The mountains seemed to go on forever, their vast crags and sheer cliffs the apex of the Shard, perfectly representing the terrain’s brutality and austerity. Gregory didn’t care. In fact, he found the walls of grey beautiful. It wasn’t because he appreciated their stark lines and sharp edges. No, it was for a different reason entirely. He appreciated the mountains because of what lay on the other side.

He had been in this blasted Shard for years, stuck wandering around, his food supplies dwindling at a steady pace that left him increasingly worried about what he would do once they ran out. He had somehow managed to miss the last time the exit portal moved, being otherwise occupied with clearing out a rat’s nest underground. He had tried asking others where the portal had moved to, but the only thing he got out of them was that the exit portal was located on the other side of the mountains. For some reason they always seemed to die before telling him anything else.

But all of that didn’t matter now. He didn’t need others to tell him where it was anyway; he was a genius, after all. It had taken hundreds of thousands of Essence but he finally unlocked an ability that could direct him to the exit portal. He had heard tell of items that could do a similar thing, but they were rare, rare enough that he hadn’t gone through the trouble to find one before coming to the Shard, something which filled him with endless regret in the past.

He was past that now, his mind only focused on the goal in front of him: climb the mountains, find the portal, and leave the Shard. He had started the climb weeks ago, and now he was finally nearing the final ridge. Once he passed that, he would officially be on the other side. Of course, he would still have a long way to go, needing to climb down to where the portal was, but it was progress. And at this point, any progress was worth celebrating.

He really needed to thank those bandits that had attacked him a month ago. He had approached them to ask for directions, but communications had broken down when they suddenly attacked him. Well, to be fair, he was planning on doing the same thing, but still, it irked him that they were able to get in the first blow. Not that it mattered in the end, although because of their sneak attack one did get away, presumably scurrying back to whatever shithole they called a base.

Because of their surprise attack he hadn’t been able to ask for directions, but it didn’t matter, as they had been surprisingly rich in Essence, giving him the last few thousand that ultimately ended up with him unlocking the ability to sense the direction of the exit portal. It was partly because of his good mood that he let the last one get away. He was going to leave the Shard soon anyway, so what did it matter if one measly bandit escaped to report back to their leader?

Lost in his thoughts, Gregory approached the ridge, only a few steps left before he could see what lay beyond. The closer he got, the faster his heart beat, excitement overwhelming him and causing his palms to sweat. Finally he could get out of this dusty, desolate landscape.

He never saw what lay on the other side. Just a few footsteps away from the crest he put his foot down, expecting solid ground. There was only air, and, eyes still fixed on the ridge in front of him, he plummeted like a stone, rapidly falling into the large hole that opened up below his feet. Quickly snapping back to reality, he attempted to activate a skill, trying to fly back up out of the hole. But just as his attempts to fly over the mountains had been met with failure, so too were his attempts to get out of the hole, the gravity of the mountain range too strong.

He howled in anger, cursing whatever monster had created the trap he blindly walked into. He swore his revenge, planning to decimate their numbers before climbing back out. Hours later, the tunnel that he fell into slowly closed over, the stone around the lip flowing back to once more form solid ground, leaving no sign left of the person who had once attempted to scale the mountain range.

“She’s right,” Zedna said. “The mountains are by far the most dangerous location in the Shard.”

“Couldn’t we just go around them, then?” Tormacc asked. “Unless they divide the Shard in two?”

“No, they have an end,” Zedna said. “But while I called them the most dangerous location, that’s because of their size. There are two different zones on either side of the mountains, which are true death zones. The mountains themselves wouldn’t be that dangerous if it weren’t for their sheer size. While the danger level doesn’t compare to the zones on either end, it only takes one slip up for death to come creeping in. And when it takes weeks to cross the mountains, the chances of something untoward happening skyrocket.”

“If they’re that dangerous I don’t see why we would agree to your request,” Tormacc said. “You want us to form a party with you and traverse the mountains, right? That sounds like a one-way trip to an early grave.”

“Which is why I didn’t try and cross them before,” Zedna said, crossing her arms. “I’m confident in my strength, but I don’t have the skills needed to deal with the threats I would face.”

She then gestured to Athra.

“That’s where you come in. If I’m right, you should have some sort of rock sense?”

“I do,” Athra admitted. “But mountains, they are death. Is not yet time for me to meet Great Rock. Still much time left, things to do.”

“Athra’s right,” Tormacc said. “I’m all for leaving this Shard, but neither of us has any desire to risk our lives to do so. They portal will move eventually, so we just need to wait until then.”

“That’s what I told myself too,” Zedna said with a sigh. “If only it was that easy. The Portal only moved a few years ago, meaning it will likely stay put for the immediate future. Perhaps Athra can survive without food, but how much do you have stocked up? Maybe enough until the exit portal moves, but who’s to say it will move to this side of the mountains?”

