Author's Note:

Hey, everyone! Here's another chapter, hope you enjoy it ^^

***

It was a clear day and a bird leapt from its nest on a cliff. He soared through the skies, diving into the clouds before getting tired and circling to return home. It was then, when he noticed something strange about the mountain paths.

He dived down to take a better look and yes, there it was. Where mists once reigned, something was moving. The bird went down a bit closer and he was sure now, it were humans. What were they doing here?

This was a place sacred to creatures of the land, natural beasts and not those monsters called humans. In all his life the bird had never seen them enter here. Not them, nor their cousins elves or dwarves.

But here they were. All the races trudging forward through the snow and right into the mountain pass. They were going to enter the place.

The bird screeched as loud as it could, warning all other residents, and flew to his nest.

Monthu raised his head at the hawk’s scream and saw the bird flying off. It was a small dot, but its voice’s echo went through the valley in a rush. Animals peeked their heads out from snow piles at it, watching the procession with beady eyes.

“This place’s eerie,” Aurora whispered, looking around. Her eyes didn’t settle on anything but a shiver ran past her body.

Hawk raised his eyes at the disappearing dot in the sky. “It’s just a bird.”

“That’s what you say! Just look at all those eyes!” she said, pointing at a white rabbit in the snow. Then she moved her finger to indicate a family of little birds and lastly a furry being between snow covered branches. “It’s like they’re spying on us!”

“You’re imagi-” he started to say but his voice was cut off by a scream from behind. The whole column stopped, people glancing at each other when another shout came.

It was from somewhere far back so Monthu was about to call there, when a message notice appeared before his eyes. /Ambush./

“Battle formation! Form defensive circles!” he screamed out aloud, grabbing Hawk’s hand. “Make sure everyone’s prepared for an attack.”

The archer nodded and ran to follow the command. Aurora moved to follow him with Par in hand before turning back for a second. “Be careful.”

Monthu nodded and ran off. The attack hadn’t been far off. Message had come from Michael and he was only one platoon over.

As he ran past Jackal, he saw him ordering his troops into lines with clerics and mages in the middle. It was good enough so Monthu didn’t waste time stopping and just rushed forward.

There were more screams coming from Michael’s station now. They raised panic within the players but there was no time to calm them down. He was almost at the place.

But it was impossible to see anything. The fighting had raised snow and the whole place with its wagons was engulfed. Monthu darted in, materialising his scythe. Right the moment it appeared he saw a man flailing in the air.

There didn’t seem to be anything holding him, but a roar convinced Monthu otherwise. He ran to the place, slipping on the snow, but managing to right himself. As he neared, his eyes focused on a two legged creature that was covered in greyish white fur.

The thing blended so well with the snow, it was impossible to distinguish unless you were nose to nose with it. Yeti, as the name above the monster explained, flung the man away and turned towards Monthu. He used his scythe to keep the creature at bay, but it showed up harder than he thought.

The yeti grabbed onto the scythe’s blade, pulling it from Monthu’s hands and stepping on it to break it in half. Then he turned back, lunging at him. Monthu dashed to the side, evading the clawed hand.

He glanced back to see the yeti following and opened his item menu to find another weapon. A staff caught his eye so he took it out. There was a wagon a few steps away and Monthu darted behind its back, turning in place with a wide swing.

The monster received the hit over the head, stumbled a bit but roaring leapt forward again. It reached for the staff but this time Monthu was prepared. Instead of going forward, he lowered the weapon. His attack from there to the stomach didn’t result in a lot of damage but he got to keep his staff.

That was good enough and he prepared to swing again. As wood hit the creature, he saw silver coming out of its chest. It took him a moment to understand that it were two blades.

“Heya, General!” Michael greeted, pulling his blades out. His voice was cheerful but his armour was covered in blood. “Damn beasts,” he cursed before rushing off to another skirmish.

Monthu followed after him and together with the attacked group of players they managed to kill another yeti. Then all six of them moved to help others and in some half an hour the ambush was fought off.

Snow settled down and inventory could be taken. “What’s the status?” Monthu asked, standing by one of the surviving wagons. From his place he could see three with broken wheels and scattered supplies.

“Bad,” Michael said in a low tone, coming to stand right next to Monthu. “Five wagons destroyed, two need repairs, ten npcs dead along with four players. All for killing three yetis. I’m sure we wounded much more..”

