Surya Home

Trouble with Priests

Kobur

21st March 1608

The day came when Surya had to leave his home again and start another quest. Almost three weeks had passed since he had arranged to meet Hildraft. The King had spent much of the intervening time with his wife, Queen Leonora, and son, Prince Cuitech. The little time he spent away from his family was dedicated to securing his family from any further harm from his enemies. He had tasked his Arch mage with preventing unwanted guest entering the castle using magic means and had improved the castle guard.

Surya bid his family farewell and made his way to the Temple of Kord in Reital. He met the Dwarf inside the church and after a brief exchange of pleasantries they both teleported to Kobur. The Dwarf Castle of Kobur nestled deep under the Erean Mountains and was ruled by King Berrin Ironfist. It was one of the more open Dwarven communities with respect to trade, exporting it skills in smithing all over Alair. Kobur had become very rich in modern times and was the only Dwarven city ever to undergo a coup d'etat. It was also the home of the Hand of Kord and it needed his help.

The pair appeared seconds later in the heart of Clan Bogadun, deep under ground in the city of Kobur. They arrival did not go unnoticed and they were met almost immediately by a messenger. The messenger was shortly joined by a representative of the clan, who informed Hildraft that the Archpriest was now very close to death. The representative showed the two guests to their quarters and advised them to see Axeedge as soon as possible. Hildraft told the representative that they would see the Cardinal immediately and made their way to his quarters.

The Cardinal owned a suite of rooms, which Surya & Hildraft now entered. The guards at the door offered no resistance to their passage, recognising the Hand of Kord instantly. Once inside they were greeted by a female Dwarf and a male Orc, both were very please to see Hildraft but quite despondent. The Orc sat behind a desk his head hung in despair. Surya recognised the Orc, for his was Duzmakhmol, acolyte of Hildraft and holder of the axes Glimstad and Brendel. Both axes now lay on top of the desk in front of him. The female was Archpriest Yngrid, Hildraft's wife.

She told her husband that the Archpriest was beyond their help and appeared to be holding on to life until he had seen the Hand of Kord. She told them both that the poison used upon the Archpriest had damaged his body so completely, that he was beyond the healing powers of any priest. Prepared for the worst Hildraft and Surya entered the room where Cardinal Axeedge lay. The old priest rested in his bed, now very thin and gaunt, almost skeletal to look at. He was attended by several acolytes, which Hildraft commanded to leave. When alone Hildraft approached his friend and mentor and spoke softly to him. Axeedge's eyes open at the sound of his friend's voice and he smiled. With a great effort he then spoke to Hildraft saying. "My time is done, my beloved Kord is calling me home. But before I leave you, I must tell you this". there was a pause as the dying Dwarf mustered the strength to carry on. "My slayer is not Sack, you have a far worse enemy. If what I tell you now is known outside these walls, there will be war. My assassin is a Hill Dwarf from the city of Ndrall which lies on the border of Stryre, Nhased and the Red Dust and he is the Hand of Drok."

At the uttering of the name Drok, Hildraft flew into a rage. Down the millennia, Kord would choose a mighty champion from among his faithful to be his Hand, his paramount champion on the Prime Material plane. The Hand of Kord was always a roistering, brawling hero, wielding axe and spell for his faith. But he always had a nemesis, as Drok also would choose a dark slayer from among his devoted followers to be his Hand, his paramount champion on the Prime Material. The Hand of Drok was a silent, deceitful assassin, wielding poison, axe, treachery and spell for his faith.

Hildraft was now raving, talking of raising an army and marching to war. It took both Surya and Axeedge to calm him down and persuade him that a military campaign was not the answer. He begged Hildraft to take on his nemeses alone, as a war between Kobur and the Ndrall, would probably spill over into Stryre and Nhased as well. He told him, Kord likes war and chaos but this is more of those than even he wants, and war between dwarves is not at all to his liking. Thousands of innocent Dwarves would die if he pursued that path.

Once Hildraft had calmed down and accepted that the Archpriest was right, he accepted the quest to find and kill the Hand of Drok. Surya, bound by friendship also agreed to help. He had seen the Dwarf fight and he knew he would need his assistants. Axeedge seemed very please that the pair had agreed to do this and gave them is blessing.

Over the next two days Hildraft and Duzmakhmol never left the dieing priests side. Axeedge passed on the special training and lore only known to the highest priests of Kord. On the 4th of March 1608 the Archpriest of Kord in Kobur passed from this world to be with his god for all eternity.

The highest regular rank in the Dwarvish Kordic church is a Bishop. These meet in an assembly known as the Curia. Each clan in the city elects one Cardinal from the bishops raised from that clan, and these are collectively the Kazadar or Conclave of Cardinals. The Kazadar elects from within itself the Archpriest who is absolute head of the Church within that dwarf city. In theory, the Archpriests of Kord may gather and act jointly, but they have never done so.

Hildraft's rank is peculiar, being out to the side as it were, granted directly by Kord, but probably falls somewhere between Bishop and Cardinal in general terms.

Yngrid is also a special case. When the dwarves of Nisur returned home, not one cardinal remained alive, and she was the only surviving bishop. This was unprecedented, and there was no mechanism to deal with it. Left alone to follow tradition, fresh bishops would be trained and consecrated over a century or so, cardinals elected, and a new Archpriest chosen after a couple of hundred years. Hildraft cut through all that and declared Yngrid Archpriest right then and there, allowing her to start directing a rebuild of the church. On her own turf she technically outranks all the Kobur cardinals, but she's really out of her jurisdiction; they allow her respect because of the good work she's done reconstructing at home and in Kobur in keeping the lid on and the axes belted.

As predicted the death of Axeedge plunge the Church of Kord in Kobur in to turmoil. With all sides vying for power. Each Clan had a Cardinal except for Clan Bogadun. If Hildraft took up the vacant post in his Clan, the Cardinals Helval Rockhand and Munathol of Clan Saemir and Clan Hastein respectively would stand behind The Hand of Kord when they came to choose the next Archpriest. Against him, if he were to stand, were the Cardinals of Clan Gothorm and Clan Thorir, Keppainon Molmadh and Karagrim. To complicate the matter further the King's unofficial support went to Keppainon and this bloc call themselves the King's Priests.

In the days that followed Keppainon publicly described Hildraft as 'an untrustworthy itinerant adventurer' which heightened the tensions even further. In the hope that he could calm the situation down, Hildraft decided to see Berrin Ironfist. Neither likes the other at all, but both love Kobur.

Hildraft arranged an audience with the King which was granted. He made his way alone to the Royal chambers and set with Berrin Ironfist. The two argued for hours, but eventually agreed on a way forward. The King agreed, "If you remove yourself from the candidacy by going away, the trouble will end". To which Hildraft answered "A long time ago I dedicated myself to Kord, and I go where he sends me and do what it takes to complete the tasks he gives me. I go in search of revenge".

The king assumed that Hildraft was speaking of Sack and said "'Ah, the Halforc". To which the Hand of Kord answered "No, it was not him, and I can't tell you who it was. Now we need to calm things down here". Weather the King believed him or not he did not press the point, but just stated. "I have to be neutral, I cannot act directly".

Hildraft could sense, that despite their differences they both wanted the same thing and went on to say "We both have influence. You rein in your faction and I will calm down mine". The King seemed please that they had reached an accord and agreed saying "Very well, select a candidate for Cardinal and throw your support behind him. I will ... recommend ... that the King's Priests accept this. Until then, Yngrid will make an acceptable caretaker". Berrin Ironfist also agreed that she should officiate at the funeral of Axeedge.

With their business concluded, Hildraft returned to his Clan. He gave Yngrid the news that she was to act as the Archpriest until another is chosen.

During the days Hildraft had been with Archpriest Axeedge, Surya had been going over the evidence that had led to the incorrect conclusion that Sack was the killer. Now knowing he was not the culprit, he hoped to find clues to the real assassin. On Hildraft's return from his audience with the King they used his priestly skills of divination to find out more about the Hand of Drok. They discovered that he could be found in the Hill Dwarf city Arelin, which was the third along the Ndrall chain. They agreed that this would be a good place to start, but finding Arelin would be easier with maps. Surya suggested that they visit the Basilica of Aderra in Narthal. The Basilica housed one of the best libraries in Alair and was home to their old friend Delloch, Archpriest of the order of Aderra in all Alair. Surya thought Hildraft may find more answers here than just a map to his nemesis.

Bad Dreams

The funeral of the Archpriest was to take place on the 9th of March, which was now only four days away. Hildraft persuaded Surya to delay their journey to Arelin until after the funeral. Hildraft did not think they would be able to hunt down the Hand of Drok before Axeedge's internment and if they where absent at his funeral it would be taken very badly. Besides this Hildraft wanted the opportunity to pay his last respects to his old friend. Surya agreed and thought if they were staying until then, he should announce himself formally to the King of this great nation. Ivhold Crusher, Lord of Clan Bogadun, had made available all the facilities that Surya would need to carryout such Lordly duties and he put them to use. He drafted a letter to King Berrin Ironfist announcing his arrival in his great Dwarfcastle and offered his condolences for the loss of the Archpriest. The letter once finished was dispatch to the King and Surya awaited his reply. Surya, though still a novice at the royal game, knew that the response would not be immediate and continued to review the evidence surrounding the murder of Axeedge.

Next morning over breakfast Surya noticed that Hildraft was not looking very well and he inquired about his health. It transpired that the dwarf had not slept properly for the past few nights and was having very dark and frightening dreams. Surya would have normally ribbed the dwarf and blamed it on his conscience catching him up, but he was also experiencing similar dreams. These dreams were very unpleasant and getting worse each night. The nightmares seem to centre on a feeling of reaching out for something unobtainable and in so doing losing everything.

Surya was by now very tied and needed to get to the bottom of his quickly. He cast his antimagic spell, that had been so effective against the lich Ra-Zhul, and tried to fall asleep. The first noticeable effect of the spell was not one Surya was expecting. He noticed that he could no longer sense the living around him, well to be more precise their deaths. He had hardly noticed it before, but he could sense when the living past away and now under the spell that feeling was gone. He eventually dropped to sleep and awoke five hours later fully refreshed after a very peaceful sleep. He knew now that the bad dreams were caused by a magic effect, all he need now was to find out from where and by whom.

Surya told Hildraft of his findings and they decided to investigate further, perhaps Axeedge prior to his murder had experienced the same thing. Hildraft interviewed the acolyte's again and one of them reported that they recalled one of the guards suffering from bad dreams. The guards name was Cordwin and on hearing they had a lead, Surya went to find Berewain the Captain of the Guard. It did not take Surya long to find the Captain and after he explained the situation Berewain offered to take both Surya and Hildraft to the home of Cordwin. It transpired that the guard had been absent from his post around the time Axeedge had been poisoned.

Berewain led the pair through the stone streets of the Clan, until they arrived at Cordwin's home. Surya knocked on the door, which was answered by a very young Dwarf. He seemed very surprised to see his Captain, with two very eminent companions. Cordwin stood in silence in his doorway, somewhat stunned at the site of the Hand of Kord and the King of New Tellare on his door step. It was Hildraft who broke the silence and asked if they could come in. Cordwin gestured for the three to enter and he led them to his lounge. Cordwin's home was quite small and poorly appointed, but was comfortable. All four sat down around a table and Berewain tried to put his guard at ease, but the presents of such powerful individuals made Cordwin very nervous. Surya looked around the room for a moment, before asking the young Dwarf about the bad dreams he had had. Cordwin told the King of New Tellare that these dreams had affected him for many nights, at one point he had missed his shift at the Archpriest's quarters because they had become so bad. Surya cut in at this point and stated that was probably the night Axeedge was poisoned. The Dwarf's head hug in shame at the comment, believing he was to blame for the death of the Archpriest. He went on saying that they had stopped now. He enquired why he was interested and when Surya told him he was suffering from the same affliction, the young guard looked quite frightened.

Believing nothing more could be gained from this interrogation, the three bid Cordwin farewell and thanked him for his help. They made their way back through the streets of the city to their quarters. On their return, one of the members of Axeedge's household handed Surya a letter. He opened it and was taken back by its beauty. The letter was from King Berrin Ironfist, inviting him to an audience the next morning. The scroll work and lettering contained within the letter was about the best he had ever seen. Surya thought he had a lot to learn on the royal side. But he was a warrior king, not a diplomat. He left those sorts of things to his wife and when she was not around to help him, people would have to take him as they found him.

The rest of the day was taken up with preparing for the meeting with Ironfist. Hildraft instructed the Human King in the ways of Dwarven royal etiquette, but Surya got the feeling he did not always practice these when in his Kings presents. Deprived of two night's sleep Hildraft decided to retire early and went to his bed chamber. Surya suggested that he watched over him, in the hope he could get to the bottom of the bad dreams. Hildraft agreed and Surya watched over his friend as he slept. Surya cast many spells from his vast arsenal of magic which would heighten his senses. If anything was attacking Hildraft he hoped he would be able to see it. Hildraft finally fell asleep and Surya kept watch. It was not the first time he had done this, many times in the wilds they had watched each others backs whilst the other slept.

Surya did not have to wait long, until he noticed a change in the sleeping Dwarf. His rest became very uneasy, tossing and turning in his bed. Surya noticed a very faint magic presence in the room. With his magically enhanced senses, he perceived what could only be described as a tendril attached to the Dwarf's head. This tendril came from outside the room. Surya open the bedchamber door and could see the tendril snaking off down the corridor. Surya decided to follow the phenomenon, so leaving Hildraft with his nightmares he set off.

Following the magic tendril led Surya out of the Archpriest's apartments and in to the city. He followed them for quite awhile until it seemed to disappear through a door. Surya realised he had been here before, as he was now outside the home of Cordwin. Surya used his magic again and passed silently through the door without opening it. Once inside Cordwin's home he followed the tendril until it appeared to stop in one of the bedrooms. Surya entered the room to find Cordwin was fast asleep. He searched the room and found nothing out of the ordinary, but just as he was about to leave he noticed a faint red glow coming from the mantle piece above the fire place. Surya investigated and discovered the glow was coming from a very finely carved red crystal. This was no ordinary gem, but a shard of Sancrest crystal.

In their native form, Sancrist crystals are faceted icosahedral gems twice the size of a man's head. Complete crystals are very, very rare. Surya had only ever seen two such stones, one of which, the Kingmaker, they had smashed. More common, but still very rare, are splinters or shards. Sancrist Crystals have power to store, channel, focus and enhance magic and spells, and are greatly prized by workers of magic. Surya himself carried a few shards of the broken Kingmaker, but had not got round to using them yet. The stone he now looked upon was very finely cut, a thing of great beauty. Surya recalled that the finer the cutting of the gem the more power could be focused. He studied the glowing gem stone and noticed the tendril seemed to emanate from the crystal. There was a second, much smaller, tendril which seemed to be attached to Cordwin's head. Surya used his magic to ascertain the thoughts or dreams of the sleeping Dwarf. These seemed to be very peaceful and pleasant, nothing like the one Surya had had for the last few nights. Surya then took out a small black bag, which he had picked up from out side the tome of the Hollow Knights and slid the crystal inside. The tendrils instantly disappeared, the only noticeable effect was that Cordwin stirred, but continued to sleep. Surya left Cordwin's home and returned to his own bed chamber, the sight of Dwarves sleeping had made him quite tired and he had an important appointment in the morning. Before retiring he checked on the Hand of Kord, who now slept soundly in his bed, untroubled by the dark and frightening dreams that had plagued them for the past few nights.

