Lost & Found

10: Climb

"Ok," Xenik swallowed hard, but pushed his doubts to the back of his mind. He was tired of feeling like a dead weight around her neck. "How do we climb down safely? Should we spend the night up here and start in the morning..." she frowned at him, "You mean for us to camp down there tonight don't you."

                She gave him a small smile, swinging everything off her shoulder. She looped the strap for her quiver around her pack, tightening it so it wouldn't slip. She affixed her bow to the bundle as well, using a strap that looked similar to the one holding the rolled fur on his bag. Following her lead, he made sure all the straps of his bag were secure.

                Tossing her cloak over the whole thing strapped to her back, she looked like some kind of furry hunchback beast from behind. She pointed to a large tree growing close to the edge of the drop off; it had thick roots that protruded out of the cliff face for a good portion of the climb. It'd be like climbing down a very tall ladder, at least that's what he told himself. Heights had never bothered him before, but he'd never had to scale down a wall before either.

                With a smile, she crouched, sitting down on the ground and swinging her legs over the edge. Holding onto the ground, she twisted and lowered herself over the cliff, giving him one last grin before her face dropped below the ledge. He rushed to look over, sucking in a breath as he watched her.

                He'd never seen anyone move like that before. It was like she glided down through the roots and rock in slow motion. When she came to the end of one root's reach, she'd swing over to another, sometimes dropping down and catching herself on a lower one. Noblewomen didn't even walk with that much grace. It struck him again how other worldly she seemed to be at times.

                It took her a few minutes to reach the ground below, and she looked up at him expectantly. There was no turning back now; he'd have to make his way down next. At least there was someone at the bottom that could put him out of his misery if he fell.

                If they hadn't come across that pack of maenads, he may have thought better of this idea and chosen to go the long way around. Even though she refused to speak to him and often looked at him like an inconvenience, it hadn't been wholly unpleasant traveling with her, and another day or two wouldn't have changed that.

                Taking a deep breath, he copied her starting move, sitting down on the ground and dangling his legs over the side. There was a big fat root, just a few feet below, and if it held his weight, he'd be able to stand on it as he lowered himself out over the edge. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the ground and slid down to rest on the first root.

                It held, and he let out the breath he was holding in. He tried not to think about what he looked like, clinging for dear life to each handhold he could find. There was no way that he looked even half as confident as she had flying down to the ground below. It was taking him a lot longer to navigate his way down as well. He didn't dare leap or drop in any direction, preferring to make sure he had a sturdy foothold before moving his hands and vice versa. He didn't even chance a glance down at the ground below, focused solely on where his hands could grip to keep him from falling.

                Once the roots weren't an option anymore his progress slowed further. He had to test each handhold to make sure he was holding onto solid rock and not just hardened dirt. He'd almost slipped once already from the ground crumbling under his fingers as he tried to hold his full weight on that hand. It was the first time he'd been glad that she refused to say a word to him, sure if that hadn't been the case that she would have teased him mercilessly.

                The sun was starting to set as he made his way down the last ten feet or so. The cooling air chilled the sweat that had pooled on his skin during the strenuous climb, sending a shiver up his spine as he set his foot down on solid ground. The muscles in his arms and back ached, unused to being subjected to that kind of exercise for so long. He'd never again complain about sore arms after training with a sword again.

                She had not been simply staring at him while he climbed, as he'd feared she had. A short ways from where their feet touched down, she'd found a small cave. Xenik didn't have the energy to be annoyed with his uselessness when he saw the fire she'd already built. He was thankful for the shelter and heat, but chastised himself for taking so long to complete the task she'd done effortlessly in a few minutes.

                She refused the roll of fur again, and too tired to be stubborn this time, he resigned to use it himself. He cursed himself for not using it the night before. The fur provided a nice barrier between him and the cold stone beneath him. With a smirk, she used the fur cloak the maenads had gifted her in a similar fashion. She folded it over and slipped between the layers. Exhaustion found him before sleep could, dragging him down into the darkness without warning.

                It felt so real, waking up in his own soft bed, covered in luxurious and warm fabrics. As he moved to climb out of the bed, his feet found no floor beneath him and he was dangling precariously over a cliff with no bottom in sight. The screeching cries of maenads on the hunt echoed around him, growing closer by the second.

                In a panic he tried to scramble down the wall he clung too. There was no friendly woman of the wilds around to help him this time and he had to save himself. The monsters closing in on him would not hesitate to rip him to shreds. Sweat poured down his back as he lowered himself, inch by inch. His already sore and tired limbs shaking so bad they threatened to rattle him off his perch.

                A light wind ruffled his hair, sending a sense of calm through him. The breeze continued to stroke his hair and face, allowing him to focus again on moving down away from the monsters swarming overhead. He almost seemed to float down the sheer wall of rock, his feet landing in a soft patch of fresh spring grass.

                Thunder rolled, echoing off the cliff face and rumbling away in the distance. Lightning crashed into the ground beside him in a blinding blaze of light and an explosion of sound. When his site cleared, two ethereal green eyes were peering at him with sense of distress and confusion.