As soon as Gwen stepped into the wards, the whole world around her altered.
Before, when they arrived at the base of Mount Percival, the visible wards covered most of it. The greenish hue of the magic gave the mountain a completely harmless image; the reason why Gwen was considerably relaxed.
Until now.
As she gazed up at the monstrous length of the cruel foundation of rocks, all her delusions burned into ash, and she realized why most of the candidates never made it out alive.
With a bunch of leafless snags gathering around the base along with the clusters of lifeless vines rising to the great rocky declarations of dread, there was no sign of the vernal flowering season in this place.
The dark-brown rocks rose up to its entirety, appearing almost crimson as if stained with the blood of the people swallowed by it.
It appeared that the bright, colorful world outside was a mere illusion, and the real hell awaited on this place, daring her to step forward.
The biting chill seeped into her bones, making her atoms shiver.
She couldn't spot any other candidate on the vast distance surrounding her. During the minutes it took her to examine the path, she figured that there could be a possibility that the wards chose a different location for the entrance of every candidate.
She could just wish that her location wouldn't be as deadly as it seemed.
Not having any time to spare, she entwined her satchel around her torso and begun her hike, carefully in mind of the thorny bushes and the poison ivy vines hugging the surface of the rocks.
She survived two freezing winter months on Mount Aero without anything to keep her warm except her torn tunic. Surely, she could manage half of that time on this mountain with some resources.
If she was lucky, she could manage to keep a low profile from the other candidates and sneak her way on the other side of the wards before the month was over.
That wouldn't be so difficult.
–––––––
She was wrong.
Two weeks later, and she was still climbing. Her tunic was tearing up on the limbs and her pants were drenched with freezing mud. Her braided hair was wet, the white stained with a dark shade of crimson, as she pushed herself up with her bleeding hands.
The hike was not what she expected. It was much worse.
The first few days were bearable. She trekked during the day and managed to spot wider rock ledges to sleep. However, as days passed and she moved upward, breathing became even more difficult and the cold chill began to freeze her blood.
Countless times, she spotted mountain bears and managed to hide behind some wider rocks and tree branches to stay out of sight. Mercifully, she wasn't attacked by any predatory creature yet.
But apparently, humans weren't so merciful.
There had been one attempt to end her life so far. It happened during the night, when she woke up to the sound of hurried whispers.
She found two men, fairly muscular, fumbling through her satchel that she hung on a nearby tree branch, poking out of the rocks.
Unfortunately, they didn't let her go without a fight, but she managed to knock both of them out with a larger rock.
She didn't have the time and energy to hope for anyone's survival except hers.
The cuts on her cheek and torso burned from the memory as she pushed herself up on the rocks. The sun was already setting, she had to find a place to rest for the night.
Needles prickled her lungs as she inhaled another gust of sharp, cold air.
The air was different on Mount Percival. It was cold and dry; a deadly combination that made her lungs hurt from breathing in the sharp bite of the frost.
She realized that the air wasn't this uncomfortable on Mount Aero. It was damp, breathable, and there were a series of wide ledges where she could rest.
On Mount Percival however, there were nights when she couldn't find a place to hide or rest and she had to force her way up while listening closely just in case any creature lurked around.
On the best days she only encountered wild cougars and rattlesnakes. The worst days, however, were when she woke up just to be stinged by scorpions or be covered with mites and ticks from head to toe.
Suddenly, she spotted a ledge few feet above her. It was wide enough and a perfect place to keep her hidden from the danger. She had been hiking since before dawn without any rest whatsoever and she was close to the peak of the mountain.
If only she could wrap her wounds up and find some water, she may be able to reach the top before the night after.
She hurriedly pushed herself up and scurried closer to the rock when she heard a feminine voice crying– no screaming for help, followed by a loud thud.
Then another.
Gwen bit her lower lip.
There was no point in helping whoever it was up there, it would only slow her down and distract her. However, she was already out of all the water she collected from the small mountain stream she came across a day before and her hands would get infected if she didn't treat the bruises soon enough.
After contemplating for a full minute, she cursed colorfully and moved towards the ledge.
As, she climbed up on the ledge and stood to investigate the scene, her jaw hit the floor. Out of all the scenarios that she could think of in her mind, this was certainly not one of them.
Two men were sprawled at the corner of the ledge. Both their hands were above them, tied to the tree behind them with a thick rope as they struggled against the restrains. A redhead– a girl– was sharpening her dagger on a large boulder a few feet away from the stream. To make it stranger, the girl was only in her white undergarments and leather boots.
"What in the cocker-nuts...?" Gwen couldn't hide her astonishment as she a wave of recognition hit her. The two muscular men were none other than Atkins and Barlow.
They were gagged with what seemed like rotten leaves, and their faces were covered in purple bruises. And by the looks of it, it seemed they were in the middle of a torture session by the woman beside them.
