As the team made their way back up the beaten path with their spoils from battle, they felt the air suddenly get colder as puffy clouds darkened the sky. Despite the heat that they had felt for most of their trek that day, the afternoon's sun couldn't stop the skies from releasing a heavy torrent of snow.
"Let's take a breather before we keep going," Feyre suggested. The group agreed as they set down their gear into the cart.
Magra rewarded Nick with some jerky for keeping watch. "I think we should have a fire."
"I don't know if it'll be worth the trouble for how long we'll be here," Aeldevan opposed. "We'd need to clear out an area and get wood, too."
"You're a big boy. I think you can handle it," Magra countered as she turned to go find some wood, leaving Aeldevan speechless as he began to clear a space for the fire.
As the fire blazed, Haven's Blade huddled around it while the snow continued to fall. Aeldevan tried to see when it would let up, but his magic only told him the forecast would be cold.
"Hey," Skamos drew Aeldevan's attention. "I was thinking that since I saved you, maybe you could reward me with a little sucky sucky." Aeldevan's face grew beet red, realizing everyone else heard the bard.
"Me too!" Ru added before Aeldevan could respond, causing everyone to burst into laughter.
Once the mood calmed down, Ru looked between the three that had been banished. "By the way, what did you all see when that naga banished you?"
"I'm not really sure what I saw, honestly," Aeldevan replied. "It was this dark void with whisps of purple swirling around. I didn't see anyone else, though."
Feyre listened as she thought about her own experience. "Yeah, I didn't see them either. But I think I was seeing some sort of visions, although it was really fuzzy."
They all turned to Magra, waiting for her response. "Uh, I dunno," was all she said with a shrug.
The team sat for a few more minutes before Aeldevan spoke again, "I don't think this weather is going to stop anytime soon, so I think we should set out again." He stood up and rubbed his hands near the fire one more time before going to prep Kevin and the cart. Despite the clouds, there were still a few hours before the sun would set. Everyone got the rest of the heard ready and quickly made their way back onto the road where the snow wasn't sticking as much.
"The fire!" Magra started running back to stamp it out, but Aeldevan snapped his fingers, and the campfire was immediately extinguished.
"Told you I could do it faster." The druid chuckled at his friend as she stomped back to them with a huff.
◊◊◊
With the city still out of reach and the sun struggling to stay in the gray sky, Haven's Blade decided to stop for the day. The snow by now had calmed down to only flurries, and the group was able to set up camp a little way off the road where tree cover had prevented too much snow from accumulating. As Ru and Feyre cleared space on the ground, Aeldevan started gathering wood to make another fire. Skamos worked on unhitching the animals and getting their food ready.
"I'm going hunting," Magra announced before grabbing a few weapons and marching into the snow, her black cloak billowing around her in the wind.
"Good luck!" Feyre shouted after her.
The only thing Magra could hear was her footsteps in the fresh powder. Everything else was muffled by the snow that had and was still falling. Once she got deeper into the woods, she spotted two sets of tracks. One of them looked like they were from a deer, but the other set was larger. Obviously, she chose to follow the latter. The prints led her to a small clearing and to her prey. The caribou had been silent and motionless, so Magra almost didn't see it at the opposite edge. However, it had seen her and didn't look like it was about to run away.
The caribou went from motionless to a full sprint in less than a second, charging at Magra with a bellow. If she hadn't been the one hunting it, the beast may have taken her by surprise. However, she was ready, steam billowing from her flaring nostrils. She charged back and shouted, mimicking the caribou's bugle. At the last second before impact, Magra dropped a knee, going into a slide. She rammed her halberd upward to impale the beast under its jaw. The caribou's momentum jammed the end of the halberd into the ground, causing its body to flip over Magra and land on its back motionless.
After prying her weapon from its head, Magra lifted the caribou's lifeless body above her head as she released another roar, demonstrating her impressive strength. She gently lowered it back onto the ground before kneeling beside it and reciting a prayer of thanks. She ceremoniously took the warm blood from its wound and smeared it across her face before cutting its underside with her hunting knife. Magra thrust one of her hands into its chest and ripped out its heart. She stared at the massive organ in her palm and then sank her teeth into it.
