“Shaynen,” Cleatus shook the boy awake. Shaynen jumped to his feet in alarm. “Didja sleep through your watch?”

“It’s time for my watch?” Shaynen fell back to the ground groggily, covering his face.

“No… you slept through yours.” Odelia said irritably.

“Hey look! I finished my new coat!” Haagut proudly held up a garment made of crudely sewn rat pelts.

“Ey! I finished my new armor!” Cleatus said excitedly showing off the rough bear pelt worked into his leather breastplate.

“I’m so happy for you.” Shaynen said through clenched teeth. His tone was bitter.

“My coat’s made goblin sized so y’know…” Haagut shrugged uncomfortably.

“And the bear pelt was wayyy too big for you.” Cleatus said.

“Suck it up,” Odelia snapped. “We’re all cold and bitchy.” Shaynen pressed his lips together but it was hardly noticeable from how pale he was. The wind screamed and shook the snow of the shelter threateningly.

“Out! Now!” Cleatus picked up Haagut by the back of his collar and charged for the door. Odelia and Shaynen turned to the door but Cleatus was already behind them. Shouldering Shaynen forward and Kicking Odelia clear of the shelter. Another gust of wind hit the shelter and the ceiling caved in. The shelter toppled into a heap behind them.

“That was close,” Haagut said as Cleatus put him back down.

“You hear that?” Cleatus asked. His ears turning rapidly. The party paused and listened closely. Somewhere in the screaming wind there was another sound.

“It s-s-sounds like s-huh-mthing getting sm-smashing t-together.” Shaynen said.

“Huh,” Cleatus hmm’d and kept looking up the mountain. “We better move on, carefully” The party ascended the next cliff face and onto the long flat hill that led up to the peak. A few yards ahead was the fort, hiding in the mist. Shaynen’s pale face lit up.

“Oh! W-walls! Walls keep heeeet in!” Shaynen pointed excitedly.

“Not always,” Odelia said. “We should skip it.” Cleatus turned to agree but was stopped when he saw the tears of frustration and pure misery building in Shaynen’s eyes.

“It’s worth a quick look,” Cleatus conceded. “To warm up a little.”

“And maybe there’s some good stuff in there,” Haagut said fidgeting excitedly.

“I guess so, whatever.” Odelia sighed. Cleatus led the party toward the fort. The wind intensified the closer they got.

“Hold.” Cleatus stopped with his hand up abruptly. Through the giant flakes of ice and the powder picked up by the snow the fort was in sight. At the front door of the barely still standing fort were two figures beating on the door with a battering ram.

“It’s the ogres. Only two of them now. One small and the big one.” Cleatus said.

“What are they doing?” Haagut asked.

“Looks like they’re trying to break down the door.” Cleatus replied. He looked over the party confused. “So are we gonna do something or what?” Odelia stared up at the peak of the mountain, Haagut kicked at the snow and Shaynen looked at Cleatus pitifully.

“Yeah I got it.” Cleatus shook his head and slipped into the snowy banks. He crept up to the side of the fort. Together the ogres worked to try and break down the door. The door was heavy iron and covered with thick ice. Not a single crack was even beginning where the ogres were beating. -Cleatus led the party up against the wall without the ogres noticing in the slightest.

They watched for a few minutes. Cleatus reached out with the near invisible force of his mage hand and grabbed a hold on the waistband of the biggest ogre’s pants and pulled them down. Exposing everything. Haagut and Odelia both looked away instantly. Cleatus snickered.

“I didn’t need to see that,” Shaynen said disappointedly. Cleatus snorted.

“Ah c’mon it’s kinda funny,” He chuckled.

“What the hell was that for?!” The largest ogre shouted. Grabbing and hoisting up his pants.

“I didn’t do nothing!” The smaller ogre yelled back.

“Y’pulled down my pants!” The larger ogre threw down the battering ram onto the smaller’s feet. The smaller ogre cried out and jumped away from the ram. He unleashed a slew of words in giant and common. None of them meant to be flattering. The bigger one returned the colorful terms. The situation escalated with the bigger one tackling the other and the two rolling down the snow.

“All right. C’mon let’s go.” Cleatus said. The party slipped into the main entrance. The door the ogres were pounding on was completely undamaged in every way. Shaynen charged for the first door he saw grabbing and yanking on the handle. His shoulder popped and icy pain burst through his chest. He coughed out a hoarse broken note that vanished into water vapor. The door was frozen shut, all along the giant sized hall were human sized doors; all covered in thick ice. Shaynen felt like the fire in him was frozen too.

“Let me get that,” Haagut said. He plunged his hand into his bag and rummaged around. He pulled out his hand coated in grey dust. He spoke a few words in goblin and slapped the frozen hinges. The ice covering the door burst into a chilly powder of snow.

“Yes! Thank you!” Shaynen cried as he thrust open the door and darted into the fort's walls. Only to freeze solid at the sight. The party filed in slowly behind, all slowing to a stop just behind Shaynen.

Inside the fort was just as cold as the outside. Beneath the thick coats of ice over the walls were giant holes and the damage that could only be attributed to heavy artillery. The floor was covered in bodies. Bodies frozen in various states of decay With icy puncture wounds.

“What happened here?” Shaynen whispered. His words trailing off into white fog, barely heard or seen.

“The walls,” Cleatus said. Drawing the party’s attention to them. “That kind of fire pattern… They were firing inside their walls.”

“With cannons and ballistas?” Haagut knelt beside the broken fragments of an icy arrow meant for a giant war machine.

“Dragon,” Odelia whispered. Though spoken softly the word echoed throughout the walls. “Look at the wounds, the irregular ice patterns, firing within the walls. The ogres mentioning a big flying creature. This is the carnage of a dragon.”

“Why?” Shaynen said, turning away. But even with his eyes closed he couldn’t stop seeing the piles of dead.

“I don’t know,” Odelia shook her head.

“C’mon. Let’s have a look around.” Haagut said somberly. “Maybe there’s still something to find here besides grief.”

“Like survivors?” Shaynen asked hopefully.

“I wouldn’t be so hopeful,” Cleatus pulled Shaynen close to his side. “Everyone watch your step.” Slowly they began to pick their way through the mass grave. There was hardly any space between the bodies to step. More than once a frozen corpse was stepped on and it would loudly snap in accusatory protest. Stopping the party entirely in guilt.

“How do you even…” Shaynen muttered. “How can we even start-”

“Don’t you worry about that,” Cleatus said reassuringly. “Remember when I said there are times you can’t help and there’s nothing to be done? This is one of those times. This is too big a job for us. We have to let it go.” Shaynen drew a long and haunted sigh that shook his bones. Down deep in his soul.. Something moved uncomfortably.