"When are we leaving?"

"I'd agree with you Caedis, if we hadn't obviously upset these people's power structure. There's not a lot that can be done just yet anyhow, you need at least a day for that hip to heal enough for a fight."

He sat down on a bench next to her leaning against the wall, tired, and with half his ribs bruised, but not broken, he noted.

"There's only so much one of us can do before we tire enough to become a liability."

"Faunra...Faunra..." Atticus said, slightly shaking the elf. No response. Maybe Damien "saved" her a bit too hard... It also looked like the battle took a lot out of her. She was fantastic with a bow, great with a knife, and could probably take on an army...as long as stealth was on her side. At least Atticus had explosives and weapons that covered a wider radius, all she had were a couple of arrows.

"Hmm, I wonder..." Atticus said picking up a few of her arrows. He put them in his belt as he picked up Faunra. "She won't miss two." Atticus thought, ideas and concepts spinning in his head. He felt what a slight breeze and noticed a shadow move in front of him. "Finally, some other from of life around here." As Atticus carried Faunra down to Aleister, he noticed a figure talking to Sonefuse. The guy didn't have a shirt, only a pair of piercing white pants and a sword. A few seconds later, Atticus's mind finally registered that this guy wasn't just some guy. He had a a set of white, feathery wings, slightly ruffled. Even with companions like Stonefuse and Prail, Atticus couldn't believe this.

"Things just keep getting interesting." Atticus thought. '

"Aleister, I got Faunra." He yelled towards the the doctor. "And has anyone seen Zavier?"

Atticus laid Faunra down and turned around just in time to hear the most awkward conversations he'd heard since he'd left Agris.

"Don't take this the wrong way Caedis, but I find your leg to be rather soft, and beautiful." Aleister head suddenly snapped upwards.

"Sorry about that, got a little carried away. Despite your battle hardened physique, you still have the grace and elegance of a woman; a rather perfect combination. Let me just stitch this wound for you, and we should be done for the moment." Aleister commented, bringing the topic of conversation back to a medical nature. Before sewing the cut, he cleaned the surrounding area, with more of the cleaning solution.

"Smooth, Aleister. Smooth. Oh man, I am never gonna let him live this down." Atticus said in his head, trying to suppress a chuckle. He then noticed Aleister turn towards the bird man.

"Hmm, it seems we have a Seraphim in out midst. Can't say I've seen many of your kind around, if ever. Take it Calgradni had you locked up in the arena then?"

So that's what bird boy was. The name sounded familiar to Atticus, but he couldn't recall where from. Etrius didn't seem to hear Alesiter, he was a bit too focused on Prail's flyers. Eventually, Etrius realized where the flyers were coming from and drew his sword.

"So you still think you can win?"

"Whoa, wait a second!" Atticus drew his slingshot and loaded it with a green pellet. "She's on our side, bird boy. I mean, he's on our side...it-you know, I'm sticking with she!" Atticus yelled, the heat slightly getting to him.

Damien had started becoming suspicious of the knowledge that the newcomer Aleister had.

He knows of the Dakesh Monastery, this Seraphim, and was conveniently absent during the battle with Calgradni. What is he doing here? And why did he join the party one level back? He had obviously been traveling alone before then. And his fighting style is suspiciously reminiscent, though without all his own tricks.

"Where exactly did you say you came from again, Aleister?" He kept his helmet on however, to disguise both his voice and face from it's slightly suspicious quality.

Not what I asked, but good enough, I know I can't trust him though. As for him being gone for an employer, that raises too many questions and not enough answers in my head, long and interesting conversation, useful information, men with scythes, and his sudden realization that some of us did not see him on the field.All questions I doubt he'll andswer. The way he tells a story is curious, but believable. Not sure I'll take his word on it though.I've seen too many thieves trying to sneak into Dakesh to believe this story just yet, and that smile, I fear I judged him too early.

Damien stood and began walking towards the portal, intending to stand guard by it should any of the Prails decided to...tamper with it in any way. There was little he could do this day beyond sit around. A fact which bothered him in more ways than one.

Nathan wouldn't move, content to lay on the ground for as long as they'd let him. His body ached from head to toe and the cold stone soothed him. Eventually, his arms shifted, lifting his weight. The day grew on. A night of respite, and renewing supplies from the city. The inhabitants wandered the streets, these creatures that had been the minions of the dragon. Now they were on their own, left to rebuild and rule themselves in their own city. He freed himself from the steel confines of his armor, casting it aside to move about in regular cloth. He let his mind go blank as he walked across the courtyards, listening to the ambient noises of the night. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes as he stood there as he finally let himself relax.

