Within the Ice

by LaPolla, C. J.

  The men within the tent all came out, Asvald glowered as he saw Devyn standing there. Asvald had obviously hated Hrodny’s strange fascination with the new slave soldier they had taken. Devyn knew this would come to a head at some point, but hoped to avoid that now.

  Hrodny waited until they were all standing outside of the tent before he spoke with a voice dripping with anger. “This fool!” he pointed at Asvald. “Wants the entire party to take a cave at a time for SAFETY! I say we split, what say you Devyn!”

  Devyn held up his hands defensively at the question. “I’m just a guest here.”

  “ANSWER THE QUESTION!”

  Devyn started at the scream. “Alright. There are about sixty of us, three teams of ten enter three different caves, while the rest defend our camp from Rakgar’s remaining men. We can then cover more than half the caves before we have to return.”

  “See! Like I said!” Hrodny shouted drawing the attention of the entire camp. “Don’t be such a coward Asvald!”

  Asvald puffed his chest out at this claim approaching Hrodny with a deadly strut. “How dare you disrespect me in front of the men.”

  Hrodny, did not share Asvald’s height, but with arms as thick as his antagonist’s legs, he was unafraid. The men pushed chest to chest staring each other in the eyes. Devyn watched Asvald’s hand fall to his weapon as his side as the two men sized each other up. Koll saved the day as he reached out and grabbed Asvald’s hand.

  “No need for this. We are all on the same side here.” Koll pleaded.

  Asvald shook Koll’s hand off of him and turned his back on Hrodny and stalked off. He stopped a short distance away. “Fine, I agree. But your new pet comes with me.” When he finished he continued his retreat from the group.

  Hrodny smiled. “Ah, today is a good day!”

  The men watching shook their heads at Hrodny’s happiness with the altercation. He lived for conflict and battle, when there was no battle, a bout of words was enough. Devyn had come to the conclusion after spending the better part of a week with the man that he was absolutely insane. Devyn was not happy about being a part of Asvald’s group. He had to make sure that Asvald could not make him conveniently disappear in an accident when they were in the caves. Dorm had to come with them, they would then be able to keep an eye on one another.

  So the plan was set, ten men were assigned to Thorolf, Koll, and Asvald each. In the morning, all three teams would set out into the caves in search for treasure. They separated the camp into their crews, the nine men of Asvald’s crew formed up around the fire pit. It held no fire as they were trying to conserve the small supply of wood they carried with them. Devyn knew the men in his crew, having traveled and fought beside them for almost a week. The men included Asvald as the leader, Eskor, Bakli, Munin, Gudlaug, Armod, Hermund, Askel, Dorm, and at last Devyn. Assuming they would have to dig into the ice to reach the treasure, each man was equipped with a pick ax. They all hoped it would be an easy dig if they were to find anything, and each man no matter how battle hardened hoped they would not need the weapons secured snuggly at their side.

  “When I’m rich, I will travel south to where it is not so blasted cold! I’ll buy myself a brothel. Leave the warring to other men, I’ll warm my bed with my girls every night and keep the gold rolling!” The last part of the sentence was stifled with laughter as Hermund spoke of his future plans around the cold fire pit.

  “Those will be some ugly women to want to warm your bed.” Gudlaug tipped his hard roll towards Hermund in salute. A light hearted glower from Hermund was all he received in return.

  Devyn enjoyed the company of the men, there was no bravado or constant threat of a challenge. They were all good men, all in varying levels of acceptance of their fate. Devyn and Dorm were the newest additions so they still felt there was hope of escape. Escape would be difficult, they would have to capture the perfect opportunity to get away, for he knew they would be pulled back into service once this expedition was over. Even though there was the promise that he would be released, it was unlikely to happen. He would have to fight his way out. Perhaps the caves would give him that chance.

  “… gonna buy me self a castle!” Pieces of hard roll flew from Munin’s mouth as he laughed at his dreams. “Other men do fighting and I sit inside and grow fat and happy.”

  Devyn smiled, the dreams of men on campaign. This happens every night around the fires in the field, the discussion of desperate men discussing their dreams when they are free, or wealthy. Devyn also remembered seeing those very same men bloodied upon the ground in the aftermath of a battle. Their dreams leaking like their blood into frozen earth never to be realized. Dreams were all these men had though, they would never know anything other than this life and would likely never see their families again. Devyn often wondered why his twenty three year old self didn’t return home so many years ago but instead traveled north. Returning home after all he had done and seen was impossible, he knew deep down he would never have a simple life again. Each man dreams about the way it was before he was taken, but the dream of home is gone forever like a wisp of cloud on a windy day. Devyn’s memories were interrupted by laughter of the men and a red faced Eskel staring down at his boots.

  The men silenced as Asvald approached. He was not a well liked commander, as his dark moods were legendary among the men, and they only grew worse when he had access to mead. Asvald’s lean frame towered over all others in the camp, he easily stood over seven feet tall. Devyn had seen him in combat, while he was brutal he was untrained, utilizing only his strength and size. If he ever faced a man who was not intimidated by his size, he would fall quickly.

