Building a Kingdom and Conquering the World

Chapter 177  Information

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Boris could hear the sound of rough breathing near his ears as he seemed to be carried on someone's back. Besides the rough breath, he could hear voices that seemed both far and yet so close to him. "What is happening?" - The dwarf asked himself, trying to sneakily open his eyes to see what was going on. The last thing he remembered was looking at Fili as the massive hand of the Ice Giant was about to take his life. Then, a purple light clouded his vision, and he passed out.

"Humans!" - Boris almost screamed, seeing the figures walking through the forest, but he managed to contain his voice and shut his eyes tightly, afraid that he would be discovered - "What are humans doin' here? It's been hundreds of years since we last saw one of them down here…alive. All they do is throw their corpses to us, and we have to collect 'em to prevent the Ice Giants from gatherin' here." Boris couldn't understand what humans were doing down in the Screaming Valley. The last time they had any contact with living humans was when invaders had come to steal their marbles and kidnap some of their kin. The dwarves held little positive feelings for humans.

"Are Fili and Oin still alive?" Boris squeezed his eyes open again, trying to see if his brothers were safe. He spotted Oin, whose legs were destroyed, covered with a furred mantle to maintain his temperature. Oin was being carried on the back of a person at least three to four times his size, making him look like a child. This man seemed even bigger than those corpses they collected from the cliff. Through his squeezed eyes, Boris could see dozens of similarly large men, treading carefully across the forest. "Where is Fili?"- Boris wanted to turn his head to look the other way, but he was afraid the barbarian carrying him would notice he was awake. He hoped the barbarian would move without caution through this dead gray forest, giving him a chance to turn his head and check. Unable to do anything else, Boris strained to hear the conversation happening nearby, his curiosity piqued despite his fear. The voice of the black-haired leader of these troops, a man wearing a long black furry coat, was low and calm. "Check their wounds again. Make sure they're stable. We can't stop right now. I can feel those beasts gathering since their howls are getting more frequent" - Henry commanded. Soon someone came to Boris's side and began to check his body. When they tried to touch his arm, he gritted his teeth in pain and squeezed his eyes, unable to maintain a calm face.

This movement didn't go unnoticed by Leier, who was the one checking their condition - "This one seems to have woken up, my liege!"- Leier called to the king, turning her head away from the dwarf. "Shit!" - Boris screamed in his mind and sprang his eyes wide open, his heart racing. Without waiting for a single second, Boris forced his body and jumped down from the barbarian's back, who could do nothing but look at the small man without understanding what had happened.

Boris took a fighting stance as he looked around, spotting Fili who was also being carried by another barbarian. He was surrounded, and his brothers were with the humans, meaning that he couldn't easily run away.

"Drop my brothers, humans!"- Boris demanded, his body aching all over, but he still maintained his fighting stance, despite his trembling knees - "I won't allow ye to take them away!"

A silence spread across the forest as the troops looked at the small man with interest, especially the barbarians, who seemed to commend him for his courage to face them with such a small build. Leier wanted to dash and take down the small man, her blue eyes glowing, but Henry stepped forward first, his image blurring and appearing right in front of the dwarf, who couldn't help but swallow hard, his knees trembling even more. The figure before Boris seemed to be like a mountain.

"I commend you for your desire to protect your brothers" - Henry began, his voice serious - "But why do you wish to attack the people that saved you? Do all the dwarves of your villages lack manners?" Boris's eyes darted between Henry, Leier, and the other barbarians, ready to react - "We don't need yer help! We've survived down here for ages without ye."

Henry's gaze remained steady, a slight smile playing on his lips - "That's not what I have seen. If my memory serves me correctly, there were three dwarves about to die if I hadn't saved them." Boris's eyes narrowed, his pride making him unable to see things - "Aye, and we would've faced death with honor, fightin' those beasts to the end. We don't need pity from humans." Henry shook his head, his expression stern - "Such a stupid response" - he said, choosing not to go on with this. He had other things more important to take care of - "I saved you because I admired your sense of brotherhood, your willingness to risk your life for your kin. I also have a few questions if you may answer them." At those words, Boris hesitated. These people didn't seem to have the desire to kill or kidnap them. He glanced at his injured brothers for a few seconds, trying to decide what to do. Henry saw the internal conflict within the dwarf and continued - "We are not your enemies. I only want some information and some compromise on your part. You and your brothers are safe with us." Boris finally let out a shaky breath and lowered his stance, though his eyes remained wary - "Fine. But I'll be watchin' ye closely. Any sign of betrayal, and I won't hesitate. Even if I die, I will make sure to take you with me." Hearing that threat, Leier took a step forward, reaching for the dagger on her hip, ready to strike down the dwarf who dared to disrespect her king. However, Henry stopped her with a glance, ordering her to hold back. He also wanted to extract information from Boris without resorting to violence.

"Do you mind if I ask you while we move forward?" Henry asked. "Those creatures seem to be getting closer."