by Bill Albert
They stopped only twice during the day. At the first stop Gallif wandered too close to Brox and Latiana and they shuffled the papers away as if they were treasure maps. Brox scolded her that the maps held ‘trade secrets’ that she would be unable to read anyway. She was tempted to point out that if she could not read them it should be okay to look but decided against causing a scene with Mekon nearby. Brox took the map and examined it closely and for a brief second she made eye contact with Latiana. She smiled at him and nodded. He reluctantly nodded back at her and then turned away to join Brox. Their two guides found the landmarks they were looking for and they quickly continued.
The second stop came an hour later when they approached an unusually large lump of snow on the side of an ice dune. It was so out of place they knew instantly that it wasn’t part of the natural landscape.
Mekon drew his long sword and motioned for Kavelle to follow him and for the rest to stay back. Kavelle pulled her mace from the straps on the saddle and dismounted. As Gallif and the others waited the two carefully approached the mound of snow.
They were a few steps away when Mekon ordered Kavelle to stop in her tracks. He took another step and looked down at the snow for any signs as to what was beneath the white cover. Finding nothing he finally reached forward and brushed the top layer away. He looked closer and then pulled the mound underneath in his direction. He stood back as it rolled over to reveal the body of a giant. They all gasped and Gallif, Jakobus, Brox and Latiana rushed forward to join them.
They were all shaken by the sight of a dead giant, but Gallif, Jakobus and Mekon were doubly so.
“That can’t be,” Gallif said as Jakobus quickly mumbled a prayer for the dead. With her mind racing for answers she looked at Mekon and said, “We saw him dead.”
“Yes,” Mekon whispered. “We left my friend Barto back there.”
The rest of them realized the significance of this body being found here and quickly tried to think of an answer.
“Could it have been moved here?” Jakobus asked.
“I suppose it’s possible,” Gallif said. She reached down and carefully pulled the frozen cloak of the giant from its body and peeked below.
“How dare you,” Mekon said with rising anger.
Before he could protest Gallif pulled the rest of the cloak away and looked at the heavy shirt. Her eyes widened and she quickly took a few steps back.
“Get back” Gallif called as she drew her flame sword. “Move, move, move,” she said excitedly.
“What did you see?” Kavelle asked.
Before Gallif could answer the body quickly rose, pulled its long sword from its sheath, and started swinging.
As it came towards them, Mekon and Kavelle each stood and showed the symbols of their individuals gods and ordered the attacker to retreat. Being believers they had certain powers, granted on them from their gods that gave them the ability to force undead creatures to withdraw. The power from Kienova, a pure god, and Tebiet, an impure god, should be enough to turn back the strongest of those types. Unfortunately, the undead giant continued to come after them.
Before it could take another step, Gallif and Jakobus advanced. The creature struck hard at Jakobus with its giant-sized long sword. Jakobus ducked back and the blade missed him by several feet. On its arch back the sword was driven at Gallif who rolled forward to get inside the giant’s defenses.
She struck once and by the time Gallif made her second strike with the flame sword Mekon and Kavelle came forward with their weapons in hand. Latiana, who also had a long sword ready, moved to come at the monster from its side.
Gallif’s next attack cut hard into the stomach. The puncture was deep, and she tried to damage the body as she withdrew the sword. She pulled back at an angle and cut the body open. If the attack had any effect it didn’t show, and she noticed there was absolutely no blood coming from the wound. It twisted quickly and as Gallif moved to avoid getting decapitated by the long sword the undead giant kicked at her and hit her hard in the side.
She lost all the wind in her lungs on impact and was breathless when she hit the ground a few yards away. She was on a downward slope when she landed and slid a few more yards before she came to a stop. Winded and dizzy she took several deep breaths and rose. As fast as she could she started back into the battle.
Both the giant swords collided several times. Kavelle moved to the right side and swung fiercely with her mace. The first time she connected briefly with its side, but the second swing missed completely.
Latiana was off to the side but was finding it difficult to maneuver in to strike. Two giants with a long sword made a very large battlefield.
As Gallif approached, still gasping for fresh air, Jakobus pulled two small hand axes from his pack. He clapped them together in what she assumed was some dwarven ritual and then he let both of them fly. The axes hit their target in the side of the head and embedded themselves deeply. Instead of a spurting of blood, as from a natural creature, there was just a very slow ooze from the wound.
Mekon and the creature were still in intense combat. They swung furiously at each other and Mekon ducked back narrowly avoiding the other’s weapon. The blade struck a ledge of ice and caused several chunks of it to fall away. Latiana had been on the ledge trying to advance and the tremor caused him to fall and slide closer to the center of the battle.
The monster swung back to strike at the downed Latiana when two arrows fired from Brox caught it in the shoulder. The sharp penetration caught the monster’s attention, so it faltered and missed Latiana.
Gallif had regained her breath and was ignoring the dull pain in her side as she approached the giant combatants.
Two more arrows struck the lifeless giant. This time it was hit in the right thigh and didn’t react.
