It was a warm sunny afternoon as we climbed the mountain. *Yawns* "I never did like climbing this mountain. Always such a hassle." Ray said. The path across was long and winding, crossing the summit would be the hardest task as the weather constantly changed the farther up you went. "I wish we had warmer clothing, its starting to get cold." I said, wrapping my arms together for warmth. Nara and Ray continued walking, passing by Rune who slowed down to walk beside me.
"You can always turn back Alys." He said in that silent voice of his. Shaking my head I picked up my speed, catching up to Ray and Nara who were waiting for us just up ahead. As we marched higher up the mountain I could begin to see the grey clouds surrounding the summit. Snowflakes fell from the sky slowly as got farther up the mountain. Crossing the mountain would be a more dangerous task then when we were in the forest. The thought of avalanches are more frightening then any hoarde of bio-monsters.
Approaching the summit we came around a corner, only to be stopped by a large gap between our side and the other. "How are we going to cross now?" Nara asked. Scratching her head she looked around for any sign of a small walkway, or anything we could use to cross. "Wow, its really far down." I said. Kneeling down I stood at the edge gazing downwards. The wind picked up, snow continued falling as though the mountain was angry at us. "Alys, be careful, these ledges don't seem to stur...."
I screamed as the edge of the cliff gave way underneath me. "ALYS!" Ray screamed, jumping down after me. What happened to Rune and Nara at that point? I do not know. I blacked out as I fell down the cliff, Ray quickly falling towards me as well. When I woke I could hear the howling of the wind, I could see the red of flames in front of me, a piece of cloth wrapped around me. "Wha.. what happened?" I mumbled as I sat up slowly. A blurred figure was seen on the other side of the fire. Wiping my eyes the figure began to take shape.
"Ray?" I said. Looking across Ray was wearing a black sleeveless shirt. Ray had given me his tunic to keep me from freezing as I slept. "So you're awake now? I was so worried." He said. Picking myself up I walked to his side, sitting next to him. "Where are we?" I asked. The wind echoed through the cave, and we continued to sit around the fire. "We're further down the mountain now. It was already dark when I woke up." He said, tossing another piece of wood on the fire. "This cave use to belong to a hermit many years ago." he said.
"Isn't it rude that we're in his home then?" I asked. Slowly shaking his head Ray continued staring into the fire. "He died... a long time ago. The story that I was told was he was a travelling swordsman from Racadi Dome. One day the swordsman rescued a girl from thieves, and the two fell in love after that. The girl, however was a noble from the most powerful house in the whole dome. The two travelled for many years, the swordsman learned one day about her class. He asked her countless times if she wanted to return to her family, each time she would refuse only saying she wanted to stay with him."
"The two experienced many things in their lives, but they were happy as long as they were together. Then... one day all that changed. The girls father believed his daughter had been kidnapped all those years ago, hired mercenaries to find and return her, killing her captor if they must. On that one rainy day the swordsman and girl were ambushed by the strongest mercenary in the dome. The mercenary enjoyed killing more than anything, and the swordsman gave his all in that battle. The two clashed swords many times in that battle, but the swordsman was unarmed by the mercenary."
"Just before the final blow was dealt to the swordsman, the girl jumped in front of him, the mercenaries sword piercing her heart. He watched as his beloveds blood dripped from the blade, watched as her body slowly fell to the ground. Using all that anger he ran towards his weapon, the mercenary chasing after. The two had one final clash that moment, the swordsman grabbed his sword, and with one quick blow he turned and pierced his opponents chest. The rain poured heavily at that moment, as if the heavens themselves were weeping."
"He held his beloved in his arms one final time, before he laid her body to rest in the land of her birth. After it was known that the swordsman travelled from Racadi Dome to this dome. The swordsman climbed this very mountain, he lived his life alone on this mountain, guiding travellers in the right direction if they had lost their way. Sometimes he would tell his story, other times the pain would be to great that he would never say a word. After many years of living on this mountain his life finally faded."
Ray tossed another log onto the fire as he finished his story. I moved closer to Ray, slightly laying my head on his shoulder. "So Ray, will you be my swordsman?" I said. He blushed slightly as he looked down at me. I had never seen Ray so red in my life. "I.. I.. I.. Of course Alys, you know you're my best friend. I'll always be here to protect you." He said. We sat there that night staring into the fire, eventually falling asleep late into the night. The next morning we left the cave and walked through the snow covered field. The sun shone brightly in the sky, as if the snowstorm had never occured.
"There it is." Ray said. Pointing forward as he stood at the top of the small hill. Walking up to Ray I looked forward to see a large lake in the distance. "Looks like we finally made it. Only a little bit more to Nolt." He said. I felt happy at that moment. Many days had passed but we had almost reached our destination. "ALYS! RAY!" A voice called out us. Turning in that direction I could see Rune and Nara running from around the mountain, Nara waving as she approached us. During that one brief moment, I felt like I had everything in the world. "Let's go Alys." Ray said.
Nodding my head we both began running towards Rune and Nara. Many things had happened since I began this journey, but I felt happy knowing that I had friends who were by my side throughout it. We laughed and rejoiced as the four of us were reunited. We were coming close to the end of our journey, would we stay together after all this was finished. I didn't want to think about it at that time, at that time I was happy just being with my friends.
