A hand suddenly grabbed at the ledge; grappling for a hold.
Beloved hauled herself up and lay, panting on the ledge for some time; surveying the path below as it dwindled out of sight below the high rising clouds. Yet she still had a long way to go following the path that continued to snake upwards into the mountains.
After a time she pressed onwards; unsure if the path was leading her closer towards some reachable, determined summit, or to another unknown destination. It was a constant struggle against the onslaught of the wind, and the loose rubble beneath Beloved’s feet, which made the climb treacherous in her precarious position; certain death an iminent possibility.
Determinedly ignoring her fatigue and the hardships placed upon her, Beloved struggled valiantly to continue to follow the zigzagging maze of the path- at times she felt that through the corner of her eye she could see a familiar, humanoid figure lurking behind rocks, concealed within the crags of the mountain; but each time she turned around in an attempt to catch him unawares, no one was there.
Unsettled, a sudden shift of rubble behind her falling off the edge caused Beloved to start in alarm. Losing her balance, she grabbed wildly for a hold on to the path but found nothing, and screaming in alarm, Beloved found herself falling from the ledge; falling from the path.
Suddenly, her empty grasp met rock and she clung to it tightly; hanging by her fingertips to the rock face, inches away from a slip to sudden death thousands of feet below. As she tried exhaustedly to haul herself upwards, Beloved noticed a large crevice in the rocks to her left that was large enough to form a cave. Even a cave suspended within the air itself was better than falling to a gruesome death; and so Beloved crawled, and swung herself into its dark entrance.
At first glance the cave was deserted, its walls swathed in the cobwebs of centuries of disuse and abandonment, yet under closer inspection Beloved saw signs that it had once been the entrance to some kind of dwelling place. Beneath the aging layers of dust she could feel the crunching of shattered ceramics underfoot, and bending down she retrieved one such intact object. Beloved blew away the dust to reveal a crudely carved pestle; once used to grind down herbs to make countless remedies and potions... at this thought Beloved’s mind began hazily to stir back to elusive murmurings- of mountains... witches... keys... but she found that she could no more hold on to such thoughts than the particles of dust hovering upon the air.
She wandering deeper into the cavern, sweeping aside cobwebs to reveal a tunnel winding into the depths of the earth. A strange breeze seemed to be emitted from the tunnel, and curious as to its origin; Beloved followed it.
The further she walked down the tunnel, the air seemed to grow stagnant, colder, and her breath froze upon the air. The hairs on the back of Beloved’s neck stood on end; every nerve and instinct in her body telling her to run... and not look back.
“Beloved. You have come to us at last.”
She stood transfixed, horrified as the ethereal shapes materialised through the tunnel walls; ghosts of the mountain tunnels. The first ghost hovered in front of Beloved; a young girl of a similar age wearing a strange cloak that appeared to consist of the pelt of a white wolf, it’s head forming a hood that framed her deathly pale face with its wide, dark eyes.
“You are searching aren’t you? But you do not know what you are searching for,” the ghost held a pale had out to Beloved; inviting her to take hold of it, “Now you shall be lost no longer, for I will take you to the Witch; and she will give you the answers that you seek.”
Nervously, Beloved reached for the ghostly hand; and grasped it with shaking fingers. A strange, disembodied, floating feeling overwhelmed her senses as she let herself be guided along through the abandoned tunnels into the very depths of the mountains by the strange spirit girl. She offered no conversation, but Beloved did not need any answers from her; she was to meet the witch at last.
The spirit girl suddenly halted at an opening in the tunnel, and letting go of her hand, beckoned Beloved to follow.
They stood in the harsh white light of the open air; Beloved’s eyes blinded by the sudden exposure. When she regained control of her sight, she saw that they were standing on a ledge upon the mountain summit; ice and snow swirling in a blizzard around them as they stood in the dizzying heights thousands of feet above the path.
“I can go no further- there is the cave in which you seek.” The spirit girl- an almost translucent totem against the intensity of the mountain storm- pointed resolutely to a cave adjacent to the ledge.
Her heart beating furiously, nerves afire with suspense and anticipation; Beloved pushed her fears aside, and breathing deeply... entered into the Witches cave.
