Chapter 1: The Attack in the Night

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It was the sounds of snarling and growling that woke them up.

They were all trained to be light sleepers.  In the mountains, you had to be.  You never knew when an attack would come at night.

They lay still, hoping the noises would go away.  But then suddenly, there was a loud thud as some creature struck their door.  “I smell humans inside,” it yelled.  The creature pounded on the door several more times.  

The door stood.  It was made of strong wood.  Behind the wood were several steel beams that reinforced the wood. The beams ran across the door frame horizontally.  They were about an inch wide, and they were separated from each other by about one foot.  And behind the door were two large boulders that they pushed into place every night before bed.  The door would hold, at least for a while. And then…

They were all looking at each other.  Finn put his finger to his lips to motion everyone to stay quiet.  Then, as quietly as possible, Finn climbed out of bed.  The others followed his example.  

Finn grabbed his sword from where it hung on the wall.  He took it out of its sheath.  Carlyle took one of the axes from the wall.  Margaret took one of the knives.  Catherine took the crossbow, and pulled back the strings, and fitted an arrow.

The pounding on the door stopped.  For a moment it was quiet.

“They’re looking for rocks,” Finn said quietly.  “Stay ready.”

A couple minutes later, there was a crash of something colliding with the door.  The wood cracked.  The steel beams held.  The two boulders kept the door in place.

Another crash as another huge rock collided with the door.  Then another crash.

Pretty soon, the wood began to crack and break.  And then, monstrous hands began to tear the broken wood away.

Then, one of the ogres stuck his face through a gap in the steel beams.

“Now,” Finn said.  Catherine pressed the trigger on the crossbow, firing an arrow right into the ogre’s right eye.  The ogre screamed in pain and immediately pulled his head back outside..

Catherine hurried to fit another arrow into the crossbow.

Another ogre put his arm in through the door.  Finn raised his sword high and swung it down.  The ogre’s arm came clean off.  

There was a cry of rage from outside.  “Now they’re really angry,” Margaret warned.

There was a pause, and then they could hear one of the ogres running towards the door at full speed.  He crashed into the door, forcing the door from its hinges completely.  The two boulders were now the only things holding the broken door in place, but they also wobbled from the force of the impact.  

“The next one will be it,” said Finn.  His voice was tense.

The ogre smashed into the door again.  The door completely fell apart, and the boulders were knocked back.

The ogre stepped into the house and roared like a lion.

Catherine’s heart was pounding fast.  She could feel the adrenaline flowing through her.  She raised the crossbow and fired an arrow at the ogre.  The arrow hit the ogre in the neck, but as soon as Catherine had fired it off,  the crossbow suddenly burst into flames while it was still in her hands.  Catherine screamed out and dropped the crossbow on the ground in shock.  Margaret quickly threw a blanket over the crossbow and smothered the flames.  Catherine looked over at Margaret.  Margaret looked back at Catherine.  Margaret could see that there was a question in Catherine’s eyes.  “Not now,” Margaret said.  “We need to deal with the ogres first.”

Meanwhile, the ogre screamed out in pain as the arrow pierced his neck.  Flinn swung his sword and sliced the ogre’s head out.

“Quick, out into the open,” Flinn said.  “If we have to fight them, then let’s do it where we have room to swing our weapons.”

Flinn dashed out the door.  Carlyle followed him.  Fortunately, it was a full moon, so they could see the ogres clearly.  There were five more ogres standing outside.  They were big ugly things, covered in grayish blue skin.

One of them roared, and charged towards Finn.  Finn thrust his sword right into the ogre’s chest, killing it instantly.

Another ogre charged at Carlyle.  Carlyle hacked at the ogre with his ax to try to keep it at bay.  Flinn quickly came to Carlyle’s aid, swung his sword and with one stroke cut the ogre’s head clean off.

Margaret and Catherine followed them outside.  Margaret carried the crossbow now.  It was a little bit singed, but still functioning.  Margaret fitted an arrow into the crossbow and fired it at one of the ogres.  It went right into the ogre’s chest, but didn’t go deep enough to kill it.  (Ogre’s have very tough skin.)  But it still caused the ogre to cry out in pain.  The ogre charged towards Margaret, but once again, Finn swung his sword quickly, and cut off the ogre’s head.

It was at this point that the remaining two ogres decided to flee.  

Finn collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

“It’s over,” said Margaret.

“For now,” Finn said, panting.

“I don’t think they’ll be back tonight,” Margaret said.

Finn stood up slowly.  His joints ached.  “I’m getting too old for this,” he said.

“Just a few more years,” Margaret said.  “You did good tonight, Finn.”

“The door is completely shattered,” Finn moaned.

“We can fix it,” Margaret said.  “We’ve got plenty of extra wood planks still in the cave.  And the iron bars are still in good condition.  But we should get inside soon.  Aefar and the other vampires hunt at night.”

“Yes,” Finn agreed.  “Let’s get back inside, before anything else shows up.”

“We can barricade the entrance with the table,” Margaret said.  “The wood is strong, and if we turn it on its side, it’ll more than cover the doorway.  And we still have those two boulders we can use to reinforce it.”

“Good idea,” said Finn.  “I don’t think the ogres will be back tonight anyway, but that table will stop anything else that might want to get inside.”

A howling sound pierced the cold night air.  They all looked at each other.

