“Goodbye, Riftborn.”

The door shut behind us with a heavy thud… and I heard the latch of locks shortly after.

“Why can’t we stay the night?” I asked him, annoyed. That large woman had been very vocal as we left, and had mentioned we were still almost an hour from the town.

And had offered a feast. And a good bed and…

“You can if you want. Good luck ever getting out on your own though,” Krift said, stepping away from the door.

Following Krift away from the door, I was glad that the path before us looked… more natural than not.

We had exited out of a large cliff, and it opened up to mostly flatland. It didn’t look like we’d be climbing or descending anymore cliffs, based off what I saw.

Krift walked quickly, and I wondered if he was as tired as I. He already looked… back to normal, if such a thing was possible. He was no longer sweating, and his breathing had long since returned to normal.

It had only taken us a few minutes to be escorted out of Momma’s… stronghold. And we hadn’t spent much time at all in her study.

He was a monster.

“We’re not camping outside again tonight, are we?” I asked.

“Do you want to?”

Hurrying to catch up, as to walk beside him, my hand instinctively went to my waist. To make sure the heavy pouch was still tied to my belt.

It was.

The pouch on my waist no longer bounced as I walked. It was heavy, and packed enough that the coins didn’t even clink.

Yet it was that very same heftiness which made it silent that concerned me.

Why hadn’t he asked for the coins?

There was enough money on my waist to purchase two of the farms I had sold last year.

A genuine fortune.

Krift pointed in front of us, even though there was nothing but rocks. “In a short while we’ll descend a canyon. RiftCliff will be there. We’ll sleep there, so stop complaining,” he said.

“I wasn’t complaining, just… concerned,” I said.

“Noted. When we enter the town, stay near me,” he said.

For a few steps I wondered what that tone was. Kindness? Annoyance?

It was hard to tell.

“Is it dangerous?” I asked.

“RiftCliff is still… stuck in the past. RiftWarren and the rest used to be the same. Just don’t wander off, stay next to me at all times,” Krift said.

I wanted to ask more, especially the details, but decided against it. After all… he was a man who kept his promises.

Or at least, I was betting my life on his promises. Whether I liked it or not, I was going to have to… just accept and believe him.

Until I couldn’t anymore.

“Was carrying that rock here really worth so much? Or was there more to that than I understood?” I asked, changing the topic.

Krift glanced at me, but his eyes didn’t linger on my own very long. “If you had any idea how much that rock was worth, you’d not be asking such a thing. The pay was good, because I could have taken it for myself. Or given it to another. The pay wasn’t for the hauling, but the lack of doing anything to it while doing so,” he explained.

“Ah… so she paid you for your loyalty,” I said, understanding.

“In a way.”

“I understand it was magic… but was it that valuable? How do you even use a rock of magic?” I asked.

“Many ways. The true wealth it holds is its lack of corruption. She’ll be able to use it to create magic artifacts for years. Probably decades,” he said.

“Oh. So you use those rocks to make things. Like the papers,” I said.

“Yes. It’s not an easy process… but…” Krift stopped talking as we neared the end of the ground.

The whole world suddenly… dropped. And my stomach sank as I realized what it was.

Not too far from us, was a drop. Which seemed…

“That’s a big canyon…” I groaned as we approached, and I noticed the cliff on the other side was riddled with lights.

“RiftCliff,” Krift introduced me, waving.

“You can’t be serious…”

My heartbeat had increased, and I knew it hadn’t really set in yet. It was only going to get worse.

“People live like this? Really?” I worriedly asked. There had to be hundreds of… buildings, built into the side of the cliff on the other side. Most looked at least dug in, and with large paths and areas between them and the drop, but a few were even on large wooden poles… sticking outward, over the drop.

There were nearly a dozen large bridges, swaying lightly, connecting this cliff to that one. But all were beneath us, at varying depths. The nearest was…

“These humans do, at least,” Krift said, as he went back to walking. Towards the edge of the cliff.

