She got a first impression of this small mountainous area. Sheer cliffs, gaping chasms, a few well-trodden paths snaking around precariously stacked rocks, leading to different parts of the mountain range. Vegetation was abundant, if one left the human-made paths behind. Hardy grass and bushes covered the slopes. Gnarled trees clung to cliffs. Ibex’ roamed the rocks. Small mountain goats grazed on the slopes. Marmots and mice hid in crevices. Tiny rivulets of water carved paths into the rocks.
And between everything lay an everpresent mist. It clung to the chasms and cliffs. It floated over the paths and slopes.
Most intriguing perhaps, was that the animals kept their distance to the mist.
At least she couldn’t see any wyverns or giant eagles roosting in the area.
She glided down to the second intersection, where Thomas swung his white flag. Huh… he still hasn’t told me what it means. Some universal symbol? But then, shouldn’t I know it?
Down on the path, the rocks looked barren and bleak. Here, vegetation was fighting for survival. The few hardy bushes barely held a leaf, the large goats munching on the twigs.
“The tracks lead up to this crossing and then vanish. The middle path leads to the other side of the range,” explained Thomas, pointing. “We’ve tried to follow the other two paths, but it’s not going too well. The path winds worse than a snake, and it splits every which way. And the mist makes it even more dangerous.”
“What is that mist anyway?” asked Rethia, inspecting the intersection from her vantage point on a rock. Footprints overlayed each other.
“Mist is made of tiny water droplets. I thought it was common knowledge.” Thomas shook his head, nonplussed.
“I know that it’s made of water. What I want to know is, why are the local animals all avoiding this mist. They go out of their way to avoid even a small floating piece of it. As if they were afraid,” tried Rethia to explain.
“There are animals in these mountain ranges?” asked Kaska. “I never saw anything in the two months I’ve helped escort caravans through here.”
“Animals are living here,” declared Rethia.
“We’ll try to find out what’s going on with the mist. Can you search along the right hand path? That area should be smaller. It’s closer to the edge of this mountain range. We’ll be here, in case you find anything.” Kaska had already opened her mouth to say something, but Thomas effectively stopped the discussion before it could start.
“I don’t know how you want to find out anything by staying here, but whatever.” Shaking her head, Rethia took flight once more.
Frequent stops and constant gliding led to a detailed map of the right hand path and its surroundings. The path finally circled back to the main path through the range, after passing by several clusters of cave and over three terrible hanging bridges.
“And the areas you marked in red?” asked Thomas, pointing at one section of the path that was missing on the map.
“That was covered by a patch of mist. Could be I missed some caves there.”
They sat around a small campfire, the stars starting to twinkle above them, as the sun completely vanished below the horizon.
Thomas and Kaska had set up two tents, made a fire and had started cooking, while Rethia had searched for the caravan.
“Did you find out anything about that mist?”
“No. Kaska is still asking around.”
“You said she was sleeping.”
“Well…”
“I’m baaack~” Kaska crawled out of one tent and stretched. “Maan~ that was horrible. You got aa~bsolutely noooo idea how hard it was to get that info.”
Rethia stared at her.
“Welcome back. How was your search?” asked Kaska, sitting down at the fire, checking on the stew. “Hmm… not yet ready.”
“Thomas first said you were sleeping. Then he said you were asking around about that mist. Now you come out of the tent and talk about information.”
“Oh… oh! Don’t sweat it. That’s just Wanderer strangeness,” chuckled Kaska nervously. “Aaanyway. I was part of the escort group. Due to Wanderer shenanigans, I am back here and I managed to get in contact with someone from the group. Finally! It was like they bailed on me these past days.”
“You died and came back to life,” said Rethia. “That’s what an employee in Fields End told me about Wanderers. Like you’re some kind of… walking corpse.” A shiver ran down her spine. “But if you were part of the escort group, shouldn’t you know where they are?”
“Ai, that’s the problem. We walked into the mist sometime between the first and second crossing. Then I got lost and fell down a cliff, hehe. I got no idea where we went and where the others are.”
“What did you find out about the mist? You said you made contact with your group?” jumped Thomas in, intent on her answers.
“Yes, well, they fled into a cave and the entrance is thick with that mist. They could hear a constant scratching and chittering from outside. Luckily, they still have enough provisions, but it won’t last. He doesn’t know where they are. He, uh… tried to find out what’s in the mist. Babbled something about glowing blue eyes and skewer-like legs. And etheral fingers grasping at him until he could no longer move. Something killed him.”
