by Kyle West
I found myself outside on the Highstreet, walking alone. Various people bowed and curtsied as I passed; I had not taken care to make sure I looked like a commoner and not the princess. My white dress was bejeweled and would draw every eye. Knowing as much, I returned to the Palace and to my chambers, where I stayed, reading a book. I put the book down around evening, staring across the city and the red-stained sky, troubled by the events of the day.
As I went down to dinner, it was hard for it all not to seem so overwhelming. All I could think about was what Elder Marius told me.
I didn’t have the faintest idea of what to do.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
THE NEXT MORNING, OUR MISSION was to find a way through the mountains. We quickly got going, getting well into the foothills of the Dagger Peaks by late morning. Along the way, I talked about my dream as Isaru listened. The day promised to be hot, as usual, and there wasn’t a trace of a cloud in the sky, and yet a soft breeze coming down from the mountains made it a bit cooler. The mountains themselves provided shade through the morning, until the sun had risen high enough to drive it away. A hawk circled lazily above. It was the only animal we’d seen since the insufferable bear.
Isaru and I found ourselves in a cleft that plunged deeper between the peaks. We thought that this might be the pass, and the cleft seemed to have been carved out by a thin rivulet running through it. There were several sizable fish in the stream, surprisingly, and Isaru tried to catch one with his bare hands, but after a quarter of an hour we realized we were wasting too much time.
The cleft turned into a proper canyon. Mountains towered on our either side, most of which were half-covered with snow that would probably not be fully melted until early summer. The air had cooled significantly with the rise in elevation. Grass even seemed to grow in the canyon, while moss clung to rocks over which the water ran. The water was clear, cold, and good to drink.
The land was beautiful, but a stranger beauty replaced it when we started to see xen. There was no gradual transition. It was as if the Wild decided that the border was going to be right here, and suddenly, the last of the desert was replaced with spongy red turf. The stream still ran through it, though it took on the hue of blood from the xen growing beneath it. The xen left very little untouched, besides some of the sharper rocks that poked through and the highest elevations of the peaks.
As morning gave way to afternoon, clouds began wreathing those upper peaks. Those clouds seemed abnormally low; it was either that or we were abnormally high in altitude. By midafternoon, the air was cool and damp on my skin, and later afternoon saw a thick fog descending upon us. I couldn’t see more than fifty feet ahead.
All we could do was follow the stream – but it became clear it was leading nowhere when it ended in a falls, with no clear way out of the canyon.
We paused there, filling up our water and eating a cold meal. There wasn’t much in the way of firewood. Very little but scrub grew in the canyon where the xen didn’t grow, so we went without a fire. Isaru tried to catch some fish in the stream again, but he returned empty-handed as darkness fell, which was earlier than usual because of the height of the canyon walls.
We discussed what we would do – whether to try and climb out in the morning, or go all the way back. We let the conversation die, since there was no point in speculating in the darkness.
When I fell asleep, for the first time in weeks, I was actually cold.
Things were definitely changing.
* * *
When I awoke the next morning, Isaru and I were lying next to each other. The morning was frigid – surprisingly so – and I didn’t want to move. The sound of the falls was the only thing I could hear. A veil of mist clung to the canyon, and given the amount of light and the fog, thicker than even yesterday, it was probably an hour after dawn.
Finally, I forced myself to move and get some breakfast. There was some prickly cactus fruit and some red paint flowers we’d gathered yesterday – that, together with some jerky, would make a good enough breakfast, even if all I wanted was eggs, sausage, and toast with lots of butter, cinnamon, and sugar.
I forced myself to stop thinking of food. There was no point in torturing myself, not when I wouldn’t eat well for a long while.
Isaru was up shortly after. Together, we ate while watching the stream, barely visible through the fog. We were both probably thinking about the fish we wanted to eat but weren’t skilled enough to catch.
Once done, we walked closer to the falls, trying to find a way up. The canyon’s sides were probably a good fifty feet high and there didn’t seem to be any easy way up.
“What about there?” Isaru said.
He was pointing at a series of clefts. The way up seemed doubtful to me, to say the least. The first three quarters of the way looked easy enough, but that last fifteen to twenty feet was sheer cliff face. Perhaps if we got closer, we’d find a clearer way up. It was hard to tell with all the fog, which was only now beginning to lift.
“Let’s try,” I said. Even as I said it, though, I felt the weakness of constant travel deep inside my limbs. Climbing was hard work, and I would have been nervous to try this in the best conditions.
We made our way to the cliff’s side. Isaru examined the wall for a bit, then nodded.
“This is our best chance.”
I would have laughed, except I realized how very true Isaru’s assessment was.
“Maybe we should just backtrack.”
“No. We can do this.”
“Are you sure?”
Without answering, Isaru approached the rock face. I supposed that was answer enough.
I watched very closely where he placed his hands and feet. He made his way up the rock at a fast clip, and even with his pack on, he made it seem easy. The fact that he even brought his pack showed that he was determined to make it work. The rock seemed a little slick from the fog, but thankfully, Isaru found himself safe on the highest cleft, where he started examining the cliff.
