by Bill Albert
There was a small scuffle between them, and she got the impression they were arguing as to which direction to take. They seemed to come to a decision when they suddenly froze, and all looked in her direction. She took a deep breath praying that she had not been detected and as she stared at them she realized, from the direction that they were looking, whatever they had seen was beneath and behind her. She turned very carefully and gasped as she saw the figure of a man in full metal armor approaching. There was no doubt in her mind who this was. She had heard many stories about him and knew that many honored and respected him. He was Acrufix and he was a legend for slaughtered elves.
He wore metal armor from head to toe. She was impressed by the fact that it was metal and knew that whoever was inside had to be very strong and powerful. It was shiny, spotless, and had no scratches or dents anywhere on the surface. He wore a helmet with a face plate. Though the plate was open, presumably to allow him a better view, there was a black cloth strung tight that made it impossible to see the face of the fighter inside.
Even to humans he was an impressive sight and Gallif imagined that, to the aquilus, he was the most amazing thing they had ever seen. As he approached, they looked at him wide eyed and jaws open. She had seen that look on their faces several times, but it had never occurred to her before that it was actual fear. No one had ever considered that the aquilus could feel fear. That was such a human emotion.
Before they could gather their wits Acrufix was upon them with both hands on his broadsword. Gallif watched in awe as two of them were completely destroyed by one mighty swing. A third was quickly dismembered and the remaining four split up to make more difficult targets. They made several small attacks on him, but he managed to sidestep their swings. He made a quick slice with the broadsword and completely removed the legs of one of the attackers. After several quick jumps Acrufix managed to back the remaining three of them into a batch of trees. With one mighty swoop he aimed to take them all with a single swing. One of the aquilus managed to strike his arm with a sword and the path of the blade was deflected. The angle of the broadsword was altered enough that he hit a second aquilus with the flat side instead of the edge. The momentum carried the first off his feet and into the air. It was powerful enough that a second one, who had been directly behind the first, was thrown as well. Acrufix came back and defeated the third.
One of the two that he had bowled over was crawling away and he quickly impaled the closest. The aquilus that had been wounded in the fall had a broken leg and looked back to see the monstrous figure approaching. He stood in silence, looking down at it, then lifted the broadsword above his head to drive the final attacker in to the ground.
“STOP!” Gallif cried as she bolted up from behind. She collided with Acrufix and his attempt to impale the aquilus struck open ground. He grunted in anger and swung back catching her hard in the chest with his metal covered elbow. She dropped to the ground gasping for breath as he turned and drew back the broadsword to strike at her.
“WAIT!” she cried as she tried to slide away on her back. She wanted to rise but suddenly found that her strength was failing her. Things had been so intense that the little sleep she’d gotten the night before wasn’t enough. “Wait,” she pleaded again as Acrufix took another step towards her. “Look at me,” she cried. “I’m human!”
Acrufix reared the broadsword back to strike down on her then held back. For a brief moment it looked as if he was building strength to drive the sword down on her and she shuddered. Then his head tilted ever so slightly as he looked her up and down. She breathed deeply afraid to move. There was no way she could escape if he wanted to finish her off. He briefly looked back at the wounded aquilus still trying to crawl away and then looked back at her.
“What the hell are you doing?” he asked angrily. “Do you know who I am?”
“You were going to kill him,” she stuttered.
“It,” he corrected her. He let the sword drop and offered a hand to help her up. Unsure she took his hand and rose to her feet. Her chest was sore from the impact, but she tried not to let it show. “It’s a worthless beast,” he said to her. “It deserves to be destroyed.”
“Wait, please, wait,” she said as she tried to prevent him from turning back to his prey. “What if it isn’t bad? What if it wasn’t evil?”
Acrufix came directly to her and looked at her closely. Gallif found it difficult to hold still with the plate on the helmet open but no visible face inside to connect with.
“There is no such thing,” he said with more than a little anger in his voice. “These beasts are heartless killers and nothing more. Besides that, do you know who I am?”
“Of course,” she said. “Everyone knows you.”
“Good. Then let me go about my business and just watch,” he said and pushed her away. He moved quickly and before she could stop him, he impaled the crawling aquilus with the broadsword.
“No,” she gasped and took a few steps towards him. “What if they weren’t just evil? What if they weren’t all evil? What if…” she spoke quickly grasping for the right words. “What if they had no choice?”
“Don’t be stupid, girl. Where did you hear such a ridiculous idea?”
As much as she wanted to say it, she just could not summon up the strength to tell him about her conversation with the dragon as emotions flooded over her. There was still the long-held fear and hatred of the aquilus in her thoughts that made her almost enjoy the death of one. There were also Anamita’s screams echoing in her ears as she fell.
“Don’t worry,” Acrufix finally said to break the silence. “I’m sure it’s still the shock of the mountain falling that’s affecting you. When the dust clears, and you get used to the way things are now such nonsense will go away. You’ll see things as they are. What’s your name, girl?” he asked. He pulled a cloth rag from a pouch and started to clean the blood from the broadsword. “What’s your name?” he asked again.
