by Eric Vall
Aurora must have heard Rammstein approaching, because I could hear her hollering my name on the wind, and when I met with the metal dragon again, I led him up the ragged rocks while my fingers began to freeze over.
When I reached the top of the ridge, I found myself looking down at hundreds of armored dwarves huddled in the cover of a slim pass, and my Defenders had lit small fires for everyone to gather around.
Aurora waved her arm above her head as I looked her way, and even though my teeth ached from the cold, I couldn’t help grinning from ear to ear.
My half-elf was fully armored in her Defender gear for once, and something about seeing my own initials melded to her breastplate made the ensemble that much better. I’d never known I had a thing for women in armor, but as Aurora stood watching me with her blue ponytail whipping around in the wind and her lashes lined with snowflakes, she looked hotter than any warlord I could imagine.
Even hotter than Haragh’s mom.
My lips began to freeze from smiling, though, so I promptly ducked against the wind as I scaled down the ridge, and Rammstein stayed perched on the upper ledge as his amber eyes scanned the barren lands behind him.
“I was worried you wouldn’t find us,” Aurora shouted as I met her at the bottom.
“I thought you never made it here,” I admitted.
“The storm picked up about twenty minutes after we arrived,” the half-elf explained, and she led me toward the nearest fire.
I nodded a greeting to the elven warriors surrounding the flames, and all of them were shaking badly as they crouched together behind a wall the mages had formed. It was clear none of them had ever ventured this far north, and while they were barely able to nod back, their lips and the tips of their ears had already turned blue as snow covered their long braids.
“Can we get the fires any hotter?” I asked as I considered how close to frostbite the warriors were, but Aurora shook her head.
“Dorinick said he saw three scouts appear near the tunnel entrance not long before we arrived,” Aurora explained. “They vanished a few minutes later, but we’re trying to remain concealed as well as we can. The dwarves said they could spare a few furs for the elves once they finish bringing their provisions down the cliff.”
I craned my neck to look up, but there was no visibility beyond fifteen feet up. From there, it was a blanket of rolling snow and dense gray clouds.
“I’ll send Rammstein to help them,” I decided.
“Don’t,” the half-elf countered. “They’ve nearly finished, and the snow isn’t sturdy up there. This area is a high risk for avalanches, but it’s the best we can do without losing sight of the lake. The Master’s scouts were mages, too.”
“Shit,” I muttered, and the thought of some Flumen Mage burying us all down here made me shiver more. “How are the ogres faring?”
“They’re fine,” Aurora chuckled. “Ogres have a body temperature three times as hot as a human’s, and the Defenders came mostly prepared for the elements. We hadn’t anticipated such a fierce storm, though. Dorinick told me it’s rare this time of year for a blizzard like this to form.”
I furrowed my brow, and I felt ice cracking across my forehead as I did. “You don’t think the Master’s got his mages conjuring this up, do you?”
“I was worried about that,” Aurora admitted, “but I’ve spoken with the Defenders, and they sense no magery in the clouds.”
“That’s a relief,” I muttered. “I don’t like the looks of this, though. If scouts have been out here, the Master may have anticipated our attack, and this storm showed up too quickly to be a coincidence.”
“We’re still prepared, regardless,” the half-elf assured me.
“What’s your game plan?”
“Dorinick advised against braving the fiercer winds over the lake for now,” Aurora said as three dwarves shuffled through the snow toward us, and they had bundles of hides stacked in their arms. “We’ll wait the Master out in here, and once we don’t need to worry about exposing our position, the mages and I are the first troop to head out. I figure we can counter the storm while the others charge, but a Flumen Mage told me the lake is only frozen seven feet down, and I was considering forcing a break if it means we can freeze the Master’s forces out and end this faster.”
“Don’t break the ice,” I quickly countered. “I considered the same thing when I located the engravings out there, but if we destroy the portals, we’re no better off. We need as many of his soldiers out here as possible if we’re gonna make a decent dent in his numbers.”
