The endless plains had morphed into a forest of white birch. The dazzling golden leaves swayed and danced in the air as a cool breeze brushed by. The trickling of water met their ears where a small creek was. The group continued on through the beautiful landscape of the ‘Leukos Forest’.
“Wow, who knew such a pretty place could exist here…” Ellie remarked as the stunned group gawked at the amazing scenery. The place felt extremely serene, as if untouched by the usual violence of the abyss.
“Keep your guard up, this place supposedly has dangerous vegetation.” Blake reminded the stunned group. Cassius recalled some of the information in the books he had read in the Poplis library, it did mention carnivorous plants that released a dangerous neurotoxin…
“And here I thought we finally could relax…” Said Wayne aloud. Their squad had been traveling for about two days now. The cliff they had departed from was now long out of view. However, the Aeolus mountains now filled their vision. They had nearly arrived at the base of the range, and planned to scale one of the mountains to see the general vicinity.
While traveling, they had already killed a few creatures, ten to be exact. This place was already proving to be more fruitful than the upper tunnels without even trying to hunt creatures down.
After a bit of walking they finally reached the foot of the mountain. Everyone steeled themselves as they made their way up the summit.
“Hah, climbing this is going to be a pain in the ass…” Griped Sarina. They had been walking for hours yet they weren’t even halfway to the top of the mountain. “There’s no helping it. There’s no way around climbing this thing… but we’ll make camp soon.” Replied Blake.
The entire group was pale and out of breath. The extreme height was taking a toll on everyone as each step was harder than the last.
“Ahh!” A few pebbles flew down the mountain after Ellie slipped. Luckily Cassius grabbed her hand. “Careful Lillie! The ground’s not stable here!” Ellie gasped as she pulled herself up. “T-thanks Cassius…”
After another hour of walking they finally found a nice flat part of land. “Alright everyone, let’s get rested” Announced Blake. Relief filled their faces as they gleefully set up camp. The men shared one tent while the women shared the other.
Only the sound of crunching and chewing filled the air as they roasted the creatures they caught over the past day. “This place is too weird… we haven’t seen anything dangerous…” murmured Wayne.
Everyone silently agreed. The Expeditionary Group claimed the area was difficult for nameless to explore, yet they encountered little to no resistance so far. What exactly made the Expeditionary Group deem this as a dangerous place?
“We’ll figure it all out tomorrow. Judging by our pace we should reach the crest of the mountain around noon if we set out early tomorrow.” Blake sat up and brushed off the dust on his pants.
“He’s right, let’s just try to get as much sleep as possible tonight. I’ll take the first watch, we’ll trade after around two hours.” Said Cassius as he remained seated, his axe at the ready.
Everyone thanked Cassius as they went to their respective tents. “Hah, looks like it’s another long night for me…” Recently out in the wild Cassius had trouble falling asleep. Oftentimes visions and nightmares would greet him.
A chill ran up his spine as he recalled the various dreams. Monstrosities, blood, incessant murmuring, and most of all, a blood chilling noise. Bones scraping each other, the noise would meld into a macabre symphony of anguish.
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Cassius scooted closer to the fire, hoping the comfort and warmth of the wire would push away the uneasiness.
Crackle, snap… POP…
The flames licked the fresh wood, and the embers still remained hot, glowing with an alluring orange hue.
“Christ, I’m getting sleepy…” He was not sure how long he had stared at the fire, but it felt like eons. His eyes kept on dropping before he would slap his face to keep him awake.
“Cassius?” A sweet voice entered Cassius’s ears as he almost fell asleep. Gazing up, Eleanor met his eyes. Her eyes reminded him of a puppy’s as she tilted her head to the side. “I’m sorry, are you tired?”
“No, no. Just… a little sleepy I guess…” Cassius rubbed his eyes trying to fight the drowsiness. “We can go ahead and switch out, you’ve been out here for a while, so try and get some sleep!” Ellie scolded him as he got up and sluggishly made his way into the tent.
