Alfred plunged into the darkness before him. He stopped for a moment or two, until his eyes adjusted to it. Having a night-vision spell made things much easier, he thought just to himself. Since he didn't have a torch, or a lamp, this offered two advantages. First, he wasn't creating a lighted target out of himself for whatever lurked in the darkness below, and second, there was no smell of burned wood or oil that was bound to get him noticed. Satisfied with himself, he continued on downward. Night-vision spell enhanced one's own light sensitivity, but in return everything was seen in varieties of grey, since there wasn't light enough present to enable anyone to see colors. So mostly it felt like going around in the moonlight, since everything seemed so pale, but there was light enough for Alfred to even read, so he didn't have any trouble walking in the darkness. The tunnel was only two feet wide and hardly as tall as he was, but he had no trouble going. The way itself was shaped from sheer rock, and with an irregularity that told him that even the dwarven masons, renown for their skill across all the known realms, couldn't straighten it out. At some places it was very steep and smooth, making it difficult to continue, and stating clearly that it was not meant to be traversed, since it was an air inlet. The years that passed since it was made seemed not to have made any effect upon it, as it was still as when it was first carved. The tunnel continued downwards into deeper darkness. Alfred went in silence so complete he unconsciously quieted his breathing, as not to break the brooding quiet. It seemed like an eternity spent walking. Suddenly, Alfred became aware of a sound of running water, ringing faintly in his ears. He stopped to listen but the sound abruptly broke off. Alfred stepped back a little, and heard it again. It seemed like a stream running somewhere below. Alfred concluded it must be a good way further down than it seemed, and that the only reason he was able to hear were the strange acoustical properties of this tunnel which must have carried the sound to this place. He continued even more slowly, and after a few more minutes, the tunnel came to an end.

Alfred found himself on a ledge about four feet above the surface of a small cave. It was obviously dug by dwarves, but it was not the straight and even dwarven masonry, and it was very old and rough. There was another tunnel leading further into the mines at the other end of cave. Alfred silently climbed down from his ledge and to his surprise, noticed several old canvas sacks lying straight under the ledge, which escaped his attention from above. The sacks were very old, and some were torn at places, indicating someone had rummaged through them, but he too, did that a long time ago. After examining the sacks in night-vision, Alfred found they contained rocks of different kinds that glinted of color even here, deep underground. He concluded that the rocks must have been ore samples, and probably those of a poorer grade, otherwise the diligent dwarves would have used even them. He stopped for a minute here to rest, and was able now and then to hear, weakly though, the sound of running water further down the passage.

When he rose, he took a few minutes to chant in a low voice, and to renew the night-vision spell because it was weakening, and then walked quietly to the entrance of the other tunnel. This one only led about a dozen feet before branching into a shallow cave to the right and another tunnel to the left, from which Alfred could hear running water. The cave to the right was filled with various litter, rusted tools, bits of armor, and other unrecognizable things, and old dwarven bones. Alfred cautiously proceeded to the left tunnel. This tunnel again made a turn, where it branched straight forward for about thirty feet, from where Alfred could see a large door made of silvery metal straight ahead of him. To the right the tunnel rose slightly up and several paces up the tunnel, Alfred saw a small stream shimmer in the darkness. Suddenly he heard small feet stepping somewhere in the darkness further up the tunnel. Alfred carefully approached the sound, and, hiding behind another tunnel bend, saw a small figure quietly walking up the stream. Alfred followed the figure for another forty feet up the tunnel when the tunnel suddenly opened into a huge cave, filled with water. The water this cave was filled with seemed somehow to shimmer, like silver, and the place where Alfred stood made up a sand-covered shore of an underground lake. The water was slightly fluorescent, and its weak light hinted at the huge dimensions of the cave. A small stream came out of the shore of the lake near Alfred's feet, and continued downwards. The figure seemed to find its way in the darkness rather nimbly, and Alfred wondered if it had some magical or other device that helped it find its way, for the night here was almost absolute, and even the night-vision spell only showed dim shapes in the shadows. The figure continued down the side passage, and turned left, when after another twenty feet the passage branched again. The left tunnel was just a shallow cave, like the one Alfred had seen before, but the figure continued straight to the back wall, did something there, and then walked through the wall. Alfred almost gasped in shock. After he waited for a minute, listening carefully, he cautiously went to the back wall, and tried it for its sturdiness, but it stood hard and solid. It seemed as if the figure had disappeared straight through the rock face. Alfred stopped to think and calmed down. He began examining the wall carefully, and found out something strange. It looked like a natural rock formation, but was in fact a dwarven masonry, and a relatively new one, only a few dozen years old at most and of the finest quality. Alfred wondered why would have the dwarves bothered to make their walls look like natural rock, when they were usually very proud of their stonework and left it visible. Then he suddenly realized why. If this was a secret door, then of course it would be masked as a natural rock, to hide its true nature. Searching the wall even more thoroughly this time, Alfred noticed that one rock was loose. He moved it and behind it was a rusty lever. When he pulled the lever, the whole rock wall slid quietly into the side, revealing an alcove. Led by some the notion that it was best to return the wall as it was before, Alfred put the rock back into place above the lever before he entered the alcove. The wall slid into place behind him, and Alfred found himself in darkness so deep and black that even with night-vision he could barely discern the walls of the alcove from the darkness he was in.

