Land of Mirriam

Western Mountain of the Kern Valley.

“That’s him… lucky the (Spike) black scouts have just started to move close to him… DASH!!!” the Black Hood said as he cast a spell on Simon, increasing his speed. Simon squatted down to control the sudden acceleration. While Simon could see in the dark, the Black Hood had to cast a spell to allow the others to see in the darkness.

“ANDY!!! Watch out!!” Simon screamed. Andy immediately jumped down flat in the snow, while Simon swiftly drew his sword, slashing two of the scout spikes with a single stroke.

“Cover your head! I will drag you!!!” Simon yelled, quickly executing a U-turn with the board. He grabbed Andy by the feet and pulled him into the snow. Andy had never been so relieved to be dragged through the snow.

“What about the others?!!” Andy asked, still concerned about the other scouts closer to the detonation point.

“They are waiting!!! A few more clicks and they will be there with a readied snow cart!!” the Black Hood answered. The “Snow Cart” wasn't the official name of the clothes used to pull rescued scouts for faster travel.

“I see!!! Let’s go!!! Cough!!! It's cold!!” Andy smiled, even though his face was being pelted by the dragged snow.

…

In a few more minutes, the two scouts who already had the clothes spread out waved. Simon threw Andy into the cart, and the two caught him safely. Simon and the Black Hood grabbed the left and right ropes, respectively, that were connected to the clothes.

“HOLD ON!!” Simon screamed, and the two started pulling.

The Black Hood even cast the same magic he used to increase their speed, and it did the trick.

“Something is following us!!!” Andy immediately warned pointing his fingers in a direction.

Simon didn’t have to stare in that direction, he already knew it.

“Let’s pull them as far as we can; let’s fight it if it reaches us.” The Black Hood was in charge of the west duo, his experience and insight were much better.

“If we can recreate the avalanche again… it's possible to lose it,” one of the scouts suggested.

“Fire?” the Black Hood asked, and the scout still had something in his pack to light a fire. He took it out in a hurry, and the scout and the Black Hood nodded.

The igniter on the scout’s bag is something of a problem solver when the remote detonation of the pyre ore fails, but a deadly one.

“Stop for a while!!!” the Black Hood commanded, and they slowly decreased their speed on the slide. The Black Hood instantly took out three pieces of a cylinder. “Light it and count to three, then it will explode… I repeat, light it and count to three, then it will explode… no, just light it and throw it.” It was a quick explanation to the scout; these were small bombs adventurers would bring to clear up small debris.

They continued the escape after a few moments.

…

“IT'S HERE!!!” / “Watch out!!!” Andy and Simon warned almost simultaneously, respectively. A scout lit up a bomb and threw it. After 3 seconds, it exploded, creating a wave of snow into a small avalanche.

They were fast enough to escape the sliding snow, but it wasn’t enough.

“A Walker!!!” the scout screamed as the spike, standing on its two feet, jumped out of the snow. It was chasing after them, using its tail as a snow pick to hold itself against the sliding snow.

“Ready!!! We will throw one more on my timing!!” Andy screamed.

“I’m ready!!!” the other scout answered eagerly.

Simon and the Black Hood started riding the snowboard for their lives. Simon was clearly surprised by the amount of bloodlust the walker was emitting. “There is a slope… half a click!!!” Simon screamed, informing the team.

After a few more moments, the walker was out of the sliding snow, increasing its speed and slowly catching up to them. “SLOPE!!” Simon screamed again.

“Throw one now!!!” Andy screamed, and the scout threw another cylinder but something was wrong, it didn’t explode after they mentally counted for its detonation.

“I forgot to light it!!!” it was a scream croaking with frustration and guilt, the scout gritted his teeth as he took out the third cylinder.

“Calm down!!! We still have time!!!” Andy reassured the scouts of his mistake. The scouts were well-trained elites; the problem was the amount of bloodlust the walker was displaying. Even Andy himself was shaking.

The scout lighted the small bomb with his lighter, focused on his job “Sorry! I’m ready!!!” the scout screamed.

