The Secrets of Starpoint Mountain

by Bill Albert

  Zaslow stood back and watched as the orcs came close to Gallif. Their primitive minds could not completely understand what had happened to her and they looked her up and down. One carefully nudged her with a finger on her face and the other tried to touch the frost sword but couldn’t get the courage to grab it.

  Gallif, nearly frozen and totally aware of her surroundings, heard it coming. There had been a large thud as something inside the mountain collapsed and the shock wave was headed in their direction. The acolyte barely noticed the change in her eyes when a jarring tremor scattered the calmness in the room. He moved his hands to balance and the cast on Gallif was broken.

  With the frost sword still in her left hand she made a deft swing and decapitated the surprised orc. The flame sword, released from her grasp but still on its forward motion, continued on. Its arc took it directly into the acolyte’s stomach and he dropped to the ground with a scream.

  Gallif knew he wasn’t dead. Worried that he had healing casts or potions on him she hurried to take him out for good. The burning from the sword had done considerable damage and she quickly pulled her weapon out. The acolyte was still fighting despite his pain and raised his hand to cast at her. The sword slicing through the air and put a foot-long cut above his elbow. He fell and she knew he would be dead soon.

  Before she could shift her attention, she was struck from behind by the remaining orc. The hit was direct and powerful and tore straight through the armor into her back just next to her shoulder blade. She stumbled forward and tripped over the body of the acolyte but managed to hold on to the edge of the crater instead of falling. Using only her right arm to defend herself she exchanged swings with the orc but was barely holding him off.

  There was another shudder from somewhere else in the mountain. She was a bit disoriented from the pain and the sweat of combat, but she thought it must have come from where the dragon had been held captive. The tremor hit hard and both the orc and Zaslow were knocked off their feet. Gallif pulled herself out of the crater and crawled on her side towards one of the alcoves leaving a trail of blood in the dirt.

  The tremor stopped and Zaslow stood and checked to make sure that the source stone was undamaged. When he saw that nothing had happened he stood and turned towards Gallif. She could tell by the look on his face that he had decided to finally destroy her, and he picked up the poleax and moved in her direction. The orc jumped out of the crater and raised its long sword only a few feet away as Gallif crawled into the alcove and desperately felt for some help amongst the bottle and bags.

  Suddenly they all stopped as a sudden breeze whipped through the area. Gallif was confused. A sudden break in the wall would bring cold air rushing into the tunnel, but the air flow was going out. A hollow gasping noise filled the room, much like the sound of something inhaling.

  There was a quick rise in heat as the dragon at the other end of the tunnel used the only other skill it still had and spit flame in their direction. Gallif realized what was coming and rolled face down onto the floor. The orc had no idea what was coming and when the blast of heat hit him, he burst into flames as the shockwave carried him away.

  Then, again, silence fell on the area as Gallif waited for the fire in the air to dissipate. Still wounded she finally looked up and waited. There was no sound or movement from anywhere for several minutes. Then she felt the cool breeze of fresh air coming down the tunnel from where the dragon had been. She carefully stood and limped towards the crater.

  She got to the edge and saw, protected by the depth of the crater, Zaslow rising to stand. He had been inside the shield around the stone and had been protected from the heat but knocked off his feet by the trembling. He would never know the true meaning of the words she spoke, but the way she said them made him experience fear for the first time in his memory.

  “This is why I survive,” she said and jumped into the crater.

  Zaslow did not take the time to examine the scorch marks on the source stone. He simply grabbed the handle of his poleax with both hands and walked to face her.

  He swung just as she was in range and the incredible speed told her it was cast. He took a second swing and she struck out to parry the blade. The weapons collided with great force and she was pushed back. She pressed her weight against the frost sword and tried to slide in so he would be within reach. He took a few steps back and she swung with the flame sword but missed. He released the pressure on his weapon and pulled back quickly. He made a full turn around and came at her from the other side. She used both of her weapons to deflect the pole downwards and jumped high so it could pass beneath her. She rolled on the ground when she landed and clenched her teeth from the sharp pains in her back. She forced herself to stand and moved in quickly. She struck him with both weapons, but the green tinted armor protected him from any damage. He twisted the poleax around to cut at her, but she was within the length of the handle, inside of the blade, and pushed her body forward. She pushed against him and tried to trip him up, but his strength was superior to hers. He took one hand from the weapon and grabbed her by the collar of the armor and threw her back. She skidded to a halt and tried to strike at him, but he stayed out of reach.

  She kept moving to try and trip him up or at least start to wear him down by changing the arcs of her swings, but he stayed out of reach. The length of the poleax and the casting speed made him difficult to reach. She also felt the blood draining out of the cut in her back. The cast on the armor had finally repaired the damage to the cloth but the cut was still sensitive.

  She made several pushes forward to strike him, but he moved away quickly. He swung the poleax expertly and finally came close enough to put a cut in her cheek. She cursed at him and started to taste blood in her mouth. He rounded back at her and she had to use both weapons to deflect his attack.

  With a shock that felt like a kick in the stomach she realized the mistake she had been making and repositioned herself to swing again.

