point. “It is decided then : Grundel will lead the resupply. How many dwarves do we think should go with him?”
“Ten,” Grundel said. Everyone looked at him. “Ten plus me and Rundo makes twelve. When we get to Ambar we will buy wagons and horses or mules. Each wagon will be able to carry enough food for one hundred dwarves for two weeks. We won ’t be making feasts—just enough to get us by. We will fill the eleventh wagon with dried rations just in case.”
“That’s only eleven wagons . You said twelve,” Bergmann was quick to point out.
“Rundo will be riding his pony. His job is to guide us to the city and help arrange getting the goods. His pony isn’t going to pull a wagon.”
Bergmann gave a little huff as if he expected as much. No one else seemed to have an issue with it.
“Grizzle , if you could send one of the dwarves who manages your stores to help me make a list of what we should have them get, that would be very helpful,” Frau said.
Grizzle nodded.
“If everything is settled,” she continued, “then all we have left to decide is when to leave. If everyone is ready then I would like to have Grundel and ten dwarves of his choice to leave in the morning. As he said, it will take the larger force twice as long to make the trip. We will leave the following day. Shinestone is to the east of Ambar, so we will meet them on the road a day east of Ambar in two weeks. That should give him roughly a week to gather the supplies.”
The next morning Grundel was standing on the landing at the top of the narrow winding stairs that led up to the entrance of Evermount. He had said goodbye to his mother back in the king’s apartment. It was never good to have an emotional moment in front of other dwarves. Lives and memories were too long and dwarves never let anything go. Now he said his goodbyes to his father, his queen, and the other two dwarf kings. He and Rundo walked down the stairs followed by the ten dwarves he had chosen. He had actually just picked the first ten to volunteer. They were at least all familiar if he didn’t really know them all personally.
He could see Bumbo, Rundo’s black -and-gray-striped miniature pony running in the field at the base of the mountain. Messah landed on Rundo’s shoulder not long after he saw Bumbo. He could see on Rundo’s face how happy he was to be close to them again. Rundo had somehow linked with both of these animals. Grundel didn’t really understand how it worked, but he knew that Rundo could always sense them and they could always sense him. He could feel their emotions if not their thoughts. He could also link with them more intimately and actually look through their eyes.
Rundo was happy, and Grundel was happy. Grundel loved the mountain, and Evermount was home, but after the recent events and having Frau around him all the time, he was feeling like the walls were closing in on him. He had been out of Evermount only once, and that was when he had gone with Anwar, Navaeh, and Rundo to try to save Anwar’s wife, Mariah. That trip had taken him all over the place. They had traveled a lot more quickly from city to city after Mariah had died. Anwar had used magic to take them from one place to the next in a blink of an eye.
Now they had to walk , but Grundel didn’t mind. He could use the time to process everything that had been happening lately. He had a week to get to Ambar and then another week after that before he would see her again. By then he would have put behind him his ridiculous attraction to his new queen that he would never be able to act on. At least he hoped he would be able to.
C hapter Six
Jerrie
Jerrie was just a few inches above five and a half feet tall. His face was mildly sca rred from acne and fighting, but he didn’t have any big, noticeable scars. He had dirty blond hair that was cut in a straight line at the top of his ear. It looked like someone had set a bowl on top of his head and just shaved all the hair
“Ten,” Grundel said. Everyone looked at him. “Ten plus me and Rundo makes twelve. When we get to Ambar we will buy wagons and horses or mules. Each wagon will be able to carry enough food for one hundred dwarves for two weeks. We won ’t be making feasts—just enough to get us by. We will fill the eleventh wagon with dried rations just in case.”
“That’s only eleven wagons . You said twelve,” Bergmann was quick to point out.
“Rundo will be riding his pony. His job is to guide us to the city and help arrange getting the goods. His pony isn’t going to pull a wagon.”
Bergmann gave a little huff as if he expected as much. No one else seemed to have an issue with it.
“Grizzle , if you could send one of the dwarves who manages your stores to help me make a list of what we should have them get, that would be very helpful,” Frau said.
Grizzle nodded.
“If everything is settled,” she continued, “then all we have left to decide is when to leave. If everyone is ready then I would like to have Grundel and ten dwarves of his choice to leave in the morning. As he said, it will take the larger force twice as long to make the trip. We will leave the following day. Shinestone is to the east of Ambar, so we will meet them on the road a day east of Ambar in two weeks. That should give him roughly a week to gather the supplies.”
The next morning Grundel was standing on the landing at the top of the narrow winding stairs that led up to the entrance of Evermount. He had said goodbye to his mother back in the king’s apartment. It was never good to have an emotional moment in front of other dwarves. Lives and memories were too long and dwarves never let anything go. Now he said his goodbyes to his father, his queen, and the other two dwarf kings. He and Rundo walked down the stairs followed by the ten dwarves he had chosen. He had actually just picked the first ten to volunteer. They were at least all familiar if he didn’t really know them all personally.
He could see Bumbo, Rundo’s black -and-gray-striped miniature pony running in the field at the base of the mountain. Messah landed on Rundo’s shoulder not long after he saw Bumbo. He could see on Rundo’s face how happy he was to be close to them again. Rundo had somehow linked with both of these animals. Grundel didn’t really understand how it worked, but he knew that Rundo could always sense them and they could always sense him. He could feel their emotions if not their thoughts. He could also link with them more intimately and actually look through their eyes.
Rundo was happy, and Grundel was happy. Grundel loved the mountain, and Evermount was home, but after the recent events and having Frau around him all the time, he was feeling like the walls were closing in on him. He had been out of Evermount only once, and that was when he had gone with Anwar, Navaeh, and Rundo to try to save Anwar’s wife, Mariah. That trip had taken him all over the place. They had traveled a lot more quickly from city to city after Mariah had died. Anwar had used magic to take them from one place to the next in a blink of an eye.
Now they had to walk , but Grundel didn’t mind. He could use the time to process everything that had been happening lately. He had a week to get to Ambar and then another week after that before he would see her again. By then he would have put behind him his ridiculous attraction to his new queen that he would never be able to act on. At least he hoped he would be able to.
C hapter Six
Jerrie
Jerrie was just a few inches above five and a half feet tall. His face was mildly sca rred from acne and fighting, but he didn’t have any big, noticeable scars. He had dirty blond hair that was cut in a straight line at the top of his ear. It looked like someone had set a bowl on top of his head and just shaved all the hair
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