[Today's Companions]
Jetsam (Hume thief) AKA Jet
Ema-Pagamihne (Mithran white mage) AKA Ema
[Today's Lunch]
Icecap Rolanberry
Today I went hunting for buffalo with Jet, as I'd promised him earlier. I also invited Ema along, who brought us near the Uleguerand Range in seconds with Teleport - Vazhl!
The Uleguerand Range is an extremely precipitous area that lies to the north of Xarcabard. It was Ema's and my first time to see such a place, but apparently, Jet is a regular to the area. We could have hunted the buffalo at the foot of the mountains, but where would the fun be in that? So of course, we resolved to climb to the peak!
"I'll bet 3000 gil that Aly gets attacked by a taurus."
Don't you have better things to do than bet on me, Jet…?
Tauri are monsters in the demon family, and I heard they could even see right through invisibility! There were three of us today, so we were planning to avoid unnecessary battles using Invisibility and Sneak, but it looked like that was out of the question. It seems like monsters always notice me…
The blizzard was really something, though! Apparently, it had been snowing all year long. Everywhere I looked, all I saw was white! I wouldn't be able to see a monster unless it was right in front of my face. As I was following Jet, I kept feeling like I was being followed myself…
"Aly, there's something behind you!"
Taking Ema's words in, I turned around...and saw a black, long-tailed monster with gigantic, drooping horns. A taurus stood right in front of me!
"Yes, an easy 3000 gil! …But that was a little too fast!"
"Uh…ummm... I th-think we should fight now..."
But the area was swarming with ice elementals and snolls, so we couldn't use magic or we would soon find ourselves with more than we could handle...
"There's a safe tunnel just over there! Run for it!"
We took off as fast as we could while avoiding other monsters, until all of a sudden...
<Crash!>
I wasn't sure quite what happened, but it seemed that I had fallen into a hole of some sort...? There were skeletons all around me. In my state of low HP, they made short work of me.
When I woke up, I was at the end of a tunnel somewhere. Ema had carried me there with Tractor and raised me!
"Way to go, Aly."
"Hey, how could I have known there was a hole there!?"
After recovering for a bit, we continued our journey.
"Ah, there's something behind me now!"
Ema had found another monster. Luckily, we were near a tunnel this time, so we started the battle immediately. I was the tank, but the monster hit me with Mortal Ray! Mortal Ray is a frightening ability, striking its target down after a ten-second countdown. I had heard of such an ability before, but I wasn't prepared to face it!
"Use holy water and Cursna!"
Following Jet's advice, I gulped down some holy water, and Ema started casting Cursna. Holy water and Cursna do not completely guarantee a result, however, and we continued our attempts to lift the effects of Mortal Ray until we finally succeeded with a mere second remaining! I was really happy that I didn't die a second time!
"From this point on, the enemies will be a little too rough for just three people to handle, so be on your guard!"
We ran on, my heart pounding. The snow stopped falling, and I looked up to see an enormous blue wyrm--Jormungand! We tiptoed along the wall so it wouldn't see us, and headed toward the cave at the mountain's peak. The cave is inaccessible when it's snowing, because the waterfall at the entrance completely freezes. Luckily for us, the snow had just stopped!
Beyond the cave lies a place called Bearclaw Pinnacle. Adventurers who can navigate the narrow tunnels are rewarded with a beautiful panoramic view!
"Pretty!"
The beauty of the seemingly endless range of mountains and the sea of clouds far below took my breath away.
"I wanted to show this to you guys."
Jet grinned triumphantly as he spoke.
No monsters ever come as far as the peak, so all was peaceful and calm. The sky was just beginning to brighten, and we watched the sun rise.
"Hey, I brought an icecap rolanberry for everyone! I mean, it is the Uleguerand Range and all..."
"…I want to eat something hot…"
"Seriously. What we really need now is a nice stewpot."
Well, so not everyone seemed to enjoy eating icecap rolanberry, although I personally thought it was delicious...
Enjoying a meal while watching the sun rise is so much fun!
I bet it would be especially nice to see the first sunrise of the year here…
Well, what goes up must come down! There's a rather famous way of descending the mountains of the Uleguerand Range, actually. Jet led us away from Bearclaw Pinnacle to a steep cliff, and I began to wonder how in the world we would get back down. The cliff's name is actually "Thousandfall Ridge," and apparently, you can slide right down it. Just looking at that precipice gave me shivers that had nothing to do with the cold!
"Here goes nothing!"
Jet slid right down, followed closely by Ema. I crept up slowly to the edge…and slid right down without a problem. Actually, it was kind of fun!
Landing at the foot of the mountain below, we noticed several buffalo in the area, and set about hunting for a while.
I always wanted to make some dishes using buffalo meat, but doing so is rather expensive. Thanks to Jet's Treasure Hunter ability, though, we were able to gather five slices of buffalo meat!
With a little work, I should be able to make some juicy steaks to warm us up after this cold, cold day!
text by Takashi and Asami Watanabe
Illustration by Mitsuhiro Arita
Illustration by Mitsuhiro Arita