescued me, but all my dwarves are missing," said Garin regretfully.

“I suspected something strange and I sent Bellamir to take a look. He found Garin locked up, freed him and brought him here," Baldrich explained.

“The situation is very delicate, let's wake up the princess and her generals," ordered Syriel.

Once all gathered and after bringing up to date to the newcomers, Syriel asked:

“Garin, how many dwarfs are locked up?”