Dark Sun: Prism Pentad 2 - The Crimson Legion by Troy Denning Page A

finely cut and carefully fit together that even a
     sliver of torchlight could not have slipped between them.
    “Welcome to Kemalok, lost city of the dwarven kings,” Lyanius said, waving his guests
     through the gate.
    “I've never seen so much iron in one place,” Neeva said, running her gaze from the
     portcullis to the chains. “What king could afford this?”
    “What you see here is nothing compared to the wonders of the keep,” bragged Caelum.
     “Follow me.”
    The dwarf stepped beneath the portcullis. When Neeva and Rikus tried to follow, a
     chest-high figure stepped from around the gatehouse corner and blocked their path. It wore
     a complete suit of black plate mail, trimmed at every joint in silver and gold. In its
     hands the figure held a battle-axe with a serrated blade of steel flecked with
     scintillating lights, and its helm was capped by a jewel-studded crown of gleaming white
     metal, the like of which Rikus had never before seen.
    As magnificent as the figure's armor was, it was the thing's eyes that arrested Rikus's
     attention. The orbs were all that was visible of a face swaddled in green bandages, and
     they burned with a glow as yellow as the afternoon sky.
    “Don't move!” commanded Caelum.
    Rikus obeyed, as did Neeva. The mul had no idea what the thing was, but he knew he did not
     wish to anger it.
    “Rkard, last of the great dwarven kings,” explained Lyanius
    
    
     ,
    
    
     stepping back to them. He brushed past the mummified king as casually as he moved past his
     own son. He means you no harm. Show him that you bear no weapons.
    Rikus and Neeva did as Lyanius asked. When they faced forward again, Rkard stepped aside.
     As soon as the two gladiators passed, the ancient king again blocked the gate.
    “Strange,” mumbled Lyanius.
    “Maybe there are more Urikites around,” Rikus suggested, peering into the darkness on the
     other side of the moat.
    “Don't be daft,” the old dwarf snapped, pointing at the two obsidian swords stuck in the
     moat. The hands previously wrapped around the hilts had vanished completely. “Two Urikites
     came in, and two have died.”
    With that, Lyanius led the rest of the way through the gate. On the other side, a
     confusing warren of tunnels branched off in a dozen directions, leading down what had once
     been the grand avenues and hidden alleys of a sizable metropolis. The greatest part of
     Kemalok still lay buried under mounds of sand, but enough of it showed for Rikus to see
     that most of the buildings were constructed of granite block. The five-foot doors and
     narrow, chest-high windows left no doubt that this had, indeed, been a dwarven city.
    Caelum guided them down the widest tunnel, while Lyanius explained, “I found Kemalok two
     hundred years ago.”
    “How?” Neeva asked.
    “I happened upon a short section of parapet the wind had uncovered,” Lyanius answered, a
     faintly amused smile on his wrinkled lips. “I knew instantly I had found a dwarven city
     from the time of the ancients. The merlons were too short for you people, and the
     stonecraft was far beyond anything the paltry masons of our age can achieve.”
    The old dwarf went on to describe the next century and a half
    
    
    
    
    
     of excavations, working alone at first, and eventually coming to be the leader of an
     entire village focused upon the eventual reestablishment of Kemalok. Rikus paid him only
     cursory attention. Instead, the mul listened for footfalls behind them and glanced over
     his shoulder every few steps. The fact that the door guarding this secret city had “opened
     of its own accord” set his nerves on edge, and he did not place much faith in Lyanius's
     body count.
    Eventually they came to another bridge leading to a gate. This time, the bridge was made
     of wooden planks, now half-rotten and patched here and there with the wide, flat ribs of a
     mekillot. Caelum pushed open an immense set of iron doors,