This posting is not part of the story, I need to vent a little and let the world see what I am thinking.

 I have been struggling this last week with the eternal consequences of my divorce. My wife abandoned me or as she says separated from me some time ago. In my religion this was a sin because she broke our temple vows. I am not saying I was a great husband, but facts are facts. My religious leaders have told me that she broke the vows and that I was free to stop waiting for her to come to her senses and I could get a divorce. I was willing to wait forever if that was what it took to not break my covenants from the temple. Either you believe or you don’t. They said as far as my marriage was concerned those vows were done away when she left me. This is a very important distinction to me.

So now that it looks like there is no hope, I have to face the fact that my wife believes in a different God than me. My religion and God have laid out the grounds for divorce and when she left me, those grounds were not met. I did not cheat, am not addicted, and did not beat my wife.

 So I was thinking how does she repent, because she will want to go back to the temple. Eventually she will get a temple recommend, the church doesn’t stop you forever from going to the temple even if you did one of those things. I was thinking of the four R’s of repentance, Recognize, Remorse, Restitution, Resolve. Not sure I have those right. The thing is what was really hanging me up was the restitution. I think one day she will recognize and have remorse, and resolve to not do it again, but how does she handle restitution?

 The priesthood lesson was on repentance and part of the lesson went to the For the Strength of Youth book, and page 29.

 To repent, you need to confess your sins to the Lord. Then seek forgiveness from those you have wronged, and restore as far as possible what has been damaged by your actions.

 Are we not going to be an eternal family? How do you repent when you break temple covenants? Will this keep her from the highest level of the celestial kingdom? Will my children treat me like a favorite uncle in heaven because we are not an eternal family? How do you possibly make restitution from this? In my mind this was a simple act to commit, pack up and leave, but such consequences.

 Now I made a lot of mistakes in my marriage and was stupid a number of times, manipulated to the point that I could not act the way I should have. I couldn’t list all of the things I did wrong if I just stuck to the big things. One of the really big things was when she brought the Secret into our home. At the time I thought it was wrong, the philosophies of man mingled with scriptures, but how do you say that to someone that you can’t reason with. I should have said not in my home, this is not from God, but I was not strong enough. I went along trying to make peace. This is my biggest mistake in my life, trying to keep peace in my home instead of taking the risk she would walk out at any time. When I thought something was wrong I might weakly try to protest but I didn’t act like a priesthood leader of the family should have and said no. When I received what I thought was revelation I should have known how to communicate.

 Witchcraft might be to strong a word and Voodoo isn't right but when it was being introduced into the home I received what I thought was revelation. I had a dream and I told my wife about it and she blew it off, not related to what she was doing. Now I read the Handbook Two and see that I should have tried to say no, or talk about it more, persuade with long suffering. She had the best of intentions wanting to help others, what harm could it do. There is no reasoning. I gave up without a fight, it probably would have brought me to a divorce years ago if I had kept pushing.

 When I stood up and said not in my home I paid a price. When I said no, she tried to hurt me with whatever was handy that she knew would cause the most mental anguish so that she could get her way. What she didn’t anticipate is that she showed me that I didn’t feel loved, and I didn’t want to be treated badly any more. For a few weeks she lost control of me. For the first time in our marriage I tried to let her know how bad she really hurt me. Not from what she said, but that she would say it. In a very nice way she tried to amend things, but I was so hurt I didn’t know how to express it or communicate it. I prayed to know what to say, how to communicate my feelings and nothing came. How do you tell someone that you are so afraid to do anything because anything you do is wrong? How do you tell someone that has such control over you that you have to work up your strength just to talk to them because they will use anything you say to prove that you don’t love them. They turn “I love you” into a bad thing. Nothing was ever right and you have reached a point without even realizing yourself that you are so afraid of making a mistake that you don’t dare do anything. If you don’t agree with something the thing to do is do nothing.

 Why did things get to this point. I don’t know for sure but I think it was in part because I wanted a celestial family. I sacrificed my friends, family, the things I enjoyed, to try and give my children an eternal family.

 So now the problem. Can we even qualify in some way as a celestial family? How would she repent even if she wanted to, not that she will ever see she has done wrong? How do you make restitution for this? When will the fourth watch come? What do I dare say? Is eternity gone? What can I do to help my children through this time?

Aj VI

The goblin picked up a large rock and tossed it onto a large flat stone. Nothing happened. The group behind him watched closely as he stepped up onto the stone. The group jumped in surprise as the goblin was skewered by a sharpened stake that was attached to a limb; it had sprung out from the far side of a large rock that the path sided. The stake hit the goblin in the chest with such force that it went through its body, and so rapidly that the limb hit the body before it stopped moving and knocked the goblin off the stake to sprawl on the path with a gaping hole in its chest.

Without turning his head Aj commented, “Well, that’s only goblins so far, I was hoping for a careless orc on that first trap. The next trap is a little trickier, I hope it at least gets the big orc, that would shake up the ogre and maybe he will go away. This isn’t the first time he has tried to find our lair. Last summer he followed visitors a couple of times, but didn’t want to stick his neck out. I would love to have him stumble into one of my traps.”

