A Monster Life Ch. 94-96

Susi grinned. 'Susi will be able to fight alongside Daddy soon.'

'I don't want to see you in any danger like anyone else, but I'll be proud to see you become fast and strong enough to best our enemies, honey.'

Rachael understood the gist of what they said by the tone of their barks, and chuckled. 'Sounds like I'll spar more with you from now on.'

Ulric relayed what Rachael said, and Susi gave her a lick on her cheek. Rachael sniggered. 'I guess that means you're in.'

Tipper looked up at Elzbieta by her side. 'Would you mind sparring with me some time? I'd like to find out if I can use my spade in a similar manner as you use your broadsword.'

Elzbieta pondered the possibility of using a spade in her fights. 'I think there are some techniques you can use with it. All right, let's go through them after eating.'

***

Millias clashed with the front of the Tosk army as they closed ranks behind Parthan and his aides, and he proved his worth as a strong king by cutting down anyone nearing him. The others of the royal family didn't lag behind and warmed up the battle field for the Mawan army. It hit the rest of the Tosk army front like a wave hitting the rocks at the shore.

Parthan shouted some orders as he rode on to Yaros sitting outside his tent while drinking wine. He dismounted and bowed quickly. 'Millias and his family are out fighting us.

Yaros smiled lightly. 'Good. Have all the catapults target them and hit them with everything they can throw at them.'

'We could hit our own troops, my lord.'

'Unfortunate casualties for the greater good. Hitting the Mawan hard will end this war in our favour much quicker with less losses on our side.'

Parthan gave a nod. 'Indeed. I will relay the orders.' he said, and went over to the battle field messengers.

Yaros took another drink from his cup. 'Swift and decisive. That's how you win.'

***

Millias didn't go into the fight blindly. He kept an eye on everyone around him and directed his troops when the need arose, and the Tosk had a hard time gaining the upper hand when their own captains couldn't match the king's tactics. He flinched when the first large stone hit the ground with a deep thud and smashed through the men and women close to him. 'What are those bastards thinking!?' he shouted while the men and women of both armies around him looked stunned at the dead and wounded. They didn't stay still for long when more stones came down and bounced through the ranks.

'Return to the city!' Millias ordered. 'Keep your eyes on incoming rocks!' His silny whinnied and jerked sideways at the ground shaking thud of a rock landing hard nearby, becoming increasingly nervous despite its training. Millias reined it in, saw a couple of opportunistic Tosk pikemen running for the back of his son while he fought off another one, and spurred his mount on towards them.

The moment he reached them was also the moment another large stone projectile bounced at the landing, and struck the Tosk, the king, and his silny. Millias was dead before he fell onto the ground.

***

This time it was Elyta who made the first remark when the chilly winds brushed her red cheeks. 'I hope you have a good spell to keep us all warm while we're here, Gigs.' she said as the party looked out over the snow covered landscape trapped between two long mountain ranges and the only opening between them leading towards the southern pole. A constant wind from there brought the freezing cold deep into what once was a temperate climate country.

Gigacks stared blankly at the former rich and fertile land known as Vihremaa, and where the former capital Kolstaa lay hidden in the fogs of the far off distance. 'I could set you on fire and keep you warm for the rest of your life.'

Elyta didn't blink. 'Yeah, not what I had in mind.' she said, and was glad she had enough storage space in her pack to include an extra layer of warm clothing.

Muni's fur stood slowly up straight at the sight of nothing but white. 'I can tell my fur coat won't be enough this time.'

Coëllo groaned. 'I wish I had bought even more thicker clothing.'

Tarrence glanced sideways at the others. 'I did tell you all it was going to be cold where we're going.'

Muni chuckled. 'There is a difference between cold and freezing.'

Tarrence spurred his nasr on and descended the shallow path leading from the high passage through the mountain range down to the ruins of a gate town far below.

***

Iphigenia pulled a warm, black mantle from her pack. 'I know this will keep me warm, but I wish it was made from your fur, Wolfie.'

Ulric chuckled. 'If I was sure my skin would grow back and it was painless to take it off, I'd donate it to all of you because I love the idea of wrapping you all up in me.'

Valdys gave him a sly smile. 'There are some spells and methods mentioned in the library that we could use to test that, my love.'

He looked at her while a cold shiver ran across his skin. 'I still feel a sense of ouch at the thought though.'

She giggled. 'As if I could do anything to you, painless or not. You're way too precious to me.'

Kaui put on her gloves. 'It's enough for me when I can touch your fur as we sleep, Master.'

