Trek For Survival

"Thank you for everything, Bob," said Vonn.

They were all gathered in the entry of the inn, tightening the straps on their bags and getting used to the weight of everything, waiting on the dwarven guard that was going to escort them out of the city.

"Maybe we"ll meet again someday," said Bob with a wink, giving them each a handshake, even with Tom and Mikey.

The dwarf stepped inside and saw them.

"If"n ye follow me," he grumbled, waving for them to come along.

Carla held Tom"s hand as they made their way out of the inn and onto the busy street. There were so many more dwarves than there had been, Gia was amazed.

"Why are the streets so crowded?" she asked the dwarf they were following.

"Everyone"s comin" in fer the festival."

"I wish we could stay for the festival!" complained Mikey, walking with his hand on his axe right behind the dwarf.

"Mikey, this isn"t our festival," said Gia. "We are outsiders here. I"m sure the dwarves will be happier once we leave."

The dwarf cleared his throat but didn"t say anything, and thankfully Mikey dropped it. The rest of the way out of the crowded city was uneventful, until they turned to head down a tunnel that was empty.

"Where are we going?" asked Gia, looking back the way they had come, where the throngs of dwarves paid them no attention.

"These tunnels lead to our western entrance. If ye plan to go back to the human lands eventually, ye want to go this way."

Vonn took her hand and gave her a smile to calm her down, and she sighed. It had been so nice to rest and be still for a short while, before they got back on the road. Thinking about it for a couple of steps, she gave herself a shake and decided it didn"t matter where they went, or how long it took, they would all get there eventually, to the place where Vonn would build them a home and they could all live happily ever after.

She was pulled out of her fantasy when her father, Tom, spoke up.

"So, we"re going to be heading into a place known as the Magic Forest? What sorts of things should we expect there?"

"Not been there, meself, but I"ve heard it"s a place where the very trees walk. Glowing lights can be seen moving about, and strange music that makes one want t" dance can be heard. It"s not a place I want t" go, oh no!"

Carla glanced at Gia, but didn"t say anything.

"And elves are on the other side?" asked Vonn.

"Aye, they live on the western edge o" the forest," he said.

"Is there a path we can follow?" asked Gia.

"Supposed t" be."

"How long should it take us to get there?" asked Tom.

"Maybe 2 weeks?" guessed the dwarf with a shrug.

Mikey was trying to make his steps match the dwarf"s, stretching his short legs to reach the same distance.

They traveled the rest of the tunnel in silence. When real sunlight caught their eye, smiles broke out on everyone"s faces. Pausing at the edge of the tunnel, they tilted their heads up to let the sun shine on their faces.

"Be careful, now. Once ye step outside o" the tunnel, ye"r on yer own. The drop is pretty far. Would hate for this trip o" mine to be for naught cause ye all danced off the edge."

Gia quickly glanced down to see what he was talking about, and realized they were standing on the edge of a cliff edge. A narrow stone bridge connected them with a chiseled path on the other side of the gorge. Far below, in the bottom, the glint of blue could be seen where a river rushed along.

Giving an "eep" of surprise, Carla clung to Tom"s arm even tighter.

"This the lot o" humans the king said to keep an eye out fer?" called a dwarf on the back of a brown mountain goat. Its horns were curled around into curly q"s and the dwarf had a saddle on it, watching them comfortably.

"Is a goat cheaper than a horse?" asked Mikey softly.

"No, Mikey. Not those type of goats," said Gia, trying to get her chin up off the floor.

"We have to cross that?" asked Carla with a squeak and a hiccup of fear.

"If ye plan to leave our city, aye," said the dwarf on the goat, as the other dwarf had already disappeared back into the tunnel.

"I can"t do that," whispered Carla, visibly shaking.

"You can hold on to me," said Tom, patting her hand. "I"m not afraid of the drop. I don"t see it."

"I"ll carry you," said Vonn, stepping forward and taking off his backpack.

Gia took the bag and watched as Carla climbed onto Vonn"s back, hiding her face into his neck. Tom took ahold of the back of Carla"s shirt, and followed as Vonn carefully stepped out onto the stone bridge. The dwarf watched in amus.e.m.e.nt as he carefully kept to the middle of the bridge and then set Carla down on the other side.

"Can you make it, Gia?" Vonn asked, watching as she shakily took Mikey"s hand.

"Don"t worry, Vonn," said the boy, grasping Gia"s hand tightly. "I"ll get her across!"

"That"s a good lad!" laughed the dwarf, watching as Mikey pulled her across the bridge.

How could her legs shake so much? She knew the bridge wasn"t going to collapse, yet she struggled to take each step. The sounds of the water rushing far below came to her ears, and she froze, Mikey"s hand slipping from hers as he headed purposefully across.

"Giavanna!" he scolded, planting his hands on his waist. "Stop being silly! Come on!"

He reached out and took her hand again, to pull her along, but she couldn"t get her feet to move. All she could hear was the water rushing below, and the knowledge that it only took one misstep to fall all that way.

Suddenly, Vonn was there. His face was smiling at her, and the next thing she knew, was that they were both on the other side of the bridge. Mikey was rolling his eyes at her, as if he couldn"t believe she froze up, but her mother was giving her an understanding smile.

"If ye don"t waste any time, ye should be able to reach the bottom o" the path before nightfall," said the dwarf on the goat, still chuckling as he directed the animal to jump up the almost sheer cliff, and was quickly gone.

"Dear me! The only thing scarier than being on this infernal mountain path, is being on it in the dark!" cried Carla. "Let"s get going!"

Vonn took his bag back and slid it on as he moved to the front, to guide them down the side of the mountain. Even though there was plenty of s.p.a.ce between them and the edge of the path, they all hugged the mountain wall on their rights. Gia stayed at the back, to make sure no one lagged to far behind Vonn as he led them all.

Other than some slick patches of snow and ice that terrified them all, even Mikey dropped his charade of fearlessness, they were able to reach the bottom of the steep path just as the sun disappeared from the sky. A stiff wind was picking up as they looked ahead at the dark valley before them. The sound of the river was louder here, but none of them were interested in trying to go see it.
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"I"ll set up the tent here, on the path, and hopefully we"ll be close enough to the dwarves that nothing will bother us tonight," said Vonn, sliding off his bag.

Carla and Tom had already set their bags down and had sat down leaning against the rock.

"I don"t remember being this tired, before," said Tom slowly.

"I do, but this cold is about to freeze me solid," said Carla, with her teeth chattering as she snuggled into Tom"s side.

"Me, too," shivered Mikey, snuggling into Tom"s other side.

Gia helped Vonn figure out the tent, as the dark grew deeper and deeper.

"Next time, I think we need to stop sooner, so we can see what we"re doing," she said as they finally finished.

"I agree. Let"s get our things inside and settle down for the night," Vonn said.

Everyone shuffled inside, pulling their sleeping rolls out of their bags, in order to have something to sit on other than the cold, hard ground. Despite the howl of the wind, they were all so tired from the constant fear and hurried pace to descend down the mountain, they all were soon fast asleep. In the distance soft glowing lights flittered and played, intrigued by the newcomers to their home.

The next morning as they all started waking, giggles in the distance faded and the lights blinked out.