[i]Meanwhile, just a day away down the road...[/i]

The dwarf never even noticed the thud on his roof when the elf landed softly atop it. She'd left her army behind in the foothills to scout out the dwarven forces and their stone fortress at the entrance to the mines of Mengsk. The fortress was just across the gap, and the drawbridge was lowering to let the station commander through. It was now or never. The Captain took a moment to measure the gap, took a step back, and made a running leap. Air rushed past her ears. She flew onto ledge with little more than a rattle. The groaning of the drawbrige masked her grunt of exertion as she pulled herself up, and she dropped behind the commander just as he passed. The escorts didn't seem to notice. The Captain waited for the drawbridge to begin rising before she darted through the entryway.

The guards at the entryway [i]did[/i] notice her. "You! Stop right there!" they cried. A smile formed on the Captain's face behind her mask. [i]Perfect.[/i] The elf stopped and turned on her heels to face them. One guard took a step toward her. "Who are you and what is your business here?" he demanded. The Captain rested a hand on one hip and studied him. He was tall for a dwarf, and a bit on the lean side. The power in his step and the way he gripped his hatchet told her he knew how to use his weapon. The other guard was trying to stifle the quiver in his boots. This dwarf standing before her had the courage to approach a threatening intruder without hesitation.

Yes, this was a guard she could trust. "I am here to see Lord Amorak," she said at last. The guard looked her over, then back at the raised drawbridge. "You shouldn't be here," he warned.

"You're right. I shouldn't."

The guard stared at her, and she stared right back. She could see the gears turning in his head as he considered how to handle this unexpected turn of events. He was smart to be hesitant, for while he didn't know the elf, he could tell that she was a skilled fighter, and any attempt to arrest her might cost him his life. After a few moments, he took another step forward. "Very well. But I will come with you."

The Captain nodded. "I was hoping you might. Lead the way." The guard motioned to his partner to take position behind her and took her into the heart of the fortress. The main court was a wide-open, yawning enclosure large enough to house giants, and hundreds of soldiers moved through it. A fountain sputtered in the very center, giving levity to what was otherwise a very gray and dull environment. She couldn't help admiring the creative ways the dwarven troops did up their hair and beards, as if they were trying to compensate in some small way for their spartan living conditions. Many of them stared back at her, no doubt with as much curiosity as she stared at them.

"Lord Amorak is through this door," the guard said, drawing her attention to the carved wooden door before them. She turned to the guard and looked him in the eye. "What is your name, soldier?" she asked him.
"Sir Fern."
The Captain dipped her head in acknowledgement. "Thank you, Sir Fern. I shan't forget you." With that, she ducked through the door and shut it.

At the opposite end of the room sat a vast, pompous dwarf at a desk. His fiery red hair was done up in a ridiculous cone, and his beard was split off into four spiral tendrils that ended with beautiful blue bows. His gold-flecked red coat, large as it was, struggled to cover his great bulk, settling for just touching the floor instead of trailing along it as designed.

The dwarf lifted his head. "What the hell?" he barked, recoiling at the six-foot-tall elf coming towards him. The Captain leaned away from the lamp hanging from the ceiling as she drew closer. "It's been a long time, Amorak." Lord Amorak's eyes narrowed, his fear turning into rage. "You! I thought I banned you from ever entering my presence again!"
"Nice to see you too. How's the wife and kids?"
Amorak pounded his fist on the table. "Don't you dare, elf. What do you want from me?"
"Your soul, of course! No, I'm joking. I want to know why you've allied yourself with the Warlock."

Lord Amorak leaned back (or tried to), a smug grin on his face. "What makes you think we have anything to do with the Warlock?"
The Captain sat on his desk and peered at him. "The regular shipments of iron to his tower kind of gave it away."
The dwarf recoiled further, uncomfortable with being so close to the towering elf. "And what business is it of yours? Arandur rules these parts, not you."
She crossed her legs and sighed. "Yes, and Arandur doesn't give a flying rut. When you decided to start doing business with my enemies, your business became my business."

The Captain leaned back on one hand to bring her face closer, so that the dwarf had a full view of her steel mask - and the steely silver eyes behind it. "Come on, Amorak. Get your head in the game. You're better than this. What do you stand to gain from striking deals with the Warlock? Has your race learned nothing from the last war?"

Lord Amorak rose to his feet - a real accomplishment for one so large, driven by such rage that it was the Captain's turn to recoil. "It is [i]because[/i] of the last war," he said, his voice taking on a quiet, menacing tone, "that we have willingly chosen to cast our lot with the north. Millions of us perished for your petty cause, and for what? You wouldn't understand our pain, our embarrassment, at having so wasted so many of our short, precious lives. You're just another one of those damn pampered elites. Get out of my fortress, and get out of our lives!"

The Captain rose to her feet and stared blankly at the wall behind him. The dwarves really had forgotten the events of the last war. They'd forgotten how the Fellmoran armies pummelled them into submission, how the elves fought and died to break through to heal their broken soldiers, how the humans rallied together for the postwar reconstruction efforts. The dwarves' memory of that...gone like smoke in the wind.

So the reports were true.

Without another word, she stormed out of his office for the front gates. She failed to notice an assassin hurl a stone at her head to knock her out.