Hezekiah tried to increase his focus on the trail below to remember where the men had stood to protect the caravan as it entered the booby trapped canyon.

Down below the orcs marched two more goblins to the front of the group with the ogre following them. When the goblins had to pass their dead companion they hesitated, glancing around.

The ogre was taller than a large man, big boned and fat: grossly, hideously fat. His skin contained layers of cottage cheese rolls on top of cottage cheese rolls that were tattooed with a maze of black stretch marks that discolored the flesh. He had no ears, just holes in the side of his head, and no hair which made his sweat run without stopping. The tusks on his head would have reached halfway to his jowls, but his extra fat left them deeply embedded, causing the skin to gush out around them, and his eyelids hung so low that he had to raise his eyebrows to look through his small beady eyes. When he walked his big floppy four toed feet slapped the ground like cold, wet ham. Meb, then and there, named him the Great Ich .

Ich pushed the large orc out of the way giving threats and cursing the goblins, and ordered one of the goblins to start up the path. The goblin, connecting the distance it would go up the path with its life expectancy, started whining and shaking its head. Typical of all ogres, having no patience for others, Ich knocked the goblin to the ground and stepped on its back. He then took his club and smashed the goblins head, reached down, and stretched the crack in the head apart. Scooping the sticky brains out of the goblin’s head the ogre shoved the gooey mass into its mouth, and then licked the large globs off its fingers. Next he turned the head to the side and poked the eyes out, and holding them over his head, squishing them into his mouth as if they were a fine delicacy.

Sucking his fingers semi-clean the ogre smiled at the other goblins sending it the message that he enjoyed his little snack and wouldn’t mind another one. Then Ich motioned up the trail. The other goblin inched up the trail with a groan—edging to the side of the path. The goblin stepped into the water and followed the stream whenever it could. After about five steps it had to leave the water because the stream undercut the edge of the canyon. The goblin slowly started across a flat area between the twists of the stream. The large orc followed about five feet behind the goblin, stepping were the goblin stepped. As the goblin reached the far side of the flat there was a load snap and the ground below the orc collapsed. The orc had time to curse as it fell through the earth, it hit the bottom and started to squeal, but was quickly cut off with a “dguh”. The orc had fallen twenty feet to the bottom of the pit and through a couple of ropes that crossed the chasm. The ropes were attached to rocks, so that as the orc passed through them they were pulled by the orcs weight on the ropes, and started to fall with it. When everything reached the floor of the hole the orc was on the bottom, the life crushed out of his body.

Seeing this event take place just the way he had hoped it would, Aj turned his head in Hezekiah’s direction and commented in a quite voice. “Now, is the ogre smart enough to realize that the goblin didn’t weigh enough to trip the trigger for the pit but the orc was? If it thinks along those lines then maybe he will turn around and we will go get some sleep.”

Hezekiah asked in a whisper, “What silenced the orc?”

Aj answered softly, “The pit was about twenty feet deep, not easy digging in that canyon. Twenty feet is far enough to break bones, but the object is to kill. In the side of the pit almost at the top we carved ledges, and then set some flat stones on the edge that weighed about ten pounds.” Aj moved the fingers of one hand to show how they stood the stones up on the side by rotating only his hand. Not being able to move his hands as he talked annoyed Aj, but the necessity of remaining motionless so they would remain hidden was second nature to him. His patience in intense situations had saved his life more than once. “Then we strung some ropes across the pit, attaching them to those rocks. When the orc fell his mass continued through the ropes and pulled the rocks down on top of him. Those rocks fell about fifteen or sixteen feet before they landed on the orc. If you drop a one pound rock one foot it will hit with the force of three pounds, drop it two feet and it hits with the force of six pounds. Drop a ten pound rock fifteen feet and it will hit with enough force to kill an orc. We dropped four rocks that far. I was really hoping to get the ogre, but I think we got his right hand man in the big orc.”

Down below there were a number of squeals as a small group of goblins decided that the surprise of the trap ahead gave them a chance to escape the mob. Two of them stuck their knives into the orc watching over them and then the small group ran across the flat bench in an attempt to escape. Pandemonium broke out. As the goblins fled across the flat some of the orc-archers gathered themselves to shoot at them. Elsewhere along the trail the race war continued to break out. An isolated gang of goblins surrounded an orc, and with their knives, sliced and cut off chunks of orc flesh until one stabbed it in the neck. The blade hit the jugular spraying blood in the air. The gang had tried, too late, to use the same method of escape as their tribesmen, and before they could run the orc-archers cut them down. The trail was strewn with the bodies of massacred goblins. Of the goblins that ran off, two fell into a pit to their death, one was killed by arrows, and the rest escaped to the north. The orcs had fared better, just the unlucky were nursing wounds.

