Raven Quest

by R A Oakes

  “I’ll remember that,” he said meaning it.

  “Most people don’t take me seriously. They’re always telling me that I don’t know anything because I’m so young. I can’t stand it when people talk down to me,” Raven said, bits of flame flickering around her fingers.

  “I’ll always take you seriously,” Dynarsis promised.

  “I could be a help to you,” Raven said.

  “Maybe more than you realize,” he said with sincerity.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You were here alone and unafraid. You have courage.”

  “I’ll always be alone.”

  “Raven, could we be together, at times, while we’re always being alone?”

  “I suppose,” she laughed.

  “Could we do it tomorrow?”

  “Do what?” Raven asked, suddenly a little suspicious. Over the last year, a few men in the village had begun staring at her, making her feel uncomfortable. Raven recalled her mother’s explanation, which had come as quite a shock to the 13-year-old girl, and she thought, Like they’d ever have a chance of getting that far.

  “Hike up the mountain,” Dynarsis said. “Hey, why are your hands on fire again? Are you mad about something?”

  “No, everything’s fine,” she said, though still disgusted by the rudeness of some men. “Going for a hike up the mountain? Sure, that’s fine.”

  “What did you think I meant?”

  “Nothing,” Raven said, but she was thinking, This boy’s choked with anger, desperate to avenge the death of his parents, and yet naïve. If he’s going to survive, Dynarsis will need a strong woman to put a protective wing around him.

  “So, tomorrow we’ll be alone together?” Dynarsis asked smiling.

  “I’m looking forward to it.”

  Then, they nudged their horses, and Dark Shadow and Swift Arrow took off galloping through the fields. And that was the last time either the boy or the girl felt completely alone, for now they were friends.

  Chapter 4

  Early the next day, Dynarsis and his herd of wild horses swung by Coldstream Village and picked up Raven who was excited and eager to get going on their adventure. Together, they headed over to a mountain whose peaks reached high into the air, dwarfing Woodcliff Village and making it seem small and insignificant by comparison. Though beautiful and majestic, villagers across the region had learned to fear the mountain, seeing it primarily as a source of doom and destruction. Even its name, Dead Man’s Mountain, was ominous and menacing.

  Geologically unique, Dead Man’s Mountain appeared to have been chopped in two by a giant axe creating a ravine that was narrow, yet thousands of feet high. During a heavy rainfall, the stream that usually wound its way peacefully along the bottom of the ravine changed into a raging river flooding lowlands for miles.

  In the last few months, flash flooding had been responsible for two deaths with the overall loss of life during recent years being greater than anyone wanted to remember. A large number of cattle and other livestock had also perished in the floods.

  However, on days like today, when it wasn’t raining, the ravine’s towering rock walls were a wonder to behold. And though the sky was overcast, the clouds were white and billowy promising a pleasant day with no unfortunate surprises.

  As Dynarsis, Raven and the horses got closer, Dead Man’s Mountain became even more beautiful, for although the vertical walls on each side of the ravine were completely barren, the mountainside facing Woodcliff Village had densely forested slopes filled with oak, maple and pine trees. Yet when it came to a narrow ledge leading up the mountain on the right side of the ravine, the exact trail Dynarsis and Raven intended on using, even seasoned woodsmen avoided it, feeling it involved serious risks for no apparent reason.

  But as many teenagers will tell you, adults lack sufficient motivation when it comes to things that truly matter, like avoiding boredom. And 13-year-old Raven, exasperated by what she viewed as Zorya’s overly protective nature, was looking forward to an adventure, any adventure really, especially if her mother disapproved of it.

  “So, where exactly is this trail?” Raven asked, once she and Swift Arrow had come to a halt by the stream.

  “Do you see the thin discoloration going up along the wall on the right?” Dynarsis asked.

  “The long line that looks like it was drawn with a pencil?”

  “Yes, that’s it.”

  “You’re joking?” Raven asked almost laughing, unsure of whether to take her new friend seriously.

