The Secrets of Starpoint Mountain

by Bill Albert

  “You don’t think it was just a coincidence, do you?” Tome asked.

  “I suppose it is possible,” Gallif responded steadily. “But it would take a lot of resources to harness that much casting power and who could manage that but a Giant Lord?”

  “I don’t think it’s that simple,” Kavelle said.

  “What do you mean?” Gallif asked with an accusing tone.

  “There are good giants and bad giants, just like there are good humans and bad humans, but what would be the point of a giant going to that extreme? I think it is the aquilus that are behind it.”

  “That’s impossible,” Gallif protested. “There are no good or bad elves. They are just evil, and they don’t have the intelligence to get organized enough to take on each other let alone the Giant Lords.”

  “I have to agree with Gallif,” Tome said and Gallif smiled at him. “But either way, I’m not sure it makes a whole lot of sense. We know the giants are the only ones who could even be able to organize something like that, but they normally wouldn’t. We know the aquilus would, but they aren’t able.”

  “So, what else does that leave?” Kavelle asked as she looked at Gallif steadily.

  “Someone else,” Gallif said after a few steps.

  They walked on without saying a word. After a few more blocks of estates Kavelle finally pointed to a gate at the end of the lane. They slowly and carefully approached the iron gate and looked through the bars at the amazing world inside.

  Two hundred yards from the gate stood a magnificent mansion. It was two stories tall with three different wings. Each blue roof of the three wings was topped with a bell tower that cut into the sky with both flags and weathervanes on top. The walls of the house were cut from perfectly formed limestones of three colors; each layer placed just a bit off center of the one beneath it giving a wave of color. The top story of each wing had three sets of double windows evenly spaced. The face of the wing directly ahead had single windows on each side of a beautifully crafted archway. Three wide steps led up to double wooden doors in the center with chimes on each sides and massive locks in the center.

  Outside the mansion there was a space for keeping horses and carriages and a gravel road that stretched the distance from the mansion to the gate. There were dozens of fruit bearing trees on the right side of the road and thick and dark oak trees on the left. There were even bushes that had been sculpted to resemble animals placed in various locations.

  Gallif would never have guessed there was this much money to be made in food.

  “Do we just go in?” Gallif asked.

  “Are you afraid?” Kavelle teased her.

  Tome pushed his way between them and took both of them by the elbow. He forced them to back away. Before Gallif could speak again he reached over and undid the metal latch on the gate and slowly pushed it open. The gate swung open wide and they stepped through.

  Once inside Tome moved to the edge of the road and slowly walked forward. Kavelle walked close behind him and kept her eyes on the doors ahead. Gallif’s senses were automatically kicking in and her eyes scanned all directions as often as possible. They passed under several oak trees as they walked. The foliage in the trees was so thick it cast long shadows along the way.

  Halfway in Tome stopped and allowed the two women to come alongside him.

  “There are no animal sounds here,” Tome said in almost a whisper.

  “I noticed,” Gallif said quickly. “Something scared them off,” she added and took a slow, deep breath. “What’s that smell?”

  “I don’t smell anything,” Kavelle said unimpressed.

  “Me neither,” Tome joined her.

  “You’re not reading the signs,” Gallif said directly to Kavelle. “A well-tended garden should have a pure natural smell to it but there’s something else.”

  “You’re smelling a raccoon or rabbit,” Kavelle rolled her eyes.

  “Shut up,” Gallif said quickly and turned away.

  There was a rustling in the tree above them of something that was obviously larger than a bird and a single leaf fell and landed on the road at Gallif’s feet. She bent down and picked it up to study the stem. She saw that it was broken and torn as if it had been pulled out of the branch. There was more rustling and Gallif’s hand went to the handle of her sword.

  “It’s just a bit of wind,” Kavelle said.

  Gallif drew her flame sword and the area was lighted just as four armed aquilus dropped from the tree and surrounded them.

