Pathway

"We should go." 

Ju Feng said calmly. He could tell they were all eager to be out of the chamber, and he was all for it, too. He wondered why the Yellowhorns dwarves had invited them to stay in their place since they were obviously so unwelcome by the many of the the dwarven clans. Was it truly out of respect for the aid they'd given the family, or was there more to it? Judging by what Ju Feng had seen so far, Druya, at least, had the ear of the king and spoke more familiarly to him than any of the other dwarves she'd seen. Maybe the king instructed Druya to watch them during their stay? If so, why?

They entered the forge, and heat and smoke enveloped them. Ju Feng and Chang Chang coughed on the acrid fumes, and their eyes watered, while Ongara's face glowed like a child's on coming home.

"The air's a little fresher if you stand over here."

Ongara said, pointing to a crescent-shaped slit in the wall where the cave breezes drifted in off the river and thinned the smoke. She went to a stone slab, where an object lay under a black cloth. She lifted a corner of the fabric to expose a section of shining, silvery blade. 

"My life's work," she said.

Ju Feng bent to examine the war axe. Chang Chang stood at his shoulder. She was not as good a judge of weapons as she was of fine gems, but she knew the purest of metals when she saw it, and this axe was the finest quality mithral she had ever seen in her life. Although it wasn't a heavenly treasure, it was an excellent earthly weapon. If a powerful core could be put into it, it could easily become a legendary weapon. Carved into the blade were runes similar to those she'd seen on the Blackhorn axes, but these had been done with the delicacy and precision of a master soulforger.

"You did the runes yourself?" 

Ju Feng asked, resisting the urge to trace the intricate carvings with her fingers. Were those sparks of red fire he saw flashing from deep within the lines of the runes? Even with the runes, it must have reached the legendary stage. This was a weapon fit to carry a king into battle—or Ongara's beloved.

"My mother didn't think I had a smith's hands." 

Ongara said. She paused for a few seconds before continuing. 

"She told me they were made for delicate work, and I suppose she was right, but I managed both. She would have been pleased with this axe. Oh, that she would have."

"How long did it take you to craft the weapon?" 

Ju Feng asked.

"From the beginning of its tale to the end—took me almost a year." 

Ongara lifted the war axe in her hands. 

"I named it 'Skyfire,' for the stories Arngam used to tell me of his travels in Aejun, of the mountains and grassy plains, the openness of the sky. The rune for the name lies here in the center of the blade with my family's symbol and his on either side."

"Will you travel again after you're wed, or do you intend to settle here?" 

Chang Chang asked.

"Heavens willing, we're going to see the surface lands. Arngam has it in his head to show me the places where he adventured in his younger days." 

Ongara uttered as she laid the war axe back on the table and carefully drew the black cloth over the weapon. 

"We have a battle to settle here first."

Ju Feng didn't know what to say. The cold specter of the invasion hung over even the golden-lighted forge. He wanted to help, but again he felt like she was only one small pawn in a greater game, a conflict as ancient as the dwarf race. Yaomos, dark elven race who lived inside the dark tunnels of the underground alongside the dwarves.  But small steps could be taken, even by outsiders like them.

"You said you wanted me to look at those rings you took off the drow? May I see them now?" 

Chang Chang asked. 

"Of course." 

Ingara led them to the forge fire and took out the rings. She laid them in a semicircle on the anvil. 

"My father's right. I don't like keeping dark magic here, but I hate to melt them down without knowing what they do. Next time we face the yaomo, maybe we can turn their mystical arts against them."

Ju Feng watched as Chang Chang held her outstretched hand above the rings and murmured the words of powers. She felt the focused energies pass through her body, channeled and steadied by her blood energy.

Whispers folded around the arcane words, coaxing out any magical and mystical arts that might be hiding in the depths of the rings. At once, Chang Chang felt an answering call, a magical thread that wound around her fingers like icy needles. The sensation unsettled her. She'd never felt Art that was this cold and unwelcoming before. Even different from the death energy or gu necrosis. She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised, but still, she was glad to lower her hand and sever the connection between herself and the rings.

