Chapter 184: In The Eye

Stair after stair, after stair, after stair. My god, this was bad. The question mark on the map had led us toward a mountain, and apparently, getting to the top meant climbing a ridiculous number of stairs carved into its side. The path zigzagged along the mountain face, with each section leading us higher than the last.

The farther we climbed, the colder the air became. The mountain rose sharply beside us, its rocky surface stretching upward on one side while the other dropped into a vast open view. A wooden railing and occasional stone walls kept us from getting too close to the edge, but there was still plenty of open space between them. Far below, the forest spread across the land like a green blanket, with the occasional road cutting through it.

I glanced down and could see Froken clearly now. The village looked tiny from this height, with its handful of houses clustered around the well and the larger tavern standing out among them.

"Man... just sit..." Ken exhaled, dropping onto one of the stairs. "Oh gods. I’m pooped."

I looked up the remaining path. We still had a long way to go.

"Come on. We can’t be that far now."

"That’s what you said ten minutes ago."

"I was optimistic."

"You’re a liar."

I chuckled and sat beside him for a moment.

"Where do you even know the guy put the device here?" Ken asked.

"The bartender told us it emitted some sort of sound, right? So he probably put it somewhere close and higher up."

Total bullshit. Without the system map guiding me toward the question mark, I would have had no idea where to even start looking.

"I hope you’re right, man," Ken said. "I really do."

"I am. You’ll see."

Ken nudged me with his shoulder and stared down toward the village for a moment. "Man, I’m a virgin," he suddenly blurted out.

I turned toward him and raised an eyebrow. "Okay... thanks for, uh... thanks for sharing."

"No, I mean..." He exhaled and rubbed the back of his head. "I should’ve accepted her deal, man. I can’t go to Garmonna because it’s expensive. That woman, Skolon, only asks for two gold!"

I stared at him for a moment.

"How about you and your sorry ass go out, talk to some girls and find a girlfriend who actually likes you instead of paying someone to fake it?"

"No one would have me."

"Why not?"

"I’m bad with words. I’m not rich, and I’m not handsome."

"You have blonde hair and blue eyes. Girls love that."

"Well, where are those girls?" Ken looked around, then raised a hand to his mouth. "Hello! Girls who love blonde hair and blue eyes? Where are you?"

"You’re a dumbass."

I stood up and rolled my shoulder.

"Come on. Let’s keep going."

"Ugh... okay. If I die here without getting laid, Ace, I swear..."

"Just keep walking."

Ken reluctantly got back onto his feet, and we continued climbing.

The stairs became narrower as we went higher, with the mountain wall pressing close to our left and the open drop stretching out to our right. In some places, the path had been carved directly into the rock, while other sections had wooden supports holding the stairs against the mountainside. The wind was stronger up here, rushing past us and carrying the cold air from the peaks.

A few minutes later, I noticed something ahead.

"Wait."

Ken stopped and looked up.

"What?"

I pointed toward the bend in the path.

There was a small settlement built into a relatively flat section of the mountain, on the left side.

Four wooden houses stood close together, their walls made from rough timber and their roofs covered with dark shingles. A small tavern sat beside them, barely larger than the houses themselves, with a wooden sign hanging above its entrance. A few stacks of firewood had been placed beside the buildings, and thin trails of smoke rose from several chimneys.

The settlement wasn’t completely open to the mountain, either. Wooden fences had been built along the outer edges, following the curve of the mountain and protecting the villagers from the steep drop. They weren’t particularly tall, but they were sturdy enough to stop someone from accidentally wandering too close to the edge.

Ken stared at the village, then looked at me.

"Didn’t expect anyone to live this high up."

"Neither did I."

He nodded. "Then let’s check the place out."

We stepped away from the main staircase and followed the path toward the small mountain settlement.

One of the four houses opened, the door on the far left of the settlement. A man stepped outside, immediately sneezing into his hand. His nose was red, his cheeks were flushed, and he looked like he had been fighting a cold for the past few days.

He noticed us walking toward him and gave us a curious look.

