"More Questions than Answers"
Finn raised a hand to wipe the sweat beading off of his brow, releasing a ragged breath in the process. He gazed up at the mass of brown stone towering in front of him. "Tallest mountain in the Badlands… That's really nebulous." He said aloud as he looked over the various peaks rising up into the sky. Just the day prior, he had been tasked with seeking out a certain wizard who he had been told lived somewhere in the general vicinity. The only problem was that the mountains encompassed a very wide area, and searching along their entirety would surely be a lengthy and tiresome process.
Finn groaned in annoyance as he sized up this obstacle. Truth be told the whole day was turning out to be quite the letdown. The Badlands were not one of the boy's more favored locales to traverse. Between the blistering hot sand sinking into the cracks in his shoes and the seemingly magnified sun pounding down on him in the hundred plus temperature, things tended to become a little uncomfortable in that nightmarish desert.
And then there was the problem of actually scaling the dang mountain. Although the entire thing wasn't quite as high as the Ice King's now defunct domain, it was still plenty large enough to require some major physical exertion. 'And of course Jake isn't here to help.' He thought bitterly.
True to form, the yellow dog was not present that day, a rather shameful fact given his display of 'overt affection' just the other day. Despite his highly touted promises to stick by Finn for the duration of this time of crisis, the minute a conflicting arrangement came up the Dog abandoned him. Although Finn couldn't really fault the guy. The night the two returned, after Finn had collapsed from exhaustion, Jake had received a call from his long term lover Lady Rainicorn, asking for his assistance with one thing or another, effectively swiping him away from the Human's grasp. But of course Finn wouldn't hold that against either one of them.
That said, having Jake along for the ride would've made today's ventures infinitely easier. After all, his innate ability to stretch his body made ascending great heights simpler than climbing stairs. Finn really could've used that boon, especially given his… struggles with the last time he attempted to scale a mountain unprepared. And this time there'd be no ancient mystic to swoop down and rescue him if things got bad. Well… maybe, but he really couldn't afford to count on that.
In light of that, he had done far more to prepare himself accordingly this time. Although in this case he didn't have to worry about succumbing to frostbite, he did prepare a few other implements to assist in his climb.
Coming just up to the base, Finn found a small outcropping of rock offering some small cover from the sun. Crossing the border into the shade, Finn collapsed against the rock with a heavy sigh of relief. The air was still heavy as an oven, but at least he could get a brief respite from the sunlight. Leaning forward, he shrugged his green backpack off, easing it between his lap. Unzipping it, he hastily retrieved a bottle of water, uncapping it and guzzling down a huge mouthful.
Bringing the bottle away, he set it aside on the ground and turned his attention back to his pack. Rifling through the darkness, he eventually found his hand grasping at a cold, metal mechanism, which he quickly retrieved from the confines of his knapsack. Holding it up, he twisted and turned it in his hands, appraising the tool. The device appeared similar to a three 'fingered' metal claw, with several point of articulation running along the length. The claw had several studs dotted along each 'finger', and a single, large spike embedded in the center and attached to a spring mechanism.
Attached to the end was a sizeable length of rope, neatly tied up for storage in his bag, which Finn also pulled out. The entire device had been recently gifted to him by Princess Bubblegum, who called it a 'smart grapple'. According to her, whenever thrown the nifty little tool would automatically clamp down on whatever surface it made contact with, and was incredibly flexible in its' use; or so the Princess claimed, anyway.
Setting aside the metal bit, he ran his hands along the length of rope. On the opposite end of the rope was a carabiner. While Finn was otherwise dressed in his standard uniform, he did have one additional odd accessory on hand; a climber's harness, like a reinforced belt with two additional loops to brace the legs. Taking the end of the rope, he latched the carabiner onto a metal latch on his waist. After the SNAFU that was his last mountaineering experience, he was doubly sure to take all necessary precautions.
"Which reminds me…" He offhandedly remarked. Again he delved into the depths of his backpack, this time coming out with a pair of thick leather gloves. He pulled on the gloves, flexing out his fingers to loosen the leather. Again, temperature was not so much a factor today, but they would surely help him keep a steady grip on the stone and rope. The Boy was adamant that he would not be falling off the face of this cliff.
Now well and properly equipped, Finn put away his non-critical equipment, slung his backpack and brought himself back to his feet. Taking the rope, he started to unknot and loosen it to its' full length. While his hands were busy, he began to walk out from under his canopy. He couldn't help but wince as he stepped back into the dazzling sunlight. Once the rope was free he began to sort it out, dropping it and letting it pool by his feet. Then he turned his head up, looking over the stone mountainside and taking a deep breath.
Gripping the neck of the grapple claw, Finn began to lower it down until it hung by a bit of rope. The Human then began to swing the claw in wide circles, quickly bringing it to speed. As the claw was moving, Finn released the spinning claw, hurling it high towards the mountain while allowing the rope to pass through his grasp. The metal claw hit stone several stories up. As soon as it made contact with the surface the claw snapped, crunching securely into the stone.
Once he saw that the claw would not be falling back down, Finn took a few cautious tugs on the rope to ensure its' hold. Satisfied, Finn took the rope in both hands and walked straight up to the wall. He brought one leg up and put his foot against the stone. Moving his hands up the rope, he kicked up off the ground and secured his other foot against the stone, placing him squarely on the stone surface.
Finn had not ever had to do something quite like this before, so he was rightly a little nervous. That said, he'd many times before been forced to perform far more dangerous stunts, so getting the hang of this should not prove that difficult. 'I just have to take this one step at a time.' Keeping true to what he was telling himself, Finn took his first step upwards, moving his hands up a few inches on the rope. He repeated this step with his other foot, again inching his hands along.
