Ascending the South Side

The expedition steadily made their way up the mountain. Guards patrolled the outer edges of the convoy to protect the vulnerable civilians in the center. Rocks, ice and potholes littered the road. Wizards at the front of the group constantly fixed these issues so the wagons behind them wouldn't overturn.

Moving as fast as they could, the expedition had made great time up the mountain so far. That wouldn't last for much longer. Unlike the mercenaries and hunters used to travelling in the Glacier Mountains, the normal civilians had begun to struggle.

Mist formed on their breaths as the air cooled. The elderly and children began to struggle to breathe. A few of the guards gave up their horses to carry more people. They couldn't slow down in this part of the mountain. Stuck between a sheer rockface and a steep cliff, an attack by flying magical beasts would be deadly.

Aayla walked next to her horse. The expedition had slowed from a fast walk to a normal walk. She had no problems keeping up and held the reins while two small children rode on the horse's back. Her horse kept its head held high and didn't seem out of breath at all.

The horses and mules were doing much better than Aayla expected. By her estimations, they should have passed seven thousand (7,000) feet by now. The altitude should have begun to take an effect the animals, but these horses seem stronger than the ones on Terra. Perhaps mana played a role.

One of the guards walking nearby checked up on her.

"How are you feeling Miss Glowery? Any headaches, nausea or dizziness?"

"Nope. I'm fine. I've climbed higher than this. The horse is doing fine, but the kids are still looking a bit pale."

Aayla had climbed the Rocky Mountains several times without issue. Those mountains had several peaks over fourteen thousand (14,000) feet. In comparison, their current height barely surpassed that of the Appalachian Mountains which top out at barely over six thousand and six hundred (6,600) feet.

This little hike was no issue for Aayla and those who regularly passed through the mountains so far, but it was taking a toll on the normal people. Most of them had barely left their home cities before. Even a few of the police officers weren't looking very well despite their training and more active lifestyles.

"Just let me know if you need a break. We should be stopping at the next campsite soon."

A hard frown formed on Aayla's face. They had barely travelled for a few hours. If they stopped now, then they probably wouldn't make much more progress today. The sun sets much faster in the mountains, and today's final destination was barely reachable if nothing unexpected happened.

Today's destination was a good two thousand feet higher. Even the mercenaries would start feeling the effects of the altitude when they arrived since they were crossing so quickly. The mountain pass was almost three times higher than their current position at twenty thousand feet (20,000).

The limits of human ability on Terra were about the height of the pass. With magic, crossing the pass shouldn't be much of a problem. However, that's a different story if the normal people couldn't even handle this much with magic.

When they arrived at a cave carved into the cliff side, the expedition leaders announced a short break. The entire expedition barely fit into the cave. A few of the guards were stationed outside to keep a look out for magical beasts.

As Aayla looked around, the symptoms of acute altitude sickness became increasingly more obvious. Many were lethargic with pale faces. They couldn't seem to fall asleep for a quick nap, and any attempts to feed them only made them feel more awful. Tellans called this illness mountain sickness.

Aayla rubbed her temples. She and the expedition leaders had miscalculated. Normal Tellans pay more attention to exercising the mind over the body these days. Malnutrition and disease already ran rampant due to fleeing their homes with little proper supplies. Altitude only compounded their troubles.

Sure enough, the leaders held an emergency meeting about the alarming increase of mountain sickness. They had no time to descend to a lower altitude. Not to mention the danger of turning around with magic beasts lurking about.

Yet, if they went forward the symptoms would just get worse. Time was the best cure for mountain sickness. Magic could help treat the more severe cases, but those patients would need to hang on until they crossed the pass.

The mercenaries kept a few scouts behind them. They reported that the refugee camp at the base of the mountains showed signs of collapse due to infighting. The True Order army was on its way over. Many smaller caravans were desperately climbing up the mountain behind them.

All of the scouts had retreated up the mountain. The expedition leaders decided to keep this information to themselves. They could not let panic set in. Ultimately, the expedition spent the night in their current campsite and would travel to the intended destination the next morning.

The ascent had to be slowed down. Now, it would take twice as long as originally planned. That was only the beginning of their worries.

**********

Most of the symptoms subsided overnight. The expedition cautiously set out the next morning. Winds were calm and the sky was clear. Yet, the mercenaries seemed even more nervous than before. They constantly scanned the skies for something. Clouds began to form midmorning, which put them on edge.

Today, the Nafriton students were close to the front of the group. They took shifts to help smooth the road, provide minor medical assistance and other small magical tasks. Aayla once again walked next to her horse while the two children from yesterday rode on its back. They happily clapped and cheered when the horse first started moving. Then the boredom set in.

"Are we there yet?"

"No. We still have a few hours left."

"I'm hungry. Can we eat now?"

"No. Your parents left some sandwiches for lunch in your packs. You can eat them whenever you want, but don't complain to me if you get hungry later."

"I want brownies!"

"No. We don't have those."

"I'm bored. Are we there yet?"

"Again, no. We have five minutes less than a few hours to go."

"But I'm bored! Isn't there something fun to do?"

Their constant complaints and questions threatened to drive Aayla insane. Even the horse seemed fed up with their noise. With their parents somewhere else in the convoy, Aayla became their nanny and their horse handler.

Just when the day couldn't get any worse, the guards signaled for everyone to stay very quiet. Wizards started to cast silence spells on the horses and other animals. Some of the civilians just refused to keep quiet.

"Eh? Keep quiet? There are no magical beasts around. We're perfectly safe."

"Why should I listen to you? You're not the boss of me! I'm paying you to take me through the mountains, so you better shut up and do your job! Don't you dare try to blame me if you fail to do your jobs right."

"HOW RUDE! I AM SPEAKING QUIETLY! THIS IS MY NORMAL VOICE!"

The children were a bit better than those adults. They kept silent for a few minutes, but then began to grumble like all the other children throughout the convoy. She finally managed to get them quiet again by handing over part of her own lunch. Those little brats really knew how to drive a hard bargain.

Suddenly, a large blast of air rocketed over the crowd. Screams erupted from the group. People were forced off the edge of the cliff. Wagons lost their coverings and animals toppled over. Aayla barely managed to stop the horse from panicking.

When Aayla looked back, one of the wagons had disappeared from the middle of the group. Even the horses and the driver were gone. People, animals and wagons next to the missing wagon had been smashed into the rockface to the left or off the cliff to the right.

Several people urgently tried to rescue those who were barely hanging on below. The mercenaries stopped the attempts and forced the expedition forward.

"GO! GO! GO! Full speed ahead! Consider those who went over the cliff dead but grab who ever still seems alive from the rock face."

"Don't stop! Push any debris and bodies to the side. Keep going! Don't block the people behind you!"

"The scouts behind us will retrieve anything useful. Leave the destroyed wagons and move forward!"

The expedition rushed forward. Aayla had to run to keep up with her horse. A loud shriek echoed in the air as something fell out of the sky to her right. Whatever it was tumbled into the void and disappeared from sight.

A few of the mercenaries flew away from the group. They vanished into the clouds above. Flashes of light and more shrieks punctuated the calmness of the sky above.