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The co the wounded dwarves It was a green, kite-shaped standard stretched tight on a narrow crossbar Stitched in black was a figure of a man with arms held out, pointed up froolden circle encompassed by the limits of his hands and feet It was no s of the golden threads They were braided into the circle like a maiden’s locks Perhaps they were a woman’s hair, at that

So my old enemy has followed me even here, to the other side of the world "Which Steppe King bears that banner?" Auron asked

The commodore raised an eyebrow "I’ve not seen that one before The figure isn’t in the style I’ve seen a the Ironriders"

"I’ve seen it before," Djer said "When I worked the Varvar coast as a tradesdwarf Meant ‘Dwarves aren’t welcoed, but Auron saide eyes narrow behind his face-mask "Perhaps the Ironriders copied it"

"Were the others driven off, as well?" Djer asked

"The barbarians on the other side of the river fared better They caot over theis beyond eneralship for the Ironriders"

"Whoever he was, his ray-white horse’s ht

"They lost History won’t remember them If he wasn’t killed here, his head is probably already on the steppe The steppe men don’t care for leaders who take theht of the rider’s skilled attack: the exploding swine, the horse row of dwarves lying in a halloait for the pyre The terrible, bloody deterons and dwarves?

The dwarves of the Chartered Company were some of the few to leave Wa’ah with most of their purchases intact The barbarians, who ed both ends of the Golden Road, leaving many the poorer and unhappy with the suerzain

The towers rarely stopped on the way back, with spring fodder more readily available for the wraxapods, but they did rest at the Iron Te out of the forward tower’s slow- cupola at a countryside of unrelieved horizon According to the dwarves, they traveled through the steppe at its most beautiful, when a riot of yellow and blue broke out across the sward

"It seeood earth," Auron said to the co towers churned up rich black soil "Why are the lands so empty?"

"The Ironriders are nomads Wherever their horses can run, they claim, and they don’t take to settlers Some of the patches of trees you see were once planted settleravestones We have some success with them because we travel, as they do

"The Iron Te to subdue them Tindairuss was his name, of the land ofOh, the name escapes me Back then the Ironriders rode under Ju Ain K’on, which htered and stole and expanded the lands of the Ironriders to the very falls of the Falnges Tindariuss and the riverside elves suffered their depredations, and he foron you ures into the tale somehow, but since I heard it from the lips of an Ironrider, I don’t know that I trust the details Tindairuss won many victories, and for a while his rew old and fell ill Even before he died, his sons fought with his brothers over the kingdom The queen sided with one son, but he was assassinated The kingdom was divided into a confederation for a tiroalls of stone The usual story with ine what Tindairuss would think of his blood riding with his er"<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>