“The wolves!” Carlyle said.

“They’re still a ways off,” said Finn.  “Come on, hurry.  Let’s get that table in place!”

Chapter 25: Brian Makes a Plan

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“I trust you’ve been enjoying our hospitality?” Risoart said sarcastically.

“You have no idea how good it feels to be back in the forest,” Brian said, biting into a ripe apple.  “It’s so hard to find good food in the mountains.”

“Yes, I’m sure,” said Risoart.  “No wonder everyone turns into a carnivore in the mountains.”

“Yes, you can’t blame them really,” Brian said.  “Food is so scarce up there.  It’s not like in the forest where there is so much delicious food just hanging from the trees.”

“It is a little paradise down here, isn’t it?” Risoart said flatly.  “I’m sure a man would say anything to get back here.”

Brian stopped chewing, and put the apple down.  “Now, what’s that supposed to mean?  Surely you know everything I’ve told you is true.”

“I don’t trust anything as a matter of principle,” Risoart said.  “So when something sounds unbelievable, I’m inclined not to believe it.”

There was a small silence.  Then Brian prompted Risoart.  “But?”

Risoart sighed.  “But, the man talked.  It took a couple of days’ work.  He didn’t want to say anything until we forced it out of him.  But everything he said confirms your story.  He told us about the twins on the mountain. ”

Brian picked up his apple again and took another bite.  “I know how you feel.  You don’t like having to trust me.”

“I don’t,” Risoart said.

“But here we are,” Brian said gleefully.

“Here we are,” Risoart admitted.

“Risoart, don’t be so glum.  This is your golden opportunity.  It’s not every day a chance like this just drops into your lap.  Ambrosia will reward you amply for his.”

“You’re right.  I wish it was someone else who delivered this news, but, well, here we are.  I’ve assembled a troop of soldiers…”

Brian shook his head.  “No. No. No troop of soldiers.  Just you and me, and maybe one or two other men that you trust.”

“I’m not going into the mountains unprotected,” Risoart insisted.

“What do you mean unprotected?  I’ll be there to guide you.  I know a thing or two about surviving in the mountains.  I’ve survived for over ten years.”

Risoart looked unconvinced.  “Thank you, but I’d prefer to have my men with me.”

“No, look, you can’t.  If we came up the mountain with a whole troop of soldiers, they’d know we were coming before we even got there.  The girl, you see, she has this special bond with the ravens.  They bring her information.”

“So what? Do you think she has a chance against my troop of soldiers?”

“Well, I wouldn’t underestimate her.  Remember she’s got Ambrosia’s blood in her veins.”

“Even Ambrosia couldn’t defeat a whole troop of soldiers on her own.”

“They’re not on their own.  They’ve got a lot of friends in the mountains.  But it’s not even a fight I’m worried about.  What I’m worried about is that they’ll hear we are coming, and they’ll disappear into the mountains. It’s very hard to find someone in the mountains who doesn’t want to be found.  Now, if I go back up into the mountains, that won’t surprise anyone.  I live up there.  They know me.  And if you come back with me, they’ll just assume you’re one of my friends.  And I think we can take a couple more of your men if you’re worried.  But any more than four of us, and we’ll start to raise suspicions.  The key is going to be to catch them off-guard.  We get in the house, we grab them, we get out, and we take them back down to the forest before anyone can stop us.”

“And how are we going to get into their house?”

Brian smiled.  “Ah, that you can leave to me.  I’m a family friend.”

Chapter 24: The Battle Against the Four Monsters

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It had been an exhausting day, but the sun was beginning to set, and it was time to head home.  “We should get back home as fast as we can,” Shawn said.  “We don’t want to be caught out after dark.”

They headed back, but they had misjudged how much time it would take them to get back.  Bats flew in the sky, and some of the bats swarmed around their heads.  And then, one of the bats transformed into a vampire right in front of them.

The vampire grabbed Carlyle by the throat with his hand, and picked him up.  Carlyle struggled and kicked the vampire, but it was no use.

“What are you doing?” Catherine asked the vampire.

The vampire turned to face Catherine.  “What do you think you’re doing?” the vampire asked.  “How can you hope to stand against our might?”

The vampire threw Carlyle down, and advanced on Catherine.  Catherine’s hands glowed, and she readied herself to fight the vampire.  As it approached, she grabbed at it with her hands.  The vampire suddenly changed into a bat, and flew out of Catherine’s reach.  Then the bat flew behind Catherine and transformed into a vampire again.  “Behind you,” it taunted menacingly.

Catherine turned around, but before she could act, the vampire seized her hands by the wrist, immobilizing her hands.  Catherine couldn’t use her powers against the vampire if she couldn’t grab him with her hands.

The vampire leaned down so that his face was level with Catherine’s.  His breath was horrid, and she tried to pull away, but he held her wrists tightly, and kept his face close to hers.  He opened his mouth, and showed his fangs.

The ravens Branoc, Bettina, Balsamer and Baldrick all fluttered around the vampire, and pecked at him furiously, but the vampire paid them no notice, and the pecking didn’t seem to hurt him at all.

Carlyle was back up on his feet now, and had his sword ready.  He swung it at the vampire, but the blade did not hurt the vampire at all.

“Fool,” said the vampire.  “Blades of steel do not harm vampires.  Do you know nothing?”

