The Half Dwarf Prince: 02 - The Dwarf War Read Online Free

beliefs that would have eventually led our race to extinction. Once I have taken the other kingdoms we will openly trade with Portwein and Portwein only. Any of the other cities that want dwarf goods—any metal, any gems—they will have to trade with Portwein. On top of that, we will give you five hundred thousand gold plugs. We will give you one hundred thousand up front and the rest when we take the other dwarf kingdoms. We will also help arm the army that marches with us. My dwarves started making weapons and armor for your people a year ago. We will offer you ten thousand pieces of chain mail, one thousand sets of plate mail, and thirty thousand swords. The swords we made are the thin, curved sabres that your men use now. I understand these are best when fighting on a ship. I think they will work well in the close confines of dwarven tunnels, too. They are light, which will help your men; they will need to be fast when fighting the stronger dwarves. The swords are dwarven steel and won’t break on dwarven armor like many of your weapons will.”
    Bergmann saw a light kindle in the king’s eyes. Five hundred thousand gold was a fortune. The armor and weapons he was offering were easily worth that amount over again. The king knew that this would make his city greater and more powerful than all of the other human cities combined. 
    “Two hundred thousand up front,” the king said.
    Bergmann didn’t answer. He just stared at the king. For nearly five minutes he stared hard at the king. Finally, the king broke. “Fine, one hundred thousand up front. When I have the money and the weapons and armor I will send my men with you. My generals will answer directly to you, but my men will answer to them. I want the weapons and armor of the fallen returned to the city, though, when this is all over.”
    He had him. The greed of man was the most powerful weapon against them. This king was willing to sacrifice thousands of men for money when he already had more than he could spend. Humans were pathetic creatures.
    “Why should the Black Dragons help you ?” the wizard, Dirigente, asked.
    “What is it that you and your wizards would like? Gold, gems, weapons?” Bergmann asked.
    “Do you know that all of your dwarves in Shinestone are dead ?” the wizard asked nonchalantly.
    Bergmann looked at the wizard now. “How could you know that? How do you even know they were there?”
    “Calm down, dwarf. I played no part in the death of your dwarves,” Dirigente said.
    “Then how do you know they are dead ?”
    “ Some of my associates were in Shinestone when your dwarves arrived, but they were all dead before your dwarves entered. Well, all of them but two wizards who were at the entrance when the other dwarves finally made it there. You see, your dwarves were supposed to take that entrance while the others fought from the top down. But the other dwarves apparently beat the orcs as well as the Black Dragons who were with them as they fought their way through the mountain. The two Black Dragons at the entrance traveled away when the dwarves appeared behind them. They saw those dwarves defeat the orcs at the entrance, apparently with the help of a halfling druid. According to the wizards who were there, your force entered the tunnel after all the orcs were defeated. When they began to charge the other dwarves, the halfling collapsed the tunnel on them. All of them.”
    Bergmann tensed. He knew the story was true. The description of events was very similar to the plans that he and Verrator had hatched to take Shinestone, and a halfling druid was no common occurrence.
    “Then you should help me to avenge the Dragons you lost,” Bergmann said.
    The Black Dragon wizard actually laughed. “Those lives are not important to me. They died because of the decisions they made. I attack those that attack the Black Dragons to keep others from trying. Some Black Dragons who died fighting beside orcs in some distant cave will not have any