The Seeker - Isobelle Carmody [162]
“He is content,” Brydda said gently when we had left the camp behind.
“That’s what Darga said. But I’m not content. What a world this is that someone like Pavo has to die so young,” I said.
“People will always be dying too young, whether in the Beforetime or now. That is the way of the world.”
It took less than an hour to reach the fall of rocks that Brydda said concealed the opening to the Olden way. My feet were already hurting, though we had traveled at an easy pace.
Before leaving Brydda hugged us all tightly. Dragon, who liked the big man, cried unself-consciously. Darga wagged his tail slowly. Last of all, Brydda looked at me seriously. “Be careful, little sad eyes; your trials are not yet over. But I expect to see you in the spring.”
After he had gone, I straightened myself, determinedly throwing off a wave of depression. I took a deep breath and started to climb, instructing Jik and Dragon to stay close behind Darga. Once we reached the top of the rockfall, I was disheartened to realize we would have to climb down the other side before we could begin the ascent to the pass entrance.
It took us a considerable time to get down to the opening, and we were all dirty, grazed, and exhausted before we reached the narrow slit in the rock, which would barely fit a full-grown man. Thick vines had grown across it like a net, and some sort of spider had made a web in them. It was years since Brydda had last gone there, and I suspected nothing had passed that way since, for the webs were intricate and many layered, and covered in thick dust.
Dragon would not go through until she was certain none of the cobwebby tendrils would touch her.
It was late in the morning when we finally stood inside the Olden way. Darga sniffed, saying he scented no poisons in the vicinity.
Dry reedy grasses made a papery, whispering noise as we made our way up the incline. It was not as steep as the rockfall, but my feet ached with the strain of digging in for purchase. The trees growing in that early section were stunted, with spiky grayish leaves and stonelike buds, but ahead we could see a dark-green belt of trees. On either side of us, the mountains soared straight up, pitted gray walls.
It was an arduous climb to the tree line, and we were all puffing by the time we reached it. I was disappointed to find the ground did not level out—the trees had only given that illusion. It was darker beneath the canopy of entwined branches and leaves, and an eerie silence reigned that reminded me of the Silent Vale, where I had gone to collect whitestick as an orphan.
Jik worked to teach Dragon to say his name as we walked. I listened with only half an ear, preoccupied by a sudden feeling of unease. When we came out of the trees, I noticed the sky had darkened.
After a short distance, the now sparse trees gave way to a high, thick kind of bramble running before us in a solid barrier. It offered no natural paths and was filled with stinging thorns. That meant we had to use knives to hack our way through. The severed branch ends leaked a defensive odor that made our eyes sting.
It took more than an hour to bypass the brambles. On the other side was a narrow, very deep gorge cutting directly across our path; at the bottom ran a tumultuous course of water. The stream and the gorge appeared to run all the way from Tor to Aran Craggie. I thought it quite likely the stream was a tributary of the Suggredoon, escaping through some crack from inside the mountain. It was too wide to jump; the only way to cross was to descend into the trench and swim the stream.
We wasted another hour trying to find a less steep descent but, in the end, returned to the original spot to climb down. The stream was overhung with a thick, trailing fringe of creepers and vines, but the bank on both sides proved treacherously soft. I stared into the water, glumly wondering how we would manage to get across safely. Up close, the water ran very fast, and Dragon eyed it fearfully.
“I will swim with a rope in my teeth,” Darga sent. “On the other side, I will pass the rope around a