NOVEL NEXT X2.4.1 – Jungle Down
X2.4 – THE MOUNTAINS THAT GROW
X2.4.1 - Jungle Down
"What are you having?" asked the bartender, a large, green orc wearing an apron.
"Let me get a—" Roa said, suddenly pausing as he realized he was not sure what drinks existed in that world. "Wait. Who are you? What—world is this?" he asked as he rubbed his head, realizing he had no idea where he was.
"What?" said the bartender laughing with a confused look on his face. "Did you fall from above and hit your head?"
"What's it called? Where are we?" the boy asked impatiently, as he looked around for his friends, noticing Rosso coming out of a toilet.
"Why do I always wake up on the can?" he said, rubbing his nose.
"You're in Jungle Down," the orc said, shaking his head as he polished some glasses.
The Sunflower looked around and noticed that some locals were using their auras to heal an injured companion lying unconscious on one of the wooden benches. Realizing that it was safe to use his own life force openly, he manifested the Compass.
"You're not supposed to—" Rosso said.
"It's fine. It doesn't use much energy. I'll be fine," Roa blurted back, annoyed. He waved his hand around, attempting to gauge the direction the Gift would react to, but with little luck. Left, right, back, forth, nothing seemed to change the intensity of the magical flame. Until eventually, the boy pointed it at the ceiling of the inn, finally getting the reaction he was looking for. "What in the hell? Up?"
He briskly walked outside, finding himself surrounded by a lush, green jungle filled with tropical plants, flying birds, small rodents with curly hair, and colorful lizards leaping between the bushes. He glanced up at the crown of the large, swaying trees above, and noticed something blocking the sky.
"Where the hell are you going?" Rosso said, chasing behind the Earthling as he ran even farther.
The Sunflower stopped where the canopy cleared, revealing a sight that left both of them in awe. Before them was a mountain so immense, that it seemed to go straight up, vertically, for as far as the eye could see. Rows of clouds were cut by this wall of earth and rock that reached to the heavens.
"Impressive, isn't it?" a girl said. They turned around and realized that it was Indigo, standing there with her head tilted back and her arms crossed. "This must be Vertica. The most vertical world in Existence."
Roa manifested the Compass again, and pointed it straight up to the sky, activating the flame once again. He looked at the other two, prompting them to try out their own Compasses.
"I'm getting the same direction," Rosso said.
"Same," Indigo confirmed. "Looks like we're going up.
Something moved in the bush, and the blue-haired girl's eyes opened wide. She grabbed the other two by the arms and pulled them behind a large tree.
"What—" Rosso said, as she shushed him.
After a few moments of tense silence, a turkey-looking bird came out, wobbling its head back and forth as it walked away.
"What's with all the paranoia?" Rosso asked.
"Quiet. Have you forgotten we had Shadows chasing us in the previous world?" she said.
"Oh, right. You think they jumped too?" the heretic asked.
"I'm not picking up on any auras," Roa said, after they had been hiding for some time.
"Yeah, something's not right. They were right behind us. They should have jumped by now," Indigo pointed out.
"I don't think they're coming. I glanced back while we fell inside the Exit, and none of them dared to enter, for some reason," the young man from the desert said. "Why, is what I'd like to know."
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"Doesn't look so bad here," Roa said.
The travelers decided to cautiously investigate the town of Jungle Down with the hope of finding something of use. The village was made up of wooden houses with roofs made of palm leaves. The weather was warm and humid, typical of a rain forest in the tropics of Earth. Eventually they reached a small shrine where a few children were lighting incense. The kids clapped twice, rubbed their palms together and prayed.
"Looks like ignorance knows no borders," scoffed Rosso, receiving an annoyed look from Indigo.
"Would you like to make an offering to Ya-Mah?" asked an old woman, smiling at the red-cloaked heretic.
"I will pass. Thank you," he said, lifting his hands up, causing the old woman's face to grow concerned.
"I'd be happy to, ma'am," Indigo said, grabbing a stick of incense from the lady's frail hand, and placing it on the shrine. She smiled at her.
"Here, take this too. Give it to the God of the Mountains, as an offering," she said, placing a small apple in Indigo's hand.
Rosso's eyebrows curled. "My people's old religion—I remember reading of a similar practice," he seemed lost in thought for a moment. "What nonsense," he said, shaking his head and snapping out of it, "no offerings ever worked for my ancestors. They were decimated by the Cult of Ignorance, just like everyone else was."
