The relief from the wind outside was near immediate. While the temperature was still low, at the very least the wind didn't blow away what little heat they produced each second. The raging storm left behind at the mouth of the tunnel, the small amount of ambient white light from outside barely illuminated the insides. Reluctantly, Vikram pulled the elemental lantern from under his robes, shivering and chattering teeth echoed from him around the corridor. The soft blue light illuminated the path forward, showing several long and worn through drag marks etched into the stone. Whatever made this cave home had certainly been here a while.

    They snuck forward, Vikram trailing behind Zarius by a few feet, breathing into his palms and rubbing them to try and regain some semblance of feeling back. The tingling of his armor bouncing around as he shivered was more noticeable as they progressed further inward, and he found himself unable to arrest the convulsions. The desert dweller had simply never been this cold before, unpleasant to say the least. Along their path through the tunnel they found a few crushed crates in the hall, One intact enough to see the seal of the Bleakfort Quartermaster.

"At least were in the right place, Eh?"

"At least." The tiefling says as he catches his breath and wipes his nose on his sleeve. 

Zarius wasn't sure how much of a good thing the sentiment was. They were trapped in the cave by the storm with something large enough to carry the crates all the way up the slope with ease. This was less than ideal. Honestly, this felt like they were about to go face down Shaa himself. A truly terrifying thought. 

He looks about the tunnel, seeing the striations in the stone surface. It was clear that the tunnel was not naturally formed and was instead carved out over time. It's unclear if the marks are from the yeti, or something much larger that had long since abandoned the cave.

He moves onward with Vikram at his heels. While the tiefling would prefer to proceed completely in darkness since he could easily see in the dark, his human companion needed light to be effective. Briefly, the thought of using Vikram as bait for the creature crosses his mind. He shakes that thought away, it would be a hard sell and there was a chance they would be stuck here long after they take down the monster due to the raging storm. 

The tunnel before them stretches on for a while before it curves and seems to open up into a larger chamber. There are sounds of movement and a grunt echoes in the space as Zarius puts out his arm to stop Vikram from going too far. He listens closely to try and determine if whatever was ahead of them had noticed their approach or not.

    The grunts and sniffs echoing from the chamber were certainly beastly, only interrupted by a few heavy thumps of quiet movement. The lamplight dimmed slightly as Zarius beckoned Vikram to halt, his ears twitching as the Tiefling listened. The anticipation of the fight was always the worst part for Vikram, terribly dreary. Waiting was not exactly his strong suit, and neither was stealth. He tapped Zarius on the shoulder.

"Z-zarius"

Nothing

"Zarius"

"Im gonna go lure it out. Try to get on the f-far side of it, so that it's back remains to you. Like bait!"

His whispering was almost as bad as his sneaking ability, excitedly letting the last part of his statement escalate in volume slightly. The grunts stopped, replaced with more inquisitive sniffs slowly approaching the entrance to the cavern. 

"N-no time like the p-present!" He said before sending his lantern off to the center of the cavern ahead of them. He ran forward, silk sheath of his scimitar flapping slowly to the ground behind him as he raised it into the air with a warriors yell. "AAAAUUUHHHGGG" 

The light illuminated more of the cavern as they ventured in. Bones and shattered boxes littered the ground, picked clean of any possible nutrients. As the light reached the center of the cavern, the source of the grunts became apparent. It was easily thirty-eight hands tall, with alabaster fur covering all but its hands and hideous face. Its roar overtook Vikram's own as it stood up to its full height, dropping the half-eaten caravanner it had in its claw. A swipe levelled at him with the other claw took Vikram off balance with the dodge, slipping on the ice that covered half the floor in large round puddles. Luckily, he regained his ground, having landed opposite the entrance on the other side of the cavern he stood. 

"Have at thee you smelly beast!"

Aaaaand there he goes. Geez. Vikram and Gerhart should NEVER meet. They would be a destructive pair of dumb idiots.

It did the trick though. While Vikram runs forward, his war cry echoing around the chamber, the Yeti turns its icy gaze away from the tiefling. Zarius circles around, a shimmering veil of invisibility falls over his body.^[1] He manages to avoid the creature's notice even as he starts to creep up behind it. 

