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[howandwhy99]

Darius stepped forward after Kayla finished. While he scrubbed himself down he refused to cut his hair or beard. “No self respecting dwarf would ever go without a beard!”

Cyrus leaned over to Dram and whispered: "Hmmm... I wonder how much it would be worth to the scroll making man that what he is handling poison? Not nice stuff. Plus the fact the yer'all scrubin' and shearin' every bits of yerselves would be of interest too, I bet. If'n you want to coax the name of her scribner outta her, I will go in with you on the reward."

Dram: “Hmmm. Reward?”

Cyrus looked back at him with a greedy eye. “Perhaps not. Who can say?” He then hopped up and approached Darius who had finished cleaning. Cyrus was careful not to get any of the soapy water on himself. “Why do they name you ‘the Black’, Cyrus?” Darius asked looking at the dwarf’s obvious red beard. “Maybe you should wash up next?”
Cyrus gave a wry laugh. “Naaaay. And it be Cyrus the Black. Ya got it backward. It’s fer me sense o’ humor y’ see.” He did not explain any more, but his answer gained him some strange looks.

Cyrus asked Darius where he got his armor and weapons. He looked over at the fine dwarven made plate and asked about its background too.

Darius explained that his armor and weapons were his inheritance, with the exception of the axe, which he acquired later, as well as the sword. His father crafted them long ago, and gave them to him when he came of age.

Cyrus: “Dwarven made is the very best. I miss the hold. The warm brew. The cracklin' fire of the forge. It was a pleasure to see such a fine peice o' armor such as this being fit together. And wakin' up with ale on me face after a long night in the festhall. Truly days to be remembered. That reminds me. When is you and I going to have a drink off? Haven't had another dwarf around to give me a bit o' competition in some time.”

Darius chuckled at the thought. "Though my human friends can make a good ale, I would wait until we can get true dwarven spirits to attempt such a contest. We would probably go broke trying to complete such a contest here. My father was once a master smith within the dwarven kingdom, but recently retired to prepare for his position on the council of thanes. Some think my sister may follow in his footsteps, I personally think she will be a silversmith. My other brothers and sister took paths more similarly to mine, but it would not surprise me to see my older brother leave military duty to take over as head of the household, and the family smithy. Right now, my uncle runs it. That was the last I heard about it, before being sent to Margrave. For all I know, my father has taken his place on the Council."

Darius began to tell stories of the hold. Of how the bearded women and men fought hard to make strong lives for themselves in the mountains.

Darius: “There is a legend of an Axe of the Dwarvish Lords. There is also another one concerning Moradin's Hammer, a replica of which the Lord Thane holds. And yet another involving Splinterstrike... a blade used to kill multitudes of Orcs.”

When these were mentioned, Cyrus quickly spoke up that he would join Darius on a quest for any of these weapons. His blood was pumping and he seemed very certain of his words.

Darius: “The stories told in my youth about the Axe included tales of great battles fought. The ax ewas wielded by some great warrior or other and with the death of the warrior usually also in the battle. It vanished, only to be found or used again in another tale.”

”The Hammer made the dwarven race; by Moradin's hand. It was used also to chisel a place in the mountains and hills for the people. When hurled it caused a loud boom-thunder and boosted morale of all dwarves while causing fear in their enemies.”

”Splinterstrike killed the last Hordeking Orc Garnash. It was also stolen by the Orcs after the battle. And is one of the reasons dwarves hate orcs so.”

All three weapons made Darius contemplate such a journey as Cyrus urged. Especially the hammer, and the return of the other two weapons to dwarven hands was certainly a worthy aspiration to him, especially that of the sword. Darius resolved that, if given the opportunity to return to the dwarven kingdoms, he will look into the written histories and historians in regards to these weapons for any clues of their current whereabouts.

Darius ruminated: “The dwarven records are literally written in stone. And the council of thanes is the best bet to learn from the elders, historians, and the high priest. Although, every parent has told the tale of Moradin's Hammer to his and her offspring at one time or other and it is partially mentioned at the opening of every prayer and council session.

As Darius told his stories, the rest of the team scrubbed down and looked for a place to sleep for the night. The loft overhead still had hay in it and most made their bed there. Dram brought his father in from the outside. He told his dad he was very worried. Dalin had not yet returned and the moon was high overhead.