Yggdrasil Fallen, LitRPG Series
Book 1, Part 2: Obsidian
Chapter 33: Waterfallen
“Oh for fucks sake!” Jeff groaned as he, Trinity and 3 others loaded into Trinity’s Prius circled through the trailhead parking lot for the third time, looking for a spot. It wasn’t even 7am and the area was already flooded with vehicles sporting out of state license plates.
“Earlier and earlier every year man, it seems these tourons just can’t grant us any time or ability to actually enjoy life.” Bemoaned a male voice, seated behind where Jeff sat.
“Yeah man, they come hard, and in force at the slightest sign season change. I long for the days when we would actually have seasons in between the peaks. COVID really fucked things up for us.” Jeff responded to their newest compatriot in the hiking troupe.
“Do you think we should pull an asshole and start the entrance road train? Or just piss off and find another place to hike today?” He continued.
“Hell naw, I’ve wanted to experience this hike and the hot spring falls almost as long as I’ve lived up here. I think I’m gonna park like an asshole.” Trinity snorted, having spotted a parking spot just wide enough to squeeze her vehicle into.
“If they’re gonna park like dicks, I’m gonna return it five-fold!” she continued, laughing a bit harder than Jeff thought rational.
“Just be sure to shoot some pics of their plates and your car before we take off, if they damage your Prius, you gotta have evidence to make those rich assholes pay in one way or another!” The gal behind Trinity spouted out. Jeff and Trinity had met today’s hiking companions at the only grocery store in town the week prior. Jeff had seen them in passing, but had never engaged in conversation, that was a new trait Trinity had inspired in him. They owned a local back country survival gear mom and pop shop where they hand made a vast majority of what they sold with locally sourced supplies, or so they claimed. Jeff had a hard time believing they could legally harvest the amount of leather they utilized, much less the hardwoods, metals and composite materials they claimed to process to manufacture their goods in the space above their shop. Though, he couldn’t argue that their quality was markedly beyond anything he could purchase from any big box retailers.
Both he and Trinity were graciously blessed with a new hiking pack, fit with an oversized water bladder when they first met the Husband/Wife team earlier that day. They felt it was a bit of a bribe to allow their far younger son to tag along on the hike. While the child couldn’t have been more than 8 years old, he sported the façade of a hardened woodsman, complete with the experience and tools to survive should the need arrive. Neither Jeff nor Trinity had any issue with him coming along, and graciously accepted, adding the well-crafted pieces of gear to their arsenal. While it took a bit of time to transfer the water, and refill the bladders of the new packs, Jeff personally found his to be shockingly light and comfortable.
“Whatever you want to do! We just need to decide, it’s an 8-mile hike to the hot spring falls, which means we need to get going if we want to have time for the hike and relaxation time at the springs before sunset” Jeff responded, as Trinity was carefully positioning her relatively small vehicle to pull into the spot between an over large, double parked truck, and a beaten up, run down van that resembled a wanderlust vehicle.
“Hippies and a douche, absolutely perfect!” Trinity purred as she carefully maneuvered her vehicle into the spot, with precision that Jeff had only seen from professional truck drivers backing down the alley of the Café, bringing bi-weekly supplies the business required to stay operational.
“Daaaaaaamn girl! That was a truly impressive display driving skills, completely unrivaled by most of the wannabe tools I struggle to understand on a weekly basis!” He gushed, as Trinity finished her truly impressive parking feat.
“Now, how are we supposed to get out without triggering big truck boi?” he finished.
Trinity flashed him a smart grin, gesturing to the back hatch of her vehicle. While it had cost her a fair bit more, Trinity had opted for the hatchback option, as opposed to the sedan when she purchased her vehicle. Originally, she had planned on doing a fair bit of spring/summer/fall vehicle camping to live on the cheap. That was until she rolled into town, and she realized just how astronomically expensive it was to just survive in the area. Her finances quickly dried up and she was forced to get a job. It was absolute fate that she decided to apply for a part time waitressing gig at the same café where Jeff worked as a grizzled, hardened line cook.
