Land of Strength and Sorrow

by Cassandra Fear

  “Meical wants you to cover your face. It will be frigid toward the top.” Cappa shrugged his shoulders. “I’m only the messenger.”

  She looked past Cappa, spotting Meical as he fiddled with something behind Horn, maybe getting things ready before their climb? She didn’t know, but she wrapped the brown scarf around her neck. Cappa raised his eyebrows and she raised hers right back. “What? It’s warm down here. Wouldn’t it be worse to sweat so much now that when I get to the top it freezes to me?”

  Cappa chuckled. “I guess you have a point. But, make sure when the air chills to wrap it over your face. No skin exposed, boss’s orders.” He made a face.

  She play-shoved him. “Are you the boss, or Uncle Meical?”

  “Don’t you wish you knew?” With a wink, he joined Meical and Bastien, who had tied their mammoths to thick trees. She had a feeling nobody would try to steal the big creatures, though. Who would want something so large and difficult to control? Sure, the Mammoth Riders made it seem simple, but she’d seen first-hand the personalities of the mammoths. If they didn’t like you, they showed it. Simple as that.

  The view of the mountain made her fingers tremble. The blue sky wrapped around the peak, so high she could barely differentiate it from all the way down here at the bottom.

  I have no idea how I will ever climb that, Jovi thought.

  Plus, after they got to the top and Jovi picked some cole-cap mushrooms, they had to descend the steep cliffs. Meical had thought Bertson’s Waterfall would be the most difficult ingredient to achieve, but as she stared at the mountain, it made Jovi think the worst was in front of them.

  The entrance to the underground village in the mountain drew her gaze. She wished she could have disappeared inside and visited with the Giant children, or even Dagu and his Kobold people. How life would be so much easier if none of this had happened. But, if she hadn’t been sent on this journey then she never would have reconnected with her uncle, gotten to know Cappa better, or even met the creatures of the world in which she lived.

  It was all a bit bittersweet.

  Meical slapped her on the back and caused her to jump. “Well, kids, we ready for this or what?”

  Jovi narrowed her eyes at him. “I would be if my shoulder was still attached to my arm.”

  Meical laughed, a hearty sound that echoed through the wind. “Very good, niece. Keep that sense of humor close. It will help you through what comes next.”

  Jovi’s feet dragged as she reached the base of the mountain. She looked up, and up, and up some more as she took in the brown rock coating the mountain. Vibrant green moss climbed up the mountain in a zig zag, some areas thicker than others. Jovi swallowed hard and started the climb. Sharp, pointed rocks dug into the soles of her boots and caused her feet to bend in ways they should never bend.

  This might be even harder than I thought, Jovi realized.

  So, she drowned out every noise, every distraction near her, and focused on where to place her feet before she stepped. It made things a lot easier. But, when they got higher, even that didn’t help her. A narrow walkway jutted from the side of the mountain and the edge looked thin and breakable, so Jovi scooted as close as she could to the actual mountain. She couldn’t be sure, but it appeared to stretch around the mountain, angled all the way to the top. If it did, things would be a lot easier on the top half.

  Jovi raised her voice so her uncle, who had put so much space between them she could barely see him, could hear her. “You didn’t tell me there’d be a trail, Uncle. This will be easier than I thought.” The narrow ledge barely held both of her feet, but she managed with a little maneuvering.

  Pebbles smacked her face, followed by a crash, and huge rocks tumbled down the side of the mountain. She sucked in her stomach and held her breath as she watched rocks tumble over her. Then, one cracked into her forehead and knocked her back. It had only been about as big as a quarter, but with the weight of a potato, which made it feel like a book had fallen from the top of the mountain and slammed into her. Her vision swayed in and out as her feet teetered at the edge of the ledge. Strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her back against the mountain wall. Cappa. Always her hero.

  Meical came into view, so fast Jovi did a double take. “What happened?”

  Bastien followed. “Are you okay?”

  Jovi nodded and rubbed her head. No bumps, only a little sore spot. She’d be fine.

