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Chapter 4:  A Sleigh Ride

On the sled, Draya and Jasper held on for dear life.

“Stand up,” Psycho ordered, his vertical stance on the wooden planks never wavering despite the drastic turns and bends Snowy took as they raced along the narrow winding path. Snow and ice flew in their faces, and the biting cold wind even began to affect Draya, but Psycho stayed focused.

Once they traveled a short distance through the trees, the valley stretched out before them. Snowy made a sharp turn, so the steep descent fell away to their right as the woods stayed thick to their left. At any moment, Draya expected a giant werewolf to leap out of the trees and tackle them out of the sled, but she responded to Psycho’s request anyway, tentatively rising to her feet. She didn’t have the Dexterity of the elf and struggled to maintain her balance.

“They will come from behind and the left,” the ranger said. “I can’t cover both sides. When you see movement, fire. Don’t hold back.”

“They can come from the front as well,” Jasper said, only slightly emerging from his cowering position on the bottom of the sled.

Psycho looked that way and was impressed by Snowy’s speed. Perhaps the ordinary wolves could outpace a reindeer pulling a sled full of people and get in front of it, but he hoped Snowy was faster. “Let’s hope you continue to be wrong about what we should expect,” Psycho replied.

Wolves appeared first from behind, galloping on all fours in pursuit. Psycho aimed and let fly. Surprisingly, he missed. Draya gasped. “You never miss.”

“Stay focused on the trees,” he replied, shaking his head and refocusing. He felt the jostle of the sled, saw the uneven gate of the human-shaped monsters hunched over, and knew the creatures had stealth abilities in the growing darkness. He probably only saw them because of his link to Snowy. She had eaten one, and their scent must be strong on the wind. He must have half a dozen banes inhibiting his shot.

Psycho used the link with the wolf pulling the sled, sensing each turn and jump she would take. Drawing another bead on one of the distant wolves, he aimed again. Snowy told him a smooth section of track lay ahead, and the archer timed his shot perfectly. A werewolf crumpled to the ground, tripping its companions until they forced the dead creature off the path and down into the valley. The ranger prepared another arrow when a wave of fire washed over him, burning him badly.

“Sorry,” Draya whimpered. “I missed.”

“You hit the sled?” Psycho asked, not believing the mage was that bad a shot, but then he looked to the left side of the trail and saw a charred, flaming tree receding behind them. She had tried to shoot between the trunks but had hit the first available pine, and the fireball had exploded outward from only six feet away.

“Switch it up,” he said. “You launch fireballs out the back. I’ll shoot the trees.” The two shifted in the small sled, and soon, the night was lit up by fireworks every six seconds as howls of burning wolves serenaded their ears.

The creatures weren’t stupid and shifted to their left to run within the protection of the trees. Psycho could barely distinguish the wolves running behind and alongside them, grey fur flashing in the night between tree trunks. He hit a few, but no kill shots. They needed a better strategy.

A thunderous roar filled the valley behind them, and Psycho feared an even more formidable beast was in pursuit. Instead, he watched as a significant section of the mountainside slid into the valley, building speed and taking even more snow and rock.

An avalanche. Draya’s fireballs had melted enough snow that a tremendous wave had descended the mountain behind them. Psycho contemplated this as he saw the wolves flashing through the trees only a few seconds behind them. The trunks barely slowed them, and unlike Snowy, they didn’t have a sled to drag behind them.

the massive wolf reported.

“How far can you launch those fireballs?” Psycho asked.

“About 250 feet,” Draya said. “But I can boost that if I use my own mana.”

“Good,” Psycho said. “Use it all. I need you to throw a fireball up at an arc over . . .” he scanned the tops of the trees ahead of them, “ . . .there.” he pointed. “Just to the right of that dead pine.”

“You want me to hit the tree?”

“No,” the elf corrected. “Just launch it into the air so it comes down amidst the trees.”

“What are you trying to do?” Jasper asked. He had crept up to his knees to peer over the side of the sled once the fire and arrows stopped flying. He saw the wolves hot on their heels just inside the trees.”

“I’m trying to keep you alive. You should be happy. Now stay down.” The elf shoved him back to the floor of the sled.

Draya trusted the ranger and aimed her staff in the direction he indicated.

“Hurry up,” Psycho pleaded. “The timing on this is critical.”

Draya released the spell through the staff, feeling all of her mana rushing with it. She had an endless supply of dragon fire, but if she wanted to make another illusion, it would take a while to recharge. They watched the fireball grow smaller as it arched over the distant trees and disappeared. They waited a few seconds, and then Psycho felt the tremor he wanted.

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The elf focused on the path ahead and saw they were only moments from reaching the U-turn in the trail where the valley ended, and the two mountains came together. Instead of gently rising to meet the union, the valley turned into a deep crevice with sheer walls on either side.

“You need to dig deep, girl,” Psycho told the wolf. “We need to hit that turn before . . . look out!”

The chief werewolf had overtaken them and now stood directly in their path. It usually wasn’t a good idea to stand in the way of 400lbs of fur and muscle barreling down on you, but Psycho felt this werewolf could probably take the hit. Snowy couldn’t stop on the icy track, and turning right was death at the bottom of a gorge. Left into the trees wasn’t much better, but it was the only option.

Pine needles tore at Psycho, and a sturdy limb nearly knocked him from the sled. He dropped to the floor to join Jasper as he heard dozens of branches scraping against the sides of the sled as Snowy wove in and out of the trees, moving up the slope instead of parallel to it. They heard the growl of the chief werewolf to their right as he turned and resumed the chase. To their left came multiple howls as the wolves were only a few feet away from their prey.

