Chapter Six – Defeating the Mountain of the Giant's

I trudged on for miles and miles, my heart heavy. I might never see Kya again, and all because I did not look out for her. It was all my fault (Well, really, partly her's, too!). I looked up to see the mountain of which the lady had told us, the snowy mountain. And to get to Iglis I must cross it, and I felt shivers as I approached the giant mountain, snow covering it. I noticed a change in the weather, too. It was freezing, I wished I had had my thermometer with me. I also started to get hungry, too. I then realized that I had no food with me, for I had given my loaf to the hag and Kya had been going to share hers with me. Now I had no companion, no food, no place to rest comfortably. My courage fell as I looked up at the mountain looming above me, and it began to grow darker and darker. Until I was forced into a small cave in the side of the mountain, and soon I fell asleep. I awoke to the sun shining brightly, I forced my tired eyes open and looked around me. Not a soul in sight; I yawned and sat up, the warm sunlight warmed my cold body up. I came out of the cave and backed a few steps away to get a look at the mountain again, but this time my courage did not fall. I was hungry, but determined to get to the Magician. I had no mountain climbing equipment; I was still determined. I looked up to the top of the mountain, and all along the way were footholds, but they were far apart. I would have to do my best to not fall. I put my foot on the first foothold, and put my hand on another; slowly, but surely, I made my way up the side of the mountain. My whole body was freezing, because of all the contact to the snow; and of course the cold weather. Many hours later, my tired, hungry and cold body reached the top of the mountain. I scooped a spot out of the snow for me to lay in, and I layed in it for hours and hours. When I awoke, snow was falling swift and hard; I looked at my watch, 3:04:12:09 a.m!
I was practically covered in snow, and I was almost too cold to move. I did not want to get frostbite, either. I took my shoes off and examined my feet, they were cold, but I did not think they did or would have frostbite. I put my shoes back on and began the descent downward, first I had to walk across the long mountain top, (the lady had told me that the peak of the mountain had been torn off by a giant many years ago). I began going downward, and lost my footing. I fell at least three hundred feet down the mountain, about one hundred feet were left to go down. (That helped a lot!) I fell in a deep bank of snow and for several hours, I did not see the light. I awoke on a soft bed, with a cloth on my head and a kind voice in my ear;
“Your awake now! I thought you were not going to make it!” I looked up into the kind, gentle face of a grandmotherly lady, my head was throbbing.
“Wh-Where am I?” I asked,
“you are in the house of the Lady Relissa. I am her maid, we found you most of the way down the Great Mountain of the Giants. Whatever were you doing there?”
I put my hand to my head and paused for a moment, the first time my memory had failed me in a long time.
“I – I – I was going down the mountain, I was wanting to see the Magician of Iglis. Oh, do you know if I am close?”
“Hmm...very strange. Why would you want business with the Magician? He is full of evil tricks!” She asked,
“because, I don't belong in this land, I live in another Country. And I was told that he could help me. And – And, my friend, she disappeared. He is my only hope!” She looked thoughtful, and then nodded her head slowly,
“yes, I suppose he could help you. And I suppose you are close enough to the land of Iglis, but where the Magician himself is, I cannot say.”
“Oh, I must go now! I have to see him at once!” I started to get up, but I fell back down. My back was sore and I groaned,
“you can not possibly leave yet, dear. You are still very weak. You've only just awoken after five days of being here.” I raised an eyebrow and questioned,
“five days?!”
“Five days.”
I closed my eyes, hoping that they would never, ever open again. But they did, five minutes later. A kindly faced woman was looking at me, she was young and beautiful, maybe twenty. I figured at once that she must be the Lady Relissa.
“Hello!” she said,
“I am Relissa! And you are...”
“I am Jessica, but you can call me Jess.” She smiled, it was a beautiful smile, like the sunshine.
“I am so happy that you are awake! You were in a very dangerous place, Giants sometimes roam the mountain, one giant even took the peak of the mountain off!”, she continued,
“I already know why you were crossing it though, my maid has told me. I suppose that the forests surrounding the mountains were of greater fear to you than the mountain?”
“I was warned not to go in the forest.” She nodded, and left. I soon drifted off into slumber.