Chapter 11 Chapter Eight: The Edge of Disaster

"We're lost!" roared the yellow-bearded dwarf. He took a menacing step forward, nearly tripping over his long, waving beard.Broad-shouldered, but almost neckless, his face was full of exaggerated features: a huge nose, long and broad; a mouth full of gigantic teeth beneath a yellow mustache; Eyes, they seemed wilder when he was in the heat of emotion.Despite the full armor in his rucksack, he still wears his steel antler helmet. "How could we get lost, you bloody idiot?" he said. "You sent all the birds to lead the way, didn't you?" The other dwarf, his brother, shrugged his shoulders and let out a series of "oh-" sounds.

He looked down at the slippers he was twitching, instead of the usual heavy dwarf boots, and he kicked a nearby stone into the bushes. "You said you could take me there!" Ivan Stone shoulder roared again, "Shortcut? Yes, a shortcut that can take us somewhere. Near Mithril Hall? No, something else place, you are right, 'Gourd Doctor', you did arrive here soon!" The furious dwarf straightened up, adjusted his chain shirt, and squinted at the crossbow bag stretched from his left shoulder to his right hip. "Dip, dip, pop, boom," his brother warned him for the hundredth time, fingers dangling from the crossbow cartridges filled with blasting oil.

In response, an angry Ivan drew out a hand-held crossbow modeled after the crossbows of the dark elves in the Underdark, and pointed him at Pike. "Boom, you asked for it, 'Gourd Doctor'." Pike rolled his eyes up and began to chant in a low, rapid voice.Before Ivan could stop him, a tree vine came down and entangled his outstretched arm, wrapped his waist, and pulled him to the point where only his toes could touch the ground. "You can't play this hand," Ivan warned him, "not now." "No 'boom,'" Pike said firmly, wagging his fingers like a disciplining mother.

He looked, of course, as ridiculous as ever: a green-dyed beard parted down the middle, tucked behind his big ears, and tied with his hair hanging down his back.He was wearing a light green layered robe fastened at the waist with thick rope, and the sleeves of the robe were rolled up several times so that if he dropped his arms they would slide down and cover his hands. Ivan let out a chuckle and promised his brother that they would have a fight soon. Pike just ignored him and walked over to the side of their small camp, where a bowl of stew was simmering over the fire.It had been over ten days since the two of them had set off from the Monastery of the Flying Spirit on Mount Carradoon to officially re-crown Mithral Hall to Bruno in place of Cadley, Cadli's wife Danica, and the rest of the abbey. King salutes.Evan and Pike had been talking about going to Mithril Hall for years—since Drizzt Do'Urden and Catti-brie passed by Goofy Spirit, searching for an old lost friend.With everything in the Snowfall Mountains in order and the big event of Bruno's coronation approaching, the time seemed ripe.

Just stepping out of the mountains of the Snowfall Mountains and starting their journey, Pike, a druid with a spiritual body, could guide them through the long journey more quickly.Although it seemed like he could only communicate with Ivan, who understood his every snort, Pike could talk to animals after all.He can predict the weather with a high degree of accuracy, not by any gadget in a wide sleeve, but by teleportation mastered by druids, and by the connection between trees, one tree after another for miles away. That's what Ivan and Pike have done so far, and Ivan, who finds the whole trip unnatural, complains endlessly along the way.They walked into a deep and dark forest.At first, Ivan thought they had entered Shermista, the forest of elves across the Snowfall Mountains and Carradoon, but after spending a day in this dim place, both he and Ivan realized that the uniqueness of this forest The atmosphere was very different from the magical realm occupied by Aberys and his elegant people, and wherever it was, whatever it was, it was darker and more foreboding than Silminster Forest.The wind roared and swept, and it seemed that they had reached farther north than expected.

"Are you going to disappoint me?" Ivan asked under the vines that trapped him. "Uh... ah..." Evangelist chuckled, and placed the active arm under the entangled arm, causing the crossbow to fall into the waiting hand.He raised the weapon quickly to his eyes, and clamped his teeth on the bowstring until it snapped into place.Then he bit the trigger of the weapon, holding it firmly in his mouth.Suddenly, the trigger was pulled, and a crossbow arrow shot out under his squint. "Oh..." Pike shouted when he noticed it.He drew a stick from the fire, and after a swift chants of what sounded like "sha-la-la," he charged at his brother.

Ivan loaded the ammunition calmly and intentionally, raised his crossbow, and aimed it at the entangled vines.Realizing that Pike was getting too close, the yellow-bearded dwarf practically lowered his crossbow, aimed at Pike who was charging and fired. The crossbow bolt that struck Pike sent the enchanted stick flying, nailing it deeply, and splitting it in two again.A blinding shock wave delayed Pike's charge, and the stunned dwarf stood still, his beard and hair on the right side were smoking, his right arm was still raised, but the enchanted club in his hand remained. Halfway through.

