Mutants Misplaced
Chapter 40
Target: Morthal
The hours passed and the sun soon began to set behind the horizon, allowing the mutants and especially the vampires to travel unhindered. With all the supplies they would need for the trip, they resumed their journey to Morthal with renewed energy and hope, after getting a few hours of sleep during the afternoon.
They had had two options, either take the path they had tried to reach Winterhold with, before they were attacked by Lokdrgoyol the first time. The trip would take them at least a couple of days, and it wouldn't be an easy one either. After reaching Dawnstar, they would have to travel west, through the frozen north.
The other alternative was to travel along the south base of the mountain chain, round the western edge and continue north-east through a cold swamp-like area towards Morthal, which was situated right on the edge of the swamp and tundra. That route would also take a few days and be perilous in its own right.
"So, which way are we choosing?" said Sephie.
"I would vote for the southern path, it will be warmer and thus kinder to us reptiles." said Donnie. "But what do you say, Devina? You know the lay of the land, anything we should be aware of?"
"Let me think… I wouldn't take the north path that you have thought out, it goes straight past the Hall of the Vigilant, where the Vigilants of Stendarr have their base. I do know of another passage farther to the west, that will put us closer to Morthal, that path has the usual dangers of blizzards, snow-covered crevices and mace-like paths among the ice, just like the other one. We also have to be aware of ice wraiths, that's those things Tyroth ran into at the top of the Throat of the World, then there are sabre-cats, wolfs and last, but not least, frost trolls."
"Frost trolls? Are they made of ice or something?" asked Mikey.
"No, they're called that because of that they're living in frozen areas and have white fur, but there's not much separating them from regular trolls. Both have sharp claws, foul tempers and viscously defend their territory, they also heal quickly, making them very dangerous to fight."
"The same goes for Big T, and I'm willing to bet he heals faster than any old troll." said Raph.
"I'll take your word for it, but he'll definitely be the best equipped for fighting trolls, both frost trolls and their southern relatives are very vulnerable to fire, and thus they fear it. Since Tyroth can breath fire, they won't bother him a second time, that's for sure."
"How come I always have to fight the biggest threats? It's starting to get old." said Tyroth.
"That's just because you're the best, honey." said Sephie, making Tyroth blush a little.
"What about the southern route?" said Leo.
"Since we'll travel along the base of the mountains, we might still run into trolls. Bandits will also be far more common than up north. But once we reach the marsh, that won't be as much of a problem, instead we have to be wary of many poisonous plants that grow there, such as Death Lilly, so don't eat anything there. Then there are the Frostbite spiders, giant poisonous spiders that spit, and the charrus', even larger than the spiders, they are like some giant kind of centipede with powerful jaws."
"We've run into those things before, they give me the creeps." said Mona.
"We take the passage! And that's final!" said Raph.
"Aw, poor Raphie is scared of bugs." said Mikey teasingly with a wide grin.
"I ain't scared, but I hate bugs, and I'm not tangling with one of those 'charrus' things again, so shut your trap!"
"I agree with Raph, I'd rather deal with the cold than charrus. Besides, swamps are often filled with leaches, and those scare me, that I'll admit." said Tyroth. "If we go north, I'll make sure to keep us all warm."
"Well, Leo, you're the leader, what do you say?" said Donnie.
Leo thought for a while, weighing both option against each other, before coming to a decision.
"Travelling through the swamp would put us at risk of being poisoned at almost every turn, and we might not notice it until it's too late. So we'll do as Devina suggested and take the other path, we've dealt with the cold before and as long as we can keep warm enough, the terrain will be the largest obstacle, the beasts we can handle. Tyroth's fire and magic will help us greatly, and both Devina and Sephie will be at their best in the cold. Any objections?"
When no one spoke, Leo led the way as they travelled north bound. Everyone crossed their fingers that they would have better luck than the last time, and though the risk of being attacked by another dragon at the same spot was incredibly low, the chance of getting sent to another world by a magic artefact was even lower, and that had happened to the turtles a few times before.
Roughly around midnight did they arrive at the place where Lokdrogyol had attacked them the first time, the area still showed signs of the scuffle he and Tyroth had had. Burned patches of grass and the collapsed mountainside told the tale of that fight.
The reptiles shuddered when they remembered getting trapped inside the old mine and then getting swept away in the underground river, not to mention all the close calls they had when trying to get out again.
Only stopping for a short break, they continued to the passage in the west, spending another hour or two before reaching it and the way north, following a small stream upstream. The water was freezing cold and occasionally small chunks of ice came floating from further up, chilly winds also blew down the passage, sending chills down the spines of the non-vampires from time to time.
After about an hour, they cleared the passage and were met by a beautiful snow covered landscape. Even colder winds blew in from the sea far to the north, and the sky was lit up by the moons and stars. They still had a long path ahead of them, so they wasted no time and kept moving.
But the low temperatures would eventually take its toll on the reptiles, and as they continued pressing north, they grew ever colder. Only Tyroth's soft flames allowed them to recover some lost body heat, but it wouldn't keep them warm forever.
"Brr... Just how much further is it to Morthal? I'm freezing my shell off here." Mikey complained.
"Another hour at least, but I'm afraid that we might have another problem." said Devina.
"I'm almost afraid to ask, but what would that be?" said Mona.
