poemtry and prose

The view from the gondola was incredible. A metal bar ran around the whole inside just under the windows. Stick hopped and ran around the bar, amazed at the lushness of the world below her. She had never been this high off the ground before, having sat only various friend's shoulders in trees.

"Lookie me! I am flying! I am really flying." Everyone smiled at her excitement.

While Thoring stayed at the gondola's helm, he spoke to them, acting as a tour guide for their journey. "It takes about 30 minutes for the gondola to traverse to the top of the peak. When they first installed it, they figured that the gondola takes us 4,000 feet vertically up from Greycliff. Basically it goes halfway up the side of this mountain."

Pressing their heads against the glass windows, they thought it was hard to believe that in 30 minutes they could be halfway up the mountainside already. Jagged rocks and long pointy bits of mountain zigzagged beneath the gondola's path. They saw the mountains freezing point, where green trees met the white crust of dry snow. Ahead of them, high above a plateau, they could see the timberline where trees did not grow anymore. Occasionally holes, blasted by the dwarves for entrances into mine shafts, could be seen. Thoring told them that the gondola did not travel that high, the snow and wind harsh to the cable and gear system.

"Those jagged rocks and cliffs made our early attempts at scaling this mountain treacherous. We thought that any hope of excavating minerals from this rich sound impossible. Which was unfortunate because the veins at the top of the peaks here yield the best crops," Thoring said. "We got lucky when the hermit came to us with an offer we couldn't refuse. The things she said she could help us build and do to increase productivity and sales were outta this world."

He then recounted how the hermit had helped them, in exchange for dwarven supplies delivery. Thoring also told them how it was a small team of dwarves who cut deep into the side of a hill she selected to construct her cavern. The cave, he said, overlooked the valley towards the Obelisk and Stonehaven. Trees surrounded it but the land around it was flat and rich in soil so she could grow a small garden of crops. The cave, it seemed, never attracted predatory animals because no one saw any around the cave or any of their mining shafts.

Staring at Thoring, Cassie believed that the dwarves saw this hermit as their good luck charm. So long as they kept up their end of the deal, no harm could ever befall them. The windows started to fog with their warm breath as the temperature dropped. Hazel and Cassie opened their packs, pulled out the parkas and pulled them on.

"Cassie look," Stick cried out. The faerie pointed to the window. Outside off to the left, was a long and wide cascade of frozen water. A waterfall, frozen in time, awaiting the warmth of the warm season to set it free. It glistened and sparkled as the sun's rays bounced off it. They all agreed that it was the best thing they had seen all day. Even Thoring bowed his head in appreciation for the natural splendor.

Five minutes after seeing the waterfall, the gondola touched solid ground again. Thoring pressed the button on the console and the gondola's mechanic heartbeat sputtered into silence. Cassie hugged the little man, thanking him for taking them up the mountainside. Hazel pulled out the map and hung the compass around his neck.

Thoring gave them one last piece of advice, "Keeping the sun amd moon to your back will always lead you North. You'd do well to remember this if find yourself lost." He then showed them where the start of the path was and bid them farewell.

The gondola groaned to life behind them and moved backwards down the cable. They were alone.

Hazel coughed again deep from within his chest. He twisted the dial on his compass, "Well, are we ready?"

Cassie gulped in the cold air, hoping that it caused the cough within his chest, "I guess I am as ready as I can ever be. Do you want me to read the coordinates?"

Hazel handed her the map and they started hiking through the snow. Surprisingly, their boots held up well to the snow, keeping their feet both warm and dry. They slowly made their way up the side of the mountain, being careful to stay away from signs of soft snow and deep drifts. The wind, for now, stayed calm.

Cassie called out coordinates as they ticked off their progress on the map with a quill. Hazel thought they were making good progress and could be at the hermit's cave before nightfall. This would have been true, if they had not stumbled across a bridge.

"Uh, that's not on the map, Hazel," Cassie said staring at a suspension bridge that crossed a wide divide. Years of snow and avalanches washed a deep trench in the side of the mountain and someone, probably the dwarves, had build the bridge to continue providing passage to the hermit's place and any mining shafts nearby. Puzzled, they doubled checked the map and retracted their route. But the map only confirmed that they were, indeed, standing right where they were supposed to go. And the bridge was along that path.

"I guess we gotta cross it," said Hazel. They stepped towards the wooden planks creating the floor of the bridge.

A puff of smoke greeted them, exposing a tall, slim shape.

"A troll," gasped Stick.

"This is a troll?" Cassie thought. It looked nothing like the trolls the Brothers Grimm created in their stories. The troll appeared to be a cross between a reptile and a goat. His body was scaly on top, two grey horns growing from his head. Long, woolly hair covered his legs down to cloven feet. The troll's nostrils flared open as it breathed.

"I suppose you want to cross," it said plainly.

"Naw. We thought we'd build a summer home here," Cassie retorted. "Of course we want to cross."

"Don't be snide to me girl. I could just eat you three right here, save you the trouble of freezing to death."

Cassie clenched her teeth but kept her mouth closed. Hazel pushed her behind him and said, "So what is the toll? And I'll bet that you do not care that we are on official business from the Obelisk?"

The troll nodded, "I know nothing of this Obelisk you speak of. The toll, is simple however. I'll pose a riddle to you, and if you answer it, you may safely pass. If you are wrong, you become my dinner. Sound fair?"

Hazel knew it wasn't a fair deal but they had no other choice. Cassie and Stick nodded for him to continue.

