The Secrets of Starpoint Mountain

by Bill Albert

  He cut at one of the beasts with his axe and connected with the spear. The momentum pulled the weapon and the elf in her direction. Gallif splintered the spear with the flame sword and cut down the attacker with two strikes.

  Her arrival had quickly changed the focus of the battle. A band of the animals had been trying to herd Kavelle, Pate and Anamita back into the burning barn. Most of the building had collapsed from the fire and they were running out of places to go. A majority of the elves and orcs had been concentrating on them, but the new threat was starting to draw them away. The three captives, their backs dangerously close to the fire, took advantage of the change and started to push back.

  Gallif was nearly unstoppable. She deflected many attacks with ease and the numbers of her enemies quickly diminished. With her four allies nearby the melee ended rather quickly with the beasts either downed or retreating to prevent more damage. As the last elf disappeared from sight Gallif stood poised with the weapons raised. Jakobus came and stood next to her and just stared at her for several seconds. Finally, her stance relaxed, and she put the sword to its sheath.

  “Did you find my father’s grave?” Pate asked as he approached.

  “Yes,” she said as she looked at him.

  “That was by the key puzzle, wasn’t it?” he said pointing at the new sword in its sheath. “I have to admit the key puzzle always mystified me,” Pate said after she nodded. “Many of us never made it through.”

  “Am I the first?”

  “No.”

  “I hate to break this up,” Kavelle said pointing out the obvious. “We’ve just been attacked, and people are most likely to come here when they see the smoke from the fire. If we don’t want to answer a lot of questions we had better get moving.”

  “Where do we go?” Anamita asked.

  They looked to Gallif for an answer and her eyes were trained on the massive wall of Starpoint Mountain that loomed into the sky.

  “Do you know how to get in?” Jakobus asked cautiously.

  Before Gallif could answer she felt a sudden rip in her body that made her scream. There was no cut or slash, but the pain was just as real, and she collapsed. Jakobus darted to her and wrapped his arms around her to protect her while the rest watched the area for another attack.

  “NO!” she screamed in anguish. Her voice was shaken and the grief so strong they all turned to look at her.

  “Goodness, Gallif,” Jakobus pleaded with her.

  “She wasn’t hit,” Pate said desperately. “Was she?”

  Gallif took several gasping breaths and then rose to her feet. Unsteadily she started running as fast as she could and they easily kept up with her. She circled the remains of the main building and when they saw the blood soaked aquilus standing in the open area on the other side they realized what had happened. In unison Kavelle, Jakobus, Pate and Anamita darted ahead of her and disarmed the elf and pulled it away.

  Gallif came to a stop and looked down at the body of her best friend. Snow’s throat had been slit with a sword and most of her pure white coat was drenched in red. The horse took a few shallow breaths and the sound of blood bubbling in her throat sickened them all.

  Gallif knelt down and looked into the eyes of her companion. As she watched they made eye contact for a brief moment then Snow’s life left her. She closed the horse’s eyes with the palm of her hand and whispered her goodbye.

  Afraid to disturb her, the rest of them stood silent and said their own prayers. When Gallif stood and looked at them they were surprised that there were no tears in her face. Though they knew it was not directed at them, the look she gave to the elf was frightening.

  “Gallif,” Kavelle finally spoke. “There is a woman, near here, who can read the thoughts, even of these monsters. She could help us get in and find Zaslow.

  Gallif took a few steps forward and with a lightning strike ended the animal’s life with her flame sword. As the elf dropped from their grasp she looked at them.

  “I’m going into the mountain,” she said. “If you want, you can come with me, I don’t care, but there is one condition. You do what I tell you, when I tell you, and don’t ask why,” she said. With the weapon still in hand she turned away and started walking.

  ***

  The chamber was absolutely pitch black. The only sound was coming from a very faint breeze from an undetermined source. Several tunnels had once converged here, but a tremor had broken a channel bringing water into the area and it had been abandoned.

  There was a sudden change as a glow appeared beneath the water. It was moving fast and soon its source broke the surface.

  Barely a second later Gallif herself erupted from beneath the still liquid. She coughed several times and brushed her hair away from her face. She looked around and saw a dry ridge and swam toward it. She held the torch Jakobus had given her and mentally thanked him for his fire talents. She pulled herself onto the land once she was sure that the area was clear. When she was on solid ground she grabbed the rope that was tied around her waist and yanked it hard several times. There was a brief pause and then she felt the rope tighten and as it was pulled on the other end. She knew the rest would soon be here.

  The red tinted armor dried quickly as she prepared for the arrival of the others. She took off the backpack that Rayjen had given her and pulled both the cast swords from inside and clipped them on either side of her. She went through some of the other items and carefully put what she thought she would need in place as she waited.

  Before leaving the remains of the school they had picked up what few things they could find. Pate, much to her surprise, was also a caster and had packed several bags and small potion bottles of ingredients, and a very plain oak wand.

  Jakobus had been looking for smaller flammable items to make torches. He had protested when he found out how they were to enter the mountain, but Gallif had promised to keep the items dry and had secretly placed them inside the backpack. Kavelle and Anamita were able to pack their items safely.

