Jasper shivered as he prodded Dapplegrim further down the path. The little horse neighed and he rubbed her neck reassuringly. “I know this sucks, but we need to keep going. It’s just a little further.” An icy gust of wind buffeted him in the back, spraying small shards of ice on his exposed neck which melted instantly, evaporated by the fires within. Begrudgingly, the little horse plodded forward, slowly catching up to Ihra who waited idly.
Great clouds of steam rose from her stag’s nostrils, quickly swept away by the winds that howled through the narrow chasm. She was huddled close to her mount, trying to preserve her warmth, and Jasper watched her with a touch of worry, knowing she was more affected by the cold than him. “You alright?” he asked.
She nodded stiffly, her usually ruddy lips bordering on blue. “Dandy. This is my favorite type of weather.”
Jasper laughed as their mounts slowly labored through the drifts of snow. “You know, in my world, there was a country nicknamed the Great White North. I think these mountains might give it a run for its money.” He sidled close to her and held out his hand. “Here, give me your hand. I think I might be able to channel some warmth into you.”
She slowly slipped her hand in his, and he closed his eyes, concentrating. The essence flowed through his body, marked by the fires of creation that smoldered in his soul. Carefully, he guided a thin trickle through his arm and down into hers. After a few minutes, her teeth stopped chattering, and the blue receded from her lips, replaced by a rosy glow on her cheeks that was not entirely from the warmth. “Thanks.”
He nodded cheerfully. “No problem, glad it worked. I figured there was like a 50/50 chance it would either warm you or set you on fire from the inside out.”
She playfully punched his shoulder. “Not funny, fire-boy,” but the sparkle in her eyes belied her words. Another gust of wind rushed over them, howling so loud that their voices were carried off deeper into the rift, not even able to travel the short distance between them. Huddling closer over their mounts, they rode on in silence.
It had been a long few weeks since they had parted from Aphora. He wondered how she was doing. The elf must have reached Stryn by now, and would be only a few weeks away from crossing into the west, a land fabled for a death trap for elves. Despite what she had done in Als̆arratu, he didn’t wish for her or her people to die. Absentmindedly, his hands reached into his bag, rooting around until they closed on what he was looking for: the letter she had given him. Reassured he had it, he pushed it back deep within the bag. They were going to need it to get through the citadel that guarded the pass.
After leaving Aphora, they traveled back to Gis̆-Izum. They checked in with the guild, and gave their report, for which the guild paid them well, and purchased the supplies needed for their trip. It turned out that financing your own expedition to another province was crazy expensive; without the gold Torin had given him, Jasper wasn’t sure they could have afforded it.
Before they left, they stopped at the orphanage to check on the two children. In just a few short months, they had grown a couple of inches. It was hard to leave them behind, but they deserved a safety Jasper just could offer them right now. He shifted in his saddle uncomfortably, a tinge of regret eating at him. They’ll be fine, better off than coming with me, to chase cultists who may or may not want to eat my soul. But he couldn’t shake the image of their tearful goodbyes, as they clung to Ihra’s leg.
Another gust of wind slammed into his back, the icy burst temporarily overwhelming his internal warmth. Dapplegrim neighed nervously, edging away from the sides of the narrow corridor. His eyes watered from the cold as he scanned the top of the chasm, looking for any sign of danger. For the last two days now, he had had the feeling that something was following them, something lurking just outside the edges of his vision. No matter how hard he tried though, neither he nor Ihra had managed to catch a glimpse of the mysterious presence.
The heavy clouds overhead slowly grew dark with the coming night, and Jasper cursed as he realized they weren’t going to make it to the citadel. It was a relief, then, when Ihra spotted a small cave dug into the towering cliff side which, on upon inspection, proved large enough to accommodate them and their mounts.
Thanks to his magic, it was easy enough to start a fire. Finally sheltered from the wind, the merry fire soon warmed the small cave as the smell of roasting taters filled the small chamber. It was a simple meal; lacking butter or sour cream to put on them, the roasted potatoes were a bit too dry for Jasper’s tastes, but after two long weeks on the road, he really couldn’t complain. Before falling asleep, he and Ihra blocked the cave’s opening with snow, hopefully hiding them from any prowling predators.
They awoke early in the morning and, after eating the now stone-cold potatoes, unsealed the cavern entrance. Jasper’s heart sank when he saw the footprints outside. The feet were massive, almost like the footprints of humans except for the sheer size and the clear outline of just three toes. Three toes? Human prints, or hooves, I’d understand, but three toes?
Ihra's normally pale face grew - somehow - even whiter as she examined the prints. Standing up hastily, her hands shook as she saddled her mount. “We need to leave, quickly.”
Jasper listened to her, hastening to saddle Dapplegrim and gather their supplies. “What is it?”
“A shalgu, maybe?”
He cocked his eyebrow, waiting for her to go on. “And that is?”
She hopped on her mount, urging Keresh out of the cave. “A type of troll that lives high in the mountains, never venturing out of the snow. They say they prey on unwary travelers, their white fur coats blending so seamlessly into the snow that some believe they have the ability to turn invisible."
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Jasper shuddered as he scanned the large snow drifts that surrounded them, as the sudden realization hit him. They could be all around us. They rode down the road as fast as they could, which was not very fast, thanks to the thick banks of snow that lay across the path. Fall turned fast to winter in the mountains outside of Gis̆-Izum, and a snowstorm three days earlier had left the road barely passable.
Still, as the hours stretched on with no further sign of danger, he began to relax. The winds had calmed down slightly, and a light flurry fluttered down around them, here and there the deep green of pines peaking through the blanket of snow. Thoughts of home floated through his head, as he began humming, “I’ll be home for Christmas….”
