Chapter Six
"Thank you!" Lara called to empty air. It was something that she couldn't help. Years of living in the aristocracy had bred good manners into her. She couldn't help using them. A small smile twisted her mouth. If only her mother could see her now.
Walking forward carefully, she took a good look around herself. The ground that she walked on was tinted red, and she could hear a river faintly rushing in the distance. A mixture of soil and broken stone made a kind of path. She walked towards it, already trying to figure out just how she would find the fragment that she was seeking. Walking on briskly, she was forced to pick her way around boulders on the ground. Glancing up into the distance, another incredible sight met her eyes.
Rugged mountains stood high above the land, looking like weary sentries watching over all below them. Mist hovered around the peaks, making them look even more amazing. The sky behind them was crystal clear, adding a sense that she was looking at eternity. Lara wished that she could take a picture of the mountains, but she knew that she would never share this with anyone. It was a memory for only her. The masses of the world didn't deserve to see such a splendid sight. They wouldn't understand it.
She shivered as she walked, and stopping briefly, pulled a jacket out of her pack. Slipping it on, she replaced her pack, zipping the blue jacket as she walked. Feeling much warmer under the cosy fleece, she realized only then just how long she had been cold for needlessly. A shiver ran through her as her skin began to feel warm again.
"This must be Helheim." She said quietly to herself, seeing a small cluster of ghosts in the distance. The waifs hadn't spotted her and she hoped that they didn't. Helheim was home to those who had died ingloriously of disease or of old age, and if she remembered rightly, it was also home to dishonourable people who had broken oaths. Those who died in battle went elsewhere in death. They weren't the kind of ghosts she wanted to fight with. They endured enough by simply being stuck in this place. She could hear them wailing, the sound of true despair. It was haunting, and not it a good way. It drew her to them, beckoning for her to become one of the group. Resisting the desire to go over to the ghosts, she walked on, trying to be as quiet as she could.
She came to the river more quickly than she had thought she would, and was surprised to see that it was water, not blood like in the myth. The bridge to hel stood in front of her, tempting her with the easy crossing it offered. If she stepped on the bridge, even as softly as she could, it would sound like an army was marching across it. It was part of the mythology that she didn't want to test. She believe that it was true. The giant that guarded the bridge wouldn't be an easy fight for Lara to win.
Continuing past the wooden bridge, she kept walking parallel to the rushing water, only moving away to avoid ghosts. She saw no sense in fighting the spectres when she didn't have to. No easy places to get across presented themselves to her and she wondered if she should try the other way when up ahead, she spotted something that could help her. A large stone stood on the opposite side of the river, and she decided that it would be her best shot at getting across.
"I hope this works!" She muttered to herself, forming a loop in one end of the rope and throwing it across the river. It missed the rock on her first few tries, and she was forced to drag it back, through the river. The sodden rope was heavier and threw better, looping easily over the rock on her fourth try. From her bag, she pulled out a metal peg. It looked exactly like an overgrown tent peg, and she would be using it to anchor the rope for her river crossing.
Trying another loop in the rope, she stood on it while she placed the peg. It pushed into the ground surprisingly easily, and she attached the rope to the protruding hooked end. Giving the rope a good tug, she was satisfied that it would hold. Inching out over the edge, she took a good hold of the rope. It sagged under her weight, but held. Letting out a sigh, she brought both legs up, wrapping them around the rope. It took her a few moves to build up a rhythm, but once she did, she found it easy to move across her home made bridge.
A strange noise made her pause, tilting her head back to the bank she had just left. A being stood there, as still as the mountains Lara had looked at earlier. It looked like nothing she had seen before. It's flesh seemed draped over the yellow bones, almost like it had been an after thought. Vaguely human, the creature resembled a corpse left in water to decay. It seemed to be studying the rope, trying to figure out what this addition to it's world was. It moaned deeply, sounding like a sinking ship. Lara couldn't see it's hands, and for some reason, that scared her.
Unbidden, Petra's voice came into her mind. "Hurry, Lara." She whispered, the words almost like a caress.
Eyes still fixed on the creature, Lara tried to hurry. Her gloves offered little protection for her fingers and she felt the sting of rope burn more than once. The water beneath her looked deep and uninviting. Anything could lurk in those unknown depths. She had almost reached the other bank when the rope slackened and began to fall. She had no choice but to hang on and prey that she didn't land in the water.