Through a window out the Airship, Arclin gaped in awe as he beheld the Aras Mountains looming before them. He had heard about the fabled mountains before but only in tales he had been told to as a child, and never had he imagined them being this tall. His own home of Drannogal sat near the base to some of the tallest mountains he had seen at nearly six thousand five hundred feet tall, but this...
“It's gotta be at least twelve thousand feet,” he whispered to himself. His mind in shock that anything real could be that high.
“You’re close, but not quite,” Sranic said with a chuckle standing beside him. “It’s closer to around eleven thousand and three hundred feet, but we’ve never had the chance to measure it properly yet.”
Arclin couldn’t believe his ears, but then again, he had spent half the night having Sranic drilling him with questions about his family and their history, cross referencing his claims with Fig, who apparently was an expert on history stuff. After going over what he knew of his family’s warning, and the records Fig had studied, the three of them had decided that a trip to the Aras Mountains was in order. With that decision made, Arclin had only been able to get a few hours of sleep before being woken up to see something.
Together with Sranic, Fig, and Ryzen, they had all made their way to the Control Room, standing cramped with two of Sranic’s crew as they steered the airship, and watched as the Aras Mountains loomed before them, their huge peaks bigger than anything Arclin could’ve thought possible.
“You aren’t going to measure it now?” Arclin asked, still gawking out the window.
“Nah. Didn’t bring the right equipment for that kind of job,” one of the helmsmen said with a shake of his head. “Weren’t really planning on coming up this way, otherwise we might have.”
“Wish we would’ve,” the other crewmember said. “Today’s weather would have been perfect for it too.”
“Is it normally not?” Arclin asked.
“No,” Sranic said, his face turning grim. “Normally the mountain side is ravaged by strong winds, making it nearly impossible for anyone to get close to measure properly.”
Arclin felt the blood drain a little from his face. “And... uh, you’re wanting me to go there alone? How exactly do you plan on retrieving me?”
Sranic turned his grim face to him with a hint of a smile. “We’re not, and you’re not going alone.”
“Oh, okay then.” Arclin looked back at the growing mountains for a few more seconds before asking, “And who else is supposed to be going with me?”
“That would be me and Pig,” Ryzen said grumpily, gesturing to herself and Fig who gave her an endearing look. “Together the three of us are going to glide down to the mountain side and make our way to the ruins near its peak.”
“Glide?” Arclin said, nearly choking over the word. “With those knew parasail whatchamacallits?”
Sranic frowned in confusion, but Ryzen smiled mischievously. “No. We’re going to change into our shifter forms and glide their ourselves. I’ve seen your wings, they look like they can do that much at least, if not fly outright.”
“But, I can’t fly! my wings aren’t strong enough,” Arclin said, a pit forming in his stomach.
Sranic raised an eyebrow as he turned to look at Ryzen. “I thought you said the boy could glide.”
“I did,” Ryzen said, turning her own furrowed gaze to Arclin. “Unless I was wrong in thinking that Wolf-boy actually has wings.”
“I have wings,” Arclin said defensively. “I’ve just never glided more than twenty or thirty feet before.”
“Well, it’s time to see just how far you can go,” Sranic said, his tone not allowing for any objections.
“Don’t worry,” Fig said with a nod. “I can’t fly either. Can’t even shift.”
“So how will we get down there then if only two of us can shift?” Arclin said as he folded his arms. He felt he was missing something but couldn’t quite put his finger on it as his stomach churned and writhed with worry. Ryzen and I both have wings that can at least glide us there, but how will we get all three of us to the mountain if one of us can’t fly?
“The three of you will be harnessed together,” Sranic said in answer to his question. “Ryzen will carry Fig since her shifter form is much larger, but to help avoid anyone falling to their deaths the three of you will be tied together a rope that will help make sure you all stay together.”
Arclin raised an eyebrow. He could see how using that as a safety precaution would ensure Fig’s safety, but if he was tethered to them, he could only see that as hampering his own flight to the mountain side. If anything, it would be more dangerous to stick together than to be apart. If the wind blew me sideways then wouldn’t I drag the others with me. He pondered over the statement for a moment longer before an idea occurred to him. They still don’t trust me. He supposed he shouldn’t have been too surprised, since he didn’t really trust them either.
“So, between the three of us you think we should be able to find any secrets of the Aras Mountains are hiding here?” he asked, worried he might be sick.
“You three are all we can afford to send at the moment,” Sranic said, his face indiscernible beneath the beard. “And these old ruins of Aras are our best chance to find any other clues to the whereabouts to those World Gems.”
