Firestorm Mountain

by Raymond L. Weil

  “I still think you should use your sorcery to bring the cavern roof down where Gilmreth is sleeping,” said Kalvin. “Surely that would either kill or permanently imprison the dragon.”

  “It might also damage many parts of the complex,” answered Lynol. “Including where the sleepers are. It’s just too dangerous to bring the roof of the cavern down.” Lynol took the bacon out of the pan and put in a few biscuits. It would only take a few seconds for the biscuits to heat up.

  Kalvin began munching on a slice of bacon. “What about those big doors. Is there any way to shut them so they can’t be opened?”

  Lynol shook her head. “They’re badly bent and their locking mechanisms are broke. I don’t think even my sorcery can fix them.” Lynol took the biscuits out, handing Kalvin two of them. She kept the other two for herself.

  Kalvin finished eating and then spread out their bedrolls near the fire. He would tend to it during the night to keep it burning. It served two purposes: to keep them warm and keep predators away. He still cringed thinking about the large catlike creatures that had nearly killed them on their first trip to the mountain.

  Lying down they stared up at the sky. It was a beautiful night with a light wind. It was a little chilly but the fire was keeping them warm.

  “What do you think we’ll find in the mountain?” asked Kalvin, putting his arm around Lynol and pulling her closer. Her body was warm and he enjoyed the feel of it up next to him.

  “I don’t know. We’re pretty sure three of the sleepers are awake. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow if there are more. There are several hundred sleepers in the stasis chambers. We’ll know pretty quickly if they’re all awake.”

  In the distance, a coyote was howling. Another answered from farther away.

  “Coyotes,” said Kalvin, shaking his head. “Of all the animals to survive the Worldfire, coyotes would have to still be around.”

  “They were protected in their dens,” answered Lynol as she listened to the coyotes howl. She wasn’t afraid of them. Coyotes rarely approached humans. “We’d better go to sleep; we have a long day ahead of us.” Lynol put out the glow bulb and then closed her eyes with her right hand resting on her amulet. If anything threatened them during the night her amulet would alert her.

  Kalvin looked over at Lynol in the flickering firelight. She looked so relaxed and at peace with herself. Kalvin knew that wasn’t true. His wife was deeply concerned about the dragon and the sleepers in the mountain. Taking a deep breath, Kalvin willed himself to relax and closed his eyes. He strongly suspected tomorrow was going to be a trying day for both of them.

  -

  Early the next morning they were well on their way up the mountain. It was obvious someone had come down the mountain as in several areas snow drifts had been leveled by an unknown force.

  Kalvin stopped with his hands on his hips, gazing at where a large amount of snow had been moved. Footprints on the path indicated three people had passed. “In order to move the amount of snow we’ve witnessed these people must be sorcerers.”

  “At least one of them,” Lynol said as she wrapped her coat tighter around her. The temperature at this height was hovering around freezing.

  They continued up the mountain, following the footsteps of whoever had descended days earlier. In some parts of the trail, the footprints were covered and small avalanches blocked the trail completely. When they were stopped by heavy snow Lynol used a spell to clear them a path. They had to be careful where they stepped as in places the snow was still deep and drifted.

  It was early afternoon when they finally reached the cave entrance to Firestorm Mountain. The entrance itself was partially blocked by snow and once more Lynol had to use her sorcery to clear the opening.

  “It’s cold up here,” said Kalvin, shivering in the wind. The wind was stronger up here high on the mountain. The temperature was below freezing and even a few snowflakes were falling. “I hope we don’t get snowed in.”

  “We won’t,” promised Lynol. She could always cast a spell to stop the snow from falling.

  The two went into the cave and came out in the wide tunnel which led deep inside the mountain. It was warmer in here but not by much.

  Lynol took off her pack and took out two glow bulbs, handing one to Kalvin and keeping the other. Focusing on the bulbs they both lit up, casting a bright light.

