Chapter 7.1. Long journey.
The climb through the mountains was arduous and unrelenting, each step a battle against gravity itself. Lilith’s legs burned with effort as she scrambled over loose stones and weathered outcroppings, fingers aching from digging for purchase on every handhold.
Azael moved at her side with preternatural grace, seemingly unbothered by the harsh terrain beneath his feet. He sometimes flew, but long flights were exhausting to him, and, just like others, most time he climbed the mountains alongside his companions. Kragor followed close behind in a lumbering gait that sent rocks skittering down the slopes, whenever he took a misstep.
The wind howled around them mercilessly throughout, whipping dust into their faces and threatening to pull loose footing away from precarious perches atop sheer cliffs.
Nightfall brought no respite, forcing them to shelter beneath overhanging rocks or inside narrow caves while the wind raged overhead like an angry beast. Lilith set watches amongst her companions – each taking turns huddled together for warmth against the biting chill.
The journey wore on hour by painful hour, day by grueling day, until at last they crested one final ridge to gaze down upon another valley spread out below.
Lilith stared out over the desolate expanse before them, eyes widening at the bleak vista that stretched to every horizon. The ground itself seemed almost alien – an endless plain of jagged stones and salt-encrusted earth, that gleamed dully under a merciless sun. The air hung still and oppressive as a shroud, the heat shimmering off barren rock, to blur any distant landmarks into indistinct mirage-like waverings. Not a blade of grass nor whisper of living thing disturbed this eerie stillness.
Until movement caught Lilith’s eye far ahead – something gliding smoothly over that stony waste with purposeful intent. She squinted against the glare, making out winged shapes soaring on distant thermals, like dark portents.
– By the gods, – Sharr swore under his breath: – What have we gotten ourselves into?
– I thought that snakes like sun and hot weather, – said Lilith, and Cian got a feeling that she was smiling, under her hood.
– Not s-so hot weather, – hissed snakeman in response.
– Any ideas which direction we should take? – asked Lilith.
– If we stay close to mountains and go north, we will eventually reach Slother, but we will need to get past another mountain range. We could go east and pass this barren land. Then we will reach river, which separates Lucifer’s empire and land of Tuatha Dé Danann. Then we can pass the river, but getting to Mor-Mojek – my homeland, will be difficult, since its west border is another mountain range. Three or even four times wider than the one we just got pass. If we follow the river, we will reach a lake, from which river flows. Then we can go north, and reach forest which surrounds Slother from the west. From there we can easily reach Slother.
Lilith considered their options carefully, mind racing to weigh the risks and rewards of each possible path. Staying close to these mountains might offer some protection from manticore attacks, but that longer journey along the mountain range could prove treacherous – not to mention exhausting for her already weary companions.
– I think our best chance lies in heading east, – she said at last, gesturing towards, where Cian had mentioned crossing this barren waste: – We can follow your people’s border river, once we reach it, and that will lead us within striking distance of Slother itself.
Cian nodded slowly: – The open plains, harsh though they may be, seem our safest route for now.
Sharr merely snorted but made no objection, tail coiling restlessly at his side. Kragor rumbled an agreement low in his throat – clearly eager to be out from under that stony overhang and its looming manticore threats.
– East it is then, – Lilith declared with finality: – Let us make haste, while we still have strength enough left in us.
And so they set forth once more, into that grim wasteland, the promise of Slother’s shelter spurring them onward, through heat and hardship alike.
The first few days in that barren valley passed like a waking nightmare, with the harsh sun beating down relentlessly and no shelter from its burning rays. Lilith’s companions moved listlessly through this desolate landscape, their movements slow and sluggish, as they conserved energy against heat stroke.
Even Azael flagged visibly beneath his armor now, skin pale with dehydration, despite the fallen angel’s inhuman toughness. Kragor was little better – plodding onwards doggedly, but clearly suffering from thirst that no amount of Lilith’s conjured water could assuage for long. Sharr fared slightly better, thanks to a lizard-like ability to regulate his body temperature, though even he grew irritable and snappish in the unending monotony of sun-bleached stone. Only Cian seemed unbothered by these conditions – perhaps due to some ancient Tuatha resilience, born from living close to magic itself.
They made camp each night behind whatever scraps of cover they could find, huddling together miserably as winds howled across the valley, like the wails of forgotten gods. Lilith took first watch every evening without fail, eyes straining into darkness, for any hint of movement that might betray manticore presence.
But so far their only encounters had been fleeting glimpses on distant horizons – winged shadows darting between hills or circling high above like harbingers of doom.
As Lilith and her companions trudged through the valley, their eyes slowly adjusted to its stark beauty – finding life clinging stubbornly amidst stone and salt. Insects skittered between rocks, adapted for survival in this harsh realm: dune beetles scuttling over sand; mantis-like creatures perching motionless on boulders.
Desert hedgehogs darted from cover as the party passed, their spiny backs blending seamlessly into rocky outcroppings. Meerkats emerged warily from burrows, to investigate these strange visitors, dark eyes gleaming with curiosity above long whiskered snouts.
A solitary oryx ambled by in the distance, its sleek body built for speed across open dunes. Jerboas hopped nimbly through sparse vegetation, while gila monsters basked upon warm stones, like living artifacts from another age.
Desert tortoises plodded along, at their own unhurried pace, shells weathered and cracked, but still providing sanctuary against heat or predators. A desert cat watched them pass with yellow eyes, full of ancient wisdom – perhaps marveling that any creature would willingly venture into this unforgiving land.
A scorpion skittered out from beneath a rock – then froze, when Kragor’s shadow fell across it. The minotaur bent curiously to examine the tiny arthropod, before letting it continue its business, unfazed by their presence.
Camel spiders lurked in shade along fissures and cracks, waiting patiently for nightfall to emerge and hunt. Lilith spotted a taipan slithering through scrub – one of the world’s deadliest serpents, perfectly adapted for life amidst these merciless wastes.
– Tracks, – Sharr hissed suddenly, tail lashing: – Mammals have passed this way recently!
They also saw some tracks of small herds of antelope or deer-like creatures, who probably migrated seasonally through this valley.
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