The alcove was very small, and had a square shape to it. It had a small opening to the left of the entrance. From there Alfred could hear someone snoring. Cautiously Alfred crawled through the opening and found himself in a small room. It was filled with bags of all sorts, and a few implements of the metalworking trade lay scattered about, and in one corner there was some kind of a mattress on which he saw a small figure of an old dwarf sleeping soundly. There was a small forge in the other corner, and this told Alfred that this dwarf was probably a blacksmith. In that moment Alfred stepped on something that made a metallic click, and with a start the old dwarf awoke. He turned around and with a quick movement lit an oil lamp before Alfred could do anything. The bright light of the lamp blinded Alfred for a moment. He then heard a strong and deep voice say:

-Well, well, look what have we got this time. A measly human, isn't it now? State your name and purpose, and quickly lad, before I get nasty.

When his vision cleared, Alfred saw that the dwarf was holding a wicked-looking axe in his right hand, and was ready to strike him at the smallest excuse. Still little numb in the bright lamp-light, Alfred slowly answered:

-My name is Alfred son of Eyral and I come here to the mines to trade and make use of the services of the dwarven smiths, known for their skill alover the world. Is this a way dwarves welcome a customer and a merchant?

The dwarf seemed to make a weak smile, and answered in a more unconstrained way.

-No, not the usual way, of course, but the times are strange these days, and a lot a people ain't what they seem to be. I am Bofur the Stoutbeard, and I am a smith, just the like you are looking for. But I'm afraid lad, that after our transaction is done, you are bound to stay and enjoy my welcome until your bones turn to dust. For this is not the part of the mines a lot of people visit.

And the dwarf smiled a bit to Alfred's facial expression.

-I do not plan on leaving my bones here, and why should I?

-Because no matter the way you came in, there's no way out. These are the Old Mines, and they have been sealed for decades now because of the One-Eyed One.

-Who or what is the One-Eyed One?

-He is the monster beholder inhabiting these mines. You were very lucky not to have run across it. But how come you managed to find my lair here? I thought it was well hidden.

-It is indeed, and the masonry covering the entrance is superb, but I knew what I was looking for, having followed you to the wall, and seeing you dissapear into it.

The mention of superb masonry seemed to please the old dwarf, and he asked another question.

-How did you manage that? No one followed me to here, I am sure of that, since I saw no light, and it is impossible to follow anyone here without a light.

-That might be true, but I had a spell to enable me to see in the dark, Master Smith.

Again the dwarf smiled a bit, and now, assured of Alfred's good intentions, changed his tone.

-Ha, lad so young, and has a spell already. Now you surprise me. But come on, sit here and let's talk.

The old dwarf made fire in a low fireplace, which had some kind of an air duct above it which led the smoke out. They seated themselves around the fire and Bofur turned the lamp off. Bofur offered Alfred a small pipe, but Alfred declined. Bofur himself sat and smoked for some time. After he was done, he turned towards Alfred and started:

-Lad, you don't look to me like a smith or a mason. I am curious as to how could you have gotten here. Tell me now, which way you came to the Old Mines? There's only one entrance I know of that humans can traverse, and the Main Gate has been sealed off, for now, let me see, seventy six and a half years.

