Free The Quest for the Trilogy: Boneslicer; Seaspray; Deathwhisper by Mel Odom Page A

that of a volcano,” a dwarf stated. “Makes metal easy to work with, then leaves it hard as can be. The Cinder Clouds Islands dwarves weren’t the only ones who learned that trick.”
    â€œAnd they could have only fished out to sea if they had access to the harbor,” Wick said. “With Lord Kharrion’s forces sitting in the Rusting Sea, that wasn’t going to happen. But the Goblin Lord was too impatient to simply wait Oskarr and his people out. Instead, he worked his evil magic and turned the volcanoes the Cinder Clouds Islands dwarves had tapped into against them.” He paused to let the dramatic tension increase. “The Goblin Lord’s spell struck deeply into the heart of the volcano and wreaked havoc with the forges. In seconds, several of the islands—including the one where Oskarr and his hand-picked blacksmiths worked—sank beneath the waves of the Rusting Sea.”
    â€œOskarr died?” Verdin asked.
    Wick nodded. “He did. And nearly every man, woman, and child of his village died with him.” Shuddering at the memory, he tried to forget about the accounts he’d read of the horrifying incident. It was no use. His imagination, in addition to being wild and vivid, also knew no rest. “Throughout the rest of the war against Lord Kharrion, no weapons or armor came from the Cinder Clouds Islands forges.”
    â€œPity he didn’t die before he betrayed the others at Painted Canyon,” Verdin said.
    â€œWhy do you think Oskarr betrayed them forces?” Hallekk demanded.
    â€œHe was the only one of the leaders that didn’t succumb to the sickness,” Verdin said.
    â€œThat’s because he was a dwarf!” Hallekk exploded. “Dwarves don’t get overly sick!”
    â€œPlenty of other dwarves got sick durin’ that time.” Verdin stuck out his jaw defiantly.
    â€œIs that true?” one of the other humans asked Wick.
    The little Librarian hesitated, but he knew he couldn’t lie to those gathered there. “Many of the dwarves did get sick,” he answered.
    â€œBut not Oskarr?”
    â€œNot Oskarr.”
    â€œWhy not?”
    â€œNo one knows.” Wick listened anxiously as silence created a pall over the room. Perhaps that telling lacked something , he told himself. At least they weren’t threatening to kill each other anymore.
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    Later, when the tavern had cleared out and most of the patrons had returned to their ships, Wick sat drinking quietly at a table with Craugh and Hallekk. Paunsel didn’t dare chase the wizard off because he had no designs on becoming a toad.
    Talk was small, generally anecdotes about things they’d seen or done, bits and pieces Wick had read of late, and a few choice comments about the ongoing chess game the Librarian and the wizard conducted through a series of letters through shipboard mail.
    Wick could see that Hallekk was mightily disturbed over the argument that had cropped up during the night. He hated to see his friend so troubled.
    â€œFor what it’s worth,” Wick said, “I don’t think Oskarr betrayed those men at the Battle of Fell’s Keep.”
    Hallekk sighed, and the candle flame on the table between them danced between life and death, then finally stood tall once more. “I know, little man.”
    â€œI tried the best I could to express the situation.”
    â€œI saw that.” Hallekk frowned. “The problem is that that battle is still talked about, even a thousand years later.” He waved at the tavern. “Not just here. But all along the mainland as well. Ever’where ye go, sooner or later, the talk’ll turn to the Battle of Fell’s Keep.”
    Wick knew that was true. He’d been in taverns along the Shattered Coast that had turned into great battles themselves between humans, dwarves, and elves over what had transpired in the Painted Canyon at the end of those ten