Chapter 15 - The Summit

  Robert approached the ledge, forcing himself not to look back at the grisly sight he had just witnessed.

  “Where’s the baker?” Varg roared across the broken ledge and the deafening blizzard.

  “He’s gone,” Robert shouted back, his voice creaking with strain.

  Varg nodded and reached out his massive arm across the void, his back pressed against the steep face of the mountain. Robert grabbed hold, and with a quick yank Varg flung him in a downward arc, then back upward, landing him on the opposite side as Robert’s boots barely clung to the mountainside. A hand reached out and caught his right arm, steadying him. Robert looked and found the baker’s wife, Jane, pulling him forward toward a wider ledge covered in snow.

  “Where is Bram?” she cried as she swept her grey hair whipping across her face away from her eyes while the blizzard’s ferocious winds swirled around them.

  Robert simply shook his head, unable to find the words for the woman still grieving her lost son.

  “He ran out of time, didn’t he?” she said quietly, barely audible to Robert over the storm.

  Robert nodded.

  “Let’s go. Tim won’t have much more time either,” she said, a hard resolve settling over her that surprised Robert given the circumstances. She turned and pushed forward across the ledge, past the flat face where they had been trapped, toward a more manageable line up the mountain that Tim had already begun to climb.

  [The Hour Unspent: 9 days remain]

  “Keep moving!” Varg blurted out behind him. “Robert, how much time do you have remaining?”

  “Nine minutes,” Robert called back with dismay as they reached Tim, who was slowly climbing upward. “How much farther to the summit?” Robert asked.

  Varg climbed up just past Robert, inspecting upward toward their icy ascent. He swiped one large hand across his beardless face, shaking free the frost as he visibly contemplated the climb ahead. His other hand gripped a small hold between two rocks as his feet stood perched against a larger rock formation.

  “You’re not going to make it at this pace,” Varg said with a grim resolve.

  Robert paused at the hopeless statement when Varg suddenly turned toward him and grasped the dead marauder’s rope slung across his shoulder.

  “Give me this,” Varg rumbled. “I have a plan.”

  Not wasting time to protest, Robert swung the rope free letting him take it.

  “Jeweler. Tailor. Stop!” Varg roared as he climbed up beside them in two well balanced leaps. “All three of you bunch up here. Come on, Robert. We don’t have all day,” he exclaimed, waving him forward. “I am going to tie you together.”

  Robert moved toward the two villagers as Varg forced them close, their backs pressed against one another. The warrior wrapped the rope around their waists in several quick loops before cinching them tight with a suffocating knot.

  “Where is Father?” Tim yelped as the rope went taut.

  “You will meet him soon, most likely,” Varg replied as he directed them all back towards a ledge along the cliff’s face.

  “Get back onto the flat ledge. When you feel three tugs on the rope, be ready, and make sure you do not veer toward the jagged rocks. Stay on the smooth cliff.”

  “What are you planning?” Robert called out in confusion.

  “I am going to find the orc. We’ll pull you up,” Varg roared as he circled back around toward the more climbable section of the mountain, still holding the other end of the rope. He began leaping upward, disappearing into the snowfall above.

  How did it come to this, Robert thought as he waited to be flung up an endless mountain.

  [The Hour Unspent: 6 days remain]

  “Where is Father!” Tim shouted again as his mother tried to break the news to the young man who had just lost his brother.

  “No, it can’t be,” Robert heard he cried out when three sharp tugs yanked against the rope binding them together.

  “Best hold o…” Robert started before all three of them were squeezed even tighter together as they shot upward along the cliff’s face. Robert tried to scream, but the rope was so tight it stole the air from his lungs. Looking upward as he gasped, only the grey and white swirl of blizzard clouds whipped against his face until the massive outline of an orc’s arm appeared, stretched over the cliff edge and gripping the rope as someone higher up the mountain hauled them upward with terrifying speed.

  They slammed to a sudden stop as Robert’s head collided with Brukk’s arm and the orc yanked all three of them onto a narrow ledge at the top of the cliff.

  “Three minutes!” Robert cried, dazed and gasping for breath.

  “Hold on, humans,” Brukk said as he reached down and grasped Robert by the breastplate with his massive clawed hand. He hauled all three of them off the ground, then began to spin, whirling them faster and faster before launching them skyward as if they were a child’s toy ball.

