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Mire Buddy Story
Writing and art by Squidragon




You and your buddy meet up at a crossroads in the forested foothills of the Cloudscrape Crags. Double checking your packs to make sure you have all the rations, tools, and other such things you might need, you go through your entire inventories one item at a time. Food? Check. Waterskins? Check. Matches? Ropes? Tent? Blankets? Spare Coats? Hooks and Picks? Flares? All good to go! Soon it's time to head out.

The first week is quite a leisurely hike. The trail is largely made of winding sign-marked paths with small cliffs and inclines, and you and your buddy indulge in the occasional stop for casual birdwatching, a night spent hunting, or even an afternoon gathering winterberries. As you travel deeper into the foothills, the trails begin to grow steeper, the cliffs a little more rough, and the trees slowly start to thin out. For the most part, you're able to easily fly up the cliffs, but as you get higher, the winds grow more aggressive. You can tell that soon you're going to have to start climbing.

You stop at the base of your first major cliff for one last day of casual hunting. From here on out, you can tell it is not going to be quite so easy.




You and your buddy wake up early in the morning to get a head start on climbing the first cliff. You make yourselves breakfast, pick up your camp, and prepare your ropes and picks. The winds are fairly strong up here, so anchoring yourself to the cliff will be the safest way to get to the top (and won't end in being blown off into the distance never to be seen again.)

Your buddy gives you an enthusiastic pat on the back. "Let's go!!!" Maybe you're a bit nervous, or maybe you're super excited, or maybe you've done this a thousand times before and it's just another day on the job. Either way, there is something special about climbing higher into the sky. Maybe it's because dragons were made to be very tall. That's probably what it is.

The climb goes slowly, but fairly smoothly, and by lunch you've made it up to the top. Naturally, you're now faced with yet another cliff, but that's just your life now, isn't it? One cliff after the other. Each with a new surprise waiting for you at the top...

But the best part of this next week of travels is what happens at night. The winds die down, the clouds part, and it is just you and your buddy, staring up at the bright and open sky, southern lights drifting in the distance, hundreds of stars and galaxies swirling around you.

Your buddy sits you down on the first of these nights. They have a gift for you! Your buddy pulls out two friendly telescope creatures. One for you, one for them. Now you'll be able to see the stars more clearly than ever before (and it will be perfect for the meteor shower later on.)

You and your buddy might be friends forever, you think.




As the cliffs begin to grow taller and taller, you begin to pass by cave entrances and tunnels that burrow deep into the crags. The tunnels are dark, and they echo as you walk by them, and each time you look into one, you can't help but feel curious about what secrets might be lying inside.

One morning, your buddy asks if you'd like to take a few days off just to investigate one... Just to take a bit of a peek. Naturally, you absolutely would love to.

Later that morning, you and your buddy scout out the most large and intriguing cave mouth you can find and then set up camp there. The two of you light colorful sparking flares for light, tie up a rope so you don't lose your way, and then slowly creep inside...

The cave is full of highly unusual creatures: small bats with glowing runes on their fur, skittery insects with large pincers, even some unusual anteater-like creatures with mushrooms on their backs. You also pick up some fascinating things of value: a few gemstones here and there, a rock with a fossil of a fish on it, and even an old ice runestone that someone must have dropped who knows how long ago.

Eventually, you run out of rope, and have to climb out of the cave with your small souvenirs. But this is not the only cave you venture into. The next few days are spent creeping around in the various caves along the cliffs, until eventually you realize you'll need to keep moving if you're going to get to the top of the cliffs in time. You still have the most difficult parts of the climb ahead of you, of course.




As you and your buddy continue your travels, the cliffs grow steadily taller and taller. Eventually, single cliffs begin to take one very long day to navigate, with little time or space for rest. You are getting tired, and the oxygen is starting to grow thinner, and the frigid chill of the wind and cold of the Southern Icefields is starting to get to you.

You bundle up in extra coats and blankets, and light fires to warm your tails at night. But despite the hardship, you persist, because you know that the meteor shower awaits you at the top, and you are growing so terribly close.

At this point, sometimes the caves are the only shelter that you can easily access, and curling up in caves at night (and during breaks at day) has become your primary routine. One night, while setting up camp in a sheltered area just inside a cave, your buddy asks if you might be interested in taking just a little peek further into one of the tunnels. They think they spotted scratchmarks on the walls that made it look like someone might have been here before, and maybe there is something interesting inside.

It's cold, and you're exhausted from today's climb, but you agree to follow your buddy deeper into the cave. It zigs and zags and steeply inclines and then comes to a stop. Two treasure chests are sitting here at the end with a note.

"Adventurers! I am Gustav, retired gaoler of the first ward, and I have been climbing this mountain just to leave secret treasures for our icy descendents to find and celebrate over. Please take these chests, and good luck on your adventure!"

What a grand fellow, leaving chests on their way for adventurers! You wonder how long these have been here. You and your buddy dig through the chests that night before heading off to sleep. The clouds were looking a little dark earlier this evening, and you suspect tomorrow might be stormy weather.




You wake up early in the morning to try to get as far as you can before the storm sets in. You are almost at the top. Almost there....

The climb this day is the most difficult one yet. The cliff is a straight shot up, with very little to hold onto as everything is coated in a slippery ice. You only manage to make it one ledge up before the winds pick up and the clouds grow dark around you. You quickly retreat to the nearest cave, just in time for the ice to fall and the lightning to strike out at the mountain. You wait inside for hours as the mountain shakes, and on several occasions you can feel the rocks and ice tumbling down the cliffs outside. You start to grow worried an avalanche may trap you inside the cave where you wait.

You and your buddy begin to debate your options. You are dragons after all. You can fly. You can breathe powerful magic energy. You have thick scales immune to much damage.... The ice and rocks continue to tumble around you and the cave lurches. Maybe you should just go for it.

Against your better judgment, you decide to race the storm. You and your buddy dive out of the cave and begin the climb directly through the stormclouds, using your wings to aid in your journey to the top. There is lightning everywhere around you, and at some points you nearly slip but your buddy is there to grab onto you. Eventually you work through the clouds and emerge above them. It's still and quiet up here... Perhaps the magic of a wind dragon? You are able to fly around without too much trouble, and quickly realize you've nearly made it to the top of the mountain.

You and your buddy fly the rest of the way up and make your way to a lodge built precariously on one of the highest cliffs. There are dragons everywhere out here! One of them hands you a little ice flight flag. Another congratulates you on making it to the top and hopes the journey wasn't too difficult for you. A third asks if you've checked into the lodge yet. There is warm orb tea and hot cocoa and cookies inside, just for you.

You're just in time too, the first meteor will be falling soon.

You thank your buddy for being there with you, and your buddy thanks you for being there with them. You both know you could never have done this alone, and now you can sit together and watch the show.