The Elder's Path

by J. D. Caldwell

  Having found not only wood but also food, Lyn considered her gathering for the day complete and focused now on the task at hand which was strengthening her bond with Alir. While Alir had previously seemed willing enough to share his space with her, he seemed peeved that she was bothering him with it now. After an hour or two of frustration on both sides, Lyn resigned to the fact that no progress would be made that day. She suspected Alir was sulking at having to sit through her attempts, so to mend his mood she took him out to fly and hunt. By the time darkness found its way to them, Alir had sated his hunger and Lyn had procured more seed pods as well as a small fowl to cook. She quickly learned why avian cuisine was not a regular go to; plucking the feathers off was time consuming! By the time her dinner was finished, it was much too late to write in her journal and she went to bed immediately after eating.

  Daybreak came with the tell-tale silence of an oncoming storm. Lyn continued to be perturbed by the complete stillness, and found herself inadvertently holding her breath along with the silence. Unnerved as she was by the haunting quiet, she was unable to concentrate properly to accomplish anything with Alir, and decided instead upon more gathering and practice with her knife and bow. Alir, bereft of any wind to provide lift and unwilling to work harder than necessary for a fly, sat most of the day preening and generally idling about. When Lyn brought back a satchel full of berries and a rabbit to roast, Alir hopped over to inspect. Taking the hint, Lyn rolled her eyes and tossed her companion the dressings from the rabbit and spent a solid minute or two trying to convince him to try a berry. With no shortage of water, frozen though it was, Lyn had been able to set out bowls and cups to catch the falling snow and then melt it over the fire. Bored with her regular travel rations, she decided to make rabbit stew with some roots and nuts and herbs. As it stewed over the fire, Lyn went through the training regimen Zhiva had taught her. Zhiva hadn't been easy on the training regiment, and after she had completed it, Lyn stretched and smiled in satisfaction. Physical exertion had always made her feel better, and she had to admit the air up in the cold mountains was clean and crisp, making it feel excellent in her tired lungs. Just in time, the wind began to pick up, and Lyn decided to head back to shelter before the snow began to fall in earnest.

  The storm that night kept Alir and Lyn both firmly in the cave, but Lyn had warm rabbit stew and a restful disposition after a day of training and hiking around to gather supplies. Harbored away appropriately from the storm she found it was actually rather peaceful to have the snow and wind whirling outside just within sight, but remain unaffected by it. Feeling warm and content, she drifted off to a deep sleep and dreamt fondly of old places and new faces.

  --

  Lyn and Alir spent the next few days this way, Lyn making much more progress with her knife and bow than with Alir. She had a sneaking suspicion that Alir was throwing something of a temper tantrum at having to stay put, but Lyn was convinced they needed the time to get their feet under them and gain their bearings. Yet, despite Alir's reluctance, they did get some work done by the time that Lyn was ready to move on, so she felt better about their standing. She had procured more water, food, and had even been able to wash her things before setting out. They smelled of smoke from the fire, but they were cleaner than they had been.

  As she packed up the last of their equipment and slung it over her shoulder, Alir let out a cry and landed on her. She winced as his talons gripped tighter for balance, but luckily her leather armor protected her from his sharp grasp. Eager to continue with their adventure, the two stepped out from the cave back in to the world. A sudden bout of nerves struck the young Druid, but Lyn steeled herself before taking a last look around their makeshift encampment, and the two companions continued on.

  Thom had set her in a general direction, and she had always been good with directions. She thought so at least, but she began to doubt this after a few hours of trekking and not seeing very much of anything. She asked Alir to scout ahead, and he obliged. Taking advantage of the opportunity she had been denied their days previous, she closed her eyes and reached out to Alir with the very core of her being, and felt herself becoming lighter. When she opened her eyes again, she was looking down at the mountain through her companion's eyes, and she felt both their hearts flush warm with joy and freedom. It took her a few moments to bring herself back to the reason she had melded with Alir, and after a few thrilling dips and dives she began to actually pay attention to what she was seeing.