  Robert’s head spun as they twirled upward in a knot of flailing limbs. Holding in vomit with one hand, Robert grasped his staff tight with the other, trying not to lose it to the storm. They crashed hard against the rocky mountainside, Robert colliding face first and taking the brunt of the impact as the rope snapped, sending all three of them scattering across the jagged stone.

  [The Hour Unspent: 2 days remain]

  [System: The Summit is only 3 yards away...]

  What, Robert thought as he coughed blood into the snow. He cast a Party Heal before his vision cleared enough to see what he assumed was the summit of the mountain just above them. A narrow path climbed toward it like a staircase that had been waiting for them all along.

  “Go!” he cried as he pushed himself slowly to his feet.

  Jane and Tim were already climbing when Robert forced himself after them.

  We’re going to make it, he thought as hope drove him forward faster, when suddenly Tim faltered halfway up the rocky staircase and his mother began to scream.

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  No, Robert thought as he sprinted forward, leapfrogging two jagged rocks beneath him. Tim’s arms flung outward just as his father’s had while his mother watched in horror. Then the jeweler lifted into the air as his grim fate reached out to claim him.

  [The Hour Unspent: 1 day remain]

  Not again. Not another, Robert thought as rage burned within him as he climbed up, now just beneath Tim. With all his remaining strength, Robert leapt upward toward the floating man. As he reached the apex of his jump, he cast his Levitation spell, extending the jump as he crashed into Tim’s torso. Robert wrapped an arm around him while his staff and spell propelled them higher and higher into the suffocating storm.

  Even with the blizzard’s freezing temperatures, Robert felt the heat radiating off the doomed jeweler as they shot upward through the sky when his mana finally went empty. For a brief moment, they hovered within the clouds until whatever unnatural force that had been gripping Tim finally let go, and they crashed together onto the summit of the mountain.

  [System: Trail of Speed - The Summit has been successfully completed.]

  [System: You have been awarded XP and +20 days of The Hour Unspent.]

  [The Hour Unspent: 65 days remain]

  [Level Up Acquired: Cleric (Level 24)]

  “Robert, you made it!” he heard Oswin shout from somewhere to his left.

  Robert pushed his face out of the snow as he reached for a mana potion tucked into the loops of his breastplate. He cut his fingers on one that had shattered during the chaos, but thankfully it seemed the other vial had survived as he pulled it from the remaining loop.

  He popped the cork on the second vial as Oswin and Alice pulled him to his feet. Their faces were bright red from the cold and it looked like they had been freezing on the summit for some time, unable to warm themselves.

  “Ugh, this is disgusting,” Robert murmured as he drank, trying not to puke out the much needed mana potion. He equipped his Cure Poison spell as Jane reached the summit, crying out for Tim, who was still unconscious in the snow.

  “He’ll make it,” Robert rasped, gagging before casting the cure spell. With the hum of his staff, the turn in his stomach relented and he followed up with a second spell, casting his Party Heal and illuminating the top of the snowy mountain in a bright glow as a mix of magic and snow swirled across the mountain peak.

  Robert released his spell as the weather around them began to suddenly relent. How convenient, Robert thought suspiciously as Varg and Brukk leaped onto the large peak where the rest of them had gathered. They were all exhausted and freezing as they huddled closer together, regaining their breath and rubbing warmth into their hands while Robert’s heal worked to repair the worst of their frostbitten limbs.

  Looking around, Robert found that the peak was relatively flat, sloping gently toward a cluster of large boulders gathered near the far edge. He squinted, trying to make out a set of oddly shaped, snow covered figures perched atop the rocks.

  “What are those?” Robert called out to the group as Varg and Brukk walked up beside him, seemingly unaffected by the blistering cold. Jane sat in the snow near the edge of the peak, holding a weeping Tim in her arms.

  “Let’s find out,” Varg rumbled as he leapt across toward the opposite ridge of the peak, landing with a muffled thud on the higher set of rocks. With a swipe of his hand, he brushed away the snow on one of the stone mounds, revealing what looked to Robert like a crudely carved altar set into the mountain.

  [System: Trail of Ascension 3 of 5 will generate in 30 seconds.]

  “Gods, what did you do?” Alice called out as she walked toward Varg.

  “Nothing. It’s just a rock,” he called back.

