by Bill Albert
“Take this, please,” the Captain said. “The Minister would want nothing more than to help you.”
She briefly considered refusing, but the growing pain in her face was a clear reminder that this bruise had just begun its own attack on her. She nodded and popped open the cork on the bottle. She sniffed the slight herbal fragrance that came with the light blue healing potion. Satisfied she held her head back and poured some of the liquid onto her face. She stayed looking at the sky for a moment as she felt the healing begin and soon the swelling and the pain were gone. When she looked down at Luvin’s smile there was no sign that she had been injured at all.
“Thank the Minister for me,” she said as she handed the remains back to the Captain.
“You can thank him yourself,” the Captain said. “I am sure he will want to thank you as well. I am sure that without the intervention of the two of you we would have lost that battle. The Giant Lords will want to favor you with rewards.”
“Well,” Gallif said uncomfortably. Now that the excitement of the incident was settling her thoughts wandered back to the school and the secrecy surrounding it. She knew that there would be lots of questions if she stayed much longer. “If anyone’s a hero,” Gallif said with real pride, “she is.” Gallif quickly walked to where Snow was waiting. Luvin and the Captain followed and Gallif carefully checked her friend to make sure he was not injured.
The Captain turned to shake Luvin’s hand and thank him on behalf of the other defenders. Luvin was also growing nervous at the attention but politely did not make a fuss. When they turned back Gallif was already in the saddle.
One of the Captain’s soldiers came to report to him and before he finished Gallif, Luvin, and Snow had very quietly disappeared into the forest.
SIX:
THE MORNING AFTER
It was dark by time they arrived back at the school. As they rubbed down Snow and stored the saddle and gear, they agreed not to tell any of the students about what had happened with the giant. Gallif knew that she would be meeting with Finella in the morning and would bring it up then. Once they entered the dorm neither of them said a word.
They went slowly and carefully up the stairs without making too much noise. Luvin mouthed his goodnight to her and she had unlocked the door to her room when they heard a loud creak in the floorboards. They stopped and looked to see if anyone else was in the hall, but saw no one. There was another creak and Luvin waved his hand and pointed to the door to Anamita’s room. After a moment there was another creak and they looked up at each other. He nodded and Gallif sadly shook her head and went into her room.
Once inside she stripped down as quietly and as quickly as possible. She reached into the bottom drawer of her dresser and drew the nightshirt out without looking at it. Wearing only the shirt, she curled up in bed and hoped that sleep would quickly take her.
It didn’t. For most of the night sleep seemed as far away as the top of Starpoint Mountain. It wasn’t the adventure with the orc attack or the mysterious man that had been following them that haunted her thoughts, but the aquilus elf figure she had shot in the contest. It had brought back emotions she had not had in a long time.
She tried to center on more positive things. She thought of the happier sights and sounds of Festival Day and it made her smile. She thought of some of the people she had met and the things she had learned at the school. She tried hard to concentrate, but the images kept going back to the aquilus.
The elves, aquilus, were the darkest and worst of the land. They were rarely seen and those caught by the militia were sent to the prisons in the swamps. The aquilus were never tolerated. They were totally vile in their actions and lifestyles and when they were discovered they were hounded and destroyed.
There was a creak on the floor and Gallif was jerked back to full consciousness. She was breathing heavily and sweating, and her hand was already on the dagger near the bed. She listened but could only hear the thunder of her beating heart and the creak of Anamita pacing in the room next door.
She dropped back to the bed and willed herself to calm down but every time she closed her eyes, she saw the aquilus coming from the darkest corners of her memory. After several more attempts she gave up, dressed quickly, and left the dorm.
To her surprise and disappointment there were already a few rays of light on the horizon. Their color and angle this time of day created a vast array of shadows and colors on the face of Starpoint Mountain. Many felt this was the time of day the mountain looked most alive and many poets had written about its graceful essence at this time.
There was a very light breeze and she took a long, deep breath to taste the freshness of it.
Gallif tried to enjoy the image but was still disturbed by the whispers of her memory. Unconsciously she said a prayer to Tebiet for help to settle her restless mind. One of the few memories she had of her parents was their beliefs in that particular god and even though she didn’t actively follow his teachings in the darker, more desperate moments of her life she would pray to him. She hoped that on The Other Plane where her parents now were, they would have some comfort in the fact that their daughter still respected their memory and their beliefs.
After a few moments she heard the door to the dorm open and someone walking slowly towards her. The footsteps paused a respectful distance. She returned to her prayers and then stood up.
“May your God be with you, Gallif,” Alek said calmly.
“Thank you,” Gallif nodded.
“Your god is one of the Impure Gods.”
“A dwarven god,” Gallif reminded him. “The god of nature.”
“Yes, quite natural for you,” Alek nodded and looked up at the mountain.
“And may your God be with you,” Gallif said after an awkward pause.
“He is and with blessed luck I will be with him some day,” Alek said. “It’s unusual for you to be here. Actually, it is unusual for anyone but me to be here.” With that he walked to a bench next to the dorm door and sat down. He patted the seat and asked her to join him.
