Fyreslayers - Sidgrani's Faithful
(The original Czech version is under this entry)
Prologue
Thungur Lodge has been doing well for many years against all odds. Both their clans' magmaholds and their coffers comfortably grow filled with people and gold, and with new threats the demand for their services continues to rise.
Even in Sigdrani's father's magmahold, despite the constant war expeditions, things are getting a bit tight. Some of the lodge lord's sons grumble that it's getting harder and harder to find worthy rivals and win renown and fame of the warleader. Some of them set off on their own to win their own fame and glory, and those who already have enough of their followers and gold look around for a suitable place where - with the approval of their father - they could establish a new seat and a lodge of their own.
Sidgrani, Runeson of the clan, decided to make a ritual pilgrimage with a small group of followers to Mount Vostargi and the places where Grimnir and Vulcatrix fought their legendary battle.
Such a pilgrimage is not only a custom of Grimnir's faithful, but also an opportunity to perform deeds of valor along the way and thus gain fame and gold along with divine blessings.
Sidgrani was joined by his younger brother Raudhir. He was always impulsive, his inner fire burning like in a young magmadroth, and so he found it difficult to submit to others on great campaigns or to wait for his opportunity. His brother's idea of a holy pilgrimage excited him - a small group, freedom and glory, exactly to his taste. He put everything he had into his weapons and camp supplies and now he is impatiently looking forward to the day when they will set out.
Fjoelnir, the Runemaster of the clan sent Goendlir, one of the lower priests, along with an escort with brothers on the holy pilgrimage. The runesmith's escort was quite common, but this time the priest was accompanied by a group of silent guardians of the lodge inner sanctum. All in the escore were volunteers under the leadership of Launhirdir, one of the elder Keepers of Fire and Secret. The youths who grew up in the shrine and knew nothing of the world, apart from the shrine, the training halls and the occasional fight near the hold.
Raudhir wasn't keen on them - they were a quiet lot, especially around Goendlir or their commander. All of them were about as talkative as the guards of the Phoenix Temples. At times it looked as if someone wanted to answer Raudhir, but at Launhirdir's stern look it turned out to be just a gesture or a nod.
Only when no one was around did they help themselves by adding a few quiet words to their gestures.
But the priest, Goendlir, was a mystery to Raudhir. Although he was of the lower priests, he was a very capable runesmith and could not be said to be easily expendable. Raudhir couldn't understand why the Runemaster had sent one of his best with them. Maybe he saw some sign in the Fire, maybe he just wants to send some confidential message to the Great Sanctuary in Mount Vostargi, who knows.
Raudhir grunted in displeasure as the Launhirdir and his guards passed him. Luckily, Udhur and his royal guards go with his brother as well. Udhur had gotten them out of a lot of trouble already, and if anyone was the exact opposite of the strict and measured Launhirdir, it was him. Where there was a fight or a lot of drinking, there was Udhur as well.
“Good thing the brother is taking them with him”, Raudhir thought, “He's a bit too cautious himself, and at least this way someone will nudge him into action.”
"Anyway, we're off in a few days, and Grimnir’s willing, everything will come in time—glory, gold, answers, and maybe even Launhirdir will learn to have fun. Ax in hand, barrels on cart, battles ahead, glorious life or glorious death, what can go wrong?"
To the gates of Aqshy
The journey dragged on very slowly. It wasn't too bad until the Ghyran gate, but the contents of the casks were getting seriously thin. And of course, Lumineth merchants have nothing but their noses up and weak wine in stock, what else to expect. Even the people in the town at the gate to Ghyran weren't much help. But better a couple of kegs of their booze and goblin piss they call beer here than nothing. "At least the ham and beef jerky were pretty good for umgi," Raudhir snapped and took another piece of beef jerky. "Well it should be, as they have that fine-looking cattle from Ghyran, and by that I don't exactly mean the elgi on the other side of the gate," Udhur mumbled, trotting along the Ghyran road next to Raudhir.