A third hand axe from Jakobus struck its wrist and it nearly dropped its weapon.
Kavelle stepped forward and made a hard drive at its right leg with her mace. At the same time Latiana drove his long sword through the left leg.
Gallif, whose bruises healed by the power of the armor, moved quickly to make her next attack.
The undead giant stumbled under its weight as it lost control of its balance and Mekon took advantage of the distraction. He reared his long sword back and with as much power as he could muster he impaled his dead friend in the chest. The momentum was too much and it fell back on to the snow-covered ice and didn’t move.
They all stood quiet, watching the body, and listening for any other attackers. They saw and heard nothing, but a bitter smell soon caught their attention.
“What is that?” Kavelle asked.
“NO!” Gallif shouted and rushed at the body. “Cut it!” she yelled. “Cut it up!”
Before she was within striking distance there was a shimmer around the body and the giant was replaced by a black owl. The owl spread its wings and frantically took flight up into the cloudy sky.
“What was it?” Brox said as he approached and stood next to Latiana.
“I recognized it,” Mekon said and shook his head sadly.
Kavelle looked at them and took a few deep breaths before she finally realized what it must have been. She had never been exposed to that odor before, but every child had it described to them in some horrifying children’s tales.
“That’s the smell of a shifter,” Jakobus said slowly.
There was a very long moment of silence as they all came to terms with what had been said. They realized that whoever was at the heart of the rebellion had helpers and powers beyond any they had seen before.
Though they lay in their blankets around a warm fire no one slept that night and they were ready to continue their trip before dawn.
***
By noon they were within sight of the caves used for oreg fields. It took them another two hours to arrive at the entrance because of the mountainous terrain.
“Shouldn’t there be someone here? Farmers, guards, or something?” Gallif asked when they could see it clear
ly.
“Yes,” Brox said without looking at her. There was no need to add anymore and they continued in silence.
As they dismounted Brox asked Mekon if he could address them all. Mekon nodded for him to go ahead. “If you happen to be coming out of here at night, don’t head westward,” Brox said. “There is a lake less than a mile away fed from a river, so it doesn’t quite freeze. It is still deadly cold, and you probably wouldn’t survive long enough to get rescued.”
There were very few markings to indicate that anyone was using the caves. A ragged and torn cloth hung like a curtain over part of the cave mouth but was very little against the elements. There were a few wooden posts that had been pounded into the icy ground on either side of the entrance. Gallif took a quick look and saw that these posts were typically used to tie horses outside, and she was bothered by the fact that they would not take the horses in from the cold.
Set inside the mouth of the cave were heavy doors that were closed but not locked.
Inside the cave widened considerably with several burnt out torches placed along the walls. On one side there were several crates of oreg spices sealed and ready for shipment. On the other side were more crates but several had been torn open and scattered on the floor.
Gallif exited the cave and brought in the horses before they moved on. Jakobus grabbed one of the burnt-out torches by the charred end and shook his head. The remains were completely cool and there was no way to tell how long they had been out. Using his own he relit them quickly.
Further in part of the cave was used for quarters for the farmers and a desk with dozens of scrolls for record keeping. Mekon and Kavelle went to the desk and were looking at the scrolls.
“This one has Bitran’s signature on it,” Kavelle said. She did a quick count on the crates in the outer cave and matched it to the inventory on the list. “It’s for that shipment.”
Gallif checked the area used for the living quarters and found them sparse in personal belongs. There were plenty of blankets and warm clothing but nothing unusual or worth noting.
While Mekon and Brox studies more of the scrolls Kavelle, who had noticed Gallif’s disappearance, joined her.
They found two storage rooms and investigated them carefully. One was slightly cooler than the rest containing crates and barrels of food. There were some smaller barrels wrapped in a very thin cloth. Never having seen anything like this before they decided to open one of the smaller ones first.
“What is that?” Kavelle asked.
“I’m not sure,” Gallif said as she leaned closer to it. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “It smells like milk,” she said with a puzzled look.
“More like a cream,” Kavelle nodded after she took a smell. “I’ve never seen cream this firm before. Not any that would still be good, anyway.”
“Something about being this cold to the ice?” Gallif asked. She dipped a finger in the cream and carefully licked it clean. “Oh, you should try this. This is really good,” she smiled and winked at Kavelle.
Kavelle looked around the room and found some utensils hanging near a table. She pulled two wooden spoons from the wall, handed one to Gallif, and then helped herself to a mouth full. She looked at Gallif and laughed out loud as she swallowed the cold dairy treat.
“It’s vanilla,” Kavelle said. “You’re right, it’s really good,” she smiled.
Gallif helped herself to a spoonful and let herself enjoy the discovery.
“You know,” Kavelle said after they had eaten a good portion of the food. “This would be really good with fruit,” she giggled.
“Better yet,” Gallif smiled at her as she licked some of the cream from her lips. “Chocolate!”