  Kalvin looked around at the flat surface and the distant curving walls of the tunnel. “Nothing has changed.”

  It’s been here for over three thousand years,” Lynol reminded him. “There are only a few cracks in the walls. Don’t forget, stasis fields protect most of the main areas of the complex.”

  They continued down the long tunnel until they came to the spot where the large tunnel became two. To the left a small tunnel led off into darkness. The larger tunnel continued sloping gradually down. Kalvin stood in the center of it, frowning. Lynol held up a cautioning hand.

  “This place still stinks,” Kalvin stated in a low tone not wanting his voice to carry, peering into the distant gloom of the larger tunnel with obvious distaste, suppressing an involuntary shudder knowing what the awful stench signified.

  “Gilmreth,” replied Lynol, coming to stand next to Kalvin peering into the darkness and repressing a shudder. “That tunnel ends in Gilmreth’s lair where I put him to sleep. If we continue down this main tunnel we would come face to face with the dragon.”

  “Are you going to go check on the dragon?”

  Lynol used her amulet which lit up with a white light. She could sense Gilmreth still asleep in his lair. However, what worried her was the sleeping spell seemed to be weakening. “I was right,” she said with obvious worry in her voice. “The spell is weakening and soon Gilmreth will be able to break free.”

  Kalvin turned toward Lynol. “How soon?”

  “I don’t know. It could be today or months from now.”

  With unease, Kalvin spoke. “Can you take your amulet or your mother’s and reinforce the sleeping spell?” Kalvin didn’t like the idea of Lynol being anywhere near the dragon. However, they couldn’t let Gilmreth awaken. The dragon was too dangerous and deadly.

  “Maybe,” replied Lynol, feeling her heart beating faster. In the past few years she had forced herself several times to go into the dragon’s lair and check on the dragon. Just seeing him there sleeping seemed to calm her fears of the dragon awakening. Now she was afraid those fears were soon to be realized.

  “Could the awakening of these sleepers have something to do with the spell weakening?”

  Lynol shook her head. “I don’t think so. There’s no indication of anyone trying to awaken Gilmreth like there was when Jalene was using her sorcery on the dragon.”

  “Let’s go to the stasis chamber,” suggested Kalvin. “Maybe we’ll find our answers there.

  The two walked shoulder to shoulder down the smaller tunnel with their glow bulbs lighting the way. Eventually they came to a large metal door on the side of the tunnel.

  Grasping her amulet in her right hand, Lynol focused her thoughts and let her mind reach out to investigate. She could feel the strange locking mechanism which held the door securely shut. Using her left hand, she wove a quick spell she then cast it at the mechanism. Lynol held her breath and a loud, resounding click echoed down the small tunnel. She always wondered what would happen if the lock failed to respond and the door failed to open.

  Pushing the door open they stepped inside, finding themselves in a large room which stretched out, fading into gloom where their lights failed to penetrate. Lynol walked over to a strange looking panel on the near wall covered with mysterious dials, switches and glass coverings. Lynol flipped two switches on the panel which were supposed to activate something called a geothermal generator. Instantly the ceiling lights in the room began to glow, lighting up the massive room. Large machines and strange equipment were everywhere with some of it now beginning to work. Lynol knew this room was protected by a stasis field so the equipment was t
he same as it was when the massive door had been shut thousands of years ago. All of this she had learned from a deceased sorcerer whose diary Malcon had provided her. The sorcerer had once lived in this complex.

  Leaving the strange machine filled room they found the tunnel dimly lit by widely spaced lights. In some sections the lights were completely dead, having failed with age. In others, all the lights worked.

  “I wonder why the stasis field didn’t keep all the lights working?” asked Kalvin, staring upward at several dark panels.

  “The stasis field in this section is a weak one,” answered Lynol as they continued down the tunnel. After awhile they reached the elevator which would take them down to the lower levels where the stasis chambers were.

