Everville: The Rise of Mallory (9 page)

They searched the boxes several more times just to be sure.

“You’re right. It’s gone. It’s gotta be Jacob. He must have taken it somehow!” Drusilla suggested.

“Yep, and we’re going to have to do something about that,” Zee said seriously.

Chapter 9

The Journey

O
wen transported himself from The Keeper’s Workshop back to the residence of Varstock and his companions.

“You’re back,” Varstock said as Owen appeared.

Grenmar started hopping up and in down with glee, and then he hopped over to Owen, barely able to wrap his arms around him due to the marmook’s spherical shaped torso.

Owen picked up the parchment that contained the map to The Third Pillar.

“Can Owen transport to The Third Pillar of Truth?” Felix asked.

“It’s not
that
easy. Owen and others like Owen are only able to transport themselves into certain locations, like in the presence of a Keeper, for instance. The Pillars of Truth must found the old fashioned way, on foot,” Varstock responded.

“We better get to it then,” Owen replied.

Before they left, Felix ran over slurping up the last of his stew.

“Please escort them back above to the surface,” Varstock said to the eunuch.

Owen let the eunuch take the lead, and the Ubaloo and Grenmar following closely behind Owen until they reached the surface of the mountaintop.

“It was good to meet you. I never get the chance to meet people anymore,” the eunuch said before they departed.

“It was good to meet you, too,” Owen replied.

“Yes, it was good. It was good,” Felix copied.

Owen then began walking along the trail towards the pass that led to Black River.

“Guys, let’s see how much of the elixir we have left,” Owen said before they made any more real progress.

They poured the elixir back into the small container and handed it over to Owen.

“This may come in handy,” Owen said as they continued forward.

“How much longer ‘til we get there, Owen?” Felix asked.

“I’m not sure exactly, but looking at this map, I think we’ve got at least another day’s journey ahead of us. We’ll probably have to make camp someplace before we get to Black River,” Owen said.

“How much food do we have left?” Felix asked.

“Is that all you think about, Felix? We have enough,” Asher replied with emphasis.

The mountain was beautiful. Steep spires of rock covered in ice and snow extended as far as they could see. The precipice by the mountain pass was not yet visible beyond the steep peaks ahead. The Valley of Darkness had already receded behind them in the distance, but they could see chains of mountains on both sides of them and in between there were valleys. The valleys below closest to them were lush and green, but off in the distance, the shades of green gave way to more muted browns, grays, and black. The changing color of the valley hinted at the darkness that infected the region off in the distance.

To pass the time, Felix started throwing Grenmar into the air and then catching him as he fell back down. Asher tried to ignore them and started up a conversation with Owen.

“What do you think you’ll find when you get to The Third Pillar of Truth?” Asher asked.

“I’m not sure, Asher, but if it’s anything like that last Two Pillars of Truth, I’ll be given a choice of some kind or be asked to complete some kind of task,” Owen replied.

“Do you think you’ll pass?” Asher asked.

“I certainly hope so. If not, we might not be able to stop Mallory,” Owen said in response.

Something in the distance caught Felix’s eye.

“Hey, do you see that?” Asher asked.

“Up ahead. I see something moving. It looks like it’s coming toward us!” Felix shouted in horror.

Asher looked closer.

“Yeah. I think I see it, too,” Asher said with concern.

Owen reached for the jar and took a dose of the elixir. Immediately he could sense this was a race of grotesque creatures from the inhabitants of the Dark Forest, one of the lands that surrounded The Other In Between. Owen couldn’t tell exactly what they were thinking; all he could sense was rage.

“We need to hide. Now!” Owen said with urgency.

Owen had picked up the thoughts of a few creatures on the trail below them. They weren’t exactly benevolent, but they were better than the alternative.

“Here! Now! Get down! This way!” Owen shouted pointing in the direction of a small cave.

They followed Owen and escaped into the cave just before the creatures that were barreling towards them could notice them.

Grenmar was especially frightened. The ground above them trembled as the large hideous creatures shook it with their passing.

The moment was fleeting. They were shaken but ready to continue on their journey.

“We better get moving,” said Owen.

“Can we stay a while longer?” Felix asked.

Just then, Felix saw several pairs of eyes peering at him from the dark.

“Never mind!” Felix shouted as he ran out of the cave as quickly as he could. Grenmar hopped along behind him; Asher and Owen followed suit.

Owen and the others continued along the mountain trail, walking at a brisk pace. With each step they were gaining altitude and losing warmth. Owen took out some additional coverings from their supplies to try and stay warm.

Owen and his companions were shivering, but they needed to press forward. Owen increased the pace, but the Ubaloo struggled to keep up, falling behind Grenmar who didn’t have any difficulty hopping along.

After several more hours, Owen decided it was time to take a break. They were cold, exhausted, and hungry; it was the perfect time to make camp.

Owen took another dose of the elixir from the jar, but he didn’t pick up on any creatures in the area.

“I don’t sense anyone or anything. We need to look around and see if there is a cave close by. Felix and Asher, see if you can find something on the trail on either side,” Owen said.

They continued looking for shelter for another twenty minutes, getting colder and weaker with each passing minute. The sun had set some time ago, and the darkness was becoming unsettling. Finally, Grenmar spotted a cave a few hundred feet ahead of the others, signaling them by jumping up and down as high as he could until they saw him.

They ran to his location, fumbling around in the dark.

The cave was just large enough for them to escape exposure from the weather. Felix and Asher collected some small boulders and brush near the area to partially close off the entrance from the outside in order to retain some heat and concealment from potential unwanted guests.