  “If we watch our footing, it’s safe,” Dynarsis assured her. “But most adults are too big for such a narrow trail, their shoulders are too wide. And being taller, their center of gravity is higher which makes it harder for them to keep their balance. For once, being smaller has its advantages.”

  “Have you ever done this before?” she asked.

  “Yes, one time.”

  “All the way to the top?”

  “Yes, to the king of the mountain,” Dynarsis informed her, with “king” being a local word for a dangerously high, virtually unattainable precipice.

  “And when did you do this, I mean make it all the way to the mountain king, actually to the very top?” Raven asked.

  “A few days ago.”

  “Well, all I can say is that hiking up the mountain had better be worth the effort.”

  “It will be, wait until you see it.”

  “See what? I don’t like surprises.”

  “You’ll like this one.”

  “I hope so, or I’m going to be very disappointed,” Raven said, looking up at the long climb and heaving a sigh. Then, she dismounted and walked over to the stream which was swollen from a recent rainfall making it deeper and wider than usual. Looking at several large boulders sticking out of the stream, Raven turned to Dynarsis and said, “The water current’s too swift for us to try swimming across, but we can jump across on those rocks.”

  “Okay.”

  “What about your sword? Carrying it across will be awkward.”

  “I’ll wear it on my back,” Dynarsis said slipping his head, right arm and shoulder through a belt attached to the scabbard.

  Raven shrugged and knelt down by the stream with Dynarsis kneeling beside her. Using their hands as cups, the adventurers scooped up water to drink and then filled their canteens. Dark Shadow, Swift Arrow and their horses quickly joined them, spreading out along the stream where they also drank their fill.

  Afterwards, Raven and Dynarsis began jumping from boulder to boulder making their way across the swollen stream. However, when Dark Shadow and Swift Arrow saw this, they began neighing loudly in protest, not wanting to be separated from their son and his friend.

  “It’s okay, we’ll be all right,” Dynarsis said, but his reassurance did little to comfort them. Snorting in frustration, Dark Shadow and Swift Arrow stomped the ground impatiently and began testing the strength of the current. Yet the stream was temporarily impassable, at least for four-footed animals, though the two athletic humans got across without incident barely getting wet.

  Once on the other side of the stream, Dynarsis and Raven found themselves facing a steep embankment made of dirt, rocks and loose shale leading to a formidable- looking wall over 15-feet-high. In turn, scaling it would take them to the narrow stone ledge and the start of the mountain trail.

  “Well, if it was easy, everyone would do it,” Dynarsis said a bit defensively.

  “I didn’t say a word,” Raven protested.

  “Are you wondering that if this is the beginning, what’s the rest of the trail going to look like?”

  “The thought had occurred to me.”

  “It’s not very steep,” Dynarsis said, looking up the hill in front of them. When Raven appeared doubtful, he added, “I mean the trail’s not steep. Long, maybe, but not steep. It’s a gradual incline.”

  “How long is the trail?”

  “A few miles.”

  “I’ll get dirty climbing up this emban
kment.”

  “Not if I go first. You can hold onto the leather belt attached to my sword’s scabbard, and I’ll help pull you up.”

  “How? I’m heavier than you are,” Raven pointed out.

  “I’m a lot stronger than you think,” the small boy said smiling, pleased with the opportunity to show off. “Come on, let’s get started.”

  Dynarsis leaned forward, dug the toes of his shoes into the loose shale, climbed up a few steps, and then went down on his hands and knees and began crawling up the hill. With one hand, Raven grabbed a hold of the sword’s leather strap and found herself being dragged up the embankment by a small, thin, yet very determined young boy.

  What the heck, I may as well go along for the ride, the teenage girl thought as she grasped the belt with both hands, leaned back a little and walked up the hill with Dynarsis pulling feverishly. When they reached the top, the boy wasn’t even out of breath.

  “After all that hard work, why aren’t you gasping for air?” Raven asked.