The Human was slowly bringing himself up the face of the mountain, slowly walking himself up the near vertical cliff face. Eventually he managed to bring himself up to the actual claw. With his hands just below the claw's neck, Finn lightly kicked his feet around the stone, seeking out any crack or outcropping he could use for a foothold, at least for a few seconds. He did manage to find two such crags, upon which he stood himself. He took one hand off the rope in order to take hold of another jutting stone.
With his remaining hand on the claw, he thumbed a small switch on the neck, forcing the claw to release its' hold. Pulling the device away he again let it hang by about a foot of rope. Arcing his arm high and away, he catapulted the claw up the cliff face several more stories, the device again latching onto the stone. The Human continued his ascent.
Finn repeated the process for the better part of the next hour, continually swinging the grapple and climbing up the rope, rather tiresome work. As he made his way higher up the mountain, he began to notice a multitude of small crags and caves dotting the mountainside. He silently prayed that he wasn't missing his contact by ignoring him, but the Grand Wizard had told him specifically that the old man lived at the top of the mountain.
It was just past noon, the sun just beginning to fall; unfortunately for Finn, the sun was falling on his side of the mountain, meaning its' harsh heat was directly on his back. Sweat was actually dripping from his extremities, and his muscles were beginning to scream from acid build-up. He noticed a small bump-like outcropping of rock only a few feet higher, seeming like as good a spot as any to take a breather.
So at the claw again, he unlatched the device and hurled up to the side of the outcropping, and proceeded to pull himself upwards. At the edge, he detached the claw and hauled himself up onto the stone. The ledge was little more than a boulder with just enough room to stretch his legs out, but he couldn't exactly lean to one side. On the stone he set himself in a reclined position, setting the claw in his lap, the majority of the rope dangling over the side. His quivering muscles sang in relief as his body relaxed from the strain it'd been put under.
Truth be told, the spot wasn't too comfortable. He couldn't so much as lean to one side without the risk of plummeting. Worst of all was the fact that this was simply a rocky outcropping; there was no overhang, wall, or any barrier to shield him from the sunlight. It was nearly torturous to bake under the sun like that, but Finn didn't like the idea of trying to find shelter in one of the alcoves; after all, there was no telling what manner of wild creatures made their homes among the mountain caves. So he'd bear with the heat, thankful that he at least had a spot to catch his breath.
Still, it was hard not to dwell on the heat with the sun pounding down on him as it was. Idly, he had previously noted that there was very thin crag in the cliff just a few feet above the very slab he'd taken his perch upon. He couldn't help but briefly think if he couldn't have found a more comfortable spot up there, but quickly decided that he couldn't have even fit inside the crevice without contorting himself ridiculously.
Finn's face was absolutely riddled with sweat. He brought a hand up to wipe away a few of the offending beads as well as shield his eyes from the sunlight, leaning his head back to gaze up the stone cliff side.
It was only then he noticed something odd staring back down towards him. His eyes squinted in confusion at the strange sight he'd been met with. It appeared to be a young looking woman looking down at him. He could only make out the majority of her head as it appeared that she herself was situated within the rocky crag just above his own ledge.
Judging only by her facial features, the woman seemed remarkably normal. She had a very humanoid face, light olive in tone. Finn thought he could make out her hair as a dull brown, but it appeared to be tightly pulled behind her head and out of his line of sight. He noted that her ears seemed slightly elongated, pointed at the tip.
The woman herself seemed to be observing him extremely close as well. She seemingly wore a perfectly innocent look of curiosity on her face, completely understandable considering just how big a curiosity Finn was way up here.
The Boy was actually just about to attempt to talk to her when he noticed a shockingly immediate glint cross her eye. In a moment her whole demeanor shifted from politely inquisitive to dangerously violent. Her mouth curled into a vicious sneer, revealing a set of needle like teeth just behind her curled lips. Her eyes became wildly animated, growing wide, tinges of red seeming to just creep in from the borders.
Finn's body began to slowly tense up as the woman's intents became obvious. His muscles slowly pulled themselves taught, readying themselves to lash out at a moment's notice. But before he could make a move, the woman let out a piercing shriek, far louder than any average person should have been able to make.
Instead of reaching for his weapon, as he should have, Finn's hands immediately went to cover his ears, but did little to suppress the horrid wail. The woman did eventually cease her screaming, but a terrible ringing remained in his head. As he attempted to recover he saw the woman leap out from her cave, completely over his head. Watching her plummet down past his precipice greatly confused him. As his sense of sound began to return, he slowly pulled himself to his feet.
Finn took a step forward and peered down over the ledge, but could see no trace of the woman. He did not have long to ponder, for shortly after he began to hear more voices crying out, piercing shrieks seeming to come from all over the mountain. Finn turned on his heel, his eyes scanning all across the mountain side. At first he saw nothing but stone, but he eventually began to notice dark shapes coming out from the various holes and caves lining the cliff sides.
They almost looked humanoid, but there was something off about them. They're limbs appeared too… bulky, almost fanned out. And then, one by one, they too all leapt away from the mountain. However, the figures would not plummet to their dooms.
As Finn turned back around to follow the figures' descent, another form burst up in front of his ledge. The boy's heart nearly stopped, he was shocked back against the wall, nearly losing his footing. Staring back at him was the woman he'd just seen drop like a rock, passively flying in mid-air.
