Winter's Child

Chapter Thirteen~The Cave Dungeon

'Snow ghosts have plagued the forest for nearly a thousand years. They are spirits of the dead warriors and villagers of Talvimora who passed during the first Great War. They froze under the snow so, their spirits remain frozen, trapped in this world forever. They are described as having pure white skin and hair. They walk lightly, as if they are disconnected from this world. When, and if, they touch you, you will not feel it. Their eyebrows and eyelashes will still be frozen stiff, white from the rigid snow upon them. Their battle wounds will remain precisely where the enemy left them. Some say that their wounds will even still appear to be bleeding.

The ghosts live in groups among the trees in each kingdom. They are tricky, unpredictable beings who strive on outwitting living minds and luring people into their traps. The spirits can see people's souls. They decide for themselves whether someone is good or bad. If they deem you a good person, they will assist you in achieving greatness, acting as a 'guide spirit', if you wish. However, should they choose that you are a wicked soul, they will turn on you or lure you into an inescapable trap.

The ghosts can be bribed. If someone needs their help achieving a task, good person or bad, they can bribe the ghosts with certain trinkets that are appealing to them-'

Elodie yawned as she closed her book. It was mid-afternoon and she hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. She flipped herself over on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She let her mind wander and, before long, a panicked knocking sounded on her door. She rolled her eyes, knowing that it would be Jack.

She dragged herself from the bed and headed for the door. The knocking was surprisingly urgent, even for Jack. His knocking was just excited, this sounded almost...frightened.

Elodie opened the door and met the face of the person knocking. It wasn't Jack. No, it was his younger sister. Marcy stood before her with terror and panic in her silver eyes. Elodie immediately felt unnerved. If whatever it was had Marcy in a state, it must be serious.

"What's wrong?" Elodie asked, not caring to beat about the bush. Marcy's gaze filled with despair and panic.

"It's Adele. No one knows where she is. Jack was talking about the snow ghosts at breakfast this morning and I fear that she went off in search of them. She seemed rather interested." Marcy let it all out in one breath, her fear rising within her the more she thought about what those wretched entities could do to her sister. Elodie said nothing as she bolted through the doorway and down the massive palace halls toward the front gates.

Marcy caught up to her as Elodie travelled to the edge of the forest at a quick pace. Elodie stepped into the forest and put a hand up when Marcy tried to follow her.

"I should go alone. I can't put you at risk too. Go back to Jack and your mother and tell them that I'm looking for her." Marcy nodded, her eyes still wide with concern, as she turned on her heel and started running towards the village. Elodie watched her until she had rounded the corner, she then took a deep breath in and began her search.

It wasn't long before the forest started to look all the same. Elodie put the fear of being lost to the back of her mind as she continued to trudge through the dead forest. She heard the odd caw of a raven or an eerie, distant voice. Perhaps it was just an echo. Elodie stopped to catch her breath.

She leaned against a birch tree, her heavy breath appearing in clouds in front of her. How far could Adele have gotten? A sick feeling surrounded Elodie. It was the realization that if the dark spirits had gotten to her, she might not be found again. No, Elodie wouldn't let that happen.

She gathered her determination and continued to trudge along. Before long, she began to hear more and more of those echoey voices. By now, she knew all too well who they belonged to. She ignored them as she continued through the forest, crossing her arms over her chest and keeping her gaze downcast.