The Three Peaks: Part 9 - The Weight of Crowns
The Camp of Legends
Irondelve’s army arrived on schedule, establishing a camp three miles from Urist’s settlement. It was a show of force: two thousand soldiers in perfect formation, siege equipment deployed, a military presence so overwhelming that it was impossible to miss.
Thorgrim requested a parley. Urist accepted.
They met at a neutral point between the two camps—a cleared area of grassland with only a few guards on either side. Thorgrim came with Lokum. Urist came with Drizzle and Katrin.
For a moment, the four of them simply looked at each other. Two legends—Urist the legendary smith, Lokum the legendary warrior. And two others who carried the weight of decisions that affected thousands.
“Legendary smith,” Thorgrim said, offering a nod of respect. “I am Thorgrim Battlemaster. This is Lokum Steelhammer, my first commander.”
“Thorgrim,” Urist said, returning the nod. “I know your reputation. Your fortress is legendary in its own way. This is my wife, Drizzle, and my daughter Katrin.”
They stood in the grassland wind, the silence between them stretching.
“The artifact,” Thorgrim said finally. “I came for it.”
“I know,” Urist said. “That’s why I offered myself instead. Sparkbrook doesn’t have it. I have it. And I’m willing to discuss its status.”
“Are you willing to surrender it?” Thorgrim asked.
“No,” Urist said simply.
“Then we have a problem,” Thorgrim said.
“Perhaps,” Urist said. “Or perhaps we have an opportunity.”
The Negotiation
They moved to Urist’s command tent, a large structure that had been set up specifically for this parley. Maps of the region were spread across a table. Refreshments were provided. The formality of negotiation was established.
“Let me ask you something,” Urist said, once they were seated. “Why do you want the artifact?”
“Because it’s legendary,” Thorgrim said. “Because it represents power that Irondelve needs if it’s to remain the dominant military force in the region.”
“You don’t actually know what it does,” Urist said. “Do you?”
Thorgrim was quiet for a moment. “No,” he admitted. “I don’t. The rumors were vague. They suggested power, influence, something tied to ancient dwarven knowledge.”
“I don’t know what it does either,” Urist said. “I only know what I feel when I touch it. It’s not a weapon. I don’t think it confers military advantage at all.”
“Then what does it do?” Lokum asked.
“I think it’s a conduit,” Urist said slowly, feeling his way through the thought as he spoke it. “A connection to something older. To knowledge that we’ve lost. To craftsmanship that we can’t recreate. Whoever holds it is connected to something greater than just this age, this moment.”
“That’s poetry, not politics,” Thorgrim said.
“Yes,” Urist agreed. “Which is why a military commander doesn’t actually want it. What you want is the settlement. What you want is to establish Irondelve’s dominance in the eastern mountains and ensure that a rival doesn’t grow too large.”
“I want Irondelve to survive,” Thorgrim corrected.
“Then you want a settlement here that you control, that produces goods, that expands dwarven territory under your authority,” Urist said. “And I want to build something that lasts. Something that will be remembered not for conquest but for creation.”
“Those desires are incompatible,” Thorgrim said.
“Are they?” Urist asked. “Lokum, how many legendary warriors does Irondelve have?”
“One,” Lokum said, the word carrying weight.
“How many legendary smiths?” Urist asked.
“None,” Lokum said.
“How many legendary artifacts?” Urist asked.
“None,” Lokum said again.
“The eastern settlement has a legendary smith,” Urist continued. “It has a legendary artifact. It has potential that Irondelve could not build in decades of conquest. But it also has no military strength. It has no ability to defend itself against threats. It needs Irondelve.”
“You’re proposing an alliance,” Thorgrim said, understanding dawning.
“I’m proposing a partnership,” Urist said. “Your fortress provides military protection. My settlement produces legendary crafted goods. The artifact remains here, in the settlement, where it can be studied and learned from. And three generations from now, the eastern mountains are as legendary as any dwarven settlement in the known world. Not conquered. Built. Created. Lasting.”
The Counter-Offer
Thorgrim stood and walked to the map, looking at the position of his army, of Sparkbrook, of the eastern settlement.
“If I agree to this,” he said slowly, “then every other faction will view Irondelve as weak. We will have mobilized an army and then simply… partnered instead of conquered.”
“Or,” Urist said, “you will have demonstrated that Irondelve is strong enough to achieve its goals without bloodshed. That a legendary smith and legendary warrior saw no need for violence to reach agreement. Strength isn’t always about conquest, Thorgrim. Sometimes strength is about vision.”
“And the artifact?” Thorgrim asked. “Will you allow Irondelve to study it? To understand its properties?”
“Yes,” Urist said. “On one condition: that what we learn from it is shared with Sparkbrook, with Stellarim, with any dwarven settlement that wishes to preserve and study it. The artifact is ancient. It belongs to all dwarves, not just one fortress.”
Lokum made a small noise—whether approval or protest, Urist couldn’t tell.
Thorgrim was quiet for a very long time.
“If I return to Irondelve having forged an alliance instead of conquered a settlement,” he said finally, “the fortress’s military will view me as having lost my edge. They will see compromise as weakness.”
“Then you show them the alternative,” Urist said. “You bring Lokum back with stories of the legendary smith and the artifact. You establish Irondelve’s presence as garrison commander of the eastern mountains. You position yourself as the protector of a legendary settlement. In five years, when the eastern settlement is thriving, producing legendary goods that earn wealth for Irondelve, maintaining artifacts that enhance dwarven knowledge… then they will understand that this was strength, not weakness.”
“That’s a long time to wait for justification,” Thorgrim said.
“Yes,” Urist agreed. “But legendary things take time.”
The Agreement
By evening, the terms were drafted.
Irondelve would establish a garrison of five hundred soldiers at the eastern settlement, ostensibly as protection against future threats but practically as a reminder of Irondelve’s presence and interest.
The eastern settlement would remain independent but aligned with Irondelve, sharing profits and knowledge but retaining autonomy in craftsmanship and settlement operations.
The artifact would be studied jointly, with records kept by both settlements.
And Urist McForgemaster and Thorgrim Battlemaster would co-sign an agreement that they would stand together against any threat to the eastern mountains, whether external or from rival fortresses.
“We’re making history here,” Lokum said quietly, looking at the drafted agreement.
“We’re trying to prevent history from being written in blood,” Thorgrim corrected.
That night, as Irondelve’s army stood down from siege posture and began preparations to garrison the settlement, Thorgrim walked with Urist to look at the site where the new fortress would be built.
“I wonder,” Thorgrim said, “what historians will make of this. Two legendary fighters meeting and choosing partnership instead of conflict.”
“I wonder if they’ll understand it at all,” Urist said. “Most histories are written by those who came after, who never felt the weight of the choice we just made.”
“Perhaps,” Thorgrim said. “Or perhaps this is the choice that matters most. The choice that changed the course of events not through violence but through vision.”
They stood in silence, looking at the eastern mountains, at the settlement being built, at the artifact that had brought them together.
And both wondered if they had just made a terrible mistake or avoided one.
Next in the series: The Three Peaks: Part 10 - The Test of Alliance