As Winter Spawns

by Jason Hamilton

  Seph was shaking his head by her side. She looked at him, tilting her head to silently ask him what he thought.

  He gave her a look that clearly communicated he did not like the idea. But what he said was, “Jak, I trust you. I don’t like it, but I trust you. Just...try not to get killed. Vander might not hold back.”

  “Indeed,” said Yewin. “I think it’s likely that he will try to kill you, Jak, even with the respect he had for Karlona.”

  Jak nodded, slowly. “Then I will live on as a martyr, and someone else will finish my job for me.”

  Seph closed his eyes, and a single tear ran down his cheek. For the first time, Jak faltered in her plan. She was willing to die if she thought it would save the group, but could she really do that to Seph? Yet if Seph really didn’t want it, why wouldn’t he fight against her plan? He must truly trust her.

  “We still haven’t addressed the issues of food, or the portals.” Skellig pointed out. “What good will any of this do if we can’t eat, or if Cain comes here himself to destroy us all?”

  Jak faced the major. “One problem at a time, Skellig. But if we can create new shelters using the ice, or take control of the caves, we can attempt at an aggressive expansion of the mushroom crops. Mushrooms grow quickly, so perhaps there would be a chance for many if not most of us to survive.”

  “And the portals?” Skellig raised an eyebrow.

  Jak faltered. “We’ve talked about this. If they open one direction, they could also serve as a doorway back to Earth. Then we’d have a chance at retrieving the Pillars of Eternity and fixing all the other problems we have.”

  “Yes,” Skellig said, “but we also discussed the problems with that theory. If we were to end up on the other side, we’d run straight into Cain, or whoever is opening those portals.”

  Jak nodded, “There is one species of Fae that would make that problem less of an obstacle.”

  Comprehension dawned on Skellig’s face. “The Shadow Elves.”

  Jak nodded. “They are crucial for all of this to work.”

  For once, Skellig looked convinced. She put her hands on her hips and stared at the ground. “Alright. Then I suggest we get the word to him sooner or later. You’ll need to present your challenge to him directly.”

  “I know,” said Jak. “I guess I’ll just need some time to get ready.”

  The others nodded. Bretton simply said. “We’ll remain here for the time being. We should be able to…” he broke off, turning to look at the barrier. Several of the other Ice Fae also stopped what they were doing, their arms hanging loosely at their sides rather than expelling that frost-like substance at the barrier.

  “What is it?” asked Jak. She wasn’t ready to fight Vander just yet.

  “They’ve stopped,” said Bretton. “I can’t feel the ice melting anymore.”

  Jak tiptoed closer, till she was facing the ice barrier. There was some kind of muffled sound coming from inside. Talking maybe? It was hard to make out with the ice in the way. She stepped closer, reaching out to glide her fingers across the chilled surface of the ice. She almost jerked her hands back instantly. The barrier was intensely cold. Had she stuck her tongue on the surface, it would have almost certainly frozen in place. Even so, she leaned in so that her ear was close to the solid ice. Yes, there were certainly sounds of...something going on inside.

  “I was wondering when this would happen,” said Yewin in a matter-of-fact tone. He didn’t seem at all concerned that the gnomes had stopped what they were doing. “Melting all that ice would likely cause a remarkable increase in, not only melted water, but also humidity. And the pressure is probably rising too, since the entrance is completely blocked off.”

  “Pressure?” Skellig asked, raising an eyebrow at Yewin.

  “Yes, well you see when something like air heats up, it expands. I’ve seen this demonstrated with bags of hot air. From an alchemist who visited our village. The hotter they get, the more full they look. But trap that expansion, and it increases the pressure. Add humidity to the mix, and too much of it could become unpleasant.”

  “You mean, if we maintained the barrier…” said Skellig.

  “They would not be able to try again until the air cooled. Though if the seal is truly air-tight, I imagine they would suffocate first.”

