[Romania] - Scaling the Mountain (Part 2)

A couple more days of travelling up the mountain passes as Oz's trek is becoming now more difficult by the second. He felt as if the eyes on him from up above had increased tenfold since the third night and now the pressure he felt was almost unbearable. If it wasn't for is blood igniting at times when he felt like he'd collapse, he'd have long since fallen victim to the elements.

The cold weather nearing the mountains 3/4 mark had seemed to increase tenfold since the midway point a couple days back. On his fourth night the Bluebell Flames he created for warmth started to be snuffed out by the sheer cold to Oz's surprise, despite being in jars. Oz wondered if this was a trial placed by Arauthator or if that the sheer amount of cold was actually causing such a scenario to happen.

He didn't have much time to think on it though as he desperately thought up a solution when the situation occurred. He didn't want to use any spells that used too much magic however using a spell on the level of 'Bluebell Flames' was certain to be ebbed out by the cold weather now polluting him.

As Oz sat in his tent on the fifth night freezing, He came up with an idea that would give him momentary respites from the cold. Fetching a small cauldron from his pouch he started to concoct a potion with the only purpose of the potion being that it could heat him up from the inside out. As he made the potion his hands shivered along with the cold weather making the brewing that much more difficult for him.

'Come on hands... Work dammit...'.

As he slowly pooled the ingredients into the cauldron using his knowledge built over the years in Hogwarts he managed to create himself a simple potion thats only effect was to warm the insides of the consumer. Pouring the concocted potion into different flasks he had prepared in his pouch, the light red liquid looked more appetizing than any meal he had up to this point in the climb.

After all the flasks were filled he stored the majority in his bag leaving one out. Holding the flask to his mouth he drank the potion down. Soon after consuming he felt his insides start to burn strongly.

'Shit... I didn't dilute it enough!'.

In his desperation to warm himself from the cold Oz neglected the last step in the potion making that he'd usually do which was to dilute the potion down. The potion he had drank at this moment was an extremely concentrated heat potion that left his insides burning up. It was at the level where the extreme cold was actually needed in order to stop him from burning from the inside out.

Heading out his tent into the cold his face was flushed red and steam seemed to emit from him. He sat down in the snow panting as he closed his eyes trying to cool himself down from the now extreme heat he felt.

'Dammit how longs this thing gonna last!'.

Looking up at the night sky Oz noted that the moon was directly above him. Laying in the snow suffering Oz's normally calm mind started to show cracks as he felt the most pain he had ever felt since he first came to this world. Thoughts flooded into his mind contradicting his will.

'Was I reaching to far in doing this? Maybe I should have gotten to a higher level before attempting? Am I biting off more than I can chew? Why have I chosen to suffer like this?'.

As the questions welling up in his mind ate away at his willpower he felt pangs of heat start to surge from his blood, different from the heat in his belly. The blood seemed to calm him down from his panicked state as he grit his teeth bearing the searing pain of the potion he had consumed. After a few hours of suffering the burning sensation finally ended and the biting cold started to crawl up Oz yet again.

'That was hell...'.

Heading back into the tent Oz took out all the vials of 'heat potion' he had previously made and began diluting them all down to a safer dosage. After concocting a safer dosage he drank it down again and this time felt a more bearable warmth fill his body. His body grew weary after all the pain he had suffered over a simple mistake, heading straight to bed he fell asleep instantly...

.

As the dawn of the sixth day came in Oz woke up to a tent that was filled with frost. The potion he drank before sleeping had left his system leading him to wake up from the biting cold. As pulled himself out of his bed, his eyes heavy from the long night. Drinking down another heat potion he felt his insides warm back up giving him another hour or so of respite. Heading out the tent he looked at the morning sky and the clouds that were almost directly above him.

'The... pressures... increased... again...'.

Oz's breathing and even thinking at this point seemed delayed as the air thinned nearing the top. Along with the pressure he felt from the peak and the cold he was in his worst condition yet on the sixth day. He still had a 1/4 of his journey left to go as well.

'Can't... stop... now...'.

Oz packed up his tent as quickly as possible as he continued on up the mountain. After passing the 3/4 mark the terrain had become incredibly hazardous with precipices that, if traversed clumsily, could lead to a drop sending anyone straight to their death. The footholds Oz used seemed to crumble as his feet weighed onto them leading to multiple points where he nearly lost his footing.

'I... can't... believe... I'm... missing... that... place... right... now...'.

