Chapter 331: Chapter 297 – Top of the World

“No matter the way you chose to reach the peak of Highmountain, it wouldn’t be a comfortable one. Either you climb the sheer slopes of the cliff on the way up, or hitch a ride in a cargo net there. The former is a challenge that even many daredevils pale away from, while the latter basically meant enduring the day-long ascent in the cold winds and discomfort, with only the net between you and a several thousand meter drop.

 

That said, the view from up there was worth all the troubles, even though it’s so cold your breath would turn into fog, it was truly something else to view the world from such a high place, with nothing but the clouds beneath you to hinder the majestic view. It was an experience worth dying for, in my opinion.” - Egil Longbottom, Half-dwarven traveler and bard.

A pale-skinned hand reached over the ledge and gripped hard into the stone, the fingers piercing deep into the solid rock as if it was putty, before the owner of the hand hauled the rest of her body up to the ledge with a powerful heave.

 

Cal was the first of the group to set foot on Highmountain City, the home of various breeds of avian therians situated atop the eponymous Highmountain of Highmountain Isle, likely the highest mountain in the known world.

 

Before her spread a sight that few land-dwellers like her had ever set eyes upon, that of a city built into the top of the mountain itself. The mountaintop had a large crater on it, and the ledge Cal hoisted herself on top was easily the highest point of the mountain itself.

 

The city was built on the walls and inside the crater itself, with houses that resembled stylized birds’ nests all over the place, chaotic yet with a semblance of order in how they were placed. Many therians of various avian breeds flew to and fro, here and there, as the skies of the city itself were crowded by their wake. A few turned curious eyes at the unexpected visitor, while a few others waved in mid-flight.

 

So high up above the sea - they had climbed past several layers of clouds on their way up - the air was thin, yet crisp and fresh. It was cold to a freezing point, but such a cold just felt like home to Cal, who grew up on an island where the winters were long and cold, while the summers were short and cool. She was not particularly worried about the rest of her group either, who climbed up to the rim of the crater behind her one by one, as they each had their own way of dealing with the thin air.

 

“Wow,” said Leila from behind as she stepped off Lumi’s back after the Ice Drake caught up with the rest of the party and landed on the rim of the crater as well. Cal’s grand-niece was looking not towards Highmountain City, but to the other direction, towards the outside of the crater.

 

From so high up, they could see the other large isles of the Western Isles in the distance, with only clouds to obstruct their view. If they peered further to the south-east, they could even catch a glimpse of the westernmost shores of Ur-Teros. It was truly a breathtaking, humbling sight, to view creation from the top of the world like so.

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The party stayed on the rim for a while, to appreciate the breathtaking view. Some amongst them even pulled out an enchanted picture frame, which could store an image when used, to keep a memory of the sight they were seeing into perpetuity.

 

Inside the crater, the city proper lay bare before their sight. Curiously, most of the houses and other establishments were built on the walls and slopes of the crater instead, with the flatlands at the bottom of the crater dominated by various plantations, which the residents used to achieve self-sufficiency.

 

Most prominent amongst the crops - the visible ones at least - were huge stalks of eerily pale corn, each growing as tall as three to four meters with as much as a dozen cobs sprouting from the thick stalks. From the looks of it, other fields were used to grow root vegetables and the likes to add further variety to the rather isolated city’s food supply.

 

A few ranches were also built on the flatlands, with a plump, pudgy flightless bird as the main animal being raised there for food. The birds were called Greedy Beaks, so named due to their tendency to stuff themselves on anything edible in their vicinity, which was most anything. Cal could see that they were fed corn stalks and cobs, as well as the leafy parts of the root vegetables.

 

It was a bit of an odd juxtaposition for the avian population of the city to be breeding birds as their main meat source, but it was not that odd for therians in general. Despite the similarities, a therian would be affronted should someone equate them to whatever beast they resembled. There was certainly no love between them, regardless of any possible relation, and carnivorous ones would all-too-happily devour an animal that resembled them in looks without a second thought.

 

Other than ranches full of the plodding, fat birds were also caverns on the walls of the crater where the locals cultivated mushrooms en masse, as well as grubs and other “meaty” insects for food. The city was remarkably self-sufficient for a city built atop the highest mountain in the world, with no easy access for traders to come to, but then again their frequent trade with the other inhabitants of Highmountain Isle likely covered the rest of their needs.

 

At least a dozen springs were present in the crater, providing the city with a source of fresh water straight from nature. If it were not for the difficulty in actually reaching the city itself or the cold - which Cal knew all too well would likely be uncomfortably cold for many - the place might well be a little slice of heaven on the world as it was.

 

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