Drip-Fed

Glacial winds whipped across the four bodies of the Inevitable party.

Though their endurance was great, every step carried them closer towards the epicentre of the magical storm. Chunks of frost continuously struck the greatcoats that covered them. Apexus had covered his face in a thin layer of glowing crystals, leaving only his eyes exposed. Even his nostrils and mouth were covered completely. He had the luxury of foregoing the need to breathe.

The three women behind him were not as lucky. Every inhale filled their lungs with chilling cold. High collars and deep hoods gave them limited refuge, as did the broad frame of their leader. They marched in a column, Apexus in the front serving as a windbreaker.

They were through the frozen field and had begun the climb of the mountain. Jutting black stone made walking a much easier affair than the knee-high snow below, but the wind only kept getting worse. They could not see more than a few metres ahead at a time. Snowflakes scattered through the air like swarms of white rodents scurrying through the air.

Then, suddenly, they were through. The howl of the snowstorm was muted behind them.

In its stead screamed the drake.

A white-clawed arm swiped at Apexus. He leapt, his wings beating, pulling his feet away from the snapping jaws of the pale beast. The drake was a dragon in all but mind, a four-legged creature with large, bat-like wings. From the base of its tail to the tip of the arrow-shaped head, the monster was five metres tall, covered in scales and ice. Yet, in its blue eyes, there was no intelligence, only the programmed desire to bring about these deep winters until the Dungeon called it home.

Apexus dove down, under the eyes of his party members. He had requested and they had agreed to let him try fighting this on his own. A test of his limits.

Serpentine grace allowed the drake to wind out of the way of the humanoid chimera’s heel. Apexus rapidly realigned the flow of his Ki, hitting the ground with the softness of a feather. The surface of the snow did not even crunch under his weight. He leapt back up, narrowly escaping the whipping tail of the beast.

One strike missed, but the next one was already underway. Having whirled around, the drake opened its maw wide, gathering mana from the atmosphere around them. It flowed together into a blue sphere, a hovering enchantment on the air that left its lungs in a bellowing roar.

Apexus flew as fast as his wings would take him, the cascade of winter fog always behind him. Where it touched the stones, the breath blossomed into ice flowers and spikes up to several metres tall. Apexus kept flying, trying to outpace the mighty beast’s magical attack.

The cold swept over his feet first, freezing them into a clump. The additional weight immediately ruined his capability to fly straight. He was pulled into the stream of frost, his clothes turning stiff within seconds. Though he maintained his calm, he still could only flail around, trying to find up and down while cracking the ice that sought to envelope him. He burned energy rapidly to keep his body heat up.

Apexus grasped an icicle.

Before he could really think about it, he snapped the frozen spear off the ground. The dragon’s breath ebbed away, letting him stand, breathing steamy clouds of hot air. His core was singing. His chilled clothes were crackling. The dragon stared at its enemy. Apexus pointed the impromptu weapon low, then charged.

Hindered by the frost, Apexus was too slow to prevent the claw swipe from connecting. What he did have was a party that had elected that this was too difficult for a solo attempt.

Reysha appeared by the side of the distracted dragon. Her Runeblade carved through scale and flesh, cutting the tendon of the moving arm. It still caught Apexus, but the force behind the motion became unfocused, merely shoving him along. Before the jaws of the creature could take advantage of it, a blinding ray struck its eyes. Then, Korith descended on its back, her warhammer slamming into the creature’s back, right between its wings.

The dorsal spires protected its spine, but the pain was real. The monster attempted to back away, to get into its field of view all of those that would hunt it. The Inevitable party were experienced at slaying big game and scattered out to prevent just that.

Korith leapt to the front of the monster, her golden armour and blonde hair making her a catching form in the white and black landscape of the frozen mountain. She moved constantly, leaping from hard surface to hard surface. Vertical, diagonal, horizontal, it hardly mattered, her constant motion kept her from needing steady footing.

The drake was drawn to the bouncing Warrior. Its animal mind had barely enough in it left to also pay attention to the angel hovering above. Bolt spells broke on sturdy scales, leaving barely any impact.

A sharp pain on its side caused the Blizzard Drake to twist and bite. Reysha had backed off as swiftly as she had attacked and still only narrowly escaped the sharp teeth of the monster. It growled at her, only for that growl to turn into a bloody gurgle.

Apexus had rammed the icicle straight through the monster’s soft chin.

The injury wasn’t fatal on its own, but it was decisive. A foreign object stuck in its throat prevented another usage of its ice breath. Chilled blood pearled from the weapon, a steady stream of fading vitae. Apexus snapped a second icicle off the trail of the drake’s breath and used it yet again as a weapon, slamming it through the drake’ already crippled right leg.

Lamed, bleeding and surrounded, the Blizzard Drake beat its wings in a desperate manoeuvre. It bought it space, putting all of the enemies in front of it, but the quartet was too experienced to go for an impatient offence. Time was on their side. Calmly, they spread out and waited.

The Blizzard Drake roared as best it could, then galloped towards them. It did not try to bite or swipe, it simply threw its weight into a motion of its head. Korith stood her ground, Steadfast, channelling her Ki to be as sturdy as a boulder for a brief second. It was enough, the Blizzard Drake’s neck came to an abrupt stop. A lance of light shattered ice and scales on the side of its neck. A flat palm tenderized the flesh in a ripple of Ki. Then, the swing of a Runeblade sent out a slicing shockwave, cutting halfway through the weakened spot. It was enough to cut the vital veins.

The Blizzard Drake collapsed, dead. The party breathed a collective sigh of relief, all of them simultaneously too hot and too cold inside their constraining, thick clothes.

“What was that?” Reysha asked Apexus, mildly curious, and tapped the butt of the frozen spear, still lodged in the drake’s chin.

Apexus had to contemplate that question.