Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #21 December 2015 | Page 25

Manfred was as good as his word. The day
was an exhausting one, filled with Ubadah’s moans,
but uneventful. The Doom Glacier’s surface was
pitted with rocks, ranging from the size of house
bricks to huge boulders. The journey down the glacier
was difficult and had to be taken slowly. In places,
they roped themselves together for safety. As usual,
Aglaral and Ubadah found the going much easier
than Kris and Manfred. The end of the glacier was
an impressive sight. Chunks of ice, rocks, and water
plunged at least five hundred feet into the head of
the river. The noise was incredible. Manfred thought
it was as if the glacier were giving birth, in agony,
to the river. Such thoughts made him think again
about Simon. Over thirty thousand years ago for
him and possibly only hours ago for Simon, a birth
occurred that changed everything. In that moment the
multiverse had been created. Manfred felt sure of it
and still castigated himself for his sulky mood that had
prevented him from seeing it at the time. Will Simon
be back in Elannort when we get home?
They ate a sparse meal of dry tack and cold
water at the top of Doom Falls before attempting the
descent. It took them the best part of the afternoon to
make the difficult climb. They were impeded by the
boats on their backs and several times each of them
came close to a serious mishap. Nevertheless, they
finally made it safely to the bottom. Ubadah was in a
foul mood and every second word coming out of his
mouth was a curse. Manfred even learned a few new
words, v