The children stayed at Kildur’s mountains for over a week now. They arrived there with Keezul and his huffing puffing mobile. Even though it was a sad journey to make, Keezul proved to be the funniest and most inventive companion a child could wish for. Even here in these so called mountains, everybody loved his mechanical marvels and toys.  xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

The mountains were in fact tunnels and mines under the ground. They stretched out under the surface of several hills, going under parts of the forest and even under the river. All in all it was a vast area, especially since it went way down as well. It wasn’t simply one level below the ground. Kildur had found these natural caves and tunnels himself. He still knew them best of all who lived there. Even though he made no claims above the ground, the fact that his mountains connected to so much of these lands, made him the true ruler of these parts.

Kildur had build him an army down there, one that he almost never deployed fully. He was a subtle man when it came to strategy. It was better to keep a low profile, or he knew any warlord and usurper would come to him for weaponry and military support. These mountains were home to the best craftsmen and weapon makers around. To stimulate this even further Kildur encouraged them to learn from each other and multiply their capacities by any means he had. He himself was probably the best gun smith alive, and yet he grabbed every opportunity he could to learn what others had to teach on the matter. This dwarf was old, but he made sure his mind stayed young and keen. As well as his body for that matter, he was still a formidable fighter if he had to be.

 Kildur watched the children roll out the wagon with their stronge horse Petta. She could pull again, no more huffing and puffing. Keezul had other business to attend to and couldn’t accompany them any further. Some of the lieutenants uttered that Kildur should give the children a small army to guide them, but that seemed unfitting to him. Last thing he wanted was to draw attention to the children from the Nuncio’s men. He knew who the boy’s father was, so discretion was the key word here. Scaramance had more than once annoyed the Nuncio, and did worse than that even.

In the end he opted to send Kyell and Leki on their way with a single lieutenant of his dwarves only. He had picked one but was almost certain he would regret this at some point. The cheerful warrior Muredin was the one he selected to guide the children. This dwarf was always in a good mood, which was also his biggest shortcoming. Muredin was seldom sober.

Kildur sighed at his own choice. Muredin came stumbling in late, and still drunk. He was playing some game with an empty bottle and a cork, but no one could actually make out what the point of it was. Muredin tried to explain to the children, in a drunken notion of knowing for sure children like games. It was a fun game, and they were children. Therefore his bottle and cork would solve everything!

He actually needed help climbing onto the wagon, so he ended up lying down in the back of the mobile shack. Some say he was snoring even before they left. Who was taking care of who than? Leki put a blanket over Muredin and Kyell took the reins. The boy looked confident at Kildur, to show he remembered the described route well enough.

The wagon pulled on its way. The first part of the road was safe enough, Kildur’s people controlled this region fully. The danger would start once over the river. Hopefully by than Muredin was sober again.

Keezul looked at Kildur and asked him what he was thinking assigning this drunken fool to protect the children.

‘I can understand you want them to keep a low profile, like I did.’ Keezul said, upon which he launched another pack of fire crackers to say goodbye to the children.

‘But only one of our men to go with them? Surely you could have spared a few more!’

‘One is enough.’ Kildur stated.

‘Ok, one than, if you say so. But couldn’t you at least have sent the most wretched of your warriors, your most fearsome fighter, the bravest of dwarves?’

Kildur grinned at Keezuls typical dramatic choice of words and calmly answered: ‘I did my friend, I did…’

Kyell followed the road. Kildur had told him to take the first left turn, but this already caused a problem. There was this small towing path coming out from behind a rather large bush, or there was this bigger crossing they could see a while ahead. ‘Surely it can’t be the towing path,’ he figured, ‘It’s hardly big enough to fit the wagon.’

‘Take the small path.’ Muredin wasn’t asleep it seemed. What’s more: how could he have noticed from back there.

‘Are you sure?’ Kyell questioned him, seeing as he was still drunk to boot.

‘Hey, don’t listen to me, I’m not in charge. But if you want me to keep you alive, than the small path is better.’ Muredin turned over again and closed his eyes.

Kyell hadn’t decided yet, but already Petta was making the turn. Leki smiled, the horse always had a mind of her own.

