Except- The Frozen Forge

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The Frozen Forge

He trudged through the whipping drifts of snow that fell from the gray angry skies above. The blizzard screamed down upon the world in a death rattling wail of pain and blindness.

He could not see to his front or behind as the curtain of deadly wind and white obscured his vision. This did not stop him from goal. No storm could equal the burning hot rage that fueled his world. Deep within his chest rested a forge of heated steel.

The fire burned hot but his flesh was cold, the animal skins, leather, and cloth drenched with wetness. His chain mail near frozen to his blistering skin. His dark green cloak fluttered about as the wind whipped him and nearly tore his hood from his head.

His purple tinged eyes squinted seeking to catch any sign or direction which would lead him to safety. Pulling his scarf about his face all he could make out was the promise of certain freezing oblivion. The storm erupted from the south without warning and blanketed the world
In snow and ice.

The elf was determined with each footstep he forstalled his death. It was what he had done for years, since donning the fabled artifact known as the masque of veils. The magical construct was forged during the morn war of the gods and old ones the of the universe. The mask was gifted by the gods to the Abad'Jigad Hyriaa as a gift that drove the celestial being mad.

In the end the gods slew her and imprisoned her essence within the mask. They could not fully destroy Hyriaa so they chained her essence into the masque of veils for all time; that is until the right vessel was found. Some of the gods could not see the meddling of some of their own concerning this matter.

Talronan the god of evil and ill fortune along with Janus god of paths and luck used their godly powers to create a backdoor and release the progenitor to do their bidding. The gods were tricked in their game to seize the progenitors power. Indeed there eventually was a vessel. A powerful one at that; a young boy tricked into donning the masque for someone else greed.

Vryce trudged along through the snow his foot falls leaving his trace in the snow. If the information he had found was true he was only days away from the being free from his curse.

"You dont want that...do you?" The liquid voice glided about in his head. Vryce shook his long black-blue hair and gritted his teeth. He hated the oily essence that shared his body, mind and soul.
" silence! Keep to our pact or you shall never be free." Vryce's voice exploded in his head. The spirit of madness laughed.
" you will free me meat. Soon I will shake my prison of flesh and be as I was. The destroyer...the breaker..." The soothing voice cajouled. Vryce winced and concentrated. In the min-dscape of his mind he reinforced the jailers of the mad divinity.

Vryce wore plate-mail armor and held his great sword in his mailed hands. In his minds eye their were thousands guardians that looked like him and kept the creature at bay.
"Again silence i say. You will not gain through your torments of me. Our time together is nearly done." Vryce growled.

The spirit of madness, swirled and took on the shape she usually rode when she mind spoke to him. Hyriaa choose the shape of the seductress not the ravager. In this shape she was overtly female with long flowing hair and a arched brow, small pouty lips, and thin nape of a neck. Her bossom was large and full and shaped into curved hips seemingly carved from marble. It was in this shape she often tried to seduce him.

The guardians of his mind drew their blades and defended themselves.

"Who is mad know Ellwithin! You can never be rid of me. Do you not wish to hold me in your hands, touch what many would give their lives to experience. Come elf take what I offer. Give into what you have tasted before." Hyriaa purr was dirty and oil slick. The knights formed of mind stuff closed in on the wheel bearing there glistening blades.

"Silence!" Vryce hissed. Sweat poured down his face. He could feel the heat of the spirit enveloping him, threatening to overcome him. "No!" Vryce mental image slashed are the immortal. Hyriaa let out a howl like that of a wolf, and spat. With a grimace of pure evil she she slowly faded back into the recess of his mind, leaving behind burning eyes.

Vryce tilted over from the strain. His face hit the wet snow turned slush by the heat the Abad'Jigad radiated. Vryce wanted to die. He cursed the moment he had ever placed the cursed mask on his face. The snow had turned to water and if he was lucky he would die.

No...Hyriaa would keep him alive. She needed his body. He was the vessel, the gate in which she could escape and lay waste the world in her madness. Vryce had grown to know the being who seduced, and howled at him through its prison. Hyriaa was pure madness, clear chaos that would tear the very world from it foundations and fling what was left into the void.

No...he dared not die. He had to make it to the forge. He had to stay strong enough to speak to the maker. It could only be his hands so the legends said that could break the enchantment.