He finally realized what he had come across, a harpy. The creature almost appeared as a normal humanoid woman, but with several severe discrepancies. The harpy had two sets of wings that kept her aloft, a massive set of bird-like wings jutting out from her back and a smaller set that appeared to be attached to her arms, both of which were strung with brown feathers. Her legs hung below her hovering body, but instead of ending in two normal feet they tapered into massive talons, razor sharp and deadly looking. The girl's torso and lower body was covered by several dozen leather belts, crisscrossing together in a crude but likely effective armor.
The monstrous woman leered at him viciously, and from the corner of his eye Finn could see many more harpies begin to circle the air. He was still reeling from the shock of this whole situation, and once again let the upper hand fall to the woman. She released a much shorter, but still debilitating shriek, stunning Finn just briefly enough for her to pounce.
The harpy flew forward, bringing herself high enough to throw her talons down on Finn's shoulders. The Human felt her claws tightly grip him, just barely digging down into his flesh. Before he knew what was happening, he felt himself being lifted up away from his perch, into the air. He himself screamed in equal parts surprise and fear as he lost the sensation of solid ground beneath his feet.
Finn had to think fast, he couldn't allow this monster to abscond with him and take him Glob knows where. He couldn't reach his sword as he was, but he did still hold the grapple claw in his hand. Not giving it much thought, he lifted the claw up towards the leg of the woman carrying him. The harpy's claw was coated in hardened scales, and ran up most of her calf. Finn wasn't sure if she could even feel anything touch her there, but he had no better options.
As soon as he touched the open claw to the harpy's talon, it snapped shut on the limb. Finn heard a definite 'crunch' as the metal teeth bit into the hardened scales, if nothing else at least cracking the surface. It was immediately evident that the harpy felt that, as she once again released an ear-shattering wail. This one, however, was much less stable, clearly harboring intense pain. He had no choice but to grit his teeth and bear through it.
Almost as soon as the grapple latched onto her leg, the harpy lost her grip on Finn. For a split second the only thing keeping him attached to her was the claw, but he had prepared himself, and as soon as he felt himself freed he thumbed the release on the claw. For just a few moments the Boy felt himself in a freefall, a sensation he was not unfamiliar with, but he was certainly not accustomed to.
Almost purely by instinct, Finn's arm shot out towards the stone wall. The grapple immediately latched onto the stone, but Finn's body continued to fall. As he fell below the level of the claw, he just barely loosened his grip on the claw neck. As gravity brought him down, he kept a moderate grip on the rope, gradually slowing his fall and finally coming to a stop on the cliff.
Holding himself to the rope, Finn once again found his footing on the rock. As his heart just started to settle slightly, he angled his body so he could look back out into the air. He may have momentarily incapacitated the one harpy, but there were still MANY more surrounding the mountain, buzzing through the air like a swarm of angry hornets. 'Okay, this is pretty bad. Didn't really prepare for something like this to happen. Hmmm…'
The Human's mind raced to find an at least semi-decent solution to the situation he'd been pulled into, but already there were more of the predatory women diving towards him. For the time being, at least, it looked like he'd have to deal with them one by one. Presenting the most immediate danger, Finn noticed two harpies heading directly towards him at that moment. One was flying towards him from the side, just skimming along the side of the cliff; the other was completely out in the open, and speeding directly towards his back.
'Alright, here goes a bad idea.' Finn had only a few seconds to react, so he prepared himself for a stupidly dangerous maneuver. As fast as he could, he pulled himself back up to the metal claw, frantically finding some very loose footing, and once again removing the grapple. The side harpy was coming on his right, so after getting some rope between his hand and the claw, he threw the grapple in a wide arc, high and to his right. It latched to the stone a fair ways up and over.
The harpy behind him was just about to land on his back, but there was still a little distance between him and the one approaching his side. Just before he was impaled from the back, the Boy leapt off of the stone, swinging wildly away to the side. He kept his focus forward, but he could hear the harpy cry in frustration as her claws only scraped against stone.
Meanwhile his momentum continued to carry him across the mountain on his rope, driving him straight towards the other harpy. He could just briefly see shock on the harpy's face as she realized he was coming at her head on. As soon as the distance was closed, Finn kicked out with his right foot, connecting squarely with the face of the monster maiden. She let out a pained squawk before immediately plummeting downwards.
The force of the blow completely stole the rope's momentum, and Finn was sent spinning into the side of the mountain. It did little to harm him, but did leave him mildly disoriented for a moment. As his eyes finally fell on a level plane, his free hand patted the wall frantically, searching for something he could get a grip on to help steady himself. He was only loosely clinging to the wall when he noticed the harpy he had given the slip eyeballing him venomously.
The feathered fiend began crawl along the wall towards him, leaping large gaps at a time. Clearly these creatures were not only talented in the air, but were totally suited to scale this mountain in any and all manners. Finn knew the grapple was much too far above him now, there'd be no way for him to climb up to it before the woman got to him. He'd have to deal with her in an instant.
Finally the harpy was upon him. When she was within arm's reach, she catapulted herself totally over Finn's body, swinging one clawed hand towards him in the process. Finn himself, unfortunately, only had one hand to work with, as he had to keep his grip on the rope. As the woman's claw neared him, he grabbed at her wrist and applied as much opposing force as he could muster. To his detriment, a harpy was much physically stronger than a human, and while he could barely keep her from utterly mauling him, she still managed to rake her elongated nails across his cheek.
