The platform where Jorik was standing showed a deep fissure running all the way through. Jorik didn’t dare to move. He was perfectly still, and Mahon stopped moving as well. If Jorik fell, he would bring Mahon with him because of the rope linking them together. Jorik’s respiration was very slow as it seemed a small breeze could make the platform crash.

“Don’t move.” Mahon said. “I’ll try to make a belay point.”

There was no other choice. But the ice he was standing on was too thin to make any attempt at a secure point. Mahon climbed down slowly. Even though he was a dozen meters above Jorik, his motions on the ice could trigger the fall of the platform, anyway.

He was just reaching the limit between the thin ice and the normal one when another crack resounded. Jorik’s platform fell off a good twenty centimeters before it stabilized dangerously.

“I don’t like that.” Jorik whispered. “I don’t like that at all.”

“No worries.” Mahon answered with the same tone. “We got this. Just another two steps, and I can secure you.”

Ever so slowly, Mahon continued downwards, placing his ice axes in the holes he had previously dug. He placed his weight on his left foot as he lowered his right one. He started to transfer his weight from one foot to the other when the ice cracked, and everything suddenly collapsed.

In a deafening noise, a part of the mountain started to slide down, carried away by the fall of the platform. Splitting just under the thin ice area, a plate of ice a dozen meters wide came off and slipped, bringing both Mahon and Jorik along with it.

Having a secure point or a rope meant nothing in these circumstances. The mountains had fallen with them, and at that point, the only thing a belay point did was to tie them to the falling pieces.

Mahon teleported the moment he felt the ground collapse under his feet. The thirteenth Step did tricky things to objects that Mahon held while he teleported. As long as he was touching it, they would be brought with him. On the other hand, living things could not be carried through.

But there was a limit to what he could carry. The rope that linked him to Jorik was cut by the magic approximately three meters away from him, leaving the two men on their own.

Mahon reappeared way below Jorik, a couple meters to his right, where the ice hadn’t been swept away by the sudden avalanche. With a powerful motion, he planted both ice axes directly into it.

“Jorik!” He yelled to get his teammate’s attention, but there was no need as Jorik had started Flowing the moment things had turned sour.

The noble was perfectly aware of what Mahon had done, and he knew what would be coming next. While falling, he opened the climbing nails tying him to the platform and freed his rope. Then, he positioned himself such that his shoulders were pointing towards his right, and he bent his knees below him.

Mahon blinked at his side the next instant and in the same position but symmetrically to him, their feet touching each other. The two men pushed on their legs, propelling themselves to the sides.

Jorik was sent directly towards Mahon’s ice axes. He twisted in the air and managed to catch one of the handles with his hand. Unfortunately, he missed the second, and he struggled to control and cushion his fall.

Mahon grabbed his free hand and helped him stabilize himself just in time. He had teleported right above the two ice axes, a foot on each, his back to the wall and bending forward to catch the noble.

The massive plate of ice passed just beside them and continued its fall for thousands meters while the duo managed to stay attached to the wall.

They were stuck in the middle of the cliff on two ice axes, with their rope cut, in a very uncomfortable position. Mahon was balancing himself at the top of the two ice axes while Jorik was hanging below. It lasted for a never-ending second until Jorik finally managed to plant his feet into the ice below him. He then pulled out his own ice axes and secured his position. Mahon moved down beside him.

“Thanks.” Jorik said with a weak smile. “That had been way too close.”

“Hmmm.” Mahon nodded. “Honestly, with a fall that long, you would probably have enough time to Flow deep enough to teleport yourself. I’m not sure of what would have happened with so much built up momentum, though…”

Jorik shivered just at the thought of it. “Don’t mention it. I’d rather not try it.”

Mahon chuckled. “Yeah. Me neither.”

He looked back up where Halueth and Ranaeril were making huge gestures towards them. A gaping hole in the snow was the only proof of what had just happened.

“We’ll still need to teleport, though.” Mahon then eyed Jorik with his famous special grin. “What about showing off a new climbing method?”

“It’s not like we’ve got another choice.” The noble answered with a look at the cut rope hanging uselessly from their waist. “I’m not sure if I can go to the top, though…”

“It’s just under a hundred meters.” Mahon mused out loud. “I’m not sure either. Better not risk it. Climb on your own and teleport if you ever have a slight problem. If you’re deep enough in the Flow, you probably don’t risk anything. Just don’t linger too much. Especially on that part.” He pointed to the place they had been climbing on a minute ago.

Jorik nodded before taking deep breaths to plunge deeper in his magic. Mahon followed his journey with his own Flow, observing how Jorik was turning more and more blurred to his magic senses.

When he was ready, Jorik teleported three meters above his head, and he plunged his ice axes right into the ice where he appeared. He managed to stabilize himself easily. Satisfied of his performance, he started climbing again, ignoring ropes, climbing nails, and any other safety methods they were used to.

Freed of any constraints, he was moving faster than usual, knowing a mistake could be easily avoided with the thirteenth Step. In less than a minute, he was back at the place where the platform used to be. He then teleported in rapid succession, a few meters each time, and until he was over the thin ice area. There, he stuck his ice axes into the ice and rested for a bit.

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Seeing Jorik would have no problem continuing like that, Mahon teleported directly twenty meters up. He barely stopped before he teleported again. A third blink brought him directly beside Halueth.

“Hey.” Mahon said as he planted his feet in the ice and hung leisurely on his ice axes. “How you doing?”

“You motherfucker.” Halueth laughed out loud. “You scared us pretty well down there!”

Mahon chuckled. “Yeah. You’re not the only one.”

