Role

Chapter 5

That was the thought going through his mind as the delegation arrived in the
center of the market, where the King and his courtiers had made a pavilion
to meet and greet. As the two groups met there was a slight popping sound
from somewhere in the back of the crowd, back near the gate entrance. Then
another, and another, until finally there were too many to count and all of
a sudden there were dozens, scores of beings, not giants, rushing forward,
gesticulating and speaking in strange words, and dwarves were spasming, falling
to the ground bleeding, vomiting, hurling their guts out, others were entirely
still, unnaturally so, not even their eyelids moving or blinding how frozen
they seemed, as these beings, now obvious to everyone as mages, plunged daggers
and other weapons into the dwarven victims. Da's voice cried out and to their
credit the fire giants began fighting the beings, on the side of the dwarves,
perhaps unhappy with being used by these magical marauders. Chaos reigned in
the square for what seemed like hours but in truth could only have been minutes.
With the giants' aid Da's men began to overcome the surprise and beat back the
invaders. As they retreated they began saying the same, incomprehensible, words,
and make the same gestures, and would disappear into thin air. But each only
did so after doing as much damage as possible. And as Drothgar watched, from
just outside the brewery, Ergrenye moved from out of the doorway and started
to run toward her father, her eyes wild with fear. Seeing her at the same time,
Da hurled himself over bodies and men and rushed toward her, his eyes just as
wild with worry, his beard flying with the wind of his stout legs pumping him
forward. Drothgar was sure his father would be there instantly, so fast was he
running. But time slowed, almost stopped, and from out of nowhere a creature
appeared, that tell-tale pop unheard in the general bedlam, and a visage of death
on its face. With almost casual non-chalance he spoke words and moved his hands
and Da, the most powerful dwarf Drothgar had ever known, seized up, his legs
instantly unmoving but his incredible momentum carrying his body another dozen
feet in a rolling ball of pain. Ergrenye screams. Drothgar sees her mouth
moving but cannot hear the sound. Stepping back from Da, the mage pauses,
knowing Da cannot move, cannot do anything but See, and with a smile that Drothgar
will never forget, brings a dagger across his sister's throat, slicing it like
paper. His sister's eyes bulge but quickly darken as her life drains away. And
as he lets her body fall, the mage steps toward Da, speaks more words and Da's
body cracks and bleeds, grows gills, does things Drothgar cannot even understand,
and then slowly stops moving. Da's men swarm around him and the mage takes a
flail to the head, dropping him like a stone. But no comfort comes from the