Spring Break
Chapter 20
By Rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

We all start flying back through the tunnels towards the Grand Cave. After a few moments we appear in the plaza area. When we appear and disconnect from the wizards; all of the dwarves gather around us to cheer and clap for our success.

The dragons glide above us in the air. We start walking back to the Grand Cave. We see the four Kings and Queens on the stage together talking to each other. The dragons land on the stage as we step up to the stage as well.

"All is well, Kings. Marcon's brother, Ryujin, has been delivered safely to the Rainbow Falls."

"The brethren there will tend to him until his eyes and strength return to him."

"That is good news. You have done well, Croin, Agaroan and Blacklaw."

"Thank you, King Tierion."

"Thank you very much for the assist and the rescue."

"You're welcome, King Thranton."

The three dragons smile proudly that honor and respect has been given to them.

"I have three tubs of sea-Cantrell waiting for you by the Golden Emerald."

"Thank you, King Thranton. That is greatly appreciated." They spread their wings and fly from the stage. They fly through the Grand Cave and out into main plaza area. Some of the dwarves cheer as they fly by. They bank right and fly to the Golden Emerald Inn.

Everyone else gathers around the Kings and Queens on the stage.

"Welcome back, everyone, excellent job, well done."

"Thank you my Kings. However, we uncovered a new mystery on the bottom of The Abyss."

"What is it, Sir Trenton?"

"The wizards discovered seven bodies down there. They are quite old. There are three men and four dwarves."

"Did you get them recorded, Renard?"

"We did, King Tierion. We'll need to show the images to you in private for right now."

"What do you say, King Thranton?"

"Hmm... Yes I would like to know before we proceed with the meeting. Those bodies might answer some questions that are forgotten."

"Yes, you're right. I would like to know who is lying down there."

"Let's go to my council chamber. It should take about a mark to review the images."

"What about the bodies? Do we leave them down there for now?"

"We'll determine that after we see the images."

"Commanders, Castle Lords, Fortress Lords, wizards, sorceresses, ambassadors and Governors, we need to do a top level meeting before we proceed."

Everybody looks at each other. They begin to agree with each other.

"Yes, we must look into this while it is still fresh before us."

Everyone nod their heads in agreement. Then they each acknowledge by saying, "Yes."

The Kings turn around and face the others on the stage.

"We're going to need to do an emergency meeting. We'll be back in about one-half to three-quarter of a mark."

"Don't worry, Kings, we'll keep ourselves occupied with their hospitality."

"Yes, please be our honored guests here. If I remember from my ambassadors yesterday, they requested to have a tour set up for the Outside Helpers. I have that arranged for you already. You can get part of it done while we have this meeting."

Sir Halgren steps forward, "Thank you, King Thranton. We'll take quick refreshment at the Inn. We will probably need some guards to seek out your Builders."

"Yes, that is right, Sir Knight." King Thranton turns and faces his guards on the stage. "Guards, you have the honor of escorting the Outside Helpers to our Builders. Have them brought back here at the top of the next mark when we resume the Regional Meeting. Don't worry about our secrets. I'm sure they know more than we do on certain issues. Plus, they won't tell us everything they know. They will be just giving us ideas to make life a little better."

The guards stand at attention. "Yes, my Lord. We'll see to their safe return here."

"Thank you."

The six of us follow two guards while the other two take the rear.

"Let's stop by the tables that King Thranton has set up so you can grab a quick bite. Come, this way, Outside Helpers and escorts."

"Thank you."

They lead us to the Golden Emerald Inn where the Fortress Ladies are staying. We are greeted by several dwarf hostesses when we step inside the main lobby.

"Welcome to the Golden Emerald Inn."

"Thank you, we are here to partake of the refreshment that King Thranton has set up for us after the rescue of the ten Fortress Ladies."

"Ah yes. We have the tables set up in the Emerald Garden. Please follow us."

"Don't worry about the dragons; they have been taken care of. They have already eaten. They are resting right now near some smaller caves. They'll be ready for the meeting later. Oh, here are the light crystals from the top of their heads." She hands three light crystals to Sir Halgren. “We were able to remove them while they ate.”

"Thank you my lady, and thank you for your hospitality." Sir Halgren puts them into his vest pocket. I will give these back to the wizards later.

After walking through the hallways, the hostess opens some double doors that lead to a beautiful garden. We see small pools of water with green crystals glowing in the water. There are green crystals hidden behind some rocks allowing the light to focus upwards. I see many tables and chairs arranged in the grotto area that you would expect to find at an outdoor restaurant on Earth. The whole atmosphere is beautiful as you see the green lights play off the stalagmites and stalactites in the area. They also placed a few yellow crystals in select locations to help with the visual effects and not make it too dark.

In two corners of the grotto, there are two pools of water with stalagmites rising out of the water by a hand width. Behind the pools are several groupings of different colored crystals lit up surrounded with other smaller stalactites and stalagmites.

Soon we see the long tables set up for us. We see others there from the other regions as well.

We grab a plate and start picking up food from the platters. It is an assortment of different mushrooms, fruits from the Upper Kingdoms, and vegetables and cooked fish served cold. Some of us pick up some cups of fruit juices while others pick some ale.

One of the dwarf guards speaks up, "Don't worry about us, guests. We'll get our meal later."

All six of us eat our plates relatively quick and drink our drinks. We did this to have more time for the tour. Besides we missed having the noon repast on Gran Mara Island. Once done we stack our plates and cups on a nearby table. We leave the Emerald Garden and go back through the main lobby.

"Thank you very much, ladies. That helped us regain our energy."

"Thank you for being here. It is an honor to welcome the Outside Helpers to our Under Kingdom. Come again when you get the chance."

"Thank you for helping to find our ten Fortress Ladies."

"You’re welcome."

We smile at each other and give a quick bow with our heads. Our guards lead us out of the Golden Emerald Inn. We walk down several streets and come to a stop.

"We need to know what your name is and your specialties are, it will help us to decide where to take you."

"My name is Evrat. My specialty is weapons and armaments."

"My name is Ariella. My specialty is surgery to help the body heal after serious injuries."

"My name is Richard. My specialty is computers and security. I also have a good understanding of math and science."

"Thank you for telling us that. We'll do a visit to the healing center first. Then after the Regional Meeting we'll visit our Builders and Designers if we have time."

"That sounds fine, guards."

After walking down a street we turn left and see a building with people coming in with injuries and walking out bandaged up. Most of them are in an arm sling or with crutches.

The guards approach one of the ladies who are outside directing the patients. Ariella steps forward to be near the front. Her escort, Sir Regis, picks up the pace to keep beside her. Evrat and I stay behind and out of the way.

The dwarf aide sees us as we approach.

"Can I help you, guards? Who are these people with you?"

"Yes you can, my lady. These three people that you do not recognize are the Outside Helpers for our Region."

Sir Regis speaks up, "This is Ariella, Outside Helper for Ringol Kingdom. Her specialty is in surgery on the body."

Sir Hegarth speaks next, "This is Evrat, Outside Helper for Eirecann Kingdom. His specialty is in weapons and armament."

Then Sir Halgren speaks last, "This is Richard, Outside Helper for Thryson Kingdom. His specialty is in computers and security."

We each bow our heads in turn as we are introduced by our escorts. The lady smiles as she nods her head as well.

"We are trying to give a quick tour for the Outside Helpers. With their ideas and insight they can help us to make life a little better when they are not here. They only come here when all of Twainor needs them."

"Yes, I heard about the Outside Helpers coming here. I'm pleased to meet you. Didn't one of you say that you are in the healing service?"

"That would be me, my lady. My name is Ariella. I'm a surgeon on my world. I can help with the serious injuries like broken bones and damaged organs. I have already shown some of my skill to the healers, wizards and sorceresses in Ringol Kingdom already. I can do the same for you."

"Yes, that is greatly appreciated. I know time is short for you, but anything will be helpful to make our wounded more comfortable and help them to heal faster."

"I know your equipment won't be much, but I'll do my best to help you. Will you allow Sir Regis to follow me? He can record what we are talking about, and then it can be shared with others at a later date."

"That is a good idea, Ariella. Please let me introduce one of our healers to you."

We all walk inside the building. The guards remain outside to keep anybody away who wants to meet the Outside Helpers. They only allow the ones who are sick or injured to come inside to receive help.

"Morani, can you come here please? There are some people who wish to meet you."

"I'll be there in a moment. I'm wrapping up this leg bandage."

We look around in the waiting area and see several dwarves, men, women and children waiting patiently to be attended to.

As we wait, I feel some air movement in the room. Where is that air flow coming from? I give a quick look with the eyes and don't see where the air is coming from yet. A dwarf lady comes out to greet us.

"Hello my name is Morani. What can I do for you? I hope you are not sick or anything?" She smiles.

"Well we just had some food from the Golden Emerald not too long ago. The food has not disagreed with us yet." Sir Hegarth smiles back.

"I surely hope not. That is one of the best Inns near the Grand Cave." She smiles back as well.

"Morani, these are the Outside Helpers for our Region. One of them is in the health service. She has come by to offer some ideas and pointers to help us take care of the sick and wounded." The assistant walks back outside to help people who need the services of the healer.

