"Come on you three! Hurry up or I'll find a way to drag Waionr into this!" Baltanthan barked out at us while he was sat on a rock. Rose did not take kindly to this and got up to confront him. Leaving me with a bemused expression when Rose stopped halfway. We were in a hurry as it were and it turned out Rose wasn't very good at packing.
"You two made sure to take all metal items away from him, didn't you?" Einervaene asked me and Rose with a scowl as she came over to help the aelenvari. A claw gently tapping my masked chin shortly after as I tried to remember if we did that. I did not know, actually. So I decided that lying was the best action for now.
Besides... As long as she doesn't find out before I go off on my own, we are set because she won't see me for a short while!
"Yeah, yeah." I tell her with a wave of my left claw before slowly standing up with all the additional weight I had. Or well, the seeming weight, I suppose? I did barely notice it after all. Something not helped by our recent reduction and redistribution of the goods within the main bag.
"So what is this meant to say?" Baltanthan asked as he tapped the symbols that had been sewn into a thicker piece of material than the main bag that had been put on it. A mocking sad face coming from me as I noted the lack of any new decorations on my bag.
"Baltanthan," Einervaene said to him as she finished up with rose, "Rossie-chira." she then said while tapping the one on Rose's bag. And I guess that answered the question; they were name tags.
"None for me?" I then teased her with.
She went red slightly, "Well... I didn't think you would need one as you had a different bag entirely and..." she said before entering a state of incoherent mumbling. A laugh leaving me as she did so.
"Don't worry about it!" I tell the metallic-haired woman as I move to the exit of our camp. A few empty bottles being kicked around by me as I left.
"Is it acceptable for us to leave the area like this?" Einervaene then asked us all as her eyes looked on in embarrassment at the pile by where she had spent most of the night just gone.
"No one will know, now go! Let's go!" the other male of our group of four impatiently let out as he began to prod us out. A Rose soon entering my arms as we reached the top of the slope. A smile on her face as she snuggled against me tightly, confident in the idea of a safe journey.
"Fast way down or slow?" I then asked no one in particular as I came to another stop.
"Preferably fa-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Rose began to say before stretching it out into a scream after I lept away from the mountain while holding her. The crash I made upon landing not doing much to cover the noise of her screams. My laughter on the other hand? That did the job well.
"I-I'm s-sorry!" I barely got out between hysteric laughs as Rose lashed out against me in anger.
"Don't do that!" she then scolded me with as my laughter helped her calm down. Somewhat, maybe, I couldn't really tell while I was focusing on my fit of chuckles. It did not take long after that for a lightning bolt to follow us as well.
"Hurry up, Baltanthan!" Einervaene then joked loudly up at the loneliest member of our group. The smile she then gave me specifically only making my laughter come back while Rose stood proud and pouted at me.
"You want me to come up and get you!?" I then asked him as I watched him take his time. A series of unintelligible words being all I got from him. And all the girls then got from me was a shrug as I processed it.
"Go get him anyway." Rose demanded after having her rather short patience fuse burn out.
"Is that really the wisest idea? He's already at the halfway point." I retorted back with while taking into account the way the path was. It got very rough at the halfway point so coming into grab him might cause a serious accident.
"He's a root, wisdom is not needed in dealing with them." she spat out venomously.
"Fine." was all I could be asked to respond with before I leapt the distance and came to a running halt at the bottom. An expecting gaze on the man when he finally reached the bottom along with a raising of his arms.
"Let me go quickly." was all he had to say before I grabbed him and went back to the other two.
"Let's go!" Einervaene spoke cheerfully as we were all now ready to start heading to Thrurstradtur.
"Which one of you has the map?" I asked them as I went slightly ahead of the group so I could more readily check the lay of the land as we went.
"I packed one in everyone's bag, even yours!" Einervaene answered with a sprinkling of pride.
"And which one is the map relevant for the remaining distance?" I asked, blowing away that sprinkling of pride as she now tried to figure it out.
"All of them... All of them are relevant!" she then said to me in annoyance while I smiled behind the mask. That period of confusion she went through before answering hitting me in just the right spot in terms of enjoyability. Both in how the trick worked and it was nice to experiment with what caused Einervaene to lose her posture. It was fun to do this to Rose, too, but it was a little easy at times as it basically boiled down to me being involved.
"Whose bag is the lightest and roomiest then?" I asked everyone so we could get to one of these maps quickly.
"Ironically considering how bloated it was before, yours." Baltanthan said with a jab of his hand. Something that led to me unslinging my bag and rummaging through it while I walked alongside them.
"There we go." I let out before unfurling the map and going through the phases of remembering that I can't read it. As such, I went to pass it on to someone else but Rose just kept it in my hands and came over. With that now being my situation, I was forced to pick her up so I could keep on walking without issue. Which, going by her expression, must have been her plan.
Certainly an interesting one... Annoy me and worry me with the idea of tripping up over her because of my further-reaching strides...
"Keep on going forward and..." she quietened down before looking up at me, her head-bulbs lighting up before she looked down again, "Make a right at this mountain, the start of the road is just a little beyond there."
"What mountain? We are surrounded by them!" Baltanthan moaned as he emphasised his point by spinning around with his hands held out wide.
"The largest one before the greatest one, obviously you stupid root!" Rose spat out at him, nearly literally was it not for my body being in the way.
"And by the God of them, which one is that?" he shot back with, growing increasingly sick of the aelenvari.
