C12

They traveled northward across the plains as the sun climbed higher above the horizon, but they stopped at their journey on the third morning in order to search for something that might prove helpful to them in their search. They stopped by the lakeshore while the sun rose high above the water's surface, only to find nothing at all floating in the lake. Not even a boat waited for them this time around, and it seemed clear that no boats would ever appear again for them to use for crossing over to the shore at the foot of a hill that sat at the base of the mountains looming high above it. Even if there had been something that might have provided them with food, it was unlikely that they would have dared to eat anything from such an alien environment as this one in order to survive. And there was not much of anything else that they could have hoped to see, except perhaps for some small creatures lurking amongst the rocks beneath the surface of the water itself. Yet there was nothing at all visible upon the surface of the water, except for some tiny creatures that might have been hiding beneath the surface of the depths... or perhaps even some fish swimming along the bottom of the lake. But there was certainly nothing large enough to provide them with anything to eat, or any way of reaching the shores of the hill where the trees grew upon it.

Still, there was something else that they did notice as they walked along beside the lake's edge: a flock of smaller winged animals flying overhead in formation as they returned to the skies after having spent an entire night sitting upon trees. But although they appeared to be larger than many of the others that they had seen before, it did seem as if these ones were similar to the ones that they rode upon when they traveled back and forth across the sky. These ones flew quickly over the land in pursuit of something that might have flown from place to place without ever needing to flap its wings in the air at all. As they approached their highest point, however, then they disappeared beyond sight once more... and they never reappeared until they reached some other valley somewhere beneath them.

There were two more valleys before the travelers would cross into a second region where the land began to climb upward again as it headed farther up toward the mountains, but neither one contained anything other than hillsides covered with grasses or shrubs or trees of various sizes. Each valley was empty, except for a pair of rivers running down both sides of its length, though there was no bridge for them to use upon this occasion to allow for easy passage across this terrain. They walked along the edges of these valleys as well as along the tops of each hillside, but there was no sign anywhere upon the slopes that indicated a single animal or plant or even a bird in flight upon any of these distant heights. There was simply nothing to be found upon this land that made sense at all for someone who was seeking a home to call her own.

They walked past a stream running down from the top of this first valley onto the next one where it joined up with another smaller stream coming from the opposite direction, and they followed both of these streams up through this second valley. This second valley was somewhat narrower, though, and there was only one small waterfall cascading off the end of its steepest cliff face. This stream ran downward toward the middle of its length just as did the first, but it split into three separate branches that branched off from its main course after making several sharp turns through this narrow strip of land before it eventually ended up flowing out of sight beneath a wide ledge that formed the uppermost part of the cliffs surrounding this valley. In addition, this stream was fed by an even greater number of small tributaries that fell in from the flanks of nearby mountains, including the largest and most prominent peak that loomed directly above the head of this valley itself.

It seemed obvious that this area must once have been much wider in width and much taller in height, since this stream had carved out deep crevices and ravines through the bedrock that surrounded the entire valley. And there was a distinct change in color as the water flowed through these clefts that had been cut out beneath the mountains, ranging from a deeper blue in places to a darker green in others depending upon how close in proximity to the water's source that it had fallen upon the rocks and boulders lying scattered along the lower reaches of each slope. At the same time, this water seemed to flow in a slower pace through most of the channels that were carved out beneath them than it had at their origin in the mountains above this valley.

These streams continued their journey downward through this valley without meeting with any bridges of stone and without falling across any low-lying ledges that might have allowed for easy access across the intervening distances between them. But they soon came upon a small gorge that opened up at their feet and stretched across the center of their pathway: they could not walk across this narrow canyon without leaving their path behind and descending upon the floor of the valley below. And so they stepped over the lip and dropped down onto what appeared to be the floor of an even smaller stream running across the bottom of this valley on its own journey downward towards the third stream they had encountered on their journey so far. This third stream was slightly larger than its companions, and it flowed down through the narrowest portion of their current journey... though there were also numerous smaller tributary streams that were branching off of it from the side as well, each of which also flowed into this one at intervals. Their journey would not require them to leave this stream until it eventually widened out sufficiently for them to continue onward without having to take a detour. For now, it provided them with sufficient water for them to drink as it rushed down beneath them, though it would also carry them safely downstream with little trouble if one should happen to fall into it.