The vampire then inched its fangs closer to Catherine’s neck.  Catherine was squirming, and trying to pull away as much as she could, but the vampire had a tight grip on her.

It was Gabrielle who saved the day.  She took out one of her wooden arrows from her quiver, and ran forward and impaled the vampire’s chest with it.  The vampire let out a huge screech, and immediately let go of Catherine’s hands.  He fell over backwards, clutching the wooden arrow.  His body quickly decayed into dust.

The other bats flying above their heads started flapping their wings furiously.  Several of these other bats transformed into vampires.

“Why did you do that?” asked one vampire.  “He was a good companion.”

“He tried to harm Catherine,” Gabrielle said defensively.

“He was only trying to eat,” the vampire lamented.

“Who are you?” Carlyle asked.

“I am Aefar, leader of the vampires,” he answered.

“I’ve heard of you,”Carlyle said.

“Yes, I expect you have.  I am famous in these mountains.”

“Have you come to harm us?” asked Carlyle.

“We have come to talk to you,” Aefar answered.  “We have heard that you are battling the creatures on the mountains.  We have come to instruct you to stop.”

“Creseus the Minotaur has come as well,” said a voice.  They looked, and saw a huge creature with legs and body like a man, but with a head like a bull.”

“As well as Serif, the Serpent.”  A huge snake-like creature slithered into view.

“And I, Garot, the Bugbear,” said a voice, and a huge monster that resembled a giant bear shuffled into sight.

“Is that all?” asked Carlyle.

“What do you mean?” asked Aefar.

“Are there any more monsters who are coming to declare themselves, or is this all of you?”

“We have many more friends in the mountains,” said Aefar.  “But these are all that you may expect tonight.”

“Well then, since you have come to parley, and not to fight, I will return the courtesy,” said Carlyle.  “These are our terms.  You are welcome to remain in these mountains as long as you do not harm any of the mountain folk.  But if you harm any humans, then we will kill you.”

“The wolves, the bears and the ravens are also under our protection,” Catherine added.

Aefar laughed.  “Foolish children.  I have a message for you as well.  If you persist in trying to fight us, we will destroy you.”

As soon as she heard this, Gabrielle grabbed another wooden arrow from her quiver.  She darted forward toward Aefar, but Catherine held up her hand.

“Wait,” Catherine said.  “We have promised a parlay.  For now, Aefar is free to say whatever he wants to say without fear of violence.”  She turned towards Aefar.  “That is what you want, right?  Or did you want to fight tonight?”

Aefar smiled.  “Your choice, my dear.”

Catherine smiled back, but spoke very slowly.  “Don’t…tempt…me,” she said.

Aefar looked into Catherine’s eyes.  He expected to see some fear there, but when he didn’t, Aefar’s eyes narrowed in rage.  “I suppose there’s no point in delaying the inevitable,” he said.  “If we are destined to fight, why not just fight now?”

There was the sound of Carlyle unsheathing his sword.  “Would you like a couple minutes to position yourself?” asked Carlyle.  “Or are you ready now?”

Again, Aefar was surprised by the lack of fear in the boy.  And again, it angered him.  “Now,” he yelled.  And suddenly Aefar darted at Carlyle.

Carlyle thrust his sword at Aefar.  The metal blade could not kill the vampire, of course, but it did at least act as a physical object which impeded his momentum.  Aefar was stopped by the sword.

Gabrielle rushed at Aefar with her wooden arrow, and would have driven it into his chest, but Aefar changed into a bat and flew away.  But the bat didn’t get far before Branoc, Bettina, Baldrick and Balsamer attacked it.  The ravens caught at the bat’s wings with their feet, and pecked at the bat with their beaks.

While Aefar the bat was shrieking in agony, Creseus the Minotaur let out his battle cry.  He shook his huge bull head, and pawed the ground with his hoof like feet.  Then he lowered his horns and plowed into the group.  Several wolves leapt at the minotaur and sunk their teeth into him, but Creseus shook them all off.

Kevin had a club which he hit the minotaur with, but it hardly seemed to affect the minotaur at all.  The minotaur just lowered his horns, charged into Kevin and knocked him straight down.

“Enough,” Catherine shouted at Creseus.  “Deal with me next!”

Creseus bellowed in rage and charged full speed at Catherine.  Catherine’s hands were glowing.  Her powers gave her extra strength, and as the minotaur charged into her, Catherine was able to hold her ground without being knocked over.  She grabbed the minotaur with both hands, and allowed the energy to flow through her.  The minotaur howled in pain.

Meanwhile Serif the serpent reared up  to show his huge fangs.  He darted forward to strike, but his fangs were blocked by the swords of Paul and Marcus, who battled with him. 

Meanwhile Lucinda, Stella and Molly fended off the Bugbear with their spears, ax and staff.  The wolves also attacked the bugbear.

It was a fierce battle, but the humans, ravens and the wolves had the advantage of numbers.  The monsters couldn’t compete.

Aefar and his fellow vampires fled.  Creseus freed himself from Catherine, and fled.  Serif slithered away up into the mountains.  Garot the Bugbear turned and left.

“We won,” said Shawn, exhausted.

“But we didn’t kill them,” said Carlyle.  “They’ll be back.”

“That’s why we need to keep getting stronger,” Catherine said.  “And adding more to our numbers.”

