Kathir's Redemption (Book 6) (31 page)

Kathir jammed his sword into the advancing creature
’
s mouth, forcing it back while he scrambled for his dagger with his other hand. He stabbed, but the blade skittered off the drask
’
s scales. Kathir
’
s armor barely stopped the lizard
’
s claws.

“
Kathir, run!
”
shouted Skemtun.

Kathir sprinted for the bridge and felt it give under his feet as he ran. He glanced back and saw that the injured drask was struggling back up to its feet.

Kathir jumped off the bridge onto solid ground just as the drask rose up from the cavern floor. It stepped forward onto the bridge tentatively.

“
Quick!
”
Tallin yelled.
“
Collapse the bridge! Bjarg-rammlingr!
”

All the mageborns dissolved the bridge, and the drask screamed as it was swallowed by the molten rock below. The magma flared as it consumed the beast, its final screams echoing through cavern. All of the orcs were dead, and their bodies were scattered around the room on the other side of the pool.

“
We can
’
t stay here,
”
Sela said.
“
More orcs will follow. The magma won
’
t stop them
—
they
’
ll find a way to cross it.
”

“
We have to stop Nar
—
before he gathers his forces to attack Morholt,
”
replied Tallin

Mugla went around the group to treat any wounds they
’
d received during the fight. All the injuries were minor. They
’
d all been very lucky.

Remarkably lucky, Tallin decided, remembering the fetid smell of the drask
’
s breath.
“
Let
’
s go,
”
he said with urgency.
“
Our plans have changed. After what the orcs have done, there won
’
t be sufficient water pressure for us to flood the caverns. We have to think of something else. We must strike
—
and we need to do it tonight.
”

They went back out through the tunnels, following the route that they
’
d taken coming in. By the time the group made its way back out into the spellcasters
’
chambers, hours had passed, and the smell from the dead spellcaster was much worse than before.

“
We should take him outside and bury him,
”
said Mugla.

“
It
’
s too dangerous,
”
said Bolrakei.
“
Just roll him up in a blanket and set him aside.
”

“
Mugla
’
s right,
”
said Tallin.
“
The man deserves a proper burial, but we
’
ll have to wait. We can
’
t leave the chamber now.
”

“
The orcs know that we
’
re inside the mountain. We
’
ve lost the element of surprise. What are we going to do?
”
asked Skemtun. 
“
How are we going to stop the greenskins? Their numbers don
’
t seem to have diminished at all. If anything, there are even more of them than before!
”

They were quiet for a long time. Everyone stood in a circle, but no one seemed willing to begin the difficult conversation that they all knew they needed to have.

“
Morholt can
’
t stand against the orcs,
”
Sela said finally.
“
Rali is still building his armies, and the orc
’
s numbers are too great. The city will fall.
”

“
We can
’
t afford to take that chance,
”
said Tallin.
“
The orcs must be stopped here
—
at all costs.
”

Bolrakei snorted.
“
Why is Morholt so important? Once the orcs are on the march again, my people could take back Mount Velik. Let Morholt defend itself
—
it has its own army.
”

“
Are you insane? My son is the king, and I won
’
t risk his life on a gamble,
”
Sela snapped.
“
The orcs must be stopped before they start their march towards the capital city.
”

“
Sela
’
s right,
”
said Elias quietly.
“
And it
’
s not just the city at risk
—
it
’
s the thousands of people along the way. All the villages in the greenskins
’
path will be razed to the ground. We can
’
t allow them to go any further with their plans.
”

“
I agree the orcs must be stopped now.  If the orcs take Morholt, then they will have control of the eastern seaboard. Highport would fall and so would everything south of the Frigid Waste. Eventually, even Miklagard and Parthos would be in danger. We cannot allow the greenskins to spread.
”

“
Speaking as the governor of Sut-Burr,
”
Druknor said.
“
I also agree that the orcs must be stopped at all costs.
”

“
Our queen also agrees,
”
F
ë
anor said.
“
The greenskins must be eliminated.
”