It was this that attracted her to him: he was patient, kind, understanding but if you dared cross him or try and debate things you were clearly wrong about, especially at the peak of a rush he had absolutely no reservations letting you know just how wrong you were. It was their first fiery yelling match over her mistakenly ordered poached eggs, when she needed sunnyside that she saw his true nature: an unyielding, passionate man unwilling to coddle or tolerate verbal bullshit but overwilling to educate the proper way to fix errors. This had caused her to fall head over heels for him, it certainly helped that he was utterly stunningly gorgeous with his shockingly blue eyes, crop cut sandy blonde hair, and muscular figure.
“I think we’ll take the rear exit” she teased, pressing a button on the dash, causing the rear door to pop open. Everyone in the car exchanged mischievous looks, matched by an almost giddy laughter knowing exactly what trinity had done. While the spot was tight, she had parked as close to the truck as she could, without impacting it; she had left as much room to the other side as possible. Everyone piled out of the back of the vehicle, picking up their hiking packs as they passed over the seats. Minutes later they were all standing in the rough graveled lot, stretching their muscles in the very early morning sun. While the air was chilly, its rays pushed past the mountain peaks, through the newly budding treetops and bathed them all in a nirvanic warmth.
“I think the trailhead is that way.” Jeff said, motioning towards the far end of the lot from where they had parked. Trinity laughed, mocking the blatantly obviously uncomfortable notes to his voice:
“Oh really, you don’t think the trailhead is right there?!?!” She playfully jabbed at him, gesturing towards a river that ran along the entirety of the back of the lot. Jeff rolled his eyes and began walking, his pace a focused stride attempting to make a point. Laughing, Trinity chased after him with their new friends and their son in tow; everyone excited for the day’s adventures. Jeff paused at the trailhead, looking off towards the jagged mountain peaks, sharply tapering down to the valley they were approaching; struggling to overcome a feeling of anxious anticipation, not knowing what, how or why. Just feeling that the anxiety of the hike was pre-emanated by a subconscious knowledge of a significant change to come.
“Kingsman” stood at the head of a large circular table in an over large, brightly lit conference room, his back and shoulders set in a firm, yet relaxed repose. The modern opaque glass door to the far side of the room slid open, followed by the sounds of several sets of feet shuffling in and taking seats around the table. He heard the door slide shut as the last person entering the room took their seat at the table; no one daring to even breathe under threat of breaking the silence that fell as the door shut.
“Do any of you understand why I have called this meeting here today? Why I have taken the time out of my extremely busy schedule to call this meeting?” No one dared to speak, the “kingsman” had always been a fair man, but when he had a point to make it was always a brutal one.
“In my absence things have been allowed to slip, even the Echo’s have been found to be slacking and failing at their assigned tasks. Just this morning I had to extinguish Silderson when he was somehow able to lie to me. While he is being reconstituted, I am left without my puppet; an absolute vital tool for me to stay concealed within the company and world at large.” His words reverberated through the room seeming to shake the inset glass dividers and even the conference table itself. No one dared to speak up, out of fear the totality of his wrath would fall directly on them.
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“No one? No one dares to speak up to answer these very critical questions?”
“Um, I apologize sir but you haven’t asked any questions for us to answer. I’m sure we could oblige, should you with an….” The pudgy, middle aged balding man’s words were cut off as he shrieked in pain, blue-white flames burning him from the inside out. Greenman stood, his arm up with his palm glowing with light the same color as the flames, pointed at where the man had been sitting; now a smoking pile of ashes.
“The questions were implied. Insubordination and questioning my actions or words without careful thought and consideration WILL be punished.” He growled, glaring at the remaining people seated in the room. When no one else dared to speak, he continued:
“Luckily the rift we discovered at the last site did in fact take me to the realm of the Fates, where we reconvened on events, and through that I managed to have quite the fruitful meeting. They have given me location of the site with a rift connected to the realm where the nine sisters bound the Warlord after his subjugation in the last war. They have also blessed me with the knowledge to breach that domain, and bring him to a reunion with his sister, the Beastmaster.” He lifted a glass of water off the table, drinking deeply before continuing.
