Coalescence

Chapter 18: Frostmire Peak

They woke up late the next morning, deprived of sleep but not ambition. The group was awake and cooking food they'd packed for the trip, talking and laughing around a fire. Malcolm and Juten had fallen asleep back to back, propped up against one another, and they both rubbed their eyes and stretched awake as they approached the rest of the group.

"Morning you two, rough night with the rubble?" Brigund glanced at the three piles of blackened stone in the grass a few feet away and Juten nodded.

"Just those three though, nothing else too crazy happened." Juten sat down by the fire, Malcolm sitting beside him as well.

"Nothing you'd like to admit, you boys woke up awfully tired." Carlisle teased. Juten looked at him as an aura swept over the group, Carlisle getting flung backwards by a shockwave of force.

"We were up late defending the camp, ya damn lackey." Juten grabbed a skewer off the fire and groggily ate, Malcolm keeping quiet before getting food in his stomach. After wiping his mouth, Juten cleared his throat and made an announcement to the group.

"Let's get moving, we're gonna arrive at the base of Frostmire at about noon, and after that we'll split up into training groups to complete our objective. There's three artillery sites where Daemons are launching large ice spears from. Our goal is to take out these three sites, and to do so without attracting much attention. Any sign of looming danger, we leave the mountain immediately. Am I clear?"

"Yes Captain." The group echoed back, quickly extinguishing the fire and taking flight. Mid flight, Malcolm approached Bren and handed her a small knife.

"If you need me, press on the bottom of the handle. It'll activate a mana link that allows me to create a rift straight to you." She took the knife and sheathed it on her belt. "Besides, with the Captain at my side I doubt it'll take long."

"You got it, I'll call you at the first sign of trouble." She noted, grouping up with Carlisle again. Malcolm went back beside Juten as the cold air rushed over them. They broke the cold, dense barrier of air around the base of the mountain, speeding through the cold air and separating from the squad.

Malcolm and Juten veered off left and quickly found their site, notably by the several massive chunks of ice that came flying down towards them. Malcolm looked over at Juten, who took a deep breath before yelling up the mountainside.

"Kinetic Art, Halt." All of the ice spears completely stopped in the air, allowing Malcolm and Juten to easily weave between them. Soon after, they crested the ridge and were met with several Daemons staring up at them. Juten looked at Malcolm, yelling over the gale winds up above. "Do you still have the spear Jameson gave you?"

"Yeah, I do, why?"

"Throw it straight down. Trust me." Malcolm unsheathed it off his back and threw it straight down at the artillery sight. "Kinetic Art, Boost" The spear gained speed and produced a shockwave before it hit the ground. On impact, it displaced the snow and ice, sending it up into the air and collapsing part of the mountainside. The Daemons let out deep, radiating screams as the ground collapsed out from under them, sending them hurtling down the mountain. Juten and Malcolm found the spear lodged into the ice and pulled it out, sheathing it back on Malcolm's back.

"Whew, that was quick. I wonder if the others are doing alright." Malcolm asked, Juten dusting off his clothes.

"I guarantee you they're fine, probably just going to take a bit longer. Now, we just need to find it right over here somewhere." Juten started scanning the ground, staring down into the snow. Malcolm cocked his head in confusion.

"What exactly are we finding in the snow?"

"Not in the snow, beneath it." Juten knelt down in a certain spot, jamming his sword into the ground. Out of the newly formed crack, a torrent of pure, light blue liquid flowed out. Juten urged Malcolm forward and began to drink from it.