by Bill Albert
“It’s okay,” he said without her asking. “We’ll be back in Primor in a few days.”
As the memory came back to her she pulled her hand up to see the burns. Her hand was wrapped in bandages and there was still some pain.
“Don’t worry,” Jakobus comforted her. “They’ll be fine. Mekon used some healing casts to get rid of the severe burns. It’s a little blistered but it’ll be healed completely in a few days.”
She took the bandaged hand and slowly rubbed it against her cheek.
“That’s healed just fine, too,” Jakobus said and gently caressed her cheek with his hairy fingers. “Still a beautiful red head,” he whispered to her, then added with a wink, “As far as humans go.”
She swallowed several times and finally said in barely a whisper, “Snow?”
Jakobus helped turn her slightly to her left side and she could see Snow huddled with several horses just a few yards away.
“Good girl,” Gallif whispered. Jakobus didn’t understand exactly what she had meant and leaned closer to hear her clearly. “I could hear Snow grunting in the distance and followed her until I was found.”
Jakobus stared at her for several seconds and then slowly said, “There was a full-scale blizzard, Gallif. We never let Snow leave the cave.”
TWENTY-EIGHT:
VISITATION
Gallif knew she was in a forest even before she opened her eyes. As she was becoming more aware of her surroundings, she took a slow, deep breath, through her nose. She recognized the scent and very leisurely exhaled. It was grass, fresh, wonderful, grass. She slowly rolled onto her stomach and tilted her head over the edge of the blanket. She could feel the blades tickling against her nose and couldn’t help but smile. She took another breath and smiled at the pleasure. She felt the cool breeze across her cheek and by the tones of the bird’s sounds she knew it was just after dawn. She slowly opened her eyes and, after her vision cleared, she sat up and looked around.
Mekon, Jakobus and Brox were packing things up and getting ready to move on. They were busy and speaking quietly and did not notice that she was awake. On the other side of them their horses were being saddled up. Suddenly Snow gave out a familiar snort and came trotting across the campsite to her. Snow bent her head down and nudged Gallif several times in pleasure. Gallif held on to her reigns and Snow pulled her to her feet. The others stopped what they were doing and welcomed her back.
“How long have I been out?”
“Several days,” Jakobus said.
“I’m afraid I had to keep you asleep with some casting,” Mekon admitted. “The damage to the exposed skin from the freezing was pretty severe.”
She looked at the hand that she had scorched to keep warm and was relieved that there were no burn marks. She also looked down at the boot that had been submerged in water and wiggled her toes just to assure herself that everything was still there.
“You’re as good as new,” Mekon assured her. “No effects from the freezing.”
“Thank you,” she said to Mekon directly. “I guess we are even.”
“No,” Mekon said and surprised her. “You and Jakobus, fought to protect me when I couldn’t. That is a far greater debt to pay than simple casting.”
She did not think it was appropriate to kiss the giant on the lips, but if she could have, she would have done so.
“Where’s Kavelle?” she asked. There was a terrible silence as Jakobus and Brox both looked at the giant and then away at the horizon.
“I think you two should finish packing everything up,” Mekon said. Without a word the two went to their assigned tasks. “We can be back in Primor in a few days.” Mekon solemnly said to Gallif and put a hand on her shoulder and they sat down on the grass.
“I don’t know what happened to Kavelle,” he said sadly. “We got separated from her during the battle with Zaslow and couldn’t find her afterwards. There were lots of things we couldn’t find.”
“Was she killed by the monsters?”
“I don’t know. I hope so,” he said and looked over at her. “I’m afraid there are worse things than that.”
“You think Zaslow took her captive?” Gallif asked.
“That is possible.”
Gallif thought about Tome’s death, Bitran’s, even Latiana had died following a trail to him. Plus, all the others who had been lost and, most likely, many she didn’t know of. She shivered as she remembered the feel of the heartless elf that had licked oreg spice from her skin.
“You owe me,” she said and stood and faced Mekon. “You owe me the full story for saving you,” she demanded. She caught her breath as she realized what she had said and who she had said it too.
Mekon took a hard look at her. A human acting this way to a giant was surprising and almost unheard of. Had it been someone other than Gallif he most likely would have simply stood and walked away.
“Okay,” he said. “As he said, he used to work for us, for the Giant Lords, he was one of the most intelligent humans’ I have ever met. His ability to learn and remember are beyond anything I’ve seen, even in some giants.
“He worked for us as an agent and investigated the work of followers of the shadow gods. Gave us lots of insight into how they worked and what they did to seduce people into their ways. Their numbers were growing, and we were concerned, but Zaslow felt that they were not as serious a threat to anyone as we feared. Then I suggested he look deeper into the invisible gods and their followers. Very carefully and very methodically he studied them in detail. He was so quiet no one realized until too late that he had become a follower of one of them.
“Agents in the fields were tracking down reports of aquilus attacks, organized ones, and were able to track a group of them to their lair. To everyone’s surprise they were already worshiping Zaslow. He had studied the gods so well he now wanted to become one.
