Chapter 16 | Part 1

Dulint couldn’t sleep.

The night before departure, and his mind wouldn’t quiet. He sat in the corner of the inn’s common room, long after the others had gone to their beds, watching the fire die and hearing words that wouldn’t stop echoing.

You will fail.

Not a threat. Not a curse. Just a statement of fact, delivered in a voice that held no emotion at all.

The seer’s face appeared unbidden—weathered, ancient, eyes that looked through him like he was made of glass. She hadn’t been cruel. Hadn’t been kind. Just… observant. Watching the future unfold in patterns he couldn’t see.

You will fail. The question is how completely.

He heard footsteps on the stairs and forced his face still. Balin appeared, young face creased with concern.

“Uncle? It’s late.”

“Old men don’t need much sleep.” The lie came easily, worn smooth from repetition.

“You’ve been different since we left Stonehold.” Balin sat across from him, uninvited but welcome. “Something’s weighing on you.”

Stonehold burning. Your face. My death.

“There’s always something weighing on old dwarves,” Dulint said. “We’ve had longer to accumulate weights.”

“Uncle—”

“It’s nothing that helps you to know.” Honest, in its way. Knowing would only make Balin rush. Rushing would get them all killed.

Slowly, the seer had said. Fail slowly, and some may survive.

Balin studied him for a long moment, then nodded reluctantly. “Get some rest. Tomorrow we leave.”

“I know.”

When Balin was gone, Dulint turned back to the dying fire. The flames reminded him of things he couldn’t unsee—visions of Stonehold with fire in its halls, dwarves running and screaming, Balin’s body still and cold.

That was what complete failure looked like. That was what he was trying to prevent.

Tell them, something whispered. Share the burden.

But sharing the burden meant sharing the fear. And fear made people do desperate, reckless things. The kind that get people killed.

He would carry this alone. That was the only way to carry it at all.

End of Chapter 16.1 —> 16.2: The Seer’s Warning: The Visit