"Rose, let me have a look." I asked her as I fiddled with the map. I couldn't read it, but I could use it. A thought that I did not think made much sense...?
"See, that one." one of Rose's slender fingers pointing the mountain out on the map. A slow nod coming from me as I looked around to see if I could make out any other landmarks. I could make out something, but I wasn't too sure. So I had Rose get down before flying off and jumping from low peak to low peak.
A frown settling in on my features on the way down along with a light pebble rain.
"Well?" Einervaene asked as she approached. A small boulder soon smashing into my back while I was trying to figure out why she moved so close to me.
"Oh, that's why." I commented while moaning a little at the dull sensation my back was now experiencing.
"You really need to be more careful when using your magic, you know, you don't have to break everything."
"Says the one who met us by smashing through a window."
She looked away, "I was tired and a ball of lightning."
I snorted in amusement, "But, to get back on topic, it seems to be that one right over there if you can see where my ha- claw is pointing." I tell her.
"I think I see it. And now that I also see it so clearly from the ground..." she let out as we now had a much better view of the mountain Thrurstradtur was on.
"Hey, Baltanthan?"
"What?"
"Does that mountain have a name?"
"No, next to none of them do. Why?"
"Just got curious is all. But, now that I know, why? We've been past a few with distinct shapes and stand-offishness."
"If we gave a name to every pile of rocks on this continent then we'd never know where we were because there are so many we'd be repeating names until we die!" he told me, his annoyance being founded in that tone of his. A tone that just screamed the idea of 'how do you not know such basic information?'
"No need to be so snappy." was all I had to say to him after that as a quiet enveloped us as we got closer and closer to this mountain in particular. A strange sense of nervousness filling me as the path became increasingly well-trodden to the point we could even see distant groups. Most importantly, however, we were now fully in the shadow of the mighty mountain that glowed with golden light last night. And I was so close to seeing Vapooliar again...
Maybe that was why I was nervous? I was just so excited to see her again and get it all over with? To get onto the path that would send me back home, the path that would let me put all of this aside and relax as it were. I wanted it to come so badly yet I gulped it down with a heavy heart.
It was not going to come quickly, even if I assumed it all went so well from here on out. The distance to travel itself was still something that would take weeks upon weeks upon weeks... It might even be several years until I see Tobaballe again! And, that worried me, it worried me a lot as I wasn't sure if I could keep my memory of home alive long enough for that...
I did not want to develop a horrendously wrong mindset of what my home was like, but, I guess, misremembering was better than forgetting...? I did not know the answer to that if I was honest... But...
"Humans really are incredible..." Rose muttered in awe when a sudden noise took me out of my thoughts. It was almost, vehicular? No, it was!
"Now that is impressive..." I said with a loosening jaw as a mountain of metal flew over us with jets of pure emerald leaving its underbelly. The light, unfortunately, obscuring most of the vehicle with the exception of this protrusion based from its rear. Or, what I assumed to be its rear as the vehicle otherwise seemed to have a cog-shape to it...?
Even worse than not being able to get a good look at it, however, was the fact it soon disappeared. Right over a nearby mountain peak in but a moment! And with such a sight having been in my eyes, I felt refreshed. An adrenaline rush purely for the optimism within me!
Such a sight having been seen, however, my mind found itself trying to force its inclusion into my plans to get home. If I could not get one of that design, another would suit me just fine. Of course, I had no idea if I would even be able to purchase one as surely one must have had to be whatever was a high-floor equivalent here to buy it. Or, to put it into terms Rose would use, would I have to be a petal to buy such a machine?
If no rank minimum was there to stop me, how much would it even cost? Would I become so obsessed with trying to get one so I could go home that I spent more time trying to get it than it would have taken me if I did not see it? I was extremely confused right now because of it. Thankfully, I could get my mind off of the topic by just looking ahead.
And it turns out I was wrong because now I was looking straight at some kind of legged vehicle with a set of jagged, solid metal wheels. They even went inwards and made the vehicle taller as it went on to the now clearly busy road up the mountain. I don't think I have ever seen this many people, actually. We must have been at the tail end of a double-digit thousand total at the very minimum!
"Where am I even going to go...?" I muttered in disbelief while taking in the scale of it all. There were just so many people going up that I was not confident in the slightest that I would be able to get up there without being spotted.
"If we go to the back of this... Queue... Then we might be able to find a quiet spot for you to disappear up?" Einervaene contributed quietly as her eyes lingered on a small group of men in brass armour. They were even carrying those fancy magic guns we used in the hive back when I first met everyone. It made me a little nostalgic, actually, despite it not being that long ago.
"Don't think we have a choice in that matter." Baltanthan said cautiously with an extension of his finger. The finger guiding our eyes to the sight of a rowdy woman trying to force her way into the people going up the road. Only for her to then be shoved off and sharply gestured towards the rear of it. Which she reluctantly went towards with a scowl.
My eyes going to Rose after seeing that as I knew that could happen to them if she couldn't keep it together, "Let the other two do the talking unless necessary, please?" was what I then asked of her.
She nodded and smiled, "Of course, my love, if you believe that is for the best." she tells me without a single issue. This surprised me a little as I was at least expecting a jab regarding Baltanthan... What was she up to...? Was I wrong to not trust her right now?
I honestly couldn't tell as I was just so swept up by the scale of it all, even being someone who lived in a densely populated city!
