^^Holden Sathorn the Strong(young)^^

--- Dimitri ---

I blinked. "Wait... Sathorn? You're related to Oze the Greedless?"

He nodded. "He's my Father, Aye. Why?"

"He's been a friend... I didn't know he had Kin, nor that he was Royal, is all... now! Demos! Your Chief and Elder's Baubles?" I moved out of the way, hauling my chest, (containing the hammer and a few jewels I'd had Davila shape into nice things,) with me.

Davila grumbled about unfinished games, and set the Cambat Board carefully in the carriage, while Demos cleared his throat and nodded, bowing.

He cleared his throat, and then nodded, speaking in a decidedly more decisive voice. "The Chief and Council of The Canaanite River-Walkers have sent me, Demos Sanür, Geomancer of the second order, to give unto the Sathorn Royals these chests, and their contents. Beautiful jewels, mined in Canaan Forest, and retrieved, polished, and set into the purest metals we could find; so as to foster a continued peace amongst our peoples."

The King nodded as a few of his dwarves each picked up a box, taking them to the side and inspecting them for magical traps and such, then bringing the boxes to the King.

He blinked slowly, and then nodded. "Very interesting... to think you would find and give to a dwarf, a Star Stone of all stones..." he held up a small blue Opal, with a white center, that blazed when it came into contact with the light, proving it to not be a simple opal, as it looked without the firelight.

He nodded and set it down reverently. "You may tell your people your gifts are very well received... and I thank you personally for such a gift." He didn't even glance at the rest, instead stealing looks at the Star Stone.

The chests were taken away quickly, and he nodded. "Very interesting... today is not disappointing. It has brought me Giants and Star Stones!" He laughed.

I stepped back into his line of sight. "And, of course, Giant-Forged Jewels and a very specially forged Rune-Hammer." I said simply.

He blinked again. "A Rune-Hammer? You'd give such an Artifact to not just another Clan, but another Race?" He asked incredulously.

I opened the case, ignoring the guards, and hefted the hammer slowly, careful not to activate the Rune-Stone, a Stone of Power, emblazoned with the symbol for 'Strength' in Ancient Dwarfish.

It was heavy, even at my full strength, and so I set it down quickly, lest my arm begin to shake. "This hammer was forged by me, King Sathorn... this Rune is the Ancient Dwarfish word for 'Strength', and the Rune-Stone will give the wielder the strength needed to lift it."

I turned it slowly. "And this Rune is mine, my Maker's Mark. It reads 'Dimitri of the Fell', and marks this weapon as Authentic, if none of its other features do. It's well-balanced, with the end equipped with a weighted cap... a fine weapon, all in all."

A dwarf who'd been completely motionless and silent moved now, and entered the light.

"Ah! Holden, my Young Brother! Come, I wish to see what you think of this!" He pointed at the Rune-Hammer.

He approached the hammer, and gripped it with both hands, but didn't activate the Rune-Stone.

"That hammer is much too heavy to lift without the-" I started, just as he nearly roared, and hauled on the hammer. It lifted an inch off the ground, and then slammed back down, cracking the stones. "-Rune... Stone... I am very impressed, Sir Dwarf!" I grinned.

He grinned at the King. "Now that's a Hammer." He activated the Rune-Stone, and then hefted it slowly with one arm, his arm bulging mightily. He set it back down after a few seconds, and nodded. "Powerful, too..."

He set it next to the King, as well as the box of jewels.

The King flinched and slowly picked up a rough diamond, one of the few I had left, which was the size of his fist, but fit easily in my palm. "Is this what I think it is?" He asked slowly.

"Hmm? Yes, a Rough Diamond. I use it as an 8-sided Dice sometimes." I scratched my beard thoughtfully.

He set it down, and then picked up a sapphire of the same size and shape, and then an Emerald and a Ruby. "Where... did you mine these?" He asked.

"Giant Country. Well, I didn't mine them, I bought them, so I could sell them... but I figured the peaceful negotiations with a Dwarf King were enough that the other Giants wouldn't be too mad at me." I grinned.