She sat down and looked at him pointedly and said, “You spend more time alone than any of us.”
“No, no, no,” he said. “I am never alone. God is always with me. Remember, Quin is one of the Pure Gods.”
“I stand corrected,” she nodded. “But you spend more time without human, or non-human, company.”
“Oh, I have all the company I need,” he said and pointed upwards. “He is up there and someday I shall be one with Him.”
“Yes, I believe you will,” she said and let out a long yawn. “I’m sorry,” she patted him on the hand, and he held it tightly. “I’m just very tired.”
“I understand,” he said still holding her hand. “Go get some sleep.”
She nodded and withdrew her hand from his and without a word she stood and walked back to the dorm.
***
She finally slept so deeply she completely missed breakfast and did not wake until there was a knock at the door. She hustled to answer it and was surprised to find Finella with a cup of hot tea in his hand. He offered it to her, and she swallowed it in a single gulp. She invited him in, and she sat down on the bed.
“Brilla and Forto came back from a buying trip to one of the markets near the farms. They have heard fantastic stories about how a giant was attacked by a band of orcs yesterday afternoon,” Finella said. Gallif froze and slowly set the cup down on the dresser. “They also heard of a beautiful red headed human female who saved them.”
She looked him in the eyes and knew there was no other choice but to tell the truth. “Yes,” she said. “That was us. I imagine there are lots of people wondering who Luvin and I are.”
“Yes,” Finella nodded. “Especially who you are. Is it true or is it legend that you stood in the path of a spear to protect the Minister?”
“More legend than truth. I was willing, but Snow made sure the spear was never thrown,” Gallif said.
Finella was impressed by Snow’s a
ctions and nodded saying. “A true rider and companion relationship. But I imagine by this evening they will say you caught the spear in mid-air and returned it to the orc’s chest with one swift blow.”
They both smiled and Gallif knew that a legend was in the making.
“I feared that too much attention would be focused on Luvin and myself and that would bring attention to the school.”
“That’s entirely possible,” Finella agreed. “I’ve spoken with Rayjen. Traditionally you would have to be interviewed by each of the instructors and get their approval before we would let you go. After what happened yesterday we’ve no doubt you would pass.”
Gallif felt her heart sink as the thought hit her that she would be leaving the school. She had mixed emotions about leaving and had hoped for more time to prepare.
“So, what do I do?” she asked.
“Only one more thing,” he said and put a fatherly hand on her shoulder. “There is a cabin in the forest east of here. After you have dressed and eaten, go there. Rayjen will be waiting for you.”
“Where is it at, exactly?” she asked out of reflex.
“Eastward,” he said slowly, and she got the hint.
“Will I need to take anything?”
“Yes.”
“Sword? Bow? What should I carry?”
“Carry the two years of training you received at this school,” he said. “Oh, by the way, when you were in Atrexia yesterday...” he spoke and then lost his nerve to continue. Gallif looked at him in confusion and then remembered her promise to him. She gave him the chocolate candy he had hoped for with a great smile. He nodded, giggled, and closed the door behind him as he left.
Very carefully and slowly she put on her leather armor. Instead of the heavy boots she’d worn the day before she wore the thinner boots that she’d found worked best for forest tracking. She strapped a knife to her thigh and hid the dagger in the boot. She also left her long sword in her room and attached the short sword to her belt.
She went downstairs and briefly walked through the school room building looking for Luvin. She knew his schedule and hoped she could catch him between classes, but the lectures were already in session and she could not interrupt.
She made a quick check on Snow and then walked eastward into the forest without telling anyone else where she was going.
SEVEN:
TRIPS AND TRAPS
Gallif headed eastward for more than an hour before she saw any hints as to the path she was to follow. She had used all of her training in scanning the trees, bushes, ground and even sky for information. She came across a small creek and, after a brief study, found a set of deer tracks in the mud heading upstream. She knew that no deer had been seen in this forest for a decade. They had all moved south into the farmlands and even in the warmer months were absent from this area. It was very unnatural for them to be here, so she walked up the stream to follow the tracks. There was a small bend in the creek and the tracks left the bank and turned into the forest. Gallif leapt over the creek and entered a dark tunnel in the bushes.
She crouched down and was forced to crawl through the darkness. She could see very little and kept brushing the branches away from the path with her short sword. After a hundred yards she stopped and lay on her stomach for several minutes to catch her breath. There was a strong musty smell in the area, and she tried to avoid coughing and kicking up dust. She looked as far ahead as she could for any sign of the end of the tunnel but could see nothing. She was about to move again when she felt a sudden pressure on her back. She froze as thoughts of all the possible animals that were running in the forest that could be on her back. Spiders the size of a loaf of bread lived in the darker corners of the forest and she shivered at the thought of what eight-legged beast could be on her back. Using extreme caution, she slowly and carefully twisted to see what it was. Once she turned her head as far as far as possible, she lowered her shoulders for a better view. Eventually a smile crossed her face as she saw a large gray and tan rabbit sitting peacefully using her back as a step so it could reach some food on the lower branches.
