“You must truly be desperate to come here, asking for help," Gorrick said, sipping wine. "Especially with a Neredunian in tow."
Menquist stood firm against the insults. He stood in the dining hall of King Gorrick II of the Soot, the great kingdom at the top of the Ash and Iron Mountains. There were a dozen of his advisors beside the king as he ate.
"I come to you now, King Gorrick, not as Herald of Kienne but as a messenger of the other three great kings. Gordyn has sent his own nephew Edmon to lead the aid from Kienne. Burulgi’s general and crown prince Sarengerel stands here with me representing Neredun. And there’s Padrig the Gold, who awaits your response in the Gildemanse, as Aredun has already encountered the enemy in their borders. Three of the five realms have already united."
King Gorrick stirred in his seat, picking at the plate of roasted chicken in front of him. He raised his goblet for a servant to refill it with red wine.
“Oh, I'm sure you've talked to everyone,” Gorrick said. “I'm sure you've probably heard this also from the Scales, and maybe even the Yghrs. They probably told you that the war in Aredun is half a world away, and you likely had to do a lot of convincing for them to listen to you. But listen to me, Menquist. We are literally closed off from the rest of the world. War cannot come to us, nor can we go to it."
King Gorrick’s son Agalric had been pacing the dining hall with an apple in his hand. The dining hall had a ceiling with panels of glass, which allowed the noon sun to flood the hall with sunlight. His father and the herald had been arguing since the morning. The Neredunian general sat beside the herald but had hardly said a word. He had been studying the general since he first arrived, the famed "Song Lord" from the neighboring nation. There didn't seem anything in particular about him that reminded him of any song. The man instead appeared hard and cold, like a blade left unused too long.
Agalric stood next to his father and laid his hand on the back of his chair. He took the pitcher of wine from the servant and filled his father’s goblet. “Let me tell you what I find interesting, Menquist,” Agalric said. “The Isnumurti pose a threat to Aredun, you say. The greatest number of military force, by our accounting, are from Aredun and Kienne. First of all, I’m not convinced you can get the Aredunian politicians to agree to anything. And forgive us if we don’t completely trust everything coming out of Kienne…you’ve talked about unification for a long time, but it always comes across as a thin veil hiding the face of conquest. Your country has had its history of bloodthirsty conquerors after all.”
“Prince Agalric, you know me to not be a politician,” Menquist snapped. “I speak only of facts and logic. The threat is real, and we cannot avoid it.”
“Then let’s talk about facts,” Agalric continued, pouring himself a glass of wine. “I'm not sure how you have managed to muster Burulgi's support, the man barely cares about the people outside of his own territory, let alone the outside works. We certainly haven't seen any troop movement near our border with Neredun. But for the sake of this factual discussion, let’s say you have his support. After all, the famous general sits before us. That’s a testament to something. He has what, twenty thousand field riders at his disposal. And do you know what we have? Two thousand Ash Men. We don’t have great numbers because we don’t need them. What help do you think we can even offer?"
"I think you do not think highly enough of your two thousand," Menquist answered.
"Don't pander to me," Gorrick snapped. "My Ash Men are the greatest soldiers in the world in high terrain warfare, but they are trained to defend our mountains. But put them in the fields of Aredun and they'd be as common as New Hearth's infantrymen, not that they’d even want our help. You know I was a great friend to Padrig the Black. We had been allies for as long as I had my father’s crown passed to me until the Black died in his bed. This boy king, Padrig the Gold they call him, I have no ties to this boy. I've only seen him once, at his coronation, and he has yet to reach out to me. My son often speaks as freely as he pours wine but he speaks for me, and in this matter he is right. What help are we?"
"Your Iron Mountains," Sarengerel broke his silence.
"I knew the truth would reveal itself," King Gorrick said. "The Neredunian wants access to our iron ore, is that it? Or is it our other precious metals and stones?”
"No, Gorrick, king," Sarengerel said. "As you said, you are closed off to the rest of the world, although on the other side of your Iron Mountains is Aredun. You are actually closer than anyone else."
The king laughed. "Spoken like true flood folk. You're so used to running from floods of your own lands you confuse high ground with scaling mountains. The peaks of the Ash and Iron mountains are the highest in the world. Most have never seen the top as they are almost always covered by clouds. And they are the most impassible. This is why these mountain ranges are called the Belt of the World, because they are held fast from any attempt to tug at them. You think the answer is to go over the Iron Mountains and drop in on our neighbor to ask for sugar?”