The ritual complete, Magra tore a massive piece of bark from one of the trees for a makeshift sled, which she laid the carcass upon. She started her way back to camp, chomping on the rest of the heart as she went.
"Magra!" Ru called out, trying to run in the deep snow. Even though she followed Magra tracks, the dwarf's stride couldn't match the premade steps. "I was getting worried," she explained between breaths.
Magra's long legs allowed her to effortlessly walk through the snow despite towing a large body behind her. "No need to worry, my friend."
Ru's eyes widened when she got close enough to see what was on the sled. "Wow! I guess you don't need help out here then."
"Nope," the half-orc replied, sucking blood from the devoured heart from her fingertips. "But maybe you could find some berries to go with this."
"Good idea," Ru replied. She let Magra pass by before making a new path in the snow to find what she could.
Once Ru got back to camp, she saw Feyre already preparing a base for some soup. Aeldevan was shirtless and tearing apart the caribou while Skamos watched with hungry eyes, although Ru wasn't sure if it was the druid or the caribou they were hungry for.
"Do that to me!" the bard joked, but his arousal by his partner's strength was obvious. Aeldevan smiled back mischievously, giving his partner a wink as he tore off another hunk of meat.
"Here," Ru tossed Feyre a single potato. "This is all I could find out there." With a brief nod in thanks, the gnome immediately set to cutting it up.
"Not to worry," Aeldevan replied, wiping blood off his hands in the snow before cupping them together over the pot of boiling water. A faint light glowed, and when he opened his hands, a dozen crimson berries fell into the soup. "That should work. Good find, though, Ru." He smiled at the fighter in appreciation.
Magra finished harvesting the caribou, recovering most of its hide and a sturdy antler. Skamos sang softly and played his lute while Aeldevan held him from behind, resting his chin on the bard's shoulder. Ru remembered to add some of her lemongrass to the stew as Magra dropped chunks of meat into it.
"Nice work, Magra," Feyre praised. "We'll have jerky for weeks!" The rogue used her knife skills to cut strips of meat to dry out over the fire.
After everyone enjoyed their meal around the warm fire, Ru slammed her cup onto a flat stone they were using as a table. "Look what I got," the dwarf smiled wryly, shaking a large bottle of potent spirits.
"Where'd you get that?" Feyre asked in an accusing tone. She turned to look at her bag that was not in the same position she had left it. Before she could say anything else, Ru waved her hand dismissively.
"Don't worry about it. All that matters is our cups are empty!" Everyone else but Feyre cheered as Ru popped the top off the bottle and poured liquor into their cups.
Magra placed two gold coins on the slab, and Feyre reluctantly did the same while giving Ru a side eye.
"Go big or go home!" Skamos jested as he put down five pieces. Ru accepted his challenge as did Aeldevan.
"What?" the druid questioned as his friend's looked at him in surprise. "I can be fun."
"Of course you can, honey," Skamos teased as he tapped his partner's arm lovingly.
Everyone finished their first cup, the dark autumn-berry liquor adding more warmth to their bodies. However, Feyre was already dragging Skamos's limp body into his tent before the next pour. When she got back, her and Ru effortlessly knocked back their second cup while Aeldevan and Magra began to teeter. After the third cup, the two smallest members of the team had to lug Aeldevan and Magra into their tents, too. With the rest of the alcohol poured in the two remaining cups, Ru and Feyre stared each other down while they drank. They continued staring for a minute before deciding neither was going to pass out, so Feyre took the wager she and Magra had put down, and Ru took the rest of the pot.
"Could you...uh," Ru's speech was incredibly slurred and disjointed as she swayed on her stump seat, "help with future telling?"
