CHAPTER 19
REVOLUTION
It took two hours to assemble all of the Holediggers from the other colonies and complete the naming ceremony. Mueller and Harry insisted that Ben give the exact same speech he gave before. Apparently, the Gettysburg Address really resonated with the gnomes and ignited something in their spirits that would not be easily quenched. By the end of the naming ceremony, they were ready to do anything for their freedom. They would have marched out into the blizzard and fought against Zoltan with sticks and rocks if Ben would have asked them to do so.
Harry instructed each of the drivers to get their colony ready for the long march back to the city. He also selected five gnomes to stay behind to begin freeing the Mudcrawlers from their cells and to begin making preparations for the evacuation. Once they were underway, it took some time for all of the newly named Alderman gnomes to slip through the tiny crevice and begin the long ascent, in single file, to the main tunnel at the top of the mines. By the time they reached the main tunnel, leading into the city, Ben was exhausted.
"You needn't come with us, now," said Mueller. "You have done your part. This tunnel leads back to the Crystal Cave. Go and be with your family and friends."
"No, I've come this far, I'm going to see it through. Besides the reason I came to begin with was to rescue two of my friends. Remember?"
"We will rescue your friends and deliver them to you at the Crystal Cave entrance."
"What about the naming? Won't I have to do another naming for the rest of the gnomes?"
"Oh, you are right! Okay, then, it will be as you wish. We would all be much honored to have you with us when we take the city and we do need you for the final naming, but I am terribly afraid that if anything happened to you, your Grandma would flail the skin off my back. Therefore, I'm going to ask you to stay near me and stay out of the fighting. Will you do that?"
"I thought you said there probably wouldn't be any fighting."
"Probably not, but let's play it safe."
Ben nodded. He was too small to do any fighting anyway. Not to mention, he didn't know how to fight. Mueller called for everyone's attention. Luckily, the main tunnel was large and roomy, but it was still crowded and everyone had to be still and quiet to hear what he was saying.
"Listen up!" Mueller called. "Here's our plan. We have all twenty-four colonies here. Not counting the five gnomes that stayed behind to organize the evacuation, we have four-hundred and seventy-five gnomes here and the group that Bobo is getting ready will put our numbers near a thousand. Harry will take colonies one through twenty down the main tunnel, straight into the city. When you get to the city, colonies one through five will take over the elevators and start bringing up the Mudcrawlers. The remaining colonies will ascend into the city to aid Bobo and the other Holediggers in driving out the Stonebreakers. I'll take twenty-one through twenty-four to the upper levels. We'll travel through one of my secret tunnels and while the Stonebreakers are fleeing, or fighting, colony twenty-one will rescue Ben's friends, while twenty-two through twenty-four will go after Ringwald."
"What are we supposed to do with prisoners?" asked Harry.
"If a Stonebreaker surrenders, tell them to report to the coliseum and await further instructions."
"That's it?" asked Ben, incredulously. "Just report to detention and await further instructions? How do you know they will not start fighting again?"
"Because they have surrendered," Mueller answered, as if he were stating an obvious fact. "There are some rules that cannot be broken. Once you have surrendered in a war, your enemy may not harm you, nor may you take up arms against him. That's one of them. It is as simple as that."
"And if they refuse to surrender?"
"Then they will die fighting. I'm sorry, but that is the way of it."
"We need to get moving," said Harry.
"You're right," Mueller answered. "Colonies twenty-one through twenty-five," he yelled, "fall back to the rear."
"Good luck, Mueller. Be sure to capture Ringwald alive. He must stand trial and give an account for all of his crimes."
"I intend to see that he does," Mueller snarled, "I intend to see that he does."
Harry turned and made his way through the crowd. Once he had his everyone in formation, he began marching them down the tunnel, toward the city. Mueller waited until the last gnome was out of sight and then signaled for the remaining gnomes to follow him. He led them down the same tunnel, toward the city, and then turned off into a narrow side tunnel that led uphill and to the right of the main road.
"This is a dead-end," one of the gnomes behind him called out.
"Not quite," Mueller answered, holding the rock buster in his hand up high for all to see, "follow and you shall see." When they reached the end of the tunnel, Mueller handed the rock buster to Ben and wormed his way through a small hole in the low hanging ceiling. Ben heard him spit and in a few seconds another rock buster flared to life in the dark hole above him. "Send everyone up," Mueller called down to Ben.
