Soul Caller 1 - Chapter 7 (Patreon)

Deciding to take a closer look at the falls, he continued until he was right next to the pounding water. The cliff the water fell from was slick with the spray from the falls, and he knew that climbing it would be a death sentence. Instead, securing one end of his rope to one of the nearby trees, he explored along its edge, intending to see what was behind the falls. The cliff was slightly inverted, stretching out over his head and casting shade upon the area right at the base of the waterfall, and he was curious. Often, there were natural cave systems where water flowed, and so he thought it best to eliminate that possibility before moving out to explore the rest of the basin. He had to be very careful not to get swept away by the water, for though he had survived it once, he didn't like his chances against the giant pike that were lurking down below.

Stepping from slippery rock to slippery rock, Merrick watched his footing carefully, looking for any boulders that might be unstable. As he explored along the walls, his eyesight began to adjust to the darkness, and he spotted what he was looking for. Sure enough, deep behind the curtain of water, he saw a cave system.Whether it led up to the surface was impossible to tell without entering it and exploring it fully. It could very well lead deeper into the earth, but he had a suspicion that it went up. That suspicion was confirmed when he peeked into the entrance and saw the light trickle of water running down through it. Likely, there was a crack in the riverbed up above that was sending water down. Still, it would be a dangerous proposition to climb up into the cave system, and there was no guarantee that there was an entrance up above. Besides, he wasn't prepared for such a journey.

Turning around, he made his way back along the edge of the deluge, gathering his rope and his weapons, and began the long trek around the opposite edge of the basin from his camp. From what he could tell, the basin was nearly three miles in diameter, and it would be roughly nine miles around the edge. This was a long trek, but he was prepared. He had brought some extra food and was ready to spend a night out in the forest if necessary. Slowly, he began to make his way along the cliff, examining it closely to see if he could find a place where he could scale it. The cliff rose practically straight up, and in many places, the lip of the basin was further out than the base, meaning it would be an inverted climb, making scaling the cliffs a very risky proposition.

Continuing along the edge of the basin, Merrick didn't see anything helpful for the first few miles, but when he came to the fourth mile, he noticed that the ground was starting to rise and that the cliff was starting to change. Though it was still mostly vertical, long cracks ran through it, including some that seemed to run all the way up to the top of the cliffs. Noting that he might be able to use those as hand holds on his way up, Merrick spent nearly an hour trying to map a route up before he continued his exploration around the edge of the basin. Walking silently at the edge of the forest, he concentrated on keeping his senses sharp, ever watchful for the signs of predators.

All day, he walked and jogged, carefully examining the edge of the cliff for the entrance that he expected to find. To his surprise, he found none. There were no places that he could find where there was a simple exit from the basin. He had been sure, considering the presence of a bear and multiple wolves, that there was a canyon or gorge somewhere in the basin that shot off, acting as a passage that led out into the greater world, but he found nothing of the sort. The basin appeared to be a completely isolated depression, almost as if it had been a massive sinkhole. As Merrick was approaching the seventh mile of his trip night was starting to fall, so he decided to find a place to camp out. After looking around, he found a tall tree with wide branches that he could use and climbed up in it, wrapping himself in the wolf hide as he settled down to sleep.

He had stitched the wolf skin into a simple garment using the leather from deer hides and rabbit skins he had collected, and had taken to wearing it at night to ward off the chill that settled on the basin. It had the added benefit of smelling like a wolf, which few creatures wanted to provoke, including, he suspected, the bear that lumbered around the basin looking for easy meals. While the bear wouldn’t be afraid of a wolf, predators, especially large ones, typically wanted as easy a meal as possible and wouldn’t be interested in fighting with a wolf, which granted Merrick a bit of extra safety.

The tree was harder than the leaves he had gotten used to sleeping on, and it wasn’t easy for Merrick to get comfortable, so the best he could do was a few hours of scattered naps, but he hadn't expected to get a full night of sleep, which helped. One of the major advantages of his new status as a warrior was that his energy recharged quickly, and despite the lack of sleep, he felt energized when the night had finally passed. Though his awkward sleeping position left him stiff and wet from the morning dew, he didn’t have any trouble climbing down out of the tree. After a quick stretch, he set off, chewing on some dried meat he had brought with him. Dawn in the basin was dark, but he made good progress, his sharp eyes searching for any possible routes up to the top of the cliffs.

To his dismay, the rest of the cliff walls were much like the rest of the basin he had already seen - smooth and sheer, rising hundreds of feet up into the air and providing no good place to climb. That left two options for him. He could go through the waterfall into the cave system, exploring it to see if there was a way up to the surface, or, and this seemed the better option, he could use the cracks in the cliff that he had marked down to assist him as he climbed up all the way to the top of the cliff. After thinking about it for a while, he decided to make his attempt at the area where the cracks ran up the cliff, and he set out to return to his camp.

It was about mid-morning when he got close, but before he did, he stopped, fear striking at his heart. He wasn't exactly sure what it was, but there was something about the situation that was wrong. His senses screamed at him, and swiftly he turned to run. As he did, he heard a loud roar, and a massive figure barreled out of the woods, chasing after him. It was the bear. It had been on the path to the lake, and he must have surprised it. In the light of day, it was even larger than he had imagined, with claws that were a good six inches long and teeth that looked like they could bite through bone without effort.

