Kathir's Redemption (Book 6) (14 page)

Skemtun heaved a sigh.
“
I
’
ll go talk to Utan.
”

“
Stop!
”
yelled Bolrakei, grabbing his sleeve.
“
What are you doing? They sent their army out to meet us!
”

He shook her off.
“
Arguin
’
with me isn
’
t going to help the situation. Our people are starvin
’
and tired. We can
’
t go back to Mount Velik now. We
’
ve no place to live, so I
’
m going to talk to Utan and see if we can come to a compromise.
”

“
They
’
re not trying to welcome us, can
’
t you see that?
”

Skemtun frowned.
“
It doesn
’
t matter. We don
’
t have any choice in this, so I have to try.
”

Her eyes narrowed dangerously.
“
I wouldn
’
t do it, Skemtun.
”

Skemtun rolled his eyes.
“
I
’
m still a clan leader, and ye don
’
t have the authority to boss me around. Ye
’
re not a queen
—
not yet, anyway. Now, I
’
m going over to talk with Utan. Ye can come along, or ye can stay here, sulking in the mud. I don
’
t care either way.
”
He dismounted and started walking up the hill.

He hadn
’
t gone far before Bolrakei ran up behind him, panting as she jogged.
“
Wait! I
’
m coming! I
’
m coming!
”

Utan stepped forward, flanked by two bodyguards. Sela and Elias stood nearby, but they did not attempt to interfere. Utan addressed Sela and Elias first.
“
Thank ye for bein
’
here. I appreciate the dragon riders
’
presence durin
’
this difficult time.
”
Then he gave a curt nod to Skemtun and Bolrakei.

“
Don
’
t try to sweet-talk us, Utan! I remember what your clan did! Don
’
t forget that!
”
Bolrakei snapped.

Utan bristled at Bolrakei
’
s disrespectful tone.

Skemtun sighed in frustration.
“
Please, Bolrakei! I Ye
’
re only doing things to aggravate the situation. Ye
’
re only makin
’
things worse!
”

“
He
’
s right,
”
said Utan.
“
No one is arguin
’
here except
you.
”

Bolrakei blinked hard, gritted her teeth, and turned her head in defiance.
“
Humph!
”
But then she was silent.

“
We didn
’
t come here to fight with you,
”
said Skemtun.
“
We came here to talk.
”

“
Who
’
s fightin
’
? It certainly isn
’
t us,
”
said Utan.
“
We
’
ve been hearin
’
rumors about how ye intended to come here and teach us a lesson
—
how ye planned yer revenge against us. We came here to make a new life for ourselves. All we wanted was to be left in peace, and now ye
’
ve shown up outside our gates! We assumed that ye planned to attack us. Ye can
’
t blame us for takin
’
precautions.
”

Skemtun pointed to the gaunt women and children behind him.
“
Utan, look at us. Do we
look
like we
’
re in any shape to attack anyone? Half our men are dead. All our spellcasters are gone. The greenskins completely destroyed our home.
”

Utan shot a sympathetic glance towards the women and children.
“
I
’
m sorry about yer losses
…
I heard that the greenskins attacked Mount Velik, but I never thought the city would fall. I
’
m also sorry about what yer clans went through, but ye should have been better prepared for the siege. As for yer difficult journey, well, every Vardmiter knows how hard the journey from Mount Velik is. We all had to make that trip ourselves when we left.
”

“
No one forced ye to leave,
”
Skemtun said quietly.
“
Ye decided that all by yerself.
”

“
Right,
”
Utan said bitterly.
“
Just like it was yer idea to treat us like dirt! We didn
’
t have any choice but to leave! Can
’
t ye see that? It was either
leave
or continue to be treated like pests and vermin. So we left, and created a
new
life for ourselves. And now ye
’
ve come here, begging for help. What would ye do in my shoes?
”

Skemtun answered quietly.
“
I
’
m askin
’
for help, Utan
—
that much is true. We need a safe place for our women and children, at least until we can decide what to do next. Is that too much to ask?
”

Utan glanced back at his own soldiers.
“
I
’
m not sure if my people are ready to forgive how badly they were treated. Why should I make an effort to help ye, after everything that yer clans have done to mine?
”

