Pathway

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. 

"I don't know," she said. "All I know for certain is that I'm bloodscarred, I have been seeking the means to cure myself, and the Arcane Script Sphere is the first true hope I've had."

The king glanced at Ruen and furrowed his brow.

"You're no blood. But yet you're here, in the lands of the bloods. Hmmm... there's a curse on you. But you already knew that, dont you?"

A faint smile creased the king's face—brief it was and gone immediately—but it was enough to make Druya blink in surprise. In shock, Ju Feng looked at the king who raised his hand and made a beckoning gesture. Instantly, a pair of guards advanced from the shadowy corners of the hall. Ju Feng hadn't even known they were there. Shadow elements at its best.

Servants entered the hall carrying platters of food and drink, and two of the guards brought in a plain wooden table and chairs for four people, Druya having excused herself to go find the master armswoman. It was hardly the grand banquet of a dwarf king in a story, but as Chang Chang sank gratefully into a chair, she reflected that the whole underground place was not what she'd expected.

Where were the masses of servants, the guards, courtiers, and advisers who flocked to meet a king's commands, just like the blood kings? Why were there no echoing shouts of people in the city streets, and what had happened to still the bustle and dirt of commerce and labor—the pulse of daily living? Had the yamao and yaoguai really taken all that from these proud, strong folk? Chang Chang couldn't believe it. This king with the bright silver eyes surely wouldn't let such a thing happen.

The king in question sat at the head of the table, and when the servants placed the food, he swept a hand out. "Eat," he said. He made no move to take food himself.

As quickly as it had come, the tension dissipated. Grateful, Chang Chang picked up her spoon and ate. For a time, nobody spoke, and there was only the clink of tableware and cups plunked against the wood, the sounds of chewing and swallowing, all conspicuously loud in the silent hall. Once, Chang Chang caught Ju Feng's eye over the rim of her wine cup. She grinned at him, and his face softened in something that was so close to a smile that it renewed a bit of Icelin's energy.

"What are you grinning about, girl?" the king said suddenly.

Startled, Icelin put down her wine cup and wiped her mouth. 

"Nothing of importance, I assure you, King," she said.

"Hmmm … I'll be the judge of that," king Laggarma said. "Go on, out with it."

Chang Chang felt a blush coloring her cheeks. 

"In all honesty, I was just thinking that when I look back on this day at some future time, I'll remember it as the night I dined with a dwarf king, not knowing for certain where this encounter is heading"

"That troubles you, does it?"

Chang Chang paused with a spoonful of stew halfway to her lips. 

"Not at the moment. Whatever the outcome, I'll still get to say I dined with a king."

King Laggarma grunted. 

"You've an active mouth on you, like most humans. Other than your mystical predicament and the boy's curse, I see nothing special about the tow of you. Why shouldn't I treat you as intruders, then, and lock you up?"

"His highness, we told you why we were searching the ruins," 

Chang Chang said patiently. 

"When it came out that we are searching for the sphere, it triggered some great suspicion. Druya told us your city is about to be attacked by the yaomos and yaoguai, so you obviously have larger concerns. Why bother feeding us and speaking to us personally if there isn't something you want from us? His highness, don't you think it's time to tell us what that is?"