The Warlock's Chair.
A place of magic and adventure.
Long ago when the world was young the Faerie races ruled far and wide across the lands of the Earth.
Then with the coming of Man, they disappeared into myth and legend. But they had survived. Hidd...
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JESSICA TOOK A STEP FORWARD, ignoring the spears pointed menacingly at her.
'Do I look like a Gnome?' she shouted indignantly.
'No. No, sorry,' stammered the Dwarf, taking a step backwards as she approached him.
'A Man-child eh? And a feisty one at that,' said the guard with the plaited beard. 'Held prisoner by this no-good Gnome are you. We heard they like to devour human children.'
'That was long ago...' Holt cut in, then immediately wished he had not mentioned anything as Jessica spun towards him. '...we are much more civilised now.' he quickly added.
'No! He's with me,' Jessica indicated, eyeing Holt suspiciously. 'He's supposed to be helping us find you.'
'Well, that remains to be seen. Keep an eye on him Gibolt,' plaited beard said to his companion.
'If he moves funny, I'll stick him,' Gibolt said, poking his spear towards Holt.
Jessica laughed nervously. 'Then you had better stick him now.'
Holt gave her the evil eye but kept quiet.
Plaited beard chuckled and introduced himself. 'I am Strotordar, captain of the border guard. Now, if you will follow me.'
He strode off up a pathway leading in the direction of the tower she had seen in the distance. Jessica followed with Holt, he glowered at Gibolt who had his spear levelled at him.
'Come on Holt,' Jessica called, sensing trouble between them.
He fell into step alongside her.
'He had better watch where he is pointing that sticker of his, or else.' he grumbled.
'Just leave it,' Jessica told him. 'We need their help and are not going to get it if you cause trouble. Are we?'
'Well, I was just saying...' he started to say.
'Leave it,' Jessica warned him again.
As they walked along the hot sun soon dried their wet clothing.
The path wound through the trees for a short distance before opening onto a wider track which stretched off towards the horizon. Low stone walls divided the lands on either side of the track, into fields of various shapes and sizes. In some, cattle grazed, and in others, all manner of crops flourished. Close by, Jessica could make out low buildings that appeared to be cut directly from the rock.
'Do you mind telling me where we are?' Jessica asked Strotordar.
'This is Hammerforge, and you are deep in the caverns beneath what men call The Warlock's Chair.'
'But the sun and all of this...' she gestured at the surroundings.
'Arcane magic. Left over from when the world was young,' the Dwarf replied. 'After the war, we departed the world above and ventured down here. At first, our nation suffered great hardship, but adapting our skills, like mining and building, is what we Dwarves do best. We survived and the nation flourished and grew to what you see all around you,' Strotordar pointed up towards the glowing orb. 'It was while exploring and expanding our lands that we discovered a powerful device that became known as the Sun Engine. Buried long ago by some forgotten race, the old King found a way for our wizards and engineers to repair it. Since then, magic has helped keep it running. It continues to let us enjoy a normal a life as possible. And hopefully, will continue to do so for some time...' he paused, thinking. '...But should the magic begin to fail. Well, that would undoubtedly change everything. Way back then we had powerful sorcery you see, mostly all gone now, faded away with the deaths of the wizards. Not much use for the old ways anymore.'