Ich seemed to gather himself after the slaughter was over. The frustration of loosing his cheap sacrifices to the traps of the canyon seemed to grow in him until he took a deep breath. He held it for a second, preparing for a frenzy, and then exhaled the frustration. There were no goblins to be victim to his release, and the orcs were too valuable. Ich stood quietly for a minute, thinking, then motioned for the orcs to start preparing the dead goblins so they could take them along. There was no need to waste goblin flesh, when it could feed so many. The orcs gutted the goblins; some sneaking an eyeball to see if it was the delicacy that Ich seemed to think it was. Others pulled out pouches to hold some of the guts. They would take them back to their village to feed to their young. Then they took some of the stakes that had been pulled out of the ground, and skewered the goblins bodies from head to tail so that they could be easily carried off.

Ich looked up the canyon at the huddling goblin that had walked over the pit without tripping the trap. The goblin had had nowhere to go, if it went up the canyon it might set off another, and if it tried to sneak out of the canyon the orcs would butcher it. Ich motioned the goblin to come to him. The goblin shook its head no. Ich slowly moved closer to the goblin signaling it to come to him. The goblin shook in fear. When Ich got to the stream the goblin streaked up the canyon until it came to a dead stop its face impaled on a spear.

Hezekiah had watched it step on the trigger, a rake-like contraption with a short spear attached to its handle at a ninety degree angle. When the panicked goblin had stepped on the rake, the spear, carried with momentum, rose up and struck hard enough to pierce the goblin’s skull.

Ich gave the goblin up for lost and, after looking down into the pit at his lost helper, went back down the trail gathering the orcs. Aj was right. The pursuers were giving up; the cost to continue was too great. Ich would waste goblins to find the entrance to the hidden cave, but would not risk his relationship as high chief with the tribe of orcs.

Aj and Hezekiah had watched the events below them happen in silence. Both were surprised by a slight snore that escaped from Meb. Lying down, out of sight and still, had been to relaxing for Meb. Their long march had been exhausting for everyone, but Meb had been scouting, before and after the train, giving him little time to sleep over the last five days. This respite, as exciting as it was, had put him fast asleep. Aj and Hezekiah let him sleep as they watched the war party below them head down the mountain, his quiet snores would not carry far enough to give them away.

Aj V

The elves had been greeted by a small group of their kin and had moved off to their own chamber after Marry was satisfied that all of the maidens were settled and watched over by their chaperones.

As the bustle had settled down Aj had gathered Hezekiah and in turn Meb and led them through a series of tunnels until they were laying in the location close to were Hezekiah had first seen Aj earlier in the day.

Aj saw the movement down the trail first and motioned to his companions to be still. Shortly after that they could all see coming out of the lower cut down bellow the orcs and goblins that had been following the caravan. The larger group must have waited for the smaller group to catch up because they were letting the smaller group take the lead. The party was being very cautious as it followed the trail that the caravan had taken earlier. There were about forty orcs and the same number of goblins followed by the ogre then the rest of the orcs from the second group. As the first orcs and goblins were reaching the point that the caravan had conversed with Aj, most of the second group of orcs were still in the slot canyon. The orcs were making one of the smaller goblins go first up the trail. Every time the small goblin stopped the large lead orc cursed him and threatened him with the spear that he carried. As the party passed the spikes with the heads on them they would pull the spikes out of the ground and through them from the trail with the heads still jammed on the ends. Aj said, “It will take me hours to put those spikes back up, I hope they turn around soon.”

Meb asked, “Why are they going to turn around soon?”

In answer Aj said, “Watch and learn my little friend.”

As the party below got closer to the entrance to the second canyon the little goblin became more upset. There seemed to be one goblin for each orc to supervise in the first group. With each step the little goblin became more upset wanting to go anywhere but up the trail. Suddenly the little goblin bolted from the lead orc threw a couple of stakes off the trail. The lead orc cursed and started to follow the little goblin then stopped as the little goblin disappeared with a scream into a covered pit that had long stakes imbedded in the bottom of the pit that impaled the goblin. The large lead orc moved back to the center of the path and pulled the next goblin forward and with a curse put his spear to the back of the goblin and motioned it up the trail. The goblin was watching the ground closely looking for were the caravan had trod.

Aj IV

Hezekiah was last of the original caravan into the cave, and Aj’s warriors followed right behind him. They had left their posts after the caravan had passed. Stepping in he signed to Aj who then motioned for Hezekiah to give him a moment. Aj moved over to the wall of the cave were a small stream of water was poring into a catch basin in the cave. He plugged the hole and the water stopped. Hezekiah watched the gape in the wall slowly close as the water level in the catch basin lowered. The catch basin acted as one end of a fulcrum. When it held water the weight of the water dropped the basin. When the basin was empty there was not enough pressure to raise the bridge and open the split in the cliff face. By plugging the hole the tension on the fulcrum was gone and the step and the split in the cliff face disappeared from sight in the canyon.

The inside of the cave was dimly lighted by lanterns, so some of the maidens had pulled lanterns out of their packs where they had been stored away. This part of the cave opened into a wide natural chamber with a high ceiling that rose above the floor to about twenty feet. Hezekiah patted Aj on the shoulder and smiled from the relief. He felt safe behind the rock. Hezekiah hadn’t realized the stress he had felt the last five days crossing the plains.

