whitescar A Test of Will (Closed)

[Pretzelparty]

Sigrun had been keeping a watchful eye on her ward as she made her way through the freezing wastes. The journey was rough and already she was smiling as she watched the young calf she'd been ... mentoring as he approached a cave. Good thinking, she made not of his wary approach... he didn't come out though, She figured the calf must have made himself at home in there and found the place unattended. The "Jarl" laid herself down, hiding under a white cloak that matched the snow well. her eyes peeked out from underneath the shadows of the fur that so perfectly matched the snow.

She'd brought a few tools to keep the horrors of the undead hordes away if they threatened to interfere with her ward's test. She'd brought a halberd, a bow, a large quiver full of arrows and her favorite masterwork sword. "Hmm... he's been in there a while" She thought. The chieftain pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked towards the cave. She saw something that made her eyes widen like saucers for a moment. Reflexively she pulled out her bow and prepared to fire but then noticed... that the demeanor of the creature was different. It was much more domesticated and hadn't actually mauled the young calf like she thought it might. 

"interesting..." the said quietly to herself. She didn't stow her bow just yet... she kept her eyes on the scene as it unfolded...

[Blueblood]

Chipper Demise, for his own part, seemed completely unaware of any suspicion on his new friend's part.  This was probably mostly due to his attention being otherwise occupied at the moment, drawing out a piece of old meat for the wolf to chew on.  "There we go!  A treat for a good boy..."  The wolf obligingly stepped off of the unicorn, allowing Chip to feed the beast his treat, complete with a scratch behind his decaying ears.

The young necromancer's own ears perked up at the caribou's stammered question.  "Oh?  Oh, I've always been good with animals.  They're usually kinder than anything else around here.  Even when they're dead, they don't tend to hold a grudge, do you boy?"  The wolf answered with a surprisingly-normal sounding bark.  Chip caught Limi's glance towards his still glowing horn, and continued.  "Of course, a lot of them, when undead, tend to get ensorcelled whenever one of the big necromancers around here wants to savage his neighbors.  You gotta watch out for that, but when they're unensorcelled, it's not hard to make friends with them.  Need a little magic, of course, but that's all in day's work!"

If Limi approached closer, he would be able to see that the wolf's ear looked significantly less decayed that when Chipper had first scratched it.  The unicorn's hooves were beginning to go elsewhere, rubbing over unhealing cuts and exposed bits, putting the wolf back into something like a presentable shape.  "They fall apart if you don't care for them.  Most out here don't have anypony caring for them..."

[Bellosh]

 

The more that Chipper Demise casually explained the nature of his... “unique” pet, the less that Lími found himself inclined to retreat backwards. It was incredibly surreal to see one of these undead wolves behaving so normally; to see it and its master communing with one another in the same fashion as Lími and his own trusted dog. Sensing that he was in no real danger, the caribou cautiously moved forward again, curious to get an up-close look at a reanimated figure that no other caribou ever had the privilege of seeing... at least not without being attacked.

Lími had advanced close enough to Demise and his undead wolf to witness a most incredible ritual in action. Wherever the unicorn touched his pet, it appeared as if the flesh on the wolf was being revitalized! Granted, it wasn’t quite as breathtaking as Garden Gait’s sea of flowers and those who merrily pranced about the blooms, but it was no less fascinating. Lími didn’t think such feats were possible; creatures that became undead nearly always kept on degenerating until they were nothing more than bare skeletons. Or so all the lore of the caribou stated as fact.

It was even more staggering to conceive that anyone had the heart to care for beings who’ve long since entered the Realm of the Fallen. Based on everything Lími learned about the Necro Lords, they treated their unholy spawn as expendable hordes, thinking nothing of sacrificing them in campaign after campaign. Yet to see a pony like Demise doting on his undead wolf, it made Lími wonder whether there was truly more to the feared beasts that met the eye... like how much of the unfallen creatures resembled their original living selves.

