"Oh, yeah. That'sss the ssspot." Kel closed his large amber eyes and smiled as Slith massaged his newly healed wing.

The group had stumbled upon a lone cleric whom was venturing on the same abandoned highway as they were. The cleric immediately accepted their plea of mending Kel's wing and then continued on her way. After that, Slith, out of the guilty feeling building up inside him, offered to massage Kel's shoulder and wing. The griffin grinned and gratefully put Slith to work.

Three days after the healing of Kel, the six felt the weather shift to a more chilly state. Tiny flecks of snow drifted sporadically down as they neared Halas. This change in temperature sent the company to their packs for extra leggings and shirts. Barthum did not wear any extra clothing, this was his homeland and the bitter cold did not affect him.

Within the next two days, Barthum guided his new friends to the barbarian city of Halas. Snow lay in deep heaps everywhere and no one bothered to shovel the pathways clear. The might barbarians just stepped over with their powerful legs or pummeled through as if walking through a field of tall grass. Brand, being the shortest of the group, other than Kel, often had to be helped through the snow by his fellow companions. Kel couldn't fly either, his wing still hurt and the sudden snowstorms and strong gusts of wind would blow him back to the ground or off course.

"This is where I take my leave." Barthum stopped them in front of a raft that carried travelers across a deathly cold lake.

The five put on sad expressions, trying to show that they were going to miss him. Other than that, they did nothing. Barthum waited for one of them to say something. He raised his bushy eyebrows and tilted his head a bit. The five glanced to one another out of the corner of their eyes until four pars rested upon Brand since he was the one who always had the right things to say.

"Oh." Brand said with false concern. The others groaned under their breaths.

"Oh." Barthum muttered. "Well, safe trip, and stop by any time and I'll tell you a couple stories and treat you to a tankard of ale." The barbarian said while walking backwards and waving. "Take that raft. It will lead you to the plains."

Stepping onto the raft, the fellowship said nothing and kept their minds focused on the task ahead of them. Somewhere in the frozen, frigid plains was the snow creation that Papsworth had magically made. The silent raft man pushed his pole to the bottom of the lake and shoved the floating device over the placid lake. It didn't take long for the raft to reach the opposite shore; in fact, the group was unaware that they had landed until the raft man cleared his throat.

"Where do we start?" Brand asked while shoving his cold hands into his outer cloak's pockets.

"The high elf told me to tell you that the clue," the raft man spat into the water, "is up a slope of the nearest mountain." He then pushed off from the shore and headed back to the Halas port.

"That was odd." Aubrey let out a weak chuckle and hauled his pack up on his shoulder.

"Informative though." Mirk said as he turned to the ice tunnel behind them.

The five hurriedly rushed through the ominous tunnel and walked into the snowy landscape. Three hundred yards ahead, the beginning of a mountain rose, and the beginning of their climb began. They looked up to see id they could spot the top, but all they saw was the white sky and swirling snow. The wind increased and blew chill past the rescuers. Shuttering and shivering, the group began their difficult march to the powdery slope that would leas them to Papsworth clue.

An hour later, the five slipped and slid up the icy side of the mountain. They used dead outstretched tree limbs that sprouted from the snow when they could. They climbed for what seemed like forever before deciding on taking a short break. Mirk hovered close to the ground attempting to start a fire to warm his hands and the others. Aubrey stood, trying to block the wind from smothering the meager flames.

"It'sss ssso cold!" Slith shouted while stomping his feet to regain the circulation in them.

"Husssh boy before I come over there and pusssh you off the mountain." Mirk growled and rubbed his fingers together.

Slith turned his back to his father and did a poor mimicking impression of his. Brand watched him and chuckled while rubbing Kel's feathers to warm his up. The young iksar persisted to make things funnier to him; he stepped closer to the edge of the path and pretended to fall. He laughed and stuck his forked tongue out at Mirk. The older iksar formed a large snowball and threw it at his son. Slith blocked his face and then bent down to retaliate at his father's move.

The snowstorm picked up and Brand's sight of the stooping iksar was blurred with unending white powder. The bar stood and slowly made his way forward to check on Slith. Moments later, Brand reached the spot where Slith was and found him gone. Brand shouted fort he others and got on his knees to peer over the side. Hanging on a branch some yards below, Slith clung for dear life.

"Fly and sssave my ssson!" Mirk pushed Kel.

"I can't! The weatherrr is too bad and my wing isssn't fully healed." The griffin yelled above the howling wind.

"Get some rope Brand! Now!" Aubrey shoved Brand back towards their pile of supplies.

"Curssse that child of mine." Mirk said white tying a loop on the rope Brand had raced him.

"Pull me up! I sssee the sssnow creation that Papsssworth wasss talking about!" Slith excitedly yelled up to the group.

"Where is it? I'll go and get the clue!" Brand shouted back down while grabbing the end of the rope tossed to him by Aubrey.

"Go back down the trail about thirty yardsss and go to the let for about ten yardsss and there you will find it." The young iksar grabbed at the rope loop that was thrown down to him by his father.

Aubrey tuned to Brand and told him to go find the clue while they pulled Slith to safety. The half-elf nodded quickly and shot off down the snow blazoned trail. He stumbled down thirty years ad tuned to his left as Slith directed. It took ten minutes to finally spot the magical snow sculpture. It was located in a secluded out cove that harbored it from most of the storm. Brand stared at it in awe. It was a sculpture of Lielay sitting on a hill staring out to the horizon. The detail on the model was spectacular. Brand hated to destroy it, but he had too to find the clue that would save Lielay.

Kel appeared behind Band. "The otherrrrsss arrre on the way." He slurred and stepped closer.

"We better start digging." Aubrey walked out of the swirling flakes and into the sheltered cove where the creation was.

The cold snow froze their hands to the point where they felt like they were burning. It didn't slow the determined five though they dug like animals. Kel jumped into the pile and tossed the snow out behind him and into the faces of his friends. The griffin laughed once he turned around and saw their expressions.

"Sssorrrrrry." Kel laughed.

"No..." Brand's voice trailed off as he bent down and picked something up out of the snow that was thrown on him by Kel. "I found it." The glowing orb pulsed in his small hands before transforming into one of Papsworth's fancy letters.

Tearing the envelope off and tossing it on the ground, Brand began to read. "Didn't Lielay look beautiful as a snow sculpture? She almost destroyed it, but I restrained her. A fiery tempter that one has. Moving on, your next clue lies in Firiona Vie. I'll have someone meet you at the docks to explain the rest. Farewell and till our next letter. Signed Papsworth." Brand crumpled the letter and threw it onto the mound of snow before him.

"Well, to Firiona Vie we go." Aubrey sighed.