Peli's Journey : Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Maroon, sharp, hard rocks formed the path.

The three travellers, Peli, Han’li, Rossa stared at the path ahead with a mixed feeling.

“How long more do we need to travel to reach the elusive Elyia?” Rossa said with no small amount of exasperation.

“Are you getting tired?” Peli asked.

“Aren’t you?” Rossa stared at Peli, a smile playing her lips.

“Well, I am tired. But I am also enjoying the journey so far. I mean, I never could imagine how far I have come, with total strangers like you.”

Rossa laughed. It’s a kind of laughter that she had never experienced before. It started from her stomach and vibrated throughout her body. Joy rolled off her being like an endless spring.

“I missed my home.” She said simply. Not with sadness, not with nostalgia, but with a joy that came with being free to express herself.

“We can go back to Yan after we find Elysia.”

“We’ll see about that. I’ll go back when the time is right. For now, the only way is forward.”

With that, the three embarked on what would later be recognized as their last journey together.

XXX

The mountain path was difficult to travel. With no vegetation, the sun shone on them mercilessly. After a day, the three decided that the heat was too much to bear and they chose to travel by night instead, since the moonlight could provide sufficient lighting.

There was no animal and vegetation along the path. Fortunately the mistress supplied them with sufficient food and water, but as the days or rather, nights, worn on, they started to get worried about their food supplies. And as the altitude got higher, they found it harder to catch their breath.

However, it was soon all taken out of their mind.

It was 6 nights after they started, not a very long journey, but even with careful rationing, they have finished half of the food they had started with.

They were tracking the path in silent, each pondering about the future. As they turned the corner, however, they came in front of a deep gorge.

One look at it would explain why nobody passed this way for the past decades. A bridge connected the two sides of the gorge, but it was broken. The only surviving part was the iron chains that were used to hold the planks.

The gorge itself was indeed a monstrous thing. It wasn’t very wide, as far as they could tell, since they could clearly see what was on the other side, but it was very deep. Han’li took a look down from the edge and announced that he couldn’t see the bottom, even though the moonlight shone brightly.

The three stood in front of the precipice; strong wind blew at them without mercy, and none spoke for a moment.

“We have to cross.” Peli declared. “It's on the other side.”

“You sure?” Rossa asked, a tinge of fear colored her voice.

“I am.” Peli turned and looked a Rossa, “You can turn back now, if you want.”

Rossa looked at Peli, and none of them were smiling. The wind turned stronger, and their hair danced wildly in the air. The iron chains leading to the other side swung violently, and the clunk they made when they clashed into each other was especially threatening.

“Do you think I'll turn back now?” Suddenly Rossa laughed.

“We'll make it through, together.” Peli smiled, and he reached his hand out and held Han'li's and Rossa's hands.

Some things were easier said than done, though, especially when the fear of death clouded one's mind like a wall that had no boundaries.

A rope around each other's waist linked them together. Peli took the lead and started crawling across the gorge along the iron chains. After years of exposure to the elements, the iron chains were rusty and feeble, and Peli crawled tentatively. Rossa followed Peli, while Han'li trailed at the back. The distance wasn't far, but time seemed to flow at half its normal speed.

Peli was very nervous, and his palm was sweating. He could feel his heart pumping and blood racing with extraordinary speed.

And just as he was about to cross the mid point, his gripped slipped and he almost fell off the chain.

Quickly, he hugged tightly to the iron chains and got balanced on the chains again, but he was trembling and couldn't move. Looking downwards, he saw the fog that rose out of the deep abyss, and the deep fear of falling off paralyzed him.

“Careful and take it easy, Peli, we are behind you!” Rossa yelled, the strong wind scattering her voice.

“You need to move! The wind is getting stronger,”Rossa urged again, and right on cue, a sudden gush of strong wind swayed the chains violently. The three hugged tightly to the chains.

“Arghh...” Peli screamed. He couldn't move, couldn't say anything coherent. He was simply paralyzed. He knew in his head that he should just start moving again, but the fear was so great he couldn't move his body.

“Close your eyes!” Han'li suddenly yelled.

“Trust me!” His strong voice carried through the wind, and knocked Peli out of his stasis.

As if commanded by something greater, Peli snapped his eyes shut.

“Now start moving. It's just like climbing along a branch of a tree, and I am behind you!”

The familiar voice called back an old memory. He was learning how to climb along the branches from tree to tree, and Han'li always tagged behind. He never really fell, whenever he felt wobbly, Han'li would steady him.

“You are near, just keep going!” Han'li was focused on Peli.

Did he have fear of his own? Probably, but as he focused his attention on Peli, he forgot about his own fear.

Suddenly another gush of strong current swayed the chains, and it was Rossa who wobbled. She let out a loud scream and hold on to the chains tightly. A cloud flied over the moon and the surrounding darkened for a moment.

“Rossa!” Both men yelled together, and tightened their gripped on the chains.

“Rossa are you alright? Follow me!”

Rossa took a deep breath and blasted back.

“Oh just start moving! I won't be the first to fall!” Her competitive nature beat her fear down, and she once again regained her grip on the iron chains. The cloud moved away and they again could see clearly.

The wind was really picking up. Every few steps the chains will swayed violently from violent gushes. The three crawled carefully, confronting their fears with every movement.

It seemed forever, but in actual fact the iron chains wasn't long.

