James Barclay - Beyond the Mists of Katura

Rith’s expression softened and she smiled.

‘We can do that.’

‘This magic,’ said Ulysan. ‘Bloody rubbish, isn’t it?’

Auum said nothing. There was nothing to say. He was still shivering and soaked but he watched the Julatsan elves begin to lay castings in the stone and on the inside wall of the barrier. Blessed warmth began to grow. He touched the barrier with his fingertips. Without it they would all have died. Magic had saved them all, it had saved him.

Auum caught Rith’s eye and inclined his head in silent apology.

Stone had never felt so comfortable. Auum hadn’t lain down until his clothes had dried out enough to give him a little comfort. Neither had he been able to settle when feeling returned to his face, hands and feet. The tingling and aching had been difficult to endure but ultimately very satisfying.

Before he rolled his damp cloak up for a pillow, he took the time to whisper words of thanks to, and say prayers for, those of the Il-Aryn currently maintaining the barrier. He lay for a while enjoying the chatter around him before sleep swept him off to the dark.

Moments later he woke to the light of a new dawn. Beyond the cocoon the snow fell thick and unrelenting, blown by the harsh wind. He shivered at the prospect of leaving the shelter. Next to him Ulysan was snoring. Auum thumped a fist on his chest and he turned away, still snoring.

‘The idea is that you wake up,’ said Auum.

He could smell cooking horsemeat, and there were plenty of elves already awake who were eating their fill, gazing out at the cold and smiling at their fortune.

‘I know,’ came Ulysan’s voice muffled by his body. ‘But now I can’t get up because of this pain in my chest.’

‘It’s a sobering thought that while we have escaped death, at least for now, we have not, nor ever will, escape your jokes.’

‘Did not Yniss say that some things must remain constant for us to survive?’

‘No,’ said Auum.

‘Well he probably should have done.’

Ulysan sat up, and Tilman stirred and pushed himself up on his elbows next to him.

‘How’s the patient?’ asked Auum.

‘Me?’ asked Tilman.

‘No, the other human with a bad ankle,’ said Ulysan.

Tilman didn’t understand the big TaiGethen.

‘Yes, you,’ said Auum.

‘I can walk,’ said Tilman. ‘It’s still healing but the mages say that exercise will help now.’

‘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.’