"I am pleased to meet you, Miss Morani. My name is Ariella; I am the Outside Helper for Ringol Kingdom. I am a surgeon on my home world. I have already showed them some techniques to the wizards and sorceresses in Ringol Kingdom. They have it recorded for future reference."

"That's good to hear. These other two gentlemen must be the other Outside Helpers. What is your name and specialty?"

"My name is Evrat. My specialty is in weapons and armament. However, we use our weapons to disarm the enemy and not kill. We have used our knowledge to help saves lives as well."

"I'm glad to hear that."

”My name is Richard. My specialty is computers and security. I also have a good understanding of mathematics and science. I have taken classes in discovering how things work and why. This includes physics, biology - which is the study of living things, geology - study of the land and chemistry - study of how things react. Some of these ideas overlap what Evrat and Ariella know in their specialties." I smile at everyone in confidence.

Evrat, Ariella and the escorts look at me a little differently with some respect.

Sir Halgren jumps in when he sees their expressions, "Remember what he said on the stage yesterday? He just likes to learn all he can. It is important to know your world."

"You're right, Sir Halgren. Richard is a great resource to have. I would like to talk to you later about the fight we had this morning?"

"We need to get on with this tour, Sir Hegarth and Evrat. We're wasting time here. But, I'll say this to answer your question. I have no problem with that, I'll explain that later when we have some more time."

Evrat gives me a smile and puts his hand on my shoulder. I smile back.

Morani leads Ariella and Sir Regis down the hallways. Sir Regis takes out a crystal sphere and begins to record the conversations and images between Morani and Ariella.

"Most of the injuries that we get here are the typical scrapes and bruises. For that we wash with soap and water; then we apply an ointment and wrap up the wound. They come by periodically so that we can check on the progress."

"That's good so far. Once the scab hardens on the skin; you just need to be careful with it until the skin is rebuilt underneath. You can use the ointment to promote the healing faster."

Morani smiles, "Yes, that is right."

"Do you get some serious injuries, once in awhile?"

"We do, Ariella. We have one here who just arrived. We are trying to make him comfortable as possible until a wizard comes. He is expected to be here soon."

"Can I have a look until he comes?"

"That would be of help. Thank you."

Morani leads them down the hallway past several doors. You can hear some moans from children and adults as they are tended by other healers and aides.

~~~000~~~

I look around the room some more and feel that draft in the room again. Where is that air flow coming from?

"What are you looking for, Richard?"

"I feel a steady breeze in here to help keep this room cool."

"Yes, I feel it too. They are probably doing that to keep everybody comfortable in this waiting room."

"Let's see if we can find it."

We look around the room and don't see it yet. We look up towards the ceiling. We then see an opening in the corner and something is spinning there.

"That has to be it. It is drawing the air through that opening."

"Yes, but what is that spinning Richard?"

I look at them and smile, "It's a fan blade. There should be a support strut or a box behind it to support the shaft and blade."

"I see that look on you again Richard. You're getting another idea."

The others look at me and wonder what I am going to say next. Evrat begins to smile and begins chuckling.

"I am, Sir Halgren. They're half way there to create a device to keep cool during the hot days of summer."

"And that includes the sea dragons?"

"That is right, Evrat." I smile back to them.

"What else does it need Richard?"

"It needs a water source; I can show them how to make a pump wheel if they had not made one yet. Then with two tubes and a small reservoir you have the device. The other end will be capped off with small pin holes that will emit a fine spray mist."

"Then the fan blade will blow it in the air to cool the air off or keep a sea dragon's skin cool and moist."

"That is right, Sir Hegarth."

"Isn't there another way to create cool air Richard? I would think that would be a mess as the water collects on the floor."

"That's true about the water on the floor. That set up would work for outdoors under a tent for example. There are a couple of more ways to cool off air. One is to take the fan blade and blow the air over ice. You need to keep the ice in a pan or bucket. The ice will melt. But, then you could use magic to keep the ice from melting."

"The other takes electric power. That will take several lessons in gasses, liquids, evaporation and compression to do that."

"I know what you are talking about there, Richard. But the idea of the pump wheel will be a good start for them."

"The funny thing now is this. That fan blade gives me two more ideas for Ariella and her operating room."

We all laugh at the ideas as we remembered what we talked about the other day in Angathorn Kingdom.

~~~000~~~

Morani opens a door and all three of them walk inside and see a dwarf laid up on the bed. The room is well lit with the light crystals. The dwarf's leg is raised with some pillows underneath. It is heavily wrapped with splints. The dwarf wakes up when he hears people speaking in the room.

"What happened to you?"

"Unnnn...I was mining for some metal ore. A boulder got loose and rolled onto my leg before I had a chance to escape." The dwarf relaxes to catch his breath again.

"They were able to get the boulder off his leg quickly. They put splints on it and rushed him here. The wizard will be here soon, Traykes."

The young man nods his head.

"Let's undo the bandage; I want to see the severity. Hopefully the bone needs to be reset."

"Will we need to put him to sleep?"

"That would be best. That way he won't feel the sudden pain as it is being reset."

"I understand that, from what I experienced here in this health center."

Soon the doors open again. They see a wizard come in.

"Ariella, you're here! Thank the Maker. I take it you’re here to help?"

"Hello Wizard Hedyn! We were taking a short tour until the top of the mark. That's when we'll be needed back at the Grand Cave to resume the Regional Meeting. The guards directed us here. Then Morani mentioned this patient a moment ago."

"Good, let's get busy and help this dwarf walk again."

Ariella looks at Morani, "Do you have a separate room that can be used as an operating room?"

"Perhaps; why a separate room, Ariella?"

"It allows you to minimize the number of rooms you can control by keeping it clean as possible. Plus, it will help you keep track of your supplies that you will need."

"Is this true, Hedyn?"

"It is true, Morani. She has helped us tremendously already. She has helped us to get better organized. We have some special surgeries already recorded for future reference. The Outside Helper from Antarte, his name is Chls. He has found us some more herbs for certain situations."

"Oh, thank the Maker. Yes, I do have a room that we can start with. Can our patient hold while we get it ready?"

"Let's unwrap this bandage carefully and see what the condition is. Let's put another towel underneath it."

Morani carefully lifts the leg while Ariella places the folded towel under the lower leg to keep the pillows clean. Ariella and Hedyn carefully remove the bandage while keeping it in the splint. Once the bloodied bandages are removed, they see a white bone protruding through the skin below the knee a little bit.

"Hedyn, please use your crystal sphere. We need to see under the skin to see if the break is clean."

"Yes, Ariella." Hedyn takes out the crystal sphere and holds it in his left hand. He places his right palm above it. He recites a spell and a narrow, long misty balloon appears at the knee. He moves the crystal sphere down the length of the lower leg to the ankle.

"That should do it."

"Yes, Ariella. Now let's replay it and see what's happening."

He recites another spell to replay the image scan of the leg. They see it is a relative clean break with two small pieces of bone that are lodged in the muscle.

"That's incredible, Hedyn. I will definitely need to learn that spell."

"That is no problem. When we get some free time here, I'll teach you the spell to control the scan."

"Thank you Hedyn. I take it that we need to remove those two bone
pieces before we reset the leg, Ariella?"

"Yes, that is right Morani, for pieces that small. I'm sure you've had bones with multiple fractures in many pieces."

"Yes we have, most of the time he ends up losing the limb."

"I understand that frustration all too well. Sometimes we’re fortunate to do a bone replacement with pieces of non-corroding and non-magnetic metal rods."

Morani and Hedyn nod their heads slowly with a bit of a grim face.

“What types of artificial limbs have you used when there is a loss of limb?”

“Most of the times it is wooden. But the problem is creating the cup that fits the end of the limb.”

“Hmm... I think I can help you there. Once the limb is healed, make a clay form around the end. Once it is set, remove it from the limb and pour in some hot metal into the cup. Once it is cooled you have a mold that can be dipped into some hot rubber. Take it out and let it cool to create a skin form.”

“I see, then it is a custom fit to his limb, the smiths can build around that what is needed such as extra padding for comfort.”

“That's right, Morani.”

“I like that idea a lot, Ariella. That solves a lot of problems. Then from that we can make some better limbs as the understanding gets better.”

"I agree, Wizard Hedyn. Sometimes this is where we need magic on my world. It would be nice to reassemble the broken bones and blood vessels with magic. It would solve a lot of problems."

"Hmm... I think you have something there, Ariella. There is a magic spell or two that we use. One is the mending spell for torn fabrics. The other is at a work site. If a wall is being erected and it falls down on somebody. The wizard, who is on site, recites the spell to rebuild the wall to retrieve the injured worker in time."

"Yes, we use those all the time in the mines."

"We have tried using the reassemble spell on the broken body and we always get mixed results. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't because of the complexity of the body."

"I think that is your answer. The body is more complex than repairing a torn shirt for example."

"You're right, Ariella. The torn shirt is right in front of us and we know how it should go back together. For the body, we need to know more about it before we can start expanding the use of the reassemble spell."

"That would be wise. You need to improve your knowledge of the body. That will take time. Fortunately, what has been shown me to so far, is far more than I expected."

"Thank you, Ariella." They both smile and respond at the same time.

