Mouth of Ashes

I've always been known for my (if: $speed is 50)[speed](else-if: $stamina is 50)[stamina](else:)[(link: "speed")[(set: $speed to 50)(goto: "Summit")] / (link: "stamina")[(set: $stamina to 50)(goto: "Summit")]] in (if: $speed is 50)[[[navigating these snowy mountains|Orienteer]]](else-if: $stamina is 50)[[[navigating these snowy mountains|Orienteer]]](else:)[navigating these snowy mountains]. (set: $health to 100, $starting to 0) <script>$('body').removeClass().addClass('snowy')</script>

That's why I volunteered to go to the top of these mountains to get the [[elders'|Elders]] cure for my [[daughter]]. The face of the sun has just started shining. The sky is clear and blue. It's a good start. [[Let's hope it continues|Start]].

Penny is 16 - well, she (link-reveal: "will be")[ (will be. I must keep telling myself that)] 16 today. She's been ill. [[Back|Orienteer]]

I figure we call them elders for a reason. They've accumulated wisdom and knowledge and strength to sustain a whole village. The locally-trained nurses (Ash and her colleagues) were trained by the books they write. Our midwife, by the elder women. But if we need them so much, (link-reveal: "why do they live at the top of the highest mountain?")[ Are we somehow unworthy of their service? ] No, no time to think about that now. I need to [[get started on the descent|Start]] before it gets late.

[[Mama jackdaw]] watches me leave. The rest of the elders are safely ensconced in their warm huts; only she's out here in the biting wind, watching me strap the metal spikes onto my boots. "You can stay for another hour if you want," she says, "wait for it to become light." "Sorry, Mama. I have to go." (set: $food to 10, $water to 10, $gold to 15, $day1time to 5) (if: $speed is 50)[[["Go safely."|Snow]]] (else-if: $stamina is 50)[[["Go safely."|Rocks]]]

The youngest of the elders. Her form and features are almost entirely hidden under a cloak of corvid feathers, braided with trinkets her crow children gift her. Now, as in the past, she creates music with eldritch, ancient tools, and gifts them to the villages in the region. [[Back|Start]]

I've opted for the faster but trickier route. The route gets quite steep quite often, but I came up by this route, so this should not be a problem. (set: $day1time to it - 1) The trail turns narrow, and I scramble down a rock face. (set: $water to it - 1) [[Walk|Scree]]

This world builds on worlds which have touched me, and they include: <a href="https://twitter.com/kittyhorrorshow" target = "_blank">Kitty Horrorshow's strange worlds</a>. Snowquest by Eric Eve. Alto's Adventure. The Yawhg. This is no longer a 'speedy' IF, but the original idea from this came from DavidC's speedIF for this week which you can see <a href="http://www.intfiction.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=19712" target = "_blank">here</a>. Feedback? Thoughts? Cake? Do send an email to verity.virtue [at] gmail [dot] com! The pictures used in the backgrounds are either the author's creation or from the public domain.

I've chosen the longer but more forgiving route. I've always been the slow-burning type. Boulders litter the path. I soon find my pace. (set: $day1time to it - 1) [[I walk.|Cairn]]

