The Dragons of Bone and Dust (Tales from the New Earth Book 7) (25 page)

“
Now, it
isn't quite midday here yet, but we'll still call this breakfast,
shall we?” she said jovially.

“
Certainly.
Thanks so much, by the way. My bed was so comfortable, I slept like a
stone.”

The dwarf laughed loudly.

“
An apt
description to use in a dwarven inn,” she chortled. “Now,
there's fresh tea in that carafe and I have eggs and fried beef on
the way, as well as toast.”

She began to leave the room and
looked back over her shoulder.

“
Won't be
but a minute,” she said and disappeared.

The wizard smiled to himself and
poured a cup of tea. He could swear that it was chamomile, but it was
probably something else. The taste was what mattered though. He
recognized a bowl of brown powder as sweetener created from some sort
of fungus and added a spoonful to his tea.

A few sips and he relaxed. It was as
good as he remembered.

The dining room walls were painted a
soothing pale green and had many pictures hanging from them.
Surprisingly, most were scenes of flowering meadows and distant
mountains; very odd choices for a people who lived underground.

The sandalwood scent was strong here
and made the whole place feel even more inviting. Simon couldn't
remember the last time he stayed anywhere that was more welcoming,
other than his own home. He began to hope that the king wouldn't
summon him for a while so that he could remain at the inn and just
enjoy its atmosphere for a few more hours.

“
Here we
are,” Orrina said as she returned a short time later, carrying
a loaded tray.

She set it down deftly across the
table from the wizard and removed the covers from the plates on it.

There were fried eggs, a mound of
sliced ham and a dozen pieces of hot toast. There was a plate of
butter and a jar of what looked like marmalade as well.

“
Help
yourself,” Orrina said encouragingly. “I've already
eaten, so don't stand on ceremony.”

Simon didn't have to be asked twice.
He was famished.

Breakfast was delicious and he
complimented the innkeeper many times during the meal. Orrina simply
beamed in response.

“
Ah but it's
good to have someone to feed up again. My children are long gone and
the husband went and got himself killed in a rockfall twenty years
back, you see, and with the lack of guests, well; let's just say that
you're welcome to stay for as long as you please.”

She grinned and added, “And it
doesn't hurt that the king is footing the bill.”

Simon laughed at her mischievous tone
and she winked at him slyly.

“
Now, head
on into the parlor and I'll clear away the dishes. No, no, no. None
of that. I need no help. Now, be off with you.”

The wizard felt like a boy again as
he was ordered from the room by the dwarven woman. He was smiling
widely as he entered the parlor where he'd first sat down the
previous night.

His smile quickly faded as he
realized that there was someone else in the room as he entered, just
off to his left.

He turned to see the visitor and
caught a glimpse of the scowling, twisted face of an unknown dwarf.
Something slammed into the side of his head and he fell to his knees,
the room going dark around him.

But I'm safe with the dwarves, was
his last desperate thought, and then everything went black.

The dwarves were as complicated a
race as human kind was. They were, for the most part, good people but
they certainly weren't perfect.

There were thieves among them; there
were bullies and thugs. And there were assassins. The dwarven royal
house had seen its fair share of deaths for political gain at the
hands of murderers. Poison, garrote, dagger; none of these
instruments of evil were unknown to the rulers of the dwarven nation.
Shandon Ironhand knew them all too well.

Kidnapping, on the other hand, was
virtually unknown. Death from the shadows was considered
dishonorable, yes, but to steal someone away while they were
helpless? That was beyond despicable.

And so it should have come as no
surprise to the person or persons responsible for spiriting away a
friend of the king, even though that friend was human, that the full
might of the king's authority would come crashing down upon them. And
yet it did.

Simon woke up in horrendous pain. It
felt like the side of his head had been bashed in. Rolling waves of
agony made him writhe uncontrollably on whatever surface he was lying
on.

But a gentle touch against his
temple, a warmth like fire but strangely comforting, eased his pain
in an instant and he groaned in relief.

“
Easy,
Simon,” a woman's voice said calmly. “Breathe, my friend.
Your wound is healing, but you must stay still and let the gods' gift
do its work.”

He knew that voice from somewhere but
he felt himself descending into darkness again and he couldn't
remember who was speaking.

After what felt like only a few
minutes, a flickering light danced across his eyelids. The pain had
receded and the wizard tentatively opened his eyes to look around.

A female dwarf wearing plain leather
clothing was sitting on the edge of the bed he was lying on. One of
her hands was placed on the side of his head. She smiled as he looked
up at her.

“
Ah, there
you are. You know, while I get a deep satisfaction from saving your
life, this is starting to become a habit.”

The pain was gone and Simon felt
nothing but warmth and comfort. He sighed and smiled up at his
benefactor.

“
Hi
Opheilla. This is a surprise but it's good to see you again. How's my
head?”

She pushed back the long braid that
kept her blond hair off of her face and chuckled.

“
In one
piece again, thanks to the gods' mercy. Can you sit up?”

The wizard pushed himself up on his
elbows, helped by the cleric's arm across his shoulders. She slipped
a few pillows behind him for support and Simon relaxed again.

“
That's
better. Now we can see eye to eye,” she said jovially. “Can
you remember what happened?”

