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Crenthor began to explain his request, “I need fresh wisproot. Unfortunately, that means going to get it myself… which is impossible.”
“Why is that?” Barrett asked. He hadn’t heard of wisproot in particular, or at least he didn’t recall it.
“Because I. Am. Weak.” Crenthor shrugged, “And it mostly grows on top of The Hopeless Heights.”
Barrett had heard of The Hopeless Heights. They were a mountain range to the north. If that was all, it wouldn’t be a big deal but… “You said on top?”
“Indeed. On the very peak, or close to it. It is exceedingly difficult to grow the plant elsewhere, as you might imagine.”
“If I recall correctly…” Barrett thought for a few moments, “There’s a local gravity distortion there, right?”
“That’s right, but if you were to say that it was just a gravity distortion you’d get into trouble. Gravity is one thing, climbing up icy rocks with a lack of air in enhanced gravity is yet another thing. I tried going once and… I didn’t make it to the base of the cliffs.” Crenthor shook his head.
Barrett did some thinking, “I could probably climb that…”
“I believe you could…” Crenthor nodded, “Or I wouldn’t ask, but the problem is… you need to carry me. I have to gather it myself.”
“Can’t you just give me a stasis bag or something? I could dig out a chunk of the area with the roots intact.”
Crenthor shook his head, “That won’t work. It’s very sensitive… just walking near it could make it shrivel up.”
Barrett sighed, “What a pain. But… I do owe you…”
Crenthor waved his hand, “You’ve paid me for what I’ve done. This is a job that you just seem suited for. I was planning to hire someone local but… I’m not entirely without enemies here, so I couldn’t say whoever I’ve hired might not have ulterior motives.”
“And the gravity is four times… more or less…” Barrett closed his eyes for a moment, “How far is the climb?”
“Well, that’s the thing… the section wisproot is likely to grow on is rather… vertical. For about… three thousand meters.”
Barrett did some calculations in his head. They wouldn’t be exact, but Immortal Berserkers were trained for assessing risks in various situations. “… I can’t guarantee anything. If it was just myself, I could be certain. But, I’m willing to try. Do you have anywhere I can store a tonne of stuff?”
“Sure… why do you need to store it?”
“Because I sure as hell am not climbing up that carrying an extra tonne of weight. You’ll be bad enough to throw me off anyway.”
“Umm… not to be a bother…” Caprica interjected herself in the conversation, “But can I come with you? Not to the top, but just to be around. I don’t exactly feel safe in the city.”
Crenthor nodded, “Fair enough… you should be able to make it to the base, at least.”
—–
It was a number of days’ travel before they really entered The Hopeless Heights. Even then, it wasn’t as if it was suddenly sprung upon them. Barrett could very gradually feel the effects of gravity increasing, as well as the energy and mana in the air that created that effect. Barrett wondered why nobody had dug out whatever material was causing this phenomenon… but he supposed like many such things, it was only relevant in extremely large quantities- say, the size of a mountain range.
“That’s the peak we’re heading for,” Crenthor pointed out. “Yes, it’s the most difficult to climb… but that’s because it’s the highest and thus most likely to have what I want.”
Barrett focused his eyes, “I don’t see much of anything from this angle.”
“It’s a small plant, not a tree or anything. It is also unlikely to grow near the edge.” Crenthor nodded, “I’m confident in finding some… and if not, you’ll be paid anyway. Whew…” Crenthor shook his head, “It really gets to you doesn’t it?”
“We’re barely even at altitude yet,” Barrett frowned, “What do you mean?”
Caprica interjected, “The gravity… is much more significant for those of us not used to carrying around heavy weights. Twice normal for a day? That’s not too bad for any cultivator… but neither of us are body cultivators. We can’t use energy or magic to support ourselves all day, or at night.”
Barrett sighed, “We’re not even at the acclimatization point yet. It’s only going to get more difficult from here.”
“… At least nobody will want to follow me out here,” Caprica consoled herself.
“Speaking of which…” Barrett mentioned, “You were from the Grasping Hand… correct?” Caprica scrunched her face, and Barrett continued, “Though clearly you are not much fond of them now. Tell me about them.”
“…Why?”
“Because I have a grudge with them. Before you say you shouldn’t say anything, remember they already sent people to kill you anyway.”
“… and you saved me from them. Alright, fine. I can’t say I know anything too secret… but I’ll say what I know.”
—–
Because of the situation, most of The Hopeless Heights were actually a gradual climb. Increased gravity meant the angle of repose became more shallow, and rocks and dirt wouldn’t cling onto the side of the mountain. However, that didn’t apply all the way across the mountain range. The core of the mountains were made of a solid rock that ended up suddenly jutting upward halfway through the range. Thus, the three thousand meters of elevation to the ‘base’ of the mountain was a relatively simple journey. Barrett noticed the other two were having trouble as the gravity increased… but even if they weren’t body trainers of any sort, they were at least physically fit. They did need frequent breaks the last day, stopping every hour or so to recover energy so they could push themselves further. However, Barrett could see why Crenthor needed him so badly. Attempting to climb now would just be suicide- potentially literally. While a fall of any distance in normal areas wouldn’t be lethal for any master tier cultivator, in an area with increased gravity and thinner air… it could be quite problematic.
“We’ll spend a few days here resting and acclimatizing,” Barrett told Crenthor. While his body had already adapted along the way, it wouldn’t do any good if they reached the top and Crenthor was passed out and unable to retrieve the plants he wanted. It was also better to not leave Caprica alone right away, since her body was still getting used to the gravity. Without special training she would probably never be unbothered by the increase, but at least it wouldn’t be so oppressive as to make it hard to do basic things like walk… and eat.
Caprica was trying her best to breathe evenly, “How come… you don’t… look bothered at all… carrying that heavy stuff?”
“Heavy?” Barrett raised an eyebrow, “Even with the approximately quadruple gravity here, I’m carrying less weight than usual. I left the heavy stuff behind at Crenthor’s shop.” ‘Heavy stuff’ didn’t include his armor and spear, but rather the excess taspum shards and some multisteel and other training related weights.
Crenthor slowly took a breath, “I am feeling confident in my choice. At least, as long as I don’t look up.” Crenthor looked up anyway, to see a nearly vertical cliff face three further kilometers high. He would have plenty of time to look at it in the next few days. So would Barrett, and Barrett was already trying to plan out his route to the top, but occasional clouds and mist passing by made it difficult to clearly see the cliff face. Though he was fine with his feet on the ground, the cliff face might be another matter.