Feyre had to think about her friend's request before realizing what she meant. "Oh, fortune telling," she clarified, her speech not much better. To avoid having to think about more words, Feyre rifled through her bag and took out some of her special rocks she collected from the stream with Aeldevan. She arranged them into a haphazard circle between her and Ru, with a second smaller circle within it. After placing one in the center of the inner circle, the rogue began a mysterious chant with sounds almost like words. She slowly raised her hands in the air as her voice grew louder. Befitting the occasion, the moon began to shine down through parting clouds, causing the rocks to shimmer in the pale light.
Ru was so amazed that all she could do was watch Feyre's process with eyes wide and mouth hanging open. The gnome brought her hands slowly together to her chest with eyes closed as her chant turned to a low hum that faded out. Suddenly, Feyre's eyes popped open before she quickly gathered up the rocks and darted in and out of tents and bags, placing her stones where her friends might find them.
As Feyre was placing the last rock in Magra's pouch, the half-orc snatched her up into a tight hug. Feyre struggled, but Magra's hold remained tight despite her being completely asleep. Nick woke up and started licking Feyre's face, much to her dismay. After her silent struggling proved futile, she shouted for Ru to come help her. Between the effort of yelling and jostling, Feyre couldn't keep her alcohol in her stomach anymore and unceremoniously vomited into Magra's drooling mouth. The barbarian remained asleep as she spasmed to get the filth out of her mouth, and Feyre was able to finally escape. Ru helped her to her feet before they both passed out in the dwarf's tent, the campfire now just glowing embers.
◊◊◊
Despite everyone being hung over, Skamos was able to inspire Ru to sing along with him as everyone began breaking down the camp.
"Looks like this dried meat is going to last us a while," Aeldevan commented as he helped pack it away.
"And then some!" Feyre agreed, pouring what was left of the stew into bowls for everyone, heated by their morning fire.
The snow had accumulated a little more overnight, covering the trail in three inches of powder. Luckily the snow was light and didn't hinder the party's footsteps too much.
Not long after they set out, Magra knelt down next her wolfhound at the front of the herd. She pointed in the distance to where they would be traveling and said, "Nick, recon!" The dog tilted his head for a moment before seeming to understand what she wanted and ran down the path, only stopping in brief intervals to make sure he could still see Magra and the others.
"Woah, that was impressive," Skamos praised.
Magra puffed her chest and straightened her back more with pride. "Yup! That's my boy." She turned to her camel, "Don't worry, Dante. So are you." She continued as she turned forward, "I want to get him to where he comes back when he sees someone, so we'll see how his first time goes."
They continued along the road without incident as the spring sun began melting the snow in their way. It was just afternoon when Nick finally came all the way back to the group, barking as he ran. He was quite excited, although Magra sensed it wasn't just because he had done what she had asked. Something seemed off.
"Good boy, Nick," Magra gave him some jerky as she rubbed his sides. She turned to her friends as she rewarded the hound. "I think he found something up ahead, but I can't tell if it's good or bad."
"I'll scope it out," Aeldevan offered. In seconds, he transformed into a blood hawk and flew into the sky. As he soared over the trees, he saw the road bend to the right. He also saw Nick's tracks lead up to an overturned cart with supplies strewn about as well as a dead horse and human. On high alert, Aeldevan circled the scene before noticing trampled grass west of the path. The snow overnight must have covered the tracks of whoever killed the horse and driver, but he could at least see that the smashed cart was traveling from the direction Haven's Blade was heading in.
Trying not to draw too much attention, Aeldevan flew parallel to the trail he found. In a matter of seconds, he discovered the source of the wreckage: two large hill giants and a couple of smaller hobgoblins. While one of the hobgoblins kept watch, the others were sorting through items they no doubt got from the traveler. They didn't seem to think anything of a hawk in the sky, though. Taking a wide curve, Aeldevan made his way back to his friends to inform them of everything and devise a plan.
"Alright," Aeldevan began, "Magra and I, in dire wolf form, will walk ahead to try and bait them. Feyre will follow up close behind-"
"To lay beartraps!" Feyre interrupted. "I've been wanting to use them for a while," she said with a mischievous smile as she rubbed her small hands together.
"-to lay beartraps," Aeldevan confirmed. He turned to the last two, "And you both will hide in the cart pulled by Kevin and surprise them once we lure them out."