Though Ramirez let the cool air wash him away, he cleared the walls and gazed at the portal before him.

"Rest well, we wake to start again tomorrow."

Seeing the birdman draw his blades Prail was soon over there.
Hoping to learn more.

She looked at him before reabsorbing the flyers she'd sent around him. She learnt a lot from them, it was a pretty interesting view.

She held out her hand. She'd noticed the humans doing it before and while she wasn't fond of doing it herself and the custom was fairly new to her. Then again best hoof forward and all that.

"Hmm, so that's where Aleister went. Well, that answers one question...yet raises so many others..." Atticus muttered as he listened to Aleister's backstory.

It actually answered a lot of question about Aleister, which lead Atticus to wonder. What were his other companions purpose for climbing? He knew knew a few vague details involving Caedis supposedly killing her friends and it was obvious that Stonefuse was simply wandering the world looking for purpose, but there were still so many things he didn't know. Atticus's purpose was to save Agris of course, and send useful stuff back down the levels. However Atticus was beginning to notice that this was becoming a harder and harder thing. Some people couldn't just send someone away to deliver something, and only occasionally did someone with magical capabilities just poof something back to Agris. Atticus usually found himself sitting down, using his little communicator, and explaining the device or ritual to his family. But what if he couldn't keep doing that?

There was the whole become-a-God goal if you reach the top, that people were always talking about, but Atticus didn't really buy into though. Which lead him to wonder even more, what would Atticus due if he couldn't save Agris yet managed to reach the top? Would he stand back and let someone else take the prize, hoping they would be a "decent God." Or would Atticus simply snatch it up at a moments notice, no matter what? As he thought about this, Nathan groggily came to.

"Rest well, we wake to start again tomorrow."

"Rest, that's all you need, Atticus. Rest." Atticus finished picking up his discarded traps, found his Rod among a body of lallows, and sat next to Launra, still knocked out breathing gently.

"And what's your reason for climbing? Trying to rob the entire tower?" Atticus muttered in a chuckle as he remembered their first encounter. "First time I actually had a friend on this journey." Atticus thought fondly, as he leaned back. He found the canteen he'd put Veritas in and poured him into a bowl and in the shade, dropping a few blue capsules to prevent the water from evaporating.. "Better safe than sorry, water boy."

As Atticus began to rest, he saw Prail reach her hand out towards Etrius, trying to do what looked like a handshake. She seem-he-eh screw it. She seemed very awkward about it. As Atticus looked away from Prail and towards Etrius he remembered the level.

"How could I almost forget about the level of birdmen? He'd passed through the land of the birdmen, as Atticus had later described it. It had been a difficult journey, due to the lack of land, but luckily Atticus's weather balloons could support his weight. This level taught Atticus a lot about wind patterns, navigating the air, and it is also where Atticus got the idea for his tornado traps after watching a Seraphim due a spiraling take off, creating a small vortex. This level also taught Atticus that his wasn't the only one with potentially doomed people, which troubled Atticus because he'd made a few great people on that level. He knew about the Seraphim's situation but didn't really want to probe Etrius for further information. But that just made Atticus curious about Etrius's goal. The more he thought about it, the more Atticus began to think that all these powerful courageous people hed come to call friends would all die before they reached the top.

But not without reaching whatever goals they had.

"Wow, this ride just keeps getting better and better." Atticus said aloud, no point to it, no real meaning or connection to anything he'd been thinking about. Just a thought he felt like saying to anyone who happened to be listening. Atticus began to lay back but stopped abruptly. He pulled out the two candles Prail had given him. He took one, loaded it into his slingshot along side a simple lighter, and fired it into the forest. "Now I'm ready to leave this level. Atticus thought to himself before lying back, the sun finally begging to set.

"I just hope the next level is a bit cooler."

"Don't humble yourself, Aleister." Caedis breathed out and gave him a cold smile. "That's a pretty decent story and I do feel -awful- about your mentor."

She got up stretching her leg. Now that the patching was done with, Caedis wanted more but like with all things her body didn't allow it. Muscles ached all over and she followed Aleister's advice to try something not too strenuous. Even as fetched her spear she could feel the taut muscles cry in anguish. She sat back down and sharpened the spear because after all, all that Lallowen flesh was quite tough to pierce the first few times. Caedis was careful and gazed over the angel that had joined the battle and now the group.

