Just what kind of relationship do these two have? Why does Titania seem to hate him so much?

  Adam wanted to know, but now wasn’t the time. He would ask later.

  “Since yer friends with Titania, I won’t kill ye, but don’t think that means I trust ye either. We Dwarves still remember how you humans captured and enslaved our people and forced them to work in yer mines and smithies. We also cannae let ye leave. The last thing we need is fer the humans and beastfolk ter find us again,” said Thohkum.

  “I’m sorry, but did you just say you won’t let us leave?” asked Aris.

  “That’s right. Now that yer here, yer stuck here for life,” said Thohkum.

  “Now, wait just a minute. We can’t remain here. We have many things we need to do up on the surface,” said Fayte.

  Thohkum shrugged. “That’s not my problem. Yer the ones who barged in here. It’s not like ye can even leave anyway. The gate’s been shut and it’s locked from the outside. Ain’t no gettin’ out that way. Anyway, yer free to explore our city. Just don’t cause any trouble.”

  Thohkum and the other Dwarves slowly left one by one, though not before casting them curious glances. They hadn’t seen a human in a very long time. Of course, they would be curious. However, Adam was in no mood to pay attention to them.

  He turned toward the door. It was shut just like Thohkum had said. He tried to open it, but it didn’t budge. There was also no unlocking mechanism or keyhole on this side.

  “It’s not good. This door won’t open.” Adam turned around and shook his head at the others.

  “Then what are we supposed to do?” asked Susan.

  “Let’s look around the city first,” suggested Fayte. “There may be a clue about how to leave this place. We might find a way to open this door, or even discover another way out.”

  Everyone agreed with her suggestion, and they set off to explore the city.

  The Dwarven City, which they learned was called Karak Verum, was bigger than it first appeared. Only a small portion of the buildings was visible from the outside. Each building was anywhere from ten to fifty times larger on the inside. The Dwarves had carved out these buildings into the mountain itself, and they all had anywhere from ten to one hundred rooms connected via hallways and stairs.

  They entered one such building. Pillars hewn from stone stood on either side, lined up in two neat rows as they held up a ceiling. The pillars led to a majestic staircase that went both up and down.

  The hall was not empty. Several Dwarves traveled up or down the stairs, or through doorways on either side of the room.

  This building turned out to be a smithy; there were several rooms that contained a variety of different ores, rooms with nothing but already forged weapons and armor, and several forges.

  The forges ranged in size. Some were massive and used by multiple Dwarves at once, but others were small and seemed to be for personal use. Adam couldn’t figure out what they were used for, and when he tried asking, the Dwarves would snub him.

  “Yer free to explore, but we were ordered not to talk to ye,” they would say.

  “Pleasant bunch, aren’t they?” asked Adam with a tired sigh.

  “I can’t believe they won’t even answer a simple question. Do they really hate humans that much?” muttered Fayte.

  “It’s far more complex than something simple like hatred,” Titania said. “You have to understand that what they feel for you humans is a combination of hatred and fear. They loathe how humans treated them during the war, but they also fear what you can do to them. Dwarves are strong and great blacksmiths, but their strength is not so great that they can fight against a species with superior numbers.”

  None of them said anything. They couldn’t understand how the Dwarves felt. It was difficult to place yourselves in the shoes of someone else when you had never experienced what they did.

  Matters were only made more complicated because this was just a game. Age of Gods might have deep lore and feel so realistic it was sometimes hard to remember this was all virtual reality, but it didn’t change the fact that this was just a game.

  The group wandered around some more, watched a few Dwarves as they forged items like weapons and hammers, and even looked at some of their creations. Adam wondered why they were forging so much equipment when it didn’t even have someone to sell it to.

  “Dwarves love forging items,” Titania answered his unspoken question. “It’s as natural to them as breathing.”

  “Why is that?” asked Aris.

  “It probably has something to do with their greed.” When Titania only got confused expressions in return, she sighed and said, “Dwarves are a very greedy race. They love rare and valuable materials like gold, silver, mythril, and adamantine. I believe their avarice has taken the form of a desire to forge these materials into items. This is why they continue crafting items even though they have no one to sell them to.”

