The Home Stone

The group picked up their belongings and headed down the path where the avalanche blocked their way. The light snowfall that fell during the night made their trek down the pass much harder as it turned to ice up under the souls of their boots. By mid-morning, the party had reached the part where the snow from higher up settled and buried the pass. The only good thing was that where the side of the mountain landed was in a tiny valley between two slopes. The was no danger of slipping off a side and falling further, but the snow here was deep and would slow their progress to reach the forest in the valley below.

Shamus insisted that everyone be tethered to the rope before trying to cross the snow covered pass. He then took a spear from one of his men and advanced. The snow was knee deep in some places and deeper in others and the further they stepped, the deeper it got. At one point the snow was so deep that the highlander had to use his spear and begin tunneling his way forward. Here with the snow packed about ten feet over his head, he began to worry that the roof might cave in and bury them all. With the party tied to the rope and about ten feet apart, Shamus and another highlander continued to dig, when suddenly the ceiling came crashing down on them. Frantically the others jumped in and started digging to save their friends.

The snow was deep and a lot of it had come down on the two highlanders. Raven and the other Rogalander worked swiftly and soon a hand was freed and then the head. Both men were shivering from the cold and had to change clothing to warm themselves. Now Raven and Gilbert continued where the others had left off, while Shannon, Roma and Brianna helped Shamus and Randall to regain their strength by rubbing their bodies to warm them.

Midway past the afternoon, the party finally got through the deepest parts and now only had to struggle through knee-deep snow. Tired and hungry they rested, as many hours of slow progress had brought them to a state of near exhaustion. Now on hard ground again, they continued down the pass towards the forest that awaited them below. Feeling confident as the march became easier, Roma did not see the patch of ice and stepped right onto it. With legs and arms spread-eagled she came down hard on her left side. As she land, Roma grunted and just lay there stunned. Raven was at her side almost immediately as she hit the ground.

“Are you alright?” she asked as she began to check if Roma had broken any bones or what. “Are you hurt?”

“No,” answered an embarrassed girl. “No, just my pride.”

Raven extended her hand to help Roma stand and then turned and caught up with Shamus and the others, who were still laughing quietly at the sight they had just witnessed. Taking the first step with her left leg, Roma felt a sharp pain in her side. She had injured herself more than she had thought. The only thing that kept her from saying anything was that Raven would only make more of a fuss and probably stop everyone from reaching the bottom of the pass. So she ignored the pain and followed the rest of the pack.

It was already quite dark by the time they reached the forest and with the stars out there was just enough light for the group to gather plenty of firewood for a good-sized fire. A small cooking fire would not have been enough to warm all of them. Besides, there was not any food for them to cook, so they built up the flames and sat around and talked. Each took a turn at keeping watch and tending to the fire. This kept everyone safe from wolves that roamed these woods.

During Shamus’ watch, a wild boar came too close and with a well-thrown spear he killed it. Now they would have food for a couple of days. When the rest of the camp awoke, they opened their eyes and nose to the smell of pork roasting on the fire. From a tiny steam that ran down from the mountain they filled their waterskins and then brewed hot tea. Feeling rejuvenated, the party made plans for the next part of their journey.

“I think we should spend at least another day or two here and gather more food,” Shamus began. Out there on the ice and snow, we won’t get many chances to hunt.”

Roma agreed with the highlander. She would welcome the chance to rest her side for another day or so. A long hike still made the pain almost unbearable. Shannon was the only one who objected, but seeing her friend in such pain agreed to wait another day or two before attempting the last leg of their journey to Winsome Castle.

Later that afternoon, Shannon checked on her friend and found her in great pain. Insisting that Roma show her where she injured herself, the elf found that Roma’s entire side had turned blue.

“I’m afraid that you injured yourself more that you’re letting on,” she stated. “We may have to find a way to keep you off your feet for a while. For you certainly can’t go on like this.”

“No!” Roma spoke in a desperate tone. “I’m okay and won’t slow you down.”

“I can use a little magic to ease the pain,” Shannon offered. “I’m sure that a small amount might not be noticed by the dragon.”

Again Roma said no. “We can’t let him know where we are if we’re going to have any chance at all,” Roma added.

That evening after their supper meal the friends sat around the fire and debated their next move. It was clear that they could not bring Roma with them, for she would probably freeze to death out there in the Snowlands. Shamus offered to carry the injured woman, but agreed that it would only slow their progress and that she would not be able to fight if the need arose. Then Shannon came up with an idea.

“What if we leave Roma here and come back for her once we’ve finished in Winsome?” she asked.

Raven was the first to say no to that. She told everyone that she had to protect Brianna and would not leave any one behind. It was clear that she had certain feeling for Roma, but also had promised her queen to watch over the young Drow girl. The debate ran well into the night and finally became a stalemate with everyone giving their opinion as to what they would do with Roma.

Finally Roma spoke up. “What if Shamus leaves one man here with me and the rest of you go and finish what we’ve set out to do?”

Shamus was the first to agree and voiced his agreement over the protests of Raven. Shannon closed her eyes and was relieved that it had been her long time friend that made the decision for them. It would be tough to leave her behind, but it also was the only way to keep Roma from dying out in the desert made up of nothing but cold snow.

The next two days were spent hunting and cooking food for the journey through the Snowlands. Weapons were sharpened and cleaned in case they would be needed and on the morning of the third day they waved good-bye to Roma and Randall, who had elected to stay with the injured girl until they returned. Shamus had told the highlander that as soon as Roma was well enough to travel, he was to take her back to his home and have their healer try to mend her wounds.