"Oh they'll be furious, but if you bring them Dwarven and Elven things, they'll tolerate it." Davila laughed.

The King went through the chest slowly, as if documenting everything, and then grinned. "This... now this is a gift that I would be very happy to receive! Let us eat and drink together and celebrate our newfound friendships!" He nodded and clapped once.

The dwarves took the chest into that same side hall, and then the younger of the two old Dwarves set the Hammer next to the throne, the Rune proudly displayed.

I held out a hand to him. "I am Dimitri the Dwarf. And you?" I said in a rough translation of his language.

He hummed and nodded. "Holden the Strong, Chief of the Grey-Stones." He said in Giant's Tongue.

I grinned. "A fitting name, if any."

Suddenly large oak tables were carried in, piece-meal, and assembled expeditiously, followed by several hundred dwarves, all wearing ornaments in their beards, which I took to be a sign of status, because Holden had almost as many as the King, made of Bones and Silver, but the King was the only one with Gold.

I grinned and brought out another bottle of 1,220 Silver Wheat, presenting it to Holden. "If you'll drink with me, then, I'd be honored, Holden the Strong? Rarely have I met men of actual Honor in this realm, but you and your king seem to be some of them."

He looked at the King for permission, I supposed, and the King laughed, sitting with us at the head of the table. I pulled Davila into my lap, grinning, and she smiled, kissing my cheek.

Once the poison testing Mages had done their work, and said 'it's uhm... Safe?' we poured the drinks, and toasted our stone mugs to 'Friendship and Healthy Greed', which was a toast I liked.

Demos didn't take part in anything except the cider that had been put out for one of the children who'd showed up with one of the Chiefs, and I told them he was recovering from his addiction to alcohol to make sure they didn't think he was being rude. To my surprise, that actually made sense to them, and a few even apologized for attempting to make him drink, though only a few.

The dwarves held their Liquor far better than the Elves, though they still didn't manage to drink more than one cup, no matter how many of them tried, and instead had me taste their own concoction, a deep, earthy smelling beer that I found instantly very tasty, while Davila simply refused to try it, refusing on account that 'it smelled like dirt'.

When the dwarves looked highly offended, I was quick to laugh it off, and explain that she was pregnant, and so had odd taste-buds right now, attempting to smooth out the tension.

This led to an even more animated drinking session, and by the end of it, only Davila, me, the King, and Holden were even still fully awake, though one dwarf at the end of the table was still drinking, even half asleep.

We were led to a room, (our carriage locking itself down and Gruner flying after us,) that had a bed that was big enough for my father to easily spread out in, and left for the night, with a promise of a wake-up call in the morning.

I laid on the bed, and grinned, pulling Davila onto the sand-mattress. "That was fun, eh? Dwarves are kinda interesting! I can't wait to look at that Forge of theirs..."

She smiled. "It might be very interesting... I'm actually more interested in their new language... maybe we can trade their old language for a manuscript of their new one? Mutual benefit is often what makes stubborn people more pliable."

I nodded. "That sounds good... I'll see if we can negotiate something like that tomorrow..." I yawned.

"Sleep, Dimitri. I'll take First watch." She patted my head.

I pulled her down to cuddle. "Chimera'll take watch... sleep with me." I murmured.

She smiled as Chimera took a Wolf Form, and sat on the foot of the bed. "Fine, I'll sleep a bit-" she fell asleep immediately, and began snoring.

I laughed softly and kissed her forehead, pulling her to rest on top of me, which was better than the soft sand.

---

I slowly opened my eyes, and hummed at the dagger against my throat. "Dwarven Bronze... interesting... but useless." I punched the dwarf in the nose, and he slammed against the wall, dead. "Oops..." I hummed.

Davila sniffed in her sleep, and then woke up enough to grumble. "I smell brains and blood... why?"

"I killed a Dwarf." I said nonchalantly.

She groaned. "That might cause trouble."

"Maybe." I shrugged, and stood up, avoiding the puddle of blood, then changing my clothes from Merchant to War-Clad, exchanging leather for Scale-Mail, and my sword across my back.

