Far in the distance, the clouds floated above a snow-covered mountain, all craggy peaks and icy slopes. Frost covered the Yetis' hoods, the sharp wind blowing gusts of snow and ice at them as they walked.
They were making good pace. Three days had passed without incident since the convoy had passed - three days spent walking across the frozen landscape this far north. They didn't bother with covering their tracks anymore; the chilly wind from the mountains covering them barely within a day.
Of course, that left many of the Yetis in a state of violent boredom.
Literally violent, in the case of Petrova, who was now swinging a stick he had picked up somewhere at the snow as he passed. Frostnova had half a mind to reprimand him for "wasting energy," but she'd rather he waste it on the snow then waste it arguing with her.
The Yetis looked up to her, sure, but much of the socializing proper was done by Petrova. He was her second-in-command, in a sense, dealing with all the matters she didn't or couldn't deal with – checking to make sure everybody was working, managing things when her Oripathy struck, and – most importantly – talking.
Talking a lot.
"Why are there so many random piles of snow on the ground?" Petrova asked half-seriously, scattering a pile of snow with his stick as he walked.
"Is all he does talk?" Andrey asked.
"I'm sure the Yetis would rather listen to him talk then just walk through the snow in silence." Frostnova replied. "Back from reading?"
"I only have so much information. It's not hard to remember the basics."
"Mhm. Your locked memories… any progress on those?"
"None. I get them when I see certain things, though I'm not sure what specifically."
"Patriot may know something about the possession."
"Your father? Maybe. Wendigos do have powerful Arts, and, well…" Andrey paused, as if debating what to say next.
"Yes?"
"Their Arts are red too."
"That sounds like something Petrova would say." Frostnova said. "Stupid, but it makes sense."
Petrova chose that exact time to knock over another pile with his foot – and hit the rock inside. "Ow! Oh, so they grow around rocks…"
Hobbling around on one foot, Petrova continued with the rest of the group, and was soon back on two feet – staying very far from piles this time.
"How effective is he in combat?" Andrey asked at the sight.
"He's survived for five years. That's enough." Five years of running, of hiding – and more recently, finally starting fight back. Perhaps Patriot was right, keeping them away from combat for as long as he could; two years, and they had lost a hundred.
At grievous cost to the Infected Patrol, sure, but were a few hundred Patrol really "grievous" if there were twenty times more out there?
The scope of their losses still haunted her – but she could do nothing.
"When you were in that trance," Frostnova asked, her mind turning to the upcoming battle, "you mentioned that the Infected Patrol would not reinforce their mines if they were under siege."
"You mentioned that, yes. Does it matter?" Andrey replied, as reclusive as ever about that voice hidden in his mind.
"Maybe. The Infected Patrol is lazy enough to act like that."
"Probably." The experience with the convoy had taught something about the Infected Patrol; they were, indeed, lazy. They were unfit for the harsh winter in every way – but they made it up in numbers. "But if they outnumber the Guerillas too much, they might take action."
"That large a force wouldn't arrive in time." Frostnova noted.
"Good point. Then what was Patriot thinking?"
"Either the voice in your head was right, and he had a wrong impression of the Patrol, or he expects some other force."
"The Army?"
"Maybe… the Army is definitely zealous enough. They're better equipped than the Yetis; I see why Patriot would want us to ambush them. But Patriot usually takes them on directly. He doesn't want to risk losing the Yetis."
"Is this a test?" Andrey was making some good guesses, Frostnova realized.
"Possibly. Either way, I'll fight them to the end."
"Good luck. I can't fight, but I will do my best to help."
The day passed in quiet monotony as they approached the mountains where the mine lay. Even as they were barely a day's walk away, the mines were still invisible in the worsening waves of snow and ice.
"This could be a blizzard." Frostnova said as she walked. The snow flying in the air was beginning to seriously impede their movement, forcing the Yetis to blink near-constantly as snowflakes flew at them.
They kept walking, however. Some of the Yetis had already turned, walking backwards and using their hoods and winter coats to shield themselves from the snowflakes; the other Yetis were also beginning to do so, sacrificing some of their speed for the luxury of not having snow constantly striking their faces.
Frostnova's hair was slowly becoming encrusted with snow as she walked – yet she still diligently walked forwards, trusting her innate resistance to the snowy winds - the biting cold nothing more than a numb afterthought on her skin as she walked.
Some of the Yetis were already falling behind as the weather worsened, and Petrova had to call to them to hurry up.
They were getting nowhere with this rate.
"Pitch tents. Continuing in this weather is too slow." Frostnova ordered, and the Yetis immediately began pulling down tents and various barriers against the snow, giving the equally snow-covered mules a break.
Frostnova retrieved her tent, pitching it near the front of the group; her tent was of higher quality, courtesy of Patriot's insistence, and so could protect better against the snowy winds.
Without much fanfare, she was soon asleep.
When she opened the flaps of her tent, she wasn't surprised to find her tent utterly covered in snow, a thick layer across the sides of the tent.