“We tried to attack him, but he knew we were coming and ambushed us. It was a terrible battle and he had hundreds of elves and others with him.”
“Others?”
“Yes,” Mekon’s head dropped sadly. “He has more than just elves and orcs working for him. Humans are also following him.”
“Giant’s as well,” Gallif blurted out before she thought about it. Mekon looked at her and she quickly looked at Snow chewing on some grass nearby.
“As their defenses started to fall, they went on a frenzy and raided Atrexia in one terrible swoop,” Mekon continued. “I thought he was destroyed in that battle, but we had no proof, so we kept searching for him but there was nothing. A few rumors of sightings, but after a year, even they stopped.” Mekon paused and looked at Gallif. He was shocked to see the sadness on her face.
“I was in Atrexia that day,” she said with a shallow breath. “I remember the riots and the panic.” She looked him in the eyes and continued, “That was the day I lost my brother.”
“The fact that you survived is really a miracle,” he said in amazement.
“But why?” she asked in a whisper.
“Excuse me?”
“Why do I survive?” she said knowing that, like her, he would have no answer. “Why would he say I was a threat to you?” she asked after a few breaths.
“To try and shake you or my confidence in you,” Mekon said. “Other than that, I don’t know. When we get back, I will send a message and suggest the Rainbow Mountains be searched for Zaslow, Kavelle, and signs of elves. That they should consider themselves as possibly under attack. Those mountains have been measured and mapped to every stone,” he said confidently. “Maybe he’s hiding there. For now, we need to head back.”
“You said something before about not being able to find things after fighting off Zaslow and his pets. Did you mean Latiana’s body?” she asked as an afterthought.
“The whole cavern we fought in was gone, Gallif. We searched the caves that weren’t flooded and found some extra oreg fields, but the cavern just wasn’t there.”
“The trap we were in?” she asked confu
sed.
“Yes, we found that, but it just dropped into a small pit.”
They both knew what that meant, but neither spoke until they were on horses heading back to Primor.
***
Mekon rode Latiana’s horse but kept Kavelle’s nearby. The horse was strong, but the extra size and weight of the giant made it weary easily so every few hours he switched horses and let the second one trot along. Gallif had been secured on the extra horse and they were able to increase their speed.
There was a cold wind at their backs and they traveled fast for the first day. Brox informed them that they would take a different route back to the city. The recent snows had made their original path unusable. Though this one was longer it was flatter, and they could travel faster. Mekon bemoaned the extra days that were added to their journey, but Brox warily insisted that this was safer. Brox had also changed since the death of Latiana. His self-assuredness and attitude were gone, and he spoke quietly, slowly, and with no emotion at all.
They bedded late that night.
On the next day they started early and covered a great deal of ground in the first few hours. They were in a forested area now and the natural landscape cut down the wind, so it wasn’t as cold as the day before. They could still see their breaths, but the air wasn’t bitter, and travel was better.
Gallif was the first to pick up trouble. She sensed the change in Snow’s walk from an easy trot to more cautious. She scanned the surrounding forest carefully but could see nothing unusual. She took a deep breath and knew what it was. Without warning she suddenly stopped and dismounted Snow. She bent to the gravel path they were using and started checking her companion’s shoe.
“She’s got a stone,” Gallif said loudly. “Jakobus, perhaps you could help,” she said pointedly.
With a quizzical look on his face he dismounted and came to her.
“What is really the problem?” he asked in a whisper.
“We’re surrounded,” she said looking at Snow’s hoof. “The forest has been invaded.”
Mekon joined them and noticed that there was no stone. Gallif explained to him quickly what she was concerned about and he told her they would continue whenever she was ready. He also told them that if they were separated, they should meet in Primor at the temple of the giant god. It wouldn’t be as unusual for them to visit a giant god’s temple as it would be for him to visit theirs. He went and told Brox the same thing and then returned to his horse to wait.
Gallif was about to mount Snow when she saw something moving from tree to tree. She stopped and stepped back to the road in shock. She had considered there were bandits lying in wait for them, but she was wrong. She had no doubt that she had seen an aquilus.
She looked carefully along the tree line and then walked slowly and deliberately to Mekon. Jakobus and Brox could easily see that something was wrong and joined them quickly.
“We’re surrounded by elves,” Gallif spoke with forced calmness and looking directly in to Mekon’s eyes. “Orcs are with them.”
“How many?” Mekon asked forcing himself not to look around.
“Dozens,” she said. “I’m pretty sure there are some orcs waiting ahead of us as well.”
“How is that possible?” Jakobus asked astonished.
“It’s too many and too convenient to be just a rogue raiding party,” Gallif thought aloud and they all knew what she was going to say next. “They were waiting just for us.”
“How could they know we were taking this route?” Jakobus added. “It wasn’t the same one we took when we went to the ice...” He stopped abruptly as all eyes went to Brox.
The hobgoblin took a few steps back and raised his hands in defense. “You can’t be serious,” he said. “You can’t think that I’d let them know what we were doing.”
“You were doing what you were paid to do,” Gallif stared down at him. “Maybe they just paid you more.”