The five gnomes that had stayed behind to free the Mudcrawlers were from barracks twenty-one, so instead of eighty gnomes, they only had seventy-five in their ranks. Still, it took a while for seventy-five gnomes to squeeze through the narrow hole in the roof of the tunnel. Once the last gnome was through, Ben handed up his rock buster and scrambled up to join them. This tunnel was also narrow, so as each gnome came through the hole, they had to immediately begin the steep climb to the upper levels of the city. For this reason, Ben found himself bringing up the rear of the line. When the tunnel finally opened into a cavern large enough for everyone to assemble in a group, Ben pushed his way through the crowd, searching for Mueller. When he got to the front, he found Mueller and two other gnomes busily moving rocks that were piled against the wall. As the pile diminished, a crudely fashioned arch materialized in the stone wall. This archway was only about three feet high and appeared to be closed from the other side with wide planks.
"They have had time to reach the city," Harry remarked.
"Yes," Mueller answered, "I'm sure the battle is well under way. Take your men through here and go after Ringwald. This opens into the rear of a large storage vault that is no longer used. The vault is two units left of Ringwald’s living quarters. When you capture him, take him to the coliseum and wait for us. When Ben performs his final naming, Kahzidar will be a free city!"
"Do you know where Ben's friends are located?"
"Actually, I do. I've been a guest in Ringwald's so-called holding cells myself."
"Very well, then, let us be on our way. I will see you at the coliseum."
Mueller and Harry slid the boards back from the opening and colonies twenty-two through twenty-five crawled through the archway. The hunt for Ringwald was on. Mueller waited until the last gnome in Harry's group had left the storage area, then led Ben and the remaining gnomes through the archway.
When they left the vault, they found the outer passages well lit and Ben gave his rock buster back to Mueller. Just outside, they could hear the sounds of some nearby skirmishes; much shouting and the occasional clash of steel upon steel. Fortunately, Mueller was able to lead them straight to Ringwald's holding cells without incidence.
The holding cells, or prison area, was in a hallway off the main foyer leading in to the royal palace quarters. There were ten cell doors lining the hallway; five on each side. All were dark except one. Ben pushed past Mueller and ran toward the door. He could see two figures, silhouetted against the bars from the light within the cell. It was Gabriel and Hob.
"Ben?" said Hob. "What are you doing here?"
"I've come to rescue you."
"How did you even know we were in trouble?"
"I actually came here quite by accident, but Gob and Nob were trying to find me to bring me here anyway, so things worked out."
"Gob and Nob are here too?"
"Yes, and so are Amos and Grandma."
"Where
is old scar face?"
"Scar face?"
"Ringwald! Has he been captured yet?"
"The Alderman gnomes are searching for him now. There is an uprising in Kahzidar and his reign is over."
"The Alderman gnomes?" asked Gabriel.
"It is a bit of a long story," said Ben, "but they attach a great deal of importance to their surname. I have given them my name and now they are fighting to liberate Kahzidar."
"Will wonders never cease," the elf said quietly, with a smile on his face.
"Do either of you have Merlin's staff?" Ben asked.
"No," Hob answered. "Ringwald took it."
"What does Ringwald want with it?"
"He thinks he can unlock its secrets and become as powerful as Merlin."
"How did you know about the staff?" asked Gabriel. The color drained from the elf's face. "Has Zoltan been to the Twilight?"
"Yes, Zoltan paid a visit to the Twilight after he was wakened, but no one was harmed. Oh, I almost forgot; he did burn some of the Faerie Oaks before he left."
Gabriel winced at this news and a look of pain shot across his face. Elves love all things living and they loved the trees in the Twilight very dearly.
"How did everyone escape unharmed?"
"Zoltan landed on the castle wall and spoke directly to the Keeper. He knows Merlin is dead and he wants the staff. He gave us seven days to retrieve it."
"Or... what?"
"Or he'll destroy the Twilight and everyone in it."
"He'll do that anyway. Has Marcus begun evacuations?"
"Yes, and I think he means to take the staff to Faerie, too, but he does have a plan to defeat Zoltan."
Suddenly, Mueller came running into the hallway, waving a set of keys over his head and yelling, "I found them! I found them!"
Ben took the keys and unlocked the cell door. He introduced Mueller to everyone and then quickly brought Gabriel and Hob up to date on the Keeper's plans. He also told them about Amos' battle with the cave troll and Jonah's expedition back to the Twilight to get some leaves from the Faerie Oak trees. Hob was overjoyed to learn that Gob and Nob were here and both he and Gabriel, while concerned about Amos, were looking forward to seeing Louise and Casey.
Ben let Mueller fill them in on the details of the revolution that was taking place and turned bright red when Mueller told them about the naming ceremonies he had performed and the big one that was waiting for him. Hob stared at poor Ben with such open admiration that Ben thought his ears would catch fire if Mueller did not stop praising him.
