The Dragons of Ash and Smoke (Tales from the New Earth Book 5) Read Online Free PDF Page B

fighting?” Simon asked as he focused on keeping up with
the cleric. Even as slow as they were walking, his legs were already
beginning to tire and he gritted his teeth, determined to get some
much-needed exercise.
    “ Many
of our old enemies have returned,” Stanis told him. “I
suppose that it was only a matter of time, what with magic being back
in the world and all. A few months ago, our most distant patrols
started getting ambushed for the first time in millennia. We took
some casualties before we adjusted our strategies. Now patrols are
larger and better armed and we have squads of hunters searching
remote galleries and ancient dens for the creatures.”
    “ But
who or what is attacking you?”
    Stanis held up a heavy
hand and ticked off his fingers.
    “ Trolls,
ogres, goblins, dark faeries, are some of them. Oh and the blasted
red dragons keep clawing their way down to our tunnels, trying to
reach this city. Not that they have even gotten close,” he
added proudly.
    Simon's mind was roiling.
Trolls? Ogres? He felt like he had suddenly been transported into
some sort of bizarre fairy tale.
    “ Are
there a lot of them?” he asked curiously.
    “ More
of them all the time,” Stanis answered seriously. “We
bring down one and seemingly two more take its place. It's those
damned gods of Chaos that are doing it, of course.”
    “ No
argument there,” Opheilla said from up ahead. “They want
all mortal races dead, including our people.”
    They emerged from the
hallway into a large cavern and Simon gasped. What met his eyes
brought him to a stumbling halt and he just stared as the two dwarves
stood nearby and watched with mutual amusement.

Chapter
3

    They were standing in a
very large square. The walls stretched up into darkness far above
their heads and the cavern itself was at least a hundred feet across.
Dwarves. Hundreds and hundreds of dwarves were moving throughout the
area.
    The first thing Simon
noticed was the uniform height of all of the people that he could
see. Males, females, it didn't matter. All were about four feet tall.
The women were as bulky and muscular as the men and many were wearing
armor.
    The male dwarves were
bearded. Some facial hair was elaborately braided and beaded like
Stanis', while others were simply neatly combed and hanging freely.
Hair color was as varied as it was for humans; black, brown, red and
blond and every shade in between.
    Not all of the dwarves
were wearing armor, but the majority seemed to be. The metalwork was
beautiful; most of it intricately formed and some very elaborate.
There were even some dwarves wearing epaulets shaped like the heads
of fantastic beasts, including dragons and other monsters. Most armor
seemed to be made of steel, some of which was inlaid with gold or
other precious metals, but Simon saw dwarves that he guessed were
quite high ranking who were wearing armor made of silver, some with
golden chest plates. It was very impressive.
    There were others in the
constantly moving crowd wearing regular clothing, mostly cloth dyed
in bright, cheerful colors. Some wore leather aprons and, when Simon
asked, Stanis told him that these were tradespeople.
    “ Some
are smiths or weavers,” the dwarf told him in a low voice. “A
few are brewers; quite a respectable trade among my people.”
    “ Aye,
the boys do love their beer,” Opheilla said in a disapproving
tone.
    Stanis gaped at her.
    “ Gods,
cleric, don't let anyone else hear you speak of beer like that! It is
what has kept our civilization together all these years.”
    Opheilla narrowed her eyes
and gave him a hard look and then turned away.
    Stanis grinned at Simon
and began pointing out several shops that were built into the walls
of the large cavern.
    “ That
there is a tailor's shop,” he began and indicated the sign
chiseled in the stone over the entrance.
    “ Beside
it is a market. We grow all of our own food, of course, but we were
happy to trade with your old friends in Nottinghill