Splinter Angel Chapter 218 (Patreon)

Late in the morning of the next day, Ana rose above a mile-high ridge hemming them in and saw a wide, green valley in the distance. And in that valley, though it was far away, were the unmistakable shapes of fields, pastures, and orchards. They were nearing whatever destination the Wayfarer had in mind for them. Presumably the outpost. Ana had assumed, but hadn’t thought to ask.

During the following hours they at last saw signs of civilization. The trail widened as other paths and trails joined it; then their trail joined a small road. A simple sign of stacked stones and wood at the intersection informed them that they had just come up the trail to Copperhead Canyon — where that was, they couldn’t guess. Ana had seen plenty of canyons on her surveying flights. All of them had been remarkable.

It took them until well into the afternoon before they reached the narrow pass that let them into that valley, and when they emerged from it they stopped, one by one, to take in the challenge before them.

“It’ll take all bloody day tomorrow just to reach the bottom!” Kaira exclaimed.

“Probably,” Omda agreed placidly.

“This makes me wish I knew a single prayer, so I could say it,” Jisha groaned. “Is it safe?”

“It looks worse than it is, I’m sure,” Mabb said reassuringly. “They usually are. Just stick close to the cliffside and you’ll be fine.”

“I mean, if anyone doesn’t want to walk down that, I can fly them,” Ana said.

“No!” Jisha replied, all teenage indignance. “I’ll do it. I just won’t like it.”

“And I’d rather walk it than wait down there alone all day,” Kaira grumbled.

“Anyone else?” Ana asked, looking around. “The offer stands.”

By the Party’s expressions and body language, their reactions were mixed. Some didn’t seem at all bothered by the descent ahead of them. Others, like Lara and Torden, wanted to take her up on her offer but either didn’t want to admit that to themselves, or didn’t want to look weak or scared in front of the others. But no one accepted, and that was all Ana needed to know. “Alright,” she told them. “A short break, and then we may as well get started. We only have so much daylight, and I doubt anyone wants to do this in the dark.”

On that they could all agree.

What they’d arrived at as the pass opened up wasn’t a slope. The forested far side of the valley looked like it could be walked without trouble, but here? Jisha and the others were fully justified in their concern.

At the end of the pass was a cliff, a sheer drop of… it was hard to say. Fifteen hundred feet, perhaps? There were plenty of bushes and trees growing on the side of the cliff, anywhere enough solid had collected for a large plant to take root, but the highest point of the forest below looked to be about fifteen hundred feet down.

Above that distant forest, the trail ended at a small wooden platform which jutted into the void, with a simple post-and-rope railing preventing the unwary from simply walking to their doom. From the platform, steps in the form of more wooden posts driven into the cliff face led down and to the right to a ledge some dozen feet below. Where the ledge ended, a narrow walkway had been hewn into the stone, with steps descending to connect it to another ledge, this one long and following the curve of the cliff face as it vanished around a bend. And that, presumably, was how it would go the whole way down. In the distance the cliff became visible again. There, some large stream or small river poured into the air, the water dispersing into mist as it fell. A rope bridge passed behind it. A hundred feet below that another trail descended in the opposite direction, presumably the same one having switched back somewhere out of sight. For most of what Ana could see the trail looked generally narrow, often steep, and occasionally dusty, wet, or both.

It was going to be one hell of a descent. Nobody wanted to tackle any part of it in the dark. And so, after only a short moment to catch their breath and tend to any needs that may be nearly suicidal to take care of on the cliffside, they started down.

To everyone’s relief, things went well. Mabb was right; it did look worse than it was. Most of the natural ledges had enough soil on them for bushes or even small trees, giving something to grab on to as they passed. In many places those natural ledges had also been widened by carving away at the rock, or evened out so that they wouldn’t slope towards the drop only a few feet away. Where nothing grew, helpful travellers had driven poles into cracks or carved hand-holds into the wall, giving the apprehensive passer-by something to hold on to. There were simple signs, warning of hidden steep places, or places that were particularly slippery when wet, or where the surface might shift under your feet. In some particularly narrow or precarious places there were even simple pole-and-rope railings, like at the top.

“Gods, whoever did this is all the way amazing, aren’t they?” Kaira said as they went around the bend Ana had seen from the top. There was a small overhand there, and long, thin poles had been driven into it so that you could both get some support and see where the edge of the walkway was without having to look down. “I hope they’ve been getting the appreciation they deserve.”

“Do you think it’s like this everywhere?” Torden asked behind her. “It must be a lot of work.”

“How am I supposed to know? But I hope so! Takes a bit of the pucker out, you know?”

“Colorful,” Omda commented from behind Tor. Kaira just cackled.

She was right, though. All the little guides, aids, and conveniences didn’t mean that you could stop paying attention and just watch the breathtaking view, but it did mean that the descent went from potentially the last thing you’ll ever do to just something mentally and physically exhausting. Ana appreciated that.