Chapter 23: The Battle Against the Ogres

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“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Shawn asked nervously.  

“You’ve fought ogres before, haven’t you?” Carlyle asked.

“Sure, when they attacked my home,” Shawn said.  “But, I mean, we’ve never gone into the ogre territory before.

“We’re going into fight the ogres on their territory so that they won’t attack our homes,” said Carlyle.

The group was lined up to fight the ogres.  Lucas, Kevin, Marcus, Paul, Shawn, Stella, Gabrielle, Lucinda, Molly, and Abby were all there.

Jack and Anna and the children from the goblin caves were there as well.

As was Verus, the robber king, with his robbers.

And Catherine was there with her wolves and her ravens.

They were all about to go down to fight the ogres.

The ogres lived on one of the neighboring peaks on the mountain range.  To get there, they had to travel to the peak of the mountain they were on, and then go down the other side.  Then, after a ways, the mountain began to rise again.  Once they got to this part, that was the slope that the ogres lived on.

As they traveled up the next slope, they could see the ogres lying down on the slope.  The ogres were surprised to see them.  They did not expect to see humans traveling to their side of the mountain.

Ogres are giant creatures.  They are roughly the same shape as a human, but they are about nine or ten feet tall.  They have tough skin that can be either blue or grey depending.  They have a huge mouth, with sharp teeth like knives.  Their mouths are big enough that they can bite off a human head, and indeed this is one of their favorite things to do.  They love to pick a human up in their huge hands, bring the head right into their mouths, and then chomp down on it.

However, ogres are not invulnerable.  Their skin is tough--tough enough so that it is resistant to being punched or scratched by a human hand.  But not tough enough to withstand the steel of a sword. And because ogres can sometimes be slow and lumbering, it is possible to cut them or kill them with a good sword.  Finn had once cut down several ogres with his sword when he was defending his family.  Catherine and Carlyle had seen him do it.

The teeth of a wolf could also pierce an ogre’s skin if the wolves bite down hard.

The ogres saw them approaching, and began standing up.  They were talking to each other.  “They are surprised to see us,” said Shawn.  “They can’t believe we’re actually coming to them.  Usually they’re the ones who attack us.”

“They’re going to get a lot of surprises coming,” said Carlyle.

“Watch out,” Alfred said.  “They’re going to attack with rocks.”

Sure enough, the ogres began picking up boulders and hurling them down the mountain slope.  Everyone began moving frantically to get out of the way of these huge rocks.  Two of the robbers had their heads crushed by huge rocks. “It’s no use,” said Verus.  “We can’t stand against this rock assault.  We should run.”

“Keep calm,” said Catherine.  “There’s a limited amount of boulders up there.  I think they’ve almost thrown all of them.”

Indeed, pretty soon the ogres ran out of boulders to throw.  They then gave a horrible yell, and started running down the mountainside. Some of the ogres were carrying clubs.  Others picked up rocks or sticks as they ran down the hill.

“This is bad,” Verus said.  “We should run now.”

“No, whatever you do, don't run,” said Carlye.  “This would be the worst time to run.  You can fight them if you keep your sword steady and in front of you.  If you run, they’ll just get you from behind.”

“You can’t outrun an ogre anyway,” said Alfred.  “They’re too fast.”

As the ogres got closer, Gabrielle started shooting arrows.  She hit several of the ogres, but the ogres were so big, and their skin was so think that it’s hard to kill them with a single arrow.  They came on.

“Shoot for their eyes,” Catherine advised Gabrielle.  “You can’t kill them, but you can blind them.”

Gabrielle nodded, and took out more arrows.

The ogres were almost upon them now.  Lucinda threw one of her spear’s, and felled an ogre.  Abby hit another with her slingshot.

And then, the ogres were upon them.  Carlyle attacked the first one with his sword.  Just as he had seen Finn do once, Carlyle thrust his sword upwards, and stabbed right into the ogre’s chest.  It howled in pain, but then Carlyle withdrew the sword, and cut off the ogre’s head.

Kevin swung his club, and tried to knock one of the ogres down.  But it’s very hard to fight ogres using clubs.  Clubs are what ogres are most comfortable with.  The ogres swung back their clubs, and knocked Kevin right over.

Meanwhile, Shawn used his sword to cut an ogre down.

Catherine, since her adrelenaline was going full force, didn’t even have to start singing.  Her hands immediately started glowing with energy.  One of the ogres tried to grab her, but Catherine immediately grabbed the ogre back with her glowing hands.  The ogre howled in pain.  It turned and ran back up the mountainside.  Catherine tried to keep hold of it, but the ogre was too swift, and was able to disappear up the mountain without Catherine being able to stop it.

The wolves attacked the ogres in groups.  Five or six wolves would attack an ogre at once, biting at its legs, or leaping through the air and jumping onto an ogre. The ogres would try to throw the wolves away, but the wolves just kept coming back.  Pretty soon the ogres would get tired of fighting the wolves, and would turn and run up the mountain.

It was at this moment, just as some of the ogres were beginning to turn and run, that the bears came charging out of the trees, and attacked the ogres.

Carlyle was surprised.  “I thought the bear said they weren’t going to help us.”

