Part 2, Chapter 14: The Azerlisia Mountains
Perhaps it was ironic, since Kalelor had warned them about frost trolls, but it was probably just bad luck that instead of frost trolls they ran into a frost giant.
Frost giants were A++ difficulty-rank monsters that could even threaten dragons. It was extremely rare and thus tremendously unlucky for them to come across one this far down the mountain. Needless to say, Kalelor and the others wordlessly turned their mounts around, back in the direction they had come, and hightailed it out of there. Fortunately, the frost giant had not given chase and was content to simply roar a challenge at them, which, they wisely ignored.
A day later, they finally managed to make their way up the mountain to just below the snow line. The members of Morning Star dismounted and packed up their gear, loading it into huge backpacks that they loaded onto their shoulders. Tomas and Alfred were able to carry the most and Kalelor and Katrina took full advantage of this.
They also changed into snow gear. Alfred and Tomas had furs lining their armour and joints. Jake and Barker wore thick trench coats over their armour, which, when combined with their gambesons was ample protection from the cold. Kalelor and Katrina wore stylish full length winter coats over warm woollen jumpers. They all wore insulated gloves and head coverings of some form. Kalelor even had his Morning Star cape draped about him shamelessly.
Kalelor made Jake go first in-order to break the thigh-high snow as they trudged up the steep mountain paths. Initially keen, Jake soon blunted to the task and started to complain incessantly. After putting up with Jake's complaining for over two hours, Tomas volunteered to take over the lead role. After which, Kalelor implemented a 1-hour rotating roster between the three frontline fighters.
Eventually they reached a wide plateau near the top of the Azerlisia Mountain range.
"Now this.. This is breathtaking." Jake said in awe as he looked with wide eyes at the snowy mountains that sprawled before them.
For as far as the eye could see, black and grey granite peaks and ridges protruded majestically from the snowy landscape. Snow speckled, dark green forests could be found in the few deep valleys that were within view. Wisps of white clouds clung to a few of the higher peaks as the sun hung low in the sky and cast a golden orange light over everything.
"Indeed.. By the Gods, it's a shame that most of humanity will never see such a sight. We're too confined to our lands and cities." Alfred reflected.
"It's because humanity is too weak to claim the world. What little we have was given to us by virtue of the Four Great Gods. If humanity ever wants to enjoy everything that this world has to offer, then we have no choice but to get stronger, else be suppressed and enslaved by the stronger races." responded Tomas with some bitterness.
"Exactly! We have to get stronger." Kalelor looked on pleased. "For now though, let's focus on our mission. The Moonlight Flower will most likely be found deeper within the mountains. Let's stop here for today though and continue on tomorrow."
...
...
Morning Star trekked on, deeper into the mountains. Their progress was slow and tiring. They saw traces of monsters but were fortunate enough not to run into any directly. The days were long and cold, the nights were even more so. By this stage of the journey, even Jake had given up on shaving.
On the fourth day, they came to a small forested valley. As they made their way down to the valley floor, Barker discovered tracks in the snow.
"There is are at least twelve of them, from the paw prints I'd say it's a pack of wolves. This is probably their hunting grounds, they must be nearby."
"I see. We won't be able to relax and set up camp until we've eliminated them. Barker, lead the way. We'll track them back to their den." ordered Kalelor.
They followed the tracks across the valley and arrived on the other side in about two hours. Not far above the treeline they saw a small cave entrance in the cliffside. A wolf howled in the distance, perhaps trying to warn them.
As if the howl was a call to muster, however, wolves began to appear around them. They growled threateningly as the adventurers stopped before them.
"Shall we attack first then?" questioned Kalelor nonchalantly.
"Sounds good to me." Barker responded before releasing an arrow that pierced the side of the largest wolf.
It seemed everyone, including the wolves, looked at that arrow for a moment. A short moment later, the injured wolf let out a whimper and the remaining wolves leaped forward to attack.
Kalelor positioned himself behind Alfred and channelled several [Magic Arrow] spells through his new magic staff. He was pleased with the result. The magic staff he had bought after the demon invasion had been enchanted to assist in casting the tier-1 spell [Magic Arrow]. By infusing the staff with mana before combat he could 'charge up' the staff. During combat he could release the charged magic for a fraction of the usual mana cost of the spell. The mana storage crystals were one of the main reasons that magic staves were so expensive. This rather simple staff had cost him 23 gold coins.
Wolves weren't very powerful, and they posed little threat to a team of platinum-ranked adventurers. In short order, the adventurers had killed the majority of the wolves and watched as the survivors fled.
"Alright." Kalelor said as he picked up his backpack from the ground. "Let's use that cave up ahead as a base camp. We'll explore this valley for a few days and see if we can find this flower. Let's gather up these wolves as well, no-sense in letting them go to waste. Barker, I expect you'll be able to cook them up nicely."
"Aye, will do. Quick vote then; spit roast or stew?" Barker questioned the group as he bent to drag a wolf up to the cave.
Curiously, everyone except Katrina voted for the spit roast.
...
...
"Is this it?" Tomas asked, poking at a small white flower sprouting out from some grass.
Kalelor sighed and shook his head. "Nope.. I told you what it looks like."
"How long do we continue to search before we move on? It's already been three days."
"We'll pack up tomorrow morning and try searching elsewhere if we don't find it after today." Kalelor responded looking slightly annoyed.
