Hey everyone! I'm here with another chapter for ya'll, enjoy!

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Chapter three: Maelstrom

After two more days, we reached white snowy peaks with dark clouds that hid the bottom of the valley and the blue skies above. The temperature is less than ideal, and the winds were quite harsh for our liking. It's not long, however, after scaling a mountain that we ended up on a snow-filled plateau.

The instructions described two precipices that made them appear as though they were gates into another region. Sure enough, we see them once some of the clouds clear. Hoodwink and I look at one another, and both of us smile before we finally proceed to our final destination.

By the time we ended up at the base of the two mountains, it was dark and snow started to pick up once again. We are forced to find shelter, for a decent squall had descended from the peaks.

"I guess it's good I've got fur now" I gave a nervous look to the red squirrel as I shook off some snow that had stuck to me. The girl just rolled her eyes, almost in a playful manner. Still, I shouldn't joke around too much, for it's still cold enough to encumber us. Thankfully, we find a small opening along a rocky façade where we can rest for the night. Once inside, Hood started a fire as we tried to warm up as fast as possible. As the dry wood we collected from earlier cracks and pops: casting our shadows on the stony wall behind us, Hoodwink finally lowered her hood.

"How's it going?" She asked me before I scoffed, picking up my foot, "my feet are killing me!"

"Trust me…mine are too…mate."

She moved a bit closer to the pit to warm up her paws. I decided to move in a bit too to join her and she could see me from a side glance, "this is shaping up to be quite the adventure."

"Hard out." She nodded slightly in agreement.

"I never walked this much in my life" I admitted, quite pathetically.

"That 'cause you got bet'ah legs now" she chuckled back.

"What-these?" I picked up one of my furry thighs in response, "I won't be able to wear jeans again!"

"I say it's an improvement" she humorously stated, and I just scoffed back in return. After a moment in silence, I turn to the tree squirrel and bantered back, "this would have been a lot faster if ya'll have cars and planes."

"What now?" She rolled her head to the side in question. That's when she remembered me talking about them in the past, "oh…those things."

"You've seen a few from my phone when I was human" I added. Gee…speaking of my phone. I pulled it out to inspect it. By now it was even more damaged than before because of our misadventures over time and it's been long dead ever since it ran out of battery. Still, I decided to hold on to it…I needed something to remind me where I am from after all…

"Ya know what's faster than all your silly nutty tech…ever heard of a portal scroll?"

I gave her a are you serious look and she groaned back, "things can take anyone anywhere in a flash! Ya just got'ta read 'em right is all…"

"Hmm…I see…and let me guess…you didn't have any back in Tomo'Kan?"

"Fresh out" she admitted in a comedic fashion, "ya think we'd be doing all this if I had 'em in my stash? We'd be there and back before Brekkie."

"Uh…what" I gave a confused look to her and she rolled her eyes in return, "first meal of the day, bro."

"Oh…breakfast, I guess that makes sense" I scoffed, looking away.

"Egghead" she finished, laughing to herself before poking at the fire with a stick.

I started to think about things and it's not long before my eyes lock onto hers again, "to be honest…I liked the walk here…we got to see so much."

There's her smile again and we're just sitting there like a bunch of a-holes…not knowing what to do…heh. Hoodwink, consequently, is the first to act: yawning loudly as if letting her intentions known to me, "we ough'ta get some rest, mate."

"Right…" I sighed.

And so, we both lie down…and sure enough the effects of hiking all day begin to overtake us and we pass out for the night.

…

The next day, the snow had accumulated on the ground more than we expected, so our journey became a slow grind. It would have been exhausting and miserable…had Hoodwink not made it so much fun. The natural-born squirrel put together a snowball and throws it at my head. The first one caught me off guard and I glance over to see her whistling as if she wasn't responsible…or maybe she wanted me to know that way…

Oh…kay…" I went to pick one up but I'm hit again in quick succession!

"Too slow!" She mischievously chittered. I groaned in earnest, standing up, but I managed to hide a snowball behind me. So, I throw it in her direction to try and get my revenge. Unfortunately, she jumps in the air: perfectly dodging the projectile on time.

"Dang it!" I cursed loudly in frustration. Funny enough, as she evaded my attack she loaded a snowball into her arbalest and shot at me in midair. My eyes widened but in a fraction of a second, I am hit in the face and thrown back.

Hoodwink can't contain herself, she starts to laugh hysterically as I groggily lift my head up from the snowy ground. He's such a crack-up, she thought to herself, grinning wildly. Sure enough, she scampers to my side with a paw extended with a smug grin on her maw, "come on then, silly."

