“Do you think they followed us?” Jiron asks after the meal when they’re sitting around the fire.
“Who?” asks the miner. “Who followed us?”
“You didn’t see them around Ironhold?” asks Fifer.
Shaking his head, the miner says, “The only ones I saw were you.”
“Forces from the Empire have been camped in the hills around Ironhold since we showed up, maybe before,” James tells him.
“What do they want?” the miner asks.
“Me, us,” replies James.
“You going to get me killed!” the miner exclaims.
“Now settle down,” Jiron tells him. “They’ve known of our presence there for days and have done nothing so far.”
“So far,” he says, none too happy. He scans the woods around them as if expecting an imminent attack at any moment.
“As soon as we get to where you saw the design, you can leave,” James tells him.
“Just be careful about running into them on your way back,” suggests Fifer. “They may want to talk to you about us.”
Scowling, the miner looks at each in turn then stares at the fire, deep in thought.
To Jiron James says, “Better have two on watch at a time tonight, just in case.”
Nodding, Jiron replies, “Good idea.” He then sets up a watch schedule and those not pulling the first watch lay out their blankets as close to the fire as they can.
The night passes uneventfully and they are up and on their way with the rising of the sun. The miner turns them north and follows the shoreline of the lake. They don’t travel very far before coming to a medium sized river flowing from the north.
Before James has a chance to ask, the miner says, “This ain’t the one. We have to cross it and continue following the lake until we reach the next river. Then we can follow that one north to where you want to go.”
Turning upriver, he leads them to a ford a mile up. After crossing, he backtracks along the other side of the river and returns to the lake. Following its shoreline, he continues along as it curves to follow a more easterly direction.
The going here is slow, as they have to at times forge their way through tangled undergrowth. Several hours pass as they make slow headway. Finally the shoreline becomes inaccessible to them when the side of the mountain rises up against the water’s edge.
“We have to leave the lake now and work our way through the mountains,” the miner says. “If we’re lucky, we’ll reach the river before the sun goes down.”
“Why would that be lucky?” Uther asks.
“Just a figure of speech,” the miner says, annoyed he’s being taken too literally.
“Oh,” replies Uther.
Picking up another game trail, they leave the shore and move into the forest. The terrain becomes increasingly rugged and as they climb up the side of the mountain, the density of the trees diminishes proportionately.
As they climb, the wind hits them with more biting chill than it had when they were in the protection of the forest. Now that the trees are thinning, the wind is able to get to them more effectively. Pulling their jackets closer, they push on.
At one promontory the miner stops them for a short break. Off to the side they find snow on the ground among the trees. “Man that’s not a good sign,” Jorry states.
“At least it’s clear now,” Fifer says hopefully, looking to the sky. “If the clouds move in we can expect snow.”
“I agree,” says James. “We’re definitely above the snowline now.”
Qyrll has climbed up above them and is standing on an outcropping of rock. James notices him there peering out over the way they had come. “See anything?” he asks.
The others take note of what he’s doing as he looks down to James and shakes his head. “Nothing.”
“Maybe they didn’t follow us,” offers Miko hopefully.
“Oh you can bet they’re out there,” states Dave. Looking back through the trees, he adds, “I doubt if they’ll give up this easily.”
“You seem awfully sure of that,” Jiron says as he comes to stand before him.
Anger building, Dave replies, “If they followed us to Ironhold, you would think they would have kept an eye on us. Any fool should know that.”
“I don’t like the tone of your voice,” Jiron says, his own anger beginning to rise.
Stepping in between them, James holds a hand up to each and says, “Enough of that!” Staring them both down, he adds, “We have too much to worry about already, we don’t need your squabbling adding to it.”
Jiron gives Dave a glare then turns to James, “Sorry.” Turning his back on Dave, he stalks off.
“You two need to get along,” James tells his friend Dave.
“I ain’t the one not getting along,” he says. “Nothing I do or say will make any difference.” He turns aside and walks back to check on his horse.
James just stands there and stares at his two friends walking away. Saddened by how they don’t get along, he just shakes his head. Try as he might the rift between them continues to grow, neither of them seems even remotely interested in trying to mend it.
They get underway shortly thereafter and as they proceed, an awkward silence hangs over them. By the time they stop for lunch it hasn’t improved any. James sits eating his food and glances from one to the other. Dave has sunk into another depression with anger seeming to be boiling under the surface. Jiron on the other hand appears his regular self, that is until he glances toward Dave. Then James notices a slight tightening around the eyes and a grim expression comes to him.
After their lunch break they once again forge their way along the path through the mountains. Near the midafternoon an enormous mountain to the north comes into view. Snow capped and rising high into the sky, it dominates everything around it.
“Would you look at that!” Miko breathes as they crest a ridge and the mountain comes into view.
“Impressive,” agrees James. It easily rises a thousand foot or more over that of any other peak.
The miner glances back to see the reaction the sight of the mountain has brought forth. Giving them a grin he says, “That’s Kiliticus, the king of all mountains. They say no mountain is taller in the world.”
A shiver runs through James as he looks to the mountain in the distance. “Would where we are going be at the base of that mountain?” he asks, mouth suddenly dry.
“Yes, it would,” the miner replies. “A small lake sits at its base and along its shores are the ruins.”
His voice catching in his throat, he asks, “Does the lake have a name?”
Shrugging, the miner says, “If it does I never heard it. Why?”
James glances around him and he can see what he’s thinking reflecting back in the eyes of the others. At the foot of the king, bathe in his cup.
“Ellinwyrd must have been meaning the mountain, not Ironhold,” Jiron says.
Nodding, James says, “Yes! That’s got to be it.” To the miner he asks, “How long until we get there?”
The miner glances from James, to the others and then back again, he can see something is going on. “We’ll be there tomorrow,” he answers.
“Good,” says James, his spirits again high. Not even the tension between Dave and Jiron is able to dampen his mood now. His goal is about to be reached.
Evening finds them winding their way down to the bottom of a deep valley with a river cutting its way through. “That’s the river we’ll follow to those ruins,” the miner announces. “If we leave first thing in the morning, we should be able to get there by late afternoon.”
“It doesn’t look all that far,” Uther says as he gazes to Kiliticus in the distance.
“Don’t let its size fool you,” he says. “It’s further than it looks.”
“Damn,” mutters Jorry in awe.
Another hour finds them nearing the base of the valley and they hunt for a good place in which to make camp. Once found, they set up camp.
