Someone safe

Valentia was the one who came to check on me. It made sense, since she had the next-best resistance to Henri.

I followed her out and let Bertrand know that Henri was still where we'd left him. “Are you going to be okay here?” I asked him.

He shrugged. “Dunno. But someone from the Holds should be here soon. I sent two riders an’ a hawk.”

I nodded.

“Thank ye for yer hospitality, Castellan,” Ami said.

He smiled. “Just glad I could help a lass like ye, Aethlin’ or no.” “And ye,” he told Valentia, “take care a these two. They’ll need all the help they kin git.”

She smiled back and gave him a hug, which clearly surprised the old dwarf.

He extended his hand to me. “Good luck, lad.” His expression turned serious. “Donna waste whatever time ye got left worryin’ about how much a it remains.” Before I could say anything, he continued. “I seen plenty a lads die. Some knew it. Others dinna. Ye got that look in yer eye, lad.”

His hand tightened around mine. “But donna ye dare start treating those girls like they're already grievin’. They're no. No yet.” He clapped a hand against my shoulder. “Yer still here, lad.” Then he gave me a tired smile. “Act like it.”

We set off into the mountains. The road rose quickly, trailing through the foothills before climbing the steep slopes. The wind was steady and cold, and the temperature now hovered around freezing.

The trees were mostly pines and spruces, tall despite the rocky soil. The sky continued to clear throughout the day. Wild pronghorn goats picked their way along the steep slopes above us while hawks circled lazily overhead.

It occurred to me that we hadn't seen a single village since we'd left Greyhaven. I'd assumed we'd encounter one every day or so.

“Nope,” Ami said. “The wall drove people on both sides away. Game was scarce when they were buildin’, and what few villages sprung up either withered when the wall was done or got hit by plague thirty, forty years back.” She shrugged. “Not much on either side, ’cept for the Holds.”

Though I'd been in the Five Realms for almost a week now, I was still amazed by how real everything felt. Almost too real.

The sky was a brilliant azure. The scent of pine and snow in the air tickled something in me that wasn't quite Christmas, but still felt unmistakably wintry and pleasant. Rocks crunched beneath my feet. A frigid breeze brushed against my skin. I could feel the fabric of my shirt shifting against my body with every step.

I walked a little closer to Valentia and Ami, admiring the way their hair moved in the wind. The pink in their cheeks. The color of their eyes. The ruddiness of Ami's skin and the paleness of Valentia's.

I reached out and took one of their hands in mine. The soft warmth of their touch was mind-blowing. The little calluses on Ami's hands somehow made her feel more real than I ever thought anyone could.

Valentia grinned.

Ami blushed.

“Almost there,” Ami said as the sun disappeared behind the mountains.

It wasn't late - maybe three in the afternoon - but with the mountains rising so high ahead of us and to the west, the light disappeared quickly.

We rounded a bend and there it was.

A huge iron gate set directly into the mountain face. The doors had to be fifteen feet tall and a full foot thick. They were intricately carved with three distinct patterns.

The bottom third was covered in geometric knotwork that looked almost as though it had been riveted directly onto the iron. Sharp angles dominated the design, resembling stylized hammers guarding jagged mountain peaks.

In the middle was a huge, sharply pointed mountain. A vertical line ran straight down its center before branching outward into thick horizontal lines.

At the top were twelve symbols that looked almost like heraldry. Four formed an inner semicircle, while another eight sat above them, divided evenly across the two doors.

Flickering torchlight illuminated the passage beyond, which seemed to go on forever.

But the gates weren't what caught my attention. It was the guards.

There were almost two dozen dwarves stationed around the entrance, all standing at attention.

Eight flanked the doors, dressed in gleaming armor with black tartan kilts laid over it.

Another dozen stood in the center. They weren't blocking the entrance. They were waiting. They wore the same armor, but their kilts were blue and red tartan.

Ami slowed her pace and let go of my hand. Her gaze seemed determined to land anywhere except on the soldiers ahead.

As we approached, the soldiers in the center clapped their heels together and rapped mailed fists against their chests.

“Lady Amelie, ‘tis good to see ye ‘gain,” said a hill dwarf with dirty-blonde hair. His magnificent beard was divided into dozens of braids, each decorated with beads. His shoulder-length hair had several smaller braids woven through it as well.