“Throw it!!” Andy urged.

The scout wanted to redeem himself, so he counted in his head. “Three,” the scout said.

“EAT THIS!!!” he spitted as his mouth opened wide, a smile cracked on his face as it exploded in the face of the walker.

But they were not out of the trouble yet“Weight on the right!!!” the Black Hood screamed; the explosion actually created a large area of snow to slide. It was a small avalanche again.

The two were barely making it out, with one side almost sliding off.

<--->

Eastern Mountain of the Kern Valley.

The warrior and the adventurer arrived at the scene. The two scouts were really close to them, but it seemed they didn’t notice them. Using the common spell Umbra’s Aspect, they could properly see in the dark. The adventurer, a veteran who knew his way around, led the way.

They found the two scouts lying on an ice tree. The warrior started to approach them, but the adventurer stopped him. “Something is wrong here!” he said. “Let’s go higher,” he advised. Though the warrior wanted to save his brothers immediately, he listened. The two started snowboarding up...

It was a trap. There was blood everywhere; the adventurer was sure of it as he saw one of the bodies. “They are already dead… look,” he said. Some of their lower halves were missing, but the cold had stopped the blood from spreading. The east side was a failure.

“BOOOM!!!” An explosion from the west side brightened the valley for a moment. Suddenly, a tail blasted out of the snow close to the ice tree where the bodies of the scouts were.

“It's scanning the area,” the adventurer said.

“That’s a walker… we have to get out of here before it detects us!!” the warrior, who knew his stuff, immediately warned the adventurer.

It was probably the best decision he ever made.

<--->

South Entrance to the Kern Valley.

Paramour and Raphael began constructing snow walls. The warriors were highly proficient at it, using magic to reinforce the structures, creating a solid defensive perimeter.

“BOOM!!!!”

Explosions reverberated from the west side of the valley. They had been operating for almost an hour.

“What the hell is that?” one of the warriors remarked. The warriors and the adventurer were worried but their field leader was too cool, Paramour quickly surveyed the walls. He smirked as he was satisfied with their construction. He checked behind too and he was ensured the snowboards were ready.

The snowboards, initially crafted for leisure, had become invaluable assets in practical use. Percival remained unperturbed, focused on the next steps and his potential reactions.

...

“Paramii… to the east,” Raphael said, spotting the eastern group from a distance, but there were only two of them, nothing in tow. They braced for bad news. A few minutes later, the East team confirmed their suspicions. Simultaneously, from the west...

“It's a walker!!!” exclaimed one of the warriors, though it was still distant. Its flickering bladed tails and the spikes on its feet matched the descriptions.

“Action’s imminent! Raphael, let's prepare a blast!!!” Paramour said confidently, unfazed.

“BOOM!!!”

Another explosion from the west triggered a smaller avalanche this time.

<--->

Western Side of the Kern Valley.

The walker was relentless, and the situation worsened as a cloud of snow dust trailed the valley's east side.

“There are 2 now?!!!” the scout complained. The one that was pursuing them had some of its tails torn apart, sacrificing them for its head.

“COME STRAIGHT!!!” Raphael's voice, enhanced by some form of magic, echoed through the valley.

The two were devising a plan, opting for strategy over magical theatrics. “Let’s try luring the other one,” the Black Hood suggested. Simon simply nodded, and they altered their course accordingly.

<--->

South Entrance to the Kern Valley.

“When I simply told them not to change direction, what the heck?!” Raphael complained loudly, his frustration palpable.

“No… to the east,” the warrior interjected, pointing in that direction, where snow dust lingered in the air.

“It's likely the same walker we encountered earlier, it's going for the the explosions,” added the adventurer who had ventured to the east.

“Paramii!!! Look ahead!!” Raphael warned once more. Though not as pronounced, there was new snow dust billowing from the north.

“They're probably the spikes that got buried!” the warrior speculated.

“Oh… alright… mic me up, Raphael!” the hero exclaimed, ready to take action.

<--->

Western Side of the Kern Valley.

