Aide Me

Chapter Twenty-One - Warm Me

That morning when they woke up, most of the men were hungover. Hanke looked pitiful, Dashel looked queasy, but Emaia escaped with a small headache. Nothing a little fresh air couldn't cure.

There was an awkward tension between Emaia and Aide, as they made ready to leave. They had traded their wagon and horses out for four small sleds, which were all able to handle the steep mountain terrain. They were packed with thick pelts, warm clothes, dried food and all of their weapons. Unfortunately, each sled had to be pulled by hand.

"We have to head through the Arranhade Mountains," Aide told them, while they started walking out of town, towards the border. "It's the fastest route to the Arranhade Forest, but it's not an easy way. We have to look out for avalanches and snowstorms."

"As long as we get there faster," Hanke bickered, while he groggily pulled on his coat.

"With the right attitude, I can get us all there in two days."

"Then let's put our long leg ahead, and start marching!" Hanke shouted. "To the gates!"

-*-

So they started heading north. They crossed the borders to the North, and were now officially in the toughest part of the kingdom. At first, Emaia didn't even consider the North to be cold. In fact, she couldn't even see what the big fuss was about. Everyone who had ever been to the North, and come back alive to tell about it, had always described the cold to be almost unbearable. But as their caravan headed into the soft landscape of frosty ground and chilly air, the North didn't seem so bad.

But then as a few more hours went by, the frosty ground became whiter and whiter, and the air so cold, Emaia could see her own breath. She was starting to feel the cold, as did the rest of the men, as they continued heading up the mountain. Big frost-coated fir trees made their passage narrower as they got higher. When another hour passed by, and the temperature dropped lower, Emaia took back her previous judgment of the North; The North was indeed cold.

The men around her started pulling on their thick pelt-coats and gloves, and at one point they even had to stop to change to warmer breeches. Emaia forced herself to keep going, even though she could barely breathe. The cold started to cut like knives in her lungs.

However as the hours of walking, dragging the sleds, and freezing continued, some of the men started to complain. The cold was becoming too much, and now that the sun was lowering, so was the temperature.

"For God's sake, are we almost there?!" Hanke suddenly barked, after another half hour. A nasty snowstorm was taking on and brought along a thick wind of cold snowflakes.

Some of the men seconded his question, and they all looked towards Aide. He had mentioned a place where they could shelter for the night, a clearing, as it were. But so far, they were still surrounded by big fir trees.

Aide heard their complaints and glanced back at the men. "I promise, your suffering is almost over." He assured them. "We're almost at the clearing. If we stay on this track and keep the same pace, we'll be there within twenty minutes."

"The men can't take much longer, elf, ye' better not be wrong," Hanke shouted as the whole group started moving again.

Emaia looked at Aide who started walking again, this time setting the pace to a steadier one. She noticed how he wasn't bundled up in any warm clothing like the rest of them. His long silver hair blew freely in the snowy wind and his arms were barely covered by his cloak. With his leather armor as the only thing to keep him warm, Emaia wondered how on earth he could stay warm in a weather like this. Sure, he grew up in this area, but that didn't mean he was immune, did it?