Mercy's battle

Part 7

Arthur, Duli, Namli, Trisrel, and Aith-Hannar walked. they had been walking so much that Arthur figured that if there were to be any walking contests they would surly win. the dwarves didn't complain and neither did the elves so Arthur didn't either. along the way the dwarf pair and elven pair had gotten used to each other's teasing and soon didn't mind as much. Trisrel happened to be exceptional at braiding hair and Duli had wanted to challenge her. it didn't go well after the fifth braid when their hair began to knot with other Braids. Aith-Hannar had asked to be called Hannar which was better for Arthur to pronounce, not as much as a tongue twister.

the path to the mines was hot, the sun seemed to blaze harder and brighter meaning more walking time and more breaks. it was also smelly, as they reached the marshes that they tried so hard to ignore. Duli threw his ax down in rage and sat on a small rock that seemed to be big enough for him. 

"What is wrong little dwarf?" Trisrel asked. 

"We have been walking in the wrong direction heading too the marshes instead of away from them!" Duli snapped. 

"These are not the Marshes that you know, little dwarf, these have been placed here to fool you." Hannar answered walking up to the edge of the forest. 

"what do you know of the path to the Dune Mines?" Namli snapped. 

"I do not, but i do know that these marshes are new, the trees are not that old and not of this area." Hannar replied. 

"So our path leads us into a stinking marsh?" Duli asked annoyed. 

"Better than being in the roasting sun." Arthur stated. 

everyone came to some agreement there. Duli stood and sighed, pulling his ax form the ground and led them all into the marshes. Namli followed after with a small huff, Arthur allowed Trisrel to go first before going ahead. 

"What is wrong?" Arthur asked Hannar.

"Since these are not natural woods, they must have been put here for a reason." Hannar whispered. 

"Stay hidden and close to the ground." Trisrel ordered. 

they crept silently across the land, careful to not leave trails that others could follow. the marsh was eerie quiet with the occasional sound of a strange bird caw, other sounds weren't really there. Arthur drew his sword and the rest took this as to ready themselves if a fight broke out. Arthur hoped that wouldn't happen, he wasn't in the mood to fight, he was too hot for this all. 

Arthur stepped into mud and he sunk down, the mud had gotten in his boots and squeeked with every step. the two dwarves were frantically trying to walk through, Trisrel and Hannar picked them both up and tossed them to the other side. 

Hannar and Trisrel pulled him up and out. 

"We're almost there!" Namli exclaimed quietly. 

they exited the woods to see a giant mountain in front of them. there was only one entrance that was guarded by creatures in black armor and rags. the door was bared and carts of stones were being hauled in and out by a different path. Arthur followed one cart to see it dump precious stones in a pile before crusing down a small hill and back into the mountain. the carts were small, probably big enough for Namli and Duli to ride in and be hidden. 

"How are we going to get in?" Namli asked. 

"How low can you crouch?" Arthur asked with a smile. 

the structure of the mountain was like one he had seen before. made to look strong and tough on the outside but weak on the inside. everything had it's weakness, if you looked hard enough you would find it. Arthur led them to the closest they could get to the carts and rock pile.