I noticed the path that led downward… to one of the many bridges.

“Is sleeping outside still an option?” I dared to ask.

“You can,” was all he said.

Grumbling, I went to follow him… but did so to his right, on the side of the cliff and not the drop.

The nearest bridge wasn’t far at all. And I was thankful for it, since the path kept leading down… and became even more narrow the farther down it went.

Krift walked calmly, which told me he wasn’t bothered by the heights at all. As we descended… the distance between us slowly grew. I wasn’t walking fast enough and every few steps the wind blew, making me stop and… and I felt my heart skip a beat when I realized the bridge we were heading to was…

“Krift, I can’t,” I said, stopping.

“It’s stable. It’s been here for… well probably longer than you’ve been alive,” Krift said, still walking towards it.

“It’s got holes! And some of the ropes are hanging off!” I shouted. The thing looked decrepit. Half of the ropes connecting the wooden planks to the rope that made the handles, had been frayed and torn by wind and time… hanging lifelessly.

“And you’re going to cross it. The next bridge is way down there, and then we’ll have to climb back up on the other side. Our destination is just over there, and I’m hungry. I’m not in the mood to waste another hour just because you’re scared,” Krift said, finally stopping.

He glared at me, as I hugged the cliff. The stone was warm, even though the sun no longer touched it.

“I… I don’t like it,” I said, barely.

“I can tell.”

Closing my eyes, I wondered if he’d actually leave me here. Something told me he may just do it.

He seemed the kind of man to just… force one to do something. Like a parent throwing their child into the river as to teach them to swim.

“You’ll be fine, Mintmorency,” Krift then said.

“Probably… but my heart doesn’t believe it,” I said.

“I’m sure. You’re terrified. Which… does not bode well for our journey. Come on, I’ll hold your hand,” Krift said, holding his hand out.

For a long moment I studied the man before me, and wondered how he was so calm. He wasn’t angry. He wasn’t smiling.

Just how used to such things was he? Not just the cliffs, or the heights, but…

“You’re used to people being scared, aren’t you?” I asked him.

Krift tilted his head, yet kept his hand out. “I am. People pay me to escort them through their fear, after all,” he said.

Fear.

Yes. The Rift probably was scary.

Which meant if I wanted to cross it… then…

Gulping, I forced myself forward. I kept my hand on the wall of the cliff, and stared only at Krift as I went to him.

Quickly taking his hand, I grabbed his arm with my free hand, and nodded. “Quickly,” I said.

“If we fall, it won’t be quick,” he said with a laugh, which almost made me let him go… but he had turned and began walking.

Although we had still been several minutes from the bridge, the anxiety of its approach seemed to… hasten, the world around me.

Before I knew it we were stepping onto the swaying bridge.

And before I could even think against it, we were crossing it.

“Watch your step. Or don’t. Maybe don’t,” Krift said, pulling me across.

Looking to his legs, I watched his feet more than I did the wood panels we walked upon. I did everything I could to not notice how every so often, I didn’t see wood… but darkness.

We were so far up that the canyon was dark beneath us.

Even during the day.

“How deep is it?” I groaned, but the wind drowned out my voice.

Krift squeezed my hand, which told me he had actually heard me. Yet decided not to answer.

“Almost there,” Krift’s calm voice said through the wind… which was quickly becoming fiercer.

Were we in the middle? Was that why the wind had picked up? It hadn’t been anywhere near as windy earlier, while we were walking…

Holding harder onto Krift’s arm as several holes appeared, I ignored all of the fear and panic that they brought. I had to actually step carefully, for several steps.

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And then there was no longer wood beneath me.

Solid rock, dirty and rough, was a wonderful sight. Yet it didn’t stop me from hurriedly running around Krift, as to get as far away from the bridge as possible.

“Wasn’t so bad, was it?” Krift asked, as I hurried over to the wall of rock nearby.

