Pathway

They emerged from the garden together and crossed the walkway back to the central plaza. Chang Chang's mouth dropped open when she saw the size of the crowd that had gathered. The cavern was completely full, the crowd spilling over onto the surrounding bridges over the river. They packed into any open space, waiting to get a glimpse of Ongara and Arngam.

And the king, Ju Feng realized. King Laggarma stood on the raised dais with the weapons master, Druya, Abron, Orban, and a group of dwarves that Ju Feng didn't recognize. They must have been Arngam's family.

"This is more than just a wedding." 

Chang Chang said, echoing Ju Feng's thoughts. 

"The city gathers to hear the king speak on the night before the battle."

"What will he say?" 

Ju Feng wondered.

"Whatever it is, we won't hear it. We won't get near the center of the cavern."

Chang Chang replied. She looked up at the surrounding buildings. One of the shops near the temple had a stone lip running around it about fifteen feet off the ground. She led him through the crowd until they stood beneath the lip. 

"I have an idea," 

She said. She stepped closer to Ju Feng and put her arm around his waist. She plucked a talisman from her bag of holding and murmured the words of the spell. 

"Hold on."

The magical power of the talisman took hold, and they levitated above the crowd. Ju Feng grunted in surprise. He had forgotten there were talisman that could work this way. His thinking was in accord with the world of xultivtion where they could float with their energy. 

"This wasn't what I had in mind."

"Why not? You're not afraid of heights, are you?" 

Chang Chang said teasingly. She raised an eyebrow when he didn't respond. 

"Heavens tears, you aren't really, are you? What kind of cultivator are you?"

"No." 

Ju Feng said tersely as they halted before the stone lip. He hoisted himself onto the edge and helped Chang Chang up beside him.

"Shall we go a little higher? It'd give us a wonderful view down into the cavern."

"This edge is very narrow. I'm not sure the crowd would react in time to catch you if you fell."

"I'm a blood. I'll rise again."

"You'll simply enter reincarnation."

"Huh?"

"Just joking, Chang. You look beautiful by the way."

"Pffft."

Chang Chang replied as she wrinkled her nose. Across the cavern, Ongara and Arngam had stepped up onto the dais whivh caught Chang Chang attention. 

"Titan's torso. She's beautiful."

Dressed in the suit of armor her beloved had made for her, Ongara looked every inch the warrior queen as she stood before her king and bowed. Her long mahogany locks had been meticulously plaited. On her head rested a magical helmet. Three obsidian horns curled from the top and sides. In her hands, she carried God's Carver.

King Laggarma stepped forward and raised his hands as the couple came together. A roar erupted from the crowd, and Ingara raised the war axe above her head for all to see. Red light glowed from deep within the carved runes on the axe, a ruby flame like the heart of the forge.

"The heart of the blood dwarves." 

Chang Chang murmured.

"What did you say?" 

Sitting slightly behind her, Ju Feng leaned over Chang Chang's shoulder and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"The war axe, the armor—there's so much more here than a wedding." 

"They know what's at stake." 

Arngam stepped forward, and Ongara held out the axe to the king. King Laggarma took it and held the blade upright. Ongara lifted her hand to the axe and pressed her finger against the naked blade. They were too far away to see the blood that welled up from the wound, and Ongara's gaze never left Arngam's as she raised her finger to her lips. Arngam stepped forward and opened his own wound on the blade, brought it to his lips, then stepped forward and took Ongara's hand.

The king spoke then for the first time.

"I stand as witness to this union between Ongara Yellowhorn and Arngam of the Boneshield clan. His shield is hers, and her blade strengthens him. May weapon and shield never be sundered. May their family thrive, and may Mystra's blessings be upon them."

Blood from their wounds on their lips, Ongara and Arngam kissed. Before they parted, the axe passed from Ongara's hands to her husband's, and he raised it above their heads, shaking it in triumph. The crowd erupted in cheers and raucous shouts.