  For a moment, Jak turned away from the ice to look at both Skellig and Yewin. The suggestion was there, if not blatant. One solution to the problem of the Fae would be to just let them die from lack of air. But to their credit, no one suggested this. But Skellig thought it, that much Jak could tell from the uncomfortable stare they exchanged.

  No, suffocation was not an option. Jak’s friends were in there, Amelia, Perchel, Girwirt, and she couldn’t let them die just to rid themselves of Vander and the problems he brought with him. Though whatever was going on inside seemed more heated than a simple conversation. Was there some kind of internal dispute happening? Maybe the others were finally refusing to follow Vander.

  But there was another sound she could barely make out as well. This one didn’t sound like any human or Fae she could think of, a low hissing sounds, much like…

  Jak pushed herself away from the barrier just as the edge of a glowing disk cut partially through it, leaving a thin and perfectly flat line through the ice.

  “The portals are back,” she called as another appeared partially embedded in the stone above their heads. Jak shielded her head with both arms as bits of debris rained down on her.

  “Everyone retreat away from the caves,” Skellig called. She didn’t have to say it twice. They all moved back a short distance. But this time it appeared that the portals were not appearing in the camp itself. Not like the first time they had witnessed the phenomenon. This one was more centrally located within the mountain itself, and possibly within the caves.

  They each continued to take a few steps back, but no one ran. Another portal appeared just in front of the cave entrance. This one remained for longer than most. And through it fell a dark shape, collapsing on the rocky ground beneath just as the portal closed.

  The shape rose onto its arms and legs, and a pair of beady eyes turned to face them. It bared a row of sharp teeth.

  A demon.

  Each of them reacted instinctively. Skellig lit fire in her palms. Yewin dipped into a defensive stance and began to glow brighter. Rael, the troll took two steps forward from where he had been watching in the back.

  But Bretton reacted first. With a pushing motion of his hands, he sent a jet of cold air at the demon. The wave of frost energy rammed into the demon, and it hurtled backward just as another portal opened in the space it had just occupied.

  Bretton’s magic now rammed into the newly formed portal. And it held.

  The most Jak had seen these portals remain open was for two or three seconds. Never longer. But as Bretton’s magic connected with the shimmering disk, it remained in place. Bretton blinked and resumed a normal stance, his arms dropping, his magic extinguished.

  More demons suddenly began pouring out of the portal. First one, then another. Soon there were four demons facing them. But, mere seconds after Bretton had stopped using his magic, the portal collapsed in on itself.

  Bretton had somehow managed to hold the portal open for a time. Could his magic not only have a dominion over the cold, but also grant him the ability to freeze something as mystical as a portal?

  Jak didn’t have much time to think. The other four demons advanced on them. But they were up against staggering odds. Between Bretton’s frost, and Skellig’s fire, the demons were dead before any of the others could have even approached the monsters.

  When it was all over, Jak turned to Bretton. “Did you know you could hold open a portal like that?”

  “I had no idea,” said Bretton, looking down at his hands as though realizing that there was more to his power than his instincts had told him.

  “There may be demons inside the caves,” said Yewin, still tense.

  Skellig wav
ed a hand. “If there are, the Shadow Elves will make short work of them.”

  “Eventually, but most of the others would not have a clear defense against demons while they’re cramped inside.”

  Jak looked back at the icy barrier that kept the Fae inside the caves. “Yewin’s right. We need to help.”

  “But the Ice Fae just put all that work into closing up the entrance. We can’t expect everyone inside to just assume we’re there to help. Vander will think we’re taking advantage of the chaos.”

  A muffled shouting came from inside the cave.

  “They’re under any threat,” said Jak. “There isn’t much time.”

  “Help them,” said a voice from between them. A form materialized out of thin air, a Shadow Elf. It was Viona, one of the Shadow Elves that had escaped on this side of the rocks. Everyone around her tensed and Skellig reactivated the flames in her hands. But they did not move. The elf looked at them all before settling her eyes on Jak. “Help them, and I will convince Vander to hear your challenge.”

  Jak gave her the slightest nod before turning to Rael. “Can you get us in?”