With the telling of Aleister's story and Atticus' probing question it seemed the closer they were getting to "story time" as she called it. A period where the travelers tell their tales both high and mighty. Caedis experienced this earlier but it was not as open than what Aleister had to add. She hoped that they would not prod her again. One telling was enough.

"Anybody mind sleeping with all these dead bodies around us?" Caedis got up again and rolled the nearest dead Lallowen down a flight of stairs.

As the day passed, more Lallowens gathered throughout the smoking ruins of the arena, in varying states of harm. Those that had been far from the battle and those that had escaped relatively unharmed helped to heal the wounds of their fellow Lallow. Many were afraid of the future - a future without their queen. Some mourned her loss, others rejoiced at her demise, and yet others carried on as though nothing had happened. Many of the Lallow were visible upset, but as high as these tensions were, no one acted; for no one wanted to fight, much less against those who had slayed a dragon.

The day became a blur. Most of the Lallow were content to clean up the city and treat the injured. After several hours, the arena had been cleared of all but the most substantial rubble. The numerous dead Lallow disappeared one by one, taken into the forest by those who were still alive.

With the exception of Prail, the Lallow kept their distance from the party when possible - Atticus most of all. Those that did approach, did so in reverence, seeking to appease the one who had killed Calgradni.

After some time, when they were finally prepared, the party finally packed up and headed across a massive stone bridge, toward what they had learned was Calgradni's palace and where the next portal was.

Before they could enter however, a group of Lallow blocked their path, their heads bowed. One of the Lallow, a female, approached. She wore robes of a thousand colors, each more extravagant than the last, with the symbol of a tree embroidered upon the front. In her hands was a box; constructed of gold, engraved with the same symbols as they had seen upon the ruins when they first arrived, and about the size of a small dog. The box glowed with a light that seemed unreal, yet fully natural.

When the group reached them, the Lallow women held the box up, and presented it to Atticus, with all the ritualism they could show. The lallow then spoke, working with what little of the climber written-language she knew and Prail's translation when necessary. "As is your right as chief Lallow, the Cradle is yours."

Atticus was very confused with what what was being presented before him. Why were they all suddenly acting this way? When a female lallow in extravagent robs presented the small glowing box before him, Atticus was completely dumbfounded. He could tell that there was power within it, what he didn't understand was why there were giving it to him. Then Prail cleared things up through a flyer.

"As is your right as chief Lallow, the Cradle is yours." Prail translated.

"Oh, I'm cheif of the lallow...wait, what?"

"Seems like by slaying Calgradni, you have become the chief of these reptiles. This is purely based upon what I have seen of these people, and how they have interacted with us since her death; that the Lalloween hierarchy, is based around some sort of power structure, whoever is the strongest, becomes the ruler. And since you killed Calgradni, you proven to be the strongest." Aleister cleared up.

As Atticus let this process and it finally occured to him that he had been the one to kill Calgradni. During the fight, Atticus hadn't been paying attention. He'd simply ran down to Damien, fired the pellet hoping to by some time, Damien launching him and Faunra into the seats, and that was it. One moment she'd been there, the next she was gone. The only evidence that he'd really done anything was the fact X pellet had a white x instead of a red one.

"So...this is the Cradle? What uh-..what does it do?" Atticus wearily asked?

The lallows didn't answer. Either they didn't know or didn't remember. All they knew was that it was powerful.

Atticus tried to figure out what it could do. Was it a weapon? A jewel? And then a breeze came by, just as fresh and as pure as the first one he'd when he'd passed through the portal from Minalca. The forest was still deathly quiet, not even a chirp coming from it. Atticus focused and opened the box and focused on the light shinning from it. The light began to stretch from the box in a golden dust and settled on the floor and began to disapate.

In its place was a tiny green frog.

"Engineered..." Atticus muttered, awestruck and surprised what he'd done had actually worked. He then tried a few more things. A flock of colorful birds flew through the window, storm clouds could be heard somewhere off in the distance, and a flurry of new sounds and beings were brought into existence. He could see to one end of the level and instaneously, was at another end. He knew where every tree was, how many grains of dirt made up the level, and thousands of bits or knowledge flooded his brain. Atticus looked back at his companions, laughing away. Was it magic? Some strange science? Atticus was too amazed to really think about it.