"There seem to be machines that can take us in even from here." Einervaene points out as we began to walk towards the end of this near-endless column.
"No, we walk." Baltanthan tells her which caused her to look at her feet.
"Can't we at least take one up some of the way if it is possible? We've been walking for so long and the terrain of this land is not suited for long walks." Einervaene complains while moving her feet about.
"My flower and all the others move around quite fine without issue." Rose tells her with a shrug. A snort coming from Baltanthan when he heard that. One that Rose did not rise to challenge... I was somewhat impressed, actually.
But, that did not stop her from gently growling and sneering at him.
"On that topic, though, shouldn't you be quite used to long journeys?" I ask her while moving closer to the trees that still stood at the base of this road. And, from there, I just looked on at all the other ways to this mountain which were much more well-used and even paved! Was this likely to do with the borders Futhans mentioned before?
What defines a mountain-state and a ravineer town and all that?
"I still spent most of it in some reasonable comfort. I wasn't always dressed in filth like I was before I met you." she informed me.
"Even then, surely you did a lot of walking? You said it was a multi-year journey."
"Not really." she muttered while considering how strange it actually was to spend most of her journey on what sounded more like mobile hotels.
"Well, if your feet are hurting, would you like to hop on up? I have no issues with carrying you for a bit." I offer to her while Rose seemed to back away the moment I made the offer, "You can get up, too." I then offered to her, but she turned it down with a gentle shake,
"It's fine, it's fine." was all she sighed out before moving ahead a little.
"What about you Baltanthan? I got a space next to me if you want it?" Einervaene then offered to the named member of our group.
"No, I'm fine walking."
"Really? I thought you would have wanted a little break so you could spend more time focusing on the city."
"I could fall over, nearly dead and I would still enjoy it!" he declared to her.
"You don't look like you are enjoying it."
"Because we are not there yet."
"We nearly are, though, so shouldn't you look more excited?"
"No."
"You really should, it was nice seeing you smile back on prior days."
"I'm not going to compliment you." he then said which confused the now raised up Einervaene.
"I... I wasn't looking for compliments...?"
"Good."
Einervaene sighed as she sprawled herself out on the bag, "What about you, Urtuoi-kischu? Are you excited over the fact we are finally here?"
"Admittedly, I am more worried, but, all these vehicles are nice to look at. Very brass, though." I answer before commenting on the hundreds of vehicles we had passed by.
"That is true, a lot of them have been brass, copper or gold-like colours." she said as she let her hair fall down as she leaned over the top. Her upside-down face not being far from a potential pecking should I have wished it.
"It's called having pride in your home." Baltanthan then said in a defensive manner.
"I didn't mean any offence, I just found it interesting." Einervaene then apologised on behalf of both of us. Even though I did not see a reason to apologize. If he wanted to act up over an observation then let him. We can bruise him for it later.
"Why are you so defensive about it, anyway? Thrurstradtur is not your home from what I gather." I add in while making reference to his little town which he seemed to be offended by.
"It soon will be, so don't ever bring up that backwater with me again." he nearly snarled out. This contempt for home he had upset me for some reason. Maybe it was because I was desperate to get back to mine yet he was so eager to leave his all behind?
"So, Einervaene, anything you want to talk about?" I then asked my passenger after looking at her.
"Well, let me see, I could speak about what I know of the school we are going to."
"That would actually be very helpful, so explain away." I tell her as she smiles at me.
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"Alright, you three, down." I told the aelenvari, the other man and our only human female as I collapse onto my own rear. A mixture of moaning and laughter leaving me as I stared up at the night sky. It had taken us the rest of the day just to get around this mountain and far enough away from the crowds for us to safely separate.
"Are we going to rest here for the night or...?" Rose asked as she sat down on me, my cape serving as a blanket for her briefly.
"It's up to you lot, the quicker we get going the better off we will be I say." I tell them while sending my head all the way back to look up the stone giant behind us. My hat falling off shortly after as I had bent my head too far back. But, now that I was aware of it, should I take my mask and hat off for now? When I was on the mountain, that is.
I might lose them if I kept them on climbing up that thing...
"There are places we can rest on along the road up, so let's get going." Baltanthan groaned out as he forced himself up once again.
"I take it all our money is with you three then?" I ask while turning my head to Einervaene who had just refused to get off the bag and was still laying there.
"Yeah... I put most of it with me and Baltanthan."
"I have some?" Rose asked as she fiddled with her bag.
"Yes, I gave you some because there just wasn't much room left in mine and his, but, well, I thought you might want to get something. You know, food, drink, that sort of stuff."
"We have such items packed, Vine."
"I know, I know. I just thought maybe you'd want something fresh? Back in Tryhpeltzweig, I had many talks with the Thurnaimarhos and he mentioned how he was quite fond of these places and all."
"Well, if a human-petal is suggesting them..." Rose said with a linger in her voice before she shook her head and handed the money to Einervaene.
"No, keep it!" she said as she tried to give it back.
"No, I insist, it will be better for you to have it as you'll be more tolerant to whatever root serves us in those places."
"Uh... Okay."
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"So can we get going?" I tell them as they exchanged items before the o-so tearful farewell to our bug protector.
"Hold on, let me just... Rossie-chira, come on!" she said while tightening up her bag before calling out to the insufferable one.