Kings and Stones

Next morning Surya awoke early, he had an appointment with King Berrin Ironfist and needed time to prepare. Hildraft was already awake and reported over breakfast that he had had an excellent nights sleep. He enquired of the activities from the previous evening, which he presumed had gone well. Surya recalled the events of the night before and as his tale finished he produced the Sancrist Crystal he had retrieved from Cordwin's home. Hildraft gazed at its beauty for a few moments. They needed to find more information on the assassin and to date the crystal was their only solid lead. Surya cast his identifying magic over the gem, in an attempt to discern its nature. The crystal was not intrinsically magical, but his spell and knowledge of the arcane arts revealed it was cut to channel magic. The type of magic was unfamiliar to him and seemed to lead them no closer to the whereabouts of Axeedge's killer. As Surya went through the activities from the night before, he recalled that there had been three tendrils from the crystal, not two. The third must have been linked to the killer and that seemed to head south. The evidence for the killer still being in this city was vanishing quickly. Surya had hoped for a speedy resolution to the mystery, but would now have to journey south to the Dwarven city in the mountains of Ndrall.

The time came for Surya to visit Ironfist. It was a little after dawn when he made his way to the King's palace. He was met by a small contingent of the Ranks of Iron, the elite bodyguard of the Kings of Kobur, reputed to be the best fighters among Dwarf kind. Surya was expected and the guards passed him on to a lesser noble, who escorted Surya through the palace to the throne hall. Ironfist's hall was a towering, majestic marvel in stone. Both beautiful and imposing. Dusty banners lined the walls and iron faced warriors stood guard. Surya's chaperon led him through the vast hall to the other side, towards a raised stone dais. On top of the platform was a large stone throne, but it was empty. Surya was led passed the throne and up several fights of stairs. The pair passed through more passages and two very substantial, and clearly magical, granite doors. Finally Surya was taken down a short corridor, lit by the sun, to a large balcony. It took his eyes a few moments to adjust to the very welcome change in lighting. The balcony was perched high up on the side of the mountain, almost in the clouds. The view was breath taking and Surya stood for a few moments taking in the beauty of Alair.

The King of Kobur rose from a large table, covered with ales, sweet meets and breads, to greet Surya. He, like Surya, was dressed in heavy adamantite armour. The armour was beautifully made, but unlike the suit Surya wore was new. The Dwarfs of Kobur had clearly put to good use the Journals of Elverandil. Surya notice he was quite at ease, with his helmet placed on the table and no overt show of weaponry or even a guard. Surya removed his helm and greeted the Dwarf in his native tongue. Ironfist gestured for the King of Tellare to join him for breakfast. The noble that had led Surya to the balcony then left the pair alone. The two Kings made polite conversation at first, as they partook of breakfast. But soon they touched on more important issues. Berrin enquired, politely, why had the King of Tellare had come to visit his kingdom and what he intended to do next. Surya explained that he had been invited by the Hand of Kord to help bring Axeedge's killer to justice. Surya went on to explain the assassin's identity, for now, needed to remain secret, but insisted it was not Sack. Surya promised that when the killer had been dealt with he would inform Ironfist of the facts and explain the need for the secrecy. The pair spoke of the vacancy in the church, caused by the assassination of Axeedge. Surya made it known that he hoped that Berrin and the Hand of Kord could work together. Surya believed that a strong bond between two of the most powerful Dwarfs in Alair would make Kobur a great force for good in the world. He added that he hoped the ties between their two kingdoms would grow stronger in the coming years. Finally Surya asked of the King of Kobur if he could pay his last respects to the Archpriest and attend the funeral which was now only a few days away. Berrin stated that his presence at the internment was expected and he was touched that a Human took a respectful interest in this matter. With their business concluded Surya left the King of Kobur on the balcony and returned to his rooms within Clan Bogadun.

On his return to the Bogadun Clan, Hildraft asked if the King was still able to draw breath. Surya knew there was no love lost between the two, but hoping they could get along asked the Dwarf to make peace with his king. Hildraft answered,

"Their was more chance of me marrying an Elf"

And with that they moved on to the subject of the new cardinal for the Clan. A Dwarven priest called Khelrath had been hastily selected when it became clear that Hildraft had taken himself out of the running for the post. Khelrath was a very suitable candidate for the position of Clan Cardinal and with the Hand of Kord's backing had a good chance of being elected as the new Archpriest of Kobur.

The next two days passed quite quickly. Much of Hildraft's time was taken up with preparing himself and his acolyte Duzmakhmol for the funeral. Hildraft also instructed his Human friend in the ways of Dwarven interments, which were deeply formal affairs. For most funerals all rivalry was put aside and as Axeedge was so deeply loved this funeral was no exception. An air of peace descended upon Kobur as the time for ceremony drew near.

The day of the funeral came and Hildraft, Surya and Duzmakhmol made their way to the temple of Kord. The temple was a more natural structure than many of the other halls in Kobur. The cavern, unlike the throne hall, was warm and welcoming. The walls were draped in the colour of morning, not the black of Humans, but rust red. The nave was lined with one hundred of the Ranks of Iron. They stood with their helms in their hands and their battle axes at their feet. This was an unprecedented mark of respect from the King, who had lent his elite guard for the ceremony. The entire priesthood of Kobur were present and had formed a semi-circle around a stone dais, upon which the unclad body of Archpriest Axeedge had been laid. Axeedge's arms had been placed across his chest, and his iron prayer axe hung around his neck. Two orbs, one of stone and the other of gold had been placed in his hands. These symbolised the three cornerstones of the dwarfs of Kobur.

The other dignities now took their places and formed a second semi-circle around the body, facing the priests. Several of the priests seeing an Orc in the presence of their King and Clan Lords were clearly unhappy, but nothing was said. Yngrid now took charge of the ceremony and the temple shook with the sounds of prayer and song. As the ritual drew to a close a column of light descended from the heavens and illuminated the dais. Surya could see in the light a figure, which he recognised instantly as Kord. It was clear that not everyone present could see the godly apparition, but he turned to see Duzmakhmol at his side, tears rolling down his face, crying with joy. He too could see his god, a fact clearly noted by the other priests, who would have to now accept that Kord approved of the Hand of Kord's new apprentice. Surya turned is gaze back to the figure which now reached out and touched the body of Axeedge. A second figure now appeared in the light, a young Dwarf in the prime of life. This was unmistakably a youthful Axeedge. The figure bowed to all the gathered mourners and turned to the hand of Kord and held his gaze for a few moments and was gone. The light faded, leaving behind, not a corpse, but a stone effigy of the outgoing Archpriest. With the ceremony over the stone slab was removed from the dais and taken to its final resting place in the catacombs.

The congregation were led away from the main hall of the church to another room, were food and drink had been laid out. The assembled Dwarfs and their guests now proceeded to celebrate the long life of their departed Archpriest and much merriment ensued. The hall was filled with the sounds of song, laughter and many of the younger dwarfs were engaged in tournaments of strength and vigour. To the untrained eye, these acts may have looked very much like fighting, but Hildraft assured Surya this was quite normal. The party went on late into the evening, with many of the older or more senior guest leaving before the festivities became too rowdy.

Next morning Surya woke late, the party from the night before had taken its toll on his body, but a hearty breakfast soon had him back to normal. Hildraft and Duzmakhmol had not faired any better and they also joined Surya for breakfast. They started to make plans for their trip to the Dwarven city of Arelin. They thought it prudent to gather as much information as possible, so before they journeyed to the mountains of Ndrall, they would visit the Basilica of Aderra in Narthal. Hildraft suggested that they visit the vaults of the temple here first, he had heard rumours of a tome containing information in the cult of Drok. Hildraft and Surya set off for the temple and found Cardinal Khelrath and asked if they could have access to the Black Book. The colour from the new cardinal's face drained at the naming of the tome. He tried to talk them out of the idea, but Hildraft was adamant that he needed to see the book. Khelrath agreed and led them down to the lower levels of the temple. The deeper they went the darker and danker it became. Finally they were led through a large vaulted chamber, filled with weapons, armour and books that if the priests of Kord had their way would never see the light of day again. Hildraft turned to Surya and demanded, "Touch nothing". Surya smiled back at the dwarf and they continued on through the chamber to a small anti-chamber just off the main hall. The door to the small room was locked and it required three cardinals to unlock the door. Once the door was opened only Surya and Hildraft entered the room.

In the centre of the room was a small stone dais, upon which was a large black tome, The Fundamental Manifesto of Drok, also known as the Black Book. Both could now feel the malice and hatred radiating from its pages. Hildraft spent a few moments weaving his protective magic's over himself and Surya, before he opened the tome. The pair approached the dais, opened the book and began to read. It contained everything a follower of Drok needed to know. It spoke of the nature of Drok, how the secret church was organised, how to recognize other members of the cult and much, much more. There were whole chapters on the law and knowledge of Drok and the techniques used to turn Kordic knights. The chapter that most interested Surya was that of the Dream magic and the Drokic magicians, the Dreamweavers. It spoke of other tomes such as the Dream Book of Drok. Surya thought that would be an interesting addition to his library, but he kept that notion to himself.

After a few hours the pair had finished their study of the dark tome and left the room. They were met outside by Khelrath, who enquired after their health and sanity. Both Hildraft and Surya had found the reading of the Black Book quite a strain, but the contents of the pages had laid more heavily on Hildraft's mind. They decided to rest for the remainder of the day and would begin their quest for the Hand of Drok in the morning.

The Church on the Hill

With the formalities out of the way in Kobur, Surya, Hildraft, and Duzmakhmol collected their possessions and were whisked by Teleport across the miles to the city of Narthal.

There were several places that had seemed suitable to aim for, and of those Surya had chosen his guest quarters from their initial stay. These were unfortunately occupied, but after a moment or two's confusion they managed to explain things to the current resident, and headed out into the Basilica to seek their objective.

Even had they not been accompanied by an Orc, they would have attracted considerable attention. Their mode of arrival also did not go unmarked, the Basilica, like all temples, had wards in place which could detect the use of teleportation and similar magic's. It wasn't long before a junior priest, accompanied by a squad of the Episcopal Guard hurried toward them and bowed deeply.

"Your Majesty, your Excellency, your .... urm ... sir," he faltered as he realized that his briefing hadn't prepared him for Duzmakhmol, "Archpriest Delloch requests that you join him in the South Atrium, where he will be pleased to discuss whatever you have come about."

A few minutes later the two heroes were greeting the man who, in many respects, had launched them on their path to greatness, Archpriest Delloch of the Temple of Aderra. He spoke warmly to them, and greeted Duzmakhmol in his own tongue, clearly having heard something of the 'Orc that prayed like a dwarf'. He saw them seated and had attendants see to any needs, and then seated himself.

"Gentlemen, I doubt you have come to reminisce over old times. What can I do for you?"

Surya smiled at Delloch and spoke, "You do us an injustice your eminence, can old friends not just call and pass the time of day." The Archpriest just smiled back, he knew very well that his three guests had not just stopped by for a chat.

Surya looked around the Atrium, and seeing they were alone spoke very softly to the priest. "What I speak of here must go no further." Delloch nodded his agreement and Surya went on, "You will no doubt be aware of the murder of Archpriest Axeedge," Delloch nodded again, this time with a sad look in his eyes. "We believe the assassin was the Hand of Drok, and we are seeking information about his whereabouts."

Delloch's eyes widened slightly. He could not have been who and what he was and not have heard of Drok, although his knowledge was not going to be as detailed as Hildraft's. "I understood the Hand of Drok to have been killed some years ago. This would seem to indicate I was mistaken?"

Hildraft cut in and stated, "No you are correct he was killed, at my hands, but another has taken up the mantel in the name of Drok."

Surya then went on to inform the priest of the information they had gathered already and asked if they could use the libraries in the Basilica to further their quest. The King of New Tellare was keen to learn more of the cult of Drok and of the Hill Dwarves of Ndrall Mountains. They also needed to know where they would find the city of Arelin and what they could expect to find there.

"Of course, the libraries of Our Lady are available to you both whenever you need them," he responded. "I do not think anyone from here has been farther south down the Ndrall than Hadrasar for several centuries, though."

Delloch summoned an attendant, and instructed him to guide the Wyrmslayers to the library, to be allowed full access and all the assistance available from the staff.

A few minutes later, they found themselves once more in the presence of the redoubtable Brother Librarian. Despite his indeterminate but doubtless considerable age, the crusty old master of the Temple's archives was as sharp as ever, older than Gods, deaf, crusty, but absolute master of his shelves. A mere few minutes of work produced some maps of the Ndrall Mountains with the hill dwarf cities marked on it. A little more time, and he uncovered the notes of a paladin named Rogolfin who had been to Hadrasar and was probably still alive. No Aderran had been to Arelin in three hundred years, and no account of it in detail existed.

The city was, as were all the hill dwarf cities, a fraction of the size of Kobur or Gloiran. Religious practices were similar to those of the other dwarf homelands - and there was no mention of Drok whatsoever.

When Surya asked about the Black Books, Brother Librarian glared up at Surya at an angle and rapped "I've heard about you, yer Majesty. Sounds like yer sort of a book. Not surprised. Not surprised." He then listed what he knew on the subject. "We have the Dreambook and the Fundamental Manifesto," he muttered. "The Torments went up to Thornal, apparently Crassus of the Praetorians wanted it for reference. The Cannibalaria, rumour has it your neighbour Skufruss has a copy of that one. Not sure; not sure."

Hildraft told the Brother they knew of one of the tomes and in fact they had seen it in Kobur. He went on and asked the Librarian what he knew of the Black Books. Brother Librarian's eyes gleamed as he worked, and Surya and Hildraft were reminded that his crusty exterior was just that, the defences he maintained against those who would waste his time. Beneath was probably the paramount retriever of stored lore in the south of Alair, and a really interesting enquiry was his reason for being. "There are four of the books," he muttered, "most civilized cultures burn them as soon as they encounter them, but the major libraries have restricted sections for keeping such volumes."

The Brother Librarian told Surya & Hildraft all he knew of the books. "There are actually four Books of Drok, and yes, all are black, dealing with different aspects of the 'faith'. All have been suppressed in most civilized places, so copies are rare, but they never seem to be completely stamped out. Each refers to the others allowing readers to be aware of the next step in their degradation." He paused for a moment, before carrying on. "All are deeply nasty and steeped in evil. Reading them brings benefits, but also darkens the spirit of the reader that does so. The first book Falakhôr, also known as, 'The Fundamental Manifesto of Drok'. Describes the structure of the 'church', explores the metaphysics of a parasite God of another God, and lists the secret means of identification necessary for secret organizations like the Church of Drok. The Second, Curudhwynn, 'The Dreambook of Drok'. Describes and explains the almost lost art of Dreamweaver magic, including the Dreamstate and several spells for manipulating it. It refers to the Cannibalaria and its contents. The third tome, Arconath, 'The Torments of Drok' is a handbook of combat techniques and torture. And finally the fourth and last book, Sakhorthain, 'The Cannibalaria of Drok'. In many respects the darkest of all the books, it contains only one spell, a very complex one called Dream Drain."

The Brother finished his tale stating that the Basilica Library here in Narthal has the Dreambook and the Fundamental. The Library in Thornal has the Torments and Skufruss has the Dreambook and the Cannibalaria.

Surya asked the Librarian if they could see the Dreambook, the Brother Librarian shot Surya another accusing glare, which the King of New Tellare could not let pass. "I only seek to further my knowledge to defeat our enemies. I find it helps if you know what you are facing." Surya paused for a moment while he calmed himself and then asked again, politely "May we please see the book"

Whether the Librarian believed Surya or not was not clear, but he agreed, stating, "The Archpriest has granted you both unprecedented access to any books in my Library, but I should warn you there are dangers to reading these tomes." With that he led them to one of the restricted areas of the library…

After the pair had studied the book they thanked the Brother for his help and asked of they could meet with Rogolfin. As he was the last person to travel to Hadrasar, he may have information valuable to their up and coming journey. The Librarian told them that he now lived in semi-retirement in the Basilica, now aged 57 and engaged in editing and re-writing his diaries, the Aderran equivalent to retreating to prayer at the end of an adventurous life. Brother Librarian gave them directions to reach him, and they turned to leave.