  Rael did not give a reply, other than taking several large strides to the ice barrier and hammering at it with one rocky fist. A large crack appeared across the surface. With a second fist against the ice, the barrier shattered entirely.

  Jak could clearly hear the chaos they had only heard as muffled cries before. There were screams inside, and a handful of gnomes immediately began running out of the caves the moment they realized what had happened, brushing off shards of ice as they went.

  Jak waved Bretton, Yewin, and Skellig forward. Together, they entered the caves.

  With the open entrance, and Yewin created a little more light to see by, they spotted no less than three demons, spread throughout the caves. One was kicking and thrashing as it fought uselessly against a pair of Shadow Elves, two knives already embedded in its chest.

  The other two were across the caverns, swinging their clawed arms at a defenseless group of gnomes and dwarves. She scanned the mass of screaming Fae around the demons, Jak thought she saw Girwirt among them. They covered their heads, but a few were trying to scramble away, aware that the cave entrance was open and they could escape. But there was no way that she and the others could get to those demons without wasting valuable time. Time that would result in unnecessary deaths.

  “Skellig, can your flames reach that far? What about you, Bretton?” she asked.

  “We’ll have to see,” said Skellig, lighting the fire in her palms.

  Together, Skellig and Bretton focused twin blasts of elemental energy at the demons. Skellig’s fire caught one, while Bretton’s frost froze the second in place. Gnomes and dwarves scrambled out of the way, some of them barely catching the edge of Skellig and Bretton’s magic, though not enough to threaten their lives.

  Some of the chaos and screams continued for a while before everyone finally figured out what had happened. Then all eyes rested on Jak, Bretton, and Skellig, their forms silhouetted against the light of the cave entrance.

  “Damn you!” came an angry shout from the left side of the cave. It was Vander, and he was pulling one blade out of the chest of the third demon, now dead. It wasn’t the only dead body on the ground. “I will kill you for this.”

  17

  Vander began to push through the crowd, which gave way rather fluidly. Everyone was eager to get away from him in this state.

  “Hold, Vander,” said a voice behind Jak. She turned to see Viona entering through the cave mouth. “They were trying to help.”

  Vander continued pushing forward, but he did slow enough to regard Viona. “Then they shouldn’t have locked us in.”

  Viona began making her way towards Vander, passing up Jak and the others. “They didn’t know this would happen,” she said in a softer voice. And once she reached Vander she whispered something in his ear that Jak couldn’t hear.

  Vander stopped finally, and glanced at Jak, then back at Viona. A smile split his face. “Really?” he said to Viona.

  Jak swallowed. She assumed Viona was telling him about the challenge she had overheard Jak propose.

  Sure enough, Vander locked eyes with her again and grinned. “You really want to solve this with single combat? A bit of an archaic method, don’t you think?”

  “Archaic methods for archaic behaviors,” Jak shot back.

  That wiped the smile off of Vander’s face. He snarled but composed himself, a look of steel in his eyes. “Very well. I never wanted to fight you, Jak. You were all but one of us once. Now you are a shell of your former self, committed to these high-minded ideals that will get us all killed. If sacrificing you means saving the Fae, I will do it gladly.”

  “I always considered you a friend, Vander,” said Jak. “We don’t have to do this. If we could work together we could protect against all the problems we’re facing.”

  “Yes, but what would we do when the food has run out?” said Vander. “You can’t possibly feed everyone. We’ll make enough mushrooms to provide for ourselves for the time being, but if we shared with you, we wouldn’t have enough for either.”

  “That’s not true, there are ways to collaborate…”

  Vander gave an irritated wave of his hand. “You’re wasting your time, Jak, and mine. Name the terms of our fight.”

  Jak pursed her lips. Perhaps Vander could see the truth of what she was saying, but he was showing no signs of budging from his position. Either he was too blind to see the problems with his stance, or he was too prideful to admit them. In both cases, he left Jak with only the one option.

