They crawled through the twisting, tangled tunnels for another full day. Neither stopped to rest, only occasionally leaning against the rock walls to eat something and catch their breath.
Covered in dirt and moss, Renato silently compared his stamina to the dwarf's.
He had exceptional endurance to begin with, and the fatigue resistance granted by his Mind Over Body feat made his abundant energy only natural.
But Balin relied on physical stamina alone. He had led the way throughout, occasionally clearing blockages with his pickaxe, yet still showed no sign of fatigue.
No wonder the Empire's legions preferred to recruit dwarf scouts from Frostforge Hold for mountain warfare.
These Folk of the Rock had extraordinary endurance on foot and carried out orders with remarkable efficiency. They were perfect mountain warriors.
Now, however, the test was no longer of stamina, but of Balin's eloquence and wit.
The two had just crawled out of a low opening and had yet to steady themselves when a squad of fully armed duergar surrounded them.
Seven warriors, all in plate armor, carrying battle axes and shields.
Their skin was stone-gray, and their disciplined formation blocked every route.
"What do you want?" Balin hefted his warhammer onto his shoulder. Rather than the Dwarf language, he spoke in Common so Renato could understand. "Do you know who I am? Get Little Deepforge out here."
After two days of conversation with Balin, however, Renato's long-unused spoken Dwarf language had improved considerably. He could now understand the duergar's exchanges.
"Of course I recognize you, softskin of the sunlight." A duergar captain in heavy plate armor stepped forward twice, his tone arrogant. "Balin, has the sun softened the bones of you surface mongrels so much that you need a master? Why have you come crawling back?"
"And you brought a