As they did so, the library doors opened and a youth entered, flanked by two bodyguards. They recognized him, it was Kedos Peacockson. The young prince was pleased to see his mentor's friends, and shook their hands warmly. By the way they twitched, his two minders were paladins from the Basilica, and perceptive enough to see a little way into the King of New Tellare. The prince, though, had no qualms. "It's good to see you," he said, "things always get interesting when you're here. Did you know they wouldn't let me go with the 'Blades to Arech? 'It'll be my kingdom one day, I have to start learning how to look after it' I said; but nothing doing." He laughed. "So what are you going to turn upside down here today?" he finished.

The boy prince was clearly very excited at seeing two of the Dragonslayers and Surya did his best to calm him down. "I don't think your farther would be best pleased if I turned his kingdom upside down again. In fact it would be best if you did not mention my presence here today. He can only just tolerate me in his kingdom and I don't really want to upset him further. Well not today anyway." Surya smiled and continued. "The Blades of Wisdom and Mercy are a fine body of men, but the Necropolis of Arech is no place for one as young as you. But if you wish and if your farther will allow, you can always come to New Tellare and I will instruct you personally in the ways of combat and the arts of war." Surya paused and a sad look came over him. He so much wanted his son to follow in his footsteps, a warrior king, but he feared that would not happen. His destiny lay on another path.

Kedos thanked Surya for his kind offer and he hoped to take it up one day. With that the boy prince left Surya and Hildraft to go about their business.

Surya approached the Brother Librarian as they went to leave and asked if he could borrow the Dreambook for a short while. The old monk grimaced slightly at Surya's request. Of course, he did that whenever anyone asked to take a book out, but there were clearly worries in the old man's mind as he handed the black tome to the black-armoured king. "Careful with this stuff," he said in a clear quiet voice, all trace of his normal crusty rasp gone. As Surya turned to leave, Brother Librarian caught Hildraft's eye and jerked his head in the universal 'come and talk to me later' gesture. Surya was not surprised and would no doubt be getting a lecture later after the two priests had spoken behind his back. Bloody priests, they would have nothing to do if we all followed their paths, but who do they call on to do their dirty work, Surya thought to himself.

The two left the library and went to find Rogolfin. After a short search they found the aged paladin sat in a sunny corner of the Basilica, one leg stretched out in front of him as he worked away at a table full of papers, some soaked in dried blood, some slashed and tattered, some mildly scorched, writing in a rather newer looking book. Time had sowed salt into the dark hair and beard, and his knuckles were knarled, but he still looked pretty hale and robust.

He looked up as the two heroes arrived, and laid down his pen, glad of a rest from the task. Once they'd explained what they wanted, he chuckled and eyed Hildraft.

"Hadrasar will be a shock for you, my boy," he cackled. "Not your sort down there, not at all. For a start, they build out on the surface part of the time, just like regular people. Really!. Farm cattle and raise crops in the sun. No Orcs, you see, to come charging over the hill and smash stuff up. But they're dwarves right enough. Talk to each other well enough, they do, so you should find someone be able to draw you a sketch to fix a teleport to."

Hildraft asked if he could read the account of his travels in this area. He wished to learn more of the Hill Dwarves of Hadrasar. By chance Rodolfin was working on an account of his travels and he was more than happy to lend Hildraft the section covering his time in Hadrasar. As the dwarf perused it, he was amazed that these two branches of his race had drifted so far apart. Their shared origins were very apparent, they'd come from the same stock, but the millennia apart had changed the hill dwarves more than a bit.

They still reverenced the ancient gods of the dwarves, although with more attention to Moradin and Athagari than the more warlike Kord and Doignar. Farmers and herders were common among them, and they had fewer warriors. However, the church of Kord existed there all right, and warrior priests were not unusual. Hildraft thought he would not stand out to much unless he drew attention to himself... or someone else did.

The two thanked Rogolfin for his help and left him to his writings. It was now late in the day and the two parted company for a while. Surya returned to his quarters and once alone with the Dream Book, he plunged in. It was clear it would take more than a few days to read and digest the books content, time he knew the Dwarf would not wish to waste. Surya used his plane shift magic and moved to his workshop on Tariclya and continued his studies. Time on the plane of Tariclya moved differently to that in Alair. If he stayed on Tariclya for a month only a few hours would pass in Alair. This gave Surya all the time he needed to complete his study of the lost art of the Dreamweaver and copy all the spells contained in the Dream book in to his own spell book.

After parting from Surya, Hildraft returned to the Library to speak in private to the old librarian. Once they were alone, the old man's voice lowered and he bent close. "There's a good reason why this stuff is suppressed," he hissed. "Some say power is power and magic is magic, but some magic lends itself to abuse and darkness far more than other." Hildraft's reassurances seemed to calm him a little. "You keep close to him," he said at last. "If he succumbs, it's you that'll have to stop him".

After many days of study on Tariclya Surya returned to the Basilica and made his way to the Library. He was met by both the Librarian and Hildraft on the steps of the great building and after greeting them both, he passed back the book. The Brother was very surprised when Surya returned the book, saying, "You have finished with it already, you have only had it a few hours." Surya answered simply "I am a quick learner."

It was clear to Surya that the two Dwarves had private matters on their minds and bid them farewell. But before leaving Surya suggested to Hildraft, that if he was finished here, that they travel the next day to Hadrasar. Once Surya had gone Hildraft asked if he could now study the Dreambook himself, the Librarian agreed and passed the tome to the Hand of Kord. Hildraft returned to his quarters and began his studies. Hildraft didn't get as much chance to studies it as Surya appeared to have done, but was able to glean the basics.

The Palace Below

The next morning Surya, Duzmakhmol and Hildraft rose early and decided they would continue their quest and set off for Hadrasar. Before leaving the Basilica they bid Delloch farewell and thanked him for his help in their research.

All three walked out of the Basilica in to the bright morning sunshine and seeing the city of Narthal laid out before them decided to explore the city before setting off. Narthal was built on a large hill, with the Basilica of Aderra occupying the summit, over shadowing the palace of Vardar Peacock, the flamboyant and vain, but still rather successful King of Stryre. Beyond the palace, the city was organised in to concentric circles each with a defensive wall separating it from the next. The first part of the city was the noble quarter, with beautiful mansions, parks and churches. The next part of the metropolis was clearly the trade centre of the city. Beyond the shops and markets of the trade quarter they could see the poorer areas. Beyond this, in the killing fields between the final two city walls, the poorest souls lived in makeshift ramshackle hovels. In times of war these would be levelled to allow the area to do its job should the outer wall be breached. Their were gates in each wall at all four points of the compass and it was through one of these gates Surya, Hildraft and Duzmakhmol now passed entering the trade quarter of Narthal. They very quickly found a pleasant looking bar and seated themselves at one of the tables outside in the street. They where served almost immediately by a young man, who took their order. Hildraft looked round at the other tables, which were occupied by all manor of peoples. But one gentleman caught his eye. He was well dressed and from his clothing, Hildraft deduced he was a priest of the Church of the One from Nhased.

Shortly after ordering the serving boy returned with cool beers and cold meats. He laid them on the table and the three eat a very enjoyable and hearty breakfast. As they finished a commotion seemed to spread up the street and in to the bar. Surya asked the boy as he collected the empty plates what was going on. The boy answered quite excitedly "Oh, there is trouble at the palace, sir." Hildraft enquired of the nature of the trouble. The boy told them he had heard that an evil warlock from the Desolations had bewitched the palace and if the doors in the palace were opened the king would burn to death.

Hildraft replied, "Well then off to Shorties palace to open a few doors for him."

The serving boy look very shocked at the Dwarf's comments and left the three of them in fits of laughter. After Surya had recovered his composure he ordered more ale and took out his spy glass. Hildraft turned and asked quizzically, "You're not thinking of helping him are you." Smiling Surya replied, "It would be rude not too."

Just then Hildraft's attention was caught by a sudden flash from the palace. He pointed to one of the balconies and Surya trained his spy glass upon the scene. One of the doors was now clearly burning and the poor servant, that had opened the door was on fire. The other palace staff were desperately trying to put out both. Surya described the spells effect and Hildraft concluded that it was probable that the spell firetrap had been placed upon the door.

Surya finished his beer very quickly and rose from the table saying to his two friends, "Shall we…." The other two also rose from the table, gathered up the remaining drinks and followed him. Realising they had not paid, Surya turned back to the table and placed more than enough money on the table to cover the cost of the meal. He then noticed that the priest had also got up from his chair and was approaching him. The priest asked Surya if he was going up to the palace. When he said they were, the cleric informed him, rather arrogantly, "I should come with you as I am an emissary of the Church of the One." Surya had had his fill of priests over the last few weeks and rather rudely said, "Do as you wish, I doubt if I could deter you."

The four made their way quickly to the palace, through the streets of the trade quarter. As they approached the main gate of the palace they were met by a cordon of fifty palace guards all armed with pikes at the ready. Surya caught site of their captain and tried to approach, but was stopped by the guards. Surya looked in to the eyes of the guard that had now levelled his pike at his chest and was about to give him the do you know who I am speech when the captain recognised him and ordered his guards to let them through.

As they passed through the cordon, Hildraft passed his empty beer pot to the guard that had tried to stop Surya, saying, "Hold on to that for me, you lucky bastard."

Surya approached Belrath, the captain of the guard, who greeted him courteously, "Your majesty…." But Surya interrupted him before he could finish his sentence and asked, "Where is the Prince". The captain informed him that he believed he was in the Basilica and was quite safe. The priest that had followed them from the café now interrupted Surya and called to the captain, "My man, I am here to help."

Surya asked Belrath quietly if he could remove the annoying cleric, but was told he could not as he was a very high ranking emissary of the Church of the One, who went by the name of Corlos. Surya was clearly unhappy at the continuing presents of Corlos, but tried to ignore the fact. The captain informed them that there were incantations on all the doors and windows of the palace and asked if they could help.

Surya and Hildraft approached one of the doors and wove their magic's. Surya was able to counter the magic on the door, but in doing so determined that it have been placed there by a more powerful spell caster than himself. With the spell broken Surya opened the door and passed through into the palace. He asked Belrath to escort them while they were in the palace as he did not want to upset Vardar Peacock any further. The captain agreed and ordered twenty of his men in to the palace.

Once inside it became very apparent that it was not only the outer doors and window that were fire trapped, but all the doors in the palace. As they made their way through the many doors of the palace they came across more and more people all trapped in rooms and corridors. Some of them had been injured trying to open the doors. Hildraft administered his healing magic to those that needed it. It was not long before Surya's magic was exhausted and they had to continue opening doors the old fashioned way. With the remaining magics that they could summon they took little or no damage from the traps, unlike the palace staff which in some cases were quite badly burnt.

Before long they found themselves in one of the throne rooms anti-chambers. The room was occupied by two men, obviously courtiers to the King. Both men were very please to see their rescuers, but their demeanour changed at the sound of their King shouting obscenities from the throne room. Surya asked after the Kings health and the courtiers informed him that he was unhurt, but was in a foul mood. The two nobles introduced themselves as Artin, eldest son of Baron Carva of Varen, and Tayash, Baron of Nexas. Artin pleaded with Surya to open the door and free Vardar Peacock even though he and Tayash had been condemned to death no less than four times in the last few hours. Surya instructed the King to stand away from the door and as requested, by Artin, Surya and Hildraft opened the door to the throne room, setting off the fire trap as they did. When the fire had subsided they both walked in to the room followed by Duzmakhmol and the priest Corlos. Both Artin and Tayash remained at the threshold, feeling their presence in the room would invoke a further death penalty.

As Hildraft and Surya entered the room the King turned to greet his rescuers and instantly recognising who it was balled, "Why did it have to be you two…AND what's an Orc doing in my palace". Vardar Peacock calmed down very slightly, and thanked them almost under his breath. Surya looked down at Vardar and said, "I bet that hurt." to which the King responded with a smile, "not as much as your burns."

With the status quo returning to normal Surya, Hildraft and Duzmakhmol turned to leave. As they did Vardar noticed Corlos and asked, "Have you come to renegotiate our trade agreement ambassador," to which Corlos answered, "No I have come to save you, but these gentlemen have beaten me to the task". Slightly crest fallen, Corlos bowed and took his leave of the King. Surya, Hildraft and Duzmakhmol followed him out of the throne room and made their way out of the palace.

As they made their way through the palace, which was now returning to normal with many of the staff clearing up after the incident. They noticed Corlos in front of them was behaving unusually. His demeanour had changed and he appeared to be acting in a suspicious manor. He then turned down a corridor, he was clearly not leaving the palace. Hildraft turned to Surya and with a nod of unsaid agreement, they both disappeared into the ether. Duzmakhmol, who was walking only a few paces behind them stopped in his tracks and looked round for his comrades, but they were gone.

Now in the ether the pair were able to catch up with Corlos very quickly and more importantly with out making a sound. The Ambassador was now passing through doors which still had firetraps upon them, but he was not setting them off. Corlos finally entered a small chamber in the heart of the palace and moved to the centre of the room and picked up an object from the floor. Surya could see it was a small stone frog, green in colour and about the size of a fist. The frog's eyes appeared to burn, but once on the cleric's hands the fire extinguish. The priest turned to leave the room, just as Hildraft and Surya reappeared. Corlos was clearly very surprised to see the pair and asked, "What are you two doing here". Hildraft responded with the Axe of Glass now in his hand, "I would ask you the same question."

At that point the priest moved his hands in an arcane fashion, and assuming the worse Surya brought his two cursed blades to bare. The cleric did not appear to be wearing armour and by the look of horror on his face had never faced a swordsman of Surya's skill before. The Sword of the Dead Legion and Tormentor bit deeply in to the priests flesh and within a few seconds he lay dead on the floor in a pool of his own blood. Surya searched the body and found not only the small stone frog, but a small spell book, this was no priest, he thought. Something was not right here, and they decided to return to the throne room. So for the second time that day Surya and Hildraft appeared in the presence of the only King in Alair to have banished them from his lands. This time dragging the corpse of the Ambassador Corlos, emissary of the Church of the One. The sight was too much for Vardar and he started to rant and rage at Surya, "What have you done now, there will be war."

Surya, rather comically, let go of the Ambassadors leg which dropped to the floor with a thud and spoke calmly to Vardar. "I think you will find this man was responsible for the attack on your palace." At that point he retrieved the stone frog and spell book from his pockets and showed them to the King. Vardar turned to one of the many people that had now joined him in the throne room and gestured to him to investigate. He approached Surya and introduced himself as Pakarb, the court mage. Surya showed him the spell book and the stone object. Pakarb cast an identifying spell on the frog and told the court it was a frog of sealing. He turned to his King and said, "This warrior is telling the truth, sire."

Vardar shouted at the mage and said, "This proves nothing, anyone could have placed this cursed thing in the palace." Surya offered to add further proof to the guilt of the Ambassador and considering the repercussions of this event, Vardar agreed. Surya led him to the chamber where Corlos had met his match and prepared to cast one of his newer dream spells, Psychometry. The spell would hopefully show what had happened in this room. Surya wove the dream magic and very shortly after he had completed the incantation an image appeared in the room. The image was of Corlos's death at Surya's hands, but with a huge effort Surya was able to show what happened in the room, several hours before the Ambassador's demise. The new image was clearly Corlos, and all could now see him place the object in the room. With the evidence obtained, Surya broke the spell and turned to Vardar Peacock for approval. The King of Stryre appeared to be in the Dragonslayers debt again, but this time his thanks was genuine.