With practiced, calm motions, Frostnova packed up the tent, brushing off the snow and rolling up the coarse fabric. The wind had abated, a gentle breeze replacing the strong gusts, leaving the sky empty and clear.
Gazing to the distance, Frostnova found a deep valley between two of the short peaks, a small path of frozen ice flanked on either side by imposing stone.
"That was the ambush point, correct?" Andrey was back.
"Yes. We need to wait for the Yetis to all wake up."
Andrey paused for a moment, Frostnova taking her tent back to the carts and hefting it on.
Gazing through her eyes at the valley, Andrey saw the caves pockmarking the sides – perfect ambush spots for the Yetis. And the ice river between was a challenge for even the toughest warriors – slippery and smooth, almost impossible to run in.
"The mine's on the other side of the valley… and the valley's the only way through. It's too good to be true." Perhaps it was his repeated readings of the sparse information in his Codex, or perhaps it was old intuition, but there had to be some catch.
"It's too good. Any competent commander would check for ambushes first. This is a test."
"Realizing it was the first step, at least." Andrey focused on the valley again. "Ambushes require surprise… ambush them from the back, perhaps?"
"And use the valley as a killing zone? There is no hiding space before the valley –" Frostnova gestured to the empty expanse of rock and snow "– that can hide us from the Army. And even if we pushed them in, then we would be fighting on even terms."
"The chance that the Army arrives is complicating things."
"Heavily. If this were Infected Patrol, I would just set up an ambush on the mountainside with the caves… Maybe we can still somehow do so." Frostnova studied the caves, looking for some idea that could win the battle.
"We need to get them off guard."
"Ah." Frostnova paused for a long moment. "Attack them first with a small group, then fake a defeat and lure them into a larger ambush. But the lure group will inevitably lose Yetis."
"You'll lose more if you directly attack them or let them through." Andrey countered.
"Mhm… this could work." Frostnova nodded, walking towards the other tents. "If the others agree."
She moved towards the veteran Yetis' tents, before walking over to Petrova's tent. Lightly, she stretched out her hand, brushing away the snow, before opening the flaps.
Sure enough, he was sleeping. "Petrova?"
"Mm?" He cracked open one eye, before slowly getting up. "Hi, Sister. How early is it?"
"Late enough."
"Mmf… Sure." Frostnova stepped out of the tent, leaving space for Petrova to walk out.
"Anything you wanted to talk about?" Petrova asked, fishing his sheathed sword out from the tent and attaching it to his hip.
"Ambush plans, as we're close now. Call the other Yetis. I'll set up the tent." They went their separate ways, Petrova to call the Yetis awake and Frostnova to prepare the tent.
Hauling a large fold-up table from one of the carts off and propping it up, Frostnova began the arduous process of building the large tent the Yetis used for command.
Just as Petrova came back with a dozen senior Yetis, Frostnova had finished, stepping back and checking her handiwork for a moment before walking into the tent. The other Yetis followed, looking to the map as they filtered in.
"We need to prepare our ambush." Frostnova told the group. "I have a risky option, but I need your ideas before I explain it."
Petrova, as always, was the first to speak up. "Well, it's an "ambush". Why not just ambush them outright?"
"We do not know for certain if our enemy is the Infected Patrol. It could be the Army." Frostnova rebutted.
"That's out of the window, I guess."
"Mhm." The room fell into a deep silence – a quiet, collective sigh coming from the Yetis as they pondered their plan.
"Cause an avalanche as they pass?" One of the Yetis spoke up.
"That's new…" Andrey commented, seemingly pondering it for a moment before speaking up again. "Why didn't I think of that?"
"It's a very Petrova idea." Frostnova mentioned, sinking into deep thought and walking out to look at the valley to look at the mountain.
Soon walking back in, she gave her verdict. "It's too difficult to send enough Yetis up onto the valley tops to collapse the snow."
"Use casters to draw them into an ambush?"
"If our enemy relies on crossbowmen, we risk losing all of our Casters."
"Fortify the valley and use it as a choke point?"
"Same problem."
The assembled Yetis fell silent after that. Seeing they were out of ideas, Frostnova decided to continue with hers. "I'll explain my option, then."
"Deploy the Yetis with armor to a first ambush, and retreat as soon as possible, giving the impression of defeat. Their armor should somewhat protect them from any crossbowmen."
"If they have Casters, our people are dead." Petrova noted.
"But most Casters are slow and usually incapable of pursuit." Frostnova added, before continuing. "After they retreat, launch a second ambush with the Casters and crossbowmen from the hills. Have the armored Yetis turn back and block the escape with most of the remaining melee Yetis. The rest guard the Casters and crossbowmen."
"Any questions?" The Yetis took a moment to comprehend the strategy, before all nodding in unison.
It was powerful, if risky.
"Prepare the equipment, then. We start moving at noon." Frostnova said. Things were finally heating up.
AN: I was messing around with ChatGPT, and it writes really well (if also really cliched). Tried using it as a beta reader, and it's somewhat useful, though it has a tendency to say stupid things. Feel free to leave a review if you have something to say!