Sol's Valor

Chapter VI - The Journey Ahead

The morning was frigid as snow whipped through the air.  It was hard to tell if the snow was coming from above or if it was being ripped off the white fields in front of them.  Pyro and Cade had set out about an hour ago.  The small settlement became lost in the snow storm long ago.  Pyro surrounded the two of them in a small, bubble-like shield of heat.  When snow met the reddish barrier it instantly melted, letting the warm water drops hit them.  The heat from the shield made the water evaporate soon after it began to soak into their hair.

The only thing the two warriors had were their sense of direction.  Cade knew the lands quite well, and both of them had studied a map of the northern area before they left.  The elderly woman was more than happy to give them the map in case they needed it along the way.  The two of them mapped out the approximate times it would take them if they walked at an average pace to get from one point to the next when they would change their direction and blindly walk onward.

The thought of missing their planned turn points was terrifying.  The blizzard was relentless and if they took one wrong turn, they could be lost forever in the white abyss.  Trudging onward, the two made their way to their first turn spot.  Cade knew there was a lake to the south and wanted to avoid crossing directly over it, even if it was frozen solid.  The two agreed that they must be at least an hour’s walk from the very edge of the lake and that it was now safe to travel south.

Getting to the village the first time was easy.  There was no monstrous blizzard to hold them back, and they were able to see the Great Tower of Triton standing high above them like a guide from the heavens.  Now there was nothing.  There was no tower stretched high above to guide them.  They couldn’t let along use their eyes to move three steps forward.  All that mattered was that they kept in a straight line and kept their sense of time.  That would keep them alive.

Before heading off south, the two stopped to sit for several minutes.  They had been walking for about five hours now, which would put the sun at four more before setting and bringing about the icy cold of the northern night.  But they needed to rest for at least a little while if they wanted to keep their wit.

Sweating from the heat of Pyro’s fire bubble, Cade could feel the cool water raining down on him as he watched the snow whip around outside the red shield.  He took a seat on the warm ground and stretched his legs out, Pyro did the same.  Pyro took out a small metal container from his pack and began to heat it with a small flame he conjured up in his palm.  Cade could hardly wait to have the hot stew flow down into his stomach and warm his body.

Cade took out two spoons and handed one to Pyro.  The two ate silently as rain dripped down making ripples in their bowls.  Snow began flurrying into their bowls alongside the rain drops.  Pyro’s eyes began to blink open and closed.  The red bubble of flame began to flicker in and out.  Cade gave Pyro a light slap across the face to wake him back up.  Immediately the fiery bubble went back to full strength.  Pyro apologized and continued eating his stew, shaking his head more to wake himself up.  Cade assured him that there should only be a few more hours before they could take shelter in the cave for the night.

Southbound, the two ventured for three more hours until the blizzard began to clear up.  The weather calmed enough for Pyro, now drained of his magic, to put down the fire shield.  Lork Cave was barely visible, but visible nonetheless.  This brought a newfound energy to the two wanderers and they perked their shoulders up.  For a moment, Cade thought he could see the sun breaking through the dense snow clouds high above.  He didn’t care about the sun long enough to see if it was actually there or not.  Once the entrance to the cave was in sight, Pyro and Cade could see four agkors sleeping right on the cave’s threshold.  An alpha agkor perked its nose up and stared straight at the two warriors, letting out a deafening howl that seemed to blow the snow clouds from sight.