The Wrathful Mountains

by Lana Axe

“Perhaps it was a High Priestess, and she wished to be placed here,” Kaiya suggested. Whoever this person was, he or she was far beyond help. Drawing energy through her body, Kaiya focused her mind to the clouds above. They came together on a heavy wind, charging their power and flashing with a silver light. Directing the energy toward the stone, sparks flew from her fingertips. In a flash of white fire, the lightning slammed into the stone. The Dwarf’s Heart rune illuminated in response.

  The mountain beneath them roared in anger, the creature trapped within enraged at their actions. A deep groan reverberated among the stones, the Gawr’s malice unleashed upon the world. Chunks of ice and snow, some of them large enough to flatten a village, broke free of the mountainside and plummeted downward.

  A shiver of fear ran through the sorceress. Had the Gawr come to full power? A kiss from the wind reassured her it had not. If the Gawr had regained all its strength, it could collapse the mountain upon her. No, she still had time.

  Seeing the danger above them, Tashi grabbed Kaiya’s arm and pulled her back toward the path. “Run!” she shouted.

  Sliding from the summit, an avalanche of white aimed itself at the travelers, its intent clear. A mind of hatred spurred it onward, targeting the sorceress who would see its master undone. Gaining speed as it fell, hundreds of pounds of ice and snow rushed toward the women. Death and destruction rained upon them, pushed by the hand of evil.

  Racing at top speed, the pair desperately tried to outrun their pursuer. Kaiya ran more slowly than Tashi, but the priestess had not let go of her arm, dragging the sorceress forward with all her might. A constant rumbling accompanied their footsteps, loosening the rock beneath them. Kaiya slipped on the rubble, sending her sliding past Tashi. To her amazement, she came to a stop at a plateau, right before the edge of a cliff.

  “It’s sheltered!” she called out. “We can drop down here!”

  When she looked back at Tashi, the priestess had disappeared, buried beneath a blanket of white. The raging snow continued on its path, sweeping Kaiya over the edge. Digging into her magical stores, she called out to the wind, riding its soft embrace over the cliff. Flattening herself against the edge of the cliff, she looked up at the rocky overhang above her. The pair could have made it to safety within seconds but had failed. Now Tashi lay buried beneath the snow.

  Chapter 17

  Digging with bare hands, Galen frantically clawed through the rubble. His heart sank as he reached the girl he sought. Her yellow hair was caked with crimson blood, her face cold to the touch. Gently pressing his fingers to her neck, he found no pulse. No more than fourteen years of age, this sweet life had been cut short by the Gawr’s wrath.

  Sitting back on his heels, the elf hung his head. This was the second avalanche to strike since Kaiya departed days ago. The first had caused serious injuries but no deaths. This one had killed dozens of citizens and destroyed several homes. The schoolhouse was demolished, but thankfully the children had not been inside. Their teacher took them underground at the first hint of rumbling. The poor child lying before Galen had been a worker. Had she still been in school, she would have been safe.

  Pulling her free of the rubble, he placed her on top of the rocks and folded her hands across her abdomen. Here she would wait for the wagons that collected the dead.

  Such senseless waste of life weighed heavily on the elf, and he did not bother to hide his tears. Reinforced with steel, the Dwarf’s Heart workshop was the safest place in the encampment. That is where Galen had been when the chaos began. His only injury was a minor scrape on his forehead. Along with the others, he ran outside as soon as the shaking subsided. An eerie silence greeted him—no wails of despair nor grief. Instead of mourning, the dwarves had gone to work, digging at the earth to free their trapped loved ones.

  The mines had been evacuated days earlier, shortly after Kaiya took her leave. She had gone to challenge the Gawr, and in his wisdom, Foreman Daro had insisted the workers stay away. There was more than enough work for them to do in the city, where they used their skills to unearth fallen dwarves and construct temporary shelters for the newly homeless.