He smiled softly at her. 'Touch me as much as you want, cutie. It warms me to have you so close.'

Tipper groaned softly. 'I'm glad I have my own things to keep me warm, and not have to stick close to all that.' she muttered.

Ulric checked on Isazea, who rummaged through her pack. 'How're you holding up, dearie? Do you have a lot of trouble with the cold?'

She gave him a gentle smile. 'I will manage. I'm not that good with cold weather, but I have my thick and air tight cloak.' she said, pulled her hood over her head, and buttoned it up with only her eyes visible deep within it. 'This will do for me.'

Ulric chuckled at her muffled voice. 'All right, but if you become uncomfortable, I want you to tell me at once.'

After everyone was done dressing up warm, the party continued the drive through the slim crack marked on the map. Breann recommended it as no one took that way to enter the frozen country. The freezing wind whistled its lonely song along the ragged rock walls, worsening the cold sensation from the decreasing temperatures. Susi snuggled tighter against Ulric's front and he glanced back at Valdys, who despite the nature of her physical condition, wrapped herself up warm because the cold affected her as well. 'Val, know anything yet about the place we're going?'

'Not until we come across a clearer clue, my love. There are too many lands with a winter climate.'

He nodded. 'Yeah, I thought so. I just hope it won't be an ominous clue if we come across one.'

The end of the crack neared soon enough thanks to the capris' ability to navigate the rough path with relative ease, and they gazed at the wide and white view of the snowy landscape imprisoned between the mountains. Ulric flattened his ears to keep the freezing wind from blowing inside them. 'All the arctic movies I've seen just flashed in front of my eyes.'

Tipper raised an eyebrow. 'The what?'

'A form of entertainment from my old world. There were stories depicted in landscapes like this. I never imagined myself ending up in a place like this.'

Elzbieta pointed at a tower barely visible in the foggy distance. 'I don't see anything else we can go to for shelter.'

Ulric squinted at the vague vertical shape. 'I hope we do find some shelter there, and not find a single wall with no roof instead.'

***

The gate town featured a large and still intact gate, with most of the broad wall on either side still standing and half buried in the snow. The dark stone formed a highly contrasting line through the white background until it faded from view. The party passed through the gate and onto the main road cutting the town in half, where the wind blew swirls of powder snow along the length. Coëllo gazed at an old shop sign squeaking in the wind, miraculously still hanging after it was first put up so long ago. 'So, what happened here?'

Tarrence halted his nasr at one of the houses with an intact roof. 'The details are unclear, but apparently they mined so much of a mountain rich with ores that most of it collapsed. It opened up a hole for the freezing cold towards the usually mild weather of the country and froze everything overnight.'

Muni whistled. 'They couldn't plug the hole?'

Tarrence looked inside the house and checked for structural damage. 'They tried, but the conditions must have been too brutal to finish the job. The people chose to flee to warmer countries.' He stepped inside the house. 'We'll take shelter for our rest here.'

Elyta looked at the dimming light of the setting sun, then noticed a couple of arrows sticking into a barrel at a narrow alley. She moved closer and examined them. 'Do any people still live here?'

'Not that I know of. Why?'

Elyta pulled one arrow loose and turned it over. 'These arrows are recently made, as far as I can tell. Their heads are not like they were made a long time ago.'

Tarrence moved to her and looked at the arrow. 'It's possible there are fortune seekers, hoping to find abandoned treasures. There are still rumours in a few places about valuables lying around for grabs, for those who dare to confront the harsh cold.'

Elyta tossed the arrow at the barrel. 'Things have become a lot harsher for them if they stand in our way.' she said, and followed Tarrence inside the house and a back room which kept out the wind.

Muni pulled his bedding out of his pack, laid it down, then stopped when Coëllo put hers with it. She gave him a sly smile. 'Don't you know it's easier to keep warm together?'

'Yeah, but..'

She leaned closer to him. 'Don't worry, I'm not going to assault you in your sleep. I prefer a fair fight.'

Muni groaned and rolled his eyes. 'You'd better not snore, or you'll sleep with the nasr.'

Elyta glanced at Tarrence while they laid down their bedding. He prepared his without looking up, and she sighed inwards when he took out his meal ration. She knew she shouldn't have expected anything from him, and shouldn't be bothered when she had plans of her own, but there was still that tiny nudge in her chest of disappointment and she sat down.

She suppressed her delight when he cleared the bits of rubble from the floor next to his bedding, and took her pack and placed it with his on the other side.