Suddenly Dapplegrim reared up on her hindlegs, whinnying in terror. Ihra, who was a little bit ahead of him on the path, hung on for dear life as her hart leapt to the side. A second later, a large boulder smashed into the ground between them.
“Waaarrgh!” A roar echoed through the narrow chasm as a second, smaller rock was launched at them. It smashed into Jasper’s shoulder, the force twisting him painfully as it flung him off Dapplegrim’s back. He landed in the snow, screaming as his shoulder crunched. But he had been in more than a few battles by now. Ignoring the pain, he immediately rolled to his feet, his hands already forming a spell. He managed to fire Shooting Star as another boulder plummeted toward him. The orbs slammed into the boulder, the small explosions doing just enough to knock it off its trajectory, causing it to fall harmlessly to the side.
The ground shuddered, a spray of snow rising into the air as something large landed beside them.
“Waaarrgh!” The creature towered above him, easily ten feet tall if not higher. Shaggy white hair covered most of its body, except for its face, which looked nearly human, and the two spiraling black horns that rose from its head. The creature charged at Jasper, swiping at him with razor-sharp claws.
He rolled beneath the blow, stumbling as he scrambled out of its reach. Turning, he cast his spell again. Shooting Star. Ten small orbs of fire shot at the beast, and he followed it up with Fiery Shackles, unsure if a single spell would be enough to take the fell beast out.
The fiery orbs collided with the beast, hitting him square in the chest, and Jasper watched, in shock, as they simply fizzled. The fiery shackles closed around its legs a moment later, trapping him in place. But the beast simply rolled its shoulders and stepped out of the traps.
Then it laughed. Its booming laughter thundered throw the chasm, reverberating off the walls, as it stepped forward menacingly. A deep sense of fear and despair exuded from the creature as it approached them. “Did you think a candle could stave off eternal winter?” Its voice was grating, almost painful to the ears, and Jasper cast another fire spell as he shrank back. It too fizzled uselessly against the creature’s snow-white fur. And then an arrow buried itself into its chest.
With a roar, it ripped the arrow out, throwing it straight at Jasper, who barely dodged to the side. But as Jasper looked up, he saw the faintest trickle of red on its breast. It bleeds. His hands fell to the side, reaching for his glaive, but found nothing but air. His eyes fell on Dapplegrim, who had bolted a hundred feet down the road, the shalgu in between her and him. There, on her back, he saw the glaive sticking up. “Cover me!” He yelled back to Ihra as he threw himself forward.
As he drew near, the troll swiped its claws at him, nearly clipping him on the shoulder. But its size came with certain drawbacks, and Jasper slipped past the deadly blows, sliding on the slippery snow between its legs. He ran, straining with every fiber of his strength, as he fought through the thick snow to reach Dapplegrim.
But snow was not his natural environment. He had made it no more than half the distance when a blow caught him in the back. He screamed as the sharp claws ripped through his leather armor, shredding them, and digging slightly into his back. It was only thanks to the toughened skin he had gained from his fire immunity that he wasn’t eviscerated. Instead, the force of the blow propelled him through the air, throwing him twenty feet forward.
He landed face-first in the snow, spluttering as he pushed himself up. He heard the creature roar in pain behind him, the sound of heavy impacts tearing into it, as he kept running towards Dapplegrim. Hands closing on the glaive, he tore it out of its holster, spinning to face the creature.
It had fallen behind, its torso now sporting three arrows, the blood staining its once pristine fur. But it quickly closed in on him, screaming in a language he did not recognize. He braced himself for impact, ducking beneath a swing, as he plunged the glaive up into its chest.
It sunk in slightly before coming to a jarring halt as it something hard. Another arrow slammed into the creature’s back as it swung again at Jasper. He barely managed to withdraw the glaive enough to block the blow, but the power behind the blow threw him off his feet. Landing on his back, he rolled to the side just before the creature’s two massive fists slammed into the ground where his head had been.
Jasper ran past the shalgu, slashing at the back of the creature’s leg and drawing another long, bloody wound. The creature charged after him but stumbled as Ihra sunk an arrow deep into the wound that Jasper had created. With a roar, the beast ripped the arrow out, but its leg crumpled as it stepped forward. Finally having a moment to catch his breath, Jasper reached for a spell he had forgotten about. The fiery whip of Scourge of Despair tore through the air. It fizzled harmlessly, but not before making contact. And contact was all that was needed.
An eery howl split the air as three ghosts emerged. Suddenly the tables were turned, as the crippled shalgu desperately tried to fend off its new assailants. A steady hail of arrows fell upon it, passing harmlessly through the specters as Jasper charged at the shalgu, screaming at the top of his lungs. He danced around the wounded beast, careful to keep out of reach of its deadly claws, while the ghosts tore into its flesh, unharmed by its attacks. When the spell ended, the beast lay on the ground, a pool of blood staining the pure white snow.
Jasper leaned against the glaive, breathing heavily as Ihra approached. Adrenaline was still coursing through his veins, dulling the pain, but he knew what was coming.She hopped off her mount, running over to him, worriedly checking his back.“Are you alright?I saw it hit you.”
He nodded his head wearily. “Tis but a scratch,” he quipped. Truthfully, the long claw marks on his back burned like a hell, and he was more than happy to let her bandage them up. Once he was patched up, Ihra insisted on harvesting the tongue and hands of the creature. “Most places will pay a bounty for killing a shalgu.” She gazed longingly at the white fur coat, now stained with blood. “I wish we could skin it - it would sell for a fortune, but…”
“You can’t do it by yourself, and I don’t know how to do it,” Jasper finished for her.
She nodded sadly. “Pretty much.”
The two resumed their trip down the road, and despite the aching wounds in his back, Jasper felt lighter than he had in days, the ominous presence that had haunted them now gone. Still, he wouldn't feel entirely safe until they reached the fortress.