"Luckily it was brother and Goendlir who were leading the toll negotiations," thought Raudhir. The amber-cloaked elgi on the Ghyran side of the gate was not of the Lumineth, but he seemed to have a problem with fire in general and the sons of Grimnir in particular. He absolutely insisted that he had to go around the settlement and not go through it, and the tolls and rates to top it all off! That elgi captain said that everything there is made of wood and if we get drunk, we could start the fire. And yet they had a shrine of their Ur-Phoenix there, and in that shrine a fire that could be seen for miles. And one fiery phoenix circled above the gate. "Elgi wazzok a skruff...", Raudhir began to foam again at the memory.
“Sidgrani sent me away to check the supplies on the wagon. He gave me the order! To me! But he did well, because I wanted to try if I could hit the elf's crotch with a throwing ax at ten paces," muttered Raudhir under his breath. “They said it could negatively affect the proceedings and offend the stormcast guards nearby. Sigmar's Lions… They have strength and honor, for umgi." thought Raudhir, "Brother was probably right. They could take the neutering of their pet personally, perhaps they have them for breeding."
At this point, let Raudhir's diary speak to the kind reader to shed light on what happened next:
Sidgrani and Goendlir have been discussing something since we lost sight of the Ghyran settlement. Sidgrani was the only one of us allowed into the settlement at last, and Goendlir stopped at the stronghold of Sigmar's faithful.
Goendlir has been humming constantly into Sidgrani ear, words flowing like magma into the sea ever since. I have a feeling he's going to talk a hole in my brother's head. "Zharrgrom", over and over. Somewhere a little further, on the way to the gates to Aqshy, there is a ruined settlement, and in that settlement, it is said to have been the rune forge of one of the Lofnir clans, and there might be something there. So much for the talk. What could be there? Enemies, I hope.
We walked around the swaps for several days before we finally came to a rocky area. Nothing nice, it looked weird there. Not that I like trees, but this... it was pretty dead for Ghyran. It looked cursed, lifeless. All day nothing but dead forest, bones, ashes. Then the terrain rose, the dead forest ended, and familiar formations began to appear. You could see that there was once a volcano here. Nothing big, but traces of magma streams and markings of sons of Grimnir were visible here and there.
The next day we did indeed arrive at ruins of a settlement with a runic shrine. Goendlir was ecstatic. A ruined forge in the sanctuary and a real magma well in it. Extinguished, apparently, but the runes were still there. The priest absently ordered Launhirdir to be at Sidgrani's hand and gestured us all out of the sanctuary.
"Break camp and set up patrols," Sidgrani ordered, "We'll stay here for a few days." He seemed to know what Goendlir was up to. At least someone. Although my brother sometimes tells me that I have the perception of a mining horse, I did not miss one thing - Sidgrani looked quite tense, as if he was expecting trouble. Cool!
We hardly saw Goendlir the next day. All we could hear was his singing and the occasional clang of the hammer. Goendlir did not appear for the meal or at the evening the fire. The next day, the magical forge of Grimnir's priests rumbled up from the ground beside the Kazak-Grungon shrine. Everyone was on their feet at once. The fight is not far, that's for sure. But no enemy appeared, only Goendlir. He came out of the shrine with some runes and began repairing them at the magmaforge.
On the morning of the third day, trouble arrived. In battle formation. And they had pointed ears, halberds, symbols of the Ur-phoenix, and were led by an elgi in an amber cloak. I threw my ax into the air and shouted the alarm with glee, "Hooray, Grimnir be praised, wazzok-dreng anu, khazukan khazakit-ha!"
Well, maybe it wasn't the same elgi who can know, but those looks were so similar. Well, it doesn't matter, perhaps a relative, he can relay the message. In a high-pitched voice.
Goendlir came out from behind the forge and frowned. He didn't seem happy about the interruption. "I don't have time, tell them.", he barked at me and Udhur's men, who were just running up.
