The Flame’s Whereabouts – Part 02

What were the Dwarves doing? They probably thought that what they were doing wasn’t the correct answer, but gave in to the very strong temptation of possibly being granted exclusive access to the Progenitor’s Forge. There was likely some competitive spirit involved too, the drive to outdo the other clans.

With all that in mind, it actually seemed smart for the Golden Boar clan to move their amp to the foot of the mountain. Hikaru had never known until now why they had left, but it was probably due to a misinterpretation of the phrase, “Gold is fair to behold, but gold is gold, not art. Leave your home, that you may gain the seed.” They believed the gold referred to the Golden Boar clan itself, so they left home—moved to the campsite.

Since Brigid had sent this message to all the Dwarves, there was no reason it should be directed solely at the Golden Boar clan. But Hikaru pushed that thought aside. Frankly, at this point, it didn’t matter much to him.

“Donovan, something’s off about this,” Hikaru said. “Brigid says he’ll choose only one clan, but doesn’t that mean he’s given up on the Dwarves as a whole?”

“H-Hikaru!”

“It’s fine, Dodonno.” It was a bold statement, but Donovan didn’t get angry or surprised. He was just calm. “Perhaps you’re right. Lord Brigid may have grown tired of the Dwarves. If that’s the case, then all the more reason for us to stay here.”

“Why? Because of the Progenitor’s Forge?”

Donovan looked at Hikaru. “Ah, to be young.”

Young? Hikaru hadn’t expected that word.

“You search for meaning and reason in everything. That’s youth, but it’s also dangerous. We may have lived here too long. If we Dwarves are to be abandoned by Lord Brigid, then we might as well perish here.”

Hikaru couldn’t wrap his head around it. He even wondered if Donovan was only saying this because he didn’t have much time left. But he couldn’t say that, not with Dodorono and Dodonno here.

Convincing him might be impossible. Back when Paula’s village of Cotton-elka was threatened by a dungeon, Hikaru had persuaded the villagers to evacuate. By desperately convincing them, he managed to change their minds. But with Donovan, he didn’t feel like his persuasion was having any effect at all.

The people of Cotton-elka had an attachment to their tomato fields. The Dwarves had Brigid and the Progenitor’s Forge. There was a difference. If the tomato fields had been alive, if they could speak, begging the villagers not to leave, they might not have evacuated either.

“Yes, I’m young, and I try to find meaning and reason in everything. If a friend was about to do something that didn’t make sense, I would stop them one hundred percent.”

“Hmm… that’s good.”

“Does that mean I’m free to leave the country with Dodorono and Dodonno?”

“Yes.”

“P-Pops!”

“You can’t be serious!”

“Dodonno, Dodorono,” Donovan said calmly. “You don’t need to go along with my whims. I don’t think the Dwarves will fall so easily, but still.”

“I think you’re in serious danger,” Hikaru said.

“In that case, knock yourself out.”

The way he said that irritated Hikaru. His sons had risked their lives to bring back what might be the Progenitor’s Shield, only for their uncle to take it and lock them up. And now their father just told them to knock themselves out?

Was it because his time was almost up and he no longer cared? Or did he still hold a grudge because his sons left Ironforge without a second thought, despite being the heirs of the Red Rat clan?

“All right, then. Let’s go, Dodorono, Dodonno.”

Dodorono nodded and walked out.

“I’m staying here,” Dodonno said.

Hikaru opened his mouth, but said nothing. He left them both and stepped outside.

There was still no sign of anyone around the manor. But outside the grounds, there was turbulence in the air. A scream rose somewhere, and someone was running.

“My brother probably wants to be there for our father’s last moments,” Dodorono said.

Hikaru thought the same. But it would be meaningless if they ended up losing their lives for it as well. How badly he wanted to say that, but he held his tongue.

“Mom’s not doing well either. She’s worn out from taking care of him.”

“Now that you mention it, I didn’t see her.”

“She’s upstairs, sleeping. The earthquake really shook her, but we managed to calm her down. She was so happy when he came home. Taking care of Dad alone must’ve been exhausting.”

So that was why Dodonno stayed.

I get it, but still.

Hikaru believed that getting the whole family down the mountain should come first.

“What clan are you from?!” someone barked.

Startled, Hikaru tried to duck into cover—he wasn’t using Stealth at the moment—but the voice wasn’t meant for them.

Further down the road, past a bend, two small squads of about ten Dwarves each were facing off.

All of them were stocky, armored men with bodies like beer barrels. Hikaru couldn’t tell which clan they were from at a glance.

“Hmm. That’s Sujara from the Black Goat clan. That little runt’s got a mouth on him now,” Dodorono said. “Hikaru. Dealing with those jittery bunch will just be a waste of time. Let’s keep moving.”

“No, wait a second.”

“Hmm?”

