Time was difficult to tell, she was up in the Mist enshrouded heights of the Guardian Mountains and little light shown through; she didn’t know if it was still moonlit night, or if it was now daylight. The rock face was nearly sheer, and offered few finger or toe holds; mostly she had to use the picks, one in each hand attached to her wrists by tethers so she would not lose them.
She grit her teeth as she redoubled her effort and remembered the foolishness that had brought her to this spot.
It had been sometime ago…..a few days?
She had been showing the Vale to her visiting mentor, Armen DeBerge, and they had come to the foothills of the highest summit in the chain of Mountains that she had named the Guardians, as they encircled the Vale of Mists save for a narrow rift that allowed access to the greater world.
While there she had boasted to him that no one, except maybe herself could travel over the range, intending to mean that the Vale was well defended by this imposing geographical barrier. However, Armen, being the crotchety old man that he had always been, had taken this as an idol boast on her part, so he challenged her to climb the highest peak.
"So, ye’ve climbed them then, lass?", he asked with that annoying glimmer in his eye that meant he was about to show his student up.
"Well, not exactly…", Alis answered, trailing off, and regretting her little boast already.
"Then how could ye have said that? If ye haven’t actually climbed over ‘em yet?", he asked incredulously. Then, "I would be guessing that ye should be getting going, lass…", a smile, "If ye get a movin’ ye can get yer supplies and be in the upper foothills afore dark falls."
"But….well……I….", Alis started to stammer.
"But nothing, girl", Armen said sharply, cutting her off, "Ye said that ye could climb over those little hills, and now ye are going to prove it; I’ll be accepting nothin’ less. Now get moving, lass".
Muttering, "Little hills…", Alis was off at a gallop back to where she had set up camp, where she was planning to one day build a home, to get supplies for an expedition up and over a mountain. Damned pride of hers….
Once Alis returned to the foothills, Armen took her mount and rode off to meet her on the other side, taking the easy route through the rift and around the back of the mountain range.
"Don’t keep me waiting too long, Girl", Armen called over his shoulder as he rode out of sight.
"Damn", Alis muttered as she hefted pack and tools, and started walking up into the Guardians.
The first two days were quite easy for her. The first night she was able to camp with a nice fire that kept the predators away, though she heard them stalking about. The foothills contained more than few creatures that would attack if given a good chance.
The next day she worked her way up into the Mountains proper and made camp near the edge of the treeline. Again that night things came around her camp, but the fire kept them at bay.
The next morning she made her way over exposed earth and rock for a while, and then she came up to the snowline. Here the ice and snow never melted away. The air was considerably colder and thinner now, and she was thankful for the warm coat she was wearing and the layers underneath it.
Before darkfall that night Alis made camp in a depression in the rocks, too small to call a proper cave, but it was out of the wind and defensible. Creatures came out and around, but none tried to get at her. Though she did hear the calls of the Mist Walkers and the grunting of the rock trolls some ways away.
The next day’s travel was much more difficult, as she had to forge a way through snow, and over ice and jagged exposed rocks. The way was becoming truly dangerous now, and the cold was getting deep into her bones if she stopped moving.
As she moved on that day, she often had to back track, or free climb up some impressive and imposing rises, often just using her picks to haul herself bodily up and over.
Near dark, as she was back tracking once more, she found that a lot of large prints were cris-crossing her own. Tracks of rock trolls she was sure, which was strange because she had only known them to come out during the night, but that was in the Vale. Maybe they traveled all times of day and night up in their mountain domains. Whichever did not really matter at the moment, what did matter was that the tracks numbered more trolls than she would easily be able to deal with. This was not good.
Alis pressed on hard for the remainder of the day, and into the night under the light of a near full moon. Early in the evening she heard the grunting calls of rock trolls not too far off…they sounded excited, and she had little doubt that they were following her now, and they were closing.
As one hour turned into two, Alis came to realize that she was not going to find a convenient cave to hole up in, and she was coming up against some sheer rock walls that seemed to go up and up…the only other way to go was to jump off a cliff or descend into the midst of the rock trolls…Not for the first time in her life, Alis wished she was an eagle.
She kept climbing and climbing up the mountain, but the rock trolls were getting closer. Soon they were on top of her.
The first one came from downwind of her and jumped off a rock that was to her side. It slammed into her, but did not succeed in bringing her down. It jumped back up and turned to come at her, as she could here its kin coming up the rise. Not having time to free her sword off her back, Alis just lashed out with one of the picks, driving the point far into its thick skull, then, twisting, she sent the corpse down the rise and into the others.
Alis jumped back to try putting some rocks to her back, as a bunch more swarmed up and over her. Alis used a pick in one hand and drew her wide bladed dagger with the other. She swung the pick back and forth cutting and throwing the beasts back from her, and slashing or stabbing any that got close.
