by Bill Albert
They lead her into a small guard house just a few yards away from the gates. There were several chairs and benches and she was told to wait until someone with authority arrived to speak with her. She tried to sit but after a single minute she was up marching around the room. It made her feel more comfortable and confident to march as it helped her safely release her pent-up steam. She knew that, once she actually got to see the Third Minister, she would have to speak slowly and carefully to make sure she got her point across clearly.
“Oh my,” she said aloud as she felt her stomach turn. “What have I done?”
She stopped pacing and wrapped her arms around herself as the realization of what she had done flooded over her. She had gone to the capital city and demanded an audience with a Giant Lord. No, not just a Giant Lord, one of the Circle of Minister’s to the Giant Lords. She started to wonder if she was crazy and felt a weakness come about her.
“No, no, no,” she said shaking her fists. “What I’m doing is right,” she said. “What I know is important enough. Even for this.”
After a few minutes a hobgoblin officer came into the room and watched her for a moment without saying a word. She was about to speak when a second hobgoblin, a soldier, came in and also stared at her. The officer finally looked at the soldier, who pointed to her and nodded, then marched out in a hurry. The officer approached her and introduced himself as Captain Arcada.
“My name is Gallif,” she said unsure if she should offer a handshake or not.
“Yes, I heard,” he said, and she tried not to feel silly. “One of my soldiers, Oakdo, was escorting the Third Minister on Festival Day. He has confirmed to me that you are one of the two that rescued them.” He looked at her again and then extended a hand to her. “Thank you, on behalf of all of us who serve the Giant Lords.”
Gallif shook his hand and let her shoulders drop. “It was an honor to help.”
“Well,” he smiled. “You did more than help. I have been told by those who were there that the battle was lost before you arrived.”
“Once we heard the Giant Lord’s cry we came running.”
“Of course,” he said and nodded. “There was a young boy. Does he still travel with you?”
“Yes,” she said quickly. “His name is Luvin and he should be joining me soon. He should also be travelling with a male dwarf name Jakobus.”
“I will make sure the guards know of them. I have also made sure fresh water and grass has been given to your horse. I assume this is the same pure white horse you were mounted on before the battle.”
“No,” she said as she scratched her throat lightly. She somehow hoped the movement would make the lump she felt in her throat go away. “Unfortunately, she was lost before,” she stumbled briefly then continued, “the mountain fell.”
“I see,” Arcada said and lowered his head. “I understand how attached we can get to our companions.”
“Thank you,” she said.
“Is it true?” he asked her after a brief moment. “Do you know why the mountain fell?”
“Yes,” she said without thinking but before she could continue, he held up a hand to stop her.
“I’m sure that if the Giant Lords find it necessary for me know they will tell me in due time,” he said. “First, we have to get you to the Third Minister. I’ve already sent Oakdo to get word to him. I’m sure he’ll want to speak with you right away.” He took a step toward her and reached for her swords. She took a quick step back and her hands jumped automatically to hold him back. Arcada took a deep breath and looked at her with suspicion for the first time. Though she was two feet taller than him she felt so small from his steely glare. “Even you will be unable to get an audience with the Third Minister armed.”
“Of course,” she said and quickly handed over the two swords, the twelve-inch knife she had strapped to her side, and the dagger she had hidden in her boot.
He laid the weapons carefully on a bench and informed her that they would be taken well care of. Trusting him, she pulled her backpack off and set it on the bench as well. He told her he would personally escort her to meet the Third Minister and she followed several steps behind. She tried not to get caught up in the amazing things she was seeing and kept walking. She wondered how few people outside of the giants had been able to see this much inside of the capital. Less easy to cope with was the way the giants that they met kept looking at her.
After nearly a half hour they started up a massive flight of steps. These steps were made for giants, so she found the pacing of each step a bit difficult to master. Arcada, however, had been up them enough times that he had no problems and she couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous that he was doing so well.
On the thirteenth landing he led her off the stairs and down a short hall to a lounge. Once inside he told her to wait and that the Third Minister would join her shortly.
The room was very plain with one chair big enough for a giant and several others of various sizes. She sat in the one that looked most comfortable and tapped her foot on the floor to try and wear off her nervousness. After a few minutes she realized it wasn’t working and started taping faster. She was glad she was sitting because when the door opened up and the Third Minister came in her heart skipped several beats and had she been standing she most likely would have collapsed.
“Greetings, my rescuer,” the Third Minister said with a grand smile. Gallif knew she should respond with some polite greeting but was so awestruck by the giant her lips and brain were not cooperating. She dearly hoped she was smiling and the only move she could make was to nod. The Third Minister sat in the largest chair and nodded with a smile.
“Thank you, My Lord,” she said.
“Please, Gallif, relax,” he said. “Do not think of me as one of the Giant Lords while we are in here. You saved my life and, like you said, I owe you a favor,” he said with a wink.
“I’m honored,” she said with a whisper.
