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Floor 38

Cliff of Omens

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A billow of dust whirled away from our feet when we appeared near a steep cliff. Ahead of us the wall that was our next ordeal stretched so high that quite often it seemed to be nighttime when it was still close to noon. The wall itself was jagged and had no easy to find footholds, a true test of any free climber.

 

Adam and Lance showed little interest in talking about what they’d witnessed on the previous floor. To be fair to myself I had been in a highly agitated state and needed to outlet my rage in some fashion, but not only had I shown off a trump card I’d also drained myself severely. Even though I stood there near the cliff I could feel the fatigue that had built up, my own muscles aching at the strain I’d put on them, and I knew I desperately needed sleep.

 

Lisa continued to act as she always did, energetic and carefree, though Kuzu had quieted down. She hovered near me, almost as though at any moment she might leap into my arms for comfort.

 

“You said there’s a supply place here?” Adam asked as he started to approach me, but then stopped six feet away.

 

A glance at Adam and I could already tell from his body language what he was thinking. His muscles were tensed, ready to go at any moment, while his left hand remained close to the grip for his pistol. The rifle had been adjusted so that it was slung in such a way that it wouldn’t interfere with a fast draw.

 

“Mm, yes, but we’ll need to pass through the nests to reach it,” I warned him, “did you and your brother want to take the lead?”

 

Adam narrowed his eyes before he turned his attention to the cliff. “We should wait for night, the harpies aren’t as active,” he said as he dodged answering my question.

 

“No,” I vetoed that idea immediately.

 

“What? Why?”

 

“The harpies nest at night, so while it’s a great time to climb we’re planning to go through the nest.”

 

“I see.” Adam gave a small nod of his head. He turned away and walked back over to his brother. “Lance. We need to move.”

 

The Wolfe brothers began a quick argument, one that was often punctuated with one of the two glaring in my direction. While I waited for the two to finish I studied the cliff that was in front of us. Even a thousand years had done little to change how it looked from the first time I had laid eyes on it.

 

It was an odd world as the entire planet was nothing more than a single plain combined with an unending cliff. Everybody arrived at the base of the cliff, and everyone would eventually have to climb to the top. No tricks or traps were placed on the floor, merely a cliff and the vicious harpies that guarded it.

 

“The nest is this way!” Adam called out to me as he pointed to the south.

 

We walked across the plain, the knee high grass deep enough that if there had been pitfalls we would’ve never seen them. Though I knew that there were none when I had last been to this floor now I walked carefully, choosing instead to follow in the wake of the brothers.

 

Ahead the cliff developed a large crack that ran down from the midpoint to the base. At that midpoint a hole could be seen, one large enough for multiple people to enter at the same time. The closer we got to the hole the more alert all of us became, as we all knew that the chances of a harpy sighting inevitably increased.

 

Further south of us I could make out the light noise of harpies as they screeched back and forth, their high-pitched voices as grating as I could remember. Lance approached the edge of the cliff first and leapt up, his hands gripping hold of the rocky face.

 

To the average person the cliff would look unclimbable without a tool. That was the entire point as it put a lot of emphasis on knowledge and skill, forcing any incapable explorer to learn how to climb such an unwelcome rock face. Anyone who failed to meet that requirement would instead be food for the harpies.

 

Kuzu and I moved in close to Adam while we watched his brother climb, the steady upward progress impressive given how hard it was to find proper spots to grip. At no point did he slip, and I began to suspect that he was using some of his shifter blood in order to assist him in the ascension.

 

“He’ll toss us down a rope when he gets up, in the meantime we watch for harpies,” Adam informed me as he unslung his rifle and gave it a quick check, “you’re not going to do something outlandish again are you?”

 

“Outlandish,” I repeated the word with a smile, amused at how he’d put what I’d done to the previous threats we’d come across lately, “no, I’ve used up most of my energy. If I push myself further I’ll collapse.”

 

Adam stared at me in silence, and then after a few moments he turned to focus on the south. He made certain to load a round into his rifle and squatted down, obscured almost completely in the grass.

 

It was a motion that reminded me of our need for a certain degree of stealth and I gently motioned to Kuzu and Lisa to follow suit. Lisa giggled while she dropped into the grass, vanishing entirely, while Kuzu and I knelt near Adam. While he kept his gaze set on the south I turned my attention to the north.

 

No signs of the harpies were noticed by any of us, aside from the light noises that could barely be made out. Most likely they were off hunting the small animals like rabbits which frequented the plains, a simple food source that Luticia had left here for them.