However, to Psycho’s sensitive ears, another building sound threatened to overwhelm all the others. The avalanche was coming, and they were driving right toward it. He knew this detour into the woods would slow them enough that there was no way they would make the turn before the cascading snow reached them.

“Help!” Jasper cried. “They have me!”

Psycho looked down and saw that one of the pursuing wolves had latched a hand onto the human’s ankle and was dragging him from the sled. Psycho didn’t have an angle to shoot his bow, but Draya took care of business, stabbing the butt of her staff into the werewolf’s face and releasing a single blast of fire. The wolf tumbled out of view, taking several of its friends with it.

“Snowy,” Psycho pleaded. “You need to turn back to the valley. We need to get out of the trees.”

she replied.

“Draya and I will handle him.”

The wolf trusted the ranger and turned back down the slope, allowing her to pick up a little speed. This gave the characters a better view to look back up the mountain out of the back of the sled, and they didn’t like what they saw.

“What is that?” Jasper screamed.

The wall of snow was only fifty feet behind them, swallowing everything in its path, tearing out trees and rocks that dared stand in its way. The smaller werewolves had picked themselves up and were in the chase again, but they were swallowed on by one as the wall of snow devoured everything.

“Eyes up front!” Psycho ordered. Jasper didn’t move and continued screaming at the wave coming ever closer to them, but Draya obeyed. She and Psycho turned their back on the avalanche, nipping at their heels, and focused their eyes ahead. The edge of the trees was only a few dozen feet away, the narrow gorge behind it. But before they could reach it, the chief stood again in their path.

“Left,” Psycho said just loud enough for Draya and Snowy to hear.

The wolf understood and played chicken with the massive werewolf until the last second, and they veered left. The chief would still be able to reach out and grab the sled, but Psycho put an arrow through his chest, and Draya followed it up with a fire blast to the face. The chief impressively saved against the Death Shot, leaving him only Stunned, significantly impairing his ability to save against the fire. The attack launched him into a thick tree, and the sled passed him by without issue. The werewolf was still alive, but a second later, he was swallowed up in the rush of snow behind them.

Snowy pulled the sled out of the trees and onto the path at a right angle. She had no chance to turn, and to do so would mean instant death from the avalanche behind them. Instead, she dug her claws into the slick path, took two galloping steps, and leaped with all her strength.

The wave of snow and rubble kissed the sled’s runners, hitting the edge of the gorge at the same time. But while the wolf and sled went up, the avalanche went down into the chasm. This close to the end of the valley, the span was only fifty feet, but Psycho could see they wouldn’t make it. “Jump!” he cried, grabbing Draya’s hand and leaping with her. Her Dragon Strength, combined with his Dexterity, catapulted them forward. Snowy let go of the dead weight right before they pushed off, so the negative momentum transfer didn’t affect her flight.

The elf and woman cleared the gap and hit the icy ground hard, rolling to absorb the blow and distance themselves from the drop-off. Snowy landed next, her body hitting the lip, but she clawed and scrapped her way up. Finally, the sled crashed in, its two runners smashing into the chasm’s edge. Jasper was curled up inside toward the front, so the balance of the sled wanted to rock up onto the ledge, but the wooden carriage split in two, and the bottom half fell into the gorge. This left the human with almost nowhere to sit. His legs dangled over the air below him, and he gripped firmly to the front half of the sled. The shift in momentum caused the front half to wobble backward and start to slide.

“Help!” the man cried, his voice barely audible above the avalanche roar behind him hurtling into the chasm. “Help me!”

Snowy recovered her sense and balance just in time to turn and bite down on the bridle again, halting the fall of the broken transport. She started to pull it up, but the wood split further where the ropes tied in, and the wolf was moments from holding a detached bridle in her mouth with the sled falling away.

“No!” Jasper cried, the crushing sound of the avalanche below and behind him adding to his frantic antics. “Don’t pull!”

Snowy slackened her grip, and the sled slid further into the chasm. “No, I mean pull, but don’t move.”

The wolf cocked her head in confusion. Draya and Psycho picked themselves up and wandered over to the edge to observe this perilous situation. The avalanche across the gap was nearly spent. Only a few rocks and broken trees bounced down the sheared mountain face. They each peered over into the gorge and laughed.

“Come on, Snowy,” Psycho said. “We need to continue. Let him go.”

“No!” he shouted. “You can’t let me die. You will be kicked . . .”

Snowy obeyed the ranger and released the harness. Jasper screamed again, kicking his legs as he and the sled topped over the edge. The scream ended half a second later as his feet hit snow only two feet below, and the remains of the sled fell harmlessly beside him. Jasper didn’t understand what had happened. He patted the snow around him to make sure it was real and then turned to look up at the southern mountain. His eyes followed the rubble path down the slope’s side and underneath him. The avalanche had almost filled the gorge, leaving only an eight-foot ledge on the far side he had been dangling from.

“That isn’t funny!” he shouted, struggling to sit so he could look up at his companions. “I could have died.”

“But you didn’t,” Draya said. “We will keep you alive. Come along now, and let us do our job.” Without warning, she released a fire attack that hit the ground beside him. He recoiled from the magic but then saw the charred hand of a werewolf sticking up from the snow that had tried to grab him.

Jasper had no witty comeback for that and scrambled over to a broken tree jutting out of the snow that allowed him to climb to the higher ground. Only then did he notice he had lost his sword and shield in the chase. He had entered this module with few items, not wanting to waste any if he died. Now, he was genuinely helpless and at the NPCs’ mercy. He hurried after them.