Kings Game

Chapter 121 - Forgotten Cities

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Roran spent the next couple of days dozing in and out. He was still recovering from the trip to Stormfall and didn't have the energy to get out of bed, let alone out of the house. Thankfully, he had a little time to relax. Nul was busy reworking their etchings while Kell was busy playing with Inkala. The pair had only grown closer since their bonding.

Nestled into bed, Roran was leafing through the pages of his mother's diary. After she left the Devereuxs, Alira spent time traveling around the eastern side of the continent. She traveled through small towns, using the forged credentials to get by. Then, after it was apparent that the Devereuxs were all dead, she moved on to large cities where she could blend in with the crowd.

She used the skills that she'd learned during her enforced servitude to get by. Sometimes she would clean and cook, but mostly she applied her knowledge of the flesh to get easy accommodations and earn some money for the road. She went on a few small adventures at first, but it wasn't until she traveled far north that she had her first big encounter.

I spent two weeks working my way north, continuing on until the road was little more than a line of bare dirt wriggling its way towards the mountain range. I had never climbed a mountain before. I wanted to climb as high as I could and look down at the world beneath my feet, then leave a lock of hair behind to mark my passage so that anyone who came after me would know I had been there.

Naturally, I had no practical skills in mountain climbing, only those I picked up from the Devereux's library but they were enough to get me started, I could figure out the rest along the way. I had packed plenty of provisions, more than I would need for a month, and I had been hunting and foraging as I traveled to stretch out my supplies even further.

The travel was pleasant. I hit the base of the mountains and began working my way up. It was easy at first, like walking up a steep rocky hill. Though the first few days were draining, my body adapted easily enough. It wasn't until I actually had to start climbing that it became a challenge.

The path turned into a series of rocky steps that grew slippery as the weather turned cold. There was only a little ice and snow at first. Then I stumbled across large mounds of the stuff. Then I climbed high enough that snow actually started falling on me. I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt snow land on my hair.

Despite the struggles, I'd packed well and was making good progress up the mountains. I was only a couple of days away from reaching the summit of a smaller peak when things went awry.

I'd started with a smaller mountain because I didn't want to push myself. I thought it would be the easiest to climb and would give me an idea of how to approach the next few. What I hadn't taken into consideration was how many steep faces I would need to circumnavigate to reach the top.

I had come to a ledge and needed to inch my way around it before I could continue up the other side. A smarter person would have turned around and found another way forward. Let it be known that, while I am very clever, I am not always that smart.

I inched my way along the ledge, moving carefully so as not to lose my balance, when a large gust of wind rose up from the crevice below and blew me off kilter. I wavered back and forth for a moment before I managed to catch my balance. Carefully moving forward again, my foot hit a crack in the ledge and the rocks crumbled out from underneath me. Divine providence I suppose.

I tumbled down into the crevice, along with the part of the ledge I had entrusted with holding me up. Looking back, I find the whole ordeal funny. While I was falling, I was absolutely sure this would be the moment I died. In that moment of clarity, the only thing I could think of was how much I wanted a family again. I wanted someone to love and to love me in return. I wanted a child to raise and look after. I wanted a home to return to.