45. Thivoll

45

Thivoll

"That was surreal, Thivoll. He looked like a gray ninja turtle without a shell and an orc had a baby and then threw glowing radioactive slime all over it."

My whiskers drop so low they brush my chest. "A what and a what? And why would radioactive slime glow?"

She trills. "Nevermind. He just sort of looked like a couple creatures from Earth mythology. Except as far as I know, they weren't bioluminescent."

"It's a fairly common trait."

"Have you seen his species before?"

"No, but the genali are always looking for something novel."

Conversation dies down at that point and we continue our original mission to find rope.

I take quick peeks at tens of hunter camps, none of them look like they would have what we need. As darkness closes in, I think maybe we are wasting our time.

I take us to a stream for a drink and meal, my body slumped.

Ree looks closely at me after she climbs down. "You're frustrated? Me too."

"I'm not sure it would be a standard item to bring."

She wrinkles her forehead, and it feels like good progress that I know it means she's puzzled or thinking.

"Right! We need to look for people who need rope. That means we're probably wasting our time in the forest and need to look for people on top of or near cliffs."

I have a sudden realization. "You mean like that hunter who fell off one, and I never investigated?"

She makes a pursed lips face, her eyes widening. "Uh, yes. Just like them."

We both groan in unison and move back into position to keep running. A quick up and down scramble interrupted by a brief run and we have our answer.

I spare Ree the gruesome view and rummage through their packs, but I can't save either of us from the chagrin when I bring back their climbing gear, complete with rope, some sort of buckled strapping, and metal shapes I assume are related because they are in the same bag.

She groans at the sight of it. "As you were running off toward that hunter I was thinking about how lust was clouding our judgment. Seems I was right."

I huff out a breath. "Well, the only cure is more sex."

She bares her teeth at me and once I'm sure it's not a precursor to violence, I chuff.

The levity fizzles out when I picture Silver surrounded by an ever-increasing number of hunters. "Let's make haste to help right our oversight."

We quickly make our way back to the cave.

I have never spent a single moment thinking about climbing gear, aside from a vague sense of what to look for, since no manticorid would ever need it, but luckily Ree can make sense of it all.

Or at least most of it.

She sets a few pieces aside, rubbing at her hands with a grimace on her face.

"I can't figure out what those do, but I think I know how to rig a pulley system. I won't have the strength to hoist her up or to pull her in so we are going to have to tie her off at the bottom and then scale up. That part makes me nervous, since I have no idea how much weight this rope can hold."

I only have a rudimentary understanding of what's going on, but I hold Ree in place as she uses various parts of the gear just above our cave entrance and then runs the rope through it. She pulls until there are two roughly equal coiled piles.

She asks me to dangle from it and seems pleased when it holds me.

She rubs her hand on the back of her neck, then looks over to me. "I assume I need to stay here."

I nod. "Yes. Do you feel confident you can use this to get down if needed?"

She gulps. "Not really, but I know I'd figure it out if I had to."

She embraces me, pulling me tight. "Please be careful."

I stroke her hair, then pat her rear. "I will, sweet one."