While Lími pondered the big questions and hoped to eventually get answers, a more practical concern gnawed at his mind. “If you weren’t wielding your uhhh, pacification devilry,” the young buck fumbled over the right choice of words; “Would that... thing..... attack?”

[Blueblood]

There were, of course, limits to the reversal of decay.  Those limits tended to be imposed by what remained of the metabolism of the undead beast in question; as long as the wolf could actually eat, that material could be used to shore up their bodies... with a little bit of magical help, of course.  From the somewhat disappointed sigh Chipper let out after a cut failed to fully close, it seemed that limit was reached faster than he'd like.  The dip in his smile was subtle, but visible, taking the insane edge off it just a little bit.

"His name's Ulfbrecht."  The unicorn's first words in response to Lími's question were a little more serious than usual, but as he continued, the bright notes returned to his tone.  "Or that's what I call him, at least.  Don't know what his mother named him.  Probably something like, 'Hraf!-Rrrr!'"  The necromancer imitated the canine sounds with gleeful relish.  "He probably wouldn't attack me.  You, on the other hoof... well, depends.  I'm not sure how easy a target a lone wolf might see you as.  A pack, though... yeah, they'd see you as dogmeat, alright.  Good thing you're with me, then, huh?"

The glow on his horn faded, as Chipper Demise finished casting his spell.  "There!  That should do it.  Now, we should probably be off; my crows tell me that the warmblood is catching up to us.  Oh, and its a she, Nyaha!  You got any females coming after you, Limi?"  

[Bellosh]

 

". . . You, on the other hoof... yeah, they'd see you as dogmeat, alright.  Good thing you're with me, then, huh?"

 

Grimacing at the thought of facing down an entire wolfpack - undead or alive - Lími only dared to muster a reluctant “Riiiight.” Of course, the original plan Lími drafted to get through his Will Test would have taken him through areas that were purportedly devoid of hostile swarms. Now that he was down here on the low ground, the caribou was stuck with Chipper Demise for the time being if he wanted to leave the Southern Wilds in one piece. Granted though, it wasn’t all that hard to think of someone or something far worse to encounter.

 

". . . my crows tell me that the warmblood is catching up to us.  Oh, and its a she, Nyaha!  You got any females coming after you, Limi?"

Although Lími was initially alarmed, the way Chipper phrased his last question caused the adolescent buck to enter a daydreaming frenzy. There was only ONE female on this earth Lími could think of who’d be remotely inclined to seek him out. “Mei..." the caribou entered into an euphoric trance; “You came here.....” Was it really possible that Mei, Lími’s much adored Empress of Flowers, traveled to the far and treacherous reaches of the world... just to be with him?

Reality subsequently hit Lími like an unstoppable avalanche. For one thing, the Lián Mei he knew would never be so daring as to venture into a dangerous environment alone. That, and Mei had no idea at all that Lími even lived in Whitescar, for he wished not for Mei to discover Lími’s true caribou heritage. Those things considered, whoever this “warmblood” was, it wasn’t Mei.

Shaking his head to dispel any foolish notions, Lími’s star-struck expression morphed into one of grim realization. “You’re right,” the caribou apprehensively addressed Chipper; “I can’t let ANYONE see me out here... treating with a necromancer.” It was bad enough already that Lími accepted somepony’s help, but appearing to conspire with a necromancer? It’d give reason enough for caribou to accuse Lími of giving himself to the Darkness, and there was only one way that such soulless traitors were dealt with.....

Lími delicately trotted closer to the unicorn until he was within dramatic murmuring range; “.....Can you lose our pursuer?”

[Blueblood]

The mention of a specific name brought Chipper's head around, tilting it off axis.  "Who's Mei?  Is she nice as you?"  The unicorn's eyes, usually lidded, popped open momentarily.  Two new friends in a day?  Could such a thing be possible?  

Apparently... not, judging by Limi's reaction.  "Aw, what do you guys have against us?  Necromancy is just protesting the permanency of death, that's all."  Well, it made sense that no one would have taught the young stallion that what he was doing was wrong; and that lack of burden upon his conscience would also explain why he was so happy, or at least could appear so.  