He bowed deeply. “Yer father awaits ye in ‘is chambers. If ye follow us, we'll get ye cleaned up and ready for ‘is audience.”

She glanced uncertainly at us, then mumbled, “Aye, Etienne.”

He glanced at Valentia and me. Something between curiosity, disdain, and suspicion crossed his face before he turned and headed into the torchlit tunnel.

The dozen dwarves split into two columns as Ami passed between them.

I choked. Then I started coughing.

Ami started after him.

Valentia looked at me with concern, but I waved her off. We both hurried to catch up before the soldiers closed ranks around us and ushered us inside.

Level fifty-six? And a hundred and fifteen Health? This guy was a monster. And he'd just been waiting at the gates for Ami to show up?

I had to reevaluate who Ami's father was. I knew he was important, but… wow.

The tunnel they led us through was the same size as the gates - fifteen feet high and ten feet wide. Torches mounted along the walls bathed it in warm, flickering light. After a hundred feet or so, the tunnel opened into a carved dome roughly fifty feet tall and more than three hundred feet across.

Shops and stalls lined the perimeter, with another ring of them about twenty feet farther in. Wooden platforms began about fifteen feet above the floor and supported even more stalls. Ramps, stairs, and ladders provided easy access to the second level.

Hundreds of people crowded the marketplace. Mostly dwarves and humans, but there were also beastfolk, elves, riverfolk, and people I didn't recognize.

Guards in black tartan kilts stood throughout the marketplace - not enough to feel oppressive, but enough that you were always aware of them.

The air smelled of hay, bodies, cooking food, tanned leather, smoke, and other things I couldn't identify. It was warm inside, no doubt because of the sheer number of people, but the air didn't feel stagnant or stuffy. I didn't see any fans, so I had no idea how they kept the air moving.

People parted as the soldiers walked by, hurrying to get out of their way.

We were led to the center of the chamber, where a forty-foot-diameter bronze medallion was set into the floor.

The soldiers surrounded us. Once everyone was standing on the medallion, a dwarf wearing a green-and-brown tartan kilt, but no armor, pulled a large bronze lever.

A bronze railing decorated with knotwork similar to that on the gates rose around us. It clicked into place at about three feet high.

Then the medallion beneath our feet shuddered. Slowly, it began to descend.

We sank into the floor with a deep rumble, the railing remaining around the top of the opening.

After about a hundred feet, the stone around us ended and I found myself staring into a truly enormous cavern.

It had to be over three hundred feet high and at least two miles across.

My stomach dropped. Vertigo made my legs go weak.

Huge, smooth stone pillars rose from the cavern floor all the way to the ceiling. Windows had been carved into their sides, making them look like natural skyscrapers. Balconies wrapped around them at uneven intervals, and I could see dwarves relaxing on them, talking and laughing with one another.

Far below us, hundreds of streets stretched across the cavern floor, illuminated by countless gas lamps. Their collective glow reflected faintly off the ceiling above, leaving it suspended in perpetual twilight.

It was breathtaking.

And somehow, the air was even fresher here. There was no scent of cooking food. No bodies. No smoke. Nothing. Just clean, cool air.

When the medallion finally settled onto the floor, we were marched toward one of the enormous stone columns. It was nearly two hundred feet around.

We were taken inside.

The interior was so similar to a medieval castle that it was almost jarring. Dressed stone walls were covered in tapestries. Ornate rugs covered the floors. Carved wooden doors led to other rooms. Candles and torches burned along the walls.

Somehow, there wasn't a trace of smoke.

We were taken up several flights of stairs before Ami and Valentia were led away.

A well-dressed dwarf with white hair and pale skin - an older mountain dwarf, judging by his appearance - guided me in another direction.

We entered a large room that seemed to be part dressing room and part closet. Beyond it was a bath, a large pool sunken into the floor.

I was offered soap, a razor, and help bathing. I declined the help.

The pool was square, maybe five feet on each side and about three feet deep. The water was warm, but not hot.

While I washed, the well-dressed dwarf entered and quietly gathered up my old, filthy clothes. I scrubbed away the dirt and sweat from the road, giving my hair a much-needed cleaning as well.