  Gallif had remembered how, when Kadame had tried to read the mind of the trapped aquilus, she had spoken of water; terrible water that had killed many elves had come in and destroyed a meeting place. She also remembered how she and Luvin had been near the lake when the quake had hit and how the water level had dropped. She was sure the two events were connected and this was the way in to Starpoint Mountain. So sure that she had tied a rope they had retrieved from the burnt barn around her waist and taken the lead. The swim had been longer than she had hoped but she had made it safely.

  Soon there was bubbling from just below the edge and Jakobus burst up and coughed for air. She reached out and grabbed his flailing arms and pulled him up onto the ledge. She knew his incredible strength had made it possible to pull himself along the rope with the heavy armor. Most dwarves would not have been able to make the journey.

  He stood, coughed out some water, and tapped his chest plate. “This was not made for swimming.”

  “Will it be okay?” she asked and regretted it when she saw the offended look on his face. “Sorry,” she said sincerely.

  He nodded and tried to squeeze some water from the clothes he wore as she handed him the dry torches and tinder wood.

  “How did you get that here so dry?” he asked in amazement.

  “Never you mind,” she said and looked to the water.

  Kavelle came next. She had an easy time on the underwater journey and had the quickest swim of them all. She was searching to make sure she hadn’t lost anything on the way when Anamita burst from the water and started splashing around. They both reached out to her and finally caught her sleeve and pulled her in. Anamita coughed up large loads of water and was breathing heavy as she steadied herself on the ground. She was on her hands and knees and starting to breath normally when Gallif reached up to brush the wet hair off of Anamita’s face. To her surprise Anamita quickly pulled back and slapped her hand away. They stared at each other for several seconds and then Anamita apologized. Soon Pate j
oined them.

  Once they were all on safe ground Jakobus lit more of his torches. He and Anamita would each carry one as they traveled while Gallif would take the lead using light of her flame sword.

  “Jakobus and Kavelle, I want you two right behind me, then Anamita and Pate watching our backs,” Gallif instructed. She expected a protest from Pate and was surprised when none came. She took a long look at him and realized that she still thought of the false persona he had presented at the school and was impressed by the true person she now saw. She was about to lead them in to one of the tunnels leading away when she noticed the stunned look on Jakobus’s face. “What’s wrong?”

  “It just occurred to me where we are,” he said slowly. “For countless years people have been trying to come inside this mountain,” Jakobus said. “It took us a few minutes. How many people have died trying to get where we are now?”

  “How many people will keep dying if we don’t get out?” Anamita asked in a whisper.

  “I don’t know what will happen here or what Zaslow can do, but he must be stopped. He’s already made himself the god of the elves and look how many have died,” Gallif reminded them.

  “We’ve all heard the legends countless times as children, how making it to the top of Starpoint Mountain will give you godhood.”

  “But that is just a legend,” Kavelle pointed out to them. “One of many. Some say you will be able to step onto the lights in the sky, that’s how it got the name. Some say it never ends and there is no top. Others say there is nothing there.”

  “Does it really matter?” Gallif asked. “As a false god he seems to be doing quite well with the aquilus and no one knows how many of them there are. Ten thousand? A hundred thousand? Either way using this mountain as a base gives him power. Real or not, he is still dangerous and deadly to anyone that gets in his way.”

  “She is correct,” Pate said. “We saw what his godhood did to the school,” he said looking at Anamita.

  “No matter what, the truth of Starpoint Mountain is,” Jakobus added, “Zaslow must be stopped.”

  “How do you think he learned about the school anyway?” Kavelle asked.

  “I told you,” Pate reminded her. “Luvin sold us out.”

  “No,” Gallif said with frustration. “No matter what he would never tell anyone about the school.”

  “Who else would have told? Was there anyone?” Anamita asked.

  “Maybe whoever told him about the school didn’t mean to tell him,” Kavelle suggested. “Gallif, you did have a drink with him when he drugged you. Could you have told him?”

  Gallif didn’t answer and only looked at Kavelle and nodded.

  “We can’t just assume that someone purposefully told him anything. Brox had one of those pendants planted in him,” she reasoned. “So, did you, Gallif.”

  “What is she talking about? Is there anything else you haven’t told us?” Pate asked suspiciously.

  “Yes,” Gallif admitted. “There was a totem that he slipped to me. I suspect he uses it to keep an eye on people, to know what they are doing, or it’s some casting focus for him. I had it on me and didn’t know it. If I’d have caught it some people, maybe Tome, would still be alive.”

  “Don’t let the guilt hinder you, Gallif,” Jakobus said. “Anyone of us could have had it on them.”

  “Why didn’t you tell us?” Anamita asked.

  “The same reason I didn’t tell you,” Gallif said and quickly turned on Kavelle with her flame sword in hand.

  “I know you are feeling guilty about Tome’s death, but so am I, he was important to me, too,” Kavelle said as she took a step back, but she did not reach for her club or take a threatening stance. “Maybe even more than you,” she added.

  “Don’t try it,” Gallif said as she stepped forward. Pate and Anamita watched them closely and Jakobus took a firm grip on his axe and stepped next to Gallif. “I didn’t tell a soul that I had one when we were ambushed. There was only one way you could know that.”

