“Dorax…I am surprised that you even asked me that. I will keep my end of the bargain…you will have plenty of dwarves to feast on. All I ask in return is that you begin digging along the eastern canyon walls. From there I want you to continue all the way to Mount Ennis. These tunnels need to be high and wide enough for several armies to fit in with their war machines.” The drugars were not carnivores and would only eat dwarves because of their extreme hatred toward the above land hole diggers.
“It will take us some time to make it all the way to Ennis, so we will get started now. How many tunnels do you want?” They were eager to join Kana without thought of what her plans were. They did not care for above landers’ politics or wars. They merely saw this as an opportunity to get revenge on the dwarves without the interference from the men of Nairi. For as long as anyone could remember there was an agreement between the dwarves of Ennis and the men of Nairi to assist one another in controlling the drugar population.
“I want two dozen…I will leave you to your work then.” Kana turned her back on the sea of furry beasts to look at Ryo once more. The twenty thousand plus army of hairy diggers made their way to the eastern walls and began their projects. The ground shook violently as they went about their work.
“You trust those earth loving beasts? They never remain loyal to anyone outside their own kind. What makes you think they will stay true to you?” asked Ryo suspiciously. He eyed the tasty treats as the clay laden dirt began to fly. His instincts wanted him to snatch up a few of them.
“I thought you would have caught on by now…intimidation and brute force is not the only way of persuading others to do my bidding. I find that servants are more faithful when you give them proper incentives. They will do what we want them to because they benefit from the arrangement.” She knew that these beasts were only doing her bidding because she had removed the threat of Nairi. They did not care at all about her war or what the above landers were doing.
“I see that you have thought your strategy through…what is our next move then?” He was feeling more confident in his counterpart. The rift between them was mending quicker than he had anticipated.
“I need to you visit the battlefield in southern Landen. Go to south gate and try to bolster orc ranks as well as the high elves. If the number of griffins is half of what it was at the beginning then you will need to procure more recruits. The aerial attacks will give us the edge we need to crush those fiends along the cliffs.” They knew that the eagles to the north never ventured to the south and would not get involved in the fight there. They may engage them at some point; however, they were confident that they would not attack there.
“Finally…we agree on something.” As Ryo said this, he took off into the air that was now filled with dust. As the beast flew over the eastern edge of the canyon walls there was the slightest movement along the precipice. After the dragon had cleared Nairi, all was still on the plains above the canyon lands. The dust made it difficult to see as far and would help to hide what was taking place at her temple.
I wonder what that was on the plains. It was big enough to be seen clearly from a great distance even with the dust. Well…it is gone now…whatever it was. I have more pressing matters to attend to. Kana turned her attention to the drugars who were digging madly at the base of the canyon walls. She smiled at their eagerness to reach the dwarves. She lingered for a few moments longer while she watched their feverish pace. Her black wings appeared and she flew slowly toward her new home. This new temple was going to be the center of Tuwa…the place where she would rule over everything and everyone. She dove from her place in the dusty sky and flew through the temple entrance.
***
King Nognili sat at a table next to his beautiful throne eating his way through a wild boar. He was humming lightly as he greedily ate his meal and drank his fair share of elven wine. An outsider may have been taken aback by this care free scene considering the fact that war was all around him. There were several servants waiting on their king while he gorged himself. They looked away in disgust at their leader’s insistence that all was well in the world. King Edric lacked severely in table manners which only added to their revulsion. His beard was stained with juices and blood from his meal.
The doors to the king’s underground throne room burst open sending the massive wrought iron doors banging into the hall’s stone walls. The sound reverberated loudly as the king turned slowly in his chair to see who had disturbed his meal. The stout figure of General Chad stood silhouetted in the doorway as he labored to catch his breath. King Edric gave his general a quizzical look as he impatiently waited for the abrupt disturbance to be explained. There was food mingled with the blood in his long beard.
“King Nognili…I have news…” panted General Chad. He walked quickly over to where Edric was seated at a beautifully carved stone table. He did not hide his revulsion at the manner of his monarch.
“How can I help you general?” asked the king shortly. He did not bother to hide his irritation at the intrusion. He finally started to clean himself up since his appetite was likely to be ruined with more drivel from his general. He was not altogether pleased with his general’s war mongering and his insistence that he involve his army in the war at large.
“Sorry for the interruption, but I thought it would be good for you to know that someone has drained the water from Nairi.” He could not hide his disdain for his king’s lack of action during these dangerous times. He made sure not to be polite in order to throw off the monarch. He had to find a way to get the dwarven king to act…even if it meant the end of his career or his freedom.
“So…what does that have to do with me?” He looked away from his general with a look of supreme disinterest. He was wiping his hands clean and he motioned for more wine to be brought to him. He was clearly did not care about this news as, in his mind; it had nothing to do with him.
“You mean us, right?” There was such scathing sarcasm in how he said this that he was sure he would finally get the monarch’s attention. What a selfish bastard! Thousands of our allies are dying and even his people are threatened and he sits here caring only for himself!
“You are wasting my time general…what is your news?” The king was clearly perturbed by this impromptu meeting and for the lack of respect. He was still determined to not give the general the satisfaction of knowing that he was getting to him.
“Fine…I will tell you the bad news then. There is a massive army of drugars tunneling from the eastern walls of Nairi. They are working under the direction of a guardian who has a massive black dragon. Someone was able to dry the waters of Nairi in under an hour…they have taken control of Queen Daria’s land and have an army of fur balls digging holes in our general direction.” He sneered as he looked down at the seated monarch. He had lost all respect for someone that he once considered a friend and someone that he would gladly give his life for. Now he did not care if his king lived or died so long as he was able to get the monarch out of the way.
“That is fascinating news…too bad it has nothing to do with us. I have told you time and time again that we are safe. If we do not get involved in the elementals’ sorted affairs, we will be left alone.” He resumed his eating and did his best to ignore his general. He took a long swig of the newly arrived wine as though it were some hard liquor.
“I have sat by these past few months and defended your decisions to the army and the people because it was my duty. I have not agreed with any of your recent edicts and will not support your inaction any longer. The army will prepare for the defense of our beloved country from the drugars. I believe that another military entity will follow those furry beasts, so we will need to be prepared for a lengthy siege.” He turned to leave so as to make it clear he did not care what the king thought. He also wanted to make a show that his power was waning. I will save us without his help or his blessing!