Converging Destinies: Part 2

Chapter 272

       Varhine started waking up the other members of the group before the sun rose, and she noted the far colder temperature.

       "The snowstorm's not here yet, but it's definitely coming." Varhine said. The water she created within the jugs began to freeze rapidly. Varhine gave the group a few minutes to gather and prepare themselves.

       "We need to go, now!" Varhine said as she felt the wind beginning to pick up. Then, she saw a flash of blue from the clouds above.

       "Oh no." Varhine said.

       "What is it?" Aiyoshar asked.

       "Those are storm clouds above us, we aren't going to be able to fly over them." Varhine explained.

       "So, how are we going to travel?" Roya asked.

       "Forget travelling! We need to find shelter or we could freeze to death!" Varhine warned.

       "Okay, let's start looking then." Brie said. Varhine nodded, and the group set off.

       The wind began to pick up, and snow was blown with the wind. Each time it hit Varhine's face, she felt a small burst of cold. The sky barely grew brighter as the sun began to rose, but everything around the group was pale, with occasional patches of gray, brown, or deep evergreen.

       Soon, the group started having to use magic on themselves. With it, the cold barely bothered them, but it took exhausting amounts of magic.

       "Varhine, I'm only able to keep this up for four more hours!" Roya said.

       "I'm trying my best to find something." Varhine said back. But, Varhine couldn't even see further than thirty feet away. Everything was pale white, losing their visual definition within the raging blizzard.

       The snow became noticeably deeper. Hour by hour the snow grew inch after inch. Soon, Brie was up to her shoulders in snow, and everyone else was well past their knees.

       "Help!" Brie called out. Roya tried their best to run over, then, they picked Brie up out of the snow.

       The group was travelling at a painfully slow pace, and then, disaster struck.

       Varhine and Roya had run out of magical power to maintain the magic to stave off the cold. Varhine found her hands trembling as she moved forward, and a chill would occasionally rock through Roya.

       Varhine was struggling to navigate the forest in the whiteout, and despite having been over six hours, the storm wasn't relenting.

       Time continued to pass, and the group continued trekking through the snow, which was now at waist height for most of the group. Varhine kept trying to make a flame appear above her hand with her magic, but the wind quickly snuffed her efforts out.

       Soon, Roya began slowing down, barely able to move.

       "I'll give them the magic I have!" Brie said, placing her hand on Roya. Instead, Aiyoshar carried her, although it was much harder for him than it was for Roya.

       Then, Brie began taking notice of the world around her. The occasional blue flashes from far above. The deep, gray sky. The howling of the wind, and the soft crunching of snow beneath Aiyoshar's feet.

       "Wait!" Brie shouted, the group stopped.

       "W-What is it?" Varhine asked, violently shivering.

       "I think I can find the way, just trust me!" Brie said.

       "Which way?" Varhine asked. Brie pointed in a direction that shot off in the direction the group was going. So, the group redirected their course, not knowing what else to do.

       "I don't know if this'll work, but I hope it does." Varhine said.