Owen lifted out some of the food from their supplies and equally divided it among the four of them. They huddled as close together as possible to stay warm while nibbling slowly on their rations, but it wasn’t having much of an effect. By the time the last of them, Grenmar, stopped shivering, fatigue had won out over the cold and they were all taken in by a deep sleep.

Just before dawn the next morning they awoke to the sound of galloping above them. Asher took a peek outside and watched as slimy, green troll-like creatures riding on the backs of small black horses galloped past their position.

This was the second time in less than half a day that soldiers from The Dark Forest marched past them. Owen began to suspect that there was something afoot among the remaining armies of Them that survived the battle in The City of Worms, but his first priority remained reaching The Third Pillar of Truth.

Owen took another dose of the elixir after they had finished eating their meager breakfast in order to see who or what was ahead of them.

“We need to hurry. I don’t sense any soldiers coming our way, but I don’t know how long that will last. Let’s get moving,” Owen said with urgency.

After gathering their supplies, they moved the debris covering their exit and started out on the trail.

The next several hours were uneventful. The temperature was still chilly, but they were adequately covered and the morning sun provided some additional warmth as its rays shone down on their skin. They continued at the same brisk pace, and before long, they had reached the mountain pass next to the abyss.

The abyss was vast; the distance between the mountain pass where they stood and the Black River below was easily several thousand feet. Owen’s bravery had grown through the battles that he had fought, but the fear of falling down the steep abyss was very real. The Ubaloo and Grenmar also shared that fear.

Asher retrieved the climbing equipment and fastened the harnesses to each of them. The concave valley wall was equally as steep, but the sheer terrain they would have to descend was made of very unstable rocks and soil, which made it difficult to get a firm footing.

They descended in the same order as they had previously climbed; Owen remained on top, Asher, Felix, and then Grenmar climbed below, in that order. As always, Grenmar was unwieldy and clumsy. The Ubaloo above were able to quickly stabilize him, but it made the process of descent slow and tedious.

“My arms are really getting tired, guys. I need to take a break when we get to that small footpath below,” Owen said in exhaustion.

It was the only relief on the entire vertical face, and the distance below the footpath was twice the distance of what they just covered. The spot where they rested was narrow with no room to spare, so they were cautious not to move too abruptly for fear of falling over. Despite the small space, they took their time to recoup some strength and eat a few snacks.

“Alright, let’s get moving,” Owen said, signaling them to restart the descent.

With each step down, loose bits of rock and soil fell from the side of the mountain. As they continued below the snow line, it became more difficult to find a firm footing due to the increased amount of loose soil and increased moisture. They were forced to slow their pace.

By the time they had covered half the distance between the footpath above and the Black River below, they noticed a sound.

“Hey, guys. I think we have some company!” Felix shouted in fear.

Owen could see movement in the limited brush that was there, and he heard a distinct hissing sound.

“Snakes! Snakes!” Felix shouted.

Several large snakes, larger in width than the Ubaloo and over twenty feet in length, wound their way around the rocks and meager vegetation, popping in and out of small holes within the mountain. The snakes sensed their presence and quickly chased after them. Fortunately, the snakes were slowed down by the same threat of falling down the abyss as Owen and his men.

Grenmar quickened his descent, and so did the others. Several times they nearly stumbled, but with their increased speed, they managed to cover a substantial distance. Just before they reached the river’s surface at the bottom of the abyss, Owen lost his footing. Both Ubaloo grabbed the harness that connected them and used all their strength to keep Owen from dropping into the river. It didn’t, however, prevent him from banging into the side of the mountain and losing consciousness.

The Ubaloo rushed into action and once they had securely fastened Owen, Asher removed the ointment that the healer gave them when they were in the land of the giants. He applied a small amount to the gash on Owen’s head, and after a few moments, Owen opened his eyes. Once he regained his bearings, Owen thanked the Ubaloo.

“Alright, how exactly are we going to do this?” Owen said, looking at the Black River rapids directly below them.

Grenmar was lighter than water and could easily float on his own, but with three other bodies, they would need something to hold onto.

Owen and the Ubaloo spent the next half an hour building a small makeshift raft from some nearby branches, using some cloth, some string, and their bags to tie them together. It wasn’t very large, but it would provide just enough surface area for them to hold on to once they attached it to Grenmar.

Owen positioned himself in the back of the raft, directly in the center, with the Ubaloo on either side of him. Grenmar was in the front, and the small raft was tied around his arms.

“Here goes nothing,” Owen shouted as he pushed off from the wall of the mountain and jumped into the freezing white water rapids of Black River.

The cold water bit their skin upon impact. The force of the river was tremendous, and the rapids constantly banged the four of them into rocks and sticks that were embedded in the riverbed. The rapids carried them half a mile downstream before the current gradually calmed and the river widened.

“I’m freeee… freee… freeezing,” Felix mumbled.

“Mmmm… mmm… meee, too,” Owen replied, as the chattering of their teeth drowned out the sound of the flowing river.

“I see the valley up ahead. Swim that way, Grenmar,” Asher said.

Grenmar was very buoyant, but his hands and feet were small, making it difficult for him to gather much speed. Owen picked up most of the slack by kicking his feet from behind. Eventually, they gathered enough speed to propel them in the direction of the valley, which lay ahead of them on the left. Before too long, they were dragging battered and bruised bodies out of the river and up onto the shore.

“We need to make a fire to get warm,” Owen said.

After healing themselves with the ointment, Asher and Felix gathered sticks and Owen looked for suitable dry rocks to make a spark. Owen then piled the sticks together, intermingling with them whatever dry brush and dead grass he could find, and succeeded in making a small campfire.