It was sometime in the wee hours of the morning of the third day that Tark stumbled to a stop before dropping to his knees. He was carrying Galena and her head lolled lifelessly around as he fell, making the sick feeling in Elenio’s stomach even more pronounced.
“I have to stop,” he panted, raising a shaky hand to his face.
They’d descended the first mountain and started on the middle one sometime last night. They’d made good progress too, as they were not quite a third of the way up. Now, the going was harder, steeper, and required more strength, which they had very little of. Trading Galena back and forth, with no food since sometime the morning before and even less sleep, their energy was quickly depleting.
Elenio dropped to his knees as well, panting as heavily as Tark was. Realizing Tark would need help getting Galena down, he lifted a leg and using it to brace his hand on as leverage to help him rise, he stood shakily. His hands were shaking badly too; hunger was a constant pain somewhere in the middle of his stomach. It threatened to overwhelm him at times, for which he responded by downing entire flasks of water. This helped a little, but even now, he could not deny the ravage beast within in him that demanded food.
“Shall we break into the bite size food?” Elenio croaked, while he began to undo the ties around Galena and Tark’s waist.
Tark wearily nodded, slumping onto all fours when the weight of Galena was taken off him. Elenio cradled her body closer to his own while he crouched on the ground. Cupping her face, he turned it up so he could see her again. He did not like what he saw. Her lips were blue and caked with blood and what appeared to be dry foam. Panicking, he brought his fingers to the side of her neck to check for a pulse, relief and sickness welled up inside of him simultaneously. She had a pulse, but it was weak and more sporadic than he cared for it to be.
He carefully laid her down on the blanket Tark was spreading on the ground for her and wrapped her up like a cocoon, leaving only her face showing. Finding the stream nearby, he filled his flask and returned to her. He tilted her head up and little bit by little bit, poured water in her mouth. It seemed as if he would finally succeed in getting the liquid into her when she began convulsing more violently than he’d seen her do so far. Cradling her head so she wouldn’t beat herself to death on the stone, he watched helplessly as she continued. Her screams returned, although they sounded raspy and painful. He sobbed aloud, the tears flowing freely down his face and onto her head as he continued to hold her. She was trying to free her arms, clawing at the blankets surrounding her. Elenio could hear her as she struggled and was grateful when Tark came to hold her hands still. He saw that he too was crying. They continued to watch and listen to her living through this torture even as they tried to hold her still.
Her screams reached a new height and she arched her back in response to the agony wracking her body. Elenio didn’t know what else to do. He couldn’t help her, but he couldn’t just sit back and watch her battle. Her scream was cut short when she clamped her mouth shut with a resolute snap. Elenio watched her jaws bulge from the pressure they eluded. He was sure at that moment; she could have bitten through a large stick with the amount of pressure she was using.
Before her jaws relaxed, blood began streaming from her mouth, causing her to choke as it filled her mouth. Sitting her up and pushing on her jaws at the hinges so they would relax, he was able to open her mouth slightly so the blood would run out versus going back into her lungs. With this accomplished, Elenio continued to hold her shoulders and Tark her hands to prevent her from any further damage. Her head jerked this way and that, reminding Elenio of a grotesque doll being shaken violently.
Finally, she stilled, jerking at smaller intervals, but the worst had past it seemed. Elenio tilted her back slightly, holding her head in the crook of one arm as he opened her mouth to investigate where the blood came from. He turned his head quickly and retched. Tark grabbed Galena from Elenio, laying her back as Elenio wiped the sick from his face. Luckily, there was nothing but water left in his stomach.
“Roll her on her side,” he said with a raspy voice of his own. “She bit her tongue nearing in half. There’s not much keeping it together and it’s still bleeding. It’s not gushing anymore, but it’s enough to suffocate her if we leave her on her back.”
Tark looked somewhat disgusted as well as shocked, but he did what Elenio told him to do. He propped her up so that she was lying on her side with her legs bent in front to keep her from toppling over onto her face.
“Let’s eat the bite size pieces and then be on our way again.” Tark began to fish through the packs, finding every trace of the food, pushing Twoit aside in one of the packs as he did so. Twoit allowed him to do this and merely re-adjusted her head. Taking advantage of the free moment, Elenio lifted the small creature up and opening her mouth slightly, like he had with Galena, poured water into her tiny maw, but with much more success. He watched as the tiny ferret gulped the water down, but made no effort other than that to help herself. Satisfied she was thoroughly watered; he returned the furry creature to Galena’s pack and took the food Tark was offering him. He was able to hold the meager amount in his cupped hands. He looked bleakly at Tark, who continued to look at his own food.