Surya, Hildraft and Duzmakhmol begged leave of the King of Stryre and once again made their way out of the palace. As they left Surya took out a parchment & quill and penned a brief letter.

To Vardar Peacock,

Unfortunate as today's incidents were, I hope that some good may come of them. I realise that we will probably not count each other as friends, but in the interest of our kingdoms I extend a hand of friendship to you and your family. I hope that our families in the future can work together to form new bonds of trade and commerce. To facilitate this I invite you and you son to visit Tellare at a time that is convenient to you.

Surya

With the letter completed Surya passed it to Belrath and asked him to give it to his King when his mood improved. Belrath gave Surya a look that said that was not going to be for some while, to which Surya responded, "Just give it to him anyway." With the farewells said Surya, Hildraft and Duzmakhmol left the palace in the shadow of the Basilica and continued upon their quest.

Hadrasar

Bidding farewell to Narthal, Hildraft, Surya and Duzmakhmol once more slipped into the netherworld of the Wind Walker and soared above the city. Turning south, they hurtled across the fertile plains of southern Stryre and to the foothills of the Ndrall mountains.

Five hours later, they crested a snow-capped peak and looked down into a valley below, and gained their first sight of a hill dwarf city Hadrasar was spread beneath them. It was an innovation...

From the outside, Gloiran, Kobur and Nisur looked like ... well, mountains. Almost no visible signs betrayed the vast metropolis beneath, except perhaps the great fortified doors defending the citadel of the Khazad. Here, a peculiar blend of dwarf and human elements characterized the settlement that lay beneath them.

A chequerboard of cultivated fields carpeted the valley, with occasional stone buildings at their intersections. These looked more like barns and storehouses than dwellings, but a larger one near the centre was unmistakably a tavern, and another looked like some kind of meeting hall.

Where the fields lapped against the ankles of the mountains, gates opened into the rock in proper Dwarvish fashion - but what gates! No attempt had been made to conceal them by crafting them to resemble the natural stone of the hillsides; rather, they appeared decorated, emphasized, enhanced. Rather than being closed, or sullenly ajar, they gaped open, flaunting the passage to the interior to the casual eye. They positively invited outsiders to enter the city below!

Once Hildraft had finished spluttering in shock, they descended, to land near the centre of the surface 'village'. The larger building they discovered to be a market hall, crowded with traders from Stryre, Narthal and the Red Dust, haggling and bargaining with the dwarves over produce from all three nations in exchange for the mined and crafted wealth from beneath the Ndrall. The three armoured visitors merited only the most passing interest from those involved, the armed guards protecting merchants of both stamps eyed them more cautiously, but concluded that they were basically peaceable.

The three decided to split up and gather as much information as they could before trying to gain access to the underground city. Surya made his way towards the market place, the site of horses for sale had gripped his interest. Hildraft, knowing full well why his comrade had made a beeline for the market, chose to wander around the rest of the surface village and accompanied by Duzmakhmol went off to explore.

The Dwarf looked in vain for signs of his god or any god for that matter in the village, but could see no churches or temples at all. The only permanent structures, above ground, were the farm outbuildings, the meeting hall and a tavern. The pair, requiring refreshments, decided to try the tavern, the Iron Bar. Inside the bar was about half full with locals and traders from the market. The atmosphere was what you would expect from a Dwarven inn, boisterous, rowdy, but on the whole friendly. They quickly found an empty table near to the door and waited to be served. They did not have to wait long and in no time at all they found themselves enjoying a good meal of bread, meats and ale. All the time they were in the tavern they kept a watchful eye out for anything out of the ordinary.

Surya wondered the marketplace which was bustling with business. Much of what he saw for sale was quite familiar, but some of it wasn't. Despite its location in the mountains, Hadrasar was quite warm, and the Red Dust was not so very far away and that meant only one thing to Surya, horses. He found several horse sellers, but was disappointed with what they had to offer. Some of the horses offered for sale had what looked like a splash of Red Dust blood in them, although most did not.

After an hour or so, he left the marketplace and went looking for his friends. It did not take him long to find them and after partaking of a little refreshment himself, the three left the tavern and made their way towards the main entrance to the underground city of Hadrasar. As the companions approached the vast stone doors, they were met by armed guards, almost identical to those who would be protecting Kobur or Gloiran. They were not hostile, but clearly expected answers when they asked who the visitors were, and what their business was in Hadrasar. And also, who would stand surety for the Orc. These dwarves clearly had seen Orcs before and knew what they were.

Surya gave the guards their names, but omitted to really tell them who they were. There seemed very little point in announcing their presence at this point in time. Hildraft stated he would vouch for Duzmakhmol. Hildraft went on to tell the guards that they were on a peaceful pilgrimage visiting all the great cities in the Ndrall Mountains.

They passed through the outer gates, though with careful and stern examination, the three progressed down into the entrance halls of Hadrasar. Hildraft was mildly reassured at this point, despite the promiscuous gates, the inner atria were fortified, trapped, and defended as they should be. An invading army would grind themselves to pieces trying to force their way in through here.

They passed through six strong gates, each defended by sturdy walls, heavy gates, and iron dwarves. Each time they were questioned and asked to identify themselves, and clearly their details had preceded them, as their answers matched what they had said earlier, brisk nods confirmed the match and they were allowed past.

Deeper and deeper they went, until at last they emerged into the city proper. For long moments, both could only stand and stare in wonder. Kobur, Gloiran and Nisur were labyrinth mazes of halls and passages, stairways and chambers. Hadrasar was a city constructed in a vast open dome chamber of rock, one could see right across it.

Although the character of the two places was utterly different, both were reminded forcefully of Nindolen, the great domed realm of the Fae Mhor in the Underdark. There, too, the settlement was built like a surface city within a bubble, rather than being mined out of the living rock as required.

They descended into the city.

Exploring was interesting, as the place combined elements of a surface city and a dwarfcastle. The people themselves were dwarves, right enough, but far more outgoing than the dwarves either were used to. Openly friendly and very sociable, some even approaching 'jolly'.

All the gods of dwarfkind seemed to be well represented; temples to Moradin, Kord, and Doignar were easy to find, and there was even a small, rather gloomy fane to Koisin Vuran which Hildraft walked past rather quickly, like most dwarves, he knew of the Death Lord but preferred not to think of him if possible.

The temple of Kord was well-appointed, clearly popular even if not quite as big as the temple of Moradin, and had a service going on. The three decided that they would seek further information on the cult of Drok from the priests within. Surya tactfully placed his darker weapons out of sight in his quiver of holding. He then strapped his new blade, Desecrator, to his side and nodded is readiness. The three then stepped boldly in to the temple and stood at the back of the hall and waited for the service to finish. Hildraft and Duzmakhmol took an active part in the ceremony, but Surya sat quietly beside his two friends. Two priests were presiding over the service. One, venerable even for a dwarf and wearing the robes of the high priest, appeared to be barely keeping up with things, and most of the ceremony was being conducted by a rather younger dwarf with a nae-Priest's robes. During the ritual, Surya observed the congregation and the two priests, looking for signs of the cult of Drok. He did not expect to see any, but before they approached the priesthood in Hadrasar with their suspicions he wanted to be sure this church was free of the parasitic religion.

The service finished and the congregation filed out of the church, their faith rejuvenated, leaving the three armoured visitors behind.

As the last of the congregation filed out, the younger of the dwarf priests seemed to realize that someone had remained behind. Pausing in the act of very tactfully guiding the older priest out, he signalled to one of the young acolytes who were beginning to clear up after the service, and muttered some directions into the young dwarf's ear. The acolyte took the elderly priest's arm and helped him down the steps from the sanctuary towards the vestry, talking brightly to him as they went. The older priest bowed with deep respect to the oblivious old priest, and then turned and approached the strangers.

His expression was interested, and his manner brisk and efficient, intelligence and decisiveness were betrayed by his gaze as he approached them. His eyes went first to Hildraft, and once more he bowed, clearly recognizing a fellow priest if nothing else. Then he looked at Surya, and his eyebrows raised slightly, but he bowed again politely. Duzmakhmol was more of a shock. He stopped dead for a moment, and his eyes roved over the living contradiction of an Orc vested in the symbols of Kord and apparently quite at home in them. Clearly deciding on the benefit of the doubt, he bowed to him as well, and then addressed himself to Hildraft.

"Greetings, brother," he said, in the common tongue as spoken by the Erlyid. "It's good to see a fellow priest come to visit. I am Ingifor, nae-priest of this temple. How can I help you and your .. friends?"

Before Hildraft could answer, Duzmakhmol, perhaps a little nettled, returned a bow of his own and greeted the dwarf formally. "Greetings, Ingifor; does the line hold?" he recited. Ingifor looked startled but returned the formal, "With strength and will, the line holds," after only a slight pause. "Your pardon, brothers," he continued, stressing brothers slightly, "you are more than you appear."

Hildraft spoke up, identifying himself and allowing a flicker of the Light of Kord to betray the armour forged so long ago by Niotanv. Ingifor swallowed hard as he realized that legends were walking his temple. His face crumbled, however, as the companions explained their quest. At the word 'Drok', his hand slashed the air, cutting off the conversation. "Not here!" he hissed. "Such words are only for the most warded sanctuaries!"

As he made that sudden move, Surya abruptly noticed a movement at the back of the church. Almost imperceptive until he moved, another dwarf had been sitting quietly in the shadows, watching. As Ingifor showed signs of agitation, he started forward alertly, hand dropping to his axe.

Surya seeing the intruder's hands reach for his weapons launched himself, at speed across the church towards him. Surya showing little respect for the hallow temple of Kord, sent pews and other temple furniture flying as he pursued the spy. As he closed upon the dwarf, he drew Desecrator.

As the Tellaran king drew the Sword of Chaos and hurled himself across Kord's Fane, he was a little surprised to see the dwarf brace himself to meet the attack. Normally, foes of the Last Tellaran either attacked gibbering or evaded. He was even more surprised when he made his attack.

The dwarf's shield, seized from the bench next to him, was not especially large, but hitting it was like hitting a wall, it seemed to be everywhere the King struck. The armoured human's considerable mass added to his enormous strength should have been enough to bowl the presumptuous dwarf over. However, he retained his balance and held his position.

Defending frantically, the dwarf managed to hold his ground against the human's first onslaught; it was obvious, however, that he wasn't going to manage to hold him off much longer. However, at this moment, Ingifor's voice barked across the temple.

"Surya! Karcian! Stop! Put up, at once; I command it!"

Panting, the dwarf backed away, and as he did so his air of impregnability faded. Surya turned, and Ingifor walked rapidly up to them. "You must not fight each other," he admonished gently, "our visitors' hints suggest there may be more serious foes to fight. Your Majesty, this is Karcian, Defender of Kord and hero of the Battle of Bandoron. Karcian, this, I believe, is Surya, King of New Tellare, Hildraft the Hand of Kord, and Duzmakhmol. Please join us in the sacristy; we have serious matters to discuss."

Surya lowered his sword and extended his hand toward the Dwarven warrior in a show of friendship. Karcian lowering his shield, took the humans hand. His grip was hard, as if his hand was made of the stone the dwarves cherished.

Surya smiled back at Karcian and spoke, "You defend yourself well master dwarf, you must tell me your secret one day." Karcian looked up at the tall human, and it was quite obvious that he hadn't discounted Surya as a threat just because he'd stopped attacking. "Years of training," he answered, "and the ability to tell friend from foe."

Enough of this thought Surya and he reposed to the Dwarf's snide comment, but not with his sword. "Firstly your years of training should have alerted you to the fact I only used the flat of this fine blade when I attacked you." Surya looked down the length of the sword and then returned his gaze to Karcian. "If I had wanted you dead, then you would have already drawn your final breath." Not letting Karcian answer, Surya continued. "As for being able to tell foe from friend, it is you sir that need more training, what champion of Kord would hide in his church when the Hand of Kord is here to prevent a bloody holocaust from descending upon your lands. With that he turned from the defender and addressing priest said, "None command me, save perhaps the wife," and he gestured for Ingifor to lead them somewhere more private.

Ingifor's face showed some puzzlement at Surya's last comment, certainly not the expression of someone caught out casting a surreptitious spell. Perhaps he was just a good actor.

Surya eyed him, looking for signs of corruption. His reading of the Black Books had granted him considerable knowledge of the magic of the Dreamweaver, once the science of the mind, now forever tainted by the influence of Drok. None of the signs appeared to be present, although some of the recognition signals had to be offered rather than being immediately obvious and Surya relaxed. A little...

Ingifor guided the others through the temple and into the maze of corridors and chambers usually found in the back. After a while, he stopped at a door, opened it, and stepped back to usher the others in.

The room was small, and comfortable, with a round table and several chairs sized for both dwarves and humans. There were no windows, but a Light enchanted stone provided illumination. At Ingifor's gesture, they were seated. Duzmakhmol had rather a struggle getting himself fitted into even a human-sized chair and finally chose to stand next to Hildraft who had already sat down. Ingifor sat, and gestured to Surya to take the floor. "You mentioned name of darkness earlier," he said. "We are warded here, and all may speak freely. Explain if you will, preferably without needing to assault my hierarchy any further."

Surya glared back at the priest, but contained himself for now. He spoke of the assassination of Axeedge the Arch Priest of Kord in Kobur and the belief of Ironfist the King of that great nation that the perpetrator was a Half Orc. Surya went on to explain that on his death bed, Axeedge had named the true killer and where he came from. Surya feeling his audience was ready for the truth continued.

"What I tell you now, if known to the King of Kobur, would cause a war so bloody that the few remaining dwarves of Kobur and the Hill Dwarves of Ndrall would sing songs of it for millennia. I have sworn an oath with the King of Kobur to bring the true assassin to justice." Surya paused for a moment and when on, "The true killer of Axeedge was the Hand of Drok and we believe he resides in the city of Arelin."

Surya turned to Karcian and spoke directly and harshly, "I am here, as a friend, to put right an evil act and prevent a war that would rock your nation to its foundation. The foe I seek hides in the shadows and his identity is hidden from us. If a few innocent lives are claimed in routing him out so be it."

The King of Tellare then turned to the priest and asked for his help in this quest. The priest & the defender sat in silence for a few moments, taking in the tale the human king had shared with them. Surya then turned to the Hand of Kord and said "I think these matters would be better served if I were not involved. I understand the caution of these folk, but they do not seem to grasp the nature of the holocaust that awaits them. I will leave you for now, but please summon me if I am needed. I am sorry to let you down, but I have had my fill of priests and it is best if I leave before someone gets hurt"

With that turned and moved towards the door.

As he reached the doorway, Ingifor spoke quietly. "So your given word to the dying Archpriest means that little to you, that our caution at the appearance of a complete stranger speaking words of blasphemy is enough to turn you from your course?"

"Karcian here is naturally protective of me, that is his role as a defender. Your news has shaken us badly; and I will not deny that the first instinct of all dwarves is to keep this shame, yes, shame, among dwarves rather than to involve people of other races. None the less, the Archpriest of Kobur felt you essential to this quest, enough to swear you to it."

"Fate has directed we should work together. Tell us your plan, and we shall aid you to the best of our ability."

Surya stop dead in his tracks and turned very slowly to face Ingifor. The tension in the room, which was already at a very high level, rose to new heights. Hildraft seeing the look in Surya's eyes, knew there was going to be trouble and may be some blood, but did nothing for now.

