Chapter 72 - Haunts & wolves
When she opened her eyes again, Scarlett found herself at the top of a platform on the side of a mountain. Spread out before her were countless white peaks continuing for miles, jutting up towards the skies with deep, snow-filled canyons between them.
To her right, gazing above some of the lower mountaintops, she saw hints of grey highlands in the far distance. Facing forward, closer than the highlands but still only barely visible on the horizon, she saw a large area of discolored land, best described as a scar. Burnt and desolate, massive fissures ran along the ground for what had to be thousands of meters on end. It struck a stark contrast with the mountain range and its surroundings. She couldn’t fault them for calling it the Blasted Lands.
A light appeared next to Scarlett, and Garside materialized from thin air. The old man’s eyes darted around for a second before settling on her. “My Lady, please. I ask that you refrain from exposing yourself to unnecessary risk. Please allow me to investigate any dangerous unknowns first.”
“I understand your concern,” she said, finding his immediate reaction somewhat amusing. “And I dislike needlessly endangering myself as much as you. There was, however, no need for such worries this time. As you can see, it was completely safe.”
The butler didn’t look exactly pleased by her response, but he seemed to accept her words as he lowered his head. Scarlett turned her attention back to their surroundings. The platform was made of simple stone, but it seemed to have been cut out of the mountain itself somehow, creating a balcony sticking out of the mountainside. At its center stood an obelisk, like the one back in the crevice, with the same symbols carved onto its face.
Another light appeared, and Rosa emerged next to them. The bard opened and closed her eyes, gazing out across the mountain range stretching out before them.
“Wow... That’s some view,” she said, then hugged her arms close to her body. “But it sure is cold.”
Scarlett gestured to Garside. “Give her something warmer.”
The butler bowed and stepped up to Rosa, pulling out a thick coat from the [Bag of Juham] and handing it to the woman.
While the winds weren’t too bad at the moment, they’d likely grow worse at some point. The air up here was also a lot cooler than where they had been before. Breathing in, Scarlett found herself surprised at how much thinner it felt as well. How high up were they, actually? Now that she thought about it, shouldn’t her ears have popped or something along those lines from teleporting this high so suddenly? Or considering the difference in pressure at these heights, it might have been even worse.
…Maybe she should have been a bit more careful about touching that obelisk. Relying on some ancient civilization to always have thought about these things for her might not be the best way of approaching matters.
She accepted a thick coat from Garside as he pulled out another from the bag, pulling it tight around herself. While the cold here wasn’t unbearable, she found herself wishing some of the items she’d gathered up till now would have had frost resistance. [Mark of the Gale] was the only such item she’d found yet, so warm clothes were the only way of handling the cold she had at the moment.