"Well... giving her the slip might be hard, might not be.  Depends on where you want to end up.  You never did tell me where you were headed, or what you were trying to do there."

[Bellosh]

 

Chipper Demise’s protests were NOT the thing Lími needed to hear right now. The caribou didn’t want to be embroiled in arguments over whether all Necro Lords were evil or not, especially when there was a tracker out there to worry about. Under less stressful circumstances, Lími would have tried arguing that the necromancers of the Southern Wilds did themselves no favors to their image by constantly summoning Undead armies to overrun Whitescar.

As it were, Lími focused on quickly detailing where he needed to go for his Will Test. “I must journey to the Heart of the Southern Wilds, to the Barrow-Fells where the flowers of the Qalipu's Cry bloom.” The Qalipu's Cry; a plant which glowed with a blue light in the dark and hummed whever it was blooming. This was the flower that all members of Clan Askr must collect to pass their Will Test. A flower which unfortunately happened to grow right in the epicenter of Necro Lord activity in the Wilds, if the Loremasters wrote true.

Lími had not been pleased to learn of the cursed location where he would have to go if he was to be a true member of Clan Askr. It sometimes made him wish that he was instead vie for the validation of his blood clan, Clan Aured. All they had to do was climb the slopes of the Wilds’ most treacherous mountain to snatch an edelweiss, the Lion’s Foot flower. Then again, Lími accepted that every flower that could possibly be found here would require a dangerous challenge before such plants could be harvested.

“So,” the caribou's unease grew; “How do we lose that hunter?”

[Blueblood]

"Flowers?"  Chipper tilted his head, curiosity and amazement piqued by Lími's revelation.  "Nyaha!  Now ain't that something?  All you're big brutes, your fierce warriors... so dependent on the smallest and most helpless living thing imaginable for their Final Examination!"  He threw back his head and let out a laugh.  "So you all really do have soft hearts after all, like the rest of us Warmbloods."  That was certainly a different perspective on Caribou Culture for the unicorn, and possibly even for the young caribou with him. 

Whatever came of that, however, the young bull was of a more practical than philosophical turn of mind at the moment, so Chipper was content to follow his lead.  "Hm, hmm, hhhmmmm...."  The young necromancer's face elongated in thought, as he murmured to himself.  "Now, the quickest way to there is over the hills, but the dirt leaves tracks.... ooh, and the squirrels can't keep a single secret between them.  Road's hard packed enough to not leave any tracks, but we need to distract her.... hm... yes, I have an idea..."

He drew himself up suddenly, hooves clicking together.  Instantly, one of his crows flocked to him, and they exchanged a couple of a caws.  Once the crow flew back to join it's murder, Chipper turned his grinning visage to Limi.  "Come on!  I've set my brilliant plan into motion!  Ulfbrecht will stay behind to confuse our scents.  But we must go quickly, before the hunter mounts mounts the hill!"  He opened a lidded eye, only to wink at the young caribou.  "Race ya to the Barrows!  Ready, set, go!"

 

Meanwhile, Jarl Sigrun would have seen a strange, black blot upon the horizon, and heard in the distance something like the sound of buzzing bees.  The low drone soon became more distinguishable as the flapping of many wings, as the blot itself resolved into a huge flock of black birds.  They approached with a worrying directness; despite the proverb, crows rarely flew so straight, especially in formation.  
As they approached, the flock slowed until it was practically hovering over the caribou cow, and then.... the 'carpet bombing' started...

[Bellosh]

 

Wary of his surroundings the young buck might have been, but for a fleeting moment, Lími felt warmness in his heart. Like Chipper Demise, Lími too never pictured the Viking Caribou in that light before, as softies relying on a delicate flower in order to be regarded as a worthy member of a clan. If vikings accepted a ritual like that to signify one’s coming-of-age, perhaps one day they could give more praise to caribou who don’t necessarily fit the warrior mold... those like Lími.

