Path of Dragons

Book 5: Chapter 32: Ice

“How the hell’re you not cold?” demanded Kurik as he rubbed his arms. He was wearing a thick leather coat, gloves, and sturdy boots, but he clearly wished he’d packed something even warmer.

Elijah grinned. “A guy needs his secrets, right?” he replied with a wink.

“He ain’t even wearin’ any shoes!” the dwarf growled, gesturing at Elijah’s bare feet.

Indeed, Elijah hadn’t made any concessions to the inexplicably cold weather they’d encountered about a week after setting out for the recently discovered second challenge. One moment, they’d been trekking through a sweltering jungle, and the next, the temperature had dropped to something more appropriate for a Canadian winter. That had happened two days ago, and it had grown progressively colder since.

In addition, the jungle had given way to a barren tundra only populated by giant mammoths with blue skin, dangerous-looking walrus creatures that hung out near frozen ponds and streams, and a species of winged snake that spewed what appeared to be blue fire. It had the opposite effect, though. Instead of burning, it froze whatever it touched.

Clearly there was a theme that hinted at what they might expect in the next challenge.

Aside from Elijah, everyone in the party was miserable. Even the ever-stoic Sadie had complained about the cold on a couple of occasions, and every passing minute saw Kurik grumbling about the weather.

“I thought dwarves were supposed to be cold-weather creatures. You know, mountaineers and all that,” Elijah said.

“Where’d you hear a fool thing like that? We stay underground, where it’s cozy and warm,” Kurik insisted.

“Ain’t nowhere that trappin’ ain’t a useful skill to have,” Kurik answered. “Whole ecosystems down there. Not sure ‘bout this planet, but back home, we had entire societies that ain’t never saw the light of day.”

“Mole men, bro.”

“They weren’t no mole men!”

“Mole people. I’m sure there were women, too,” Elijah provided.

“Weren’t no moles!”

“If you say so, bro,” Dat muttered.

Elijah only grinned. The lone benefit of the conversation was that it had distracted Kurik from his complaints, if only for a few moments. But the second the conversation lapsed, the dwarf started mumbling under his breath. For Elijah’s part, he took a moment to look around, and he saw precisely the same thing he’d seen every day since coming upon the tundra. It was a flat, white expanse of ice and snow. Every now and then, they’d pass a lone, scraggly evergeen, but for the most part, it was as empty as any desert.

In the distance, though, Elijah saw something looming on the horizon. “Are those mountains?” he wondered, pointing. He used Eyes of the Eagle, and his vision telescoped. It was always an odd feeling, though one he’d forced himself to acclimate to. Regardless, it gave him a good look at a range of mountains. They were still at least a hundred miles away, but with the enhancement to his vision, he could just make out some of the details.

“Maybe,” Dat answered.

“It is,” Elijah confirmed.

“If you already knew, why’d you ask?” grumbled the dwarf, barely loudly enough for Elijah to hear.

“The report mentioned mountains,” Sadie pointed out.

Elijah had read the same report, though it had been extremely light on details. Apparently, the scout who’d made it had barely survived, and he’d only given the most basic details before he had used the Branch to return to Earth. No one had had a chance to investigate further, which meant that, aside from a direction, Elijah and his companions were going in mostly blind.

“I’m not sure I believe these reports,” Elijah said. The scout had returned to Nexus Town only a few days after Elijah and his party had set out for the Singing Cliffs. So, there had been plenty of time for someone to have discovered more details. Yet, there was nothing, which suggested one of two things. Either no one had survived – an unlikely explanation – or people were hoarding information. Whichever was the case, it didn’t bode well for their chances.

“Trust but verify, right?” Sadie asked.

“I was thinking the same thing,” Elijah agreed.

It truly didn’t need to be said. They were already on edge, and they all knew better than to take the situation for granted. The second challenge – which seemed to be associated with Pruina, the realm of ice – would assuredly prove to be just as dangerous as the Singing Cliffs. Perhaps more so.

So, every member of the party progressed with due caution. Over the next two days, they drew closer to the mountains. As it turned out, they were even further away than Elijah had estimated. But in his defense, that mistake was due to the sheer size of the range. Each mountain was thousands of feet tall, and the range itself stretched along the horizon for as far as Elijah could see. By the time they reached the foothills nearly four days later, the mountains loomed over them, casting them in shadow and filling all of their hearts with unease.

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The cold climate remained the same, though the flat tundra had given way to something much rockier. As they progressed into the foothills, Elijah noticed a few different species of mountain goat, which he found odd.

“There are always goats in the mountains, bro.”

Elijah shook his head. “I don’t think you understand. Have you seen any other animals that looked exactly like a species on Earth?” he asked. “We’ve seen a few that were close. But there’s always something off about them. Or they’re completely different in so many ways they don’t resemble anything back home. These goats, though – they look exactly like the ones we’d find on Earth.”

“We had goats on my planet, too,” Kurik said. “They breathe fire, though. They’re cute.”

“Fire-breathing goats are cute?” Sadie asked incredulously.

“When they’re little, sure. I ain’t talkin’ ‘bout a full-grown goat. Them things are ornery.”

“The Universal Goat Principal, bro.”

“What?”

“Every world has goats. It ties everything together,” Dat said sagely. “Like a good rug.”

“A rug?” asked Sadie.

“Bro. I thought you’d get that joke.”

“I’m so lost,” she said.

“Uncultured.”

