The Tide of Total War

The Hanging Villages

Marcus woke up in the rather large tent and stumbled out of the camp. His chest was very tight and crushing, and his gut was throbbing with every heartbeat. As he walked out saw Gottfried, Thylrrim, and Delina were talking while the army was training with dummies they probably made by the forests a while down the mountain range. He walked towards Gottfried to join.

"Marcus, your awake! I wasn't expecting to get up so fast after the severe injury you sustained from the horse trampling your gut and chest."Said Gottfried, surprised.

"Ah, it still aches.. But i'll be fine. Nothing to really worry about as long as we don't fight anyone else in maybe two days." Replied Marcus,

They continued on to the army to aid them in their fighting.

After the good workout by everyone, they closed down camp and continued on towards the king Aeghard. They marched down towards the dark green forest to continue on towards the path. They walked down the beauty of the forest, but no where near what the forest was next to the grand city. They marched on, on guard for any assassins, spies, or even animals. They continued on towards the dirt road, the smell of fresh air, something very foreign for these men and elves at these times. They soon reached the end of the little paradise to find themselves in a large grass plains full of animals, with a huge mountains and tundra, with large cities seeming to hang from the mountains themselves. Marcus commanded the men to the tundra to get towards those cities to see what they are. Maybe they are Meldrion. But they don't seem to be. They reached towards the snow after eating some meat from the animals. They start following a surprisingly sticky iron trail, they still continue on their way, not seeming to fall off the iron trail. They soon reach to a cliff side of the mountain and walk on the normal stone trail. 

Soon they reach to the first city of the several up towards the peaks of mountains. They reach to the first cities gates and find a few, very short men walk out with pickaxes. 

"Who are you!!?" Bellowed the short man,

"Were a group of Men and Elves to take revenge of the Meldrion Empire. Do you follow them?" Said Marcus,

"Of course not!! We thought you did!" Blasted another short man, with a giant beard that reached down to his barrel like gut. His beard was probably larger than Gottfried's.

"Well, you have no worries then. We were looking for people to help us take them back, we have already made them run once, if we can continue this we could kill the king, Aeghard." Marcus Replied with anxiety in his voice,

"If he ran, your going to have to go a long way to their Capitol City, he always goes there. I should know, they always try to take these cities over. But no one will take over the home of the Dwarves. No one has... No one will." Responded the 'Dwarf' with a little pride in the voice, and Marcus could see why.

"Well, we are here to just hire some recruits and maybe take on some help you guys need." Marcus replied.

"Aye." Said the dwarf, as they walked into the hanging city of stone and shiny, dark, jade.

The floor was stone, as the Dwarves had to build stone floors outwards the mountain just to make the city. Marcus didn't feel very comfortable here. Especially seeing the vast building and the creatures they had for sale. The creature merchants towards the barracks had giant llama like creatures, with black and orange fur. Seemed like the perfect pack animal. There was also large human-like creatures, with a slag-jaw and dark, green skin. The creatures of those held giant clubs and axes. The large creatures mumbled in a deep, slow, raspy voice. There was also some normal animals like Panthers, Tigers, Cougars with various assorting colors to fit their fur. But there also happened to be some odd animals to follow suit with the large animals.  There were was this thing that had the head, chest, and legs of a raging bull, some of them with nose rings. But, oddly, the arms of a man, the arms were very muscular, so muscular in fact, it hardly seemed real. Marcus had no idea how this city could even hold a second with these massive creatures and buildings surrounding the place. The place was so wide, and spacious as well. He could feel like that one of those large llama things could fully lay down and rest for some spots of the neatly ordered maze. Somehow. 

"How could this place hold so much, being so far from the mountains edges?" Marcus questioned as he turned to the dwarfs showing him the place.

"You should never underestimate Dwarven forges. They surely make almost anything stronger than diamond, but also make things able to cut those as well. Here, let me show you the forges mate." The Dwarf said as Marcus could find a heavy Scottish like accent in his voice.

The dwarf led him to the several large openings of the mountains.

"Now careful. The ridges are a little sensitive. So, i'd advise that you keep your Elven folk out in the stone fields." Said the Dwarf as he walked in the large whole, almost quadruple the size of the dwarves body. 

Marcus walked in, leaving his men out there waiting. As Marcus stumbled in, he almost fell already as he saw that the cave went straight down with little dwarves on thick ropes to hold them up. He looked down to see the redness of hell itself. The demonic blood running redder the further he looked. He continued on the spiraling dirt walkway, which almost felt like several miles down the mountain. Soon the dwarf finally stopped Marcus, as he stepped towards the several, deep red wholes carved into the mountain seeming to be the maker of all the red around this cave.  The dwarf showed him in as his dark black beard, turned more red with every step. As Marcus walked in, he saw a large, vast forge. If he thought that the llama things were massive then this had to be fiction. These large, iron barrels poured out boiling lava, with huge barrels of water rushing down on some parts of the forge where cold water met lava, to make a cooling mist as the war could not be dealt. There were shining white anvils with two dwarfs hammering away at red, almost liquid metals for each anvil. 

"This," Said the dwarf, "These are the forges. The greatest invention our entire kind could have invented. This forge, right here.... This is what wins wars."