The stinging pain of his flesh splitting under her blade-like claws seemed to grant Finn enough of a quick burst of strength to force her hand back. Taking advantage of their positioning, Finn swing her arm out as far as either could reach, eventually forcing it to the wall. This brought the harpy's body into extremely close proximity of his own. The woman's head was just higher than his own, and once he'd drawn her close enough, Finn jolted his head up sharply, driving it into her chin.
It was uncomfortable for him, but crippling to the harpy, who was left in a severely concussed state after that cranial uppercut. Sensing his opportunity, the Boy brought his foot up in front of him and pressed it against the harpy's stomach. Releasing her wrist to get a better grip on the rope, Finn extended his leg, kicking the woman's body away from his own. He watched as the dazed form tumbled through the air, but did see that she was caught by another of her sisters before she hit something sufficiently solid.
Not even taking a moment to catch his breath, Finn immediately turned his head back skywards and began to haul himself back up the rope, scrambling to reach the claw before another harpy made a target of him. He was just starting to think he may have actually had a good handle on the situation, but that thought was about to be utterly shattered.
His hand had just gripped claw when a brief flicker of static shot up the back of his neck, far too little of a warning for him to do anything. Already his thumb had released the claw's latch when he felt a pair of arms hammer up under his own. The second the grapple had released from the stone another harpy had shot up from underneath Finn. The monster had grabbed him under his arms and was carrying him up and away from the cliff side before he could make any attempt to stop her.
He could do little more than let out a panicked scream as the harpy carried him away. With his arms effectively pinned above his head he couldn't possibly make a move to stun the woman this time. He could barely tell that they were continuing to rise upwards, but as the harpy weaved and swerved Finn became increasingly destabilized. He couldn't tell if it was the violent motions or the sheer altitude that was having a stronger effect on his head, but whatever the cause it was becoming increasingly debilitating.
In such an addled state, the Human barely registered when the harpy reached the apex of her flight and then flung him as high into the air as she could manage. It could almost only be described as happenstance that he managed to spot a large overhang of rock jutting out from the mountain. It was almost purely by instinct that he managed to lob his grapple up towards the rock. The claw did manage to find a solid surface and bite into it securely.
Of course, just having the claw attach to something didn't dismiss the effects of gravity, and Finn didn't have the presence of mind to grab onto the rope after he'd thrown it. As a result, even after the claw had reached the rock his body still fell once gravity had reclaimed him. Finn tumbled down through the air until he reached the end of his rope, the harness snapping on his body and whipping his head back violently.
The Boy hung limply by his belt, staring straight up towards the rock precipice and felt just on the cusp of puking all over himself. His body was gently twisting about in mid-air, his limbs hanging pathetically towards the ground. His brain felt lopsided, like it was constantly spinning within his skull. Through his dazed vision he could still make out several harpies flitting about, circling him like a pack of wolves.
By this point Finn was far from his top shape. Even so, he still understood the gravity of the situation, and willed his body to obey his commands. Achingly, he shifted himself so he was again upright, holding on to the rope with one hand to keep himself steady. He didn't fail to note that he was in a much more dangerous position now, suspended entirely in air with nothing solid to grab onto, quite literally hanging by a thread.
Mechanically, his arm reached up towards his back and gripped the handle of his sword. Pulling back, he withdrew the weapon from its' protective sheath in the pack, brandishing it towards the vile women circling him. The blade he'd been carrying in recent days was not personally one of his more favored. It was a manner of scimitar, just over three feet in length and just a couple inches wide. The blade was sharpened on only one side, and rounded off towards the end, the entire length angling slightly backwards. The handle was functional, but not really that special; matte gray, it fit his hand snuggly, but the entire thing never really felt natural enough for him. Mild grievances aside, it was all he had to defend himself right now, and he was more than thankful for it.
Evidently, the harpy ladies were beginning to regain their bravado with Finn hanging so precariously. One particular enemy made the brash decision to move rather close to the Human. Finn swung his sword towards her, really more to scare her than to harm her, but did manage to scratch at her talons. Even as she backed off, the harpy continually cast a menacingly mocking sneer at him.
With his focus on the girl he'd just spooked, Finn only barely noticed the harpy speeding towards him from the corner of his eye. Doing his best to swivel the rope, he brought his blade in a hard horizontal slash as the harpy descended on him with her talons. Her scales were practically as hard as steel, and seemingly had no trouble locking with his blade. Sword and talon ground against each other, both combatants just barely managing to keep the other from gaining any ground. After a few tense seconds, the demoness released her grip on the young hero's blade and quickly flitted out of his reach.
Finn had so focused himself on the enemy before him that he paid utterly no attention to his back, a serious error in judgment. Just as the harpy disengaged from the blade-lock, one of her sisters seized the initiative and rushed towards the Boy from behind. Before he could turn his attention, the woman had dug her nails deep into his back, eliciting a sharp cry of pain from the Boy. She kept her fingers dug in his flesh, twisting her digits and continuously firing off his nerves.
Finn made a pained yelp every time he felt her fingers so much as twitch. But before he could even think to do something about the monster on his back, he saw the harpy he'd just dueled rear back and come flying towards him yet again. He'd been trapped in an incredibly perilous position. Faced with impending death, he did the only thing he could think of; scream.
He released a mighty cry that was at equal parts pain and rage, and if it didn't outright terrify the harpies it certainly made them pause, if just for a split second. He couldn't determine whether or not his scream had any real effect, but he felt like the harpy behind him eased off just a bit. Before she had a chance to dig back in, Finn threw his elbow back, knocking against the woman's midsection. She coughed out in discomfort as one hand slipped from the Boy's body. Just as quick as the first blow, Finn shot out with his other arm, giving his hanger-on another vicious gut check. This one had his ultimately desired effect, and the harpy totally released him, putting some distance between herself and the Boy in order to recover.