  Being the only one with sword in hand Gallif downed one of the attackers before it got its balance. She twisted and struck at the second one, but it stepped back out of reach. Tome quickly pulled his long sword and swung but his opponent cut in and grazed his leg. The armor repaired itself and prevented him from getting hurt. Kavelle, who had paused briefly as she marveled at Gallif’s sword, snapped to action and used her mace to parry the mace of her opponent. The maces contacted hard and there was a loud crack as the aquilus’s mace splintered.

  A fifth and sixth elf joined from another tree and came running. At a full sprint it didn’t take more than a few seconds before they joined in the melee. Gallif was paying attention to two of the aquilus that were attacking her. She didn’t see it, but she did hear a guttural cry from one of the animals as Tome’s long sword cut into it.

  Gallif drove her flame sword in a circle to try and confuse her attackers. One of them couldn’t take its eyes off of the glow and she came into a complete circle and entered its side. Another attacker used its mace and hit her hard below her left knee. She gritted her teeth in pain but steadied herself before hitting back. With a quick slash she finished off the one she had wounded.

  Kavelle’s opponent jabbed at her using the pointed end of its shattered mace as a stake and she slammed down hard and ended the attack on impact. Another elf tried to swing at her from the side, but the arc was deflected when Tome severed its hand. He followed with a quick slash and it was dead.

  Gallif advanced on the last aquilus and swept the flame sword back and forth slowly. It was trying to ignore the blaze and look for an opening to move in. It suddenly felt its back hit a second tree. Out of desperation it came at her wildly and she easily defeated it.

  There was silence as they looked at each other and then across the grounds.

  “Not a scratch,” Kavelle said, very pleased with herself.

  They heard more rustling in a tree several yards away and before anyone else could speak Gallif whispered in anger at Kavelle. “There’s not even the slightest breeze here. Don’t you dare tell me that is wind again.”

  “Let’s make a run for the house,” Tome said.

  They started off a steady pace. Gallif limped slightly and started to fall behind. Tome saw her stumble and rushed to assist her. Kavelle, however, ran on and when she was a dozen feet ahead of them four more aquilus burst out of some bushes between them. Each elf held a bloodied sword.

  “Damn you!” Gallif shouted.

  Kavelle skidded to a halt and looked back. The new attackers saw that Gallif was wounded and all went after the easy target.

  Gallif and Tome separated, and each held their weapons ready to fight. The attackers split up a few steps out. Two went for Gallif, one went for Tome, and the fourth held back to determine which direction to take.

  Gallif stepped aside but didn’t want to get to far away from Tome. Tome firmly planted his feet on the ground to make sure he protected Gallif’s back. The aquilus attacking him made several very high-powered thrusts with its mace. The metal cap came very close to its face, but it refused to step away. He sliced upward at the chest of the animal nearest him and cut open its filthy cloth shirt.

  Gallif kept shifting her weight and both of her attackers started poking at her with their swords. She avoided their blades and returned their assault, but they started to widen the gap between them.

  The fourth attacker of the second wave heard gravel crunching behind it and sensed Kavelle’s approach too
late. It turned to face her, but her mace ended its attempt and it dropped to the ground in a heap.

  Gallif’s elves came at her steadily. They swung their swords horizontally and for a brief second they were in complete unison. She held back until they were within distance and as soon as their blade attacks became irregular, she shoved the flame sword hard at the belly of one attacker. Though she cut it and burned it, the thing didn’t go down and only stumbled back. The other attacker glanced over at its pack member and the distraction gave Kavelle an opportunity. The mace slammed hard against its shoulder. From the shock and pain, it stumbled to one side and came within striking distance for Gallif to finish it off.

  Tome saw that Gallif’s back was protected and took a step at his lone opponent. It took a few side steps, but its mace was really no contest for Tome’s sword, and it fell lifeless very quickly.

