The Mountains

The Mountains.1

"If you didn't wish to leave with me, and if you really didn't want me to ride you, you should have said something before we left."

Paora sniffed pensively, "There is never any arguing with the Forest King."

That ended that, and Tiernan and Paora rode on in silence for awhile. They had been travelling for half a day now, and the Forest had become more and more sparse the further they went into the Fulke Mountain Ranges.

Tiernan leaned forward in his saddle, causing an indignant squawk from Paora. "How far will we have to go to reach the oracle?" he asked, ignoring her reproachful glare.

"A long while yet," she said, "It will take a while to cross these mountains, and many times as long to reach the big city. And then a while still to reach the oracle."  To Demons, distance was a thing unmeasured, and time even more so. Tiernan sighed and curled up near Paora's neck. A while was a long time.

As night began to fall, Paora turned her head and nipped Tiernan gently on the ear. "Shall we rest for the moon-watch?" she asked the boy, who was slowly dozing off, "You humans aren't nearly hardy enough to go without."

Tiernan pursed his lips but was too sleepy to argue, and Paora settled herself down in the middle of the path so he could dismount.

"Shouldn't we move to the side?" he asked, sliding off from her back.

Paora waited for him to clumsily remove the saddle and bags from her before fluffing up and giving herself a good shake. "There is little chance of anyone travelling these passes in recent years."

"Are the mountains really so dangerous?" Tiernan asked. It was rare to hear about things outside of the Forest and the village, and he was too young to have heard the rumors people told of the world when the hellfire came.

Paora croned softly to herself and did not answer.



The next morning the mountains were topped with a heavy fog. Tiernan frowned. He had seen fog and it often misted in the Forest, but this was colder and more oppressive than what he had seen before. It was hard to see Paora even when one approached her, and the fog showed no signs of dissipating even when they had lit a fire to help with their preparations.

The fog hung heavy even as mid-morning rolled by, and Paora grudgingly admitted that it would do no good to wait for the sun to burn through the damp.

"Make sure not to leave anything behind," she snapped, the chilling feeling that came with the fog making her more irritable than usual.

"We won't be able to find it if we did," Tiernan said.

After he had stomped out the fire, Tiernan and Paora shivered fiercely. It was as if the fog was leeching colour out of its surroundings, and with the fire out they even found it a little hard to breathe. Paora broke the stillness by ruffling her feathers and giving herself a good shake.

"I don't like the idea of travelling in this ominous cover," she muttered.

"I like even less the idea of sitting in it and letting it strangle us," Tiernan replied.

As the sun rose higher overhead, the fog lost its icy feel but did not disperse at all. Noon rolled by and found Tiernan and Paora's pace slow-going, nearly a quarter of the distance Paora had planned for. The Owl was forced to feel her footing carefully in the treacherous pass, barely able to see a half meter in front of her.

Tiernan could feel her panting from the strain this was putting on her nerves, and he patted her neck gently. "Should I get off?"

Paora stopped her nerve-wrackingly slow pace and panted for a moment before she replied.

"No. This fog is too thick and it will be too hard to find each other if we got separated. Nor do I think you will be able to navigate the pass by yourself, and how am I supposed to return to the Forest King if you've fallen down the mountain and broken your neck?" Paora sniffed. "Besides, the path is beginning to slope downwards. If we're lucky, this unnatural fog may not be so thick when we meet up with the main pass further down the mountain."

"Then we should rest first. I don't think it would be wise to continue without breaking our pace for high-sun."

Paora thought a bit and, not finding any reason not to, knelt down to allow Tiernan to dismount. Though it was only to be a short rest, Tiernan thoughtfully removed the saddle as well and Paora gratefully rolled onto her back, wallowing in the dust, before shaking her feathers back into place.

Tiernan lit a small fire to raise their spirits and allow Paora to dry her perspiration. Even if they had been aware of it, they wouldn't have seen the eyes such a sight drew, and the ominous mountain noises they heard now they had heard the entire way down.

"This fog isn't natural," Tiernan finally said, when Paora appeared to have her breath back. "It worries me. Is this because of the hellfire at this mountain?"

"It may be. Or it is most likely the work of a creature who consumed the hellfire and belches this vapor in hopes to blot out the sun."

Tiernan frowned. "It smells of lifelessness. I hope we can find our way out of it."

"I for one desire strongly to leave it. I am ready to continue moving." Paora stood decisively.

The going downwards was rougher than the path they had been on before. Paora was soon panting again, her brow furrowed in deep concentration. The slope was unexpectedly steeper than she expected, and there were many times where her talons skidded in the scree and she thought that they were certainly going to fall.

After four, heart-pounding hours, Paora noticed the fog beginning to thin and, through she was winded and terribly exhausted, hurried her pace. When she finally stumbled out of the fog, she found herself on the wider, slightly less treacherous main pass. She gulped in the fresh air and sank down to allow Tiernan to dismount so she could rest.

But Tiernan wasn't there.