Surya stood in silence for a few short moments, just meeting the gaze of the priest, the anger was rising up in him and the priest knew it. If this was the reaction he wanted, Surya thought, the priest was playing with fire. Surya was not going to disappoint this cocky cleric, he had devoted much of his training in to channelling his rage through his weapons, but for now his weapons stayed sheathed, but the anger flowed.

"My given word is my bond and I do not walk away from this quest. If I had walked away from the nightmares that have threaten Alair, Varkar Barduric the Dark Beast would still walk the earth, a million Shadowkami warriors would now ravage this land and the Kingmaker would have plunged this world in to war and darkness and the undead would now rule." Surya paused for a moment, the anger now subsiding a little. "I will stay if you will help. We have a job to do, so put aside your feeling towards me for now and let us work together."

The priest knew of some of the threats that the King of New Tellare spoke of, but did not realise all these great deeds were down to the same unsung heroes, two of which now stood in his church.

The air was still highly charged and it took the intervention of the Hand of Kord to get matters back to the subject of Drok, with a subtle verbal attack on the Dwarven Defender. "Are you alone or are there more of you?" he said with a smile, adding "and if so do you all attack first without finding out if its friend or foe that you are smiting, I only ask as I find it a strange welcome in the house of Kord and want to know if we shall meet the same again elsewhere."

With tensions easing, the five returned to the table. Karcian, for the first time, looked slightly embarrassed as he responded to Hildraft. "No, this has not been a normal welcome for brother priests from elsewhere." His eyes flicked to Surya for a moment. "Most visitors don't start speaking the name of the Shadow brother in the first five minutes," he continued, "our reactions, my reaction, were instinctive more than reasoned. Such things only help His cause and not that of our master." He squared his shoulders, for such a specialist in holding his ground, the next statement, equivalent to backing down, was hard. "I apologize for my mistrust of you all. The word of the Hand of Kord, or his handfast companions, should not be doubted."

With the matter, apparently closed and the threat of more violence subsided, Surya put his plans to the priest and the Hand of Kord. He suggested that they should all travel to Arelin under the guise of pilgrims on a holy quest. Surya hoped that there were some ties between the Kordic churches in Arelin and Hadrasar.

Ingifor looked relieved, and demonstrated his wisdom by turning to practical matters. "Your plan has many advantages," he said. "Arelin does attract pilgrims of course, to the tomb, you know." Hildraft looked blank. "The tomb?" continued Ingifor, as if stating the blindingly obvious, "Niotanv's tomb?"

Hildraft was thunderstruck. According to legend, Niotanv, Speaker of the Red Curse and the first recorded Disciple of Kord, simply disappeared at the end of his life, it was always told that he was assumed into heaven. It appeared, however, that he had travelled to the Ndrall mountains before his death, over two thousand years ago. If this were the case, this tomb would be one of the holiest sites of the Kordic faith.

Ingifor and Hildraft looked at each other for a moment, and then shrugged. Here was a conversation for later. Moving on, Ingifor continued. "Kordic pilgrims travel regularly to Arelin to visit the Tomb. Humans are admitted, though they are not common visitors. You, good Acolyte, may have problems. Your right to enter is beyond dispute, of course, but proving it would spoil the subterfuge. A shape change seems advisable. If you look like a priest of Kord, the mortal guardians will not be alerted, and the magical wards will not be triggered, because whatever your shape, you are a priest of Kord." Duzmakhmol bowed his head, pleasure in his hard black eyes.

"The High Priest of Kord in Arelin is named Heslor. We correspond occasionally, but I don't really know him well. I shall write you a letter of recommendation, if you need anything beyond your own rank, would you like another, such as pilgrims might carry?"

Hildraft nodded his approval, thinking any such help would be appreciated. Ingifor noted the Hildraft's reaction and went on. "The temple, like mine is not very large. But once you are sure it is pure, Heslor can assist you in gaining access to King Venner and other places you may want to go."

Karcian spoke up again. "If you wish it, I will go with you. An extra axe is always handy and I am a hill dwarf, I know these people, and may even be known there." Ingifor smiled indulgently. "He will be, Karcian is a true hero, and had I more time I would tell you his deeds. I would advise you to accept his offer, although it is up to you."

Hildraft turned to Karcian and said that they would be very happy to have him travel to Arelin and his knowledge and axe would be a great asset to their quest. Surya agreed and said, "If nothing else it will give us the opportunity to put behind us the unfortunate events of this morning and you can share with us the your mighty deeds as we travel." Surya added modestly, "your can also share with me your ability to thwart the finest swordsman in Alair."

With the plans completed, the four heroes prepared for their journey to Arelin and experimented with magically disguising the Orc. Surya's magic once again proved invaluable and after a few tries with the magic of transmutation, Duzmakhmol settled on a form he was comfortable with. The Orc then spent much of the time prior to their departure getting used to not only looking like a Dwarven cleric, but actually being a Dwarf. The hardest thing for him to adjust to was the change in height. Though there was one consolation to his new stature, he could now sit comfortably on the furniture provided.

The time came for them all to leave and true to his word, Ingifor past them a letter of recommendation. He wished them all good fortune and hoped they were successful in ridding the world of the blight of Drok, though he did not name him openly. He them blessed the party and bid them farewell.

Using the maps provided by the helpful Ingifor, Surya, Hildraft, Duzmakhmol and Karcian set off to walk the winds to Arelin. The transit took just under three hours, and they found themselves looking down on the city through a slight rain.

Where Hadrasar was built in a pleasant valley, Arelin's exterior was perched on a massive ledge, hundreds of feet up a cliff, itself a gigantic fault in the side of the mountain. A narrow, heart-stopping precipitous track ran up the face of the cliff to the city gates, providing an eminently defendable approach. Another surprised, dwarves in Surya and Hildraft's experience didn't usually bother much with defences on the surface.

On the ledge itself were several buildings, surrounded by a strong wall. It appeared more of Arelin was above the ground than Hadrasar. Little farming was in evidence, but this was not unexpected, Ingifor had told them that Arelin's main trade was in fine gemstones, and that they imported a lot of the food they couldn't grow underground.

Arelin

They decided to enter the city through the main gates rather than sneaking in, so they landed on the narrow track which led up to the city and climbed the last few hundred yards on foot. They entered the metropolis through the outer gates with out incident and started to explore the upper town. There was far more of Arelin above the surface than there was of Hadrasar, several houses built after the human fashion, a bakery, a blacksmith's, a brewery, two inns, stables, a shrine to Aderra and a silversmith.

There were also more travellers and traders than in the northern city, a fair number of Stryrans and Erlyid, some Nhasedans, and quite a large number of veiled Red Dust nomads. The susurrant accents of these latter reminded Surya and Hildraft of their erstwhile comrade Kobort, and for a moment they wondered where in the world he was. Surya thought, with a rye smile, he would probably be rotting in a dungeon somewhere unpleasant.

The upper town did not appear to contain the temple of Kord or the tomb of Niotanv so the four pilgrims decided, over a few beers in one of the two inns, to descend in to the underground city of Arelin. They left the inn and made their way to the gate guarding the entrance to the true city as Hildraft described it.

The gate keepers would be the first to test their disguises as pilgrims on a holy quest. Duzmakhmol was now quite comfortable in his new stature, but would it fool the guards. Surya was a long way from home, but would he be recognised as the king he was and Hildraft, the Hand of Kord, would surely not go unnoticed.

With the presentation of three dwarves, all bearing the marks of the priesthood, and a respectful-looking human, the process of entering the gates of Arelin was a mere formality. A good thing, because the defences were awesome. Seven gates, each decorated and trimmed in a differing and more valuable gemstone, but wrought of stone and iron underneath. Guards a-plenty, polite but alert, well-armed and armoured. And magic, Surya was not sure what, but he could feel the thrum of the energies in his bones as he passed beneath the arches.

Once inside, the cavern opened out into a larger domed area, much like Hadrasar, although in the case of Arelin there were several caverns instead of the one enormous one. Mingling with the citizens, the four travellers began to explore, getting the feel of the place. Karcian did most of the talking at this point, as his accent was indistinguishable from that of the locals.

Niotanv's Tomb

Finding Niotanv's tomb was not difficult, as it seemed to be a common place of pilgrimage. The vast majority of the travellers heading for it were Dwarves, but here and there were humans, mostly paladins in the trappings of knights of the Church of Kord Triumphant. They were few, though. Niotanv was a Dwarvish hero of the Dwarvish denomination, and few humans reverenced him as much as the dwarves did.

Finally, they entered the Mausoleum of Niotanv. It occupied a separate cavern to the rest of the city, and soared a hundred feet high within that cavern, a vast black stone tomb, carved every inch with the angular runes of the Dwarvish language. Great golden doors closed it off, and sleepless guardians stood sentinel before it, their axes on the stone at their feet.

Surya, Hildraft, Karcian and Duzmakhmol stared up at the tomb, awed by the sight of it. The sensation of peace and sanctity was palpable, and all felt relaxed, reassured, encouraged. After a while, Karcian sighed. "Deeply moving," he said, "but surely we need to move on...... wait a moment!"

All of them could feel it. Subtly, the feel of the air had altered. The myriad small sounds, of caves, of dripping water, of moving people, of quiet talk, had all ceased - dead silence had fallen. A glance around revealed that the other people in the vault had frozen in place, not moving or breathing, the only ones still mobile were the four of them. They glanced at each other, was this The Hand of Drok's opening gambit?

Then a patch of mist appeared, rapidly condensing into a shape, though still clearly incorporeal. Instinctively, Surya placed his hand on the hilt of Desecrator and started to draw the weapon but stopped short as he and Hildraft realized they recognized the creature that was materialising in front of them. It was a dwarf. Not merely a dwarf, however. This dwarf somehow exuded more Dwarvishness than any other dwarf they had ever met, kings included. He was no taller than Hildraft, but somewhat stockier, and had a wise, magisterial face and a grey beard. His armour, breastplate, helmet, vambraces & greaves - were all made of mithril and glittered preternaturally.

This was Niotanv, Speaker of the Red Curse, forger of the Axe of Glass, First Disciple of Kord. Surya and Hildraft had first met him in the Turgatio Arena in Thornal many years ago. Then he had given them the quest to find Zero-One, the Sword of Law and lock it away forever in the Hallows. Surya for a moment recalled the feel of the might of the blade, the power it brought and the lingering regret of having to give it up. What quest had he for them now, the King of New Tellare wondered and was he ready for it.

Surya slid his sword back in it scabbard and turned to Karcian and Duzmakhmol and said, "Gents, I would like to introduce you to Niotanv"

As Surya finishes speaking Hildraft stepped forward, bowed and greet him with the utmost reverence. The Hand of Kord them asked what has caused him to bestow such an honour upon us.

The First Disciple looked upon Hildraft as he made his bow, and smiled. "You have done well, since last we met," he said approvingly. "Your acolyte reaches towards his true potential" at this, Duzmakhmol bowed deeply, stammering something incoherent. "Be comforted amidst your loss, the worthy Axeedge is even now learning the path of the Celestial, a soul of such devotion and power will not be allowed to slip away."

He turned to Karcian. "Well met, Defender," he said briskly. "Does the line hold?" Karcian cleared his throat and straightened his back. "With strength and will, the line holds!" he rapped back. Niotanv smiled, and looked at Surya.

"Dark power and bright fate - which rules? Heed your soul, not the dark urgings of the power you wield, or you shall be destroyed." he quoted. "Ever your path twists, and only you can decide its' final course. Remember that if the moment comes when you need aid to turn your course, my Lord has offered you a place. All you must do is accept it and him."

Surya feeling the need to defend his actions responded to the incorporeal Dwarf, "Thank you for your concern for my soul, but I am not ready to give up life just yet." Surya paused for a moment, wondering why he had volunteer for so many of Kord's quests, when all the priesthood did was criticise his actions. But this was not the time or place for such arguments, so he just added, "Yes, I am a Dark power, but with that power I have brought about a Bright fate for much of Alair and beyond. As to which rules, the power is only a means to my fate, if that is to be a dark one, I can be consoled that I have brought a little light for many. I think Kord has accepted me for what I am and for the moment, it is He who turns to me for aid. One day I will choose my final fate, probably at the moment of my death, but I can't see the path of a celestial for me." Surya paused and smiled, may be he could have the last and longest laugh at the priests expense. "But who knows I may yet join You, Axeedge and await Hildraft and we can spend eternity together."

"Enough of this. We have a task here. The Shadowbrother rises again, and the Hand must oppose him, as is ever the way. As far as I may, I shall aid you, for the dark stain on our faith that is Drok touches me most closely." For an instant, the First Disciple's unshakable poise was gone, and raw pain flared in his eyes. "So, and so. I cannot direct you to the foe you face, were the Dark Hand unable to hide, his cult would have been long exterminated. I can tell you he is here, hidden among these ordinary folk of our race" he stopped, and bowed a brief apology for the phrase to those who were not dwarves. "A pillar of the community probably, as his power cannot be concealed as his allegiance can. You can trust the priesthood of the Faith here in Arelin, they are uncorrupted, although they have realized that something is wrong, that a worm is in the apple. Open your hearts to Heslor, and recruit his aid in your quest."

"Be of stout heart, my friends; and Kord's blessing be with you." As he said that, Duzmakhmol and Karcian stiffened in surprise and then grinned in pleasure.

Surya used his new found skills in the art of the Dream Magic to determine if there was any link here similar to that of the one they had discovered in Hildraft's home city. But he could not detect any adverse influences and no hint of Dream Magic was perceptible. This puzzled Surya as Niotanv had stated that Drok touched him closely. Did he mean something else, Surya thought. The King of Tellare then questioned the apparition, picking up on the pain he shown when he had spoken of Drok.

Niotanv looked down for a moment, and then looked up. If it were possible for an incorporeal illusory representation of a long-dead demigod, he looked ashamed. "I see my guilty secret may not remain hidden from you. Truth is important between people like ourselves, I shall tell you. There is not much to tell, in truth, but the simplest of words can be the most painful. Drok was once my son."

Surya looked the apparition in the eyes and spoke again, "I'm sorry, that must be a great pain you bear. But know, this the truth will go no further."

With that, Surya turned away from the Speaker of the Red Curse and allowed the others to speak with Niotanv, which they did at great length. When the Dwarfs had finished speaking with Niotanv they bid him farewell and with a flicker, Niotanv's form vanished, and the other occupants of the crypt snapped back into life, clearly having noticed nothing. The companions glanced at each other, Karcian and Duzmakhmol seemed to carry themselves straighter and with more confidence since the meeting with Niotanv.

Leaving the fane, the four walked through the city, heading for the temple of Kord. Surya, like most humans of Alair, knew very little about this Dwarven champion and as he had just visited his last resting place and paid his respects, thought it fitting to inquire of his life and the nature of the Red Curse. All except Hildraft gave him a blank look, clearly Karcian and Duzmakhmol knew as much as Surya did. They all turned to the Hand of Kord who recalled the tale, but none of the three quite expected the history lesson Hildraft provided as they walked the city streets.

Many thousands of years ago, during the time of the Elven dominion over what is now called Known Alair, a mighty empire dominated a vast range of the cold, barren and little-known lands to the north of the Engereor Mountains. Fal Torth was inhabited by several different species of similar creatures, collectively known to other races as giants. These species were different (in some cases, very different) to their modern descendants, and far more numerous and organized.

Their society was structured and hierarchical, with the Karrend or storm giants forming the nobility, the Denvrend (frost giants) and Nazrend (fire giants) the officer cadre and middle-class, and the Thralrend (the ancestors of what are now called hill giants), by far the most common, forming the bulk of the population. Thankfully rare, the brutal and uncontrollable Slyrrend (now occasionally seen as mountain giants) were used as enforcers and strike troops. While these species were far more civilized and sophisticated than their modern remnants, they were by no means less aggressive or evil, and the empire of Fal Torth was constantly at war with its' northern and eastern neighbours.