-I didn't come through the Main Gate, although I suppose I glimpsed it on my way here. No, I came through an air duct west from here.

And with this Alfred took his map out of his backpack, and showed it to the old dwarf. Bofur examined it for some time mumbling to himself. It was difficult to see anything in the weak light of the tingling fire, but somehow Bofur managed to even read the dwarven runes, small and pale, on the map.

Alfred inquired about how could this dwarf stay alive for so long, closed off in these Old Mines, with no food? After all, Bofur claimed it was seventy years since he was able to go fetch foodstuffs from his dwarven comrades. Bofur smirked and mumbled something about the way fish begins to wear on the taste buds if one eats it exclusively for a long time. Puzzled for a second, Alfred then understood. Bofur must be fishing in the great lake he passed when coming in, and he must be living off his catch. Alfred was amazed at the hard will that held this dwarf alive in this dark and sunless place. He then turned his attention back to the old dwarf, who was still studying the map of the Mines Alfred gave him.

- Hm, yes, yes, you could have, but... what is this?!

And Bofur pointed to a small cave on the other side of the big lake they passed by some time ago. This cave was hidden by the cave walls and by the water from the vantage point of a person standing on the other shore of the lake. There were some dwarven runes there, very pale and almost unreadable now.

- I was never told about this! But if it is still there, if it is only still there...

- What, Master Smith? I can't see anything there, the letters are very pale, and I couldn't decipher their meaning.

- Of course you couldn't, my lad, for those runes are written in a secret code, that no one knows, but the dwarves. But never mind the letters, it is what they say that is important. They tell me about a secret passage there connecting to another one behind the Throne Hall. It means there is an exit out of here!

- I see. But isn't the way I came here, through the air duct, also an exit?

-No, lad, for if you tried to climb up the shaft you would have broken your silly neck. It is a wonder you came down in one piece anyway. But you needn't think about it now. We only need to get to that cave on the other side of the Silver Lake.

-Couldn't we just go through the Main Gate? Are you perhaps the only dwarf in this area of mines?

-Ah, lad, that story is long and full of sorrow. I am the only dwarf in this area of mines, you're right about that. And we couldn't just go through the Main Gate, but that's the part of the story also. I might as well tell it now.

The old dwarf collected his thoughts for a few moments, and then, apparenly having decided, started his sorrowful tale:

-Hundred years ago, give or take a few, these passages, now silent and dark, were full of life. We were mining a rich gold vein just behind the main throne hall. We also had revealed several separate veins in which we had found iron, silver, mithril, and several kinds of semiprecious stones. I was the main smith in this section of the Mines and I had a big shop in the northern caverns. Every day I was brought a lot of tools to repair, but I left most of the mundane work to my assistants. I worked with mithril, gold, and jewels. Several times I was even asked by the King Akkharten to cooperate with mages to create powerful magical items, but I won't talk about those times for I pledged not to tell a living soul, and I uphold my wows. The work went day by day, and slowly we dwarves dug the Silver Cavern, on the place where now stands the Silver Lake. You see, the water wasn't always there. The Lake itself formed eighty years ago, when the drill in the bottom of the cavern broke through an underground water cistern under pressure, and the water quickly filled the cave. However, the inflow was great, and there was no outflow, so in fear the Old Mines would get drowned by the rising waters, we built the creek that runs from the Silver Lake to the Bottomless Abyss, which filled it making it into a pool we called the Deep Pool. This Bottomless Abyss was here even before we dug, and it was a small cave with an abyss inside it. Even after we dropped the measuring anchor almost a league down the abyss, it showed no sign of reaching bottom. It took almost three years for the water from the Silver Lake to fill the Abyss. As the water level grew, we started hearing strange sounds coming from the Abyss, but we thought them made by the rising waters and paid them no heed. At that time I was asked to create a powerful object of magic, of which I couldn't tell even my fellow assistants, and I had to work alone. I am telling you this now because the secrecy only mattered for a certain period of time that has long since elapsed, and I haven't seen a living soul in a long time, and you may be the last person to hear my tale, ere I succumb either to the lengthening years, or the monster that holds me prisoner here. The time period expired forty years ago, so I will tell you about magical artifact I was asked to create. First, this small cave was made in secrecy by several trusted masons specially for my work on the Sword. I retreated from my usual workload with the excuse that I am going visiting my relatives deeper in the Mountain, and I came here with the supplies to last me several months of work. I worked only by night, when the Mines were closed, and even then I tried to be as silent as I could. Sometimes I would go out in the night without a lamp, and wander around to clear my head from the work. Usually I did this when my workroom filled with noxious gases, and that it did often, despite the specially made air duct in it. So it was a night some thirty months after the forming of the wcreek when I was passing near the Deep Pool. At that time the water was nearing its top, and we were all awaiting the day when it would fill up. Chance it may be, or fate, but at the moment I started my stroll, the water came to the edge of the Deep Pool and, miraculously, stopped climbing there. I came to it attracted by the sudden stop in the weak gurgling noise that followed it in the last few months as it got filled up. I saw it full, and was pleased that this happened while I was around, and nobody else. I started going back for my workroom, and when I was almost there, I seemed to hear the gurgling noise again, but I thought those were only my weak old ears panicking for no reason again, so I returned to my work. I worked until half an hour before the morning shift, and as usual, I aired the workroom before closing it for the day. Then I went to sleep.