“What do you think?” I called.
It was a moment before he answered. “It will do.”
It wasn’t very convincing. I almost protested right there, but I really didn’t want to lose two days – one day to get out of the canyon, and another day to make it as far as this again.
Then again, being two days behind was better than being dead.
But I steeled myself, taking a deep breath, before grabbing the first hold. My pack was too heavy to be doing this safely…there was no way this was happening for the almost vertical stretch at the end. Still, I pushed myself up steadily with my legs, gripping as tightly as I could. Soon, I found myself standing beside Isaru. He gave me a moment to rest before speaking.
“This part, it’s low enough to where I can climb without a pack, then you can lift it up to me.”
I looked at Isaru’s pack. It had to be eighty, maybe even ninety pounds, and I’d have to press it as far over my head as I could for him to grab it.
“You have to be kidding me.”
“I can’t carry it, as much as I would like to,” Isaru said. “I know you can do it.”
Lifting that much over my head would be difficult even in the best conditions. I had never tried to lift anything that heavy, that high. Three-fourths of that, at most, as part of my strength training at the Sanctum. Aela at the Sanctum could probably do that much, or even more, but she was also bigger and stronger than me.
“It would just have to be for a second,” Isaru said. “It’s the only way.”
I sighed. “All right. I can try.”
“You must.” Isaru looked at me seriously. “If not, then it will be difficult, if not impossible, for me to get back down here.”
I could see his point. And this was all assuming he didn’t fall in the process.
“I can do it.”
He nodded. He undid the rope off his pack, stringing it around his waist. Every little bit of weight off his pack would help me when it came time.
W
ith that out of the way, I looked at the cliff itself. It wasn’t vertical, but it was still quite steep. I’d have to lift Isaru’s pack – not to mention mine after – very high indeed for Isaru to be able to reach it. And for him, one false step, or one place where the rock gave way, it would be a long fall down.
Of course, the same thing applied to me. Only I’d already be quite fatigued from lifting over half my bodyweight overhead.
It was probably a mistake, but I turned around to see how high we were. I couldn’t say whether the mist almost completely obscuring the canyon below was a good or bad thing. The sound of the falls made a constant whooshing sound, although the falls itself was hidden.
Isaru hesitated only a moment longer before stepping up to the cliff, placing his hands and feet carefully. I took note of where he went; he seemed to make it halfway up easy enough. He hugged tightly to the wall, knowing that a bad fall could spell the end of our journey.
Then, he stopped, unsure where to go.
“I thought there was a hold to the left,” he said. His voice was calm, but I felt the tension beneath.
“There is,” I said. “The cleft is blocking your view. You have to trust that it’s there.”
Trusting it was there meant he had to leave his current position behind. If the cleft wasn’t there, then he would fall twenty or more feet, right in front of me. Enough to do him serious injury.
“I promise it’s there, Isaru. I can see it clearly.”
Isaru reached, shifting his weight dangerously…but his left hand found it and he swung into the position. He steadied himself before standing on the cleft and turning around. There was barely any room for him to squat and reach down to pull up the pack. From that position, it would be just as hard for him to pull the pack as it would be for me to lift it.
I let Isaru rest a little longer as I got into position.
“I’m ready,” he said.
I lifted Isaru’s pack as high as my waist. It wasn’t too heavy like that. I grit my teeth, squatting down, grabbing the pack by the bottom and pushing up with my legs while tensing my torso.
The pack was high above my head, my arms shaking to hold it up. I felt slight pressure pulling it up, but precious little. And then, it was out of my hands and I collapsed to the rock below me. Looking up, Isaru was pulling the pack slowly up, and soon, it was sitting on the cleft beside him.
After taking a break, I lifted my own pack up – still heavy, but much lighter compared to Isaru’s. How much had he really been carrying? It was easily twice as heavy as mine.
Once both of the packs were on the cleft, Isaru climbed the rest of the way up easily enough – a mere ten feet. When he reached the top, he disappeared for a moment, probably surveying his surroundings. His face reappeared.
“No fog up here,” he said. “There seems to be a pass. I can’t see any further, though.”
I watched the rock wall, feeling truly afraid. This was the hard part. I wasn’t afraid of heights…not usually. But this fog, the dampness of the rock, and my own weakness all added to my chances of falling.
Don’t think like that.
I took a deep breath, grabbing the first hold Isaru had used. The rock was cold and wet beneath my fingers. I tried not to imagine landing on rock like that from thirty feet up…having to be left behind while Isaru went on.
Isaru would never do that, even if I begged him to.
“You can do this,” Isaru called from above. “Just one hold at a time. It’s not as hard as it looks once you’re climbing.”
I knew he was just saying that…but maybe he was right. The rock seemed rough enough to give a good deal of traction, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to curse myself for agreeing to this.
Silence was hard to find at the moment when my fear was so strong. I was tempted to use it, but I also knew how much energy it would use.