“They wanted to see if we could fight the ogres on our own first,” said Catherine.  “They didn’t want to defeat the ogres for us.  But once they saw that we were defeating the ogres by ourselves, then they wanted to be part of the winning side.”

The bears were fierce opponents for the ogres.  Some of the larger bears, when they stood on two legs, were almost as big as the ogres were.  The bears also had sharp claws, but the ogres had thick skin, and strong bodies, so the ogres were able to withstand the swipes of the bear claws.  But if the bears bit down with their fearsome jaws, they were able to crush the bones of the ogres.  Of course the ogres also had fearsome teeth and mouths, so it was an evenly matched battle.

Perhaps if the ogres had only been fighting the bears, they could have held their own.  But now that the bears were simply added to the humans and the wolves, the ogres didn’t stand a chance.  Soon, all of the ogres turned and fled.

“Don’t stop,” Catherine called out to everyone.  “Don’t let up until they surrender to us unconditionally.”

However, it is one thing to defeat an ogre.  It is another thing to catch an ogre that doesn’t want to be caught.  With their long legs, and incredible stamina, the ogres could run very fast, and they took off in all directions.  The mountains shook as their huge legs pounded the ground.  

The king of the ogres alone remained to meet Catherine and the rest of them.  “My name is Azure.  I am the king of the ogres.  But my brothers have all run away and deserted me,” the king said sorrowfully.  

“Fear not,” said Catherine.  “Do as we say, and we will not hurt you.”

“And what must I do?”

“You must leave these mountains and never return,” Catherine said.  “Tell your brothers.  Ogres are no longer welcome on these mountains.  If we see any ogres, we will kill them.”

Azure bowed his head in silence, and did not argue.

Chapter 22: The Meeting with the Bears

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Branoc flew back to Catherine and Carlyle.  “I have set up the meeting with the bears, as requested,” he said.  “They were reluctant to meet with you.  They don’t trust humans, as you know.  But at the same time, they have heard that the wolves are now allied with you.  So they respect you for having won the trust of the wolves.”

******************************************************

They went down to meet the bears at the agreed time.

The bears were all sitting down and ready to meet.  There were black bears, and brown bears, and big grizzly bears.  All of them were bears of the mountain.

Catherine and Carlyle came.  They were accompanied by a pack of wolves.  And by 4 ravens--Branoc, Baldrick, Balsamer, and Bettina.

Carlyle saw all the bears, and was nervous.  But Catherine just sat down calmly.  Baldrick and Balsamer perched on Catherine’s shoulders.  The wolves stood behind Catherine.  Carlyle decided to follow Catherine’s example and sit down.

A big black bear spoke.  “It is only because of our respect for Branoc, the elderly raven, that we have agreed to this meeting. But we do not wish to waste our time.  Speak quickly.”

“We have two requests for you,” said Catherine.  “Our first request is that you stop killing the humans who live on this mountain.”

The bears roared angrily.  “And why should we agree to that?” asked the big black bear.

“Because all of the humans on this mountain are now under my protection,” said Catherine.  “This mountain will become a safe place for the humans to live.”

“We hate the humans,” said another bear.  “The humans steal from us.”

“If you promise not to harm the humans,” said Catherine, “I will make sure the humans do not steal from you.”

One of the bears, a fierce grizzly, growled.  “These are the mountains.  The laws of the forest do not apply here.  We are free to eat who we like.  And I love the taste of human flesh.”

“For a long time, the mountains were lawless,” said Carlyle.  “But that time is over.  We are now bringing the laws to the mountains.”

The grizzly stood up suddenly.  It stood towering on two legs briefly, showing its full gigantic body.  Then it crashed back down to four legs right in front of Carlyle and Catherine.  It let out a deafening roar right in their faces.  Baldrick, Balsamer and Bettina all instinctively flew up into the tree branches..  Of the ravens, only Branoc stayed next to Catherine.  Carlyle was scared, but he tried not to show it.  Catherine’s hands began to glow with yellow energy all by themselves.  The wolves behind Catherine began growling and barking.  The wolves crouched down, as if getting ready to pounce.  The grizzly could easily kill any one of the wolves, but it could not defeat the whole pack by itself.

Catherine held up her hand for silence, and the wolves immediately stopped barking, and sat down.  Catherine’s hand was still glowing yellow. 

“We are bringing the laws to the mountains,” Catherine said firmly.  She forced herself to speak calmly, because she knew that to show fear would be to show weakness.  “From now on, anyone who breaks the law will be our enemy.”  Catherine kept silent for a minute to let her words sink in.  The bears looked at each other, unsure of what to do next.  Was she challenging them?

“But,” Catherine continued, “I do not want us to become enemies.  We respect the bears greatly.  And in fact, we want you as our friends.”

“We are not your friends,” one of the bears growled.

“That saddens me greatly,” Catherine responded.  She stood up.  “I’m sorry to have wasted your time.”  She turned and started walking away.  Carlyle stood up and quickly followed her.

“Is that it? Is that the end of the meeting?” one of the grizzly bears called out after her.

Catherine stopped briefly.  “It is,” she said.  “We regret that you do not want to be our friends.  We have informed you that you are not to harm any humans in the future.  If you do harm any humans, you will incur our displeasure.  I don’t believe there is anything more to say at  the moment.  We have other matters to attend to.  We need to fight the ogres next.”

“You cannot fight the ogres,” said another bear.  “They are much too powerful for you humans.”

