A stunning sight unfolded in front of everyone as they arrived at the cave's exit. Icicles hung from above. As the sun shone on them, it created a gorgeous icy glow at the cave entrance. Snowflakes were blown left and right by the wind, occasionally reaching into the tunnel. Snow-capped mountains as far as the eyes could see. A few paths could be made out. Some were seemingly created by the dwarves, but others looked like the footsteps of tall beasts with the power to topple the trees in their ways.
Speaking about trees, there were surprisingly many. Forests of stubborn pine trees of all kinds and sizes decorated the mountain sides, offering shelter to all living beings.
And in the distance, one could even make out signs of villages, mines, or singular huts, inviting players to explore. In fact, the friends even spotted a few players.
This was the scenery deep into the Eastern Mountains. The region was still mostly occupied by dwarves, but they were by no means dominant. Orcs could often be seen hunting powerful beasts and various surprises awaited in the many caves along the mountains.
"Wow, the snow is beautiful!"
Cyclone excitedly stretched out her hand and a snowflake landed on her palm. It had to be said that due to Falva Star only being recently populated, there was not much pollution yet. Nature was still in quite a perfect state, including the snow. However, compared to the game there was still a difference. In the Eastern Mountains the snow was pristinely white, and each little snowflake was a perfect art piece like an intricate crystal piece, mysterious and magical.
"I wish I had some ski or a snowboard…", sighed Liam lightly. However, this attracted strange looks from the others.
"You know how to use a snowboard?", asked Quickstep in a surprised tone.
Laim was taken aback for a moment before he realized something. On Falva Star there was basically no room for activities outside the cities. People who grew up on Falva Star shouldn't have any experience with snowboarding. Only those who arrived later like Quickstep and Silent Acacia might have played in the mountains before.
"No, I've only seen videos…"
"Oh."
Liam's explanation was easily accepted. At that moment Cyclone began to vividly describe to everyone how much fun playing in the snow as a kid was. Although she couldn't drive on ski or a snowboard, no one would beat her speed record with a sledge. However, her mood soured when she recalled that her mother only accompanied her to play once and at other times she would be followed by a nanny.
Balm noticed Cyclone's expression. She sighed, gave her friend a quick hug, and suggested to go on. Cyclone quickly returned to her lively self and took the lead.
Outside of the cave there was a wooden platform which was connected to the mountain. The friends glanced up towards the tip of 'Biggest Rock'. It barely graced the clouds in the sky which made it the tallest mountain in the surroundings. But looking towards the horizon one could definitely spot more majestic mountains, whose tips disappeared into the sky, perhaps even reaching atop the cloud layers. A breathtaking view was hidden up there.
Unfortunately, the friends were not here for a hiking trip. They approached the front of the wooden platform where a sturdy wooden elevator waited to lower the friends a few dozen metres, allowing them to skip the climb down a cliff.
"So many icicles, looks like this thing hasn't been moved in a while."
"I hope it's still safe…"
"Surely the game wouldn't place an unsafe elevator here, right?"
The friends all smiled wryly, feeling somewhat apprehensive. Liam shook his head and took the lead. Everyone felt relieved and were just about to follow when the expert suddenly summoned Drasky. He waved at his friends, jumped on the fox's back, and elegantly descended to the ground on his flying mount. Drasky tip-toed on the snow, curiously admiring the falling snowflakes.
"What?! Mirage?!"
Cyclone shouted in shock. She looked at the elevator ahead, imagining all kinds of horror scenarios. A low rumble came from above and snow fell from a protruding rock. Everyone felt chills running down their spines.
"F*ck! Don't shout!", hissed Quickstep. Cyclone smiled sheepishly and put a hand in front of her mouth.
"So what do we do now?"
"We can also take the stairs over there."
"Those carved into the cliff? Doesn't look safe at all."
"Guys, Mirage is clearly trolling us. Don't let him get into your heads."
"Too late."