The two men started following the caravan deeper into the cave. “I think we are all about worn out. How long will it take us to get to somewhere we can all sleep? Other than a couple of quick naps I haven’t slept for five days.”

Aj chuckled with a deep voice and replied, “Ten minutes up the trail and past the next hidden door there is a large chamber with water for the donkeys and a little bit of oats waiting for them. Off the main chamber there are a number of branches were everyone can get some rest. Things should quiet down outside tonight, and then I can lead everyone up to the higher tunnels. Did you find the book I wanted?”

Hezekiah nodded in the affirmative, “I found the book, but its owner wouldn’t let me buy it, however, they did let Merry and Galahad copy it.” Hezekiah put down his pack and pulled a leather bound book out of it and handed it to Aj. Aj opened the book to the table of contents, looked for a particular chapter and then quickly flipped through the book to that page. Meb read the title from underneath, “Traps From the Desert by Gor the Dwarf.”

Aj smiled down to Meb and then showed him one of the pages. It was covered at the top in an elegant print with a picture of a rock , and detailed drawings that outlined the size of the rock and how it needed to be carved so that a large dart would snap out of the rock when a trigger was tripped. Aj said, “I had heard about this little trick but couldn’t figure it out on my own. How long until your pursuers reach the flat below?”

Hezekiah looked at Meb and after Meb held up two fingers answered, “Two hours at the soonest, might be two and a half.”

Aj motioned after the caravan and said, “Let’s get everyone settled so we can watch the fun.” Aj motioned for some of his men to go down a side tunnel that moved east and down inside the mountain so that the tunnel was following the canyon that they had traveled in.

As Aj said, after about ten minutes everyone was in a large chamber with a corral on one side for all of the donkeys. The donkeys were being put away, and Aj and Merry were directing the Dwarves and organizing things. Considering how tired everyone was, in a surprisingly short time all of the donkeys were brushed and given feed and the dwarves were all sorted out to sleep in what could only be considered different dormitories for the men and women.

Aj III

Aj was a large man with a barrel chest, thick arms and stout legs. He wore solidly made clothing with the shirt having long sleeves that were rolled back at the ends. Under his large straight nose was a gray mustache, and behind the glasses he wore were large eyes which shown with a merry glint. Hezekiah saw the happy disposition of the man through those eyes the first time he had met him, three years ago when he traveled through the mountain, the sparkle would have been hard for Aj to hide, especially when he was telling a story. His shirt pockets bulged with small items and some gray hair dipped out under his hat. Aj was an organized person always well prepared and he thought things out well in advance. He had a small group of warriors with him, a mix of men and dwarves, ten each. That was the normal guard for the east side of the tunnels. The Trail was a family heirloom of sorts inherited by each successive generation of Aj’s family. He felt it his duty to not just defend his home, but to protect as much as he could the safety of the wildlife and nature on the east side of the mountain. As such the stakes were set up to discourage the undesirable presence of orcs and goblins.

Aj, with his family that was made up of a wife, one son and the sons’ wife lead a small community that survived on and in the mountain. They had set traps for the unknowing from the start of this point up the mountain. His group of warriors would lead the caravan safely up the canyon avoiding the traps that were set. As Aj conversed with Galahad most of the caravan took the chance to rest. Micah, Hezekiah and Meb moved through the resting dwarves and joined Aj and Galahad. Aj greeted them each with a handshake from his large paw of a hand. Aj said, with a glint in his eye, “Ah, Micah, I suspect it isn’t too much of a surprise for you and Zeph, but there is someone waiting for you in the tunnels. We were not sure how safe it would be out here, so I wouldn’t let them come with us.”

Hezekiah interrupted, “Before we take much more time discussing interrupted love lives I think we should move to a safer place. There is a large group of orcs following us and I would feel better if we were standing in a more defendable place, than out on this flat.”

Aj nodded his head in agreement saying, “Follow me, my men will protect you from stepping on the wrong spot, but make sure everyone knows not to go outside the stakes. Those traps are too hard to predict, and some of them are so old even I have a hard time remembering them. We don’t wander around on this level of the mountain much anymore.” With that he motioned for everyone to follow him and started up the trail.

Aj put the first dwarf in place giving him directions and then motioned for others to follow him and started up the trail. They had only gone a few feet before one of his dwarves took position next to a large rock, and began motioning the people in the caravan to go around on the south side. After another ten feet another dwarf took up position spreading his legs over a rock in the trail next to a crack in the canyons side, and motioned those following him to walk around him without disturbing the rock. The caravan progressed up the canyon in this manner with Aj’s troops taking up positions along the trail until only Aj was left at the front of the caravan, and then Aj picked up the pace.