 

Right now though, Lími couldn’t afford to worry about what everybody else thought of him. The caribou only took brief glances behind him as he ran, so he had little clue what Chipper had schemed. Regardless, Lími had no option for now other than put his faith in the unicorn’s plan. If nothing else, Chipper did claim to have evaded others who’ve pursued him in the past, although Lími did not exactly approve of how his companion ended such pursuits. Hopefully, the unknown hunter chose to retreat rather than fall victim to whatever twisted plot Chipper concocted with the crow.

Asking no other questions, Lími kept galloping on the road alongside Chipper. Good thing the caribou did endurance training with Sigrun before setting out on the Will Test; the adolescent buck didn’t want a repeat of that climb up the Garden Gair cliffside. The bad news; Lími hadn’t had the opportunity to eat breakfast yet. But until Chipper needed a breather, Lími planned on not stopping either.....

[Pretzelparty]

 

 

Sigrun kept her gaze on the cave for some time... Then she heard something int he distance. It was remarkably quiet in this snowy plain. A kind of eerie silence that could make one think you were the only living thing in the universe now. Well until the horrifying creatures in this area bore their heads to any traveler who didn't come prepared and reminded them that the world was in fact, still going. 

 

Introspection would have to wait for now as the sound she heard was growing closer and closer... then she angled her binoculars upwards and saw the birds coming. A murder of crows was bearing down on her and fast. What was going on here? Since when did crows work together with such purpose?! was their a carcass in teh distance behind her... evidently not as teh flock began to slow until it was above her. 

 

The cow pulled herself up and took a blade in her teeth. "Whatever you feathered nuisances are planning for me... I won't go down without a fight!" She thought to herself, preparing her stance before realizing none of the circling avians were event attempting to swoop in. She stood there a moment, dumbfounded by this occurrence until a strange feeling and sound brought her out of it.

 

*splat* 

 

Sigrun raised a brow. Did they really just-- *splat*. Oh no... they did... and currently are. The synchronization of the crows was amazing, it seemed more like she was hit with flat sheets of what they were dropping. The Proud Chieftain's coat was now thoroughly speckled and marked with all that came down. The birds had emptied themselves but circled for a few seconds. 

 

Down below, Sigrun blinked. She grit her teeth harshly and her eye gave a twitch. She took a deep breath althoguh it pained her to do so before she threw her head back and let out an almost unnatural sounding roar of rage that echoed through the area for a few seconds. One bull watching the young calf's test from wherever he was, would it would find that sound... familiar. The tone was practically earth shaking and caused the birds to flee right back to where they came in a panic. The Jarl need a few seconds to calm herself before she steadied her mind and focused on the fleeing birds. She gathered up the bundle of supplies and swiftly followed behind, keepign enough distance between them until she could find out where they were going...

 

 

 

[Blueblood]

The enraged bellow of a caribou warrior inspires many emotions in those that hear it, ranging from flushed encouragement that such a force is on one's side, to bowel-knotting terror that such a force is not on one's side.  In the case of Chipper Demise, it put a giggle on his lips... but also more swiftness in his hooves.  Crazy he may have been, but stupid he was not.

 

"Faster, faster!  AAHAHAHAHAA!"  The young necromancer's laughter didn't carry near so far as Sigrun's bellow of rage, but it could inspire similar emotions in certain hearers.  "Run, Lími, run!  Whoop, not that way!"  With a sudden yank of magical force upon the caribou's short antlers, the unicorn pulled him into a sideways skid, aiming for a side road that led into a small hollow in the hills.  "Ulfbrecht will mask our trail there; we can lose her through the woods!"

 

The woods were, indeed, the ideal sort for losing others, or getting lost oneself, for that matter.  They were all of pine, with needles as sharp and cold as icicles; the trees looking all alike in a blur as they stood guard like soldiers on the many false forest paths.  Lími would have to run like the blazes, not only to outrun his pursuer, but also to stay with his guide, lest the young bull lose his way forever among the hostile trees...

