The Treasure of the Dwarven City

The Jackpot

I would like to dedicate this chapter to LaurenNoland for being one of my oldest fan and a great writer. And as always, =) , please vote, comment, and fan me!!

He had discovered an underground city. It was amazing to Roger, a vast magnificent city. And the fact that it was underground made it even better. There were two-story buildings and towers, but strangely enough he saw no lights on, throughout the whole city. He looked up and saw that the ceiling was a huge dome, enclosing the city in a perfect heme-sphere. Roger also saw some ten-foot torches attached to the dome. But they most of them were burnt and had run out.

He was standing on a little stone ledge with about a 10 ft. extension from the wall. To his the right was a staircase down, which leaded to a path. The path disappeared into the city, but Roger just looked at the city. He had a perfect view to see that the city was shaped like a rough circle.

However, a few still were lit to let Roger see the city well enough. He couldn't notice any details from far away but Roger could see where he was going. He ran back and grabbed a smaller torch from the wall of the tunnel. It provided a small circle of light around Roger. Roger thought of how far away the surface was. Remembering the slight but persistent downwards slope in the tunnel, Roger assumed that they were really far underground. The slant wasn't that big, but the tunnel was really long.

Roger wanted to know more about this underground city, and cautiously moved to the nearest building. It was only one story and made entirely of stone. Makes sense, as this is underground, thought Roger. The house probably belonged to a low-ranking person, since it was on the outskirts of the city. Roger tried to tread as softly as he could, and his footsteps softened to mute thuds.

As he reached the stone building, he reached up, grabbed the curtain, and moved it to the side. Roger peered into the room, and saw a bedroom. He viewed a bed on the near right side, and a table on the near left side. The door was also on the far left, but set back. It seemed normal enough, when the fact that there was a layer of dust on everything struck him. Roger thought, that's probably why there's no lights. Everyone moved out and this city was abandoned.

He circled the house and found a door. As he opened it, the hinges creaked and Roger grimaced. The sound cut across the air like a blade. If anyone still lived here they were bound to have heard that, Roger thought. He moved inside, and found the interior empty of anything of use. He was in a kitchen, with a counter to his left and tables to his right. But he couldn't find a stove, until he spotted a fireplace. Roger decided to explore a little more, but then try to get out as fast as possible.

Roger wasn't scared of ghosts, far from that it just seemed like a scary ghost town where bandits lurked. Or zombies, Roger thought dryly. Way to help my bravery. Then, Roger saw a book. He quickly strode to it and wiped the dust and grime from the cover. He was astounded by its title, "The Rules and Law Book for Dwarves." The rules and laws weren't that unexpected, but rather the Dwarves part.

Roger wondered, could there really be dwarves's living underground in caves, escaping humans notice for so long?. He knew that wen he got out, he would mark the strange bush and report it for further investigation. He walked to a tower, even more freaked out than before. How would the dwarfs react to seeing him, if there were any behind, Roger wondered. Would they try to kill him, or has every single dwarf truly left? Roger noticed a sign, but it was covered with slime and dust.

Roger approached the sign and cleaned it with his sleeve. It said Warehouse G, and Roger filled with anticipation. What was in there questioned Roger. There could be precious stuff, furniture, books, or even food. Then he had a dismal thought. Everyone moved, so the warehouse could have been transferred. But he still wanted to know so he searched and found a door set in the stone. Roger opened the door to answer his question. This time, the door didn't screech unlike the house's had. Roger looked inside, and a brilliant shine almost blinded him.

Then he saw heaping piles of gold. It was everywhere, and Roger laughed. He could almost swim in it, Roger childishly thought. There were mountains of gold up to three feet tall. On it, were crystals and gems of every color and size. There also was brooches, amulets, and many more types of jewelry. . If he looked up, he would have seen a round heme-sphere, enclosing the warehouse to the night, or rater the ceiling high up.

Roger thought, this will make me live like a king, and my grandchildren. He grabbed a handful of gold coins, and let them drop with soft chimes. If this was Warehouse G, does there mean there's a warehouse A and B? Roger was giddy and felt like this was a dream. Then he proceeded to stuff his pockets full until they were bulging, like he thought that the coins would disappear in a few seconds. Roger was lost in thoughts of future home that when a booming voice echoed, he lept back and fell.

"Well, well, looks like a greedy human has come to loot this place." The voice was deep. And when Roger tracked it to its speaker, he stared in shock. The dwarf, Roger assumed, was a just a little under four feet but with broad, muscular shoulders. He wore a red tunic, with gold designs. It reached all the way down to his ankles. He had two identical daggers on his belly. So the stories of dwarfs are true after all, he thought.

"Who are you and why didn't you move like every other dwarves," Roger inquired.

"Oh, I didn't think you would now I'm a dwarf. But that hardly matters now. I am Drevic, the keeper of the warehouse. I protect them, and I know a secret passage connecting all of them. I have to wait until more dwarf's come and transport the riches to our new home," The dwarf explained.

"But you can let me have some, right?" Roger was desperate, as his dreams were slipping from his hand.

"And why would I do that?" Drevic asked amused.

"Well, because I'll tell everyone there are dwarfs if you don't. Then you'll be discovered," Roger said, feeling a bit more hopeful, until the dwarf gave a booming laugh.

"You don't think I'll let you escape do you?" He brought his hand to his mouth and gave a shrill whistle and five more dwarves appeared, blocking the exit out of the warehouse. ."We're all expert warriors," he signaled him and the other dwarves, " and it's impossible for you to defeat all of us. In fact, I doubt you can defeat one dwarf. But here's the deal.

If you can defeat me, ill let you have a backpack full of coins, if you give us your word that you wont tell. I doubt you can beat me, but i need to give you at least some hope, as is fair." The dwarf held up a red backpack. It was large, with many pockets hanging off its side. It also had to straps on the back.

Roger wanted the coins, but even more to keep his life, so he nodded. He didn't think his chances were good, but it was better then nothing. Even if it was close to nothing, Roger thought dryly."Will I at least have a weapon?"asked Roger.

"Yes, we will each have a sword. I already have mine, so you can pick one from another keeper."

The other dwarves approached and drew their swords from the scabbards, and Roger felt a tinge of fear, even thought he knew they wouldn't hurt him. They reached him and remained silent, which made Roger think they didn't like him or didn't even care. The other keepers laid their swords in a pile near him and backed away, each of them pulling a dagger of some kind from their belt.

Roger could tell that each of the were just as deadly with the knifes. Roger knelt and separated the swords, studying them. Roger  trying to avoid the fight as long as he could. The swords were all intricately carved, and made of slightly blued steel. Roger picked each one up, but barely knew anything about swords, so he just randomly chose one that seemed lighter and stronger than the other swords.

"Um, is there an arena of does the fight start right now?" asked Roger. He looked around for a hint and noticed how the dwarves were pushing and pulling the gold coins to form an area free of coin. Then they stacked the coins to form walls and stood guard so he couldn't escape the arena. Just great, he thought. Now I have to fight, without any chances of escaping. Then his thoughts were pushed away.