The sun peeked out from behind the grey clouds that blanketed the the top of the Shiriyama Mountains. Its rays scattered as they struck those frosted peaks, sending kaleidoscope shadows across the mountain wall. A thin breeze made flecks of ice and snow flutter. It tugged at the open collar of the shirt worn by the Thayneslayer who stood alone on the precipice. The wind flitted around his laceless metal boots and played in his close-cropped brown hair. Otherwise nothing moved. The frigid stillness felt like water at the base of an ice dam. Peaceful, but with a sense of impending chaos.

Ice flakes sprayed as a hooked axe forged of delyn appeared over the precipice and bit into the mountain’s pate. The god-man dressed in black stepped back from the sight, a smile dimpling the Y-shaped scars on his cheeks.

“Jake,” he said as the half elf heaved himself onto the mountaintop. “I had a feeling you would be the first.”

For a time the young man was too breathless to speak. He recovered in moments, though, and rose up to his knees with a gasp.

“Breaker, you really are a bastard,” he managed, and then pitched forward on his face, hugging the frozen ground like a long lost lover.

Joshua “Breaker” Cronen chuckled and knelt down. He opened Jake’s pack and extracted a wineskin, and then pulled the half elf to his feet. He took a short swig of wine, swishing the strong spiced alcohol around his mouth before swallowing.

Jake seized the skin and took a long draught, not coming up for air until some of the tanned color returned to his pale cheeks. He sighed contentedly and shrugged off his pack to put the wine away.

“But really,” he said. “It’s one thing to force a man to climb over the damn mountains in the space of three days. But when you go free-climbing the entire thing ahead of us, it just adds insult to injury.”

“You’d prefer if I moved at your pace?” Breaker asked, eyebrows lifting in surprise. “I’d have thought that would be a touch… condescending.”

“Not to mention less inspiring for your rangers, I suppose.” Jake said.

While they spoke, the first regiment of rangers for the Faith United clambered over the cliff face, all breathing hard. They were twelve of the toughest, hardiest warriors who had joined Breaker’s private militia, and he had selected them personally for the special regiment. Men and women from a mixture of races, they spread out across the mountaintop in twos and threes as their breathing settled.

Breaker gave an inspiring speech about determination and grit winning wars. He gave a lot of inspiring speeches those days. Once they’d had a proper rest they prepared for the descent, jamming pitons into gaps in the ice and stone and knotting and re-knotting ropes. Josh went down first, free-climbing with a rope in each hand like a monkey winding down a pair of vines. He waited at the bottom while the others descended carefully with harnesses lashed to the ropes. Before the sun had dropped too far in the sky they all stood on moss-covered ground.

Something moved in the dense foliage of the forest which grew up within a score of yards from the mountain range. The rangers detected it and deployed into defensive positions. Jake uncased the bow from his back with lightning-quick hands, stringing an arrow and sighting on the disturbance. Josh sniffed the wind.

“It’s a dire wolf,” he said aloud, striding out of the pack toward the sighting.

Concerned chatter broke out amongst the rangers, but Jake lifted a calming hand.

“Don’t worry, laddos. I think he knows this wolf.”

The massive beast stalked out of the shadows, lather soaked into the fur of her fanged face. Although she was great in size, to one who knew her the wolf looked emaciated and exhausted. She had been searching for some time.

“Nymeria?” Josh called, and her ears perked up as she trotted toward him. He extended a hand for her to lick and patted her thick coat. “What are you doing here?” He wondered aloud. Worry and concern seized him like the malevolent hands of an astral torturer. If Kinley had sent her familiar on a wild, long-distance adventure to find him, she must have been in some kind of trouble. There could be no other reason for it.

“Jake,” Breaker snapped, turning around with Nymeria scampering at his side. The rangers stirred as they drew close, but the dire wolf ignored them. “I need a portal to Kinley’s cabin. Now.”

“But you said no portals on this excursion-”

“I said now.” Breaker reiterated. “The rest of you will finish the journey for me. You’re due back at base camp in Concordia before sunset tomorrow. I need to see to Kinley. Please.”

The half elf threw up his hands as if exasperated, but turned the motion into a flourish and conjured a stone portal in the ground.

“Hop on in,” he said, “it should drop you right outside her front door.”

“Thank you,” Josh said. “Don’t be late,” he added as he stepped down through the hole in reality.

His boots hit the ground just shy of Kinley’s doorstep. He stepped aside swiftly as Nymeria hit the ground, and watched the tear in the air recede to nothing as the portal dissipated.

“McKinley?” He called, concern etching his voice. The door was halfway off its hinges so he led Nymeria into the kitchen. The wolf immediately set to sniffing at the base of the big bag of Coronian Kibbles, so Josh poured her a large bowl and continued his search. The cottage was disheveled in an alarming way, a state Kinley would never allow. He found her curled up in bed and sat down beside her.

“Kinley,” he whispered as he woke her, “what happened here-” the question died on his lips as he saw her bruises. Rage like the tip of a lightning bolt shone in his eyes. “Who did this to you?” He asked as he cupped her face between callused hands.