Vitae Memorandum

10-Ensuing Descent

Once outside the cave, the four of them were faced with another cliff to reach the main path. At the rate they were going, they would pass the great mountain by lunch that same day.

Going down the cliff was much easier than going up, least because they were better outfitted for the climb. Lwyn took the lead again, followed by Mhyl. Qheria took the tail end of the group, considering she had the best leverage, with Thanrie on hand as backup if needed. The four were still on guard, but they weren't as tense as before. Once back on the path, they looked onward as it sloped before them in bumps and ridges in its spiral decline, then agreed on taking a break. They had skipped breakfast, after all, and were getting quite hungry.

"All things considered, we're still making pretty good time. I didn't originally account for needing a whole day to make this trip, but it's not bad regardless. Cutting through the mountain alone saved us plenty of time." Qheria congratulated everyone for their hard work, though Mhyl was still feeling like a liability. "I'm sorry for slowing everything down." "Oh come on, Mhyl, don't be so hard on yourself. You kicked ass back there you know. Never would have expected you to be so dangerous with a book. Thanks for saving me, by the way." Lwyn came to Mhyl's defense, still remembering her atlas slam.

"Speaking of danger, I'm getting the impression we've been a bit too careless." This coming from Thanrie was pretty mind-blowing. "We might have only found such a danger once, but we haven't really ever prepared for anything. We were downright lucky to have weapons readied. Getting that far without getting jumped, it was probably pure luck. Going forward, considering how civilization ended with the mountain, we should be much more prepared."

"A land without civilization is one ripe with outlaws. It means shouldn't we be careful around anyone, while expecting an ambush at every moment?" Mhyl didn't look up from her Atlas while she spoke. Lwyn looked up in consideration of such terms. "Speaking of ambush, those bandits will be pretty mad when they wake up. We need to be careful in case we end up followed." "If we can reach the end of the mountain, that will become much less of a problem. From there, it's all hills and valleys, realistically we could be assumed to have gone in any direction." "Except, aren't we just going to follow the river?" "Hmm, according to the map, that might not be the best assumption. The river has a wide curve, we would do better going straight to our destination." Mhyl had a pretty good grasp of the geographical situation from her maps, plotting the best route to the lake. Lwyn was thinking of things differently, but Mhyl's logic made sense.

"We might need to consider our resources to figure out the best path. If everything is as dry as you were saying, straying too far from a water source might not be the best solution." Qheria mentioned a thought Mhyl had forgot to consider. She remembered travelling through some of Earth's dry climates, where water was important. Here, water would be much more difficult to transport. It was a shame this world had no such vehicles. Actually, as she could remember, any sort of beast of burdens wasn't a popular thing either, Celese didn't have any particularly accommodating creatures like horses. Having a reduced amount of stamina, not being able to catch a ride was to be even more unfair. She was starting to see why Lwyn regretted her heritage, being an elf wasn't fun at all.

"Oh, Lwyn, that reminds me. Before we find ourselves facing any more humans, can you teach me a bit of Izhaethyx? Having learned a ton of languages in my Terran life, I'm pretty sure I can pick things up quickly. I know this won't be an overnight thing, but some of the more simple words and phrases might be helpful." Mhyl turned to Lwyn, once again seeking language lessons. Thanrie replied while Lwyn put some thought into the request. "Oh, the best thing to start with is all the swear words. That's how I learned English." "Somehow, that explains everything." "Actually, wait, are there any swear words in Izhaethyx? I can't think of any." "As a noblewoman, I get the impression your lifestyle had you focus on dignified and formal speech over any other forms." "Wait, f~~k, I think you're right!" Thanrie and Qheria bantered between each other regarding Thanrie's vocabulary.