The Range of Roosts is one of the highest elevated areas on Pandema. Through a deep and hidden pathway through ancient tunnels, the children found themselves in the realm of a forgotten civilization. The rough earth turned into textured stone, and old hieroglyphs spotted the walls. The jagged peaks bore the signs of palaces and cities on the mountains' slopes, all burnt away with lightning and fire. The valley screamed at them in anger.
"This path has gotten a lot scarier since last time!" He shouted, taking the lead. "Keep up! Don't let your mount get skittish!"
Sam nodded and followed, but even she couldn't stop shivering. The adrenaline had evaporated from her system. Her dark thoughts couldn't be contained anymore."Your Dad was still in the palace!" she shouted. "Aren't you worried about that!?"
Snu ignored her, pressing ahead. They could sense the approaching predators, the scavenging foxes that clung to the ruins like burrows. The creatures could strike at any time.
"What about the Emperor and that girl!? Yapul and the others!?"
"Shut up!"
"They're dead! Why don't you care!?"
The path narrowed as they climbed a steep stairway. They could hear the howls and rumbling of predators lurking through the ruins, yellow eyes peeking through ruined metal and rusted bars, and yet Snu strode forth undeterred. Sam was not. She wanted out of this valley as soon as possible but couldn't. He blocked the path. He was the guide, and he wasn't listening.However, they did escape, and they managed to reach the heights without a scratch. Sam wasn't sure what allowed them to survive. Perhaps the blood scared them off, she thought, but it didn't matter. Guilt weighed heavily on her shoulders. Vinisnu continued being Snu without much incident, but Sam couldn't but feel like she had injured him.
Secluded at the end of the range, long past the forgotten city, a lone castle lay embedded into the mountain's side. Its construction was notably newer than what the two previously passed, but it was just as barren and empty inside, which put Snu on edge. They rode into its depths and into a cave system that was long and windy, eventually dropping them into a wide, echoing basin at the center of the mountain.
Built into the center of the empty space was a spiral stairway that led through the ceiling. Whoever was the designer of these ancient ruins had much in terms of artistry and quality. Going by the markings on the walls and floors, the story of the ancient Pandemians was told in a spiral formation, all ending in the tower stairs. The work of demigods, Sam presumed.
"This is weird." Snu walked through the basin. Old huts and camp material were strewn about approaching the stairs. "This place still had people guarding it last time I came here. I wonder where everyone went?"
"I imagine they went home. How are they supposed to live here anyway?"
"True, but we should've met a guard by now."
The area did bear some tension to it. It was as if a barrier was softly repelling them, asking them not to go further. Sam shivered. This was where they were going? The land of some god? What was this alien bringing her to? Did this creature even exist?
Still, they pressed on, setting their Kukchis to roam about the cavern for the time being as they entered the central tower. The structure was massive, with a large base that cut into the cave stalactites, and its journey was treacherous. For hours, they climbed the winding tower. The damage to their bodies was immediate. It required a fortitude the strong Kainian girl could barely take, and rest and water were needed to continue.
The stairway was broken up by resting stations every hundred floors or so. There, the two would eat and rest. The mountain demanded their time and dedication to reach the top. In a couple resting areas, they found some of the cloth arachnids that could be found underground, a last vestige of domesticated life. Corpses were also not uncommon to the stairs, either from previous pilgrimages or ancient coffins for the early beholders of Dozae-Rae. "It looks like they fell down the stairs," Snu said. "It is a hard climb, isn't it, Sam?"
Sam could not answer because she was wheezing too hard.
Eventually, though, the tower bore light as it left the presence of the mountains. They weren't sure how long they were down there, except that nighttime had come, so they settled on ten hours.
The final stop was a series of huts and landings spread across the summit, interlocked with stone paths and ladders. The landings that floated over the edge were open and bowl-shaped as if to allow large, winged animals to land and roost there. Debris and bones were scattered everywhere, leading Sam to assume nests once resided here. She stood at the edge, exhausted.
"To think we were down there this morning." She said to herself. Her body was ready to give out. A long rest was needed, but she remained uneasy, stepping away from the edge. "Hey Snu! Where are you?"
He was further up the ridge and the area smelt of sulfur. The path up to the large and final outlook was laced with scorch marks and the scratches of large beasts. The signs of struggle grew exponentially until Sam reached the final lodging and stormed in. The remains were left in the center of the home, their flesh charred black.
"Something got to them first," Snu turned, shaken but not dispirited. "It doesn't look like our God's doing."
"It was the EVO. They already came here." Sam felt life leave her body. "We came up here for nothing?"
"I don't think so. Grab some fresh sheets." He separated the dozen corpses and wrapped them one at a time. Their faces were warped beyond recognition, but he could recognize a few of them. "When I last came here, Kahlji fed me these candies made of crystallized sugar you can only get from the forests down south. Getting luxuries in a place like this is always hard, so I knew it meant a lot. Seezima said I acted like my father when he was young."
Sam felt a pit in her stomach. "Why hasn't your god done anything for them? Where is he?"He simply shrugged. "I don't know."
Either way, they couldn't stay rotting like this, so the two brought them to the base of the outlook, ready to ascend the following day. For now, though, Sam sought rest. As her body slumped onto the hard stone floor, one lightly covered by an ornate rug, she passed out, letting the hours pass without much thought. For the first time in a while, she didn't think about what was happening outside or the inevitable death of this planet. After two long days, her body was thankful for the roof over her head and something soft to lie on.
When she awoke, the sun wasn't even out yet. The moon illuminated the land in a blue glow, much like it did on her first night, with the milky way helping her traverse through the quarters. A beam of light fell upon Snu's bed, revealing it to be empty.
"Snu, where'd you go?" Sam whispered with growing anxiety. "Snu!"
Sam peered out of the stone abode and luckily spotted him down the pathway. He was about thirty paces away, overlooking the azure mountain range above the soft white clouds. He hadn't noticed her yet, which gave Sam the need to announce herself, but she paused as she took a breath. The boy was making strange muffled sounds, his forearm placed over his mouth. Was he sick, wounded? Did something happen while she was asleep? Sam's face went white. He seemed to be in pain, coughing and wheezing but holding back so as not to make much noise.
It took her an embarrassingly long time to realize he was crying. He was doing his best. The Pandemian boy had a big heart, so to be able to hold back his emotions was a herculean task, but how could he not? Every once in a while, he'd mutter to himself. Don't cry, don't cry. She's counting on you, so you can't cry.
She wasn't supposed to see this. This raw, honest moment of vulnerability wasn't meant for Sam's eyes, and the harsh truth was that Snu was wise for holding it in because all of Sam's trust for him blew away, and she hated herself for doing so.
Please log in to leave a comment.