  Unfortunately she still did not see much of anything, as it appeared a heavy fog was impinging upon even Alir's visual acuity. Returning to her own body once again, she sighed and decided to risk it. There was no immediate shelter as far as she had seen, so their best bets were either to go back the direction they had come from or press forward. So press forward they did.

  The wall of fog reached them soon enough, and it inhibited their vision drastically. Keeping faithful to Thom's warning, Lyn's progress was especially slow as she prodded the ground before her. Darkness came earlier than usual due to the additional blanket of fog, but the weather seemed to be holding as well as could be expected. Lyn found a small group of trees whose branches gave more shelter than open ground did, so for the night that was their stop. Daybreak brought with it a clearer sky, in so far as the fog went at least. Lyn stared up at the grey ceiling and found herself dearly missing blue sky. Even at home, sunlight filtered in through the boughs of the trees and trickled down to the soft earth. Here, no beams of sunlight cut through the curtain to meet her.

  "Great," she breathed, "another dreary day."

  Two days later, Lyn was sorely missing the comparatively calm weather of before. Thom had not been exaggerating; the higher they climbed the worse the storms became. The wind now was constant and snow blew all over. Lyn made even slower progress than she would have normally, having to be extra careful about watching for hidden cracks in the ground beneath the snow. There was no more "calm before the storm" up here...it was storming always. Just became a matter of how hard.

  This day, however, Lyn found was a particularly stormy day. She had learned quickly that speaking up here with the wind was a useless endeavor; it was impossible to hear anything but the howl. She had bundled herself up as much as she could, but frost still found its way to her and she was more miserable than she had thought possible. She dearly missed the small cave that she and Alir had camped in, and wished they could have just stayed there. But she was resolved to see her mission through now that she understood the consequences of her failure, the slow death of her culture, and how important it was that she not be stopped. But she could certainly be slowed, and she found herself frustrated and numbed by her slow progress. What was more, she had lost her way the day previous and was simply guessing now. She was moving steadily up, but that's all she knew for sure. According to Thom, the storms would lessen as she passed this middle portion of the mountain, so all she could do is keep walking forward.

  Despite her determination, the storm had other intentions. Soon visibility was so low Lyn could not see what direction she was even facing. To make matters worse, the wind pushed her so hard she nearly fell backwards. Lyn suspected it was only going to get worse and intended to set about finding shelter. However, in her rush to get out of the storm she forgot to use her prod and with a horrified cry that was immediately drowned by the cutting gales of wind, she dropped below the surface snow and disappeared.

  After a moment Lyn realized she was no longer falling, and that she was indeed intact. Her heart pounded in her ears, so she took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, trying to calm herself. The sound of the wind came first, followed by a dull roar around her as it cut through the crevasse she found herself in. Above that, she could barely make out Alir calling shrilly. She tried to cry out, but found her throat closed and no sound emerged. She shook her head and looked about, trying to find an easy way out. It appeared that her tumble took her down about double her height, making an immediate reach for the edge impossible.
Remembering her ice pick, she unslung her pack and retrieved it. She hadn't had the occasion to use it, so she was unsure of herself as she spiked into the ice and began to haul herself up. To no avail however as a sharp pain shot through her shoulder and she yelped, dropping herself back down to the ground, which shifted uneasily beneath her. She paused, holding her breath, but did not hear the snow shifting any more. Breathing raggedly once more, she sucked in fiercely against the pain, but it quickly subsided in to a dull ache, and then nothing. She concluded that the injury was nothing life threatening at least, but she wouldn't be climbing her way out of the crack any time soon.

