Maleki:

“I can’t move my arms or legs,” Miko said solemnly.

“You can’t move both? It’s usually just one pair. Are you sure?” I asked.

“Pretty sure. I can feel everything like usual, but I can’t move my legs if I try.”

“Damn! It’s getting worse, faster than we thought. We have to find a way to get to The Garden sooner.”

“Brother, is it going to be like this from now on? Usually, it trades off, but what now if both are being affected?”

I propped him up where he could sit up against this cart. “I don’t know, Miko. I’m sorry.”

Miko seemed to not be holding it together anymore and was shutting down. I needed to console him, but there was nothing to say or do. “I’m gonna go scout ahead and see if there’s a shortcut we can use.”

Nomen was quiet as usual.

“The cliffs ahead. If we climb one and follow the ridge, will it save us time?” I asked aloud.

“I can’t say. There are many possibilities, so I cannot give a confident answer.” Nomen replied.

“Nomen, if we climb the cliff, will it decrease the time it takes to get wherever we are going compared to our current route based on walking speed alone? Yes or no?”

“Hypothetically, yes. You could speed up the journey, but..”

“Thanks, that’s all I need to hear.” I interrupted. I turned around without looking anyone in the eyes, unwilling to let the moment settle in. “I’ll be back, Miko.” Just hold on a little longer.

As I walked away, I could piece together words. “Can you hand me one of my books, Nomen?” Miko said in a depressed tone.

“Of course; I will flip the pages when you are ready.”

Good, Miko needed someone to keep him floating for now. Perhaps they will end up in conversation, and the time will fly till I return. I walked for around thirty minutes to see if there were any shorter cliff faces ahead that I could climb more easily. There was a flat cliff near our current campsite that was almost out of eyesight with the way the ridge hilled up and down. I took a big bite from some of the dried meat we brought to give me some energy and started feeling the rocks to find some good holds for my hands. I took two small stones and crushed them against each other to form a pile of rock powder, which I then rubbed into my hands to help with gripping the stone.

Just like climbing trees, Maleki.

All right, here we go. One hand and foot at a time. I pushed off the ground for the first move with the top bridge of my foot, giving me the most height available, and then shot up for a hold with both my hands. One of my hands made it, but the stone wasn’t sloped enough to hold both, so I slipped a little and held all my weight with one hand for a short time until I could bring my left foot up to a different spot. Bringing my right foot to a jagged area below me, I found my footing and shifted my weight. This process continued for around twenty feet until I approached a sloped portion that seemed impossible to climb unless I climbed back down and moved over right. A crack in the stone vertically rose up the side of the mountain about ten feet, and after that, there were twenty feet of easy-looking climbing to go. I wasn’t exactly sure how to do it, but I leveraged all my weight on my heels and then swept my palms and the bottoms of my fingers aggressively against a rock next to me, protecting my hands from the sharper rocks that had been tempered by time.

I squeezed my fingers against each other and grabbed the slit in the stone, pulling as hard as possible against the rock. In my mind, I pictured trying to rip open a shirt, but without being able to close your fingers into your palm. Using this strategy, I pulled my weight slightly and had almost all my body weight between my fingers and outstretched foot. My fingers ached, so I pressed my palms harshly against the stone to alleviate some of the pressure. The hard part now was finding juts in the rock to stick my feet and push higher. After much deliberation, I found a comfortable spot in the crack where my feet held a good angle and rested my fingers to push through to the ridge above me. After I rested, I found the top of the crack and continued the climb fairly easily using the fundamentals I had established initially. My hand grabbed the top of the ridge, and I pulled all my weight above my arms until l had dragged myself unto my belly. My lungs let out a strained but much-needed fresh breath of air, and I decided to lie flat for a while until I felt like sitting on my butt again.

During the walk up the foot of the mountain, I hadn’t spent much time looking out from where we had come from, but now I could see everything. Even from here, Quavoris’ walls could be seen, and the forest we traveled through shrouded into a large mass of bumpy shades of green. It was beautiful, but I would need to practice this route a few more times to feel confident. I climbed as much as possible until the sun started to set, making passes on the more difficult parts and preparing the shift in my footing and finger holds so that I had them down to muscle memory. I had prepped as much as possible with the time I had and felt confident overall, but there was nothing to predict how it would be climbing with my weight and Miko’s. Still — as much as I thought about it — this was the only way. To speed up this journey, I would need to be able to climb this entire ridge with Miko on my back. If we don’t get there sooner, I fear whatever is happening to him cannot be reversed.

I walked back in the dark, wishing our planet didn’t spin so damn fast, so we could enjoy the sunlight. When I returned to the campsite, Nomen had prepared tea, which I devoured after assisting Miko to sip his.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“So, what’s the plan?” Miko asked.

“We’ll climb tomorrow. I’ve paced the route and made the ascent three times.”

“You think you can do the climb with my weight too?”

“I’ll have to.”

“You can’t climb up there and throw a rope down?”

“Miko, do you have fifty to sixty feet of rope in your bag?”

“No…”

“Me either. Either way, we’d have to do the make with you.”

He paused to think about what I had planned. “If we wait till the blindness returns — which should be soon based on the cycle — I can climb ahead of you, and you can just tell me where to put my hands and feet.”

He knew what I had planned was improbable at best, but it was our best option. “Screw the cycle, Miko. We can’t predict it anymore. You can’t climb ahead of me, and the route is too difficult in your condition.”

“You can’t climb with that much weight Maleki! What about our bags and the wagon?”

“I left my bag already, so we only have to worry about you, your bag, and the wagon. I’ll have to make multiple trips.”

