The Beast Within
Chapter Twenty-Nine –The Ice Hag
The vegetation in this area began to change. The vast greenery and vibrant color flowers were once again replaced by red dust and small dry looking grass. The air again became humidly hot and hard to breath. Steam rose from some corner of the cliff, between rocks and crumbling soil, partially fogging the surroundings. Leela cocked her head sideways, staring at a small snowfall clustered around the foot of a willow tree with certain degree of disbelieving.
"Oh, hello." She shook her head: "I can't believe it, those othlor spirits were telling the truth. The ice hag is here somewhere."
"And we are getting pretty close." Gannayev whistled.
"Looks like it started from here." Okku tilted his head slightly, indicating the nearby stream. Ice sheets floated on the water surface and came to standstill further up.
"Hey, look!" Kaelyn the Dove pointed at the frozen waterfall on the top of the hill not very far from them, half hidden among the thick steam.
"The density is higher over there." The air genasi frowned thoughtfully: "Humph…" She strode forward and began to follow the slope up.
"You know, it's actually easier than we were told." Smirked Safiya as they climbed up the hill: "I was under the impression it was a lot more complicated than that."
"Excellent notion there, Thayan wizard." The bear god mused: "I wondered why they couldn't locate her?"
They stumbled on the top of the hill and had realized they were facing a small flat plateau. Thick snow patches could be seen everywhere. The steam here was frozen solid, glittering under the mid day sun. Rusty railroad zigzagged all over the plane. Several weathered carts were scattered here and there, some were covered with icicles. On the other side of the flat surface, there was a tunnel. From most of the rails were coming out of that entrance, it was clearly one of the old abandoned mine.
"There." The druid pointed at the cave: "Nice place to hide, don't you think?"
"Ah-hah!" Gannayev raised his eyebrows and carefully leaped across the stream.
The cave looked a lot bigger when they approached closer. Like a giant monster's jaws, it greedily awaited its prey to venture straight in. Leela stopped at the entrance, glancing over the icicles at the edge of the cavern. The large blackened wooden pillars and columns were half rotten, some bent dangerously out of shape. There were some small animals remains scattered around, presumably the leftovers of the animals or…perhaps the ice hags.
"Leela," Gannayev called out to the air genasi just as she was about to enter the mine: " May we have a word, before we enter the cavern?"
Leela arched her snowy eyebrow toward the blue hagspawn quizzically.
"There are many of my kind, well, more specifically saying, my mother's kind." The dreamwalker stared into the vast darkness within the cave: "They are as numerous in hue and power as the elements, and their disposition as varied as the emotions and rages of a human mind. The one within... her spirit lies upon the cold edge of ice, I suspect. A heart of winter beats within her chest - a dangerous thing indeed."
"Typical of a ice hag, I presume?" Asked the druid.
"Indeed." Gannayev nodded: "This creature... this bheur... they thrive in cold, and they use it as a weapon. Anything that shields us against a winter's chill would help us in the battle to come, if we choose to fight."
"Huh?" The crease on Leela's forehead deepened: "'We choose to fight'?"
"As you may have noticed from my own... tendencies, we hags, even half-hags, are a talkative people. It is a form of self-flattery to go on about oneself, no matter what the subject." The blue hagspawn smirked.
"Yes, I do noticed, thank you very much." Leela chuckled.
"And from what I know of women of my kind, they tend to prattle on more than most—" Gannayev's explaining was interrupted by Safiya the Red Wizard.
"Are you saying there is someone yakking more than you do?" She sounded genuinely surprised: "Oh, gods! I must say I am very surprised indeed!"
"For the first time, Red Wizard, your words does not appear to be filled with riddle" Okku chuckled: "I agree with you. The hagspawn haven't even attempted to shut up since I met him outside the Mulsantir gate!"
"Oh, my." Gannayev places his hands on his chest: "you two are emotionally wounding me. Gods, what a curious sensation!"
The air genasi laughed. They entered the mine. The air was filled with the smells of mildew and molds. The walls were glistened with moist and dampness. The sound of water dripping echoed in the tunnel. There were also sounds of wind gushing throughout the empty mine, or something had whispered with each other? Leela could not be sure.
"Mistress!" Kaji suddenly tugged Safiya's sleeves and squeaked: "Traps ahead, mistress!"
"Humph…" The Red Wizard paused. She muttered a few chosen words. Light orb flew out of her fingers and floated a few meters above her head. The area instantly coated with glowing blue hue.