Vryce stood up as the snow whistled and whipped his black hair. As he stood up and he could see in the distance several pair of red eyes approaching.

By the hell-stones what now? thought as his hand felt the great sword.

The baleful eyes raced closer.

A body soared through the veil of snow into frightening reality.

The creature sped toward him like a great rock tossed from the hands of a giant. Vryce blade sang a deadly song of arcing steel that smacked straight through muscle tendon and flesh.

The creature howled and flailed four mighty arms as it dead. Before Vryce stood before a creature nearly fifteen feet tall with four gangling arms of corded muscle amd sinew ending in sloth like claws. It body was covered from head to two with fur. It face resembled a monkey or ape. Great fangs slowly gnashed together as it tongue lolled to the side and died.

Vryce looked on in disgust, twisting his head in time to see claws rake the air where he once stood. The elf slid to the side, his great-sword trailing in his wake

There were a total of three giant white apes. They howled and stuck out their grisly fangs in eager anticipation.

Now bitch... I need you up now, Vryce snapped inwardly. Their came a faint echo of laughter. Let us see how the might man-killer lives with out me, Hyriaa countered and severed their link.

Vryce back stepped on his right foot and brought his wicked blade up. In his mind he sneered at Hyriaa. Bitch! So be it!

The white apes approached wearily. And encirlced the elf. Vryce grinned it was a fitting end to die like this in the raw elements.

The creatures bellowed in rage and hunger and rushed the elf. Vryce was no easy catch. He slipped through one of be behemoths attacks and like the rushing wind through a sail, sent his sword cleaving through the air.

Pop! Just like that the beasts head came clean off, its life blood sizziling upon the snowy floor.

Vryce was a pure instrument of motion quickly bringing the great sword in a vertical swoop. The second creature squealed as the Vyrce's sword cut a deep gash into its chest.

As that creature reeled back in pain. Vyrce felt claws of the third rip through his fine elf chain-mail. Blood flowed freely from his back and with a gleam of murder in his eyes he growled. He then launched his mighty frame at his attacker. In mid flight the elf inverted the blade down thrusting home into the creature neck. Blood sprayed the elf as the creature beat him about with four arms.

Vryce determined held on with all his might as he worked his sword into the beast. He coocked back his right hand and sent the ball of knuckles into the white apes ocular socket. The creature give a whimper and died.

Vryce swooned his body shocked with invountary spasms

Posion! Their claw must have given off a toxin to neutralize their prey. Through blurry eyes the man-slayer turned to see the last wounded white ape pounce. As it neared Vryce tore his great-sword from the dead body and sent the gray-steel home in a lower horizontal direction shearing the creature's leg in one blow.

The great ape flopped to the ground like a captured fish. It writhed in pain lashing out with it great limbs.

Vryce leapt upon the winter beast like some great mountain cat, his great-sword a slashing claw that went back and forth until the white ape moved no more.

Vryce nearly dropped from the strain of besting the beast. The poison that flowed through his system making him weak.

Through blurry eyes the storm seemed to intensify. If the poison of the white ape didn't finish him first the storm would.

Come on Hyriaa you wont let me die here. He sent his thoughts out into the void of his mind. There was no response. Vryce cursed. As his limps grew slack. His head was a fire, and he lost the handle of his great-sword. Vryce could feel the ground rushing up to meet him. The snow and wetness felt cool to
His clammy skin. He could not die this way, he wailed in inner anger, as all went black.

The last thing Vryce heard was the sound of laughter as he fell into darkness.

"There I tell you I saw them head that way." Friddle Longpacks pointed into the snowy mess

"How can you be sure? You can barely see anything in this storm." Griddle longpacks responded to her brother. "Surely we wont find them." The gnome pulled down her goggles to protect her eyes. The storm had picked up fearcely. Friddle leapt from thier sleigh to examine the snow. The winter hounds that pulled the sled brayed and yelped as their master walked by one.

"Hush shanto, we will be leaving soon". Friddle petted the head of the largest sled dog. The winter hounds were great beast kin to wolves and larger than the gnome. The dogs were bred for travel in the snows of winter heart.

Friddle doffed his eye goggls and scanned the terrain.Being trained as a ranger he searched for the tracks of the white ape. Griddle looked on worridly. She could tell the storm was growing far worse than she ever anticpated. As her peoples seer she had forseen the storm but not on such a scale and magnitude as this.