Aurora nodded. “That’s a good point. We’ll avoid damaging the portals, but if this storm keeps up, we might be risking our own troops out here.”
I glanced around at the elves shaking violently beside us, and as the dwarves passed around fur cloaks and caps for them, the warriors actually muttered their thanks as they attempted to move their limbs enough to dress themselves.
“Godsdamnit,” I cursed, and I led Aurora further from the flames.
We wove between more fires and groups of soldiers trying not to freeze over, and as the Terra Mages continued to shift their walls against the changing winds, the Ignis Mages worked to increase the heat of the flames without building them higher. The dwarven soldiers had blankets of snow clinging to their beards and eyebrows, and the ogres had even started to gather a couple inches on their backs as the storm gained in strength.
“Half our troops won’t be able to move enough to fight pretty soon,” I said under my breath.
“I know,” the half-elf admitted. “I never thought I’d say this, but now I’m hoping the Master unleashes his army soon. The elves are our swiftest fighters, but they’ll be no use in this weather, and most of our Defenders can’t channel their elements without their hands.”
I nodded as a blast of wind spiraled through the pass to douse us in another few inches of snow. “Do you need anything?”
“No, we’re well prepared out here,” Aurora said as she raised her voice above the howling wind. “Dorinick says he’s all set to take Vasdor, too, so you don’t need to stick around in all this. How is Cayla doing?”
“They’re ready,” I assured her. “Where are you tending your wounded?”
“Shoshanne was here when we arrived,” the half-elf told me, and she gestured to the far end of the pass where the ridge gave way to barren landscape. “She had the mages form a hovel over there with everything she’ll need before she left for Vasdor, and the dwarves are bringing down extra supplies and torches to keep her warm enough to work. A few mages are altering the build to accommodate the elves right now and get them out of this cold, but we need their heightened hearing to help scout the portals, so they’re going to take shifts.”
I was about to respond when a hollow crack broke out above us, and our troops jumped as the Defenders raised their palms at the ready.
Only a few thick shards of ice tumbled down from the upper cliff, though, and the mages were able to shield everyone quick enough.
I glanced at Aurora. “As soon as the dwarves are finished unloading, have the mages form a low ceiling halfway down this ridge, and reinforce it with columns in case there’s an avalanche. You can scout the portals from the far end of the pass and close off this side.”
“What if there are portals farther north that we don’t know about?” Aurora asked.
“Send the Boms to patrol the outer edge of the rocks on all sides,” I decided. “I better get to Nalnora. If the Master’s sending scouts to his tunnels, they could already be waiting for our troops down there.”
“Be careful,” the half-elf muttered as she hooked her fingers on my gun belt, and I smirked when she kept her eyes down like she didn’t want me to notice how nervous she looked.
Then I tipped her chin up a bit. “Give ‘em hell.”
Aurora crinkled her brow as tears sprang to her eyes, and she dragged me in for a fiery kiss before I could say another word. I was immediately hit with a wave of heat as her lip
s met mine, and when I wove my fingers in the roots of her hair, she was radiating warmth like a flame. It made it even harder to let her go given the frigid storm swirling around us, but when I felt her grip tightening on my neck, I knew I’d better leave.
So, I dragged myself out of her hold as Aurora bit her lip and let me go, and I forced myself not to look back as I grabbed a rocky ledge to hoist myself up the ridge. I could already hear Aurora delivering orders to the mages about altering the terrain, and when I reached Rammstein, the ice-laden dragon let out a sad screech.
“Focus on blood, buddy,” I muttered as I gripped his steel frame and mounted up. “We’ve gotta get to the jungles as soon as possible. Fly above the canopy, and don’t dive down until I give you the signal.”
I kicked the metal dragon hard in the side to send him into the storm that much faster, and I was grateful for the splintering ice pelting my face this time because it helped keep my mind off my fiery half-elf until we were well out of range.
