It was a little after 2:00 p.m. when the group began the walk up the rockier parts of the mountain. Vegetation here had reduced to mere patches of grass standing out among the new layer of snow or between boulders. Joanne was just as energetic as ever, especially after lunchtime at a small resort station along the way, but some of the older members of the group were complaining about sore legs. 

At one point, Mr. Diderot sighed while massaging his thigh, "Man, my legs are killing me! Remind me to work out more when we get back, these rocks are gonna screw my feet up!"

Mrs. Diderot rolled her eyes. "If only you went jogging with me in the mornings instead of sleeping in..."

Mr. Diderot gave a hearty laugh. "I'm not about to give up my beauty sleep that easily, dear!"

"Beauty sleep?" asked Eila, squinting her eyes at him.

The rest of the afternoon was spent walking up the sides of Mt. Reilu where Joanne commented on how the mountain sheep with large horns can stand on such thin openings between rocky walls and not slip off snow or ice covered ground. The yellow dragon's owners decided it would be safer if they just held him in their arms, while Ari walked beside the twins' parents. Eila spent her time practicing her photography skills, mainly on the few animals they saw on the way, while Tomas rode on Ari's back and took in the sights.

The cloudy skies and mist covering the mountain peaks gave off this surreal, yet beautiful view of the area. White and grey dominated the scenery, with a few blue trees and green shrubs.

Finally, at around 6 p.m., when the sun gave the sky a pink-orange hue as it set upon the horizon, Joanne announced they would set up camp for the night. Many of the tired hikers gave a sigh of relief and quickly built up their tents as Joanne instructed, plus started a campfire. Once settled, the Diderot family warmed their dinner, which was packaged and given to them at the meal station and sat in a circle with the rest of the group.

The twins sat near the campfire, with their backs supported by Ari's torso as she lied down and curled her tail around them.

Joanne made herself comfortable on a pile of snow, giving a warm smile to the three and saying, "Well, folks, from the looks of yer faces, today was a very long day for everyone. And I know I don't look it, but I am beat. That said, hope y'all enjoyed the sights so far, cuz believe me, the view from the temple and the peak is spectacular." 

She paused and took a deep breath, "However, I gotta talk a few things 'bout our visit to the temple tomorrow. We're gonna spend preeetty much the entire day and night there, givin' a tour, eatin' the local cuisine, n' takin' in the sights. As for the Oracle, monks, and clerics, they're not super uptight or anythin', but it's a sacred place for 'em, so we gotta respect their rules. Let's go over the more obvious ones: First, no photos 'nless I give the OK. There's some rooms with very delicate paintings and frescoes, so camera flashes could damage 'em. Second, don't take anything from the temple grounds. Not even a tiny pebble you found on the floor. If y'all want souvenirs, you'll find a tiny shop for that."

She took a sip from her thermos, "Finally, the Oracle will be the one givin' the tour inside the temple tower, I'll only show ya the grounds and nearby buildings. Her name is Larya Nemitz, and she's the leader of the congregation. Very gentle and sweet lady, but also stern when she needs to be. I'm sure y'all will like her though." She then closed her eyes, put her hands together and said, "Now, let's eat already! Cuz I am starvin'!"

"Wait, I've got a question!" Tomas asked as he stood up, "Oracles lead their congregations, right? But I read they're the ones that talk to their guardian. So, does Larya talk to Khiboreas somehow?"

Joanne raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "Didn't think a kid would care 'bout that, but ya know what? I respect yer curiosity. So... what's an Oracle do, you ask? It's a bit like ya said, they're the connection between us n' the guardians who protect our world. The Oracle is picked by the guardian, acting as their ambassador." 

She cleared her throat and drank from her thermos.

"Now you think, how do they talk to guardians spread 'round the world? Well, Larya once told me like so: the Oracle first relays whatever message the guardian has to their clerics; they send it to other temples, then to those temples' oracles, and finally to the guardians receiving the message. Its a bit complicated, but I guess guardians ain't got the time to talk with each other, what with protectin' their land, keepin' the world's balance n' other important stuff."

Tomas and Eila thought how life in the temples seem so different and odd. From what they had heard in school, the whole temple system between oracles, clerics, and guardians always seemed like a very different world, as if stuck in ancient times. Considering how old some guardians must be, they supposed it was fitting in a way.

The twins went inside their tent after dinner, tuckered out from walking up increasingly steep roads. Later, their parents would quietly enter the tent after having few beers that a fellow hiker brought. Ari slept closest to the tent entrance, acting as their guard. Now that they were further up the mountain, the sounds of the howling, cold wind woke up Tomas several times, being a light sleeper.

On one time, he was awakened by a noise near identical to the sound of the wind. For Tomas, it was a very animal-like howl, but not like a wolf, more so a drake. 