  Asvald pushed into a spot between Hermund and Bakli. “Afternoon men. Enjoying the day?”

  Devyn immediately knew this was a trap. He knew he was unhappy with how long they had been resting from setting up the remainder of the camp, but there was nothing more to be set up.

  “We have been marching for the better part of three days, we are resting for our journey in the morning.” Devyn interrupted Eskor who was about to speak. Asvald already hated him, why allow another to draw his wrathful attention.

  Asvald’s face reddened. “That is indeed why I brought you all here. So you could rest comfortably. By all means, rest the remainder of the day, get some sleep.” Some of the dumber men of the group smiled not getting the dripping sarcasm underneath his words, his scream caught them off guard. “GET UP! Get out there and relieve the guards on the hill, give those men doing something useful a rest! You will be relieved when night falls! We roll out in the morning just when the sun touches the sky! Now move!”

  The men jumped up and started gathering their weapons to head up onto the hills. Devyn remained seated long after the men stood. Asvald met his gaze with a deadly stare, he spoke calmly this time. “Did you not hear me? Is there a problem?”

  “There is indeed. But I don’t think we’ll solve it today.”

  Asvald approached with his hand on his giant ax that stood on his shoulder. Devyn thought him an absolute fool at that moment, his giant two handed ax would take him much longer to draw at this distance than it would for Devyn to rip his sword from his scabbard and slay him. Devyn did not act though, he only rose with his hands at his side.

  “Maybe we should solve it now, Devyn.” His gauntlet covered hand gripped the handle of his ax above his head while he stared down at Devyn. Devyn did not back down, he did not even move. He was faster than this man, and if he was attacked he would have no choice but to strike him down, but he did not wish to initiate the fight today.

  Dorm came to the rescue by stepped between the two men. “Let’s move Devyn, there are men up there that need sleep.”

  Dorm separated the two men and wrapped his arm around Devyn’s shoulder guiding him up the hill. They could both feel the burning eyes of Asvald on their back.

  “I’m going to kill that man before this is over Dorm.” Devyn said matter of factly.

  Dorm only nodded at his friends
grumblings, they moved up the hill just as the previous watchmen were beginning their decent. The eyes of the watchmen gave them a silent “thank you” behind exhausted eyes. The canyon they were nestled within gave them more protection than they realized, up on the shelf of ice the glare of the sun and the unyielding wind chiseled away at a man’s resolve. Devyn learned this quickly as he kept his eyes on the horizon and the glare burned his eyes and made dancing blue and purple blobs blind his vision. The constant biting wind cut through the numerous furs and clothing he wore. It was a miserable experience and the few hours it was before dark felt like days, he knew why those men that came down from the hill looked so miserable.

  He was never so happy to see torches before as they lit up from the canyon below, men were finally coming to their post to relieve them of their duty. Devyn was sure he wore the same exhausted face those men wore on their way down from the hill from the expressions he saw on the faces of the team taking their position.

  The group huddled around their low, cool fire and were treated with a feast of dried meat and another hard roll. They watched as the lights danced in the sky, as they did every night, but tonight they could also be seen dancing within the darkness of the caves. The caves reflected the lights from the sky, but many of the more superstitious men shied away from them. As time went on, the superstitious crews quickly realized that the lights within the caves were not the harbingers of some terrible monster, they began to settle down to sleep. Devyn, who did not fear the lights, did the same, after the exhausting day sleep found him easily.

  Dreams of the bridge haunted his mind, it did nothing, it only stood in his vision but it was more frightening than any dark creature could ever be. He then dreamed that he stood among the bridge, looking over its edges into the dark chasm below to see it roiling with black beast. When he looked up from the chasm below a large black beast with fangs dripping with poison stood next to him. It was covered in thick course black hair with spikes running along its humped back. Its powerful legs stood ready to pounce as it stared him down. The beast leapt at him quickly and his teeth sunk deeply into Devyn’s face, where the teeth touched his face an intense cold burned.

  He jumped awake with his face planted against the ice on the ground. He had rolled off his bedroll and onto the ice. He peered down at the ice as he rubbed his cheek to warm it, his fall had scraped away some of the frost over the ice and he could clearly see a green streak not far below the surface. For just a moment it appeared that the green streak was moving. Devyn squinted his eyes to see if what he was seeing was actually happening. The ice frosted back over quickly, when Devyn scraped the frost away again the green streak was still. He rubbed his hands over his face, the glacier was obviously getting to him he was starting to see things. He laid his head back down and drifted off to sleep with little difficulty, no dreams of the bridge haunted his slumber again that night.

  Light kissed the sky all too early for the men of Asvald’s crew and their leader walked among their sleeping forms giving them kicks to wake up. Devyn was already awake when Asvald approached him but he received a kick nonetheless, and it did seem quite a bit harder than what he saw others receive. He decided that the man’s childishness knew no bounds and he would act like a spoiled brat the remainder of this trip.

