The Mountain Path

They rode together, both the imprisoned group and the people in robes that had come to their rescue. Or at least some of them. They rode along a narrow valley between forested hills. The path allowed for only two horses at a time. They had been going for hours without stopping, only slowing down for a while every so often to not overexert the horses. At first they went in silence, but after the prison was far behind and no trouble came their way, there was a lot of talking and sometimes even a laugh could be heard.

Corbin didn’t feel like laughing. He was glad to be out of the prison, but somehow he was in more pain than ever before. His muscles were sore, his back hurt and his thighs and behind were on fire. He felt like crying, but managed to hold back. He wasn’t sure what smelled worse, the horse below him or the woman in front of him. I know it’s not her fault and I might smell even worse, but man do my eyes burn. Not that he would ever admit these shameful thoughts, that is: not even if there was someone there, who was capable of understanding him.

On the way they mostly rode through forests and grasslands, there were only a couple of lone farms visible every so often, but they gave even those a wide berth. The valley they followed slowly grew ever steeper and the hills surrounding it became mountains with sharp looking grey peaks. The highest peaks were even sown with small patches of white despite the hot weather. Even though Corbin was in a different world, it was still a summer’s day. Are the worlds still connected in some way? Like a parallel world in which mythical beings and magic exists, but is similar to our own in other ways. He sighed and despite the horrible smell and a bit of awkwardness leant slightly upon the woman in front of him.

His mind began wondering and he was about to fall asleep, when he saw a group of people in the distance. The sight made his heart pump and all thoughts of sleep were erased. His anxiousness was noticed by the woman in front of him and she just patted his hands. Corbin took that to mean that they were in no immediate danger. They stopped in front of the new people and dismounted. Corbin almost fell off and needed to be helped by the woman. Whatever good impression I made during the escape is steadily being subverted. Good job Corbin, smooth as ever. They had all been reduced to less than human in the prison, all their dignity stripped from them and Corbin thought that nothing could ever make him feel embarrassed again, but human nature was stronger than that and always comes back. You get used to it. Whatever it is.

The group of people took all of their horses and in their stead left them two donkeys. That’s strange. I wonder why. Besides the animals they were also given a backpack each. In the end only the former prisoners and two of the riders remained, while the others rode away into the woods. They continued up the valley by foot and very soon they began climbing the mountain. Along the way the others finally began warming up towards Corbin. He received several pats on the shoulder, encouraging words and smiles. At least he thought the words were encouraging.

Later one of them came up with a new idea. It was the man, who had been the first to be tortured since Corbin’s arrival in the cell and also the one, who was shot in his shoulder. That was the reason, that he wasn’t carrying a backpack. It began in a very simple manner.

“Estua,” he said and pointed to his hand. Corbin just stared at him, without understanding, which led to the man repeating the words louder.

At some point Corbin finally understood. He pointed to his own hand and said “Estua.”

The man gave a happy smile and nodded. “Beskua,” he continued and pointed to his arm. The hours passed and they walked while giving Corbin a lesson in their native language. The man started with body parts, but then continued to whatever came to his mind. At some point he decided to change up his approach and talked to the older woman. He was smiling and pointing towards Corbin. She shook her head and tried ignoring the man, but he persisted. She snapped at him, but he wasn’t deterred and after he said something else, she blushed and looked down, but followed him back to Corbin. Together they played out a bunch of scenarios, where they used different greetings and other commonly used phrases.

At least I always had a good sense of language. Hearing this one, I can say for certain, that it isn’t connected to any of the ones in my own world. The lessons continued and there was even some revision. For the most part it was useful, but Corbin was sure, that in some cases they were making him say silly things and would all chuckle after making him say something.

As the Sun begun setting behind the peaks of the mountains to the west, the leader of the group announced it was time to stop for the day.

The last thing Corbin learned the first day of walking was the names of the people he shared his first days in the new world with. The most important person was the older woman, named Amane. She called the shots or else gave command to one of the others to do it for her. In serious situations all deferred to her and that held true even in less serious ones, except when it concerned Fermin. He was the first person, who was tortured since Corbin’s arrival and was also the one who was shot in the shoulder and took on the task of teaching Corbin the language. Dragging Amane along for that was something only he in the whole group was able and willing to do. He had shoulder length wavy dark brown hair, with just a hint of silver. The second man, named Ibai was the quietest of them all as well as the tallest and strongest. The sort of person powerful people like having around all the time. He was a grizzled man with a black buzz cut. Both men had a few weeks’ worth of beard growth, which was most likely the consequence of imprisonment. The blue-eyed woman, that helped Corbin around and rode together with him was Ilargi.

“You Kemen,” Fermin said. To communicate they deliberately used a simplified version of their language with the smallest amount of grammar they could get away with.

“No, I Corbin,” Corbin replied, thankful for their thoughtfulness in communication.

“No no,” Fermin insisted. With some difficulty he got across that Corbin’s bravery earned him a fitting name.

They began setting up their camp. One of the donkeys carried sheets of tent fabric. It was still quite warm, but shelter for the night was a good idea. Amane decided that they wouldn’t use fire in case of pursuers, which earned her a couple of hard looks, but nobody said a word of complaint. They ate dried food and drank water. Later they erected two tents, one for women and one for men. Corbin proved to be of little help in the matter, so they just let him stand at the wayside while they worked. The two guards that came with them stayed outside and performed guard duty.

I hope I won’t have to do it. My legs will fall off. Even while thinking this, as soon as Corbin’s head lay upon his backpack, he was asleep.

When Corbin woke up the next day, the pain had only gotten worse. He was barely able to stand up. The others didn’t show any sign of being in pain. Even Fermin was taking his wound in stride. Amane and Ibai were changing his bandages and he was grinning at her like a fool.

