The Knights of Aragon

Chapter 31

My arms ache like they never have before. I haven't pushed my body to do any extreme exercises for decades and now I'm rock climbing down the side of a canyon. Rhydian and Gawain are climbing down on either side of me, while Draxum, Goosey and Bo follow suit above us. Vera and Beau wait at the top, making sure all six of us make it down smoothly. The hitch in this trek down is that Vera and her band had no ropes, so we're going in blindly with no safety. I'm guessing that's why we're in groups. The ridges help with the climb, but they're rough and if you don't pay attention, you could scrap off the skin on your hands. I look up and see Draxum carefully maneuver the edge. He's doing better than I thought he would.

"You're almost there, Gawain!"

Beau calls down to him, making me look down for the first time. My body almost sags in relief. The three of us have two meters left until our feet hit the precious ground. I move my hands down to the next ledge as my feet latches onto another below. "How're you doing, Val?" I choke out a laugh and lean against the rough ridges. "How does it look like I'm doing?" I can feel his eyes on me as I try to keep my breathing even. "It looks like you're afraid of heights," I take another shaky step down, "but out of everything you've encountered so far, I doubt heights is what you're most afraid of." I keep my eyes focused on my task at hand. "You might never know, Rhydian," I joke with a strained smile on my face. My feet hit the even ground and I exhale all the air in my lungs. Easy, that was... easy.

I rub my hands on my trousers and move my eyes up to Draxum's form. "Alright," Gawain calls to me and Rhydian, "now that we're on the ground, we must keep an eye out for the basilisk. And we cannot split up. We'll be vulnerable to it if we end up alone." I share a look with Rhydian. He takes out his spear, balancing it in his hands. My eyes move back to Draxum as he nears the ground. Vera and Beau have swung their bodies over the ledge, making their way down. Dry, humid winds blow through us. Lifting an unusual metallic tang from somewhere far away. It makes the hairs at the back of my neck stand. The scent is old, almost ancient. I can't place it, but I feel like I know it from somewhere. My mind seeks the scent from deepest crevices of my memory. I can almost reach it, but I hear feet jump down to the ground behind me. One, two, three pairs of feet. My focus snaps and I'm back in the present.

Draxum gravitates to me, looking up at me with his infectious smile. I rub his shoulder, pulling him in for a side hug. "You did great, kid." His face lights up, pride shining in his eyes. "So, where are we going now? How exactly are we getting to the Ruins from here?" I ask to no one in particular. The canyon only runs in two directions: West and East. I remember the Thames running through two whole regions. I cannot imagine what those parts look like now. Beau jumps down and says, "We have to go west for the rest of the day, then once we near the drop-off, we'll stop for the night." The drop-off? That doesn't sound good. "Uh," my eyes squints at the sky, "what's a drop-off?" The others begin to walk west, leading the way. Rhydian, Draxum and I have no choice but to follow them.

"The drop-off," Vera answers without a second glance, "is a part of the canyon that suddenly just drops. Just a huge hole in the middle of nowhere." Interesting. It seems like an odd thing to occur in a canyon. "Yeah, it's the weirdest thing, really," Bo adds. "We've tried going to see what was down there once." Goosey laughs at some mutual memory. "Oh, I remember that! Gawain screamed like a girl when Boaz pretended to fall straight down," she giggles, covering her mouth with her hands. I can't say that I'm not curious about this drop-off. I also can't help but wonder what exactly happened to the Thames. The river was so full of life and mystical magic. Much like many parts of the land, this river had guardians. Five women who's all life revolved on creating harmony amongst their waters and protecting its inhabitants. They devoted their whole lives to their duties. So, why? Why would they leave their realm and let it to fall into ruin? Nimue taught me all about sorceresses like her. Guardians like her.