Down the rise the remaining beasts set up a cry, a din that was echoed off the mountains as others of their kind picked up the call. More would be coming now. Alis needed to get to somewhere that she could better defend. Soon the big trolls would overwhelm her as they came from her flanks now as well.
With effort, Alis drove the monsters back and gave herself the room to jump up and onto the rock at her back, and then to make a run higher up into the heights.
The Trolls came screaming behind her, but she had a lead on them now. As she ran higher she put more distance between them. She ran, and jumped or clambered over rocks sure footed; heedlessly going fast as she could, and trusting that the little girl that tripped over own feet was long gone.
Soon, though, she came to a dead end…..she was at the top of another rise, but in front of her was a sheer rock face that went higher than she could see in the moon light…and she could not make out any hand holds. To her sides only far drops into the Mist.
Turning she could see the Trolls coming up in greater numbers than before….and with them were several Mist Walkers….horrors that she had no desire to face. How she wished that she had her great bow to cut these beasts down, but she had decided not to try to climb with that strapped across her back.
Glancing about she saw many boulders…many as big as a cart.
Hefting the first one over her head she let it fly down upon the monsters. How they screamed! She set one after the other after the other….raining crushing death down upon them. She even took out a Mist Walker this way. The creatures were running around in disarray, and it looked as if they might flee.
But, then, a great horn sounded, and the cry of even more of the rock trolls and the keening of more Mist Walkers could be heard below.
What next, Alis thought to herself as she hefted yet another great boulder over head, waiting to see what was going to be.
Shortly, a hoard of the hulking rock trolls came into sight below her…and not a few of the dread Mist Walkers. Behind them stepped a figure the size of a man….encased in a robe…maybe the glimmer of armor beneath that, and two great winged shapes next to him.
What could be going on……
The figure pointed up at her….."Take her", he said conversationally, as the trolls and Mist Walkers thundered up the rise after her roaring their enthusiasm, and the two demons (?) unfolded their wings.
Alis hurled the boulder she was still holding at one of the winged figures smashing it to the ground as it tired to launch itself into the air. The other one rose up on beating wings right for her.
Barely with enough time, she unsheathed her sword and hurled it at the winged monster, sending the blade up to its hilt in the beasts chest. With a horrible wail it plummeted into the depths of the Mist.
Knowing the better part of valor; Alis turned and ran to the rock face, then jumped with all the strength in her legs. High up the wall she went, and started to fall until she drove the first of her picks deep into the rock. Then she reached up with the next one and hauled herself up. Then again, and again, and again. Soon leaving the floor and her foes behind her, as the Trolls and Mist Walkers called out in frustration.
Alis kept at it, until she felt her arms going numb, knowing that going back down was not an option.
Eventually, she came to a ledge of some kind…hauling herself up onto it she breathed such a sigh of relief as she never had before.
Catching her breath, she rolled over to see that she was on a plateau of some kind.
Getting up proved a bit difficult, but soon she was steady on her feet, and started walking back further between the soaring walls to either side.
In her exhaustion it was a while before she realized that the walls flanking the plateau were beautifully carved….and that she was being shadowed.
Whirling around and putting her back to one of the finely carved walls she called out, "Who is there", seeing only rocks…
Rocks which then moved….and came closer…thinking that they were more rock trolls she readied herself for battle.
"We mean you no harm, human", said a grating voice like rocks grinding together.
It was then that she could see that the rocks around her were not rocks …well, maybe they were rocks, but they had legs and arms and heads…they were not very tall, but they were just as wide.
That was how Alis met the Granite Folk, and learned of their society high above the clouds…and solved the mystery of the carved walls of the rift in the Mountains.
After enjoying their hospitality and making a new friends, Alis continued her climb up the mountain, and eventually after a strenuous trial that even tested her strength sorely she came to the summit.
Such a view as she had never seen…..she could see all the Vale from one direction, and the rest of the vast world beyond from the other….she stayed there mesmerized until she realized the sun was going down once more and that she was very, very cold.
As she started down the far side, she once again wished that she could be an Eagle, to enjoy this sight again and again….such a fantastic thing.
Eventually, after a few days, and battling the cold, a snow storm and more rock trolls and Mist Walkers…though not again in such numbers…she came to the bottom to find Armen snoring away next to a small river….
"What took ye so long, lass?", he asked not even looking up or opening his eyes….
Sighing, Alis responded, "That is a long story, but I made it….I went up and over the Guardians", now beaming with pride.
"Musta been easy then….", he added opening one eye…..
Alis sighed once more and rolled her eyes….
She had made it over, but she had no desire to ever do it again.
Also, there was now the question of who tried to have her killed…was someone contesting her taking this Shadow as her home? Or was it someone who had some other motives?
Time would have to tell, for now she just wanted to take a nap.
| Friday, October 10, 1997 |
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