Over the next few days, the brothers continued their travels, following the pull Herodotos felt within him, leading them towards the mountain chain in the far west. Their travels were filled with unexpected encounters with wild beasts, but most quickly left once they realised Herodotos' mystical might. Those which were too foolish to leave quickly were promptly turned into tasty meals and traveling rations.

  After escaping from the winged drake, there had been no smoke trails on the eastern horizon, trailing behind them. After these few days without seeing a single sign of their pursuers, the brothers concluded that they had given up and hadn't sent any further search parties. A wave of relief had passed them once they had come to that realization, yet it was tainted by the memory of their father, as well as the uncertainty they felt for the future.

  The wilds they lived in were infested with dangerous creatures, and it was only thanks to Herodotos' powers that they could move freely and relatively safely around the wilds. Day by day, they approached the western mountain chain. If one were to look from above, one would see that the mountain curved westward, forming a giant crescent.

  Telamon stepped up to the foot of the mountains, craning his neck to see the enormous jagged teeth jutting out of the earth, almost unnaturally. The way these mountains suddenly tore through the rolling hills evoked an image of a giant pinching the earth to form a natural barrier in one's mind. Herodotos stepped next to him, similarly admiring the natural giants.

  "Think we could fly over these?" Hearing Telmamon's question, Herodotos scratched his chin while squinting his eyes, the mountain peaks never leaving his gaze. "The height should be manageable, but I don't know how deep the mountains go. At the very least, I will need a break now and then, and I don't know what the mountain peaks will look like." Telamon mimicked Herodotos' gesture and scratched his chin, feeling the gruff texture of his ever-growing unkempt beard.

  "So we won't be able to skip the mountains entirely, meaning we'll have to walk some parts. Let's cross the mountains through a valley, that way we will always have a traversable path." Herodotos nodded his head wordlessly while readjusting his harness strapped to his back. It was laden with dried jumping deer jerky. A few days ago, they had been lucky enough to capture one.

  The jumping deer were renowned for their lean meat, and many believed that eating their meat would help strengthen the legs. The brothers were careful when smoking it, digging a shallow pit, and starting only a small fire. They made the fire below a dense tree canopy, allowing the smoke to break up most of the smoke. They also smoked the meat at night, when it was too dark for others to see the smoke in the sky.

  Together, the brothers continued westward, trudging through the forest undergrowth. They no longer bothered hiding their tracks, now that no one was pursuing them. This made their travel speed much greater, especially since Herodotos could once more fly and pick up Telamon using his powers.

  Previously, whenever they would come across a river too deep or a hill too steep, they had to find a way around, yet now they could simply fly over it. Soon, the brothers found a valley which appeared to split two mountains. The valley went in a zig-zag pattern, snaking its way between many mountains.

  The brothers trudged along the uneven floor, shattered rocks and broken boulders littered their path, challenging their sense of balance. At many times, Herodotos had to fly over a sudden rift or small cliff face, carrying Telamon over the otherwise insurmountable hurdle. After lifting him once more, Telamon brushed the dust from his clothes while complaining to his brother.

  "You know, slowly I'm starting to believe the valley isn't as traversable as I first thought. Are you sure there's no way around this?" Herodotos shook his head. "The mountains continue north and south as far as I could see." Herodotos had previously flown up to get a lay of the land. Telamon sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

  "At this rate, it'll take us days until we cross the mountains. Those guys make it look so easy." Saying so, he pointed at a few light brown creatures on top of a mountain on the right side of the valley. The creatures wore a coat of fur ranging in color from the dark brown of oak bark to the off white of birch trees. They had a lithe build, their feet ending in large, powerful hooves, and their long and shaggy fur covering what the brothers assumed to be a body rippling with strong muscles, allowing these animals to propel themselves to great heights.

  From their heads sprouted two horns, with which the animals could defend themselves. Their most notable characteristic was that they could easily scale sheer cliffsides and had no issues traversing even the most wicked terrain. Currently, a herd of those creatures was high above them, bleating at each other in that strange way they did.

  Telamon balled his fist when he heard the laughter-like sound. "Those beasts are laughing at us for being unable to climb like they can." Herodotos shook his head helplessly. "I don't think those animals are smart enough to be able to make fun of us." A dark shadow passed over Telamon's face as he ground his teeth. "They surely won't be making fun of us when they're roasting over a pit. Say, Herodotos, do you think you could fly over there a grab one or two of those beasts? I wonder what they taste like."

  Herodotos let out another helpless sigh. "With what wood do you plan on starting a fire? Plus, we've got plenty of deer jerky left over. It's simply not worth it to go out of our way to hunt one of those beasts." Now that his brother mentioned it, Telamon realized that the familiar trees that had accompanied them for most of their journey had grown sparse the higher they ascended.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  A valley it may be, yet the elevation still gradually increased the longer they traversed their path. Telamon let out another tired exhale and waved his brother off. "I'm only complaining. Let's go on." Saying so, Telamon continued his march across the mountain range, mocking laughter accompanying them on their way.

  After two days and two nights, they were in the last stretch of their mountain crossing journey. Just before the second night, the brothers arrived at a junction, where three valleys crossed. Since then, their valley had been gradually lowering in elevation. It was midday when Herodotos first saw it, the brothers had just rounded a bend, allowing them an unobstructed view out of the mountain range.

