In The Realms of the Unreal

Chapter 14

When Katsushiro had said that it'd be a long walk to Mount Yari, he wasn't joking. The trek from it to Edo took a total of 3 days of non-stop hiking through Japan. While the group didn't run into anymore bandits, the whole thing still took it's toll on the group.

During the second day, Jerry turned to the Doctor

"Ya know doc, I'd like to know what your plan is if we find this temple and it ain't the rune we're looking for"

The Doctor grinned "Then we'll just have to keep searching Japan until we find it"

Jerry groaned "You mean we gotta do more walking? We do anymore and I think my legs are gonna fall off!"

"At least you'll get some good exercise" Mulder told him

Jerry tried to respond "But-"

"And not only that, but you'll get to take in all the sights and sounds of Edo era Japan" Emma added "Most people would die for that sort of opportunity!"

Jerry sighed "Fine then. I'll take one for the team"

By the third day of hiking, the group were practically falling apart. For three days they'd hiked with virtually no breaks. They got very little sleep to boot since they had to be up and walking as soon as daylight came about. But eventually they came to a range of mountains. When they did so, Katsushiro pointed at one particular mountain in front of them

"There it is. That there is Mount Yari" Jerry's heart sank

"You mean we gotta search that!?"

At this, Scully glared at Jerry

"Do you ever stop complaining? We're here in feudal Japan experiencing a long gone time and all you've done is complain non-stop!"

Before Scully could continue to berate Jerry some more, Emma stepped up to her

"Oh don't worry about him. If he doesn't want to climb the mountain with us, he's free to stay here"

Mulder blinked "He is?"

"Oh yes" Emma nodded "Of course, if he gets attacked by bandits or a vicious wild animal, he'll be all alone, but I really don't think he should worry. Jerry's more than capable of taking care of himself in a fight" Jerry gulped while Emma continued speaking

"But never mind that. We've got a mountain to search"

As the group walked away, Jerry shivered with fear "Wait up! I don't wanna be eaten by animals!"

While the group began hiking up the mountain, nobody noticed a group of figures watching them from the trees. One of the figures turned to the other and spoke

"So do we go after them?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" the other figure exclaimed "We'll let them handle the dangers of Mount Yari. Then once they've found us the rune, we'll simply kill them and take it for ourselves!"

If the trek through Japan had been tiring, then the mountain hike was even worse. Much of the mountain was covered in mists which along with making it harder to see in front of them also made it very cold indeed.

As they continued to travel across the mountain, Katsushiro spoke

"Stay close. Who knows what creatures are lurking within the mists"

As they continued to hike, Jerry was still feeling jumpy although he'd made an effort to rein in his complaining.Then he heard something

"Jerry..."