Book 4 - Chapter 18 - Secret of the Mausoleum (1/2)

Woodland Vale was surrounded all sides by mountains. There were four entrances, with one currently having been opened. The remaining three were currently unusable.

The Vale was merely a valley forest, spreading over a massive area with the Godtree in its center. In its branches and hollows was enough space to house the valley’s population – a tribe of one hundred thousand souls. Over the last thousand years the tribe had kept stringent restrictions on reproduction, so that the bounty of their land would never be spent.

“Hold on a minute, it’s not like I’m from here. I don’t need to know about all your customs.” Cloudhawk cut Autumn off in the middle of her presentation. He was only interested in things that concerned him. “All I need to know is how to kill your elder.”

“I’m telling you now, if you would stop interrupting me!” She glared at him. This irritating ruffian hadn’t changed at all since she’d last seen him. “There is a forbidden area here – the heart of the Vale, where only our tribal leaders may open and enter.”

“So the elder isn’t in the Godtree. What’s he doing in this forbidden area?”

“Of course it has something to do with us,” Barb interjected. “We have been under attack ever since we entered the Vale. The elder misjudged the strength of our drunken Excellency, so he’s sought a way to have us killed. We’ve been hiding in the forest ever since, and he’s been unable to find us. Obviously worried, he fled to the heart of the Vale because we can’t get in.”

So that was what was going on. The elder was planning to open the Vale and lead his small tribe out into the big bad world beyond.

But if the village leaders had the power to open the passages, then they certainly had the ability to close them too. Should the passages be shut then all of this wicked elder’s efforts would be wasted.

In order to prevent Autumn from doing this, he’d shut himself away in the heart of the Vale where everything was under his control. If he held that position Autumn would have no opportunity to foil his plans. What’s more, this forbidden place was the safest and most secret part of the Vale. Without question, that was where the elder was holding negotiations with Adder.

“Is there anything special about the forbidden area that I should know about?”

Autumn nodded her head. “Yes, it is the sacred resting place of our patron god, the Shepherdess. A legend among our people states that the mausoleum holds our land’s greatest secret. However, no one has ever been able to solve this riddle. For many long years the elder has tried, and I suspect he will use the presence of his powerful foreign friends to his advantage.”

This took Cloudhawk by surprise. “Your god is buried here?”

He’d never met a god. He’d met a demon, and through it learned how cunning and powerful they could be. However, gods and demons were still mostly an enigma to him.

Especially gods. He didn’t even know what they looked like, much less how they lived and died. About all he knew about them was that they were a race of tremendous creative power.

From Skycloud’s miraculous vistas to Woodland Vale’s vibrant tracts of green, it was clear to him that the gods possessed amazing originative abilities. Now to learn that the lauded Shepherdess of Autumn’s people was actually buried here – how could Cloudhawk not be surprised and a little curious?

He had to ask, “Can you actually see the god’s corpse in the forbidden place?”

“What are you talking about?!” Autumn adopted a piously incredulous expression, thoroughly displeased with Cloudhawk’s question. There was also a hint of anger. “Our illustrious Shepherdess used up all her energy, and it is in the mausoleum that she took their final rest. The Shepherdess is our master, and we her progeny. I will not tolerate such disrespect.”

Neither the old drunk nor Gabby chose to get involved in the confrontation. Barb was listening intently, however, and was just as stunned that a god could die. And supposedly one was interred right here.

“Whatever,” Cloudhawk merely shrugged. “We need to get down to business anyway.”

There were many questions that remained, though. What was a god’s existence like? Why would one betray their own kind? What was Shepherd Goddess’ purpose in building this place? What was this ‘thousand-year secret’ that supposedly was hidden in the heart of the Vale? What was so important to protect that a god would spend all their life energy? Or was it to hide something?

Cloudhawk’s curiosity was burning, especially when it came to the particulars of this fallen god. If he got the opportunity, he’d very much like to open Shepherdess’ tomb and at least see what a god looked like.

Of course he wouldn’t dare say such things out loud. With a zealot like Autumn within earshot he feared for his safety.

Anyway, more pressing were the hundreds of dragons hiding among the trees and mausoleum. Getting close to either was going to subject them to attack. Autumn had a way to get them into the mausoleum, but not into the Godtree.

Cloudhawk was secretly glad he hadn’t rushed over here at the beginning, otherwise he’d already be overrun by these damn dragon things. Already the situation was pretty intractable; the elder and Adder were locked away in the forbidden area of the Vale. With Cloudhawk’s current strength, he would only be able to get himself and Autumn passed the dragons to enter the mausoleum.

But he couldn’t handle Adder, not by himself.

They were pondering their next move when a sound wafted toward them from the forest. It sounded like someone trying to quietly approach.

Cloudhawk spun around, Basilisk raised, string drawn.

“Hold!”

With the voice a figure emerged from the foliage. She was a blonde woman, on the tall side, with hundreds of metal shards wafting on the wind around her. Cloudhawk didn’t need to look close to recognize the relic and its bearer. Claudia.