Free The Half Dwarf Prince by J. M. Fosberg

changed, and headed out into the streets.
     
    That had been six years ago. Since then he had killed at least a hundred Black Dragons. He stayed to himself. He had lived in a small hovel. People in the poorer areas didn’t ask many questions. No one bothered him. That was what gave him the opportunity to hunt the Dragons.
    But i t had been harder lately. The mage Anwar had killed a lot of them, according to rumors, so most of the Black Dragons were in hiding now. He had heard that Vingaza’s personal assassins were back in town. It had taken him a couple of days to track them down. Neither of them wore the Black Dragon clothing, and they had avoided the popular locations of their guild, but he had found them. He didn’t know if this meant that Vingaza was back, but those two assassins were two of the most feared Black Dragons alive. Now he was hunting them.
    Jerrie knew that these two were dangerous, but he was a master at not being seen. He would walk along in crowds. He would duck behind buildings or into alleys, where he could scurry up onto a roof in seconds. He would intersect his targets or lead them. Right now, he just followed. The last thing he wanted was to try to square off against both of them in the open. He was good, but even he couldn’t win that fight. He had to surprise them. He had to take out one of them before he even knew Jerrie was there. Then he could face off against the other. That would likely be the fight of his life, and for his life.
     
    Grundel and Rundo sat at a table at the Dancing Lady. They had arrived in Ambar late last night. This was the first inn they had found and they had taken six rooms. The other dwarves had stayed at the bar likely until early morning. Grundel and Rundo had been happy to sleep in. It was now close to noon, and they had just made it down to eat after washing away the dirt from the road that they had decided to hang onto as they fell into bed the night before.
    The waitress brought over t wo plates piled with potatoes, rice, and some kind of fish sprinkled with black and red seasoning. Grundel was a bit nervous. He had never had fish before. He watched as Rundo went straight for it. Grundel cut a piece off with his spoon and scooped it into his mouth. It was a completely new taste to him. It was delicious. The black stuff was pepper, and he wasn’t sure what the red stuff was but it also added a little kick. He scooped up another piece and stuffed it in his mouth. He couldn’t imagine how he had never eaten this before. Well, he knew dwarves and water didn’t really mix. Dwarves floated like rocks to begin with, and they always carried a lot of weight and armor, so they avoided water. He was so intrigued by this new experience that he almost didn’t notice the two men approaching his table. Almost.
    Grundel tapped his foot against Rundo’s, but then he realized that Rundo now only had one hand above the table. That was the hand that was bringing the rice to his mouth. His other hand surely was wrapped around the hilt of one of the magical daggers he kept on his thighs. Grundel only carried one of his axes on his back. The other was still up in the room. He wasn’t expecting trouble , and he didn’t have to worry about it being stolen because the blades were linked to each other and tied to his bloodline—he could call one to the other as long as he was touching one of them.
    The two men stopped in front of Grundel and Rundo. Just by looking at them Grundel could tell that these men were dangerous. It was obvious in the way they carried themselves, but what really gave it away was their eyes. They were the eyes of men who had killed. Rundo turned their attention to him. “Something we can help you with, gentlemen?”
    They looked at Rundo as he talked, but then turned back to Grundel. “We would like you to come with us. We have some questions.”
    Grundel stood up. He didn’t want to be caught off guard if these men came at him. “What would you like to