Chapter 16: Is that supposed to be a bridge!?

I wake up. Jern is still hugging me. I can't see Ellie anywhere. Sunlight peers through the tent's open door.

I carefully take Jern's arm off me and silently get out of the tent.

Outside, a white panorama spreads to the horizon. The snowy mountains color with the hues of the sunrise.

Looking at the infinity, Ellie sits on a boulder with her arms crossed.

"Did you sleep well?" Ellie asks.

I startle for a moment.

"How did you know I was here?" I ask while I go and sit next to her.

"I asked first, but you're noisy," Ellie says with a little giggle.

"Your spell worked pretty well," I say.

"Dang! I thought I cast it quiet enough so you couldn't listen to it," Ellie says.

"Well. I did. But why?" I ask.

Silence. Ellie moves in her seat.

"I had to fart," Ellie says, ashamed.

I try my best not to laugh.

"Don't you dare to laugh!" Ellie warns.

I laugh.

Ellie hits me hard in the gut. But I keep laughing.

"I was thinking about a million more complicated reasons," I say, trying to explain myself.

"I mean, there were a million more complicated reasons, but in that specific moment, nature was calling," Ellie says, unable to stop smiling and hitting me in the shoulder.

For a moment, I go back to those days after school when we would play at her house before my mom's shift was over. Those times were simpler, happier. But we grew up. Why did we grow up to be so complicated?

I look at Ellie, staring at the horizon. Her dark hair moving with the breeze, she’s changed. I’ve changed. There's no way we can go back to those times.

"Good morning!" Jern shouts from the tent.

We startle.

"It's nice to have you back," Ellie says. "We are terrible trackers."

…

We have a couple of crackers for breakfast and boil some snow to make some tea. Once done, we start packing up.

"Fold," Jern says, and the fantabulous tent folds on its own.

We check for anything left and start hiking up the mountain.

"Look," I say to Jern, showing him the map. We've got to the point where the map sets us on top of the seal's mark.

A brilliant idea crosses my mind. Why didn't I ask Rurn as I did back at the ruins?

"Rurn…" I begin.

"Don't even try it," Jern cuts.

"Why?" I say. It looks like my brilliant idea wasn't brilliant at all.

"Unlike the ruins, the peak is a powerful source of magical energy, ask Rurn, and it'll be like looking for a needle in a haystack," Jern says.

"Then what can we do?" Ellie asks. "Yesterday, we were looking for hours."

"Well. You're lucky that I'm with you today," Jern swaggers. "I’ve always been known for my outstanding tracking abilities, and I think I can track Adhair's scent."

"Yeah. But. Could you scare them first?" Ellie asks, terrified.

I turn. The pack of creatures is back and right behind us. I'm not scared. I'm sure Jern's pretense will spook them.

"RUN!!!!" Jern screams as he runs downhill.

"You're a dragon!" I scream as we run. "Can't you do something?!"

"Keep running!" Jern shouts.

I look back. The pack is not running as fast as yesterday. They seem to be enjoying hunting us. Bunch of psychos!

We turn in a corner. More creatures are awaiting us. It is a trap. They cornered us.

We step back toward the mountain wall. The rest of the pack blocks the other way out, showing their fangs and growling in a sign of victory.

"Jump!" Ellie screams as she pulls my arm.

We start falling through a hole, sliding into the heart of the mountain. We keep going down for a minute until Jern and Ellie cushion my landing on the cave’s floor.

"Oh!" Ellie exclaims.

"I'm sorry," I say as we stand up.

We're inside a small cave. Multiple holes let light in, illuminating the place.

"Oh my! How much I hate filouks!" Jern exclaims.

Our escape wasn't worth much once the pack of filouks start coming one by one from other holes in the mountains.

I scream. One filouk just touched my hand. But. Why it didn't bite me?

The pack is surrounding us. They don't seem willing to attack. Now they even look relaxed.

The same filouk bumps my leg and starts walking to a nearby tunnel.

"I think they want us to follow them," I say.

"Are you crazy?" Jern exclaims.

"If they wanted to attack us, they would already do," I say, following the filouk.

We walk for a few minutes through the tunnel. The now friendly pack guiding our way.

The tunnel opens into a big conic cave. Lit by the light from the holes that cover the mountain.

A thin dragon stands petrified before a cliff.

An inverted rock pyramid floats over the cliff, connected to the cavern’s floor only by a narrow triangular prism-shaped bridge. On top of the pyramid rests a shining piece of gold. The next piece of the staff.

The pack lays on the feet of the petrified dragon, panting and fully relaxed.

"My friend Adhair. After all, you were guiding us," Jern says with a smile.

We take a closer look at the thin pole connecting the island to the cave.

"It should be twenty-five meters or so," Ellie says.

I take a step closer. I bump into an invisible barrier.

"Are you willing to try the test of Fellenfehr?" asks the same mysterious voice from the ruins.

"We do," Ellie says.

"There's a rope before your feet. A pair with history must use it to cross. Dragons are not allowed.

Be mindful that the rope stays strong as long as it's fed with its essential energy. Make up for the past to keep the rope together. As long as the rope shines blue, you're good. Yellow needs more energy. Red better do something.

The proof can only be completed when the rope and the casquet are out of the barrier."

Great. Now I have to uncover my past while we try not to fall into the void beneath us.

I take a closer look at the bridge. Each face of the prism is about sixty centimeters wide, and the base is facing down.

“Any idea on how this is supposed to work?” I ask.

“We’ll have to balance each other with the rope as we slide our feet throughout the bridge,” Ellie says. “Once, i did something similar at an amusement park’s game.”

“Then you’ll need a counterweight,” Jern says to Ellie.

Ellie puts on both of our backpacks to match my weight. She doesn't flinch with the extra weight. She's an athlete, after all.

We take the rope that is old and moldy.

“Are you sure this is going to hold?” Ellie asks to the void, expecting some answer from the voice. No one answers.

“We can give it a try,” I say.

"I'm sorry for hiding your favorite sentendo game back in sixth grade," Ellie says.

"It was you?!" I say.

“You wouldn’t share it with anyone. I was a little mad. And it was just for a day,” Ellie says.

“I knew it! Okay. I forgive you,” I say.

The rope starts glowing blue. We give it a good pull. It’s solid.

“It’s going to work,” Ellie says. “Now. Hear me out, Rin. We’ll have to go step by step. Do not rush. Otherwise, we’ll lose balance.”

“Understood,” I say, trying to hide my fear of what’s to come.

“I hope you two have enough dirty dishes for each other because it's quite a long way,” a concerned Jern says. “And I want you back.”

“Don’t worry, mate,” I say to Jern, knowing I have plenty of dirty dishes to be washed. “Are you ready, Ellie?”

“Let’s go,” she says.

We take the rope and cross the invisible barrier. I put my feet on one side of the prism, Ellie on the other. We take the rope with both hands and tense it.

“Your turn,” Ellie says.

“Okay,” I say. “I’m sorry for ignoring you when we got into middle school.”

The rope starts glowing blue, and we start slipping our feet on the bridge.