  Cappa kept his arm over her and held her steady as he talked to Meical. “Jovi yelled ahead for you. The rocks fell when she called out.”

  Meical had the nerve to smile, which made her grind her teeth. “Well, niece. You got your first lesson in mountain climbing. Never speak louder than a whisper.”

  Jovi rubbed the sore spot on her head. “Don’t you think you could have mentioned that before we started climbing?”

  Meical’s dark eyes twinkled. “Now what would be the fun in that?” He paused and rubbed his beard. “Although, it really is common sense.”

  Her neck heated as the redness flushed around to the tips of her ears. Everyone knew not to yell when they climbed a mountain, except her. Another thing she had her dear old dad to thank for. If only he hadn’t kept her caged inside a castle her whole life, perhaps she would have known some of these things.

  Either way, she had nothing to be embarrassed about. It wasn’t her fault she didn’t know anything. And, at least now, she could learn.

  Meical frowned at her. “Do not think just because there is a path that it will be easy to get to the top. The ledge will go in and out and you must keep your eyes open at all times. Follow behind me and you will stay safe.”

  Jovi huffed. “That would be a lot easier if you would stay closer instead of jogging ahead and rubbing it in everyone’s face how much better at this you are.”

  She took a deep breath, the heat from her ears swallowing her cheeks. Then, even though she wished she could have hidden, she stood straighter and met her uncle’s eyes.

  A hushed cat-call left his lips. “I’ll be damned. The little firecracker has returned. In the flesh.” He chuckled. “I’m glad you graced us with your presence.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say. Now, let’s get to the top.”

  Even though she acted like she hadn’t been amused, her uncle’s words made her want to laugh most of the time. She found herself drawn to him, wanted him around even. When they saved her father, she would tell him that the Mammoth Riders were coming to the castle. They would be the new army the King so desperately needed, and there would be no arguments. She would put her foot down and make sure her father and uncle reconnected. Family was family, no matter what.

  Pressing her lips together kept the smile from her face. Cappa stayed behind her as she followed Meical and Bastien, who sandwiched her between them all. Meical could use every excuse in the book as to why she remained behind him, but she knew without a single thought why he kept her back here. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her, especially now that something almost had.

  While she appreciated it, it also made her bounce with adrenaline. Like she hadn’t learned her lesson. Mistakes are there to learn from. Everyone made them.

  Plus, if Meical happened to slip, he’d have knocked into Bastien, who would then hit her, making her topple into Cappa. A domino effect, and, if that happened, who would save her then? No one.

  Her skin crawled with irritation, so much of it she wished she could scratch it away under her thick layers of clothing. The wind smacked into her face, blowing her hair into her eyes. She had the urge to rip every strand out. A bird called out, unlike any bird’s song she’d ever heard and even that had made her want to pound the bird from the sky to make its calling stop. What was wrong with her?

  She sucked in a bundle of air, blew it out, and repeated a few times. A calm passed over her, but not enough. So, she kept breathing deep, blowing out slowly, until her heartbeat no longer felt like it ran a race inside her chest.

  Even while she reg
ained her composure, she didn’t stop moving, instead inched closer and closer toward the top. The ledge narrowed even more, so she placed her palms against the rocky surface and shifted her feet side to side. She didn’t look down once, because if she did, she would have frozen where she stood on the ledge and not budged another inch.

  The next corner the ledge ended, which made her dig her boots into the side of the mountain and climb. The wall stood straight up and down. The steep climb pulled against her already aggravated muscles, and for a minute she didn’t know how she’d ever make it. But she squashed that thought before it had time to really materialize.

  Cold air hit her face, so she hugged the mountain as she pulled her scarf around her cheeks and covered her nose. Then, she crawled against the rocks, planting her hands before she even attempted to move her feet.

  A rope slipped in front of her face as Meical held it over her. “Take this. Tie it around you and Cappa. I should have had you do it at the start, but I didn’t think about it. We need it now, though.”

