Ultimate Level 1-Chapter 406: King and Queen of the Dwarves

“So… how did it go?” Max asked.

Fowl grunted and shrugged.

“We’ll find out tomorrow. For now we need to finish up a few last things, and I’d rather not dwell upon that problem. Did you get what I asked for?”

A stone box appeared in Max’s hand, and he held it out for his friend.

Taking it, Fowl opened it and let out a low whistle.

“It’s better than I hoped. Thank you.”

Nodding, he took it back when the warrior handed it to him and stored it.

“Are you ready to meet Dagon and Velda?”

Chuckling, his friend shook his head.

“No and stop saying it like that. They’re the king and queen. I’m not ready to call them by their first names.”

Smiling, Max shrugged.

“Regardless, you’re getting to meet them both as they show you everything for tomorrow. Word is the queen actually returned from a trip she had been on just for this moment.”

“Yeah… which is a special thing in and of itself. Her guard was doing some recruiting at the different towns as the shard was brought before them. It’s one of the things she really enjoys doing.”

Shaking his head, Max tried to imagine what it would have been like if either of the queens had appeared at his Choosing Day.

“You dwarves are so weird. Who would have imagined that your queen makes a personal appearance. Still, I find that rather cool that she does such a thing.”

“It’s one of the big parts of our culture,” Fowl said as he glanced out the carriage window, motioning to the area they were in. “She is the mother every dwarf wants.”

Max watched his friend wince as his friend said those words.

“Well, I never had a king and queen come to my wedding and open the Great Hall for me.”

“Bah, just you wait! I’m sure Tanila’s dad is going to be more than excited when you show up.”

Rolling his eyes, he gave Fowl the middle finger and watched his friend smile, both of them knowing that no matter how bad Greeta was, she couldn’t compare with how Savantus and Sylvandra Gilmenor were going to be.

“Makes me wish for an evil dwarven mother.”

“Keep wishing, you might get that.”

***

“I said you can rise.”

It took Fowl a moment to stand up straight, his eyes still fixed at the carpet he stood on.

Max did his best to not grin as he watched his friend visibly struggle to gaze upon Velda Hammerfall.

She was a very attractive dwarf, who was only about three inches shorter than her husband. Unlike him and his white hair, hers was blond and braided with expert precision. Even her beard seemed to shine in the light of the magical stones. Two piercing blue eyes never took their gaze off the warrior standing next to him. Her armor, though simple in some ways, was sparkling in the light, the silver chain outfit having been polished like a mirror.

“Forgive me, my queen. It’s just that… I never imagined this moment. It was one thing to see you upon the day I got my skill and to receive the gift you gave, but to be here, talking like dwarves…”

A light laugh came from her, and she reached out with a hand and waved off his comment.

“Please. You, Fowl Hammerfall, are a rare treat for my eyes. I remember the day you got your skills. I had high hopes that you would accomplish great things, and it appears I was right. Now tell me, has Dagon managed to do everything your bride has asked for?”

A chuckle came from the king, who shifted slightly on his throne.

“I have personally emptied the kingdom’s vault to ensure that this wedding is second only to yours.”

Velda smiled and nodded.

“Then tell me, you acquired the ore as well, I have been informed. May I see it?”

Fowl nodded and pulled it from storage, holding it out.

“Impressive. A true testament of your love for her. I remember how much I enjoyed hearing it took almost a month for Dagon to finally mine the one he gave me. Nothing makes a bride happier than to hear that her husband has toiled and sweated to prove their love.”

“Oh, and how I toiled and sweated,” the king joked. “A month… it took me a month to find what I was looking for. And you must have Ockrim’s own luck to find that in a single day.”

“Well, I did have help,” Fowl said as he motioned to Max with his head. “I’m afraid we may have caused your men some problems with all the digging we did.”

Laughter came from both dwarves, who sat upon their stone chairs, filling the room they were meeting in only containing the four of them and four guards.

“Yes… I have heard about the amount of stone you both moved. It has been ages since I have mined, but now part of me wants to see if I could keep pace with you two,” Dagon said. “One often forgets the strength that is acquired in the tower. Most of our miners would give much to have a fraction of the stats you both have.”

“And you, Max Hoste,” Velda said, almost interrupting her husband. “You honor your brother by standing by his side during that entire time. I am sad to have missed the ceremony of brotherhood, but it is obvious from what I have heard and see that you two are bound by blood.”

Giving a slight bow he smiled.

“I am grateful to you both for taking care of my brother and soon to be sister. I’m afraid that all I can say is thank you for loving on your children.”

Both of them shifted a little and grinned.

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“You are a marvel,” the queen stated. “I have heard that Ockrim himself appeared to you and that you have a token of his that appears my husband has not managed to find a price you are willing to sell it for yet.”

“I am afraid you are right… Part of me feels unable to let go of it. If I wasn’t afraid that your husband might start offering me a wedding here when the time comes and paying for it all as he has already done, I would show it again. Perhaps when he isn’t around, I’ll let you see it.”

A groan came from Dagon, and his wife started to chuckle slightly.

“You do know him very well. He has spoken about it many times, telling me how he wishes he could own it. Still I am more than happy to set aside a time to see it without him. The last thing I need is for both of us to start bidding on something and truly empty the kingdom’s vault.”