A sudden scream woke me up before I had the time to sleep even as much as an hour, and after that scream there followed several others. There was a large commotion, and sounds of battle were coming from the Mines for about half an hour more, when I heard the Main Gate close, and then there was silence. For about an hour I only sat quietly in the corner of my room, too terrified even to open the door and see what was going on. After I got my courage back with me, I quietly opened the secret door, previously putting down all the fires in my room, and sneaked outside. The monster must have smelled the smoke, and when I reached the Silver Lake in complete silence and utter darkness, it was waiting just around the bend of the tunnel. Some keen feeling must have warned me, for I very cautiously peeked from behind a big rock, and saw the biggest beholder in my life, bigger even then the mythical monsters from the legends. It must have been at least ten feet in diameter, and it scared the daylights out of me. I was in great luck that day, for it wasn't facing me, so I walked back to my workroom as quietly as I could, and I almost made it, when I heard it floating behind me. I made a terrified grab for the door, and it opened, but one of the monster's tentacles grabbed me on the side of my face. I somehow managed to get through the door and I slammed the closing mechanism. The door closed, ripping one of the monster's tentacles with it, but it still left me with this huge scar. For hours the beholder wandered in the proximity of the door, throwing me into a continuous nightmare. At last it left, after almost a full day. I dared not exit my room for any reason, fearing the monster more the anything else I feared in my life. In the several following days I heard sounds of a battle in the Mines two times, and at last, week after that, I heard a deep thumping sound that could have meant only one thing: the King has decided to seal the Main Gate. I was too terrified to get out and try to reach to the door, and I have been closed in ever since. Don't ask me how I survived, lad, for I don't know it myself. The fish helped, and I guess the One-eyed One didn't try too hard to catch me, but still there were a few close calls. However, since I had a lot of spare time, and when I got my courage up, I continued my work on the Sword of Light, and I finished it several decades ago.

And with that Bofur got up and went to the far corner of the room, where he pressed a hidden panel in the wall, and a section of it slid back into the wall itself. Inside was a long object covered in old leather, and of the size of a longsword. Bofur pulled it out, and removed the leather. The leather was hiding a beautifully made cover with a longsword inside it, made in mithril and diamonds. Bofur motioned Alfred to pull out the blade. Slowly Alfred held the sword, feeling the strange lightness of it, and feeling as if it were pulsing with energy from the inside. Then, with a sudden movement, he sheathed it. The long, elegant blade was spewing forth a radiant pool of white light, and suddenly Alfred felt much safer. The handhold was very simple, was made in the shape of hand, and done in silvery metal. There was only one big jewel in the middle of the handhold, and Alfred felt a strong magical flow inside it. Bofur then motioned him to put the sword back in it's cover, and Alfred did so. He then sat again, and continued his tale.