“We can,” said Catherine.  “And we will win.”  She then turned and left.  The ravens, the wolves, and Carlyle followed her.

Chapter 21: Brian Meets Risoart

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Brian looked up at Risoart.  “Aren’t you going to give me anything to drink?”

Risoart growled.  “Start talking.  And this had better be good.”

“But what about some of that Elvish wine?  I know you’ve got it.  And you know that I’ve been up in the mountains for years, without a decent cup of wine.”

“No wine.”

“But what about something to smoke?  I always like to smoke when I’m telling a good story.”

Risoart sat down at the table opposite Brian.  “Let’s get something straight.  I’m here because you insisted on seeing me.  I didn’t ask to see you.  And I don’t feel obligated to make you feel comfortable while you talk.  Now, if you tell me something useful, possibly I can find my way to give you some drinks or tobacco.  But you had better get talking first.”

“Right, well, where to begin?” Brian asked himself.  “I suppose, looking back on it all now, you’re going to ask me why I didn’t realize it sooner.  I mean, it all seems so obvious in retrospect.  But you have to keep in mind that up in the mountains, it’s a whole different world.  People don’t think up there like they do in the forest.  All you care about is surviving the night, and keeping safe from the wolves and the ogres.  No one up there even talks about what is happening in the forest.”

“Get on with it,” Risoart barked.

“I will.   You see, there was this old couple up in the mountains.  I don’t know how old they were exactly.  On the one hand, their skin was really weathered and taught.  If you looked at their skin, you’d think they were at least ninety years old.  But on the other hand, they weren’t some weak old doddards.  They were both tough and grizzled.  The man especially could still put up a really good fight.  Even the ogres were scared of him.  I once saw him fight several ogres all at once, and he killed three of them before the rest ran away.  Oh, and that’s the other thing.  He said he was just a simple woodsman, but he had a sword that no simple woodsman would ever be able to afford.  And his wife knew all about herbs and medicines.  And they could read.  They even had a book in their house.”

“To the point!”

“I’m coming to it.  Anyway, I don’t know how old they were, but they must have been well over sixty.  Way too old to have kids.  But they had two children, a boy and a girl, who were fifteen.”

Brian paused to see the effect of this on Risoart.  Risoart noticed the pause. “So?” he asked irritably.

“So?  Don’t you get it, they were both of them fifteen, the boy and the girl.  They were twins.  A twin boy and girl and fifteen years old exactly.”

Brian paused again, and Risoart continued to stare at him with an annoyed face.  But then, as the importance of Brian’s words sunk in, Risoart’s face began to change.  “It’s a coincidence,” Risoart said.  “It’s a big world out there, and twins must be born all the time.”

“But who are they being born to?” Brian asked.  “The old couple who are raising them are too old to be their natural parents.”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Risoart said.  

“Doesn’t it?”

“No.  Maybe their parents died.  Maybe they’re the grandparents. Maybe they are younger than they look.  But one thing I know for sure is that it’s not them.  I have it on good authority that--.”

Brian interrupted.  “From who?”

“What?”

“Have it on good authority from who?”

“What do you mean from who?  The whole court knows what happened.”

“But did you actually see the bodies?”

“Me, personally? No, of course not.  But I’m sure Ambrosia must have--”

“It’s them,” said Brian, leaning forward.  “And I’ll tell you why I’m so certain.  The girl has magical powers.”

“What kind of magical powers?”

“Well, she can’t control it yet  Not really.  She just has the energy.  She doesn’t know any spells or anything, but she can release the energy through her hands.  I saw her burn a man to death just by touching him.  I saw it with my own eyes.”

This news appeared to affect Risoart, but once again he stopped himself.  “Anyone can make up stories,” he said.  “Especially if he has something to gain.  You know that your life is forfeit now that my men have captured you, so you’re just making up fantasies to try to get out of it.”

“Maybe,” said Brian.  “But there’s a simple way you can check what I’m telling you.”

“And that is?”

“Well, I’m pretty sure that old man and old woman weren’t simple woodcutters.  They’re too well educated, and the man’s sword was too expensive.  I reckon they must have been part of the Castle court.  I’m guessing the man was one of the castle guards.  The woman must have been one of the castle healers.  So, it’d be a simple matter to check--go back to the court, and ask them if an old guard, and an old healer disappeared together about fifteen years ago.  You’re the captain of the Queen’s guards.  Surely you must know if…”

Risoart’s face went blank.  Then he slowly sat down.

“You don’t even need to check, do you?” Brian said.  “You can think of a couple like that right now.”

“Yes, I can,” admitted Risoart.  His face had changed.  He was no longer resistant to what Brian was saying.  “But why the mountains,” Risoart said.  “It doesn’t make any sense.  That’s the most dangerous place you could choose for raising two children.”

“It makes perfect sense,” said Brian.  “Think about it.  Where’s the one place that you and your men are afraid to go?  What better place to hide?”  

Risoart nodded slowly.  “Yes, you’re right,” he said.

“So what about a cup of that Elvish wine, now?” Brian asked.

There was an arrogance in Brian’s tone that annoyed Risoart.  “You always did like to push things, didn’t you Brian?”

“Who’s pushing things?  I’ve brought you invaluable information.  I don’t think a cup of wine is asking too much!”