  What these people needed most were healers. Galen had no such skills, but other elves did. Unfortunately, he had no way to summon them, and he could not leave now. The dwarves needed every pair of hands they could get. He had never learned healing runes, but they had to exist. Many dwarves lay comatose with head injuries, using the strength of their own bodies to heal themselves. They might benefit from a rune carver’s help. The girl before him was beyond such things.

  His head low, he stumbled back to the workshop, the coppery smell of blood unsettling his stomach. Resisting the urge to wretch, he stepped inside the shop and found himself alone. Grabbing a set of tools, he poured himself into his work. Runic symbols flashed in his mind, none of them adequate for healing. Frustrated, he chipped at the stones, reviewing his early lessons by starting at the top of the list. Running through the alphabet, he recalled every ancient rune he knew. Still he came up empty.

  Before he realized what he had done, seven small stones lay on the table before him. Smoothed and ready for their enchantments, he stared at them as if they would offer the answer. Slamming a fist against the table, he cursed the city. There were no archives nor library, things essential for his work. How could he learn which runes to etch if he had no guide? Knowledge was worth more than painite. Didn’t the dwarves realize this?

  Sighing, Galen buried his head in his hands. Dirt from the stones transferred to his face, adding to his already disheveled look. Healing stones, he repeated to himself. Another sigh, this one cursing his own failure rather than the dwarves’ lack of interest in libraries. Placing his forehead against the table, he closed his eyes.

  In a flash of remembrance, the runic symbol for repair came into his mind. Normally, it was etched into weapons, protecting them from a certain amount of damage. But it was usually inlaid with diamond or ruby, and he had none available. Could such an enchantment work for people? He had no idea, but it might be worth a try.

  The rune for rejuvenation was commonly placed on jewelry to aid weary soldiers on long marches or in combat. Galen had never heard of it for actual healing, but wouldn’t that also help? He wanted to slap himself for forgetting. These runes had potential, all he lacked were diamonds. The ladies of the town might give up their jewels, but they would take time to collect. He’d have to go around, asking grieving widows and mothers to give up their possessions, while all he had was an idea in return. It might not work at all.

  Glancing around the room, he saw glimmers of painite on every desk. The dwarves had left in the middle of their work, the precious gemstones cast aside in the wake of such devastation. They knew what was more important, and so did the elf. Racing around the room, he gathered as many pieces as he could. Some were incredibly small, but all had purpose. Never before had he studied the magical properties of Dwarf’s Heart, but if it held any at all, he would find out.

  Without thought for the great amount of wealth to be had from these gems, he cut them and shaped them, placing each meticulously inside the stones. When he ran out of stones, he turned to chunks of iron and pieces of wood, anything that was close at hand. As he worked nonstop, he thought of other enchantments that might help as well: strength, rest, purify, sharpen. Something had to have medicinal value. It was all the elf had to offer.

  It was hours before he declared himself finished, at least for the moment. He had plenty to distribute, and it was time to find out if his creations would work. Bundling the runed items in a canvas sack, he ran out of the workshop and sprinted through the city. Several buildings were now serving as hospitals, and he stepped inside the nearest one.

  Foreman Daro stood inside. He turned and gave the elf a half-smile, all he could muster. “Good to see you safe,” he said.

  “Here,” Galen said, handing Daro one of the stones. “I’ve crafted these with elven magic, and I think they might help the wounded.”

 
; Daro had long believed in the power of elves, and his eyes lit up at the prospect. “What do we do with them?”

  “Distribute them to those in need,” Galen replied. “I’m not sure which will work best, or what conditions will benefit most, so hand them out at random. If they work, we’ll know soon.”

  “Is this Dwarf’s Heart?” Daro asked, squinting at the stone.

  “It is,” Galen replied. He hoped the foreman would not be angered or accuse him of theft.

  “They’ll be worth a fortune if they work,” the dwarf commented. “They’re already worth a fortune, but no telling how much those island elves will pay for healing stones of Dwarf’s Heart.”

  “I don’t know what properties the painite has,” Galen admitted. “But we still have to try. We should place them beneath the pillows of the injured.”

