Chapter 159: King Laggarma [I] (1/2)
The dwarf guards led them through the doors. The excited to a place of grandness that resembled a palace. Surely a palace. Ju Feng had thought they were going back to the surface, but now, they were going to a palace. From the outside, the king's hall had looked immense, but inside, perhaps because of the guard's words, the soaring, empty space struck Ju Feng anew. Lit by spherelight that barely reached the barrel-vaulted ceiling, the hall was a cold place, filled with shadows and lonely echoes.
At the far end of the room, a throne sat on a raised dais, flanked by a series of pillars engraved with Dwarvish runes. Ju Feng couldn't be sure, but by the arrangement of the letters, he thought the writing contained names. Several symbols repeated down the columns, perhaps indicating members of the same clan. More silvery-blue lichen draped the tops of the pillars, casting them and the throne in a cool silver glow that contrasted with the warm torchlight in the rest of the hall.
On the throne sat the oldest dwarf Ju Feng had ever seen. Not that he had seen many by the way. Enhanced by the light of the lichen, his beard and hair were pure silver. His hands where they gripped the throne had a grayish tinge, and there were hollows carved out of his cheeks and dark shadows around his eyes. He stared straight ahead and did not react to the group's presence until they'd reached the dais. Slowly, his gaze focused on them, sharpened, his eyes flooding with shrewdness and power.
There was great energy in him, probably at the golden core level, Ju Feng thought. His body was like a sagely statue, but his mind was alert and dangerous.
”What have you brought me, Druya?” asked the king. Ju Feng heard the note of challenge, almost anger, in his voice, but if Druya noticed it, she didn't react.
”King Laggarma, I bring you these two named Ju Feng and Chang Chang. We encountered them on the upper level of the tunnels when my father was sealing one of the upper tunnels,”
Druya explained.
”One of them desecrated a burial ground near our temple, but later they aided my father and brother against the drow. They risked their lives for my family and the two are skilled in battle.”
The king's expression did not change, but he inclined his head in acknowledgement of Joya's words.
”Why bring them to me? Do they have any dealings with me?. If not, why bring them here?”
Druya hesitated. ”They claim they are looking for the Arcane Script Sphere.”
Hearing that, the king's countenance transformed. His eyes narrowed—the silver-blue irises burned, though Ju Feng was sure it must be a trick of the light. When they came into contact with the dwarves, they had decided not to tell them they came for the Heavenstone but that they were searching for a different item. The king stood up, towering over them from his place on the dais. Color flooded his cheeks, filling the hollows and suffusing his face with a vibrancy that bordered on frenzy.
”Explain,” the king said. His voice was soft, calm, and completely at odds with his expression. ”You,” he said, nodding at Chang Chang, ”the one carrying the glaive. You seek the sphere?”
Ju Feng glanced at Chang Chang, but he couldn't draw her gaze. How would she answer? Echoes of the king's exhaustion reflected in her face in lines and shadows. She needed to rest. It had been a mistake to allow the dwarves to bring them all the way down here. They should have insisted on them going their own way. Or maybe they could have fought while they had an advantage. Now they were at the king's mercy in this city deep beneath the earth.
”King Laggarma,” Chang Chang said, her voice ringing out clear and sweet. Despites his jests, Ju Feng had always thought Chang Chang had one of the loveliest voice.
”I mean no harm or disrespect to the dwarves of this great place. I seek the sphere because I have heard it is a stabilizing force, a powerful conduit for arcane blood arts. This is of great interest because wild blood energg—the result of a spellscar—is killing me.”
The king eyed her speculatively, but his gaze still burned with that same unsettling intensity.
”Is this true, Druya?” he said, not taking his eyes off Chang Chang.
”I was not aware that she is dying,” Druya said, ”but I see no reason to doubt her. In the tunnels, I witnessed one of her mystical arts go wild. The magical power shattered through a Yaomo's energy shields as if they were nothing—a humbling sight.”
”Shattered them?” Laggarma said, his tone sharp. ”Are you certain?”
”Yes, my king.”
”Impressive. So you think the sphere will help you, girl?”
King Laggarma asked. He stepped down from the dais and approached Chang Chang. Despite the fact that she was taller by several inches, Chang Chang looked small and fragile in the presence of the king. Her tongue, however, had never been fragile, not since Ju Feng had known her.