A Father’s Death and the Dwarves Who Forsook Their Nation – Part 06

Dodonno and Dodorono had interrupted without any sort of plan in mind. They had only one thought in their heads. They had to stop their uncle from going off the rails.

Their uncle was trying to declare a leadership transition using the Dark Dog clan. And because Dodorono had brought home the Progenitor’s Shield, it ended up strengthening his claim.

By now, they were already outsiders. No one might be willing to listen anymore. But their father had told them with his dying breath to take care of their mother and their home. And by home, he’d meant the Red Rat clan too.

At this moment, it wasn’t their uncle who was fit to lead the Red Rat clan.

“What are you doing here now?! You two abandoned our country! Did my brother tell you to come here?”

Their uncle was furious. To him, this was supposed to be the proudest moment of his life—his one grand stage—and they had come to ruin it. His reaction was only natural.

Dodonno and Dodorono stood in the center of the front yard, in a cleared space.

Behind them stood the various clans. In front of them were the elite warriors of the Red Rat clan, led by their uncle, and beyond those, stood the uncle himself and the Progenitor’s Shield.

The reactions from the Red Rat clan were mixed. Some looked baffled, others visibly disgusted, and some simply looked like they didn’t understand what was going on. The Red Rat clan was far from unified.

“Father… passed away just a moment ago,” said Dodonno.

“What?!” his uncle gasped.

The Dwarves stirred. Even though their clan leader had long been bedridden, the news of his death still carried a heavy impact.

“Ahem!” Their uncle cleared his throat, trying to silence the murmurs, but they didn’t completely die down. “I take it my brother appointed me as his successor,” he said triumphantly.

“No. Our father… Donovan, head of the Red Rat clan, didn’t name a successor.”

“What?”

“Which means we’re here of our own will.”

Dodonno glanced at Dodorono, who gave a firm nod.

Their father had told them to take care of their home, and while that could be taken to mean take care of the Red Rat clan, he didn’t say to take over as clan chief. If he had truly wanted that, he would have said so clearly.

“Uncle. My brother and I both believe that we need to come together now. With these repeated earthquakes, even the anvil at the mountain’s peak is about to slide down. Do you have any idea how much damage it’ll cause if it falls? Do we have a plan to stop it? Have evacuation procedures been disseminated? We, the Red Rat clan, must unite and face this crisis together.”

“Right,” Dodonno agreed. “Neither of us care about becoming clan chief. But we can’t just sit on our hands while danger looms.”

Their uncle stayed silent for a long moment.

“You morons!” he finally snapped. “Unite my foot! The whole point of a clan chief is to unite the people. You’re just throwing some nonsense to block my path to leadership. If you don’t care about being clan chief, then leave this country at once!”

“You’ve got it all wrong! If the Red Rat clan gives the order to the others, they’ll follow.”

“I know that! That’s exactly why I’m giving the order now, as the next clan chief. Besides, this country is safe. We’re under the protection of Lord Brigid himself!”

“No,” Dodonno tried to argue further, but Dodorono stepped forward and raised a hand to stop him.

“Uncle,” said Dodorono. He knelt on the spot. And to everyone’s disbelief, he prostrated himself fully, pressing his forehead to the ground. “I beg you! Please, just listen to us for now. Please! The Red Rat clan must take the lead in preparing for the earthquakes and securing the anvil.”

What set Dodorono apart from the other Dwarves was that he had met Brigid directly. He knew that their god was not a being who could be measured by Dwarven standards. That he didn’t care what happened to the Dwarves, and that he had already lost all hope in their kind.

The very chaos that now plagued them was caused by Brigid. His presence couldn’t possibly keep them safe.

“Dad may be dead, but he never believed this country was safe. He was trying to come to terms with Lord Brigid extinguishing the fire of the Progenitor’s Forge. He didn’t sit back and wait for death. He showed us to the very end that accepting change was necessary. He even welcomed us back into the country after we had left.”

Dodonno also dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead to the ground. “My brother speaks the truth! What the Red Rat clan must do now is create a new Ironforge outside the current one. Until we know for certain it’s safe, we must make the decision to abandon this place.”

Since both brothers had their heads on the ground, they couldn’t see it, but their uncle showed no sign of being moved. He leaned back arrogantly, wearing a tired look.

However, the mood in the surroundings had shifted, if only slightly.

“So Chief Donovan didn’t name a successor?”

There was confusion.

“Yeah, that anvil is scaring me.”

There was fear.

“But is it bad enough to leave?”

There was optimism.

“These outsiders are just chickening out.”

There was disdain.

“Dodorono!” Gilma jumped out from the crowd of the Golden Boar clan. She was followed by four human adventurers and two more humans trailing behind “Is your father… really gone?”

“Gilma.” Dodorono raised his head and nodded. Tears welled in Gilma’s eyes.

“What are you doing here?”

“I—”

“Because the Golden Boar clan took her into our custody.”

A massive old Dwarf stepped forward. Around him stood his fellow clan members. Waffa and her adventurers were present as well.

Then, the chiefs of the Bright Rooster clan and the Blue Dragon clan stepped forward, flanked by their kin.

“Wh-What is going on?” Dodorono said, bewildered by the situation.

“Screw you all!” their uncle howled, his face turning a deep red. “So you’re saying Donovan decided to submit to you lot? He abandoned the proud Red Rat clan? Fellow clansmen, can we really allow such disgrace?!”

“Wrong, you damn idiot. The Golden Boar clan doesn’t stoop to cheap tactics like that.”

“You never know. The Golden Boars will roll over for gold any day.”

The Golden Boar chief grunted, hit where it hurt most.

“It’s true we of the Bright Rooster clan made a deal with the Golden Boars. No denying that. But we’ve got no interest in the Red Rat clan’s succession dispute.”

“Chief!” Gilma cut in. “We should listen to what Dodorono and Dodonno are saying.”

“I get why you’re siding with him. But I don’t want any fighting here. For me, for the clan, your safety is the most important thing.”

Gilma fell silent. The uncle didn’t understand why this girl was so important to them, but if the Bright Rooster clan was staying out of the succession issue, then this was an opening.

“Then hand over Dodonno and Dodorono. This is a Red Rat clan matter. You there, go and seize those two! I was too soft on them just because they’re my nephews. I should never have let them roam free. To think they’d repay my mercy like this!”

The elite warriors of the Red Rat clan hesitated.

“Hurry up! This is an order from me, the head of the Red Rat clan!”

“The chief is supreme, using force to force people to obey. Would you drop that crap already? That kind of outdated mindset is exactly why this country’s turned into a pathetic mess, still clinging to Brigid even after she tossed you aside.”

Dodorono’s uncle had heard that voice before. In fact, he had heard it today. He shuddered.

“Y-You!”

The Dwarves stirred. A formation of warriors had arrived. It was the three clans that hadn’t shown up earlier: the Orange Ox, Yellow Tiger, and Black Goat clans. Strangely, the leaders of those clans had swollen cheeks and teary eyes. People wondered what was going on.

“Hikaru!”

“Lord Hikaru!”

Selyse, who had been watching over Gilma closely, perked up and tried to peer past the crowd.

At the head of the three groups stood a black-haired human boy, an adventurer.