Aj and the caravan continued to move up the canyon and through the stream until Aj stopped before a wide pool that crossed the bottom of the canyon floor. On the north side of the pool was a cliff face at the deepest point. He motioned for the caravan to wait and then he waded through the pool to the far side. Reaching down he moved something in the water and stood up. Ripples quickly filled the pool, and suddenly a long flat rock emerged from the depths. Simultaneously, that sheer cliff face had split in half, revealing the rest of the trail. The flat rock acted as a step into the opening. Aj had clambered onto the newly made bridge through the water and was already motioning the dwarfs to follow him.

aj II

Hezekiah motioned up the trail for Micah to go before him. They had climbed up the first bench in the mountain range to survey, and were now started across the long flat area that hovered before the next ascent. They orcs would have to be careful following them up because there were numerous places to set up ambushes. Hezekiah, Meb and Micah were going to move up the trail as fast as they could, catch up with the rest of the caravan and continue to act as the rear guard until they made it too the cave or met up with its guardians. Here and there were scattered a few mahogany trees, but the landscape consisted mainly of rocks with a few boulders on top of the different slopes. These extended out of the natural curve of the mountain, and only thin grass struggled out of the little soil available. There were a number of small canyons that wandered up to higher levels of the mountain and Hezekiah could just see the last dwarf as he left the first open area and entered the canyon they were following up the mountain.

As slowly as the caravan was moving they had no trouble catching up. The caravan was led now by Galahad, with his wife following him, then all of the maidens with the donkeys, and lastly they were followed by the warriors.

They reached the top of the first canyon which opened out onto a wide mound on the side of a mountain that was mainly covered in flat rocks which had fallen off the side of the cliff face they approached. The cliff face was cut in the middle with a small stream tumbling from inside, and this is where Galahad was headed. The trail leading up to the cut and the stream was lined with stakes. From a distance it looked like leather sacks were hanging from the top of them. Closer examination revealed that the leather sacks were in fact the impaled heads of orcs and goblins. To make it to the head of the stream everyone would have to pass under the glare of those cold dead eyes, and the maidens were not the only ones who paused and shivered. Looking up at the top of the cliff face above him Hezekiah noticed what he had first thought was a rock, stand up. He recognized Aj motioning hello to the caravan. Aj was the keeper of the Trail through the mountain, it wasn’t as much of a trail as a system of tunnels and caves that had been purposefully carved through the mountain, so that those who needed to get from one side to the other in the winter could, without going south all the way around the mountain range. Since Jericho had fallen the tunnel was the only way for travelers to make the trek to the land of the Dessert Dwarfs—in summer or winter. As the caravan started into the slot canyon that the stream had carved out of the cliff face, Aj motioned to Galahad that everything was good to proceed and that he would meet him at the top.

The caravan slowed on the trail that passed through the stream as the dwarves started going from rock to rock up the canyon leading the donkeys through the water. After a couple of minutes the dwarves had to gave up trying to keep their feet dry and just walked in the water. As they went up the canyon they continued to find stakes wedged into the rocks, capped with an orc or goblin head in various levels of decay. Eventually the caravan came out of the canyon onto a small flat that the stream wound through. The flat was covered with even more stakes. Clearly the warning to the orcs and goblins should be clear: they were not welcome in this area. Across the flat again the trail led into a canyon, but this one was not so rocky nor as steep on both sides. As they exited Galahad was greeted by Aj.

Aj; (äzh)

Hezekiah looked back over the grassland that he had just crossed. The caravan had left a clear path through the grass; because of this the orcs that were following them would know exactly where they had started up the mountain. Micah was standing on a rocky outcrop that overlooked the trail as it started up the first slope between two small bluffs. He scanned south through a looking glass. They had found the missing army of orcs. As they neared the canyon Meb had recounted the size of the armies. One had nearly doubled its size, and that had seemed impossible, until they realized their “missing” army had simply joined up with the other. Micah was watching the tail end of the hoard that the trolls had gathered march through Jericho and then into the pass behind the city. Micah turned and looked back down their path, paused for a moment, and then put away the looking glass and turned to Hezekiah and said, “They are still back there, but far enough back that it is safe to go straight to the cave. With the kobold dead they will have problems following us once we get in the stream. However, there is a new group coming up from the south and it isn’t aiming for Jericho, if it keeps in a straight line it is going to cross our path right where we are standing. Here look for yourself a minute. I think there is an ogre in this group.”

Since the ambush two days ago the orcs had kept a safe distance behind them. They followed but were cautious enough that the caravan could keep its steady pace. Galahad and Hezekiah had both needlessly worried about how the maidens would react when the caravan came to the river, however the crossing had been without incident. The armies had swept the grasslands of any resistance except for the group behind them and a few stray boars. The boars had been easy enough to dispatch, and the mud huts at the shallow spot they used to cross the river had been empty. Either the inhabitants of the huts had run off to escape the armies or were now a part of those that had entered the pass. Hezekiah moved to stand by Micah and looked south in the direction that Micah pointed through the glass. It took him a minute, but he found the movement. Doing some quick estimating in his head Hezekiah figured there were over three hundred bodies moving in the group. From this distance it looked like the group was made up of mostly orcs, but there was one very large shape that had to be either an ogre or a troll. Hezekiah trusted Micah, if he said it was an ogre then it must be an ogre.

