A new bright sunny morning found teams at the Battell clearing ready to go on their days. While most of the traffic packed up and headed down towards the road junction, Jaen's group pointed their vehicles at the route uphill and began to make their way out of the village. The dirt road wound up through dense pine woods filled with the soft twinkle of woodland houses. An undergrowth of moss came out to line the walls of the way, still composed of the same glittery shale. The pitch seemed somewhat gentler than the road up to the ridge had been, but eventually they came across patches where it would steepen, gaining ever more elevation. At these points the surface would cut in like giant stair-steps to aid in the repulsors effort uphill. Local wheeled traffic had more difficulty with the stepped stretches, taking narrow routes up on the sides, or switch-backing the whole flight.
More often, it seemed locals shunned the main road, preferring their own routes threading along the slopes. Numerous cart-tracks forked off into thick moss and spruce, leading to ledges and pockets on the hillside. The driveways were often well-hidden, and Ayleah was sure they led to paradisaical groves whose tenders desired to keep forever secret from visiting eyes. The only trespassers the hermits accepted in their secluded mountain glens were the animals, as those were closer to a part of the land anyway.
The land was a wonder, even to those in the party who had been there before. Whole fuzzy green meadows stretched up and undulated into the distance under the spruce canopy. Moss completely dominated the stark mountain land, coating the surface of the forest floor and even reaching up some of the trees. Mushrooms made an appearance too; small glassy ones that poked gently from moss-laden cliffs and large towering toadstools with brightly-colored tops. Their frequency and placement was often influenced by the residents, accentuating homestead gardens. The signs of life about were many, as humble farms cut their little patches into the mossy glens. Rustic cart-tracks connected dwellings and small trading squares in a network of terraces along the slopes. All the time the mountain continued upward ahead of the travelers, steady and singular. The road wound back and forth but always in a northerly direction, ascending the slope of the peak.
Ayleah found she thought little of the others, or of recent events for a while, so enraptured was she in the sights of this mountain community. The land was not so harsh here, though somewhat isolated being a couple days travel from any city. Life seemed to thrive in a peaceful, contemplative way, taking good care of whatever it had available. The denizens looked to live a sparse life, but there was a glow of contentment nevertheless. Ayleah supposed it came from their security in undisturbed community up here on the mountain. That, and the clarity of the air here. Ayleah would sometimes stop what she was doing and just breathe the air, enjoying utterly the smells of the forest in all its blossoming and decay. She could take in with all senses at once the spruce needles and bark, the dirt, the bitter stone, the crisp air, and the undercurrent of animal musk. That out-breath was always a moment of complete peace.
Not one to give in easily though, the mountain revealed itself to them around a bend in the road. A small wayside and a more noticeable side-track proclaimed the first real rock ledge of their route. A whole sheet of stone, from their perspective nearly the size of a small city were it unearthed. It raised itself like the spine of some sea creature heaving up through the woods, shouldering aside the earth to expose and breathe the sky. The road ran in a direct line up to one side of the middle crest, bounded in a narrow crevice of the rock.
The group paused to check the vans; secure baggage and make sure the engines were at peak performance. Then one by one they began an ascent. The rock spine leveled off towards its summit, so the going was not so bad after an initial short effort. The crevice barely afforded space for any oncoming traffic though, so the drivers, especially Jaen and Bellinda, were grateful they did not encounter any. Once up the slope, the road left the crevice and crossed open rock between green woodland canopies. The spine continued up a bit more to the left, forming a miniature rocky peak among the pine glade. Here there was an inn and a more sizable collection of dwellings.
There had been a moment approaching the ledge that Ayleah had been apprehensive. This road had an intensity unknown to her previous woodland travels. She figured the others had been by this same exact ledge before, but it still felt dangerous and she was glad to reach the level spot below the pine knoll. She had been well-reassured by the casual skills of the driver of her van.
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