Arvog and Ves'ra had to follow the mountain range for the next month and a half before they arrived at the mountain pass. It looked just like she had been told. Winter was fast approaching - she only had half a month left before the world would be covered in a blanket of snow. She could have been here earlier, but they made frequent pauses to hunt monsters whose tracks they stumbled upon.

Ever since leaving Likervik she could feel her total energy growing - most because of her core, but some was more energy in her veins. She could feel that only free energy in her veins would help her evolve, and she’d have to kill about three hundred more monsters before she could, and even then only if she didn't bind her energy into another layer, something she wouldn't do.

She’d have to build a large hut for Arvog and herself, both of them had grown significantly since the last time she had to build a hut, but she was a lot more skilled in magic, so she didn't see any problems.

Ves'ra started by collecting a large amount of long branches double her height and with a diameter of three centimeters. After that she started with her magic, she dug a large hole, about a meter deep, four meters long and two broad. By taking control over as much of the water as she could and using her magic to lift it - without separating it from the earth - she transported the mud next to the hole she was excavating.

Next she stuck all the branches she gathered into a large, oval skeleton for the hut she planned to build. She left one of the short ends open, intenting to build the entryway there. Once she was happy with the shape and had bound all the ends together she drew most of the water out of the earth surrounding her hole and froze the rest, creating solid ground.

With the foundations ready it was time to prepare the walls. She had all the materials ready - the mud she excavated would be perfect, with a little extra. She gathered as much grass and other fibrous plants as she could, mixing them with the big pile of mud next to the hole.

After that she build the walls of the big hut, adding a layer of mud, removing most water within and repeating the process.

Thanks to her magic she didn't take long to construct the large hut, about three days with gathering all the materials and finding a suitable location. The hut was enough to sleep through the winter - if she so desired. She didn't, so she’d have to put in some extra effort to have a comfortable winter.

First and foremost was hunting large animals, they would both be a good source of food, and more importantly furs to keep them warm - a pack of wolves would come in really handy right now. She already had one really large pelt - that of the bear she hunted a few weeks ago - but she’d had to discard most of it as it proved too heavy.

She could also try and cover the ground with things other than pelts, but there was one minor thing - she’d have to gather all those plants, and she didn't like gathering plants while she really enjoyed challenging hunts.

Sadly she’d have to finish the hut before she could start hunting for more than a single meal - the hut needed a fireplace, a room to store their food for the winter and an entry room. That meant finding some more branches to use as support for the two interior walls.

Two days later her hut was finished - it had three rooms, one for storage, one for sleeping and living and the last one to keep the cold outside. She would need two very large furs - to serve as a doors to the outside world and keep the warmth in her living room.

---

Ves'ra allowed herself a satisfied grin, she had finally managed to track the pair of Vantos to their resting place. They were no predators, surviving off of plants they found, but she would hunt them nonetheless.

They were large - about a meter and a half tall - goat like creatures. They had an extra pair of limbs, a stocky neck with a large head and a pair of even larger, very sharp horns. She had seen them gore a mountain lion without problem.

Their size made them the perfect, if very dangerous prey. They had long, hard fur perfect for keeping them warm even in the midst of winter - she wanted that fur. That fur would also protect them from her lightning magic, so she’d have to think of something else. They lived in a copse of trees up on the mountain, but those wouldn't offer enough protection - these beings could reach even the highest of branches with a deceptively small jump.

Thinking up a trap for the pair had taken her a day and a half, and was only possible because they didn't attack her so long as she didn't do anything threatening. She did several attacks - with Arvog’s help - to test their responses and intelligence, and had to say she wasn't impressed. Only their horns and mass were dangerous, the beasts were completely and utterly stupid.

She looked through Arvog’s eyes again - he was far above the two goats, way out of their range and only there that she could set off her trap. She took control over his energy, cast a spell. She had already set up her trap a few hours before, so everything was ready.

A frozen drop of water fell from the sky, unaffected by wind and directly towards a pair of trees, gathering the heat around it. As the drop hit the ground and shattered it released all the heat within, causing a small explosion. The goats jumped up as the sound reached them, immediately charging towards the sound.

As the two neared the trees they were detected by a spell she had imbued into the trees, and shot with a large icicle each. They didn't hit - both monsters jumped out of the way long before they were in any danger. They veered off slightly, one towards each tree and sped up, lowering their head as they got ready to kill whatever pest dared attack them.

Both Vantos hit their tree with a resounding thud, coming to a complete stop in the span of a single second. Ves'ra knew they’d be able to free themselves in time - they already did once - but they’d take time, time she planned to use.

She could see Arvog dive down, gleeful to sink his teeth into prey again. He landed on the left Vanto - it was large enough that he had no problem staying on its back - and bit into its neck, injecting as much of his venom as possible.

Their prey was massive enough that it wouldn't be paralyzed, but its muscles would lose enough strength to stop it from freeing itself. As Arvog jumped onto the back of the other and repeated the progress Ves'ra was already on her way. She took control over his energy as she moved, forming a pair of icicles - one for each - and used the holes Arvog’s teeth left behind to plunge them deep into the Vento's neck.

The ice was not strong enough to penetrate the thick muscles in their necks, so she did something she never did before - she used the ice to absorb as much heat as magically possible. She could see the already slowed struggling slow once more as she drew more and more heat from her prey.

Arvog didn't have enough energy to keep that up for long, but she was confident he could until she arrived and was able to finish them off. At first she’d thought about stabbing them through their eyes and into their brain, but the monsters closed their eyes whenever they were in danger, so that was not possible.

As she arrived ten minutes later she could feel her familiar's relief, he was running low on energy and was happy she was here to take over. And take over she did, Ves'ra summoned her magic and surrounded both Ventos with a thin sheet of ice, drawing body heat from all over their bodies. They didn't take long to die after that - they easily succumbed to the cold once they lost the protection of their fur.

Now she only had to skin and transport their fur and meat back to her hut - work she didn't look forward to but which had to be done - and her hut would be complete.