Mathas wandered from the main cavern, not really paying attention to where he was going. He passed through several large tunnels with white chalky walls until he realized the light had faded to virtually nothing. He turned around to go back but couldn't remember where 'back' was. "Psst," he heard suddenly. "Huh, who's there?" "Psst," again. It sounded like it came from the very stone itself. Mathas felt along the cavern wall, looking for the source of the noise. The sound grew louder as he closed in on the signal in the darkness. Then he felt someone grab his arm and drag him into a small niche in the cavern wall. "Don't cry our or draw attention to yourself," came a harsh whisper. "We are not going to hurt you." Now that his eyes were adjusting to the dim light, Mathas could make out some features of his assailant. He was a dwarf with dirty, unkempt hair and an equally grimy face. Under the dirt was an intricate design of tattoos which seemed to continue down his neck and under his tunic. The tunic was torn, filthy, and would have been discarded by anyone else who owned it, but it was probably the only one he had. His trousers were in equal condition. "I heard your out there. Why do you want to help us?" asked the dwarf . "Well .... I, uh," Mathas stuttered. "Don't you realize that helping us in anyway is against the law here? Are you that big a fool?" The dwarf stared Mathas in the eye when he spoke, as the diminutive race was prone to do. This so unnerved Mathas that the merchant jumped straight back. "Let go of me," Mathas said as he stumbled into the hallway. "Well, well, well. Whats have we gots here?" said a sibilant voice. Mathas turned around to see what spoke and almost sprained his neck looking straight up into the yellow eyes of a reptilian visage. The creature had a wide snout with large teeth that seemed to go on forever into its gaping maw. Its neck and upper torso were heavily muscled, twice as large as a well-endowed human. Its arms ended in sharp claws that could render flesh to a pulp and its long tail swished back and forth behind its scaly, powerful legs. "It seemsss I've caught myssself a rats hiding in hisss holesses." The lizard man hissed. The Varanus, as this particular species was called, always had trouble mastering the human speech. "B-b-but I was just talking to someone when...." Mathas stammered but couldn't finish. The Varanus yanked him into the hall and began dragging him along. "Youss musst have beenssspeaking to asslave if yousss were in that tiny holess. Youss are underssarresssts!" The creatures speech grew less intelligible the more excited it got. "No,wait! You can't do this! I'm just a merchant, nothing else! I swear by the depths!" Mathas's cries went unanswered as he was continuously dragged down the stairs, through hallways, around comers and finally shoved into a large room filled with light. The light seemed to have no direct source of power yet it illuminated every comer of the room. It must be magic, thought Mathas. The walls were covered with large tapestries depicting the Seven Cities across the 'blue'. In the center aisle was a bluish-green woven carpet leading up to a throne. On both sides of the rug were short four-foot columns with a flat crown, each sporting a priceless treasure of some sort. The throne itself was an elaborate affair. It was difficult to look at because of the reflecting properties of the different gems embedded in the armrests and mantle. Many brilliant colors streamed forth to create a rainbow effect. The served to force subject to humility whether they meant to or not. Mathas could not stare long at the figure in the seat when he was forced to approach. He was thrown to his knees in front of the throne and listed to the Varanus guard report his crime to the king. "Thiss human wasss caught aiding and abetting asslave, my lord." "What is your name?" said a voice from beyond the glare. "M-m-mathas, my lord." "Do you know what the punishment for helping a dwarf is, Mathas?" Ledgerdemangene's voice was deep and dark with hatred and terror. "B-but my lord, I assure you I was only..." Mathas's whine was interrupted by a hard blow to his head by a very large clawed hand: "Ansswer the questionssscummsss!" "No, my lord." he practically spit. "The punishment is life imprisonment in one of the underwater caves that can be sealed up by the coral-working elves. What exactly were you talking to that dwarf about?" the king asked, seemingly intrigued. "My lord," Mathas straightened, seeing his one possible chance of redemption. "I came up with an idea that could possibly benefit your water system. I think that I could invent a cloth that a dwarf could wear over his nose and mouth so that they wouldn't breathe the lime dust in. This way they would live longer and be able to work better. Don't you think this would be good for your city my lord?" Suddenly the light from the gems flared outward. All who were in the hall cried out in pain as the brightness blinded them. Mathas felt himself being lifted into the air by his neck, but when he tried to free himself he found that there was nothing actually holding him up. "HOW DARE YOU QUESTION MY METHODS!!! IMPUDENT SNAIL!!!" The light dimmed and Mathas dropped to the floor, gasping for breath and rubbing his sore neck. "TAKE HIM AWAY!" The Varanus lifted Mathas off the floor and dragged him out of the throne room. All Mathas could do was gasp, "no". In the cavern... Gresk worked his way through the dark and twisting corridors that the dwarves had built in every part of the mountain. Finally he came to the small hollowed out chamber where his brethren were gathered. As he entered, five of his kin, all as grimy and haggered as he, looked up in expectation. "Did the Varanus arrest him?" one of them asked. "Yes," said Gresk. "Now we can only hope be blurts out his idea to Ledgerdemange. That might save a few more of our young from choking to death before they are able to have young ones of their own. They can breed life, and with life comes hope." All the dwarves in the chamber agreed with Gresk. They all knew that Ledgerdemange would never again let another human take credit for improving his city. Not since one woman became so popular that she was able to lead a revolt against him to free the dwarves. "Yes," said one of the elders. "It is unfortunate we had to sacrifice the human, but it's best for all of us. Get some sleep Gresk, you look like you could use it." All the dwarves got up and left the chamber. then. . All except Gresk. He just stared into the darkness and thought to himself 'I'll not be sleeping tonight. Probably not ever again.' Back to White Knight #13 Table of Contents Back to White Knight List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Pegasus-Unicorn Productions This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com