At first glance, the dwarves resembled the dwarves in movies like The Lord of the Rings—short, stocky, sporting thick beards and long hair. They wore shiny breastplates similar to Trey’s, and most held battleaxes, also like Trey’s, or long spears.

At second glance, they weren’t exactly movie dwarves. Most of them had visual deformities: an arm or leg too short, a gnarled hand or clubbed foot, an eye too low or mostly closed, a thick protruding brow, a receding chin, a bulbous nose, or a cauliflower ear. More creations. Spence heard a shuffling from behind them, and a glance over his shoulder confirmed more dwarves were on the trail behind. He had no idea how they had gotten there or how long the dwarves might have followed them.

The largest dwarf, with thick, curly black hair and a matching beard, strode forward and stopped just a few feet in front of Caleb. He walked with a limp due to his left leg being shorter and thinner than his right. He had dark, weathered skin, and his eyes were squinty, almost giving him a Mongolian look. He held a spear twice his height. The top of his head came to Caleb’s chest.

“Welcome, questers. I am Thordr, king of the dwarves of the Desolate Peaks.” The dwarf spoke in a deep, gravelly voice. Despite being a foot and a half shorter than Caleb, he probably weighed more than Trey. “I have heard you slew the mighty dragon. For that, we are grateful. It has killed many of my people over the years.”

“It was nothing,” Caleb said.

“You shall stay with us tonight and eat and drink like conquering heroes,” Thordr said. He then turned and walked through the other dwarves and toward the mountain face at the back of the plateau that stretched at least one hundred and fifty feet high.

Caleb turned and glanced at the others, shrugged, and followed Thordr. Once they had passed through the line of dwarves, the dwarves closed in on the sides, escorting them. Spence noticed various openings cut into the smooth stone as he neared the mountain face. He soon realized they were windows, most likely set on different levels inside. There were two huge wooden doors at the base, fifteen feet high and ten feet wide.

Wooden posts lined the perimeter of the plateau, with torches mounted on the top of each. Several dwarves moved around, lighting the torches in the fading light. The front of the plateau ended with a cliff. Spence couldn’t see what the view consisted of in the fading light, but they were definitely high in the mountains.

The doors slowly swung open, creaking loudly, as they approached. They were at least a foot thick and had strips of metal bolted across both sides. Once they had walked through, the doors groaned shut behind them with a loud boom. The inside opened into a vast room, with the ceiling lost in the shadows high above. The room was illuminated by lamps on tables, torches mounted to the walls, and a fire burning in a massive fireplace in the far wall.

Spence surveyed the cave with his mouth hanging open. Stairs were carved into the stone on both sides of the door and wound up to a wide ledge above, which encircled the entire room. Then he saw additional ledges spaced out evenly higher and higher above. It looked similar to a hotel he had stayed in years ago in Florida, except the hotel wasn’t carved out of stone or lit with torches.

Two dozen huge wooden tables were arranged around the center of the room, with lamps spaced evenly in the middle of each. Thick, short wooden chairs surrounded each table. Many dwarves sat around the tables, and more scurried in and out of passages opening off the main room. The ones entering the room carried trays of food and drink; those disappearing carried empty trays and plates.

Thordr led them to the head of the table closest to the fireplace. “Sit,” he instructed them. He sat at the end of the table, and Spence and Morgan sat on one side and Trey and Caleb on the other. Dwarves brought them thick wooden plates and metal goblets. Others served roasted meat, potatoes, and thick pieces of bread and filled the goblets with a dark, amber liquid. “Did the Nephilim serve you ale?”

“Yes,” Caleb said.

Thordr turned his head and spat on the floor. “This is real ale. Enjoy.” He turned his goblet up and drank deeply.

Caleb raised his goblet and tasted an experimental sip. He nodded his head and swallowed another. Morgan followed suit. Spence sniffed his and then took a small drink. It tasted similar to the ale in Argos but was thicker, more bitter, and definitely contained more alcohol. The ale was good, but he knew they would have to pace themselves.

“OK. Let’s go easy on this,” Caleb said as if reading Spence’s mind. Caleb gave a lingering glance to Trey. “We don’t want to make a scene in front of our hosts.”

“Well, since you all are staring at me, I get the point. I’ll behave,” Trey responded flatly.

The roast meat—mountain goat, Thordr informed them—was a little fatty and greasy but flavorful. The potatoes were good, too, and soaked up the juice-like gravy of the meat. The bread was thick and hard, like sourdough, but was as dark as pumpernickel. The elven fare they had eaten for the past two days hadn’t been bad, but hot, fresh food was hard to beat. The food and drink kept coming.

