"We need to leave now; we need to find shelter before it becomes dark." Ethan said as he rose lazily to his feet, through whispering, chilly wind. He couldn't feel his ears anymore, he was chilled to the bones, only the part of his body protected by the coat felt the comfort of warmth- it felt like the colder it became outside, the warmer it got inside the coat, but his hands and part of his legs had no such comfort. He looked around him and then realized where they were. It was a sea of white around them and the stream had been in fact frozen but the ice was just melting, leaving various sizes of lumps on the lake. The ground was hard, covered in snow, cold and bland. Snow blanketed the whole area. The trees in the far distance have all become white; he couldn't see any green leaf among the lot, not a single one. Cyclux laid in the sea of white, as though lifeless. "Cyclux!" Ethan shouted and he could hear it echo in the far distance- in the forest of white trees. "We've got to go... before our legs become useless." It took Cyclux some minutes to get on his feet, Ethan handed him a pair of gloves- Lexis had helped pack two pairs -and they started walking towards the white, dense trees. Ethan could feel the wind pick up more steadily as they moved towards the forest. Tiny, fluffy snow started falling and was whipping in their faces in the gale, which was now building. "We should walk faster, so that we can hide under the shade of the trees." Ethan called out, his voice almost drowning in the gale. A blizzard was eminent, but they could not run, the ground was hard and slippery, and the snow and wind kept whipping in their faces. The trees were huge and had thick branches, densely packed with leaves. Ethan could see traces of green, now that they were safely in the woods. The trees had been covered in snow, so that they looked like white leaves in the distance. The forest was so thick, they had to weave through branches and thorns, it was dark too.
"Allitroe!" Cyclux said, through clenched teeth. Branches and thorns around caught fire but were burning softly, enough to provide a little warmth and light.
"There's a village after this forest, we can ask for directions to the ice cave." Cyclux and Ethan studied the map, but they still had no idea how to find their way out of the forest. "We just move south maybe."
"Cyclux... the compass, how does it work?"
"Oh... I have totally forgotten about it, it works with the map."
"Here... have it." Ethan quickly recovered it from the sack. Cyclux collected and open it.
"You will place it wherever the map indicates you are, and make sure the needle points wherever you are going- that is, you will place it on the map in such a way that your destination is always in the north... look at that!" The needle started spinning very fast, and then it stopped and pointed west. "You see, I was right."
"It's pointing west, Cyclux."
"Yeah I know, that was my south... you know looking at it from this other angle."
"Does that even make- let's just go."
The moonlight was seeping through the dense leaves, leaving the forest palely lit, it was hard for the light to penetrate the thick wood. The compass was making a soft tick... tick... sound as they walked in the direction pointed by the needle but it grew louder with every step. They soon crested a small hill, covered in shrubs and snow, they couldn't see the village from there but it was close, the tick tick sound had become very loud and Cyclux said, that suggested their destination was a stone throw away. The wood was still thick but had become less dense above the hill, the openings between trees were wide enough to see the sky. The moon was full tonight and the stars patterned the sky in straight lines, but were partly distorted. Ethan examined the horizon; he could see thick black smoke burning against the moon in the far distance.
"See... something's burning and the fire must have been huge." Ethan pointed in the direction of the smoke, while Cyclux tried to have a glimpse, a huge flame was coming from the village.
"How can something be burning that high...?"
"A way of keeping themselves warm maybe... It could be coming from a huge fireplace."
"I don't think so, it's like they are in danger."
"How do you know that for sure?
"I don't know... I just feel it; I just feel something is wrong." Ethan started weaving his way through the woods, hurriedly and with urgency. Cyclux had to run to catch up with him. The needle pointed north-east now and they followed the direction until they reached an opening, the compass was now sounding annoyingly loud, so Cyclux closed it and it stopped, the village was finally in view. Ethan was right, something was wrong; the village looked like an aftermath of a raid in the distance. "Let's take a closer look." They started jogging towards the village, which was only few kilometers away. Snow had stopped falling and the moonlight covered the whole village, casting shadows here and there. The stars had a straight line pattern, like an assembly of children arranged in rows, but slightly distorted at the middle. Most of the houses had burnt down, some were still burning, the thick, black smoke enveloped the air; despite the cold, it felt warm here. There was a distant cry, it pierced the atmosphere, it pierced Ethan's heart- it was a child's cry, a baby. Ethan ran in the direction it was coming from and he came to an abrupt stop when he saw a child- to his far left -crying beside a dead body, badly burnt beyond recognition. The sight sent chill down his spine. As he walked towards the child, he could hear some rumbling from inside some of the houses.
"Help…! Someone help! Please! Here... Is someone there! Please help!" They must have heard footsteps too, they started calling for help.
"Cyclux! There are survivors!" Ethan picked up the crying child and made his way through the ruins of a house, where someone called for help.
"Wait, you can't go in there... you could pass out. Let me try something." Cyclux told him, as he reached for the door. After few unfruitful attempts, Cyclux was able to direct the fire, which was still burning in some of the houses, away from the village to the icy ground close to the forest.