  The snow-ridden traveler looked around her, surprised at how light the ravine was. Sunlight hitting the snow and ice filtered through to create an eerie blue glow. Lyn turned and checked behind her but saw only a wall of snow. Before her, however, was something of a tunnel; the snowpack above formed a makeshift ceiling and the walls of the ravine, evidently made of ice, were approximately five feet apart from each other, giving Lyn ample room to walk. With a squawk, Alir made his way through the hole Lyn had fallen through, landing haphazardly on her shoulder. Lyn winced in anticipation of the pain but felt nothing other than marginal discomfort. Shrugging at the small victory, Lyn turned to her companion and smiled lightly, glad they were not separated. Without further incident they made their way slowly down the icy pathway, and shortly the two found the great crack moving down. Frustrated, Lyn again stopped to see if there was possibly another way out, but was lost for options. The two resigned themselves to moving down, disappointed to be traveling in the direction opposite of their intended destination.

  After what seemed an eternity of silent trudging, Lyn and Alir found their pathway darkening and concluded that they were moving underground. Just as suddenly as Lyn had found it, the ravine terminated in to a cave. The cave was dark, but Lyn could hear the distinctive sound of wind blowing, albeit not immediately nearby. She felt her heart begin to pound once more; she had never considered herself a claustrophobic person and she had certainly spent time in caves and dens. But this was different; this was unknown, with no way back. This was risk of the highest variety, and the walls of any structure begin to feel like a pressing cage under such circumstances.

  Lyn turned her head to see Alir watching her, clearly sharing her unease. They were creatures of the sun and sky, Lyn and Alir; they were not accustomed to such enclosed space. A cold sweat began to form underneath all the layers Lyn had bundled herself up in and she pulled uncomfortably at her collar. Though her heart pounded in her ears and she could feel the blood rush from her face, Lyn swallowed hard and kept moving, one hand in front of her and one on the wall to guide her. Alir’s sight was better than her own and after only a short time, the sound of wind picked up noticeably. Alerting her to this fact, the great raptor let a piercing cry that reverberated off the stone tunnel surrounding them. Heartened by her companion, Lyn picked up the pace and soon detected light, which revealed her surroundings. They were indeed in a cave, a surprisingly small one by the looks of it. The unfortunate news for Lyn and Alir was that the storm outside had not subsided, and in fact seemed to be picking up.

  The young traveler thought for a moment, fighting against two powerful instincts; to get out of the enclosed space, and to stay safe out of the storm. Ultimately, she decided safety was more important than alleviating her discomfort, and with a great sigh she set about making a camp.

  Unlike their previous shelter, which had an enclosed back end and a recessed opening, this cave was more of a tunnel and as such received full punishment from the wind. With this in mind, and against her better judgment, Lyn set their things back further in to the cave, away from the mouth. It was not ideal, but it was better than nothing and dryer than the opening promised to be. After setting down her extraneous equipment, Lyn ventured out only a small way from the cave to gather wood. Luckily, this particular area seemed to have some larger trees around that had stood against the wind and snow, bearing branches and boughs for her to scavenge for fuel. She returned grudgingly to the cave bearing an armful of the precious firewood, piled it on the floor, and sat down to build herself a fire.

  Lyn woke up shivering. It was somewhat lighter than it had been before, so she assumed it was daytime. Bundling herself up in some furs, she stepped nearer to the entrance to get a view of the weather. The storm raged on, the snow flying by so quickly and in such density that Lyn could barely make out the individual clumps; it was a cold, violent white wall. The Druid gritted her teeth and turned back in to the cave. The light traveled further into the stone tunnel than the night previous, revealing a little more than she had been able to see before. She pondered a moment, chewing her bottom lip absently.

  Looking over to Alir, she shrugged and said apologetically, “It’s just too cold here. May as well push back just a little farther.”

  By that evening Lyn had managed to gather a small amount more of firewood, but they were running dangerously low. She decided that the next morning, she would take one of the remaining sticks and fashion a torch to make her way back the way they had come. Hopefully her shoulder would be well enough to climb out of the ravine and they could continue on their way. If of course they were going the direction they should have been, regardless. True to her intent, the next day she lit a sizeable branch and set off into the darkness. She left Alir behind to guide her back if necessary. After all, who knew what she’d find in such a dark place?