Beloved hauled herself up and lay, panting on the ledge for some time; surveying the path below as it dwindled out of sight below the high rising clouds. Yet she still had a long way to go following the path that continued to snake upwards into the mountains.
After a time she pressed onwards; unsure if the path was leading her closer towards some reachable, determined summit, or to another unknown destination. It was a constant struggle against the onslaught of the wind, and the loose rubble beneath Beloved’s feet, which made the climb treacherous in her precarious position; certain death an iminent possibility.
Determinedly ignoring her fatigue and the hardships placed upon her, Beloved struggled valiantly to continue to follow the zigzagging maze of the path- at times she felt that through the corner of her eye she could see a familiar, humanoid figure lurking behind rocks, concealed within the crags of the mountain; but each time she turned around in an attempt to catch him unawares, no one was there.
Unsettled, a sudden shift of rubble behind her falling off the edge caused Beloved to start in alarm. Losing her balance, she grabbed wildly for a hold on to the path but found nothing, and screaming in alarm, Beloved found herself falling from the ledge; falling from the path.
Suddenly, her empty grasp met rock and she clung to it tightly; hanging by her fingertips to the rock face, inches away from a slip to sudden death thousands of feet below. As she tried exhaustedly to haul herself upwards, Beloved noticed a large crevice in the rocks to her left that was large enough to form a cave. Even a cave suspended within the air itself was better than falling to a gruesome death; and so Beloved crawled, and swung herself into its dark entrance.
At first glance the cave was deserted, its walls swathed in the cobwebs of centuries of disuse and abandonment, yet under closer inspection Beloved saw signs that it had once been the entrance to some kind of dwelling place. Beneath the aging layers of dust she could feel the crunching of shattered ceramics underfoot, and bending down she retrieved one such intact object. Beloved blew away the dust to reveal a crudely carved pestle; once used to grind down herbs to make countless remedies and potions... at this thought Beloved’s mind began hazily to stir back to elusive murmurings- of mountains... witches... keys... but she found that she could no more hold on to such thoughts than the particles of dust hovering upon the air.
She wandering deeper into the cavern, sweeping aside cobwebs to reveal a tunnel winding into the depths of the earth. A strange breeze seemed to be emitted from the tunnel, and curious as to its origin; Beloved followed it.
The further she walked down the tunnel, the air seemed to grow stagnant, colder, and her breath froze upon the air. The hairs on the back of Beloved’s neck stood on end; every nerve and instinct in her body telling her to run... and not look back.
“Beloved. You have come to us at last.”
She stood transfixed, horrified as the ethereal shapes materialised through the tunnel walls; ghosts of the mountain tunnels. The first ghost hovered in front of Beloved; a young girl of a similar age wearing a strange cloak that appeared to consist of the pelt of a white wolf, it’s head forming a hood that framed her deathly pale face with its wide, dark eyes.
“You are searching aren’t you? But you do not know what you are searching for,” the ghost held a pale had out to Beloved; inviting her to take hold of it, “Now you shall be lost no longer, for I will take you to the Witch; and she will give you the answers that you seek.”
Nervously, Beloved reached for the ghostly hand; and grasped it with shaking fingers. A strange, disembodied, floating feeling overwhelmed her senses as she let herself be guided along through the abandoned tunnels into the very depths of the mountains by the strange spirit girl. She offered no conversation, but Beloved did not need any answers from her; she was to meet the witch at last.
The spirit girl suddenly halted at an opening in the tunnel, and letting go of her hand, beckoned Beloved to follow.
They stood in the harsh white light of the open air; Beloved’s eyes blinded by the sudden exposure. When she regained control of her sight, she saw that they were standing on a ledge upon the mountain summit; ice and snow swirling in a blizzard around them as they stood in the dizzying heights thousands of feet above the path.
“I can go no further- there is the cave in which you seek.” The spirit girl- an almost translucent totem against the intensity of the mountain storm- pointed resolutely to a cave adjacent to the ledge.
Her heart beating furiously, nerves afire with suspense and anticipation; Beloved pushed her fears aside, and breathing deeply... entered into the Witches cave.
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