  The all-knowing Meical forgot something? Shocking, Jovi wanted to laugh as the thought fluttered through her.

  The rope already circled her uncle’s waist. She shifted, tucking it around herself until she could tie a knot. Then she passed it off to Cappa, who’d already heard what Meical had said. He wrapped it around himself, and after, they started to move as one unit, instead of by themselves.

  The rope made them aware of each other, so Jovi kept pace, not wanting to move too fast and pull against Cappa, and not wanting to move to slow and be victim to Meical and Bastien’s tugging. They watched her as well, making sure not to go too fast, or too slow.

  Jovi’s eyes drifted to Meical, to something sharp attached to the end of the rope that he dug in the mountain with each step. She wanted to ask what it was, but she didn’t dare. Her voice disappeared, anyway, buried under a lump in her throat. And she could guess. She’d read about a harness that dug into the mountain to keep them stable in some of her books, but she had never seen one because her books didn’t have pictures. Nor had they taught her anything she really needed to know about how to actually climb a mountain safely…

  The closer Jovi got to the top, the more unease swam through her. It felt like her skin was covered by tiny red ants, crawling and biting her all over. The feeling only grew with each pull toward the peak. She didn’t know what was happening to her, but she had a terrible feeling, and it wouldn’t go away.

  It hadn’t deterred her, though. She needed cole-cap mushrooms from the top of this mountain and she would get them, bad feelings or not.

  Another ledge stuck out in front of her and made her want to shout with joy when her feet landed on the smooth, flat surface circling the top of the mountain. The air smelled clean and crisp, but the chill burned her lungs with every inhale as she crept along the path chiseled into the mountain. Each step made her heart race as rocks crumbled from the side, but she kept going and pushed forward slowly and surely, until the ledge widened, and wrapped all the way up to the top.

  She’d made it. They’d done it. They were at the top.

  The sight weakened her knees. Green grass hid beneath a layer of thick white snow, and even in the cold, the flowers had bloomed. They were unlike any flower Jovi had ever laid eyes on. They were glacier white with a silver center, and had a layer of frost glazing over them. These flowers spread all across the top and sprinkled it with beauty.

  A tree stump sat in the corner with a layer of white snow glistening over the top. All around grew vibrant purple mushrooms with black spots that intertwined throughout. They looked like something out of a fairytale, not a real-life mushroom that grew in her land.

  Without hesitation, she rushed forward, dropped to her knees, and snapped one from the stem, holding it up. Other than the color, it looked and felt like a normal mushroom, soft and a big squishy.

  “I wonder what’s so special about these things.”

  The ground under her feet shook. “Who touches my mushrooms?”

  The deep, gravelly voice drew her head around until her eyes took in what had to be a Kobold, but this one had grown about three sizes bigger than any she’d seen, including Dagu. Thick fur coated every surface of his body, and his long tail disappeared down the side of the mountain. Beady black eyes stared back at her, a hint of red drowning her.

  Jovi dropped the mushroom and stood, shrinking back toward Meical who hadn’t moved from the spot they’d come up.

  He frowned at her. “Answer my question.”

  Jovi gasped and continued to move backwards. “Who are y-you?”

  The Kobold pushed forward before Jovi reached her group and knocked her onto her back. “You are stealing my mushrooms and you dare ask for my name?”

  His breath smelled of rotten vegetables and insects. Jovi’s stomach heaved and the taste of bile hit the back of her throat as she turned her head away from the creature’s open mouth.

  Meical, Bastien, and Cappa tried to circle her and get their arms under her to pull her back.

  The Kobold rolled his neck toward them as he narrowed his eyes, which had turned the color of fresh blood. “You will stop trying to take her, or she will die.” A claw the size of her arm yanked her scarf from her, then hovered over her neck, readied to strike.

  Jovi swallowed hard. That one claw would sever her head from her body.

  “Ddaadgu.” Jovi tried to speak, but the claw dug into her flesh so hard she couldn’t get the words out.

  “What was that?” The creature asked.

