The Shadows of Starpoint Mountain

by Bill Albert

  FIVE: STEALING SECRETS

  “Dwarves are the easiest. They are the smartest of all creatures. They live the longest and have the best memories. They also keep their emotions as an undercurrent so there are not as many filters,” she said.

  “How difficult are humans?” he asked.

  “We are the most complicated, I can tell you that; but that does not mean difficult. Humans are smart and most can pick up and remember details. They also have stronger and more fluid emotions that can color what they have experienced. They are also the most varied and unpredictable.”

  “Unpredictable? I would have thought that of the elves.”

  “I have discovered that, under the surface, elves and humans have a great deal in common. Both are ruled by emotions, the difference is while human emotions swirl and mix elves only have one overriding emotion that overshadows all others.”

  “Hatred, of course.”

  “No,” she said looking up at his face. “It’s sadness.’

  There was a very long pause before he spoke again. “We couldn’t give her a potion because she was sleeping, so we had to use a cast.”

  “It will be enough,” she said, her voice old but confident.

  “We need to know what other secrets she knows.”

  “I understand, and to do that I need time and silence so I can concentrate and enter her thoughts.”

  There was silence for several moments as she entered Gallif’s memories.

  Gold. The gold colored nothingness around memories.

  She looked around and studied the various blurred images that bubbled and flowed past her. Finally, she spotted one, a strong, bright memory, and submerged herself inside it.

  Purple.

  Blue.

  White.

  She was several feet away from Gallif and only she could see the figure that shadowed Gallif. It was a tracer image, a slightly blurred and faded figure that moved just a few seconds behind the first. The lead was a physical memory of what was happening and the second was an emotional memory. The tracer was fading from orange to white. She was very worried, but more confident.

  Gallif was facing three skeletal warriors. As the skeletons approached, Gallif waved her flame sword several times. They moved further apart from each other but kept closing in on her. They each swung their axes more to mimic and intimidate her than to do anything else.

  She stood back, watching how Gallif moved and held herself.

  Gallif was ready for battle. When they were close, she raised the flame sword and whipped it in a circle towards them. For the first time they faltered their pace and confidence covered Gallif’s face.

  The skeleton directly in front of Gallif pulled back the axe and hacked at her. Gallif parried and deflected its aim and sent the swing downward. With the same motion she brought the sword back up at the skeleton to her right. The move caught it by surprise, and it shook as the sword hit it hard in the pelvis. Before it could strike back, she readied to attack it again, but ducked when she felt the rush of a blade passing near her head. She took a step back and jabbed the hot blade at that attacker but missed it as well.

  She watched as Gallif finished off the fight despite her wounds. Gallif was a good fighter. She was impressed but knew there was nothing in these memories that would be important to the Giants Lords. She let the image blur and found another nearby.

  Brown.

  Red.

  Green.

  Gallif, a man and a woman, were trapped and about to be slaughtered by a huge band of orcs and the heartless aquilus. They were on the grounds of some northern estate and had been cornered between a tall stone wall and a barn. She looked at it in puzzlement as there was no sign of fear or worry in Gallif’s tracer. There was a green glow. The girl was loving it.

  With a speed so fast it appeared they burst from inside its body, three arrows punctured the largest orc. The targeting was so accurate one of the arrows penetrated the small gap between the armor chest plates. Before anyone could react another two arrows did the same to one of the aquilus and all of the inhuman attackers froze in their tracks.

  The silence was broken as Gallif let out a cheer and the man and the woman looked at her as if she were mad. Then she noticed how Gallif was looking at a young blond woman armed and ready to let more arrows fly. Gallif quickly started fighting and the man and the woman followed. With the help of the archer the battle was quickly over, and they all stood at alert for a few moments to make sure no other threats were coming. Gallif’s tracer was bright and clear and both images stared at the woman on the wall.

  “Thank you,” the man finally said. “Whoever you are.”

  “You’re welcome,” she called to them. She jumped from the wall and landed safely on the ground a few yards from them.

  She watched intently, studying Gallif’s reactions, and wondered what kind of secret this woman would reveal.

  “Maura,” Gallif smiled and walked toward her. Without thinking she threw her arms around her friend and lightly kissed her cheek. The tracer, with intense green, stayed in place for a second but was separating from the physical memory. It was so slow it was barely perceptible, but the tracer was starting to turn in her direction.

  Gray.

  White.

  Gold.

  “What happened? Are you okay?”

  “Yes, I will be, I just need a moment.”

  “You almost collapsed. Did you see something?”

  “I’m not sure,” Kadame said after a deep breath. She didn’t know how to explain it. It was nothing that she had ever experienced before; but she was almost sure Gallif’s tracer had known she was there.

  “You must go in further,” the male said. “Find out what else she has hidden.”

  “Yes,” she said and returned to the body of the redheaded girl on the table.

  Gold.

  She went deeper into a swirl of memories, letting some float away until she found a very bright and very strong one that she couldn’t resist entering.

  Pink.

  Red.

  Green.

