Private Tales Above the Mountains

[Finn]

The droplets were cold and seemed to freeze instantly on her face.

"I dunno," arms tugged against the mechanisms. The frown deepened on her lips. "I'm worried about it freezing my lines. Could lose control of the steering. Or worse..."

Gloved hands strained on the wheel.

"Check the coordinates. Are we close?"

 

[Talus]

Talus glanced over the side for a moment longer, then slowly took a few steps back and ducked into the cabin for a moment to retrieve the map. From his pocket he scooped out a compass, placing both on a table.

He studied the map, crossing it with the last known position of the stars they had been able to observe. "We're close."

At least he was pretty sure that was the case.

"Difficult to tell with this fog." Lips thinned, and Talus quickly glanced. "Can we slow down?"

It didn't seem like a good idea to keep going full speed ahead.

 

[Finn]

"Yeah," she grit her teeth, a hand brushing across the small droplets of ice and snow forming on her lids. Gloved hand tugged to further quell the fire feeding the balloons. There was a shudder but the fire didn't slow.

"Blast," a puff of air escaped her mouth and was snatched quickly away into the wind.

"Line is frozen! I need you to come take the wheel while I try to climb up there and release it. Or else....we might not come back down again." If they got too high...and froze...well, she'd heard horror stories of getting sucked out into the dome beyond the skies and into the blackness beyond.

 

[Talus]

Talus let out a quiet curse, then quickly rushed back towards the end of the ship.

Before moving he quickly scooped up the map, deciding it was probably best that a single gust of wind didn't ruin their entire journey. Moving swiftly, Talus fell into place besides Finn before gently grasping the wheel.

The odd bubble that surrounded her came into effect as soon as he got close, goosebumps rushed over his skin, and that unpleasant emptiness filled his chest. "Go, I can hold a wheel."

He was pretty sure.

"Careful though." The Dreadlord urged his friend.

 

[Finn]

She gave him a sharp nod then scurried to the railing on the side. Grasping the icy rigging in her hand, she climbed up, quickly tying a safety. One wrong slip and she’d end up over the edge and into the fog.

A shudder ran through her spine at the thought of how long she’d fall before dying on the ground below if the safety line failed.

The girl began climbing the slick rigging, sending sprays of ice and snow in her wake with each footstep. It was a good thing the fire that fed the balloon wasn’t too high up. With a grunt, she hauled herself up to the frozen catch. Gripping a rope above her, she swung and aimed the boots of her heels at the door.

Whomp.

swing. Kick.

whomp.

“There!” She yelled down to Talus below. They’d be slowing soon. About to climb down, something swirling in the mist caught her attention. Was that a...

“Hard port!” She screeched as a mountainous rock formation appeared as if by magic.

 

[Talus]

”OH SHIT!” Talus swore as he suddenly ripped the wheel he was holding as hard as he could to port.

The loud clack clack clack of the machinery spinning as the...sail? What really was he supposed to refer to it as, suddenly swept in the intended direction. The ship itself rocked as a strong gust of wind caught and turned them.

Talus himself gripped himself hard.

”HANG ON!” He called as the mountain side nearly dashed the side of the ship into ruin. ”WHERE ARE W-”

His words died off suddenly as the clouds suddenly broke away as if by force, and a massive city carved into rock and stone was revealed.

Beautiful beyond measure, with massive statues and huge buildings that seemed to have been forged from the very mountain itself. It loomed before the air ship, an oddly calm yet somehow dangerous and forgotten place.

 

[Finn]

Finn yelped as her body was whipped to the side. Foot slipped on the icy-rigging and she found herself pitched over the rail. She was free-falling for about three seconds until the rope tied around her waist snapped her back with a jarring of teeth and hair.

"Umph," she tangled over the side of the ship, gloved hands gripping the life-line that held her aloft.

"Talus!" A cry for help as she dangled.

 

[Talus]

Talus quickly scampered over to the edge of the ship, grabbing the rope that hung off the side and grabbing it in two hands.

Muscles flexed, and with swift grip over grip he began to pull Finn back towards the deck. "Hang on!"

The young Dreadlord shouted down to Finn.

Five minutes after seeing this damned city and Finn had already had a near death experience. What was going to come next? A bloody Dragon?

Cursing, Talus grabbed onto Finn and pulled her over the railing.