The beast was huge, easily dwarfing both men. If they were not careful, they would become its next meal. It took a few swipes at the human man, but was oblivious to the tiefling closing in on its back. Surprisingly, Vikram's plan was working perfectly. What was it with these dense fighters and their incredible luck? Maybe they really were too dumb to die as Gerhart so often claims. 

With the yeti's back to him, he closes in quickly while slipping on his knuckle knives.^[2] They definitely fit tighter over the long gloves he wore, but he'd make it work. He quickly hops up onto a rock and jumps off it at the creature's back and slams his fist into its spine, attempting to cripple it right off the get go.^[3] His invisibility breaks as the yeti roars in pain and stumbles forwards onto one knee.

The great creature whips its arm backwards and slams it into the tiefling who just barely manages to bring his arms up in time to block. Still, the force of the impact sends him flying across the cavern. Zarius manages to flip in the air and right himself and land on a wall without injury, somehow able stand horizontally on the surface.^[4,5]

His arms definitely feel the pain of the blow, but it was worth it to draw the creature's attention off the human for long enough to create an opening. 

---

[1] Invisibility
[2] Dashing
[3] Backstab
[4] Cats Grace
[5] Spider Silk Boots

    Its roar as the Tiefling struck home was deafening. It swung aggressively back towards it's other side as Vikram recognized the field plan taking effect. Using the opportunity, Vikram took a powerful stance. Slamming his sword deep into the ground, a soft white mist began emanating from his arms and legs. Icy stone encased his limbs as he withdrew the scimitar, now flowing with a shadowy mist. Stamping a foot hard into the icy rock below him two axes of cold ice leapt forth, seating themselves into the belt of his armor. Raising his sword high he whispered a short prayer to Solaria, causing all of the metal armour and chains on his body to glow pale orange. Finally, he levelled the sword at the yeti, currently occupied with maliciously swinging at Zarius. "You will not leave this cave, I give my vow as Seeker." All said and done, his eyes burned with a harsh glow, the mist in front of his face showing the beams. It was time to fuck shit up, as the kids say. He swirled his blade with a flourish, two step hopping towards the beasts rear with malicious intent. 

    The yeti swung his arm quickly backwards as Vikram advanced, reacting to something the Tiefling was doing on the other side. He didn't have time to discover what that was, the arm swung with significant force and launched Vikram across the cave, smashing several feet into the stone wall back where he came from. The light of Solaria glared from the Sukhbir shaped hole as he pulled himself out, the glow around him intensified immensely. Several Icicles dislodged from the impact crashed to the ground around him, one striking dead on top of his turban, shattering into a million icy shards around the warrior, further intensifying the glow coming from his metal(7). Unfazed, he dashed forward, Lashing out with a slash of spiritual energy that burned into the monsters back.

    Having closed the majority of the distance, and with Zarius on the opposite side, Vikram released Solarias wrath. An explosion of orange energy bathed the yeti in brilliant burning light. The flare blew the fur off the creatures back, burns covering its totality as steam broiled from the effect. The selective energy also seeped into the nearby Tiefling, Soothing and healing his wounds.

Art of the Soul (1/3)
Art of the Iron Fist (1/3) (HP 4/4) (Earth)
Art of the Avalance (1/3)
Tranquility (Dark 1/5)
Angelic light (Light)
Myriad barrier (Ice/Dark/Earth)
Divinities blessing (1/1)

Zarius decides to take the high ground and runs up the side of the cavern and onto the ceiling. As he does, his body starts to radiate more heat and his eyes flicker from gold to blue. He exhales a plume of smoke before turning his attention down onto the thrashing yeti below. 

Vikram's magic washed over him and counteracted the burning sensation in his throat and lungs, making the pain of the dark power more bearable.^[1] The fire burns through his veins and empowers him, making him stronger and faster than before. 

As the yeti whips around and roars at the human with its terrible teeth bared, the tiefling allows himself to fall towards the yeti and flip in the air. He pulls his fist back then slams it down on the creature's skull as he falls towards it. The hit connects and the yeti staggers to its knees, briefly dazed by the strike.^[2]

Zarius lands gracefully on the ground and turns around just as the yeti's large mitt latches onto his leg. 

"Oh, sh-" His words are cut off as the yeti whips him up and then slams him down against the ground. 