  He passed a fair amount of the runes to Daro, who obeyed eagerly. When they had placed an enchantment under each pillow, they walked together to the next hospital. No dwarves questioned the pair, instead they barely took notice. The two were uninjured, and there were plenty of ailing dwarves to care for. Two healthy individuals visiting the patients were the least of their concerns.

  As they exited a third hospital, Daro said, “I sure hope those work. We could use a miracle about now.”

  “We should send word to the Vale,” Galen replied. “It will be days before they arrive, but there are skilled healers among my people. I know they’d be willing to help.”

  “I’ll do that,” Daro said. As soon as he could locate a runner who hadn’t been hurt, he would set him to the task.

  “Master Elf!” a voice cried. A young boy ran toward them. When he reached the pair, he leaned heavily against his thighs, panting. “Come and see,” he managed to say.

  “See what?” Galen asked.

  “The runes, sir,” the boy replied. “My papa is awake!” A broad smile spread across the boy’s face. Taking the elf’s hand, he pulled him back toward the hospital.

  Sitting up in bed was the injured father, a bloodstained bandage wrapped around his head. He nodded at the approach of his young son.

  “It was your gift,” the boy said. “Papa’s all better.” The boy grabbed onto Galen’s legs and hugged him.

  “Not completely better,” the injured dwarf said. “But better than I was. Thank you, Master Elf.” He inclined his head slightly in appreciation.

  “My pleasure,” Galen said. “What was your injury? How do you feel?”

  “I was hauling a cart up near the mines,” the dwarf replied. “I heard the thunder and decided to make a run for it. The cart was struck, and boards came flying. I guess one got me.”

  “He was out cold,” the boy continued. “The doc told me not to expect him to wake. Said his brain was swelling and he’d likely die.” He looked up at the elf. “But then you came with your magic trinkets, and now look at him!” The child beamed ear to ear.

  Galen wasn’t sure if it was the runes that had helped the man, but he was glad to see even one patient recover. Too many had not.

  “Look!” Daro said, pointing to another patient.

  The man stirred in his bed, groggy, but alive. He was bandaged across his head as well as his arms and one leg.

  “That’s Arly,” Daro said, moving toward the man. “He was crushed. No hope at all, the doc said.” He waved to catch the doctor’s attention. “He’s waking.”

  The doctor examined his patient, and said, “He has internal injuries. He shouldn’t still be breathing.” Dwarf doctors were not known for having a gentle nature. They did not sugarcoat a diagnosis.

  His eyes opening, the man struggled to sit up. Aided by Daro, Arly looked around the room. “What happened?” he asked.

  “Rockslide,” Daro said. “You were hurt.”

  “I saw it coming,” Arly said. “Figured I was a goner. My head is ringing, but I think I might live after all.”

  Galen reached under the dwarf’s pillow and pulled out the enchanted item. It was a small piece of iron, engraved with a painite rune. “Balance,” he said, reading the rune. Could this have saved Arly’s life?

  “I don’t believe it,” the doctor said, his voice barely more than a whisper. As he looked around the room, dozens of patients were sitting upright.

  “You’ve done it!” Daro shouted, clapping the elf on the back.

  “We’ll have to inspect the runes and see which ones are working,” Galen said. Then he could re-create the enchantments that worked best for healing.

  One dwarf sputtered and coughed, the doctor rushing to his aid. He tended the man only briefly before covering his face with a sheet. He pulled the rune from under the pillow and handed it to the elf.

  “Balance,” Galen read, furrowing his brow. Why did it work for one and not the other? The dwarf in the next bed sat up, still in pain but alive. Galen reached under the pillow and drew out the runed item. “Strength,” he said. He did not understand.

  “Is that what brought me back?” the dwarf asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Galen answered.

  “Well, I do feel strong,” the man said, looking the elf in the eye.

  Galen replaced the rune under the man’s pillow and began checking the others. A variety of runes had produced an effect, though none completely healed any patient. A few more patients breathed their last, their runes being a random assortment as well. Perhaps they were too far gone for his own weak magic to help. It was also possible that his runes had done nothing, and the patients had simply healed on their own. He could not know without further study.

