Chapter 2: "Montagne."
The sky was yellow and blue,
Crimson streaks protruding out from the skyline. Kolasi Ridge loomed over the landscape, the entirety of the sun blocked by the mountain range. Birds of color flew down, landing cleanly on branches of maple trees or beside berry bushes full of fruit that lined a stoney path.
Cliome, Levi, and Peth walked in a semi-triangle as they headed down a cobble trail towards Kolasi Ridge. After hours of walking their sweaty bodies in the chill wind, they reached the base of the mountain range.
Peth stepped forth onto the base of the spire, his foot gently sinking into the white powder dusted lightly across the edge of the plateau. Loud crunching of ice shuttered in the cold front rolling down the mountain as his heel pressed into the earth.
"It's gonna get cold from here on out," Peth dropped his knapsack off his shoulders, twisting it around to face him before sliding on an olive green jacket lined in gray fur, "Put on your overwear before we continue onwards."
Cliome and Levi quickly followed suit, thrashing their packs around ungracefully and clumsily unlike Peth. They each tossed on a jacket of different color-- a smooth, black leather one for Cliome and a poofy, red leather one for Levi. From collar to hem, the insides were lined in tan fur, cleanly stitched and pressed into the innards of the jacket.
"You guys done yet?" Peth sat on a log nearby, arms draped lazily over his thighs.
"Yeah."
The squad continued up the path they had been following, every few meters the snow climbed higher.
The wind had begun to blow hard. The icy winds stabbed through Cliome's fur coat, piercing deep into his stomach and chest. The jacket seemed useless, extra weight even, just a welcoming mental note. The heat was fighting on enemy territory, and the cold snow was winning.
"Just another mile or so," Peth's deep, soothing voice came calling towards the two, "we'll be down the mountain soon."
"Another mile of this?" Levi's head whirled, his hands barely clinging on to Cliome's jacket.
They continued up the snow-covered mountain, exhaustion sitting within every inch of their bodies.
Snow lightly drifted down, gently caressing our faces leaving streaks of irritated skin as we walked. Above, light-gray clouds sat staring down at them leaving no room for the sky to shine through. The only scenery we had was a mountain, piercing high into the clouds- seemingly endless.
"What did Gramps tell us to get again?"
Cliome peeled over a rock, looking closely at the remnants underneath before shaking his head, "Levi, I just told you five minutes ago."
"Only five minutes ago? Last you spoke was near the base of the mountain!" Levi grumbled, plopping himself on the ground in defiance.
Cliome picked up one of the smooth, gray rocks near the reeds, and turned toward Levi. Suddenly, his vision went dark, and a violent shock shuttered down Levi's skull and spine. He fell over from the shock, curling into a small ball on the frost-ridden dirt.
"We are at the base of the mountain," Cliome turned away, not a shred of sympathy shown in his sapphire eyes, and continued to search for the ousia raith Manthei had sent them to find.
Levi got up and hurried to his brother, Cliome. Next to where he was just sitting was a large crater, and in the center, a smooth, gray rock.
The hike lasted for a while- they were only about halfway up the mountain- and with every few steps the party flipped over every rock they saw.
"Can we just head back?" Levi pleaded, his feet screaming in unison.
My brother stared intently at the backside of an orange-ish rock. Suddenly, he popped off one of the buckles on the side of his pack, letting a glass jar slide into his hand. He pulled out the cap, and began scraping a substance off. Blobs of thick, indigo goo plopped onto the bottom of the container with each swipe.
"I think this is what he wanted us to gather," Cliome continued to peel off the material filling the glass pint.
"I think ye're crazy," Levi gave him a funny look.
"Nah, I think he's right," Peth walked back towards the two, "Get as much as you can. Tomorrow this mountain will probably be too snowy to expedite."
The three looked around in unison as they watched heavy snow drift onto the ground. Peth started forward once again, the other two quickly following.
The wind had picked up a bit, and the sky was a dark blend of crimson and azure. They had reached slightly under halfway up the mountain, and were now setting up camp inside a cave.
Peaceful calmness surrounded Cliome as he stood, heels pressed against the walls of the cavity, the grotto felt more welcoming than most houses would. It was large and open, icicles clinging tightly on to the ceiling above. In the center was a small pile of ash and stones.
Levi pushed away the ashes before gesturing Cliome to come closer, "Set up our supplies, we'll be back soon." He briskly walked out of the cave, and once he was gone, Cliome began his assigned task.
It was awfully grueling-- boredom striking into the depths of Cliome's mind, the ice littered surfaces not helping either. Cliome reached into the large bag that he had brought, pulled out a large quilt and laid it flat on the cave's stone surface.
Hours of rigorously scraping away at thin ice passed, and the camp was finished. A large quilt lay strewn across the stone floor, held in place by rocks acting as anchors. Over the makeshift bed, two things of cloth and leather acted as pillows, equally distanced from the edges of the quilt. At the top of the quilt, directly behind the pillows, the bag Cliome brought stood straight up, the glass pint sat buckled and wrapped gently in the side pocket.
"Seriously," Cliome reached forward, gently unwrapping the vodka-colored, liquidy gunk. He gently unscrewed the cap, popping it off and slid the glass down into his hands. The substance had a smooth looking texture, blue powder sat matte across a slimy luminescent blob. Cliome brought the bottle to his face, lightly wafting the scent into his nose. There was no smell, "What is this stuff?"
"C-Cliome!" Levi's raspy, honey sewn voice broke in the chilled, midnight air; his voice as frigid as the wind, "Cliome! Are ye there?"
Cliome quickly slid the liquid back into the side pouch, "Yeah, everything alright?"