-You see, lad, this sword is of the best metal the dwarves know of, mithril silver enforced by steel, and it also has a strong magic woven into its being. I don't know much of the magic, but I can tell you it protects you from evil, and it's light works dread in the eyes of evil creatures. I am sure there is more to it, and at least I know it renders you immune to mind attacks and spells of similar nature. You ought to have a better look at it lad, for you will be using it pretty soon yourself.

Alfred started to counter that, but the old dwarf continued:

-No, don't talk now, I have more to tell. I have formed a plan in my head, and anyway it was time a-plenty I left my workroom for safer passages. So lad, we better prepare ourselves for a fight. We can cross the Silver Lake to this small cavern using a pathway high above the surface of the water. I have seen it before, but I didn't know how to reach it, and where it led, so I ignored it, not realizing its import. Once we get to this cavern, it'll be a minute before I open the passage and we enter it. Passing over the Lake will be the biggest problem, however. The One-Eyed One is sure to hear us, and I am afraid lad, that you will have to protect my back while I work my way through the levers and panels that open the doors into the passage.

Here Alfred broke into the Bofur's words and asked him if they could just go to the Main Gate and somehow open it, but Bofur just waved his hand away and continued:

-No, no, even to a master mason with several assistants it would take at least a month to get through the Main Gate. That is, if it didn't have a magical seal upon it. As it is, lad, we can forget about the Main Gate since even the tunnels leading to it are long abandoned now, and no one would hear our banging, except the creature that we most wish to avoid. Now, I see that you haven't asked why do you have to protect my back, and that is good, for I saw courage in you as soon as you first spoke. First we have to fix your chain mail, because I see the sorry condition it is in, and then I have to prepare my tools, and everything I am carrying from here. It is time to get packed!

So Bofur seated Alfred, and helped him take his mail off. While he started work on the armor, Alfred spoke to him about the recent events in the outside kingdoms. The old dwarf only shook his head and commented over his work:

-Well, these are evil things you speak about, and if the Main Front Gate has been abandoned, it must have been a large orc army. Hm, hm, hm.

So Bofur just continued his work and in the course of it, he told Alfred in turn of all the small things he created while he was here. When not being hungry or terrified for his life, Bofur invested his considerable skill and a large store of metal and precious stones to create cunning and beatiful works of metalcraft, beatiful chalices of solid silver, golden cups fit for kings to drink from, small bucklers laid with gems, and other such things that pleased his heart and eased his mind of the terrible thing awaiting him outside this small room. When Alfred offered to pay for the services rendered, Bofur just smiled and responded that if they got alive out of here it would be pay enough for him.

Alfred watched in wonder as Bofur worked with his armor. He skillfully repaired broken parts using real mithril steel as a replacement, but his wonder grew even bigger as he started to change his complete armor into a battle suit of mithril steel. Only the most skillful of the dwarven smiths knew the secret how to work the mithril steel into usable metal, and it was the strongest non-magical armor you could find. For this was no one less that Bofur the Great, the greatest dwarven smith of all, of whom legends were told even when he was young. He was long thought lost, but was instead here, kept captive by the turnof fate in these abandoned tunnels. He worked with great skill as slowly he converted Alfred's plain chain mail into a full mithril steel plate armor. A plate armor is usually the heaviest but also the most protective piece of armor available, but it is commonly worn only by men on horseback because of its great weight and bulkiness. However, this armor was made of mithril steel, and that meant it was several times tougher than the normal iron plate armor, and it was still as light as padded or leather armor, since mithril was very light and resilient, thus giving the wearer an ideal combination of protection and still allowing reflexes and quick movement. Alfred felt a deep respect and gratitude toward the old dwarf as he silently presented him with the finished armor several hours later. They ate in silence, and Bofur then put out all the fires, including even the fire in the great fireplace dug in the floor. Alfred put on the plate armor, and Bofur also put on a heavy chain mail for himself, and placed all of his belongings into a backpack. Putting his old blade into his backpack, Alfred secured the Sword of Light to his side, and while Bofur grabbed the great battle axe that was lying in a corner, Alfred cautiously went to open the secret door.