"Right..." was all she had to say before we finally got moving! And I was very excited for it as we were finally heading back to the main road! We could finally start heading up properly and we were going to do it all under the lights and sounds of the city and the airships that buzzed around it!
"Quit making those noises you two, we'll be able to get to an inn on the road."
"Are there even going to be rooms available?" Einervaene asked in disbelief as she looked at the crowds around us. There wasn't much else to look at right now so I was following wherever her gaze went.
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"Of course, these places were built with the busy road in mind, these places will be huge, probably better than the backwater I came from alone! So you hear that aelenvari? We'll find grandeur fit for you alright." I explain before targeting the supposed lover of Nin.
"Where is Rossie-chira...?" Einervaene then asked in worry as she came to a stop. Something that caused me to grab her and push us through to the very mountain itself so we weren't in the way of anyone.
"Don't stop and look for her, we got to get moving!"
"Don't look for her...? We can't just leave our friend in this crowd!"
"There's only one way to go! We'll see her again, not hard to miss her!"
"But!"
"We stay the course!" I tell her sternly as I let go of her. Quickly stepping in front of her to prevent her from going anywhere before rolling my eyes and nabbing her hand. If my words weren't going to keep her on the road, my actions would!
"Her bag!" she then suddenly said as she shot past me with her superior strength, easily making her way through the crowd afterwards. Then, once she was done cultivating a batch of insults to be thrown at her, she was back by my side. And I was left somewhat jealous of her, here she was, seemingly a pushover yet she was indeed magically gifted.
"Alright, come closer to the side." I nearly hissed at her as we retreated from the crowds.
"See, her bag!" she told me with a voice full of worry as she shook it in front of me.
"She must have left it there, we can't go back for her." was all I had to say after gesturing to how the straps were. There was no way she just dropped it while being grabbed like Einervaene might have been thinking of.
"But...!"
"If she is no longer here then we have to let the bu- him deal with it." I told her firmly, quickly switching out the usual word I referred to Nin with before I fully said it.
"We need to look for her..." was what I heard her mumble before I dragged her onwards with little resistance.
"It's out of our hands now!"
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"All quiet now, so up I go." I commented before digging my claw into the mountain. Briefly stepping back in surprise when I couldn't even get my claws into the stone... This stone was much tougher than the other ones I have dealt with. I did not know why but I felt like just saying 'it was magic,' would have been a valid answer.
Yet, despite this issue, I was still able to get some grip into the stone, but it was clear I now had to focus more on potential grab points. My old ways of just forcing individual claws in would not work with this mountain it seemed. But, a rhythm was soon found and I was just going up and up the mountain with a small smile as it just felt more exciting. Maybe because I would need actual effort this time?
This also worried me, in a way, if I was to need more effort on my part then doesn't that make the size of the mountain an issue? Like, an exceptionally huge one? I couldn't exactly stop on the climb to rest so if I could not do it in a single go...
"My love! My love! Where are you!?" I barely heard from down below which caused me to stop and swing about. One of my feet loosely dangling in the air while the other anchored my moving body that a single claw held stable. A frown forming once I saw Rose's headlights brightly shining down below. An irritated roll of my eyes preceding my leap down.
"Why aren't you with the others...?" I asked her as I approached her. Not really taking note of how the ground was not warped and destroyed as it usually was by such a leap down.
"I told you remember? I was going to go up with you!" she told me with a smile as her head became more visible as her lights dimmed.
"And I told you to stay with the others!"
"I am not leaving you on your own!" she told me as she came closer and tried to pull me closer. But, as I was in no mood for her antics, she had to come to me as my body did not bow to her whims here under this circumstance.
"Go back, Rose, let me get up there and we will see each other then. You can spend all the time you want with me when we get up there and meet back up." I said in an effort to plead with her. To try and get her to go back to the other two so I was not being dragged down by her.
"No."
"Why not...?"
"Because I will stay with you. Besides, I gave my bag to the others." she told me, her expression turning sheepish towards the end.
"You idiot... You invite Undwote to us." was all I could say to her as she held on to me with unceasing firmness.
"I invite Oungicorcer so that he may bless you with strength I will invoke from you!"
"The God of Mountains!? I don't see how he will help me climb one of his creations."
"Not that aspect of him, the other five, fire, water, wind, lightning and darkness. Five of the magical aspects."
"You came all this way to help me get stronger...? You idiot! We are going to a place for that! I don't need you risking your life to do it!"
"It's not a case of need, I want to." she told me as she stepped back and looked up at me with a smile that held no ill-will towards me. A long sigh was all I could do right now, a long sigh that just went on and on before I just shook my head lots. A motion that became smaller and quicker, like a coin coming to a stop.
"Fine... Fine..." I began to say before dropping down and putting my bag down. Unfurling it as much as I could before then opening it up.
"You can't be serious..." Rose let out in that high and mighty tone of hers.
"Get in." was all I said and that was all I needed as now I was just waiting for her to get in.
"What am I going to do in here?" Rose asked me as I put the bag back on my back. My head soon turning to face her, a smile of my own forming.
"Yes, now, make sure you are warm and that you had a full meal before because we are not taking the leisurely route." I told her as I put my claws into the mountain once more. My anger helping me to drive them in like the bolts put into a steel plate that goes on to form a ship or building.
"You know, my love, it is nice to have you back to myself as we travel. Just like the old times." she told me after a short silence of climbing.