"You’re welcome, Morani and Hedyn; I did see some blood vessels that will need some mending with some fine threads, they are not major blood vessels, fortunately. The main muscle is torn there and there. You just need to tuck it back in place. It will heal itself in time," she points to the image. "Fortunately the tendon is not torn where the muscle is attached to the bone."

"How long do the threads stay before they are removed?"

"Well... this is where it's get interesting. On my world, since we don't have magic. We found a way to design a thread that will dissolve in a twenty day period. The other way is to try and use your reassemble spell on a single blood vessel."

"That can work, Ariella. It will take some great control to create the healing and sealing spells that small."

"The other advantage is this, on the work site. If a serious injury happens, have someone there to put a sealing spell on it to close the blood vessels. That will prevent further blood loss as much as possible until each blood vessel is joined back together in the operating room. Care and caution must be used if the heart and lungs are damaged."

"That's a good idea. How long should his rest be?"

"Traykes will need to stay off his leg for about two moons with a splint or cast and crutches. Then the stitches or the spells can be removed at that time. But, yes, he should be able to walk again." Ariella smiles to them.

They all smile and say, "Thank you, Maker."

Ariella looks at Traykes with a serious face, "If you feel any pain or see your leg showing a dark blood spot under the skin, come here. That means a blood vessel is leaking inside your leg. They need to mend it again. Don't be foolishly brave, or you might lose your foot if you wait too long."

He responds slowly when she changes her face to a stern look, "Yes ma’am."

"The next rule for you, my young man, that muscle has been weakened. You need to slowly rebuild its strength by doing stretches before you put your full body into it again." She changes from a stern look to a happy face with a smile, "especially when you tackle your friend in the next game of tag."

"Yes, ma’am!" He smiles at the joke and tries hard to keep from laughing.

Morani and Hedyn giggle and chuckle at the joke as well.

"Ariella, how long does it take to do this type of operation?"

"Not too long, probably about half a mark or less. Of course, it depends on the severity in each case."

"Of course; I know you're due back at the Grand Cave soon."

"I can come back and check on your work, Hedyn and Morani."

Hedyn smiles, "Yes you can, I'll be here for several marks anyway checking up on the rest of the patients. There are other healing centers in the city here as well."

"Very well Hedyn; Morani, let's see this room you're talking about."

Morani smiles, "Yes, let's get it ready."

“I’ll look at some other patients while you do that.”

Morani leads Ariella and Sir Regis out of the room and down the hallway. She comes to a doorway and opens it. They walk into a well lit room. It has two beds and some shelving in the room. There is also a dresser table with drawers and a mirror.

"What do you think?"

Ariella looks around the room and smiles. "This will do to start with. Have you had a major mine accident when you get more than you can handle?"

"It can happen. One time we had ten miners at one time. Hmm.... I see what you mean by having another room to work in. We can probably set up five tables here and still have room to work around."

"Yes, that can work for emergencies. Okay, keep these drawers here, you can put towels and sheets folded down there and put a cleaning spell on the drawers. The top drawers are for some of your tools. They will need to be clean as well. The knives for cutting will need to be sharp with no nicks."

Morani nods her head in agreement.

"Soap and water is good to clean around the wound before you operate. You might have to experiment to create a mild soap that won't sting as much. Before you operate, washing your hands is a must."

"I think I know what you're implying, you don't want to infect inside the body with dirt."

"That is right. Don't have any worry, Hedyn will help you to remember and teach you. Where do you keep your herbs, medicines and ointments?”

“They are kept in a separate locked room which has a sealing spell.”

“That's very good, Morani.”

"What about the loss of blood?"

"That is going to be more delicate. There is a certain point when the blood loss is too great, the patient will die. The body can rebuild the blood on its own, but that takes several moons to do that. It would be great if you can start storing some blood as donations. The blood will store better in glass containers right now. It needs to be kept in a cool room, not cold or even a frozen room. Receive about this much (I use my hands to indicate the amount and it is recorded on the crystal sphere) from one donor every two moons. The max storage time is about forty days."

"Dwarf blood for dwarfs and Upper Kingdom blood for Upper Kingdom people?"

"Yes, do not mix; especially dragon blood."

"How are we going to get the blood into them? Have them drink it?"

"Heavens, no, I showed a drawing I drew up for the wizards and sorceresses how this is going to work. You use a very thin hollow needle with a tube from the blood container. The needle gets inserted into a blood vessel under the skin."

"I understand, have the bottles labeled and dated to help keep track."

"That's right, Morani."

"So, if a miner is working, should he have two or three units stored in just in case?"

"That is good for starters. Sometimes your storage might get low at times. So get the word out to get your supplies back up again. A donor comes in every other moon to donate. As you know, since glass breaks easily. Find a way to keep from that happening, like using a sealing spell on them. Hmm... I need to ask Richard a question when I see him."

“What's it about?”

“I'm pretty sure Richard will know. Do you know what blood types are?”

“I don't know what you're talking about, Ariella. What is it?”

“There is a further division in blood. If the dwarf lineage is pure here, then there is nothing to worry about.”

“I'm pretty sure we are. We couldn't mate with the Upper Kingdoms if we wanted to. We know we're incompatible with them.”

“This will have to be a trust and hope in the Maker; your ancestors kept themselves pure before they were brought here.”

“Then let us hope, Ariella. What about the tools that we'll need?"

"What do you have so far?"

"Let me show you."

They exit the room and walk down the hallway. She opens another door and we walk inside. It is a small storage room. They see various tools on tables. Some are bloodied.

"This room will work for extra storage of sheets, blankets, towels etc. The first rule before starting any surgery, your tools must be clean before starting on a patient. If this knife is needed for another patient, clean it and pass it through the flame, then let it cool without touching something else."

"We have gas flame down here."

"That's even better."

"We've had injuries where we had to burn the blood vessels to prevent further bleeding."

"I know the technique. Keep that for extreme emergencies. Try to sew and use the sealing and reassemble spells to help mend the blood vessels as many as possible. By doing that, you have helped the body heal faster; the patient will not lose the limb or organ."

"I understand."

"Well, that is enough for now. Let's get a table in that room."

Morani smiles, "Yes, let's get ready for the first patient here."

Morani and Ariella walk out of the store room. Morani sees a dwarf lad they use for aides and other help as needed, "Norrbe, will you please come and help us?"

Norrbe comes down the hallway and stops before them, "Yes ma’am. What can I do for you?"

"We need to rearrange a room and bring in a table to create our first operating room."

"Yes, ma’am."

We all walk down the hallway and back into the spare room.

"We'll worry about the beds later. Just push them together into that corner."

"Yes ma’am." Norrbe pushes the two beds into the corner.

"We'll need the spare table from the next room; it needs to be brought here. We'll get some other things here while you do that."

"Yes, ma’am."

We walk out of the room together. Norrbe turns left and goes down the hallway a few doors. We turn right and head back to the storage room. Then we see Richard and Sir Halgren walking towards us with smiles.

"I take it you have some good ideas for us, Richard?" Ariella and Sir Regis smile as well.

"I do, Ariella. I just discovered how to have air for the patients. You can use it as respirator or for a suction device to remove blood that is pooling in the body."'

"You did? That is great. What is it?"

"In the waiting room out front, we felt a constant breeze coming into the room. We finally looked up and we saw fan blade spinning bringing in fresh air to cool the room."

"That's great, Richard! I knew you would figure it out."

"Yes, we'll show the ideas to the Builders later today."

"That is great. Right now I'm getting their first operating room set up. There is a dwarf here with a clean break in the lower leg."

"Will you need to stay here for it?"

"Wizard Hedyn will take care of it. He is from Ringol Kingdom. We'll need to stop by and check on the progress later. I'll be able to leave here soon. I know it almost time to go back Sir Regis."

"Yes it is Ariella. Give your last set of instructions. We'll leave here soon thereafter."

"Thank you."

Sir Halgren and I turn around and return to the waiting room.

"Okay, let's get these tools, towels and sheets into your first operating room."

The ladies pick up the items and carry them into the room.

"You will need a bowl, pitcher of water, soap and towels here. That is for washing hands in the operating room. You can use the spell to keep the pitcher filled. Take the bloodied water in the bowl and have it sent to the Fire Mountains."

"We do have a hot spot near here. We can also send it to a gas fire pit as well."

"That's fine. Just as long that gas fire pit is used for burning trash only and not used for cooking over it."

"Yes, ma’am."

The aide walks into the room to see if there is anything else needed.

"Norrbe, bring in a pitcher, bowl, soap and towels. Set it on the dresser top for now. When we get the beds out of here, we'll have room for other equipment and tables."

"Yes, ma’am." Norrbe leaves the room to find the items that Morani requested.

"Let's get these into the drawers and set the cleaning spell."

Morani and Ariella place the items into the drawers. Morani recites
the cleaning spell and closes it. Then she opens the drawers again.

They smile when they see the blood spots are gone from the sheets and towels. When they open the drawer for the tools, they see two knives still with some blood on it with nicks.

"Take those two knives out. These two knives will need to be scoured and cleaned before using again. Take care of them when you get the chance."

"Right, don't use them until they are clean and sharpened. There is knife smith nearby who can do this."

"That's very good Morani. Well, let's get your first patient in here. Place a sheet on the table."