Beneath all giants in the social structure were the slave race, to the giants the Borren but in their own forbidden tongue the Khâzad, Dwarves. Exploited, oppressed, controlled by measures of extreme cruelty, the Dwarves laboured endlessly for their gigantic masters, constantly reminded of their insignificance, small stature and unworth. Buildings, armour, weapons, utensils; anything made of metal or stone in Fal Torth was made by Dwarves, although if the work was good the credit went to the giant whose Dwarves had created it. Culture, language, religion were all forbidden to the slaves, and being worked to death was the normal end to a Dwarvish life.

Nonetheless, as many other would-be oppressors have since discovered, Dwarves are ultimately indomitable. Deep in the darkness beneath the cities of Fal Torth, the Dwarves kept alive their traditions, teaching their religions and lore, and especially the Khuzdul language. Slowly, slowly, the hidden resistance gathered strength. Resistance had been attempted before, but the giants had been very skilled in weeding out Dwarves with leadership qualities - useless to slaves. All this had changed with one special Dwarf; Niotanv. A born leader, a true priest of Kord, and (later) mighty warrior, he was also a skilled dissembler, able to hide his talents under a façade of dull stupidity. Rising to the head of the resistance, he planned and organized and hid and trained his people for the struggle towards freedom.

Finally, the moment was right, and around -2110 Imperial the Dwarves went to war with their masters. Many of the traditional Dwarvish fighting skills were evolved in that war, as the downtrodden and deprived Dwarves sought every possible advantage in combat with creatures two, three or four times their size. Stubborn, valiant, and determined, the Dwarves fought on even in the face of insuperable odds, but courage was not enough, and after nearly two years of fighting, the resistance faced utter defeat. Faced with the renewed subjugation of his people and the inevitable savage reprisals they would suffer, Niotanv reluctantly used his last resort; a mighty magic known afterwards as the Red Curse.

Details of the spell are long lost, not by accident, and no-one since has ever dared learn or cast it. The effects were devastating; ninety percent of the giants of Fal Torth were killed outright, and those that survived were altered - drastically in some cases - by the power of the Curse. Unfortunately, the effects were not limited to the giants. Over half the original Dwarf population had already died in the war; the Curse killed half the survivors. The effects were not limited to living beings; the cities of the giants were laid in ruins, and the entire land rendered uninhabitable.

Speaking the Red Curse earned Niotanv his name, but it was the salvaging of the Dwarf people from the aftermath that earned him his place as the First Disciple of Kord. If it had not been for his leadership and skills and determination, the wounded, battered, shocked survivors of the Dwarf race would have perished in the ruins of Fal Torth. Niotanv encouraged, healed, guided and led his people southwards, and by great good fortune managed to stumble on the Versate Pass leading through the mountains to the plains of Known Alair. It is doubtful whether any of the refugees would have survived had they attempted to cross the Engereor anywhere else.

Aid was waiting for them.

The elves had not been unaware of the existence of Fal Torth. It loomed in the north as a constant threat, although the giants had tended to war northwards rather than southwards, partly because the warmer lands were not so much to their taste. Even in those days, however, the elves were not strong enough to take on the might of the Giant Empire, and had restricted themselves to watching Fal Torth until the day when they were strong enough to tackle it. Now the giants were unexpectedly overthrown, and the elves greeted the Dwarves with joy and honour.

In the following months, as the elves learned about the newcomers and their ways, they came to realize that the Dwarves were not entirely happy living in the plains of what was one day to be Tarlanor. Although mountains were not much to the taste of elves, they had explored the ranges around Sildor fairly extensively, and guided the new arrivals, who they named Naugrim in their own language, to the Erean Mountains to the east of Known Alair, and to the Ndrall in the south. These were perfect for the Dwarves, and the whole people migrated there over a period of around six months.

Finally, the Dwarves were able to use their skills for their own benefit. Under the loving craftsmanship of their stoneworkers, the first city took shape at Gloiran, expanding and incorporating a system of caves already present. As the Dwarvish race grew in numbers, two more cities were founded in the southern Erean Mountains; Kobur and Nisur. The Elven city of Curulindale, at the foothills of the Erean, became a major trade centre for traffic of goods between the two peoples, to the benefit of both. The Dwarves seemed well-settled and more than capable of looking after themselves. The Elves turned their attention to other matters

A few hundred years after that, two more adventurous expeditions were sent to scout out locations for new cities in the north of the Erean range. These expeditions ran headlong into the Orcs, firmly entrenched in their great citadels. Orcs and Dwarves do not get along. War was inevitable, and the Orc Wars were to rage up and down the Erean Mountains for nearly a thousand years. The Dwarves hoped for aid from the Elves in this war, but the elves had their own problems at this point; the great schism of the Fae Mhor had begun and Elves were warring with Elves across most of northern Alair. Many Dwarves felt great anger at this abandonment, though in truth the Elves had little choice, and the two races have never been quite as close ever since. One of the casualties of the Orc Wars was the knowledge of the settlements in the Ndrall, some contemporary accounts show it was believed they had been sacked by Orcs or abandoned.

Amidst all this, an exploring party of Dwarves, led by Niotanv's eldest son Noroth, returned from the far north long after everyone had abandoned hope of their survival. Greatly daring, these bold souls had travelled back into the ruins of Fal Torth, and there had discovered a wretched, gangrel folk, twisted from their Dwarvish ancestry by the terrible energies of the Red Curse. Pale and warped, possessed of odd and uncanny powers of the mind, savage and hostile to all they encountered, and every one of them mad, the creatures named themselves Duergar.

Noroth was horrified at the state of them and was determined to rescue and redeem them. His father, however, knew in his heart that they could never be reclaimed, and Kord confirmed this view, forbidding Noroth to approach them again. Noroth's faith in his God, strained already by the ignored suffering of these Dwarves, snapped at this. Repudiating his faith and striking his unresisting father, he gathered as many Dwarves loyal to him as he could and travelled north again without leave, returning to the land of the Duergar.

A year went past, with no word, and finally Niotanv sent a strong force to investigate. These discovered the corpses of all the Dwarves Noroth had taken with him, impaled on spikes and with their skulls rent from the inside. Of Noroth there was no sign, then or ever, and the Duergar had fled, it was many, many years before any Dwarf saw one again. However, in the darkness of the night, Kord came to Niotanv and told him what had become of Noroth. In his rage and despair, seizing power from the Duergar and from the Darkness Beyond, he had nailed himself athwart the line that separates Life and Death, forever opposed to his former deity, naming himself in rage and mockery as Drok.

Horrified and wracked with guilt at the seemingly never-ending consequences of the Red Curse, Niotanv, although now very old, set out from Gloiran to try and find a way to rescue his son. He was never seen in the north again.

Later accounts show that he reached the southern city of Arelin where he discovered the emergence of the Cult of Drok and the beginning of the corruption of other Dwarves to the worship of his fallen son. He died in Arelin, revered as a hero, and was entombed there.

At the end of the tale Karcian and Duzmakhmol were clearly shocked at the nature of the tale. Surya, though appreciative of the tale just stated, "Excellent, they made a mass murder of his own kin and the farther of the cult of Drok a saint, there's hope even for me."

On their arrival at the temple, they found a service in progress, and once more settled themselves at the back, as they had at Hadrasar. The reminder was not lost on Karcian, who leaned across and smiled apologetically at Surya.

The service itself was indicative and interesting. While the priest was vivid, fiery, dedicated, his congregation seemed listless, almost disinterested. It was obvious that the priest was aware of this, and was making considerable efforts to reach out to the dwarves below him, but to no avail.

Surya thought to himself, "I heard much worse than this priest, why is everyone so disinterested, goes Drok influence run that deep here?"

At the end, the congregation shuffled out, with expressions of some puzzlement in many cases, leaving the celebrant slumped at his lectern, head bowed in dejection. As the four rose to approach him, they noticed another dwarf, apparently doing the same thing, stand up across the aisle from them. Dark-haired and black-bearded, this dwarf wore tunic, leggings and boots of deepest black, adorned only with a design worked onto the chest in silver thread. Squaring his shoulders he strode firmly forward towards the oblivious priest.

It was years since Hildraft and Surya had seen the design, and then only very briefly in the depths of Gadûhvrás, when they had freed the priest Norkil from petrifaction. Karcian, however, had clearly seen it more recently. He sucked his breath in through his teeth. "Death Lord!" he muttered urgently. Surya, not wanting to make the same mistake he had made when he first met Karcian, asked him, "Who and what is this Death Lord and what is the significance of the silver thread symbol?"

Karcian answered, "The symbol is that of the Dwarvish God of the afterlife, Koisin Vuran. Carnos is a Death Lord of Koisin Vuran, the nearest thing to a High Priest that this mildly peculiar religion has." Karcian went in to some detail about the religion stating it was ominous, unusual and a bit strange, but not evil."

The black-clad dwarf stomped up to the lectern and stopped, hands on hips. "Well, Heslor?" he grated. His tone was harsh, but sympathetic. "How much longer are you going to put this off? Whatever is happening is getting worse. You have done your best, but the time to send for aid is long since come."

Heslor lifted his head, showing an expression of despair. "Carnos, old friend, I have failed my Lord, and he has abandoned me, and I am failing my people, and they no longer trust me. How can I face other ... priests?" The last word trailed off as his eyes fell on the four visitors standing tensed in the aisle.

Surya was the first to break the silence, still using the Dwarfish tongue, looked directly at the High Priest and spoke, "I don't think Kord has forsaken you just yet. Greeting Heslor, I am Surya one of our Lord's more potent weapons. It would appear you may need some help here, may I offer our assistance." Surya paused for a moment, took out the letter of recommendation and then added, "The High Priest Ingifor sends his regards and introductions if necessary."

The cleric took the letter and read it's contents. As he finished he looked up at the newcomers, but before he could say anything Hildraft, angered by the priests words and will, stepped up beside Surya and also spoke directly to Heslor saying "Kord never abandons those that truly believe, he knows your trouble and has answered."

As the Hand of Kord spoke the Armour of Glass began to glow with a holy aura, dimly at first but becoming much brighter. Hildraft then turned to Carnos and said, "forgive me you were called friend but you wear the symbols of a Death Lord, being from far lands I find that strange."

It took Heslor a few moments to recover his equilibrium after these revelations, so it was Carnos who replied first, to Hildraft. "I'm called 'friend' Mountain Dwarf, because I stand by my fellow priest. Fellow dwarf, with whom I have served and helped these people despite the gathering darkness, because we are friends. We serve different gods, yes, but the blight that lies on this kingdom unites us."

Heslor pulled himself together. "Carnos speaks true," he added. "Whatever assails faith here hides itself well, only he and I stand against the long defeat. Yet it is hard… hard to bear. A simple foe, an opponent with weapons, I could fight. But this influence, whatever it is, that turns my people away from the Lord, all I can see is them, the people. However I talk to them, work with them, help them, try to find what magic affects them, avails nothing."

He looked Hildraft in the eye. "My faith has not failed me, Sir Hand," he said with sad pride, "say rather that I have failed my faith." Carnos stirred briefly as if in protest but said nothing. Heslor looked to Surya. "Your help, whatever it may be, will be greatly appreciated."

Surya, felling a touch sorry for the priest, spoke words of reassurance. "It is very likely that your enemy is also our enemy and the reason for our appearance here. So I offer our help in defeating this unseen assailant on our faiths. I see another Hand at work here, but I will not speak of that openly in your church." Surya was not sure if Heslor or Carnos had picked up on his veiled reference to Drok, but he suggested that they all should retire to a less public place to discuss the matter further.

Heslor suggested that they should retire to his private rooms where they could talk in confidence. Hildraft, Carnos and Duzmakhmol followed the priest, but Surya stayed behind for a few moments. When the others had moved out of sight he turned to the new skills he had obtained from the Dreambook of Drok in an attempt to ascertain if dream magic was at work here. Surya opened his new senses and closed his eyes. Sure enough, there was a faint taint in the air, enough to feel. There was no direction to it, or variations in intensity, but he was sure that Dream Magic had been at work on at least one of the attendees.

Surya then followed after the four and caught up with them as they entered Heslor's private chambers. His rooms were well appointed and Heslor invited them all to make themselves comfortable. Heslor gestured for them to all sit round a large oaken table while he prepared refreshments for his guests. While the priest busied himself in the kitchen Surya and Hildraft check the room for evidence of magical eavesdropping. Convinced that he would not be over heard and when all were settled around the table, Surya introduced himself and his two companions properly. He then proceeded to tell the tale that had brought them here.

The two local priests' eyes widened more and more as the tale unfolded. At the end, Heslor's hand slammed down on the table. "I knew there was something wrong!" he barked, and there was a light in his eyes and a fire in his voice that had been missing before. "Damn the vermin! How do we find them?"

Seeing that Heslor and Carnos wanted to help, Surya and Hildraft then quizzed them for a long while, hoping to unearth a few leads. Surya thought that the Hand of Drok must be someone in a position of power within the city, so he inquired of any one that had risen to power recently.

Carnos and Heslor put their heads together and considered for a while. Hesitantly, Heslor said, "Lyracir has been very much the popular hero of late. He's the Guard Commander, and led the recent expedition against the Duergar in the Lost Deep."

"Yslos has been elected Master of the Tarascan, the College of the Magi, to replace Grundrath who died," he looked at Surya's expression," at the age of 812," he added.

"Wyrroth of the smithcraft guild has a lot of power, but he's had it for decades," put in Carnos.

It was then that Surya thought they may be going about this all the wrong way. Thinking aloud, while the others listened he confessed, "I'm very confused. This Drok cult lives in the shadows, to undermine the Kordic church, never coming out in to direct conflict. We have seen the effects on this temple, but why would they kill Axeedge and not follow through with other plots to undermine the temple in Kobur. Unless they wished to draw out the Hand of Kord."

All eyes were now fixed on the Human, waiting for him to finish his argument. "I believe this whole thing is a plot to kill you." Surya turned and gazed directly at Hildraft. "Sneaking around is the way of our enemy and we should stop now. Kord is the God of the good, the chaotic, the lucky and in my case the strong. May be it was time to shake things up a little, use our God given gifts and show the Hand of Drok just how strong we are."

Surya paused, took a sip of the wine that had been provided and continued. "I suggest we go back in to your temple and we pray like there is no tomorrow. We should hold a very special and very public service exposing the evil in our mists. I don't think the followers of Drok will like it one bit, they will either oppose us or return to the shadows." Surya paused again for a moment, remembering what had happen the last time Hildraft had performed a similar act. "And if a new Kordasa rises from the ashes of this temple, so be it"

When Surya had finished, Hildraft rose from his chair, raised his glass and shouted, "Finally we have a plan worthy of Kord's trust in us. Heslor prepare your church and flock for a service they will sing about for years to come. Surya and Carnos prepare for battle, and you my acolyte will help me prepare for my best work yet."

When Hildraft had finish, they all turned to each other and after a few moments silence, cheered the Hand of Kord and thanked their God for giving them the inspiration to dream up such a suggestion and the balls to carry it out. Hildraft, still on a high, addressed his comrades again, "Come we have much work to do and there is no time like the present."

The three priests left the room and started their preparations for the ceremony, leaving the two warriors alone. Surya turned to Carnos and said with a rye smile, "Looks like we will be taking a bit part in the proceedings this time, but we should, as Hildraft suggests, prepare for the worse."