She nudged the rabbit and sent it on its way, forced herself to concentrate, and started crawling again.
It was a mile before the tunnel emptied into a small clearing. She stood and quickly shook some of the dirt off of her armor as she studied the next section of the path. Before her were stones set five feet apart. She could see the first ten of them in the deep grass and set out at a steady pace. Between the fourth and fifth stones the ground fell away at her feet and she dropped nearly fifteen feet into a mossy pit.
Her reflexes were good and enabled her to absorb the fall, so she wasn’t injured, but as she stood, she cursed at herself for being inattentive. As she collected her items, she told herself she was better than this and forced herself to concentrate on what was happening. Her recollections of seeing the aquilus mannequins the day before were still distracting her from what was happening now.
She looked up and saw that the wall was straight, smooth and thick with slippery moss making it impossible to climb. She looked around for a sign or hint of escape and noticed a large leather bag tossed in one corner. She pulled it open and saw it contained six S shaped metal hooks each two feet in length. She stopped and studied them for a moment. There was no rope so as grappling hooks they were worthless. She held one and forcefully tried to use it as a pike by driving it against the wall, but it bounced off the hard-cold stone.
She paused and forced herself to think it through. She sheathed her short sword and carefully balanced one of the hooks in her hand. She passed it back and forth between her hands and pulled on each end to check the strength.
She looked up at the rim of the pit again and pictured the grassland around it. She chose a side to target and flung the hook upward. The first attempt failed, and she caught the hook before it hit the ground. The second try was a success and the hook caught in the dirt and rocks over the rim. She took a second hook and flung it at the first. The second one connected on the first try this time and hung from the bottom of the first hook. It took three throws to make the third hook connect and added the fourth on to the chain in only one toss. She was able to add the final two links to the chain easily as it was now just within reach. She pulled on the chain to make sure it was strong enough to hold her. It was held tight, so she started to climb.
She had reached the top hook and was trying to transfer her hold from the chain to the stone rim when she briefly lost her balance. She reacted by putting her foot against the wall, but the moss was too slippery. She dropped down hard and felt the bottom of the hook cut into the side of her armor and scrape along her skin. She grunted in pain and forced herself to hold steady. Her right side was hurting badly, and she was bleeding. She also knew that if she panicked, she would die.
Gallif steadied her nerves and got a better grip and pulled herself free of the hooks, then over the top and on to safe ground. She quickly stood with her hand to her side. She pulled the leather of the armor over her wound as best she could. It was painful but she soon got moving again. She looked at the sky and saw the shadows beginning their slow stretch across the forest floor in front of her. Sundown was two hours away and she had to cover as much ground as she could.
The next hour went by fairly quickly. She had a brief melee with an orc and two of its goblin servants and downed them easily. Using steppingstones hidden under a few inches of water she crossed a swampy patch without incident. She had sprinted hard for a few minutes as a pack of daimon wolves chased her but escaped by climbing from tree to tree until they lost her scent and headed back to their lair. Gallif was disappointed with the encounter. Had they been real wolves she could have used her natural talents to ease their anger but daimon wolves were magically cast animals and immune.
The owls and other creatures of night were making their presence known when she came to a stretch of ancient oak trees. The trees were thick and strong and cast very long shadows across the forest. The wi
nd was picking up and the rustling of the leaves made echoes in the area.
There was an odd sound far to her right and Gallif drew her short sword. She listened and again heard an odd grunting sound as if something was working furiously in the area. She stealthily started moving in the direction of the odd noise. She stepped from root to root to avoid leaving footprints on the moist ground.
Finally, she saw mounds of dirt piled up on either side of a wide hole. She could hear the grunting easily now and by the chunks of dirt being thrown from the hole she knew that whatever it was, it was working hard to dig through the area.
She was only a few feet away from the trench but was staying so low to the ground she still couldn’t see the source of the noise. She leaned forward. With a sudden lurch the ground gave way and she dropped into a tunnel directly under her. It was less than ten feet this time and she landed in a standing position with her short sword in hand. She froze, hoping to get her bearings on the tunnel, but it was too late. She heard a loud war screech and saw a figure running at her.
It was too dark to identify the attacker, but she caught a glint of metal and realized whatever it was that had been working was coming at her with the shovel in hand. A few feet away from her it started swinging and she stepped off to one side to avoid contact. She parried the swing of the shovel with her short sword and split the handle to splinters. It came running at her with so much momentum that she easily stepped aside, and it went past. Too late she realized it had been going for its hidden weapons cache. It grabbed a mace and approached her quickly. She backed toward the hole that it had been digging in, knowing that in the confines of the tunnel she could not get past the length of the mace. Her best defense was to go to the surface.
She backed into the hole and decided to stop retreating there. The creature came out of the tunnel after her and even in the dim light it was clear what she was fighting. The grotesque face of an aquilus was not easily forgotten.