Chapter 1134: Kavad's Lance I
Leon’s blood sang at the prospect of not only an adventure on this mountain but also that of a good hunt. Some mysterious monster that Grandin wanted dead, and then they could go straight to the top.
Hopefully, anyway. Somehow, he doubted that this would be so easy…
Their climb began on the pavilion. Kavad’s Lance floated hundreds of feet off the ground, but since flying around the mountain was dangerous, leaving the mage in question vulnerable to razor wind, lightning strikes, and beast attacks, the only way to reach the mountain was by a wind current that could carry a mage from a platform on the pavilion to the base of the mountain. Another current would return a mage to Lancefoot’s pavilion from the mountain’s base.
Grandin, with practiced ease and clear eagerness, led the way onto the pavilion’s departure platform. Given there wasn’t a contest for climbing the mountain, there weren’t any lines to reach Kavad’s Lance, which Grandin saw fit to point out.
There were several gold-sashed guards on the platform, one of them tasked to help people enter the current. Leon’s party didn’t need such help, however, as Grandin didn’t stop to let that particular guard get a word in edgewise, walking right past him and lightly jumping into the wind current. Leon, not wanting to get left behind, followed closely.
As soon as his feet left the stone platform, the wind picked up beneath him, gathering under his arms in a way that could never be mistaken for natural. With this thick air beneath him lifting him, the current swiftly carried him up and to the receiving platform at the mountain’s base.
On the short journey, Leon stared up at the mountain while keeping his magic senses trained on his followers—the mountain’s magic was still scattering his magic senses when they were projected too far, leaving him with only his physical senses to see ahead of him. The titanic, imposing heap of stone was covered in dense vegetation. While it rose straight as a finger into the air, with sheer cliffs on every side, there were many flat plateaus, dark caves, and deep alcoves from which sprouted veritable forests. Combined with abundant plant life sprouting from just about every crack in every cliff, the mountain, despite being primarily made of gray stone, was nearly covered in greenery.
Much the same could be said for the countless rock formations that orbited the Lance, from the smallest boulders to the largest mountains. All were covered in such abundant foliage that Leon found it no wonder that thousands of people could attempt to climb the mountain simultaneously yet see so few ever run into each other.
He reached the receiving platform in moments and found Grandin standing there already looking impatient.