“But that’s little consolation,” Jackal said, joining their conversation. He looked strange with his shining armour standing on crimson snow.

Michael nodded. “Yes. We won’t be able to travel for long without supplies. If we don’t find anything, my platoon will starve to death.”

Monthu shook his head as he took a look around. Clerics were healing wounded ones so they will be in fighting position soon enough. But their armour was damaged, along with their weapons. Some would have spares but not everyone.

This would weaken his army more than anything if they had to suffer prolonged losses. He had to do something to keep them out of harm’s way but nothing came to mind. How did one defend against unseen opponents?

“We’ll share provisions,” he said, turning back to Michael. “Take what you can from the busted wagons and form into groups. We need to continue.”

“I’ll warn my platoon too. We need to be more car-”

Two screams from different directions came in a unison, interrupting Jackal’s words. Monthu held down a curse, unsure of where to rush. He couldn’t be in two places at once.

“I’ll take care of the back one. You warn other leaders,” Jackal said, starting to run in down the column.

That left the front one and Monthu moved in that direction. His speed doubled when he remembered his friends were there. And Par! He couldn’t let anything happen to his little brother.

As he reached the army’s front, it was covered in a storm of snow. There was no way to see anything so he just dived in. It didn’t take him long to notice a yeti towering over a fallen swordsman.

Monthu dashed forward, landing a punishing blow on the creature’s side. It growled at him, which gave time for the warrior to stand up. He was covered in snow, eyes wide as he stood frozen in place.

“Grab your weapon!” Monthu roared. “Are you a fighter or a victim?”

*Stand United Activated*

The words and status increase seemed to have done the trick and the warrior lunged for his sword a few meters away. He didn’t look like he would be of much help, but a group of other players that had been hiding within a wagon showed up. There were six of them now so Monthu left them alone.

They should be able to take care of the yeti in such a large number and he needed to find his brother.

A team of players intercepted his path as they chased after another yeti. The creature didn’t look to be injured but he was escaping. It didn’t make much sense but the group passed and Monthu was running again.

To the side he saw a yeti aiming at some mage. It was about to land a killing blow but Monthu couldn’t have that. He smashed the staff at the yeti’s legs, breaking its movement.

“Run!” he shouted, dashing in to block the claws. They left marks on the staff’s side but didn’t break it. “Get up! I need space!”

Another attack came and Monthu had to take a step back to keep the distance. The mage’s side got in the way off his back foot, putting him off-balance and he wavered. The yeti used that to lunge forward and slash at his shoulder.

Pain burst in his arm as he pushed the end of his staff, smashing it against the yeti’s side. But it made the monster back off and that’s what mattered.

“Spirit of nature, one who rules over everything that grows, hear my call and help this weakened soul in his quest for fulfilment, Regrowth!” came a squeaky voice from behind.

Monthu didn’t spare him a glance, but felt pain in his shoulder lessening. He moved it a bit and found no resistance. Good enough. He dashed forward, aiming a blow at the monster’s side.

It blocked it and Monthu ducked to dodge the other hand’s claws. From his lower position he pushed the staff upwards, hitting the yeti’s jaw and then swung it sideways. This attack didn’t land but the monster growled in anger.

“Come,” taunted him Monthu. He had an idea of how to deal with this humanoid bear, but for that he needed it closer. So he relaxed his muscles, letting the staff rest in his right hand.

The yeti, feeling no danger, lunged again and this time Monthu didn’t dodge. He waited till the last second and then in an instant grabbed the staff with both hands, swinging it with force. The strike vibrated through his whole hand, numbing it for a moment.

But the monster was even worse. It fell to the ground, its jaw smashed to pieces. The sight wasn’t a pleasant one and Monthu smashed his staff a few more times into the yeti, killing him. Grey mist was hard to notice in the raging snow but the pile of items was unmistakable.

There could have been a few valuable things there but Monthu had bigger problems. He took notice of the cowering mage, seeing him safe and alive turned away and ran. Some ten minutes since the fight’s start had gone past and he hadn’t seen a glimpse of his brother. Where were they?

A fireball whisked past him and exploded no more than a meter away. He felt the heat radiating off it on his back.