He tested something. The gold dust surrounded some of lallows and Atticus could read their minds and understand their language. A lot of things about the lallows began to make sense to him. He even controlled some of them, but quickly stopped that since it made him feel really uncomfortable. He shortly attempted to do this to his own companions, but he couldn't, not even on Prail for some reason.

"The Cradle must strictly work for everything on this level." Atticus realized. "But with some work..."

"Um...thank you for this honor.' Atticus wearily uttered. "And perhaps the answer to all my problems." Atticus turned back to his companions.

"What do you guys think of this?" Atticus said, pulling a small monkey-like creature into existence, that came to rest on his shoulder.

Mind control! Something mental based?
No it couldn't.
Prail tried to make a grab for it, raising her tail aggressively.
She had to do what she could.
She made an aggressive noise telling the Lallowens opposite her she spoke. She tried to stay calm while remaining genuine.
"Please destroy it. Do whatever you can, throw it to the bottom of the sea or into a volcano or something. Our people have been manipulated for two long; I wouldn't have had to run from my homeland if it wasn't for these sorts of devices.
Please."

"Please destroy it. Do whatever you can, throw it to the bottom of the sea or into a volcano or something. Our people have been manipulated for two long; I wouldn't have had to run from my homeland if it wasn't for these sorts of devices.
Please."

Atticus heard Prail's plea through the Cradle and side stepped the tail. He simply looked at the lallow and eventually admitted that she had a point. The Cradle was a powerful device, a machine of creation and as Calgradni had shone, one of destruction. Was he really worthy of such power? But then again, he didn't have to use the mind control. He killed a dragon, these guys pretty much worshiped him. The others could go up ahead, he'd stay back, rule for a bit, and perhaps migrate all of Agris here. Seemed easy. Who would stop him? He had an army of...Atticus's train of though faulted as saw Stonefuse gazing at him. Not with his usually blank stare, but with more...attentiveness.

"Alright, alright." Atticus muttered.

"Hey, listen up. I am quite humbled by what you have done for me since I did slay that dragon-lady-snake thing...but, as your chief, I feel you should know that my slaying of Calgradni...was a total and utter fluke. I had no actual idea what I was doing and honestly, she would've killed me if she'd actually seen me without my 'ace in the hole.'" Atticus transmitted a mental image of the Calgradni's death to the lallows and also Atticus's thoughts at the time. "Now, you must understand that the Cradle is powerful. It is a means to control your level and your people. And it should be disposed of..." Atticus said this and paused for a bit. He walked towards the portal. He looked back with the most evil face he could conjure into existence.

"I am not going to do this. Not at all. I am taking this with me and if I am lucky, I shall return to your level and rule it with an iron fist. It shall be miserable for all of you, a living nightmare, if you worthless savages even know what those are." Atticus could see some of the lallows physically become agitated as Atticus transmitted images of torment. "...unless you want to take it from."

For the longest while, no one moved. His companions were showing hints of agitation, Damien and Prail especially. Suddenly a group of the strongest lallows stepped forward, one being the lallow that had actually guided them to the city. As they charged with their weapons Atticus used the Cradle to stop them in their tracks and caused them to draw their weapons on each other. He then had them point the weapons at the female lallow in the robe. His face then softened with minor disappointment and sympathy.

"See, there's the problem. If you just give someone the source of this level's strength just because you think they contain the most strength, they'll just stop you in your tracks and send you back a few hundred years. Did Calgradni ever do anything for you? Honestly, you just waded upon her hand and foot just because she could kill a few of you! And look what happened, I killed her! If I myself tripped on a rock the right way, I could easily die right there. And here you are making me a God!" Atticus sighed a bit.

"Really, this level irritates me. You had-heck, you still do have all this knowledge, intelligence, and your ever evident power but you're wasting it. So, here's another proposal. I will take the Cradle with me, but at some point I'll probably destroy it. If you want to make another one, go right ahead. Learn, advance, and do as you wish. Just make sure that if you do, you're intelligent enough to remove a certain function." Atticus said forcing the lallows to return to where they'd been standing and stay there.

"Without that, no one can just kick a few asses, waltz on in, and suddenly destroy your way of life. Without that, I assure you that your people shall rise further than they have in a long time. Because the only thing that truly determines the outcome of your people and of this level, is you and you alone." Atticus said, releasing the lallows from his grip.

