Free Deepforge by R.J. Washburn, Ron Washburn

out toward the east.
    Grognor and Teelena rode up front, with the elves on foot ahead of the mounted army. The humans rode their warhorses just ahead of them, all but their leader who rode with Grognor.  His name was Brendon Marcus, and had been a Sergeant in the Queen’s army before he and his followers broke away to hunt dwarves.
    “We’ll be executed upon arrival, Emperor. We’ve gone directly against our Queen, and that’s punishable by death. I really don’t know why we don’t leave,” Brendon said.
    “Because, you know that’s not going to happen. I’ll not allow it. We’re in a new world, now. Humans and dwarves working together, not as adversaries. You and I are used to being enemies, now we have to live as allies. There cannot ever be war between our peoples, as much as it sticks in our craws,” Grognor said.
    “I don’t know how to live without hating you, Emperor.”
    “Nor I. We’ve lost too many loves ones at each other’s hands. How we continue on like this is beyond me.”
    “We continue on because we have to. The gods said so,” Teelena said.
    The others nodded, knowing it was true.
    “So, what was that bit about Deccon and Vella being ‘the Chosen Ones’?” Grognor asked, rhetorically.
    “So, that’s what gods look like? What were their names again?” Teelena asked.
    Grognor and Brendon sat for a moment, thinking. They all glanced at each other, hoping for a hint.
    “I can’t remember!” Grognor said.
    “Neither can I, they were…wait, were they humans or elves, or what?” Brendon asked.
    “Who knows?” Teelena said.
     
    They travelled along trying their best to make small talk and describe the unknown, vague image of the gods who had come and changed their lives forever. Their memories of them were fading like a dream. They began to doubt that it actually happened.
    The engineers continued to inspect the electrical infrastructure until they finally began to put away their notepads, all hope lost.
    “We’ll never be able to rebuild it. This was a lifetime of work, and it’s gone, destroyed in seconds,” Delvin said, frustrated and saddened. His fellow engineers tried to comfort him, but as they would arrive at a village, the damage was all too obvious. The substations were all destroyed, and several homes had burned. The army would do their best to help out, rebuilding and cleaning up, but the electrical technology was a complete loss.
    The human villages lost the most, including lives. Homes burned with entire families inside, and larger assembly type structures were destroyed. The only thing hopeful was the sight of the different races working together. Dwarf and humans combined their strengths to move large mounds of rubble, cleaned and helped out any way they could. Grognor and Brendon were the strongest, so it was the two of them who did most of the heavy lifting. Although their deep hatred for each other ran deep, they worked together toward a common goal.
    “I have to admit, Brendon. I never imagined myself in this position,” Grognor said as he grabbed a hold of a large timber. Brendon grabbed the other end, and lifted with Grognor.
    “Nor I, Emperor. I dreamed of defeating you on the field of battle, humiliating you just before your pathetic death.”
    Grognor laughed. “And I dreamed of crushing your worthless human form in my bare hands as you pleaded for your life.”
    Teelena heard this and added her own wisdom, “So, now with our combined passions and power, we will crush these new enemies, whoever they are.”
    “I like the way the Empress things!” Brendon said.
    Grognor stopped and looked at Teelena. “Wow, I hadn’t thought of that.”
    “Crushing our enemies?” Teelena asked.
    “No, the fact that you’re an Empress!”
    The three of them laughed.
                 
    After a few more days travel they finally reached Lake Valley. What greeted them was shocking. Most of the lake was gone, drained down to its pre-reservoir level. The