[Bellosh]

 

That... ROAR! Such ferocity and anger!!! That was the first time Lími ever heard the cry of an enraged warrior, prepared to charge into battle. Whatever those crows of Chipper’s did, it sure did a number on the pursuer. While the probable foe still seemed a ways off, Lími didn’t take any chances. The caribou increased the speed of his retreat but not the carefulness of his attention towards his unicorn guide, as Lími had to be telekinetically yanked toward a woody side path of Chipper Demise’s choosing.

Lími knew not which forest of menacing pine trees he was galloping through, not having had the opportunity to mentally note where the two of them were in the WIlds. What was apparent however was that slowly but surely, the young buck fell behind as he struggled to breathe. Evidently, Chipper was more used to running for his life than Lími. “Wait..." the out-of-breath caribou weakly attempted to notify his less exhausted partner; “I... can’t go... much further.....”

[SteelEagle]

It was a comical display of the High King's softness, something that any proper caribou would take the Long Walk for if they had any sense of honor about themselves. He watched, more like heard, half in awe, half in stunned bemusement, at the mighty roar of a caribou whom he could identify through her vocals alone. Maybe she had forgotten how she sounded when she screamed but he hadn't, and knowing that Sigrun was nearby made his blood boil. Of course she would be here to further complicate matters, here to endear his brother to weakness. 

 

And all that screaming over dung? That cow had become a calf under the weakness of the High King. When one spends their lives in the harsh wilderness or covered in the blood and viscera of their enemies, dung was no different from dirt in how you react. All that time around ponies had made her soft and more concerned with how she looked or smelled than anything else. Weak now, weak like all the others. What a sad fate. And what a culture of poorness she was leaving for Limi. Pah. That would change by sword and spear and axe and shield.

 

Speaking of Limi, he ran off into a cave with that lunatic. He looked around- the crows who attacked with such precision- obviously linked. Pah. No matter. Dung dropping avian rats. He'd kill the interloper and feast upon his crows as a sign of dominance if such an act was perpetuated against him, not that it would be made simpler by Sigrun's presence. Nonetheless, he was here for Limi, not the lunatic nor his fallen cow. He continued to skirt the edges of the area, only moving quickly once attention was firmly on Sigrun. Even then it was to cover, getting closer and closer to the cave and the targets. He was a raider first and foremost and you didn't sneak up on the REA by being loud and boisterous. No, when he yelled his war cry, it would be far too late for any of them to survive his berserker's rage...

[Blueblood]

*Skrish, splash!*

 

Lími's exhausted gasps were practically drowned out by the sound of eight hooves crashing over a scent-masking stream of icy water.  Maybe the young caribou would have found the pause invigorating, giving him strength for one final push.  Or perhaps the chill would have further sapped his strength, leaving only desperation to fuel his body.  Well, if that were so, Chipper had just the news needed to double the desperation.  

 

"Can't stop just yet!"  The young unicorn called out.  It was almost insulting they way he didn't even have to pause in his breathing.  "My crows found another warmblood behind us!  We got two hunters trailing us now, Nyahaaha!"  He laughed like a colt delighted to find adults actually willing to play with him.  Then again, he probably had to deal with a heck of a lot more dead caribou than living ones, so perhaps it was the novelty value.  "Just a little... bit... further...!"

 

And then, all of a sudden, the nightmare run was over.  Almost instantaneously, the roots and pine needles under their hooves gave way to worn and fitted stone, the dim green canopy overhead broken by a dilapidated roof which let in a single sunbeam.  "Here we are!"  Chipper announced, finally stopping for a break.  At least he was breathing a bit heavily, but not by too much.  This was not such an unusual activity for him to engage in.  "Welcome to the first Keep of the Barrow-fells!  Or rather, the third.  We skipped a few by taking this shortcut."

[Pretzelparty]

Sigrun had made a rather problematic error. It turns out the crows weren't leading her in any one direction... the turns and changes in directions had sent her galloping about in the snow and only realizing how much of a fool of herself she had made. The cow grit her teeth in her anger and took a deep breath, trying to center herself. This wasn't good... being led off path in this region. Now these crows had gotten her to waste precious energy on this chase... some of  them came back to circle her. Thankfully the avians were all out of "ammo" for now.

