Chapter 28: Hell's Pass
Dal wanted to run just a little bit faster, but again, he was forced to pause. "Guys, come on," he said, turning around to ensure that Mason and his friends were still following. He hopped over a knee-high fence. Ahead of him, along the tall stalks of grass, were the dual windmills that framed the entrance to the village, and behind those two were the grain silos. Home was about a ten-minute jog from there.
"There's no rush, Dal," Mason said. "You're going to be twenty years old next month. Start acting like it!"
Dal shook his head, then lifted the bag he was holding. "When Father sees the deal I got on these tools, he'll see I can still follow in his footsteps." Dal, becoming impatient, checked how long he had until his next shift—less than ten minutes. "I also want him to see me the way I am right now."
After a string of terrible shifts, Dal had awoken two weeks ago to find himself a level-13 member of the tier-3 Trader class, something his father was working every day to try to promote into. Surely, seeing his son as one would finally soften him up to Dal's unfortunate circumstance. Perhaps, it might even make Father realize that Dal could still live up to his expectations.
"We're not going to get back before you shift," Mason said, dashing Dal's hopes as he paused to wipe sweat off his brow. "Father will be happy enough with how well you did in Freewind. Truly."
"He won't be," Dal whispered. "He never is."
"You just don't understand how he feels. It's…complicated."
Dal, growing impatient, checked the time remaining before his next shift. Regrettably, he realized that there was no way he could make it back in time. His brother was correct. And so, giving up on rushing home together, he and Mason sat on a stack of hay and waited it out while Mason's friends went on ahead.
"What do you think you'll get this time?" Mason asked.
Dal laughed. "With my luck? Janitor again."
"How long now?"
Dal tapped his finger against his chin. "Hmm…fifteen seconds."
"Oh, then quickly, give me your money and the tools. Father will have your hide if you end up losing everything again."
"Yeah, yeah, I know."
Dal handed Mason his coin purse and the tools he'd bought at a steep discount in Freewind. He also handed him over a secondary bag containing candy he'd purchased for Ahni, having promised to bring her back a present. Now, there was nothing left to do but wait.
And he did.
The clock ticked down, the shift was set to happen, and then Dal saw it: the class he'd been assigned. And it was here, at this point, at this moment, that he made a sour expression and said, "Huh? Hey, Mason: what's a, uh…a Harbinger of Death?"
"A what?"
No!
Dal coughed and gasped as he threw the covers over himself, causing the woman wrapped in his right arm to flinch and the one in his left to stir. "Are you okay, sugar?" one of them asked. Dal wasn't even sure which one. It was dark in his room, and the candle by his bedside had become extinguished. Sitting up, he realized he was drenched in sweat—from head to toe. But it must have been a cold sweat, for he was shivering.
"Ladies," he said, "forgive me, but I'd like to be alone now."
"You sure? You're paid up until morning."
"Yes, I'm sure. Please, I just need some alone time."
"All right, sweetie."
The two women that Volorn had sent to his room got out of the bed, their naked forms walking across the creaky flooring until they both exited, shutting the door behind them. Now, Dal slid out of the bed, walked across to the room's lone window, and began to stare out of it.
That dream.
It had come again.
It must've been prompted by his recent circumstances. But it was torture, for whenever he had this dream, he always knew what was to follow, and so he was paralyzed to relive events despite knowing in advance that they were going to happen. Thankfully, however, if nothing else, he had woken before the part that came next.
It's dark, he thought, craving the light of day.
Unlike in Bradford, where the electric-powered lighting remained active all the way until morning, the torches found in the streets of Heaven's End seemed to burn out around midnight, submerging the entire town-sized village into total darkness. For this reason, Dal could see nothing outside except for a faint streak of moonlight, which a passing cloud soon obscured. Sitting back down on the bed, he buried his face into his hands and tried to think.
Ahni.
That name. It'd changed everything. Should he still go? Or should he run from this? Perhaps this was fate itself calling out to him. What right did he have to avoid a confrontation with her? What right did he have to deny the woman another chance at vengeance? If he had been in her shoes, surely, he would want the same, assuming that was even what she desired after all these years.
How can she still be alive?
Getting up from the bed once more, Dal found a towel near the chamber pot and dried himself off before slipping back into bed yet again. He knew they'd be leaving early tomorrow, and he needed to conserve his strength. In all his life, he'd never gone farther east than Heaven's End. This would be his first time actually going into the dangerous, treacherous mountain region, and he would need to be rested and sharp.