“Good job!” Aurora said from a wagon to his right and he rushed there.

“Is Par okay?”

Hawk was the one to answer him. “Yeah, but I suggest you turn around.” Monthu did that and met eye to eye with another yeti. It was bent over, staring at him with bloodshot eyes on its charred face.

Monthu shared the look for a moment before they both raised their weapons; claws against staff. The first was much better in close combat, but Monthu managed to block the attack. That was enough for him to push his opponent away and get his distance.

As he did that, arrows flew past him, embedding into the creature’s hide. It roared so loud people’s ears were on the verge of bursting and turned around. Before Monthu could do anything, the yeti was gone in the snowstorm.

“Is this going everywhere?”

Monthu nodded, noticing the snow was settling down. “How did this come to be?”

“It started soon after you left. I tried to mobilise people but panic spread quick and there was nothing to do. We were being attacked from all sides, unable to see what was happening,” Hawk answered, leaving the wagon through the window.

Monthu took a look of his surroundings and saw wagons thrown on the side, supplies scattered all over the place and piles of dropped items. Much more losses than in the previous skirmish he’d been in. There had to have been more yetis here for the players in his guard should have been one of the strongest ones.

He opened his chat menu and found Jackal. “Did you stop the attack?”

“No,” wheezed out the other man, sounds of steel from his end. A mage was chanting not too far. “We’re still being pressured and my own platoon got attacked. They fell apart without having anyone to order them around.”

“Did you send anyone to take over?”

There was silence for a moment. “I didn’t have time. The clerics here had a hard time keeping us aliv-”

Monthu cut the chat off and took a look around. Wagons lay on their sides, elks slaughtered and supplies lying around. Piles of items here and there. It was destruction much worse than in the previous skirmish, and his guards were supposed to be of highest class.

There had to have been three times the number of yetis to cause this. Were they intelligent enough to know that they held the strongest fighters at the head of the column? What else did they know?

“I need to go, protect Par,” he said to Hawk, starting to run the path he had come not even ten minutes ago. Today just wasn’t his day.

On his way out he encountered the outlandish elf, leader of Draugar. He was standing in the middle of the road, blocking everyone’s path. His eyes were locked on the sky as he watched it with a puzzled expression, hands on his hips.

Monthu tried to walk around him, but the elf caught his hand, not lowering his gaze from the sky. “Warring is such a strange profession. All you ever do is run from one fight to another, back and forth until you get killed. Or become a general.”

“Let me go,” Monthu said in a harsh tone, trying to free his hand from a surprisingly strong grip. He managed to get it out when the elf’s words registered. “What did you say?”

“It is fun being a general, is it not? You sit and read, play board games while soldiers get to waste their lives. It is a glorious life, I heard,” he answered, lowering his eyes. They were light purple, dead like.

Monthu took a few steps past the elf when his words finally made sense. More than before at least. ‘What am I doing running around like an idiot? I have commanders to do that for me! I need to think up of a strategy!’

He changed his direction and rushed towards the wagons. His eyes landed on Nein sitting on an undamaged wagon. “You! Go to the first platoon and restore order!”

“Isn’t that Jackal’s group?”

“It is. Now go!” Nein didn’t seem to like it a lot but he jumped from a wagon and ran in the right direction. “Report after you have subdued the enemies,” Monthu shouted after him and opened chat menu.

/Stop in your place. Form defensive formations and wait for future commands./ he wrote to all of the commanders. It was a risky choice but no more than trudging ahead and falling into an even worse trap. They had to send scouts and check the path ahead.

This was a far more dangerous place than any of them had thought on marching out. These mountains hadn’t been entered not because there was mist in them. Creatures smarter than all others lurked in shadows, ready to drag the careless into their dooms and Monthu didn’t want to be one.

“What is going on?” Deedara asked, rushing to his side. “Were you wounded? Did you need healing?”

“No,” Monthu answered, leaning on Nein’s wagon. “I need to find a way to fight against those monsters or we’ll fail. For that not to happen, I need people’s ideas.”

The Draugar priestess bit her lip as she thought for a moment. “All we can do is turtle and wait. These yetis, they come from nowhere.”

“That’s not true,” disagreed Hawk. He was walking over with Aurora and Par in tow. “They had been hiding in the snow mounds. I saw one of them jumping out. Wouldn’t be surprised if all had done the same.”