As Oz's trek got more and more dangerous he started to look back on how good he had it back in Hogwarts, unaware of the world. Despite Hogwarts many dangers he had the added benefit of foreknowledge in regards to them. This journey up the mountain however was anything but peaceful as he seemed to be constantly in pain as he climbed further and further up.

Shimmying across an extremely dodgy cliff edge, Oz felt a slight rumble in the foothold beneath him. Looking above him towards the peak of the mountain that seemed ever so close now he saw something he wished he didn't have to see.

'Avalanche...'.

As the snow plummeted towards Oz his foothold became unstable causing him to start falling. Immediately as his foot hold was compromised he reflexively used 'Arresto Momentum' to stop his falling. His magic was sapped up quickly as he did this wandlessly and the longer he kept the spell up the more he'd be eating away at his reserves.

Noting this Oz twisted his body quickly and grabbed onto the ledge he was climbing across, disabling 'Arresto Momentum' as he solidified his grip. The snow continued to pile down with some of it smacking into Oz's back causing him to grunt in pain.

'Fuck... this...'.

Feeling the searing pain on his back Oz's grip began to falter, slowly slipping from the foothold he was once stood on. Reacting immediately Oz used 'Augmentum', his own spell that augmented any part of his body, to strengthen his grip as much as possible. His fingers dug into the cliff side like claws causing them to rip and bleed from the sheer amount of resistance from the mountain.

Gritting his teeth Oz bared with the pain whilst the avalanche came to a stop. As it did he used his remaining strength to lift himself up on the foothold he was once on. A sigh of relief escaping his lips as he managed to overcome that situation.

'That... was... too... close...'.

After using both 'Arresto Momentum' and 'Augmentum' in quick succession Oz's magic reserves had dwindled down a lot. His breathing became even more ragged after that close call. The air was already thin as it is let along having to deal with nearly falling off the peak of the mountain. As he continued across the dodgy cliff edge he finally managed to reach a sturdy bit of rock he could stand on and relax for a moment, catching his finite amount of breath. Looking down at his hand blood dripped from the tips of all his fingers, his finger nails almost ripped in half from the sudden 'Augmentum' partnered with the tough cliff rock.

Oz wanted to heal the wounds with magic however considering how his reserves were starting to run low he decided against that notion for now. He fetched bandages and some healing ointment from his pouch placing it onto the wounds on his fingers. The searing pain made him grit his teeth yet again. As the ointment was applied he bandaged all his fingers before putting his thin gloves back on.

'100... Basilisks... would... be... better... than... this...'.

The near death experience had left Oz shaken as he took a moment to collect himself, at this point he was only a day away from the peak...

.

[Mountain Peak]

The elder dragons gathered at Arauthators peak kept their gazes locked onto the young wizard who was traversing up their mountain range. Seeing the boy overcome trials was like a fun 'TV Show' to them. Some even making bets as to whether he would 'die' at certain points or not. When Oz was on the cliff edge bets were high as the avalanche hit however the boy seemed to pull through to many of the elder dragons surprise in the end. All of this of course was mostly in good fun as they noted that this boy did have their blood so his potential was greater than any common magic folk/beast so dying so easily despite the situation would be difficult for someone of his stature.

Arauthator in the meanwhile kept his gaze locked onto the boy as well. Throughout Oz's climb the glint in his eye remained the same as if something about Oz bothered him deeply. He knew that the boy he looked at was still young in terms of wizard age and especially in term of dragon age yet...

{Disappointing...}.

Arauthators emotions towards Oz still didn't change.

.

[Dragon Sanctuary]

As the sixth day rolled around in the sanctuary the worry carried on Alfreda and Norberta's faces seemed to be heavier than ever before. Regardless of their worry though they had progressed with the tasks Oz had left them.

Norberta was currently socialising with the dragons in the mountain range rather well. Considering her up bringing was in Merlin's specialised dragons den her strength and power didn't lose out to any of these wild dragons at all. Suffice to say this was a necessary asset as most of the younger dragons 'games' were based around fighting each other to some degree.

Meanwhile Alfreda watched on as she confirmed that Norberta was fitting in well with the crowd in this short of time. Considering it was her own kind it was only natural that she found herself at home so quickly with them, finding it easy to socialise with them. Despite this progress though, Norberta and Alfreda both held worry in their gazes whenever their eyes looked up to the mountain above them.

With no means of contacting Oz and no way of knowing how far he had to go or where he even was, all they could do was rely on their Masters/Papas own power when it came to climbing up the mountain that loomed over them.

