“We ducked a group of giants ourselves on our way to you.”
“Does Fallon control the shipyards?”
“In Ianna and Kieran we think, but so far no one has reported anything odd in Seabrook. But, that’s only for now.”
Dagon blew out another puff of smoke from his pipe, making another circle in the air, which disappeared in a swirl over his head. He was somewhere far away for the moment, lost in thought, contemplating the future. He finally came back and looked hard at Brogan.
“Fallon has tried time and again to gain our trust, but the dwarves are a suspicious lot and trust no one easily. I’ll admit that we are mistrustful, especially where our mines are concerned, and we don’t allow outsiders to see our inner workings. Dain, and Colwyn before him, left us to our affairs and never demanded payments from any of our finds; in return we have kept to ourselves, out of trouble. Fallon is a plague that will easily eat away at every corner of this kingdom, but his minions, whatever they are, will not be fought against so easily. How can we expect to rid ourselves and fight against creatures we know nothing about?”
“The elves are working on that as we speak.”
“So they have agreed to an alliance as well?”
“Not officially, but Dain is confident they will.”
“Why is Dain so confident about that? They haven’t joined forces with man for centuries.”
“Alekzand’r has someone on the inside that has special rapport with the Elders. He’s speaking to the elves on Dain and Randor’s behalf.”
“I see.” He paused for a moment then, “Off the subject. It is rumored that Princess Melenthia is in care of the king.”
“She is.”
“Why would she need to be protected?”
“Her father promised her hand to Fallon, not knowing what he was doing, and she escaped the castle and went into hiding. Her brother, Prince Kevaan, made arrangements with Alekzand’r Morgan to take her to Drydon Keep to keep her safe. Fallon has yet to discover where she’s hiding, but I doubt she will evade him for long. His wraith is sinister, and he has powers we have yet to discover. He will seek her out, and I’m willing to bet he will find her soon enough. We don’t have much time. Dain is putting plans in order as we speak.”
“What other troops can he hope to gather?”
“He will send a representative into Isamar soon to speak with the chancellor and the Tribal Council in Salador. We’re all in this together. Like I said before, if we don’t band as one, we will lose.”
“Strange times we have come into, Brogan. Strange times indeed.” Dagon sat back again in his chair, his head tilted slightly upward, staring at the ceiling in contemplation. He turned his head toward Brogan, his deep brown eyes not revealing his thoughts. He rubbed his bearded chin and chomped on his pipe stem.
“We will have to bring the clan leaders together in order to make a decision. I can’t make a decision without the approval of the full council. I will see that the council convene first thing in the morning. I can ultimately make the final decision, but it has to be discussed; it’s the way of our people. There hasn’t been a reason for us to join the humans in hundreds of years. It’ll be hard to convince them, but we will. We must.”
“I hope you’re right, Dagon. We don’t have a lot of time. Things are moving faster than anyone could have predicted. Even the elves have had surprises where Fallon is concerned, and therefore, things are more dire than predicted.”
“Aye. Get some sleep. Tomorrow we’ll convince the council that the time has come to fight. I would hate for you to go back to Dain with no as the answer. He might decide to triple my debt.” He smiled a bit to lighten the mood.
“What if the council stands against you?”
“I’ll make them see the light, if it’s the last thing I do. Fallon is death for us all.”
“Aye.”
“Tomorrow then. I will have someone fetch you at dawn.”
Brogan nodded and stood. Another dwarf took him and his men to their rooms.
CHAPTER 20
Dain and Melenthia walked through the garden, Melenthia showing him all the different varieties of blooms that grew there and, as promised, their names as well.
“It’s amazing to me that you still remember all that after so many years. I don’t recall learning anything as a child and retaining it into adulthood.”
“What about swordplay and horsemanship?”
“I learned those as an older boy, in my teens. I didn’t learn as young as most. And to be honest, I wasn’t a very cooperative student. Besides, most of that comes as second nature to me.”