They were about halfway down this second valley as it turned right at a fork in the stream's course, when suddenly there was a strange sound rising up from ahead of them as it passed through a small gap that opened up into a narrow chasm at the base of a cliff face that stood at a distance of no more than fifty paces from where they stood. The sound grew louder and clearer as it neared them, yet there was still something that puzzled them greatly about its nature. It sounded like nothing that they had heard before during their travels thus far across this land... and yet it did seem very familiar somehow as well. They thought hard upon what else might have risen up from this region at a great distance in time in order to create such a noise: there might have been a volcano in a distant location somewhere within the mountains that they could have come upon at last if such had happened upon another world rather than this one.

But the sounds ceased just moments later after continuing forward for perhaps half a mile along the side of the gorge, and everything returned to silence all around them again save for the faint rushing of the water against the rock walls all around them. Still, the travelers felt as if they had heard something far older in origin than volcanoes might have caused... yet there was no trace at all that anything of that sort existed there. There was not even anything that seemed to suggest that this might be the result of some kind of seismic activity occurring somewhere nearby beneath the earth's surface either. Yet the travelers knew better than anyone what the effects of earthquakes were like when they struck, especially when the tremors that accompanied such events began shaking their own ground from place to place throughout the mountains that bordered the sides of these two valleys. And this did not seem likely to be an earthquake that would strike elsewhere upon the surface of another planet that could cause such terrible devastation wherever its force touched down upon the ground that lay beneath it.

They followed the third stream all the way through to the end of the narrow passageway leading from one valley into the next, and they emerged on the other side after passing through the final bend in its journey where it finally met up with a small lake where the water flowed out into the open once more in its efforts to make its way to the sea beyond. Here, they finally discovered something that looked almost exactly like a boat awaiting them in the water, though they had no idea why it was there at first: there was no reason whatsoever for them to think otherwise. It appeared to be fashioned completely of wood, and there was no trace at all upon the craft itself that suggested that it was capable of sailing the waters in search for fish or any other living creature that might swim beneath the surface of the water itself. And yet they did wonder what purpose could possibly have brought about such a construction here, when they had not expected to find anything else upon the surface of this land at all other than trees growing upon the banks of its lakes and streams.

Yet as they stared into the water itself in their attempt to see into the depths below its surface, then they saw the truth of what they were looking upon at long last: they were staring down upon a single wooden plank resting flat upon the water, and they were able to see a man standing upon it while he leaned his weight fully upon one leg. He wore a leather tunic over his chest, but they could see that it was loose enough around him so as to allow for the free movement of air inside of it, while also keeping away from his body much of the heat that would have been generated by being immersed within this cold mountain climate. His hair was longer than it was when he first left the ship with them, and there was now a fringe of black fur extending outward from the crown of his head down to just below the nape of his neck, but it was still shorter than would have been ideal in a human male. He carried a pole with a large hook attached to the end of it in one hand, as well as an oar that extended out from its other side, and these tools were used to keep him balanced as he sat atop this makeshift vessel as the current moved the current underneath the wooden planks themselves.

He was fishing for salmon, but there were none leaping up into the air upon the ends of his hooks when the fish swam past them beneath them at the moment, nor any sign at all upon the shores that showed where the fish might have gone in order to hide beneath the shallows. And the fisherman himself was moving his arms slowly back and forth under the current of this stream whenever the wind blew up from behind him... though this motion seemed entirely pointless, considering that it had absolutely no effect upon whether or not he caught anything at all.

The traveler had never seen this type of work before, though he realized that he must know someone who had done this before in another lifetime. Perhaps it had been performed by one of his parents back upon the land of their birth when they lived upon the banks of some river or pond together. If they ever had children of their own, then there might even be some descendants that could do this sort of thing today: it certainly wasn't anything that any of them had tried to learn about when they were younger. And the fishermen on the coasts of the world that they had visited thus far usually preferred to use nets to catch the fish that they needed, since such items were easier and more effective for catching many types of animals swimming along the ocean's surface. These netting methods often worked best when the winds favored them as well, allowing for them to pull in much larger numbers of creatures within their webbing than the fishermen had hoped to capture with their own hands. Even if there hadn't been any need to worry about how strong these currents might be here on this strange new planet, they doubted that any fish would be foolish enough to leap up into the air and fly out towards them in order to get trapped by these strange contraptions that this fisherman used instead of simply using his hands.

