Dungeons & Disappointment

Chapter 45: Dumfaldir

"Trevvy? Trevvy?"

The soothing voice came from my right, and when I opened my eyes, I saw the gorgeous face of Finana staring at me, holding lightly onto my arm.

"You there?" She asked, keeping her voice impossibly smooth. "It's okay. I just wanted to wake you up for breakfast."

"Y-yeah." I said, then sat up and rubbed my eyes, every memory coming back like a fresh wave of knives, ready to pierce my heart.

She sat back on her feet, then gave me a sad look.

"You okay?" She asked. "Wanna talk about it?"

I shook my head. "I just need to process....that."

She looked sad, much sadder than I thought she would look, but she gave me a strong smile.

"It'll be okay." She said, wiping her eyes. "Come get something to eat, it'll help, trust me."

I nodded, giving in to Finana's requests, and I followed her to the top deck, where I saw that we had set down in a large forest, with a mountain range off to the northwest. The mountains weren't smooth, or even that beautiful. Instead, they looked like huge crags that shot into the sky in irregular patterns, like the back of a monstrous animal. I shivered at the slightly cold breeze that blew through the air, and I saw that everyone was gathered on the deck, eating a small meal of porridge, with various breads and sausages. When I came onto the deck, everyone met my eyes, and they gave me confident nods, which I really appreciated.

I sat down with the rest of my friends, and BahnBarr shoveled more porridge in her mouth before turning to me.

"We haven't left Alavaar's borders yet." She stated. "It'll take us a few days to even get to Tharnaheim, and probably another full day of traveling to get to the capital Dumfaldir."

I racked by brain as I nibbled on some bread, trying to push the thoughts that hurt the most out of my mind as I thought about my knowledge of Faerun.

"I-I haven't ever heard of that city." I said.

BahnBarr nodded. "It's a capital city, built into the Marching mountains, far to the South. The Dwarves made a home out of it, and the king lives there. So thats our heading."

I took bigger bites, trying to keep myself calm. "Okay. Dumfaldir then. Any one know how to get to the king?"

My friends shook their head.

"We can always ask for an audience with him." Ormgaul suggested. "King Badraet isn't really picky about who audiences with him."

"You know the king?" I asked.

"Only by name, but yes." He replied. "Dwarves don't like me very much."

"Why?"

"Kind of a thing with Dragonborn. They don't like dragons, or anything related to them. And they hate thieves."

Haneen nodded. "We've had a lot of problems with dwarves in the past. Mostly due to stealing for food."

"Alright, when we're there, keep your hands to yourself." BahnBarr said, slurping the last of her porridge. "The last thing we need to do is piss off the dwarves by stealing any of their treasures."

Ormgaul nodded, then when we finished eating, we set off again, sailing high over the landscape below us. I stood at the bow of the ship, and after a moment, Finana came and stood next to me.

"Hey." She said. "You okay?"

I nodded.

"You're, uhm, not talking that much."