He had finally begun to sweat.

Krift wasn’t too far behind me, and somehow… still ascending swiftly.

Every so often I had to pick up my own pace, since he had drawn too close.

Not that I minded being close to him. But he’s been growling at me whenever I drew too near.

Maybe he was more exhausted than he seemed, and at any moment he could drop the stone.

Honestly, it wouldn’t be that surprising. After all this was the second morning since he’s picked it up.

We were only about half way up the current cliff, but there looked to be only one more above this one.

Krift had said we were nearly there, but that had been a few hours ago and…

“Wait.”

Skidding to a stop, I glanced back to the man who had also stopped.

He looked a little odd, slouched there. The incline we had been slowly climbing was rather steep, but I knew some of his askew posture was from exhaustion.

“Are you alright?” I asked, worried.

“I am. I’m debating,” he said, with heavy breaths.

“Debating…?”

Was he going to have us finally stop and rest? He’s only stopped twice since yesterday morning. Between both stops had only been a few short hours and honestly as much as I wanted to stop and rest…

Something told me if I sat down and stopped, I may not be able to get up and continue after.

If I felt that exhausted I could only imagine Krift’s condition.

A few birds flew by, chirping.

My eyes followed them for a moment and I wondered if a bird had ever flown into the Rift Wall.

What happened? Did they just… go into it? Or did they hit it, like a wall?

Or did they know to avoid it just like…

“Well Krift?” I asked. I was worried that my mind was wandering a tad too much. I was tired.

“The owner of this stone. Is cruel. Especially to… someone like you,” Krift said, stepping forward. But only once.

“Uh…” Thankfully Krift said nothing about my phrase, but it told me just how tired he really was.

“Yet, if I leave you behind, she may not appreciate that either,” Krift said with a heavy sigh.

“So… do you want me to hide or something?” I asked.

“And how would you do that? We’re still several hours from RiftCliff. You’d not make it there alone, likely.”

“What then?” I furthered.

Krift glanced up at me, and I noted how his sweat dripped. The morning light had finally grown strong enough to see it better.

He really was exhausted.

“Take your hat off,” he said.

For a small moment I didn’t understand what he wanted. Why would my hat matter?

But then I remembered, and felt stupid.

“I’ve survived all this time by not letting people know I’m a power,” I said.

“Yet in this instance it will save your life. She’ll not doubt you this way,” Krift said, as he began walking again.

For a moment I said nothing, but once he was close enough I gestured for his attention.

He glared, yet kept walking forward.

“I’ll need an explanation, Krift,” I said.

“For what reason?” he asked me.

“How much is a power worth?” I asked him.

Krift’s eye’s narrowed, more than they already were, and he smiled. “Not sure. Probably a few thousand coins. You’d be hard to price. You’re a power, yet… not. So who knows?”

“Enough for six men to chase us from RiftWarren? To capture me?” I asked him.

Krift finally looked away from me, though he stopped glaring.

“Yes, more than enough,” he said with a soft nod.

“You thought of it too,” I said stiffly.

“Of course I have. I’m no fool,” he said.

He finally walked past me, yet said nothing about me being too close. Or behind him.

Hurrying forward, I rounded him and got back in front of him. I walked backwards, carefully, as I stared at him.

The man didn’t look as exhausted as he had earlier. Was he putting up an act… or?

“Will you really take me through the Rift?” I asked him.

Krift looked me in the eye, even as pebbles shifted thanks to my uncertain steps.

“I said I would,” he said.

“I grew up doubting the promises of men,” I said softly.

“Human men.”

His words made me pause, which made him stop walking too. He huffed, but didn’t complain or tell me to get out of the way.

“True. But my mother said our kind weren’t much different. That our men could be just as cruel. More so, even,” I said.

He nodded. “She was honest with you. Good.”

“So I ask again, Krift… will you help me?” I asked him.

“Haven’t I already?” he asked.

I hesitated, since he was right. He could have let me… been taken.

After all, his only task was that thing he carried.

And they had not wanted anything to do with it.

“I just… don’t know what to ask, or say,” I said, worried.

“I’ll help you get to the Lands of Power. But… that’ll be all, Mintmorency,” Krift said. He saying my name for the first time made me smile, as he gestured with a nod. I hurried to get out of his way, so he could go back to walking.