"Sorry for the roughness, but I just needed to get my point across." Atticus said, apologizing as he walked towards the portal. He took one final look back and saw a lallow slipping away, holding a candle and what looked like the small lighter Atticus had launched into the forest.

"Good luck."

Abzerosa: The Ice Box

The level is a frozen expanse of ice and snow. Staying warm is the key to survival on this level and if you can't do that you might as well turn around and stick to whatever level you came from. That's what most climbers will tell you as they chip off their frostbitten fingers. Abzerosa is not a level you can converse around in. You must know the right times to move, the distance between life, and most importantly have a means of staying warm at all times. At some point, it gained the name of "The Ice Box." For it's large glaciers and ice formations as well as being the resting place of thousands of climbers, their organs strewn around by whatever beasts roam the froze expanse.

The level is inhabited by humans, people who have come to live and survive with the cold but know damn well of it's dangers. They don't typically move around, sticking mainly to their towns unless forced to move for either supplies, sharing of information, or in a lot of cases, assisting climbers.

They passed through the portal quickly and were immediately assaulted by a burst of frozen air and were immediately blinded by light. Atticus, Faunra, Nathan, Aleister and Caedis had to hold their footing and tread slowly. Stonefuse and Damien made their way through, the ground began to slightly crack beneath them, leaving large imprints in the ice and snow. While some of the others slightly shivered, Prail didn't seem to really notice the change. She was apparently pretty content in cold temperatures. As they adjusted to the change in light, they found themselves in a room of multicolored ice.

"The light must be coming from outside. This must be the exit!" Atticus said, picking up the pace. The others picked up pace, nearing the exit. As they did, Damien felt something strange in the air. He wasn't sure what it was, but all he knew was that he didn't like it.

Veritas looked at the ice. He began to wonder how his water abilities would transfer over to ice.

Stonefuse was shuffling along, when he noticed something. It looked like an ice sculpture of someone. He tried to get the group's attention, but when he turned to look at the statue once more, it was gone.

Aleister decided this would be a good level for flame spells and Zavier tried to see if he had any books that would help them on this level.

Faunra shivered a bit, but her senses picked up on something. Quick footsteps that faded away.

Caedis and Nathan simply made their way out of the cave, trying to ignore the cold. Etrius, noticing the troubled looks on their faces, tried to expand his wings to cover part of the group. And Atticus was simply miserable. He hated the cold. So much. Prail seemed to actually be enjoying herself though. They exited the cave.

The group found themselves at the foot of a tall mountain, in what appeared to be a small valley on a frozen lake. And so their trek began and Atticus simply uttered a variation of what he usually says whenever they entered a new level.
"So, where do we begin?"

Faunra stepped before the mystical portal, sad to leave the forested level, but eager to leave the humidity and neigh-unbearable heat of the jungle. She took one moment to look out over the forest then stepped through the portal.

She regretted the action instantaneously; it was horribly cold.

She huddled down upon herself trying to regain her warmth and acclimate to the new environment, wrapping her arms around her knees. Before a minute had passed, she was digging through her pack, looking for every scrap of clothing she could find, and putting them on with the greatest of speed.

"The light must be coming from outside. This must be the exit!" Atticus said, seemingly unaffected by the frigid weather. "Jerk" She thought, shuddering a little more in the cold, but following her temperature-adjusted friend. She moved in silence, unwilling to waste the energy she could better spend on warmth. Breathing lightly, the warm vapor from her mouth coming out of suspension and freezing, she followed - hoping against hope that outside the cave they might find a civilization.

They walked through the ice tunnel, its frigid walls refracting light in a thousand different directions, and giving the area an endlessly colorful ambient glow. Faunra was distracted by the glow for a few seconds, enjoying the natural beauty. It was during this pause, she heard it. At the base of her hearing she could make out footsteps. It wasn't surprising - they were a rather large group after all. The only problem was that there were more footsteps than there should have been. before she had a chance to identify them however, the faded and vanished.

"Maybe it's just an echo off the walls... maybe... I'd better keep an ear out just to be safe." she thought, keeping the information to herself for the time being.

Finally, the cavern opened, expelling them into a valley of ice and snow, upon a frozen lake. A rime-wind blew through causing Faunra to shiver once more and move back into the cave entrance. Atticus said something, but it was lost to her ears in the wind. "I could look for shelter from above." Etrius offered. He too appeared unaffected by the cold - though not to the extent of Prail who appeared almost giddy in the weather, though it was hard to be sure given her inability to read Lallowen emotions.