Finally lying down he instantly was swept away by his sleepiness. For once he didn’t have a nightmare.
“Professor I don’t understand, how can a particle in a quantum state be affected by another particle?” A man facing a whiteboard turned around, his eyes obscured. “Ah, that is the basis of quantum computing, we can use…”
The scenery changed. Inside a living room with a fireplace and complete darkness, a man sat on a chair. Beside him was a bottle of some sort of liquor, nearly drained completely. In his hands was a golden statue.
“Hah, what’s even the point…”
The scenery once again changed. A pristine lake with a large mountain came into being. Yellow and blue flowers bloomed, and endless wildlife wandered through the verdant green forest.
“Twenty kilometers was worth it…”
…
Cassius’s eyes opened softly, and all that he saw was the canvas of the tent. “What a strange dream… what is a quantu-”
Cassius’s brow furrowed. “Wait, what exactly was my dream again?” The memories of the dream seemed to flow away, as if being blotted out by the world itself. He desperately tried to remember, yet nothing remained.
However, there was one detail he did not forget. A beautiful and open blue sky.
…
Cassius pushed open the canvas, where a nice slab of meat was cooking on a pan over the fire. “Good morning Sarina, thanks for breakfast!” Sarina glanced over while she poked and prodded the meat. “Come get it while it’s hot! Ellie and Wayne aren’t up yet so you get first choice!”
The group eventually all gathered around the fire and ate their meal whilst planning the next day. Once everyone finished eating they packed up their tents and bags, and set off for the nearby peak.
…
A fierce gale pelted the bodies of the group. Every step they took up the mountain was a fight against the air itself.
“Dammit, how the hell are we gonna get past this!” Complained Wayne.
After getting up early they had made good progress up the mountain. However, towards the top a wind started to blow. What was once a gentle breeze had turned into a full on hurricane.
Everyone desperately climbed on all fours trying to get up the mountain. “We just need to get to the top! We’re only a few hundred meters away!” Yelled Blake.
Cassius now understood why no one ever succeeded in exploring the Aeolus mountains. The fierce tempest would throw anyone down the mountain. He looked behind him, the slope of the mountain had to be above 60 degrees. If one were to slip now… all that would greet them would be boulders and trees.
The group paused, hoping to gain a little respite. The peak was less than 300 meters away, but like it was hundreds of kilometers away. Wayne pulled some rope from his bag.
“Here everyone, tie your waist to this rope, hopefully if one person slips we can save them…” Everyone passed around the rope till a sturdy knot was around each of them. Cassius gave it a few tugs to ensure its sturdiness before speaking aloud. “We have no choice now, if we turn back there’s no telling the risks of slipping down the slope.”
Sarina nodded before adding, “We just need one last push, whatever you do stop for nothing and keep pushing!”
Everyone steeled themselves before once again crawling desperately. The wind seemed to chill them down to the bone. Snot and tears ran down their faces as they tried to keep their eyes open on the way up. Ceaseless wind filled their ears, to the point where they could barely even hear each other.
It was like the mountains were passing divine judgment on these foolish trespassers. As they climbed more and more dread filled their being. The gale only increased in ferocity, and each person was slowing down as exhaustion caught up with them.
The air had become thin, so thin in fact that Cassius’s vision had almost completely gone black. His limbs had long ago gone numb, and now it seemed even his consciousness evaded him.
He looked in behind him to see that everyone else in the group had passed out already. They were still breathing, but they all looked dangerously pale. Cassius clenched his fists and bit his lips. “I refuse to die here!” He had too much he needed to know, and to die here on this godforsaken mountain would be too pathetic.
Rage fueled his every step as he clawed his way up, practically pulling the group with him. The peak of the mountain was mere meters away, but alas his emotion fueled effort finally gave way.
His legs and hand trembled with exhaustion as he reached out his hand. The last thing he saw was a shimmering blue light near the peak before he passed out.
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