Again they found themselves in utter darkness, for they dared not make any light or sound that would most certainly attract the One-Eyed One. Alfred again used the nightvision spell, and cast another one on Bofur. Bofur really didn't need it since he knew these tunnels by heart, but welcomed it never than less. Slowly they crept down the tunnel that led to the Silver Lake. Not a sound was to be heard. They quietly reached the shores of the lake, where Bofur immediately started looking to find the secret lever that lowered a hook just below the path above their heads. This path was cut in sheer rock face some fifteen feet above the floor level, and thus had to be reached by some means other the climbing the almost-vertical rock face. Meanwhile Alfred placed himself behind the old dwarf, listening and ready for anything that might come out of the tunnels. For five minutes Bofur searched the wall in vain, and it seemed like an eternity for Alfred. Bofur, however, couldn't do it any faster because he was working in darkness, and nightvision couldn't make up for the color patterns of the rock that usually showed the location of the secret levers and things like them. At last Bofur found the right spot, and carefully moved the rock that covered the lever. The lever was small, and at Bofur's first try, it didn't budge at all. He pulled hard, and with a creaking sound a metal hook grew out of rock above him about six feet up and several feet closer to the Silver Lake.

At that moment a monster beholder charged Alfred from the tunnel leading to the deep pool with a terrible hiss that made Alfred's skin crawl. He saw a huge floating spherical monster with gnarled green skin fly straight toward him, waving madly with its tentacles, its many eyestalks orienting towards him with the fury of white-hot hatred. Alfred got himself together and pulled the Sword of Light free of its cover. It shone with bright blue light which miraculously didn't impair Alfred's vision for even as much as a beat. The beholder screamed in pain at the bright light as it madly rushed towards Alfred. In the last moment possible Alfred turned aside, avoiding the monster. Still blinded, the One-Eyed One tried to turn around for another charge, but Alfred swung his sword down hard and hacked off one of its tentacles. The monster, however, although screaming in pain, made another attack at Alfred. He parried its upper tentacles, and almost got hit by a low sweep, but he jumped over it in time. However, he landed on a slippery stone and temporarily lost balance. Beholder saw an opening and struck Alfred with one of his tentacles. The armor absorbed most of the damage, but the tip lashed at Alfred's unprotected head, creating a large wound over his cheek. Bofur, who was dumbed with fear, finally came to, and with a huge battle cry, charged the beholder from behind. The creature didn't have time to turn around to face the new enemy, and Bofur struck his axe deep into it's back. He tried to lift it again for another strike, but it was stuck. Before he could react, a tentacle brought him down, smashing into his shoulder. Finally turning around, the One-Eyed One turned one of his eyes on its eyestalk towards the dwarf and fired a magical lightning at Bofur which struck him with a grisly sound. Bofur felt a storm rage inside his head and then elapsed into unconsciousness. Meanwhile, Alfred recovered his footing and rose. He only now realized that the sword must have protected him from the beholder's magic. Seeing Bofur lying on the ground woke up a terrible rage in him. As the monster turned around to finish him, he hacked at it strongly, and jumped aside. Before the One-Eyed One could strike back, Alfred put all of his strength into an immense thrust. The blade sunk deep into the heart of the spherical monster, and it shrieked in agony. Alfred twisted the blade, eviscerating the beholder. With a final twist he pulled the sword out of the beholder's body as it lifelessly slumped on the cavern floor, after letting out a long and a pained moan.

Alfred stared at beholder's dead body for almost a minute before he got to his senses. He then suddenly jumped to help Bofur who was still laying on the ground, silent and unmoving. A quick check insured Alfred Bofur was still breathing. He rummaged through Bofur's backpack and found the lamp, which he quickly lit. First he removed Bofur's helmet in order to see if he had an injury to the head. In weak lamplight Alfred saw that Bofur was only knocked unconscious by beholder's lightning, so he took some cold water from the Silver Lake into Bofur's helmet, and splashed it over the dwarf's face. With a strong moan, Bofur turned to his side, and fell unconscious again. Alfred splashed him again, this time trying to raise Bofur at the same time. Old dwarf mumbled and slowly opened his eyes. He scanned the cavern for a moment and then frantically asked, trying to rise up at the same time:

-The One-Eyed One! The beholder! Is it dead?