  There was another fierce tremor that split the room in half. There was now a two-foot gap in the floor, but neither of them could take the time to check if there was any bottom in sight.

  Gallif looked closely at Zaslow’s eyes and noticed that his attention had not shifted off of her. She hoped that his concern for the source stone may give her an opening to strike and was surprised that he hadn’t wavered. Saving the stone was not as important to him as defeating her.

  He thrust the poleax at her waist. She used the frost sword to take control of the swing, pull it up over her head and slam the blade into the ground. Zaslow yelled in anger at her and pulled it back, but she managed to strike against the wooden handle as he did so.

  She jumped over the gap in the floor and backed away for a brief moment to catch her breath. She was in great pain and was finding it harder to keep her strength up.

  Zaslow jumped the gap himself and came rushing at her. Too late she saw that he was holding the poleax single handed and reaching into his cloak with the other. She deflected his swing but exposed her back to him long enough for him to toss the bubble of powder at her. It burst on impact and the dull black powder was scattered on her armor. She took a few steps to try and hold him back but felt the pain increase as the healing properties of the armor were wiped away. She glanced at her arms to see the last of the red tint fade out. She looked up to see the smile on Zaslow’s face. She bit down hard and moved towards him swinging repeatedly.

  He countered her strikes and appeared to be relaxing and gaining confidence when he looked at her in shock. He narrowed his eyes and she knew he had caught on to what she had been doing. The blade had been too strong for her to fight but it was the handle that had kept him out of reach. After contact with the flame sword the handle had been burnt several times and was showing signs of weakness.

  She moved in quickly hoping he would not have time to withdraw and she made several successful hits on the blade. Suddenly his back hit the edge of the crater. He could withdraw no more and made several wide swings wit
h all of his strength that forced her to step away.

  As she moved out of reach he pulled another bubble from his cloak and threw it hard at her. His strength was good, and the enhancement helped, but she jumped forward to intercept it and the bubble broke harmlessly onto her brown leather armor.

  He moved at her and the blade of the poleax and the flame sword clashed in midair. They both pushed in hard and shook as they tried to gain control. Gallif wanted to scream in pain and finally pulled back for release.

  Zaslow came after her with a vengeance and soon they were clashing again. He released his pressure and she fell forward, stumbled, but regained her balance before falling. She looked and saw the bubble darting at her and was unable to deflect the attack. The bubble struck the flame sword and almost instantly the flames were extinguished.

  As quickly as she could Gallif switched swords so that the frost sword was in her strongest hand. Zaslow saw the move and jabbed at her with the poleax striking her below the knee. The blade was deflected but the scraped skin gave enough pain that she nearly lost her mind in the wave.

  She came forward and countered his attack with the frost sword. They clashed in midair for several seconds as he moved closer to her. She turned his tactics back on him and suddenly released her pressure. She leaned back only briefly to allow the blade to pass her and smack hard against the floor. Even without the flames the sword blade was still sharp and dangerous, and she shouted in anger as she smashed it down hard on the handle of his poleax. The handle shattered and he backed away with just the jagged edge of the wood left as a weapon. She saw his eyes dart to one of the alcoves and knew that was where he would go.

  She ran and jumped up to the rim of the crater to cut him off. He had the advantage and took a blind shot at her. The sharp end of the wooden handle cut straight through the armor into her shoulder. She fell and rolled onto the wound in her back and screamed in agony dropping the long sword from her left hand. Before she could stand he was also out of the crater and kicked the long sword out of her reach. She stood, wavered, and then changed her position so that the frost sword, the only weapon he could see, was towards him.

  He came forward trying to stab her again. He had no cast weapon, but his strength, and she was weakened considerably.

  She parried his strikes with the frost sword in her right arm. She stood sideways so that her wounded thigh was away from him and protected. She also knew that from this angle he could not see her wrap the end of the red banner hanging out the bottom of her backpack around her wrist. She scanned the area quickly and knew she needed more room to make the other weapon work, so she quickly withdrew and jumped back into the crater.

  Zaslow was puzzled by her move but didn’t miss the opportunity to drop the wooden handle and grab the same weapon he had used near the pit. He joined Gallif in the crater and advanced on her swinging the rainbow casting to try and confuse her.

  Gallif stumbled back a few times, then looked him straight in the face and waited.

  He approached with confidence expecting the rainbow effect to enchant her. He was only a few feet in front of her when she started moving and swung her left arm around hard.

  One end of the banner was tightly wrapped around her fist. The other was solidly tied around the rock she had thrown at him below. The distance added by the length of the banner put him within reach and he didn’t see the projectile coming until it broke through the rainbow colors directly beside him. The solid rock smashed into the right side of his face with tremendous force and the shock shook his entire body. His ear was crushed on contact and the skin on his cheek was nearly torn free. Involuntarily he pulled his head back and screamed.

  Gallif released her grip on the banner and let it fly so she could take the frost sword with both hands. She lifted it up above her head and in one step drove the blade directly through him. The strike was strong and accurate, and the hit killed him instantly as his heart froze. He fell to the ground with his arms spread and the scream of pain and terror forever marked on his face. She let go of the blade and watched him for several minutes. He lay unmoving with the half of the sword protruding from his chest.

