One of the dwarves suddenly broke away from the group, leaving Exile feeling speechless. Everything had happened so fast and he had not even had the chance yet to speak to them!

"Thovok, don't you think you're being too hasty? I know you said you provide warriors and so on, but I haven't even told you if I need them yet." Exile frowned as he looked at the small dwarf, who laughed in return.

"Of course you need them! You're originally a Skardian god, right? Skardians are always fighting and I doubt that's changed much in these centuries. Whether it's raiding or fighting among themselves. There's always fighting to be had in Skardia." Thovok gave him a knowing smile, as if he had already seen through the situation that Exile and Eraldsfen were in. "Besides, it was clear with all of those warriors returning that there's definitely trouble nearby. Hell, they didn't even notice when one of my guys here took a look around."

Ania let out a surprised gasp at that bold statement. 'A dwarf walked around Eraldsfen unnoticed? How?'

Thovok grinned as he noticed the look on her face. "You humans only see what you want to see. A small figure wearing a shabby cloak with their hood up in the snow? You probably just thought he was a child running an errand or something."

Ania seemed to freeze at those words. 'That's right... Nobody would be on the lookout for a dwarf. We've heard stories but never seen one. So most people would think they're just myths or living very far away from here! Then what about Elves? And Warbeasts? I'll have to tell father to look out for everything that we take for granted!'

"Hm, it seems like you've given Ania some food for thought Thovok. Let us go to Eraldsfen so we can talk more openly about how we intend to work together." Exile frowned as he looked at the expression that Ania was making. He was concerned that she may be overthinking things.

"One question first!" Thovok held up a finger as his expression and that of the dwarves behind him turned solemn. 

"What is it?" Exile's own expression turned grim when he realised that it must be something serious.

"Is there good Skardian Ale down there? If not, then I'll need to send someone right away to start bringing some kegs of Dwarven liquor. We drank all we had on the way here..."

Exile burst out into laughter at the strange question with them wearing such serious expressions. "I'm sure that Jarl Eraldsen has ale and maybe some other things. Maybe just not enough by your standards. Feel free to send someone to get more while you enjoy the hospitality of Eraldsfen."

The dwarves nodded happily at this as another one of them broke off from the group and headed to the mountain. 'It seems like they really do live there... Well, if they set up a temple, then I can take a look for myself. Besides, maybe they know something about those ruins near Valheim if the old dwarven gods talked about it.'

Exile reviewed the recent events with the dwarves in his mind as he walked in front of the group with Ania on his right and Thovok on his left. 'They must have something else in mind. They openly admitted that they're considered as heretics amongst other dwarves, but they readily agreed to be my followers. They did not even ask what I'm the god of. That's too strange. It's almost as if they don't care as long as they can make a connection with any god.'

Exile had his doubts about the group, but he could not deny that he had benefitted from their rashness. He just could not figure out their angle. 'We shouldn't have to worry about their warriors. They admitted that they've been watching Eraldsfen for a while, so if they wanted to attack, they could have stayed hidden until their troops arrived. It makes no sense to expose themselves if that were their aim.'

'And Eraldsfen is far from rich, so there's no wealth to get their hands on. There are two wars going on, so there are only downsides for them to come to our side.' Exile frowned as a commotion started in Eraldsfen when they spotted the group led by Ania heading in their direction. At first, the people thought she had found an army of lost children, but as they got closer and they spotted the beards on their faces, they no longer knew what to think!

Harik rushed to the gate when he heard the news. He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him! 'Dwarves! Can it really be? Does Exile command even them?' Harik felt as if his world view was shattered at that moment. He could not help but wonder if Exile had called them back because he knew they were going to receive reinforcements. At the same time, he could not help but think that their arrival was not coincidental. They arrived right when they need craftsmen who could work wonders with stone!

'Lord Exile is so cunning! To think he was so prepared! Bjorn is going to love this when he returns! The stories we were told as children are true!' Harik let out a wide grin as he walked out of the gate with open arms, eager to welcome these much needed new allies.

Meanwhile...

Bjorn cursed as blood flowed from his cheek where Skourj had grazed him with his claws. Although he thought of it as a graze, it was sure to leave deep scars when it healed. 'Damn bear! I didn't think its eyelids would deflect that blow!' 

He tossed the shattered remains of his shield aside as he stared at the black mass before him like a hungry predator. Skourj roared at him as it climbed to its feet and watched Bjorn back away slowly. Bjorn roared back and suddenly sprinted towards that creature, both hands steady on the shaft of his spear...