  From beyond the horizon, a vague shape peered over the horizon's edge. It had the general shape of a mushroom, yet considering the distance, the mushroom would have to be enourmos. It almost seemed like it was dancing as it waved in the early summer heat.

  Herodotos felt the pull now stronger than ever, with confidence of unknown origin, Herodotos knew his final destination was that weird mushroom. He nudged his brother, pointing with his finger beyond the western horizon. "See that thing over there? That's where we need to go. I'm certain of it."

  Telamon squinted his eyes, yet the shimmering shape was as elusive as a jumping deer. "I can't really see it well, but if you're certain, then that's where we'll go." Without another word, the brothers continued, the shape slowly disappearing below the horizon, the further they descended.

  Finally, after another half day, they reentered the forest, the mushroom shape fully vanishing from view. By the time the sun started to hide beyond the sky's edge, the brothers had made good progress entering the forest's depth. They decided to spend the night in a small clearing. After having an evening meal of the remainder of their jumping deer jerky, the brothers took turns sleeping, one always maintaining constant vigilance.

  The next morning, once the final embers of their fire were covered in earth, the brothers continued their onward march. Clouds gathered in the skies, covering the morning sun, casting shadows upon the forest. Herodotos and Telamon wound their way around the massive roots of the great trees, the uneven floor not destabilizing them in the least after their experience with the valley's uneven floors.

  Telamon gazed upwards, a confused look flitting across his face. "Hey, is it just me, or are the trees here unusually large?" Herodotos followed his gaze, craning his neck to get a better look. "Hmm, now that you mention it, the trees do look taller than usual. How peculiar." The trees towered above their heads, brown fingers tinged with green reaching towards the skies, dozens of paces high.

  A squeak suddenly caught their attention. When they looked over, they saw the tail end of a small green blur scamper from them, dodging between trunks and disappearing into the forest. Herodotos and Telamon exchanged a confused expression. Telamon was the first to break the silence. "Was that rabbit... green?"

  Herodotos nodded absentmindedly. Telamon continued. "Say, we've finished the last of our deer jerky, and since you didn't want to hunt any of those laughing beasts, we don't have any rations left. All that being said, let's hunt some of those green rabbits." Herodotos briefly contemplated the idea, finally nodding in agreement.

  "My tracking skills needed a refresher anyway." Saying so, the two brothers set out to follow the tracks left by the green rabbit. A paw print here, a broken twig there, disturbed grass slowly rising, disturbed waters settling. The brothers continued to track the rabbit for the better part of a day, their stomachs starting to growl.

  They came across berries and mushrooms, but Telamon decided against eating unknown foods. The brothers had learned, especially since they grew up next to the jungle, never to eat unknown berries and mushrooms, as they could be poisonous. Even so, with time, their stomachs began to sting from hunger. After the sun had crested and passed its highest point, the brothers finally came across the rabbit once more.

  Telamon spotted it first, as it was nibbling on grass a few dozen paces away. Telamon tapped Herodotos' shoulder, making him still and glance in his direction. Slowly, Telamon pointed at the green rabbit, camouflaged with the surrounding greenery, nibbling on grass.

  Herodotos nodded and crouched low. Slowly, he stalked forward, his footsteps silent as his toes tested the ground before each step, sweeping aside any sticks or leaves that might alert the rabbit if stepped on. At a creeping pace, the brothers approached the rabbit, soon it would be in Herodotos' grasping range, and once it was grabbed and in the air, it would be unable to escape.

  Only a dozen paces separated him and the rabbit, his heartbeat slow and subdued. Herodotos fell into a trance-like state, as everything except for the rabbit and he disappeared. Five paces left. The rabbit glanced up from its food, scanning its surroundings, its ears swiveling, picking up any stray sound. Herodotos stilled, his breath halted. His fingers felt cold, yet his muscles were taught with anticipated energy.

  The rabbit bent its head again, resuming its meal. Slowly exhaling, Herodotos calmed his nerves, resuming his creeping forward. Four paces. Three. Soon, he would have the rabbit. The rabbit's ear twitched, and its head jolted upright, its eyes locking onto Herodotos. It bolted, running in Herodotos' opposite direction.

  Herodotos gritted his teeth and ran, intent on catching the rabbit. Vaguely, he could hear Telamon shout at him to "grab the rabbit". The rabbit was quick and darted deftly between the trees, yet when flying, Herodotos was faster. After only a few heartbeats of catching up, the rabbit was finally within grabbing distance. He reached out with his powers and grabbed hold of the rabbit.

  "Finally, I got you little pest." The rabbit squeeked and thrashed, yet it could do nothing to free itself from Herodotos' invisible grip. Finally being able to take a breather, Herodotos took in his surroundings. He found himself within a small clearing with a singular tree in the middle. This tree was slightly larger than the already large trees and bore large fruits, akin to green oranges.

  At the base of the tree were dozens of green rabbits, who had previously been frolicking and playing. At the sound of their companions' squeaks, they all turned and stared at Herodotos. A cold sweat broke out on Herodotos' back. Then, all as one, the rabbits charged in one furious wave of green fur.