I give a slightly annoyed expression…sighing in defeat before taking her paw. Before she can pull me up I, with my other paw, managed to throw snow in her face, and she backed away in response. I erupt in laughter as she cleans the flakes off her face, "gotcha!"

She put her paws on her hips as I stood up to join her, "that doesn't count, bloody drongo!"

"To me, it does" I retorted playfully.

"Yeah, yeah…sure" she rolled her eyes before we laugh it off and continue our trek uphill.

…

It's not long after that we come across what we had been searching for…finally!

"This is it…" she murmured softly, looking at the map and then to the brown recipe in my possession.

"It's…just another cavern…" I raise an eyebrow in objection to her statement.

"Not quite, mate" she retorted, leading the way before I decide to follow. Just when we moved closer I could have sworn that I saw one or two glints in front of us…what it was I wasn't exactly sure…maybe a force field…nah it can't be.

What we came across right as we went through the mouth of the cave was nothing short but spectacular! We passed through and the scenery immediately changed: the scene in front of us revealed tall frozen peaks that enclosed the area like a tub or sink…and in the middle of it all is an icy fortress.

"There" she pointed with a claw, and I huffed loudly, "no need to rub it in" I retorted before she put away the map and laughed it off.

In front of us is an icy bridge and we look at one another. Not a second later I throw my hands out, "ladies first."

"Oh, such a gentleman…" she grunted, slightly affronted by my gesture.

Sure enough, however, we both decide to cross together…side by side…step by step…being careful not to slip on the ice and fall to our deaths. Just from seeing the darkness below the "bridge" it's a long way down. Along with the slippery surface was the threat of falling off thanks to the howling winds blowing at us. It turned out to be a gnarly scene for us both.

Fortunately, we eventually made it to the end of the bridge…to be met with a tall door. I shake myself, trying to get rid of as much snow and ice off me as possible, "thank goodness for fur…thank goodness for fur!" I repeated. Hoodwink, next to me, slapped my back, "that wasn't so bad, bro."

"You were just as cold as I was!" I clapped back.

"Yeah nah!"

"Yeah, yeah!" I hissed back, trying to imitate her accent.

The squirrel moved forward, her ear twitching at the sight before her. The girl slowly opened the door and it revealed a small foggy chamber that we soon walked through.

"So like…what is this place exactly?"

"Must be a stronghold of some kind…" she guessed…it's about as good as anyone's guess anyways…

"Where is everybody…" I look around, nervously asking before bumping into something. I turn around: soon giving off a yell of fright. It turned out to be a skeleton, and not one but several along the walls and the ground around us.

Hood would have giggled at my clumsiness and reaction; however, she knows this place is trouble already, "that answers your question."

"What the heck happened here…" I muttered to myself, shaking in fear before she grabs my arm…leading me forward, "I dunno, but we bettah make this a short visit, ye?"

I couldn't agree more. We proceeded into the next room and are greeted with what appeared to be a series of bridges…all of various heights leading to the top of the tower.

I heard the rodent beside me groan in annoyance, clearly not pleased that we have to overcome these obstacles. It's clear she missed home…missed the forest. Despite her outside bravado, I can tell she hated snow…hated the cold…hated winter in general…hopefully we can get this done quickly enough and get the hell out and back to a warmer climate.

And so, we are forced to begin our mission through the system in front of us, which leads us down a hallway and into another room. Inside this first room, we are on a cliff, and we can see a bed of frozen water below us. Hoodwink and I jumped down and scampered across, being careful not to break the ice underneath us…or this'll be cut short for sure.

Thankfully, after some time we manage to get near the end of the room, but we come across an icy wall that we cannot climb to get to the door above.

I thought we were out of options but Hoodwink (always having surprises up her sleeves…despite lacking sleeves that is…) comes up with a plan. It turns out she had rope in her stash. She tied it to a bolt on her crossbow and then aimed at the ceiling above the platform. After checking to see if it can support our weight, she gestured for me to climb it.

"Smart squirrel" I gave a grin to her, sharp canids on display. She smiled back, "it comes with the territory."

After we end up on the platform, she retrieved the rope and ushers me into the next chamber.

It turns out this next place had a spiral staircase made of stone. After carefully making it to the top, we both see what we have to do next to get to the next area: we must hop across tall columns to get to the exit. I grunted in annoyance as the red squirrel looked in my direction, "this is all looking more and more like a video game…"

"What now?" She raised a furry brow at this but I roll my eyes at her, "I'll explain later, Hood."

"Whatever it is you just said, it's probably not as fun as we're about to have!" She laughed back. I gave her a confused/shocked look, "this!? You're nuts!"