  “That’s odd, but I suppose it makes a kind of sense,” Fayte said with a nod.

  “Anyway, it looks like we aren’t going to find a way out for now. Why don’t we log out, get something to eat, and come back in a few hours?” suggested Adam.

  “That’s a good idea,” Fayte agreed.

  The group opened their screens to log out, but a problem occurred during their attempt.

  Ding!

  [Cannot log out while enemies are nearby.]

  Garyck Ironhand

  “Look, I donnae know anythin’! Stop botherin’ me!”

  Adam grimaced as the Dwarf he tried speaking with walked away. This response was one he had gotten several times now. It seemed like every Dwarf in this mountain was extremely grouchy.

  “Well… that was a bust,” Titania said with a sigh.

  “Yeah. Something tells me, we’re not going to get anything out of talking to these people,” Adam agreed.

  He thought about trying to pry the information he wanted from the Dwarf through interrogation, but he thought better of it. There was a chance this Dwarf really didn’t have the information he sought. Even if he did, torturing a Dwarf while inside a Dwarven stronghold sounded like a stupid idea, especially since they couldn’t get out.

  Adam pondered what he should do as he began walking once more. It didn’t look like talking to the Dwarves would avail him anything. Should he explore the area some more in the hopes of finding a secret passage or some way to open the door? He didn’t think that option would meet with much success, but it also wasn’t like he had a choice.

  “W-w-what do ye think yer doin’?! Unhand me this instant!”

  “All I want is information. Just give me what I want, and no one has to get hurt.”

  “Hiiiiiiii! What are ye doin’ with that knife?! Keep it away from me!!!!”

  Someone tugged on his pant leg. It was Kureha. She had been quietly following him up until now, so her suddenly speaking caught him by surprise.

  “Big Brother! Big Brother, look over there!”

  A loud ruckus caught Kureha’s attention. Adam turned in the direction she pointed to find Lilith pinning a Dwarf against the wall, holding a knife to his throat as she glared down at him with a menacing expression. She looked ten seconds away from spilling his blood all over the floor.

  Adam sighed and walked over to them. “Stand down, Lilith.”

  “Master?” Lilith turned, surprise on her face.

  “Stand down,” Adam repeated. “And let the Dwarf go.”

  “Yes, Master.”

  Lilith re-sheathed her knife and stepped away from the Dwarf, who breathed a sigh of relief and touched his throat as though to check for injuries.

  “Sorry about my friend. She’s anxious because we really want to get out of here,” Adam apologized.

  “Hmph. You and me both. Listen here, you lot. We donnae want no trouble. I recommend ye stop doin’ what yer doin’. There ain’t no gettin’ outta here. Yer stuck, just like we are.”

  With that warning hanging ominously in the air, the Dwarf left them, grumbling about pushy outsiders who couldn’t mind their own business.

  “Are you sure that was wise, Master?” asked Lilith.

  “I doubt he knows anything. He said it himself, didn’t he? He’d like to get out of here as well. Anyway, let’s meet up with the others. We all promised to meet at the tavern.”

  “Yes, Master.”

  There were several taverns located inside this mountain stronghold. The one they were heading to was on this level.

  “You are awfully quick to violence,” Titania said to Lilith.

  “Violence is often the quickest and easiest solution to our problems,” Lilith said.

  “I think the fact that you believe this is a problem in and of itself.”

  Adam looked at the top of the mountain’s interior as they walked. The spiral ramp ended with a large palace surrounded by thick walls and columns more majestic than anything he’d seen in real life. It was hard to judge the type of architecture used in its construction. He would have said it resembled the sort of palace where a sultan lived, but it was so much bigger, and there were many architectural choices that reminded him of the Renaissance era.

  In the end, he simply decided the building had a very fantasy feel and left it at that.

  The tavern was much larger than Adam would have expected, given the size of its occupants. He walked into the sprawling space, Lilith at his side, and searched the numerous tables spread across the floor.