“We go,” he said to Corbin, pointing up the slope. The day continued much in the same fashion as the day before, until late in the afternoon, when they left the woods for the first time. There were still some lone pines strewn around in small groups and shrubs, but the mountain opened up into a steel meadow. It was the first time Corbin really looked around. The sight took his breath away. The sheer cliffs, the greens, browns and greys of the surrounding mountain peaks, the lovely purple flowers, the azure sky with lonely white clouds; it all came together to awake some kind of a primal wanderlust for climbing mountains within him, that he had never felt before. Perhaps it was already there, but he had never had an opportunity to be surrounded by mountains from all directions. They pulled at him, making his heart a little tight. He breathed in the air, which had a slight stinging sensation.

“He he he, Kemen in love,” Fermin said. Corbin had been gaping at the scenery for so long that the others had to stop to see what was wrong. He smiled back and reached down to touch the prickly grass and a mossy rock. It wasn’t the first time he was on the edge of tears since coming to the strange world, but the bittersweet loneliness was just so strong. At the same time he missed his home, while also feeling as if he had come home for the first time. He wasn’t sure how to reconcile the emotions and was only sure that something inside urged him to do something. He also wanted to ask where they were going and what they intend for him, but his vocabulary wasn’t yet sufficient and questions ended with waving hands and pantomime.

The climb continued and the ground was increasingly becoming patches of dried brown grass on grey scree and rocks. Corbin looked up the slope. Maybe we will make it over the peak today if we keep going like this. After they ascended another steep slope however, what awaited them was a slightly flatter land, in the middle of which was a lake. This time the whole group reacted to the scenery. They all cheered and smiled. Fermin took his shirt off at once and would’ve plunged straight into the lake if Amane hadn’t stopped him. She shouted at him and pointed to his bandaged shoulder. For once he didn’t argue and backed down with a slight blush.

Amane ordered the camp to be set up right there, evoking more cheers. After they were done, they finally earned their time in the lake. The women were the first to go in and the men sat around keeping guard. Corbin felt a little awkward and his neck was stiff from making sure his gaze wouldn’t accidentally drift in the wrong direction. Even that was obvious to Fermin, who smiled and winked at Corbin.

After a while it was their turn at last. Fermin and Ibai both went into the water before Corbin. Fermin took care not to wet his bandages and washed himself with care, while Ibai simply ducked and stayed underwater for almost half a minute before resurfacing and floating on his back. Corbin put his foot into the water, which turned out to be so cold that he flinched back as if stung.

“Come Kemen,” Fermin said. Corbin sighed and tried again. It was still cold, but he slowly pressed on. “Faster,” he said and splashed the cool water towards Corbin, who considered paying him back, but held back for several reasons, the least of which being the bandages. He launched himself into the water, which knocked the breath out of him and swam while wheezing. As painful as the experience was, it was also refreshing. I almost feel bad for this lake. It was so pure before, but now we will make it brown. They all scrubbed off dirt and sweat. The cleaner Fermin and Ibai were, the more apparent the bruises became. They came in all shapes, sizes and colours, but unlike Fermin, Ibai was also covered in many scars. As he faced towards Corbin, he saw the green tendril pattern that covered his chest.

Ibai waved him over and they stood next to each other. He grunted and pointe to the other side of the lake. Corbin nodded and they took starting positions. “Go,” Fermin shouted and clapped his hands. Corbin barely made it halfway by the time Ibai began floating again on the other side. I’ll need to get stronger if I want to survive this world. Either way, as he reached Ibai, he clapped him on the back and gave another grunt. Does he not like to butcher his grammar, or does he just not like to talk in general? That being said, it was the first time Ibai really interacted with him. He had always seemed like a cold and distant person, but perhaps he was just more introverted than the rest. Fermin greeted them back with a grin and they left the lake.

As they sat on the rocks, drying in the Sun, Corbin finally had the chance to see what the group was supposed to look like without the weeks or however long of prison they endured. Amane’s hair turned out to be dark blonde. Ibai shaved off all his facial hair, while Fermin only styled his. His clean hair revealed a little more silver than was visible before. Ilargi’s hair was a deep raven black, but still glossy enough to reflect white light. To Corbin’s surprise she somehow seemed younger than he had thought before, perhaps even younger than his own 24 years. She met his eyes and gave him a squinting glare and he looked away, pretending to look around. He hoped the red light of the evening hid the blush that he felt creep onto his face.

The next day they reached the top, it wasn’t a summit, but rather a saddle. The peaks still towered on either side of them. One even had patches of snow or ice. Does this count as a glacier? Probably not. He knew it made sense not to ascend all the way to the summit of the mountain for no reason, but deep inside he still felt a tinge of disappointment. His wanderlust wasn’t fulfilled. On the other hand he knew he might be tired of mountains before this was all over. In front of him, as far as the eye could see were just rows and rows of mountain chains. Even looking back, it was hard to see anything else. Only the valley they had used to get to where they were was visible and only a part of that. There were some blocks visible, that could be settlements, but Corbin wasn’t sure.

Every day Corbin woke up in pain, but at some point the pain became normal, and he no longer struggled to keep up with the others. He was content to realise that even as the majestic view became commonplace, he didn’t tire of it. It was almost a week later, when the mountains in front of them slowly receded, but didn’t quite go away. They had been going south for the most part. That is, if cardinal directions and the Sun work the same way as in my own world. To the east the land began to flatten into golden fields of wheat, while to the west it was just green hills and valleys. The group went to southwest, weaving through passes and valleys. They also encountered their first lone farms. Sheep and goats were grazing on the pastures and small fields were full of vegetables. On the sunny side of a hill there was even a vineyard. This time they only avoided the farms so much, that they didn’t trample their crops. They went down one last narrow valley through a thicket. The valley widened into a large ancient forest.