  “Oh, I run a lot. So I’m in pretty good shape,” Dynarsis said, not mentioning that it also helped cleanse his mind of nightmarish memories.

  “Well, you won’t be able to carry me up this rock wall,” Raven said, tilting her head back and looking for handholds to use during the climb.

  “Come over to the right a bit, there are plenty of handholds over here,” Dynarsis said, making his way along the base of the wall. “Plus, the wall isn’t exactly vertical. It tilts towards the mountain a bit. Just keep your chest pressed up against the wall, and that will help you maintain your balance. It’ll be easy.”

  “You first,” Raven said, feeling a little skeptical.

  “Okay, but watch, it’s not that hard,” Dynarsis said, and he began sliding his fingers and the toes of his shoes into an abundant series of small cracks. When the boy was almost halfway up, he looked down and said, “Come on, give it a try.”

  Having secured good handholds and toeholds, Raven began climbing, and soon smiled and said, “You’re right, this isn’t as bad as it looks.”

  “Wait till you see the view from the ledge. It’s really neat.”

  Raven couldn’t help smiling at the boy’s enthusiasm. It was the first time she’d heard him being happy or excited about anything. After reaching the top and pulling herself onto the ledge, she turned around, looked out over Woodcliff Village and said, “This is so beautiful, and you can see a lot from here.”

  “This is nothing. Wait till we get farther up.”

  “If we don’t get ourselves killed, this might be fun.”

  As the two young adventurers headed up the mountain trail, putting more and more distance between themselves and life in the world below, Raven discovered a newfound sense of freedom, something Dynarsis had experienced on his previous climb.

  “I can see why you enjoy being up here,” Raven said, feeling invigorated.

  Dynarsis didn’t say anything but smiled, happy that he and his new friend had a shared interest. Raven liked the mountain. Their mountain.

  For the first quarter-mile, the trail was three-feet- wide and proceeded upwards at a gradual incline. But then, conditions changed considerably, the trail getting narrower, about two-feet-wide with lots of rocks strewn along the path.

  “It’s like that for the next half-mile, or so,” Dynarsis admitted.

  “How are we supposed to pick our way through all that?”

  “Carefully.”

  “This ledge isn’t a trail, it’s a cliff. And we must be 500-feet above the stream,” she said looking down.

  “If you look closely, you’ll see I’ve cleared spaces for our footsteps. But place your feet carefully because if you don’t, well…”

  “You’ll be alone again,” Raven said, peering down at the stream winding its way along the bottom of the ravine.

  “Yes, not a pleasant thought.”

  “What are we doing up here if you’re worried about keeping me alive?”

  “I thought you wanted something to do. You said you were bored.”

  “I’m not bored now.”

  “See? Problem solved.”

  Raven wasn’t easily frightened and tried to steady her nerves. But after looking back and forth several times between the treacherous ledge and the deep ravine, she was swamped by feelings of intense anxiety. In response to this unexpected reaction, her survival instincts leapt to the surface and took over. Raven’s respiratory rate increased sharply, her pulse became more rapid, she experienced a heightened awareness of her surroundings, and her feelings became attuned to everything around her in a way she’d never noticed before.

  Bubbling up from the depths of her soul, Raven’s spirit flowed outward rippling along the ledge and over the rocks like a stream of living energy making the girl one with them, and they with her. The very air around her seemed supercharged with life energy.

  “You go ahead, Dynarsis, I’ll follow,” Raven said, surprised to find spoken words ponderous and cumbersome. And she was equally surprised when she tried to walk. At least initially, Raven’s steps were slow and tentative, but with her heightened senses providing increased clarity, she realized the rocks were no longer presenting a danger. In fact, they were helping her, with each footstep she needed to take being neatly framed by them.

  “This rugged section of the mountain trail is easier than the first,” Raven said, thinking out loud.

  Looking back over his shoulder, Dynarsis saw his friend walking through the rubble while lost in a trance- like state and caught his breath. Seeing how gracefully and fearlessly Raven was making her way along the ledge, Dynarsis knew she’d broken through a spiritual barrier, entering a whole new plane of existence, the very world he’d encountered on the night his parents were murdered.