"Hey..." the dwarf druid moaned. "Ha, the next one will be your tree." Ivan promised, and he put the crossbow in his mouth again, ready to put down an ammunition. Pike pulled a cane, swung high, and slammed into Ivan heavily.When the dwarf brothers who hit the full arms bounced away, they "swinged" more vigorously, almost flying.Of course, under the traction of the strong rattan, they swung back again without any dispute, and bumped into each other firmly. They bounced around like this, with Pike grabbing Ivan's crossbow and flailing arms while Ivan punched Pike - though they were close enough to huddle that they couldn't do real damage .The stubborn vines were tightly wrapped, and the two struggling dwarves seemed to retain only the kinetic energy of swinging back and forth.

When Pike's spell failed and inertia sent the group of Stoneshoulders up into the sky, they were moving towards the highest point, and after a chorus of "uh-" they landed and rolled some distance. They rolled past the fire, and the flames burned Ivan's nose and made him scream.They hit the side of Pike's tent, sending vines and leaves flying.At the first instant, Pyke twisted far enough to cast the next spell, so Ivan immediately covered his brother's mouth with its powerful hand, and Pyke immediately bit him. Usually, a big fight between two brothers like this can go on for a long time, but a low growl from the side of the fire stopped the two people who were about to hit each other's front door, and the scuffle was about to hurt each other.The two crawling brothers turned their heads and saw a big black bear scratching their vegetable stew pot.

Ivan pushed Pike away and strode out. "Praise Moradin!" he cried as he fumbled about for his axe. "He got me a new cloak!" Pike's scream resounded through the night sky, and the birds within a hundred miles fell silent. "Shut your stinky mouth!" Ivan told him. He rushed aside, examining his weapon, and heard his brother chant again as he moved.Ivan hopes that he can also do the relatively low-damage, but most annoying tricks of nature. When he rushed out to reach the campfire, ax in hand, he found Pike sitting in front of the contented bear, resting comfortably against its fur.

