Up the Mountain


Steve and Jake shot each other nervous glances, but knew that it couldn’t be too bad if they had a monk with them who knew the land.


“Long time ‘go, beasts fought for many year. They built temple as burial ground,” The monk told Steve and Jake, “many man tried to meet beasts, but never returned.”


“What happens when you try to awaken these ‘beasts’?” Asked Jake


Steve replied with, “Bad things, of course!” in a slightly mocking tone.


They continued on their way, wishing that they had warmer clothing, as the winds were whipping, and it only seemed like it got worse the higher up they went. Another hour passed, and a massive earthquake struck, and everyone dove for cover. However, the monk was too late and was knocked off the edge by a rockslide. The earthquake continued for several minutes, then subsided abruptly.


“We have to go back down, Steve.” Said Jake


“No. It would be even more dangerous with these conditions. And I thought we left the city for some good old fashioned adventure!” Replied Steve.


Jake gave a little grunt of disapproval, but decided that it wasn’t worth arguing about something so petty. The realization that the two had none of their weapons hit them almost as hard the rocks being thrown at them by an unknown group of animals or people. They tried to hide somewhere, but no matter what they did they could not escape. Out of the fog stepped a large group of short men, speaking a strange language.


“Blazzeldorp beezop loobadoop!” Said one, to which another replied “Boozleblazze!” with a nod.


Steve and Jake looked at each other with grins. They both got up and began to punt them off the side of the mountain like little footballs with legs. They went flying as Steve and Jake were laughing as much as their lungs would permit. They stopped for a second and sat down under an outcropping protected from the wind. Jake took out some dry firewood from his knapsack and the two continued to light a fire.

The moon shone bright on the mountain, leaving just enough light to see a couple of feet ahead of you. The fire raged on, and Steve and Jake sat close together. They looked onwards at the fire and the moon, almost perfectly positioned above it.


After eating, Steve leaned over and gave Jake a quick peck on the cheek, then immediately retreated to his tent and hoped he didn’t do something wrong.


Author’s note: When writing this, I didn’t know if this was the right thing to do with the characters, so I want you all to tell me if I should keep it or cut it. Except I probably won’t get rid of it if you tell me to. Ha ha ha.


Morning soon came, and Steve and Jake both gave each other smiles and mentioned nothing of the last night. They simply packed up their stuff and continued up the mountain. They climbed for a few hours joking around at some times, but being completely silent at others.

Finally, they made it up to the top of the mountain. They both shared the same smile of accomplishment and content with themselves. At this point, they had nothing else to do but go inside...