CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE:

  CLOUD VEIL

  Though the danger seemed behind them, the surprise of the mountain giants' appearance made Garrick grow hesitant to check out the next few floors of the old dwarven kingdom, despite them all wanting to experience its history and wonder. However, because of that decision, the companions reached Cloud Veil quicker than they had planned.

  Looking up from the last set of stairs to the opening above, Cerelene lifted her arm sharply and Azure took off, flying into the cold cloudy mountain air. Then as they all reached the top, they marveled at the clouds sitting around them as the sun began to set.

  Here on Cloud Veil their visibility was certainly compromised, as Ondibar had warned. When they all had taken a few steps from the opening, it was instantly gone from view as the clouds overtook it.

  “Well, it is not magic. The staircase is still here,” announced Maldrin, dropping to a knee and hitting the edges of the opening with his staff.”

  Hearing the clanking sound, Tal ran up the wizard’s shoulder and sat down.

  Noticing that the terrain and atmosphere felt different than any place they had been to together, Onyx kept close to Garrick’s side.

  “The key is to not wander far. These clouds never seem to fade away. It is worse than walking in a normal fog, not only because the visibility is much worse, but the slope we are now on is degrading in places,” stated Ondibar in a serious tone. “What Maldrin just did with his staff is what you all should do when you are uncertain of the ground you walk on.”

  Looking at the dwarf in the thick clouds, Garrick pulled out his sword and pushed its tip into the ground. Then Elias followed suit with his sword and Anya jammed her staff harder into the ground as well.

  Noticing that Deelah did not have a staff or a long blade like the others, Ondibar spoke directly to her. “We will not search for a way up the mountain alone, so do not worry. Just be careful.”

  “I will,” nodded Deelah. Then she looked at everyone, but when her gaze ended on Elias, it held on him for a few seconds longer. “I trust you all.”

  Garrick watched as, after speaking, Deelah looked at the ground apprehensively. And then a moment later, Elias went to stand next to her.

  “Stay with me. This sword is big enough for two people,” the knight replied with a smile.

  “Ondibar is right,” commanded Garrick. “I will go with Maldrin. Cerelene join Ondibar. Anya, you join Elias and Deelah.” Then the mercenary looked back at where the opening that they had just come through was. “But remember, keep your eyes open, and not just for a way to climb past these clouds. Our ultimate goal is to find the tunnel that leads to the treasure room, where Firebaugh lies guarding one of the Holy Stones of Elion.”

  “Yes, Garrick, and when that loathsome dragon is destroyed, I will wear the Holy Ring of my ancestors that the Stone sits in,” reminded Ondibar, his face angry with the thought of revenge.

  “First things first, Ondibar,” said Maldrin. “King Jonagall Ironhearth, the first king of the dwarves, was secretive and eccentric. He also loved his jewels. So much so that he always had a way to get them out of the kingdom.” Then Maldrin looked far and wide. “According to some, Jonagall had a secret passageway created from the treasure room to Cloud Veil, in case he ever had to escape from invasion or insurrection.”

  “How do you know this? You are not even a dwarf,” questioned Ondibar, skeptically. “I have never heard that story.”

  “I do not only read spell books, dwarf,” smiled Maldrin. You should see my library.” Then the old wizard's smile faded to a look of certainty. “I know the histories of Danaria and its races quite well.”

  “Hemslia, one of the clerics of Valtross, has told me that rumor as well, Ondibar. She is a dwarf,” added Anya. “How funny, I have never even thought of that story since.” Then she looked at Maldrin as he pet Tal on his shoulder. “Not until you brought it up, Maldrin.”

  Not wanting the quest to become derailed to conjecture and gossip, Garrick stepped forward.

  “As much as I love Maldrin, and have nothing but the utmost respect for Anya, we need to look first for a way up the mountain and out of these clouds,” spoke Garrick quickly. “That is the most important part. If we find this secret passageway, all the better, but I will not count on it.” Then the mercenary looked out at the darkening sky as Azure flew back toward Cerelene. “It has been a long trek. Soon it will be even harder to see anything up here. I say we stop for the day and start in the morning.

  “What about the dragon? We are out in the open,” reminded Cerelene, after the falcon landed, turned its head, and screeched.

  “As long as we stay within the clouds we will be fine,” assured Ondibar. “Firebaugh is a sovereign dragon, but this cloud cover is impossible for even him to see through.”

  Then, once they had all eaten and the stars finally shone brightly in the sky, the companions separated into two groups and bedded down for the night, with Onyx lying between them, sniffing the air and looking off into the dark.