She groaned again, but dressed in leather armor, then strapping her bow and quiver across her back.

"I can assure you that that isn't necessary." A calm, deep voice sounded from the doorway. Holden stood in it, rubbing his beard slowly.

I raised and eyebrow.

He nodded. "I recognize him... not one of mine. He's of the Iron-Sides, and that worries me... but you may bring your Feud against their chief, if you feel it necessary."

I shook my head. "I'm sure that we can settle this without the extinction of his clan."

Davila nodded in agreement. "Yes. One unsuccessful attack does not a Feud warrant." She said sternly.

He blinked. "Extinction? How do you Giants do Feuds?"

I raised the other eyebrow. "We send our warriors into the Arena until one clan has no more Warriors to send. Then the rest become Free Folk, servant-class."

He blinked again. "We settle Feud's with Money and Ore."

"Odd way of settling things..." I hummed. "Ah well. Hopefully it won't matter."

He nodded. "Aye. Hopefully it won't come to either of those..." he led us down the halls, after we disarmed, (though I left my armor on, and so did Davila,) and into the throne room.

He pounded on the door behind the throne, and the king walked out, dressed in armor, ten minutes later. "What gives, Brother...?" He grumbled.

"Hadley sent an assassin after the Giant." He said simply.

The King groaned and sat on his throne heavily. "Why can my people not put aside their hatred of all that is not Fire and Stone?" He asked the stone ceiling.

"Because your people have only those in their blood, and not the Sky of Freedom, nor the Calming Rivers, and not even the Roots of the Wood." I answered eloquently.

He grunted. "Hmph... not enough... brother, bring him before me. Now. Him and his entire clan. And wake the Dwarf Chiefs. This is a matter of the Honor of their King. I promised these travelers a safe bed, and my word has been defiled." He snarled, suddenly, (and understandably,) enraged.

Holden nodded and darted off with a deceptive speed, kicking a few of the chiefs and speaking harshly to them, then continuing out of the room as they woke more of each other.

I looked at the King. "I apologize for the trouble this will cause. I didn't mean for-"

He waved a hand. "No. This was mine fault, and mine fault alone. Should Feud be made, it will be made with me. Hadley is my Third Son, and he has always been... War-minded. I don't mind when we're actually at war, because then it's useful... but in rare times of Peace, he is... restless. Spiteful."

I nodded. "An addiction to Battle. Some of the Fell have suffered this. We allow them honorable Deaths."

He hummed. "Perhaps that would be best, yes. I have dreaded the thought, but now it's too far. To attack a guest... that's simple Heresy. The worst of all treasons, to accept someone into your home, and then attempt to kill them."

I nodded again. "So be it. I bear you no ill will, regardless of the outcome of this... debacle."

A woman entered the room, walking swiftly, and I gasped, involuntarily kneeling before the beautiful being. Despite her height, she was more beautiful than any elf I'd ever seen, and most Giants. Even Davila, upon seeing her, hummed in interest.

The woman gasped when she saw me kneel, and was brought short in front of me, and therefore what was no doubt her father's, (or grandfathers,) throne. I barely noticed her thin silken clothes.

"Really Tamara, you would bring yourself into my Throne Room in a time of crisis, and wearing your nightgown? Granddaughter..." he grumbled sternly.

She blushed, covering herself. "I-I didn't think it through!"

I draped my leather jacket around her shoulders, closing it to hide her body, and stepped back quickly, standing up.

The King nodded. "Thank you, Dimitri... now begone back to bed, Girl, there will be violence soon..."

"Yes! Uncle Hadley!! That's why I'm here! He was in my Halls, and bragging to his friends about how he'd killed a Giant! Is that true?!? I've never seen a Giant, did he really Kill it?!? I knew he was strong, but not as strong as grampa Holden, but-"

"I am not dead, and he did not draw steel on me. He lies. His man he sent to do the cowardly deed is dead." I said clearly.

She gasped, and covered her mouth. "I'm so sorry!!! I'd... I'd no notion you'd be so... civilized!!!"

