Nightmare Crusade

Chapter 11 - Blindsided

Deep within the Foreverdark Woods, Alissa aggressively pilots the carriage. Pingus lies in the back on the brink of death, next to the body of Monty. Alissa grits her teeth from the force of the wind against her but does not yield. The yorkdeer charge down the path to Nelvernia with the utmost diligence.

Halford exits the castle through the main doors and walks through the empty courtyard. Shadows stretch out from the curtain walls and shroud the courtyard in darkness behind the setting sun. The stressed prince walks past the two sleeping guards at the gate without even bothering to wake them. Then he looks up to the tree line to see a speeding chariot approaching the castle.

"Guys, get up!"

The yorkdeer bring the carriage to a skidding halt when they reach the moat. Halford runs across the bridge with the two guards following close. He looks up to the driver's box, but it is empty. Instead, they find a hastily-written note that simply reads, "The short one breaths still. Please help him if you can." The three knights search the entire carriage, but no sign of the driver is found. They do, however, find the bodies of Monty and Pingus in the back of the carriage.

"Quickly," Halford commands, "let's get this one to the infirmary. Afterward, we'll let the mortician know about the other and get a coffin prepared for him."

***

"Well, maybe that cute maid from the village will finally go out with me," Jack comments, trudging through the thick blanket of snow. "Because it definitely seems to be a cold day in Hell."

A snowy tundra surrounds the four travelers. Cold winds lightly whisper above the endless, white landscape, the sound of which is only corrupted by the trickling rivers of blood. The crimson veins etched into the white snow create a morbidly beautiful contrast of color.

Quorthon steps over a legless ghoul attempting to drag itself out of one of the streams. It growls weakly at him but he pays it no mind. Jack steps over it with Norman and Selvira following suite. Selvira helps Norman along still, his claws in hers and with his other arm over her shoulder. They shiver together but embrace each other's diminishing body heat.

"The place is through this tunnel here," Quorthon says, pointing at an opening in a snow dune, partially obscured by the grey fog.

The foursome hike up the white hill as the winds rip through them with ever-heightening aggression. Norman stumbles. He uses his last bit of strength to hold himself up. His and Selvira's bare feet sting painfully from early signs of frostbite. Finally, they enter the mouth of the tunnel.

Almost immediately, the foursome feel a wave of familiar heat and they all collectively sigh in relief. The entire stone interior of the cave is absolutely massive. A deep moat bottomed with lava surrounds a cliff holding up a good-sized saloon with a sign marked "Cauldron of Devastation". Connecting the area outstretched from the cave's entrance to the cliff is a wide, cobble bridge.

"This is it," Quorthon states.

"The Cauldron of Devastation... is a pub?" Jack asks in honest confusion.

"Sort of," Quorthon explains while having the other three follow him across the bridge, "It's the name of the bar, but also what it holds inside... beneath it. The thing that we need."

Quorthon holds the door for the others before stepping inside.

"Well hello there!" a friendly voice calls to their left, a voice that had come from a dapper-looking, scrawny black demon with a blue necktie standing behind the counter. His skin is pitch-black, and his only discernible facial features are his blue eyes and a moustache-looking thing covering over his mouth. Two devilish horns protrude out of his circular head. Though his mouth is hidden, one call tell he is smiling by his eyes and lifted cheekbones.