Chapter 7

Behold your future, little prophecy. Here, you shall grow in strength, in thought, in health. Here, you shall acquire fearlessness, stoutness and perhaps even reknown. Here is where you'll return to lick your wounds for this shall be your home. Enjoy it while you can. For every moment of bliss you have here, I shall be using those moments to build the foundation for my revenge.

*******

Both Tristan and Tiny were walking alongside the wagon that carried their supplies and tents. Tristan limped along as the red stain on her trouser leg spread. Both of them would run ahead to the head of the caravan where Remy was, then they hung back until Cece at the rear caught up to them. This way, they had some time to take in their surroundings.

"Tristan! Look! I've never seen birds soar like that before!" Tiny pointed up at about a dozen birds circling quite a distance away from them. "Wow, they don't flap hardly at all! What's keeping them up there?"

Agatha clucked a chuckle and explained, "They're gliding on gusts of wind. Those are vultures - scavenger birds. You two know what scavenger means?" Without waiting for an answer, Agatha continued "They look for creatures that recently died, then they eat their corpses. Filthy things really, but from a distance when they're flying, all you can see is the beauty of their ability." Agatha continued pacing the wagon. "If you want to know how they fly, ask Cece. If you want to know how they defend themselves, ask Remy. I can tell you what they eat, among other things."

Tristan beamed at Agatha. So many things the three of them knew! She loved talking most to Agatha because she felt safest with her. Agatha, of the three, had the most soothing and benign demeanor. She had a feeling she could tell Agatha almost anything and Agatha would react the same, with a gentle smile and a questioning look that only showed concern.

She turned to Tiny. "Let's hang back a while and watch the.." she glanced at Agatha and "Vultures" was volunteered. "Vultures," she repeated more to herself than anyone. Tiny agreed and they watched the birds dance their circular ritual. Part of her regretted hanging back as the more she watched, the more questions she had. Like why were they circling? Was it a dance? She shrugged, content to just watch the birds for a little while.

She looked down the path and saw that it wound through a wooded area. Cece caught up to them at this point and paused to chat with them a while. It was time for their geography lesson again. "Before you is the Vindu Woods, so called for the large Vindu tree that grows near the center of it. We'll be heading north for a little while, but the path will wind eastward. Can you two see above the trees?" Both nodded affirmatively. "What do you see? And in what direction?"

Tiny stood on tiptoe and pointed to a peak. "Mountaintop .. umm to the west?" When Cece shook her head, he looked dejected.

Smiling a little, Cece quickly said "Three quarters right." and Tiny stood up straighter. She added "Yes, mountaintop, but to the northwest. See? It's a little to the left, not all the way to the left. You're facing north remember?" Turning to Tristan, she said "You're a little taller, what do you see, and what do you deduce?"

Tipping on her toes, Tristan said, "Since the mountaintop is there and it's going down -" Cece interrupted "Sloping down" and Tristan repeated "Sloping down towards where we're heading, then we must be going to where the bottom of the mountain is." She beamed at Cece knowing she was right. She was, and got a large smile for her efforts. "Okay, thanks Cece! We'll be back!"

The duo dashed ahead, passing the wagon with a laughing Agatha waving at them. They caught up to Remy panting. Tsking, she said, "Panting after a short sprint like that. I'm going to make it so you two can run up that mountain without panting. Squeals of "You promise?" amidst pants made Remy laugh.

Remy trotted along on her horse in silence, but occasionally pointing out things that might be interesting to two youngsters who'd been locked up for a while. She showed them birds hidden in the trees, insects tucked between leaves, snakes slithering between rocks. Then she would sweep her arm, to indicate for them to see the vista. Every time the two changed focus, squeals of delight would follow.

Noticing that the two were slowing down, Remy said, "We're getting to the bend in the road. From there, the edge of the forest is a 20 minute brisk walk. You'll be able to see the Foundation from there. And from there, it's another 40 minute walk" The comments produced the predictable outcome; Tristan and Tiny walked faster.

