Beneath the Mountain of Heavy Fear — Lorinda J. Taylor

As Ki'shto'ba Huge-Head and its Companions venture into the lands of the People of the Root, they encounter the Ninth Companion, an eccentric Alate named Bu'gan'zei who practices a strangely hypnotic type of word craft that is totally unknown to the questers. He has visited the legendary Mountain of the Glorious Root seeking a deceased friend to whom he was exceptionally devoted, but he failed in his attempt to extract her from the World Beyond. Bu'gan'zei agrees to guide Ki'shto'ba and its friends to the Mountain, where the Champion can seek resolution for its guilt and where the personal quest of Is'a'pai'a Gold-Seeker will finally begin. After several adventures with the monsters and giants of the Mountain, as well as new prophetic pronouncements by the resident Seer, the Companions again head south. Near the fortress of Ra'ki'wiv'u they encounter the Tenth Companion, an Intercaste Warrior with her own bizarre story. In order to win her friendship, Ki'shto'ba (with the trickster Za'dut's unsolicited assistance) must prevail over her in the Warrior Games during Ra'ki'wiv'u's annual festival. At that same festival, Di'fa'kro'mi takes part in a Remembrancer's competition. This light-hearted episode is a welcome relief after the stressful events under the Mountain and soon the Companions are ready to set out for Yo'sho'zei lands, where the sea is no longer a distant dream and where Is'a'pai'a can learn its true destiny.