Taker Of Skulls(59)

“The question is not foolish. The survival of our people rests on the answer. Without the blade we cannot slay Graghur. Utti knows that.”

“Utti is a dwarf. He would not see us all dead.”

“Not us all. You are correct.”

Ferik tilted his head to one side. “You think he intends to bargain with Graghur. Graghur will laugh at him and order his spawn to take the blade.”

“Perhaps. There are oaths that are binding on the Eldrim as they are on us.” He looked at Kormak who nodded to confirm this. “If he was to hide the blade somewhere...”

“Graghur might torture the whereabouts of the blade out of him,” Karnea said.

Ferik laughed. “Stubborn as stone are dwarves. Pain does but make us more so.”

Guttri said, “With this blade Graghur can set himself up to lord it over other Old Ones. And Utti can show him all the secret ways into our hold. Or open the runegates for him and his people.”

“I hope you are wrong,” said Ferik.

“So do I, but I fear I am not.”

“What now?”

“We wait for Mankri to return. He may overtake Utti and at very least he’ll be able to tell us where he has gone.”





“Utti entered Graghur’s mine,” said Mankri. He was relatively slender for a dwarf, his build of almost human proportions. His face was narrow and his expression grim. His beard did not seem to writhe quite as much as the other dwarfs’. “He went in there and he took the blade with him.”

“So much for him stowing it somewhere,” said Ferik. “One way or another I think we can assume that Graghur has the blade now.”

“There was no smell of blood or a struggle,” said Mankri. “I would have expected the goblins to shred him and take his gear. I would have smelled the scent of that.”

“It’s almost as if he was welcomed,” said Mankri.

“Utti talked with Graghur’s emissaries when they came, he talked with Graghur himself many times,” Guttri said. “It is possible he was recognised.”

“Or maybe he has been there before. Utti wandered alone through the Underhalls many times,” said Ferik.

“So have may others,” said Guttri. “Yourself not excepted.”

“It does not matter how or why,” said Kormak. “The fact is that Graghur now has my blade. A dwarf-forged runeblade is in the hands of an Old One.”

“Why would he want to wield it?” said Mankri. “One nick with the death rune might be fatal to him.”

“He does not need to use it as a weapon,” said Guttri. “He just needs it to stab...”

He could not finish the sentence, nor did he need to. Mankri’s nostrils flared and his eyes went wide. “He could kill the Mother of Dwarves with it.”

“We need to make sure that does not happen,” said Ferik.

“Yes,” said Guttri. “The question is how.”

“We must call another Dwarfmoot and let the clan know what is happening,” said Ferik. “Go summon the folk!”

Mankri went.





The eyes of the Dwarfmoot were all focused on Kormak with a mixture of resentment and hatred after Guttri explained why they had been summoned. The dwarves all seemed to blame him for bringing the sword among them. Their stares were unnerving for he knew dwarves had a talent for holding a grudge.

“Utti has taken the accursed weapon,” Guttri said. “And I fear that Graghur will return bearing it and the secrets of our hold.”

“What are we to do?” someone called from the crowd. “Graghur cannot be defeated without the blade.”

Kormak raised his hand and Ferik gestured for him to mount the step. “There is only one thing to be done. We must reclaim the sword”

“It may already be in Graghur’s clutches,” said Branhilde. Her face was lined with grief but her voice was cold as winter frost.

“Then we just need to wait and he will show up at our gates with his army,” said Ferik. His smile showed he was making a bleak jest but his words were in all essentials true.

“There is another way,” said Guttri. Ferik’s bleak expression told Kormak that he already knew what the ancient dwarf was going to suggest and did not like it. “We could take the war to him.”

“You are not suggesting we march into his lair and demand that he hand the traitor back to us along with the stolen weapon, are you?” Ferik’s could not keep the sardonic tone from his voice.

“It might be better than waiting here for him to come and slay us and the one we protect.”

Ferik smiled. “It would make a heroic tale, for sure, but there would be none left to tell it.”