“I know I’ll not likely find my family. But… I made a promise,” I said to him, accepting his words.

“Sure. Promises are great… until they get you killed,” he said.

“Something tells me yours get others killed, more often.”

Krift chuckled, but I could tell he didn’t really find it funny.

“So how would the people we’re taking this thing to… not grow upset if they knew I was a power?” I asked, reaching up to undo the pins.

“Momma of the Lake hates anyone who’s prettier than her. Seeing such a pretty thing next to her stone of pure magic, would probably make her quite upset,” Krift said.

Taking my hat off, I brushed my right horn a little since some of my hair had tangled around it. It wasn’t often such a thing happened. My horns were very smooth and small, not things hair could usually get stuck upon. It had probably happened during all the rolling around back at that crevice, when I had been pulled off the bear.

“So it’s a stone of magic?” I asked, focusing on that instead.

“Don’t worry about the stone. Worry about Momma,” he said.

“Ok. Momma, then. So… why would I being next to it bother her? Aren’t we giving it to her?” I asked.

“Human’s share our kind’s possessiveness. Maybe even outshine it. She’ll worry you or I messed with it, or are insulting her,” Krift said.

Passing a small bush, I stared at it as we walked past it. It looked kind of… sickly.

“And by showing I’m a power that will… change that? Or something?”

“Everyone knows who I am. What I am. If she knows from the get-go that you’re also a power, she’ll just assume you’re with me. Or my next job. She’ll take no offense, since instead she’ll think that you’re a business opportunity,” Krift said.

“A… business opportunity…”

He nodded, and I noticed a drop of sweat fall from his nose as he did. “Just play along with it, please. You’ll never see or deal with her or her people again, once you cross the Rift, after all,” he said.

“Well… I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Krift… but I have no idea how a power should act. Or talk. Or how a business person does either, for that matter,” I said sternly.

“I know. Luckily, most humans don’t either,” he said with a smirk.

“Really?”

“They think they do. But they don’t. Most of the powers they deal with on this side are merely representatives. Workers. Soldiers. Servants of the families back home,” Krift said.

“Oh! Really?” I drew a little closer, but he growled at me so I stepped back quickly. Woops.

“Yes really. A few of the powerful ones do come here, occasionally, but why would they stay? Most humans alive today don’t remember the war, but there’s pretty much none of us who have forgotten it yet,” Krift said.

“Because we age slower,” I said.

“Because we age slower.” He nodded.

For a few steps we were silent, and I listened to Krift’s heavy breathing.

He breathed steadily. Oddly, there was…

Almost no change in his breathing. No matter how he stepped, or shifted.

“There was a shop. Near Lena’s place. It sold shoes… it had a power’s crest on the window, too,” I said, glancing at him.

“Soles of Power. Owned by the Layvin family, from Armoury. Yes,” Krift said.

“I saw a woman there. She had red horns, and yellow hair,” I said.

Krift shook his head. “Probably a slave of the Layvin family. Their bloodline has purple in their horns. An ugly shade,” he said.

A slave…

Was that why that one man had been so vocal with her? Because she was just a slave?

Was she really…?

“What? Didn’t think our kind had slaves?” Krift asked, noticing my worry.

“I had thought it was her store. I… I had been jealous of her. Happy for her,” I said honestly.

“Don’t feel bad for her yet. I say slave, but it’s not like what you’re thinking. They’re more employees than anything. They’re not like the slaves of humans,” Krift said.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

That didn’t make me feel any better.

“So, pretend to be someone important then? Is that how this will work?” I asked, changing topics. I’d ponder the slave thing later.

“Yes. I’ll do most of the talking… just… don’t do anything weird. Act as normal as possible. A wealthy power is a comfortable one. Worries over nothing,” Krift said.

“Oh. Great. Just be the exact opposite of what I really am,” I said.

“Which is why it should be easy for you. You know what not to do, then,” he teased.

I wanted to say something back, but no words would come as we reached the top of the cliff. And I realized why he had brought this up now.

There were people off in the distance. Still far away, and there weren’t many, but they were…

About half a dozen people were standing next to a great cliff. Just like most of the others, it was a flat wall that rose to a flat plateau. Unlike all of the others, however, it seemed to be the highest cliff around.