"Very well. Listen carefully for I will not repeat the words," the troll said. "Here is your riddle:

I never was, am always to be,
No one ever saw me, nor ever will
And yet I am the confidence of all
To live and breathe on this terrestrial ball.

What am I?"

Cassie repeated the riddle again silently to herself. The troll leaned against a support beam, anchoring one of the bridge's ropes. He stared at his long claws, preening them. "Feel free to talk amongst yourselves. Oh, and take all the time you need, I'm not going anywhere."

They walked away from the troll, where they could think free from his remarks. Standing face to face they tossed ideas back and forth.

"I do not think it is a physical object," Stick suggested. "How can it be if it never had form in the first place."

"Good point," Cassie said.

"Could it be a word?" Hazel suggested.

"I don't think so," Cassie said. "People don't live to speak or write. At least not where I come from. Of course, I am an exception to that rule." She smiled.

Back and forth they went, tossing ideas out and rejecting them.

Stick solved the riddle, "I know what it is," she said, "It's tomorrow. Tomorrow never is and yet it is always there. We don't see it cos it's not happened yet."

"And in my world," Cassie added, "We all live for it."

"So we're agreed then," Hazel said looking at each of them. They nodded and held their breathes.

The troll stood upright as they walked towards it again, "Have you decided then?"

Hazel said, "We believe we have the solution to your riddle troll."

"Let's hear it then. But remember, if you are wrong. You become my dinner."

"The answer is tomorrow," Hazel boldly said, crossing his arms over his chest. Another cough rose from his chest. Cassie started to worry.

The troll frowned and then let out a howl. "You bested me. You have answered correctly." It bowed as it stepped aside, granting them safe passage. Hazel and Cassie stepped on the bridge and watched the troll disappear back to wherever it came from.

The bridge wobbled under their weight but held strong. Hazel reminded Cassie not to look down, and although she did once, she kept her mind and eyes busy by counting numbers. By the time she got to 29, they were safely on the other side.

"From what I can tell, we have about 2 more hours of sunlight left. That troll ate a good portion of our day. But I think if we keep moving we can still make it to the cave before it gets really cold," Hazel said, watching where his shadow landed on the ground.

They pushed onward, following the compass's needle. Every time Hazel coughed, Cassie added another tally in her head, they were coming harder and more frequently. If he did not get inside soon, he was going to get sicker. Sweat beaded his forehead and whenever Stick and Cassie asked him if he needed to rest, and have some water, he politely refused. He was determined to make it to the cave that night.

The afternoon passed and the sun descended lower to the horizon. Cassie looked at the map, "We're almost there Hazel. You were right. We've got like one more length of my finger, however long that is in feet, to go."

He smiled at her joke but didn't laugh. Cassie knew at that moment that he was not well. He always laughed at her jokes, even the ones she thought were really gay.

She moved up next to him and allowed Stick to sit on her shoulder, hoping that the loss of some weight would help him. He had buttoned and tied his parka around his body tightly. It was cold out but not cold enough for that yet.

The sun set, tainting the sky in a bright array of reds and oranges and yellows. The sky cleared and the stars shone high above them. Cassie scanned the horizon for signs of a cave, or footprints. There were none. Doubts that they had been tricked and misled filled her head.

"How could you have been so naieve, and trusting," she thought angrily to herself. "I mean to take the words of a story, some book, and get you and your best friends lost on some cold, snowy mountaintop was stupid. If you ever get off this rock, I hope you think twice before believing in such tales." She paused. "But if I did not believe so strongly in the tales, I would have never thought to see faeries and gotten to know Hazel or Stick," the logical side of her mind retorted.

Cassie swung her eyes from the ground level with the horizon. A faint light, cutting a path of white between the shadows, flickered. Firelight. It had to be. Just beyond the path a wall of white rose from the ground. They found it. Right where the map said it was.

"Hazel, do you see it," she said, holding onto his hand. It felt warmer than normal, and was moist. He had a fever.

Hazel nodded, "Yeah. I see it. We did it. We" and then his body shuddered with more coughing.

Stick whispered, "I have some root and bark that I can make into a stew to ease his fever. But we gotta get him inside first."

Cassie nodded. They rushed to the cave entrance. A smooth, round hole had been carved from the mountain, it stood just a bit taller than Hazel and was wide enough for three people to walk into the cave side by side. They passed through the smooth wall, Cassie still holding Hazel's hand. The passageway grew wider leading down into the cave.

"Hello," Cassie called out. "Is there anyone here?"

Her echo was the only reply she received. They continued down the path, listening for signs of someone down below. Large crystalline forms grew up from the cave floor and down through the ceiling. They were deep inside the mountain now, safe from the cold and snow. The tunnel grew wider and wider until it suddenly opened up into a grand room. A small tree bark sat next to a fire, that was burning, two cauldrons hanging over the blaze. Two more tunnels lead off to the sides, burrowing deeper into the mountain.

Cassie called out again, "HELLO! Is there anyone here?"

Hazel slumped against the stump, shivering as he tried to warm his sick body by the fire. Cassie shedded her pack and jacket and helped Stick locate the roots and bark. Her mind panicked. She was not ready to lose Hazel just yet. A shuffling noise entered the room from one of the tunnels. Cassie left Stick to tend to Hazel as she picked a rock up and crept close to the tunnel. She held her breath.

A tall form emerged from the tunnel. The figure wore a hooded, brown cloak and boots. A pair of gnarled, arthritic hands pushed back the hood. White hair tumbled down over her shoulders and her brown eyes blinked at them. Cassie gasped at the hermit. She was human.

"My name is Morrigan. I have been waiting for you three. I am glad you made it alight."