The Dwarf Kingdoms (Book 5) Read Free Page B

the current was very strong, tugging relentlessly at their feet and ankles.
    Once everyone was on the far side, Elerian leaped lightly onto the cord which yielded only a little under his weight. Under the wondering eyes of the Dwarves, he ran sure footedly across the river, the thin cord barely flexing beneath his light steps.
    “Show off,” growled Ascilius as Elerian leaped gracefully down to the ground next to him, a smug look on his face.
    “Why should I wet my feet when there is no need,” replied Elerian as Ascilius raised his right hand to cast a spell. With his third eye, Elerian saw a small golden orb fly from his fingers. Nicely aimed, considering the distance, the parting spell struck the knot holding the rope around the ash tree on the far side of the river. The rope immediately went slack and, falling away from the trunk of the tree, was swept downstream by the river. Ascilius drew in the dripping cord hand over hand, wrapping it into a tight coil while Elerian freed the other end of the rope from the dart. He was then forced to use a spell to carry the quarrel out of the stump, for the barbed head of the dart was too deeply buried for him to pull it out, even with the great strength of his sinewy arms.
    The road now swung to the left, climbing the steep east slope of the gorge. Leading the way once more, Ascilius followed the track at a steady trot. Once over the lip of the gorge, he led the company back into the foothills and their concealing forests. High above the Catalus the road curved to the west in a gradual arc, paralleling the course of the river.
    “The Catalus will run to our left now affording us, I hope, some protection from being discovered by the enemy,” said Ascilius to Elerian. “This forest that we are traveling through, however, has always had an evil reputation amongst my folk, so it would be best if you stayed on the road with the rest of the company until we reach Galenus,” the Dwarf warned Elerian. “Trolls, leopardi, and worse can be found in these hills. More than one Dwarf questing for riches has disappeared here over the years.”
    Ascilius’s warning, of course, only increased Elerian’s desire to explore the forest around him. After spending almost two weeks underground in Ennodius, he was anxious to be among trees again, breathing the fresh scent of growing things instead of the cold, lifeless smell of stone.” 
    “I am going to run ahead a bit and scout the way for danger,” he said to Ascilius.
    “Stay on the road,” his companion warned again.
    Elerian made no reply, instead increasing increased his speed until the Dwarf company was out of sight. He ran for several more miles, but the forest road and the woods around it remained empty of any danger. With a gleam of anticipation in his eyes, Elerian stopped and called his silver ring to his right hand. Cloaked by the ring’s invisibility spell, he stepped off the road into the forest on his right.
    “Ascilius and the others should be safe while I explore for a bit,” he thought to himself. “I can catch up with them later, after I have satisfied my curiosity.”
    Traveling north Elerian walked lightly through an open wood made up primarily of groves of widely spaced ancient oaks and chestnuts, the trees rising up on all sides of him like mighty gray columns, wider than a man was tall. Overhead their thick branches and crowded leaves formed a dense green roof that let in little light and heat, despite the sun being high in a clear sky. Elerian enjoyed the dim, coolness under the great trees as he stepped lightly over and around the thick, knotted roots that snaked across the ground.
    “What secrets do these ancients hold in their woody hearts?” he wondered as he looked around him admiringly. Then, he suddenly stiffened and stopped in his tracks, for the sleek, black form of a leopardi had appeared between the boles of the trees in front of him, white, saber fangs gleaming dangerously in the dim