And so the fisherman remained stationary on top of this floating piece of wood until he finally reached up into the water with both hands, pulling out a small round object that clung tightly to his hook before throwing it onto the shore beside him. After walking ashore on dry sand and bending down on one knee in order to pick up the object with both of his hands, he placed it carefully into a cloth bag hanging over his shoulder before getting back to his feet once again and turning towards the forest where this stream met up with the edge of it on the opposite bank from him. And once he walked past it, they noticed immediately upon stepping out from the shade of this tree onto this sunny patch of ground that he was holding a small firestone in each hand: there was no doubt that this stone was made by Dragons from the look upon its surface, though they would not have been surprised at all if there were other beings upon this land that created such items as well. The stones that had been crafted by their own kind burned bright yellow-white for as long as there was flame burning upon them, while those that had been crafted by other races tended to burn blue-green or green-blue for much longer periods of time before they faded out altogether. And this particular stone that the fisherman held between his fingers was not only glowing brighter than most others they had encountered thus far, but it was also beginning to turn a darker orange hue as it warmed up upon contact with the warmth that seeped up through the cracks between its edges: the glow that emanated from it was also becoming stronger as time went on.

It appeared likely that he would want to light this firestone with one of his matches if it were going to remain lit until sunset, but neither of these two men had yet decided upon the precise manner that they wished to proceed in order to accomplish their goals with regard to one another. They each wanted very badly to speak with one another, but neither one of them had even begun speaking a word as yet with one another at all. So the travelers waited patiently until the fisherman eventually stopped walking and turned back toward the camp site that they would soon have to abandon if they intended to continue onward from where he stood. And once he came close enough for the travelers to recognize one another without any difficulty at all, they approached him slowly with their staffs raised above their heads and ready for action at a moment's notice.

"Good afternoon," said the first traveler. "I am the one who speaks with words; may I ask you your name?"

At this, the fisherman nodded slightly to show that he understood what they had asked of him, though he continued to hold the matches in his right hand and his bag of firestones in the left. But he didn't offer them up to them in the hopes that they might ignite them for him in order to begin warming up the stones inside of them. Instead, he lowered the bag down over his shoulder once more after setting the firestones in it, before picking up the firestone that rested in his right hand to examine it closely in order to determine what it might have been used for in the past. He then dropped it into the firestone bag and replaced it in his pocket, and then he picked up his oars again to resume rowing upstream.

"We are called 'Rider' and 'Warrior', respectively, though we prefer to be known by our names rather than what we do in life."

Then Rider bowed his head gently upon the grassy ground as he stepped closer to this strange man whom they had come to meet. Warrior followed suit, and they watched warily as he pulled off a glove and tossed it aside in order to reveal both of his hands. Their own gloves were still on their own hands as they did this, and it was easy for them to imagine that this man might choose to take one of these objects away from them as well unless they were able to act quickly enough. And they were indeed quick enough to react, raising their own gloved fists as they struck them against the sides of their shields in front of their chests as a signal of their willingness to fight if necessary. However, there was nothing at all threatening about either of these gestures: this was merely a friendly gesture that they used amongst friends when they had first met in the past upon a number of different occasions. In fact, the warrior wondered briefly why he had not thought to suggest such a greeting when he was originally talking to him earlier in their trek through the mountains.

"What happened? Was there a great flood that buried your home deep beneath the mud and the debris of the wreckage of all of those buildings? Were there giant fires set by the evil dragons in the sky that scorched your entire town down to its very foundations, leaving no sign at all that anyone or anything else ever existed there at all but for a few old bones lying scattered across the charred remains of your homes and shops?"

But despite the serious tone of these questions, Warrior and Rider found themselves smiling at one another at long last as they exchanged nods with one another. For the truth of the matter was that this stranger was exactly who they had hoped that he would be from the start: this person was not here to rob them of anything of value, nor was he trying to enslave them by forcing them into service as part of some army or other such fighting unit. This man had no wish at all to harm them for any reason whatsoever, which meant that there were no reasons at all for them to resist in any way as yet. There was no need for them to draw weapons from within their scabbards or reach down with their free hands and grasp the hilts of their swords and spears just yet, because the man in front of them seemed to have been willing to put his trust entirely in their goodwill up until this point. And so the warriors relaxed and smiled once again while the traveler took another step forward and then lowered his hand so as to place it upon his heart. Then he looked up at them with his pale eyes and spoke with a voice that was soft and gentle as well as powerful and commanding.

"I am known among my people as 'Shelter'. You can call me that name yourself should you desire to do so, and I will accept it gladly."