Wirlun woke up in the dark. His shaggy, unkempt beard felt like a touch of an unexpected animal on his face. Maybe a rat. Wirlun wondered how long he had been waiting in this small room. He knew that many weeks must have passed since his arrest, but here time had no meaning. There were no windows, no way to keep track of days. The long night never broke into morning and weeks never changed. He slept and woke up in a chaotic rhythm. He could feel his life draining away when he slept, so he struggled to stay awake, but eventually utter boredom forced him to go back to sleep. Maybe death would be like that – a long and peaceful sleep, in the end accepted, perhaps even embraced and yearned for.
The only door to the shallow, windowless room opened, and Wirlun turned on his cot to see who it was. He was expecting either Khoror or Grofin – the two guards who took turns in bringing him his food. Wirlun had never had any other visitors in his cell. He had relinquished all attempts to resist or flee weeks ago. He did not try to protest or attack his captors, he scarcely even talked to them anymore. With a resigned posture he accepted his meals and ate them in silence, listening to the echo of the footsteps slowly fading as Khoror or Grofin walked up the corridor, away from Wirlun’s small prison.
Wirlun blinked as he suddenly realized that he knew the dwarf who had stepped inside and it was neither Khoror nor Grofin. It was advisor Glunri. Khoror and Grofin were present as well, but neither would step into the small room. Wirlun gave Glunri a faint smile, but the old advisor did not smile back. He just stared at Wirlun with no expression at all. Glunri was short even for a dwarf, but he was wide of shoulders and had a large head with big blue eyes and fiercely curling white eyebrows above them. His expressionless gaze seemed to drill straight into Wirlun’s soul.
”Do you know why you're here, Wirlun?” Glunri asked.
”Here? Where even is ’here’? I was not aware that a place like this existed in the Old Mines. And no, I don’t know why I have been brought here either”, Wirlun croaked, his voice dry and raspy for lack of use.
”For treason, Wirlun”, Glunri stated severely. ”Treason is a very serious crime. You could be banished from the house Landorrim and expelled from Zigil-jâbal. You might have to spend your remaining years a clanless exile, wandering the earth alone, sleeping in barns and begging scraps for food. That would be a terrible fate for a dwarf.”
”What treason? Who accuses me of treason? What am I supposed to have done? I have committed no treason! I have always been loyal to Lord Naíf and Zigil-jâbal!”
”Several witnesses have heard you spreading malicious rumors about Lord Naíf in the Old Alehouse. You have been telling people that Naíf has become too old and senile to function properly as the Lord of Zigil-jâbal and that he should be replaced with a younger, more competent leader. Perhaps with a dwarf such as yourself, Commader Wirlun, hmmm?”
”What witnesses? Outrageus lies! I have never said anything of the sort! I demand to see the people who are spreading lies about me! I will wring their necks!” Wirlun cried.
”Not so fast”, Glunri said, raising a finger. ”So far Naíf has not heard a word of your transgressions. After I first heard the rumors about you I arranged you to be brought here, into my secret holding cell in the Old Mines, so I could investigate the rumors. This I have now done. Nobody knows about this place except me, Khoror and Grofin. Nobody knows where you are or what has happened to you. You simply disappeared without a trace over three weeks ago when I had you arrested and brought here.”
”But… why? What is the reason for this? If I am to be brought on trial to face charges for treason, why wasn’t I taken to the Pits of Justice?”
”For your own sake, friend Wirlun. Your and your wife Magga’s sake. I’m very fond of her, you know. If you were to be cast out of the clan for treason, the shame of the crime would tarnish not only your name, but also the names of everyone in your immediate family and close friends. The shame and humiliation would destroy Magga, and she doesn’t deserve it. Surely we can both agree that it would be preferable to find a better solution, one that doesn’t involve ruining the lives of your loved ones too, hmmm?”
Wirlun’s shoulders slumped. ”What do you suggest?”
”Obviously you can’t carry on as the garrison commander anymore. I have to find a more suitable replacement for you – someone who doesn’t conspire behind Naíf’s back and spread tavern rumors.”