http://www.ohiofi.com/blog/twine-pictures-gifs-and-background-images Inn background - <a href="* https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/" target="_blank">Internet Archive</a> Snowy mountains background - <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/image-catalog/16662196134/in/photolist-qEUoGo-roo7pG-6qEpR8-nsb4by-suqufV-bCgBQn-jNGGA4-AerC5s-tz61b7-tJcRvJ-CmeaCd-98RvWH-jKJKFY-rxrPHU-nQojti-tHrrdj-zTKZsd-idbkSU-s7So4v-3VWKud-AzSHj4-vFh6rY-bCgBCK-id8ztW-cq33aW-ieaPnj-CkfPV2-jNHt76-xsiF2i-zfRoxH-zz9DAS-i6Mn41-hw5x6B-hQvZih-r1Xate-e2Gh1b-okSdQ1-icK1Pd-hSqPJK-zJDhRa-972AZ2-jNGFQg-tw38g-i7KKrX-o3RgTk-t9s2oy-qcPjDu-hSwoi5-MpoNz-i6CFAm">Unsplash</a> Jungle background - <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nicholas_t/20418201326/in/photolist-x7hBTU-ygHVfG-B2zgN6-uqDCcE-y1QSwP-tr8GT4-sGMUyv-AYKMmE-B14SoW-AqZPJp-yFK2Mb-cqxsYj-6bvLXw-A168Zh-uwuRk8-ojM2s8-79t46o-9cjqvr-pkotEj-cqxtFy-nostDz-zNwCG7-7RTYUL-zNCwYR-zMSfpA-csLtTA-tvuP5s-oBmWaN-uHUw5Y-4iq9u-tPy9BZ-ptAi3j-zUgDAC-yKhrLN-g6JtML-fh5Dg4-uJn2wV-pfGeku-a8H4rZ-nEm6Dx-b46gAR-5gLyZT-A5eNwB-z9GkSC-tfvzjS-bWPRUJ-8WNXGH-AwnzBf-AAqxTp-idiDyt" target = "_blank">Nicholas A. Tonelli</a>

The path is littered with fragments of rock. It's easy to turn an ankle if I don't pay attention. [[Walk|A scuttling]]

Ahead of me, there is a scuttling and a swift movement; a mountain goat leaps past my path. [[Walk|Boulders]]

I pass a cairn. It is unusual in these parts; altars of stones and driftwood are relatively more common. This definitely was not here when I came this way two days ago. (set: $day1time to it - 1) Should I (link: "leave an offering")[(set: $food = it - 2, $day1time to it - 1)(goto: "A patch of ice")]? Or (link: "just pass it")[(set: $curse to 1)(goto: "A patch of ice")]?

The trail ahead is blocked by recently fallen boulders. (if: $health >= 90)[[[Scramble over|scramblesuccess]]](else:)[[[Scramble over|scramblefail]]] or (link: "take a detour")[(set: $day1time to it - 1)(goto: "Shed")]?

(if: $starting is 1)[ //I have (print: $water) waterskins and (print: $food) rations of food. My wallet holds (print: $gold) gold coins.//](else:)[]

The next bit of trail is covered in a glassy patch of ice. I go as slowly as possible to make sure I don't slip. It's slow going, but I press on. (set: $day1time to it - 3) [[I walk.|Shed]]

Waist-high bushes replace scrabbly scrub; trees replace grasses. The rocky path turns muddy. Moisture hangs thick in the air. (if: $day1time <= 2)[Umber shadows drag long into the trail. Shadows thicken. The sun is setting soon.] (live: 0.5s)[[[The village comes into view.|Entrance]]] <script>$('body').removeClass().addClass('jungle')</script>

I dance over the stones. I clamber over the larger fragments. I perch on a boulder and pause for a drink. The wind stirs and whips flecks of ice into the air. (set: $water to it - 1, $day1time to it - 1) After a while, I get up and [[continue|Shed]].

I scramble across the field of boulders. My feet are not as deft as I thought they were -- maybe it's the blisters; maybe it's my boots -- but I slip, more than once. When I finally reach the end of the field, I find myself with bruises and scrapes. (set: $health to it - 30, $day1time to it - 1) It is a relief when I reach the end of the field, and continue on to [[my shelter for the night|Shed]].

I head for the largest building in the village, the only inn, optimistically named The Chortling Horse. It's owned by the formidable Mrs. Jalla. At this time of the year, bitter winds drive travellers away. (link-reveal: "I knock.")[(link-reveal: " And knock.")[ (link-reveal:" And knock.")[ Finally, [[the innkeeper appears|Room]].]]](set: $starting to 1)

"You again. Got the medicine for your little one?" Her tone is neutral, but is that [[a hint of derision|Scorn]]? "Yes." "You can take the second room. When are you leaving?" Should I leave the (link: "next morning")[(set: $leavingtime to "morning", $gold to it - 7)(goto: "Morning")]? Or (link: "in the afternoon")[(set: $leavingtime to "afternoon", $gold to it - 10)(goto: "Afternoon")], after having had a chance to eat and rest (though for a price)? <script>$('body').removeClass().addClass('inn')</script>