Sound of running feet could be heard from the other side of the camp. The brother and Launhirdir were coming as well. You won't make it, little brother, not this time...
“Get out of here immediately. Leave the shrine alone.”, someone's voice came from the incoming formation.
"Really?" I yelled at them. “Leave Grimnir's shrine? Just like that? And who will force us?” A mage appeared in the ranks of the silent Phoenix Guards. Probably. The robe, the staff he carried more like a halberd, the importance personified.
"We don't want to wake up the volcano here again," called the mage. "There's a reason it's abandoned here." He nervously watched Goendlir, who paid no attention to him at all. The mage was obviously even more unnerved by the flame that shot up from the forge to the heavens.
“Final warning!” shouted the mage.
"Before what? Before you flee?” I called back. Yes, it will work…
I heard Sidgrani call from behind. “Raudhir, you will immediately…”
And in that moment the earth shook violently. We could barely stay on our feet.
"I need a little more time.", Goendlir grumbled.
"Not me anymore!", I announced and nudged Udhur, "Look, they run to us now so we don't have to go far!"
"After you, Your Highness!" Udhur grinned.
Here we return again to the clan chroniclers:
The phoenix guard in a two-row formation ran into the center of the crumbling settlement, toward the shrine and magmaforge, with Raudhir and Udhur's royal guards standing in their way. Behind the Phoenix guard, the wizard was busily flipping through a book. When they were half way, Raudhir charged towards them, closely followed by Udhur and his men, the runes on their legs glowing with the divine energy.
Meanwhile, Goendlir fished out some kind of thick book from his sack and in a moment a strange mixture of incantations and prayers filled the air over the battlefield.
A moment later Sidgrani appeared on the other side of the shrine with Launhirdir's magmapike guard. The traditional spray of steel in the form of throwing axes flew out from the dwarven line, but to no effect. Sidgrani, seeing the sorcerer who had apparently aiming for the shrine, did not hesitate and threw his spear in the direction of the wizard. "Down with him!" he ordered the shooters. A shower of molten rock fell on the mage, but there will probably be something to the tales of the Phoenix's blessing. The somewhat wizened mage looked grimly at the smoking edges of his book's pages, the holes in his robes, and his staff, as if he couldn't decide whether to punish the insolence with a spell or a staff, or repair the robes first.
Raudhir and Udhur's men crashed into the elven ranks. A real fight broke out. Willing or not, Sidgrani had to join in with the shrine guard, for despite all the effort and toughness of Raudhir and Udhur, the elgi were outnumbering them and could withstand the blows just as well as the berserkers - but there were twenty of elgi where Udhur's men were five. And the amber cloaked captain elgi seemed to take each fallen comrade very personally and fought with a redoubled effort.
The favor of the gods shifted constantly from one side to the other, and the fighting men dwindled on both sides.
Both Udhur's men and Raudhir were already unable to fight, entangled with similarly battered Elgi. The Sidgrani with his group of shrine guards and of course the Goendlir at the shrine were also still fine.
Only the mage and the elgi captain stood on the side of the opponents.
It was then, after several minutes of unsuccessful incantation, that the mage, humiliated and frustrated by the fact that he was unable to cast a single spell whole time, finally slammed his charred book to the ground in rage, magical flames erupted from his hands and staff, and with a single flash, followed by furious blows from his flaming staff, completely decimated Launhirdir and his men before Sidgrani's eyes.
Sidgrani shook his head in disbelief. "This will go into the Book and the Stories," he thought. But then Grimnir's spirit won in him. "To the Book then!" he shouted at the baffled mage. The mage himself looked surprised that his suicidal attack on these Grimnir brawlers had met with such success, and now to top it all off, a naked, bearded punk with flaming rune piercings all over his body, thug-looking, was yelling at him something about some book. He glanced back at his book smoldering in the grass nearby, and that was enough for Sidgrani to send him to the ground with a side swing of his javelin.
