The Wealth of Kings (4 page)

Kijik bowed low and left the throne room.

Al then turned to Benbo. “Your first order of business will be to report on the status of the cavedog breeding program. After you have ensured that we can replenish our stock of cavedogs, then you can begin recruiting new soldiers.”

“If I may,” Benbo started somewhat timidly.

Al arched a brow and nodded.

“I thought in addition to soldiers, I could expand our ranks of healers and surgeons.”

Al furrowed his brow and reached up to stroke his gray and red beard. “Expecting more trouble that soon?” Al asked.

Benbo shook his head. “No, my king. But, I thought that perhaps if we could expand in those areas, as well as commandeering some engineers, we could venture out into the Middle Kingdom and offer assistance rebuilding from the war.”

Al nodded and smiled. “That is an excellent idea. It will not only help take the burden off of King Mathias, but it will also show a continued solidarity with him. I see now why Faengoril chose you. Do what you need to, and coopt as many engineers as you need.”

Dvek interjected, “With respect, I will need most of the engineers here.”

“Our buildings have sustained no damage,” Al said quickly.

Dvek nodded and continued. “True, however, since you have been gone, our mines have dried up entirely. We have not been able to produce enough ore for the smelting facilities for months.”

“You have full command of the miners,” Al said. “You can dig new tunnels as you need.”

Dvek nodded again. “I appreciate that, sire, but there is more to it than that. The shafts we are digging now go through a strange mixture of rock and soil. I have needed to assign engineers to the mines to help stabilize them. Normally the miners could do it themselves, except I split the miners into many smaller groups in an effort to cut the time needed locating a productive mine. Usually we run only two shafts at a time, but I have them drilling and cutting six shafts.”

“Six?” Al repeated. “I have never heard of that many being mined at once.”

Dvek sighed. “The mines all dried without warning,” he said. “They also ran dry within days of each other. Seeing as we have little food reserves, I thought it best to maximize the search for gems and precious metals to enable us to purchase food from outside sources.”

“What about the valley near the top of the mountain?” Al asked. “Isn’t it producing yet? It has been well over a year since I left. I told you to focus on farming.”

Alferug cut in. “Sire, it is not his fault. The fields of Two Peak Valley that sit near the top of Roegudok Hall were abandoned by your brother, and turned to pasture for sheep.”

“We always raised sheep there too,” Al said. “How did that become a problem?”

Alferug sighed and pointed back to Dvek.

Dvek nodded and tapped his right hand nervously. “Your brother commanded me to abandon our crops in the valley in favor of raising more sheep. By his reasoning, if we raised enough sheep, we wouldn’t need to hunt outside the mountain. So, in obeying his orders, we multiplied the sheep until they overran the valley. They ate everything, and became so numerous that they polluted the lake there as well, and the fish have suffered. We have culled the sheep back to manageable numbers, but the valley has not yet produced crops. I do believe it will produce this year, but I am afraid it will not produce enough to supply for the winter.”

“What about the cave-rice and the fish growing in the reservoirs?” Al asked. “There are three separate reservoirs managed in Twin Peak. Do you mean to tell me that none of them are producing cave-rice anymore? We have grown cave-rice there for as long as I can remember, and there was never a shortage. It may be that it’s hard to boil and tougher to chew, but it is food.”

Dvek sighed again. “The spring that provides culinary water throughout Roegudok Hall has also run dry. I have assigned dwarves to find a new source of water, but until one can be located, the reservoirs are now used for culinary purposes.”

“It seems my brother has left me many problems,” Al said.

“Actually, sire, there is more,” Dvek said slowly. He worked his thumb on the table in front of him, digging into the wood with his nail as he took in a deep breath, obviously hesitant.

“Spit it out, Dvek,” Al commanded. “I may as well hear all of the bad news.”

“Have you heard of the Greenband?” Dvek asked.

Al frowned and glanced to Alferug. With a shrug he replied, “Sure, they are one of the most powerful merchant guilds in the Middle Kingdom. They are also fairly hostile to anyone who borrows money from them. What do they have to do with us?”

“As you said, sire, they are hostile to individuals, or groups, that have borrowed money from them.”

Al thumped his hand down on the table and narrowed his eyes on Dvek. “You didn’t?”

Dvek shook his head quickly. “No, no, I didn’t, but your brother did. The mines were producing less and less over the last decade, to be honest. Your brother went into deep debt with the Greenband.”

“And now they are calling their debt due?” Al guessed.

Dvek nodded. “So you see, we need to expand the mines below for more than just the ability to buy food. If we don’t pay the Greenband back for every bit we owe them, they will levy sanctions against us. If they do that, there won’t be a merchant in all of the Middle Kingdom that will be able to do business with us until the sanctions are taken off.”

“What do we owe them?” Al asked.

Dvek shook his head and sighed. “I have tried to gather everything we have on hand. We have twenty tons of marble, another three tons of iron, as well of stores of zinc, and a few other minerals. In addition to this, I have separated a couple hundred head of sheep, several crates of wool, porcelain, and pewter crafts. Still, when I totaled everything we have, it doesn’t cover a fifth of what your brother owes them.”

Al leaned forward and let his forehead thunk on the table. “Stonebubbles and beetle spit,” he swore. “We are that far in debt?”

Dvek nodded. “I didn’t know the extent of it until I received the list from a Greenband collector just a couple of weeks before you returned.”

Al shook his head. “Save the iron. We can perhaps fashion it into arms and armor. That will sell for more than raw ore. Keep the sheep back as well. We need the food. Send the rest of it as a good faith payment and let them know that I will do what I can to repay my brother’s debt.”

“Of course, sire.”

