On the morning of the eighteenth day, Elkin had you take apart your camp after breakfast and leave no trace of your stay. While you packed your new possessions in a blanketroll, all of you were very excited about adventuring with Elkin. The fact that he would leave soon didn't seem to bother you. You stowed your lutars and quivers of shrill over your shoulders, hoisted your spears in your hands and met at the base of the waterfall. Elkin encouraged you fondly: "Follow me, and lean on your spear when you walk, like this..."
You hiked on a small path that headed up and around the waterfall, across a small wooden foot bridge and North into the mountains. Soon you got hot; and Kuros was especially so. Elkin called a halt and said, "Throw your cloaks over your shoulders. You have warmed up enough now; but, don't worry. We will need them sooner than you think."
The stark beauty of the mountain forest filled your senses. The trees changed by type. You noticed much more Birch and Aspen than found around your former camp. You walked for an hour north, and then hiked west up a steep goat's trail on a ridge.
"This is Mount Crag, Elfin," encouraged Elkin; who seemed to be the only one not out of breath.
After another hour, you traveled North again. Before you realized it, you came upon a frightening high cliff. Even Rollvag the Mountaineer gasped at the view.
"We must three miles high!" said Longsilver.
Elkin had you all sit down, pass out water skins and jerky, and have a lunch. After a few minutes, Elkin handed you two maps and had you pass them around. When they went into Kuros' hands, he exclaimed, "Meteors! Who made these!"
Large Map 1 (slow: 123K)
Jumbo Map 1 (extremely slow: 277K)
Large Map 2 (52K)
Large Map 2 (slow: 123K)
"Myriel," answered Elkin plainly. "Look now on the valley below, study these maps, and learn where you are. This is your new and blessed realm away from home. And someday you will return to claim it."
You ate lunch and talked quietly, as if not to stop the sights and sounds around you. Birds flew and soared in the air above you. For a brief moment, you stopped worrying about the state of things. But then, the doubt followed your thinking again.
"Do not worry," Elfin said simply, "What is left of your year in slavery will soon pass away from you feelings."
"What will become of us?" said Tara, who was overwhelmed by it all, and had tears in her eyes.
Just then, Rollvag's eagle, Rhapsody, swooped down, flapped excitedly, and squawked at Rollvag. Rollvag repeated what it said to him.
"Cry! Cry! A man below will die!"
NOTE ONE:
Because of her eyesight, Cher can see a body lying at the base of the cliff; it is partly covered by ferns. After pointing that out, you can all see something too. The body looks human and it is not moving; it appears to be asleep. It is at least one thousand feet to the bottom of the cliff. The cliff is climbable, but you have no length of rope. Closer searching reveals another goat trail down, but it will take at least twenty minutes to negotiate because of its steepness. Good luck.
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© Copyright 1999 by Abram Paradies.
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