At home, at least, there had been talk. Why wouldn't the other doctors in the other villages (link-reveal:"help?")[ //(I had asked them. None had answers.)//] Was it the work of (link-reveal:"a rival village?")[ //(That would only be foolish.)//] (link: "Back")[(goto: ((history:)'s last))]

"In the morning." (transition: "dissolve")[In the room, I lay down [[my single bag|Bag]] and loosen the laces on my boots, by the last remnants of daylight from the tiny window. I find, to my surprise, a warm flagstone under the sheets. Unexpectedly good hospitality. I [[eat|Dinner]]. I sleep(if: $dinner is 1)[ on a full stomach](else:)[ on an empty stomach.]]

It contains a change of clothes (you never know), my food and water, my walking sticks, now collapsed and folded up. There's also the reason why I'm here: the (link-reveal:"cure.")[ The stoppered bottle, wrapped in moss and encased in a wooden box, contains a mixture of herbs and what I suspect are old-world medicines. These make up the first-line treatment for my daughter's ailment. There's also a sachet of drugs in case the first one doesn't work: an assortment of tablets, in individual bags with written directions, some familiar and some foreign. I think some of them might have been unearthed from the deadlands by Mama jackdaw's bird children.] (link: "Back")[(goto: ((history:)'s last))]

"In the afternoon." "Very well. You'll be taking an afternoon meal, then?" "Yes, please." (live: 1.5s)[In the room, I lay down [[my single bag|Bag]] and loosen the laces on my boots, by the last remnants of daylight from the tiny window. I find, to my surprise, a warm flagstone under the sheets. Unexpectedly good hospitality. I [[eat|Dinner]]. I sleep(if: $dinner is 1)[ on a full stomach](else:)[ on an empty stomach.]]

As is the common custom, I eat with the innkeeper's family. She has three daughters and four dogs. The dogs lay around the floor like warm furry rugs, generally content with life. One puts its head on my feet as I sit. (set: $dinner to 1) Everyone eats their soup (jerky and root vegetables, thickened with barley), passes in silence. Then one of the daughters, the youngest, pipes up: "Why are you here? No one comes here, this time of the year." [["I went to meet with the elders."|Mysterious]] / [["I was looking for a cure for my daughter's illness."|Honesty]] / [["None of your business, little one."|Taciturn]]

I deliberately keep it mysterious. The children know the elders: they know that they stay apart from the rest of the villages; they know that the elders are a source of wisdom for the whole community; they know that people don't disturb the elders without good reason. The question reminds me why I chose not to stop here when I was going up. She loses interest, mercifully, quickly. (if: $leavingtime is "morning")[Better get an early night. I'll be [[having an early morning|Second night rest]].](else:)[I retreat to the relative sanctuary of [[my room|Second night rest]].]

The warmth, or maybe the strong sweet tea, loosens my tongue. "My daughter, she's, er, 16. She's ill. I'm a doctor by training, I know medicines, but I couldn't figure out what was wrong with my daughter. I had to go to the elders for help." This is possibly the longest you've spoken for a while. The other Jalla daughters busy themselves clearing the dishes, and the eldest daughter shoos the small one away. [[Time to turn in.|Second night rest]]

I will not suffer having a child dig into the root of my misery, so I give her the shortest answer I can. The middle daughter tugs at the child's sleeve. "Shh! Aya, stop disturbing the guest!" she whispers. Aya shoots me a final curious glance, but asks no more. I quickly retreat to the sanctuary [[of my room|Second night rest]].

Lately I have taken to keeping a journal. I have never been one to write a lot, and most of my notebooks at home are for making notes about the village. But Santhi, my childhood friend, has persuaded me to keep one, if only for my own sanity's sake. (live: 0.8s)[I write about the people I have met, giving one line to describe each of them.] (live: 1.8s)[I write about the weather (//"Cold. But not as bad as before."//).] (live: 3.0s)[ I [[close the journal|Second night sleep]].]

