The Conjoined Mountains

It was the start of the fourth week and a single month since their journey started.

After half a day of walking through ever-changing terrain following George in the rain, they arrived at a region where a lot of the mountains were conjoined to make very tall mountains.

These few mountains soared above the rainy clouds and were covered in snow. In some spots, the rocky surface could be seen. The timberline could be seen halfway up the conjoined mountains, and the valleys in-between were way higher.

This region of conjoined mountains stretched beyond the horizon and dipped below.

Before these conjoined mountains, the mostly separate mountains they had been traversing in-between looked like large hills in comparison.

George brought the group to a stop at the foot of these mountains.

"We've arrived at the very edge of the frost ape territory. The main path I created is up ahead along with the second anomaly. I want remind you all of what I discussed before we left for this quest."

"First of all, just because we're at the very edge doesn't mean you don't have to worry about them. It's unlikely we'll ever see frost apes for the next few days or even weeks since the path moves between their territory, but that doesn't include scouts, deserters, and potential raids."

"Take notes if you have to, but hide and be quiet if you see a scout, deserter, or a group of them. If necessary, only attack if you are spotted but make sure to kill since we don't wanna alert an entire horde of them."

"We were lucky we managed to avoid most of the rainy weather on the way here, but the elevation increase here will make the weather even more unstable. Not to mention, it's almost October which means the temperature at 6,000 feet (2,000 m) will drop to around to the mid thirties (F). Expect occasional snow storms to roll in. Does anyone have any questions?"

"Yes, um, what about the anomaly?" Hester unconsciously raised his hand to ask.

"We'll talk about it when we're closer. You'll all forget most of what I would say since I just talked about a bunch of other things. You all need to worry about the elevation and weather the most right now." George indifferently explained.

Seeing nobody raising their hands, George adjusted his raincoat a little before turning around.

"Let's continue."

The group began walking uphill at a much steeper gradient than they are used to.

Everyone silently walked between the pine trees as the pouring rain made the ground muddy.

After two hours of walking, Hester was already panting like it was the first day again.

The grade only seemed to be getting steeper yet the trees remained upright. Boulders began to appear on the side as they jutted out.

Rain washed over these boulders and created small streams in the crevices. Green moss grew on these rocks and thrived in this environment.

The gradient of the slope made walking even more treacherous, as there was a risk of the muddy ground giving out and someone falling face first into the ground.

Even as the hours went by, nobody complained a single bit.

Even Emma was surprised at Hester's lack of usual complaints considering the situation.

After all, he would usually be whining and complaining over minor things prior to George's arrival. She was expecting such a treacherous environment to overwhelm him.

Yet determination remained in his face despite his panting being visible from the cold air.

The increase in breathing could also be attributed to an increase in altitude, with the amount of air decreasing a percentage every thousand feet.

Thankfully, the steep slope leveled out as they entered a valley.

Naturally, because of the rain, a large stream had formed at the very bottom of this valley.

Unlike the separate mountains they were used to, the valley is steep enough that a lot of rocky cliffs make up the walls.

The group walked in the area between the stream and the cliff walls.

"We'll rest here for dinner."

George brought them to a part of the cliff which extended far out than the usual, forming a natural canopy over the trees and providing a dry area. The size of this rock canopy was massive and stretched far in terms of width and a length that almost reached the other side.

At some point in time, both sides could have been connected to form an arch but must have partially collapsed.

They went under the shadow of the cliff canopy and George brought them right against the cliff wall. The rocky wall was dry and plenty of dead wood could be seen everywhere.

"I didn't mention this, but we're on the main path now. I use this spot for resting."

"I'm exhausted!" Hester almost dropped his backpack while trying to take it off. He sat on the ground to rest.

Melissa and Abe seemed relatively fine, but Emma also looked very tired. The only difference is that she does a better job of hiding it. Bernice seemed relatively cheerful and not very tired at all.

"I'm impressed." Melissa could not help but comment as she looked at the area.

"I've never been atop a mountain before." Emma seemed to be in a good mood despite being tired. She could not help but admire the rock walls and the stream in the middle while taking off her rain coat.

"We're not even atop the mountain. We're in a valley of the conjoined mountains. These are baby ones compared to what we'll see in the coming months." George once again ruined the mood, causing Emma to deflate a little.

"Still, it's really enjoyable." She muttered in response.

"I'll gather some wood." Abe decided to not dilly-dally and got to work.

"I'll help as well!" Bernice was cheerful enough that she wanted to help.

As standard procedure, everyone took out their foldable chairs and some basic utensils.

George was about to help get some firewood as well when Melissa stopped him.

"Can we talk?" She whispered.

George nodded and followed her to a distance away at the edge of the cliff canopy.

"I forgot to talk to you this morning but I remembered a few hours ago. I'm sorry." Melissa bowed slightly, but George merely shook his head.

"I thought you didn't want to talk about it anymore, so I said nothing."

"You... didn't tell me." Melissa was speechless and did not know how to respond to that. She thought he had also forgotten.

"So what did you wanna talk about?"

"*ahem*"

Melissa cleared her throat a little and tried to maintain her professional cold appearance.

"I've been with your group for two weeks now right?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"Then what is our relationship supposed to be? I thought you would talk about it eventually but you stayed silent..."

"Can you clarify?" George pulled down the raincoat hoodie part off his head.

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Notes:

* I want to clarify that the mountains before did not reach cloud level, or most of them did not. I may have mentioned the opposite in an earlier chapter but I could not find that chapter to change it. Cloud level is much more more higher than six thousand feet.