by Bill Albert
Thanks to Rosario’s healing, and her own abilities with nature, Gallif had healed. She sat in a tent, fully dressed in her brown armor, backpack, and swords at her side, talking to Jakobus. He was weak from the sudden aging, but most of his wounds had been healed.
“I’m sorry about Pate,” Jakobus shook his head.
“I hated him for so long,” she admitted. “He was so unlikeable and pompous to everyone when he played that role here at the school. Now I’ll miss him.”
“He saved Luvin. He saved us all by destroying that hellish beast. His father would be proud of him. And of you,” Jakobus let his voice trail off.
“No,” she shook her head. “Not yet. He would be pleased with me for what has happened so far, but his pride was another matter. There is so much yet to do.”
“Yes,” Jakobus agreed. “I would be honored if you would allow this old dwarf to accompany you.”
“I was counting on that,” she said and smiled as she held his hand.
“I wouldn’t say that to just any human,” Jakobus added.
They were interrupted by the sounds of horses approaching and Gallif rose to her feet.
“I have to find out what is happening,” she said to him. “Plus, I need to know where Luvin went.”
He nodded and smiled as she walked out. He leaned over as far as he could and pulled open the flap on the tent to watch her go.
Rosario was outside talking to two young men when Gallif joined her.
“There are teams coming,” Rosario reported. “Some militia from the south working their way up looking for anyone who may be injured or trapped. Word has it the Giant Lords are coming in caravans. They’ve also met survivors from Atrexia,” she added and Gallif looked at her hopefully. “Most of the city was spared. But it looks as if there is now a considerable range of mountains between us and the city.”
“It’s going to take some time to restore order and survey the damage,” Gallif said.
“I think we should consider abandoning this area,” one of the young men said.
“No,” Gallif protested angrily. “Others will come back,” she said. “Others will come here when they can. Rayjen would want us to stay here for the time being.”
“Yes,” Rosario agreed. “But for you,” she said to the two men, “I think you should head north and get as close to the mountain, or what used to be the mountain, as you can get. Make sure that there is no one there in need of help.”
The two men rode off and Gallif and Rosario’s eyes followed them.
“That is going to take some getting used to,” Rosario said. “Every day of my life I saw Starpoint Mountain there. I can’t imagine what this world will be like without it.”
They stood quietly and looked north for several minutes and then each of them cleaned tears from their face. Rosario went back to work rounding up more food for the people in the camp, but Gallif stayed looking at the northern sky.
She wondered just how much the world as they knew it had changed. The symbol of their land was now gone, and she hoped the Giant Lords would be strong enough and smart enough to hold society together. She knew it would take more than just the giants to make sure their culture survived. It would take great people, humans, dwarves, everyone, to make sure their lives remained intact. It wouldn’t be her.
She was pulled from her philosophic thoughts as something brushed against her back. Angry, she tried to ignore whoever had interrupted her, but she was shoved again. Before she could protest, she felt a cold nose push against her neck and heard a distinctive snort. She spun quickly and her eyes opened wide at the pure white horse that was in front of her. Her natural abilities came in to play and she put a hand directly on the horse’s forehead. It paused, snorted at her twice, and then finally put its head down close to her chest. She scratched it behind the ears and knew that the connection had been made. This was not Snow, it was a male horse, but she felt the bond growing already.
Luvin stepped up and handed her the reins. She noticed his hammer slung on one side of his belt and a long sword, Pate’s flame sword, in a sheath on his other side.
“Where did you find him?” she asked as she scratched the nose.
“I told you Rayjen had sent me out the day the attack came,” Luvin said. “There were new students and he wanted new horses. There is a small creek not far from here and they have been feeding in that area since I got back. I was hoping they hadn’t wandered off. I couldn’t find a saddle.”
“I’ll find one when I get to Dakteria.”
“I’m sure you will,” he nodded.
“He’s beautiful,” she said and leaned her head against the horse. “So are you.”
Luvin blushed and looked away. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight.
“I have to go,” she whispered to him. He started to protest, but she quickly quieted him with a kiss on the cheek. “I need you to wait here and save one of the horses for Jakobus. When he is ready to travel, join me in the Rainbow Mountains.”
“I know what you are going to do, but I’ve no idea how.”
“Me neither,” she admitted. “But I figure there is one Giant Minister who owes me a favor. That’s as good as place as any to start,” she said and stepped away from him.
“I was wondering if they’ll change the name,” he said.
“Name?” she asked as she mounted her new companion.
“This was the Land of Starpoint,” he said and waved to the north. “But Starpoint Mountain doesn’t exist anymore. What will we be called?”
Gallif looked at him fondly and shrugged. Then she started riding as a smile crept across her face.
Luvin watched her leave and then pulled his cloak tight around him as a cool breeze started up. As he did so he felt a lump in one of his pockets and curiously pulled the mysterious object out. To his surprise it was a red velvet bag tied tight with a black string. He looked up just in time to see the red headed woman on the pure white horse disappear over the ridge. He thought briefly of opening it but decided not to. He tucked the bag safely under his belt and hurried off to see Jakobus.
As Gallif rode the bond with the new Snow increased. She enjoyed the speed and let her hair blow wildly as she crossed the countryside. Despite the cold breeze she was sweating with thoughts and ideas of how to proceed coming at her nearly as intensely as she rode.
She knew that there would be no need to change the name of the land. Drifting in the currents of dust and air after escaping she had seen how the mountain had fallen. It would take months before anyone could properly map it, but they would discover five strings of smaller ranges that all gradually dissipated away from a larger mountain in the center. It was a five-pointed mountain. A giant star in the center of their world.
NEXT:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
The author lives in a small town in Iowa that he enjoys very much. He works in a factory but spends lots of time there thinking about being someplace else. He has had several short stories published, wrote, directed and produced a radio play, and this is his third novel. The first novel is “TIME WEB TREMORS” and is available at Lulu and Kindle. The second novel was based on a TV series and is unpublished. He also has written and produced several short films like “THE BURNING ROOM,” “EMILY’S GHOST” and “IT’S NOT EASY BEING A ZOMBIE” that are available on Vimeo.