Levi came into the cave, a large object sat wrapped in bandages on his back; his eyes were raw and void, an ichor stench stained the air.
"Where's Peth?"
Levi slowly sat down, and unbelted the object pulling it in front of him. He was silent for a few minutes, "We need to leave, Cliome."
"What?" Cliome slouched over, his eyes widening as he stared at the wrapped item.
"I couldn't get anything else," Levi began unwrapping the object like an artifact, steadily peeling back each bondage gently. Small fragments of caramel began to appear as Levi pulled back each strand. Four short, stubby tubes of the same hazel tone protruded at the end, a chunk of caramel was replaced with slabs of roughly cleaved meat on either side, shattered bone covered in dark, fossilized blood jutted out from the joint.
Cliome clenched his stomach and covered his mouth, his eyes closed, tearing up and dripping out of the corners of their sockets. His skin was pale, his stomach sick from the arm that lay in front of him.
"We're leaving, Cliome," Levi's meak voice spoke, his throat tight. Cliome didn't move, he stayed curled over, clenching his stomach. Levi walked over to him and wrapped his arm over Cliome's shoulders. Cliome flinched and his eyes widened. Chunks of disintegrated meat plopped onto the ground like a slush, smearing across the floor. They both sat quietly.
After a few moments, Levi got up and rewrapped the last memento of Peth. He wrapped it in thick cloth and slid it into his backpack.
"What happened?" Cliome had moved to lay against a wall, his face had regained some color, but his pupils were still large.
Levi continued picking up what they had set up on the ground, "A wraith."
Cliome rolled his head back, "A wraith, huh?"
"Yep. A wraith."
The footsteps of large feet echoed against the cave wall as Levi picked up their stuff. The sound of water drops splattering against cool stone kept a slow but steady rhythm.
"Describe the wraith to me."
Levi stopped moving, his body leaned over and his arm still grabbing the bag on the floor. He dropped the bag, and sat down slowly, crossing his left foot over his right, "They weren't like what we were taught."
Cliome looked at him for a few minutes, Levi staring at the ice in the center of the room, his eyes cold and dry, "What was it like?"
Levi continued to stare at the ice, his reflection looking back, "Its body was a misty black from head to toe, dried blood smeared across its hands and legs. It was tall, taller than me by a meter or so. Its eyes were blue. Each glimmering in hollow emotion, peering into yer body." Levi trailed off, "In its hands were a blade, cracked and worn of black stone."
Cliome leaned upwards, "Why did you guys engage it, we already knew wraiths were dangerous."
Levi chuckled a bit, "It looked human for a moment"
"Huh?"
"It was peerin' down at a berry bush, gently pokin' at each berry an' rolling them in between its fingers as if testing 'em."
Cliome raised an eyebrow and rolled over onto his side mumbling, "I doubt that happened, Levi."
The two sat silently for a while, each avoiding any eye contact, "We need to leave, Cliome."
"If you're telling the truth, you're damn right," Cliome pulled his head upwards to face Levi, "We need to tell Gramps."
Levi peeled his frozen bottom from the stone floor of the cave, pushing himself off the ground with his palm. Cliome quickly got up as well, and headed for the small camp he had set up. Together, they both packed up the camp, roughly stuffing each item in different bags.
Once they were done, they both looked at each other silently before nodding confirmation that they were ready to leave. They left the cave through the same entrance they came in from, and exited into a snowstorm, a bright, shining moon glowing beyond the clouds and a light breeze waving through the air.
Levi reached into his side pocket and grabbed out a fire tablet and placed it into a glass jar. He lit it and the snow gleamed a light yellow; he gently laid the lid on top of it to prevent it from getting put out, allowing air to flow in and out without snow. Now that they were able to see further in front of them, they began to trace their path back down the mountain.
"It's freezing," Cliome shook, crossing his arms and grabbing each sleeve to keep warm.
Levi walked steadily, gripping his lantern hard as he scanned his surroundings, "Ye, it's fairly cold."
The sound of shoes crunching deeply into the snow danced with the whistle of the freezing wind, the light of the moon adding harmony to the symphonette. Sheer ice and snow thinned as the two headed down the decline until reaching frost covered gravel and grass.
"You're finally down the mountain," Cliome's voice croaked as he tried to lighten the mood.
Levi acknowledged him with a blink, and walked forward in a stride, grinding tiny pebbles beneath his feet. After Levi had traveled a few meters, Cliome headed behind him keeping his distance a little behind.
The rest of the trip was quiet. The only sound produced came from the gentle swaying from the leaves of trees and bushes, the moonlight gleam coinciding with plant dew. Each berry bush they passed was gleaming, no fruit bore on them.
Cliome stopped walking, and scoured up the courage to ask, "What are we going to tell Gramps?"
Levi walked a few paces ahead, "I have no idea," Levi continued walking silently for a few moments before stopping, "We'll have to warn 'em about the wraiths."
Cliome walked up beside him, a light smile spreading across his face, and slammed his palm against his shoulder, "You're damn right we outta!"
Levi looked at Cliome in surprise. He forced a light chuckle before sighing and strolling forward again, a small grin sat glued onto his face.
Thick globs of smog rolled above them towards the sun, an ashy smell surrounded them. "Was there a fire or somethin'?"
"That's where the village is at!" Cliome charged off, ignoring the exhaustion gnawing at his legs, and Levi quickly joined him.
They ran across the stone path, kicking up large clots of pebbles and dirt as they lifted each foot off the ground.
"What happened," Levi began slowing down, his voice trailing off as he noticed something large: a blaze, it's flames burning high into the dark sky, "to our home?"
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