"This'll be fun!"

Without warning, she started jumping from pillar to pillar…not caring if one wrong step could send her falling to her doom. I sighed, deciding to follow. I hesitated at first, however, and my fear of falling stunted my progress. Honestly, who could blame me…I'm nothing like her, I can't just "wing it" and hope for the best. It took a long time but once I'm a quarter of the way through, the rodent was already on the other side waiting for me. Hoodwink put her paws on her hips upon seeing my lack of progress, "oh come on, mate!"

"I kinda don't wanna die here, squirrel" I blurted out after making it across two pillars. She shook her head, pulling out an acorn she had saved, "if you don't hurry up, I'll throw this at you!"

"Thanks for helping" I quipped, but soon she turned her attention to the door…deciding to figure out how to open it in the meantime. When I finally made it across the hellscape, Hoodwink had figured out the puzzle on the wall. The door soon opens as I pant like a dog from exhaustion, "drongos go first" she stepped aside jokingly as I huffed loudly.

After a few minutes, we end up back in the main chamber of this tower. Is it just me…or is it getting colder?

Either way, we continue going from room to room: climbing ever so higher until we've made it to the last levels in the stronghold. The next room was circular: with a cold, dense, fog covering the ground all around us. We couldn't see our feet or even our legs. Above us are icy stalagmites that look ready to fall on our heads at any moment…or at least it seemed that way to me.

Hoodwink sees two ice sculptures, that are holding weapons, by the door we need to get by. I don't like it…something in me knew this wasn't good, but I guess the rodent next to me didn't know how obvious this setup was. Knowing video game logic, it had to be something bad that'll come from this. I'm not saying the world I live in at the moment is such a thing, but I can't rule out that possibility either…

"Hood…" I started, but she ran ahead, and before I could stop her. My ears suddenly pulled back as I gasped: I catch sight of one of the sculptures raising their weapon above…intended to strike Hoodwink. My eyes widened before I jumped forward, pushing her out of the way. I quickly rolled left of me to avoid getting killed! Once the halberd struck the foggy floor, I stood up to join the squirrel. We both see the two monsters marching toward us slowly, "t-they're alive!?"

"Place reeks of magic" she answered, huffing loudly before unholstering her crossbow. The arboreal beast threw the acorn, the one she intended for my head, toward the foes. Unfortunately, she would have been better off using it on me because her attack almost had little effect.

"Bollocks!" She cursed.

"Separate them, we'll both focus on one" I suggested.

"Choice!" She smiled mischievously at this.

Quickly, we both break away as both sculptures struck us at the same time…we both end up opposite of each other which gets both creatures to follow one of us. I growl at the icy humanoid chasing me. As they charge at me, I pull out my shield and hold it out: absorbing damage from their halberd. Did that stop them from continuing their attacks…no…no it didn't; however, once a window of opportunity presents itself, I do an uppercut at the perfect moment…sending them back. I smiled inwardly, despite my, now, smaller size I am still strong enough to do this kind of damage to opponents.

Hoodwink, meanwhile, unleashed her arsenal on her sole opponent. For the most part, she had to improvise, for the icy room would not allow her magic trees to grow. The reddish squirrel dodged the blade intended to slice her in half and shot a bolt at a stalagmite above. The projectile strikes and the frozen object fell to the ground close to the ice warrior. She quickly took out her bolas and threw the instrument at the fallen stalagmite: successfully binding them against it. Not wasting any time, she charged her most powerful, ultimate, attack: releasing all the energy gathered upon the monster. Her shot sends her back a few feet as the bright green bolt pierced them: shattering the warrior into a million pieces.

Hood brought her paw down as a victory celebration, "mint!"

Meanwhile, I'm trying not to die across from her amidst all her celebrations. I sidestep to avoid getting killed by our last opponent. I ran toward a wall, and an idea soon popped into my head.

As the iceman charged with their halberd, I made it to the wall, using my little legs to run up the surface and jump off it. Just as the "man" slammed into the rocky façade, I landed and retaliated with a powerful punch that damaged them considerably…

Once they recovered, the ice warrior made way for me…holding his weapon high as I pant in exhaustion. I get ready to counterattack; however, a bolt soon pierced them and they broke apart instantly. I huffed loudly, rubbing my knuckles just as Hoodwink joins my side, "I had him" I simply said.

"Sure 'ya did."

I rolled my eyes, looking around to see what we needed to do next. The squirrel gave a half-lidded expression to me to get my attention immediately, "if it makes 'ya feel better, you fight better as a fox, Caleb."