"You wouldn't be..." Ivan moaned. "Hee hee hee." With a growl, Ivan raised his arms, swung the ax and threw it into the grass. "Unlucky Cadley," he grumbled, because in Ivan's eyes, Cadley had created a monster inside of Pike. Of all the animals, Cadley first adopted wild animals as pets, starting with a white squirrel he called Percival.Pike starts to gain fame (notoriously for Ivan, who finds the whole thing embarrassing) at the Flying Spirit Monastery for the friends he makes, especially among Cadley and Danica's children .So far, these friends include a vulture, a pair of vultures, a brood of weasels, three chickens, and a stubborn donkey named Boo Bu. Now, add a bear. Ivan sighed. The bear let out a soft low whine, as if it was comforting him to lie on the ground, and he stayed there, purring almost immediately.Same goes for Parker. Ivan sighed even more resentfully. "I don't propose applause, no," explained the dwarf Nanfedo, with his tiny arms folded across his chest and one big foot anxiously digging to the ground, "but it might be approved, too!" He stood no more than three and a half feet straight, and had a hooked nose. His bald head was only surrounded by a half circle of white hair on the ears and the back of his head.Nanfudo is not a memorable figure.However, he is one of the most famous alchemists in the Northland, a fact Erastu and Santilla are well aware of. The Marquis of Mirabar began to clap his hands, and his smile was wide and sincere, because Nanfudo had just brought him a piece of specially treated metal, a piece of refined and quenched, raw ore taken out of the mine ten days ago. After the highly accomplished dwarves applied a new melting and casting method, the metal was much harder than the ones produced at the same time. The consul on the other side was busy observing and comparing these metal pieces, and had little time to join in the applause, but she still nodded appreciatively to the dwarf, which Nanfudo readily accepted.The two were hired by Erastu in Nanfudo, and they were good friends before he brought them to Mirabar. This appointment was also for Santillado's benefit. "With your metalworking formula, our products will prove to be the best in the Northland," Erastu said. "Ah..." the dwarf hesitated, "they will be better than before, but well..." "But what? No 'but', my dear Nanfudo, the Consul Santilla has signed a pledge that will allow us to use the best - not only the better, but the best - to recoup nearly year lost trade share.” "Our opponents' veins are richer, and their technology is flawless," Nanfred explained. "My method increases the strength and toughness of our product somewhat, but I doubt we'll yet be able to put Mithril Hall to shame. " Erastu seemed to be slumped in a chair, his fists clenched at his sides. "But we've improved!" Nanfudo said enthusiastically, hoping that sentiment would have an impact. Actually not. "I believe this is the first time that an alchemy formula has been fairly recognized on a scale of visible improvement," Santilla Xingyao added, quietly winking at Nan Fudo, "although many alchemists have made made all sorts of outlandish claims, but few—no, not very few, none at all—made substantial improvements through means other than magic." "Any improvement will be helpful," Santilla continued. "In the past, many customers have hesitated in the choice of Mirabar and Mithril Hall. If we can improve the quality but not the price, then I firmly believe that we can A lot of people were brought in." Erastu became interested in this, and even began to nod, but Nanfodo interrupted: "Well..." "Huh?" asked the Marquis suspiciously. "The refined solution for alloy casting is very expensive." The dwarf told the truth. Erastus buried his head in his hands.The four Warhammer guards behind him muttered a few inaudible curses. "You used an alloy?" Santilla asked. "I thought you were experimenting with graphite." "I was," the dwarf replied. "All recipes presupposed the use of graphite," he shrugged. "Unfortunately, that ended up weakening the product." "Wait," Erasteau began sharply in his blatant sarcasm, and the Marquis rose from his chair, poking his fingers as if to get the point. "Have you found a way to mix metals? That way if you use tougher metals, you get a better product, but if you use cheaper ones, you get brittle?" "Yes, Marquis." Nanfredo admitted, bowing his big head before his sharp sarcasm. "Have you heard of Alloy Forging, my dear Nanfudo?" "Yes, Marquis." "I think you just reinvented the whole thing." "Yes, Marquis." "How much should I pay you?" "Enough," Santilla Xingyao intervened, walking towards the Marquis and putting his hand on his forearm to calm him down, "This may be the first step towards huge profits, if Nanfudo's technology makes Gao If your costs come down, there will be benefits. Anyway, this looks like the first attempt at a potential path to wealth. A good start, I should say!" Her persuasion made the dwarf's waist straight up a little, but the Marquis Erastu's response was nothing more than a sneer. "Then, do your best, good Nanfudo," he said, "and don't waste my time and gold in experiments. Go back to work, and don't come to see me until you've made a lot of progress." The dwarf bowed curtly and fled the room.After he left, Marquis Erasto gave a yell in frustration. "Alchemy is a science that doesn't deserve its name," Santilla said. It was a suggestion she had made many times in the past.Erastus spent a fortune on his alchemist, in fact it was the biggest advance they had heard in a long time. "That will not work," he said sullenly, as if his anger had been consumed by the roar. "King Bruenor comes to our city and knocks it out, and they will beat us with their ores and artisans." "Will not." "Our market potential is still great, because not all commodities need expensive ores from Mithril Hall," Santilla reminded him, "Those hoes and plows, hinges and axles have sold more than swords and axles so far." Cuirass. Mithril Hall only cuts a part of our trade." "It's this part that makes a mining city." "Indeed." Santilla had to admit, but only shrugged. She had never been overly excited about the recovery of the neighboring dwarven fortress, but also thought that the Warhammers would be better neighbors than the evil duergar that had previously lived there. "They're growing," said Erastus, who seemed to be speaking more to himself than to Santilla. "King Bruno, the legend, is back with them." "The Hammer Lord of Gundaron himself is well known," replied Santilla bitterly, "returning from the great Lost." Erastus shook his head at every word he heard, "Unlike Bruno, he took back Mithril Hall in our time. With those strange friends and loyal clansmen, Bruno has reshaped the pattern of the Northland. I am afraid that his return will have far-reaching significance. After Bruno ascends to the top, you will find that it will be more difficult to maintain the order that we rely on for prosperity. " "it's not true." "I don't want to take this risk," Erastu said angrily, "with his personal prestige alone, he is enough to shake our city, and I have seen his little calculation clearly. A simple crossing, half of The dwarf uttered his eulogy. No, it cannot go on like this." He sat back in his chair and put a finger to his thick lips.There was a smile behind his fingers, as if a complicated plan was brewing. Santilla looked at him curiously and said, "You're not thinking..." "There are many ways to create a rift in Mithril Hall's honor." "In what way?" asked a skeptical Santilla. "We have dwarves who do favor to Bruenor, don't we? Some of our dwarves are now calling the name of the Lord of Mithral Hall and his friends, and he refuses the tribute." "Torg will not approve of the sabotage activities against Mithril Hall." Santilla discussed, easily seeing the direction of the conversation. "He would if he didn't know what he was doing," Erastus said mysteriously.The Marquis smiled broadly and genuinely for the first time since Nanfodo's first misleading news. Santilla Xingyao just looked at the man suspiciously.She'd heard his schemes, because he'd spent a good chunk of his time in power doing it.Yet almost every time it's done, it's an impractical idea.Despite his bluster - and even worse than that, joined by four Warhammer Guards who would always support him - Erastur was not a practical man.He wants to keep what he already has, and even try to consolidate it in a safe and conservative way, such as hiring an alchemist; The risk of war is obviously not this man's style. Still, it would be fun to watch, Santilla had to admit.