The clouds didn’t thin while we headed back south, though, and as the temperature steadily rose, the ice turned to rain. Thunder rolled in the distance as we neared the foothills, and I patted Rammstein’s side as I leaned forward a bit.
“Take us east just beyond Mors Pass, but stay to the northside of the lower peaks,” I ordered. “I need to check on something without us being seen.”
The dragon refrained from screeching at my command this time as he veered to the east, and he swooped lower to conceal our flight while I focused on what I was hearing. It was several minutes before all sound seemed to cut out, and I knew we were within the enchantments surrounding the Master’s fortress now. Even the rain didn’t rattle against our metal in this part of the foothills, and I wondered which directional degree the master had used to achieve these defenses.
If it was only outward, he’d be able to hear all sound while blocking the outside world from detecting his presence, but if it worked both ways, we’d be as well concealed as he was.
I doubted he would do something like that, though, since it wouldn’t work to his advantage, so I silently ordered my dragon to rely on coasting from here on out if he could. Then he brought us around the edge of a brackish peak slicked with rain, and I had him land just on the other side of a cliff.
Once I climbed down, I braced my boots against the slick stone to inch my way around the edge, and once I managed to get a decent foothold, I jumped the eight-foot gap between me and a jagged shard.
From here, I could look down on the Master’s headquarters, and my gut dropped at first sight.
The last time I’d been here, smoke was billowing from the towers, and the Master’s minions were dragging dozens of bodies across the grounds while they lashed out at one another like ravenous beasts. The image had been burned into my mind since then, but to look at the extensive fortress now, I never would have guessed it was the same place.
No smoke seeped from the upper portions of the structure anymore, and the grounds were entirely deserted save for the rotting corpses. Some of the bodies were unrecognizable as they laid half-eaten or shredded across the dirt, but others looked like they’d just wasted away after being in the Master’s hold for too long. I recognized the ears of elves and tattered robes of mages among them, and there were a few young dragons with their stomachs eaten into near the furthest corners of the yard.
There was nothing but death lurking around the headquarters now, and even the dung piles from various creatures were trampled flat and not at all fresh. The fortress appeared to be completely abandoned, and for all I knew, it was.
Then I summoned my Terra powers and attempted to influence the impenetrable walls, but just like the last time I’d tried, the enchantments were holding firm. No matter how much I pushed against the runes, I couldn’t get anywhere close to the fortress, and I took this as a sign that the Master hadn’t finished housing his minions here.
They were just deep underground now.
So, I took a last look around the deserted grounds and every shadowy alcove I could see before I turned back, and once I made it to Rammstein, I silently ordered him to follow the same path he’d taken here and get us to Nalnora.
As he took flight, I scanned the skies to the north, and I furrowed my brow as I realized the dense black clouds were localized near the tunnels only. Far to the west, the mountains rose up crisp against the sunset, and even just north of the Master’s fortress, the weather was calm.
It was like a belt of storms had sprang up from nowhere, and they spiraled straight south to Nalnora and even into Illaria now. The clouds rolled in a way I’d never seen, though, as they built up by the minute to form massive stacks that took on an eerie green hue. Then surges of purple lightning began to flicker deep in the center of the mass, and as a foreboding settled in my gut, I urged Rammstein to fly faster.
From a mile away, I could hear our troops had already reached the tunnel entrances, and I ordered Rammstein dive for the westernmost tunnel when I recognized Urn’s voice below. A loud clap of thunder covered up the sound of the dragon breaking through the canopy, and as his wings tore through the ferns, I jumped from his back to avoid the low-lying branches.
“Wait right there,” I called out as Rammstein found a large enough clearing to land, and I ducked under a dripping wet frond to push my way through the undergrowth.
I nearly trampled several of my Defenders along the way, though, and I realized my generals had hidden our troops in the jungles surrounding the portals. Three of the mages bore swollen bites on their faces and hands from their trek here, and they sent me wry grins as they huddled under the fronds to avoid the downpour.
