At the forge, located a few meters away from the house’s garden, Thraik had begun repairing Thaidren’s armor. Having worn it for so long now, it felt strange for him to be back in regular clothing.
“What’s on yer mind, lad?” the dwarf asked as he tempered the sturdy pieces of armor plate with his hammer.
Thaidren sighed. “I wonder what are they talking about?”
“Which one? Da elf and da earth sorceress? Or ye ma with yer friend?”
“My mom and — ”
“I know, lad. ‘T was a rhetorical question. Ye’re bein’ too tense. Won’t hurt ye to try replacin’ dat frown of yers with a smile every now and then.”
“I’m merely curious, that’s all.” He rubbed his chin. “And Aramant’s not a friend. We couldn’t be further away.”
The dwarf’s steady hands continued to bash and bend the metallic parts of Thaidren’s armor. He took one eye off the forge and looked at him before letting loose an amused snarl. “Dat is not what I’ve seen so far.”
“Trust me, we’ve been at each other’s throats since we were little.”
Thraik burst out laughing. He left the tempered pieces of armor in water to cool and turned toward him. “Lad, dat’s exactly how brotherhood is born. Less than a couple of days ago, ye entered a massive bandit camp and smacked the heads of half a hundred of em. Ye were dimwits ta try, and ye still are. But ye wouldn’t have come out of dat alive if ye didn’t ‘ave each other’s back.”
“We merely had a good plan,” Thaidren said.
“Under yer circumstances, lad, da only good plan would’ve been ta listen ta me and get reinforcements. Two versus fifty men? Dat wasn’t a good plan. ‘T was dumb as the mortar firemen in da old dwarven empire. They did not know much; they just knew how ta shoot. Dat’s why they were put there ta begin with.” Thaidren’s frown deepened. “Fine. Maybe that was an exaggeration, but my point is dat ye boys take care of each other on the battlefield. And so far on our journey, I haven’t seen ye two argue, or as ye put it ‘be at each other’s throat.’ The lad even complimented yer cooking if I remember right.”
Come to think of it, he did do that, Thaidren thought. It was a bit out of character.
“Listen to da wisdom of an old dwarf: ye’ll be best pals before ya even realize it. Ye’re already on dat path. Yer pa and Attern were da same once.”
Upon hearing this, Thaidren’s curiosity was piqued. “I thought you didn’t like to talk about my father.”
The dwarf took a deep breath. “T’s not like I don’ like ta talk about ‘im, lad. ‘Tis just dat it’s painful ta do it.” He took a brief pause and cleared his throat. “But ye’re no longer a child, and ye deserve ta know stuff about yer pa.”
Hearing Thraik utter such words turned Thaidren’s frown into the smile the dwarf was hoping to see. “How did they meet?”
He shook his head and settled himself into the chair near the forge like a grandfather eager to tell stories. “They met around da same age ye and his son are now. ‘T was in da late years of da War of The Spider. Durin’ dat time, many paladins and mages were dispatched all over da continent ta support and protect each region. Yer pa was one of da people with da initiative to strike down da Spider Queen herself. It took him a while ta convince the leaders of various kingdoms, not ta mention da paladins and mages, ta unite under one banner and set sail to da Old Earth and end da war. Attern was one of da first ta support ‘im. Well, after they resolved their personal issues, dat is.”
“What personal issues could they have had?”
“For starters, it is through Attern dat yer ma and pa met. In their early days, Attern was very protective of her. He was scared that yer pa was too reckless and unfit for her.”
“Did he have feelings for her as well?” asked Thaidren.
“Nah, he just didn’t like Thieron at first, and when he saw dem together, he turned his disapproval of ‘im toward their relationship.”
Thaidren remained silent at first, assimilating all the information in Thraik’s story. “How did they end up as friends then?”
“They ended up as brothers, lad. As they got ta know each other better, and especially after fightin’ back-ta-back, they realized they were more alike than they thought.”
“Sounds like some fairytale with heroes of legend.”
“T’is. ‘Xcept t’is no fairytale. I swear it on me good eye. I was there. Saw ‘em grow in power and each other’s eyes. Those were da good times.” He raised an imaginary jug of beer into the air. “May their legend last a thousand years.”
Inside Thaidren’s mind resided mirth and a feeling of disappointment at the same time. “Yeah… I would’ve chosen the person over the legend, though.”
“Lad,” said the dwarf with a saddened, guilty tone, “it wasn’t his fault. He had no choice.”
“I know,” Thaidren murmured. “I know…”
Suddenly, several dozen hooded acolytes had teleported over the house and garden. They wore white, shrouded robes with a crest that Thaidren and Thraik did not recognize. Without any warning, they began casting offensive spells. From fireballs to floating ice lances, everyone at the mansion woke up in a storm of attacks that they were unprepared for. Thaidren and Thraik managed to dodge the attacks and hid behind the giant furnace behind the forge. However, neither of them was wearing any armor. They could not afford to get hit.
“Wha’ in da name of Kamorah1 is happenin’?” shouted Thraik.
“I don’t think they care to explain,” Thaidren replied.
Near one of the furnace corners lay an old, rusty firearm. Thraik stretched out to grab it, along with the small bag of gunpowder and round bullets. Thaidren, on the other hand, was completely unarmed. He had left his swords near the entrance to the house. The dwarf loaded the firearm and aimed at one of the mages, hitting him in the chest.
“Only around twenty more ta go, lad,” he shouted as he punched the air. The problem was, he didn’t have enough ammo to shoot all of them. Still, he only needed to hold their ground and protect Thaidren until Wizera and the rest could join the fight. I pity da fools who’re tryin’ ta face Wiz here.
From within the house, Haara and Elarin heard the ruckus outside. Elarin put her finger to her lips, signaling Haara to stay silent. She unsheathed her dagger and climbed through the back window. Before she had the chance to ambush one or two mages from behind, others had teleported in, surrounding her in the process. One of them came dangerously close to her. Dangerously close to him. With a smooth swing of her arm, the elf slashed his throat, then proceeded to dispose of the rest of them one by one while dodging their attacks. A human being would not have been able to avoid so many projectiles, yet, the physical structure of the Lu’Derai, combined with Elarin’s choice of light armor, allowed her to easily avoid her enemies’ spells. Her initial estimation of enemies revolved around fifty, maybe more. With her intervention, their numbers would now account for less than that.
Haara could only watch from the top floor window of the house as Thaidren and Thraik hid behind the furnace. Unfortunately for her, she had no means of helping them. Most earthen magic demanded the user to have direct physical contact with the earth itself. And her offensive skills were not her strong suit, to begin with. From another window, she could hear Elarin fighting the second group of sorcerers. She quietly moved through the house, heading toward the stairs and back to the main floor.