  Stepping inside the door shut and the elevator began going down. It continued for quite a ways before coming to a stop. The door slid smoothly open, revealing a short brightly lit corridor which ended with another large sealed metal door. In this corridor all the lights were functioning. The corridor looked clean and polished as if it was new. No trace of the passage of the centuries was anywhere to be seen.

  “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this,” muttered Kalvin, wiping his brow as they stepped out of the elevator. The temperature was now more moderate; almost comfortable. The two walked down the short corridor to the large metal door. Looking at the writing across the top of the door, Lynol read it aloud.

  “SUSPENDED ANIMATION STASIS FACILITY

  AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.”

  Grasping her brightly glowing amulet Lynol wove another spell, casting it at the entrance’s complex locking mechanism which responded with several loud clicks and the door swung slowly open. Another large door on the other side also swung back the opposite direction, enticing them to enter. She had done this several times over the years so knew what to expect.

  As they stepped inside Lynol and Kalvin noticed they were in a large, dimly lit rectangular room with a soft radiance coming from the ceiling. Along the walls hundreds of large glass cases stood, stretching from one end of the vast room to the other. Vague, indiscernible shapes could be seen within each. These were the sleepers from the Golden Age.

  Walking over to the nearest case Lynol touched it with her hand and then pulled it back. The case was still as icy cold as it had been the last time she had been here. “Everything still seems to be working.”

  “Are any of the cases empty?” Kalvin suspected there should be three empty cases in here somewhere.

  Lynol walked over to the large machine on one of the walls. She knew from her mother’s diary and from what Malcon had taught her of the ancients this was some type of computer control system. Looking at the panel next to a keyboard Lynol saw her mother’s diary and blue sapphire amulet lying exactly where she had left them. Putting her hand on the diary, she took a deep breath. She had read her mother’s diary a number of times trying to learn more about her. Her mother had died when Lynol was only two years old. She only had vague memories of what her mother even looked like.

  “We need to walk down all these aisles and see if any cases are empty,” said Kalvin, looking uneasily at the sleeping people all around them.

  Lynol nodded. “I know. I hope we find three empty cases. That will indicate the three strangers in Galvin were from my mother’s group. If we don’t then it means somewhere in this complex is another hidden stasis facility perhaps containing Adam’s people.”

  “I hope they’re not part of Adam’s group,” said Kalvin. “We had enough problems with just Adam. We don’t need three more like him.”

  The two split up and began going down the aisles, checking all the cases. The men and women inside the cases were all nude and in excellent shape. Lynol had checked about seventy cases when Kalvin suddenly called for her.

  “Lynol, you need to come back here. I think I found something important.”

  Kalvin was in the back of the room looking at a case off by itself along part of the wall not covered by machinery.

  Hurrying to Kalvin, Lynol stopped and gazed at the case in shock. The woman inside looked to be a little older than Lynol and could almost be her twin.

  “Who is that?” asked Kalvin in a shaky voice.

  Lynol didn’t answer. She knew how to activate the case and open it. That had been in her mother’s diary in case Lynol failed to stop Adam.

  “Are you going to open it?”

  Lynol nodded. “I think I have to.”

  Reaching out her hand tentatively, she pressed a green button on the case and then flipped the two switches next to it.

  “Cure is complete,” said a strange voice, startling both Kalvin and Lynol. “Awakening process initiated.”

  On the case a counter with numbers appeared and began counting down.

  “If I’m reading this right it will be nearly twenty minutes before the person in this case wakes up,” said Lynol, feeling nervous over what she had just done. Her mother had given her specific instructions not to awaken any of the people in the cases unless it was an emergency.

  Kalvin looked at Lynol and spoke. “Why does this woman look so much like you? Can she be a distant relative?”

  Lynol found she couldn’t reply as she had a suspicion who was in the chamber, particularly after the voice had said the cure was complete. That seemed to indicate the woman had been suffering from some type of disease and the chamber had cured her of it. Lynol could feel her heart pounding and her pulse racing. Her amulet was lit up in a brilliant white light from her turbulent emotions.