The members of Morning Star had split up into three groups to search for the flower. These groups were formed so that there was a magic caster in each group. The groups were: Jake and Katrina; Alfred and Barker; Tomas and Kalelor. The only member who had complained about the group assignments was Alfred, but he had capitulated in the end.
"Let's keep moving." Kalelor added soon after.
Tomas looked up from the weed and nodded. "Thanks again, Kalelor."
"Hmm? What for?"
"For letting me join Morning Star and for taking me away from everything that happen in Re-Estize. Even though this journey has been hard, these past few weeks have been the happiest I've felt since the demon invasion. These mountains really give one a different perspective towards life. At it's core life is a struggle to survive, and out here all the other bullshit is stripped away. It's a refreshing change."
"Aha.. How are you coping with the loss of your previous comrades?" Kalelor probed.
"It's still hard when I think about it. But I see now, that seeking oblivion through alcohol and drugs was the wrong path. My friends would not have wanted me to end up in that pitiful state. Instead I've decided to seek greater strength so that in the future I'm able to protect both myself and the ones I care about."
"I see.. That's a good way to be." Kalelor replied.
The two of them then drifted into silent contemplation as they searched absently for the moonlight flower.
...
...
"So.. you still haven't told me who your first kiss was with." Jake asked Katrina playfully as they walked about the snow covered forest.
Now that they had started to camp in one spot, Jake had taken up shaving again and his breath misted about his smooth ruddy cheeks as he asked the question.
"Jake! Err.. fine! I'll tell you, as long as you promise to stop pestering me with personal questions!" Katrina responded, flustered.
Jake gave a his flashiest grin and nodded, "Cross my heart!"
Katrina breathed out a deep sigh.
"I was about seven years old and there was this cute baker's boy that treated me nicel.."
"OK, just let me stop you there! I don't want to hear about some little kiddy kiss. Tell me about your first truly passionate kiss!" Jake interrupted, clenching his fists in emphasis on the word 'passionate'.
Katrina smiled shyly and stopped to look at Jake, "Well you see.. I joined the temple when I was twelve years old and since then I've been devoted to my duties as a priestess. Even when I became an adventurer, I shied away from relationships."
"Wait a second.. You're telling me, that not only have you never been intimate with another person, but you have also never had a real kiss?" Jake replied, looking surprised.
Katrina cheeks flushed and she looked away, annoyed at Jake's reaction, and started walking again.
"Wait! I'm sorry. Look, I think it's nice that you're this way." Jake said, trying to placate Katrina.
Katrina breathed out another deep sigh and calming down, turned to look at Jake. "Alright, no more personal questions! Let's just get back to looking for this damn flower already."
"Aye, you're the boss!" Jake smiled and gave her a wink.
Katrina rolled her eyes but gave a small smile in return.
...
...
"See that up ahead?" Barker pointed up to a slope at the edge of the valley.
Alfred looked up to see what Barker was pointing at. Above was a granite cliff face and Barker seemed to be pointing about fifty meters above its base. Squinting Alfred could make out patches of snow clinging to rocks jutting out from the cliff face.
"What are you pointing at? I can't see anything up there except snow and rocks." Alfred replied.
"You must be blind! Look! Up there! Can't you see it?"
"Goddammit! I can't see it. Just tell me what it is." Alfred replied angrily.
"Well it's a flower obviously. It has wide blue leaves and a single large trumpet-shaped white flower is pointing up towards the sky. I think it's what we've been looking for."
"You can see all that?" asked Alfred looking dubiously at Barker. He still couldn't see anything.
Barker scoffed and rolled his eyes.
"Alright, even if it is there. How are we going to get it? Are you going to climb up there?" Alfred continued.
"You know I could. But let's go get the others first. We'll need to use Kalelor's preservation magic as soon as we pluck it anyway."
Alfred nodded and the two of them set out to find the others. With Barker's ranger skills, it didn't take long.
...
...
Barker stopped to rest on an outcropping of rock. He had almost climbed all the way up to the moonlight flower. His forearms were burning and his legs ached. His fingers were also red raw and freezing.
Far below him, the rest of Morning Star had gathered and were watching him climb up the cliff face.
Blowing on his fingers, Barker looked at the outcroppings and planned the rest of his route. Taking a deep breath, he reached out and grabbed a handhold. Steadying himself into a lean, he lifted his knee and dug his boot into a small crevasse. Barker pushed himself up with one leg and proceeded to quickly climb the last few meters to the moonlight flower.
Barker hauled himself up and over the final outcrop that jutted out of the cliff and found himself on a narrow ledge. Barker was surprised to discover that this ledge seemed to lead right down to the valley floor. It was completely indiscernible from the base of the cliff and could only be seen from this perspective.
"Hey! There's a path up to here!" Barker called out to the others below him.
"What?!" yelled back Kalelor.
"A path!" Barker pointed to where the path began.
Barker watched for a bit as the others walked to the base of the ledge that led up to him. Once they found it and started to make their way up, Barker turned around and looked at the moonlight flower, impressed with it's beauty.
Tired and cold, Barker wrapped his cloak about him tightly and decided to rest against the wall of the cliff. As he went to lean back against the wall he let out a yelp as he continued to fall and was incredibly astonished when he landed on his back.