Hooves searched around in her bag and pulled out a bow... She held it up and shot off a single arrow. knocking one of the cawing menaces out of the sky. When it plummeted into the snow below she stepped forward and reflexively covered her snout from the stench of decay. This reeked of Necromancy... in more ways than one. The creature was still squawking rather loudly. It was getting very annoying. 

"You've died once." The Jarl laid an icy gaze on the still moving corpse and stomped down with her hoof. There was an audible crunch... "Maybe I'll prove to be able to let you rest." There was a slightly, unnerving smile on the cows face before she turned around and tried to figure out where she was. Being alone and this far off from the path often proved to be many a bous undoing. Would it be hers as well? 

[Bellosh]

 

TWO HUNTERS??? Chipper was gotta be kidding Lími! It was just as well; any sane cow would undoubtedly bring help along on a voyage in the Southern Wilds. But to what end these insidious caribou were shadowing their objectives, Lími knew not for certain. Most likely, necromancers more nefarious than Chipper Demise. But that theory left a question hanging; why haven’t they sent any ensorcelled thralls to pursue after the Living Companions?

 

Such answers would come another day; all that mattered to Lími was how he had that extra push he needed to keep on galloping. No rest for the weary! So on and on the young bull ran, so much so that his legs were starting to ache from the extended escape. Lími’s body was nearing its limit.

 

Which was why it was a superb relief when out of the blue, Chipper and Lími had somehow made it inside a fort of stone. The caribou couldn’t even recall entering any doorway; the next thing he knew, he found himself collapsing next to a beam of sunlight shining from a roof. Boy, did it feel extraordinarily good to enjoy the simple pleasure of lying on the ground.

All that escaping and dashing around had left Lími extremely disoriented in terms of where he was on his mental map of the Wilds. Chipper mentioned something about a Third Keep, but Lími was too disoriented to browse through his mental memories to use that to determine their position. “Where... did you... take us... though?” The adrenaline-filled caribou asked in-between deep breaths; “Which path are you... leading me on?”

[Blueblood]

"Like you said, we're at the Barrow-Fells!"  Chipper explained, chuckling gently at the silly little bou who couldn't even remember his destination.  "I don't know how near the heart of the Southern Wilds this is, but we're definitely nearing stomach territory, hehe!"  The metaphor was not inappropriate; the Barrow-fells were said to be the sites of the original mass graves that necromancers used to build the cores of their forces from.  The supply had since been used up, hence the abandonment of many keeps.  Those still inhabited, however, were massive complexes, bringing in the dead to churn out the unliving.  The population ebbed and flowed, though, as having so many practitioners together led to fighting between them, which thinned the population until a crop of new ones came in to exploit the situation.

Right now, the population was thin, hence the abandonment of this particular keep.  "We should be safe for now; our trail should be scattered enough for the two hunters not to find us for a while yet."  The young stallion sat down, brining out a skin of water and what looked like a biscuit made out of birdseed.  "Eat while you can, lest you be eaten later, nyahaha!"

 

~***~

 

If Chipper Demise had been there, the crow Jarl Sigrun had stopped might yet have flown again.  Unfortunately, he was not, and thus could not stop the rest of the murder from feasting on the helpless bird.  It would have, in fact, provided a perfect distraction for the cow to go further into the forest, and at least temporarily escape observation.

[Bellosh]

 

Chipper Demise wasn’t all that helpful in giving Lími an accurate picture of where they were, but at least the unicorn’s chatter provided more time for the other to think. Lími was starting to remember now; that road they were following would have eventually led to a stream, and the road would have ran parallel to it, through the forest, until reaching this so-called “Third Keep”. Chipper however must have known of a secret path through the woods that bypassed the steam and led straight to this location.

 

“A long and perilous journey lies before us yet, my friend,” Lími cautiously reminded his guide. The caribou did not have to tell Chipper, somepony who knew the land very well, that the two companions still needed to reach the barren hillscape where the actual funeral mounds of old were found. Getting there wouldn’t be a cakewalk.