"Maybe you could just direct snow into the houses to put out the fire, the same way you direct the fire out... you know, snow... in, fire... out, maybe it will be more effective." Ethan suggested.
"And what spell will that be?"
"Well, I don't know... thought, you will figure that out."
"Well, I don't know either..." Cyclux moved from one house to another, wherever there was any slightest noise that suggested someone... or anything was still alive. "Openosa!" He called out from a safe distance. The already burnt doors flung open, some out of their hinges, clouds of smoke billowed from within the houses, escaping into the atmosphere. People escaped too, and soon there were villagers: few men and women, children were more- most of them now orphans.
"We have to leave for the Ice Cave now, they might still come back..." One of the villagers said to Ethan, his face covered in soot and his cloak still smelled of smoke.
"Yes, that is our destination too... What happened here?" Ethan asked him. Ethan could see horror in his eyes, he made a grimace as he replied, whispering as if the enemy was close and only with three words... "Cryptmaw was here." Ethan felt a pit in his stomach, he had to make haste and find the remaining weapons before Cryptmaw finds him.
There were two large truck-like vehicles parked in a low cave, each was large enough to accommodate about thirty people at a time. The only vehicle parked outside has been completely wrecked by the fire. They drove fifty-two kilometers before they got to the ice cave- men, women, children and animals... and whatever was left of their belongings, but were continuously slowed down by the blizzard on the highway. The ice cave was not an actual cave; it was bigger than a cavern in size and as tall as a moderately high hill, but was built to take the shape of a cave. Most part, especially the front was constructed with thick, solid glass, so that it looked like large ice cubes arranged, one on top the other, with an arc-like top. It was built against a mountain and most of the building was blanketed in snow. Ethan wasn't sure what to expect when he saw the name 'ice cave' on the map, but now standing before it, he concluded it's going to be one architectural piece he won't
forget. A thick rectangular slab opened as people approached the entrance, and then closed behind them softly. Fresh air greeted them warmly, Ethan was grateful for being inside the ice cave, it was warm and inviting. Ethan felt he had entered into a museum or an art gallery. There were huge, marble sculptures in the middle of the hall; all painted white; they were monochromatic and amazingly lifelike. There were huge frames on the wall with beautiful pictures; they were pictures of people that have served as members of the governing council of the cult of ice, from one generation to another. Some of them were blinking repeatedly, while others changed their pose; the pictures looked like 3-D imageries, but were photographed in black and white. The floor looked glassy and had a blurry reflection of almost everything in the hall, it was so beautiful. Except for traces of black- like the pictures, the hall was completely white.
"Mr. Ethan... Right?" A tall, slim, hairy man approached Ethan. He looked like he was in his mid-fifties; he wore a white Indian robe and a white, leather slippers. He had a worried look. "Jonathan called me... Welcome to the frozen wastelands." He shook hands with him, "...and Cy-"
"Cyclux... It's Cyclux."
"Alright, Cyclux... you're welcome." He shook hands with Cyclux too, he forced a grin. "I am Isaiah Coldbane, leader of the cult here... please come with me." He said, leading both men through the hall. "The village head of the frozen wood clan told me how much you helped them, we are so grateful. The Prophesy is definitely true." They ascended glass slabs, huge stairs. Another thick slab that served as a door opened- like the one at the entrance. Isaiah's office was simple but posh, it was a shade of black and white, dangling on the wall were portraits of past leaders of the cult- they were as lively as the pictures in the hall. Snow was falling continuously from one side of the ceiling but dissolved completely once it touched the floor. A huge fireplace was at one corner of the room.
"Is that real?" Cyclux was particularly curious; he nodded in the direction of the snow.
"Where do you think the snow is coming from and where does it go." Isaiah Coldbane said, expecting an answer from either of the two men.
"Uses magic to penetrate the ceiling and then the floor maybe..." Ethan answered- not sure if what he said made any sense.
"Hmm... no, I decided to explore a scientific fact: energy is neither created nor destroyed but can be converted from one form to the other, I spelled the same snow ball to drop from the ceiling to the floor, dissolve whenever it touches the ground and then back again- without melting completely and then I decided to add more snow balls later."
"Wow..." Both men almost chorused.
"Mr. Ethan, how can I help you?"
Ethan wasn't sure what to answer, he expected he knows how he can be of help. Cyclux collected the pollen sack and searched for the blank slip Grusav had given him for any cult leader that poses such question. After about ten minutes of searching and blaming Ethan for re-arranging the contents of the sack, he withdrew a blank, white slip.
"Ah, Cyclux... that won't be necessary. I know what you came for, I only want to know what Mr. Ethan wants- why he decided to go on this quest."
"He has my family... He killed my father!"
"Love, vengeance... Are these your drive?"
"Maybe..."
"Please have your seats."
A young woman came in; she was dark and had short gray hair. She was carrying a round glass slab, which she placed before Ethan and Cyclux. She brought them cake and coffee.
