Staring down from the ceiling wasn't the main problem—it was the wood. It creaked under their weight, thin and brittle.
Vox held his breath, fearing they'd crash straight down onto the stone table below.
But he kept his mouth shut.
Buknet's eyes were locked on the scene below, filled with a desperate need to hear her people's fate.
Through the crack, Vox counted seven Dwarfs, they circled a massive stone table with a small fire in a pit right in the center.
The environment was lit with enough burning lamps to provide perfect visibility. Aside from the wall which had the map of the village roughly drawn on the surface, and few hammers hanged beside, there were nothing else in the room.
Round the table, one Dwarf stood out. He sat with both hands slammed onto the stone, eyes dark with the intensity, similar to that of a man who had seen too much war.
His black beard reached his chest, tied neatly at the ends to give him a rugged look. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail, the sides braided tight.
"That's my father," Buknet whispered to Vox. "His name is Ogrhon."
Ogrhon was armed to the teeth in heavy plate armor. He listened to the suggestions of the other six before finally speaking.
"Look, I understand the plan," Ogrhon said, tapping a thick finger on the stone. "But if we take the mountain route and settle into the depths, we can take the Mooneater by surprise. What we don't know is just how powerful this corrupted Titan really is."
A Dwarf with a completely bald head and no beard spoke up. "We know enough. It's massive. Waking it will shake these mountains to their roots... But... we still don't know its weak spots."
"Indeed," two others grunted in unison.
A hooded Dwarf, his face hidden in shadow, leaned forward. "Lord Ogrhon, we can attack that Titan with everything we have and not feel a scratch. That is who we are."
Ogrhon nodded. "What you speak is true, Vogoh. But we must be careful—"
"Our last King, Olkhon, wasn't CAREFUL!" Vogoh shouted, his finger slamming into the table. "He went straight for the Titans!"
Ogrhon wiped a hand across his face. "And that is exactly what caused him to turn to stone! Whether we like it or not we have to be CAREFUL."
Vox leaned closer to Buknet. "What does he mean, turned to stone?"
"Dwarfs are born from the mountains," she whispered back, her eyes tracking every movement below. "When we die, we return to the stone. It's our life cycle."
Vox could only stare. He knew she had said this before, trying to process the idea of a living mountain, but his focus shifted.
He narrowed his eyes at Vogoh.
The hooded Dwarf was slowly sliding a knife from his boot.
"Buknet," Vox whispered urgently. "Do Dwarfs show off their blacksmithing skills during meetings?"
"No. Why?"
Vox pointed. "I'm pretty sure he didn't read the rules."
Buknet's pupils dilated. "No! He's going to kill my father!"
"I know what he's going to do. But how do you know he wants to kill your father—?"
"The other Dwarfs aren't that important, and taking down my Father, would make him the next voice in command," She gripped Vox's arm. "I'm sorry, but we have to get down there now!"
Vox's mind raced through multiple thoughts. If they ran for the door, Ogrhon would be dead before they hit the floor.
However something made him wonder. If he would openly kill the Dwarf king there, in front of everyone, that would mean, everyone there is also a target.
"We need to break through right here," Vox said, touching the weak spot in the wood. "I'll get your father's attention, you take the knife."
"How are you going to get his attention while I grab the blade?"
"Seeing an 'Elf' is the best distraction"
Buknet nodded in agreement.
"How strong are your feet?" Vox asked, finding the center of the stress fracture in the wood.
"Super strong! I can crush stones to dust with these!" She said tapping her legs.
"Then crash them through right here!"
"LIKE THIS!" Buknet roared.
She slammed her boots down with the force of a falling boulder.
****
Vogoh had the knife out, his arm tensed to drive the steel into Ogrhon's skull. But just as he moved to strike, the ceiling exploded.
The wood shattered across the room. A thick smokescreen of dust and splinters rained down on the table.
Buknet who had landed on the stone table alongside Vox, softly coughed, while using this as an opportunity to sneak behind Vogoh.
The Dwarfs immediately had their weapons drawn, but at the same time, coughing while the air cleared.
Ogrhon looked at the table, when he saw a boy crouched there, clutching a bruised arm from the impact.
Ogrhon eyes widened when he saw hair, white as snow, "AN ELF?!," His confusion turned into instant, sharp distaste. "IMPOSSIBLE!"
But while the room stared at the boy, Vogoh saw his chance. "DIE!" he screamed, lunging at Ogrhon's head with a mad grin.
Just as he threw it at Ogrhon, he stabbed nothing, and his grin vanished, "WHAT?"
"Looking for this?"
He spun around to see Buknet standing behind him, clutching the knife she had snatched mid-air.
"Impressive for an already dead Dwarfess," Vogoh didn't panic, his smile only grew wider, stretching ear to ear until he looked like a monster.
"VOGOH! What happened to—," Ogrhon was about speaking up, when he stopped at Vogoh's expression.
He laughed, a high, broken sound. Then said, "THE AGE OF DWARFS IS OVER! THE AGE OF THE REALMS IS OVER! IT IS TIME FOR CORRUPTION TO RULE ALL OF CYPHERIA!"
Buknet felt sick just looking at him, "Vogoh, What happened to you?," Suddenly, the knife in her hand flared white-hot—nearly a hundred degrees Celsius.
She screamed, tossing the burning metal aside.
Vogoh's smile never vanished, "Oh poor, foolish, Dwarfess, don't you know it's impossible to touch a weapon made from the corruption?"
"Buknet, get out of here!" Ogrhon yelled.
Before she could move, Vogoh drew a sword, aiming a lethal thrust to pin her to the floor.
"BUKNET!," Ogrhon was too far, and The other Dwarfs were too slow. The blade swished through the air, inches from her chest, when—
'CLANK!'
The sound of steel on steel echoed through the hall.
Vox stood between them, a sword held firm with one hand, blocking the killing blow. He could have used both hands to hold onto the weapon, but his other arm was completely bruised.
From this close, Vox could see Vogoh's eyes, which wasn't just dark; they were solid, ebony. He was a corrupted Dwarf.
Ogrhon looked at his own hip, then back at the boy. "When did he take my sword?"
Buknet didn't wait; she scrambled out of the hall, clearing the way for the fight.
"What are you?" Vox asked the creature of a Dwarf, in front of him.
Vogoh tilted his head, "Huh?," The madness in his eyes softened into something much creepier.
"You have grown," he said to Vox, with a smile spread again, and his voice dropped, "SON OF DARKNESS!"