"Remy? Is that the mountain I see in front of us? Between the trunks?" Tristan queried. A grunt from Remy told Tristan she was right. Her excitement showed, she skipped as she walked. Led by her, Remy and Tiny followed, the last bit of the path taken in silence.

Tristan could see the edge of the woods now. Before her, the path wound past the trees, up a gradual incline that gained steepness at the top. She couldn't see what was atop that hill yet and so her pace quickened. She broke into a run with Tiny not far behind.

She stopped short at the edge. Tiny slammed into her hard and they both tumbled to the ground. Giggling as they untangled themselves, Tristan found herself leaning on an elbow, looking up the hill.

Her mouth opened gradually widening into an "O". The hill must open up to a large plateau. She craned her neck. The mountain sloped steeply into the valley that the school was located then abruptly encircled the valley from behind sloping gradually into another steep cliff. It seemed as though the mountain was protectively bending a limb around the school. Remy pulled up just then and noticed her gaze. Explaining, she said, "Cece believes that before the school existed, a falling star fell to the earth and slammed into the mountain. Me, I just like that the mountain protects us from all direction 'cept the front."

Tristan stared at the strange structure in front of her. The mountain stretched towards itself in the front, but couldn't form a circle so the school had a stone wall to help the two ends come together. In the middle of the wall, were two large black gates that were open right now. She stared into the gap as Remy rode her horse through.

What was beyond those gates was a structure she had never seen the likes of before. Not that she had seen much in her life, but all the buildings she had seen up to now, she could figure out some sort of explanation on how they built it. She had seen buildings made of stone, of mud, of straw, of wood. But this, this! Before her mind could provide an answer to a question her eyes provided, her eyes found more stuff to wonder about. She glanced at Tiny and noted that he was overwhelmed by the vision as well.

In the gigantic courtyard beyond the gates, three beams rose up out of the ground to arch gracefully into each other, meeting at the top. At the top of the three arches, a spire rose up to reach for the clouds. Joining the three arches were triangular platforms whose corners jutted out in between two of the arches on each side. The platforms widened at the base of the arches and were open to the elements on the lower three levels. The top five levels were enclosed in glass it seemed. Tristan and Tiny stood there staring until Agatha caught up to them.

Agatha stopped her cart next to them and said, "Breathtaking, isn't it? Seeing you two, reminds me of the first time I set eyes on that wondrous building." Both Tiny and Tristan nodded eagerly. Tristan asked a tad shyly, "Who made that? And how?" Agatha laughed and answered, "Well, that'll be part of your education here." Tiny then asked, "How do we get up there?" and pointed toward then enclosed areas.

Tristan pondered a moment then ventured an answer in response to Agatha's questioning look. "I think that's what those beams are for," and was rewarded with an approving smile from Agatha. "Agatha, can we get up to that spire up there?" Agatha nodded but said, "Well, it's possible for you to get up there. Whether it's permissable, that's another question," and she laughed at her own response. "See, that's where Cece, Remy and I sleep, and meet with one another when we don't want students around. Only a few students have been permitted up there, and usually, it's not for rewards, if you know what I mean." Tristan gulped loudly. "Do you kill people up there?"

Agatha's clucking laughter followed. "No, but I dare say Remy's thought about it. Speaking of whom, Tiny, I think Remy's calling for you." Both Tristan and Tiny looked through the open gates and saw Remy gesturing for Tiny to follow. Tiny gave Tristan a quick hug whispering in her ear, "Don't you dare leave without me," and ran off to join Remy.

"Coming with me or are you going to wait for Cece?" Agatha asked with an inviting smile. Tristan quickly scrambled to her feet and climbed on top of the seat next to Agatha. "With you, please." Agatha clucked and the horse pulling the cart begrudgingly trudged on. With soothing clucks, Agatha told the horse that it's only a few short yards and that it could have it's weight in sugar if it wanted. At that, the horse seemed to trot a little faster.

