“What is your name?” Karnea asked.
“I am Verlek Lastborn,” said the dwarf. The humans introduced themselves. The dwarf bowed, without ever taking his eyes off them.
“We came seeking knowledge of the Lost Runes,” said Karnea. She revealed her armlet. “If you could tell us where we might find more like this, all debts will be discharged.”
“You will not find it here,” Verlek said.
“We were told this was found in the Forge Quarter.”
“Once perhaps you would have found its like here, but this place has been picked clean of all precious stuff by the goblins and the Shadow worshippers.”
“Then our quest is in vain,” said Karnea. Her shoulders slumped.
The dwarf’s beard rippled oddly. He made a chopping gesture with his hand. “Perhaps not. I am young and not wise. Among the clan I am considered least. There are those who know more than I. Guttri or Ferik or Branhilde the Beautiful may know where to find what you seek. Guttri knows about runes. My mother does too.”
“Would they help us?”
“I do not know. Only I have blood-debt to you. Yet I am owed some small debts myself. Perhaps they would aid you if I asked them, in return for cancellation of such. It is worth attempting.”
“Where can we find this Guttri?” Kormak asked.
“He dwells within the Hold of the Faithful.”
“Will you take us there?”
“I cannot give you permission to enter the Hold, but I can take you to within hailing distance of it and then we shall see what we shall see.”
Karnea looked at Kormak. There was a glimmer of hope in her eyes. It seemed like their mission might not be doomed after all.
Kormak shrugged. “We would be grateful for any aid you might render us,” he said.
Verlek led the way deeper into the darkness. There was no hesitation in his manner. He moved with the ease of a man walking through a familiar neighbourhood in his home city. He moved swiftly, on all fours, long arms touching the ground like those of the apes Kormak had seen in southern lands beyond the Dragon Sea. He realised now that this was what the dwarf reminded him of, even down to the facial shape and features. His people seemed more akin to those huge beasts than to men.
The main difference from the apes was the lack of body hair and the beard. Its tendrils rippled constantly. His ears moved slightly as well, tracking around as if intent on finding the source of any sound. Occasionally the dwarf paused and let his beard dangle on the ground between his fingers. He looked then like a man listening carefully.
They moved in his wake, following him down ramps and stairwells, passing more giant statues of Old Ones and massive stone pillars from which strange gurgling sounds emerged, as if water or other fluids were running through their cores.
“Are you sure this is wise?” Sasha asked. The dwarf’s ears twitched when she spoke but he never broke stride otherwise. “He could be leading us into a trap.”
“We were surrounded by goblins and monsters, anyway,” Karnea said. Was there a note of disapproval in her voice of the way Sasha’s guidance had led them to this? “At least this way we have a chance of finding what we came for.”
“He only said the others might be able to help us,” Kormak said. “And dwarves are very precise in their use of language.”
“They also pay their debts,” said Karnea. “And Verlek feels we saved his life.”
“That’s because the Guardian did save his life,” said Boreas. A grim smile stretched his skull-like features.
“What was that about you carrying a forbidden weapon?” said Sasha.
“I don’t know,” said Kormak. “The dwarves of Aethelas never said anything about that.”
“Marked with runes of Chaos and Death, he said,” said Karnea. “Yet if you look, he has a similar rune on his left forearm. The one that looks like a single-eyed octopus, the spell-breaking rune,”
Kormak remembered what Master Malan had once told him. “It disrupts magic the way an Elder Sign does.”
“A servant of the Old Ones would not have such an Elder Sign tattooed on his body,” said Karnea. “It would be blasphemy to them.”
“The dwarves beneath Aethelas don’t mind having them emblazoned on the doors of their halls,” said Kormak.
“I don’t think these dwarves have much in common with your allies. Not any more. If ever they did.”
“You think they might be hostile?” Kormak asked.
“The dwarves beneath the Holy Mountain make weapons that can kill Old Ones. Verlek describes himself as one of the Faithful. Maybe they represent different factions. We don’t really know much of dwarvish history other than what our allies have told us.”