"Not over," Sarengerel clarified. "Under. South of your city of New Berenhall you have your iron mines. Venture deep enough and you will have access to ancient catacombs that will connect you to New Hearth."
Gorrick almost choked on a bite of chicken. He stared at the Neredunian. "And how, by all the land, water, and sky gods you people worship, would you know this?"
"It is true," Menquist said. “There are ancient pathways through these mountains that are hidden even from you. Your father Gorrick the First knew about them, for his father old Olric knew about it too. Alas such knowledge was never passed to you, and to your son.”
Gorrick waved a servant away who was trying to clear away a plate. “And now you come to me, out of the blue, and you bring a damn Neredunian of all people, and you ask me to believe this story. Why should I trust you or this Neredunian?”
“Fifteen years ago this summer was the last I was in these halls, and I came to you with Mazi,” Menquist said. “Your clans were fractured and needed to be united. Mazi helped with that. Do you forget?”
"No, I remember," the King said, setting his goblet down. "I was one year into my rule. Folk faithful to my grandfather Olric had lost faith in our ability to deal with the Berenmen. I was not my father, they said. The clans threatened to secede from the kingdom and squirrel away in the Ash Mountains.”
"I also remember, for it was the first time I'd met Mazi," Agalric said. "I usually avoided my father's hall if I could, because these meetings were always a bore. I remember being ready to depart on a summer trip when I was told the Grey Herald and the famous Knight of the North had arrived. I've heard of Mazi, of course, but I was surprised by how young he was then. Older than me, but not by much. He was probably twenty-five then. I remember thinking how at such an age he was already so famous across the kingdoms. His words were bold and they united our own clans toward a common purpose. I wanted to be like him. We all did. And when news of his death reached our halls, the loss was felt throughout the Belt.”
"Mazi of the Scales did not say then that the troubles of the Soot were half a world away," Menquist said.
"No," Gorrick sighed. "He did not. He came to me and helped me keep my throne. He helped drive the Berenmen out of the Belt."
"And when the Ash Men of the Soot drove them out, the Field Riders of Neredun ran through them," added Sarengerel. "Neredunians are not forgiving in the battlefield, as the Field God punishes the merciful. I was a boy of eleven, but I took the field that day against the Berenmen."
He removed his coat and had only a knit vest and exposed his long, muscular arms covered in tattoos. He pointed to a small faded marking on his right bicep. "That was my first battle. When the Berenmen left the Soot they had a notion that perhaps the enemy of their enemy would be an ally. They sought to form a pact with Neredun against the Soot. When King Burulgi spurned them, they decided to test our resolve. They invaded our lower farmlands and took many women and children hostage. That was their last mistake. We skewered every one of them for the vultures. King Gorrick, the Ash Men and the Neredunians have been allies since without publicly declaring it."
"So what do you want from me, Menquist?" Gorrick asked.
"A promise that when it is time to take the fields against the shadow, you will not turn your back for the comfort of light while the rest of the world gets swallowed by darkness," Menquist said, pointing to the glass ceilings.
Gorrick eyed Menquist and cocked his head to one side. “How about something with less flowery words, so I know exactly what you want?”
“War may come to your mountains, and if so your two thousand men belong here, but if war does not reach the Belt, then their talents can be proven in the open field,” Menquist said. “And of course for us to have access to your mines to find that ancient tunnel under the Iron Mountains.”
Agalric spun toward the king. “Father, I could have Esben gather some men for some spelunking. The idea of these catacombs existing is fascinating. I could help lead them through to the other side.”
“Are you bored?”
“I’m never not bored, father."
"And the twenty horsemen that came with you, Song Lord?" Gorrick asked Sarengerel. "What to do with them?"
"Our horses have no fear, but they cannot enter the mines," Sarengerel said. "We shall leave the horses here, with your permission for my Field Riders to return and claim them. If we do not return, please consider them a gift to the Soot."
"Very well," the king agreed. "I tire of hearing how restless my son has become. To be young, wealthy, and possess no desire to govern…what better place to go than a deep hole in the ground? Agalric and a handful of our Ash Men shall lead you under the mountains. If the existence of the ancient tunnels is true, then that will certainly make for interesting conversation when you return. Just please don't get lost down there and die. It will not be the first time it’s happened.”
