Diaman's DnD Diary

Chapter 11: Ice Lands' Tragedy Forgotten In Snow part VI

I woke up in the middle of the night. I was lying in one of the smaller tents set up on the rocky beach - alone. My mind was still slightly hazy, and my head felt light. I blinked a few times and looked around. I was pretty sure I fell asleep with Lilly curled up together. I could feel my right side colder than the left as someone has left it just moments before.

"Lilly...?" I mumbled, reaching around myself in the furrs with one hand, rubbing my eyes with the other. I got up slowly and felt a chill as the effect of hot berries had started to leave my organism already. I searched for a little while for a dry shirt and pulled it over my head along with a white wollen over-coat. I looked for the boots, noticing, there are only my boots. I crawled out of the tent. It was still dark outside, only sparks remaining of the salve-wood campfires, burning quietly.

I looked aroud for a pair of snow tracks in tiny female version leading from outside our tent and started to follow them. The steps led me outside the village and along the tree line of the forest entrance. After a few minutes of walking, I'd started to panic a little, already fully conscious, I'd started to worry for Lilly and her unstable condition. "Lilly...? Lilly?!" My pace had quickened and unfortunately, my hunch was right. "Lilly!"

About half a mile from the village, I'd finally found her. A small petite figure moving in the snow, the body violently spasming, her face twisted in a desperate and painful grimace, eyes clouded by a veil of unconsciousness.

I hurried to her. It was not the first time I'd seen her in this state. And the only person capable of helping her would be the Chieftain. I threw my overcoat around Lilly and called her several times, trying to wake her up from the trance. After a while I could feel the hostile spiritual energy forming close. A mist-like fluorescence essence started to gather from the snowy nature all around us.

However, I wasn't able to pick her up and bring her back to the village, not with her convulsing so wildly. I had to run for help and hope she's going to hold on. So I ran back towards the village... and that was the last I'd seen Lilly alive...

I wasn't able to help her. I wasn't able to help almost anyone. When I ran back towards the village, it'd been already in flames. People were screaming, panicking, trying to save their loved ones and themselves... failing.

Hiding in the snowpiles I watched the carnage. We were attacked by one of the wild tribes, mercilessly, without a warning, with most of the senior Shamans out of the village, we couldn't stand a chance. One of the first impulses of the village people was to hide children and women in the main longhouse but just as they had entered, a huge fire ball collapsed the roof, trapping everyone inside in a flaming hell. The Shamans around immediately casted Bonds of the Clan, hoping to ease the wounds of the insiders by sharing the damage but as noble as the thought was, it was also foolish and cost us even more.

Trembling in the snow, I'd watched the barbarians robbing, destroying, murdering, raping...

Right in front of me, there was the collapsed long-house, engulfed in flames. And there, in the middle of the wooden ruins of the wall closest to me, a little bit to my left I saw movement.

"Mami..."

Mami lied there, trapped under a fallen spar, desperately holding something in her arms. She noticed me, sending calls for help with her eyes... she was holding Erwin...

I looked around, a huge Barbaric warrior noticed her and had been heading her way and about 50 feet away, there on a watchtower, I saw Far'mer aiming his long bow our way while his Spirit hound kept fighting off the attackers climbing their way after him. I knew he saw me, I knew that the attackers will soon crash his Spirit hound and I knew that he'd realised that as well. Still, he stood there, ready to buy me time to run towards his sister.

The Barbarian kept comming closer towards Mami with a hideously pleased expression. My legs were frozen in place, there was no way I could have made it...

And at that moment I felt a surge of energy well-up inside me a strange power resonating from my very core. A deep gentle sound hummed through the whole village. I looked up and stared in awe for a second at the giant Spirit blue whale that had enveloped the whole village in blue light. A lot of mortally wounded Shamans got up at that moment for one last spurt of fight.

My eyes shifted back to Far'mer, his hound had just dispearsed into thin air and a feral-looking warrior had been swinging his axe to burry it deep into Far'mer's back.

Startled I looked back at Mami, who mouthed at me two words: "Thank you."

And at that moment I had finally understood what she saw during our first encounter. I jumped to my feet, sliding down the small hill towards her. The Barbarian turned towards me but was stopped by a blue-winged arrow that burried itself into his right shoulder. I didn't have to turn to look to know that Far'mer's back was most likely open in half by an axe, since he didn't get the attackers head or neck. I blinked away the tears, avoided the roaring Barbarian and hurried to Mami.

With all my strenght I leaned against the giant piece of burnt wood, trying to release Mami's torso from under the fallen roof. To no avail.

"No!" I cried in frustration of my own uselessness. Another arrow stopped the Barbarian in front of us who turned towards the watchtower. Far'mer was kneeling there, blood oozing from his fatal wounds, he had to support his bow against the rail to steady his trembling arms.

"Leave me!" Mami shouted. "Take Erwin and run!"

I whimpered as I took the child from her arms.

"Run..." she whispered with a pained voice, stroking the cheek of the crying toddler one last time. "Hide in the snow..."

I clutched the baby in one arm and Arind's stone in the other. I turned my back on the village, on the last moments of Erwin's mother, on the dead silhouette of Far'mer, still drawing his bow, on the blue whale that started falling down on the Shaman village, crushing our homes as well as the enemies, the strong wind that came with it blowing off most of the fire....

I ran as fast as I could in the untouched snow, calling my Bear to stall the Barbarian who decided to pursue us. I haven't managed to run even 50 feet when I felt a piercing pain and damage to my internal organs as my Bear had been wiped out instantenously. I coughed up some blood but didn't stop.

After that I heard a loud blast as another huge fire ball hit the village...