Morani takes out a sheet and drapes on the table. "What color should they be Ariella?"

"They should be one solid color, preferably a light color like white or tan. If the sheet is the color of their blood you will not be able to see where the blood might be coming out to take notice of easily."

"Yes, that is a good idea. Thank you for everything Ariella."

Morani and Ariella smile at each other and give a hug and smile at each other again.

"Let's go bring Traykes in now."

"Yes, let's begin."

Norrbe walks into the operating room and places the pitcher, bowl, soap and towels on the dresser top.

"Come Norrbe, I think we'll need your help to bring Traykes into the operating room."

Norrbe smiles, "Yes ma’am."

We all walk into Traykes room and see Hedyn sitting there talking to him.

"How is he doing, Hedyn?"

"He's bearing the pain like a true dwarf. Is the room ready ladies?"

"It is, Hedyn."

"Norrbe, I will need your help while I use the elevation spell and move him into the room. I need you to help me guide him through the turns and not have his damaged leg hit a wall or door."

"Yes sir, I'm ready to help guide you."

Hedyn recites the elevation spell and he lifts Traykes in the air. Norrbe guides Hedyn as they maneuver him through the doors, the hallway and the new operating room. Hedyn slowly lowers Traykes onto the table and ends the elevation spell.

"Okay, I'm going to give you a sleep spell. When you wake back up, you will be back in that room where you were. If all goes well, you'll have full use of your leg in about two moons. For now you will be walking out of here with crutches and splints in about a day or two."

"That is great, Wizard Hedyn. Thank you."

"Thank the Maker, for providing Ariella to be our Outside Helper to Ringol Kingdom."

"I'll certainly do that while I'm sleeping. I'm ready." Traykes closes his eyes.

Hedyn recites the sleep spell so that he won't feel any pain during the operation.

"Don't forget to wash your hands before you start."

They smile back at Ariella.

"We will, Ariella, Thanks for everything."

"Thank the Maker. I'll be back later today or the next day hopefully."

"Norrbe, please stay here. We might need your help while we work here."

"Yes ma’am," Norrbe smiles.

Ariella and Sir Regis smile when they see all is going well. Sir Regis turns off the crystal sphere.

"I'm ready. I feel much better now that some good medical practice is in place to start with."

"All of Twainor will feel much better, thanks, Ariella.

"You're welcome."

Ariella and Sir Regis walk back to the waiting area to meet the others.

"So, how did it go?"

"Everything's fine. Hedyn and Morani will take care of the leg. I will check up on him later today if I can when we continue the tour."

"Good, then let us depart, my friends."

All six of us walk out of the health center and see the four guards there still watching the people. They turn when they see us.

"Ah, you have returned. Was it a successful visit, Ariella?"

"Yes, it was. I was able to help them set up their first operating room and get some basic procedures put in place. Wizard Hedyn showed up to help a dwarf with a broken leg. We were able to show Morani how to do a scan of the injury before the surgery."

"That's impressive, Ariella. I'm sure King Thranton will be pleased with the results."

"Fortunately it is a clean break; the bone will mend back together by itself once it is re-aligned. Hedyn and Morani will have to mend some blood vessels and skin. Yes, he will walk again in about two moons."

"Praise the Maker. It is time we go back to the Grand Cave. Follow us please."

The guards escort us back down the streets towards the Grand Cave to resume the Regional Meeting.

~~~000~~~

Everybody gathers into King Thranton's Council Room. Guards are outside the room to make sure no interruptions take place. Seats and tables are rearranged to accommodate everybody. Once everybody has settled down, King Thranton begins the Emergency Meeting.

"First of all we should thank the Maker that Draknor's plan did not come to pass."

Everyone claps their hands in the room for a moment, it quiets down.

"I know we don't get together like this too often, but thank you for being here when it is needed."

"All you have to do is ask. Just pick a day and we will try to fit our schedule around it."

"Thank you, King Jeriel. Wizards, will you please replay the images of the bodies at the bottom of The Abyss?"

"Yes King Thranton. All four of us did the same thing. We'll probably have to make extra copies eventually. Surprisingly, the bodies appeared to be in good condition."

Renard recites the spell to replay the scans. Renard does an overall view of the seven bodies. Then he comes in closer looking at the four dwarves one at a time. He moves the crystal up and down the length of the body for each one. He then moves in closer to look at the faces, clothing, and any jewelry they might be wearing. After awhile of viewing the bodies; Renard turns off the crystal sphere.

Everyone looks sad and distressed as they see the images.

"Well, the first thing that should be done. They should be brought up here to be properly identified. Did Ryujin say anything about this?"

"He did, King Thranton. Some of them yelled 'Curse you, Ruald!' And 'Curse you, Draknor!' Some of them died with the information they carried. We have that recorded as well."

Renard replays the conversation with Ryujin.

"I often wondered where Harrock went to. Now I know where. He was my father's Sword-bearer. I was a teen when he disappeared; I was in Rock Camp for young recruits, learning the ways of leading a dwarf army one day. I received news from mother that he was never found after doing one of my father's errands."

"Draknor must have planned it this long in the making."

"Perhaps the message is still there."

"Probably not, Draknor would have taken it before that happened."

"Could he have swallowed it knowing something terrible is about to happen?"

"He could have. Some of our crystal spheres are small enough to do that, it is possible."

"That's if he swallowed it. Who would go into the body and retrieve it?"

"Ariella could. She is the best surgeon on Twainor right now. She can probably determine what the cause of death is for them."

"Would she do that for us, King Jeriel?"

"We can only ask."

"If she accepts this; where would be the best place to do this? There are seven bodies down there. It needs to be done in private and a safe place."

"Hmm.... let me think... I know, the Fortress Basement," King Thranton smiles.

"Why go there, King Thranton? That is under your Fortress."

"I know, but I am thinking of Draknor and his friends. If they're awake while this is going on, they might confess to other conspiracies."

The others around the room and look at each other and smile; they begin to nod their heads up and down one by one.

"Yes, one will accuse the killer if he did not murder anyone."

"I agree, King Thranton; that is a good plan."

"Should Ariella go along with the wizards? She can stay at the flat area waiting for them to bring them up?"

"That's a possible idea. Are there any other ideas?"

"How about the three men that are there? One of them is from the Maranelle Islands."

"He could be their former Master Wizard."

"That very well could be true. The other two men appear to be from Nevidre and Laurentil as well."

"Perhaps there's a message ... hidden there." King Thranton looks at Sir Trenton when he pauses before the last two words.

Sir Trenton sees and hears the inflection and nods his head slightly.

"We won't know until we try to look."

"Okay, is that agreeable to everyone here?"

Everyone responds one at a time, "Yes."

King Thranton stands up and walks to the door and opens it. "Guards, find the Outside Helpers. They shouldn't be too far. Contact the guards who are escorting them. They need to be here quickly."

"Yes, my Lord."

King Thranton closes the door. He begins to pace a bit around the room. After a few moments there’s a knock on the door. King Thranton opens the door.

"My King, the Outside Helpers have returned. They're just approaching the Grand Cave."

"That's very good; bring them here to the Council room." King Thranton closes the door and walks back to his chair and sits down. "This should not take much longer. Is there anything else we can discuss until they arrive?"

One of the Fortress Lords speaks up, "My King, we just want to apologize for what we put our people through. We know it is not your fault."

"We received a message from Dalgan that you wanted a vote in the new government."

"That's true, Durlond. We were able to send a private message to Dalgan while you were in Angathorn Kingdom. We had to get word out somehow."

"We still had no idea where they have taken our wives. We were hoping for some sort of leverage in the new government if it came about."

"That's still no guarantee that Draknor will allow it."

He nods his head up and down after a long thought, “Perhaps, but we were trying to get our loved ones back.”

Everyone hears a knock on the door. Everyone gets quiet again. King Thranton stands up and walks to the door. The door opens; the three Outside Helpers come inside with their escorts and line up in front of the group.

“Welcome, Outside Helpers and escorts.”

“Greetings, King Thranton and honored guests here.”

“Greetings, King Thranton.”

“Were you able to accomplish a successful visit?

Ariella takes a half step forward, “We did King Thranton. We visited one of your health centers. I was able to help them set up their first operating room. I gave Morani some ideas to make it more efficient and productive.”

Sir Regis steps forward, “Wizard Hedyn showed up to attend a dwarf with a broken leg. If all goes well, Traykes will be walking well about two moons from now.”

“That’s great, thank you, Ariella. That is most appreciated.”

“I have here a recording of what Ariella showed Morani and Hedyn and how they used the crystal sphere to scan the leg before operating on the leg. It is the same information she gave us in Ringol Kingdom. We’ll be glad to share it.”

“Thank you, Sir Knight. That is very good.”

King Thranton nods his head Ariella and Sir Regis nods theirs. They step back in line with the rest.

“Now we have a new problem that needs to be addressed. We want to retrieve the seven bodies that are at the bottom of The Abyss. We need to know who they are. I recognize one of them as my father’s former Sword-bearer, Harrock. He disappeared when I was a teen.”

“We need to ask our Outside Helpers with this matter.”

Ariella steps forward and smiles.

King Thranton smiles and nods his head.

Ariella nods her head as well.

“You want me to determine how they died or any other clues might be on them.”

“That is right, Ariella. You’re the best surgeon on Twainor right now. If you can do this for us, all of Twainor will be thankful.”

“Considering what Richard went through in meeting Ruald. It will be an honor to do this for Twainor. Besides, it is important to have an independent investigator for times like this. They will not have any biased opinions on what they discover.”

“That is very true. Thank you, Ariella.”

Ariella steps back in line. “You’re welcome."

"We are going to do this in several stages. First is to bring them up to the flat area. There you can do an initial examination. If all is well, then we will set up the tables in Fortress Basement next to Draknor and his friends.”

Evrat, Ariella and I smile at the ingenuity of the ploy as we look at each other and smile. The escorts do the same thing as well.

“Now, I think you begin to see the picture. We don’t need a large crowd like last time.”

“Should we send some knights and commanders with them as well if something goes wrong?”
“Hmm.... that is a wise choice. We’ll leave the sorceresses here just in case. Since there are seven bodies down there, we need to be careful in transporting them to the flat area. Wizards, are you ready for another trip to The Abyss?”

All six wizards stand up, “We are, King Thranton. We are ready to assist and serve.”

"You may leave, commanders and pick up some knights for this mission come back safely. You can leave from the courtyard when you're ready."

"Yes, King Thranton."

The commanders leave the room first. Then the rest of us leave the room as well. We walk down the hallways and make several turns before we reach the double doors that lead to the courtyard. When we get out there we see the commanders have chosen all five knights from each kingdom to go with us.

“Very good, line up and put hand to shoulder.”

The wizards line up in a row facing to the back to the one in front. The three Outside Helpers and escorts put their hand to shoulder on to one side of wizard; the commanders connect on the other side of their shoulders. The knights connect to the other wizards

“Is everyone ready?”

“Yes, King Thranton!”

“Go! May the Maker grant you success!”

The wizards put their palms outward they recite the transport spell and we all disappear in a blink of an eye. We leave the courtyard of the Fortress and enter into the plaza area. We hear the dragons roar as we fly by. We continue down the tunnels and the levels to arrive at the flat area. Soon we arrive there and appear in a blink of an eye.

“Okay, let’s get the crystal lights set up here. We'll need plenty of light."

The knights are assigned to guard the area and to make sure there are no interferences from anybody walking down the path. Plus they are there to give aid if something goes wrong.

The wizards, the commanders, the Outside Helpers and the escorts gather together to discuss the strategy.

"Wizards, be careful, I don’t trust Draknor one bit. If he threw any of them down there he did it for a reason besides getting them out of the way.”

“But what would that be, Sir Trenton?”

“You noticed that King Thranton paused before he said ‘hidden there’?”

“Yes, I caught the inflection as well. He was trying to tell us something. He wants us to be very, very careful.”

“That’s right, Sir Paladin. It has been sometime since something like this was done before.”

"Hold that thought. Didn't Ryujin say he blew up a ball of flame after each one he saved?"

Evrat’s eyes narrows down and sees the answer. “Yes, he did. There are bombs inside their bodies.”

Everyone looks at each other with worried faces.

Ariella throws a hand to the mouth. “He wouldn’t?”

“He would, Ariella. It is one of the oldest tricks for payback if something goes wrong and to destroy evidence of a crime."

“I will agree with you on that conclusion, Evrat. It has happened on Earth as well."

“If there are bombs down below, how are we going to get them out without hurting anyone?”

“That’s a good question Ariella, it seems the best the choice is the use of the wizards right now.”

“Hmm...I agree, but first we need to do a cross-section scan with the crystal spheres. If they were able to move them to another location in the cave; then the bomb is not magic sensitive. It must be physical sensitive.”

Everyone looks at Ariella and smiles.

“Well said, Ariella. That is a good answer. How did you know?”

“Not only am I surgeon on my world to save lives. I had to solve a few murder mysteries as well. Most of my assumptions were right when I saw the evidence, I always had help on the difficult ones,” she smiles.

“Well, thank the Maker you’re here. Well if it is physical sensitive, what could be some of the triggers? Evrat, I think this will be your part.”

“Yes, my friends. First we need to determine where it’s located in the body. Back then, Draknor did not count on us being here before the arrival of the Emissaries.”

“I agree Evrat, he did not anticipate this.”

“The trigger can be anything. Because of the Ethereal Space, an electric spark could be the perfect detonator. Something to supply the energy to create the spark, it can even be from a heat source or fire. Draknor expected these bodies to be blown up."

“If they had exploded when they hit bottom, there would be no white dragon to rescue and no one would know that part of the question.”

"But Ryujin did save them or break their fall as best he could."

"Then the devices had to be sealed somehow to prevent that explosion if they are down there in one piece."

“Okay wizards, do the cross scanning of the bodies, determine if they are safe or not. That is the first step. If you discover bombs in them let us know. We’ll need to figure out how to remove them and send them to a safe location.”

“Where would be a safe location?”

“Well, not here under the mountain. You don’t know how powerful the bombs can be. The choice would be water or in the air.”

“Can it be sent out into the Ethereal Space between Twainor and the moons? It has to be at least as high as possible.”

“How do you send your trash to the Fire Mountains?”

“We set a transport spell on the container then focus on the destination where to send the contents to it. Then we put another spell on it to repeat it.”

“Well let’s begin with the scan and tell us what is going on.”

“Right, Sir Trenton. Wizards, let’s solve another mystery. Turn on our crystal lights before we go."

They recite the spell to turn on the crystal lights. The wizards put them into their pockets. Then the wizards put their palms outward and recite the transport spell. All six wizards disappear in a blink of an eye.