  “For what it’s worth,” Daro said, “I think you did a fine job. Your work here has saved many lives.”

  Galen remained unconvinced. “Maybe,” he said.

  The doctor approached in silence and handed Galen another runed trinket, taken from the bed of a dead woman.

  Galen’s heart sank as he read the enchantment. “Strength.” He was no closer to finding a solution. If he didn’t know which runes worked, he couldn’t use the same for everyone.

  “She was nearly gone when they brought her in,” the doctor said. “Most of the patients who are now wide awake shouldn’t have lived. Don’t beat yourself up, Master Elf. You can’t save them all.”

  “That won’t stop me from trying,” Galen said. As he stared at the rune, he noticed imperfections in the painite that he hadn’t seen before. In his rush to craft the enchantments, he hadn’t bothered to check the quality of the gems. “The gemstones are flawed,” he said.

  Daro took the stone and examined it closely. “Those must have been castoffs,” he said. “Where did you get the gems?”

  “I picked up everything that was lying around the workshop,” the elf replied.

  “Even the ones in the wire baskets?” Daro asked.

  Galen nodded.

  “Those are the castoffs,” Daro explained. “The elves won’t buy them because they have too many flaws.”

  “Because they won’t hold an enchantment,” Galen said, realizing his mistake. The Enlightened Elves prided themselves on their ability to enchant any item, no matter how mundane. It was the purity of the gemstones that held the spell, and they were masters of their craft. Now Galen felt lower than an apprentice. “I failed them,” he said. The lives lost were his fault.

  “No,” Daro replied. “You did what you could. There weren’t enough perfect gems there to work with. It was better to try the flawed ones than nothing at all.”

  Nodding slowly, Galen said, “I suppose you’re right.” He had used every speck of painite in the workshop, no matter how small. Those who received the flawless gems would recover. The others might not be so lucky. His mind turned to Kaiya and the rune stone he’d given her. “The gems I bought for Kaiya, were they flawless?”

  “Of course,” Daro replied. “That was a good trade. You won’t get any tricks out of me. Elf hair of that quality was worth the finest painite I could find.”

  Galen took solace in those words. At the very lea
st, Kaiya’s rune stone should function properly. That was assuming he had crafted it correctly. The painite was difficult to work with, and that had been his first attempt.

  “What happens if we take the working trinkets from the dwarves who are starting to recover?” Daro asked. “We could use them for the ones who haven’t woke yet.”

  “That’s a brilliant idea,” Galen said, wondering why he hadn’t thought of it. Even if the patients weren’t fully recovered, they were better off than many others who were still lying unconscious. Maybe the runes could not heal them, but it could help them on their way.

  The two busied themselves swapping out enchanted items and inspecting them for their quality. By the time they had revisited all three hospitals, most of the patients were beginning to recover. All still had a long road ahead of them, but the Dwarf’s Heart had worked its magic. No more lives would be lost.

  “Now, can you carve us something that will prevent more rockslides?” Daro asked.

  “I wish I could,” Galen replied.

  “Then maybe you can make us men strong enough to hold back the mountain when it starts crashing down again.” Daro knew the comment was silly. If the elf had that kind of power, they wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place.

  Galen’s only response was to look at the dwarf and sigh. “I have a lot more studying to do,” he said. “I wish there were books here, old ones.”

  “You’ll have to travel to the king’s library,” Daro said. “The Royal University is the only place in all the mountains where you can study any subject besides metallurgy. We don’t have many scholars around here, in case you couldn’t tell.” He smiled at the elf, hoping to ease his burden. “You’ve already done a lot for us, and your friend is out there trying to fix the rest.”

  “I’d like to see that library,” Galen said. If Kaiya was successful, he just might get the chance. Dwarf’s Heart had magical properties, and it was likely the Enlightened Elves knew what they were. He would need to travel to their islands as well, once his studies among the dwarves were finished. Bringing this knowledge to the world would be his life’s work.