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Wulla opened the door to the entrance of Xanon pass and stepped from the howling cold of the snow storm outside and into the dark of the Fortress that protected the way to Ice Mountain.
Though dressed for the cold she still shook to rid her skin of the biting chill that clung to her body. Once it was done she prepared for the task ahead. The minions of the the Frozen Horror, an ancient evil once locked away and not roused again to threaten the land, held the fortress now and it was Wulla's task to rid them from this place.
Drawing her broadsword she stepped forward, slowly making her way along the old stone walls of the fortress. The first door was closed and behind it she heard muffled chittering from beyond it. Adjusting the grip on her weapon she took a deep breath and roughly shouldered open the door revealing a small room with an Orc with a sword on his belt chastising a Goblin for spilling some ink and parchment. Now it held the smaller creature by its neck as they both looked at her and they all shared a silent moment of neither one expecting the other.
The Orc acted first, tossing the goblin at Wulla to allow it time to draw its weapon. A hideous scream came from the startled Goblin as it found itself thrust upon Wulla's sword. She barely had time to scrape the little beast off her blade before the Orc leapt at her, striking a savage blow, clearly hoping to end the conflict quickly but his sword glanced of her own and with a cry that was long and loud she drove her broadsword into his belly, eliciting a gurgling fountain of dark blood from his lips as he stared at her in disbelief.
The first blood had been spilled and for now fortune favoured Wulla but she could not count on that forever.
Making her way down the dark corridors of the fortress alone kept her on edge, every shadow that flickered in the torchlight was an enemy, each corner could hold death by trap of monster perhaps that is why when a grasping claw came from the grate that ran alongside the bottom of the passage wall she was unable to avoid it. The creatures nails dug into her boot and pierced her flesh, eking blood to pool about her foot. She let out a grimacing cry and reflexively tried to pull herself free but the beast was strong and would not give up its prize so she raised her weapon and swung down cleaving the wretched arm from the monsters body, leaving it to go limp on the floor of the passage.
The howls of the creature grew distant and Wulla had some time to get a good look at the powerful arm that had offended her. It was thick and muscular with pale fur all the way down to its hooked claws. She pried it from her leg and winced at the fresh pain of the wounds. She would need to be careful, she could lean on her leg but moving at speed would prove to be difficult.
She pressed on to another doorway and stopped, brute force has its place but even her people knew the time for subtlety so she knelt at the door and peeked through the keyhole. What she saw surprised her, a human man.
It was not unknown that the forces of evil swelled their ranks not only with monsters but those of Elves, Dwarfs and Men as well. Still, she had not anticipated to find any men here among orcs , goblins and whatever else that thing in the passage had been.
He looked ready for a fight with his crossbow already loaded and he was on the far end of the room, he'd get his first shot off at least after that it would be a question of whether she could reach him before he reloaded and fired again. She stood and kept her back to the stone wall, reaching out with her hand she opened the door and quickly darted past the gap to behind the door and pulled it closed again. The bolt penetrated the door directly where her head was but caught in the thick wood of the door.
She had no time to be stunned as when she opened the door she could see the mercenary was already pulling another bolt from his quiver. She darted at him but found the floor to be slippery, it almost cost her balance but she could not run, instead she slid somewhat for a few feet before jumping at him, sword high and brought it down in a firm strike that would have cleft him in twain had he not ducked sideways out of the way and now lay sprawled on the floor as the great sword screeched down the rough cut stone of the wall. Turning her attention to him quickly Wulla roared to finish him off and readied another swing.
"WAIT!"
The Mercenary's hands were up, his crossbow dropped and the bolt discarded. Wulla,s face was a mask of fury. The last few moments had brought the blood rushing to her ears and she was eager to strike down a foe. Yet still, he was beaten and for all their reported savagery Wulla's people were not without honour.
"Speak!"
The Mercenaries mouth opened and closed, he did not seem to have much to say.
"How many are you, why do you serve the Evil on Ice Mountain?"
"There's a lot of us, more than you can handle."
Wulla pressed the tip of her sword against the Mercenaries neck. He winced at the pressure of the blade.
"Look, just take what you want and go, we won't chase a thief."
"THIEF?" Her face grew into a snarl and she pressed harder into his throat "I am no thief and you are not welcome in these lands."
"Then let me go. I'll leave and I won't return, ever." He shut his eyes and pleaded.
She kept the pressure of the blade on his neck for a moment longer then relented.
"Go, now."
Quick as a whip the Mercenary got up and made his way out back down the way Wulla had come slipping on the frosted floor as he did before leaving her view outside the door.
Wulla noticed the crossbow and saw that a few of the Mercenaries bolts were scattered along the floor. Hoping she had not made a terrible mistake by letting him go she gathered them all up before heading onward.