Even to the Captain of the Phoenix Guard it was clear in a moment that the fight was over. Everyone who had a reason or desire to fight was currently rolling on the ground, limping from the battlefield or dragging wounded comrades.
The two leaders of the opposing parties cautiously stepped down. Elgi captain silently gestured to a few of his men to carry away the mage and the wounded. The Elgi then made their way back to the forest. But the captain's parting gesture did not leave Sidgrani in doubt. These elgi may not have The Book, but they have memory like Nagas' revenants, and they will see each other again soon...
He was interrupted from his thoughts about the future by his brother's husky voice in the distance. He got it quite badly from several elgi halberds. Those pointy-ears were quite skilled with them, one must admit.
"Well, I was picturing a heroic fight with chaos or something, and not exactly this ungrateful pack.," Raudhir stated on somewhat wobbly legs.
"You're supposed to sit down while I stitch up those wounds on your head," Goendlir snarled at him as he bandaged Udhur.
"When I'm weak to stand, I'm weak to live," declared Raudhir.
"You read too many Doomseeker stories, brother," Sidgrani sat him down. "We could have done this without a fight if you hadn't been so rash.". Raudhir was about to start protesting, but Sidgrani stopped him with a gesture. Sometimes Sid looked an awful lot like their father, Raudhir realized with envy. “But whatever, they and you have what you earned.”, Sidgrani finished, “But now hold back for a while, beaten as you are now - or dead - you won't help the quest much. Goendlir will stitch you up, but first we have to get our men in order.”
Well yes, thought Raudhir, the iron law of the Thungurs. In battle men give their lives for the leader, outside of battle the leader gives his life for his men.
By the time the evening came, they were all at least conscious, mostly thanks to Goendlir and his healing arts and prayers. "Fortunately, this time there were no losses," Goendlir was saying to Sidgrani, "And I found what I was looking for." Zhargrom. Trapped Volcanic Magic. The Elgi didn't know what to do with that anyway. They say the volcano…”
“Sir!” one of Udhur's men interrupted, “There are some greenskins at the edge of the forest! But they have some white cloth.”
Indeed, a group of strangely emaciated orcs, probably from Ghur. What do they want here?
An arrow flew from the group. But it wasn't an attack. It landed within twenty paces of the dwarves and it was plain to see that it was carrying some kind of message.
Udhur reached for the arrow and handed the message to Sidgrani. He opened it with disgust.
Dear ezteamed Killastunties! I 'ave da bestest gold for yoo in three elven chests for krumpin' Deff Forest deadiez in da swampz. What yoo fink?
bestest regurgs
Zotbag Evileye
"I'd let nothing but an ax answer that," Udhur grumbled.
“We are who we are, Udhur,” replied Sidgrani, “And don't forget our mission. I don't trust those green wazzoks any further than I could reach with an axe, but gold is gold, and with every piece of the ur-gold, the rebirth of the Ancestor Forefather is closer.” Goendlir nodded in agreement.
"But the truth is that I'm not particularly in the mood for greenskins right now, and I don't want to walk into a trap by the swamps. So - no.", concluded Sidgrani.
"NO! We don't accept that business! Clear?”, Udhur roared towards the forest and the other dwarves started to stand up. Even Raudhir, though he had to lean on an ax, looked almost optimistic. But the green skins disappeared like steam over a pot.
Udhur spat. "Oh, come on. Double watch it is, again."
Lofnir's ruins
The night passed without trouble, no one showed up. The most injured slept in the sanctuary with Goendlir. Apparently they didn't get much sleep though, Goendlir's prayers could be heard until dawn. They camped for two more days, after which the expedition was in a considerably better condition thanks to the Goendlir's care. Even Raudhir was able to walk without crutches, although Goendlir had strongly warned him at the shrine that he must not run for several days and be careful of the stitches.
Sidgrani's voice could be heard from outside. "Pack and load, we're leaving in an hour!"
