The Tail of the Sword and Shield #Wattys2020

Chapter 16: Batten Down The Hatches

At the appointed time, the trio stopped by the bakery and Volsair picked up the order. The food was enough that each person would have enough food for two days, in the event they got separated.

After that, they brought fur-lined coats, cloaks, gloves, scarves and boot liners. Volsair also brought  rope and a lantern. When they finished buying supplies, it was still snowing, but not by much.

Once everyone was dressed warmly, they tied the rope around their waists, to cut down on the chance of getting separated. Then they began their walk out of the village and on to the mountain road.

***

The wind whipped viciously and howled like an animal in pain, as the heroic trio ascended the snow-covered narrow mountain road. Sleet and snow blinded anything that was over three feet in front of them.

"We've gotta keep going! We're running out of time!" Alkanos shouted to be heard over the wind. He was walking with Cordelia behind him, and Volsair leading the way.

"This is crazy! We need to find shelter soon." Volsair shouted, pulling his fur-lined cloak tighter, its corners flapping in the wind like a flag.

"We've gone too far, we can't turn back." Cordelia shouted, holding her scarf in place with her cloak hood.

"But if we stay out here we'll die!" Volsair said, "We'll be losing what light we have soon."

The temperature dropped, sapping whatever heat the furs had retained. The  snow and ice felt like needles on their exposed skin. Even with the layers on, each step sent a stabbing pain through their feet.

"We should be nearing the entrance to the Sacred Dragon Hold." Alkanos said, catching the faint smell of brimstone, sulfur, and smoke. "Just keep going."

"If we die out here, " Cordelia said, her teeth chattering. She rubbed her gloved hands together briskly, "I'm haunting someplace warm."

"Amen to that," Volsair said, "Someplace where the only thing you have to worry about is monsoons and sunburn."

"That sounds really good right now." Alkanos said, feeling his muscles begin to slow, his joints began to give him a hard time from the cold. I'd be warm as a dragon, but space and the wind. He thought, looking at the far wall of the mountain pass. Alkanos's mind began to drift to the sands of some far off, tropical shore.

He was lounging, soaking up the warm sun, he could feel it, he could taste the salt air, he could hear the roar of the surf slapping the sand.

Then Alkanos heard a voice, interrupting his visions of paradise. The voice started off soft, like a faint buzzing, but then the sound started to grow until it was like a loud voice that bordered on nagging.

"Your highness!" shouted a voice urgently. The high wind tried its hardest to block out the voice, but the voice persisted. Alkanos's focus faded, in and out, part of him wanted to return to that beach that grew farther and farther away.

"It's too cold! We must find shelter." said the voice."Where will we find shelter? We're in the middle of a snowstorm!" said the other voice.

"Thank you, mister weather predictor." said the voice.

"This is not the time to fight. We need to find shelter before we all freeze," said another voice, "Start looking for a cave of some kind. I'd rather share a bed with a pack of wolves, then freeze to death."

"Your highness. I'm really, really, sorry about this." the voice said, then Alkanos felt a vaguely stinging sensation on the side of his face. Try as he might, Alkanos couldn't open his eyes, they simply felt too heavy, and he felt tired like he could just lay down on the ground and sleep for days.