From the City to the Mountain

Slowly opening his eyes, Noah was hit by the rays of light peaking through the window. He was still tired from the night before, so he woke up rather groggy with bags under his eyes. Despite this sluggish feeling, remembering the time he had with Lynn the previous night led him to smile and blush a little bit. Ellie and Lynn were still sound asleep, so Noah got together their things as quietly as he could to allow them to rest for just a little bit longer. Even by the time all of the supplies were together, Lynn and Ellie still slept in bliss. Letting out a sigh, Noah just propped his back up against the wall and attempted to take a nap to remedy his current tiredness. The road ahead of them was a long one. It would be multiple weeks of camping until they hit the mountain base, which alone had its own set of problems that he wasn't looking forward to dealing with. Noah had plans for Heaven's Peak, but he had to hope the situations play out without any issues.

The nap didn't last long, as within half an hour both Lynn and Ellie had woken up from their sleep. The two changed while Noah was still sleeping before waking him up. Lynn gave a quick shake to his shoulder. Noah opened his eyes to see Lynn bent down right in front of him.

Lynn: "I know you must be tired, but we need to get going."

Noah: "You know... I wouldn't mind extending the trip."

Lynn: "Well, we're all packed and ready to go, just give up at this point."

Ellie: "I don't want to hear you complain about how slow we are moving the rest of the trip. Besides, don't you always wake up early?"

Noah: "Yes, but the difference here is I didn't get to sleep as early as I normally would."

Ellie: "Should've had your date on the way back then. Not my fault you aren't brave enough to flirt in front of me. Between that and your nightmares, I don't know what sleep you even planned to get."

Noah already knew that Ellie had caught them red-handed since she commented on it last night. Those words weren't heard by Lynn, however, who now sported a bright red face. Ellie started to laugh at Lynn's embarrassment, but that was quickly quashed by Noah, who proceeded to mess up her hair. With the morning banter waking everyone up, the three set out into the city. After some begging from Ellie, they bought her another slice of pumpkin bread from Harold before they went to the exit gate. Exiting the city is much easier than entering. They all showed their eyes to the knights at the gate, but since they were exiting, they didn't have to state their intentions. Now outside of the city, the eventless walk began.

Noah had made this walk before, but he still wasn't prepared for how long it would be. For convenience, they had to stay on the dirt road, but this basically guaranteed that they wouldn't see anything of interest. The roads between the cities and villages were usually barren and devoid of anything interesting. There was either a forest to walk through or a wide open field with the occasional tree. The fields were the most brutal as the lack of shade in the hot sun was essentially a death sentence.

Ellie: "Dad was right, we should have stayed in the city."

Noah: "Too late now kiddo. We aren't walking back."

Ellie: "I want to die. This heat is the worst."

Lynn: "You would think there would be a tree or two around here."

Noah: "There's gonna be two more weeks of this. You all are the ones who wanted to come with me."

Ellie: "These Titans better be the coolest things ever, because I'm starting to wonder if it actually was worth coming with you."

Lynn: "I'm sure it'll be fun eventually."

Noah: "You think this is bad? Just wait until we get to Heaven's Peak."

Ellie: "At least it won't be hot there."

Noah: "You're going to wish it was. That climb gives me shivers just thinking about it."

Lynn: "Actually, now that I think about it, is it cold inside the Titan's lair?"

Noah: "No, actually. I don't know how they do it, but honestly it's pretty incredible how perfect the temperature is in there."

They continued along the path, making pointless conversation to pass the time. Occasionally, they would have to stop and take a break so Ellie could rest. She never expressed any issues on her own, but Noah having done this walk before as a kid knew how rough it could be. Rain was a blessing if it happened during the day. It would cool the air as they walked under an umbrella. Really, this umbrella could have been used for shade, but despite all three of them being rather bright people, completely forgot about this possibility.

Nights were the most refreshing. Sitting around a crude fire while eating and talking the night away was a nice change of pace from the depressing trek. They would all sleep in the same tent, though Ellie and Lynn would take up most of the space as Noah slept off to the side. Any time Noah would wake up from a nightmare, he would take a step outside the tent and just look up to the stars for a small bit. The nightmares didn't shake him anymore, but looking up at the bright sky still had a calming effect that felt beneficial to him. His main reason though is that occasionally, Lynn would also wake up, though her nightmares were rare. It gave him an excuse to just sit and talk to her for a bit before they went back to sleep. Those serene moments in life didn't come often, so Noah felt as if he needed to take advantage of them.

A more recent thought in Noah's mind is the eventual fight against the king if he succeeds in getting ice magic. Killing someone to save Lynn was still something that took a toll on his mental state, but now he would likely have to kill again. Is this path really the right one to take? It's for justice, but it made his stomach turn just to think about it. It messed with Noah's sleep to think about the whole thing, but eventually he would be able to push the issue to the back of his head and rest.

Around the time they expected, Heaven's Peak was nearby.

Ellie: "Wow... it's so big up close."

Lynn: "Please don't tell me that we have to climb to the top of this."

Noah: "Not to the top, no. Honestly I couldn't tell you how far up it actually is. We'll talk more about it in the morning. We're going to set up camp and rest before we head up."

Lynn: "Do we really need to? I feel we could get a decent start on the climb."

Noah: "Once we get to the worst parts of the climb, you'll understand why we are taking a break."

They all set up the campsite alongside the path. While Lynn and Ellie sat and talked, Noah was practicing an odd swing with his sword. He would face one way, and quickly twist his body around to slash behind him. The girls found this to be strange, but they refrained from asking, thinking it was just some sort of exercise he was practicing.

Once next morning arrived, they all stared up at the daring challenge that stood before them. Noah knew how difficult it would be, but he was prepared to get his group through it all. They moved onward.