Translator: CinderTL
Viscount Helsen stepped forward and bowed slightly. "I am Helsen, here on behalf of Marquis Paul Grayman of the Aldor Kingdom. I wish to speak with the Noble Clan Chief in person."
"My father is unwell," the dwarf waved his hand dismissively. "I am Balash, Young Clan Chief of the Ironhammer Clan. You may speak to me now."
Helsen observed the loud-voiced, straightforward young dwarf noble before him, slightly surprised but quickly regaining his composure. He nodded.
"Then allow me to explain the purpose of my visit."
"Wait!" Balash raised a hand. "Marquis Grayman—you said you came on his orders, not representing yourself?"
"Precisely!" Helsen nodded.
"So you're here on a political mission?" Balash's voice boomed, shaking the hall. "The Ironhammer Clan has no desire to deal with human rulers!"
He slammed his fist on the stone table. "If you had come seeking personal aid, I might have offered you some gifts in recognition of the token you carry. But now it seems..."
Helsen took a half-step back but maintained direct eye contact. "Young Clan Chief, please hear me out." He raised the hand clutching the Bone Flute. "I had to use every means at my disposal to arrange this meeting. My ultimate goal is to prevent an even greater crisis."
"A greater crisis?" Balash scoffed. "Humans are tearing themselves apart with internal strife, yet you come here to warn us of a 'greater crisis'?"
Helsen was surprised. It seemed the dwarves were more aware of the outside world than he had previously assumed.
Looking at the red-faced, loud-voiced Young Clan Chief before him, Helsen knew he had to state his purpose quickly, or he risked being immediately expelled.
Taking a deep breath, he cut straight to the point: "Marquis Grayman wishes to understand why the dwarves, who have always shunned the outside world, would break their neutrality in this war and allow the Orcs passage through the Rocky Mountains."
The words had barely left his lips when Balash's face flushed crimson. His eyes widened in fury, and his beard trembled with rage.
"What did you say?!" His voice boomed like thunder, shaking the fire basins in the hall. "We dwarves would help the Orcs? Those barbarians?"
He slammed his fist on the stone table, then pointed furiously at Helsen. "This is impossible! You humans are slandering the dwarves!"
He paced back and forth, his voice rising with each step. "We have never opened any passage to the Orcs! Just because you can't defeat them, you want to drag the dwarves into this mess?!"
Helsen stood his ground, not interrupting.
Balash grew more agitated, finally pointing toward the entrance and shouting, "You humans are always the same! When trouble strikes, you look for someone else to blame!"
Helsen calmly observed Balash's still-flushed face, waiting for the outburst to subside. When the roaring had faded, he spoke slowly and clearly, his tone steady and measured:
"Young Clan Chief, I understand your anger. But this isn't an accusation—it's a fact. During the first war between Aldor and the Orcs, a large Orc army crossed the Rocky Mountains and suddenly appeared behind Watchers Fortress, catching us completely off guard."
He paused, meeting Balash's gaze directly. "Without someone familiar with the mountain paths to guide them, the Orcs could never have bypassed our sentries and appeared so silently."
Balash frowned but refrained from interrupting.
"After we counterattacked and defeated the Orcs, their main force quietly withdrew back into the Rocky Mountains," Helsen continued. "Clearly, they couldn't have jumped from one side of the Rocky Mountains to the other. Without assistance, such a feat would have been impossible."
The air in the hall seemed to freeze, and the crackling of the flames became unusually distinct.
Helsen slowly spoke the name: "We learned from prisoners that the group assisting the Orcs' passage was a dwarf clan known as the Stonemason Clan."
The moment the words left his lips, Balash's expression darkened abruptly.
The lingering anger in his eyes was instantly replaced by shock and fury, though his rage was no longer directed at Helsen.
The Young Clan Chief's lips pressed into a thin line, his thick beard trembling slightly.
He remained silent, his gaze fixed intently on Helsen. The suspicion and hostility in his eyes had deepened into a profound unease.
After a long silence, he finally spoke again, his tone noticeably softer than before, though still cautious:
"We dwarves have thirteen Clans, scattered throughout the Rocky Mountains. The Ironhammer Clan is one of them, and we have always adhered to our principles—never interfering in the wars between humans and Orcs."
"As for the other Clans..." He paused, his sharp eyes piercing Helsen. "I cannot condemn the Stonemason Clan based solely on your word."
Helsen nodded in understanding.
"Then," he pressed, "if such an act has indeed occurred, what will you do?"
Balash's face darkened further as he slowly replied:
"If what you say is true, it would be a grave violation of the oath sworn by all thirteen Dwarf Clans." His voice lowered slightly. "I will unite the other neutral Clans to pressure them to cease this betrayal of all dwarven interests."
Helsen seized the opportunity, pressing further: "But what if they refuse? Would you resort to force?"
Balash's head snapped up, a flash of anger in his eyes. He spoke through clenched teeth, his voice low but unwavering: "We will not shed the blood of our own kin."
Helsen paused, considering his next question carefully. "Then what if the Aldor Kingdom's army intervenes to stop them?"
Balash scoffed, shaking his head with undisguised contempt. "Human armies? Fighting in the Rocky Mountains?" He chuckled derisively, a sardonic twist to his lips. "You can't even find your way through these mountains. What makes you think you could launch an attack? We dwarves have walked these paths for a thousand years, and to you, they're just rocks and snow. You can't even tell north from south, yet you dare speak of invading the Stonemason Clan's territory?"
He paused, his tone growing colder. "Do as you please. Just try to survive in the Rocky Mountains—if you can avoid freezing to death, starving, or turning on each other."
With that, he turned and strode deeper into the hall.
Helsen quietly watched Balash's retreating figure before speaking again:
"If Aldor truly resorts to force against the Stonemason Clan..."
His tone remained steady, yet carried a hint of probing.
"Would the other Dwarf Clans, including the Ironhammer Clan, intervene to aid them?"
(End of the Chapter)
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