Faunra still didn't trust their newest compatriot, though that could apply to most of them. Still, she didn't want the bird-man to suffer any ill-effect from the weather. "You sure you can handle it? The weather outside is frightful and you're hardly dressed for it." she said, taking a questioning posture.

As she said it, as if to prove its point, the wind blew once more, this time harder than before. Faunra immediately went back to shivering. "Well, I'm ready to leave this level."

"So, where do we begin?" Atticus said, trying to hide the fact he was absolutely terrified and miserable. His gloved kept out most of the cold and he scrambled to strap his overalls. "Why did I wish for a cooler level? Why?" Atticus thought to himself.

"I could look for shelter from above." Etrius said, stretching his wings.

"You sure you can handle it? The weather outside is frightful and you're hardly dressed for it." she said, taking a questioning posture. Atticus then looked up and down the Seraphim, confusion stretching across his face. Atticus realized Etrius didn't have a shirt on. And yet he didn't shiver, didn't hint any sign of agitation. A strong col breeze passed, as if trying to point out how odd Etrius's appearance and reactions to the weather was.

"Well, I'm ready to leave this level." Faunra uttered blatant dismay.

"Oh c'mon, it isn't th-that bad" Atticus's entire body twitched in one large spasm.

The sudden shift from wet-heat, to freezing cold was a jarring experience for the giant man. No stranger to the cold, as Dakesh was situated on the Skull, the highest mountain in the level. He had been gone far too long to not feel the effects of the biting wind, though his armor kept back the worst of the cold, he felt it begin to seep in from exposure.

"So, where do we begin?"

"At the moment, it looks as if a blizzard may be moving in by the looks of those clouds. I'd suggest we get to shelter for the night."

Caedis stepped through as well but was hit with a blast of cold. She brought a woolen coat out from her pack, mumbling swears under the blowing cold. When she was finally wrapped in the warmest of clothing she could find Caedis trudged forward with the group with the snow up to her knees at some times. The winds howled again almost pushing her back but she wouldn't let some wind keep her from sticking with the group.

When they finally reached the outside of the cave, Caedis looked around at the new environment which was hardly surprising from the reception she had back when they first entered. It was indeed a beautiful sight but Caedis would much rather see it without the cold weather somehow. Etrius had helped with his large wings but the cold still bit through her cloth and armor.

"Oh c'mon, it isn't th-that bad" Caedis watched as Atticus was fighting the cold as well.

"Maybe we should go somewhere warm first! And hopefully someplace safe." Caedis was going to say something else until another arctic wind blasted her. She bit her mouth at the idea but it was the only idea she had.

"Etrius, could you try and see if there is any shelter from above?"

"At the moment, it looks as if a blizzard may be moving in by the looks of those clouds. I'd suggest we get to shelter for the night."

"Th-that sounds like a gr-gre-great idea. Except there doesn't appear to be anything for miles." Atticus managed to stammer out. "Etrius, please try to find something. Anything!" Atticus yelled. "Stay calm Atticus. It's just a bit of snow..."

Etrius flapped his wings and took off with one giant push. Aleister walked over, a small fireball in hand.

"I'd suggest moving on and keeping ourselves warm. I don't believe it would be wise to simply stand around out here." He said, moving the fireball towards the shivering Faunra and then the rest of the group.

Atticus pulled out a number of red capsules. "Here, put these in your pockets. They naturally give off heat and should keep a lot of us warm." Atticus said handing them to the rest of his companions. Prail and Stonefuse didn't really need them. Damien squished a few and had their head simmer off his seat. They began walking, Etrius circling over head.

"Alright, let's see what's out there." Etrius thought to himself. He looked out over the frozen land, making out a few glaciers, rolling hills, mountains, and plenty of jagged rocks. His bird's eye view allowed him to see for miles, but he didn't see anything. Suddenly, a flock of wooly bird-like creatures came flying by. Puffits, as they were called. Etrius flew into the flock and decided to converse with a few.

"Blizzard coming, blizzard coming!" The bird yelled

"You wouldn't happen to know where the nearest town or place of shelter is would you-"

"Northeast, a few clicks up this passage and across the froze sea!" The puffit screeched.

"Why thank you-"

"Crackling day is a upon us!" The birds all screeched before flying off.