Finn had just enough time to refocus his attention on the harpy quickly descending on him. Having barely any room to act, Finn quickly threw his blade out in a remarkably powerful slash. As soon as the harpy had come within arm's reach of the Boy, she felt his sword slam into her torso.
The wicked woman was incredibly fortunate that her belt-armor was thick enough to stop the blade from truly biting into her unprotected flesh, but the Human ha still put enough force behind his blow to completely knock her off course. She took the entire brunt of his force, and was forced off entirely to his side. However, even as she flew wildly past the Human, she managed to swing one hand out, hoping to at least cause some damage to him. She was too high up to connect with any part of the Boy's body, but her nails did clip the rope holding him, managing to slice over halfway through.
Finn watched as the the harpy was sent hurtling away from him, but the faint sound of fiber unraveling drew his attention up to his rope. His eyes grew wide in panic as he saw the rope splitting, unraveling as each individual fibril came undone. The very second before he heard that final 'snap,' his left arm rocketed upwards, and just before he plummeted he grabbed hold of the rope.
Keeping a death grip on his rope, Finn's eyes darted rapidly around the air. There were still far too many harpies in air for him to deal with, especially as he was now, and each one of them had their full attention centered on him. Half of them continued to mock him with their derisive grins and the other half were staring deathly towards him, eager to pay back all the humiliations he'd caused their sisters.
One monster in particular seemed to exhume an extreme fury towards him, and judging from the shape her leg was in Finn had to assume it was the first harpy he'd seen, the one he'd set his claw upon. For a few incredibly uncomfortable seconds, their eyes simply locked with one another's. The woman's visage finally changed, and she gave him a truly dangerous smile, somehow never managing to lose the air of anger she held about her.
The vengeful avian made her way closer to Finn. However, before she could get too close to him, she took an abrupt turn upwards, propelling herself higher into the air. Finn was momentarily confused, wondering what she was planning on doing. His first thought was that she was going to dive-bomb him from a high position, but as the girl kept her focus squarely skyward, her real intention became all too obvious.
Finn's breath caught in his throat as she made her way to the very end of his rope. As she brought herself directly under the rock precipice, positioned right next to his grapple claw, she cast her head down at him, giving him one final, evil sneer. The harpy brought up her hand, the nails on her fingers every bit as sharp as her talons, and cleanly cut through the end of his rope.
The moment his connection was severed, Finn began to plunge groundwards. His mind was racing as fast as his body, trying to think of anything he could do to save himself, but he seemed to be totally out of options; his rope was totally severed, his claw was stuck about ten stories above him, and he had nothing else on him that could slow his descent. His teeth grit as his eyes focused on the ground, which came closer and closer with every passing millisecond.
But about halfway down the mountain something strange happened. A bright disc appeared out of thin air, facing up at him as he fell right at it. It was difficult for him to see past the air rushing into his eyes, but he could swear that he was staring at some sort of mirror, reflecting his terror straight back at him. And just as quickly as it had appeared, Finn made contact with it; or rather, seemed to fall right through it as though it were never even there.
The second Finn passed the boundary of that disc he found himself face to face with solid ground. In an instant his body had crashed against the rough stone surface, bouncing slightly. He lost his grip on his sword, which he could hear skittering off away from him. For a few tense moments, he held himself perfectly still, not at all understanding what had just happened and afraid that at the slightest twitch his body would shatter into a million pieces.
After a few seconds, Finn began to move his arms to push himself up. He slowly realized that not only did he seem to be fully in one piece, but he didn't really seem to be in that bad a shape at all. Discounting the injuries he'd sustained in battle, it seemed that he really hadn't been too badly hurt by that fall, especially given the fact that he had been falling at terminal velocity. Frankly, he didn't feel much worse than if he had just tripped himself while walking
"My word, but that was quite the fall you just took there, sonny. You must be a pretty spry young fellow to have come out looking as good as you do." A decidedly aged voice sounded out from just in front of Finn's crumpled form. Drawing his elbows forward, he managed to raise his head to where the voice had come from. Peering down at him was a friendly gray-blue face, marred by an excessive amount of wrinkles, but sporting an incredibly elegant gray beard that fell down almost the whole length of his body. The rest of his body was completely cloaked in a faded purple cloak.
Finn's confusion must've been blatantly obvious, as the old man seemed to get a good chuckle out of his look. "Hmhmhmhm, I can see you probably have a few questions. Before that, why don't you see if you can at least stand up." His decrepit voice carried a rather serene nature, and Finn didn't feel at all threatened by the old man. Figuring his suggestion was as good a place as any to start, Finn pushed himself back to his knees before standing to his full height. Standing up, Finn could see he practically towered over the old man, who only barely came above his waist.
"Well your legs aren't broken, and given that tumble you took that's about the best we could've hoped for. Guess I still got it then. 'Course, you're still looking a little rough around the edges. Frankly I'm impressed you handled yourself as well as you did in that little scrap. The ladies I share this mountain with may be pretty, but they're more savage than a pack of starved wolves." The man spoke emphatically, but the nature of his statement still struck Finn as odd.
