“The seven largest isles in the Western Isles each had their own unique demographic, partly due to the differing terrains between the isles. Highmountain Isle was one where most therian tribes simply stayed away because the isle offered little to them, yet for others it was exactly what they wanted.

As its name suggested, Highmountain Isle was a relatively rocky isle dominated by tall mountains that reached beyond the clouds. This meant that there was minimal arable land on the isle, as well as little space to ranch or hunt in. Most therian tribes had not favored the mountainous terrain either, and favored the other isles with friendlier terrain.

On the other hand, it was heaven for the avian tribes, who made their nest-homes on the high peaks far beyond sight. Over the years the collection of Nest-homes turned into cities built at the top of the mountains and amongst the cliff faces, suspended high in the air. The Isle itself boasted of likely the highest concentration of avian breeds of therians in the world thanks to its unique geography.” - Alina Knizhnyycherv, Researcher of Therian Cultures at the Verozgrad University, circa 672 FP.

“So there’s no direct route to Highmountain City itself, I reckon,” Cal asked as she sipped on a spoonful of the rich, savory, herbal broth. The flavor was akin to a savory tea infused with recognizable flavors of the sea, which made sense since the broth was one made from a large turtle.

The broth itself also contained every discernible bit of the turtle, from its meats to its near-gelatinous greenish fats to all sorts of offal, and even bits of the soft inner shell since it was of a soft-shelled breed. The taste was not too dissimilar to the plain, raw flesh Cal had before in the Merfolk settlement near Al-Shan, but the cooking and the herbs used gave new dimensions to the taste.

“Afraid so, Ma’am,” replied Tal from his seat across the table from Cal. The bookish young man had been a quiet member of the group, mostly spending his time fascinated with the local flora and fauna in the previous Isles, pretty much exactly as Mallard had described him as, a fanatic of his studies. “The only routes end halfway up the mountains, and there’s no way to go further unless you climb or fly the rest of the way.”

They had departed from Largefang Isle to Highmountain Isle, and was currently situated in one of the three port cities on the isle. Unlike the other Isles, the port cities were pretty much run entirely by the local aquatic therian and merfolk tribes, as the mostly avian inhabitants of Highmountain Isle favored their high perches on the mountaintops and cliffsides.

While trade still happened, it was mostly facilitated by some trading posts built halfway up the mountains, where the locals would descend to trade with visitors or the dwellers of the shorelines. Cal had heard of the great roost-cities high above the clouds, and had intended to see them for herself, which made the lack of a road headed that way a nuisance.

“What do you think, Vark? Care to join us for a climb?” asked Cal. She was mostly concerned about Ilena, who was naturally far too young to make such a climb on her own. That said, if she recalled correctly Reaper Servals were great climbers, and Ilena might well be able to join them on Ida’s back. “You can stay in the port if you prefer.”

“Eh, we’ll join,” replied Vark after a short consultation with Krystal. “It’d be a darn shame to not visit the mountaintop cities now that we’ve come all the way here, won’t it? Besides, Ida can climb steep cliffs with Ilena on her back, and Leila would be on the lookout anyway in case someone did fall.”

The implication in Vark’s words naturally was that Leila would be riding on Lumi’s back, ready to catch them should anyone slip and fall during the ascent. Cal’s own students had minimal worries of that, not even Fheeri, as she had trained them hard enough any of them could hang on from a single hand for hours without breaking a sweat, but the worry was a valid one for the rest of the group.

After some more eating and small talk, they chose to spend the night in the port city, and only continue on their way to the mountains the next day. The first thing they did when they woke up was to buy some climbing supplies from the city for those who needed them, and they left by carriage around noon that same day.

The carriage traveled through rather rough roads that climbed up the mountain, at times the slopes so steep that the passengers all disembarked and walked alongside the carriage even as the team of large goats the locals used pulled the empty carriage behind them.

It was a slow trip. The steep angles many of the roads took meant that the going was slow even at the best of times, and it took a full three days from the port to the trading post a couple kilometers up the mountain.

Built on an artificially flattened area of the mountain, the trading post itself was reasonably sized, enough to accommodate the many wagons and carriages that came and went. Part of the area was also used to run inns and taverns targeted at the traveling merchants, which was where Cal and her party spent the night.

Finally, on the morning of the fifth day since their arrival on Highmountain Isle, the party departed from the trading post, and walked to where the mountain continued to rise to the heavens unabated. Those who lived up top had no need for roads, as teams of the avian people flew down while they clutched large nets with their goods in their claws.

For Cal and the rest though, it would be a long climb to the top, but they were prepared for it. Krystal carefully tied Ilena to a harness which was secured to Ida’s back, while Leila leapt atop Lumi’s back as the young drake unfurled her wings.

They were ready for the climb.