~~~000~~~

After a few moments they appear on the bottom floor of The Abyss. They see the glowing fish in the stream and smile. When they take out their crystal lights the entire cave lights up. The glowing fish immediately swim to the dark regions of the stream inside the mountain.

"Walk over here friends; this is where we put the bodies. Let's do these cross-scans and do a sweep of the bodies. Ariella showed me how to do this. She is a very smart girl when she puts her mind to it. She just needs some confidence building."

Wizard Dekrane recites the spell and a narrow and long misty balloon appears. He moves the misty balloon along the length of the body from head to toe of the unknown man. "Okay now let's replay it and see what is underneath the clothes."

Dekrane recites the spell to replay the image, "Do you see any metal objects or solid colors?"

"I do, Dekrane. I see a round object in the stomach. Let's go ahead and scan the rest of them. Do another scan of them in a different direction. Just to make sure we're not missing anything."

The other wizards recite the spell and scanned the bodies. When they replayed the images, they all get a big surprise.

"Oh, my Maker, all of these dwarves and men are carrying bombs. What are we going to do?"

"That confirms what Ryujin did in blowing a ball of flame up the shaft. But look where the crystal spheres are. They're at the bottom of their stomachs."

"Same here Dekrane."

"Not only that, look at these two men that we could not identify. Isn't that a black sphere in the throat of this one?"

"It sure does Renard. This is very bad. If this other man is the Master Wizard to Maranelle Island, Ruald must have had help in putting in that bomb."

"We have to retrieve those crystal spheres if we can't remove the bombs."

"I know we can remove the crystal spheres with no problems, but the bombs?"

"Do you think Evrat has an idea?"

"It's possible; he said there should be a trigger to set it off. Let's get up top so that Evrat can take a look. I just don't see it right away."

"Same here, my friends; let's go."

"I am right behind you. I'll leave a light crystal as a marker here on the cave floor."