The path up the hill was a winding one; however, Tristan could see well worn foot paths slicing through the main path. Obviously the main path was for goods. Turning around to kneel on her knees on the cart bench, she looked down the hill. It was apparent the woods leading up to this hidden valley was pretty small compared to the countryside. But she had been looking up at the mountain the entire journey. Why hadn't she seen this gleaming shiny building?

Agatha answered her question. "Just beyond us, where the mountain protects us are unpassable cliffs. The mountain circles around the school so you can only see the school if you're just south of it. Well, the cliffs circle around to the south; thus the only way to get to the school is if you're west or southwest. From those directions, you can only see the mountain, not the school itself. In terms of defensive strategy, it's the most protected school in the realm. However, it's a bitch to work around offensively, that is, if you listen to Remy."


Tristan nodded. "Only one way out? You know Agatha?" Tristan stopped seeing through her eyes, looking back at the past. "I was worried about that during the fight. I got Tiny into the corner, but part of me was worried that if we had to run for it, we had to run into Arete and his gang. But then I thought if they had a chance to get at us from all sides, they would. I just figured..." Agatha reined the horse into a walk giving Tristan a chance to finish with the past before facing her with her future. "... with two sides safe, I could make sure at least Tiny'd make it out alive. Say, Agatha!"

"Yes?" Agatha didn't look at Tristan but the smile was there in that one word.

"You guys stopped the fight! I just realized it. Weren't you supposed to wait for four survivors? I mean, that's how it's been the last few times." Tristan wondered why that realization never occured to her before.

"Hmm, yes, yes, I'd say a few rules were broken in the process." Agatha clucked amusedly to herself. "I dare say that our invitation would be rescinded next year. Actually, it was Cece who said that." She glanced over at Tristan still clucking. "Curious, really. This is probably the first and last year we'd get permission to hand out scholarships. Apparently, that slave camp was producing such poor quality candidates that schools were requesting coin to attend, figuring the camp was profiting enough from the attendance. We were the only school left that didn't require a fee."

Agatha ruffled Tristan's hair. "Want me to point out stuff?" At Tristan's nod, Agatha gestured, "Those gates are worked by a pulley system operated by that wheel over there to the left. We have three students on duty at all times. You'll be expected to participate." Tristan looked over at the three girls loiling about near the wheel. Two of them peered over scrolls, while the third was exercising. They all seemed strong and healthy. As she watched on, the one exercising took out a scroll to read, and one of the ones reading stood up to exercise.

As they entered the school, Tristan realized that the mountain nearly totally encircled the school. The gates were each about eight feet across and the stone walls on either side each were about thirty feet across. The rest of the protection surrounding the school was the mountain. The diameter of the encirclement was probably about 500 feet, perhaps more. This place was huge!

Agatha pointed out the stables to the right saying that's probably where Tiny would be since the smithy was there too. Beyond that were gardens. Agatha, with obvious pride, said "That's where you'll be learning about plants and herbs. My department." She pulled the horse towards the left just past the wheel to a wondrous smelling building. "The kitchen," Agatha explained. Half a dozen girls poured out of the building as Agatha drew up, squealing as they looked over the delivery.

Just then, they noticed Tristan, who blushed under the scrutiny. One of them, a reddish-brown haired, freckled girl, came over with one eyebrow arched and a twinkle in her eye. "So, Aggie, is this for us to stew?"

"No, nor is she for you to stew." Hoots of laughter followed. "G'wan, Donna. Be off. Give Tristan a bit of time to adjust before you set your claws into her." Agatha's clucking betrayed her amusement. Tristan jumped off the cart after Agatha but soon found herself circled by Donna. "Hey Aggie, this little lemur needs some muscle if she wants ta - HEY!" Tristan couldn't help herself; she dropped to a crouch, stuck out a leg and swept around in a circle, effectively sweeping Donna off her feet. Standing up, she held out her hand to help Donna up. "Nah, muscle slows you down," Tristan said with a grin.

Laughing, Donna let herself get helped up and yelled out to Agatha, "Good one, Aggie! I approve!" Tristan could hear Agatha clucking "as if we needed your approval" just as Donna wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Name's Donna. Yours?"

"Tristan." And a strong friendship began.