“As you should,” he smiled, and she couldn’t help but burst out in laughter. The Third Minister’s laugh shook the room and they both spent several moments chuckling. Once things settled down Gallif sat back more comfortably and looked straight at the giant.
“I have an amazing story to tell you,” she said without blinking.
“Yes, I imagine you do,” he said as the humor drained from his face. “There is so much I want to learn about you, Gallif, but please, tell me what brought down my mountain.”
Gallif took a deep breath and thought for a moment. She couldn’t explain it but there were just some things that had happened that she did not want to tell him despite the feeling she should. She swallowed, looked him straight in the face, then started by describing the underwater swim they had taken from the small lake.
The Third Minister sat quietly and listened intently to her as she continued. She told him most of what happened inside the mountain, but not all. Some of the terrible, personal things that had happened to her were too much to bring to the surface even for a Giant Lord. She tried to keep her voice calm and even. It wasn’t until she told him of the truth about Anamita that she broke the stream of words.
“She had pointed ears. I could see them as the wind kicked up her hair.”
The Third Minister shifted uncomfortably and asked in almost a whisper, “She was an aquilus?”
“She didn’t look like any aquilus I had ever seen. Like some type of halfling.”
“Oh, lord,” the Third Minister said as he looked away. “But she wasn’t as evil as what you usually see?”
“I don’t know,” Gallif shook her head. “I saw her ears; only aquilus have pointed ears, so she had to be.”
“Evil comes in many forms,” the Third Minister said. “You knew her before the mountain though?”
“Yes,” Gallif said slowly. This was getting to part of her own past that she hoped not to have to tell the giant. “We went to school together. She was a loner, kept to herself, but never showed any signs of her true identity.”
Gallif shivered as the whispers of that moment came back to her again. Anamita had slipped from her grasp, she had been trying to save her, and she let her fall. Had she?
“This school,” the Third Minister continued. “Where is it?”
“Gone,” she said quickly hoping the giant would come to the right conclusion. She was starting to feel guilty for hiding things from the Third Minister but was sure, somehow, that she was doing the right thing.
“Somewhere under the mountain,” the giant assumed and decided to move on. “Please, continue with what happened.”
Relieved, and barely keeping it to herself, Gallif picked up the story and moved a long steadily. The giant watched her calmly and did not interrupt her until she spoke of her conversation with the dragon.
Without emotion he stood and looked down at her. “He says the aquilus are cursed?”
“Yes, Minister,” she said with her voice shaking. “He admitted that he was the one who made the casting.” She couldn’t help but put a hand to her chest and felt her heart pounding. “He said it was his greatest mistake.” She could see the anger in the Third Minister’s face and felt as if she were shrinking as she looked up at him.
“There is no way you could have been mistaken?”
“No, sir,” she said knowing he had wanted a different answer. She got the impression he was not used to getting answers he didn’t like, especially not from humans.
“Who else knows of this?”
“Just Luvin, he was the only one there with me.”
“Would he tell anyone?”
“No, Minister,” she said as thoughts of her friend brought her confidence back. “He wouldn’t say anything unless I told him to.”
“Good,” the Third Minister sighed as he sat back down and looked at her as evenly as possible. “You are a smart girl. I’m sure you understand how important it is that this not be revealed to anyone.”
“Yes. Until the time is right this could cause fear and confusion.”
“Until the time is right, of course,” he said as if it were an afterthought. “What did you do after that?”
“I released him,” she said looking off into the distance as a terrible realization came to her. “I was so appalled by what he’d done I released him so he would die,” she continued as her voice started to quiver. “I hated him for all the destruction he’d caused. All of the deaths. I wanted him to die but made him swear that he would warn everyone that Starpoint Mountain would fall.” She was now breathing heavily, and the words were exploding from her mouth. “But it might not have happened if I’d left him there!” she cried, grasping for breath as tears streamed down her face. “I DID IT,” she screamed in torment. “IT’S MY FAULT THE MOUNTAIN FELL!”
FOUR: LUVIN THE DRAGON RIDER
On the second morning after the fall Luvin and Jakobus were preparing horses to leave the school. Rosario’s healing talents had helped Jakobus recover quickly and despite her urgings to remain for a while he insisted on joining Gallif as soon as possible. It would be difficult enough for them to ride through the dark air and, without Gallif’s skills to aid them, would have to go south and then west on the main roads instead of through the forest. They hoped that the main roads remained but there was no way to tell how much ground had been covered by the mountain.
Jakobus’s horse had come into the grounds in the middle of the night and Luvin had chosen one of the horses he had brought back to the school the night of the aquilus attack. He remembered how terrible that night was and how he had been unfairly accused of so many things. He spent a few moments composing his emotions and knew that he had proven himself time and time again. He hoped that Gallif would soon realize that he wasn’t just a boy anymore. He’d been through more than most men he’d known and was feeling almost like an adult even though he was sixteen. He wondered if he was now adult enough for her. Jakobus called to him and he walked the horse over to his dwarven friend.