"What's that supposed to mean. Were you watching me that whole time?" Finn questioned the old man, not threateningly but there was certainly a hint of concern in his voice. The old man waved him off as he turned to face the opposite direction. "Well this is my home, and it isn't exactly common for any random person to be wandering around a place as dangerous as this. So yes, I thought it prudent to keep an eye on someone audacious enough to travel out to this mountain alone." He began to walk away, prompting Finn to shuffle after him.
"But you seem more the adventurous type, rather than the dangerous kind. So I am curious, what exactly is a young man such as yourself doing all the way out here?" The old man seemed to be leading him nowhere, as there was nothing around but more rock. Regardless, Finn kept on his tail, and decided he may as well answer the old man's questions.
"I'm looking for a wizard who's supposed to live up…in…these…mountains…" It wasn't until after he started speaking that the obvious hit him like a sack of bricks. "Aaaaaaaaaannnnnd, you're him, aren't you?" The old man stopped walking as he came up to a wall of solid stone. With a wave of his hand the rock began to shimmer like a mirage, a small chunk of the cliff vanishing into thin air. What was left in its' place was a rather small wooden door, just large enough for a person of the old man's stature.
"Well, I should suppose I am the one you're looking for. If not, I can't imagine how upset you'd be." The old man made his way into the hole, leaving the door open for, presumably, Finn to follow. As the doorway only came up to the Human's bellybutton, he had to get down to his knees in order to crawl on through. Before he poked his head through, he noticed his sword laying down just next to the wall. Quickly he grabbed and sheathed his weapon before inching on inside of the old man's home.
As soon as he was fully inside, the door closed behind him of its' own accord. Finn was actually surprised to find the interior much more spacious than he would've guessed. He immediately noticed the ceiling was plenty high enough for him to stand, so he brought himself up from the ground. "Well, welcome to my humble abode. Please make yourself comfortable, ehh, I'll see if I have anything to drink that won't horribly mutate you." The old man went into an adjacent room, leaving Finn to take in his surroundings.
The place was exactly as he should've expected from a reclusive mystic. The place was well weathered, but not exactly disgusting. The wooden floors were old and cracked, but still seemed almost meticulously clean. The walls were painted in the same faded purple, the color withered, but otherwise devoid of marring. Hanging from the ceiling was an ancient brass chandelier, not exactly something he could call classy but it was definitely within presentable boundaries.
The really notable thing about the room was the sheer amount and nature of clutter it contained. What few pieces of actual furniture were present were totally overtaken by a plethora of items, with much more piled high wherever space could be made. The detritus itself didn't seem like your typical, everyday junk, however. Much of the effects strewn about him looked as though they could be important artifacts, antiques, even mystical objects. In fact, the closer Finn looked, the less the room seemed messy, and more so just full. He could see how these things could be considered to be in a sort of ordered chaos.
As Finn's prying gaze continued to scrutinize the old man's collection of refuse, his host quickly reappeared in the doorway. "I found some tea that should be non-hazardous for you… relatively. Please, take a seat while the water boils, then I'd be quite interested to hear your story." After he again disappeared, Finn turned back to the room, wondering just where exactly he was supposed to seat himself in among this mess.
There was only one seat not occupied, more of a stool really, and seemingly just the right size for a child, but not so much a fully grown humanoid. Regardless, Finn didn't really want to seem rude, so he walked over and set himself down on the seat, short enough that his knees came above his waist.
The stool was set in front of a short table, the entire surface of which was completely covered in many papers, books, and manuscripts. In all honesty, this one table was the messiest thing in the whole room; the multitude of sheets were actually spilling over the ledges. Many of the documents contained strange runes and diagrams, or were otherwise written in a strange languages that Finn couldn't possibly read. A few select pages were written legibly, and seemed to consist solely of the old man's own notes.
Just as Finn was about to start going over a few of his pages, the old man returned carrying a tray with a couple of mugs. Finn accepted one of the vessels, giving it a cautious sniff. "I must admit, it's been awhile since I had such a… a non-magical visitor, but I think that particular tea shouldn't be too offensive to your system." The man explained, setting aside the tray and taking a sip from his own mug, seemingly content to stand.
"Well, thanks a lot mister… ummm… sorry, I don't even know what your name is." Finn stammered a bit as he attempted to address his host. Once again, the old man only laughed him off. "I hardly think that matters. No one's had to use my name in quite a long time. No reason to start again now." Finn gave him a somewhat odd look. "I… guess?"
"Now then, why don't you explain why exactly you've come looking for me." The old man asked politely. Finn gently blew on his beverage and took a small sip. The taste was viciously bitter, and he immediately took the mug away from his mouth, puckering his lips and giving a brief grunt of distaste. "Well, I was told that you would be able to help me with, uhh, something. At least, the Grand Master Wizard thinks that you're the best person for the job." Finn explained.
"Oh my, so it was that old badger that sent you up here. Huh…" The old man seemed genuinely surprised to hear Finn mention the ruler of the wizards. "I'm a little surprised he still remembers me. I haven't even been in that city of his in centuries." The old man took another sip of his beverage as he seemed to think over the situation.
"Well now I'm really curious. What exactly are you up to that no one else in Wizard City can assist with?" The old man was looking right at Finn, through eyes so squinted the Boy couldn't even manage to see them. "I need help getting to another dimension, and they told me that you're the best Wizard in Ooo when it comes to portals and alternate realms and stuff." Finn said earnestly.
For whatever reason, the old man got a hearty laugh out of Finn's comment. "Hahaha! Is that what they said? Well it's nice to see that at least some people don't forget you, even after so many years." Seemingly done with his drink, the old man set his mug down on a nearby box. With his hand now unoccupied, he reached up and began to stroke his beard. "Yes, I suppose I do know a bit more about the dimensional pathways than the average wizard. What exactly was it you were hoping I could accomplish?"
