Eros

Champions of Corpses - 82

Alora sent him off with a taste of her blood, and a point at the assault team he was assigned to. She had spoken with a who seemed to be the leader, a pale, muscular elf with a long-bladed spear and bright glowing eyes.

Before he knew it, Alora disappeared amongst running elves, and he was left with two dozen warriors who did not speak a word in Velsarian. While most headed for the wall, his team turned to cross their plateau. At the lack of a better option, he followed.

Their road twisted between the blue house-trees, and ascended into the mountain. They trudged in deep snow, grasping for rocks to pull themselves quicker. After climbing over the steep, they faced a lone, wooden canopy.

Under it, tens of twin, polished boards of pale wood, carved slim, pointed-tipped, and almost as tall as a man. At their centers, footholds were ridged and leather straps dangled.

Each elf took a set, walked out, and dropped them laying on the snow. Kaido did the same. The elves then put a boot in a foothold, and bound it tight with many straps. Their hands and fingers moved fast with skill, but in his blood trance they were easy to follow. The second boot was a little tricker, as he needed to tie it standing on the board.

"Yes." The leader stood straight on the boards before him, looking down at Kaido's feet as he nodded his approval.

"What am I supposed to do with these?" Kaido asked him.

"Yes." The elf nodded firmly, saying the only Velsarian word he knew with confidence. Kaido pointed down at the boards, then threw his hands in question. The elf smiled, raised his hand, and took it in decline as he gestured over the snowy slope.

Kaido blinked at him.

"Yes?" The elf peered at him expectantly.

"Yes." Kaido answered. What else could he say?

The elf nodded, then bent his knees and leaned forward, boards supporting his agile posture against the snow. He looked to Kaido again. "Yes?"

Kaido did not understand the use of the posture, but he remembered it. "Yes."

The elf nodded at him again, then shouted in his rolling elven tongue. Strapped and ready, the elves lifted their feet and planted their boards in sideways steps, gaining momentum to slide forward. Kaido imitated them poorly. The fluency of their movement seemed unachieveable with clumsy boards strapped to your boots.

Only at the edge of the plain, he saw how steep was the slope below. The elves practically threw themselves down. They held their backs straight and tilted forward, knees bent and arms spreading for balance. Their boards carved through the deep snow, path curving to the lean of their body, controlling their speed.

Kaido gulped down his spit, padded forward, and let the slope take him. Gravity pulled him into speed, and he tried to crouch like the elves did. Promptly, the tips of his boards sunk before him, and he was thrown over. His arms disappeared in the snow, and he got a mouthful of it as his face followed. The hit was cold, but soft as feathers.

He dug for purchase in the snow, and pushed himself up. Then he rolled in the deep snow until he managed to free his boards from its grasp. He looked and found the elves were distancing themselves fast. Kaido had to catch up before he lost them.

"You can do it." He told himself as he straightened up. Right as his hands left the snow, he started to slide on his boards. He managed to stand on them as his speed grew. It grew too fast too soon. He tried a curve, and found himself flipped in the air, thrown by his momentum as the snow tugged on the boards.

His eyes caught a glimpse of the clear skies before his head plunged into the snow. His body followed, sinking down to the waist. Only his legs hang outside, boards grabbed by the surface of the snow. It was cold now. Digging himself out took Kaido a lot of uncomfortable rotating and vigorous pushing.