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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7441605" data-attributes="member: 143">There are many times when I wish my creative talents extended to art. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />* * * Chapter 171Bredan felt wrung out, almost as if he’d fought a long battle.  Maybe he had, in a sense, he thought as he and his companions left the council chambers.  Konstantin remained inside, engaged in small talk with a few of the Councilors, but Bredan was just grateful that his role as diplomat had come to an end, at least for today.The “preliminary meeting” with the Council of Elders had lasted nearly four hours.  He knew that for a fact since there had been an elaborate, dwarf-made clock on the mantle above the huge hearth that had dominated one entire wall of the chamber.His adversaries on the imagined field of battle had been seven elderly dwarves.  Seven again—he’d heard earlier Quellan telling Xeeta about how the number was significant to them, but he hadn’t made out the details.  He regretted not paying enough attention to the conversations on the way here, or asking questions about the details of dwarven government prior to their arrival.  What he gathered was that these seven were high-ranking members of the dwarven elite, lords among their crafts organizations or something similar.Konstantin’s role during the just-concluded meeting had been vital.  The wizard seemed to get along well enough with the irascible dwarves, never getting flustered or impatient.  The same could not be said for himself, Bredan thought.  The dwarves on the Council had had questions for all of them, but their main focus had been on him.They’d agreed in advance that they were not trying to keep secrets from the dwarves, but even so Bredan felt as though he’d been raked over hot coals.  There were things he definitely was not going to tell the dwarves, things he hadn’t even shared with the Arreshian wizards, but it had been difficult keeping things hidden from those seven gnarled faces, from dwarves who dug for truths as ardently as a starving miner questing for precious metals or gemstones buried in the earth.Bredan’s thoughts were on a meal, maybe a hot bath.  He’d heard mention that there were hot springs on one of the lower levels of the city, springs that fueled pools where tired dwarves could soak and ease muscles tired from a long day’s work.  At the moment he was even willing to put up with the inquiring stares that seemed to follow them everywhere in the city.  Though in fairness, it was possible that those stares were more for his companions than for him.  While the Council of Elders knew his name and wanted him for some still-undefined purpose, he doubted that the common dwarves of Ironcrest knew or cared who he was.As they were leaving the complex of rooms that belonged to the Council they saw Dergan approaching with a younger dwarf clad in a long coat of mail at his side.  “Ah, Bredan, Quellan, Xeeta, I am glad I found you here,” the dwarven official said.“Ambassador Konstantin is still in the council chambers,” Bredan said.“Actually, it was you I was hoping to find,” Dergan said.  “Now that your meeting is over, I thought you might enjoy a tour of the city.”Thoughts of food and steaming water almost caused Bredan to reflexively refuse, but he remembered what Konstantin had said about being cooperative while absorbing what information they could about the dwarves and their motives.  Besides, he thought, all of them had been equally impressed by their first view of the city, and he was sure that Quellan probably had a long list of questions to ask of their hosts.  “Sure,” he said.“Excellent.  This is Darik Broadshield,” he said, introducing his companion.  “He is one of the Defenders.  He can show you the many sights of Underhold and answer any questions you might ask.”“If you don’t mind, I think I will take a pass on the tour,” Quellan said.  “If it is possible, I would like to visit the Temple of Hosrenu…”“Of course,” Dergan said.  “I can take you there.  Darik, take care of our other guests, please.  Give them the full tour.”“The full tour, you’re certain?” Darik asked.  Something passed between the two dwarves, a look that held hidden meaning.  “We don’t need anything special,” Bredan said.“It’s no trouble,” Dergan said definitely.  “It is important that you understand what we’re fighting for here.  When you’re done, Darik will show you to the guest quarters.”Bredan felt a vague sensation of unease, but it was too late to back out now.  Still, he watched with some regret as Quellan left with Dergan.  Maybe if he’d been the first to speak up… no, it was him that the dwarves were interested in, him that they wanted to see whatever was part of the “full tour.”  And he still had Xeeta with him just in case there was something more behind that look the two dwarves had shared.“All right, lead on,” he said to Darik.“I understand you were a smith?” the dwarf warrior asked.  At Bredan’s nod he said, “We’ll start at the forges then, they’re a sight.  We’ve been refining metal here for over seven hundred years…”Bredan prepared himself for more long hours of patient nods and practiced smiles as they followed their guide back into the dwarven city.</blockquote>

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