Titan Turn; A TDS Story

Chapter 31

This place still felt surreal to Gravedigger. It was so serene and yet so...eerie. The unknown always both fascinating and terrifying..
The sun's barely shining rays lit up the snow rather solemnly between the hidden pines, covered in layers of fresh flakes. The revving engine of the jeep was the only sound echoing around them for miles...A tall looming figure which could only be the sole mountain of this world, awaited their arrival. The way up was more precarious than they would have hoped. The so-called 'road' leading them was just a narrow trail, fenced by shaky boulders and pointy spikes. Every shadow felt closer to them than ever before... Every movement felt like one was a single breath away from death's door... Good thing they didn't bring the Commander and Fallen with them... Their wounds could have quickly turned nothing short of lethal with how harsh the way was. Not to mention the road stopped a little above half the distance shown on the map. From there on out it was on foot alone. The path was wide enough for three people to walk alongside each other comfortably but a joking punt could damn well end up being someone's demise. It was a long way down... And an even longer way up to reach the point set on the map.

Grave had to give it to Scout, he really  was skilled at reading maps especially in weather like this with those stupid ski goggles on. The Titan could barely see two meters in front of him. There were enough snow flakes thrown his way to cover the lenses just to have him stop and wipe them off again. And yet, here was Scout leading them like a real sergeant with the precision of a falcon. The beginning of their trip to get to where they were, was easier since Krampus had already explored a good chunk of the terrain. Mostly out of boredom... There wasn't much to do here when you were all alone for three years. So, exploring offered a rather nice change of scenery. However, he had never ventured this high up. It was mostly the winds that stopped him because without the proper gear, only a miracle could keep you on the right track.
And so they climbed... And climbed... And climbed... Springing up some conversations almost inaudible through the air. With the occasional "Are we there yet?" from Gravedigger.
Honestly, who could blame him? Even an experienced hiker would struggle with this path. Soon enough, they reached a tiny indent on the side of the mountain, opting for a small break inside, shielded from the wind.
Grave snuggled next to Scout, pulling his goggles up to study the map. His friend had been scribling check points whenever they passed something that appeared similar to the map's layout.

"Is this where we are?" asked Grave as he pointed to a small red dot near the right corner.

"Yeah. The red ones I drew.." confirmed Scout, tracing his finger elsewhere. "We shouldn't be too far away really! See? Up this small black line, these little triangles represent different crests. The blue line is a river. Although, I-I think that river no longer exists nowadays. It's only remains was the carved out shape in the dirt but no water... And if we go up after this double tipped looking rock we should reach an open space... Where the portal, marked by the purple gate, is supposed to be. "

"Child, how long of a distance is "not too far?" sighed Krampus. He was an outdoors kind of guy but this trip proved challenging even for him. He could suffer the cold no problem, he thrived in it after all. But this much climbing was really wearing him out, also making him a little too aware of his growing age.

"Around 700 meters I would say?" beamed Scout sheepishly as he saw the man's shoulders slump down.

"Well, we went like what? Two kilometers almost? I think we can manage another few meters." encouraged Grave as he sat up, brushing the snow off his legs.

He gazed outside as Krampus and Scout continued discussing the plan. The wind dimmed down a little turning into a light breeze. He watched the sun peak up from behind the horizon, warming them up a little more. He stepped out, looking towards the trees sitting so carelessly on the edge of a ravine. The forest had always felt like a home to him and here it was no different. Needless to say as much as he loved nature, he missed his real home. This place was beautiful but it felt abandoned
...lifeless almost. He missed his family... Though, he wasn't sure if they missed him... What if Molten thought he was the reason his father's gone? Maybe he hated him just like Frost and Ducky... After all, he wasn't a Titan... He wasn't trully related to any of them...