‘Looks like you’re out of a job,’ Auum said to Ulysan.
‘Then you woke me for no reason.’
Auum clapped him on the shoulder. ‘I have a much better job for you and for Merrat, Graf, Marack and Hohan for that matter.’
Ulysan stared at him, his expression bleak. ‘It’s pathfinding, isn’t it?’
‘A brisk walk in the cold never hurt anyone,’ said Auum.
‘Dear Yniss spare me, I wish I was Il-Aryn,’ said Ulysan gloomily. ‘When do we start?’
‘As soon as we can borrow enough clothes to keep us warm. We need to get off this mountain.’
‘Just as I was starting to enjoy it.’ Ulysan glanced at Tilman. ‘Can you climb?’
Tilman patted his leg.
‘Bad ankle,’ he explained.
Ulysan roared with laughter.
Hohan dropped the last fifteen feet back down to the ground, slipped on the ice and was caught by Marack.
He shook his head and pointed up into the blizzard. ‘There’s an overhang. I don’t think even Ulysan could grab the edge let alone some frozen Il-Aryn,’ he said. ‘It’s not possible, sorry.’
Auum, his hands cold despite the thick bindings of torn cloth on his palms leaving just his fingertips free for climbing, leaned back to escape the worst of the angry wind. They were running out of options. Hohan had almost fallen on one ice-covered climb; Ulysan had made good ground on a face that led to a low peak but could find no way beyond it; and Auum had attempted to cross an ice bridge only to have it crack beneath his weight. He’d been able to get back but the bridge had fallen into a chasm. Marack had climbed high but had found the wind so strong it all but lifted her from the cliff face, and she had come back without reaching the top, saying it would be impossible for the Il-Aryn to ascend.
That left Grafyrre and Merrat, who had inched out along a narrow ledge over a precipice to where the former thought he had seen a climbable fissure during a break in the weather yesterday. They’d been gone longer than Auum liked.
‘They’ll be fine,’ said Ulysan, sensing his mood. ‘They’re almost as good as me.’
Auum nodded and stared in the direction they’d gone. The elves weren’t far from the overhang and the warmth of the barrier, and it still gave Auum a good feeling to think of the moment it had snapped into place and he’d known that they were all going to live. But the morning’s search for a route had been fruitless, and should the pair come back blank, the only remaining chance was further along the ledge beyond the crack. No one knew what lay there; only that it turned into the teeth of the gale.
‘I’m going to take a look,’ he shouted, leaning his head into Ulysan as the wind roared its fury yet again. ‘See if I can help.’
‘Leave them,’ said Ulysan. ‘Don’t fear for them.’
Auum couldn’t help it — he felt anxious and fidgety.
‘It’s not like you can hold a rope for them, is it?’ added Marack.
Auum held up his hands. ‘But what if they’re in trouble?’
Ulysan raised his eyebrows. ‘This is Merrat and Graf, remember? It’s not Tilman and Stein out there.’
Auum cracked a smile which broadened when he saw two indistinct shapes moving towards them through the blizzard. Merrat and Grafyrre joined them on their ledge, blowing on their hands and stamping their feet.
‘It is seriously cold out there,’ said Merrat.
‘Well it’s good to have you back on this ledge in the warm with us then,’ said Ulysan.
‘Speak to me, Graf,’ said Auum.
‘It’s climbable, even relatively straightforward in places,’ he said.
‘I sense a but,’ said Auum.
Grafyrre nodded. ‘It’s narrow in places too. You won’t get up there with a pack on your back and some of our larger individuals might struggle.’
‘Surely we can tie a line of packs and let them hang below,’ said Marack.
‘We can work on that.’
‘There’s another but isn’t there? What’s at the top?’
‘First off, it’s a good long climb. We’ve been assessing the best routes all morning as well as scouting the next section. It’s a tough ask for the mages and adepts and it’s far too windy for flying,’ said Merrat.
Grafyrre continued, ‘There is respite at the top, though. It’s a wide plateau bordered by two peaks, north and south. Easy walking, plenty of scrambling and the odd little climb though it’s really exposed. It ends with an ice-covered slope down at quite a gradient. You wouldn’t want to slip on it.’
Auum had a sinking feeling. ‘And what’s at the end?’
‘We didn’t get that far but we suspect it’s a sheer drop,’ said Merrat.
Auum turned his palms up. ‘So, is it our route? It’s your say. We try it, or do we go further round the ledge?’
Grafyrre and Merrat looked at each other for a few moments.
‘We should take it,’ said Grafyrre. ‘I didn’t like the look of the ledge further on and it comes right round into the gale. Anything climbable that way is going to be extremely difficult.’
‘All right,’ said Auum. ‘Let’s go and relay the good news. We’ll try and solve the pack issue when we get there.’
‘Who did you mean when you talked about “larger individuals”?’ asked Ulysan while they were waiting for Rith’s team to create a door for them to enter the dome.
Merrat threw an arm around his shoulders and patted his barrel chest.
‘No one, old friend, no one in particular.’
The weather had deteriorated enough for Auum to abandon all thoughts of moving up the fissure in the mountain that day. It was a popular decision, not just because of the battering winds and snow so thick visibility was zero, but because another night meant more rest, more healing and greater strength for the day ahead.
They set off at first light the following morning. The wind had lessened slightly though the snow was still dense and cloying. The whole party had moved to the face Hohan had tried to climb the day before, and while small groups were led forward to the ledge to climb, the rest were able to enjoy another Il-Aryn shelter, though this time not heated by Julatsan elves.
TaiGethen moved above and below the inexperienced climbers, using themselves as footrests, halting any slides and heaving up those not strong enough to brace themselves against the walls of the fissure all the way up. The narrows caused brief anxiety, but only Stein had struggled with the width so far. Most of the packs had made it up with just a few snags and tears, although some were lost. It was a small price to pay for good progress.
So it was that Auum and Ulysan along with Oryaal, Evunn, Duele and, inevitably, Tilman reached the climb with their group of seven Il-Aryn. While Ulysan explained the method and Oryaal demonstrated the route with an effortless grace the adepts would not be able to replicate, Auum stared upwards. Grafyrre had estimated seven hundred feet and it was at least that long a climb.
Auum chewed his lip, looking up at the narrowing of the walls about two thirds of the way up, while the wind whistled into the fissure and the snow bunched at his feet before being blown away, some spiralling in an updraught like ash from a fire.
Tilman proved himself a lithe climber despite his ankle, and he went up with Evunn to show the path while the Il-Aryn followed at their own pace, Duele and Oryaal behind them. The ascent was steady and without panic, and the knowledge that shelter and a hot meal waited at the top gave energy to aching muscles.
Ulysan and Auum waited at the bottom, meaning to have a race once the way was clear, but Auum could see the big TaiGethen was eyeing the ascent without his usual all-conquering confidence.
‘You all right?’ he asked.
Ulysan smiled. ‘It’s narrow.’
‘You’ll be fine. Just hold your breath and keep crawling.’
‘You know what I’m talking about.’
‘Despite what I may often say, your head isn’t that big.’
Ulysan was breathing a little too fast but he still laughed.
‘Let me do the jokes,’ he said.
‘Just as soon as we’re at the top. Come on, let’s get moving. Never mind the race. This wait isn’t doing you any favours.’