Chapter 68: The Frost Keep (2)

The plan was for Collin to draw its attention and it worked. Maynard’s arrows found its eyes. It thrashed around, unable to see as Emeric delivered the killing blow.

The creatures continued to come. A group of Frost Sprites—small, glowing creatures that shot shards of ice from their fingertips. Clarisse handled those. Her strange, pale magic seemed to confuse them, making them easy targets as Maynard picked them off.

Emeric watched her.

There was something about her power he didn’t understand. It wasn’t elemental. It wasn’t traditional. It was something else—something subtle, something that worked on the mind rather than the body.

He filed it away.

By midday, they had cleared several areas and collected a decent haul of cores and materials. The party stopped to rest near a frozen stream. Collin passed around dried meat and water. Mira checked everyone for injuries. Clarisse sat apart, her eyes half-closed, her breathing slow and even.

Emeric studied her.

She noticed.

"Something on your mind, Mr. Halden?"

"Your magic."

"What about it?"

"It’s not elemental."

"No." She opened her eyes. "It’s not."

"What is it?"

She smiled.

"That’s a secret."

He has heard there was non-elemental magic but this was his first time actually seeing it at work.

It was an oddity in this world. He could see why.

She stood and stretched. Her movements were fluid. Deliberate. She caught him watching and smiled wider.

"Come. We’re close to the boss chamber."

The boss chamber was vast.

A cavern of ice and stone, high-ceilinged and cold. At the center, a massive creature waited.

They found it.

It was a Frost Wyrm—a serpentine creature of pale blue scales and crystalline spines. It had a long, sinuous body coiled upon itself like a frozen river. Its eyes were pale.

It was beautiful and terrifying all at the same time.

"That’s a Frost Wyrm," Collin said quietly. "Rare. Dangerous. Ice-based attacks. It can freeze you solid if you’re not careful."

But he knew that. The system already identified it for him.

"Countermeasures?" Emeric asked.

"Stay mobile. Don’t let it pin you. Mira can heal frostbite, but she can’t heal frozen. If you get hit, fall back. Clarisse, can you affect it?"

Clarisse studied the creature.

"Maybe. It’s strong. Stronger than the wolves. But I can try."

"Good. Maynard, you’re on ranged. Mr. Halden and I will draw its attention. Mira, stay back. Keep us alive."

Everyone nodded.

Collin raised his shield. "Let’s go."

The Frost Wyrm moved first.

It uncoiled like a spring, its massive head lunging toward Collin. He raised his shield, bracing. The impact sent him skidding backward, his boots carving trenches in the ice. He grunted, holding his ground.

Maynard’s arrows found the wyrm’s flank. They pinged off its scales.

"Armor’s too thick!" Maynard shouted.

"Then hit the soft spots!" Collin shouted back. "Under the jaw! The eyes!"

Emeric circled right, searching for openings. The wyrm’s scales were thickest along its spine and flanks. But beneath the jaw, where the plates were smaller, there was a gap. He could see it.

He charged.

Wind gathered around his daggers. Lightning crackled at his heels. He closed the distance in seconds, driving his blade toward the soft spot beneath the wyrm’s jaw.

The creature reared back.

Its mouth opened.

A blast of cold air erupted from its throat—a cone of frost and ice that caught Emeric mid-stride.

He threw himself sideways, but not fast enough. The cold hit his left arm, searing through his cloak, through his skin. He felt it crystallize. Felt the ice crawl up his flesh.

He hit the ground hard, rolling, gasping.

His arm was frozen.

He couldn’t move his fingers.

"Mr. Halden!" Mira’s voice. "Fall back!"

He scrambled backward, his frozen arm hanging useless at his side. The wyrm turned toward him, its pale eyes empty and cold.

And then Clarisse stepped forward.

Her hands moved. The pale glow gathered at her fingertips. It spread outward, invisible, reaching for the wyrm’s mind.

The creature hesitated.

Its head swayed and its eyes, if possible, grew even emptier. It was confused. Disoriented.

"Now!" Clarisse shouted. "While it’s distracted!"

Collin charged. His shield caught the wyrm beneath the jaw—the same soft spot Emeric had been aiming for. The impact cracked the plates. Maynard’s arrows followed, finding the gap, driving deep.

The wyrm screamed.

It thrashed, its body coiling and uncoiling wildly. Its tail whipped across the chamber, slamming into the wall. Ice shattered and stone crumbled.

Emeric forced himself to his feet. His frozen arm was useless. But his right arm still worked. His daggers were still there.

He circled left, staying out of the wyrm’s line of sight. It was focused on Collin now. Focused on the shield and it was in some form of discomfort.

He climbed onto a frozen outcropping. Jumped.

His dagger found the wyrm’s eye.

The creature screamed. It reared back, thrashing, blinded on one side. Collin pressed the advantage. Maynard’s arrows found its other eye. Mira sent a wave of healing energy toward Emeric, numbing the pain in his arm.

The wyrm collapsed, its back on the floor as it thrashed even more wildly.

Good!

He dematerialised his dagger; his arm already outstretched.

They needed to make use of this opportunity.

"Maynard!" He said; already running towards the giant snake.

Maynard, as if reading his mind, sent his sword flying to him.

Emeric caught the handle perfectly in stride:

He jumped high in the air, and connected with the snake’s throat.

Then it went still.

There was silence except for his heavy breathing as he rolled onto his back, staring into the top of the icy cave.

Then Collin lowered his shield. His breath came in ragged gasps.

"Everyone... status?"

"Alive," Maynard said. His voice was hoarse. He was leaning against the wall, one hand pressed to his side.

"I’m okay," Mira said weakly. She was already moving toward Emeric. "Your arm—"

"It’s fine." He flexed his fingers. The frost was melting. The Ring of Regeneration was working, slowly restoring sensation. "I can move it."

"Let me heal it properly."

She placed her hands on his arm. The water came—warm, soothing. The last of the frost melted away. He felt his fingers again.

"Thank you."