"We have spent more days travelling as a group of four than I ever did with you and even then it was not that long ago!" I told her while patting the area above me. All to test out potential areas to climb up along. But, as my mind had mentioned that, the idea of 'long ago,' I was now thinking of my climbing race with Vadei. A small smile forming as I was not having to worry about any spongey sensations as I went up and up.
"I still miss it..." she mumbled from her bag.
"Can't say I share the same sentiment." I responded with while my mind lingered on what happened while I travelled with her. It was so much closer to when I had turned, so all I could really think of during those times were how she acted around me. I know I must have thought of it before, how she was growing more tolerable to my current form. But, I know she still reacted badly around me.
She was never going to get over it by the looks of it... So I would have to just stop being bothered by it myself.
"Why not? I was there for you and you were there for me, you saved me and I was grateful, you began your journey into being a skilled witch. A lot of good happened in our travel time."
"Yes, but at the same time, and I sincerely mean no offence. But, since I have met you I have nearly murdered someone, I myself have literally died, I got turned into a monster and I was chased out of town."
"I understand those bother you my love, but none of them are tied to me explicitly, I was just there for the events." she correctly pointed out while caressing my head.
"I know, but, sometimes it just feels like you are a bad luck charm."
"Now that's just made-up nonsense." she laughed out, a smile forming on my face as she laughed.
"Then let's see if you bring me any good luck up this mountain."
"I can't say for certain if I do, but I bring convenience!"
"And what convenience is that?"
"I can pass you snacks and compliment you with spirit-raising love as you climb!" she cheerfully exclaims from her bag. Soon stopping so I could somewhat watch her disappear into the bag to rummage about it. A piece of dried meat in her hand once she came out once again.
"Thank you." I said before taking the meat from her with a gentle bite. Leaving the meat to linger in my mouth so I could just suck on it as I could not really eat properly in this situation. And, well, I'd rather chew it before swallowing as I did not want to enter a coughing fit in this place of all places.
"So how much distance are you hoping to cover anyway?" she yawned out as she seemingly found a comfortable spot to slink into.
"Three days they said was how long the road would take, didn't they?"
"Yeah..." she said with a muffled yawn.
"Well, including this night with the coming day, I am hoping for at least half the distance to be done."
"Good luck..."
"Going to need more than luck at this rate." I said while looking at an aircraft that was lingering about an area far to my right. It wasn't near me by any means, but if this was a guard vehicle then that might spell some issues. And now that I was aware of that machine, I was aware of the noise above me, it seemed I was getting close to the road.
So how was I going to get around it...? I could leap, but would that cause me to get spotted by the guards and people on the road? Would I have to follow the road up rather than just going in a straight line? By the gods, this was getting complicated alright.
If I still had my mask and hat on, I might be able to slip into the crowd and then sneak off into any trees and keep on climbing. Reality had the conditions the other way, though, for my hat and mask were off and my buggish features were exposed to the whole world to see. Yet, it was also firmly nighttime now, so would the road not be quieter? That machine was shining lots of light after all.
"Maybe if I timed a leap with the passing of one of these vehicles...?" I asked myself as I got to what felt like the underbelly of the road. And, to my surprise, it sounded no different than it was when we first got here. Maybe I should not have been surprised? This was a capital city no?
One built with few ways in so the few ways in would always be crowded, no? Well, either way, I still needed to get past it all so I was just left lingering where I was while pondering a way through. And while I had my head turned to the bag, I wondered about it. For if I was to make this jump, might the bag snap?
I could not exactly grab it and hold it to make sure the bag did not snap. So, maybe I just had to have faith in the idea it would hold, it had held thus far and this bag was designed to carry much more. And with one click of the mouth later and the gulping of my meat, I was on the move again. Not like before, though.
This time I was just moving up and down in the build-up to what would follow. I would go through with my 'leap over the road' plan, all I needed to do was make sure I would actually meet the mountain above. Which is why I was practising my angle and looking around every now and then. And with a final gulp of worry, I went up.
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"Did we walk into Undwote's grip or something!?" Baltanthan swore as he rubbed his arms in an effort to generate warmth. I had offered for him to come closer to me and share in the warmth generated by my sparks, but he had refused.
"Why did it suddenly turn white anyway?" I asked as I watched my breath turn to steam as it left my mouth. Repressing any urges to act like a dragon unlike this little kid walking near me with her parents.
"It's because we entered the gods-damned snow-belt." he told me as he carefully avoided a shiny patch on the ground. Everyone seemed to be taking it more carefully now, in fact, railings were now present on the road as to before where everyone just kept their distance from the edge. The guards had even begun to rely on floating platforms over the previous method of walking besides the crowd between checkpoints.
"So this is a snow-belt..." I muttered quietly while looking at what I could through the thick cloud cover that engulfed this area of the mountain. The crunch my boots made against it was satisfying to hear, even if I could barely hear it over the nice of the many hundreds of people within only a few dozen paces of me. I had looked on up at Urtuoi-kischu many times as he leapt between close peaks, and it was nice to finally experience what he must have taken for granted. Maybe I could ask him about how it was regarding his climb up this mountain?
Everyone here was moving so carefully so he must have been moving slower than a slug!
"Yeah, I am not doing this, we are going to an inn earlier today." Baltanthan told me before he wiped his red nose.
"Ok, when do you want to get to one?"
"Maybe after the next checkpoint? If we are quick about it we might be able to get a decent room."