They both laughed out loud and giggled as they ate more. When they heard Mekon call their names they quickly packed up the treasure and cleaned their sticky faces before running back. As long as they didn’t make eye contact they kept smiles from their faces as the party continued further into the caves.
Once they were all together, they made their way down the cave and after making a sharp turn Gallif and Kavelle came to a complete stop.
“That looks awfully familiar,” Kavelle said slowly.
Ahead of them was a three-way intersection and on the other side was a stone hallway leading off in both directions.
“What is it?” Mekon asked.
“When we went through the jump casting at Bitran’s estate, we came out there,” Gallif informed them.
With weapons in hand they all stepped into the intersection. Mekon looked at Kavelle and she pointed to the left in the direction of the cells they had found. Once there they found the same office and cells they had encountered Tasker in before. It was much the same as they had left it. There were the signs of the combat, but nobody was present. They quickly scoured the room for more information and then moved into the cells.
Tasker’s body was now in here. It had decayed but due to the coolness the decay was slower than normal and still recognizable. As they were examining Tasker Gallif made sure the rest of the cells were undisturbed. She also found Bitran’s body. When Kavelle and Brox examined it, they agreed that it was the man they had been looking for.
“We should take the body back,” Gallif said after a moment of silence.
“I agree,” Kavelle said as she spoke to a doubtful looking Mekon.
“We’ll retrieve him on the way out,” Mekon said. “First I want to see the field.”
They quickly entered the cavern where the field was located and found six aquilus elves standing ahead of them. The elves were all facing away looking at what was left of the field. Gallif was ready to charge forward when Mekon grabbed her and held her back. He signaled for her to watch and be quiet.
Even though none of them could understand the grunts and barks of the aquilus language they could tell the elves were debating their next move. It looked like they were trying to coax each other into entering the small area of the field where good plants were left. After several attempts they suddenly paused as if they were hearing some call or sound that was beyond anyone else’s ears.
In unison they started running around the edge of the field to the far side.
Gallif’s grip tightened on her sword at the thought of letting the monsters get away, but a quick glance from Mekon forced her to calm down.
Once they got to the far side they sprinted towards the rock wall. It looked for a moment like the elves were going to smash hard into the stone but suddenly they disappeared as if they had passed through some invisible arch.
Mekon scratched his chin and then, making sure his long sword was ready, followed in the elf’s tracks. They worked their way around the field to where the elves had vanished and stopped a few steps away from the wall. Mekon picked up a stone from the floor and tossed it against the rock surface. The stone hit hard with the wall and bounced to the ground. He looked at each of his followers and then picked up the stone again. He tossed the stone, but this time aimed a bit off to one side and the stone vanished when it reached where the wall should have been.
Mekon nodded and again produced his religious talon, a wooden carving of two hearts, waved it in front of the wall, and chanted several phrases. As they all watched a chunk of the stone wall melted away as if it were ice that had been suddenly exposed to a heat source.
They looked at each other and then slowly went inside. Mekon led the way with Kavelle and Gallif close behind him. Brox and Latiana followed them and Jakobus, axe ready, brought up the rear.
This cave was very small and shadowy and gently slanted downwards. They traveled slowly and uninterrupted for a while into increasing darkness. The complete silence was finally broken by a short cough from Jakobus. They stopped and looked at him quizzically.
Jakobus reached out and ran a hand along the wall then bent down and gently laid his hand on the ground. He shook his head and stood.
“There is something wrong with this tunnel,” he said as he took a few steps to Mekon.
“It doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t feel natural.”
Latiana tapped Brox on the shoulder and then walked over to the dwarf. He bent over next to Jakobus and laid his hand on the ground.
“He agrees with you,” Brox said. “There’s something wrong.”
“What is it?” Kavelle asked.
“If he knew,” Brox said, “I would know.
“Jakobus?” Gallif asked.
“I’m not sure,” he shook his head. “It feels like there’s a door under here.”
They were all silent as Latiana pulled away a flat section of rock to reveal a small cavity. He looked inside the dark hole, tilted his head slightly to get a better view, and then reached inside.
Without warning the entire cave floor collapsed beneath their feet. With nothing to hold on to they all tumbled into complete darkness.
TWENTY-SIX:
DARK CHILDREN
She was breathing heavily and the first few times she opened her eyes they closed quickly. She would open them again and try to keep them open longer each time as very slowly Gallif’s world stopped spinning. She had been out long enough that any physical injuries were healed by the armor, but the mental disorientation had to calm naturally. She was laying on her back and slowly propped herself up on her elbows.
She discovered that she was in a circular chamber that had been carved out of the base of the mountain. She looked around for any trace of the trap they had fallen through but found none.
She sat up and looked for the other members of the party. The dirt that had been used to cover the false floor had fallen with them and she dusted as much as she could from her armor as she studied the situation. In the distance she could see the large mound that was Mekon’s body lying on its side. She was concerned and started to rise when she heard a moan and saw him move. Her movement was too quick and still feeling a bit disoriented she forced herself to sit back down.