“It’s Gallif,” she finally informed him. “My name is Gallif.”
He stopped the cleaning and looked at her again. She wasn’t sure but it was almost as if he recognized her name from somewhere. It appeared to have quite an influence on his thinking. “Yes,” he said with a softer voice. “You are.”
“You know me,” she looked crookedly at him.
“No. Of course not,” he said quickly returning to cleaning the sword. The confidence had returned to his voice, but she knew that her name had meant something to him. “I did, however, know you were up in the tree. So busy hiding from what was in front of you, you never looked behind you.” She nodded politely and hid the fact that she was surprised. There was also disappointment as she began to question how much of his attack was really just a performance for her. “Here,” he said with a smile tossing the blood covered rag to her. “You can take this to show your friends. Proof that you saw me today.”
She looked at the cloth and grimaced at the smell of the flesh blood. She turned in disgust to give the proof back to him but was surprised to see that he was gone. She looked in every direction but there was no sign of him. She didn’t know if he had actually left the area or was hiding nearby. Her shoulders dropped as confusion and exhaustion covered her. Not really sure of why, she went to the aquilus that he had finished last, closed his dead eyes, then covered his face with the cloth.
Like a zombie she turned and started walking in whichever direction she happened to be facing. She headed aimlessly, stumbling over or around anything that happened to be in her way, for several minutes until the solid, pure white body of Snow standing in front of her. She looked into his eyes and felt very weak and tired. He lowered his head and pressed it gently against her shoulder snorting quietly then took a step forward, so the saddle was directly in front of her. With every ounce of strength she could muster she pulled herself onto the mount and took a tight hold of the reins.
Snow didn’t wait for directions from her but just turned and started off determinedly. He grunted to
her and she tightened her grip. He started trotting at a steady pace. She put her feet in the stirrups and tightened her legs around the horse’s body. He broke into a gallop confidently riding through the trees and bushes of the thick forest. The dust in the air had settled some but it was still difficult to see more than a hundred feet ahead. She saw an incredibly thick line of bushes ahead of them but completely trusted her new companion. He snorted twice and she leaned forward so she was as close to his body as possible. He ran hard and fast tearing through the space ahead of them. With one massive stretch he jumped well into the air, over the bushes, and out of the shrouded forest.
THREE: EVIL IN MANY FORMS
Late in the morning people would line up at the gates of the capital city of Spring Field. At noon a representative of the Giant Lords would come to them and make some important announcement or update them on the process of finding out who was responsible for bringing down the beloved mountain. Though the numbers weren’t as high as they were on the first day there were still nearly a thousand waiting on the third.
So far, the news had been good. Atrexia, the closest city to the mountain, was still intact. Though there had been much damage done by the fall so far the casualties were fairly light and rebuilding efforts had begun. The Fifth Minister had been sending in reports that, so far, only a few small villages and farms were completely lost. There had also been word of some unregistered areas being found that no one had ever heard of before. The survivors of a small town called Poptic had been rescued from the very northern edge of the debris field. The town, founded only a year earlier, had been completely destroyed, but all of the thirty-five residents had escaped. The search parties had also found the remains of a small natural brewery, three farms and an illegal mining operation. The representatives had assured everyone that they were accounting for as many of the people as possible and that those who had lost everything were being taken care of.
In the time spent waiting for new announcements several small communities had sprung up. Individuals with some common background or link had taken companionship with each other. North of the main gate more than three hundred dwarves had been gathering regularly. Many of them, as their dwarven nature guided them, had been living in underground towns. The tremors had been too much and they were planning digging parties to see if any could be restored.
South of the main gate various groups of hobgoblins and goblins had begun forming their own encampments. There were only half as many as there were dwarves and most were offering their services to help rebuild and reorganize communities. Many of the hobgoblins had been temporarily authorized to help provide security amongst the crowd. There had been no major incidents or problems, so it was just a matter of keeping everyone organized and trying to get information handled properly. If anyone was looking for a lost loved one the hobgoblins made sure that a proper search and registration was made.
East of the main gate was where most of the humans were settling. They were spread across the Land of Starpoint more than any other race and were the most concerned about the new face of the country.
At sunrise every morning, even though on the third day the clouds shrouded the rising sun itself, all of those living and waiting woke to the beautiful sound of the dwarven hymns. So beautiful were they that even some of the Giant Lords secretly stood inside the gates to listen. It was a few moments when they were all together and the sadness of the tragedy felt less so. For a short while they weren’t looking at the empty sky.
The community that sprung up around the tragedy amongst the humans, dwarves, and hobgoblins would never be forgotten.
A bell rang just before noon and all of those in attendance stood and slowly moved towards the gates. They eagerly awaited information from the Giant Lord’s official communicator.