All six wizards recite the transport spell and they disappear in a blink of an eye.

~~~000~~~

They appear on the flat area amidst the others.

"Well what did you find?"

"As you suspected there are bombs. However, all of the bodies have bombs."

"Oh, my!"

"Yes Ariella, it is very bad. We did find the crystal spheres inside them. One of them has a black crystal sphere in his throat."

"Did you say black crystal sphere? Which body did you find it in?"

"I found it in one of the men we could not identify."

"What's wrong, Sir Kanoa?"

"It means death. It is a warning that is certain. How it got in there without anyone knowing will be interesting to find out."

"Can you retrieve the crystal spheres safely?"

"Yes, we can. Since we have a scan of the bodies already, it is easy to focus on the objects to transport them out."

"Did you see any folded pieces of paper?"

"Folded pieces of paper, what are you talking about Richard?"

Evrat looks at me and smiles and nods his head.

I smile back.

"Let's see those body scans again. Perhaps there is one to see."

The wizards replay the images. They don't see anything yet until the image is seen in a different direction.

"There! You can see it in that image there. It is in the seam of the jacket, take a closer look. You should see some letters hand written there."
The wizard enlarges the image to get a closer look.

"You're right Richard. I do see some handwritten letters. Let's take a closer look at the other images."

The wizards go through the images again, but more slowly.

"We do see more folded pieces of paper. They must have been private letters of correspondence. Magic cannot sense it. You had to know where to look for it."

"Perhaps they are for the King’s knowledge only and to act on. Perhaps there can still be some justice served with the four dwarves and men."

"It is possible, Sir Trenton. Evrat, you have the eye for it. See if you can find the triggers to set off the bombs."

"Yes, Sir Paladin. In fact, everybody can take a look. Look for something that should not belong in a body. It should appear as a smooth line that is straight or curved. It can be a glass capsule with a small liquid bubble that appears as a silver blob. It can be something else altogether, it can look like a balloon."

Everyone starts looking through the images slowly, going back and forth in the stomach areas. They see thin lines coming from the bombs going to the surface of the skin. They end just underneath the skin of the abdomen muscle wall and see several small sheets of metal.

"How did you know, Evrat?"

"You have to give dwarves credit. They are very smart. Since they came from Richard's home world, I figured their mean streak was still in them. Perhaps this is the Maker's way to finally purge it from them."

"It is possible, Evrat."

"Getting back to the switch, we are seeing sheets of metal. This type of switch relies on creating an electric spark that will attract the reaction of the Ethereal Space."

"If we had seen the silver blob, that silver liquid has some very unique properties. It is one of the metals that Richard was hinting at on the Maranelle Islands earlier this morning. That liquid metal is in between lead and gold on the charts. You can freeze it and nothing will happen. You can boil the liquid, but by then the glass tube will break. When it's in liquid form, then it gets interesting. It depends on how the switch is designed."

"So if these bodies were brought up to the surface there could be an explosion that would be massive."

"Precisely, no one would be safe in the mountains. Draknor still gets away while his evidence is destroyed and everyone else rebuilds their lives."

"Evrat, the wizards can also freeze the bombs and switches. That will render them inactive until they get it out."

"That's right, Richard, that's a very good idea."

"I agree with you there, that is the perfect solution to remove the bombs safely."

"Can you do that kind of removal, wizards? Can you freeze the bombs and switches to remove them?"

"It is a good possibility, Sir Trenton. We'll have to do it one at a time to be on the safe side."

"I agree. If you can remove the bombs, we can put on a show for Draknor to get him to talk."

"Those crystal spheres are next to the bombs, can you control the spell to the bombs only?"

"Well, that is purpose of doing it one at a time. We'll get the crystal spheres out first and the folded pieces of paper."

"Yes, let's do that first."

The six wizards recite the transport spell again and disappear in a blink of an eye.

~~~000~~~

The six wizards appear in the cave at the bottom of The Abyss.

"Okay, let's focus on the man from Maranelle Islands first."

"Okay, Renard."

Renard bends down before the man on his knees.

"Now replay the image above him and match features."

Braden replays the image and holds it still where the crystal spheres are located.

Renard looks at the image then at the man's body. He places his palms towards the body and concentrates as he goes inside the body. He sees it in his mind clearly. "I've got it. I have the images in my mind. I'm ready to transport it." Renard recites the transport spell and removes the crystal spheres safely. He sets them down on the cave floor and they reappear.

The other wizards check his jacket for the hidden seams. They feel a stiff folded seam, one of the wizards takes a pen knife and cut the threads and retrieve the folded document.

"It has the King's seal on it from The Maranelle Islands. It is written for Master Wizard Eldwin."

"Let's find the other document. It is in the other seam of the jacket."

He lifts the lapel of the jacket to reveal the seam. A wizard cuts the threads to open it. He finds the document and pulls it out. "It too, has a seal on it. It is from the King in Laurentil Islands to the King in Angathorn."

"Is there a date on the outside?"

"No, there isn't. It’s probably on the inside."

"Okay, let's retrieve the other crystal spheres and documents from the others."

One by one they retrieve the documents and spheres, each set put into a separate bag. They number the bags according to the order they retrieve it from. Once everything is taken care of, one of the wizards leaves the cave and returns to the flat area. He recites the transport spell and disappears in a blink of an eye.

~~~000~~~

He reappears on the flat area a moment later.

"Here are the bags. They contain from each one the crystal spheres and documents. The numbers correspond to the order on the overall image. It begins with the man from Maranelle Island."

"Thanks, Dekrane. Take care and be safe."

"There will be two wizards down there; the rest of us will be up here, just playing it safe."

"I understand, Dekrane."

Dekrane recites the transport spell and returns to the cave floor in a blink of an eye.

~~~000~~~

Dekrane appears on the cave floor among the other wizards.

"Okay, is everyone ready to try it? The plan is to freeze the bombs and the switches first. Then transport it straight up to the sky, aim for the clouds. Are you sure you can do that distance, Renard?"

"I think I can, it has been some time since I did this. It was part of my lessons in doing this to be a Master Wizard. It is just an exercise of the mind."

"We know. Just remember the destination as you go through the mountain with your mind."
"Right."

Renard focuses on the image above the body. He places his palms towards the body. He looks at the man's stomach and concentrates as he goes inside. He sees the bombs and switches clearly. He focuses on the items and recites the freeze spell. He sees a white frost build on the surface of the bomb all around. The wires get frosted white as it travels to the switches. Soon they are covered in a thin layer of ice.

"That's it. That's the easy part. The bomb, the wires and switches are frozen. I'm ready to transport it to the sky."

"We hope the Maker grants you success, Renard."

"Be well and be safe."

"Thanks my friends. It is time for you to go. Braden will get me out of here if I should faint and fail."

"Take care."

The four wizards recite the transport spell and disappear in a blink of an eye.

~~~000~~~

They reappear on the flat area where everybody else is.

"Okay, so far so good. The bombs, wires and switches are frozen. Now comes the hard part, transporting it straight up to the clouds."

"It should work. We have all done something like this before. It is just an exercise of the mind."

Everyone nod their heads and pray in silence to the Maker.

~~~000~~~

Renard focuses on the stomach area again. He places his palms towards the stomach area. He looks at the scanned image again above the body. He then looks back down at the stomach and concentrates again. He sees the frozen image; he grabs it with his mind. The switches come loose from the skin. In one move he moves it into the Ethereal Space. "I've got it in the Ethereal Space here. I'm going up."

The stomach of the Master Wizard moves down when the bomb is removed.

"Yes, sir."

Renard moves the object through the mountains quickly. He quickly moves it through the mountain in a blur. He concentrates on the blue skies and clouds. Soon he breaks through the mountains and sees blue skies. But he sees a dragon flying nearby. I must push it further. Renard pushes the object beyond the clouds; he starts to see the blackness of the heavens. He stops and lets it go. He keeps his focus on it as long as possible.

Within moments the bomb explodes in the atmosphere.

Renard releases the image in his mind and breathes a sigh of relief. He looks down at the floor...sighing... He stands next to Wizard Braden. "I made it through the mountain. I had to go beyond the clouds when a dragon flew nearby."

Braden smiles, "I understand. It is a success. Do you think we can save one of the bombs and show it to King Thranton?"

"We should, he might recognize who built it."

"That's if he is still alive."

"Maybe, let's get the other bombs out. I will need some mind rest before I do that again."

"Right; let's contact our friends up top."

"That sounds good to them."

Braden and Renard smile at the little joke.

Braden takes out his contact sphere and recites the spell. Dekrane appears above the crystal.

"It's a success."

Then there is cheering heard behind Dekrane.

Dekrane smiles, "That is great, Braden."

"Renard is able to get the bomb to the clouds and beyond. He's ready for a bit of a mind rest."

"We understand that. We'll come down and switch positions. See you soon."

"See you soon."

In a blink of an eye the other wizards appear on the cave floor. Renard hugs each one of them in thanks.

"Go, Renard; go get your mind rest. One of us will have to do this twice."

"We don’t need to. We'll want to keep the last one and see if Evrat can disarm it."

"Good idea Braden."

"We'll see who has the strongest mind when this over. I was able to send it beyond the clouds when sky just turns black with the stars."

"Do I hear challenge, my friends?"

The other wizards laugh.

"We'll see. Just take it easy, I don't expect any records to be broken. We need to go home safely. That is all that the Maker asks for."

"Of course Renard; take him, Braden."

Renard puts his hand on Braden's shoulder. Braden recites the transport spell and disappears in a blink of an eye.

~~~000~~~

Braden and Renard appear on the flat area in a blink of an eye. Everyone cheers for Renard's success.

"You'll have to excuse me, Sir Trenton. I need to sit down and rest. We are taking turns doing this."

"Of course, Renard, take your mind rest. We won't bother you for awhile."

Renard sits down and rests his back against a boulder. He relaxes the mind to ease it. He breathes slower each time.

~~~000~~~

One by one the bombs are sent to the sky and explode safely. Each wizard needs to take a mind rest after sending the bombs to the sky. As they recover on the flat area; the wizards get up and walk to the group to discuss the tactics for the last bomb.

"I had a look at the images again. From appearances, they are made by one person. You might say it is his signature. Bombers are like that, to make it personal."

"That's interesting how you say that Evrat. Do you think you can disarm it?"

"It's possible. I don't know what is inside the sphere. I won't know until it is opened up. If the explosives are dry, I have a chance. If it is a liquid, that will be a mess. Hopefully there are no hidden surprises when it's opened up. Maybe by examining the surfaces I can discover how they did it."

"We'll need some buckets or bags to pour it into."

"Well, let's get the bodies up here and get that part over with and leave the last one down there. Once the bomb is removed we'll take the last body up here. Keep the bodies in the same order as down there."

"Then we'll send Evrat down there with two wizards. One to set a barrier spell, the other for transport if it doesn't work."

