They had travelled up the narrow mountain path for approximately half a mile - at least to the approximation of Rhojeka - when Mervella finally turned around to her and spoke up: "You and your big mouth!"

Rhojeka grimaced and examined this horrid bracelet that held her right wrist in a tight grip. It really felt like she was tied up or chained. Though it didn't really cut into her flesh, and she was really thankful for it, but it was obvious that this would't be removed by any conventional means. The gears and levers, though tiny and fragile looking, made sure that she wouldn't just slip her hand out. The warning of the dwarven guard echoed in her ears. If she tried to tamper with the mechanism to open or loosen this thing, it could result in getting even tighter, until... yeah, the warning could not be misunderstood. And Rhojeka didn't feel like testing it.

As far as her magic powers went though... She had never heard of any device that could cut her off from Elstar and the powers she granted. On the other hand, she had never had any contact with dwarves before, so anything was possible at that point. When she had studied and trained magic, she had never come across any dwarves, and she had never heard of dwarven sorcerers at any point. Maybe the dwarves did not believe in magic, maybe they feared it like the Yazirians. But one thing could be surely said about the dwarves: Their ability to craft mysterious devices for all sorts of tasks were legendary.

Just how would that work?, Rhojeka pondered. And what would keep me from using Elstar's powers to destroy that thing and turn it into dust?

One of the levers on the bracelet let out a very small click, and that was enough of an answer for her. This thing wasn't meant to prevent her from getting into touch with her magic. Just to punish her if she ever dared to.

Meeting the blaming gaze of Mervella she finally answered: "Well, what was I supposed to do? Just lie to her?"

"Yes!" Mervella's answer was quick, blunt... and angry. "I know, you believe in the greater power of being honest, with your bardic training and all, but sometimes the truth does more damage than good. You will have to learn that sooner or later. Preferably sooner."

Rhojeka shook her head in silence. This was a terrible way of thinking. She firmly believed that the world would be a better place with every lie that wasn't told and every truth that was shared with others. For that, among many other reasons, she had become a bard. Sharing knowledge and truth with those who needed them. On the other hand, it wasn't like she hadn't lied to anyone before. Hell, what she had done with Widraw before was... well, she would have called it "acting". But was it really that different? Perhaps Mervella had a point.

They kept wandering a bit more, and Rhojeka looked around. There was barren mountainside all around them. She had expected to see some houses or anything resembling a village by now, but there was nothing like that. "Aren't we supposed to be there already?" she then asked.

"I thought so, too." Kane looked around. Though he had seemed to know the way at first, now he looked very uncertain. "I have been here before, but it's been years since then. Perhaps..."

He looked back down the path they had come up, and doubt flashed in his eyes. Rhojeka had a good idea about what was on his mind. Perhaps we had missed it somehow... But how was that possible? There hadn't been any settlements or houses on their entire way, and this was the only way into the mountains. But suddenly Kane turned around again, and he uttered: "Ah, there it is." Before stepping away from the path and walking towards a solid rock that didn't look anything special.

A move that left Rhojeka completely perplexed. "Excuse me? What are you doing?"

"Looking for the entrance," Widraw answered on Kane's behalf. "At least I think so."

"You've been here before?" Rhojeka asked the thief, and he threw her a sarcastic look.

"And got past that charming little lady with the battleaxe? 'fraid not."

As soon as Kane got two steps close to this rock, it suddenly clicked. And then began to open. It split right in the middle, and the two halves of the big rock just drove apart from each other, sliding to the side like pulled away by giants. Underneath a small and narrow stairwell was uncovered, leading into the ground. Dim light was shining from deep into the tunnel. Rhojeka made the few steps and stood right next to Kane, looking down the entrance. She was fascinated.

That's why we didn't see any houses...

Without any further hesitation Kane went down the stairs. Rhojeka followed him quickly, noticing that Mervella waited until Widraw walked before her. Having the thief in her back didn't give Rhojeka much comfort, but since Mervella was right behind him, he probably wouldn't try anything funny. Besides, the stairs left barely enough room for them walking single-file, let alone having anyone pass them. But they were long. Their descent deeper into the mountain felt like an eternity. The stairs made a turn after a while, but shortly after the corner they ended. As Kane stepped down from the last stair, he left enough room for the others to follow him, but otherwise stood still.

"Welcome to the village of Harged!" he proclaimed.

Rhojeka right next to him looked around, her eyes wide open and astonished. "That's supposed to be a village?"

She had never seen anything like it. It was gigantic. What seemed like a big hole inside the mountain had been filled up with little stone buildings and walkways, balconies and stairways, forming a maze out of pathways, all illuminated by little iron lamps that had been placed at every yard of way. All around the walls of this enormous cave were also lamps, most of them next to entrances that seemed to have doors made of stone, too. Somehow the lamps had a familiar feeling, like the idyllic little lamps they had used at night in Teng to light the ways for travellers. At one corner Rhojeka even could see signs above the doors, written in the dwarven language. Some of them she even could understand. One said "Regulation Office". Another spelled out "Requisition", and from what she could see on the outside, it was some kind of store.