“It would also seem that this realm has chosen a champion to defend itself. While we have no idea where he currently is, I know him to be my own flesh and blood. This means he will be a formidable enemy, should he be allowed to unseal all his conversion runes. We need to find him and extinguish his meager ember before it can become a roaring bonfire.” The room remained silent as Greenman continued his monologue after a brief pause of consideration.
“It should not be too difficult though, as you all know very well just how many ascended we’ve put down across the realms we’ve claimed in the name of the Obsidian Legion. Let us discuss plans on just how to locate this minor threat and put it down before we move to subjugation of this realm.” There was a collective nod of agreement as “Kingsman” finished speaking, and they set to work planning.
Jeff and Trinity were the first to reach the top of the steep incline, where they paused to catch their breaths, having made it a bit of friendly competition between them to see who could reach the top first. The vibrant green of late spring trees had given them a perfectly shaded hike as they enjoyed the brisk pace they were making through the rough, steep terrain of the stunning clear skyed hike they were trekking. Despite the overly packed parking lot they didn’t encounter very many people after the first several miles. It was a strong chance they were the only ones making the long trip out to the falls. Between the unusually chilly air, the difficulty of the climb in the second half and all the trails that branched off the main trail; they rationalized that most of the lowlanders had taken the much easier, possibly more scenic routes, Jeff wagered they’d be alone when they finally reached the falls.
“Holy shit, this is one incredible sight.” Trinity breathed, looking down into the caldera; whose rim they stood on. The sight of the steaming falls rising amongst the thick, luscious green trees off in the distance seemed to be far closer than it was. Yet at their current pace, Jeff estimated they would make it there by 11, or maybe 12 with Just enough time for a languid dip and a picnic at the shores edge.
“It sure is, I don’t think I could ever get sick of these kinds of sights!” Jeff responded.
“Jeeeez! If we’d known you were going to race to the top, we just might have decided to join in on the competition!” Their slightly older, male compatriot said as he came to a rest at their sides; his wife and son quickly catching up to the rest of them.
“Hahahaha, Sorry! It’s kind of a thing we’ve started to do whenever we see a long steep incline.” Jeff had burst out laughing at the obscenity of them both having randomly broken into a sprint up the hill without saying anything to their hiking companions.
“I suppose that had to have been a bit freaky, like we saw something you didn’t, and we were just abandoning you to it.” Jeff continued.
“Jeez Jeff, you’re such an asshole, abandoning our friends to the mountain lion back there!” Trinity jibbed playfully at him.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah… let’s just get a move on before it catches up to us!” Jeff continued to laugh as he set off ahead of the rest of the group, down the gentle sloping path off the rim of the caldera, towards the rising steam.
“I thought it was a bad idea to run away from mountain lions…?” The young boy asked, as they filed after Jeff down the narrow path.
“It is son, it really is.” His father responded to him, shaking his head with disbelief at the two ahead of them while trying to wrap his head around the absurdity of the situation of what had just happened.
It was another forty-five minutes before they finally reached the shallow lapping, steaming shores of the large pond that had formed at the base of the tall cascading thermal falls. Trinity had already stripped off all her hiking gear, down to her bare feet and was wading into the hot misty water.
“A bit over-eager to get that rotten egg stank on, aren’t we?” Jeff poked a bit of fun at her as she let herself sink into the sulfurous, lightly stinky water.
“Smells a hell of a lot better than you on a good day there mah dude!” She fired back, allowing herself to relax, floating on the surface.
“Why dontcha get your behind in here with me, should freshen you up a bit after that hike!” she jabbed.
“Hahahaha, really really funny!” Jeff was already stripping down to join her, while their companions nearby were laying out a blanket to set up lunch. Sprinting into the water towards where she was floating, Jeff felt the surprising heat of it splash up his backside, soaking the clothes he’d left on. Diving towards her he fell a bit short, coming up just underneath; scooping her into a hot water cradled embrace.