"GAH!" Zarius grimaces in pain only to get lifted back up and slammed down again, over and over. 

---

[1] Abyssal Infusion
[2] Grounding Strike

    The glare from his eyes dimmed, giving Vikram a chance to evaluate the situation before him. With the abominable snowman now slamming his charcoal acquaintance into the ground of the cavern over and over, he would give the situation an evaluation of "could probably be better". He shouted a few words of encouragement to the Tiefling as he impacted the ground once more. "Stiff upper lip my friend! Hang in there!" He said as he began withdrawing one of his icy axes. Tossing it in the air briefly and catching it before winding up and tossing it at the monster.

"Bingo!" He exclaimed as his axe hit its mark. It melted into Zarius's pant leg just above where the yeti had grabbed him, quickly freezing the entire article. As the monster swung him upwards for another strike, the Tiefling was flung violently to safety behind it. Anger turned quickly to confusion as he brought the empty fist back to the ground, and as such quickly back to anger as the snowman spotted the short celebration of the enturbaned man. it reached up to the ceiling and broke off a stalactite from the cavern roof, breaking it in two on its knee and flinging the pieces at Vikram. Celebration cut short, he blocked the stones with a cross-arm guard as they shattered into rubble and rocketed into the floor behind him.

Art of the Soul (2/3)

Art of the Iron Fist (2/3) (HP 2/4) (Earth)

Art of the Avalance (2/3) (1/2 axe)
Tranquility (Dark 2/5)

Angelic light (Light)

Myriad barrier (Ice/Dark/Earth)

Zarius feels his leg slip free and attempts to land safely, but he's slow to react and slams against the ground before rolling across it.

A hiss of infernal swears leave the tiefling's mouth as he rolls onto his side. He winces, and pushes himself up to a sitting position. Vikram's quick thinking certainly freed him, but the numb of the cold through his pant leg was not exactly comfortable. The leg of his pant was coated in frost, preventing him from bending at the knee. He reaches back and ignites his hand in fire as he touches the ice in an attempt to melt it.^[1]

It takes a moment before the ice chips off and he can get back on his feet. The dark energy coursing through his veins continues to bolster his strength and speed for the time being.^[2] 

In its tantrum of anger and frustration, the yeti throws another chunk of rock at the tiefling. Zarius quickly knocks the stone to the side and it smashes against the wall of the cavern.^[3] As the yeti stands back up to its full height, the tiefling rushes forward and gathers the blue flames wreathing his fists into a small fireball. He unleashes the small gout of fire at the creature.^[1] It reels back and roars in fear, scared by the fire. 

It doesn't get far though as Zarius jumps forward and strikes its leg, the wrappings around his arm springing to life and wrapping around its ankle as the hit connects. He then uses his enhanced stregth to pull upwards and back sharply, throwing the top heavy creature off balance. One solid hit would take it to the ground as it reels to try and stay upright. 

---

[1] Art of the Burning Fist (duration 1/3; 1 use out of 2 for duration)
[2] Abyssal Infusion (1 use per topic; duration 2/3)
[3] Deflecting Palm (1 use out of 2 per topic)

    The Tiefling has given him an opportunity to capitalize on the large creatures imbalance. It would be rude not to accept he thought, quickly advancing to the midst of the onslaught of rock and rubble. He slid between the teetering legs of the creature, turning and standing aside zarius as he swung his blade upwards with a roar. The accumulated energy that currently fed through himself into the sword erupted in a wide flash of light. The beast had but a moment between being lit aflame and becoming doused in a searing glare. Reeling back once more, and taking a step with the constricted leg was enough to topple it to the ground. Vikram could compare it to the worlds slowest building falling over, as it appeared to happen in slow motion. The yeti hit the ground, rocking the cave with the weight of pure muscle, dislodging the odd icicle and sending them crashing to the ground as well.

    Vikram doubled over, holding his knees to keep him aloft from the exhaustion. Panting, he looked over at Zarius. 

"You know...First the dissapearing act...speaking with demons...now fireballs from your fists...I'm finding it harder to...believe you're not a magician... or even a demon yourself."