"Thank you Linda, how's the preparation going?" Isaiah said to her.
"Very well sire..." She said, before leaving the room.
"We are preparing for Halloween, every cult will be celebrating Halloween but you will experience the best Halloween ever here at the cult of ice."
"Hmmm... this cake says you're right, very delicious." Cyclux said, with a mouthful of cake.
"Mr. Ethan, you don't seem to like coffee or is it this one in particular?" Isaiah asked, Ethan had barely touched his coffee, but he had almost finished the cake.
"I would have loved it with cream and a little sugar."
"Help yourself to some cream and sugar, it's before you already."
"Before me…? What? It was not there before..." Ethan was surprised to see a jug full of cream and some ice cube sugar by the side.
"It has been there Mr. Ethan, you just did not ask." Isaiah smiled. "Please excuse me, I want to see how preparations are coming along."
"I would like more cake with milk shake, instead of coffee." Cyclux said, beaming. Another large piece of cake was on the glassy tray, with milk shake beside it- in the place of coffee.
"I wouldn't mind a mug of warm chocolate, with strawberries." Ethan also said; ready to beat Cyclux at it. The sweet aroma of warm chocolate soon filled their noses.
"I would like-" Cyclux had started, but was interrupted. Isaiah was back and he was wearing a worried look again.
"Ah... good, you got my message. I can see you've helped yourself to more cake and beverages." Isaiah forced a smile, but he could hardly hide his perturbation.
"Something is wrong, isn't it?" Ethan put down his mug of warm chocolate and faced him.
"Mr. Ethan, it was Cryptmaw... the village, it was Cryptmaw."
"Yes, that was what one of the villagers told me- Cryptmaw was there."
"He might come back; he might come back during Halloween celebrations. He almost wiped out an entire village..." Isaiah was now pacing. "I think I would just have a glass of wine." He said, and it was there on the tray that minute, "he has started looking for you, he knows you are getting closer and closer to finish him off. He knows you will need to get to the frozen wood village before the ice cave." He gulped.
"You are not safe then, it's not safe, with all those people here."
"No it's better like this; we can hide under the guise of the celebration, to ease tension. Fire cannot penetrate the ice cave, but we don't know how long it will hold back a dragon's fire, an ashen dragon at that." He said, finishing the content of his glass. He faced Ethan and with urgency in his tone, he said "you have to get going, you have to get to the remaining cults as soon as possible. It's better to face Cryptmaw, prepared and at the dragon's island." Isaiah left them and entered into an inner room. He soon came out with a pair of thick gloves, made of fur, like a pile surface, with a golden bracer attached to it. He wore the gloves for him immediately.
"Alright, it fits in perfectly. I'll lead you through the back of the cave, there's a tunnel, it leads into the woodlands. You have to be careful, Cryptmaw's spies are everywhere. The woodlands could be very dangerous, werecats are always lurking around the forest; wait for your escort at the edge of the forest- elves." Isaiah looked at both men earnestly, "I've sent a letter to the cult leader through the veron paper yesterday, I got his reply few minutes before you came, there's a standby patrol of elves to escort you. Linda will follow you, she knows how to signal to them, she will make sure you arrive the fort safely before she returns."
They descended the glassy stairs and were met by Linda at the foot. They turned into the shadows of the stairs, under it, where a small steel door was well hidden. Isaiah opened the lock with a tiny silver key and gestured to Linda, Ethan and Cyclux to enter. They all squeezed their way through until they were safely on the other side. "Linda will lead you from here, this place leads straight to the back of the cave, this key will open the small steel door that leads to the tunnel (he handed the tiny key to Linda). Please remember the instructions, if you need anything, please ask Linda." Isaiah said, his face obscured in the shadows of the stairs. They started off towards the tunnel, as Linda led the way. "Mr. Ethan... thank you. Isaiah finally said, before shutting the door behind them. The room became dark- very dark and very damp.
"Allitroe," Linda said, softly. She brought a wand-like torch, glowing brightly at the tip. It looked like a tiny flashlight. It gave enough illumination for the three of them. After about half an hour, they saw a similar steel door like the one under the stairs. L
inda inserted the key in the lock, and they were soon in a tunnel, which was cold; frozen water was on the walls, it was very dark too. They could hear crunching sounds of ice beneath their boots; ice was almost everywhere- on the walls and floors. They walked on and on in the tunnel, which was more than twice the length of the dark room that led them to it. The frozen walls were soon replaced by damp walls, and there was water on the floor, dissolved ice, flowing into a shallow stream at the end of the tunnel, and ahead was the forest.
CULT OF FOREST
They walked across the stream, the water was reaching their ankles and their boots were almost soaked in water, when they got to the other side, which extended into the forest. The terrain of the forest was steepish, they had to use tree branches, which extended above the stream, to climb into the forest. The stars maintained their pattern and the moon was still full, covering the entire area with a pale light, which seeped through the thick forest. They started walking deep into the forest. There was a tiny path they could follow.
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