Seeing it smashing through the underbrush along the edge of the lake as it came towards him, Merrick was horrified to realize that it was much faster than he had thought. Still, fueled by adrenaline, he stretched his legs and ran, tapping into that primal feeling that had been his since birth. This was not the first time that he had been chased by a wild animal, but never had he been chased by something that could kill him with a single swipe. He knew to respect the strength of a bear and wasn't crazy enough to turn around and try to fight, though as he ran, he realized that he might have to.

The bear seemed tireless as it kept pace with him along the bank of the lake and so he darted into the forest, hoping to use the trees to block its path. The bear didn't seem to care and turned to run after him, its heavy breath snuffling and growling as it chased him with pounding steps. Leading it in a wide arc, Merrick ran through the woods, his feet landing and sending him springing forward, borrowing the bounce of the earth, his brain working feverishly.

The bear, who was clearly hungry and determined to come after him, had started to fall behind, but the creature did not seem to want to give up. Plan after plan ran through Merrick's head as he tried to figure out how he was going to get away from the creature, until finally, the cold reality set in. He wasn't. If he remained in the valley, he would eventually have to confront the creature, which meant the only option for him was escape. Though he had intended to prepare more before he left, he realized it was not going to be possible. If he was going to have to fight the bear, he would need to do it in a place where the bear couldn't get at him easily.

Listening to the Song of the World, Merrick quickly figured out where he was, and made an adjustment in his direction, running toward the cliff where he had seen the large cracks. There was one he remembered that was large enough to fit his body, while hopefully preventing the bear from being able to get to him. Though it didn't run all the way to the surface, he was confident that he could use it to get partway up the cliff, taking him well beyond the bear's reach. Planning out his route in his head even as he ran, he saw that the bear was starting to fall further behind. The chances of losing the creature were high because while Bear was blessed with tremendous strength, it lacked the speed to keep up. That was only a temporary measure, however, as, in such a small environment, the bear would soon find him wherever he went. Instead, it was time to leave.

It took him two hours of running to arrive at the canyon wall. By that time, the bear wasn’t visible, having fallen far behind him. But Merrick didn't stop. He knew that he had to leave now. It had caught his scent, and would eventually figure out where his little shelter was. Arriving at the crack he remembered, Merrick examined it again to make sure it would work. It was six feet wide at the bottom, which was enough for him to lay down in, and it got narrower as it went up, eventually thinning to only a few inches in width. Pausing to catch his breath and regain his strength, he stepped into the crack. There was still a little bit of food in his pouch, and he had both his spear and his daggers with him, as well as his rope, so he had a quick meal and then began the climb.

Stretching out his hands, he pressed them against one side of the crack and put his feet on the other side, holding himself horizontal to the ground. The crack was just wide enough for him to do this, and he was able to begin shimmying up, rising into the air until he was nearly twenty feet from the ground. It was here that the crack started to grow narrower, but he continued until, eventually, he found a small ledge where he could pause. Though it was not wide enough for him to truly rest, he was able to shift his feet carefully so that one was on each wall, holding him up by keeping pressure on each of the surfaces. Taking a moment to breathe, he continued to climb up further, alternating his hands and feet until the crack grew too narrow for even that.

It was hard work, and many times he was tempted to pause, but he kept at it. An hour into his climb, he glanced down and caught sight of the bear coming out of the woods, its nose low to the ground as it sniffed for his scent. That sight gave him the energy he needed to continue as he imagined falling down and having to face it. In his mind, Merrick could see the cracks that had gone up the edge of the cliff, and after climbing for 50 feet, this crack ended. Remembering how there was another crack that was just to the right, Merrick leaned his head out to try and find it. Sure enough, there it was. Though it was only about six inches wide, it ran up the length of the cliff and would be his ticket to the surface.

Merrick carefully made his way out onto the face of the cliff, testing each handhold and foothold he used as he went. He was naturally strong, as were all of the Tercek people, and he had spent many hours climbing the mountain rocks, so he was confident that he could do it. However, 200 feet was much further than he had ever attempted. With 50 feet of air below him and a bear waiting for him to fall, Merrick felt his heart pounding. The sun's bright rays shone down on him, and he could feel the sweat from his exertion starting to bead on his skin. As he got close, Merrick suddenly realized that he knew exactly what to do to make the climb.

One hand grabbed the edge of the crack, stabilizing himself while the other rose up above his head. Shoving his hand into the crack, he tightened it into a fist, using it as an anchor to lock himself in. His other hand rose higher in the crack, searching for a hold. He found a protruding rock and tested it, not letting go of his anchor hand until he was sure that it would hold his full weight. His feet went into the crack as well, wedging themselves sideways to keep himself from falling. It was a nerve wracking moment when he let his weight hang on his anchor arm, but he found that it was surprisingly comfortable once he finally did it. The issue was not so much the drag of gravity pulling him down, but rather that he would misplace his weight, sending himself backwards out over thin air, pulling himself from the face of the cliff.

Slowly, carefully, he began to make his way higher. Each hand rose above his head, sliding into the crack to find a hold or act as an anchor. Once he had tested that it was secure, he would slide his feet up, pressing them against the sides of the crack to keep himself in place as he moved his other hand up. Soon his muscles burned, and he could feel his body starting to shake, but he paid it no attention, simply focusing on each move as he made it. His fear of the bear had overcome his fear of the climb, but it wasn't long before the bear was nothing but a forgotten memory. Currently the bear was no more than a tiny creature down below. If he fell, the large creature was going to be the last of his worries. He had no pool of water to catch him this time, and falling would mean certain death.