"By now, we should have reached a large area with deep cracks and crevices, but there's been no sign of that. I think that they must have been frozen over with ice, and that layer might be very thin."
"So we could be standing right in the middle of all the cracks without knowing it." said Leo. "That's not good, one wrong step and we could end up at the bottom of the glacier with half a ton of ice on top of us. Be mindful of where you step guys, and no more fire until we have cleared this place."
"You don't have to tell me twice." said Tyroth while trying to see if he could spot any weak spots. "Maybe I should fly instead, since I'm the heaviest, and I might be able to guide you."
"It's worth a shot." said Donnie.
After carefully checking that the ground was solid so it wouldn't give way when he took off, Tyroth jumped into the air and circled high above the group for a few minutes.
"Any luck, love?" Sephie asked when Tyroth returned to a lower altitude.
"None what so ever." he said while still circling around them. "Can't see any trace of these crevices, just snow and ice. You have to continue carefully, I'll keep an eye on you, should the ice give way."
Slowly, the team made their way across the dangerous field, carefully taking each step so not to step on a weak spot. Every other step caused the ice to creak uncomfortably for the group. It was torture, having to move so slowly when the cold was sapping more of their strength every moment, they needed to hurry but couldn't.
Despite everything that was against them, they kept going, wrapping their blankets around themselves for some extra warmth.
"How are you doing, guys?" Sephie asked the other reptiles, since she wasn't affected nearly as badly by the cold as they were.
"I'm so cold... I couldn't even get angry if you paid me to..." said Raph.
"I hope that we find some solid ground soon... not sure if we'll last much longer in this cold..." said Donnie.
"Just keep going a little longer." said Tyroth from above. "It looks like some form of rocks further ahead, you should be safe from there and I'll be able to warm you again."
And just as Tyroth had said, soon the group also saw the large rocks sticking up of the ground. Picking up the pace a little, they arrived at the rocks, and behind those rocks, was a slope that lead to some form of canyon among the ice and mountainside. A cove with sea water reached into the canyon near where the group was, and several large trees had floated ashore long ago.
"Let's make camp a little further in the canyon. Take some time warming up again." said Leo.
"You go on ahead, I'll fix some firewood." said Tyroth as he walked to the trees and started pulling one along with him. It took a while, but he managed to catch up with the rest.
The camp site was nothing more than some bare ground, and cold winds still blew through the canyon, but at least it wasn't as bad as what they had faced so far.
Looking at the big tree he had dragged along, Tyroth wanted to try something. Focusing his mana to his hand, the red energy quickly formed a clawed gauntlet, just like when he fought the sabre cat. Inspecting the mana claws, he found that they were just as razor sharp as they seemed and followed his fingers without any difficulties. He wondered just how much they could cut through, flesh and bone he already knew, and they could most likely cut wood as well, but could they deal with rock or metal?
Tyroth figured he'd have to find that out sooner or later, but at the moment he needed to cut some firewood. With a single swipe, he cut a large branch of the tree to pieces with ease. Continuing to swipe his claws at the tree at different angles, he cut up a good amount of different sized wood pieces for the fire.
Lighting the fire was an easy thing for the dragon, his fire breath quickly igniting the smaller pieces, allowing the team to warm themselves by the fire.
"Sweet flames, how I've missed you." Mikey said while rubbing his hands together in front of the fire.
"Take your time to warm up, we still got quite a way to go." said Devina.
Seeing as they wouldn't be going anywhere for a while, the group to the opportunity to eat as well, Once they were done with their meal, Tyroth started experimenting with his new powers.
Setting his mana aflame in his hand, he held a sphere of fire. As he touched it with his other hand, he discovered that he could actually shape the flames. At first he thought that it was through contact, but as he continued he learned that it was the mere motion of his hand that shaped the flames. If he continued practising, maybe he would be able to do it with only his mind.
With the fire now in the rough shape of a bird, he noticed that the others were staring at him with big eyes.
"What?"
"You're playing with fire... as if it was clay." said Mona.
"Pyrokinesis. Fascinating. How do you do it?" Donnie asked.
"I'm not sure, it just... feels natural."
"It's awesome, dude. Do you think you can do a Falcon Punch, just like Captain Falcon?" asked Mikey with a happy glint in his eyes.
"Captain Falcon? Falcon Punch? Could someone explain?" said Devina.
"Captain Falcon is a fictional character, who's signature attack is the Falcon Punch. He ignites his fist and the fire forms a great falcon as he strikes his target." Sephie explained. "And I would actually also want to see if you could do that, hun."
"Maybe, I don't think it's completely impossible, but it will take some effort, and I'm not sure how effective it will be. But I'll see what I can do."
But, while the team was occupied, they failed to notice that they were being watched from the dark. Snarling, the three-eyed creature withdrew from its hiding place.
Cold, but not down, our heroes continue their struggle. Fans of Skyrim should be able to figure out what those three eyes belong to, it spells trouble at the very least.
Also, sorry for taking so long with this chapter. My laptop broke down, so it's off to a workshop for a few weeks of repairs, as it is now, I'm stuck at my stationary computer, so I don't have as many opportunities as I did with the laptop.
But on the bright side, I've drawn some pictures of some of my characters. You can find them on my Deviantart page, and the link to that can be found on my profile here on Fanfiction. Why not check them out?