Cursed Times - Only Yesterday! Sequel to Wattys 2015 winner!

Chapter 44: Trueth - A Leap of Faith Part 2

She had no time to linger any longer, so Trueth stoppered the bottle that had contained her coffee, adjusted the strings of the sagging backpack and grabbed a protruding knob of rock. She heaved herself upwards, positioning her feet somewhat precariously on top of a crumbling ridge. Looking to her left, she saw the profile of Seisi's trainers preserved on a smattering of snow powdering a small ledge.

She stretched her leg, carefully placed one foot on the outcrop, then shifted her balance. The cliff was rugged and offered enough places to hold on to but the foot space tended to be a bit sparse. Climbing had never been on her bucket list; on the other hand, she harboured a strong suspicion that any self-respecting mountaineer would consider this particular ascent unworthy of their attentions. It still kept her focused and sweating as she slowly fought her way upwards, following either footsteps or arrows Seisi had painstakingly drawn onto the cliff face.

Her breathing was laboured and the backpack seemed to gain another kilo for every metre of height she gained. Trueth carefully placed the tips of her booted feet into two small holes in the mountain and tried to catch her breath. The cliff seemed to be slightly leaning away from her, allowing her to press her heaving chest against it and get some rest. The pack on her aching back still was keen to respond to the call of gravity and she had to juggle her balance. Carefully, she detached one stiff hand from the stone and wiped away the sweat that was dripping into her eyes. Her vision improved, she studied the cliff for further signs.

There were none.

When she examined the rock face on both sides, she also saw no footholds, let alone any footprints. Icy shock flooded her abdomen, she must have missed a turning somewhere and would have to retrace her steps. Somehow. Or maybe Seisi had used the Pinions of Nekhbet and had flown up the mountain? But then he would have left instructions? She checked the cliff once more.

No instructions. No hieroglyphs, nothing.

The Pinions were out of reach. Even if she found the necessary instructions, she would be wary of using unfamiliar spells. During her stint in Kemet, she had treated many a victim of backfiring invocations.

Those that had survived the experience.

Blasting the cliff was not an option either, she would most likely cause an avalanche and hurtle towards her death in the depths. Trueth craned her neck and frantically scrutinised the solid grey of the rock face.

Still no instructions

This was not possible! How could she have gone wrong, the markers and signs had been very clear from the start, they had been so close to each other, missing one was impossible?

To her left, the mountain shimmered and what had appeared to be solid stone suddenly showed a fissure with an arrow painted next to it. Trueth gasped, clenched her fingers around a knobby protrusion and slowly moved one foot into the gap. She let go with one hand, grabbed the edge of the crack, then pulled the other leg after her and squeezed herself into the narrow opening. For one moment, she wondered how Seisi had fit in here, especially as he must have still been carrying Dog.

He had, however, not been burdened with a bulky backpack, so she wriggled out of the straps and dropped the dead weight onto the floor of the crack. The opening appeared to be widening at the other end, which was reassuring, but for the moment she was content to lean against the rock and catch her breath. And work out what had just happened. Either she was on a magical mountain, or Seisi had seen fit to spell the part of the way so that it only yielded access to her. Why he would do such a thing was beyond her. It was inconsiderate to say the least.

Well, he would not do such a thing. You should know better than that. A voice, nothing more than a whisper, materialised in her brain. Nebmutef still managed to convey a sneer just fine. I found it interesting to see what you would do. Well, it appears you did not do very much, did you? If I had not shown you the way, you would still be glued to your cliff!