Ju Feng's arms tightened around her, and Chang Chang leaned back against him. Tears blurred her vision as Ongara embraced her husband again and planted another kiss on the blonde dwarf's lips. The cavernous, lonely city filled with the sounds of joy and new beginnings, and for that instant, Myria was full of life and vigor. Time pealed back, and Chang Chang imagined the city as it was at the height of its glory.

Did the dwarves feel it too? Did it give them hope? Chang Chang's gaze strayed across the cavern, seeking the king. In this moment, more than any other, he had the chance to rally his people for the battle ahead. He was gone. Sometime between the king's declaration and the kiss, king Laggarma must have slipped away. Neither the crowd, nor Ongara and Arngam seemed to notice his absence. Chang Chang sought Druya in the crowd and found her standing beside Abron. Even from this distance, Chang Chang saw their troubled expressions.

"The king's gone." 

Chang Chang said, unsure if Ju Feng heard her over the crowd noise.

"I saw him heading for the hall." 

Ju Feng said into Chang Chang's ear, disapproval in his voice.

"Or the library, back to Gallazza."

Chang Chang said, giving Ju Feng a glance.

"There's the dwarves chef." 

Ju Feng said, pointing to a table at the base of the dais, where the butcher directed several dwarves carrying platters of food. The wedding feast was about to begin. Once the drinking and merriment started, the dwarves weren't likely to notice the king's absence. It was clear they wanted to celebrate while they could.

"Try to get the chef's attention." 

Chang Chang said, sliding toward the edge of the ledge.

"Where are we going?" 

Ju Feng asked, holding out a hand to steady Chang Chang as she replied.

"To see the king." 

She activated the talisman again and waited for the levitation to take hold of them. 

"I've seen the damage obsession can do—in that yaomo prisoner and in us. No race is immune to its grip. King Laggarma can't afford to be distracted now. Many of his people are going to die. He has to be there for them now, more than ever."

"It's likely he won't listen. If he's not able to speak to his own people, he won't let outsiders into his confidence."

"Let's wait and see."

At the doors to the king's hall, Chang Chang gave her name to the guards and told them to relay it to King Laggarma. After only a few moments, they returned and ushered her, Ju Feng, and the three members of the Yellowhorn family inside.

King Laggarma was not seated on his throne, but rather paced the floor in front of it. When he saw the group, he scowled and said testify.

"All come at once to badger me, have you?" 

"The king's absence at the wedding feast is conspicuous." 

Druya said, ignoring king Laggarma's deepening scowl.

"The king's absence from his city is conspicuous," 

Chang Chang said. The dwarves tensed, but she had no more patience for dallying around the subject. She barreled on. 

"Your city and your people need you, yet you hide in this room—"

King Laggarma stopped pacing. He turned a black glare on Hang Chang. 

"Have a care how you speak to me, little one. I am not your blood kind or your man, that you can tame me with a tongue lashing."

"She's right. Your people need their leader. Why don't you go to them?"

Ju Feng quipped in.

"I will lead them! To death, to annihilation, whatever the gods will, but for this last night, leave me in peace! Heaven's tears, you don't know how I've longed for just one moment of peace in a millennia."

"They don't understand, my king," 

Druya said gently. She went to the king and tried to take his arm, but he shrugged her off with an incoherent cry. 

"Your people don't know what you have suffered. You must tell them the truth."

"What right do they have to the truth?" 

King  Laggarma roared. 

"What right to rip open the wound, to pour through my mind and heart?"

"Because they have shed blood for you." 

Abron said. He gazed at the king with hard eyes, and his voice was not gentle like Druya's. 

"Your people have endured torments of their own. They will not see their king as weak for having his own share of scars."

"Scars, aye. Claw marks raked into stone. Is that what you want, then? To see into the abyss, to stare at the inferno?"

King Laggarma was standing before a light orb. The king let out a bitter laugh. He walked and stood before Chang Chang. Fear surged through Chang Chang, but she didn't back down. 

"We want to understand."