“LOOK DOWN!! BAIT THEM ALL INTO A STRAIGHT LINE!!!”

Now it was the hero screaming. The Black Hood scanned the snow dust down in the lowlands of the valley; it was probably the spikes that were supposed to be the scouts.

“Tough job,” the Black Hood muttered, still ready to tackle it, he looked around quickly assessing the situation.

“So, we're going down?” Andy asked.

”Afraid so…” Simon coldly replied the scout who was listening gulped.

They began descending the hill. Luckily, the downward slope and the fact that they were sliding helped them put some distance between themselves and the pursuing spikes. After a successful glide into the slopes, in just a few moments, around 15 to 20 spikes were following them, with 2 walkers chasing them relentlessly.

“Damn… I wanted to have at least 2 kids,” Andy muttered. Despite tightly holding onto the clothes that Simon and the Black Hood were pulling, he couldn't shake the feeling of impending danger if the ropes were to break or the clothes were to get damaged by a random sharp rock.

“Almost there!!!” the Black Hood screamed.

<--->

South Entrance to the Kern Valley.

“That’s just too perfect,” Paramour remarked as he activated his level 2 magic edge, causing his spear to become engulfed in flames. Raphael stood just in front of him, chanting.

Raphael’s poncho floated as he infused a ball of wind with magic, he didn’t need a chant since they had been doing the combo ever since “How wide, Paramii?” Raphael inquired before completing the chant.

“Make it 5 meters wide; I’ll compensate,” Paramour replied, the blade of his spear glowing brighter as he assumed a stance.

“That magic?!” one of the adventurers exclaimed, excitedly observing the famous magic combo of the pair known as Spear Flare.

A wind sphere materialized in front of Raphael, and he quickly stepped clear of it. “Warn them to dodge by my word,” he instructed, though it was more of a formality.

Simon’s party and the horde behind them drew closer. Paramour calmly waited for the right moment; once the Spear Flare was unleashed, it would be difficult to alter its trajectory.

“Tell them to keep clear,” Paramour said calmly.

<--->

Black Hood and Simon’s side.

“GUYS!! KEEP CLEAR!!!” the familiar voice of Raphael echoed in the valley.

“We jump!!! Simon, You take the lead, I’m not a good jumper!!!” the black hood said upon hearing the next instruction.

“In 5 we jump!!!” Simon said and he looked back at the scouts. “We will hold tight!!!” the scout said. Simon started looking ahead and there was a small mound of snow that could be used as a ramp. When he started counting the black hood instantly knew of his plan.

1, 2!!

The black hood cast magic on his feet, they had to jump, he is not an athletic type, and he needed the magic to compensate.

3, 4, 5!!!

“JUMP!!!” Simon and the Black Hood used the mound of snow as a ramp and their feet to make a long jump, the board was fastened on their waist so it was no problem.

“Guys!! CLOSE YOUR EYES!!” the Black Hood warned as they flew into the air.

A bright red lasered out from the direction of the hero and his team. They softly landed on their feet continuing the slide but they were clear of the line of fire of the Spear Flash.

It created a flash that enveloped the whole valley.

“What the hell is that magic!! My eyes burn!!!” Andy screamed as he held his eyes with his hands letting go of the Snow Cart, the Black Hood cast magic on him making him pass out the 2 scouts immediately grabbed him before he fell.

<--->

The Spear Flare was a combination magic that harnessed the powers of Fire and Wind. The wind, by its nature, bolstered the fire's potency. Once unleashed, the hero could maneuver within the fiery line using his spear. With a thickness of 5 meters, it proved more than capable of obliterating the horde tailing Simon and his party.

“Shift to the right!” Raphael urged, donning shaded glasses to shield his eyes from the blinding flash that accompanied Paramour's spell.

“I forgot my glasses!” Paramour grumbled, though he promptly followed Raphael's directive. He couldn’t tell what was happening but he trusted his friend.

“You've wiped them out!” Raphael cheered, jubilantly leaping like a child as the Spear Flare gradually waned.

“My eyes... How are the guys?” Paramour inquired.