Sir Elimas, L’s right hand man, made his approach. He had red spots on his tunic and complexion that was paler than the snow.

There was no sound from him so Monthu prompted. “Anything to report?”

“They don’t care about killing people,” the man said in a whisper, sitting down on the icy ground. “All they want is to destroy our equipment, provisions. It is their way of saying we’re unwelcome here. If we stay, they’ll become serious.”

“That’s something we would know how to deal with,” Hawk said with a laugh. “It’s this guerilla tactics that we have no idea how to counter.”

Monthu had to agree to that. In the game players tended to fight in open battles, hunting monsters or besieging castles. Neither of which presented them with real wars and tactics. At least not in this kingdom, where there were no true ruler, so it didn’t participate in country encompassing wars.

“Clear,” Nein said, walking over. After noticing Monthu’s distrustful look, he added. “They got scared and ran away. I told the second in command to fortify the place and this time to keep his players in order.”

“We have to protect the wagons. Somehow,” murmured Monthu, trying to think of a way. For the moment they would be safe, if what Hawk said was true. But they would have to start moving tomorrow. “You are free now.”

The few people that had come scattered out, only Hawk staying behind. “You have any ideas how to deal with them?”

“Not really,” Monthu answered, starting to walk.There was nothing to do now but count the damage done. He could see two more wagons on their sides, wheels smashed to make sure they weren’t going anywhere any time soon.

A pile of items was in his way so he lowered himself to pick it up. It was yeti leather with two diamonds on top. Hawk took one, shining it towards the sun. “This is pretty expensive. Killing these yetis might be a worthwhile sidetrack.”

“We’re here to learn more about these mountains, not to earn money.”

“Pft, why can’t we do both?” Hawk asked, giving back the diamond. “You can motivate players by loot and no one will care about any losses then.”

That became a tempting solution as half an hour later Monthu received damage reports. Out of their three thousand, two hundred players and fifty npcs lost their lives. Over seventy elks were slaughtered and more than forty wagons destroyed.

Players were in a panic, rushing to the front of the column to complain. This allowed them to see the devastation here and fear rose even higher. Some even came to Monthu, threatening to leave this very moment.

He told them to go on ahead. They were already good way in and if they dared to go through the mountains alone, it was their choice. None took up the chance, though, and returned to their places in the column.

The day passed like that and it was evening before Monthu had thought up any plans. He ordered people to sit in crowds, sticking around the wagons and hoped that will be enough. Yetis hadn’t attacked any more so there was a chance.

“The surroundings are clear.”

Monthu raised his head to see a man cloaked in shadows. He was wearing all black, eyes painted the same colour. It was hard to say how he thought to hide in the snow with that get up. “Dark, was it?” Monthu asked.

“Yes, I checked the grounds ahead while the rest took a look around the camp. We found nothing worrying,” the man answered in a low voice. He had his head down, looking at his boots.

“You’re certain of it?” Monthu asked to clarify. L had given him command of the group of rogues without explaining who they were and why he should trust them. If that wasn’t enough, none of them looked competent.

Only Dark and Fenek seemed to know what they were doing. They kept to themselves, staying in the shadows while the rest strutted around in cloaks and got in the way.

“Yes,” Dark answered. “I double-checked after the other students to make sure they didn’t embarrass the master.”

“Master?” Monthu asked, raising his head to get a better look of the man.

“If that is all, I’ll be leaving. There can be more scouting done on the right flank.”

It was obvious the conversation was over and Monthu waved him off. “Do it and if you see something, warn me, whatever the time is.” The rogue nodded and left Monthu to his thoughts.

He expected to have a moment but a priestess came over. “I think we should have a celebration tonight.”

“Celebration?”

“People are tired and scared, some music and good food would help them deal with it,” she said, scratching her head. “Something has to be done to lift their spirits.”

Monthu raised the paper he had been reading before Dark’s arrival and tried to calculate a few numbers. They had lost a lot of supplies, but if they went after the yetis... It would gain them gold, which then could pay for the expedition’s losses.

On the other hand, if they went ahead and didn’t learn anything, it would be a catastrophe. Sure it wasn’t his money that funded the quest, but L wasn’t a millionaire. It had cost him a lot and if they brought back nothing, he would be finished. Monthu and his group along with him.