Alone. I [[wash|Splash]]. I [[write|Journal]]. I [[sleep|Second night sleep]].

(if: $day1time <= 2)[It's too dark to continue walking, but I've reached the first day's landmark, an abandoned shed we called "Tiffany's hut".](else:)[By the last shreds of sunlight, I make my way off the trail and into the landmark I had planned to reach, the shed we called "Tiffany's hut".] I [[enter|In the shed]]. <script>$('body').removeClass().addClass('shed')</script>

The shed is a structure made of stone, packed in between with grasses to keep the wind out. Tiffany's hut is a common stopping place for travellers, and as such is much more well-prepared than other sheds of its kind. There is a [[brick fireplace|Get a fire going]], with a chimney snaking out. A bed of sorts, with hay instead of sheets. A blanket, even, folded at the foot of the bed. Surprising luxury.

(set: $food to it - 5, $water to it - 4)I get a fire going in the little fireplace with the wood that previous travellers have left behind (I will have to replenish the supply some other time). After an austere meal of flatbread and hard cheese, I pull the blanket up over myself and (link-reveal:"sleep.")[ I do not [[dream|Sunrise]].]

(transition: "dissolve")[ The sun rises in about three hours, but I am already awake. I hear birds calling outside. The air feels clean and supple. After a quick snack and a swig of water, I (if: $speed is 50)[[[set out|Steep]]](else:)[[[set out|More boulders]]].](set: $day2time to 5, $food to it - 1, $water to it - 1)

I grip the writhing vines that line the rock face. The path under my feet is damp from melting snow. (set: $day2time to it - 1) [[I walk.|Abandoned]] <script>$('body').removeClass().addClass('snowy')</script>

I pass the skeleton of an abandoned town. Why was this place abandoned? (set: $day2time to it - 1) Should I [[explore a little|Township]] or [[carry on|Mud]]?

My trail takes me through another field of boulders. The rocks I pass here remind me of [[mushrooms]]. [[I walk.|Vagrant]] <script>$('body').removeClass().addClass('snowy')</script>

My gaze leaves the path for a moment as I take a swig of water, and that is all it takes for a fellow traveller to materialise by my side. I can't tell how to address them, so covered are they in cloth shreds. They look a bit like a shaggy pile of moss. (set: $water to it - 1) "Nice weather we're having," the fellow traveller says. [["Lovely, isn't it?"|Polite conversation]] / [[Silence.|Mind your own]] (set: $day2time to it - 1)

A basin of water stands on the window ledge. It's icy cold and has grit at the bottom, but it's probably from the mountain stream, so it's clean. I wet a cloth in the water and wipe myself clean. (if: $mud is 1)[With the same cloth, I wipe the stinking mud off my boots, turning the water in the basin turbid.] (live: 1.5s)[Refreshed, I shed my assortment of coats and furs and [[get on the bed|Second night sleep]].]

Sleep comes quicker on a warm bed. (if: $leavingtime is "morning")[(live: 2s)[The sun hits my face, and I fling myself out of bed even before my brain properly wakes up.]](else:)[I wake slowly and amble down to the kitchen for a meal. (set: $food to it + 2, $water to it + 1) Aya, the young one, is there. She regards me with curious eyes, though after last night's conversation she is understandably reluctant to speak. I manage to inveigle a waterskin and a portion of last night's evening meal from Mrs Jalla.] (live: 3s)[It is time to leave. I thank Mrs. Jalla, pack everything neatly, [[set out again|Last leg]].]

I am vaguely pleased when I find the concrete clinic, recognisable from the faded glyph emblazoned on the walls. I also find a merchant's hut - the only one which would need an abacus and logbooks, the paper turning into dust in the dry air. It feels like everyone left this town in a hurry. Chairs sprawl askew; books tumble from the shelves; in one hut, a book lies open, a pen lying in its margin. (set: $day2time to $day2time - 3) (live: 2.0s)[Enough time wasted here. Better get back [[to the trail|Mud]].]