“
We
’
re yer people, too, Utan,
”
said Skemtun quietly.
“
If ye leave us to fend for ourselves, more of us will die. Is that what ye want?
”

Utan fell silent, his resolve wavering.
“
Aye, no
…
.ye
’
re right.
”

“
Please help us,
”
Skemtun continued,
“
I can
’
t do anythin
’
about the past, and I
’
m sorry about that, but if ye turn us away now, ye
’
re killin
’
us as surely as if ye take axes to our skulls. Ye can see how weak and hungry most of us are. The orcs have been harassin
’
us for the entire journey. We were attacked again just yesterday, and if the dragon riders hadn
’
t come to our rescue, even more of us would
‘
ave died.
”

Utan paused and sighed deeply.
“
Alright, alright. I
’
ll help ye, but that doesn
’
t mean I
’
ll let ye inside our mountain. There isn
’
t enough space for all of ye here; most of our caves are still unfinished, and it
’
s cramped enough as it is.
”
When Skemtun looked surprised, Utan snorted.
“
What did ye expect? Do ye think that all yer clans could just show up outside this mountain and have my clan provide for ye like before? That
’
s not going to happen! The Vardmiter clan is independent now. If anything, we
’
re better off without any of ye here.
”

Bolrakei clenched her fists.
“
How dare you speak to us this way!
”

Utan
’
s bottled outrage sputtered to the surface.
“
Did everyone hear that? That
’
s exactly the type of response that I would expect from such a shrew! Ye
’
re beggin
’
for us to help, and ye still have the nerve to insult me. After everything that
’
s happened, ye still think ye
’
re better than us.
”
There was a moment of sharp silence as he turned to walk away.
“
Bah! I
’
m finished with the lot of ye.
”

Skemtun shouted,
“
Wait! Please, wait!
”

Utan turned slightly.
“
Just what do ye want?
”

“
Look,
”
Skemtun pleaded,
“
Don
’
t listen to Bolrakei. I
’
ll admit that I
’
ve treated yer clan badly in the past. Yes, there are many things we need to talk through, but my people need food and shelter now. If that means beggin
’
at yer feet
…”
The old dwarf battled his pride for a moment.
“
Then I
’
ll do it.
”
Skemtun got down on his knees and clasped his hands.

Utan stared at him with a shocked expression. He paused for a long moment before finally speaking.
“
Ye can stand up. Beggin
’
won
’
t be necessary. My people will bring out food and blankets for ye. We
’
ll help yer people construct shelters tomorrow.
”

“
We can
’
t come inside?
”
Skemtun asked.

Utan shook his head.
“
No. I
’
ll help ye, and I
’
ll feed ye, but yer clans are
not
welcome inside the Highport Caverns. Is that understood? Anyone who doesn
’
t like it is certainly welcome to leave.
”
Then he turned and left.

Skemtun sighed and lowered his head. It wasn
’
t the outcome he
’
d hoped for, but it was better than nothing.

The rest of the Vardmiters trailed back inside the mountain, with only a few guards remaining posted at the main gate.

Skemtun walked back to his clan and explained the situation. Some were happy that they would have food and blankets, but more than a few dwarves
—
and most of Bolrakei
’
s clan
—
were angry that they hadn
’
t been invited inside the mountain.

After a moment, Bolrakei went up to Skemtun and poked his chest.
“
That didn
’
t go very well. We
’
re in the same position as when we got here
—
stuck outside like wild animals.
”

“
No thanks to you!
”
Skemtun spat.

“
Humph!
”
she grunted.
“
It
’
s obvious to me that the Vardmiters haven
’
t learned any respect or any ground rules for civilized behavior.
”

“
Don
’
t you dare do
anything
to disrupt things here,
”
warned Skemtun.

“
Oh don
’
t worry,
”
Bolrakei said.
“
I
’
m not going to start any more arguments, at least not now. They can help us, alright. But afterwards, when we
’
re stronger, we
’
ll have to put the Vardmiters back in their proper place.
”
She turned around and stomped back to her friends.