Raudhir was not bothered by the stitches. Caring for stitches is for seamstresses, and seamstresses are for humans and elgis. He went straight to Sidgrani. “Sid,” he began straight away, “don't you want to tell me why we're here? Where are we going now?”
Sidgrani gave him a look of ironic astonishment. "Well look at that, brother, we haven't been on the road for a month and you're already starting to wonder where we're going and why?"
Raudhir winced, but the sharp pain in the stitched wounds reminded him of his manners. He stared at his brother for a long time. After all, Sidgrani was the commander of the expedition, and Raudhir had to admit that he just didn't have a head for these mundane things. Even father sometimes said that Raudhir was born rather for the path of the Grimwrath than for leadership. "I know where the final destination is, but I'm interested in what path you want to lead us on now and what we will do along the way. What are you up to with Goendlir?” Raudhir asked with careful self-control.
"Then listen. In ancient times, the lodge from which even the ancestors of the Thungurs came, had a magmahold with unique furnaces in Ghyran or perhaps in Aqshy - records are not uniform about it - protected by powerful runes that are no longer found today. There should have been Gates to other realms at that place.", began Sidgrani, "That magmahold fell during the Age of Chaos, when its warriors held the forces of chaos at bay to allow the retreat of civilians from the surrounding kingdoms through the Gates. It is said that they eventually locked themselves away with their gold and a substantial portion of the chaos army in the lodge's vaults, and neither they nor any of the hellspawn ever resurfaced.”
Raudhir grunted. "A lot of our people have been looking for that hold over the ages, haven't they? There are such stories. What it has to do with us?”
Sidgrani continued: “Brother, think - there is a magmahold somewhere. Still empty, or filled with something that will provide fight and glory. Magmahold, offering even runes and technique perhaps forgotten. Magmahold, which does not need to be established from the beginning, we just cleanse it. And I found one possible clue in our Hall of Records, Goendlir had another, and both led here.”
Raudhir stopped. “Didn't the Lofnir live here? What did they have to do with our ancestors?”
"On the one hand, the Lofnir breed the best magmadroths, and according to records, several important rulers of the Thungur lodge had their droth from them. And secondly, the Lofnir of this particular magmahold, which also includes the guard settlement where we are standing just now, waged a war with our very ancestors. It is not entirely clear whether they were pitted against each other by some dispute or simply conflicting business contracts."
"It was here in the shrine that Goendlir found confirmation that our tracks were not just legends. And he also found indications that on the other side of the ridge was a valley in which there were many farms and settlements, both Lofnir and human. This was only an outlying settlement, but there will probably be traces in the others - there will be old roads, traces of settlement, and perhaps of the struggles of the Lofnir and our ancestors.”
“Okay,” Raudhir answered impatiently, “What traces will we find there after all these years? Do you know how many armies and wars went back and forth over here?”
"We will know. Because even here it was confirmed that our people really conquered this place and held several settlements for many years, and built Memorial Halls in them in honor of the fallen of both sides. What's more - we know the approximate direction those mansions were from the lost magmahold of our ancestors, or at least from the gate that led to that hold. We also know for sure that two of those settlements had stone walls and octagonal towers built by the Dawi dwelling there."
"And if everything in the Halls of Remembrance was destroyed, even from the remains we will know that they were there and we will know that we are in the right place," said Goendlir, who appeared behind Raudhir as a ghost, "It is enough to identify a few such places and we will know exactly enough where the hold is.”
"Well, I'll leave that to you smart ones.", Raudhir waved his hand. "It's enough for me to know what we're looking for and that we might be bound for a magmahold full of hellspawn and gold. Why are we still standing here? Do you wait to turn to stone here?”
The expedition set out fresh, and towards evening they crossed the summit of the ridge. In front of them lay a wide and long valley with a river that wound its way out of the mountains and seemed to continue towards the swamps they had passed a few days ago. About twenty miles down the valley, perhaps further, some ruins could be seen. Probably human, according to the remains of the square towers.