“I’m about to cry,” I said honestly, staring at the ground still.

For a few long moments, I stood there and tried to calm myself. My heart thumped loudly in my ears, and tears were pooling in my eyes.

Krift seemed willing to patiently wait, and when I dared to look away… I found him staring at me with a smirk.

“Well done,” he simply said.

I wanted to argue, or even curse at him… but I could tell he was being genuine. He… meant his words.

“Yes. Thank you. You’ll never get me on that bridge again,” I said.

“We’ll see. Can you go the rest of the way without holding my hand? Or…” he asked, holding his hand out.

“As long as there’re no more bridges,” I said.

Krift nodded, and turned. He began walking along the cliff… towards another path. One that had a sign, and a burning lamp hanging upon it. The citizens of RiftCliff had already begun lighting their lamps, even though it was still sunny.

Though judging by the shadows, once the sun was too low, this place likely became dark. A consequence of angles.

With a deep breath, I squeezed my fists and went to follow… and felt the sweat.

Glancing down to my palms, I realized how sweaty they had gotten. A thick layer had formed, as if I had just spent the whole day working the farm.

Wiping my palms on my pants, I risked one glance to the death trap we had just crossed.

The bridge was still intact. Swaying just as gently as it had before.

It seemed the harsh winds I had felt while crossing had been amplified by my fear. It wasn’t swaying badly at all.

“Come on, Mint. Keep it together,” I whispered to myself, and went to hurry after Krift.

I caught up to him quickly, and noticed that I walked a little… closer to him than I had been before.

I was still scared.

“Where to now?” I asked.

“The Floating Baths. An inn… that building there,” Krift said, pointing a little above us.

It was still a ways away… and…

“Looks more like a tent,” I said, noticing the leather flaps covering most of its roofs.

“Because most of it is just one big tent. But the rooms are decent, beds are comfortable… and the cleanest here. Plus they have baths. Which you’ll forgo for tonight. Tonight I’ll just get you some warm water in a bucket, and off to sleep you go,” Krift said.

A part of me wanted to argue, since a bath sounded wonderful… but I knew better. I had almost fallen asleep sitting and waiting for him to finish his deal with Momma. It had been why I had stood, while they had still been talking… I had dozed off, for a brief moment. I forcefully put myself into their conversation, just to keep myself awake.

“Food too, please,” I said. No matter how tired I was, I needed something. Even just dried jerky.

“I know,” Krift said.

Reaching the sign, and the hanging lamp, I read the words that shadows danced on.

“Bridge dangerous, don’t use,” I groaned.

“Hm. Good thing we don’t need to go that way, huh,” Krift said.

I looked away from the warning sign, and down the path we had just came from.

That was all that was down that way, it seemed. The bridge we had crossed.

“Geez,” I complained, and wondered if he had known.

My disappointment wanted to be voiced, but I kept it in as I noticed there were others nearby. Three people were standing in front of the upcoming crossroads, talking to one another.

They looked… More like the kind of people I knew, than those I expected to find here near the Rift.

Dressed like common laborers. Their clothes weren’t colorful, and they seemed a little dirty.

“Remember what I said. Stay near me,” Krift said as we headed towards another path.

“Looks like some old abandoned town,” I said, as I studied some of the buildings scattered around us. None of them were very close with one another, and it seemed there wasn’t any grand design or planning to them either.

People had built wherever they wanted, for whatever reason they wanted, it seemed.

“It kind of is. Most of the mining is gone, I think. So all that’s left are the people either too poor to leave, or hiding from someone or something,” Krift explained.

“Wonderful.”

As we left the current path, for another, the group of three noticed us. They went quiet, but didn’t seem too interested… it didn’t take too long for them to stop staring at us, and return to their own conversations.

“It’s like they don’t even care who we are,” I said.

“Why should they? By now they’ve heard we’re Momma’s guests. That’ll make most of them leave us alone, completely,” he said.