Everyone looks at each and nods their head in silence. The wizards recite the transport spell. They all disappear in a blink of an eye, each wizard with a knight on their shoulder.

~~~000~~~

The wizards appear on the cave floor. A knight bends down to put his right hand on the body. He puts his left hand on Renard’s right shoulder. He raises both palms outward and recites the transport spell. They disappear in a blink of an eye. One by one the bodies disappear on the cave floor.

~~~000~~~

Ariella starts to look over the bodies for an initial assessment.

"Remarkable on the preservation, but it is expected with the environment down there. I can see some bruising on the wrists indicating they were bound. The bombs were probably put into the stomachs by magic. To subdue them, they could have used the sleep spell or the sleep darts. If you used the sleep darts, where is the best place to administer it?"

"It is very fast acting Ariella. It just needs contact with the skin. It could behind the neck or on the hands."

"Does it leave a residue when dry?"

"No."

"There might be a trace on the skin. In my observation, there is always something left over."

"That's possible; we'll have to test the surface to see if there is any left."

"Either way, the best evidence is the crystal spheres and the documents."

"I agree."

"We'll need several bags to put the contents into."

"Here you go. I retrieved some from the knights. Here are four bags."

"That should be enough." Dekrane puts them into his satchel.

"Well, Evrat, are you ready to take a closer look at the bomb?"

"I'm ready as I ever will be."

"Very good; go and connect with Dekrane and Pagsen. May the Maker grant you success."

"Thanks. Hopefully, it will not be too complicated."

"Yes, then let us hope."

Evrat puts his left hand on Dekrane’s right shoulder and his right hand on Pagsen. Dekrane and Pagsen recite the transport spell and all three disappear in a blink of an eye.

~~~000~~~

All three appear on the cave floor in a blink of an eye. They disconnect and walk over to the last body.

"We were able to freeze all of the pieces and remove it from the body."

"That's good to know. I think in this case we just need to freeze the switch and we'll be safe. Let's plan where we want to set it down once it is removed. It needs to be set down real easy and slow."

"This is a good spot here. There is a slight depression here. I can put the satchel there to act as a cushion."

"That's good."

Dekrane takes out the four bags and places them near the depression.
He then folds up his satchel and places it in the depression.

"Stay over there on the other side of the stream, Evrat."

"Right, let me know when it is safe." Evrat jumps to the other side of the stream and waits.

"Pagsen do another cross section scan of the body. Then display it above him."

"Yes, sir,” Pagsen takes out his crystal sphere he recites the spell to scan the body. A misty balloon appears above the body. He then walks to the head of the body and starts to move the misty balloon down the length of the body to the feet.

"Very good, now replay it and stop where the bombs are located in the stomach."

Pagsen recites another spell to replay the image. He stops the replay when the bombs appear in the stomach. He positions the image above the stomach to match the location.

Dekrane places his palms towards the stomach. He looks at the image above the body. He then looks at the stomach and concentrates. Soon he sees inside the stomach, he sees the wires and the switches. He recites the freeze spell; the wires become frosted with ice. It begins to spread to the switches and then it is covered in ice.

"That's it. The wires and the switches are frozen. I'm ready to transport the bomb out." He concentrates again at the bomb and the switches. He sees in his mind that he has moved them. The switches come loose from inside. He moves the objects into the Ethereal Space and removes it from the stomach. The stomach flattens down like the others. He turns around still with his palms outward. He focuses on his destination to the folded satchel. He sees that it is above the satchel. He brings it back in to real space. The bomb appears resting on the folded satchel intact.

"That is great, now I can take a closer look. You can get the other body out now."

Dekrane takes out his contact crystal and recites the spell. The image of Renard appears above the crystal sphere.

"It's a success. The bomb has been removed safely. We can get the other body out now."

"That’s very good, Dekrane, congratulations."

"Thank you."

Renard's image disappears. Soon Braden appears on the cave floor with a knight.

"Well done, Dekrane."

"Thanks, Braden. It's a lot easier than sending it through the mountain."

"Perhaps, can you disarm it, Evrat?"

"It's possible; let me take an initial look before you go."

Evrat sits down next to the bomb. "Can I have light crystal please? I need a closer look."

"Sure, Evrat." Dekrane takes out a light crystal and recites the spell. The crystal lights up very bright and hands it Evrat.

"Thank you Dekrane."

"You're welcome."

"Hmm... from the looks of this, there are two metal shells welded together. Do you see this rough seam going around the entire circumference? That is the clue there.”

"Yes, I see it now."

"If its two halves, I'm thinking it's a two-part bomb. Two different materials, the ignition is the third part inside. Because the switch is frozen, we have kept it from going off."

"Would it be better if we cut the wires?"

"Not yet. Wait ... I see it now. Look there. There is a round circle there. It corresponds to the other one on the other side."

"What is it?"

"That is where they poured the liquid components into the half-shells. Then they carefully sealed them back up."

"I can use the transport spell to remove those liquids and put them in separate bags."

"My thought exactly. Go ahead and cross scan the bomb. I'm curious to see what is inside."

Dekrane takes out his crystal sphere and recites the spell. He creates the misty balloon and moves it from the top of metal sphere to the bottom.

"Let's hope it is not too complicated."

He then recites the spell to replay the scan.

They see the two halves of different liquids. One half has the color blue, the other is red. In the middle they see a small box hanging from the wires.

"Just as I thought; that small box contains the ignition parts. The switch creates an electric spark with that battery there. That will attract the reaction from the Ethereal Space. It will then travel down the wires to inside the bomb; it overloads the device and explodes."

"Then it will incinerate everything in its path."

"That's not all, with all seven bodies down here. The explosion would be so massive, it would cause a crack in the mountain and you will get land quakes and maybe an eruption of a brand new fire mountain. First let's remove the liquids first. Then we can cut one of the wires after that."

"That's a good idea, Evrat."

"You can go ahead and take the body. You can tell them what's happening. Richard will have a pretty good idea what's going on and what to do next if something else happens."

The knight bends down and touches the body with his right hand. He puts his left hand on Braden's right shoulder. Braden places his palms outward and recites the transport spell. They disappear in a blink of an eye.

He takes the crystal sphere from Dekrane and places it on the floor near the bomb. He displays the image above the bomb. Pagsen takes one of the bags and opens it up and holds nearby.

Evrat gets up and steps away.

Dekrane looks at the image above the bomb. Then he looks at the bomb to visualize its location. Dekrane faces his palms towards the bomb and concentrates on the red liquid half. He sees the red liquid in his mind; he puts the containment around the liquid. He grabs it and moves it into the Ethereal Space. He brings it back into real space and into the bag. Once it's there, he releases. The body hangs from the weight. Pagsen closes the bag and seals it. Then he puts another seal around the entire bag.

"That’s very good, Pagsen; one more time."

"Yes, Dekrane."

Dekrane does it again by removing the blue liquid. He places the liquid in the bag that Pagsen is holding. Pagsen closes the bag and puts a sealing spell on the bag and another sealing spell around the entire bag.

"Well done, Dekrane and Pagsen. That is great. Now we can cut one of the wires and we are done."

Dekrane takes a small knife from his satchel and cuts one of the wires.

Nothing happens.

"That's it."

"Praise the Maker!"

"Yes, praise the Maker."

"You'll need to keep those bags separate from each other. Put them in a different pocket. It will be safer."

"I understand."

Dekrane puts the bags in separate pockets as Evrat suggested. Dekrane removes the ice from the switches. He then puts the metal sphere, wire and switches into the satchel and puts it around his shoulder. Evrat puts his left hand onto Dekrane shoulder.

Pagsen picks up the crystal lights on the floor. He looks around to make sure nothing is left behind. Once that is done, he walks over to Dekrane and puts his right hand onto Dekrane's left shoulder.

Dekrane recites the transport spell and they all disappear in a blink of an eye.

Darkness returns once more to The Abyss. The glowing Illuminae fish resume their swimming in the darkness as they always have done for thousands of years.

~~~000~~~

They reappear on the flat area. They disconnect themselves from Dekrane and rejoin their friends.

"It is a success. Evrat found a way to disarm the bomb!"

Everybody cheered and clapped.

"Well done, Evrat!"

"Thanks, Sir Paladin."

"We were able to remove the liquids inside. They are in separate bags for safety. I have the device in my satchel here."

"What are we to do now?"

"We need to contact the kings and let them know what is going on. It is going to take some planning. The review of the crystal spheres, the documents. We will have to contact King Dryden and Master Wizard Eldwin, King Hilmar, King Gregor and King Sherwyn or anybody else involved in this conspiracy. This is far from over."

"I agree. We need to get back to Angathorn Kingdom for the evening repast. I think we are pretty close to that time."

"Yes, but these bodies need to be kept in a safe place until they are properly taken care of."

Sir Trenton takes out his contact sphere and places it in his left hand. He places his right palm above the sphere and concentrates. He recites the spell and it glows purple. Soon the image of King Tierion appears above the sphere.

"Greetings, my Lord, is everyone back in the council room?"

"We are, Sir Trenton. What has happened?"

"First of all, we were able to remove the crystal spheres and some documents from the bodies."

"There are documents?"

"Yes my Lord. Second the bombs are safely removed from all of the bodies."

"There were bombs in all of the bodies?"