Thus, as difficult as he found it, he forced himself to relax, and eventually, sleep found him once more. But as it did in the attempt prior, it brought him no rest, only horrible nightmares and painful memories. Somehow, though, the time passed, and when Dal next opened his eyes, light was once again filtering into the room.
Thank the God above, he thought. I've gotten through another night.
The storm from the prior night having passed, it looked as though the sky would be mostly clear today, at least from the early indications Dal spotted as he got up and peered out of the window. With a sigh, he quickly got dressed, put on his ragged boots, and hurried his way down the stairs to find Volorn and Grolm already waiting for him.
"Rise and shine, kid," Volorn said, seemingly in a very good mood. "You ever been to Hell's Pass before? Or go beyond it?"
"No," Dal said, shaking his head as he joined his two "companions," or at least companions for the time being.
Volorn laughed. "Well, time to pop that cherry."
At this, Grolm also released a chuckle. "You're gonna hate it. It really is as terrible as they say. Just stick close to us, and you'll be all right."
As it did the day prior, the chummy vibe disgusted Dal. Yet the more he was around it, the harder he had to work to invoke such disgust—and to remember why he needed to eschew even the slightest hint of positive feelings towards either of the marauders. To aid him in this, he reminded himself of what these two had done and of their violent, brutal nature. He would not allow himself to become friends with ilk like these two.
Still, given the dreams last night, they did make for a decent distraction.
Following after the two men, Dal walked all the way across town before finding himself inside of a modest item shop conveniently located right by an exit that let out directly into Hell's Pass. There, he watched as the two marauders went around scooping up various supplies for the journey ahead. Notably, they did not attempt to steal, which reinforced the idea that this was a marauder-run settlement, as Dal could not imagine them paying for goods anywhere else.
"Grab a few extra healing potions," Grolm said. "Just in case we run into one of those ogres."
Volorn swore. "How much is this gonna set me back, Grolm?"
"I'll pay you back, relax. Also, get an extra pack so the kid can help pull his weight."
"Yeah, all right."
When all was said and done, each of them had a large brown pack slung over their shoulders and on their backs, and with that, Dal followed them downhill along a pathway that led to an unguarded, east-facing exit to this little town.
"Is there a reason you don't take horses with you?" Dal asked them. "When you head out this way, I mean."
"Yeah," Volorn said. "It might not look like it at first, but real quickly, the terrain becomes impossible for them to get through. Horses can jump and swim, but they can't climb. And they don't like going through caves, neither. Not to mention the trees and the brush we're gonna have to squeeze through pretty early on."
As Dal followed the two out of the town, the terrain changed in a matter of mere footsteps; though it was still relatively flat, the dirt became rockier until there was no dirt at all, and the three of them traversed a ground made up exclusively of small, jagged, and uneven rocks, which made walking uncomfortable. Up ahead, the mountains that made up this region loomed closer than ever, and Dal could not deny that they were a splendid sight.
Like giants or celestial beings, they stood impressively tall—enough so that Dal had to crane his neck all the way up to see their snow-covered peaks. Trees dotted the faces of several, and so did what looked like giant beehives, which Dal suspected may be the nests of dog-sized hornets based on gossip he'd heard throughout his life.
"Which one are we heading to?" Dal asked.
Grolm opened his mouth to reply, then paused and instead looked at Volorn, who said, "It's okay, you can tell the kid, Grolm."
He nodded. "We're heading to Ahna."
Ahna, Dal thought. Reminds me of Ahni. Is that why she picked it?
Having become distracted, Dal didn't notice the giant shadow he was standing inside until Volorn tackled him and shouted, "Watch out!"
Dal was thrown onto his back, coughing out spit from the harsh impact. He tried to stand, but Volorn grabbed him and shoved him right back down to his knees. Confused, Dal opened his mouth to inquire about why he had taken such an action, but not a moment later, a massive, brown, and winged beast glided right over him while snapping its jaws shut as though in an attempt to take off his head, its razor-sharp teeth biting only the empty air.
"Fucking dactyls," Grolm growled. Then, to Dal, he said, "Kid, you really need to pay more attention."
"Yeah…sorry."
Dal looked over his shoulder. The town of Heaven's End was not even a ten-minute walk behind them, and already, they'd been attacked by a monster.
This really was going to be unpleasant.