Brox was about to protest when Mekon dismounted his horse and stood between them.
“No,” he said quietly to Gallif. “After what he’s lost they couldn’t possibly pay him enough to side with them. Look at him,” Mekon said firmly.
Gallif looked closely at Brox’s face. She couldn’t deny that the look of a man in grief who was worried for his own survival. As much as she disliked their guide he did not look like a traitor.
“We have to get out of here,” Mekon said as he looked at each of them. “We have to get out of here now! Gallif, can you find your way back to this road on your own?”
“Of course,” she said. She had a shocking moment as she realized she had failed to stay focused. She felt a tinge of guilt when she considered how much Rayjen would be disappointed with her. She wondered what other parts of her training she had failed to follow.
“We’ll get back on our horses,” Mekon ordered them. “We will ride ahead ten paces and then break. Brox, you follow me and bring the extra horse with you. We will go west,” he said to Gallif and Jakobus. “You two will go east. Try to meet us on this road ten miles further south. We will try to be there before sundown. If we are not, then meet us in Primor. Do you understand?”
Gallif and Jakobus nodded that they did and with mock calm and joy they all returned to their horses. As they started forward Gallif could easily detect the hiding locations of ten aquilus animals and four orcs. She could see that most of them were near the road ahead, where the trees were closest, and felt they would be safe leaving the road early.
After the tenth step Mekon raised his right hand in the air and shouted “GO!” Instantly the party split up and headed off in opposite directions at a full gallop. They could sense the passing of dozens of arrows as they rode but the beasts had been caught completely by surprise and clearly missed their targets.
Gallif quickly checked her right side to make sure Jakobus was near. Depending on Snow’s instincts to keep her out of danger, she looked back and saw the aquilus and orc mob breaking up. Several of them were climbing onto their horses and taking pursuit with weapons, mostly swords and axes, swinging. Gallif knew it would take them time to catch up, but coaxed Snow to increase her pace as best she could.
They had gone barely a hundred yards and were approaching a small break in the tree line when the second wave of the ambush hit. As four orcs dropped from the trees on ropes, a large net that had been hidden in the grass rose to block the exit.
Gallif pulled her flame sword from its sheath and Jakobus tightened his grip on his axe as they approached the trap. One of the orcs ran forward pulling an arrow as it moved. It suddenly stopped, took aim, and fired. Gallif’s sword connected with arrow in midair and it was deflected into a tree.
Jakobus caught site of an orc standing in the shadows of some bushes nearby and completely decapitated it.
Gallif glanced back and estimated that they had, at most, two minutes before their followers would be within striking distance. Without slowing she slid off of Snow’s side and grabbed a tree branch to slow down. She landed evenly and quickly removed an armored orc from combat. Two elves came after her and she turned in a complete circle with the flame sword held before her. One aquilus was distracted by the move and stumbled over some roots and she managed to bring its attack to an end.
The second animal stood and parried her strikes. She was impressed by its unusually high speed and they took several strikes at each other without making contact. She raised her sword high to cut down on the beast when an arrow slammed hard into the blade. It didn’t damage the weapon, but her strike veered off and she missed.
Out of the corner of her eyes she saw an orc approaching from her right. It was preparing another arrow and getting ready to take aim. She turned to face her new opponent. She knew the elf would take a run at her and, after counting to three, without looking back, she drove the sword directly behind her. She could tell by the resistance and the grunt of pain that she had struck her target in the center.
She glanced to one side and saw Jakobus had eliminated most
of his attackers and had managed to stay on his mount. She started running at hers and swung the sword from side to side as she approached. The orc took a few shots at her, but she deflected them and killed it.
She was relieved to see Jakobus had removed his attackers and was cutting down the net that blocked their exit from this area. She could sense Snow’s approach and simply put a handout to grab on to the saddle as she passed. She mounted Snow and with a few quick swipes of the sword, both she and Jakobus had one side of the net in their hands.
The elves and orcs on horseback were only yards away so Gallif and Jakobus started riding hard. They held the net between them and dragged it along, but it soon was caught on the rough forest floor and they were forced to release it. They were able to catch the sight of one of their followers getting tripped up by the net, but the rest continued.
They looked ahead and Gallif was unhappy with what they saw. The forest was getting thicker and they couldn’t see more than two dozen yards ahead. The paths were natural and getting thinner and she knew that they would not be able to ride side by side for much longer. The canopy overhead was also getting thicker and it was getting darker. The only relief she could find was that it would still be easier for the two of them to pass than it would the larger number of hunters behind them.
Despite Gallif’s and Snow’s natural abilities they had to slow. She looked back several times and saw that the elves and orcs behind them were getting closer. After several glances she realized, with even more hatred and disgust for the monsters, why they had gained. Gallif and Jakobus were concerned for their horses’ well-being as they ran, but the elves and orcs were not. They were furiously beating their horses and it was through sheer pain and terror that their mounts didn’t slow down.
“We’re going to have to fight them,” Jakobus yelled from her right side and a half a length behind her.