The Chronicles of Tenroha

Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

As Ryan and Nìa made their way to the shore of the lake, Ryan began to understand why the early maps showed two mountains of the same height, while the more recent maps showed one being much shorter than the other. It looked as though, sometime in the history of the mountains, the top of the one had broken off from the rest of the mountain and fallen into the valley below causing a natural dam to form. They looked across the lake that now filled the valley below and tried to find evidence of the lost city but found nothing. The shores of the lake were overgrown with flora and it was difficult to see anything.

Ryan thought it odd that the vegetation around the lake was still green and flourishing in the cold temperatures that had surrounded them on their journey. The air that was around the lake was warm. He knelt down and felt the water of the lake and found that it was much warmer than it should be. There was a thin, misty fog drifting across the edge of the water that swirled around as the breeze blew past them. They began to walk around the lake, looking for any signs of the old city that once sat in the valley.

By evening fall, they still had not discovered anything of the ancient kingdom, but they managed to find a small cave on the side of the mountain and near the shore. They decided it was time for a rest. They went through their usual preparations in making a camp before settling down for the night. Nìa sat by the fire and watched the sky.

The moon was less than half full. It had begun waning a few days past, but its light reflected off the lake beautifully and illuminated their camp. She watched the tiny ripples on the water caused by a light breeze as it rode across the surface of the lake. She looked out across the lake, following the reflection of the moon. She saw something in the lake. It was too dark for her to make out what it was. She stood up to try and see further across the lake. It didn't help.

Ryan was studying the maps by the fire that led them to this spot and he looked up when she touched his shoulder to get his attention. She pointed out across the water to the object that she saw and asked, "What is that?" Ryan stood beside her and followed her arm with his eyes so that he, too, could look in the direction that she was pointing.

He saw the object that she was pointing at and became curious as to what it could be. "I don't know," he said, in answer to her question. He sat back down by the fire and returned to his maps. "We can check it out in the morning," he said without looking up from the maps. Nìa sat down beside him and returned to watching the skies. After a few minutes, Ryan folded his maps up and stashed them away in his pack. "We should get some rest," he said, and then went to lay down inside the cave and Nìa followed.

The sound of wolves did not disturb their slumber this night. They had walked nearly two leagues in the span of the two days since they left the Sanctum. The exhaustion from their journey weighed heavy on them and they slept well past sunrise. Nìa was awoken to the sound of birds chirping around her. She sat up and began to stretch. She saw that Ryan had already gotten up. She looked around to find him, but he wasn't in their cave or at the shoreline.

She went outside of the cave and called for him. She heard him call back to her from a distance followed by the sound of chopping. After a few minutes, Ryan came to the shore where she was standing. He was dragging a small log with him. She looked around the shore and found several more logs laying by the water's edge. He pulled a knife from his belt and handed it to her, saying, "I'm glad you are awake. I found some vines over in that direction. Can you go and cut me some about this long," he asked, stretching his hands out as far as he could reach.

Ryan began by laying two logs on the ground a little more than a full step apart while Nìa went to gather some vines. He then began to lay the rest of the logs across the first two. When Nìa returned, he used the vines to tie them together. When he was finished, he stood beside the raft that he had just built.