"Well...thanks." Etrius said, confused. Certain birds could be a bit excitable but those birds...What was Crackling day? As he pondered over this, he felt himself pass over a flow of warm air. "Hmm, well isn't that strange? Etrius looked down and saw the wooly creature charging towards the group from up the path.

"What is that?!" He yelped, diving towards the group

The group walked through the pass, trying to stay warm when suddenly the ground began to slightly shake beneath them.

"Does anyone else feel that?" Nathan asked.

Etrius dove out of the sky and landed in the center of the group. He pointed out towards a corner of the path as the creature suddenly came skidding around the bend. It had blueish greenish behemoth, with an armored head and spinal platting across it's back. As it charged at the group, it gave off immense heat, melting most of the snow around it.

It stopped a few feet away and stared at the group.

"Um...hi?" Atticus said wearily.

The creature let out a roar and began charging at them once more.

Just like home. Prail looked out over the frozen land scape it was beautiful and for the first time in months her skin didn't feel like it was burning. She didn't notice the difficulty most of the other were having for quite a while.
Then came the monster, it was a huge furry thing radiating so much heat. She only just dodged the first change and started running wanting to stay as cool as she could. Then again if it chased her should be able to run her thagomizer mortally deep providing she could put up with its heat.
She unleashes a roar of her own hoping to scar her opponent. She could easily produce a sound to resonate across the mountains.

The jumped away in multiple directions as the beast came roaring by. The beast came back around, running in any direction it felt would help. Prail let out a tremendous roar, trying to combat the creatures own. The beast reared, standing on it's hind, kicking the air. It began backing up towards Caedis, trying to get away from Prail.

Meanwhile, a layer of snow began to loosen from the cliff sides.

"Um...hi?" Atticus said wearily as the creature let out a roar and began charging at them once more.

As it bolted forward, Faunra dropped and rolled out of the way, trying to escape the beasts path. It was from this changed view point she could see the real danger of the creature - it's heat. Each step it took melted some of the ice beneath it, sending cracks out across the ice sheet upon which they stood.

"That's not goo..." She tried to say, before Prail let out a roar at the creature in hopes of dissuading its course of action. The sound carried for miles. Faunra took a second to look at the mountains around them. With her elven eyes, she could already make out the signs of the snow becoming dislodged. They would only have a few minutes before the unknowable amount of snow and ice fell upon them.

"Very not good. WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!" She called out, pushing herself to her feet and running over the swiftly cracking ice away from the swiftly approaching snow - and straight at the behemoth. With a mighty vault, she jump into the air and grabbed hold of the monstrosity by the base of its tail, and pulled herself unto it's back. The heat from the creature burned her hands. Her nerves screamed for her to let go, but she resisted, trying to crawl atop its back to use it as a barrier against the soon-to-be tsunami of snow.

Caedis lunged forward with her spear aiming for its knee on one of its massive legs. The snow picked up around her as she darted forward like a coiled viper. And with all the training she had, she was able to land a bloody slash on the back of the beast's leg. Blood stained the winter snow but the beast roared in anger, swinging its body towards Caedis nearly knocking her head off if she didn't roll out of the way.

"The legs!" Caedis yelled out.

"Very not good. WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!" Caedis saw the blur that was the elf, on the beast struggling to hold on. Caedis noticed the shifting snow on the higher elevations the longer the fight was dragging out. They need to kill this thing now or else they would buried under a mountain of snow.

"The sooner we kill it, the sooner we get out of here!"

While Caedis launched an attack on the beast's leg, Damien pulled his sword and charged it's flank, meaning to take a knee from the back. He was able to dart around the tusks the thing used expertly, and slash at it's leg. He encountered much more resistance than he was used to, but was still able to sink it fully into the behemoth's leg the full width of the blade.

The gargantuan creature keenly felt the blade bite into it's flesh, and retaliated. Swinging it's head around, Damien was able to block the tusks, but the force of the blow sent him rolling to the portal, slamming into an ice-covered stone and causing him to drop the sword in front of his face point down into the ice. He moved and Altimar cut deeply into his helmet, along with a slice of his face. He felt the sharp blade and cursed himself for dropping it.

He picked the sword back up and charged the beast yet again. This time knowing to not let the thing hit him with all of it's strength, to instead allow it to only glance him, if at all.

"The sooner we kill it, the sooner we get out of here!" Caedis yelled.