Hikaru listened closely.

“We’re from the Green Rabbit clan. What, you Black Goat idiots can’t even recognize our faces anymore?”

“Well, well. The Green Rabbits, huh?”

“What’s with that tone? If you’ve got something to say, spit it out.”

“Don’t tell me you don’t know. You Green Rabbits are considered traitors now.”

Hikaru and Dodorono exchanged a glance.

“Watch your mouth, Sujara. Who decided we were traitors, huh?!”

The Green Rabbits’ anger flared.

“Looks like they didn’t bother telling the scrubs. You lot were hiding the Progenitor’s Gauntlets, weren’t you? Well, now it’s out in the open.”

“What?!”

“Our captain went to check on the Progenitor’s Forge a little while ago and found a Green Rabbit smith just standing there, stunned. And guess what he was clutching like his life depended on it? The Progenitor’s Gauntlets! You’ve got no way out of this, Green Rabbits!”

“N-No way. Th-That can’t be.”

“Men, seize them! Don’t you resist, you traitors!”

As the Dwarves of the Black Goat clan charged, the Green Rabbit clan panicked too much to even fight back properly.

“The Green Rabbits had the Progenitor’s Gauntlets?” Even Dodorono looked stunned.

“For now, I think we’ve got the gist of what’s going on. Let’s get out of here,” Hikaru said, giving Dodorono a gentle push as he quietly activated Stealth. That should keep them from being spotted. “Dodorono, the item I brought was the Progenitor’s Shield, right? But they were talking about the Progenitor’s Gauntlets. Are there many of these Progenitor items?”

“N-No. The Progenitor’s Gauntlets were lost, just like the Progenitor’s Shield. The vault only ever had the Progenitor’s Helm and Progenitor’s Breastplate. I never imagined two would resurface at the same time.”

“Are there just four in total?”

“No, there’s also a weapon. Something called the Progenitor’s Axe.”

“You think maybe one of the other clans is hiding it too?”

“Highly unlikely. Weapons are on another level. If a Dwarf had something like that, there’s no way they’d keep it secret. In all of Ironforge’s long history, there’s never been even a whisper about it. That says a lot.”

“I see.”

Dwarven psychology like that was beyond Hikaru’s grasp.

“Still, even having four of them show up is an incredible event,” Dodorono said. “If only it hadn’t been during all this chaos.”

They arrived at the central plaza. There, the private armies of each clan had gathered and were locked in a tense standoff. Each force had brought about a hundred soldiers. It was easy to tell them apart thanks to the banners they flew.

With the cavern containing the Progenitor’s Forge at their backs, the clans of Black Goat, Orange Ox, and Yellow Tiger had formed a defensive line.

The Blue Dragon clan stood alone but had more than 200 troops.

Then there were the Green Rabbit and Indigo Snake clans. The former were shouting, demanding the release of their comrades being held inside the great cavern.

The three sides were glaring daggers at each other.

Dodorono stared in disbelief, his lips trembling. “Wh-What the hell is this? Dwarves… glaring at each other with blades in hand, instead of hammers or tongs.”

Though he had already left his life as a smith behind, seeing so many Dwarves abandoning the forge for petty factionalism clearly broke his heart.

Hikaru looked up. High above them, the enormous anvil hung at a dangerous angle on the mountain’s peak, ready to fall at any moment.

Were these Dwarves complete idiots? They’d gathered in force to fight right below that thing. If they just looked up, they’d see it hanging there. But no. They only had eyes for the enemies right in front of them.

“Let’s go, Hikaru. I don’t want to see my people like this any longer.”

“The Green Rabbit clan has gone and done something outrageous!” A harsh, elderly Dwarf’s voice echoed through a loudspeaker shaped like a massive megaphone. It belonged to the Black Goat clan’s leader, clad in black armor. “Not only did they secretly keep hold of the Progenitor’s Gauntlets, one of our national treasures, but they even tried to steal the flame of the Progenitor’s Forge!”

Steal the flame of the Progenitor’s Forge. What the hell did that mean?

“Those Black Goat fools are spouting lies!” The voice that answered came from the leader of the Green Rabbit clan, clad in green armor. “They not only stole the gauntlets of our ancestors but defiled the sacred Progenitor’s Forge with force. On top of that, they also extinguished its flames!”

The words extinguished its flames struck the gathered Dwarves like a thunderclap.

“Hey, what the hell is that about?”

“How should I know? I doubt even the clan leaders get it.”

“There was some smith earlier raising hell about the flame going out, remember? Which clan was he from?”

“The Black Goat clan just happened to hear about it first, that’s all. They’re always quick when it comes to stuff like this.”

Of the three major factions, only the Blue Dragon clan started withdrawing with their private soldiers in tow.

“We only want the truth. If you all want to bicker, do it without us.”