When Peli's hand touched the harsh and solid rock on the other side, relief surged through his body.

“We've reached!”

He quickly established himself on the landing, and waited patiently for the rest to come through. And just as Han'li was getting on the landing, one of the iron chains suddenly snapped, and it felled away to the other side in a forceful swing. The loud clank when it hit the cliff on the other side echoed along the valley, reminding the three travellers how closely they had come to death.

They untied themselves in silence, and took a good look at the new environment.

The mountain path on this side had a little more features. At least there was more vegetation, and they could hear the sound of small animals rustling among the bushes and occasion songbirds.

The moon was just setting in the west and a hint of dawn's could be seen at the eastern edge of the sky. The darkest and coolest moment of the day was always before the sun rose. The three travellers walked to a nearby shrubs and huddled together.

“That was close.” Rossa sighed heavily.

Peli simply nodded. Thinking back, it probably wasn't as dangerous as they had made it to be, yet that was the hardest thing to overcome, their own fear.

The warmth as they lean against one another was making them comfortable and sleepy. After the crossing, they were exhausted and soon all of them lost the battle against sleep and surrendered to a dreamless and restful slumber.

XXX

What woke them the next day was the sound of wheels rolling over bumpy terrain. Han'li woke first, followed soon by the other two.

“Is that the sound of wheels?” Peli asked his companions.

“I think so. Let's check it out!” Rossa was excited. She realized she liked being around people. It meant she could exercise her charm and power, it also gave her a sense of purpose and directions.

The three companions followed what appeared to be a beaten path and as they travelled further, the sound of wheels became louder.

The beaten path ended at a broader and much better maintained road. And they emerged right in front of a horse caravan. A moving horse caravan.

“Watch out!” The rider yelled at the troupe while the three dodge at different directions. The caravan came to a halt as the caravan master hopped down the cabin and started scolding the three innocent travellers.

“What are you? out of your mind? Why would you suddenly walked in front of my caravan? Where do you guys come from anyway, wait...” The short, balding man with a protruding stomach glanced at the directions the travellers appeared from and jumped.

“You came from the mountain path? Leading to the Iron City? There's been no traffic there since 10 years ago!” the quick tempered man was almost hopping with excitement.

“Well, we came from Iron city, but the bridge was broken, and we didn't bring any merchandise.”

“Well, at least we know the city is still there! We'll find another way to the city. They have some fine iron wares those lots. Haven't been able to find better iron wares since...”

The travellers glanced at one another. “Must be a merchant!” Rossa thought privately. “And an old and experienced one at that!”

“Ehem, excuse me sir, I am wondering...” Rossa started, but her sentences were cut off.

“Oh, don't tell me. You want to tag along right? We are off to Yan City, so you can come along if you want. It's a long trip and we'll be passing through a few other cities, like the Norkh, the Jarika, the Sun Village, all big cities, lots of funs and money making opportunities. Hop on!”

“Ehh... We are thinking of going to Elysia.” Peli was a bit intimidated by the torrents of speech.

“Oh, then we are of total opposite directions then. Hahaha.” The laughter was quick, and short, but infectious. “The good news is, it is just down this path! Follow this road and it's another day and a half to the village of Elysia. I can spar you some food, but you'll be able to get wild fruits and water along the way too, you guys looked like you are good with surviving the wild and as such I wouldn't be too worried...”

“Thanks but I was wondering...” Peli tried to speak again. In vain.

“Well of course I will spare you some food! Alright! Let's move on, the sooner I get to Norkh, the sooner I can start trading! I can't wait...”

The quick merchant hopped onto the caravan and was about to start moving while Rossa yelled loudly, “Wait!”

Everyone stopped for a moment and looked at her.

“I will follow your caravan, if you don't mind! I am from Yan and in exchange for the ride, I will open many business opportunities for you in Yan!”

Peli was surprised.

“But Rossa! I thought you wanted to go to Elyia.”

“It was never about Elyia, Peli, and I think this is a sign I should go home.” Rossa smiled sweetly, like she suddenly found a precious gem. She fished out the black seeker's stone from her belt pouch and said, “Remember what the Master Maheuw said back in Collegia? He said this stone will bring me back to Yan! That had always been my final destination!”

“Why come all the way then?”

“Well, because of all the lesson I have learnt! I could not be at home without this journey!”

Rossa realized something then: She truly loved her family, and she truly missed the city of Yan. But she couldn't have seen the city like she was seeing it had she not taken the journey.

“Well young lady, are you coming on board or not? I don't have all day, and you seemed like someone who would understand that to a merchant TIME IS MONEY!” The short-tempered merchant was again getting agitated.

“No time for goodbyes! I will think of you guys!” Rossa hopped on the caravan, and before she could really settled down, the caravan had started moving. She waved and waved, until the caravan took a turn and disappeared from the sight of Peli and Han'li.

Like a storm she joined their journey, and like a whirlwind she left.

Peli stared at the dust after the caravan thoughtfully, and as the dust settled, he turned around, and walked the other way, Han'li trailed silently behind.

Soon, the road was quiet again. In the future, someone would travel this way again. And even though they would not see any sign nor landmark, but as they listened to the rustling leaves, they would know that at some point in the long river of time, someone ended a journey and started a new journey at this location.

As they moved on, They would then bring with them a sense of peaceful joy and hopeful future, as there were no sorrow in that parting.