“Hang in there, guys,” I said as I passed, and two nearby elves chuckled at the sight of the swollen mages before they bowed their heads in greeting.
The elves of House Fehryn had the bows I’d made for them strapped to their backs, and three quivers of arrows lined their belts. They also carried a wealth of Halcyan blades on them, though, and as I noticed how freshly wrought the hilts were, I realized Dragir had armed Rhys’ men as well as his own.
The warriors of each House stood side-by-side as they joined my allies in hiding, but they still kept their distance from the ogres, who lumbered in the shadows and offered me a few fist bumps along the way.
Then I heard Rhys chuckling up ahead, and when I came out of the ferns, I found the green-haired elf actually chatting with Defender Urn while the burly mage stood drenched beneath his armor. The downpour didn’t seem to faze the elven warrior in the slightest, but everyone’s boots were sinking into the mud already, and the few dwarves I saw nearby looked nearly as out of their element as the elves had been in Orebane.
They slapped massive bugs away with a vengeance as they let out furious grunts, and every time one of them slipped in the mud, they cursed in Dwarvish as they glared at the nearest elf they could find.
My two Boms were flanking Rhys and Urn as they kept their eyes scanning the troops, and as the machines snapped salutes in my direction, Rhys caught sight of me.
“Defender Flynt,” Rhys chuckled. “We were just discussing your woman with the large metal weapons. I heard she attacked your town.”
I smirked as I swiped the rain from my eyes. “For the record, she was firing above our heads, but yes, there was a minor incident.”
“Thank you for sending her far away from me,” Rhys said with a broad grin, and I couldn’t remember ever seeing him so calm before.
“I take it everything’s going well out here?” I asked.
“Depending on who you ask,” Urn snorted.
Then the burly mage gestured beyond Rhys’ back, and I saw five pairs of bloody brown eyes glowering above the ferns. The ogres looked ready to tear the ears off the elves they had in their lines of sight, and the same elves were sneering in disgust at a troop of dwarven soldiers nearby.
“Huh,” I muttered. “So, thing’s are a little tense.”
“You could say that,” Rhys laughed.
“You seem much more relaxed,” I pointed out. “I hope you and Dragir sorted everything out.”
I was prepared for the elf to turn hostile at the mention of his latest issue with Dragir, but he only cleared his throat as he shifted his weight in the mud.
“Yes, Dragir and I have come to an understanding,” Rhys told me. “You, on the other hand… I should slit your throat for handling my wife as you did, and for the fact that she will not stop talking about you. However, she has given me less… trouble since then than she has in forty years. So, I suppose I owe you my gratitude.”
Urn raised his bushy eyebrows as he eyed me. “You did what to his wife?”
“It’s not important,” I mumbled. “I’m just glad to hear things are going better.”
“Mostly better,” Rhys allowed. “Aliasa tells me you promised to come back for her. Is this true?”
“No,” I quickly assured the man. “I’d never say something like that to another man’s wife. I just told her not to cause anymore shit so we could focus on taking the Master down.”
“Oh.” Rhys nodded, and I could’ve sworn he looked disappointed for a second.
“Wait… uhh… do you want me to take her off your hands?” I asked as I raised an eyebrow.
“I never thought she could be tamed,” he grunted as he crossed his arms and stared at me.
“You know… I think we should have this conversation after we deal with the task at hand.”
“Well, that works, too. At least this will buy me some peace, but perhaps we should drag this war out a bit longer. The elves are good with this sort of thing.”
“I’ve heard,” I chuckled, “but there’s no way I’m signing on for hundreds of years stuck in elven warfare if I can help it. Have you guys been in touch with Kurna or Haragh?”
“Kurna’s got the tunnel east of us, and Haragh took Grot deeper into the jungle,” Urn replied. “Didn’t expect this storm to show up, or I would’ve volunteered to take the longer trek, but there’s nothing to be done now.”