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“We’re here; slow down,” E said and waited for Vur to stop the car before hopping outside. E fanned himself before snapping his fingers. A set of armor equipped with a shield appeared and began fanning the dwarf king. “Hot, isn’t it?”
“It’s a fire mountain!” Stella said with wide eyes. They had stopped at the base of a volcano that had streams of lava flowing down its sides. The black ground occasionally split apart as red and orange bubbles burst to the surface. It was a stark contrast from the grassy green plains they had traversed moments before. A black road extended from the car towards a dark spot by the volcano’s base.
Vur tilted his head as he approached the flow of lava that spilled into a hole in the ground. He put his foot inside it and hummed while E watched on with wide eyes. “It’s a little hot,” Vur said as he retracted his foot.
E swallowed his saliva as lava dripped off of Vur’s unharmed foot. “I guess I don’t have to warn you about straying off the path, huh?” he asked as Vur turned his attention onto the volcano’s peak. “Just follow the obsidian and we’ll reach the entrance.”
“We couldn’t have driven?” Stella asked with a frown.
“The car would’ve exploded,” E said to the fairy sitting on Vur’s head and snorted. “You don’t even walk on your own. Why are you complaining?”
“I don’t want to hear that from you,” Stella said to the dwarf sitting on top of a dwarf-sized suit of armor. There was a second, human-sized suit of armor following closely behind, and E was using its torso as a backrest.
“The fire elementals live here?” Vur asked as he proceeded down the obsidian road. An occasional spray of lava would shoot out from the sides, splattering close to his feet. “I wonder what they look like.”
“Obviously they should look like fireballs with arms and legs,” Stella said with a nod. “Deedee’s an earth elemental and he’s a boulder with arms and legs. Then a wind elemental should look like a ball of wind with arms and legs. A water elemental should look like a ball of water with arms and legs.”
“Actually,” Diamant said, the runes on Vur’s arm lighting up, “fire elementals look like red boulders.”
“No way,” Stella said, glaring at the brown runes. A few roots on Vur’s rose tattoo whipped the runes a few times. “Then what does a wind elemental look like?”
“A green boulder,” Diamant said in a defeated voice. “Ow! Stop doing that! Hitting me won’t change the fact you’re wrong. While I’m at it, water elementals are blue boulders.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Stella said and crossed her arms over her chest, ignoring Diamant’s cries.
“Think about it,” E said. “How will they carry things if their arms are made of fire? They can’t. Same with wind or water.”
Stella pouted. “The world is magical!” she said. “It can’t start making sense now.”
“I don’t make the rules,” E said and shrugged. “Well, not those rules. I guess, I don’t make any rules anymore after relieving my duties to Vur.”
“No,” Vur said. “You still have to make rules; I made you my advisor, remember?”
“Darn,” E said and sighed. “I was hoping you’d forget. Anyways”—he glanced around before cupping his hands over his mouth—“the dwarf king requests an audience with the clan master!”
The trio had arrived at the end of the road. It had led them face to face with the wall of the volcano. Stella tilted her head and asked, “Entrance?”
“Just give them a second,” E said. “Why are fairies so impatient? Don’t you know all your problems will be solved if you wait long enough?”
“Right?” Vur asked in agreement. “It seems like only dragons know that. Everyone else thinks you should take initiative.”
Before E could reply, the wall in front of the group melted, turning into a puddle of lava by their feet. A stout red boulder with red arms and legs stared at them with round obsidian eyes. “Dwarf king,” the boulder said and inclined its face, which was also its body, downwards. “Welcome to our clan’s headquarters. What brings you here today?”
“I’m not the dwarf king,” E said and pointed at Vur. “He is.”
The boulder turned its body and stared at Vur, unblinking. Its gaze went back towards E. Its mouth, which was a crack beneath its eyes, moved as it said, “I’m not blind.” It gestured with its arms. “This is a human with a tiny human on its head.”
“I’m a fairy,” Stella said.
The boulder ignored the fairy queen’s remark. “And I remember your face, Your Gloriousness,” the boulder said. “Or should I call you E like you always insist?”
“I’m positive I’ve never seen you before,” E said. “Anyways, take us to your clan master. The dwarf king”—he gestured towards Vur—“wants to speak with him.”
“I am the clan master,” the boulder said. “This is my seventh time meeting you, and this is the seventh time you have forgotten my face.”
E snorted. “You’re a boulder, damn it. How am I supposed to differentiate you from some other red boulder?” He squinted at the clan master. “You’re really Az?”
The boulder’s eyes widened as its mouth fell open. “You, are you really the dwarf king?” Az asked. “How did you remember my name?”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” E said. “I’m not the dwarf king anymore. I relinquished my position to my friend over here. His name is Vur.”
Az took another look at Vur. The obsidian eyes stayed on him for longer this time. They narrowed upon seeing the brown runes on Vur’s arm. “Those runes,” Az said. “I’m sensing Diamant’s power from them, but that can’t be possible. Who did you contract with?”
“Diamant,” Vur said.
Az didn’t respond. Vur waited for the boulder to say something. A sigh broke the silence instead, and a brown humanoid figure appeared beside Vur. “Hello, Az,” Diamant said. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”