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Once all five of the dwarves had been extricated from their deep prison, Curry began seeing to their wounds as they drank. Alex watched and admired the warriors who sat on rocks and short piles of bones, their prized weapons back in their hands as they rested. As the cook fire blazed, the smell of soup wafted up into the cave's ceiling and he followed the smoke and unseen path out of the cave and as his eyes reached the entrance, his nervousness grew. How long would it be before another occupant or neighbor came investigating the noise of combat?

"I don't think we should linger here long," Alex stated as he rose and walked over to the left border of the tunnel and looked out to where the flat, dark form of their first victim still lay in the snow.

"Long enough for our friends to regain their strength," Curry stated.

"Regain our...ridiculous!" the dwarven captain exclaimed. "We're ready to finish these beasts off now," he stood, axe in hand and barechested.

"We have extra clothing, it's cold out there," Alex stated as he began taking his leather coat off.

"Then you wait here by the fire, son. We've got a score to settle with these things." His dark eyes glared, then quickly moved to the entrance as a smile creased his bearded face while his four companions moved to either side and prepped their weapons.
Alex turned and saw two giants darken the entrance, growling as they picked up stones and reached back. He readied himself to charge once the projectiles were loosed and noticed them speed towards the dwarves who stepped aside, then laughed as they then yelled their battlecries and charged. Sprinting, he pre-empted their attack and reached the pair first, swinging his sword and dodging as he blocked punches with his shield, then hamstrung the first and moved around to the second as the dwarves swarmed over both and hacked kneecaps and legs, then chest and head as the large inhabitants fell.
He stood and listened to the second scream in words that sounded like he was crying for his mother. A sound that made him swallow back tears and prompted him to walk away as the pleas were abruptly quieted by a hammer strike. He gazed up through the snow covered trees, listening to the soft breeze.

'Tell her I miss and love her.'

A shiver encapsulated his body as he felt the familiar breath on the wind. 'She knows.'

He sighed and scanned the surrounding forest as the dwarves joined him.

"You not up for this," their captain, Artek queried. "You can stay here with them if you want, this won't take us long."

Alex turned. "No, sir. I told them that I would help take care of this problem."

Nodding, the dwarf turned his eyes to his right. "Then let's get to it."

They were soon joined by Curry and the others, food still being swallowed as he handed Alex and the dwarves peices of meat and bread. He ate as they pushed through drifts and around trees to flush out twelve more caves and one large complex that he noticed had been stuffed with trophies from various raids over the years.
A tall statue of two dwarves, armored with their axes resting on their shoulders, stood proudly in the center of the sleeping area of one of the main giants who once slept on the nearby pallet that equated to the width and breadth of two wagons end to end. He squinted at the runes at the base of the pedestal that they stood on as he crouched.

"It says," Artek began. "Aodrenig and Gaeven, captains of the Night Watch, fought here and defeated dragonians, standing and holding the northern gate as reinforcements raced to their side. Giving their lives in heroic fashion, they both earned the right to be called 'Favored by Moradin'. Enjoy his feast, brothers"

Alex quietly stood with the dwarf as they both admired the pair, carved in stillness and forged in the memories of their comrades. "Dragonians? I'm not sure I've heard of them before."

"Flyers that used to inhabit these mountains, long ago. Fierce fire breathers that hounded my clan for many generations. Until we wiped them out, that is."

"As soon as the snows melt, you'll have to send someone to retrieve this and return it to where it was set."

Artek nodded, then turned and joined the others who collected other forgotten relics belonging to their respective peoples. He walked over to Curry as they packed small trinkets into their own backpacks and shouldered them for the journey.

The mage turned to Artek and his companions. "Come back with us to Prestwick, the passes home will be closed for some time."

Nodding, the dwarf agreed. "I guess we can suffer your ale for a month or two."

Alex smiled, tired and worn from the fighting that took nearly the whole night and following morning. He was ready for that small bed at Abbott's home again. Filing out through the smoldering furniture and bodies, they walked back out into the snow filled gully and climbed back up and southward until finally finding a place to camp over the ridge. Being within the cloud cover, the fire's muffled light kept them concealed from prying eyes and warm. He wiped himself down with snow, washing off the blood and sweat and quickly dressed again. Life on campaign was becoming ritualistic to the veteran. He smirked at the thought of himself being called one. There were definitely stories to tell his friends back in Kecel now.

Finally getting some sleep, he dreamed of Easel and Eanna playing in the green fields around their home, downslope. Laughing as they chased one another and several other children while he watched from the air, floating high above them, yet running alongside. He had never had the chance to be a kid, really. He smiled until suddenly, Afton screamed at him.

"Fifty! Now!"

He awoke to see the drifting fog slowly waft through their campsite, nestled against large boulders, buried in the snow. Silence gripped him with a sense of uneasiness. He slowly reached for his longsword beneath the blanket and beside him as his ears strained to finally hear crunching footsteps from below them. Rising, he tapped Curry and Artek to either side of him, then placed his finger over his lips and pointed downward and away. Sliding out from underneath his blanket, he grabbed his shield and crept over to the fire as the others grabbed their weapons and waited.
He followed the progress of the long strides and then realized that there were at least two of them. Suddenly, the mules announced their presence and his heart stopped in time with the crunching. Moving forward along the rocks, the dwarves each crept forward and disappeared into the fog and he tried to quietly follow using their blankets as his carpet.
Rocks flew passed him and bounced as roaring screams erupted and charged. A firebolt blazed through the thick grey air and hit a target in the leg, illuminating the giant who screamed. Alex charged and struck as the dwarves swung and began cutting the first enemy down until Alex noticed another dark form emerge that struck he and the dwarf to his left squarely. Flying through the air, he rolled in the snow downward, bouncing off of drifts and then into snowy boughs that slowed his descent until he landed in another drift at the base of a pine.

* * *

Alexander awoke to Curry's smiling face as he lay on his back. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Alex stated, sore but, alive. "How are the others?"

Curry's smile faded, "We lost Presly and one of the dwarves."

Blue eyes stared for a moment. "I'm sorry."

"Considering what we've faced these past few days, it's amazing that any of us survived."

"True."

Curry sat back as he wiped his hands. "Why did you choose this life?"

Alexander smiled. "For your family and people in Prestwick and many others like them across the world."

"Few heroes live long."

"I'm not doing this to be a hero," he replied emphatically. "I know there are those in the world who want peaceful places like your home to feel their pain and I can't sit by and allow them to hurt anyone else. I'm not alone, there are thousands of men like me who feel the same way. The Order of the Golden Scepter has been alive for hundreds of years. If we don't stand for what's right, who will?"

Nodding, the halfling grinned. "It's odd for our kind to be adventurous. Our clan has endured many things since we settled in these mountains which has prompted us to learn how to fight and defend ourselves. It's just amazing to me that a human so young is out here by himself and doing what you're doing."

Alex sat up and noticed the others eating dinner not far from them. "I'm not that young."

"Come now," Artek chided. "If you can hold a sword, you're old enough to use it, or at least learn to. I was learning how to use my axe when I was younger than him."

"Dwarves are different than humans," Curry rebuffed as he rose and walked closer to the fire and sat down.

"Not that different. They love to fight just as much as we do. They're just not as good at it," Athek smirked at Alex who returned it.