Mythran's Master Of All

“Ren!” Teepo nearly shouted. “He’s going in a secret door!”

Ren poured on the speed, ran around the corner, and caught the door just before it closed. It looked like it was part of the wall, and no one would be able to see it. In behind was a walkway within the stone walls of the Garrison. Ren pushed the door open, and waited for the guard.

“Here!” Ren said, once the guard came into the section. “Prop this open with something.”

“With what?”

“Either yourself or use your sword.” Ren said, let the door go, and went inside. He heard a loud scrape, and assumed that the guard used his sword rather than just stand there and hold the door himself.

Teepo?

“Left, left, right, straight, and straight so far.” Teepo said.

Got it. Ren thought and followed Teepo’s directions through the walls. It didn’t take him long to catch up to the dwarf. He was in a small room, barely ten feet square, and it was full of weapons and tools. The dwarf grabbed a handful of things from the small workbench, and reached for a sword.

“Hold on.” Ren said, and the dwarf froze. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but maybe I can help.”

“I have to save her.” The dwarf said. “I’ve… I’ve been paying ransom for months.”

“Is that her?” Ren asked, and pointed to a picture above the workbench. It was a painting of the dwarf and his daughter. She was a cute little thing, with her brown hair done up in twin braids, and she had a big smile on her face. The painting was in the middle of several building plans and directions on what to do to bypass the guards. It also showed how to disable the enchantments that were protecting the buildings and the approaches to those buildings.

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry.” Ren said. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I can’t.” The dwarf said. “If I told anyone about it, they said… they said…”

“I understand.” Ren said. “You’ve been planning this for a while.”

“Ever since she was taken.” The dwarf said.

“How did you find out where they were holding her?”

“With this.” He said, and showed Ren a mirror he had taken from a drawer.

“How does it work?”

“You concentrate on what you want to see, and it shows it to you.”

“You’re kidding.”

“No.” The dwarf said. “It took years of research and more money than I can say, to find this little gem.”

“Wait, find?” Ren asked. “You didn’t make it?”

The dwarf shook his head. “There’s no way our current level of technology can make anything like this.”

“Can I try it?”

“NO!” The dwarf said and stuffed the mirror into his clothing. “This is the key to rescuing her.”

“What if I give you my word that I’ll do everything that I can to save her?” Ren asked. “Will you let me use the mirror then?”

The dwarf stopped gathering things, and looked at him. “You were just kicking me out of the crafting section, and now you want to help me?” He said, surprised. “Are you crazy or something?”

“Yes.” Ren said. “I was trying to convince you that telling me what was going on was better than losing your job; but, I can see now that wasn’t going to work.”

The dwarf shook his head in disbelief. “You aren’t going to take the mirror, are you?”

“Actually, I won’t ask for it until after we rescue your daughter.”

“What?”

“I’d like to use it right now, but only so I can see where the giants are.” Ren said. “There’s an imminent attack coming, and I want to know if I can get a better estimate than a few hours to a couple of days away.”

The dwarf nodded slightly, and took out the mirror.

“You give your word to help rescue my daughter?”

“I do.”