Chapter 3: Inside the Mountain
“Welcome to Haivengarde!”
“Haivengarde?” Fae repeated the name while Krista led her out of the Council room. When they stepped outside, Fae had the feeling that everything suddenly looked different. Not that things had changed when it came to the interior, more on how the remaining people were acting. When she was brought to this room, no one had looked at her and had bowed their heads for Salthan only, like she wasn’t there. Now it was different. People were looking at her now, but Fae noticed it was not only to her, but also towards the purple Dragon Elf that walked beside her.
Everyone they passed showed a smile and made a small bow, mainly towards Krista but Fae also noticed that some of them were also greeting her. She had to admit that it made her feel a bit uncomfortable. Never before had she been greeted like this, with a wide smile.
“Yes, Haivengarde.” Krista started, an excited sparkle glowed in her eyes.
“This place has a long history, one you shall learn over time when you start your studies. But the version is, that this is a place to welcome those who have been wronged or have suffered by the hands of something evil. When their lives were destroyed, we offered them a new one.”
Krista looked aside, still with that big smile on her face. She noticed the confused expression of Fae.
“Let’s take you for example. Your Tribe was murdered, your family annihilated. You have lost everything that was close to you, even some newfound friends. And that all by the hands of Drow, who are known to be the evil of the Underdark. And for what? The reason is unknown. So we offer you sanctuary and a way to seek the answers you want.”
“But … How?” Fae asked.
“Well …” Krista said looking up to a giant door that seemed to be the entrance of the building they were in. She gently placed her hand on it, releasing a chuckle from her mouth, like she was already contemplating what was gonna happen.
“By standing together of course!”
Krista pushed open the door and a bright light was seeping in. Fae closed her eyes against the light, letting her eyes adjust to the sudden change before she started to blink. Following Krista, she looked over an amazing sight. The pair was standing at the top of large stone stairs, which were build downwards. Below the stairs were small roads that seemed to lead to a village with sturdy houses, a market place, and a river. Fae was looking at a small village yet when she looked around, she saw walls of stone. This village was located inside a cave! Fae gasped when her eyes looked around, only to see that the walls were growing taller every second. At the top, there was a grate-like structure that served as the roof. But the spongy structure had so many holes that light seeped in and the roof itself looked very porous so that it looked like light was breaking through the stone itself.
The more she looked, the more she saw. At one side she saw a practising field, seeing several shooting stands, armour stands and even soldiers that were training. At the other side, there were fields growing food and in the distance, she could even see pastures filled with animals. The more she looked, the bigger the place started to look. And here and there you saw openings going into the cave walls, probably tunnels that lead to more places.
When Fae looked behind her, suddenly wondering what kind of building she had been, she looked at an impressive tower that almost reached the top of the cavern. The tower was chiselled out of the stone wall, like it was emerging from the wall itself. Looking to the sides, you could see several windows, filled with clear or stained glass, indicating that there were more rooms inside the wall than you could see.
“This is …” Fae stammered.
“Impressive, I know.” Krista chirped. She just loved to see the surprised face on newcomers when they first laid their eyes on the inside of the Garde.
“We are located in an old volcano. While it’s no longer active, there are still lava streams under the rock, keeping this cave warm and fertile. The roof is a large pumice-like structure. It’s very porous and allows the light to seep in.”
“But if this is a volcano …” Fae started. “Has no one ever wandered in? Travellers? Explorers?”
Krista shook her head, the jewellery around her head and horns softly jingling.
“Nope. There are many spells active to keep wanderers away. Often the scare-away spells are enough to chase them off. But those who are bold enough to walk past those are affected by mind controlling spells to make them turn around and forget this place. But frankly, because of those things, rumours started to grow and most surrounding villages are staying away. I believe the one you fled from is the closest to our location, but those are just simple minded farmers. And you have seen for yourself how superstitious they are … Spread the rumours of ghosts and weird things happening on the Mountain and they already stay away from it. ”
Fae cracked a faint smile, letting her eyes return to the sight before her. When looking at this village, that seemed so bustling and open, she felt a weight dropping from her shoulders. Not everything of her worries were gone, but her mind became at ease. For the first time in years, she felt that she could relax for a moment and not have to look over her shoulder all the time.
“But a tour in the village has to wait. I first want to show you your room!” Krista’s voice got another enthusiastic tone and she quickly took Fae by the hand and pulled her back inside the grand tower.
“My room?” Fae peeped while Krista led her back through the giant doors. Back into the grand hall, but this time they took another hallway. It was leading them to one of the side quarters and after going up some stairs, they arrived at another large wooden door. Fae looked up to the sign that was hanging above the door.
“Draheriss …” Fae repeated and Krista looked over her shoulder while pushing the doors open.
“Yes, these are my private quarters. Being Queen grands you with the benefit of having an entire section for yourself. No random walking in the hallway, no shouting that can disturb your night. Not that the living quarters are that bad, but you know, a bit of personal privacy can’t hurt. And I need a quiet space to study and do my research.”
Fae looked inside the hall and saw a large hallway, marked with several doors. Again, the decorations chiselled away in the stone represented dragons, wolves and Elves.
“Here are some guest rooms, my personal library, my room and this …” Kirsta said, pointing to a door at the end of the hallway.
“Will be your room.” Followed by another smile.
When Krista opened the door, Fae looked at a richly decorated room. You could see that the room itself was carved out of stone. The walls still showed the chisel marks, but at the same time, it brought a certain rustic feeling to it.
A large window pulled in the light, making the room even look bigger than she was. A large two person sized bed was located opposite of the window, allowing you to wake up with the light on your face. At the right side of the room there was a small desk and some bookshelves carved in the wall. At the other side Fae could see a chamber screen that was partially hiding a copper bathtub. In the middle of the room, a huge rug, made of some animal skin was covering the stone floor.
“It can still use some extra decoration.” Krista said with a grin.
“It’s still very basic.”
“Basic??” Fae stuttered. She looked around again. This room alone was a palace for her. She had lived her entire life in huts that held a full household, if not multiple, making this room look gigantic to her.
“This is not basic for me, this … this is too much.” Fae turned around, looking a bit dazzled towards Krista.
“I can’t take this. You just took me in and you give me this enormous room? I haven’t even done anything to prove myself.”
A sleek grin came on Krista's face, but it was gone as fast as it had appeared.
“Don’t you worry about that dear. You have proven yourself already to me. Besides, I am your guardian now. I adopted you as my daughter and I am the Queen. This room is only befitting the rank of being a princess.”
Fae’s eyes shut open, her eyebrows frowning together.
“Princess????”