  Most of them were already packed full of drunk Dwarves happily chugging away at frothing mugs of amber ale. The raucous energy and laughter stopped, however, when Adam and Lilith entered. It was a silence so profound it was rattling. Never mind hearing a pin drop. Adam could even hear the bubbling magma outside.

  They walked toward a dark corner of the tavern. Aris, Fayte, and Susan were already there, sitting quietly as they nursed drinks.

  “Aaaaaaaah! That hits the spot! Nothing like a stiff drink after a long day of work!”

  Well, Fayte and Susan were quiet. Aris was enjoying herself.

  Adam chuckled as he sat down. “Having fun?”

  “You bet! I’ve always wanted to say that! Tee-hee, being inside a game is the best! There’s no legal drinking age, so I can have as much booze as I want.”

  Kureha looked at Adam with raised hands. He got the hint, lifted the girl up, and set her on his lap. The little fox yokai hummed happily, ears twitching as she looked at the plates of meat.

  “Can I?” she asked.

  “Go ahead,” Adam said.

  “Yay!”

  “I’m glad someone is having fun,” Fayte said with a sigh as Aris guzzled down more ale.

  Several plates of food sat on the table. They looked like mostly meat dishes. Fayte picked at them periodically, but she didn’t seem to have much of an appetite. Susan was also nibbling on what appeared to be a kebob.

  “I’m guessing none of you found anything?” Adam asked.

  “Correct,” Fayte sighed. “I tried questioning more Dwarves, but none of them answered me. Then I tried exploring the area, but there’s nothing here that stood out. If there is a secret passage that leads out of this mountain, then it’s probably inside the palace, and that’s the one place we’re not allowed to enter.”

  The palace was guarded by a pair of [Dwarven Warriors] who were at level 60. They possessed incredible stats. While Adam was certain their party could defeat them since they weren’t stronger than the [Mecha Golem], he didn’t want to push his luck. There was a good chance there were more than just those two.

  The last thing they needed was to have an angry horde of Dwarves after them.

  “What should we do?” asked Susan.

  “I think the more important question is what can we do?” Adam began rubbing Kureha’s head. It was oddly soothing and served to help him think. “The door won’t open again, there are no secrets to be found here, and the only place where we might find a way out is guarded by very strong NPCs. I would normally suggest we sneak in, but the only person with any stealth skills is Lilith.”

  Everyone looked at Lilith. The woman had been glaring enviously at Adam, but she looked up after feeling everyone’s eyes on her.

  “I can slip inside and do reconnaissance,” she suggested.

  “I think that’s what we’ll have you do. I’m sure there’s something in that palace that can help us leave this place,” Adam said.

  “So it’s true. I didnae believe it when I heard the rumor about outsiders bein’ here, but seein’ is believin’, as they say,” a voice said from behind.

  Adam and the others turned to find a Dwarf with oddly neat and tidy red hair. His hair was shorter than any other Dwarf he had seen so far, with a brushed-up hairstyle. Likewise, his beard was not long and thick but trimmed into a classic goatee. He looked so different from what Adam thought of as the standard Dwarf that all he could do was stare.

  “You’re… a Dwarf, right?” Aris asked.

  The Dwarf guffawed. “Course I’m a Dwarf. Do I look like a human to ye?”

  “Well… no. It’s just you don’t look much like a Dwarf either.”

  “Well, I s’pose I cannae blame ye for thinking that way, lass. I guess ye could say I’m something of an oddball, what with me hair and everything,” the Dwarf said. Then he sat down at their table. “Me name’s Garyck Ironhand. I couldnae help but overhear yer conversation and figured I’d offer ye me help.”

  Up to this point, none of the Dwarves had been helpful. All of them had refused to answer any of their questions, so to have one come up to them with an offer of aid made them understandably suspicious.

  Adam subtly held up his hand in a gesture only Lilith could see. She didn’t nod, but she did discreetly slip her hand behind her back, fingers grasping the hilt of her dagger.