  During that long, horrible ordeal, Dynarsis had discovered his spirit was no longer completely attached to his body. His inner-being had taken a step back from the world, receding and living on a deeper level within the confines of his body, and yet at the same time flowing beyond it. Just as Raven was doing.

  Abandoning herself to the creative life energy flowing around her, Raven walked the length of the rock- strewn ledge experiencing a peace and contentment she’d never known before. Time had ceased to exist for her, and after a moment or a lifetime, she left the cluttered path behind, the ledge once again being as free of debris as the first part of the mountain trail.

  Glancing to her right, Raven saw a small boulder and sat down. Then, she began surveying her environment looking up and down the length of the ravine. Off in the distance to her left and far below, Woodcliff Village appeared small and vulnerable, its roofs and chimneys visible behind the modest stockade. When she looked in the opposite direction, however, Raven was awed by the sheer size of the mountain as it reached ever upward, piercing the cloud cover and creating a ravine that was almost as deep as the peak was high.

  And then she saw it, an enormous pillar of rock in the middle of the ravine whose vertical walls were now much farther apart, spreading wide to accommodate the massive geological formation. At the base of the mountain, the stream had split, heading through two separate ravines, one on each side of the vast pillar that

  expanded outward and upward towering high above their heads.

  “That’s it, the surprise I was telling you about,” Dynarsis said.

  “It’s neat, but what makes it so important?”

  “It’s an island surrounded by nothing but air on all sides except for one natural bridge, a giant rock arch at the top, connecting it to this side of the ravine. It’s the ultimate defensible position.”

  “What’s the top of the island look like? Could people really live there?” Raven asked.

  “It’s a plateau, a completely level plateau, covered with pine trees, grassy fields and enough topsoil to grow crops,” the boy said.

  “Woods and fields this far above the valley floor?” Raven asked.

  “Yes, enough good land to support several villages.”
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  “How much longer till we get there?”

  “Two hours, at most.”

  “Is the trail hard?” Raven asked.

  “Not nearly as hard as what we’ve been through.”

  “That’s good,” she said, feeling relieved.

  With the danger of the rock-strewn ledge behind her, the creative life energy that had been flowing all around Raven was rapidly dissipating. Soon, a subtle consciousness resonating within her spirit was all that remained.

  Standing up after her short rest, Raven took the lead, heading up the path. However, when she saw the trail was narrowing even more, she asked, “Now what?”

  “The trail’s only one-foot-wide, at least until we get around the bend.”

  “Well, I suppose we can walk sideways.”

  “It’s only for 20 yards or so.”

  “What then?”

  “The trail widens to almost four feet, and it’s completely clear of rocks and debris. It’s easy once we get past this spot.”

  “Easy all the way to the plateau?”

  “Yes, this is the last obstacle, I promise.”

  Heaving a great sigh, Raven watched Dynarsis carefully making his way along the almost non-existent path and followed reluctantly. It wasn’t too difficult, but she was growing tired of the endless problems involved in getting up here. However, after reaching the four-foot- wide section of the ledge, Raven glanced in the direction of the peak, and her fatigue left her immediately. There, off in the distance, was the natural stone bridge leading to the plateau, and she said, “That’s amazing!”

  “It’s even better up close,” Dynarsis said, smiling broadly, greatly pleased and relieved by his friend’s reaction.

  “It makes hiking up the mountain worth the effort.”

  “I’m glad you like it.”

  “I love it.”

  “Then it’s yours.”

  “What?”

  “We’ll name the bridge Ravensgate.”

  “My own bridge?”

  “Yes.”

  “Cool!”

  But in their excitement, neither Dynarsis nor Raven noticed a second narrow ledge, this one making its way down from the mountain peak. After threading itself horizontally along the ravine wall above, it dropped at a sharp angle and connected with a section of the trail directly behind them.