“We should be leaving soon,” Jakobus said. “I’m hoping we can get to one of the main roads before sundown.”
“Of course,” Luvin agreed. “I’m ready whenever you are.”
“Is there anyone you want to say goodbye to?”
“Well,” he said and looked at the students and staff around the area. “Maybe one or two.” He had always found Rosario very attractive, the second-best looking woman at the school, but she was twenty-one and had always looked at him as a child. He thought it would be nice to get the chance to speak to her one more time. He looked around the grounds and was surprised to see her coming towards him.
“Luvin, wait a minute,” she called. “Come back here.”
Luvin, his heart pounding excitedly, ran towards her. She was near the barn, the only building still standing complete, and he met her at the door.
“Thanks,” she said. “I need you to hold this stool for me, okay?”
Luvin felt his heart sink but smiled and nodded that he would. Rosario climbed on top of the rickety stool and called all of the people in the area together. There were only twenty-five of the students and staff remaining and they were soon surrounding her perch.
“For many of us,” she addressed them after taking a few breaths, “this has been the best, if not the only, home we’ve ever had. This land and the school that once stood here will never be forgotten. It’s been our safe haven, our sanctuary, but, as much as we regret it, we have to admit it is time for us all to leave.”
There was a general murmur of discomfort from the crowd, but no one really objected to what she was saying.
“Soon this area will be covered and inspected by groups of people, even Giant Lord officials, who will be rebuilding and remapping the new world. Those that came through here yesterday will be followed. The castings that kept us from being noticed are now gone. I think we should take it upon ourselves to let them wonder exactly what had existed here. Out of respect for him we should keep Rayjen’s secrets quiet,” she said with her voice trembling as she reminded them all of their mentor. A sudden silence fell across the crowd as they all paused in silent thanks to their friend. Even though Jakobus had never met Rayjen he was impressed by the loyalty he had earned from his students.
“It’s time for us to go,” Rosario said and there was a solemn murmur of agreement from the crowd. She gave them a sad smile and continued. “But this is not the time for goodbyes. Actually, as I look around at you, I know I can never say goodbye. Anken,” she said pointing to a boy with blond hair and dark skin, “you are learning the art of healing faster than I ever could. Someday soon you will be beyond my skills. Sarairdin,” she said pointing to the girl near the back who had red streaks in her hair that resembled Gallif’s own color. “We called you ‘The Shy One’ the first two months you were here. Now you are teaching others. I remember how unshy you became the night Gallif passed around a bottle of some ale she’d smuggled in from Atrexia,” she said with a wink. Most of the students joined her in a laugh and all of the teachers pretended they hadn’t heard about the incident. Sarairdin tried to hide the guilty look on her face but failed to keep her smile a secret.
“And Luvin,” she said looking down at the boy in the red tinted armor holding her up. He smiled and stood tall as he felt all eyes on him. “Sweet, young Luvin who has always been so lucky at playing cards. It was luck, wasn’t it?”
Luvin smiled as the crowd laughed and hoped his face wasn’t as red as the cast on his armor.
“Anyway,” she said and looked back at the crowd. “As much as I think we should go now, I don’t want us to say goodbye. In fact, I think we should make a promise to each other,” she said. After a long pause she continued with “I want us all to promise to return here. Go out now, live, practice your skills, learn, but come back here in one year,” she said pointing to what
was left of the buildings. “We’ll return here and rebuild. We won’t let Rayjen’s hopes and dreams die under the mountain. Agreed?”
There was a great cheer of agreement from the crowd as they clustered together to share a few final memories, shake hands, or even give a heartfelt kiss. Luvin found himself alone, still holding the stool and quickly walked to his horse.
“No last moments with your friends?” Jakobus asked.
“No,” he said quickly and, with reddening cheeks, darted away from the crowd at a full gallop.
Jakobus felt sympathy and quickly followed but kept a few paces behind.
***
They found the closest road to the school was still in fairly good shape and were able to travel for a while without interruption. Luvin continued riding hard and fast and Jakobus choose not to try and engage him in conversation. They came to a junction where the road broke in two and kept going west. They soon found incredibly large chunks of stone that had once been the mighty mountain covering parts of the road. It was a sobering moment and they finally came to a stop.
“It’ll be odd, won’t it? Someday soon we’ll wake up in the morning and it won’t be there,” Luvin said.
“It’ll be like waking up in a completely different world,” Jakobus agreed. “I guess it really will be.”
“That’s not necessarily a bad thing, is it? I mean, aren’t there some things you’d like to change?” Luvin asked without looking at him.
“That’s a good question. Personally, I’m not ready to give up the old world yet,” he smiled.
Finally, Luvin turned to him and smiled back. “There’s at least one thing of the old world I want to keep. Let’s get going.”
Jakobus was about to turn his horse away when he came to an immediate stop. Before Luvin could ask anything, he signaled him to wait and be quiet and they listened carefully. The shroud of dust in the air quickly absorbed most of the sounds but he could faintly hear something out of place.