“Had any musicians joined us?”

Deedara smiled wide at that. “Yes! Our guild leader! He’s the best flautist in the world!”

“Prepare it then,” he said and watched her run off. There was no way that elf was the greatest musician. No one could say that before they’d heard Ace playing. He was the true artisan in this game.

Yet if he took up killing, then maybe others could take his place. It wasn’t like the kid had tried to become known. He played only once after mastering it but the song had been mesmerising. Monthu could remember seeing the story before his eyes, as if it had been real.

Nothing before or after could compare to that.

He stood up and climbed onto a wagon. From there he could see others moving in. The valley was around fifty meters wide so a couple of wagons could move side by side with groups of players flanking them from all directions and still have room to move.

Everyone had weapons in hand, though, Monthu didn’t believe they will be attacked. The yetis had taken their chances, none would be stupid enough to linger without a safe way out.

But the question persisted in his mind. Why had the yetis focused wagons? It was a good way to weaken an enemy army but since when were monsters so advanced? The creatures weren’t even human.

Also, what were they defending? It was clear they wanted the army not to reach something, but what could it be? Was there a treasure in the mountains, or just a yeti village?

“You don’t look too happy,” Hawk noted from the ground. He was alone at the moment. “I left Aurora with him among the smiths. Par’s fire helps to speed up moulding. At least five wagons will be repaired by tomorrow.”

“That’s good. We need as many as we can get. They are going to attack again,” Monthu said, stepping on the bench and then jumping to the ground. Snow squeaked under his feet but didn’t give in.

“Sure thing,” Hawk agreed, turning to walk in the direction of Jackal’s platoon. “But it’s tomorrow and today I hear we have some music, ale and fire.” He smiled looking at the sky. “All the man can ever need.”

Monthu chuckled at that, eyeing the gathering crowd. First thing that took his attention was the scowls. They were on most of the faces, complimenting weapons held in hand. No one was sitting down but talking in small groups, glancing around from time to time.

Near the centre of the place, Deedara stood on a wagon. She had Perry at her side but that didn’t help to gain the crowd’s attention. Her voice landed on blocked ears.

“This looks like a lousy party...”

“You don’t say,” muttered Monthu, moving closer. He should have known better than to allow this. A celebration wasn’t on anyone’s mind when there were enemies around. It was stupid to think otherwise.

He was close to the two girls when the elf made his way up. *Screeee* came a sound from the flute and everyone turned to glare at the elf. He didn’t seem to mind, though, smiling bright.

“Day is in the past, move closer and come hear a story,” the elf said in a soft but somehow loud voice. It echoed around the whole valley so that there wasn’t a single person who hadn’t heard. “There brave warriors fight and fair maidens kill their assailants. White beasts fall under hands of humans, treasures get stolen.”

It sounded like another fairytale but the way he said it, in his smoky voice, made it feel like there was a secret to it. That if they listened, they would gain something invaluable. Against his own better judgement, Monthu moved closer to make sure he heard everything. It was like a magnetic pull.

And he wasn’t the only one who felt it. The whole army was enraptured by that voice, moving like zombies closer in.

“Everyone pull the wagons together, closer in!” Perry shouted out, jumping to the snow. “We can all stand on them and hear him better!”

This idea pushed people into action. The elks were hurried forward so that the wagons filled the width of the valley. Others then were stopped in length but not far. When it was done, in no more than half an hour, one could jump from one wagon to another.

Monthu had to say these people could be organised, when they wanted to. That, of course, didn’t happen when he gave commands. But that was a given, few believed in his abilities as a leader. Only his group did, who showed up to join him on one of the roofs near the centre.

Fires were lighted on top of the wagons after enhancing them with magic resistance spells. People sat around the flames, warming their hands and watching the elf in silence.

He had found a chair from somewhere and sat with his legs crossed. The flute lay in his open hand resting on the armchair. Purple plume wavered in the air as he took a breath and stood up.

There was a ring of fires around him and he moved to stand right before one. It made shadows dance on his face as he put the flute to his lips.

What came out made Monthu freeze in his seat.

One strong note came into existence. It flew in the air for a few moments, testing the waters. Then it whirled around, putting on a mask. The next moment dozens of other notes appeared, joining the previous one and dancing around it.