Glancing around briefly, Finn set aside his mug, still almost completely full, placing it on the table behind him. "This could be a little complicated. There's been some… some really messed up stuff happening around Ooo for the last few days." As the Human took a brief pause to try and better collect his thoughts, the old man suddenly interjected. "Ahhh, I see. You must be referring to the dark energy spheres that have been appearing recently, am I right?"
Finn look mildly surprised. "Y-yes, actually… you already know about those?" The old man folded his arms, nodding his head a few times. "Of course. This phenomena is obviously not natural, and it was quite obvious to me from the start that that a malicious, extra-dimensional entity was the root cause. Recall, this is my area of expertise."
"Oh, right. Well, I guess that'll save me some explaining." Finn babbled on, deciding how exactly to bring up the topic of what lay on the other side of those portals. "So, if you already know about these things have you been… doing something to stop it? Or have you at least been making a plan?"
At his question, the old man looked away for just a split second. "Not quite. While I've kept myself aware of the situation, I haven't exactly had the opportunity to study the spheres up close, let alone do anything about it." Finn was understandably more than a little disappointed. "Wait, why not? It's way more than obvious that these things are dangerous, people have already been lost because of them! Shouldn't you have done something by now? Anything?"
The old man shook his head. "I may have knowledge on the subject, but I'm not a miracle worker. I'm not even the spirited young wizard I used to be. I'm old and tired, and I'm afraid that it's just no longer within my power to go out and investigate these matters myself." Finn immediately reared himself back at the old man's explanation. He should've known better, after all, not every person in Ooo was quite so daring as himself.
"But perhaps that is not necessary now. You're clearly already deeply invested in this matter, almost to a… suspicious degree." After he said that, the old man took a couple of steps closer towards Finn. His eyes bore into the young man, making him feel increasingly uncomfortable. "In fact, the closer I study you, the more I feel an… odd sensation…emanating off of you."
The old man continued moving closer until he was right in front of him, staring directly into his eyes. "You already know something about those spheres. You have some sort of connection to them, don't you?" Finn was starting to feel extremely anxious. It dawned on him that he might have to explain everything to the wizard if he wanted help, and he might not be able to leave anything out this time.
"You're right…" Finn said, steeling himself. "I've… I've traveled to the place where the black holes lead. And that's why I need your help." The old man raised an eyebrow, clearly waiting for Finn to continue on his own. "It's happened to me twice now. After being sucked through those black holes I wound up in… well, I've been calling it the Gray World, but I don't really know what its' called."
"Tell me about this dimension." The old man asked. "Honestly, the name pretty much says it all. It's just like a massive, gray wasteland. Although I suppose that's not entirely true now… anything that disappears behind those spheres, mountains, buildings, whatever, it all winds up in the Gray World. Only, it's all messed up, broken." The old man cricked his head to the side. "And there's no other discerning features you can remember?"
Finn thought on that, but decided that wasn't entirely the case. "Actually, there was one thing that… at least I don't think it came from Ooo. It was like this big, arena structure, with a big statue at one end and some kind of alter at the other. Wow… sorry, but saying all that out loud doesn't really seem to help that much, does it?"
The old man said nothing, only continued to stare at the Human. But even after digesting his new information, he still didn't seem completely satisfied. "There's a question you're not answering. Why is it you were able to make it to this 'Gray World' in one piece? No one, let alone yourself, should have been able to survive going through that portal; and I think you know that, don't you?"
'No secrets then…' Finn thought to himself. Reaching under his hat and back around his neck, Finn pulled the medal out from under his shirt, having previously taken to wearing the effect after his last "trip." Pulling it off his head completely, he held the item in his lap, drawing a curious glare from the old man.
"I don't understand it completely, but I know that it has something to do with this medal. I know it has some kind of magical power, and I think it allows me to move through the portals without… kicking the bucket." The old man's expression was not passive, but remained curiously unreadable. "Does this object seem to have any other effects?"
"Yeah…" Finn admitted. "When I'm actually in the Gray World it acts as a kind of guide. It pulls me in a certain direction, and as I get closer to where it's leading it starts to glow brighter and brighter." The old man moved closer still. "Where does it lead you?" His voice was nearly a whisper.
"…To someone else." Finn said after some hesitance. He understood perfectly well that this wizard was likely the only person in Ooo that could possibly help him, and that he should be a forward as possible. Despite that, he simply couldn't bring himself to bring up the topic of the Girl he'd met; Fionna.
Regardless of his rather uncooperative response, the old man noted a tell-tale glint in the Boy's eye. He understood that Finn held his tongue not because of ill-intent, but more so out of concern. Though what exactly it was concern over, the wizard couldn't quite yet guess. He'd find out.
Finn looked up and noticed that the wizard was now standing just before him, well within arm's reach. The old man reached a hand up, towards the medal still resting in his hands. Finn did nothing to stop him, letting the wizard's fingers come into contact with the golden trinket. For the first time, the Boy saw the old man's eyes open fully, as if in sudden realization.
The man kept his shocked expression for a few seconds more, his touch still lingering on the medal. Eventually his hand returned to his own space, and he took a few steps back. He seemed totally lost in thought for a while longer after that. Finally he was able to shake himself out of his reverie, a slight smirk cracking through his beard and a restrained chuckle echoing from his chest.
