"I still can't believe the drake let us leave with those scales, without paying anything in return!" exclaimed Tom, a bounce in his step as he walked.
They all glanced at each other. No one wanted to tell him that Carla had left all of her shells behind. The drake would find them when it went back into its cave that evening. Gia just wanted to get as far along as she could, and was happy her dad seemed to be in such a good mood.
The storms the night before had once again littered the beach before them with dead sea creatures and boulders that had fallen from the cliff beside them. Twice they had already had to climb over sections where the entire cliff had fallen down. Thankfully, though, they hadn't had any issues with creatures from the water trying to attack them.
Up ahead, they could see the cleft in the mountains that they were heading for, but it was still a way away.
"Do you think we'll find a good place to camp tonight?" asked Mikey, his arms full of dead things he wanted to try and eat.
"As soon as I see a good spot, we'll stop and build a fire," promised Vonn, looking ahead. The rocks that jutted out into the waves seemed to have several holes and entrances where it looked like the water had worn caves into it.
Making their way over another collapsed section, ahead of them the beach disappeared into a large hole in the cliffside. Light lit up the inside, so they proceeded carefully in order to check it out.
"This is awesome!" cried Mikey, looking around in excitement.
The entire inside of the massive rock had been worn away to leave behind a huge chamber within the rock. Soft sand covered the floor, all the way from the waves that gently washed against the beach to the very back of the cave. A large chunk had fallen from the ceiling, forming a natural rock dais they could camp on and still allowed light inside.
"This does indeed look like a perfect place to camp," said Vonn, amazement obvious in his voice.
"How are we going to continue, though? There's no exit on the other side," said Gia, pointing across the cave.
There was another hole, but it was far out in the water, and wouldn't work to let them continue following the beach.
"Maybe we can go back and climb over this area, using that rock slide just outside," said Carla as she helped Tom climb onto the rock.
"I'll check it out with Gia, once we get a fire going, and Mikey can cook his fish," said Vonn, gathering wood from the beach.
Gia helped him, until there was a huge pile on the side of the rock, far more than they would need to keep the fire going all night. The wood inside the cave was good and dry, perfect for starting the waterlogged wood burning.
"Gia, do you have any of that wood for my to carve?" asked Tom, stretching his finger in anticipation.
"Of course!" she said, digging through her bag and pulling out several pieces she had found while they walked. "Here you are. There's four. See which ones you want to carve."
While he studied them, she turned to see Carla helping Mikey carve and clean the fish for their supper. Mikey was watching carefully as she showed him how to scrape the scales away and then cut out the sharp fins. Satisfied that they were all happy and safe, Gia rushed over to join Vonn who was waiting for her by the cave entrance.
"You know, this place would make an interesting home," he teased as they started climbing the rocks. It was so much easier without having to wait for Tom or Mikey to find their way.
Glancing at him to see his goofy grin, Gia smiled back and said, "But you promised me a wooden house, and it would take you a long time to gather that much wood here."
"I don't know, there's plenty of rock. I could make you a stone house."
"I think stone houses are colder," she said, shaking her head. "We would have to burn so much wood to keep everyone warm, that my dad wouldn't have any to carve."
"I suppose you're right," he sighed, then added with a chuckle, "Besides, who would Mikey get to marry if we settle here."
"Mikey is too young to get married!" laughed Gia, but the thought was already rooted in her head. He was getting older, and would need a wife eventually. She glanced towards the cleft again, and gasped in surprise. Vonn quickly moved to her side, to see what she was looking at.
At the mouth of the cleft, there was a tall stone spire, rising high into the air, as if it protected the cleft itself, but what had caught her attention, was beyond the cleft. They had all grown used to the sight of the majestic mountains, but this was the first time she had seen them so clearly. Running along the top edge of the mountains were regular spikes, almost like someone had attempted to build a fence, but she could see now that they were actually the spikes in some giant creature's spine! The creature was long dead, but she stood there, gawking as she realized what she was looking at.
"How could anything be that big?" she asked in a whisper, unable to get her eyes off it.
"And what could kill something that big?" asked Vonn, a hint of fear in his voice.
"We need to travel when its very dark still, so mom and Mikey don't notice it," said Gia, thinking quickly. "It will make dad depressed to know he can't see it, and it might freak mom out."
"It will be hard to climb that rock slide in the dark, but I think you're right. Let's see if the way down to the beach is easier.
They made their way carefully along the top of the cave, peeking down the huge hole to see them cooking the fish happily. The smoke and smells of the fish drifted up to them, making their stomach's rumble even though they had already eaten some rations earlier.
On the other side of the cave, it looked like their ease of walking along the pretty sands were over. The rest of the way seemed to be large slabs of rock that jutted out into the water.
"If we climb up closer to the mountain, and away from the water, it will probably be easier to travel, rather than climbing up and down each giant boulder," said Vonn.
"Are you sure those are boulders?" asked Gia, her eyes starting to imagine them as giant eggs from whatever that beast before them was.
"Stop joking. We need to plan our next moves. We're really close to those lizardfolk, and two of the three people we've talked to about them recently, warned us about how dangerous they are. I know the drake said these scales will protect us, but we have to be willing to accept that maybe they won't," said Vonn.
Gia took his hand and raised his chin with her other hand. "Vonn, we have been incredibly blessed so far this entire trip. I have every reason to believe that these magical amulets from that tree really do protect us. We need to continue moving forward and if they are mean, we will deal with that. As long as we are together, I don't care if we travel forever, but it would be nice to eventually get to a home."
Vonn laughed at her and threw his arms around her. "You're wonderful, you know that? You are going to be such a wonderful mother!"
She blushed furiously and turned to look at the path before them once again. "I think you're right. Closer to the mountains look easier to travel. The gaps between the boulders is smaller, so maybe we can step over them, or take some wood to help us cross the larger ones?"
"That's not a bad idea. I still have the rope in my bag, and we can tie it to each of us, so if someone slips, they aren't lost forever," he said.
Gia glanced out at the water, shielding her eyes from the setting sun, and sighed. "It is a beautiful spot. I just don't want to live here with such bad storms all the time. And there's hardly any trees or grasses. Other than fish, what would we eat?"
"Not much, you're right," Vonn said, looking around again. "There might be animals in the mountains to hunt, but I would hate to risk my life falling, every time I needed to go hunting."
"Then it's settled," said Gia firmly. "We keep going and look for a better place to call home. Mikey needs someone to marry, and you and dad need wood to cut and carve."