"Sure. My smaller size ought to give that impression, right? Don't judge a book by its cover…kind of like your name…" I chuckled.

"I see what you did there, foxface" she grinned back.

…

A minute later we left the room and continued up the tower until we finally reached a tall gated entrance that we must pass through. Upon opening the doors, cold wind blasted through us as if a sudden blizzard had formed! HoodWink and I are pushed back a bit…if we are not careful, we'll get blown off and fall to our deaths! We shield our eyes and grab onto each other…slowly making our way through the storm.

"Come on!" She exclaimed, leading me through the colossal gate.

Upon entering the chamber, the "storm" had ceased…replaced by slow, soft, snowfall. In front of us is a small white mound and on its summit is a hammer…this must be it…it's the Maelstrom!

Our faces lit up and our eyes glowed in excitement. It's real…the damn thing is real! The shopkeeper was telling the truth and for some reason seeing this thing in person is having such a profound effect on me. Is it because of its magical elements…maybe, but it's a good enough reason for Hood and me to make our way to our prize. Upon reaching the mythical item, we examine it carefully.

For some reason, I am VERY cautious: what if this is a trap…what if the moment we lift up this weapon something bad happens?

"Hoodwink…" I started, "maybe we should make sure, wait!"

Before I can stop her, she already had her paws around its handle. Unfortunately for us, a cold blast sends us back and off the snowy hill! As we recover under the pile of snow, we heard a voice ring out, "small beasts…how dare you enter this domain to take this artifact!"

"Uh…w-who said that…" I groaned, standing up. Just as I do, we are blasted again by an invisible force! Hoodwink and I are separated and the blizzard stops to show a tall, cloaked, human male.

He is middle-aged…wearing a blue gown and in his cold, icy, hand is a staff made of (you guessed it) ice.

"Ah bugger…another wizard…" Hoodwink scoffed under her breath. The squirrel jumped to her feet and pulled out her weapon. She started firing at the mysterious person; however, he used his magic to freeze the bolts…making them fall to the ground harmlessly. I guess fighting is inevitable at this point. I decide to run in, my hand glows purplish as I jump in the air, yelling as I do so. I may never reach my target, for they create a boulder made of ice intended to strike me. In retaliation, to prevent getting hurt, I punched the icy rock: shattering it to pieces.

They followed up with an ice blast from their staff, but I reflected it with my shield. The reflected blast heads for the green-hooded girl, "whoa!" She ducked before shooting an acorn at the man. The "boss" managed to sidestep it, if just barely, but it gave me enough room to charge at them. I punched them and followed up with a kick to their face. Expecting them to yield, I am instead chucked by an ice block by them. As a result, I am sent flying.

"Caleb!" Hood yelled but soon she composed herself…the girl charged a shot to kill the wizard. Unfortunately, the bolt narrowly missed its target because they had formed a wall in front of them, "aww, nuts!" She exclaimed.

Not too far away, I sat up, shaking my head as my ears drooped. We were, all of us, exhausted. The wizard panted, but soon he gave a shocked look, "such determination from such creatures. Why do you two persist?" He asked as Hood and I joined together once more…getting ready to proceed., "why do you wish to acquire the Maelstrom?"

The battle had halted for now: Hood stepped forward, pointing to the hammer with a clawed finger, "we want it" she deadpanned. She couldn't have said that anymore nicely. Jeez…come on, squirrel, you're making this harder than it needs to be. I cleared my throat to try and distill the air, "we are from the Mistwoods…not far from the Kingdom of Krimwohl." I began.

"I know the place you speak of" the mage interrupted before I cough back to him, "yes well…there is a monster in our woods running amok…"

"The Primal Beast" they interrupted…their voice echoing in the large snowy chamber. Our (as in Hood and I) ears perked up at this and our mouths hang open, "y-you know who they are?" I muttered.

"You been spying on us or something, mate? Maybe he's the one who sent 'em!" She went to aim her weapon again at them but I stopped her, "stop…let him speak" I simply said before she rolled her eyes.

"Wizards and scholars have long since tried to find ways to break the beast, but to no avail. I see now why you two creatures desire the hammer…you wish to create the Gleipnir?"

"That's a bingo!" Hoodwink confirmed.

"We think it's the only chance we've got to stopping them" I added.

"I see…you are NOT what I had expected. If the legends are true and you can create such a weapon to stop the beast…then you two are indeed worthy of its use."

I stepped forward, still maintaining a cautious stance, "h-how do you know about the Primal Beast?"