"Awe here we go. Found them! A large pack to. Wait. I see other tracks, humanoid. The track seem to show them moving in the same direction." Friddle sped to the front of the sled. Griddle handed him the reigns.,Which he snapped up then down. The great winter wolves yelped, barking to the will of their master.

The gnomes sped down the snow piled dunes in search of the tracks. Questions ran about friddle mind. What man elf or dwarf would walk idlly in the frozen lands of Winter's Heart. Of course friddle knew of the nomads and the great beast tribes of the east. This far north of the Shivering spires, nothing came. Nothing exsited except freezing snow and wind.

"How far do you think that person got before...you know." Griddle pulled a thumb across her neck.

Friddle wanted to laugh, but didn't the wind could snatch a man's spirit if he opened his mouth to wide. Aye! His sister was a blunt as an axe and had a sense of humor of a sharp blade.

Friddle wouldn't have it any other way.

"Not long aleady we are coming...too the end...by the gods!" The tracks led the sleigh to a patch of earth where lay four white apes. The gnomes looked on horror as the dogs whimpered and tucked their tales between their legs.

Friddle slowly un wrapped his recurve bow and notched an arrow, while his sister pulled out her long tooth rifle.

The sheer devestation of the creature brought awe and shiw to the pair. Friddle looked to his sister who simply nodded her head.

Damn why was i always he first to go, friddle thought. That was and easy question, he had trained with venqwick for many years to become one. Venwick was a human ranger that made his home near the frozen fjords slighty northweest of the shivering peaks. The man had lived their longer than friddle could remember and his name was well known through out winter'heart. The beast tribes often named venwick Ursa'sun'sanca, which had made friddle laugh when hearing it. The name meant bear of white, and was a favorite totem animal to the beast people.

Friddle moved along readying to lose a arrow in case the great creatures weren't quite as dead as he thought. He expected each one, and he was right all were dead, a slaughter really.

" well they didn't get a chance to eat the fellow," he called out, "look here these wounds are not talons our bite marks. The only thing that can do this type of damage was a sword."

"Aye! You think?" Griddle swept uo beside him. She had her longtooth locked and loaded. "Whatbcpd have done this to them?" She asked worridly. The itch on her back annoyed her. She often hated it, her itch was her warning sense acting up. Anything that could have defeated four white apes, would easily tear into her and brother.
"Come friddle let us leave before what did this to them descides to do this to us." She grabbed his arm and began to tug. Friddle pulled his arm away and followe the tracks.

"There look !" He pointed with the point of his bow. "Upon the ground." He moved quickly upon the ground covered in snow. He had gained the ability when he had become a ranger. Friddle could easily travel upon terrain that would normally hamper a normal traveller.

Griddle caught up with her brother. She gasped for air as she reached him. She did not share friddle's ranger ability and getting around in the snow taxes her

Both gnomes eyes widened when they saw the cold gray steel upon the blood stained ground. The sword was at least a gnomes and a half high. The tallest gnome measured almost five feet. Friddle gasped a six foot sword. Was that even possible to wield such a weapon.

Friddle came closer to the weapon. Yes! He thought. The marks of the sword and wounds of the snow apes consistant.

"Well?" Griddle was losing her patience. Her itch bothering her greatly. The danger was rising. She turned her head and nearly jumped out of her skin as a peel of thunder richoteched upon the sky.

The storm seemed to be picking up in intensity. Griddle understood snow;but lightening and thunder, the weather patterns were unnatrual. They had to get back to the forge if they wished to survive. Griddle cursed inwardly. Why did her brother have to be so curious?

Friddle ignored his sister. He was well aware of her mood, and his constant cuiosity often irked her nerves. Friddle alway felt his sister was a bit high strung, so he never thought much of it. Griddle would alway be that way. She had a point this time, just her look told him to leave to get moving.

No! He had to see what could have done this too the creatures. He made his way into the packed snow, and his keen eyes saw a shape in the frozen snow. Blood trailed from the body or corpse. He would need to get closer to examine the body. He slipped to the form and gasped. It was a giant of a man. Larger than even the tribes people of the wild plains across winter's heart. No he was mistaken, that was no man it was an elf!

By the forge an Elf! Here