"Okay, we'll go a bit under the ridges, we'll set up camp at dusk. We will leave for those towers tomorrow morning,” Sidgrani ordered.
"Two towers.", Raudhir grumbled and stepped behind his brother, "Well let's see…"
They camped in a clearing under a cliff. The place was protected and there was a cave in the rock where the bears apparently slept. But it was summer and, to their disappointment, the dwarves couldn't find any furry inhabitants of the cave.
They scheduled the patrols and whoever could, went to sleep. The Sidgrani and the Aurics had the first watch.
In the morning, Sidgrani was awakened by light and an unusual silence. He went outside the cave where Launhirdir stood. “Sir, your brother went ahead with Udhur as per your order. Orders?” asked Launhirdir.
“My brother… what?” Sidgrani turned to Launhirdir.
“He said they were to explore the ruins below as soon as possible after dawn, per your orders. We will join when we pack the camp," Launhirdir shrugged.
The idiot, Sidgrani thought. "The idiot!" said Goendlir behind Sidgrani as an echo of his thoughts, “To think that I sew him up! He doesn't know what's waiting there, and what's waiting on the way."
"How long has it been?" Sidgrani asked
"About half an hour, maybe less," Launhirdir replied dryly.
“Goendlir, go after him and stop them. Launhirdir, pack everything up now and we'll be off.” Sidgrani ordered.
“I thought so, sir. It's almost done.”, Launhirdir replied.
Goendlir ran down the ancient road. He stomped heavily on the gravel and cursed through his teeth. "Now to run because of that young oaf, may that the beer sour in his mouth and turn into flames in his ass, graubni wazzok and urk-ha..."
The priest ran for an eternity, but Grimnir's faithful never tire. When he finally caught sight of Raudhir and his entourage, they were already in ruins. They stood there in the former courtyard, staring towards the crumbling human temple. Goendlir ran up, ready to say something at the top of his lungs. "What are you staring at..." Goendlir began as he caught a glimpse of what they were staring at. Something is coming.
An amber cloak, pointy ears, nearly two dozen silent elgi, and a wizard in somewhat burnt robes.
The elgi captain pointed to his eyes and to them. "I see you and I'm waiting for you.", Goendlir translated. "Grimnir's beard, how they could know where we were going?"
"I'm going after those bastards, they owe us." said Raudhir.
"No, we are at a disadvantage. They'll beat you down just like they did last time when they surrounded you," Goendlir countered, "We'll pull back a bit and hold them off until Sidgrani arrives and balances the force. This looks like a trap and we don't know who else is here.”
Another brawl was coming, but Goendlir wasn't sure of the outcome. On the other hand, he was sure that he would have a lot of work and hardly any sleep again.
The elves lined up, their formation bristling with halberds.
Goendlir used a spell from his book to create a shield for Udhur's men and then began a prayer to Grimnir. A cloud of ash could help keep the elgi away from the body. The rune in his palm began to heat up, almost…
“By Grimnir's beard, shall I retreat?” he heard Raudhir roar, “Here, where did it belong to the sons of Grimnir? Are you even a priest of Grimnir, Goendlir, or some rattaki pushover?”
Goendlir was speechless with rage, the rune hot in his fist. He stared at Raudhir, Raudhir at him, and in an instant a column of ash erupted from the ground between them.
"Not that I want to disrupt your theological disputation, but shall we let ourselves to be surrounded and beaten or shall we go somewhere?", Udhur's voice rang out.
Goendlir forced himself to stay calm. “Udhur, at the order of Sidgrani I hold you responsible for his brother's conduct in battle! We'll face them over there by the ruins. Now move.” he barked and trotted back to the pile of rubble on the northern edge of the courtyard. There were no buildings around, so maybe nobody else is waiting there. On the way he discreetly shook his burnt hand.
The trampling and Raudhir's grumbling behind him told him he did not run alone after all. However, the elves, as he saw over his shoulder, also started to move. Unlike the dwarves, they were both quieter and faster.
