Chapter 5

The tale of Aulor and Mindulas

Aulor had marched for many days he had lost some of his company as he had marched through the thick dense wood and then east toward the base of the mountain. Aulor stayed close to the mountains base for he knew the tree people do not linger this part of the land. He had marched for three days now and came to the border into the frozen lands of the wind tribe. It was night time when he reached the border and decided to rest before entering the frozen lands. That night he camped his company under the mountain and sat alone looking up at the stars. He could feel the coldness which was coming from the north he then sighed for he knew that his company would not survive long for it was too cold and they hadn't the clothing to venture north. He suddenly noticed south that great clouds of black smoke were floating from the woods to the south and he stood gazing that way. He crept past the sleeping company and gazed through the thick wood and noticed many shadows moving in between the trees he also noticed a horse struggling in the wood. Aulor awoke four of his best men as they crept toward the shadows with their swords drawn. They leapt out of a bush as the company also drew their swords as Aulor recognised them he smiled and nodded to his men.

"My lady I thought you had gone over the seas" Aulor smiled and spoke softly to Bethol who sat upon a horse.

"Aulor I am glad we found you, I feared we would never find you on this dangerous road" she pointed back toward the smoke which rose from the land beyond.

"Yes it would seem that the enemy are close, I fear the lands of the moon tribe are lost" he sighed then led the company back to the mountain base were his own company was camped.

Many of the company were glad to see Bethol and her brave men who followed her and protected her. The captain of these brave men who protected Bethol was Mindulas he was a fairly young man who was the bravest among his people. He had travelled the lands well with Aulor and Pailor and he was a proud man, he had black long hair and a short black beard with green eyes, he was considered strong and tall among his people.

"Aulor I will head back the way we came and protect are rear if the enemy indeed follow are path" Aulor nodded as Mindulas took a few of his men with him into the deep wood.

Bethol fell into a deep sleep as she lay with the women and children in a small tent which was silver and shined in the night. Aulor also fell into a sleep as the brave men sat around the perimeter watching for the enemy. Aulor was awoken by screams he quickly grabbed his sword and stood to his feet, he almost fell over for he was weary with sleep. He quickly saw that many of the tents were covered with blood and that a lot of the company were screaming and fleeing toward the woods. Amongst the panic Aulor ran to Bethol's tent, he reached the tent and noticed two of Mindulas' men were standing guard outside it.

"What is happening?" Aulor yelled to the men who had their swords drawn looking to him.

"Strange creatures have attacked the company Mindulas has gone with a few of his men to the mountain base were many dead lay.

"Try to calm the people and make sure they stay close" they nodded as Aulor ran past many people crying as he saw many bodies covered in blood with limbs missing.

The bodies lay atop carts and dead horses with parts of their bodies missing the horse had also been attacked. Aulor ran over to the bodies and noticed that many caves were beneath the mountain which loomed out over the bodies, similar to a hand covering them. Mindulas was knelt beside one of the bodies with five of his men he was saying something a sort of prayer to the bodies.

"Mindulas what is this madness?" Aulor began to weep as he saw many familiar faces dead.

Mindulas stood and turned to Aulor his hands covered in blood "Strange creatures have attacked from these caves, I am praying to Kailor and Pailor to guide these poor people to the heavens above" he paused then drew his sword "We will hunt these creatures down you must protect the company" Mindulas began to walk into the cave with a torch lit above his head.

"Mindulas I will come with thee for these are also my people who have been slain" Mindulas nodded as Aulor drew his sword and followed the men into the biggest cave which was in the middle of the smaller ones.

The men slowly walked clenching their swords as they walked close to the cave walls walking into the darkness with a small light for comfort. The cave walls were damp and they noticed blood stains across the floor and finger marks were people have been dragged along the floor.

"What is that horrid smell?" Aulor spoke silently to the men who turned to him but never spoke a word.

"It is the smell of death my lord" Mindulas spoke to Aulor for he had seen much in his life as a traveller of the moon tribe.

The men could hear strange noises coming from the tunnel in front of them, their were houls and screams which seemed more like a mans cry.

"Hurry!" Mindulas began to march at speed now.

Mindulas slipped into a pit as the men halted and began to panic as one of the other men lifted his torch aloft were he could see Mindulas getting to his feet surrounded by skulls. The men emerged into a great cave filled with bones and skulls as they looked about, their was also many jewels, gold and weapons all about the floor.

"What is this place?" one of the men spoke with fear.