 

[Finn]

The rope jerked and twisted tightly around her waist with each tug. She couldn't keep the grimace off her face. Her own muscles flexed beneath the winter coat she wore as she was tugged on upward, trying not to get dizzy by the site below her. Mist swirled around the ground of the hidden, abandoned kingdom they'd found. Though the fall wouldn't be as long, it still looked like it would be painful. Jagged rocks jutted up from snowy and icy ground.

Neck craned to look back up toward Talus as he leaned over and she continued to go back toward the ship. The clouds swirled above their ship. Gloved hands clung tightly to Talus' broad shoulders and arms as he pulled her back over the railing and onto the deck.

She was breathing hard, as if she'd run a long distance. It was the adrenaline. She'd fallen before but not quite like that. Quickly, she eased off her friend.

"Thanks," she gulped. Head snapped to the wheel and she ran over. "We need to find a place to land!"

 

[Talus]

His fingers released, and he quickly stood up and glanced over at the railing.

The city below was beautiful, carved out of stone block and seemingly built atop the very mountain itself. The buildings seemed to stretch and reach for a mile, larger than anything he would have expected to find all the way up here.

"There!" He called out to Finn, pointing towards a large square that sat near the edge of the city.

The spot was only half surrounded by buildings, one side open to the air with a view of the nearby mountain valleys.

"We can set down there." He repeated with an eager point.

 

[Finn]

"Okay!" Breath a short-lived sigh of relief, she gripped the wheel again with both hands. Foot kicked at a lever by her feet as she cut off more of the fire. They began sinking quickly. Stomach flopped up to her throat and she gulped.

Easing back on the level they slowed until a gentle fall. Then a light bounce on the ground before settling completely. "Whew," she breathed. Back of her gloved-hand wiping across her brow.

"The lines," chin pointed toward the railings. "Let's tie her down and see if we can find your artifact. Strange that it's warmer here than it was a minute ago in the air."

 

[Talus]

Talus jumped over the side of the airship and quickly grabbed the lines Finn had been referring to.

Within a few moments he tied down the vessel to various pillars and other small holds that he could find. Tying quick tight knots, Talus didn't even bother to look around them before finally fishing up and glancing up towards Finn.

"Huh?" He asked, glancing around fora moment and actually taking in the atmosphere.

She was right.

The warmth brushed over his skin, and even the clouds of the blizzard they had seemingly fallen into were utterly gone. In fact the sun seemed to shine down upon them, it's light casting off the massive stone buildings. "You're right."

He said quietly.

"Weird." Unconsciously he put his hand on his sword.

 

[Finn]

She shrugged out of her coat and gloves and left them on the airship before climbing over the side-railing and joining Talus on the ground. She had on a small pack with various things. Never knew what she'd need when she was on an adventure with Talus.

Learned THAT lesson last time.

"Yeah," she agreed about the weird part as she adjusted the pack's straps around her shoulders. Neck craned as she looked around. "Where should we start?"

 

[Talus]

Talus didn't quite know how to answer that. "I'm not sure."

Finn was one of the few people in his life that he felt he could be honest with. Everyone else he'd always had an excuse, always made something up, but she wouldn't try to kill him. She would never even try to hurt her.

That meant he could be...well, himself.

"I guess there." He said pointing up to the largest building that he could see in the horizon of the city. It spanned dozens of stories, rising into the clouds and well out of his own view. "That's where I'd keep a mysterious artifact."

He glanced at her with a nervous shrug. "Sure about this?"

Talus asked, not wanting to force her into anything.

 

[Finn]

Blues narrowed on the man. Head shook slightly, though her lips twitched. "A little late to ask that question. Not in a big hurry to fly back through that blizzard." Fingers stuffed in her pockets and her bony-shoulders shrugged good-naturedly.

"Let's go find this thing and try not to get killed in the process."

Her smile widened as she followed him deeper into the abandoned city. Cobble-stones were cracked and store fronts strangely quiet - even with their crumbling walls.

"For being abandoned, this place is in better shape than I thought would be possible," she murmured, eyes darting down alleys as they passed them, expecting to see another face. Or something. Or someone.

 

[Talus]

"You're not kidding." Talus said as they began to make their way through the city.

His eyes shifted from place to place on a silent search. There was something off about all of this. Finn was right in saying that this place looked far better than it should have. There was no sign of battle, no sign of corpses, nothing that told of why this place was so empty.