  While Cerelene, Anya and Deelah drifted off to sleep, it was quite the opposite with Garrick, Elias, Maldrin and Ondibar. Though the mercenary didn’t want to bring it up in front of the whole group at the time, he finally spoke to Maldrin about his comments on King Jonagall.

  “Why did you not tell me about the secret passageway, Maldrin?” asked Garrick as he, the wizard, knight and dwarf looked out over the edge of The Cloud Shroud Mountain.

  Seeing that it bothered his old friend, the wizard sighed regretfully. “As you said, my boy, the passageway is not the top priority. And there is no proof of it. I almost did not bring it up, as Ondibar had not either this whole time.” Then after he started petting Tal, who was curled up on his stomach, the old wizard continued. “I am sorry. Sometimes my knowledge gets the best of me.” Then after a moment he rubbed his beard and wondered aloud. “But Anya had heard the tale as well…”

  When Garrick did not speak, Ondibar joined the conversation.

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  “Not everything written in books is always true, wizard, but I will be the first to say to you, that does not mean that the secret passageway is not there,” noted Ondibar. “Especially as it was a dwarf that told the tale to Anya.”

  “After experiencing all we have on this journey, I will not count anything or anyone out,” added Elias, moving his gaze to the bright stars above.

  Though he was pondering all that Maldrin and Ondibar had said, Garrick laughed when he heard Elias.

  “Yes, knight, especially for you,” spoke the mercenary, with a smile on his face as he thought of Pipers Prairie and the morning on The Plains of Jonagall.

  “What do you mean, Garrick? Why did you laugh?” asked Elias, perplexed.

  “Deelah,” answered the mercenary, nonchalantly, as he continued to look out over the mountain.

  “What of her?” asked Elias as he looked over toward where Deelah, Anya and Cerelene were sleeping.

  “You are a great warrior. Your devotion to Elion is without question...” declared Garrick.

  “But if you cannot see that Deelah is enchanted with you, you need to look harder,” finished Maldrin as he stroked Tal’s red fur.

  When a few seconds passed in silence, Elias smiled. “She just thinks I am handsome. That is all. She told me when I first met her.” A few seconds later, the knight yawned. “You both are seeing things.”

  “Knight, I was the last to join the quest and even I see it,” added Ondibar, yawning. “So please, let us all now go to sleep.” Then with exhaustion finally setting in, Garrick, Maldrin, Elias and Ondibar joined Cerelene, Anya and Deelah in falling fast asleep.

  Once the sun began rising in the sky, Garrick woke to Onyx’s tongue licking his cheek. After the mercenary pet the mystic wolf, he sat up. The clouds still fell heavy on the mountain and visibility was even worse. So much so that he couldn’t see Cerelene and the others who were not too far from them.

  “Yes, Onyx, I am up. Thank you,” announced the elf maiden. Then after both Garrick and Cerelene woke up the others, they ate and, once they paired off into groups, began their search for a way higher up The Cloud Shroud Mountain. Onyx stayed by the stairway, so that they could follow the sound of his howl if they got lost in the foggy mist.

  After a few minutes of searching the mountain with Maldrin and Tal just a few yards away from him, Garrick’s thoughts on their current situation returned.

  Though he still hoped that they could find a way to continue onward and upward, the mercenary knew that it was possible they may have to turn back and try another way, from one of the floors of the old dwarven kingdom they had passed the day before. Even though Ondibar had told him that over all of his visits he had searched every inch, more than once, and still had found no way to get higher up the mountain.

  From the broken staircases and toppled interior that littered every explorable floor, to the floors that had imploded due to decay over time or by the mountain shifting, Garrick sadly knew that the current ground that they all stood upon was still their best bet.

  As the mercenary opened his mouth to sigh, he heard a scream instead, but it wasn’t his voice. It was Deelah’s.

  After running toward the voice and leaving Maldrin behind, Garrick saw the thief hanging precariously from the side of the mountain.

  “Do not let me fall, Elias! Do not let me fall!” screamed Deelah, as she swung her legs.

  “Hold on!” yelled Elias, as he jumped to his stomach and reached down. “I will get you.”

  When Garrick got to the scene he saw that Anya was reaching out her staff for her sister to grab, but the thief was too terrified to hold onto the rocky cliff with just one hand. Knowing that the ground could break apart at any time, Garrick backed off and kept the others at bay as they arrived.

  After looking down and seeing how far up she was, Deelah screamed again and closed her eyes.