Mindulas rose to his feet and held his sword tight and removed his shield from his back as did the other men who noticed red eyes looking from all corners of the cave. Many strange noises were heard as if the eyes were communicating, Mindulas and his men formed a circle as Aulor also followed. The eyes now became dark figures which were not tall but long and menacing. The figures suddenly pounced toward the men their seemed to be eight of the creatures which were grey and white, they were hairy creatures and had razor sharp teeth and claws. Mindulas struck the first creature with his shield as it reeled yelling in pain. The edge of the shield which was made of steel cut the creatures face as blood gushed down its face. Mindulas looked to his men as they battled on he then saw that more of the creatures began to come out of the holes in the cave.

"Retire back to the entrance, make haste!" he commanded his men who acknowledged but still fought as they slowly retreated as a block unit.

Aulor struggled to keep up with Mindulas and his men for he was not use to the formation and the style of fighting they had. As Aulor looked to his right he felt a great pain as one of the creatures dug its claws into his upper body as he fell to the ground. As he fell he crashed into another man who was next to him as he also crashed to the ground disrupting the formation. Mindulas noticed this and quickly shuffled his men toward Aulor and the man beside him. Aulor noticed that the man who lay beside him was grappling with a creature as it sunk its teeth into his skull. Aulor stood to his feet and struck the creature with his sword into its back as it roared then fell on top of the man as it lay dead. The man was also dead his face had teeth marks and his neck ran red with blood. Aulor sighed and looked to Mindulas who pointed toward a tunnel which was just behind Aulor, the men quickly ran toward the tunnel forgetting their formation and headed down the dark tunnel with only one torch. The men held a line as they quickly decended down the cold tunnel, the men also held hands to keep a chain. Mindulas covered the rear with one hand he fought the creatures which followed. Aulor led the way as he could feel a breeze heading down from the tunnel, the men began to tire as they marched quickly for some time and noticed that the creatures had stopped the hunt. The company of six men decided to halt and rest for a while but Aulor noticed a small light coming from the tunnel up ahead and he urged the men on. They marched for a small amount of time and came up out of the tunnel onto a cliff looking out over the land. The men noticed a small chest filled with clothing and strange artefacts, they were a crown of silver with slots which were empty save for only one jewel a yellow jewel which was positioned at the side of the crown. There was also a bracelet of gold with markings which were strange and covered the entire bracelet in a sort of circle. Below this was a mighty sword of silver with black markings on it there was also a chain mail shirt which was silver and had a mark of all the tribes on it. The men gasped as they saw these great treasures in the chest which was made of gold and didn't seem to be damaged but had been opened and had plenty of room for other objects to be stored in.

"Seems someone else has taken treasures from this chest" Mindulas looked at the chest then over the cliff which looked toward the snowy realm of the wind tribe he could see a great castle of ice far to the north and many fortresses and palaces scattered about the land.

"The wind tribe I have never looked upon its beauty" he shuddered as did the men for a great gust of wind flowed at them and they felt cold for a snowy storm began to cover the land.

Aulor looked back at the artefacts and took the crown and bracelet as Mindulas wore the chain mail and took the sword for his own, the other men did not care for the artefacts. Mindulas felt mighty and powerful as he wore the chain mail and the sword was light but looked menacing. Aulor felt wiser and more like a king when he placed the crown atop his head and wore the bracelet which fitted him perfectly. The men noticed another cave opposite them which led down but was filled with ice. The company of men descended and marched for a long time but not resting as they felt the coldness of the snowy lands which they were about to enter. They now reached a less steep part of the cave were they came into a area of the cave were there was a table with chairs about it there was also barrels and food scattered about the room. The men noticed clothing was placed on the table and furry boots and other warm clothing, there were also cloaks which were brown and furry.

"The gods seem to favour us today my friends" Mindulas laughed as did the men who began to place the clothing on them.

They ate what food was there for it seemed fresh and they slept for a time on the floor which felt cold but the cloaks provided them with warmth. They awoke but did not know whether it was morning or night so they decided to head on through a narrow tunnel which was opposite the tunnel they came from. The men walked for only a short time and came out of the cave and noticed many thick trees which were covered in snow. To their right was a great stone statue which that of a woman of beauty and she pointed north, next to her were many sign posts which led west, east and north. The north post read 'To the Palace of Ice", the east post read 'To the western border fortresses', the west post read 'To the west river of ice' below that there read, 'Eastern fortress beyond river'. The rest of the post seemed to be damaged and covered in snow on the floor. Aulor noticed down the eastern path and noticed a supply wagon which was broken and frozen in the snow with two bodies frozen next to it and three graves beside the road.

"Perhaps we should head west back to the border and hope to find Bethol and the rest of the company" Mindulas glanced to his men as the snow began to get heavier.

