Chapter 137

Ainz immediately called out, "Enter." And Gondo Firebeard flung open the door with such urgency that it slammed against the wall and bounced back toward him. It missed his face only because the dwarf rushed past as quick as his little legs could carry him.

"My Lord, the quagoa are here!" Gondo half shrieked it in alarm.

His eyes burned with fear,and from outside cries of alarm and confusion began while a great bell began to toll over the dwarven city. The ringing was long, slow, and steady, the deep noise rebounding off the black stone above, coming back down like the sky itself was falling and causing the dwarves to cry out in panic. Their pounding feet were heavy enough to fight back against the noise of the ringing bell above their heads, even from within the stone walls of his room it was impossible not to hear the noise as the city fell into chaos.

Even without seeing them, Ainz was immediately reminded of the village of frogmen, when the lizardmen broke through, smashed the eggs, killed young and old, and would have wiped the entire population out root and branch had Heketi not surrendered when she did.

'All dying peoples are the same… consumed above all things by fear of their annihilation.' He thought, and rising up from where he sat, he approached Gondo Firebeard. "Are your leaders asking for my help?"

"No… not exactly! The army is mobilized but-" Gondo said, then Ainz raised a hand to stop him.

"I will save the runesmiths who pledged themselves to me. But the dwarven council has not chosen to subordinate themselves to me, or even ally, or trade with me. It would be unnatural, don't you think, for me to commit myself, and also my nation to helping another that rejects me?"

Gondo was breathing very hard, but the smooth silken words of the King cut to his core. "Yes… yes, you are right. Of course, you're right."

Ainz put a hand on Gondo's shoulder and looked down at the dwarf, even with his loyalty sworn to Ainz, even with his craft rejected and essentially on the verge of being given away, the dwarf had friends here. Abandoning them would be very difficult.

"It isn't right, and it isn't fair. But when there are many Kings, there are many loyalties. Two masters can't both be served well." Ainz consoled the dwarf as best he could, and the runesmith nodded as the weighty truth became part of his understanding of the wider world.

He then raised his head, a bold move as he had not asked permission, and looking up at his new master he asked, "But couldn't Your Majesty come to the gate, if nothing else you may learn more about the quagoa, and perhaps the council will ask for your help there if they feel the threat is great enough."

"A tad disingenuous, Gondo… hoping to move me or embroil me in the fighting if it comes to it. But… it may be as you say." Ainz replied.

"As expected of Your Majesty, you see through my petty efforts… I beg your forgiveness, it's only that my friends… they're weak, by dwarven standards. If you're their only help, it's just common sense to try…"

He winced when Ainz squeezed the white gloved hand on his shoulder, and a spark lit in the King of Nazarick, an echo of Touch Me's spirit seemed to glow from the dwarf as the words mirrored those of the vanished guild member.

"Very well, bring Hejinmal to me immediately and I will go to the gate." Ainz promised.

"At once, My Lord!" Gondo's face lit up bright as day and he rushed out of Ainz' quarters as fast as he could.

Minutes later Ainz was on Hejinmal's back and the dragon was trotting through the street toward the gate, the bell still rang but the din of the dwarves had begun to die down. The wall, Ainz could see, was lined with dwarves in seemingly very well made armor. The metal gleamed in the glowstones' light and for the moment, it could even have been said to be majestic.

Majestic, except for the very obvious fear. The dwarves held their crossbows, but they held them unsteadily, fingers twitched and feet shuffled, armor rattled where they shook as they waited for the battle ahead.

The streets were all but empty, though other dwarves stood on rooftops, some with rocks, others with swords, hammers, spears, and many without proper armor.

Ainz rocked back and forth atop the rolling shoulders of the dragon, his hands steadily held just beyond the base of the neck. Alone in the street except for Gondo who jogged ahead, he felt the hopeful eyes of the dwarves who grasped for anything that promised some hope of salvation.

'Will this be the day we die… or the day we are delivered?'

Before Ainz reached the gate, the shouting atop the wall became full of confusion, for a moment a sweeping cry carried its way back like a crowd picking up from a lone voice, but when the obvious confusion hit, the noise stopped.

Ainz reached the gate just as the commander descended from the small tower. "Commander, what is it?" Ainz asked, looking down from atop the dragon as he did, it was easy to see the effect on the dwarf.

The commander looked around, past Ainz, nearly frantic, searching for someone to pass the decision on to, and finding no support, his shoulders slumped.

"Mighty Lord, the ones approaching are quagoa, but they are coming 'with' dwarves. They are fleeing together, we thought at first it was some of our own running from quagoa pursuers but… now?" He shook his head, "No, they are very clearly one body, no killing, no fighting… I don't understand."

The dwarven warrior looked up, "I don't know what to do here… it could be a trick, I don't think so, but if it is, we can't let our people out there be slaughtered before our walls." He leaned forward and whispered so that no other would hear, "That would be like confessing there is no hope left…"

Ainz reached up and stroked his chin in thought, "Yes… well… your Kingdom was kind enough to put me up for the night and hear me out despite coming unannounced, perhaps I could repay the favor. I doubt very much the quagoa would attack a stranger, at least not without knowing whom they're fighting. I will venture out, if it is a trap, if they were to attack, then we have a common enemy. If they don't?" Ainz shrugged it off, "We'll see what's driving them to run toward your way."

Ainz didn't wait for the dwarf to answer, instead he patted Hejinmal's neck, "Ascend, and let's go meet the quagoa."

The wings of the overweight dragon sprang out far more majestically than one would have expected given his 'excess' weight, but it was enough to drive an "oooh" from the dwarves who had never seen a dragon before, let alone one's great wide bat-like wings spread in all their glory. The icy blue contrasted with Ainz' white and gold, giving even Hejinmal a moment of nobility as they flapped and lifted him into the air and above the wall.

As Ainz went over the wall and toward the panicked mass heading toward the wall, the commander of the dwarven army followed the King with his eyes up and head tilted back to miss nothing. He etched the moment into his memory and said, "I didn't expect that."

To which Gondo answered by clapping the commander on his shoulder and saying with bright eyes and a bright smile, "What else would you expect out of a True King?"