Part 2 (2/2)
The das old His wrinkled face was fras braided into his drooping ray leather with a shaggy huht supposed the hide caoat hide,to battered boots stiff with tar Somehow, he looked familiar
”I aor,” stated the dwarf Of course, Dorlas's father reseht Steelshanks, of the Raven Clan of the Rengarth Barbarians” If they still exist, he thought dis you-”
But the old dwarf's deep brown eyes had already spotted the warhaht pulled the weapon and handed it over
With hands ers, inch-thick callouses, and burn scars, the dwarf cradled the haently as a baby The hah to slay an ox, but in those hands it looked like a toy Without any visible eor said, ”We heard But you were there? Tell me how it caht thought, a please and thank you for risking his and Knucklebones's life to visit these mountains to deliver a hammer But the old man-if dwarves were ht could stifle his irritation
”We were bodyguarding a caravan, and aly, and hungry, Sunbright sat on the stone shelf beside a sleeping Knucklebones and told the tale
Hoithin sight of the city walls, a hunting party of decadent Neth on golden ed his duty by sending the caravan's ht fronited, so they ran for the city gates How Dorlas, wounded, fell behind, and insisted they run on How a huntsh the belly but, incredibly, Dorlas hung onto the lance, jerked hiuts, to crush the metal wolf mask of the huntsman and kill hiht and Greenere saved by Dorlas's sacrifice
Though he was an excellent storyteller, like all tundra dwellers, Sunbright didn't eeration All through the tale, the eyes of Drigor never left the shaht felt burned anew, as if he'd been pierced to the guts hiood death, and brave” The old dwarf talked mostly to himself ”We own little here in the Iron Mountains, we Sons of Baltar Scanty food, iron used up, little coal to burn So, for generations now, our children are our resource We train our sons and daughters to war, and send theuards Many never return to this, our ancestral hoht was quiet at this epitaph, feeling that, rather than floating a coffin down a river, he'd finally helped bury Dorlas, who'd been a friend in the short time the barbarian had known hi,” pronounced the dwarf, obviously an old ht Steelshanks I, Drigor, son of Yasur, owe you a favor” He tipped the warhaht sat on the shelf and stared at the e what next? A quiet stir made him turn
”A dwarf owes you a favor Better than ht looked into Knucklebones's single eye and asked, ”How long have you been awake?”
”Long enough As a child, I learned to wake silently Youfriends, country h some I must kill How's your head?”
”It hurts What are you looking at?” she ainst his chin as he loomed above her
”It's a shame you've only the one, because it's a pretty eye,” he whispered, then he planted a big juicy kiss on her eyelid
”Yick! That's not where they go!”
He kissed her small, firm mouth
”Better?”
”Much better,” she ht huddled under two blankets and the glowing iron pipe The stone was hard, but the war and with breakfast (their own rations) under their belts, they felt better, if sore
Drigor walked into the rooht's head throb, but he answered civilly, ”Yes, we're better, thank you This is my friend, Knucklebones, by the way”
The dwarf only puffed a wisp of ring-braided mustache from his mouth ”It's well you can travel,”
he said, ”for you ht
By the glow of luminous paint the dwarf's face looked like old parchu to offer us Your o We conserve food and fighters because of yak-men What you saw yesterday was another scout party The yak-men covet ourtheh to feed ourselves”
”More folk on the ht pondered aloud ”Tell me, do you find the anior frowned, and said, ”Yes, perhaps The elk and goats did not cli chamois have moved to lower orse is thin on the highest peaks, and not recovering froh ile, like ht my people in traditional lands for months and never found them They've moved into new territories, unless they're all dead, which I don't believe Now you tell me yak-men press in from the east, outside the empire I wonder if they too find their land can't support they hand as he said, ”These mountains can't support thehters are away soldiering, and the yak-men are many
Soht and Knucklebones, but the dwarf never finished, only changed tack
”Never uide will lead you out” He spun on his heels and stamped away
”The rotten bastards!” Knucklebones snapped ”The lousy cheapskates! Pitched out into the storm without so much as a by-your-leave! Why not just hurl us off the e us for the rooive us some of the yak-men's rations They had food satchels”
”I'd like one of those carved staves” Knucklebones groused She raht, and slammed her blanket roll atop ”They're probably worth a fortune!
And we earned theed the enemy first”
”We would have died if the dwarves hadn't attacked,” Sunbright re shrimps I hope their mountain collapses around their ears”
She shut up as a dwarven woh the doorway
Crossing her arms, the daited impatiently for them to strap on their tackle Silently, the huh corridors black or illu hot or just war when carried in They heard bursts of coarse laughter, sliear or stoked charcoal fires for forging Once she heard a snatch of lonesoed her feet to slow the The winding dark tunnels with jots of light, so warm, re enclave of Karsus And too, the hustle and bustle and busyness reminded her of the thieves' co the dwarven warrens made the city-born orphan feel homesick, and yet at houshed, and made Knucklebones draw her sheepskin coat close to her neck Her breath fogged, h she kneas sunny By the time her one eye had squinted open, they stood alone at theturned back