 

“The rope is here,” Kuzu whispered to both Adam and I. She went to it and climbed up the rope before we could respond.

 

“Lisa, you go next,” I ordered my daughter.

 

“Sure!” Lisa replied with a giggle, and then ran over to the rope.

 

While they continued their ascension I could hear Adam behind me lower more into the grass, the sound of his breathing growing more controlled. It was enough of an alteration to let me know that he’d sighted at least one harpy at a distance, so I glanced over my shoulder to check on what had alarmed him.

 

A flock of about seven dark figures could be made out in the distant sky. Even from where I was I knew that they looked like women with wings in place of arms. Their legs would be almost reptilian with scales and end in claws. If I had to choose my least favorite feature of the harpy though it would be the face, the way that when they opened their mouths all you could see were razor sharp teeth.

 

I’d seen a few people eaten alive by them in the past, so my first instinct was to obliterate them from the sky. Yet given my current reserves of energy I knew that I wouldn’t be able to do so without alerting more.

 

With slow movements I pulled out my pistol and checked the ammunition, as I would look like an idiot if I had no bullets. Content with the condition of my gun I focused once more on the harpy flock that was to our south.

 

Adam and I waited for the worst to happen, for one of the flock to notice the two girls who were in the middle of climbing. Adam had already chosen a target, his rifle shouldered and aimed in the direction of the foremost member. I waited to lift my pistol, knowing from experience that it would merely worsen my aim if I held it for an extended time.

 

Luck favored us as the flock turned to the east, perhaps still on the hunt for more rabbits and not wanting to return home. When we could no longer see any of the filthy bird-women we let out a sigh of relief, then checked on how the girls had done.

 

“You first,” Adam said.

 

As I began to climb the rope I thought on how Adam had shifted in his body language. To be fair I’d done a few too many things as of late that’d make anyone leery, and I had a hunch he’d already figured out I’d also stopped the blizzard on the thirty-third floor. Perhaps I’d been a bit too showy in my actions, or maybe I should’ve actually told him some of the truth?

 

I’d started to like Adam and Lance, especially given how well they’d treated some of the other races. In the end it didn’t matter though as soon we’d reach the fiftieth floor, and at that point we could part ways. Once I reached the armory I would be able to utilize the equipment created by Markov. At that point I could send the brothers home to the safer floors.

 

Once I was at the top of the rope I climbed into the cave opening. I looked around at the nest of the harpies and found that little had changed in the millennia I’d been gone. Various rock shelves were carved into the walls, while a long pathway wound past a variety of stalagmites. From above droplets of moisture fell from stalactites that gave the cave a look of a monstrous mouth. Not a single shelf had anything on it as the harpies used them for sleeping.

 

It was the absence of eggs that made me smile, as it meant that none of the harpies would be worried about the sanctity of their nest. I turned to glance at Lance, as he helped pull his brother up into the nesting area, and wondered if he or his brother realized how lucky we’d been today.

 

“We need to move fast,” I informed everyone, “once they’re done hunting for the day they’ll probably have a flock or two scout back this way to make sure the nest is safe.”

 

“Are you sure there’s some sort of supply place here?” Adam asked from near the entrance of the cave. Next to him his brother worked on recovering the rope we’d all utilized in order to climb the cliff.

 

“It’s hidden in the back,” I reassured him, while I started to walk past all of the stalagmites, “try not to leave anything behind, otherwise the harpies will know someone came through.”

 

“We ain’t dumb,” Lance retorted.

 

As we picked our way along the pathway that was built into the cave floor we went deeper into the cavern. The light from outside started to become a dull glow behind us as we headed into the shadows of the nest. Ahead all we could see was darkness, yet without hesitation I continued to press forward.

 

Two balls of flame flickered to life in front of us, seated on top of what looked to be columns made out of the rock that surrounded us. Centered between those two pillars was a door made from a metal that seemed to almost absorb the light, an utter blackness so absolute that it called to mind the previous floor.

 

I walked with an assured grace to the door and pressed my hand against it. The door opened without complaint, revealing the interior to us. It was a large chamber that held a table made of wood, and chairs with black cushions pushed up against the table.

 

When we all walked into the room the door behind closed by itself. It was a movement that put the others on edge, and the brothers even became nervous enough to pull out their weapons. I glanced at them, but opted to not bother with reassuring them since I trusted they wouldn’t act too hastily.

 

“Good day,” came the sudden voice of a woman.

 

Because all the others had been distracted by the closing door only I noticed the arrival of our hostess. She had slipped out from behind a very plain screen and taken up a place near the grand table in the middle. With hands clasped together at the front of her waist she bowed deeply to us all.