“Have you hosted other questers?” Spence asked as the eating wound down to just nibbling.

“Three recently made it to the edge of our kingdom, at the border of the Forbidden Forest. They never made it this far, though.”

“What happened to them?” Spence asked.

“A half-wolf, half-lizard beast just appeared and ate two of them. It roamed the mountains for a few days, terrorized my people, and then suddenly headed off into the Barrens,” Thordr said, sucking the meat off a bone.

“We found it,” Caleb said.

“The wolf beast?”

“Yep.”

“And slew it?”

“Yep.”

“Impressive,” Thordr said, his eyes wide.

“What about the third?” Spence asked.

Thordr hesitated. “We are not sure. He must have separated from the other two before their demise. We have not seen him since, so I assume he has met his fate somewhere in these mountains. I cannot imagine one quester surviving alone for long. I assume the dragon ate him. Now, tell me of your other adventures and how you have survived while so many others have perished.”

The four worked together to describe all the events that had transpired since they arrived in the strange world. They left out the troubles with Trey and Titus’s cave and Illexya’s hollow tree. And, of course, Spence left out Enki’s visit. They shared everything else. Thordr listened with fascination, his eyes widening and mouth hanging open with the battle tales. All the other dwarves within earshot were similarly mesmerized.

“That is some story indeed. You four have great courage and skills,” Thordr said, leaning back in his chair.

“Do we just travel south from here to the Forsaken Swamp of the Draconians and slay the last monster?” Spence asked.

“Almost. But first, you must defeat one more creature in my kingdom. Then you can continue to the Forsaken Swamp.”

“What monster?” Caleb said wearily.

“There is a cave several miles south of here, not far off the trail. Inside is some type of monster that can turn dwarves, or anything for that matter, to stone.”

“Medusa?” Spence asked.

“I have not heard of a Medusa. No one is sure what the beast looks like. I have been told it is wily and cunning, though. It can take the form of anything it wants. It seeks to deceive and lure its prey close, and then it turns them to stone.”

“Have any of your dwarves seen it and survived?” Caleb asked.

Thordr leaned forward, his eyes darting back and forth to the other tables, and then spoke softly. “No. No dwarves have encountered it yet. I only learned of this beast a few nights past. Odin came to me in a dream and told me of it.”

“You just dreamed this?” Trey asked.

“Not a real dream. It is the way Odin communicates with us during the night. He also left special helmets in my room you can wear to face the monster. He said they will allow you to see the beast’s true form and protect you from its power.”

“This isn’t part of our quest. Why shouldn’t we just skip it and continue to the Forsaken Swamp?” Caleb said.

“For some reason, Odin wants the monster slain. He told me that you must slay it before continuing and completing your quest. And I want it killed too. I do not need something turning my dwarves to stone. Since the dragon is dead, we will be free to roam or even leave our kingdom at will. We cannot have a…Medusa locking us in.”

The four and Thordr fell silent and sipped at the goblets of ale. The dwarves at the other tables grew steadily louder and more boisterous. Soon, several disappeared down various tunnels and returned carrying instruments. Some had stringed instruments, ranging from banjo to cello, others bore crude clarinets and flutes, and a few had stone jugs. The musicians set up around the fireplace and began playing music. Other dwarves left their seats and danced in the open space between the tables in front of the musicians. The music was rousing and fast-paced, almost like the square-dancing music Spence and the others had to dance to in gym class. Even the dances resembled square dancing.

Spence paced himself on the ale and observed that the other three did too. They were all a little subdued. He didn’t know whether their mood was due to the prospects of yet another battle or just being on a seemingly endless quest. Thordr showed no such restraint, though, and downed tankard after tankard. He stomped his feet, clapped along many times during the songs, and called out frequently to the dancers and musicians.

Spence studied the dwarves in more detail. He estimated at least eighty gathered in the dining area, with others peering off the ledges stretching out of sight above. As with the elves and Nephilim, no young dwarves were present. There also weren’t many females. Although the few he saw appeared and dressed like the males, so there might have been more than he thought.

Thordr finally looked at the four of them as if just realizing they did not appreciate the festivities as much as he did. “What is the matter? Do you not enjoy the hospitality of the dwarves?”

Caleb glanced at the other three briefly and then at Thordr. “I apologize. You are very hospitable. We’re just tired from our quest. Slaying monsters and dragons is hard work. And tomorrow, we must face a creature that can turn us into statues. If it doesn’t offend you, I think we’d like to get a good night’s sleep.”

“Ah, it is I who must apologize to you. I am sure you are weary. I have some comfortable sleeping arrangements for you. However, first I want to show you the heart of the mountain. Then I will lead you to your sleeping quarters.”