He would have expected something at least, some sort of evidence that anything had happened here. His hand unconsciously fell to the hilt of his sword as he walked.

"Up there?" He asked, pointing to a massive structure in the distance. "Looks like a government building if I had to guess."

The place was certainly grand enough.

 

[Finn]

"Yeah," pack shifted on her shoulder. Blues drifted down to that hand on his sword. A small frown tugged on her lips.

"With your role in the army. You use that a lot? Maybe even before you joined the guard?" She meant the guard as the army but Finn obviously wasn't too versed in Anirian politics since she grew up as a streetrat in Elbion. Still, she remembered what he'd told her about Dreadlords when last they met. And she had heard stories about them. And knowing Talus was one...well, sometimes it was hard putting two and two together.

 

[Talus]

"Before more than now." Talus said quietly, clearly not really wanting to talk about it.

He had joined the Guard in order to change, in order to not just be a killing machine like the Proctors had wanted him to be.

It seemed odd admitting that to himself, and a few months ago he probably would not have. Now though, now he couldn't help but know it was true. "It's strange."

He said, changing the subject slightly.

"I'm more doing training now, politics." Something he'd never expected of himself.

 

[Finn]

Booted-toe kicked at a rock along the path. The wind shifted, bringing a hinting smell of rain with it. A small frown tugged her lips.

"Why the sudden change?"

She didn't comment on the politics. She had no idea about that. It would be like asking her to swim.

 

[Talus]

He paused for a second, coming to a stop in the street for a few seconds as he considered the question. "You."

Before she could answer he continued.

"Some others I've met." Talus remembered Freya, Colette, some of the others that he had encountered on one mission or another. "I started to see things differently. That what I was trained to do wasn't..."

How did he put it into words. "Wasn't right."

 

[Finn]

Finn's brows rose on her fair skin. She paused across from him. It seemed they'd both grown quite a bit in the year they'd been separated. Growing along their own paths.

"I see," she said quietly.

What had he done and seen for him to say this now? She wondered.

"Takes quite a man to admit something like that." A small smile his way. "C'mon. Let's get closer." She glanced up to the skies, pretty good at predicting the weather and noting all the signs of a brewing storm to come. "We should probably also look for a place to huddle up for a few hours. I think a storm is coming."

The wind was already picking up.

 

[Talus]

He glanced up towards the sky and wondered how she could actually tell.

After a few seconds he shook his head and quickly fell back into steps besides her. Talus had never thought himself capable of change, but he supposed that he'd already proven himself wrong more than a few times at the start of all this.

That was why he'd sworn to the Guard. "Maybe not that main building."

He offered.

"Something smaller." With less access points. "There."

He said pointing at what could once have been a small shop. It was near enough the large building, and would be a good place to stay safe for a few hours.

 

[Finn]

Eyes squinted, scrutinizing the location. It seemed okay. Large enough that they wouldn't be on top of each other but small enough that they could cover the entrances. She nodded and headed off quickly.

The door was still intact but she found it unlocked. Most of the windows were unbroken as well.

Again, strange.

With a creak, she opened the door and shuffled inside. The place was covered in a layer of dust but everything else was left untouched. Looked like someone's long-ago abandoned cup of tea was left on the counter.

 

[Talus]

"There's something creepy about this." Talus said as he stepped into the House behind Finn.

His hand was still on his sword, though he didn't hold any sort of guarded stance. Fingers tightened though as he stepped through the first hall. With a brief glance to his left he turned back to Finn.

"It's too…" Talus shook his head. "Empty."

Like something had taken the people right out in the middle of their routine.

It made him feel uneasy. In a strange way it would have made him feel somewhat better if they actually found some bodies. At least then he would know there had once been people here rather than the entire city just being utterly empty.

What was more disturbing was just how off it felt. Talus couldn't help but feel on his hackles.

 

[Finn]

"Yeah," she looked around and took a seat on an empty shop bench. Looked like this place was a shoe cobbler. The sky suddenly darkened out the windows and within seconds hard, cold rain began pelting the roof.

"Weather changes fast around here too," she murmured and let her back lean against the wall, fingers plucking some boots from the shelves and looking them over. "See anything interesting back there?" Eyes darted to the hallway that went deeper in - where he'd just stepped into.