“Why did he do that?” asked Thomas. “Couldn’t he just… you know…” He made a weird gesture, moving his hand to shoulder height and then pulling two fingers down with a quick flick.
Kaska shook her head. “Not in the cave. They were worried because they couldn’t get in contact with me that way.”
Rethia was lost. They spoke cryptically. Do what? What are they talking about? How can she get information while sleeping? I don’t get it! Wanderers!
Instead, she concentrated on the bits of information she understood. In a cave. Hidden by mist. And something is inside the mist. Skewer-like legs? Glowing eyes? Doesn’t make much more sense… Wait. If there are creatures living inside the mist, then it makes sense that the animals try to avoid it. What kind of creatures, though? Must be some kind of predators? And they are at least light enough to be carried by the wind, else they wouldn’t be able to get pushed across a ledge like a cloud.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“None of the others have ever heard of creatures living inside the mist, but you can guess that many are now trying, after I asked the question to the... community.” (Kaska)
“How many legs did they have? How many eyes?” asked Rethia.
“Oh… I think he said something about a roundish body with many legs. Hard to count, if you stretch your arm out in front of you and can’t see past your wrist. And it had multiple eyes, arranged like a giant spider.” (Kaska)
“Spiders. Some kind of giant spider that lives in the mist. I’ve never heard of such a creature. Do you think it just lives in the mist? Or produces the mist?” wondered Rethia, glancing at the bubbling stew.
“If that is true, then it must be a new creature. Or it is native to this mountain range and doesn’t live anywhere else.” (Thomas)
“No use thinking about it now. It’s dark and I’m tired and hungry,” declared Rethia and packed the map away. “Is the stew finished now? Or should I make my own dinner?”
“Heavens, no! There is enough for all of us. And it should be done now. The veggies are still a bit hard, though.” Kaska fished for a piece of potato and tried it.
“My teeth are fully functional. So are Svens’. You don’t need to make mash because of us.”
And with that, the food was shared around, Rethia eating most of it after Thomas and Kaska refused to eat more than half a bowl.
She filed it away under Wanderer strangeness and wrote it down later. The list was just started yesterday, but she had a feeling that it would only grow longer with time, her questions going to remain unanswered.
The two Wanderers shared the night watch between them, letting Rethia sleep.
Breakfast was jerky and dried fruits, with a thick slice of cheese and bread. The bread, as always, went into Svens stomach. She didn’t dare question these Wanderers sharing their provisions with her so willingly, since it meant her own food would last longer.
Then she was off, checking on the mist covered places from the day before. Some had floated away, while stoically remained at its spot somewhere between the bridges. Did they cross a bridge? Have to ask that later… or right now.
“It’s boooring!” cried Kaska, just as Rethia glided down silently.
“Bear with it. This quest is far from over. I mean, we’re working together with a harpy! Can you imagine the reward? Not just from the guild, but in reputation and skill levels!”
“I know~ but it’s still boring as hell. I hope we find the caravan quickly.”
Rethia set down in a flurry of wings and dust.
“Excuse me, did the caravan walk over a bridge while lost in the mist?”
“Huh, oh, um, welcome back, Rethia. Didn’t expect you to be so fast. How was it?”
“The caravan. Did they cross over a bridge?” asked Rethia again, staring at Kaska.
“Uhm… maybe? I don’t know. He didn’t say anything about that. Maybe he forgot because it wasn’t important?”
“Then you go and ask. I’ll start with mapping the other path.”
Wanderer strangeness… she shook her head and soared over the other part of the mountain range.
The patches of mist were larger and thicker on this path, the upper parts breaking of in the wind and floating away, until they came to rest at a different rock, cliff or chasm.
Around midday, she reached the end of this path. Or what she assumed to be the end. It gently sloped down, leading straight into a mist-covered chasm. Following the chasm, there was no path that led out again – except for thin animal trails, unfit for the use of a Landbound caravan.
She marked it on her map, slowly making her way back further west, circling over a part of the mountain range she hadn’t seen yet. The mists were even thicker here, crawling out of the chasms as if they were alive.
Mid-afternoon saw her back at their provisional camp, a quite bulky male sitting at the fire and talking with Thomas and Kaska.
“Welcome back, Rethia!” Kaska jumped up from her spot, waving excitedly as she landed. “This here is Stooge. He’s also from the escort group and the person who valiantly went into the mists to find out what may be inside. Stooge, this is the harpy Rethia. She’s helping with the search. Thanks to her, we now have a pretty acurate map of the northern part of this mountain range.”
