Ugh. That ledge is skinny - thinner than my body. Great. Either I need to hug the face of the bluff, or I'll have to crawl. Alaisdair thinks crawling will give me the mobility to look around. Crawl, it is, then - but which way? I've been going right, so I'll continue doing that.
As Alaisdair inches his way through the sliver of an opening, cautiously lowering himself to his knees and gingerly crawling out onto the ledge, he peers downward. Still, all he sees is a thick mist not allowing him to see the ground. He yells, "Hello," and it echoes back. He looks upward and sees a giant ledge that traverses the cliff face. Thinking the enormous shelf would be safer to navigate, he stands up, faces the cliff, and feels along until he finds a handhold and one higher toehold. It is as if the cliff face is conforming its shape to his needs. He starts upward.
His stomach begins to grumble. Oh, he muses for those cattail pollen cakes I was to have this morning. Even the rest of Mother's cheese would have been satisfying - or a biscuit. Pay attention! He admonishes himself. Forget your hunger for now.
The wind continually swirling about his head increases in volume, speed, and sound as he approaches the lip of the ledge. Finally, he gets one hand up and then the other. He starts to pull himself up when a small griffin sticks his head over the cliff, his beak touching Alaisdair's nose. Before Alaisdair can react, the baby griffin pulls back and pecks first at one hand, then the other.
Letting go, Alaisdair screams as he starts to fall.
Dear Losh in heaven. I'm sorry for all the wrong I have done! Please forgive me. And if you are clear about giving me some more time, I ask for a minor miracle from your mercy and grace.
Alaisdair feels a push towards the cliff face as he tumbles, and within a dozen or so meters, he hits a very steep incline but not the cliff. This gentle incline is wet grass. No sooner than he gives thanks for his deliverance, a colossal rock appears in his path. He twists his body to the right and sees another giant rock rising to smack him, and again, he turns his body. As soon as one stone is passed, another grows in its place, and when he dodges it, he sees a tree spring up in his path.
He thinks... this is not normal. Trees and rocks don't instantly thrust forth and leap into paths.
He's so intent on dodging rocks and trees that he's startled when he tumbles to the ground and, unimpeded, continues to roll until he stops at the foot of a soldier. He tries to jump to his feet, but the trip down the mountainside leaves him dizzy.
He lowers his head until the spinning stops, and then he looks around to see that he's surrounded. There are a dozen soldiers. Some are trying to contain a horse with wings, but at his interruption, they gawk at him, letting go of the creature. The animal soars into the sky and is soon out of sight.
All the tired-looking soldiers frowned in unison, and as they advanced, he sprang to his feet and started to run.
The group's Captain yells, "Catch the young scallawag and do it briskly. It's been a long night, and the day will be longer because we must again find that Pegasus and do it quickly."