Mountain Trek

Mountain Trek

At these high altitudes it uses to snow in wintertime even as far south as in Delgarenzia. And during the three days we had been travelling through the wood-covered Delgaron mountains it had been snowing almost constantly. A heavy fall of large white flakes covered the ground and the trees in white, muted the sounds and made the world feel almost unreal, like we were travelling in a nowhereland beyond known realms.

This silence, this feeling of unrealness made one almost want to whisper, scared of waking what strange spirits or beings who might be hiding among the trees. Sometimes you thought you saw something, but it was only a large stone or a little pine-bush that looked oddly human. Or a hare or a stag jumping away when seeing us travellers.

Sometimes we crossed small creeks, half-covered in ice and where the sound of running water seemed to blast through the silence. And sometimes we came across winter-roses, those outlandish, blood-red flowers that blossoms in the middle of the winter. And just as the creek-water sounded too loud, these sole spots of colours in this monochromic world seemed strangely out of place.

We were travelling by foot, since we wanted to avoid being noticed by all means, and thus flying – and giving away energy signatures – was out the of question. The snow helped us with that stealth, and I was not the only one guessing Zeus had a finger in that.

People had been talking about his weather controlling abilities now and then but he had been saying very little himself. He was indeed an enigma, this leader of ours. No one really knew of his origin, save for that he had grown up on Crete and had been an orphan early. But his powers were remarkable and so was his endurance, intelligence, strategic skill and ability to judge people and situations. On top of that were the rumours. The rumours that Zeus was indeed The Chosen One, the God of Thunder which the prophecy spoke about – the one destined to kill Chronos. But Zeus never talked about it, when these things were mentioned he just smiled in his usual charming but secretive way.

We were eight members of the Order travelling down to Ezrindor, a town located in the south of Delgarenzia, to meet up with members of another guerrilla, named the Wolfmen. These people were apparently so important that Zeus had decided to meet them himself. And with him he had taken the trapper Nyx and six fighters. Beside me and Neario there were Xurasa, Nariakis, Kaoran and Sireta.

Nariakis and Sireta were sister and brother, loosely related to Kaoran and they were both lean, pale-skinned red-heads with deep-set emerald eyes over freckled and pointy noses. They were also hot-tempered and skilled terrain-fighters. But while Nariakis was silent and almost a loner, Sireta was a talkative and socialising woman, with an opinion about most things.

At night we rested in caves, where Nyx always waited for us upon our arrival. And while we cooked and ate and then talked a bit before sleeping Nyx vent out in the dark, covered the whole next days travelling and found the cave for the next night. Then she mindcalled Kaoran on a deep-mode to let him know next days trip, including the best route and possible dangers. Thus she was always one step ahead of the rest of us, and we never saw much of her, because she slept at day and trekked in the dark, this Queen of the Night.

I had wanted to know her better, she seemed almost as enigmatic as Zeus. But she talked very little other than with Kaoran and Zeus.
"She's haughty", Xurasa stated. "She thinks she's so much better than us simple warriors."
"She's not", replied Neario. "She's just shy. And Zeus is the only one she really knows. Really trusts. "
"What do I care", Sireta said. "She's finding us the best way over these mountains. We wouldn't have made it so fast without her. She's a pro. Then the socialising part matters less if you ask me. "

It was on the third evening, and this far the trip had been uneventful, bordering on boring. To cheer myself up I went over to the cooking-fire and helped myself to another serving of the stew Sireta had made. Zeus was sitting by himself and looking into the flames, lost in thoughts. I sat down next to him, decided to get some answers about these Wolfmen and why they were so important.

"They have intelligence about Chronos", Zeus said and took away his gaze to meet my looks.
"What do they know? Where he dwells?"
"Apparently. And also some about his powers and how he's protected. Information worth its weight in gold. If you could weigh information, that is."