With the introductions taken care of, and the bulky male mentally declared as non-threatening, Rethia crouched down in their circle, getting out her new map.
“Did you cross any bridges before reaching that cave of yours?” she asked, in case Kaska had forgotten about it.
“No. Can’t remember a bridge on our way.” Stooges’ voice was deep and booming, slightly echoing back from the stones. He winced.
“Then we can rule out the right-hand path. I checked the patches of mist this morning, and the only one that hadn’t moved on, is only reachable by bridges for you Landbound.
“This here is the map from today. Huge parts of the path are covered in mist. I did my best, but, well. I can only predict so much of the land. Here, the path leads down into a chasm full of the stuff. There is no path leading out of it again. Maybe it continues through a cave system.”
“We didn’t walk downwards,” said Stooge in a loud whisper.
“Then the caravan could be somewhere between here and here. Or it was on the middle path and went astray on a different crossroad. Anything else you remember of your path through the mist? Or the cave? Maybe the light shining through the mist? Or was it blocked off completely?”
“That map is amazing. I wish the search leader could see this. He would sing you the highest praises. None of his trackers could give him something this detailed. Would’ve made the preliminary search much easier.” Thomas carefully followed the winding paths with a finger, marveling at it.
Rethia ignored him, intent on the thinking Stooge.
“I think the lighting was better in the morning… as if the sun was breaking through the mist and shining into the cave.”
“A cave opening towards the east, then… Do you have a map of the main path and its caves?”
“No, but maybe the search leader has one,” added Thomas.
“There are no east facing caves on the main path. I’ve made the trip several times,” said Kaska. “I’m not sure about the paths that break off from it, but I have seen all the caves along the main path.”
“East… then they could be here, here or here.” Thomas tapped at the map. “None of them easily reachable. More importantly, how do we know we got the right spot?”
“I’ll check on the mist in the morning. Maybe one of them vanishes over night. For now, I’m pretty hungry.”
Both men instantly turned to Kaska. Seeing that, Rethia did the same, without really knowing why.
“Aii, guys, stop looking at me like that!” (Kaska)
“But you’re our cook,” muttered Stooge.
“We checked yesterday and you’re much higher at cooking than me. You wouldn’t even let me cut the potatoes,” added Thomas.
Growling at the two, Kaska looked to Rethia.
“I’m not a male. I can’t cook something delicious like that stew from yesterday.”
“What does gender have to do with cooking?” asked Kaska, baffled. The men stared at her, then turned red and looked somewhere else?
“Isn’t that obvious? There are so few males, they need to be protected. Thus they have enough free time to properly learn cooking, while we females go out to hunt.”
“Males… need to be protected…” Kaska looked between Rethia and the two men in attendance. “They,” she pointed, “need protection?” And then she started laughing. “That’s hilarious! They are much better fighters than me! In fact, I’m the one who needs protection.”
Rethia cocked her head in confusion.
“Ah, let me explain it to you. Among humans and elves and… I guess it’s the same for many other races, too, we women are usually weaker and more frail. Thus we learn cooking and housekeeping, while the men go hunting and fighting. But that’s not really true for, ah, Wanderers. And I don’t know much about other races.”
“That’s not logical. How does such a system even work? In my travels thus far, I’ve seen more females than males among you Landbound. If only your males are out to hunt and fight, how can you even survive?”
“Uhm… well… I don’t know? We just do? And… there should be more men… maybe you didn’t see them, because they were working or… just not in the cities when you traveled through?” stuttered Kaska, looking at the suspiciously silent men for help. Who didn’t dare look at Rethia after hearing that she was, in fact, a woman.
Gawds, what idiots! thought Kaska, and how could we even miss that she was a woman? Now that she said it, the curves are obvious. And now that I think about it, I always adressed her as ‘she’. How didn’t I notice that?
“You Landbound are strange,” declared Rethia, still not understanding the concept. She could accept that males could fight and lead, but to have the traditional roles switched out so completely? Utter nonsense.
But Kaska was very good at cooking. The grilled meats and vegetables she whipped together were nearly as good as a home cooked meal. But only nearly.
The two men avoided looking at Rethia for the rest of the evening, only stealing glances, while Kaska rolled her eyes at their antics and petted Sven – who chittered at her, wanting to know the recipe for yesterdays stew.
Of course the Landbound couldn’t understand him. Landbound were deaf like that.
Sighing, Rethia rocked on her talons, feathers fluffed against the encroaching coldness. The night was much too silent for comfort. And it hadn’t been as cold last night. Or had it?