Tormacc didn’t really want to listen to Zedna’s argument, but she did have a point. He had prepared many years’ worth of food, but it would run out eventually. Athra would be fine; he had confirmed with her that she didn’t actually need to eat. This was actually the perfect environment for her, as she subsisted off of earth elemental energy, which this Shard had in spades.

But even if the argument made sense for his situation, and he was beginning to realize it did, this wasn’t about him.

“That all may be true,” Tormacc said, “but I’m not who you need to be convincing.”

“Is true,” Athra said. “No matter how fast rock roll downhill, is useless if it misses target.”

“I’m willing to pay,” Zedna said. “I don’t expect you to help me for free. And even if you want to stay longer in this Shard, you can do that just as easily on the other side of the mountains next to the exit portal. As good as this Shard may be for you, I suspect you will want to leave eventually.”

“Money has no value to dead.”

Zedna fell into thought for a moment before speaking again.

“So can I confirm that it’s not that you both don’t want to cross the mountains, but you don’t think you can do so safely?”

Tormacc and Athra nodded.

“Going off of that, would you be willing to join me if I could prove to you I have the strength necessary to guide us over the mountains? I, too, would like to stay alive, and I wouldn’t be suggesting this if I wasn’t confident in succeeding.”

“I’m willing to hear you out,” Tormacc said, “but unless you can clearly demonstrate that it’s completely safe, we’re unwilling to make the trip.”

“Nothing is completely safe,” Zedna said. “If you are only looking for safety you should just stay in First City.”

“Fair point, but the sentiment still remains.”

“Then let me lay it out for you,” Zedna said. “There are a few main reasons the mountains are so dangerous. Athra, I assume you’ve at least stepped foot on them?”

“I have. Many monsters, combined with weight of rock pressing down, it is dangerous place. Not safe for even big rock.”

“What do you mean rock pressing down?” Tormacc asked

“Gravity,” Zedna replied. “Didn’t you wonder why someone couldn’t just fly over the mountains? While flight is possible in other parts of the Shard, as soon as you try and fly over the mountains you come crashing back to earth. While the gravity is bearable close to the ground, as soon as you get even a body-length up it’s impossible to ascend higher.”

He had actually been wondering about that very thing. Since the Shard was earth-based, there were no flying enemies. After seeing how the bandit Athra was fighting had been able to fly, he had briefly pictured himself soaring through the sky, peppering Stone Giants with attacks from outside their range. When he mentioned the idea to Athra she had told him that the Stone Giants could likely throw boulders at airborne enemies, which grounded his plans of an air assault before they even took off. Thinking about it more, he was naïve for thinking the Shard would have no response to those with the ability to fly.

“The intense gravity is the first challenge climbers must face,” Zedna said, continuing with her lecture. “Not only does it severely limit mobility, but it makes people attempting to pass over the mountains face the monsters directly, which is a problem considering the strength of the Stone Wurms.”

“What kind of monsters are they?” Tormacc asked.

“Large,” Athra grunted. “And mean. Stone Giants, they don’t attack first. That not true for Wurms. They smell blood, go after prey.”

“That’s not the worst part,” Zedna said. “The problem is their ability to swim freely in solid stone, meaning there are no safe areas in the mountains. Every piece of ground could suddenly turn into a Stone Wurm, ready to swallow you whole.”

Listening to Zedna talk, Tormacc was becoming more and more convinced going anywhere near the mountains was a bad idea. He already had some experience dealing was a monster that could assault him from within solid stone, and from what it sounded like, these Stone Wurms were one hundred times worse than the boss stone rat. And he couldn’t even retreat to the sky as he had to evade the rats.

“I fail to see the part where we would be safe setting foot in the mountains,” Tormacc said, frowning. “Everything you’re saying only makes this seem like a worse idea that I thought it was before.”

“You’re right to be cautious of the danger,” Zedna said. “Alone, I’m sure you wouldn’t last a week. But the Stone Wurms are only dangerous if they are able to ambush you. As long as I have someone with the ability to sense the wurms, like Athra, I can deal with them before they can attack us.”

“You talk good talk,” Athra said. “Reasoning is sound. I point out Wurms, you kill Wurms. But is not that simple. Wurms, they are hard to kill, like very big rock. Big rock is hard, has many layers. Need strength to destroy rock.”

“So you both agree that with Athra’s stone sense we only have to worry about fighting the Stone Wurms, not finding them?” Zedna said, confirming her point before moving on. Seeing the other two nod in agreement, she stood up, turning to face the direction she came from.

At first, Tormacc and Athra weren’t sure what she was waiting for, but seeing her firm stance, they both stayed silent, waiting for her to continue. It didn’t take long, with Athra the first to notice it through the ground, and Tormacc seeing the dust cloud a few minutes later. A large group was moving towards them.

“I figured a demonstration would be best to convince you both of my strength,” Zedna said, cracking her knuckles. “And the best way to do that is with live targets. And since some flies insist on buzzing around, it only makes sense to use them to put on a little show.”