Perhaps the commander became too empathetic with him. He didn’t see a snake leaping towards his face. Commander Evar chopped a snake, in air, leaping at his direction. The snake had gulped musician down already, leaving no room for further empathy.

Snake big enough to swallow them had now began crawling on cliff slope. None of those creatures gave interest in them. Evar knew where it was heading to.

Oh Saer! Commander Evar sighed.

While the commander and his guards were stopping snakes from creeping at Saer, he had made it past the turning.  The snake on cliff stretched itself in lightening speed and caught a soldier by his head. Saer heard his scream through the enclosed snake mouth.

Saer drew his sword to free the man.

"Leave him." A guard changed tried to change his mind. 

Two giant snakes coming from the same direction ended any chance of helping out others. But Saer drawing his sword didn’t go in vain. He sliced a snake like butter and left it wriggling on trail till it slipped from the great height.

Pythons coiled themselves on cliff above them then plucked people one by one. One of them even aimed at Saer but found his sword between its eyes in return. Saer's sword was slipping from with his grip every time he used it due to slime and blood from the venomous creatures.

Behind him were just two men with Commander Evar and the violinist to be found nowhere. After taking few steps on stairs, he heard Commander Evar's torn voice from the turning, "Help him climb."

People behind Saer gave pushes to his pot.

Saer was climbing the stairs with all of his limbs like an animal. At least it was preventing him to trip. He felt less force in shoves he was getting. Swirling back, he saw a man who had become victim of a starving python.

From where Saer was, the sight of trail being covered by small snakes was discomforting. Bites of those snakes could also be fatal.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The person who came to help Saer, then, was none other than Commander Evar himself. Saer jabbed a snake's head leaping at his direction by the sword he had.

"How many are in there?" Saer bellowed.

"How many steps do you still have to climb?" Commander Evar snapped in return.

Saer didn’t require any support to climb from there. He was almost up. 

The moment his palms touched cliff edge, he leapt and took a landing on yielding snow with his front body. Two of the survivors came there in a same way. Commander Evar gave Saer his hand and heaved him to safety. At that time Saer had left his feet loose but despite of all the weight suspended, Evar pulled him up.

Hissings didn’t end. They didn’t even reduce by any standard. Heads of snakes started to surface from the edges. Climbing for snakes was the same no matter they were on tree or snow.

"Wait!" Saer grasped the stick which a soldier had used to clear the snow.

"What are you doing? Just run already."

Saer didn’t listen to him. He pounded the rock solid ice by the stick's tip. Cracks appeared there in just two hits.

A python's was near to make it to the top. Half of its body was out. 

Saer jammed the stick on ice and used it as a lever just like he had seen the guard do. The big chunk of ice left its ground and crumbled down, collecting more snow as it rolled.

Entire hill vibrated from base to apex while the sheet of loose ice swallowed everything coming in its way.

"You caused an avalanche underneath us." Commander Evar pulled Saer.

"Otherwise they would have made it to here." Saer gasped.

"These snakes can't breach the castle gate." Commander Evar's skin was reddening.

"We couldn’t have made it to castle gate. I guess our lord can pardon us for our little mischief."

"You did it." Commander said, loosening his grip on Saer's attire, "And I don’t care if he pardons you or not."