To the sea

“There! There is!” Ezer can't help but scream, expelling his tension as he finally sees the fissure descending into an uncrossable abyss.

Lia stops, taking a few seconds to catch her breath as Ezer prepares to descend.

“It's too narrow to carry our gear together… with a rope we could get it down first.”

"There's no time, I can hear the beast approaching fast! We have to go down now!” Lyaria returns to her human form impressing Ezer with her appearance for a second, though he comes to his senses immediately and doesn't bother Lyaria either, who dons her clothes as quickly as possible.

Ezer grabs his backpack and Lyaria's, throwing them down the dark crevice without hearing a bang in response, he couldn't be sure how many meters it fell, but did know that anything fragile inside would now be shattered.

“Is close!” Lyaria has no more time and only manages to wear light clothes that were useless against the cold and wind of the night. In any case, the adrenaline in her body did not allow to feel it. "I'm going first." She doesn't wait for an answer and begins to descend through the fissure, helping herself with the strength of her legs and back.

The darkness was total, the only way to get down was depending completely on the sense of touch. Lyaria hurried to make room for Ezer who was on top of her, far enough away for the bear's claws to reach him, so she had to hurry even though this meant more danger.

"We have to get to the bottom before that thing attacks us with magic!" One of Ezer's hands slides across the cold rock forcing him to use more force with the other.

"I can't tell how long it is! The ground is not visible!” Lyaria knew very well in the predicament they were in, they had little time to descend before the same attack Nielmar suffered hit them.

Above them, the bear reaches the fissure sniffing it after normalizing his breathing, he was more tired than expected having run and fought all night, the small wounds that he had not given importance, prove to be a nuisance at times like these.

"He's above us...Lyaria!" Running out of time, Ezer decides to take a risk.

“Okay!” She immediately withdraws some of the strength in her arms and legs, as well as her back to begin a controlled fall. The friction on her arms and back was agonizing, wearing nothing but light clothing she could feel every spike and ripple in the rocks on her skin. While Ezer wasn't much better off even in all his thick coats.

In this way they go down a great distance in a short time, but even so, they had to stop if they did not want to lose their lives in an action that in itself would be considered suicidal. However, luck is not on their side.

"The walls are widening!" Lyaria notices how her arms and legs have to extend more and more to keep holding on within the limits. Every time the distance increased, so did the force that his body had to do.

“Shit! We're out of time!” Ezer looks up knowing that the beast is gathering deadly force in its jaws. He couldn't see it, but he could feel it, it was thanks to that that an idea appeared in his mind.

"Lyaria, drop completely!" It takes her a second to understand what Ezer meant, and another second to decide to do it. Instinctively she closes his eyes, even though she couldn't see anything anyway, and stops applying pressure with his body. The feeling of falling floods her mind without her emitting a single cry as her teeth bit down hard on her lip.

Ezer also drops down forcing his mind to ignore the fear and focus on his surroundings. For a moment he thinks he can see or feel colors in the air, he fully focuses on changing his direction from bottom to top using the fissure as a channel.

It was for a second, maybe less, in which the bodies of both slow down considerably and then fall again, accelerating with each meter. However, both press against the walls again enduring the pain, guided by a sixth sense that life brings out only in moments like this. A knock is heard and then another.

Ezer did his best, but he falls on top of Lyaria anyway, surely she foresaw a situation like this and that's why she went down before him. Ezer tries to help her as fast as he can almost dragging her away knowing they don't have time.

Both manage to distance themselves enough, on an unstable ground full of small stones that fell from the cliff, when a sharp blow is heard behind them, destabilizing them while throwing hundreds of rocks into the air.

Neither seen to be injured, though the force of the impact forces them to fall onto a steeply sloping ground, with rocks passing overhead being the main hazard as they both roll uncontrollably down the slope. Luckily, the ground is flat enough again to stop their fall and to regain a sense of balance.

"Lyaria...!" Ezer tries to get up when a rock hits his ribs forcing him to cover his head with his arms until the rest finish falling.

"I'm fine...a little bruised. Our backpacks served to soften the fall a bit.” Her voice was low and Ezer couldn't see her very clearly since the moon was obscured by clouds.

"I'm going to get our equipment, we have to leave as fast as we can. I don't think the bear will reach us, but if we don't take precautions, he can intercept us in the mountains.” By taking this dangerous shortcut they gained precious time, now they had to make use of it.

Ezer rushes up to get his things and when he comes back he notices that Lyaria is still on the ground, he soon knows why.

“I can still walk.” Lyaria groans as she lays bare-backed on coats while Ezer applies a yellowish ointment.

“For how long? Some hours? Every step would be torture... your skin is raw.” He continues applying the mixture he made following Lyaria's instructions, although his inexperience was evident since several badly crushed yellow flower petals could still be seen.

“My feet are fine.”

“The feet are not the only thing we use to walk. Even your arms are in bad shape, if it wasn't for your boots your feet would be the same.” Ezer knew the true pain she was feeling, a simple breeze tormented her even though she didn't show it. When she will begin to move, pain would wash over her with each step.