"Is it... Khiboreas?" Thought Tomas, cupping one hand around his ear to listen.

With his eyes still closed he quietly scooted over to Ari, also half-awake, and whispered, "Hey, Ari..." He yawned and poked her back, "You hear that noise too? Is it the wind? An animal?"

Ari's frills perked up and gave a low growl. Half-asleep, Tomas slowly leaned back to his pillow and slid his arms over his face, "I don't know what 'grarr' means, Ari..."

Eila was briefly woken up, moved her body in the sleeping bag to face Tomas and said in a groggy voice, "Tommy, why are you talking to Ari now? I wanna sleep..."

The group would wake up gradually the next morning, with most eating breakfast at around 8 a.m. Tomas was among the last to wake up, feeling a little cranky after waking up several times. 

During breakfast, Eila said to her mom in a sing-song voice, "Tommy's still sleepy cuz he spent the night talking to Ari." She turned to face him with a smug grin, "You know dragons can't speak human, silly."

Tomas groaned, glaring his tired eyes at Eila, while she side-glanced at him with a little grin. "Gee sis, like I didn't know that!" Thought Tomas as he ate his oatmeal. 

Usually they get along fine, but like most siblings, Tomas had days where he thought his sister was annoying. This was one of those days.

Mrs. Diderot drank some green tea in the morning, so she decided to share with Tomas and help him overcome his lack of sleep, at least for the day.

After some morning news from Joanne, the group packed up and left the area. They walked up even steeper roads, to the point where Joanne had to assist two elderly hikers in walking over some rocks. She did her best to avoid ice-covered rocks, even asking Mr. Diderot for Ari's help in melting some of them.

As for the yellow dragon, he remained curled in his owner's arms covered with a blanket due to increasingly colder temperatures. The young man sheepishly commented, "I, uh, kinda regret bringing little Zippy here. Heh, heh..."

Mr. Diderot lightly put his hand on the man's shoulder, "Poor yellows don't do well in extreme cold, sadly... Zippy, was it? Bet he'd be real happy on a sunny beach with lots of sand to dig in, right lil' fella?"

With the owner's permission, he pet Zippy's head. Zippy let out a small shriek in return, vibrating his tail for a short moment, and grabbed Mr. Diderot's sleeve gently, begging for more pets.

At about 10:45 in the morning, the group finally arrived at the temple's giant gates. The temple was surrounded by a clay wall with blue, green, and red lines forming cubic spirals as decoration, giant wooden doors with golden hinges as its sole entrance. Joanne hollered at one of the guards sitting on a watchtower, who signaled at people behind the doors to open them.

The twins were left awe-struck as the doors slowly opened, revealing the ornate temple town, with many orange lanterns connected by wires zig-zagging from the houses where the clerics lived. The temple itself towered over the houses by several stories, topped with a black roof and a gold crescent at its tip. According to Joanne, Khiboreas adored perching on it, though he was absent that day, mere gray skies above it.

As Joanne led the group into the central plaza through the main road, many clerics and monks passed by, welcoming them with warm smiles. A few were sitting in front of their houses absorbed in their craft, whether it was carpentry, sewing clothes, or making clay vases. However, some found it jarring seeing two monks, dressed in traditional dark blue robes with large wooden prayer beads on their necks, soldering electrical components into circuits.

Once they stood in the middle of the plaza in front of the temple, Joanne said, "Like I mentioned, Larya's always open to new tech. Durin' the 8 years I've been hikin', I always see some monks n' clerics play around with circuits, programming n' even buildin' their own computers!"

"Oh ho. Is that you, Jo? I'd recognize that boisterous voice anywhere," said a low, gravely yet feminine voice, prompting Joanne and the rest of the group to turn towards the sound.

From the plaza, they saw a figure walking down the stairs from the temple, wearing a lavender dress with large, puffy sleeves, a fur collar, and wearing many prayer beads. Once the figure got closer, she appeared to be a woman with blonde hair, so light that it looked white from a distance, tied into intricate braids. She had a few wrinkles near her icy grey eyes and on her cheeks, betraying her age. She walked with such poise and dignity that the twins quickly guessed that she must be Larya Nemitz, the Oracle of the temple.

With a gentle grin, Larya looked over the small crowd, put her hands together and said, "Ah, and you brought guests! It's nice to meet you all. Welcome to our humble abode, the Temple of the Mountain Guardian, Khiboreas. May he bless you with wisdom and protection during your journey. I am Oracle Larya, but many children who visit call me Nana."

Behind the sweet smile and words, though, Joanne noticed her eyes looked dark and clouded. "Somethin's heavy on her mind," she thought. Joanne decided to continue with her plans and perhaps talk to her later. After all, she did not want to worry her guests.