Nephis strained her eyes, focusing on the hill in front of her.
Her devious plan had worked — the Tyrant was stalled, long enough for escape. But not without a price. Her wrists burned from the forceful removal of her chains, and the cold devoured her whole. They couldn't risk sporting a bonfire in this danger.
She couldn't go on like this.
And yet, she endured.
It was just a while, eventually her Nightmare would end. And when it did, she would have finished the first step.
Of course, she was wary of her companions — they were people of the past, people whose lifestyles she didn't know. They could betray her at any given moment.
Their sunshine smiles were just an illusion.
She can't let her guard down.
Like the speak of the devil, scholar's voice rang from aside her.
"In the old days, there used to be a path leading to the top of the mountain, but the empire had widened parts of it, and built a proper road on top. Now, the road leads to the mountain pass instead of the peak, but the remnant of the ancient road still lay there."
He silently looked up.
"There should be a path up there. It can lead us back to the road."
Due to the rockfall, the slope wasn't as sharp as before, but the incline was still… it was hard to climb.
Shifty was the first to speak, "Are you crazy?" He asked, looking at Scholar in the dead of his eyes, "How are we supposed to climb that?"
Scholar helplessly shrugged, "Do you have a better idea?"
"Let's do it," She confidently said, turning her head to ask Hero his own opinion.
Hero's eyes drifted off, as if pondering the consequences of whether or not to climb that mountain. After a while, he voiced his opinion:
"We'll climb, get ready everyone."
Shifty opened his mouth, before closing it — Hero was an Awakened, he had the most power in their makeshift group.
"The Tyrant isn't dead, it'll catch up from the smell of our blood sooner or later, we have to leave. Now."
They began their ascent. Shifty and scholar still kept their stolen weapons, determined to have something to protect them. It would only be a burden in the long run.
Nephis had begrudgingly abandoned her longsword, something that had given her the confidence needed to continue onwards, a reminder of the waking world, and so on.
She shook her head — the climb required her everything. The body she was stuck in wasn't trained, which meant that every action she did would amount to some sort of fatigue, and she was already tired.
'I can always borrow another sword…' She thought, trying to comfort herself.
Sure, having a sword by her side would be a comfortable addition, but Nephis was trained in the art of combat, murder — weapons didn't matter, skill didn't matter, how didn't matter. It would only be her and the enemy, and they would be trying to kill each other.
Yes, she could do it.
Flames of determination burned within her. She had taken the only way out just now — prevention to be killed in more professional terms. But… it was the only way she could have continued in that situation.
Perhaps if she had another Aspect… Something better…
No. The Spell was fair. It gave her this Aspect for a reason.
Clenching her teeth, she narrowed her eyes. The goal they had to reach was still far, far away, but slowly, and steadily, they would make it.
She was sure of that.
Ignoring the burning of her lungs, and the flames that devoured her body, she continued onward, one step at a time.
Soon, half an hour had passed, and her body was almost at its limit.
It was nothing compared to what she had to endure in the future.
After that, she went numb — her thoughts ran all over the place, while her body repeated the familiar motions of climbing up the mountain. Gripping a piece of stone, feet moving onto the next piece, and so on.
And… as it was starting to get harder and harder to simply open her eyes, to simply move one of her fingers… The sun was dripping lower and lower — Night was coming; the climb was over. For now.
Hero soon found a suitable place to camp, and Nephis had to control herself to not flop down with a groan. She only had to endure a few moments more, and she would be able to take all the rest she needed.
Almost immediately, Shifty collapsed onto the ground, and soon, scholar did as well. Taking this as a sign to sit down, she too relaxed, her body still burning under the cold's grasp. A few seconds later, Shifty had already removed his flagon of watery devouring it with frantic gulps. Scholar wasn't better off as well, he too took his water out, and finished it in a few desperate intakes.
Despite Hero reminding them to conserve their water, the slaves didn't seem to care — they were tired, their minds spent. Who could possibly sway them?
However, Nephis must applaud Hero. She would have made that decision as well — the Tyrant could catch up at any second, and there might be a time where water was not available.
Allowing herself the mercy of a few sips, she too drank, careful not to drink too much.
As they lit a fire behind a narrow ledge, the rocks blocking the light of the flames, they ate. After that, Shifty and Scholar drifted off and slept, while she looked at Hero, waiting for his judgement.
He had seemed like a fine warrior — basic survival skills under his belt, but the real test came here. Would he put his own comfort first, or survival?
"Aren't you sleeping?" She asked him.