"Yes, my Lord. All six have been properly disposed of into the Ethereal Space above the clouds. We saved one. Evrat was able to disarm it. We have it ready to show it to King Thranton."

"Thank you, Sir Trenton."

"The question now remains are keeping the bodies safe until they are properly identified. It would seem the best the identification will be from the crystal spheres and the documents."

"That is probably true. Do some of the documents indicate who they are meant for?"

"Yes my Lord. Some are for Kings and Wizards, past and present."

"I see. Hold there. I will contact you back until we can get answer in the council room."

"I understand, my Lord."

King Tierion's image disappears above Sir Trenton's contact sphere.

"Well we are to wait a bit until they decide where to keep the bodies."

We look at each other and nod our heads in agreement.

Evrat takes me over to the side for a private talk.

"So you've had some fighting experience?"

"Yes, I have. My first introduction was not my choosing. I was six years old when four bullies decide to beat me up after school."

"Ouch."

"Tell me about it. It did hurt. About three years later; my dad had me go to a school to learn how to defend myself better."

"What did you learn?"

"How to stand up to four bullies again. I was given some tactics on how to make them think twice. I learned some fighting skills similar to Hikaru."

"How long were you in the classes?"

"I was in them for about five years. Then in my last two years of high school I went out to participate in wrestling."

"So you learned to do some submission holds?"

"Not really. The main goal is to pin the opponent shoulders to the ground for a count of three."

"I see, so you learned how to maneuver around and get the advantage like I saw you did with Sir Cargan."

"That's right. Plus with the throws and putting people off balance, it has kept me very aware of my surroundings. One tactic I learned very well is how to fall right so as not to hurt myself when I'm thrown."

"That's good to know."

"I heard you gave Hikaru a surprise when you met him the first time."

"Yes, he sees people who use weapons with dishonor. For him, it is all about hand to hand combat."

"That's understandable. However, an object is useful to extend your reach before a direct encounter is necessary."

"That's true, Richard. Richard, I want to confide in you some thoughts here about the bombs we found."

"Yes, what of them?"

"Who ever designed them has a good knowledge of materials and electrical circuits."

"Hmm... I agree."

"If they are doing electrical circuits how can they create them without interference from the Ethereal Space?"

"They have to be in a room that is shielded on all six sides, like a metal cage and is grounded. Then it is insulated on the inside."

"Yes, that can work. I wish I could see the spectrum of that explosion, it might give me some clues on the makeup of the materials."

"That's easy to make. Take a paper tube, black on the inside, a piece of flat glass and two razor blades. Have the glass painted black one side. Once it is dry, put two razor blades together and etch the paint. You'll have two very narrow slit openings."

"Then put the flat glass on one end of the tube and cover the other end of the tube with a narrow opening to peer into."

"You got a crude spectroscope."

"That's very good, Richard. I like it. I suspect the mineral combination of elements 11 and 17 are one of the ingredients."

"If it does, it will have the double orange lines. There should be some different metal flakes in there as well."

"Yes, they will probably be the green and blue lines at least."

"If it has the lines of number six and seven elements on the charts; there will be purple and red lines as well."

"Do you think these bomb makers might know more than the fifty elements that Draknor mentioned the other day Evrat?"

"It is possible; if they have discovered the radioactive ones that will be bad."

"I know what you mean. Earth already experienced two such bombs a long time ago."

"I can only imagine the damages done."

"Yes, I have read the history on it. Some said it ended the world war quickly and prevented more deaths. But then there is the death toll to the innocent afterwards for the next generation. Here is a thought, Evrat. Perhaps one of the wizards can share the image of the explosion in their minds. You might be able to learn something from it."

"That's a good idea, Richard. I'll ask Wizard Dekrane if he'll do that for me."

Evrat and I walk back over to the group.

"No word from our Kings, yet?"

"No word yet, Richard. It takes time with something like this for everyone to agree."

I nod my head in understanding.

"Dekrane, I have a question. Is it possible to share the image of the bomb exploding in the sky? It might help me to begin in understanding the bomb's behavior."

"I can do that, Evrat, that is not a problem." Dekrane touches his own forehead and recites and spell. Then he touches Evrat's forehead.

"Wow! That is some explosion. Hold on a bit. Let me think on it. I need to slow it down in my mind as it expands."

Evrat closes his eyes and concentrates real hard. He slows down the explosion from the moment of ignition. He sees it expanding in all directions. The center is white hot as it expands. Then he sees streaks of different colors emanating from the center. At the edges of the blast he sees several different colors that look familiar. Yes, it is a high tech explosive. A lot more than a typical carbon base bomb. Richard's right, there are metal flakes in the bomb. If the dwarves have gotten this far, they should be building rockets to explore their solar system. But with their magic, they probably feel that is not important right now. Evrat opens his eyes and looks around.

"Well, what did you find out, Evrat?"

"The bomb is more explosive than your own. They developed a more lethal one."

The Legion Commanders look at each other with grim expressions. Then they nod their heads in agreement.

"We were wondering what they were up to sometimes. Now we know. The only hope is that we come to an agreement on its use."

"Is there a way you can do a demonstration for us, Evrat? I want to see a small sample of the explosion."

"I think I can do that for you commanders. I will need four small sticks. They will be dipped into the liquid a little bit."

"I don't think we carried anything like that with us?"

"Can we use pieces of rope?"

"Yes, that can work."

Sir Trenton walks over to the coiled rope that they found earlier. He takes out his knife and cuts off four small pieces of rope strands. He brings that over and hands them to Evrat.

"Thank you. Dekrane, will you please open one of the bags. I will need to dip two of the pieces into it."

"Yes Evrat." Dekrane reaches into his coat pocket and brings out one of the bags. He removes the sealing spells and opens the bag.

Evrat dips two of the rope pieces into the blue liquid a little bit.

Dekrane closes the bag and reseals it with the spell. He places that bag back into his coat pocket.

Evrat places the two pieces of rope on the ground far apart.

Dekrane reaches into the other pocket and retrieves the second bag. He removes the sealing spell and opens the bag.

Evrat dips the other two rope pieces into the red liquid a little bit.

Dekrane closes the bag and reseals it with the spell. He places that back into his coat pocket.

Evrat holds onto the two pieces of rope that are dipped in the red liquid.

"Okay, now light the end of the rope of that one to the left first. Let us see that reaction first. Then I will put one of the red ones down. Then we'll light that one. For the last one, we'll put both together and then light both pieces of rope."

"That's a good plan, Evrat. Renard, go ahead and light that blue dipped rope piece."

Renard walks up to the rope piece. He recites the flame spell at the other end of the rope. We all step away. The wizards put up a barrier spell in front of us just in case.

The flame slowly burns the rope piece. As soon as the flame reaches the blue liquid it flares up and burns white. They see some colored streaks shooting out from the little flare up. But there is no explosion. Then the flame dies out when the liquid is burned up and the rope as well.

"That's interesting. What are those colored streaks that are shooting out?"

"Those are pieces of metal flakes. When the explosion takes place they will explode out and create more damage."

"Let's light the red dipped rope piece."

Evrat places one of the red dipped rope pieces on the ground.

Renard recites the flame spell at the other end of the rope. We all step away like before. The wizards put up a barrier spell to protect us like before.

The flame burns the rope piece like before. As soon as the flame reaches the red liquid it flares up and burns white. This time they see some different colors shooting out from the flare up. Again there is no explosion. Then flame dies out when the liquid is burned up along with the rope piece as well.

The wizards remove the barrier spell.

"That's interesting, Evrat. We see some different colors this time."

"Yes, one of those colors was orange. That's an indication that some type of salt was used in the mixture."

"There are using salt? We have that as one of our ingredients in our bombs as well."

"Well, we can imagine what happens when both are combined. We'll definitely need that protection this time."

Evrat walks over to the other piece of rope that was placed on the ground. Evrat carefully places the red dipped piece of rope next to the blue one without touching it. He places a small rock on top of the ropes, but not the dipped ends. The dipped ends are facing them, while the rope ends are facing The Abyss opening.

"When flame reaches the liquids, the explosion should send that small rock shooting across the chasm. I want to see how much force is created by this little bit."

"That's a good idea, Evrat. I'm curious too how much force it will create."

We all step away. The area is well lit, we can see the arrangement that Evrat set up. Renard walks forward and recites the flame spell and lights the other ends of the rope. He walks back among us. The wizards recite the barrier spell. The other knights walk up to see as well. There are several layers of the barrier spell all around us. We all hold our hands to our ears just in case.

The flame burns the rope pieces. As soon as the flame reaches the dipped ends there is an explosion that sends the small rock across the chasm. It shatters into little pieces with great force on the opposite wall. The explosion itself is more than they expected. They see a small ball of white explosion that gets bigger then it dies out. Everybody is still holding their ears from the loud 'bang' that echoes in the area. Their ears are ringing for a bit until it dies down.

The wizards remove the barrier spell. We all look at each other a bit wide-eyed in amazement. The knights begin to murmur among themselves.

"Okay, I say that is a big improvement over our bombs."

"That's understatement, Sir Paladin."

"I agree, Sir Trenton.”

“Knights, let’s get organized and clean up this area while we wait for a decision from the Kings.”

“Yes, Sir Kanoa.”