She, of course, could enjoy the view, thanks to Split Focus. And what a view it was! The valley stretched out before them for miles and miles. Alpine forest covered its slopes, both beneath them and on the opposite side, right down to the middle. There, farmland lined a wide ribbon of water, glittering in the sunlight. The forest had also been cleared to make room for pastures and orchards along the multitude of streams that fed the central river, but with those exceptions and a few sprawling meadows, everything was the green of conifers whose names Ana couldn’t begin to guess at.

Ana had always loved mountains. Nic’s trips to the Alps had been her favorites, and she wished she might have seen the Rockies, the Andes, and the Himalayas before her time on Earth was so rudely ended. But this Splinter wasn’t a bad alternative. Not at all.

That other half of her focus was on the path and her Party. With everyone keeping their eyes close to their feet, it was good to see Rayni looking up and around every so often.

She was looking up rather a lot though. Enough to make Ana ask why.

“It’s my Danger Sense,” the Huntress replied. “It’s telling me that there’s something at the top. Low Threat, though. More like it’s telling me not to drop my guard than that there’s any real danger.” She snorted, then shook her head. “It's annoying more than anything. Which is exactly the kind of thing that makes you let your guard down and stop listening to the damn thing, you know?”

“What about the rest of you? Does anyone sense any danger?” Ana asked, raising her voice. Her own Warrior’s Intuition had helpfully drawn her attention to the fact that the mountainside would be a terrible place to be ambushed, but it didn’t seem to think it likely. It wasn’t like there was anywhere for a potential ambusher to hide.

“About the same as Rayni,” Lara said from further ahead. “Though with our Level difference it’s even weaker for me. There’s definitely something, but, like she says—” Lara gestured to the edge of the cliff, dozens of feet above. “Up there, so probably nothing we need to worry about. Could be someone with a bow or a big rock or something, but I doubt it. What would be the point?”

“Besides, I would’ve sensed them by now,” Komaki added from right at the front. “No way someone who’s only an annoyance to Rayni could hide from me.”

Confident that they were at least unlikely to get an arrow or a firebolt in the back, they pressed on.

The winding path passed twice that they could see beneath a cascade of water, a large stream or small river fed from the nearby peaks. Once, Ana imagined, it would have been a series of rapids or waterfalls as it made its way down the side of the valley. But at some point the stone had collapsed and slid away, leaving only a nearly sheer cliff; a scar on the valley that they now descended. That collapse must have been recent, geologically speaking — assuming geology applied to Splinters. The water hadn’t had time to do its patient work eroding the remaining stone, and now it rushed out into thin air from an overhang.

That left a space over a dozen feet wide where a rope bridge ran, close to the wall so that there were several feet between it and the falling water. The lack of noise was the strangest thing. With nothing to crash against, the water didn’t roar the way a waterfall usually did. There was a sound of rushing water, and… that was it. But while it didn’t roar, it did spray copiously. It was nothing but spray. The wind carried enough of the dispersing water back toward the cliffside that it was permanently wet, and that, unfortunately, meant that the bridge fared even worse.

“Not that I’m scared of crossing this thing, or anything,” Komaki said from the front, “but it wouldn’t still be here if it wasn’t safe, right? I mean, it looks like someone’s come this way not too long ago. Like the trail might be fairly well used, even. If the bridge wasn’t safe… I mean, it looks soaked, but…”

“Just hold on to the ropes as you cross,” Nari said. “You’re strong enough to hold on and climb up if, against all odds, something breaks.”

“Right.” Komaki didn’t sound at all convinced, but took a step out anyway. “I’ll just cross the whole way before anyone else steps on, then. See you on the other side.”

And then he crossed. Nothing happened. He didn’t slip. No planks broke, and no ropes snapped. The thing barely even swayed.

“Right!” the Vanguard called across from the other side. “That’s some good craftsmanship! Mabb next, yeah?”

The leonine giant gave a sigh, heavy with resignation and duty. “That seems prudent,” he agreed. “The posts on the other side are sturdy, yes? I’d hate for me to keep my grip when the bridge collapses, only for its anchors to tear out of the rock.”

“Steady as anything!” Komaki confirmed, giving the posts holding the bridge a couple of firm thumps.

“Well then. Here I go.”

Mabb crossed without incident.

“Gods,” Rayni muttered to Ana a few minutes later. Only they remained. “It would be just my luck if Mabb and Omda crossing pushed something to the breaking point, and everyone else just happened to step right. Be ready with those wings, yeah?”

“Sure,” Ana replied, forcing a reassuring laugh. “Now go on. I can tell that Tor already misses you.”