Gigacks sat down between the nasr and took out a book. He couldn't care less about the weather or sleep.

***

The main walls of the broad tower had withstood the test of time and weather, but most of the inner structure had collapsed into a heap, and what was once the entrance to the tower had become a large gap. Conchim looked up at the open hole to the sky. 'Only the barest of shelter against the wind, as long as it keeps coming from the current direction.'

Elzbieta pulled out hides from her pack. 'It's better than out in the open, which we might have to endure anyway, so we'd better be grateful for this right now.'

Conchim opened her pack. 'True. I'm not worried so much about sleeping because we have plenty of covers for that, but how we might not be able to cook out in the open.'

Ulric gave her a pat on her back. 'Don't worry your pretty little head over that. We have enough food and that's the important thing. I don't think we'll find anything to hunt while we're here, so I hope you won't feel bored after a while.'

She chuckled. 'True. But I think I can hold out on that until we're back in warmer places.'

Rachael looked up from her pack at Handil. 'Hang on, what about you? I almost forgot you're no longer eating the same as before.'

Handil gave her a warm smile. 'I'll be fine. I will have to endure the taste, but I can live on regular food long enough.' Rachael still looked worried, and Handil kissed her. 'Just keep me from becoming hungry for your affection.'

Rachael giggled and kissed Handil in return. 'But I like you hungry for my affection.'

Handil grinned. 'Well, even more hungry than usual then.' she said, and helped Rachael set up a comfortable place to sleep against the inner wall of the tower, close to the one for Ulric and his girls.

Ulric dug out a hole in the rubble, which protected the cooking fire from the elements, and after the meal everyone crawled deep into their covers to sleep, Ulric with his girls, Rachael with Handil, and Tipper and Yingshien in their own. The capri received a cover and formed a half circle around everyone.

The wind turned after the sun went down completely, and the wind blew partially through the former entrance. It brought more cold and awoke Tipper after a while. She shivered and pulled her covers tighter around her, but she couldn't warm herself up. She heard a loud sneeze and peeked out from under at Yingshien, who rubbed her nose. 'Feeling a lot colder as well?'

Yingshien grumbled. 'Yes. I breath fire, but it's no use when I need to stay under my covers and can't use it. I wouldn't be able to sleep either.'

Ulric's head popped out from the large pile of hides. 'Are you all right? I heard you talk.'

Tipper sat up against the wall. 'The wind made it colder. I'll try out another place to sleep.'

Ulric looked around. 'I don't think you'll find a better place. You'd better crawl under here with us. We're keeping warm just fine.'

Tipper didn't want to imagine how they kept warm. 'No thanks, I'll be fine.'

Ulric sighed. 'Don't be stubborn. Come here.'

Tipper picked up her hides and went over to another side of the wall. 'I'll be fine.' she said, dropped the hides, and went underneath. A gust of wind swept over her and she shuddered quickly. Ulric sighed. 'I told you so. Just join us here.'

Tipper looked away. 'It was nothing. I'll be warm soon.'

Ulric slipped from underneath the covers, walked over to her, and pulled her out from her cocoon. She struggled to free herself from his embrace. 'Hey! Let me go!'

'Just shut up and stop being foolish, girl.' Ulric said as he took her over to his pile, where Iphigenia lifted a couple of hides and sniggered. He pushed her into the pile and looked at Yingshien, who watched the whole thing with some apprehension. She understood how Tipper felt and didn't feel like crawling up to a bunch of demons, even if it was warmer. She realised Ulric must have recognised her expression as he frowned at her and gestured at the underside of the hide he held up. 'In here, now.'

His commanding tone struck her chest, and her heart skipped a beat. She nearly unconsciously obeyed him, slipped out from her own bedding, and meekly into the one where the other girls made some room for her. Not just the warmth, but seeing they all wore a tunic and were not naked gave her a sense of relief. The same one on Tipper's face. She also had to admit that the smell of the group wasn't bothering her as she had imagined it would.

Rachael's and Handil's heads popped out of their covers. 'What's going on?' asked Rachael, and shivered at the cold. 'Why is it much colder now?'

Ulric looked back at the tower's entrance. 'The wind turned and is blowing inside. Tip thought she could stay warm on her own, so I pushed her in with us, and Ying as well.'

His gaze returned to them, and Rachael looked at Handil. He needed no words to tell them what he wanted them to do. 'It is safer.' Handil said, and Rachael gave her a quick nod. They joined the others and crawled close together., and fell asleep soon in the comfortable warmth while the wind howled gently around the tower.