The children hardly talked, not to disturb the drunken dwarf. Or better: they tried to keep him silent as long as they could. After an hour or tow on the path, which had indeed broadened into a comfortable road. They came to the river, Kyell had heard several times from Kildur this was the point they left his protection. He took a deep breath and let Petta go on. The horse had waited for him to be ready, nothing more. The wooden bridge was narrow but stable, Leki had hoped for something more ‘special’ upon entering dangerous country. Once over the river, the landscape was a little more open. More rocks and steep hillsides, it went on like that for a while.

Muredin suddenly sat up and moved to the front with them.

‘Go on till the country lodge. Don’t order anything for me but do get yourself something to eat.’ He slipped Kyell some coins. Next moment Muredin jumped of the wagon and ran down a slope to the side. Kyell wanted to yell at him, but Leki stopped him.

‘Let him go if he thinks that helps. I’m hungry Kyell, and so is Petta. Let’s go eat something.’

They parked the wagon to the side, not too close. Kyell went to get some oat for Petta first. That horse was so strong it had to be fed like a champion! Leki walked up to the woman serving and ordered two plates they would eat at the wagon. She suggested waiting for the meals there, but the woman told her she would bring them. Both children tried to stay as close to their wagon as possible, the people at the lodge scared them a bit for being so noisy.

Leki pushed Kyell as they were brought the plates: in the back of the lodge Muredin was heard laughing loud. They couldn’t see him in the group of men there, but he couldn’t be mistaken. He sounded drunk again, burping away as if it was a contest. Maybe it was a contest indeed, Leki considered.

The meal was nice enough, and it meant they could spare their reserves a bit. On top of that they didn’t have to cook themselves of course. Still Kyell was annoyed at Muredin. He was clearly using the idea of being separate travellers merely as an excuse to drink. Leki didn’t contradict him, she wasn’t sure herself after all.

A man came up to the wagon. He didn’t talk straight away, as you would expect, but instead he walked around the wagon to inspect it. Leki turned towards him from there at the trestle: ‘See anything you like?’

‘Why, are you selling?’

‘No sorry, we’re not.’

‘Good, I never buy…’

Leki entwined a rope around her hand. She felt this man was dangerous. Kyell saw her winding up the rope and he instinctively felt for his dagger under his vest. He shoved his walking stick close with his foot. The man didn’t pay much attention to the children, but he was cautious getting near the horse.

‘That’s more like a cow than a horse.’ Leki heard him mumble as he went back to his companions at the table. Petta heard him too and snorted. Kyell thought it would be much better if Muredin was with them, at least people would think them a less easy target.

They ate the meal and Leki brought back the plates. A young fellow from the same company as the first man stopped her. He whistled, she gave him the plates and turned around. Leki had given him those plates so sudden, that he had taken them by reflex almost. By the time he realised she used him for servant, she was stepping away already.

The others watching were rolling on the floor! Leki had handled him well, but she knew she had also insulted him in front of his mates. It was time to go. Muredin had given the scene a glance when he heard the laughter, but he didn’t react at all. Leki climbed onto the trestle: ‘Go Kyell, and don’t go slow either Petta. Muredin will have to catch up. It was his idea after all.’

The massive horse pulled the wagon to the road. Kyell held the reins but his mind was on the men watching them depart.

Petta put a move to it. She wasn’t galloping with the wagon, although she could if she wanted, still she went rather fast anyhow. Kyell tried to scout the road in front, his mind was working out different scenario’s of what could happen. In the back Leki simply awaited what she knew would come: the company following them. Most of all she was hoping to see a glimpse of Muredin first.

It was that band of men, not the dwarf, which she saw first. They rode fast on light horses, meant for chasing over short distances. She counted eight, that young one rode in front as if he had a point to prove. Leki didn’t like that, he seemed far too eager after such a small insult. This worried her. The rope in her hand felt comforting, at least he would never expect such a weapon. But what would happen after?

‘We’re not going to outrun them Kyell, anything on the road we can use?’

‘No bridge, no water, no forest. It’s all open. Even this road is too wide. Dam that dwarf!’

The riders approached the wagon rather fast. Kyell knew it had no use risking to break something trying to outrun them. The young fellow and another had already overtaken them. One drew a sword and tried to force Kyell to pull over. Petta immediately slowed down, Kyell had nothing to do with it anymore. They stopped and there was still a sword pointed at Kyells face. He didn’t move at all, but with his feet he pushed open the lever that loosened Petta from her collar harness. Petta felt she was free but she bided her time.