“Soul Gems,” Arclin muttered under his breath. He wasn’t sure why, but it bothered him when Sranic called them World Gems.
Suddenly, the ship rattled a bit, causing them all to grab onto a pole or counter and Arclin watched with alarm as the mountain’s top seemed to drop almost out of sight through the window. In another second, the scene changed as the mountain peaks began to drop below their view again. I’m glad I didn’t have breakfast yet, Arclin thought as he gripped his stomach with one arm.
“Sir, we aren’t going to be able to get too much closer without more turbulence,” one of the crewmen said. “If we are going to drop them off, it’ll have to be from high above as we go over the mountain.”
Sranic swore. “That changes things a bit doesn’t it.” Turning to Ryzen and Fig he said, “We’re going to have to drop you three off now.”
“Now!” Arclin cried.
“Yes now,” Sranic said in a snarl. “Ryzen, since we’re not picking you up we’ll make sure to rendezvous either in Listern or Sablolocin. I’m thinking Listern since its closer.”
“We can do that,” Ryzen answered with a nod.
“Why can’ t you pick us up at the base of the mountains?” Arclin asked in a higher pitched voice as a pit formed in his stomach.
“The Airship can’t handle the winds around the Aras Mountain range,” the crewmen answered. “With the way the mountains are around here they create massive wind tunnels that make flying this thing near impossible.”
“He’s right,” Sranic agreed pushing Arclin towards the ladder they had climbed to enter the room. “It’ll be easier for you to glide away from the mountains than it will be to climb or fly down its length and in Listern we’ll be able to restock and refuel while we wait for you.” Looking out the window once more Sranic shook his head and took to the ladder. “We should get you all to the loading dock. We’re running out of time as it is.”
Fig followed next, and Arclin was about to follow when he stopped and looked one more time at the Aras peaks as they slowly sunk from view. A sense of excitement rose within, and the pit in his stomach was still there, but… something else troubled him. It wasn’t quite dread, he was feeling enough of that as it was at the prospect of gliding out over such a long distance, but it wasn’t quite excitement either. Whatever the feeling was, it was enough to make him hesitate.
“Would you quit gazing at the mountains and climb?” Ryzen grumped giving him a soft shove up the ladder.
Arclin ignored her for a second before starting his climb up the ladder again.
“These should help keep you three together.”
Arclin turned his draconic snout to Sranic as he finished tying the rope around his chest. It had been hard since both Arclin and Ryzen’s leathery wing membranes came down their sides and past their hips. Instead of just looping it around his midriff they had to rig the rope to go around his arms and his neck. He nervously scratched at the rope around his neck as memories of recent hangings he had seen came to mind.
His discomfort must have been more than apparent since Sranic gave him what he thought was a warm smile. “Don’t worry about it. It’s been tied properly so it won’t break free if something should go wrong.”
Great, just what he needed. Reassurances that the rope could hang him if something went wrong out there. Glancing back out through the dock door he saw nothing but blue skies and suddenly he felt queasy as he let out a howling whine.
“It’s alright, Arclin, I’m strapped in with a vest and I’m not liking this any more than you are,” Fig called out from Arclin’s right. The poor guy seemed to be sweating droplets as he stared out through the docks open door too. His hands were gripping the front of his vest so tightly that his hands had turned white.
“Don’t you worry yourself, Fig. Ryzen will be holding you through the flight and she won’t drop you this time, right?” Sranic added slowly as he looked meaningfully at Ryzen.
Wait, again? Arclin thought nervously. What did Sranic mean by again? He wanted to shift back and ask, but his anxiety would let him.
Ryzen mewled softly as she stood beside Fig, lowering her head sheepishly to her father.
“Good,” Sranic said, his tone becoming softer as he went over and gently patted Ryzen on the shoulder. “I know that you will all do great. All of you will.” Walking over to the edge of the dock he looked down at the mountain peaks below as the wind whipped at his hair and beard. “The path should be clear,” he yelled back to them. “We are well above the mountain’s plateau so you should be able to land safely. Remember, we cannot pick you up here because of the winds so we’ll meet up in Listern. If you don’t show up in a few days, we’ll leave a message for our next rendezvous point. Understood?”
Arclin and Ryzen nodded while Fig shouted, “Yes, sir!”
“Good hunting,” Sranic called back and stepped aside for them to jump through the dock door.