“Have you seen anything edible along the way?” Elenio asked quietly, dreading the answer he knew was coming.
“I’ve seen berries, but I’m fairly sure they’re poisonous. Other than that, a lot of grass, and I imagine under the rocks we would find a variety of grubs and bugs of sorts. If it comes to it, we can eat those.”
Elenio nodded, glad there would be something available to keep them going, but disliking the thought of having to eat insects of any sort. Elenio took one handful of food and stuffed into his mouth. It was an odd mixture. A taste of fruit, a bit of cheese, some pieces of bread here and there. Swallowing, he stuffed the other handful in and dusted his hands off. His stomach growled loudly, unsatisfied with the meager amount of food it just received. Tark was finishing up as well. He stood and began packing what little they’d gotten out back into the bags.
It was Elenio’s turn to carry Galena. After her last bout, he silently prayed she would rest for a while so they could move more quickly. He walked over to her and prying her mouth open, he checked her tongue and was pleased to see the bleeding had stopped. She was still twitching though and it looked as if her eyes were fighting a battle of their own under her lids. She was sweating more than she had been as well. All of these signs worried Elenio. It seemed to him she had to fight harder to stay with them. Looking up at the mountain, he sighed. They’d come quite a ways, but still had a long way left to travel. At least another day or two and there was still no guarantee they were even on the right mountain. Looking back at her face, he couldn’t help wondering if she would last that long.
“Let’s get started. I expect to see torlics before long,” Tark said as he helped Elenio strap Galena to his back.
Elenio nodded; he had been wondering the same thing.
“We’ll start checking under rocks as we go. Whatever you find that is even remotely edible, eat it. I have a feeling before we’re finished here, we’re going to need a lot more energy than what the two of us have combined.”
Elenio stood and looked around once more while Tark grabbed the packs and swords. He waited patiently as Tark refilled their flasks from the tiny stream that flowed nearby. Finally, they started out.
The climb was hard. Much harder than Elenio remembered it being. Then again, a good portion of the first climb, Galena had flown them up and they’d been more rested and had more food supplies. Elenio’s arms and legs burned and protested with every move. His hands shook from hunger. On many occasions, he had to stop because he felt he was on the verge of blacking out from tiredness.
They needed to stop more frequently because of Galena’s fits as well. They were definitely increasing in intensity and frequency. Stopping at many different rocks, they found a few insects and grubs that they ate. However, because of the cold, even those were hard to find. Elenio had to fight his gag instinct every time he ate one. Elves did not naturally eat the flesh of any living thing and this felt wrong on every level, but he knew it was a necessity.
Half way up the mountain, Elenio found himself covered in sweat, waves of sickness threatened him with every move, because of his hunger. He looked at Tark and found that the elf had sat down on a rock, his head between his knees.
“I’ve got to stop,” Elenio said.
Tark just nodded and stood to help him with Galena. “We have to search for some food or we’re not going to make it,” Tark said. He stood with his hands on his hips and searched the area briefly.
Falling to his knees from weakness, Elenio reached for his flask and found that it was empty. He silently prayed to Mira for food. If they were going to get Galena to her healing pool and defeat Rau, they needed some help and they needed it badly. There was no way they were going to make it to the top without her assistance.
Elenio braced himself to stand when Tark suddenly collapsed. Elenio crawled over to him quickly and flipped him over onto his back. He saw that Tark was gray faced and sweaty, but otherwise, appeared fine.
“I’m hungry that’s all,” he said thickly. He brought a hand to his face and covered his eyes for a moment before attempting to sit up.
Elenio stopped him before he got very far. “Rest for a moment while I get us water and look for something to eat.”
Tark didn’t even nod, but rolled over onto his side, closed his eyes, and relaxed. Elenio had not taken two steps away before he heard the steady rhythm of Tark breathing. They were both exhausted and before they left this spot, he knew he would need to sleep too.
Stumbling every few feet, Elenio headed in the directions of a small stream. His vision beginning to waiver with every step. He continued to pray, hoping Mira would take pity on them. Within a grassy patch, a tiny brook appeared to be coming from a small spring in the rocks. He filled their flasks, as he looked further up the mountain. This is where the small stream they’d been collecting water from throughout the day, appeared to originate. It looked like after this moment, they would no longer have access to water either. Elenio didn’t have the energy to get angry or to feel hopeless. It was what it was.