  “No one offers their help for free,” Adam stated with narrowed eyes. “I’m assuming you would like something in return. What is it?”

  The Dwarf didn’t speak at first. A stout Dwarf woman in thick coveralls had come by and Garyck ordered an ale. Adam didn’t miss the look of disgust on the woman’s face as she accepted his order.

  “Yer damn right I’d like something in return. I want ye to get me outta this hellhole. I’m sick of being stuck in this mountain, of seein’ the same damn rocks every frickin’ day. I wanna see something new. You lot are trying to get back to where yer from, yeah? I figured you’d let me come with if I help ye escape. Ye know how it goes. I scratch yer back, you scratch mine. Isn’t that what you humans say?”

  The woman came back and slammed a frothing mug of amber liquid in front of Garyck.

  “Enjoy yer drink, ye damn schwule.”

  “Such a pleasant woman, she is,” Garyck mumbled as he gripped his ale and took a hearty swig.

  Fayte leaned over the table, carefully watching the Dwarf even as she kept up her polite, politician’s façade. “Let’s say that we agree to let you come with us. How can you help us escape from this place?”

  “Not here. The walls have ears. Let’s finish eating, then head back to my place.”

  Garyck finished his ale. Adam and the others polished off whatever was left on their plates, then stood up and followed Garyck out of the tavern. He was not unaware of the eyes staring holes into their backs as they left.

  They’re even warier than before. Is it because of Garyck?

  Garyck owned a little hut not quite near the bottom of the spiral ramp but close enough that it felt a lot hotter. Far more minuscule than any other building present, it resembled something… much more normal than most Dwarven buildings.

  “Come on in. Donnae mind the mess,” Garyck opened the door and gestured for them to head inside.

  This hut only had one room. It reminded Adam of a studio apartment--except no studio apartment he knew of had a forge. There was a bed, a dresser, and a forge in one corner of the room. Half-finished swords and armor pieces lay strewn across the floor and workstation. All of them looked quite intricately detailed for unfinished projects.

  Garyck sat down on his bed while everyone else found a place to stand. Adam leaned against the table and crossed his arms.

  “So, how can you help us escape?” asked Adam.

  Garyck raised a hand to forestall further conversation. “Before I get into that, I want yer word that ye’ll take me with ye.”

  Adam looked at Fayte, who pondered the request for a moment before nodding.

  “You have our word. We will take you with us when we leave.”

  “Good. Ye should know, we Dwarves take our word seriously. If ye try to double-cross me, I won’t hesitate to crush yer face in with me hammer.” No one responded to that ominous threat with words, but Lilith looked like she was about to slit Garyick’s throat, not that he seemed to notice as he continued talking. “Now, then, ye wanted to know how to get outta here. There is a way. In fact, Thohkum uses this method quite often to leave the mountain.”

  Aris perked up. “Really? But I thought he said there was no way out.”

  “That was obviously a lie,” Titania said, gritting her teeth. “I knew he was lying when he told us there wasn’t a way out. That damn, no good, lying, cheating scumbag. I expected this. He was never one to tell the truth, but I still hoped he would know better than to lie to me.”

  “Oh, boy. Looks like someone is mad,” Aris said.

  Titania scowled. “You would be too if you found out a former member of your party lied to you.”

  Garyck nodded. “Thohkum likes power. He wants to hold power over us. That’s why only he and a few others know about the hidden passage outta here. Thanks to that, Thohkum controls everything in this mountain. He determines how much food we get, what kind o’ ores we can smith… we’re basically his slaves.”

  “And let me guess, no one does anything because they’re too afraid of Thohkum to go against him,” Adam said.

  “There is that, but much as many o’ us would like to leave, we Dwarves are also afraid of the outside world. Thohkum has brainwashed our people with horror stories about the outside. Says any Dwarf who goes outside will be enslaved by humans and forced to work until we drop dead. Hmph. Not like we’re not doin’ the same thing here,” Garyck snorted derisively. He seemed to have an intense dislike of his leader, not that Adam couldn’t see why.