Chapter 9: A Short Little Walk

  A light copper-haired, middle-aged female dwarf with bright white streaks pulled a cart behind her. She introduced herself, “I am Sergeant Hunhumm, and I am your practice gear armorer.”

  She handed Garnosht a short pole with a round padded end, and said, “This is your axe.”

  The armorer gave Dartkin a similar looking item, and told him, “You get an axe too.”

  She took out a larger looking version, and told Dane, “This is your battle axe.”

  “For you, you get a mace,” she said, giving him a short pole with a round pad on its end.

  Sergeant Hunhumm gave Kaz a pole that was much longer than the practice battle axe, and it had a larger pad at the end. She told her, “This is your poleaxe.”

  The armorer then handed Garnosht, Dartkin, and Dabe small padded pillows, and told them, “Those are your shields.

  She looked at the five boots, and informed them, “Do not lose them or they will be deducted from your earned wages.”

  Kez looked at the five and said, “Follow me, and take your weapons, and shields, if you have one” and he then started walking.

  He led the small group to an entrance on the other side of that cavern. It led to a path that was about seven foot tall and four feet wide. At approximately every fifty feet there was a small torch. Kez kept on leading them through what seemed like an endless walk.

  He came up to an exit that had two dwarven guards posted. Without saying anything they let him and his group exit. Those guards had simple spears and wore a light chainmail. Neither one of them had a helmet on.

  The group exited to a part of the mountain range that bordered a forest. It was dark outside. That was the first time for four of them to be outside in the dark. Only Kez and Dane had ever seen the outside of mountain life during actual night time.

  There was a small dirt path that led from the mountain and continued into a forest. Crickets were singing their songs, as well as a few birds. An owl even hooted a few times. For Kez and Dane, this was an ordinary experience, but for the other four, it was something new.

  It was not too dark, due to there being a bright full moon overhead. It lit up the path before them. It also created varying shadows. The four raised within the mountains were full of wonder and excitement.

  Kez was surprisingly silent when he walked, even with the full plate armor. He held his massive swords in a walking defensive position. He put on his full helm. The others had their padded skull caps on. All of them tightened their grips on their weapons and shields.

  The six walked for a very long time. Some of them started to show signs of fatigue. The group approached a fork in the path. Kez stopped, and reached down into some bushes near a large tree. He pulled out a bag.

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  He spoke for the first time since leaving the training chamber, “It is time for water.”

  Kez pulled out six small vials of water, and handed one to each of his trainees. They were thirsty, and drank quickly. He also drank, but took his time.

  “It is time for a small break,” he then announced.

  The five were enjoying the quiet relaxation, but no longer than three minutes later their trainer said, “Time to go.”

  They thought he was going to turn around, and go back towards the mountain, but he took the left option at the fork. Kez continued to walk. The path started to get windy. Thirty minutes later they reached a lake.

  Kez looking out over the water told his team, “We have reached the eight mile mark. That is a good halfway distance for our first march. It is time to go back.”

  There was a loud crackling sound, followed by a loud boom. Clouds quickly filled the sky, and the moon shortly disappeared. Across the sky multi-forked blue lightning flickered followed by an even louder thunder.

  Kez shouted, “Follow me,” and began to run into the forest to the right.

  The rain came down hard and fast. It did not even build up. It just emptied straight out of the heavens.

  After about a fifteen minute quickened walk, they saw a small building. It looked like it was an abandoned temple. Kez ran into the shelter, and the five followed him. It had an entrance, but it did not have a door to close. It also did not have any torches or lanterns.

  He told them, “We can march in the rain, but we must always seek shelter when we see blue lightning.”

  Their trainer then said, “This is a good time to get some rest or sleep. Do not worry. No one is going to come in here.”

  The small building was no more than twenty feet in diameter. Its base formed an almost perfect circle. The walls went straight up for five feet, and then the cone roof was about nine feet tall at the center.

  The strong wind was screaming loudly. Branches could be heard snapping. Thankfully, the wind was blowing in a direction not towards the entrance. Blue light would come in when lightning would strike nearby. It would be followed by a thunder that would sometimes hurt the ears.

  The five trainees fell asleep, and their leader rested. The rain reduced to sprinkling, and the lightning and thunder ceased. Rain frogs began to sing as the rain lightened up.

  “Time to head back,” Kez announced. All but Dartkin woke up. The knight went up to him and gave a gentle shove with his boot. The dwarf did not stir. Kez got down on a knee and gave him a tap on the shoulder. Dartkin still did not move.

  Kez looked at the young dwarf;s face. He saw two sets of red dots on his neck. He looked closer. The paladin had seen those kinds of marks before.

  He took his surcoat off and placed it on the side of Dartkin. He then gently picked up the dwarf and put him on it. Kez carefully wrapped it around the dead dwarf.

  “A dark wrath spider bit him while he was sleeping. He felt nothing,” explained Kez.

  The holy knight picked up Dartkin and carried him on his left shoulder. Without saying anything else he started walking out of the temple and onto a small path. The four followed him.

  The path went about five hundred feet and reached a larger path. Kez went left, and after a short walk, the group found themselves at the previous fork, but coming from the opposite direction.

  In a couple hours they found themselves at the entrance of the mountain. The rain had completely stopped, and the sun was getting ready to rise. They followed the maze leading back to the training area.

  Kez saw General Xia, and told her, “I lost Dartkin.”

  She told him, “We have more pressing issues.”