Then, I came to the spot that had given Isaru pause. I knew where the hold was, yet looking over there didn’t help. I could see why Isaru had been so hesitant – a little ridge within the rock made it impossible to see the safety lying on the other side. Even if I had seen it with my own eyes, it was hard to believe it was still there.
“You got this,” Isaru said. “Just reach to your left and shift over, then it’s a straight shot up.”
I felt myself start to shake, either from nerves or fact that my strength was giving out. I couldn’t just stay here, waiting.
I had to get moving.
I reached, stretching my hand to find a hold, but I wasn’t finding anything. There was just sheer rock.
“Move your hand up,” Isaru said. “You’re almost there.”
I was already stretching as far as I could go. My legs and right arm were shaking with effort.
Then, I felt it, grabbing on and shifting over. My limbs were stretched out as far as they would go, until I pushed up and found myself touching the rock face with my left hand while the rest of my body shifted through the air, toward the ledge I was praying was still there.
Then, my left foot hit solid ground. I wanted to cry in relief.
It wasn’t over yet, though. Just inches from where my foot had landed sat my pack, while Isaru’s was on the other side. I took a short rest, and lifted my pack up into Isaru’s waiting hands. I didn’t have to lift it as high, but all the same, it was just as hard as the first time.
Then came his pack. I gave myself a good break before picking it up. I would have one chance to do this. If I failed to get it overhead, I’d be way too tired to try again.
I took a deep breath, then pushed with all I had. I felt my spine struggling under the weight, but Isaru hastily grabbed it.
Both packs were safely above, along with Isaru.
Now, it was just me.
“Just a few more feet,” Isaru said. “You’re almost there.”
I was breathing heavily, my throat rasping. It was a good five minutes before I started to climb. My legs were so tired that it felt as if they’d betray me at any moment.
Not yet. You can rest when you reach the top.
I was so close. Isaru knelt, ready to pull me up, but I still had a few feet to go.
I reached out my hand, as high as it would go, and Isaru grabbed it, pulling me up the rest of the way. I lay on the rock at the top, panting from exertion. The sun was bright while the air was cool. I opened my eyes to see a snow patch just several feet away.
“You had me scared for a second,” Isaru said.
I blew my hair out of my face as I sat up. “You think you were scared?”
Isaru smiled. “To tell the truth, I was worried you might not be able to do my pack there at the end. I was ready to leave it behind.”
“Well, was this worth saving two days?”
Isaru peered down the snowbank, which ended in sheer cliff. “I doubt we could have gotten up here any other way.”
“Getting down is important, too.”
I reached for my water and took a long, well-earned drink. I looked toward the west, where indeed there seemed to be a pass between two snow-capped peaks jutting into a pure blue sky. The sides of the mountains were just as much red as they were brown or snow-covered. After that pass, we would be in the Northern Wild.
Once I was ready, we walked up the slope, at times trudging through snow piles. The air was thin, crisp, and dry up here, and the wind sharp. I drew my cloak tighter; usually I left it in my pack because the desert had been so hot. It appeared as if that part of our journey was over.
I looked behind to see the late morning sunlight basking the desert below in bright, golden hues. From up here, the ruins of the city were more apparent, but if it weren’t for the taller, crumbled towers, one might not have even known it was there. On the edge of the horizon stretched the Salt Lake – from up here, it was more clearly a lake than it was from down there. The river we had been following was nothing more than a thin line snaking north through the ruins and into the lake.
I turned around, following Isaru’s ste
ps up. We soon reached the high pass, and instead of finding flat plains beyond, as I had expected, there were only mountains and hills, covered with xen and snow, while the many valleys were filled thickly with pink and red xenoforest. It stretched for as far as the eye could see.
Saying it was rough country didn’t really do it justice.
Without a word, we made our way down the other side. The air warmed as the snow petered out, to be replaced completely with xen, from which silver-barked trees started to grow thickly. It was a stark contrast with the desert we had been in only yesterday. Besides more typical trees – ash, oak, elm, pine…there were xenotrees I didn’t know the name of, thin and reedy with overarching tops, silver bark, and pink foliage that often interconnected as if of one organism. The green trees seemed to connect with them just as often, too. Various stalks and tubers grew in circles from the xen-covered earth, and were so thick that we had to find a way around them. I tried to take shot at a curious, thorny creature nibbling on a mushroom. It scampered away when my arrow missed.
As the xenotrees grew thicker, the land continued to slope downward. It was clear enough to proceed without too much trouble, but more often than not, we had to skirt around thick tangles of growth or fallen logs. The trees at lower elevations were taller, with thicker trunks, and growing close enough together to make it hard to keep our sense of direction.
We took a lunch break at the side of a stream. Only when we were sitting did I realize just how fatigued I was. I could have slept right there until the next morning, but now that we were out of the desert, we had to take advantage of the daylight as much as possible. If the trees remained as thick as this, travel was only going to become more difficult in the future.
We continued east through the hilly forest. There was little change in scenery since the morning – it was always hills, xenotrees, and streams, but the stark contrast with the previous two weeks was still a bit bewildering. I had almost forgotten that so much color existed, and the feeling of cool air on my face was a welcome change.