”But I have never conspired against Naíf’s back!” Wirlun protested. ”I…”
Glunri silenced Wirlun by lifting up a finger. ”I have witnesses who say otherwise. It would not go well for you if you tried to face these charges in the court. It wouldn’t be good for poor Magga either. Between you and me, Lord Naíf has become a little too senile for his job, so I can relate to your sentiment. Nevertheless, we can’t have a garrison commander who’s loyalty to the Lord has become questionable.”
Glunri made a gesture towards the door, and Khoror walked inside the cell with a torch. He lit the candles while Glunri unscrolled a piece of parchment on the desk. He placed a black bottle of ink and a feather pen on the desk beside the parchment.
”What is that?” Wirlun asked.
”Your confession.”
”Confession? I thought you said there was not going to be a trial.”
”There isn’t, unless you insist on it. But I need an insurance in case you sleep over it and decide that you’d rather stay as the garrison commander after all and take your chances with the court. It would be very dumb indeed if you did, but people sometimes do dumb things. Surely you can understand how awkward it would be for me if I had to explain Naíf why I decided to kidnap you and keep you as a private guest instead of having you arrested and charged with treason, in case you decided to make the matter public.”
”Then what do you want me to tell Naíf? You told me that I went missing several weeks ago. How do you suppose I can explain my disappearance to everyone else?”
”Madness, dear Wirlun”, Glunri explained patiently. ”You were stricken with madness. You have been wandering alone in the Old Mines all these weeks, lost and disoriented, with no memory of how you got there or why. When you tell Naíf of your sudden memory losses and waking up in strange places he will gladly accept your resignation as the garrison commander. Your good name will not be sullied. Your loved ones will not be dragged into the mud with you. You simply resign from your duties, and I will take care of the rest. I will make sure that the rumors of your transgressions will never come up again. It would be very inconvenient for us both if they did.”
Glunri nodded to Grofin who had just entered the room, carrying a large jug of ale and a mug. Grofin placed the mug on the desk and poured ale in it.
”Come, Wirlun”, Glunri beckoned. ”Sit behind the desk. You look like you could use some ale.”
Reluctantly Wirlun rose up from his cot and shuffled to the desk. He sat behind it and took a sip of ale.
”And now, write as I dictate to you”, Glunri said.
”What if I refuse?”
”Perhaps you need a week or two more here to think it over? I’m in no particular hurry. You will not leave this room before I have your signed confession.”
Slowly and reluctantly Wirlun grabbed the pen and dipped it into the ink bottle as Glunri began dictating the message. Glunri wanted Wirlun to write about spreading false rumors about Lord Naíf and his mental capacity, to foment mutiny among the residents of Zigil-jâbal in order to ascend to the throne himself. After he was finished Wirlun poured himself another mug of ale before signing the confession.
Glunri grabbed the document quickly, scrolled it and shoved it inside a leather bag.
”Thank you, Wirlun”, he said. ”It’s over now. Don’t clean up before going to see Naíf today. I think it’s best he sees you the way you are now. It will give your words some added weight. You look quite insane.”
”But… what can I do?”
Glunri glanced at Wirlun and frowned, as if that was the last question he had expected to hear from him. ”Do? What do you mean? There is nothing you can do. Not for yourself anyway. Remember Magga, your sweet, innocent wife. You have done the right thing to protect her.”
”But… why? Why would you do this to me?”
”Because you lied to me, Wirlun”, Glunri rumbled. ”When I came to see you about Dwormur, you told me you had never even seen him. Well, as it turned out Dwormur told quite a different story that same evening deep in his cups in the Old Alehouse. Later he told Naíf the whole story as he knew it, including how he came to you because you had told the guards to keep an eye on me for anything suspicious. It also turned out that after talking to Dwormur you went to see your cousin Kimrin, who left Zigil-jâbal soon after your meeting and hasn’t returned yet. So as you can see, I have a bit of a problem in my hands. Perhaps you haven’t been disloyal to Naíf, but you certainly have been disloyal to me. And I can’t have a garrison commander who is plotting and scheming against me.”
Wirlun was stunned. He could not speak.
”I suppose that’s all for now. Let’s all just go home now. It’s in your best interest to tell Magga as little as possible. And don’t go back to your office either. Your belongings have been packed and will be dropped to your home later.” Glunri stared at Wirlun coldly. His gravelly voice was hissing like hot coals. ”You should consider yourself lucky, Wirlun. It could have ended worse for you. Much, much worse.”