Steps hewn out of stone gives way to flat ground. How long have I been walking? Grass springs up, unstoppable, here, and I end up stepping into several puddles of pungent mud. (set: $mud to 1)I'm going to have a tough time scraping the mud off these boots later. [[And yet I walk|Village]].

The stranger nods. "Yes. Yes. Quite. Quite a load you've got there." "What's it to you?" "Oh, nothing. Just... I've heard about you, you know. How you tried to cure your daughter with zinc. Zinc? What were you even thinking?" A familiar prickling on my forehead that never means good news. I turn around, fists ready. (live: 2s)[No one. What was that?] (live: 3s)[Shaken, [[I walk|Stony path]].]

My silence makes it clear to the stranger that I do not cherish in-depth conversation with all and sundry. "Mm. Mm. Of course." A welcome pause as we two walk in silence. What is this stranger doing walking on this path, anyway? I turn, a question on my tongue, and (live: 2s)[they are gone.] (live: 3s)[What the hell? ([[I walk anyway.|Stony path]])]

The last part of the trail nearest to my own village is the easiest part. I would have ended up here no matter whether I'd taken the (if: $speed is 50)[longer, slower](else:)[faster, harder] route. My mood is strangely light, although rainclouds threaten storms, and I [[walk a little faster|Milestone]]. <script>$('body').removeClass().addClass('village')</script>

Three hours later, I reach the first stone marker that marks the boundary of my village. There is no white flag or lantern that usually marks a funeral, and that gives me a cautious hope. I walk. [[Nearly there now.|Outskirts]]

I've reached the outskirts of my village and I find myself keeping a ear out for the sounds of the village. The shrieking of the children, the singing of those collecting water... What's here? The buildings here are dilapidated, I know, but why are they in ruins now? [[I walk. Almost there, now.|My hut]]

The main road through the village is almost unrecognisable. Houses flattened. Half the school charred. Crows. [[//Crows?//|Crows]] The streets are almost empty, but the concrete building (part-time hospital, part-time market) buzzes with some noise. The corner shop is [[shuttered|Shop]] and shows signs of damage, but the shelves are still stocked with necessities. [[My hut|Enter]] is behind it. There is a taste like ashes in my mouth. I try to quash the flicker of hope, because we must always prepare for the worst.

We had a problem with them, once. Redcap mushrooms are popular for the vegetarian families, since they grow impressively large and taste particularly meaty. One market day, one merchant sold a bad batch of redcaps. Two people died (one child, one very old lady who loved mushrooms and had had a chest infection). [[...So, yeah.|More boulders]]

It shouldn't be. When Ahn first opened the shop, she said it'd be open when people needed things. Looking closer, though, the shop looks like it's been put together: the joints between the sheets of corrugated are additionally reinforced with wires and rope which wasn't there when I left. [[Weird.|Enter]]

I enter the hut. The benefits of a small living area: you always know when something's missing, or extra. My daughter's missing. The (link-reveal: "amulets")[ (not the ones from the mountain shrine - these are [[different|Amulets]])] are extra. Footsteps from outside in a familiar rhythm: my husband. I rush out to [[greet him - |You're back]]

He sees me, and he hugs me fiercely. "I was going to go to the station to find you -- What's happened?" "Terrible earthquake. Didn't you feel it? Up there on the mountains? Terrible - I think you've seen - lots of people injured, Ash is tired out of her wits because two of the mothers are going to give birth as well -" "Where's everyone? Where's Penny?" Jon takes a breath. "Penny's fine. I got her out. I mean, she's still ill, but she's not injured or anything." [["Let's go."|Hall]]

This path is lined with pebbles, arranged by colour. The handiwork of a [[crazed old man|That old story]] is what I was told when I was younger. [[And I walk.|Long path]]

What was it? His son slipped and fell on this mountain path, plunging to his death off the precipice to my left. People mourned with him, but it had been raining, it had been a foggy morning, his son had maybe been drunk, so it did not come as too much of a surprise. And somehow his reaction had been to arrange stones. Which is why the paths here are made of coloured pebbles, arranged by colour. [[Walk, nevertheless|Long path]]