They spoke for a while on many matters, but Surya was still keen on drawing up a list of likely suspects prior to the ceremony. He asked Carnos if any one had opposed the church in recent times, but the Dwarf knew of no one that had openly come into conflict with the temple. Surya also asked about the exploits of Lyracir and the Lost Deep. Carnos told him that the Lost Deep is a section of this city, far deeper than hill dwarves are really happy going. They tend not to visit it much any more as there are dark things that lurk in its depths. Surya pondered on the idea of a part of the city not normally visited by the general population and wondered if the Hand of Drok could be found their. If this grand ceremony did not flush him out, them may be they would have to explore these depths themselves. The two warriors then parted company to make their final preparations for the event to come.

Later that day, Surya spoke to Heslor on the matter of the nobility of Arelin. The priest informed him that the city was ruled by Vennar. Surya asked if he should make himself known to King Vennar or would he not care if there was an unannounced Human king in the city. Heslor said, "Of course you should make yourself known to him and I would suggest that you deliver his invitation to our little party personally, given your diplomatic status." With that said, Surya left the priests to continue their work and prepared himself for another meeting with royalty.

Surya drafted a letter of introduction, requesting an audience with King Vennar. He asked one of the lesser priests of the church of Kord to deliver it as soon as possible. The response was almost immediate and was delivered by two Dwarven warriors of the King's own guard. The King of Arelin's intelligence service seemed most efficient, as by the time Surya letter reached him he was already aware of who was in his city. The King had granted Surya his audience and the two guards were to be his escorts to the palace.

Surya prepared himself for the meeting, ensuring he was fully versed in Hill Dwarf etiquette before leaving for the Vennar's throne room. It was only a short walk to the palace and Surya was quickly shown in to the King's throne hall. The guards left the two kings alone, but Surya knew they and many others would not be far away.

Vennar stood next to his throne, his keen grey eyes glinted from beneath dark brows as he gazed up at the tall human. "What does a warrior king of men want in my city?" he asked bluntly.

Surya greeted Vennar with great respect and in his own language. Surya then told the Dwarven King the tale that had brought him to this city, nothing was omitted. Vennar heard of the murder of High Priest Axeedge, the search for the Hand of Drok, their research in Aderra and the vision at Niotanv's tomb. The King of New Tellare then shared with him their plans to hold a very special service in the church of Kord. Surya asked if he had any objections to this proposal.

As the strange story unfolded, King Vennar's expression grew thoughtful. "Niotanv's tomb being here is no coincidence, I think," he commented. "Maybe he tracked the dark cult here, and maybe they had more to do with his death than we know."

"Tell your friend he may go ahead with his ceremony. I hope it does flush out your quarry, but I also hope it does not create a new Kordasa. It would be terrible for business…"

Surya thanked the King for his approval and formally invited him to the service. Vennar replied, "I will attend, in fact I would be honoured to."

Before Surya bid his leave of King Vennar, he enquired of the Lost Deep and if there were any maps of the region of the city. The Dwarf asked him why he was interested and when Surya told him if they did not flush out the cult of Drok, they may have to search the deeps. The King on hearing his reasoning seemed happy to help and directed him to Arelin's master cartographer.

With that the two kings parted and Surya returned to the Church of Kord to prepare for the ceremony, but not before he had paid a visit on Harthic son of Arak, the cities chief map maker.

Harthic was young for a Dwarf and was quite surprised when a tall human king visited his premises. He as even more surprised at his request, but after some considerable humming and erming, he emerged from a dusty scroll store carrying three crumbling scrolls. From these, he and Surya were able to construct a reasonable map of what the Lost Deep had looked like the last time dwarves had had free access to it, about a thousand years ago.

With their business concluded Surya paid the master cartographer for his time and ask if any other's had asked about the Lost Deep recently. Harthic answered "Mastersmith Wyrroth has a copy," he said reflectively, "and of course, Commander Lyracir, but nobody else."

The King of New Tellare left the premise pondering on the Dwarf's comments, Surya could understand why Lyracir would need the information, but why would the Mastersmith want a map on the Lost Deep.

The Ceremony

As the sun fell below the rim of the Mountain, Hildraft stepped up to the High Altar, with Heslor and Duzmakhmol at his sides. Not normally one to flaunt symbols of his church, today the Hand of Kord was robed in accordance with his station - and then some. Turning to the gathered crowd, he lifted his arms, and the glass armour caught the last rays of the sun and ignited with an eye-aching actinic flash.

Standing to one side, out of the main focus of the congregation, Surya's keen shadowcast eyes ranged over the gathered folk. He stood in silence, armed and armoured, but not putting on his usual display of lordly might. His armour was cloaked with the Robe of Eyes and his two cursed and dammed swords were hidden from view of all there present. Only Desecrator hung from his belt and Lordsguard was at arms reach. Prior to the ceremony he had prepared his usual battle magic and cast many other spells in the hope they would help him see through the disguises of the followers of Drok present in the congregation.

Nearly the entire population of the city of Arelin was present - around eight or nine thousand dwarves, along with some visitors and transients, who were keeping very quiet as they realized the magnitude of the occasion. All appeared attentive, or at least interested, and none showed the sort of differences from the regular that he was looking for. He was unconcerned, it was early yet.

Hildraft's armour blazed as he delivered the measured phrases of the ancient ceremony, and as the service progressed the traditional responses began to change. To begin with, they were rote mumblings, lip service in very truth, but as he gained momentum his sincerity sank into the hearts of the dwarves he faced and they began to feel their spirits lifted into the light. Before long, the responses and hymns, raised by thousands of deep voices, were rolling like thunder across the walled Upper City.

Drawing towards the high point of the ceremony, Surya noticed with a start that, for the first time as far as he knew, the blue radiance of his friend's armour was spreading out from his location. As he watched, it touched the similar glow from the twin axes Glimstad and Brendel on Duzmakhmol's back and merged with it, gaining in power. Then it flowed out across the steps and into the congregation. Leaping from dwarf to dwarf, it waxed in power even as it spread itself across each worshiper. As they were caught in the light, their faces were transfigured, as if each looked on the face of Kord himself.

Surya squared his shoulders. Whatever was going to happen, was going to happen very soon.

As the aura of sanctity spread out from the celebrants of the ceremony, further and further, it reacted slightly differently as it touched different people. The lesser priests of Kord, further down the dais, seemed to feed the effect, with a slightly brighter radiance surrounding them. As it touched King Vennar, a rich crimson halo sprang up around him, the colour of royalty. He bowed with profound respect at the honour and approval Kord paid to his rule.

Carnos occupied a clear space all to himself, the blue radiance didn't quite touch him, but it didn't shun him either. Each tolerated the other despite differences of opinion.

Surya looked down at himself, and saw that the blue glory surrounded him, but did not touch him. A crackling disturbance marked the edges, with tiny sparks dancing and flaring occasionally here and there, sparks probably too small for anyone without his enhanced vision to see.

Finally the wave of blue power reached the edges of the plateau that Arelin's upper part stood on. The expansion stopped there, almost as if a wall had been encountered, and the roiling pool of light seemed to gather itself around the perimeter. Then abruptly it was rushing back inwards, faster and faster, towards the altar at the centre of the city.

With a silent impact the wave of faith returned to its source and flowed back into the altar in a climactic ingathering of power, fed by the belief and honour of all the participants. A mighty column of blue power erupted from the altar and tore into the sky, disappearing through the clouds and eclipsing the last light of the sunset.

And at that moment, Surya's eyes, enhanced by the magic of his robe and by the spells he'd cast beyond mortal perception, caught a glimpse of an incongruity.

Two blanks in the blue sea of holiness.

Where two of the dwarves of Arelin stood, the power of Kord had no sway, less than none, was rejected with hate and anger. Two humanoid areas of utter black, like holes cut in reality, on opposite sides of the main square of the upper city.

The followers of Drok.

Surya tried to get a better look at the two dark Dwarves, but at this moment in time he can not see their faces. The contrast between the shadow they were in and the blaze of the Lens of Kord was too just too great, even for the Robe of Eyes.

Surya considered his next move quiet carefully, did he wait until after the service had finish to follow them or tap Hildraft of the shoulder and get the congregation to tear the unbelievers apart. Though the latter appealed to his chaotic nature, it was a safe bet that the casualties would be horrific and not to mention the negative effect it would have on this religious experience.

Surya's eyes then fell upon Carnos, the blue wave of power had not touched him as it had many others and given that his particular religious path was not that of Kord, he would probably not be too upset if he to no further part in the ceremony. Surya made his way off the stage and found Carnos in the audience. Surya told him what he had observed and the pair slipped almost unnoticed through the crowds. Almost every Dwarf in the city had eyes for only one Dwarf, which made task of getting close to the followers of Drok much easer.

As the pair of them moved carefully into position, Carnos took a sharp intake of breath. "Wyrroth!" he hissed. "The Mastermith! I don't believe it." It took the Death Lord a moment to get his composure back. "I don't recognize that other fellow," he finished.

Carnos' indignation at the discovery that someone he knew was a black heretic drove him directly at Wyrroth without further consideration, leaving Surya alone to tackle the unknown dark Dwarf. Somewhat startled by this precipitate assault, the King drew and attacked.

As the areas of exception from the Lens surrounding Surya and Carnos touched the dark holes surrounding Wyrroth and the other Dwarf, they seemed to feel the contact. Instantly the two Drok cultists whirled to face Surya and Carnos. While any attempt to beat Surya's lightning reflexes with a physical attack would have been futile, the instant's warning Wyrroth and his co-religionist got was just enough for them to slip into the Dreamstate.

Surya knew instantly that the cultists had opened up a connection to the realm of Dreams. This would allow them to interact with it and potentially draw other beings in after them. Realising the danger he was in, he did not draw his sword, but cast one of the newly learnt dream magic spells which he hoped would shield him from the effects of being drawn in to the nightmare world the follow of Drok was preparing for him. Though the nightmare would have to be something special, for the things the human King had seen in the past would have given most mortals bad dreams for the rest of their lives.

With a snap, the defensive magic of the Mindshield settled around Surya as the Drok cultists launched their offensive across the Dreamstate. The Tellaran felt the claws of the dark dreams scrape across his defences for a moment, but gripped his concentration and felt the effect, whatever it was, slide off.

Clearly, this was not what the dwarf he faced expected. For a moment, the cultist hesitated, giving Surya, with his battle-trained reflexes, his chance. He drew Desecrator from its scabbard and struck the Dwarf with a sledgehammer blow. Though only intending to stun and using the pommel as an augmentation to his fist, the King unleashed a savage left-handed jab straight into the treacherous dwarf's face, braking his nose and cheekbone instantly. The force that the Tellaran hit his opponent with was so overpowering that it knocked him through a complete somersault to land on his bullet head with a grisly crunch. Surya knew that his adversary would not come round for many hours so left him unconscious, bleeding and possibly dying on the stone floor, and turned his attention to Wyrroth.

Across the crowd, Carnos closed with his target, bringing up defensive spells as he did so. As the auras clashed, Wyrroth whirled, and the dark shadow surrounding him crackled and changed as he worked the dark dream magic. Carnos stumbled, then came to a halt as he was dragged into the dream Wyrroth had created for him. He blinked for a moment, and then dropped to his knees and screamed as unknown nightmare horrors washed over him.

Seeing Carnos was not faring well against the Mastersmith, Surya made his way quickly through the crowd, sheathing Desecrator as he did. Now, Surya thought, was not the time for untested weapons and he drew his two cursed swords from his mighty quiver. Wyrroth continued with his torturing of the Koisin Vuran Death lord and did not see the tall human approaching.

Up on the dais, Hildraft had also noticed what was happening. Abandoning the ritual to Heslor's care, he besought a spell of crushing power from Kord, was granted it, and hurled it at Wyrroth.

The Hand of Drok staggered back with a choking cry as the negative energy tore away his life force. His concentration broke, and Carnos collapsed, released. Hildraft leaped from the dais as behind him Duzmakhmol whirled Glimstad and Brendel off his back with a snarl and followed him.

Together, Surya, Hildraft, Duzmakhmol and Karcian converged on Wyrroth, leaving him no place to run. Surrounded, the Hand of Drok drew a hammer from his belt. Plain iron to look at before, as he drew it forth it assumed an aspect of horror, with a bead of sickly radiance like a dot of corrupted corpse light orbiting its head.

As the four converged on him, Wyrroth's form shimmered & blurred as some sort of defensive magic kicked in. He swung the hammer up to the ready and then the four champions of Kord were upon him.

Surya's attacks came first with his usual blinding speed. The Robe of Eyes enhanced his vision to the point where he normally could see anything, but Wyrroth's position kept shifting, and he knew many of his strikes were going astray. Blood flowed, though, indicating that some were striking the Hand of Drok.

Before the others could react, Wyrroth struck, whirling in an arc in an attempt to strike all four of his opponents. Surya felt a massive impact as the hammer crashed into his leg. The limb went numb, and he stumbled. Then the weapon arced back, trailing hideous light, and struck Duzmakhmol squarely in the chest, sending him tumbling backwards through the crowd like a bowling ball. Hildraft was next, and when the Drokhammer struck the Armour of Glass, both emitted a mighty pulse of protesting energy. Both dwarves were flung backwards. Wyrroth retained his feet and out of reach from attacking each other.

Unable to attack physically, Karcian began to cast a spell, speeding his words as he noted Wyrroth do the same.

Wyrroth's spellcasting was never finished, Surya's hurricane of blows hurled him backwards before he could complete the incantation.

Karcian unleashed a spell that he hoped would dispel the magic the Hand of Drok was using against them and instantaneously the shimmer around Wyrroth vanished. As soon as that happened, the deflection effect was gone, and the strikes started going home. Within a few seconds, all that was left of Wyrroth was a collection of mashed and oozing flesh loosely held together by shattered armour.

Slowly, the area of darkness in the Lens of God shrank and dwindled, until it suffused and covered Wyrroth's corpse in the same way as it did the faithful. As it did so, the remains twisted and writhed like paper in a furnace until finally they were completely gone, consumed by the presence of the God they had offended.

With a suddenness that left everyone dazzled, especially Surya with his enhanced vision, the blue blaze of the Lens vanished, leaving several thousand dwarves, the adventurers, and a black smear on the stone. There was a moment's absolute silence.

Then the cheering began.

The Aftermath

With the battle over, Surya poked at the dried husk that had been the Hand of Drok, revealing a scatter of ash where the corrupt dwarf's hammer had been. Rather disappointed that he was unable to add to his collection of interesting weapons he turned his attention to the living.

Karcian and Hildraft hurried over to where Duzmakhmol lay bleeding and dazed in a heap of dwarf corpses. The Orc rose from the stone floor and cast his own healing magic upon his wounds and he then helped Carnos to his feet. The Death Lord, shaken but unhurt, was murmuring words in his cult's secret tongue under his breath. He sealed the incantation with a sweep of his hand over the corpse and three words in Khuzdul, "H'thak nul Khâzad" - He is no Dwarf. All nearby that heard these words, gasped for this was the ultimate excommunication. Wyrroth's soul, wherever it was, was forever sundered from the Dwarvish people.

Over the next few days, Arelin returned to normal. Everyone, it seemed, wanted to speak to the heroes. Surya found himself besieged by Dwarven warriors seeking instruction in the 'man-sword' as they termed the longer blade. The King of New Tellare was only too happy to pass on a small part of his knowledge to these keen soldiers. Hildraft could have replaced Duzmakhmol a dozen times over with promising Dwarvish acolytes, for the Orc had requested permission to remain in Arelin, to train as an Avenger and to study at Niotanv's tomb. Karcian had already recruited half-a-dozen young bruisers to train as Defenders.