“What are they doing?” I asked, but got an answer before Krift said anything.

A large platform began to descend from the nearby cliff the people stood near. Moved by rope and pulleys.

“Have they been waiting for us?” I asked.

“Of course they have. She’s probably worried,” Krift said, stopping next to me.

“Will they come help you?” I wondered. I could tell some of them were pointing at us, but none had begun heading our way yet.

“No. This is my job. Not theirs,” Krift said, as he went back to walking.

I wanted to complain about that, but decided against it. Was it a pride thing on his end, or something more? Maybe it really was part of his job.

Fiddling with my hat, I felt silly. And embarrassed.

I’ve sweated, and been dirty, before… but the men who were watching us approach were dressed far too nice in comparison.

Usually I wasn’t the only one dirty. Usually I blended right in.

While looking around, I realized that wouldn’t be the case here. Not for me, at least.

None of them were common workers. Most even had white gloves on… as if they weren’t out in the middle of the mountains and inside caverns but instead in some fancy mansion.

They reminded me of the people who worked at the capital. For the baron family that I had sold the farm to.

“Ignore them,” Krift said simply. Glancing at him, I relaxed a little. But not because of his comment.

He looked as dirty as I felt. So… in a sense I guess I wasn’t alone.

Though as they drew near something else started to worry me.

What bothered me most was that I noticed their eyes lingered on my head. Above my eyes.

My horns, of course.

Glancing to Krift, who seemed entirely focused on getting to the platform that had almost reached the ground, I hoped he hadn’t led me astray.

Not that I had much choice.

It didn’t take long for us to reach the group of people. I was surprised to find that they weren’t all men. A few women were amongst them.

I studied the women for a moment, since Krift had said something so ridiculous earlier… yet…

They were older, but not hideous. Maybe not beautiful, but…

“A woman will take you to Momma, once you reach the top,” a man said once we were close enough, drawing my attention away.

“Sure,” was all Krift said, as the platform came to a stop. The wood clunked loudly, and I noticed the ropes it used to raise and lower went taught.

It was also… somewhat shoddy. Yet not old. A few parts of the wood had recent cuts made into it. The exposed insides of the wood planks were still bright. One section still had sawdust, from where it had been sawed in two.

Had they built this… just for this? For this one and only purpose?

It looked like it… it also looked like it’d not last a winter. Some of the wood planks were lopsided, and misplaced. I could tell that over time some of them would dislodge, and cause issues.

“Let me on first,” Krift said softly, stepping past me.

I waited, and wondered… and hoped, that he’d not go up without me.

Krift stepped up onto the platform, and I noticed the right end of the platform actually dug into the rock beneath it a little.

Had the stone been that heavy?

With a rather swift motion, Krift kneeled and lowered himself onto the center of the platform. With obvious relief, Krift undid the ropes on his shoulders, and the makeshift backpack and object it carried tilted over. With a heavy thunk, Krift was relieved of his burden.

He took a deep breath, and then waved me over. Before I even stepped up onto the platform, the ropes began to creek.

“Whoa,” I almost stumbled as the platform moved, and my heartbeat increased as I realized that they had not waited for me at all.

Rather they must have begun lifting the platform the moment the stone had been placed down.

Rude.

Hurrying over to the side of Krift, I glanced around at the group of people we were leaving below. They all stared, and I wondered why they had not joined us.

Their glares quickly faded out of sight since the platform rose rather quickly… and I was somewhat glad for it. It swayed a little, and if I could tell correctly…

“It’s tilted,” I said, worried.

“It’ll be fine,” he said.

“Hope so…”

As we went higher, I finally looked out beyond… and wished I hadn’t.

The whole world was unexpectedly below us.

“Uhm…”

Suddenly feeling weak, I felt my own eyes go wide as I took the sight in.

The crevices and caverns Krift and I had just traversed were laid before me. Hundreds of cracks scattered the world… all looking as dry, and windier as the last.

A gentle hand gripped my elbow, and my eyes pulled themselves away from the world. Krift’s dark eyes held mine for a moment. “Never looked down a mountain before?” he asked me.

I shook my head.

He smiled, and I felt his grip on my elbow tighten just a tad. “Just remember, no matter how vast, or far, or wobbly the world seems… both of your feet are firmly planted. Unmoving,” he said.

