The mountain paths were treacherous, snow and ice clung to every twig and rock that jutted from the steep mountainside. The wind howled through the trees, whistling a mournful song as it whipped around each branch.

The last few hours had been hard work, the air thinning, the ascent steeper than before, and the lack of rest making things worse.

"Whoever said 'it's about the journey, not the destination' clearly never climbed this bloody mountain," Flint muttered under his breath.

I laughed up ahead, but I kept on climbing without any sign of slowing down.

"How are you not tired yet?" Flint asked, "My calves are screaming, my lungs are on fire, and I bet the only thing waiting for us at the top is a breeze strong enough to blow away my will to live."

"You should have put your points in [stamina]," I said. "I haven't even broken a sweat yet."

"Well, you can go to hell," Flint said indignantly. "I’ve been walking for two days straight. I had no cute girl holding onto me whilst bouncing along on the back of a giant bison. No, it was blood, sweat, and tears all the bloody way."

"I think you’ve mentioned that," I said, smiling.

"Three times already," Eliaria interjected.

The wind picked up, blowing dust across the path, and a rock slid down the mountain face, bouncing off the ground below with a dull thump.

"I think that's the mountain's way of telling us to take a break," I said, looking up the cliff.

A thick blanket of clouds had rolled in when the wind picked up. It was hard to tell how close we were to our goal. Even though we had been walking for hours, I still could not see the top of the mountain.

Flint opened his portal and pulled out a backpack, using it as a pillow.

"Six percent, he muttered under his breath."

I was just about to ask him what he was on about when Eliaria drew my attention with a wave.

"What's with the piles of rocks?" She asked, crouching low to look at the heap of stones on the side of the path.

"They're called cairns," I explained, "they mark the way."

I’d heard about them in some documentary about Scotland I’d watched, and I assumed people in this world used them for the same reason.

"Why?" she asked, "What do they mean?"

"Well, it's like a trail of breadcrumbs," I said, sitting down with my back to a large boulder.

"If there's an accident or someone gets lost," I continued, "you can follow those little stacks of rocks, and you won't get too far astray."

"Oh," she said, placing a small stone atop the pile, "does that mean others have come this way before?"

"Yes," I nodded, "If this is the only way to the second floor, then people must have walked these paths for decades."

Eliaria ran a hand through her hair as she looked up the path, "The One Hundred must have come this way."

I looked at her, I hadn't thought about that, but it had to be. The thought that my father had climbed this very mountain brought a pang to my chest.

"Did you know any of them?" she asked, sensing my mood shift.

I nodded but kept quiet.

"Sorry," she said, "I shouldn't have pried."

"It's ok," I said, "My father was one."

Her eyes widened as understanding dawned.

"It was a long time ago," I said, sensing her discomfort. "An old wound."

She fell silent as she studied the neatly stacked pile of rocks that marked the path.

"The old high priest was one of them as well," she finally said. "He left with all the other warriors to save our floor from the famine."

I glanced at her, waiting for her to continue.

"I didn't know him well," she said, "I was just little, but he was kind to my mother and I. And then one day many months later he returned to the temple. My mother told me it wasn't safe to be around him anymore."

"What happened?" I asked.

She shook her head, "The other priests drove him from the temple and sent him out into the wilderness."

"They didn't execute him?" I asked.

"No," she said, "The priests understood that he was under Worm's curse, it was not his fault."

"Worm?" I asked. "You mean the Defiler? That Worm?"

She nodded, "I don't know what Worm was doing there. It seems like the One Hundred were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Just an accident?

I’d always imagined that there was a great conspiracy behind my father’s death and the blight being unleashed, but just an accident…

It can’t be true.

The wind picked up, blowing snow over the cliff's edge and covering the path. I stared at it for some time, still lost in thought.

"We should get going," Eliaria said, "before the weather changes for the worse."

I looked up at her and nodded.

"I don't know how much farther I can go," Flint groaned, "My legs feel like they are about to snap."

"Just think of it like training," I said.

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Flint grunted and pushed himself off the ground. "Why did I put all my points into [power]?"

"So you could unlock [Etherix]," Eliaria said, standing up.

"Doesn't help if I can only use it once a day," Flint grumbled.

"Come on," I said, "we'll be able to rest once we reach the top."

***

A smile crept across my face as I saw the mist begin to clear, revealing the mountain peak ahead. The clouds had thinned enough for me to see the horizon with its deep purple-red hue, and the end of our journey.

I stopped walking to stare at it and Eliaria bumped into me.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

She sounded exhausted, and I could see the strain in her eyes.

"The clouds," I replied. "Look ahead."

"Oh, sweet mother of Teon's furry balls!" Flint said. "We bloody well-made it!"

He laughed loud enough to echo off the mountainside.

Finally, we stood on the summit of the mountain, the view stretching out across the valley below. The valley floor lay blanketed in thick fog, hiding any signs of habitation.

"I'm impressed," Eliaria said.

It was not what I had expected.

"There's nothing here." Flint said, looking around. "Where is this blasted floor boss?"

"It must be here," I said, my voice sounding strained. "This is Galefang peak, it says so on this bloody map."

We looked at each other, feeling dread come over us.

"We're lost." Flint said, his words tumbling out.

Eliaria shook her head. "Not yet, we haven't explored all—"

"Wait!" I said. "There are footprints."

"No shit," Flint growled. "They're probably our own."

"These are not ours," I said, bending down to inspect them.

There were lots of them and all leading the same direction.

"They're fresh," I said, "they must've been made very recently."