The king shook his head. “Alright, do what you can. Take what engineers you truly need for the mines, Dvek, but do try to spare any engineers for Benbo that you can. Perhaps we can barter services for food, if it comes to that.”

“As you command.” Dvek said.

“Actually,” Alferug said as he turned his body to Al. “Do you remember when we first came into Roegudok Hall together, we found that library?”

Al nodded. “I remember.”

“Your father often referred to it as the wealth of kings. Perhaps we can find answers there.”

“Why haven’t you looked in there already?” Al asked, his tone taking on a sharp edge.

Alferug patted the air with his left hand. “I tried,” he said. “If you recall, the entrance through that mirror sealed upon our exit. I have not been able to find the way to open it.”

“My father never told you?” Al asked.

Alferug shook his head. “As I told you before, he never told me about it. I was unaware of its existence until we walked through it together.”

“I do remember seeing a chest inside,” Al said as he recalled his brief moments in the library. “If it has gems or coins, then it could help us buy what we need until we find productive mines.”

“I have gathered a few clues for you, sire, and placed them in your study,” Alferug said.

“Then I will continue mining while you work on that puzzle,” Dvek offered.

Al nodded. “I wanted to ask one more thing,” he said as the others started to leave. They stopped and turned back to him. “My grandfather reinstituted our traditions and relationship with the Ancients. My father kept that tradition. My brother did not. Alferug, now that you are again fulfilling your role as Advisor on Tradition and the Ancients, what has been the people’s reaction to resuming our traditions and religion?”

Alferug frowned and shook his head. “I am afraid that it has not gone as well as hoped. Another reason for our lack of productivity, which pains us to talk about, is the fact that many of the previous officers and dwarves who held authority under your brother’s rule have left the mountain.”

“They left?” Al asked incredulously.

“You seem surprised,” Dvek said. “Yet, you yourself left the mountain.”

Al shook his head and leaned into the back of his chair. “It is true that I left, but before that, very few dwarves had ever left the mountain permanently who weren’t exiled. In fact, I think that if we count from the time of the first king, we are only talking about a handful of dwarves. However, what you are saying is that a group of dwarves have left together, am I correct?”

“Not just the officers,” Alferug said. “They took their families with them. We are missing, in total, in excess of three hundred dwarves.”

“WHAT?!” Al shouted as he sat up rigid in his chair and slammed a fist on the table. “Three hundred dwarves have left?”

Dvek cut in. “Your brother ran a very different kingdom, sire. His officers were able to grow fat off the work of others. Their pockets deepened while the majority of our people worked longer shifts. When the people became unruly, your brother altered the supply of food, basically making the people dependent upon him and his officers. Before the mines ceased producing, he controlled all production also. It was a very different time.”

“Why didn’t anyone say anything?” Al asked.

“A few tried, in the beginning,” Alferug said. “After the first couple of protestors disappeared, the others learned to be quiet.”

“Why didn’t you tell Master Lepkin?” Al asked. “I know he was here. He came here shortly after finding me in Buktah.”

Alferug shook his head. “That was also the day I was exiled,” he said.

“You have to understand,” Dvek chimed in. “Your brother cut ties with the outside world. The humans were our enemy. He blamed them for our diminishing lot. He kept promising to find a great treasure digging in the mines.” Dvek chuckled. “He actually called it ‘the wealth of kings.’ I suppose had he known he was chasing your father’s library, he might have done things differently. As it was, after the first fifty years of fruitless searching, he ordered the mines closed. I suspect it was nothing more than childish bitterness that prompted him to do it, but as I told you when we met before you challenged Threnton, we weren’t given a choice. He ordered the mines closed from that point on, and I knew better than to defy him. Given how he had you secreted away to a forgotten pit and left you to die, I suspect you know where most of his enemies ended up better than I do.”

Alferug folded his arms. “Things were manageable up until the last year or so of his reign. You might have thought the dwarves would rebel, but he had the younger generations convinced that he was providing everything they needed. Those of us who knew better weren’t free to get word out of the mountain for help. Even if we could have, by the time Lepkin and Senator Bracken came, it was apparent that King Mathias was facing his own dangers. Besides, you know as well as we do that no human army is going to pass through the entrance tunnel unless they are invited, and Threnton was not the type to send out invitations.”

Al closed his eyes and let his head fall back to thump against the back of the chair. “Well then, let’s get to work. I’ll go to work on solving the puzzle of the library. Hopefully that chest has what we need. In the meantime,” Al turned and pointed to Dvek, “you keep working on finding a good mine shaft.”

“What of appointing new counselors to the other vacancies?” Alferug asked.

Al grunted and shook his head. “That can wait.” Al rose from the table and dismissed Dvek. Alferug walked with him through a side corridor that led from the throne room to the royal quarters.

Neither of them spoke until they stopped by the large mirror that hung in the hall a short distance from Al’s room. Al reached out and slid his hands around the edge of the mirror, checking for any sort of lever or mechanism.

“I tried that,” Alferug said with a shake of his head.

“Of course,” Al replied as he gave the mirror one last tug. The frame was solidly in place. “You said you had clues for me?”

Alferug nodded. “I placed some books on your desk in the study. Nothing directly speaks of the wealth of kings, but there are some veiled references to it.”

Al nodded and turned to walk on, but Alferug remained standing before the mirror. “My king,” he called out.

Al stopped and twisted around to regard the old advisor. “Is something else troubling you?” Al asked.

Alferug nodded once and clasped his hands in front of his waist as he took in a deep breath and steeped forward. His eyes gazed down at the floor. “Your grandfather reinstated our religion and traditions,” he said flatly. “Before his time, the Ancients were shunned by our people sometime around King Sylus Magdinium’s reign.”

“Yes, I am aware of this,” Al replied evenly. “I may not have gone to King’s College, but I know a bit about our history.”