Hero raised his eyebrows, "Why would I? Someone has to take first watch. You sleep, I'll take care of it."
She narrowed her eyes, before complying to his request, thoughts running through her mind.
'Dangerous. Hero is dangerous.' She thought, as she uneasingly drifted off into a dreamless slumber.
After what felt like a second, someone shook her awake — Hero.
Tiredly, she opened her eyes, only to be met with his face.
"I usually wouldn't request a maiden with such a task. But… they wouldn't wake up, no matter what I did. Don't let the flames go out and wake us up when morning arrives. Or if… if the beast appears."
She nodded. A reasonable request.
Setting her eyes onto the starry sky, Nephis was reminded of her father, and mother. In the past, they would have brought her to somewhere, someplace to gaze into the stars as well, telling her tales of the past.
'What irony,' She thought, 'I'm gazing into the stars without them, long before their time.'
This wasn't the time to think of such matters though.
Shifting her gaze into the path they had come from, her eyes pierced through the darkness, seeing everything within its path. A few hours later, a shadowy figure appeared, climbing up the platform where the fight had happened.
It was motionless for a while, its claws scraping against the ground. Everytime it stopped, the Tyrant would lift a body into its mouth, crunching deep into it.
The wind below, bringing along the sounds into her ears, each one of them were like the approach of the reaper — they couldn't move, they couldn't escape. Only wait for the danger to slowly ascend, and… devour them whole.
A sudden chill assaulted her, and she shivered, accidentally letting a piece of rock fall from the ledge.
She froze, petrified.
In the silent night, such a sound was like thunder, echoing across the mountains.
Far below, the Tyrant moved, its giant eyes staring deep into hers.
A second later, it moved again, resuming its feast of the dead.
'It's blind,' She suddenly realised.
She inhaled, watching it. Nephis' eyes widened. That's why it didn't move them earlier, it didn't seem to react until a second too late. Those milky, expressionless eyes… they held no sight,
She could use this. It was valuable knowledge that could lead to survival… and the completion of the nightmare.
With this, nothing could stop her.
—-
At the break of dawn, Nephis woke Hero, who in turn woke Scholar and Shifty up. They looked terrible, and she supposed she looked worse — they at least had more sleep than her.
"Did anything happen while we were asleep?" Hero asked, as he strapped on his supplies.
"It ate the dead." She replied, her voice holding no emotion — she didn't know the fallen slaves, and their group were barely acquaintances.
The young soldiers frown deepened, "How?"
"I heard it."
He looked over the edge, eyes staring at the foot of the mountain. After a while, his jaws clenched, and for the first time, he showed uncertainty in his voice.
"Then we'll have to move faster. If the creature is finished with the bodies, it will come for us next. We need to find that old path before nightfall."
Nephis reevaluated her opinion of him – Hero was a superb warrior, but there were many ways of improvement as a leader. A leader must be ready to sacrifice everything in a moment's notice.
A leader must never show uncertainty.
They set out, and continued the climb. Each of them concentrated on their own breathing, their footing, and the climbing. Yet, slowly and slowly, she was falling behind.
Her body didn't recover enough, and… unlike shifty and scholar, she didn't drink most of the water, which meant her load was heavier.
After a while, Scholar stopped, calling out to her.
"I'll help you with your load, if only you trade your water for that."
She blinked, almost surprised by his proposal. Did he only notice the value of water now?
"No need," She panted, her voice tired, "I can manage."
From the highest point, Hero too stopped, looking at her panting figure.
"Are you sure?" He asked.
"Yes."
After that, they didn't say anything else, each focused on their own climbing.
Scholar was correct though, she was falling behind – she had to think of something. Fast.
She couldn't panic though. Her experience from so far… it was screaming at her to stay calm, and quietly endure.
Soon, she would make it out of this hellhole.
And… she wasn't the only one falling behind.
Shifty's steps was starting to get slower, his breath more ragged by the second – he had used up all of his strength in the first part of the climb, trying to catch up with Hero.
Scholar and her were smarter, more conservative. They had maintained a continuous climbing routine, not spending more energy than they should.
The day was long after all.
Hero was Hero, an Awakened warrior that had more strength and endurance than them.
So… she need not panic, she wasn't falling behind.
As they say, slow and steady wins the race.
Time flowed forward, and very quickly, Shifty was behind her – slower, the climb only continuing because of pure will.
But she knew, he had used up all his stamina.
He was as good as dead.
This wasn't the time to care about others though.
She was slowly getting left behind, and her body still burned. At this rate, she could at most go on for a few more days…
The nightmare should be over by then.