"Now I see why you're so deeply imbedded in all of this." He said cryptically. Now Finn was thoroughly confused, wondering just what that man could've learned from just a touch. Almost embarrassedly, he restrung the medal around his neck, tucking it away. "W-what's that mean? What did you just do?" He stammered out.
Ignoring his question, the old man turned away from Finn, moving out of the room and into an adjacent hallway. Mildly annoyed, Finn rose to follow after the old man, but almost immediately the old man returned to the room, pushing a large object in from the hallway. It was a large, flat and vaguely oblong object, situated on several wheels, but was draped in a very old-looking cloth.
Finn simply waited as the old man wheeled the piece right up in front of him. The structure rose a few inches over Finn's own height. The Boy said nothing as the old man pulled away the sheet, revealing an old, ornamental mirror; or at least, some of an old, ornamental mirror. Most of the support was there, a large oval of solid wood, cracked and damaged in a few places but otherwise intact. However, most of the actual mirror was missing; only a small sliver of glass remained, hardly bigger than a normal hand mirror.
Finn looked curiously at the old man, but he still refused to speak. Without direction, his attention returned to the mirror. He caught a glance at his reflection in the shard, but something seemed wrong about it. He moved his face closer to the glass, and instantly realized what was amiss with the mirror; he wasn't looking at his own reflection. Rather, he found himself gazing into a face that was still so intimately familiar despite not being his own; Fionna's.
As soon as he realized this, the Girl's face broke into an expression of shock. Unfortunately, before he could even do anything with this knowledge, her visage disappeared from the glass, leaving only his own stupefied expression on the warped surface.
Immediately, his attention was back on the wizard, and Finn came just short of screaming at the elder. "What just happened!? What kind of mirror is this!?" The old man held up his hands, urging the Boy to calm himself. "You assuredly have quite a few questions, and frankly you're entitled to answers… I'm sorry to say I can't answer everything right now."
The old man took a deep breath. "Boy, no doubt by now you realize you've become inextricably entangled in something that goes beyond the reality of your own existence." Finn looked back dumbly at the old man "Wait, whose shoelaces are tangled?" The wizard glowered at him. "…How to put this?... Boy, you've become linked, bonded to a realm not your own, a person not yourself. The Gray World? It's the gradient that blurs the two realities that you now straddle."
Finn was hopelessly lost. "…I'm sorry, I just don't understand what that means." The old man leaned his head back, sighing at length. "Well, things should fall better into place at a later time. As I said, I can't answer everything now." A short moment of uncomfortable silence punctuated the sheer confusion saturating the air.
"Okay, fine. So I don't get everything now. What about the mirror, how does it fit into this?" Finn questioned after some time. "You should be able to figure that one out for yourself, eventually. Unfortunately, as you can plainly see it's not exactly all together at the present." Now was Finn's turn to release a weary sigh. "And let me guess, I'll have to repair it, somehow, won't I?"
The old man nodded in confirmation. "There are three other shards besides the one I possess. You'll have to retrieve them if anything else is to be made clear." At that, the old man moved away from Finn, approaching the table covered in his notes. Shuffling his papers around, knocking several off the sides, he eventually came up with the document he'd been searching for.
Walking back, he handed Finn the piece of paper. It was a rather large, detailed map of Ooo, with several locations marked across the continent. "Take this. The legend will show you where to find the mirror shards… well, assuming my research is both correct and up to date. Uhhh, you can just ignore the other marks. While you do that, I'll see what other information I can find on this 'Gray World' of yours."
After glancing it over, Finn rolled up the sheet and stored it away in his pack. "This should go without saying, but time is of the essence. You must retrieve the mirror shards with all due haste. Oh, one last thing." Finn looked curiously at the old man. "Take that mirror shard with you. It'll likely do better in your possession than my own."
Turning back, he looked into the mirror shard. He understood all too well that he was now embroiled in a conspiracy that could destroy the entirety of Ooo if nothing was done, yet all he wanted at that moment was to see Fionna appear again. Reaching out, he wedged his finger under the crease of the glass, prying it out and off of the wooded frame. Holding it delicately in his hand, he saw the old man reach out towards him with something, a large strip of thick cloth. Finn accepted the fabric, using it to safely wrap up the glass shard before storing that in his backpack as well.
More or less all set, Finn mentally prepared himself for his departure, realizing he still had to descend the entire mountain, and now without any of his equipment. "Well… thanks for everything so far. I'll come back once I've got the rest of the mirror." The old man smiled one last time at him. "No son, I must thank you for putting yourself in this situation. I'm putting my faith in you, as is all of Ooo, you realize. As a last token of my gratitude, I can at least return you to the base of my mountain. Good luck."
As soon as the man was finished talking, he waved his hand in front of Finn. In an instant, the Human felt the ground disappear completely out from under his feet, and he seemingly fell right through the floor of the house, the sight of the old man falling as he passed through the portal's boundary.
Finn's feet hit sand immediately after falling through the hole. He took a second to adjust, his head darting this way and that before realizing he'd been transported back to the base of the mountain. Looking to the horizon, he could see the sun just about to set. He released a sigh that was equal parts exhaustion and relief. He still had a very long trek home ahead of him, but at least he didn't have to descend the mountain on his own.
Not wishing to prolong things any longer than needed, he began to shuffle his way back in the general direction of his home. He thought over his visit with the hermit, realizing he'd actually learned very little about his current situation. On top of those unsatisfactory revelations, he had a whole new task to tackle. Besides all that was the ever-looming threat of the black spheres. It was starting to look like he'd have a very full schedule for the next week or two. 'Well, it's better than knowing nothing I guess.'