"Maybe, the offering is less for the deity's sake and more for the person's psychological wellbeing," Roa pointed out, forcing another scoff from the desert boy. "Ma'am, who is this Mountain God you speak of?" Roa asked the lady.
She placed her hands together on her heart and smiled. "The Grand Kami of the world, Ya-Mah, the living mountain," she said, pointing to the immense wall of rocks that shot up to the sky. "We in Jungle Down are humble people. We respect all things as our own. The Grand Kami blesses us daily with shade, water and minerals from above. Presents from the sky. And so, we give thanks," she said, bowing.
"This is Vertica, is it not?" asked Indigo, receiving a nod from the lady. "Also known as Elevar's Heights."
The woman's face grew serious. She gathered the children with fret and told them to go away. "Do not speak that name here in front of the Grand Kami's shrine, or you will bring bad fortune upon our tiny village."
"I'm sorry, I had no idea. I don't understand," the singer from the circus added.
The woman sighed, and told them to sit. "Long ago, in ages past, a stranger came to Jungle Down. A bald monk wearing yellow. He was the one with the cursed name. He embarked upon a journey for reasons unknown, to climb the whole of the living mountain and reach the Peak of Peaks. Some say it was hubris, others say that he was mad—regardless, the monk had inspired the anger of the Grand Kami of the Mountains."
Rosso turned to Roa and whispered, "Elevar is the cartographer from the Library of Everything. He was a Jumper."
"When the Kami's ire grew, so did the mountain. To the monk, he said one day, 'you wished to climb me. Now, you shall climb, forever.' To this day, it is believed that the monk is still up there, somewhere, trying to reach the top."
"How long ago was this?"
"It has been a few generations now. As the monk scaled, the mountain grew taller, and he was cursed with never being able to reach his goal," the old lady added in a somber tone.
The trio bought some supplies and climbing gear. Unable to find any other direction but up, they had put their hearts at ease concerning the next steps. The next morning, the travelers left Jungle Down and headed towards the base of the mountain. There, they saw children climbing up and down on it, giggling as they played.
"There it is," Roa pointed to a stone path flanked by two rows of trees with yellow leaves. "The Yellow Tree Road the locals told us about. They said that to scale the mountain, the easiest way is through this path. Our first stop is some place called—the Shrine Above the Clouds."
"Well—we have a lot of mountains to climb. Let's get this journey started," Rosso said, placing his feet on the stone path, as the Sunflower followed closely behind, carrying a large backpack.
"Wait—I—I got a bad feeling about this," said Indigo, standing at the threshold.
Rosso turned around and laughed, "Come on, Indi, we don't have time to waste," he said, walking back to grab her by the arm.
To his amazement, however, as soon as he was about to reach for her, several extra stone steps came out of the ground, raising him up. He looked back up at Roa who shrugged. He tried again, taking a couple of more steps down, but the same thing occurred again.
"What in the world?" the heretic said. The earth rumbled, shaking below their feet, causing many yellow leaves to fall down on the path. "I can't get down," he said, running towards Indigo. More and more steps came out of the earth, and the mountain—it grew with them on it. No matter how much Rosso tried, he could not reach his friend.
Suddenly, they noticed the old lady from before, who standing there had a look of worry in her eyes. "You have been cursed as the monk wearing yellow was," she said, pointing at them, her finger shaking. "The God of the Mountains was inspired to anger by your actions."
"What? We didn't do anything!" Rosso said, taking a few more steps, and causing the earth to rumble once more.
The lady chanted some prayer and left quickly, as if worried that the curse might spread to her.
The three of them looked at each other.
"Now what?" Roa asked above.
"Well, I'm not staying down here by myself. The Exit is up there somewhere, so—" Indigo took one step and joined the others on the Yellow Tree Road.
"Great. Now we're stuck on some giant mountain that doesn't want to let us down. And some ancient Jumper is somewhere at its top, causing it to grow in the other direction too," Rosso said, rubbing his eyes.
Roa adjusted his gear and began walking up the stone steps.
"Let's go. We only have a year before the tournament in Parallel Valley starts. We need to get to the Peak of Peaks before then," he said.
He glanced down at his arm, and noticed that the infection had spread some more. He squeezed his fist, flexing his forearm, as he wondered what destiny had in store for them.