Chapter 2: Captain of the Guard

  “What is this all about?” demanded Kaz’s mom.

  “Sorry Miss Kailal. It is official royal business,” replied the guard.

  The last time that she was told that was the last time that she saw her husband. Everyone became very nervous.

  Before they could take a step forward, the guard told them, “Miss Kaz is to come alone.”

  Kaz was disappointed for not being able to tell her sisters about finding the adamantine and then finding the special mushroom. She also could not tell them about visiting with Maol and her aunt.

  “Miss Kaz, be prepared for a long walk,” mentioned the guard. He was probably a high ranking guard. He wore ceremonial plate armor and held a long spear. On his back was a large battle axe. He was a tall dwarf, about four feet and three inches tall. Kaz was only about a foot taller than him.

  Engraved in a golden metal was a large mountain with a red star on top of it. It was a symbol for the Rouge Empire. Not many had armor that had the official emblem of the kingdom on it.

  “May I ask sir what is your rank?” inquired the young lady.

  With proudness in his voice he answered, “I am a Captain of the royal guard. My name is Captain Zindo.”

  Captain Zindo was young for a dwarf of his rank, barely older than a young adult. No older than seventy five, or a little over twice Kaz’s age. His hair and beard were a chestnut, reddish brown, color. When he walked, one could tell he was familiar with the heavy armor. He did not make a lot of noise while walking.

  “Where are we going?”, asked Kaz.

  “We are going to see Prince Fislonidor, in Mount Diamond,” answered the captain.

  Mount Diamond was two mountains away. They would not have to go outside to get to it. The dwarves had made underground connections many centuries ago. It would still be a very long way to walk.

  As the two walked through Mount Koptniol, they had ordinary dwarves looking at the odd pair. Some had seen Kaz before, but many had never seen her. Miners tend to not associate with others, other than other miners. Kaz tended to go straight to work and then straight back to home. Every now and then, like earlier that day, she might go to the family garden with her mom. That was why so many had bever seen her.

  If Kaz had looked like the other family members, there might not have been many stares. Oddly the captain did not give her any awkward stare, not even at the initial encounter. It might have been due to his professional training. It might have also been that in his service as a royal guard, he had seen many things that other dwarves were not exposed to.

  \The two passed by a shallow clear small lake. Kaz looked at the reflection of her walking next to Captain Zindo. This made her self conscious about being tall and having long black hair. His armor’s reflection was breathtaking.

  It had been over fifteen minutes since they had last talked, and the teen asked, “Is it hard to move in that heavy armor?’

  The captain thought for a moment, and then replied, “When one wears a suit of plate, it has not happened overnight. We first start with chainmail, then we wear banded or splint mail, and then we wear plate mail. Plate mail is lighter than a suit of plates. It is a long process, and each type of armor has benefits and disadvantages. I wear full plate armor when escorted or when at a formal gathering. If we were to ever be in a skirmish, I would prefer some lighter splint mail and my trusted battle axe. I can run a lot faster.”

  \Kaz smiled at the idea of seeing the dwarf running fast.

  An elderly white haired lady, with a few strands of auburn, approached them and asked Kaz, “A copper for an old widow trying to make it?”

  Before Kaz could answer, Captain Zindo harshly said, “Be gone miss. There is no time for that Kind of interruption today.”

  “Sorry miss for troubling you. It looks like your warden woke up grouchy,” snickered the widow.

  The two kept walking. There was a sign posted that read, “Sapphire Galleria: 1 mile.”

  The captain said, “It will not take us too long to get to the galleria.”

  Between Mount Koptniol and Mount Diamond was the Sapphire Galleria. It was in the mountain that separated the two other mountains, but it was known for the businesses and malls, and not its geological location.

  “You found the adamantine ?” asked the guard inquisitively.

  “Yes. Is that why I have been summoned?, countered Kaz.

  The captain answered, “Miss Kaz I am but an escort that must make sure that you get to the proper destination.”

  The girl then said, “Yes, Captain Zindo, I found some adamantine this morning.”

  A large smile emerged on his usually stern face. He looked at her with hope and cheer, and said, “I can just imagine a great axe with its head being made of that most precious metal. One swing could slice an orc from top to bottom.”

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  They were getting closer to the gate that separated Mount Koptiniol and the Sapphire Galleria. The area was mostly filled with dwarves preparing to enter the gate and a lesser amount coming from it.

  From behind her, Kaz heard a female voice asks, “How did an elf get into Mount Koptiniol? I thought they were not allowed to come into our homeland.”

  She looked in all directions to see where this elf was. She had never seen an elf, not even in a painting. Kaz decided that she must have missed seeing the elf when she was looking in a different direction.