On the other side, Torden was the only one standing close enough to the bridge to catch some of the spray. He did indeed look like he wouldn’t relax until Rayni was across. And Ana, possibly, but she doubted anyone worried about her. Ana was, like Rayni had suggested, the one with wings.

They all got across safely. Whoever built that bridge knew what they were about. And the relief that coursed through the Party thanks to that only made what happened next all the more shocking.

They were going around another bend, which would take them out of sight of both the waterfall and the platform from which they’d started their descent. The rest of the valley opened up before them, its beauty in no way lessened by being much like what they’d already seen, and in the far distance was their undisputed goal; a patch of greys with the faintest haze of smoke about it. That was what most of them were focused on when Komaki barked, “Lara, look up!”

Lara wasn’t quick enough. Nari was. She tackled her partner aside just in time for the possessed mountain goat that had leapt off the top of the cliff to strike her instead.

Just like that, woman and demon tumbled into the void.

Ana went after them.

It wasn’t a conscious decision. She didn’t realize that she’d thrown her sword to Jisha until she’d already pushed off from the edge of the narrow trail, pack and all. She dimly hoped that she’d done up all the straps properly. Then she was falling head first toward the forest below, the despairing screams of her friends echoing in her ears. And then she was flying, not just gliding on her immaterial wings but driving down and across the cliff face, shooting toward the plummeting form of Rayni’s sister. Her own Party member.

She couldn’t let a member of her Party get hurt. Sometimes the meaning of that became more clear than ever.

Nari fell, screaming and flailing. Then she bounced off a process on the steeply sloping rock wall, too far away for Ana to take the hit. After that she just tumbled silently.

When Ana intercepted her, arms locking firmly around her before starting her turn up and away from the cliff face, the Swordswoman shook and convulsed in her arms. Nari was strong; an average man would likely have dropped her. But there was nothing average about Ana. She carried her badly injured Party Member safely back to the trail.

Perhaps she should have continued and tried to find a better place somewhere above. She would have had time left on her wings to grab Trislain and Jisha. Probably Rayni, too. Hell, maybe even Lara. But she couldn’t risk that. Narrow as their path was, there were a few wider parts. Ana picked one, a ledge where some bushes grew and a small tree leaned out above the abyss. It was close enough that Trislain and Lara, who’d been near the front of the group, reached them in seconds. Rayni and the others weren’t far behind.

“Unconscious!” Ana called to the Healer even before he reached them. “Convulsions. A cut on the head. Bloody foam at the mouth, don’t know where the blood’s coming from.” By the time Trislain arrived Ana was getting Nari’s pack off. The Healer started on her jacket without a word.

“Hold her up,” was the first thing he said, clipped and firm as she slipped Nari’s arms out of the jacket. The right one was broken halfway above the elbow. He ignored it. A broken arm wouldn’t kill her. “Ana, keep holding her. Jisha, her tunic. Cut it. Lara, a potion. A whole one. I don’t care if it goes in her lungs, just make sure she doesn’t cough it up. And someone keep her sister back!”

It was odd not being the one injured, Ana reflected as she obediently manoeuvered the unconscious woman however Trislain told her to. She was so used to being the one on the ground, half out of it, only barely aware of what the people around her did to put her back together. It had been getting better lately; though one might argue that being more aware of the pain and discomfort wasn’t better at all. But sitting there, observing as Trislain examined someone else, diagnosing her injuries and treating them in order of severity — a cracked skull, broken ribs, bruised organs, a broken arm — was completely different.

It made her thankful that she didn’t feel like other people did. Rayni was on her knees, weeping as Torden and Messy comforted her. Lara stroked Nari’s hair mindlessly, whispering a continuous stream-of-consciousness torrent of reassurances that may as easily have been aimed at herself as her injured girlfriend; Komaki, meanwhile, was on furious guard, as though to make up for some imagined failing. Further down the trail, Kaira, Omda, and Mabb waited anxiously; they all wanted to approach, but the trail simply wouldn’t allow it, and it wasn’t like they could do more to help than hinder anyway.

And all Ana felt was a bit of pride in herself for how decisively she’d acted, and interest in watching Trislain work. That was far preferable to the misery most of the others were going through.

Once Trislain had done all he could they backtracked, returning to the platform and the narrow pass, and the possible campsite they’d noted before going through. It was late afternoon by the time they had their tents up and called it a day. That evening, Rayni wept her gratitude into Ana’s arms. Komaki and Lara’s thanks were more reserved, but no less heartfelt.

A better person might not have felt so pleased about that, or might at least have felt guilty about being pleased at all. But Ana was who she was. She didn’t like that her Party member had gotten hurt, but that was all it was. No one had died, and now Nari’s friends were in her debt. An excellent outcome, as far as she was concerned.

They’d have to see in the morning if Nari would be in any state to do any walking, much less another attempt at the descent. If not, the idea of a delay didn’t bother Ana much. She liked the mountains.