Simon looked around the room and
realized with surprise that he was back at the inn, in the same room
that he'd had when he first arrived in Kingstone.

“
Hang on.
Are we inside the Diamond Inn?” he asked in confusion.

“
We are
indeed. Best lodgings in the entire city, in my opinion. When we
recovered you from the scum that snatched you away, Shandon had you
brought back here while he summoned me. The first good idea he's had
in ages,” she added with a smile.

“
Snatched me
away? What? The last thing I remember was walking into the parlor and
seeing someone out of the corner of my eye. Then something hit me
and...nothing. You're saying that I was kidnapped?”

“
Aye,
kidnapped,” Opheilla growled. “A despicable action
perpetrated by dishonorable dwarves.”

She frowned at the thought and then
stood up abruptly. She walked over to a table and brought back a
glass of water.

“
Drink this.
You're a little dehydrated from two days of healing sleep. It was
necessary after that blow to the head. By the gods, it's a wonder
that you didn't die in the hands of those idiots.”

Simon accepted the glass but just
held it as he stared at her.

“
Two days?
I've been out for two days?”

The cleric motioned for him to drink
as she answered.

“
Aye, two
days. And it's been a chaotic time in the city for that span, let me
tell you. When Orrina called the watch to tell them that you had been
taken, they informed the king straight away. His reaction
was...intense, to put it mildly.”

She shivered and looked blankly
across the room.

“
I've known
Shandon since he was very young and I thought that I knew him well.
But by the gods, I have never seen that kind of rage in him.”

She shook her head and looked at
Simon.

“
You have a
great friend there, sir wizard. He rousted out the warriors of the
city and the royal guard as well. And then he did something that I
never thought he would do. Amazing. He broke his own rules to find
you and, for a stubborn person like the king, that is saying
something.”

Simon handed her his empty glass and
watched as she put it back on the table.

“
I don't
understand. What did he do? And how did he even know that I'd been
kidnapped?”

She returned and sat down on the edge
of the bed again.

“
Oh, the
mongrels left a note, of course. A bunch of nonsense about consorting
with lesser races and the king bringing shame on the great dwarven
nation. Blah, blah, blah. Racist idiotic nonsense is what it was.”

“
Those
people don't like humans? But why? We're no threat to them.”

The cleric patted his hand and smiled
at him affectionately.

“
Of course
you aren't. And you yourself saved Shandon's life, and his honor,
when the dragons attacked our people underground. But I think the
fact that we have taken in human refugees has made the hatred for
your race bubble up in some people. It's been there, simmering like a
foul stew just under the surface, but now the presence of humans
inside of the capital itself has brought it spewing out into the
open. That such dwarves even exist is a stain on the honor of my
people.”

Simon gave that some thought. Of
course he knew that no one could be universally loved. And he'd lived
long enough to know that even the best of people had some prejudices.
But to take it so far that you attack others? He could understand why
Opheilla was so angry at what some of her people had done.

“
So what did
Shandon do that surprised you?” he asked her.

“
Oh that.
Well, he knew that we had to find you quickly; the kidnappers had
given the king only a short time to meet their demands. So he
approached our magical community and asked for their aid.”

He stared at her, wide-eyed.

“
But, aren't
spell-casters considered...” he hesitated, not wanting to
insult Opheilla's people.

Her eyes gleamed with amusement as
she snorted softly.

“
Second-class
citizens? Aye, to our shame, that's true. I've never felt that way
about anyone gifted with powers, but unfortunately I am in the
minority. Perhaps having the king ask for their help will open the
minds of a few of the less hard-headed among us. Maybe.”

She adjusted Simon's pillows and
looked a little sad for a moment.

“
Ah well,
baby steps, I suppose,” Opheilla continued with a small shrug.
“We dwarves are a stubborn lot, 'tis true, and it might be a
long time before mages and wizards can live openly with the rest of
our society. The point is that the casters Shandon spoke to were able
to use their magic to track you down, my friend. And very quickly
too. The royal guard and others from the watch surrounded the hideout
of your captors and stormed the place, taking the dogs completely
off-guard. They found you in a small closet looking rather the worse
for wear, brought you back here and summoned me.”

She leaned back and patted his hand
again.

“
And that is
the whole story. I've made you sleep since your return so that I
could accelerate your healing and now you're as good as new.”

Simon was a bit confused.

“
But I just
felt you touch the wound a few minutes ago. It really hurt but you
took the pain away.”

“
No lad,
that was yesterday. Head trauma can muddle the senses. It's true that
as soon as I arrived, I healed the worst part of the injury; you were
bleeding rather badly and I couldn't wait. But once that was done, I
let you sleep and I mended what damage was left much more slowly.”

She stood up and put her hands on her
hips, giving him a stern look.

“
And now,
sir wizard, you must be up and about. The king has left standing
orders that you be brought to him as soon as you are able, so get up,
get cleaned, get fed and get going.”

Simon laughed as the cleric finished
her orders with a wink.

“
Yes ma'am,”
he said meekly. “I'll do that.”

“
Good,”
Opheilla said through her laughter. “I'll let Orrina know that
you're awake and she'll have a meal ready when you come down. See you
in a bit.”