"You could weigh the paper it's printed upon", I said.
"You're right, Hera", he smiled. "But then there wouldn't be much gold for them. "
"And what's in it for them? In return for this information? "

"They're too few to try to take out Chronos themselves, I guess. And on top of that they are running out of firearms. We have promised them more of these and ammo to them in return for the information. If we can make this deal work, Hestia's contingent are going to carry it the same way as we're taking now. "

"Do you trust these Wolfmen?" I asked. "I mean, I remember last year – the setup that killed Rakoure and his group near Darniscar, it started with something similar as this."
"I know. But first of all, the Titans wouldn't dare trying the same stunt twice. Second, Rakoure was, if not reckless, not suspicious enough. Had he listened to Lorelei he would have understood that it was a trap and not led almost his whole contingent into death. "

"You're right, Zeus", I said and ate of my stew, thinking back on last year. Lorelei, Nariakis and a woman named Eurynome had been the only survivors out of that fiasco.
"Then, Hera, in a war like this you have to take calculated risks. We need this intelligence on Chronos so bad, we have almost nothing on him, we don't know where the old bastard hides, how to get there, what he's capable of doing to defend himself and how big forces he has protecting him. If these Wolfmen are hiding in Ezrindor they can be twelve the most – a fair chance for the eight of us if they turn out hostile."

"But if there's Titans there?" I asked." More Titans than we can handle?"
"Then, as always, we'll sense them before they sense us and we'll retreat. The worst outcome of this venture is that we're going to return empty-handed and have wasted a fortnight or so. But we can't throw this possible opportunity away. "

He sounded so confident, Zeus, and I looked at him, trying to find something in his body-language that revealed that he was just encouraging me. But there wasn't anything. Zeus wasn't making things sounding better than they were just to calm down his followers. He knew that the world out there was cruel and unforgiving and he was honest about it, but he was just as honest when speaking of our fair chances.

Neario came up to us and sat down on my other side. He was releasing his pony-tail, letting down his thick dark-brown mane, shaking his head to keep it from falling in his face. His strong, sensitive hand took mine, started to caress it, brown eyes smiling lovingly.
"Talking strategies?" he asked.
"Sort of", Zeus said. "There's some more cocoa left in the pot if anyone want. "
"Great", said Neario. "I can need something to warm me up. Hera?"
"No thanks, I can't sleep if I drink cocoa this late. And besides I expect you to warm me up."

Both men laughed at that, and then Zeus retold what he just had said to me about the Wolfmen while Neario served himself a cup of the still hot beverage.
"But isn't it a bit strange", Neario pointed out, "that we haven't heard about this guerrilla earlier? And suddenly they pop up out of nowhere and offer us hot information. I smell something foul here. "
"Well, you've always been the suspicious one, Santorian, and I don't blame you for that. But as I said to Hera, sometimes you have to take chances. "

**********************************************************

The next day the snow had stopped, but the sky was still overcast. White covered the ground in every direction, and here and there animal tracks could be seen. Nariakis had been up early, hunting as usual, and snared a hare which he had prepared for breakfast. Xurasa looked up at the skies, pointing out the obvious absence of falling flakes.
"I guess even with Zeus' help it can't just keep snowing", Sireta said.

Zeus didn't comment on that, instead it was Kaoran who spoke.
"Just talked to Nyx. Today's trek is a long one, trough some bad terrain. But in the end there's a special reward. Nyx found a cave with a hot spring, she was enjoying it as we mindspoke. Come on, let's go!"

We had to backtrack a few hundred meters, but in the end we found usselves continuing towards south-east as we were supposed to. And around noon we were walking around a glacier lake with ink-dark water, its waves patting the rocks with a chilly, gurgling sound. And I was thinking of other waters. Warmer waters. Hot springs. Me and Neario in a…

Suddenly Zeus stopped, laying a hand on the sholder of Kaoran who was walking in front of him. The next moment a flock of rock-doves took off from the tree they had been resting in.
"Chronites", Zeus said.
"Engaging or hiding?" Kaoran asked.