Behind the main gate Bardia, the Blond, was looking over his notes as he waited near a secondary door. He was the second highest ranked human in the royal service and had often acted as a representative. Only Ambrasha the dwarf outranked him, and she had left on a visitation to Outbound, the city that sat on the edge of the southeastern swamps, two days before Starpoint had collapsed. He was excited about this opportunity to address the people and hoped it would prove to the Giant Lords that he was a better representative than the dwarf was. He considered himself to be better at the job than any dwarf and as he brushed his shoulder length hair back and looked in the mirror, he admitted that he was certainly better looking.
Another bell rang and he knew that it was time for his performance to begin. He made sure the bright, multicolored robes were clean and straight and boldly stepped out of the smaller door. He was pleased to hear a round of applause as he approached a platform. He climbed the steps and, nearly a full storey off the ground, looked at the throng of fans waiting for him. He scanned them all quickly and noticed that only a small portion of the crowd, those furthest to the east, were looking in the opposite direction while all the rest were eagerly watching him. He knew once he started speaking that they would all be watching him, so he cleared his throat and started the first announcement. His voice was smooth and brilliant, and he was sure he had all those listening in the palm of his hand. He spoke for a whole two minutes before he ever realized that all of the subjects beneath him were looking in the wrong direction. His words faded and he failed to hide that he was thrown by their breach of manners. He grumbled and wondered how they dare to be paying attention to something else. He took a few steps to the edge of the platform to see what it could have been that just might be more important than he.
Off in the distance a rider was approaching. Though still two miles away the image of someone riding a pure white horse was unmistakable against the dark green and brown background of the landscape.
***
Once they had left the dark forest the natural sunlight had acted as a stimulant. At first, she closed her eyes, spread her arms out wide, and absorbed the energy of the noonday sun. She had listened and laughed aloud at the first sounds of birds that she heard in days. Their singing was beautiful, and she filled her ears with their harmony. It had only taken a few deep breaths of the first clean air she inhaled in days for her senses to become fully alert. Her companion felt the same way and pounded his hind legs against the dirt. She could tell he was ready to run, she shared his desire, so she had tightened her grip on the reins, wrapped her legs around the torso, then let out a shrill shout of joy as they started moving. The capital city was within sight and there was no debate on how they would get there. They ran fast and hard and nothing was going to slow them down.
After the first mile all of the dust and dirt that had settled on them was blown off. Snow’s coat was a beautiful pure white again and as the second mile ended Gallif’s hair was a spectacularly pure shade of red.
There was a small group of stragglers that had made a small campsite just off the road. She knew they were looking at her but was too thrilled in the speed to wave back at them as she passed.
A dwarven caravan was heading in her direction and they slowed to a stop the closer she got. She caught the look of surprise on the first rider and the smile on the second. Three dwarves peeking from a covered wagon pointed and smiled as she passed. In the blur of speed, she could see their faces and she cheered as she broke even with them.
Only a few more miles and she could see the thousand or so figures near the main gate. She put a hand on Snow’s neck and rubbed it briefly and she knew, was absolutely sure, that he was still excited about the run.
A mile out the people clustered around the main gate started to separate and make room for her to pass. Several of the elite guards were stationed half a mile from the gate. As she got closer and they were able to see her clearly, they lowered their weapons and signaled her to continue on. She slowed in the last hundred yards and finally came to a stop just before a platform. There was complete silence. Staying mounted on Snow she looked at the blond-haired man. Despite his bright colored, attention grabbing robes and his station with
the beloved Giant Lords he just was no match for the red-haired girl on a white horse. They all held their breath waiting for her to speak.
“I’m Gallif of Starpoint,” she said in a strong and clear voice. “I respectfully request a meeting with the Third Minister as soon as possible.” Bardia stumbled for a few second and then finally managed to tell her that she would have to go through proper channels. “No,” she said defiantly. “A friend and I saved his life on Festival Day. I’m sure he will make a special favor for me.”
“What? What business do you have with him that would require such attention?” Bardia said desperately trying to sound like he was in control. There was nothing she could say that would be important enough to warrant access that even he did not have. There was a jitter amongst the crowd as they stood anxiously waiting for her response.
Gallif pulled her long sword and pointed towards the empty eastern sky. “I know why Starpoint Mountain fell,” she said.
Bardia the Blond was absolutely dumbfounded and had nothing to say. He found no comfort in the fact that, most likely, no one would ever remember that he was here at the event. He turned and walked back down the steps without saying a word. Several of the hobgoblin guards went to her but, still in sight of thousands and her sword still in hand, stopped several feet away from her. One finally waved for her to follow and they escorted her behind the walls of the capital city.
Once inside she finally dismounted Snow and handed him over to a dwarf who was attending a small shed full of horses nearby. He assured her that he would take care of her mount and she waited for Snow’s approval, with a nod, before she let him go. They told her the direction she needed to go and kept a respectful distance from her as they marched, and she walked confidently.