The friends discussed in hushed voices. Radiant Shield stood at the side with rattling teeth. Obviously, this came from the cold and not from the height. He had clearly overcome his fear of heights. Radiant Shield continuously kept telling this to himself in his mind. He observed the elevator and the rock stairs and came to a decision. With courage and determination, he placed one foot in front of the other and came to a stop on the elevator.
"Ok, Shield has made the decision for us. Let's take the elevator."
"Yeah. Not even shield is afraid, let's stop cowering!"
The friends chuckled nervously as they followed Radiant Shield onto the levator. The moving part was surrounded by railings with a gate. After closing it they pulled a lever and for a moment nothing happened. Suddenly the breaking of ice could be heard, and the elevator made a small jump.
"Mama!"
"I'm too young to die!"
"I knew it was a trap!"
Cyclone, Balm, and Fortune cried out dramatically and only they themselves knew how much of it was serious. The elevator only dropped a centimetre before it stabilized and slowly descended to the ground. The ride was bumpy and accompanied by an annoying sound as some gears ground against ice but there was no real danger. The elevator was constructed to transport heavy cargo in the hostile environment of the Eastern Mountains. A few people wouldn't bother it much.
When the friends finally reached the ground, they were welcomed by a smiling Bleary Mirage.
"Congratulations! You guys survived!"
"Tsk. You say that as if there had been a chance of us dying.", snorted Cyclone.
Liam only laughed lightly while petting Drasky. He watched as his friends got off the elevator and summoned their previously dismissed mounts again.
"Shield? Are you coming?"
Balm's question prompted everyone to look at the elevator where Radiant Shield stood still like a frozen statue.
"Damn, Radiant Shield has been frozen."
"It's definitely because of the temperature and not because of anything else, right?"
"Do we have to carry him?", laughed Cyclone.
"No chance. He's way too heavy in that armour."
"I would try…", said Balm quietly.
Meanwhile Bloody Edge approached Radiant Shield. Just as he was about to pat his friend's shoulder, the tank moved, startling Bloody Edge into jumping backwards.
"Damn!"
"Haha, my friend, look at your face. I was only pretending."
"So funny…"
The others either chuckled or rolled their eyes. Luckily no one noticed how strained Radiant Shield's expression was…
After the excitement was over, the friends could finally continue. They gathered around Cyclone and studied the treasure map. The map had already changed, pointing out a path through a few forests. But forests were everywhere along the Eastern Mountains. Fortunately, Balm quickly figured it out. She held up the map from the spot they were standing on and realised that three patches of forests perfectly aligned with those marked on the map.
Having figured out the path, everyone jumped on their mounts and continued on their way. Liam, having already summoned Drasky, didn't switch back to Reen. He flew through the air, enjoying the freedom of a bird, diving and rising, rushing left and right. His friends glanced up from time to time, not hiding the envy in their eyes. When flying monsters targeted Liam, his friends chuckled with schadenfreude, but the celestial fox easily outran the monsters, leaving the friends disappointed.
Stimulated by Liam the friends would often diverge from the path to hunt groups of monsters, rapidly approaching level 60.
Like that it took the friends almost an hour until they made it past the three forests marked on the map. They appeared in front of what looked to be a deep crevasse. As if someone had hit the glacier with a terrifying sword, carving an incredibly deep rut into the eternal ice layer. Places like these were extremely dangerous and had claimed the lives of many unsuspecting wanderers.
"What now? Should we detour?", asked Silver Blade with a frown.
"But according to the map we need to go straight."
"Perhaps when the map was made, this gap hasn't existed yet?"
The friends discussed, clearly worried about the danger. Although there seemed to be a path leading into the crevasse but if they slipped up it might still spell danger.
"Guys, I have an idea. Why don't we send Mirage ahead to scout?", suggested Balm.
"Oh, great, I agree!"
"Smart! Let's do this."
"Hehe, please go ahead, expert!"
Liam rolled his eyes as everyone stared at him. Obviously he had no choice. He petted Drasky and the elegant fox rise to the air with a few steps, quickly diving into the crevasse. He swiftly disappeared from view.