Ch. 11
Haeda grimaced and pulled at his furred hood. The ghost had given him some furs to wear for the cold. Sadly enough, Etota and Pellopa could not traverse such a place. He had to leave them at the base of the mountain to wait for his return. Haeda looked back down the rocky, snowy path from which he had come. He had been traveling for hours and felt completely naked without the two horses by his side. A blustery wind was also constantly driving cold air into his face; making it harder to breath.
Haeda looked hopelessly up at a rock face. The visible path ended abruptly here, and reappeared at the top. He cursed under his breath and searched for a foot or hand hold. He found some that looked suitable and hefted himself up the rock face. Wind immediately pinned him to the cold stone and he struggled to reach for another hold. Haeda yelped as his foot slipped and he slid back down to where he started; a wave of snow following him down. He got up after a moment and shook the snow off.
Be careful of the ice and snow; you can fall to your death if you slip in the wrong places.
And with death freshly ringing in his mind; memories of the past days flooded his head. Haeda tried to push them away and concentrate climbing up the rock face, but was interrupted by a rough tackle. He screamed and threw the assailant off; unsheathing his sword. The enemy sprawled in the slippery snow and got up, wielding a wicket club slicked with melted ice. Haeda couldn't tell what the creature was since it was covered in cloth from head to toe. He attacked nevertheless; blocking the gruesome club and jabbing at the opponent's abdomen. He smiled as he heard bone crack, and the enemy fell to the snow with a bleeding side. It yelped as its fall caused it to start tumbling down an icy slope; voice echoing for a moment before it abruptly stopped.
Haeda stepped carefully up to the edge where his enemy fell; gazing downward. There was no sign of it. …What was that? He wondered, turning to his obstacle.
It took him thirty minutes at the least to finally make his way up the rock face (with a few trips back down to the bottom) and he huffed on the ground, exhausted. But that was not the end of it all. There were still a good number of faces to climb and paths to traverse. And the sky was graying under a huge snow cloud. Almost immediately, heavy snowfall fell down on him, and Haeda struggled to look at what else he still had to travel. Wind tore at him once more; but it seemed to be coming from all directions.
After a moment's confusion; Haeda saw something – the gleam of an eye. Then he realized there were four things surrounding him on the circling spires and cliffs. Over the wind there was a conjoined laugh from all of them. They each crept closer; making the circle tighter. Haeda brought out the Blade of Evil's Bane once again, turning to face each one. He soon found that these things were the sources of the confused winds; their icy blue palms sticking out of draping gray robes. Under tall gray hats; white eyes gleamed on a shady black silhouette. They crept closer, making the wind all the stronger. Haeda struggled to move; finding that the winds were pressing against each other – almost like a rope tied around his body. He looked at the one he was currently facing. "What do you want?" He shouted over the storm.
They all laughed; a chilling, snaking sound filling the air. "We wish for you to die." The one to his right stated.
"Yessss, our master bids it so." The one behind him added with a laugh.
"And so, you shall freeze here. And when others come to find you, all they'll find is a blue corpse; wasting away in the cold and the ice."
Haeda tried to twist around; the wind protesting strongly against his force. He managed to turn to the one on his left; whom hadn't spoken. The creature smiled wickedly with a huge toothy grin. He drew a dagger of ice that was as sharp as any sword. He lunged at Haeda; who was still virtually unable to move. The boy struggled to bring his sword up for a parry; only just making it in time. The blue creature hissed and pressed down on Haeda. The boy pushed him away as far as he could; when the ghost's words came to him once again:
Be careful of the ice and snow; you can fall to your death if you slip in the wrong places.
He grinned mischievously and allowed the winds to spin him around. He dropped to his knees and extended one leg as he spun; sweeping the feet out from underneath his assailant. When the creature was down; he kicked it. The blue thing skidded across a hidden sheet of ice and proceeded down a chute. His muffled screams traveled down a good portion of the mountain and ceased. The other three creatures were looking at the spot where their brother had disappeared. Haeda spotted another deadly slide and kicked a second thing toward it. The creature stumbled and almost regained its balance; but at the last second it slipped on the slick rock and fell to its death.
There being only two winds pushing against him; Haeda could move much more freely. He scrambled to his feet and charged at the third enemy; whom foolishly tried to summon a stronger wind to keep him back. Haeda only swerved to the right briefly; stabbing the robed being from the side. It collapsed; leaving the fourth all alone. It hissed.
"You have killed my brothers! For decades we have lived here; praying upon those who search for the Summons. Take that woman, for example," The thing pointed to a half-snow covered corpse with a bony blue finger, "She did not expect us to come on storm, oh no…she was quickly done with. But you…You are a pest!" It flung an icy ball covered in spikes hurling toward Haeda's face. He ducked and faltered on the snow for a moment; then charged forward. The robed creature sent a wave of ice at him and managed to hit the boy's right hand. It immediately froze in a block of ice and became useless. Haeda gasped but kept running forward; bringing the Master Sword down in a vertical slash.
The winds ceased and the snow stopped pelting him. But a gray cloud still hung over head; brushing the peak of the mountain.