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by: Jewel 
The sun scorched her wet salty skin the second day. Her ears rung with the never ending squawks of the seabirds. Every moment added to her dread. She did not know where she was. The rocky beaches at the base of the land went on as far as she could see. The massive cliffs towered high beside her. She remembered her glimpse of the endless grasslands above. Was he hurt? Was he dead? Did he try to fight the giant of giants and loose? Her stomach turned. By days end she gathered up what driftwood she could find, along with dried seaweed. Everything she had, was wet from the constant spray of the sea. She didn't light a fire till the third night. No longer caring if some unfriendly was to see, perhaps the dragon had forgotten where she was. No he would not just forget. She was cold and in need of warm food. She thanked the gods as she blew upon the spark that flew from the strike of her flint and iron pyrite. She ate a fish caught in the shallows and then baked on a hot rock. The fire was extremely smoky from the damp wood and the dried seaweed, its plume reaching high up to the cliffs peak just to the south. In the morning she would go north, back towards the giant. She was in a strange land and the dragon was not going to return. The rocky beach made traveling hard. She had slipped many times and had torn her clothing. Her lips were cracked from the sun and salt. She was out of fresh water. By noon she had made a desicision. She repacked her one pack, taking only her sword, her fire stones, what was left of her travel cakes and her empty water bladder. She needed to climb the cliff before she became any weaker. Her spirit was already in a down spiral, her body not far behind. She looked high up, head tilted back she had never climbed anything so high before. The cliffs where she grew up, she had climbed often as a child, to steal the eggs of the birds that nested there, savoring the warm raw treasures held within the gray shells. This cliff held no treats. She studied the face of the cliff carefully. She would need to map in her mind what she could see, ledges, pitfalls, impossible paths. She tried not to think of the rocky beach, or the impossible height, instead she look for points to reach. Her paladin heart told her not to look at the top, but to focus on what she can do. Her first goal. A little ledge about a fifth of the way up, yes, she could do that. No longer thinking about the giant, no longer thinking about the dragon, no longer thinking about home, she began to climb. Yes, I can do that.
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