He sat down hard on the ground. Placing his face in his hands, he thought about how hopeless the situation was. Galena was hanging on by mere strings. Tark and he would die of starvation, if the torlics didn’t come before then. They did all of this to find a sword of light that none of them were even sure was completely real. Sure, the old elf hinted there was indeed a sword, but Elenio was still angry with him for forgetting a vital fact like there were three really tall mountains that could contain Mira’s View.
Elenio started muttering insults at Pangoro when he felt a warm breeze caress his face. Instantly, his hopes began to rise. The breeze swirled around him, making him lift his face up and simply enjoy the feel of it. He closed his eyes and smelled things he remembered from his past. Sweet berries, the smell of Galena, both sweet and spicy. He smelled his mother’s bread fresh from the fire. He smelled the musty smell of fall leaves and burnt grass. He smelled it all at once, but with a distinction between them. He smiled faintly as memories of happier times washed over him. In the back on his mind, he heard a faint voice calling to him. Keeping his eyes closed, he focused on the voice, straining to make his mind understand what it was saying.
“Open your eyes, Elenio. You will find food when you need it. Bring Galena to me.”
The voice faded away before Elenio thought to ask who it was. Sensing it no more, Elenio opened his eyes as he had been instructed too. There, before him, where none had been before, was a giant blackberry bush covered in big, juicy berries. Elenio felt his jaw drop in amazement as he took in the sight before him. Mumbling his thanks, he scrambled over to the bush, and stuffed the berries that were the size of his thumbs, into his mouth as fast as he picked them. As soon as a berry was picked, another one, equally as large, grew in its place.
After he’d eaten his fill, he trotted over to where Tark was still sleeping and shook him gently. It took a little longer than normal to wake him and Elenio had started to panic when Tark finally opened his eyes and regarded Elenio. Elenio held out his hand full of the berries for Tark to see. It was the fastest Elenio saw Tark move in a couple of days. One minute the berries had been there lying in his hand, the next, they weren’t. The only evidence Elenio had that he hadn’t dropped them was Tark’s bulging cheeks.
“There’s more over there you greedy pig. It’s not like I was going to offer them to you and then snatch them back,” Elenio said, chuckling as he regarded Tark who chewed the berries at record speed before swallowing them.
Tark looked in the direction Elenio indicated and sat up slowly. Elenio helped him to his feet and led him to where the blackberry bush stood waiting. It was still full of berries as it had been when Elenio first saw it.
“I think they’re from Mira,” Elenio explained as he watched Tark do exactly what he’d done just moments before. He told Tark of what happened as he plucked several more berries off the bush and popped them into his mouth.
“Couldn’t come a moment later,” Tark said thickly through a mouth full of berries. “I was just about to give up.”
Elenio stood and thought about that. Would he have given up too if Mira hadn’t helped when she did? He didn’t think he had a ready answer for that. He left Tark eating the berries while he walked over to their packs and removed a small satchel from inside of Galena’s bag. He checked Galena quickly and saw she was relatively the same as she had been before, so he returned to the berry bush and filled the bag with more of the fruit. He knew Mira said she would continue to provide food, but this would be for them to take and eat along the way so they could reduce the frequency at which they stopped.
Tark was standing up when Elenio reached him. They both collected berries wordlessly, eating more as they did so. They filled the bag in a relatively short amount of time and returned to Galena and their packs. Elenio offered to carry Galena once more as he really hadn’t carried her very far before, but Tark protested this because of the lack of sleep Elenio had. Elenio rubbed his eyes that had begun to feel irritated and dry when Tark pointed out the amount of sleep he had.
“Fine, you carry her and the next time we stop, I’ll get a few minutes of sleep.” Elenio helped Tark and then grabbed the bags. He looked up the mountain once more, but this time he felt more hopeful. Glancing back in the direction of the blackberry bush, he stopped. Where had it gone? Had he been dreaming? His stomach no longer ached with hunger and he didn’t feel as weak as before. He held up a hand to see if it was still shaking, but his hand was steady, further evidence of his full stomach.
“Tark, do you see that bush anywhere?” he asked, wondering if the lack of sleep was starting to affect him more than he realized.
Tark readjusted Galena on his back before turning to look in the direction that they had found the berries. “No.” He scratched his head, looking puzzled for a moment before shrugging. “Guess that answers that question.” He began walking up the mountain once more, calling over his shoulders as he did, “Mira is definitely on our side.”