  “If I win, we agree on a peace, and myself and Skellig will coordinate everything, including who will get to stay in the caves, and who will not, as well as growing mushrooms for everyone.”

  Vander sneered. “I wonder how many will follow you. I certainly can’t speak for everyone.”

  Jak glanced at the others of the Fae who were watching the exchange with tense interest. She specifically sought out the leaders. Girwirt, Noralim, Perchel. Her eyes landed finally on Viona. The woman gave her the slightest nod. Yes, Jak didn’t have to worry about how they would react. If Viona was with her, the rest of the Shadow Elves would likely follow, as would the remainder of the Fae. Besides, after the fight was over, she could reveal their plans to create additional shelters of ice, thanks to the Ice Fae. That would likely aleve some of their concerns.

  “Very well,” Vander continued. “And if I win?” His expression made it clear he thought this was the more likely outcome. He folded his arms and waited for Jak’s response.

  “Then we leave. We’ll continue traveling until we either find shelter or die in the attempt.”

  “And I suppose you’ll take all the provisions with you.”

  “Some,” Jak confirmed. “But we’ll leave enough with you to be getting on with until you can grow enough mushrooms to sustain yourselves.”

  “Weapons?”

  “Spears only,” she said. Shadow Elves usually used knives, but Jak knew she wouldn’t last long against him if he got that close. A spear would at least give her a chance to keep him at bay.

  Vander glanced at both Jak, and Skellig. Jak could guess what was going on in his head. He was weighing the possibilities that they were deceiving him.

  “We will honor our word,” she added. “And if we don’t, we’ll only be right back where we started. Nothing will have changed.” Except she would likely be dead in that situation. Hopefully she could keep it from coming to that. Perhaps Vander would be merciful enough to let her live.

  “I…” Vander said in a slow, calculating voice. “...agree. We will meet tomorrow when the sun is highest. Outside. I suggest you clear a space.”

  That was all Jak needed to hear. With a brief signal to Skellig, Bretton, and Yewin, she turned on her heel and strode out of the caves.

  Let the Fae think on that for a bit. Skellig and Bretton had killed those two demons, saving many of them from
dying, and now their leader was going to fight Jak, the person who had brought them this far. That wouldn’t sit well with many of them, and she could only hope that they would think twice about Vander’s questionable decisions.

  Now she just had to worry about staying alive to see how they would react.

  “Try this on,” said Skellig a few hours later, handing Jak a piece of dark cloth. “Put it over your eyes.”

  They were in the small clearing outside of the camp, one that Flamedancers had cleared of snow, leaving only a dull-gray patch of rock in its place. Skellig had agreed to spar with Jak in preparation for her fight the next day.

  “What for?” asked Jak, gingerly accepting the cloth.

  “Shadow Fae can make themselves invisible. It is their greatest advantage. So you have to assume you will be unable to see your opponent.”

  That made sense, though with a blindfold on, she wouldn’t be able to see anything, not even her surroundings. How could she fight like that?

  Regardless, she placed the fabric over her eyes and tied it behind her head, then hefted her spear in hand.

  Before she had a chance to get in a defensive stance, Skellig’s staff lashed into her gut. Jak doubled over and clutched at the area. That was going to leave a bruise.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “With someone like Vander you have to expect him to attack at any moment.” Skellig replied. Her voice indicated she was off to Jak’s right. She spun to face the sound.

  A large crack split the air as the shaft of Skellig’s practice spear rammed into Jak from behind. She nearly stumbled. How had Skellig gotten behind her so fast.

  “Don’t listen to my voice,” said Skellig, circling. “Vander may try to deceive you by speaking. Listen for the movements of his feet, and the motion of his weapon through the air.”

  Skellig’s voice was to one side of her now. But just as Jak was about to turn and brandish her staff in the direction of the voice, she heard a high-pitched rushing sound coming at her from behind again. She performed a full stance reversal that simultaneously moved her away from the sound, and brought her staff around to intercept it. Their staffs met with a force that vibrated up Jak’s arms.