Jeff Crook - The Rose and the Skull

Harj stepped back to gain a little running room, then launched himself into empty space, unfolding his wings to catch the wind. Shaeder watched him glide outward from the cliff like some huge carrion bird, working his tail like a rudder to steer himself clear of the rock. Shaeder then stripped off his heavy robes, crouched, and leaped over the edge. He unfolded his wings and soared after his companion.

They landed a few hundred yards from the mound nearest the cliff, just beside a little pool of water. The ground was rocky, with more sand than soil, but near the water holes a few hardy plants had managed to leech out enough sustenance to survive. All around the valley tall mountains rose like the jagged walls of a crumbling fortress, effectively shutting off this arid land from the outside world. Desert hares and smaller rodents abounded, as did herds of tough and wiry mountain ponies. The draconians' flight had carried them over one large herd, startling them into a stampede, and even now the ground rumbled with their distant panic. Heavy clouds of dust rose against the stars.

Harj crept over to the pool and dipped his snout into the water to drink. He came up coughing and gagging. Shaeder laughed.

"Alkali," Harj spat. "This land is cursed."

"No wonder the gully dwarvessss took it," Shaeder said. "They can live almossst anywhere, on food that would ssstarve a goat."

"Well, I say we find this one particular gully dwarf and get out of here. I'll slip into one of these mounds and 'question' the inhabitants," Harj said. "Once we know where he is, we'll break in and grab him."

"No killing," Shaeder reminded. "The Old Man wantssss Uhoh alive for quessstioning."

"Questioning a gully dwarf? It can't be done!" Harj snarled derisively.

"We have waysss. He'll talk. He'll wish he wasss sssmarter sssso he can tell ussss more," Shaeder cackled while rubbing his clawed hands together in anticipation.

"Well, once we've found out where he's hiding, we'll slip in, subdue him, and carry him off before anyone is the wiser," Harj said.

He crouched and started off towards the closest mound of earth, his bozak companion at his side. Together, they crept up to one mound and searched for a door or hole. The mounds seemed made of nothing more than heapedup sand, gravel, and soil. The carving and writing on some of the stones gave them an appearance of great antiquity. Probably the gully dwarves had burrowed their way into some ancient burial mounds and taken up residence among the bones and artifacts of a forgotten people.

"Maybe there will be some treasure here," Harj whispered greedily. "Perhaps we should stay and explore about that possibility, too."

"Firssst the gully dwarf. You and I can return later for the treasure," Shaeder warned. "Of coursssse, if sssomething along the way catchesss your eye… "

They slipped into a cut in the mound, where a narrow wooden door stood in a frame made of thick wooden beams. The wood appeared old and gray, weathered to the point of rotting. Harj pushed his companion aside and approached the door. With a grunt, he kicked it in.

With a groan and a crack of wood, the entire mound collapsed upon itself. Dust and sand billowed outward with a roar, drowning out the screams of those buried alive within. Harj and Shaeder stumbled away, coughing on the thick alkali dust and blinking sand from their eyes. The screams of the trapped gully dwarves quickly faded. Finally able to breath, the draconians stared in awe at the destruction.

Soon they found themselves surrounded by hundreds of gully dwarves who, hearing the noise, had come rushing from their own barrow homes. They ignored the draconians for a few moments while they too stared in fascination at the collapsed mound. This was not a new occurrence. A closer examination of the town would have revealed several other mounds in a similar state. Nevertheless, the gully dwarves seemed awestruck by the event, so much so they didn't even acknowledge the presence of the draconians.

"If they turn on us… " Harj hissed.

"Show no fear. We are their masstersss of old," Shaeder answered. "They've not forgotten usss already." He raised his head and gave a long piercing cry, the one given in olden days by draconian slave drivers, which awakened captives to a new day of work.

The gully dwarves shrank in terror at the remembered sound. Despite their huge superiority in numbers, they immediately cowered before the two draconians standing in their midst.

"We have come for the gully dwarf known to you as Uhoh Ragnap," Harj shouted.

"Run away!" an anonymous gully dwarf screamed from the darkness. Instantly, the area erupted in confusion, gully dwarves fleeing every which way, stumbling over each other, colliding in huge pileups, bumping into the draconians. Harj and Shaeder were in very real danger of being crushed in the stampede.

Harj shouted, trying to frighten the creatures into obedience, "We destroyed one barrow; we can destroy another. Hide if you like, we'll bring everything down on top of your miserable heads if you don't deliver Uhoh to us!"

It did no good. In moments, the gully dwarves had vanished. Many they heard blubbering in terror inside the mounds, many more had fled screaming into the desert.

Harj looked at his companion and shrugged his coppery wings. They stalked over to the nearest mound and pounded on the door. It cracked and shivered but didn't collapse.

"Uhoh Ragnap, come out or die!" he shouted.

"Uhoh not here," a sobbing voice answered.

"Deliver Uhoh Ragnap and we'll spare your lives!" he shouted.

"But he not here!" the voice cried.

Harj kicked open the door. Screams of terror burst from the darkness beyond, but the mound remained intact. Shaeder stepped into the doorway. He held forth his clawed hands with fingers spread in a fan shape, the thumbs touching, and he began to mutter in a strange tongue whose words the mind had difficulty grasping. Their result was sudden and violent. A fan-shaped sheet of flame erupted from his clawtips. It flashed into existence only for a moment, but when it had gone, the dry support timbers and rotting door frame burned as though doused with oil.

Shaeder skipped back from the flames, cackling with glee. Soon, a pillar of fire roared from the doorway, while a jet of blue flame hissed from the chimney. The gully dwarves inside screamed pain and terror, their voices rising in pitch until they were finally cut short by a deafening roar. Sheets of flame leaped up from the barrow top. The mound collapsed upon itself thunderously, while a mushrooming cloud of black smoke rose high above the valley.

The other barrows grew suddenly silent. Harj and Shaeder approached the next one. Its door was illuminated by the flames, and they saw that it was slightly open. A small gully dwarf female stood there, eyeing the destruction with her large, tear-filled eyes. Around her neck hung a necklace of gold, from which dangled a ruby pendant as large as a robin's egg. It glowed in the firelight, and the gold sparkled red. Harj sucked in his breath at the sight.

"Gully dwarves wearing gold," he snarled. "We'll soon fix that." He pointed at the jewel-bedecked gully dwarf and shouted, "You there!"

She eyed him without fear. "Yes, you! Come here, you miserable slug," he shouted derisively, trying to intimidate the gully dwarf.

She seemed to hesitate, as though trying to decide whether to run or brave him out. In the end, she approached slowly, warily, as though ready to bolt at any moment. Harj chuckled to himself.

"You are the leader here?" he asked.

She nodded. "Me Highbulp Mommamose I," she squeaked.

"You know Uhoh Ragnap?" Harj asked.

Again, she nodded.

"Bring him to us or we destroy this Town, kill you all," Harj demanded. She looked at him for a moment, and then at his companion.