Going up the mountain would be a slow process with the caravan needing many breaks. Other than some short rests and a couple of quick naps the caravan had been going steady for five days now, even the elves were starting to show signs of fatigue. Last night a number of the maidens had begged for a break, but Marry and Galahad had refused; reminding the maidens that they would not be safe until they had reached the cave. The “missing” army of orcs had everyone worried enough that it was not difficult for Galahad to convince them to keep moving; that and the fact that the maidens didn’t want to upset Marry. The caravan had kept moving. If they had stopped the group of orcs to the south would be between them and the mountain and then they would have been in trouble. They didn’t have enough warriors to make a stand on the plains. Once they made it to the cave they wouldn’t have far to go before everyone could sleep in safety.

Pip

Scoti sat in the corner of the large tent by the compound holding the perfect little bundle that had Lil wrapped in the center with her sleeping.  He had already finished his food and held the baby because he wouldn’t be needed in the discussion.  His job in the family was the easy one, decide the best way to kill the enemy and lead his troop in killing them. Pip sat at the foot of the table completing her notes in preparation for the discussion.
           The table held the main part of the meal, bread, cheese, and fish. He figured that was going to be the mainstay of their diet for the summer.  Claira was an incredible cook and he could probably live on the different types of bread she made without it getting old. She was busy making sure everyone had plenty to eat, and Scoti thought of the pile of food she had placed in front of his boys and wondered if even Magnus could have finished it all.

Cam sat in a comfortable chair back from the table and watched the boys fight an invisible enemy around the fort and the fields by it.  At that moment Tyr stood on top of a rock wall and gave a battle cry swinging his axe above his head.  Zack and Eliseus had just jumped off the wall and with their swords out were in a full charge straight ahead.  Tye always cautious was leading Coal around the wall to out flank the enemy while the others kept the enemy’s attention.

           Magnus sat in the other corner still with his robe on, but the hood had been pulled back.  The man’s neck was larger than most men’s thighs.  His head showed more scars than Scoti had ever seen before.  This was the first time other than on the ship that he had noticed that Magnus was not in Niona presence.  He was her Protector any time she left her home island, so she had to be in calling distance.  Iza had fallen asleep in his lap; they had become fast friends on the ship.
           Elijah sat at the head of the table very calmly picking at a little food that was left on his plate.  Hadassah sat at his side. She wanted the women at home to know what occurred during the meeting, so she was writing a letter to the family. She knew they would appreciate knowing what had taken place, and the men didn’t always remember fine details. She planned on sending the letter to the island with Isaac when he sailed home.        
    Isaac finished a buttered roll, “Scoti, take a look at Seth over here, can you imagine a woman much more beautiful than a goblin being willing to marry him?”
           Seth didn’t fit in with the rest of his family, most of the men were handsome enough but Seth’s looks far surpassed his brothers.  He was a tall man, with broad shoulders, and only spoke when the conversation required his perspective.  He felt most comfortable with the ocean air in his lungs and steady rock of the waves lulling the ship on.  His hair was sun-bleached blond and his skin was sun-darkened. Even if found miles from the sea anyone would be able to tell that’s where he belonged.

“From what I have heard if they hadn’t found each other she never would have found a husband.” jested Scoti.

Cap was sound asleep in his chair with a slight snore escaping from him every once in a while letting everyone know he was still there.

friends and family

Cam and his group stood off to the side of the dock giving room to those who left it and moved inland.  Cam and Claira greeted the dwarfs as they passed them and loaded their things into a wagon that had been provided for the purpose of taking them out to the military camp.  Elijah greeted all of the dwarfs, and gave directions and instructions so that they knew what to do and where to go.

There were two longboats shuttling passengers from a long sleek caravel with four masts that sat in the cove a short distance from the dock.  The bowsprit mast extended over the head of the figurehead swan.  The caravel had a long forecastle and a large aftcastle with a rounded stern.  It rested in the still waters of the cove.  Each longboat had six rowers, and room for eight passengers and their gear.  As Cam looked on one of the longboats pulled alongside the dock and delivered another eight dwarfs.  Each of the dwarfs visibly relaxed as they set foot on the dock.  Dwarfs are too heavy to swim without anything to weigh them down, and all of the dwarfs were carrying their full armament.  Battle axes, war hammers, bucklers, long knives, helmets, armor and about a third of them carried crossbows. 

            As Cam looked on, the sails of a cog came into sight at the mouth of the cove.  The cog had a shallower draft than the caravel and was able to glide around it and stopped gently at the dock.  As this was going on one of the longboats came to the dock.  After the tying of both vessels off, Cam’s excitement became obvious to everyone, as he rocked from heal to toe.  If Claira had not been holding his hand he would have crowded the dock to meet those embarking from each vessel.   

            First to climb up from the longboat was Pip, a thin young female dwarf with straight red hair, a straight slightly pug nose, wise blue eyes, wearing a wool skirt and a white blouse.    For eighty years of age Pip carried herself with the assurance that she understood what she wanted and was determined to get it.  She was more aware about the world, its current condition, and the situation for the lands occupied by the light than any other dwarf.  As dwarf custom dictated, ten years ago she had broached the subject of marriage to her husband, surprising him because of her youth and the fact that her independence hadn’t indicate that she was ready to have a husband.  She recognized his potential and common sense, and knew they would work well together.

