Christopher Williams [Restora A Gathering of Armies (epub) id

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.The drink was actually quite good; warmed with just a touch of cinnamon.It didn’t take much to get the two Guardians slightly intoxicated; it had been a while since they had last indulged in liquor.With dinner done and everyone enjoying an after-dinner drink, the king leaned back in his chair and sighed.“The dwarves of Az’ha’rill’hadell owe you a great debt.And I owe you my life.”Derek squirmed a little in his seat, unused to receiving such praise.Kara seemed to glow at the words.Vognar leaned back into the table.“I am naming you each dwarf-friend.You will always be welcome here or in any other dwarven hold.”For a moment neither Derek nor Kara spoke, and then they both burst out with their thanks,“That’s so wonderful!”“You favor us too much!”Derek wasn’t sure what being a dwarf-friend entailed, but it sounded nice, and the other dwarves looked appropriately shocked.Vognar held up a hand and both Kara and Derek lapsed into silence.“I do not favor you too much because I believe that would be impossible.That filthy Orlac meant to end my life and he was about to do it when you two intervened.” He paused and stood up.Derek and Kara almost followed his lead, but Rotir motioned for them to remain seated.Vognar walked around the table and leaned over to hug Kara.“Dear lady, you saved my life and there is no way that I could repay you this debt.I offer this small token as a sign of my appreciation.” The king’s hands dipped into his pocket and he retrieved a small box.Flipping the lid of the box open, he handed it over to Kara.Kara took the box with trembling hands and stared wide-eyed at its contents.The color slowly drained from her face and she shook her head.“I cannot accept this.It’s too much!”Vognar smiled and patted Kara on the shoulder.“You must accept it or you would do me a great dishonor.”Kara swallowed hard, her eyes still on the box and its contents.Kara shifted in her seat and Derek was finally able to see what she was goggling at.It was a silver necklace.The necklace was wider than a man’s finger and unnaturally shiny.At the very center of the necklace, in the position of honor, hung a diamond the size of a bird’s egg.At last, he understood why Kara was so dumbstruck.The necklace had to be the most valuable thing either of them had ever held.“This necklace was forged long ago, when my people first came to Az’ha’rill’hadell.It is called the Necklace of Lassium.The first king of Az’ha’rill’hadell was Dvalinn, and he brought the Spirit Stone with him.His family had carried it for generations as they wandered the hills and mountains.He had it made into this necklace for his wife, the Queen Lassium.She wore it all her days and it passed to her daughters upon her death.It has been an heirloom of my family for millennia.”Kara took a deep breath, her eyes still fixed on the necklace.“I am in awe.No words that I can think of can express my gratitude.”Vognar nodded and patted her shoulder again.“No words are necessary.It is I who thanks you for what you have done.” He motioned to the necklace.“Wear it always.It will mark you out to other dwarves and they will aid you however they can.”Kara’s eyes had gotten a little shiny, but she nodded.“Thank you, thank you.”Vognar moved past Kara and came to stand next to Derek.For a moment, Derek feared the dwarf would want to hug him as he had done Kara.He needn’t have worried, though.Vognar grasped his arm and looked him in the eye.“I owe you a debt that I cannot repay, please accept this small token of my gratitude.” He held up a small box, much smaller than the one that Kara had been given.Vognar flipped the lid open.Derek looked inside and his breath caught.In the small box, sitting upon silky cloth, was a ring.The ring had been fashioned into the form of a dragon curling around an egg, but the egg was a stone.The stone was unlike any that Derek had ever seen.It was multi-colored; red, blue, and green, all the colors dark and swirled together.“This ring is even older than the Necklace of Lassium.It is one of six such rings given to the sons of the High-King Orlissiim.”Derek was enthralled, staring at the ring in wonder.“It’s beautiful,” he whispered.“Indeed,” Vognar agreed.“In all our years of digging and mining, we’ve only found one small stone like that.” He pointed to the multi-colored egg.“It was a very long time ago, when all the dwarves lived in one kingdom in the White Mountains.There came a time when the dwarven city could no longer support all the dwarves and the High-King Orlissiim named his eldest son his heir and sent his remaining six sons out into the world.He bade them build new dwarven kingdoms.Before they left, he gave each of them a ring such as this.The stone was called Dwarven Blood and the High-King had it cut and fashioned into six rings.Each son that left got a ring.It is called an Orlissiim ring and it is priceless beyond imaging.”Derek swallowed, amazed that the king was giving such a ring to him.He shook his head.“My king, I cannot accept this.It belongs with you and yours.”Vognar shook his head.“You misunderstand.You are now one of mine.This ring cannot repay you for the act of bravery you demonstrated on my behalf.It is just a small token of my appreciation.”Derek blinked back tears, surprising even himself.Even though he was choked up, he managed to say, “Thank you.Thank you for this.” With that, he slipped the beautiful ring onto his left-hand ring finger.It almost looked like the dragon was moving as it rested on his finger.“There is more that I need to tell you …” Vognar started to say, but he cut off as the door to the dining room opened and a white-robed dwarf stuck his head in.“Forgive me, my king,” the dwarf began, “but Councilor Emlin bade me inform you that the human emissary has been caught.”There was a mad scramble to leave the dining room.King Vognar led the way, followed by Rotir and Blore.Belgil, Kara, and Derek brought up the rear, walking side by side.Derek was admiring the Orlissiim ring on his hand; amazed that such a treasure had been given to him.The king led them to an audience room.Stepping through the doorway, Derek descended stairs to a flat circular floor.All around the floor, tiered seating climbed away from the floor, but the seats were empty [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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