"It makes no sense for a dwarf to race against an elf without shortening his legs first," he heard Raudhir grumble behind him.
Goendlir was about to retort when he finally saw Sidgrani and Launhirdir running towards them at the edge of the ruins. As Goendlir turned, his smile faded somewhat. The elf formation was almost at them, picking up speed.
Their wizard waved hand as he cast a spell, but nothing happened at all.
Smirking, Goendlir reinforced the shield of Udhur's men and then confidently drew a rune and began a prayer, but no sooner had he spoken the first words than his hand exploded in a burst of flame. "By Vulcatrix's teeth, what...", his smile faded. Raudhir gave him an amused grin and turned to the running elgi. "Well, boys, Grimnir has had enough of the slobbering and running around in elgi fashion, let's get to work!", Raudhir roared with gusto. After all, he will not leave all the glory to Sidgrani. And he no longer wants to listen to preachings how someone had to save him.
Raudhir and Udhur's men raised their axes and braced themselves for the wave of elgi that immediately washed over them like a surf.
The shouts of Launhirdir and Sidgrani began to echo from the north, and pieces of lava flew through the air.
The clash was short, but fierce. Raudhir kept the entire group of elgi and the captain away from his body, another part of the elgi fought with Udhur's men. Both Elgi and dwarves dwindled in numbers.
Another incantation from the human mage rang out. His voice was breaking into an irritated shriek, but nothing happened - again. The elven captain gave him a look of disdain. This apparently sent the mage into a frustrated frenzy, and he ran to attack with his staff over his head. And again, to the complete surprise of all elves and dwarves present, his "wooden magic" decided the fight between Udhur's men and the elgi. One by one, the dwarves fell under the blows of the sparking staff of the madly howling apparition in the scorched robes.
Only Raudhir had fought before Goendlir. Sidgrani and his men fired a final salvo and rush towards Raudhir and Goendlir, but they couldn't get there in time.
Goendlir only managed to give the shield to Raudhir and this time turned his prayer directly to Grimnir. "In Grimnir's name, Raudhir, may your arms and your weapon be the arms and weapon of the Father of Battles!" Goendlir's voice rang out over the battlefield and the runes on Raudhir's body glowed so brightly it hurt the eyes. "Khazukan kazakit-ha!", Raudhir roared, rushing among the elves like a tornado.
The fight broke out with renewed vigor. A few seconds later it was decided. Raudhir lay on the ground in the midst of the Elgi, who were no better off themselves. Only the elgi captain stood on the other side. "Diehard, eh?" thought Goendlir.
"That's enough!" Sidgrani shouted. He and the rest of Launhirdir's men stood between the captain and Goendlir. The elven captain lowered his weapon. Those of his people who were still able to get up gathered their mates. Launhirdir's men did the same to Raudhir and Udhur, dragging them away. Then they waited for the elves to disappear into the forest south of the ruins.
"Why do I get the feeling that we don't see them for the last time?" Goendlir muttered. “I hope so,” said Raudhir, who had apparently just woken up, in a hoarse voice, “Just a little while longer and he'll have his own chapter in my Book. But at least he's a good opponent. For an elgi. If he didn't have his guard around him all the time…”
"I guess like you, brother?" Sidgrani spoke up. "I really wonder what we are bothering them with or what they - or who - want. I would prefer to fight someone other than Sigmar's people.”
"Me too," Goendlir chimed in, "This reeks of some city intrigue."
"And there is indeed gold in those, but often at the price of honor," Sidgrani spat, "Nothing for us."
“Okay,” Sidgrani's voice rose, “Launhirdir, find some acceptable walls for shelter, two men with Goendlir treat the wounded, two go get water and tend to the wounded, and we'll go through and secure the area. We don't want any more surprises. Tomorrow we will search the ruins to see if there are any remains of the Hall of Remembrance.”