  Kadame read the scene where she had settled. They were in a sun-drenched forest clearing. Gallif was there with a well armored dwarf by her side before a crowd of people. The people were of various shapes and sizes from a dark-haired female, to a yellow skinned man, to an incredibly large dark-skinned man. As she looked further and investigated the entire encampment, she knew they were druids.

  “You are one of us,” the dark-skinned man said to Gallif.

  “NO!” she shouted and stepped away from him. She pulled the dwarf close and wrapped her arms around him for support. Her tracer was very clear but shifted colors rapidly.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I can see the after image, the glow that comes from your heart, that you have a druid heritage.”

  “You have to be wrong,” she protested. “My parents were Henra and Nieta. They were typical people, humans, and our family had been farming for generations. They had two children, just plain humans, Veret, my brother, and me, Gallif.”

  All of the assembled druids froze in their tracks and looked at her.

  “Gallif? Your very name is druid in nature,” the large man said.

  “Yes.”

  They all turned as a woman dressed in a beautifully crafted robe of flower petals joined them. “Your name does lead us to believe that my friend, Alparadis, is correct. My name is Terra,” she said as she slowly approached Gallif. “May I explain?”

  They continued to speak but Kadame could not hear their words. Confused she tried to concentrate and keep her place in the flow but soon realized there was more going on than that. Gallif’s tracer was definitely looking at her. It turned and, to Kadame’s shock, left the physical memory of Gallif and came walking towards her. It was radiating deep blue as it was full of anger, but suddenly it stopped and pointed at her. Despite all of her experience Kadame was not prepared for its next move.

  “I know you,” the tracer said.

&
nbsp; Kadame’s thought were completely lost as she heard the large man say, “With druid heritage in your blood the natural forest has healing properties. Especially in our own environment,” before she was pushed out of the stream.

  Blue.

  Orange.

  Pink.

  Kadame struggled to understand what was happening when, after hearing the impossible, she suddenly ended up in a stream of her own memory. Kadame saw herself standing in a cage with an aquilus sedated and strapped to a bed. Several of the elite guards were there and Gallif was looking blindly at the elf. Her tracer was an intense blue and her hatred for the animal was paramount to her emotions. Then Kadame realized this was not her own, but Gallif’s memory of when they had encountered each other before. Having been there she was able to feed off of the memory and regained her strength.

  She was in the gold nothingness looking for hidden memories. These were what people didn’t want anyone to know and the stronger the person the harder they were to find. Gallif’s were very well hidden; but she finally found them floating silently behind a family moment. She tried for the darkest, but it kept out of her reach. The second was evasive but she was finally able to enter it.

  They were in a private bedroom. By the furnishings Kadame could tell whoever owned this place was very wealthy. Gallif and her tracer were both intent on watching. Emotions bubbling as the blond girl that had saved them before, Maura, looked at a bracelet on her wrist and ran her fingers across it. “I’m sorry it has to be so difficult.”

  “No,” Gallif said and stood and stepped away. “You’ll be okay. You’ve got more actual experience than almost all of the students had when they started. You’ll learn quickly.”

  Maura looked at Gallif’s back and finally stood. She walked to the door and was about to open it when Gallif’s handheld it closed.

  “NO!” came a ghostly scream as Gallif’s tracer left its source and turned to face Kadame. “You can’t come here! I don’t want you here.”

  Kadame looked back wide eyed in shock. She couldn’t move or speak as her mind tried to understand what was happening and Gallif’s tracer rushed towards her. Kadame felt herself being washed away and was suddenly in a torrent of different memories.

  Gold.

  Black.

  “What did you see? What is it she knows?” the Third Minister asked. “Is there a danger?”

  “I am old,” she said as she stood tall and looked up at him. “Sometimes it has become difficult to read the memories of the young. Soon I will be unable to continue. Do not worry, I have an apprentice who can take my place.

  “Tell me, Kadame, I order you to tell me. Is there a danger?”

  Kadame thought about what she had seen and wondered what she hadn’t. There was so much to this woman, more than she could imagine. She thought of the druids she had seen. There was only one group in the history of the Land of Starpoint more honored than the Giant Lords. She suspected the return of that group was also the only thing they feared.

  “No,” she said.

  SIX: THE PUPPET MAKER

  By the fifth morning the rains had come and gone, and the air was clean. For the first time since the fall the skies were clear, and the new world was seen. The horizon was visible and from some of the rooms in the royal palace even the tree line of the Terra Firla forest could be seen. If a person looked far enough to the hills in the north or the fields to the south, they could almost imagine that Starpoint Mountain still stood.

  Almost.

  As Gallif sat on the edge of the bed her eyes were magnetically drawn to the twin towers that remained. She knew there would be no mystery about the towers or what sat on top. They were not isolated enough, and she knew the walls were jagged and would be easy for someone to climb. Despite everything she had absolutely no desire to climb it. She’d had enough of mysteries.

