“If you will permit me, Your Majesty,” said Thrang, moving to stand beside the king. “Allow me to introduce you to my companions.”
“Yes, I suppose introductions are in order,” said Thorgood, moving forward with Thrang. “I thought the pavilion would be more comfortable than the throne room. Not so stuffy or formal. There are always fewer of the lords out here, and you know how they can be.”
Alex and the others quickly lined up in front of Thrang and the king. Alex could see that Thrain was extremely nervous, which surprised him. Thrain’s grandfather was king of the dwarf realm of Vargland, after all, and Alex thought he would be used to meeting royalty and other important people.
Thrang moved down the line, introducing each of them to the king and saying something about their accomplishments as adventurers. Alex listened closely when Thrang introduced Kat, Nellus, and Barnabus because he didn’t know as much about them yet. When Thrang introduced Alex, Thorgood stopped him before he could list Alex’s accomplishments.
“The young wizard,” Thorgood said with a quick glance at Thrang. “The one you and Halfdan have told me so much about.”
“The same,” answered Thrang, beaming at Alex.
“A great honor,” said Thorgood with a bow. “I had hoped Thrang would find a wizard for this adventure, but I did not dare hope that it would be you.”
“The honor is mine, great king,” said Alex, bowing to Thorgood. “Master Silversmith was good enough to invite me on this adventure, and I am pleased to be in your fair city.”
“Yes, well, we do what we can,” said Thorgood with a laugh. “Perhaps you will tell me the truth of Thrang and Halfdan’s stories, if time allows.”
“It would be a pleasure and an honor, great king, though I am sure Thrang and Halfdan have been most truthful in their tales,” answered Alex.
“No doubt they have. Though it is always good to hear the story from a different point of view.”
Alex bowed to Thorgood once more as Thrang, looking proud and pleased, continued down the line. Thorgood stopped again when they reached Thrain, asking about his grandfather and Vargland.
Once all the introductions had been made, Thorgood returned to his pavilion, speaking in a low voice to Thrang. Thrang appeared to agree with the king and was smiling as he returned to the company.
“Now that the formalities are complete, let me offer all of you some refreshment,” said Thorgood, taking his seat in the pavilion. “Tonight we feast and sing; tomorrow you begin your work.”
As he finished speaking, Thorgood clapped his hands. Dozens of dwarfs instantly appeared from various places around the walled-in space. While Alex and his companions looked on in wonder, the dwarfs set up several round tables and covered them with food. A dozens more tables and chairs were set up, and silver lamps were placed at the center of each table.
“An old dwarf custom here in Benorg is to welcome friends with a small gathering so they can mingle without the formality of a traditional feast,” Thrang explained. “Thorgood wants us to mingle with his people, so they will have a chance to get to know us.”
“An interesting custom,” said Nellus. “We do something similar in my homeland, but not on such a large scale.”
“Well then, let’s mingle,” said Barnabus with a smile. He moved away from the others, heading for one of the main tables that was filled with food.
Alex soon discovered that he was something of a legend in Benorg. It seemed that all the dwarfs knew who he was and what he had done on both of his previous adventures. He talked and mingled with the dwarfs, feeling very much at ease among them, relieved that they were so willing to accept him.
As the night grew darker, more lamps were lit and placed around the walls, illuminating the open space. Alex eventually gave in to the pleading of some of the younger dwarfs and conjured several small weir lights. He sent the balls of light dancing around the park, changing their colors as they went. All of the dwarfs laughed and clapped as the weir lights whirled past them, and even King Thorgood watched them with wonder.
As the evening wore on, Alex put out the weir lights one by one until there was only one light left, floating above his own head. As one of the servants came forward to lead Alex and his companions to their rooms, Alex sent the last light dashing through the crowd before shooting it up into the sky where it vanished from sight.
They were led out of the pavilion park to a large guesthouse nearby, which Thorgood declared was theirs for as long as they needed it. The house was impressive, stocked with everything they might need or want. There were bedrooms and baths for everyone, as well as several small sitting rooms and a large common room that could comfortably seat as many as thirty or forty people.
It was late, and Thrang decided that it was time for all of them to be in bed. Thrain was unhappy about the order because he had been having such a good time at the feast. Thrang insisted, however, reminding him that they all had a great deal of work to do in the libraries and archives the next day.
“I’ll need your eyes sharp tomorrow, Thrain,” Thrang said. “You and I are the only ones who can read all of the dwarvish letters. Arconn may know a few of them, and I don’t believe Alex has learned them all yet.”
“Not yet,” Alex said through a yawn. “Though I have been studying. It was a difficult task—studying alone, without any dwarfs to help me. I will be glad for your help at the archives.”
The company said good night and headed to their various rooms. Alex did not feel sleepy so he wrote a short message to Whalen to let him know how things were going. Once the note was sent, he remained seated at the small writing table, taking out one of his books about dwarf runes and writings and beginning to study.
When morning came, Alex was tired from his night’s work, but felt his time had been well spent. He had learned all the dwarf runes from his book and could read most of the writing with only a little hesitation. He sat down to breakfast with his friends, looking forward to spending the day in the libraries.
“Thorgood has had his people searching the libraries for us,” Thrang announced. “They haven’t found anything important yet, but with their help, I think we should find what we need quickly.”
“Are you in such a rush to leave Benorg?” Alex questioned.
“No, not at all,” answered Thrang. “But our adventure is not in Benorg or in the archives of this city. The sooner we find what we need, the sooner we can continue with the adventure properly.”
“And as most of us don’t know how to read or speak the dwarvish language, I, for one, will be happy for all the help we can get,” Nellus said.
After breakfast, Thrang led them out of the house and toward the mountains that stood behind the city. Alex admired all of the buildings in Benorg, which were quite beautiful and impressive to look at, and wondered how long it had taken the dwarfs to build such a fine city. He listened closely as Thrang pointed out various buildings and explained what each of them was used for.
The libraries were located in several huge underground vaults, containing thousands and thousands of books and even more scrolls and pieces of parchment. Alex suspected it would take him a hundred years or more just to look at everything the libraries contained, and several hundred more to read it all, and he was grateful for the help Thorgood had offered them.
“Thorgood said that these last two chambers hold the documents from the time of Albrek, so anything about him should be there,” said Thrang, leading them through the underground maze.
“That narrows the search a bit,” said Barnabus with a short laugh.
“It narrows it a great deal,” said Thrang, missing the joke. “And with the help Thorgood has sent, it shouldn’t take us more than a month or two to find what we need.”
“Oh, is that all?” said Nellus sarcastically, elbowing Barnabus in the ribs.
When they reached the second-to-last chamber, they found a dozen or so dwarfs busily sorting various documents. Thrang introduced his company to the chief librarian and then stepped aside to speak with a few other dwarfs.