Thalos and his group reached the base of the mountain, joining the other hunters who were just finishing their preparations. Jorn's eyes looked over everyone in their party. "Where's Svala?"
"She wasn't found in time," Rurik answered. His voice was gruff and low, carrying a deep rumble. He was standing by one of the nearby Snowstriders, inspecting his bowstring, pulling his wolfskin hood over his dark hair, and partially covering his blue eyes.
Eryndor stepped ahead of the party, looking into the treeline. The darkness and the endless snow made the trees almost invisible. "We move now,"
Rurik and Eirik pulled along the Snowstriders, weapons were gathered, and the hunters left Frosthelm. As they walked away from the village, it was like the world shifted. Thalos was looking behind them as they walked. The lights faded behind them. The Snowstriders were walking at the front of the group, their antlers lighting the way. Thalos couldn't tell, but it felt like the distance to the forest was growing. Then, the silence grew as they neared, it felt wrong. He noticed the absence of the wind. The howling storm quieted. Now small flakes of snow were drifting peacefully. Next were the sounds and calls of animals in the forest. They could hear the birds, wolves, and insects, but at some point that he couldn't recall, their sounds had stopped.
Jorn noticed Thalos and Elara falling behind. Bringing one of the Snowstriders from the front, he helped them mount it. The creature's fur was thick and soft, and half of Thalos's leg sank into it. Elara sat behind him, she was quiet. When he looked back, she was turning an arrow between her fingers, unaware she was doing it.
For most of the walk, Thalos watched Jorn and Sverin follow Serren's trail through the snow. The lynx stopped often, sniffing, then darting off. Each time the hunters changed course. The Lynx came to a stop next to three sets of footprints. These prints were more visible.
"A clear trail!" Jorn called out.
Everyone gathered around the discovery. Three prints in the snow, they were disappearing, and they weren't fresh, but it was unmistakable. They were boot prints. As Thalos followed the trail, his head slowly lifted as he watched them disappear into the forest. He shared an uneasy glance with Elara, and their party pressed on.
After a few minutes they finally entered the forest. Eryndor, Jorn, and Rurik took the lead, they held up small trinkets that emitted a blue light, moving them side to side, scanning every tree. Eryndor, who had remained silent for most of the journey, finally spoke. "Be on guard," he said the words slowly.
Something was alive, something was watching. And Thalos could feel it. The winds quieted further, and he wasn't sure if it was his mind, but even the crunch of boots in the snow was being drowned out. He couldn't hear a single insect or a single branch break, he thought he saw an entire limb of a tree shake, but he didn't hear anything.
Then the animals reacted. The Frostfoxes, who were staying close to the hunters' feet, suddenly stopped as they pressed their bodies low to the ground, refusing to move forward. One by one they darted away and back toward the village. The Snowstriders started to pound the ground hard, snorting and shaking their heads violently. The strider Thalos and Elara were riding bucked so hard that it threw them off into the snow.
"This is bad." Jorn was slowly turning toward Eryndor. His voice was no longer calm. Serren darted back toward him and did not leave his side. Rurik, who was trying to get one of the Snowstriders under control, cursed. "They feel something we don't."
Sverin tensed and readied his spear. Beside him Eirik, the youngest hunter there, was darting his eyes at every tree they passed, twisting and turning his body whenever he thought he saw a shadow in the dark. "Maybe we should head back." He was starting to panic.
"Hunters do not run," Hagan snapped. He was standing near the middle of the group, staying close to the younger members. Thalos and Elara had already picked themselves back up and were keeping pace with the group. They were not moving as quickly as they were earlier. He could sense it too. Something was out there.
"STOP!" Jorn yelled out abruptly. The group came to a halt. "We may be in trouble," he said with a nervous smile on his face. They all gathered around to see what he was looking at. There in the snow were the boot prints, but beside them were smaller tracks and tiny imprints, no larger than a child's palm. Some of the tracks spiralled off and disappeared. Others changed into unnatural patterns. Then following just behind, something else. It looked like the shape of small wings.
The hunters took positions, Jorn cursed as his head snapped upward, darting eyes trying to find something. And whispered. "Snow Fairies".
And every hunter froze, they had all encountered them at least once before, every hunter except Sverin and Eirik.
"No." Sverin muttered as he was taking small steps back. "That can't be! They don't come this close to the forest's edge!" Eirik stood still, wide-eyed. "That's… That's impossible. They're just myths."
"They are very real." Hagan said, laying a hand on both their shoulders. Pray to the north that you don't meet one."
Rurik ran up to Jorn. "Are you positive?" After confirming with him, he turned back to the others. "Stay close, do not stray."
Thalos felt a feeling of dread that he had never felt before. There was that word again. Snow Fairies. Every child knows the warnings. "You better be good, or the snow fairies will take you." "If you see blue lights in the forest, don't look, go straight home." He heard Elara's breath become uneven, her fingers tightened on her bow, he saw her try to take an arrow out of her quiver with shaking hands, and what he saw in her eyes was unmistakable. Terror.
Eryndor stepped toward the group. "Don't be afraid. They are dangerous, but we can fight them." He gestured toward Hagan. "You've had the most experience with snow fairies."
Hagan sighed, gesturing toward the younger members to come closer. "They are playful creatures, they like to play pranks and create illusions. Most people see them as blue orbs floating in the trees." He thought for a moment. "If they are around, what you see may not be real. Or what you hear. They try to separate groups apart and then go after the singles. If you end up alone, you are as good as gone."
No one dared ask any questions. Thalos looked around. Everyone looked scared and panicked, the only two people who seemed unfazed here were Hagan and his father. He could hear Elara's breathing increase and saw Eirik cover his ears, his eyes twitching like he was about to cry. Sverin had his teeth clenched, his spear always pointing into the trees. Jorn was trying to remain as calm as he could. But he could see his head swivel at every moving branch. How his hands stayed too close to his sword. And how he was pressing his lips tightly together. And Thalos was feeling something too. His heart pounded so hard he could hear it in his ears. His eyes watered, but he wasn't crying. Every sound around him felt distant, and with every movement his body froze.
Then, high above them, through the branches, he thought he saw… the shine of a blue orb.
Thank you very much for getting this far in the story! We have now finished with the introductions and the world-building of Frosthelm. The pacing picks up here. And as a tease of the next section, we will be switching to another person's perspective. I said this was a dual-protagonist story. And we are about to find out who!