The Story of the Trees - Sword, Ring, and Crown Book One

Chapter Forty-Two

The vaadin soon delivered us to the foot of Dragonis Mountain. It was a formidable climb. The lunantisidhe had packed climbing equipment, among other supplies, for us to bring along. It was nice to have some favor for a change. I was certain the Emperor of Tears would be someone else. Had Duir wanted him to watch me die? I guess she never considered the crazy ability I possessed.

I stared up at the mountain. The path to the halfway point was fine. It was the craggy part towards the top that looked imposing. I analyzed my success against the handful of times I'd climbed a rock wall at the Y and snorted. There was no way I could get up that.

"Brin, I think we'll have to leave you at the bottom. Rielte could probably make it, but I don't think centaurs climb." I had thought I might need extra transportation, but I hadn't really thought about the climb.

"I understand, My Lady. I will guard the bottom against attackers."

"That's a great idea. Thanks, Brin."

I hadn't thought about attackers sneaking up from the bottom. He was useful, after all.

I looked at the mountain again. It wasn't massive, at least. It was about 1000 feet at the top. I nervously rubbed my hands against my pants. With much argument, the tiny faeries had given in to my demands to let me put my uniform back on. They also put my hair back to a normal length and up in a bun. They were quite sulky about it, however.

"Who else wants to stay down here? I don't want anyone freaking while climbing up the mountain."

There were worried stares, but no one spoke up.

I nodded, then asked, "Who wants to take the lead because I don't think I should. I've only climbed rock walls, nothing like this."

"Same with me," Dominic said.

"Heck, until our practice session,  the only climbing I've done is into bed," Adrian piped in.

I laughed. "How about any of you girls?"

"I shall do it," Luke cut in. "I have much experience in climbing the mountains near the mansion."

"Great."

"I'll take second," Erick said. "I've also had a lot of experience."

The roster was Luke first, then Erick, and after him came Beth, Jeanne, and Elsie, all three having had some mountain climbing experience. Dominic, Adrian, and I made up the rear.

Ciaran stayed on the ground with Brin. When I asked why, he said, "I would sway the trial too much. You can do this without me, but I'll come up should there be any foul play."

I grumbled at this but agreed that his ability to teleport us all up there would probably be unfair.

Luke estimated it should take two hours to climb if we dug in and didn't falter. It should take about 30 minutes to climb the first 500 feet, and the last 500 feet should take two-and-a-half hours with ropes and crampons.

With the estimates in hand, we began. I hoped we could manage the climb in that short of time, but I had my doubts. We walked up the path of the mountain, careful of the snow. Luke had outfitted each of us with good climbing shoes, but it wouldn't be hard to slip if we weren't careful. After the first hundred feet, the path became narrow, and we had to scramble over borders and squeeze through a tight gap. Luke, being powerfully built, had trouble through the space but got through it. The space denied Dominic's passage.

We tried to see if it might be possible for him to climb over the spot and drop to the other side. After a few clumsy tries with a makeshift pulley system, his large, expansive build made it difficult for him to lever himself up the smooth face of the gap. He was red-faced and panting heavily as he collapsed on the ground.