Blue Sty

Chapter XIV

"Makes sense to me," I said. Icefire, for all of his flaws, was a pretty well-spoken man, and incredibly intelligent. He knew how to get what he wanted. Basil always seemed to be lost in his own world. Even though he said he always had a plan, he was never truly in control. Not like Icefire was. Or else he'd be stopping Icefire now, like he always said he was going to do.

As we reached the peak of the snow-capped mountain, Icefire and I led our washas into the pitch-black mouth of a cave. The rest of the procession remained outside, unable to enter the narrow mouth that led to Wallala. At first, the light from the suns outside lit up the inside of the cave, lighting up the stone stairs that led us down, but once that was gone, it was like we were just turning in circles. A few times, I had to call out to Icefire just to make sure that he was still there. Soon, the dark night of the cave transformed into the red glow of underground lanterns. We broke out onto a long bridge that stretched across open air. Rails connected the various mines to one another, with dwarfs riding in minecarts across, sailing between the various platforms of land. Some held hammers, some held pickaxes. But all were short, bearded, and men. It was truly a beautiful sight. Looking at Icefire, I knew he felt the same. But he had work to do.

"Dwarfs of Wallala, I do not come to hurt you!" exclaimed Icefire. "I am Willius Icefire, and I come to return magic to the lands of Aramus."

The dwarfs that passed by on their minecarts looked at him curiously, but didn't stop. In fact, the closer I looked at them, I realized that they looked desolate, hurt, abandoned.

"Send a dwarf here to speak with me, now!" screamed Icefire, realizing exactly what I had.

Slowly, a minecart approached the platform me and Icefire stood on. Out of it hopped a short bearded dwarf. Well, they were all short and bearded, so that didn't really matter. He pulled a mask off of his mouth. Looking up at Icefire on the back of a washa from the height of a dwarf was a serious feat, and looked like it took some serious neck strain. Yet his eyes were filled with pain.

"You come at the wrong time, sir," said the dwarf. Despite his stature, it was the deepest voice I had ever heard. "Beginning a day or two ago, our mines started giving no returns. None of the magical crystals we seek are appearing. No treal. No yaka. It is all disappearing."

"Terrible," murmured Icefire. "Is this throughout all of Wallala?"

"Yes, sir," said the dwarf. He seemed to grow sadder the more he talked. "There is no magic here in Wallala. It is quickly fading away. We fear that our world is dying."

"Impossible," said Icefire. Usually he was calm and collected, but looking at his face, he seemed lost and confused. That made me feel lost and confused. No magic in Wallala? What could that mean? How could that have happened? It sent a wave of thoughts in my brain that I wasn't sure I wanted to think about right now, especially with how good I had been feeling over the past few days. "We came to ask your help with a task. We wish to strengthen the world of Aramus, and we require your magic. But, as I understand, you have none?"

"There is no magic here in Wallala," said the dwarf. "You will find nothing from our people."

Icefire looked completely flabbergasted. "This is unprecedented," he said.

"Unprecedented, yes," said the dwarf. "But it is happening."

"How?" asked Icefire.

"I don't know," the dwarf replied. "Magic is slowly draining from the world of Aramus. I will not be surprised if soon, this world is lost. I know it is not what you want to here."

"Thank you for our help. We're running low on time." Suddenly stressed, Icefire pulled his washa around to climb back up the stairs. "Come on, Katto. Lozhor needs to know of this."