Excitement hummed through Arclin as both he, Fig and Ryzen bolted, running as fast as they could. Before reaching the dock door, he opened his wings and then jumped into the open air, falling softly before the wind held his wings aloft. Breathing heavily he glided on the air currents as he felt the soft tug of the rope around his neck. He whined again, but didn’t hear it as the noise was lost to the wind in his ears.
Turning just his head, he saw Ryzen gliding beside him with Fig between her taloned hands, his face looking green against Ryzen’s orange fur. Looking down, he wished he hadn’t, there were still hundreds of feet of free air between them and the mountain’s peak, and that was only counting the top. If he missed the landing then he would continue to fall thousands of feet to his death below.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, he chided himself, feeling the plateau was much smaller than it had seemed from inside the airships dock. Why did he think he could do this? He was going to die, he knew he would.
Despite his thoughts of doom, he continued to sail through the air, letting Ryzen lead the way as she flapped a few times to change direction as they circled the ground below. Arclin leaned into the turn as he felt the rope tug on him slightly as Ryzen took the lead. She glanced back at him and growled in frustration. Arclin snapped his jaws at her and growled back. I doubt she’ll hear me, but I’m not going to go faster than this, not when I've never flown this far before. As it was his muscles were starting to tire from keeping them held out straight to the sides.
Ryzen bared her teeth at him then turned to watch where she was going. She stopped flapping her wings and together they continued to glide around in wide circles over the mountains peak. For a while it was… peaceful. Arclin allowed himself smile and took a deep of fresh air. This isn’t half bad, once you get used to it, he thought as a surge of confidence welled up inside and looking out over the different mountain peaks in the area.
A light glinted in the distance and Arclin turned to see ruins hiding among the trees on the next mountain peak over. It was a little lower than the current mountain they were working towards, but it was thousands of feet away. Those must be massive ruins over there if I can see them from here. We must’ve missed them and that peak on our fly by in the airship. I wonder if we can see any ruins here? Glancing down he immediately wished he hadn’t. When he was done, he returned his gaze forward, breathing deeply as he waited for his stomach to settle and wishing his wings were sturdier. There aren’t any ruins down below! We need to glide over to that other mountain top, but how am I going to get Ryzen and Fig’s attention? Will she hear me if I roar at her?
Taking a large breath, he let out a deep guttural roar that reverberated through his entire body. Fig looked down at him and then poked Ryzen so they both turned their heads to look at him. Good, now that I’ve got their attention… Pointing his draconic snout towards the ruins he roared again.
Ryzen and Fig both looked that way and he knew they had spotted the same thing. Ryzen gave a similar guttural roar in acknowledgement and then pointed herself towards the ruins on the other mountain top as Arclin followed suite. He regretted it immediately.
Instead of the ground rising up to meet them steadily, offering that silent assurance that it would not kill him the closer he got to it, it was now dropping dramatically away.
I did this to myself. I don’t know why I do this to myself, he berated himself, feeling his stomach clench as the pit returned in his stomach. His wings were also starting to grow tired from holding the same position for so long. If only he could get there faster.
But then it happened. He started losing altitude faster than Ryzen, and the pit in his stomach turned into panic. He dared not flap his wings for fear of falling to the ground. I’ll fall like a stone if I don’t keep them straight. Gritting his teeth, he forced his wings to stay open. Soon they were at the halfway point between mountain tops, and he couldn’t help himself. Closing his eyes, he stretched his wings out as hard as he could, determined not to die. He just had to make it across the space between the peaks, then he could open his eyes before he needed to land. Right? He didn’t have to look at everything while gliding to the mountain, surely he could open them right before he needed to.
But his mind kept throwing wild scenarios at him that had him second guessing his decision. What if he ran into a tree and fell down the mountain side anyway? What if they landed on solid ground but he missed it because he couldn’t keep his eyes open? Maybe Ryzen and Fig had cut the rope and he was now falling to his doom? Maybe he was flying faster than he thought and crashed into the side of the mountain?
Breathing heavily, and unable to hold back the suspense any longer, Arclin opened his eyes wide and was shocked to see he hadn’t gone that much further than when he had closed his eyes. On top of that, he had fallen even further behind as the rope tugged on his shoulders, dragging him along as Ryzen flew ahead.
Ryzen must felt the tugging too since she turned her head around and, although he couldn’t hear it, he saw her lips curved in a feral growl.
Oh, she is not happy with me. Normally he wouldn’t care, but normally he wouldn’t be thousands of feet in the air either.