  Jovi tried again, but afraid the claw would cut her, she closed her mouth and tried not to move an inch.

  “My name is Meical. I am leader of the Mammoth Riders and beg you please to let our Princess go. We are on a mission to retrieve these mushrooms for a potion to stop a war from happening in Central Orendor.”

  “A war you say? I have not heard of a war.”

  Meical took a step closer, and the creature pushed the claw further into Jovi, which made her whimper. Sweat poured from her forehead and rolled down the side of her face into the ground. Meical cleared his throat. “The Mage people require a potion and have captured the King and Queen until they get it. These mushrooms must be used to make the potion.”

  The creature pulled his claw back.

  Jovi slid backward enough to speak. “Dagu is my friend. If he knew we’d come, he would gladly give us what we need. Will you?”

  With a smile, the creature backed off her. Jovi snaked her hand around her neck and rubbed it. When she pulled back, her hand was tinted red, but only a little in one area.

  Sharp, yellow teeth popped from the creature’s mouth. “I apologize. If Dagu is a friend, I shouldn’t have been so hasty to call you enemy. I am Catsin.” He ran a couple fingers down his long whiskers as he tracked them. “The cole-cap mushrooms are a prize, one I’ve been tasked with guarding. But please, take what you need. Dagu told me about you. He comes up to visit me, and said I should be expecting you, but I didn’t know you’d have so many others with you. I am sorry for treating you as an enemy.”

  Jovi forced a smile. “No harm done.” Even though you almost sliced my neck open. Simple mistake…

  She picked as many mushrooms as she could, but made sure to leave plenty still growing. She handed them off to Meical, who carried her bag on his shoulders.

  Catsin grabbed her elbow as his eyes searched her neck. “You are bleeding.”

  She nodded.

  Before she could stop him, he jabbed his face into the crook of her neck. His tongue snaked out and licked her wound, soaking the top of her shirt with his saliva. When he pulled back, her pink necklace pounded into her chest. He must have licked it too.

  She reeled back and slapped him across the face. “How dare you.” She narrowed her eyes, staring hard at him. How could he just lick her?

  Cappa came next, and his fist connected with Catsin’s face in almost the exact same spot Jovi had hit.

  Catsin growled, but
stayed put. He pleaded with his wide eyes. “You don’t understand. The Kobold’s saliva heals. I meant no offense, Princess Jovi. I only wanted to help.”

  Jovi grazed her wound with her fingers. True to his word, the cut had disappeared, leaving behind a sticky, insect-smelling coating on her neck.

  A rush flew through her and she focused on the giant Kobold, his eyes soft and open. “I’m sorry, Catsin. If you would have explained what you were doing, I would have been more open to it. You can’t just go around licking people.”

  Catsin bowed his head. “I guess I don’t really know how to act since you are the first people I’ve seen since I’ve been the watcher of the mushrooms.”

  Bastien cleared his throat. “How long have you been up here?”

  Catsin shrugged. “Oh, fifty years, give or take a few.”

  No wonder he has no manners, Jovi thought.

  Jovi had no problem forgiving him for his misgiving. He really hadn’t known any better. She moved to him and stroked the soft fur on his hand. “Well, we’ll be sure to come back and visit soon, then. No sense in you being alone up here, all by yourself.”

  His eyes lit up and a wide grin spread over his face. “You mean it?”

  Cappa took his other hand. “We sure do.”

  Catsin jumped, which shook the whole mountain-top as he landed. “Oh joy. I will look forward to it.”

  Night came fast, so Jovi and the group said their goodbyes and descended the mountain as quickly as they could. In order to make it to the cabin tomorrow, they had to get to Delphinium woods tonight to get the bathing water and the milk of the nursing fairy. If all went well, in the morning they would have Bertson’s tears and be back at the cabin by mid-afternoon, plenty of time to make the potion and get to the cabin, leaving almost a full day to spare.

  Before Jovi climbed back on the mammoth, she pulled Cappa aside. “Thanks.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “For what?”