One of the things that Pip had wanted was children and she had four of them before she was eighty.  Dwarfs normally did not have their first child until they had been married and settled for a number of years, and then did not have a second child until the first was old enough to look out for itself in the world.  Pip did not care about convention, but she did care about the commandments, and one of the first commandments was to fill the earth with children of the light. 

Next up the side was Iza a very small girl dwarf, with tight curly blond hair and a face and dress that matched her mother’s, Pip.  Her hair was especially curly due to the humidity in the air, and it clung to her head in small curls.  The look on her face gave the impression that she did not care for the smell of fish that came from the docks and fishing boats.  She preferred the smell of flowers that she collected for her mother.

From the same longboat, sprang up to the dock two excited little boys, Tyr and Tye.  The boys were thin for dwarfs, but full of energy like all young boys.  They were dressed in brown wool shirts and pants with patches at the elbows and knees with heavy boots on their feet.  They didn’t look exactly alike, but their size and looks left little doubt that they were twins.  They had red hair the same color as their mothers, but it was cut short and stood straight up in the air on top.  They had a twinkle in their eye that showed their mischievous nature.  Their little sister looked about to see who noticed her presence and make sure she was the center of attention.  The brothers tolerated her, but really paid no attention to her when she tried to boss them around.

They looked down the dock and spotted their great grandparents; without asking for permission they left their mother and heading down the dock.  The closer they got to the end of the dock the faster their little legs moved.  As they got close, Cam kneeled down and opened his arms. Both boys stopped with fists closed and right arms to the left breast they saluted him, then giving him thumbs up they both sprang forward and wrapped their arms around Claira’s legs.  Cam turned to act as if he was watching the boys, but kept an eye on Iza as she followed her brothers as fast as she could, half running, half skipping.  Iza didn’t slow down to salute instead she stumbled into him with arms open.  In exaggeration Cam grabbed Iza pretending to be knocked over and rolled onto his back as the group around them chuckled in amusement.

Walking up the dock to take in this sight was Pip and Scoti. Scoti was Pip’s husband.  He was wearing the same brown shirt and pants as the boys down to the patches and boots.   He had a dirk strapped to his left wrist, a throwing axe slipped through a loop on his right thigh with a throwing hammer on the left thigh, a single hand war axe on each hip a buckler across his back, and various throwing knifes hidden about his person.  The short brown hair on top of his head stood straight up, for a dwarf his beard was rather thin, but of the right length.  He was about an inch taller than his wife.

There was a small bundle wrapped in a blanket and cradled in his left arm.  As soon Claira had extracted herself from the boys she took the bundle from Scoti.  She started cooing at the baby, Lil, contained in the blanket.

Elijah and Hadassah’s attention at this point was taken by Isaac approaching with Zake, Coal, and Eliseus in tow, each carrying a pack.  Eliseus bounced ahead of Isaac, dropped his pack and put an arm around Elijah and Hadassah in a loving embrace of their legs.  Coal was looking around the shore for his father who was not present.  Elijah commented to him, “Your dad isn’t here yet, I don’t expect him for a couple of days yet.  Did you boys keep your stomachs the whole trip?”

The boys all expressed their assurance that they had stomachs of steel as one last longboat tied up to the dock, and out stepped a cloaked figure who helped Niona out of the longboat.   Niona was an average sized elf with long full ears that could be seen through her blond hair and dressed in a deep blue dress that hid her feet.  She had a typical elfin face, thin with high check bones, thin lips, and walked with the elegant grace of a queen.  The cloaked figure was huge for a man in a dark brown monk’s robe that covered everything except his hands; they carried a quarterstaff that was just taller than him and about three inches in diameter. On his back was a large pack with many pockets and folds.  As he walked up to the group the bottles in the pockets tinkled with each step.  The man was a head taller than Elijah; few men were taller than Elijah.  Some of the adults showed a little unease in the huge man’s presence, but the dwarf children showed no reticence as Iza walked, stood in front of the large man, and pulled on his robe asked, “Magnus, are you going to the camp with us?  Can I ride on your shoulder?” obviously this was a position she had enjoyed in the past.

Cam pulled his bag from behind Claira, grumbled, and cleared his throat stammering, “Before we go to camp… I think there is… something… that might interest the cherubs… let’s see here.”  With that he opened the bag, pulled out a hand carved oak rattle with three loops for Lil, and handed it to Iza asking, “Will you hand this to your dad?”  Iza grabbed the rattle and then tested it shaking it hard with her little hands before handing it to her dad.  Then he pulled a small iron wood war hammer out of the bag.  It had a square head on one side and a spike on the other with a handle in the center. It was made from one piece of wood having spirals and swirls up the handle with lightning symbols carved on all sides.  Cam looked at the small boys then called Tye to his side, “I think this should be yours.” Then he motioned to Tyr and pulled out a carved iron wood war axe that had the same spirals and swirls up the handle with lightning bolts carved into the sides of the axe head.

Cam could see the lack of patience in Iza’s demeanor. She was tired of waiting for her turn, so he turned to wink at her mother.  Then he pulled out of the back three short swords carved out of ironwood.  The handles had clovers carved into the handles and lightning bolts carved up the blades.  Cam questioned, “Does anybody see three little boys that these swords would be the right size for?” 