Offer that can't be refused
The dwarves went to work. Unfortunately, the survey the next day did not bring any surprises. The ruins hid nothing, it was more human than dwarven abode. They would have to continue further into the valley as soon as their wounds were patched up with Goendlir's help.
Around the noon, however, a surprise came. A watch came to Sidgrani. “Sir, there is some umgi with an escort and a surprise. He wants to talk to you," he announced. Sidgrani followed him. There were eleven horsemen outside, bearing the colors of one of the Hysh Military Academies, and with them the surprise - ten berserkers from their own lodge, and a good load of supplies on their backs. And with barrels!
“Biflind! Salvation of all the thirsty ones!", Udhur and Raudhir called in unison from the nearby campfire and rushed to the newcomers, "What is your scorched beard doing here by Grimnir's crest?"
Sidgrani silenced them with a gesture. The horse commander dismounted and bowed to Sidgrani.
“Lieutenant Ludgren Kuntz of the Sixth Cavalry, do I have the honor of meeting Sidgrani, Prince of the Thungur Lodge?” he asked formally.
"Yes. I am Sidgrani and this is Goendlir of Grimnir's shrine.", Sidgrani replied, "What do you bring us?"
The lieutenant pulled a leather case with a seal from his satchel. “An offer of business cooperation from my master, Duke Armand of Settlers Gain.”, he announced formally as he handed over the case, “Inside is a detailed contract and terms of the contract, including the amount, desired results, payment terms, and delivery location.”
Sidgrani took over the case. "Sit down by our fire for now, Lieutenant, I'll read it and get back to you right away."
Humans dismounted and settled by the fire. Biflindi's men were already familiar with them, and soon it was merry by the fires. Sidgrani and Goendlir were still going over the contract and terms. Everything was very clearly and carefully written, typical Hysh law school. But the subject of the contract intrigued them both. Destroy the undead in the Dead Forest by the Swamps and find the rumored gate to the less explored part of Aqshy. Price - Grungni's guild-marked gold ingots worth three thousand gold ducats of the Hysh mint.
“Those undead just don't seem to get along very well here, do they?” said Sidgrani to Goendlir at the side.
"It's a bit out of the way, but it's probably worth a visit. And that gate, could it be what we are looking for?" replied Goendlir.
"Okay, let's take it," concluded Sidgrani, signing the document in two copies and marking it with his personal rune. Goendlir attached Grimnir's seal, kept one document with him, and sealed the other document in its case.
By the fire, the fun was getting underway, mostly thanks to the keg of Grimnir's Tears that Biflindi had opened.
Sidgrani handed the signed document to the lieutenant, who checked the signature and seals. "Thank you, sir," saluted the lieutenant, "We will look forward to hearing from you." Then he looked around the camp. “Would you mind, sir, if I and my men spend the night here and leave in the morning? I'd hate to be within range of the swamps at dusk. In addition to the restless dead, there are also greenskins and their traps. I don't want to lose any horses."
"Our camp is your camp," Sidgrani nodded. He kept for himself the comment that half of the lieutenant's men were no longer able to walk, let alone mount a horse, thanks to Biflindi's keg.
Lieutenant Kuntz bowed and left. The rest of the day and night passed without any significant event, and in the morning the humans got up and left. At the order "Saddle up!" some of them had an expression as if they'd heard "To the torture chamber!" but to their credit they gritted their teeth and mounted and rode off like professionals, even with the sly grins of Biflindi, Raudhir and Udhur on their backs.
When they were gone, Biflindi came to Sidgrani. "Sir," he announced, "I hope you won't mind if my men and I join your expedition." Then Biflindi bowed formally, "We offer our axes to you and our lives to Grimnir."
“Of course I accept.”, laughed Sidgrani, “Especially when you brought such an enrollment fee that I haven't heard Udhur and Raudhir's complaints all day. Welcome!"
Then he too nodded, raised his spear, and struck the ground with it. "Welcome. Ur-galaz y kazakit-baraz. I accept your oath before Grimnir.”