Filling in for Ana...
Ana turns and gives Cassock a look of disbelief. "I said treacherous," she reminds. Clearly, she seems a little upset with all of the circumstances. She adopts as friendly a voice as possible and clarifies:
"You're looking at a straight, treacherous climb, of somewhere between 700 and 1,000 feet. That's with few handholds on a near-perfect vertical wall of possibly loose rock and dirt. After that, its probably another few thousand feet to the precipice of the mountain. It may not be a straight climb after that point, but I'm sure there may be points in time where we are forced to climb once again.
"If we were to start farther back from the waterfall, we could cut our initial climbing in half, possibly. But then we'd waste a lot of time hiking up a dozen trails (that we'd be forced to blaze ourself). It would--possibly--quadruple the amount of time it takes to reach the precipice, with additional breaks for meals and other necessities.
"I re-entered the chamber and tried to get an approximate measurement of the distance to the precipice through the hole cut in the ceiling of the main chamber. Unfortunately the illumination makes an accurate assessment impossible. It could be 1000, 1500, or even 2000 feet to the point of illumination--I'm not sure.
"We could--I suppose--turn tail, walk out of the valley, around the mountain range and find some path. This plan though is by no means sound. It will increase our time and there's no guarantee that a path, an easier path, could be stumbled upon. If I had wings--and could fly--maybe I'd be able to give you a better estimate." Her voice cracks--some annoyance seeping into her voice. Rhynos licks his lips and winks at her--enticing the rage to fruition.
"AT ANY RATE--I am up for the climb, if that's your decision. BUT, I would suggest we accept the boon--if for no other reason than it will speed us along our journey. Perhaps there is some point above where we can be easily set down. It could very well cut the time wasted in half--if not more."
Rhynos flicks his tongue at her, one hand erotically rubbing up and over his own nipple. He stumbles a bit--nearly loosing balance because he's still quite intoxicated. Ana's hand bunches up into a tight fist, but she manages some control and turns away from the party. Rage dances across her eyes.
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