"And so," Mueller finally concluded, "that's how things stand. And, we need to get moving too," he added, "because I am anxious to see how things are progressing."
"Where to?" asked Gabriel.
"We are going to the coliseum. That's where everyone is headed."
"What is taking place at the coliseum?"
"Ben will be performing a naming on the remaining Holediggers and Mudcrawlers. All of the Stonebreakers that have been captured will be there too. They will also be given the opportunity to join the new Kahzidar."
"What if we encounter fighting along the way?" Hob cried. "I haven't a single weapon!"
"Nor I," said Gabriel.
"I really doubt we will encounter any fighting," said Mueller, "but we will look for your weapons before we leave. They are probably nearby."
"Why do you think there will be no fighting?" asked Hob.
"Ringwald's descent into madness has isolated him from everyone, but his inner circle. They will fight if cornered, but they are more likely to try to flee and escape judgment."
"Speaking of fighting," Gabriel remarked, "I don't hear anything."
"You're right," Mueller cried, "let's go see."
Mueller led the way back out into main foyer. He was heading down the hallway, toward the balconies overlooking the city, and everyone was following him, except Hob.
When Ben noticed that Hob was not with them, he called out to the gnome. "Hey, Mueller, hold up a sec."
"What is it?" Mueller asked.
"Hob is not with us!"
“He’s been acting strange ever since we started planning our trip to the Black Hills,” said Gabriel. “Come, let’s fetch him before he gets into mischief. He certainly has a knack for finding it.”
They raced back down the hallway to the main foyer and found Hob standing there, staring at a very strange round door. All of the other doors were rectangular and unadorned, but this one was round with intricate designs etched on its surface. The focal point of the door was a chest that was carved into the center. Above this chest hovered a five pointed crown and, around the bottom of the chest, burned a ring of fire.
"Hob," said Gabriel, "what are you doing?"
"This door," Hob answered, "I have seen it before."
"You've been here previously?" asked Mueller.
"No, I've never been here, but I have seen this door. What lies behind it?"
"I suspect that is the door that leads to the treasury of Kahzidar. I have never seen it myself, but I have heard of it many times and that is the treasury seal upon the door."
"May we have a quick look?"
"If it is open, I suppose we have time to take a quick peek."
Hob turned the knob and pushed the door. It slowly swung inward, revealing a dim and murky chamber. The light from the foyer only penetrated a few feet into this darkness and no one could see what was in the room.
“Hand me a torch, quick!” said Hob.
Gabriel removed a torch from the wall and handed it to the dwarf.
“Now, wait here,” Hob instructed, as he turned and stepped into the dark room. In a few seconds, the torch light spilling through the round opening dimmed for a brief moment and then flared into a brilliant light that made everyone cover their eyes. Hob called for them to come inside and see.
This was indeed the treasury of Kahzidar. The cavern was huge and, piled upon the floor in the center of the room, rising almost to the ceiling, was a vast horde of treasure. It was a mountain of gold and silver, sparkling with diamonds, rubies, and many other precious jewels.
The brilliant flash of light they had seen earlier came from a large trench, full of burning oil that encircled the treasure. Hob had set his torch to the oil when he entered the cavern and, now, the flames leapt high and made the mountain sparkle and shimmer with a brightness that rivaled the sun.
“This is it,” said Hob, in a dejected tone. The dwarf’s shoulders were slumped and he looked as if he had just lost his best friend.
“What is it?” Ben asked.
“The vision the unicorn gave me; images of dragons and treasure.” Hob opened his arms and held them wide as if to encompass the mountain of gold in front of him. “This is a scene the unicorn showed me. And all this while, I thought the creature was showing me the dragon’s treasure.”
“The unicorn showed us our heart’s desire,” said Ben.
“I know,” said Hob sadly. “There is no dragon’s treasure. There never was. Just a greedy and lustful heart of a dwarf, and look what that has brought down upon us. I think Gabriel chose wisely in declining the unicorn’s gift.”
Gabriel put his hand on Hob’s shoulder. “Come now, what’s done is done and no one holds you to blame. All that matters now, is that things are set straight and put to right.”
“Gabriel is right, Hob,” said Ben. “We are all your friends and we love you. We need you too, if we are ever going to get out of here and defeat Zoltan.”
Hob wiped his eyes on the back of his sleeve and then yanked sharply on his beard. “Blasted fire and smoke have got my eyes all watering. Well, why are you all standing around here staring at me for? We’re not going to have a hug festival, let’s get moving!”
Gabriel smiled and winked at Ben and Mueller called out from the foyer, “Come on guys, Hob is right. We need to get to the coliseum.”
*****