“Actually they’re trembling. As is the shoddy wood pieces barely held by old rope that they’re standing on,” I said.

Krift’s eyebrow rose as he glanced down, and then reservedly nodded. “Indeed,” was all he said.

Before I could say more, a gust of wind attacked.

Stepping closer to Krift, I flinched when something flew up and hit me in the face. Luckily I didn’t scream, or try to run, since it quickly flew off.

Blinking quickly, and trying to calm my panic, I watched as my hat flew off… dancing over the world.

“I… I’ll buy you a new one,” Krift said, shocked.

“This is horrible,” I groaned.

“Least it was just your hat? Could have been us,” he teased.

Glaring at him, and the smirk he wore, I wondered if I could toss him off. He’d probably survive. Maybe.

“My mother made that hat,” I said.

“Ah…” Krift said nothing more, but at least his smirk disappeared.

Fighting the tears, and the fear, I decided to let it be. It had flown far, and there was no way he’d let me go back and…

“Sorry.”

The solid word had been said sincerely, and it made my eyes water more.

Daring to look away from him, if just for a moment, I noticed that the Rift Wall wasn’t that far away. But we were at an odd angle, and I could only make out…

“The wall curves…” I noticed, and was also glad for the distraction.

“Yes. It’s not straight. It’s circular,” Krift said.

“Wait? Circular?”

He nodded, and I felt strange relief upon looking at him again. Hopefully he’d not find it strange if I stared at him instead for awhile.

“If it were straight, never ending, then half the world would be behind it. So it’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

“I… I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Most don’t. We’re near the edge. It goes out into the sea, to the south of us a few weeks away. Most of it is in the ocean. If you ran along the wall, and reached the Lakes up north, then the mountains, you’d eventually circle down to said ocean on the other side. It’s funny, since the humans didn’t even realize it for years,” Krift explained.

“Huh. Probably because you’d only ever notice it if you got this high up,” I said.

“Or they were too lazy to just walk along its edge long enough,” he added.

The platform jolted, and I grabbed onto the forearm of the hand holding my elbow. Krift said nothing, but his eyes did glance upward.

I didn’t. I didn’t want to know how much farther up we had to go. Hopefully it wasn’t much.

I’ve stared up at the empty sky plenty of times. Wonder why now that seemed worse than looking down over the edge.

“Momma of the Lake may be up there waiting for us. If she is, I’ll probably introduce you. Simply use your name. If she asks for your family name, or house, I’ll speak up and handle it. You remain silent,” Krift whispered.

“Oh. All right,” I nodded, glad for the next distraction.

A glance away from him made my stomach churn. The world was smaller. Farther away.

Stupid. Why’d I look?

“Anything else? That I should know. Before we get up there,” I said, hoping for more distractions.

“I’m your guide, that’s all,” he said.

“Ah. Finally the truth,” I said.

“The truth.”

“Krift… what would she have done, if I had been a human.”

“Nothing. I’d have found a way to protect you all the same,” he said.

I squeezed his forearm, and held his eyes. “Have I mentioned I really value honesty?”

“Good. Since that’s what I gave you. Part of the service I offer, as a Guide, is protection. Although that protection is usually just from the Rift, I do sometimes expand it beyond its borders,” Krift said plainly.

“I… I see,” I said and looked away. Only to his chest though, I had seen a bird fly by in the corner of my eye as he spoke… and it had been at our level. Not above us.

A bird flying high. Aloft on a wing.

Beneath me.

Ridiculous.

The platform shifted again, and I groaned and shut my eyes.

“Momma is dangerous, but she’s nothing I can’t handle,” Krift then said.

I smiled, and wondered just why this… Momma was dangerous. Mother’s could be seen as dangerous, but like that?

“Thank you for calling me pretty, by the way,” I said.

Krift sighed as he leaned against the stone, shaking his head.

“If it’s any consolation, even if this thing broke I’d be able to save you I think,” Krift said.

“Oh? How?” I asked.

“I’d grab one of these ropes. Or the cliff itself. Shouldn’t be too hard,” he said.

“You sound very confident,” I said.

“I’ve climbed cliffs like this before. Sometimes even while carrying something,” he said.

“Really.”

“Yep. Plus you don’t need to worry. Look, we’ve reached the top,” he then said, patting my hand to let him go.