The epicentre of the Lens remained a deeply profound place, although there were no signs of another Kordasa coming about. Dwarves and humans are different; what triggered overwhelming fervour in humans merely enhanced the faith of the Khâzad.

Wyrroth's forges were of course deeply set in the heart of the mountain. King Vennar's guard commander Lyracir, rather put out at his thunder being stolen on the slaying of the ultimate Duergar, had ordered it sealed immediately and had petitioned the king to have it filled in to prevent its' contents corrupting anyone else.

A week after the battle, Surya, Hildraft, Duzmakhmol and Heslor returned to the Tomb of Niotanv. Once more, a tiny bubble of reality was translocated onto Kord's plane, and the magisterial spectre of the First Disciple appeared before them.

A wintry smile on his face, Niotanv actually bowed to them as he appeared. "Well done, my friends," he said approvingly. "The Hand of Drok is defeated, and this city purified, and the Archpriest's murder avenged. Somewhere in the dark roots of the world, a new Hand of Drok will have assumed the mantle, but my heart tells me it will be many years before he troubles the world."

Surya bowed to the incorporeal Dwarf and spoke softly, "You asked before which rules the dark power or bright fate, well with the fall of the Hand of Drok, I believe the fate of all us is a little brighter." With that Surya bid Niotanv far well and left the tomb.

Surya returned to his chambers and started to wonder what treasures lay in the Wyrroth's forge. The King of New Tellare was no lightweight when it came to the art of weapon smithing, but this Dwarf had hundreds of years more experience than he. There was also the question of who had worked and enchanted the red Sancrest crystal Surya had found in Kobur. This was an area of magic he wished to explore and finally Surya was most keen to know more of the art of the dream weaver. Would the last book of Drok, Sakhorthain, "The Cannibalaria of Drok" be hidden in the forge. He needed to find out.

Lyracir had ordered the workshops to be sealed and guarded, but that would only be a small obstacle for Surya's magical ingenuity. Surya took a handful of crystal marbles from his pack and sat down at the table. He weaved his magic upon them and from the table arose four semi tangible magical orbs. Each eye was a fine construct, about the size of a small apple and they floated about twelve inches above the table, waiting for Surya to command them. Surya spoke very softy to the eyes and once he had finished the tiny orbs left the room and skimmed away into the tunnels towards Wyrroth's forge.

The eyes swirled through the darkness, tirelessly recording the sights they saw within the sealed, silent forge. Four stalwart hill dwarves stood guard outside the two sets of double doors, but no-one was within the craft hall itself.

The main forge room was vast, a hundred or more feet on a side, with a roof held up by four irregular pillars of un-worked stone, itself rather odd for dwarves. Dominating the centre of the room were four vast hoppers of raw materials; iron, copper, tin and zinc. A smaller, locked storage unit had four doors marked 'Gold' 'Silver' 'Mithril' and 'Darkmetal'.

The west wall was lined with rows of powered hammers, driven by a belt and pulley connected to some unknown source of motive power. The north wall was lined by small cells, cubicles almost, each secured with an elaborate and complex lock, all different. Runes on the doors hinted that these were the stores for each smith's tools, for no dwarf would ever use another smith's tools. A similar, larger enclosure stood just south of the mechanical hammers.

The east wall was dominated by a huge machine for spinning wire of various gauges, for mail armour as well as other uses. South of that were rows of workbenches strewn with assorted projects and work pieces.

Along the south wall were rows of assorted anvils, but no fire or furnace.

The south-west corner was squared off and hosted a row of grinding and polishing wheels driven by the same mechanism as the hammers, as well as an archway leading to steps down. The eyes followed these, down, past a closed door and around a corner, past a vastly thick slab door designed to rise from the floor, to a chamber thirty feet square. This was blackened and sooty from end to end, and dotted with crucibles, moulds, rests, and more anvils. At the far south end were four massive stone shutters fitted tightly against the wall, surrounded by heavy mechanisms designed to lift them away from whatever was behind.

Several hours went by before the eyes returned, with there pictorial tale of the huge darkened jungle of metalworking equipment. Surya spent the next few hours studying the images and decided he would have to make a personal visit.

Surya decided that magically teleporting in to the forge was the best way of entering the Mastersmith's guarded workshops. He did not wish to be noticed while he was in the forge, but there was always a chance that someone might see him, so with the use of his arcane powers he transformed in to a Dwarf and then made himself invisible.

As Surya dissolved into the nothingness of Teleportation, he felt another power resisting his progress. Someone had anticipated this form of attack, and the forge was protected by teleportation wards. For a moment, the magic of the wards resisted the King's teleport, and then with a subtle tearing sensation he was through. For a long few minutes he crouched in the dark, waiting to see if breaking the magic had also triggered any form of alarm, but all was still.

Straightening to his new, far lesser, height, he started to explore the forge. The perspective was unique; he'd not shape changed for a long while, and going from a 6 foot man to a 4 foot dwarf was quite a change. The beard kept getting in the way, too.

The main hoppers contained exactly what their runes declared, loose chunks of iron, steel, copper, tin, gold, silver and mithril. Unfortunately there was very little of the mithril, which the Dwarfs valued so highly. The final hopper, marked Darkmetal, contained… well, a peculiar-looking metal, black as jet, and peculiarly smooth to the touch, like obsidian or jade in its' sheen. The King had never seen such before, and it had a peculiar appeal. Surya decided this substance needed further examination and he placed a large amount of the ore in is bag of holding. As he loaded the ore in to his bag, he noted that the Darkmetal was slightly lighter than he expected it to be. Surya thought if the metal was a strong as steel, then it may be very good for making armour with. He continued to search the forge for any manuals of writing on the subject. It occurred to Surya as he began his search that he'd seen no books, papers or writings in the forge, unusual, as normally in any creative or constructive work, documents and drawings were essential, especially if more than one person was working on the item. Yet here, nothing. Surya thought to himself, that it was a shame, but of little consequence, he own library may contain references to the metal and if not he would have to work it out for himself.

The lesser cubicles contained what he was expecting, each smith's own tools, made by himself both during his apprenticeship and throughout his career, and handled by no-one else.

The largest cubicle's locks proved more challenging. The locksmith's tools Surya had thoughtfully brought along had easily revealed the secrets of the other cubicles, but now as he inserted a probe into the lock of Wyrroth's own tool store, he was faintly surprised when a gentle hiss and curl of smoke announced its destruction. He then tried to force the locker open with his considerable strength, but to now avail. Even in death, Wyrroth did not wish his secrets known. Surya turned to his magic and cast the spell knock upon the lock. As he did a flare of light erupted from the lock, followed by a loud blare like a trumpet blast, clearly some kind of alarm. Normally there would have been people within hearing range to investigate the intrusion but in this case, fortunately, Surya was the only person in the forge.

Driven to coarser techniques, he phased out of the material and onto the fringes of the ethereal plane, allowing him to push his head through the side of the tool store, for such it was. Inside, misty and blurred though they were, he could see racks and shelves lined and packed with smithing tools, all neatly arrange and all, every one of them, black.

Seeing there were only tools in the locker and none appeared to be magical, Surya left them to be sealed forever in the tomb Lyracir was preparing for all Wyrroth's works.

Descending the stairs, Surya paused at the door mid-way down and unlocked that with the remains of his tools. Inside was a small square room with four heavy wheels mounted vertically at waist-height on the wall. Each was numbered in dwarf-runes.

Returning to the stairs and descending to the bottom, the Last Tellaran found the furnace he had seen before. Placing a hand on one of the four stone valves, he noted both that they were numbered the same as the wheels in the chamber above, and that the stone surface was uncomfortably hot.

Ascending back to the main forge, he glanced sideways as he emerged from the stairs. With the inhuman acuity of the Robe of Eyeballs, he observed that next to the grinding wheels were the faint signs of the presence of a hidden doorway. He examined the hidden door for any obverse way of opening it, there had to be some sort of mechanism.

Surya had spent quite some time among dwarves, and was beginning to understand how they thought. A few moments examination in what he knew were the most likely places, a process made easier by the fact that he was starting off at the right height for a change, located a hidden catch. Very well hidden, were it not for the Robe of Eyes, he would never have found it. Pressing gently, he was rewarded by a faint click and the square of wall next to it swung silently open. As it did so, he felt a tiny pinprick on his thumb, just where the soft leather that allowed his fingers to move joined to the ancient steel of Asildur's armour. Fortunately the poison used on this needle trap had no effect on the King of Tellare.

On the other side of the secret panel was a small rectangular atrium about 15' by 30', with rows of pegs on the wall immediately facing the investigating King. Most of these pegs held black robes, adorned with symbols he recognized from his studies in the forbidden works of the Cult of Drok. There were more than a score of them, and Surya suddenly realized that they might have overlooked the more humble members of Drok's corrupted cult in Arelin. Surya took the robes, thinking they may prove useful in the apprehension of the less members of this cult.

Following the passage on, he reached a square room, 30' on a side. The floor was strangely sloped and fluted, almost like a sink, draining to the back wall, where a black slab altar stood like a block of negation. Closer examination showed traces of blood on the sloped floor and the lower edges of the altar.

Resting on the altar was a heavy book, bound in a peculiar substance, partially transparent. Surya examined the book and found it to be a copy of the Curudhwynn, 'The Dreambook of Drok'. While the King already had this in his collection, variances were common in secretly copied underground works like the Black Books, and there might be something to be gained by comparing the two copies. He placed the book in the bag with the Darkmetal.

Surya recalled the spell psychometry, the art of reading objects or places. All events leave traces in the structure of the objects around them. Intense events can leave very strong impressions which the dream spell may be able to be read. Surya hoped that the use of this magic may reveal what happened in this room and more importantly identify the remaining cultists. The spell unfolded, and Surya found his vision blurring and shifting. The general sensation was very similar to that of being drunk, blurred, indistinct shapes and movements came and went while remaining frustratingly vague. Occasionally, however, sharp spikes of intense focus would slash out of the mist to startle the viewer.

Surya saw regular services to Drok very indistinctly, then the ritual sacrifice by dream-draining of an unfortunate dwarf, whereat he saw several other participants but not clearly enough to identify them. Then, clearer than anything else, he saw a rather larger group gathered around the black slab incanting and pooling their power for a massive expense of dream magic. Something told him he was seeing the working of the ritual that had slain Cardinal Axeedge. Seconds only were available to him to seize and memorize faces, and he frantically tucked them into his powerful memory. It was difficult, short, rough figures, beards, hair, minimal face in between, it wasn't much to go on. Then the image faded and the spell was over.

Surya resumed his search of the room and found little else of interest. Believing that there was nothing more to find here, he decided to leave Wyrroth's forge and return to the safety of his rooms.

His magic returned him safely back to his quarters and back to normal. It felt good to be a tall human king once more and he then spent what was left of the day studying the Dreambook of Drok and the other items he had retrieved from the forge. The Dark metal give no more clues beyond its basic physical nature, to discover its ways as a materiel Surya would need to fire up his forges and start working it. The Curudhwynn was a taxing read, and he felt it will need more than an afternoon's flip through to pick up the detailed nuances. Both would require more time to study so he would continue his research later.

Next morning he summoned Heslor and Duzmakhmol to his quarters, but not before he had cleared away the Darkmetal and the Drok book he had been studying the night before. When they arrived, Surya showed them the black robes of the cultists he had found. Neither of them appeared surprised that there were others, but stated it would be almost impossible to trace them now their leader had been killed and their meeting place was under guard.

Surya then gave Heslor the descriptions of the sect members he had gleaned from his spell casting in the forge, but did not reveal it was a dream spell he had used. Heslor thank Surya for the evidence and left with the Orc priest, both vowing to track down the remaining cultists and banish them from Arelin for ever. In Duzmakhmol's case, it was pretty clear that this banishing would take a very permanent and edged form.

Surya choose not to assist any further in the apprehension of the Drok acolytes, even when he recognised one of the sect as he pass him in a hallway. The follower of Drok fled into the darkness on recognizing him, but Surya did not give chase. Instead he just passed on the information to Heslor and Duzmakhmol, it seemed fitting to let the new Orc Avenger sharpen his new skills in tiding up the city. Over the next few months the pair made considerable progress, finding several and even managing to take the odd prisoner.

Two days after the death of the Hand of Drok, King Vennar gave a banquet to honour the heroes. The feast was held in the open air, which at firsts seemed unusual for Dwarves, but there was far more of Arelin above the surface than any other Dwarven city Surya had visited. The weather was kind and the warmth of the occasion and the cities people more than made up for it.

Surya and the other heroes occupied the top table with King Vennar and from this honourable vantage point the King of Tellare could see almost all of the city's population laid out before him on hundreds of oaken tables. The guests dined on simple fare, spit roasted boar and venison, there were also other cold or cured meats available. Their thirsts were quenched, eventually, by a vast quantity of good wines and beers and all were entertained by musicians and the like.

An hour into the feast, the Dwarven King rose from his chair, he waited a few moments for the throng of merriment to subside, and then address his people. He gave thanks first to the two citizens of Arelin on the top table, Heslor and Carnos. The King praised them most highly despite the fact they were on different spiritual paths, they had united against a common enemy and defeated the darkness that would have doomed their city. Vennar then turned to the four outsiders. He addressed Karcian first, thanking him for his aid and the church in Hadrasar for sending him. The King offered him the keys to the city which he gladly accepted. He then turned to Duzmakhmol and smiled warmly at him and turned to the crowd shouting,

"What time's are these went an Orc cleric comes to our aid." He paused for a moment and you could hear a pin drop in the crowd, "I will tell you, Great times. The old symbols are crumbling and being replaced with the new. The days of the Dragon are gone, Drok is diminished and an Orc stands side by side with Dwarves and Kings." He then turned back to Duzmakhmol and granted him permission to stay in the city as long as he wished and receive the training he sought. The bulky Orc rose from his seat and bowed to the King of Arelin. "I accept your honour, strong King, leader of brave warriors, in the name of my church and my master Kord." He sat down again, leaving some dwarves unsure exactly what he had said, but generally satisfied with his respectful attitude.

He then turned to Surya and Hildraft and spoke, "How can I reward you two, probably the most famous Man and Dwarf in Alair. You have saved the world we all live in countless times and now you have freed my city from darkness." He paused for a moment and then spoke to Hildraft, "This quest has robbed you of your acolyte, if you wish, please choose another from this city."

Vennar then turned to the tall warrior king. "What can one King offer another?" he asked rhetorically. "Arms, armour, treasure and what not, you do not need; in fact, we could not match what you bear. As a King, your treasures are to be sought elsewhere, I deem. Perhaps in ways which will benefit our many children. Peace and alliance between our lands I offer, a formality as we had never met much less fought, but friends one can call on are a valuable commodity. Trade; so far in the north, you must produce things we can use; likewise, though we delve less deeply than our lost kin, we have skills they scorn and trade lines they do not. Knowledge; your library is spoken of even here, but we have books dating back to the earliest known times of our race, and our respective librarians must surely be able to find lore to exchange."

He swung a full goblet from the table and lifted it towards Surya. "Now, and forever, while my Clan lasts, Arelin and Tellare shall be allies. To Arelin and Tellare!" and the gathered dwarves roared their approval.

Surya thanked Vennar for his words and looked forward to the new ties between their peoples, lands and children.

The party continued until dawn for many of the revelers, but both kings retired long before the end. For Surya it was not quite early enough to prevent him from wishing he had left earlier. He rose late the next day and was quite hung over, it took a great effort to do anything for the rest of the day and he confined himself to preparing to leave the city the next day. The only real obstacle was obtaining a mount. He eventually tracked down a reasonable nag; this would have to do for the time being. Surya felt sure he would be able to find a better steed on his journey.