  “Deelah! Deelah!” yelled Elias. Then his voice softened. “Deelah, look at me. Give me your hand. I will lift you up,” implored the Knight of Providence. “I promise.”

  When Deelah finally opened her eyes and looked up, she saw on Elias the same determined face she had seen when he had spoken to her about Elion back at Pipers Prairie. It had been funny to her back then, but now it was life and death.

  Gripping the mountain rock as tightly as she could with her right hand, the thief thrust her left hand at the knight. Instantly she felt his strong hand grip her wrist. Once Anya backed up to where the others stood, Elias got to a knee and started to pull Deelah up with ease. Then he lifted her toward him as he stood up. A second later, Elias pulled Deelah to his chest and held her close.

  Deelah gripped the knight tightly and then slowly relaxed, feeling safe in his strong arms. When Elias turned around from the cliff and let go, Deelah stepped back, flustered and embarrassed.

  “Thank you. Thank you, Elias,” replied the thief, quickly.

  Elias nodded, then closed his eyes, thanking Elion. When he opened his eyes again, Anya had grabbed Deelah. The cleric holding her sister tight and, through tears, praising the god of all creation.

  “How did this happen?” exclaimed Maldrin, concerned as he finally joined the others.

  “I was walking next to Elias and Anya when there was a change in the mountain’s terrain. Though it did not change for them, the mountain suddenly became flat underneath my feet,” explained Deelah. “I figured it would stay that way for a bit so I looked up again, but after a few steps farther the terrain returned to how it was only seconds before. Then I tripped.”

  “Where? Show me,” replied the mercenary.

  After Deelah looked over at the cliff she retraced her steps visually. When she figured where the spot she had tripped was, the thief led them all to the location. After waving her arm back and forth in an attempt to move the clouds for a better look, she pressed her foot down hard where she had tripped.

  “See, it is a flat rock,” stated the thief.

  Garrick knelt down and ran his hand over the rock, while Onyx sniffed at it fiercely. It seemed too flat and not at all natural to the mountain.

  “Ondibar, look at this,” waved the mercenary to the dwarf a few feet away from him.

  After the dwarf knelt down with the mercenary and ran his hand over the surface, he caught his breath.

  “This is no rock, Deelah. It is a stone slab!” exclaimed Ondibar. “Much like the ones found all over the old kingdom.” Then Ondibar looked closer at the stone as he continued to run his fingers over it. “I think it is a cover for something.”

  Though he was speaking to Ondibar, Garrick looked up at Maldrin. “That is what I thought.” Then the mercenary looked over at the knight. “Elias, get down here. We need your strength.”

  Once the knight knelt down as well, he watched as Garrick and Ondibar began wiping away dirt and dust, revealing four corners and then, when they had finished moments later, before them was a perfectly cut square stone slab. It was small enough to easily be missed, especially with the clouds. But still big enough for someone to stand upon it.

  “Well, my dear, look what you have stumbled upon,” remarked Maldrin, looking over at Deelah and chuckling to himself.

  After Garrick moved over next to Ondibar, the mercenary looked up at Cerelene and nodded. Without hesitation the elven archer pulled her bow from her shoulder and an arrow was quickly drawn. Then when Maldrin, Anya and Deelah stood behind her, Cerelene announced.

  “I am ready.”

  Seeing the elf maiden’s arrow pointed at the slab and Maldrin mouthing some words of a spell as well, Garrick next looked at both Ondibar and Elias. Then he looked down.

  “Okay.”

  Using all their might, the two men and the dwarf slowly lifted up the stone slab. When they heaved the heavy square of stone to the side, the clouds around them instantly returned over the opening, as Onyx stuck his nose down into the hole.

  “Maldrin. Can you move these clouds?” asked Garrick, his mind racing. “Just over the hole, though. And only for a few seconds. I do not want anything powerful enough that will possibly cause the dragon to notice that we are here.”

  Caught mid-spell, Maldrin stopped and breathed deeply. Then he nodded and closed his eyes. After a moment he lifted his left hand toward the hole and placed his palm outward. A second later, a rush of air flew from the wizard’s palm.

  Deelah, Anya and Cerelene looked about them, seeing the clouds near them still resting low on the ground, but when they looked over at where Garrick, Onyx, Elias and Ondibar were they could see an opening with well carved stone stairs descending down.

  After looking down to the bottom of the stairs, Garrick rubbed his beard and gazed up at Maldrin.

  “Well, my friend, let us hope this is the work of an eccentric old one, like yourself...” Then Garrick looked at the rest of the group.

  “Because if this is not the ancient dwarf king’s secret passage, who knows what could be down there.”