  She looked down him and thought briefly of closing his dead eyes. No, she decided, he didn’t deserve even that small act.

  Despite her pain the thoughts of his demise invigorated her. She retrieved the frost sword and scanned the closest alcove wondering if there was anything that would heal her or help her, but before she could find anything there was another sudden and violent tremor. She dived into the alcove to prevent herself from getting hit by falling rocks and with another loud crack the floor split open.

  The tremor reminded her that soon this mountain would be coming down and decided not to waste time looking for items. She did allow a quick glance back at the body and thought how appropriate it was that the last rippling of the ground had pushed Zaslow’s corpse up against the source stone. He had lived for it, died by it, and now would be entombed with it.

  Limping from the stab in her thigh and in great pain she turned and started moving as fast as she could.

  ***

  It began as a silence. There was no sound anywhere. The animals had become quiet first and then, as more and more people noticed the trembling, they stopped what they were doing and turned towards the mountain. Even those nearby who had seen the dragon and the boy riding it couldn’t speak. Some took the warning and headed away, but many were so entranced by what was happening they couldn’t move.

  Before long there wasn’t a soul in the Land of Starpoint that didn’t know what was happening. In the west the Giant Lords all hurried to their walls and gates in towns such as Spring Field, the capital city, and Summer Down as the behemoth on the horizon started to crack open. The farmers in the southern fields between Riverbend, Keometric and Outbound lay down their tools and brought their horse teams to a stop as some of the first boulders fell and black and brown dust started to fill the air. The people in the northern hills near Hedle City went to the highest points they could find and watched as part of the mountain collapsed in their direction. The dwarves in Under City came into the light from fear the tremors would trap them inside. It was impossible to even guess how much rock had fallen and the land was covered with enormous chunks of mountain and ever widening clouds of dirt.

  Those as far north as Stack Black Mountains where it couldn’t be seen could feel the mountain fall. There was nothing else in the world that could have that impact on the ground, and they all knew it.

  When the first splinter of the legendary mountain crashed into the northern areas of Atrexia people were forced to overcome their disbelief. Many grabbed what they could and started running. The elite guard and militia could not keep order. The top one fourth of the city would end up being completely crushed as piles of dirt and rock began to grow.

  The dozen students that had survived the massacre and returned to the school huddled in tents under ancient trees for protection. They prayed, cast, and cried for help as the land several miles to the east of them was buried by the constant downfall.

  After nearly an hour it came to a sudden stop and complete silence returned. Still worse, as the sky was filled with dirt and dust, blackness spread across the heart of the Land of Starpoint.

  The torch that Gallif had used to signal them was mounted on a makeshift pole nearly fifteen feet high. Jakobus was there as well. Despite Rosario’s help he was still weak but knew, as they all did, that Gallif would come home.

  Others were there and Luvin had joined them just before the fall. The dragon had deposited him on the grounds before making that final climb to blast the inside with hot flames. It had done so despite Luvin’s concerns of endangering Gallif in its quest for revenge. The dragon had claimed that it had redeemed itself by warning people around the mountain and could make this its final flight. Luvin may have been the first person in a thousand years to argue with a dragon, but he was not the first one who had ever lost. He didn’t speak to anyone about how h
is ride on the dragon had come about. He was quiet, he watched, and he waited.

  “What was that?” Rosario asked and pointed to the torch.

  The rest of them turned and looked in the direction, but with the clouds of dust and the darkness blanketing the land it was hard to tell if she had seen something flying or if it was just shadows in the air.

  Then there was another flash as something went past and they all stood and started moving towards it.

  “The dragon,” someone claimed.

  With hope that the ancient dragon had rescued her, Luvin started running. He was under the pole looking up but could see nothing definite.

  Then something came down towards them taking shape as it landed. Gallif, wounded, barely conscious, had used one of the kites to fly to safety. Luvin forced his way clear of the crowd and caught her before she hit the ground. He cradled her in his arms and let the kite fall. He held her close, hugged her, and thanked her for surviving.

  She opened her eyes a bit and looked up at him. She smiled and put a hand on his face gently.

  “I was afraid you wouldn’t make it back,” he said with a choked voice.

  “A guiding light,” she said and looked at Jakobus’s torch.

  “Are you well?” Gallif asked Jakobus as the last of her strength drained away.

  “Not yet,” he said and glanced at Rosario. “But I will be.”

  ***

  The blanket of dust that lay over much of the Land of Starpoint made the change from day to night go unnoticed and it wasn’t until the next day that they got the first hints of the new world. To the east a series of rocks and gigantic mounds of dirt covered the ground between them and Atrexia. The height of the mounds made it obvious that it would be quite a climb to get over them. There was nothing to the west or south of them that they could identify, but for a while it looked as if Starpoint Mountain still stood to the north. It wasn’t hard to imagine that there was still a mountain there, but it was too jagged and torn to be the legend.