"I don't think we would survive the walk without horses" Aulor looked north as he spoke gasping for his breathe at times for the wind was overpowering at times.

"Perhaps so maybe we should ask for refuge at the palace which didn't seem far" Mindulas glanced down every road and noticed the trees about the area blocked all viewing.

The company nodded and headed north through the dense wood but followed the path which led north through the wood. The men marched and noticed the sky was getting dark above them but it seemed cloudy for the snow storms were tremendous. Aulor felt a great coldness running through his body he also felt weary now and suddenly he noticed a terrible voice which travelled with the wind which was gushing from the north.

"What is that terrible screeching voice which travels with the wind" one of the men shouted from the rear and the men shook their heads in dismay.

As they carried on walking Mindulas could hear the sound of hooves as he turned to his men and pointed to the right. The men quickly hid in the trees beside the path and could see in the distance four riders. The riders were clad in similar cloaks to what Aulor and the men wore, they had furry boots and were riding brown horses and held great spears. One of Mindulas' men dived out and waved to the men yelling for aid, Mindulas urged him back down in haste as the riders didn't seem to notice him.

"Down you fool!" Mindulas yelled to the man and ran toward him as one of the riders through his spear which hit the man and killed him instantly as he fell to the ground.

Mindulas drew his mighty silver sword as Aulor stood beside him with the other men. The riders quickly yelled and turned their horses galloping back up the path cursing as they rode.

"That is indeed strange" Mindulas lowered his sword and noticed it was gleaming and so was Aulor's crown with the single jewel which was beaming.

The men looked down to the dead man and sighed as they placed his body to the side of the road and buried him with what stones were scattered about the area. The men now continued their march north and came up a great hill which had a path leading east toward the icy river. The men could see the beautiful valley below which led to the river which was gleaming but it seemed to be flowing normally.

"Why call it the icy river if it indeed flows?" the men laughed as Aulor pointed this out.

Beyond the river were vast mountains covered with snow and north of the mountain were great forests which belonged to the wood people it was their capital realm. The men marched on slowly as they came to a small village which was built at the slopes of many hills which surrounded the village and nearby area. The path led out into an open area now and there was a great lake which was frozen to the left of the village and beyond that was a great fortress of ice which was sparkling but hard to see for the snow was relentless. The men hid between the trees as they looked about the village which was filled with many people who wore animal skin clothing and were very tall and seemed very strong. Mindulas pointed toward a small stable which houses six horses which were brown and seemed very restless. The men nodded and slowly walked to the edge of the forest line were they could see a small hut with smoke coming out of it. The hut was round and was built with wood and had some sort of hay on its roof. The men ran to the back of the hut as they crouched and looked about the village, they could see three riders who were talking with some men near the centre of the village.

"That's the riders who attacked us" Aulor pointed them out as the men nodded.

"Aulor you come with me the rest of you stay here and keep watch" Mindulas crouched and moved toward the stable with Aulor close behind.

The snow covered them well for it was hard to see anyone as they jumped a fence into the stable area were many more horses were housed inside. Aulor calmed the horses by humming a song which Pailor had taught him. The horses became calm now as Aulor climbed above one and Mindulas grouped three others horses as he moved slowly behind Aulor who rod very slow toward the edge of the village. Aulor noticed that the hills surrounded the entire village but left only one exit either back into the woodland area or toward the frozen lake which seemed dangerous. Mindulas could hear some noise and shouting as he turned and saw a man towering above him and twice his size yelling to him but he couldn't make it out for the wind was very noisy now. Mindulas tried to reason with the man who grabbed a fork out of the nearby hay stack and lifted it high above his head. Mindulas fell back to the ground as the horses panicked and one of them shoved its hooves into his shoulder as he yelled in pain trying to reach for his sword. Aulor rode back slowly and noticed this he quickly leaped his horse over the fence and struck the man with his sword across the neck as he fell to the ground. Mindulas rolled over and got to his feet holding his shoulder as he smiled to Aulor. Mindulas mounted his horse with the help of Aulor as they rode with the other horses back to the hut were the other men also mounted their horses.

"Ride hard and true do not stop, we have no choice but to head north past the lake for it is a dangerous road back through the wood" Mindulas held his shoulder as he spoke struggling to get his words out as the men nodded and began to ride at full speed.

The company rode fast right through the village knocking many people aside as the three riders noticed and signalled a great horn which was atop what seemed to be a hall in the centre of the village. The company rode out of the village but were not followed but could only hear the great horn which sounded throughout the land and valleys. The men could see the great lake in front of them and beyond the great fortress which stood above the lake looking out toward it about it were many hills and woods. They rode for a while and managed to stay astray of the lake, Aulor pointed down to the lake as the men halted.