Wulla ran as fast as she could on her bad leg, ducking behind a stone corner and racing up a flight of stairs before turning to face her attacker. The monster was large and covered in pale shaggy fur with curved horns. Notably it looked to be missing one of its arms meaning it must have been the creature that went for her leg earlier. It was faster than she had expected for all its bulk and as it trundled after her she saw its claw chip the very stone from the wall. Timing would be everything in this battle, her motions had to be precise and without hesitation.
The beast lunged up at her and she stepped back, retreated a moment while the mighty claw swiped at her before returning her step forward and arcing her sword swing the bite deeply into its upper arm. The thick hair and tense muscle gripped at her blade as the beast thrashed in pain, roaring with all it had. She had to release the weapon and take a step back, already she had the crossbow out and began to load it by the time the monster began its feral charge at her. The bolt was let fly and the chunk of the impact on the brute made a wheeze of its roars. It stumbled left, then right, collapsed against the wall and the dread black of its eyes went pale as life left its body.
Wulla retrieved her sword, he edge now slick with its mix of red and black blood. The crossbow however, she still have four bolts and decided to put them to use.
Anything from here on would have to risk getting one of those before getting to her.
The door Wulla opened next held a small tomb, a simple and somber scene, perhaps for one of the old watchmasters of the Fortress or a noble who died defending it in ages past. Whoever they were the slate that held their identity had long since eroded with time to a perfectly smooth surface. However the shield on the embossed stone sculpt did not look like stone. Wulla walked towards it carefully and picked it up. It was a fine thing, old but sturdy. She wiped the dust off the crest, it was the emblem of a great bird wreathed in fire. The dim light that shone in from the window reflected on it, made the fire bird soar.
She allowed herself a smile as she looked at the gleaming silver and red. It was in this gleam that she saw the movement of a figure behind her and spun to face her attacker. The glaring red eye and green scales of the Fimir emerged from the gloom and into the shaft of light from the window. In its hand it held a mighty axe and brought it down to crush her but Wulla was gone and it smashed the figure on the tomb to pieces.
Backing up behind the broken tomb Wulla fired the crossbow and struck it in the shoulder making the monster reel over backwards. It let out a screeching howl that echoed through the hallways, then the reply came. A mighty bellow that ushered the promise of death with it.
The Fimir began to stir and Wulla readied sword and shield to finish it as the beast got up to face her, ripping the bolt from its body and sneering at her. Behind him the door opened again and in came another monster no doubt the beast that answered the Fimir's call. This one was a monstrous bear with a warclub in it's clawed hand.
Wulla kept her shield up, wary of being cornered by these two monster. The Fimir slunk around the base of the tomb while the great bear creature came to cut off her route by the head. Her options were melting before her eyes, she decided that not being trapped would always be better than facing an enemy on two fronts so before the snarling creatures could reach her she hopped up onto the top of the cracked tomb and leaped towards the door. The warbear swung at her with a beastly roar but she soared over it and out of harms way. The monsters abandoned their unity as soon as she reached the door and both made to rush her, the warbear reached her first and barred the Fimir from the doorway while it swung with its club again. The impact that hit the shield felt like it might shatter every bone in Wulla's arm. She swung her sword to retaliate now that she could focus on one at a time but the blow hit only the fur and leather. Yet the creature bellowed in pain and anger. The Fimir's axe struck the creature from behind and it reached back to grab the savage traitor with its large claw. Its hand clamped around the Fimir's neck claws rended the scaled flesh and with a mighty blow from its club the gleaming red eye burst forth from its skull as it cracked like a egg under the tremendous force of the Warbear's attack.
Wulla saw a chance and lunged forward to strike at the Warbear's back in the spot of the Fimir had opened, red bloodstain on pale fur gave her the mark and she put all her weight into the strike.
The Warbear roared up and swung its club about, the sword, deeply lodged into the back of the Warbear gave her something to hold onto but the size of the beast lifted her from her feet into the air as it rocked back and forth trying to shake her loose in frenzied abandon. Wulla held on as the mighty beast slammed into the wall to crush her and again. She gritted her teeth at the taste of blood pooling in her mouth and shook the sword, she could feel the innards give as the cuts withing worsened. At last the beast reared back and began to fall onto her.
"No, no, no!"
The impact hurt worse than anything thusfar. The terrible weight of the warbear threatened to crush her in darkness but she braced herself against the great mountain of muscle and fur and pushed against the blood slickened floor. The rush of battle still filled her body with vigour and she needed to use it as soon as possible lest it flee from her limbs and leave her condemned to be crushed under this beast forever.
It moved, that gave her hope and the will to press harder. She could see light, then more shone on her. The weight was terrible, her arms burned and her head hurt with the pressure of her own blood on her skull as she gave all she had to the last push. At last, after a moment that hung for an age she slipped out from under the monster and lay gasping on the cold bloodied floor.
Caked in gore and covered in bruises Wulla left the Fortress at Xanon Pass. Beyond it lay the winding path to the home of her people. There she would seek respite for a time before continuing on and meeting the Horror at its home on Ice Mountain.