by Don P. Bick
Chapter 26
In the days following the attack from the worms the group slowly progressed southeast, staying in the foothills along the inlet. Bran's leg healed nicely; however, the first couple of days were pretty rough on him. The swelling returned when they began walking and he had to stop often to rest. He didn't complain and did his best to keep up with the others. Gena tended and waited on him as though she were his personal nurse.
The terrain was difficult. The foothills extended right down to the sea's inlet. At times they were forced hours out of their way because of a section of inlet that protruded deep into the hillside. The going was tiring as well. The constant up and down of the hills; some covered in brush so thick they had to seek alternate routes through or around it. Sections of the way were buried deep in fallen leaves, presenting an impassable obstacle for which they had no alternative but to detour miles out of their way in order to circumvent the blockage. They kept telling themselves it was worth the effort of not going by ship closer to their destination. It was true they had not seen any of the Guardians and so far rarely had they seen any animals. And they were grateful that none had attacked them since leaving the river.
Ve-Nah said little as they walked through the maze of brush and forest each day. Camran wasn't sure whether she hated herself for coming in the first place or whether she was just naturally a quiet person. In any event she kept to herself, but she never failed to do her share of contributing to the daily workload.
Day after day they continued toward the southeast. Approximately two weeks after leaving the river they arrived at a large forested plateau. To the south of the plateau was a steep rocky hill. No trees grew on the hill; it was just a steep pile of dull gray rock. They could see it sticking up through the tree branches for miles before they actually got near it. Twil suggested as soon as they saw it that they should climb to the top and view the mountains and surrounding terrain. The closer they approached the hill the stronger the winds became. They began as strong breezes and as they traveled farther south gradually changed to steady and stronger winds. By the time they reached the rock hill the wind was a strong steady gale.
Climbing the steep pile of rocks was no easy task. The lower part wasn't so bad because they were below the tops of the trees, which helped block the main force of the winds. But after a while, as they climbed higher, the rock became slicker and the hill steeper in places, not to mention the role the wind played once they climbed higher than the trees. Large sheets of rock were thrust up at angles in such a way they could find no way to climb around or above them. They would have to retreat back down, then circle around one way or the other to find another way up. Several times they had to haul each other up ropes to get past sheer drop offs. They arrived at the base of the hill late that morning, but it was late afternoon before they made it all the way to the top.
On the north side, about thirty to forty feet from the top, was an overhanging ledge where they set up camp. The ledge was somewhat protected from the force of the winds. The noise was a different story. The wind whipped over and around the hill making all sorts of sounds. It swirled around and through the large pieces of rock composing the high mound. They thought it best to spend the night up near the top of the rock pile rather than try to descend back down to the relative calm beneath the trees, and get caught by darkness in the process. After negotiating the long climb all seven wanted to see the view from the summit. The last part of the ascent was without their equipment on their backs. That alone made the climbing easier. The winds were the most difficult part of the final climb to the top, where they were completely exposed to its full fury.
From the peak the view was unobstructed and tremendous. Even though daylight was starting to slip away there was still ample light to see. They would return in the morning when the lighting was better to get their bearings and make plans. For that evening they just enjoyed the beauty of the view. Hunkered down in their warm coats they sat and watched the darkness slowly creep over the land, then climbed back down to the ledge to fix a meal and get some sleep.
The next morning they ate a cold breakfast and returned to the top of the hill. There was nothing to burn during the night so they didn’t have a warm fire or hot meals. It was a chilly night and all were grateful to see daylight arrive, and with it warmer temperatures.
Majestically looming above them were two mountain peaks to the north of their position. There was one in the east and one in the west. The one in the west was quite some distance to the north. Both mountains were snow capped and the one in the east seemed to radiate from the snow pack on its western side. Just below the snow level on the west side of the mountain was a saddle tucked in between it and another smaller mountain. That had to be the pass they were trying to find. So far the snow had not dropped as low as the pass, but it wouldn't be long before it too would be covered in deep snow, and then impassable until spring.
Buoyed by the view and of locating the pass so easily, they descended to the camp and packed their gear. The pass was a long way off. It was also quite a climb up to that elevation. It had to be several thousand feet above the level of the plateau and their current position. They slowly descended down the rocky hill and set out in the direction of the pass, hopeful they would be able to cross over before the snow dropped any lower in the mountains.