The Hammer of Grimmold (Part 5)
                         by
                    STormbringer

The final instalment:

Donning what I hoped was a relaxed smile, I sauntered up to the
Orc. A massive creature he was, a full eight feet tall and
carrying a mighty gem-studded sword. "Perhaps he has a fondness
for jewels," I thought to myself and held out the diamond I had
pilfered from the Roc's nest. To my delight, he took it and
telling me to "Have a nice day" he went off to put it in his
locker, leaving behind a useful-looking key, which, of course, I
took.

Taking the staircase nearby, I found myself on the second floor of
the fortress. A corridor led west and to the south I found a small
room with a chute. Going south again, I discovered a wine cellar
and filled the empty flagon I was still carrying with some fine
wine, remembering the message I had found earlier which had told
me that the Orc guards were partial to a drink or three.

Going north, east, then north again brought me outside a cell, but
in front of the stairs which led down to the door lay a sleeping
Orc. "No doubt his sleep could do with being a bit deeper," I
mused, and carefully placed the full flagon by him, then almost
laughed out loud when I saw how the fellow's nose twitched as the
aroma of the wine floated upwards.  Quietly I tip-toed back to the
previous location and waited for a time while I caught my breath
from all these adventures. "Time is up, I must keep moving," I
decided, and returned north. There the orc lay, dead to the world
- not dead but dead drunk. "Good enough for my purposes," I
decided as I removed a large key from about his person.

Down the stairs I went, and unlocked the cell door. Inside,
several Dwarves hung from chains. "Grimmold," I said, seeing they
were friends. One threw a forceps by my feet, which I picked up,
then I unlocked the wretches' chains. They bounded up the stairs,

laughing and shouting at their new-found freedom. One paused.
"This might come in handy," he shouted at me, rolling an onion
towards my feet. "I wonder how?" I thought, but picked up the
vegetable anyway. Remembering the dwarf who had helped me on my
first arrival, I returned to the cellar and freed him from his
shackles too and he escaped through the hole in the floor with
gratitude in his eyes.

I climbed back to the second floor and to a notice I had spied
there earlier. "To enter the hallowed halls of Valk, you must
carry the tail from a rat, a tooth from a vampire, a scale from a
dragon and a wish from a genie. Then stand by the steel door and
ring the bell," I read. "What a curious list of items. I had
better look around and see if I can find them."

Exploring this floor, I found the corridors lay in a figure of
eight, with four locked rooms leading off. Unlocking the first
one, I went to enter but flames drove me back. "A dragon must be
in here," I decided "But how can I protect myself from the heat?"
Then I recalled the balm I had found in the uniform I was wearing
and rubbed it onto myself. The strange concoction was all I needed
to keep out the heat and I strode into the room.

Big he may have been, but I could see at a glance that this dragon
was not as tough as he appeared, being prone to crying. Swiftly, I
peeled the onion and tears ran from his eyes. His body convulsed
with such sobs that he shook and a scale fell from his back.
"Thank you, dragon!" I cried as I grabbed the scale and left the
room.

"Now for a vampire's tooth" I decided and unlocked another door.
Inside, the blood-sucking creature lay in wait but before he could
pierce my tender neck with his fangs I threw the cross at him. It
buried itself in his chest and with a gurgle, he expired. Picking
up the corpse, I returned to the central corridor and entered a
dentist's surgery. "Vampires a speciality" I read from the notice
and, as instructed, put my deceased companion in the chair. In
dashed the dentist. He took one look in the creature's mouth and
proclaimed "One to come out." Taking my forceps, he extracted the

offending tooth and rushed out again. "Obviously a busy practice,"
I thought to myself as I left with two of the objects I needed in
my grasp.

"Now for a rat's tail," I said, as I unlocked the next door. Sure
enough, inside was a rat - the biggest rat I'd ever seen. Our eyes
met and I saw him eye my rounded frame and start to lick his lips.
"Chew on this," I shouted as I offered the cheese to him. One
chomp and it was gone ... and so was he. He keeled over, stone
dead and with one deft cut I removed the creature's tail. "Three
down, one to go," I thought.

Unlocking and entering the fourth door I found a bottle in the
middle of the floor. In it was a genie, imprisoned since the time
of the first fairy story and through the walls of his glass prison
he signalled to me that if I freed him, he would reward me.
Broken finger nails surrounded the bottle where other less well
prepared adventurers had attempted to free him and, grasping the
corkscrew that I had carried almost since the start of my travels,
I pulled the cork. The genie emerged in a plume of smoke, dropped
a wish for me and left as quickly as he could. "That's the lot," I
said, as I made my way to the stairs leading up to Valk's secret
quarters.

The steel door had no hinges, handles or keyhole, just a bell
which I rang. The door rose, then crashed down behind me as I
entered. I walked north and entered Valk's chamber where he
waited, accompanied by two Orc guards, the whole room illuminated
by hundreds of blazing torches.

Remembering the Innkeeper's words, I immediately threw the troll
dust in his eyes. He screamed with pain but started to advance
towards me. Swiftly I threw the magic rope at him and watched in
amazement as it coiled round his neck, drawing tighter and tighter
until his eyes bulged and he fell to the floor. With his death,
his body disintegrated and the two Orc guards, who had been
watching open-mouthed in horror, ran out of the room as fast as
their feet could carry them. "It's bloomin' magic!" one cried to
his companion as they disappeared from view.

There in front of me lay the Hammer and, reverently, I picked it
up. A strange force propelled me through space and I landed on a
stone bridge south of Grimmold's kingdom. "Saves on shoe leather,"
I remarked as I crossed the bridge and walked north to meet the
King, many dwarves running at my side, cheering and clapping me on
the back as I did so.

I gave him the Hammer and he held it aloft, bringing forth a
mighty cheer from all those assembled.

"We are most grateful to you for bringing the Hammer back to its
rightful place," he said to me. "My people will now be able to
face the future with their faith and courage restored."

As for me, I reckon I should be able to dine out on this tale for
years!