Tales of Ayralef- Cold Vengeance

Cold Vengeance

The campfire danced in the snow-dusted night air as First Lieutenant Flavius Glacus, wide-awake for the wee-morning hour, gazed into the flames, entranced. Fidgeting with the saddle ring of his crossbow as it rested, loaded and ready against his chest, he replayed the events of the past week in his mind, biting a sore into his bottom lip as he mulled, searching for something he'd missed, some aspect of things that could clear away the sense of doom in his heart, more fierce with every minute in pace with the worsening storm. Though the wind was mild, he was becoming quite cold—frozen to the bone, to be sure—and he worried that he may have strayed off course in the white-out, now in the wee hours of its third uninterrupted day and growing more severe by the hour; this was all less than ideal, no doubt, but the young cavalryman had concerns of a far more troubling nature than of storm or of step, as he puzzled into the campfire's prancing glow... for he knew with a reluctant, stubborn certitude that, perhaps only just off beyond the trees, something stalked him—something as ancient as the eons, and wicked.

Part 1

A week prior, on the first day of the journey, Flavius had ridden out from the occupied fortress city of Driesburg , with orders from Company B of the 9th Axillary Cavalry, off to take over for the winter as a newly-minted officer of the Frost Peaks mountain wilderness patrol, replacing a fallen colleague. Promoted to his rank only just recently, Flavius had been eager to dust his boots and prove himself a capable first lieutenant on his first true assignment—and his performance was to be evaluated, as became painfully clear upon his arrival at the riverside camp of his new riding companion and superior officer, with whom Flavius had been told to rendezvous at the base of the Frost Peaks. The campsite had appeared vacant when he had ridden in, and reckoning that his new patrol partner was off answering nature's call or something of the like, Flavius called out, announcing his arrival. In an instant, Flavius was thrown to the ground, blinded in the late-morning sun and choking for breath, as a rope noose bit in tightly around his neck. As suddenly as the ambush had commenced, the choke hold loosened, and a firm hand from behind grabbed Flavius's wrist, yanking him to his feet. Still gagging, Flavius spun around to meet his attacker.

"If I was an inu, a loud-mouth like you'd be headed for a mighty unsavory month, boy. That's how long a young kid like yourself'll live after they take your scalp and wings—and kind as they are, they would make sure you see every minute of that month," scolded the tall, lanky fairy, re-coiling his lasso rope. "I'm Major Domition Prava, and you'll be riding west with me, got it?"

Blushing with embarrassment, Flavius nodded meekly. "First Lieutenant Flavius Glacus reporting, sir!" He was awestruck by the sheer brute strength the stringy fairy had.

"That's all very good, now get yourself sorted to ride out—and fix your scarf, boy! You're a trooper of the mountain patrol now for the Flame's sake," Dom ordered as he moved to begin packing his horse.

"Yes, er— Major!" returned Flavius, trying to feign the confidence that had been knocked out of him.

The Major glanced over his shoulder as he pulled his saddle knots tight. "No more of that 'Yes Major' harpyshit son, you call me Dom from here out. Where we're headed, there's no cavalry, and no law, and certainly nobody to give one centaur's puddl'a piss about your fancy new rank, nor mine for that matter, understood?"

Flavius nodded, still unsure whether he was getting tough love or an unsavory portrait of his new commanding officer, as they mounted their horses and trotted westward along the river, through the thin, brittle ground frost, set in high relief against a pale blue sky. "That bit about the Inu and the scalp and wings... you haven't seen things like that, have you Maj—uh, Dom?"

From ahead, Dom peered back over his shoulder at Flavius and smiled, mischievously. "Boy, you won't believe what you'll find out here!" he barked, with a chuckle.