"The rooms have been great, though, the staff kind and welcoming...?" I said as I got confused by his last statement.
"I mean a room that is plenty warm, unlike our last few stops, getting a nice, toasty-warm room is far more important this time."
"How are we going to get ahead, though? The crowds are not moving fast and we are not in a vehicle."
"We don't need the crowd to move fast, you just have to want to get somewhere warm!" he told me as he began to gesture for us to just beeline through the crowds and shove as necessary. Something that I was very unsure of as we had seen many a trouble causer be sent away by the guards or dragged off by them.
"I don't know..."
"It's not illegal to shove past someone, so let's get going!" he told me as he moved to grab me before one of the guard platforms suddenly stopped above us.
"Attention, those within the designated square will be brought forward for increased inspection." they said as me, Baltanthan and everyone remotely close to us was suddenly lit up in glowing square.
"Damn it..." Baltanthan swore.
"Don't be like that, we were told before that they did this as a precautionary measure."
"Yes, but why did it have to be us...?" he snapped at me as the platform landed and opened up so we could all get on it. Sticking close to the freezing man as he muttered insult after insult while I just went along with it quietly. I was rather curious about this procedure, actually, and I was also happy at the idea of getting out of the cold as it meant I could stop using magic. Something the child near me seemed to be disappointed by.
"No! Keep doing it!" they whined before their father reigned them in.
"Sorry about that, she just really likes seeing witches." he told me with a smile as he kept her close to him.
"That's quite alright, I don't mind entertaining her if it helps her keep calm if that is the current issue."
"Hear that, sweetie? Witch is going to let you play with her for a bit." he told his daughter as he sent her forward a little. Her small body bouncing around as I held out my hand and thought about doing the most common practical joke amongst my people.
"Hello, I am Einervaene, nice to meet you." my gloved hand raised before her, ready to shake it if she understood what to do.
"Hello! I'm Oyeihfee!" she said with a smile, her hand, however, did not rise to meet mine, "Why are you holding your hand out?" her head tilting as she asked it.
"For you to shake it." returning her smile with my own.
"Ok!" she said before she grabbed it by the fingers and moved it about. A frown developing before she pulled her hand away and looked up at her father.
"Your hair has gone all funny." he said with surprise as his daughter moved to play with it. Laughter coming from her as she realised her hair had begun to stand up for what must have seemed like no reason to her.
"Attention passengers, please exit the security platform and spread yourselves out into your travel groups." the man seemingly piloting the platform ordered. Soon waving goodbye to the little girl and her family as me and Baltanthan found ourselves on our own again. Somewhat, anyway, we were not sent off into a room, we were just standing inside a different type of checkpoint building or a different floor of the ones we had previously gone through.
"You two, with me." a new guard said as he walked by with some kind of thin, metal block. And following a gesture to stop, we were scanned by some kind of device then prodded a few times by another one. Worry filling me as the guards near us discussed something in private while constantly looking at me specifically.
"You, in here." a guard told me as another moved his weapon to be directly facing me. A nervous jitter taking me over as I walked into a small room and sat down on a plain seat while being harshly stared down by a guard.
"Name."
"Excuse me...?"
"The name you gave us at prior checkpoints, say it."
"Uh... Ein... Einervaene Bosphama."
"Thank you. Now, the reason you are travelling up to the capital of the Uhroppess Republic?"
"To attend the Suhurlodst Academy and meet up with a friend?"
"We have an issue then."
My blood ran cold, "P-Pardon? That can't be right... I know I said something along those lines to the guards of previous checkpoints."
"And yet, one of the men who brought you here reports you entertaining a child, why would a children's entertainer go to a school specializing in arcane engineering and the pioneering of combat-focused witchcraft?" a small grin forming on his face before he broke down laughing with a few other men in the room. A laugh I tried to get into my system but I was just too scared too.
"Ignore my colleague, Einervaene Bosphama, he is just having some fun. Everything matches up, you are free to leave the room." another guard told me while he handed some kind of datasheet to the one who had apparently messed with me. I was still worried, admittedly, but it was nice knowing it was just that. A joke and little else.
"Baltanthan!" I called out as I got back to him, glad I could seek counsel amongst a familiar face.
"Why are you so happy to see me? You weren't gone long."
"I just am, okay?" I said to him before going quiet and calming myself down. My eyes looking around as everyone began to go back to their groups before a soft warmth washed over us.
"You may now arrange lodgings at the connected inn if you wish, thank you for your time. We hope your journey remains safe thanks to the Thrurstradturian Guard of the Road and it is in our interest you carry on compiling until you are out of our jurisdiction, thank you." the most decorated of the armoured men present said as we were ushered down the path. Some of us were confused and scared, but most of the people here were quite used to this, it seemed. They must have been natives to this city?
"Well, this has gone better than I had expected." Baltanthan comments with relief as we moved on from the dull and practical set out of the previous building and into the gilded stonework of the inn. Sweet smells and the heat of plentiful fires doing a lot to get me back into a peaceful mindset. And while I was distracted by all the gorgeous patterns on the carpet, I accidentally ran into Baltanthan.
Rather, walked into him.
"Sorry!" I said frantically as I came back to my senses.
"Wait until we have a room first before you get tired." he told me as we went down the stairs. The heels of my boots echoing throughout the local area as we looked on at the sea of clothed tables, sofas and other furniture pieces. It really was amazing how vast these inns were and I still hadn't gotten over looking at them as we travelled them.
