The next morning Alred thought he awoke before everyone. He saw that Agis was not anywhere. Agis was also the only not to say what he found yesterday in his hut.
Alred gets up, walking towards the third hut. There was Agis standing in front of the building on his knees. His hands folded, Alred can hear the faint mumbles. Alred stops and leans against the larger building to wait.
After what seems like twenty minutes Agis stands up. Picking his spear up and then thrust the tip into the ground.
"Everything OK, Agis?" Alred ask as he walks forward.
"I found a couple bodies in the hut yesterday. I didn't want to say anything in front of her." He goes back to dig. Just as his spear was about to hit the soil again. The earth shrunk, making a deep hole. He looks back at Alred who's putting his staff away.
"Come, I'll help you. So we can get it done before anyone else wakes." He pats Agis on his back as he walks by.
He pushes the door, he's meet with a swarm of flies. He swats the first few. The others flew away. There laying on the floor, two more dwarfs.
"A parents guarding their young." Agis spoke up.
"I'll have to ask Helga and see if she knows who attacked them." Alred reaches forward with his staff. Touching the spear, it crumbles. Reaches down, picking the mother up. Agis picks the child up.
They lay them in their finial resting place. Just as he is about to cover them, Helga walks up. She sees the bodies in the hole. She falls to her knees.
"Auntie." She crawls a little closer. "Noooo!" She goes to jump into the hole. Alred catches her before she can.
He hold her close to his chest. Breathing slowly while rubbing her back. Her crying slows. He pulls her back looking her in her eyes.
"Helga, do you know who did this?" She nods her.
"A group, of men came up as thy sun set." She sucks her snot back into her nose. "Thed said thed be a night. Then thed found what fatherkins was doing. I…" she slams her head into Alreds chest. The hard scales didn't seem to bother her. "I thought thed took them all."
"Laena," Alred looks at Helga. Laena face hardens. He turns and looks at Agis and then Jep.
"Look for tracks. I say, ten horses." Both men dart in different directions. Alred walks to the large building. Inside he climbs the ladder.
The small room holds two beds and two dressers. A small statue of the dwarfen God of Fire, Cuxemis. He sees another hatch above the larger bed. He pushes it to see it leads to the roof.
He pulls himself up and can see the far into the distance, a black tower climbing into the sky. Yellow sparks dance around it.
He jumps from the top of the building. Then runs to Laena. Helga still in her arms crying.
"Master," Alred turns to see Agis speaking to him. "Tracks leading that way." He points toward the tower. "Twelve horses."
"Helga, what is the black tower?"
"NO! I DON'T WAN GO BACK!" She pulls herself away from Laena. She starts to run to the open field where the horses graze. Just as she passes the corner if the building, Jep punches her across the face. She falls to he ground out cold.
"JE…" Jep held a finger to his lips, picks her up and races inside. Just as he disappeared, four horsemen ride up.
"This hear is private land. You folks need to go." The largest man calls out.
"We just stopped here for a rest. Was hoping to find a bit of food. Looks like this place was attacked by those dam moles." Alred spoke up walking towards the men. The two in the back whisper. "I'd say that this land belongs to dead men, not you."
"This land, and ALL of the land you can see belongs to the Lord of Newhill Bay. Now, either leave or we can help you leave." He starts to pull his dagger out.
Before the dagger can leave its sheath, an arrow pins his hand to his waist. The two men in the back rush forward, the last man turns to run. Laena sticks an arrow through one's eye. Agis thrust his spear through the next guy.
The large man fell from his horse, trying to pull the arrow out. He settles with snapping the arrow off. This time he goes to pull his sword out, he stops looking at Laena.
"I'd leave the sword where it is. You may live longer and in less pain." Alred calls out while he holds his hand to stop her. Screams erupt from behind the large man, every turns to see the fourth man flying. Jep sitting on the man's horse. The large man undoes his belt, letting his sword fall to the ground.
"Good, seems you understand. Now, can you tell me what happen here. I know people were taken and some were killed."
The large man kneels on the ground. Placing his head all the way down. He folds his hands as if he was praying to a God. He mumbles a couple words. Just as Alred walks closer, bolt of lightning strikes him.
Everyone jumps away. Bolts start to rain down all over. They rush for the building. Jep grabs the man he knocked from the horse. Lighting continues to strike the ground the building. For some reason it can't breaker through the roof.
"Tie him up and make sure he can't get away." Alred looks at Jep. He then looks at Helga. She takes a step back. "What were you doing here? Cause what this mages is doing is unheard of."
"My fatherkins, he mades a new element." Alreds heart stops, his minds races.