Unlike the other regions I had been to yet, the south had the hottest humid climate. I began sweating the moment the journey up top started.
The hermits had slowed their speed down. No one was around and we were all alone, journeying. The roads were messed up and steep. We decided to talk as we progressed, understanding that this would take some time. Not that it helped with the temperature melting us. "So, any news about your grandma, Blaze?" Oliver enquired. Now the sweat wasn't the only thing making me sick.
My grandma was very dear to me and she was a kind-hearted person. When my father died, with the whole house on fire, grandma was nowhere to be seen. She had escaped but where? "Don't know. I hope she is doing fine." I said. There was silence for some time and we rode for about half an hour. We were way above our starting point but nowhere close to the end. The climate too, had changed a bit, cold.
Once satisfied by the progress, we halted for some time, parking the hermits on a side. Oliver sat on a rock and I took the above one. Lily was drinking water in a corner. The humidity had subsided and I was checking out the beautiful mountainous surroundings.
That's when Oliver said, "You know, I never show it but I am freaked out as hell. I mean, this is too much. We four are supposed to stop Raptor and an army of giants from awakening King Jalaar. What if we fail? King Jalaar's army consists of lakhs of soldiers. How are we four going to stop all this? Now that we don't have Rock Flames, our chances have almost turned zero." Oliver's face showed fear. Fear was something I wasn't used to seeing with Oliver.
He was the positive one and me, the negative. But if even he was talking like this, I really doubted we could do this. "All we can do now is to do our best. We have to step up, buddy. This is our fight." I stated. He nodded grimly. Lily was back and we continued.
The climate above was even horrible. Now I hoped the humidity would have continued. The cold had started. Above, I could see snow. The snowy zones had begun. The hermits didn't find it too difficult to ride through the snow. While riding, from my bag, I had taken out my leather jacket and put it on. The snow had started affecting us. I was someone who couldn't stand the cold.
My whole body shivers during cold climates and I almost doubted I would return safely back before getting frozen. The trees had also changed. The winds were blowing fast, presenting us more snow. The snow was getting thicker as we progressed.
That's when Sounge made a noise. We looked up to see the woods. "We have reached Verix Woods!" Lily exclaimed and sped up a bit. We followed her until we were right in front of the snowy woods. In front, the trees were barely visible with snow all over them. Beside, was a sign which said:
[ Verix Woods - Skrops Ahead: Do not proceed. ]
But because we were crazy, we proceeded.