“I GOT YOU!” He roared, spluttering through the stinking water dripping down his face. She wrestled out of his embrace, climbing around to his back like a crazed spider monkey and attempting to push him under the water.
“Not any more you don’t!” She laughed as he pretended to allow her to dunk him, where she lost the grip on his shoulders. He kicked off the sandy bottom away from her, emerging several feet away.
“Race you to the falls!” Jeff shouted back at her, already swimming hard towards the base.
“Hey! CHEATER!” She shouted as she dove after him. The married couple had taken a seat on the shore, bemusedly watching the antics of the younger couple as their son sat nearby casually eating a sandwich and some potato chips.
“Ah, to be that young again. It’s really nice to see through the generations that some semblance of such pure love can still be a thing.” The woman purred, so quietly only her husband could hear.
“Though, I wonder if he knows…” She finished.
“Come now love, we’re only 290! We’re plenty young enough to partake in such antics.” Her husband responded equally quiet, grinning as Jeff and Trinity neared the falls.
“And does it really matter? Theres so much already wrong with this world, it isn’t our place to try and disrupt the little joy that young man has… at least for now.”
“Yeah… you’re right. And as always, you’re double right. I much prefer to stay dry, enjoy the sun with a bit of wine and leave the craziness to the younger bodied.” She responded, taking a deep draw from the cheap can of wine she had been sipping on.
“HA! I BEAT YOU!” Jeffs voice bellowed out across the clearing as he sidled himself up onto a rock, underneath the falls.
“That’s only because you’re a damned cheater!” Trinity yelled, climbing up next to him, panting heavily, laying her head on his shoulder. Jeff wrapped his arm around her, as the falls hammered down upon them, and whispered for the first time in her ear: “I love you”. She pulled away slightly, looking back at him, a startled look piercing her eyes. They sat like that for several moments, before she melted into his chest, the hot water pouring around them.
“I love you too, please don’t you dare ever leave me alone, don’t abandon me.” Jeff pulled her tight, leaning back against the rock face pulling them both behind the hammering falls.
“That’s something you don’t have to worry about, I’ll be here just as long as the fates, and you allow me to be. It’s been a very long time since I’ve been this happy, and I’m so glad they brought you into my life.” They sat there, leaned against the surprisingly cool rock face, with the hot water pouring over their legs in a thermal dichotomy that would have boggled clearer senses. Jeff pulled Trinity closer to him, her warm, wet skin a welcomed relief against the cold stone face of the falls when he felt a blazing hot pulse behind him.
“What the fuck? What was that?” He muttered into her rotten egg scented hair.
“What was what? She responded.
“You didn’t feel the wall behind us throb?” He asked.
“No, there’s only one throbbing I felt…” She grinned mischievously up at him.
“That’s not what I meant, it’s like the rocks shifted behind us… could be a small quake?” He responded.
“She gave his torso a tight squeeze, I didn’t feel anything. Though I am getting a bit hungry! Maybe it’s time we head back to get something to eat before we make the hike back?” She questioned.
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” He answered, brushing his hand against her cheek, pulling her in for a kiss. They stayed that way for several moments longer before she broke away.
“Alright, for real though, I’m really hungry and that roast beef and smoked gouda sammich with balsamic caramelized onions and horseradish aioli on sourdough you made for me is absolutely calling my name!”
“Alright, alright let’s go!” He replied as she kicked off the rock into the pond towards the shore where their friends sat. Jeff, placing his hand on the rock wall behind him to push off himself felt the wall throb again; the blistering heat seeming to singe his palm. He recoiled, looking at the wall in disbelief:
“What the actual fuck was that?” He thought to himself, reaching out to touch the cool rock again. Only, where his hand should have met stone, it passed right through; throwing him completely off balance he tumbled forwards through what should have been a solid surface. He fell, flipping head over heels as the heat around him grew hotter and hotter, falling much farther than he would have expected to be possible. Before he knew it, he hit solid ground hard, surrounded by invisible flames, sucking the wind out of his lungs and consciousness from his mind.