"Look!" the men gasped as they could see many bodies below the ice looking up at them with painful expressions on their faces.

"Let us ride harder we must escape this traitorous land" Mindulas led the company now.

They rode up a small slope and onto a hill were they noticed a path which led right up to the fortress which was to their right. They looked left and noticed valleys and forests and beyond that a great tower which loomed above the forests.

"The border" Mindulas pointed toward the tower "We will never make it today we must rest and find food and warmth" the men nodded as they looked to the fortress "Let us hope we find welcome or reason with who ever resides here" they nodded and rode slowly up to the fortress.

They came to an icy bridge which led over a great gap, below was part of the lake. The men dismounted and walked their horses over the bridge slowly which didn't feel icy at all which was strange. The company finally reached the other side were they found themselves in a small courtyard with statues of people dancing and laughing. There were also many hedges which were covered in snow, in the centre of the courtyard was a fountain which had water coming out but it had frozen over. The men walked on holding their horses tight as they could hear singing coming from atop the great fortress. The fortress was sparkling almost like a diamond the snow swirled about it creating a sort of barrier which encircled the castle. The fortress had a great gate which was see through it seemed to be made of ice as did most of the fortress. The men could see through the icy gate and noticed a great city inside the fortress with many houses which were frozen, there was also many people who were frozen. The men looked to each other and tied their horses to the fountain and marched up to the gate looking in awe at the great gate. The men suddenly felt a great vibration and a gush of wind as they held each other tight for they were nearly blown away by this gush of wind.

"Who enters my domain" a great voice spoke to them it seemed to resemble a woman's voice but it was powerful and menacing.

"I am Aulor son of Kronor, we have travelled far from the lands of the moon tribe" he paused "We wish shelter and rest for the time being for we are weary and will not reach the border without rest" he waited as the voice began to laugh.

"Yes I know I have watched your travel from the great mountain, you are the but a handful who have reached these lands" there was a shudder as the gate opened slowly "Please enter, I wish thee no harm" the voice became comforting now as the men entered slowly.

The men entered the inner city which had many houses and market places scattered all over with other various buildings. A familiar noise was heard as the men looked to their right and noticed many of the creatures from the cave they had fought, there seemed to be around ten of them snarling at the men.

"Do not fear they are under my control" the voice seemed to come from the tower which loomed over the city "I know you are wondering what these creatures are" she laughed but it was soothing "They are wolves, they were never an evil race but since the coming of evil they have changed their ways" she fell silent as a light could be seen from the tower.

The men stood in awe and felt a strange feeling as the light became pink and urged them on. They headed down the road which led from the gate up stairs to a small courtyard beneath the great tower. Two frozen guards stood guarding the entrance which was open the men wore steel armour and had great round shields with a wind symbol on them. The men entered the tower and the doors closed behind them as they stood in a great hall with two staircases in front of them leading left and right. There were also two more wolves which were roaming about the hall which was filled with many paintings, chairs and many frozen people. At the end of the hall was a great statue of a king and a throne which was empty.

"Welcome friends from distant lands" a beautiful woman roamed down from the right hand staircase.

She was dressed in white dress she also wore a crown atop her head and wore many rings on her fingers and wore a great chain around her neck which had a jewel attached to it. The jewel shone blue and it was similar to Aulor's jewel which was attached to his crown he also wore. The women had beautiful black hair and piercing green eyes and she smiled to the company but seemed focused on Aulor.

"Forgive my rudeness I am Eerma daughter to Kailor the once mighty king of Linderon" Aulor frowned as she walked toward the men who were lined up.

"I am Aulor friend to Pailor and Bethol your kin" her eyes changed more menacing now but she said nothing.

"I am Mindulas and she are my companions who have travelled far and wide to escape the enemy which follows us" he paused then felt light headed.

"Yes I know of what evil follows you and the company you have left on my borders" she paused "Yes my mighty brother and sister who left me and set out across these lands, they also caused my love to be exiled to these miserable lands" she became angry "I left the kingdom of Linderon soon after my brother, sister and my love Vailor left. I found myself wondering the caves and from which you came and found companions, these wolves who protected me" she looked at the equipment they had found in the cave and laughed "Yes I see you have found the remains of my fathers belongings. You see they were stolen from father and sent to the lands of Mia but no one knew were they would be sent. Kailor my father hid the chest filled with his belongings but it seems you have found the remains. I also have a crown given by my father and mother to me and these rings and chain which protect me" she paused then smiled "Please come I will show you to your chambers" she began to walk up the stair.