“So why do I need to stick with you so desperately?” I asked.

“Do you really need to ask?”

“No…” I said, and knew what he meant.

I was a young woman. A power on top of that.

I wasn’t safe anywhere.

It was why I had so desperately needed my uncle to accompany me, originally.

And even that had only resulted in me being in danger in the end.

As we walked, we passed one of the buildings. There were lights inside, and even shadows. People were talking within, and laughing.

The sounds reminded me of home. A lot of fishermen’s homes sounded like that.

“In a few years this place will look completely different,” Krift said softly.

He had spoken as if he was talking to himself… which was an odd thing. He normally was quiet for hours.

“Because of Momma?” I asked.

He nodded, and I watched as he studied another house that we passed. This one seemed empty… or at least, quiet.

“This place will either be razed, in war. Or built up, in wealth. Sadly, humans always seem to choose the first,” Krift said.

“Mother said our kind always had wars. That we held wars for sport,” I said.

“We do. Though there hasn’t been one since the Rift War,” he said.

Crossing a street, more and more people began to appear. Walking. Talking. One was even pulling a cart, which was full of sacks.

Studying the town only further enforced how similar it was to my home. Dirty. Old. Worn down.

Poor.

There were probably more people here than my hometown, but…

None of the wealth I had seen in RiftWarren was visible here.

If it was here, it was hiding.

Or in Momma’s house. Locked in a cage.

“Why did Momma choose this place? She moved didn’t she?” I asked.

“To better defend the stone. She probably didn’t really want to come here either. But anywhere else would have required her to wage war just to move in. This place was free for the taking, and no one else really wants it either,” he explained.

“Don’t know if I’d want it either,” I said.

“Because of the canyons, or?” Krift asked, glancing at me.

“That too. But… It just reminds me of home. I’d rather live in RiftWarren, if I had to choose. It was so lively there, and so many people, no one would notice me… I think,” I said.

“Yet you had been kidnapped. So unnoticeable,” Krift reminded me.

“That was my uncle. So Lena says.”

“I’d not doubt her, if that’s what you’re implying.”

I shook my head, but couldn’t say more as we began climbing upward. The incline was rough; to the point it hurt my thighs and calves as we went up. I was going to feel stiff tomorrow.

“They should make stairs,” I complained.

“Then drunks can’t slip and fall down the canyon,” Krift said with a chuckle.

His words made me pause, and glance behind me.

Yes. You could roll and slide all the way off the cliff from here. Although there were many paths, and even a house, there was a straight drop not too far from the path we had been walking on.

It’d take very bad luck, and for you to really not be paying attention but…

“Does that happen often? Do drunks really just…”

“More than you think. And not just drunks either,” Krift said.

Drunks…

Yes. I could see my uncle falling off the ledge. Maybe not because he tripped, but just because. After all I’ve seen him fall into the river back at home many times. Or off a boat, or the docks. And a few times pushed too, by those tired of his accosting.

Shaking my head at the morbid thoughts, I hurried up the rest of the climb. The new path was far more flat, and bigger, than any of the earlier ones.

“Thank goodness,” I said, glad for it. There were more buildings on this level, along with the tent one we were heading to.

Following Krift to the tent building, I tried to ignore the people who stared at us.

Although it did seem most of them… lost interest after staring for a moment, a few kept staring even when the distance between us became great.

While staring back at a pair of women, who were standing on a building’s patio, a group of men appeared from in-between houses.

Half a dozen men, all carrying weapons. Spears in fact.

For a small moment I panicked, but the men did nothing. They only stared.

“Ignore them,” Krift said simply.

“Easy for you to do…” I whispered, drawing closer to him.

Sure enough the group of men did nothing. They only whispered to one another as we neared the large building.

Drawing closer, I realized the building was one of the largest ones here. And wasn’t just made of tents. It had walls of wood and even a few roofs of wood too. The tents were instead behind the main section of the building… sticking out farther behind.