  Gallif held her ground against her last opponent. Kavelle took advantage and started to move to put the animal between them. The tactic worked and while its attention was caught for only a second by Gallif’s flame sword Kavelle took two quick lightning fast swings and ended the combat.

  Without saying another word, the three of them went straight for the door to the mansion. The locked door was made of oak wood, but Tome’s shoulder, strength and momentum were too powerful and he crashed through it. It was opened still attached by the hinges, so he was able to slam the door shut after they were all inside.

  Once the door was closed, they all leaned against it and stood silently for a while. Tome and Kavelle looked around the room to make sure there were no attackers or obvious traps waiting for them inside. Gallif closed her eyes and just listened. She could hear Tome and Kavelle breathing heavily but the pace slowed back to normal very quickly. She heard noises from somewhere above them, but they were steady and faded quickly and she believed it to be just the house settling from the interruption of their forced entrance. She heard nothing unusual and there was nothing odd about the way things smelled. She opened her eyes and nodded to them both that it was clear for now.

  There was a bench set on each side of the door and as Tome and Kavelle used one to prop the door closed Gallif sat in the other. There was a steady pain in her leg, and she tried to nurse it without making it look to obvious.

  The entry room they were in was very grand and stylish. At the center was a staircase leading up and at the top of the landing was a painted mural of a man using a wooden paddle to remove bread loaves from a stone oven. On each side of the stairs on their level were doors that were closed as were the doors in the far wall behind the staircase. There were tables against the side walls with crafted pottery and flowers.

  Tome went over to one of the vases and looked at the flowers. They were still alive and looked fairly healthy but could have used a bit of water. Kavelle went to the door on the left-hand wall and listened. Hearing nothing, she opened the door to reveal a large cloak closet inside.

  “I’m going to check into this,” she said calmly.

  “Don’t go too far,” Tome ordered her, but she was already inside. He noticed Gallif trying to gently adjust the armor on her leg and sat next to her.

  “Are you hurt?” he asked.

  “A bruise from a mace,” she said. She gently lifted part of the leather and saw her reddened skin. She very carefully let the leather back down. “It’s tender, but it’ll be okay.”

  “Take this,” Tome said. He produced a small potion bottle from a pouch on his side and handed it to her.

  “It’s okay.” She didn’t need to open the cork and smell the herbal fragrance to know what was inside.

  “No, I insist,” he said. “We had to face ten aquilus just to get into the building. Who knows how many dangers there are inside? I need you at one hundred percent.”

  Gallif finally agreed to what he was saying and took a sip of the potion. She swirled it around with her tongue and swallowed the light blue liquid.

  “So how did you hook up with her?” Gallif asked.

  “I’m not sure how she got involved,” he admitted. “I was just told sometime back that she was my contact and that was it. I’ve only met her a few times. She’s good at certain casts as well as a good fighter.”

  “Is she a true believer?” Gallif asked. The pain had lessened considerably, and she gingerly put her hand on her leg.

  “Yes,” he said. “Just not of the traditional style.”

  “I don’t understand how she can be a believer of Tebiet,” Gallif said looking around the room.

  “Tebiet is the god of nature. You’ve seen bad storms, tornadoes, sea storms, floods and blizzards. Correct?” he asked her and waited until she nodded before continuing. “They are all a part of nature despite their chaotic tendencies. Some people run from the chaos of nature and some people thrive in the chaos. Either way they still believe in the same thing.”

  Even though she had her doubts about Kavelle she could not deny that particular interpretation.

  “Trust me,” he said with a grin. “When I was ten years younger, I was closer to her than you,” he admitted. “I stole what I wanted,” he said. He lifted a hand to reveal a red velvet bag with a black string. He tossed it to her and laughed at her shocked look, “and I enjoyed the chaos I caused.”

  “What stopped you?” she asked with a slight smile.

