Downfall

Outside, the dwarves pounded on the doors, frightening the horses further. That was nothing compared to the tremor that suddenly shook the building. Someone outside shouted "Earthquake!" Another cried "Sorcery!" Finally the ground stopped trembling.

Fiona's voice cut above the din, shouting to be heard. "Dhamon Grimwulf! Come out at once!"

Rikali braced her back against the doors and gritted her teeth as blows continued to rain against the entrance. "Hurry, fellows," she urged. "This stable is sturdy ‘ole dwarven construction. But it ain't gonna hold forever. Not with them poundin' on it, and not with the ground grumblin' so." Fetch joined her and copied her stance, small legs spread wide. "Oh, you're a great help," Rikali said sarcastically, looking down at the small-sized one.

Then the ground trembled again.

"Is there another way in?" came the cry from outside.

"The hayloft!" came an answer. "An' the side door!"

"I've got an axe! Let me up front! I'll chop the door down."

"That's my stable! Don't ruin it! Talk ‘em into coming out!"

"Boost me up. Human! Boost me up!"

"Find a ladder!"

"Thieves! They stole from the wounded Knights! Kill them!"

"Hurry, Mai!"

"Yeah, hurry!" Fetch added.

Dhamon and Maldred braced the wagon against the door and locked the brake in place just as an axe-head started breaking through the wood. They heard scrabbling against the wall outside, as if someone were trying to climb the wall. They heard the strangled cry of a dwarf. Then a thump.

"Try again. Boost me this time!" It was a human's voice, though not Rig's or Fiona's. Probably one of the Legion of Steel Knights.

"Where's the ladder?"

"Forget the ladder." It was Rig's voice, laced with anger. "Move aside. I'll open your damn door."

"My stable!"

"Not going to hold them for long," Dhamon observed.

"Really?" Rikali said in feigned surprise. "Have you a next move, Dhamon? Mai? I'd rather not die in this dungheap."

"Dhamon Grimwulf! Come out! This is Fiona!"

"The planks! Pry the planks free!"

"Damnable thieves!"

Dhamon dashed to the side door and began sliding crates and barrels in front of the door, anchoring the mass with pitchforks he thrust into the ground. There was pounding on this door, too.

Maldred retreated to the back of the stable, ignoring the jittery horses, Rikali's complaints, and Fetch's apologies. He splayed his fingers wide over the wood and felt the coarse grain.

"It's hard to see in here," Fetch grumbled. "For Mai and Dhamon especially." He jumped when an axe blade smashed through a plank. "I'll get us some light."

Dhamon joined Maldred, dragging the sacks that had been in the wagon. "I'll saddle some horses." He had noted a dozen full-sized steeds, two exceptionally large. If the Legion of Steel Knights had other horses, as Dhamon suspected they did, they were likely kept at a camp outside of town. The rest of the stalls contained ponies, stocky ones ideal for dwarves. He hurried at his work, selecting the two largest and leading them to the back of the stable.

Maldred closed his eyes and started humming, a low sound that came from somewhere deep in his throat and that fluctuated in pitch and tempo like a complex piece of music. His fingers fluttered up and down the planks. His fingertips lingered on the nails that held the wood together, and as he continued humming, the nails grew warm and faintly glowed.

"There, that'll help!" Fetch announced. The small man had started a fire with a pile of hay in the center of the stable. "Now we can see better."

"You scaly little idiot!" Rikali screamed when she realized what he had done. The light revealed the anger on her face. Her skin looked like smooth alabaster in the fire's glow, her wide eyes a pale watery blue outlined heavily with kohl, her lips thin and painted crimson. She snarled to reveal a row of tiny, pointed teeth, so small and uniform they looked filed. "You're worthless!"

Before she could reach the fire and attempt to put it out, it had begun to spread, racing along the floor on the scattered straw, then jumping from bale to bale. The horses' nostrils flared in fright. They were neighing anxiously in their stalls, pulling on the ropes that held them. The fire was spreading toward the animals, was spreading toward everything, and Rikali's efforts to stamp it out were ineffectual.

"Mai!" Rikali called. "We have another problem! Fetch decided to burn down the buildin'."

Maldred continued humming.

Cries of "Fire!" resounded outside. A dwarf hollered to start a bucket brigade. Another was yelling to leave the blaze be, to let it kill the thieves who would steal from the wounded Knights who risked their lives to save the town from the goblin army.

Dhamon had the two largest horses saddled and was returning to select another one or two. He sucked in his breath when he heard one of the center beams groan and saw the flames rising. "Riki!" Dhamon hollered. "Saddle one more for you and Fetch. Be quick."