The Raven, the Haven, and the Craven

[Duffy]

The time had come for the Tantalum troupe that was to be as it always should. Bards. Heroes. Tellers of tall tales no longer. They had the power and the drive no to make stories of their own. To be a part of the regalia of the stage for generations to come. Of course, none of them had any idea about wherever or not their intended deeds would have any impact on the minds of the world, but they had a duty to try. To make the world a better place. Most of them thought it was pious bullshit, but they had agreed unanimously to do the right thing.

“It’s not too far.” Leopold trudged through the snow with his head down and kept his mind on the task at hand.

“You said that three miles ago,” Ruby retorted.

As a trio, Duffy, Ruby, and Leopold had set out from the border between Salvar and Berevar at dawn. They had no idea what the time was now, only that it had seemed an age since they had seen sunlight. Berevar was constantly shrouded in dusk, thick snow clouds hiding away the sun from the roving orc warbands and giants below.

“Arguing isn’t going to get us to the Ice Henge any bloody quicker.” Duffy darted a glance between his siblings, eternally stuck between warring idiots. “That’s if it’s even still there.”

“I told you already Duffy. I only moved the cap stone, the ice circle won’t have just upped and left on its own accord.” Leopold looked up through the gloom, doubting himself. He had not been to Berevar in years.

Overhead, the clouds swirled like white sheep through the night. Patches of cloud glowed silver, taunting those below with the falsities of the day. Even when it was truly night, Berevar’s sky remained an enigma. It defied logic and reason and even the shamans of the orc tribes paid no attentions to the clock so dependent on order in the south lands. Only Leopold could remember what his homeland looked like before the Thayne tore the fabric of the land apart.

“Is everyone clear on the plan?” Ruby prodded the snow ahead, checking for boulders hidden by the permafrost or bodies which often had the tendency to not stay bodies for long.

They proposed to re-open the wellspring contained within the Ice Henge. Years ago, Leopold had battled the Old God of War over possession of the Henge’s capstone, the key to its power. When he moved it to the south land Yedda’s hold over his home was shattered. The orc shamans began to dream of their own deities once again. The Old Gods fell to sleep again and the Ice Henge had fallen silent.

“It should be easy enough. Slap a few cunts about and get them angry enough to break the Ice Henge themselves.” Duffy almost sounded excited at the prospect of certain death.

“Well when you put it like that, dear sir,” Ruby said sardonically. “How can a lady possibly refuse such a notion?” Her breath wisped overhead, the threat of hypothermia not strong enough to warrant the troupe jabbering on.

“I’m not sure I’ll be able to move, never mind pull the trigger.” Leopold patted his shoulders, desperate to rekindle some warmth in his bones. He longed to be as he once was, a little portly and ravishingly good looking. Whilst the waif like body of a soldier had its perks, it was not best suited to tromping through the coldest place in the world.

They walked on in silence, cutting sideways across the tundra as the deep snow turned to solid ice. Shelves jutted out over deep ravines nobody wanted to gauge the depth of. In time, they all began to feel warmer, as though they were back in Scara Brae sipping on gin and waiting for something to happen. When Leopold saw a familiar sight on the horizon he forged ahead. Duffy and Ruby slouched, caught their breath, then made to catch up with him.