"Hiding", Zeus said. "They are not plenty, but it's pointless that they learn there are immortals here, which they might do if we engage and someone gets away or gets the chance to mindcall a warning."

So we climbed up behind some of the rocks on the shore, and waited for the patrol to pass. It didn't take long, they were on horse-back and were fewer than a dousen. It didn't seem to be 'just a patrol', but some rather busy Titan Chronites on their way somewhere, their blood-red cloaks flowing behind them while the horses galopped northwards, the way we had come.

Next time we weren't so lucky. Less than a hour later, when we had left the lake behind us, Zeus sensed another enemy contingent. And they were plenty.
"What are they doing here?" Nariakis asked. "Do they know we're here and are looking for us?"
"They know someone's here", Kaoran said. "But that might as well be these Wolfmen. Or some local deities who are hiding around here. "

"They are too many to engage without taking uncalculated losses", said Zeus. "We have to hide, or at least find a better place to take them on from. A place able to defend. "
"Somewhere up the mountains?" Neario asked. "Do we dare to levitate?"
"No, they haven't found us yet. We better stay grounded until they do. If they do, I mean. Come on! This way!"

Yet another time we were doubling back, this time besides plans. When we returned to the lake we took the eastern shore instead of the western one where we had arrived. The Chronites were following us, but it was too early to say if they had noticed us or not.
"We might get away, if we don't display immortal powers", Zeus guessed.

Upon the next turn we came to an almost flat grass area, where sheep ate from the sparse, yellow grass. By the other end of the field lied a little village, cuddled up against the mountainside. Its grey buildings looked simple and insignificant, but yet with a kind of dignity and pride, like the people dwelling there were proud of being able to survive in this harsh land.

From the village came a sole man, an old mortal with a donkey carrying empty baskets. They were going to collect something. When the man noticed us he kneeled, dropped his forehead to the ground.
"Mighty gods and goddesses, what brings old Kordiag this honour?"

Zeus was addressing him:
"We're on the run, Chronites are coming this way, looking for us. We will need a place to hide or at least being able to defend. Can you help us by telling if there's such a place around, Kordiag?"

Kordiag looked up at Zeus:
"You can hide in the old temple of Vaoure, our mountain-god", the old man said. "He's dead, but the Chronites are still scared of that place. It's said that he haunts it. "
"Thank you, my friend. You will find enough firewood if you continue fifty metres north from the place you visited yesterday. And don't worry about the steep terrain, your animal will handle." Zeus made a beneficiation gesture in front of the elderly mortal and then we set off in the direction he had pointed.

Soon enough we had both found and climbed that hill, which was really a part of the nearest mountain. And on an outcropping lied the abandoned temple, its bells singing wordlessly to the wind. In front of the building lied a broken stone lantern, deprived of light and soul. The cleaning bath was dry and filled with old leaves, the stone-dragon which has once spewed water had lost its tail. Most of the temple's roof was gone and some of the pillars were tumbled, but we found shelter anyway. And then we waited. And waited. No Chronites came our way.

I was sitting in the lap of Neario, my hands inside his jacket, and we were caressing lightly, my forehead against his cheek, his stubble itching my skin. We didn't say anything, just rested in each others presence. Next to us sat Xurasa, toying with a throwing blade, feeling it's balance and aiming it at some pretended target. Juggling it in her brown hand, aiming again. Repeating herself.  

"Are we going down?" Sireta asked after a while.
"If it feels safe enough", Kaoran answered her. "Zeus?"

Zeus told us to wait while he scanned the surrounding.
"Most of the Chronites have left. But there are some lingering. They know we're here. They can't take this place, but we can't stay here much longer on the other hand. We better break out."

So be it. We left the place running downhill, sensing the enemy coming at us. They were a bit more than five times our number, but on the other hand we had the opportunity of coming from above. Here and there the track was slippery and I found myself levitating more than running. Not that it mattered, they know where we were now.