  Atop the block-shaped gray altar lay a stone formation that looked, to Robert, oddly like a bow.

  “Maybe we shouldn’t mess with this until we find out what it is,” Robert started, just as Varg tried to lift the stone bow from the altar.

  “It won’t… budge,” Varg grunted, straining without success.

  “Move, human. Let me try,” Brukk cut in as he leapt up beside Varg.

  “Maybe we shouldn’t,” Robert added, grimacing as the massive orc yanked at the much smaller stone with all his might.

  “Is it carved into the mountain?” Oswin asked, his curiosity cutting through the tension.

  Varg brushed the snow from four other similar altars jutting out from the mountain. Each displayed a different stone figure. One resembled the head of a mace, another a dagger or wand-shaped rock, another a massive jagged sword, and the object on the last altar was shaped like a staff.

  “Our new weapons?” Robert said aloud.

  “Ha. You plan on casting heals with a block of stone, priest?” Varg replied.

  [System: Generating Trial of Ascension 3 of 5…]

  [System: Trial of Passage has been selected…]

  [Trail of Passage]

  Name: Fatebound

  Objective: Only the purest of adventurer can wield a fatebound weapon. Complete the Foulbound quest line and successfully craft a Fatebound weapon to pass this trial. Failure of a quest in the subsequent line will lead to the forfeiture of your remaining The Hour Unspent.

  Reward: XP, The Hour Unspent +30 days

  The Hour Unspent Acceleration Multiplier: 1x

  [Trail Objective #1: Wield an unpurified Fatebound weapon.]

  “I guess that’s your cue now, Varg,” Robert said as the objective script faded from his vision.

  He watched as Varg tried again to lift the stone bow from its altar, but once more the giant warrior failed to move it.

  “Move aside,” Alice called, barging in between Varg and Brukk. With a single arm she lifted the stone bow from where it had rested, raising it with little effort.

  “It’s so light,” she said in amazement, tapping it against the stone altar to test its composition. “It looks like stone, but some kind of magic is at work here.”

  Varg moved toward the massive sword and, to his relief, was able to lift it with little resistance.

  “Hah. I was worried the wand was going to be mine,” the warrior bellowed with a laugh.

  “Me next,” Oswin said as he hopped up onto the ledge of rocks. He grabbed the stone wand without hesitation and it lifted from the altar without resistance. “Come on, Robert. Grab yours.”

  Robert climbed up, looking at the two remaining weapons. Brukk had moved toward the stone sphere-like contraption, though Robert was not sure what kind of weapon it was meant to be.

  “Shall we, Brukk?” Robert asked as he stepped up to the altar holding the crudely carved stone staff.

  “I don’t need a weapon, human,” the orc replied.

  Robert lifted the staff, which felt as light as a feather. The weightless feel of the heavy-looking object confused his mind. How can this be real, he thought as he swung the long staff in a slow arc, testing its reach. He attempted to cast a Holy Shield on himself as a test, but the spell failed to materialize.

  Guess it can’t be used just yet, he thought.

  [System: All party members must complete a trial objective prior to receiving the next available objective.]

  “I don’t think the sight will give you a choice in the matter,” Robert replied to Brukk.

  The orc growled and lifted the awkward stone sphere just as the next objective flared into all of their vision.

  [Trail Objective #2: Travel to the Great Forge.]

  “Great Forge. The one in Stormskeep?” Oswin asked. Robert was unfamiliar with the location provided by the quest, but he doubted the trial meant for them to return to the fallen white city.

  “What is that noise?” Alice asked as the distinct sound of grinding gears began to carry across the light snowfall.

  “Airship engines,” Brukk growled. “Zurni.”

  “That bastard is late,” Varg interjected as he jumped down from the rock formation and headed toward the growing sound cutting through the thick cloud cover.

  Robert took notice of Jane and Tim still holding each other in the snow as Varg passed them.

  No weapons of stone for them, he thought. Perhaps this is where our shared trails part.

  Robert jumped down and followed after Varg as the silhouette of the airship materialized through the snow and fog. Its side profile floated toward them, the grinding of its engines echoing across the mountain peaks. The entire side of the ship was patched together with spare wood, its innards partially visible through the makeshift repairs.

  “What a piece of junk,” Varg rumbled as the battered ship approached the peak, the tiny green figure of Zurni barely visible at the helm as he steered the great ship to their rescue.