    He gave a half smile between breaths, but only found himself half joking. Though Zarius had proven an strong ally, Vikram still could not bring himself to not see deception and trickery in the mans eyes. His motivations remained a mystery to him, quite troubling. The icy pauldrons sloughed off his legs, the large majority of his blessings haven reached the extent of their duration. Hopefully that would be it. They had been Yeti for it after all.


Art of the Soul (3/3)



Art of the Iron Fist (3/3)


Art of the Avalance (3/3)
Tranquility (Dark 3/5)



Angelic light (Light)



Myriad barrier (Ice)

The Yeti wasn't finished yet. Though it came crashing to the ground, it still had plenty of energy and thrashed angrily. Zarius pulls back to avoid being punted across the chamber once again, releasing his wrappings from its leg. Without a moment to spare, he circles around to its head and delivers a cratering blow to its skull with what was left of this ill gotten strength that coursed through his veins like a burning fire.^[1] 

A loud, sharp crack echoes through the chamber as his fist connects with the bone, the blackened flames searing through its fur and flesh as dark embers flicker off into the air around him.^[2] The thrashing of the yeti turns to limp flailing and jittering motions until it slows to a stop. Its terrible, cruel eyes list off to either side and its tooth-lined mouth hangs open, slack jawed. 

The tiefling steps back and waits, half expecting it to come back to life to strangle the two men who invaded its home and brought it down. It does not move though. He breathes and coughs on the smoke exhaled from his lungs. His mouth is filled with the taste of brimstone and ash. Once he catches a gasp of air, he looks at Vikram with a forced smile. 

"I can assure you, the only arcane study I have done has been to ensure I can counter casters."

He looks down at his hands which still burned with that blue fire before he closes his fist and snuffs it out. While it may appear he has control of whatever this new power was, he didn't actually know how exactly he came by it. A lot has changed so quickly. 

Bringing his concerns to his family had proven to be less than informative. His sister had simply smiled and told him not to worry and that nothing was wrong. He found that hard to believe with the occasional indecipherable whispers that invaded his mind at the most dire moments and these strange blue flames that flicker with every strike. 

It was just as strange to him as it was to those around him. This power...it wasn't truly his own. He knew that much.

He looks back at the human. "You have gotten some new tricks yourself. That blinding light...I have seen it in another before." 

Actually, he'd seen it way too close and personal when Veliky blasted him in an alleyway while he attempted to reset her broken arm. That was pain comparable to the ooze that nearly melted his arm clean off the bone. He wouldn't pressure the man to explain. They all had their secrets and the two of them may be able to work together well, but it was unlikely they would actually consider one another trusted friends. 

---

[1] Abyssal Infusion (duration 3/3)
[2] Art of the Burning Fist (duration 2/3)

    He shrugged, wincing a bit as the crack echoed throughout the cavern. It would seem that the threat to the trade route had been dealt with, for the best he supposed. Other worries came to the forefront now that the danger had been dealt with. Once again the Tiefling insisted on not having purposely studied the mystic arts, concerningly similar to his own situation. He met the man's concerning smile with one of his own.

"Really? How intruiging, I would be curious to meet this person you speak of."

    The light had bestowed these blessings upon him. It was only his assumption that it was Solaria himself endorsing his mission against greater evils and abusive magics. Vikram understood that there was a large breadth of practice out in the world, But if others out there are seemingly having great power thrust upon them, then he found himself not so sure.

"Almost feels as though we are marionettes for several grand puppeteers, wouldn't you say." His eyebrow twitched as the light seared through his mind, revolting against the even thought of mentioning its presence. "Such are the sands of fate and time I suppose, shall we be off?"

    The light died down, Vikram conspicuously wearing a concerned look as he yanked out a slimy tooth of the creature as proof of their successful endeavor. Sighing, he turned to the man, regret in his eyes.

"You know, I must apologize for my actions there upon the mesa. You may not remember, but you had found yourself grappling a demon on the ground. For just a moment, I found I could not discern friend from foe, and for that you have my deepest apologies. You are not the man I thought you to be, and have saved me in more ways than one"

    Vikram got down to his knees, placed his palms on the ground, and bowed.

"I think you already have met..."

Doesn't he remember Vikram being at the Black Harvest Ball held by the Marrowvines in Sol City? Veliky was there. Weren't they in a big circle with a bunch of others including Astrid, and...there were more weren't there? Why was his mind so fuzzy whenever he tried to recall that memory? He hadn't drunk anything at the party and he remembered everything else quite vividly. He shakes his head to clear it. 

