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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Spider_Jerusalem" data-source="post: 1677362" data-attributes="member: 5507">Ice, Luck and HonourChapter 10: Another Brick in the WallPart 1 of 4Middle/Late Winter, Realms Date 1372Milo stood next to Mikka, each of the half men holding an antler just as tall as they were. Milo nudged the tiefling and pointed at Torious and Vaerana, then mimed being sick. Thalin lightly cuffed the halfling round the head as he walked past, the procession of villagers drifting behind him as he began to tread towards the valley floor. Thalin glanced at Torious and Vaerana, the aasimar’s hands placed lightly on the woman’s shoulder, both of them gazing into the valley beneath them. “Don’t be a fool” whispered Thalin under his breath, his thoughts once again swimming with the warning of the burnt man: You cannot trust that woman in red.…- - - - - - - - -Thalin and Torious walked shoulder to shoulder in silence, their faces both flecked by ice. Thalin’s scraggly beard had grown into a wiry brown mane, though his eyes darted as quick as ever in their sunken sockets. Both adventurers instinctively slowed as the path suddenly widened, spreading out on both sides to form a flat, level field whose sides sharply rose in two hills of snow. A fortified wall lay between the hills, a huge gatehouse standing sentinel where the road ran through it. This was the entrance into the valley.Waving for everyone to stop, Torious crouched down onto his haunches and brought his keen sight to bear. His eyes focused over the length of the wall, its frosted stonework tying together the two snow-strewn slopes. The wall was perhaps ten feet tall but he assumed it to be quite thick, as figures stood on the ramparts. Soldiers glinted in the morning light as they slowly traipsed the walls in twos or threes. Torious counted perhaps twenty guards in total, but of course, more would be inside. His eyes fell finally onto the frost bitten gates, their heavy wood latticed with iron and a glistening red symbol of Kossuth bolted on, apparently having only just been finished. The aasimar looked back over his shoulder at Thalin, Milo, Mikka and Vaerana with a disgusted shake of his head. Milo and Mikka sat playing a game of snap with a handful of skee, the clatter of the little slate pieces the only sound as Torious carefully picked his way towards them. He crouched down and snatched Milo’s winning stone away.“Hey!” Milo bleated,“Milo. Shut up. This is bad, I don’t know if we can get through there”Thalin folded his arms and pulled his wolf skin cloak a littler tighter as a chill climbed up his spine, “Well, we can’t go back now. Who’s to say we can’t just walk through?”“Robar does. He would have told them to watch out for us, he knows we’re alive”, Torious countered, his voice a steely growl, “His sins will burn in justices wrathful glare!”Mikka chimed in, his voice chattering in the cold, “Easy now. This isn’t really the time for rash decisions. We need to get to the plains before my bottle of Vassan red freezes, it will be ruined”, Mikka saw the others glare at him, “And save those poor villagers, of course”.Torious pushed himself to a stand, craning his vision over the boulder they all crouched behind, his eyes traced over the length of the wall, then across the right hand snow ridge till his eyes fell to his own feet. Moments later, he had clawed his way up the small cliff face. Making sure the wall couldn’t see him, he looked back down at his assorted companions. They stared back up at him. Torious felt a strange feeling of majesty, but knocked that feeling on the head as he concentrated on the task at hand.- - - - - - - - - -Milo wriggled a little closer, his body pressed flat into the snow as he slowly melted into the cover of the jagged crest of rock. His frozen fingers felt slow and unresponsive. Milo imagined them to be yellow and black inside his bearskin gloves. He clutched his crossbow tight to his chest, wary that the wide sleek bow was too large to be fully hidden behind the rocks. Milo was close enough that he could make out snatches of the guards conversation when the wind died a little, which wasn’t often. He strained to see back to the grey blotch of the boulder in the distance, mentally following back his route and secretly applauding himself on getting this far without being seen.  - - - - - - - - - -Thalin stamped his feet again in an attempt to shake the creep of cold up his legs, and made a final check on the villagers. They stood huddled beneath a glazed overhang, tufts of hair and the occasional face poking from beneath the mass of cloaks and bodies. The mage nodded slowly to Errilinth, whose wood-carved features were cracked into a wide smile for the townsfolk, her hands soothed thoughts and quelled cries before they started. Thalin frowned and resolved to uncover this woman’s powers once he could have a proper talk to her.Mikka was stood next to Vaerana, the tiefling displaying a little funnel-shaped device, which turned the snow into multicoloured bubbles. Thalin approached.“…and of course, its perfect for children’s parties. They love this stuff.” Crooned Mikka, his salesperson voice having zero affect on Vaerana.“Why would there be snow at a child’s party?” Queried Vaerana.“Why of course, they are young Vaasan children! And their greatest joy is snow! And bubbles.”“Well yes, but…”Vaerana’s retort was cut short by the baying of a horn. Thalin sprung forward and looked over the boulder. The gates of the wall were opening. The horn continued to blare and the gate heaved open. Inside Thalin could see a small yard leading to a second exit gate. A detachment of six red-cloaked knights wheeled in the small space, then bolted towards the gates. Their crimson platemail glared suddenly brilliant in the sun, reminding Thalin of a newly cut wound. Breaking into a gallop as they thundered towards the hidden companions, the lead horseman unfurled a banner that snapped and hissed in the biting wind. A burning head on a blood red background. Panic writhed in his chest as he realised that there was no time to hide.....</blockquote>

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