The Hammer of Fire by Tom Liberman Read Free Book Online Page B

and
around in his hand. It looked recently sharpened witha knob at the
end of the handle emblazoned by a flaming fist.
    The little goblin took in his breath with a
sharp gasp, clenched his small dagger so hard his knuckles turned
white, and turned to face the bigger dwarf with wide eyes and an
open mouth, “You didn’t say it was Dol. He’s a tough one.”
    “So what, and keep your voice down, they’ll
be along any minute. This is the last day the hammer is out in the
open like this and they’ll want to steal it. Hopefully they’ll tell
on that little rotter Uldex and his uncle Borrombus as well, and
that’ll be the end of any of their plans. We are the Firefists, the
rightful rulers of Craggen Steep for the last five thousand
years.”
    The goblin sheathed the dagger at his side
and intertwined his fingers from both hands as his eyes shifted
back and forth between the chamber below and the dwarf at his side,
“I thought the Drawhammers were the first family in Craggen Steep,”
said the darkling blooded creature as it jabbed its boot into the
hard marble with no effect.
    “What do you know about the politics of
Craggen Steep you, half-breed imbecile,” said the young chief
apprentice as he turned to look back out onto the chamber below
them. It was the room of the First Edos and not many had the key to
the place. The view from this high was quite different from below
where the weapons of four hundred First Edoses hung on the walls.
Cleathelm leaned forward and peered around the edge of the alcove
to his right and stared, eye to eye, with a delicate short sword
that glowed blue in the dim light of the darkened room. He
remembered studying every weapon in the room at one point early in
his apprenticeship but couldn’t for the life of him remember the
story behind that sword. It was something about a young elf prince
but he couldn’t remember more and spat a long blob of phlegm out
onto the floor where it landed with a wet splat. “I’ll make the old
bastard pay for making me scrub the floors. I’m a Firefist, not
some goblin scullery maid.”
    “You didn’t say it would be Dol,” said the
half-breed goblin after a short while as he carefully studied the
burly dwarf at his side. Cleathelm was powerful and good with the
axe according to everyone but obviously not too bright. Perhaps he
could get more out of this if he played his dice right. “If it’s
Dol, I want more money for the job.”
    “A bargain is a bargain,” said Cleathelm and
jabbed the half-breed with his elbow again.
    “Not if it’s made under false pretenses; you
said two apprentices and the yellow-haired halfling girl,” said
Blaggard, a little spittle of drool appearing at his lips.
    “And it is two apprentices and a halfling
girl,” Cleathelm. “No negotiations. The deal is done.”
    “It’s just the four of us,” said Blaggard
with a glance towards another pair of alcove across the room. “And
it’ll be Dol we have to subdue. You can say no negotiations until
your face turns blue but I’ll climb down and leave right now if you
don’t double the payment,” he continued with a sidelong glance at
the big dwarf. He even made a motion to move forward towards the
ledge of alcove.
    “You make too much of him. He’s got a tough
hide and he knows how to use a weapon, I’ll give you that but there
are four of us. Besides, he’ll probably have the little halfling
girl with him. You’d like interrogating her, wouldn’t you?”
    “But,” repeated Blaggard with another glance
up at his companion and his eyes narrowed into a calculating
squint, “it’s Dol. He’ll break you in half and do the same to me. I
want double the pay or I’m leaving right now.”
    “There are four of us and we’ll be taking
them by surprise,” insisted Cleathelm although the certainty in his
voice faded as he looked across the alcove to his companions.
    The little half-breed stared at him with
unblinking eyes that glowed yellow in the dark