Silently, Pale motioned for Kayla to follow her, and the two of them silently crept out of the cave. As they drew closer to the exit, Pale was finally able to make out the voices from earlier.

"-Sure they're here? The tracks faded a while back…"

"Where in the three hells else would they go? This is the only shelter around for miles. The snow may have covered their tracks, but they don't know this land like we do."

The talking soon devolved into bickering as the bandits fought among themselves. Pale shifted, pressing her weapon's stock against her shoulder, then began to carefully push out from inside the cave, Kayla following a few steps behind her. The snowfall had intensified even further from when they had sought refuge in the cave; between the falling specks of white and the steadily-encroaching dusk, visibility had dropped to near-zero. Despite this, Pale kept moving, seeking cover higher up in the mountains.

The two of them moved over the rocks as carefully as they could, taking care not to disturb any of them for fear of alerting the bandits. Pale couldn't tell how many there were; from the different voices in their group, she counted at least four, maybe five. Ballistic weapons or not, she didn't like the odds of taking on five people in open combat with just herself and Kayla to oppose them.

And so, they continued to climb the mountain. Pale shivered the entire time, the frigid air cutting her to the bone even through her thermals. The temperature had fallen in the hours since they'd set up in the cave, and now even her high-tech clothing wouldn't be enough to save them forever.

Eventually, however, they reached a flat point in the side of the mountain where they could rest. Pale helped Kayla up the edge, and the two of them laid there, panting from exertion. Despite the cold, Pale wiped sweat from her brow, hefting her weapon to her shoulder once more as she peered over the sheer expanse. Through the snow and the darkness, she was just able to make out a few faint shapes milling about.

"Is it safe down there?" Kayla whispered through chattering teeth.

Pale shook her head. "Doesn't seem like it. Hopefully, they won't find the cave – if they do, they're going to keep looking for us. Our only hope is that they'll get cold and call off the search before then."

"Unlikely…" Kayla muttered. "Berserkers like that come from the far north. They're used to cold like this, if not worse. If anything makes them leave, it won't be the weather."

Pale couldn't help but scowl. She looked over the cliff face once more, then shook her head.

"Then I guess we have a choice to make."

"Which is…?"

"We sit here and hope that they don't find anything and leave before we freeze to death, or we throw caution to the wind and take the fight directly to them in order to reclaim our impromptu shelter."

Kayla paled at that. "...I don't like either option."

"Neither do I. The weather is a problem no matter which one we take – either it kills us outright or it affects us to the point where our combat effectiveness starts to drop like a stone. In any case, we're going to need to make a decision fast."

"You're the soldier. What do you think we should do?"

Pale was about to respond, but was cut off by a sudden flurry of excited shouts and movement from down below. She cast another glance down at the cave, and listened in to what the bandits were saying as best as she could. Most of their speech was drowned out by distance and wind, but it soon became irrelevant, as one of the bandits held up the remnants of two military rations, then pointed up towards the mountain. As Pale watched, the rest of the bandits – all five of them – began to climb up towards them. Her expression narrowed as she watched the berserkers steadily claw their way up the rocks, steadily inching closer with every passing moment.

"Looks like they made my decision for me," she announced, hefting her weapon.

"Ah…! What are we doing?!" Kayla asked in a hushed voice.

Pale leaned over the side of the cliff, centering her shotgun's sights on the head of the nearest bandit. He was about thirty meters away; at this distance, she couldn't miss.

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"Pick a target," she said without looking back. "Wait for my command before conjuring anything."

Kayla let out a small whimper at what she was about to do, but didn't offer any argument, instead stacking up alongside Pale. She took a breath to calm herself, then raised a hand, but held back on conjuring any magic, instead merely keeping it outstretched. Pale watched as the bandit she'd aimed at drew closer, until finally, it happened – he locked eyes with her, and his expression tightened into one of surprise. He opened his mouth to yell something to his comrades.

A shell full of buckshot silenced him before he got the chance. In that moment, Kayla opened up with a spell, sending a streak of lightning arcing across the mountain and into the chest of the nearest berserker. The man convulsed as electricity danced across his body, but then limply fell backwards, his body blackened and smoking.

For a split-second, there was silence, punctuated only by the sound of Pale racking her shotgun. She went to take aim at the next target, but a large bolt of lightning came soaring towards her from farther down the mountain. A small, surprised gasp escaped from her as she fell back, the lightning missing her by mere millimeters, passing close by enough that it made the hair on her head stand up. The spell discharged into the rock above, sending bits of stone and dirt raining down on the two of them and littering them with small cuts and bruises, but otherwise leaving them unhurt.

"Kayla, you take that side!" Pale shouted as she approached the edge of the stone. "Keep yourself safe!"

"W-what?!" Kayla called back. "What are you doing?!"

"Getting you some breathing room!" Pale said to her as she swung herself over the edge, then began to roll down the side of the snow-covered mountain. Bits of jagged rock tore at her body as she fell, but she paid it no mind. Back behind her, she heard claps of thunder echo through the mountains, a sign that Kayla was still fighting.

That wouldn't matter if Pale didn't take care of the berserker mage, however.