  “I was caught,” he said, and the smile faded. “I spent eighteen months in one of the swamp prisons.” He saw the doubt in her eyes and continued, “I was caught by surprise one night. An elderly couple came home, and I didn’t realize it until they were on me. I tried to escape, he tried to hold me back and he died in the struggle.”

  Before she could say anything Kavelle came back into the entryway.

  “There are plenty of clothes in there,” she reported. “Not much else, though. A few small coin purses or money pouches,” she said. “I left everything there,” she defended herself from Gallif’s glare.

  “Okay, I think we should start checking out this part of the mansion before going to the other building,” Tome said as he stood. “Are you better?” he asked Gallif.

  To prove she was fine she jumped and took a few steps up the stairs.

  “Great,” Tome said and started upwards. “Personally, I prefer to start at the top and work down.”

  Gallif smiled at Kavelle and said, “Yes, I remember.”

  EIGHTEEN:

  SHADOWS

  A large hallway at the top of the stairs extended the width of the building and was cut off by a nicely paneled wall with openings for two hallways that lead deeper into the house. Along the wall facing the road and gate were several large windows with green cloth curtains that allowed them to watch for signs of movement outside. They saw a few people pass by on the street, but no one slowed or looked suspicious and there were no signs of aquilus lurking in the trees or bushes. After several minutes they turned their attention to the details of the room.

  There were several portraits along the walls with small plaques giving the names of the family members depicted. There were also several glass cases with various awards that the family had won.

  “So, Bitran is married,” Gallif said as she stared at one of the paintings of a well-dressed couple at a fancy wedding.

  “Obviously,” Kavelle said.

  “You should have said something. That is very important.”

  “How?” she challenged.

  “When he goes hunting does he take the entire family with him or leave some of them here?”

  “I don’t know,” Kavelle said after a looking ashamedly at Tome. She knew she should have said something.

  “So, the question is, did he take the family with him or were they taken by the aquilus we met outside? You should give us all the information you have. I hate the idea of the family being trapped in here somewhere or they could have been waiting and armed when we came in the door.”

  “Well, they weren’t, so don’t get worried about it.”

  “Enough,” Tome s
aid and stepped between them. “No more.”

  Gallif looked away from him and shuffled slightly. Kavelle stared blankly at the floor.

  “We have a search to conduct. Gallif,” he said pointing to the door on the left, “I want you to take that way and I will take the other. Kavelle, stay here and watch this area. We won’t be far so if something surprises us you should be there in seconds,” he ordered Kavelle with a stern look on his face that silenced any protest.

  Gallif turned and started down the hallway without saying a word. As she stepped inside she couldn’t help but think of all the nasty things that could happen to Kavelle. She quickly caught herself getting carried away and forced herself to shake it off. She had to push her distrust and jealousy, yes, she admitted there was a certain jealousy, away and pay attention to what was important right now. Sometimes she was reminded of the fact that she was only seventeen and not as far from childhood as she thought.

  She listened for any sound of movement but heard nothing. There were two doors on the left-hand side of the hall and three doors on the right that were all closed. At the far end was an open area. All she could see were a few towels hanging on pegs near the door.

  She went to the first door on the left and listened again. It was silent inside, so she slowly opened the door and went in.

  This room held a single bed, a chest of drawers, a desk and a tall closet. The walls had several paintings on them of serene landscapes and everything was decorated in soft brown tones. She opened the closet and found it filled with long dresses, fancy shoes and other accessories. The dresses were made of fine cloth and she gingerly ran her fingers through them. By their size and style she saw these belonged to an elderly woman. She knew she was correct when she found some handwritten letters on the desk to and from grandchildren. She started to read some out of curiosity but stopped halfway through. Even though she understood the necessity of a search she felt uncomfortable to be reading someone’s letters. She quickly opened the only drawer on the desk and gasped at surprise. Inside was an incredible array of jewels and brooches. Though she was not an expert, she guessed there was well over a thousand giant coins worth of jewelry. She ran her fingers across a large diamond ring then closed the drawer and left.