Alfred assured him it was and showed him the body. Still shaken, old dwarf insisted he was fine and that it was only a bruise on his shoulder, nothing more. Not completely believing him, Alfred suggested they stay here a little longer, until Bofur felt a little better, but the dwarf showed the utmost reluctance to stay here even if the beholder was dead. So Alfred carefully threw a rope and connected it to the hook several feet above the lake, and Bofur climbed up to the ledge. There he secured the rope to the hook. Meanwhile the battle rage cooled in Alfred and he started to feel the battering he took, and especially the long cut on his cheek. Annoyed with himself, he took a small anointment out of his backpack and placed it over the wound. Weren't knights supposed to be able to stand pain like it was not there? It seemed to Alfred that he was a long way from becoming a real knight, for all was his body was paining with bruises from the fall, and the beholder's tentacles. For a second Alfred flexed his body, and calmed his mind with a technique he learned from Eyral, and soon pain began to abate. The pain, after all, was just a shadow on one's mind if one decided not to pay attention to it. By concetrating on reciting a short non-sensical chant inside his mind, Alfred managed to lessen the pain of his wounds considerably. He stood there for a minute, concentrating, until the pain almost dissapeared. Then he climbed the rope up to the ledge.

Once up on the ledge, he followed Bofur. They had to go very slowly, because they had no idea if the ledge was strong enough to hold them. The stone held, and after a silent half an hour spent carefully going around the Silver Lake, they easily descended off the ledge onto the sand in the little cave on the opposite side of the Lake. There Alfred rested a little, while Bofur went on in search of the secret door to the passsage that ledto the inner mines. Here Alfred for the first time noticed the state in which his armor was now, and silently cursed under his breath. He had just gotten it repaired, and now look what it looked like. The plates were nicked and bent from beholder's strikes on it, and his fall has loosed a few plates settling them uncomfortably on his back. But another cool voice in his head warned him that the plate mail saved him from the almost certain death at the hands of a beholder, and that he should be grateful for it, not mumble about its sorry current state of repair. This sobered him a little, so he went on to help Bofur search for a lever, switch, or secret door, since he wasn't sure what exactly they were looking for. They spent some time groping in the dark with only weak lamplight to guide their efforts, but soon enough Bofur found a stone that was loose. He removed it and there they saw a lever made of iron, upon which they pulled. The lever seemed easy to turn at first but then it held fast, so they both had to use their hands to move it. It gave away with a screeching sound, and dissappeared into the rock. A portion of the wall next to it slid aside and there they saw an arched opening that led into a dark tunnel. They entered it slowly, and looked about. It was old, and went straight northwards from where they stood. It was dwarven masonry of old and it was straight, flat and level. It led for about five hundred feet when they reached another arched door at it's end. The door had some dwarf-runes on it's arch, and Bofur read them.

-They speak of what is beyond, and beyond them is the passage behind the King's throne, that leads to the inner mines. Just a minute, here it says where to press.

And Bofur pressed a small tile to the right of the door, and it slid without a sound to the side. They entered a dark tunnel perpendicular to the one they left just now, but this one was much larger, more then twenty feet wide and perhaps just as high.

Bofur motioned to Alfred to follow him. They went in utter darkness. The tunnel seemed to just go on and on, ever on forward. They stopped and rested two times, and Alfred had to renew the night vision spell with his low chanting echoing down the corridor. They went on for about an hour after the last stop when, without warning, they encountered a massive pair of doors. There was a hinge on the doors, and Bofur approached it. Slowly he lifted the hinge, and banged strongly on the gate three times, then three times again after a short time. The sound echoed for a little while, and before it stopped, a tiny slit opened on the left side of the doors. Through it someone said in a solemn voice:

-Who you be, to know the secret password to this gate? Speak swiftly, for we are not receiving anyone unless it be one of our kind.

Then Bofur put his solid body straight in front of the slit, and shouted into it:

-Doras, you empty-headed large-bellied fool! Can't you see it's your master Bofur? You'll never become a master smith if you keep me waiting for much longer!