“And what a way of escaping!” The old man continued. “I wasn’t sure what to think after that day with the harpies. I thought maybe I had hallucinated, but now…”

Mahon smiled knowingly. “I know. And I’d appreciate it if you continue to omit that part when you tell these stories…”

“Obviously!” Halueth answered. “Who do you take me for? I’m a Hunter from the Silent Bow Clan!” He winked at him. “Why didn’t you directly climb like that, though? It would have saved you a lot of time.”

“But I would have missed a lot of fun.” Mahon replied. “And an old coot told me about climbing’s beauty, mountain’s spirit, and other craps. I didn’t want to disappoint him too much.”

“You moron!” Halueth chuckled and tried to hit Mahon, but the latter teleported out of reach.

“See you up there, old man.” Mahon teased once more before he teleported to the summit.

After three more jumps, he stood at the top of the mountain. Everywhere around him, a breathtaking view laid under his sight. Endless snowy mountains, weaving rivers and valleys from where he came from.

A flatter, green plain on the other side, way below him. Where he had to go.

The Gedrain kingdom.

----------------------------------------

Climbing down was really easy compared to climbing up. Even if the cliff was more difficult to climb, which wasn’t even the case here, going down didn’t require much climbing skills.

Once both at the top, Mahon and Jorik properly cut their rope, and although a bit shorter than what they were used to, it could still be used normally. They set up their rope around an anchor point and simply let themselves slide down. They then pulled up the rope and started over.

Halueth and Ranaeril accompanied them all the way down. First, because there was still a bit of a walk through the mountains before being completely out of the Notitia Peaks, and they knew the way. And second, because climbing the mountains from the Gedrain kingdom to the Notitia Region was much easier, so they could afford it.

They needed a full day to climb all the way down, and they set up a camp right at the base of the mountain. They picked up wood from nearby trees and started a fire. The altitude was also much lower than previously, and thus the temperature much higher, and they got rid of their thick fur mantles with an evident satisfaction.

Ranaeril hunted two birds with his bow, and the four men were more than happy to share a good meal after the last few days risking their life on the mountains.

“We’ll accompany you a bit further tomorrow.” Ranaeril explained. “There are some berries that only grow on this side of the Notitia Peaks, and some of the Hunters would die to get their hands on them. Halueth also knows the recipe of a wonderful pie, and he would never miss an opportunity to harvest the berries himself.” The chief of the Silent Bow Clan chuckled while glancing at his older comrade.

“Thank you for everything.” Mahon started, but Halueth stopped him with a hand gesture.

“Wait for tomorrow for that.” He said. “Let’s enjoy one peaceful night. Our last expedition together. Although it was tumultuous, it was still successful. Let’s drink to that.”

Halueth grabbed a small bottle from his backpack and showed it to the other men. Ranaeril let out a whistle of appreciation as he recognized it.

“You took it all the way to there?” He asked with a skeptical look. “I didn’t think you would.”

“If you don’t want it, just say it.” Halueth replied.

“Oh, no! No! Nothing wrong with it, on the contrary.” Ranaeril immediately said.

He then threw away the water in his glass and extended it towards Halueth who served him a few sips. The old Hunter then did the same to Mahon, Jorik, and himself. The four men enjoyed the strong liquor until the sky was full of stars and the bottle empty. They talked about life in the mountains, archery, and climbing, like it wasn’t the last day they spent together. Late in the night, they went to their made-up beds and slept like babies until the next morning.

As the sun rose in the sky, they packed up their belongings and moved on quickly afterwards. They all felt the atmosphere had changed somehow. Last night had been their last real moment together. Today was the day they parted from each other. They walked in silence for some time.

The path was large enough for the four men to move side by side, and the landscape flat enough they could see far ahead. It was easy to notice the group of a dozen men walking in their direction. Since Halueth and Ranaeril didn’t seem bothered by their presence, Mahon and Jorik ignored them as well.

When they were only a hundred meters away, it became clear the men were equipped to go climbing. They had ropes, harnesses, climbing shoes and so on.

“Pretending to be climbers again, uh?” Halueth commented.

“You know them?” Mahon asked with a slightly surprised tone.

He had heard no story about the people from the Gedrain kingdom for the whole time he had been with the Silent Bow Clan.

“Yes.” Halueth answered with a shrug. “I mean, probably not them personally, but I know their kind. The Ill Immortals are always a bit active in this region, although they lack any talents for climbing, if you ask me.”

Mahon and Jorik stopped walking all of a sudden. “The what?!”

Halueth and Ranaeril threw them a weird look.

“What’s going on?”

“You said they were Ill Immortals?” Mahon asked again as he eyed the group of men moving closer to them.

“Yes. It’s the regular army of the Gedrain kingdom. The Ill Immortals.” Ranaeril answered.

Mahon’s mind was thinking at full speed. “The regular army? Do they have any sorcerers or magicians?”

“What are those?” Ranaeril asked. “People who can do weird things like you do?”

“No. Yes. They use fire magic.”

“I’ve never heard of such a thing…” Ranaeril frowned, but Halueth interrupted him.

“I know what you’re talking about. I’ve seen it once.” He said. “Most of the Ill Immortals are just regular soldiers like you and me, though. I mean, mostly like me. Is there something wrong?”

“We’ll see.” Mahon said as he glanced at the men now only dozens meters away from them. “But we might have one.”

“If anything happens, just run away. We’ll take care of the rest.” Jorik indicated.

“Run away?” Ranaeril asked as he glanced at the two men who now had a very serious look on their faces.

“Wait, I recognize the leader!” Halueth said. “I’ve seen him a few times before. He knows me as well. There should be no problem. Don’t worry.”

With his Flow, Mahon studied the man in question as he approached them. Although his motions didn’t betray anything, his heartbeat did. When he looked over Mahon and Jorik, it stopped for a very short time.

And then a wave of hatred spread through his whole body.

We’re spotted.