CHAPTER#97

"It looks just like the sex grenade." He watched as one of the last pair of mating centaurs tried to escape the smoke, the woman hopping forward with the man still thrusting into her.

"Won't work like it. That cloud will hover for a bit and then drift down toward the valley. Eventually someone will get caught in it and realize it's just an illusion, so we should probably get going." Ratu took Mike by the hand and started up the trail. "Let's go."

They fled up the hill, ignoring the occasional cry of terror that drifted over the mountain. Mike couldn't tell if the screams had stopped or they were now too far away to hear anything as the trail ascended into the mountain, boxing them in. They came to a crossroads and Zel took them to the left up a winding trail that looked very unused and washed out in a few areas. Crude signs warned intruders to go back, but they disregarded them and trudged forward.

Soon, they got to a path that led farther up the mountain, but Zel led them down a smaller path that went downhill. The small mountain range was mostly rock by now, and they moved through the cool shadows of the mountain as the sun crept toward the horizon. A chill wind ate through his clothes and banks of snow appeared as if from nowhere. Soon they were walking through a small snow drift toward the edge of a cliff.

Once they were near, the trail descended sharply along the cliff's edge and there it was, the tower. It hadn't been visible from the mountain due to the large stone formation it looked like it had been carved out of, but it stood several stories tall, proudly overlooking the valley beneath it. The path terminated at a large gap in the ground and they all stopped.

The tower's drawbridge was pulled up. At the edge of the precipice was a drop of at least a few hundred feet, but it was hard to tell.

"Any thoughts on how to get across?" Mike looked at Ratu and Zel.

"No ideas from me. My people had no interest in getting in, and we are shit at rope climbing." She looked at the cliff. "You might be able to scramble across the stones of the mountain, maybe."

"I'm going to veto that unless you have a potion that lets me climb like a spider. Or float. Or teleport."

"Even if I did, they took all my stuff. Not super happy about that, but..." she shrugged, her breasts rippling under her shirt.

"Ratu? You got any tricks?"

"Yes, but there is an anti-magic aura around the stones. If you flew over there, you would feel a brief static shock and then fall." She looked up. "I see windows. Maybe if we had a long enough rope and a grappling hook?"

"Fuck. I was really hoping we could hide here until early morning and then sneak out through the portal when the centaurs were sleeping. Any chance we could make the portal from here?"

Zel shook her head. "That whole area is a mess right now. Even with the trails intact, that's at least a couple of hours from here, and it's going to get very dark on the mountain. We could find a light source, but then they would know right where we are."

"Wonderful." He hung his head. "I really don't have any ideas right now."

They stood there in silence, and he was about to suggest that they go find somewhere else to hide when the drawbridge suddenly lowered. It took several minutes before scraping gently onto the stones by their feet. He took a tentative step onto the thick, wooden planks. Bands of iron reinforced the structure, and he walked carefully across, his eyes on the large opening.

A tiny ball of light shot toward them and hovered halfway across. It expanded, revealing Daisy. Her torso and waist were covered in yellow furs, and her arms and legs were dark black. She signed something to Mike, then pointed down the mountain.

"I'm sorry Daisy, I don't know sign language." He held up his hands apologetically.

She signed something else, pointing to herself and then him.

"I know your name because I saw one of Emily's memories. The one where you guys met Bigfoot. Way before all of this craziness."

Her limbs became a blur of movement as she hastily signed something else.

"I have no idea what you are trying to say. Slow down."

Daisy pantomimed opening a bottle.

"Is that why you lowered the bridge?"

A nod.

"Okay then, so we can stay here for the night?"

Another nod.

"Is... is the Snow Queen here?"

This time, Daisy shook her head.

"She's telling the truth," Ratu said, her eyes briefly blazing with magic. "I don't sense Yuki or her magic anywhere nearby, though I do detect traces of... something. Nothing that worries me."

He let out a sigh. Finally, a stroke of good luck. He crossed the drawbridge, grateful at how wide and stable it was. Behind him, Zel's hooves clinked against the metal bands when she walked, Once they were across, Daisy flew into a small room nearby and fiddled with some levers that moved easily when she pushed against them with her whole body.

Behind them, the drawbridge pulled itself up, clunking into place.

…

Mike wasn't sure what he expected to see once inside the tower, but it certainly wasn't this.

What he had thought was the entrance to the tower was in fact an outer wall. A large courtyard full of flowers and creeper vines would have been impressive enough, but the sheer number of butterflies, bees, and even birds had him staring in awe. An entire ecosystem had been formed inside these walls, complete with a small waterfall that flowed out of the cliff itself and fed into an irrigation canal. The water eventually filled a fountain in the middle of the yard that was an exact replica of Naia's fountain back home.