  “Zaslow,” Jakobus whispered.

  “Yes,” Gallif confirmed. “Throw his pendant into the water, Kavelle. Get rid of it now!”

  Kavelle looked back at her and nodded that she would. She slowly reached into her pocket and then froze looking at Gallif.

  “I can’t,” Kavelle said and took a step further back.

  “Kavelle, please get rid of it,” Gallif pleaded and stepped forward.

  Jakobus was behind her and Pate and Anamita were behind him. The edge of the lake was narrow and, if combat started, they could not get close enough to help.

  Kavelle whipped her arm out and there was a flash of gold as she threw something into the water. Gallif’s attention shifted to follow the object, but it disappeared quickly under the surface. Before she could react she heard a shout behind her as Jakobus reached forward, grabbed her belt, and pulled her back. The swing from Kavelle’s club was so close to her head that her lengthy red hair was brushed away from her face. Once he was sure she was safe Jakobus pulled his axe back and took a swing at Kavelle.

  Kavelle returned the attack and with amazing speed the club struck at Jakobus. The club missed his mid-section, but clipped part of his metal armored sleeve. Kavelle stepped forward to hit him again, but the point of Gallif’s flame sword embedded itself in the blunt weapon. Kavelle tried to use her strength to push her back, but Gallif dug her feet into the ground to prevent herself from being pushed into the water. She knew there was much more danger here than she had expected. Kavelle was a good fighter, Gallif knew, but not this good.

  A swing from Jakobus’s axe ended the connection and the weapons were separated. Gallif hurried forward and took several hard and low cuts at whatever it was that had taken Kavelle’s place but missed each time. She also glanced back and saw Pate holding his wand.

  Working together Gallif and Jakobus didn’t take any hits from the club, but neither did they strike their target. They were switching positions when there was a brief flash of pale green light. They watched as the Kavelle’s figure started to shimmer and change and held back their attacks as a new form took shape.

  She had heard of these creatures before. She remembered thinking they were silly at the time, but now that she was standing right in front of one, she didn’t find it humorous. She did remember that they were strong and fierce and were formidable in combat despite having a single eye. The creature, being too big to use the club, threw the weapon at them. They ducked and could hear the hard wood shatter as it hit the wall.

  Before they could position themselves for another attack the ground shook violently beneath them. The giant monster had taken its fist and bashed it hard against the wall making several chunks break away and crash onto the floor. It picked one up that was nearly half the size of Jakobus and hurled it against them. They barely escaped being smashed beneath the boulder.

  Gallif ducked low and charged forward. She managed to get behind the beast and take several cuts at its leg as she passed. She stopped close and turned in time to see its fist coming at her. She dropped to the ground and rolled to one side as the fist hit the ground where she had landed.

  Jakobus moved in for an attack as it was distracted with Gallif and Anamita was close behind. They swung in unison and between Anamita’s sword and Jakobus’s axe they made several deep cuts into the huge legs. As it took a few punches at them Gallif went in and made several successful hits.

  They knew that in the confined space and with its huge arms it would be difficult to keep attacking without exposing themselves to the massive fists. It picked up another boulder and tossed it towards Pate. The boulder struck the cave wall and bounced into the water where it quickly disappeared. The cracked wall where it had struck started to crumble and Gallif knew if they stayed much longer the only tunnel leading away would collapse.

  Gallif caught Jakobus’s attention and nodded to the exit. He took a swing at the leg nearest him and nodded that he understood. Gallif cut at the monster’s flailing arm and he
ld the flames to its skin as long as she dare. It howled in pain and she darted between its legs and a stone wall to escape. They all turned and started running for the tunnel. The monster came after them pounding at them with its fists. Though space was limited it could take much larger steps and was gaining on them fast.

  Pate moved to the exit and turned to wait for the rest. Before he could cast Anamita joined him and he pulled her out. Jakobus couldn’t run as fast and was several steps behind her. Gallif feared he was within striking distance, so she stopped to try and delay their pursuer.

  Its fist hit the floor near her and the ground shook. Stunned, the one-eyed giant paused briefly and took several wild swings. In a quick move the monster pounded both its fists into the ground at the same time and the shockwave caused Gallif to lose her footing. She stumbled in the rubble and tried to scurry away as it came very close. She was easily within its reach and it raised both hands to crush her.

  She heard a terrible screech from her attacker that was so loud she had to cover her ears for protection. Out of reflex from the pain she closed her eyes for a second, but quickly looked up.

  To her surprise both of its hands were covering its eyes. It stumbled, obviously blind, and then let out another howl of pain. She looked for the rest of her party and saw Jakobus, Pate and Anamita just outside the cavern staring intently at her. She looked up as the one-eyed attacker groaned and fell back across some of the shattered rocks.

  A silence nearly as frightening as the horrible cry of pain settled into the chamber.

  Without a pause Jakobus came in and helped Gallif to her feet. She was composing herself and dusting off some of the dirt when the other two joined them. From where they were standing all they could see was the blood-stained legs and lower half of the torso. The chest rose and fell a few times and then stopped.