“
I think we all understand the gravity of the situation,
”
Tallin said.
“
The question now is what we should do about it.
”

“
From what Nar said, we only have about a week before the orcs start their march toward Morholt. Even with advanced warning, there still wouldn
’
t be enough time to get supplies and forces ready for such a massive assault.
”

“
So what do we do? We have to stop them before they begin their march.
”

Skemtun held his axe across his knees, looking down at the reflection of his face on its blade.
“
We can
’
t meet them in open battle. And we can
’
t flood the caverns with water. What other options do we have to drive them out?
”

“
We
’
ve got to ensure that they don
’
t leave this mountain,
”
said Mugla.

“
We could collapse all the entrances to Mount Velik and trap them inside,
”
F
ë
anor said with a spark of cruelty in his eyes.
“
Their food would run out eventually. We could let them starve.
”

Skemtun snorted.
“
It
’
s a mountain, not some crofter
’
s hut with only one entrance. There
’
s lots of ways to build exits and entrances in this mountain
—
especially if you
’
re desperate. Besides, there
’
s no way to seal all the orcs inside. Half of them are milling about outside, working on their death machines. It wouldn
’
t work.
”

“
Skemtun is right,
”
Elias said.
“
The orcs aren
’
t cattle
—
they would figure out a way to escape eventually. Sealing the mountain would slow them down, but it wouldn
’
t stop them.
”

“
So we
’
re saying that there
’
s no way to stop them?
”
Amandila asked, an edge of hysteria in her voice.
“
The orcs are going to just pour out of Mount Velik like a plague of locusts!
”

“
Worried that your snobbish queen will be a bit displeased?
”
Druknor asked.
“
Some of us stand to lose more than you, elf. We don
’
t have a mystical land that we can all escape to!
”

“
Everyone, stop arguing.
”
Tallin took a deep breath.
“
I think I have a solution,
”
he said.
“
But some of you aren
’
t going to like it.
”

Tallin
’
s expression was dark.
“
Well, let
’
s hear it,
”
Sela said.
“
What
’
s your plan?
”

“
We activate the volcano. It will fill the caverns with magma and smoke. All the orcs will be forced out. It will also destroy their hoard of weaponry.
”

A surprised murmur rose from around the room. The elves smiled and clapped their hands. Bolrakei
’
s mouth dropped open in shock.

Sela looked thoughtful.
“
It
’
s so crazy that it just might work.
”

Bolrakei screamed and ran into the middle of the room.
“
No! It will destroy our home! The clans won
’
t be able to return.
”

“
It might be the only way
…”
Tallin said, but Bolrakei cut him off.

“
Are you insane?
”
She was now shrieking with shock.
“
Destroying our home is not the only way! It is a stupid way! Just because you
’
re a halfling, you think that it is acceptable to destroy the only home of the dwarves?
”

“
I'm not insane,
”
Tallin said, his voice growing louder as he grew impatient with her.
“
But at this point, it may be our only option.
”

“
I have never heard such a ridiculous plan in all my life!
”
Bolrakei screamed.

Skemtun raised one hand and spoke.
“
I don
’
t think it will work. The mountain is dead. It hasn
’
t erupted in thousands of years.
”

“
I agree with the old dwarf,
”
said Druknor.
“
It would never work.
”

“
No
…
it
’
s possible,
”
replied Sela,
“
The volcano isn
’
t dead; it
’
s just inactive. It could be done
—
if we all worked together and had the dragon
’
s strength as well. It would take a lot of energy
…
”

“
The elves have spells that can do this sort of thing
—
manipulate the natural order of things,
”
Amandila said.
“
F
ë
anor and I could spark the natural processes of the volcano enough to create a true eruption
…
that is, if we had enough help. We just need a catalyst
—
something with great heat.
”

“
Dragon fire would work,
”
Tallin said, astonished how quickly this had gone from a vague possibility to something that now seemed like an obvious solution.