“I agree,” Elijah said.

“Do you have any idea what they’re talking about?” Sadie asked Kurik.

“I don’t ever know what anyone’s talkin’ ‘bout on this world. You Earth humans are crazy.”

“Or maybe the rest of the multi-verse is crazy,” Elijah suggested with a waggle of his frost-covered eyebrows. “At the very least, they don’t have our vast collection of movies to reference. Which reminds me – when we get home, I’m having Nerthus build a theater room on the island. I bet I can find a projector somewhere in Seattle, and then it’s movie night, every night.”

“I…I don’t know what to say about that,” Kurik admitted.

Elijah ignored him. Instead, he glanced at Sadie and said, “You’re invited, of course. Once we deal with your little undead problem, I mean. You’d probably get along with Nerthus, and you’d definitely like Carmen. Her glare of disapproval is almost as good as yours. And Dat, you know you’re invited. I’m sure you’ll enjoy –”

“I think that’s enough,” Sadie said, though there was a hint of a smile on her face. Elijah counted that as a win, even if he’d had to lean into his manic side to get it. Then, to Dat, she asked, “Didn’t you say you found a cave nearby?”

The Witch Hunter nodded, saying, “But don’t get too excited. It’s pretty shallow, so it won’t do much for the cold.”

Elijah glanced at the sky and when he saw that the sun was almost below the horizon, he said, “Better than nothing.”

Indeed, they’d spent the past week sleeping on the tundra, where they’d had no protection from the wind. And while the cold didn’t affect Elijah, courtesy of his Cloak of the Iron Bear, he couldn’t say the same for the biting gusts that routinely swept across the expanse. It was even less pleasant than Elijah would have anticipated, and for reasons that he hadn’t expected. The cold wasn’t an issue, but the persistent howling of the wind had kept him awake at night. So, hopefully a nice night in a cave would be just what they all needed.

So, they followed Dat as he led them past one of the larger foothills and to a boulder-strewn valley. The ground was covered in shale that made traversal incredibly treacherous, and even with their inflated Dexterity attributes, they slipped and fell more than once. Elijah was tempted to simply shift into one of his other forms – like Shape of the Sky or the draconid – but he wanted to be ready in case they were attacked.

Because as uninviting as the area was, what wildlife existed in the area was sparse. Even the wraiths that were so prevalent elsewhere were nowhere to be seen or felt, making the entire region feel even more desolate.

After crossing the shale-covered valley, they reached the cave, and it was just as inadequate as Dat had described. Barely ten feet deep and half as wide, it was more of a depression in the side of a hill than it was a cave. However, it was positioned in such a way as to provide some solace from the wind, which was the most important thing.

So, after building a fire and deploying their defenses – which centered on Elijah’s beast-dissuading tent – they settled in for a cold night. To perk everyone up, Elijah offered to make coffee, and miraculously, even Sadie-the-coffee-hater decided to partake.

“It’s…uh…it’s good,” she said, cradling a mug in both hands and holding the steaming beverage as close to her face as she could manage. She forced a smile that looked more like a grimace before adding, “Very warm.”

“You hate it.”

“I don’t!”

“It’s okay. I just thought…”

“What? That I’d only had bad coffee before and that was why I didn’t like it? If only I tried your special coffee, I’d – wait, what is that?” she gasped.

Elijah whipped around to stare at the mouth of the cave, but there was nothing there. “What is it? Did you sense something?”

“No…”

“What’s going on?” Elijah asked, confused.

“This coffee gives a buff.”

“Um…yeah? I told you that before.”

“You did? I must not have heard.”

Or she probably hadn’t been listening to a word Elijah had said back then. He knew she had an ability that made him unappealing to be around, but that was just rude.

“It’s quite a good buff, too. Did you make this yourself?” she asked, clearly trying to move on.

Fortunately, Elijah was more than willing to describe – in detail – his coffee-making process. He even told her about Carmen’s work on the wok.

“Aren’t woks usually made from iron?”

Elijah shrugged. “It sounds like bronze, but these are magical metals here. Who knows what properties they have? Carmen’s probably the highest-level Blacksmith in the world, so I trust that she knows what she’s doing.”

“Does anyone really?” Sadie asked.

“I don’t know, but it’s easy to trust Carmen. She’s had a rough go of it, but she’s one of the strongest people I’ve ever known.”

Sadie nodded. “Sounds like my sister.”

Elijah recognized the name as the lone Song that had disappeared from the power rankings. That implied that the woman had died.

“Wait, so you did all of that just for coffee?” Sadie asked. “You used something called a Miracle Seed. And that’s what you did with it? Why not food? Or –”

“I really wanted coffee, and I didn’t think there was any other way I was going to get it anytime soon. It was probably a waste. I get that. But it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

It really had, and like all his other projects, it had given him something to distract him from the realities of life on their transformed planet. Perhaps that wasn’t worth much to someone like Sadie, but it was incredibly important to Elijah. Small pleasures like a good cup of coffee made everything easier.

“At least it gives a good buff,” Sadie said in what was probably as close to a ringing endorsement as she was likely to give.

Elijah was just about to respond when he heard something that sent a chill up his spine. He’d heard the same noise a hundred times as they’d traversed the valley, so he easily recognized the sound of cascading shale.

“Something is out there,” he said, setting his own mug down and taking up his staff.

Just then, there was an explosion of rock and gravel that nearly burst Elijah’s eardrums.