The druid glinted her eyes and checked the area ahead carefully. Dust gathered around the unknown glowing light source around the corner. Under the dim light, she could not sense anything different. But and again, spotting traps and disabling them had never been her specialty. She gave Kaji a gentle nod. The Red Wizard's familiar yelped and rushed forward almost at once. It carefully stepped onto an area next to a pile of broken crates not very far from them, slowly squaring down and inspected the pens, and then pulled out a whole thread of stings. The creature mumbled something under its nose, while sorting out which one it should drew out. In front of everyone's astonishing eyes, the traps were disarmed within seconds.
"All done, mistress!" Kaji seemed pretty impressed with himself.
"Well done, Kaji." Safiya could not hide the proud grin flowing toward the corners of her mouth.
They stepped past the disarmed traps and proceed further on. Soon the floor surface they stepped on became more slippery. As they reached the end of the mine tunnel, the whole cavern was glittering with ice.
"We are definitely getting VERY close." Okku stared at a rather large icicle hanging from the ceiling in awe.
"Who's there?" Suddenly an old, ghastly female voice piped out from one of the chambers: "Show yourself!"
"I think we have what we are looking for." Leela grimaced and cocked her head toward the last room in the tunnel.
It was the most shocking humanoid creature the air genasi had ever seen. The ice hag, also known as the bheur hag, resembled an old, wrinkly aged lady. Skinny to the bone, her skin illuminated a sickening, wax-like blue hue. Her eyes, blood shot and budging outward, spun around maniacally. Hunchbacked, her body trembled like trees in the howling wind against the magic staff she was holding. Her clothes were stained and battered. Her snow-white hair was absolutely wild and untamed, roughly tied into a messy knot on the top of her head. Next to her were two Orglashes, whirling and twisting around their master, glaring at them half-threateningly and half-curiously.
"Visitors?" She shrieked. Her high-pitched voice echoed throughout the cavern. Safiya and Kaelyn simultaneously covered their ears: "And you didn't even sent a messenger to let me know? Goodness, this place is a sty! Human remains are everywhere! And look at what I am wearing! How rude! It's not an appropriated way to greet the guests!"
"We don't really mind." Replied the air genasi as she glanced around the room. The bheur wasn't lying. Old furniture, books and scrolls were thrown all over the place. Piles of human remains, mostly bones, were staking up here and there. There were no spider webs—the ice hag must have put in a bit of effort clearing them out. Compared to the rest of the room they have seen so far, this one was actually a lot tidier.
"Well, how nice of you say that. But I do mind!" The hag growled: "Haven't your parents told you not to drop by unannounced? Young people these days…."
"Let me handle this!" Gannayev whispered to the druid before stepping forward to the bheur: "We are sorry, bheur, for dropping in like this. But we are desperate, we needed your help."
"You are, are you?" The ice hag's fanatical eyes suddenly both stared at the blue hagspawn's direction: "Why, aren't you a well manner thing. And one of us, I see…. what is it you are after, I wonder?"
"We had a little bit trouble with a fire spirit." Leela tried to smile: "He mentioned he once had a battle with someone like you."
"A fire spirit, aye?" The bheur's eyes were once again zooming at all angles: "The one in the southern Ashenwood?"
"Yes. That's the one." The air genasi inclined her head.
"Moaner! That pathetic thing was a absolute moaner!" The hag began to pace about the room and waved her hand uncontrollably: "I was passing by, to avoid those witches, you see. And that noisy little thing just whined and moaned, and was basically throwing a good tantrum. It was so loud; he gave me such a headache! And when I asked him to shut up, what did he do? He attacked me!"
"Ouch!" Safiya gave her a sympathetic look.
"Ouch, indeed!" The bheur hag seemed to enjoy suddenly having such a large audience: " Had to teach such a disrespectful bugger a lesson, don't you agree? Beat the crap out of him. Heh."
"What did you attack him with?" Asked Gannayev skillfully.
"What do you think, chap?" The hag grinned, sending shivers down to everyone's spine: "I am a ice hag, ice is something I am never lack of!"
"Humph, would that be possible if you can assist us to fend off this fire spirit again?" Queried the druid tentatively.
"Would love to, should have finish that little bastard when I had a chance, if I wasn't in the hurry to run off somewhere. But there is just one little problem, my dear!" The bheur hag glinted her eyes rather playfully.
"The hathrans by the Red Tree?" Replied Kaelyn.
" A half-celestial? Why, aren't I fortunate today?" The hag laughed: "Nothing for ages, suddenly being visited by this many people at once! Yes, those old grumpy Witches still guarding the Red Tree like a pair of hawks! How can I go anywhere without them at my tail! I am trapped in this moldy, stinky place!"
