The Final Omen

Conrad stood at the bottom of Mt. Padmos, eyeing the peak of the mighty continental structure.

Carmela had filled him in on as many details about the mountain as she could. She had described Padmos as an imposing domain of beasts and monsters. Very few adventurers choses to challenge Padmos, and of those that did, almost all of them had gone up in a group of at least two. If it hadn't been for Nana's strict rule that he ascend alone, he most certainly would have spent a good deal of time looking for good mercenaries to hire. But complaints would get him nowhere. Squaring his shoulders, he took his first steps up the mountain.

Making the remaining trek across the land to the mountain had been an imposing test in and of itself. The closer he got to Padmos, the higher the density of roaming monsters had become. It was as if the land itself was warning him that he had entered a territory not meant for the human species. Fortunately, he had the equipment that he needed to stand a fighting chance on his way up. On Conrad's hip was the reliable, capable sword that Brutus had forged for him (or rather, Jeremiah) fifteen years ago. Before Conrad had left Estrenbridge, Carmela had visited Brutus and convinced him to let them use the sword, stating a close friend needed a high-quality weapon.

Conrad had marveled at how well-maintained the weapon was, with Carmela noting it was likely a means through which Brutus continued to pay respect to his son. With the sword that Conrad was most comfortable with attached to his side, he felt far more confident about conquering Padmos. To make things better, Carmela had also gifted Conrad her personal bow, and a full quiver of arrows. When asked if she was certain she wanted to part ways with it so easily, Carmela had assured him that she could order one of equal quality made right away.

The roadblocks began for Conrad after only a few minutes up the mountain. An orc walked out of a large hole on the side of the mountain, rubbing its eyes as if waking from a large nap. It wasted no time to open hostilities upon seeing Conrad, snarling and lunging at him quickly. Conrad braced himself, preparing the strategy he had lined up for when he encountered a sturdy foe along the side of the mountain.

Conrad quickly pulled up the sleeve of his left arm, revealing a long, thick vine of unknown origins wrapped around the limb. Using his nature magic, he manipulated the plant around his arm, grabbing the orc and holding him in place. With another gesture, he turned and directed the vine back, hurling the entire orc off Mt. Padmos. The wretched beast howled and on the way down, landing in a heap at the bottom.

Conrad glanced at the vine, nodding. Underneath his shirt, he had wrapped the entire plant around his body like a long rope. According to Carmela, this vine belonged to a tree of mystical origins that lived in the region around Granmeta. One of her court mages had brought a piece of the tree back with him during a trip to the region. With it hiding under his clothes, Conrad had a long, tough appendage that he could manipulate to grab on to things or throw opponents at all times.

His sword, his bow and arrows, and this vine of Granmeta. The good folks of his lives were continuing to support him even now. Conrad could feel gratitude for the entire collective of people that had pushed him this far coursing through his veins. He had succeeded in winning the genuine respect of all those he came across, piece by piece. All that was left now was to win the full respect of Nana.

On his way up, Conrad continued to face resistance, but it was nothing that he wasn't equipped to handle. More goblins and kobolds crawled out of cracks in the wall as Conrad continued to follow the spiral trail up, but his sword has sharp. Giant hawks closer to the peak spotted him from on high and swooped down, their talons out, but Conrad's bow was ready and waiting every time. Several times attempts against his life were made, and several times Conrad kept death at bay.

Once Conrad was about to arrive at the summit, he started to run into problems. Arrows had become scarce. He needed to burn through his reserve of mana each time that he used his vine. And Padmos, a mountain a mile and a half into the air at its peak, was starting to gradually make breathing difficult for Conrad as he ascended it. By the time that he reached the top, it had become noticeable how much more effort he had to apply in order to fill his lungs.

Relieved to see the trail end, he turned the corner and stepped onto the peak. And was immediately greeted by a hostile salamander.

Conrad froze. This was a severe problem. These long, lizard-like monsters had the power to breath flame. Spotting Conrad, the salamander opened its mouth, breathing a fresh stream of fire at him. Conrad leaped behind a large rock, cursing under his breath. He briefly toyed with the idea of holding the beast's mouth open with his vine and attacking it internally, but that would put the vine at risk of its fire.

Conrad checked his quiver. One arrow left. Either he succeeded, or died.

Glancing out from behind the rock, Conrad fired his last arrow. His aim was true. Landing in one of the beast's eyes, the salamander shrieked and thrashed about. Seizing his chance, he sprinted toward the beast and applied his vine...but to hold the beast's mouth shut, not open. As the salamander was about to breath fire again, Conrad channeled his mana into the vine, sending it out and constricting the monster's mouth. The fire breath failed to escape its mouth, instead escaping out through the beast's nostrils, away from Conrad.

Conrad leaped forward and slashed the underside of the beast's throat. The strategy was a success. The salamander slumped onto its side, twitching. Remembering what Joshua taught him a year ago when he arrived in the book, Conrad drove his sword into the top of the beast's skull with all his remaining strength. Conrad quickened the death of the beast. The salamander was utterly still.

Panting, desperate to get air back into his lungs, Conrad glanced around him. There. A small cave. More like a singular room than anything, which had been behind the salamander's resting spot. After taking a moment to regain some oxygen, Conrad stood, marching inside the small stone chamber.

The only thing of interest inside the cavern was a singular skeleton. The room was alight with the glow of torches. Noticing a diary next to the skeleton's hand, he leaned down and grabbed it. This must contain the prophecy Nana spoke of.

The first several pages chronicled the adventures this individual had gone on. But one thing in particular stood out to him. Conrad's eyes widened slowly. The author of this diary spoke of Nana! She had gone on a quest through this land with this person as well! Skimming for a brief period and then flipping to the last page, Conrad read the final entry:

"Nana has lately been asking me what my opinions are about a world without mankind. A world where the wildlife took their turn roaming the Earth as the dominant life. A world where other life forms were in control instead of us. I am scared. I have kept this out of my diary until now, out of concern for Nana seeing me write about this, but this is my last chance to address it."

"I barely made it up here. I am out of food and water, and so exhausted I can barely write. Monsters are outside. I can tell this will be my grave. If anyone else can make sense of what I am writing, if anyone reading this knows the goddess Nana, I implore you, exercise the utmost caution."

"Nana is not to be trusted."