However, what at first looked like a chaotic network of houses, caves and walkways turned out to be very artificial and following a very strange pattern that could only be thought out by dwarves. And it had a very strict logic to it. It was the most apparent when she looked at the buildings in the middle. Each building was carefully constructed and had a rectangular shape to it, almost as if every inch of space the building used had been planned and regulated from the beginning. The network of stairs and walkways led through those buildings and left no space between them that wasn't used for something. It looked bizarrely efficient - but on the other side cold and lifeless. Hadn't it been for the dwarves themselves.

The entire place was packed with them. Hundreds were moving up and down the stairs, walking the paths, going in and out through the countless stone doors. Their chatter filled the cave with a constant hum, created of hundreds of voices. Most of them were wearing normal clothing, but a few she could see from her point of view wore similar armor to the one the guard outside had been wearing, only less stone-colored. A group of those approached them right in that moment and stood in a straight line between them and the rest of the cave.

"Halt, strangers!" the leader of the armed dwarves called out to them. "You are entering the settlement of Harged. What is..." Then he looked at the group more closely. And his glance stopped at Kane. "Wait a second! Kane, is that you?"

"Davidrien!" Kane said with a bright smile. "Solq ar'quim por, old friend! It's been a while."

"True!" With a loud shout Davidrien dismissed the other dwarves, and they went back the way they came. With one swift move the dwarf removed his helmet, showing a somewhat pale face with short red curls and the idea of a short red beard. But he smiled and put the large axe aside that he was carrying. "You crazy human! What brings you down here? And with friends, nontheless. Were you craving for our famous hospitality?"

"Of course," Kane answered and laughed. "You know how I love your mushroom ale. But that is not all. I am here to see Gelvar."

It was a far more friendly and warm welcome they received from this dwarf than they had gotten outside, and Rhojeka began to wonder whether the behavior of this woman was typical of dwarves or anything but. She hoped for the latter. Davidrien seemed a lot more happy to see them all than the guardswoman was. And he made relaxed conversation with his old friend, until he suddenly said: "Well, before we go, I unfortunately must do my duty. I take it that you have a pass with you?"

"We do," Rhojeka confirmed and pulled the parchment out of her bag. The dwarf took it - and noticed the bracelet on her wrist.

"Oh... A sorceress?" But he didn't seem to be very alarmed about this. "I hope my wife hasn't given you too much trouble because of this. Juditharell has... well... a tendency to be very thorough. So to speak."

"Juditharell?" So that was the name of this guard? Rhojeka frowned. "Isn't that an Elben name?"

"Indeed, but it is a long story." Davidrien finished examining the scroll and handed it back to Rhojeka. "Everything is in order. I hadn't expected anything else from my friend here though. I will take you to the Gelvar personally - if I accompany you, you will be less likely harrassed by any other patrols here. They can get very annoying sometimes, especially to outsiders. I mean - well, it is our duty to harrass outsiders, so I can't blame them."

He stayed true to his word and led the group through the confusing walkways and into the heart of this settlement. Rhojeka kept looking around and didn't notice that she kept her mouth wide open the entire time. It was amazing! All the walls in the cave had been worked on and smoothed out, the buildings had such clean and smooth walls that not even a fly might find a hold on those. They looked like polished and seemed to be made of exquisite materials, like the noble palaces in the human cities, made of white stone that was shining in the sun like diamonds. But one other thing astonished her: In this entire settlement she couldn't see one single piece of wood. Everything was either made of stone or of iron or steel. Even benches and tables she could see inside some houses were of stone. The beds were probably made of stone, too. And probably painful for any human to sleep on. But dwarves would be used to that.

Widraw walked close by her, watching her taking everything in with the excitement of a little child. "Well, that's a dwarven village for you," he said in a tone that obviously didn't share her enthusiasm. "I hope you like mushrooms."

"What do you mean?" Rhojeka looked back at him, and he pointed towards a large space between the buildings, in the middle of the cave. It looked like a field, a carefully cultivated one. Lamps were set all around it, but those weren't like the path lights in the rest of the village, but they shone a very strong light on this field. Metal pipes led around it and inbetween, dripping water on dark soil. And something brownish was growing there, covering every single spot in this place. Mushrooms?

"Since it is the only thing that will grow in large quantities down here, this is what most dwarves ever eat or drink," Widraw explained. "They brew ale from that stuff. Well, they also have some farm animals that live of those things, too. But don't expect to get any good mead or wine in their taverns. Or bread. Or cheese. Or anything good." He walked on and showed a bitter face. After living in a big human city for so long and then having to live of berries and mushrooms in the forest, this was probably the last place he had wanted to visit.

Rhojeka stood there for a while until Mervella had finally reached her. The female warrior chuckled as she passed by. "He doesn't appreciate good stuff. Dwarven mushroom ale is a feast in its own. You just shouldn't drink too much of it."

"Thanks for the warning." Not that Rhojeka intended to. She didn't drink beer or ale, she didn't have a taste for it. The smell of it was bad enough. But she was surprised that Mervella spoke so fondly of it, as the warrior used to live a life of abstinence, only taking an occasional alcoholic beverage, and most of the time only when prompted strenuously. That was one side of her friend that Rhojeka hadn't seen before. Maybe there was something to the dwarven ale.

"Come on, Rhojeka!" Meverlla urged her. "Or you get lost. This is truly a maze in here."

Yes, it was a maze. Rhojeka agreed wholeheartedly and hurried to stay behind Mervella and the others. But it was still amazing.