Finally noticing Gwen, the red-haired girl whirled in her direction; her dagger set in her hands, eyes narrowed to slits, and eyebrows raising in a silent question.
Gwen just continued staring at the two men, completely vulnerable in front of her.
"Did you do this?" she finally turned to the redhead who was now regarding Gwen with a scowl.
After a minute of scrutinizing, she finally replied, "Evidently."
She stopped for a beat to raise her dagger, "And who are you to interfere in my business?"
Gwen just shrugged and shook her head, "It's kind of rare to see two enormous men getting manhandled. That too by a..." she trailed off.
"A fragile woman?" the redhead mocked, "Men these days have been lurching way out of their limits. Such insufferable beastly creatures, I tell you. I mean, come on! These two assholes disturbed my beauty sleep by deciding that it may have been a good idea to jump in and take all my belongings and then try to––" she cut herself off. Her eyes rounded in surprise before she cursed herself under her breath.
When she looked at Gwen again, her stare was threatening, "Who are you? Why are you here?"
Gwen opened her mouth to reply when Atkins screamed, "Evegheden! Thank God you are here. This woman is a crazy damned witch! A witch, I tell ya. She's insane! Help us, please–"
He cut himself off with a high-pitched shriek when the red-haired woman kicked his groin. So, that was the scream Gwen heard when she was climbing earlier.
Apparently, Atkins managed to spit all the stuffing in his mouth just to grovel to the wrong person.
"Shut up, you filth. I didn't tell you to take off my clothes and throw them off the mountain when I was peacefully sleeping, did I?" Atkins just groaned.
The two men were gazing at Gwen, pleading with their eyes.
The redhead narrowed her eyes at Gwen, daring her to step up for them.
Gwen chuckled. This was too entertaining. "You both don't really expect me to help you, do you? You brought this on yourselves. Someone had to show you your place, don't you think?" She stepped towards them, "Like you said, we need to keep our bitches on leash before they begin to jump out of their limits, right?" she spit his own remark that he said in the wagon. His eyes narrowed, perhaps at the memory.
She turned to Barlow, "Of course. What else can you expect from a woman?" she smirked when he furrowed his eyebrows in anger.
She turned to the redhead who was watching the scene with raised eyebrows.
"My eyes are blessed with such a wonderful sight," she teased, making the redhead chuckle. "I'm Gwen, by the way."
"Rosetta Sinclayr. You can call me Rose," she went to Atkins and shoved the leaves back into his mouth, earning a series of groans and glares from him. She turned and raised her eyebrow, "You seem to know each other?"
Gwen sat on a boulder and sighed, "Unfortunately."
"How can I be sure that you won't take their side and throw me off the mountain?" Rose narrowed her eyes, her dagger in position.
Gwen rolled her eyes as she blurted, "I would rather shit in my hand and clap than listen to their bumbling banters again."
That made Rose chuckle, "I guess that's a good sign."
Something nudged Gwen's hand as she looked up to see Rose holding a waterskin, "Here. You look dehydrated."
After contemplating for a full minute, she finally took the water and gulped it all down.
"Thank you," she muttered, but noticed how Rose was constantly rubbing her naked arms. Then she remembered what the girl said about the two guys taking off her clothes and throwing them off the mountain.
Realization hit her, followed by a new wave of anger and annoyance coursing through her body.
The men of Grimvell would never change.
The fuckers were absolutely hopeless.
All of them were deserted to survive at a deadly cursed mountain, yet these two could still manage enough time and energy to physically abuse women.
Gwen opened her satchel and pulled out a spare tunic and pants she kept just in case if the cold would become unbearable for her single layer of clothing– which it was without a doubt. However, the brave woman in front of her needed it more than Gwen, so she handed her the thin fabrics.
Rose's eyes went round in astonishment, "No, no. I don't need these. It's alright." She handed them back to Gwen, "I'll just wear their clothes instead," she gestured towards the two men whose eyes were now wide in fear and embarrassment.
However, Gwen shook her head and handed the clothing back to Rose, "Their clothes are too oversized and may slow you down when you are hiking. Take these. I know they are not much of a help, but something is better than nothing."
Rose finally took the clothes, grateful as she looked at Gwen with curious eyes, "Why?"
"Why, what?"
"Why would you give me your clothes?" she eyed Gwen's tunic that was ripped from the side of her elbows through which her skin was peeking through.
"Why would you give me water?"
Rose shook her head, "It's different. You could get it yourself from the stream over there. Why would you give me something that you need so badly as well?"
Gwen shrugged, "I suppose it would be good to befriend someone who can beat some muscled butts."
Rose laughed as she gazed down at the brown fabrics in her hands.
"I suppose," her mouth curved up in a gorgeous smile as she shook her head.
Gwen had a feeling that they would get along just fine.