Higher and Higher We Go (Chyril 27th, MT)

[Taevia Foree]

Samaanna's Crest

Situated along the eastern edge of Roque d'Ancourt, overlooking the entire town from a safe height, is Samaana's crest, a small jutting cliff located about a third of the way up the sheer cliffs that tower over the town. The crest is grassy, home to a few gulls and other birds, and a much-favored campsite for those who dare venture upward.

The cliffs above are only attainable by climbing masters or special equipment, but Samaanna's Crest is accessible by even those with the most basic of climbing skill, the ascent conquerable by a combination of bare-handed or piton climb and a few reliefs carved into random points making stairs and ladders where available.

The area is about twenty feet by ten feet and has a small mountain stream trickling down from within the cliff along its eastern-most edge, where the crest meets cliff.

The young woman stared up at her destination on the cliff face, wanting to reach that objective before the sun had fully risen. She was a little worried about not having enough light for her climb, but after a moment, Taevia simply shrugged off the thought, trying to remain confident. Her backpack was snugly secured, firm about her shoulders, containing all her goods, but nothing that could help her get higher. The female simply had to trust that she was skilled enough for the climb, this being the biggest challenge she had ever offered herself before.

As she studied the cliff face, Taevia made note of a few available juts of rock, which would be useful to her as hand and foot steps. She wanted to get to that crest she had heard about.. supposedly a wonderful observaion point. It would be absolutely wonderful to see the town from that point, bathed in the light of the rising sun. She tried not to make herself too expectant of the beauty, but knew she would not be disappointed. 'One thing at a time..' she silently reminded herself. The achadhiel sucked in another deep breath, worried that she was taking too much time, but knowing it was wise if she were to achieve her goal.

With a short walk that got her to the rocks, Taevia started climbing, slowly and carefully, trying to pick hand and foot placings that were obvious...

[Gutter Rat]

Taevia, after the first few feet, would find that this small cliff, although low to the ground and easily capable of killing her, had been well traversed over the yahren and was well within her grasp as a fledgling climber. As she rose, she could see something midway up the cliff face which was not visible from the ground – a small outcropping of rock at the mouth of a small dark hole.

Although it would take a few more burns of climbing and a small deviation from the ‘beaten’ path, it was accessible if she wished to venture over to it. If not, the climb ever further upward would take a great deal more time, patience, and skill, but was just as attainable.

[Taevia Foree]

She had wanted to reach that crest... a place to that would surely afford her a breathtaking view. However, upon seeing this outcropping, Taevia adjusted her climb, wanting to check out that darkness. The young woman even thought that she might be able to view the sunrise as it bathed the hole in light - what a pleasant morning that would be! She also surmised that there may be people already occupying the popular camping spot. Taevia didn't really want to share this moment with anyone, especially if their personality was not to her liking - but such an encounter was not out of the question.

As she climbed, the achadhiel noted that it shouldn't take her much longer to reach her new objective. If she came to a particularly difficult spot in the cliff face, the female was willing to take a bit of a risk to get herself higher. Taevia even sped up her pace a little bit where she was able, knowing that if she wanted to play out the former fantasy she had just conjured, she had to act fast. The only thing that the young lady didn't do, was look down.

[Gutter Rat]

Taevia found herself able to reach the outcropping within a manner of burns, the small shelf just wide enough for her to sit upon and a narrow tunnel leading inward. If she wanted to turn and face the city, she would see what was already a breathtaking vantage point over the island which was almost as perfect as the summit itself although the true summit would be less cramped and have the full advantage of a wider view.

As for the small cave, if she opted to examine it, she would find that it looked far narrower in the throat than it did at the mouth and that instead of the typical dank smell of nature and neglect, the scent of cinnamon rolls wafted from within and the pulsing orange clow of a fire could just barely be seen upon the inner walls coming from somewhere deeper.

If she chose neither, the shelf was at least a good place to rest before resuming the climb.

