Ch. 2-The Dwarven Mountain

In the mountain of Ravensnest there is a city named Axeblade, and in this city there lived a dwarf named Brimstone. Brimstone was a hard working miner, but he also enjoyed hunting and fishing. One day was different than all the rest. Brimstone woke up, and went to the arena to practice his axe throwing. I don’t mean tomahawks, I mean two-handed axes. Brimstone was the strongest dwarf in the city, and the deadliest. It was said that on a good day he could take the wing off of a fly from one hundred yards away.

“How’s my favorite brother?” said Fire.

“Fire,” said Brimstone, “I’m your only brother.”

“Well then I guess you won by a landslide!”

While Brimstone was skilled with an axe, Fire was a master of the sword. “Fire and Brimstone,” they’d say, “The Brothers of Destruction.”, but don’t be fooled, this pair was the kindest of all the dwarves in Axeblade City.

“What’s on our schedule today brother?” said Fire.

“Nothing.” replied his brother. “Would you like to go fishing?”

The brothers set out on the two day journey to the lake. The land around them was bleak and barren during the five hour decent from the top of the mountain. The rocks were scorched from dragon fire and the trees were splintered from lighting strikes. Many wars had been fought on the slopes, including the war against Magma, the Duke of Dragons. Magma was, as his name implies, as red as molten rock. His temper was also as quick as a forest fire and as deadly as an explosion. The dwarves waged war with him after he raided the villages surrounding the mountain. As you can imagine, one of the largest of creatures was not happy being threatened by the shortest of peoples. In the end Magma was defeated, and the Dragon King, Inferno apologized for Magma’s inappropriate behavior. Ever sense then the dragons and dwarves have lived in peace. As for the lightning, that was from the many great storms that came to the mountain. Once they reached the plains near the mountain, the pair of brothers set out for the main road.

“Odd day today isn’t it?” said Brimstone, “It’s as black as death, but no sign of rain.

“Yes. In fact, the sky was this dark on the first day of the Dragon War, but there couldn’t be another war because King Inferno punished all the dragons who fought by Magma’s side.”

“Well, maybe it’s just strange weather.”

“I certainly hope so.”

Once the brothers arrived at the lake, they found out how wrong they were. In the center of the lake there stood a sea monster. The sea monster sent fire shooting out of its mouth and almost torched the dwarves. The great beast shrieked louder than thunder. The dwarves were puzzled as to why the leviathan screamed. Then they saw a female archer send an arrow directly into the monster’s eye. Taking advantage of the situation, Brimstone threw his axe at the beast and put a deep gash in its scaly flesh.

“Good shot brother! Now see what I can do.”

Fire took his sword and hurled it with all his might at the serpent. So powerful was the throw that the sword went through the monster’s neck and shattered a boulder on the opposite shore. The monster was mortally wounded, but not through fighting.

“A fine shot brother. If only we had a more powerful weapon.”

As if someone heard his plea, a streak of fire scorched the serpent, burning him to death. The serpent fell, torched into the water with a crash and a thick fog of steam covered the lake. Just before the steam covered everything, Brimstone noticed where the fire had come from. The brothers ran to the source and found a man, unconscious on the ground, with a lady sitting next to him, waiting for him to regain consciousness.

“Was he injured by the dragon?” asked Fire.

“No,” replied the lady. “The fire blast drained his energy.”

“Do you mean to say,” said Brimstone. “That that inferno was created by him?”

“Yes. His name is Michael and I’m Ashley.”

“I’m Brimstone and this is my brother, Fire. Come back to our Village and you and your friend can rest in our house while Michael recovers.”

Michael recovered soon after and they had a meal with the brothers. They became fast friends and didn’t want to leave, but they had to return to their journey. The brothers gave them some supplies and guided them down the mountain.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” said Michael. “We hope to return it some day.”

Michael and Ashley headed further east while Fire and Brimstone decided to start a journey as well.