"My lady Eerma what has happened to his city?" Aulor looked to her as the men frowned.

"Very good question, I arrived and found this beautiful place abandoned, the villagers below and who roam these lands are very hostile and do not share information easily" she shrugged her shoulders as they headed up the stairs.

The men walked the staircase and came to a great hall way which was built of stone and felt warm they noticed many paintings of the lands and many doors which were of wood. Aulor walked slowly to the rear and pulled Mindulas aside as he looked worryingly as him.

"This seems too strange, I fear Eerma is not telling us much" he waited for a reply.

"We have no choice but to trust her" he walked on as Aulor knew something was changing in his companions.

Eerma showed each of the men to their rooms as she finally came to Aulor who was shown his room which was filled with a bed and window. There was also food which was on a table made of ice, the food seemed to be fruit and bread with a jug of water.

"Enjoy your rest son of Kronor we will speak more in the morning" she shut the door over as Aulor frowned.

"How did she prepare this food so quickly?" he spoke softly to himself then felt weary as he fell into a deep sleep.

Aulor dreamt a terrible dream he saw the spreading of the darkness to the south and beyond. He also saw a vision of Pailor falling in battle and the destruction of the great realm of the woodland people. Aulor awoke and felt a cold sweat upon his brow he looked about the room and to the window which was blown open with snow pouring in he was warm though perhaps too warm. He walked over to the window and closed it but could see a great host of soldiers marching past the lake, there were many riders clad in armour and many barbarians they had seen earlier the day before. Aulor quickly left the room and ran to the door next to his room were Mindulas was awake and looking out to the soldiers below.

"Seems a great host of men are marching west to the border" Mindulas looked to Aulor then sighed.

"Yes, we must leave quickly my friend" Aulor looked Mindulas in the eye.

"No we must wait until the host pass us for they will surely kill us if we ride now" he paced the room thinking to himself "They must have thought we were spy's of the enemy" he paused then looked to Aulor.

The rest of the men entered the room as Aulor left the room looking down the corridor were a wolf sat growling at him. Aulor walked toward the wolf to get past but it stood and its eyes turned red and it growled even more. Mindulas came out of the room with his men and frowned.

"Come let us go see Eerma" he walked up the corridor away from the wolf as the men followed.

They walked up a spiral staircase and came to another corridor which was made of stone and seemed very cold. They looked in each of the rooms as they passed and they were filled with bodies of animals and blood, were wolves were feeding. The men moved quickly to the end of the corridor and walked up stairs which went straight to double doors which seemed to be the tower of the fortress. The men entered to see an old woman sat in a throne at the end of the room looking out a thin window to the lands below. The woman had a robe of white but it was stained with mud and blood. Her hair was black but had silver lines running through it she coughed then tilted her head and laughed but it was a crackled laugh.

"The army of the wind tribe move to strike the enemy which pushes toward the border" she laughed "They will also kill every living thing near the border including your people. I spoke with them during the night" she coughed "Their leader Mandelis he is the king to these lands but I consider myself the queen" she turned to the men and stood revealing her old face, she had white eyes and her skin was dry and had no life "This is my true form for I arrived to this realm when there wasn't much snow but I used my power to turn the wind and snow against the people causing the people of this castle to freeze and die but the king and his sons escaped to the villages south" she coughed and held her stomach "Mandelis is one of those sons he has cursed this castle and I am trapped in this castle never to leave only in visions" she sat back on her throne as it turned slowly to face the men.

Behind the men came many wolves and the room was filled with statues of wolves and many kings of old.

"I suppose your wondering why I did it" she sighed and wept "My love Valor, I never found him, also my brother and sister who left me" she looked to Mindulas and became young again "But you my love, you I will take to be by my side" she smiled and walked over to him.

Eerma whispered something into his ear and kissed him as he became entranced she then smiled to the other men and spoke something that they couldn't understand as they all fell to their knees in pain.

"You see, non of you can leave" she screamed a cry so powerful that all the land could hear.

After some time many servants came into the room they were small and hunched over they were old and were laughing to themselves as they dragged the men down the hall. Mindulas was left with Eerma as he sat beside her in the tower and whispered many things to him as he became obsessed with her. Aulor awoke holding his head which was bleeding he stood and could smell something horrid as he looked about the dungeon which he was in. He noticed skeletons on the walls and in the corners of the room, he also noticed that the walls were filled with markings and fungus. The three other men were sat beside the door talking and they noticed Aulor rise to his feet and quickly ran over to him.

"We feared you were dead" one of the men shouted, they were also covered in blood but still had their equipment and weapons attached to them.

"We have to get out of here, but how?"