"Stay still," Vidyut called out with a hint of a warning. Everyone's gaze was fixed at the emptiness below them, a baffled look on their faces, all except Vidyut. "This looks like an illusion spell."
The youths instinctively stepped back, moving closer to each other, their wide eyes snapping in every direction in anticipation of the unknown. Little Tilak clung to Surya's leg. There was a sudden swirl in the breeze, and an unexpected mass of thick clouds filled the sky, hiding the bright sun. What was bright and warm moments ago suddenly became dark and cold. The men's eyes and mouths filled with dust when vortices of wind came charging at them from all directions.
"We cannot continue to stand here. We must keep climbing." Surya said as he tried to rub the dirt off his eyes. The high wind flew the golden stole off his chest into the bottomless pit below.