Interlude - Cael's Return to his Clan

By Rebekah Baker.

Cael Thoradan's return to his clan pt 1:
It was late afternoon in a small tavern in one of the winding back streets of Specularum. Cael was happily reminiscing over how the lovely shade of blue of Alya’s eyes had been offset by the sapphires he had gifted her. He was a content dwarf. A beautiful lass was his intended, he had a hearty ale in his hand and a full belly. It was a fine day indeed.
Outside the little tavern, that had become his regular haunt, the streets were filled with the clatter of folk returning home from market day. A prosperous Monday for the farmers and traders, the carts that rattled past the window were a great deal emptier than when they had thundered past that morning. Cael had been awoken from his dozing by the ruckus in the early hours, one thing he missed about his father’s halls was the silence of the stone.
Cael and his sister Tela had been given adjacent rooms in his father’s quarters. Cael’s had been luxurious, by Dwarven standards. He remembered with a faint stab of nostalgia his own personal bathing room, with the marble paved floor. Although he was less nostalgic about his personal guardsman Bonfur, who’d replaced good old Odin. Bonfur had the habit of waking Cael up by dragging him out of his bed by one leg and then screaming at him for good measure.
Odin, although a strict tutor, had at least given Cael the luxury of a peaceful sleep-in on a Sunday. Poor Odin, he’d been with Cael almost his whole life. Cael blamed himself for the dismissal and the shame that had brought upon Odin and his kin. It had been his fault for sneaking off…his fault for Lilly…
No, he wasn’t going to think about the past, especially not *that* part of his patchy history.
No back to Alina and the prettiest shade of blue he’d ever seen…
‘Master Cael’, the bar-keep, a shaggy breaded fellow bellowed.
Cael was broken sharply out his reverie.
‘Aye Markus’, he replied cheerily.
Markus had been a good fellow to him over the past few days, apparently he was more than a little chuffed to have a member of the ‘White Dame’s company’ in his humble inn. He’d even knocked off a few silvers from the room price.
‘There’s a letter come for you, was brought in by a crow of all things’, Markus huffed. Cael knew from his conversations with the man over an ale or two, that Markus held no love for birds. Having grown up on a farm, he’d chased away too many of the pesky beasts.
A crow…that would mean it was from his people. Cael had sent a hurried reply to his sister’s letter a few weeks ago, scribbling the name of the inn at the bottom.
Cael grabbed the letter from the bar-keep with a wink and went back to sit by the window. Doubtless Tela would be scolding him for the terrible grammar in his last letter, or the shortness of it.
He cracked the seal and began to read….

Dear Brother, 
My apologies for the tone of the last letter. I was rash to speak of trouble in the halls of our father. In fact all is now well with our kin. Rorur, our brother is preparing to take his place as head of our clan. In fact I am writing to you to extend an invitation to the ceremony. 
Also my dear brother, I am to be wed!
Our courtship began some months ago. He a pure blooded Dwarf of noble kin. The second son of the Chief Arken of Brunstone clan to the west. I also extend an invitation to the happy occasion of my wedding. It would give me great happiness to have you there.

Cael stopped reading, the rest was just fluff about dresses and jewellery.
His blood was running cold and his hands shook. Something was deeply and seriously amiss.
The letter was written by his sister, the handwriting was hers but the words would never have come from Tela’s mouth or pen.
Tela was a proud warrior, she walked her father’s halls, clad in armour. She slept with her hand-axe!
To have her prattle on about jewellery and dresses!
Cael knew his twin, despite their differences, she was the closest person to him in this world. He knew in his heart that Tela had written the note under duress.
Tela was not the sort of dwarf whose hand would be forced with ease. Cael had a horrible image of his sister in a dank mountain dungeon, beaten and chained…
No his father’s clan would never allow that. Lady Tela was popular with the common folk…so she must be being held by other means…more subtle, manipulative means.
Where was his father in all of this!
He had to return his father’s halls. He knew it and despite his mind rebelling against the notion of ever setting foot in the same room as his father again, he had to return.
He had to protect his sister, as she had protected him, time and again.

