We finally crossed the mountains after four days of climbing and hiding. We did not meet another Wyldling in those days, but plenty of critters too aggressive and hungry for their own good. It was not a lot of fighting, but at the end of the four days, we were a somewhat coordinated team, well aware of each other’s abilities and limitations.

As we reached a floating boulder that hung above the chasm, with the rope bridge in sight, we hid a few hours, just to watch the surroundings. First of all, I had cut the rope bridge on my first trek across the mountains, but it was in place again. It must have been repaired while I was busy harassing the Wyldlings. Was it Veneir who had told me that a couple of his elites were able to fly or at least glide? It had been just a matter of tying a knot for them, then

The bridge was as strategic a point as they’d come in the Broken Lands. It was inconceivable that Barak Bloodraid would not let it be watched. We had climbed higher up, as high as we could, in fact, to have the best overview. We wanted to find the watchers before they’d find us.

But all we saw was the bridge. Intact and harmlessly swaying in the winds howling above the chasm. Until I saw the little pile of rocks. Neatly stacked beside the bigger ones where the ropes were fastened to.

The sign I had told Cogar Firehand to look out for. And now he was using it to catch my attention. Or could the message have been intercepted?

"The coast is clear.“ Higgins whispered. "I can‘t see anything suspicious.“

"We go then. My brother has given me a signal. Something is up. We take the bridge and hold it until he can cross.“

The others nodded. "If there is someone watching,“ Zora said, "he won‘t expect a force as large as we have. It will only be a force strong enough to catch a single human. They are just looking for you, after all.“

"Don‘t forget Veneir. He might have told them everything.“ Manus said.

"Even better.“ I said. Then they expect to be attacked and won't dare to split up too much.“

We climbed back down, sneaking as best as we could through the underbrushes of the lowest isles until we were clear beside the bridge. I snuck further, under the cover of some rocks, until I was behind a tree at the very edge of the chasm. I searched around for a while and then, from the cover of my tree, only showing my arm, stacked the rocks on top of each other.

Now we waited. And then, as I had looked away for a second, their stack had been toppled over. And behind it, hidden in the shadows of the trees, knelt Kara, almost invisible if you didn‘t know where to look. We made eye contact, nodding to each other. She pointed at her eyes, then to somewhere in the distance, up to the mountains and rocks on the side of the bridge we had no vision on. Then she held up three fingers. Three enemies. And she sunk back to the shadows.

"Just three?“ Manus asked after I had told them all. "We can just hold off three. Even if they have bows. If they have bows we advance on them. You, Zora and Simue are fast and nimble enough to get to them quickly, and distract them while the others cross the bridge.“

And just like that, we sprinted over the open ground to the bridge, getting our vulnerable members behind the cover of the rocks, while Manus held his shield high. Everyone was watching for signs betraying the hidden Wyldlings.

Kara was first on the bridge, small and athletic as she was. She made quick strides, barely slower than walking on solid ground. Cogar was second. My brother had changed quite a bit since I saw him last. Still a mountain of a man, he had regained much of his lost weight, gained a bit of fur around the shoulders and the barrel-chest, and his hands were proper claws now, holding his axe with an ease in one hand, that had been impossible two months ago. He was nowhere near as nimble as Kara, and very suspicious of the rope bridge. He was slow, slid his feet carefully across the rope that held his considerable weight and swayed dangerously with every move he made.

The Snake Clan decided to make themselves known, shortly after Kara had reached solid ground and Cogar was on the middle of the bridge. An arrow zipped through the air, missing Cogar, the only one who had no cover whatsoever, by a hair.

Rage burst out in me. Fucking cowards!

"Cover the girl!“ I shouted to Manus, already sprinting ahead. "Simue and Zora with me.“

I had seen the Wyldling raise up above the rocks on the right. A far shot for a bow like the one the Wyldlings used, but still in range. He had hidden himself a handful of floating rocks over. I could not wait for the others to climb, not while my brother was being shot at with nothing to hide behind. I had to get the bowman to stop shooting, at all costs.