Reluctantly releasing his arm, I took a deep breath of relief as sure enough the top of the cliff came into view.

The platform slowed a little, and I was surprised to find a very flat… and empty place.

There were no buildings. No structures… just what seemed to be an endless field of rocks, and familiar cracks. Same as below.

The only thing here that was different was the twenty or so men pulling on a large rope, which was wrapped around a spinning device. It was solidly built into the very rock it sat on, and it too had ropes that connected to the platform we were on.

They were operating this lift with human labor…

“Please hurry, we’ve had two collapse already!” a man shouted, and I felt my heart go into my throat as Krift pushed me towards the cliff.

We still hadn’t fully reached the top, but it was close enough that I was able to clamber up and over the edge, off the platform. I didn’t mind hurrying off it, either.

As I did, I noticed that there were indeed two men lying several feet of the way. One was holding his arm, which was bent oddly. The other wasn’t even moving.

Two collapsed. The lift had jolted twice.

That had been why.

“Krift,” I remembered the reason the platform had been so heavy, and felt relief when he too stepped off the platform.

Instead of carrying the rock, he had simply hefted and pulled it over the edge. The backpack he had crafted cracked, and splintered, upon it landing on the cliff.

“Woops,” Krift said,

“All right! You can let go lads!” the man who had shouted at us before gave the order, and sure enough they did.

Shocked by the action, I watched as the rope snapped free… and the circular device that it was connected too went free, spinning wildly.

Stepping away, in alarm, I watched as the platform simply…

Disappeared.

Loud crashing, wood on rock, filled the world as wood and rope collided. The platform didn’t lower down, it fell.

“What… what of the people below?” I asked, worried.

“They’ll move or won’t.”

A new voice drew my attention, and I wondered where she had come from. She hadn’t been here before.

The tall woman, dressed all in black, was walking towards Krift. She glanced at me just once, and seemed to decide I wasn’t worth looking at anymore.

“Momma is ready for you, Riftborn,” the woman said to him.

Before Krift could respond, the falling platform had landed. For a small moment an echo ran through the many canyons around us. A reverberating echo of wood and stone.

No screams followed the echoes… and I hoped that it was simply because the people down below had gotten out of the way and were just in shock.

“One moment as I get this ready,” Krift said, as the echo died down.

“You may leave it. These men shall handle it,” the woman said plainly.

“No. They won’t,” Krift said harshly.

Both the woman and the men startled at his words, as Krift grabbed one of the broken pieces of the backpack that was still connected to the stone.

With a brisk tug, he pulled the wood apart. Breaking and tearing wood.

Then he tugged on the spiky leather. I no longer had the one I had carried earlier, but I could still remember how thick and hard it was. Watching him tear bundles of the leather apart was quite a sight. More impressive even than the wood he had just broken.

The woman in black stepped forward, and I could tell she wanted to say something… but she could do nothing but hold her hand out as Krift very quickly… unclothed the stone.

Staring at the glowing rock, as Krift removed the rest of the leather around it, I wondered what it was.

He had said it was magic… and it did seem… unnatural. But it still looked like a rock. A very pretty, white, see-through, rock.

That glowed.

And had odd strands of what looked almost like cobwebs flowing around it.

One of the oddest things about the rock was how even though it was brightly glowing… the world around it didn’t seem to become more illuminated. The stone was bright, yet the area around it wasn’t.

“Sir…” the woman began to say something, but Krift ignored her. He bent down, and with a small huff, he lifted the rock to his shoulder.

It was too big to fit comfortably, so he had to hold it like I would a great big bag. Arms wrapped around it, with his head and neck as much of support as his shoulder.

“Lead the way,” Krift then said, firmly.

“I… yes sir,” the woman then turned on a heel, and I watched as she hurried off with wide eyes.

Krift followed her, and I followed him as he gave me a glance.

Passing the group of men who had been pulling the rope, I did my best to ignore their stares. It was easy, since none of them were looking at me.

“It took all of us to lift that thing…” one whispered.

Following Krift, who followed the woman in black, we descended into the cliff, using stairs cut into stone.

As we did, I reached up to re-adjust my hat… and remembered what had happened.

I withheld a groan, then swallowed a sob, and followed the very bright glowing rock in front of me, as we descended into darkness.