Book 3, Chapter 123

Forgefires

Standing in front of Forgefires Stronghold, Richard couldn’t help but admire the dwarven capital. In front of him was a mountain a thousand metres tall, a few hundred of which looked to be carved out by giant axemen. The slices were in picturesque disorder, each a building about ten metres tall with all sorts of windows, entrances, and ventilation paths. Giant, carved stones decorated the entire city, with a sculpture that was several dozen metres high towering over the entire city. This was the statue of the great founder of Forgefires, Toro Anvil, said to be a being approaching the legendary realm.

Far in the distance, the bottom parts of the mountains nearby looked like a giant beehive with dwarves entering and exiting from every hole like ants. Richard was rather moved at the sight; this was a race of workers, constantly excavating, building, and forging. Although their numbers weren’t incredibly large, centuries...