There was a strange sound from the door, and then it creaked open. A small head appeared to see who was knocking on the gate. It was a small dwarf's head, with brown hair, and no beard. Of course, he couldn't see a thing in the dark tunnel, so he yelped with terror when Bofur gripped the doors, and pushed him aside. Alfred passed inside with him. They were in a small room, with lamps on both sides of the room, a table and a chair in one corner, and a small bed in the other. On the opposite side from the gate stood a tall arch which led into a wide and tall tunnel lighted by torches. There was a dim sound of voices coming from the tunnel which continued deep into the mountain. The young dwarf was almost ready to yell for help when he saw Bofur as he stood in the light from the guard-lamp. He suddenly dropped to his knees in front of him and pled:

-Oh master smith, it is really you! I'd have never thought I'll see you again. Oh master Bofur, I'm really so pleased to see you. What can I do for you, master?

Bofur showed a thin smile and then said slowly and solemny:

-Doras son of Drogo, have you forgotten your duties and your manners? First close the gate, for I see it is the duty that falls upon you tonight, and then wait to get introduced to the stranger I bring to you. Come on, now.

Doras quickly rose from his knees and went on to close the gate. First he shut it and firmly bolted it with a bolt that was placed across the gate, and then he pulled a lever to the left of the doors, and Alfred heard that strange sound again. Then Doras turned back to Alfred and Bofur and stood in front of them. Bofur then made the introductions:

-Doras son of Drogo, this is Alfred son of Eyral, a honorable knight with an errand in this kingdom. Alfred son of Eyral, this is Doras son of Drogo, a former apprentice of mine, and a pretty lazy young dwarf, I should add.

Doras blushed to this, and he and Alfred bowed to each other. Then Bofur said:

-Now, Doras, run and inform the King of our arrival. Go on, go on, there isn't much time to lose!

Doras started talking:

-But, but, I have to write you down into the guard book, I cant just leave my post...

However Bofur interrupted him somewhat rudely and sent him off with these words:

-Don't worry, I'll write us down in the guard book, and now go, or I'll have to write you down for insubordination!

Doras ran down the tunnel, his feet making a loud noise as he went. Meanwhile Bofur went to the table, opened the guard book on the appropriate page, and wrote their names down. He then turned with interest some pages back and read. However, as Alfred was unable to follow the dwarven letters with such speed, his attention shifted to the gate. It had a special glow which told him it was cast in mithril steel, and it perfectly fit the opening. They doors were pretty thick, too. On it were dwarven runes saying: "Oh fortunate traleveler, cherish your luck for these are the doors to the fabled kingdom of Akkliseoth, of the King under the Thunder Mountain." There were some more runes, but those only held more praise for the King of the dwarfs and his kingdom. Alfred however noticed that the doors were shaped strangely; it seemed like there were bars running through the door from the floor to the ceiling. Alfred was just about to ask Bofur about it when he heard the sound of several running feet from down the tunnel.

From down the tunnel came four dwarfs: Doras, two guards in chain mail with stout axes on their sides, and a red-bearded dwarf with a belt made of diamonds, which told of his importance. It could also be guessed that he was a dwarf of some importance by the way he led the party and how everybody seemed to move out of his way. Bofur stood up from the guard book and motioned Alfred to stand at his side. The dwarven party came to them, and there it stopped. Two guards positioned themselves at the sides, and the red-bearded dwarf stood forward. He looked intently into Bofur for almost a minute, and then suddenly he jumped forward and embraced him.

-Bofur, my friend, it is you, it is you! We thought you lost in the mines when we fought that cursed beholder! But I forgot my manners, there is a Man here with you, and I am waiting for you to introduce us.

Bofur motioned Alfred to step forward, and then said:

-This is Alfred son of Eyral, a good friend, stout warrior, and in the cause of Good. He seeks help and advice.

-Well met, Alfred son of Eyral, and I am Brombur the High Chamberlain of the King. But let us not tarry at the gate. The King is expecting you, Bofur, and your friend, in the throne room.

Brombur turned then toward Doras and said:

-Doras, continue your duty and man the gate, and next time be more straightforward when you announce visitors. King would have thought it was an orcish horde banging on the gate when you burst into the throne hall blabbering about High Master Smith and High Knights of Men. Go on now.

Bofur and Brombur wore serious faces, but both the guards and Alfred were smiling openly. Doras, however, was too busy looking busy to notice them. So, smiling broadly and with Bofur and Brombur already engaged deep conversation, they turned their backs on him and marched down the tunnel into the lighted halls of the King under the Thunder Mountain.