They were small towns in and of themselves!
"Should we get a meal first?" I asked as I looked up at a display that seemed to suggest they had some kind of fruity cake and creamy soup as their main dish of the day. Or, special, as I have come to know it as. I found the name a little odd, though, the dishes weren't special, just plentiful, so why were they called that? Back home the main dish of the day was called just that, the main dish of the day.
But here they call them specials... What an odd people these Jhermonikrans were.
"I'd rather get a room."
"Then why don't you get a room, and I get us something to eat?"
"Maybe I want room delivery." he contested, clearly looking to avoid any help from me.
"I can get you something that won't make a mess of the bed from here, no?"
"Just get yourself something, I'll find you later and tell you where the room is. Or, who knows, maybe I can get the staff to do it." he said with a refreshed sigh. The stiffness in his posture melting away as he walked towards the reception counter at the far end of the great hall.
"Alright..." I said in disappointment as I found myself alone in this gargantuan building. A finger twirling about my hair as I wandered towards the scent of food while looking at the main entrance of this place. It was odd, looking at those doors, actually. There were lots of people using them but it still felt incredibly empty as many doors were not getting used.
But, the meals and dishes prepared on the valley-long set of tables, however, did not look odd. It looked enticing and my stomach was growling just looking at the array of foods presented. I almost felt intimidated as it was almost endless, and all of it was fresh and juicy when applicable. And despite the intimidation, this was one challenge I would not step down from as I wanted to devour so much and become fat!
Actually, that was a lie, I wanted to keep my current proportions but I would probably eat so much I'd become fat anyway! If the food was truly delicious, then maybe such a problem would be forgivable... But, it depends, as some of it still felt like something I wanted to avoid. So many foreign dishes just like the other inns...
"I guess I should be extra thankful to you then, hmm?" I said to no one here as I made reference to my previous host in Tryhpeltzweig. The one who had enabled me to get this far, to begin with. His cooks made me food that was like food from my home and he went out of his way to replicate familiar comforts. And now, I was in a place that accommodated the comforts of another people...
Yet, I was willing to give it a go, it only made sense I started eating the foods of this land! Even if I did it at a slow and steady pace...
.
.
.
"I told you Rose-sweerui, I told you. Yes, I told you." I growled out through the harsh and cold winds that bitterly bit into me as I climbed this particular part of the mountain. My head constantly turning back towards the bag as Rose was suffering badly in these conditions, even with her pocket of warmth. So I was trying, I was trying as hard as I could to get up this part of the mountain but something about it made it so cold. I could barely feel any part of my body and it was slowing me down.
Grips I was formerly sure of I had become paranoid about and my inability to see through all the snow only made it worse. For I could not see any specific details anymore, just vague outlines. But, I was not going to let this stop me and I had been cultivating something within me that had only grown since I got lost in this cold. My body felt stiff and frozen, but the blood that my heart pumped flowed freely despite it all with esoteric heat.
So with it, I was able to slam my hands into the mountain and drag myself up with pure force of will and the strength my steadily weakening body held within it. Sometimes this strength barely moved me, other times it would be as if I was lifting myself up with a lonely arm that bore the entire burden I put on it. This strength was fickle, however, and the icy stone fell apart often before slipping free. Causing me to desperately cling to the mountain for dear life so I did not fall down into the depths I had climbed out of.
"Hang in there, Rose-sweerui, hang in there..." I heaved out while hoping the god responsible for our current detriment was not near. Was he actively making the situation worse, did he want me to return into his grasp so that he may finish what should have happened to me? Was he that uncaring as to drag in the lives of others into a debt I might have owed him? It did not matter in the end, I just had to get the one who calls me her beloved out of this cold.
A cold I thankfully knew had an end for some of the mountains I climbed and looked upon did indeed had snowless peaks. And an end this mountain did, so this being in my mind only helped me go on and on up this frozen misery. Panic filling me as the noises Rose had been making throughout had properly died off. The clattering of teeth and the subtle shaking of the bag was gone, it had gone silent...
"ROSE!?" I shouted out to her before sending a reinvigorated fist into the ice that we were in front of. Even with the loss of decent vision, I could tell it blocked a tunnel and the blast only helped highlight it. For now, I was resting in the snowy mist that briefly filled it before it all settled down. Only what was coming in through the entrance keeping any movement.
And once we were in, I took it all off, my bag, what clothes I could, and I opened the bag in such haste as to tear it. With Rose in my sights, I then crawled against her and hugged her tightly while making all our stored supplies a cacoon for us. Keeping my mouth open and breathing all over her face in hopes the warmth would get her moving again. Which it seemed to have done, for now, she had her eyes opening again.
"It'll be alright..." was what I chose to say right now to the shivering aelenvari whose hand sloppily placed itself somewhat inside of my dry jaw. The winds having taken away any saliva in it and blocked the rest up with frost.
"M... My... Love..." she barely got out with a ghost of a smile as her eyes fluttered, the telltale signs of her going in and out of being conscious. My eyes locking on to the barely visible cloud of steam her mouth was producing before I then looked at my mask.
"Make sure not to lose this, okay?" I said to her as I put the mask on her face along with a few small pieces of clothing I could stuff in there. Or, along the rims of the mask. My plan to get her to stay with me, to keep her alive. I would pray for it to work but I was so caught up in the idea of keeping her warm I did nothing regarding it and I just kept fiddling.