Two men pulled Leki out of the wagon and shoved her with her back to the side. Kyell wanted to move back but the sword stopped him. The young fellow who Leki insulted came up to her with a dagger. Before he could even gloat her rope was around his arm and his neck. He struggled at first but he was either choking himself or breaking his arm. He took the dagger in his of hand, but he had no clue on where to cut first. Panick had a hold of him, a choking hold.

Leki had thrown the rope faster than anyone held possible. She still held the stretched end of the rope in her hand: he wasn’t going to lay a finger on her, even if it was the last thing she did.

The men laughed at the misfortune of their youngest companion. The laughter got grimm fast however and one of the others hit Leki on her arm with his staff: ‘Let go of that rope, you little witch.’ Leki let go, and the young man caught in the rope started gasping for air.

‘I actually held it from killing him.’ she sneered. He got help cutting the darn thing from around his neck without breaking his arm.

That man came up to her close, holding his staff to her chest to keep her at distance.  He collapsed, the expression on his face left no doubt. Something had hit him between his legs, and it couldn’t have been Leki. She herself had no idea what happened, but the next moment a small throwing dagger struck the one holding a sword to Kyell’s face. It hit his shoulder so hard he fell of his horse.

Immediately Petta kicked the second man there straight from his horse. It was the one who came up to the wagon the first time, the one who called her a cow. Kyell reached for Leki and pulled her up the wagon again. Petta went raging in front of them, not a single man or horse dared approach.

Suddenly, as they all looked towards the wagon, in the back two of them fell over. He burped to draw the attention of the whole lot, since a few hardly noiced the two being struck. Muredin stood behind them there, holding up two small hand axes. He had them turned around to hit the first men with the backside of the heavy axes. These backsides were nothing but heavy duty hammers.

By the time the others started reacting, one more cried out, cut to the hand by the blade side of an axe. Muredin was a fast devil, and they never saw his attacks coming. He also was as stout a dwarf as any, so when he put his might to it, he could throw even the strongest of his feet. This handful of men had no chance to overcome this trained dwarf. It ended up an uneven fight since Petta knocked out anyone of the attackers that dared to forget about her for a second. Leki was constantly hiding behind the massive blows the horse was dealing, while she tied up anyone who fell in her reach. Kyell merely handed her the ropes needed.

Muredin apparently tried to spill as less blood as possible. He used the hammers more than the blades. He could have cut of their limbs with a single blow if he wanted to. Instead he played with them, giving them a beating they would not lightly forget. Those axes appeared rather small, short firm handles with thick blades barely longer than his clenched fist. He could fight with them at the speed of his punches, but their heavy weight and massive structure made them far more devastating. He might not want to kill or mutilate these bandits, but they sure were going to have bumps and bruises for weeks!

The real unlucky ones were the ones hit by Petta, but she too held back her force. One full out blow to the head with one of her hoofs would kill a man instantly. Most of all she scared the horses, or maybe she allied with them. Either way: the horses threw of their riders and ran away.

When it was all over, Muredin smashed whatever weapons they carried. He took out that bottle he had when they left the mountains, the one he played that silly game with.

‘What’s the use of a cork on an empty bottle?’ he asked one of the men, the one still somewhat conscious. The man didn’t answer, he only tried to pull his head in, afraid for another blow.

‘It keeps the angry wasps in!’

Muredin pulled of the cork right in front of the man’s eye. The man squealed, but instead of being blinded by a raging wasp, he felt refreshing liquid run over his face. It had the unmistakable smell of beer he realised when his freight wore of.

‘I’ll tell you when it’s empty.’

Muredin jumped onto the wagon and Petta started moving.

Kyell had to comfort Leki who was crying from the shock now that it was all over. Not that Kyell wasn’t shaking too. Muredin put his big hand on Kyells shoulder, he had a drink form that bottle and smiled.

‘How did you get here so fast, Muredin?’ Kyell wondered.

‘I was under the wagon all the time, lad. Which reminds me: if that’s ok with you two, I would like to make a small adjustment to the floor here. Sort of a backdoor through the bottom, if you know what I mean.’

Kyell nodded, he liked that kind of practical trickery. It was just like the lever that freed up Petta from her harness.

‘I really doubted you Muredin, you were drunk and all.’

‘I’m never drunk my friend, I’m merely always drinking.’