I chuckled, and Davila snorted. "Cute one, we must get out of the way before blood is spilled. You do not want to be near Dimitri when this Battle Begins... he is Fell, and Civilized does not describe an angry Giant." Davila said softly, leading the smaller woman away and to the left of the throne, sitting on a large stone chair, meant for Giants.

The King grumbled. "Ah well... at least she's out of the main line..."

Holden threw open the doors, dragging a bigger, slightly bloodied dwarf by the hair. "He put up a hell of a fight, the blighted Hellion." He snarled, and spat blood off to the side.

Then he threw the man down in front of the King, and sat heavily on the steps to the Dias. The dwarven woman gasped. "Poor Uncle Hadley..." She said softly.

"Hadley, my son... I've heard that you are bragging of a kill that isn't yours to claim?" The King asked calmly in Dwarfish, though I could feel his rage like a woolen blanket over the room, making the air hot, and hard to breath.

The man snarled. "I hope my man wasn't executed for exterminating that piece of filth."

I snickered softly. "As if that tiny boy could kill me, a Fell Warriorborn." I responded, leaning against the wall easily.

He glanced at me, and then growled, his gaze full of nothing but hate and scorn. "Do not speak to me in mine own tongue, you savage Bastard son of a Whore!"

I blinked slowly, processing that language twice, to make sure he'd said what I thought. The Dwarf girl gasped and covered her mouth, confirming my translation.

When he opened his mouth again, my fist intercepted his words with all of my Giant might, shattering his teeth, and making a sound not unlike a Thunderclap, as the room and floor shook from the pure force of the blow.

He slumped, unconscious, but miraculously alive, and mostly unharmed. Davila whistled softly. "Hmm... hardy breed, Dwarves..."

"Indeed... he took that rather well." I said appreciatively.

Holden slapped the man awake, and then poured beer on his head to wake him when that didn't work.

The dwarf woke, spluttering and spitting up teeth, and growled at the King. "Coward!!! You let this filth strike your own flesh and blood?!? Royalty of the Dwarf People's? Bad enough you let him and his whore in-"

My fist again shook the room, cracking his jaw, but he stayed awake, just barely, this time.

"Call my kin a Whore again, and I will unman you." I said softly, patting his shoulder.

He spat blood in my face.

I nodded. "At least you're not a coward." I shrugged, and cleaned my face, stepping away.

The King sighed. "I will handle his punishment-"

"And you speak his tongue? Have you no shame?!?" The bloodied dwarf snarled again.

He slapped him across the skull with his sheathed sword, ramming him to the floor. "Interrupt your king again... and I will use the sharp end." He said calmly, staring down at the Dwarf.

The Dwarf laughed. "Finally some backbone!!! Is that all? A slap in the face? Broken teeth? For the highest Treason?!? Weakness at its lowest, you moronic, senile old-"

The King stabbed his thigh with a spear, pinning it to the stones, while the Dwarf girl ducked into Davila's chest to hide.

"You would insult your King? And for what? Hmm? Not killing his son? Is that weakness? Hmm? CHIEFS, DO I DISPLAY WEAKNESS, HOLDING A PROPER TRIAL FOR MINE OWN KIN?!?" He roared.

They seemed to take the question seriously, and only one of the thirty or so said 'aye', but shrugged and then amended his statement to 'only if you let him live afterwards', a sentiment carried throughout the group.

He nodded. "Indeed. I am sorry, Hadley, but your attempt on a Guest's life was Treason, and so you will die. Whether your death is honorable or not depends on you." He said severely. Then he sighed. "Though only I and Holden are your Equals in Battle... and we cannot kill you, as is written in our laws..."

I hummed. "He can fight me." I said simply. When they looked at me, I shrugged. "I'm the one he insulted. This way, we avoid a Blood Feud, and he gets an honorable death. Though I'd ask his clan also fight me, as to rip the weed out from the roots."

They turned to the Chiefs, and began deliberating, only to be interrupted when the bloodied Dwarf snatched the Rune-Hammer, and roared a defiant Death-Cry, charging me.