  With absurdly applicable timing, Lyn made out a divergence in the path leading into darkness. Lyn thought over her options, and with a look back in the direction she had come, she turned into the tunnel and proceeded to follow it into the depths. The temperature of the tunnel began to drop, and soon it opened up in to a larger cavern with large icicles hanging from the ceiling. The ice on the roof and walls glistened and shone, and Lyn saw there were cracks and small holes that let in some light.

  “That explains why it’s so freezing in here,” Lyn said absently to herself. The sound of her voice reverberated off the frozen walls, and the sound was small in the shadows of the cavern. Lyn moved forward, running her hand idly over the sheen of ice on the nearest wall. Despite her unease in enclosed spaces such as these, she found the light refracting from the ice incredibly beautiful, and was enraptured by the twinkling room. Noticing yet another tunnel on the other side of the cavern, she took a last look and progressed forward.

  As she walked slowly forward, the sputtering light of her torch revealed little in front of her, and she found her thoughts wandering. Something nagged at the corner of her mind but she couldn’t pinpoint it, and continued about her contemplations. Suddenly it struck her with an immediacy that set her heart to pounding. She could hear something.

  Chapter 6

  5th day, 10th lunar cycle, 700th age of Arc

  “Alir and I have found refuge in a cave. There is an incredible storm raging outside, and it is simply unsafe to go out. Neither of us like being cooped up in here, but what’s worse is that I do not think we are alone. Yesterday I went deeper in the cave to do some exploring, and I could have sworn I’d heard something. I am ashamed to admit that I did not possess the fortitude to continue on and discover what it was. But that was yesterday, and today is a new day. I will venture forth and see what I can find. Though, I hold hope that I was wrong, and nothing is all I shall find.”

  The icy cavern seemed much less inviting Lyn’s second time through it, probably because she had to fight herself each time she took a step forward. She had deliberated for some time on the noise she had thought she heard, and she had convinced herself it was possibly just the wind. But that hadn’t stopped her yesterday from turning directly around and returning to camp. Today, however, Lyn had decided she had to either explore the dark tunnel to make sure they were safe, or leave altogether. Unfortunately, that latter choice was not much of an option; the snow had continued in torrents and had piled up at the cave entrance, effectively blocking their exit. Worse, the ra
vine which had brought them here had apparently collapsed with the weight of the snow and closed itself off. As such, Lyn and Alir found themselves stuck in the cave for the foreseeable future and therefor obligated to search out the noise. Loathe as she was to go alone, Lyn felt it necessary to leave Alir with their equipment in case she did get lost and required him to find her. This is how Lyn found herself sliding along the icy wall of the open cavern towards the dark portal and whatever lay within. She took small steps, each punctuated by a pounding heartbeat and quickened breath.

  She moved in to the tunnel and stopped, waiting to hear the sound that had stopped her so abruptly the day previous. But she heard nothing over the sound of the wind whistling through the cracks in the cavern ceiling and resigned herself to moving forward. With bated breath, she proceeded into the darkness and waited once more for the sound. Counting the seconds, she waited until she could no longer hold back her breathing and let loose a relieved sigh. She smiled to herself, glad of the small victory, feeling the tension leave her shoulders in a rush.

  “You fool, getting scared of the dark like a child,” she said aloud, her voice carrying down into the dark. No sooner had she turned about to return, no longer interested in pursuing further, than the noise returned. It was a deep and low rumble, more a feeling in the walls and floor than an audible sound. Lyn stiffened and caught her breath once more, her eyes wide and locked forward. She feared to turn once more and gaze into the depths, scared of what she might see. She closed her eyes tight, trying to block out her fear. But the rumble came once more and the Druid steeled herself to reality.