I laid her straight and wrapped her up before balling her up while surrounding her with everything that might keep her warm. I moved the bag to my front and placed her exposed portions against me so her face was always near mine and I made sure it was tight against me. From there, I stood up once again and kept moving around in this tunnel while I thought of something. Doing whatever I could with my magic to help in this but for some reason, I just couldn't make heat with it.
I could only make this little extension of my fingers...
"Do anything, anything at all, Rose-sweerui if this hurts you." I tell her desperately while putting a hand against her and performing my magic trick. I was hoping this expansion of my hands in a way would help trap more heat on her head, but, I just wasn't sure. I did not want to apply pressure in case I killed her but at the same time I was unwilling to just let her head remain in the open. And then, in a fit of rage where I kicked at some icy stones.
I got an idea... The same one I had been using for a while...
Jump.
Jump as high and as far as I have ever gone before.
No, go beyond it!
"You are going to be okay, do you hear me?" I tell her slowly as I moved out into the open, my free hand holding the mountain tightly as I got out as far as I could. From there, I tried to reapply what I could do with my hands to my feet and just kept thinking over and over of explosive forces. Of items that sent themselves flying with kinetic energy that had snapped them in two or more. I just kept thinking of it all while my legs got lower and lower.
A few rapid breaths left me before I did anything else, my efforts to hype myself up they were. It was all I had left and I would wring out their value completely. So, with one final thought and breath, I launched up with an explosive boom that sent the surrounding snow away along with these clouds. A brief path into the air, a brief path into snow-less pastures.
I soared higher and higher, hoping, praying to whatever god or goddess that would hear me would keep us going up. And when I fell back down, I did not panic, I just sent my arm straight into the mountain and dislodged it due to it holding back all that force I came down with. A scream of pain filled the air as I hanged just above the potential graveyard. Miserable laughter devolving from the scream as I happily cried out my remaining pain before seething the rest of the way up.
Having freed my arm but not realigned it before I moved again. And soon, thankfully so soon, I was rolling on grass with soft, warm soil under it. A delicate Rose on top of me as I laid there on the grass, a distant light illuminating us while I kept my eyes on the soon to be demasked woman. A woman who was alive thanks to my efforts!
Albeit, barely conscious.
"Keep... Kee..." I tried to say to her before just getting her off of me and standing up, quickly placing myself against a tree before grabbing my arm. Clenching my jaw against a nearby branch before sending the arm back up into its socket with barely muffled pain and watering eyes. The branch soon having the flakey, splintery remains of it spat out of my mouth before I rushed back to her. Back to Rose.
A woman who had put me through all of that with her stupidity to come along. A woman I now held on to with joyful tears while rocking back and forth as her body came alive again. The winds of this mountaintop seemingly seeking us out so they could heal us. Or, maybe it was just that rule Futhans told me, where strong magic heals weaker magic.
It had to be... The mountain's reserve was so great it could heal and breathe new life into those who went to it. Maybe this was why it was a member of the Great Seven Peaks I heard talked about. Because it was so magnificent in its power it just attracted the weary into its grasp with its healing breezes.
"My love, we are here." Rose told me as she took the mask off, colour having returned to her face as she stumbled out of the bag. Even though her body was still too weak to stand on its own, so I was there with her. Supporting her as our eyes fell upon the distant majesty we had came up here to see, to begin with!
Thrurstradtur!
A city that seemed so close yet it was deceitful, for it was actually so big that it always seemed close, a mountain of brass and gold on top of another... A city whose highest point pointed straight into the glowing sky that flowed with the brightest emerald winds I had ever seen. All of it to the backdrop of a distant purple structure from which one could barely see a metal ring that orbited the world! No clouds were in the way...
Just magic...
"It's beautiful, isn't it...?" Rose asked me as she seemed to pull me away. Her tone seemingly off when she asked it.
"Of course it is... This thing is a marvel! It outshines Tobaballe's best in ways I can't even describe!" I told her with eyes that were unable to remove themselves from the great wedge at the centre of the city. The main attraction of it all. And, I swear this was real, but, it seemed to be very slowly moving in a circle.
And now that I realised it, it was following the moon currently eclipsing the others! We were in the middle of an alignment!
"Want to see something better?" she asked me as she tugged at me with increased ferocity. The kind a child would use when they brought their parent to see the unmistakably cool view...
"What the..." I found myself saying as I moved on from the city and towards a greater sight that made me go back and correct prior thoughts. For brighter, more plentiful emerald winds were now in my sight, and it was all around an impossibly huge mountain that must have been a lifetime away in distance yet it seemed so close...
And it just went higher and higher...
"The source of all wind-magic in the world, the heart of the wind-peoples, the tallest peak in the world and the home of the capital of the Union..." Rose began to expose as she stepped away from me and cried, "My love, this is, in the oldest tongue of them all, Jhroungijherammujhernosumonaterikra! The Great Mountain with the Greatest Size and the Greatest Air of the People! Your people!"
My arms soon wrapped around her after she said that to me as I felt like I needed to hold on to someone for support. And she clearly needed someone to cry against as she was just bawling with a degree of joy I had not seen before...
And, for some reason, my body seemed to scream for it, like it recognised it as my home? That was all I could describe the sensation as.
"Tallest mountain in the world, huh..." I muttered as I finally gazed at its peak, but a finger scrape away from touching the limits of the sky!