As that thought passed her mind, another bolt of electricity came arcing from their cave, up towards Kayla. Pale came to a stop not far away, then jumped to her feet with her weapon at the ready, a pang of pure rage barely suppressed in her mind as she surged forwards.

There were no other berserkers on this part of the mountain, at least that she could see, which had to mean that the mage was alone. Pale sprinted for the cave, double-timing it in order to get there before something could happen to Kayla. More lightning flew through the night, marking the mage's spot, and before long, she closed in on him.

Just as she got there, however, a wall of fire erupted between herself and him. She stumbled, barely managing to catch herself before running directly into the flames. Through the smoke and crimson blaze, she was able to make out a man dressed in a combination of berserker furs and a tattered gray cloak, grinning a yellowed-toothed grin at her through a shaggy salt-and-pepper beard. He went to say something, but Pale stopped him with a barrage of shotgun pellets slam-fired from her weapon as fast as she could operate the pump. To her dismay, however, a barrier of some kind sprang up between the two of them, shielding the mage from any harm.

Her shotgun clicked empty, and Pale let it dangle from her sling, instead pulling out her .45. She went to take aim at the mage, but was unprepared for him to suddenly surge forwards, a manic shout escaping him as he passed through his own flames, completely uncaring of how they lapped at him as he sprinted by. Her eyes widened in shock as she was forced backwards, her pistol barking as fast as she could pull the trigger, but to no avail – that same barrier from earlier prevented any of her shots from landing, the bullets harmlessly bouncing off onto the ground below for every round fired.

Finally, the slide locked back on her handgun, and Pale was forced to try and reload. The mage kept coming, however, even as she scrambled backwards over snow and rocks. Eventually, though, she made a mistake, tripping over a large rock and falling backwards, her handgun slipping from her grip and sliding several yards away. She made a vain attempt to fumble for it, but the mage got their first. With strength unexpected from a man his age, he wrapped one hand around her throat and hoisted her into the air, holding her face-to-face with him. Pale gasped for breath, her legs flailing uselessly as the life was choked out of her. The berserker's manic grin widened, and he tightened his one-handed grip, then brought his off-hand around, sparks already dancing across his fingertips.

Out of desperation, Pale yanked the combat knife from her belt and flailed wildly with it, hoping only to free herself. Her desperate plan worked; the man let out a loud, pained shout as a deep gash was opened in his arm, and his grip loosened just enough for Pale to shake herself free. She landed in a heap on the ground, then jumped to her feet just in time for the mage to shake off his wound. She had cut a deep gouge in the side of his arm, deep enough to expose the white of his bone to the elements, but from the sight of things, all that had really done was anger him even more. In that moment, she realized something.

That barrier, whatever it was, must have been designed to withstand projectile attacks from a distance rather than a direct close-range strike.

She didn't get much time to focus on this new discovery, however – he glared at her, gritting his teeth as the blood dripped from his arm onto the snow below; Pale, for her part, held his gaze, and dropped into a combat stance as she switched her hold on the blade to a reverse grip. The two of them began to circle each other, each waiting for the other combatant to move, both of them eyeing their opponent up and down the entire time.

Pale saw the signs of an incoming attack before it even arrived – the subtle tensing of his leg muscles gave it away before he even knew what he was doing. When he surged forwards, his hands engulfed in fire, she was ready; she sidestepped the incoming attack, then lashed out with her blade once more, scoring another deep slash through the man's arm, this time in the underside. He let out a grunt as he reeled back from the hit, his arm now dangling uselessly in front of him. Idly, Pale realized she must have just severed its tendon, preventing him from using it any further.

She didn't get a chance to dwell on this fact for long, as the mage raised his other arm and launched a bolt of lightning at her, forcing her to jump behind a nearby rock to avoid being electrocuted. She didn't stay there for long, though – he launched several more consecutive bolts of lightning towards her impromptu cover, trying to flush her out as he closed in on one side. Pale didn't take the bait, though – she rushed the side he was pushing just in time to shove the blade forwards, and for her efforts, she was rewarded with a dull thunk as steel met flush. The mage immediately froze, looking down at the knife as it jutted out of his stomach, blood blossoming out from around it and steadily staining his clothes a deep crimson. He gave a shuddering gasp, then fell to his knees, Pale merely yanked the knife out from his gut, and was about to slam the blade into his carotid artery to finish him off when someone grabbed her from behind, stopping her. Pale's heart skipped a beat, and she very nearly rounded on whoever it was before Kayla's voice met her ears.

"Don't. There's been enough death for now."

Pale paused, then chanced a look back. Kayla was standing there, her eyes wide and dull as she shivered, her outfit covered in dirt and blood, none of it her own. She pulled her hand off Pale's, bringing it around to huddle herself. Pale stared at her for a moment, then looked back up at the cliff's edge where she'd been left.

Several bodies, charred beyond the point of recognition and still smoking, marked a trail up to Kayla's side.

Reluctantly, Pale pursed her lips, then nodded, sheathing her knife. "...Fine. But if we're keeping him alive, then I'm going to find out what he knows before we turn him loose. I think it's time we got some answers from someone."

Kayla's only response was to wordlessly nod.