Before anyone could answer Cam’s question, an indignant voice growled, “The next thing to come out of that bag had better be for me, or you aren’t getting any more hugs Grandpaps.”  Everyone looked at Iza standing in front of her dad with hands on hips and a big frown on her face.  Before Cam could say anything the three boys jumped forward each taking a sword from Cam and then showed it to the closest adult.

Cam looked in the bag then gave Iza a frown saying, “Well, I don’t know if these things would be any good for a little girl, come look for me and tell me what you think.”

Iza approached Cam, grabbed the rim of the bag with both little hand, and peered into it. Cam said, “What do you think?  You want the two items in the bag?”

Iza gave Cam another hug, then reached in the bag, and pulled out an oak comb and a iron wood bracelet just the right size for a little girl.  Then she took the comb and started combing Cam’s mustache.

Pip announced, “I think we need to move this party to somewhere where we can talk, I have some information that is going to change a few things.”

Elijah said, “I think Claira has some food prepared back at the camp and Haddasah has some hot water prepared so that you can freshen up before we eat.”

Iza walked up to Magnus, paused, then in disgust said, “Oh Magnus, oh.”

Before she could say what she really wanted to say Magnus kneeled down and pulled the hood to his robe down and showed his bald head, not a hair on it anywhere.  With a deep voice he whispered, “If you want a ride from someone that you can use your new comb on honey, that’s fine, but if you want I can give you a ride and you can comb your own hair.”

Pip watched Magnus pick up her daughter and sat her on his right shoulder. Everyone started leaving the dock. The little boys trotted along, showing each other their new possessions.  Cam walked beside Claira, her hand in his, and with the step of a younger man. 

Friends

Cam, a dwarf with a white beard and hair, a big nose, and a short squat body devoid of any fat, was the master of arms for the Gabriel family, and had been for almost two hundred years.  His beard was braided to show that he had grandchildren and braided again to show the great grandchildren.  He had trained the seven sons of Noah in their first use with practice swords, and made sure their play with the bamboo had not developed any bad habits that he would later have had to break.  Cam had taught the brothers how to properly shoot a longbow, even though he was not tall enough to shoot one himself, and how to deflect a blow from a bigger opponent using a shield without breaking an arm.  They had learned from him how to sharpen steel, how to swing a hammer, and how to walk like a man that didn’t fear anything.  Most importantly, they had learned to look after family, to be charitable, and to plan ahead so that they could provide for those they were responsible for.  Cam was the Clover Island chess champ.  He had never lost to one of the boys or girls on the island in all the time he had been the master of arms.  He considered teaching how to play chess well his greatest gift, and everyone on the island was a recipient.  He taught them all to plan moves far in advance. Although tone deaf he also tried to share his love of music.

He wasn’t aware of all the things he taught others but playing chess and music were the things he intentionally tried to teach.

Cam’s greatest love was his wife, Claira, followed by his granddaughter Pip and her four children.  Cam and Claira had two boys; the oldest was a lord at the Forgotten Mountain, and the younger acted as Cam’s assistant in training and teaching the Gabriel family. The younger of the boys was Cap, Pip’s father.  Cap was the spitting image of Cam other than his beard was red and only braided once.  Pip’s mother, Tam lived on Clover Island and after her first and only tumultuous ride on the ship that had taken her to the island she had vowed never to leave it.

Cam hurried through the gate, ignored Hadassah and Elijah, headed to the kitchen, and exclaimed in a bellow, “Woman, your granddaughter has arrived. I am getting my presents and heading to the dock, are you coming with me?”

Claira stuck her gray haired head out the door, and without a word held up one finger signaling she would be with him shortly.  Claira could command an army and never raise her voice.  Cam’s whispers could wake the dead.

Hadassah made her and Elijah’s presence known by walking her horse in front of Cam. She blocked his way and asked, “Are we allowed to witness the greeting?”

Cam looked up the horse at Hadassah with delight in his eyes, when Cam had a gift to give the bigger the crowd the better, and the chance to show off his progeny just doubled his pleasure.  They all knew that Cam had ignored them as part of his act, to let everyone know how excited he was to see his granddaughter.

Cam exclaimed, “Hadassah, get off that horse and come down here were I can talk to you without getting a stiff neck.  Come on girl, you too Eli, get off the horses and let’s go to town.  You can get the Holy Father later.”  He rubbed his hands together in excitement then signaled Hadassah and Elijah to get off the horses, as if they were not moving fast enough.  He started to bellow again, but stopped when he saw Claira had already come out the door carrying a cloak and bag.  Cam took the bag from Claira, grabbed her hand, and almost dragged her out the gate. He looked over his shoulder and asked, “Are you two coming or not?”

Hadassah and Elijah smiled and walked beside each other holding hands and led their horses out the gate. 

After a quick trot Cam ducked into a short tent, and almost immediately came back out carrying a pack over one shoulder.  Then he took Claira’s hand and headed to the dock.