KANA
I never thought that this hike of ours would remind me of the days when Mama and I used to wander around the woods near our village foraging. It was one of our pastime activities after a tiring day of cleaning the house. Our neighbors would often ask why we went on such a stroll when we could just sit or lie in bed to actually rest and relax.
Mama would just laugh at those harmless and concerned remarks and tell them that we simply happened to have a different kind of relaxation.
And it was true. It was not that we were wasting our time wandering around the forest. Mama was actually teaching me a thing or two about herbs and plants, hoping that one day it might come in handy.
Aside from imparting knowledge about botany, we would pick fruits if we happened to see or pass by any. When we reached home, I was not only enlightened, but we also brought lots of fruits for the whole village to share.
That was why I was feeling nostalgic as we were walking this unfamiliar path we were taking. It was unfamiliar because no one dared go through here unless one had a death wish.
Of course, we were not the latter. I hoped so.
It had been a while since we started taking on this path, and I was able to observe that the deeper we went, the more untouched the road was. No visible tracks or pathways indicated that it was a road.
The herbs and plants were getting thicker and thicker, and the air was getting colder due to the perspiration from the trees and nearby foliage.
Indistinct animal noises could be heard as well, along with our footsteps. Speaking of our feet, they would dig deeper into the grasses because of how thick and long they had become.
In short, we were navigating an uncharted-like forest.
***
After a day of walking, we reached the campsite Mister Kenshi was talking about. And just like the path we took earlier, it was unmaintained. The clearing was fortunately visible, but the surrounding greenery felt like it was hiding some danger, waiting for us to slumber so it could attack us in our sleep.
"I would expect not having a decent amount of sleep tomorrow morning," Shino said as she looked around the place.
"Come on. Let's build some fire. It's getting dark already. Shino, start setting up the warding device."
"Right! I forgot about the device! I'm on it, Kenshi," Shino replied.
"I'll go find some firewood," I volunteered, to which Mister Kenshi nodded in response.
"Just don't go too far," Mister Kenshi warned.
I bobbed my head up and down in affirmation before I went to the edge of the clearing where the bosky forest awaited. Thankfully, there were dry branches and wood here—meaning I didn't have to go into the forest.
After gathering a few pieces of firewood, I went back to the center of the clearing where scorched-marked soil lay, telling of a history of a bonfire being lit here.
Mister Kenshi arrived from scouting the perimeter just in time for the firewood to be ready to be set on fire. With Mister Kenshi's fire magic, it took less than a minute for the bonfire to start burning.
"Done! The warding device is now active!" Shino announced before she left the device behind to join me and Mister Kenshi around the fire.
"I'll be the lookout for tonight," Mister Kenshi volunteered, just as we expected. "So you don't have to wake up and resupply the device with mana."
"That's fine by me, but promise me that tomorrow it'll be my turn. We all decided to take turns on things if we want to survive the mountain. We can't afford to overwork ourselves while we cross Mt. Lancel," Shino reminded us of our agreement.
"I promise," Mister Kenshi replied.
The dinner we had was not something special, but it was definitely much better than what we had during our travel to Aste City.
And the sleeping bags Uncle Avidius bought for us were heaven-sent. They had good insulation that kept our bodies warm. I bet I didn't have to worry about trembling through my sleep due to the cold.
The campsite was engulfed in darkness when Mister Kenshi put out the fire. And the sudden loss of sight heightened my sense of hearing, amplifying the sounds and noises that surrounded us—from the harmless chirping of a cricket to the goosebump-inducing howls of wolves or the like.
Brought on by exhaustion from the previous hike, it didn't take long for my mind to slowly fall into slumber. And the next thing I knew, I was already dreaming.
***
My consciousness bolted awake when my body clock activated. It was time to wake up and start the next and most difficult part of our journey. Shino and I sat up at the same time and stretched our bodies in different ways. A yawn could be heard along with grunt noises.
"Not bad. I was able to sleep properly," Shino praised as she fixed her sleeping bag.
"Thanks to the warding device and Mister Kenshi," I said as I did the same thing Shino was doing.
"It was all the device's doing. It did its job so well that even tiny animals wouldn't dare approach this place," Mister Kenshi shared. "We'll have our breakfast on the road. We have to start climbing the mountain as soon as possible."
Following Mister Kenshi's instruction, we all prepped until we found ourselves climbing the base of Mt. Lancel.
The first few hours of the trek were not that arduous. We could still breathe just fine, and the path was not as slippery as Uncle Avidius had described.
Around noontime, we were already at the middle part of the mountainside. The air was starting to get thinner, and we could already feel the freezing winds. Thankfully, no snow hound encounters yet.
It was around sunset when we reached the peak. The wind roared like a raging hurricane. The air was hard to breathe, and every inhale brought chilling air into our lungs. The cold bit our skin like tiny starving insects. If it wasn't for our coats, we would be frozen to death by now.
"We'll rest here! Just wait a second!" Mister Kenshi ordered before examining the area. When he found a decent location, he placed his hand on the thick, freezing snow and released some magic.
A trail of ice magic escaped from his palm where the magic circle was and slithered a few meters ahead of him before turning into several mid-sized ice spikes. Their size was enough to block the raging winds.
We walked close to the spikes and felt a bit of relief when we could no longer feel the gust of freezing wind.
"This is why I love magic," Shino mumbled. "I'll go set up the warding device."
"Let's build a fire, Kana," Mister Kenshi said, earning a nod from me.
Using the firewood we brought, we were able to light a small fire, enough to reinforce the warmth of our coats. I brought out our rations and distributed them to the two, which they gladly accepted.
Night came, but none of us could sleep. Aside from the dangers posed by the snow hounds, the howling winds were also too loud for our ears. And I never thought I would be more scared of the wind here than whatever was lurking in the forest below.
Then, I heard a faint voice singing.
"Mountains so high and proud,
That touch the skies above,
Help me to reach the top,
So I can find my love.
Oceans so deep and vast,
Stretching and never last,
Allow my wish to cross,
To everyone I lost.
Howling winds of night,
Enough giving the fright,
For we just want to see,
What tomorrow will be."
It was Shino.
"What a nice song, Shino," I praised, which surprised her.
"I thought you were sleeping," Shino bashfully said while blushing.
I smiled. "I couldn't sleep. These winds won't let me. But I'm not kidding though—it was such a nice song."
"My mother used to sing it to me when I was a kid. It helped me sleep during storms and hurricanes. I thought of singing it here, hoping it would do the same for the two of you. But it seems like it didn't," Shino laughed.
"Sing it again, please. And this time, I'll try to close my eyes while listening to it," I requested.
Shino hesitated at first, but after a bit of encouragement from me, she finally conceded. I closed my eyes and focused my ears on Shino's lullaby. And strangely, my body relaxed, and all I could hear was her voice singing. The raging winds vanished as if they had stopped all of a sudden.
And because of that, I didn't notice that I was already dreaming.