Together they went out, very slow and controlled, regal. Each step was accounted for. There was not an unneeded sound in that melody.

But then another note jumped in. It was young and wild, uncaring of its actions. The tune fell apart with its appearance, notes scattering in all directions. For a moment they echoed separately until the first and last came into contact.

They were as different as day and night; one slow and strong, another quick and playful. There was no harmony in their union, the sounds escaping the flute awkward and mismatched.

It couldn’t continue and the second one danced away. The note whirled through the air, young child going on an adventure, and distanced itself. The first quieted until there was nothing left of it.

The child continued forward, dancing around without a care in the world. He soon met another one as the the elf walked from the flames, taking careful steps that made no sound. The notes joined in and this time they fit as if made for each other.

They complimented the other and a sweet melody reached all the listeners. It was hard not to remember your first love, those tender emotions blooming in your heart for the very first time. Smiles lighted the place and the elf raised his head upwards, pointing the flute’s end up to the sky.

Darkness entered the story. It was a low, grinding sound. But unlike so often, there was no slowness there. The new melody was as quick as the young happy ones, maybe even more so.

It dived through the air, cutting it to pieces without any real reason. The two notes darted away, sounding lower, less confident but not scared. They circled each other to gain power and raise in volume.

The grinding tune waited in the background, sounding from somewhere far away, bidding its time. It knew its power and believed in itself.

Two innocent, foolish notes rose higher and higher, reaching for the skies. Their tune was a bright one, circling and dancing on light steps. Soft and warm. One you could heal all sicknesses with.

But as everything good, it wasn’t meant to last. A cold note pierced through, hurting the main one. It lowered in strength while its partner rose even higher in pitch. There was no calming it down.

The harmony was gone.

They fell apart; one slowing down while the other kept on quickening and quickening. It was running in moments, so loud and obnoxious it made people’s face’s twitch.

Something happened. It stopped in the middle, without any warning, hovering in the air. Then it dashed backwards, lowering in speed and loudness, joining the original one.

They met with soft words, no arguments or accusations. The second one flew around the first, encircling it. Together they managed to grow stronger, return to health.

Soon enough they were back to themselves, the sweet melody that charmed people’s hearts. There was darkness, the swift yet glum tune, lurking in the background but it was too far away.

The two flew in unison, dancing and singing together. They had overcome the danger, grown stronger. That was what mattered. Swift and lively notes scattered in the air, coming to visit every person in the audience.

They lighted the place like little wishful stars, lights of thousands of candles. Life was a dangerous journey so every fight won had to be celebrated. Every little battle survived counted.

And so the flute’s melody rose higher, quickening and running through the air. It whistled and hummed, dancing like only a young person could. They were free and nothing could ever stop them. The notes were their own rulers. Whole world was beneath their feet.

So they continued, rushing off into another journey. Away from the audience’s hearing, gone from this realm.

The flute lowered to the elf’s side and he glanced over the crowd. There were smiles everywhere he looked. It made the elf’s lip twitch upwards for a moment and then he was gone, jumping down and into the darkness.

For good ten minutes after that no one moved a muscle. All the players and npcs were lost in fantasies, each seeing their own story. One they had joined this game to live out.

Fear was gone from their hearts, exchanged for a spirit of adventurousness. They all wanted to stand up and move forward, whatever the danger. If they died, they would revive and just try again. Death was but a mere nuisance to them. Weren’t they the prophesied heroes of this land?

However, Monthu put a big no on all such ideas. It was night and they weren’t moving anywhere till morning. This dampened the mood a bit but soon drinks were opened, meat roasted and tales of past adventures told. That satisfied the people and Monthu was left alone with his friends.

And a very bad feeling.

From Hawk’s and Aurora’s eyes he knew, they felt it too. This elf... He was nothing but a lie. Monthu tried to think of what to do, how to act but his mind came up blank. Was there anything to be done?

Par looked at him with sad eyes, same knowledge they all shared. But it changed nothing. It was the past and better not brought back. He could still remember the way Par had been told off. It had been brutal to say the least. His brother had cried days afterwards.

“It is nothing, you’re seeing things,” Monthu told his friends, standing up to leave. Others followed, not pointing it out that they hadn’t said anything.