"What if…." Leela chew her lips thoughtfully: "What if I could help, say, clear off those track outside? Then those hathrans would think you'd gone?"
"Heh…that could work!" The ice hag snapped her fingers: "Tsk, tsk, at last, a chance for me to leave this horrible place. Why people would find this place pleasant, I wonder? Humid, sweaty, steams everywhere! Wouldn't a nice little glacier be much more pleasant, no? Let me know when those bitches thinks I am gone, then we will discuss about my ' assistance."
"What are you planning to 'cover the track'?" Asked Safiya as they stepped outside the mine and looked over the frozen plateau, half covered by the fog rising from the bottom of the cliff.
"Easy," The air genasi grinned: "But I will need your help."
"Sure thing!" The Red Wizard nodded her head: "Ready when you are!"
The druid walked near a waterfall. She stood just under the frozen ice curtains and inhaled deeply. Sparks began to crackle between her fingers. Next thing they saw a massive Fire Storms whooshing past the plane and literally lit the whole cliff on fire. When the last flame disappeared, the ice on waterfall began to melt away and the water seemed to be flowing under it once again.
"Ahah!" Enlightened expression flew across the Thayan wizard's face. She quickly strode away and stopped by one of the streams. Her lips moved and flaming balls as large as a small cart showering down from above. Within minutes, the stream was back to life.
"Hey, girls, this is not a competition." Gannayev chuckled. His hand shot out a heated beam; the snow layered at the foot of the willow tree immediately turned into a puddle of water.
"Qara would love to do this." The druid put down her hands and sighed. Her voice lowered a few decibels: "Such as shame…"
"The red haired friend of yours who took some particular enjoyment torching everything in every occasion?" The blue hagspawn half-turned his head around and smiled at her knowingly: "Oh, yeah, I totally agree!"
Leela nodded and smiled at the dreamwalker. Suddenly she wasn't minding him prying around in her dream anymore. At least there was someone who could share the memory with her. It was a warm feeling.
"Oh, you're back." Tamlith seemed surprised to see the group's return as they approached the Red Tree: "So?"
"We have news of the bheur." Leela inclined her head.
"Indeed?" Imsha appeared from behind the tree: "What of her?"
"She will no longer bother you." The air genasi took a deep breath and replied simply.
"Would she really?" Tamlith arched her eyebrow and looked at her skeptically.
"I believe she's telling the truth, Tamlith." Imsha tugged her fellow Othlors: "Look." She pointed at the river not very far from where they stood.
The Othlor spirit looked over her shoulders and saw a rather large ice sheet carried downstream in the river. On that moment, her expression changed. She beamed, and the shimmering light around her grew brighter.
"Thank you, my friend." She nodded toward the druid. Both of their transparent bodies began to fade.
"Spring will be earlier this year." Imsha seemed so overwhelmed with the good news; the telthor spirit was in tears.
"Now I feel really bad of lying to them." Kaelyn the Dove sighed as they strolled back to the abandoned mine.
"What? Or you would rather kill the hag?" Okku cast a side-glance toward the half-celestial: "What did she ever done to us? You know, by making this little white lie, we don't have to kill anybody. It is necessary and the best solution, I reckon. Nicely done, little one."
"Arh, you are back, unannounced, as usual." The bheur hag mumbled and toddled toward them as they returned to the last chambers in the abandoned mine: "Such a disgusting habit of human, heck. And I still look dreadful."
"Excellent news, Tamlith and Imsha believe you had left the Vale." Announced Leela rather excitedly.
"They do indeed?" The old hag beamed. Her lined face twisted into an uncomfortable feature, giving everybody shivers: "Ahah! Now I can leave at last. You young folks have no idea how long have I been waiting for this!"
"Well, I am glad you are happy." The air genasi felt sick in her stomach.
She began to laugh boastfully: "Cha-cha! Aren't I? Oh, well, I suppose I should keep my end of the bargain, should I? Here." Her hand reached out and pawed the druid's.
Leela felt something with slight weight sinking into her hand. She lowered her gaze and saw a small vial of clear, glowing liquid resting in the palm of her hand.
"You aren't coming with us?" The air genasi arched her eyebrow.
"Risking those damn witches finding out I am still alive and breathing? Nah!" The ice hag was already near the door: "Use that to put off the fire. That whiny thing will certainly feel it, heh. Such a shame I can't be there to see it! Bloody traitor; don't think I don't know what he'd done! He deserves the sufferings a million times over!"
Her two Orglash bodyguard quickly followed. By the time all the whirlwinds were settled, the bheur hag was gone.