I walk. I lose track of time. (live: 1.5s)[All I know is that my village is closer every hour. [[It's getting late.|Shelter]]]

My map of the area shows that there is a cave around here suitable for spending the night. It takes a while to find, but it's a good find: the angle of the cave opening hides it from the wind. After I've gotten a campfire going, I settle down for what counts as an evening meal and (link:"I sleep.")[(set: $day3time to 5)(goto: "Last day")] <script>$('body').removeClass().addClass('shed')</script>

We usually have rocks and sticks tied up with string. They're popular with the older people -- as you age, you get worried about the inevitable -- but are essentially ubiquitous. These are triangles of folded paper with glyphs inked on them. I've not seen these before, not even in the neighbouring villages. [[I go into my hut.|Enter]]

This is the last day I have to travel. One day more, then Penny and home and maybe I can continue life as normal. <script>$('body').removeClass().addClass('snowy')</script> It is boring going. The path is easy enough, so there's nothing to occupy my mind as I go. (if: $day3time >= 1)[I think about (link:"Penny")[(set: $think_penny to it + 1)(goto: "My daughter")] / (link: "my clinic")[(set $think_clinic to it + 1)(goto: "The clinic")] / (link: "Jon")[(set: $think_jon to it + 1)(goto: "My husband")]](else:)[[[Last stretch.|Village]]]

(if: $think_penny is 1)[Penny was born just after I'd come back from studying. From young, she's always been a curiously quiet girl. I have (held?) a hope that she might take over the clinic, though this path is not an easy one, woman or not.](else-if: $think_penny > 1)[ Penny... she likes walking along the river and she'll watch you for hours on end if you're doing something interesting. She loves hardboiled eggs with the yolks slightly runny. She loves sunrises. Pigeons have a curious affinity for her, which reminds me of Mama jackdaw.] (set: $day3time to it - 1) [[Back|Last day]]

(if: $think_clinic is 1)[The clinic that I now operate was set up by my mother, but I (and I am proud of this) changed a lot of how the system worked - I managed to get Ash, a nurse who I knew as a student, to join me in the clinic. We're still working on it.] (if: $think_clinic > 1)[People in the village sometimes gripe about how we're getting soft. My mother tended to boss people into doing what was good for them, and she played up her role as an authority figure a lot. But I think they're coming around. I'm still 'the one who went off to the city', but I think they're coming around.] (set: $day3time to it - 1) [[Back|Last day]]

(if: $think_jon is 1)[In a village like ours, I'd known him for a long time. My mum had delivered him, treated his childhood illnesses; we knew each other from when we were tiny children.] (if: $think_jon > 1)[He grew up to be a constable, in theory answerable only to the county magistrates, in practice answerable only to the law. Except those laws which don't make sense. And those which were obviously unfair and Political (with a capital 'P'). It's a perfect fit for his personality: interested in the detail, responsible, immensely likeable. He's one of three, sometimes four, constables in this village, and most days he deals with the small frictions that inevitably result when people live close to each other.] (set: $day3time to it - 1) [[Back|Last day]]

Either Mama jackdaw's bird children come to look after us, or a sign of death. Does she know? [[Agh, not now!|My hut]]

"Go...? Maybe take off your boots first. You'll be up for a while." "It's fine. Let's go. Has Ash taken all the stuff from the clinic?" "Of course." [["Let's go rebuild this town."|Fin]]

The school's assembly hall has always been a bit of a village hall. The whole space has been taken over by blankets and makeshift tents and Grandma Rosie still sits in her chair, miraculously spared, muttering to herself and there's Penny who looks the same as when I'd left her and pigeons cooing around her and look! There's the cat who always prowls around our kitchen! Ash picks her way through the throng, past cooking pots manned by the mothers, past someone's clutch of chickens, haggard but clearly overjoyed: "You're back! I was so worried--" "I'm here. How's--" "Hang on, I took notes--" And as Ash scurries off to update me on how everyone is doing, and as Jon breaks up a fight between two men, I feel like we might, given time, rebuild this village. //[[fin|Acknowledgements]]//