"The rings hold magical powers. It isn't strong, and I sense it's not inherently destructive in nature." 

Chang Chang said. Carefully, she picked up one of the rings from the anvil and slipped it on her middle finger. She dismissed the chill that passed through her body as nerves. She turned to Ongara and asked.

"Did you hear any of the yaomo using command words to activate the rings or by inner energy?" 

The dwarf woman nodded and replied. 

"Words. Are you going to try to activate that one?"

"Wait Chang Chang. Can you control it?" 

Ju Feng asked worryingly.

"Yes, but I'll only test them if you want me to, Ongara." 

Chang Chang responded before turning towards Ongara. 

"This is your home, your private sanctuary. I won't bring forth hated magic if it will hurt you."

Ongara touched the anvil and then touched her chest, as if following an invisible thread between them. 

"My thanks for that. You understand better than most outsiders. I want you to test them. Nothing is sacred while the drow stand at our doorstep."

"Stand back, then. Just to be safe."

Chang Chang held up her hand, repeated the activation word, and waited.

Then, spiders poured from the dark corners of the forge. They were small, scurrying brown spots at first. Then, as the magic pulsed more quickly from the ring, they grew larger, their hairy bodies and bottomless black eyes shining in the forge light as they formed a circle around Chang Chang.

"It's all right." 

She said, speaking more to reassure herself than Ongara and Ju Feng. 

"They aren't attacking. They obey the wearer of the ring."

"Chang Chang, banish them before they become nephilias." 

Ju Feng said in a strained voice.

A sharp cry ripped Chang Chang's attention away from the dozens of spiders now gathered at her feet. Across the room, Ongara clutched Ju Feng's arm with both hands. The dwarf woman was obviously strong, but Ju Feng didn't flinch. Chang Chang knew he already fortified his body with chi ebergy. Ongara's face was white and frozen in a wretched, terrified mask. She stared at the spiders, unable to look away.

More came.

Glossy-bodied arachnids as tall as Ingara's stone table crawled from the shadows on graceful black legs. There must have been hundreds of the smaller ones now, swarming over the tables, the anvil, forming a living carpet on the cloth covering Ongara's axe. Seeing that, the dwarf woman broke. Screaming, she dropped to her knees, covering her eyes with her hands. Sobs wracked her body. 

"Heaven's tears, make it stop!" 

She cried. She scratched at her skin and yanked her braids, tearing loose strands and making wild tangles around her face. 

"It's everywhere! I can't get it off!"

Chang Chang tore the ring off her finger, scooped up the others from the anvil and hurled them all into the forge. The fire surged hungrily, consuming magic and metal at once. Icelin turned away from the heat, though the sweat that poured down her face had little to do with the fire. At her feet, the smallest spiders turned and scurried away from the heat and light, retreating to their dark corners. The larger ones simply vanished.

"Illusions."

Ju Feng said calmly. The forger must be a worker of the dreams and illusions arts.

Chang Chang nodded in agreement. 

"I should have seen it at once. The ring's magic attracts smaller spiders and uses their forms to create illusions of much larger ones. Seeing a massive swarm like that coming at you in a battle would be enough to shake the morale of even the toughest soldiers. The yaomo are using that fear to gain an advantage against your city."

"It's ok, Ongara. They're all gone now "

Ju Feng said quietly. These people were no cultivators. If only they were, they would be mighty race. Yet, they possessed great knowledge of the mystical arts. He sighed as Chang Chang pushed off the table. Ongara crouched on the floor, her face in her hands. She trembled violently. Chang Chang went over and knelt beside her. When she touched Ongara's shoulder, the dwarf woman flinched away and pulled into herself even more, as if she could disappear.

"It's all right."

Chang Chang said soothingly. 

"They're gone. They're all gone."