[Taevia Foree]

As she hoisted herself up and onto the shelf, Taevia turned to take give herself a moment of rest, but could instead find no breath. When she looked out upon Roque d'Ancourt, she was met with a swirling array of colors from the rooftops, which dotted the city in what seemed like a perfect but random pattern. The young lady did not mind the slightly stuffy conditions - she had never had a fear of such things and, if she had have, she was too absorbed with the sight before her to care. After all, these were the moments she most cherished, the ones that made her feel most alive. If she didn't know any better, the female would have thought that times like these were being set up by someone, just for her. However, Taevia had never really had the chance to be in touch with religious views, and thus, possessed a respectful ignorance.

It took a number of burns for Taevia to tear her eyes away from the scene, but the smell of cinnamon rolls both intrigued and puzzled her. After a moment of contemplation she figured that the reasonable explanation was someone camping inside the cave. To her, it didn't really seem that ideal of a spot with the summit just a short climb away.. but then, the person in question, if that is indeed what it was, may not have the ability. With a shrug, the achadhiel headed inside, calling out a soft greeting at whoever might be there to listen.

She could only hope the encounter would be as exciting as what she had just witnessed..

[Gutter Rat]

The journey inward was a tough one, the tunnel just barely wide enough for the young climber’s shoulders and not nearly tall enough for Taevia to crawl on all fours, being forced to do more of a ‘military crawl’ through the short expanse. Rounding the corner was another matter entirely, but the young woman would find that once she did, the passage opened into a room that she would be nearly able to stand in.

If its owner allowed, that was.

Jadoydie, a bespeckled old gnome, looked up at her new intruder from the stove with a look of more curiosity than anger, lowering her glasses down to the tip of her nose to watch Taevia enter, if she chose to, which would be a wise move considering that turning around and going back out face-first was far, far easier than backing all the way back out. “You better not have any friends with you, miss…” she finally warned, a motherly tone permeating her voice as she crept closer to Taevia, the room seeming to dwarf the gnome with its expanse. “On a good day, my home seems lucky to fit me, I’m afraid, although you are welcome to try.”

She didn’t seem threatening but, as many often found out the hard way, even bears can look cute on occasion.

[Taevia Foree]

It seemed easier than when she first looked inside, and Taevia, now using her elbows to shuffle her forward, was finding this rather difficult. At the corner, the young lady even managed to get herself stuck, but she was a determined one, and simply took a deep breath instead of going into a panic, wiggling until she was free to continue. Taevia also noticed that, through this style of getting ahead, she was making her clothes rather dirty - such trivial matters didn't concern her, however.

As the passage opened up, the achadhiel came face to face with a gnome, looking rather small for the room, making Taevia almost laugh at how such a creature could possibly be made to look tinier. Rising, she found she had to bend her back a little bit, but the discomfort was not unbearable. Before speaking, Taevia dusted off her clothing a bit so as to look more presentable.

"No, I uh... that is, there's nobody else."

She nodded to herself as if confirming the fact. After a burn, it seemed to hit the woman that this was indeed someone elses living quarters. She instantly started to fidget, a little embarrassed at intruding and then thinking nothing of it.

"Oh! Uhm.. I'm sorry, ma'am.. I didn't know that-- s-sorry."

Taevia bowed to accentuate her apology, it looking a little goofy due to the fact that she wasn't able to rise all of the way. The achadhiel continued to look nervous, not wanting to offend this interesting figure she had happened upon.

[Gutter Rat]

Jadoydie gave a thoughtful pursing of her lips and then a smile. “Oh, it is quite alright, dear… I have no door, so it is not like you could have knocked or anything.” The woman continued working around her stove, pointing at the floor space where Taevia crouched. “Go ahead and have a seat, young one. It is a long climb either way up or down and you need not tire your muscles unnecessarily… “ She took up some food and placed it on a plate while whistling momentarily.

“Besides…” she said after half a burn, “It is good for me to have company on occasion, goodness knows that I cannot very well climb down much more that easily – they call me Jadodie…” she announced as she passed the plate to Taevia. “And who might you be?” she asked with all of the warmth of a grandmother.

[Taevia Foree]

To summarize for Maeve:

-Taevia spoke with Jadoydie for awhile, the topic eventually turning towards magick

-Jadoydie pointed Tae to La Libram Excellence, which is where the achadhiel planned to go afterwards

-A bit more chatting led to Tae's departure