  A freezing wind had found its way into the canyon destroying the men’s hopes of a comfortable morning. Within the caves the men could hear a whistling and howling as the wind ventured deep inside. It only added to the nervousness of the men, now the inside of the caves seemed to possess screaming monsters.

  Even Devyn was filled with trepidation about entering the cave, but also he was enthralled by the fact that nothing had set foot in these caves for thousands of years. What could be found within could be amazing. His greatest worry was Asvald, as he was not sure how this man was going to handle being alone with men he couldn’t care less if they lived or died. Especially Devyn, he was sure he would be given the most dangerous assignments.

  It wasn’t long after they woke that every man was geared up, fully armored, and covered in furs. They stood in a rough line chatting about nothing in particular. Dorm and Devyn sat silently staring at the cave and their group in front of them. Devyn saw no need to tell him what he thought he saw in the ice when he woke last evening, but the thought of those green vein-like streaks moving within definitely unnerved him. There was too much that was strange about this glacier, the mysterious bridge that seemed to attach to nothing and the movement within the green streaks in the ice. The series of caves could easily be a natural phenomenon, and the streaks could just be some plant that grows within ice, although Devyn could not shake his doubts.

  The men waited impatiently as Asvald seemed to take forever to arrive. They were not even sure where he had been or where he had gotten the alcohol that so strongly wafted off of his breath. It was a foul smell, the type of brew that would leave a man a dry husk of his former self if the habit continued for more than a month. Devyn had seen it before, men in the tavern back in Northspire, the men who had lost everything to disease or lost their ability to work due to injury. There was no hope for men like that and they would drift away from the world and die at their tables. The tavern did not sell them that brew, they made it themselves, and they made it poorly. That is exactly what Devyn could smell seeping out of Asvald’s flesh. For being intoxicated, he moved with his same arrogant grace he always had, and did not seem to be hindered in any way. He stood in front of the men and waved them to gather around him.

  “We’re moving in. Get ready to dig because we are coming back with gold.” Asvald stared off into the distance, beyond the men out into the blue sky past the glacier. He did this for a long time, Devyn could hear the other groups starting to move out. The other leaders seemed much more enthusiastic about their crews and about their adventures. He wished he could have been with any other group than with Asvald at this time, as it could be clearly seen that the liquor or whatever he had taken coursed through him causing him to drift away. It was a very long and uncomfortable few moments before Eskor spoke up.

  “Asvald? Asvald sir?”

  Asvald started at his words being drawn back into this world from whatever world he had left them for. “If you get lost, I will leave you and not a man among us will mourn your loss.” Without another word he turned and began his trek into the gaping cave before them. Devyn wondered if most of the speech had taken place within his head. Just as he turned, his eyes locked with Devyn’s, never before had Devyn seen such loathing coming from a stare. Devyn did not understand what he had done to make him hate him so much, he could only assume that he was jealous of him because of the liking Hrodny took to him. Regardless of the reason, he knew it did not bode well for the journey they were about to undertake together.

  Chapter XI

  Asvald staggered slightly towards their designated cave. The men of their crew exchanged glances with one another unsure if they should follow such a leader or not. They unfortunately were not volunteers or guest and had little choice but to follow. While Hrodny had seemed to befriend Devyn, he was sure that if he disobeyed orders he would just as quickly snap his neck.

  The team made an uneven line towards the gaping cavern in front of them. No one judged the line this time, they were marching as miners not as soldiers any longer. As they drew closer to the dark cavern the pure white ice of the outside disappeared and it was replaced with a bluish translucent ice. Lines of blue and green continued to streak through the cavern. Light from the torches that were struck once the darkness engulfed them danced beautifully off of the cracks and curves of the cavern around them. The walls of the cave varied greatly, some areas were as smooth as a polished stone while others were rough and cracked like they were carved by a blacksmith’s hammer. All of the men in the party gawked in amazement at the sights and the splendor of the dancing lights. All except one of course, tall black bearded Asvald glowered at the men but remained silent until their gawking slowed them down.
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br />   “Get moving. It’s like you people never saw ice before.” Without turning around he raised his arms to both sides in an exasperated huff. “See! Lovely! Now let’s get moving so we can all get rich or die, or whatever has been decided for us!”

  Devyn truly did not understand why Asvald was so hostile towards everyone but it truly was growing old to him. There was no end to the cave in sight, just one long tunnel into the darkness of eternity, the soft crunch of their boots could be heard echoing forever into the distance. With each step a subtle but sharp pain rose from Devyn’s foot, the boot spikes which have been an absolute blessing for walking on the ice, especially up hill, left terrible bruises on his feet and he was sure the rest of the men as well. Another unpleasantness in a vastly miserable experience.

  As the hours passed the beauty of the cave slowly wore off as the same scenes played over and over again. Clear ice and streaks of color can only keep a grown man’s attention for so long. The light from the outside had long since been blocked out entirely and the only light that they had were the torches that they held.