  Physically she was feeling much better. It had been the longest sleep she had gotten in a long time. The breakfast they had served her had been the best since the food Brilla and Forto had made at the school. Three attendants had been available to help her clean and dress, one wanted to just to brush her hair, but she had turned them down. She felt more comfortable getting ready alone. The cloth clothes they had left for her were comfortable, but she missed her own.

  She spent time wondering just how the Giant Lords would remove the curse on the elves. She found comfort in the fact that, in their goodness, they would soon be setting things right. She only hoped there was some way she could help.

  There was a tap at the door and the caller waited until she opened it to come in. It was one of the attendants that had been assigned to help her. Patrie was a human girl.

  “Miss Gallif,” Patrie addressed her. “The Third Minister would like to see you in private.”

  “Okay,” she said after a startled moment. She still wasn’t used to dealing with the Giant Lords on such a personal level and she spoke before thinking. “Do you know what this is about?”

  “No, miss,” Patrie whispered, dropping her gaze.

  “It’s okay,” Gallif said to try and relieve the tension. “I shouldn’t have even asked you.”

  Patrie looked back at her smiling and for a brief moment Gallif thought how the girl, with her blond hair brushed as it was, looked like Maura. The memory felt good, but she forced it away.

  “The Third Minister did want us to deliver this to you before you meet with him,” Patrie said and stepped out of the doorway. The other two attendants came in and Gallif smiled brightly at what they were carrying.

  The first was carrying Gallif’s own red cast leather armor and she gently rubbed her hands across the surface. Even though there was a new look to it she could tell by the feel that it was the same armor she had worn inside the mountain. She had lived in that armor for a long time and knew it like an old friend. The second was carrying the backpack she had been wearing when she’d arrived, and she laughed as she took it and wrapped her arms around it. This was the backpack Rayjen had given her and she let out a long sigh of relief as she held it again.

  She waited until the attendants had left before she opened it and was sure that everything had been left in place. Inside the bag items, no matter how big they were, floated in place. There were no hooks or pockets to attach them to, but they did not move in any way unless she, as the owner, wanted them to.

  She quickly dressed in the armor and had the backpack slung over her shoulder as she left the room.

  When she realized they were taking her back to the room in which she had originally met the Third Minister she took a few steps ahead of the attendants and led the way. She took deep breaths as she walked and thought how nice it was to feel physically better. The cast armor had fit to her form and she felt her physical strength returning. The weight of the bag on her shoulder brought back the confidence she’d felt with her friends and family at the school. By the time they got to the room she was smiling and feeling confident about what was going to happen.

  Gallif paced the room for several minutes. As she walked amongst the chairs of different sizes she prepared herself mentally for what she knew would be the most important meeting of her life. Very few outsiders, especially humans, had been graced with a private audience with a Giant Lord, let alone one of the Circle of Ministers. She concentrated on all the sights and sounds of the room hoping to remember it in great detail. When she heard the squeak of a hinge, she spun to face the door respectfully.

  The door slowly swung in and the Third Minister entered the room. His robes were green and brown, and she immediately warmed to the colors of the forest. He stepped in, closed the door behind him, then looked down at her and smiled.

  “My rescuer, you look much better today.”

  “Thank you, my lord,” she smiled up at him.

  “I take it you slept well and have been fed,” he said.

  “Yes, I slept a whole day and a night,” she said, then quickly added, “I’m afraid I must apologize for losing my composure before you,
” and let her head drop.

  “No apology necessary, my friend,” he said smoothly and gently tapped her shoulder with his giant hand. “You have been through something none of us can imagine. Even a giant would eventually be overcome by the experience. You are a human, but what you have done requires giant intellect and strength.”

  “Thank you, my lord,” she said hoping she wasn’t blushing as much as she felt. “Would you like me to continue with what happened in the mountain?”

  He blinked several times before speaking. “But you have, you told us everything that happened inside before you were…taken under by exhaustion. Surely you must remember.”

  “Of course, my lord, I must have been just too tired and emotional,” she said thinking quickly. She felt positive that she had not told everything but couldn’t deny that it was possible she just didn’t remember. She had slept a long time and must have just forgotten. Despite everything she couldn’t help but feel that a shadow had just crossed her path.

  “Please take a seat,” the Third Minister said and waved a hand across the room.

  Of the many different chairs Gallif went to she chose a large wooden one. It had no cushions and it would be difficult of her to sit in, but she hoped the fact that it would be uncomfortable would help her keep focused. It was a giant-sized chair and she sat with her legs hanging over the edge and her back straight.

  The giant remained standing and looked down at her, studying her, and she tried hard not to feel so small.

  “There’s something we must discuss,” he said finally. “As I know, you are aware the events of the past several days are the most perilous that the Land of Starpoint has ever experienced. The citizens are worried, scared, and need guidance immediately. We, the Circle of Ministers, have spent many hours in intense discussion on how to respond. We all want to do what is best for everyone.”

  Gallif was so caught up in what he was saying she took a breath before she realized that she was supposed to respond. She said she agreed with him and slid back on the chair so her knees were on the edge.