"Hello, sir," Ken greeted him.

"Hey, fellah," the man replied. "Who are you?"

"We’re looking into the animals that have been going berserk in the area," I said. "Do you know anything about it?"

"Oh, yeah. We were actually trying to gather enough coin to put up a quest with the Guild, but we couldn’t afford it." He nodded. "You two are gods-sent."

"We were just passing through," Ken said with a smile.

"So, the animals," the man continued. "They really have been going berserk. Even the birds. I have no idea what’s causing it, but it started after that crazy scientist came to Froken."

"We were told he had some kind of device," I said, crossing my arms. "Do you know anything about that?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah. I saw him carrying it up the mountain. Looked heavy, too. I don’t know what he did with it once he got up there, though."

"Hmm." I nodded. "Thanks for letting us know."

Ken looked around the settlement, taking in the four houses and the small tavern. "This place is a bit of a weird place to settle, isn’t it?"

The man chuckled. "You’re not wrong. This wasn’t originally a village."

"It wasn’t?"

"Nope. This whole place was built for the Sultan’s army a long time ago. There used to be a military post here." He gestured toward the houses. "Those four buildings were barracks. One hundred and thirty soldiers were stationed here at its peak. They were supposed to watch the mountain passes and keep an eye on anyone coming through the area... the Sultan and his bastard soldiers stayed here."

Ken raised his eyebrows.

"One hundred and thirty soldiers in those four houses?"

"They packed them in pretty tightly back then." The man laughed. "The tavern wasn’t a tavern either. It was their base of operations. They’d use it for meetings, storing supplies, planning patrols and whatever else soldiers needed to do."

"So what happened to the soldiers?" I asked.

"Eventually, the post became unnecessary, I guess. They abandoned the place, and the buildings sat empty for years."

He scratched his red nose and sniffed.

"Then people started moving in. Farmers, hunters, travelers who wanted somewhere cheap to settle. The old barracks became houses, and someone eventually turned the old command building into a tavern. That’s pretty much how Froken Heights came to be."

Ken nodded, looking around again. "Oh, right. That makes more sense." He turned toward the stairs. "Thanks for the information, sir. We should get going."

"Mm. Careful, kids. Don’t slip and fall." The man pointed down toward the steep mountain path. "It’ll be the longest five seconds of your life if you do."

Ken gave him an awkward smile. "We’ll keep that in mind."

I nodded as well, and we continued toward the stairs.

"More climbing," Ken muttered. "Great."

"Yeah." I exhaled. "Tiring, huh?"

Just as I finished speaking, we heard a loud, rumbling sound from somewhere above us. It sounded almost like a deep growl mixed with a mechanical vibration, and both of us slowed down before looking at each other. Judging by Ken’s expression, he had no idea what it was either. Neither did I. If I had to guess, though, I figured it was the device the scientist had left somewhere on the mountain.

We continued climbing the zigzagging stairs, keeping our eyes and ears open. A few moments after the strange rumbling sound, a bird suddenly came out of nowhere and lunged straight at Ken.

"What the hell?"

The bird flapped directly into his face, beating its wings against him as it tried to claw at his head. Ken threw up one hand, caught it around the body, and yanked it away before tossing it toward the mountainside. The bird hit the rock and tumbled down onto the stairs, one of its wings hanging awkwardly at its side.

"What was that?" Ken asked. "The bastard got me in the eye."

"You good?"

"Yeah, yeah." He placed one hand against the mountain wall and leaned forward while rubbing his left eye with the other. "Aw, man. Fucking ow. That hurts."

"The animals really are going berserk," I said. "We need to shut this device down before someone gets seriously hurt."

The rumbling sound came again, louder this time. I looked up toward the summit. We weren’t far from the top anymore. Ken removed his fingers from his eye and blinked rapidly several times before straightening his back.

"I don’t think that sound is coming from the device, man."

"Yeah..." I exhaled.

We continued up the remaining stairs, and thankfully, the rest of the climb wasn’t nearly as troublesome. A few minutes later, we finally reached the summit.