She charged towards the beast, her spear in hand aiming for his feet. Atticus looked around desperately. The snow on the side of the cliffs were beginning to ripple. Atticus had never been involved, but he'd heard of avalanches wiping out entire towns. The bit of his stomach ached. Only a few minutes in and they were already in another life or death situation. Damien, Aleister, and Zavier charged in. Aleister, flaming sword in hand, Zavier, throwing knives ready, and Damien, sword unsheathed. They were all aiming for the legs. Prail and Stonefuse were on the outside of the attack, simply keeping the creature cornered. And Vertias began swirling the snow behind him, a look of terror and utter amazement emerging from his face. Etrius was circling around the creature, also trying to assist Faunra. They all began their individitual skirmishes which formed one overall attack. Atticus smiled a bit. He was glad to see this rag tag band of travelers had gained some form of unison.

As Atticus looked away from the cliff side, ready to support Caedis in her own charge, Nathan right nest to her, but he snapped his neck back, noticing a flicker of light coming from the cliffs. It was only for a second, but Atticus knew he saw it. It almost looked like light reflecting off a glass, not ice or the snow. He stared harder at the cliff and saw a patch of snow that didn't look right. It was too lump,the front of it looked a bit too straight and from that angle it looked like it was pointing towards-

"Caedis look out!" Atticus yelled. A shard of ice came flying towards Caedis, Atticus noticed the shimmer just in time to reflect the shot with his own pellet. The shard was reflected away from the back of her head, only grazing her cheek. A figure slowly got up from the show and stared at Atticus and Caedis coldly, holding a sniper rifle tightly.

Another figure got up quicker and it almost looked like the figure was yelling at the sniper. The sniper ignored the yeller and began shooting at the snow in front of it. "Why would they...oh no!"

"Avalanche!" Atticus yelled running. The snow loosened and began rolling down the cliff, the figures disappearing. The creature let out a roar, the heat around it rising. Veritas began forming a dome around Prail and Stonefuse while Damien acted as a shield for Zavier and Aleister. Etrius pulled up into the air, Faunra way from the beast and Atticus along with Ceadis and Nathan were left at the mercy of the avalanche.

Thousands of piles of snow were thrust upon Atticus. He was sent tumbling, being pushed by the wave of snow. There was no sound, no light, just movement, and suddenly it all stopped. Atticus was left there, panting heavily. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no..." His shook as he tried to reach for the red capsules he had on his belt. Atticus hated the snow. He really hated the snow. He pulled out a number of them and began squishing them, melting the snow in front of him. He didn't let the snow fully dissipate before slamming on his welding goggles and scrambling to the top for air. While Atticus climbed, he suddenly felt extra weight added to his shoulders. Atticus didn't care, he just wanted to escape the icy tomb. He broke the surface, panting, utter terror still ravaging his body.

He looked around, the valley now filled with utter silence. Atticus was terrified. No way could he be the only survivor...right? As Atticus panicked, a large patch of snow began to bubble and steam, suddenly bursting in a burst of hot air. The beast let out a roar, but soon fell quiet again. Lying down and resting its wounds. A few feet away, the snow unfolded itself, revealing Veritas, Stonefuse, and Prail. A giant metal fist burst through the snow, a burst of fire for good measure as Damien, Zavier, and Aleister hauled themselves out of the snow. A spear stuck out of the ground, frantically poking the air. Faunra and Etrius hit the ground running and quickly dug out Nathan and Caedis. Overall it looked like the gang was alright and their furry friend had tired of his rampage. The sniper and their cohort was gone too. Atticus began laughing.
"Haha, glad to see that whole situation worked itself out!" A couple of smiles and laughs joined him, accompanied mostly by glares. All of which quickly turned into surprise.

"What's wrong guys-"

"No body moves, no body touches the flummuth, and nobody has to get hurt! Besides, I'd hate to ruin such a handsome face. " A young woman's voice barked from directly above Atticus.

Atticus looked up to see the sniper, sitting on his shoulders, pointing her sniper rifle right at his face, an ice shard in the barrel with Atticus's name on it. A figure shot out the snow quickly, positioning himself.

"Conney, please calm down. Please listen-"He said turning to the group.We don't want any trou-" The older sounding gentleman was cutoff by the sniper.

"Oh yes I do! They were attacking little Wooly. Plus the bitch in the armor threatened to kill him!"[/i] The sniper screamed, pointing at Caedis. The older gentleman looked between the sniper and the group, and quickly dashed to the lying behemoth.

"You, with the ears! Start talking!" The sniper barked at Faunra.