Not even a tiny bit of snow had fallen in the mountains since last night. As a result, the snow under their feet had hardened. Shinji had expected he would be sinking in snow with every step but he was wrong.
He was glad to be wrong.
Commander Eiga had been walking beside him ever since they had made an exit from castle gate. In the one hour of journey, Shinji never got a moment of comfort with them. Sorcerers didn’t speak. And nobody dared to share words with the commander.
His company alone was not short of torment. Red eyes along with silence were enough to make people stay away from Commander Eiga.
“Don’t you feel cold?” Shinji asked Eiga, who was wearing least clothes among them.
“I am blessed by fire.” Commander Eiga answered him, “Cold is merciful to me unless I breach the nature of it.”
Shinji was hit by surprise listening to him speaking back.
“How does-“
“I know you will ask me why you have this pot on your back.”
“Wasn’t thinking of doing so anytime soon.”
Commander Eiga sushed him straight away. Shinji had no idea what interesting thing Eiga had discovered in sound of wind rustling on trees.
Is an enemy hiding there? Shinji questioned himself. He failed to notice that none of them were looking at the trees. They had been studying the sound.
“They are awake.” Commander Eiga whispered, “Play it.”
The violinist removed his gloves, placed the worn off violin handle on his chest and started moving the stick on all the three strings.
Music was ugliest Shinji had ever heard. It was not being played for him so he didn’t keep thinking much of it.
Amidst of the ear bleeding tone coming from the violin, the hissing of snakes began to grow fainter. Shinji though it was a result of loud music being played but the music was insignificant in the vast mountain range.
The closer they reached, the quieter snakes got while the breeze was pushing itself.
A man carrying the mask wore it after studying situation of the breeze. Trembling feet of violinist was the evidence they were very near to their destination.
Those men stopped all of a sudden due to a cliff in their way.
“Brush the snow off the path.” Commander Eiga talked to a soldier.
Is here any path? Shinji was yet to see it.
The soldier poked the snow at the edge of cliff with a stick. Those taps were loud but it never topped the loudness of violin sound.
Soldier sank the stick on snow as hard as rock and pulled it towards himself like a crowbar.
Big chunk of ice rolled down from the cliff, exposing a stairway. The same soldier was the first one to descend. Then the violinist along with the man wearing Wernh’An’s mask.
Everyone took the same route to climb down.
Pot tied on his back in the narrow slope was making hard for Shinji to keep his legs moving. Despite the absence of ice from the stairs, it was still slippery. And the height of cliff was not something he could undermine.
He didn’t know where the land rested beneath the mist. At times, Shinji had to maintain balance because somebody would catch his pot for their support.
Few steps later, they were on horizontal way carved on the cliff. Looking up, Shinji saw the mighty height of forty five feet they had covered to get in there. Shinji was just glad to make it to the non slope land without slipping.
“Keep walking.” Commander Eiga gave him a shove.
He did not mind being man-handled due the presence of danger at the left side of him. Infront of him was the trail which seemed to be the only one.
Violinist, sorcerer and the masked man crept with their chests on wall in a sharp turn.
“Don’t get scared.” Commander Eiga whispered in his ear while going around a huge rock.
Crossing the toughest turn took them to a tree made up of living snakes.
Shinji could not even count how many snakes were tangled together.
The biggest snake was in the middle, standing by the support of coiling it had made. Its skin seemed harsher than wood barks. Legends said it had not shed its skin since centuries.
Smaller snakes had their vice on the old snake and they spread from it Baby snakes had been coiling around the smaller snakes.
Due to the music being played, their eyes were white. Their mouths were open and venom was dripping from their fangs.
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