“Yes, well now that I’ve got your valuable information, why don’t we just take you outside and cut your head off!”

Brian chuckled.  “Well, that wouldn’t be very grateful of you, would it?”

“It’d be the simplest way to get rid of you.”

“But you don’t want to get rid of me.  You want me to help guide you up into the mountains.  You remember the last time your people tried to go up into the mountains without any guides.”

“That wasn’t my idea,” Risoart said.

“But you remember, don’t you?  There wasn’t hardly anything left of them by the time the bears got through them.  I should know.  I was one of the mountain woodsmen who brought their bodies back.  Of course, I took care not to be recognized on that particular trip.”

Risoart passed his hand across his face slowly, and then stroked his chin.  “Well, that’s just the point, though.  We don’t want to go back up into those mountains, if we can avoid it.  And if those two kids aren’t causing any trouble up there, I’d say just let them be.  I was perfectly happy before I knew that they were up there, and I’d be perfectly happy forgetting that they were up there.”

“Ambrosia won’t agree.”

Risoart smiled grimly.  “No, Ambrosia wouldn’t agree.  So we’ve got to make sure that no one ever tells her.  This is where the cutting off your head part comes in, you see.”

“Ah, you’ve got it all planned out, don’t you.  And here was me, thinking that you had no foresight.”

Risoart nodded his head slightly, and smiled.

“But just think about this a little bit further,” Brian said.  “Why do you think that old couple would leave their comfortable posts at the castle court to go and raise twin babies up in the mountains?  Do you think it’s because at their late age they suddenly started yearning for two crying babies to suckle?  Do you think it’s because they enjoyed the cold frigid air of the mountains?  No, they are loyalists to the old king.  It’s the only explanation that makes sense.  They are planning on waiting until those two children come of age, and then they are going to bring them back and restore the rightful heirs of Castle Tauna.  And then, you can be assured, Ambrosia will certainly find out about them.  And when that happens, I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes.”  Brian smiled.  Risoart scowled.  

“Now,” said Brian, “let me paint a slightly different picture for you.  You capture the children and the old woman.  You bring them before Ambrosia.  Ambrosia examines them herself, and realizes that they really are the royal twins.  The old woman confesses to everything.  Ambrosia realizes that you saved her throne.  She is forever in your debt.  And then you’ve got it made for the rest of your life.” Brian stopped talking and leaned back in his chair.

Risoart breathed in, and looked at Brian closely.  But Brian could see the change in expression.  He knew he had won the argument.  “I have to admit,” Risoart said, “You do paint a nice picture.”

“How about that cup of wine?”

“Mind you,” said Risoart, standing up.  “I’m not sure I trust you completely.  This may yet be some sort of trick.  But what you’ve told me so far does fit with the facts as I know them.”  Risoart took a sack of wine from the back of the room and poured it into a couple of clay cups.  He set one cup in front of Brian, and then sat down with the other cup.  “You don’t mind if I join you in your drink, do you?”

Brian lifted his cup up in a welcoming gesture. 

“There was indeed an old man who served in the castle guards with me several years ago.  His wife was one of the healers.  They disappeared about the same time that the twins were supposedly killed.  I didn’t see any connection between the two events at the time, but…” Risoart’s voice trailed, and he took a drink from his cup.  “They sound like the people you are describing.  The old man was really grizzled.  Old, but tough.  He could still hold his own in a fight.  The woman I didn’t know well.  I didn’t interact with the healers much.  But I’d recognize them both if I saw them again.” 

Brian took a sip from his glass, and then held up his hand.  “Ah, I forgot to mention.  The old man’s dead, unfortunately.  The mountain thieves killed him last week.”

“What?”

Brian shrugged.  “You know how it is.  It’s dangerous up in the mountains.  The old woman’s still alive though.”

“I see.”

“And I’d be willing to act as your guide to find her.  For a few conditions, of course.  I want a full amnesty.  I want to come back to the forest.”

“Of course you do,” Risoart took another drink of the wine.  “But before I put my life at risk by making that journey up into the mountains, I’m going to make a few enquiries down here in the forest first.  There’s still one more piece of the puzzle.  Those babies were handed off to an executioner.  The executioner reported those babies to be dead.  I want to find out what he has to say for himself before I trust myself to your guidance in the mountains.”

Brian raised his eyebrows.  “You’re not going to travel for weeks just to ask one man a few questions, are you?”

“No, I’m not.”  Risoart looked down at his cup of wine for a bit, and then looked up at Brian.  Brian had the sense that his face was being studied.  “As it happens,” Risoart said slowly, “that executioner is one of my men now.”

“What?” Brian almost dropped his cup.

“I can see from your surprise that you didn’t know this before.”

“No.  How would I know?”

“I guess I wouldn’t expect that you would.  Except it does seem like a strange coincidence, doesn’t it?  I mean, in light of all that you told me.  The old couple is up in the mountains raising those babies, and the soldier who was supposed to execute those babies is part of the forest patrol at the bottom of those mountains.”

“Yes, it does seem strange,” Brian agreed.

“He requested a transfer out here about ten years ago.  He’s been in my patrol ever since. “It could be just a coincidence.  Or it could be more than a coincidence.  And if it’s not a coincidence, then that would make me trust your story a little bit more. Especially since you didn’t even know about that piece of the puzzle.”