The cloaked man finally rested his staff against his shoulder, deciding the battle to be a stalemate, which it was, "wizards have spent eons using our collective knowledge to find ways to send the entity back to its world. There are many who fear it may someday prey on settlements."

"What I would give to send that buggah to Krimwohl…" Hoodwink bluntly said, folding her furry arms with her quippy remark.

I sighed loudly in return. The man across from us dismissed her comment with a raised brow, "and you two beasts believe you are capable of such a difficult task?"

"Sure are!" She scoffed back, frowning a bit (if just barely.) The squirrel put her paws on her hips in response.

"We'll give it back, we promise!" I just had to add, pleading to the man.

"My decision is already made" they said as Hood and I waited for his verdict. I doubt the rodent next to me would accept no for an answer. I guess I expected the wizard to say no and our battle to resume because of it. The girl next to me looked as though she WANTED the battle to continue as if she was bored or something. Ultimately, however, the human said, "you may take the weapon" they deadpanned. Our ears rise, "r-really!?" We both exclaimed in unison. The man simply nodded back.

"Just like that…" Hood growled, wishing he instead said no, "after all we went through inside and outside this bloody place!?" She scoffed.

"You are the only individuals who made it this far. The only ones who may be worthy of holding the weapon."

"I should feel flattered then" the red squirrel grinned.

I think about all those skeletons we saw at the entrance, "all those people…those bodies at the entrance…"

"Warriors that desired power…nothing more. They only wanted to use the Maelstrom for their own gain. For you two, it is clear you desire resolution…peace…you are different. I applaud the both of you" the ice wizard said. They gestured us to climb the hill to get the hammer. Hoodwink and I cautiously walk up, somehow expecting this to be some kind of trick. It wasn't, for the man stayed idle across from us. Hood had the honor of grabbing the Maelstrom: I stand aside.

The next few moments, my eyes shined in awe and wonder. The red squirrel from Tomo'kan lifted it off the ground and sparks came out of its metallic head like lightning in the sky! The fur on my end raises and I can't help but give a soft, satisfied, smile…amazed by the scene unfolding in front of me.

The magic user nodded at this: soon handing me what appears to be a scroll of some kind. Once Hood holstered her new weapon, she tilts her head at the sight and knows that it's a teleport scroll.

"Sweet as!" She grabbed it from me, "really didn't want to walk all the way back."

"It'll take you to the nearest town" the mage said.

"Well…this was an interesting experience. Thank you for helping us, sir" I said.

"I should be thanking you. Now go…and make certain that monster never sees the light of day again" they finished. We both nodded…just before Hoodwink carefully read from the paper. Lights around us flashed as mysterious symbols appear on the floor.

A bright flash of light passed and upon recovering from our momentary daze, Hood and I find ourselves in the middle of a human settlement. We shake our furry heads, slightly disoriented but we soon realize just where we are: it's the same town we were in not too long ago. It's nighttime and the double moons are out. We barely can see the mountains we were on just now in the distance.

"Wicked…" Hood remarked, quite amusingly.

I scoffed silently, "that was fast…I wish we could travel like this where I'm from. Well…at least our trip'll be shorter now" I gave a sheepish grin to the squirrel before she playfully rolled her eyes at me, "come on then, let's set camp over the hill."

"Okay…" I sighed, following behind…looking at the town one last time.

"Caleb…" I heard her say before I perk my head, "ya don't want sum'thing there?" She asked sincerely…as if she felt bad about what we went through the first time we were here. I simply shook my head in response, "and be mistreated by my own kind again? I rather not."

She is hit by this but doesn't show it; however, she walks to me…wrapping an arm around me in encouragement, "those drongos don't know 'nything. They don't know they were in the presence of a great warrior" Hood complimented. By the tone of her voice, it seemed as though she was being genuine with me. I am taken aback by this as we, once again, reached the grassy plains, "me…great warrior…pfft" I scoffed at this.

It was as though she admitted I had a role in our quest…it was as though she finally realized that we both were, or ought to be, on equal footing. She stopped me as a result and our eyes, consequently, met again, "ever since I met 'ya Caleb…you've done nothing but surprise me. I mean…didn't you see what we did back 'ere, mate?"

I just had to smile a bit at this, "yeah okay…that WAS awesome."

"We almost took down that bloody mage like it was nothing!"

"Not exactly as I remembered it" I chuckled.

"Yer silly, bro" she laughed back.

We continued to share our laughs all the way up to the top where we set up a small camp to rest from our adventure these past few days. We needed to rest because the next leg of our journey would take us to another part of this region to obtain the next item for our concoction: the Rod of Atos.

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Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed this recent chapter. More to come in the future, cya in the next one: peace!