“It’s not hanging over the ledge is it?” I begged for a certain answer.

“Not really. Come on,” Krift picked up his pace, and I wondered if he was as tired and hungry as I.

Following him into the large building, I had to cover my nose when something… strange attacked it.

“What’s that smell?” I groaned as my eyes quickly adjusted to the dark building.

“Sulfur. You’ll get used to it,” Krift said, and gestured for me to follow him.

Instead of leading me to the counter, where an older woman sat, he instead took me to a table. One of only three.

“Just sit here for a second,” he said, pulling one of the chairs out for me.

Unsure why he was being so… odd, I decided to let it be. Maybe I looked like I was going to fall over in exhaustion, or maybe he didn’t want to take me to the counter while I was covering my nose since it’d be rude.

Sitting down, I watched as he went to the counter. It wasn’t too far away, but even with the place being… quiet, I still couldn’t fully make out the conversation between him and the woman.

While the two talked, I glanced around the rest of the building. This lobby was large, and… empty. Other than these tables, there really wasn’t anything else. It felt kind of like useless, wasted space, to see so much empty room. If they put up a few more walls and moved the counter, they’d be able to add at least three or four rooms for sleeping…

On either side of the counter, were doors. Swinging doors which most likely led to the rooms.

And maybe baths. After all, he had called this the Floating Baths.

Floating…

I groaned and prayed that the name was just because of its location. And not literal.

“Want to eat here, or in the room?”

Looking up, I found Krift waiting for my answer. An odd metal key dangled in his hand.

“Here’s fine. If I see a bed, I’ll probably fall into it without eating,” I said.

“Probably,” he agreed, and then pulled another chair over to sit next to me.

Next to me. Not across, even though there was plenty of room to do so.

The gesture was… odd, but I tried not to think about it.

After all, maybe it was what powers did. Maybe they ate closely.

I sniffed, and realized that the smell was… a little more bearable. “It won’t ruin the food, will it?” I asked.

“The smell? Shouldn’t. Like I said, you’ll get used to it.”

“What is it?” I asked, uncovering my nose.

“The river at the bottom of the canyon. And no it’s not a bad thing.” he said.

“I still get the bucket of water tonight, right?” I asked.

“Already ordered. It’ll be in the room once we’re done,” he said.

I shifted in my seat, and glanced to the counter. The older woman was gone.

Did she work here alone?

“Where’d you stay in RiftWarren?” Krift then asked.

“Stay? The Red Inn. Lena owned it,” I said.

“I see,” was all Krift said.

“Why?”

He shrugged, but before I could further ask him, a pair of people emerged from the door on the left of the counter.

Neither was the old woman who had been at the counter, but both carried plates.

Plates of hot food.

At the sight, and the smell, I felt my mouth water… and my stomach churn. The grumble was noticeable to my ears, and painful. Neither Krift, nor the two women who placed the food in front of us said anything about the sound.

“I’ll bring your drinks shortly, Sir Riftborn,” the youngest woman said, and I noticed the worry on her face as she spoke.

Krift only nodded, waving them away as he went to juggling the plates. He swapped them, putting the one they had put in front of me in front of him, and he took mine.

“What if I wanted that one?” I asked.

“You can try it if you want, but good luck swallowing it,” he said.

The meat on his plate looked… normal. Relatively. I couldn’t recognize it, but it didn’t seem too odd.

I wanted to ask, and to try it, but my own food distracted me.

Especially the warm bread.

“Eat. Wash up. Then sleep,” Krift said, as I went to eating.

“Don’t need to tell me twice,” I said.

“I did, actually,” Krift said.

Glancing to him, I noticed his odd look… then realized he had.

He had said that as they brought the food. I hadn’t realized it.

“I’m that tired?” I asked.

“Eat,” was all he said, and I hurried and obeyed… lest I fell asleep before I filled my empty stomach.