Giving a slight bow again, Max tapped his chest once with his fist.

“That does bring me to the next part of all this. I have learned it is customary for the family to give a gift to those who host a wedding, and so as Fowl’s brother, I have a gift for both of you if you will allow me to honor the custom I know you hold dear.”

Clearing his throat, Dagon winced slightly but nodded.

“We had not expected a gift, as this is a treat for us, but since you have brought it up, I cannot turn it down.”

“May I?” Max asked, motioning for him to approach.

A single nod came from the king, and so he winked at Fowl as they both took the five steps that separated them from the pair.

With one last nod, each of them pulled out a large gold dragon scale, each three feet in length.

“May these gifts find a place of use in the Stormfall home, and may they serve to protect those who live within its walls.”

Velda smiled, and her head began to move slowly from side to side.

“You… we are honored, and yet this gift… it is far beyond what anyone could ask for.”

“Yet my brother gives them as a testament of his own free will and thanks for all you have done for me and my bride,” Fowl replied. “Know that these come from his personal treasure. None of what he offers has a tie to anyone but himself.”

Max’s Sonar picked up the tiny gust of wind that came from Dagon’s lips as he heard Fowl’s words.

“Two dragon scales… of this size are worth much. For such a gift… I…”

King Dagon’s lips moved for a few seconds, his eyes fixed upon both scales, and then he turned to his wife and snorted.

“Tomorrow, I will do something unusual but if you trust me, my dear, I think it is the only way I can hope to honor such a gift as these.”

“In all my years of knowing you, I must say you only make a mistake when I’m not present, so I’m certain whatever you have decided will be perfect.”

A chuckle came from Fowl, who quickly stopped it before Dagon himself started to laugh.

“Do not worry, she is right as you shall soon find out Batrire will most likely be. Often my temper can get the best of me, and sometimes I allow myself to think more highly of myself than I should. She serves as the oil, tempering my blade and keeping me from cracking or breaking when the real moment comes.

“But as I was saying, tomorrow I will have a moment where I will find a way to honor this gift. We thank you for the testament of your love for your brother.”

Max and Fowl handed over the scales, watching as the king and queen turned them over, admiring and inspecting them for a minute.

“I would have loved to have seen the dragon these came from,” Greeta said. “I wonder if it was a male or a female dragon.”

“Does that matter?” Max asked.

“Oh, for certain!” she exclaimed. “Each dragon has different qualities. While a male dragon often has tougher scales, a female dragon is slightly softer. It might be hard to imagine that such a thing is possible to detect, but judging from what I can feel, these would most likely be…”

Her voice trailed off as her fingers ran along the outer edge, feeling the thickness of it. With a grunt she put some pressure on both sides, almost as if she was trying to fold it in half.

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“Do you know the sex of the dragon this came from?”

“I do,” Max answered.

“Should I ask if you took these from the corpse of the original owner?”

Her eyes almost sparkled as she watched him, and Max could sense the gaze of all four guards as well as the king upon him.

“Would that matter?”

Sighing, Velda shrugged.

“Only in making your fame rise more.”

“Then I’ll choose to not answer. Some might think that I did, and I’ll gain honor there while others will believe that I didn’t, and I won’t have to worry about them thinking I lied. Either way, I’m not here to honor myself, just Fowl and the both of you.”

“Gods, he’s gifted with that tongue,” Dagon said as he stored the scale he had been holding.

“And he has managed to ignore the question I asked and yet didn’t,” she pointed out.

“Tell me what sex you think the dragon was, and I’ll tell you if you’re right.”

She smiled and nodded, rubbing her fingers one last time along the edge.

“If I was a betting dwarf—”

“And she is if you play cards with her,” Dagon interrupted.

Rolling her eyes, Velda shook her head.

“Ignore him. I’d bet this came from a female dragon.”

Smiling, Max nodded.

“How did you know that?”

Licking her lips, Velda tapped the edge a few times.

“The size of this and its shape. I can tell this came from a portion of the chest. While most might not be able to tell such a thing, I’ve seen a few scales in my time and have read extensively upon them. We don’t have many scales left in our vault, and it appears that we won’t have any joining them for a while to come. Unless one of the few dragons still in our world decides to just donate their body or cause so many problems that all three kingdoms work together to take it down, the effort to fight one isn’t worth it.”

She flipped over the scale and showed the back of it, tapping a few areas that Max knew were where the flesh had attached to it.

“If you look here, you’ll notice the spots where scales are attached and see how deep the grooves are. For a scale of this size and shape, a male dragon would have much deeper ones because they have typically stronger muscles up front, and this leads to them requiring the extra space to connect with.”

Max knew he was shaking his head, amazed that Velda so easily seemed to know these things and understood how they worked.

Smiling to himself, he winked at her.

“I think I need to witness this to be certain.”

“Oh, I wish I had one like this to compare, but we don’t. All the scales we have are smaller, and I’m afraid it wouldn’t give a good comparison. We’d need a male scale of something similar in size to be able to show that.”

It was at that moment, that Max pulled a silver dragon scale from Kuneoss, holding it upside down so that the underside was present.

Dagon began to cough as Velda started to laugh.

“Oh, Max Hoste… you’re going to cause this husband of mine to spend some gold today.”

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