Ignoring Chipper’s black humor as best he could, Lími devoured away at the offered birdseed biscuit; his first real food in hours. The young buck took a drink of the water too, although thirst wasn’t too much of a problem in a land blanketed with snow. Once Lími’s meal was half-eaten, he took a break to question Chipper; “You’ve ranged through the Barrow-Fells much, Chipper?”

 

[Blueblood]

The air was full of the sound of cracking and crunching.  The seedcakes would have been praised by the modern dietitians of Equestria as being full of vitamins, healthy oils, and pretty much half the daily recommended dose of fiber.  Also, a pleasant, nutty taste.  "My ma taught me the recipe."  Chipper explained, between crunching bites.  "At least, I think she did.  It's one the one piece of parchment I kept from my parents, but I had to hide it from my master.  Took me a while to get it right; the measurements were always slightly off, probably due to the containers.  Mouse skulls aren't all the same size, you know."

 

Having set forth that little-known fact with his usual cheerfulness, he took a gulp of his own water, and tried to think.  "Hm... not often.  Usually I pass through as a shortcut on the way to somewhere else.  It's raven territory, you know.  They and my crows don't always get along, but they both like me."

[Bellosh]

 

Right as Lími was about to take his last bite out of the surprisingly tasty seedcakes, Chipper Demise let lose a rather... macabre detail about how they were made. Those last nine words were enough to make Lími lose the remainder of his appetite and feel queasiness in his inwards. Must that unicorn ruin even the most begin things with his filter-less mouth? Thank the Gods the seedcakes themselves weren’t made with an ingredient so horrifying that to eat them would curse a caribou forever.

 

And it seems like Chipper was a bust when it came to inside information about the Barrow-Fells. Oh well; it looked like Lími would have to rely entirely on the sources he studied back home, which couldn't always guarantee 100% accuracy. However, the viking lore hadn't steered him wrong yet; the young buck remained alive and well, heading in the right direction. It was the least one could ask for in the Southern Wilds.

 

Forcing himself to eat the last of his morsel, Lími asked further questions to his guide; "Even if you don't use the Barrow-Fells as a ranging ground, you know the safest passages to its Heart, do you not?"

[Blueblood]

For his own part, Chipper munched on, seemingly oblivious to Limi's discomfort.  It would have been hard to make him understand, perhaps.  Everything here was charged with hardness, and if you could get anything even remotely warm and domestic, you treasured it and didn't ask questions.  Given a few weeks, the young bull would probably have the same attitude; as it was, he hadn't lived the life of the Wilds long enough to appreciate the contrast with home.

 

"Well.... I can't truthfully say that I know the saftest route.  Never got enough chances to try them all, nyaha!  But I do know of one that I came out with less than a dozen scratches and bruises, so we'll give that one a go!"  Finishing off his seedcake, the unicorn took one more drink of water and sprang to his hooves.  "Well, time to get a 'cracking!  Warmbloods don't stay lost forever.  If they don't die, they find their way eventually.  Fortunately, we're warmbloods too!  So let's be off, nyaha!"

 

***

Indeed, after time enough to calm down, Sigrun would be able to reflect that, wherever Limi's immediate destination, he ultimately would have to come by the barrow-fells.  The trackless woods were good at waylaying those looking for a path, but if one wished to seek a general zone of death, one would eventually stumble across it...

[Bellosh]

 

*SOME TIME LATER*

 

Following the Road again was a small comfort to Lími when with each hoofstep, the land turned more ominous. Leaves stopped growing on the trees around the Two Companions; visible to the front were the dead hills comprising the Barrow-Fells. Nothing grew there period, but Lími spied what looked like neglected fortresses on a few of the hilltops. As many a careless caribou learned the hard way, a fastness in the Southern Wilds didn’t need to look pretty for it to be occupied by nasty things.