I ignored the notification for now.

When I finished, I looked around for a towel, but there wasn't one.

Which left me in a strange predicament. The well-dressed dwarf didn't seem to care that I was naked in the tub. I was considerably more concerned about being naked outside the tub.

After fifteen minutes or so, the dwarf returned. “Is there anythin' me lord needs?”

“Uh, a towel would be great,” I said with a chuckle.

“Very well.” He disappeared for a few moments. When he returned, he had a towel in hand.

I took it, dried the top half of my body while he watched, then wrapped it around my lower half as I climbed out, trying to preserve as much of my dignity as possible.

“This way.” He turned and led me back into the dressing room, where another dwarf was waiting.

The second dwarf looked like a hill dwarf, with an olive complexion and light-brown hair. He wore a flowing white shirt and a simple kilt in the same blue-and-red tartan as the guards. He handed me a long white shirt similar to his own.

The well-dressed dwarf simply stood back, looking bored.

I pulled the shirt over my head, still keeping the towel wrapped around my waist.

Once the shirt was on, the second dwarf snatched the towel away. The shirt was just barely long enough to cover my dick. Unfortunately, it was also sheer enough that it didn't actually hide much.

I instinctively covered myself.

“Ye ain't got nothin' I havna seen, lad,” the second dwarf commented as he rummaged through the hangers of fabric.

That didn't exactly make me feel any better.

Eventually, he pulled out a length of blue, white, and purple tartan that was considerably more fabric than any article of clothing had any right to contain. He quickly folded it into an accordion, then he slipped a belt beneath the bundle, hefted it, and buckled it around my waist. He pulled and adjusted the fabric for several minutes before finally seeming satisfied.

The entire thing looked ridiculous. The bundle of cloth formed a skirt that nearly reached my ankles. There was so much of it that it probably weighed more than five pounds.

Then the first dwarf produced a stool.

The second climbed onto it, gathered some of the fabric hanging around my ankles, and pulled it upward, pinning it at my shoulder.

Recognition finally dawned on me. This wasn't some funny-looking men's dress. This was more like a great kilt. The William Wallace kind of kilt that made you look like a badass rather than a guy who'd lost his pants and decided a skirt was close enough.

I was given a fancy pouch for my waist, long socks, and a pair of nice, comfortable boots.

I had no idea how I was supposed to fight in this. With any luck, I wouldn't have to.

When we were finished, I was led back out of the dressing room, down a hall, and into a bedroom, where the well-dressed dwarf left me.

The room itself was fancy. Carved chests of drawers were accented with brass knobs and tacks. Three mirrors hung on the walls, showing my legs and chest but stopping just short of my face. Candelabras provided warm light. Tapestries and banners covered the walls. A beautiful carpet covered the entire floor.

A bed sat against one wall, its headboard and footboard carved with softer geometric patterns. It was piled high with pillows and afghans.

Even the doors were works of art, their knotwork vaguely Celtic in appearance.

The sound of a door opening behind me drew my attention.

I turned and my jaw hit the floor.

Valentia stood in the doorway wearing a beautiful blue-and-white dress covered in delicate gold embroidery. Her hair had been braided into a crown. She looked every bit a noblewoman. And judging by the nervous, giddy smile on her face, she knew it.

Behind her, looking no less stunning, was Ami.

Gone was her armor.

In its place was a white shirt and kilt similar to mine, though hers was the same blue-and-red tartan worn by the guards. Her shirt was different from mine, though. While mine was loose and flowing, hers was… Sheer. And tight. And it did amazing things to her bust.

Things that made me blush. And stare. And probably drool.

Almost as much as the slit running up the side of her kilt, showing off her strong, thick legs and offering just the faintest hint of what lay above.

She looked so nervous and fragile that I had trouble reconciling her with the same woman I'd been traveling with for almost a week.

I opened my mouth to say something. Nothing came out. My brain had completely shut down. I couldn't even manage caveman noises. I didn't even have the wherewithal to try to hide the tent pushing up the front of my kilt.

Valentia giggled. “I think he likes our dresses.”

The well-dressed dwarf opened the door. “His Lordship, Thegn Gautier Hearthstone, will see you now.”