“I know it was my idea in the first place, but are you sure this will work?”

I smiled to convince him of my assuredness. “Of course. Big Brother is going to make this work! Take a nap. In the morning, we will have to make some decisions and prepare, depending on what is wrong with you.”

With that, Miko fell back onto his side, looking out over the cliff, and I walked over to the fire and joined Nomen for some more tea. I waited for Miko to fall asleep before starting a conversation. “So, what are my odds?”

“They do not favor you. Yet, you exist in that area of defying odds, so your chances may be higher than expected. Nevertheless, you are trying to attempt something experienced climbers would find difficult, and that’s under the presumption that they are adults, which you aren’t.” He responded plainly.

“That’s fair, but I am big for my age, and Miko’s, well, he’s small for his age. Not like he’s building many muscles and adding pounds in his predicament. That has to count for something, plus I am used to carrying him around, so I’m basically adjusted to his weight.

“You speak so casually of a feat most will not attempt under the premise that it would almost certainly be deadly. One slip is all it takes for your journey to end here.”

A bit plain, but he is right. Just in case, I’ve planned all my steps and a few backups. “Wait, was that first part about me defying the odds already?”

He sipped from his cup before nodding his head in realization of my question. “Ah, you do not know. Almost all life Maji are infertile. The price of unnatural power is indeed great.”

“You’re saying our mum didn’t expect to have us? I’m an accident?” I laughed.

His intelligent way of speaking faltered. “Haha, indeed. Though the process is purposeful….”

“They must’ve known before Miko was born. Why would they have another kid knowing what was waiting for them in the world? Apparently, people like us are pretty despised.”

“Unfortunately, yes. Majikless children are resented, sometimes even by their own families. Not the noblest of the arguments, but your children are an extension of yourself; of your hopes and dreams, and to think that your child can accomplish little to nothing due to their position in life could be disheartening for some. However, maybe your parents knew that it would be lonely and wanted you to have something to hold onto even when the rest of the world would kick you down.”

“Perfect, they doomed two of us and Miko even more. Poor kid can’t even move anymore.”

“True, but Miko’s sickness is not bound to nomajs. It is a byproduct of the use of majik, a curse for the children of those who stole it.”

“Lucky. He’s born with no majik and a sickness that affects him for majik he doesn’t possess.”

“You should sleep. If you are intent on doing this tomorrow, you will need to rest your body and mind from today’s work.”

He was right. I was pretty tired from all the climbing, but not exhausted. I fell asleep quickly, which told me my body was telling me, not asking this time. Miko shook me awake, and I stretched my arms wide, feeling refreshed despite the previous day’s activities. Wait, Miko woke up? This never happens. “How long did I sleep?”

He didn’t respond and squeezed my wrist tightly, which didn’t indicate whether he could hear me. His eyelids were closed, and he didn’t speak, which told me he was clearly blind and mute at this point. Damn it! This has never happened before. Him being mute is a totally new symptom. “Are you deaf?” He shook, which indicated he heard me. So, he can hear me…

“Several new symptoms at this stage means the curse is worsening rapidly. We’ll ascend today, okay?” He nodded his head. I can’t imagine what it’s like to start losing your senses, but he’ll have to hold for as long as possible till we can get to The Garden, and if Nomen is right, shortcuts will only save us so little time. I asked in Nomen’s direction, “What the hell is wrong with this mountain? It’s speeding up his illness, and even I feel more tired than usual.”

He sighed, sounding depressed about the answer. “This is accursed ground. Moving forward, Majik is useless here, and you two have none, so it will take what you have left.”

Damn it. Damned mountain! As if this wasn’t hard enough, my stamina will be drained even without acting.

I started packing up the campsite, told Miko the short version of the plans again, and loaded him into the cart. Didn’t want his blindness guiding him off into the rocky depths.“Stretch your arms, legs, and back while you’re in there. We have to use the advantage of you having full mobility when climbing. We’ll tie ourselves together with the belts in our bags without restricting my movement, but if you can hold onto me with your arms and legs, this will lessen the impact on my mobility. I’ll need all I can and more to even get up this, especially since I’ll only get more tired the longer we are here.” He gave me a thumbs up, which was enough to move forward with our walk. I checked my head occasionally and saw him stretching his legs and arms, which would be necessary for them not to lock up while I’m climbing the cliff. We would have the belts as a fallback, but those would be a last resort of hoping for the best.

Nomen didn’t know the route but said he was familiar with climbing and should be able to do it if he watched where I went. He looked a lot like if Miko had all my traits and age at his size, so I trusted he could do it, but I also couldn’t concern myself with him; I needed to dedicate all my energy to Miko and staying moving. I flipped the cart over to prevent it from rolling and then set Miko’s bag on the ground in front of the cliff face. I took our two belts, looped them together, and tied them as tight as possible, right above the middle of our spine, which would hopefully give us a little cushion and stop him from slipping and then falling to his death. In order for this to work, I would essentially be climbing while playing piggyback. Which I had a lot of experience doing, so hopefully, I have an advantage here. However, Miko will be locking his palms right below my chest and his heels together. This will give me maximum range while being obstructed because I will still need to be able to outstretch my legs while having enough power in my heels and arms to pull myself up.

Looking up, I felt nervous. The cliff seemed more extensive than before, and the weight of my passenger and the consequences added on in a way that stirred my stomach. I swallowed a big gulp of water and closed my eyes to imagine the route one final time. After a minute of preparation, I locked eyes with Nomen, nodded my head in a self-convincing manner, and found the holds as before.