 

What she wore was nothing more than a very large purple robe, one that was so long it dragged against the dirt floor of the chamber. On each of her ears were little bells, while very thin black rim glasses suited for reading sat on her face.

 

“Hello Rinth.” I bowed back in response. “Have you been well?”

 

“I’ve been most fatigued, your return is a blessing I’ve longed for.” Rinth motioned with her left hand at the table. “Please, you have all been through enough, why not have a seat?”

 

“Uh...this ain’t a trap?” Lance eyed Rinth with open mistrust. “You ain’t some man-eater in disguise?”

 

In an attempt to help dissuade any mistrust I tossed my sack to the side and sat at the table first. I motioned at Kuzu and Lisa to follow suit, before I turned to look at Rinth. “Don’t mind their nervousness,” I said as an apology for Lance’s comment, “they don’t know of you for some reason.”

 

“With time all knowledge is lost.” Rinth settled down in the seat opposite of me, her hands coming together as though she wished to pray. “Yet the joy of relearning is perhaps well worth the loss.”

 

Adam and Lance cautiously settled down into chairs, though Adam placed his rifle on top of the table. Neither of the brothers offered any words and instead sat next to one another, primed to bolt in case of some betrayal.

 

“I’m going to assume you still offer your services,” I said, a little afraid that something may have changed during my absence.

 

“I would never betray my purpose for being,” Rinth responded with a wide smile, “you and your friends may eat, bathe and sleep to your content. However you can only stay for up to two days before I will have to require you to leave.”

 

“What do you want in return?” Adam spoke up from his end of the table.

 

“I exist for this, why would I request anything?”

 

“Exist for this? What do you mean by that?”

 

“Will that be your question?” Rinth tilted her head to the right.

 

“Question?” Adam frowned before he turned to look at me. “What’s she talking about?”

 

I let out a sigh at that, mostly because I had wanted to avoid letting the brothers find out about it. My plan had been we would bunk down for the night and then while they slept I would utilize Rinth. Even if I feigned ignorance now she would still tell them when asked, it was part of the process she had to follow.

 

“Rinth is...an oracle,” I said in an attempt to explain, “every ten years she offers every traveller an answer to a question that is beyond normal comprehension.”

 

“Technically I am able to answer a single question to each person about anything past or present, no matter who or what they wish to know about,” Rinth supplied, before she motioned at Adam to gain his attention, “so, will ‘Exist for this?’ be your inquiry?”

 

“No, give me a few moments here,” Adam grew quiet as he leaned back in his chair. Next to him Lance also gained a very thoughtful look on his face, a look that was quite rare to see.

 

“You already answered a bunch of questions though,” Kuzu pointed out.

 

“Any question I can answer personally does not fall under the domain of the special question.”

 

Adam looked at Rinth with a look of utter shock. “You don’t know why you were granted this ability?”

 

Rinth gave a small shrug of her shoulders. “No, I have theorized but nobody has ever asked.”

 

“I suppose I should get the show started, otherwise we’ll never get around to eating and sleeping,” I said in an attempt to steer the conversation away from exploring the depths of Rinth’s past. It was the best I could do given the current situation.

 

“Very well.” Rinth placed her palms against the table. “When you are ready please inquire.”

 

“For my question please let me know has anyone aside from myself entered the Garden of Eternity?”

 

Rinth’s eyes closed while she started to mumble something beneath her breath. It was a language that was unknown to me, not for my lack of trying. I could have wasted a question on discovering what it was, or what the words meant, but for some reason I had always chosen not to.

 

“You are the last known entity to enter into the Garden of Eternity,” Rinth replied, her eyes opening once more, “will that be all of the questions for the day?”

 

“Ooh! Me! Pick me!” Lisa nearly stood up on her chair as she raised her arm up real high. “Miss please tell me if my sister is okay!”

 

“Your sister slumbers deeply, but safely, and waits patiently for her family to come back,” Rinthe told Lisa after her ritual.

 

“Am I the only human-shifter?” Lance wondered aloud.

 

“There have been two known instances aside from yourself of a human and a shifter having a child, though you are the only one who has achieved adulthood,” Rinth informed Lance, before she gave a shake of her head, “I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s kay,” Lance grumbled as he hunched down into his chair, “figured it was like that.”

 

“I know what I would like to ask now,” Adam adjusted his monocle, a smug look on his face.

 

“Please, what would you like to know?”

 

Adam lifted up his right hand and pointed directly at me. “What secrets are he keeping from me?”