pt 2

It took three days hard ride on his shire pony to reach the outskirts of the mountains.
As he rode further north Cael began to notice things were amiss. This was a familiar path, craved out of the forest and hills by his clan for trade with nearby human keeps. Only it seemed to have fallen into disuse. Cael was even accosted on the way by a small pack of bandits who as soon as they saw the quality of his armour and crossbow, ran into the darkness of the forest. But it was unnerving that such brigands had returned these woodlands, usually the watch would have kept them at bade. Cael was also unnerved at how they had been so keen to attack him, in his experience the bandits feared the Dwarves of these parts as hardy warriors.
He also noted, with the keen eyes of a tracker, that far more trees had been cut down than was usual. His people usually used coal at worse for the harsh winter months, but more often the great forge in the centre of his father’s halls, warmed the entire mountain keep. There was no need for paltry wood fuelled fires, like the humans had to use.
As he reached the mountain path, the source of the felling of the trees became evident…
Cael, although he had forsaken his father’s clan, had to let a small cry of distress pass his lips.
The great entrance to the mountain keep was in shambles, it was half caved in. The proud carving of dwarves in battle were scarred and torn apart. Outside the keeps entrance, a sea of tents and shanty huts were build. He saw figures, huddled around small fires.
His people…
His heart sank.
This is what Tela meant about the crisis…there must have been an attack…
Thankfully was still early autumn. Only a small dusting of snow covered the tents. But soon winter would come to the mountains in its full wrath and then those who dwelt in such scant quarters would freeze to death.
Where was his father?
How could have allowed this!
Cael dismounted and led his pony further up the path. He was met half-way up a young male dwarf, carrying a bundle of bracken and twigs.
‘Well met Lad’, Cael said, in the language of his kin.
The young dwarf turned and upon seeing Cael promptly dropped his sticks.
‘Lord Cael!’ he almost shouted, running up to Cael and slapping him heartily upon the back, ‘you’ve returned!’
Cael immediately recognized him, it was Garon, Odin’s son. Cael had grown up with the lad. Cael had lead several raiding parties with Garon as one of his most trusted men. They’d shared many an ale and a song around a camp fire.
Cael clapped him back heartily upon the shoulder, trying to let his shock over Garon’s appearance show. The lad was gaunt, although he’d always been a wily dwarf who’d favoured a dagger over an axe, his physique betrayed that he had suffered many a hungry night as of late.
Cael felt a mix of anger and shame fire up inside of him. Garon’s current state was likely influenced by his father’s dismissal from Gardik’s household.
‘Garon, what happened here?’, Cael said, trying to keep the pain out his voice.
Garon’s smile dropped from his face.
‘You don’t know…’ he replied quietly, ‘No one told you?’
‘Told me what?’ Cael said, praying to the God’s that his sister was still alive.
‘There was an attack in the night a month ago, the frost giants…they’ve forced alliances with other giant clans…their combined force over powered our defences…they came up through the old mining tunnels’ Garon paused, he looked at the stony ground.
Cael felt his blood turn to ice. The old mining tunnels lead into the living quarters of the common folk. Odin’s family home had been near there…
‘We woke up, Da and Me were light sleepers after so many years in the watch. By the time we got our armour on the quarter was ablaze. They gotten right into the market square. Me & Da, we joined the others, anyone who could fight and we tried to hold them, Cael, we tried…’

Garon paused again, this time it was for a whole minute before he could continue.
‘There was a massive bastard with a great club, Da was trying to protect a group of common folk, hiding under a wagon, trying to get them to run…it smashed his brains out on the cobblestone when he was trying to free a lass from under the wagon…’ Garon stopped. His head bowed.
Cael placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder.
‘Garon, you can stop’ he murmered.
‘No, you have to know!’ Garon snapped back, when his head raised back up, his eyes shone with tears.
‘After Da fell, well it was chaos. Most folk hadn’t time to grab proper weapons, they were trying to protect lasses and wee ones as well. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I left the battle and ran back for my ma and my wee brothers. To try to get them out. I managed to find one of brothers, pulled him out the wreck of the house, it was aflame, my ma and the babe…I don’t know what happened to them. I ran as fast I could to get out of the quarter, to raise the alarm. We got out as the guard finally charged in to fight back against the giants. Your father, he was at the head of the charge’
‘My father…is he’, Cael asked, not wanting an answer
‘He lived, but he’s sorely wounded. A giant crushed his leg with a hammer, apparently he slit the buggers throat through!’ Garon replied, a faint smile playing around his lips.
‘My sister…Tela, how is she?’ Cael asked.
‘Aye, your sister is alive and well. Gardik had to chain to her up in her quarters to stop her going into battle!’ Garon replied, with an actual genuine laugh escaping his lips.

Cael smiled bitterly, that sounded like the Tela he knew!