By the time I reached the bottom of the mountain, Noel was far out of sight. I was breathing so hard my chest was starting to hurt. I slid Kelser off my back, put my hands on my knees, and watched the sweat drip off my nose. I’d almost forgotten that my body in this world was much younger than my body in my previous world. I had amazing stamina, but not a lot of power. Kelser’s body was lighter than mine, but not enough that I could hope to lug him all the way to Bek Tepe while running. And even if I could do that, Noel would have burned the whole place down by then.

As I caught my breath, my mind was filled with distracted questions and unwelcome images. I shunned them all to the side, and decided to focus on the task at hand. I leaned over to Kelser, who was lying slumped against a boulder, and splashed some water on his face. It took a couple of tries before he woke up, sputtering from the water and groaning from his injuries. I told him there was no time to waste, and asked him if he thought he could run.

I helped him get on his feet, but he cried out in pain when he tried to walk. I frowned. This wasn’t going to work. I couldn’t carry him to Bek Tepe, and it didn’t look like he could keep up with me on his own. I looked around the area. The area known as the roof of the world had been surprisingly devoid of large monsters. There weren’t a lot of plants or small animals for them to feed on, which probably meant this wasn’t a popular habitat.

I told Kelser about what had happened at the cave. He didn’t remember any of it, not even the part where Noel had killed Priest Oxi. I hesitated to tell him that Noel had tried to kill him, but decided it was important to be honest. After I told him that I thought Noel had run ahead, trying to get to Bek Tepe before me so she could avenge her family, Kelser told me to go without him.

After I told him what happened in the cave, Kelser suggested Noel didn’t actual try to kill him. Maybe she’d only been trying to distract me so she could go back to Bek Tepe and attack the human Jora tribe. If this was true, he said, maybe Noel wouldn’t attack the other tribesmen, if they didn’t get in her way.

I shook my head. I remembered the look in her eyes, the force with which she’d thrust the Dragon’s Tooth towards Kelser, as well as the pain in her voice when she’d been talking to me. Besides, revenge wasn’t an incredibly rational feeling. The hole in her heart couldn’t be filled with the souls of the human Jora tribesmen. She might just keep going after killing them, in the hopes that killing every single human would make her feel better, but it wouldn’t. The only way to help her right now was to show her she still had a life worth living, and that she could overcome the sorrow she was feeling right now.

Once I’d caught my breath, I splashed some water on my head, told Kelser to be careful, left him some dried meat, and took a deep breath. It had taken us several days to get to this mountain. There was a tiny part of me that was hoping Noel would cool off over a few nights, but I had a feeling her feelings would only smolder like coal, waiting to be reignited once she reached Bek Tepe. I had to catch up to her before she reached the temple.

Even though she had a head start, I had hope. There were steep inclines on the way to Bek Tepe. It would tire me out massively, but I could catch up to her by using a lot of balance magic. I said goodbye to Kelser, and began walking towards the next mountain. I knew I had to conserve my energy for now. This chase was not a sprint, it was a marathon.

---

I wasn’t exactly a hunter, but Noel did leave behind a few marks and signs. Things like burnt out campfires and the remains of hunted animals. Stuff she could have cleaned up, but probably didn’t in order to save some time. Her actions made sense, since we were both heading towards Bek Tepe and I was likely to be able to find her anyway, especially with the wide open vistas of the mountains and foothills.

I dropped into a narrow valley that was nestled between two daunting, snow-topped peaks. The valley was heavily forested, and had many glacial streams and freshwater springs. I grabbed some fruit off a tree, since I knew it was edible. It was one of the fruits the foragers of the elfin Jora tribe had taught me when I first came to this world.

It was getting dark, and I was tired. I’d been using balance magic relentlessly all day. From what I remembered, I would soon be out of the area known as the roof of the world. The fact that I hadn’t been able to catch up to Noel yet, was worrying. I could only hope that I’d missed her along the way, or that our routes had diverted at some point. With some luck, I may already be out ahead of her, and would reach Bek Tepe before she did.

I began to prepare my camp for the night. The fruit I’d picked was the kind that had to be peeled and cooked, in order to soften up the flesh and remove the toxins from around the seeds. I was feeling parched, and was in the mood for some cold spring water. If I found any sweet fruit, I might even chill them in the spring. Unfortunately, all I could find were a couple of tubers and handfuls of wild grain grasses.

Thunder rumbled in the distance. Great, a storm. I didn’t see any caves nearby, so I’d have to shelter under some thick trees. I didn’t want to be touching the ground in this thickly forested area, since I wasn’t a fan of creepy crawlies, and because the rain would definitely pool down into the valley from the surrounding mountainsides.

I found a couple of large trees, whose canopies were high and thick. I grabbed some long, sturdy branches, and tied them to either side of each tree with some sturdy vines. I shaped a couple of branches into y-shaped supports, which I added to the middle of the hammock. After tying together a few more branches and testing the whole thing with my body weight, I covered it in softer leaves and grasses so I wouldn’t have as terrible a night as I was expecting. I ended up tying another couple of branches above the hammock, between which I tied some more smaller branches, over which I put a bunch of large, waxy leaves, which would help keep me dry for the night.

I made a quick fire, hoping to cook my fruit before the storm came by, and figured I could go check out the spring while I was waiting for the food. I’d been sweating like crazy all day and figured a quick dip in the cold springs might help calm my nerves too. After all, I was still refusing to reckon with my thoughts, feelings, and questions about Noel. I didn’t even know what I was going to say if I managed to catch up to her.

The spring water felt good against my skin. I’d even managed to find a few chateau melons which I cooled in the water. Despite their sweet taste, my mind was overcome with bitter nostalgia. The first and last time I’d had these, was with Noel, in a forest on the Plains of Serenity. We’d chilled them in a stream and spent the day goofing off. The fruits hadn’t changed much over the years, which somehow only made me sadder.

I left the springs and came back to my hammock. I finished my food and settled in for the night. The pleasant smell of petrichor filled the air. I let the raindrops lull me to sleep.

---

I got up very early the next morning. The sun wasn’t even up yet. I was feeling hungry so I went back to the tree where I’d found the chateau melons, but all the fruit was gone. I figured the heavy rain had pelted them loose, and then washed them away. Pity. I hadn’t bothered setting up a trap last night, so I went around, looking for monsters to hunt. I found some small, snake-like monsters, and figured I might as well try them. They tasted like chicken.

As dawn broke, I crossed the narrow valley and approached the next mountainside. I was pretty sure this was one of the final steep inclines I had to cross before the marshes. I gathered my energy for the day, and prepared my balance magic.

I caught a flash of silver in the corner of my eye. I froze. Noel was climbing the mountain to my side.