Vikram's comment about being puppets makes him uncomfortable. He didn't like that idea at all, but he's right that sometimes it did feel that way. More often in the recent months than ever before. It was an unpleasant thought. 

"Yes, let us get out of here."

He starts towards the cave opening as Vikram removes the yeti's tooth, but then pauses when he catches the look on his face out of the corner of his eye. The tiefling blinks in surprise. He was not expecting to get an apology from the man for what happened during their first encounter with one another. He was not expecting the man to drop to the ground and bow to him either. 

"No need for that. I would not have trusted me either given the situation. I appreciate the gesture though."

It was not a custom practiced in the Ash Lands, but he knew of its significance from spending ample time in Zeinav thanks to his mother's heritage. He figured that his suspicions of Vikram from that encounter were true, and the human's confession only proved him right. This admission of guilt also proved something else to the tiefling: his act was still working.

He walks over and extends a hand down to the man to help him back up onto his feet. 

"Come on, downhill should be easier than uphill."

    Accepting the mans hand, Vikram pulled to his feet. An admission of guilt, and a formal apology, he was glad it was cold out to give an excuse for the redness in his cheeks. Rather embarrassing, to be honest, but he had felt an almost compulsion to acquiesce his sins and begin to amend. No matter, he suspected the Tiefling wouldn't go bragging about his prostration to whatever friends he kept.

    Approaching the cave with a bit of a silence between them, found the blizzard had largely passed. The wind chill was significantly better than their journey up, and looking southward you could see the storm moving on through the mountain range. An errant frost dragon, rampaging through the sky about some perceived slight could be sighted at the rear of the blizzard, ushering it forward. Solaria's grace shined upon the pair as they began to trek back down.

    The stony fingers that had sheltered them still remained visible, though as they approached once more, began idly sauntering away from them. Geonids? How odd, but Vikram supposed that they had simply been sheltering from the storm as much as the pair had been. 

"You know, despite all appearances, this place is quite the active ecosystem. I wonder if the disappearance of that monster would have an effect." Vikram stated idly, munching on his yellow chunk of ambrosia.

Zarius follows Vikram out of the cave. From this vantage point, their surroundings certainly were something to behold. The ice crystals glittered in the sunlight that washed over the land as the frost dragon herded its flock of angry snow clouds across the sky. It was a pristine landscape, wide and spanning and seemingly empty beyond the mountain slopes that peek out of the white blanket.

Retracing their steps back down the mountainside, they returned to the stone pillars. It was pretty remarkable that the geonids had not reacted poorly to their presence. Perhaps it would have been a waste of their energy. He wasn't sure geonids even ate so it was also possible that they were no on the menu of such creatures. 

"Well, I suppose we may never know. I for one do not plan on sticking around here long enough to find out."

He looks back at the man, his breath hanging in the air. 

"Where do you plan to go next? Are you going to leave this desert of snow behind for more familiar sandy shores?"

The tiefling planned on returning to Zeinav himself, though likely not the same part of the region as Vikram. They were from very different parts of society, but there was something to be said about sharing a homeland. The human stood in the heat of the sun, while the tiefling hide under the cover of the burning ash. It was a miracle that they got along fairly well all things considered. 

    Basking in the sun in the cool mountain air was certainly a feeling. The warmth rejuvenating him, It truly was a beautiful day all things considered. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment as the Tiefling spoke.

"I'm not sure to be perfectly honest. There is talk of a tournament down in Gazablaak, another monster, but who knows. The world seems very open from up here"

    The guild, the turmoil, distrust, and past events all seemed very small gazing down the mountain pass. You could see the bleakfort down the pass, black walls now blanketed in snow, having been hit by the same blizzard they had been subjected to. He sighed, continuing the march downward.

"Yourself? You seem well adapted to the climate here, for a desert dweller. You said you are from Zeinav as well correct?"

    Certainly it had come up during their time in Arid Mesa, though his memory of the events that occurred there are fuzzy to say the least. The man certainly had style to match. Despite their differences, there certainly was an amount in common not to be understated. Certainly not enough to be called friends, but perhaps, comrades of circumstance.