As they progressed up the mountain, the humidity faded as the brush thinned and they came to one of the spots where the vegetation grew sparse. Alice remembered she could see the other parties briefly the ground, and looked out at in the direction of the guild.
What the-
When did they climb so high? The people watching down below resembled ants. Smaller than ants even.
From the outside looking up there was no feasible way they could have climbed so high. Alice also had experience as a rock climber back in her own world, and she never recalled a time she had ever climbed as high as they currently were.
A rush of vertigo made her dizzy and she pressed her back against the wall of the mountain. The other’s stopped.
“Are you okay?” Dahlia asked.
“I just- I need a minute,” She croaked.
Her throat had dried up. Her legs started to tremble.
She mentally cursed herself.
Eve was right: She had no idea what she’d gotten herself into.
A strong hand grabbed hers, and Alice realized she had shut her eyes. She turned her head and saw Orbahn staring back at her. Though she was taller, they were currently gazing at one other on the same level due to the incline of the trail.
“It’s not as high as it seems,” he said.
“But-“
“It’s an illusion.” He squeezed her hand. “Have you ever been hiking? We’re just on a hike.”
A hike with living vines, and illusions, and monsters…
Illusions…
Illusions…
Were the others not affected? Or were they just not bothered by the height?
A horrible thought sat like a stone in Alice’s stomach: was this an obstacle that targeted her?
Their first encounter with the mages revealed Alice’s inexperience. Were they targeting her to slow down the party?
Will it be my fault if we fail? Because I was so stupid and insisted I do this?
“ALICE!”
Orbahn’s hands grasped her shoulders and shook her. She turned her gaze back to him, but she couldn’t focus.
“Hey! You’re okay! Slow your breathing!”
Hot tears stung her eyes as her chest tightened with dread.
I should’ve known better. When have I ever made things better for others?
Someone was shouting in front of her. Behind her. Somewhere far away.
They shouted.
They pointed fingers.
They blamed her.
She talked such a big game. She made so many big promises. How could she expect to meet them with such a small effort?
Because she acted confident she was going to drag others down.
Again.
“Orbahn, what’s happening?” Dahlia hovered over Orbahn’s shoulder.
The woman in his arms breathed ragged and heavy, as if she couldn’t get enough air in her lungs. Her skin was slick with cold sweat and her eyes unfocused.
He shook his head as he rubbed her back.
“I think she’s panicked,” he said.
Felix looked from the group to the trail up the mountain.
“We’re losing so much time…” he muttered.
“How can you care about that right now?” Dahlia snapped. “The only reason we got to take this assessment at all is because she joined us at OUR suggestion.”
Felix sighed and pushed Dahlia out of the way. He pulled his water skin free of his pack as his Gift pulsed.
“Move,” he said to Orbahn, and dumped the ice cold contents on Alice’s head.
The frigid water shocked Alice back into consciousness and she gasped. Her eyes locked onto Orbahn’s face briefly, then a thin hand grabbed her by the chin.
The face that appeared when the hand turned her head was too angular to be human. The terror surged again, but sharp nails dug into her chin.
“Look at me,” Felix demanded as her eyes tried to flee. He jerked her head back. “Do you know where you are right now?”
“New York… No. R-root hollow?”
“What’s my name?”
“Felix.”
The half-fae boy turned her head to look at the others.
“Who are they?”
“…Orbahn. Dahlia.”
“Who are we?” He asked.
“My… friends,” Alice croaked.
He turned her face back to his.
“That’s right. Your friends. Who asked for your help. We still need your help. You can’t run away now.”
“But-“ Tears fell from her eyes. “I’m not strong enough to do this.”
“Then you should’ve turned us down when we asked you to help us,” Felix said. “Why didn’t you do that?”
“B-because, I thought I could do it,” Alice sobbed. “I wanted to help you…but-”
“But what?”
Alice shut her eyes but Felix shook her head until she opened them again.
Giant hazel eyes stared at her, his pupils were more oblong than round. Alice thought he might look a bit like a cat if they turned to slits.
“This world is too different for me,” she whispered through thick tears. “I don’t know if I can handle it…”
Dahlia and Orbahn exchanged looks.
“Yes you can.” Felix said.
His face drew close.
Their noses touched.
“You can because you don’t have a choice. So get up. Take my hand. And don’t look down.”
Down on the ground, an uneasy murmur circulated through the crowd. Orbahn’s party had entered a visible area from below and just… stopped progressing.
Up on the platform, Patty and Daryl whispered to each other.
Evalyn touched the shell earring in her ear.
“What’s going on up there?” She asked.
The sound of waves sounded in her ear and then a voice replied, “Looks like the giant’s hyperventilating.”
Again? Evalyn’s brow furrowed. She could hear shouting from the mountain, but couldn’t make out the words due to the distortion brought on by the magic in the air.
When Alice visibly collapsed into Orbahn’s arms, a collective gasp swept the grounds.
Evalyn gripped the clipboard so tight it threatened to snap in half.
The sound of waves crashed in her ears again.
“Should we intervene?”
“No,” Evalyn replied into the earring. “Don’t get involved unless she doesn’t come to.”
“Understood.” The crashing of waves faded.
“They’ve been there awhile,” Lineah said. “Are you keeping track of the time?”
“Of course I am,” Evalyn replied.
Felix stepped between Evalyn’s line of sight with Alice, and Evalyn’s wrist with the mark turned cold.
She couldn’t see perfectly, but that rush of cold seemed to stir Alice. Shortly after the cold began to fade, Alice got to her feet and the crowd of spectators’ excitement returned.
Evalyn sighed and rubbed her marked, warming the rest of the cold away.
_________
Though she shivered from the cold of the ice water Felix poured on her skin, Alice’s marked wrist grew warm as a phantom hand rubbed her skin.
Instinctively, she tried to look for Eve, but Felix yanked on her arm as she got to her feet.
“Don’t look down. Focus on us,” he said.
His stern voice conveyed his worry.
Alice nodded.
The second leg of the mountain challenged them with rock climbing and obstacle course constructs. They navigated over cliff-faces, crawled through a narrow cave, and found their flag tied to a tree stump.
As they approached, they avoided a barrage of crossbow bolts and nearly plunged into a pit. Despite it all, Felix kept a firm grip on Alice’s hand.
Her anxiety slowly eased.
They grabbed their second flag and a nearby cannon fired a smoke flare for the observers on the ground.
“Only two more to go,” Orbahn said. He gazed at his party members one at a time and gave them a reassuring smile.
“We’re still in this. Let’s push ahead.”
“Yessir!” The Adventurers replied.
Felix squeezed Alice’s hand and she nodded.
“Oh!” Dahlia suddenly jumped. “The moving flag! It’s close on the far side of the mountain!”
“We’ll go for it now then,” Orbahn replied. “Keep track of it, Dahlia, let me know if it starts to descend. Let’s move, guys!”