  Kalvin grew concerned upon seeing the flush on Lynol’s face and her glowing amulet. “Lynol, what is it?”

  Taking a deep breath Lynol answered. “Kalvin, I think that’s my mother.”

  “What!”

  “She came down with a deadly disease when I was very young. I always assumed her body was burned like all the rest who died from the plague. My father never said and I was afraid to ask. Now I’m wondering if she came back here and used this stasis chamber to cure herself.”

  Kalvin looked at the woman in the stasis chamber and then back at Lynol. The resemblance was uncanny. “Your mother?”

  Lynol nodded. “We’ll know shortly. When she wakes up we’ll ask her.”

  -

  For the next twenty minutes Lynol waited for the timer to stop and for the case to open. It was the longest twenty minutes of her life. She kept wondering what she was going to say if this was her mother.

  The counter finally reached zero and the case lid slid open, revealing the figure inside. The woman’s eyes flicked open and she gazed at Lynol in surprise. “Who are you?” she asked in a weak voice.

  “Let’s get you out of that case first,” responded Lynol, reaching out a steadying hand as the woman stepped slowly out. “Let’s get you sitting down.” Lynol led the woman to a nearby chair.

  “Open that drawer next to the case,” the woman said, pointing weakly. “There should be a robe in there as well as several sealed containers of food. I need some nourishment to get my strength back.”

  Kalvin went over to the drawer and opened it, finding several robes and some small containers. He brought one of the robes back and two of the containers, handing the robe to the woman.

  The woman stood up and put on the robe and then looked at Kalvin. “I hope I didn’t embarrass you.”

  Kalvin’s face flushed a little and he shook his head. “No, Lynol and I are married.”

  “Lynol!” stammered the woman, her face shifting back to gaze into Lynol’s with hope in her eyes. “Are you Lynol Sylvar?”

  Lynol nodded. “Are you Cathy Matheson?” Lynol almost feared hearing the answer. She had her hopes up but what were the odds this was actually her mother?

  The woman slowly nodded her head. “Yes, I’m Cathy and that means I’m your mother. How old are you?”

  “I’ll be twenty-five this spring,” replied Lynol nervously. She felt as if she was about to faint. This woman was indeed her mother!

  �
��Adam?”

  “Dead,” answered Lynol. “I killed him and put Gilmreth back to sleep.”

  Cathy’s eyes widened. “Adam woke the dragon?”

  Lynol nodded. “Yes, and Gilmreth killed a lot of people before I was able to stop him.”

  Cathy closed her eyes and then slowly opened them. “Jason wanted to destroy the dragon; now I wish he would have. We had the opportunity but Adam managed to talk Jason out of it.” Cathy opened one of the containers of food which contained a meaty broth. She ate it slowly, savoring the taste.

  “You had the plague,” Lynol said. “I thought you died?”

  Cathy nodded. “I made Damon think that so as not to keep his hopes up. Just the odds of me making it to the mountain and this chamber were very low. The stasis chamber can analyze illnesses and administer treatments. My disease was so bad it took years for the cure to be complete. Unfortunately for me the healing process worked very slowly.”

  Lynol nodded. “Father will be happy to find out you’re alive.”

  “He still lives?” asked Cathy, her face lighting up with hope.

  Lynol grinned. “He had to take care of me.”

  “Looks as if he did a good job.”

  “Between him, Gwen, and Malcon.”

  Cathy’s face took on a more serious look. “Then you found the underground crypt?”

  “Yes, I’ve spent years with Malcon learning sorcery as well as many of the spells in your diary.”

  “My amulet, do you have it?”

  “It’s on the main computer next to your diary. I have my own which is very powerful.”

  “Where’s Gilmreth?”

  Lynol looked solemnly at her mother. “He’s in his pen under a sleeping spell. However the spell is rapidly weakening and I fear the dragon will wake soon.”

  “Is that why you woke me? To help with the dragon?”