"How do you know?" Flint asked.

My father had been a hunter before leaving our village. A few threads of his wilderness knowledge still lingered in the back of my mind.

"A boot crushed this patch of weeds," I replied, gesturing at the ground, "The leaves are just starting to turn brown now."

Flint frowned at me, "But the footsteps lead to the edge of the cliff," he said, sounding unconvinced. "The people who left them must still close by."

I cocked my head as I studied the footprints. It didn't make any sense, why climb all the way up here and then just vanish.

There had to be something we were missing.

"Maybe there's a path on the other side," Eliaria ventured.

I walked over to the edge of the mountain and looked down. The drop seemed impossibly long, I couldn't even see the bottom.

"You want to go down there?" Flint asked.

I shook my head, "They must have lost their mind," I said, backing away from the edge.

"Maybe not," Eliaria said, stepping next to me and peering over the edge, "maybe they knew exactly what they were doing."

"I don't think so," I said, "that would be suicide."

"Why would anyone want to kill themselves?" she asked.

"You clearly haven't seen much of this floor lately," I said, "there's a hundred reasons to kill yourselves here."

"But the stone markers all led here," Flint said, "This is where Nidalee said the boss would be."

"She was either lying, or we need to jump," I said, pointing at the trail that disappeared over the edge. "Either way, we need to make a decision fast, before nightfall."

"We can't turn back," Eliaria said, "we've come all this way, we can't give up now."

"Give up is exactly what we should do," Flint replied, "that's what most sane people would do."

I stared down into the void, and swallowed the lump in my throat.

"It's your choice," Flint said, "just remember you are a man, not a bird, and men don't fly."

"If I'm wrong," I said, taking a step towards the edge.

"If you're wrong," Flint cut in, "then I could be the one to pay for your mistake."

I glanced at him. "You said we'd need to be ruthless if we planned on reaching the top."

I took another step forward.

"What if this is the moment," I said. "When you decide whether you're a hero or a coward."

Flint narrowed his eyes. "Easy for you to say."

"I'll jump," Eliaria said, moving ahead of us both. "It's just a leap of faith."

"Don't!" I shouted, suddenly uncertain, but Eliaria was already moving too quickly.

With a small shriek, she threw herself over the cliff's edge.

"El!" I yelled, rushing forward.

I watched her disappear, my heart in my throat, my brain unable to process what had just happened.

I gulped, "What the hell just happened?"

"Oh shit!" Flint said, running over to the edge, "that bison ride must have knocked a few screws loose in her head."

I stared at the spot where Eliaria had vanished, my mouth dry, my mind numb.

"I hope she hasn't lost her mind," I said, backing away from the edge.

"Why's that?" Flint asked, his eyes still wide as saucers.

I took a deep breath, "Because I'm following after her."

"But it's a bloody cliff!" Flint yelled. "I might not be the sharpest tool in the shed but jumping off cliffs seems like a bad idea."

I smiled, "You heard the priestess, it's just a leap of faith."

"But you know I'm an atheist," Flint shouted after me as I jumped over the edge.

***

The air roared in my ears, mingling with my shouts as I plummeted through the air. My legs kicked wildly, my arms flapping at my side like a dying fish, as the clouds below rushed up to meet me.

My pulse quickened, and the world seemed to blur into a kaleidoscope of colors, with the earth and sky melding together in a breathtaking dance.

Then, abruptly, I burst through the clouds, and the world tilted as if the earth itself had turned upside down. My stomach lurched as my descent slowed, I felt weightless, floating in the air.

The wind whipped past my face, and the earth below looked like a distant ocean. For a few moments I felt like I could reach out and touch it, but then gravity reasserted itself and pulled me back down. My feet touched the ground, and I fell to my knees, stumbling forwards and crashing against soft green grass.

Eliaria lay beside me, eyes closed, breathing heavily.

"Oh my god," I said, "did we just do that?"

I rolled onto my back, the grass around me curling around my body like a warm embrace. I felt a calmness wash through me, and I let go of my fear.

A short distance away, Flint laughed in mad glee, his robes blowing in the wind.

I looked up at the sky and the sight left me breathless.

"Eternal flames!" I muttered.

Instead of seeing blue skies, I saw the top of Galefang Peak, from the perspective of an eagle. Rocky plains, with scattered trees spread out all around it. If I squinted enough, I was sure I would see the tiny path we'd climbed earlier.

"The skies beneath us!" Eliaria shouted.

"What?" I asked, getting to my feet.

"Come see," she said, waving us over.

I staggered over to her, and on the way I saw a rope suspension bridge leading from the island into a thick gray cloud. For a moment I wondered where it led—

"So... what the hell is going on?" Flint asked.

"Look," Eliaria said, pointing down.

I peered over the edge, seeing blue skies and fluffy clouds beneath us. My head swam as my mind tried to make sense of it all. We were standing on an upside down floating island high above Galefang Peak.

Eliaria, tugged at my sleeve, her face a mix of wonder and bewilderment. Her blonde hair tumbling wildly in the wind, and her eyes sparkling with awe.

"Is this what getting drunk feels like?" she asked, her words slightly slurred.

I chuckled, feeling the residual adrenaline coursing through my veins. "I think it's even better," I replied, reaching out to steady her.

She nodded, "You know, after everything, this might be the best day of my life."

"Sure," Flint said, "well, except for that part where we almost froze to death and the part where we jumped off a mountain."

She laughed again, and at that moment golden text flooded my vision.

[Achievement Completed: Stormclaw’s Aerie Discovered]

***