The pair made their way down the tunnels. Even the slightest sounds here were magnified eerily. Occasionally, they came upon sections of the tunnel that had collapsed partially. When Aresis saw this, he relaxed a little. “This probably means there’s no wyrm living here right now.”

When they came to a split in the tunnel, they merely had to listen for the sounds of the wolf to determine their way forward. Though the tunnel led in a roughly northerly direction, it was difficult to tell what time it was. Finally, they decided to rest. It wouldn’t be good to accidentally catch up to the wolves. The odd ambient sounds of the ice tunnel continued here. Small cracks from the ice shifting sounded like a mountain being sundered. A persistent scraping sound could be heard, but it was impossible to tell if it came from ahead or behind. Sometimes, Uther fancied he could hear the wind whistling.

“We ought to be very close to the Solari village now,” Aresis said around a mouthful of food as the pair warmed themselves by the fire. “Certainly within a day’s journey, if this tunnel has not led us far astray.”

“How are they able to live within the center of the Great Storm like this?” Uther wondered.

“In the shadow of a mountain,” Aresis explained. “And near an active lava field, bouth of which counteract the effects of the Great Storm somewhat. They also have caves much like your village does, where they grow much of their food. It’s not an easy or comfortable life, but it’s how they have lived for generations, and they aren’t likely to stop. Besides, living in what others consider a wasteland keeps the Harbingers and other tribes at arm's length.”

They considered setting a watch, but both of them were exhausted from travelling and combat. It was a miracle neither of them had taken much damage from the fall, but they were still bruised and sore. They had just settled in to sleep when a sound like stones scraping against each other screeched through the tunnel.

Uther froze. “What was that?”

Aresis scrambled to his feet and began gathering his supplies. “Move quickly,” he whispered. “That was an ice wyrm.”

Uther sprang up and began stuffing his supplies back in his pack. As he did so, the ever-present scratching sound grew louder by the second. Aresis strapped his pack on hastily, leaving several things laying on the ground. He ran over to Uther and put his hand on his shoulder. “Leave them!”

Uther snatched up his pendant and followed Aresis’ example as he began running down the tunnel as fast as he could given the lack of traction. Uther glanced behind them. Something massive was moving toward them quickly through the darkness. The pair ran full tilt, helping each other whenever they slipped. Even so, the ice wyrm gained on them. It shrieked again, shivering the tunnel and making parts of it crack. Bits of snow and ice rained down on Uther’s head as he ran. Then the path started to slope downwards, and Uther could not see where it ended. He stopped and looked behind again. The wyrm was close enough that Uther could feel the cold and heat radiating off of it in waves.

Stolen novel; please report.

“Slide down!” Aresis said, throwing himself down the slope. Just as the wyrm reached out its front claws to snag him, Uther followed suit. He quickly picked up speed, and with Aresis’ staff as their only light, the journey was a disorienting blur of light and dark. Finally, the pair slowed down and slid to a stop. In the distance, Uther thought he could see light. Behind, he could hear the wyrm continuing to chase them, but now they had a more pressing difficulty. They had slid right into the middle of the pack of wolves they had been following. The wolves turned to face the intruders with teeth bared and hackles raised, growling.

Here, Uther knew he could use his atlatl. In one smooth motion, he stood, fit a dart to his weapon, and threw it into one of the wolves. At the same time, Aresis drew his sword and began laying about him at the animals. Surprised at the sudden attack, the half-dozen remaining wolves began to back off. And not a moment too soon, either. The great ice wyrm barreled toward them on the ice, and the pair followed the wolves' example in fleeing.

As they got closer to the light, Uther got a better look at the thing chasing them when he glanced over his shoulder. Like his own wyrms, this one had a long snout with sharp teeth. It also had sharp front claws and a total of six limbs. However, the ice wyrm was at least twice as big as any wyrm Uther tended. It was also broader in the body, with shorter limbs by comparison, giving it a fatter, more grub-like appearance. Still, it was unbelievably fast and was outpacing Uther and Aresis. With each thunderous step, it came closer to snapping one of them up. But now the entrance was near. With one final burst of speed, they burst out of the ice tunnel and into the softly-glowing snow and wicked wind. The ice wyrm pulled up short just outside its tunnel and shrieked one last time before returning to its home. As soon as he returned to the cave, Uther glanced around for the wolves, weapon at the ready. But they were nowhere to be seen.

Uther lowered his weapons and sank to his knees before laying on his back. “Let’s just...rest here for the night.”

Aresis shook his head and began fastening his snowshoes. “Smell the air.”

Obediently, Uther took in a breath. “Smoke?”

“Civilization.”

Uther staggered toward the sources of the smoke carried by the prevailing eastern wind. It didn’t seem that far, and a warm bed was a far more enticing thought than trying to make camp with what supplies they had left. But as he walked, he noticed little things that bothered him. The snow here, though bright and glowing, was also mixed with dirt. And all of the wolf tracks coming from the cave went directly toward the smoke. But if it was the Solari village Aresis had mentioned, they should be able to fend off an attack like that. When Uther pointed these things out to Aresis, he reached out his hand and snatched a sample of snow.

“That’s soot, not dirt.” He drew his sword and increased his pace.

How can such an old man have so much energy? Uther thought tiredly, following in the seer’s footsteps. They crested a hill and looked down to see the source of the smoke.

The smouldering ash is most of what remained of what Uther assumed to be the Solari Village. A few fire-blacked buildings stood here and there, but the overall picture was one of destruction. A fire burned somewhere in the village, giving off a good deal of smoke. And carried by the wind, Uther could faintly hear the sounds of combat.