Brian slapped his forehead with his hand.

“Do you have something to add?” asked Risoart.

“Yes, yes,” said Brian.  “I’m just realizing it now.  The old man and I, we used to go down the mountain about twice a year.  We’d sell the wood to the forest people, and then we’d get various supplies in exchange.  It was risky, of course, coming down into the forest, but I kept my face covered and we made sure not to stay too long.”

“Yes, I had heard there was some trading going on between the mountain folk and the forest people,” said Risoart.  “I never officially approved of it, but I never tried to stop it either.  We found the wood very useful, after all.”

“And whenever we came down, the old man, he always had the same contact person.  There was always one member of the forest patrol who would meet us at the foot of the mountain, and buy our wood for us.  He never argued or haggled about the price.  He just paid us what we asked.  I think he must have been--.”

“Yes, I wonder,” said Risoart.  “Two old loyalists working together.  One keeps the children safe up at the top of the mountain.  The other keeps him supplied from the bottom of the mountain.  The executioner who never executed the children.  It’s all fitting together now, isn’t it?  Well, let’s have a talk with him, and see what he has to say for himself.”

“He’s going to deny it, of course,” said Brian. 

“Don’t be so naive.  I have ways of making him talk.” 

Chapter 20: The Children are Freed

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Grinthal led them deep into the tunnels, where the children were working at the mines, harvesting the diamonds and gold from beneath the mountains.  The children held pick axes and were swinging at the cave walls.  They were covered with dirt and dust.  Behind them, Goblin’s held whips, and cracked the whips to make the children keep swinging.

“How terrible,” said Catherine.

“It is necessary,” Grinthal growled angrily.  “We goblins are too small to swing the pickaxes.  You humans can dig and swing much faster than we can.”

“But it ends now,” insisted Catherine.

“Yes, yes, this is what you forced me to agree to,” Grinthal said.  He then called out to the goblin guard’s and ordered them to stand down.

“You are all free now,” Catherine said to the awaiting children.  “You may return to the surface with us.”

The children stood dazed, not really sure where to go.

“There’s Jack,” Alfred said excitedly.

“Who?” asked Carlyle.

“Jack! You remember Jack.”

Because Carlyle was not expecting to hear that name, it took him a minute to register what Alfred was saying.  “But Jack’s dead,” Carlyle responded.

“That’s what we thought,” said Alfred.  “But Jack’s been a prisoner in the goblin mines this whole time.  Along with all the other children who were captured from the mountains.” Alfred called out to him.  “Hey Jack.  Over here.   It’s Carlyle.”

Jack was still holding the pickaxe.  He looked cautiously at the goblin guards, afraid to move.  “It’s okay,” said Alfred.  “You can come over.  Griinthal has freed all the children.”  Alfred turned to Catherine.  “Make Grinthal say it again,” he said.

Catherine started humming, and her fingertips glowed.

Grinthal squealed.  “All the children are free!” he yelled.  “Put down your pickaxes.  Get out of my tunnels.”

“Come with us,” said Catherine.  “We will take you back to the surface.”

****************************************************************************************

On the way back up, Jack explained to Alfred, Catherine and Carlyle and the rest of them about the other children.  “A few of them are from the mountains.  Although probably nobody you recognize except me.  They all got captured when they were very young.  Like Anna.  And then the rest of them are from the forest people.  The goblin tunnels go all the way down to the forest.”

They then came out of the tunnels into the caves.  The rest of the group were there to meet them: Lucas, Marcus, Paul, Stella, Gabriella and Abby.  Everyone was surprised when they saw Jack again, but Alfred explained what had happened with Jack.

The children from the goblin mines hadn’t seen sunlight for so long that they were in a state of awe when they came out into the sun.  Carlyle and Catherine and the others gently helped them come out into the clearing in front of the caves.  Then Catherine addressed them: “I know you have been prisoners for a very long time, and are not used to the outside world,” she said.  “Don’t worry, we will help you.  You are all welcome to stay with us for as long as you need.  I know that in time, many of you will want to find your families again, if you can remember them.  But you are welcome to stay with us until you are ready to strike out on your own.”

“Where are we?” asked Jack.

“These are the robbers’ caves,” said Alfred.

“But where are the robbers?”

“The robbers are still here, but they have to listen to us now,” Alfred said.

Jack couldn’t believe what he was hearing.  “What has been happening while I’ve been gone?” he asked.

Alfred tried to explain it to him.  “We’ve been trying to make the mountains safe,” he said.  “Catherine has conquered the wolves, and made them her allies.  Then we conquered the robbers, and made them listen to us.  Now we have banished the goblins.”

“Wow!” said Jack in amazement.  Jack then reflected a little.  “Of course,” he said.  “You still have a long way to go before the mountains become truly safe.”

“I know,” Alfred said.  “There’s still the ogres, and the witches and the bears, and Aefar the Vampire, and Cyrus the Minotaur, Filo the Bugbear, and the giant snake creature.  We’ve got a long way to go before we subdue all of them.  But that is what we plan to do.”

“But why?” asked Jack.

“Because,” said Alfred, “the mountain people deserve to be safe and happy.  That’s what Catherine and Carlyle have taught us, anyhow.  We don’t have to let the monsters and evil creatures terrorize us.   We can fight back and establish a place of safety.”