Ryzen continued to try flying, flapping her wings to gain more altitude while pulling everyone’s weight as they continued to lower. Arclin wanted to help, but he couldn’t stand being so high up, and his own wings felt as if they were frozen in place.
As fast as the ground had fallen away it eventually started rising just as quickly, but they were still thousands of feet away. Saying a silent prayer to Drahlros, he hoped his old god would help him get out of this predicament.
The mountain’s ruins were nearly level with them now. But we’re still too far away, he thought, panic rising in his chest faster than the ground was to him. We’re not going to make it. Images of crashing into the mountainside and falling to his death flashed into his mind and suddenly he found the desire and will to beat his wings. Erratically, he tried to flap as hard as he could to help gain more altitude, but instead he only fell faster.
Ryzen and Fig began making noise up above in distress, but he didn’t care, he needed to find a way out of this that didn’t involve him splattering the ground with his guts. He tried flapping again, but again they dropped even lower.
Focus! A soft feminine voice said into his mind, bringing with it a fresh sense of peace. Remember who you are doing this for. Remember your sisters.
Holding his wings steady, Arclin closed his eyes as he slowly breathed in, and out. In, and out. He had to keep it together to find Tirza, Annica, and Nichol. Now that he was no longer falling to his death his wings strained against the wind pushing against him.
Very good, the warm voice said. Now beat your wings together at the same time but take it easy… That’s it.
Slowly, encouraged by the voice, Arclin beat his wings in a steady rhythm. With his eyes closed he was able to take in what it felt like to have the wind push against his wing membranes with each stroke. Smiling he enjoyed the cool breeze ruffling his fur as he let the wind carry him forward for a time. Ryzen’s angry growls and Fig’s cursing reached his ears, and he knew he’d have to deal with that when they landed, but for now… for now he let himself relax.
After a few minutes of gliding, he opened his eyes to see that they were only a few hundred feet away from the mountain side, and although they were below the summit where the ruins lay, Arclin could clearly see a path winding up the mountain side. Ryzen roared at him, and he saw her dive towards the road. Grinning with the thrill of not having to be up in the air anymore, he did the same. Something about him had changed; he wasn’t sure what it was but something inside of him had changed and he felt…different.
When they landed, Ryzen carefully put Fig down and turned to look at him. Shifting into her human form, her face turned into a furious glare at him as Arclin landed himself, her hands balling up into fists at her sides as she walked his way. “Just what do you think you were doing, dog-breath? You nearly got us killed.”
Arclin shifted too and smiled. Relief swelling within at no longer having to be in the air for the moment. “I’m sorry. I was—”
She punched him right across the jaw, sending him sprawling into the dirt. Pain laced through his face and he noticed that he had nearly fallen over the ledge of the mountain road.
“What were you doing?” she spat as she repeated herself. “It’s a miracle that none of us died because of that little stunt. If you had just kept your wings straight, we would’ve been a lot higher up the mountainside.”
Arclin rubbed his jaw as he got to his knees. All feelings of peace had evaporated in the heat of his anger. “And I remember telling both you and Sranic that I have never flown before. Glide? Sure. Fly? Haven’t done it. Haven’t tried before, so why are you blaming me for what happened when I tried to warn you?”
“All you had to do was keep your wings straight,” Ryzen said, her fists still clenched tightly at her sides. “All you had to do was wait for me to pull us over here and we would’ve been fine. We could’ve been higher up the mountain if it wasn’t for you!”
For years Arclin had been taught never to hit a woman, but right at that moment, he was wondering how it would feel to have his fist connect with her jaw.
“Princess? Arclin? Please don’t fight,” Fig said, standing as close as he could to the mountain. “We have a job to do, and I’d like not to get in a fight that might have one of us falling over the edge. Especially someone who can’t fly on their own.”
Ryzen eyed Arclin like she wanted to toss him over the edge of the mountain. I’d sure like to see you try, he thought, hoping she would throw the first punch. After all he had warned them that he had never done something like this before.
The punch never came. Instead, Ryzen spun on her heels and marched off toward Fig, grabbed his arm and nearly started dragging him up the mountain road. Arclin allowed himself to breath for a moment before looking off the side of the road. The road itself was only about ten feet wide, but it had been carved into the side of the mountain, and being this high up already meant that it was a long way down. Looking out over the edge, he expected his insides to squirm nervously. But they didn’t. He was still nervous; of that he was sure. Just glancing down at the sheer slope of the mountain was enough to confirm that much. But it didn’t make him squirm, not like it would’ve in the past. Strange.
Shaking his head he turned to follow Ryzen and Fig up the mountain side.