Everyone was fine with the plan, so once they got close to the bend in the road, they got into formation. Nick stayed a little bit back with Dilliah and Dante to avoid detection. As Magra and her wolf friend approached the wagon, she made a convincing show at being surprised by the sad sight. Seconds later, a hobgoblin jumped out of the bushes and yelled something in its native tongue.
Having decided to change plans, Skamos and Ru had gotten out of the cart undetected and hid in the trees of the inner curve of the path. He cast his spell of floating daggers above the lone hobgoblin, inspiring Ru to get her own knives ready to throw.
All of a sudden, a hill giant trampled onto the road, hitting Magra twice with its giant club. Feyre dashed out from behind her friend to retaliate, but the giant moved out of the way, surprisingly quick for its size.
As Magra swung her demon axe at the hobgoblin, shouting, "Can't we just talk about this?", an owlbear and second hobgoblin emerged from the woods. "Aeldevan!" the half-orc shouted, confused by why her companion had turned and was running away into the woods.
As daggers flew from the forest where Ru hid into the shoulder of the first hobgoblin, four lions and four giant toads magically appeared on the battlefield. Magra smirked, understanding that Aeldevan only ran so he could transform and conjure creatures to help. Without warning, a third hobgoblin in ornate armor hurled a javelin at the barbarian; she cursed as the weapon buried itself in her flesh.
Skamos's daggers finally fell from the sky into the first hobgoblin. Not done, he whispered to a second hill giant nearby, "Run away, bitch, down the path." He had hoped it would step into one of the bear traps Feyre had laid down, but it avoided them, turning instead towards where Aeldevan had ran into the brush. Luckily, some of the conjured creatures landed blows as the giant fled.
The road was full of action: the first giant roaring at Magra as he struck, Feyre hitting it back, the owlbear dismembering one of the giant toads. Guzzling down her potion of fire breathing in one hand, Magra whirled her axe with the other into the first giant, felling the towering creature. She dropped the empty bottle and gripped her axe with both hands and gave the second hobgoblin a nasty gash, which it immediately attacked her back for.
The second hill giant had picked up Aeldevan's scent and spent its breath running towards him. Aeldevan took the opportunity to point the tip of his moon sword into its nose and cast blight, causing the creature to recoil as it held its large nose in its even bigger hand.
Ru ran from the safety of the forest to aid Magra with her current target. The hobgoblin leader took its chance and lunged at Ru with its longsword. The dwarf managed to evade two of the thrusts but was surprised by a third one that cut her arm.
Trying to give Aeldevan some space, Skamos whispered to the giant in hopes it would run away again, "You're still a little bitch, and you're gonna die." Unfortunately, the hill giant wasn't scared into running. The spell did however unnerve it, causing it to miss Aeldevan with its strikes. It roared at the druid just before Aeldevan recast his spell, causing the giant to wither and die where it stood.
"Thanks for the assist!" Aeldevan blew Skamos a kiss with a wink.
Blushing, the bard turned to the first hobgoblin which had heard them and was making its way over. "Man, I feel like a woman," was all Skamos needed to say with a swish of his hips for the oncoming enemy to drop dead.
Back in the fray, Feyre used one of the giant toads as cover to slaughter the second hobgoblin. She then turned her sights to the owlbear. She charged at it with her weapons in hand but tripped on a rock. Nonetheless, her forward momentum gave her the distance she needed as she flailed with her weapons before landing on her face. When she looked up, she saw the beast had been slain. "Well, that's one way to do it," she said to herself, looking around to see if anyone else saw.
Meanwhile, Magra's potion finally kicked in, and she breathed fire onto the leader of their slain enemies. Her obsidian axe glowed with the heat, its blade cauterizing the gashes it made in the warlord's body. Ru teamed up with her friend and overpowered it despite its skillful perries. With one final surge of energy, the dwarf brought down her maul on its head and snuffed out the warlord's breath as its body was consumed by Magra's flames. In the sudden quiet that followed, black ash drifted softly in the wind before marring the pure snow.
