CHAPTER 2
Milla let out her fierce war cry and charged at the unsuspecting Merwin. It turned around but Milla was already on top of it and 2 other Shield Maidens ran out with their daggers in hand.
Milla took out her dagger and started to stab into the thrashing Merwins head. But it wouldn't give up. It crashed around on the ice and kicked the other two Shield Maidens away. Then it flipped Milla of its head.
Milla landed hard on the ice and was winded for a second. That was all the Merwin needed and charged, but Milla recovered too fast.
Milla jumped into a crouch position and grabbed her knife; she then swung the knife and cut the Merwins leg. It stumbled then fell, too weak to thrash anymore.
The Icecarls quickly killed the beast with one final blow. The Merwin was finally dead and it took three Shield Maidens to kill it.
Milla thought she had done good for all Icecarls, as this Merwin had drew Icecarl blood and slaughtered two Icecarls.
The taller Shield Maiden walked over to Milla and patted her on the back.
"The Merwin will not haunt the Icecarls any longer" The Shield Maiden said comfortingly.
Then Milla heard a long hiss and an image flashed into her mind.
Her old friend Tal, with whom she had had many adventures with, was standing on top of the Mountain of Light just walking when a rustle comes from a bush.
Tal asks who's there and a snake like voice came from everywhere, or nowhere, it was hard to tell.
It warned Tal of danger and shadows would return to take what he calls home. Milla suspected that meant the whole world not just the Castle.
Then she was shocked to see her friend thrown by a monster that had appeared behind him, but she couldn't see it properly. Tal rolled down the mountain obviously knocked out.
Then she snapped back into reality and realized she was on her knees and shaking violently.
"What happened?" One Shield Maiden asked.
"I, I think I just had a crone vision, or something like it." Milla answered, her voice shaking and failed on the last word.
"Well were heading back to the Ruin Ship, you can tell the crones of what you saw, they will know what to do." The other Shield Maiden said, obviously fearing for her sanity.
Milla shakily got to her feet and walked to the sleigh they had gotten to here with.
This was the area that many said the Merwin who hunted Icecarls lived, so Milla and two Shield Maidens had come to rid the world of this beast. Milla felt happy that she had killed the Merwin, but very confused at the vision, and very worried for Tal.
Then trip back and was going to take a while, so Milla thought over the vision so she could report exactly what she saw.
She also wondered what could have happened to Tal, whether he had fallen in the hole, but it hadn't looked like it, he was thrown about 50 stretches and he was pretty close to the hole already so that ruled out that part. But that meant that he had rolled the whole way down the hill and would have suffered serious injury, but hopefully not death.
And what was the shadow creature that had assaulted Tal? And why could she not see it in the vision?
There were so many questions and she would get answers, but she would have to wait until she got to the Crone Mother before she could get these answers.
Millas head hurt and she was shaking a lot so she started the Rovkir Breathing Technique to stop the shivering and reduce the pain.
After a few hours the sleigh came to an abrupt stop, surprising Milla and sending her rolling forward.
Milla heard a strange rustling noise on top of the sleigh as she got to her feet and chose to see what it was, when she walked outside of the sleigh she saw a snake made of pure shadow on top of the sleigh.
Then it spoke to her.
"Milla, you are in grave danger, shadows are coming to engulf the land you call home" she same snake like voice hissed from apparently everywhere that she heard in her vision.
Then it slithered down onto the other side of the sleigh and disappeared. Then the other two Shield Maidens walked around the front of the sleigh.
"There was something pursuing us" one said.
Milla got back in the sleigh and was more confused than ever before.
A few hours later they were in sight of the Ruin Ship.