 

Every now and then, a faint unearthly cry whispered from the direction of the Barrow-Fells. Lími knew that meant they were encroaching upon Undead territory. From here on out, chances for encounters with the abominations would skyrocket. If it had been up to the young buck alone, he would have taken a more roundabout path to the Fells, approaching from the south. Few Undead armies bothered to march southward as there wasn’t a tempting Ice Wall to storm en masse, meaning that fewer strays would have been wandering the region to detect the life-filled intruder.

 

Of course, taking the long way around also meant surviving in the wilderness for several extra days.

But Lími’s fate was currently in the hooves of Chipper Demise, who guided as caribou as he saw fit. All that Lími could hope for was that if anything went run, they could at least outrun their enemies. For the time being, the adolescent remained deathly quiet, listening for further signs of the Undead.....

[Blueblood]

While the mouth of Chipper Demise never faltered in smiling, no laughter escaped his lips now.  He was altogether quieter, though whether from a muted mood in general, or specific caution about things hearing him was not easy to tell.  Oddly enough, the quiet was reciprocated; there were no ominous cracking of twigs or underbrush, no distant hoofsteps, and no moans, even from the wind.  What all this meant was by no means easy to tell; was the vicinity truly abandoned, or was there an ambush waiting for the pair just ahead?

 

The answer came in the sound of a hundred pairs of flapping wings, shedding feathers and the smell of rot all about Limi and Chipper, until they soon found themselves surrounded by black shapes with beady eyes.  Some living, some unliving, all looking quite unfriendly.  "Hehe, Raven territory."  The unicorn finally spoke up, his characteristic laughter taking on a hint of nervousness at last.  "I think they just ate, which would explain why they're the only things here.  Also explains why we're still alive!  Ah, but don't make any sudden movements."

 

The biggest bird among them, an old but living raven, hopped forward, cawing harshly as a Jarl in no mood to give hospitality.  Chipper's horn began to glow, in a cautious manner, as the unicorn cawed back.  Negotiations proceeded for a few minutes, without any lessening of tensions on either side... then the many-wintered bird suddenly took to the air, cawing in an unmistakeable cry to attack.  Half an instant later, the necromancer shot a bolt of dark energy into the midst of the birds, which exploded into a ball of purple fire, scattering flapping shapes in all directions.  "RUN!!!"

 

And for the first time, Chipper Demise sounded scared...

[Bellosh]

 

Lími and Chipper never seemed to catch a break in the Southern Wilds. Surrounded by a conspiracy of unpleasant ravens, the young bull sensed that the plan would go wrong the moment the necromancer’s voice betrayed the first hint of uncertainty. Lími’s eyes darted all over, carefully following Chipper’s example by taking a step back whenever he did. But but... didn’t Chipper claim that he got along with ravens as well as he did with crows?

 

"RUN!!!"

One caw and a flash of purple magic confirmed Lími’s worst fears. The caribou dared not look back, or upwards, as the deafening caws of vengeful ravens filled the air. No time to think about what spell Chipper fired at the flock. “I THOUGHT YOU SAID THE RAVENS LIKED YOU!” Lími cried out in half-panic, half-frustration. Chipper Demise better have a trick to get them out of this mess, or those feathered scavengers were going to peck the two fleeing ungulates into the next life.....

[Blueblood]

"I SAID I THOUGHT THEY LIKED ME!"  Chipper yelled back, apparently unnerved by the sudden ravaging that the pair of them were having to flee.  "They haven't done this to me before!"  He yelled, as if that made it any better.  Unlike his previous run, where his hooves had nimbly shot over uneven ground like a deer, finding the firm stones and roots as if by instinct, this run was half in panic, stumbles only prevented from turning into falls by sheer forward momentum.

 

And yet, though it seemed to last for an eternity, it was much shorter than the flight through the forest.  In a manner of seconds, the crowd of ravens had dispersed, leaving the pair of them stranded in a mist.  The faint smell of rotting earth lay about them, with great black mounds barely visible through the fog.  "Ha, well, what do you know.  They chased us down a shortcut to the Barrow-Fells!  Nyahaha, what was I so nervous about?  They guided us!  Bunch of merry pranksters, those ravens!"