I raced ahead. Jump, [Airwalk], jump. I lashed out with Zero, who shot through the air ahead and above and used his [Fetter] on the stump of a tree reaching over the edge of its isle 20 feet above us. I swung through the air, suddenly much closer to the Wyldlings who had believed to be in relative safety. Instead of running around the long way, I had just crossed nothing but air. Zero let go of his tree and I flew through the air, missing the rock the shooter was on, but landing on the bigger isle below it. I heard the shouting of the Wyldlings above me and ducked behind a tree, throwing a look back. I saw Zora running like the wind, arms pumping. Behind her, Simue moved like a cat, rolling to the side as an arrow hit the ground where she would have been.

I saw the Wyldlings jump down, onto another rock, weapons drawn. As they saw me, they charged, jumping down the final stretch to my level, to get to me. I threw Zero up, catching another branch and began to climb like a squirrel.

The Wyldlings charged at me, sure to at least get to the chain and shake me off it, but as they came close, Zero rolled up to me, evading their grabs. The Wyldlings screamed in frustration. One of them turned to scramble up the way they had just come from, while the other grabbed his axe and mumbled something.

He struck the air with a mighty blow, igniting it with roaring fire. I cried in shock as a ball of fire raced towards me, the face of a snake hidden in the flames, mouth opened with fangs exposed. I launched myself upwards with another [Airwalk] at the last second, but the heat scorched my back, making me almost lose my grip. Almost. Because the thing I was climbing held me firm in his grasp as well, as Zero used [Constrict] on me.

"Thanks, buddy.“ I gasped under the pressure. [Constrict] was an attack after all. He let me go and I swung myself up the rock. The bowman stood with his back to me, now shooting at Cogar, Kara, Higgins and Manus who were running at the Wyldlings as well.

Before I had Kingsbane free and stood firmly, the Wyldling whirled around, clearly knowing I was coming. Zero lashed out to him with [Chain Lash], but the Wyldling parried the chain with his bow, let Zero wrap around the wood and threw the bow to the side, jumping at me, drawing two short and wickedly curved swords while still in the air.

I activated [Stonehide] with maximum Mana. The Wyldling was way too quick, but not quicker than my thought to activate the Skill. He crashed against me and I fell down, despite the weight I had added on to me. His kukris scraped across the stone while I desperately tried to get my arms between me and the blades. But the stone around me made moving so damn hard. The Wyldling grinned hungrily and four black tendrils shot out from his back. Each of them drawing a dagger he had stored somewhere. The Wyldling mumbled something, a Skill I supposed, and a storm of steel exploded around me, as all 6 blades moved faster than my eyes could follow.

The Wyldling screamed in rage, eyes covered with jet black ink, as his amulet pulsed with the beat of his heart. Chipped and broken stone began to fly everywhere, my flesh bruising under the raw impact, where my [Stonehide] turned away the blades.

I was pushed down under the assault, but there was nowhere to go, so I got hammered into the stone below me, crying in pain as my bones strained and cracked and my breath got beaten out of my lung. The stone began to crack and chip away in ever bigger shards. I had only seconds left.

I saw a shadow darkening the sky for a second and looked instinctively over to the side. The White Beast, as I had known and feared. Making a pounce like the one it almost had caught me with, back when the world was a simpler place.

The White Beast sailed through the air, crossing the gap between dry land and the floating rock with ease. His huge frame crashed onto the rock, his claws raking through the stone like a plough through fertile soil, to stop his momentum and hold his balance, roaring in challenge and rage as he pounced on the Wyldling without hesitating for a second. One swipe with the claw catapulted the man with the shadow-tendrils off of me, thrown out of my field of vision. Something crashed and cracked in the distance. The white beast looked down on me over his gigantic muzzle, concern in his eyes, thick slobber dripping down on me as my [Stonehide] disappeared. I nodded, relief flooding through me as I caught my breath. The Beast whirled around and charged away with thundering leaps, roaring again.

It felt so good to have that on my side for once. Was that how it felt to have a bigger brother?