[center][color=FF8C00][img]https://i.imgur.com/1MvGTuH.png[/img]

RANK 3
15/30 EXP

[b]Sandswept Sky - Inner Mountain > Graveyard of the Peaks[/b][/color][/center]

With the makeshift elevator ride up the vertical tunnel being uneventful, the adrenaline that fueled Raz's inner fire petered out, leaving him as cold as physically possible without dying. He shuddered at a near constant rate, folding his arms tight to try and conserve his body heat. In spite of all this, he still gave a chipper response to the group's discussions.

"T-t-to be honest, this is probably the muh-most fun I've had since I got here," he said through his clattering teeth. "Al Mamoon is certainly warmer, but s-s-s-super boring."

The mood turned south fast afterwards as the reality of the situation settled in and the group fell silent. Along with the cold, the self-doubt from before started to creep up Raz's spine again. He'd been trying to make himself useful on this mission only to end up feeling like he was just 'there'. Had he been helping? Sorta. It barely felt like it though, and with how tricky the climb had been so far and would probably get still, being [i]sorta[/i] helpful might be more of a hinderance.

When they reached the chain's end that doubt only grew. The air was so frigid that Raz already felt like he was a walking popsicle, and the howling on the other side of those huge doors was not making him hopeful. Still, having made it this far it would be pretty dumb to turn back around. All that could be done was try to keep warm, as hard as it was. He tried to stay in the center of the group, hoping to conserve warmth like a group of penguins, but he didn't voice this thought out loud. Some of the people here were made out of metal, so getting too close ran the risk of freezing to them. Probably.

At the end of the bridge, Raz tried to stand his ground as the sudden rush of freezing wind bowled right into the group, only to tumble backwards in a full flip and land on his face in the snow. He picked himself up, brushed the snow off of him as fast as possible, and pulled his goggles down over his eyes.

It was time to get serious.

The graveyard leading up to the summit chilled Raz to the bone, more than the wind ever could. Hiking up a mountain sounded easy! The truth of it was staring right at him now. And the giant, ominous hand - this 'Master Hand' that Tora and Poppi must've been talking about before - was right. There wasn't any option except going forward for them.

"See, we really could've used a cannon right now." Trying to take his mind off of the growing anxiety, Raz trudged into the group members furthest ahead. "We need to come up with... with something," Raz shouted over the shrill whistling of the wind. "There's no way we can just walk up there like this! Can we tear off one of those doors, maybe? Use it as a big shield and push our way up? What about him?" Raz pointed to Mona. "You can turn into a car, right? Maybe you could drive ahead and shield us from the wind!"

They weren't great ideas. They might not even be [i]good[/i] ones. The group needed to figure out a plan regardless of how it came about. Raz scanned the surroundings, seeing nothing but snow, rods, and the occasional unlucky climber, which he didn't linger of for long. At least his goggles were keeping his eyes clear. "Wait! These things are, uh, they're gravestones, right? Something like that? Someone had to have put them here... you think there's people in this part of the mountain?"[hr][center][color=FF8C00]Word Count: 615
EXP Gain: +1[/color][/center]