Elin felt a little conflicted about walking around the mountain first. Part of her said that they should just climb it to see what they found, but at the same time, she couldn't argue about the fact that it did make sense to see if there was an easier way up the mountain or if they really needed to climb it in the first place. Especially if they climbed it, then found a road or something when they were done with a difficult part.
One thing her whole being wished was that they had already reached the library so she wouldn't have to worry about any of this. Let alone having to debate, or listen to the debates, about which way to go or even why they should pick one way over another.
However, she kept quiet as they started to walk around it. Which felt like it would take forever, since it was clear that the mountain took up pretty much all the field that had been in front of them before it popped up out of nowhere.
She didn't expect to find anything as they walked, although it did feel more of a leisurely pace than they'd had up to this point, even from before they'd encountered the bog. Which she at least felt happy about, even if she didn't understand what the reason behind it was or if the pace was set unconsciously rather than deliberate.
Elin wasn't sure what to expect, or find, as they walked around the mountain, but the sun started to set before they were able to actually find anything of any note. Instead, they set up camp and had a quick meal before the usual routine of a series of them taking turns keeping watch through the night while the rest of them slept.
Elin could only be grateful that it wasn't her turn to keep watch. That her turn had been the night before.
The find came the next day when they were about to stop for lunch.
What could be seen was a parting in the mountain. Like a giant crack had formed in it, almost like it was a clean cut through the side of the mountain, with a large stream flowing out of it.
"Looks like we found something we wouldn't have if we'd gone over it," Bart remarked, sounding almost as if he had been instrumental in getting them to go around the mountain rather than having staying quiet during the whole discussion.
However, no one seemed to care enough to say anything about his attitude. Instead, they ignored it completely , which for some reason made Bart look rather appalled.
"So, do we go in through here or do we just continue on and see if there's anything else to take note of?" Heather asked, as if anything she might think would have been disregarded out of hand if she'd said it.
Sonya, looked apologetic at Heather and pulled her into a hug from behind, one hand noticeably playing with her chest, drawing a blush out on Heather's face, as she said, "Let's go in there. At the very least, it might be an easier way up the mountain.
"Looking at it, it might be two mountains together," Kim remarked as she looked up, through the crack in the side of the mountain. "I think I see two peaks up there."
"well, might as well take a look then," Elwin said, already starting to walk towards the crack.
At first Elin thought that the only way through there was to wade into the stream and in order to enter through where the stream was coming from. However, as they got closer, they saw a grassy field that ran along the side of the stream.
Elin had also expected it to be darker along the path by the stream, but there seemed to be countless crystals in the mountains that formed the walls of this path that reflected the sunlight to the point it felt almost brighter than when they were directly in the sunlight itself.
"You know, if there's really nothing here, and we get stuck in this world, this wouldn't be a bad place to build a house," Patricia remarked. "Plenty of scenery that we don't get to see elsewhere and at the very least, there's plenty of space to farm or raise animals."
"If you can get them to come here," Elwin remarked. "You didn't see the tracks. It's like there's something here that the animals want to avoid, regardless of anything else."
"I'm just putting out a hypothetical," Patricia protested. "It's not like I was suggesting that we all start dragging animals here in the first place. We could always see if there's anything we can do to remove whatever effect there is that caused that."
"You know, just because the wild animals don't come here, might not be because they're kept away by something. It could be that whatever is here is something that just makes them feel uncomfortable or something. You know, like if you get to hear an annoying sound all the time, you kind of avoid it if you don't have to listen to it," Heather remarked thoughtfully. "So, if you bring something, like a horse, they might not like it, but they still might come through."
"Whatever," Elwin said, sounding rather exasperated. "I really don't care. Do what you like. I won't be a part of anything stupid or foolish."
"Why don't we first see what's here before we start moving in, okay?" Kim suggested, sounding like she was starting to get annoyed by the topic herself.
"Wouldn't it be nice to have a house of our own here?" Elin asked Kim, partially teasing Kim and partially serious about it. "We could even look to see if there's a way for us to have children together."
Kim glanced at Elin, sighed, and shook her head, leaving Elin stunned at her reaction. She wasn't sure if it was because she was partly teasing her or not, but it did feel like there was something that Elin had said that Kim found that she didn't like.
Elin couldn't think what the problem was but it felt like a kind of rejection. She wasn't sure if it was something that she'd need to talk with Kim about later on or not, or if it was something else altogether and she was reading too much into.
As they continued down the path, Elin was a little surprised when it started to widen and allow them plenty of space to walk along it, without having to remain in a single file formation. If anything, she'd have expected that it would have narrowed.
Elin lost track of time, since the sun was out of sight after it started getting well into the afternoon. The world that they'd stepped into was far more otherworldly than she'd encountered so far. Even the flowers that grew among the grass seemed to take on another form altogether.
While the grass was growing tall, to where the seeds of the grass easily reached Elwin's knees, the flowers seemed to continually be growing bigger and bigger. Elin wasn't sure what kind of flowers they were, but she thought they looked very much like a kind of carnations and roses. Each flower seemed to be different in its own way, but at the same time they called to Elin. Almost like they wanted her to approach them to take a better look.
However, she never had been that interested in smelling flowers, although at the same time, it felt like there was something about the flowers that made her uneasy. She wasn't sure what it was, just that it seemed rather ominous for some reason. Some reason she couldn't explain but still felt like the explanation was on the tip of her tongue.
"What's with these flowers?" Sonya complained as she sneezed. "Why're they getting so big?"
"I've stopped worrying about things like that," Jonas commented. "So much of this world has thrown common sense out the window, that I wouldn't be surprised if there was some method in here that would allow Kim and Elin to have a child together, since that's what Elin seems to want."
"Think there might be a way where you and Elmo would be able to have a child?" Sonya asked teasingly.
Jonas merely shrugged. "Who knows. There might be, though I'm not sure how that would work out in the first place."
"Just keep plowing away in him and I'm sure you'll find out," Sonya replied, clearly in her own world.
Elin couldn't even help but wonder if she heard what she'd said. Elmo certainly had and looked completely red in embarrassment, even though he couldn't remove a smile that stretched across his face with a glimmer in his eyes.
"Think we could use these flowers in place of firewood?" Bart asked, lifting his staff to poke one. "I haven't seen any firewood since we started down here."
"Might as well try," Elwin remarked. "I'm not sure what else to do with these things."
Bart nodded as he poked the flower with his staff. Which then snapped at Bart's staff in response.