  She thought that they must be really ugly people. When she was younger, one of the mean boys said that she was as ugly as an elf. Kaz knew that often people talk about things that they do not know anything about. She wondered if they might be very kind to offset possibly being ugly.

  As the two got closer to the gate the tunnel got thinner. It eventually got to the point that just two single files could fit. One was heading in, and the other coming out.

  When we reached the gate, a young dwarf wearing chainmail, with his spear in arm’s reach, looked at them and said, "Good evening sir.”

  Captain Zindo told him, “Unquestioned passage for two into Sapphire.”

  “Yes sir!” replied the gate guard.

  There was no true gate. It was just called that. The two walked through the thin passage.

  It did not take long for the tunnel to open into a very large cave. The ceiling was over one hundred feet high. In strategic positions, there were support columns that appeared to be made of iron. The smallest column was at least ten feet square.

  Each column had decorative figures on it. The columns themselves probably had little to do with supporting the top part of the enormous cave. They were initially put in there as property division markers, Now then served as markers for the different types of merchandise.

  The first area, nearest the entrance gate was the food court. It was a logical place to put it. Vendors could entice those coming and going with various dishes. A variety of orders were in the air.

  “Young lady, how would you like to try some of my Dinnton potato stew?” asked an aggressive sampler.

  Captain ZIndo answered for her, “She is not interested.”

  Kaz’s escort then told her, “He puts peculiar spices in his food that makes the free sample taker yearn even more at a very high price. It has an addictive ingredient.”

  The other food vendors did not dare do any verbal marketing attempts to the duo. They would not dare deal with the wrath of a royal guard. That could result in them not making their profit goals.

  On one side of the food court was a very large entrance. There was a different kind of light that could be seen towards the end of it. If it was a tunnel or gate, Kaz had never seen one that large,

  Her guard noticed that she was looking towards that area, and explained to her, “That is the gate to the outside of this mountain.”

  He then added, “Not all visitors to The Sapphire are the size of dwarves.”

  Kaz could not imagine what could be that tall that the dwarves would not mind buying items from within there. She estimated them to be about twenty feet high. The largest thing that she had seen was a bear, but it would not need that much space.

  They entered into an area that had smiths using forges to make armor and weapons. The most common smiths were those that made axes. Dwarves loved axes. It was their preferred weapon. A few of the smiths forced swords of various sizes and shapes. At the end of this area were the makers of crossbows. A few of these crossbows looked too large and heavy for a dwarf to carry.

  Captain Zinbo’s pace quickened. They entered an area that had cave burrows. Some were too small to carry anything and others looked very seasoned. The smell was awful. That might have explained why his pace had quickened.

  Next to the burrows were some cattle. The wealthier dwarves could afford beef items. They did not drink milk, so that was exported to others outside the mountain. The most important purpose of that livestock was to produce leather.

  Not too far from the cattle were the leather workers. Kaz’s leather armor might have been made in this area. There were purse and back pack makers too. Almost anything made of leather could be found.

  The next section of the galleria was the distilleries. Dark ales and beers were a favored drink of the dwarves. The vendors had many different flavors to offer.

  As Kaz had expected, large fields of cavern barley were next. Other crops, like potatoes, turnips, and carrots were seen in the distance, but most of the acreage was dedicated to underground barley.

  The young lady figured that they must be getting closer to another gate. She saw a few food vendors up ahead. Their numbers were not as great as on the other side, but they were still there.

  A little less than a hundred feet from the now visually seen gate, a lady called out, “Hey Zinbo, the usual?”

  “Yes, my dear,” he said with a smile.

  She handed him a sliced Royal potato, and looked at Kaz asking, “You are not going to introduce us?”

  Before he had a chance to answer, she added, “And do not tell me that you cannot due to official business.”

  “My lovely sister Amberlocks, this is Miss Kaz, daughter of Kailal and Kyp of the Auburns,” the captain told his sister.

  He then said, “Miss Kaz, this is my favorite sister, Amberlocks.

  Giggling, Amberlocks said, “ I am his only sister.”

  Looking straight at her brother, she told him, “You are the only one that still calls me Amberlocks.”

  Captain Zinbo was looking a little impatient, and his sister told him, “It was nice meeting you Miss Kaz and sorry that we could not visit longer.”

  The captain nodded his head and said, “It is time for us to go.”

  The path did get thinner, but not as thin as the other side. It was also not as packed. Few people were going to Mount Diamond, and only a couple were coming into the galleria.

  Before the gate was a guard wearing armor similar to Captain Zinbo. He had an elaborate helm on, and his royal crest on his breastplate was fancier than her escort’s.

  “Good evening General Wibbs,” greeted the captain.

  The white bearded dwarf, whose face could not be seen, simply said, “You are relieved Captain Zinbo.”