Charlie on the other hand kept making attempts at talking with the two, mainly conversing with Norberta after hearing briefly from Alfreda on the fourth day that she could speak English to some degree. No matter how much Charlie nagged her though, the dragon didn't budge ignoring him. Alfreda only started to open up slightly as she noted that he was of help to them so remaining rude would be silly.

"Why didn't I get a two-way mirror for the two of us? Then I wouldn't have to be sat at the bottom of this mountain in worry...".

Looking up at the domineering mountain Alfreda sighed as she thought of her master, hoping that nothing had befell him on his trek towards the peak...

.

As Oz laid in bed on the sixth night he felt it extremely difficult to get any sleep. He drank his heat potion as well as ate a full meal and kept himself hydrated yet no matter what he did he couldn't get the biting cold fully away from him. Alongside this the pressure was at the most it had ever been making it even harder to breath than ever before.

Oz felt as though at this point if he tried to speak he wouldn't even be able to utter a single word. Even his thoughts had slowed down due to the situation he found himself in.

'Sleep... need... sleep...'.

Oz tried and tried to sleep yet no matter what he did he couldn't get himself to fall asleep. He debated continuing on even though it was night yet he felt doing so could lead him to an early grave considering he wouldn't be able to see where he was going. Wasting a wandless Lumos spell on journeying at night considering his reserves were as low as they were as well seemed silly too.

Picking himself up from his bed, Oz walked over to the table in the middle of the tent. At this point the inside of the tent, despite being sealed from the front, had been covered in a thin layer of frost all over due to the cold temperature outside that seemed ever growing to Oz. The table Oz sat at seemed to shine as the iced on top of it reflected Oz's face back at him.

Looking at his face he noted how worse for wear he was looking after this journey towards the peak. His eyes were dark, his complexion pale, His hair was extremely ruffled and the clothes warn on his body had even become tattered making Oz feel bad for Alfreda.

'Mess...'.

Oz sighed as he reached into his pouch grabbing the cauldron he used to create heat potions again. This time however he decided to create a potion that would help him sleep despite the terrible conditions.

'Diluted... draught...'.

Oz plan this time was to create a sleeping draught that was diluted enough so that he wouldn't fall to deeply into a sleep. Thanks to Alfreda's provision collection before their trip to Romania, Oz had the necessary ingredients to prepare this potion. As he brewed it his movements were extremely sluggish. Despite knowing what to do he felt as though the potion made was extremely lacklustre considering his skill level was decently high when it came to brewing usually.

However Oz didn't care as he grabbed the first flask of diluted sleeping draught and took it to bed with him. Drinking it down he felt himself become drowsy quickly. He quickly drank a heat potion alongside the draught to keep himself warm in his sleep. With both potions drank, he fell into a deep slumber after the most difficult day and night yet...

.

[Mountain Peak]

As the night sky loomed over the peak, a beautiful view was present to the dragons on top. A sea of clouds before them along with the sight of millions of stars would leave any person dumbfounded. To these dragons though, this view was as natural to them as getting water from a tap was to a human.

The elder dragons were still present on Arauthators peak keeping their eye on Oz who was now very close to their destination. The majority of the dragons there seemed impressed as they looked onto the young wizard below them. His intelligence and ingenuity towards this trial made surprised on multiple occasions.

One of the elder dragons turned to Arauthator who seemed to be holding the same gaze as he did many days ago. Looking up to its lord the elder dragon bowed.

{L-Lord... It seems that boy will reach here tomorrow at this rate. What do you have planned for him when he arrives?}.

Arauthator's eyes glinted slightly as he moved his gaze from Oz towards the elder dragon that asked him a question. His glare seemed to penetrate the elder dragon as it shrunk back in fear.

{You will see when the boy arrives... IF the boy arrives...}.

Looking back down the mountain towards Oz, Arauthators gaze returned back to the same as it was previous to the elder dragons question. If Oz was able to traverse the final step on the mountain he would find himself at the peak alongside these dragons, a feat no witch or wizard has ever accomplished in the current day and age.

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A/N - Hey all. Recently on my bio for this book I added a 'Ko-Fi' link for those who would like to tip me if they feel that this novel is something worth tipping. Let me express here as well as on there that tipping is simply a means to show support and by no means on 'Ko-Fi' will I ever do things like release advance chapters etc. The most I can ever imagine posting there is side-stories and maybe the occasional artwork depicting my favourite 'scenes' from this novel if the amount of tips reach certain goals.

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