𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒

Innatus

"How far is the neutral land?" She asked them both.

"It must not be far." Jack answered.

They kept walking and came in front of a large stone, covered with wooden plates and tight thick ropes. Regan's eyebrows furrowed, "Maybe that's the way out."

"I suppose so." Iris shrugged.

"I'll try to burn them." Regan walked forward, trying to stir up some fire.

"Burn?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, she's trying to burn the woods out." Iris retorted.

The fire glowed on Regan's hands and she threw it on the wooden barricade. It quickly started to burn out, the wood turning into ashes and the rope falling down. After what seemed like an eternity for Regan, the whole structure fell and it revealed an iron tall door. Regan didn't know what to do with it. It had no handle or anything. The only thing about it, was that its color was dark brown and two structures of serpents were carved symmetrically on its sides.

"Well, that's cool. It saved us a lot of time." Jack said, "I'll open the door," he added as he grabbed a tool from his bag. The tool looked like a sharp metal hook with a long handle.

He inserted it into the gap between the door and the stone floor, then he slowly turned it until he heard a click. The door immediately swung open, letting the strong current of the freezing storm slam into their faces.

They all winced and tried to cover their faces with their hands. The wind was so strong that it almost blew them away.

But in front of them wasn't a plain horizon of snow. It was a cave, a glacier cave. It wasn't as narrowed as the first, it was wider. The light must have been coming from the ice itself, as it glowed in a soft blue. The icicles were everywhere, hanging from the ceiling and from the walls. The ground was icy as well, and Regan felt a shiver run down her spine.

The air was bitterly cold and freezing. It was colder than anything Regan had ever felt.

Iris, who was shivering the most, said, "Well, I guess they were right when they said that it's extremely cold here. You should have told us, Jack."

Jack, however, seemed unfazed by the cold. "It's not that bad. We'll just need to keep moving. And this cave is beautiful." He fought off the wind, shoving it through his clothes as he stepped further. "Follow me, guys. And be careful, the ground is slippery. We don't want you both to fall."

They followed, stepping inside the glacier cave. Even though it was wider, it was almost 7 feet wide. It went in a tunner, the ceiling was still high.

Iris held Regan's hand as they both followed Jack, not wanting to slip somewhere.

"You asshole, you're wearing ice boots!" Iris shouted at Jack, her voice echoing through the cave. "Why didn't you tell us you had them?"

Jack shrugged, his breath visible in front of him as he replied, "Well, it's not like you did have any. And it's not my fault you two didn't think to ask. Besides, the ice isn't very slippery. You'll be fine."

Iris cursed under her breath as she held herself by the icy wall on her left, dragging Regan there as well. Regan was shivering from the wind inside, using her own fire to heat herself up, but it didn't seem to help much.

The cave seemed endless as well, the icecles hanging dangerously, glinting in a light blue color. For how many years had they been there, Regan thought. Some dripped cold, freezing water. But they didn't seem to melt. Regan tried to avoid walking down them, not wanting to risk her life.

The walked for what seemed like an eternity and then they saw a light farther them. The glacier had gotten narrower now and stalagmites were everywhere, sharp and pointy.