The air was thin. The ground was slippery, as if the snow was replaced by ice. To top it all off, they walked along a thin path in the middle of a large, dark stone cliff.
From his view, Astel could barely see a few people struggling in front of him. With each step, he could only nervously glance over his shoulder, still waiting for the mysterious attacker. He hadn't told Sev about it yet, as he deemed it unnecessary.
'That guy always seems one step ahead, no matter what I do.'
Despite this, Sev always seemed to depend on him. Just like now.
"Astel!" He heard a quiet shout, veiled by the whistling wind.
As soon as he heard it, he started looking for an alternate path. Running past the lost souls simply wasn't an option. He scanned the cliffside before noticing a small path just below them.
White sparks surrounded his right hand as a shiny spear slowly materialized in it.
He approached the edge, casting his gaze down. He couldn't see the bottom of the cliff, which made a shiver run down his spine. He took a deep breath and moved one of his feet to the edge. As it shifted, a few small rocks fell to the bottom.
After a few painfully long seconds, he heard a faint clang against other rocks before the sound fully disappeared.
He swallowed painfully and thought about using his other notion to travel to Sev instantaneously. He shook his head.
'I'm not that stupid… not like him.'
He steeled his resolve and leaped off the edge, holding his breath.
As he fell, he kept close to the cliff, quickly embedding his spear in the tough rocks. The metal screeched against the black stone, slowly sliding deeper into it.
Astel's heart raced.
Without looking below him, he swung toward the small path and jumped, making sure to dismiss his spear before fully losing contact with it.
He landed with a light thud, small rocks falling and making a loud crumbling noise. Astel quickly grabbed hold of the cliff with his hands, making sure to stay balanced.
He let out a long, shaky breath before swiftly moving toward the next set of natural handholds.
Using his great balance and muscle control, he moved along the cliffside. Every so often, he would look up until he was directly below Sev.
At that point, he started climbing.
The rocks were cold, unstable, and slippery.
He moved his hand from one rock to another. When he tried pushing himself up, his hand slipped.
He took a shaky breath, trying not to look down.
Hanging above the deep fall once more, he cursed the cold.
'Who thought it would be a good idea to build a sanctuary here. That goddamn Astrid… I swear I'm going to break at least one of her fingers.'
With a deep frown on his face, he swung and leaped to another larger handhold. Just as he grabbed it with both hands, he felt it crumbling.
'Shit.'
He wanted to leap to another one, but he didn't see any around him.
Drops of sweat rolled down his face.
The rock was slowly giving out; he didn't have time.
Thinking fast, he reached into his pocket with one hand, pulling out the small, pointy piece of bone.
With all his strength, he slammed it into a tiny crack in the ebony stone.
He heard cracking.
Thankfully, the bone went in without breaking, creating a new place to hold himself by.
Just as he moved his weight to the piece of bone, the rocks he was previously holding crumbled and fell.
He watched the rocks fall, glad that it wasn't him.
'Phew.'
He quickly recovered and already thought of another risky move.
He tested the strength of the bone before swinging his body above it, landing on it with his foot.
The smooth texture of the bone almost made him slip, but he expected that.
As soon as he landed on it, he pushed with all his might, jumping as high as possible.
During this, white sparks already surrounded his hand. Just as the spear appeared, he lodged it into the cliffside, repeating what he did with the piece of bone.
Before he leapt up, he looked for a proper handhold, settling on the edge of the cliff not far from Sev's feet.
Astel flew upward, grabbing the slippery black rocks, leaving only white sparks behind him.
With one last pull, he swung himself back onto the original path—finally coming face to face with Sev.
"What took you so long?" Sev asked.
Astel rolled his eyes. "I don't know if you've noticed, but this road's only one person wide." He paused, taking a breath. "Anyway, what's the problem?"
Sev smirked. "Already took care of it… By the way, didn't I tell you to stay in front? Why are you still all the way in the back?"
"Someone has to cover the rear, no?"
"Whatever." Sev pointed ahead. "Now that you're here, you could at least take care of that."
He was pointing at a pile of rocks blocking the road.
"You want me to clear those... rocks? Seriously? Can't you do it yourself?" Astel stared at him, annoyed.
"Fine."
Astel walked toward the pile of rocks. It seemed to have a defined shape, not like a random collapse. More like a… creature.
The hairs on his neck stood up as white sparks surrounded his hand once more.
Sev watched with an amused expression.
Astel raised his spear and brought it down. The spear pierced between the dark stones, sinking into something soft. The formation squealed as the voices in Astel's head intensified, pressure building in his already fatigued mind.
The creature slowly lost its voice, relieving the pressure.
He turned and walked back to Sev, who hadn't moved.
"Go on, the path is clear." Astel jokingly pointed at the dead creature.
Sev laughed, patting Astel on the shoulder. "Well done." As he walked past, he added, "You can go back to your monster-watching or whatever it is you were doing."
Astel's heart skipped a beat.
'That bastard really does know.'
"If you call me over for something this stupid again," Astel said politely, with a faint threat beneath his tone, "just know that thing won't be the only one impaled."
Sev raised an eyebrow. Astel laughed dryly.
"There's a small cave ahead. We'll camp there for the night. Everyone should be tired after these exhausting two days, right?" Sev's voice held something sharp under it.
Astel stood aside, letting people pass, counting them one by one.
'12, 13, … 27, … 42, 43.'
'How the hell did two more disappear?'
"What are you thinking about?" Max asked as he slowly walked toward him.
"It's nothing… Sev said we'll be making camp soon."
Max nodded. "I know." He smiled. "I'm here if you need me." He continued walking.
Astel hesitated, then grabbed his hand.
"Do you remember that thing from the cave?"
Max looked confused. "You mean that monster?"
Astel nodded. "I think it's back."
Max stayed silent, glancing over his shoulder at the line of distant bodies.
"Haven't you noticed there's less of them?"
Max thought for a moment. "Eight more disappeared, right?"
Astel stared. "You knew?"
Max pointed forward. "How could I not?"
"Then why didn't you say anything? Do anything?"
Max let out a short breath. "Sev told me not to worry about it. And that you were handling it. I argued, of course, but he… he has a way with words." He smiled faintly. "We should get going."
Astel noticed he was still holding Max's hand.
Letting go he said, "Yeah. Let's go."